Shadows of Canterlot

by Prane

Chapter 4

Shadows of Canterlot
By Prane
Chapter 4

'Ah, nothing like a great and refreshing shower in the morning.', Trixie said to her blurred reflection in the mirror. She took a towel and wiped the steamy surface. 'Much better.', she smiled.

She was a pretty mare, even more with her pale blue mane forming a wet curtain falling down. Or at least she thought she was, as she never heard it from anypony. Oh, of course she was. Such a spectacular talent couldn't be packed into an ugly mule, not offending the mules, of course.

Knock, knock.

Someone's at the front door. Trixie decided to let the host take care of his visitors and went back to combing her mane. At first she was amazed when she found an actual comb in a stallion's house. Then she was startled when she saw a large variety of shampoos, conditioners and nutrients on the bathroom shelves. But when she was blown off by a sudden realization that they were all mare-oriented products and Sunseeker was living alone, she decided not to carry on with her train of thoughts.

Knock, knock!

Trixie sighed. Sunseeker was probably too lazy to come down or still asleep after yesterday's party. Either way, her mane had to wait. She went out of the bathroom wrapped in a silk orange bathrobe.

'I'm coming, I'm coming...', the azure mare said, leaving a path of numerous water droplets behind her tail. 'Sunseeker, wake up already!'

Trixie opened the upper part of the door.

'Why are you disturbing...?', she asked, but didn't see anypony at first.

'Daily subscription for Mister Sunseeker!', said a joyful voice from below.

Trixie looked down and saw a hairy colt taking a rolled newspaper out of his bag. He seemed as if he could use some haircut, as it was impossible to even see his eyes due to his messy mane.

'Can you please tell Mister Sunseeker...'

'No.'

The mare magically lifted the magazine and shut the door. She turned around and saw the white stallion coming downstairs. Trixie thrown the newspaper at him.

'Good moo-', he yawned, dodging the projectile, '-orning. Who was that?'

'House cleaning, judging by the mop I encountered...'

'Oh, that must have been Brush. I helped his father with roof repairs couple of weeks ago and since then I always get the newspaper first and...', he stopped after he saw Trixie frowning. 'I told you, they know me here. Anyway, you hungry?', he asked.

'Oh, starving!'

'Take your time and I'll prepare a breakfast. I hope you like pancakes!', he said, picking up the newspaper.

After a while Trixie went into the kitchen, with her mane properly arranged. While Sunseeker was searching the cupboard for plates, she sat at the wooden table. She realized that it has been a long time since somepony prepared a meal for her. Her mother never did - she wasn't exactly a caring mare, but that's a different story. Occasional fans, like those skinny yellow and round grey colts from Ponyville didn't count - they always wanted something in return. To hear a story, to take a picture or have an autograph. And more recently? Well, that Sparkle's assistant did when Trixie was lying unconscious in the Ponyville library, but he was a servant anyway. Of course restaurants were out of the question either. By Celestia, it seemed that nopony ever did! Was it because of them or Trixie? Probably them.

Yet Sunseeker was here, preparing the breakfast just like this? It didn't make sense.

'So, how was the night?', he asked, serving the dishes.

'Thank you, the accommodation was surprisingly comfortable. Every mare's dream.'

'They often say that, yes...'

'I don't think I want to hear about it. What is this?', Trixie leaned across the table, inspecting the newspaper. 'Equestria Daily? Are you serious?', she laughed scornfully.

'What's so funny?'

'Nothing, it's just they tried to interview me one day.'

'How did it go?'

As they were eating, Trixie told him the whole story.

'...in the end I had to turn them down, because they didn't like the headline I proposed!', she said and burst into laughter.

'Which was...?'

'Spectacular Entertainer Takes Her Incredible Swag To Overstatement.'

'I could have foreseen that.'

'What? It was catchy, wasn't it?'

When there were no pancakes left, Sunseeker sent the dishes to the kitchen sink.

'Brief me in. What do we know about these clowns?', Trixie asked.

'Not much.', the stallion replied. 'And frankly, it scares the hay out of me.'

'Facts, please...'

'Okay. We have a group of ponies dressed in the same manner, expressing dissatisfaction with Equestria's current... political situation.'

'They're against the Princesses?'

'Not in public. Nopony wants to risk a one-way trip to the Moon, right?'

Trixie looked up at the ceiling. She wasn't superstitious but thinking about banishment to the Moon gave her the creeps. Oh, it was just a stupid rumor, after all... wasn't it?

'Unifying dress code, secrecy... sounds like a cult to me. And every cult has a leader...'

'Who we don't know.', Sunseeker pointed out.

'...and an agenda.'

'Which we don't know.'

'Let's find out.', Trixie stood up and went to the guests' room. 'Any chances of meeting them?'

Sunseeker followed her but stopped in the anteroom.

'They will gather in a nearby coliseum today. I've heard there will be some kind of a ceremony.'

Trixie's head popped out through the door.

'There is a coliseum here?', she asked, then disappeared.

