When Shadow Flicker gets his cutie mark, it's not exactly what he was hoping for. It's also not a great reflection on his life.
I'm Shadow Flicker, and I'm new in town. I'm also the newest member of the cutie mark crusaders.
My paren-err, my old friends, told me I'd be getting my cutie mark any day now, but what do they know? It feels like it's been ages, and I'm tired of waiting around for it to happen. That's when I met Applebloom and her friends.
So I joined her club. I never would have guessed the events that would follow. Like getting my cutie mark.
I'm not a bad pony... am I?
Feedback please! [My first fic, so feel free to correct me and such. I'm not very good at descriptions either, if anyone would like to suggest something better feel free. I'm also not sure what I want this story to be, so I rated it slice of life. Rated teen for possible things that may happen, but nothing serious. There will be no gore or sex, except maybe some humor/poking fun at it, I haven't quite decided. Man this got long really fast.]
"Please take your seats everypony! I've got an important announcement!" I hear Miss Cheerilee announce through the thick wooden door.
"Deep breaths..." I calm myself, or at least attempt to. "First day of school, I can do this."
It isn't working.
I can barely hear Miss Cheerilee through the door. Am I having a panic attack? Come on, snap out of it! It's not that bad. Just because you transferred here from a school really really far away, doesn't mean you can't make friends here! Just because you don't have your cutie mark yet doesn't mean anything, right? Okay, let's work on what I'll say. I'll introduce myself, sprinkle in a little bit of what I've learned about Ponyville into the mix, and done!
"Hi, I'm Shadow Flicker, and I... uhm..." I practice. "Aw man, what do I say?"
I jump back a bit as Miss Cheerilee opens the door. No time to practice, there's my cue.
I walk into the class and stand in front of the class.
"This is Shadow Flicker, everypony. Please give him a warm welcome to the class!" Miss Cherilee says enthusiastically, a never-ending smile on her face. Wow, she really loves to teach, doesn't she?
"Uhm.. Hi, everypony." I awkwardly introduce myself. I should've practiced more.
"Hi Shadow Flicker." replies most of the class in a monotone unison. Three of the girls in the front row don't reply with the class, but all suddenly grin ear to ear upon seeing me. Some girls near the back, one wearing a tiara for some reason, are snickering and looking at me.
"Please take a seat anywhere you'd like, Shadow." says Miss Cheerilee as she walks over to the chalkboard and-did she just put chalk in her mouth?
After a quick look around, I notice the same smiling earth pony with a bow in her hair pointing at the empty desk next to her in the front row. Well, I'm certainly not sitting next to the snickering girls in the back. I guess I might as well get this over with. I walk over to the desk and sit down, after a half-hearted smile at her, I focus my attention on the lesson.
As the bell rings I immediately spring up from my desk and start trotting out of class, completely ignoring whatever homework Miss Cheerilee was assigning us. A few more seconds and I'd be out that door. I could spread my wings and get out of here. I could go anywhere I wanted, explore the town or just laze around for a few hours.
The very second I'm out the door, someone calls my name. I continue to trot away, ignoring whoever it is but I ignore them. I just need to get a bit further and-
"Hey blank flank," the voice calls from behind me. Great, because I totally needed this right now. I turn around and face the same pink pony wearing the silly tiara.
"My name is Shadow Flicker, or just Shadow if you pref-"
"Whatever blank flank." she cuts me off. She and her gray friend begin to circle around me. "So what's a loser like you doing in Ponyville?"
Loser? Who does this tiara wearing pony think she is? "Who are you to judge me?" I ask. Smooth.
"I'm Diamond Tiara, and this is Silver Spoon." she replies, pointing a hoof at her friend.
I can't help but snicker.
"What's so funny?" asks Diamond Tiara angrily. She turns and faces me. Wow, I must have really set her off. Guess I better use this.
"Your name... is Diamond Tiara." I can barely say it through laughter. "Your cutie mark is a Tiara-presumably made of diamonds-and you're wearing a tiara. Made of diamonds."
She looks flustered and backs off a bit, and her friend-Silver Spoon as I've just learned-steps up to me. "Hey, don't make fun of DT's name like that! Besides, like Shadow Flicker is so cool." she attempts to turn the tables.
