Author's Notes:

I recommend listening to THIS AWESOME SONG when the time calls for it! (You'll know when you read!)

An apple salesman was standing in the center of the Canterlot Market. He was a tall stallion with a short brown mane, and a long brown beard. On his chest, he wore a red t-shirt with a pair of tan stallions on the logo, both with 'Candy Cane' patterned manes, and one with a red mustache. Below their heads on the logo, the words, "Flim and Flam" were written.

He had a sign that read four bits, but as he had his back turned, he was removing one that said "two bits". As his back was turned, he managed to see, out of the corner of his eye, a tall, bipedal figure walking from behind his stall, carrying an apple, and chewing it.

"HEY! THIEF! THIEF!" The apple salesman yelled, which caused Shadow to look at him with a deadpanned expression.

"This isn't even from your farm, sir." Shadow replied. The stallion didn't seem to believe him, though. With a sigh, Shadow said, "Very well, then... you brought this on yourself." With one swift motion, he swiped a small bag full of apples, and hid it within his coat. "NOW I'm a thief!" He yelled, as he began running towards the large crowd of ponies, all of which stared at him wide-eyed, while a group of guards looked from the stallion pointing his hoof at Shadow, to Shadow himself. Without the slightest delay, they began running after the human, who began running past large crowds, and dodging moving wagons.

One of the guards began shooting magic bolts after Shadow, but each of them ended up missing. Finally, when the first alleyway could be seen, Shadow quickly ran towards it, knocking down a pile of small bouncing balls in the process. The minute the guards ran that direction, they started slipping and falling, buying Shadow enough time to run through the alleyway. Unfortunately for him, though, he saw that it led to a dead end.

Turning around, he also noticed the guards swarmed the entire alley, and were hot on his tail. When they were close enough, they pointed their spears at him, and said, "HALT! You're under arrest, for the violation of the laws of their majesties, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! Anything you say can-" Before the guard that spoke could finish his sentence, however, he gasped in fear when Shadow jumped onto his back, and from his back, leaped onto a windowsill, which he quickly climbed on, and wall-jumped over the gate, dodging the spears that they threw in the process. Without hesitation, the guards began leaving the alleyway, all while the one guard who was speaking stared wide-eyed at the area the human escaped from. "Th-THAT was unexpected!" He said, before slowly backing away.

From the other side of the wall, Shadow hung for dear life, as he looked behind his back. Sure enough, the building that he was next to was none other than the Canterlot Spa. Looking around, he spotted the guards starting to run his direction. Quickly, he reached into one of his pockets, and pulled out a black ball. "My apologies." he said, before throwing the ball towards the nearest window of the Spa, and leaping from the wall behind the ball.

From within the Spa, a group of four mares were taking a bath; Lyra Heartstrings, Bonbon, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia. The next thing they knew, their peaceful time of relaxation was interrupted by a loud explosion, followed by a mysterious hooded figure flying in shortly after the explosion took place. At first they screamed in terror, but then their eyes locked on the tall hooded man who stood in the center of the room at that point. Then they stared in awe, as they realized just who he was.

In a sultry voice, Lyra said, "A man!"

With a friendly smile, Shadow tilted his hood down in a greeting manner, and replied, "Afternoon, ladies." As he said that, they started to giggle, while he walked towards the bathtub, and lowered himself to one knee, causing the four mares to swim his way. Then he pulled a large bag of bits from his pockets and asked, "Mind keeping a secret for me?"

"He's in here! I'm sure of it!" A knight captain yelled, causing four other knights to rush to his aid. "On a count of three, we barge in, and apprehend the criminal! One... two... THREE!" The next thing they knew, they knocked the door down, causing Lyra and Bonbon to jump in panic, while Vinyl and Octavia pointed towards the wall with the hole in it.

"HE RAN THAT WAY!" The four mares shouted in unison, as Lyra and Bonbon raised their hooves where the others were pointing.

The knight captain nodded his head, while his cheeks started turning pink. "Y-yes, ma'am! Th-thank you, a-and... S-sorry for distracting you four!"

"WELL, GET THE BUCK OUT THEN, YOU SICK-MINDED PIGS!" Vinyl shouted, as she threw a bar of soap towards the captain.

Nodding his head nervously, the captain ran out of the room, followed by the other four knights to run right after him. When they were out, Vinyl used her magic to raise the door back in place, and barricade it. Then she moved a large towel over the hole in the wall, and winked at Octavia, who stood near the barricaded exit, and nodded. Then Lyra poked her hoof in the water, and began tapping on an object inside. "The coast is clear!" She whispered.

From within the water, Shadow stood up, bare-chested. With a smile, he gently rubbed below Lyra's snout, and said, "Much obliged, love." With that, he stood from the pool, and walked towards the shelf where he hid his clothes. His eyes were covered by a small towel, while every other part of him was practically bare. Even so, he didn't need to see to know that the four mares were staring at him.

"Perhaps we should meet again!" He said, while turning his head, and placing his undergarments on. "It seems you like what you see, after all. Unfortunately, though, I have a train to catch."

With a groan, Lyra said, "Aw, you gotta go so soon? We could make this day worth every bit, if you'd like!"

Shadow started buttoning his green shirt, before replying, "As much as I would love to, I still have to take care of my family. You know how it goes."

