Shadows of Katsura

"If we get captured... we'll spend the rest of our days in a tiny room... with no freedom, no friends, and worst of all... no chocolate... do you want to proceed with this operation?"

"Yes"

"Are you sure you want to do such a thing?"

"... HELL YEAH!!!"

"Awesome! Quick, open the window. The clan meeting's already started. Damn, that's quite the crowd down there. Ready?!?"

"TOSS!!!"

And with that, an impossibly long strip of toilet paper flew out the window and began wildly moving around in the wind, just over the gathered crowd outside the building. Half the ponies in the crowd caught a bewildered look on their face, the other half began laughing. A particularly strict looking pony, standing in front of the crowd, turned and squinted at the window.

"OH DANG, GO-GO-GO!!!"

Two colts running through the corridors, were laughing so hard it echoed off of every wall in the structure.

"Maaan, that gathering was so gloomy... They should thank us for cheering them up a bit -" one of them laughed as rough hooves, scooped both of them off the ground.

"David and Sam... I should have known" a rough pony said, holding the kids by the the scruff of the neck. A purple looking colt gave a shy smile: "Hello mister Barnes... how are you today?"

"Dont get dumb with me Sam" Barnes roared "You ain't getting off the hook again!"

The second, dark looking colt enthusiastically nodded his head: "Would you like some help with the floors mister Barnes? The city hall is a very big place to clean on your own"

"I'll manage" Barnes grumbled, involuntarily throwing a glance at his mop. Distant hoofsteps attracted his attention as he saw a soldier quickly approaching. Barnes turned and showed him the colts "Got your kid and his best buddy again"

The pony in uniform gave a shy laugh.

"My apologies mister Barnes, I'll take it from here"

As the kids stepped back on the ground, the soldier led them back through the corridor "Come on you two, lets clean up your mess"

"Come on dad!" David frowned "We spent so much time setting it up!" The three reached a closed room and the soldier opened the door: "Pull that toilet paper back in and stay in the room until I come back, understood?"

The two kids nodded and looked down, looking gloomy. The pony sighed "...why did you hang a strip of toilet paper over the square during the clan meeting?"

"Everyone is so gloomy lately" Sam slowly replied.

"No one smiles anymore so... we wanted to cheer everyone up a bit" David said and looked up at his dad. The tall pony remained quiet for a moment before he gave them a bright smile "Its gonna be ok, just let us sort everything out. The village will be back to normal soon" he winked and closed the door.

The colts began to slowly pull the toiler paper back in, then David sat down on one of the chairs as Sam found an old mirror, standing by the wall and carefully inspected it. "Mmmmm... gloomy gloomy... need to smile more"

He whirled around himself then spread his front hooves and squeezed out a huge smile:

"Helloooo!" He addressed himself in the mirror. A purple pony was staring back at him with a silly smile.

"My name is Sam! And I'm a pegasus who cant fly!"

"Come on you're not that... bad..." David squeezed out a smile.

"Yep, set a record of, a whole 5 seconds before I crash in a tree" Sam laughed to himself spreading his wings.

"At least you didn't accidentally set Barnes' mop on fire, trying to make it clean the floor by itself" David said scratching his horn.

"It was funny though" Sam laughed a little, then noticed David staring at the floor.

The unicorn sighed: "Do you think..... they're going on an expedition again?... Fight bad guys...?"

"Don't worry!" Sam winked "They're the Shadows of Katsura! They're totally invincible and will be back safe before we know it!"

"Yeah..." David slowly kicked an eraser that ended up on the floor somehow. It jumped away to a corner and stopped next to a very small trolley and a full bucket of black paint. A devious grin began to slowly spread over Dave's face.

Two soldiers were walking through the city hall, quietly talking"... I mean... I know... when we were young, we did crazy stuff too, but not That cra-

"The ponies froze as they caught a glimpse of Barnes looking right at them.

"Oh Really" Barnes grinned scratching his gray hair.

The two soldiers almost looked like the exact copy of David and Sam. Only older and taller. They awkwardly smiled and went onward.

