The Friendship Fightersby FeatheredWingsChaptersChaper OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter SixChapter EightChapter FiveChapter SevenChaper OneIt was raining in Cloudsdale this fateful night. A young filly was peering out her window at the streets below, waiting for her parents to come home. She sighed and walked over to her bed. She jumped up and landed with a soft thump. “GAH! How long is this supposed to take?!” she screamed impatiently. She buried her head in her pillow and yelled. She looked up and propped her head up with her hoof. She looked around her room. She saw some papers on her desk. She stood up on wobbly legs on her bed and carefully trotted over to her desk and looked at the papers. “Shadow? Are you okay? I heard you scream,” said a concerned voice from outside the door. Her brother opened it slowly. His midnight blue mane shimmered in the moonlight. He opened the door all the way and slowly walked over to wear his sister was standing. Her black mane and dark grey coat made it hard to see her in the dark. “It’s okay Thunder Bolt. I’m just having a hard time waiting for Momma and Daddy to come home. How long do you think it will take?” Shadow Bolt asked her big brother. She gave him the puppy dog eyes, eagerly waiting the answer. “It depends. It may take until morning,” Thunder said with a frown. Shadow gained a shocked expression as she stared at her brother wide eyed. “Until morning?! I can’t wait until morning! I wanna see my new baby sister RIGHT NOW!” Shadow bellowed at the top of her lungs. She buried her head into Thunder’s shoulder and sighed loudly. “I felt the same way about you. I think I said the same thing to my stuffed bear,” Thunder said in an attempt to calm his raging sister. Shadow Bolt chuckled quietly. “Because Boogie the Bear is mmf,” Shadow said before she was interrupted by a hoof shoved in her mouth. “You know about him?” asked Thunder nervously. His ears were flattened and his face was turning a bright red. Shadow Bolt smiled and nodded at her now embarrassed brother. “Everypony in Cloudsdale knows about Boogie. You take him with you where ever you go and it is always sticking out of your saddle bags,” Shadow Bolt said. Thunder started to bang his head on Shadow’s desk. “OW! What the. Where did you get these?” Thunder said shuffling through the papers on her desk. He stared to read one. “Solve the equation using the Quadratic Formula. Why do you have MY homework in YOUR room? These are due when the weekend is over!” He narrowed his eyes at Shadow. “I just noticed them there when you walked in! I never put them there unless. You forgot whose room is whose and accidentally came into mine AGAIN,” the young filly said. She smiled mischievously. “Erm. Maybe I just, um. Uhhhhhhh. LOOK OVER THERE!” He shouted loudly causing Shadow Bolt to look. Then he darted out the room, slamming the door behind him. Shadow rolled her eyes and yawned. She looked at the clock on her wall. The hands read 11:51 P.M. She yawned once more. She slowly walked towards her bed and dragged herself onto it. She was on her stomach. She wriggled her body forward to her pillow. She used front hooves and wings to launch herself. She landed straight on top of her pillow. She sighed and wriggled herself down. She rolled over on her back when she got her head on her pillow. She closed her eyes and slipped into a dreamless sleep. Thunder was in his room tapping his hoof on his desk. He had a cup nearing the edge and his pushed it towards the center. He had drunk eight cups of coffee and was having a hard time calming down. He exhaled loudly through his nostrils and tried to stand still. He started to shake. He dashed out of his room and down the stairs and belly flopped onto the couch. “No more. No more coffee for the rest of my life. I will never listen to my friends again,” he said as he was face down in the couch cushions. He flapped his wings light and his torso started to lift off. He flapped a lighter and now his hooves were barely resting on the cushions. He added a little more power, but it was too much. His wings went the speed of a humming bird’s. He rocketed towards the ceiling and cleared it. He inhaled sharply when he looked at the carnage. He looked around and grabbed some cloud and stuffed it in the hole. He smoothed it out on top and nodded in approval. He then sighed and went back inside. His eyes widened when he looked at the ceiling. He quickly smoothed it out and threw the excess cloud out the window. “You really ought to be more careful, you know,” said a dazed Shadow Bolt from the top of the staircase. She slowly walked down them and nearly tripped several times. She yawned and opened her mouth as wide as she could. She closed it and smacked her lips together. Thunder was still a little startled when Shadow started for the kitchen. “I. I just had some….. Extra energy?” Thunder Bolt said shrugging his shoulders. Shadow started sniffing some brown liquid in a cup on the counter. “What’s this stuff? It smells tangy,” Shadow spoke slowly while inspecting the mysterious brown liquid. She picked it up to get a better look at it. “Don’t drink it!” Thunder yelled right as his younger sibling took a sip. Her eyes instantly widen. She guzzled the whole thing and her tail was flicking around behind her as Thunder watched biting his bottom lip. “OH MAH GAWD! WHAT IS THAT STUFF?! THAT IS GOOD! I LOMMF FF!” Shadow yelled before she got another mouthful of hoof. Thunder had closed his eyes and sighed. He opened them and looked at his giddy sister. “It’s coffee. Young fillies aren’t supposed to drink it. Fillies like you already have too much energy,” Thunder explained. He got a muffle oh as a response. As soon as he pulled his hoof back, Shadow started to race around the room. Thunder moved in her path to catch her and she jumped and used her wings to propel her over her brother’s head. She on his back and quickly jumped off onto the couch and started to jump. The eldest one looked around for a way to trap the youngest. He smiled when he saw a blanket. He draped it around each hoof as he used his wings to rise into the air. He slowly moved toward his hyperactive sister. He tackled her and trapped her in the blanket. Shadow started to flail her little limbs everywhere but the blanket limited her mobility. She felt like the blanket was sapping her energy. She was getting tired. She stopped flailing and lied still. Thunder took the blanket off of the panting filly and placed it on the couch. He then picked up his sister and placed her on the blanket. “You’re such a silly filly,” he said while looking at his half asleep sister. He heard someone fiddling with the lock on the door. The door slowly opened to reveal to shadowy figures. Chapter TwoThe two cloaked figures walked into the house carefully, for they carried precious cargo. The one that walked in first lowered his hood. It was Fire Bolt. The father of Thunder and Shadow. His midnight blue mane was glistening with water that had seeped through his hood. The second one pulled back her hood and showed her face. It was the mother, Sky Bolt. Her light grey mane was shimmering with water that had seeped through her hood as well. One of her wings was stuck out and curled tightly around a small bundle of fabric. "Take her please," she whispered to Fire Bolt. Fire reached under her wing and grabbed the bundle and pressed it against his chest lightly. He pulled back some of the fabric to reveal all of the sleeping baby's face. It had a light grey mane and dark grey fur. The new baby smiled in her sleep with her mouth slightly open. Shadow was still on the couch. She turned her head and her eyes widened. She slowly got off the couch and walked over to the little sleeping bundle. The corners of her mouth pulled back into a wide smile. Her dad chuckled quietly at the sight of her face. "Excited now, are we?" he said quietly. Shadow Bolt nodded fast enough to disorientate her making her wobble slightly. Thunder Bolt helped her stabilize by placing a wing over her shoulders and adding a small amount of pressure. "What's her name? She looks like a Lightning Bolt. Is that her name? Is her name Lightning?" Shadow asked with the utmost curiosity. Fire and Sky both looked at each other. Fire Bolt had a worried look. Sky Bolt rubbed a hoof on her chin and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. She then smiled and nodded. "We were wondering what we were going to call her. HE was thinking Star Bolt, but I said that she didn't LOOK like a Star Bolt. I just couldn't put my