Past Actions, Future Consequences

by Rill

Ch. 18 Past Actions, Future Consequences

Lieutenant Scorch leaned back, the relative coolness of the fireplace's brick wall a welcome contrast to the heat from the blazing log above him. Stretching, the sprite officer smiled as he settled in. Outside of his hiding place, a lone mare lay on a rug spread across the wooden floor, a thick blanket wrapped around most of her frame. Above her, the darkened window rattled slightly as the wind sent a wall of snow into the side of the small home. The lone Sprite shuddered. How any creature could survive, let alone live, where the temperature routinely got cold enough for water to freeze solid was beyond him. Next to her, a young filly played with a set of wooden blocks, babbling incoherently, before squealing in delight as she sent her block tower tumbling to the floor with a swipe of her hoof. The lieutenant couldn't help but smile even more at the simple scene. It reminded him a lot of home, watching his sisters grow up, how they acted just like this filly when they were her age, though their toy blocks had a tendency of winding up partially melted. Just beyond the hidden officer's view, he could hear the sounds from the kitchen die down as the home's lone stallion finished cleaning up dinner. A couple minutes later, the grey and black earth pony stallion hobbled into the larger room, a hoof wrapped solidly around a wooden mug. The lone Sprite watched as the stallion set the mug next to his wife before joining her under the blanket as he lay down next to her; only to become the center of the filly's world as the young pony suddenly found her father more interesting than her blocks.

“How are you doing?”

“I'm fine” The mare said, sipping from her mug.

“Sure you are” The stallion said as his daughter started to climb across his back. “You haven't been fine since Ascension Day.”

“I know… It's just...” The pink maned mare gazed at the fire. “I can't stop thinking about what happened, about what their final minutes were like.”

For a while, the room fell silent as the stallion comforted his wife, the snap of the burning logs and their daughter's cooing the only things breaking that silence “How are the expansion plans coming along?” The stallion eventually asked.

“Alright; the mayor has been particularly helpful.”

“I'll say. I can't remember the last time that old miser was so willing to spend so much silver before. I've even heard a rumor that the library is next.”

The lone scout frowned. He knew of the pony they were talking about. He had spent a week watching the older stallion, and to call the pony a bit pincher would have been an understatement. That stallion had turned frugality into an art. Leaving his spot, the lieutenant crawled through the glowing cinders that littered the floor of the fireplace, coming to a halt just inside the wall of flames that separated the fire from the rest of the world. Outside, he could hear the two ponies talking, but he paid little attention to them. Why would the mayor spend money so readily? When he and the other scouts had been given their assignment, General Cinder had made it clear that this mare was involved in the incident early the previous year, but that she wasn't the one who had orchestrated it. Likewise, the town's librarian was involved as well, though his role in everything was probably less than the teacher's. From where he lay, the sprite watched the blue and pink mare. Despite her best efforts, he could clearly see the stress eating at her, the bags under her eyes told him she hadn't been sleeping well for some time. Why would the mayor get so involved with these two?

Because he's in on it.

The single thought rocked the lone scout as a bunch of mental puzzle pieces fell into place. Groaning to himself, the hidden officer slowly backed away from the edge of the fire. It all made sense. From what little he had seen, the lieutenant knew that the ponies in this town lived in a highly stratified society, and that even though she was an earth pony, the town's teacher didn't hold enough sway over the unicorn librarian to get him to alter that spell, but the mayor on the other claw…

Reaching his original hiding place, the sprite took one last look at the small family before leaping into the half incinerated log. The general would have to be informed immediately.

General Cinder listened as the lieutenant made his report. As he listened, the older Sprite tried to mentally poke holes in the younger officer's arguments, but found that he couldn't. They made too much sense. Sighing as the scout finished, the general closed his eyes to think. “Good work, Lieutenant” He said after a moment. “I'd like you to get back to your post and keep an eye on the teacher.”

“Of course, sir. What about the mayor?”

“I'll be assigning a few more scouts so that these two are never out of our sight.” Returning the lieutenant's salute, the older officer watched the scout leave. As the door closed, the general leaned back in his chair, mentally replaying everything he'd just heard. I must be getting old the sprite mused to himself. I would have figured this out a lot sooner when I was the lieutenant's age. Pushing back on his chair, the lone officer stood, looking at a nearby clock as he did. He'd have to check with Celestia and see if she could get any information out of the colt, but in his gut, the general knew that the mayor was the one most involved. If that's the case, then I can't wait to meet him...

---

The air around Ponyville was alive with excitement. On the ground, ponies trotted about, many with an extra spring in their step, as they went about their duties. In the air, the town’s pegasi flitted about as they dispersed the clouds that had been covering the town for the last several months, or helped direct the different species of birds that were starting to arrive after flying from the south.

