With the scrolls made, Shadow stood in the library in front of his friends and family, wearing a nearly perfect Germaneish uniform, with saddlebags holding three teleportation scrolls, and a few extra tricks Twilight had been able to cook up for Shadow on short notice.
“So what’s the plan?” Spike asked. Since Shadow’s involvement in the Code Star Program, Spike had grown increasingly interested in whether or not Luna would accept a dragon among their ranks. She would, but Spike was still a bit too naïve for his own good.
“Well, the alliance between the Germaneish and the griffins is about as loose as they come. I have to convince the griffins that either the war isn’t worth it to them, or, that the Germaneish would betray them just as easily. Hence the uniform. The griffins will have set up out of range of our artillery and fliers. They’re probably on the north side of the Trottingham River.” His ear crackled and Shimmer confirmed his theory. “I’m only going to set a few fires, maybe poison their onsite water reserves, fire a few random shots in their direction, and then make sure they see me and recognize the uniform before I disappear.”
Spike and the others nodded along. None except for Shimmer and Twilight had ever heard such a detailed plan of action from him. They each believed he could and would stop this war before it began. They had received word that the Germaneish would be marching on Stalliongrad at first light.
“I have a question,” Spike said.
“Shoot.”
“What if it doesn’t work?” All eyes were immediately on him, some wide, some accusatory.
“That’s where I come in.” Shining Armor’s voice carried from the doorway, as he approached the gathered ponies. “If for any reason Shadow can’t get this done, I’ve got an entire battalion of soldiers ready to make a preemptive strike before dawn. We know where the enemy is, so there is no reason to wait for their attack.”
Shadow nodded at Spike. “But Shining will get to enjoy sitting on his hooves all night because I’ll be able to handle this one just fine.”
Shining rolled his eyes at his friend. “Yea, just don’t forget who taught you.”
Shadow smiled, “You’re right. Thanks, me.”
Drawing a laugh from the group was all Shadow needed. He took a step back and drew one of the scrolls from his saddle bags. He mumbled under his breath and in a flash he was gone. As everyone turned to leave the library, Rainbow Dash remained. Staring at where he husband had stood only moments ago.
“Rainbow?” Twilight’s concern was unmistakable.
Rainbow Dash sighed and turned to her friend, wiping her eyes. “I hate this part.”
Twilight embraced her tightly. “He will be okay, Rainbow. You know that.”
Rainbow nodded into her friend. “Sometimes I’m not so sure, Twi. I want him to be okay, but he carries so much on his shoulders. He carries more than his share of burdens for us all.” She broke the embrace and stepped back from Twilight, letting out a sigh. “I just want my husband back.”
-----
Shadow appeared right in the middle of the griffin camp. He quickly ducked behind a stack of supplies as he heard someone coming to investigate the flash of light. Pressing himself low to the ground he peered under the boxes, watching the feet of the soldier.
“Must’ve been seeing things.” The feet turned and headed back the direction they had come.
“Shadow, can you hear me?” Shimmer joined him.
He tapped his neck to send a single quick click to signal yes.
“Okay, I’ve got an overlay of the camp. Thank the Shadowbolts when you get a chance. From your current position the biggest tent is due west.”
Click.
Shadow took a moment to take in his surroundings. There was a bit of cloud cover that blocked the moon, which would help him remain undetected. He moved silently through the camp, pausing only when he heard the rustling of armor that all the guards wore. He could see the big tent; its height suggested it was a command tent and not a barracks tent.
As he reached it, his ear crackled again. “Personnel?” Click click. “Command?” Click. “Good. Set the charges.”
Shadow reached into his saddle bags and pulled out two of the four small purple rocks Twilight had given him. Placing one at the entrance of the tent, he slowly wound his way around to the back side and place the second just inside the flap. Click.
“Alright, you’re headed directly to your south. It’s their largest supply reserve. They’re actually dumb enough to keep them stockpiled in one area. Place a charge in the center.”
Shadow moved with all the speed he could. As expected, the supplies were a bit more tightly guarded than the rest of the tents. Finally reaching the supplies, he tucked the small purple rock into one of the supply crates. Click.
