The Man in the Shadows

Derrinus groaned as he awoke, being reminded that bedroll over stone is not comfortable. Looking out, he could see that the sun had just started to rise, around 5:00 M(morning). Cracking open another box of rations, he ate his breakfast of dried fruits, annoyed that he ate the last of his jerky last night (which was all the meat he had). While eating Derrinus reviewed his plans for the day.

I wonder who inhabits the closest city. Elves? Dwarves? Humans? Maybe even Dark elves. I know that there was a settlement of Dark elves as well as a settlement of Tieflings that made themselves known to all of Yaven, despite their secretive nature, so that they might join us in peace. Now I kind of hope to find something like that, it would be cool to get to know some of the exotic races.

Derrinus smiled at the thought. Though considered evil, Tieflings were known to have forgotten jewel crafting techniques they might be willing to share. As well, the mere thought of working with legendary Dark steel, the metal that Dark elven smiths use to make both their beautiful jewelry and armor alike due to it's legendary durability, gave Derrinus a excited grin. Then he thought of city with both friendly Tieflings AND friendly Dark elves. Derrinus let out a totally manly squeal at the mental image. Though a thief, he will never forget his roots as a jeweler. Gems and their endless possibilities when imbued with magic will always be Derrinus's greatest joy in the world. If he could find these people and learn their ways in metallurgy and jeweling, he could become legendary. Firmly tucking this thought into the back of his mind, he went to the cave mouth, and left to find his fortune.

Derrinus Had been walking for about two and a half hours and he was lost. Well, not totally lost. He knew where his cave was due to a 'Locator Gem' he constructed within. It was a small topaz imbued with a locator enchantment set in a copper setting he implanted in the cave wall. Frustrated that he was kinda lost, he decided to scale one of the great birch trees to get a better vantage point; Shadow lunging in short bursts to get some practice and so he doesn't exhaust himself. Once up, he was up (once again thankful for his light weight allowing him to climb to higher branches), he looked around and spotted a plume of looked like steam off in the distance; northward since, the sun rose in the east.

Shimmying down, he made sure to keep the direction in his mind. Once down, he set off in the direction of what was hopefully a Dark elf/Tiefling city.

The trek was vastly uneventful, though he could hear unsettling sounds in the the dark, foreboding forest that neighbors the Great Birch forest, as Derrinus has come to call the forest he resides in. This neighboring forest looked like The Old Gods imbued the land with primal energy. It was nature in it's purest form. I hope the source of the steam cloud is close. Walking along the border to the Primal woods (that's what I'm going to call it) is giving me the willies. Just as these thoughts were made he found the forest edge. Derrinus broke out into a sprint, eager to find civilization.

In a room that had too much pink and bright blue, there was a pink lump laying in it's bed, sleeping soundly (would be quietly if not for the snoring). Then as the intricate clock on the nightstand next to the bed showed it was 8:00 AM, it began to start ringing it's built in bell rapidly. Just as quickly, a pink fur covered hand hit the clock, shutting it off. The figure on the bed quickly hopped out of the bed and scrambled to her hooves get ready for the day. When she finished showering, brushing her teeth, and clothing her self, she looked in the mirror. Within the mirror was pink furred woman with magenta hair, her face having equine features with big baby blue eyes. She was wearing a bright blue t-shirt and yellow shorts and a big smile ranging from equine ear to equine ear. Satisfied with her casual attire, she went to the door to start the day, only to get numb wrists. She started to get really excited about the sensation. Numb wrists, this means that something getting close to Ponyville. Something I've never seen before.

Derrinus began to feel disappointment. Not that he didn't find civilization, he found that. It was that the town looked to be mostly brick, wood and thatched buildings with some steam tech integrated into it, surrounded by a plain with a few bushes here and there with a nearby lake that had pipes coming out of it. Well, I guess it wouldn't be too odd to find a dwarf and human settlement he thought sadly. It would be too far-fetched to find the Dark elf/Tiefling village. As he walked toward the town, he put his hood on, a habit he built over the course of his adventures. As he approached, he could see some brightly colored shapes hovering around the village. Hiding behind a bush, he focused on the shapes and saw that they looked like human/equine hybrids, with hooves for feet and with wings on their backs. What an outlandish sight! They were going about their day, like normal people. These... beings must be the denizens of the village. Derrinus sighed, No pain, no gain. He started toward the town, closing the cloak in front of him to hide the rest of his body. As he walked into the town, these equines began giving him stares, whispering in what sounded to be elven, unsure of who the mysterious, short stranger is. On the other hand, Derrinus was giving them looks of awe under the hood. Gods above... The females, the shorter members of most races, must be at least six feet in height! He also noticed that there were significantly more females than males. He also made note that some of them had a horn instead of wings or had neither.

