The frigid night’s wind blew against the shutters of the Prancing Pony. Anypony caught outside would seek refuge in this establishment, either for shelter from the biting cold or to fill up on warm drinks and camaraderie. Most would that is. Inside the bar was a wide assortment of characters, from lovers doing a night on the town, to regular patrons that hung out together after a rough week. Towards the back end of the bar rested a few lonely alcoholics, some who drank themselves half way to Tartarus out of boredom while the others attempted to numb broken hearts or quench their appetites for soothing, burning liquid.
A unicorn by the name of Spectre didn’t fall under any of these categories yet found himself seated at the bar, where the eager bartender served up mugs and mugs of with sparkling, golden liquid to the equally eager drunkards clambering for more. He was there more as an observer, one of his “hobbies” he would explain to anypony that dared ask and felt in the right mood.
The bar was the perfect place to heighten your attention, ironic given the reputation of the exact opposite nature. He could watch ponies interact, follow their body movements and gestures, and listen to the types of charms they used on each other. His specific target for tonight was a stallion that stood out just as much as he did, a greyish coat not too different from his own with red streaks running all over his body and through his mane.
The stallion in question held a fresh wooden pint filled with the same golden liquid, an eager smile on his face as he sadistically watched the pathetic stallions guzzle their own drinks with quick speed. He knew the headaches they would receive in the mornings would come with such ferocity and with such little remorse he couldn’t help but enjoy it.
“Enjoy it while you can, boys…” he said to himself before taking another sip, slowly turning in Spectre’s direction and making eye contact with the stallion.
The stallion gave Spectre a strange look before looking back at the rowdy stallions behind him. He pointed a feather towards them while furrowing one of his brows.
Berating himself for getting caught, Spectre shook his head, waving a hoof in dismissal and turning forward towards the wall of drinks.
“Guess that one was more aware than the others,” he muttered to himself, downing his small shot of clear liquid with purpose.
“Doesn’t help you made it so obvious…” The stallion said, appearing behind Spectre and suppressing his laughter when he watched the unicorn slightly choke on his drink. “Name’s Shadow by the way.”
Spectre wheeled around in his seat, coming face to face with the red and grey stallion. His bright red iris’ stared back into Spectre’s sea blue eyes, equally analyzing him just as he had done not so long ago.
“S-sorry,” the stallion stammered, all sense of confidence lost from his previous mutterings. “Didn’t mean to cause any harm.”
Shadow smiled and shook his head. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I don’t hold grudges for staring,” he smiled and leaned in, peering over his shoulder at a few mares seated just across the bar glancing their way, bursting out into a fit of giggles before returning to their drinks. “Helps if they’re easy on the eyes…” he smiled confidently, covering the right side of his mouth and whispering to Spectre.
A tinge of red showed clearly on his cheeks, his eyes looking at the mares for a quick second before looking away. “I-I actually wasn’t looking at them, I was…” he shuffled in his seat.
The stallion took up the seat next to Spectre and gave him a few solid pats on the back. “Dude, it’s cool, don’t worry.”
“I was actually…” he blushed at how this next part would sound. There wasn’t even a reason for him to be upfront with this stallion he just met, but something about Shadow made him feel somewhat comfortable. “Noticing how much you stood out, just like me.”
Shadow raised his arms and wings in the air a bit, looking himself over top to bottom as he heard Spectre’s reply. When the stallion concluded, Shadow picked up quickly. “Eh, what can I say?” He asked with a sly grin crossing his face, “It takes work to get this kind of look,” he concluded, his hoof slamming against the counter of the bar as he began to laugh at his own stupidity.
Spectre tilted his head in confusion, his face clearly displaying it. “You- you purposely made yourself like this? Why?”
Shadow shrugged his shoulders a bit before replying to Spectre. “I got my own reasons,” He sighed, taking a sip of his mug and sighing as the liquid traveled down his throat and warmed his stomach. “But let’s just say that I like to keep it as a reminder to myself…”
“I’d think looking like this would be reminder enough,” the unicorn sighed, knocking back another shot of what appeared to be water. However his reaction to the drink told Shadow it was otherwise.
“Looking like what?” Shadow asked, his head turning back to the midnight colored Unicorn. As he awaited a response, Shadow couldn’t help but look over the stallion himself. He was a large guy, much larger than the average unicorn. He didn’t really see anything wrong with Spectre that would warrant him feeling so depressed about himself.
