Shadows of Equestriaby Skullman846ChaptersPrologueStalliongradPonyvilleFacing the chargeMeeting the localsA Train RidePrologueThe streets of lower Canterlot were dim being lit only by a few lanterns on each block some of which had burned out and needed relighting as a result of the dim lighting the stars in the sky shone radiantly and made some areas look very beautiful despite lower Canterlot being known as a rather rough part of the city. There is one house though which is an extremely suspicious one where our main cast reside, the house in question was a small brick building with roof made of iron sheets it was built into the wall of the mountain and therefore nopony knew how long and wide the interior was. The door was normal besides the lock which worked off of a number and word pass code which made it a bit more difficult to break in to and beyond that door who knows what measures of security was waiting? Inside the building was an empty room which, ominous as it seems, was simply the entrance to the basement where the owners resided. The candle-lit basement was a large room containing 3 single beds, a sword rack opposite a crossbow rack with a large crate full of arrows, a small area in which they prepared food and in the centre a table which was littered in maps, compasses and letters with envelopes torn. There was currently a single pony sat at the table reading the letters and checking the map as the pony skimmed through the pile of letters there was a single thing in common with all of them and that was that they had been sealed with the Princesses royal seal and had been addressed simply to “Equestrian Shadow Division” The Equestrian Shadow Division consisted of 3 ponies which reported to the Princesses and performed missions to protect Equestria from threats that would be best kept quiet. They were an extremely stealthy group which took pride in their lack of being known in Equestria as it simply meant they were doing their jobs right. The pony produced a few pins and lengths of string adding a few marks to the map and joining them up with the string the letters were mainly concerning waiting for a new mission. Equestria was in a time of peace which means the Shadow Division was in a lack of business which meant they couldn’t entirely support themselves but luckily that wasn’t the case at the moment and they had funds set aside in case of emergencies. This ponies name was “Double Vision” a unicorn with a knack in detection magic and his special skill was advanced ability to see things, things which other ponies didn’t have the time to see, he was an observer and because of that the leader of the Shadow Division currently he was practicing locating a moving target on a map by using pins and string to signify a route until the target reached a large area in which it would likely remain for a long period of time and upon doing this would scan the map for any signs of cover, trees, bushes and underground complexes to ensure he could carry out a mission in complete stealth with a perfect result. Taking a moment to admire his work he sighed at the tangle of strings and pins around the map of Equestria, the target in question he was tracking was entirely fictional and therefore only moved to wherever Double decided it feasible but had lost a great deal of interest after doing this for over an hour he took a moment to wonder where his co-workers were and finally thought aloud “Pub” He thought simply wandering over to his bed and laying on it, staring at the roof as his mind went blank. “Idiots” He thought aloud again A few blocks away from this house and Double was a rundown pub named “The Angry Alicorn” which served ciders from all over Equestria with the exception of a few towns and small villages who either couldn’t afford to ship to pubs or just simply didn’t want to. There was a large commotion occurring inside this certain pub which was centred around two ponies standing in an empty space with the crowd chanting the word ‘Fight’ “Look” Began the first pony in a bored tone “I’ve already told you I didn’t mean to insult you, I just didn’t know you actually had no sense of humour whatsoever” and to this he rolled his eyes simply uninterested in the squabble “You’ve done it now!” Yelled the other pony charging towards the first as he raised a hoof to hit with, the first stepped aside sending the other into a wall. The first pony was “Burning Brawl” a typical Earth Pony and as his name suggested was skilled in brawling however at the moment he was uninterested in the fight as he found it to be boringly easy and therefore unworthy of any thought or reaction. “Stop running ya coward!” Exclaimed his attacker a local pony who Burning had dubbed as the village idiot despite the fact they were not actually in a village “I’ll beat ya within an inch of yer life!” “Coward?” Inquired Burning quite simply “Are you trying to provoke me?” the attacker took another failed swing at Burning as he said this “Just fight back ya chicken!” Replied the other “Or are ya scared?” to this Burning chuckled “Alright, I’ll kick your sorry flank but be warned I’m not responsible for any serious injuries I inflict” Burning managed between his chuckles. Suddenly his expression turned serious and he examined his attacker in great depth analysing his weak spots, blind spots and openings from his brutish swings. Thinking through a plan as he went Burning began his response First... deflect hit The attacker swung again to which Burning pushed his hoof sideways leaving him wide open Then... begin frontal assault Burning released his hoof and launched his two front hooves straight into the attackers face sending him tumbling backwards Now... shift weight into a full on body slam Burning ran and jumped with his hooves in front of him slamming down onto his attacker and then immediately getting back up and picking up a bottle Finally... treat him to a drink Burning smashed the bottle against his attackers head sending cider over his face and then picked up a mug from the counter, downed it, placed a few bits on the counter and left leaving the crowd in awe. A bit further down from this violent scene and atop a roof sat the third member of the Shadow Division who was closely observing the streets below him searching for his target, everpony seemed to move faster when he was concentrating making his taking incredibly hard as he squinted searching for this evasive target until he spotted a small glimpse of the target which then quickly disappeared into the crowd again leaving no clues to his next location. This member is named “Dark Feather” a suitable name considering his occupation he was a Pegasus and was known to be faster Soarin once he had belonged to the Wonderbolts but quit when offered to opportunity to take his skills a step further. Dark was generally a charismatic pony and due to this he was the teams main negotiator should things get rough; he also handled what little public relations they had. There it was again, his target. He got into a starting position and kicked off of the roof with his wings flapping to give him an extra boost of speed as he hurled himself towards the target and he began his high speed pursuit. The target effortlessly weaved in and out of the crowded streets whereas Dark had to fly above, eyeing his target very carefully so not to lose him. As the target took a turn into a less crowded street he decided it suitable to lower himself, grab the target and be out in a split second. Preparing himself to do so the target took another turn but into the market, looks like his plans would have to wait, he watched as the target weaved in and out of the stalls beneath him until the target finally stopped flying and landed upon a roof probably convinced that he had lost Dark to which he gave a grin “Got ya” Muttered Dark as he swooped in on his target grasping it as he did so, the target in question was a rare Equestrian breed of bird, Dark had a passion for animals and upon hearing a rare bird was in the lower area of Canterlot decided it suitable to find and examine the breed before his chance disappeared back into the rolling acres of its homeland near Fillydelphia. Producing a notepad and pencil Dark quickly noted down the aspects of the bird including his appearance and also noted its fast speed and manoeuvrability “There we are” Resumed Dark in a calming tone “You can go now” he released the bird into the air and it flew into the distance, obviously worried that the seemingly insane pursuer would take up chase again. Dark lay back on the roof and began taking in the night sky. SHADOWS OF EQUESTRIA StalliongradBurning was walking down the street outside of the Angry Alicorn after his brawl in the pub while the street lamps flickered and swayed with the wind shifting the lighting and causing a feeling of motion sickness as he continued his course, or was that the cider kicking in? The street was ominously silent apart from his own hoofsteps he could hear nothing as he approached the end of the street after spending his bits on cider and trying to get attention from the mares he decided it would be best to call it an evening before that annoyed pony in the Angry Alicorn came chasing after him and escalating the brawl further which Burning really couldn’t do with he was supposed to be a respectable citizen. Well as respectable as a pony living in lower Canterlot can be. As he turned the corner the sound of another pony’s hoofsteps became audible to which Burning sped up slightly, didn’t want to be caught by any of the many enemies he had made throughout the pubs in lower Canterlot and the Angry Alicorn was probably one of the last pubs he was allowed in after all the brawls he had oh how he missed the days of exciting fast paced missions where he got to openly beat other ponies to an inch of their lives. But as good as those days were ponies tend to learn lessons after so much pain and as a result there was now a lack of conflict, and a lack of jobs for the entire Shadow Division. The hoofsteps drew closer as a roof tile slid and smashed onto the path behind Burning he squinted as the smashing sound echoed through the empty street “Is that you Dark?” Inquired Burning as the Pegasus swooped down behind him “The one and only and what are you doing out at a time like this, I thought you’d be getting blind drunk like always” Countered Dark putting emphasis on the last part of his comeback “There were... difficulties with drinking this evening” Stated Burning simply deciding it would sound more elegant that way “You brawled with another pony didn’t you?” Sighed Dark “Typical... just typical” “It’s not my fault other ponies have a hard time acknowledging that when I drink I get angry quickly” Protested Burning to which Dark sighed and rolled his eyes “Well anyway Double wants us back at the basement, apparently there’s been an interesting turn of events” Stated Dark at first burning thought nothing of it and cast it out as an emergency drill like Double had taken to doing the last few weeks “It regards difficulties in diplomacy between Celestia and another monarch” Resumed Dark Burning stopped in his tracks, turned and grinned wildly “Well then we better get back quickly!” Burning began to sprint towards the house as Dark flew above him. The small puddles in the cracks of the cobblestone road splashed behind Burning as he sped up his pace trying to match the speed of Dark’s flying which was near enough impossible as Dark became nothing more than a