Shade buried her face deeper into her pillows. She was thoroughly disappointed in herself. That. . . infernal contraption. . . made her make such noises-- noises unbecoming of herself. That bitch definitely, intentionally allowed that. . . apparatus to defile her! That was not her lament, nay, her lament laid with her, for only the shortest of seconds, enjoying the sensation. Her rage flared as memories of a particular demon forcing himself on her flashed in her mind. She hurled her two innocent pillows across the room. She was not going to feel that weak ever again.

In her out lash, she failed to notice that she had launched the pillows with her magic.

Shade reluctantly rolled out of bed. A short trip to the other side of the room and Shade stared at her shelf full of the six encyclopedias her moth Death had bought her. She didn't feel like finishing the last one and decided to go to the library to hopefully find a more relaxing book or ten.

Closing her bedroom door behind her, Shade glanced down the hallway to the right and saw Death's bedroom door closed along with the guest room and bathroom. When she made it to the bottom step of the L-shape staircase Death greeted her warmly.

"Feeling better?" Death asked while hammering two pieces of wood together.

Shade ignored her query and instead asked her questions. "How can I not hear the hammering? What are you doing?"

"Magic. And, I'm making shelves and bookcases for our future store,"
The once empty foyer was now filled with stacks of wood, boxes littered the entrance, and paint cans were piled neatly in front of the counter.

"Lunch is ready. Or if you just want a quick bite, I bought some more fruits," Death said.

Shade shook her head in annoyance. Why Death insisted on having a store boggled Shade. It's not like that woman could create money out of thin air, or better yet, create whatever she wanted. Shade walked past the busy mare and entered the kitchen through a swinging door. A large plastic bowl of fruit sat in the middle of the kitchen table. She ignored the food on the island and the refrigerator; the unrecognizable fruit drew her to them.

The first one she picked up was long, smooth, firm, and slightly curved. She took a bite at the end of it and grimaced in disgust as the bitterness exploded in her mouth. Spitting it out and taking a second look at the fruit revealed that it had an outside layer of protection. Before further ingestion of the fruit, she quickly ran to the sink to rinse out the horrible taste stinging her taste buds.

Death snickered in a hoof. Shade's hateful, murderous gaze that could rival the stare of a cockatrice locked onto her. Death winked playfully and disappeared behind the kitchen door.

Shade peeled the outside rind of the fruit and bit into the soft, unprotected flesh. She let the faint sweetness and starch flavor dance on her tongue. After swallowing her bite, she concluded her verdict: sweet enough, soft enough. . . good enough. That fruit set the bar of expectation high for the others to contend with.

The second fruit she picked up was a familiar one, albeit slightly smaller. An annoyed sigh left her.

"Fine! Tell me what they are, goddammit!" Shade confronted the beaming unicorn behind her.

"That first one you ate is called a 'banana,'" Death informed with glee. "The one you are holding that looks like a sprinkleberry is known as a 'strawberry.' These strawberries are red and sweet, unlike sprinkleberries that are green and sour."

"I read about these. Too bad those books you gave me didn't have pictures."

Death noticed Shade's sour expression. "What's up with you? Your father loves sweets!"

"I am not my father!" Shade roared and punched Death with all her strength.

Death lowered Shade's hoof from her cheek and wore a wide smirk. "Good thing I took away your strength."

Shade furiously punched Death repeatedly. She did not pull her punches as she used Death’s body as a temporary punching bag.

Death collapsed to the ground, holding her sides, laughing her head off. "Stahp! Stop! I'm gonna pee!"

Shade growled, then delivered one last kick to Death's ribs, making Death squeal with delight.

Shade stormed out the door.

Death waved farewell to Shade from the front door, "I won't let you back in unless you make ten friends!"

"You can't be serious?" Shade scoffed then she heard the door lock. Pink barriers protected the windows. Shade's scowl deepened behind her black sunglasses.

"Do have fun, dear!"

"'Friends,' bah!" Shade huffed. It will always be her against the world alone. She stopped in her tracks. The busy market and all the ponies stood between her and the library. Ugh. . . ponies. One of the first spells she was going to master was teleportation. Just walk. Don't make eye contact. Look forward. She chanted in her head as she crossed the market.

"Watch out!"

Huh? "Wha—” Before she could start to ask questions something collided with the side of her body.
Darkness.

"How're ya feelin'?" an unfamiliar young female voice asked.

"Like. . . something ran me over," Shade groaned. Trying to open her eyes only made the blinding light hurt her.