Then again… there’s always a story with pages behind every cover. He took another sip of his drink.
“Well, like we do. Outcasts in this world,” Spectre sighed, rubbing his templates. “Trying our best to just fit in with the rest.”
“Pffff… Really?” Shadow asked, “Come on, dude. We’re not outcasts. We look different than everypony else, sure, but at the end of the day, I’m just the same as that one guy over there,” Shadow smiled, pointing a mug to a particular stallion at the opposite end of the bar. The stallion was drowning in his own saliva as his head rest against the table, eyes squeezed tightly together as he moaned and groaned in his alcohol induced slumber.
Spectre looked between the example and the stallion he was currently talking about. “Yeah, maybe by the end of the night,” he spoke flatly, waving down the bubbly barkeep. “Can I get my tab please?”
The mare nodded, giving him a forced smile, at least in his opinion, before going on her way to retrieve his bill. He sighed again. “Well it was nice talking to you… I forgot your name.”
“Rift…” Shadow said, holding out a hoof to the stallion, “Shadow Rift. Let’s try doing this again sometime, yeah?”
“Or not,” he shot down the idea rather abruptly, paying his tab along with tipping the mare, who wished him a safe night. “Have a good night,” Spectre got up off his stool, heading towards the entrance.
Shadow’s hoof returned to his chest as he watched the stallion trot off. He wasn’t exactly upset by the Stallion’s abrupt ending of their conversation, more as he was just confused by how sour things had seemingly become. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, turning back to the bartender and nodding as he finished his drink. Nothing he could do. “‘Nother round, Horseshoe…” Shadow smiled as he held out his empty cup.
The cold air cut into Spectre as he left the seedy establishment, nothing that hadn’t proven to be standard affairby this point. Placing a warming spell over himself, he proceeded outside, finding himself in combat against the cold as he headed home. The alcohol proved to be both a blessing and curse, as it helped add to his warmth, while also making him slightly less guarded. A very slight buzz had begun to work it’s way towards the side of his head, impairing his sight slightly and causing him to stumble every so often.
As he made his way down the alleyways of Canterlot, he looked at the crestfallen ponies. They all huddled together, some around burning garbage cans, some in cardboard boxes, and some giggling madly to themselves. He shook his head, not in disgust but rather pity. While he had a lot to complain about, Spectre thanked Celestia above that he wasn’t as downtrodden as these poor souls. Using more of his magic and concentration, he sparked the fire they were huddled around to life. This spooked the ponies around it, but seeing who cast it, they simply nodded and muttered some thanks before continuing about their business.
Spectre moved on, leaving the slums and approaching the more wealthy side of the city. A few more blocks travelled and he found himself in front of a decently sized highrise. Finally, he arrived at his destination... partly. There was still the long climb up the apartment stairs, but knowing how long the elevator took and his impatience at just getting home, he saw no other alternative.
The stairwell was well lit and rather well kept, a complete contrast to the ghetto he had previously been in. Some would question why a stallion of his “position” would even consider visiting such a place other than for carnal desires, but as his encounter for the night put it, he had his own reasons.
Speaking of the stallion, this “Rift” character seemed oddly familiar. While by no means actually being “in the know”, the name and the appearance of the pegasus was all too recognizable. The pondering of the stallion’s identity proved good concentration material as Spectre stumbles up the stairs. He tried his hardest to recall where he had seen him before, but the exhaustion of that day’s events mixed with the inhibiting liquid running through his blood was a concoction for failure.
Caught up in this mini mystery, the stallion continued to think on this as he arrived at his home. He stared at the door for a few seconds before he began to stumble around with his belongings. Eventually, Spectre managed to find the keys to his home. With a bit more concentration, he used his magic and finally managed to unlock his apartment’s door.
When he opened the door to the apartment, he was both relieved to be home, and unsurprised nothing had changed since he left it this morning. What greeted him was essentially the same apartment he found when he moved in. Blank walls and emptiness greeted him as he stepped into the living room. He sighed, accustomed to the sight and heading straight to his bedroom. Aside from a single bed, desk and chair, it was just as homely as the rest of the apartment. Settling his saddlebags down by the foot of the bed, he travelled to his kitchen.
