Chapter 1: Void and Gravestone
Nothingness.
That was ITS' first memory.
No light. No sound. No heat. No matter to speak of. Just an empty, endless void.
However, it had not been alone. There were others, many others, it could… ‘feel’ them… no, perhaps that was not the right word. But it was the only word that fit.
Now though, things were different. It was no longer in that endless, comforting void. Now It was trapped in this… ‘physical’ world. What was worse, trapped in a mostly ‘physical’ body. Though It was not afflicted nearly as badly as Its other two siblings, whose forms were now almost completely physical.
The living shadow remained hidden in the crypt, away from prying eyes. This place, this… ‘graveyard’ it had heard them call it, was steeped in sorrow, anger, and regret. All of which was the closest thing to ‘food’ its’ kind ever needed. Its’ kind were motophagus, or emotion eaters, after all. It had heard there were other motophagus beings in this world as well, but not quite like its kind.
It knew its siblings desired flesh, and it had to admit, it too occasionally felt that… urge… the urge to consume the flesh of other beings. But that urge was not so strong that it would risk exposure. If it remained unnoticed, how long could it remain here feeding from the negative emotions of the equines above? Months? Years? Decades? Who could really say for certain?
Ah… to be back in the comfortable nothingness again. But it could not go back. None of them could go back. Not after what had been done to them. Not after what HE did to them.
As the shadow’s anger grew, the temperature in the crypt began to plummet, until it regained its composure once again.
No, there was no need to dwell on those matters any longer. So long as it could feed in this dark and cold place, it would be content for a long, long time.
***
The little pink unicorn filly sits in front of the gravestone. The engraving simply stated ‘Kirin, Beloved Daughter and Sister.’
She tells her ‘sister’ about the events of the day, from when she woke up that morning, until this very moment.
Once the filly has finished telling her sister of the day’s events, she gets up and bids her departed sister goodbye.
The young filly leaves the graveyard on the path she arrived from, eventually making her way back to her small, humble home where her Mother and Father were waiting for her.
The little filly, Mia, was afraid of her Father. He used to hurt Kirin, and one day, Kirin had not gotten up again when he had struck her.
All the ponies were afraid of her Father too. Many of the ponies in the graveyard were there because her Father said that they had practiced forbidden magics. Mia did not really understand what that meant.
Mia walks into her home, her Mother Farore smiling at her softly. It was forced, Mia could see how sad her Mother’s eyes were. She trots up to her Mother and rubs her cheek along her fore hoof, getting nuzzled in return by her Mother.
Tomorrow would be another day. Another day having to learn, and having to listen to the cruel words of the other foals in the town. The ponies feared her Father, and so, they would take out their negative emotions onto Mia.
Her Mother was her one last bastion of safety in the whole wide world.
Tomorrow would be another day. She wondered if something nice would happen.
***
They were back. The Equines.
Had the sun risen again already? Or perhaps it was already setting? Time was still a concept It had trouble grasping.
Feeding directly from the source was something It enjoyed so very much. So much negative emotion just dripped from Equines without their realizing it.
But, how odd, this emotion, it was different. It was a negative emotion, so it would provide sustenance to It, but It had never encountered this emotion within this place. Contempt. Smugness. Or perhaps a combination of the two.
It could taste something else, something darker, the intent to harm. It lacked the soft sweetness of sorrow, or the mild spice of anger, it tasted bitter.
***
Another day, another trial. Mia had done her best to endure the torments and cruel words of the other foals, but today they stung a bit deeper than usual.
She knew what would make her feel better, a nice long talk with her sister.
Mia soon reaches the graveyard, only to gasp in shock as she sees the now broken remains of her sister's gravestone, three foals laughing as they kick what remained.
"No!" She cried out, rushing towards them, only to be struck with a stone. She yelps and tumbles to the ground, covering her head with her hooves as more rocks are flung at her by the foals.
***
Pain. But it tasted different from the heart ache that It normally consumed in this place. It was more... physical. It kept growing and growing, mixing with fear.
It needed to see. Needed to find the source of this wonderful source of nourishment. But that would mean leaving the crypt. Its refuge.
It would also mean exposing Its existence to the Equines.
No, no it would not, COULD not do such a thing. So then why was it currently moving towards the exit, towards the light?
The Shadow silently curses itself from not being able to control itself.
***
The stones had stopped hitting Mia. The foals suddenly going quiet. She hesitantly opened her eyes and then froze in terror.
The foals were also frozen from fear, as a shadow loomed over them, staring at them with red pinpricks of light that may have been eyes. It was tall, and seemed to lack limbs, though it did appear to have a head.
The foals then flee, their act of evil forgotten in favor of survival.
Mia does not move. Nor does the shadow.
She stares at it, and it stares right back at her.
"Are you a ghost?" Asked Mia, the only thought to pop into her head.
The Shadow is quiet for a moment. "I do not know." It replied.
Its kind did not truly have a name, not yet anyway.
"Are you going to eat me?" Mia asked, still staring.
"No. I do not eat flesh, though I have been eating your fear and pain." The Shadow replied.
While Mia's fear remained, it was no longer quite so crippling as she gets to her hooves, wincing slightly, the Shadow moving slightly closer after she winced.
If it had a mouth, it would likely be drooling.
Mia limps over to her sister's grave, attempting to piece it back together with her weak magic. The gravestone fell apart more than once, the filly's sadness growing with each failed attempt, and the shadow moving closer each time.
Mia looks at the Shadow when it had started looming over her. It was frightening but she got the feeling it wasn't planning on hurting her. "Mommy says staring is rude."
"Who is Mommy? And what does rude mean?"
Mia stares at the Shadow for a moment before staring at the pieces of gravestone. "My Mommy looks after me. All foals have a Mommy and a Daddy. Or they're supposed to... and rude is... um... doing something that other ponies don't like."
"So what those other Equines were doing to you was 'rude'?" The Shadow asks.
"It was mean..." Mia rubs a sore spot on her fore hoof. "It is different from being rude because being mean means you want to make another pony sad..."
The Shadow was still staring at her. "Sadness... It is my favorite. It tastes sweet."
"I don't like it... being sad hurts..." Mia had at this point given up on the gravestone and just sat in front of the broken pieces.
While the Shadow had never felt 'pain' before, it understood that beings did not enjoy it.
Dozens of tendrils emerge from Its form and begin picking up the pieces of Kirin's gravestone, and resembling them. In moments, the gravestone was standing again... for a moment, before it all crumbled again.
"It is broken." The Shadow states simply.
"Maybe Mommy can fix it..." Mia gets to her hooves again and starts walking in the direction of home. Mia stops after a few moments and looks behind her, the Shadow still right behind her. It was a slightly chilling sensation, having it following right behind her.
"What's your name?" Asks Mia.
The Shadow thinks for a moment. It HAD been given a name, a long time ago... by HIM. "Grenth."
"My name's Mia."
Mia then decides to simply carry onward, deciding not to let the Shadow's presence bother her as she leads it towards her home.