spec in the distance. Turning another corner Burning discovered that he had got himself lost which was widely inconvenient at the moment and in the centre of the street were 3 strange looking beings they had similar attributes to that of Discord with different body parts and each of them looked very, very angry as they stared into Burning’s soul “Burning Brawl I presume?” Inquired one of them in a voice as smooth as velvet, closing his eyes and cringing slightly at the fact the three beings before him knew his name and probably everything else he decided upon an escape plan “I’ll be leaving now chaps” He stated simply as he charged full pelt towards them he adjusted course rapidly to a small pile of boxes and kicked them down as he leaped for the rooftops. The lower half of his body smashed into the wall and he held onto the ledge of the roof with all of his strength raising himself up onto the top. Strangely enough the three beings took no notice of Burning’s escape “We’ll be seeing you soon” Stated another being in a grating voice and the three disappeared into thin air just like that “That was... the strangest experience of my life...” Muttered Burning rubbing his head “That sudden impulse of escape was completely irrational and out of my control... and I dread to think they are almost god like creatures similar to that of discord...” The scene remained silent. “Who the buck am I talking to?!” Exclaimed Burning shaking his head and returning to his long journey of finding the basement to hear this development first hoof Burning opened the hatch to the basement and slid down the ladder into the candle lit chamber that lay beneath the house “Glad you could finally join us” Complained Dark “You’re slow as ever” “Well maybe if you didn’t leave me back there in the middle of lower Canterlot...” Moaned Burning they were both hit around the head with a newspaper which Double Vision had in his hoof “Both of you shut up. My IQ drops by about 10 points every time you utter a single word” Interrupted Double in a frustrated tone “We’ve received a letter from Princess Celestia asking for our assistance in something that’s far more complex than simple espionage and assassinations” “So there’ll be no mindless brawling?” Hurriedly asked Burning in a state of panic “I’m sure there’ll be plenty of that. We’ve been asked to investigate something to do with political disagreements with Stalliongrad who, as you all know, have decided it best to separate from Equestria and claim the area around Stalliongrad for their own naming it Greater Stalliongrad. However the Princesses believe that there have been multiple Draconequus meddling in political and public affairs to influence a separation” Stated Double, Dark and Burning looked at each other in confusion “Simply please, not all of us are geniuses” Sighed Dark finally “Well we all know that...” Grinned Double “Basically, Draconequus making Stalliongrad break way from Equestria and trying to start war, if you want an even more simple version then here. War will begin if we don’t act” Burning decided that the events of earlier were probably linked into this current event but decided not to speak out in case he was just seeing things. After all ponies tended to see a few things after drinking as much cider as he did “That’s all I needed to know, so what do we need to do?” Said Burning “We need to get to Stalliongrad quickly in order to investigate the political workings and then report back to Celestia for further instructions dependant on the outcome” Replied Double picking up a map of Stalliongrad a box of pins and a ball of string “Get everything ready, we leave at sunrise” And with that the small basement was bustling with activity Burning placed wooden clubs and blunt objects into his saddlebags while Dark simply placed a crossbow with 5 bolts into his. As they did so another letter appeared on the table which Double immediately read. He scanned the letter and grimaced “Unpack” He sighed “We’re not going to Stalliongrad” “What?! Why?!” Exclaimed Dark “I was ready to meet some Stalliongrad mares to...” to which he pouted “Stalliongrad just announced war and as you can probably tell it’ll be considerably harder to get to Stalliongrad in the middle of a war” Replied Double grimly “We’ve been stationed in what is apparently the first target for an air invasion” “We’re on the frontlines?” Moaned Dark “We’re supposed to be Stealthy not some suicide squad!” Double ignored this and continued to scan the letter “We’ve actually been positioned at the furthest post away from Stalliongrad but it’s vulnerable to a quick air attack, the locals have no training in violence and they’re in a pretty dire situation at the moment with only 6 elite warriors apparently” Replied Double doing hoof gestures as he read “The station in question will be on the border of the Everfree Forest where Stalliongrad air troops will likely land to make a surprise approach. That is if they haven’t already. And the town... it says here the town’s name is Ponyville” “So... no brawling?” Frowned Burning “The opposite. A lot of brawling” Stated Double “But we still need to leave immediately for the attack could launch any minute or not at all...” PonyvilleDark sat on the seat of the wagon pouting, he longed to fly to Ponyville but was swiftly rejected “Think about it, they’re expecting an air attack” Double had pointed out “They’ll probably arrest you as soon as you hit the ground” Burning sat on the seat nearest the exit looking at the winding rocky dirt road leading to Canterlot as he played a poorly constructed banjo which he used mainly to relieve stress and right now he felt the weight of a nation on his shoulders as it Equestria was dependent upon him , Double and Dark which to be quite fair it almost was. The wagon jolted and sent Double’s book onto the floor of the wagon and he watched as it slid along the floor onto the dirt path to which he pulled out another book and studied that instead. The journey had seemed to drag out for years as they all repeated the same routine, Burning with his Banjo, Dark pouting and Double studying the texts concerning the political structures of Stalliongrad which had intrigued him quite a lot “Are we there yet?” Demanded Dark to the wagon driver “We’ve got a good 30 minutes left until we arrive” Replied the wagon driver calmly “Just settle down and sleep or something” “He’s right you know” Muttered Double “You really need to calm down” he turned another page in his book and uttered a noise of approval, Burning had just finished a song on his banjo and he placed it on the floor of the wagon as he threw a small metal canteen to Dark “And this is?” Inquired Dark “Cider shut up and drink it, hopefully it’ll knock you out cold until we arrive” Replied Burning agitated as he picked up his banjo and began playing another song “You utter...” Began Dark only to be interrupted by Double “Both of you morons shut up” Double stated “You’re both deserving of being knocked out cold” he turned yet another page but with no noise this time. Dark took a swig of the cider and lay back on the seat “Hopefully there’ll be some different animal species or something over at Ponyville that I can occupy my time with” Smiled Dark trying to calm himself “And then maybe I can relax for once” “I’m all for the relaxing, but I’ll be more occupied with brawling” Grinned Burning as he strummed the banjo slightly more violently and faster “And then I’ll be recognised as the strongest pony in Equestria” Double was getting irritated at the fact the two were speaking “And maybe you two will shut up so I can relax and then I’ll be able to organise a game plan successfully” Stated Double killing the flow of all the enjoyment he glanced up from his back and into the horizon “We’ve got about 10 minutes left, Dark” Double said as Dark waved off this comment “I’ll be asleep, wake me when we’re there” He replied slowly The sound of Burning’s banjo awoke Dark as the wagon bumped over a large rock sending a violent jolt through its passengers “We’ve arrived” Pointed out Burning which was rewarded with a slow applaud from Dark and a chuckle from Double. The routine of a normal day was occurring in Ponyville which should be expected as they were, as far as the residents of Ponyville were concerned, normal Equestrian citizen and not a Division of highly trained stealth ponies sent on a mission to prevent any further political disasters between Equestria and Stalliongrad. They weren’t violent drunks with a tendency to bicker or argue between one another not at all. They were normal Equestrian citizens. The 3 stepped down from the wagon and pulled cloaks over themselves and began to walk aimlessly around the town. “The everfree is somewhere around here” Stated Double “You don’t say?” Teased Dark “Maybe I could fly up and look around for the forest, can’t be that hard to miss” “And by that logic we can find it on foot” Argued Burning who was wandering into a street full of market stalls and ponies. As the three wandered in they became separated from one another which did them more good than bad Burning wandered the town eagerly looking for cider as he went completely ignoring the fact he was barging a tonne of ponies out of his way as he did so, he spotted a stall with an apple on the top and assumed that would be the place to go for cider. As he approached he saw no cider and instead a few buckets full of apples and an orange mare with a Stetson hat atop her head his face dropped as he could so no cider but decided inquiring may be worthwhile anyway and he trotted up to the stall “Howdy” Began the orange mare “Haven’t seen ya around these parts before, you must be new” “Got any cider?” Blandly asked Burning, completely uninterested in anything other than the fabled drink the orange mare was taken aback by this attitude “Well no actually” She replied “It isn’t cider season” “Dammit...” Burning muttered under his breath “Any place to get cider nearby?” and so he resumed his task of finding a local source of cider Double happily weaved his way between the crowd receiving odd looks from everpony, he thought it was probably because he hadn’t been seen by the locals before and assumed that everypony knew everypony here. He continued to trot through the crowd until a lavender mare emerged and bumped into him sending a stack of papers and ink into the air the ink container burst open and ink began to spew out. Double remained calm as the crowd scattered and levitated the ink back into the container before it made contact with any manes in the crowd after that he slowly levitated the papers and ink back to the lavender mare “My bad” Chirped Double and resumed his course leaving the lavender mare stunned at the sudden display of magic “Hold on!” The mare said trotting after Double “How did you react that quickly?” and just like that Double was put on the spot by somepony he’d never met and found himself struggling for an excuse “Idiot...” He thought “Utter idiot! Normal ponies don’t have reactions like that!” “It was...” Began Double, unsure of what to say “It was?” The lavender mare inquired eagerly “I went to a private magic school...” Slurred Double even he didn’t know what he was saying “And we were taught to react really quick... anyway... I have to go” and with that he turned away Dark leapt onto the rooftops where he was closer to the sky than before, he wanted to fly but he knew he couldn’t. As he paced along the rooftops scanning the crowd below for