Following the spartan motif, he moved to the refrigerator, grabbing some leftovers and heating them up in the microwave. While the radiation heated his food, Spectre watched the little piece of tupperware rotate in place, nothing else better to do. The ding of the device brought him back from his stupor and he floated his dinner to a nearby counter.
He proceeded to eat his meal, the food providing a physical second wind to him. As he bit into a mushy piece of broccoli, his thoughts traveled again, the subject this time being what tomorrow would bring. It would be Friday and he had no plans for the weekend. As he thought of what he should do, his thoughts couldn’t help but return to the memory of what his fellow coworkers had planned. Some decided upon dates, others on simply spending time with their respective families… and some who had plans to see some new talent at the local sports arena.
New talent…
It finally dawned on him why he recognized this Rift character, or as he could now recall, Shadow. He had seen the stallion on posters throughout the city, advertising himself as a show pony with a few set dates for performances.
Spectre’s realization came with a mixture of awe and self lamentation. He had met somepony of some celebrity status, at a seedy bar no less, and went on about how he felt like he could relate to him. Of course he did look the way he did, though it was probably that way for publicity. Shadow probably thought he was some kind of poser or fan colt.
He shook his head. The damage had already been done. It’s not like he’d ever see the stallion again. Although if the Prancing Pony was his favorite bar to visit as well, he may have to look at other avenues.
Deciding to think nothing more of it, he cleaned up after himself, setting the plastic container to the side to dry. Heading to the shower, he let the water run a bit, waiting for it to warm up. As he waited, he looked at himself in the mirror.
Part of his mane covered one of his eyes, leaving one sea blue iris staring back at him. He tried a smile, immediately shaking his head at how forced it looked. He tilted his head in different directions, seeing which angle looked better. After a minute or two, he sighed. No matter how he presented himself, he’d always get the same reception he had come to known. He was a unicorn with dark fur, only one other stallion like him that caused him to receive the glances or hushed comments that he did.
Steam began to waft from the shower, bringing Spectre out of his thoughts. As he stepped in, he felt another sigh, this one of relief as the warm water flowed over him. It provided him comfort, slowly easing away the stress and relaxing his muscles. It also helped sober him up slightly, although he knew that he’d have a mild hangover nonetheless the following morning.
Rinsing himself of all the filth he had accumulated that day, Spectre turned off the water and began to dry off with a nearby towel. Removing most of the moisture from his body, he then proceeded to blow dry the rest, along with the help of his magic. What resulted was a nice, fluffy coat and his mane becoming poofy. He chuckled a bit at his appearance in the mirror, thinking if he went out looking like this, maybe ponies would warm up to him. It was wishful thinking, and his brain protested at him to just go to bed.
Finishing off with brushing his teeth, he flopped on his bed, the springs whining in agony at the added weight. Shifting a bit until he found a comfortable spot, he laid his head on the pillow, looking up at the ceiling.
“Goodnight Spec. See you in the morning.”
When Shadow Rift had finally returned to his own apartment, Luna’s bright orb in the sky had began to glow a pristine white light against the dead of night sky. Various stars had begun to twinkle high above, making a smile come to the Stallion’s face. Though his time at the bar was rather lackluster, he could hardly say it was entirely miserable. Stallions such as the one he met tonight seemed to be just about everywhere Shadow went. Recluses who wanted absolutely nothing to do with the world simply because of the fact that they believed it was that world that wanted nothing to do with them.
He couldn’t blame the Stallion too much, in all fairness. After all, he used to be exactly one of those Stallions. It was just something he grew out of when he realized that crap always happened to ponies no matter who they were.
When Shadow finally arrived at his small apartment, he knocked on the door a few times before unlocking it and entering his small abode. “Any pony home?” He called out, half way expecting to hear the voice of his marefriend from the back of the apartment, which only yielded a small kitchen, a hallway, and two doors at the far end for the bedroom and bathroom respectively.
“Huh…” Shadow thought to himself, shrugging his shoulders and continuing inside. Making his way into the kitchen, Shadow pulled open the fridge and smiled as he saw a small yogurt cup acting as a paper weight for a note with his name on it, a small heart just next to it. Taking the treat and note up in his hooves, Shadow used a wing to close the fridge. As he made his way into the living room of the apartment, he unfolded the paper and began to read.
