Chapter 7: Settling In

As Shadow exited the house, Rainbow was left in a state of curiosity. What did he mean by dangerous?

Storm noted that it must be early morning, as dew lined the front porch of Dash's cloudy residence. The town was quiet, still waking up. Shadow immediately set out, directly to the office of Rich Industries.

As he arrived, the town was beginning its quiet bustle. The office was simple; light beige brick with a thatched roof. He ventured inside to find the waiting room devoid of visitors. As he opened the door, a bell rang. He watched a young green mare, apparently a secretary, jump from her seat at the main desk and walk directly to Shadow.

"Mr. Storm, I presume?" the pony asked.

Dumbfounded, Shadow answered, "Uh… yeah. Actually, it's Lieutenant, but no matter."

The mare quickly led Shadow past the main desk, and into a small office. The office was a little cramped, with a single desk in the middle of the room. At the desk stood a slightly aged pony, with light brown fur and a dark chocolate mane. He wore a tie and dress shirt, although they looked a bit dilapidated. As quickly as the secretary had entered the room, she left, slamming the door.

"Ah Mr. Shadow Storm, we've been expecting you."

The dapper pony walked over to Storm, grinning.

Shadow, a bit scrambled, asked "Expecting me?"

"Oh yes!" answered the pony, "Your friend, Miss Sparkle, informed me of your intentions and that I may have a visit from you in the near future."

"And I presume you are Mr. Filthy?"

The pony frowned slightly, and replied, "Yes, but please; call me Mr. Rich."

"Ah," Storm acknowledged with a nod, "Well Mr. Rich, you know why I'm here. Is the property still on the market?"

"Yes, it is. But there's nothing on the property. It's just straight land."

"Perfect. How much is it?"

"Make me an offer," Filthy said, grinning deeply.

Shadow's eyes narrowed slightly, annoyed by the salesman. Swallowing he quickly laid out a plan, and straightened his black tie.

"450 bits," Shadow stated.

"You've got to be joking! 1,000," exclaimed Rich, in a fake surprise.

"550."

"900."

"650."

"800."

"750, final offer."

Rich frowned for a moment, and then smiled. He extended a hoof toward Shadow.

"You drive a hard bargain… deal," Rich said, beaming.

Shadow extended his hoof and shook Rich's. After settling payment and being handed the deed, Shadow bid Filthy farewell.

It was late morning by the time Shadow made it to his new property. It was a blank, grassy plain, about three acres in size.

'A clean slate,' he thought, smiling.

Immediately, Shadow put his RAF training to work. He began dashing about at full speed, gathering tufts of cloud. Within minutes, he had a small, makeshift shelter. In essentiality, it was just a cloud version of the usual military Quonset that Storm was accustomed to. Take a moment to stare at it for a while, he decided that it would do for now. After molding a door out of clouds, he dashed outside again, and began to expand the base of his house. Within the next few hours he had a large base, the perfect canvas for a house.

"Hey! Shadow!"

The high pitched voice interrupted Storm as he admired his handiwork. He turned to see Pinkie Pie standing on the road alongside his house, joined by Rarity and Twilight Sparkle. Shadow descended toward the group of ponies, performing a corkscrew. He landed softly in front of the three, with a grin.

Bowing toward the mares, Storm cried with a fake Canterlotian accent, "Fillies and Gentlecolts, I give you the magical magnificent manor of Shadow Storm. Also known as a shed."

Giggling, the three ponies watched their dark friend bow dramatically.

"Anyway," Twilight said, still slightly reeling from laughter, "We wanted to see how you made off."

"Not to forget bring you this," Rarity added, placing a parcel in front of Storm, "It was left at the train station for you."

Eagerly, Shadow opened the parcel. His face lit up after getting a view of its contents.

"It's my flight suit."

Shadow pulled out a dark blue jumpsuit, adorned with golden lightning bolts on the legs and a golden streak along the breast of the suit. On the hind leg a small lightning bolt emblem, with two wings, similar to Storm's cutie mark.

"It's absolutely marvelous," exclaimed Rarity, intrigued by the jumpsuit.

Shadow replied, "I'll be sure to pass your compliments onto the designers."

"We were just on our way to lunch, care to join us?" Twilight asked, noticing.

"Now how can anypony reject an invitation from three mares like you," answered Storm with a chuckle.