Rise of the Shadow Knight

Chapters

A new vision.
Paving the way.
The first strike.
A job well done.

A new vision.

My name is Book Knight. I'm a unicorn with a grey coat and a dark blue mane. Yes, I do look dark and mysterious, now stop asking. In spite of my dark looks, everybody will tell you that I'm a bookworm first and a guard second. My cutie mark is a book with a knight's helmet on it. At first, I thought it meant that I'd become a librarian, but I think fate had other plans for me.

My dad used to be a security guard in Fillicy, but he decided to move us to Ponyville for a slower pace. About a year before that he was working at a construction site. The workers there were cutting corners on safety regulations and had my dad there to keep any kids out of there. When I came home to find out that a pile of wood boards fell on him I was crushed... I didn't mean the pun! Stop laughing!

My dad lived, but he was never able to do the hard work he used to do. I had always loved my dad, and I wanted to pick up where he left off. My cutie mark wasn't talking about books, but my determination to study and work hard for my goals.

I spent years studying and preparing myself for my future. My first goal was to pass the training for a royal guard. Now any of you who make it out to be a major task has not met the royal guard. The fact that I placed as high as I did only accounted for the facts that I put all of my time and effort into it and the fact that nopony else did. I was second in my class, only passed by some guy named Shining Armor.

Now I'm breezing through a lot of this to get to one of the first major choices of my life.

After our graduation, Shining and I were called to the throne room by Princess Celestia. It was my first appearance in front of royalty. She spoke with respect and authority. "I've heard many great things about you two. From the leadership and powerful magic from Shining to the cunning and skill from Book. I'm proud of both of you and what you've accomplished."

We both bowed in respect as Shining spoke. "Thank you, your highness. May we ask why you have called us?"

She nodded. "Recently I've had a few of my captains retire. When I was looking for replacements I wanted to see what the new blood had to offer. I had a hard time choosing from a leader and a tactician so I've decided to promote both of you. I want you two to lead the royal guard together if you are willing."

Now the fact that she picked two green students with no experience tells you how good the guard was at the time.

I had to scoff a bit as Shining's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He stumbled over his words as he spoke to her. "Well... I didn't dream... Uh... I... Of course your highness."

Now I know that captains get a pretty easy job and the pay is great, but I didn't want that. I bowed again as I broke the bad news. "As gracious as your offer is, I'll have to decline."

It was at that point that a lot of ponies that were in the room looked at me like I was an idiot. Celestia looked confused, but she didn't seem disappointed. "I see, do you mind explaining why?"

"I only came here for the training. My family lives in Ponyville and I've noticed something there. There are no guardians of justice there. As peaceful as it is, how can I guard a place with many that protect it when there's nopony to protect my own family? I would like your permission to be the pony who keeps the peace there."

Yes, I did rehearse that several times before showing up that day. Celestia actually looked impressed after I spoke. "Alright. You'll need some more training in order to be recognized as a full officer there, but I'll help you see it happen. Your wish is granted, guardian of Ponyville."

Now I need to admit something before I continue, I had another reason for not wanting to be a captain. I don't trust other ponies to have my back. I hate the idea of some other pony messing up and leaving me hanging out to dry. I like working alone, where I can have complete control.

Now I know I'm covering a lot of ground, but that's so we can get to where things really started.

I had gotten my training so I can fulfill all of the duties of Ponyville's officer, which is the equivalent of being the cop, detective, and occasionally a monster fighter. Some ponies would call that a workload, but there's not a lot of crime and we don't have a lot of the petty laws that the other cities have. Then Twilight and her friends took the spotlight.

I'm not mad at them for saving Luna or for anything they've done for Equestria (Because I truly believe that they were the only ponies who could have dealt with Discord.), but my job became even more pointless than it already was. My dream at the time was that Flim and Flam would show up so I could finally arrest them for fraud.

My job was slow and uneventful for years. It became me hanging around town to pass the time. However, sometime after Twilight's second trip to the mirror world (and long before I've learned of it), things started to get interesting.

I was on patrol, which is the equivalent of just strolling around town when I ran into Twilight Sparkle. She's one of the only ponies in town that I'm friends with, due to the fact that I'm always borrowing books. Now if only I can read through some of them.

She was going through a bag of comics that seemed odd to me. There were strange creatures on them that I've never seen before. I like trying to learn about new creatures, so I had to ask her about it. "Hello, Twilight. I see you've got some more... books?"

Twilight turned to me with a shocked expression. "Oh! They were just from a friend. It's not exactly... educational material. They're comic books about some weird superhero."

I chuckled a bit. "Let me guess, another superpowered pony who's the bight and shining example of Equestria?"

"Actually, he's one of the gloomiest heroes I've seen, but one of the more, unique ones. He's one of the only heroes without powers. He uses pure skill and intimidation to fight criminals. Even the most powerful villains fear him. I'm not a big fan of his comics tho."

I decided to take a closer look at the comic. This creature was clothed in a black costume that resembled a bat in some ways. Hearing about his lack of powers and his abilities lit a bit of curiosity in me. Something about that description was enticing.

Now I've been borrowing books from her for a long time, so I saw no fault in asking for another one. "Hey... do you think I can take a look at those? I know it's not my genre, but this one actually sounds interesting."

Twilight actually bit her lip. It was like she was questioning if I should even know that they existed. "Well... I guess I can trust you. Just have them back by tomorrow. I'm just borrowing these and I'll need them back."