I push past them as I notice Diamond is on the verge of crying. "Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't aware I was the one who came up to you and started calling you loser and blank flank."
"Whatever," grumbles Silver Spoon angrily. "Come on DT, let's go."
I can't help but feel bad. Making fun of people for their name is so low. I soon realize a crowd had formed around us. Some of them looked shocked, others looked like they wanted to start cheering. A minute passes and everypony disperses, except for those three girls that were smiling. They all immediately run up to me with even bigger smiles-which I honestly doubt existed until now-and started greeting themselves.
"That was so awesome!" shrieked the purple maned one, unable to contain her excitement. She quickly coughs and recomposes herself, holding out a hoof which I shake. "I'm Scootaloo."
"I'm Sweetie Belle!" squeaks out the white unicorn as a spark of magic flies out of her horn, a giant grin on her face as well.
"Heh, and ah'm Applebloom," says the earth pony politely.
"I guess you all already know who I am." I say with a bit of an awkward laugh. "So what's got all of you so exited and smiley? Or are you always like this?"
"We just noticed that you don't have a cutie mark!" exclaims Sweetie Belle.
"Sweetie Belle," warns Applebloom quickly.
"Oh it's no bother," I state. "I got over any embarrassment with that ages ago. My mom tells me I'll get it any day now, and that I've just got to hope."
"I used to believe that too," chides in Scootaloo. "But then Rainbow Dash-"
"We don' need tah hear any more 'bout Rainbow Dash, Scoot," Applebloom cuts off Scootaloo by putting a hoof to her mouth. Scootaloo huffs, then sits down in disappointment. She must really like Rainbow Dash or something. "What Scoot is tryin' to say is that we'd love tah have you in our club!"
"Club?"
"We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" yells Scootaloo excitedly, literally jumping up into the air and flapping her wings faster than a hummingbird. Not that I watch hummingbirds or anything.
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom smile and nod their heads in agreement. Seriously, do they do stuff like this all the time? "So what do the-er, crusaders-do?"
"We do a lot of fun stuff-" starts Sweetie Belle
"Awesome stuff!" interrupts Scootaloo.
"Right, awesome stuff. We do a lot of awesome stuff to try and get our cutie marks."
"Sounds like fun. How about I think about it for now?" I stretch my wings and back. "I've got to get going. I'll see you three at school tomorrow?"
"Yeah!" replies Applebloom a little too quickly, then blushes and retreats a few steps. "I uh, I mean yeah. See you then."
With a quick few flaps of my wings, I wave goodbye to my new friends and start flying off to a nearby forest of apples, probably a farm. As I look back at the school, I see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle giggling at a blushing Applebloom as they all start walking together home.
My stomach growls, but It's getting late. I'll find food tomorrow.
"That's it," announces the voice as whoever it is smacks me in the head, startling me awake.
My eyes opened quickly, a little too quickly, blinding me momentarily. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but Celestia's sun is freaking bright. I quickly look around to get my surroundings. In front of me, I see an orange earth pony wearing a cowpony hat. Aren't those called Stetsons? Either way, it was a cool looking hat. Looking around me, I see trees in every which direction, and a clear blue sky above me. All around me on the ground are apple cores, some of them only half eaten.
"Wh... What? Where...?" I stammer out, now looking at the earth pony who glares at me.
"Ah, so it is alive," says the pony in an odd southern accent similar to Applebloom's...
Applebloom.
Oh no. What time is it? Have I missed school?
"Where am I?" I ask, rubbing my head lightly from the dull pain. "And why did you hit me?"
"Aha, sorry about that." says the mare, backing up a bit and adopting a slightly nicer tone as I get up. "Yer at Sweet Apple Acres, mah family's farm. Now maybe yah can answer a few questions for me, like why in the hay I found you slumped against a tree, covered in apples!"
It takes me a moment to register what she just said. "Uh, sorry about that. I was uh, really hungry and the apples looked so good.." I stammer, attempting to come up for a good reason why I ate these apples from her farm. Wait, did I even eat these? Well, I mean they are half eaten and surrounding me, so I guess that makes sense. Good job, brain. "Listen, I'm really sorry and it won't happen again, alright?"
