Shifting Shadow

by PrelateZ

Chapter 2: The Party

Chapter 2

"Here we are, everypony! Sugarcube Corner!"

Pinkie Pie had led the other four ponies across town and stopped in front of the location of her latest party. The whole place appeared to be made of sweets: icing decorated the walls and ran all around the chocolate-colored roof; the entrance, including two posts striped with white and pink to resemble candy canes, was similarly decorated. Topping the structure were two more levels that resembled cupcakes, complete with three great candles.

The gray unicorn reluctantly followed the others into the building, where a great number had already started enjoying the party. Music played throughout the place, but it was drowned out by the many conversations all around. Some were absorbed in the latest gossip, mainly the new arrival to Ponyville and the fact that nopony knew at all who he was. A group of colts ran beneath tables of food and shouted threats at imaginary pursuers.

"Oh good, they haven't cut the cake yet!" Pinkie pie dragged the guest if honor to the table holding the many-layered cake, passing him a knife. "Oh, I can't wait! Here, you get the first piece, then I'll introduce you to everypony."

Forming his plan quickly, the gray unicorn waited until Pinkie was busy cutting the cake for the growing line of guests, then quietly slid away from the table and returned to the two he had arrived with. They were talking with a few other mares, who turned to greet him. The first to speak was an orange-colored earth pony, removing her hat and shaking free her blonde mane. "Howdy! Mah name's Applejack, pleasure to meet ya," she said as she extended a hoof to the unicorn. He returned the gesture and shook as a white unicorn approached him from the back of the group, flipping her indigo mane in a dramatic display.

"Well hello, darling! So nice of you to come to our little town. You seem to be fitting in quite well and..."

"Hey! Hold on, Rarity!" cried a voice from just above the two unicorns' heads. A cyan pegasus descended in front of the pair. She, too, shook her rainbow-colored mane about, though it seemed she was merely using the move to mock Rarity. "I was just about to come and greet him when you interrupted me again!"

Twilight came forward to break them up. "Girls, please just calm down and try not to scare our friend away with another one of your fights." She turned to the gray unicorn as the other mares took a step back and away from one another. "This is Rarity," she said, pointing to the white unicorn, "and this is Rainbow Dash." The pegasus looked away, taking one moment to shoot a cold glare at Twilight and Rarity.

What have I walked into? the gray unicorn thought, but before he could find an answer to his question he was met again by Pinkie Pie. She had finished cutting the cake and was ready to talk the poor unicorn into submission once more.

"Hi again! Aww, you met the others already? I was about to bring them to you while you enjoyed the rest of your cake, but now that you all know each other, we can get right to the games! What games do you like? We have 'em everywhere: we could bob for apples, or put on some music, or..."

The gray unicorn no longer heard her. He was hardly aware of the party, and was focusing instead on finding a way to get out of it. He closed his eyes and shut out everything around him, directing all his thoughts on getting out, getting away from the noise and confusion. Unable to see, he didn't notice his horn beginning to glow a faint white light.

Pinkie Pie kept talking, oblivious until she realized she was now talking only to herself. There was a brilliant flash of light, and the guest of honor had disappeared. She turned to Twilight for an answer.

"Alright, I'll go find him," Twilight replied after a moment's pause. "He couldn't have gone far, right?"

---

The marketplace in Ponyville was filled with activity. Even with many attending the party and other events, shopkeepers were kept busy by a near-constant stream of customers. Rows of booths sold fruits, vegetables, and various baked goods, among other items. Near one booth, this one selling cherries, two mares were talking as they waited for the others in line to decide on a fair price for the fruit. A mint-green unicorn lounged on a bench as she spoke. "Come on, Bon Bon, was it really that bad?"

The cream-colored pony beside her shook her head. "Of course it was, Lyra! Now we have to pay for all those cabbages and repair the stand!"

"It was a joke! Nothing bad should have happened, and nopony knew Scootaloo was coming down the street at the same time. It was totally accidental, I promise."

"Accidental... That doesn't... Well, we can get started by..."

The conversation was stopped as something fell atop the mares. They struggled to get up and found a gray unicorn between them, pressing a hoof to his head and swaying slightly. Neither of them knew who he was, but they did know how he arrived there. Just a short while ago, they had seen Twilight Sparkle practicing her teleportation spell, and guessed this stallion had failed his.

Lyra picked him up. "What was that for? Can't you watch where you're going?"

"What?" the gray unicorn looked around. "Where am I?"

"Ponyville's market, of course. You teleported here and fell on me and Bon Bon!"

Bon Bon came to calm her friend down. "Easy, Lyra. He asked where he was, so I don't think he tried to fall on us. Maybe he's lost."

The stallion recovered enough of his wits to respond. "Yes, I was at a party at this bakery. I remember thinking I wanted to leave... I don't know what happened, but now I'm here."

Now Lyra was confused. How had this unicorn used magic without knowing about it? "Wait a second; are you the one Pinkie is throwing that big party for? The one Zecora brought in from the Everfree Forest?"

"Um...yes, that was me."

"Well, what are we doing here? We have to get you back to the library, right? Pinkie Pie told us you were trying to find your memory."

"No, not the library. I think Twilight was at the party."

"Great. Let's all go, then. We can get our fruit later. Alright, follow me!" With that, she and Bon Bon led the unicorn through the marketplace to the center of town.

---

"Are you sure you know where he is, Pinkie?"

Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy had agreed to let the pink pony lead them to their missing friend. The three seemed to go in random directions, doubling back on their path more than once. They had gone all over Ponyville and now stood outside of the town hall. Exactly what was going through Pinkie's mind was anyone's guess.