I gave her a small bow as she gave them to me. "Thank you, I'll read them right away."

Now normally when I get a new book I'll just add it to the pile and read it when I can, but since I only had one day with them, I needed to get through it.

As I got off work I went straight home. I lived in a pretty decent house. It was a three bedroom and two bathroom house. I didn't have a lot of stuff. I mainly stuck to what I needed, and also a bunch of bookshelves. I didn't use a lot of the stuff in my kitchen due to me preferring takeout. I never saw the need for having a lot of stuff. Even my basement was pretty much empty.

I immediately went to my office and started to go through the comics that Twilight gave me. Normally I'd say that it's childish and something that Dash would be doing in place of her job, but this comic was too enticing to give up. I grabbed a juice box and settled down for a long read.

Now, this is the part of the story that I want to say how COOL Batman is. He was a pure genius, relying on his gadgets and skills to take down criminals. He never took shortcuts, and always stood by his code. Even the most powerful villains feared him. The thing that I loved the most was the fact he was a mortal man who fought alongside and even against the gods.

I enjoyed every second of those comics. I loved seeing the full extent of his skills and tactics. The more I read, the more I realized that this was the standard to live up to. Forget the pillars of Equestria, Batman was the toughest hero, and something I'd love to become.

As I kept reading I started to think about it. Why couldn't I be like him? I liked working alone, and I was good at my job. Maybe if I could push myself more and get some gear to work with... it could work. I'd be more than some officer, I'd be an idea. I'd be a symbol that criminals would fear. I quickly ran to my window and looked for my brothers.

My eyes fell on my youngest brother, Short Fuze. He had a yellow coat and red and yellow hair with a lit firecracker for a cutie mark. "Hey, Fuze! Where's Light Heart?"

He turned around in shock as he saw me yelling at him. "I don't know right now. Why do you ask?"

"Come in here. I've got something for us to work on!" I yelled.

He looked confused, but whenever one of us boys get bored the others usually come over to help. Light would come up with the crazy ideas, I'd work on the base design, and Fuze would work on the more complicated mechanical aspects. Between the three of us, we've made some crazy stuff, but this would be my personal favorite project.

The second that Fuze walked in I started showing him the comic. I was going over everything that made Batman amazing. I made sure to emphasize all of his gadgets and what they did.

After about an hour of ranting about this Fuze finally interrupted me. "I'm sorry, but did you seriously drag me here just to rant about a comic?"

"No! I want you to help me become this!" I tried to explain as I shoved the comic in his face. "This can make me so much more than just a pony that reports a crime once a month. I can become the thing crime fears. Who wouldn't dream of that?"

"Any pony with a life? Listen, are you sure that you need another reason to tell mom that you're still single?" Fuze asked, looking skeptical.

I had my heart set on this, and there was no way that I wasn't going to let it slip through my hooves. "Fuze... I want this. I want to be the hero this city deserves, even if I'm not the one it needs. This is taking my job to a scale which I've never dreamed of. I want to do this. May you please help me?"

I don't know if he was just humoring me, or wanted to see me begging him to help, but he looked like he was at a point to where he'd consider helping me. "Well, I doubt you'd be allowed to completely be like Batman. For the first thing, I saw a thing on this called copywrite law, and that tells me that you want to work around that. The second thing is that a pony dressed like a bat tends to look like a thestrial. You need a different look and name."

That was the thing that I hadn't put much thought into. He had a few good points that I hadn't thought about yet. I had to think about simplifying it for what we knew how to make. "Well, I guess we could use a hood to mix it up and use a mask to cover my mouth. We could also use the helmet on my cutie mark as my symbol. All I'd need is a name... and a pile of tech, but that's the easy part."

I had to sit down and think more about the name. As Fuze and I were trying to shoot ideas out my autistic brother walked in. Now keep in mind that this was before he got the wings, but he was still goofy. He grinned a bit as he walked in, looking like he was going to give one of his dumb jokes. "Hey Book! I didn't see you around town, so I assumed you were lurking in the shadows, looking for any jaywalkers."

Jaywalking is a crime in Manehatten, but not in a small town like this. As I was starting to roll my eyes at Light some of his words stuck out. He described me as one who lurked in the shadows, finding those who hid from justice. If you throw out the joke about jaywalking, it was a good summary of what I wanted to be. If I could mix that with my own name... that would be my new identity.

"That's it! Now I shall be known as the Shadow Knight."

As I said that name it felt right. That was a name that criminals would fear. Fuze grinned at my new title, clearly approving this new name.

Light just looked confused as he had no context whatsoever. "Uh... did I miss something?"

Paving the way.

I was excited as my dreams were flying to greater heights then I could have dreamed. My brothers and I were busy working on sketches of possible suit designs.

Light wanted to stick to the source material in his design.

As simple as it was, I didn't think it would be wise to stick to the basic style. I wanted to be something original.

Fuze went for a more tactical approach with some body armor.

It looked cool, but then I had to ask if it was too bulky. Fuze then took that time to talk to me about lightweight materials that would still work as armor. I was having the time of my life as we were even thinking up prototypes for stuff like the smoke pellets and a grappling hook. This comic challenged all of our imaginations.

As I wanted to get started with making some of this stuff come to life, Light brought up something that I hadn't thought about. "Are we sure that we're allowed to be making this stuff?"

I was a little confused by that question. I knew that a lot of our inventions had to be professionally checked ever since we nearly burned down the town for the second time, but I still didn't see his point. "What do you mean?"