"Come on" one of them sighed "Lets just get our kids and-" They opened the door and the expression of shock washed over them.

"...wow... I don't know what I expected"

"How did they walk on the ceiling?" The older unicorn squeezed out, sounding like he was about to break into tears from exhaustion.

The room was, of course empty. The colts were nowhere in sight, though they left a vivid trace of their questionable escape route: black hoof prints, beginning at the ceiling and leading toward the open window.

"...Impressive..." the older pegasus said "... considering Dave cant form a basic spell, and Sam cant fly even if his life depended on it."

"Its right there..." The unicorn weakly gestured at the ceiling "... how? ..."

"The world may never know..." The pegasus said, shaking his head as he noticed an open air vent, in the rooms corner.

Two colts were crawling through the ventilation system, giggling under their breath. The image of Sam, shoes covered in paint, bounced into the air by Dave, as he laid on his back in the trolley, slowly moving forward so the hoof prints will look straight and consistent, was still very vivid in their minds.

They finally stopped, out of breath and Dave looked in the direction of his tail.

"Dang it! I really thought we had it that time!"

"Let it go, we're not getting our cutie marks in wreaking havoc" Sam giggled.

"Oh well, we probably made our dads smile at least" Dave giggled "The other kids at school better be impressed by our mighty achievements!" Dave waved his hoof through the air: "The pegasus who's bad at flying, and the unicorn who's bad at magic, 10 years old, still no cutie marks, everyone's got theirs years ago, worst grades in our class, we are, undoubtedly the most terrible students this village has ever seen, ever - " Dave inhaled and dramatically paused:

"And we made, the entire village - smile! - Boo yeah!!!"

Sam gave him a brohoof.

A loud voice from down below made them go quiet. There was a small opening in the vents, a meter away. And as the colts crawled close to it, a large crowded room came into view.

"...enemy force is on the move. Kronos will fall if we don't intervene. They will slaughter everyone! Women, children - they will not differentiate"

A large group of armored ponies were hunched over a map, laid on a wooden table.

"...- You already heard my decision. We will defend our ally. Whatever the cost"

"The enemy outnumbers us four to one. If we stand on their way to Kronos, our forces will perish. And Kronos will still fall"

One of the ponies sighed, rubbing his eyes "...Any word from Equestria?"

"...They agreed to help. They're forces are mobilizing but they wont be here in time... I'm sorry... but we have to consider the option to -

"WE WILL NOT FLINCH FROM DEATH!" A pony shouted, pushing someone away "WE ARE SHADOWS - WE WILL DO WHAT WE HAVE TO - WHATEVER THE COST!"

"You're insane... the only thing you'll accomplish is killing off our entire military. Our village will be left vulnerable. Nothing will stop them from coming here to exact vengeance, burning our homes and killing our families - our - YOUR - children... Leave it be... Kronos will have to defend itself... Our ally is more than capable-"

"If we don't intervene - they will die" A pony said firmly "We are the Shadows of Katsura. We will do what is necessary... lieutenant, you are relieved from duty"

Two soldiers walked into the room, and escorted someone outside.

"Sam, what do you think-" Dave began and noticed Sam quietly moving away. "Sam, Sam wait!" David whispered and hurried after him.

* * *

"...The legend goes that a powerful Alicorn once lived on this Earth. Her name was Katsura and she stood against those who were wicked. She selflessly fought to save others until the moment she met, the foe she could not defeat.

The Alicorn fought until the last of her strength had left her. Her foe laughed as the Alicorn was but flesh and blood. She was mortal and could be weakened and broken. And as such, she was bound to fail from the start. But as much as the Alicorn's body was broken, her will was not. She vowed to protect those who needed her and willed herself to fight on.

The will of the Alicorn was so strong, her own Shadow came to life and fought in her place. Unlike the Alicorn, the Shadow did not grow tired. It did not feel pain and didn't feel hopelessness or despair. And it didn't stop fighting until the foe was defeated. And even after the Alicorn passed away from this world, her Shadow remained...

