If it was said that he had a troubled life, the understatement would be massive.
Most have good lives that take a bad turn, some do things they regret.
His life started with death, which is a shame; since life ends with it as well.
Angry thunderheads smothered the night sky yet again.The light rain had fallen upon Manehatten for several days, the foggy streets packed with commuting ponies carrying umbrellas.
Lightning flashed in the clouds above as frantic weather ponies flew this way and that in an attempt to break apart the growing storm.
CRASH! thunder sounded and shortly after, the steady drizzle grew to a downpour in mere seconds.
Down below,not to the ground, but atop a building; a young pegasus stirred from his relatively short nap.
The colt shivered and sneezed, rain droplets flew from his coat of grey.
He shook his head, sending more droplets from his black and white mane.
"Damn rain..." the colt muttered and stood up, his body aching from both the cold and the hard concrete he had been laying upon. The building on which he stood was not particularly tall but it would, never the less be a nasty mess if somepony were to fall off.
The colt grunted as he stretched his wings and legs, numerous scars littering his body shifted as he loosened up.
"Oh well shade, looks like it's you versus the world.....again" he said to himself and opened his pale blue, sightless, eyes.
It was times such as this that the colt, Shadestep, strained to refrain from thoughts of lament.
He was the son of a unicorn (his mother) and a pegasus for a father.
While his mother aided research into curing natural disabilities, his father managed the weather of the area.
Long story short, shade was born blind.When his mother found out, she grew intent on casting a spell to cure his condition.
In her weakened state, his mother cast the spell.....killing herself in the process.
Something happened that night, the colt seemed no different; as if the spell had failed.
Ever since that night, his family and town resented him for "causing" the selfless mare's death.
Only many years later, after he left, did he discover his unique ability.... his "sight".
Shadestep had named himself after his silence , it was his only pride. Ponies would think he took pride in his "sight", the magic residing in his soul. Shade did appreciate it of course, but whenever he thought about it, he reminded himself that he was the reason his mother died....that he did not deserve the gift she left him.
He would stay up some nights, wishing he would have died in her stead....but then again, he had never had a choice in the matter.
But, for those curious about the "sight" of one who is blind, explaining is needed...
When his mother gave her life, she gave part of her soul...her magic, to him.
She knew what would happen, that she would give up part of herself for the spell to work.
However,
she had miscalculated.
Yes, she was willing to give up her life, but why do so when there are better options?
Either way, she had messed up and underestimated the toll the spell would take on her.
She gave him the ability to use magic as an extrasensory function....like a sixth sense.
It only allowed him to recognize the presence of objects around him,
not their shade, tint, nor color.
As for his other senses, shade trained them so as not to rely on the magic.
The same went for his physical agility and strength. And after years of work and hardship, he learned to love something that made him feel free, boundless, happy.
His ability to fly.
"Gah!" "Oh sweet celestia!" shade hissed in pain as he worked out an agonizing crick in his neck.
He twisted his head a sharp ninety degrees, resulting in several loud cracks accompanied by another hiss of pain.
His black, not to mention soaked mane draped over his left eye while he blinked and he shook himself yet again, but whatever water was freed was soon replaced with what seemed like an infinite number of raindrops.
Shade unfolded his black feathered wings and, with another shiver, shot into the air, leaving a shadowy trail behind.
A single commuter just happened to look up, oblivious to the raindrops stinging her eyes as she witnessed a dark shape shoot through the air. Her shocked gasp went unnoticed in the crowded street.
Shade felt the sting of the rain on his scarred face as he soundlessly shot above the crowded streets.
As he did his routine flight he thought of various destinations.
The cafe? no, probably crowded right now...
The park? no, not in this weather... besides, what would be the point even if the sun was out?
......Maybe I could race....
Shade stopped and hovered for a moment above a small plaza.
He laughed momentarily then regained his composure.
Me!? race!? a blind pegasus!?.....that's just too damn funny!
But then again....I haven't crashed since I was a foal....
"Yo! get outta the sky! this is a no fly zone!" shade's thoughts were interrupted by an young, staunch sounding stallion.
"Huh? who're you?" shade turned his head in the voice's direction.
"What do you think I am? look at the badge!" shade cringed at the stallion's words.