Above it all, Shadow hovered on a gentle breeze that had been set up to help disperse the town’s cloud cover. Angling his wings, the young alicorn gained altitude as he soared over one of the numerous farm fields that surrounded the town. Against the dark brown of the dirt, he could see earth ponies and unicorns working side by side as they worked to remove the excess snow blanketing the ground. Not far behind them, teams of ponies followed, pulling strange contraptions that tilled the earth, planted seeds and covered them in one pass. Silently, the colt was glad that he was so far above everypony else. Being this high meant that nopony would see the utter confusion that had filled him since he had first heard about the whole idea of ponies wrapping up winter. Why did ponies need to wrap up winter when everything would eventually take care of itself? To the colt’s chagrin, he had made the small mistake of asking that very question during class the previous week when Cheerilee had been talking about the yearly event. The utter silence that had immediately followed, along with the looks from his teacher and classmates, had left the young alicorn more than a little uncomfortable.

The discussion that had followed after everypony had gotten over their shock had been less enlightening than he had hoped. It seemed that nopony knew why ponies had to wrap up winter. Even Twilight didn’t seem to know why ponies had to be involved. When they asked him what ponies did where he was from, Shadow had to explain that there was no need for the island’s residents to get involved, since nature took care of itself for the most part. The colt also explained that the most involved that ponies from his hometown got with helping the seasons change was to band together to clear away the snow that would avalanche into the gap that the town’s only road out ran through. He had gotten more than a few oohs and awws when he had played a short illusion of one such avalanche that he had witnessed a year earlier, along with what it had taken to clear it away. What he had left out was that this was one of the few times when everypony seemed to set their differences aside, if only for a while, which only made watching a unicorn and earth pony working side by side while joking and laughing all the more interesting for the colt.

Shaking his head at the memory, the colt tilted his wings, banking away from the field. The equestrians’ seeming need to control nearly all aspects of nature baffled the young colt. From when the birds migrated south and when they returned, to the very weather, it seemed that one could find ponykind’s hoofprint on everything. In the distance, Shadow could see large chunks of ice gently bobbing along the surface of the town’s lakes like giant ice cubes. Laughing to himself at the comparison, the airborne alicorn let himself slowly shed altitude as he soared over the town and its surrounding land, silently observing everything below him.

Passing over the edge of town, Shadow couldn’t help but be amazed at the ingenuity of some of the town’s residents. With everything that needed to be done, it was no surprise that everypony who could help would be needed, which was a small problem for residents with children who were too young to help their parents. That problem had been solved by setting up an impromptu daycare at Ponyville’s main park. Besides the ever present swing set and jungle gym, somepony had had the bright idea of bringing in some of the clouds that needed to be busted, allowing Ponyville’s young ground-bound fliers a chance to walk and play with clouds, which was apparently a first for some of them. To the surprise of probably no pony, the clouds proved to be of immense interest to all of the young foals.

Chuckling at the sight of dozens of younger kids playing on or in the clouds, Shadow turned toward Ponyville. Below he spotted a hoof-full of lone clouds that had been left behind by somepony. Smiling, the colt tucked in his wings. Feeling the wind whip past him as he dove, Shadow blinked the tears out of his eyes. At the last moment, the young alicorn extended his wings, slowing himself down while also sending himself into a barrel roll at the same time. In the blink of an eye, the colt had blasted through the first two clouds, reducing them to nothing but vapor and memories. Pulling up, he threw himself into the third cloud, which broke into multiple pieces moments later. Standing himself on his left wing, Shadow banked hard to the left, aiming for the fourth and final cloud, which was by far the largest that had been left behind. With a laugh, the colt slammed into the cloud back first, his mind barely registering the cloud’s slight resistance before he came barreling out the other side. Regaining control, Shadow looked back, not even bothering to try and contain his laughter as he spotted the alicorn-shaped hole that he had left behind.

“Not bad kid, though it’s still intact.” Getting a hold of himself, the colt looked above him as Rainbow Dash came to a hover. As they watched, a few small lumps of fluff floated off the cloud. “Well… mostly intact” Rainbow amended a moment later.

Pulsing his horn, the young alicorn’s smile grew as the small shield bubble he had placed in the cloud silently detonated, reducing the lone cloud to vapor a heartbeat later. “What about now?” Shadow asked, looking back up at the mare.

“…Never mind.” Shaking her head as she got a hold of herself, the rainbow-maned flier turned to her young companion “Not that I’m complaining about you having fun with cleaning up our mess, but aren’t you helping Twilight?”

“I am” Shadow replied as he eyed a few stray cloud puffs. “She wanted to know how everypony was doing and I volunteered to take a quick look.”

Rainbow Dash nodded at the colt’s explanation. “So what do you think of Winter Wrap-up so far?”

