//------------------------------// // 2. Tales and Tree Houses // Story: Shadow in Equestria // by ClankHoof //------------------------------// The next morning, I was called to the front desk, so I headed downstairs. A purple unicorn was leaning against the desk, and when she spotted me, she trotted over. "Hello. You must be Shadow. I am Twilight Sparkle, a friend of Rarity, whose sister you saved last night." she said, smiling. "What can I help you with?" I asked. "Rarity wanted me to ask you about what had happened, as Sweetie Belle hasn't regained consciousness yet, and we can't get her story until she has. So is it ok if I ask for your side?" I agreed to answer questions over breakfast, so she invited me over to her house, which turned out to be a humongous tree, converted into the town library. "Spike is out running errands, so I guess I’ll make us some pancakes." Twilight said, heading to the kitchen. "Sounds delicious." I guessed Spike was an assistant or roommate. It wasn't my business to know; anyways, it was Twilight who wanted to ask the questions. "Would you like some help with the pancakes?" I said, though it was more out of courtesy, because I could see Twilight doing multiple things at once with her magic. She sure has powerful magical talent. That would perhaps explain her cutie mark I glanced at while she was getting something from a low drawer. "No, I've got it. However, while I'm doing this, you can probably start your story." She said, glancing back at me as she started mixing ingredients together. I began with my waking up to the sounds of the filly crashing through the woods (pausing only briefly when Twilight placed a plate of pancakes in front of me), and ended when I took Sweetie Belle to the hospital. "I guess you know the rest. I told the late-night nurse my name and asked where I could stay in Ponyville, as I felt I should be somewhere they could find me in case they needed more information, like what you're doing. I also didn't feel like sleeping in a tree after the escape with a filly on my back." I rubbed my back a little, as it was still a little sore. I hadn't had to carry anything more than my own pack for the longest time, and carrying both my saddlebag and an unconscious filly can take a bit of a toll on you. "These are some delicious pancakes, by the way." "Thanks," she replied, then asked "So, what were you doing in the Everfree in the first place?" "I was heading to Canterlot, and got caught in the dark, so decided to bunk the night in a tree above most of the night critters. I didn't even know of a town this side of the Everfree, otherwise I might've tried to make it over. It was mostly coincidence that I ended up not too far outside of Ponyville, and lucky the young filly ended up near where I was." I answered. "Sorry for my curiosity, but why were you going to Canterlot?" "I was thinking about trying to obtain audience with the Princess, or at least ask to use the private library there, to continue my research on a few things. Everywhere else I've looked doesn't seem to have enough information on the...personal topics I'm interested in." I hoped she got the hint that I didn't really want to talk about it. She didn't pursue further, and instead noticed something I thought she would've seen earlier. "Where is your cutie mark?" She asked, putting down the small stack of plates she was going to take back to the kitchen, and began studying my flank more closely. It always get a little nervous when somepony does that, even though I know what they are doing. "Oh yes, that. I don't actually have one." I said, repeating the line I probably have said most in my life. "A tragic accident happened while I was a young filly, and it took away most of the time I had to look for my own special talent. I've been trying to find my talent every once in a while, but can never seem to find the one thing special I can do." "That's terrible." She said, clearly seeing that this was another thing I didn't really want to talk about. "Though it's kind of interesting, because Sweetie Belle is a part of a trio of fillies who are trying to find their cutie marks." She added. "They actually got pretty close to the right talents, but I guess they got a little confused, so mixed up what each of them were good at, making it not works out the way they planned, and now they've started doing things that have proved to be either dangerous or crazy for young fillies to try." I nodded. "That would explain the tent of fillies and why Sweetie Belle was near the Everfree last night. They were probably trying to see if camping or something like that was their talent." Twilight agreed that must've been it. Then she cocked her ear as we heard a faint bell clanging on the other side of town. "Oh gosh, it's nearly two O'clock. I told Rarity I'd meet her at the hospital around two-thirty! Wow, how time flies, especially when learning more about other ponies." She said as she hurriedly put dishes into the sink, and set a plate of pancakes in the fridge with a note. "Mind if I join you? I want to see if the young filly is alright, as long as I'm not intruding, of course." I asked the frenzying mare. "No, no, it'll probably be fine. Rarity may want to meet you anyways." She gave me a reassuring smile. So I helped her finish cleaning up, then we set off toward the hospital. -S- We checked in, and the nurse led us to a room on the second story. The floor for recovering patients, as I was slightly relieved to see. The nurse told us that Sweetie had woken up only a few minutes ago, so we had to have a moderately short visit. Her sister was already inside with her, sitting by the side of the bed. "Good to see you're awake, Sweetie Belle," said Twilight, smiling as they came up to her bed. "You had quite the lucky break last night. Oops, sorry. Not really the best choice of words." She blushed slightly. "Lucky? She could've been killed! Or worse! Oh my, Sweetie Belle, I might not let you out of my sight again after this absolutely horrid event. I may not sleep well for weeks had I known you were... AOooh!" Rarity fainted. Apparently the stress and excitement had been a little too much for her. Just then, the door opened and two other fillies came in, spotted Sweetie Belle, and talking at a million miles per minute. "What happened last night? We're you scared? Was something chasing you? Did you see it? What did it look like? Was it a manticore? Or maybe a-" "Ok, girls. Don't overexcite her right now, she had a very tiring night," Twilight said as she clapped her hooves over the fillies' mouths. "Why don't you go wait outside while we talk to her for a second, and then you can have her all to yourselves later, alright?" The young mares glanced at Sweetie Belle for reassurance, then waved and went out the door, slightly deterred, but satisfied they would be included later. -S- After the door closed, it was just Sweetie