Burning and Double he bumped into a pony “Wha?!” He exclaimed almost falling off of the rooftop the other pony had a similar reaction as they looked each other suspiciously in the eye. The pony in question was a Pegasus mare with magneta eyes and cyan coat with a rainbow coloured mane “Okay now I’m more confused” Muttered Dark louder than he intended “Why would that be?” Inquired the mare “Did I say that out loud?” Stuttered Dark shocked at himself the mare simply nodded “How’d you get a rainbow mane?” Inquired Dark eager to change the subject “I get asked that a lot” The mare replied rolling her eyes “But you don’t know who I am?” she was trying to change the subject to? This wasn’t going to end well “Nope, never heard of you” Replied Dark in an upbeat tone which seemed rather heartless of him to do so. The mare looked enraged “I’m Rainbow Dash! Best flyer in all of Ponyville and I hope to join the Wonderbolts!” She exclaimed standing on her back legs and wearing a pair of sunglasses Dark simply sighed “Been there done that...” he sighed under his breath As all three of the Shadow Division had got midway through their conversations when a loud noise erupted from the forest alongside the sound of snare drums being beaten in a military fashion as a large wave of Stalliongrad soldiers emerged from the forest “All right! We’ve got a party!” Yelled Burning in delight as he clicked his neck. At about the same time as this Double and Dark also yelled “Well that’s inconvenient... seems stealth won’t be an option...” Double had yelled “Yes! I can fly again!” Yelled Dark simply with a large grin on his face Facing the chargeThe wave of soldiers approached Burning Brawl as he rose onto his hind legs and prepared to brawl. The first group stepped forward as the orange mare and the citizens hid behind crates and barrels First... distract multiple enemies In a split second Burning picked up a barrel of apples and threw them towards the soldiers, breaking their formations and making most of them slip over the loose apples Second... break wills Burning identified the Captain of the squad and eagerly landed a punch into his stomach sending him stumbling back making the Stalliongrad soldiers look on in horror Third... break armour Burning brought his hoof back around and elbowed the connecting joint on the armour causing it to shatter sending metal shrapnel off in multiple directions and mostly hitting other soldiers Then... break ribcage Burning followed this by swinging his left back leg forward straight into the commanders stomach sending him stumbling back further accompanied by a satisfying cracking sound Finally... share the apples Burning picked up the barrel containing a few apples and smashed it onto the commanders head knocking him out causing the troops to drag his limp body back into the forest and that was the first group done “Who’s next!” Happily exclaimed Burning taking a bite from the apple Double cast a spell to push the citizens back towards cover and created a large space in which a group of Stalliongrad soldiers stepped into. Double analysed the scene in a split second and calculate multiple possibilities and attacks with their results and failures until he finally settled upon one route of action. Grinning wildly he concentrated all of his magic onto the small chunk of earth beneath the soldiers. At first it seemed like Double was standing there grinning with a glowing horn doing nothing but eventually the ground began to crack and the land began to split. “No doubt that purple mare is watching closely” Thought Double “The jigs really up now” the large chunk of earth levitated from the ground with the soldiers clinging onto the edges for dear life “Next stop Stalliongrad” Grinned Double quickly shifting his head and sending the chunk of land flying off into the everfree forest as the Pegasi aboard the rock tried to flap their wings to slow the speed, it seemed like an impossible task and by the time they figured this out they were already dug halfway into the ground Double smiled cockily “Next please” he uttered his voice lathered with smug Dark pushed Dash aside and slid down the roofing tiles lazily “Hello there chaps!” He exclaimed in a peculiar accent, he wandered up to one and grabbed him by the front hooves and motioned a slight dance to which he let go and the pony dropped to the floor, a knife sticking out from his chest “I’m here to ask you to retreat!” He resumed wandering through the confused crowd of soldiers and straight up to the captain “If that’s alright with everypony, it’s just I’m in no mood for fighting today!” “We’ve been given a job to do and we’ll do it” Replied the Stalliongrad Captain “Respectable, VERY respectable!” Yelled Dark happily his expression of sheer glee and then suddenly his tone darkened as he turned to the Captain frowning “But that’s the wrong answer. Sorry, you’re not a winner” and within that second an arrow shot from the concealed crossbow beneath Dark’s cloak and straight between the Captain’s eyes. The soldiers stood, confused for a moment and stared at Dark as he slowly reloaded his crossbow, he raised an eyebrow “Well go on then” Began Dark “Huh?” was the general reaction from the crowd “RUN!” He screeched as he fired a bolt straight into a soldier dispersing the crowd back into the forest. The three regrouped in front of the everfree where the remainder of the charge was “About 50 left” Muttered Double “Oi! This is the turnout for the auditions?” Yelled Dark “What?” Sighed Burning “Ciders gone straight to his head” Replied Double his expression unchanging as he stared the 50 Stalliongrad troops down. Burning hit Dark in the stomach sending him toppling backwards “You’re sitting this one out” He stated in an emotionless voice “So 25 each?” Asked Double keenly, Burning nodded as they calmly walked towards the 50 armoured, highly trained Stalliongrad soldiers before them. Burning picked up a spear and snapped the point off deciding to use brute force rather than stabbing for his method, he swung it around a few times while Double charged his magic again “On the count of three” Whispered Double “Alright” Replied Burning “I’m a patient pony” “One...” Said Double a bit louder as Dark looked up at his friends about to face 50 armoured soldiers “Two” Resumed Double louder still as the entire of Ponyville looked on at this bizarre scene of two ponies about to face fifty. “THREE” Yelled Double throwing a large chunk of rock into the air with about 20 soldiers on it. Burning sprung forward smashing the pole he held from the spear around a soldiers face shattering it instantly, splinters flew everywhere and lodged into the un-armoured sections of the soldiers. The ensuing battle was a long one drawn out simply by Burning meeting a worthy opponent, the Stalliongrad General for the charge and Double had met an equally skilled opponent. He it not been for Dark Feather shooting multiple crossbow bolts at once the two Division members would have been killed there and then. There was silence afterwards, a horrific, eerie silence which haunted the entire battlefield. The three suddenly turned around quite happily and wandered back into the town without another word the majority of the town remained frozen in fear and amazement from what had just happened. Behind them were the unconscious bodies of 50 Stalliongrad soldiers about 5 of which were elite ranks, a captain and the general all defeated by 3 ponies. The cyan mare was staring from the rooftops in utter shock at the drunken Pegasi she had bumped into and how he had just broken apart an entire Stalliongrad squadron by using deception. The purple mare stared from the streets at the clumsy pony who she had bumped in to and was amazed when she remembered the spells he performed against the Stalliongrad squad he was faced with and the orange mare stared in complete awe of the brute force displayed by the one asking for cider and she was thankful that she hadn’t sold him any as well. The three silently passed through the crowd their torn cloaks flapping in the wind as they progressed towards Sugarcube Corner presumably looking for something to eat. When the door of Sugarcube Corner closed the entire town began to talk and murmur about the fight and the three mares who had met the three Division members followed them to Sugarcube Corner determined to discover more about these mysterious ponies that had showed up in their town and beaten back an entire organised charge without even breaking a sweat. Meeting the localsThe three sat around a small table eating the cakes they had bought and drinking seemingly infinite cups of tea, the three mares entered and they were the only ones that had enough courage to go anywhere near the three around the table. “Howdy” Said the orange mare “You here to sell me some cider?” Inquired Burning “No... I came here for the truth” Replied the orange mare in a proud tone “Truth is I’m out of cider” Sulked Burning “Not about that!” Exclaimed the mare “Can’t ya at least tell me your name, or did ya forget your manners?” “I have manners, but no cider” Grinned Burning “So I can’t really converse very well” “Look I just wanted to talk about what ya did out there” Managed the mare getting tired of this entire cider thing “Sure, what do you want to know” Replied Burning, the mare smiled she obviously thought she was getting somewhere “How did you do that?” Inquired Applejack “With my hooves” Replied Burning “That’s your only question gone now leave me to eat and drink” as this was occurring the lavender mare was also trying her luck at getting some information “You’re that pony from earlier aren’t you?” Inquired the mare “That’s me” Replied Double blankly “Your magic was amazing!” Complimented the mare “Where did you learn that?” “Private magic school” Continued Double still with no emotion “I highly doubt you went to a private magic school, I went to Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns and I didn’t learn anything like that ground moving technique from earlier” Replied the mare now on to his false story “Well, I did” Resumed Double “You three are amazing as a team...” Continued the mare “Can I at least get your names?” Double turned and looked at the mare her eyes full of curiosity “Names Double Vision” Replied Double “Now be polite and tell me yours” “I’m Twilight Sparkle” Chirped Twilight offering a hoof to Double, they shook hooves and a silence ensued “You’re Celestia’s student” Simply stated Double “Then I’d thought she would have told you about us... strange” “Huh?” Uttered Twilight “I don’t know how you knew that but Celestia tells me everything and I’ve never heard of a pony named Double Vision” “Nor has anypony else, just means I’m doing my job” Replied Double “And what exactly is your job then?” Pushed Twilight, Double simply raised an eyebrow and remained silent. Meanwhile Rainbow Dash was trying to get information out of Dark “You’re that Pegasus I bumped into on the roof aren’t you?” Inquired Dark with a blatantly forced smile “You don’t have to smile at me” Rainbow rolled her eyes after explaining this “I’ll take that as a yes” He chuckled in reply “So what was your name again?” Inquired Rainbow “Dark Feather” He replied falling off of his chair “And I’m still drunk it seems” “Yeah...” Continued Rainbow “I don’t think this conversation is getting anywhere fast” “Why Rainbow, it’s quite the opposite!” Resumed Dark now obviously still drunk, Rainbow backed away sighing “I’ll talk to you later...” She