Mercenaries Of The Shadow

The air became cold and still as nothing but silence set in. The full moon rose and shined over Equestria, covering it in a dim glow. Two changling soldiers were doing patrol and making idle conversation.

"Two men up ahead, Shade, Starlight do your thing."

"I just don't understand why we have to do this bullshit patrol at night."

"I don't know what to tell you... hey did you see that?"

"What, I didn't see any-" The soldier was cut off bye a knife impaling into his eye. The other soldier went to grab his radio to call backup but was stopped by a tentacle grabbing his wrist and dragging him to the ground. As he tried to brake free from the grip four more tentacles came out and and restrained the rest of his limbs and held his neck down. From the tree lines, the mercenaries emerged and walked up to the soldiers. Haze and Blitz searched the dead soldier while the rest looked down and the restrained one.

"Why don't you be a good boy and tell us why you came back." Morbis said as he leaned down. The soldier spit in his face. Morbis wiped his face and looked at his team "I have a feeling that we won't be getting any info from him. Shade do what you do best."

"Gladly." She said with a smile. She formed a new tentacle and forced it down his throat "Now just relax, this will only sting a lot." She laughed and slowly extended her fingers causing spikes to form from the tentacle and began stabbing him from the inside out.

"Shade, get the lead out and lets get moving. And be sure to get rid of the evidence." Morbis said as he took inventory of the weapons from the soldiers.

Shade let out a sigh "Fine, excuse me for trying to enjoy myself." She removed the weapons from his person and rubbed her hands together "But then again, quick can be quite fun." She giggled and clapped her hands, making the spikes rip through him, tearing him to shreds. She waved her hand and covered the bloody remains in shadow, she then made a fist and pulled down making the remains vanish into the ground.

"Alright, we got two silenced MP5s', two silenced M9s' and two combat knives. Shade and Haze, you two will take an MP5, Blitz and Scorch, you will use an M9, Starlight and I will use the knives. Luna come on out, its safe." Luna emerged and walked up to them.

"So now that were here, what will we do?"

"Well for starts, your staying away from the castle. The best you can do to help is tell us the best vantage points there are around the city." Luna explained that there are towers in front of the castle, and a well covered area on the mountain side. "Starlight, your objective is to make it to the tower and do your best to cover us while we breach the castle..."

"You guys won't get far with those weapons." Everyone looked at her with questioning looks. "I still have all your weapons in my room, you will have to make a side stop to get them though, but you have to take me with you."

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"Oh come on, I can fly there in no time."

"For the last time Blitz, it's to risky, we need to take it slow and steady."

She gave an annoyed sigh and nodded. Morbis moved a few tree branches to get a better view. They all sat in a tree just outside the gates.

"Three guards out front patrolling the area, if we take their uniforms, half of us can pretend to arrest the rest of us. Scorch your up, minimal damage to the uniforms." Scorch gave a salute and dropped down from the tree. Morbis watched tensely as he approached a guard that foolishly walked off on his own. As soon as Haze had the opportunity, he sprinted at him and struck the back of his neck, severing his spine

When he was dressed as one of them he walked towards the other guards. When he was close enough, he grabbed them by their heads and slammed them together. He quickly snapped one of the guards neck and instantly turned his attention to the other one. With all he had, he struck the guard in the throat making him stumble back against the wall and dropping to the ground.

The rest of the team arrived at the gate shortly after. Scorch walked up to the soldier and removed the helmet and stared into his eyes before raising his pistol to his head and pulled the trigger "Fucked with the wrong country."

The group gathered in front of the gate for the plan.

"Alright team this was only the easy part, next is the stressful part. Shade check and see how many guards are near the front gate." Shade approached the gate and placed both hands on it. Her horn began to glow as she closed her eyes, she inhaled deeply before opening her eyes exposing a pair of bright orbs. Her vision began changing, everything she saw was black with a grid showing buildings and the living.

"I count five just beyond this gate, ten guards doing patrol along the walls. Prisoners being led in to the dungeons by I believe six guards. That's all I can see right now." She removed her hands and rubbed her temples "Shit that always gives me a headache."

"Good work Shade, Starlight and Haze, put on the other uniforms while Blitz and I will dump the bodies in the water. Luna we need you to cover yourself with an invisibility spell." She nodded and cast the spell.

With Scorch, Starlight and Haze disguised as the soldiers, Luna invisible, and the others hand cuffed they entered Canterlot.

"We need to get to Lunas room to get our weapons. Escort us to the dungeons and make your way there. We will meet up in the courtyard."

