Two ponies find themselves in Ponyville with amnesia, but do they even want to remember their past and give up their new lives?
We all tend to have bad days sometimes, and just wish they could forget everything that happened. But the same can't be said for Shadow Heart and Silver Soul. All they wish is that they could remember something, anything, other then just their names!
Several months after waking up in Ponyville with no idea of how they got there, or really any memories at all, the pair have been trying their best to find a lead on their past, with only the occasional snippet of memory coming to them in their sleep, usually not even clear enough to see.But then, when chasing a possible lead, the pair end up being thrust into a heated battle with their very lives on the line. As the two struggle not only to remember, but to survive, they may begin to wonder; with all that searching for the truth has gotten them into, and with the new life they have with their Ponyville friends... do they even want to remember who they are? After all, there may have been a reason they lost the truth about their pasts.
“Do I look good enough? Am I to under-dressed?” Shadow Heart asked, looking herself over in the mirror for the fourth time that evening. She looked just like she always did; pitch black coat, horn and wings, white stripes over her back and legs, as well as her face with a white blaze down the middle. She also had a red and black mane and tail, and her cutie mark showed a heart pierced by two swords.
Again Shadow, you look just fine," Silver Soul said, not even bothering to look up from his book this time as she shook his black and white mane from his eyes. He was a unicorn, and a certainly one that could turn ponies attention to him. Mainly because his coat really did look silver, shining if the sun ever hit it at the right angle. Besides that and a black and white mane and tail, though, there wasn't much unique about him. Well, except for his cutie mark, of course; it was a silver grey shield, the same shade as his coat shield a grey ring around the edge. In the middle of it was pale gold, four-pointed star burst, and what looked to be a larger, bright gold starburst was underneath the shield, the points poking out.
“I don’t know, I just feel like I should do something, you know, special for tonight,” she said, running a hoof through her mane, trying to smooth it out. “I mean, it’s not every night I go out with some pony, especially some pony I kind of like.”
This time, Silver did look up, gazing at his friend and roommate from across the room, “Shadow, this is the first time you’ve gone out with some pony. At least, in current memory.”
“Oh come on, don’t look at me like that,” she pouted, floating a comb over and running it through her mane, trying to get it to go over her right eye in a sort of bang. “For all we know, I could have been out every night before whatever made us lose our memories happened. After all, kind of hard to find an alicorn who Isn’t royalty,” she stated.
“Oh yeah, that’s it,” Silver said, sarcasm lacing his words, “Before we woke up in Ponyville General with amnesia, you were on the scene every night with mares on your left and right. Come on Shadow, you’re an eye catcher for sure, but you really don’t seem like that kind of mare.”
She sighed, “Okay, fine, maybe I wasn’t. But still, I wanna look good for Rainbow Dash. I’m still surprised she even agreed to go out on a date with me.”
“Yeah, about that,” Silver put down the book and stood up, moving over to his friend, “How exactly did that even happen? You’ve been kind of quiet about that since you came back.”
Shadows cheeks grew a bit pink, “Well… promise you won’t laugh if I tell you?”
The unicorn smiled at her, “Shadow, you’re my best friend. I think you can trust me not to laugh at you.”
Shadow smiled back after a second, “Well, I guess. Okay, it was around noon and we were playing a game with Applejack…”
It was just past noon at Sweet Apple Acres, and with the morning chores finished and harvest season over, things were pretty quiet in the orchard. In fact, the only sounds right now were in the barn, where three ponies were wrapped in the middle of a rather heated contest.
It had started out as a simple enough wager; Rainbow and Shadow, after having helped Applejack around the farm, were relaxing with her in the barn. But then, the farm pony had accidentally let slip about the Apple Families personal stash of cider, for their own personal enjoyment over the cold months. And it took only a matter of seconds for Rainbow to ask for a share of the sweet drink. Of course Applejack had protested, but Rainbow was quick to pull out the all too familiar challenge card. Needless to say things got out of hoof from there, the farm pony offering three barrels of the drink on a bet.
And so here they were now, wrapped up, quite literally, in a game of Twister, Shadow manning the spinner as well as being the referee. Things had been going smoothly so far, but now the two mares were getting pretty mixed up on the mat, and things were heating up slowly between them. But Shadow was just trying not to laugh at the silly position they were in now, the two looking like a pretzel that had been twisted by a blind unicorn. Managing to keep a straight face, she gave another spin of the wheel.
“Right back hoof green,” she said, watching as they both aimed for the same dot. Applejack touched it first, leaving Rainbow to lean back further, leaving her shaking slightly to stay up in such a tangled position.
Applejack smirked at her, “Ya can always give up if ya got to, ya know.”
Rainbow snorted, “Not a chance. That cider stash is good as mine! Keep spinning, Shadow.”
“Well, if you say so,” the alicorn said, giving the arrow another spin with her hoof. “Left front hoof red,” she said, looking back up at them. It was rather surprising to her that Applejack seemed more flexible then Rainbow right now. Or maybe she was just better at holding herself up on the ground then Rainbow Dash. After all, she spent her whole life on the ground and had the build to show it while it was clear Rainbow was at her best in the sky. A fact Shadow could easily vouch for.
And it was this that proved to her strength in a game like this, as she was still holding herself easily while poor Rainbow was about to fall in the middle of this newest move. Or at least, it seem like she was.
Just as her hoof was about to touch the dot, Applejacks nose thought it the best time to get a small tickle, which quickly got bigger before she let out a sneeze. Her body shook, but she managed to keep her hooves planted in place. However, she also managed to bump Rainbow at the key moment, causing the Pegasus to stumble and hit the mat, snagging Applejack and bringing her down as well.
Rainbow was the first back up, and she didn’t look happy. She glared at applejack, “Why you little cheater! Why’d you knock me over?”
“What’d ya mean?” Applejack asked, getting to her own hooves, “Ah didn’t do that on purpose; ah just sneezed. If’n ya didn’t know, ah ain’t a cheater, unlike some ponies ah know…”
“Oh yeah, bring that up again why don’t you?” Rainbow growled, “I haven’t cheated in years, in anything! But I don’t think I can say the same to you, Miss Element of Honesty.”
“Ah bumped ya on accident and ya slipped, and ya know it!”
“You cheated! You just don’t want me to win your private cider is all and you made it look like a sneeze when you bumped me!
“Oh yeah!?”
“Yeah!”
“Fine then, let’s hear from the pony who saw it best!” She rounded and looked at their friend, “Well Shadow, what’s yer call?”
“Oh, ummm…” In truth, Shadow really hadn’t seen much; the two were so tangled up that she really couldn’t, honestly. But still, she had to give some ruling; she’d volunteered for this, after all! “Well… it looked like you really did sneeze, Applejack…”
“Ha, told ya so,” Applejack proclaimed, sticking her tongue out at Rainbow Dash as the Pegasus took a seat, crossing her front legs and pouting.
Trying to ignore how cute Rainbow looked at the moment, she continued, “But since it was accident, I really think we should start over.”
Rainbow quickly got up, a grin on her face as she pumped a hoof in the air, “Aw yeah, I still got a chance baby!”
Applejack wasn’t as willing though, it seemed. “Now wait jus’ an apple pickin’ minute! Ah didn’ bump her that hard. She was already slippin’, so ah ain’t really ta blame.”
“Oh come on, now you’re just arguing semantics,” Rainbow shot back.
“Don’t ya go usin’ yer fancy book speak to muddle the issue!” the farm pony growled, now nose-to-nose with her friend as they glared at each other. “Ah bet she’s just bein’ all nice to ya becaue’a her cr-“
Applejack was still speaking as she found herself tackled to the floor by her friend, pinned by a surprising bit of strength as a black hoof was planted over her mouth. She bent down and hurriedly whispered in her ear, “Applejack, please, I know you’re mad but you can’t say anything about that! I promise I’m not saying anything because of that, just please don’t tell her!”
Rainbow, anger gone and fully replaced by confusion, looked down at her friend, “Um, Shadow? Any reason you just tackled her? And AJ, what were you about to say?”
Before Shadow could offer an answer, she found herself bucked off of Applejack by the farmer’s powerful hind legs, ending up on her back. She stood up, snorting as smoke flowed from her nostrils. After a deep breath, she glared form Shadow to Rainbow, an idea slowly forming in her head. One that she could use to get them both back. She smirked a bit as Shadow stood up.
“Never mind that, actually. Ah actually got an idea fer a better way ta decide this bet, one that ya can’t cheat at, no matter what,” she said slowly.
“Fine, bring it on then!” Rainbow said, puffing her chest out proudly, “I’ll take any bet you can dish out!”
In retrospect, Applejack didn’t really didn’t know what made her make the bet. Maybe she was just wasn’t thinking right from her anger. Maybe some part of her just wanted to get the secret she’d been keeping for Shadow out to the pony it focused around. Or maybe she was just trying to unhinge them to vent her frustration. Either way, Applejack’s smirk widened as she spoke, “Fine, then ya gotta go out on a date with little ol’ Shadow here.”
She got just the reaction she’d expected. Shadow stumbled, and Rainbow gawked her like she was crazy, both their faces going bright red.
“W-what!? Where’d that even come from!?” Rainbow asked. “I mean, I ain’t gay, AJ! I like stallions!”
“Y-yeah, exactly! Why’d she ever ask a mare out?” Shadow asked. 'Especially an average old mare like me,’ she added in her mind, giving an inward sigh at that thought.
“Well then, ah guess ya don’t really want that cider as much as ya said,” Applejack said with a grin, knowing she had Rainbow.
The Pegasus glared, knowing this as well. “Fine, but if you want me to do this, then we’re gonna up the ante.”
“Well, guess that sounds fair,” Applejack said, “If she agrees ta go out with ya and ya can give me actual proof, a photograph, that ya both went out, and then ah’ll give you six barrels ‘o cider.” Rainbow grinned at the thought of half a dozen barrels of cider all to herself, but the grin deflated as her friend went on, “But if ya don’t, ya aren’t allowed to buy any cider the rest of this year, and all ‘o next year.”
Rainbow hesitated for a moment, but only a moment, “Okay, you’re on!” She spit in her hoof and held it out, but Applejack didn’t move. Instead, she looked over at Shadow, who had slowly been slinking away towards the door in an attempt to get the heck out of dodge.
“But it’ll only count if she agrees ta go out with ya,” she said slowly. She and Rainbow both looked at her as she froze on the spot, the latter giving her a glare that warned her to accept. Not that she needed it with the motive she’d had for months now.
“Um… uh…” she mumbled, trying to find her voice. She finally did, and answered, a bit louder than needed, “Okay, I’ll go out with Rainbow Dash!”
The chromatic mare grinned, “Great, then meet me at the edge of town, around sundown.”
Satisfied now, Applejack spit in her own hoof and bumped it with Dashes. The Pegasus smirked at her as Shadow quickly excused herself from the barn. Once safely outside as the two worked out the finer details, she spread her wings and sped off towards home, hoping she wouldn’t die from the mix of fear, embarrassment and excitement welling up inside her.
“… and so that’s what happened,” Shadow finished. Clearly since then she’d settled down, fear being replaced by worry on how to make a good impression on her ‘date’. She looked at Silver, who, thankfully, did not seem to be showing any signs of laughing at the fact she’d been asked out on a bet of all things. “I know it technically doesn’t count as a real date, but…”
Silver interrupted her, “The hay it doesn’t count. A date, even if it’s part of a bet, is still a date.” He smiled, his horn glowing as he floated over a nearby, decorative red flower and sticking it behind her left ear. He smiled at her, “There you go, something nice, and it matches your eyes perfectly. And also, when you see her, don’t be afraid to drop a hint or two that you might want to do this again sometime.”
Shadow smiled back, giving her roommate a friendly nuzzle, “Thanks Silver, you’re a good friend.”
The stallion smiled, returning the nuzzle, “Not a problem. Now you go out and have some fun tonight, and tomorrow I’ll even listen to your girl gossip on how it went.” He just chuckled as he gave him a solid shove to his shoulder.
“Maybe, if I’m nice enough to tell you,” she said as she trotted towards the door. “But, thanks again,” she added quickly before stepping out.
Silver kept smiling as he sat back down and brought his book up, “No problem at all, Shadow, no problem at all. Just make this count for your sake, old friend.”
It was nearing sunset as Rainbow Dash sat on a cloud on the edge of Ponyville, scanning the skies over town for any sign of her ‘date’. It was a bit chilly out, but nothing she (Or most Pegasi for that matter) couldn’t handle. Being her fast self, the chromatic Pegasus had arrived at their designated spot almost 20 minutes early, and so had taken the chance to round up a few nearby stray clouds so that they might have something to do when Shadow finally showed, if she even would.
In all honesty, Rainbow was more nervous Shadow wouldn’t show up at all more than anything. Of course, it wasn’t like Dash had any real feelings for her, despite the fact she couldn’t get the mare out of her head since the bet had been made. She was just worried about losing her wager with Applejack, and along with it any sweet apple cider for the next two years. After all, it didn’t mean anything if she enjoyed flying with Shadow. She was just the only pony in Ponyville who could even try to keep up with her. And it also didn’t mean anything if she might have liked being alone with her sometimes to play around; she was part Pegasus after all, and seemed much better with her flying then her magic. And it also didn’t matter if she really liked her mane; it was just a rare sight to see a pony that had one styled up like her own. And it also didn’t matter if she thought Shadow had a nice-
“Boo!” a sudden but familiar voice right in her ear snapped Rainbow right out of her train of thought, but also caught her totally off guard. The cyan Pegasus actually squealed in shock, jumping a foot in the air and landing on her back on the cloud with a small ‘poof’, wisps of vapor rising and fading around her. Looking up, she saw Shadow Heart, rocking back and forth on her rump, fore hooves clutching her sides in laughter. “Oh man, that was to perfect! I knew you were too out of it to notice me!” she managed as her laughter began to fade.
Rainbow grumbled as she sat herself back up, “I was not ‘out of it’…”
“Yes you were,” the alicorn smirked, “I came up and you were just looking off into space, like you were in some kind of deep thought.” The two shared a quick laugh at that one. However, a playful smirk suddenly grew on Shadows lips, “You weren’t fantasizing about me, were you
Rainbows cheeks quickly turned bright red. “Hehe, yeah right, imagine me thinking deep. That’s for eggheads, just ask any pony,” Rainbow said quickly, a slightly nervous smile on her face. Of course she hadn’t been fantasizing. She was just too into waiting for her friend to arrive and had started going over memories of the times they had hung out together. Still, she quickly changed the subject, “So, anyway, good to see you at least showed.”
Shadow smiled, “I wouldn’t miss this even if there was a storm tonight, RD.” She suddenly fumbled a bit, “I mean, I-I don’t want you to lose the bet so easily.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s cool. Thanks,” Rainbow said, trying to shake the image of Shadow and her in the rain from her head. “Anyway,” she said, a bit louder than really needed, “Since I got here a bit early, I gathered up some clouds so we could play together. Since, that’s what ponies do on dates. They play games with each other, and spend time with each other, right?”
Despite the fact she was clearly nervous, Shadow couldn’t help but giggle, “Yeah Rain, that’s what ponies do on dates.”
Rainbow cocked an eyebrow at the nickname, “Rain?”
Shadows cheeks went a bit red and she gave a nervous smile, “Well, I figured, since this is a date, maybe I could call you something I thought was, I don’t know, cute… But if you don’t want me to, I totally won’t.”
“O-oh, no, it’s cool,” Rainbow blurted out, her own cheeks going red, “It was just, I don’t know… out of nowhere, I guess.”
“Well, sorry then,” Shadow said, looking away from the Pegasus and up at the surrounding clouds. Trying to get rid of the awkwardness that was quickly filling the air around them, she put on a grin, “Anyway, let’s stop just sitting around and talking. You obviously wanted to fly, so let’s fly.” She pointed to a random cloud, a good distance away, “Last one to that clouds a rotten egg.”
Rainbow Dash looked over at the cloud then back to shadow, a smirk on her face now. Her wings flared out and she stood up, her ‘date’ doing the same, “You’re on. 3, 2, 1, GO!”
About two hours of flying around later, the two mares were laying on one of the smaller clouds in the sky, which by this point had drifted over the edge of Ponyville. Both were on their backs, wings spread out on the fluffy surface as they stared up into the sky. Most of their time together had been spent racing through the clouds and playing tag and things the like. For now though, the two were flied out. Or at least, Shadow was; Rainbow had built up some impressive endurance over the years, and looked like she could go on for at least another hour before she started to get tired.
But the two were simply relaxing at this point. Finally though, Shadow turned and smiled at Rainbow, “This has been a lot of fun, Rainbow. I know we hang out a lot, but there’s usually somepony else around. Right now though, it feels… nice, being alone and having fun. Like, it’s just natural to be doing this.”
“Yeah, this was pretty fun, actually,” Rainbow said, looking over at her as well, their eyes meeting. She smiled, thinking how Shadow had actually managed to outwit her in their game of tag and lead her to crash into a cloud and get stuck until she pulled her out. Normally she’d have felt with humiliated, but with Shadow, it didn’t seem as bad. She knew she could trust her friend… her date, not to laugh at her.
“So, Rainbow…” Shadow started, suddenly turning her eyes away from the Pegasus, her cheeks going red, “Look, I know this really wasn’t supposed to count as a real date or anything, but… but, I mean it when I say I had a lot of fun being with you. And, well…”
“Yeah?” Rainbow asked, her own cheeks going red.
“I, um… well, I think you’re kinda… cute,” Shadow squeaked, looking everywhere but at the Pegasus in front of her. “And, uh, awesome,” she quickly added. For a minute, Rainbow said nothing, just looking at the small alicorn and letting her words sink in.
Shadow Heart thought she was cute? Her, Rainbow Dash? The fastest Pegasus in all Equestria? She really thought she was cute? She let that sink into her brain. And it made her feel great, like she was speeding along, despite lounging on a cloud. It made her feel amazing, better then she’d felt since managing to do a Sonic Rainboom on command for the first time.
… Okay, so maybe she DID like Shadow just a little bit.
“Shadow…?” was all she said, just barely audible. The mare finally looked back at her at the mention of her name, and Rainbow leaned over, giving her a quick peck on the cheek, both of their faces going red as tomatoes. Despite this though, Rainbow smiled, “Thanks. You know, you’re kinda cute, too. And you’re pretty awesome yourself.”
“T-thanks, Rainbow…” was all Shadow could manage, her head spinning from the display of affection the athletic Pegasus had just shown. Not once all evening, or ever, for that matter, would she have expected Rainbow to kiss her!
“I thought you were calling me Rain?” the Pegasus said, her smile still there, though it looked just a bit shy now. “I kinda like that, too…” she mumbled, though loud enough Shadow could hear.
Finally snapping out of her shocked trace, Shadow smiled back at her, “Well, I was just a bit surprised is all. I mean, it’s not every day I get a kiss from the awesomest Pegasus in Equestria.” She giggled a bit as Rainbows cheeks went pink, “And modest, too, I see.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Rainbow said, waving a hoof and trying to dismiss Shadows comments, but to little success.
“So, since we like each other,” Shadow said, rubbing her front hooves together a bit, “I was wondering, if you didn’t think it was too lame, could we… c-cuddle?”
Rainbow looked at her for a second, “Cuddling, seriously Shadow?”
“Um, s-sorry for suggesting it. I guess you don’t wanna…” Shadow mumbled, her cheeks red as she pulled off a perfect imitation of Fluttershy, making Dash laugh a bit.
“Don’t be,” she said with a smile. She sat up, piling the cloud up into a make-shift back rest to lean on, enjoying the surprised look on the alicorns face. Rainbow beckoned her with a hoof, “Come on then. We did what I wanted, so I guess we can do what you want to now.”
Shadow grinned, a small squee accidentally escaping her, “Thanks Rain. Now you’re even more awesome.” Without getting up, she tucked her wings in and inched along the fluffy surface and up to Rainbow Dash, sitting up a bit and laying back against her belly, head on her shoulder as Rainbows wings wrapping around her gently.
Rainbow smiled down at her, nuzzling her, “No problem, Shade.”
The alicorn looked at her, “Shade?”
Rainbow grinned, tapping her on the nose, “If I get a nickname, so do you, missy.” The two snickered gently, their gaze turning back to the starry sky.
“You know, this is all kinda funny when you think about it,” Shadow said after a few minutes of silence.
“Really?” Rainbow asked, looking at her.
“Well, it’s just, I’ve liked you for a while now, to be honest, and it was some crazy bet that ended up letting me tell you how I felt,” she said with a small chuckle. “I never thought a way to tell you my feelings would just fall into my lap, so to speak,” she smiled at Dash, their eyes meeting, “But I’m glad it happened.”
Dash smiled back, and a second later, the two’s lips were connected, their eyes closed as they kissed under Luna’s stars.
Shadow was the first to pull away, in need of air, “So… if you’re not too busy later this week, you want to do this again?”
Rainbow just grinned, “Wouldn’t miss it even if there was a storm out. But still, it kinda stinks we can’t get Applejack any proof about this. I totally forgot I don’t even have a camera.”
“Seriously!?” Shadow looked up at her, shock written over her face.
Rainbow looked back at her, “What’s up? So I don’t have a camera. What, you got one?”
“Well, no, but still, you’re just being so… calm about it! I’d have thought you’d be upset about losing all that cider?” Shadow pointed out.
Rainbow just grinned, “Well yeah, Sweet apple Cider is one of the greatest things in my life. But, to be honest…” she bent down, locking her lips with Shadows again. They stayed locked for over a minute until she pulled away, “I think I got myself something way better than some cider, and it lasts.”
