The Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods · 1:08am Jul 19th, 2021
The Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods is an off-the-books black ops organization that was founded by Princess Celestia centuries ago to aid her in securing and protecting her nation and her subjects during a dark and perilous time of her reign as the sole ruler of Equestria.
Shortly after having to banish her sister, Princess Luna, to the moon for the next thousand years, Celestia fell into a deep depression that caused her to become less vigilant and hardly involved in the day-to-day duties of ruling the nation. As a result, criminals and corrupt individuals became emboldened and Equestria went through a period where there was little safety, hardly any justice, and corrupt officials and nobles took advantage of Celestia's negligence that came from her sorrow and self-loathing.
Her advisors finally got through to her and pleaded her to impose martial law, but Celestia refused, not wanting to become a tyrant. She initially tried to order her guardsponies to crack down on crime but they proved ineffective and hopelessly outnumbered against the criminal element, and corruption had wormed its way even into the royal courts, thus Celestia could only place her trust in a few among her royal staff.
She then tried to create a new force of protectors that seemed to be the promise of a bright and glorious future... only for this initiative to result in so horrific a disaster that Celestia abolished the group and covered the whole incident up.
As things grew increasingly worse, Celestia sought the advice of the Lunar Ponies of the Shetland Isles and spoke with their leadership. From them, Celestia came to the difficult conclusion that questionable methods had to be taken, even if such methods were against her own laws. Thus, Celestia requested one of the lunar ponies to come and lead what would eventually become the Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods.
The Brotherhood was first led by a lunar pony and fully-trained Lunobi warrior named Red Ryder. Celestia tasked Red Ryder with recruiting new members to train and then go forth to be the unseen protectors of Equetria as well as to punish the guilty. Red Ryder recruited many members, plenty of whom weren't even ponies but different species. He led them well and the Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods (members simply called Hoods) set out into the darkness of the night to hunt down the criminal element that plagued Equestria.
After several difficult years, crime was all but eradicated while the corrupt were rooted out, restoring honor and integrity among the leadership in Equestria. Satisfied her nation had been brought back from the brink of disaster, Celestia expressed her gratitude to the Brotherhood but declared their task was done and that the Brotherhood was no longer necessary, giving them all honorable discharges under the agreement that they never speak to anyone of the Brotherhood's existence, operations, or anything else whatsoever.
Red Ryder warned Celestia that this peace and prosperity would not last, that in time the criminal scum and poison of corruption would return, but Celestia foolishly did not listen, choosing to have faith that all would be well.
Alas, Red Ryder's warning came true, for hardly a decade later did crime spike up again. Not as bad as before but still. Celestia organized a new generation of the Brotherhood and like their predecessors they culled down crime and corruption, and like before Celestia dissolved this Brotherhood too. This unfortunately became a recurring cycle, up until the middle of the 8th century of the Celestial Era when a Hood went rogue and committed the dreaded killing spree that would live on in infamy as the Greypaddock Murders, said to have been committed by the dreaded serial killer Beck the Tramper, whose real identity was never revealed to the public in order to protect the Brotherhood. This caused Celestia to abolish the organization completely and work on improving the law enforcement division of the EUP, as well as make sure the judicial system stayed straight as an arrow.
In the years leading up to the end of the Celestial Era (and the return of Nightmare Moon), Celestia became concerned for her ward and adoptive nephew, Midnight Blaze, who'd been through a great deal of hardship and no longer had his parents to guide him. Fearing for Midnight's mental health and deciding he needed purpose, Celestia "guided" Midnight to learning about the Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods and gave him permission to revive the organization.
Midnight's Brotherhood operated differently than its previous generations in that Midnight alone carried out missions involving assassination and so was his Brotherhood's sole assassin. He made this decision so that his Hoods would never have to live with the burden of deliberately ending a life, however justified, and instead would only ever have to take a life if it was necessary, such as protecting someone or in self-defense. His Hoods mostly did missions involving reconnaissance, sabotage, search & rescue, bodyguard work, gathering intel, stealing, etc.
There are over 30 Hoods in Midnight's Brotherhood, with some of them stationed in certain parts of Equestria or even some outside, spying on foreign nations in case they might become enemies of Equestria. The actual number is a classified secret and even Celestia does not know just how many Hoods there currently are.
In his hooded cloak, Midnight was known as the Hooded Pony (or Arbiter).
He took many missions at Celestia's request and never did assassinations without her expressed permission. As a result of working as a spy and assassin, Midnight became jaded and somewhat bitter towards Celestia, who only wanted to know what she wanted to know and nothing else, as she came to take Midnight and his Brotherhood for granted.