To be called the Shadow of Katsura is the greatest honor a warrior can receive. The name of the professional, the elite, the most skilled warriors to walk on this Earth..."

Sam sighed looking up at the sky and went on "...we've heard this tale a hundred times... if so, why isn't it any easier knowing our fathers will be fighting again?"

They were outside the city hall, sitting close on a small bench by the building.

"Sam" David called in concern.

"... why did they join the Shadows?" Sam quietly asked, staring emptily at the sky.

David looked at him with slight confusion and worry "... because of their cutie marks... right? ... its their talent... they were born this way"

"...Why do we still have no cutie marks Dave..." Sam quietly said and looked at him "We're already ten years old. Everyone in the class, in our village probably, got theirs already. Is something wrong with us?"

"Maybe... we just didn't find what we're good at... right?" David asked with a smile.

"...Ive been thinking..." Sam said, looking up at the sky again "...The cutie mark represents the thing we're most good at... but, our dads always say - if you pick ANY task and practice long enough... you'll be good at it, so... what if... its possible to... pick, your own cutie mark?"

"...But... They're already there...just invisible" Dave asked in confusion "We were born with them. Can we really will ourselves to change our talent?"

Sam frowned "...What if you were forced to do something else... or what if you really wanted to..."

Dave was giving Sam a weird look, when Sam suddenly jerked forward and jumped off the bench

"There she is"

"Who" Dave asked in confusion.

"There she is"

"What"

"There she is"

"Where" Dave began twisting about on the bench, when Sam walked off toward a squad of soldiers, standing in a tight formation a bit off in the distance. They wore black armor, with the clans insignia firmly visible on their shoulders and backs. They stood in a perfect row, looking straight ahead as their commander gave them orders. Out of the squad of armed ponies, one visibly stood out.

A mare, visibly shorter than the rest of the squad. Her expression and posture reflected a cold, emotionless, disciplined stare of a seasoned veteran.

"...she's only fourteen... isn't she..." Sam quietly said "...Claire"

"The youngest one to join the Shadows in the past few decades" Dave quietly finished "... I mean, we have guys who are good, but she's on a whole other level... I bet she could kick our plot in a gazillion ways with her pinkie, if we even looked at her funny- where are you going?"

Sam was already half way toward the mare when Dave caught a horrified look on his face.

The commander had dismissed the soldiers, and they began to slowly trail off into the village. Yet Claire remained standing perfectly still, looking into space directly ahead

"Sam - no" Dave whispered, as Sam already stopped next to the mare and nodded:

"Hello"

The mare seemed to have snapped out of her trance and looked at the colt. Her empty expression became colored with a hint of curiosity, but it quickly faded. Sam awkwardly smiled:

"...Um... You don't know me but, my name is Sam"

"...Claire..." she quietly said. Her eyes remained empty "Hello Sam" She continued to look at him for another moment before she asked: "Sam... the clan leader's son?"

"Y-y-yes..." Sam's ears fell down as he awkwardly smiled, looking left and right:

"I-totally-didn't-do-nothing-mischievous-that-may-cause-trouble-for-him-by-accident-haha-ha-ha-ha" Sam began awkwardly laughing.

Dave suddenly ran into Sam at full speed, catching Sam's neck under his hoof: "I'm sorry my friend is touched in the head, you must be very busy - don't mind us!" Dave nervously mumbled and shined a terrified smile.

"It is no trouble. My scouting assignment doesn't begin in an hour... " Claire said in a quiet voice as she looked at the colts "Is something the matter?"

"Nop nop, everything's fiieeeee-" Dave's sentence was cut off, as Sam finally wiggled free from his grasp and pushed him away.

"Sorry, I wanted to ask you-" Sam began staring at Claire "- Can you Change your own cutie mark?"

"What?" Claire asked. For the first time, genuine expression of confusion and curiosity reflected over her emotionless face.

"We have to go - excuse uuuus" Dave nervously smiled and began pulling Sam firmly away. Claire remained standing, tracing their movement as her mind began to be slowly lost in thought.

"Dude!" Dave raised both hooves in bewilderment "What were you thinking!"