hoof on it. Well, congratulation Shadow. You just named your little sister," Sky Bolt said with a smile. Fire Bolt looked at the filly in his hooves and smiled. Shadow Bolt gave a big gasp and passed out. "Oh, Shadow," Thunder said. "She's been up all night waiting for you and our new baby sister and then she found some coffee left over from this morning. I then had to chase her around the house and then she got tired and nearly fell asleep on the couch. That's when you guys came home and she got excited. I guess the rest can explain itself. Right?" Thunder had a worried look on his face. He didn't want them to know that he had made coffee and drank it only to have Shadow find the ready-made cup on the counter. "It does. I was beginning to worry. She can be quite a hoofful," Sky Bolt says. Thunder sighed and his expression softened. He slowly walked over to the unconscious filly. "I'm going to take her to her room. I'll then go to bed. Goodnight," Thunder said as he put Shadow on his back. He outstretched his wings to gain balance and to keep his sister from falling off. He carefully made his way up the stairs and opened the door to her room. He placed Shadow on her bed tossed her blanket on top of her sleeping form. Thunder then walked back to the door and looked back on his sister, He sighed and smiled as he slowly shut the door. "What are we going to do with them," Sky Bolt said while looking up the stairs. She had a soft expression and a smile as she watched Thunder make his way to his room. "I have no idea," Fire said. His lips then curled into a mischievous smile as his irises flashed green. "I have no idea." "I love you, Fire," She said while nuzzling him. "Let's go put Lightning in her new room and then go to bed. I'm awfully tired." Fire Bolt nodded and smiled. "I love you, too," Fire said. Sky Bolt started up the stairs, after taking Lightning from Fire. Fire followed Sky Bolt up the stairs. "I'm going to go to the bathroom quickly." Sky nodded and walked into the bathroom. He closed the door and locked it then walked over to the mirror. A ring of fire erupted around him and he transformed into Chrysalis, the Changling Queen. "How much longer can I put up with this. I hate pretending to be a guy. Even if the food is delicious," Chrysalis sighed. She remembered her plan. She remembered that it was all going to be done tonight. " I will just have to convince them to leave house. All of them will be mine for all of eternity!" She then laughed manically as she transformed back into Fire Bolt. He walked out of the bathroom and into Lightning’s bedroom. Lightning was awake and was waving her little hooves in the air. Lightning saw Fire Bolt walk in and she started cooing at her 'father'. "How is she," said a little filly's voice from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Shadow Bolt in the doorway. She trotted over to his side. Shadow then jumped up on Fire's back. "Aw. She's so cute." She draped her hooves over his head and looked down at the baby. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Fire said. Shadow jumped off his back and walked slowly to the door with her head hanging down. She stopped and looked behind her at Fire Bolt. "I love you, Daddy. Good night," She then trotted to her room. Fire watched her and turned his head back to the baby. He bent over an readjusted the blanket. "Soon. All so soon," He chuckled. The little filly flopped her arms down and fell asleep again. He then trotted to the door and looked back. "All the love my hive can eat. All in one little family." He laughed quietly. He trotted back to the bedroom where Sky Bolt was waiting for him. "Hello, darling. So glad of you to join me," Sky said. Fire nodded and laid down on the bed next to her. Sky reached over and nuzzled his neck. He remembered telling some of the Changling drones how to create a diversion to get the family out of the house. Fire Bolt forced a smile. A bright light came from outside the bedroom door. Sky looked at it and got up right as the fire alarm went off. Chapter ThreeSky Bolt stood up and sniffed the air. Smoke filled her lungs and burned them. She coughed and ran out the door. She raced into Lightning's room and right as she was about to grab the filly a rag went over nose and mouth. She gasped and passed out. Sky and Lightning got carried off by changeling drones. Thunder Bolt jumped out of his bed and sailed toward the ceiling again, but he stopped before he crashed. He ran out his door and saw his mother and baby sister get carried out the front door. He leapt over the railing of the stairs and used his wings to glide over to them. Before he could reach them, he got ambushed and knocked out. He then joined his mother and sister in being carried out. Shadow Bolt heard the alarm. She ran to her door and threw it open. It was a huge mistake. A wall of flames were outside waiting for her. She slammed her door shut and kicked a hole in her wall. She jumped out and opened her wings so she could land softly on the cloud layer. If she didn't use her wings, she would've went straight through. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the front of her house. She looked to the left when she reached the street and saw the fireponies racing towards her house. She looked to the right and saw flames shooting out of the windows of her house. She also saw the changelings putting her family into the back of a carriage. "Where's the other girl you fools?" Chrysalis asked her minions. All of them shrugged their shoulders. "Go find her!" The drones started to go back into the when Chrysalis recalled them due to the fireponies getting too close. They flew off with Shadow's family in tow. Shadow Bolt ran after the carriage but was too slow and tired. She stopped in the middle of the street panting with exhaustion. Tears were running down her little filly face. Her mane stuck to her face from the rain and tears. She laid down and cried, for it was the only thing she knew what to do. The best day of her life, had just turned into the worst. Shadow awoke with a bright light shining in her eyes. A police Pegasus was looking at her with a concerned look. He stopped pointing his flashlight in her face. His mouth moved but Shadow didn't hear anything. She shook her head violently and looked at the cop. "What happened? Where is your family, little one? We can't find them anywhere," the police pony questioned. Shadow Bolt mumbled her words. "Repeat that please." Shadow wiped the tears from her face. "They were kidnapped by these insect ponies," Shadow Bolt sniffled. The cop readjusted his hat and trotted off. Shadow Bolt looked at the sky. The weather ponies moved the clouds so all Shadow could see was stars. She saw Thunder Bolt's favorite constellation. Her eyes welled up with tears again. She blinked and one tear escaped her eyelid and rolled down her cheek. "Is there anypony you can stay with? Because we can't find you family in the area. But don't worry little missy, we sent missing reports to the other cities and towns in Equestria so they can keep an eye out," the cop said. Shadow Bolt nodded and lifted her hoof up to her cheek. "I can stay with my uncle and cousin, but there's a problem with that," Shadow said quietly. She brushed her black mane out of her face. The cop leaned in to hear her better and to gesture her to continue. "They live all the way in Ponyville." The cop scratched his chin with his hoof and walked away. The cop returned and said, "We've arranged a carriage to take you to Ponyville. It will be here shortly, little girl." Shadow Bolt thanked him. She wondered what life was going to be like in Ponyville. She never saw her uncle and cousin since the Bolt family reunion. She remembered their names, and that's it. Her uncle was Moon Bolt, and her cousin was Electric Bolt. The carriage pulled up next to her and the cop reappeared as well. The police Pegasus gestured for her to get in. She got in and the carriage began to pull away. She waved goodbye to the nice cop and he waved back. "And they said I was crazy for working at a 24-hour carriage service," the driver mumbled to himself. Shadow knew that the journey was going to be long so she curled up in a little ball and fell asleep. Chapter FourThe flight was smooth and boring, perfect conditions for Shadow to sleep. No matter how relaxing the swaying of the carriage was, it didn't keep her from the nightmares. Her mind replayed the memories. The fire, the insect ponies, the thought of never seeing her family again. Her whimpers makes the young stallion pulling