//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Unleashing the Shadowbornes // by Golden Scrolls //------------------------------// After several days of doing nothing but enjoying life, nomming muffins and dreaming about my past something interesting finally happened. I sit in Sugarcube Corner with Shy, nomming muffins. “So... have any ideas for any of your stories yet?” She asks. I smile and nod slightly. “I actually do... but I left my notebook back at the library so I can’t quite show you. Nopony will steal it anyway.” I say. “Well, lets go to the library anyway... I kinda want to go anyway.” I nod and get up, streching my legs out. I trot out and I jump up into the sky, spreading my wings. I gained altitiude rather quickly. There was no need to rush, the library wasn’t too far from Sugarcube Corner. Not too long after we took off, something went wrong. I didn’t notice it at first, the slight weakness that I was feeling. It then got signifigantly worse. The world seemed to swirl around me as a pang of dizziness struck. I moan quietly and lose altitude quickly, my wings feeling heavy. Appariently Shy noticed and she looked at me with a concerned expression on her face. “G-Golden?” She asks. “Are you...?” She trails off as I impact the ground, sliding a bit before hitting a tree. She lands next to me and rolls me over. “W-whats going on? Why do I... feel so weak?” I groan again and put my head in my hoofs. “Headache...” “I-I don’t know... what is going on... open your eyes first...” Relunctantly I open them and she takes a reflexive step back. “And they’re glowing green... shoot... we need to get you help now.” She helps me up and takes me to the library. “That means?” I ask weakly, glancing at her. “Well... a changeling is trying to possess you... and I really don’t want an angry version of you threatening anypony...” She frowns and opens up the library door, motioning for me to go in. I flash her a weak smile and I trot in with her following. She goes to the back of the room and trots up the stairs. I stumble when I reach the top and I see a unicorn with a light purple coat and a dark purple and pink mane and tail. She is staring out a window. “No... not that way... THAT way... yes...” The unicorn yells. “Ahem...” Shy says and the unicorn turns around. “Ah... hello Shy...” Her words fade when she notices me. Shy notices this and glances at me. “Yes, we need you to eradicate this... changeling that... is attempting control over my friend here.” The unicorn just nods and levitates a book over to her and opens it. The pages flip and she stops at a certain spell. “Just... hold still...” Her horn glows brightly and a figure shoots out of me and takes bodily form. Without hesitation, the unicorn impales the creature with her horn several times, letting it bleed out. She sighs lightly and stewps back. “There...” Shy nods, “Thanks Twilight...” Twilight warpsthe body away and manages a slight smile before turning back to the window. “You alright?” Shy asks, poking me with her hoof. I stare at the spot where the figure died at and I slowly nod. Shy smiles and trots back downstairs. I gaze at the spot for a bit longer before following her. I think back to what I saw just a bit ago. There was something about it that didn’t make sense. The first being the lack of hesitation from Twilight I thought, She could’ve checked if it was an actual changeling. But... I don’t know what one actually looks like... so I can assume it was one. If it wasn’t... Shy would’ve said something... Right? I shake my head, growling slightly, somewhat tired of my thoughts running like they did. The both of us trot out of the building, looking for something else to do. I want to bring up the topic with Shy but that can wait untill later. A few hours later, we are in the center of the clearing where we met. “Ya know... this could be our special spot...” Shy says, smiling faintly. “Yeah!” I respond excitedly. “The spot where my life actually changed for the better... for once.” Shy just nods and smiles before laying down and closing her eyes. “Heh... I wouldn’t be suprised if your life only gets better from here on out... you have me now... I’ll protect you,” She says before dozing off. I smile faintly, having a feeling she was right but having another feeling mixed in with it. It was a feeling of being cared for... of being loved. I knew she accepted me as family and that was definitely more than I ever asked for. My mind then flipped back to what exactly happened to me. It felt like a drain of energy, as if my energy reserves were tapped into and sucked dry. I glance at sleeping mare beside me and smile faintly, brushing a few strands of her mane out of her eyes as she slept. She sleeps rather peacefully. I observe silently "Much more than me..." I finish out loud quietly. I sigh ever so lightly and curl up around her protectively, not wanting anything to even touch her being the only one who really cared about me. I thought that was weird, her being the only one. I recall meeting Twilight but she didn't really smile directly at me and really meant it. I frown, eventually realizing that nopony will really smile, or care directly like Shy ever has towards me. Would it really be right to withhold all this info about me? Would it really be right now? No... it wouldn't, I'm gonna tell her... Shh whimpers ever so slightly in her sleep, low enough for me not to hear. I gently poke her chest once. "Shy..." I say quietly, poking again. She groans silently before her eyes snap.open, quickened pulse slowing. "W-where? W-what?" She looks around before glancing at me, seemingly calming down "O-oh... Golden..." "You alright?" I ask. She slowly nods and I flash her a slight grin before my expression turns stern. She notices this but keeps quiet. "Shy, there is something rather sensitive... and personal I'd like to tell you..." Her silence holds a bit longer and she nods. "A alright, let's hear it" She says. I take a deep breath, steeling my nerves and emotions from the potential outbreak it'll cause. "You sure?" She just nods again and I release the pent up breath I was gathering. "Now... I know you aren't gonna like what.I'm about to tell you. That's perfectly fine with me... it'll stir a rather interesting reaction from me... possibly the both of us. I'm about to tell you about one of the most sensitive experiences in my life." I hold up a hoof as she opens her mouth. "Save it for later. Anyway, its about my foalhood. I was born into a family with only a mother and a