She looked down to him with an expression which could have been called pity, if one thought it possible of Queen Belladonna. She sat still as stone on a throne of gold and silver. The arm rests curved up and her gloved hooves rested gently on them. The throne was a stark contrast to the fading darkness of the Shadow Realm. Shadows whispered and curled at the edges of the faint fire light. A chain jingled from its place on the body of a pony that looked young to some, though anyone in the room knew otherwise. A being that had no age due to an ancient curse, which was what had brought him to the throne room. His appearance had surprised the majority of them, though the Queen herself appeared unfazed by him. Her shadowy gown flowed against her even as she sat still and gazed down to him.
His armor creaked gently as he shifted. The leather was well treated and sat on its wearer with no apparent discomfort. A hood went over his face and hid his expression, which if they could see it, was nothing short of bored. The black leather sat easily against his fur and the chains that were threaded through it sat easily in their place. Only a few of them had independent movement and they are what caused the occasional sound. Several, of various lengths, sat around his neck and chest. His crimson eyes gave off the occasional pulse of color from within the darkness of his hood. The armor stopped just before his hips and circled under his belly as well. Charcoal black wings sat easily at his sides as he stood still, awaiting the Queens words. She had summoned him months ago, but he only decided to come to her now. He had done jobs for her before but she had never required he be in attendance for them.
“You have been called here to explain your failure.” She finally spoke. Her voice lilted over those assembled, it was soft but anyone with any sense knew that was a front.
His head lifted and he regarded her. “Failure? I have failed at nothing.” His voice was strong and held a touch of arrogance behind it.
“You have failed. Your death count has exceeded what was agreed upon.” She advised.
He thought back to his most recent contracts and nothing stuck out to him. The Pegasus had completed all his contracts as normal. He opened his mouth, but the Queen cut him off.
“Too many lives have been lost to your hooves. You have begun to upset the balance of this world and I can no longer turn a blind eye.” She said and stood up.
Guards jumped forward and a prison of light surrounded him. It held him on all sides and both above and below him. He cringed under the light and hissed in annoyance. Shadow didn’t bother pulling his wings open. He may not be an expert in magic, but even his strength would not get him out of this cage. The Queen came down from her throne and stood in front of him.
“You will be sent to the world of light and seek atonement for the souls that you condemned.” She said to him. “You must collect the souls of those in this new world in order to return to the Realm of Shadows. Balance must be preserved and maintained.”
She backed up and he fought the urge to ram the prison to escape. His eyes closed as the light became unbearable and he felt his body being pulled and thrown. His mind gave way as he collided with something and he felt nothing after that.
His eyes opened and he groaned as he slowly looked up from the grass. He started to stand, but stopped as pain lanced through him. He looked more closely at his current position and found himself to be wrapped around a thick tree. Even his body was going to feel that hit. He slowly pushed himself away from the tree and got to his hooves. Shadow grimaced as he could tell that he had probably bruised a few ribs in the impact. The sun beat down on his back as he backed up from the tree. A snarl pulled from him as he looked up to the bright sky. He walked out of the direct sun and into the shade. His eyes glanced around him as the scenery finally cleared around him, his eyes having fully adjusted to the sun. The land was bright and steeped in colors. The Shadow Realm was not nearly so bright and airy. The land seemed to stretch on for an eternity as he looked around him.
“Well. This should prove to be…enlightening.” Sarcasm dripped form his tone as he spoke aloud, if only to hear his own voice. His mind focused on the interaction between himself and the Queen. “I have not failed in any of my contracts.” He paused as a thought struck him. “My death count had reached a limit…Well, there have been more contracts recently. I thought it was tied to the politics of the world and nothing more.”
The Pegasus began pacing slowly at the edge of the shade he stood in. His thoughts raced as he forced his mind to focus and go over the contracts he had completed. He hadn’t taken any recently due to needing to meet with the Queen. He was pleased about not having left any uncompleted. His wings twitched at his sides and he allowed them to dangle a bit from their joints, instead of being pinned tightly to his body. He focused as he halted. The shadows around him began to move and shift at his command. His control of them was not as concrete as it was in the Shadow Realms. Which made sense to him since he was in a world of light and not his own. He released the shadows and once more looked around him to see if he could spot a city or anything close by. Warmth went through him and he snorted as he flipped his head back, allowing his hood to land on his back. His crimson eyes searched around him as his black mane, with its red stripes, settled on his neck and withers.
