The tavern was relatively a rowdy place, music playing and ponies chattering. The tavern owner didn't mind. It was always like this. A new pony had come to town. Mysterious one. No one really knew where he came from or who he was. Appaloosa wasn't the largest place in Equestria, and it's fairly noticeable when someone new came to town. Especially someone so strange. No past. No friends. No relatives. He always wore a cloak that covered him completely. People could only catch glimpses of him under it. Just as the tavern owner was thinking about him, he walked in the doors. He hoped he wasn't going to cause a scene. He couldn't help but be suspicious. The mysterious pony sat down at the bar. "Apple cider please." He said. His voice was low. "Sure." He poured a mug of cider and slided it to him. He picked it up and drank it in one gulp. "Thanks." He left a few bits on the bar. "Keep the change." He began to leave, and as he approached the door, a gust of wind blew his hood down. He was a unicorn, but his horn… It had been sawed off. Someone else noticed, too. "What the hell?" The pony cried. The cloaked one turned, and pulled his hood up swiftly. "What are you looking at?" He asked. The pony backed away. "Whoa, I don't have a problem with you." He said, his voice shaking. "Hey now, don't cause a scene." The bartender said.
"Don't worry." The cloaked pony said, He turned and left the tavern, and walked down the dusty Appaloosa street to the rented flat he was living in above a flower shop. He passed the clerk. She was the owner's daughter. A cute but kind of geeky pony with glasses named Daisy Bloom. She sheepishly waved at him as he walked up the stairs. He just wanted to be alone right now. He unlocked the door to his room and entered. He pulled off his cloak and hanged it on the coat rack. He sat down on the couch and spread his wings. Shadow looked around the modestly decorated room. It would do for now. He wasn't working. The place was nice enough. The only other places he had lived in were a dilapidated house, a luxurious townhouse in Canterlot, and the royal palace, so he didn't really have a great idea of what normal houses were like. Shadow's magic still sort of worked, even with his horn sawed off. He barely knew why he had done it. Some fit of self loathing had prompted it. It had been a few years since he left Silver. He had generally wandered around the country until arriving here. He liked the country. The open plains. The dry, warm climate. Sometimes he missed Silver, but he knew that leaving her was for the best.
After reading for about an hour, Shadow decided he needed to take a walk to clear his head. The sun was beginning to set. He put on his cloak and set off. He walked down the stairs and saw Daisy closing up the shop. "Hey, can you, uh, help me out with this crate?" She suddenly asked, and gestured towards a crate full of flowers. "It's, uh, kind of heavy…" She said. "Oh, uh, sure." Shadow said. They picked up the crate together and carried it into the storage room. "Hey, um, I'm Daisy. I never got your name." She said. "Oh, my name's, um… Shade. Shade Crescent." He said. "Oh, cool name." She said. They stared at each other kind of awkwardly. "Well, I'm gonna head off for my walk now." He said. "Oh! Of course. Alright." She said, and he turned and left.
Shadow walked through the streets. Eventually he came to an alleyway. He decided to walk in. It was cold, and the sun had set. He would've headed back soon, but then two muscular stallions stepped in front of him. "Don't try to run." One said. Shadow noticed two more behind him. "Just give us your things." Shadow turned. "I don't want any trouble." He said. "You're gonna get some if you don't-" he was cut off as Shadow let out a fractured burst of magic from his horn, blasting him back. "What the hell?!" One of them yelled. Shadow charged the other one and knocked him over, before unleashing two more blasts at the other running from the alley. The first pony got up and tackled Shadow away from his friend. "You're gonna die, boy." He said, and began to beat Shadow with his hooves. Shadow tried to resist but the stallion was too heavy and too strong. Shadow was going to be beaten to a pulp, when he unleashed a blast of magic into the stallion's face, knocking him back and blinding him. The last one got up at the same time Shadow did. Shadow just stared at him and he ran.
Shadow walked back to the flower shop, and when he entered, Daisy gasped. "Oh my Celestia! Shade! What happened to you?" She asked, racing over to him. "Nothing I couldn't handle." He said. "We need to get those wounds cleaned. Come with me." She pulled him into the back room where she pulled some antiseptic from a first aid kit. "Just take off your hood." She said. "Um… I…" He stuttered, but she pulled the hood down anyway, revealing his sawn off horn. "Holy… What did you…" She stepped back. "It doesn't matter. Just… Just clean the wounds." He said. "Uh, sure…" She said, and treated the wounds with antiseptic before bandaging them. "Who did this?" She asked. "Just some morons in an alley. I took care of it." He said. "Oh no… Was it the Supreme Horn?" She asked, a scared look in her eyes. "What the hell is that?" Shadow responded.
"The Supreme Horn is a group of unicorn supremacists. They think earth ponies and pegasi are weaker than them because we don't have magic. They're the only group like that that's actually well organized. They have a ton of unicorns in their army and some really powerful wizards. They haven't really done anything major yet but everyone's really paranoid about them." She explained. "What the hell? Why hasn't anyone done anything about them?" He asked. "Well, they haven't actually committed any crimes yet. At least none that they've been caught committing. Some of their members go out and beat up pegasi and earth ponies, but they never admit they're part of the group, even when everyone knows they are. Some members make speeches in public too. They're so horrible! I know all unicorns aren't like this, but it just makes me so mad! All ponies are equal." She said. "What is this world coming too. My Celestia…" He said. She finished with his wounds. "There you go. You should probably rest." She said. "Yeah." He said, making his way to the door. Then he stopped. "Hey, Daisy." She turned around. "Thanks for helping me out." He said. "No problem." She said, and he walked upstairs.
Shadow took off his cloak once again and lay down in bed. He needed to rest. He couldn't believe those thugs gave him so much trouble. He was out of shape. His magic was the only thing that had saved him, and even then it wasn't going to be much use soon. He could feel its power fading. Shadow needed help. He needed to get back to his peak again. He knew that Supreme Horn group would make a move. They didn't even know who he was, but he didn't want them to be a threat to anypony. He knew who he had to pay a visit the next day.