(Spike)
"I'm looking! I'm looking!" Twilight shouted as I entered the library. I hurried up to the makeshift control room we'd been using to monitor Shadow.
"What's going on, Twilight?" I asked as I saw her tossing books around.
"Spike! Find The blueprints of the house Shadow is in!"
I hurried over to a stack of books and swiped them off as I eliminated them. Finally finding my desired book at the bottom of the stack. It was one I'd made sure to bring out. Supposedly, it contained every blueprint for ever building in Las Pegasus. If the house Shadow was in had been built before this book was made his indicator would light the desired page.
I flipped through the book, following a glow in the pages. Finding the correct blueprint, I handed the book to Twilight, who scanned it quickly.
"I've got a blueprint of the house right here but according to this, that room you're in doesn't even exist!" I could tell Twilight was desperately close to full blown panic but she stopped for a moment and took a deep breath.
"Oh sweet Celestia, I was always terrible at riddles."
Twilight closed her eyes in deep thought as I grabbed a quill and paper, scribbling a hurried note before sending it to Luna.
I waited for a moment, hoping for an immediate response. When it didn't come I was forced to ask Twilight, "What's the riddle?"
"How do you get out of a room that doesn't exist?"
I stopped and scratched my head for a second.
"Oh! The same way you got in!"
Twilight shook her head. "The way he went in is blocked by fire."
I looked at the blueprint on the desk to Twilight, whose face was becoming more and more distraught.
We both watched in a stunned silence as Shadow's blip on the blueprint faded and disappeared. Twilight buried her face in her hooves and I just stared at the page. I couldn't believe that he would die in his first mission. Shadow had always appeared untouchable in terms of danger.
Princess Luna flashed into the room.
"Got the distress, Spike. What's wrong?" She looked at Twilight crying softly and the stunned look on my face and put two and two together.
She patted Twilight gently on the back and looked at me. "Spike, a letter."
I quickly grabbed the essentials and looked at her.
"Deploy the Shadowbolts. Destination: old Las Pegasus prison. Objective: Secure facility. Prevent VIPs from escaping. Send it to Celestia. She'll forward to the appropriate level."
I finished writing and sent the letter.
"What happened?" Luna asked.
Twilight sniffled and spoke up. "They set fire to the safe house. There was no way out for him." She broke down into more tears.
"Princess, is there any way the spell on Shadow just wore off at the perfect time and he made it out?"
"Not likely. I made certain to perfect the permanency spell before I cast it on him. The only places it doesn't track is underground and through concrete too thick to penetrate."
"Oh..." I looked back down at the page where Shadow's indicator had been.
"I'm afraid I must ask, who was the other pony Shadow told of his mission?"
"Oh no, Rainbow.." Twilight looked up. "Princess, we can't tell her without having this finished. She'd be in Las Pegasus right now and tearing that place apart if she knew."
"Very well. I leave the news to you, Twilight Sparkle. I'm going to return to the castle to finalize troop transport." She stepped back and her horn lit up before fading out. "I'm sorry."
And then she disappeared and Twilight and I were left in silence. Unsure of what we should do now.
After a few minutes of silently staring at each other Twilight took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's clean this up a little."
We worked in relative silence. Twilight sniffled occasionally but for the most part we were silent.
I found it ironic that we were just now dealing with feelings that every other pony had dealt with in the past week. It had never been real to us. We had always known Shadow was alive. We never had deal with the heartbreak everyone else had.
Now here we were. Witness to his real final moments. Powerless to help him.
I stopped as I set down a book and glanced at Twilight who had like likewise stopped working.
"Can we go somewhere?" I asked.
Twilight seemed ready to go as soon as I asked. "Where?"
"Anywhere that's not here. I just.. I don't want to be in here right now."
"Agreed. Let's go."
We exited together and walked aimlessly until we found ourselves at the Ponyville cemetery. We glanced worriedly at each other but we walked onto the grounds and made our way to Shadow's gravestone.
Upon our arrival there, we noticed an orange pony already sitting between two stones.
"Hi, Applejack." I spoke softly but my voice had clearly startled her.
She turned quickly, wiping her face as she did so.
"Hey Spike. Twilight."