"Not so fast there," she stops me. "Yer gonna need tah come with me to the farm. You an' Granny Smith need to have a talk about what yer gonna do to repay us for the loss of profit. Ah'll assume yah don't have any bits on yah considerin' you could've bought somethin' from the market."
She was right. I haven't got any bits on me at all. "Alright, I suppose that's fair. Lead the way, miss..."
"Just Applejack is fine," replies the orange cowpony. "Who might you be?" she asks as we begin to walk down a dirt path.
"I'm Shadow Flicker, but Shadow is well enough," I reply a bit too quickly. Probably should have though of a fake name, considering the trouble I may be in. Wait, Applejack? I wonder...
Applejack lets out a little laugh. "Shadow Flicker hmm?"
"Yeah, what's so funny?"
"Hehe, nothing. Jus' that someone has told me about yah already," says Applejack with a smirk. Maybe I'm not in as much trouble as I thought.
"Who told you about m-"
"SHADOW!" yells out a voice that I instantly recognize as Applebloom. I look over to her, just in time to see her set down a bucket of apples she had been carrying on her head and run over to me.
"Oh, hey Applebloom. What are you doing here?" I ask, genuinely confused.
"I live here silly!" replies Applebloom with a beaming smile. Great, now I feel like an idiot.
"Applebloom, was this the one ye were tellin' me about?" asks Applejack with a confused look. "He's not as great as you made him ou-"
"Ahaha, funny, sis," Applebloom cuts off her sister hurriedly, earning her a funny look from "Hey, Shadow, have yah thought 'bout our lil' proposal yesterday? Yah wanna become a cutie mark crusader with us?" she continues happily.
Aw man, I completely forgot about that. Well, I guess there's no harm in trying. "Sure," I reply after another moment of thought.
"YAY!" she yells out, making me wince.
"Now wait a darn minute-" says Applejack , only to be interrupted by Applebloom grabbing my hoof and running away with me.
"Sorry sis gotta go! Crusader business!" she roughly explains. Thank you Applebloom my savior.
"Thanks, Applebloom," I say, finally getting my hoof back and running next to her. I would fly if I knew where to go, and if Applebloom had wings. "So where are we heading?"
"The Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse! Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are already there waitin' fer us," answers the ever-happy Applebloom.
As we run, I look around at my surroundings. A lot of apple trees, as I suspected. After we gey simt a good amount away from Applejack, our run slows to a quick trot. "Hey Big Mac!" yells out Applebloom, waving to the pony, who seems to have a large cart of apples strapped to him. "Big load today?"
"Eeeyup," answers Big Mac very simply with a smile. He seems pretty content with his work, so we continue to wander off to the clubhouse.
As the clubhouse comes into view, I notice how amazing the whole place looks. I should make a mental note to praise whoever built this place. Getting closer, I hear some drums beating in an odd pace, along with a bit of bickering coming from the clubhouse. Applebloom gives me an embarrassed sort of smile, then quickly runs up the steps. I follow behind and open the door.
"Did you remember to skip the intro this time, Scoot?" whispers Sweetie Belle hurriedly as she looks through a really long looking scroll. This is going to be interesting.
"Yeah yeah I crossed most of that out," replies Scootaloo behind the drums. Applebloom stands on the opposite end of the clubhouse, now wearing a strange cape bearing what I guess is the Cutie Mark Crusader's insignia?
"We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, elect Shadow Flicker to join us as a.. err, brother-"
"Friend," corrects Applebloom.
"Right, friend," continues Sweetie Belle. "Anyway, to join us as a... friend, and fellow cutie mark crusader. Sheesh Scoot, could you scribble any more on this?" Sweetie Belle turns to Scootaloo and gives her a look, then continues. "Anyway, you are solemnly sworn in, here this day, in witness of your fellow friends, wait Scoot you only crossed out the first parts!"
"Hurray, you're a Cutie Mark Crusader now!" yells out Applebloom, preventing an argument. She throws a cape over me while the other two throw some confetti seemingly out of nowhere.
"Uh, thanks," I smile. Wow I'm really bland.
"Ready for a grand day of crusading? I love Saturdays!"
Saturday? Oh thank Celestia I didn't miss school. "I guess so. What's first for our plans?"