Light looked nervous, which is never a good sign. "Well, we normally make random stuff, but we've never made weaponry or armor for fighting crime. I'm not sure if we're allowed to be making this stuff for your... hero gig."

I wanted to argue with him, but he had a good point. I didn't have permission to use high-grade equipment or high-level tactics which not even the royal guards use. If I wanted to avoid having the elements of harmony knocking on my door, I'd need some royal permission to do this stuff.

I gave the others a small smile as I tried to keep the dream alive in my head. "Alright. I'll just head over to Canterlot and ask them for permission. How hard can that be?"

Fuze looked skeptical as I uttered the infamous question. "You think that you can waltz right up to the princess and ask her if you can play an edge lord that beats up crime till they start crying to their parents?"

I gave him a soft chuckle to show them just how confident I was. "I was the second-best in my class in the royal guard, and number one is now a prince. I've got this."

Light chuckled in return as I walked out of the door. "Good luck with that."

The trip to Canterlot gave me plenty of time to think about what to say. I knew that I had to rely on showing her how much our country needed something like I wanted to be. Equestria needed a symbol that it was protected not only in the light but in the shadows too. I know that wasn't much, but I had no real plan B.

The castle had changed in some ways when I arrived. I know that Canterlot had a few attacks in the last few years, but I guess another part of it was the second princess living there. I hadn't been to the castle since I had turned down the promotion, and that was before Luna showed up. Now this pony was living there and had adjusted some parts of it to her preference. I did like the lavender in the halls, it adds a more soothing scent.

I only had to wait half an hour before I got to have my meeting. That gave me the few extra moments I needed to finish going over what I was going to say in my head. When I got to the throne room Celestia was sitting there with Luna next to her. Celestia still had her calm and caring smile, but Luna looked more serious and slightly bored. I guess I'd be bored too if I worked at something which was the equivalent of a desk job.

I did the customary bow to which Celestia motioned for me to rise. "Hello, Book. It's been a while since I had seen you. It was your graduation if I remember correctly. You were second in your class next to Shining Armor."

As I nodded Luna seemed to have perked up. "Oh, you are a guard?" It seems like hearing about a high placing fighter was just the spice she needed to break the monotony.

At this point, I knew that I needed to explain my wishes."Not really. I'm the general officer of Ponyville. It's basically the equivalent of being the town's entire police force. I've come here asking if your permission about something that I believe our country needs."

Celestia looked curious at what I was talking about. "Oh? Well, what is your big idea."

Now keep in mind that there was no way I could just and them the comic and tell them that was where I got my inspiration. So I decided to do this the long way. "Your Highness, for the last several years there has been a rise in threats against our people. Soon criminals will start becoming bolder and even more dangerous. We've learned from Chrysalis and Tirek that not all enemies can be beaten with friendship. We need a symbol that stands for justice. A symbol that criminals will see and know that our country is protected. Twilight is the symbol of friendship, and I wish to become a symbol of justice."

Celestia looked at me like I was asking to become an alicorn. As I went it details of the magic, technology, and tactics I wanted to use, it started to look like asking for that alicorn transformation would have been a more reasonable request.

One thing that I've learned about Celestia is that she always smiles, but if you can see her smile starting to look extremely fake while she's talking, that means that she's trying to let you down slowly. "Um... I understand your reasoning... but... I'm not sure that's something we need. This is a peaceful land, and I truly doubt that we need a fighter as extream as you with resources like this. I'm sorry Book Knight, but your request is denied."

I felt crushed when she said that. I mean, I knew that it was most likely going to happen, but this was something that I wanted. I wanted to see the innocent ponies of our country safe, and I thought this was the way to do it. I knew that I couldn't argue with her without risking my job, so all I could do was a bow to her. "You are the princess. Have a good day your highness."

"Wait for a second Book. I wish to have a few words with my sister." Luna said as she stood up.

I wasn't expecting Celestia's sister to say anything, but I nodded as I waited patiently. I started to realize that she was actually intrigued the whole time I had been talking about my plans and the detail I put into them. Now I know that it's rude to eavesdrop, but this was my job they were talking about. I was listening carefully while the two of them talked about my future.

"Sister, I think a pony with skills and resources can be very useful."

"Luna, I don't think Equestria needs something so... extreme."

"We both know that Twilight and her friends wouldn't be able to handle real crime and the... darker types of ponies. This pony could be able to handle things that other ponies can't handle."

"But... the high-level crimes are extremely rare."

"And we don't have anypony who is trained to deal with them. This pony might be the best way to deal with such crimes. He might also be able to keep criminals from committing such crimes just from the fear of a hero watching over them."

"I... I don't believe that this idea is even necessary. I think that you're thinking about this too much."

"Tia, you said that I'd be taking back over as leader of security for our ponies, is that not true?"

At this point, I started to see Celestia looking more scared of losing Luna's trust than my crazy ideas. "I... I'm just trying to think about what's best for the ponies."

"Then let me handle him. I'll give him rules and make sure that he follows them. If his actions go too far then I'll take full responsibility. This will be my project, and I'll handle it. Do you trust me?"

Celestia paused for a moment, looking like she was judging what would happen if she decided to trust me. As she looked at me it seemed like she was going to say no quickly, but then she looked at Luna. She talked about me with confidence. I had never met her before, but she was now sticking her neck out for me.

Celestia sighed before standing back in front of me with the princess of the night. "After consulting with my sister, we have... agreed to allow you to be... an advanced... crime..." She seemed to be struggling to find a way to describe my new position. "Let's just stick with Superhero."

