The light filtering in through the window woke up Shadow from a dream that he would never remember.
“Where the hell did I end up?” Shadow asked himself while he found himself watching the ceiling of a house on a comfortable bed. Instinctively he turned to the left so that he could watch the window from which the light was coming into.
“What the fuc...” was his first thought, barely able to not scream while his gaze went to the face of a young girl with pink hair, “I must get out of here quickly!” was his second, even more worried.
As slowly as possible Shadow got up and he just took a few steps towards the the door of the room when a weak creaking caused him to look behind; and so he saw that Fluttershy was getting up staring at him with sleepy eyes.
Fluttershy was looking around the room, not completely awoken, when her gaze went to a strange thing “It looks nearly like a person.” was the only thought that her tired mind managed to produce.
“Fluttershy, it’s as it seems...” scared Shadow tried to explain, worried that his presence could be mistaken. Unfortunately that phrase completely woke Fluttershy up,who, after she understood that there was a man standing in front of her, screamed both for fear and for surprise and embarrassment, and then she did something that normally would never think to do: she grabbed Shadow and threw him in the closet next to her, slamming the door.
“Oh my god, oh my god, what am I doing? What shall I do?” were the first meaningful words that Fluttershy, frightened, pronounced after realizing what had just happened.
“First of all…. lock the closet, so at least I will not be able to get out.” a Shadow answered trying to calm his inexperienced jailer after landing upside down in the closet; but his thoughts were centered on something else “This is your fault, right Nekuro?” picturing what had happened while he was asleep.
“Eh? Ah, right! Thanks.” Fluttershy said, not calm at all. Closing the closet helped her to calm down a little, but having no idea on how to continue she asked the intruder: “And now?”
“You should warn your friends; you can send one of your pets to Twilight Sparkle’s house and in the meanwhile you check that I don’t get out.” Shadow said disconsolate by the absolute uncertainty of Fluttershy.
“Sure, thanks!” answered Fluttershy who was so anxious that she still couldn’t realize that she was listening and was thanking a stranger who had appeared in her home. After writing the message Fluttershy sat near the closet to oversee the stranger waiting for the other girls.
Minutes passed and Fluttershy completely calm then and conscious that it would take some time for the girls to arrive, came out with an idea “While we are waiting, do you want to talk a bit?” asked to her prisoner.
Half-hour had already passed when Twilight, Applejack (a terrestre girl with orange hair and soul gem), Pinkie Pie (a terrestre girl with deep pink hair and soul gem), Rarity (a girl mago with violet hair and azure soul gem), and Rainbow Dash (a girl volante with rainbow hair and blue soul gem) knocked on Fluttershy’ door, worried for the news brought by one of Fluttershy’s pet.
Fluttershy couldn’t even open completely the door that she immediately found herself surrounded by five agitated girls, screaming in the hall of her house, “Are you ok?! Where is he?!” were the only few meaningful sentences that she heard
“He is in the kitchen, but...” Fluttershy whispered before that the others rushed into the kitchen without letting her finish speaking.
When she reached them in the kitchen it was already too late for any explanation. Shadow was lying on the floor, tied up like a sausage “But, what are you doing!? He is not dangerous!”
“Not dangerous!?! But ……he sneaked into your home!” Rainbow Dash replied roughly.
“It’s not his fault, it has just been a misunderstanding.” said Fluttershy trying to justify Shadow and herself.
“Don’t worry Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash has every right to doubt about me.” Shadow spoke politely as Fluttershy started to untie him.
“How do you know my name?” Rainbow asked confused to him.
“It’s not difficult to get information about the owners of the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow Dash, volante, who young performed the Rainboom; Rarity, mago, Ponyville stylist; Fluttershy, volante, who can talk with animals; Applejack, terrestre, offspring of the Apple family; Pinkie Pie, terrestre, best party thrower; Twilight Sparkle, mago, the most faithful student of Princess Celestia.” listed Shadow calmly watching each girl as he mentioned their name.