managed opening the door to which Dark dashed to his feet and raced up to her “Will you now? I look forward to it” Replied Dark to which Rainbow grew even more afraid and began to back away again “O-okay then...” She stuttered in fear and as she did so Dark motioned for a hug to which Dash flew full speed out of the Sugarcube Corner destroying the door as she did so. Dark turned around and gave the biggest grin ever “And that, that is how you stop having a conversation with somepony permanently!” He grinned “Any questions?” Burning and Double gave a laugh at this even Twilight chuckled but the orange mare still remained unsure of Dark’s humour “By the way, you never told me your name” Stated Burning turning to the orange mare “I’m Applejack” Replied Applejack “And yourself?” “Burning Brawl” Stated Burning “A name which pretty much sums up my personality” After a few hours of idle conversation between the two mares and the three division members Sugarcube Corner began to close to which the three donned their cloaks “You still haven’t told us your jobs” Rushed Twilight “Or why the Princess never talked about you!” “Perhaps another time” Replied Double quite hurriedly “But aside from that it’s been a pleasure talking to you” “Still no cider” Jested Burning looking at Applejack who laughed slightly at this “And if you see Rainbow Dash tell her I’ll be seeing her soon, just to freak her out” Chuckled Dark as he wrapped his cloak around him outside it was raining and the wind was cold “I’ll be sure to do that” Managed Twilight between spells of laughter “Are you two gonna be alright walking home in this rain?” Inquired Burning generally concerned “We’ll be fine, it’s literally a few blocks until my library and Applejack can stay with me until the storm blows over” Chirped Twilight, Double removed his cloak as did Dark and threw them over Twilight and Applejack “Wha?” Uttered Applejack, confused by this “Keep them, we have but a few metres to where we’re staying” Replied Double wandering to the door alongside Dark and Burning “See you later” Muttered Burning as they left Sugarcube Corner “This is intriguing... 3 ponies appear and defeat a Stalliongrad army and say they know the Princess. I should probably write a letter to the princess letting her know about this...” Murmured Twilight “I think they might be extendin’ the truth a lil with the Princess Celestia thing” Replied Applejack “But either way we should head back home, I’ll be fine now I have this cloak” and with that the two mares said their goodbyes and left for their homes. Dark, Double and Burning were in a less than ideal situation, their encampment was in the middle of a pile of bodies and shattered armour they doubted they would be able to sleep all at the same time and instead set up watches and shifts. While they were awake they drank, ate and jested with one another and during their shifts they drank and ate. A rather repetitive schedule for a bunch of ponies such as themselves but it allowed the hours to pass by seemingly quickly as they began to lack sleep, the sun finally rose and they had all only had around 2 hours of sleep each which they knew would be bad if there was another attack but it was highly unlikely that Stalliongrad would launch a second attack at the same place after 3 ponies took down the army they sent to take over Ponyville, however they still had a mystery to unravel they needed to discover any involvement with a Draconequus force but Stalliongrad would be eternally difficult to access now there was a war especially now that the three of them had probably made the Stalliongrad’s most wanted list in a matter of hours. As the trundled towards Sugarcube Corner in hopes of coffee they were met simply by a sign reading ‘CLOSED’ but of course it would be closed it was Nightmare Night tonight an event which had been forgotten by the Division entirely because it was a waste of time for them. Besides nopony in their right mind ever knocked on a door like theirs. So they not only had a lack of sleep with no coffee and were in a town of strangers who had no idea they were stealth ponies attempting to uncover a devious plan from Stalliongrad but it was also nightmare night just to make things more difficult. What could possibly go wrong? A Train RideThey made their way into the town to be met by a team of ponies setting up banners and pumpkins surprisingly no pony fled at the sight of them anymore so perhaps that conversation with the three mares in Sugarcube Corner paid off in an unexpected way why wasn’t a bad way either. As they made their way sluggishly through the town they eyed the buildings hoping to find somewhere that sold coffee or the means to make coffee as they felt they couldn’t survive long on their drastic lack of sleep and energy and by the time they reached the end of the street they felt as if they could lay down in the middle of the street and just sleep but they knew that they couldn’t after all it was likely that now the Stalliongrad attack on Ponyville had been defeated that they would be whisked away to Stalliongrad in some way shape or form as soon as the royal guard arrived in Ponyville so they could at least have some form of defence. As they wandered aimlessly down the streets a gray mare approached them with a mail bag “Good morning to you” Began Dark as the mare approached “Good morning! Is one of you called Double Vision?” Asked the mare in an exceedingly happy tone “That would be me” Replied Double “There’s a letter here for you” Continued the mare, smiling as she spoke. Taking the letter Double thanked the mare and they continued their course down the street as he tore open the letter which bore the royal seal “What news?” Inquired Burning as they approached the town square again “We’re being moved to Stalliongrad by cover of night” Replied Double placing the letter back in the envelope having read it several times already “How do they plan that?” Stated Dark confused by this development “By supply trains running from allies in Equestria, there’s one passing through Ponyville this evening” Resumed Double “And it just so happens it’ll be making an unexpected stop” The rusted supply train rushed along the track it’s rusted wheels grating along the track breaking the silence in the fields of Equestria, along the supply carts was a large Stalliongrad flag which was, despite being new, barely recognisable as Dark flew above and examined the train. His earpiece crackled once more as Doubles voice came through “How far is it from Ponyville?” Inquired Double “We have about 30 minutes” Replied Dark “Is everything ready over there?” “Not quite” Resumed Double nervously “This is going to be close” “Any civilian appearances?” Managed Dark after having several bugs fly into his mouth “None so far” Replied Double “The disguises seem to be working” At the station Double was sat wearing a bowler hat holding a newspaper in front of his face with a plaid waistcoat and a large pipe next to him while Burning wore a tweed jacket with the Stalliongrad flag stitched onto the back. Dark was the only one not wearing a disguise, much to his luck, as they wanted him to wear a Stalliongrad Pegasi uniform while flying over military occupied Equestria. The train continued its course along the track with the lighting of Ponyville now in sight as Burning finished up placing the last barricade on the track “We’re all set, Double” Stated Burning as he backed into the shadows “Right, Dark keep track of the train and we’ll remain hidden” Began Double “This could go great or horribly wrong” As the train approached the station it began to lose all momentum, they had spotted the barricades as planned and were leaving the train to remove them. A few soldiers exited and patrolled the station to secure the area “Don’t do anything stupid” thought Dark laying on the train station roof “You’ll get us all killed” one soldier wandered past the ticket booth only to be dragged into the shadows and have his throat slit by Double whilst another had his neck broken by Burning. They both placed the soldiers armour on and hid the bodies “Sorry for the poor bugger that has to clean this up” Muttered Burning as he pushed the body under the ticket booth counter “And the poor pony that finds it” Added Double, they were talking over the earpiece and microphone system that they had received shortly after getting the letter to mask the smell they covered the body in rags that had been sprayed with deodorant shortly before so the smell was not as strong as when they began. Dark swooped down to the ground near the tracks and crawled to the undercarriage of the train intending to crawl up onto the cargo bay once the train begins its course, the soldiers and technicians were eventually called back onboard the train and it began its journey once more. With that Burning, Dark and Double had left the comfort of their homeland and were entering a confused and violent recently formed state to undergo and extremely dangerous mission, and that was just how they liked it. The train slowed yet another time and Dark’s heart skipped a beat. The sound of the technicians making conversation with the guards of Stalliongrad echoed through the rusted iron carts of the train with a very noticeable accent from the guards the conversation dragged on “We are forced to search the train before it enters Stalliongrad. Our glorious leader has foreseen that espionage will be a major part of this war” Stated the guard in an unquestionable tone “V-very well then” Stuttered the train driver, by his accent he was definitely not from Stalliongrad and was likely a spy himself. A terrible one at that, the small rusted door connecting the cart next to Dark’s opened to reveal Burning and Double without the armour on “They’re going to run a identification test with the soldiers aboard we need to get off now” Demanded Burning, crawling along the cart floor they approached the left side door which was opposite the sounds of the guards and slowly opened it being careful not to make a noise. Holding the door open Double glanced back into the train cart to see if there was anything useful and amongst the piles of ammunition and surplus was a torn piece of parchment, presumably a map of the local area. “Double get down here now” Hissed Burning as he lay in the thick coating of snow which blocked the grass from vision “There’s a map in here, I’ll meet you in the forest” Stated Double “Cover your tracks and remember to not disturb the natural landscape, they probably know this place to well” “You’re coming with us” Stated Burning and with that Double slid the door shut and crawled over to the piece of parchment. Cautiously as possible as to not make any noise Double tugged it out of the pile, there was a noise from the door. Somepony was opening it. Double thought fast, faster than he had ever thought in his life. He wasn’t only out of the frying pan and into the fire but he was out of the fire and onto the kitchen floor for all to see, he picked up some old military boots and placed them on followed by an enchantment spell causing them to stick to any surface so he would be able to crawl along the roof. The search party entered and opened the side door which Double took as an opportunity to crawl out of and onto the roof then he slid down the back end of the train and submerged himself in the thick snow. With the map now in hand and the search party none the wiser he could now make his way to the forest to regroup with Dark and Burning. But he knew it wasn’t going to be that simple. It never was.
