Everlasting Shadows

I look up into the starry night, marveling at the consolations. Taking in the simplicity of just lying under the starlit sky. My eyes fall on the moon, its pale light drawing me in, its soft beauty unmatched. I smiled as I looked up at it, my mind wondering back to the first time I had ever looked up at that beautiful orb in the night sky, and first realized its beauty.

I chuckled to myself as I think about it, because that same night was the whole reason I’m where I am now. I’m not sure if it was always for the best, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Sure, I would have loved to have one more night with my friends, but I was doing this for them, and the land that I’ve come to call my home.

Oh, I’m sorry I almost forgot you can call me Shadow, everypony does, I’m a black unicorn, with a long flowing silver mane, my eyes are a deep red, like the last scraps of light of the setting sun. I’m also on the smaller side…who am I kidding I get called a filly way too often, even though I’m only half a head shorter than your normal pony. I’ve been called cute more than beautiful, and a bit hard headed at times as well. It doesn’t make life easy when you’re a hard headed child trying to act like an adult, TRUST ME!

Anyway, let me first explain a little about being a unicorn and magic itself, I know that a lot of you are most likely unicorns or understand magic in one way or another. Well bear with me please; as I was saying, unicorns are in there own right, users of magic. Most use magic in their every day lives for just small things, from telekinesis (levitation magic to those who don’t know) for moving things around the house, to the harder spells like helping keep monsters from the Everfree forest out of Equestria. Magic also takes its toll on a unicorn as well, if you use too much magic, you’ll either burn out or you could even die. The body can only handle so much power.

Magic is not easy, but it always comes to a unicorn sooner or later. For me it was a nightmare, by the time I was an older filly I grew to hate magic. It was so damn hard on me that I decided to say “Fuck you spells” and be done with it. I think that is one reason it took me so long to get my cutie mark. I was such a silly filly when I was younger if only I could go back and tell myself to get over it. Oh…I’m wavering again, sorry. Where was I? ...Oh yes, magic just sucked for me let’s leave it at that.

The last thing you should know about me is that I didn’t grow up in Equestria like most pony’s do. I was found as a foal only a day or so old on the door step of Xen’s orphanage in the Zebra city of Kelf just outside of the Zebra badlands, and there was only one other pony who lived there for a little while when I was a small filly. Her name was Rose Bud, she was an earth pony whose parents had passed away while trying to find out about the cat people who lived on the other side of the badlands. She lived there for two years then, after finding family she had in Canterlot in Equestria, she left, just as most of the children did. Leaving me with no family, no friends, and no pony’s to help me learn of my own kind let along the importance of finding what my one special talent was.

Well after a while, I got too old to be living at Xen’s and had to be placed in a foster home outside Manehattan. That didn’t last long, and trust me that isn’t the story you need to hear, not yet and it will just get me prattling on again. To put it simply, when I was sixteen and still with no cutie mark (Not something I really cared about until I moved to Equestria and got teased for it), I ran away…and that is where my life, my real life truly started.

You can call me Shadow, and this is life…

I made my way down the alley way, heading toward one of the few area’s that I knew I’d be able to find a good mark. A mare has to eat after all, and the ponies who come to this part of the city always have more than enough bit’s to spare and it’s not like I’d ever hurt anyone. Preparing for this takes a bit of thought, a bad grab could mean bad news for me. So I did my best to keep to the shadows, making sure every hoof step fell as quietly as they could, and a small knife held in my muzzle (for protection). I could never really hurt another pony, but it did help to have it in case something went wrong.

There she was, the perfect mark, She looked like one of your normal upper Manehattaners, she was walking around with a beautiful scarf and hat on. Her white coat shined like she had just left one of the spas and her purple mane was styled like one who was expecting an audience with the royal family. All in all she was very beautiful and alluring, I almost wasn’t able to take the next couple of steps so I could take the small pouch of bits she had sitting at the top of her saddle bags.

It was one problem I had, when I saw an attractive mare I always started staring, pulling my attention away from the task at hand. Just like any night though I shook my head, letting my head clear for a moment then I started to move forward again. The pony who was my target was talking to someone that I couldn’t see just on the other side of the ally.