We all sat back down and stared at Shadow's grave. Applejack intermittently looked at the gravestone to our right.
"Who's that one for, AJ?"
"Huh?" She glanced at the second tombstone. "Oh, that's Skip. Ah met him because of Shadow. He was a good stallion. Ah miss 'em both something awful."
She shared part of her adventure with Shadow and Rainbow Dash to Marelantis with us. Telling us she'd been rather smitten with Skip and what he had done to save them.
A strong cold breeze told us all it was time to head home. We said our goodbyes and Twilight and I headed back to the library. We'd been gone a few hours and it was now fully night time.
We made our way inside and I moved to finish cleaning up the books when I noticed a radiant dot shining from a few pages past the last blueprint we'd used. I turned the pages to see the blip coming from the roof of the old prison.
I rushed over to Twilight and pressed her neck a bit more roughly than I'd meant to.
"Hey! What're you doing?" She looked at me sternly for a moment, then her ear twitched and her face lit up.
----------
I awoke sitting in a chair in a small dimly lit room with my head pounding. I tried to move my hooves but they were secured behind me by, what felt like, hoofcuffs.
I moved left and right, testing my limits. Wondering how long I would be alone and if I would have time to pick my cuffs.
My question was quickly answered as the door opened and Shimmer walked in smiling.
"Hello, agent." She smiled as if we were old friends about to catch up over a mug of cider. "I'm not sure how you got in here but that's no matter. We're going to play a little game, you and I."
She walked behind me and I heard her pick something up.
"I'm going to ask you questions. And if I think you're lying to me I'm going to give you a little shock. Like this."
As part of my policecolt training I had to take a taser before so when she applied it to my shoulder I grimaced in pain but did not moan.
"But if you just tell me the truth, we can get through this quick and easy, and I might even let you go." She walked in front of me as she spoke, laughing loudly as she finished. "Nope, couldn't keep a straight face on that one. First question. What is your name?"
"I am a shadow." I groaned this time as she zapped me again in the shoulder.
"I suppose it's rude of me to ask you your name without introducing myself. My name is Anna. Ponies in your position usually call me Grim, though. Second question. Why are you here?"
"I'm not here. And neither are you." She tased me again, holding it a bit longer this time.
"Choosing the hard way, are you? Well, let me just turn this up a little bit to make your experience that much more enjoyable." She rolled the voltage meter up slightly.
"We know you're working for the princesses but what have you reported back to them?"
I smiled. "Nothing."
She jammed the taser into my side and I clenched my jaw against the pain.
"Oh, you must think us so stupid..."
She was interrupted by a knock at the door. She whirled and opened it quickly.
A similar colored silver mare stood in the hallway. "The boss wants to talk to him."
Anna stepped back to allow her boss to enter the room.
The large stallion's coat was as black as my mane, and his own mane was nearly as dark. His physique reminded me of Big Mac, if he'd never worked a day in his life and had spent every meal at Sugarcube Corner.
"My name is Francis Zips. My friends call me Tiny Franco." I gave him an incredulous look. There was no way anyone called him 'Tiny.'
"I won't insult you by asking your name, but is there something I might call you for now?"
I looked up at him. "My friends call me Skip."
"Very well, Skip. I know you're here under the princesses direction. How much do they know of our operation?"
"Only what she told us," I said, motioning to Anna.
He gave a curious glance at her. "Interesting. Next question. How did you know about the mayor's son?"
"The help on that again falls to this lovely mare. Wouldn't have even known about the mayor without her help."
Anna charged forward but two other stallions held her back. "You son of a ..." She stopped herself and took a step back, after a glance from Tiny.
"Very interesting. So tell me, Skip. Now that you're sitting in here, what are your plans to stop us?"
I sat in silence. I had no viable answer.
"Exactly my point. So here's the offer I make to you. Forget you ever worked for the princesses and come work for me. I can guarantee you a seat of power in our new government. What do you say, Skip?"
"I once read a story that said pride is the most dangerous emotion a pony can have. Because it will drive you to incredibly stupid lengths. Make you do things you never would do otherwise. And once upon a time, I told someone I was proud of my country and of my leaders. So, maybe it's just the pride talking her but, you can take your new government and all your power and shove it. Because you'll never even come close to power."
