Pact of Shadows

by CletusTheFetus

Answers Discovered

Chapter 3:
Answers Discovered

The new day arrived with a bright, warm sunrise. The moon slowly crept behind the horizon, as if to fall asleep itself. Luna still exhausted from her lack of quality sleep, knew of how important it was to get to Twilight and tell her the information she would desperately need. However, despite it’s imperative importance, it would have to wait for the later part of the day.

A cold rain began to pour from the skies above accompanied by lightning that flashed bringing rapid flares of white to the sky, followed by the loud clap of thunder. The sun’s bright light was barely visible through the thick grey clouds, nearly reaching its highest point in the sky.

Her best bet on finding any information was the Royal Guard Academy archives. Perhaps they’d have a graduating class yearbook and she could find him. Though the military was pretty adamant on keeping certain information out of the public eye. Still shouldn’t be a problem for her considering her new public-status though.

She arose from her throne and walked to exit the castle, telekinetically picking up an umbrella. Spike jumped up from his own seat and rushed to her side. As she opened the door she saw her friends walking towards her. With a smile she trotted happily towards them.

“Hey, girls! Any of you ready to head over to the R.G.A.?” Twilight asked with a grin. She couldn’t stop thinking of her verbal exchanges with Luna in the dreamscape, they were weighing heavily on her heart and mind.

They all gave her a nod of approval, signaling they were ready to travel. Twilight flared up her horn, and in a spherical flash of purple they were gone. She was teleporting them to the Royal Guard Academy in Canterlot. This is exactly where they needed to be, and hopefully the information they sought was inside these walls.

“We’re here!” Twilight shouted. She was hoping for a cheerful response from her friends, but it was not to come. They too were thinking deeply on the scenario that occurred that morning. Twilight waking up in such distress had them all increasingly concerned.

“Twilight, we’re all concerned about what happened last night darling. Can you tell us what happened?” Rarity asked with a rather displeased look. “I hope you don’t think we’d forgotten what you said.”

“Of course not!” Twilight snapped. “I’ll tell you, but I want to do some digging on that Pegasus first.” She wasn’t about to let the others curiosity about her nightmare break her own concentration. She needed her own answers before she could give any herself.

Two guards stood before a pair of large dark oak doors. They’re armor was made of solid gold, which was more for show than for actual protection. They learned that when Chrysallis and her changelings attacked the royal city. Recent changes made the guards who actually fought wear steel armor as its strength is much higher than gold’s, but so was its weight.

“Good day Princess Twilight, how can we assist you?” one Guard asked as they approached. The other not breaking his stance or line of sight.

“Can you direct us to the Academy’s Archives please?” Twilight asked with a smile, hoping this would be a confrontation-free meeting.

“Of course Princess, right this way.” The Guard answered, opening the door closest to him.

As they entered the large marble carved building, a gust of wind forced itself inside. Flames of the torches mounted on supporting pillars, danced in the light breeze. The moving light made glorious colors explode from the bright reflective floor.

The guard continued to guide the group down a large corridor. They walked down the corridor for what felt like hours, passing multiple locked doors on each side. Twilight began to feel uneasy. She was unsure if she truly wanted to make the discoveries she was seeking so fiercely.

“Are we almost there? I’m getting bored.” Rainbow snapped, growing more impatient with each step. The blue Pegasus never was one for lengthy suspense. The guard gave no reply to Rainbow’s snarky question. He continued to march them along, not saying a word.

They finally reached the end of the corridor, standing in front of two large iron doors. A dim light shined through the crease between them, and with a loud clang the doors unlocked. A platinum plaque with the words ‘Academy Archive’ hung to the right of the doors. It slid open with a long eerie creek, and outstepped what appeared to be another guard. This one was different though. He wasn’t wearing any armor, just a cloak with the insignia of the academy, a brightly colored row of stitched soldiers topped with the letters R.G.A.

They entered a massive room which resembled a very large library, but these books held public record of all of Equestria’s military, both past and present. A large painting of all the royal guard’s squad captains hung in the center of the back wall. Shining Armor was on the farthest left. A list of names in alphabetical order, by last name, was bolted to the wall below the painting.

