Shadowstone skipped and twirled in happiness. The sound of her hoofsteps ricocheted off Canterlot Castle's halls. Making her way to her royal chamber, she smiled and inhaled the sweet spring air blowing from outside the window. It was beginning to warm up outside and ponies were making the most of it, especially her. Most of the windows in the castle were open because of Shadowstone's love for spring. In her mind, nature was a blessing.
She opened the door with her magic and a faint green aura enveloped the handle. Trotting into her room, she slid out of her metal horseshoes and necklace. She rubbed her neck. The metal had pressed into her skin leaving painful marks.
She reached for her journal as she sank into the plush carpet on the floor. Shadowstone had wedged it between her bookshelf and her bed. Reaching for her beloved book, her hoof met nothing.
Where was it? She could have sworn it had been here... Swiveling her head in all directions, it took every fiber of Shadowstone's being to resist screaming. It was right here!she thought. Books don't walk away! Seething, Shadowstone stood. Staring at her bookshelf in anger, she blinked. What? A familiar cover graced the top shelf. My journal!
Snatching her beloved book and hugging it to her chest, she took a deep breath. "Dear Celestia!" she whispered. "I almost had a heart attack!" Setting her journal on the floor, she checked to see if someone had tampered with it. Nothing seemed to have changed. The worn cover didn't have my added nicks or tears than it had before. Not a single page was out of place.'Suspicious,' Shadowstone thought. No one in the castle dared to even think about touching the young heiress' belongings. Maids were the only ponies with permission to enter her castle quarters- and even then- they feared her. Shadowstone's sharp exterior and detached way of showing her emotions scared everybody into submission. It was a trait that. would make her a strong leader one day.
Shadowstone's day as already been aggravating, but now it had become ten times worse. Poor Shadowstone's obsessive habits were taking over and there was no stopping her. There was a mystery, a culprit and a Shadowstone. The perfect recipe or disaster, more so when you add the "secret ingredient"- love. Let me explain. Shadowstone as a crush- no, an obsession- with a colt named Racing Rain. Ever since he hadhad transferred to Twilight's School of Magic, she had been thinking of him. Every time she talked to him, he always had her best interests at heart. He was a dream.
Understandably, this "crush" was the turning point of Shadowstone's life. On the surface, that was true, but without knowing how Shadowstone's life plays out, you would never truly understand just how important this colt was. He was very important. To the story, of course, and to our main character's health. After all, love is stronger than anything, they say.
****
It was silent at the dinner table. Silverware clinked against fine china plates. The royal family hardly looked at each other except Shadowstone's accusational glances towards her "suspects." Twilight's eyes droop as she tries to stay awake. Overworked, she tries in vain to hide her fatigue as her long list of royal duties lengthens with each day. Flash's eyes dart in all directions. Science Spark had skipped dinner to see her friends, so Shadowstone was all alone tonight.
Twilight spoke. "How was your day, Flash?" Flash's darting eyes focus on his wife, shocked that she had the strength to speak. "Well, how was it?" she asked, prodding at the remains of her food with her fork. Frozen, Flash blinks. Realizing that his wife is asking him a question, he forces a smile.
"Oh, the usual. Defending the castle from intruders, guarding stuff, holding down a griffon and electrocuting him and accidently killing him-" Twilight's eyes grow wide. She jumps out of her chair.
"What?! You were holding that in all day, and you didn't tell me?"
He winced. "I had to, okay? It was a special order from your brother to keep quiet. He didn't want news to get out."
Twilight slid back into her seat. Calming herself, she said in a softer voice"How did this happen?"
"It's a long story. Let me just say that I did not intend to actually kill the poor guy. Please forgive me."
Shadowstone looked toward her haggard mother. "Um, I think I'm done. I'll just leave you two alone." Galloping away from her parents, she stared at her father. I can't believe he actually killed a griffon. Gross.Feeling unbearable pity for him, she slunk up to her room and flopped on the carpet.
