“Shadey-wadey?”

Gentle prods stir Shade awake.

“What?” Shade sniffles. Sniffle? A fetlock rubs the moisture from her nose.

“You uh, you kinda screamed.” Pinkie rubs a hoof along Shade’s cheek. Her eyes twinkle with concern in the moonlight.

“I feel angry and sad.” Shade wipes her eyes as the wave of emotions subside. “I feel like I saw you die... murdered.”

Pinkie smiles and hugs her tricorn. “I’m right here, silly.”

Shade exhales a sigh of relief. “I never want to feel like that again.”

Apple Walker jumps down the last few steps and crashes through the metal door. She lowers her weapon when she sees Shade sitting on the floor looking at the ground. She walks closer and stops in her tracks. Sunset’s naked body dangles on two meat hooks in the back of the room.

“Shade?” Walker calls out as she scans the room for hostiles.

“How could I forget?” Shade’s voice barely registers as a whisper to Walker.

“Who did this? They still here?” Walker stands next to Shade while shining her flashlight in all the corners of the room.

“I did this. I killed her. Just like everyone else.”

“What—“ Shade jumping to her feet startles Walker. She watches as the teen walks away. She follows. “Did you see her killer?”

“I killed her. I could not save her. I put her up on those hooks. I failed her. I killed them all. I failed them all. They all die because of me.” Shade rambles as she walks down the dim hallway of the abandoned hospital. “Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Fail. Fail. Fail. Fail. Fail. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.”

“Shade. It’s not your fault. The one at fault is the person who kidnapped Sunset.” Walker tried to reason with the teen. She puts away her firearm.

Shade keeps walking and incoherently muttering.

“They’re still out there right? If they went after Sunset they could be targeting Starlight next.” Shade stops. Walker places a hand on the teen’s shoulder. “We need to keep her safe.”

“Yes.” Shade turns her head to look at Walker. “You watch over her and I will leave.”

“You have to tell me who did this.”

Shade stares up at Walker. “You and Viridian may be the only ones to stop her. Her name is Autumn Spice. The two of you can go after her.”

“Where you goin?” Walker calls out to Shade as she runs the opposite direction.

“To keep Starlight safe from me.” Shade replies as she continues forward.

Shade spends the next thirty minutes running through the sewers, the way Autumn had taken to kidnap Sunset, to get to the hospital. Once she is out in the open, she uses the cell phone to text Harmony to pick her up at the hospital and bring her some new clothes.

Shade stays quiet the whole ride to Canterlot. Neither of the three women with her say anything for a long time until Cobalt Blossom breaks the silence as they enter the city limits.

“You can always come back for her funeral.” Shade signs while staring out the window. “What do you mean ‘not important’? She was your friend!”

“‘The body is just fertilizer and food for nature. Nothing to have a ceremony for. I already told her my goodbyes and my apologies while I watched her die.’”

“Have you heard of Tech Smith?” President Harmony inquires to Shade.

“‘Some kind of technology mogul. Created the cell phones and computers used today.’”

“He is a childhood friend of mine and has agreed to help with your project. He can’t wait to help.”

“‘Joy.’”

“We are going to stop at my private villa and Cobalt Blossom will take you to her home.”

“Our home, Shade.” Cobalt Blossom smiles.

“‘K.’”

Cobalt’s smile wavers. She knows she needs to be patient, especially with how traumatic the past three hours have been.

Time flies by for Shade. She throws herself into working on the software for her sign translator gloves. Since she has no need for sleep and forgoes eating, she completes her project on the gloves within six months. She has practically made the laboratory her new home having spent ninety-five percent of her time there.

In fact, most of her belongings sit on her desk and her few changes of clothes fill up the drawers. Shade does not mind Cobalt Blossom’s house but her house is not the lab. She has no need for sleep and only eats to keep from having social services take her away from work—from Cobalt Blossom. All of Shade’s work is at the lab so it is only logical that she stay at work and not an hour’s drive away.

With the World Technology Expo around the corner, both Shade and Tech Smith work around the clock to have a working prototype of the Signotron 1000 (patent pending, name pending) to show the world and investors. Summer begins with the Summer Sun Celebration and the World Technology Expo later that day. Tech Smith works his MC magic while Shade demonstrates how the gloves work without a hitch. When the WTE comes to an end, more than a dozen investors wish to back the device.

Soon after the expo, as in immediately returning to the laboratory, Shade starts a project to replace her eyes. TECHIES, TECH Industries Electronics and Services, Tech Smith’s company name, has the best electronics in the world. Shade works with Tech Smith to develop ocular prosthetics in order for her to see color. By the end of the year, she is ready for the Raptor Eyes (patent pending) ocular prosthetics.

The Raptor Eyes not only allow color vision, they also allow infrared vision (night vision/low-light vision and thermal imaging), ultraviolet vision, and up to ten times magnification. The Raptor Eyes are not commercially available. They remain a top secret for fifty years. The Robin Eyes (patent pending) allows for color vision and two times magnification and available as elective surgery. Within the decade, eighty percent of the population will have some form of ocular prosthesis.

Tech Smith turns out far differently than how Shade had imagined. The word “genius” does little to truly express his intelligence just as the word “eccentric” conveys little to his proclivities towards technology. After four months of working together, Shade gets a surprise in the form of Tech Smith wanting to adopt her. She accepts. Cobalt Blossom understands whole heartedly why Shade accepts and had even encouraged Tech Smith to adopt her. In the end, she want what is best for Shade.

Another reason Shade had spent most of her time at the labs is she discovers Cobalt Blossom is and agent for the Equestria Bureau of Investigation. Which makes sense considering all the questions Cobalt indirectly asks. She tells Cobalt up front she will never trust someone who lies for a living. Cobalt Blossom respects Shade’s decision especially when she learns Shade is over a couple millennia years old.

The researcher in Cobalt emerges and wants to learn everything about Shade and her past. Shade feels knowledge of a different world they are never going to visit as useless. Shade relents in the end because alternatively what does she have to lose from telling Cobalt?

While talking about her culture, Shade remembers something, a custom where individuals wear white masks when they feel ready to die because they have nothing to live for. Those individuals, the Hollow, are the ones that go on suicidal missions and take on impossible quests to earn an honorable death since suicide is a grave sin. Shade decides to make herself a white mask.

Apple Walker and Verdant Viridian join the Equestria Rangers; their first mission: hunt down Autumn Spice. Which goes as well as Shade predicts. Every lead turns up empty. Every trail grows cold. They persist but after the first year optimism runs low.

Much to Walker’s chagrin Shade never inquires about Starlight and flat out ignores any information about her. Starlight had made her displeasure known and quite vocal. Walker understands where the teen’s feelings of betrayal come from. After a few months, Starlight gives up on Shade and focuses on her studies. Well, that is the story she tells Walker at least.