Mercenaries Of The Shadow

The soldiers raised their rifles, pointing them at the group. “Get on the ground!” One of them yelled. Everyone complied without little to no hesitation. Shade clenched her fists in anger. she wasn't one to surrender to anyone, especially to a damn changeling. They went for Fluttershy first, grabbing her hair and dragging her to the ground. She let out a pained noise as her face collided with the dirt. Even without her resisting, the soldier stomped down on her leg, breaking it. She cried out in pain as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Leave her alone!” Blitz yelled out only to be struck with the butt of the soldiers gun. As she hit the ground, blood sprayed down on her. She looked up and saw a long knife impaling both of the soldiers arms. The other soldier released Fluttershy and rushed to his partner’s side to help. Before he made it to him, another knife flew through the air, cutting through his achilles tendon and impaling the ground. Before either of them could react, a pony sprinted up behind them and tied them together by the neck with a thin rope. Shade climbed to her feet and conjured an axe. Before she could swing it at them, the mysterious pony blocked it and pushed her aside.

“No killing.” He said simply. He spun around and kicked them simultaneously, knocking them out instantly. “Follow me.” He ran down the street. Scorch picked Fluttershy up and ran after him followed by the rest.

They came to what seemed like the slums of the city. Broken houses and homeless all over the place. He forced a jammed door open and led everyone in.
“Here we are, our own little sanctuary.” He presented the run down place, on cue a block of wood work fell from the rafters. “Pick any room you like, you’re gonna be here a while.”

“This is a sanctuary?” Twilight asked with an attitude.

“It’s either this or the streets with the soldiers.” He said with a smug grin. That was all you could see of him. Just his mouth. Everything else was covered by a mask under his hood.

“So you said any room?” Applejack asked. He nodded and turned around.

“Second floor, second door on the left is mine, I like to be alone but if you need anything just ask.” He climbed the stairs, leaving everyone alone.
Everyone scattered, leaving Scorch and Fluttershy to find a room on the first floor. Rainbow climbed the stairs to the top floor and found a locked room. Looking around, she found a crowbar. She pried the door open, It appeared that no one had been in here for only a few days. She began inspecting the room, looking for hints on who was here. Coming across a bookshelf, she looked at its contents and only found one subject: Cutie Marks. It looked like whoever was here was obsessed with cutie marks. She found notes on a desk, the only hint at a name was an alias the pony called him or herself. At the end of each note said “Sincerely, Grim Star.”

“Who’s Grim Star?”

Applejack soon found the showers. They were large community showers. The only down side to it was the fact that the water was cold.

“Is this occupied?” She whipped around and saw Scorch standing in the doorway.

“U-um of course not.” She stuttered. He stepped in, tossing a bag on the bench.

“I won’t look.” He said as he turned around, facing away from her. “Sorry to come in, this is the only shower that works.” She shrugged and told him it was fine. They stripped down, both feeling the awkward atmosphere of the room. A shower head behind her came to life.

After soaking herself in the freezing water for a while, curiosity got the best of her. She peeked over her shoulder. She noted his well toned body, sure it was covered in scars but that didn’t ruin the sight for her. She scanned every inch of him, silently wishing that he would turn around.

“I want to talk after this shower.” He spoke up, snapping her out of her trance. She agreed and began scrubbing herself with the bar of soap, mainly focusing on her head thinking that it will wash away the dirty thoughts forming in her head.

She walked out of the shower and saw him sitting on the bench loading a magazine, completely uncovered. He looked up and noted her bright red blush.

“Something wrong?”

“Well other than the fact that you're nude, no.” He examined himself and shrugged.

“It’s just a penis, who cares?” He said. “I mean hell, your boobs are out and I couldn’t care less.” She noticed he was right and grabbed an extra towel to cover herself. He chuckled at how embarrassed she was. He patted the bench next to him. She took a seat next to him as he handed her a pistol. “This is a simple 9mm. I would feel much better if you had some protection.” She didn’t know what to think, she never held a pistol before, hell she only held an unloaded shotgun at someone who was on her property stealing apples.

“But I-I never shot a gun before.” He laughed and stood up. She covered her eyes.

