Shadows Over Canterlot

Shadows Over Equestria

Dawn

Her silver body laid motionless in the dark alleyway, her once shiny coat covered with a few days worth of dust settling from the rush of the main street connecting to the alley.  Her eyes were open, their gaze locked on a piece of broken glass, discarded in the shady depths of the capital city. The shard reflected not only her image but that of the entire city, more so what the city had become.  When Canterlot is thought of, in general, images of brilliant lights and shops filled from wall to wall with every trinket and miscellaneous item a pony could even want or need.  And to top it off the golden and pearl pinnacles of Canterlot Castle rising high above the city, the walls casting a stretching shadows over a large chunk of the city.  For the ponies living in this so called magical city, thoughts of rising taxes to feed acts of war and corruption, of homes being raided by authorities, of ponies cast aside for lack of importance lying unloved in the street like this silver mare in question.

She shook her head as she yawned, her jaw making a series of popping noises as the muscles stretched, her slightly yellowed teeth showing.  She stirred shortly after, her body expanding, the joints crackling with excitement of being used once more.  Her every movement kicked up plumes of filth blanketing the city streets so densely you could see the imprints of every pony to walk through in the past few days.  Her mane has limp against the sides of her face, the once bouncy, vibrant hair had absorbed the bleakness of the city itself. Her back arched finally releasing with a sigh. She made to move from the alleyway, she had no belongings to carry with her.

It was at this moment that a carriage pulled by a muscular white stallion sailed swiftly down the road, the rickety wheels buffeting our silver mare with a cascade of loud noises and dust.  A black pony sat on top of the carriage, barking orders to the large figure pulling the carriage vigorously.  She jumped back and toppled over her back legs, her body falling to the side and hitting the rundown boundaries of the alley.  The piece of glass she had been staring at meet her as she fell, the jagged piece piercing her leg with ease as she collapsed on top of it.  The fight to stand was a struggle, the glass sending waves of sensation coursing through her entire body.  She fought through the pain.

She looked down at where the jagged piece stuck out from her leg. It was buried deep inside of her, only a fraction of it remained out of the skin.  She remembered a time where she would have cried out from the pain coursing through her body, but to her, this was nothing new.  Just another misfortune in a sea of nothing but. Years of misfortune had numbed her body as well as her spirit.  She bent her head to it, gripping the glass with her teeth and yanking it out roughly, crimson droplets spraying out in a mist as it slides out.  She re-stretched the leg grimacing as the skin pulled tight on her wound. She righted herself once more, her hooves pressing into the ground, the nerves in her leg sending message of sharp pain blocked by years of hardship built from living in the capital city.

The dim light of the sun brilliantly beamed down from above blocked by the rising buildings that surrounded most of the capital city.  She once again made her way to the intersection, taking the precaution of looking before moving.  The street she stepped on was surprisingly empty, the dust from the previous carriage was now close to settling back down on top of another layer. The street was illuminated even more than her alleyway, the semi-warm light blanketing her slightly.  To her the light was one of the brighter kinds despite it being blocked almost entirely from caressing her.  It had been so long since the sun had shined directly onto her pelt, she could barely remember its warmth.

She looked around, searching for a movement, a sign of why the streets were so empty.  Seeing none, she began making her way down it, her head slumped, every few steps a little awkward compared to the previous step.  Her mind was set on reaching the marketing district, the lit stores painted with pictures of a white unicorn with purple hair offering temporary relief from the dull slums that she called her home.  The marketing district was just as filth coated as the alleyway she just emerged from, but the buzz and hustle of ponies rushing back and forth on the look out for some random piece of junk was easy for the silver mare to lose herself in.  She had no money to spend, at least not any that she desired to spend on minor trinkets.  The market was more than that to her, it was escape.  Something about the auctioneers shouts, selling their products from far off lands, or selling zebras from psychotically far away, and above all, substances that allow you to forget the trials of life for a day thrilled her.  From time to time, some low ranking performers would appear.  Their magical feats all the same but it was the idea of having a taste of entertainment that brought joy to all the ponies crowded onto the streets.

Today was no such luck.  The streets were packed never the less, consumers buying stuff from an array of vendors.  She sighed deeply before starting to push her way into the crowd.  In the center, a wooden stage rose high above the crowd.  Todays display was a group of the zebras shackled together. Whip marks covering some of their flanks, the red rises still showing from where it made contact.  A brown stallion, tall and lanky with blonde hair stood in front of them, screaming prices out to a crowd of ponies.  Our silver mare slumped past the display, her gaze focused on the cages behind the wooden platform holding more product. Some were old, some small and young, others muscular, and more than the rest were the females sold for nothing but pleasure.  She couldn't bare to see them, it seemed like the market would offer very little comfort today.

Zebras were a common market nowadays. In general, however, this market didn't see many of the striped animals.  Luxuries such as those were reserved almost solely to the richer sections of the city, and more commonly found in the Celestial Market just outside of the castle.  She knew of the practice and a lot of what it entailed but she still couldn't bring herself to accept it.  Especially not with an animal that resembled ponies as much as zebras did.

With another sigh, she made to leave the masses, and would have continued doing so had her eyes not rested on a familiar face.  Two familiar faces, to be exact.  She stared for a moment before making her way to the little colt and filly next to a vendor stand selling meager foods.  She stopped a few yards back from them but still close enough to catch their attention.  The little colt wiggled slightly at her sight, jolts of excitement racing through his little brown body.  The filly kept her composure, knowing that what was to come next would require finesse.  The silver mare gave them a quick gesture and shot them a subtle nod before approaching the merchant.  The two young ponies did exactly as they were directed.  "Excuse me… Sir?"  The stallion looked over his stand and down at her.  The younger ponies seized the opportunity and moved quietly to a better vantage point.