Shadow looked at her for a few seconds… and then she laughed, “Wow Rain, that was the sappiest thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth.”
The Pegasus mares face went red, visible even in the dark, “Yeah yeah, but if you tell any pony I said that, I’ll make ya pay.”
Shadow giggled, “Your secrets safe with me, Rain. And besides, even if you do lose, Applejack didn’t say anything about me buying cider for you.” She gave her date a mischievous wink, to which she grinned in response.
“… Thanks Shade, you’re the best,” she said, nuzzling the Alicorns neck as the two floated by over the town. As they did, however, neither of them noticed the flash of light from nearby, along with a familiar click!
Silver couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched the small cloud continue to drift onward from the living room window. He floated the picture in front of him as it dried, smiling as an image of Shadow and Rainbow cuddling together came into view. “Way to go, Shadow. I knew you had it in ya,” he said, looking down at the picture, “So I think I can at least do this for you and your new marefriend.”
Still grinning, he left the photo on the Shadows bedside table before heading into his own room, unable to feel prouder of his best friend then he did right now.
________________________________________________________________________ A/N: Special thanks to my very good friend Torri-Chan on Deviantart for letting me use her OC, Shadow Heart, and for being an awesome friend! Thanks also to Mr.RealityTheBrony for editing this. And heck, you for taking time to read my ideas I come up with after the sun goes down. :D
I looked around me, the environment unfamiliar. I was in what looked like a cave, the kind you might find the side of a mountain. Light came in through an exit around the corner, proof of a beautiful day outside. Aside from that, all I see is grey stone and rocks over the ground. How I got here is a mystery, since I don't remember anything before this.
My ears perked up at a sudden noise near the entrance, the sound of two sets of tiny hooves clopping against the rock. I watched from my spot in the shadow of the rocks, seeing two young foals come inside. But what surprised me was who they were. I was looking at myself and Shadow as foals!
We looked rather young, maybe only in school for two or three years by this point. But there was no mistaking either of us. I watched, curious, as Shadow and I galloped closer, the former hovering occasionally with a bust of energy to her still tiny wings. I couldn't help but smile a bit at the sight of us as children, so young and clearly care-free.
I watched as the two of us went up to a stretch of wall, across from where I stood. They didn't seem to notice me. Maybe they couldn't even see me. But I watched as we each grabbed a small, white rock in our front hooves and sat in front of the wall. It was only then that I realized the wall was covered in drawings of everything from scribbles to actual pictures of ponies and objects. I watched as the younger versions of me and my best friend took the rocks and began to scrape them against the wall, talking as they worked.
"So, what're you gonna draw today, Silvy?" Shadow asked. My younger self let out a groan of embarrassment, his cheeks turning pink.
"Come on Shadz, you know I don't like that nickname," he said, looking at her with a small glare. "But if you really wanna know, I was gonna try and draw the princess since she visited the school today."
"But Silvy, she visits your school every week. I mean, it's called 'Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns' for a reason, right?" Shadow asked, stopping her own drawing to look at him. "So why now of all times?"
"Well, she had this filly with her today," he said slowly, scratching out his best likeness off the solar monarch, "Some new personal student of hers, she mentioned. She didn't really talk much, though; she looked kinda shy. I didn't really get a good look at her, either, since she kept hiding behind the princess. But I thought she looked cute." His cheeks went red as he went on, "And so I figure trying to remember what the princess looks like lets me think of her and that filly."
Shadow giggled, "Wow, you can be real sappy, Silvy. But I gotta admit, it's cute that you got yourself a fillyfriend."
Silver finally stopped his work, turning to face his friend as his face went a deep red, "W-what!? She's not my fillyfriend! I don't even know what her name is!"
Shadow wasn't listening, though, teasing her friend as she sang out, "Silvy's got a fillyfriend, Silvy's got a fillyfriend…~"
The colt growled a bit, standing up, "Shadow, if you don't stop that right now I'll… I'll… I'll tell Meadow Dance that you think she's cute!"
That got the desired effect, the young Alicorn quickly ceasing her laughter as she gasped, "What!? But you promised to keep that a secret! If that got out, everypony'd think I'm weird…"
"Then stop teasing me, silly filly," he said with a small smirk. "Now, what're you drawing, huh?"
Like most kids, Shadow had already forgotten about what just happened, a grin on her face as she grabbed her rock, "Well, I was gonna try and draw that big explosion that happened last week! I can still see it in my mind, it was so cool!"
I chuckled a bit at her eagerness, only wishing she could know she'd get to do more than meet the pony who made that amazing display. However, before I could watch her attempt to draw the Sonic Rainboom, a loud ringing bore down on my ears, piercing them like a drill and making my eyes go wide as the sound echoed all around me...
Silvers eyes shot open as his alarm clock went off at exactly 7 AM. Sunlight was coming in through the crack in the window curtains, leaving a line dividing his bed in half. Barely even thinking, he magically silenced the infernal device on his bedside table and slipped out of bed, not bothering to tuck the covers in as he opened the curtains, waking more as the sun hit his face. That dream… was it really a dream at all?
"It felt so real…" he muttered to himself as he looked out at the village below. He could hear shuffling from the next room over, Shadow waking up now as well. No time to really dwell on it, as it was his turn to make breakfast, as Shadow would be so happily reminding him of any minute now. "Maybe I should go for some fresh air after breakfast," he muttered to himself as he headed for the washroom, "I need some fresh air to think about this…"
Fountains were an interesting sort of thing. Not only fashionable in the landscape, but functional if they were made right. The sound of flowing water could serve to relax ones head during a bad day. Heck, some were even designed to shoot water for entertainment.
But of course, the fountain in Ponyville Park wasn't along those lines. It was pretty simple; three platforms above the main pool, each getting smaller with the top one shooting water over the edges.
It was a pretty normal, everyday sight, so most ponies didn't pay it much mind, especially with fall setting in now. The cold winds weren't exactly encouraging ponies to hang out around the water. But today, one stallion sat at the base of the fountain, passersby paying him little mind as he listened to the steady sound of water falling.
Silver hadn't bothered to dress much for the weather; he found he didn't get cold as easy as most, and unicorn magic could easily keep him warm in this weather if needed. Still, if only to stop Shadow from chewing him out about the risks of a cold, he'd darned a gray and gold scarf, hoof-made by Rarity, before leaving. Why he'd gone out, he hadn't really explained, saying he just wanted some fresh air and to enjoy the weather.
But no, the reason of course was more than that. The stallion did want to clear his head, but only because he felt it was full to the brim of stuff he didn't understand.
The dream… it had been simply one of several he'd had over the last two weeks. But where the others were mostly foggy images and garbled speech, this one had been rather vivid, and played out almost like a memory. Like it was trying to force itself to come back by playing itself out for him, but it just couldn't. He didn't have any recollection of the incident from this newest dream.
He hadn't told Shadow much about the dream, really just that he'd had it and she seemed to be in it; best not to let her worry about it when she had plans with Rainbow later that day. Still, he would have liked to tell somepony about it. His only worry was that they might think him slowly going crazy. After all, he still had no clue on where he and Shadow were from, or anything on their pasts, and it was starting to get him a bit upset.
He sighed, turning and looking down at his reflection in the water. "Four months, that's how long I've been here. Four months and still no clue about who I was or where I'm from," he said to himself sadly. He stared right into his reflections eyes, "Who am I? Who is Shadow? I just want to know, and then maybe I can get a decent night's sleep for once!" He hit the side of his head a few times, "Come on brain, you got my memories in there. Just make them clearer for me!"
"You know, they say it's a sign you're going crazy when you start talking to yourself." Silvers ears perked up at the familiar voice. He raised his head and turned around, coming face-to-face with Twilight, her saddlebags on her back and a small smile across her face. She came up closer, "You're not going crazy on us are you Silver?"
"No, don't think so" he said with a small, forced smile. He turned back to his reflection in the fountain, Twilight coming up to next to him.
"You feeling okay?" the lavender mare asked. "It's been a few days since you came by the library, and I was getting kind of worried. I saw Shadow and she said you came to the park," she explained, looking up at him.
Silver didn't turn his gaze away from himself as he spoke, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I've just been kind of… well, down the last few days."
"You want to talk about it? It always helps when you tell friends about your problems. At least, that's what I've read," Twilight said, putting a hoof on his shoulder.
"Thanks Twilight, but I think I'd rather be alone right now. I just have to think…"
"And keep hitting yourself?" she said, her tone a bit harsher now. "Come on Silver, you clearly have something on your mind, and it's not good to keep this kind of stuff bottled up. Take it from somepony who knows from experience…" her voice trailed off and she shifted around a bit at her memories. But she still went on, "Now come on, let's go back to the library. I bet you could use some warm cider as well as a good friend right now, right?"
Silver thought it over for a few seconds. Twilight was probably the only one besides Shadow who would sit and listen to everything he had to say, and actually listen the whole way through. Plus, how could he say no to warm cider on a cool day like this? Finally, he looked up at her, a small but real smile on his face, "Sure, I'd like that. Thanks, Twilight."
She smiled back, "That's what friends are for, Silver. Come on, then." The two turned and started for the exit. One short walk later, the two were in Twilight's kitchen, sitting at the table with steaming mugs of cider in hoof. "So, care to tell me what's been going on with you?" the lavender mare asked, taking a sip of her drink.
"Well, things were going okay until last night, actually," Silver answered, looking down into his own drink. "See, last night I had this real odd dream…" he was quick to go over what he'd seen, Twilight listening intently the whole time. Though he was quick to cut out what his foal-self had said about what he could assume had been her. When he finally finished, he looked right at her, "So tell me, do you think that was a memory, or just a crazy dream of mine?"
"Well, I'm honestly rather hard-set to say it was a memory," Twilight answered, rubbing a hoof on her chin. "You've been living with your amnesia for some time now, so it would make sense that your mind might be trying to tell you about your past. But, I don't seem to remember ever seeing you, though, and we seem around the same age. Then again, I admit I wasn't exactly a social butterfly." Her cheeks went a bit red as she continued, "A cave, huh… maybe you lived in Canterlot? I know the mountain had a few caves within trotting distance…"
"Yeah, maybe…" he mumbled, sipping his cider. Honestly, he'd already figured that out by the conversation in the dream. Which, if it had been a memory, was proof he'd gone to the School for Gifted Unicorns, and if that was true… His eyes suddenly lit up as a thought passed through his mind. "Hey, Twilight."
"Yes?" she looked up at him, a bit surprised at the sudden shine his eyes had gotten.
"Twilight, if that was really a memory, and I went to Celestia's School, wouldn't they have me on record?" Silver asked. A second later, Twilights eyes lit up as well.
"Oh, of course, how didn't I think of that!? Of course they'd have you on record if you went there; they have the record of every single pony that ever attended in the student archives," she said happily. "If there's any way to check that you did go to the school, it's to see if they can pull your file."
"Great! So then you can send a request to the school with Spike, right?" Silver asked.
Twilight suddenly lost her smile, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof, "Yeah, in a few days…"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, there's a reason Spike wasn't here when we got here, you know. He had to go to Canterlot for some royal business. He won't be back until the day after tomorrow."
Silver felt his own happiness quickly disperse at those words, his ears drooping slightly. "Figures, find a possible breakthrough in my past, and I have to wait to see if it's legit," he groaned, putting his head down. "Why can't I just get a break and learn about who I was…"
Twilight frowned at the sight of the stallion before her. Usually he was rather high-spirited and relaxed, but this… well, this wasn't a side of him she saw much. And frankly, she didn't like it much. Quickly, she tried to think up a way to cheer him up, "Well, ummm… well, I know it's not exactly helpful to your situation, but how about some lunch?"
Silver looked up at her, cocking an eyebrow, "Really? How is that supposed to help me?" Seconds later, he heard his stomach growl slightly, his cheeks going red as Twilight giggled.
"Well, for one, you sound like you could use some," she answered, "And two, they say a good meal can help lighten anypony's mood. So, what do you say?"
Silver really didn't need to give it much thought now that he felt his stomach running on empty, "Okay then, sure. Thanks. But can I at least help you so I can take my mind off all this?"
"Uh, sure, I guess," Twilight, the two of them finishing their drinks before standing up. And it was with that that the two prepared a rather average meal of sandwiches and juice. ****************************************************************************************************
Meanwhile, above Ponyville, a single cloud floated lazily by, it's two passengers enjoying the slow ride above town. Rainbow Dash and Shadow sat on the cloud, the latter leaning on the former slightly with their tails wrapped around each other's. The two had spent a good part of the day racing and playing around with each other like usual before Rainbow had treated Shadow to lunch. After that, the two grabbed a passing cloud to just enjoy each other's company as they digested their meal.
"Man, I'd never had thought I'd enjoy going this slow until I got with you," Rainbow said with a chuckle. Shadow smiled, nuzzling her marefriends neck.
"Really, you mean I'm the first pony to ever get Rainbow Dash to slow down, huh?" Shadow asked playfully, giving Rainbow a quick kiss on the cheek. She winked, sticking her tongue out, "Do I get some kind of reward for that?"
"How about the pleasure of still being able to date me after today if you get that look off your face?" she asked. She couldn't help but laugh as Shadows face fell immediately, "Oh relax, I'm just kidding around."
"Heh, yeah, right…" Shadows ears drooped a bit, making Rainbow look at her.
"You okay? What's the sudden flip in attitude?" she asked, looking down at Shadow.
"Well… sure you wanna hear it?" Shadow asked, looking up at her in return.
"Shad, you're the only pony I'd ever let talk her head off to me," Rainbow said with a grin, putting a foreleg around Shadow and pulling her in closer. "Now come on, tell your super awesome marefriend Rainbow Dash what's got ya down," she encouraged.
"Well, it's just… I think this whole 'not knowing our pasts' thing is really getting to Silver," she said after a second. "Like this morning, he just seemed really… out of it. Real down and depressed like. He told me he had a real vivid dream last night that he though could have actually been an old memory of his. Not that I couldn't guess he was dreaming; I could hear him tossing around last night. But it really helped to remind him that we don't really have any leads as to where we're from or who we really are. And now that I'm thinking about it, I'm getting kinda down myself I guess…"
"Really now? Well then, let's solve the first problem and get you cheered up. And I know just how to do that," Rainbow said with a smirk.
Shadow looked at her, seeing a familiar glint in Rainbows eyes, making her own go wide, "Oh no Rain, don't you dare…" But it was already too late, and her own speed was nowhere near Dashes. In seconds, the Pegasus had pounced on her, leaving Shadow pinned on her back. She squirmed around, trying to get her legs out from under Dash's own, "Come on Rain, seriously, don't do it!" But the chromatic mare wasn't listening as she bent her head down, still smirking as she took a deep breath before burying her snout in Shadows belly.
The Alicorn's eyes went wide as they could, her pupils shrinking a bit before she burst into laughter, wiggling and struggling under Rainbow as the Pegasus gave her raspberry after raspberry. "R-Rainbow, s-stop! P-Plehehease, no mohohore!" she squealed, trying to dodge and suck her gut, neither method working well. Finally, after several long minutes of tickling, Rainbow stopped, grinning down at her panting marefriend.
"Feeling any better now?" she asked, finally letting Shadow go, only to yelp as she felt herself pulled down on top of the mare by her magic.
"Much, actually," she said, wrapping her hooves around Rainbows back, "Thanks for the pick me up, Rain. Don't know how you do it, but you always seem to be able to cheer me up."
"And yet you tell me to stop?" Rainbow chuckled. She leaned down and whispered into Shadows ear, "I told you this is our little secret. Didn't I? No need to be shy when we're alone."
The red stripes over Shadows cheeks went redder at the words, but she smiled nonetheless. "Right, well then…" she rolled over, leaving her on top of a surprised Rainbow Dash, a grin on her face, "I guess we can try things this way."
"Heh, guess we can," Rainbow said, grinning back, "I know I've said it before, but I'm glad I got to know you."
"Same here," Shadow said, dragging a hoof down Rainbows side. "In fact, I think you're the reason I haven't been as upset about all this as Silver…" she said slowly.
It didn't take Rainbow long to get the idea behind Shadows words, and she laughed a bit when she did. "So what, you think the reason Silver's been so down is because he needs a special somepony of his own?" she asked.
"Well, in a way, I guess," Shadow said, "Maybe somepony to distract him would help get his mind off of this a bit. I mean, it looks like it's definatly helped me." She smiled, leaning down and kissing Rainbow on the lips. After a minute or so, the two pulled away.
"Well I hope he finds somepony as awesome as you, then," Rainbow said slowly, "But I can't help but think, who out there could possibly be the pony for him…" Shadow face-hoofed, surprised at what the Pegasus couldn't seem to notice.
"Rainbow?"
"Yeah?"
"Stop thinking about this for now and just kiss me, and I can answer that afterwards."
"And so then I said, 'Okay everypony, we have to build an exact copy of Ponyville right over there! We have less than a minute!'" Twilight and Silver both laughed at the mare's story, now sitting in the main library. Lunch had led to the two starting to talk, mostly to try and break the awkward silence that had overtaken them. And that had eventually led to Twilight going into stories of some of her and her friend's times together.
"Seriously, you thought the Princess would actually buy that?" Silver said after he finished laughing.
Twilight's cheeks went a bit red, "Well, I wasn't exactly thinking right at the time. I mean, my magic had only things made worse so far. It was only thanks to Pinkie Pie the Parasprites didn't totally devour the town."
"Pinkie Pie?" Silver raised an eyebrow.
"I'm serious. She got all these instruments together and made up this one-mare band. As it turns out, Parasprites are hypnotized by spirits," Twilight explained, "She used the instruments to get them back in the Everfree Forest."
"Wow, after all that chaos, Pinkie's the one who came through, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm still a bit surprised about that one." The two laughed again, Silver standing up after looking at nearby clock.
"Woah, is it seriously 4 already? Guess time does fly when you're having fun," he said happily. He looked back at Twilight, "I better get going before Shadow gets home and wonders where I've gone. But we should do this again, sometime. We never really sat and talked before. Kind of funny, I mean with me coming around here every other day or two."
"Yeah, it is kind of funny. We should do this again," Twilight said, waving as she watched the stallion leave. However, just as he was about to step out, he turned back and grinned at her.
"Okay then, it's a date." And with that, he walked out and closed the door. As soon as it closed, however, Twilights cheeks went pink.
"Date…" She knew it was just a saying, but a new thought came to mind at those words, the thought of her and Silver sitting together somewhere and enjoying themselves over a meal and idle chatter. A thought she rather liked, but quickly shook out of her mind. No, no, you can't think silly stuff like that, she told herself. I mean, he was just being casual, and a friend. A casual friend, that's all. It's not like he actually wanted to go on a date with me or anything.
Of course she had no clue that, as he walked home, Silver's own cheeks were a shade of red, clearly visible against his coat. A date, why did I even say that? he thought to himself. I mean, it's not that I wouldn't date her, she is a nice mare. Great personality, real smart, and not that bad looking… wait, what am I thinking!? She wouldn't go for me. What could I offer the student of Princess Celestia, anyway? She has the knowledge of literally a whole library and amazing magic, and I don't even remember who I really am…
He grunted suddenly, crashing into a solid barrier. Looking up, he realized that he'd walked all the way home while wrapped in his own thoughts, but was now met with a locked door. Muttering to himself to pay more attention to his surroundings, he unlocked the door and headed upstairs to the apartment. Not even a minute after he'd stepped in, he saw Shadow fly in through the window, landing gently on the floor.
"So, you have fun today?" Silver asked as he headed into the kitchen, opening the fridge to try and find something to make for dinner for the two of them.
"Do you even have to ask?" Shadow asked back, grinning as she went over to him. "But how about you? You seem happier then you did this morning."
He smiled at her, "I am, actually. See, after I went out, I happen to come Twilight in the park. We went back to her place, and we think we might have found a lead to finding out to some of my past."
Shadow looked at him, "What, just yours?"
"What? Oh, don't look at me like that, Shadow. I mean, they found us together, so we must be connected. In other words, we find out something about one of us, we're sure to find out something about the other soon after," he explained.
"Well, maybe… but how'd you even find the lead? Was it that dream you said you had?" she asked. He nodded, taking some cheese out of the fridge.
"Yeah, long story short, I might have been in Celestia's School, so as soon as Spike gets back from Canterlot, she'll send a request to have the school see if they can pull a file on me. If they do, it's a start to figuring out where we came from. Remember, I did say you were in it, too," he explained.
"Right," she smiled slightly, "Well, glad we finally might have something after all this time."
"Yeah, so how do you feel about grilled cheese with tomato for dinner?" he asked.
"Sounds good to me." She turned and started back towards the living room, "So, am I gonna hear exactly what this dream was about, or what? I mean, it's only fair you tell me if you told Twilight."
"Of course," he said with a chuckle. But when she walked out, he quickly muttered, "But I'll be darned if I tell you about everything. I'd never hear the end of it otherwise…"
Suddenly, Shadow popped her head back in the room, "Oh yeah, by the way Silver, have you ever thought of having Twilight over for dinner some night while I'm not here?"
The bread knife Silver had been using to cut the loaf of bread suddenly came down fast, embedding itself in the cutting board as he looked at her in surprise, his cheeks red. "H… H-how did you know!?" was all he could manage.
Shadow couldn't help it; she fell out of the doorway laughing.
"Darn it! How'd I lose to you to you, of all ponies!?"
"Because silly, I am you, and I know how you like to think," Silver said proudly to the magic clone sitting across from him. In response to the severe boredom the unicorn had been experiencing that afternoon, he'd decided to try out a new spell capable of making a perfect living, breathing copy of the caster. It had worked, and he'd proceeded to play several rounds of chess against himself, literally. And at 2 wins and 2 losses each, he'd just earned victory over himself. An empty victory, sure, but at least he had something to do.
