Chapter 1: The Thousand Year Part I
The Friendship Express
Horncutter's eyes slowly opened, as he awoke from sleep. The traincar he was in rumbled as it moved along the tracks. looking at his reflection in the window, he noticed that the cowl on his cloak had fallen down while he slept. The earth stallion quickly looked around the traincar to ensure that nopony was around. To his relieve, there were nopony else present.
Letting out a sigh of relieve, he looked back at his reflection.
He was a dark grey earth pony with red eyes and a black mane. He was wearing a black cloak with a cowl to hide his face.
As he pulled his hood back on, his sight was directed to the necklace he was wearing. It held a black crystal that had a slight darkish purple glow. The crystal was a magic source that he used in emergencies. Horncutter didn't know how he got it, he just always had it. Who knows, maybe his parents felt bad about abandoning their newborn foal, and gave him this to make up for not giving him a proper childhood.
It's a wonder he even survived, but he did.
Along with the crystal, the stallion always had this picture of two ponies, a mare and stallion, which he assumed was a picture of his parents, but... Something was always off about them. They were slightly transparent and reflective; just a bit. They were both unicorns and both had dark coats, kinda like his own. The grey pony assumed that it was a family thing, but still...
Looking out the window, he noticed that he was aproaching his destination: Ponyville.
Ponyville Station
The grey stallion had just exited the train, and already he hated this new location. The streets weren't very crowded, and the buildings weren't very close to eachother. There wasn't much many places to go when trying to stay out of sight, which meant he wouldn't be able to hide if the guards came after him. It's not that he was afraid of the guards, but he doesn't want to draw attention to the fact that he used dark magic. If Celestia found out, she would execute him herself.
Letting out an annoyed sigh, the half-blood started walking. Only 15 minutes and I'll be were I belong again. He thought as he walked towards the center of the village of Ponyville.
Ugly. Boring. Uncreative. Did the architects have no imagination when building these houses? Horncutter thought as he trotted through the village. I mean: Sure. They have a library that is cut out on the inside of a tree, but that's about as creative as it gets here. Kind of depressing to be honest.
"Huh. What's that?" The earth pony wondered as he saw a golden charriot pulled by to guards land a couple of buildings away. Isn't that the Princess' protege? I wonder what she's doing in a lowly town like this... He thought as the purple unicorn stepped out of the charriot. Maybe this transfer won't be as boring as I thought.
As the grey earth pony moved into an ally, the same thoughts kept popping up in his head. Why did they request that transfer anyway? Could it have to do with why that unicorn wench is here? I hope I get to do something to her.
We are the outcasts that hunt in the dark. We are the result of injustice. We are the cause of justice. We are the The Shadow Walkers. From this day forth, my live is justice. From this day forth, I am justice. From this day forth, I am a walker
Quite an ambitious oath to take, but I really had no choice. The Shadow Walkers was an organisation that--mostly--consisted of outcasts. Our ultimate goal is to make sure all races are treated equally.
A unicorn who underpays his pegasus servants? We'll steal items equal to the value of what he owes his servants from him. A pegasus placing stormclouds above the houses of earthponies? That pegasus will wake up by getting zapped next morning.
Our methods may not be legal, but if we judged everything by what the goverment though, society would collaps under the pressure of racism. We keep that from happening. Noble as these motives are, mine are a bit more personal.
My name is Horncutter--or, well, that's the closest thing I have to a name, and I'm an impure earth pony. What this means is that my earth pony body contains fifty percent unicorn blood. It's not much different from being a normal earth pony, since I can't produce magic. I can, however, channel magic from an external source. My unicorn blood also weakens my earth pony magic, so I'm not as strong as other earth ponies.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah; I was talking about The Shadow Walkers.
We don't just do simple crimes. We also hunt magical artifacts to make sure their magic gets spread equally between all three tribes. I don't really care about most of what we do, but this is my life. My options were either to become a walker or live as a criminal fugitive, so the choice wasn't that hard to make.
Some might think that a organisation like this would attempt to work without a rank system, but we're not that stupid. If there are no ranks, we would fall apart. Plus it's a good motivation to work harder. It gives a real sense of satisfaction when everypony salutes you as you move around the base. I should know, since I'm the colonel of The Shadow Walkers' Canterlot division. Not that my division matters much. It really doesn't change where I get send when at work, and the Walkers treat me the same wherever I go.
I might find a different way of live someday, a way that doesn't require me to hide in the shadows, but until then: I am justice. I am a walker.