father... no siblings... or anypony else for that matter..." "...But what about.your parents?" Shy blurts out unexpectedly. "I... they" I look down, already starting to feel the sadness fill me. I.hold it back before continuing. "They never loved me... they never really cared about me... they even went as far as attempts on my life... They hunted me down... almost every damn day... and they pretty much tortured me." My body gives off a slight glow and outlines of various scars and markings appear around my body. Shy's eyes shifted from emerald to a light blue. "I don't want to go into further detail because it'd probably kill our moods if its not too late. Every night, I went to my room and cried... hoping things would get better... they never did. Birthdays forgotten, holiays never celebrated... hell, absolutely nothing was celebrated." "W-why?! "How should I know? I lived my life in fear..." I close my eyes and grimace. A loud cry and a searing pain... The cold pojnt of a knife followed by another bout of agony as it slid down my chest and sides. I watch, powerless as my lifeblood drips down from my body and stains the floor in a dark red color. "Fear of not seeing the light... of not making it the next morning" The cries intensified along with the pain. I was shaking rather violently, not wanting any more but forced to endure it. "Please..." my voice was weak and quivering. "Please..." I kept repeating that until my head was knocked against the , rendering me unconscious. "Fear of other ponies like you" Cornered against the wall, I stared at my aggressor in the eyes, fear coursing through me, calling me to gallop away. There was nowhere to go "Fear of living life free of fear" Absolutely nowhere to gallop and hide... the door was blocked by an overturned table and the windows were magically sealed and heated up to discourage and then prevent escape. I.cowered deeper into the.corner I was in, fearing for my life "Hell... they put so much fear in me that even now, it still runs rampant when I truly think about it" "Sorry there Golden... but I cannot.. and will not stop." A chill ran through me when she.spoke those words and a sense of dread kicks up. I shut my eyes, waiting for the ever present pain. Most wounds from past cuts still weren't healed and stung to the touch. "Fear was a legit part of me... until I met you... then it sorta faded away..." I tear up, unable to keep my emotions in check any longer. I wipe a tear away. "They... don't deserve to be my parents anymore" My frown deepens and I reopen my eyes. Shy pulls me into a tight embrace. "I..." She manages softly "They ruined me... I..." She holds me tighter. "Golden... I didn't think you had a past like that....I thought.you were well raised... because you're so..." "Nice...?" I chuckle softly. "Looks are rather deceiving aren't they? Yes... on the outside... but on the inside..." "Depression... sadness... a bit of anger....all mixed up into a whirlwind of emotions that could confuse anypony..." I glance at her quizzically. "Actually... wait... how did you know?" "You really haven't noticed yet?" She says just before I feel my sadness increase. I facehoofed and realized something. I.just made the connection that her eye color changes according to her emotions. Sadness... but... it seemed more then what it should've been. "We... can feel each others emotions?" I ask. She just nods Well... today has been interesting... I thought, breaking the hug and laying down then curling up into a tight ball. Shy lays next to me protectively and quickly falls asleep. I follow suit not long after, drifting off into the restless world of my dreams. The next time I wake up is in the middle of the night. The moon shines brightly overhead, illuminating Shy. I get up and stretch my legs, craving muffins. I knew the dangers of being out late at night but this was for muffins... a special case. I look back at Shy before trotting towards Ponyville. A few minutes later, I'm in front of Sugarcube corner. Their lights were still on despite the time of night. I shrug and trot in ...Only to have a pony leap in front of me, effectively halting my progress. Said pony growls and advances on me. Not wanting to get trampled, I back up. "Who are you?" The figure remains silent before it bares a set of fangs. I hold steady, recognizing them. Not wanting to be threatened, I pull out my knife. "Stay back..." I calmly say. "Before I'd have to use this..." Before I could react, the figure spins around and kicks me square in the jaw. I don't even flinch but the figure steps back into the shadows. I sigh and rub my jaw. Vampony... I thought. Like me and my father... so it's not just us... I get my muffins and trot back out, successfully avoiding the bright and cheerful Pinkie Pie. I pop three in my mouth right away, savoring the flavor they give me for a little while at least. I mentally debate on wether to go back to the clearing again or not. I sit in one of the benches strewn about and think about it for a little while. Eventually deciding that Is be safer in the clearing, I finish off the remaining nine muffins, put the basket down and trot back towards the clearing. Shy is still sleeping when I arrive and so I quietly lay down and fall asleep, full from my meal. Several hours later, a slight glow envelops my body without my knowledge. Ten minutes after that, I wake up yet again and rub my eyes. "Uuuuugh..." I groan. "Too... early." I lay there for the next several minutes, gathering my lethargic thoughts and glance back at Shy who was still asleep. "Heavy..." Before I could continue, Shy's eyes open as if she heard me. "Mornin' Golden!! She says a touch too cheerfully. I blink once, trying to clear my blurred vision from sleeping. "Aren't you cheerful this morning?" I say with the slightest of smiles. "I hate mornings..." "Hehe... yeah... I suppose I am in a good mood..." She smiles before stretching. "That's good to know... anything special you want to do today?" I ask, taking out a butterscotch candy and popping it into my mouth. The sweet flavor made me smile softly. I spread my wings and flap them a few times to stretch them out, enjoying the slight breeze. I glance up at a cloud and fly straight up to it, landing neatly and laying down, enjoying the feeling of the.cloud under my body. Not planning for anything else to be done, I just fall asleep. Shy just lays on the ground and looks up at me. When he wakes up... I wanna take him somewhere... special, she thinks before drifting off to sleep as well