“I have no complaints.”

“Especially since it means a four day weekend?”

“Like I said; I have no complaints.” Shadow replied, the smirk on his face matching his companion’s. Lowering his gaze slightly, the alicorn frowned at the sight of a number of small objects heading toward them. The frown was replaced with a smile a moment later as he recognized the stallion in the lead. “Looks like we got incoming” He said, pointing a hoof to the south.

“About bucking time” Rainbow muttered as she surveyed the flight of pegasi. “Fluttershy’s been getting nervous wondering where all the birds were.” Glancing over to Shadow, she could see the colt’s wings twitching. “You want to go meet them?”

“Sure, if you want to tell Twilight that the north fields are done and the western and southern fields should be done by the end of the day.”

“Sure thing; see ya later kid” Rainbow Dash replied, tossing Shadow a lazy salute before turning to glide into the area in front of the town hall where Twilight had set up what more than a few of the town’s residents had come to refer to as her ‘command center’.

Watching the colorful athlete fly off, Shadow turned to the south, pumping his wings as he put as much speed as he could into his flight. Slowing down a dozen minutes later, the colt gently banked, reversing his line of flight as he slowly lost altitude to slip next to Thunderlane, who was at the head of the formation.

“How’s everything in town, Shadow?”

“Almost wrapped up” the young alicorn said between breaths. “Planting is almost done, and all that’s really left is for you guys to finish your job.” The colt shot Rumble’s older brother a mischievous look “Which is probably why Twilight and the mayor decided to hold off on setting up the refreshments until this afternoon. If they hadn’t, your group probably wouldn’t have gotten any.”

“Refreshments?”

“Eyup” Shadow’s smile grew as he saw that everypony’s attention was now on him. It was an idea the town’s two most responsible mares had developed shortly after the previous year’s wrap-up. Officially, it was a way to thank everypony for all of their hard work, while unofficially being a low-key party to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Twilight had talked to Applejack, who had been more than happy to set aside a dozen barrels of cider for the event. Of course, the real challenge had been Pinkie Pie. The moment the overly energetic mare had heard of the plan, she had all but demanded to cater the event. While the mayor and Twilight had no problem with that, it had taken both mares a considerable amount of time to convince Pinkie to keep the affair more low-key than her parties normally were. For her part, the pink party planner had spent the last two days baking.

“You hear that everypony?” Thunderlane called out “The sooner we get back home, the sooner we can party!” As if by unspoken agreement, everypony seemed to surge ahead slightly.

“Mind if I help?”

“Not at all.”

Rolling onto his back, Shadow looked at the hundreds of birds following behind Thunderlane and his group. “Alright; anybird going to Fluttershy’s, follow me.” Tossing a salute to the flight’s lead stallion, Shadow banked away. Looking behind him, he could see dozens of birds working to keep up. Not in any particular hurry, the colt slowed his pace slightly, smiling at the dozens of chirps in thanks that he heard behind him. Enjoying the slight cross breeze, the alicorn locked his wings a few minutes later, setting himself into a gentle glide as he soared over the small creek that ran in front of Fluttershy’s cottage. Barely passing over the cottage’s roof, the colt banked, bringing himself in for a landing. Trotting to bleed off the last bit of momentum, Shadow ruffled his wings before tucking them into his side. Walking around the house’s side, the lone colt stepped up to the cottage’s front door, gently rapping a hoof against it a moment later.

“H-hello…” Shadow barely managed to keep the amused eye roll in check. Ever since he had first met the pink-maned pegasus, he had been fascinated by her. For all his life, every pegasus he had known had fit the pegasus stereotype of being energetic, athletic, brash and loud. This mare was the exact opposite of everything that he had expected and that drastic difference appealed to the colt. So much so in fact, that he found himself hanging around her cottage more often than he would have expected. “Oh, hello Shadow. What brings you here?” In response, Shadow extended a wing, a cardinal and blue jay landing on it a second later. Seeing the older mare smile, the colt stepped back, allowing Fluttershy to step outside to see the dozens of birds resting in the trees around her home. “Thank you for bringing them home.”

“No big deal” Shadow said as he glanced at all of the birds around them. “Are you coming to the party?”

“Probably not” Fluttershy said as a couple birds landed on her back and head.

“Pity. Still, I’m sure Pinkie will stop by later with something for you.”

“Probably” Fluttershy replied. “Would you like something to drink?”

“I’m good”. It was a small lie. While he was thirsty, the young alicorn had heard too much about Sweet Apple Acre’s cider to want to risk not having enough room for the famed drink. Bobbing his head in respect to the mare, the colt leaped into the air, his wings quickly carrying him above the tops of the trees. Catching a breeze just above the trees, the ground quickly fell away as Shadow shot into the air. Closing his eyes, the young flier savored the feeling of the cool air passing over his coat and through his mane. While it was a sensation he had felt often enough on the ground, there was something about feeling it while being so far above the ground that made it all the more pleasing in the colt’s opinion.