the carriage look back at the dark colored bundle. They made it to Ponyville with no problem. The Pegasus in front undid his harness and went to the back of the carriage. Shadow laid there, shivering and whimpering. He couldn't take it anymore. He prodded her side with his hoof, no reaction. He poked her again, she squirmed. Her eyelids opened halfway revealing her deep ocean blue eyes. She turned her head and looked at the young stallion with big pleading eyes. She stood up on unsteady legs and hopped out. She nearly fell flat on her face when she landed, but the colt put his hoof out to catch her. "Be carefully there. Don't want to hurt yourself," He said. She just looked at him, then at the ground. His ears flopped down in empathy. Shadow slowly walked to the center of the town, leaving the stallion with his thoughts. Shadow Bolt walked slow and steady, earning concerned glances from some of the older ponies. She had to find her uncle or her cousin. There was a problem with that though. She didn't know where they lived or remember what they looked like. Her ears were down and her head was hung low. "Hi," said a very perky voice. Shadow didn't register the word until she ran head first into a pink mare. Shadow fell back on her rump and looked at the mare. She had a big poofy mess of a mane on her head. "My name is Pinkie Pie and you must be new. I never saw you before and I know everypony in Ponyville. That must mean you don't have any friends. Don't worry 'bout that. I can help. Aw. You look sad, you shouldn't be sad. Being sad is not fun. I won't allow you to be sad. Come on." Pinkie grabbed Shadow's hoof and dragged her to a big building that reminded Shadow Bolt of a gingerbread house. "This is Sugarcube Corner. I work here. We sell cakes, cupcakes, muffins, candies, pastries, and cookies. Wait right here!" Pinkie Pie zoomed around a counter and into a door that flapped after she went through. Shadow sighed and pawed at the ground. A bell jingled behind Shadow as the door opened. She looked behind her as a laveneder unicorn walked inside with a smile. The purple pony saw Shadow and waved. Shadow just sat down in a chair and rested her head on the table. She didn't want to seem unsociable, but she had a hard time wanting to talk. "Hello," said the unicorn. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. What's your's?" Shadow opend her mouth to reply but the pink pony zoomed out of the kitchen and shoved a cupcake into Shadow's open mouth." Her eyes widened at the unexpected and unwanted food in her mouth. Shadow coughed out the cupcake onto the table. Twilight looked at Pinkie in shock. Pinkie just stood there, smiling with her eyes closed. "Oh silly," Pinkie said, opening her eyes. "You're supposed to eat the cupcake. Like this." Pinkie pulled a cupcake out of nowhere and ate it in one bite. Shadow and Twilight looked at her confused. They looked at the cupcake and then back at Pinkie. "Pinkie, you can't be serious," Twilight said. Pinkie nodded her head as fast as a hummingbird's wings. Shadow looked at her in shock. She wouldn't ever be able to do that without becoming dazed first. "So," said Pinkie's overly peppy voice. "What is your name?" Both Twilight and Pinkie looked at Shadow expectantly. Shadow opened her mouth to speak but once again Pinkie shoved the cupcake in her mouth. Shadow spit out the cupcake and gagged. Twilight used her magic to float the cupcake into the garbage can.Shado coughed and cleared her throat. Pinkie smiled. Shadow opened her mouth and Pinkie plled a cupcake out of nowhere and jammed it into Shadow Bolt's mouth once again. She cloed her mouth around the confection and swallowed it, gagging in the process. Pinkie clapped her hoove in approval. Twilight facehoofed. Author's Note Shadow WAS originally planned to meet the Mane Six in this chapter, but I left it to Pinkie and Twilight. Chapter Six"It's not your fault for not remembering me," Electric said to the filly on his back. "We met a long time ago. You were still a baby and I was five." Market stalls passed by on their sides. They passed several different ponies. A mint unicorn and a cream Earth pony sitting on a bench. A light grey Pegasus lurking around muffin stall. A brown stallion trying to drag the Pegasus away from the muffin stall. Shadow hopped off of Electric's back and walked beside him. She looked around at the different things. One thing she noticed was that her cousin's flank was bare. "Why haven't you gotten your cutiemark yet?" Shadow asked her cousin. Electric's ear flopped back and a blush was showing through his grey coat. "I'm not very good at anything yet but that's not the point of anything," Electric stated. "But." "No, Shadow. Drop it," Electric said sternly. Shadow was quiet. The silence made him feel guilty. "Sorry, Shadow. I didn't need to be mean." Shadow stayed quiet. The rest of the journey was spent in the quiet. Shadow was looking at all the different stalls and ponies. She was dumbfounded. In Cloudsdale, there were no stalls. Save for the few who couldn't afford a building. She never made eye-contact with anypony. She looked around too quickly. There was one though. One pony who caught her eye. It was a small unicorn filly. She was accompanied by a Earth filly and a Pegasus filly. Shadow looked back at Electric. His gaze was fixed forward. He wasn't talking and he had no expression. She looked back at the trio of fillies. They were giggling and laughing. Shadow was thinking hard. She wasn't watching anything. She hadn't noticed when Electric stopped. She ran face first into a door and fell on her butt. She got back up and looked at Electric. He pulled a key out of nowhere and inserted the key into the lock on the door. He put the key back and walked in the door. Shadow took a hesitant step into the house. I was dark. Darker than what Shadow preferred. She looked around for her cousin. He was nowhere to be seen. Shadow started to silently panic. She felt like she walked into a trap. A trap the insect ponies put up for her, to catch her for escaping their first attempt. She gulped. She took a good long look around the room. There was a couch with its back facing her to the left and a arch on her left that led into a kitchen. The back of the room was barren, save for one lonely staircase going up and a small bookcase. Shadow smirked to herself. Take out the bookshelves and a pony could easily fit in that bookshelf. Shadow started to walk forward. She wanted to go up the stairs. She got to the base and looked up. The stairs seemingly went on forever. Shadow walked up them, counting each step as she ascended. Thirteen steps were counted. At the top was a hallway that went from left to right. Shadow picked the direction on her left. She reached a door. She put an ear to door to listen for anything. All she heard was silence. She put a hoof on the knob and opened the door, slowly. When the door was open enough, she peeked her head through. She found a bathroom. Shadow sighed and shut the door, disappointed. After opening several different doors, Shadow started to feel like her entire search was in vain. The only thing she ever found was storage closets, bathrooms, and more empty bedrooms. Shadow reached the end of the hall. It was empty like she thought. She sighed loudly and turned around. She came face to face with the silhouette of a rather larger pony. Shadow screamed. Chapter EightMoon Bolt returned to his house to find it covered in flour and eggs splattered across the walls. He looked in the kitchen to see that Shadow was completely covered in flour and holding an egg in her hoof. Electric's mane was slicked with egg and he was holding a bag of flour in his light blue magic over Shadow's head. Aside from the chaos, there was a stack of steaming hot pancakes sitting on the counter, untouched from the food war. Moon Bolt walked toward them with slight anger on his face. He stepped in something squishy with his front hoof. He looked down to see that he had stepped on a chef's hat covered in what appeared to be broken eggs. His expression immediately distorted into one of disgust. He shifted his attention back to the two. "What is going on here?" he asked while trying to shake the hat off his hoof. The hat flew off and stuck to the floor. Shadow looked Moon in the eye for a good five seconds before lobbing the egg she was holding at him. Moon had no time to react before it hit him in the face. Electric started to giggle when Moon pulled his eyes closed. When Moon opened them again, a torrent of flour covered him. Shadow