“Oook, you know us, but who are you? And where are you from?” Rarity asked surprised
“You can call me Shadow Smoke, volante.” Introducing himself “And about the second question… well it depends.”
“And on what should it depend?” Applejack asked perplexed
“Well, the question could mean: Where I was born; where I live or what is the last place I ‘ve been to” Shadow explained “Which of the three do you want to know?”
“But all of them obviously.” said joyful Pinkie.
“Damn, so much personal information! This should cost you a bit.” Shadow thought out loud
“What does it mean “cost a bit?” Twilight who did not understand how a question could cost something, asked.
“Gathering and selling information is part of my job, but do not worry, as a refund for the trouble I caused, I will give you all information for free.” Shadow explained calm
“Hold on a moment everyone! I have a question for this one.” intervened agitated Rainbow Dash “Are you a spy?” she asked with such seriousness that no one thought of a joke, causing the others to look at her speechless; though she didn’t notice it.
“You caught me, I am the spy of the most evil Celesta’s enemy and I am here to manipulate you for my purpose.” said Shadow with as much sarcasm as he could.
“I knew it!” exulted Rainbow joyfully “Did you see that? Found out immediately.” She triumphed.
After glances of discouragement, Twilight decided that it was necessary to sort the situation out “Rainbow, he was joking.” She explained.
“What?!?” Rainbow yelled shocked; “Good, I see that someone can still recognize sarcasm.” Shadow commented, earning a glare from Rainbow.
“Back to what I was going to say, I can tell you that I was born in Cloudsdale, right now I don’t have a permanent residence since I have been travelling for work so far . Are you satisfied?” Shadow answered to the true questions which had been asked.
“Not yet, tell us more about your job.” answered Twilight who wanted to understand more about that strange situation.
“I like to define myself as a free researcher of antiques and rarities.” Shadow answered seriously “In my free time instead I’m a handyman and an illusionist.” He added smiling.
“Can you be a bit more precise?” Twilight asked, not satisfied with the answer.
“Of course!” Shadow, who appreciated precision said, “Researcher means that I research information and items from ancient times, which are considered lost, like this one , he ended pointing out his Cutie Mark.
“What flower is it? I’ve never seen one like that.” Fluttershy asked with curiosity
“It is a Moonflower, a flower considered extinct 10000 years ago that I found when I was a kid.” Shadow explained with proud; “Handyman simply means that I do nothing for nothing. I need money after all.” He added in response to Twilight’s previous questions, “and illusionist because I entertain myself with a bit of illusionism.”
“Oh, you mean the fake magic.” was the sarcastic comment of Twilight who, since she had passed years to learn magic under the guidance of Princess Celestia, didn’t like that kind of frivolous tricks.
“Exactly!” Shadow said happily “Do you want to see it?” he asked hopeful.
“If we really have to……..” Twilight complained, while, instead, the other girls expressed their interest.
And so Shadow borrowed a deck of card from Fluttershy and he showed to the girls a classic card trick, setup at the moment.
“Stupefying” was Twilight’s sarcastic comment when Shadow ended.
“Thought crown, I see.” Shadow grinned who was starting to enjoy “Well, I suppose that our expert of magic wouldn’t mind acting as my assistant in the next trick.” proposed to Twilight, smiling. “What should I do?” asked Twilight unpleased
“Just close your right eye and stand still.” Shadow answered cordially; after Twilight did what Shadow had asked, he put one of his on Twilight’s right eye, and the same he did with his own left eye; after a few seconds he said: “Done!” then, inviting Twilight to turn towards the girls, he added: “Feel free to open your eye.”
Twilight had not felt anything in those few seconds, but she did as Shadow asked her, even if she doubted the possible result. But when she saw the amazed eyes of the other girls she was assaulted by a strange worry “What’s going on girls?” she asked instinctively.
“The color of your eyes!” Fluttershy exclaimed; “They changed!” Pinkie ended excited
“What?!?” Twilight shouted stunned; immediately she turned towards Shadow and saw that it was true: while his right eye was still green, his left eye turned purple as her owns “I have to admit that you are pretty good.” was the only reply to the pleased look of Shadow that she was able to say.