“This place has a basement that’s pretty much sound proof, I dropped a metal pipe and no one heard it. Meet me down there in five minutes.” He walked out of the room, completely unaware of the pair of green eyes on his ass. Applejack bit her lip, but shook her head of the thoughts again.

“Damn it Scorch, put some fucking clothes on!” Applejack heard Starlight yell.

“Scorch, I’m here.” She called out. She jumped as a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

“Glad you made it, got the gun?” She pulled it out of the bag. “Good, now shoot the target.” He pointed at a target at the end of the basement. She raised the gun hesitantly and aimed. Her hands were shaking from nervousness. She pulled the trigger. The sound and recoil made her jump, she dropped the gun and backed away. Scorch laughed and picked the gun up.

“Lets try this again.” He placed the gun in her hands and got behind her. He brought his arms around her and held her hands steady. He brought his head level with hers. She fought her urge to back into him and have him caress her and... ‘Bad AJ.’ She scolded herself. “Now take a deep breath...” She followed his instructions. “Now breath out, while squeezing the trigger slowly.” She complied, the bullet ripped through the air and his the target on the bulls eye. He let her go and applauded her.

“You’re a natural.” She smiled at him as he walked to his bag. He pulled out five magazines and placed them in a row. “I want you to practice, I will be here to watch over you.” She smiled and did what he instructed.

“Hey Rarity, you in here?” Twilight asked as she walked in a room. Rarity was sitting in a chair looking out the window at the setting sun.
“Rarity?”

“...I miss him Twilight. I miss Haze.” Twilight walked up to her and embraced her in a hug.

“We all do. Knowing him, he’s still alive and made it out.” Rarity patted her friends hand and gave a small smile.

“I know. He’s a strong pony. I just wish we got him out of there.” Twilight walked over to the bed and pulled the covers down. For a run down place, the beds seemed pretty well kept.

“Just get some rest, everything will be better in the morning.” Rarity stayed quiet for a while before speaking up.

“Twilight, do you believe in love at first sight?” The question caught her off guard.

“Well I guess so, for some people. I just don’t believe in it, I haven’t seen any proof of it.”

“You saw Haze and I haven’t you? I think I love him, I pray to see him again. I want him to hold me, even if it would only be for a little while.” Rarity stood up and got in the bed. “I want him back.” Twilight covered her and placed a hand on her head.

“You’ll see him again, I promise.” She kissed her friend on her forehead and walked out.

“Rainbow...” Rainbow Dash looked behind her and saw a silhouette in the doorway. He stepped in the moonlight, revealing himself to her.

“Morbis...” Her heart began to increase it’s rate as she was flooded with joy. “I’ve missed you so much.” She ran up to him and hugged him. “Why did you leave?” He looked away and sighed.

“I had my own reasons hon. I only came here for you.” He caressed her cheek. She lightly pressed her face in his hand and brought her hand up to hold his hand. She took both his hands and lead him to the bed. She lied on her back as he climbed on top of her. He kissed her deeply before breaking away and stared into her bright magenta orbs.
“I have to tell you something Rainbow Dash.”

“What is it my love?”

“This isn’t real.” Her eyes snapped open as she gasped for air. She looked at her hand in disbelief.

“Just... A dream?” She let a tear stream down as she realized it was really just a dream. Looking out her window, she noticed that it was still night time. She wished that this was all just a dream, but she knew that if it was, there would be no waking up from it..

“I did it, I really did it!” Applejack yelled as she hit a bullseye for the third time on her own. She turned ran up to Scorch who was applauding her.

“Yes you did, didn’t I say you were a natural?” She jumped in his arms and giggled. ‘Did I really just giggle?’. She looked up at him and stared in his ice blue eyes. She slowly leaned foward.

“AHHHHHHHHHH!” A scream blared through the house.

“That sounded like Fluttershy.” Scorch spoke up. Both of them sprinted upstairs. They bolted through the house to find Fluttershy limping out of her room on crutches. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, who was screaming?” Scorch and Applejack looked between each other with confused looks.

“That wasn’t you?” Applejack asked.

“No, It came from upstairs.” They all ran upstairs after hearing another scream. Bursting through the door the scream came from, they found the pony sitting on a table fending off a spider with a shoe.