PrologueThe streets of lower Canterlot were dim being lit only by a few lanterns on each block some of which had burned out and needed relighting as a result of the dim lighting the stars in the sky shone radiantly and made some areas look very beautiful despite lower Canterlot being known as a rather rough part of the city. There is one house though which is an extremely suspicious one where our main cast reside, the house in question was a small brick building with roof made of iron sheets it was built into the wall of the mountain and therefore nopony knew how long and wide the interior was. The door was normal besides the lock which worked off of a number and word pass code which made it a bit more difficult to break in to and beyond that door who knows what measures of security was waiting? Inside the building was an empty room which, ominous as it seems, was simply the entrance to the basement where the owners resided. The candle-lit basement was a large room containing 3 single beds, a sword rack opposite a crossbow rack with a large crate full of arrows, a small area in which they prepared food and in the centre a table which was littered in maps, compasses and letters with envelopes torn. There was currently a single pony sat at the table reading the letters and checking the map as the pony skimmed through the pile of letters there was a single thing in common with all of them and that was that they had been sealed with the Princesses royal seal and had been addressed simply to “Equestrian Shadow Division” The Equestrian Shadow Division consisted of 3 ponies which reported to the Princesses and performed missions to protect Equestria from threats that would be best kept quiet. They were an extremely stealthy group which took pride in their lack of being known in Equestria as it simply meant they were doing their jobs right. The pony produced a few pins and lengths of string adding a few marks to the map and joining them up with the string the letters were mainly concerning waiting for a new mission. Equestria was in a time of peace which means the Shadow Division was in a lack of business which meant they couldn’t entirely support themselves but luckily that wasn’t the case at the moment and they had funds set aside in case of emergencies. This ponies name was “Double Vision” a unicorn with a knack in detection magic and his special skill was advanced ability to see things, things which other ponies didn’t have the time to see, he was an observer and because of that the leader of the Shadow Division currently he was practicing locating a moving target on a map by using pins and string to signify a route until the target reached a large area in which it would likely remain for a long period of time and upon doing this would scan the map for any signs of cover, trees, bushes and underground complexes to ensure he could carry out a mission in complete stealth with a perfect result. Taking a moment to admire his work he sighed at the tangle of strings and pins around the map of Equestria, the target in question he was tracking was entirely fictional and therefore only moved to wherever Double decided it feasible but had lost a great deal of interest after doing this for over an hour he took a moment to wonder where his co-workers were and finally thought aloud “Pub” He thought simply wandering over to his bed and laying on it, staring at the roof as his mind went blank. “Idiots” He thought aloud again A few blocks away from this house and Double was a rundown pub named “The Angry Alicorn” which served ciders from all over Equestria with the exception of a few towns and small villages who either couldn’t afford to ship to pubs or just simply didn’t want to. There was a large commotion occurring inside this certain pub which was centred around two ponies standing in an empty space with the crowd chanting the word ‘Fight’ “Look” Began the first pony in a bored tone “I’ve already told you I didn’t mean to insult you, I just didn’t know you actually had no sense of humour whatsoever” and to this he rolled his eyes simply uninterested in the squabble “You’ve done it now!” Yelled the other pony charging towards the first as he raised a hoof to hit with, the first stepped aside sending the other into a wall. The first pony was “Burning Brawl” a typical Earth Pony and as his name suggested was skilled in brawling however at the moment he was uninterested in the fight as he found it to be boringly easy and therefore unworthy of any thought or reaction. “Stop running ya coward!” Exclaimed his attacker a local pony who Burning had dubbed as the village idiot despite the fact they were not actually in a village “I’ll beat ya within an inch of yer life!” “Coward?” Inquired Burning quite simply “Are you trying to provoke me?” the attacker took another failed swing at Burning as he said this “Just fight back ya chicken!” Replied the other “Or are ya scared?” to this Burning chuckled “Alright, I’ll kick your sorry flank but be warned I’m not responsible for any serious injuries I inflict” Burning managed between his chuckles. Suddenly his expression turned serious and he examined his attacker in great depth analysing his weak spots, blind spots and openings from his brutish swings. Thinking through a plan as he went Burning began his response First... deflect hit The attacker swung again to which Burning pushed his hoof sideways leaving him wide open Then... begin frontal assault Burning released his hoof and launched his two front hooves straight into the attackers face sending him tumbling backwards Now... shift weight into a full on body slam Burning ran and jumped with his hooves in front of him slamming down onto his attacker and then immediately getting back up and picking up a bottle Finally... treat him to a drink Burning smashed the bottle against his attackers head sending cider over his face and then picked up a mug from the counter, downed it, placed a few bits on the counter and left leaving the crowd in awe. A bit further down from this violent scene and atop a roof sat the third member of the Shadow Division who was closely observing the streets below him searching for his target, everpony seemed to move faster when he was concentrating making his taking incredibly hard as he squinted searching for this evasive target until he spotted a small glimpse of the target which then quickly disappeared into the crowd again leaving no clues to his next location. This member is named “Dark Feather” a suitable name considering his occupation he was a Pegasus and was known to be faster Soarin once he had belonged to the Wonderbolts but quit when offered to opportunity to take his skills a step further. Dark was generally a charismatic pony and due to this he was the teams main negotiator should things get rough; he also handled what little public relations they had. There it was again, his target. He got into a starting position and kicked off of the roof with his wings flapping to give him an extra boost of speed as he hurled himself towards the target and he began his high speed pursuit. The target effortlessly weaved in and out of the crowded streets whereas Dark had to fly above, eyeing his target very carefully so not to lose him. As the target took a turn into a less crowded street he decided it suitable to lower himself, grab the target and be out in a split second. Preparing himself to do so the target took another turn but into the market, looks like his plans would have to wait, he watched as the target weaved in and out of the stalls beneath him until the target finally stopped flying and landed upon a roof probably convinced that he had lost Dark to which he gave a grin “Got ya” Muttered Dark as he swooped in on his target grasping it as he did so, the target in question was a rare Equestrian breed of bird, Dark had a passion for animals and upon hearing a rare bird was in the lower area of Canterlot decided it suitable to find and examine the breed before his chance disappeared back into the rolling acres of its homeland near Fillydelphia. Producing a notepad and pencil Dark quickly noted down the aspects of the bird including his appearance and also noted its fast speed and manoeuvrability “There we are” Resumed Dark in a calming tone “You can go now” he released the bird into the air and it flew into the distance, obviously worried that the seemingly insane pursuer would take up chase again. Dark lay back on the roof and began taking in the night sky. SHADOWS OF EQUESTRIA
StalliongradBurning was walking down the street outside of the Angry Alicorn after his brawl in the pub while the street lamps flickered and swayed with the wind shifting the lighting and causing a feeling of motion sickness as he continued his course, or was that the cider kicking in? The street was ominously silent apart from his own hoofsteps he could hear nothing as he approached the end of the street after spending his bits on cider and trying to get attention from the mares he decided it would be best to call it an evening before that annoyed pony in the Angry Alicorn came chasing after him and escalating the brawl further which Burning really couldn’t do with he was supposed to be a respectable citizen. Well as respectable as a pony living in lower Canterlot can be. As he turned the corner the sound of another pony’s hoofsteps became audible to which Burning sped up slightly, didn’t want to be caught by any of the many enemies he had made throughout the pubs in lower Canterlot and the Angry Alicorn was probably one of the last pubs he was allowed in after all the brawls he had oh how he missed the days of exciting fast paced missions where he got to openly beat other ponies to an inch of their lives. But as good as those days were ponies tend to learn lessons after so much pain and as a result there was now a lack of conflict, and a lack of jobs for the entire Shadow Division. The hoofsteps drew closer as a roof tile slid and smashed onto the path behind Burning he squinted as the smashing sound echoed through the empty street “Is that you Dark?” Inquired Burning as the Pegasus swooped down behind him “The one and only and what are you doing out at a time like this, I thought you’d be getting blind drunk like always” Countered Dark putting emphasis on the last part of his comeback “There were... difficulties with drinking this evening” Stated Burning simply deciding it would sound more elegant that way “You brawled with another pony didn’t you?” Sighed Dark “Typical... just typical” “It’s not my fault other ponies have a hard time acknowledging that when I drink I get angry quickly” Protested Burning to which Dark sighed and rolled his eyes “Well anyway Double wants us back at the basement, apparently there’s been an interesting turn of events” Stated Dark at first burning thought nothing of it and cast it out as an emergency drill like Double had taken to doing the last few weeks “It regards difficulties in diplomacy between Celestia and another monarch” Resumed Dark Burning stopped in his tracks, turned and grinned wildly “Well then we better get back quickly!” Burning began to sprint towards the house as Dark flew above him. The small puddles in the cracks of the cobblestone road splashed behind Burning as he sped up his pace trying to match the speed of Dark’s flying which was near enough impossible as Dark became nothing more than a spec in the distance. Turning another corner Burning discovered