All of these Equines were giving him a wide berth. All except one, who was a bright pink in color. In fact, Derrinus could of sworn she was heading straight for him. Before he could react, she was already upon him. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's greatest party planner and my Pinkie senses started telling me that there was a new pony in town and that something I have never seen before was nearby, so I just had to get out here and see who they were and what it was! By the way why are you wearing a black cloak right now, it's the middle of summer! Didn't you notice how..." Derrinus was having trouble keeping up with with woman's elven speech. I've never heard of anything that spoke this quickly! "So," The woman, Pinkie, started "where are you from?"

"Uh..." Derrinus couldn't reply, he was trying to comprehend the rest of her long winded speech.

"Darn it Pinkie! That's tha second one this week." A heavily accented voice called out. Turning, Derrinus was greeted by a truly terrifying sight. One of the merchants, the one selling apple products, had began walking over. This female equine had orange fur and stood almost seven feet in height and had muscles the size of small tree trunks! She wore blue pants of an unknown (to Derrinus at least) material that were torn at the knee, a plaid, buttoned shirt, and had a stetson on her head with a stalk of wheat in her mouth. "Can't ya see ya startled the little fella?"

"I'm not little!" Derrinus cried out with indignation, His slightly higher than average pitched voice making him more embarrassed.

The giantess gave off a chuckle and turned to Pinkie "As ah was sayin', ya startled him. Why don't ah show him around and you go do your thing?" To which the other replied before literally bounding off with an "Ok Applejack, I'll see you later!"

The giant, Apple Jack, turned back to Derrinus. "Any way, tha name's Applejack, what's yours?"

Derrinus, taking a small step back so he didn't have to crane his neck so much, replied "Derrinus, Derrinus Gottrun."

"Well, Derrinus, It's a pleasure ta meet ya. Welcome ta Ponyville. Allow me ta show ya around." She said to Derrinus as she motioned for him to follow.

Derrinus, not wanting to incur her wrath and being curious about these 'Ponies', followed her.

As they walked to their first destination, Applejack looked to Derrinus and asked "So, what's a colt like you doing travelin' all alone?" This comment caught Derrinus a little off guard, he didn't know much about equine creatures, but he did know that colts are what adolescent male horses are called. Should I just roll with it, or should I correct her? Well, If I correct her, I might be driven out, as I don't know how they react to creatures that aren't Ponies. I'll just go with it. And should I tell her the truth? Well, honesty is the best policy if you want someone to trust you.

"I'm traveling because I have no real place to go. My family is... gone due to a horrible incident. Ever since the incident, I've been a wanderer." Derrinus said with sorrow lacing his voice. He didn't want to say what the incident was or how it occurred. It was just too painful to go into detail.

Derrinus's response gave Applejack pause, almost causing her to stumble. An orphan? Once she regained her posture, she decided it was time for a change of subject. "So, Ah was curious, why are ya wearing a cloak?"

Derrinus pondered the subject and gave the half-truth "It's... a little personal, if you don't mind the lack of a good answer."

Applejack nodded and said "Ya don't have ta answer if ya don't wanna." They continued on. She showed him around the town, getting friendly waves instead of suspicious looks, probably due to his proximity to Applejack. Derrinus saw a few men and was a little surprised to see that they were only a few inches taller at most than their female counter-parts. Let's face it though, they were all giants to him. He even learned what they called their races. Earth ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns.

As they walked to the bakery, their final destination, Applejack decided to ask "So, what are ya good at? You may notice that Ah'm a farmer, what did you do before traveling?"

Stealing stuff and dungeon delving. "I was quite the jeweler along side my parents. If you had damaged jewelry or needed something made, we did the best work for the best price." Derrinus said, puffing his chest out a little in pride, happy to talk about his parent's good work. Then he became downcast due to the memory of the incident. Applejack, noticing this despite the cloak, put her hand on Derrinus's shoulder and said "Look partner, Ah'm sure they are in a better place among tha ancestors." She was trying to smile, but Derrinus could see hidden pain. It was as if she understood his pain.

Derrinus was actually holding back tears at this point when he replied. "Do you really think so?"

Applejack nodded with a smile. "Ah do sugarcube. Ah do."

Derrinus smiled at her, though she couldn't see it, and they continued to Sugarcube Corner in silence; but in high spirits.

Derrinus was surprised to see the Bakery without any light in the windows. It looked closed, yet it was clearly their destination. Derrinus questioned why they were going in, but Applejack urged him to. Derrinus can't say no, due to the size of the woman beside him, and obeyed. He opened the door and once he crossed the threshold, the building exploded into light and noise "SURPRISE!!!!" Derrinus jumped a bit, almost shadow lunging, but just barely managed not to. Within he saw many of the ponies that were being friendly earlier and a few new ones. He was immediately greeted by Pinkie Pie.

"Do you like the surprise? I wanted to welcome you to Ponyville, and to say sorry for startling you. I didn't mean to scare you. I get a little over excited sometimes." Pinkie said with a surprising amount of restraint.

Happy to see that she was capable of not jumping out at people, Derrinus said "I forgive you, it happens to the best of us, as no one is perfect."

Derrinus looked around the party and began to meet some of the ponies. He met some rather interesting individuals, like Lyra and Bonbon. On Yaven, same sex couples were a rare sight, but here, this was apparently common. Not that Derrinus minded, it was just another difference between worlds.