I smiled at the good news and saluted. "Thank you. You will not regret this."

"Hold on there Book. Luna is going to be personally supervising you. You will only be on call for high-level crimes that we will request for you to handle. Now, I suggest you go with my sister and discuss your rules, resources, and anything else my sister would wish to discuss with you. Keep in mind, this is not just your dream or job anymore, this is something which my sister has entrusted you with. This is her name on the line. I hope that you will respect that. Dismissed."

Celestia looked at me sternly when she said that. It seemed to be the equivalent of a father trusting somepony with his daughter with the implied threat of ruining his life if anything happens to her. I didn't think I could take my job any more seriously until she glared at me like that.

As Celestia walked out, probably for some other meeting or something, Luna motioned for me to follow her. She had a serious look on her face as well, but hers was more of her wanting to trust me. She was silent as she took me down the halls. Eventually, we came to a study that used to be for storage space. I guess that it was emptied when Luna came back and converted into a rather nice office.

It had a rather comforting feeling to it. The walls were light blue with an oak wood floor. I can't describe how they pained it, but the walls were very artistic with a swirling pattern. She motioned me to sit in a chair that stood in front of her desk. She went through my files as I waited for her to speak for me first. She didn't seem as kind or lighthearted as her sister but was more serious and attentive.

I waited for her to speak first as she went over the papers I provided. She started writing stuff down which I couldn't make out. It was tormenting as we sat in silence for ten whole minutes before she finally spoke. "Well, my sister wasn't kidding when she said that you were one of the best fighters and tacticians in the Equestrian military. It also says that you are controlling and don't play with others. Do you care to elaborate on that for me?"

"I work better alone. Having other people alongside me is distracting at best, annoying at least."

Hey, at least I'm honest. It was the one thing everypony pointed out, and something which I don't see as a problem. I'm not an element of friendship, I'm a soldier.

Luna didn't seem happy about my pour social life, but she seemed content by the fact that I can work independently. "Well, I guess it won't be a problem since you will be working alone. Since I've returned I have seen that we have no way to address any high-level crimes. Such crimes include robbery, kidnapping, assault against the crown, and several other crimes. Some of these could be considered minor crimes depending on the situation, and will often not be addressed. Your job is going to be handling high-level crimes that our normal... and a rather weak guard can't handle. Do you understand?"

I nodded as my wildest dreams were coming true. "So... I get to be..."

Luna nodded before I could finish. "Yes, but I need to make sure that you understand what I'm asking of you. There are going to be some rules that I expect you to follow to the letter. First, and most importantly, no killing. If you can't follow that one then you need to leave now."

I never really took killing into account before. I know that it was Batman's one rule, but murder wasn't a common thing here. I never saw the true consequences of death or what it does to the pony who does it. I decided then and there that I would never kill, holding to the same oath that Batman held himself to.

I accepted her rule as she moved on to the others. "You will be allowed to make your equipment, although for the time being it'll have to be out of your pocket. I expect you to run your designs by me first. I did hear about you and your brothers nearly burning down Ponyville a few times."

I bit my lip a little when she brought that up. "Most of those events were from testing fireworks."

She chuckled a bit when she heard that. "Now I know where to go to see a fireworks show. Now, unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to convince Celestia to increase your pay for a while, and I'll have to see what funding she'll supply to pay you back for what you'll end up spending on your gear for a while. Hopefully, once you've done a few missions I can change that. Until then, I'll need to give you some tools that will hopefully help you out."

She proceeded to pull a few books on the bookshelf that was built against the wall until it opened up. It made me realize two things. One, the grin on her face meant that she loves secret passages. Two, I need to get a secret passage just because of how effective it is. Batman has a Batcave, and I needed a place to hide my gear and stuff. I was already expending on my dreams as Luna walked out with an old book with a black and misty cover.

She handed it to me carefully. "There are a few spell books that my sister and I don't let most ponies read. This one here hasn't been read by anypony in decades to my knowledge. It is called the Book of Shadows. There are spells in here that rely on stealth and deception. I believe that you are the right pony to use these spells."

I couldn't believe it. She was handing me the tools to see my dream come to reality. Before I could touch it Luna kept it from my grasp. "I want you to keep one thing in mind before I hand this to you. This isn't just your honor and name at stake now. This is mine. I can see the loyalty and determination in your eyes, but you need to promise me that you will protect our people. Can I trust you?"

I could tell by the look in her eyes that this was where I had to chose my destiny. We both knew that if I couldn't back up my ideas on the battlefield then I'll only embarrass both of us. This was the time when I had to make this idea more than some mere dream and into a reality, a war that I'd have to fight for the rest of my life.

I nodded to the princess as I made a vow that I still remember to this day. "I swear on my soul and the soul of those who fought before me, I will fight the darkness in the shadows. I will meet evil and face it head-on. I will defend the innocent and defenseless. I will become the hero that Equestria needs. I will become the Shadow Knight."

After that Luna helped me study that book and practice its spells. I even spent the next week there just to learn them and incorporate them into my fighting style. It was mainly based on stealth, and I would have to dedicate more time into mastering the more powerful spells. Once I got back to Ponyville, my brothers and I got straight to work on the new armor. The only problem we had there was because of this coming out of my pocket I wasn't able to experiment with the gadgets I wanted to make yet. All I had was my new armor and some throwing stars.