"Well, I guess, but I thought for sure I had you there for a minute," the clone said with a huff, crossing his front legs and looking over the board. It had only been three days since Silvers visit with Twilight, and so Spike had only just sent the letter to Celestia's School yesterday, and there was no telling how long a response would take, what if the thousands of students the school had on record. So for now, he and Shadow were stuck waiting out the time it took for the school to send Twilight a response.
The real Silver Soul just chuckled, "Relax, it wasn't a serious match or anything, just something to do to pass the time until Shadow finally gets back."
Not a minute later, his ears perked up at the familiar sound of the front door opening. "Huh, speak of Discord," he said simply. "Good game, me," he said quickly before his horn glowed, his copy vanishing seconds later. He set to work packing up the chess set as he poked his head out of the bedroom door, catching a glimpse of Shadow coming in, sure enough dripping water on the ground. He just shook his head, coming out and walking over to his friend.
The Alicorn grinned at her friend, shaking herself dry and sending water flying everywhere, including all over Silver. "Hey Silver," she greeted happily, looking up at her now-soaking friend. She gave a sheepish green and chuckle, "Um, sorry."
"Hi Shadow, glad to see at least one of us is in a good mood," Silver said, his horn glowing emerald green as he dried himself and the surrounding area off.
"Is that to say you're not?" she asked, spreading her wings and starting to preen as her friend walked over to the couch. As she straightened her feathers, she hissed a bit as one came off. Not really concerned, she spit it out into a nearby waste bin, turning and heading to the couch as well. "Of course I'm going to be in a good mood. I just spent the morning with the coolest Pegasus in the world," she claimed, sitting down next to Silver and stretching out a bit.
"Well good for you, Shadow. But I just finished playing chess against a magical copy of myself. That's how boring today has been!" Silver explained, "I know you're enjoying working for the weather patrol, but why'd your marefriend even have to schedule a downpour today?"
Shadow shrugged, "Well, the land was dry and the crops needed water. It's as simple as that." She smiled at him, lying back against the couch and yawning. Pushing clouds all day could get a bit tiring after a while if you weren't used to it yet. "But now I'm here, so is there anything you wanna do?" she asked.
Silver put a hoof to his chin, "Hmmmm… not sure. What about you, any ideas?"
"Not really," Shadow replied, hiding another yawn. "But I do need to find something to keep me up," she said quickly.
"Hmmmmm…" As Silver sat there thinking, his tail went back and forth without much thought. But, with the way the two ponies were sitting on the couch, it ended up accidentally going over one of Shadow's back hooves.
The reaction was almost immediate; Shadow jumped about a foot in the air, like she'd just been jolted with a bolt of lightning. She collapsed back on the couch, looking up to see a rather confused Silver. Quickly rubbing the tingle out of her hoof, she tried to come up with an excuse for her reaction. Doing the first thing that came to mind, she looked down at the floor and slammed a hoof down on it. "There! Gotcha you stupid... Spider!"
Silver wasn't buying it, though. His idea seemed a bit foolish, but heck, it would give him something to keep himself entertained. Deciding to play along, he nodded, "Right." He then motioned under the couch, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Shadow, can you help me with something? I lost a book I was reading under the couch, and I can't find it under there, and I can't see it clearly so I can't grab at it or anything. Think you could take a look for me?" Now if she'd just take the bait…
Shadow gave him a curious look, wondering why he couldn't have just lit up the area under the couch. But she shrugged it off rather quickly, deciding not to question her friend. "Well...I suppose," she said, standing up and turning around. She got down onto her stomach, slipping herself about halfway under the couch.
But once she was down there, she felt a weight on her back, quickly pinning her down. It didn't take much to realize who was sitting on her, "What the hay, Silver!? Get off of me!" She was already trying to pull herself out from under the larger stallion, but to no avail. She was about to try and buck him off next, but found herself stopped when Silver's magic wrapped around her hind legs, bringing them up in the air in front of him. Her eyes went wide as she finally got what was up, "You better not be about to do what I think you're about to do!"
"Depends, what do you think I'm about to do?" Silver taunted with a playful smirk. His eyes suddenly flashed over towards the waste bin, an idea popping into his mind as he floated the feather Shadow had tossed in earlier over, dangling it over his friends raised back hooves.
Shadow just scoffed, not able to see what he was doing, "You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Again she tried to move her back legs, but her friend's magic was far too strong. "Yeah, guess so. So let's just get to it," Silver said cheerfully. With that, he brought the tip of the feather down to Shadow's left hoof, stroking it up and down.
A yelp escaped Shadow's lips before she could hold it back. She gritted her teeth after, trying to hold in the laughter rising up her throat. But it didn't seem to work, as a snicker kept slipping through her teeth every few seconds.
"Ha, I knew there was no spider in here!" Silver said, now making the feather swirl around the middle Shadows right hoof. "Tickle tickle…" he teased, enjoying his friend trying in vain to hold in her laughter.
"Y-Yes there was!" Shadow squeaked, starting to giggle now as she tried madly to wiggle her hooves around. She made up for it, however, by twitching around under the couch and banging her front hooves gently on the ground. Seemed the middle of her hoof was rather sensitive, something he noted for the future.
Silver finally gave her a break though, stopping and setting the feather down. Another idea had come to mind, "Well then it must have stuck to your hooves, since I don't see anything on the floor. Since that's the only possible explanation, I guess I might as well do you a favor and clean your hooves off."
"Wait, what?" Shadow asked, trying to turn and look at him. But all she needed was to see his floating her hairbrush from her bedroom. Her eyes went wide as she was quick to put two and two together, "No!!" She coughed, trying to calm her voice. "I mean, uh-I can take care of it myself," she laughed nervously.
"Oh no, I insist," Silver said, clearly just messing with her right now. After all, she couldn't exactly do anything in her position. "I mean this is just what friends are for," he said as he started waving the brush back and forth across Shadows hooves.
The mare let out what sounded like a mix between a squeal and a yelp before bursting into full-on laughter, cursing herself for having such sensitive hooves. She definitely spent a lot more time flying than she did walking, and at this moment, was almost regretting it. She loved flying way too much to just walk everywhere, and it was just coming back to nip her in the flank now. She banged her hooves against the ground even more now, her mind screaming for this to stop. This wasn't like she would do with Dash now and then; this was borderline torment!
Her eyes darted around madly, trying to think of a way to escape until she spotted the feather on the ground. Of course, her wings! She flared them up and flapped them against Silvers sides, trying to use the feathers to her own advantage. Silver was caught off guard, having not been paying attention and somehow not remembering her wings! He dropped the brush, laughing and rolling off her onto the floor as his magic failed, releasing her legs.
Shadow took her chance the moment she could. She rolled out from under the couch and leapt on top of Silver, pinning the stallion by his shoulders as her wings continued flapping against him, attacking his stomach as well now. "For you to use one of my own feathers against me and forget about my wings...Such an ironic downfall," she teased.
All Silver could really do was laugh and try to squirm free from under his friend. He couldn't concentrate enough to use his magic. And it only got worse when he felt Shadow's tail brush over his hooves, making him squeal as his cheeks went red.
Shadow couldn't help but laugh at Silvers reaction, speeding her tail up faster and faster. "You know, I'm surprised that your hooves are so sensitive for some pony that has to walk everywhere," she teased, easily keeping Silver pinned as he squirmed. She definitely had muscle for a mare with her figure.
"T-they aren't! Y-you just surprised me!" the unicorn managed through his laughter, trying to build up enough magic to get her off. It worked, but a bit too well; his horn sparked to life and his magic, seemingly working on its own, lifted Shadow off him and dropped her on the couch.
Silver sat up, gulping down fresh air and looking over at Shadow, "Sorry, I couldn't stop that. Magic reflex."
"It's okay. Guess we both kind of got carried away there, huh?" Shadow asked, standing back up with red cheeks. She shook herself off, looking back at Silver as he got to his own hooves.
"Yeah, guess we did," he said, his own cheeks going red. He gave a small smile, "Still, guess we found something to do if we ever get really bored, huh?"
Shadow giggled a bit, "Yeah, guess we did." She trotted up to him with a playful smirk, "But who says we're finished?" With that, she suddenly pounced on top of the unicorn, the two falling and rolling around in a tangle of limbs. Still, despite Shadow having been the attacker, the struggle ended with her on her stomach, pinned underneath Silver.
He chuckled, grinning down at her. He'd gotten smart now, his magic keeping Shadow's wings pinned. "I can't believe you tried to be sneaky like that. I think somepony needs to be taught a lesson," he teased.
"Oh buck," Shadow groaned before she felt Silvers tail stroking over her hind hooves, making her burst into giggles. It was all she could do to stop herself from bursting into full laughter, but then she felt the feather from earlier starting to tease down her back. The result was her bursting into a fit of foalish giggles and squeals.
"Eehehehehehehehehehhehehehehehhehehe!!! Sihihihihihilver it tickles!!!" she squeaks, her laughter sounding oddly adorable and out of character for such a so-called 'tough' pony. The thought of that made the flushed stripes on her face go even redder.
Silver couldn't help but smile at his friend's predicament. "I know Shadow, that's kind of the point," he teased, slowing down a bit but not much as tears appeared at the edges of her eyes. "So, you gonna stop trying to pounce me?" he asked.
Realizing she was pretty much stuck under the physically and magically stronger unicorn, she figured giving in was best at this point. "OK, yehehehehhehehehehehes!"
Silver finally stopped, raising a hoof in the air, "Ha, victory!"
"Oh, hush you," Shadow said, whipping at Silver with her tail.
The unicorn yipped a bit, jumping off her and snickering. "Oh come on, I know you were having fun," he said as he helped her up.
"Maybe," she said coyly, sticking her tongue out at him playfully.
"Okay, be that way," Silver snickered, "But just wait until I tell RD about this one, huh."
"Jokes on you; she already knows," Shadow retorted with a smirk. She watched as Silver just started snickering. "Wait… That didn't come out right… Oh, forget it," she groaned. "But you just wait until I tell Twilig-" she was cut off by her friend suddenly.
"Let any of this slip and I tell Rainbow Dash that Rarity turned you onto those Fifty Sheds of Grey novels. And I know you haven't told her about that one," he cut into her threat. He just grinned at the defeated scowl she gave him.
"… Fine, you win," she groaned. She hated when he brought that threat up. After all, how could she ever admit to Rainbow that she read such a sappy clop novel. It was based off a fan-fiction, for Celestia's sake!
Silver grinned, "Glad we both agree on that. Now, how about some lunch?"
"Sounds good to me," Shadow said, heading over to the door and stretching her wings.
"Wait, you wanna go out in this downpour?" Silver asked, looking back out at the rain. "I was thinking we could just make something here," he explained.
"Oh please, this doesn't bother me," Shadow laughed. "Unless you don't wanna go out there, I was thinking of buying lunch. I figure it's the least I can do since I 'lost', but also because I tried to jump you" she said, bending her wings at the last word but still smiling.
"Really now?" Silver asked, smiling as he floated an umbrella over. "Well, who am I to refuse a free meal?" He popped open the umbrella, "Allons-y!"
Shadow looked at him, "What?"
Silver shrugged, "I always hear that guy who runs the clock shop saying it. It has a nice ring to it, you know?"
One rather wet and muddy walk through town later, the two friends were tucked away in the café. Shadow was munching on a daisy sandwich with hay fries while Silver enjoyed daffodil soup with crackers. Shadow looked up from her meal, "Enjoying the meal, Silver?"
He nodded and smiled, "It's great. Thanks for treating."
"Ah, well, it's no big deal. My job pays well," she said with a smile.
"Yeah, rub that one in my face," Silver said with a chuckle. It was tough running the book store under their home here, but he always seemed to manage, even if it didn't exactly lead to piles of bits for them.
Shadow couldn't help but give a small laugh. "You know I could always help you out if you needed it," she pointed out. "I may be on the weather team now, but I'm always willing to help my best friend."
"Really?" Silver grinned a bit at her offer, not really surprised by it. He should have known she'd bring it up, "Well, if you ever have some off time, I could use somepony to help me out. And to keep company when there's no business. Thanks, Shadow." The two sat in silence for a while after that, both finishing off the last of their meals. "Say, I know you agreed to pay for lunch, but how about some dessert on me?" Silver suggested, smiling.
Shadow raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised at his offer. "You sure? I mean, I have the bits and then some..." she started.
Silver nodded, "Of course, think of it as a thanks for treating me to lunch. And for starting that little battle of ours back in the apartment."
"Well, if you say so."
"Great!" The unicorn waved a hoof, flagging down a waitress. "Excuse me, we'd like some dessert, please! I'll take a piece of apple pie."
"I'll take one too, please," Shadow added.
She nodded to them, "Sure thing." A few minutes later, the two were both munching on slices of pie.
"Not bad, but it still can't beat Applejack's pies," Silver said after a few bites. And it was true; the pie itself was pretty good, but the apples themselves just didn't taste as well as they could have.
"Tell me about it. I'm pretty sure they used Sweet Apple Acres apples, though," Shadow said as she took another bite. "After all, it only makes sense to but local."
"I'm sure they did. But still, they only got the ingredients, and not the right hooves to make it," Silver pointed out, taking another bite of his own slice.
"Yeah, it's a shame," Shadow pointed out, sounding a bit disappointed. "I wonder whether Apple Bloom or whatever that filly's name is has similar skills. It would make sense since the Apples seem to have that run in the family."
"Well, maybe not hooves for cooking, but I've seen that she definitely has the skill for building. That tree house on the Acres? Applejack told me she restored the whole thing herself, rather proudly I might add," Silver explained with a chuckle.
"Is that so?" Shadow asked, looking to be quite intrigued now. She smiled, "That's impressive for a filly her age. She'll get her cutie mark for sure if she keeps that up." "She should, but according to Applejack and Rarity, Apple Bloom and her friends are trying every other thing in the book except for what they seem best at! If they want to stop being called 'blank flanks', they'd better realize what's staring right at them soon," I say, sighing a bit, "Frankly, I can't help but feel a bit sorry for them, being picked on by the same other fillies over and over."
"Tell me about it," Shadow murmured softly. "I wish there was something I could do to help. Not just them, but anypony who's having trouble. Just kinda feels like my calling in a way, you know?" she asked taking another bite of pie.
"Hmmm, kinda, yeah..." Silver looked down at his own cutie mark, a compass rose, and then out the window. "I just wish I knew what our cutie marks actually meant. That might help us at least a bit..." he sighed.
"I know. A compass rose and a sword-crossed bleeding heart...what special talents could those possibly represent?" Shadow asked. The two of them had both asked that same question several times over the last few months. But neither of them had a solid answer just yet.
"No clue... The compass usually means leading others or something similar. Maybe I was in charge of something before we wound up here..." Silver suggested. It was really the only viable theory he'd managed to come up with, having so little to work with.
"Well, you do seem like a natural-born leader most of the time. But what about mine..." Shadow said in a low voice, looking back at her own mark.
"Well, it's a heart with swords through it, so it might mean that you're a good fighter. Maybe you were in the royal guard?" her friend suggested.
Shadow couldn't help but chuckle at that idea, "That would be really cool. An Alicorn who isn't royalty working FOR royalty."
Silver laugh a bit as well, "Yeah, kind of ironic if you think about it."
"Oh yes," Shadow laughed. Her look suddenly went serious when she stopped, however, "I wonder something, though. Every Alicorn I've ever seen or heard of is royalty and really tall. Why is it I'm a normal-sized and ordinary pony?"
"Well that's another thing I've been curious about, actually," Silver said, "But I have a theory about that; you may not be a full Alicorn, like the Princesses. You can have trouble using you magic, but you fly really well, so maybe you're not an Alicorn, but a horned Pegasus. I ended up reading about that kind of thing when I visited Twilight the other day." His cheeks went slightly pink at her name, but he continued, "And I was a bit surprised to find that ponies like that have popped up a few times in history. Even Princess Cadence is actually a winged Unicorn; she only holds the title 'Princess' since she was born to the royal family, like Prince Blueblood. Still, she's a bit more memorable, being head of a whole kingdom up in the north, plus she's way nicer."
Shadows jaw dropped as Silver explained his theory, but she listened patiently regardless, giving a small giggle at the end. "...Maybe...Maybe you're right...but I never knew such a thing existed; an Alicorn that isn't a true Alicorn? Maybe I'm not a pure Alicorn. But...Oh, man, what if I'm not pure-blooded!? What would our friends say if I truly am a...a...half-blood...?" She tried to think of the word, to let it sink in properly. She started taking quick, shallow breaths, "If I'm a half-blood, I'll probably be shunned. Everyone probably hangs out with me because they think I'm special, but what if I'm not? What if I'm actually nopony important, Sil?" Her ears drooped and her eyes began to tear up for a moment before she looked away, stomping a hoof on the floor. When she finally looked back, her eyes were brimming with a rare emotion, one Silver never remembered seeing before: Insecurity.
"Hey now, don't talk like that," Silver said, coming around to her side of the table and sitting next to the black and white Alicorn. He put a leg around her shoulder, "Shadow, I can tell you here and now that you are important. You're important to me, to our friends, and of course to Rainbow Dash. Otherwise we wouldn't talk to you. It doesn't matter if your half-blood; no matter what you are, I'll definitely stick beside you." He grinned a bit and pulled her a bit closer, "So come on and give me a smile; it suits you way better."
Shadow sat quietly, listening to her friend speak and remaining silent for another moment before finally speaking again. "Hm… All right," she said, giving a small smile. She turned a second later, wrapping him in a hug, "Thanks Sil, I needed that."
"Heh, that's my best friend." He smirked a bit, "Besides, if you're ever moping around, I know how to fix that now." As he spoke, his tail sneaked over and wagged on Shadows belly. She giggled, breaking the hug and swatting it away, "I-I know." Silver pulled it away, the both of them laughing together. It may have been hard living without a past, but having a friend in the same boat could definitely help make it more bearable.
A/N: A special thanks to my great friend Torri-chan, who edited this chapter and is truly like an awesome big sister to me. And of course to you, the readers, for sticking around and reading this. Next chapter the story should finally get moving at much more decent pace, but it'll also become action-y as well. So stay tuned.
It was a school in Canterlot, I could tell by the tall, shining buildings in the close distance. I don’t know the name of it, mainly because I couldn’t see it anywhere on the side where I was standing. But then that’s the burden of amnesia; when your memories try to return, you still can’t remember everything. But of course the name wasn’t what I saw the younger me focusing on. It was the two other foals that were messing with me.
They were both colts, bigger than me but still possibly around the same age. Both were unicorns, which was to be expected in the city, and they were both using them to shoot sparks at my hooves. Both were snickering as I hopped around until my back was against the wall, wings spread in obvious fear.
“Why are you even in a public school anyway, huh?” one of them, a dark orange one, teased at my younger self. It was pretty much what you could expect from foals, but it had an effect on my younger self nonetheless. “Shouldn’t you be up in some fancy private school? After all, you got wings AND a horn! You should be some kind of princess, right!?”
His companion, a gray-brown colt, cut in, “Heh, I bet the Princess gave her up! After all, she can’t do any magic good! Shadow here’s just a freak, that’s what she is.”
“T-that’s not true! I’m not a freak!” my younger self cried, but the tears in my eyes gave away how upset I really was. The two stepped closer, flanking either of my sides and stopping any chance of escape; I was so young I didn’t even have my cutie mark yet, and my wings were still way too small to fly away. “Get away from me, you jerks! If you don’t I’ll, I’ll…”
“Oh, you’ll what?” the orange one said in a mocking tone, “You’ll zap us with that nub you call a horn? You couldn’t do it earlier in class, so what makes you think you could now?” His own horn glowed, sending a small spark at me and making me jump and yelp in pain, making them both snicker.
“I don’t know why they even let you stay in magic kindergarten anyway? Maybe the teacher just feels sorry for you, since you don’t have any parents,” the gray one said with a sneer. “You’re nothing but an orphan, you know that? Just a stupid, orphan freak that her parents didn’t want!” By this point the younger me was curled up in a ball, sobbing gently as the two colts kicked dirt at me. “What’s wrong, huh orphan? Aren’t you used to being in the dirt like this?” they kept teasing. I knew I couldn’t step in and save myself; this was only a dream of a memory, like viewing a film. And there was nopony else around to help me. Or so it looked at first.
I saw a quick movement from some nearby bushes. Turning, I saw a bright gray blur rush over at the two colts over my younger, shaking form. There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly the two were staggering away from where I was, apparently forced back. When the light faded, I was honestly surprised by who was standing there. He was a lot smaller, flank just as bare as my own, but there was no mistaking that silver coat or that wild, black and white mane and tail. It was Silver, and his horn was glowing as he glared down the other two while I looked up at him in amazement.
“You leave her alone, you big bullies!” he yelled, pointing his horn at the two bigger ponies. He reared down and spread his hooves, trying to make himself look intimidating.
The gray one looked at him, “What’s your deal, kid? Why are you sticking up for the freak?”
“Because, she needed help,” he said, not moving from where he stood. “And she’s not a freak; she just looks different. That’s no reason to be bullying her. How’d you feel if you were picked on, huh?” he asked.
“You better shut up and get outta here if you know what’s good for you, kid,” the orange one said, his and his friend’s horns both flaring to life and pointing at Silver. But he didn’t move, instead keeping his horn bright. “You don’t even know her, so why stick up for her?” he asked.