“Shadow,
“I am terribly sorry, but I will not be returning to the apartment tonight. An incident has occurred that requires my utmost of attention. No need to concern yourself over said matter, I plan to have it resolved by the morning. Until then, please do not do anything that will harm yourself physically. I will know…
“Sincerely yours-”
“Oh dammit…!” Shadow said as a small glob of yogurt smeared the ending of the letter. He sighed before crumbling the paper up in his hooves, moving to the garbage can with both the disgraced letter and his empty cup of yogurt in tow. Throwing them out, he immediately returned to his spot on the couch and lazily sat against the piece of furniture, a hoof on his stomach and a bored expression on his face.
Shadow couldn’t help but slightly chuckle to himself after finishing the note. He knew that the pony who wrote it meant well when she said she didn’t want him to do anything to hurt himself. Still, the fact that she had such little faith in him as to assume he’d go out of his way for danger like that was all too funny to Shadow. After recent events, Shadow mostly gave up on the idea of getting himself into trouble like that. It was more than he had bargained for, and the Pegasus was done with trouble for the next millenia.
Looking over to a small clock by his side, Shadow sighed. It was extremely late into the night, and he had begun to doubt that his marefriend would be returning. With a yawn and a stretch, Shadow flapped his wings and floated towards the door, locking it before retreating back to the hallway and into the bedroom. He laid himself against the bed before wrapping himself in covers, yawning one last time before nodding and falling asleep
Celestia’s rising sun began to warm the fur on Spectre as he lounged about on the bench he sat at, somewhat mitigating the cool chill of the morning air. The weekend had come and gone before he knew it, and today was the start of yet another grudgingly slow week.
Just as he did at the bar a few days ago, he was out observing the ponies of Canterlot. His location allowed him access to nobles and commoners alike, all going about their blissful Sunday morning. Idle chatter was among them all, though Spectre couldn’t find himself latching onto any for very long without becoming somewhat confused.
As he watched a couple pass by, Spectre let out a sigh, watching as both gave ponies gave him equally scrutinizing looks before the stallion hurried the mare along. The couple had mostly reminded Spectre of just how foreign he was to these ponies. He looked himself over and felt a tinge of humiliation before moving from his seat and off towards another location. Upon feeling a rumbling sensation in his stomach, Spectre came to the conclusion that if he was going to do any kind of studying, he may as well have done it with a nice warm feeling in his belly.
It didn’t take much to find a small coffee shop not too far away from his previous location. With a few bits paid, a nice cup of coffee in one hoof and an equally warm donut in the other, Spectre took a seat near the window of the shop. It wasn’t a particularly comfortable chair, built from cheap wood with a worn cloth cushion, but it was serviceable. He took a small sip from his still warm cup before returning his gaze to the ponies wandering outside.
As he had done the night before, Spectre studied their movements, eyes, lips, everything and anything he could just to get a slight understanding of each pony. As the stallion continued to watch, he began to notice he could read a few words from the lips he saw moving. The small yet subtle details indicating emotions, some of frustration, others from happiness. A smile found itself upon his face as he began to wonder whether or not he had finally mastered it. He sighed and shook his head.
Just don’t get caught this time. Last thing you need is anymore bad attention...
Spectre gingerly sipped his coffee as he watched a group of mares pass by. A menagerie of unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies all giggling and excitedly chatting about some stallion or whatever mares talked about. Spectre simply chose to sit back and watch them just as he had the others, trying his best to pick up on any of the subtleties he had previously seen. That was until one of the ponies in the group, an earth pony mare with a cream colored coat and two toned red mane, caught him looking. He froze, unsure of what to do as her emerald eyes locked with his.
What she did next caught him completely off guard. She gave him a warm smile, lingering for a bit before joining the conversation with the rest of her friends. All the while the unicorn felt his heart trying to escape his chest with how vigorously it was beating from the encounter.
It took a few moments for him to calm himself, a few deep breaths managing to help. However, when he closed his eyes to help aid in the process, the image of the mare popped before him, starting the cycle over again.
Maybe he just imagined it. Instead of a smile it was more of a scowl. Maybe it was a smile of awkwardness to help ease the uncomfortable situation. The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself that that was what indeed happened. Shaking his head at the notion that a pony of any sort would genuinely smile at him, he finished the rest of his coffee and donut, and decided to change venues.