fell over in a fit of laughter. She used to have fun like this with her brother, Thunder Bolt. Only they used rain clouds and soft lightning. She smiled at the memory of them messing around with each other before a wave of sadness crashed over her. She used to think of days when he would move out and be gone. The only difference was that she knew she would see him again when he would move away. She's not too sure this time. Moon Bolt brushed the egg and flour from his face. The combination of the two rendered it to be a sticky mess. The resistance of the hat made sense now. When he could finally see again, he looked over to Shadow and Electric. The unicorn nearly doubled over at Moon's struggled. The pegasus was standing still, a small smile and a sad look in her eyes adorned her face. "Electric," Moon said sternly. Electric's stopped laughing and his mouth scrunched up. "Yes, dad?" he replied shakily. "Why is my house covered in eggs and flour?" "We made pancakes," Electric said while gesturing to the pancake stack. "That doesn't explain how-" "I accidentally dropped a little bit of flour on Shadow. She overreacted and threw an egg at me. Then we had a food fight." "Wrong," said Shadow. "I was stirring the pancake batter when you threw a whole bunch of flour at me. I thought to get payback and throw an egg at you. That's when the food fight started." Moon Bolt face-hoofed. Shadow looked quite pleased with herself at her explanation. "And I won the food fight," she added. Electric looked flabbergasted. "I shall claim spoils of war!" she shouted before launching herself at the pile of pancakes. Electric quickly pulled the pancakes away with his magic just as Shadow was about to bite it. Shadow ended up getting a face full of counter. "Losers always get rewards," Electric said as he levitated a pancake into his mouth. He bit down on it, expecting a mouthful of delicious pancake-y goodness. What he got instead was a piece of regret in the shape of a mouthwatering pancake. He spit it out. gagging. Shadow laughed. "I think you added too much flour," Shadow managed to get out between laughs. Moon chuckled and shook his head. "Well then. I guess that meal won't do us any good," Moon said. "Tell ya what. Clean this mess up and I'll take both of you to Sugarcube Corner for a treat." Shadow cheered and shook herself. Flour flew off her coat until she no longer looked like a ghost. Electric left the room to gather cleaning supplies. The first task Shadow assigned herself was to pry the glued chef's hat from the floor. Author's Note Sorry this chapter took so long and isn't very long. Chapter Five"Pinkie, you can't be serious," Twilight said. Pinkie Pie just nodded. "Cupcakes are the only way to bring a smile," Pinkie replied with a mile-wide smile. She looked at Shadow Bolt expectantly. Shadow stared back, unblinking. Pinkie frowned. She put her hooves on top of Shadow's head. "Smile," she whispered. "Smile." Suddenly, a purple glow erupted round the pink mare and levitated her away from the filly. "You have to give her a chance to talk. She still hasn't told us her name," Twilight looked back at Shadow. "What is your name?" Pinkie Pie zoomed up next to Twilight and smiled even bigger than before. Both of the mares were staring straight at the young pony. "My name is Shadow Bolt," Shadow said. Pinkie Pie's head cocked to the side in confusion before she zoomed off. Twilight looked at Pinkie with a confused expression before tuning her head and smiling at Shadow. "Shadow Bolt is a lovely name, and fitting too," Twilight said while gesturing at the filly's dark grey coat. Pinkie Pie zoomed back in holding a light grey unicorn with a short cut electric blue mane. She dropped the unicorn on the floor and grinned. "When you said Bolt, I remembered another pony with a name ending in Bolt. Here he is," Pinkie said quickly. The young stallion shook his head and brushed a hoof over his mane. He looked up and at Pinkie. "What was the purpose of that?" He asked the giddy mare. Pinkie inhaled loudly. "I was walking through town when I met this young filly who was walking alone. I looked at her and thought, she must be sad about something. I went and introduced myself and got a better look at her. Turns out she was sad so I dragged her here to SugerCube Corner where I then went to get her cupcake. Next thing I know, Twilight comes in and starts talking to her. I feed her the cupcake and Twilight gets mad. Then the filly says her name. Turns out her name was Shadow Bolt. I then remembered two other ponies in town who have a Bolt in their name and you're one of them," Pinkie said so fast that the others had to stand and process the information. The stallion' eyes brightened. "Shadow?" He says. Pinkie nodded. "I have a cousin named Shadow who lives in Cloudsdale!" Shadow's ear twitches slightly when she hears the remark. He picked up the small filly in his light blue magic. He gives her a quick look over. "Shadow! How nice to meet you again. Do you remember me?" Shadow shook her head. "It's me! Electric Bolt! Your cousin." Shadow's eyes widened. Pinkie started to smile, hoping that Shadow would too. The corners of Shadow's mouth started to turn upwards. She wriggled around in Electric's magic until he let go. He set her on the floor carefully. She rammed Electric and gave him a hug. "Slow down there, tiger. Where's your mom and dad?"He asked questioningly. She motioned for him to be closer. He put his ear but her mouth. "I'll tell you later," Shadow said. Electric rolled his eyes and picked up her again and placed her on his back. She wrapped her hooves around his neck and closed her eyes. "Let's go find my dad," He said before adding, "Your uncle." He trotted out the door leaving a smiling Pinkie and a shocked Twilight. "How did you know?" Twilight quietly asked Pinkie. "Well, I put names and looks together and it added up to Electric," Pinkie said smiling. Twilight just shook her head to clear her thoughts before walking out the front door. Chapter SevenShadow would've kept on screaming if laughter wouldn't have erupted from the pony in front of her. She stopped screaming and took a look at the dark figure. Suddenly, a light appeared behind the pony, illuminating his face. He had a dark blue mane with sea foam green highlights and was the same color as Electric. "Look what you did," The stallion said. "You ruined the surprise." Electric appeared behind the stallion, his horn the source of the light. "But didn't you see how scared she is? You shouldn't do stuff like that, Dad," Electric said. Shadow put the pieces together and came to the conclusion that this was Moon Bolt, her uncle. Shadow fluttered her wings and zoomed over Moon's head. She flew down the stairs and into the living room. She hovered over the couch before dropping onto it. She swung her front hooves over the back and watched for Moon to come down the stairs. "Well, look at that!" Shadow heard Moon yell from upstairs. He climbed down the stairs with the grace of an unbalance duck. "She can fly already!" Electric followed behind him. Moon trotted over to the couch and looked Shadow in the face. "Where are your parents, kiddo?" Shadow's eyes widened as her mind replayed the memory. "Are you going to be okay? You're crying," Electric said. Shadow brought her hoof up to her face and pressed it to her cheek. Her hoof was glistening with tears. Shadow couldn't figure out why she was crying, she didn't feel sad. Only empty. She told them the story with a river pouring out of her eyes. After the story, Electric's muzzle was almost touching the floor and Moon's mouth was wide open in shock. "We need to tell the authorities about this," Moon said. He was about to leave the house when Shadow stopped him. "The police in Cloudsdale already know and they told the other cities, " Shadow explained. Moon Bolt huffed and went over to the couch. He sat down. Shadow hadn't noticed the wings on his side until he splayed them over the red fabric of the couch. "Well then," Electric started. "I guess we should do something with you then." Electric said, nudging his dad. Moon's ears perked. "I guess we're going to have to let you stay here then. We're also going to have to enroll you in the school nearby." Moon got of the couch and left the house. Electric flipped a light switch. He got close to Shadow with his nose almost touching her ear. "Do you want some," He said slowly. "Pancakes?" Shadow zoomed off the couch and stood in the middle of the kitchen wearing a chef's hat. "Let's do this," she said before opening the fridge.