To me, I wasn't worried about my lack of gear or support. I had a new mission now, and that was to protect my people. As I donned my armor for the first time I knew what I had now become. I was the Shadow Knight, guardian of the night, and there was nothing that could stand in my way.

Well... there was one small thing that gave me a little problem.

THERE IS NO CRIME IN PONYVILLE!!!

Author's Note

Finally! It took me way too long to finish this chapter. BTW, I ended up losing track of the two artists who made these sketches, so could you please pm me if you made them. I'll try to go through my messages and find the original writers.

The first strike.

Two months... for two whole months, I haven't been able to do anything. I had my suit, gear, and I buried my head into the magic book Luna gave me. I didn't get a single letter or note from the princesses about any high-level crimes. I was allowed to wear the suit at night and patrol for any high-level crimes, but that gave me nothing. I was bored, seeing my dream of protecting my people go up in flames as I realized that Equestria didn’t need a lot of protection on a normal basis.

As my boredom grew, I started wondering what to do in my free time. At times like this, I’d call my brothers over and have them work on inventing stuff with me, but it felt like my mind was stuck on my mask. I wanted to prove that I could do what I vowed to do, but I felt like I was failing. After a while, I was starting to get tired, barely putting any effort into my normal job.

One day, I was just sitting in front of my house, waiting for some random pony to invade Ponyville again when two royal guards walked up to me. “Mr. Knight, we need you to come with us.”

“I sent the monthly report yesterday. They should be at your superior's office by the end of the day.” I said, not really interested in what they had to say.

“It’s not that. We have direct orders from the princesses to take you to Canterlot. We can’t take no for an answer.”

I sighed a bit as I sat up. “May I ask what this is about?”

“It’s classified, but we were ordered to tell you to pack for a high-level incident and keep quiet about it.”

My heart felt like it skipped a beat as the words ‘high level’ rang in my ears. “Wait! Do you mean like a real crime?”

The guards looked at each other, clearly not knowing more than what they were ordered to do. “Well, we don’t know anything else that would classify as high level, but we were told that they’d brief you when you got there. Luna emphasized bringing ‘the suit’, whatever that means…”

I immediately jumped up and cheered. “YES SWEET LUNA!!! I AM IN BUSINESS!!!” I then hugged both of the guards in pure joy and excitement, knowing that all of my training was finally going to be put into use. “Thank you! You two made my day! I’ll go pack!”

I promise you that I had a week's worth of clothes, my suit, and my gear packed in less than a minute and was following the guards to the train station.

Now some of you are probably wondering what I was doing on the train ride. I was mentally preparing for the fight to come. The mental battle is just as important as the physical battle. I went over every scenario in my mind. I pictured myself fighting large numbers of several races and asking myself what was the worst-case scenario. I knew from the books from war heroes that were alive before I was born that prepping for the war in my mind would only make it easier when the real fight would come.

I have to admit that even though fighting crime is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly, but I was looking forward to this. This was my honor and country I was standing up for. This was my time to make a stand.

As I was escorted to the castle, I was calm and collected, ready for whatever the princesses requested of me. I was taken to a room which I’ve never seen before. It was a private room in the center of the castle with a small table and a few chairs.

Celestia and Luna were sitting at the table as if they were waiting for me. Celestia had an extremely stern look on her face as Luna had a rather smug look on her face.

“Good evening Book. Please take a seat.” Celestia said as I obeyed, still feeling rather excited about this. She laid a few files out on the table and started going through them. “Recently there has been a string of robberies in the area. Have you heard about them?”

I didn’t. “Sorry. I don’t keep up with the news in Canterlot. Can you elaborate?”

“Well, for the last three weeks there have been a string of robberies from a group that seems to be organized. They are able to enter and exit any store they rob from in less than fifteen minutes. They have hit several jewelry stores and other high-end stores and have stolen over a hundred thousand bits in merchandise.” Celestia told me as she showed me the photos and investigation reports.

I was now intrigued as I was reading about my new mission. This was a definite high-level crime due to it being an organized string of robberies. “Why wasn’t I brought in sooner?”

Luna grinned as she looked at her sister. “My sister was constantly telling me that she trusted her guards to handle it. They haven’t, and now things have gotten out of control due to her stubbornness.”

It looked like Celestia was going to glare at her for a second, but then she sighed. “She’s right. A few days ago a few guards got hurt trying to confront them. They were outnumbered, and those criminals weren’t ready for something like this to happen. This escalation could lead to them attacking in the daytime and hurting other ponies. I… I’ll admit that I didn’t want to call you in on this, but we are out of options. I want you to be serious with me, can you handle this?”

I started looking at the evidence. I was basically the entire police force in Ponyville and was waiting to sharpen my mind. I started organizing the evidence and looking for a pattern. “Let me see… They have everything timed. Not just the heist itself, but the patrols too. Your last guards got attacked because they went off of their route.”

Luna looked impressed. “Nice, but how did they learn about this?”

“It’s rather easy. One of them goes into a store to check it out, and then that night they stake it out to check their security and to time the guards' patrol patterns. Rather good planning on their part.”

What? It was good planning.

“But how do we stop them?” Celestia asked.

I took a look at the times and locations and started to see that pattern. “They found a loophole. Whenever a crime takes place you focus the guard in that area for a week. So they do their heists every four days when the perimeter is the smallest, and then they go to the other end of town. I believe…” I did some looking at the map and then came up with my most likely guess. “Fancy Pants' accessory shop, specializing in high-end jewelry. Give me the route for the guards in that district.”