As such, Midnight made preparations and contingencies in case of various possible outcomes (including the possibility of Celestia ever betraying him), and his Hoods are trained to follow a Code that demands they are loyal to Equestria above all else while obeying him foremost (although he establishes an understanding with foreign recruits that as long as their nations do not threaten Equestria he will not ask of them to act against their nations and people so long as they keep their membership as Hoods secret and do not exploit it against Equestria) and he has numerous safe-houses, hideouts, secret bases, and even research facilities set up in various secret locations, some of which even Celestia isn't aware of.
Midnight has recruited members of various backgrounds and fields of expertise, some of whom aren't even field-agents and instead perform other tasks and work for the Brotherhood.
The confirmed members of the Brotherhood are:
Midnight Blaze
Founder of this latest generation of the Brotherhood, its leader and sole assassin
Shadow Lock
Shadow Lock is a talented mage, covert operative, a keen strategist and competent leader, and is Midnight’s distant cousin (they are both descended from Thanator, the Pony of Death), and his skills and achievements earned him the position of Second-in-Command.
Pale Ryder
A master Lunobi warrior among the lunar ponies of the Shetland Isles, Pale Ryder is a descendant of Red Ryder (the leader of the original Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods), and son of the Lunobi who trained Midnight in the Lunobi arts, such as stealth, reconnaissance, infiltration, weaponry, poison, camouflage, and assassination. The two of them were once rivals, Pale Ryder considering Midnight an unworthy outsider despite him being of lunar pony blood, but it was also he felt jealous that a "prince" got so much attention from Pale Ryder's father, that he felt overlooked. He was also insecure due to his leucism, which was initially mistaken for albinism until a trained doctor assured Pale Ryder's parents to the contrary.
One day, when pirates invaded the Shetland Isles, intending to take over the archipelago as a pirate stronghold, Midnight risked his own life to help the Lunobi warriors defend their home and repel the invasion, which earned him the respect of many of the lunar ponies, including Pale Ryder, who saw Midnight for who he is rather than what he thought he saw. They became friends, turning their rivalry friendly, and sparring partners, completing their lunobi training together. They parted as friends and sometime later, Midnight approached Pale Ryder, asking if he would like to be a part of the new Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods, and Pale Ryder accepted with honor, becoming the Hood of the Shetland Isles.
They are also distant relatives, descended from the Pony of Death.
Tranquil Skies
A pegasus stallion, Hood, and information-gatherer
Time Turner Hooves
An Inventor whose research and experiments are funded by Midnight, Time Turner had a traumatic experience as a foal that drove him to seek out ways to make sense of the world around him. He earned a doctorate in science and technology (and degrees in other fields), but his outlandish ideas were dismissed and he settled down in Ponyville, marrying the local mailmare Ditzy Doo and they had a daughter together, Dinky.
Midnight, garbed in his cloak, approached Time Turner one day and offered generous funding for the earth pony to continue his work in exchange for joining the Brotherhood. Time Turner was hesitant to accept until Midnight assured him he would have no part in field-missions, that only some of his inventions would be required.
Sweetie Drops aka Bon Bon
Bon Bon, or Sweetie Drops, is a Hood who specializes in matters involving monsters and creatures, and has an uncanny talent for sweet-talking. She was later assigned to Ponyville to observe Past Midnight and to be one of the town’s protectors. She became best friends with Lyra Heartstrings and later married her and Noteworthy Blues, becoming a herd with two foals
Specter
Born in Canterlot, Specter was a surprise to his parents, both of whom are regular pegasi yet Specter was born a lunar pegasus. Researching family history, they discovered they had lunar pony ancestors who bred out centuries ago, but as Specter still carried the bloodline and was born during a full moon, he was born a lunar pegasus. His parents loved him and raised him, but Specter sadly grew up facing discrimination from Canterlot citizens and was bullied as a colt.
Upon the return of Princess Luna and the formation of the Lunar Guard, Specter was thrilled about being part of a force of lunar ponies like himself and signed up... only to not make the cut.
Feeling like a failure, Specter couldn't face his parents and was going to leave Canterlot... when a mysterious Hooded Pony approached him. The Hooded Pony offered Specter a chance to be part of something greater and though Specter was skeptical, he gave it a chance, and became a member of the Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods
Daring Doo
Daring Doo is a freelance archaeologist paid by the crown, dedicated to recovering ancient treasures, relics, and artifacts and preventing them from falling into the wrong hooves though some relics she uncovers she is obligated to give to Midnight for his examination (and first dibs)
Brumby Cloverpatch
A nomadic Hood, Bumby is a pony explorer, valued for his skills in travel, exploration, tracking and some modest skills in archaeology and has a knack for learning other languages, making him valuable as a translator.