Opening his eyes, Shadow quickly noticed that he had somehow drifted over the Everfree Forest. Below him, the famous forest was still in the bitter grip of winter. Where patches of snow were a now rare exception in and around Ponyville, the exact opposite was the case within the foreboding woods’ boundaries. From above, the burned out husks of the forest’s trees stood out in stark relief against the brilliant white of the snow that blanketed the Everfree’s floor. Shuddering as a number of unpleasant memories bubbled to the surface of his mind, the lone alicorn banked sharply, changing his course until Ponyville was before him and the Everfree was behind.

As he flew, Shadow couldn’t help but think about the town before him that had practically become a second home for him. Here, he could be who he was. He didn’t have to hide what he was from everypony. Everypony knew what he was, and after a few weeks had treated him like having wings and a horn wasn’t out of the ordinary. On top of that, within a month of starting school, he had more friends than he ever had back home, and they treated him like another regular pony. He could fly with his pegasi friends, help his unicorn friends with their magic and as for his earth pony friends… Shadow slowed to a halt in the air as he thought about those three words. Back home, the very idea of becoming friends with an earth pony, much less more than one, had been beyond laughable to him. Why would he want to associate with plot-hole dirt kickers who routinely used their subjugation under Star Trail as an excuse to use and abuse their fellow pegasi and unicorns? If somepony had told him that he’d count a number of earth ponies as his friends, he would have laughed in their face. Now… Now isn’t the time to think about this Shadow chided himself. Even if everypony accepts you, even if this is the most accepting town in the world, it isn’t home and it never will be.

It was a feeling that had been at the back of his mind ever since he had gotten out of the hospital. Everypony had been so warm and welcoming. At first, it was something he had somewhat expected. He had been injured in the fire. He had nearly died saving the lives of four of the town’s citizens. Of course ponies would be nice to him, and yet… Yet even after his feathers had grown back in and his burns had scarred over and were later covered by his regrown coat, everypony still smiled at him. They treated him like he was one of them, like he was a citizen of the town and always had been. It had been a shock to the young orphan. At first, he had thought that he’d never get used to it, and yet he eventually had. Now, if somepony treated him otherwise, instead of assuming that they were being a typical earth pony, he’d wonder what their problem was.

Sighing as he again had to adjust his course; the young alicorn frowned as he spotted a dark object heading toward the town from the north. Groaning as his wings protested, the colt banked slightly as he pumped his wings as he flew toward the incoming object. Several minutes outside the edge of Ponyville, Shadow felt his already rapidly beating heart suddenly beat faster. In the distance, he could see a dark blue and black carriage drawing closer, its owner known to everypony in Equestria and especially in Ponyville. Unable to hide his smile, Shadow put everything he had into his wings, closing the distance as rapidly as he could before throwing himself into a hard turn to reverse his course and join the carriage and its owner on its flight to Ponyville.

Waving a hoof, Shadow’s smile threatened to split his face as Princess Luna waved back before gesturing for him to come closer. Angling his wings, the young alicorn quickly pulled alongside the darker alicorn “Afternoon Princess.”

“Good afternoon, Shadow. It is good to see you again.”

“What brings you to Ponyville?”

“Business, unfortunately. How do things go in town?”

“Winter Wrap-up is on schedule. Does Twilight know you’re coming?”

“No. There are some things we need to discuss with her” Luna said “and you as well” she added.

“Fates know Twilight’s going to freak when she sees you” A smile slowly grew as an idea quickly formed in his mind. “Hey Princess, want to have a little fun?”

Luna smirked at the predatory smile on the colt’s face. She didn’t need to be over a thousand years old to see where the young alicorn’s train of thought was heading. “What exactly do you have in mind?”

Shadow’s horn glowed as he called upon one of his favorite spells while he explained his plans “…You’ll know when the time is right.” Smiling to himself, the colt silently thanked the two thestrals pulling the Lunar Princess’s carriage as they slowed down to fall in behind him. Passing over the edge of Ponyville, the colt led the now hidden princess in a wide loop around the town, partly so she could see how everything was going, but also so they could hide her carriage. Angling his wings, Shadow locked himself into a gentle glide, his hooves hitting the ground a minute later. Behind him, he could hear the crunch of gravel as four wheels hit the ground. Looking behind him, he listened as the carriage squeaked as his princess got off and her escorts unhitched themselves. As he watched, the carriage slowly materialized as Luna and her guards approached him.

“Lead on.”