“Well, standing here will get me nowhere fast.” His eyes found a dirt road off to his left and he braced himself for the sunlight. “Shit.” He cursed as he broke into a swift trot and reached the road.
His body flowed into each step as he trotted quickly down the road. Small buildings grew in the distance and he kept up his pace as he neared them. Colors in the Shadow realm were muted at best so the discovery of very brightly colored ponies was a bit of a surprise to him. The Pegasus stopped and watched the ponies as they moved around, each seeming to have a place they needed to be. He walked several steps forward and stood in the shadow of a building. The ponies either did not see him or did not care. Though after watching them for a few minutes, he assumed it was the latter. The buildings framed the street and he guessed it to be the main thorough fare. His skin trembled under his clothes and he snorted and moved onto the main street, having decided that knowing his surroundings was the only way he was going to come to understand his new situation.
Shadow looked to the either side of the street as he walked and focused on the names and designs of the buildings around him. His head snapped to the side as a blur caught his attention. His crimson eyes narrowed as he looked in the direction that he had seen it. A bright color zipped through an alley and he broke into a trot to find it. His hooves thudded dully on the dirt road as they carried him into the dark of the alleyway. The Pegasus stopped and analyzed the ground around him. Tracks were visible to him, but without knowing what he was looking for the tracks were useless. An annoyed huff escaped as he turned back to the street and started to pad silently back to the main road.
“That was a waste of time.” He muttered to himself, annoyance edging into his tone.
He turned back into the road and felt himself collide with another. His natural balance prevented him from being pushed to the ground as he looked to see what he had hit. Several large shopping bags hovered in front of him, encased in a gentle blue aura. He snorted and leaned around the pile to see what had happened.
“Oh, pardon me, darling.”
He looked as a white mare with a styled royal purple mane and tail looked to him, her tone apologetic. Her eyes were a deep blue and shone, as a contrast with her white fur. He saw her cutie mark, a series of three blue diamonds. He stared at her for a moment, before blinking and watching as she moved the bundles of bags away from the front of his face and to her side.
“It’s all right.” He said to her, a slight grin on his muzzle.
She smiled and nodded to him. “I am sorry, I was not watching where I was going. Usually I’m a bit more focused than that.” She said to him with an apologetic look. “I have to admit you are not familiar to me. Are you knew to Ponyville?”
“So that’s what it’s called.” He said to her. “Yes, I have just arrived.”
“That explains it then. I am Rarity and who might you be?”
“Shadow Heart.’" He replied to her. He was having to curb his normal flirtatious behavior in favor of remaining polite to avoid a scene in an area he did not know. Normally he wasn’t so good at curbing that drive.
She smiled. “It is a pleasure to meet you. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Ponyville.”
“Thank you for the warm welcome.”
“Of course. Well. I must be getting back to work, so if you will excuse me.” She politely replied to him and walked around him.
Shadow cast a slight glance over his shoulder to watch the mare leave. His eyes roamed over her flanks, he gave a quiet snort and turned back to face forward. He would have berated himself for his wandering gaze, but he decided that the sight had been worth the slip. He trotted a few houses down and was greeted by the sight of a very large tree at the end of the street. While it struck him as odd he moved closer to investigate it. The door flung open and he started. Charcoal wings sprung from his sides and launched him into the air. He looked around and slowly descended to land on the roof of a nearby home. A purple Unicorn loped out of the tree and stopped as a juvenile yell stopped her in her tracks.
“Spike!” She hollered back to the tree. “Hurry up.”
A small purple dragon ran out of the tree, slamming the door behind him, as he caught up with the mare, who was trotting in place. “Geez, Twilight. Calm down.”
“Spike. The Princess said that a friend of hers had sent an associate of hers to Ponyville and that we need to find him and bring him to Canterlot to meet with Princess Celestia and Luna.” She replied, her tone hurried. Her coat was a deep lavender, her mane was purple with one deep pink streak and another deeper purple running through it. He could see the basic outline of her cutie mark, but not enough to have it described exactly. Shadow was quiet as he listened. “We need to find him.”
“But, we don’t really know what he looks like.” The dragon replied to her.