Luna was now smiling as she was handing me a few papers. “Okay, there are a few time slots where they can strike… but none that scream “Rob me!”. I’ll have to stake it out. Your Highness, may I have your permission to stake out the place and handle the threat?”

Celestia had a worried look on her face. “Are you sure that you can handle this? There are eight thugs in this gang according to the guards who were beaten. I doubt you can fight that many ponies.”

I gave her a grin. “I don’t have to fight them all at once. I just need to pick them off one by one before the rest catch on, then I’ll fight them.”

Celesia still looked concerned, but Luna put a hoof on her shoulder and nodded to me. “Go and bring them to justice.”

I nodded as I walked out, ready to do what I was born to do.

I took an hour’s nap, knowing that I had a couple of hours before the store closed. I didn’t want the whole castle knowing what my position was, so I pulled on my suit and used my new spell to sneak out of there. It’s called Shadow Step, a stealth-based teleportation spell. It’s not as quick as Twilight’s spell and requires some form of darkness at both locations. It doesn’t have the same range as she did, but it’s silent and not as noticeable. In my mind, it was worth the trade.

I teleported to the rooftop of a nearby building with a perfect vantage point to the store. I knew that this wouldn’t be some quick and easy catch. I had to keep hidden from my prey, lowering my body close to the roof to keep from being spotted from any patrol. In spite of my having permission from the princesses, I had no intention of revealing who I was to those guards. The Shadow Knight’s true name is a secret, and I intend to keep it that way.

I kept every moment when this heist crew would most likely strike in mind. All I could do was play the waiting game as I watched carefully for any activity. I’ll have to admit that I was pretty excited… for about an hour. I started to learn how tedious and dull stakeouts are. It’s like watching a pot of water, waiting for it to boil. I got slightly irritated, but then I reminded myself that this was more than a little hobby. This was my job, my mission, and I was sworn to put an end to this heist crew.

I watched as the guards passed on the first rounds of this area for the night, nothing happened. After another hour the second patrol passed by, and there was still no activity. It was at this point where I had to second guess myself. I was trying to mentally think about all of those photos and maps, wondering if I had missed anything, or if something else happened. There were a few things that could have changed. They could have been satisfied with their haul and have skipped town, they could have chickened out from the attention of the fight. Maybe they wanted to wait another day or two. This stakeout could take longer than expected. All I could do was wait and see if my hunch was correct.

After the fourth shift, I grew rather accustomed to the building. I shifted my position around so I could tell what all the entry points were, and in hindsight I should have gotten that done sooner, before the stakeout. I started realizing that I had not taken into account a lot of the evidence, like the size or description of the crew. This was my first mission, and I had a lot of things to iron out, namely my thoroughness.

As I was trying to rethink my research process, I suddenly got what I wanted. Eight ponies, three earth ponies, three unicorns, and two pegasi. They all were wearing black clothes and wore ski masks. I was so tempted to jump in then and there to get into the action, but I remembered the tactics that the dark knight used. I had to be tactical about this, waiting till they were thinned out and taking them down quietly and quickly.

The unicorns undid the lock, using some form of spell against the security wards set up on the door. They went inside with one of the earth ponies to start their raid while the pegasi each took a post at the corners of the block to keep an eye out for any patrols, leaving two earth ponies at the door.

I then took a moment to assess who to take out first. The pegasi were the biggest problems, knowing that they could easily get away or warn the rest of the gang with their wings and mobility. I elected to go for the on by the alley next to him, being in a darker and more secluded place.

As a silently moved above him to attack I remembered that I needed to take him down silently and quickly. I was already equipped with some restraints, but I had nothing to gag them. My best shot was to knock them out with brute force. I jumped off of the roof, putting the grappling cable Fuze made to the test. I shot it at the roof I jumped off of and lowered myself right behind him. I grappled his body, taking care to keep his mouth covered as I activated the climb setting on the device, pulling him up as I slammed his head against the wall, just hard enough to where he’d be knocked out. As I pulled his unconscious body onto the roof, I realized that this was my first take-down of a criminal. It wasn’t long or iconic, but it was memorable in a way, like a baby’s first steps.

I tied the thug up and then started making my way towards the second pegasi, having to deal with a more open area as he was at the corner of the road on the other side of the street. I had to make a calculated risk as I took to the ground, waiting for him to turn his back before running towards him, tackling him out of the line of sight as I slammed my hoof into his head, easily knocking him out as I dragged him behind a nearby building. Two down, six to go.

I went back to the roof but choosing to use Fancy’s building to get closer. I was hoping that one of them would check on the pegasi so I could pick them off, but they seemed to be busy chatting.

“Man, can you believe those guards? Of all the days they had to break from the routine.”

“Well, I guess Black Hoof couldn’t be right all of the time. Either way, it was getting a little too easy, and I liked the change of pace.”

“Yeah, but what if they start changing things up? What if they start catching on?”

“Let them come, I’ll be happy to fill a few more hospital beds.”

I was running low on time, risking the others coming out, and was getting ticked at the guy laughing about hurting those guards, so I hopped down and tapped them both on the back. “I’m sure you’ll only need one for yourself.”

I know it was a bad time for a joke, but it didn’t come off as funny in my delivery.

Both of them turned to me, ready to throw some punches at me. I knew that this wouldn’t be as quick as the others, but I wasn’t deterred. I kept my personal training in mind, countering their blows and landing brutal hits to their chests, heads, and joints. They were able to get a few hits in on my back, but my armor was doing its job.

