Nightmares were once common in Equestria, back before the Nightmare Moon incident. After her banishment and the Everfree Forest became untamed and wild, they were shunned and hated by other ponies for their resemblance to the wicked mare. When ponies fled en masse from the now unmanageable Everfree, the Nightmares remained and built their own hidden city within the dangerous woods.

Shadow Gazer is one such Nightmare. He left his home within the forest to explore Equestria, and now resides with Phony Paige. His special skill is his ability to scry the future in any material, especially soil. He tells fortunes for a price in the market, though will never tell of important events such as births or deaths.

All Nightmares have magical flames in place of their tails and manes, each a different colour. Few overlap, but those who do are usually of the same family or at least so distantly related that their unions would not be problematic. Shadow gets his flame colour from his mother, Star Gazer, and his eye colour from his father, Red Rim. Red Rim was a guard for their town who sadly lost his life in a particularly violent Hydra attack.

Shadow doesn’t pay much attention to conversations, instead spending most of his time staring at the ground unabashedly. With his special skill being what it is, ponies are well aware of what he is doing.

There’s not much that can be really said about him, as he keeps to himself a lot. All that can really be said is that he is a very good gardener, amazingly skilled seer, and that he hates asparagus to the point of incinerating any that is offered him.