They made it half way across the village before they finally stopped. David began pulling at his own ears "She's a Shadow! She can kill us in nine different ways with her pinkie!!! What if we upset her by accident?! She gonna kill us dead!!!"

"... I just asked her a question" Sam bit his lip as he smiled "that cant upset anybody, right?"

David suddenly stopped pulling his ears and let out a very evil looking smile: "... Sam... you don't... have a... crush on that mare... do you?"

"What? No" Sam shook his head "I just respect her is all" he smiled and looked to the side somewhere "... speaking of which, I believe that is your crush on the horizon, right there Dave"

"What-where-what" Dave began nervously twisting about "Is it Star?! Hows my hair, is my breath ok?"

"You're fine Dave" Sam giggled.

"Wish me luck" David nodded, looked around and plucked a particularly large flower. Then quickly made his way to a mare, standing some distance away.

Sam happily smiled as he looked at them.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set on the horizon, as David returned looking happy as ever. "She is so cool" he announced, his eyes shining.

Before Sam could respond, Dave's eyes suddenly caught a horrified look, as he noticed someone standing behind them.

"What" Sam asked, looking around "...uhh... Hi Mom?" he said to an elderly mare, standing behind them "Nice weather tonight huh?"

"Whats with the obviously guilty faces" The mare smiled.

"Uuuuuuuuuh" Same and Dave looked at each other, and the mare laughed: "Well, at least you didn't blow up the city hall, so I guess it wasn't that bad" She gave them a hug.

"Its getting late David, you're home's not far from here, will you be ok walking there on your own?"

"Of course!" David nodded "Bye Sam! See ya Tomorrow!"

"Byee!" Sam happily waved as he began walking away with his mother.

The sun was slowly setting on the horizon.

* * *

The walls surrounding the village were tall and impressive. A unicorn guard slowly walking outside the perimeter, was tightly holding on to something in his pocket.

He happily waved to a Shadow scouting party as they left the village and passed next to him.

"Hey Claire" he said to a small pony from the scouting party. The mare's expression briefly reflected a smile as she greeted him. Then the scouting party completely vanished from view, disappearing into the thick woods beyond. The guard slowly pulled something out of his pocket, and looked at it with a smile.

A picture: David happily laughing, sitting on the shoulders of this very guard, and wildly waving his hooves. The guard smiled and hid the picture again.

"... sleep tight son. Nothing's gonna hurt you tonight" the guard whispered.

"Beta, this is Zulu" a muffled voice suddenly came through the guards uniform. He pulled out a small yellow crystal and spoke into it :

"Beta here. All quiet. Over."

"Roger. Next check in an hour" the small crystal responded."

"Copy that. Out." the guard said and hid the crystal again.

The village looked peaceful. Quiet. The guard smiled and began quietly walking through the perimeter. His mind was consumed with thoughts of seeing David again in the morning. The guard smiled to himself and suddenly froze.

He couldn't understand what was happening, just helplessly stare at the edge of a blade, sticking out of his chest. He looked at it in bewilderment, as blood drops began to fall on the ground. And then the blade was violently pulled out of his body, sending him crashing hard into the rough ground below.

He couldn't breath. The pain was so sudden and unbearable, that he could barely focus his thoughts.

An attack.

Who.

The ones that went after Kronos. Why.

Why here.

A preemptive strike. Destroy the Shadow clan, before they can intervene.

We weren't expecting a direct assault on our village... foolish.

Have to warn them... I have to...

His shaking hoof began to fumble in his pocket, in search of the yellow crystal, as ponies beyond count began to march over his body, and right into the village.

There were dozens. Hundreds.

I have to warn them... David...

The guards hoof pulled out the crystal. His mouth opened but no sound came out. He blinked and realized he was laying in a pool of his own blood.

The wound was too deep. David.

He made an effort to speak again, and a blade went through his skull.

An armed force of several hundred, marched over his body. Silently infiltrating the village in the dead of night.

The picture of David, sitting on the guards shoulders, laid trampled on the cold ground.

A blood stain, obscuring their faces.