My little pony: the Shadow veil saga

After Big Mac, Applejack and Shadow veil finished up the work for the day, it was still early. "Ya welcome to come and have somethin ta eat with us, if ya want." Applejack said sincerely. "I know Big Mac and Granny wouldn't mind having ya stick around a little longer."

"I mean no offense when I say, perhaps another time, miss Applejack" Shadow veil said, his voice monotone. "But since the day is still young, I wish to go and fetch some supplies. One being more shrinking powder."

"Would ya like any help with that?" She offered.

"I wish to perform these tasks myself" he honestly answered. "Besides, you have your family to be with."

"Ah right, suit yer self" she concluded. "Best of luck to ya."

"Thank you, miss Applejack" Shadow veil said, bowing his head slightly, then turning his back to leave. But stopped short. Without looking back, he told Applejack. "I'm a pony of secrecy. But I understand you are one of honesty, and that princess Twilight sparkle is your friends. If you wish to inform her of my past, I can't really hold it against you."

"I will only tell her if she asks, or if I feel the need to tell her" Applejack spoke honestly.

Shadow veil then turned back and took one final glance at the apple farm, where Granny Smith was in her rocker on the porch, Big Mac was relaxing in the shade of a tree, and the crusaders were running around playing some game.

"Enjoy your family miss Applejack," he said still not looking at her. "They are good ponies. Some of the best I have ever met."

"I do, and thank you kindly" she said tipping her hat. "You ain't half bad yer self when ya ain't trying ta zap every pony."

Shadow veil had no comment, and simple walked off down the road leading to the Everfree forest. He arrived near the edge of the forest about fifteen minutes later. He then used a spell to summon Envy from wherever she was, to make her appear beside him.

"Done already?" She said, rubbing her eyes. Either she slept the whole day or she was taking a nap.

"Are you ready?" He asked her, staring deep into the Everfree forest. "We only have a few days to prepare."

"I know, I know." Envy complained as she stretched. "So you want me to gather the supplies while you practice?"

"That is the drill, correct?" Shadow veil said dryly as they both walked into the dark and scary forest.

Inside were wild creatures that didn't care for pony kind, but most wouldn't do anything should a pony enter the forest. Especially not to the one with the sparking horn. Memories of a pony that visited the Everfree often that bore a horn that sparked with shards of lighting, filled the inhabitants of the forest with fear.

Shadow veil chose an open spot near a large pond to practice the spell he needed to master by the end of the week. He then summoned his medicine bag full of potions. He reached inside and grabbed bikes
Marked with a '3' and a '9', and drank then one after another. A shiver went down his spine, but suddenly he felt reenergized and better then ever.

From his medicine bag he pulled out a book using his magic, and had it placed right I front of him. He opened the book back where he left off, then turned his attention towards a small plant that was growing near the pond.

"I guess I have to start small" he said as he focused on the plant, his horn glowed green, and so did the plant. After a few moments I concentrating, Shadow veil released his attempted spell. Looking at the flower, nothing had changed about it. He looked all around the area, but nothing. He sighed. "I can give up , it's imperative that I master this spell!"

Back in Ponyville, Twilight had just finished reading the book she asked princess Celestia for and was now practicing a spell from it.

"Hold it high Spike!" Twilight screamed to him from over a mile away. She was standing I top of a hill just outside Ponyville while Spike held up a Snellen chart on top of a building in town.

Twilight's horn glowed purple, then a pair of binoculars appeared in front of her face. She then looked threw them and peered into town. It took her a little while to try and find
The right focus, but she was able
To clear up the images Spike was holding up. It was as if he were standing right in front of her. She began writing down the letters she thought she saw on a piece of paper, later she would compare it with the graphed that spike was actually holding, to see how accurate she was.

But her concentration was blown when a pink blurted face appeared in her line of sight. Twilight panicked and fell back in her flank.

"Hi twi! What cha up to?" Pinky pie said as she hopped all around her friend, full of energy as always.

Twilight got up rubbing her back "hi Pinky pie. I'm just practicing a new
spell I found in the book I got from princess Celestia."

"I'm starting ta think that all y'all students of he princess think alike" Appejack said as she came trotting up, pulling a cart full of apples.

"Hey Applejack," Twilight greeted her earth pony friend. Then a hint of concern poped into her head when she say that Applejack was alone. "Where's Shadow veil? Is he still at the apple farm?"

"Na, we finished out work quite a while ago." She explain to both Twilight and Pinky pie about how Shadow veil had been to the apple farm when she was in manehaten way back before she got her cutie mark, and how he worked on the apple farm.

"I had no idea" Twilight said, a little shocked. "He did say he had been to Ponyville before, but I didn't think he meant way back then."

"Ah know, it's kina wired. But Granny Smith and Big Mac seem to really like 'em. And it..." Applejack stopped herself to try and find the right words.

"It's what?!" Pinky pie asked.

"Well," she began "if I didn' know better, ah say he liked them too. Why, it seemed like he was even , well, happy."

Twilight was really shocked to hear that. In the short time she's know him, Shadow veil has let them know that he didn't care for much, if anything at all. But here she finds out that he not only knew the apple family, but that he liked them?!

"Well, and who" Applejack said, tipping her hat. "Ah better get these apples over to sugar cube corner."

"Right, that's why I came I meet you half way!" Pinky pie exclaimed. She turned to her alicorn friend "by the way Twily, you wouldn't happen to have any new books in in baked goods? Do you?"

"No, why?" Twilight asked Pinky.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Cake are In charge of most of the bakes goods for the lunar eclipse festival, but they want to make some really amazing stuff this year, even though I think they're best is already amazingly great, but they are really stressed about it this year and want it to be better then it was last time, so they've been trying out a whole bunch of new recipes to try and find some new and amazing things to offer at the party, but so far they haven had any luck."

"Which is why they've asked for some extra apples to work with." Applejack added, hinting at the cart full of apples behind her.

"I'll double check the library when I get back" Twilight told Pinky pie. "I'm almost done here."

"Great, thanks Twilight! You're the best!" Pinky said as she have Twilight a big bear hug. "The Cakes have been so stressed about this, I've put in extra over time both in baby sitting and at the shop while they worked on them, and it would really mean a lot if you could find them something new to try."

As Twilight watched as her friends walked back into town with the cart full of apples. As they disappeared in the distance, Twilight couldn't help but think about what Applejack said about Shadow veil liking the apple family. If he likes such a good and honest family, maybe there is hope for him to warm up and make friends with other ponies too.