Bowing his head and smiling, Shadow turned and trotted toward the town hall. Glancing behind him, the only indication that there was anypony with him was the sound of hooves crushing gravel. It had taken several months, but with some help from Twilight, Shadow had managed to improve his invisibility spell to the point where a pony didn’t have to worry about possibly being noticed unless they started galloping.

“There you are!” Jumping, Shadow looked up at Rainbow Dash as she came to land next to him. “Twilight’s been wondering where you were and I was about to go searching for you.” Shadow smiled as he thought about what was about to come. “Okay. You got something planned, don’t you?”

“Maybe…”

“Who’s your target?”

“Watch and see…” Rounding Ponyville’s town hall, Shadow could see that Twilight had somehow managed to add another table to her command center since the last time he had been there.

Before he could say anything, Ponyville’s resident princess looked up. “There you are! Where have you been?”

“I helped deliver a bunch of birds to Fluttershy’s.”

“You did?” Seeing the colt nod, the purple alicorn ticked off a box on a rather lengthy scroll. “Once the southern and western fields are planted, winter should be officially wrapped up.”

“That is very good to hear, Princess.” Everypony nearby jumped at the easily recognized voice.

Igniting his horn, Shadow dispelled the shield cloaking the dark alicorn and her guards. “Oh yeah, I also ran into Princess Luna on the way here.”

“P-Princess?!” Around them, everypony bowed to the younger Royal Sister; except Rainbow Dash. She had fallen to the ground laughing as soon as everyone had reacted to the princess’s voice.

“Princess Luna, it is truly an honor for you to grace our town with your presence. If I had known, we would have arranged a more appropriate reception.” The town’s mayor said, casting a glare at Twilight, then Rainbow Dash as she spoke.

“It is alright madam Mayor. In truth, I hadn’t planned on coming, but circumstances and some royal business decided otherwise, not that I am complaining.”

“O-of course, Princess. Perhaps once your business is concluded you would like to join us at the Winter Wrap-up party we have planned.”

“It would be my pleasure.” Nodding her head toward the grey-maned mare, the princess turned to Twilight who had been watching nervously nearby. “Princess, perhaps we could talk someplace more private.”

“Of course Princess” Breaking into a trot, Twilight led the princess and her guards to her home. Silently, Shadow fell into step a couple paces behind the darker alicorn and her two escorts. “What brings you to Ponyville” Twilight asked a couple minutes later as Shadow closed the castle’s door behind him.

Luna didn’t immediately answer. Instead, he horn glowed as she cast a barrier around the castle’s ground floor. The room’s other two alicorns quickly noted that the barrier would block any sound they made. Moving to a nearby chair, the princess gestured for Shadow and Twilight to join her. “There was a recent development regarding young Shadow here.” Turning her head, the princess looked at the colt in question “How well do you know the mayor of your hometown?”

“Personally? Not at all” Shadow replied. “I might have talked to him once or twice, but he usually talked to my dad.”

The princess seemed to pause as she thought about his answer. “How would you describe him?”

“Generally fair, all things considered.” Shadow leaned back as he thought about his Princess’s question. What did he have to do with anything? “Pretty much like the mayor here, except more of a silver pincher. Why?”

“We got an unexpected visit from General Cinder last night. Ever since our meeting in Canterlot a couple months ago, the general has had agents watching the mayor, as well as your former teacher and several other ponies in your hometown. Sometime last night, your teacher mentioned expansion plans.”

Shadow nodded. “There had been talk of expanding the school for years.”

“In her conversation, it was also mentioned that the town library was next.”

“About time. What does this have to do with me?”

“At first glance? Nothing, but in her conversation, your teacher’s husband referred to the mayor as ‘that old miser’ and you just described him as a ‘silver pincher’.”

“So why would such a notorious bit pincher suddenly spend so much?”

Luna looked over at Twilight “Exactly. How would you describe your hometown’s librarian?” She added, turning to Shadow.

The colt leaned back, crossing his front legs over his chest. “There are plenty of ways I could describe him, though I wouldn’t repeat half of them in polite company.”

“If you had to…”

“Plot-head. Jerk. Close-minded, book-obsessed sun-lover… Hay, the bastard slapped me with a lifetime ban for something I didn’t do.”

“Are there any books on magic in the library?” Seeing the miffed colt nod, Luna continued “Would he willingly do anything to those books?”

Shadow opened his mouth to answer, but paused. Something wasn’t adding up. Why would the mayor suddenly go on a spending spree? There had been talk about expanding the school for years, but he had always responded that it was large enough. He had always said more or less the same thing when it came to the town’s library. Would he willingly do anything to those books? The princess’s question bounced around the colt’s head. Almost on instinct, he had said no, but the more he thought about it, the more Shadow wondered. The old librarian was known to be extremely protective of his books, but the one thing that he probably obsessed over more than his collection was where it was housed. He had fought for years to expand the library, and the numerous arguments he had had with the mayor had left more than a little bad blood between the two stallions. Why would the mayor suddenly give into that manure-eater’s wishes?

