The Adventures of Shadow Chaser: The Cutie Mark Crusaders in Marelantis

by RangerBeef

Chapter 5

Officer Berry picked me up from the ground.

“Sorry, Shadow. With the coal they use to power these trains that smoke can be pretty harmful.”

I coughed lightly, “Thanks, Officer Berry.”

We kept heading down the train cars, each one we passed looked to be in worse condition than the last. When Officer Berry slowed I looked around and what I saw forever imprinted on my mind. My father was laying half buried in debris. I rushed to him.

“Dad?” My voice wavered as I saw his eyes open slowly.

“Hey Shadow.” Even in what would be his final moments he smiled at me.

I looked around frantically, my mind beginning to race. “Dad, we’ve got to get you out of there. How are we gonna get all this stuff off of you?”

He coughed weakly. “Calm down, buddy. I’m not going anywhere. Just sit down and listen for a sec.”

My eyes began to water as I sat next to him. My voice was all but gone. “Okay, Dad.”

“You remember what I always told you, Shadow?”

I nodded as my tears began to flow. “Nothing worth having in this life comes easy.”

“That’s right. Now I want you to know something. After tonight, things are going to be a lot harder for you and your brother. You have to keep your head up and keep working hard, do you understand me?” I nodded and wiped my tears. “Good. Your mom and I worked hard to give you kids everything you would need and you’ve never disappointed us.

“I know you don’t have your cutie mark yet, son, but I know yours will fit you better than most. Whatever you find to be your true talent, you keep working to make yourself even better at it. You have a great amount of natural talent but that will only take you so far. You have to make sure you keep working to better yourself.” He shifted under the debris, groaning with pain.

“But what if everything goes wrong at once, Dad? What if life gets too hard for me to handle?”

He took my hoof in his. “Don’t be afraid to lean on your friends then. As much as you have to be strong, you can’t do everything alone. Lean on your friends when you need to and they’ll do the same. You keep each other moving forward.”

My crying had overtaken me. I could only nod and grasp his hoof as his grip on me loosened.

“I love you, Shadow.”

“I love you too, Dad.” My voice nearly inaudible as I held him tightly, but his grasp on me went soft. I pushed myself into his coat and just cried. I didn’t know what else to do. I wanted to just lay down and die next to him. I cried for what must have been fifteen minutes before I felt Officer Berry’s hoof on my shoulder.

“Come on, Shadow. I have to get you somewhere safe now.”

I resisted for a moment, trying to remain with my father but eventually consented and we went back to the carriage. I curled myself into a ball inside it and sat on the bench seat. My crying had stopped, for now. I was just out of tears. My heart ached. My head spun.

----------

“Shadow?”

The voice was familiar but cloudy. I roused slowly and found myself staring at the Captain. I looked around and recognized that it was nearly night time. I stared at him blankly for a moment as memories of my father lingered.

“Hey buddy, just wanted to know if you wanted some dinner before your shift. Cook’s not too much for midnight food.”

He spoke softly in the dimly lit room, not everyone was up and about yet. I wiped the sleep and tears from my eyes, hoping it was too dark for him to notice.

“Yea. Just let me get me wake up for a sec. I’ll meet you on deck and you can tell me where we’re headed.”

He nodded. “Alright, I’ll grab you a plate.”

He disappeared out the door and I noticed Aqua staring at me from across the room. I looked at the floor, hoping to avoid a conversation for the moment and took a few deep breaths to clear my mind. I needed to be on my best for sailing.

“Bad dream?” Aqua’s voice rose from her bunk but it didn’t sound unnecessarily loud.

I still gazed at the floor and nodded silently. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone, let alone someone I’d just met.

“That’s a good sign. The dreams, I mean. It means the memories you’re reliving won’t leave you for a long time.”

I spoke softly but clearly, still staring at the floor, “Well, what if I want to forget?”

“No one wants to forget anything. Not really. You might think you do. But you might also find that when that part of you is gone, you can never figure out what made you who you are today. It’s our whole lives that shape us. Our memories are simply there to remind us of all the things that had a real impact.” She spoke plainly and sweetly.

Her logic was not necessarily flawed but I felt it was naïve, though I was in no mood to argue with her.

“I guess you’re right,” I said, as I made my way out of the bay.