"What?"  His voice was rough and unkind. He was a reddish pony, with a bed of oily brown hair atop of his head.  He had a bit of an overbite and yellowed teeth, his breath smelled of decay that had been covered with a layer of mouth freshener. His patience with the days crowd already wearing thin and somehow he knew that she would do nothing but waste his time.  He knew full well that she had no bits or items worth any trade. His eyes suspiciously staring down at her.  It took all her will power to not look at the movement of the little colt behind the merchant, but this was not a new routine for her.

"Yes, I was wondering how much that apple of yours costs."  Her face pulling an innocent look, her hoof gesturing to a red apple on the very top of the pile of.  It was an especially appetizing looking apple, the faint light of the city glinting against the ripe red surface.

"Depends… do you have any money to spend?"  His voice was full of judgement, she looked down at her hooves.  He grunted and flicked a small smile. "I thought as much, get lost you stupid thing, you're wasting my precious time." He redirected his attention back to maintaining his stand.  She turned away and emersed herself in the crowd of ponies once more, quickly joined by the duo she had noticed to begin with.  She kept traveling on, not daring to look at them just yet.  She had to get in the clear first.  She weaved her way through the crowd, finally reaching the limits of the mass of consumers and darting into another alley.

The young ponies soon entered too, finally able to properly greet.  The colt excitedly darted towards her, bouncing around with a bag clamped in his mouth.  "Hello there Feather"  She gesture to the little brown pony with her hoof who promptly released his grip on the bag and let it slide to the ground.  "And you as well, Sky." The filly seemed unmoved by her greeting.  Her eye focused on the ground in front of her as the silver mare said her hello.

"Hi there Dawn…"  Sky didn't shift her gaze as she spoke.  Her voice was quiet, but still just loud enough to be heard over the nearby mass of ponies without drawing attention.  "It's uh... it's nice to see you again, it's been a while."

"Ya, we thought you had died" Feather smiled, his whole body shaking from pent up energy.  He had a sincere look on his face, as if he had actually thought Dawn had died.  Dawn shook her head, a small flicker of a smile touching her lips at how bold the little pony was to say exactly what he thought.

"Nope… just taking a rest." Her voice was sweet and beautiful.  Every syllable to leave her mouth was articulated perfectly, and was so clear and refreshing to hear.  Despite that, Dawn was never a huge fan of the way her voice sounded, to her it only seemed to bring memories.  Everypony that knew had always commented how much Dawn sounded like her mother. Not that Dawn would remember anyways.  "So…" She exhaled sharply, "What did we get today?" She picked up the little brown bag and dumped it, bits pouring out onto the ground with faint clangs against the stone.  Little clouds of dust swirling up around them, not high enough to reach Dawn's face.  "Looks like at least a hundred.  Thats good, should feed us for a couple of days."  She smiled slightly, not from her own pleasure but if only to reassure the little ponies in front of her.  These two had grown up on the streets, and the last thing they needed was another disappointment.

Both Feather and Sky had grown up in an orphanage outside of the city walls.  Their parents had left them there as babies and had never bothered to visit a single time.  They were treated with some amount of kindness while in the confines of the orphanage but a mysterious series of events had led to the destruction of the sanctuary.  The young ponies had to find some way of living on.  The experience had drained Sky of her lively hood, if it wasn't for her brother she would have given in years ago.

The little colt smiled.  He trusted Dawn, no matter what.  She had never lead them astray before and he believed that she wouldn't start now.  Sky was once more unfazed.

"Hey Dawn, what did you do to your leg?"  She knew that the bits before her wouldn't be enough to last as long as Dawn had claimed.  She didn't have the heart to tell her sibling that they had been using up their reserved cash without his knowledge.  The supply was dwindling rapidly, but Sky would hold on to that secret.  She couldn't let her brother become what she was today.  Dawn lifted her leg to get a better view at the cracked dark red wound.  The pain from the wound had dissipated already, leaving nothing but the red line reminder of the city.

"Oh, it's nothing.  Just a piece of glass in an alley.  I'll be fine, I promise.  Thank you for asking."  She gave Sky a little nudge with her hoof.  The filly remained motionless, barely acknowledging the contact at all.  Dawn held back her worry for Sky and continued to smile.  "Well we better get out of here before that guy realizes what happened."  Dawn laughed lightly.  She knew that what she had done was wrong, but still the thought of such a rude pony getting what he deserved pleased her ever so slightly.  She made to start leave but was called back by Feather.  Dawn turned to face him, once more.  She had a puzzled look about her.

"You didn't think we forgot did you?"  Dawn was even more confused.  What had she forgotten.  Without filling her in, Feather picked up his share of the bits as well as a few extra that he had on him before hand and set them on the ground in front of Dawn.  "Here, these are for you, should be at least another 75 for you there"  He smiled warmly.  Sky on the other hand had a blank face.  She was clearly not happy about this but she wouldn't deny her brother the satisfaction. It wasn't that she disliked Dawn, but she was a very weary pony now.  Beyond that she cared more for the survival of her and her sibling than any other pony.  The opposite of her brother in every way.  Feather continued smiling, completely oblivious to his sisters reaction.  Dawn looked from the pony to the bits, still questioning the purpose behind it.

Seeing the the perplexed face of Dawn, Feather realized that the silver mare had completely forgotten.  He was slightly shocked, and it showed on his face.  His smile wavered.  "Dawn... it's your Birthday.  How can you not remember that?"