“Darling, I have no idea where we are.” Said the white Mare shaking her head slowly “I’m sure you don’t know. Do you?”

Another voice came from the other pony just out of my sight, his voice deep and with a hint of an accent “Eeyup, I reckon we’re only a couple blocks down from Broadway.”

“Big Mac, I had no idea you knew your way around a city like Manehattan, I hadn’t even thought you had ever gone much farther outside of Ponyville.” Said the mare quietly with a small chuckle.

“Ma’ uncle and aunt had me come stay here a few times when I was a colt. Granny said I was too much of a hand full back in those days.”

I shook my own head wondering why I was still standing here in the shadows listening to these two go on. If I didn’t do it soon, I would have to wait for another opportunity, and I couldn’t chance that. I mean it isn’t often that some pony makes my work this easy. Then I noticed that I was staring at her again, of course I was. I shook my head and moved my head forward and waiting for the mare who was talking with much more enthusiasm, to move back just a little more. And there it was, she moved her flanks back some as she moved her front hooves in some kind of odd gesture.

This brought her saddle backs right into a sliver of the shadows right next to my muzzle. With a quick movement I reached into the bags, took hold of the pouch, and pulled it out quickly yet silently. It was, I thought, one of my better grabs. I had practiced this kind of thing a lot when I was a filly, it was the only way to get treats at the orphanage sometimes.

Then as quickly as my hooves could take me yet staying silent, I took off down the dark alleyway and back toward my makeshift home. It didn’t take long, my “home” was a block away from where I had taken the coin purse from the white mare. Normally I wouldn’t steal so close to my home, but today would make the fourth day that I had gone without a proper meal. Everything went well so I figured all was good.

When I made it back to the three boxes, resting against a wall with a tin sign that acted like a roof that made up my home, I came to a stop a little too late. Next to my home was none other than Quick Shot, a big unicorn stallion with a red coat and black mane. His cutie mark was a badge and he was a big pain in my ass. He worked for the Police, in the department that helped families find there lost fillies, or in my case, run away foster kids.

“Well, look who decided to show up. I have been standing in front of your little shithole for almost five minutes. I have more ponies to check on tonight that isn’t you. Now do you have my payment, or do I have to finally tell my superiors that you have been found?” Quick Shot said with a smug smile.

I rolled my eyes and leaned against the wall of the alley and yawned a little “I don’t have it yet, I just got a chance to get out and get enough to feed myself, which was the deal we had. I make enough bits to get by and the rest I give to you.”

“Yes it was, but when you put me off for a couple of weeks I start to get mad. You know your foster family is offering a small reward for finding you right.” He said smiling.

I knew that was a lie, my foster parents didn’t give a shit about me, they only wanted the pay check they got for taking in the foster foal. When a colt or filly ran away the foster parents were put under investigation. With that they wouldn’t be able to take in more foals until it was done. They wouldn’t offer a reward, but they would be playing the part of the worried parents. Quick Shot was only saying that to get me to hand over my “protection” payment to him. In reality it was just a bribe to the officer.

“I am not too worried about you turning me in. All that will happen is you’ll tell them, they’ll find me, interview me, and I’ll tell them all about what you had done to me, the bribes and how long you had known where I was. What is it now, five months?” I said with a cocked grin on my face.

“That’s not something that I have to worry about, fillies try that kind of thing all the time. Now stop stalling and just give me the bits you owe me. I’ll even leave you a little bit to by something to eat.” He said moving closer to her.

I will admit, I was scared of him. He was much bigger than I am (though that’s not saying much) and I wasn’t as much of a threat to him as I had acted. If he wanted he could honestly arrest me and take me in for robing another pony, and he would find something on me as well. How long would it take for the Mare I had robbed to come to the police station looking to file a police report about her missing bag of bits. Not long at all I’m sure.

All this may be true, but that didn’t stop me from standing my ground. “Listen here, I will pay you at the end of the week with extra to make up for the lost time, I just can’t do it yet. Now can we get this over with and we can go our separate ways?”

I regretted saying it as soon as it was out of my muzzle. I had just shown him a small bit of weakness, my quick attitude to get things done and be on my way showed him just a small fraction of the fear that was growing inside of me. I knew he saw it too, as soon as he moved his head closer, his face inches from my own saying slowly “I don’t think so. Though I do have another way you can pay me back.”