I wanted to end it as quickly as possible, so I managed to grab both of their heads and slammed them into each other, knocking them both out. Even though I was able to take those two down, my ambition to take them down exposed me to a group of ponies who were ready to make a getaway, only to see me standing over their ally’s unconscious bodies.

“W.. what… get him!!!” The earth pony barked as all three unicorns were charging their magic.

I had to use my only ranged weapon in order to buy a few seconds. I quickly drew out my shurikens, otherwise known as throwing stars. They were Batman’s signature weapon with their unique design. As much as I would have liked to have had a design of my own, I couldn’t find one that would signify my identity well enough, so I went with the traditional star style.

Now, if you think it’s hard to master throwing them, even with magic, think about the precision I had to train to master. I vowed to never kill, so every shot had to count. I had my shurikens designed to where they couldn’t sink in too deep, but then there was my aim, and I was launching several ones at once. My aim wasn’t refined yet, but I made sure to avoid the head and neck. I landed a star in a unicorn’s right leg, hit another one on the side, creating a long cut on the side, and landing the last one in the lower chest.

I ended up missing the earth pony by an inch, but I threw off their focus enough to where I could close the distance without worrying about getting blasted by magic. The unicorns were reeling back while the earth pony charged at me. Part of me wanted to face him head-on, but I knew that leaving the unicorns would leave me vulnerable to a magic attack. So, I vaulted over the pony as he tried to tackle me, and started attacking the vulnerable ones.

Now, I cannot stress the complexity of fighting several ponies at once. You need to have a good sense of your opponents around you, keeping each one off guard and not letting them gang up on you at once. It’s like having four balloons filled with air, trying to bounce them in the air with your hooves and keeping them from touching the ground. There needs to be precision in your strikes, organization so none of them disappear on you, and a lot of skill and training.

For most ponies, this is a daunting task. Just ask the main six about the changeling invasion. (I’m still ticked about not being in Canterlot at the time for that.) However, I am stubborn and wanted to thrive during training. So I got the other trainees to help me with combat training. I made a circle and had them take turns attacking me so I can learn to take them down. I got beaten up at first, but eventually, I got to the point where I could take them all down. After that, some fool got the idea of trying to attack me while another pony was, so I had to up the ante a bit. My Sargent called it 'king of the hill for guards', and made it a thing. The only pony who had a habit of beating me was Shining. He’s stronger and tougher than me and was smart enough to wait for a dozen or two guards to fight me before taking me on.

Now I know that this sounds weird when talking about fighting a bunch of crooks at once, but something felt right in me at that moment. Every blow I received was like a mark of valor, and every blow I dealt was like a blow to the darkness that threatened all that was good in the world. I felt like I was embracing the call of the dark knight as I laid waste to these criminals. That day, that mask did more for me than just conceal my identity. It hid my large grin. Fighting criminals shouldn’t be taken lightly, but it feels good in my opinion… no… it feels great.

The unicorns were falling quickly, clearly not ready for physical combat. My bet is that they were there to get around the magical safeguards and to break into anything locked while the rest of the group was to handle lookout and any combat. Sadly, that left one earth pony to stand against me. So that left him with one decision. He started booking it, probably wanting to lose me. I wasn’t willing to have any loose ends, so I took my grappling hook out and fired it at him.

It tore into his thick leather jacket and stopped him in his tracks as I yanked hard, pulling him back to me as I barked out to him. “Get over here!!”

I picked him up and rammed him into the store wall. I pulled the mask off of him, revealing his yellow mane and white coat, revealing how they knew the routes for the royal guards. Judging by his haircut and build, he was a royal guard. Now, normally I would be ticked at such an act of treason, but his face showed his fear, unlike anything I had ever seen.

This trained soldier's voice was shaking as he spoke out of fear. “W… who are you?”

I grinned under my mask as I pulled him close to me, saying the words I had been wanting to say all night. “I am the Shadow Knight!” I then slammed my hoof into his head, knocking him to the ground, unconscious.

So there I was, eight criminals taking naps at my hooves, and I had fifteen minutes to spare before the next patrol came along. I felt a little mischievous, so I took some extra rope I had and tied them to the roof where they were hanging off of it, just a few feet off the ground. I then wrote a quick note that read “We’re criminals, arrest us.” just for fun. I was careful not to use my own writing style and stuck the note onto them, leaving their loot underneath them.

I wasn’t dumb enough to leave them out for some random chance to find them, in spite of my growing love of theatrics, so I went back to my hiding space and kept a close eye on them and the surrounding area. You should have seen the looks on the patrol’s faces as they saw the crooks tied up with no sign of an assailant. I would have loved to have stuck around for the whole show, but I knew that my mission was accomplished. I left quickly, using shadow step to get back to where I could change without being watched and then teleported myself and my gear to my room. I was ecstatic, having done what I had set out to do from the first day I read a comic that inspired me. I made a statement that night. Somepony was out there that every criminal needed to fear.

Me!

Author's Note

Sorry for the hiatus. I got really busy. One more chapter to go.

A job well done.

I was a little late getting out of bed that morning, and I was admittedly sore. As I started trying to get washed and groomed, I saw that I had a few nasty bruises from the other night. The armor was supposed to keep this from happening, but it was where the ends of the armor plates met my coat. I knew that I'd have to use a different fabric to separate the armor plating from my body to keep these curved black lines on my body from showing up again. I cleaned up and put on a dark blue shirt along with a black jacket to hide my wounds. As I left my room to report to the princesses I realized that is was almost noon.