"Of course I know, Twilight! My Pinkie Sense is never wrong, and it tells me to go..." she stopped for a moment and looked down each street. Lyra and Bon Bon were heading toward the group, with the gray unicorn between them. "This way! I told you I'd find him, didn't I?"

She hopped the rest of the distance between the two groups and was about to speak again when Twilight caught up. "Hello, girls! Thanks for finding our friend for us. I had no clue where he could have gone. You saved us quite a bit of time."

"Actually, Twilight, he found us," Lyra corrected, still sore from her meeting with the strange unicorn.

"Well, whatever happened, I'm glad nopony got hurt. Now, we have to get back to the party, then to the library. Would you two like to come along?"

Bon Bon shook her head. "Sorry, Twilight, but Lyra and I were going to the spa later, and I had planned to buy some cherries to go with dinner tonight, before your friend, umm ...dropped in."

"Dropped...oh. I see." Twilight had the same problem when she was learning to teleport. She had miscalculated the distance to her target and ended up falling into a patch of roses. The memory was not a pleasant one. "Alright. Enjoy the rest of your day, you two. I hope to see you again soon."

Pinkie Pie led the others back to the party, again in a way that seemed to make the trip much longer than it had to be. By the time they reached Sugercube Corner, most of the guests had left, and the few that remained soon thanked Pinkie Pie for inviting them and left as well.

A small portion of the cake was left on a table; three others had been tipped over, probably by the colts who were running around beneath them earlier. Completely ignoring the mess, the pink pony bounced across the room and looked back to her friends. "Thanks for coming, everypony! The party was fantastic! Sorry you couldn't stay the whole time, but we still had tons of fun, right?"

The room took several hours to clean, but the task gave the gray unicorn plenty of time to think about what had happened earlier. He could use magic, and it must be powerful magic indeed to carry him so far! He remembered the library that morning, and the book Twilight had moved. I should ask her about that once we're back at the library, he decided. It was at that moment that Rainbow Dash spoke up. "So have we decided where you'll be staying tonight?"

It took a few seconds for the stallion to realize she was talking to him. "Umm...no, I haven't. Do you know where I'm staying?"

"I dunno. Can you fly?"

Twilight stepped in front of the cyan pegasus. "There's an inn nearby. You can stay there. You're okay with that, right? Until we figure out something else, that is."

"Yeah, I'll be fine there. Thanks for the advice. I just need to get the bag I left at the library."

"One of us can go with you to help explain the situation." She turned to face the other four ponies. "Are any of you busy?"

"Terribly sorry, dear, but I'm up to my neck in orders at the boutique."

"Ah promised Applebloom Ah'd help her and the Crusaders with their work tonight."

"Sorry, Twilight. I don't think the Cakes would like another guest right now. The upper levels are kinda packed already, and now with Pound and Pumpkin..."

"Um... I'll go with him."

Twilight was surprised at the last statement, specifically at who had said it. "Fluttershy? Well, if that's okay with you, go on ahead. We'll finish cleaning up here."

"Oh, thank you. It shouldn't take long. The inn's just on the other side of town."

Fluttershy led the gray unicorn out of the bakery and toward the main road. The sky was darkening quickly, and many of Ponyville's citizens were heading home, leaving the streets quiet. The unicorn paid little attention to the world around him as he walked, absorbed as he was in his thoughts. He would definitely try to learn more from Twilight about magic tomorrow, and see what else he was capable of.

Some time later, the pair arrived at a two-story building almost adjacent to Ponyville's spa. A sign depicting a bed was hanging above the door, which soon opened to reveal a mint-green unicorn. Lyra immediately recognized Fluttershy and the unicorn who had fallen on her earlier, and could easily guess their reason for coming. "So, looks like your friend needs a place to stay, huh?"

Fluttershy flew up to the door, landing silently in front of Lyra. "Yes, he does. Um, how much does one night cost?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. For everything that's been going on, I think we can let him stay a while free of charge."

"Oh, thank you, Lyra. Okay, I have to go. I've been away from home most of the day, and I'm sure Angel's hungry. Bye, Lyra." The yellow pegasus stepped back outside and started down the road.

"When is he not hungry?" Lyra laughed. "Alright, bye now, Fluttershy!"

Lyra closed the door and started down the short hallway beside the staircase. "Take any room on the upper level. Mine is right down here. If you need anything, just ask."

The gray unicorn looked up the dimly lit stairs. "I will. Thank you, Lyra. Oh, and sorry about earlier today. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Now, get some sleep; you must be tired after the party and all. Good night, see you in the morning," she yawned as she magically closed the bedroom door behind her.

"Good night." He walked up to the second level and entered the first room to his left. It was simply decorated, with little more than a small bed, the wooden desk beside it, and plain white curtains over the rooms's single window. Wondering what he might learn of himself from Twilight's remedy tomorrow, he turned off the lamp hanging over the desk and fell in a heap on the bed.

Comments

[leafz pegasus]

First comment.
me gusta.
but seriously, good chapter, well written and there was always something going on

[PrelateZ]

SPOILER ALERT This story is actually completely written already. I just don't want to post it all immediately because 1) That would give it a very small window in which to be noticed by people browsing the "latest updates" list, and 2) I'm editing each chapter as I go, adding/subtracting bits and pieces, and I won't do it all at once simply because I'm lazy in that regard.
Cheers!
1063974 Don't worry. I think I did rather well at sticking to the plot, but I'll wait for your further opinion when I finally get around to posting it all.
1079797 Actually, that was in fact the third comment, my friend. Anyway, thanks for the compliment. I see some great fics out here, and I'm not always sure how I stack up.

EDIT: Okay, I guess leafz pegasus was right about that comment. Though it was the third comment for the story, it was also the first for this chapter, so it seems we were just counting with different lists. Sorry!

[leafz pegasus]

Ooooohhhhhhh...
whoops.