She heard the girl chuckle. "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. One of the apple barrels got loose and kinda. . . hit ya."

"Glasses." Shade demanded.
"Right! Sorry!" the girl apologized again. Seconds later Shade felt the glasses over her muzzle. The girl also helped Shade to her hooves. "Can't say I’ve seen ya 'round these parts. Ya new to Ponyville?"

"Yeah," Shade replied. The girl in front of her looked no older than herself. Shade was intrigued by her accent.

"Howdy!" the girl quickly grabbed hold of Shade's right hoof with both of hers. She pumped her arms up and down forcefully. "My name's Applejack!"

"Sh-" she wrenched her hoof from the viselike grip of Applejack, "Shade."

"Nice to meetcha, Shade!" Applejack beamed,

"Yeah. . ." Shade turned around to walk away, "Been a barrel of fun."

Applejack laughed and followed Shade, "I see what ya did there! So, where ya off to?"

"Library," Shade stated.
"Well, the library's the other way," Applejack informed her. When Shade stopped to look at her, she pointed a hoof to the left.

"Thanks." Shade proceeded to follow the outstretched hoof.

"Need some help?"

Shade stopped and scanned the young pony. Applejack's eyes twinkled with determination and her smile shone with sincerity. "You look like you can carry a couple of dozen books."

"Eeyup!" Applejack boasted then stopped. "Wait, it sounds like ya just wanna use me as a pack mule!"

"Very astute. I can't use magic, and I like to read. You offered to help, and it will save me multiple trips," Shade answered matter-of-factly.

"I can't say I don't like your honesty," Applejack chuckled. "If I can help out by carryin' some books, then I'll carry books for mah friend."

"Much appreciated." Shade replied honestly.

The library, which was inside a tree, was everything Shade had hoped for — granted, her original hope was that the library would have books — but she fell in love with the building right away. Something about the full branches, peaceful aura, and the scent of books soothed her. While few books genuinely interested her, she got her hooves on all the books she and Applejack could carry, if only for the purpose of expanding her knowledge of her new residence. Matilda, the librarian and much to Shade's surprise a donkey, was a little worried about the twenty-seven books being checked out at once. With Shade's word of taking care of the books, Matilda allowed them to check-out the books.

On the way back home, Applejack asked a question that had been on her mind for a while now, "Where are ya from?"

"A place you never heard of and I never want to talk about," was Shade's swift response.

Sensing Shade's hostility, Applejack asked another question, "Did ya move here with your family?"

"Deathly Belladonna dragged me here," Shade answered flatly.

"Is she your mom?"

"She likes to delude herself into thinking that."

"What happened to your parents?"

Shade stopped and scowled at Applejack.

Applejack saw passed her expression and decided to empathize with her new friend, "I lost my parents, too."

Shade sighed and continued walking with her head held high. "What matters is that we are alive."

"Yeah," Applejack replied with a smile even if her eyes and tone reflected otherwise. After walking together in silence for a couple of minutes, Applejack decided to speak up again, "Y'know, saddlebags would help ya carry more stuff. Not that I mind or anythin'."

If there was one thing she learned from her mother, was that the best way to manipulate someone was to flatter them. Shade quickly did an about face and smiled at the perplexed Applejack, "But I wouldn't have your wonderful company to enjoy."

Applejack blushed slightly at Shade's compliment, "Aw, shucks. Thanks."

They reached the blue two-story house a few minutes later, and Shade frowned at the brass door knob when it failed to twist. She rapidly knocked on the door and exhaled an exasperated sigh through her nostrils.

"Oh." Death opened the door and was genuinely astonished to see the orange filly behind Shade. "How many bits did she offer to pay you to carry those books?"

"I didn't pay her anything," Shade snapped.

Applejack giggled, "Thinkin' 'bout it now, I should have charged her some bits. I'm Applejack. Pleased to meet ya, ma'am."

Death smiled warmly. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Applejack. I am Shade's mother, Deathly Belladonna. Please, call me Death, everypony does."

"Can I come in now?" Shade's patience was running low. "She's my first friend. That's gotta mean, like, ten friends."

"You can come in to drop off the books, sweetie." Death moved out of the doorway. "But ten friends is ten individual ponies."

Shade huffed and trudged in. "C'mon, my room is upstairs."

The two climbed the stairs to the left of the entrance and reached Shade's room.

"She seems nice," Applejack commented after dumping the books on the bed.

"Oh, yeah, the nicest," Shade snarked, her face plastered with a false smile.

"What did she mean 'bout the whole 'ten friends' thing?" Applejack changed the topic swiftly.