“Next is getting a couple of tents on fire before waking the camp up. Up for a challenge?”
Click.
“Okay, you’re headed east. There are two long tents next to each other.”
Shadow moved slowly crouched as low as he could. Between the supplies and the tents Shimmer mentioned, there was little in the way of cover. If he was caught his uniform wouldn’t buy him much time before they figured out his ruse. Just as he had nearly made it to the safety of the cover of the tents a griffin stepped from his tent and stretched. They were about to perform a guard change.
Shadow rolled silently to his right and behind the new guard. Putting the guards own tent between them he stayed low and looked for a place to hide for the guard change. Nestling between two tents that were closer together than the others he watched as several more griffins emerged from tents farther ahead of him, and headed to their designated post.
Much to his dismay Shadow heard a stirring in the tent to his left. If this was another guard he would have no choice but to take him out. Holding his breath he listened for more movements or the clanking of armor. Silence. Exhaling silently his ear crackled.
“You alright Shadow? You’ve been stationary for a few minutes now.” Click.
Once again, moving toward the long tents, Shadow felt a strange presence. Like eyes upon him. He looked around but spotted no one who would be actively observing him. Walking between the two tents the hairs on his neck began to rise. Something was wrong.
Quickly tossing the first of the two red stones Twilight had given him he hurried to the other edge of the tent, dropping the other before ducking into more cover. Still he felt watched.
“You alright Shadow? What’re you doing that far from the tents?” Click click. “Are you compromised?” Click … Click. “Hold still, Shadow. I’m dispatching one of our high fliers to get a better look.” Click.
Shadow sat motionless waiting for his ear to crackle again. He couldn’t explain the feeling he was having and that was what bothered him.
“Flier says it’s clear, Shadow. No unusual movements, nor anyone out of place.” Click.
Taking a slow deep breath and letting it our just as slowly, he calmed his heart. Reaching into his saddlebags he pulled out the color coordinated sticks Twilight had also given him. They were no longer than a pencil and just a bit thicker. Taking both of the red stick he cracked them and immediately saw two fires pop up near the long tents he had placed the red stones.
Holding the other purple stick in his magic he ran through the camp shouting, attracting as much attention as he could. “For Marelin! For Germaney!” He repeated his shouts over and over, only two guards followed him, the others rushed to put out the fires. When he was certain he had no more time to spare he began cracking the purple igniters. The supplies exploded to his right, from behind one part of the command tent exploded followed by the other side.
Pulling out the last igniter he cracked it quickly just as his mind processed that he had not thrown all four. His left saddle bag exploded and propelled him through several tents and sent him sprawling on the ground.
Somehow still alive he tried to reach with his magic into his remaining saddle bag for a scroll but the force of the blast had shorted his magic and he could barely move his limbs to reach it physically.
Struggling to even breathe he heard the clanks of the armor approaching and nearly wished for death. He was close as it was, but the griffins would send him there in a slower fashion than he wants.
As the clanks grew louder, Shadow closed his eyes and hoped to merely disappear into the land, as if by some miracle of earthen magic. Resigning himself to his fate, there was a sudden and thunderous boom nearby. He couldn’t quite place where but he could feel the ground rumble in response to the boom.
Maybe they just decided to mortar the whole camp and count me as an acceptable casualty. Truth be told, Shadow was okay with that. As long as the griffins believe it was the Germaneish, he had succeeded.
Before he had a chance to revel in his successful death a familiar pegasus scooped him up from his position on the ground and was off in the night with him. Every inch of Shadow’s body screamed in pain at the rough handling and, in fact, Shadow himself was screaming. The pain only lasted a few moments before it overwhelmed him and he was unconscious.
Rainbow Dash slowed and reached into Shadow’s saddlebag, grabbing one of the remaining scrolls, and in a flash they were back in Stalliongrad. Her cries for help brought half the keep to her, and before she knew it, Shadow was in the infirmary hooked to machines Rainbow didn’t understand and she had a firm grip on his hoof.
Shining Armor entered the infirmary slowly. He’d never seen Shadow like this before, even though he himself had put Shadow in the hospital once during a training scenario gone wrong. But never like this. Barely clinging to life. He stood on the opposite side of Rainbow Dash and looked over Shadow before looking to Rainbow.