that he had got himself lost which was widely inconvenient at the moment and in the centre of the street were 3 strange looking beings they had similar attributes to that of Discord with different body parts and each of them looked very, very angry as they stared into Burning’s soul “Burning Brawl I presume?” Inquired one of them in a voice as smooth as velvet, closing his eyes and cringing slightly at the fact the three beings before him knew his name and probably everything else he decided upon an escape plan “I’ll be leaving now chaps” He stated simply as he charged full pelt towards them he adjusted course rapidly to a small pile of boxes and kicked them down as he leaped for the rooftops. The lower half of his body smashed into the wall and he held onto the ledge of the roof with all of his strength raising himself up onto the top. Strangely enough the three beings took no notice of Burning’s escape “We’ll be seeing you soon” Stated another being in a grating voice and the three disappeared into thin air just like that “That was... the strangest experience of my life...” Muttered Burning rubbing his head “That sudden impulse of escape was completely irrational and out of my control... and I dread to think they are almost god like creatures similar to that of discord...” The scene remained silent. “Who the buck am I talking to?!” Exclaimed Burning shaking his head and returning to his long journey of finding the basement to hear this development first hoof Burning opened the hatch to the basement and slid down the ladder into the candle lit chamber that lay beneath the house “Glad you could finally join us” Complained Dark “You’re slow as ever” “Well maybe if you didn’t leave me back there in the middle of lower Canterlot...” Moaned Burning they were both hit around the head with a newspaper which Double Vision had in his hoof “Both of you shut up. My IQ drops by about 10 points every time you utter a single word” Interrupted Double in a frustrated tone “We’ve received a letter from Princess Celestia asking for our assistance in something that’s far more complex than simple espionage and assassinations” “So there’ll be no mindless brawling?” Hurriedly asked Burning in a state of panic “I’m sure there’ll be plenty of that. We’ve been asked to investigate something to do with political disagreements with Stalliongrad who, as you all know, have decided it best to separate from Equestria and claim the area around Stalliongrad for their own naming it Greater Stalliongrad. However the Princesses believe that there have been multiple Draconequus meddling in political and public affairs to influence a separation” Stated Double, Dark and Burning looked at each other in confusion “Simply please, not all of us are geniuses” Sighed Dark finally “Well we all know that...” Grinned Double “Basically, Draconequus making Stalliongrad break way from Equestria and trying to start war, if you want an even more simple version then here. War will begin if we don’t act” Burning decided that the events of earlier were probably linked into this current event but decided not to speak out in case he was just seeing things. After all ponies tended to see a few things after drinking as much cider as he did “That’s all I needed to know, so what do we need to do?” Said Burning “We need to get to Stalliongrad quickly in order to investigate the political workings and then report back to Celestia for further instructions dependant on the outcome” Replied Double picking up a map of Stalliongrad a box of pins and a ball of string “Get everything ready, we leave at sunrise” And with that the small basement was bustling with activity Burning placed wooden clubs and blunt objects into his saddlebags while Dark simply placed a crossbow with 5 bolts into his. As they did so another letter appeared on the table which Double immediately read. He scanned the letter and grimaced “Unpack” He sighed “We’re not going to Stalliongrad” “What?! Why?!” Exclaimed Dark “I was ready to meet some Stalliongrad mares to...” to which he pouted “Stalliongrad just announced war and as you can probably tell it’ll be considerably harder to get to Stalliongrad in the middle of a war” Replied Double grimly “We’ve been stationed in what is apparently the first target for an air invasion” “We’re on the frontlines?” Moaned Dark “We’re supposed to be Stealthy not some suicide squad!” Double ignored this and continued to scan the letter “We’ve actually been positioned at the furthest post away from Stalliongrad but it’s vulnerable to a quick air attack, the locals have no training in violence and they’re in a pretty dire situation at the moment with only 6 elite warriors apparently” Replied Double doing hoof gestures as he read “The station in question will be on the border of the Everfree Forest where Stalliongrad air troops will likely land to make a surprise approach. That is if they haven’t already. And the town... it says here the town’s name is Ponyville” “So... no brawling?” Frowned Burning “The opposite. A lot of brawling” Stated Double “But we still need to leave immediately for the attack could launch any minute or not at all...”
PonyvilleDark sat on the seat of the wagon pouting, he longed to fly to Ponyville but was swiftly rejected “Think about it, they’re expecting an air attack” Double had pointed out “They’ll probably arrest you as soon as you hit the ground” Burning sat on the seat nearest the exit looking at the winding rocky dirt road leading to Canterlot as he played a poorly constructed banjo which he used mainly to relieve stress and right now he felt the weight of a nation on his shoulders as it Equestria was dependent upon him , Double and Dark which to be quite fair it almost was. The wagon jolted and sent Double’s book onto the floor of the wagon and he watched as it slid along the floor onto the dirt path to which he pulled out another book and studied that instead. The journey had seemed to drag out for years as they all repeated the same routine, Burning with his Banjo, Dark pouting and Double studying the texts concerning the political structures of Stalliongrad which had intrigued him quite a lot “Are we there yet?” Demanded Dark to the wagon driver “We’ve got a good 30 minutes left until we arrive” Replied the wagon driver calmly “Just settle down and sleep or something” “He’s right you know” Muttered Double “You really need to calm down” he turned another page in his book and uttered a noise of approval, Burning had just finished a song on his banjo and he placed it on the floor of the wagon as he threw a small metal canteen to Dark “And this is?” Inquired Dark “Cider shut up and drink it, hopefully it’ll knock you out cold until we arrive” Replied Burning agitated as he picked up his banjo and began playing another song “You utter...” Began Dark only to be interrupted by Double “Both of you morons shut up” Double stated “You’re both deserving of being knocked out cold” he turned yet another page but with no noise this time. Dark took a swig of the cider and lay back on the seat “Hopefully there’ll be some different animal species or something over at Ponyville that I can occupy my time with” Smiled Dark trying to calm himself “And then maybe I can relax for once” “I’m all for the relaxing, but I’ll be more occupied with brawling” Grinned Burning as he strummed the banjo slightly more violently and faster “And then I’ll be recognised as the strongest pony in Equestria” Double was getting irritated at the fact the two were speaking “And maybe you two will shut up so I can relax and then I’ll be able to organise a game plan successfully” Stated Double killing the flow of all the enjoyment he glanced up from his back and into the horizon “We’ve got about 10 minutes left, Dark” Double said as Dark waved off this comment “I’ll be asleep, wake me when we’re there” He replied slowly The sound of Burning’s banjo awoke Dark as the wagon bumped over a large rock sending a violent jolt through its passengers “We’ve arrived” Pointed out Burning which was rewarded with a slow applaud from Dark and a chuckle from Double. The routine of a normal day was occurring in Ponyville which should be expected as they were, as far as the residents of Ponyville were concerned, normal Equestrian citizen and not a Division of highly trained stealth ponies sent on a mission to prevent any further political disasters between Equestria and Stalliongrad. They weren’t violent drunks with a tendency to bicker or argue between one another not at all. They were normal Equestrian citizens. The 3 stepped down from the wagon and pulled cloaks over themselves and began to walk aimlessly around the town. “The everfree is somewhere around here” Stated Double “You don’t say?” Teased Dark “Maybe I could fly up and look around for the forest, can’t be that hard to miss” “And by that logic we can find it on foot” Argued Burning who was wandering into a street full of market stalls and ponies. As the three wandered in they became separated from one another which did them more good than bad Burning wandered the town eagerly looking for cider as he went completely ignoring the fact he was barging a tonne of ponies out of his way as he did so, he spotted a stall with an apple on the top and assumed that would be the place to go for cider. As he approached he saw no cider and instead a few buckets full of apples and an orange mare with a Stetson hat atop her head his face dropped as he could so no cider but decided inquiring may be worthwhile anyway and he trotted up to the stall “Howdy” Began the orange mare “Haven’t seen ya around these parts before, you must be new” “Got any cider?” Blandly asked Burning, completely uninterested in anything other than the fabled drink the orange mare was taken aback by this attitude “Well no actually” She replied “It isn’t cider season” “Dammit...” Burning muttered under his breath “Any place to get cider nearby?” and so he resumed his task of finding a local source of cider Double happily weaved his way between the crowd receiving odd looks from everpony, he thought it was probably because he hadn’t been seen by the locals before and assumed that everypony knew everypony here. He continued to trot through the crowd until a lavender mare emerged and bumped into him sending a stack of papers and ink into the air the ink container burst open and ink began to spew out. Double remained calm as the crowd scattered and levitated the ink back into the container before it made contact with any manes in the crowd after that he slowly levitated the papers and ink back to the lavender mare “My bad” Chirped Double and resumed his course leaving the lavender mare stunned at the sudden display of magic “Hold on!” The mare said trotting after Double “How did you react that quickly?” and just like that Double was put on the spot by somepony he’d never met and found himself struggling for an excuse “Idiot...” He thought “Utter idiot! Normal ponies don’t have reactions like that!” “It was...” Began Double, unsure of what to say “It was?” The lavender mare inquired eagerly “I went to a private magic school...” Slurred Double even he didn’t know what he was saying “And we were taught to react really quick... anyway... I have to go” and with that he turned away Dark leapt onto the rooftops where he was closer to the sky than before, he wanted to fly but he knew he couldn’t. As he paced along the rooftops scanning the crowd below for Burning and Double he bumped into a pony “Wha?!” He exclaimed almost falling off of the rooftop the other pony had a similar reaction as they looked each other suspiciously in the eye. The pony in question was a Pegasus mare with magneta eyes and cyan coat with a rainbow coloured mane “Okay now I’m more confused” Muttered Dark louder than he intended “Why would that be?” Inquired the mare “Did I say that out loud?” Stuttered Dark shocked at himself the mare simply nodded “How’d you get a rainbow mane?” Inquired Dark eager to change the subject “I get asked that a lot” The mare replied rolling her eyes “But you don’t know who I am?” she was trying to change the subject to? This wasn’t going to end well “Nope, never heard of you” Replied Dark in an upbeat tone which seemed rather heartless of him to do so. The mare looked enraged “I’m Rainbow Dash! Best flyer in all of Ponyville and I hope to join the Wonderbolts!” She exclaimed standing on her back legs and wearing a pair of sunglasses Dark simply sighed “Been there done that...” he sighed under his breath As all three of the Shadow Division had got midway through their conversations when a loud noise erupted from the forest alongside the sound of snare drums being beaten in a military fashion as a large wave of Stalliongrad soldiers emerged from the forest “All right! We’ve got a party!” Yelled Burning in delight as he clicked his neck. At about the same time as this Double and Dark also yelled “Well that’s inconvenient... seems stealth won’t be an option...” Double had yelled “Yes! I can fly again!” Yelled Dark simply with a large grin on his face
