Shadows of Equestria

The 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