I didn’t like where this was going, I could tell something was wrong when I looked into his eyes. They had no compassion in them at all, only a primal hunger that I had only seen once before. It was something that made my stomach turn and my knees shake. I tried to back up some, but found my way blocked by something I couldn’t see at the moment.

“St…stay away from me.” I said, un-able to keep my voice steady.

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll use my magic on you.”

He laughed at that his own horn glowing a soft gold as he pulled his police baton out of his belt. “Oh that’s rich, I know more about you than you think small fry. You have no magic from what I was told, your file says your either un-able to concentrate enough to use it, or you were born with a disability to use magic. It does happen with unicorns, but it’s rare. So why should I be scared of a blank flank filly with no magic. Honestly I think you should pay me back right now, right here in this alleyway.”

I was about to reply with something I was hopping was witty, when I felt something smash against my face throwing me to the ground hard. My head swam for a moment and my right ear was ringing, the taste of blood in my mouth from where I had bit my cheek when I landed. Then I felt his hot breath inches away from my face saying quietly “You see this is what you will end up as anyway, might as well get you ready for it now. I promise I’ll make it easier than most buck’s would.”

My body felt like ice as those words left his lips. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. He was going to do that to me, the thought of a stallion mounting me or even touching me in such a way was too much for me. I felt hot tears starting to fall from my eyes, something that just made me even more ashamed than this stallion wanting to take me in such a way. It made me feel weak, and I was so tired of being weak.

“Don’t touch…me…” I cried into the ground as he moved around me.

“Shut your mouth, or I’ll make this worse for you.” He said smacking my back end with his baton, pain lancing through my body.

I screamed as I felt something crack, tears flowing onto the dirty ground. All I wanted was to be away from this, for my mind or my soul to just vanish and leave this retched life behind. All I wanted was to be left along and to not be so weak any more. It was right then, as I heard him pulling off his belt that a feeling ran through me. But not the one I was thinking was just about to come.

It was a feeling I had, had before only a couple of times. It was like some kind of cosmic energy flowing through my body and up to the tip of my horn, it was like the entire world was there for the taking. When this had happened to me before I was scared of it, because I knew what would come next would be out of my control, but now it couldn’t have happened at a better time.

I started to cry harder, but at the same time I smiled letting a laugh escape my lips and through my sobs. When I did he stopped his movements saying “What was that?”

I looked back at him from the ground smiling wider as my horn started to glow a deep red “Remember when you said I don’t have any magic?”

He looked at my horn a small bit of fear coming to his eyes as he started to make his own horn glow. “What about it?”

“I do have magic, I just never use it, because I can’t control it. I do so hope that whatever happens next is painful.” I said, as I did my body started to feel like it was on fire, and I screamed as the familiar magic exploded out of my horn.

Quick Shot tried to throw up a shield spell, but it wasn’t strong enough. My magic enveloped him and lifted him up, popping the shield like a soap bubble. He was lifted higher his eyes going wide as he started to scream, as though something was burning him from the inside out. As I screamed with him I started to stand my eyes glowing a bright white, then with a quick jerk of my head, I through the large stallion at the far wall.

It felt like it had taken forever for his limp body to fly across the alley, as if everything was now going into slow motion. I wanted to hear his body crack against the brick wall. The sound never came though, because when his body was inches away from the wall, another unicorns magic enveloped Quick Shot’s body catching him at the last moment in a steady blue light. Slowly his body was floated to the ground.

My body couldn’t take the back lash of the magic I had just used and I passed out. The last thing I heard was a mare’s voice saying “Thank Celestia, I didn’t think we would make it in time…”

When I awoke, I felt something I hadn’t in a long time. I was first of all clean, my mane was washed and my coat as well, second I was warm in a bed. I opened my eyes slowly and looked around the small room I was in. At first I thought somepony had taken me to their house to tend to me, but after a quick look around I knew I was wrong. This was a hospital room, it had to be, no one would have their house set up like this.

The room was cool and had the same light green blue walls with metal trays and things in jars all over the place. After I got my small look around I felt my head pound, it was like small hammers were slamming themselves on the back of my eyeballs. I tried to lift my hoof up to rub my head, then I realized I couldn’t, someone had tied my hooves down to the bed. I started to panic, thrashing my head and starting to yell.