Facing the chargeThe wave of soldiers approached Burning Brawl as he rose onto his hind legs and prepared to brawl. The first group stepped forward as the orange mare and the citizens hid behind crates and barrels First... distract multiple enemies In a split second Burning picked up a barrel of apples and threw them towards the soldiers, breaking their formations and making most of them slip over the loose apples Second... break wills Burning identified the Captain of the squad and eagerly landed a punch into his stomach sending him stumbling back making the Stalliongrad soldiers look on in horror Third... break armour Burning brought his hoof back around and elbowed the connecting joint on the armour causing it to shatter sending metal shrapnel off in multiple directions and mostly hitting other soldiers Then... break ribcage Burning followed this by swinging his left back leg forward straight into the commanders stomach sending him stumbling back further accompanied by a satisfying cracking sound Finally... share the apples Burning picked up the barrel containing a few apples and smashed it onto the commanders head knocking him out causing the troops to drag his limp body back into the forest and that was the first group done “Who’s next!” Happily exclaimed Burning taking a bite from the apple Double cast a spell to push the citizens back towards cover and created a large space in which a group of Stalliongrad soldiers stepped into. Double analysed the scene in a split second and calculate multiple possibilities and attacks with their results and failures until he finally settled upon one route of action. Grinning wildly he concentrated all of his magic onto the small chunk of earth beneath the soldiers. At first it seemed like Double was standing there grinning with a glowing horn doing nothing but eventually the ground began to crack and the land began to split. “No doubt that purple mare is watching closely” Thought Double “The jigs really up now” the large chunk of earth levitated from the ground with the soldiers clinging onto the edges for dear life “Next stop Stalliongrad” Grinned Double quickly shifting his head and sending the chunk of land flying off into the everfree forest as the Pegasi aboard the rock tried to flap their wings to slow the speed, it seemed like an impossible task and by the time they figured this out they were already dug halfway into the ground Double smiled cockily “Next please” he uttered his voice lathered with smug Dark pushed Dash aside and slid down the roofing tiles lazily “Hello there chaps!” He exclaimed in a peculiar accent, he wandered up to one and grabbed him by the front hooves and motioned a slight dance to which he let go and the pony dropped to the floor, a knife sticking out from his chest “I’m here to ask you to retreat!” He resumed wandering through the confused crowd of soldiers and straight up to the captain “If that’s alright with everypony, it’s just I’m in no mood for fighting today!” “We’ve been given a job to do and we’ll do it” Replied the Stalliongrad Captain “Respectable, VERY respectable!” Yelled Dark happily his expression of sheer glee and then suddenly his tone darkened as he turned to the Captain frowning “But that’s the wrong answer. Sorry, you’re not a winner” and within that second an arrow shot from the concealed crossbow beneath Dark’s cloak and straight between the Captain’s eyes. The soldiers stood, confused for a moment and stared at Dark as he slowly reloaded his crossbow, he raised an eyebrow “Well go on then” Began Dark “Huh?” was the general reaction from the crowd “RUN!” He screeched as he fired a bolt straight into a soldier dispersing the crowd back into the forest. The three regrouped in front of the everfree where the remainder of the charge was “About 50 left” Muttered Double “Oi! This is the turnout for the auditions?” Yelled Dark “What?” Sighed Burning “Ciders gone straight to his head” Replied Double his expression unchanging as he stared the 50 Stalliongrad troops down. Burning hit Dark in the stomach sending him toppling backwards “You’re sitting this one out” He stated in an emotionless voice “So 25 each?” Asked Double keenly, Burning nodded as they calmly walked towards the 50 armoured, highly trained Stalliongrad soldiers before them. Burning picked up a spear and snapped the point off deciding to use brute force rather than stabbing for his method, he swung it around a few times while Double charged his magic again “On the count of three” Whispered Double “Alright” Replied Burning “I’m a patient pony” “One...” Said Double a bit louder as Dark looked up at his friends about to face 50 armoured soldiers “Two” Resumed Double louder still as the entire of Ponyville looked on at this bizarre scene of two ponies about to face fifty. “THREE” Yelled Double throwing a large chunk of rock into the air with about 20 soldiers on it. Burning sprung forward smashing the pole he held from the spear around a soldiers face shattering it instantly, splinters flew everywhere and lodged into the un-armoured sections of the soldiers. The ensuing battle was a long one drawn out simply by Burning meeting a worthy opponent, the Stalliongrad General for the charge and Double had met an equally skilled opponent. He it not been for Dark Feather shooting multiple crossbow bolts at once the two Division members would have been killed there and then. There was silence afterwards, a horrific, eerie silence which haunted the entire battlefield. The three suddenly turned around quite happily and wandered back into the town without another word the majority of the town remained frozen in fear and amazement from what had just happened. Behind them were the unconscious bodies of 50 Stalliongrad soldiers about 5 of which were elite ranks, a captain and the general all defeated by 3 ponies. The cyan mare was staring from the rooftops in utter shock at the drunken Pegasi she had bumped into and how he had just broken apart an entire Stalliongrad squadron by using deception. The purple mare stared from the streets at the clumsy pony who she had bumped in to and was amazed when she remembered the spells he performed against the Stalliongrad squad he was faced with and the orange mare stared in complete awe of the brute force displayed by the one asking for cider and she was thankful that she hadn’t sold him any as well. The three silently passed through the crowd their torn cloaks flapping in the wind as they progressed towards Sugarcube Corner presumably looking for something to eat. When the door of Sugarcube Corner closed the entire town began to talk and murmur about the fight and the three mares who had met the three Division members followed them to Sugarcube Corner determined to discover more about these mysterious ponies that had showed up in their town and beaten back an entire organised charge without even breaking a sweat.
Meeting the localsThe three sat around a small table eating the cakes they had bought and drinking seemingly infinite cups of tea, the three mares entered and they were the only ones that had enough courage to go anywhere near the three around the table. “Howdy” Said the orange mare “You here to sell me some cider?” Inquired Burning “No... I came here for the truth” Replied the orange mare in a proud tone “Truth is I’m out of cider” Sulked Burning “Not about that!” Exclaimed the mare “Can’t ya at least tell me your name, or did ya forget your manners?” “I have manners, but no cider” Grinned Burning “So I can’t really converse very well” “Look I just wanted to talk about what ya did out there” Managed the mare getting tired of this entire cider thing “Sure, what do you want to know” Replied Burning, the mare smiled she obviously thought she was getting somewhere “How did you do that?” Inquired Applejack “With my hooves” Replied Burning “That’s your only question gone now leave me to eat and drink” as this was occurring the lavender mare was also trying her luck at getting some information “You’re that pony from earlier aren’t you?” Inquired the mare “That’s me” Replied Double blankly “Your magic was amazing!” Complimented the mare “Where did you learn that?” “Private magic school” Continued Double still with no emotion “I highly doubt you went to a private magic school, I went to Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns and I didn’t learn anything like that ground moving technique from earlier” Replied the mare now on to his false story “Well, I did” Resumed Double “You three are amazing as a team...” Continued the mare “Can I at least get your names?” Double turned and looked at the mare her eyes full of curiosity “Names Double Vision” Replied Double “Now be polite and tell me yours” “I’m Twilight Sparkle” Chirped Twilight offering a hoof to Double, they shook hooves and a silence ensued “You’re Celestia’s student” Simply stated Double “Then I’d thought she would have told you about us... strange” “Huh?” Uttered Twilight “I don’t know how you knew that but Celestia tells me everything and I’ve never heard of a pony named Double Vision” “Nor has anypony else, just means I’m doing my job” Replied Double “And what exactly is your job then?” Pushed Twilight, Double simply raised an eyebrow and remained silent. Meanwhile Rainbow Dash was trying to get information out of Dark “You’re that Pegasus I bumped into on the roof aren’t you?” Inquired Dark with a blatantly forced smile “You don’t have to smile at me” Rainbow rolled her eyes after explaining this “I’ll take that as a yes” He chuckled in reply “So what was your name again?” Inquired Rainbow “Dark Feather” He replied falling off of his chair “And I’m still drunk it seems” “Yeah...” Continued Rainbow “I don’t think this conversation is getting anywhere fast” “Why Rainbow, it’s quite the opposite!” Resumed Dark now obviously still drunk, Rainbow backed away sighing “I’ll talk to you later...” She managed opening the door to which Dark dashed to his feet and