“What the hell, Starlight? You had us worried... wait a second, you scream like a filly!” Everyone excluding Starlight bursted out laughing.

“Shut up, it’s not funny. I fucking hate spiders.” Applejack stepped forward and stepped on the spider.

“There, was that so hard?” Before Starlight could reply, someone screamed for help from upstairs.

“Lets go.” Starlight said.

Rainbow locked her window and continued looking around.

“Why is this pony so obsessed with cutie marks?” She said looking over the books and notes more. It was really starting to get to her for some reason. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.

“This room was locked for a reason you know.” She turned around and saw the pony who saved them only he wasn’t wearing his outfit. He was tan and had a shaggy brown mane. He had bright blue eyes that could rival a huskey. “Why are you in here?” Rainbow didn’t know what to say.

“I-I just wanted to get away. I’m sorry that I came in here.” He walked in with his head down.

“Get out.” He said in a stern voice. The voice sent chills down her spine. She knew he was angry, she grabbed her bag and stuffed some of her stuff inside. Just as she began walking, the box with the gun fell out. The box opened up for all to see. He stared at the gun and his eyes went wide.
“Where the fuck did you get that?” She reached down and grabbed the box.

“I got it from a friend, can I go now?” He stepped forward and knocked the box out of her hand. He reached out and grabbed her throat, pinning her against the wall.

“No you can’t go.” She twisted and jerked trying to break free.

“HELP!” She screamed as loud as she could. Moments later, her friends came in to her rescue.

“Put her down now!” Starlight yelled. He looked back and saw three guns pointed at him.

“Not until she tells me who the hell gave her the gun.”

“Our friend Morbis Soul, will you let her go now that you know?” A smile of disbelief formed on his face as he slowly let her go. He began chuckling and running his fingers through his mane.

“So that’s that guys real name.”

A sigh of relief left a pony who was positioned in a building about a thousand yards away from the building where everyone was. He lowered the sniper rifle and leaned back in a chair. He took a drag from his cigarette as his eyes began dimming from the illuminating teal.

“Thank Luna I didn’t have to do that.” A crescent moon on his hand began to glow. “I knew you would show up.” He said with a smile. A tall slender pony that was black and wore blue armor.

“I’m honestly surprised you’re still thinking me as your leader.” She said with a grin. His smile faded as he stood up.

“Not quite. I only see you as the pony who brought me into this world. I’m surprised you haven’t shot me yet.” She walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I thought about it, but I decided it would be a little unfair. I see you’re learning your true powers. You know, Starlight can do what you just did.”

“Can everyone else do that?”

“Not quite. Everyone has their own power. Starlight can Increase his sight and accuracy, Shades’ magic can increase it’s power tenfold, Scorch can increase his strength to unimaginable levels, Blitz can control wildlife...”

“What about Haze?” He said with a sad tone. She raised an eyebrow before sighing.

“You and Haze are a special case. You both contain their skills, but at a price when used all at once... That price is that you will die slow and painful.” He took in the information slowly. “I’m sorry Morbis.”

“Nice to know you haven’t turned into a complete bitch, but tell me why you’re here.” She backed away from him.

“I came to give you a fair warning, watch yourself when you all leave. There are ponies out there who rival the powers of even Twilight.” She turned into smoke and left the building. He sat back down in his chair and pulled out a pair of binoculars. He summoned the power to see farther and looked through them, what he saw angered him to his core.

“I knew him a while ago. He saved my ass from some corrupt cops who were out to kill me. He went a little over board and more slaughtered them than just killed them, I won’t go into details but all I can really say about him is that we have been keeping each other safe and he taught me how to fight.”

“I thought that style seemed familiar!” Blitz, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, spoke up. Everyone turned and looked at her. “Sorry, go on.”

“It’s fine, there really isn’t much to say.”

“Well It’s been a very long day and we all need some rest.” Twilight said. Everyone followed her as she left the room, leaving Rainbow and the pony alone.