“Rainbow Dash, I hate to ask you this right now but.. Is it possible any of the griffins were able to recognize you?” His voice was soft but purposeful.
“I don’t know. I don’t care. Fight your war without us.” Rainbow didn’t look up from Shadow as she spoke, her voice cracking slightly.
“Dash.. I need to know. Did they see you long enough to identify you as Equestrian?”
Her stare would’ve made even a windigo freeze over. “I don’t know. What does it matter?”
Exasperated, Shining was forced to ask again, he needed a clear answer. “Listen, Dash…”
“No, you listen! I’ve sat for ten years and watched this stallion throw away his life for this country. He’s come home bruised and beaten up more often than I can count and he’s always able to laugh off the pain and still be the best husband and father he can be, but this is too much. I don’t care if they saw me! I am NOT losing the stallion I love over some war that we’ll win anyway! So, no, Shining Armor, I don’t know if they saw me, but I don’t give a flying feather!” In the midst of her yelling her wings had picked her up and carried her so far across Shadow’s body that she was now leaning into Shining Armor’s face.
Shining backed up a step. “I’m sorry..”
“Yeah? Well, you should be!” Dash returned to her original side of Shadow’s bed and took his hoof once more.
Without another word, Shining left the room. He would rally the troops for a morning defense, unsure of what the griffins knew.
“Rainbow..” Twilight stood where her brother had just exited.
“Leave me alone, Twilight.” Dash couldn’t contain her tears any longer.
Twilight felt her own anger well, “Rainbow Dash. Stop it right now. You know darn well that Shadow wouldn’t want you yelling at us about this. And you probably know better than I do that Shadow is a fighter. He’s not gone, Rainbow Dash. Not by a long shot.”
Dash sniffled, barely moving at all. “You don’t get it, Twilight. I know he’s a fighter. I know he’s been banged up before and always comes back. I know. But you didn’t hear him scream. When I grabbed him, he screamed so loud. I’ve never heard him in that kind of pain.” She lost herself in her tears for a moment. “Twilight… I don’t think he’s coming back to us.”
Twilight moved to her friend and held her while she cried. Together they sat until dawn broke in the sky. Twilight had been wary of the dawn but when nothing happened she started to hope just a little bit. As the first hour after dawn passed without so much as a single shout from a guard, Twilight was certain Shadow had succeeded.
Rainbow had fallen asleep on Twilight’s shoulder, but awoke with a start when the door to the infirmary opened. A silver pegasus with a shining mane and Princess Luna stepped into the room.
“Princess Luna, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked.
“Hello Twilight. I came to check on our number one agent.” Motioning to the silver mare, “This is Shimmer. She took over as Shadow’s operational handler after you, Twilight.”
They each said their hellos and discussed Shadow’s condition, which hadn’t changed much since the night. When finally Luna and Twilight departed Rainbow and Shimmer were left on opposite sides of Shadow and an awkward silence slowly filled the space between them.
After having all the silence she could take, Shimmer spoke, “He talks about you a lot, you know.”
Dash had barely registered that she wasn’t alone and responded with a confused, “Huh?”
“Shadow. He talks about you. And your daughters. Just about as often as he can. He misses you when he’s on missions. I suppose that’s obvious. … Look, I know I’ll probably never know Shadow like you do so.. Why don’t you tell me about him?”
Rainbow Dash sighed, gathering her thoughts. “He’s.. He’s about 20% cooler than any other stallion I’ve ever met.” Laughing at her own small joke, Dash relaxed a little, still holding Shadow’s hoof.
“How did you two meet?” Shimmer asked.
Dash recounted the story of their first case together and how she had saved his life then as well.
It continued like that for a while, Shimmer would ask a question and Rainbow Dash would tell the whole sordid story. Over time the two of them began to laugh, and Shimmer began to tell her side of some of Shadow’s adventures, which, according to Rainbow Dash, were very different to how Shadow told them. When finally they had run out of stories it was nearly nightfall again.
