Shadow Shine strolled nervously through the town, her eyes flitting the not very populated streets for the right stall. Her parents were away as usual, so she had to get herself food and drink from the money and job they had given her over the time they were gone. Her midnight blue hair blew back in the wind, straight and neat whilst her tail stayed close to her legs- she was just a little filly of 5, and yet they left her like this, "None of the fillies at school get left on their like this." She grunted to herself. Her pastel lime, slim body easily slipped around the other ponies. Compared to the other ponies around here, she was out of the ordinary- they were all Pegasi and Unicorns, even her dad- and her mom was an Alicorn- yet she was just your average earth pony. Nobody liked her, she knew it was true. But it was a fact she would have to deal with. After noticing the stall she wanted was closed, Shadow sighed, her head sinking to gaze depressively at the ground and her hooves scuffing against the sandy dirt beneath her. Suddenly she felt herself knock into the body of another filly, and stumbling back she was about to apologise- when she realised who it was.
Shadow Shine shrunk nervously at the presence of the three menacing fillies in front of her, each of them with an equally wicked grin marking their face, "Oh look, it's Shadow Whine! What a goth! I mean- look at you! And to think you're such a blank flank!" Prissy Neon leered, kicking Shadow Shine's flank with her hoof and knocking her into the muddy puddle behind, "I-I'm not a goth! I-I just have dark hair a-and look different to my parents! And I-I'm waiting for my cutie mark patiently!" She whimpered, dirt soaking into her coat and drenching her tail, "Ha! What's it going to be? A skull? A clown? A little BABY? Because that's all I see you as!" She snarled maliciously, getting close to Shine, her and her two lackeys enclosing her and increasing the anxiety and fear that squeezed her insides. Prissy made a sharp movement with her neon blue and yellow wings and her lackeys fell over with the laughter. Squeaking, Shadow Shine yelled, "NO!" And jerked, throwing her head forward and curling into a little ball. She heard several cries of shock and unfurled herself to reveal the floating fillies, the ground beneath them risen into the air. Her eyes widened- she wasn't a unicorn, she couldn't do that- so who did? But it was her, she felt it inside. As she scrambled up and began to sprint down the path into the forest, her flank began to glimmer- but in an odd way. Instead of the bright white light that flashed when a pony got their cutie mark, a black aura shot from it instead and in it's place was her cutie mark- a pitch black, four-pointed star with a purple streak of lightning and a red streak of lightning over it. Her hooves thudded against the forest path beneath them, leaves crunching and the wind whistling as she ran with tears streaking her eyes- she caught her hoof on a rock and with a high-pitched squeal she tumbled off the side of the path into a gully, filled enough with water that a young filly like herself would have to swim to keep above water- but she was already unconscious when she plummeted into the icy depths.
Shadow Shine's eyes slowly opened, the blurry bright light of day hurting them so she had to squeeze them shut within a few moments. She noticed the presence of another pony and when she regained her senses opened her eyes with the fear it could be the fillies- no, someone that made her even more nervous. Above her stood the fair, tall and elegant white mare that was Princess Celestia, with a concerned look on her face, "Are you okay, child? I was at the Canterlot Forest Festival and my guards noticed you drowning in the stream. You were out for half an hour, we thought you might be badly injured." She asked slightly frantically. Shadow opened her mouth to attempt to stammer a word but just managed to nod, with a gaping mouth still. The Princess laughed, and she felt reassured, "Tell me, what's your name?" She asked, "U-um, Shadow Shine, Your Majesty." She stuttered, "And what does that cutie mark represent?" She continued, "Wait- I have a cutie mark?!" Leaping up she turned her head- sure enough, there was the little symbol, "T-to be honest… I'm not sure. All I know is back in my town, on the edge of Canterlot, these three local fillies were picking on me because I look nothing like my parents and I'm- well I was- Cutie mark-less. But then I yelled and they started floating on pieces of land that was deformed and I knew I'd done it so I started running and then- well, I fell. Must have got my cutie mark at some point then. But how can I make people float when I'm not a unicorn?" She quickly explained. Celestia's expression had become slightly more serious, but still soft, "Hmm, I think…" She said, "I have a task for you- to go and live in a little town called Ponyville. I can't explain why right now, but you will understand- and you must learn to understand what your cutie mark is. I will fare you off on the train and explain to your parents about the change of towns. I believe I know them. Is that okay?" Shadow nodded and bounded off by Celestia for the train.
They arrived at the station and she leapt on, sitting in her seat and leaning out of a window to see Celestia, "If you do not learn your cutie mark and what it represents then you cannot learn to control your special talent. Your experiences in Ponyville will help you to understand this. Goodbye, Shadow Shine." And with that her new life had began, leaving her few years of bullying behind and beginning new.
And boy was she in for a hard time in the next few years...