Chaper OneIt was raining in Cloudsdale this fateful night. A young filly was peering out her window at the streets below, waiting for her parents to come home. She sighed and walked over to her bed. She jumped up and landed with a soft thump. “GAH! How long is this supposed to take?!” she screamed impatiently. She buried her head in her pillow and yelled. She looked up and propped her head up with her hoof. She looked around her room. She saw some papers on her desk. She stood up on wobbly legs on her bed and carefully trotted over to her desk and looked at the papers. “Shadow? Are you okay? I heard you scream,” said a concerned voice from outside the door. Her brother opened it slowly. His midnight blue mane shimmered in the moonlight. He opened the door all the way and slowly walked over to wear his sister was standing. Her black mane and dark grey coat made it hard to see her in the dark. “It’s okay Thunder Bolt. I’m just having a hard time waiting for Momma and Daddy to come home. How long do you think it will take?” Shadow Bolt asked her big brother. She gave him the puppy dog eyes, eagerly waiting the answer. “It depends. It may take until morning,” Thunder said with a frown. Shadow gained a shocked expression as she stared at her brother wide eyed. “Until morning?! I can’t wait until morning! I wanna see my new baby sister RIGHT NOW!” Shadow bellowed at the top of her lungs. She buried her head into Thunder’s shoulder and sighed loudly. “I felt the same way about you. I think I said the same thing to my stuffed bear,” Thunder said in an attempt to calm his raging sister. Shadow Bolt chuckled quietly. “Because Boogie the Bear is mmf,” Shadow said before she was interrupted by a hoof shoved in her mouth. “You know about him?” asked Thunder nervously. His ears were flattened and his face was turning a bright red. Shadow Bolt smiled and nodded at her now embarrassed brother. “Everypony in Cloudsdale knows about Boogie. You take him with you where ever you go and it is always sticking out of your saddle bags,” Shadow Bolt said. Thunder started to bang his head on Shadow’s desk. “OW! What the. Where did you get these?” Thunder said shuffling through the papers on her desk. He stared to read one. “Solve the equation using the Quadratic Formula. Why do you have MY homework in YOUR room? These are due when the weekend is over!” He narrowed his eyes at Shadow. “I just noticed them there when you walked in! I never put them there unless. You forgot whose room is whose and accidentally came into mine AGAIN,” the young filly said. She smiled mischievously. “Erm. Maybe I just, um. Uhhhhhhh. LOOK OVER THERE!” He shouted loudly causing Shadow Bolt to look. Then he darted out the room, slamming the door behind him. Shadow rolled her eyes and yawned. She looked at the clock on her wall. The hands read 11:51 P.M. She yawned once more. She slowly walked towards her bed and dragged herself onto it. She was on her stomach. She wriggled her body forward to her pillow. She used front hooves and wings to launch herself. She landed straight on top of her pillow. She sighed and wriggled herself down. She rolled over on her back when she got her head on her pillow. She closed her eyes and slipped into a dreamless sleep. Thunder was in his room tapping his hoof on his desk. He had a cup nearing the edge and his pushed it towards the center. He had drunk eight cups of coffee and was having a hard time calming down. He exhaled loudly through his nostrils and tried to stand still. He started to shake. He dashed out of his room and down the stairs and belly flopped onto the couch. “No more. No more coffee for the rest of my life. I will never listen to my friends again,” he said as he was face down in the couch cushions. He flapped his wings light and his torso started to lift off. He flapped a lighter and now his hooves were barely resting on the cushions. He added a little more power, but it was too much. His wings went the speed of a humming bird’s. He rocketed towards the ceiling and cleared it. He inhaled sharply when he looked at the carnage. He looked around and grabbed some cloud and stuffed it in the hole. He smoothed it out on top and nodded in approval. He then sighed and went back inside. His eyes widened when he looked at the ceiling. He quickly smoothed it out and threw the excess cloud out the window. “You really ought to be more careful, you know,” said a dazed Shadow Bolt from the top of the staircase. She slowly walked down them and nearly tripped several times. She yawned and opened her mouth as wide as she could. She closed it and smacked her lips together. Thunder was still a little startled when Shadow started for the kitchen. “I. I just had some….. Extra energy?” Thunder Bolt said shrugging his shoulders. Shadow started sniffing some brown liquid in a cup on the counter. “What’s this stuff? It smells tangy,” Shadow spoke slowly while inspecting the mysterious brown liquid. She picked it up to get a better look at it. “Don’t drink it!” Thunder yelled right as his younger sibling took a sip. Her eyes instantly widen. She guzzled the whole thing and her tail was flicking around behind her as Thunder watched biting his bottom lip. “OH MAH GAWD! WHAT IS THAT STUFF?! THAT IS GOOD! I LOMMF FF!” Shadow yelled before she got another mouthful of hoof. Thunder had closed his eyes and sighed. He opened them and looked at his giddy sister. “It’s coffee. Young fillies aren’t supposed to drink it. Fillies like you already have too much energy,” Thunder explained. He got a muffle oh as a response. As soon as he pulled his hoof back, Shadow started to race around the room. Thunder moved in her path to catch her and she jumped and used her wings to propel her over her brother’s head. She on his back and quickly jumped off onto the couch and started to jump. The eldest one looked around for a way to trap the youngest. He smiled when he saw a blanket. He draped it around each hoof as he used his wings to rise into the air. He slowly moved toward his hyperactive sister. He tackled her and trapped her in the blanket. Shadow started to flail her little limbs everywhere but the blanket limited her mobility. She felt like the blanket was sapping her energy. She was getting tired. She stopped flailing and lied still. Thunder took the blanket off of the panting filly and placed it on the couch. He then picked up his sister and placed her on the blanket. “You’re such a silly filly,” he said while looking at his half asleep sister. He heard someone fiddling with the lock on the door. The door slowly opened to reveal to shadowy figures.