“Hey I’m sorry for how I acted, I don’t know anything about you guys and when I saw his gun I thought he died or something... Ah shit where are my manners, my name is Shadow Dust.” He extended his arm for a handshake. She swallowed hard and took his hand. He sat down next to her. “So were you and him a thing?” She shook her head slowly. “Hmm, weird. I thought you were since he gave you his gun.”

‘And here we go again.’ She thought to herself.

“So I wanna thank you for teaching me how to shoot.” Applejack said as Scorch and her walked to her room. He put an arm around her and smiled.

“No problem, I know it’s late but do you want to go shoot a few more?”

“Yes! I mean yeah sure.” ‘Why am I acting like this?’ she asked herself. Never in her life had she acted like this.

“Well someone’s eager, come on.” He grabbed her hand and lead her down to the basement.
The basement echoed with gunfire as Applejack became increasingly better with each shot. She dropped the clip and quickly reloaded and put a few more shots in.

"Pretty good, You're getting better each time." He praised her. He took the gun and dropped the clip before pulling the slide to discharge the round in the chamber. "So if i'm not mistaken, you were about to pull something last time we were down here." She blushed as she remembered what she was doing.

"Uh... no I don't recall doing anything." She turned away from him trying to hide the red tinge that covered her face. She felt his hand being placed on her shoulder.

"You know, it's damn near impossible to lie to me."

"How so?"

"I was the interrogator for the team." She sighed and turned to face him, thinking about what to say. She sat down on the bench and looked down at the floor.

"I don't know what came over me, It was a mix of excitement and fear." She saw his hands placed on either side of her on the bench. She looked up and saw him being extremely close.

"And what are you scared of?" She felt her breath catch in her throat as she got even more nervous than before. In a quick motion, he pressed his lips to hers. Her mind was incapable of telling her what to do, so she allowed her body to. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled each other closer into the kiss.

Their kiss was interrupted as everyone came down and rushing to the window. Shadow Dust pulled the curtain back allowing everyone to see outside.

"What's going on?" Applejack asked.

"Soldiers are pulling everyone out of their homes." Applejack and Scorch ran over and saw that he was correct. They were being shoved into vehicles and anyone who tried to run were shot.

"This is getting intense for a simple war." Starlight said as he observed.

Nightmare moon entered the castle and was met with a glare from Chrysalis.

"I know where you went. I should kill you for fraternizing with the enemy. Just wait until Discord hears about this."

"I already know Chrysalis." Nightmare and Chrysalis looked towards the set of stairs and saw their leader descending the stairs. "Who do you think gave her permission to go?" He said as he walked past them. Chrysalis glared at him in anger from being left out of the loop.

"Well why didn't you tell me that you sent her? I'm part of this team too!"

"I would appreciate it if you would keep your voice down, better yet, just shut the hell up." He said in a calm matter. She was about to retort until he raised his hand.
"The next step will definitely involve you, in fact, in a way it's all about you." He said with grin. He snapped his finger, signaling Nightmare to dead leg her and hold her down on her knees. Discord pivoted and pulled out a pistol before firing one shot into her head, send blood and bits of brain and skull all over the floor. He pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket and wiped the blood from his gun before holstering it.

"Well that's that. Nightmare, get on the radio and move forward with the plan."

As the group continued looking out the window at the soldiers, a voice came on over the radio.

"Attention civilians, Queen Chrysalis is now dead." Everyone looked between each other with confused looks. "I was the one who killed her, Discord and Chrysalis were planning to assassinate me, and perform a mass genocide upon you all. It is now our priority to rise against him and overthrow his rule! Any Changeling soldiers must be shot on site to eradicate this evil. All my followers, here my voice! We are the true rulers of Equestria, not this false god. Do what you must to survive!" All that was left over the radio was static, echoing throughout the silence of the basement.

"She can't have that many followers right?" Twilight asked. Shadow Dust shook his head slowly with his eyes still fixed on the radio.

"No... no I used to be a follower. Last time I checked she had damn near a couple thousand world wide, now... I have no fucking clue." The sound of cheering rang outside as several civilians that were more than likely Nightmare Moon sympathizers charged towards soldiers and cutting them down with either guns or melee weapons. It slowly grew into a battlefield outside as more followers attacked and the Changelings fought back.

"What do they hope to accomplish from all this insanity?"