Before I could do much more though a blue earth pony came in to the room wearing some kind of white outfit with an odd hat on her head, her cutie mark was a red cross with a syringe lying next to it. She moved over to me quickly and started to speak to me in a soothing voice as she started to undo my bindings “Calm down dear, I’m nurse Red Cross and you’re in the hospital. A friend of yours brought you in after the attack you had.”

I pulled my hooves up once they were free saying “Why did you have me tied down and what friend are you talking about I don’t have any friends?”

“We had to tie you down because you were having some kind of nightmare and you were thrashing, we didn’t want you hurting yourself. And as for your friend she’ll be right back. You have a concussion from the blow you took to the head and a cracked hip. Your friend can tell you more about that when she gets back, I’m just here to make sure you don’t overdo it. You did some kind of powerful spell and it took a lot out of you as well.” Said Nurse Red Cross with a smile “Now please lay back down and rest.”

I did as I was told and rested my head back on the pillow watching her leave the room. Once I knew she was gone I got back up and started to pull the small wires off my body and quickly got up. My body felt terrible and my hip did hurt a lot. I knew I should be resting, but I could do that when I got back to my home. Right now I needed to get away, for all I knew that asshole Quick Shot had woken up and taken me here and was about to turn me in as a runaway.

I couldn’t have that happen to me, I wasn’t going to go back to that house, even if it killed me, and if he was going to have me arrested for attacking him, I wouldn’t go to jail for him either. I made my way down the hall and out the first door I saw that looked like it lead outside. Once I was out though I saw I was just in a small square garden that looked like it was meant for some kind of outdoor therapy. I was about to head back in and try my escape again when a soft beautiful voice started to sing something not far away from me.

“My little sunshine….my little sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are grey.” The voice sang then her song went into a hum, and when I moved closer I saw it was a white unicorn with a purple main, three diamonds made up her cutie mark. I realized that she was the same mare I had stolen from earlier.

I turned to leave again when her voice stopped humming and she turned her head saying “Are you really going to just walk away without a word or a thank you. Really dear, that is quite rude.”

I didn’t know what to say at first, especially when I saw that she was smiling and not yelling at me. I shook my head and said the only thing that I could think of “Who are you?”

She laughed and moved closer to me “The better question my dear is who are you? Though I guess who I am is a fair question as well. I am Rarity, and I am one of the ponies who saved your life, or at least made sure you didn’t kill that officer.”

“Wait a moment, you came to help me when he attacked me?”

“From what he is saying, you attacked him. Said something about you being a runaway and he was trying to bring you in…” she started to say before I interrupted her (like I said, Young and hard headed).

“What the fuck, really, he is going to say that when he tried to rape me in that alley, and he has been taking bits from me for months now…” my muzzle was slammed shut and held that way by some blue magic that was coming from the unicorn.

“It isn’t polite to interrupt another pony when she is talking darling. Now can I finish?” she said, and once I nodded she continued “He is saying that yes, but Big Mac and I had been going down that alley when he attacked you. We tried to make it to you to help, but not in time to stop your burst of magic. We told the police what happened and they believed us.”

I felt the spell around my muzzle fade away, and I said “Why would you do that for me?”

“I would do that for any pony in need dear, I was looking for you because when you took my bit pouch I knew you needed some pony to help you in some way. I have a tracker spell on my things and I would have been able to keep up with you and find you much faster normally, but something about you made my spell mess up a little. It must have been the magic you had pent up inside of you.” She said with a smile.

I felt tears start to fall again as I looked away from her “You’re lying, you were just looking to get your bits back.”

“Well I did want to get them back yes, you did take a lot, but I still would have left you with something and tried to help you. I think every pony has a reason for living like you are. I take it you are a runaway, but I’m not sure why.”

“It’s none of your business.” I snapped at her.

The smile on her face fell a little as she said “Darling you do know that you won’t be able to leave this hospital without being spotted. The police are keeping an eye on you, even if you can’t see them right now, they are here. They know the story that officer told them is fake, but they do know you’re a runaway.”