Time for an educated guess.... "um are you a guard?" shade was pretty sure that's what he was right, after all, a badge?
"Close enough; public security, now get out of the air" the guard ordered, obviously annoyed.
Shade faked a snicker, "you can't get me out of the air if you can't fly up and get me, now can you?" please don't have wings, I swear to celestia, if he has wings-
"What! you sayin my wings don't serve me right!?" the guard all but roared.
....Well shit........... shade laughed nervously, and tried to work out a plan.
"Get your sorry flank down here, you dipshit" the stallion's tone took on a calmer more venomous tone.
Shade narrowed his eyes dipshit?! screw the plan, that sorrowful fuck! "ooh, your wings huh? did I strike a nerve?-"
Shade shook his head as he continued in a mocking tone "don't worry, I understand if you can't catch me after all, your probably slower than a slug".
The guard's eye twitched in anger who'd this punk think he was? flying in like he owned the place...like he didn't need to pay anyone his attention "I will knock you out of the sky, you disrespectful foal!" the guard's voice full of rage, his breath standing out in the cold, rain filled air.
Shade just smirked and with a flap of his wings, shot towards the dark clouds above with the guard in hot pursuit.
The thrill of the chase was all the young pegasus felt, even if he wasn't the one doing the chasing.
He hardly noticed the cursing guard trailing him, all he felt was the wind under his wings and the rain chilling him to the bone.
If you asked him where he felt he belonged, he wouldn't tell you but he honestly felt like he belonged with the rain, thunder, and the lightning. He loved the storm, apparently it didn't love him back.
He felt it, all the fur in his coat stood on end and his eyes widened as a brief epiphany took place.
A split second after the odd sensation made it's way through his body, lightning flashed.
Not even the guard saw him get struck, for he was off lost in a cloud somewhere.
And so shade plummeted, unconscious, miles away from manehattan, towards the not so soft ground far below.
As fate would have it....
He plummeted, unconscious, to the ground far below....
Shadestep always had a traveler's lifestyle, that is, only after he ran away. How he had survived this long remains a mystery, after all, his "gift" could only help so much.
Anyone could call this poor soul's very existence blind luck and for all he knew, it could very well be just that.
Yet everything is finite, it eventually will run out. But blind luck was one of this colt's specialties.
And so far, his luck was holding strong..... if you look at the glass half full anyway.
Wind howled, rain drops fell in the hundreds of millions, soaking anything that even dared to step hoof outside.
Lightning flashed again, as it naturally would. A dark shape continued it's dangerously fast descent from the clouds above.
Despite the cold sheets of rain and the flash and rumble of lightning and thunder, the unconscious form made no move to halt it's fall.
The colt known as shadestep was only about sixty feet above the everfree forest's canopy when his eyes snapped open and he yelped in shock as his gift immediately alerted him of the danger.
"AAAAAAAHH!!!!" shade had snapped his wings open, nearly braking both whilst trying to slow his descent.
He gritted his teeth in pain, he felt the bones in his wings creak as the wind caught a hold of them and did it's best to wrench them from their sockets.
He felt his mane and tail being pulled back from the fierce winds and he decided: maybe if I could just pull up a bit...... He did his best to pull out of his dive, silently swearing as every muscle in his body burned and ached.
Thoughts of hope met his mind as his angle grew less steep. Just a little more.... he almost made it, almost.
His sightless eyes widened in horror, and he used whatever time he had left to curl into a protective ball.
Shade smashed into the canopy of twisted, leafless branches and his head struck the tree trunk. The last thing he felt was fear, fear of the pain gripping him........... fear of death.... but before he could think of anything else, his mind slipped into the cold darkness of unconsciousness.
The storm refused to let up, the celestia forsaken thing must have been left to an inexperienced weather pony for it to even exist now.
Hundreds of pegasi were breaking up clouds so fast to the point where flooding stopped, but even still, the rain and winds refused to let up.
An unnoticed earth pony trotted down the road with a black fedora on his head and a black bass guitar strapped to his back.
"Ponyville shouldn't be too far away," he thought aloud, "damned winds, destroying my house....." he grumbled for a moment.
He was so busy with his grumbling that, when a sudden BOOM! sounded from above, he almost jumped in surprise.