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MARKETING CUTIE MARKS! YAY!" yells all three of the fillys in the room.
My ears. Ow. Forever ow, my ears, ow. Are they bleeding? It would be rude to check, there's another mental note for later. Does Applejack have to deal with that kind of thing all the time too? Suddenly, dealing with whoever Granny Smith is doesn't seem so bad. Oh well, I've already been solemnly sworn in-apparently-so I might as well join them. "Marketing?"
"Yeah! We're goin' tah the market!" announces Applebloom. "Applejack is busy workin' the farm with Big Mac, so it's up tah us to sell some apples! Hopefully we can get our cutie marks while we're at it."
"Well, let's get going then!" I reply enthusiastically. Applebloom gives me a smile, and I stay behind as the group walks out to the market. "Be right with you, just going to admire the place a bit longer."
"Shoot, we forgot to give 'em a tour, y'all," grumbles Applebloom as they walk away.
Well then, quite the morning this has been. Wake up leaning against an apple tree, get smacked in the head, find out it's Saturday, meet Applebloom, become a crusader officially. What have I gotten myself into?
I quickly catch up with the rest of the group and walk next to them. They continue to make some idle chat about things like school and the weather-which they all presumed Rainbow Dash was all over today, and that she was the most awesome pony ever. Or something like that.
"So, we're going to the market to sell... apples?" I ask.
"Mmm Hmm!" answers Sweetie Belle as she nods her head quickly. "We're going to have some sort of advertising cutie mark by end of the day, I just know it!"
"Well at least you're optimistic," I add. "Reminds me of a little phrase that a friend once told me."
"What's that?" asks a suddenly interested Applebloom.
"Hakuna Matata." I answer happily. I bet she's going to say something like Hakuna ma-wata isn't she?
"Hakuna Ma-what?" Close enough.
"Hakuna Matata. It means no worries," I answer. Well, there's more to it than that, but I doubt they'd want me to break into song and dance here explaining the meaning of it.
The group giggles a bit at the sound of the words, but Applebloom seems to like it. The rest of the walk over to the market passes fairly quickly. When we get there, Applebloom starts setting up the apple stall while Scootaloo stocks it with the apples she was carrying. Wait, where did those come from anyway?
"I'm going to go look around a bit. I'll catch up with you guys later," I call out and start to walk towards the busy market.
As I walk away, I hear a bit of an argument break out between Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo says something along the lines of 'We're girls not guys', and Sweetie corrects her saying 'It's a gender neutral term, you dodo.', or something like that. Do they always argue over semantics like that? Either way it's pretty funny.
I pass by a few stalls until something catches my eye. "A scroll shop..." I mumble to myself. I've really got to stop talking to myself, this is how habits start. Anyway, this shop appears to sell various scrolls, whether they're magic or not I'm not sure. Two scrolls catch my eye that are on display. One of them is titled 'Cat Facts' strangely enough, while the other one I can't make out. It's written in another language or gibberish, either way I don't understand. Maybe I'll come back later and take a closer look.
Turning and walking away a little too quickly, I bump into a purple unicorn. With a THUD we are both bumped down, and a scroll of her own gets send spiraling out of her magic aura and onto the ground. It appears to be a... a checklist? Seriously? Anyway, I help her gather up the books and things that flew out of her bags while she rolls the scroll back up. "Sorry about that, wasn't paying attention."
She takes the books from my hooves with her magic and places them in her saddle bags. "Sorry, no time to talk! I'm very late! Oh man, I hope Spike is doing alright with the library," she mumbles quickly and trots off.
"Strange ponies..." I mumble as I get back up and check myself for any damages. Hooves? They're okay. Face? Still fine. Wings? They're fi- WHAT? "How did that get there?" I blurt out a little too loudly. I quickly excuse myself from a now staring crowd and walk over to a shady secluded tree and hold out my wing. Inside it seems to be a few bits out of nowhere. Where did I get these? I don't remember finding them, and I didn't sell anything...
Did I... no, no I couldn't have done that. Don't even think about it, Shadow. Just go look around again.
After a bit more looking, I come across a cool little stand selling various clothing items, and Sweetie Belle seems to be there looking at some saddle bags.
