Author's Note
YAY My first chapter. Hope you like it. :)
Shadow Fire
Chapter One
Shadow Fire
The first thing I see is the moon. So bright against the blackness of the night with tiny dots dancing around it. It was beautiful. Then I heard a scream. I turned my head to see a black alicorn that with flowing blue hair that shone of the stars. Her eyes were white as a white alicorn that looked the same except for her mane was pink, green, and blue. The black one disappeared in a blaze of light. I stared. Not understanding what just happened. I let out a squeal. The white alicorn turned to look at me, the disappeared. I was left alone.
The next thing I knew, a gray alicorn stood over me and whispered, “I’m sorry.” Then he touched me. A wave of shock came through me the second his hoof touched my head.
I woke up in a forest. A dark forest. I hear voices. A male and a female. I hear shuffling and the voices fade away. I don’t know what happened. I was touched, and now I am here. Alone. I cry. It was all I could do.
Hours go by and I cry. I hear footsteps. I cry louder just in case. The bushes to my right rustle and I see a red unicorn step into the clearing. She had yellow eyes and a yellow and orange mane.
“What are you doing in the Everfree alone?”
The word Everfree sunk into my head. It sounded… important. I open my mouth to speak. “Th-they w-were fighting… O-one used a s-spell on the other… A-and she v-vanished… Then h-he came and t-touched me… T-then I c-came here.”
The unicorn stared at me. “The first part sounds like Nightmare Moon’s banishment to the moon. But that happened centuries ago.”
I stared blankly at her, confused.
She saw the confused look on my face and sighed. “I am Mrs. Red Lake, nothing more. Only Mrs. Red Lake. Lucky for you, I am the owner of the orphanage.”
“O-orphanage?”
She smiled. “Yes, it’s where fillies and colts in need of homes stay.”
“Oh…”
“What’s your name?”
“Name?” I didn’t understand the word.
“You don’t have one…” Red Lake looked at me up and down. “I can give you one.”
I nodded eagerly, wanting this “name” thing.
“You are purple so maybe Violet Storm… No… Dark Sun… No…” Red Lake was deep in thought. “How about Shadow Fire?”
Shadow Fire. My name.
“It’s perfect!” I tried to get up onto my legs.
Mrs. Red Lake moved over to support me. I leaned against her flank, which had a blanket and a baby rattle on it.
“What’s that thing on your flank?” I asked.
Mrs. Red Lake looked at the image on her flank. “That is a cutie mark, they appear on your flank when you find your special talent.”
I was curious. “What is your talent?”
Mrs. Red Lake sighed. “Child care.”
“So you take care of foals and fillies?”
“Yes.” She continued to walk forward.
I smiled and walked beside her through the Everfree Forest.
I thought things at the orphanage would be great. I was wrong. I walked in ready to meet more ponies and make new friends. First off, all of the colts and fillies were doing chores, I knew I would be joining them. Second, everypony stopped their chores and stared at me like I was a Timberwolf. I shrank back and walked slowly into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and saw what I looked like for the first time.
I was blue-violet with a ragged red and black mane, red eyes, and wings. But the wings were bigger than your average pegasus filly. They must have been staring at my wings… I probably would have been staring at me if I was in their position also. I sighed.
Ms. Red Lake came in and put me in the bathtub. I loved the feeling of warm water running over my coat. I sighed. I could hear the echo of the hushed voices of the working foals.
There was a sudden hush in the orphanage and Mrs. Red Lake turned off the bathwater and told me to get out and dry off. She quickly left the room to see what was happening.
I crept out of the tub and reached for one of the two gray towels. Then I realised I can’t hold the towel. I then proceeded to tug on it with my mouth until it fell onto the tiled floor. I lifted it with my teeth and flung it into the air and move so it landed on me. I stood there proud of my accomplishment until I realised I had no way of rubbing it against me to dry me.
I stood there awkwardly until Ms. Red Lake came in and dried me off. She looked more stressed than when I last saw her. I didn’t even want to ask what happened. I could tell she would reply with a sharp comment. I just did as she directed.
After I was dried, I walked out of the bathroom to see a gray pegasus with large wings, like mine, golden eyes, and a yellow and white mane, staring at me. Ms. Red Lake handed me a mop. I stared at it blankly.
“Umm… Ms. Red Lake?” I asked carefully.
“What is it?” She replied irritably.
“I can’t use a mop. You see, I don’t have a horn, thus no magic to control it.” I smiled weakly, bracing for a flurry of words.
She just stared at me blankly. Then left. I stared at the mop lying down in front of me. I looked back at the pegasus and realized she was new here as well. I could tell by the way she looked around scanning everything around her, taking in her new home. I almost smiled.
