Shale Press trotted along across the hallways of the Night Lord fortress, dim rays of lit crackling in through the skinny topped windows, illuminating hovering bits of dust in the air.
He wouldn’t tolerate this with somepony else the thought rang through her.
And there was truth in it. Historically, anypony who was a member of the Children of the Night and wasn't a member of the ruling Lords typically lived under the arcane Masters’ steely hooves.
But much had changed in the organization. Numbers had swelled—and still where—with each passing year that Celestia was not able to hold back another ancient threat from awakening. Intelligence agents, basically the ponies that weren't unicorns, had been gaining more say in what was decided of the society’s course of action. And most importantly, their grand plan was already under way.
For years, centuries even, the group had suffered setback after setback, with internal power struggles, the death of members, and just general foolishness nearly leading to their destruction time after time. But the might of Luna shined down upon them, granting them their continued survival, stability, and security from the forces of Equestria.
And now as arrived outside her destination, she couldn’t help but smile as the sentiment that she was apart of something much bigger crossed her mind once again.
In the center of the room, with stack upon stack of high-topped bookshelves to the right and left, stood the Night Lord Silver Eclipse with an eager young Night Lord apprentice.
“As you can see,” instructed Silver Eclipse, holding an unfurled scroll up to the young colt beside him. “The fire enchantment needs a ripened crystal and then the broc rose. If you misconstrue the ingredients the selected item will almost immediately burst into flames and more than likely torch everything around it.”
“I see,” the robed unicorn said with a nod. “Thank you for showing me, Master Eclipse.”
The ghostly white stallion smiled behind the blue-black robe that shrouded him in its mysterious embrace. “All part of the process, Greensleeve. I can remember when I was your age that I—”
Shale cleared her throat to get the stallion’s attention. Turning to her with a slight glance, he looked back to the young pony.
“Run along now, young one,” he said with a pat to the colt’s shoulder. “I have some business to attend to.”
Shale waited for the student to leave and to shut the heavy library door behind him before she spoke.
“Master Eclipse,” she with slight stiffening at attention, “you requested I see you?”
He smiled once again and gestured for her to follow him through the massive archives. “I most certainly did,” he responded as they began to walk. “A pressing matter has revealed itself to me and I believe only you can handle it.”
She raised a queried eyebrow. “What would that be exactly?”
“The human,” he said smoothly. “I still question his loyalty.”
Shale’s lip stiffened. “Even after all this time you still do? Even after speaking with him yourself?”
“I wish to have my fullest confidence in him,” he continued. “But for this to happen, a certain test must be performed to fully turn him over to our side. His connections with Equestria must be severed—permanently.”
“How do you hope to accomplish that?”
“That it where the second part of this problem lies. The spell tome, the one we need for the ritual to be properly enacted, has degraded.”
Shale’s eyes widened. ‘What!?”
“Yes,” the cloaked stallion answered patiently. “The dark magic surrounding it has made the incantations nearly unreadable for him to properly decipher them. Our archivist believes this is so due to it being a rudimentary copy of the original.” He turned to her gravely. “We need the original.”
“And where might it be.”
“Canterlot,” Eclipse said with such offhandedness one would assume it meant absolutely nothing to him. “Inside the Royal Library, somewhere in the inner sanctum.”
“Canterlot,” Shale repeated. “Are you sure there’s nowhere else in the world?”
“Most definitely,” he said with a nod, “and that is where the human comes into play. I want you to bring Alistair along with you and have him be the one to retrieve the book. Once this is done, his place among us will be assured.”
Shale folded her hooves. “It’s going to be a bit conspicuous if any of the Guards or even a passing janitor sees the only human in Equestria running around. They’ll know it’s him, and then our entire ‘disappearance’ façade will be ruined.”
Eclipse reached into his robe’s pockets. “That is why I have constructed—” he pulled out a simple looking vial of red liquid, “this.”
She leaned towards the skinny glass holder. “What is it?”
“A potion I have formulated myself. Make sure the boy drinks it before he leaves, and his identity will be hidden for the time being.” He handed her the vial. “Now go. Prepare for your assignment, it will not be easy.”
She rolled her eyes. “I had that figured out when you said ‘Canterlot’.”
Eclipse chuckled. “And that is why I cherish your company, Commander Shale.”
Excusing herself with a simple bow, Shale hurried out of the chamber, the Night Lord’s eyes no doubt following her as she went.
----------
Shale didn’t even bother knocking as she approached Alistair’s door, throwing it open with enough force that the wood banged with a muted thud against the masonry walls.
Alistair sat along the edge of his bed, the familiar blue-black spell book laid out across his lap in meticulous study. Closing it and placing the text beside him, Alistair looked up at her with a smirk, which was promptly dissipated by the grim frown she held.
“Something’s come up,” she said as stoutly as she would address a recruit agent. “I need you to follow me and not ask any questions while we get there. Is that understood?”
Alistair nodded as he mechanically rose to his feet.
“Good, then follow me.”