Rainbow Dash quelled her laughter and glanced at Shimmer who was just smiling at Shadow. “You love him, don’t you?”
Shimmer was a bit shocked at the forwardness of the question but nodded softly. “Maybe not in the traditional since and not like you love him, for sure. But I’d really be lost without him.”
Rainbow just nodded and smiled. “Shadow has that kind of effect on ponies.”
-----
The war never came. Shadow had succeeded in an odd fashion. His charges had done their job in both burning the tents and blowing up the command tent and supplies, but what he hadn’t learned was that the particular camp he had destroyed wasn’t the one slotted to attack Stalliongrad.
The griffins had agreed to help the Germaneish but had never intended to follow through. Their plan had been to wait for the Germaneish armies to leave the capital and then swoop in and claim it for themselves. Deep down they knew they would never conquer Equestria so they had simply decided to go the easiest route to acquiring more land without directly engaging the most powerful army in the world.
With the attack on the camp, the griffins had gone ahead with their attack on Marelin, which, unbeknownst to the griffins, was embroiled in a bitter civil war for power. The opposing sides were able to put aside their differences when the griffins showed up and began to demand Germaneish land under threat of war with the Griffin Kingdoms.
The griffins had massively underestimated the resolve of the united might of the Germaneish army and were easily pushed out of Germaneish territory and back to their mountains where their dreams of grandeur ended.
The Xiao ponies of the Ibex Empire had decided to push forward with their surprise attack of Stalliongrad. Thinking that the ease with which Haliflanks fell was an indicator of an inferior military. The Xiao ponies were mercilessly pounded by artillery and mortar fire two three solid days before their ears pounded in their heads and there was no more fight left in any of them.
Shining Armor took a division and followed the Xiao back to the borders and began to help the rebuilding efforts in Haliflanks. Lieutenant Han, now just, Han, lead the rebuilding effort as a show of good faith that not all Xiao ponies were not all war mongering. He still struggles with the nightmares of what he was forced to do in Haliflanks.
-----
Applejack sat in front of the gravestone, reading the name over and over. She wiped a tear away before placing the flowers she had brought at the base. Standing slowly she turned to her friends.
Rainbow Dash with kids in tow, hugged Applejack tightly. “I know he misses you just as much as you miss him.”
“Does the heartache ever go away?” she asked.
“I don’t think so, AJ. But to me, that ache means that the love is still there. It’s better to hold onto it than wish it away.” Rainbow patted her back softly.
“Thanks, RD. Do you know where Shadow is? I’d like to see him before I head back to the farm.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and motioned to a far side of the graveyard. “He’s underneath that tree over there.”
Applejack nodded and wiped another tear away and she wound her way through the graveyard, sitting down with a heavy sigh underneath the tree.
“Hey Shadow. Came to visit Skip today and I knew you were here too so I thought I’d come say hello before I head back.” She sniffled softly, “I feel like such a fool talking to the ground and crying like this. Especially after you taught me to celebrate the life of the pony and not cry over ‘em. But sometimes when I’m out here, I just can’t help it.”
“Crying is part of celebrating them, AJ. The point is to share in their joy and sadness after their passing. Besides, it’s not every day you fall in love. There’s nothing wrong with crying over them, though. We all have those days when we really miss our friends and family.” Shadow rounded the opposite side of the tree and sat down next to her, wiping his eyes.
“If you don’t mind my askin’, who all’s out this far that you come to visit?”
“My parents.”
“Oh.” For a long moment, they sat in silence before Applejack asked another question. “Shadow, how did you make it through all that stuff out at Stalliongrad?”
“That’s the easy part. For a minute, while I was lying there, I wanted to die. But then I remembered something my dad had said to me a long, long time ago when I had wanted to quit at something that he thought could’ve been my special talent.”
“What did he tell you?”
“He said, “You want to take the easy way out because if you try and fail there's only you to blame. But you know what? Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes. It's all up to you. So get up, get out there, and go start doing the work.” I realized that death was the easy way out. And I'm not one to turn down a challenge.”
“Your dad was a smart fella, Shadow.”
Shadow chuckled softly as he stood up and extended his hoof to her, helping her up. “Yeah. I think so too.”