“Thanks, too kind.” Shadow; minimized and pointing to Rarity he said: “Now, for the grand final I’d like your collaboration.”
Rarity needed a moment to understand that he was talking to her, so unexpected had been the request, then she asked: “Mine?”
“Of course.” Shadow answered “I see that you have a beautiful jewel with you, can I see it?” he asked, referring to the necklace with diamond pendant that Rarity was wearing around her neck.
“O-ok.” she said, still astonished, giving the necklace to Shadow, who started to examine it closely, “But be careful,” Rarity said worried “that is a very expensive diamond
Without any warning Shadow tossed the necklace and astonishingly quickly he hit it with a hammer, which no one saw he took, and completely shattered it.
“It seems it was a fake.” he sentenced as the scraps of what was a diamond flew across the room; the only thing the girls were able to do was to watch those scraps with dazed looks, which for Rarity were combined with terror. When the girls tried to ask Shadow for an explanation they found out that he had disappeared “Where did he go?!” Applejack, yelled, the first able to recover from the shock.
“Where is it? Where is my necklace?!” Rarity asked desperate, throwing herself to the ground in of finding out enough scraps to repair the diamond.
“That Shadow broke it!” Twilight shouted irritated by the fact that she had lost sight of him.
“But I can’t find any fragment!” Rarity complained desperate; and really there was no sign of the scraps that had distracted them before.
“He had to have done this!” Rainbow sentenced angry “I knew that he was just a banal thief!” she said convinced to know what had happened to Rarity’s necklace.
“You are insulting me Rainbow.” the girls heard from the top of the staircase.
They ran to see who spoke and … they .saw Shadow getting downstairs quietly with Rarity’s necklace in his hand “Sure I’m not banal.” he said smiling “This is yours, I suppose.” He said returning the necklace to Rarity.
After a moment of general astonishment Pinkie exclaimed: “It was incredible! How did you do that?” “I have to admit that I was very surprised.” Fluttershy added with a whisper “An illusionist never reveals his tricks.” Shadow answered evasive “But I hope you all had fun.” ended showing a victorious grin towards Twilight.
“Yes, sure, it was quite impressive.” Twilight said trying to hide her total disorientation, then she remembered a particular “But because of all this confusion we forgot an important matter: what are you doing here, at Ponyville?”
“Right, I don’t think that there something interesting for you here.” said Applejack.
“Right.” Shadow contemplated figuring out that they did not ask him what got him to Ponyville yet.
“Since I heard that Ponyville was a peaceful city we thought it would be an excellent place where could live after the long recent journeys.” He started to explain quietly, and then he continued excited: “Moreover, this is the city where Nightmare Moon made his appearance after a thousand years of imprisonment!” at this point his eyes were shining for exaltation “I mean, A living legend! Do you understand how exciting it is for a researcher of ancient things as I am?!?” he ended in one shot.
“What do you mean ‘we thought’?” Rainbow asked surprised.
“Haven’t I told you yet?” Shadow asked perplex “Well, you have to know that I didn’t come to Ponyville alone, in fact…” “Meow.” he was interrupted by Nekuro who had just come into the house jumping through an open window.
“Here is my partner!” Shadow said happily as soon he saw him.
“Partner?” Rainbow asked perplex “So it’s him that you were talking about before?”
“What a beautiful cat!” Fluttershy exclaimed. Nekuro pleased by all that attention approached Shadow who, after picking him up, said: “That’s right.” then turning to Nekuro: “Come on, say hello to the girls.”
“Meow.” Nekuro said bored. “Nekuro! You can’t say such things!” Shadow yelled embarrassed “Now, apologize!”
At such reaction the girls looked at Fluttershy interrogatively because she was the only one still looking confused Nekuro; “So, what did he say?” Applejack asked since it seemed that Fluttershy was not going to give any explanation.
“Meow?” was the perplex amswer of Fluttershy.
“Even we get that! We want to know what he really says! Aren’t you supposed to understand animals?!?!” Rainbow exclaimed irritated by the fact that Fluttershy wasn’t still giving any explanation.
