A mere shadow

Shadow woke up at dawn just when the stars were fading, she usually went to bed around midnight -that is if it wasn't a full moon, if it was a full moon she just could not sleep- So she got about three or four hours of sleep, as well as a nap in the middle of the day. If she wasn't working.

"Mornin' Ebo." She said to her little pet panther, who in turn licked her face exuberantly.

"Thanks you little rascal, that really helped wake me up." She said scratching behind the panthers ears.

"I should really get a better sleep schedule... I don't get much sleep..." Then she got out of her bed and wandered over the the kitchen.

Her house is a treehouse... Of sorts, it used to be a hollow tree but then she put in a floor a little balcony outside and trimmed up the walls until it was a nice three roomed house. The main room has a little table, a couch, and a bean bag in the corner. There are two doorways from there, the one to the right leads to her kitchen a sink without plumbing. (for how do you get plumbing to a tree in the middle of the Everfree Forest?) A counter and cupboards above it. She has no food that spoils easily. (because she has no electricity either of course) But she does have a large pot and a little fireplace for soup, she often enjoys soup. The doorway the the left in the main room leads to her bedroom which has a simple feather bed a nightstand with a candle on it and a desk covered with inkblots with a journal, quill, and ink pot of it. Beside the door there is a peg with a dark green cloak hanging on it. She has little in the way of clothes, but back to the story now.

"I hate getting water in the morning...." She sighs as she takes up the bucket in her mouth and flies out of her house dodging a few trees and landing at the edge of a small pond with a little stream feeding it.

"Even if it's really pretty here." She says taking up the bucket and dipping it into the pond, setting it down again while taking a quick drink. "It's really not the best to fly with..." She says begrudgingly through the wooden handle while walking back to the base of her house, then flying shakily up.

"Of course I could install stairs... But then it would be more obvious this was a house not a tree."

She reflected the way she said these same thoughts just about every morning.

"I need a life." She says as she puts the bucket down in the kitchen, just like every other morning.

"This life is waaayy to monotonous.... Wake up, check, get water, check, feed Ebony, checking..." Ebony obviously not satisfied with the "checking" looks at Shadow disapprovingly.

"Heh, ok silly panther, I'll get you're food." She rummages in the cupboard for the bag of cat food she keeps for Ebony.

"But one of these days you're gonna have start hunting... Well off to town, wanna come with me?"

Ebony purred, having finished her meal, and rubbed against Shadows legs.

"Course you do...." She stopped realizing that she talked to herself and Ebony way too much. "I really need more of a social life... Come on Ebony, time to go."

Shadow put on her cloak, because a thin misting rain started over the Everfree, put on her saddle bags and set out with Ebony between her wings. Ebony shivered in the rain..

"You cold? Ok I'll figure something out." She said as she landed under a tree, Ebony jumped onto the ground.

"I don't think it's raining in Ponyville... Just hang on, maybe I'll pick up a cloak for you."

Ebony shook then jumped back up huffily. "That's a girl." Shadow said as she flew back up through the trees then she landed at the edge of the little town, where it was sunny and not a cloud in sight.

"See? Told you that the clouds were cleared here." She said teasingly to her pet. The panther harrumphed and jumped off her back, while Shadow pulled of her hood and folded her wings against her cloak. (She holes just big enough for them, it was a pegasus cloak specially made.)

"Come on lets see if there's anything for us to do today... Ponyville is too peaceful..." Ebony nodded her agreement as she walked beside her kind master.

Shadow had found Ebony a couple months ago hiding in a tree and she couldn't get down. The poor panther was just skin and bones barely alive, Shadow took the little thing home and nursed her back to health. Ever since the baby panther has been a loyal companion to Shadow who welcomed the break in her very monotonous life.

Shadow made her typical rounds around the small town, but as she suspected she found nothing amiss.

"Come on Ebony, lets get something to eat... Hey what's wrong with your paw?" She said noticing that Ebony had started to limp, she inspected the paw, but she didn't see anything amiss. So she just fished in her saddlebags and came out with a bottle of water and a bandage.

"Lets clean that paw off, shall we?" She poured the water on the panthers paw then wound it up in a bandage. Ebony growled at first but as Shadow talked to her soothingly she calmed down. Shadow finished winding up the bandage and then put Ebony on her back.

"I'm gonna take to Fluttershy, she knows more about animals than I probably ever will." Says Shadow heading towards the edge of the village. "She'll take care of you."

Shadow arrives at the quaint cottage and knocks on the door. A yellow pegasus pony with a long pink mane over one eye opens the door.

"Um... Hello?"