Chapter TwoThe two cloaked figures walked into the house carefully, for they carried precious cargo. The one that walked in first lowered his hood. It was Fire Bolt. The father of Thunder and Shadow. His midnight blue mane was glistening with water that had seeped through his hood. The second one pulled back her hood and showed her face. It was the mother, Sky Bolt. Her light grey mane was shimmering with water that had seeped through her hood as well. One of her wings was stuck out and curled tightly around a small bundle of fabric. "Take her please," she whispered to Fire Bolt. Fire reached under her wing and grabbed the bundle and pressed it against his chest lightly. He pulled back some of the fabric to reveal all of the sleeping baby's face. It had a light grey mane and dark grey fur. The new baby smiled in her sleep with her mouth slightly open. Shadow was still on the couch. She turned her head and her eyes widened. She slowly got off the couch and walked over to the little sleeping bundle. The corners of her mouth pulled back into a wide smile. Her dad chuckled quietly at the sight of her face. "Excited now, are we?" he said quietly. Shadow Bolt nodded fast enough to disorientate her making her wobble slightly. Thunder Bolt helped her stabilize by placing a wing over her shoulders and adding a small amount of pressure. "What's her name? She looks like a Lightning Bolt. Is that her name? Is her name Lightning?" Shadow asked with the utmost curiosity. Fire and Sky both looked at each other. Fire Bolt had a worried look. Sky Bolt rubbed a hoof on her chin and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. She then smiled and nodded. "We were wondering what we were going to call her. HE was thinking Star Bolt, but I said that she didn't LOOK like a Star Bolt. I just couldn't put my hoof on it. Well, congratulation Shadow. You just named your little sister," Sky Bolt said with a smile. Fire Bolt looked at the filly in his hooves and smiled. Shadow Bolt gave a big gasp and passed out. "Oh, Shadow," Thunder said. "She's been up all night waiting for you and our new baby sister and then she found some coffee left over from this morning. I then had to chase her around the house and then she got tired and nearly fell asleep on the couch. That's when you guys came home and she got excited. I guess the rest can explain itself. Right?" Thunder had a worried look on his face. He didn't want them to know that he had made coffee and drank it only to have Shadow find the ready-made cup on the counter. "It does. I was beginning to worry. She can be quite a hoofful," Sky Bolt says. Thunder sighed and his expression softened. He slowly walked over to the unconscious filly. "I'm going to take her to her room. I'll then go to bed. Goodnight," Thunder said as he put Shadow on his back. He outstretched his wings to gain balance and to keep his sister from falling off. He carefully made his way up the stairs and opened the door to her room. He placed Shadow on her bed tossed her blanket on top of her sleeping form. Thunder then walked back to the door and looked back on his sister, He sighed and smiled as he slowly shut the door. "What are we going to do with them," Sky Bolt said while looking up the stairs. She had a soft expression and a smile as she watched Thunder make his way to his room. "I have no idea," Fire said. His lips then curled into a mischievous smile as his irises flashed green. "I have no idea." "I love you, Fire," She said while nuzzling him. "Let's go put Lightning in her new room and then go to bed. I'm awfully tired." Fire Bolt nodded and smiled. "I love you, too," Fire said. Sky Bolt started up the stairs, after taking Lightning from Fire. Fire followed Sky Bolt up the stairs. "I'm going to go to the bathroom quickly." Sky nodded and walked into the bathroom. He closed the door and locked it then walked over to the mirror. A ring of fire erupted around him and he transformed into Chrysalis, the Changling Queen. "How much longer can I put up with this. I hate pretending to be a guy. Even if the food is delicious," Chrysalis sighed. She remembered her plan. She remembered that it was all going to be done tonight. " I will just have to convince them to leave house. All of them will be mine for all of eternity!" She then laughed manically as she transformed back into Fire Bolt. He walked out of the bathroom and into Lightning’s bedroom. Lightning was awake and was waving her little hooves in the air. Lightning saw Fire Bolt walk in and she started cooing at her 'father'. "How is she," said a little filly's voice from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Shadow Bolt in the doorway. She trotted over to his side. Shadow then jumped up on Fire's back. "Aw. She's so cute." She draped her hooves over his head and looked down at the baby. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Fire said. Shadow jumped off his back and walked slowly to the door with her head hanging down. She stopped and looked behind her at Fire Bolt. "I love you, Daddy. Good night," She then trotted to her room. Fire watched her and turned his head back to the baby. He bent over an readjusted the blanket. "Soon. All so soon," He chuckled. The little filly flopped her arms down and fell asleep again. He then trotted to the door and looked back. "All the love my hive can eat. All in one little family." He laughed quietly. He trotted back to the bedroom where Sky Bolt was waiting for him. "Hello, darling. So glad of you to join me," Sky said. Fire nodded and laid down on the bed next to her. Sky reached over and nuzzled his neck. He remembered telling some of the Changling drones how to create a diversion to get the family out of the house. Fire Bolt forced a smile. A bright light came from outside the bedroom door. Sky looked at it and got up right as the fire alarm went off.
Chapter ThreeSky Bolt stood up and sniffed the air. Smoke filled her lungs and burned them. She coughed and ran out the door. She raced into Lightning's room and right as she was about to grab the filly a rag went over nose and mouth. She gasped and passed out. Sky and Lightning got carried off by changeling drones. Thunder Bolt jumped out of his bed and sailed toward the ceiling again, but he stopped before he crashed. He ran out his door and saw his mother and baby sister get carried out the front door. He leapt over the railing of the stairs and used his wings to glide over to them. Before he could reach them, he got ambushed and knocked out. He then joined his mother and sister in being carried out. Shadow Bolt heard the alarm. She ran to her door and threw it open. It was a huge mistake. A wall of flames were outside waiting for her. She slammed her door shut and kicked a hole in her wall. She jumped out and opened her wings so she could land softly on the cloud layer. If she didn't use her wings, she would've went straight through. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the front of her house. She looked to the left when she reached the street and saw the fireponies racing towards her house. She looked to the right and saw flames shooting out of the windows of her house. She also saw the changelings putting her family into the back of a carriage. "Where's the other girl you fools?" Chrysalis asked her minions. All of them shrugged their shoulders. "Go find her!" The drones started to go back into the when Chrysalis recalled them due to the fireponies getting too close. They flew off with Shadow's family in tow. Shadow Bolt ran after the carriage but was too slow and tired. She stopped in the middle of the street panting with exhaustion. Tears were running down her little filly face. Her mane stuck to her face from the rain and tears. She laid down and cried, for it was the only thing she knew what to do. The best day of her life, had just turned into the worst. Shadow awoke with a bright light shining in her eyes. A police Pegasus was looking at her with a concerned look. He stopped pointing his flashlight in her face. His mouth moved but Shadow didn't hear anything. She shook her head violently and looked at the cop. "What happened? Where is your family, little one? We can't find them anywhere," the police pony questioned. Shadow Bolt mumbled her words. "Repeat that please." Shadow wiped the tears from her face. "They were kidnapped by these insect ponies," Shadow Bolt sniffled. The cop readjusted his hat and trotted off. Shadow Bolt looked at the sky. The weather ponies moved the clouds so all Shadow could see was stars. She saw Thunder Bolt's favorite constellation. Her eyes welled up with tears again. She blinked and one tear escaped her eyelid and rolled down her cheek. "Is there anypony you can stay with? Because we can't find you family in the area. But don't worry little missy, we sent missing reports to the other cities and towns in Equestria so they can keep an eye out," the cop said. Shadow Bolt nodded and lifted her hoof up to her cheek. "I can stay with my uncle and cousin, but there's a problem with that," Shadow said quietly. She brushed her black mane out of her face. The cop leaned in to hear her better and to gesture her to continue. "They live all the way in Ponyville." The cop scratched his chin with his hoof and walked away. The cop returned and said, "We've arranged a carriage to take you to Ponyville. It will be here shortly, little girl." Shadow Bolt thanked him. She wondered what life was going to be like in Ponyville. She never saw her uncle and cousin since the Bolt family reunion. She remembered their names, and that's it. Her uncle was Moon Bolt, and her cousin was Electric Bolt. The carriage pulled up next to her and the cop reappeared as well. The police Pegasus gestured for her to get in. She got in and the carriage began to pull away. She waved goodbye to the nice cop and he waved back. "And they said I was crazy for working at a 24-hour carriage service," the driver mumbled to himself. Shadow knew that the journey was going to be long so she curled up in a little ball and fell asleep.
