Hiding in the Shadows

"I need to find food," Shadow thought to himself. He placed a grey hoof around his stomach area. He could feel his ribs as he slowly slid his hoof around. His stomach grumbled loudly. "I REALLY need food," he thought to himself again. He slowly turned in a 360 degree motion, eyeing his surroundings in hope of finding something he could eat. Shadow spread his wings from his sides and slowly started flapping them. He ascended about 10 feet before stopping and hovering. He looked around again, hoping to find something that he could eat. After a few minutes, Shadow started to feel exhausted. He hadn't eaten for a few days, so he had a low amount of energy left. Shadow hovered in the air for about half a minute longer before slowly descending back to the ground. As he landed on the ground, he found himself staring off in the distance at the moonlit landscape, his crimson eyes glowing in the moonlight. His thoughts were interrupted when all of a sudden, a voice hissed inside of his head.

"Head that way," the voice hissed in a low, sinister tone.

"Who said that?! Who's there?!" Shadow exclaimed in a frightened voice, spinning around and looking in every direction. Finally, he realized that it was a familiar voice coming from inside his head. "Oh. It's you again," he replied to the voice blandly.

"If you seek something to eat, then head in the direction I have pointed you towards," the voice hissed back to him.

"I told you to stay out of my head."

"You can't get rid of me that easily Shadow. You have been kept alive for a reason."

"And why haven't you told me why you're keeping me alive? I want answers!"

"The answers you seek will not be revealed yet. You won't know until it is the right time."

Shadow let out a sigh of disappointment, then shivered as a cold breeze blew through his mane and across his face. Shadow's mane was slightly darker than charcoal grey and had stripes of red streaked across it. He tried to brush his mane out of his left eye, but it always hung down and covered the left side of his face. Shadow shivered again.

"I really wish I had a thicker cloak," he thought to himself, re-adjusting the black cloak on his back. He pulled the hood over his head, hoping it would stop the wind, or at least block some of it. It didn't block much of the wind as he could still feel it blowing against his face and running down his neck. He felt his stomach grumble again, as if begging for something to eat. Shadow let out another sigh.

"I need food. Lead the way," he said to the voice in his head.

"Head down the hill and follow the path," the voice hissed in his head. "You will find a trail which you must follow. You will find something to eat there."

Shadow remembered what the voice had told him earlier. You have been kept alive for a reason. Shadow slumped his head and looked at the ground. Memories of his past flashed through his mind. He remembered all the memories he wished he could forget. He wished his past, along with the horrible memories that came with it, would just disappear. A tear formed in his eye and fell to the ground.

"I should have been dead years ago," he thought to himself, as he slowly trudged forward, looking for the trail that would lead him to something to eat.

Shadow slowly trudged along the trail, looking for the source of food that the voice had told him about. The muscles in his legs screamed in protest as he slowly progressed forward, not wanting to stop until he found something to eat. He slowly made his way over a large hill, which seemed to go on and on forever. It seemed like he was climbing a giant mountain. Shadow could feel himself getting weaker as he stepped closer and closer to his goal. He wobbled side to side as he started losing feeling in his legs. But he could see the top of the hill. He knew he had to be close. Shadow slowly climbed higher and higher to the top of the hill. As he slowly walked on the top, he saw a sight that made him want to shout with joy. What he saw before him was what he was looking for. He saw hundreds of apple trees lined up side to side and in rows as far as he could see. Shadow slowly started making his way down the hill and started walking to the nearest tree.

