//------------------------------// // A Shadow Within a Rainbow // Story: A Shadow Within a Rainbow // by Shadow Fighter //------------------------------// A Shadow Within a Rainbow As night came upon the fellow stallion, Shadow Flight was wondering what to do about the situation that seemed to be getting more out of hand as the days rolled by. He got up from his restless slumber and made his way to his bathroom. He looked in the mirror to find a copy of himself staring back at him with dark green eyes, baggy from lack of sleep. His hair was a long black and red mess, and his dark gray fur didn’t seem to look any better. His chest was bare and he wore pants that ended near the top of his hooves. He had to admit to himself that he didn’t look half bad. He is a strong stallion. Some of the pegasi in Cloudsdale even refer to him as the pegasus equivalent of Big Macintosh, but he was nowhere near the raw power of Snowflake, even if he might have used some kind of enchantment spell or something. Being a Pegasus, one has to keep up with their physical abilities and he did just that. He stretched his wings which ached from an hour of tossing and turning. His hands were clasped on the edge of the sink. His eyes were bloodshot and he was still tired from this lack of sleep. “Sweet Celestia, how much longer will this last?” The stallion’s voice was gruff from being weary, and the night had just begun. “Why of all the mares did it have to be her?” He asked his mirrored clone with him knowing that this was a rhetorical question. He already knew why he was in this situation in the first place. He heard a light tapping at his door. Surprised, he exited his bedroom to open the front door which was across from it. He found a pegasus that he didn’t recognize due to the hood over their head and was yet again surprised to see somepony here at night requesting his presence. They of course were wearing a dark hoodie, baggy blue jeans. He saw slight curves as well as a medium sized bust size. He concluded that this pony was a mare. “M-may I come in?” A soft voice but hoarse exited the cloaked figure. He gave a slight nod and allowed her entry into his apartment. “Is there something that you need miss, food, shelter, maybe a drink perhaps?” Shadow was worried for the mare. No pony usually comes in the middle of the night to a stranger’s apartment, unless they are generally in trouble or need of something. They moved to the ‘living room’ of said apartment and the mare sat down on the couch, Shadow across from her on a small chair. The mare some odd noises that Shadow did not seem to register for few seconds and it sounded like, crying? The mare slowly revealed herself to the stallion and what he saw shocked him. It was Rainbow Dash, her face showing a sign of a black eye and her lip seemed to be cut and quivering, tears running down her face. “Shadow, I-I couldn’t take it anymore, I finally broke up with him a-and…” She stopped and put her palms in her hands, trying to sob the pain away from not only her wounds but her heart. This of course was Shadows fault. He hooked them up in the first place. At first the relationship went quite well for a while, the two seemed to be a perfect fit for each other, they had the same attributes, goals, and even personalities. But as time went on, it started to take a bad turn. He lost almost everything. His family’s respect, most of his friends, and his reputation were all gone. He took all of his bent up anger out on Rainbow Dash and she didn’t even see it coming. After a few more weeks of this cruel torture, she finally had enough, she fought back almost killing him in the process and she finally left him, with these final marks to prove it. She came here to tell her friend the ‘bad’ news. “Dash, it’s all over now, you won’t have to worry about him anymore.” Shadow said trying to make her feel better. “Do you think so?” Rainbow Dash lifter her head, eyes red from crying and tears marks now showing on her face. “I know so...” Shadow nodded, giving his cyan friend a small smile. “…and if he tries to hurt you again, just tell me and I will handle the situation.” Rainbow’s face lit up with happiness. She rushed over to her friend and gave him a strong hug. Shadow was caught off guard by the sudden act of the mare, but embraced his friend nonetheless. With him she was safe. Later that night, Rainbow decided that she was going to spend the night in Shadows apartment due to the amount of night time there still was and the fact that it was too dark to fly home. So she decided to hang out and talk with the young stallion for a bit. He was her friend after all and very good friend at that. After Shadow was able to treat Rainbow’s wounds with and ice pack, he decided to bring out some alcoholic beverage of choice. Non-surprisingly he and Dash both chose Apple family Hard Apple Cider. While he got the drinks from his cabinet, he decided to Converse with his equally aged Pegasus friend. “So, besides the recent incident how have things been going? Have you been able to get into the Wonderbolts yet?” Dash laughed “Yea, and I also sprouted a horn and became an alicorn.” “Oh come on Dash, don’t be such a smart ass.” He had two glasses in each hand filled with the cider and ice. “Yea, well have you been able to beat me in a race yet?” she gave a cocky grin to the gray stallion. “As a matter of fact yes I have, three times actually.” He chuckled as he sipped his cider. “Those didn’t count! I was…Distracted! Yea that’s it Distracted” “Yea….right.” He said sarcastically. “You sure were distracted by the sight of Soarin and Big Mac alright” He chuckled again. Rainbow blushed “No I wasn’t, I saw Spitfire fly by and I waved at her!” “You were probably ogling her too for all I know.” He chuckled again. “Oh shut the buck up!” She blushed more intensely at his statement and resorted to punching him in the arm. “At least I don’t drool over her like you do Mister Smooth” “Wow Dash, I’m surprised, that punch didn’t hurt, and for your information I don’t drool over mares, I get quirky over them.” He said sarcastically. As he did they both shared a light-hearted laugh. Dash pushed a question she had that bugged her after his statement. “Then why don’t you act that way with me?” Shadow was taken off guard by the question and blushed slightly. He tried to speak but when he did so he stuttered. “Well t-that’s because y-your one of my b-best friends, not only that but one of t-the closest I h-have.” Rainbow took note of this as well as the blush on his face. They sat in silence for what seemed to be a year, slowly drinking their cider glasses, emptying them slowly. After both glasses were empty, rainbow broke the awkward silence with a rather awkward question. “Shadow, do you have feeling for somepony?” As soon as she asked this, her cheeks turned slightly red. Shadow however did not notice, but slowly answered her question. “Yea, as a matter of fact, I do.” He paused. “ Its somepony who you can easily befriend due to her kindness. Somepony who is loyal to those who she can call a friend.” Shadow turned his face towards her and her blush became more intense. “It’s somepony who strives to be the best at what they do, and no matter what happens to them, they get back up off the ground, brush themselves off and keep trying, no matter what the challenge is.” He moved closer towards her as she did to him until their faces were merely apart. “That somepony is you Dashie.” Rainbow Dash is flattered by his words. She knows what to do but is still too stunned by his words to move. Shadow decides to take the initiative and kisses her. Rainbow returns the kiss. She pushes Shadow onto his back, bodies now touching, kissing him in full force. They both feel the ‘sparks fly’ between them as they both intertwine their tongues passionately, neither of them fight for dominance. As Rainbow retracts her mouth from his, they both breathe heavily from loss of breathe and they both lay there on the couch in silence for what seems to be a blissful eternity. Rainbow then speaks again. “I never figured you to be interested in a mare like me… guess I am that awesome huh?” Rainbow giggles and while Shadow chuckles. Rainbow and Shadow eventually fell asleep after a few minutes. The whole night was crazy enough for the both of them and they both needed a well-deserved rest. The best thing that came of this evening, is that Rainbow has finally found her Shadow again.