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With Blitz, Morbis and Shade safely in the dungeons, Starlight and the rest made their way to Lunas room. Once inside she dropped the spell and took Starlights knife. She approached the middle of the room and began cutting up the rug. Once she was done she threw the scraps to the side. She used her magic to undo a few slide locks and opened the hatch. They all looked at the hatch as a steel rectangular pillar emerged. The doors on it opened emitting a bright light illuminating the room in a bright glow. They all gazed into the storage device with huge smiles.

"I think I just came." Starlight said causing the others to shuffle away from him.

"Anyways.... grab everything and lets go."

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The dungeon was damp, cold, and dark. Blitz, Morbis and Shade waited patiently for a chance to get out. A guard began walking past the cells to make sure everyone was accounted for. For some reason the guard was very interested in the cell at the end. It always caught Morbis' attention when he would go directly to that cell.

"Shade, next time he walks by I want you to take him out. Do it silently." Once the guard walked by she focused her magic and caused a spike to jut from the ground, impaling into his skull. She levitated the keys off the bloody corpse and unlocked the cell door. "Give me the keys, I need to see something." She handed over the keys and he walked to the cell at the end. The cell was heavily fortified with a thick steel door with a small window. There were several locks on it to make it harder to open. He looked through the window and what he saw shocked him. In the corner sat a pony with a purple coat, the mane was navy blue with purple and pink highlights. She sat there holding her legs to her chest and her face buried in to her knees. There were five other ponies in the room but he didn't really pay much attention to them. "Miss sparkle, is that you?" She looked up with red eyes signifying that she had been crying for some time now. She stood up slowly and approached the door cautiously.

"M-Morbis, Is that you?" Other than Celestia, she was the only one who knew about Lunas secret team. He unlocked the doors multiple locks and opened the door. As soon as she was sure it was him, she jumped at him and hugged him tightly. "Oh thank Celestia you came, I was afraid no one would come to help." Morbis pushed her off gently.

"No need to fear now, but we need to leave now so we can meet up with the others."

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They were soon outside and began sprinting to the rendezvous area. They soon realized they were being chased down by changling soldiers "Hope you guys are ready for a hell of a fight." Once they were in the courtyard, they were completely surrounded "Where the hell are they?" Shade asked sounding very pissed.

"I was wondering when you would show up." The group looked up to the balcony and saw a quite familiar face.

"Chrysalis." Morbis said with disgust clearly in his voice. Chrysalis chuckled and leaned on the railing.

"Now don't be cold towards me dear, I am going to be your ruler very soon you know. Not that it will matter to you anyways."

"Mind telling us what the hell your doing back?" Morbis asked getting Chrysalis to chuckle.

"That is for me to know and you to find out, that is if you live."She said as she turned around, snapped her fingers and walked away. A few soldiers approached them with swords.

"Get ready to use your shield Shade." Morbis whispered. He began to count down from five. "Five." They approached "Four." They unsheathed the swords "Three." They raised their swords "Two." The soldiers fell. Everyone watched as the soldiers dropped to the ground from the single bullet "One."

"WHOO, I GOT THE FUCKERS." The voice none other than Starlights echoed throughout the courtyard.

"NOW!" The shield went up just as the area where the bullet impacted exploded in a burst of fire. Starlight jumped off the roof in to the courtyard and ran in to the firefight.

"Morbis catch." Starlight yelled as he through a weapon in his direction. As soon as the gun was in his hand, he turned around and took out three soldiers with one shot. The gun he was wielding was one of his own creations, he called it the "Hell raiser". It looked similar to his S&W 500 Magnum, only it was larger and was black with a blue crescent moon on the grip. Instead of the standard magnum ammo, his gun used incendiary shotgun shells.

Starlight used a standard M-107 sniper rifle but used his own ammo. The ammo was full metal jacket that had a chemical that was designed to detonate moments after being fired.

Once they had the chance, they ran to cover inside one of the houses across from the castle. Starlight dumped the weapons on the kitchen. Shade walked up to him and pinned him against the wall.

"Where are Luna and the others?" Starlight swallowed hard and looked at the group who were now staring at him.

"Luna ran off to save Celestia and Scorch and Haze followed her." Shade pushed off him and walked towards the door while summoning her scythe "Shade, what are you doing?"

"Kill my way to the castle while you guys follow."

"There's no way you will make it, there are too many soldiers." Twilight stepped in trying to make sure she didn't do anything stupid. Shade thought for a moment before walking to the wall opposite from the door.

"Your right," She started as she dug her scythe in the floor, placed a foot on the wall and faced the door "I'm gonna need some speed." Shadow began emitting from her feet and hands "Get the door for me." Starlight approached the door and prepared to open it. He learned from past experience that there is no reasoning with her when she's in "mission mode", when she sets her mind on something, she is gonna go through with it. Starlight pushed the door open and in a flash, she was outside. Keeping her speed up, she hacked through anyone and anything in her way. Blood sprayed and limbs flew as her scythe went through them as if they were nothing. Going through all of this, she couldn't help but smile as the feeling of taking their lives brought her nothing but joy. As she approached a large group, she pushed off the ground and dive bombed into the center. digging her scythe in the ground sent massive waves of shadow through the crowd, and tore them to pieces.