Chapter FourThe flight was smooth and boring, perfect conditions for Shadow to sleep. No matter how relaxing the swaying of the carriage was, it didn't keep her from the nightmares. Her mind replayed the memories. The fire, the insect ponies, the thought of never seeing her family again. Her whimpers makes the young stallion pulling the carriage look back at the dark colored bundle. They made it to Ponyville with no problem. The Pegasus in front undid his harness and went to the back of the carriage. Shadow laid there, shivering and whimpering. He couldn't take it anymore. He prodded her side with his hoof, no reaction. He poked her again, she squirmed. Her eyelids opened halfway revealing her deep ocean blue eyes. She turned her head and looked at the young stallion with big pleading eyes. She stood up on unsteady legs and hopped out. She nearly fell flat on her face when she landed, but the colt put his hoof out to catch her. "Be carefully there. Don't want to hurt yourself," He said. She just looked at him, then at the ground. His ears flopped down in empathy. Shadow slowly walked to the center of the town, leaving the stallion with his thoughts. Shadow Bolt walked slow and steady, earning concerned glances from some of the older ponies. She had to find her uncle or her cousin. There was a problem with that though. She didn't know where they lived or remember what they looked like. Her ears were down and her head was hung low. "Hi," said a very perky voice. Shadow didn't register the word until she ran head first into a pink mare. Shadow fell back on her rump and looked at the mare. She had a big poofy mess of a mane on her head. "My name is Pinkie Pie and you must be new. I never saw you before and I know everypony in Ponyville. That must mean you don't have any friends. Don't worry 'bout that. I can help. Aw. You look sad, you shouldn't be sad. Being sad is not fun. I won't allow you to be sad. Come on." Pinkie grabbed Shadow's hoof and dragged her to a big building that reminded Shadow Bolt of a gingerbread house. "This is Sugarcube Corner. I work here. We sell cakes, cupcakes, muffins, candies, pastries, and cookies. Wait right here!" Pinkie Pie zoomed around a counter and into a door that flapped after she went through. Shadow sighed and pawed at the ground. A bell jingled behind Shadow as the door opened. She looked behind her as a laveneder unicorn walked inside with a smile. The purple pony saw Shadow and waved. Shadow just sat down in a chair and rested her head on the table. She didn't want to seem unsociable, but she had a hard time wanting to talk. "Hello," said the unicorn. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. What's your's?" Shadow opend her mouth to reply but the pink pony zoomed out of the kitchen and shoved a cupcake into Shadow's open mouth." Her eyes widened at the unexpected and unwanted food in her mouth. Shadow coughed out the cupcake onto the table. Twilight looked at Pinkie in shock. Pinkie just stood there, smiling with her eyes closed. "Oh silly," Pinkie said, opening her eyes. "You're supposed to eat the cupcake. Like this." Pinkie pulled a cupcake out of nowhere and ate it in one bite. Shadow and Twilight looked at her confused. They looked at the cupcake and then back at Pinkie. "Pinkie, you can't be serious," Twilight said. Pinkie nodded her head as fast as a hummingbird's wings. Shadow looked at her in shock. She wouldn't ever be able to do that without becoming dazed first. "So," said Pinkie's overly peppy voice. "What is your name?" Both Twilight and Pinkie looked at Shadow expectantly. Shadow opened her mouth to speak but once again Pinkie shoved the cupcake in her mouth. Shadow spit out the cupcake and gagged. Twilight used her magic to float the cupcake into the garbage can.Shado coughed and cleared her throat. Pinkie smiled. Shadow opened her mouth and Pinkie plled a cupcake out of nowhere and jammed it into Shadow Bolt's mouth once again. She cloed her mouth around the confection and swallowed it, gagging in the process. Pinkie clapped her hoove in approval. Twilight facehoofed. Author's Note Shadow WAS originally planned to meet the Mane Six in this chapter, but I left it to Pinkie and Twilight.
Chapter Six"It's not your fault for not remembering me," Electric said to the filly on his back. "We met a long time ago. You were still a baby and I was five." Market stalls passed by on their sides. They passed several different ponies. A mint unicorn and a cream Earth pony sitting on a bench. A light grey Pegasus lurking around muffin stall. A brown stallion trying to drag the Pegasus away from the muffin stall. Shadow hopped off of Electric's back and walked beside him. She looked around at the different things. One thing she noticed was that her cousin's flank was bare. "Why haven't you gotten your cutiemark yet?" Shadow asked her cousin. Electric's ear flopped back and a blush was showing through his grey coat. "I'm not very good at anything yet but that's not the point of anything," Electric stated. "But." "No, Shadow. Drop it," Electric said sternly. Shadow was quiet. The silence made him feel guilty. "Sorry, Shadow. I didn't need to be mean." Shadow stayed quiet. The rest of the journey was spent in the quiet. Shadow was looking at all the different stalls and ponies. She was dumbfounded. In Cloudsdale, there were no stalls. Save for the few who couldn't afford a building. She never made eye-contact with anypony. She looked around too quickly. There was one though. One pony who caught her eye. It was a small unicorn filly. She was accompanied by a Earth filly and a Pegasus filly. Shadow looked back at Electric. His gaze was fixed forward. He wasn't talking and he had no expression. She looked back at the trio of fillies. They were giggling and laughing. Shadow was thinking hard. She wasn't watching anything. She hadn't noticed when Electric stopped. She ran face first into a door and fell on her butt. She got back up and looked at Electric. He pulled a key out of nowhere and inserted the key into the lock on the door. He put the key back and walked in the door. Shadow took a hesitant step into the house. I was dark. Darker than what Shadow preferred. She looked around for her cousin. He was nowhere to be seen. Shadow started to silently panic. She felt like she walked into a trap. A trap the insect ponies put up for her, to catch her for escaping their first attempt. She gulped. She took a good long look around the room. There was a couch with its back facing her to the left and a arch on her left that led into a kitchen. The back of the room was barren, save for one lonely staircase going up and a small bookcase. Shadow smirked to herself. Take out the bookshelves and a pony could easily fit in that bookshelf. Shadow started to walk forward. She wanted to go up the stairs. She got to the base and looked up. The stairs seemingly went on forever. Shadow walked up them, counting each step as she ascended. Thirteen steps were counted. At the top was a hallway that went from left to right. Shadow picked the direction on her left. She reached a door. She put an ear to door to listen for anything. All she heard was silence. She put a hoof on the knob and opened the door, slowly. When the door was open enough, she peeked her head through. She found a bathroom. Shadow sighed and shut the door, disappointed. After opening several different doors, Shadow started to feel like her entire search was in vain. The only thing she ever found was storage closets, bathrooms, and more empty bedrooms. Shadow reached the end of the hall. It was empty like she thought. She sighed loudly and turned around. She came face to face with the silhouette of a rather larger pony. Shadow screamed.