Star n' Stripe
An optimistic young pegasus with a sense of patriotism for her nation of Equestria, Star got into trouble when she assaulted a pair of royal guards for their sexist behavior towards mares. She was saved when a hooded pony approached her and questioned her reasons as to why she assaulted military officers. After explaining herself, that she was defending her fellow mares from a couple of disgraceful pigs who abused their authority, the hooded pony had Star released on probation while having the guards in question dishonorably discharged.
He then offered Star a chance to be part of something bigger and she eagerly accepted, becoming a Hood
Capper Dapperpaws
Capper is an OutCat, a Cat banished from the Cat Nation of Abyssinia. A former Aristocat, Capper inadvertently met Midnight, who took in Capper and eventually made him a member of the Evening Hoods. However, due to a breach of trust, Midnight punished Capper by stationing him in the rough and corrupt Klugetown and has had to intervene more than once on Capper's behalf though Capper makes up for it by being an excellent Hood
Astral Flare
Astral Flare is a Dragon and is currently the resident Hood of the Crystal Empire, secretly serving as a protector for the city, and is a childhood friend of Princess Cadance
Lightning Dust
After training to join the Silverbolts, Midnight personally informed Lightning Dust she made the team but asked of her to take on an undercover mission to infiltrate the ranks of the Shadowbolts. Lightning Dust accepted, unknowingly becoming an honorary Hood
Watcher
Watcher is a recent recruit into the Brotherhood and Midnight's paternal cousin. Their families became estranged from each other after the death of Watcher's father, Coal Obsidian, for which Watcher's mother blamed Midnight's father, Ignitus Enflame, Coal's older brother. Due to tensions between him and his mother, Watcher struck out on his own, becoming a mercenary for hire until fate would reunite Watcher with Midnight and their harrowing adventure led them to reuniting their family, working on making amends, and Watcher joining the Brotherhood and being stationed in Manehatten, where he was given his own apartment by Midnight
Ocypete
A griffoness who was in a bad place, she got caught up with a griffon thieves guild, and was too afraid to leave in case the other guild members might kill her. One day, Midnight broke into the guild to steal back important relief supplies the guild had stolen, and helped Ocypete leave the guild behind after he killed some members of their leadership, leaving the guild in disarray. Taken under Midnight's wing. Ocypete was thrilled by the notion of using her thieving skills to do good and became a Hood.
Astaur Earthfury
A minotaur from Taurra, Astaur was originally a lowly guard, regarded as a disappointment by his father, a noted alchemist, for enlisting in the Taurran castle guard instead of following in his hoofsteps. When a coup to overthrow the king was brought to light Astaur tried to warn his superior officer... only to be locked up as the officer was in on the conspiracy. Luckily for Astaur, Midnight, having been investigating the conspiracy, came to his aid and helped Astaur foil the conspiracy, making Astaur appear the hero to the royal family.
Astaur and Midnight spoke privately with the king, who understood that Midnight's involvement had to be kept secret, and so the king made Astaur a knight and offered him a favored position amongst his military forces. Though honored, Astaur respectfully declined, knowing he wasn't ready for such a position of responsibility and opted to devote himself to training and studying. Astaur and Midnight parted as friends and Astaur accepted Midnight's offer to become a member of the Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods.
Damu
A zebra in Zebrabwe, Damu has a heartbreaking history, where his parents were killed in a raid by rebels armies, and his little brother and sister were murdered right in front of him by terrorists who forced him to join their zealot cause. When he grew p, he managed to kill some of the terrorists who had forced him into a life of fear and violence and went into hiding.
Years later, he was approached and confronted by a Hooded Pony, who revealed he knew of Damu's past and his crimes, and offered him a choice: between prison or Join his group, the Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods, and help put an end to the terrorist actions of rebel armies besieging Zebrabwe. Damu chose the latter.
To Damu's blessed relief, after only months of work and fighting, the rebel terrorists were quelled and peace was restored to Zebrabwe. the Hooded Pony, Midnight, issued Damu a full pardon and assured the zebra he had found redemption. Damu was still reluctant to forgive himself but he found love and married, at last moving on from the ghosts of his past, and is overjoyed that he would soon become a father.