“Welcome! Is there anything I can help you find? I’m the records keeper.” asked the mysterious stallion in a high-pitched almost shrill voice. “We have all the Academy’s records here, from GPAs to Medals and yearbooks of graduates!”

“Yearbooks! We need access to some of your older yearbooks.” Twilight responded with excitement. It was the first real good news she’d had all day. To finally get some answers thrilled the young princess, as her pursuit of knowledge always did.

“Okay, not a problem. What year were you looking for?”

“Well, we’re looking for a graduating yearbook from one thousand years ago, give or take a few years.” Twilight responded, giving an impish grin. She knew how ridiculous it was to make such a request.

Yet the records keeper didn’t seem phased by what Twilight had said. Instead he nodded and stepped away for just a moment, walking around the corner of a bookshelf. The rattling of metal echoed in the large room, and a short moments later a loud metallic click.

“Sorry for the delay! Our older records are sealed in a vault, and they are far from organized.” stated the records keeper as he set down a stack of about twenty old dusty yearbooks. He hadn’t been gone for that long, five minutes at the most. Yet he was still apologizing for being slow. The group of young mares admired his professionalism.

“Thank you, we’ll bring them back to you as soon as we find what we’re looking for.” Twilight said. She grasped the books with her magic levitation and took them to a nearby table, laying them all in the center. “Okay girls, lets get to searching, remember white stallion pegasus, red and black on the mane and tail.”

They all flipped open a yearbook and began searching for a stallion matching the description Twilight gave them. They each searched through three different yearbooks when Fluttershy’s ears perked up. “Uh, Twilight. I think I found him.” She said, pointing a hoof at a picture of the ‘Zulu Squadron’. Each of the graduates stood in line, though the color on the photo was greatly faded, you could still make out the red and black of his mane and tail. Though, his flank and cutie mark were covered by the graduation robes.

Below the picture was a long list of names, most of them blacked out or covered up, only their squadron titles were still visible. Some of those were illegible as well. She matched his position in the line-up to where his name should be. She held up the yearbook to a light, but she could only make out the letters c, o, and e in his name.

Flipping another page she was staring at an image taken of an obstacle course with various students tackling each of the challenges. Yet, right in front on what appeared to be a slalom section, was the stallion she was looking for. He was unmistakeable, and this time his cutie mark was in full view. The abstract phoenix appeared to be glaring back at her, as if it was trying to tell her something.

“I think we’ve discovered who he is girls. I still don’t know his name, but at least we know there is record of him.’ — Twilight said — ‘I don’t think town hall would have any information on him. Since he’s, well you know, over a thousand years old.” Now they just needed a name, and place to find him.

The light in the room began to turn from golden yellow, to a dull orange. The sun must have been setting, but how long were they searching? It was a little passed noon when they’d arrived.

What they didn’t know is they were being watched, by the very Pegasus they sought to track down. He sat outside a window frame in a back corner of the room. His cloak giving him enough cover in the shadows of the fading sunlight. Without hesitation he spread his wings and took flight away from the building.

“We’ll meet soon Twilight, as soon as Luna gives you one last piece of intel.’ He said, disappearing into the sunset. ‘Once you learn all you can about our organization, I’ll reveal myself to you.” His seriousness never left his mind. He knew what was at stake, and he’d defend it to his last breath. Only through battle, would he willingly draw his last breathe.

The six friends had more to work with on their target, but still nothing on where he might be. They returned the yearbooks to the records keeper, and made for the door. The guard that had guided them inside was still standing at attention, waiting to guide them back for their departure. He opened the large door, and they stepped once again into the long corridor. The trip back down to the main entrance seemed to go by much faster than the journey inside.

It wasn’t long before they were back outside the Academy. They hadn’t realized just how long they’d been searching through those yearbooks, and just how little information had actually come from it. They didn’t have a full name, but they knew he was the leader for Zulu Squad, whatever that meant. They all looked up at the sky, which was now exploding with pink from the setting sun, Celestia’s work without a doubt.