Chapter EightMoon Bolt returned to his house to find it covered in flour and eggs splattered across the walls. He looked in the kitchen to see that Shadow was completely covered in flour and holding an egg in her hoof. Electric's mane was slicked with egg and he was holding a bag of flour in his light blue magic over Shadow's head. Aside from the chaos, there was a stack of steaming hot pancakes sitting on the counter, untouched from the food war. Moon Bolt walked toward them with slight anger on his face. He stepped in something squishy with his front hoof. He looked down to see that he had stepped on a chef's hat covered in what appeared to be broken eggs. His expression immediately distorted into one of disgust. He shifted his attention back to the two. "What is going on here?" he asked while trying to shake the hat off his hoof. The hat flew off and stuck to the floor. Shadow looked Moon in the eye for a good five seconds before lobbing the egg she was holding at him. Moon had no time to react before it hit him in the face. Electric started to giggle when Moon pulled his eyes closed. When Moon opened them again, a torrent of flour covered him. Shadow fell over in a fit of laughter. She used to have fun like this with her brother, Thunder Bolt. Only they used rain clouds and soft lightning. She smiled at the memory of them messing around with each other before a wave of sadness crashed over her. She used to think of days when he would move out and be gone. The only difference was that she knew she would see him again when he would move away. She's not too sure this time. Moon Bolt brushed the egg and flour from his face. The combination of the two rendered it to be a sticky mess. The resistance of the hat made sense now. When he could finally see again, he looked over to Shadow and Electric. The unicorn nearly doubled over at Moon's struggled. The pegasus was standing still, a small smile and a sad look in her eyes adorned her face. "Electric," Moon said sternly. Electric's stopped laughing and his mouth scrunched up. "Yes, dad?" he replied shakily. "Why is my house covered in eggs and flour?" "We made pancakes," Electric said while gesturing to the pancake stack. "That doesn't explain how-" "I accidentally dropped a little bit of flour on Shadow. She overreacted and threw an egg at me. Then we had a food fight." "Wrong," said Shadow. "I was stirring the pancake batter when you threw a whole bunch of flour at me. I thought to get payback and throw an egg at you. That's when the food fight started." Moon Bolt face-hoofed. Shadow looked quite pleased with herself at her explanation. "And I won the food fight," she added. Electric looked flabbergasted. "I shall claim spoils of war!" she shouted before launching herself at the pile of pancakes. Electric quickly pulled the pancakes away with his magic just as Shadow was about to bite it. Shadow ended up getting a face full of counter. "Losers always get rewards," Electric said as he levitated a pancake into his mouth. He bit down on it, expecting a mouthful of delicious pancake-y goodness. What he got instead was a piece of regret in the shape of a mouthwatering pancake. He spit it out. gagging. Shadow laughed. "I think you added too much flour," Shadow managed to get out between laughs. Moon chuckled and shook his head. "Well then. I guess that meal won't do us any good," Moon said. "Tell ya what. Clean this mess up and I'll take both of you to Sugarcube Corner for a treat." Shadow cheered and shook herself. Flour flew off her coat until she no longer looked like a ghost. Electric left the room to gather cleaning supplies. The first task Shadow assigned herself was to pry the glued chef's hat from the floor. Author's Note Sorry this chapter took so long and isn't very long.
Chapter Five"Pinkie, you can't be serious," Twilight said. Pinkie Pie just nodded. "Cupcakes are the only way to bring a smile," Pinkie replied with a mile-wide smile. She looked at Shadow Bolt expectantly. Shadow stared back, unblinking. Pinkie frowned. She put her hooves on top of Shadow's head. "Smile," she whispered. "Smile." Suddenly, a purple glow erupted round the pink mare and levitated her away from the filly. "You have to give her a chance to talk. She still hasn't told us her name," Twilight looked back at Shadow. "What is your name?" Pinkie Pie zoomed up next to Twilight and smiled even bigger than before. Both of the mares were staring straight at the young pony. "My name is Shadow Bolt," Shadow said. Pinkie Pie's head cocked to the side in confusion before she zoomed off. Twilight looked at Pinkie with a confused expression before tuning her head and smiling at Shadow. "Shadow Bolt is a lovely name, and fitting too," Twilight said while gesturing at the filly's dark grey coat. Pinkie Pie zoomed back in holding a light grey unicorn with a short cut electric blue mane. She dropped the unicorn on the floor and grinned. "When you said Bolt, I remembered another pony with a name ending in Bolt. Here he is," Pinkie said quickly. The young stallion shook his head and brushed a hoof over his mane. He looked up and at Pinkie. "What was the purpose of that?" He asked the giddy mare. Pinkie inhaled loudly. "I was walking through town when I met this young filly who was walking alone. I looked at her and thought, she must be sad about something. I went and introduced myself and got a better look at her. Turns out she was sad so I dragged her here to SugerCube Corner where I then went to get her cupcake. Next thing I know, Twilight comes in and starts talking to her. I feed her the cupcake and Twilight gets mad. Then the filly says her name. Turns out her name was Shadow Bolt. I then remembered two other ponies in town who have a Bolt in their name and you're one of them," Pinkie said so fast that the others had to stand and process the information. The stallion' eyes brightened. "Shadow?" He says. Pinkie nodded. "I have a cousin named Shadow who lives in Cloudsdale!" Shadow's ear twitches slightly when she hears the remark. He picked up the small filly in his light blue magic. He gives her a quick look over. "Shadow! How nice to meet you again. Do you remember me?" Shadow shook her head. "It's me! Electric Bolt! Your cousin." Shadow's eyes widened. Pinkie started to smile, hoping that Shadow would too. The corners of Shadow's mouth started to turn upwards. She wriggled around in Electric's magic until he let go. He set her on the floor carefully. She rammed Electric and gave him a hug. "Slow down there, tiger. Where's your mom and dad?"He asked questioningly. She motioned for him to be closer. He put his ear but her mouth. "I'll tell you later," Shadow said. Electric rolled his eyes and picked up her again and placed her on his back. She wrapped her hooves around his neck and closed her eyes. "Let's go find my dad," He said before adding, "Your uncle." He trotted out the door leaving a smiling Pinkie and a shocked Twilight. "How did you know?" Twilight quietly asked Pinkie. "Well, I put names and looks together and it added up to Electric," Pinkie said smiling. Twilight just shook her head to clear her thoughts before walking out the front door.
Chapter SevenShadow would've kept on screaming if laughter wouldn't have erupted from the pony in front of her. She stopped screaming and took a look at the dark figure. Suddenly, a light appeared behind the pony, illuminating his face. He had a dark blue mane with sea foam green highlights and was the same color as Electric. "Look what you did," The stallion said. "You ruined the surprise." Electric appeared behind the stallion, his horn the source of the light. "But didn't you see how scared she is? You shouldn't do stuff like that, Dad," Electric said. Shadow put the pieces together and came to the conclusion that this was Moon Bolt, her uncle. Shadow fluttered her wings and zoomed over Moon's head. She flew down the stairs and into the living room. She hovered over the couch before dropping onto it. She swung her front hooves over the back and watched for Moon to come down the stairs. "Well, look at that!" Shadow heard Moon yell from upstairs. He climbed down the stairs with the grace of an unbalance duck. "She can fly already!" Electric followed behind him. Moon trotted over to the couch and looked Shadow in the face. "Where are your parents, kiddo?" Shadow's eyes widened as her mind replayed the memory. "Are you going to be okay? You're crying," Electric said. Shadow brought her hoof up to her face and pressed it to her cheek. Her hoof was glistening with tears. Shadow couldn't figure out why she was crying, she didn't feel sad. Only empty. She told them the story with a river pouring out of her eyes. After the story, Electric's muzzle was almost touching the floor and Moon's mouth was wide open in shock. "We need to tell the authorities about this," Moon said. He was about to leave the house when Shadow stopped him. "The police in Cloudsdale already know and they told the other cities, " Shadow explained. Moon Bolt huffed and went over to the couch. He sat down. Shadow hadn't noticed the wings on his side until he splayed them over the red fabric of the couch. "Well then," Electric started. "I guess we should do something with you then." Electric said, nudging his dad. Moon's ears perked. "I guess we're going to have to let you stay here then. We're also going to have to enroll you in the school nearby." Moon got of the couch and left the house. Electric flipped a light switch. He got close to Shadow with his nose almost touching her ear. "Do you want some," He said slowly. "Pancakes?" Shadow zoomed off the couch and stood in the middle of the kitchen wearing a chef's hat. "Let's do this," she said before opening the fridge.