It felt like my world had fallen apart. My legs seemed to just refuse to hold me up any more and I fell to the ground starting to cry, un-able to hold back anymore as everything that happened before and now came crashing down on me. As I cried, to my surprise Rarity came over to me and pulled me into a soft hug letting me cry into her shoulder. It was a kindness I wasn’t used too. After a little time went by I couldn’t help it, I was done, I just let it out by saying “I can’t go back to that house, they are just the worst ponies I have ever met. I don’t want to go back to a life where ponies hate me just because of where I was born.”

Rarity shushed me saying “Listen dear, I know there is a reason you ran away, and I can tell you haven’t had a good life. Listen how about I make you a deal, if you tell me your name and what that spell you used was, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

I looked up at her, my eyes red and puffy “What do you mean?”

“Like I said I want to know what that spell was that you used to attack the officer and what your name is, that is all.”

I let my head fall back and rest on the grass my eyes falling on the night sky, I saw the moon and the stars. I smiled as I really looked at the beauty that was in front of me. I’ve looked up at the sky before, but only seeing it as a sign it was time to sleep or to go out and steal so I could get a few bits to eat. Now for some reason I just looked up at the sky, seeing the magic that was in the simplicity of it. It was the only thing I could see as pure freedom, the night sky was able to be as beautiful as it wanted, its power unmatched, and same for its beauty.

I knew then that I wanted to be as beautiful and powerful as that night sky, showing the world how great I could be, if they would only look at me for what I really was.  I wasn’t just a black coat that was full of pain and anger, I was something beautiful. It was then I said to the unicorn “I’ve never had a real name, but the Zebra’s who raised me liked to call me Shadow because of my black coat and how well I was able to sneak around the house at night. As for that spell I have no idea what it was. I have never been able to control my magic, so I never use it, every so often it likes to just explode out like that. This was the first time it helped me.”

Rarity looked a little shocked at that “Do you know how much power you had bottled up inside of you?”

“Not at all, all I know is it hurts when I use it and somepony always seems to get hurt.” I said still looking up at that night sky again.

Rarity smiled at that and said “Well Darling, I think you need to start learning how to use your magic, because that was really powerful. How about this, I know a pony where I live who would be able to help you control your power, because she had the same problem you did when she was young as well. That is if you don’t mind going to a small town with some pony you just met.”

I looked at her and said “Who will I live with if I do?”

“Well I’m sure I can help you find a place to stay that will treat you much better than you’re used to. Also I’m sure my friend will find your cutie mark quite interesting”.

I laughed at that saying “What cutie mark are you talking about, I don’t have one and I never will, how many ponies at my age do you know who don’t have one.”

“Well I don’t know how old you really are, but you did just get it a moment ago while you were looking up at the night sky.” She said as her smile got bigger.

I jumped to my hooves and looked back at my flanks seeing if she was telling me the truth. My jaw fell to the floor as I saw it wasn’t a lie. On my flank was something that looked like fire wrapping around in a circle making its way toward one spot right in the middle in the background were small dots that looked like starts.

“What is it?” I asked not sure what this cutie mark meant or even what it was “It looks like some kind of explosion, but it’s beautiful.”

“If I remember right from the small lessons I always seem to get from Twilight about stars, this looks like a nebula, with the stars around it.”

The name sparked something in my mind, a memory from some of my lessons back in the Zebra lands. I looked back at Rarity saying “Isn’t it like a star dying?”

“No I think that is a Nova, a Nebula is the birth of a star. Twilight could tell you more about it, but if I would have a guess at it I’d say it has something to do with a gift toward magic or some kind of power, or it could even just be a love of the night sky.”

“So I still don’t know what makes me special.”

She moved up to me and pulled me into a hug again, I didn’t know what to make of it so I just let her. Then she said to me “Listen darling, you are special just like every pony. Now that you have your cutie mark you just have one more clue to who you are.”

I felt tears filling in my eyes as I wrapped my hooves around her, for the first time in my life, I felt like I was being accepted by somepony. I looked up at her and said “Will you really help me find a home…help me get out of this life? Do you really have the power to do that?”

She smiled and said in her calming voice “Well one of my best friends is a princess dear, I’m sure we can work something out. Now let’s get you back to your room so you can rest up. I have a couple of letters to send.”