"I do not deserve happiness," Shade mutters to the darkness.

She opens her eyes to find herself in the middle of her room. Something about her feels off. No longer did a pang wretch in her chest. She stands, unmoving, unblinking in the darkness. Outside ponies go about their day, birds singing, and bees buzzing. Suddenly, her bedroom door blows open by a pink wind.

"SHADE!" Pinkie yellls, "DON'T DO IT!" Pinkie's wild blue eyes stare at a statuesque Shade. Shade blinks. Pinkie shrivels to the floor, "You did it, didn't you?"

"I had to," is Shade's cold reply.

"No…" Pinkie sobs.

"It was the only solution I came up with that would not hurt you, Fluttershy, or Ditzy."

Pinkie sits up and glares at Shade. "So you decide to hurt everypony, including yourself?!"

"Yes," Shade replies mechanically.

Pinkie gets up to walk out the door. She turns back to say, "I would rather see you happy with somepony else than to see you like this."

Shade watches as Pinkie walks away—unmoving, unblinking—unfazed by Pinkie's words.

Grey hammers away at an anvil working on his latest piece. A door crashing open across the way draws his attention. A pink pony runs out of Shade's house. Grey noticed a tear sparkle in the morning light as the pony speeds away. His daughter materializes in front of her house in a crimson bubble and watches the pink pony run away. His dad-senses tingle.

Shade turns to see Grey watching her. She lowers her goggles over her eyes and turns to her front door. Yellow magic freezes her and she huffs a sigh as she slides across the street. Within moments, she is face to face with her father.

"Zdra—"

"What have you done now?" Grey cuts her off and demands.

"Everything," is Shade's sardonic reply.

Grey releases his magical hold on his daughter. He examines her closely with his keen eyes, walking around her and methodically prodding the alabaster pony with a gray hoof. Shade remains still.

Her father returns in front of her and holds up his left hoof, "How many hooves am I holding up?"

Shade narrows her eyes at the stallion before answering, "Ten."

Grey sighs and lowers his hoof. "Correct." He places his hoof on her withers. Concern wrinkles his face. He lifts up his daughter with his strength and presses an ear against her barrel.

"Do you mind?" Shade protests lamely.

Grey sets her back down on all fours and stares into her goggles. "Where is your heart?"

"I got rid of it."

"Oh. Okay. It's not like you need your heart to live or anything." Grey jeers. He grabs her shoulders and shakes her, "Why would you do that?!"

"It… panged me…" Shade finally answers after being unde Grey's intense gaze for the past minute.

"Shade." Grey pulls Shade in for an embrace. He gently pets her mane, "You can not run away from your problems. Did you run away when I struck you during your training?"

"No."

"Did you run away from the bicycle whenever you fell off?"

"No." Shade robotically speaks.

Grey squeezes his daughter for a long moment. Time comes to a stand still for Shade as she melts from her father's heat and love. She begins to regret her brash decision.

"I am such a child," Shade says aloud.

Grey kisses her forehead. "No. You just act first and think second." He smiles at Shade, "Let's try to find your heart and we can talk about what led up to now. Alright?"

Shade draws in a long breath. "Very well."

The father-daughter duo spend the entire morning retracing Shade's steps—or at least the steps Shade can remember. Grey is not proficient enough in magic to remove the seal on Shade's memory and with Death out of the picture they decide to take a break at the park to reflect further.

A picturesque Summer sun and sky float above them as they rest on top of a hill. Clouds are nowhere in sight yet a constant breeze keeps the pair comfortable. Grey cannot help but see Valkyrie in all of Shade's actions as of late. He will do everything in his power to help Shade not end up like her mother.

"Do you want my advice?" Grey interrupts the silence with his question.

Shade removes her attention from the large pond to focus on her father. "I will hear you out."

"Choose who makes you the happiest and who you have the most in common with."

Shade stares up at the sky pensively.

"I loved Val. Hell, I still do," Grey shares, "we have a lot in common. I fell in love with her ferocity and strength. Looking back now, though… she was kinda boring and not really happy."

Shade cocks a curious brow.

"She was obsessed with sex. I mean, I know I'm good and she was fantastic. The way she—"

"Ahem," Shade clears her throat to keep her father from further explaining what she did not want to hear.

"Right. The things we have in common did not transition well into times of peace. Outside of combat and weapons, our interests stopped. She did not like to read, she did not like music, art gave her a headache, and she found cold unbearable. If we weren't fu–making love we were fighting. If we weren't fighting we were training."

Shade stares off at the water in quiet contemplation. "What is love?" She questions aloud.

"As complicated as life and just as simple and just as wonderful," Grey comments with a grin.

With a sigh, Shade stands to her hooves. "Perhaps Twilight Sparkle can help. She is Sunbutt's magical protégée. Maybe for a good reason."

"Onward to Sparklebutt's!" Grey jumps up and announces.

Knocking on the door makes Twilight's ear twitch as her attention stays in the magic tome she is reading. More knocking makes her groan. She reluctantly sets the old book down on a table and gets up from her comfortable chair to answer the door.

Twilight opens the door with a huff. "Yes?"

Ponk!

Something punches her muzzle which makes her rear back and see stars.

"Ooops."

"What the hay!" Twilight interjects, holding her snout.

"My apologies, Twilight Sparkle," Shade bows and ignites her horns.

Twilight watches as her muzzle glows with yellow energy and the pain washing away.

"W-was that a healing spell?" Twilight asks incredulously.

"Did you want me to kiss it instead?"

Twilight shakes her head. "Did you need something?"

"I have a magical conundrum."

"You need help with magic?"

"Yes. May we come in?"

"Oh! Yes. Come in!" Twilight moves out of the door way to allow Shade in. We?

A gray stallion, about the size of Big Mac, steps in front of her.

"My name is Grey Smith," the stallion introduces himself. He lifts up one of Twilight's lavender hooves and gently kisses it. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Shade's father."

Twilight curtsies and introduces herself, "My name is Twilight Sparkle."

Grey enters the library and closes the door behind him with his yellow magic. "Shade has told me much about you. I believe thanks are in order for saving all of Equestria from eternal night."

Twilight blushes and absently digs her hoof into the floor boards, "I did not do it all by myself. Shade and out friends helped, as well."

Grey grins and walks over to where Shade is inspecting a stack of old books. "What's up, kiddo?"

"These are books Death and I found." Shade turns around to face the lavender unicorn and waits expectantly.

"You left those with me," Twilight replies. She levitates a sheet of parchment from off a desk and shows it to Shade.

Shade examines the parchment. "That is my writing," she affirms. "What 'favor' did I ask of you?"

"I don't remember and your note doesn't specify."

"Obviously, you entrusted your heart with her," Grey states matter of factly.

"'Heart?'" Twilights eyes grow. "Like, your literal heart?"

Shade nods her head, "Yes."

A light flashes above Twilight's head. She teleports over to a tall bookcase and takes down a small chest from the top shelf. She rushes over to Shade and opens the chest to reveal—

"It is empty," Shade deadpans.

"What?!" Twilight interjects and peers into the empty gold lined box. "How?"

Shade's horns glow crimson and project a faint red glow around the bookcase. The red projection is blurry and out of focus. Shade ends her concentration and knots her brows together. "Magical interference."

"Someone stole your heart. And not in the good way," Grey comments.

"So it would seem."