Belle, Twilight, and me. Rarity had also recently come to again, and retook her place next to the bed. Twilight brought out a notepad and pencil before speaking. "Sweetie Belle, this colt here is Shadow. He's the one that found you in the Everfree, and brought you here to the hospital." She began, motioning toward me. I gave a small grin. "I heard crashing in the woods near where I was camped, and went to investigate, you bet I was surprised to see a little filly unconscious and with a broken leg. Are you feeling any better?" I asked. "Yes, my leg isn't hurting much. Thank you," Sweetie Belle said. Twilight continued. "What were you doing out in the woods, Sweetie?" "Well, we had a lot of snacks to keep us full in the tent, and i guess i drank too much before we started, so I had to go to the bathroom, but I didn't want to go all the way back to the boutique. I guess I got a little lost on my way back." She looked a little embarrassed. "I felt something following me, and I got scared, so I ran. Then I tripped and hurt my leg. The flashlight flew out of my hoof, and it showed me this... thing, which might've been the thing that had been following me, I'm not sure." Sweetie Belle still seemed a little uncertain of this, and began to look a bit more frightened. Twilight was writing everything Sweetie Belle said in her notepad. "What did the thing look like?" She asked. Sweetie Belle thought hard for a moment before replying. "It was very tall, about the height of two full-grown ponies. It had four legs, and a white head without a face. It had ears and a snout like a pony, but nothing for it to breathe or see out of. Just a blank face. That was the creepiest part about it. It was completely black otherwise, or at least what I could see. And it had these sort of shadowy... tentacles, coming out of its back or something. I don't know! It was dark, and my leg was hurting pretty badly." She really looked afraid now. "Don't worry, darling. If anything like that horrid creature existed, you can bet we would protect such a sweet little filly like you from it." Rarity hugged her, and a few tears escaped Sweetie Belle's eyes and into Rarity's well-kept mane, slightly dampening it. When she calmed down a little, she said "the last thing I remember was something big and dark jumping in front of me, blocking my view of the thing. Then I guess I passed out, because the next thing I knew, I was in this bed with Rarity sitting next to me." -S- The filly's tale seemed almost crazy, and yet disturbingly familiar. Could I be this close to it...to HIM after so long? No, it couldn't be that. However, if it was what I'm thinking of that was behind the attack, then there could be great danger ahead. This was putting a major dent into my plans, but I knew I had to get more information, and figure out what to do about this. These ponies have no idea what they're dealing with. They may not be far off from discovering the true culprit and investigating further. I'm not sure if i need help, but for now I need to remain discreet. I can't let another accident happen. The two sisters were now talking and hugging each other. Sweetie Belle was indeed lucky I had found her, but now we needed to be more careful. Hopefully the scare she had will certainly keep Sweetie Belle away from the forest, and that nopony else goes near it for at least a few days. That was the danger zone. Twilight stood up and put her notepad back into her saddlebag, so I guess she was finished interrogating the young filly. " I think we'll leave you two alone for a bit, just keep an eye on her for a while, Rarity," Twilight said. "C'mon, Shadow, you've been a good help, and we can't ask too much from you." She smiled at me sweetly as we walked through the door, and I couldn't help but smile back. "No problem, I do my best to help others in need, I just hope I'm not too much of a bother-" I was interrupted by the two filly friends of Sweetie Belle who'd been hanging out in the hallway, now running up to Twilight. "Can we go in now?" The orange one said. I recalled her name as being scooter or something. Strange name for a female pony. The other filly, who had an exceptionally large red bow in her hair, popped up behind me, and seemed to be studying my flank rather closely. I got a little uneasy. "Hey there, kiddo. What are you doing?" She looked up at me quizzically. "Where's your cutie mark?" She asked. I laughed a little at this. "So you must be the Cutie Mark Crusaders Twilight told me about. Three little ponies trying to find their special talents by any means necessary, right?" The red-maned filly beamed at her friend. "We're becoming famous, Scootaloo!" "Wow. Hey, you think maybe being famous is our cutie mark?" Scootaloo replied. I smirked at Scootaloo. "What would a 'famous' cutie mark even look like? Even I can't imagine one with that as a talent. And to answer your question, er, Appleblossom, was it?" "Applebloom. Appleblossom is my cousin." "Oh, sorry, Applebloom. To answer your question about my cutie mark, I actually don't have one either." Both fillies' jaws dropped to the floor. The look on Twilight's face told me she knew this was coming, and wondered how I'd handle it. "Wow, that is so cool! An older pony not having a cutie mark? I didn't know that was possible," Scootaloo said, then another thought dawned on her. "Wait, that could mean...that WE might get old without a cutie mark!" Both little fillies started freaking out. I sighed. Young ponies overreact way too much. Not only that, but they also made me sound much older than I really was. "Wait girls," I said, trying to calm them down. "That's most likely not going to happen. I kind of think of myself as a rare case, and it's only because of a few...events that happened earlier in my life. You most likely may not find another pony like me. And who knows? Maybe my talent is something I'll discover later in my life. But even if I don't currently have one, you both still have a good chance of finding what you're good at, and perhaps using that talent to better the world, for all we know. So don't worry yourselves." I remembered something Twilight had said earlier about this group's venture, and decided to add something about that, "I bet if you try hard at familiar things or things you enjoy, you may be closer to your goal than you think." I think the fillies got what I was saying, because they looked quietly at me for a minute, then Applebloom spoke up. "Wow, I had no idea anypony could sound so much like Twilight." Then they both laughed as they walked back to the bench they had been sitting on, waiting for their turn in the room with Sweetie Belle. -S- When we finally left the hospital, Twilight turned to me and told me that was one of the best speeches she'd ever heard. "But why did they think it made you sound like me?" She looked even more puzzled as I burst out laughing, heading back to my hotel.