Hunter
A mysterious cheetah-like Cat and master archer and tracker, Hunter is one of Midnight's most trusted and reliable Hoods
Bianca
A young Rabbit, studying to become a sorceress, Bianca was once apprenticed to a wicked and vainglorious witch until Midnight convinced Bianca she was on the wrong side. She renounced her mistress and joined with Midnight, becoming another of his trusted Hoods
Elora
A young Faun from the mystical wilderness of Avalar, Elora cares deeply for all of life's creatures and is very knowledgeable in flora and fauna. Her forest was once threatened by a crooked land development business, hired by a pompous and greedy businessman, that was foiled and dealt with by Midnight and the businessman was arrested for illegal business dealings and unlawful attempts to exploit the environment. Grateful, Elora swore her loyalty to Midnight out of gratitude, leading him to offer Elora membership into the Brotherhood, believing her knowledge of plants and animals, as well as various supernatural phenomena could be useful
Ryder
A high-ranking member of the PAW Patrol and a secret Hood, Ryder is a Dog from Sirius, the capital of the Dog Nation of Bargos, valued for his keen mind for strategy and his own skills in techno and mechanical engineering
Apollo
A Sirian Dog and a member of the PAW Patrol Superhero Division, as well as a secret Hood. Apollo is a goodhearted and noble hero among the Dogs of Bargos, possessing the powers of Flight, Superstrength, Super Senses, as well as other powers, and is the son of Bolt, the current Alpha Dog of the Paw Patrol Superhero Division.
Bentley
A Yeti from Nepolar and a Hood, Bentley is a ranger who protects the wilderness of his home nation. He's kind, polite, and sharper than he looks, as well as a force to be reckoned with, wielding a club of crystal ice, and he's especially protective of his little brother, which is how he and Midnight first bonded and formed a mutual respect.
Magnus
A Dragon Warrior from the Dragon Lands, Magnus once clashed with Midnight over a misunderstanding and though he put up a good fight Midnight was able to decisively beat him in fair combat. Magnus was so impressed he wished to serve Midnight somehow, and Midnight made Magnus a Hood and one of his eyes and ears in the Dragon Lands. Magnus is mighty and strong but also has an appetite that has resulted in a paunchy belly that only emphasizes on his image of big and tough.
He later took on the young dragon Fizzle as his apprentice and adoptive son.
Fizzle
Fizzle is a young dragon who used to be in Garble's gang, until Garble betrayed Fizzle's trust and respect, and Fizzle cut ties with him. Alone and with no friends, Fizzle wound up meeting the dragon warrior Magnus. At first, Fizzle underestimated Magnus, due to his hefty gut, despite the dragon being bigger, and got a thorough trouncing for his disrespect.
Magnus forced Fizzle to stay with him, saying he'd make a real dragon out of the youngster. Fizzle was subject to some tough training and chores, but overtime he came to respect and admire Magnus, and even regard him as the father he never had, and Magnus eventually confirmed Fizzle was his apprentice and loved him like a son, saying he saw greatness in the young dragon and intended to make sure Fizzle would live up to that greatness one day. Magnus would soon introduce fizzle to a sapphire blue dragon, and impress him enough that the blue dragon offered Fizzle a special medallion, saying he had high hopes for him (Fizzle did not realize it, but he'd accepted a sort of junior membership into the Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods and that the blue dragon was actually Midnight shapeshifted into dragon form).
Barcus
A young Dog from Sirius who is working towards creating a Magic Division in the PAW Patrol, Barcus is a skilled alchemist but considered an oddball due to the Dogs preferring to use magic as a source of clean energy to power their technology whereas Barcus is fascinated by the traditional archaic ways of magic and feels it can have a place in his nation's society.
One night, he happened upon some Omegas attempting to break into a museum to steal artifacts and Barcus foolishly tried to stop them, hoping to prove his usage of magic would be recognized, only to wind up getting abducted. He would have been killed, as the omegas were afraid of leaving witnesses, had he not been saved by the timely arrival of Midnight and a few other Hoods, having been tracking these omegas to follow a lead through a black market trade of rare artifacts.
Midnight helped Barcus and spoke with a high-ranking official in PAW Patrol to commend Barcus on his bravery and initiative, which got Barcus his paw into the door and so get his chance to work on establishing a Magic Division in PAW Patrol. Barcus was grateful to Midnight and accepted his offer of becoming a Hood.