The Unicorn paused, blinking quickly. “Where is that letter?” She replied.
The dragon held it aloft and waited as she read over it. She scanned it as the dragon jumped onto her back. Shadow reached out to the darkness and sent his mind into a shadow form, sliding across the ground to rise up in the mares own shadow. The form was useless for combat, but made reconnaissance simpler. He scanned it quickly and ignored most of the document till the name Belladonna stood out from the scroll. His eyes snapped open on the roof and the shadowed form slid into the ground and vanished, dispelled.
“I knew there was more to this.” He growled quietly under his breath.
He watched as the mare groaned and gave the scroll back to the dragon, who held it in his claws. “So if we don’t know who he is or what he looks like how are we going to find him?”
“Well. He’s new to Ponyville so he should stand out a bit.” She reasoned back to him. “We just need to look around and see what we find. The Princess said he would be coming here since he was dropped off close by.”
“Well, hopefully he’s easy to find.” The dragon began as he looked around them, his eyes looked up to find the charcoal Pegasus looking down at him, perched on the nearby house roof.
‘This could be fun.’ Shadow thought to himself as he stared back at the small dragon, who began to sputter and tug on the mares purple mane. When she didn’t turn the dragon looked away. Shadow, seeing his opportunity, back flipped off the room and slid into the shade of the house.
“Twilight! There’s a…” The dragon pointed as the mare finally looked to see what he was pointing at. She looked at him, her expression bland as he sputtered. “But there was a Pegasus… I didn’t know him… He…”The dragon looked around and his shoulders sagged. “Drat.”
“Focus, Spike.” The Unicorn reprimanded him and began to trot away from the tree.
Shadow watched as the dragon began scanning the streets as they moved. He kept an easy pace with them as she jumped from darkness to darkness. He let the dragon see him once more and trotted down the alley.
“Twilight!” He yelled and pulled the mare’s mane till she faced the alley. “That way. I saw him again!”
“Okay, stop yelling and stop pulling on my mane.” She chastised him as she began to walk down the alley.
Shadow gave a glance back and then stopped when he realized he had chosen poorly for his escape route, two dead ends. He looked back as he pinned himself to the back of the house and called on the darkness to obscure his body. The mare stopped and looked down the dead end streets that she had been told to check into. The dragon stood on her back and looked nothing short of angry as the pony he saw was gone, again.
The mare groaned and looked back to the baby dragon. He had the sense to look away from her and whistle in feigned ignorance. If the stallion hadn’t mastered how to be silent when hunting his targets he might have laughed at them. As it was he managed to hold his mirth and watched them in silence. She backed up and began walking down the street once more. Shadow flapped his wings and they landed him on the roof of the house, without being seen. He jumped across the rooftops, keeping an even pace with the mare and dragon. The dragon was slumped on the mares back with his arms crossed and was staring at the ground.
“I have to admit. I have seen others teasing their prey and thought it seemed a bit childish. Though now that I have engaged in the practice, it has its merits.” He admitted to himself as he allowed a cocky smirk to cover his muzzle.
The mare continued forward and he allowed himself to drop to the alley of the house a bit ahead of her. He waited till they were even with him before he stepped out a bit, earning him the dragons gaze. It stared at him and blinked. Shadow held his head up and gave the dragon a wink before vanishing once more. He watched as the dragon stared, an angry look crossing his features, as he looked to Twilight, then back to the alley. Shadow was a bit put off that he didn’t say anything or try to change the mare’s direction. He huffed for a moment before giving up the game as well.
His stomach growled and he trotted back the way they had come. His wings flicked against his sides and he allowed himself to gain some altitude before stopping and hovering in place as he analyzed his options. He watched as the night began to crawl over the town and cover it in the haze of dusk. He glided back to the ground and looked around, trying to see what kind of shelter he could find for the night. He found himself leaning against the back of a storefront, his body reminding him of the landing from earlier. His body was bruised and he gave a quiet groan as he pushed off of the structure. A fence board that was beside him was pushed by his hip and clattered to the ground behind him. He jumped forward and looked back, chastising himself for the blunder. He began to walk around the store and found himself muzzle to muzzle with a familiar mare.
“Oh, good evening, darling.” Rarity said to him as he backed up a step.
He gathered his composure swiftly and nodded, politely to her. “Good evening.”