"Hey Sweetie," I call out and join her. Gee, I hope I can call her Sweetie. Does she prefer the whole name? Oh well, it's over with. "What are you up to?"
"Hey Shadow. I'm just looking at some new bags, a girl can never have too many you know! At least that's what Rarity tells me," she suddenly gets a big grin on her face, then announce "You should totally get a bag! Oh my Celestia yes you totally should! I can even help you look for the best one."
"I guess that's not such a bad idea. Which one do you think would be best?"
She scans over the large amount of bags on sale. Some catch my eye; a crimson red one, a beige bag, a dark blue one, and none of them have any marks on them. "Well, you've got a grey coat and black mane with a blue stripe that Applebloom lik-err, a blue stripe. I think either the black bag or the blue one would be a nice start," she begins. "Excuse me, how much is it to get a cutie mark added to a bag?" she asks the stall manager.
"Just an extra bit on top of whatever the price of the bag is, but you can come back any time for the same price," she explains happily.
"Alright Shadow, you should get the beige leather one, I think it'd contrast nicely," Sweetie Belle smiles. I hope she is right, I don't want to look like an idiot with my new bag.
"Alright I guess, you're the expert. How much?" I ask.
"That'll be six bits." replies the stall manager with a smile. Weird, that's exactly the amount of bits I got earlier... Oh well, better not question it. I plant down the bits on the table and take my new bag. It fits nicely on my side, and my wings can even go over it since it's pretty small.
"I guess we should head over to Applebloom now," Sweetie Belle suggests. I nod to agree and we head back to the apple stall, not too far away. Applebloom greets us with a smile. "How's business doing?"
"Not too bad, no cutie mark yet but ah've gotten a few bits from sales. Applejack is going tah be so proud!" Applebloom almost glows with an aura of happiness. Sheesh, I could learn a thing or two from her.
"You two have fun, I'm going to go see if I can drum up some, uh, business for you." I say. Applebloom gives me a strange look, but agrees none the less. I hate having to lie to ponies, especially her. Did I just think that? What's wrong with me...
I decide to head over to that scroll stand, but I can't remember where it is. There's too many ponies in this crowd, maybe if I just squeeze through here...
My wing subtly slips into the stallion's saddlebag next to me as I squeeze past the crowd. I snag a few bits with my wing and pull it out, but not quickly and abruptly, it has to be slow and steady. I successfully pull my wing out and as I walk away I slip the bits into my newly acquired saddlebag. My heart beats faster than ever before as I act natural and walk towards the stand. Did I just do that? I did. I just stole from another pony. Did he know? I check behind me casually, and he seems none the wiser. What a rush that was. How much did I get?
Three bits.
Less than exciting, but I guess It's understandable. I get to the stand and take a look at the scrolls. That same scroll rests at front of the stall. "Hi. What's this scroll here?" I ask the unicorn stallion working the stall. His coat is a dark blue, his mane a long light blue and green, but that's all very hard to make out through that black cloak he's wearing. Strange, but whatever.
He eyes me up and smirks. "It's a very ancient scroll, designed to-when used-increase nimbleness and finesse in various tasks."
Wow, that sounds interesting alright. "How much?"
"Two hundred bits."
WHAT? That's ridiculous! There's no way I could afford that, ever!
Unless...
"Uh, maybe I'll come back later," I reply, a plan already forming in my head. He simple nods and goes back to casually leaning against his stall. I begin to walk back to the apple stall.
"Hey Applebloom. Still workin' hard I see?" I make idle chat. Wait, did I just said 'workin''? Gosh I better not be picking up her accent.
"Yep! In fact, ah was hoping tah take a break. Mind takin' over for me?" she asks earnestly. She does deserve it I guess, but that doesn't mean I can't play with her a bit.
"Anything for you," I say with a wink, causing her to blush a bit as she walks off to Scootaloo. That worked perfectly.
A little while passes, and the sun is almost down and most stands have closed. The group walks over to me, all laughing and enjoying themselves.
"Hi... Shadow," greets Applebloom awkwardly.
"Hey," I reply simply with a smile, while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo giggle to each other a bit.
"Hey so, we hate to break up this wonderful scene of yours, but we were about to head back to the clubhouse," Scootaloo says, earning a jab in the side from a blushing Applebloom.