Chapter Two
Cloud Chaser
It was cold. Very cold. I squeezed my eyes shut because the darkness outside was horrible. But then something wonderful happened. A drop. Just one at first. As it landed on my flank I opened my eyes and there it was. Showering down from the sky. It was so beautiful, like a thousand diamonds falling from the heavens, but no name came to my head. I stared in amazement as the sun bounced off the magnificent drops. It was wonderful, and I couldn’t help but offer a little smile.
Then reality got the better of me. My mane was damp and my wings were spread out to my side. I didn’t know I had wings. The were big and surprisingly soft. I was silver with a yellow mane plastered to my face. Other than that I didn’t know who I was. What is my name?
Just then I heard a rustle behind me and I turned to look. There was a big stallion. He was black with a red and orange mane. He looked down at me curiously.
“What in Equestria is a little filly like you doing out in the rain?” He said in a higher voice than I expected. I looked up at him, my voice lost. “Are you lost little one?” I opened my mouth to try to speak but no words came out. “Let me help you up.” He gave me a hoof then hulled me to my hooves. “Come with me… Do you have a name?” Finally mind filled with words. Words like, moon, sister, different, death, lost, silhouette, shadow. I finally found the words to speak.
“I don’t know who I am.” I say in a cracked voice. The stallion nudged me forward.
“How about I give you a name?” He said and tilted his head in a smile. “My name is Freezer Burn. How about we name you Sun Shadow?” I shook my head. It didn’t sound right in my mind. “Fire Dancer?” I made a disgusted face. “Cloud Chaser?” There. That was it. I smiled and he nodded politely.
“Cloud Chaser,” I repeated back. It was beautiful. Just like the drops of diamonds. Freezer Burn started to walk forward and beckoned me to follow him. I did as I was told, because I didn’t know where we were going. But believe me, if I did, I would have never followed him.
Freezer Burn led me out of forest and into a small town with ponies of every kind chattering and gossiping. I looked down because everyone looked so happy. I didn’t know how to be happy yet. We trotted into a large house that was shadowed behind the clock tower and looked as if nopony even cared about this place. It looked awful. He knocked on the door and a red unicorn with an orange and yellow mane. She opened the door grouchily and nodded to Freezer Burn, then pulled me inside and slammed the door.
I looked around. Fillies were scrubbing floors and colts were dusting bookshelves and lamps. I ducked my head and stared at the ground because, for now, it was the only thing familiar. I attempted to go into the bathroom to shrink into nothingness, but it was locked sadly. After giving up on the bathroom, an orange filly came up to me and smiled
.“Hi,” she said a little to friendly. For her sake I put on a smile.
“Hello,” I said confidently. “My name is Cloud Chaser!”
The filly smiled wider at me. “Its good to have nice ponies come in. I feel like me and my brother are the only happy ones here.”
Happy. She said I was happy! I smiled, a real smile, and nodded to her. “Thank you.” She nodded back then went back to working on her space of the bookshelf. I walked up to the red unicorn and tugged at her tail. “Um, where do I sleep?” The unicorn looked down at me with hard eyes.
“First of all, you will address me as Mrs. Red Lake. Not Mizz Red Lake, nor Red Lake, nor just plain Lake. I am Mrs. Red Lake and nothing less. Second, you will sleep in the room upstairs with all the other fillies.” I gulped and nodded because her tone was scaring me. “Now run along, Cloud Chaser is it? Get a brush and start working!” I slink away from Mrs. Red Lake to where a pile of brushes were stacked untidily. I grabbed one in my mouth and began to dust off a lamp.
I took this time to assess the ponies I would be sharing my “home” with. There was a white filly with a pink and aqua- marine mane who didn’t look like she wanted anything to do with anypony. A purple unicorn with a blue and green mane. The orange unicorn with a brown and dark orange mane, and beside her, an orange pegasus with a brown mane. I stared at them. I could have sworn they looked completely the same, aside from the horns and wings. I shrugged and kept looking. A blue earth-pony with a crown for a cutie mark, and a pink earth pony who stood beside him. She looked completely distressed and stared at the ground with sad longing eyes.
I felt a strange compassion for the pink filly. She looked so helpless and I just wanted to wrap a wing around her and tell her it’d be ok. Then there was a sudden silence as the running water of the bathroom shut off. A while later a blue-violet pegasus filly came out of the room shyly. I stared at her wings which were very large. Mrs. Red Lake came behind her and shoved a mop into her face then yelled at everypony who had stopped working to get a move on.