“May I ask what you are doing walking around at night?” She asked him, curiosity in her voice.
The stallion said nothing at first, just regarded her. “I was looking for a place to bed down for the night.” He admitted to her, fully expecting her to point him in the direction of a hotel. While he didn’t have any money with him he was sure he would think of something. Even if it meant breaking in and staying without an invitation.
“Oh, do you have a room at one of the hotels?”
He shook his head. “No. I have no idea where they even are.” He replied to her.
“Oh, well I can take you to one of them.” She offered.
He was a bit taken aback by the mare’s willingness to help him, despite knowing nothing about him. “That would be appreciated. Do you happen to know what kind of currency they will ask for?”
She looked a bit confused at his question, but recovered quickly. “Oh, you’re not from Equestria?” He shook his head at her question. “Oh, the currency we use is called a Bit.” She informed him.
“Bit?”
“Yes.” She lit her horn and a coin appeared in her magic, holding it out for him to see.
He leaned forward and looked at the small round coin. ‘Well, this could be a problem.’ He thought to himself as the coin vanished.
“Do you have enough for a room?” She asked.
He shook his head. “No. I don’t have any of those coins.” He replied to her. “Well, sleeping outdoors is nothing new to me.” He looked around him as he began to look for a place to hide out.
She blinked and looked affronted. “Oh, I think not.” She said to him, earning a strange look from him. “I have a perfectly good couch that you can use till you get back on your hooves.”
She turned and he was given another good look at the flanks of the mare that had just offered to house him. “Are you certain? You don’t know anything about me?” He began as the mare halted and he stopped abruptly, avoiding running into her.
“Well, we shall have a sit down and chat for a while before bed.” She said to him and began to walk forward once more. “Have you eaten?”
His stomach betrayed him at that moment and snarled loud enough to earn the mares attention. Her ear flicked back and a polite giggle escaped her. “Well, it is a good thing that I am going to be making dinner in the next few minutes.”
He was quiet as he followed behind her. ‘First time I have been asked into a mare’s home without being told I’m sleeping in her bed.’ He thought to himself. While the fact of his new situation was different to him he was not about to squander it. Spending time with the beautiful mare could be beneficial. He followed her inside and was greeted with rows of dresses and other clothing.
“So you’re a clothes designer?” He asked her.
“Oh yes. I am a dress maker by trade, but I can also do costumes and other clothing.” She supplied him as she led him through the front store and into the back where a kitchen sat.
She indicated a table for him to sit down and started pulling out ingredients from the cupboards. Her magic slid over the area and he could feel it as she went from task to task fluidly. Her magic never faltering or interrupting. He opened his mouth as a loud bang from the front caught his attention. Rarity huffed and set down her items.
“One moment, dear.” She said to him. He nodded to her, she smiled at him, and trotted back the way they had come a minute before. “Sweetie Belle!” She shouted.
“Hi Rarity!” A young voice shrilled out from the front store.
‘Oh damn. A foal. So much for not sleeping on the couch.’ He grumbled to himself and leaned into the back of the chair. He listened as the two of them came into the kitchen. The Unicorn filly was a pale cream, almost white like the other mare, though her mane was a pastel pink and purple. She turned to look around and her eyes landed on the Pegasus stallion at the table.
“Hi.” She shrilled to him.
Shadow managed not to cringe at the volume and nodded to the foal. Rarity went back to making dinner as the foal went to her own chair and started climbing into it. Shadow watched for a moment as she groaned, struggling. He reached out and his hoof gripped her tail as he lifted her up and set her down in the chair. She looked over to him as he released her tail and put his hooves on the table. Foals were not something he had a great deal of experience with. So the rules for touching them were not something that he was fluent with.
“Thank you.” She said to him and set her hooves on the table. “So, what’s your name?”
“I’m Shadow Heart.”
“Nice to meet you.” She shrilled to him. “So why are you here?”
Rarity spun as she glared at the filly. “Sweetie. That is not a proper question.” She reprimanded the filly.
The foal cringed and appeared to be thinking over the question. “Oh. Sorry. I mean how come your in the kitchen?”
“I invited him in Sweetie.” The white Unicorn explained. “He does not have any place to stay and so I offered him the couch for the evening.”