"Hello, my name is Shadow. My baby panther hurt her paw..." Just then Ebony climbs up Shadows head and peeks between her ears. Fluttershy gasps and says, "A baby panther! I've only seen adult panthers! She is soo cute!" Then she makes this sort of "Squee" sound and scoops up Ebony.

"Is this poor little panther hurt? I'll take care of you! Yes I will!" She then goes inside and shuts the door.

"Ok... I'll come back tomorrow then... I guess..." Says Shadow turning away from the cottage and heading towards her home.

"Well.... She's obviously an animal fanatic... Who in the hay is that?" She says catching a glimpse of a black pony in the distance, on the edge of the EverFree.

Maybe my day won't be as boring as I thought. She thinks as she melds into the landscape pulling her hood up around her head and letting her "veil"(1) slip over her. Using her talent to it's height she follows the mysterious pony. As she gets closer she sees that the pony is a stallion and a pegasus, he is black his cutie mark looks like sound waves of some sort. His mane is black with purple streaks. The stallion emerges into a clearing where Shadow lets the veil go and dives out in front of him.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" She says threateningly, stomping the ground.

"Whoah, lady. I'm just minding my own business. Unlike somepony." He replies a little angrily.

"I actually am minding my business, I investigate all mysterious ponies hereabouts."

The stallion scoffed and said, "Maybe you should check out yourself. You look pretty mysterious yourself."

Shadow pulls down her hood and glares at the stallion saying, "I'm mysterious? I don't have a cutiemark that doesn't really make ant sense! What is your name and what does your cutiemark mean?"

Rolling his eyes the stallion answers, "My name is Echo Shade, and my cutiemark means that I'm good at mysterious things like shadows and sonar."

"Sonar?"

Echo Shade opens his mouth and fires a tone, stunning Shadow for a minute then he dives into a shadow and comes out of another one behind the mare of the same name. When Shadow opened her eyes she couldn't find Echo Shade until he pulled her cloak from behind her. She twirls around but Echo Shade still has her cloak in her teeth leaving her cloak hanging down her front. She glares at him.

"How did you do that?"

"Just a simple talent of mine, I jump in a shadow and come out in another. As you probably noticed I can also use sonar. I'm a nocturnal pony. The last one I know of."

"That's rough..."

"I've gotten used to it. But what I really want to know is what your cutiemark means." Echo says casting his eyes to Shadows flank, where there were three hoof prints that she was quite proud of. "And what your name is too, I told you mine. Now it's your turn."

Turning her cloak back around she answered, "I might as well. My name is Shadow and my talent is stealth and tracking. That is why I have hoof prints, obviously."

"Oh, of course, obviously I'm sure."

"I wonder how your mother put up with your sarcasm. It's quite annoying."

Echo Shade lowered his head saying, "I wouldn't know... The first thing I remember is right after the Nightmare Moon event. I was a young colt, I've lived in the Everfree all the life that I remember. I don't socialize very much at all, ponies are scared of my eyes." He raises his head and opens his eyes wide.

"I can see why, they are kind of cat like... If it's any consolation I never knew my mother either, and my father... Well that doesn't matter anyways. Why am I even telling you this?"

"I don't know, I don't know why I told you about me either....." His eyes then brighten and he says teasingly, "But I bet you can't catch me!" He then dives into a shadow leaving Shadow to find him.

"Alright, you're on!" She says pulling up her hood and letting her veil over her again. "But I think you will find that I have more talents than you think." She flies into the forest rustling leaves but making the sound come from a different direction. Echo Shade comes out into the open then dives back into the forest, the direction the noise came from. Shadow comes back out saying, "Nope not there."

"I'll catch you! You just wait and see." He dives toward Shadow but she easily evades him flies into the forest and there is a noise like she hit a tree.

"Now why did you do that?" Says the cocky stallion sauntering over to where the sound came from, seeing an indentation in the bark in the tree. "That must have hurt... Where are you anyway?" He says looking around for Shadow. Then he feels a sharp pain in his neck. "I'm right here and I didn't hit my head, I just hit a tree with my hoof but it wasn't this one." She lowers her knife replacing it in her hidden sheath. "Also, I got you."

"So you did, but I'm more interested in these indentations. You're the tracker, so track."

Shadow obliged, checking the indentation. "Hmm... Looks kind of like a timberwolfs head..."

"But that could mean.... Lets get out of here, I think it was a Stonewolf..."

"Stonewolf... Oh, I see. Lets go then."

"Yeah, I'm terrified of them." He lifts his wings and shows Shadow a scar. "A stone wolf gave this to me..."

"I'm... Sorry...."

"Me too.. Hey! Maybe we could catch a late dinner someday."

"Um... I suppose so.. But right now I have other duties to attend to.... Good bye."

"Yeah, bye."

Then they go their separate ways.