Tossing the paper cup in a nearby trash bin, he moved up from his seat and left the shop, debating where to go next. Not wanting to be interrupted for lunch, Spectre decided to stop off at a local sandwich place and purchase a beet, lettuce and tomato sandwich along with a bag of chips. As he awaited his midmorning snack, Spectre took some time to gaze around the area. It was fairly damp, with a decor that looked outdated and a somewhat sour odor in the air making things all the harder to stomach being in their for long. With his food in hoof, Spectre quickly moved outside, glad to be exchanging the stale air from inside the restaurant for the fresh air outside.
That was probably one of the redeeming factors this forsaken city had. Being on a mountain allowed better air currents to pass through. While he also thought that the location allowed for easier strikings from the enemies of Equestria, Spectre paid little mind to this thought as he took a rather large bite of his sandwich.
Brushing aside the negative thoughts, the stallion decided to head to the castle, knowing that the Royal Gardens provided just as much beauty without all the extra attention. It thankfully didn’t take as long as he feared it may to reach the castle. Casting his identification spell for the guards posted at the gate, they allowed him to enter.
Another benefit of living in Canterlot. The guards, despite the fact that Spectre knew they gave him just as much scrutiny, never showed it. They always had the remarkable ability of hiding their emotions, something that he couldn’t help but admire them for. It was a sign of strength in his point of view, showing that they couldn’t be left vulnerable to emotions. That they were just as strong, sturdy, and fortified as the walls they protected.
As Spectre passed the guards, as well as the maids and butlers of the castle, he found that while they all appeared uniform, each was not as pristine white as they seemed. It was brilliant actually, a simple illusion spell cast on their armor that gave off their signature appearance. There was strength in numbers and with them all appearing exactly alike, there was no discrimination, no special treatment. Often times he’d wonder if any were similar to him, what it would be like to wear that armor and become one of them.
He chuckled at the thought when it came to him. While Spectre thought he was rather skilled in his magical abilities, he couldn’t see himself in a combat situation at all. Still, it didn’t keep him from thinking of what could be. Among those thoughts were a few of him standing proudly over the corpses of his enemies, with two beautiful mares at his sides while he lifted a great sword into the air. Spectre huffed a smile at this. As he did, he quickly found himself at the entrance to the gardens. Passing another security checkpoint, he stepped into the green paradise.
Spectre made a beeline to his favorite spot, the main fountain near the center of the labyrinth like gardens. It depicted the two princesses he indirectly worked for, Celestia and Luna, facing outwards opposite of each other, acting as sentinels. Sitting on Luna’s side he unwrapped his sandwich and proceeded to take another bite of it, surveying the area around him. The sound of the water cascading behind the stallion soothed him as he enjoyed his lunch. Birdsong joined in and he could feel himself completely relax.
As he continued to eat, Spectre realized he was no longer alone. Turning his head to the left, the stallion spotted a small filly. The filly appeared to be alone, and her expression was that of fear as she looked around frantically, Spectre assuming for her parents. While he wasn’t all too fond of foals, seeing her worried like that could only make him sympathize for her. He knew her situation all too well.
“Hi there,” he tried to sound as nice and gentle as possible. Hearing his voice scared the foal, causing her to let out a gasp and turn to face him. Seeing as she was still frightened, he smiled softly to her, raising his hooves in the air. “It’s ok, I won’t hurt you. Did you lose your parents?”
The mare backed down a bit, her legs going limp as she fell to the floor, eyes full of dread. “P-p-please….” She began, speaking in an accent that was reflective of her regal upbringing, “I-I-I-I don’t know where my M-M-M-Mommy and D-D-Daddy are…”
“Shhhhh, don’t cry,” Spectre could feel himself completely empathizing with her. He moved up and kneeled down so he was eye level with her. “I’ll help you find them. My name is Astral, what’s yours?”
“My…” The filly sniffled a few times before continuing on, “My name is…. Is Mary Gold.”
Spectre smiled at her. “That’s a nice name you have, Mary. Do you remember where you last saw your parents?”
The filly began to look around frantically, her pupils turning to pinpricks as she continued. “I…I don’t…” She was on the verge of tears again.
Poor thing. I should at least bring her to the royal guards.