“But this is what I understood.” Fluttershy apologized intimidated.
Since Shadow couldn’t understand what exactly was going on, he looked interrogative at Nekuro who quietly said: “Meow.”
“It seems that for same strange reason I am the only one able to understand him.” Shadow explained embarrassed
“So you too can speak to animals, just like our Fluttershy!” Pinkie said excited. “Unfortunately no, I can understand only my Nekuro.” Shadow said timorously and continued “Anyway…. can I stay in Ponyville?”
“Why are you asking this to us?” Applejack wanted to know as she couldn’t understand the reason of that question.
“Well after all the trouble I caused, maybe you will not allow that.” explained Shadow with a weak smile.
The girls looked at Twilight as they were trying to lean the weight of the decision on her, Twilight caught off guard said: “Don’t worry; it has been an accident, right? I suppose that we can find a vacancy in town.” trying to act as cordial as possible.
“There’s no reason to worry about that.” Shadow replied “I’ve already seen an old house not far from the town that will be perfect.”
“Good, so everything is all right.” Rainbow stated.
“Actually, it needs a little work.” Shadow said looking at Applejack.
“So….?” Applejack asked already imagining what was going on.
“I’ve heard that the Apple are good manufacturers.” Shadow explained “I will pay, obviously.” He added right after.
“Really? How much? I don’t work for free, you know?” Applejack pricked since she would have liked earning something to help her family.
“My offer is one gold coin.” That was Shadow’s answer.
Now, considering that at the market someone could buy a box filled with apple with two copper coins and that a gold coin was equal to a hundred silver coins and so ten thousand copper coins, the Applejack’s astonishment for such an offer was pretty justified “What?!?” This was the only word he was able to yell.
“Isn’t enough?” Shadow asked worried to have offended her “Two coins are better?”
“No, no , one is more than enough.” Applejack laughed “Damn, for such an amount I would almost get into the Everfree Forest.”
“I’ve already made my offer of two coins.” said Shadow, then with a sharp smile added: “In any case I am happy for your affirmation, since the house is located at the edge of the forest.”
After a long moment of silence and disturbed look among the girls, they, almost simultaneusly exclaimed: “Whaaat?? Have you gone mad?”
“Do you have an idea of how dangerous is that place?” Rarity asked worried.
“Of course: chimeras, dragons, timberwolves; all things I’m not worried about’.” minimized Shadow.
The girls astonished by such bravery, or probably stupidity, didn’t know how to answer “If you say so…….” commented Rainbow after a while.
“Good, in this case we will see you tomorrow, Applejack.” Shadow said in conclusion.
After greeting one another everybody left Fluttershy’s house; Twilight and the other girls took the road to Ponyville.
“How fun! How fun! We will have a new fellow citizen, I have to organize everything!” Pinkie exclaimed excited starting running in order to have as much time as possible to organize the welcome party for Shadow.
“The same old Pinkie.” Twilight said to herself; then addressing to the others seriously said: “We should keep an eye on that guy, I don’t know why but I’m not convinced by him.”
Rarity and Rainbow nodded to Twilight’s warning, while Applejack was lost in her own happy thoughts “Two gold coins! It’s almost as much as I would earn with nine months of work!”
In the meanwhile Shadow and Nekuro were walking along the street that would have tken them to the hill where Shadow had fallen asleep the night before.
“Who had this brilliant idea?” Shadow asked bothered.
“Meow.” said Nekuro innocently.
“Yes, sure.” Shadow said understanding that Nekuro was behaving foolishly “It could end very badly, you know?”
“Meow?” Nekuro asked.
“They are a nice group: six nice girls, like the colors of the rainbow.” Shadow observed.
“Meow.” Nekuro giggled.
“And made of the same thighs?” echoed Shadow, not understanding what Nekuro meant, and then laughing out loud said: “I like this one.”
“Meow?” Nekuro asked with a malicious smile.
“You're in mood of joking today perhaps?” Shadow queried him “You know that it is impossible, how can I fall in love if I am heartless?”