Twilight flared up her horn to teleport them back home when an unusually silent Spike started to groan. He clutched his chest and let out a loud belch, followed by green fire and a letter materializing into existence. Twilight grabbed the letter with her magic from mid-fall and unrolled it. She started to read it aloud to her friends.

“Dear Princess Sparkle, I request an immediate audience with you after the moon rise. There is much I still must tell you, and much we have to discuss, signed Princess Luna.” Twilight read. She’d never received a letter from Luna before, and now she was convinced it actually was Luna herself who’d entered her nightmare.

The sun was now out of view, and the moon began to crawl into the darkening sky. The small flickers of the nights stars also came into view, twinkling so calmly they brought a sense of peace to the group. However, it was short-lived. A sense of urgency soon befell Twilight, the letter had said to meet immediately after the moon’s rise. This meant they were running out of time. They had to get to the castle, and fast.

“Come on girls! The castle isn’t far from here, we have to get there quickly!” Twilight shouted. She telekinetically picked up Spike and set him on her back. The group began to run down the walkway, heading towards the castle as quickly as they could.

They took a sharp right turn and were facing the castle’s front courtyard. It was filled with benches and small shops that were closed for the night. Twilight looked up to the right-side watch tower, seeing Princess Luna on the balcony still raising the moon steadily into position. The Princess noticed their approach to the castle too. They quickly reached Luna’s chambers, perfectly timing her own entrance from the balcony outside.

“Twilight, I see you got my letter summoning you to the castle. It’s good you came I have much to tell you, but I’d prefer to tell you in private.” Luna exclaimed.

“Sorry Luna, but you’ll have to forgive my refusal on keeping my friends out of this. I already owe them an explanation of what happened to the both of us last night.” Twilight said

“Very well then, but be warned what I’m about to tell all of you is of grave importance. You can’t tell anypony what I’m about to say, if you do our very society could fall apart.” Luna warned. Her particular concern was with Pinkie Pie, the hyper-active pink pony seemed to have a problem with endless talking when she met someone new.

“Don’t worry Princess Luna, I won’t tell a soul!” Pinkie shouted. Luna took a step back, not knowing how she could have possibly known her thoughts or concerns on the issue.

“Okay then, there are secret groups of ponies throughout our land. Some of them secret policing forces for the public, their members hiding in plain sight.’ — Luna paused —‘One of these groups is called the Pact of Shadows. They use the cover of darkness to capture dangerous criminals, defeat fearsome beasts, and spy on potential threats.”

The six friends weren’t quite sure how to take this information. Secret societies in Equestria seemed a bit insane, and laughable at the least. Yet previous accounts of criminals disappearing, and their activities stopping at about the same time seemed to justify the crazy claim.

“This is what I tried to tell you before we were separated in the dreamscape last night, Twilight.” Luna continued.

“Princess Luna if I may ask, how do you know so much about this secret group in particular?” Rarity asked.

“Well, I’m their co-founder to start with, and the Pegasus you’ve been tracking down is the other co-founder.” Luna answered. The Princess’ answer shocked the group of young mares, as well as Spike. “Speaking of him, you can come in now.” Luna said.

“Who is she talking to? We’re already inside.” Pinkie said. There was a long pause among the eight of them. The soft sound of another pony’s hooves could be heard coming from the hall, and a shadow elongated across the opposing wall.

“She was talking to me.”

The group quickly turned around to see the Pegasus they’d been trying to track down standing right in front of them. Draped in the same cloak Twilight saw him in before. Their eyes widened, a feeling of unease clouded the air around them. Unsure if they should speak, or remain completely still. A wisp of wind flowed through the room, and his cloak lifted up briefly. They spotted the phoenix on his flank, confirming his identity.

“Hello, you’re the leader of the Zulu Squad right?” Twilight asked, recalling the class photo of him in the yearbook.

“It’s been a very long time since I’ve been called that,’ He answered ‘but please Princess, call me Comrade.”