“That fucking bastard” Shadow whispered as his mind slowly connected the dots.

“Excuse me?”

The lone colt looked up at Luna, his rising anger barely kept in check. “He’s involved. They’re all involved!” Hearing Twilight open her mouth, Shadow looked over at her. “Think about it. Why would the mayor spend that much silver all of the sudden if he’s been avoiding it for years?” Sighing, the young orphan leaned back as he focused on getting rising anger under control. “You two know about my home’s history when it comes to alicorns. Put yourself in the mayor’s chair. Imagine if one day you found out that one of your residents happens to be an alicorn in disguise. How would you react?”

“Fear” Luna said a moment later. “If I were in his position, I’d want to deal with that kind of threat at once.”

“Now how would you deal with a young alicorn who is well known around town as having a talent for magic?” Looking at the two princesses, Shadow answered himself “Give him something he couldn’t resist, like a book of advanced spells. The only problem is, the one spell that will most likely solve your problem is clearly labeled with a warning explicitly saying to not attempt it. No problem. You’re the mayor. You control the town’s purse strings. Talk to the librarian, make a promise or two, and suddenly that warning disappears. Now you just need to get it into the little half-breed’s hooves.”

“So you promise his teacher to move forward with expanding the school if she helps you” Twilight said, seeing where Shadow was going.

“That is most troubling” Luna said. “Unfortunately, the general came to the same conclusion.”

“So what now?”

The younger Royal Sister sighed at Twilight’s question. “For the moment, the sprites are holding back, but only because I told the general that I wanted to deal with the pony responsible for all of this trouble myself.” Turning to look at Shadow, the princess’s face softened. “As much as I wish it was otherwise, I could use your help.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Of course. While I could complete my mission without you, it would go a lot smoother and probably much quicker if I had you by my side to guide me.”

Shadow groaned. He didn’t want to go. There was nothing but pain and misery waiting for him back home and he would have had no problem avoiding it entirely. Yet he hadn’t said no. While every instinct in him screamed to not go, they were drowned out by the fact that Princess Luna was asking him for his help. Could he really turn her down? Sighing in resignation, Shadow whispered “I’m in.”

Shadow sat alone at the table, his chin resting on the table’s top as he watched everypony around him. Around the park, the town’s residents chatted and laughed. In the background, the colt could hear the high pitched screams and laughs of foals as they played on the park’s jungle gym. A couple tables away, he could see Princess Luna talking with the mayor. What it was about, Shadow didn’t know, and he couldn’t have cared any less. Sighing, the young alicorn closed his eyes, trying to focus on the mid-afternoon sunlight and the warmer temperatures that had come as a welcome change from the winter they had just wrapped up.

Why had he said yes? Luna knew he didn’t want to go back. She had made that clear by giving him a way out, and yet he had gone against everything he wanted to do, and had said yes. He had said yes to going back to the one place that he didn’t want to go. Why? Was he that unable to say no to her? Did Luna know that? Was she counting on that when she had asked him? Growling, the colt mentally blasted the treasonous thought into oblivion.

Overhead, Shadow could hear a pair of wings beating as their owner came in to land next to him. The colt didn’t even twitch his ears at the sound. He didn’t need to. Simply from the way the wings beat the air, Shadow knew who was about to join him. After all, of all the fliers he knew, only Equestria’s greatest flier could be this obvious. “Hey Rainbow” Shadow murmured as he heard hooves hit the ground.

“Hey yourself” The mare said as she set a wooden mug of steaming cider next to the colt “drink.” It wasn’t a request. Picking his head off of the table, Shadow ignited his horn. Bringing the mug to his lips, the colt sampled the cider. Seconds later, he set the drained mug back on the table, his belch catching several nearby ponies off guard “Heh. Though you might like it” Rainbow said as she worked on her mug at a slower pace. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“That might work on some ponies, but not me, Shadow.” Rainbow said, setting her mug aside. “When Princess Luna arrived, you were smiling and using her to prank Twilight. Then you and Twilight go to that meeting with her and the next time I see you, you look like… well… like this” She added, gesturing to the colt, who had returned to the same position he had been in when she had arrived.

Shadow sighed. Of all the ponies who had noticed his mood, she was the first to ask him about it. Sure, Apple Bloom and the others had asked him what was wrong, but had decided to leave him alone when he had said that he didn’t want to talk about it. He should have known that Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be so easily discouraged. Watching as everypony around them celebrated the end of winter and the beginning of spring; Shadow related everything that the princess had told him and Twilight. “I knew that my teacher was involved, but now I know why she did it.”