I was a bit slow heading to the guest dining room, but as I walked past the throne room I heard Luna call out to me. "Book, may you come here?"

I sighed a bit as I walked into the throne room. Celestia and Luna were on their thrones and had a few guards in there. "May you leave us to talk in private?"

The guards nodded as they left the room. I did the customary bow while Luna levitated a cup of coffee to me. "Late night?" She asked with a grin

I silently nodded as Celestia handed me a newspaper with the storefront on the cover. "We did search the suspect's houses after they were found and we found most of the stolen merchandise. In other news, you made headlines. The criminals talked about a dark demon with green fire in his eyes, probably referring to your eye condition."

Fire eye. It's a medical condition I have. It contributed to my nearsightedness, requiring contact lenses that I tend to wear. However, there is an added effect of my pupils looking like they were glowing whenever my heart rate is up. I guess that's something I'd have to deal with.

I shrugged as I took a sip of coffee. "Sorry bout that. Nothing I can do about them."

Celestia gave a soft sigh as she looked at the paper. "You roughed them up quite a bit."

"Did any of them need emergency surgery?" Book asked, curious if he went too far.

"No. A few stitches and a lot of bruising." Luna explained.

"Oh, that sounds like a good night for me," I said, hiding my grin with the coffee cup.

Celestia took out the report from the guards and read through it. "It does seem like your weapon of choice was designed to not kill anypony."

That was what got me concerned. I did not like the idea of having my secret identity revealed. "Um... I didn't leave a shuriken behind... did I?"

"No, but the doctor's report and testimony from the criminals gave us a good idea of what it was. As much as I don't like going to such lengths to capture a gang of criminals..." Celestia stood up and gave me a nod of approval. "You handled the situation well. As much as this is something that I don't like doing, it's something my nation needs. I know that there are darker parts of Equestria that nopony likes to acknowledge, but at least there is a pony who can confront that darkness."

I felt a bit of pride as the princess was complimenting me... well... my work at least. I noticed Luna winking at me, probably glad that her bet paid off.

Celestia kept her professional tone as she looked at me. "I will be sure to keep you on call for any other high-level crimes. I hope you will be able to develop some easier ways of taking them down."

I knew it would be tough to try doing it on my own pay, so I decided to try to make a request while I was still in her good graces. "I don't know if I can afford that. I am making this gear out of my own pocket."

Celestia looked a little embarrassed, but she tried to keep her regality. "I see. I'll be sure that you are reimbursed for the gear you have made and will give you an allowance for gear advancement. As long as you keep to the cade Luna gave to, we should have no problems. Also, I am under the impression that you and Luna should find another means of communication. Try looking at chapter three spell four in that book she gave you. That is all. You are dismissed."

Luna's and my jaws dropped when we both learned that she knew about the spellbook she gave me. All I could do was walk out politely and respectfully.

As I was making my way out of the castle I heard Luna call out to me. "Hold on Book. I wish to talk to you."

I stopped in my tracks, seeing if anypony was listening before turning around to see the princess running towards me. I bowed and took a tip from Celestia and kept my professionalism. "Yes, your highness?"

"I just wanted to let you know that you did an amazing job last night, and I am proud of you," Luna said, looking at me like I won a first-place prize.

I was a little skeptical of her approach, so I called her bluff. "Okay, what did you really want to talk to me about?"

Luna's smile slowly faded away as her face shifted from cheer to concern. "Okay, I'll lay out my concerns. I confronted Twilight about this comic and she explained that this person you are inspired by was... inspired by tragedy... I... I wanted to make sure that..."

I let out a deep sigh, understanding her fears. "No, I'm not cut from the same cloth as he was. I don't want any pony to become like him. I am willing to step into this darkness so nopony else has to do it the hard way."

Luna didn't lose her concern for me as she laid a hoof on my shoulder. "I see, but do me a favor."

"Of course. What do you wish?" I asked, wanting to assure her that she had my complete loyalty.

"Promise me that you won't succumb to the darkness. If you go in too deep you may not find your way out."

This was the most shocking warning I had received. I was helping ponies, protecting them from violent criminals, and wanted me to hold back. It'd be like asking a Wonderbolt to not overuse their wings. I was doing something that was right in my eyes. I wanted to argue with her, but then I remembered where she was coming from. She was once Nightmare Moon, a pony who had to be banished and uncorrupted by Twilight and her friends. I always figured that there was an untold story with what had happened, but I also knew that asking about it would be unwise.

"I... understand your highness. I shall be careful." I said, bowing to her to make sure she trusted me.

"Thank you, Book. I'm glad we have a guardian of Equestria who we can trust." She said, giving me a bright smile as she started walking away.

I don't understand her warning, but I still carry the lessons of my first mission and would remember them for every time I put on my mask. I knew that I was now the line between criminals and innocent ponies. From that night forward I was a legend, a symbol to be feared by the lawless. I would forever be the Shadow Knight.

.........................

Oh yeah, Luna called out to me as she walked out. "By the way, I think Light Heart is ready to tell you about his changes." She said with a cryptic wink.

Yeah... all of you who read my little brother's story knows what it meant sooner than I did. I thought I couldn't be surprised by anything. Boy was I wrong.

Author's Note

And that's Book's story. I do have plans for a sequel down the line, talking about how tragedy started taking a part in Book's career. From before he had the mask to losing friends. There will even be a character who may seem similar, but her origin hilights Book's biggest flaw.