As the first light of dawn began to come over the horizon, three ponies began to awake and make the final preparations for their endeavor. It had already been almost a month since Luminescent and Wayward first came to Shadow and convinced him to help them in infiltrating Canterlot. In that time, the young assassin learned much about his new allies and his mission.
It had been true that Shadow and Luminescent had worked together in the past. It had been a minor assignment, merely meant to keep an eye on an informant from Manehatten. The two had never spoken while they were on the assignment, but Luminescent had kept a close eye on Shadow.
Wayward, on the other hoof, had a much longer history within the Brotherhood. He had been sent to join the Templar ranks several years ago, and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike at important ponies within Canterlot's walls. He was, however, thought to have gone rogue after having killed several assassins sent into the city. The Brotherhood expelled him from their ranks, but he had remained loyal, not forgetting his mission.
Shadow still had his doubts as to whether or not he should trust these mysterious ponies, especially if one of the was considered a traitor. He would be breaking several rules merely by following them to Canterlot, and breaking the rules of the Brotherhood was not something that was taken lightly. He did, however, see the plan for what it was: a way to finally put an end to Celestia's reign and destroy the Templars.
The three had been staying in a house inside of the town, rarely leaving. Most of their supplies had been brought to them by the Doctor, who had agreed to help them while they were still in Ponyville. There, they planned out the entirety of their mission, or at least how they hoped it would plan out. There was always the small chance for error, and it wouldn't be an easy task to accomplish.
As for the Elements, Shadow had determined that they were in no way connected to the Templars. He had sent a letter back to Stalliongrad explaining this, but had yet to receive one back. He didn't think much of it, but he couldn't help but feel a tad worried about it.
Ever since the Templar attack the previous month, Twilight and her friends had become much more cautious, even though Wayward told them they had no reason to be. They were far too important for Celestia to risk anything. They were still wary of any Royal Guards that passed through the town, at the same time as trying not to bring about any suspicion.
When it came to it, there had been far more Equestrian military that came through Ponyville since the three Assassins had bee discovered in the town. Though they never stayed for long, simply passing through as they moved between the larger cities, Wayward was always watching them.
With the group's preparations nearly complete, Wayward, Luminescence, Shadow, the Doctor, and Twilight met one final time before they departed.
"So, we all know how this is going to go down, correct?" Wayward said to the ponies who were seated with him at the round table in their small building. "I'll go over it one last time, just in case." He continued, even though the group had given a collective nod of their heads.
"Tonight, we grab a train to Canterlot and sneak into the city. We are going in fully unarmored, as we can't risk the Templars catching wind of us being there. Once inside the city, we will meet up with an old friend of mine, who we'll be staying with until we can get a proper place to hide out in. That shouldn't take very long, as my friend is already looking for a location."
"I have a question," Luminescence cut in, "Who exactly is this friend of yours, anyways? Their part of the plan, yet you've yet to tell us who exactly it is."
"You'll just have to trust me on this one," Wayward said, "I can't really risk anything when it comes to this pony. They've done too much work for anything to go wrong. Anyways, after we have a proper place to hide while in the city, we can start searching for our targets."
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Twilight said, "But who exactly are you going after? I'm well aware that Celestia would be one, but what about other ponies? Politicians? Military? Nobles?"
Wayward was silent for a moment, reluctant to tell Twilight and the Doctor anything they didn't real need to know. That included the ponies that would be their targets. "Well... There are some that are all of those. Mostly nobles, but a few military personnel. I wouldn't really call any of them politicians, but a couple do have some political sway due to their positions."
Shadow, who had been silent for most of this time, finally spoke up, "Wayward, if you expect to be trusted, it's best you don't try to hide things from others. Especially that poorly. She asked you a very simple question, so it's best you just answer it."
Wayward looked from Shadow back to Twilight, still reluctant to answer. After a brief pause, he finally spoke again, "Our targets are going to be seven ponies, all of which are believed to have very important roles in the Templars. Celestia is of course of these ponies. There are only a few I can really name, as we're not completely sure if all of these ponies are as involved in the Templars. The ones we are sure of, however, are Prince Blueblood, Fancypants and his wife Fleur de Lis, and the leader of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire.
They are, in some way, important and we intend to find out how exactly.Through them, we'll find out just who else is a viable target. Now, if we don't have any more questions, we need to continue," Wayward gave a brief pause to allow somepony to speak up if they wished, but the group remained silent, "Alright then, continuing onward, we are all in understanding as to what everyponies job is, correct?
"Luminescent and I will be keeping an eye on the capitol's military strength, as well as trying to find our targets and plan how to go about getting rid of them." Shadow said.
The Doctor spoke up right after Shadow, "I'll be gathering information of the Templars and make sure that they don't catch wind of what we're doing. I'll also be putting effort into finding where exactly Celestia has her sister hidden away."
"Wait," Twilight said, "What about me and the others? I'm sure there is some way we can help."
"You six need to stay in Ponyville and go about your normal lives, at least for now. We have something that we'll need you for, but not now. We'll contact you when the time is right." Wayward told her. "We can't have Celestia thinking that we've gotten you over to our side, else she might send more Templars here to keep an eye on you."
Twilight didn't respond, but simply gave a nod of understanding. The group, done with what little planning they had left to do, got up and began to go out from the building. Once outside, the assassins parted ways with the Doctor and Twilight and began to head to the train station, which they would take into Canterlot.
"So, this is it? We finally start taking jabs at Celestia." Luminescent said.
"Mhm. All our work over the last month comes down to what happens in those walls," Wayward said, looking up the mountain side city. "I have faith in our abilities, and this shouldn't be any more difficult than we anticipate. Nopony ever expects the Brotherhood assassinations. Our weapons will be stealth and swiftness. Within the next few months, we could put an end to this, or at the least put a dent in the Templar organization."
"That, or we could all die horrible, horrible deaths before we even get near any of our targets..." Shadow said in a joking tone.
"Way to be optimistic," Luminescent said, "With that kind of attitude, we won't last a day."
Wayward stopped as they came up to the station, "He does have a point. This could go extremely bad at any moment. We cannot take this lightly. Don't take any unnecessary risks, at least not for a while. Even then, don't be a pessimist, even jokingly, Shadow. No one likes the guy who talks about dieing all the time."
"Well somepony has to put that out there. This is going to be difficult, and not all of us may survive. I'm simply stating the possibilities. If it makes you two uncomfortable, than I'll gladly drop it. I hate the idea of dieing just as much as the next guy."
The group remained silent for a brief moment, taking in that there was, in fact, a large possibility of failure. A small group like theirs stood very little chance against an organized military force. They didn't let that discourage them, however. The three assassins boarded the train to Canterlot, prepared for what was to come, or at least they hoped they were.
It would be a fairly short trip, but nonetheless, Shadow decided to rest before arriving. Anything could happen the second they set hoof in the capitol. He had to be ready. They all did.
To Be Continued...