For a while, the rainbow-maned mare remained silent. “I wish I knew what to say” She said after a while. “I’d offer to join you and Twilight, but I have a Wonderbolt training camp that I have to attend.”

“Thanks” Shadow replied, knowing that she meant what she said, “but I’m glad you can’t come. Truth be told, I don’t want to go.”

“And yet you are.”

“And yet I am.”

The two sat in silence for a while, watching life go on around them. “If it’s any consolation, you won’t be going alone. Since the princess is going, that means she’s going to have a bunch of guards with her. Twilight and Spike are going as well, which means that you got two alicorns, a company of Royal Guards and a dragon backing you up. Who in their right mind would be stupid enough to try something with that at your back?”

“I suppose” Shadow said, a smile slowly growing on his face. He could only imagine the looks on certain ponies’ faces when he saw them again.

“Don’t worry, kid” Rainbow said, wrapping a leg around the colt’s shoulders “you’ll be fine.”

“…Thanks.”

---

Cheerilee couldn’t help but smile at the pounding of excited young hooves on well-worn floorboards as her students bolted for the school’s exit. In truth, she didn’t blame them. Normally, she’d chastise them for running in the schoolhouse, but she held her tongue. School let out for the summer only once a year, after all. She remembered her foalhood quite well, and she could still fondly remember every time this day came around; how she’d rush out of school with her friends, plans for the long summer months already on their minds. Having been a teacher for several years now, the mare was well aware of how her teachers must have felt as well. Sighing, the town’s lone teacher surveyed her domain. All of the walls had been cleared, the windows cleaned, the floors and bookcases swept and dusted. In a few minutes, she’d have twelve weeks all to herself, with not a test or scrap of homework needing grading in sight. All she needed to do was usher her newest student out and she could start planning her trip to Whinnypeg.

Cheerilee froze midway through packing her saddlebags. Looking out from her desk, she could see that Shadow was still there. In fact, he was still in his seat, his attention focused on something off in the distance. The mulberry pony frowned. She had noticed a change in the colt shortly after Winter Wrap-up. Instead of his slightly reserved but otherwise friendly demeanor, he had seemed to retreat back into himself. She had found it increasingly difficult to get the colt to join in when it came to group activities and, like now, had found him off in his own world on more than a few occasions.

She couldn’t blame him. After she had noticed the change in him, she had gone to talk with Twilight. The young princess had told Cheerilee about what they had recently learned and what was planned. Setting her last few items aside for a moment, the teacher quietly walked over to the desk next to Shadow’s. Lowering herself into the seat next to his, she gently lay her hoof on his shoulder, which elicited an almost immediate yelp as the young alicorn jumped at the unexpected contact. The startled colt looked around before slowly focusing on his teacher. Cheerilee couldn’t help but smile as Shadow’s ears slowly pinned themselves against the back of his head. “It’s nice to have you back” She said, chuckling “Though it’s a little late. Everypony else has already left.”

Shadow looked around, finally seeming to notice how alone they were “Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s alright. You’ve been more than a little distracted lately, and considering everything, it’s quite understandable. I’d probably feel the same if I was in your position.” Getting up, she trotted to her desk. Stuffing everything into her bags, she trotted back to her waiting student a moment later. Gesturing, she watched as the colt gathered his things before joining her on the final walk to the door. “I won’t say I know what it’s like to be in your position” Cheerilee said as she locked the schoolhouse for the summer before turning to leave. “I can’t begin to imagine what you’ve been through. I’ve heard some things from Twilight and you’ve mentioned some stuff as well, but I’ll be honest; every time I think about what I’ve heard you’ve been through, I shudder to think about how I’d react in your place. I know you’re worried and I don’t blame you, but I think you should keep something in mind.” She turned to her lone student “Even though you’re nervous about what lies ahead, you will have plenty of friends with you. Not only are Princesses Luna and Twilight coming with you, but Twilight told me that her brother and Princess Cadance are joining as well. On top of that, you will be traveling with Royal and Night Guard escorts.” Stopping in the middle of the road that led to the school, she looked at her young companion “I don’t know what lies out there, but what I do know is that if there’s anything or anypony who wants to get you, they’ll have to go through everypony around you first.”

Next to her, her words seemed to have their desired effect on the colt as Shadow’s ears slowly perked up while a small smile grew on his face. “I’d keep trotting with you, but I think a certain group of fillies have their own plans for you.” Just down the road, both teacher and student could see the most infamous trio of fillies in Ponyville waiting for them. “See you in the fall Shadow.”

“See you then, Ms. Cheerilee” Shadow replied, though his enthusiasm betrayed his true feelings.