Bonbon nodded her head, and replied, "We know, handsome... you are a Child of the Night, after all!" Then she gave him a wink. "But who knows? Maybe we'll meet again, someday!"

With a slight chuckle, Shadow clamped his right shoulder-pad back on, and covered his head with his hood, replacing the wet towel with his favorite bandana. "Time shall tell, loves. Until then, farewell!" With that, he walked out of the room, leaving the mares giggling at each other.

The second Shadow looked out of the window to the fifth story, he saw that the entire ground level was swarmed with knights who were looking for him. "This one could be quite a challenge..." He silently told himself. "Perhaps I should stay on the roofs." Quickly, he opened the window closest to the walls, and began climbing it, while looking around, making sure nothing could see him.

Finally, once he reached the tenth floor of the Spa, he looked around, and began devising his plans. He did so for thirty seconds, until he nodded to himself about his inner plan.

Drawing a bow that a guard left behind in the Spa, and aimed at the sky, he pulled an arrow that he painted a blue-colored glue over, between the string and the bow itself, avoiding the blue liquid from touching his fingers. Then, after counting from ten to one, he released the arrow, and waited for the arrow to land. The target: a pegasus stallion carrying a wooden cart in the sky. Once the arrow made contact, Shadow quickly grabbed the rope, and into the sky he flew.

Unfortunately for him, though, the stallion noticed, and began flying towards the ground level. After seeing this, Shadow quickly began swinging on the rope, until they were close to the buildings. Then, once the time was right, he released the rope, and rolled onto a building's flat roof, where he continued to run, and leap from roof to roof, all while dodging flying spears from the guards that noticed him.

Finally, when he was nearing the train tracks, he smiled to himself, as he continued running towards the tracks. Then a fire red-maned mare wearing a blue jumpsuit landed in front of him, blocking his path in the process. "End of the line, buddy!" The mare said in a brash tone.

Shadow sighed, before walking towards her. Then she reacted by throwing her hooves towards Shadow, attempting to attack him. What she didn't expect, however, was for him to deflect and dodge every blow she attempted. Out of exhaustion, her body finally gave in, and she found herself on the ground panting for air, while Shadow walked right past her, and on the other side of the train tracks.

Out of anger she stood back up, and began flying his direction, only for him to lift his right hand up, and crush a small white orb between his fingers. From the orb, a blinding light shone throughout the area, causing the Wonderbolt to crash into the railings of the train. In an attempt to stand, she realized that her hooves were stuck in-between a rail, as the train's horn blew from the distance.

With a loud gasp, the Wonderbolt shouted, "No, NO! SOMEPONY! HELP!"

Shadow, at this time, had his back turned away from her, but once she began screaming, he turned to his right, and sighed. Then, as the train neared the crying Wonderbolt, Shadow quickly stood on the railing, and shoved her out of the rail, right as the train blurred right past her.

With widened eyes, she looked to her right, where the train was headed, before looking at the train tracks in horror. "Th-that... that could've been... ME!" After saying that, she burst into tears, right as a group of guards came from behind the corners, and looked at the crying Wonderbolt. Then, once the train cleared, they looked at where Shadow was, only to gasp.

"He's... he's GONE!" They stated out of confusion, as not even the smallest hints of blood could be found anywhere.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, brother!" Gari said, as she lifted Shadow from a hole cut at the bottom of a train cart.

With a smirk, Shadow replied, while placing a large board over the hole, "Just looking after my family, sister. You know how it is." When the board was placed, he reached into his right sleeve, and pulled the bag of apples that he took from the stall. "And besides... I knew we would need something to eat along the way, right?"

Gari nodded her head, while she motioned for the others of the group to gather around. The group consisted of Shadow, Gari, Silver, a young unicorn stallion named Earth Whisper, and an even younger pegasus mare named Steel Wing.

The five siblings sat in a circle around the boarded exit, and enjoyed the apples that were provided for them. "I know, it isn't the same as Apple Smith's... but I can guarantee you that they are still out there, thanks to her granddaughter." Shadow said, which caused Gari to smile at her brother.

"I take it your meeting went well, then?" She asked.

"Even better," Shadow replied, "I think we may have another member of the family coming up."

Gari's eyes widened, while she smiled slyly. "Oh? You think so?"

Shaking his head, Shadow replied, "I know so..." Then he realized the face that his sister was giving him. "...What?"

"Oh, nothing!" Gari replied, keeping her smile on her face. "...Lover-boy!"

At once, Shadow's cheeks turned red, while he looked at her confusedly. "W-what?!"

"There's no need to hide it, Shadow... I KNOW you have a crush on Applejack!" Shadow was about to retort, when she gave him a sly wink. "Trust me... I KNOW that feeling!"

Shadow's entire face was red at that point, while he looked away, and crossed his arms. "Well, it's not just me who should check their feelings, Gari... I 'KNOW', as you would put it, how you felt about that 'Big McIntosh' fellow... and don't forget who it was that kept you from planting a dagger in the back of his marefriend, Cheerilee."

And now, it was Gari's face who was red. "H-HEY! You said you wouldn't bring that back up!"

Shadow stuck his tongue out, as the two older siblings argued, while the three other siblings merely watched and laughed from the distance, as the train moved on towards "Smokey Mountain", far north of their home, "White Tail Woods".