“Oh. That makes sense. So, you’re going to stay for a little while?”
“It seems so, yes.” He replied, managing to keep his eyes off the mare’s flanks and focus on the questioning foal.
“Here we are dears. The first course.” Rarity trilled to them as plates of salad appeared in front of them. Various dressing was set in the center of the table and Rarity sat with them as she daintily picked at her food.
Shadow left his plain as none of the dressing smelled appealing. A look from Rarity had him almost explaining his reasoning, but he managed to get food in his mouth to avoid telling her that the options had no appeal. A small bell went off a minute later and the white mare got up from her seat and began preparing more food for them.
“So what brings you to Ponyville?” Rarity asked as she cooked.
Beside him Sweetie Belle appeared to lean forward to hear him. “I was sent here.” He replied.
“To do what?” Sweetie Belle asked.
He paused as he thought over how to explain that he was sent there to find a way to go back to his world. Telling them he was an assassin was not an option. His mind raced for a moment before he replied. “I help certain individuals with their difficulties with other ponies and bring about a beneficial solution.” He replied, hoping that would be enough.
Rarity listened and Sweetie Belle smiled. “So you work for businesses?” Rarity asked. “Like a consultant?”
He nodded. ‘Close enough.’ He waited as the white mare turned and set a toasted sandwich in front of each of them and rejoined them at the table. He bit into his food to avoid more conversation and ate slowly with the two Unicorns. He was still eating when the foal finished and jumped from the table.
“Sweetie belle.” Rarity said aloud, earning the foals attention.
“Oh. Sorry.” She trotted back to the table and pointed to her plate. Shadow nodded and handed it to her. She trotted over to the counter and jumped onto a step stool that he had ignored earlier. She out her plate beside the sink and trotted back to the table. She stood by her chair and waited, her mouth began to open as a knock on the door interrupted whatever the foal was about to say.
“Pardon me.” Rarity said and excused herself from the table to answer her front door.
Sweetie Belle watched and then groaned when the mare was out of earshot. “My sister is so fussy.” She lamented.
Shadows ears perked at her words. “Sister?” He said to her.
“Yeah. Rarity is my older sister. I stay here with her sometimes. I’m usually with your parents, but Rarity has a room for me when I come over.”
A slight smile tugged at Shadow’s mouth. “Wellm that is kind of her.” He replied. His mind already running as the realization that the white mare was available and unattached ran through his mind. “So, does anypony else live here?”
“Nope. Just Rarity normally.” The filly replied.
“I see.” He responded, his hooves under his chin as he leaned against the table.
He could hear another set of hooves coming back to the kitchen with Rarity in the lead. He knew her stride and waited as a familiar purple mare and dragon walked into the room. The dragon’s eyes widened at the sight of the charcoal black Pegasus. Shadow managed to look innocent as the purple Unicorn saw him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company Rarity.” She said to the other Unicorn.
“Oh, it’s alright darling. I met this charming gentle colt earlier and offered to let him sleep on my couch till he gets on his hooves.” The eloquent unicorn explained.
“Wait. So you met him today?” The purple mare asked, her eyes falling on the leather clad Pegasus.
Rarity nodded. “Yes. His name is Shadow Heart.” She replied.
Spike was glaring over the lavender mares shoulders at the innocent looking Pegasus stallion. “I saw you today.” He stated.
“Oh?” Shadow replied, trying to remain unassuming.
“Yeah. You were on the roof by the Library, then in the alley, and then in the other alley.” He accused.
Twilight looked over to the dragon and then back to Shadow. “Did he see you?” She asked.
“I don’t see how that would be possible. I haven’t been flying at all today. I am no climber, so climbing houses is a bit out of my skill set.” He lied.
Spike scowled and growled at the stallion. Twilight chuckled over the dragons grumbling. “So you just got here?”
“Yes.”
Twilight pulled the scroll out of Spikes hand and looked over it. “Do you know a pony named Belladonna?”
He could hear the hesitation in her voice as she spoke to him. He debated on keeping it hidden, but a glance to Rarity had him rethinking his strategy. Judging from the limited interaction he had so far with the ponies of this realm he knew that stringing them along would not work in his favor. “I do, yes.”