He looked up to the grey sky, careful to hold his hat on and cursed when he noticed a dark pegasus fall towards the tree line of the nearby everfree forest.
The young stallion acted quickly, hiding his guitar and saddlebags behind a boulder (after all, you don't want anyone to chance upon you belongings and taking them, right?) then he rushed into the forest without a second thought.
After nearly half an hour of searching through the dark woodland, the earth pony walked into something hanging from a branch and cursed when he realized it was the pegasus from before.
"Crazy colt, attempting flight in weather like this..." he muttered as he carefully pulled the winged one out of the gnarled tree.
He inspected shade for any broken bones and noticed that, among the various scrapes and cuts, there were several pale scars running along his back and stomach. "Heh, I'm not the only one who's had his fair share of violence" the hat wearing pony chuckled sadly.
After several almost comical attempts, he managed to heave the colt onto his back and then make the slow trip back to the path.
"Guess even the monsters don't like the rain," the stallion thought aloud as he emerged from the treeline. He swiftly made for his stashed belongings, all the while making sure the injured pony on his back didn't fall.
The pegasus slung over his back groaned in pain and the stallion only shook his head.
"I don't know who you are, but sit tight, next town's only a couple minutes away." the earth pony glanced at the colt he carried, shook his head once more, and continued up the cobblestone path.
"I still can't believe a pony his size can take that much damage, but his pulse seems to be normal..." ....Voices...........A mare?
"Has the bleeding stopped?" .................Where am I?.............. "yeah, but would you hoof me clean bandages, we gotta get rid of the old ones..." ..........bandages?.................Lightning, rain, trees.
"Wait, I think he's waking up,"
*Groan* Shade stirred.
He noticed something, another sound, but very faint, like music.... Oh well, I'll worry about that later...... he thought as he tried to sit up and almost cried out in pain. He fell back as a painful burning sensation coursed through his body.
"Oh dear, please try not to move too much, your injuries haven't healed yet" the nice mare's voice returned.
Shade paused, "can you tell me what happened? where am I? who are you?" hmm... maybe this is a hospital of some sort, would make sense with getting struck by lightning and all, but how would I be able to get here? hmm...
The mare seemed to stop and think for a moment, after a few seconds she replied "You were carried in by a big stallion, he said something about you falling out of the sky or something......"
"Another pony?" shade silently chuckled Damn, am I lucky or what!
"Yes, he said his name was deaf tune" shade heard the nurse's hoofsteps move to the other side of the room as she continued, "he seemed pretty concerned, but then again how often do you see a young stallion fall from the clouds?"
The young pegasus listened to her talk as he rubbed his forehead where a small bruise had formed.
"Oh, could you just move your forelegs a bit?" shade cocked his head in confusion at the nurse's request.
"Your bandages dear, I doubt you want those dirty ones to infect your wound," shade couldn't see it, but the nurse's face was a mix of confusion and concern. The grey pegasus just shrugged and did as he was told.
"Good, now just stay still, the blood has dried over the bandages so this may sting a bit".
Shade sighed It's not like I have a choice do I?
Outside, the rain had slowed but the mist remained thick, limiting most visibility.
Deaf chord let the toothpick he'd chewed for the last hour and a half fall to the ground.
The tired stallion stretched and once again spared a glance of the houses around him.
The dirt under his hooves was moist which, to no surprise, didn't bother the jet black stallion. Deaf chord blinked as a rain drop landed on his nose. After brushing the water off his face, he adjusted the fedora on his head and picked his guitar case off of the ground. I should really go check on the runt.
A pair of eyes watched from a window as he skulked away.
"I've never seen him before... he didn't look to happy, I bet a good welcome would cheer him up!".
Well, I'll admit that I'm worried about trying to keep the mane six and the rest of ponyville's citizens in character when I type them. Also, It's okay to comment! in case any of you few readers are holding back..... If you do comment, please show common courtesy, this is a work in progress and I simply dislike being insulted. If you don't like it, don't read it.
I meant to put that up on the first chapter, but it was late and I didn't think of it at the time.
And I should say, I do update fairly slow, sooooo.......uh yeah I think that's it.
Well readers, 'till next time!