Dr. Katherine "Kat" Manx
One of Midnight's most valued Hoods. Doctor Katherine Manx is a Cat from Abyssinia, where she is a revered and admired alchemist and scientist... as well as a secret rebel against the Aristocats who rule the nation of Cats under a "gentle dictatorship" that isolates the Cats from the rest of the world. Kat wishes to overthrow the Aristocats and the government they use to control the nation, and in doing so give her people the rights and freedom to live their lives as they wish and to be a part of the rest of the world, as they rightly should. She is in a bitter rivalry with a fellow scientist and businesscat known as Dr. Calico, who has a disturbing sway over the aristocats.
Midnight infiltrated Abyssinia, having shapeshifted into a Cat to blend in, and accidentally encountered Dr. Manx, to whom he revealed his true identity after speaking with her. Their conversation bore fruit and they came to a mutual agreement that Midnight would help Kat work towards putting an end to the Aristocats to reform Abyssinia into a democracy in exchange for swearing to become an ally to Equestria, and thus Kat became a Hood for Midnight and his eyes and ears in Abyssinia.
The C.O.W. Boys
Moo Montana, Cowlorado, and Dakota Dude are a trio of minotaurs, calling themselves the C.O.W. Boys (C.O.W. stands for 'Code of the West') living on Moo Mesa, a vast mesa in the western part of the kingdom of Minox that is home to a western culture of minotaurs living in Cowtown. Moo Montana is a marshal with Cowlorado and Dakota his deputies, working their tails off standing up for law and order in their town, but were often meddled with and hampered by the corrupt Mayor Bulloney and and his selected Sheriff Terrorbull... until Midnight helped expose these dirty varmints and helped the C.O.W. Boys clean up their town.
As thanks, Moo Montana made Midnight an honorary C.O.W. Boy while Midnight offered them membership into the Brotherhood, promising them help if they ever needed it and they respectfully offered the same and accepted. They have a junior member, a young minotaur named Cody Calfpint, who is something of a young protege to Moo Montana, who also regards Cody as a son.
Thomas O'Malley
Formerly a peasant Cat in Panthera, Thomas ran afoul of a corrupt Aristocat and sent to jail for being in the wrong place in the wrong time. Thankfully, Midnight helped him escape and clear his name while also proving the Aristocat that framed Thomas was corrupt and had him brought to justice. Thomas was honored and won the heart of a lovely widow cat named Duchess, marrying her and becoming a father to her three children. Grateful for all Midnight did for him, Thomas swore a loyal friendship to the Hooded Pony and Midnight made Thomas a Hood.
Despite becoming an Aristocat himself, Thomas maintains his friendship with his alleycat friends, including his buddy Scat Cat, who provides him with an ear into the goings-on of the streets of Panthera.
Sherazade
Perhaps the most learned scholar in all of Saddle Arabia, Sherazade is an old friend of Midnight Blaze. She owns and maintains a library, with a vast collection of books, tomes, scrolls, maps, relics, and she has studied and read thousands of different legends, myths, stories, and tales, often translating some from old languages by using her skills as a linguist, sometimes finding clues or hints of lost ruins or civilizations that could lead to undiscovered treasures.
Midnight once helped Sherazade when her foalhood friend, a prince named Karim, was turned into a beast by his own older brother, with the help of his fiendish witch, in order to take the throne for himself when Karim was chosen to become heir by their father instead. With Midnight's help, Karim was restored to his true form and he and Sherazade finally confessed to their mutual love, and they wed. The evil brother and his witch were banished from Saddle Arabia, and Sherazade was given a library as a wedding gift from her new father-in-law.
Grateful to him, Sherazade swore eternal friendship to Midnight, promising if he ever needed help he could always come to her, and Midnight made Sherazade a secret member of the Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods.
PLZ Note - Some of these characters are OCs whose owners have given me permission to use, and some are based on characters from others works of fiction
You're welcome.
nice more lore expansion.
Looks like someone’s been on a Spyro binge. And I mean that in a good way
You saw the trailer for the PAW patrol movie.
If you're planning on adding Spyro and PAW patrol characters in here, you might want to put the crossover genre in place. Just saying. 😁
5557035
It's not exactly a crossover because that would imply that the actual characters from those other works of fiction entered the story, but that's not the literal case
My concept is using my own versions of the characters that belong in this story's universe, which I feel works as it is tagged 'Alternate Universe'
It's the same with how I guest-star others' OCs in the story by making my own versions of their OCs that fit into the story but remain faithful to the spirit of the characters their owners created
When I feature these characters I make disclaimers while offering my thanks for allowing me to use them and have them appear to fulfill a role in story
As for Spyro himself? I have... other plans for him
I love all the cross overs Spyro: paw patrol
Spd