"Sure thing. I'll pack up and meet you girls back there later," I reply, learning from my earlier mistake of saying guys by habit. They leave and I start packing up. After I'm done, I set everything down and head over to the stand with the scrolls. The unicorn that was there seems to be gone, at least for now. I quickly trot over and look at the scroll with the strange symbols. "Increases nimbleness and finesse with certain tasks, hmm?" I mumble to myself. I know it's wrong, but I can't help myself. I swipe the scroll with my wing and put it into my saddle bag for use later. I run over to the apple stand and head back to the clubhouse.
After I get a decent amount of distance between here and the stand, I stop at a tree by the edge of the path. I take out the scroll from my bag as I look out onto the sunset horizon. "Here we go," I say to no one in particular and try to use the scroll.
And I wait.
and wait.
...
"It's a fraud! Nothing happened!" I declare, tossing the scroll over my shoulder into the forest. I begin to head to the clubhouse, but I hear somepony, or something walking behind me. I turn only to see nothing there. Turning again to face my front, I am confronted by the same stallion in the cloak. "Aaah!" I yell out and fall back, startled by his sudden appearance.
He smirks at me and says one thing. "You're gonna go far, kid," before he teleports off to who knows where.
As I recover from my scare, a few seconds later there's a bright flash out of nowhere. I look around me, and see nothing again. Time to head back to the clubhouse.
When I finally return to the clubhouse I am greeted by the three fillies collectively gasping and staring at me.
"What?"
...
"What? Do I have something on my face?"
Silence still. I set my saddlebags down and walk over to the three fillies. "What is it? Tell me!"
"Shadow..." starts Applebloom. "You 'ave a cutie mark!"
A quick glance at my flank reveals that something is there that wasn't. I do a double take, realizing that they're not lying. My cutie mark is finally here. A brownish beige kind of bag, of bits I assume, with a blue lightning bolt behind it-the same colour as the stripe in my mane. Wow, that's kinda cool. I can't believe I have my cutie mark! That means I have a special talent in... A special talent in... uhm, I actually don't think I know. Think, Shadow. They're going to ask you no doubt what your talent is, so think! What did I do today? I went to the market, and I helped Applebloom with her stall, and...
...and I stole.
I'm a thief. My special talent is stealing. There's no way I can tell the crusaders that, or anyone for that matter. Wow, I finally get a cutie mark and I can't tell anyone. Depressing.
"That's so cool!" squeaks out Sweetie Belle excitedly, beginning to jump around me in joy, and Scootaloo joins her soon after. She stops to get a good look at it, then looks puzzled. "What is it?"
"Yeah, it looks like a bag. What's that all about?" asks Scootaloo, who also stopped jumping around me. Thank Celestia, I was getting dizzy trying to follow them. "Are you good at bagging things or something?"
"That's not it you dodo! Why would he have a cutie mark in bagging things?"
"What did I tell you about calling me names I don't know the meaning of!"
They continue to bicker on for a little bit, and it's a little amusing. I look over at Applebloom, who rolls her eyes at her friends' antics.
"Girls! Enough already! I'm sure if he wants to tell us, he'll tell us," Applebloom says, and gives me a strange smile. Weird, It's one of those kind of smiles that I can't quite place the meaning of. Why is she looking at me like that?
"Yeah, fair enough. I've got to head home too, Rarity said I shouldn't be out past sunset anyway," Sweetie Belle agrees, looking out the window at Celestia's setting sun. Quite the beautiful view, actually.
"Yeah I've got to get going too. What If Rainbow Dash decided to stop by and I wasn't there?" says Scootaloo. Really? You're worried you won't see Rainbow Dash? Sheesh, and I thought I had problems.
"Ah'll stay here for a bit and clean up, then head back tah the farm. See-ya girls!" waves Applebloom as her friends leave the clubhouse.
"Suppose I should stay and help clean up too. Can't leave a lady to do work like this by herself, can I?" I say with a smile. It's fun to poke fun at her this way, I just hope she doesn't start taking me seriously.
"Lady?" she giggles. "Ya're probably more of a lady than I am, Shadow," jokes Applebloom. I hope she's joking, or else this may turn into a competition.