Opening her journal, she turned to the last entry she had written. A green glow surrounded a pen made of one of Stealth's feathers. Stealth was Shadowstone's snowy owl and best friend. Right now Stealth was asleep, and Shadowstone made sure not to wake her. Stirring for a second in her cage, the owl cooed softly. Shadowstone looked at her companion.
The pen dipped itself into the ink pot and hovered in midair, pausing over the page. It met the paper and started scribbling furiously. "Today was a rough day. It's hard when everypony hates you for being the "edgy goth girl." I don't try to be pessimistic. That's just a part of who I am. I guess nobody likes who I am. Well, maybe except for Racing. He's the only pony who makes me feel like I belong. I can't tell if he likes me back. You know, 'like' likes. It's only a matter of time before he finds out. Something terrible will happen if I don't tell him. I just know it. The only thing that's keeping me from telling him are all of my stupid fears, like: "What if he rejects me?" or "The rest of the ponies at school will find out." Ugh. The only thing I can do about it is wait for the right moment.
Love, Shadowstone"
Shadowstone closed the journal and streched, arching her back. Turning to her winged friend, she asked "Are you okay, Stealth? You don't usually sleep during the day. Something must be wrong." Shadowstone was right. Contrary to most beliefs, snowy wls are diurnal. That said, snowy owls usually live in the Crystal Mountains, but this is a land of magic talking ponies. Anything could happen.
Shadowstone stroked Stealth's feathers. The owl shivered, chills coursing through her body. "This is definitely not good. Let's get you to Mom."
Author's Note
Yay! The first chapter of my first fic is here!
I've kind of surprised myself. I'm usually not the kind of person who's into romance, but here I am.
Shadowstone:
Racing Rain:
[Two months earlier]
Racing Rain took a look at the mare standing next to him. She was a dark lilac unicorn wearing metal jewelry that shone in the morning sunlight. Taking in her features deeply, he found a magnetic energy about her. The way she expressed herself wasn’t like any of the other mares here. It was her mask. Wearing it, she kept everything she felt inside of her, a way to keep ponies from seeing her true emotions. Her mask was unbelievably strong. He struggled to push through it, to see what was hiding beneath, but he couldn’t seem to force himself through.
The eyes were the quickest and easiest way to break through the mask- the mare’s eyes were stone cold. Racing couldn’t believe it. He had found someone with a mask strong enough to resist his attempts to see through. It was intriguing. This is something new, he thought.
Keeping her in his thoughts was easy. She kept looking at Racing like he had done something terrible. Come to think of it, had Racing done anything wrong? He wasn’t sure if he did or didn’t mess up, but even if he did, he wasn’t sure what he had messed up. Oh well. Surely if he talked to her he would find out.
That’s exactly what he did.
****
Racing sat next to her. It was lunch, and he wasn’t sure what to do. Should he eat, or not? Hesitantly lifting his sandwich to his mouth, he took a bite. The latter was his choice.
The mare was still there next to him, ignoring his choice to feed himself. Turning his head to look at her, he took a breath. “So, how’s your day been?” She blinked and looked at Racing. Her food floated in the air.
“What?”
Racing laughed. “I asked you how your day was.” The mare gave him a confused look. “I mean, I don’t know your name since I’m new here, but that’s okay. I just wanted to ask.” She opened her mouth in shock.
“No one wants to talk to me,” she half-whispered. “I can’t believe you asked.” That was strange. Why would nobody want to talk to her? Calm and collected, she seemed like she would be the center of attention. Back at Racing’s last school, confidence was key to becoming popular.
Racing did what anypony would have done if they were in his horseshoes. He asked. “Why doesn’t anyone want to talk to you? You seem like a nice pony.”
A small smile appeared on the mare’s face. “Thank you. As for my name, I am Shadowstone- pleased to meet you.” She stuck out her hoof tentatively, and Racing eagerly shook it. It was official. They were friends.
****
“You have a snowy owl? Cool! What’s her name?”
“I call her Stealth because she always sneaks up on me.” She laughed. “Do you have any pets?”