Twilight sighed with clear relief and gave the scroll back to the still growling dragon. “Wonderful. I was asked by Princess Celestia to find you and bring you to Canterlot to meet with her. Obviously it’s too late right now to go, but if it’s okay I can take you there in the morning.”
Shadow almost argued, he would rather spend more time around the lovely white Unicorn mare. But at the same time he knew that having his situation explained a bit more would be beneficial to him. “That would be fine. Will we be returning?”
Twilight looked confused for a moment. “I don’t see why not. Unless the Princess asks you to stay there for a little while.” She appeared thoughtful for a moment. “So who is Belladonna? I have never heard the Princess mention her.”
Shadow was quiet. “I’m not sure of her exact title here. She was a contact that asked me to come here.” He replied. He was not about to be the pony that had to explain the change of realms and how that worked.
“Shadow is a consultant of sorts.” Rarity informed the other mare.
“Oh. That makes sense then. Okay, so I will come by around mid-morning and show you the way to Canterlot.” Twilight replied, a smile covering her muzzle.
“Very well.” He replied to her.
He watched the mares as they turned back to the front and walked away from him. His eyes went over the two mares and decided that so far the dress maker was the better of the two. His eyes fell on Spike as he was still glaring. Shadow smirked and winked at the dragon once more. Spike sputtered and jumped off Twilight's back, heading for the stallion .A magenta aura covered him as Twilight groaned his name, her magic picked him up and vanished around the corner. Shadow couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped him at the lizard’s expense. He relaxed back into his chair and waited as the white mare wished her good nights and returned to the kitchen.
“Hey Rarity? Can I go upstairs?” Sweetie belle asked as a yawn pulled from her.
“Yes, Sweetie. Have a good night.” The white mare hugged her little sister and the filly trotted for the steps.
Rarity sighed and her magic put their dishes in the sink for later. “Right this way.”
Shadow nodded and stood up to follow her. He hid a grimace as the bruises on his body complained. He watched as her magic opened a cabinet and pulled a plush blanket and pillow from within. She led him to a couch and set the pillow in place and backed up for him to get situated. She laid the blanket over him after he laid down and smiled to him. He had to admit being tucked in was a new feeling. He hadn’t even had that as a colt.
“Good night, Shadow.” She said to him. Her voice held the same polite sweetness it had before.
He nodded and pulled the blanket away from his face. He watched her turn back to the kitchen and her magic turned off the lights. She went up the stairs and he sat up for a moment as he listened. Several minutes went by as he let himself collapse back to the couch and lay in silence.
“That was different.” He said aloud. “Hopefully this, Celestia will have an idea how I am to seek atonement in this realm.” He let his head fall to the pillow and he rolled to his side. His eyes slowly closed and he let himself begin to sleep. His mind fell to darkness as he slept, memories flashing through his mind.
His eyes opened to find himself the middle of a street. He didn’t recognize the location and he was ready to defend himself if he needed to. He looked up as a pony passed by him, ignoring him completely. He looked to them as more ponies passed him. He was unsure what was wrong till he looked down to his forelegs. They were engulfed in a dark mist. He looked back and found that his body was covered in the same mist. It hid him from the ponies. He reached out to one of them and his hoof went through the pony. He backed up and stopped as he looked around. He spun and saw a familiar mare as she trotted down the street, Rarity. He could see the light coming from her as she moved. Her body seemed to be made of nothing but pure light as she moved. He opened his mouth, but paused as he closed his eyes and pulled away from the brilliant mare. She was the light that he could never touch. Depression bit at him and he pushed it away as he watched her vanish into the fog. Another reminder of what he could never be. He was a creature of darkness and that was all he could ever be. He closed his eyes once more and darkness covered him.
Author's Note
Okay this is a collaboration piece. So it is very likely that it will drastically change. The updates for this one will be slower due to reaching out to the Owner of the OC, Shadow Heart. XxShadowxX393 is the name of the owner of the OC that I am using. I have not nailed down the time frame that this is be in. Debating on in between season 2-3. Anyway. So the updates will be slower and this chapter could very well vanish and be replaced with something else. Shadow is a bit of a different character for me. His creator has been kind enough to give me some literary freedom with him and so far I am enjoying it. So enjoy and I hope you will give Kudos to Shadow Heart himself!
Here is the link to the owner again!
https://www.fimfiction.net/user/312714/XxShadowxX393
