Author’s note: The ‘Organization’ depicted here is the ‘Black Organization’ from the Manga series Detective Conan. Detective Conan, the ‘Black Organization’, and its members are all property of Gosho Aoyama.
The night was cold, and the midnight hour was drawing near. Shining Armor could see his own breath hanging in the air and tightened the scarf around his neck, his eyes never moving away from the prize before him. The final light inside of the Canterlot Museum of Natural History turned off, signalling Shining Armor to make his move.
“My mission is to infiltrate the museum and shut off the security systems,” Shining reminded himself as he approached the back entrance to the museum. He took out his mask and put it on, and then opened the panel to the side of the door and played around with the wiring inside. It didn’t take long for the door beside him to open. As it did, the security guard inside rose to his hooves to apprehend him, but Shining Armor merely used his magic to steal the guard’s baton away and knock him unconscious.
Using his horn to light the way, Shining Armor navigated the museum using the map he had memorised in his head and made sure to take cover whenever patrolling security ponies drew near. After avoiding many cameras and laser tripwires, Shining Armor eventually found his way into the security office.
“Hey, who are you?!” one of the guards asked as he charged towards the suspicious individual.
Shining Armor threw grenade into the room that erupted into a cloud of pink smoke. After choking on the smoke for some time, the effects of the sleeping gas kicked in and forced the two standing guard within the room to take a long, peaceful nap.
Shining Armor approached the console and punched a few buttons, his mask protecting him from the effects of the smoke. “Alright, all security systems are down. Now to just clear out of here.” Shining Armor turned to leave, but quickly remembered something important. He turned back and picked up the spent grenade with his magic. “Leave nothing behind. That’s the way the Organization works.”
Getting out proved to be much easier than getting in. Of course, that was thanks to the security systems having been deactivated. The same couldn’t exactly be said for the Organization he was now a part of.
As Shining Armor approached the aforementioned meeting place after the mission was over, he found that nopony was there and took a look around. He felt something press against the back of his head and rose his forehooves into the air. “Why? I cleared my task and recovered all evidence that could trace back to me,” Shining said without turning around.
“I know. I received word that the heist was a success.” That cold voice behind him. The cruel, merciless tone that could send chills even down Discord’s spine. It could only belong to one pony. “But you’re still not accepted into the Organization yet. We take every precaution with newcomers such as yourself, Ancile,” Gin said as he motioned for somepony to the side to move in.
“Excuse me,” a black-suited stallion asked as he approached Shining Armor from the side, running a long metal device over him from all angles. The device beeped, and the stallion removed something from Shining’s neck.
“One of our own,” Gin told the stallion, who nodded and continued his scanning of Shining Armor’s body.
“You’ve been bugging me?” Shining asked, though he already knew that they had. They do with all their new members.
“Of course. To make sure you don’t betray us.”
“He’s clean,” the stallion said.
Gin pulled his gun away and allowed Shining Armor to turn around. “Well, it seems you’ve managed to win that pony’s favour. Personally, I still think you carry a foul odour about you. But for now, I guess I have no choice.” Gin put the gun away into his black trenchcoat and grinned. “Welcome to the Organization, Scotch.”
Shining Armour saluted as Princess Luna approached him. “Ma’am.”
“At ease,” Luna commanded. “I imagine you do not have much time.”
“That is correct,” Shining said. “The Organization have stopped tracking all of my movements for now, but they are still suspicious of me. Therefore, I will have to be brief.”
“You have succeeded in your mission to infiltrate?” Luna asked, receiving a nod from Shining Armor. “Very good. From this point on, it may be too risky for you to report to me directly. Therefore, I will have you deliver weekly updates to a different member of the Guard in disguise. Of course, they will all be highly trusted members.”
“If they’re in disguise, how will I identify them?”
“You will know,” Luna said. “Or at least, I have faith that you will be able to pick them out. If not, then you are aware of the consequences that you will face should the Organization discover that you are a spy.”
Shining Armor nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“… Was there something else that you wished to discuss?” Luna asked.
“… It’s about Twilie. I would appreciate it if-”
“You needn’t worry,” Luna told him. “Information about the Organization is on a need-to-know basis. Only myself, your wife, and a few trusted individuals within the guard know of your position.”
“I see.” Shining Armor saluted one final time. “Then, I guess this is goodbye, for now.”
“Just one last thing,” Luna said. “If there ever comes a time that you are ordered to kill a pony, make sure you find a way to reach us at once. Even if it is to capture them, we must not stoop to such a low.”
“I’ll make sure it never has to come to that. As far as stopping them from killing-”
“Do nothing else that might blow your cover.” Shining Armor nodded in understanding. “Dismissed.”
And so began Shining Armor – or ‘Ancile’s’ – new life with the so-called ‘Black Organization’. A group that committed crimes all over Equestria, from robbery, to loan-sharking, to assassination. The Royal Guard had been after them for so long, but this group was one that lived in the shadows. They leave not a single trace of their existence behind at their crime scenes, and they make sure that there any witnesses who may have seen them, even slightly, do not have the chance to testify.
“Scotch,” Vodka said as he approached Shining Armor from behind. Shining turned around to see the bulky stallion grinning his way. “New job, from that pony. We got a certain Princess we want you to spy on.”
Shining’s eyes widened, and he had to hold back his emotions as the photograph was placed into his left forehoof. “This is…”
“The new Princess, Twilight Sparkle,” Vodka said. “That pony wants you to watch her for a bit, and let us know if she can be considered a threat.”
Shining Armor thanked his lucky stars that he had thought to dye his coat a darker shade, dye his hair black, and hide his Cutie Mark with that of a short, circular shield with a dragon emblem. If they were planning on watching his sister, then chances are they would also look into her family members, too.
“Well?” Vodka asked.
“… Alright then,” Shining said. “Who’ll be accompanying me?”
“Not saying,” Vodka told him. “Because they’ll be watching you, too.”
Shining Armour gritted his teeth together. ‘This is going to be a hell of a task. But there’s no going back now… and this way, I have a chance to protect Twilie, too.’ “Understood. When do I leave?”