Racing took a large bite of his sandwich and slammed it on the table. In an exaggerated voice, he said “You bet I do! Only the best of the best for me!” Smiling while un-squishing his sandwich, he described his pet to her. “Egghead is the best chicken you’ll ever meet! She’s way friendlier than most chickens are- she doesn’t peck or bite ponies. Her name is a pun on something my mom used to call her friend Twilight Sparkle,” he said while putting the poor sandwich in a paper bag.
Shadowstone’s face lit up. “Oh, you mean Rainbow Dash! Tw-My mom is one of her friends,” she burst out, seeming to have slipped up in the beginning. Huh? thought Racing Rain. Did she say something else? Brushing off the thought, Racing continued to converse with Shadowstone.
Looking up at the clock, Shadowstone gasped. “Oh, ponyfeathers! I’m going to be late for my magic theory class!” Packing up her belongings quickly, she galloped out of the cafeteria.
Staring at her, Racing saw the mask reappear on her face. Her mouth curved upwards ever so slightly. Just how important am I to this mare? he wondered as he collected his belongings for his next class.
****
He headed for his class and took a seat. Waiting for the teacher to begin class, he pulled out a book and started reading. “Psst,” a voice behind him said. Racing turned around. A friendly violet mare smiled at him. “Hi, I’m Science Spark. Couldn’t help but notice that you’re new here. So, have you made any new friends lately?” Surprised at her eagerness to talk to him, Racing smiled awkwardly.
“Well, I did meet this one pony. Her name was Shadowstone. She says that nopony likes her.” Touching his hoof to his chin, he said “Come to think of it, are you one of those ponies?”
Science Spark laughed, tears streaming down her cheeks. She wiped them off with her wings. “No, no. I’m her sister. You couldn’t tell?” Silence. “Well, I feel really stupid right now.”
“It’s okay.”
Spreading her wings out to stretch, she remarked, “Hey, do you ever wonder why it’s called ‘Twilight’s School of Magic for All Creatures’?”
Racing cocked his head. “Why?” She smiled. “They decided to start teaching magic to everyone when somepony in Manehatten made the discovery that all creatures have a magical component- even Pegasi and Earth Ponies! It’s known that Pegasi can walk on clouds, but not until now, nopony knew why! Turns out there’s a magical component in Pegasi bones that make them lesser in density, which is why when forces like Tirek steal magic from them, it becomes harder for them to fly and walk on clouds.”
Science put a hoof to her mouth. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I’m usually a dork like this,” she chuckled. “Science and magic are my obsessions. In fact, my talent is finding ways to combine the two. See?” Her wings unfolded to reveal her cutie mark, a star shaped vial with multicolored sparks flying out from it. “I got my cutie mark when-” The teacher’s loud voice, which pierced through the commotion and interrupted her.
“Today we are learning about how the weather is controlled. You see, this class is exclusively made up of only Pegasi for this subject. Now, let me introduce myself. I am Merriweather. Don’t try any funny business with mocking my name, or you will be dealt with,” she said, nodding at a group of stallions who looked like troublemakers.
“Anyway, I’m here to teach you the magic of pegasi. Quite literally,” she remarked. “All of you are segregated from the Earth Ponies and Unicorns because they are not suited to these classes. Now that we have that cleared up, I would like you ponies to choose a partner- don’t abuse it.” Everypony in class scrambled to claim somebody. Science Spark and Racing Rain sit together, not chosen by anyone.
A lavender Dragon-Pony hybrid waved over to Science. “Come on, I’m waiting,” she beckoned.
“But I don’t even know this guy’s name! I’m being rude!” Science flattened her ears back. “Please? You know how much I love meeting new ponies,” Science Spark said, giving her friend big puppy dog eyes.
“Aww. Fine. You can spend some time with him.”
“Yes! Spark has won! You’re no match for my cuteness and you know it, Fireopal!”
Fireopal must be that- um, hybrid pony over there. Wait, I thought only pegasi were in this class. Oh well. Maybe it’s because she’s part pony. Whatever the reason, Racing was more than happy to meet new friends. The more, the merrier!he thought.