I simply roll my eyes with a smile and start cleaning up. After a few minutes of easy work, all the materials we used for the day at organized and put where they should be, which arguably, wasn't much at all.
"So, are yah gonna tell them?" Applebloom says suddenly. I look over to her to see she's giving me a stern but knowing look. How does she manage that...? Oh right, my cutie mark. You'd think I wouldn't forget something so important so easily.
"What do you mean?" I ask. Smooth, Shadow. Real smooth. Why don't you just waltz up to the market and yell to everyone saying that you steal things.
"You know exactly what ah mean," continues Applebloom, who is now sitting on the floor, looking at me. Stop that, it's creepy.
"I uh, I've got to go," I say, and start to leave.
"Where will you go?" starts a new voice. Who is that? I turn around to see that Applebloom is gone, replaced by that same unicorn in the cloak. "Will you go home, to your mom and dad? Or will you perhaps find a tree someplace and settle under that again. Oh, I know, perhaps you'll ask dear Applebloom for help."
"What are you talking about? Where's Applebloom and how did you get here!" I more yell than ask. I look around in panic and begin to run out the door, stopping to open it of course.
Then I see nothing is there. Just blackness.
"And where are you going to run, Shadow?" asks the unicorn, walking up to me. His horn glows for a moment, then the blackness changes to a sky view of a green forest with a waterfall. Why does this place look so familiar?
"Perhaps you'll run to your imagination, the place of your dreams. Perhaps you'll find it, regardless of if it's real or not. Perhaps you'll run to somewhere more... realistic." he says as the view changes to the Everfree Forest. "I'm sure you're aware that the forest is full of dangers, werid things and even...monsters. You would just fit right in, wouldn't you?"
"Are you calling me a monster?" I quickly defend and turn to him, flaring my nostrils in anger. I haven't done anything wrong, have I? Okay well, maybe I stole a few things but-
"No, but you are."
Wait, what? Why is he telling me all this, and how did he know that I thought that?
"You can't hide forever, Shadow. One day the truth will come out. Everyone will know, and your life will get a lot harder."
I sit down in shock. How does he know all this? Why does my heart feel so heavy? Why isn't he answering my questions now?
"What..." I start, then gulp to try and fix the lump in my throat. It's still there. "What do you want?"
"It's not about what I want, It's about you, Shadow." he says and begins walking away. "What do YOU want, Shadow?"
And like that he's gone. I'm back in the clubhouse, with Applebloom staring at me. What just happened? Did I pass out or something? It's not like I've been drinking any cider... Well, not much at least.
"I'll see yah tomorrow, then?" asks Applebloom, looking a little sad. Don't do that. Seriously, don't be sad.
"Of course. I'll swing by the farm sometime tomorrow." I answer with a smile, and turn to exit. I hold my breath when I open the door, breathing a sigh of relief when the grass and trees I expected are there. I step outside and with a quick flare of my wings, I'm airborne. I fly off for a bit, then stop.
I wake up with a start, but I'm quickly relieved that noone smacked me this time. A quick glance around reveals that I'm... In the clubhouse? When did I get here? I guess I must've flown over here sometime last night. Well, better get up and get something to eat. I think I'll go to the market, the apple trees got me in trouble last time.
After a quick stretch, I fly up over the trees and head to the market. As I fly by, I see that the one stand with the scrolls is now gone. Well, it is a Sunday, so there's not a lot of stalls here at all. Oh no, of all the stalls to be open...
"Heya there, Shadow!" yells out Applejack as she waves to me with a smile. Well, it seems she got over me waking up in her apple orchard at least.
"Hey, Applejack," I greet her and walk over. Wow, that's a lot of apple products. "You always run the stall on Sundays?"
"Whenever there's hungry ponies out and about, ah'll be there to help 'em out!" Applejack proudly announces. Wow, did she work on that all week or something? Must be her motto then. "Speakin' a which, you hungry?"
"Matter of fact I am. I'll take..." I trail off, realizing just how many apple products are on sale. A quick check of the bits in my bag should do fine.