I loathed each step I had to take to get to the main deck. My body ached and my muscles were sore. Yesterday’s running around had finally caught up to me. I felt old and out of shape.

As I opened the door from below deck I welcomed the gentle sea breeze in my mane. The fresh air did me good and I was happy to have chosen the night shift. The cool night air suited me far better than the hot sunny days. Twilight joked that it was because I had a crush on Luna for saving me once before.

I looked up at the crow’s nest and saw Rainbow Dash still in place, though she appeared to be eating from a plate. Somepony must have brought her dinner. I whistled up to her and she waved down before going back to her meal.

Moving up to the wheel I greeted the Captain and was surprised to see Applejack still in place behind the wheel. Sitting in a chair the Captain had procured for me I ate slowly as he explained our route. Explaining exactly where we had come from, where we were currently, and where we wanted to be. We were making good time; the wind had been at our backs the entire way it seemed.

“So how’s she doing?” I asked through a mouthful of food, motioning to Applejack.

“She’s a natural. If she’d found boating before apples I guarantee she’d have a different cutie mark,” the Captain said, smiling widely. “She took to steering like a professional, and she can read a map better than most graduates of boating school.”

“Aw, shucks, Skip. Ah don’t know about all that. But ah sure do like it out here. Somethin’ peaceful about it. Like sleeping under an apple tree. It just feels right.” Applejack spoke as she stared at the horizon. She’d clearly found a new love in boating.

I looked at the Captain and spoke under my breath to Applejack couldn’t hear, “Did she just call you Skip? You don’t let anyone do that. Not even me.”

“Well, you’re not nearly as pretty as her.”

He winked at me and we both chuckled. It was nice to be back in friendly company and I rose from my chair.

“Guess I gotta go see my lady before I take over for you, AJ.”

“Take your time, sugarcube.”

I teleported up to Rainbow, who didn’t even bat an eye when I appeared next to her.

“Hey. See anything exciting today?”

“Nothing but a lot of water. Where were you all day? I thought we would have lunch together. I had to get the Captain to bring me a sandwich.” She looked mad but she was mostly hurt. She knew I wasn’t the type to just flake out on ponies.

“I’m going to be on the night shift. When the Captain has to turn in for the night, I’m going to be taking over for him.”

“You can steer this thing?” Her look of surprise made me chuckle. “I thought you hated water.”

“I do. That’s why I learned how to sail. It keeps me out of the water. Besides, after all the years I spent with the Captain I better know a thing or two. I’m not the best in the world, mind you, but I know my way around a ship.”

“Well, I wish you had told me. I would’ve volunteered to be on nights with you.”

“I’m sorry, Dash. But you found a good spot for yourself up here I thought you’d just be happy to work. Besides, we don’t need a night look out, since there’s nothing to see so it makes sense for our pegasus to be up here.”

She considered my statement and let her feelings pass. “I guess you’re right. But do you mind if I hang out with you a little tonight? I kinda missed you today.” Her voice trailed off on that last part but I let it go.

“Sure Dash. When the sun dips under the water you’re officially off duty. I’ll be at the helm all night so you know where to find me.” I gave her a quick kiss and teleported back down to the Captain and Applejack.

“Alright, AJ, I’m officially relieving you of steering duties,” I said in a faux announcement voice.

She relinquished the wheel but only after a bit of disappointment. “Ah reckon it would be a good time for some shuteye.”

“You and the girls are welcome to sleep in the Captain’s Quarters. I’ve already taken up a bunk down below,” the Captain said.

“That’s mighty kind of ya but ah can’t kick ya out of yer own bed.”

“Nonsense. You and the girls aren’t used to this kind of trip and it would be rude of me to force you below deck. Take it with my blessing.”

I rolled my eyes as I listened to him.

“Well, thank ya, Skip. I reckon you’re about the nicest pony ah’ve met in a long time.”

With that, Applejack crossed the ship and we saw her enter the Captain’s Quarters.

“Don’t hit on her too hard, buddy. She’ll buck you if she gets the wrong idea.”

“Buck?”

“She’ll ruin your day. And probably the mast of the ship.”

“Oh. Not to worry, though. I’ve been nothing but a gentlecolt to her. She really is quite the sailor. By the time we find
Marelantis and turn around you may have to fight her for the right to steer at night.”