“Hey, it’s ok Mary,” he cooed, trying to calm her down. It was all to no avail as the filly fell to the ground, her small tail hugging her side. As Spectre tried to think of ways to calm her, a light bulb flickered within his head. The stallion remembered what he used to do when he was scared and immediately, his horn began to glow. Closing his eyes, he began to hum a tune from his foalhood and as he did, his magic began to flow.
A cascade of bright colors circled around the mare, representing each color of the rainbow. The mare stopped a bit as she was brought to her hooves, looking beneath her with just the slightest bit of dread. Just as she had begun to wish she were back on the ground, the small filly watched as a small herd of tiny elephants began to encircle her, marching in unison and blowing their tiny trunks.
Mary Gold was immediately enamored with the creatures and found herself watching amazedly at the small parade. One particular elephant, perhaps the tiniest of them all, gave her a smile as it marched towards her, blowing it’s trunk all around and causing her to cheer. However, it stopped for a brief moment, causing Mary Gold to return to her senses for a bit. With three sharp breaths, the tiny elephant sneezed, a tiny air horn sound audibly coming from it’s trunk, causing the filly to giggle.
While Spectre had calmed her down with his show, he had placed her on his back and made his way to the entrance. Stopping just before the doors, he placed her back on the ground. “Did you enjoy the show Mary Gold?” he asked, chuckling at the expression on her face.
The filly giggled a few times before shaking her head up and down. “It was amazing…” She smiled, “That was so wonderful, Astral. Thank you!”
“Of course. Now, I want you to talk with one of the guards and describe your parents to them ok? They’ll be able to find them.”
“Yes, Astral!”
Bringing her with him to one of the stoic guards, he explained the situation before allowing Mary to describe her parents, spouting out names that confirmed to Spectre she was indeed nobility. When the guard assured him that they would go in search of the parents, Spectre recognized she was in good hooves and began to leave, before a small hoof on his foreleg stopped him.
“Wait, Astral…” The filly began, “Does this mean I won’t see you again?”
Spectre looked down at her and thought about it. He knew that the parents would definitely not be happy when meeting him in the flesh, so the sooner he could leave the better. He sighed and simply smiled to the filly.
“There’s a good chance we may, but for now, I have to go. It was nice meeting you Mary Gold.”
The filly was visibly distraught by the idea of not seeing her new found friend again. With a sad expression, she simply said, “Oh… okay. Goodbye for now, Astral,” with an obviously fake smile.
Hating to see or leave her so sad about his departure, the stallion closed his eyes and his horn glowed once more. Using a bit more concentration, he resummoned the tiny elephant that had appeared before her and floated it to the foal. “You can play with him until your parents arrive,” he whispered to her with a wink.
With a gasp and a “Yay!”, Mary Gold embraced her tiny Elephant friend and thanked Spectre, following the tiny creature as best she could around and around. The two played games such as tag, guess the song, and simon says. Mary Gold’s tiny smile never ceased as she followed the creature.
Seeing as the mare was alright, he thanked the guard who swore he’d look after her until her parents arrived.
“Thank you, Mister Astral, for bringing her to us. I’m certain that her parents will appreciate it.”
Spectre nodded. “It may be best that they didn’t know who brought their daughter back. You can simply tell them a patrol found her in the gardens.”
“Will do, sir. Enjoy the rest of your weekend,” the guard saluted before returning to the filly in his care.
Satisfied that everything was in order, Spectre adjusted his saddlebags, making sure the other half of his sandwich was secured, and went about moving back home.
With a small sigh, the red and gray Pegasus finished his final lap around Canterlot’s premier track. The area was mostly vacant for the day, allowing Shadow to have plenty of room to practice a few of his free flight maneuvers and stunts. He took a seat over on one of the bleachers and reached deep into his saddlebag for his last bottle of water. Downing half of the bottle, Shadow used the remaining content to throw over his shoulder and down his back, cooling his exhausted wing muscles.
As the cool water trailed down his back and now folded wings, Shadow placed his arms out and watched the sunset in the horizon. Today was good day in his eyes. Zero distractions, no fear of work or the endless harassment of local nobles. Just him and his sky, his stunts and his wings. He closed his eyes and rested his head against a bleacher behind him, smiling all the way.