“I don’t need to know her; I was always told you should stick up for other ponies who are being picked on. It’s the right thing to do, now you get out of here!”
“Fine, you asked for it, bub!” The two shot off a number of sparks at him, but Silver closed his eyes tight, and a few seconds later, a small, green shield had popped up in front of him, protecting us both from the sparks. The other two colts were definitely shocked by the display, stumbling even further back.
“W-what, but… how can you make a shield!? Nopony in our class can do that!” the gray one said nervously. “I practice a lot,” Silver grunted, apparently straining to keep the small dome up. “Now, get out of here and just stop messing with other ponies!” he cried, stepping forward. In their shocked state, that was apparently all it took for the two bigger unicorns to turn and gallop away. When they had turned the corner, Silver finally dropped the small shield, taking a deep breath. It had clearly taken a lot of energy for him, being so young. Still, despite the tired look in his eyes, he turned and held a hoof out to the younger me, “Are you okay?”
“Uh... y-yeah, I’ll be okay,” I said, taking his hoof and getting up. He helped to dust me off. “Thanks for helping me. Nopony really ever sticks up for me around here…” I said, not looking at him, my ears low. “Do… do you really think I’m not a freak?” I asked
“Of course I don’t. That’s why I came and helped you when I heard you being picked on,” he said with a small smile. “I’ve seen you around here a lot at recess, but I never saw you playing with anypony. I didn’t realize you didn’t have any friends around here.” He held out a hoof again, this time in greeting, “I’m Silver Soul. Nice to meet you.”
The younger me looked at the hoof for a few seconds, before reaching out and tapping it with her own. “I’m Shadow Heart. And thanks again, for standing up for me back there,” she said, smiling at him.
“Well, everypony needs a friend,” he said with a smile. “Come on, I’ll walk you home if you want.”
“Thanks, Silver,” I said, walking with him out of school yard.
“Anytime, Shadow,” he said. “So, tell me about yourself. It must be really cool being an Alicorn...” I watched the two foals walking away, having already realized what I was watching.
I’d been his friend since we’d started school. This had been the day I’d first met Silver.
“… And that’s everything she told me about her dream,” Silver finished.
“Wow, that sounds pretty heavy,” Rainbow said. It was the morning after the rather large rainstorm, and so the weather patrol was busy cleaning up all the remaining clouds this morning. And it had struck Rainbow Dash as odd when Shadow hadn’t reported in, leading the Pegasus to go over to her place. After all, the Alicorn hadn’t once been late in the time she’d been working for Ponyville’s Weather Department.
To her surprise, it was Silver who’d come to the door, explaining to her that Shadow had refused to get out of bed, in a very depressed tone of voice. All he’d been able to get out of her was a description of a dream she’d had last night; one similar to the one he’d had a few days ago, apparently. After hearing it, Dash was quick to put two and two together. And now, in constantly growing un-Rainbow-like fashion, she felt herself getting upset at the idea of Shadow being so upset. So here she was now, standing in Shadow and Silver’s flat with the Unicorn stallion.
“I think heavy is an understatement here, Dash,” Silver said, leading her towards the door to Shadows bedroom. “I mean, I’ve never seen Shadow so depressed over something. I didn’t even think she could get this upset! And she’s not telling me anything other than to let her rest.” He looked her in the eye, stopping in front of Shadows door, “So please, I’m asking you as a friend; can you just talk to her, please, and try to snap her out of this? I mean, you’re her marefriend, so she’ll probably open up a bit more to you than just a normal friend on this.”
“Um, well…” Rainbow faltered. She really wasn’t one for talking, of course. She was a more take action kind of mare, somepony who wanted to find the fastest solution to something. And usually, talking wasn’t the fastest way to solve anything. Instead, it was one of the slowest if her memories served her well. Still, this was Shadow they were talking about. The mare she’d snuggled with under the stars. The one she’d told some of her deepest secrets to! Her marefriend… And she at least owed her to try and talk. “… Okay, I’ll try and talk to her. But I can’t guarantee it’ll do any good.”
“Thank you, so much,” he said, wrapping his front legs around Rainbow. The Pegasus was quick to try and nudge him off.
“Okay, okay, you’re welcome,” she grunted, slipping out of his grasp. “Just, please no hugs. And, can you not listen in on this, please?”
“Sure; I have to go to the library today, anyway. That should give you plenty of time to try and get her back to normal,” Silver told her as he started toward the door.
“Really?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow at him, unable to stop a knowing smirk from crossing her lips “Any reason why you wanna get there so early? Or is it for something more than just books you’re going for?” Silver’s back was to her now, but she could tell he was blushing, and stifled a snicker.
“Actually, there is; I’m expecting a letter from Canterlot, if Shadow didn’t tell you. One that could help us find out more about ourselves,” he said, not looking back as he opened the door.
Shadow had told her about it, Rainbow suddenly remembered, realizing now what he meant. “Oh, right… that. Well, I hope you find something,” she said. “Oh, and don’t get cold hooves if you feel you wanna ask Twilight anything. You know she’ll always give you an honest answer,” she added before Silver had walked out.
He finally looked back at her, his face clear of any red, “Thanks Rainbow, I’ll remember that. And please, really try with Shadow. She may be your marefriend, but she’s practically a sister to me by this point.” With that, he stepped out into the hall.
“No problem,” she said simply before turning to face Shadows door. She reached out, giving a few quick knocks, “Shadow, you in there? It’s me, Rainbow Dash.”
Silence, except for what sounded like the rustling of bed sheets.
“Shade, come on, if you’re awake in there, let me come in. I wanna talk to you.”
“Well, I don’t wanna talk right now, Rainbow. And don’t you have weather duty right now? Just leave me alone for now.”
Rainbow chuckled, trying to not to get annoyed now, “Come on, when have you known me to do any of my work on time. Besides, I’m worried about you; Silver told me you won’t come out of your room because of a dream from last night.”
“It wasn’t just a dream Rainbow! It was the past, now just shut up and go away and leave me alone!” Shadow practically shouted through the door.
Her patience quickly drained, Rainbow yelled back, “Shadow Heart, you let me in your room right now or I’ll buck the door in! And you know that I can, and will!”
Silence for a minute yet again. But then, she heard the gentle hum of magic and the turning of the door knob before the door slowly opened and Rainbow stepped inside.
She’d never been in Shadows room before. Their nights spent together were usually in her mansion up in the sky near the edge of town, after all. But now that she was here, she could finally get a good look at it. The walls were bare, save for a few small pictures. There was a small bookshelf with only a few books on it, most of them either fictional stories or books on flight. But aside from that there was only a bed with a bedside table holding a lamp and picture frame.
Shadow was curled up on the bed, watching as Rainbow sat next to her. She held her head down, but Rainbow could see her eyes were red, and both her cheeks had moist streaks going down them. Had she really been crying? Rainbow really didn’t have a good idea of what to say at this point, but settled for the first thing that came to mind, “Um… hey.”
“Hey…” Shadow choked, her voice sounding tight. Definitely crying, then. “Sorry for yelling, just now,” she said quietly. “It’s just, I… I…” she started, apparently unable to finish her sentence.
Rainbow went over, sitting next to her on the bed. “Shadow, what’s wrong with you? Come on, you know you can tell me anything, you know that.”
Shadow looked back down at the mattress, “You heard what Silver told you. About that dream I had, everything that I saw happen. Everything that I found out…”
“You mean that you lived in Canterlot? That you’ve known Silver since you started school?” Rainbow asked. She knew what the real reason was, though. Or rather, she was pretty sure she knew; she just had to hear it from shadow to know. So she went on, “Or maybe that…”
“You know what it is…” Shadow said quietly. “I… I was… am, I’m an orphan. I don’t have anypony…”
“Now you gotta know that’s a big fat lie.”
The Alicorn looked up at the rainbow mare, “What do you mean that’s a lie? I heard it enough in my dream, Rainbow Dash! Orphan, Orphan… I don’t have a family…” Tears were welling up in her eyes despite her attempt to hold them back. “All this time, I’ve been wondering, what about my family? Where was I from? What was my family story? Were they worried about me, looking for me out there somewhere? Did I have any relatives, brothers or sisters? And now…” She gulped, her voice heavy, “And now, after all this time… I get some hint about who I was. And in the end, it turns out I don’t have anypony to worry about me. To go home to…” Suddenly, she broke, leaning over and wrapping her front legs around Rainbow Dash’s neck. Any attempt at keeping herself composed in front of her marefriend was lost as she put her head in Dash’s shoulder, muffled cries coming from it. “First I wind up with amnesia, and then I find out I haven’t got a family… how is that fair at all!?”
Dash had to stop herself from pulling away. She reminded herself, help as much as you can, even if that just meant being a shoulder for Shadow to cry on. Slowly, she put her front legs around her, sitting there quietly as the Alicorn cried into her coat.
Silver’s hoof tapped on the front door of Golden Oaks Library. It hadn’t taken long at all for him to get there, even with the morning chill of fall working through his coat. A few seconds later, the top of the door opened, Spikes head popping over the bottom half of the door.
Silver smiled at him, “Morning Spike. Glad to see you made it back okay. Twilight up yet; she mentioned I’d be over today, right?”
“Yeah, she’s been up for a while now. She told me when I got back last night, after having me send something off to Canterlot,” he said, opening the lower part of the door for the Unicorn so he could step inside. “So, Celestia’s School huh, seems kind of a long shot, don’t you think?” he asked as Silver walked in, “I mean if you were there, you’d have thought Twilight would at least know you by appearance. I mean, you’re around the same age, right?”
Silver nodded, “That’s what all the doctors at the hospital said. But, we had to at least try; any possible lead is helpful at this point…”
Spike could hear the worry clearly in Silvers voice, and gave him a concerned look, “You okay? You don’t sound pretty hopeful.”
“I am, it’s just, well… Shadow had a real… vivid dream last night, is all, and she’s been really depressed about it all morning,” Silver told him. He took a look around the library, empty save for him and the baby dragon. “Where is Twilight, anyway?”
“Up here, sorry,” cried the familiar voice of the lavender mare. Silver turned to see Twilight trotting down the stairs. “Good morning, Silver,” she greeted as she reached the bottom and came over to the pair, “Now, what was that about Shadow having a dream?”
“Oh, that, well…” Silver sighed, sitting and explaining everything his friend had told him about the previous night. “… And now, she’s locked herself up in her bedroom and refuses to come out,” he finished. “Rainbow Dash came over a little while ago, so I asked her to talk to Shadow to see if she can help.”
Twilight gave him a skeptical look, “Really, you sure about that? I mean, I know those two are together, but Rainbow isn’t exactly the best with situations like that…”
“Only because she never had so much motivation, like she does with Shadow,” Silver told her. “It may sound hard to believe, but I know for a fact that Dash has a soft, romantic side to her. I see it all the time she and Shadow are together,” he explained. “She’d do just about anything for Shadow. She’s never said it before, but I’m pretty sure she’s fallen in love…”
“You really think so?” Twilight asked, stepping a bit closer to him. “I’d never have thought Rainbow could meet somepony like that. I never really saw her as a romantic.”
Silver shrugged, trying to ignore how close she was to him. “Yeah, me either. But you know, that’s the great thing about love…” he said, looking her in the eyes. “We can’t help it; it’s just something that… happens,” he leaned forward a bit, not even realizing what he was doing.
“Yeah, I guess it is…” Twilight said, leaning in slowly as well. “Funny, how it can happen like that, and with who…” she started, her voice low. However, as the two were just inches apart, Spike decided to make himself known.
“Um, hello!?” he cried, snapping his claws between their faces, making both Unicorns jump. “Jeeze, get a room you two,” he muttered, heading over to one of the bookshelves. As he worked on sorting the books, the other two sat there, avoiding each other’s gaze with bright red faces. Neither of them really knew what to say after something so spontaneous. Thankfully, the awkwardness was gone a minute later as there was another knock on the door.
“Hello? Is the library open yet?” called a mares voice from outside. Happy to have a reason to do something, Twilight jumped to her hooves.
“Yes, yes we’re open!” Twilight proclaimed, rather loudly as she opened the door, while Silver took the chance to head off for one of the shelves and start browsing the books. In front of the entrance was a thin, tan-coated unicorn with a pair of saddlebags on her back. Her mane and tail were pitch black, and she had a cutie mark of what looked to be a whip cracking in mid-air. “Good morning, can I help you find anything?” Twilight greeted, her smile a bit too big.
The mare shook her head, walking inside, “No, I’m just here to browse at the moment, but thank you.” With that, she went off to a shelf and started browsing.
“Of course. You need any help, please feel free to ask me or Spike,” Twilight said, motioning to her assistant at the end of her sentence. The tension from before mostly gone now, she wandered back over to Silver. “Anyway, Spike told you I sent the request yesterday, right?” she asked.
Silver didn’t meet her eyes, but instead suddenly shifted them over to the mare, watching her intently for some reason. Still, he nodded, “Yeah, he told me. The response should be here any minute, right?”
“Um, yeah,” Twilight said, a bit annoyed he didn’t seem to be paying her much mind, but was apparently ogling the new visitor. She had her back to them and was across the room, but he was eying her with a surprising amount of intensity. “If they’re lucky, they’ll find it before… um, Silver, not to sound rude, but you can please look at me while I’m talking to y-“ She was stopped suddenly, however, as the stallion next to her but a hoof around her mouth and brought her right up to his chest. Looking up at his, cheeks bright red, she saw that his eyes had somehow changed; instead of their usual warm feeling, they’d gone rather cold, and were looking over at the other mare with an analyzing glance. She could easily tell; it was the same look she got when she was focusing on some tough studying. He bent down slightly, whispering into her ear,
“Something’s off about that mare over there. I can’t tell exactly what, but she seems… wrong, somehow. The dangerous kind of wrong. And she has a weapon in her saddlebag, probably a whip like her cutie mark.” Twilights eyes went wide at the dead seriousness in his voice. A kind of seriousness she’d never heard out of him before. Still, she kept quiet as he went on. “Now listen carefully; don’t kick her out, she’ll get suspicious. But stay close to Spike in case she makes some kind of move.”
As he finally let go of her, Twilight stood back up and looked at him. She would have asked if he was certain about such a crazy accusation, but something about his voice just now told her he was. Instead, she opted to say, “That was… new, Silver. I never knew you had a side like this to you.” She looked back at the mare, who had kept her back to them this whole time as she browsed. Keeping her voice low, she asked, “You think you dealt with this kind of stuff in the past.
He nodded, the serious look not leaving his face, “I think so, but we can talk about that when we know she’s gone. Just go over to Spike and keep him safe like I said; I can handle myself. And remember, don’t look or say anything conspicuous.” Twilight nodded, starting over to Spike, “Right.”
Back at their home, Shadow had finally managed to stop crying, wrapped in Rainbow Dash’s forelegs as the Pegasus quietly held her. “I… I’m sorry, Rainbow,” Shadow choked, wiping her tears away with a hoof. “I know I must look so stupid right now…”
“Don’t say that, Shadow,” Rainbow said, nuzzling her marefriends cheek gently. “Please don’t. You could never look stupid to me,” she said quietly. “And you are wrong about what you said, not having a family,” she added.
“How do you figure that?” Shadow asked, looking at Rainbow with a foal-like innocence.
Rainbow smiled slightly, reaching a forehoof over to Shadows bedside table and taking the picture that had been resting there. “Well, you tell me, what is this?” she asked, holding the picture in front of Shadow. It showed the Alicorn outside the building with Silver; it was from their first day in Ponyville, when they’d first moved in. Both of them were smiling, a foreleg wrapped around each other.
“Me… and Silver,” she answered, “But, what’s that got to do with this?”
“Why do you even have this picture, huh?” Rainbow asked back.
“Well, because, we’re friends,” she answered simply, “We’ve been friends since we both woke up here, maybe even before then…”
“Friends?” Rainbow shook her head, “Nah, I think you’re more than that.”
Shadow looked at her, “Rainbow Dash, are you implying that I’ve been cheating on you? Because if you do, I’ll have you know that-“
She was cut off by Rainbows snickering, “No, no, it’s nothing like that. No, I think you two are a lot closer.” Her voice became more serious as it went on, “You’ve known him since you were both foals. He saved you from being bullied, but more important, he saved you from being alone if that dream is anything to go by. He was there for you when nopony else wanted to be. He feels like a lot more than a friend, he told me that himself; he said he feels like a brother to you.
“He… he does?” Shadow said, taking the photograph now and looking down at it. She was quiet for a minute, “… It’s true, he did save me from being alone. I can remember now; he was the first friend I ever had. He even took me in when he found out I didn’t have a family. He was just like a brother to me…”
Rainbow grinned, “See? You’re never gonna be alone again. Silver’s been there for you for years. And even if he wasn’t here now, you still got all the other girls as well as me.” She hugged Shadow again, bringing her in close and whispering into her ear, “I promise you here and now, I won’t let you be alone. And I’m saying that as the Element of Loyalty.”
Shadow was crying again by now, but for a much different reason. Smiling, she leaned in and locked lips with Rainbow for a full minute, their eyes closed. When she finally broke off, she whispered back to Rainbow, “You really can have such a great serious, romantic side to you under that huge ego of yours sometimes… I’ll never know what I did to deserve such a great mare like you.”
Rainbow chuckled, “Heh, ditto. Now come on, I know just the thing to get you pumped up again; some good old-fashioned cloud buck-“
BOOM!!!
Out of nowhere, the sounds of a huge explosion erupted in their ear drums. The force was so strong it actually shook the building, and no doubtedly most of the buildings around town. Not only that, but the sound was accompanied by what looked like a large, but brief pillar of light. “What in the name of Tartarus…?” Rainbow started, looking out the window towards the source of the large disturbance.
Shadow looked as well, before her eyes suddenly went wide as dinner plates. “That looks like it came from the library! Oh no, Silver, Twilight, Spike, they could all be in trouble!”
“Well then what’re we waiting for!?” Rainbow asked, already in the air as she opened the window. “Come on, let’s get going!” she said, Shadow following her as the two sped out and towards the library.
“Spike, keep your voice down; this is a library, after all.”
“Fine,” Spike grumbled, bringing his voice down to a whisper, “Are you really sure that pony’s dangerous? I mean, she’s just looking through a few books.” He motioned to the unicorn who had come in earlier, who hadn’t turned to look at them or Silver since she’d arrived. “You sure Silver knows what he’s saying? Maybe he’s just tired or something.”
“I am sure. You didn’t hear Silver before. I’ve never heard him so dead serious about anything. He sounds pretty certain, too,” Twilight said. “Now just act normal; if we’re lucky, she may not find a reason to stay here and just leave.” Spike shrugged, “No problem there. I got plenty to do now that I’m back anyw-“ He stopped suddenly, his cheeks puffing out as his stomach growled.
At that moment, several things happened at once. With a loud belch, he spit a stream of green flames out of his mouth, which quickly spin into a circle that materialized into a average-looking manila folder, which floated in the air.
So the school did have a file then! Twilight thought, her magic reaching out to pick up the folder. However, before she could grab it, she heard the sound of a saddlebag opening. She then heard the sound of something slicing through the air before the folder was suddenly snagged by nothing other than a black whip. The mare, gripping the whip’s handle in a field of pale red magic, brought it over to herself. Twilight and Spike both looked at her, stunned in shock by the quickness of her actions.
“I’m afraid I need that, thank you very much,” she said as the folder landed in her now-empty saddlebag. The tan mare’s eyes were shining in glee as she looked back at Silver, who had turned at the sound of her movement. “Sorry, but my orders are to make sure you don’t get your hands on this, Silver.”
Silvers eyes went wide, “Orders? You mean, somepony hired you to come here!? But, how’d they know about any of this?”
The mare shrugged, “Sorry, but I don’t question the orders of my Superior.” She started towards the front door, “Now, just be nice and don’t move, and I’m allowed to leave you in peace.” She got to the door, whip still in the air as her hoof reached out to grab the door knob… Suddenly, she jumped back as a jade-green beam of magic hit the spot she’d been standing in seconds ago. She whirled around, glaring at Silver, whose horn was pointed at her and still glowing.
“I’ve gone almost five full months without knowing who I am,” he said slowly, eyes glaring daggers at her. “I am not about to let some mystery mare with a whip take my one chance of possibly finding out more about myself! Now I am not letting you leave with that file, and you’re going to answer all the questions I have for you…” His horns magic suddenly flared in strength, “One way, or another.”
The mare smirked at him, “Oh really now? And how exactly do you plan on doing that? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m the one with the weapon!” As she spoke, she reeled the whip back and cracked at him, making Silver jump back as she laughed. “But you know what, I’ll be nice; I’ll let you ask me one question, and if I can answer it, I will.”
Silver stopped and lifted his head, looking behind the whip-cracking mare at Twilight, who had brought herself in front of Spike in a protective stance. Thinking quick, he whipped his tail up towards Twilight’s bedroom, hoping she’d get the idea. Her nod showed she did, her horn glowing as she prepared a teleport spell.
Silver looked back to the mare, “Fine. Figuring you’re a typical kind of pony, no doubt you’ll lie if I ask something important. So in that case, how about a simple question? One not so important?”
She shrugged again, “If you want.”
“Okay then… your name, what is it?” Silver asked.
“My name?” she laughed, “Well, that was a dumb waste of a free question!” She smirked, readying her weapon, “But, if you really must know, it’s Wylde Twister. Now, enough stalling; if you’re gonna make a move, make it now!”
