Southwest Detrot.
Night time.
I was walking down my old street, only two houses away from my home. I left my friend’s apartment because our spending time with each other was up. My dad always told me to stick with my ma, no matter what happened. My pa was a hard worker, stubborn at times but hey, that's just how he is. He has a dark tan coat color, and his mane was curly and black. Kinda like yours Pinkie, except it doesn't smell like sweets. More like train parts. Anyway, my mom didn't have enough time to pick me up, so I decided to walk home. My dad was always against me walking by myself, he didn't want me to walk home alone in the dark. I used to tell him not to worry about me, I knew how my city worked, even though I was eleven at the time.
Lyrical closes the door of his friend’s apartment and begins to walk away. That street was close to his older sister’s school, so if anything went wrong, he would just run there for safety. The moon is the only light source Lyrical had; he was not that advanced in his magic because he barely paid attention. It was mostly because the teacher kept explaining about other random subjects rather than the actual school topic.
Oh the irony.
"Wish I brought a hoodie." Lyrical said. It was pretty cold that night. Only two houses away from his home, and he can go back to doing what he loves most.
Listening to music.
I would listen to music on a cassette player, playing my favorite songs by my favorite artists. South Park Mexicolt, S.P.M. is actually the reason why I started rapping. I didn't know how to freestyle back then, or, actually write a song, but I would try my best.
Lyrical walked by an abandoned house. It looked burnt, something homeowners did often when they could not pay off the bills. He ignored it and continued walking, until-
"AAAAAAAUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"
I stopped walking by the side of the house. I didn't know what to do. I had two choices, go get an adult, or go inside.
Obviously I chose the latter. I walked inside the house, looking around for the source of the noise.
It was too dark for Lyrical to see the whole interior. Only the moon's light filled the entrance, and he could see his shadow stretched out on the floor. "I-Is any pony there?" Lyrical asked. He walked in a little closer, but was pushed away by a stallion wearing a smiley face mask and a black hoodie. The stallion had a small rusty knife, dripping with fresh blood.
Pushed down to the ground, I was on top of some sort of liquid. I look down, and the blue, night sky’s light was reflecting off a dark red color. I backed away in fear.
Blood.
Blood was on my coat, and my eyes only widened even more when I heard silent sobbing.
In front of Lyrical, was a young Shadow, crying over his dead father. Lyrical made his way towards the body and the young pegasus. “My- My dad...That guy stabbed him." Young Shadow sobbed. Lyrical placed a hoof on his shoulder.
"Are you o-okay?" Lyrical said between stuttering and tears. The blood on his coat traumatized him only slightly. But since he has never seen a dead body, he had tears swelling up his eyes. The colt only sobbed even louder.
"Stay here, I'm going to get some help!" Lyrical shouted. He ran towards the door, but was pushed back to the ground by the same stallion with the smiley face.
He slowly walks towards us, raising the bloody knife in the air. I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the pain to settle. I open my eyes, and the next thing I know, I was trapped in some black, lightless dome-
Lyrical was interrupted by a knock on the door. All heads turned towards the door, Applejack and Rainbow Dash move out of the way.
"Yo! Lyrical you in there? I need to talk to you about the job!" The voice said. Wiping away some of his tears, he walked towards the door. Before he could reach the doorknob, he was tackled to the ground by Pinkie Pie. Her hair was still flat, and her face and eyes were covered with tears.
"Why would anypony do that to Shadow and his dad?" Pinkie stared into Lyrical's eyes. The male unicorn was about to bawl, staring at a sad Pinkie Pie is not good for your health. Lyrical was about to speak, but the pony outside knocked again.
"Lyrical! I know you’re in there! Whatever you and Rarity do in there is your business, but now, we need to talk about our own business!" The voice said. Lyrical slowly rose back onto all four hooves, Pinkie Pie still sobbing on his shoulder. He opens to door to a bored Vinyl Scratch.
"There you are bro, I need you to..." Vinyl noticed the crying Pinkie on his shoulder. She looked up at Lyrical, confusion on her face. "Is everything all good here?" She asks. Vinyl noticed Lyrical's red eyes. Peeking over his other shoulder, she noticed all the mares in the boutique, along with another stallion, who were crying as well.
