On a hill, overlooking a run down but still occupied pre-war manor, is a silvery unicorn mare with a white mane standing next to a husk of a tree. Her piercing cyan slit eyes stare down at the figures moving around the outside of the manor. Each of the guards covers a small area of the post war wall built up around the place, their personal lanterns casting long shadows as they move. As her eyes scan the guards she spots one single guard, also a mare, standing off to the side—isolated and alone.
The silvery mare dives into the shadow of the tree next to her. An instant later she’s looking up at the lone guard mare from within their shadow. Peeking up from the guard’s shadow she looks around the courtyard for another guard’s shadow to jump to. One of the other guards, a stallion she hadn’t seen before, passes by. The shadows of the two guards warp and connect letting the mare slide from one shadow to the other unnoticed.
The guard stallion nods to the guard mare before continuing along his path, walking the inside edge of the wall and checking on the other guards. Slowly he makes his way around behind the manor where he stops to talk with a pony guarding an ill-repaired back door. The two chat for a minute or so before the patrolling stallion continues along his way, neither of them aware that the pony lurking inside the shadows had moved to the door guard.
The shadows of the door guard and the manor warp and twist for a moment before returning to normal. The mare inside the shadows slips out of them, her hoofsteps fall quietly as she slips through the small lounge connected to the back door. The room is completely empty and still as she makes her way to the door on the opposite side of the room. Her ear presses against the door, listening for sounds of movement on the other side. A couple minutes pass in silence before she opens the door, the ancient hinges creaking a little.
The sound makes the mare wince and step around behind it just in case. A few moments pass before she moves again, each step is carefully placed to avoid making the floor creak. Slowly she slinks through the hall, listening carefully for the sounds of movement. At first all is quiet and then she notices the sound of hooves clacking on the wooden floor, slowly approaching her position. She slips into the shadows again and a minute later a unicorn maid steps into the hall, a small lantern floating along in her magic.
The light disrupts the shadows forcing the silver mare to pop up in front of the maid. Before the maid can scream, or even utter a sound, a blade slices across her throat. Before a single drop of blood can land on the floor the mare falls into a pit of shadows. The lantern is caught by the silver mare’s cyan magic and immediately snuffed out. With darkness once again reigning in the hall, she continues on her way. The sounds of other ponies chattering draws her to the kitchen doors, or what’s left of them, letting her peek in on a quartet of maids working to clean the place up.
The silver mare slips further down the hall, stepping lightly and breathing slowly to minimize any chance of interference as she listens and looks for the correct room. The sounds of the kitchen eventually fade and are replaced with the sound of a pair of stallions conversing rather loudly in the room at the end of the hall. With her goal in sight she moves down the hall even slower, not wanting to risk any other interruptions in her mission. It takes a couple of minutes at the rate she’s going, but eventually she reaches the door and presses her ear against the lock to hear the conversation on the other side.
“I’m telling you this is the best chance we’ll get. If we can capture one of those bats we can extract their memories of how to get inside.” One of the stallions says, his deep voice gruff and raspy, likely from smoking.
“It’s too risky, taking over that caravan will cause a lot of problems for us in the long run.” The other stallion, clearly a bit younger and healthier, says as he stomps a hoof. “Sure, Red Eye will pay well but if we do this the other caravans will cut us from their routes and that could compromise us even further.”
“Then we offer them a special deal for helping us, triple their pay they’d get from trading with the bats. If might is too much of a risk then bribe them. It’s how the game is played. Taking them over was the original plan because it’s the simplest.” The raspy voice replies.
“Good, the last thing we need is to make a stir before we can get everything set up. I’m still concerned about Garth. He vanished without a trace, and that’s not like him.” The younger voice says as one of them starts to pace.
“Knowing that old bastard he found a new toy to play with and is enjoying them for a few days.” The raspy one says as the pacing stops.
“I hope you’re right.” The two lapse into silence.
The silver mare pulls her ear away from the door, and casts an illusion spell as she knocks on it, her voice changing to sound like one of the maids. “Sirs, can I get you anything to drink before bed?”
“Some more wine would be nice.” The younger stallion says as he walks over to the door and pulls it open.
The second the door is open the silver mare’s blade is across his throat, slicing open his windpipe before he falls into her shadow just like the maid did before. The silver mare moves incredibly fast as she leaps across the room and drives the tip of her blade into the older stallion’s chest.
“Tell me, are there any others in this plot of yours?” The mare’s voice is cold and commanding, and is backed up by a powerful cyan glow from her horn.
The stallion struggles at first, trying to resist her magic but inevitably failing. “Garth, he’s the only one.”
“Good. Go into the arms of the Night.” The mare draws her blade across his throat ending his life before dropping him into her shadow as well.
With a sigh she opens the blinds on the wind and looks towards the lone tree on the hill where she started this. The shadows ripple around her and she falls into them, only to reappear on the hill above. Staring down at the manor, the guards still patrolling completely unaware of what just happened. With a snort she turns and walks away.