Everyone left the house when the sounds of screams, gunfire, and Shades horrifying laughter subsided. Bodies laid all over the courtyard. Standing in front of the castle was Shade who was completely covered in the blood of her enemies. "Took you all long enough to come out." She finished with a bone chilling laugh.

"She definitely needs to go on medication." Twilight said while cowering behind Starlight.

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They took it slow once inside in hopes of not running into any trouble. Surprisingly there was no sign of any changelings. As they walked, a certain rainbow maned pegasus decided to ask Morbis a few questions.

"So who are you guys? Army? No wait, Special ops right?" After the stream of questions that just kept coming he decided to give her a vague answer.

"We are a type of soldier, lets just leave it at that." The rainbow pegasus sighed and stayed quiet all the way to the throne room where Luna and the others were waiting.

"She...Is...really fast." Scorch said between gasps of air. Haze stood to the side holding Luna still

with a spell.

"Let me go, I must help my sister!" She pleaded. Haze sighed and dropped the spell.

"Only because we're all together now." Haze said before she ran through the door, followed by everyone else. On the throne sat Chrysalis who was using Celestias unconscious body as a foot rest. "I was wondering when you all would arrive. I must admit that I was getting a little bored." Luna walked forward, gritting her teeth.

"What the hell have you done to my sister?" Luna said as she flared magic from her hands.

"Who me, why I only defended myself from your little whore of a sister. She honestly thought she could defeat me, apparently she forgot what happened last time." Chrysalis finished with a small laugh.

"You fucking monster, I'll tear you to pieces!" Twilight said as her magic began to orbit around her, sending sparks of energy off in multiple directions. Chrysalis waved her hand in dismissal.

"Now Twilight, there will be no need for violence. I already know I won't make it very far against all thirteen of you." No one was sure what to think. Her smile made them uneasy and unsure. They weren't sure what exactly she was planning but they sure as hell weren't going to give up the chance to put this to an end. Luna used her magic to drag Chrysalis to the ground roughly and cuffed her with a binding spell. As she was escorted passed the team, she leaned over and whispered in Morbis' ear before being dragged out the door.

"Well that was anti-climatic."

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Once Chrysalis was loaded into the prison transport, the team and the elements of harmony began walking around town looking for something to do. The sun was just rising so shops weren't open yet and nightclubs were just closing. While everyone was trying to decide what to do for a victory party, Morbis was lost in his own world trying to figure out what chrysalis was talking about.

"Morbis snap out of it." Scorch said while snapping his fingers. "What do you want to do?" Morbis thought for a while before coming to a conclusion.

"Why don't we go to a nightclub tonight, I can wait, I don't know about you but i'm really tired and could use some rest. We should all get some rest to be honest."

"I couldn't agree more." Rainbow Dash said releasing a yawn. Luna quickly pulled her team aside saying that she needed to talk to them.

"I have a job for for all of you," She whispered "I want you all to place yourselves at their homes. I don't like how Chrysalis acted and I fear she may be planning something." The team looked at the elements who were eyeing them with questioning expressions.

"I agree, we should keep a close eye on them." Haze spoke up before looking back at the elements and smiling, specifically at a certain white mare who blushed slightly. Scorch smacked him upside the back of his head.

"Don't get the wrong idea Haze, this is a professional job, this isn't for pleasure." Everyone thought it over and agreed to take the job.

"Alright, Shade, you will watch over Twilight Sparkle. Scorch, you will watch over Applejack. Haze, I hate to say it but you will watch Rarity. Starlight, you will be watching Pinkie Pie, have fun with that. Blitz, you will stay with Fluttershy. I will stay with Rainbow Dash. You all know your positions now get the fuck outta here and escort them home."

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It wasn't long until the elements were home and the team positioned in front of each of their homes. It was going to be a long wait but it had to be done. Scorch helped Applejack and Big Macintosh harvest apples, Shade began teaching Twilight some new spells, Blitz helped take of Fluttershys animals, Starlight helped bake cupcakes with Pinkie Pie, Haze was used as mannequin by Rarity, and of course, Rainbow was sleeping soundly in her bed of clouds. Morbis was terrified of what may be coming in the near future. Chrysalis' voice echoed through his head non-stop. 'Death arrives on the dawn of chaos'. He worried for Equestrias creatures.
Morbis drew out a cigarette and lit it with his zippo lighter. Engraved on the lighter read 'In the moonlights embrace'. The flame was was a midnight blue that had and aura orbited around it. The cigarette burned to life as he took a long drag "What did she mean by that?" He spoke out loud while looking towards the sky. Sun down arrived surprisingly quick, the air began to chill slightly and a light breeze drifted over the land. He was pulled out of his trance by a scream coming from Rainbows room. Morbis through his cigarette and flew through her house to her room, literally flew through her house creating a hole straight to her room. When he entered her room, he saw her sitting on her bed with her legs hugged against her body. Her tears were visibly streaming down her face and dripping on her bed.