We laughed but I knew he was telling the truth. The Captain was an excellent teacher to those willing to learn. Applejack had clearly been willing, as had I, in the beginning. Everything I knew I’d been taught by the Captain. And if Applejack was progressing that quickly then she’d definitely make a fine captain herself.

I waved good night to the Captain, as he made his way below deck, and was soon after joined by Rainbow Dash. Our conversation was light hearted. We spoke of what we wanted to see when we got to Marelantis, what were mermares like, and everything in between. I could tell Rainbow had something on her mind because she kept staring at me. She was simply working up the courage to ask.

“How come you never told me about your brother?” She looked away after she asked and I stared off to the horizon.

“He and I have a complicated past.” I trailed off, not quite knowing how to tell this story. Rainbow finally looked at me and her eyes gave me confidence. “Did I ever tell you how I got my cutie mark?”

She looked confused for a moment before finally shaking her head and letting me tell my story.

“When I was just a filly, both my parents died. I was able to speak to my father but my mother died in the hospital on my way there. By the time anyone had told my brother they were already dead. I don’t know why but he always seemed to hate that I got to speak to my father before he passed. I don’t know if it was jealousy or just anger at the loss of our parents, but he seemed to hold me responsible.

“We’d been staying with a friend of our parents for a while when one day we woke up and found that he’d run away in the night. I remember feeling like the whole thing was my fault. My fault that he’d run away. After losing my parents he was all I had and when he ran away it broke my heart even further.

“I decided to go look for him. I found out from his friends that he’d been talking about going to Bridle Shores Bay because that was as far as he could afford to go. So I followed him. I ran away too. When I finally got to the city I got hopelessly lost. No one wanted to listen to a filly. Not even one who was looking for his brother and all alone. I started to think I would never find him. And then I met Daisy.”

“Who’s Daisy?”

“The very same mare that helped me find my brother when we were in Bridle Shores. She helped me way back then too. Gave me a warm bed to sleep in for the night and the next day she gave me a direction to look for my brother. With her help, I found him. I found him in the same bar that I found him in yesterday.

“He was sitting in a back room and talking to a bunch of other colts. I heard him say that he felt better in Bridle Shores. That he only had a blank-flank brat of a baby brother to go home to and that he could care less about me.

“I left the bar after I’d heard that. I didn’t want to see him anymore. I didn’t want him in my life. When I walked away, that was when my cutie mark showed up. Just a little detective’s hat. I figured out my special talent was finding people who didn’t want to be found.

“That’s why I never told you about him.” I looked down to see Rainbow asleep on the deck next to me. I could only smile at her.

I whistled down to Aqua and in a hushed voice asked her to bring me a blanket. As she came up the stairs she saw Rainbow and instinctively put the blanket over her. I gave her a nod and she went back to her duties.

As I stood and steered the ship I suddenly saw the image of myself flash in my mind. I looked down to see Rainbow Dash curling into the blanket and smiling. Awake or not, she had heard my story and she understood. I smiled down at her as we sailed onward into the night.

Comments

[DaMagiks]

More dream! Poor Shadow's had such a tragic past.
(No wonder he doesn't want Dash to know everything)
His last moments with his father is the stuff of tearjerkers and I liked how his father had faith in him but also realized that someone can only get so far alone without the help of others.
Of course his father (and mother) would be deeply saddened to know that now their oldest son is a for hire criminal trying to kill his own brother.

This Aqua one better not steal him from Dash
(I can understand her point of view though)

(Now you have me wanting to see how Luna saved him)

I love AJ's development : how she finds out that she's a natural with boats and how she's bonding with the Captain (really cute)

Aww his cutie mark story is really sad, he lost the last of his family to a petty grudge that wasn't even his fault. (I think filly is a young female horse though, it should be colt).
(Good backstory with Daisy too)

At least he has friends this time on his case and I can't wait for more mystery and adventure.

Phew finally caught up on everything!
I should be able to read the new chapters hopefully as they come out now.

[RangerBeef]

877793 When I wrote the part with Shadow and his dad I was almost in tears. Glad it was a tear jerking for you as it was for me.

Glad you're liking it. I'm going on vacation this week so the next chapter might take a while. I promise to get it up as soon as I can.

[TwitchaTwitch86]

MORE!!!!