"Nothing. She's out of her mind," Shade said on top of the bed in between labored breaths. "How are you so strong?"

"Bein' an earth pony helps. Plus, I do work on a farm. It is very physical work."

"You think I could help out? I hate feeling so. . . weak."

Applejack laid her head down on the bed and faced Shade with a smile. "Sure ya can, sugar cube! And I don't think yer weak. You’re already stronger than half the unicorns I know, especially Rarity."

"Who's 'Rarity'?" Shade inquired with a raised curious brow.

"Just some stuck up, whiny, pony who's two grades above me. Oh!" Applejack sat up. "What class are you in?"

"I'm in the Daffodil group."

"Me too!" Applejack exclaimed. "Are ya ten like me?"

"I think so. . . ?"

"What? Ya don't know how old ya are?" Applejack cocked her head.

"Well, where I'm from we used a lunar calendar and lunar years are shorter than celestial years. Which means I would be slightly older by lunar standards," Shade explained. "Since we are about the same size, it would be safe to assume I am ten. Also, I am not in the same class as Rarity, so I am not older than you."

Applejack rubbed her chin in deep thought. Shade saw the gears turning behind her eyes. "Yeah. That makes sense." A silence rose between them. Shade was about to open a book when Applejack broke the silence. "Want to check out the school?"

Shade flung the book in her hoof absently to the side. "Sure," she shrugged, "why not?"

"Why haven't you asked me about my horns?" Shade interrupted Applejack's ramblings about apples, go figure.

Applejack cocked her head to the side. "What 'bout 'em?"

"Aren't you curious as to why I have three? Don't you think they make me look weird?"

"No, ya don't look weird at all," Applejack answered truthfully. "Well, since ya brought it up, why do y'all have three horns?"

"Genetics," Shade replied after a moment of walking in thoughtful silence, "I guess you can call us tricorns."

"I see. What catches my attention is your sunglasses. Ya always have 'em on and didn't take 'em off inside, considering how dark your room is."

"That's because if I see the sunlight," Shade paused dramatically and then grabbed Applejack's face with her hooves, "I'LL DIE!"

"You’re jokin', right?" Applejack asked with concern in her voice.

"Yeah," Shade snickered with a dopey grin. She released Applejack and cleared her throat, "I am. . . completely colorblind. Bright light hurts my eyes. Considering how easy these come off, I was thinking about buying some goggles."

"That's," Applejack was at a lost for words. She heard the sadness in Shade's voice but how could she console her new friend?

What was happening to her? Why was she talking and being open? Did Death do something to her? Something has felt. . . off. Shade could not put her hoof on what was happening to her, but she knew something felt different. What did Death do to me?

Shade was so busy with her vengeful thoughts that she did not pay attention to the early Spring afternoon gifts around her. Birds sang to one another saying their greetings after such a long time away from their neighbors. Spring flowers had their colorful arms outstretched to the embracing rays of the sun; a brisk wind blew the lush grass below and rustled the green leaves above.

Her plots for revenge were interrupted by a hoof on her back. She saw Applejack pointing at something. Her eyes followed the hoof and found the large building topped with a bell tower and a playground off to the side.

"That looks sufficiently school-like," Shade stated with a firm nod.

Applejack chuckled. "Eeyup. My family was one of the first to settle and found Ponyville. My Granny Smith was a lil' younger than me when they first built the schoolhouse."

"Wow! That's really neat."

"Are ya goin' to be alright when school starts, Shade?"

Shade saw the worry on Applejack's face. "What do you mean?"

"Well, bullies like to target and make fun of ponies without cutie marks."

Shade scoffed. "I don't care about the lack of a butt-tattoo of destiny, Applejack. How difficult do you think it is to laugh when your jaw is broken, and your neck is snapped?"

Applejack felt her spine tremble and limbs grow cold as she heard Shade's frightening words. "P-pretty difficult, I'd reckon."

Shade draped her left hoof over Applejack's neck and pulled close to her. She lowered her glasses and peeked over them with pale yellow eyes. Shade felt Applejack tense up, bringing a smirk to her muzzle. "'Sides. You have my back, right?"

"Darn tootin," Applejack said with a smile. "What are friends for?"

"I wouldn't know," Shade said, crestfallen with a pained smile. She released Applejack, then walked back from where they came.

"Where ya goin'?" she heard Applejack say from behind.

"Home," said flatly.

"Oh, no ya ain't!"

Shade turned her head. An orange blur shot past her, dragging her along by her arm. "Waaaahhh!!!!" Shade interjected.