Shadow wasn’t able to stay this way for long, however, when a soft voice called his name. When he opened his eyes, Shadow’s smile grew. The sight of a mare with a pure white coat and blond mane and tail filled his vision. Seeing her carry two extra bottles of water made him all the more excited.
“Hey sweetheart!” Shadow called to the mare, flapping his wings a few times and catching the mare in his arms. He held her against him for a small while, floating just above the ground with the mare wrapped in a tight embrace. She cleared her throat a bit and caused the stallion to shyly smile and place her back on the ground. “Sorry,” He began, rubbing the back of his neck, “Forgot about that…”
The mare dusted herself off a bit before placing the bottles of water on the bleacher and next to Shadow’s equipment. “Shadow, it hardly has to do with any disliking of flying. Rather it has so much to do with the fact that I don’t relish the idea of you hurting yourself…”
“How would I hurt myself?” Shadow asked, tilting his head a bit and trotting alongside his marefriend to the spot on the bleachers.
“How long have you been practicing today?” The mare asked. Shadow placed a hoof to his chin and made a small humming sound as he squinted his eyes.
“Ehh, give’er take about six hours, why?”
“Six hours?!”
“Hey! I took breaks,” Shadow responded. The mare gave him a deadpan expression. “Okay, I took half hour breaks in between, but still! I’ve had worse. Besides…” He smiled, wrapping his arms around his marefriend, “you’re as light as the feathers on my back, sweetie.”
The mare shook her head, but leaned back into the embrace, closing her eyes as a small smile appeared on her face. The two sat upon the bleachers like this for some time, simply enjoying the warmth of one another’s company. At least, until, the mare caught scent of Shadow Rift.
“Dear Celestia, Shadow!” She shouted, moving out of the stallion’s arms and practically gagging as she waved away his scent, “You smell atrocious!”
“Workout for that long, what do you expect?”
“How about a shower as soon as we get home?” The mare said, holding her nose as she attempted to recover from her coltfriend’s horrific odor.
“Fine…” Shadow said dejectedly, rolling his eyes. Grabbing one of the water bottles his marefriend had brought with her, the stallion was quick to open this one and, once again, down half of it’s content. Rather than throw any of the water down his back, however, the stallion simply chose to save the remaining half for later.
Once he set aside the bottle, Shadow’s gaze returned to his marefriend, smiling as the sun beautifully enveloped her, it’s orange hue turning her white coat a slight vanilla color, and making her eyes practically sparkle against the rays of the sun. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” He heard the mare ask.
“You look better,” Shadow smiled. The mare blinked a few times and redirected her attention to him. He gave her the same smile from before and winked, causing the mare to smile back at him before looking back to the sun.
“There exist rumor that if you watch the sunset at just the correct position, you will see a green flash as it disappears under the horizon.”
“Do you know if it’s true?” He asked her.
She shook her head. “I haven’t seen it before from Canterlot.”
“Well, let’s see if we can then,” Shadow sighed, floating down next to his marefriend and wrapping a wing around her body, bringing her closer to him. This time, she had no objections as the two kept their attention at the sun. For a few moments, it actually seemed like it was travelling faster down the horizon. Shadow grinned as he looked to his marefriend one last time before returning his attention to the sun. They watched it travel all the way down, until eventually it disappeared beneath the horizon.
Not a single green flash in sight.
Shadow’s marefriend sighed and turned her attention back to Shadow. “Suppose today just was not the right day.”
“That sucks,” Shadow said, “I was actually hoping to see it with you.”
The mare smiled and leaned in to Shadow, placing a kiss on his lips before resting her head against his left shoulder. Shadow grinned and kissed the top of her head, looking back out to the sky. “You still smell dreadfully,” The mare commented.
Shadow chuckled, “I get it, I get it. Take a shower or you’ll throw my ass out of the apartment tonight.”
“Good boy…” She smiled while moving her head from his shoulder. She placed a hoof on his cheek and turned his head to face her, her fierce blue eyes meeting his ruby reds, “And, if you do… maybe later on… we can take a shower together…” She concluded in a sultry tone.
Shadow’s wings couldn’t help but spring up slight from the thought alone. He smiled and leaned forward to her, his eyes full of confidence, “Oh really?”
The mare nodded her head.
“Well alright then…” Shadow said, “Consider it done, Aryanne.”