"Did I interrupt something?" Vinyl said. Lyrical smiled sadly, and motioned a hoof for the DJ to come inside the Carousel Boutique.
One explanation later
"Dang, I didn't know Shadow had it that rough, Lyrical." Vinyl said. She was glad she wore her tinted glasses everywhere, nopony could see her cry. Shadow nodded his head, calmed down a bit. Pinkie was still attached to Lyrical's shoulder. He didn't bother getting her off, like before, nopony likes a sad Pinkie, so Lyrical hugged her back in order to calm her down.
"So this all started because Rarity wanted to find out more about your guy's past?" Vinyl asked. Rarity nodded her head, sadly. "Yes, and again, I am deeply sorry for wanting to know more about you two gentlecolts," She, along with the other mares, sobbed quietly. Lyrical and Shadow both waved a hoof.
"Don't be. We had to say something to somepony. It was killing us both inside." Shadow said. He patted Lyrical's free shoulder, smiling at his friend."The depression was killing us, right Lyrical?"
Lyrical was still hugging Pinkie. Her mane was flat, but a bit brighter than it was before. "Lyrical?" The rapper stared at the ground, Pinkie's mane smelled of dried sweets. "Lyrical?" Still not paying attention, he only tightened Pinkie in a hug.
"Lyrical!" Shadow yelled. The male unicorn snapped out of his daze. Realizing he brought Pinkie into a closer hug than before, he… did nothing. Right now, the pink mare was crying, and she needed a mother bucking hug. He was blushing, everypony was forming a circle around them. Though Dash had tears in her eyes, she found this opportunity to lighten up the mood.
"So.... does this mean Pinkie's your marefriend? You did give her your hoodie after all."
Lyrical's red face showed how quiet he was. He only gave Dash a small glare, while the others gave a light chuckle. "All right… can I continue?" Lyrical said. Some were hesitant, but nodded anyways.
Everything went dark. I couldn't even see my own hooves. I started to freak out, but Shadow silenced me. Then, all of a sudden, the dark dome we were in was filled with a glowing light. But as soon as the light came, the dark aura around us left, leaving only me, Shadow, and his father’s corpse in front of us. The next thing I knew, I was wrapped around more dark aura. Except when I looked down, the shadow that was supposed to be in front of me was missing. I then realized I was covered in my own shadow.
"Woah, what happened!" Lyrical said. He looked towards the grey colt. He was also covered in shadows. The young unicorn took a good look at him. His mane was whipping with dark, tail like auras and his whole body was pitch black. The only thing Lyrical could see, was a white dove on the colt’s flank.
"Dude… boss cutie mark." Lyrical said. The shadow colt said nothing, he only stared at the doorway. Lyrical turned his shadow covered head towards the door, and noticed the Smiley Pony walking away.
"Revenge." Shadow said in a whispered tone. Lyrical's eyes widened at Shadow's words.
The young pegasus took a few steps closer towards the door, his shadows whipping the air around him.
..."Revenge."
Shadow bolted out of the door, and the next thing I know, BAM! He punches Smiley Pony in the back of the head, causing him to drop to the floor.
Lyrical could only watch in shock. Shadow's body moved quickly in the night. He then noticed the Smiley Pony on his back, horror on his face. Shadow raised a hoof, and it turned into a long, sharp shadow sword.
"Wha-what do ya want!?" Lyrical heard Smiley Pony said.
"You killed my dad.... I want REVENGE!!" Shadow shouted.
"NO!!" Lyrical shouted. He raised a hoof, and a blob, shadow shape shot out of his hoof at incredible speeds. It hit Shadow's sword, breaking it just when it was about to pierce into Smiley Pony's skull. The criminal pushed Shadow out of the way, and ran off. When Shadow got back up and saw that the Smiley Pony, he turned around to face Lyrical.
"What the hell was that for, dude!?" Shadow shouted. Lyrical stood his ground, the shadows covering his body whipped around. The same happened with Shadow.
"How old are you? 13? Do you really want to go to jail, at that young of an age!?" Lyrical shouted back. Shadows whipped around the grey colts body, his eyes glaring at Lyrical.
"That sick mother bucker killed my father, I DON'T CARE IF I GO TO JAIL!" Shadow said. The young unicorn stood there, quiet while Shadow continued.