"I just need at least one. Just one apple for some energy," Shadow thought out loud, slowly walking under the closest tree. He looked up at it as he surveyed the closest apple to him. After picking his target, Shadow spread his wings to stretch them out. He slowly started flapping his wings to try and fly up and grab the apple. He hovered a few inches off the ground, and slowly started ascending to the apple he had chosen. Shadow started breathing heavily. He didn't realize how tired he was until he started reaching for the apple. He felt like all the energy had been drained out of him. Having no food for a few days really affected his flying. He had trouble staying balanced in the air. His wings weren't flapping in a consistent rhythm. He wrapped his hoof around an apple as he tried to slowly descend. But he had no energy left. Every muscle in his body protested as he tried to slowly descend. Shadow's vision started to blur, he couldn't feel his wings anymore. Shadow plummeted to the ground a few feet below him, his apple rolling about a foot away from him. Shadow lay on the ground, his wings folded to his sides. He turned his head and looked around on the ground he was laying on. He spotted the apple on the ground about a foot away from him.

"Just... One... Bite..." he managed to say between breaths. He slowly reached his hoof towards the apple, a light gray aura forming around the apple. It slowly started floating towards Shadow, until his eyes closed, and he lost consciousness, the apple falling a few inches from his mouth. As he lay there on the ground, there was a white flash near his flank. Where the white flash had occurred was where his cutie mark appeared, but he wasn't awake to see it. Nopony had seen it happen.

"You're purpose will be revealed soon," a familiar voice hissed.

"You say that everytime," Shadow replied to the voice. But this time it didn't sound like it was in his head. It sounded like it was all around him, like he was surrounded by it. Shadow opened his eyes, and looked around him. All there was around him was darkness. He seemed to be floating in nothing. He tried to place his hoof forward to try and walk, but when he looked down he realized that his hoof wasn't there. He tried to see any part of his body, but it all seemed to have disappeared. "Where am I?" Shadow whispered faintly.

"It's quite simple really," the voice hissed, echoing around him. "This is the darkness in your heart."

"Darkness? What darkness?!" Shadow yelled out into the void. He had no idea what was going on.

"It's the darkness inside you, and for the first time since it has chosen you, you have controlled it.

"Controlled it?"

"Yes. Remember that apple that was floating towards you? That was your own power. Nopony elses."

"Wait... I did that?"

"Yes. You have discovered the power of the darkness inside of you."

"Since when have I had darkness in my heart? Since when was I chosen by this darkness thing?"

"You were chosen long before you ran away."

"Oh great. Now you're bringing that up."

"You can't erase the past. It's what brings you to the present."

"I hate my past. I wish it never happened."

"What's done has been done. There is nothing you can do to change it."

"Let's stop talking about my past and talk about something else. Like tell me more about this darkness and how I can control it. And when did I get it in the first place?"

"Do you remember the night you found those old ruins near a cliffside?"

"I believe so. I remember hearing a scream, then I remember suddenly blacking out. I woke up near the edge of a forest the next day."

"That was the night the darkness was released. It released from it's old wielder and chose you. You were led there for a reason."

"Now I wield the darkness... Can I use it like unicorn magic? Am I as powerful as an alicorn now?"

"It's not quite that simple, it can be deadly, but I can't explain it to you now. Your mind is gaining control again. You're starting to wake up. Your purpose will be revealed soon. For you are close to where it all starts."

The voice echoed around him and slowly started fading out. Shadow's vision started to blur up, everything around him started to spin, slowly at first, then it started spinning faster and faster. The blurred darkness around him started shining brighter and brighter, slowly transitioning to brighter colors, until everything had turned white.

Shadow opened his eyes, but quickly shut them as the sun beamed into the white walled room he was lying in.

"Wait. Am I lying in a bed?" Shadow thought to himself. He slowly opened his eyes, making sure to give them time to adjust to the bright light. Shadow tried lifting his head, but was unable to. His head felt like lead. He moved his eyes from side to side, trying to survey the room he was lying in. He definitely knew he was lying in a bed, but he couldn't see a lot since he couldn't move his head. He tried to move his two front hooves, but found that his muscles didn't want him to. His muscles screamed and protest as he tried to lift them, and after a little bit he gave up. Shadow let out a loud groan of displeasure, when he suddenly heard a voice to his right.

"Oh goody! Ya finally woke up!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Shadow could see what looked like a mare with a light orange coat, a blonde mane wearing a light brown Stetson hat on top of her head.