"Rainbow, whats wrong?" Morbis asked as he approached her. She quickly regained her composer and wiped her tears away.

"Who me, there's nothing wrong I just..." She was cut off when she felt Morbis sit next to her and place a hand on her shoulder. She released a sigh and slumped. "I'm just having some trouble sleeping I guess." Morbis thought for a moment before standing up and offered his hand. She looked confused but took it.

"Come on, I'll show you what helps me fall asleep." He said with a soft, comforting smile.

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They were soon on the clouds and the sun was almost fully down. Rainbow sat on the clouds while Morbis flew a few yards away. He began flying in a circle causing the clouds to rise and spin into a tornado. Rainbow stood up and flew towards the tornado to figure out what the hell he was doing.

"Morbis, are you insane!? Who knows what damage you can do." She was forcing herself back to make sure she wasn't pulled into it. "Morbis, are you there?" She was quickly answered when he reached out and pulled her inside. She forced herself to fly against the current and thought about how insane he is. She looked down and noticed Morbis going along with the current, looking laid back and smiling at her. She tried flying away but was stopped when he reached up and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her back. "What the fuck?" She jerked around trying to break free but was met with resistance. "Will you let me go?" Morbis gave her a small grin and shifted his hands up.

"Im afraid not." He grasped her wings at the base, causing her wings to go stiff. She blushed a deep crimson and looked very shocked.

"What the hell do you think your doing perv?" She stared daggers at him but received only a laugh.

He released her wings and brought his lips to her ear. "Just relax, you don't need to force everything to go your way. Just let yourself go limp." He pulled away and placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. To Rainbows surprise, he looked at ease. She thought for a moment and complied to what he suggested. It was certainly something different to her, she never thought of a tornado as something to help with relaxation. She closed her eyes and spread her wings to glide along with the current. She started off fine but over time she lost her composer and began flailing around. She was stopped abruptly when she felt a pair of arms reach out and pulled her into a calming embrace. She looked back and noticed Morbis smiling at her, and holding her. "Maybe I shouldn't have let you off on your own just yet." She rolled her eyes before closing them and let herself go limp just as he told her. She felt at ease, yet the only thing the bothered her was the fact that she couldn't decide whether she was relaxed because of the weightless feeling, or the warm embrace she was currently in.

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It wasn't long until she was fast asleep in his arms and being carried to her house. He laid her down and covered her in a blanket of clouds. He looked down at her sleeping form and smiled. He had to admit that she looked insanely cute when asleep. He looked around and noticed the damage he did to her house. He sighed and set off to repair it all. Once he finished the repairs it was midnight at last. He sat on her bed and nudged her awake telling her its time to head out. She stretched and made her way to the bathroom and took a quick shower.
When she returned, she was wearing a pair of tight leather pants that accented her ass, and a shirt that is torn just above her stomach that showed off her abs. It wasn't until she wore these clothes that he noticed exactly how toned she was.

"Eyes up here buddy." She said while snapping to get his attention. He shook his head and looked away.

"Guess we should head out huh?" She nodded and ran out the door, dragging him along.

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They soon arrived to the club where everyone including princess Luna and princess Celestia where waiting out front.

"Well it took y'all long enough to get here." The cowpony standing next Scorch said. She wore simple clothes, a red and white checkered shirt that was tied off just below her breasts, and she wore jean shorts cut a little below her butt. Everyone seemed to be dressed in their everyday clothes.

"So why are you two here?" Rainbow asked, gesturing to the princesses.

"What, are we not allowed to have fun anymore?" Luna asked.

"That's not what I meant, its just that you don't usually see the royal sisters going to a club."

"Are we just going to stand here bickering or are we going to have some fun?" Celestia spoke up "I really need to let loose so lets go." She said, walking towards the club with a little sway in her step. Everyone followed, running to catch up.

"Hurry up Morbis!" Rainbow called out.

"I'll be there in a minute!" He looked up at the night sky, for some reason he couldn't get his mind off of Chrysalis and what she said "Death arrives on the dawn of chaos." He said out loud in hopes it would make some sense some way or another. "What the fuck does it mean?"