Silver smirked back at her, “I already did. Next time, pay attention to everypony around you instead of just the one who attacked you”
“What are you going on about?” Wylde asked, cocking an eyebrow at him. However, a second later, a violet flash of light behind her went off, making her turn. Twilight was still standing there, but Spike was gone, safely upstairs in Twilights room. “Huh, sneaky, I’ll give you that…” she said, looking back at Silver. “But thanks for the tip!” she cried before suddenly turning and launching her weapon at Twilight.
“No you don’t!” Silver cried, his horn glowing as a green bubble of magic appeared in front of Twilight, the whips tip bouncing harmlessly off its surface.
“What the…?” Wylde turned back to Silver, a shocked look on her face, “But, the Superior said... He said you couldn’t possibly be able to do magic like that! Not after losing all your memories!”
“I’ve been in practice,” he said simply, “Don’t underestimate a stallion with amnesia; I’ve been remembering things real slowly, but I’ve been remembering them sure enough. Like how to do protective spells.” He put up a wall of magic in front of himself as Wylde’s whip came lashing at him several times, each time meeting the wall with a loud snapping sound. But the most it did was make it tremble slightly. He smirked, “You seem pretty good with that whip, but what good is it if you can’t hit your target?”
The mare growled, “I’ll show you how good it is!” Her horn flared briefly, the magic around the whips handle seeming to squeeze something. Moments later, the length of the whip popped outwards into dozens of short, jagged spikes! Silver could see magic leaking out of them all, leaving the whip surrounded by a rather hazy-looking fog. “Let’s see how your shield fares now!” she yelled, rearing her weapon back before lashing out, even faster than before. The edge of the whip struck Silvers shield before he could react in time, the whole thing breaking as a result of the weapons more powerful state. The force of the impact ended up sending him falling back. “Ha, not so tough now, are you!?” Wylde taunted as she smoothly went into another strike aimed for Twilight. Silvers shield had gone seconds before, leaving Twilight only a split second to duck out of the way of the swing.
Silver got back up, unhurt but still surprised at how much more powerful the weapon seemed to be now. ‘This is not good, not good at all!’ he thought to himself as he dodged another lash from the whip. Wylde was grinning madly now, hopping on top of a table in the middle of the room.
“You should have just let me leave earlier; at least then you wouldn’t have put your friend in danger,” the tan mare taunted, lashing back at Twilight who quickly teleported out of the way, reappearing next to Silver.
“Why are you even doing this? You don’t think Silver deserves to learn about himself?” Twilight asked, glaring at Wylde. She aimed her horn, launching a beam of purple magic right at her.
Wylde smirked, cracking the whip at the beam of magic and deflecting it into a wall. The result of the impact was a small explosion that blasted a small hole clean through the wood. “Like I said earlier; I don’t question my Superior’s orders,” was her only answer.
“And just who is your Superior?” Silver asked. His only response was a sudden crack at him with the whip, making him cry out and fall to the floor in pain. She’d caught his shoulder, leaving a deep cut seeping with pale red magic. It was already bleeding, blood streaming down his leg.
“Silver!” Twilight leaned down in front of him as he grabbed the wound with his good leg, blooding pouring out steadily. She glared back at Wylde, “How dare you!? Assaulting somepony with a magic weapon is illegal!” “
So, what are you gonna do about it, egghead?” Wylde tunted, deflecting several mare shots of magic shot at her by Twilight. They hit randomly around the room, blasting books off shelves and turning furniture into piles of ash and timber. “Look, you’re not the one I’m after, so why don’t you just run along? I promise, I’ll make this clean as I can for him if that makes you feel any better.”
“No!” Twilight yelled, standing in front of Silver, bent down in a defensive position with her horn glowing brightly. “I’d never leave my friends alone when they need help, ever!”
Silver looked up at her, in shock himself now. This wasn’t the Twilight he’d seen up to now. The cheerful, friendly, if somewhat log-winded and lecture-y librarian pony he’d taken a fancy for. No, she held herself different now, legs spread with a fire in her eyes and fierceness in her voice. She was ready to fight. “Twilight…” was all he said before suddenly getting to his hooves shakily. He staggered up next to her.
“Silver, what are you doing?” Twilight asked, looking at him in surprise, “You shouldn’t be trying to stand; your leg’s been hurt, bad!”
“Sorry Twilight, but I’m not sitting down and letting you keep me safe,” he said, his horn glowing as he glared at Wylde. “I won’t let another pony fight my battles,” he stated as he pawed the ground with his good leg. “Geeze, enough with the morals,” Wylde groaned. “I’m gonna end this now, if just to shut you both up!” She sneered, looking at Twilight, “And because you were stupid enough not to take my offer, I’ll start with you, egghead!” With that, she disappeared in a flash of red light, appearing behind the two. “Say your pares, mare!” she cried as the whip came for Twilights neck before she could react.
“No, Twilight!” Silvers eyes went wide right before things seemed to move in slow motion. His horn glowed stronger than ever before as he pushed Twilight down, moving front of her as the jagged sides of the whip connected with his neck…
BOOM!!!
All of a sudden, the whole front of the library exploded outward into the streets. If the noises inside hadn’t attracted attention yet, the sheer, building-shaking force of the explosion just now did. Ponies all over town stopped whatever they were doing, eyes turning towards the source of the explosion. As they did so, however, they were met with a whole different sight than they expected. Instead of a large cloud of smoke and fire, everypony watched as a large collum of light stretched endlessly into the sky, rainbow-colored waves of light slowly slipping away and fading. As if that wasn’t enough, every unicorn in town could also feel something as well, though. The light was more than just light; it was pure, fully untainted magic, shooting down right on the Golden Oaks Library!
Yet despite all this, there didn’t seem to be any real force to the explosion, leaving nothing and nopony on the ground, but simply shaken. Wylde Twister was no exception, either. Eyes closed from the blinding sight before her, she reeled back as she fell to the floor. Twilight had closed her eyes as well, curling up as the collum of light enveloped her and Silver. Finally, after almost a full minute, the light faded, leaving nothing but a few dwindling sparkles floating in the air.
Twilight and Wylde both opened their eyes, looking at Silver. However, the magic had apparently been aimed for him, as he now looked much different. For one, he was now in a long, full-body cloak complete with a hood, the whole thing bright white with light purple edges. Holding it together was a clasp shaped just like his cutie mark.
The cloak was billowing, despite there being no wind. However, Silver wasn’t paying attention to it, his horn glowing brightly with magic practically spilling out from it as he used it to grasp what looked to be a weapon in front of him. The handle was short and silver, completely round with a golden tip on the end. However, there was a thin, curved blade as well, but it was nothing but a thin strip; there was nothing underneath the strip of metal, and it was held on only at the top of the handle, just below the tip. The bottom half of the blade was dark gray but the top was silver, gleaming in the sunlight. The whole blade came about halfway down the grip of the weapon, ending in a pointed tip that was curved inward.
Twilight looked up, Wide-eyed, “By Celestia’s beard… This can’t be possible…” She found herself unable to say anything else or even think straight at the sight before her. Seconds ago, Silver had been crouched over her with an injured leg and taking a death blow. But now here he was, with an outfit and weapon seemingly from nowhere and his wound apparently healed by the sheer amount of magic flowing through him.
Wylde was just as shocked, her body trembling from the sheer amount of magic she felt spilling from him. His gaze turned to her and he glared. Just that felt like there was magic behind it, she thought as she took a step back. “W… what’s all this?” she asked slowly as she looked him and his new weapon over. “What… what in Tartarus are you!?”
A smirk slowly worked its way over Silvers lips. “That is the question, isn’t it?” he asked back, looking at the weapon in front of him before pointing the tip towards her. Wylde readied her whip on instinct. “I have no clue how this happened, but I really don’t need to too fight you, do I?” he asked, getting into a fighting pose along with Wylder. “Now… bring it on!” he cried, jumping high into the air as he grabbed the weapon in his mouth now, his injury from before seemingly gone. As he came back down, his magic poured into his weapon, the blade glowing green as the magic took the shape of several long, curved spikes. He flipped once in the air, bringing the edge of the blade down as Wylde lashed at him. The two weapons clashed, the magic in each causing a large flash of light and creating a strong enough blast outward that twilight was tossed backwards from where she had been watching.
Sitting back up after she finally stopped moving, Twilight saw Silver was back on the ground, his head low after bringing a slash down against Wylde. She watched as the tip of Wyldes whip flew through the air, separated from the rest of the weapon. It thudded dully on the ground, but she couldn’t hear it as Silver turned on his front legs, bucking Wylde square in the chest and knocking her clean out of the huge hole in front of the library.
She landed outside in a cloud of dirt, her whip on the ground after the shock of the attack had made her lose her grip. Without any magic flowing through it, it looked normal once again. However, as she reached out her magic for it, she watched as Silvers weapon, floating once more, came down on it, scooping the weapon up inside the empty area under the blade and tossing it up in the air. Once it was falling, the ax-like blade became a blur as it sliced and cut through the other weapon, leaving it nothing but a useless pile of cut-up cords when it finally landed. And it did all this in less than ten seconds.
Wylde gaped as she lay on the ground, looking up at Silver as he came up to her. “T… that can’t be possible,” she breathed, “You’re just supposed to be an amnesiac stallion. How are you this strong?”
“Because, I have good motivation,” Silver said before bringing the handle of his weapon down across the back of Wylde’s head with a dull thud. A second later, her head feel to the ground and her eyes closed. She was out cold. Finally able to do so, Silver used his magic to undo her saddlebag, taking the file that had caused all the trouble out. He then looked up, only mildly surprised by what he saw. What looked like everypony in Ponyville had turned up, all of them looking at him with mixed faces of shock, fear, and awe. He even saw Shadow and Rainbow Dash, both hovering in the air with their jaws hanging. He looked behind him and Saw Twilight still on the ground in the library, her eyes wide. “Um… I can explain?”
“Alright everypony, one more time, the library is officially closed for repairs. So please, kindly go away!” Twilight said, her magic pushing away the last of the bystanders from her home. Magically recreating the destroyed wall hadn’t really been much of a problem between her and Silvers magic combined. The real problem had been trying to turn all the curious bystanders away so that they and the rest of their friends could have a chance to speak. Now, Ponyville was used to the strange and bizarre. After all, it was home to six heroes of all Equestria. But still, the appearance of an apparent seventh, and one that really looked the part at that was sure to turn some eyes. Especially after he seemed to cause an explosion that shook half of the town.
But finally, Twilight had gotten the last of them off on their way. Once she was sure nopony was hanging around outside, Twilight went back inside through the newly remade door. Sure, the wall was restored, but the inside still looked a mess, despite all her friends being there to help clean up. The main reason was because the place was covered in pages of destroyed books and piles of ash that had scattered everywhere.
Silver sat at one of the few remaining tables, his weapon sitting in front of him with the others all around the table, all of them simply staring at it. The file, still unopened, was sitting under it. Silver had refused to open it until they could all be there to see what was in it.
“… So, any clue to just what this is?” Applejack asked slowly.
“Why not ask the guy who pulled it out of a huge explosion?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking at Silver. The Unicorn sighed, “Again Rainbow Dash, I have no idea how I ended up with this weapon, or this outfit,” he motioned down at the cloak, still wrapped around him.
“I still stand by what I said earlier; that cloak fits you well, but the trimming really should be a darker shade,” Rarity pointed out, taking the edge in her hoof and looking it over. “Though I have to admit, this seam is perfect. Almost invisible, too…”
“If you say so…” Silver said in a low voice, regretting having let Rarity sit next to him. The fashionista had been rather adamant about giving her opinion on his new outfit. It really wasn’t helping the situation. "But today’s only given a lot more questions, and not one answer.”
“Silver’s right, we need to get some answers soon,” Shadow said on his other side, dragging the weapon in front of her, “Maybe this can give us some, though, if we can at least figure out what it is and where it came from.” She held it up to eye level, examining it closely. “Well, if you ask me, it almost looks some kind of ax.”
“Tomahawk,” Twilight suddenly said, sliding up to the table and squeezing between Silver and Rarity, the former rather thankful for it. It felt more comfortable with Twilight next to him, if only because he knew she wouldn’t be eyeing him up and down, silently judging his appearance. At least, not obviously.
“Um, what was that, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked from her side of the table.
“It’s a tomahawk, if I’m correct,” Twilight said, floating one of the still-intact books over from a shelf. She flipped through the pages until coming to one with several illustrations showing different variations of a weapon much like Silvers own. Though none of them had the blade like his did, each of them being complete and attached lower down the grip. “It was a type of ax that ponies would use centuries ago, for everything to shopping wood to defending themselves in battle,” she explained, looking back at the weapon in Shadow’s hooves. “But I’ve never heard of one with such a unique design before. It’s clearly magical in its design, too.”
“Really, how can you tell?” Pinkie Pie asked, leaning over and looking at it as well.
“Well, first of all, there’s the fact that it could only be used if it was magically reinforced. The design of the blade would make it impossible otherwise. The blade’s so thin and barely connected that one hard swing would break it if it didn’t have magic to it,” Twilight went on. “But the real giveaway is how you channeled your magic through it, Silver. I saw your magic change form when it leaked out of the blade on the tomahawk. Only an enchanted weapon can do that, like that whip that Wylde was using.”
“Oh yeah, speaking of which, what should we do with her?” Rainbow asked, motioning at the hog-tied unicorn struggling in a nearby corner. Her mouth was gagged and a magic-stopping ring had placed around the base of her horn. The group had decided not to ask why Twilight had one so readily available. “Do we give her over to the police or what?”
“No; we need her,” Silver immediately protested, turning to look at Wylde, who glared back at him. “Or at least, we need her information. Whoever sent her here knows who me and Shadow really are. And we need to find out just who that is. But leave her be for now, we have something else to do.” His magic took the folder off the table, and he looked around the table, “Well, this the moment of truth, then; what’s in here must be able to give us some answers if somepony was so bent on making sure we couldn’t get this.” He looked at Shadow, who gave him a nod. The others all mirrored her. He nodded himself, “Okay than, let’s see what we have.” He opened the folder…
The room was pitch black, void of any light save for a few torches, casting a dim, eerie orange light. Long with a low ceiling and shaded windows lining the walls, the only piece of furniture inside it was a round table with cushions surrounding it. It stood in a small wing of the castle, which itself was sealed off to only a select few, and used by even fewer. But at the moment, several figures were seated in the chamber, all staring at the middle of the table, which held a crystal ball.
Four of the group wore pitch black cloaks with gray edges which hid their whole bodies, hoods drawn over their heads and hiding their faces. Even the light shining from the ball didn’t show their faces, though it was clear two of the four were Unicorns, one had a pair of bat-like wings sticking out of his back, and the other seemed to be an earth pony, with no indication of additional body parts. Their leader was a Unicorn as well, as was evident by the glowing black light under his hood, but he wore a different outfit than the others. Unlike them, his cloak was black and red, and had the design of pointed blades of both colors crossing over each other. The pattern covered every inch of the cloak, right up to the hood hiding his face.
The crystal ball was rather large, about the size of a classroom globe. It rested on a solid metal ring, held up by four clawed feet digging into the polished wood. And inside it was a familiar image; seven mares and a stallion, all gaping at the sight of the contents of a normal-looking manila folder. A Pegasus to the leaders left let out a cackle, speaking in a high male voice “Looks like our friend failed to realize we like to plan two steps ahead instead of just one. Oh, those poor things, it’s going to take them ages to break the spells we’ve set on those papers. By then, it’ll all be too late. We’ll have brought them down from the inside of the government itself. Oh, the irony of it will be amazing!” He started to laugh, as did the other three of his comrades until a stomp of their leaders hoof on the table quieted them all.
His eyes flashed a bright, solid red before turning to the stallion who had spoken before. His voice was deep and even, but there was just the hint of evil behind it. “Silence. You’ll remember to hold your tongue, Vampire of Canterlot,” he ordered, the stallion bowing his head.
“Yes, master…” he muttered.
“You know, it is too bad, though” one of the unicorns said. Their gazes all turned to a sixth, empty cushion at the table. “With Wylde as their prisoner, we’re at a rather big risk, don’t you think?” he asked.
The second unicorn, this one a mare, answered, “Oh come on, you know Wylde would never tell them anything. She’d rather die than give up a secret. We’ll be fine.”
“And if she somehow does break…” the Superior added, watching as the image shifted to their trapped ally, “I’ve assured that she will pay most dearly for any treason.”
“Wait, you mean you won’t even have one of us try and rescue her?” the earth pony asked, again a mare. “Shouldn’t we try to at least get her back?” she asked, her voice full of concern.
The Superior shook his head, “No, Wylde has proven she isn’t fit to serve below me. She has not warranted any favor from me. She is dispensable at this point, anyway. She had little worth other than a soldier, in the end. Nothing but meat to lure the prey off course…”
“Well then who gets to go after them next, huh, Superior?” the Pegasus asked, eagerness lacing his voice. “Can it be me, please? Oh please, let me have a round with them. The things I could do, the games I could play. Especially with the pretty little Alicorn… I’ve never tasted the blood of one before. It must be amazing, like candy running down your throat.”
“Ugh,” the female Unicorn groaned, “Alucard, when was the last time that you ate? You’re acting all crazy again. Well, crazier than normal, and that’s saying something.”
“Syra is right,” the Superior said. “Alucard, you’re clearly in need of food. Go out tonight and sate your hunger, but you will not go after the two of them, or their friends. None of you will.” His eyes focused on Silver's image as it came back into the crystal ball. “Let’s give them a fair chance first, before anything else. See how long it takes for Silver and the great Twilight Sparkle to break the spells we’ve set. For now, let’s just enjoy watching them squirm.” His four servants nodded, laughing again as the image in the crystal ball faded. ==========================================================
Shadow stifled a yawn, taking a long drink of the warm tea in front of her. The remains of breakfast sat on the kitchen table in front of her. The Alicorn sighed, looking at a tray of uneaten food near the remaining crumbs of her own meal, completely untouched. Another day and her ‘prisoner’ had refused any food. She had been muttering something about “I know it’s drugged” and refused to eat or drink anything.
For three days now, Wylde Twister had been living in the flat with her. Or rather, she was being held prisoner in Silvers room until she decided to say anything about what she knew. But of course, she’d been silent on that topic so far. Not too surprising; the mare, aside from not once stopping her struggling while Silver tried to teleport her to their flat, was proving to be annoyingly stubborn. She’d refused any food, and only drank when she when she was getting dehydrated.
Naturally, some of the others (Namely Applejack and Rainbow Dash) had suggested trying to be far more forceful with the mare. Still, Silver had refused to let them though; after all, trying to force anything out of her wouldn’t help the situation. Still, sitting and doing nothing wasn’t helping much either. And Shadow was frankly starting to get tired of that. Three days gone, and Twilight and Silver still hadn’t managed to break any of the spells over the documents. After all this time, maybe it was time to start going out there and searching for answers herself. Silver could stay here and take the slower route to discovering about them, but she was ready to go out there and do some actual digging around…
A sudden tapping on the window shook the mare from her thoughts. Turning her head, Shadow wasn’t surprised to find Rainbow Dash hovering in the air in front of the window. She smiled, going over and pushing the window to the side, allowing for her marefriend to come in.
“Morning,” Rainbow greeted, landing on the floor beside Shadow. She accepted a peck on the cheek in return, at least thankful Wylde was behind a locked door an unable to watch. “So, since it’s supposed to be clear skies all day, what’s the plan for today?” she asked.
“Come on Dash, you know I can’t do much while Silver’s off at the library. Somepony has to keep an eye on Wylde,” Shadow answered, motioning to the closed door.
“Aww, come on,” Rainbow whined, going and plopping down on the couch. “It’s been three days and she hasn’t said anything. Why not just force it out of her, again?” she asked, watching Shadow sit next to her.
“Because, Silver says it’d just make her resist more, and in that case we couldn’t be sure if she’d give us a real answer,” Shadow explained.
“But we don’t know if she’d tell us the truth either way,” Rainbow said. "Come on, don’t you think it’s worth at least trying?” she asked.
Shadow just shook her head, “No; I don’t think I was ever one for trying to force the answer out of somepony like that, either. But I would like to go out there and start doing some digging myself. I mean, Twilight and Silver are just taking so long with trying to reveal what’s on those papers.”
“Well then why not go out and look for some leads yourself?” Rainbow asked, sitting up a bit and looking at Shadow. “You said you have memories of you and Silver in Canterlot, so why not look around there?” she suggested. “The city’s only an or so away by flight. We can go and do some digging around ourselves!”
“Rainbow, listen to me; there’s a dangerous pony in my best friends bedroom. I can’t just leave her alone,” Shadow said, her voice more forceful.
“Come on Shadow, what do you think friends are for?” Rainbow said happily. “I’m sure the others will be happy to watch her,” she told her marefriend.
“But who could watch her today, Rainbow?” Shadow asked, “I mean, aren’t they all working today?”
Rainbow rubbed a hoof on her chin, thinking for a second. Shadow was right, she realized; Pinkie was working today, Rarity was busy with a dress order, and Applejack was going to be working the orchard all day. Which only left…
“Oh Celestia…” she sighed.
“What?” Shadow asked, looking as Rainbow’s head drooped.
“There’s only one pony free today,” Rainbow grumbled.
“And that would be?” **********************************************************
“Are you sure you’re up to doing this, Fluttershy?” Shadow asked, she and Rainbow hovering in the air in front of the living room window while the timid Pegasus sat on the couch in front of it. “I mean, Wylde’s not gonna have anything nice to say to you,” the Alicorn warned.
“Oh, I‘m sure I’ll be fine,” Fluttershy said with a small nod. “You and Rainbow just try your hardest to find any clues to your past, Shadow, and good luck,” she said with a small smile. “And, you said Silver knows where you’re going, right?” she asked.
