Prologue
There was no sound in the forest, not a single one as a strange figure stood guard out in the open,
their breathing being the only sound heard. They appeared like a soldier, wearing both a camouflaged
security uniform, a lab coat, and a gas mask, their outfit making it impossible to tell what their gender is.
They just stood still, a large rifle-like weapon held in both hands with a tube leading from their weapon
into their sleeves. But the silence was soon interrupted by the sound of something landing in the forest,
causing the guard to raise their weapon until the person walked out, lowering it once the newcomer
walked out. The newcomer appeared to be human, but I know better. She is a shapeshifter, brought
here the same way both me and the guard were, and strangely having a similar fashion sense to the third
living member of our team. Unlike the guard, she wore what resembled a pilot’s uniform and wore flight
goggles around her neck. She had pale skin, light blue eyes, and a similar shade of hair that reached past
her shoulders. She simply looked at the guard and smirked as she walked closer before speaking up
“Heh, hello Shadow, I see you're still guarding this spot. So, are you going to say anything today?”
Shadow just stared at her, the only sound being their breathing. She just laughed nervously to herself
before turning her attention and shouting into the part of the woods behind Shadow,
“Hey Cass! Why don’t you stop watching and come out already! Its not like talking to Shadow will make
me go insane, but its no fun having one sided conversations!”
I just smiled as I finally stood up and walked into the light. My name is Cass and I’m both the leader
and engineer of this group. I have light brown hair, pale skin, and blue eyes, which has lead some to
believe Sky is my sister, but this isn't true, mostly due to none of us being the same species. I am your
typical human, though one who has some capabilities with magic, but not that much. Then there are
Shadow and Sky.
Shadow is a strange one, never speaking but has proven to be a very capable scientist and soldier,
the things he does are impressive, even if they modify our things without permission. No one knows
what gender Shadow is, but we tend to assume he’s a he, even if there has been occasions that prove
otherwise. But from what I've seen, he’s very hard to put down for good, being capable of regenerating
any part of himself. He is an unknown, and I’m terrified of him, his methods have lead me to believe their
death incarnate. But then there is Sky.
Sky was an interesting one when we all met each other, though no longer a case now, she once had a
split personality, one that was rather calm, quiet, and very protective, while the other was not that
pleasant to be around and made me fear for my life. Looking at the two, I can still remember the time
they both gave me nightmares from a small battle they got in with the natives a long time ago……..
It was night time from a very long time ago, a thunderstorm just starting as the sound of hooves
marched through a large, open field. They were now on edge, both due to the storm their trying to keep
ahead of and that they all felt like they were being watched by something. They would soon find out why
when they approached a tower, a strange pegasus mare watching them approach from atop a stone wall.
She had a really pale coat and a light blue many, her cutie mark appeared to be a silhouette of a bird over
some type of blade. She just grinned at them all while the captain approached and looked at where she
was. He waited for her to respond, only for silence to follow, he just grew impatient until he decided to
speak up, “Excuse me miss, sorry to bother you but can you come here so I may ask you some questions?”
The strange pegasus continued to grin at them as she jumped down next to him and spoke up in a
strange accent, “Might as well, not like I have anything better to do. Besides, its such a beautiful night,
and I have plenty of time to, heh, kill.”
The captain looked at her suspiciously when she said kill for a while before sighing. “Right, well I was
wondering if you have seen some strange creatures around here? We were ordered to find, from what
the reports said, some form of bipedal creatures that have recently been spotted in this area. They
appear to be lar-” He was cut off by the sound of laughter from the pegasus and he just stared confused
about what was so funny along with every pony else. He eventually recovered and looked sternly at the
pegasus, “What's so funny?”
“Oh, oh nothing really. Just thinking about what you're going to say next, and how easily you fell for it.”
“Fell for what?”
The strange pegasus suddenly stopped, taking on a more serious appearance as she looked at him,
her stare seeming off somehow before she responded. “Our trap.”
When she finished the ground seemed to shake as two bipedal creatures encased in metal stepped out
from behind the wall, but they weren't the only ones. Another figure accompanied them as well, this one
much smaller than the first two. Then a low rumble could be heard as it started to rain, the storm now
catching up to them as the two sides just watched, it was then when it happened. The three figures
charged at them all, the strange pegasus somehow escaping when the three revealed themselves, in her
place instead stood a crow just watching them before flying off. The next thing the captain knew was the
sound of fighting and the storm, and the sight was a nightmare. All around him was chaos as the two
sides fought, but out of them all he would learn that the smallest of their opponents, who was still much
taller than even himself, was one to fear. Out of the object he was holding came some kind of smoke that
seemed to just melt whatever touched it, which was unfortunate for the ones fighting it. When their
bodies became visible all that could be seen was their armor and bones, the smoke melting down
everything as the remains just collapsed on themselves. The captain could do nothing as he watched his
men got over run by the strange beings, only to hear a large crash. What he saw was the two tallest ones
down on the ground in pieces, revealing that they weren't living things, but machines. But the same
couldn't be said for the final one, who he could see was now pulling out some form of blade. All he could
see was a light from the blade until his entire vision was blocked by fire and a large rumble. Then he
could only feel heat until that too became lost as he collapsed.
__________________________
It felt like only seconds, but the captain knew better. His body seemed to not want to respond, but
he knew he couldn't stay, no matter what. He slowly rose up and looked around, the sight making him
sick as all around him were what remained of his men along with piles of armor and bones, the ground
covered in red. He knew he had to leave now! Before the scent attracted any predators, but that was
when he looked down. His forelegs were also burnt, barely any feeling in them as he looked down, the
area that took most of the punishment having an injury that he knew would be impossible to heal, that is
if he could get to the nearest town. He had to leave quickly, he had to worn every pony before its too late.
He moved forward slowly, ever shaking as he retraced their tracks that lead them here. He could only
hear a loud ringing in his ears, his hearing nearly gone. Only managing to slowly reach the forest until
tripping on a root. He could only look up at the sky as he whispered quietly to himself, unaware that he
was not alone, “I-I’m sorry princesses, we failed.” The watcher just simply looked down before leaving.
My thoughts were stopped as I reached Shadow and Sky. We weren't always in the land of Equestria
and we didn't know each other before then, but the past is the past. I just smiled at the two before
speaking up, “True Sky, true. So, whats the news?”
“Heh, you two don’t change much, do you? But anyways, I have learned some interesting things recently,
why don’t we go into the base?”
“What, you don’t like the forest? Didn't you grown up in one or something?”
“No! I grew up on an island fortress in a forest close to some small town, there is no way I can be afraid of
a few trees, especially with what I've seen. Its because I just flew from Canterlot to here that I want to go
inside, it gets very tiring if you must know.”
“Ok, fine then. Let me just open the passage.”
This is a common thing among our small group, we have been hiding for a long time underneath the
everfree, building up everything we can for when we decide to launch our attack or whatever. To be
honest I forgot what our plan was for some time ago, after both me and Sky were frozen, but that's
another story for another time. Now we just have a rather large city underground, but the details aren't
that important right now. This is our story, the story of a private army leader, a lab security guard, a
engineer pilot, and all of our followers; we watch from the shadows, your secrets are not safe, for we will
not stop. Equestria shall soon remember who we are, for not even time itself could get rid of us. We are
the Exercitus autem Umbra Caelum, and none can stand against us.