Derrinus made great conversion with a white furred, purple haired unicorn named Rarity, who incorporated gems into many of her designs. She was wearing a white dress with a few gems studded in it. Not too little that it would look tacky, but not so much that it looked silly. Derrinus was eating some cake when Rarity decided to try and get to know him.

"Greetings darling, my name is Rarity, I presume you are Derrinus?" she asked, trying to start conversation.

"Why yes, I am Derrinus. A pleasure to meet you." Derrinus gave a slight bow toward her.

"The pleasure is all mine. Are you enjoying your cake, I see you stopped eating it when I approached." Rarity inquired, curious as to why he stopped eating.

"I was taught to give someone my full attention when I am spoken to." Derrinus lied, not wanting to say 'Because I'm afraid I would be ripped apart if you saw my true self.'

"Well, that shows good manners and great courtesy. Your parents taught you well." She praised

"Yes, I guess they did." Derrinus's mood dropped slightly. If they truly did, they wouldn't be gone.

Sensing his distress, Rarity sought to change the subject. "So, dear Applejack says you are quite the jeweler."

This change in subject perked him up quickly "Yes, I've been studying gems and the craft all of my life." Derrinus said with a smile. This sparked a debate about jewelry, gems, and fashion, guaranteeing the friendship between the two.

After Rarity had left, he was greeted by Fluttershy. A timid, yellow furred, pink haired pegasus wearing a green sweater with long green pants. Their conversation didn't last long as Fluttershy was too timid and was intimidated by the cloak he wore. The most he learned was that she was the local veterinarian. Saying their quick goodbyes, the two parted, suddenly making Derrinus now wish he didn't have to be cloaked for his own sake.

Finally he met Rainbow Dash, A brash, cyan furred, rainbow haired Is that artificial? pegasus wearing a dark blue tank-top with red shorts. She was different from the other ponies, not because of her hair, but because of her wings. Instead of feathers, flesh and bone, they were magic, brass and other machinery. Though she didn't show him, she said she had jagged scars running down her back where her wings where ripped from her back just a few nights prior. Though the healing was accelerated with magic, they couldn't restore the wings. The wounds closed, but were left as scars. On the bright side, she protected her friends on their quest by fighting off a manticore that was attacking them, one that failed to listen to reason. "An admirable feat and quality. I once demonstrated the same for a friend of mine as well." Saying that she needed to go challenge AJ to a drinking contest, Rainbow left.

While Derrinus was finishing his cake, watching the drinking contest, he was greeted by a purple furred unicorn that had midnight blue hair and was wearing a simple, short dress and had the whole librarian look to her. Instead of warmly, however, he was greeted with a suspicious glare and tense muscles.

"Hello Derrinus, would you mind stepping outside with me so that we could have a chat?" She asked, her voice somewhat cold. What crawled up her and died?

"Uh, sure." Derrinus responded, looking at the other party goers, seeing them preoccupied with the drinking contest (which, as expected, Applejack was winning by a landslide.)

The woman motioned with her arm toward the door and Derrinus obeyed, hand resting on Sanguine Crescent under the cloak, as he expected the worst. Once outside, Derrinus saw that it was night, around 10:00 N(night) and everyone had retreated to their homes while the noise of the party ensured that anything that happened out here, stayed out here. The perfect place for a fight.

Before he could turn around to confront her, Derrinus felt a force lift and slam him into the ground. Groaning, he saw her enter his field of vision. She began saying "I don't know what you are but you will not harm my friends! Nopony has a naturally dark and shadowy aura except for Princess Luna, and you are not her. Let me remove your cloak and see your true self!" She yells as he hoists Derrinus off the ground and uncovers him from the confines of the cloak. He tries to grimace, but he is barely conscious, and can't take much more. She begins to examine him with new found curiosity.

Derrinus feels his consciousness flickering like a candle flame. No... not like this. Not again. I can't die again... He began to think about the ponies he just met. Though he just met them, he doesn't want to loose more friends. Not again. These thoughts began to fuel the flame. No. I won't die here. I just got a new chance at life. A new chance at redemption! And my new friends, though they don't know my real face, but I don't think they will care. Applejack most importantly. She is the only one here who understands my pain. As the unicorn got close enough, he used her distraction against her and grabbed her by the horn; dispelling her telekinetic grip on him.

He began to squeeze and try to bend the horn, but not break it, causing the unicorn to yell in agony. He began to yell with all his might "I don't know who you are, but I don't care, I will let you separate me from my new friends. I will not lose more friends. I WILL DIE AGAIN!" She is staring up at Derrinus with fear evident in her eyes. She was at his mercy.

Instead, Derrinus continued to hold her in place until he spat in disgust, and delivered a powerful punch to the side of her head, knocking her out instantly. As adrenaline began to wear off, his consciousness began slipping. The last thing he saw was Applejack. Pinkie Pie, and Rarity running out of Sugarcube Corner before he fell unconscious.