“Yep, we sent a message off with Derpy when she came by to deliver when she came by with the mail,” Shadow assured her. “I’m sure he’ll be getting it any minute now.” “Okay then, thanks again for doing this, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said hastily, turning to the mare hovering beside her, “Now come on Shadow; we’re burning daylight.”
“Right,” Shadow nodded, the two of them turning starting off towards the city. She took one last look back at Fluttershy, calling back, “Fluttershy, make sure and keep a close eye on Wylde.” She couldn’t hear the Pegasus’ quiet voice, but she was sure it was saying something along the lines of okay. Turning back ahead, she saw Rainbow already leaving her behind. “Hey, wait up!” she cried, flapping her wings faster. **********************************************************
“Any luck?” Silver asked, his eyes scanning over the text of yet another book. “Darn it, nothing useful here either…” he muttered, tossing the book into the ever-growing discard pile.
“Nothing here, either,” Twilight said, tossing her own book aside as Spike brought over a stack of several more. She looked down at the still-blank papers in front of her, fighting the urge to simply smack them and see if that had any effect. It would probably do as much good as anything else she and Silver had tried. Not one spell that was supposed to reveal hidden information had worked on the papers, and it was starting to bug both of them.
“How about checking this one I just found; ‘Perplexing Paper Plights’?” Spike asked, pulling the book out of the stack he’d just set next to Twilight. He let Twilight’s magic take it from his grip and open it, the Unicorn bending over and scanning the contents.
“Can’t hurt to check, I suppose…” she muttered before her ears suddenly perked up at a knock on the door. She groaned, “Spike, can you get that, please?”
“Sure thing,” the baby dragon said, heading over and pulling open the front door. “Oh, hi there Derpy,” he said, immediate recognizing the grey, blond-maned Pegasus.
“Morning Spike; here’s your mail,” she said, reaching into her mail bag and pulling out a small stack of envelopes which he happily accepted. “Oh, say Spike, is your friend Silver here?” she asked, “I was supposed to give him something.”
“Yeah, he is,” Spike answered, a bit surprised.
“Great,” she reached back into her bag, pulling out a folded sheet of paper, “Then can you give this to him soon as posib- hey!” She gasped, watching as a gust of wind blew the paper out of her hoof and down the street. Her inner post-mare kicking in, she narrowed her crossed eyes, spreading her wings wide, “Oh no you don’t; I’ve never failed to deliver a single letter, and I’m not gonna start today!” With that, she sped off after the paper down the street, the wind carrying it long as she swiped constantly at it.
Spike simply stood there, watching the scene for a minute or so before slipping back inside. As he stepped back inside, Silver looked up from another book, “Spike, was there something for me just now?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “But Derpy lost it and she’s chasing after it. Don’t worry; it happens a lot, but she always brings it back by the end of the day.”
“Well, okay then,” Silver said, looking back down at the book, “Guess it can’t really be anything important, anyways…” **********************************************************
“So Shadow, recognize anything?” Dash asked as the two mares walked down one of the many streets of Canterlot.
“Rainbow Dash, we just got here,” Shadow said as they turned a corner, “Can I at least have a chance to look around here?” Sure enough, they had landed not even five minutes ago, and were wandering around the streets. Unsure of even where to go, the two simply began heading down a random street, Shadow looking around and trying her hardest to remember any of the sights.
For a while, the two walked together in silence, Shadow not recognizing a single sight. “Darn it, not one of these buildings seems familiar,” she grumbled, stomping the ground with a hoof. “If we could just find that school I remember, that might help me remember some more about my past…” She turns to Rainbow Dash, “Let’s head into the sky; we’ll get a better view from there and maybe I can find that school.”
Rainbow nodded, spreading her wings, “Sounds like a plan to me.” The duo shot up into the sky, going high enough have a good view of the entire city. “See anything you recognize?” she asked they were a good mile up.
Shadow turned on the spot slowly, taking everything she saw. Row upon row of buildings stretched out, slowly turning from business-like rows of connected buildings to houses spread along the streets. But then, something caught her eye; just past one of the taller buildings, there was a tip of brownish black, a complete contrast to the white and gold of the grand building. She went up a bit higher, ignoring Rainbow as more of the building came into view.
It was a large, mansion-like building with three floors. Three turrets shot out of it, the biggest one that caught Shadows attention off to the left. It was set a good ways from the back from the gathering of buildings, but the mare could still easily see it, numerous shades of brown showing off its age compared to the modern-looking buildings beside it.
“Shadow, what’s up?” Rainbow had flown up next to Shadow, worried when her questions had fallen on deaf ears. She looked the same way as her marefriend, the large building sticking out like a sore thumb. “You remember that building?” Rainbow asked, watching as Shadow went forward a few inches. It was then that Shadow suddenly sped off towards it. Dash blinked once in surprise before tailing after her, “Hey, wait for me Shadow!”
The Alicorn hovered to the ground in front of the building. Up close, she now saw that the building was indeed far older than any other she’d ever seen. There was no paint anywhere, leaving the dark brown wood exposed. Dirty curtains hung in the windows in varying states of shabby-ness. A sign at the edge of the rather large front yard read ‘New Road Orphanage’ in faded letters, though much of it was covered by a sign labeled ‘To Be Demolished’
Rainbow landed next to her, looking up at the building, “Woah, didn’t know a building this run down existed in Canterlot…”
“No, but I did…” Shadow said, staring up at the building, “I… Rainbow, this is where I lived for years, I know it is. I lived here until…”
“Yeah, until what?” Rainbow looked at her marefriend, who fell onto her rump.
“Until I was adopted… by Silver… and his big brother.” **********************************************************
“Ugh, again?” Twilight groaned, flattening her ears as another knock came to the door. “Spike, get the door,” she said, her face still buried in yet another book.
Silver looked up and over at his friend, “Um, Twilight, you sent him out to run a few errands, remember?” He stood up, setting his own book aside, “Don’t worry, I’ll get it.” He just got a vague nod from Twilight in response, the Unicorn already buried back in the text. He just smiled a bit and went to the front door, surrised to find a familiar blond-maned Pegasus when he opened it. “Derpy? Didn’t you already deliver the mail here?” he asked.
She shook her head, “Not all of it, no. I had a message from your friend but it tried to get away. Don’t worry though; I made sure I got it back in the end!” She proudly handed him the piece of paper and tipped her mail mare hat to him, “You have a good day now.” And with that, she was off, speeding into the sky, though of course not without hitting her head on several branches of the tree.
Silver just sighed and shut the door, “That pony really needs to find a job that can’t result in as much property damage.” When the door closed, he looked down at the paper in his magic, “I really hope Shadow had a good reason for sending me this…” He flipped it open, his eyes slowly going wide as he read the contents.
“Twilight, we need to go to my place, right now!” he said, turning to her. His voice was loud and shocked enough to make her turn and look up at him.
“Why, what’s going on?” she asked.
“Shadow and Rainbow are acting like idiots, that’s what,” he said, tossing the note away. Before she could even ask, he explained, “They went to Canterlot and decided to leave Fluttershy looking after Wylde!”
“What, are they crazy!?” she asked, getting to her hooves. “What were they thinking, leaving Fluttershy with that homicidal pony?”
“Apparently that Canterlot might have a few answers to our past,” he answered, “Now come on; we need to make sure Fluttershy is safe and then pull those silly fillies back, by their tails if we have to.”
Twilight nodded, heading for the door right behind him, “Spike, look after the library while we’re gone.” The baby dragon saluted as the Unicorns galloped out the door, Twilight’s horn glowing for a few seconds before making her and Silver disappear in a flash of light.
“Gah!” Silver stumbled as he and Twilight reappeared in front of the entrance to his and Shadow’s home. He looked at her, “Would you warn me before you do that, please?” Aside from the surprise of such a quick, unexpected change of scenery, he was pretty sure teleporting somepony like that just wasn’t safe! Even if he admired her skills to pull it off. Without waiting for her reply, Silver rushed into the building and upstairs, opening the door to the flat above. The sight inside, however, made him stop dead in utter shock. **********************************************************
“I remember everything about this place,” Shadow said, staring up at the buildings aging façade. “I was living here since I was a foal. The ponies who ran it cared about us, but the conditions were always horrible.” Carefully, she trotted up onto the porch, Rainbow hovering after her. “There was never enough bits to keep things going smoothly, and most of the other kids were horrible and stole what little we actually had around here.” She started up to the door, moving almost like she was in a trance, but stopped when she felt a tug on her tail. She looked back to see Rainbow holding it.
“Shadow, are you nuts?” the chromatic mare asked. “This place is ancient; who knows what could happen if you wandered around in there? Sorry, but no way am I letting you risk yourself in that safety hazard,” she said, tugging Shadow back a few inches, away from the door.
"Well…” Shadow took another look at the front door. It almost felt like something was trying to pull her in, to make her look around inside. Like there was something in there worth finding… But then she turned around and saw the worry in Rainbow eyes, snapping her out of the trance-like state she was in. “Y-yeah, you’re right,” she said, shaking her head a bit, “Don’t know what I was thinking. Besides, I don’t really think there’s much here worth remembering. Come on, let’s get out of here.” Dash nodded her agreement and the two turned, Shadow spreading her wings and hopping into the air beside Dash as they flew off.
However, back inside the house, a cloaked Unicorn mare let out a grunt of anger. She ripped her hood down in a swift motion, revealing a pink coat along with a black mane, and grey eyes. “Damn it, I thought that spell would work!” she growled, stomping her hoof on the floor and causing it to break. “Why in Tartarus did it not!?” she asked, trotting lightly over to the glass-less window and watching the mares fly away. “Damn it, I can’t let them get away. I got lucky seeing them before and getting here before them; the stupid Shadow and her brother are gonna ruin everything if they get their memories back. If I can stop them now, our plans are sure to go smoother. I’ll become The Superior's second-in-command.”
She slipped out of the window and down off the porch, watching as the two headed back for the main city. She glared, “Okay then, guess I don’t have a choice. Time to take things up a bit…” Her horn started to glow a steely grey, and seconds later she disappeared in a flash of light. **********************************************************
Silver was stopped dead by the sight waiting for him in his apartment. He would have expected Fluttershy to perhaps be in the living room, troubled over the fact of how mean Wylde was acting. He would have expected her to be there curled up on the couch, crying from being insulted so much. He even would have expected Fluttershy to be hurt and Wylde to be gone, easily escaping her bonds due to the timid mare.
What he DIDN’T expect was to see Wylde on the couch, crying her eyes out while Fluttershy held her hoof soothingly. “I… I… what the hay is going on here, Fluttershy?” Silver asked, he and Twilight going over to her with his gaze wandering between her and the teary mare, “Is everything okay, here?”
Fluttershy smiled at him, “Oh, hello, Silver, hello Twilight. Yes, everything is just fine.”
“Really? But then, why is Wylde… like this?” Silver asked, motioning to her as she wiped her eyes.
“Oh, well after Shadow and Rainbow Dash left, I decided to check up on Wylde,” Fluttershy explained, “And while she was being real men at first, I asserted myself and asked her just why she was being so mean.”
“Wouldn’t it be because I beat her and tied her up?” Silver asked Twilight in a low voice, only to be hushed by the lavender mare as Fluttershy went on.
“And, well, I promised her I wouldn’t go telling anypony what she told me in confidence, but in the end, I got her to realize why she was being so mean.” Fluttershy turned back to Wylde, who had sat up and smiled at her, “Now Wylde, didn’t you have something to say to Silver?”
The mare nodded, “I, I’m sorry… for everything. For attacking you and your friends and trying to stop you from finding out who you are.”
Silver just nodded, still in shock at what he was seeing. He knew that Fluttershy was good with animals but this was out of the blue. Still, who was he to complain about this? Maybe now that Fluttershy had changed her so much… Silver sit next to the couch, “It’s fine, Wylde. My only question is, just who sent you to come after me?”
Wylde’s eyes went wide and she shook her head, “No, I’m sorry but I can't say that.”
“Why not?”
“B-because, if I do, he’ll… he’ll…”
“Wylde, you can tell us,” Twilight told her, sitting down as well. “You’re safe here, don’t worry.”
She shook her head again, “No I’m not. He’s been watching me all this time. And he’s been watching you. He’s always watching everything to do with you, Silver Soul. You and Shadow Heart, and your friends…”
“What? Then is he watching Shadow now?” Silver asked, leaning closer to her. Wylde nodded. “Is she in trouble?” Another nod. “Wylde, tell me; is this person the reason me and Shadow lost our memories?” One last nod from the Unicorn. “Then please, tell me who it is; we can keep you safe from him, but we need your help, and so do Shadow and Rainbow.”
After a minute, Wylde looked Silver in the eyes. “O-okay, if you promise to keep me safe…” She took a quick look around, as if to make sure they were totally alone, then bent in, the other three joining her. “Okay then… first, you should know that it’s not just me; there are four other ponies like me who are going to come after you, and the one we’re all working for is-“
Before she could finish, however, she gasped and reeled back, shrieking in pain. The others jumped back in surprise, watching as her horn began to glow a deep black and purple. What looked like black lightning began to emit from it, shooting down and striking Wylde's body as she screamed and flailed around madly.
“What in Equestria… what’s happening to her, Twilight!?” Silver asked, looking to his friend and hoping for an answer.
However, she just shook her head, her eyes glued to the scene unfolding before her. “I have no clue. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I, I don’t think I can stop it, either…” The three could only watch as Wylde flailed around in agony for several more, long seconds before the spell stopped. The lightning disappeared and her horn lost its glow, Wylde’s body falling limp on the couch.
“I-is… is she okay?” Fluttershy asked, shaking and holding onto Twilight tightly.
Silver went over and bent down to Wylde’s body, and caught the quiet noise of her breathing. “Well, she’s still alive if that’s what you meant,” he said with a quiet nod.
“I, I’ve never seen magic like that… magic that can actually let’s a Unicorn control another. I didn’t even think that was possible!” Twilight gaped down at Wylde, then looked at Silver, “We need to go find Shadow now.”
“No, not we, just me,” Silver said, standing back up. “You need to get Wylde to the hospital and stay here with Fluttershy.” He motioned to the timid mare, who was looking at Wylde on the verge of tears.
“But Silver, you’re going to need help to-“
“Twilight, whoever’s doing this is after me and Shadow. I’m not letting you get in the line of fire, so to speak.”
“But-“
“No buts, Twi; you and Fluttershy get her help, okay? I’m going to find Shadow and Rainbow and get them back here before anypony else gets hurt.” Without waiting for a reply, he galloped out of the room, heading right for the train station.
Twilight sighed, “That pony is almost as stubborn as Applejack sometimes, I swear…” But still, I… no, focus Twilight; this pony needs a hospital! Why is that happening so much lately…?
Shadow and Rainbow sat outside a sidewalk in café in the middle of Canterlot. After all morning traveling and going around the big city, the two had agreed it was about time to take a break and have some lunch.
“Man, I didn’t think that place was even still standing,” Shadow said, her hoof picking the salad in front of her.
“Well, do you remember anything else besides that run-down place?” Rainbow asked her.
“Hmmmm… no, actually,” Shadow answered with a shake of her head. “It’s weird… I’ve been noticing that Silver and I have only been remembering certain parts of our memories as situations related to them come up.”
Rainbow looked at her, “How is that weird? Isn’t that what should be happening?”
Shadow shook her head again, “That’s what I thought, too, but actually no. See, Silver decided to do some research the other day on amnesia, and found out a few things; first off, most cases are never as extreme as our own. Plus, in normal cases memories flood back in random rushes of usually unrelated information; with me and Silver, it’s like I said before. We’re only regaining our memories if we find something that revolves around them, or things related to our memories happen that cause us to remember them. And, in Silvers case, it seems like he remembered special magic on a subconscious level when he made that weapon appear the other day.”
For once, Rainbow Dash was glad that she’d had to listen to several of Twilight’s lectures in the past. Otherwise, she was sure she wouldn’t have understood half the stuff Shadow just explained. “So wait, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” she asked.
Shadow nodded, “This wasn’t an accident. Whoever sent Wylde after me and Silver is the reason we have amnesia.” She looked up from her meal to see a worried look on Rainbow’s face. “What’s wrong, Rain?”
“Shadow, you and Silver are from Canterlot, right?”
“That’s what the flashbacks have been telling us, yeah. Why?”
“Think about it, Shade; that probably means whoever did this to you guys is from Canterlot, too. And they’re clearly still out to get you.”
“… Oh, bu-“
BOOM!!! CRASH!!
Both mares were blown away from each other as an invisible blast impacted the table, turning it into splinters and turning the ground around the remains into a small crater.
Shadow quickly leapt back to her hooves to see a cloud of dust and hear the screams of several nearby ponies. She spread her wings, flapping to clear the air as she scanned the area for her attacker. “Damn you, irony…” she mumbled as she looked around, spying a cloaked mass in the dust across from her. However, she saw it rushing not for her, but a second form that lay in a heap on the ground. “Rainbow!” she leapt forward, wings carrying her as she flew into the settling cloud, rushing for the cloaked pony. But she quickly found herself blinded as the pony wearing it tossed the piece of clothing at her from out of the blue, making her fumble and miss as the pony ducked out of the way. Shadow grunted, sliding across the ground a few feet.
The Alicorn quickly leapt to her hooves once again. Now that the dust was mostly settled, she could make out their attacker. It was a Unicorn mare. Her coat was hot pink and her mane and tail were short and pitch black. Her eyes were a cold, steel grey and her cutie mark showed a dark blue music note. She glared at Shadow, one of her front hooves pinning a motionless Rainbow Dash on the ground. “Damn it, that was supposed to knock you out,” she growled.
Shadow returned her glare, “Who the hay are you? Are the one who sent Wylde after me and Silver?”
The mare shook her head, “Sorry, but you’re only half-right. I know Wylde Twister, but I didn’t send her; that was our Superior. You can just call me Syra. And, once I get rid of you and your annoying-ass brother, I’ll be his right-hoof mare. Then I’ll finally get some-“
“Ugh, spare me the monologue and just tell me your name,” Shadow groaned. She was rather surprised by her own outburst, though. Wait, have I been through this kind of thing before…?
Syra snarled, “You little bitch! How dare you interrupt me!? I should have been able to stop you before in that shitty little shack you and her were at.” She pressed her hoof down hard onto Dash at her final words, making the mare grunt a bit.
“What do you mean, were you watching us when we were at the orphanage?” Shadow asked, looking down at Rainbow Dash, worrying crossing onto her face.
“Of course I was. You never noticed me when I spotted you two earlier, and so I tailed you. I saw where you were going and managed to get there before you. And I was going to lure you in and do The Superior a favor, but I overstepped by boundaries,” she explained to Shadow.
Shadow looked at her, “Then you were why I tried going into that safety hazard of a building?”
She nodded, “Of course; I tried my signature spell and I thought it might just work, but no luck.” She motioned down to her cutie mark, still not taking her hoof off the out-cold Pegasus below her, “My special talent is sound magic; specifically a spell I can perform that lets me create a special low-pitched sound that lures stallions to me.”
Shadow raised an eyebrow, “And you thought that would work on me why?”
“Because, I figured it worked because those stallions had an attraction to mares, so I figured it would work on you; I saw how close you were with this filly-fooler and-“
BAM!
Shadow hadn’t even bothered with her magic; she’d just rushed up, giving Syra a swift hit to the jaw and launching her back to the ground. Shadow locked eyes with her, red eyes almost literally blazing, “Don’t you dare stand there and insult my marefriend, you stupid foal; you have no right after everything you and your Superior have done to me and Silver. And now you think I’ll let you sit here and get rid of me and the mare I love?” Her horn started to glow brightly, and she took aim at Syra, “Sorry, but no way in Equestria is that gonna happen!” With that, she fired off a spell without even thinking, and was stunned when she saw several bolts of lightning shoot from her horn.
Syra, however, quickly countered by putting a shield, deflecting the lightning so it struck a nearby building. After bringing it down, her look of shock turned into a smirk as she saw Shadows surprised face. “Oh my, don’t know your own strength, do you? Well, you’re the only pony here who doesn’t. Observe.” Her horn glowed and Shadow watched as Rainbow Dash was dragged magically over next to the pink Unicorn. Then, seconds later, her eyes snapped open and her front hooves leapt to her ears. She let out a scream of pain, flailing around in the air.
“What are you doing to her!? Let her go, now!” Shadow demanded, baring her teeth at the mare who simply laughed.
“Like I said, I can make ponies hear things. Like I’m making your marefriend here a nice high-pitched screech. I’d compare it to, say, nails scratching on a glass bottle,” Syra explained, mirth in her voice and a glint in her eyes. Her ears perked up suddenly, and shadow knew why. She could hear the tell-tale sounds of clanking armor; the Royal Guard had finally managed to arrive. Syra looked Shadow in the eyes and her smirk grew, “Alright Shadow Heart, tell you what; agree to take this somewhere a bit more private, and I’ll spare the fag’s hearing. For now.”
Shadow growled, taking a step forward. She quickly stopped through as Rainbow began to scream louder, flailing even more. “Ah ah; stay put or I’ll make her ear drums explode,” Syra threatened happily. “Now choose; let me get caught and let your marefriend go deaf, or come with me and I’ll let her listen as I beat you into a pulp. Your choice, and don’t think you can stall, because the second I see a guard I’ll make this mare bleed out her ears.”
Shadow growled, her eyes darting between the squirming Rainbow Dash and smirking Syra. She knew she wouldn’t be fast enough for a surprise attack; this mare was clearly too fast with her casting. “… Fine, lead the way,” she relented.