"That is a shame. I kinda liked you. You gave Anna here a hard time and even infiltrated the place mostly undetected. That's commendable. However, with that attitude, I'm afraid we have to kill you. It's not personal, I assure you." Tiny turned and motioned everyone out of the room.
Before Anna stepped out she gave me a swift kick to the side of my head and I fell over in the chair, landing hard on my left front foreleg. I grimaced at the pain that shot through my arm.
I was left alone on the floor for a moment and I heard some muffled talking outside the door. When finally it reopened I was met with a silver pony but not with Anna.
"Let me guess, you're the evil twin?" I laughed softly but was cut short as the pain in my foreleg flared.
"Yea, if she had an evil twin, we'd all be in trouble." She spoke purposefully as she righted the chair with me in it. I caught something in her voice. Something oddly familiar.
"So are you I here to be my killer?"
"Something like that but, boy, will they be surprised."
"Surprised by what?" As I spoke I felt the hoofcuffs loosen and fall off. I sprang to my hooves and faced her quickly.
"Easy. I'm on you're side. My name's Shimmer. When I lost contact with the princess I infiltrated the police force which was obviously corrupted and worked my way into a position of trust with Tiny. He doesn't suspect me at all. And after what you said, Anna will be under a microscope now."
As she explained it I remembered where I had seen her.
"So you were the one I met outside the mayor's house."
"Yes. Sorry about being so rude. If I'd known you were coming I would've obviously set up an information drop for you. But we don't have time to catch up. We need to get a move on. Their almost complete with the wheels and it's only a matter of time before they start shipping them to be installed."
"What wheels? What're they even doing?"
"No time. Take this and this." She handed me the taser and a bottle of bleach. "Just follow me. And if you see anything glowing faintly green, dab it with the bleach, it'll neutralize the nerve agent."
We exited the small room and tasered the guards standing outside, dragging them inside before closing the door and racing down the hallway toward the central room.
As we reached the large room, Shimmer flew up and dumped some bleach into several large drums that seemed to contain a green liquid. I found some on my level and did the same.
"Not too much," Shimmer warned from above. "This mixture is pretty volatile. Too much bleach and you could cause an explosion."
"Good to know."
We worked quickly, dabbing any wheels we found and making sure to neutralize the barrels.
As I made my way up onto the catwalks overlooking the area, I waved Shimmer down to me. "Hey, where are all the guards? I figured there would be tons in here."
"Tiny promoted me to security after your episode back there. I told the guards that they needed to make sure the sewers were secured so they all headed down to secure those, leaving us free to work."
"Not quite."
The voice came from below us and we turned to see Anna and Tiny along with a few guards staring up at us.
"I always knew you were up to something," Anna spoke to Shimmer. "I just couldn't prove it. Get them!"
The guards and Anna charged us. Anna flew directly at Shimmer, who dropped her bleach onto the catwalk and braced for the fight ahead.
I fired a few magic shots at the guards, hitting one but I still had two to go and I was completely exposed on the catwalk with nowhere to go.
I dodged a few more shots, returning fire when I could while Shimmer and Anna traded blows in the air. It was hard to tell who was who while looking at them but Shimmer proved to be far tougher than Anna anticipated.
I admired their fight for a moment too long and a shot passed just in front of me causing me to jump back, knocking a bottle of bleach into a large vat of bubbling green goo.
The guards below saw the bottle fall and immediately took off running, Tiny took off running as well, but toward the stairs in the corner of the room.
I turned to Shimmer and Anna who were both in mid swing of their next punch.
"If you both don't want to die, I'd suggest taking it outside!"
They both looked down at the green bat that was now turning a bright shade of yellow. They separated quickly, Anna flew out the nearest exit while Shimmer flew to me.
"Follow her! I'm going after Tiny!"
Shimmer gave me a nod then swooped and followed Anna out the same exit she had flown, while I proceeded to the stairs and followed Tiny's path upward.
As I reached the top of the stairs, I saw the door to the roof swaying as if someone had just passed through it.