raced up to her “Will you now? I look forward to it” Replied Dark to which Rainbow grew even more afraid and began to back away again “O-okay then...” She stuttered in fear and as she did so Dark motioned for a hug to which Dash flew full speed out of the Sugarcube Corner destroying the door as she did so. Dark turned around and gave the biggest grin ever “And that, that is how you stop having a conversation with somepony permanently!” He grinned “Any questions?” Burning and Double gave a laugh at this even Twilight chuckled but the orange mare still remained unsure of Dark’s humour “By the way, you never told me your name” Stated Burning turning to the orange mare “I’m Applejack” Replied Applejack “And yourself?” “Burning Brawl” Stated Burning “A name which pretty much sums up my personality” After a few hours of idle conversation between the two mares and the three division members Sugarcube Corner began to close to which the three donned their cloaks “You still haven’t told us your jobs” Rushed Twilight “Or why the Princess never talked about you!” “Perhaps another time” Replied Double quite hurriedly “But aside from that it’s been a pleasure talking to you” “Still no cider” Jested Burning looking at Applejack who laughed slightly at this “And if you see Rainbow Dash tell her I’ll be seeing her soon, just to freak her out” Chuckled Dark as he wrapped his cloak around him outside it was raining and the wind was cold “I’ll be sure to do that” Managed Twilight between spells of laughter “Are you two gonna be alright walking home in this rain?” Inquired Burning generally concerned “We’ll be fine, it’s literally a few blocks until my library and Applejack can stay with me until the storm blows over” Chirped Twilight, Double removed his cloak as did Dark and threw them over Twilight and Applejack “Wha?” Uttered Applejack, confused by this “Keep them, we have but a few metres to where we’re staying” Replied Double wandering to the door alongside Dark and Burning “See you later” Muttered Burning as they left Sugarcube Corner “This is intriguing... 3 ponies appear and defeat a Stalliongrad army and say they know the Princess. I should probably write a letter to the princess letting her know about this...” Murmured Twilight “I think they might be extendin’ the truth a lil with the Princess Celestia thing” Replied Applejack “But either way we should head back home, I’ll be fine now I have this cloak” and with that the two mares said their goodbyes and left for their homes. Dark, Double and Burning were in a less than ideal situation, their encampment was in the middle of a pile of bodies and shattered armour they doubted they would be able to sleep all at the same time and instead set up watches and shifts. While they were awake they drank, ate and jested with one another and during their shifts they drank and ate. A rather repetitive schedule for a bunch of ponies such as themselves but it allowed the hours to pass by seemingly quickly as they began to lack sleep, the sun finally rose and they had all only had around 2 hours of sleep each which they knew would be bad if there was another attack but it was highly unlikely that Stalliongrad would launch a second attack at the same place after 3 ponies took down the army they sent to take over Ponyville, however they still had a mystery to unravel they needed to discover any involvement with a Draconequus force but Stalliongrad would be eternally difficult to access now there was a war especially now that the three of them had probably made the Stalliongrad’s most wanted list in a matter of hours. As the trundled towards Sugarcube Corner in hopes of coffee they were met simply by a sign reading ‘CLOSED’ but of course it would be closed it was Nightmare Night tonight an event which had been forgotten by the Division entirely because it was a waste of time for them. Besides nopony in their right mind ever knocked on a door like theirs. So they not only had a lack of sleep with no coffee and were in a town of strangers who had no idea they were stealth ponies attempting to uncover a devious plan from Stalliongrad but it was also nightmare night just to make things more difficult. What could possibly go wrong?
A Train RideThey made their way into the town to be met by a team of ponies setting up banners and pumpkins surprisingly no pony fled at the sight of them anymore so perhaps that conversation with the three mares in Sugarcube Corner paid off in an unexpected way why wasn’t a bad way either. As they made their way sluggishly through the town they eyed the buildings hoping to find somewhere that sold coffee or the means to make coffee as they felt they couldn’t survive long on their drastic lack of sleep and energy and by the time they reached the end of the street they felt as if they could lay down in the middle of the street and just sleep but they knew that they couldn’t after all it was likely that now the Stalliongrad attack on Ponyville had been defeated that they would be whisked away to Stalliongrad in some way shape or form as soon as the royal guard arrived in Ponyville so they could at least have some form of defence. As they wandered aimlessly down the streets a gray mare approached them with a mail bag “Good morning to you” Began Dark as the mare approached “Good morning! Is one of you called Double Vision?” Asked the mare in an exceedingly happy tone “That would be me” Replied Double “There’s a letter here for you” Continued the mare, smiling as she spoke. Taking the letter Double thanked the mare and they continued their course down the street as he tore open the letter which bore the royal seal “What news?” Inquired Burning as they approached the town square again “We’re being moved to Stalliongrad by cover of night” Replied Double placing the letter back in the envelope having read it several times already “How do they plan that?” Stated Dark confused by this development “By supply trains running from allies in Equestria, there’s one passing through Ponyville this evening” Resumed Double “And it just so happens it’ll be making an unexpected stop” The rusted supply train rushed along the track it’s rusted wheels grating along the track breaking the silence in the fields of Equestria, along the supply carts was a large Stalliongrad flag which was, despite being new, barely recognisable as Dark flew above and examined the train. His earpiece crackled once more as Doubles voice came through “How far is it from Ponyville?” Inquired Double “We have about 30 minutes” Replied Dark “Is everything ready over there?” “Not quite” Resumed Double nervously “This is going to be close” “Any civilian appearances?” Managed Dark after having several bugs fly into his mouth “None so far” Replied Double “The disguises seem to be working” At the station Double was sat wearing a bowler hat holding a newspaper in front of his face with a plaid waistcoat and a large pipe next to him while Burning wore a tweed jacket with the Stalliongrad flag stitched onto the back. Dark was the only one not wearing a disguise, much to his luck, as they wanted him to wear a Stalliongrad Pegasi uniform while flying over military occupied Equestria. The train continued its course along the track with the lighting of Ponyville now in sight as Burning finished up placing the last barricade on the track “We’re all set, Double” Stated Burning as he backed into the shadows “Right, Dark keep track of the train and we’ll remain hidden” Began Double “This could go great or horribly wrong” As the train approached the station it began to lose all momentum, they had spotted the barricades as planned and were leaving the train to remove them. A few soldiers exited and patrolled the station to secure the area “Don’t do anything stupid” thought Dark laying on the train station roof “You’ll get us all killed” one soldier wandered past the ticket booth only to be dragged into the shadows and have his throat slit by Double whilst another had his neck broken by Burning. They both placed the soldiers armour on and hid the bodies “Sorry for the poor bugger that has to clean this up” Muttered Burning as he pushed the body under the ticket booth counter “And the poor pony that finds it” Added Double, they were talking over the earpiece and microphone system that they had received shortly after getting the letter to mask the smell they covered the body in rags that had been sprayed with deodorant shortly before so the smell was not as strong as when they began. Dark swooped down to the ground near the tracks and crawled to the undercarriage of the train intending to crawl up onto the cargo bay once the train begins its course, the soldiers and technicians were eventually called back onboard the train and it began its journey once more. With that Burning, Dark and Double had left the comfort of their homeland and were entering a confused and violent recently formed state to undergo and extremely dangerous mission, and that was just how they liked it. The train slowed yet another time and Dark’s heart skipped a beat. The sound of the technicians making conversation with the guards of Stalliongrad echoed through the rusted iron carts of the train with a very noticeable accent from the guards the conversation dragged on “We are forced to search the train before it enters Stalliongrad. Our glorious leader has foreseen that espionage will be a major part of this war” Stated the guard in an unquestionable tone “V-very well then” Stuttered the train driver, by his accent he was definitely not from Stalliongrad and was likely a spy himself. A terrible one at that, the small rusted door connecting the cart next to Dark’s opened to reveal Burning and Double without the armour on “They’re going to run a identification test with the soldiers aboard we need to get off now” Demanded Burning, crawling along the cart floor they approached the left side door which was opposite the sounds of the guards and slowly opened it being careful not to make a noise. Holding the door open Double glanced back into the train cart to see if there was anything useful and amongst the piles of ammunition and surplus was a torn piece of parchment, presumably a map of the local area. “Double get down here now” Hissed Burning as he lay in the thick coating of snow which blocked the grass from vision “There’s a map in here, I’ll meet you in the forest” Stated Double “Cover your tracks and remember to not disturb the natural landscape, they probably know this place to well” “You’re coming with us” Stated Burning and with that Double slid the door shut and crawled over to the piece of parchment. Cautiously as possible as to not make any noise Double tugged it out of the pile, there was a noise from the door. Somepony was opening it. Double thought fast, faster than he had ever thought in his life. He wasn’t only out of the frying pan and into the fire but he was out of the fire and onto the kitchen floor for all to see, he picked up some old military boots and placed them on followed by an enchantment spell causing them to stick to any surface so he would be able to crawl along the roof. The search party entered and opened the side door which Double took as an opportunity to crawl out of and onto the roof then he slid down the back end of the train and submerged himself in the thick snow. With the map now in hand and the search party none the wiser he could now make his way to the forest to regroup with Dark and Burning. But he knew it wasn’t going to be that simple. It never was.