"I saw it with my own eyes...That stallion killed my DAD! Do you know what it's like to lose a father? HUH!? DO YOU!? OF COURSE YOU DON'T. YOU DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW THE PAIN I AM FEELING RIGHT NOW!" shadows were whipping out of his back. Slowly, black aura shadows were falling off of Shadow Breeze. Tears went rolling down his cheeks, his eyes filled with redness. Lyrical's shadows fell off soon after.
"No… I don't." Lyrical said. He walked closer to the crying colt. He placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Because I wasn't there when he died… and I could have saved him...."
Lyrical looks up at the ceiling, eyes packed with so much water. Shadow had calmed down, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie did as well. Twilight was crying more than before, and so were Fluttershy, Rarity and Vinyl. Shadow noticed that his friend was staring up into the ceiling. He walked over to him, lightly punching his shoulder.
"Hey, we all finished crying for today, let’s tell them more about it when we have some time." Shadow said. Lyrical stared blankly into space.
"Lyrical?" The sound of Pinkie's voice snapped him out of his daze. He looked over at the pink mare. "Why are ponies in Detrot so mean?" Pinkie asked. Lyrical only gave her a bear hug in response. He was bawling on her shoulder, all the pain, and losing the life of a loved one you could have saved got to him. Shadow came up and also hugged his bro. It wasn’t long before all the other mares joined.
After about a few good minutes, Vinyl backed away from the hugging session. Lyrical noticed this, and broke out of the hug as well. He walked behind Vinyl, patting her back. "So… what was it you would like to tell me?" He gave a sad smile. Vinyl took off her glasses and wiped them against her coat.
"I was going to tell ya that if you want, you can start tomorrow. We haven't got that much business, so Tavi said that you can start when you feel like it." Vinyl turns to the sniffling mares. "But It seems like you were already busy. I'll just tell Tavi that you'll come next time." She tried walking away, but was stopped by a magical, black aura. She was turned around to a happy Lyrical. His cheeks still covered with wet spots.
"I'll be there. Just come and get me cause I have no bucking idea where your nightclub's at." He released Vinyl Scratch out of his grasp, and she smiled back at him.
"Cool." She said before leaving the store.
Lyrical was scared. Tomorrow, he was going to perform at Vinyl's nightclub. Though at the same time, he felt excitement. He could get a job, and send home bits to his family. He looked up smiling.
'You know pa, if you’re watching me, thank you. Thanks for being my guardian angel, when I was supposed to be yours.' Lyrical thought. He turned back around, smiling at the crying ponies.
"Why you smilin' " Applejack asked, wiping her eyes. Lyrical's smile grew into a grin.
"I got me a job."
At that moment, Lyrical was tackled by Pinkie Pie, her mane as fluffy as ever. She reverted back to her sweet, bubbly happy self. "I'm so glad you got a job Lyri!" Pinkie said. Lyrical would have said thanks, but due to Pinkie's iron grip, he could only mutter: "Ribs....Crushing..!"
Pinkie gasped, releasing Lyrical, dropping him on the floor. She blushed a little, but ignored it and began hopping in place like she usually does. Lyrical got back up, breathing heavily. Suddenly, everypony heard a *Ding!* and Rarity's eyes widened.
"OH! That must be your hoodie Lyrical, I'll be right back." She said. Lyrical and Shadow decided to leave before Rarity returned with the hoodie. It was getting late, and they were tired from all the *Ahem* Stallion-ly tears they shed.
They bid their farewells, and headed their way back to the inn.
Meanwhile
Vinyl left the boutique with a smile on her face. Lyrical agreed that he will come the next day, and if other ponies liked his rapping when he first came, then they'll probably like him even more. The DJ makes her way back to her house, which she shares with her best friend, Octavia.
"Yo Tavi! I got Lyrical to...." She walks in to see a red colored pegasus, his mane was a dark blond and his eyes were a darker shade of red that Vinyl's. He was standing next to a confused Octavia.
"Vinyl, do you know this stallion?" She asked. Vinyl walked up to him. The colt smiled at Vinyl.
"Sup."
"E-enigma?"
Vinyl falls to the ground. Octavia shrugs her shoulders. Enigma smiles at her.
"Good to see you too."