My bag. Oh no, I left it at the clubhouse! Aw crap. "Nevermind sorry, I don't have any bits on me," I say, a bit embarrassed. I need to start practicing my trade a bit. I could... no. No no, I can't steal from Applejack.
"That's alright, have a fritter on the house," replies Applejack with a beaming smile. What is with her today? She seems overly excited about, well, everything. Sort of like that one pink pony I see jumping around everywhere and occasionally breaking into song. In any case I gladly accept the fritter and munch on it politely.
"So how ya been?" asks Applejack, clearly making small talk. She's much better at it than I am anyway.
"Not too bad," I lie. Truthfully I've been very confused the past few days, but she doesn't need to hear about my troubles. "How about you?"
"A tad strange, truth be told. Applebloom's been around the farm less and less, and when she is there she acts all... strange," she explains. Wait, acting strange? Applejack, why are you giving me that look?
"What do you mean strange?" I inquire.
More than happy to oblige on, Applejack continues. "When she's around the farm, she walks around with 'er head in the clouds, hardly doin' the work she usually did well. I catch 'er daydreaming all the time. I wonder why..." she ends, giving me a sly smirk. What? I think it's time I get out of here.
"Thanks for the fritter Applejack, but I've got to get going. Nice talking to you," I say quickly then start walking off. After a decent distance, I turn and see her giving me a smile. Why is everypony doing that recently?
As I fly off to the clubhouse to retrieve my bag, I decide to rest on a relatively large cloud. I've always liked these things, fluffy and comfortable. Sort of like cotton candy without being sticky. As I land however, I see a certain rainbow-maned pegasus. This must be the Rainbow Dash that Scootaloo was talking about.
"Oh hey kid." she greets with a friendly smile.
"Oh sorry, didn't realize this cloud was taken." I say awkwardly, about to leave.
"Nah, clouds don't just belong to me you know. Feel free to stay," she says with a bit of a laugh.
"You must be Rainbow Dash. I'm Shadow Flicker, but just Shadow is fine," I say as I hold out my hoof, giving her a smile. Gotta try to be polite at least sometimes, right?
She shakes my hoof and smiles back. "Yup, that's me! Guess you heard of how awesome I am?" she replies, a bit caught up in herself. "Heh, anyway, Shadow Flicker huh? I think I know you," she exclaims. "Scoots has told me quite a bit about you. Says you're one of the crusaders now. And it looks like you've succeeded a bit faster than they have."
I keep forgetting I have a cutie mark. Sheesh, I do have a problem. "Yeah I have. I'll still keep joining in on their crazy antics and what not, try to help them reach their goals and the likes."
"You know I was the first in my class to get my cutie mark," gleams Rainbow happily. Wow, she really loves bragging doesn't she?
"That's cool. Hey, sorry to break this up and all, but I've got to get going."
"Sure. no problem. I'll probably catch some Z's up here. See-ya later kid."
I wave goodbye and fly off to the clubhouse. Well, I seem to be making a lot of friends today. Maybe things are looking up.
I finally get to the clubhouse, and to my surprise the crusaders are there. I hear them talking about some things and stop at the door. I know I shouldn't eavesdrop, but considering what else I do it can't be that bad. Putting my ear to the door I faintly overhear their conversation.
"So when are you gonna do it?"
"Ah'm not! At least not any time soon.
"You liar, you're totally planning it."
"Okay maybe, but don' tell Scoots. Not sure how she'd feel."
"If all works out, she'll find out anyway right?"
"Yeah, but not like that."
"It's not a big deal Applebloom."
"Maybe not tah you, but ah don' know what to do yet. I found out some stuff the other day, and I'm not sure what ah think anymore. Gimmie some time, alright?"
"Alright fine."
Well, this is a good a time as any. I open the door and casually trot in. "Oh, hey girls." I announce, seeing Applebloom and Sweetie Belle having a chat.
"Oh uh, hey, Shadow..." blushes Applebloom.
"Sorry if I was intruding on anything. Just here to grab my saddlebag." I say, grabbing it from where I left it on the floor and strapping it onto myself. "Thanks again for the choice, Sweetie. I think it's growing on me."
Sweetie Belle smiles brightly, happy she made the right decision. "See-ya later, Shadow."
I promptly trot out of the clubhouse and down the ramp. Time to head to the library.