Syra smirked even wider as Rainbow Dash finally settled down, breathing heavily from screaming so much. She dropped the mare on her back after casting a quick sleep spell on her. “Great, then come with me,” she said, turning and galloping down an alley way that, Shadow noticed, was leading right back towards the old mansion. She followed behind the pink mare, a determined glare set in her eyes.
Don’t worry Dash; I’m not gonna let this crazy mare do anything else to you. Even I have to break my horn off and stab her with it I’m going to make sure you get back home safe. And Silver…
… I remember the day your family took me in. When you saved me. And when you remember too, I hope you remember how happy I am for that. And I hope you can realize why I’m doing this. Because I have somepony close to me now; that pony I can happily risk my life for.
“Now arriving in Canterlot,” the conductor called out as he trotted down the aisle, “Everypony who wants to get off, grab your things and get ready now.” Taking a look out the window, he watched as the capital city came into view. The train hissed as it approached the platform, several ponies standing up, “Please wait until the train has stopped completely before- hey, what are you doing!?” He watched as one of the passengers, a gray-coated, jumped out the open window next to his seat.
Silver grunted, stumbling as he tried to land on his hooves and instead landing in a tangle of legs in the middle of a circle made by surrounding ponies. He ignored it, however, simply getting back and galloping straight through and out of the station and down the road. “Please, let them be okay, let them be okay…” he mumbled to himself as he went down the street at a quick trot. Knowing the two of them, he kept an eye on the sky, but only a few pegasi were up there, and none looking remotely like the two mares he was after.
However, he did see a cloud of smoke rising up several streets over, and his common sense was telling him to go towards it. He hung a right and started galloping towards the smoke, soon finding himself in front of a restaurant with fire blazing out the windows, unicorns in brown and yellow jackets aiming hoses on the blaze while pegasi dumped water from above. He looked around, getting nervous as he saw no sight of Rainbow Dash or Shadow; only several other ponies not with the fire department and a large crater in front of the burning building.
“And then I saw them both start off down an alley…”
Shadows ears perked up and he turned his head, seeing an armor-clad Pegasus talking to a unicorn mare in the ruined remains of what looked like a waitress’ outfit. He started over, raising his hood and clearing his throat to make the two turn to look at him. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but who did you see?” he asked the mare.
“Sir, I’m in the middle of questioning this young mare, you can’t just-,” the guard started, only to be floated aside by Silver as he stepped in front of the waitress. He grunted in surprise, flailing around a bit.
“Actually, if my friends are in trouble, yes I can,” he said simply, turning back to the waitress. “Now, who did you see leaving, ma’am? “
“T-two mares,” she answered, eyeing the floating guard in surprise. “One was black and had white stripes, like a zebra. And the other was pink and carrying a blue Pegasus on her back. They went down that alley over there,” she pointed out the small gap between two large buildings before looking Silver over, “Um, who exactly are you?”
“Nopony that important, but thank you,” he said, dropping the guard and galloping off down the alley. He could hear the guard shouting for backup and picked up the pace. Shadow, Rainbow, I don’t know what you got yourselves into, but please, hang in there…
Shadow looked up as the orphanage once again came into view. Syra had lead her here through several twisting and turning back allies through the city, each one keeping them well out of sight of the public. She would have struck the crazed mare way before now, if she didn’t have Rainbow Dash on her back. Instead, she’d opted to remain silent for the whole walk, not making any sudden moves out of fear of Syra doing something to her marefriend.
She followed the unicorn up to the large house, stopping when Syra stopped a few feet from the porch. “Don’t tell me you actually plan to fight me in that thing; it’d be turned into nothing but woodchips,” she said.
The unicorn turned to face her, smirking broadly, “Oh no, we’re not going to fight in there. I have something far more interesting in mind.” Her horn flared to life, the magic aura wrapping around the still unconscious Rainbow Dash and floating her high up into the air. Shadow quickly put two and two together.
“Don’t you da-,“ but that was as far as she got before she watched Rainbow Dash get flung into a the highest turret on the third floor. She growled at Syra, who just kept that smirk on her face.
“What’s wrong, Shadow? I mean, now you get to rescue your braggart of a fair maiden from her prison in the tower,” the pink unicorn mocked. “Oh, but you best hurry. After all, wood has a nasty tendency to bu-“
Syra found herself cut off in mid-sentence as Shadow spread her wings and sped towards her, horn pointed down and ready to gore her in the chest. She only just managed to teleport herself out of the way, scowling at the alicorn as she skidded to a halt and turned to face her, glare still present.
“How did I even let a stupid mare like you get the upper hoof? Seriously; don’t go into a monologue about your plan to burn the building down!” Shadow growled, her horn starting to glow bright red. She aimed it at Syra, “And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll pull Rainbow Dash out of there now.”
“What, you think I’m scared of a mare who doesn’t even remember how to use her own magic?” Syra asked. She scoffed, “Please; you can spark your horn all you want, but I know for a fact that lightning spell from before was a fluke.” At seeing the shocked look on her enemies face, Syra smirked, “Face the facts Shadow; I know more about you then even you do, and I’m at a clear advantage here. You want your filly-fooling marefriend back, you’ll have to fight me. And trust me, that’s far easier said than done.”
Her response was a beam of pure magic from Shadows horn that she only just managed to block with a shield. She snarled at the mare, “Fine then; if you know so much about me, I’ll rescue Rainbow Dash and then beat what you know out of you!”
“Oh, you think so?” Syra asked her. She smirked as her horn began to glow, “Do I have to remind you about what I can do?” She watched as Shadow yelped in surprise, plugging her hooves over her ears as a high-pitched, annoying sound, akin to a nail on glass started to ring in her ears. “With my sound magic, I don’t even to move an inch and I can beat you,” she gloated, her horn glowing brighter as the noise in Shadows ears increased in volume, making her squirm around in pain. “I’ve always wondered what would happen first if I did this to you,” she said with a dark giggle, “Would you go deaf first, or just lose it after hearing such a horrible noise without rest?”
Shadow couldn’t even hear her, though. The ringing in her ears was far too loud by this point. All she could do now was writhe around in pain while Syra stood above her gloating. Sweet Celestia, this is horrible! I can barely focus with all this noise, let alone move! What am I gonna do? I have to think of something to get out of this, now and stop Syra! She got wrapped up in this because of me…” Please, gods above, help me! I can’t lose to her, I can’t let this end here without even knowing who I really am. I gotta get us both out of this, if not for me, then for Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash…
Suddenly, something sparked to life inside Shadows head
Wait a second; why in Tartarus am I just laying here!? My marefriend is in trouble! No way am I letting some crazy bitch end me here! To her surprise, she felt her body begin to tingle as the ringing her ears began to lessen in volume, allowing her to get to her hooves, eyes still closed and not allowing her to see the stunned look on Syra’s face. Don’t worry, Dash; it won’t even take a minute to deal with this foal! And with that thought she opened her eyes.
Syra was already amazed at the fact Shadow could stand with how intense she was making the noise in her ears. But the explosion that followed right after the Alicorn opened her eyes caught her totally off guard and sent her flying onto her back.
It wasn’t as big as the one that had happened to Silver, but impressive enough that it made quite the audible sound as a right red pillar of light shot up into the air. However, it dulled out and disappeared faster than Silvers, as well.
Syra groaned and looked up after the light had faded. “N-no… no way…” she mumbled, her eyes going wide. Shadow still stood in place, but suddenly looked far more impressive, decked out in a bright red cloak with a white outline. Her wings were out to their full span and her horn was glowing brightly. But her eyes seemed to hold the biggest change; they held such a fierce determination behind them they shined as if they were on fire! Syra flipped over and leapt to her hooves, “But, how… The Superior said he sealed your true magical abilities away!”
“Did he now?” Shadow asked, taking a single step forward. Syra found herself instinctively taking a step back. “Well then, if you survive the pounding I’m about to give you, you better tell him me and Silver both found the flaw in his spell.”
Syra snarled at her opponent, “And just what makes you think you’ll be able to lay a hoof on me?”
“Easy,” the Alicorn said with a smirk, “The simple fact that I remember how to fight.”
Silver stopped dead in the alley he found himself traversing at the moment. He’d currently been wandering, hoping that his instincts were taking him down the correct paths to wherever his close friend had been lead off to. But it seemed he’d no longer need to guess where to go.
After all, the explosion that had sent several flocks of birds into the air, along with the large pillar of red light, could only possibly come from one pony, he thought to himself with a small smile. “Hold out just a little longer, Shadow. I’ll be there soon as I can,” he said to himself, turning down the next alley he saw that lead in the direction of the explosion.
Syra had aimed a sonic blast at where Shadow had been standing just seconds before she disappeared, leaving only an empty crater in the ground.
Shadow had lept into the air, horn glowing brighter as the air around her started to cool drastically, the moisture around her freezing into several shards of ice. Okay, so I remember I’m best at using fire, ice, and lightning magic in battle. Well, fire and lightning are definitely out of the question here, so let’s if I can’t give her some serious frostbite! She quickly sent them flying at Syra, who put a shield around herself, the shards shattering as they hit the surface.
“You’ll have to try a lot better than that!” she taunted, jumping surprisingly high into the air behind her and landing on the first floor roof of the mansion. She sent several more blasts of sound at Shadow, but she easily maneuvered out of their way, getting an idea when she saw her foe on the roof. She quickly sent another volley of ice shards at the unicorn… only for most to fall through the roof around Syra.
Syra let her shield fall, amazed at the poor aim. However, she realized what Shadow was doing too late as she heard the surface underneath her hooves groaning. She didn’t have any time to prep a teleport spell before she found herself falling through the roof. With a loud but dull thud, she fell to the hardwood floor of the first floor. And then, without even giving her a chance to recover, Shadow sped into the open hole and scooped Syra into her front hooves, speeding straight into a wall and making it burst apart with apparent ease using the Unicorn for a shield. When they were back outside, Shadow let go of Syra, letting her tumble across the ground and come to a slow stop.
Amazingly, Syra was still conscious, groaning as she shakily tried to get to her hooves. Only to find herself get pushed back down by Shadows hoof.
The striped alicorn glared at her enemy, keeping her pinned down with a hoof, “Don’t even try getting up, you foal.” Her ears perked up as a loud groan went through the air, and she turned back to the mansion. Sure enough, the damage she had just done to the wall and roof were causing cracks to spread all over the wooden structure.
Syra looked over and chuckled weakly, coughing somewhat; it hurt to laugh, both in her chest and her throat. “Heh, typical Shadow; rushing in without much thought,” she said quietly, a dark smile crossing over her muzzle, “Congrats; you just killed your own marefriend. Unless, you decide to let me go and save her, but you better hur- gah! Ugh…” Syra’s body went limp as her head feel to the ground. Shadow brought her hoof back from her neck; that would keep her here for a while. She flared her wings and sped towards the crumbling building, rushing through the window at the top of the tallest turret.
Silver rounded one last corner, galloping to the opening at the end of the alleyway and rushing out, just in time for the sound of crashing and crumbling wood to reach his ears. He’d found himself on the edge of the city, looking at an incredibly old, unsafe-looking wooden building standing along on a dirt road not too far from the row of buildings that made up the edge of the business part of the city. He also noticed a pink-coated unicorn out in front of it, unconscious and looking battle-worn. Wait, pink… It didn’t take Silver long to piece two and two and two together to make six.
However, he didn’t get to see either sight for more than a few seconds before he watched the building start to crash in on itself. Without even thinking, he lit up his horn and pulled the injured mare away as a large cloud of dust rose into the air in a plume. He needed her, and besides, evil or not, she didn’t deserve to die. Please, oh please, gods above, don’t let them be hurt, don’t let them be hurt… Silver thought to himself, trying his best to see through the cloud of dust swallowing up the area. Setting the out cold unicorn down, he used his magic to try and blow as much of it away as he could, “Shadow, Rainbow Dash! Are you there!?”
“… Of course we are,” a familiar voice called out. Silver saw her outline before Shadow came into view, her cloak billowing behind her and Rainbow Dash’s limp form on her back. She gave him a small grin as he rushed up to her, “You didn’t think I was gonna let some nut job do me and Rainbow Dash in, did you? And to answer you; yes, I remembered how to fight, too.”
Silver was stunned, but only for a few seconds before he started to smile, “Well, call me crazy for worrying about my friend, but yeah, I was.” His smile dropped, however, when he saw Shadow drop her own grin at the mention of the word ‘friend’. If she thought he hadn’t noticed, she was sadly mistaken, “Shadow? What’s up?”
“Um… I’ll say later; Dash needs a hospital, now!” she quickly pointed out. She gave Silver a very quick version of what had happened, all the while the dust cloud around them starting to settle till it was much easier to see around them, though it was still somewhat as pale. “… And so now, I need to get to the hospital while you get that crazy pony-“
“Oh come on now; there’s no need for insults like that.”
Both ponies perked their ears at the new voice. They turned, easily seeing through the setting dust that Syra was now standing up. However, her horn was glowing with an odd, pulsing, blackish-purple magic, and her eyes had turned a solid, bright purple.
“That magic… that’s the same magic that hurt Wylde!” Silver gasped, stepping back a bit in shock.
“Hurt Wylde? What the hay are you talking about?” Shadow asked. However, Syra, or whoever was speaking through her… clearly this was some kind of mind-controlling spell… continued before her brother could answer.
“That’s correct, Silver. Yes, I’m the one who silenced Wylde before she could tell you anything,” the mare said. Her normal voice could still be made out, but it was being overshadowed by a much deeper, malevolent-sounding voice.
Shadow’s eyes narrowed, “So then, I take it you’re the one they were calling ‘The Superior’?”
“Of course I am, you foal!” The Superior said, making Syra’s face contort into a snarl. “You never asked such obvious questions before, you know. And yes, I knew you two. In fact, all my cohorts and I knew who you were before I made you both lose your memories.”
“Figured you were the one who did that; wanna tell us why you did that, exactly?” Silver asked.
“Why? WHY!?” The Superior asked before making Syra rear back as he laughed loudly. “Why in all Equestria would I reveal that to you two, of all ponies!? Sorry, but you’ll have to try and figure it out on your own. And don’t think my little associates will be a source of help. See, bad things tend to happen to the ones who displease me. Like poor Wylde; zapped down like a bad piece of livestock. Or unfortunate Syra, who not only went against my orders, but also went out for personal vengeance and failed in her own attempt to try and stop you, as well!”
Suddenly, The Superior stopped, his ears perking up along with Shadows and Silvers. They could hear the sound of rolling carriages and galloping hooves. “Darn, seems I have to cut this conversation short,” he said, “But, I am feeling generous today, so I’ll tell you two at least one thing before I leave you all; you don’t know it, but what I did for you both was the kindest act I could have ever performed. Take the new life I gave you and enjoy it while you can. Chasing me will just lead to more misery for you both,” The Superior finished, smirking somewhat through Syra. “And with that, I bid you both a good day. But, until we meet again, allow me to show you one last trick up my sleeve…” Syra’s eyes and horn slowly stopped glowing, and she fell to the ground.
Seconds later, Shadow and Silvers eyes both went wide as they watched the mares body begin to break down, turning into nothing more but a pile of pink-colored chips and flakes.
“I told you everything I know, now let me go and see my friends!” Silver said, glaring at the royal guard who was blocking his way into the red-colored double doors. He was standing in the large, white and purple waiting room of Canterot Hospital. With all the commotion Shadow’s fight had caused, it wasn’t that big a shock when a team of guards had turned up, followed quickly by an ambulance carriage, much to Shadow and Silver’s relief. However, Rainbow Dash and Shadow were now stuck in the emergency room, while Silver had been left to discuss everything he’d seen with one of the guards. After giving his very brief statement, he’d tried to go check on the other two, only to have his way blocked by the guard. And now, their argument was attracting the attention of all the other ponies in the room.
“Sir, I’m sorry but you’re not allowed to go in the Emergency Room; doctors and staff only,” the guard said, his wings spread and barring Silvers way. He was simply met by another shove from the stallion.
“Damn it, I don’t care; let me in there!” Silver growled, “That’s my best friend and her marefriend in there! I have to know if they’re gonna be okay!”
“Sir, it’s hospital rules,” the guard told him, apparently having done this kind of thing before, “Please, just have a seat and wait until the doctors come back.”
“No need for that, actually,” a familiar voice said. The guard dropped his wings and looked back to see Shadow coming out of doors, no bandages anywhere on her body. “They said there was nothing wrong with me, and I already gave your friends my statement,” she told the guard. She then turned to Silver, “He said that we should wait here.”
Silver nodded, “Of course. But… what about Rainbow Dash?” Shadow’s head dropped a bit and she shook her head, starting for a pair of empty chairs with Silver in tow.
“They… well, they said she isn’t too badly hurt; just a few cuts and bruises from when Syra surprised us,” she said as she sat, “But what’s really bad are her ears. I know I gave you the gist of everything, but I didn’t get to tell you everything. Syra, she knew some real powerful magic that dealt with sound…” Shadow then told Silver everything about how Syra had been able to manipulate sound, and just how she’d lured her into following her back to the orphanage. “And now, the doctors are saying she’s lucky she was brought here when she was. They… they’re saying that she’s not gonna be able to hear anything for a few days, and after that, she’ll be lucky if she can hear properly again,” she finished, blinking a few times, “And all because that crazy pony was after me…”
“Shadow, you know this wasn’t your fault,” Silver said, putting a hoof on your shoulder, “It was Syra’s, and that crazy Superior…”
Silver’s hoof was suddenly slapped away, Shadow looking at him with a glare, “No Silver, it was my fault! I could have acted; I could have grabbed Rainbow before Syra did! But no, I let her get taken hostage by Syra, and nothing’s gotten better! Whoever that Superior was, Silver, he turned a living, breathing mare to into a pile of ash with just his magic. Somepony’s died, Shadow, and for what? All I remember is how to fight, and… and how you and I became siblings.”
An uncomfortable silence fell between the two ponies, Silver looked at Shadow like she’d just smacked him across the face. “W-what… but, I mean… are you sure?”
“Positive… Silver, did you even recognize that building before it fell?” Shadow asked.
“What? Of course not; it was falling by the time I got there,” he answered, “Why… Oh, you mean?”
Shadow nodded slowly, “Yeah; that was where I lived for six years, until the day your family came by. It was called ‘New Road Orphanage’, and I hated it… I remember, that day you came by, it was the happiest memory I have…”
Silver was quiet for a minute, his eyes slowly going wide as he let Shadows words sink it. It was all starting to come back to him, “O-Of course… I remember now…
“Now boys, you’re to be on your best behavior, understand?” the young mare asked, her sons following her down off their carriage. She was a lovely unicorn, her coat a pearly white with her mane and tail colored a pale, sandy brown, both long, flowing and looking smooth as silk. Her cutie mark finished off the look; an oyster, open and showing a single pearl inside it. Silver had inherited much from his mother; he had gotten most of their mother’s appearance while his brother looked so much like their father it was almost uncanny, having the exact same purple coat, black mane and tail, and steel grey eyes. The only thing Silver had had fully inherited from his mother was the color of her eyes; they were a jade green, and shining with excitement as he and Wander nodded.
“Yes, mommy,” they both said, starting towards the front of the orphanage with her. It wasn’t in the best state even now, but at least its paint wasn’t feeling and it wasn’t ready to fall in on itself. They stepped onto the porch and Silvers mother rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, it was answered by a dark-blue unicorn mare wearing an apron.
“Ohh, hello there!” she greeted with a smile and small bow, “Are you the mare who called us the other day?”
She nodded, “Indeed. My name is Wandering Star, and these are my two boys, Silver Soul and Shining Wanderer.” She smiled lightly, “They’re both hoping to leave here today with a new member of the family, as am I. May we come in?”
The mare nodded, “By all means, please do!” She lead the trio inside, down a dimly lit hallway and into a large, much brighter den. Sunlight streamed through the windows, fillies and colts of different ages playing with each other or with some of the few toys available. AS they did so, several other mares trotted through the room, supervising or helping to occupy some of the younger foals with simple games. However, when the dark blue mare came in and stomped a hoof on the ground, they all slowly stopped and looked up at her. “Alright everypony, we have a family here, so gather round and line up!” she called to them.
At once, all the fillies and colts started over, chatter filling the room as they gathered around in a semi-circle in front of their family. AS the noise died down and the foals stood there and smiled, Wandering Soul bent down to her sons levels, “Alright boys; who do you think looks like a nice pony to join our family?”
The brothers looked at each other, not really sure how they were supposed to even pick a single other pony to add to their family now that they were here. They had been so excited when their dad had proposed having mom take them to the orphanage to help some less-fortunate pony have a better life, but now that they were here… how did they do that?
However, before either of them could ask any kind of question, they heard a small scuffle off to the side. AS they looked, Silvers eyes widened as he saw a familiar black and white coat, it’s owner being shoved to the side by a colt beside her. “Huh? S-Shadow?” he asked, trotting over to her slowly. Wanderer followed behind him; he didn’t know Shadow as well as his brother, but the three of them had played at recess in school several times before and he liked her a fair bit, plus he knew how close Silver and her were.
“S-Silver? Wander?” she looked up at them, a bit surprised, “Y-You never said you’d be coming here!”
“Well, we didn’t know this was where you lived,” Silver said, “After all, you never told us where exactly you lived.
Wanderer nodded, “Yeah; there are so many orphanages around Canterlot, we had no clue you were at this one!”
“Oh… w-well, now you do, I guess…” she said, looking at the floor. While she did, Silver and Wanderer looked at each other for a few seconds, Silvers eyes wide and pleading while his brothers just looked on for a second. But then, after just a few seconds, Wanderer nodded.