Watching as his teacher trotted away, Shadow sighed to himself. If anything, he didn’t feel like spending time around anypony. He had a few hours left until he, Twilight and Spike had to catch the overnight train to Canterlot, yet he knew his desire to be alone was not to be. He may have known the Crusaders for only a few months, but he had quickly learned that when they were determined to do something, nothing short of the princesses or their family could stop them. Slowly stepping off from where he stood, the young alicorn quickly found himself joined by his three friends.

“So, how long until your train leaves?”

“A couple hours” Shadow replied to Sweetie Belle.

“Ya got any plans?” Shadow shook his head. “Good, ‘cuz we do.” With that, the three friends surrounded their newest friend, effectively cutting off any chance the colt had of escaping. As he was led into town, Shadow couldn’t help but smile. Sure he had a lot on his mind, but even though his friends knew it, or probably because they knew it, they seemed determined to help him take his mind off it, if only for a while. As they trotted, it became clear to the lone colt that his friends had been planning for this for a while. The group slowly made their way through the small town, stopping to chat with a number of ponies along the way. An hour later, the young alicorn found himself walking through the front door of the town’s bakery. Waving to Pinkie Pie, the four made their way to an empty table.

Looking around, Shadow was a little surprised at how busy the place was. Despite how early in the afternoon it was, a fair number of the bakery’s tables were filled, mostly with fellow classmates. Hearing a set of four hooves bouncing toward them, Shadow turned to watch as the town’s premier party planner pronked toward their table, a tray safely wrapped in her tail. Without the slightest hesitation, the pink mare swung her tail around, depositing four steaming pastries before Shadow and his friends. It had been a bit of a challenge for the young alicorn not to be weirded out by the extremely friendly mare. Setting aside the fact that she was an earth pony; the fact that she seemed to have abilities that spat in the face of logic disturbed the colt beyond his ability to explain. At first, he had tried to understand the strange mare. Several migraines and a number of warnings from the ponies around him later, the colt gave up on any ideas of understanding the mare. Instead, he had to force himself to accept the mare as she was, not that he had much to complain about. Despite her odd and occasionally erratic behavior, Pinkie seemed to know his likes without him having to tell her, if the apple cobbler lying before him was any indication.

“So” Apple Bloom said around her pastry “Ah’d ask how you were doing, but Ah think it’s fairly obvious.”

“Yeah” Scootaloo replied “I’d be thrilled to be going on an adventure like this.”

“Considering the last adventure I was on wasn’t by choice and nearly got me killed four different times…” Shadow looked around the small eating area. “I guess part of it is how different Ponyville is from my hometown and how much I like this town more.”

“What do you mean?”

Shadow’s face soured. “Long story short, if this was my hometown, none of this” he gestured to the four of them and their surroundings “would be happening. We wouldn’t be sitting here, and we certainly wouldn’t be friends.” The colt looked at the shocked faces of his friends “Well, except for me and Sweetie Belle, but that would only be because I’d be hiding my wings from everypony. You” he looked at Apple Bloom “would be a member of one of the most powerful families on the island, with all the attitude and grace of Diamond Tiara.” Seeing the look of disgust on her face, he turned to Scootaloo. “Meanwhile, you’d be the biggest outcast in town.”

“Why?!”

“Because you can’t fly” Shadow replied neutrally. Seeing the pained face on his friend, the colt sighed. “Unlike here, most ponies back home are rather… loyal… to their tribe, and look down on the other tribes. Since you can’t fly, every pegasus except maybe your parents would see you as nothing more than an earth pony with wings, while the earth ponies would see you as a freak.”

“What about the unicorns?”

“They’d see associating with you as social suicide.”

For a while the four friends simply sat there. Shadow knew they were thinking about what he had said and was more than happy for the silence to continue. “No wonder you don’t want to go.”

Shadow snorted. “There’s more to it than the tribalism, but it’s probably better that you don’t know, at least not yet.” Stiffening as he felt something gently wrap around his neck, the colt kept himself from igniting his horn as he noticed the bright pink legs embracing him “Thanks Pinkie.”

“No problem” The mare said, before releasing him a moment later. “Just know that I got a surprise waiting for you when you get back.”

“What is it?”

Pinkie Pie snorted “Well if I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?”

“I guess not.”

“I know not.” The mare said seriously. “I’ve seen ruined surprises. They’re no fun.”

Looking up at a nearby clock, the colt sighed to himself. “I need to get going or else Twilight will have a fit.” He wasn’t kidding. He had seen how the purple alicorn lost it when plans went sideways or somepony didn’t arrive exactly when they should and no matter how entertaining he sometimes found it, he had no desire to see her lose it. Hearing the scrape of chairs, Shadow watched his three friends stand as well. Smiling, the colt levitated a dozen bits onto the table before leading his friends out of the bakery.

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