I walked cautiously through the door, wary of sneak attacks but I saw Tiny standing on the edge of the roof, a strong breeze blowing his mane back and forth.
"You have no idea what you're doing out here, do you?"
I shook my head and shrugged at him. "Not a clue."
Tiny chuckled to himself. "Bested by a green agent and his pegasus sidekick. But you won't have the last laugh at my expense."
He pulled out a small vial of dark green liquid.
"This is the test tube from which all of the liquid you saw in there spawned. This is the control. The most potent. Tell me, do you even know how my weapon works?"
"Again, not a clue."
"What a great fool you are. When my liquid is exposed to heat. Any kind of extreme heat for a period of time, it shifts properties and becomes a gas. But not just any gas, a deadly neurotoxin. However, it has varying effects. When we tested it on one of the guards, he had a rather.. Explosive, reaction."
The building rumbled under us.
"And there is another reaction! Bleach! The world's foremost cleanser. Just a drop renders my concoction completely inert. But add too much and you get a time bomb with a fuse no one can predict. So tell me, agent. When did you knock that bleach into the vat? Has it been three whole minutes yet? Think you can push your luck any farther and try to survive the explosion? If I were you, I'd go ahead and take a flying leap off this building right now. Like this!"
Without further grandstanding, he kept off the side of the building. I raced to where he had been standing, hoping to do anything I could to stop his fall, but when I leaned over the edge I did not see him. He was falling, he wasn't on the ground, he was just gone.
I looked around as the roof rumbled again. My time was indeed running out. I searched for a ladder or any way down from the roof that wouldn't kill me. Too far to teleport, no ladder in sight, not enough time to cut through the building.
Resigning myself to my fate I sat down on the roof as my ear crackled to life.
"Hey! What're you doing?"
I pressed my neck softly. "Oh, ya know. Just killing time."
All at once I felt the roof explode but at the same time I felt weightless. Like I had teleported. But I could still see the world. I looked up to see the purple and yellow outlines of a wind suit as we whipped through the sky faster than I thought possible.
The shadowbolt flier set me down on a cliff edge.
"Wait here. Luna's on her way." Like a flash he was gone again into the night. I looked around and noticed Shimmer and Anna both in restraints and chuckled softly.
"Why did they restrain you?" I asked as I made my way to Shimmer.
"They said we looked too much alike so they did it to be safe."
I laughed and undid her bonds, helping her to her hooves.
"Name's Shadow, by the way." I extended a hoof.
"Friends call me Dot," she replied, shaking my hoof gently. "Guess we're waiting here for a debrief?"
"Guess so." The Shadowbolts dropped off Tiny Franco right next to Anna, leaving them both in full restraints.
I sat on the edge of the cliff and pressed my neck gently, "How're we doing, Twilight?"
"We're doing just fine. Just do me a favor."
"Anything."
"Don't die on us anymore."
I chuckled as Luna landed behind me and I rose to greet her.
"Princess," I said, with a slight bow. "How did I do for my first mission?"
"Not too bad. Certainly not the worst I've seen. I'm happy to say you'll be getting some more practice though."
"Happy to be of service. Also, nice to know I warrant enough to have talent fliers come after me."
"Oh, the Shadowbolts aren't talent fliers. They're simply the fastest we have. With the speeds they reach, you're lucky to see them fly past you at all."
The princess, Shimmer and I soon boarded the train back to Ponyville and spoke of the mission at length, compiling everything we'd all learned and suggestions for bettering our new organization.
I suggested a more solid control. Not that I didn't appreciate Twilight and Spike, but I noted that if I was expected to do this all the time, I needed one contact to speak to, not several.
As soon as I finished the suggestion, Shimmer volunteered to fill it. In her own words, she'd had enough of hiding in plain sight and preferred to just sit back and let someone else do the leg work.
We shared a few jokes but were mostly serious along the ride home. We all knew it was nice to win one but there were plenty of other threats to keep an eye on.
When the train arrived in Ponyville, I disembarked and was welcomed by Twilight, Spike and Rainbow Dash. I hugged Twilight and Spike and gave Rainbow a few extra kisses. After I had recounted to Twilight just how I was still alive, Rainbow and I left to retire to her home until the next time I was called for a mission.