“Alright then…” Silver turned to his mother and the other mares, who were all watching with surprised and intrigued gazes. He pointed a hoof back at Shadow and said, “We wanna bring Shadow home with us!” The young filly looked up in surprise at him, while the rest of the foals broke into surprised and discouraged mumbles.
“Huh? R-Really? You’d… You’d adopt me?” Shadow asked slowly, looking from Silver, to Wanderer, to their mother, who nodded.
“If they want to, then yes; I’d be glad to take you in if it makes my boys happy,” Wandering Soul said, smiling over at Shadow, who slowly began to smile as well.
“Well, congratulations, Shadow! Go on and get yourself ready to go,” the blue mare said, grinning at Shadow before turning to Wandering Soul, “Now, just come with me and we can fill out the paperwork…” Wandering Soul nodded, following her out as the kids slowly began to disperse once more, all glaring daggers at Shadow.
However, she wasn’t paying them any attention at the moment. She was for too busy pulling Silver and Wanderer into a tight hug, her eyes welling with tears of joy. “T-thank you… both of you, thank you…” she said quietly, staying like that with the two red-faced colts until their mother once finally came back.
“I remember all of that… but… most of what’s after is a blur…” Silver said quietly. He sighed quietly, looking down at the floor, “I never really thought about family… mom, dad… I- no, we- even had a brother… And I don’t even know if they’re still around…”
“Me either…” Shadow said, just as softly as she leaned against him. “Silver… is it even worth it? Putting our friends, the ponies we care about and who’ve tried to make life better for us, through all of this? These crazy ponies and this Superior are after us, not them. Dash is in there out cold because she was with me, no other reason.” She looked up at Silver, their eyes meeting “What if somepony stronger than Wylde or Syra comes for us in Ponyville? Or the Superior, who can turn his own servants into piles of ash; what if he just says ‘buck all’ and decides to come finish us off? What are we gonna do, Sil?”
“I…” he looked away from Shadow, “I think I know... You’re right Shadow, these ponies ARE after us. And we can’t pull the others into our problems. If we wanna find our memories, we’re gonna have to leave Ponyville.”
Shadow nodded slowly, “Yeah, guess so… is it worth it, though?”
“Of course it is!” Silver said, a bit louder than intended and turning heads to them again. He lowered his voice again, “Shadow, don’t you want to learn more about who we were? Where our family is, what we did for a living, if there could be anyone out there looking for us right now? And most importantly; WHY did this Superior wipe our memories? He’s clearly got some kind of dark plan, and we had to have been trying to stop him. If he’s up to something, we have to try and remember all we can.”
“Well, yeah, I wanna remember all of that. I wanna remember everything about us!” Shadow said, sitting back up now. “But what I’m asking is, is it worth us leaving our friends? Leaving the ponies we care about?” she asked him.”
“Well, if it keeps them safe…” Silver said slowly, “Then I think so. After we get this sorted out, we can go back to Ponyville; but until then, it’ll have to be just us. We’ll stay here in Canterlot; the answers have to be here, if this is where we lived our whole lives.”
“Yeah, but… can we wait here until Rainbow wakes up and I can see her?” Shadow asked, “She deserves to hear everything. All of the girls do, but still…”
Silver nodded, “Yeah, I understand. We can wait. I’ll go send word to the others to get up here.”
“There’s no need for that.” The two ponies turned in surprise at hearing Twilight’s voice, seeing her and the others all starting over to them.
“We came to Canterlot right away when heard what Shadow and Rainbow Dash were doing,” Rarity said before either of them could ask why they were here already. “That and we knew we had to tell you the unfortunate news about Wylde… poor mare, she didn’t deserve what happened to her.” The siblings didn’t even need her to tell them what happened after hearing that. However, Pinkie Pie interrupted before Rarity could go on.
“Yeah, and when we got here we saw that this restaurant had just went ‘kablaam’!” the pink mare continued, “And then we found that somepony saw Silver running off to an old building that blew up, too! And then found out you two and Dashie rode here in an ambulance carriage, which sounded fun, but also must have meant you must not be feeling great, and so I brought you three this!” Apparently out of nowhere, Pinkie brought out a red, cross-shaped cake with the words “Feel Better Soon!” written on the front in red icing.”
“Speaking of which, um, where is Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked, looking around. “I don’t think I see her around here anywhere…”
Shadow and Silver looked at each other, saying nothing for over a minute. “Guys?” Twilight asked slowly, “What’s wrong? What happened to you two and Rainbow Dash?”
Silver sighed, looking back at his friends. He and Shadow both knew what had to be said. But that wasn’t going to make this any easier. “Girls, go on and sit: we got a lot to tell you…”
It’s easy to expect drama in a hospital. After all, major accidents happen every day. Countless patients go in and out of a hospital every week. Nurses and doctors and surgeons all have their own problems and often have the problems of patients thrust upon them in times of emotional weakness. Lives can be changed in a heartbeat, for better or for worse. But, not usually in the way several lives were apparently about to change at this moment.
“You’re WHAT!?”
The screeching yell in the hospital waiting room was enough to make everypony their turn their heads. After all, it wasn’t every day you had five mares screaming that kind of question to a stallion as well as a mare in a hospital. It was enough to make a few nurses passing through make ‘shush’ing noises directed at the group. However, they were abruptly ignored as Twilight and her friends looked at Shadow and Silver in a mix of surprise and confusion.
“What do ya mean yer leavin’?” Applejack asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Just that; we’re staying here in Canterlot,” Silver repeated. “It’s clear that we lived here for a good part of our lives. We have a better chance of finding out more here than we do back in Ponyville.”
“Besides,” Shadow added, “We just told you the full story about what happened; what if that had happened down in Ponyville? That crazy mare was after us; we can’t just go and drag you girls into it, or anyone else who doesn’t need to be, for that matter.”
“Yeah? Well what if we want to-“ Twilight started, but then found herself cut off by Silver, who raised his hoof and shook his head.
“Don’t give us that, Twilight,” he said quickly, “We know you want to stay involved and help us. And we really do appreciate it, but just look at what happened to Rainbow Dash.” He watched the five mares in front of him, waiting for some kind of reply, only to be met with silence. At the mention of their friend, the five hung their heads; Sure, Dash would be okay. But she still hadn’t been moved into a normal room, and it had been a while since they had arrived now.
“Exactly,” he said, “We can’t let that happen again, to any of you. This never concerned you, after all, and one of you is already paying the price for getting mixed up in our situation. Please, try and understand we just don’t want you all getting hurt for our sakes.”
For a few seconds, the mares were quiet and the only noise was the hushed chatter of other ponies waiting around in the room. Most were just ignoring the group against the wall by this point, trying to occupy themselves with other things. Still, an occasional head turned towards them, and those that did at that point could see the yellow Pegasus raising her head up to finally speak.
“What about Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked. Her normally quiet, timid voice had risen a bit, and her eyes were fixed on Shadow, filled with a mix of sadness and, surprisingly, anger. “What are you going to tell her, Shadow? You can’t just leave her behind; I know she’ll want to come and be with you. How are you going to… to break up with her?”
Shadow opened her mouth, about to answer to Fluttershy. About to tell her she hadn’t worked a speech out yet, but that she was working on it, only to be interrupted by a small, attention-seeking cough aimed at their group. Ah-hem. She stopped and all of them turned to see a young mare with a pale green coat, wearing a nurses hat.
“You’re all waiting for Ms. Rainbow dash, yes?” she asked. The seven of them all nodded. “Well, we’ve moved her out of the emergency room and taken her to a normal room,” she explained, “Now, she’s had some bad damage done to her eardrums, so until they’re healed up we’ve given her a hearing aid. But please, it’s probably best for you to speak a little loudly so she can make you out. Come with me.” She turned and started down the hall, leading the group through several twisting hallways until finally coming to a stop outside a door, Rainbow Dash’s name present on the plate outside it. “Please, only four guests at the most at any time,” she told them, standing off to the side to make sure they followed the rule.
Twilight turned to her friends, “You girls go on in and see Dash. I’ll wait here with Shadow and Silver for now.” The four nodded to Twilight, thanking her before heading inside the room and shutting the door behind them. Once the door was closed, she turned and looked at the two ponies now sitting beside the doorway, “Now what in Tartarus are you two thinking? Leaving behind your jobs, your home, just too potentially risk your lives looking for the truth? This isn’t noble; it’s stupid!”
“Noble?” Silver asked, “This isn’t about being noble Twilight; it’s about keeping you, your friends, that whole town safe. It’s what’s best for all of you.”
“Oh yeah? Well then, what about you two?” Twilight asked, sitting in front of them. “How are we just supposed to let you both leave and risk your lives? I get that you want to know who you two really are, and I also get you want to make sure we don’t have to be hurt for your sakes, but we want to! We all want to be there for you two in case something happens!”
“We know that, Twilight, we honestly do,” Shadow said, looking down at the floor, “But please, try and see this from our perspective. Ponies we care about are getting hurt now, and it’s our fault because these ponies are after us. Have you ever felt a guilt like that before, Twilight? Because if you haven’t, let me tell you; it hurts. It hurts like you can’t imagine.”
“Oh yeah, well then explain that to Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, pointing at the door. “Explain to her just why you’re going to up and leave her, Shadow. Explain that you’re scared for her. Her, Rainbow Dash, one of the bravest and most loyal ponies in Equestria. You should realize that no matter what, she’s going to come after you, because she cares about you! We all do, so please, just let us help you two. We can go back to Ponyville, we can think up a plan, and-“
“Stop it!” Silver suddenly yelled, standing up and stepping up to Twilight. His eyes were narrowed in a harsh glare, their faces just inches apart. He snorted, “For the love of Celestia, just stop it! Can’t you just understand us; I can’t let you get involved. I won’t let you! Because…”
Silver found the last words stuck in his throat, and managed to choke them down. Turning his glare to the ground, he finally backed away from her face. Twilight cocked an eyebrow at him, “Because why? Why can’t you let me get involved, Silver? Just tell me that.” It was Twilight’s turn to glare now, eyeing silver as he refused to look back at her and just stared at the ground. “Well, why? Just tell me so I can understand you, Silver!” she nearly screamed at him. And yet, even as she yelled at him, he could hear something in her voice. It took him a second, but he quickly realized what it was; there was a tone of understanding to her voice. So that’s how it was…
Finally, he looked back up from the ground, their eyes meeting in a harsh gaze. “Why bother when you already realize it?” he asked slowly.
Twilight was quiet for a second, her gaze unfaltering for even a second. Finally, she spoke; “Funny, I thought from how strong you were and how you worked that weapon of yours you were a strong pony. Guess I was wrong… you’re too scared to let your friends help you, and you can’t even say what’s on your mind. I guess you’re just some kind of coward.”
That seemed to do it; something inside of Silver snapped at the moment, and in anger he launched a beam of magic at her. Twilight only just brought up a shield in time, deflecting the blast at the ceiling. There was a small explosion and a cloud of smoke shot downward along with several shattered chunks of ceiling. Almost immediately, several doctors and nurses were on the scene.
“What in equestrian is going on here!?” a stallion in a doctors coat asked, his magic condensing the smoke into a small ball as a nurse began to pick the chunks of ceiling up. Silver and Twilight looked at the doctor, only having just realized what they’d done as the doctor glared at them. “I’m sorry, but we can’t have visitors doing stuff like this in the halls or anywhere else in this building! I have to ask both of you to leave now, please.”
With one last glare at each other, the two unicorns started a quick trot down the hall back to the lobby. At the same time, the doctor and nurse discarded the dust and debris in a nearby trash can before trotting away. Just a second later though, the door to Dash’s room opened, four mares poking their heads out. Rarity was the first to speak, looking and seeing the mess being cleaned up
“What in Equestria happened out here?” she asked, looking over at Shadow.
The Alicorn, having watched the two in a rather surprised silence, finally found her voice, “Twilight and Silver had a bit of a… argument, about what we told you all.” She motioned up to the fresh, small ceiling with a hoof.
“Woah, that musta’ been some argument,” Applejack said, looking up at the hole with wide eyes.
Shadow nodded, “Definitely. They just got kicked out of the hospital. It looked like they were heading for the front exit.” The door opened fully, the four healthy mares stepping out.
“Well then we best go after ‘em and make sure they don’t do anything else they might regret,” Applejack said. She looked over at shadow, “Ah’d go talk ta Dash now; she was askin’ fer ya when we went in.”
“Right,” Shadow nodded, standing and watching her friends round the corner. That could be the last time she saw them for a while, she reminded herself… but it was for the best. And so was what she was about to do, she thought to herself with a nod and nervous gulp. With that, she grabbed the door to the room and opened it, stepping inside.
The room was what she expected. The walls were white, and the tiled floor a light gray. One her left was Dash’s bed, the Pegasus laying on her back on in a white, blue-flecked hospital robe. She turned to look at her as the door opened and flashed her a grin. As Shadow walked up to her, she quickly caught sight of a hearing aid in Dash’s right ear. The Alicorn smiled at her as she came up to the bed, trying her best not to think about what she was about to do. “Hey Dash, how you feeling?” she asked as she sat by the bed.
Dash shrugged, “Well, I’ve felt a lot worse than this. They said I’m just a little banged up from all the stuff I got put though. That and I gotta wear this thing.” She tapped a hoof on her hearing aid and chuckled, “Pinkie said it made me look like a secret agent, but I just think it makes me look silly. You know I can’t even fly fast enough for my best stunts without losing it, they said. I just hope it can come out soon.”
Shadow nodded, “Yeah, hopefully. So, did they tell you what happened to you after you were knocked out?” Dash shook her head in response.
“Not really, no. Something about not wanting to risk the stress having adverse effects,” Dash said, rolling her eyes a bit, “I am such an egghead for knowing what that means… Anyway, come on, you and I both know I can handle anything. So come on, tell me what happened!”
“Erm… right, well okay, but then… you gotta listen to everything I have to say, okay?” Shadow told her, “And I mean everything, because this is important, alright?”
Dash just shrugged, “Sure, if you say so. Just come on and tell me already. I can take anything you have to tell me!” She grinned, “So, bring it on!”
Shadow nodded, taking a deep breath and releasing slowly, “Well, okay. If you say so… So, after you got knocked out, this unicorn came out…” **********************************************************
As was to be expected, the front entrance of Canterlot hospital had a steady enough stream of ponies going in and out. Some were going for their jobs, other for check-ups or to see how family or friends were doing. However, each pony coming in and out couldn’t help but take some time to look at the scene unfolding to the left and right of the entrance, both near one of several flower beds located on the grounds. On one side of the bed was a lavender unicorn, her back turned to the path as two mares did their best to talk with her. One the other side, a silver-coated stallion sat facing away from the path as well, his head raised and eyes closed as two more mares tried to figure out why the two were no longer talking with each other.
“Come on, Twi, ya gotta tell us what’s going on,” Applejack told her friend, who continued to glare between her and Fluttershy, both of whom sat across from her. For a good five minutes they’d been asking her what had happened in the hall. Well, she had been asking the questions, mostly. Fluttershy had simply stated she was okay with Twilight telling her or not and hadn’t really tried to push for any more information. “We hear ya both talkin’ out there, and next thing we know you’re fighting like two timberwolves after the same bit o’ territory. What did ya say to each other?” she asked again.
Finally, Twilight turned and looked at Applejack, and finally her friend saw what her eyes looked like. They were filled with anger, but beneath it all was just a small glimmer of sadness. “Forget it, Applejack… It doesn’t matter anymore. Not if those two are going to leave to come here…” she said quietly. “None of it matters anymore,” she sighed.
“What doesn’t matter anymore? Ya ain’t makin’ sense here, sugercube,” Applejack told her. “Why can’t ya just tell us what you talked about?” she asked.
Again, Twilight looked down at the ground, “I… oh, Applejack, I just said some things I honestly shouldn’t have! I basically provoked him into attacking me like that! Oh Celestia, what was I even thinking!?”
“Oh Twilight, I-I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Fluttershy said, slowly reaching a hoof out onto her friends shoulder. “Um, i-if I can ask, what exactly did you say to him?” she asked, now feeling a bit more curious as to what had happened. Her only response, however, was Twilight’s ears dropping as well now, as she muttered quietly,
“It was something stupid.”
“It was something stupid.”
Across the path on the other side of the entrance, Silver had ended up saying the exact same thing to Rarity and Pinkie Pie, who were standing beside him as he continued to gaze at the sky. He felt both their eyes on him, but refused to look down even as Rarity replied to him.
“Come now, if it was worth getting into a scrape like that over, then it was surely nothing stupid,” she assured him. “Why did she confront you, then, hmmm? Was this about your moving away?” she asked, before suddenly being interrupted by Pinkie Pie.
“Oh, was she mad because you didn’t want a going away party?” the pink mare asked. “I mean, you do want a going away, party?” she asked somewhat hopefully.
Finally, Silver brought his head down and sighed, but gave a nod, “Yeah, of course you can throw one, Pinkie.” At once a grin sprouted on her face, but Silver didn’t match it, instead turning to Rarity, “And she basically said something that I should have told her ages ago.”
“Really? And just what was…” Rarity stopped, taking a few seconds to read the stallions deflated-looking face. At once, it snapped, “Oh… I see. I thought I’d seen the signs, but I never said anything. So, you…” he nodded. “And she…” again he nodded. “And so…” one last nod. “Oh, oh dear… I’m sorry,” she said solemly.
“What? What’s up?” Pinkie asked, peering at Silver, “What do you see, Rarity? Oh, are you talking telepathically? Twilight told me unicorns can do that!” Suddenly, she gasped and began to frown, “Awww, come on you two, that’s just being mean! Why you gotta leave me outta your conversation? I wanna help Silvy here just as much as you do, Rarity!” She gave her friend a look, then turned back to Silver, peering right at him and bringing her face close. “So, what’s up with you, huh?” she asked, “Come on, you told Rarity, right?”
“Um…. I, uh…” Silver stammered, not really sure how to answer her question. He supposed he had told her, but only because the fashonista was much better at reading faces then her friend. How was he supposed to explain that to her?
And still, she continued, now dancing in place on her hoof-tips, “Wellll? Come on, tell me, pleeeease! Tellmetellmetellmetellme…”
By this point, both parties were far too distracted to notice a group of four Pegasi, clad in golden armor, walking up the path towards them. That is, until one of them went over to Silver and tapped his shoulder a few times, causing the stallion to break away from Pinkies endless pleas and look the guard in the eyes. “Hello, are you mister Silver Soul?” he asked in an official tone.
Silver nodded, “Yeah, so what if I am? I already gave you guys my description of my sisters incident, so I’m not exactly any good to you.”
The guard shook his head, “No sir, that’s not why we’re here. The Princess has caught word of what you and your companion went through earlier. She’s requested that you both be brought to her to discuss this, at once. We’ve been sent to escort you to the castle.”
“Wait, what?” The other three had caught sight of the guards once they’d heard new voices across the path. It was Twilight who had spoken, and she went on, “She just wants to see the two of them? Not any of us?” She motioned with a hoof to the rest of her friends. Again, the guard shook his head.
“Sorry, madam, she was specific and said only they were to come along,” he answered.
“Oh… I see,” she said, staring back at the ground, “Very well then…”
“Twilight-“ Silver began, but the lavender are quickly cut him off.
“Don’t say anything, Silver. It’s just not important right now,” she said quietly before turning and starting off down the path towards the street. Her friends watched, even Pinkie frowning a bit at the sight. They looked at Silver, who just nodded to them. At once, they were off after Twilight, who just kept her head down. Silver just sighed sadly at the sight; great, now he had even more guilt bearing down on him.
Stoic as ever and apparently not moved by the scene, the guard continued, “Sir, we have chariot waiting for you and miss Shadow. Shall we go find her?”
“No need,” a familiar voice said. The group all turned to see Shadow stepping out of the front doors. She had a somber, depressed look on her face despite the neutral expression she wore. She stepped forward, looking over at Silver, “I said what I had to to Dash. What’s going on here?”
“Apparently, the Princess herself wants to talk about what happened this afternoon,” Silver answered, nodding at the guards. “But then, guess I’m not to shocked,” he added, “After all, not exactly every day something like that happens.”
“Well then, let’s go,” Shadow said quickly. She turned to the guards, “Lead the way, then.” They nodded starting across the lawn to the opposite end, where silver now noticed a golden chariot was sitting in wait. However, he ignored it and the guards and looked at Shadow, walking after her.
“Shade, you okay?” he asked, “You’re not exactly looking… well, anything right now.”
She gave him a fast, curt nod, “I’m fine, don’t worry.” She blinked a few times, her eyes shining a bit in the light of the now-setting sun, “It’s just… I didn’t think anything would be harder than fighting that crazy marre earlier today. Guess everypony gets proved wrong sometimes…”
“Shadow, what exactly did you two-“
“Please, don’t ask Silver,” she said, her voice heavy as she stepped onto the back of the chariot. She looked forward, watching the guards hitch themselves up to the vehicle. “I… it was hard enough the first time,” she said quietly.
“Alright,” he nodded slowly as the guards began to run, wings spreading and flapping to bring them into the sky. He just turned and gazed at the city below, pretending he didn’t hear the quiet sobs to his right. He wanted to put a foreleg around, hold her close and tell her it would be okay. But he didn’t know that would be the case. He really didn’t seem to know anything, he thought to himself. After all, it should have been so easy to tell Twilight how he felt, but any hope of that seemed to be gone. The way she’d looked at him, the tone of her voice as she’d walked away…
He just sat there in silence, resting his head on the edge of the chariot as he heard his sister cry, not having any comforting words for her, or even himself.