'Hoofington was once famous for its annual derby. Now Canterlot is.'

Trixie, now dressed in her dark blue cape joined Sunseeker in the anteroom.

'There isn't any time to waste, then. Let's go!'

* * *

Trixie and Sunseeker were sneaking between the rows in the round arena's audience. Trixie looked above the low wall. She saw a group of ponies standing in a line. They were all wearing black robes with silvery markings all over it. There was another pony, a dark red stallion with a long, brown mane. He walked up a stone platform and gazed upon ponies below. Trixie noticed he had a scar along his face. It started little over his eye and came down to his cheek, giving him quite an intimidating look.

'Okay. What can you see?', the white stallion asked.

'More than half a dozen of stallions and mares.', Trixie whispered. ''Most of them earth ponies, few pegasi. That's odd.', she blinked. 'I can't see a single unicorn.'

'What do you think about that big-timer up there?', Sunseeker asked, pointing at the scarred stallion.

'I don't know. We need to get closer.'

As they were closer, the red stallion started his speech.

'Brothers and sisters! We are living in the world of injustice and inequality!', he said.

The ponies gathered below all nodded and agreed.

'The time is nigh. You are those that will help bring the balance once and for all!', the stallion walked from one side of the platform to the other. 'Fear not! The Nightmare Night is coming and with it, a chance to forge a better future, for all of us!'

Ponies cheered and stomped with their hooves. The scarred stallion seemed content.

'I think we've heard enough.', Trixie whispered.

'So, what's your plan?'

She jumped over into the sandy arena.

'I am going in.'

Sunseeker wanted to object but Trixie was already below, approaching the cultists. He followed in her hoofsteps.

'Canterlot will bow...', the red stallion continued.

'That's a very nice speech and I'mma let you finish, but whatever you're planning, it's not going to work out.', Trixie said.

The other ponies seemed confused by her and Sunseeker suddenly showing up, but the scarred stallion just smiled crookedly.

'The Great and Powerful Trixie herself... what an honor...', he said. 'And Sunseeker... we've heard a lot about you...'

'That's nothing unusual, giving the circumstances that everyone...', the white stallion answered, but was interrupted by the red one.

'Acolytes! You wanted to prove yourselves!', he shouted. 'Deal with them!'

Eight ponies encircled the unicorns, baring their teeth and hitting the ground angrily. Trixie and Sunseeker formed up back to each other.

'That's you plan!?', Sunseeker shouted.

'Relax, I got this...', Trixie replied. 'They have no artillery, so we're good.'

'My magic won't take them all at once.', the stallion reluctantly admitted. 'I hope you're trained in hoof-to-hoof combat...'

'Waste them!', the scarred stallion ordered and cultists jumped towards the two unicorns.

Maybe Sunseeker's spells weren't enough to take them down, but Trixie was confident of her abilities. She conjured a telekinetic shield, which made her attackers bounce off, while Sunseeker rolled to the side. She released a set of blinding flashes amongst the enemies, then she dashed away to evaluate the situation.

'Red stallion not engaging', she thought. 'No direct threat.'

Trixie looked up and saw a pair of pegasi swooping at her. She hurled a vacuum bubble at them and took one down, but the second one was getting closer. He was just about to hit her but something held him in place. It was Sunseeker, who conjured a fiery whip and wrapped it around the pegasus' leg, then smashed the adversary into the ground.

'Sunseeker doing good. Pyromancy, that's why his cutie mark is a torch.'

The azure mare enchanted the ground below one of the cultists. It constricted around him, creating a binding web of sand. At the same time Sunseeker was exchanging kicks and punches with another earth pony mare. Trixie created a telekinetic shockwave, which knocked down her adversaries, then she jumped over one of them and trampled him, rendering him unconscious. Sunseeker was chasing one of the cultists with a fiery ring, trying to set him on fire. He dodged another stallion's kick and teased him.

'Come on, stop trying to hit me and hit me!'

Trixie created a miniature sandstorm which pulled the running cultist off the ground and made him fly over the red stallion's head. He clearly knew that despite Trixie and Sunseeker being outnumbered, they were outgunning his team.

'The outcome as predicted.', Trixie thought. 'Cultists are no match for the Conclave agents.'

Sunseeker created a fiery whip once again and joyfully smacked another pegasus mare.

The two last earth ponies were charging from opposite directions, ready to trample Trixie.

'Possibility of capture...'

She conjured a smoke bomb at her hooves and let her attackers run into blackened zone. An unpleasant crash was heard ant then the smoke went away.

'...unlikely.'

She was standing atop of two defeated ponies, with a visible glimpse of triumph in her violet eyes. Some cultists were still standing... but barely.

'He's running!', Sunseeker shouted.

Trixie turned around and saw the scarred stallion galloping.

'I'm going after him!', she replied. 'Think you can handle them?'

'Just go!'

She followed the red stallion through Hoofington. He wasn't faster than Trixie but very efficient in smashing nearby vegetable stands to slow her down. With the protests of vendors and buyers behind, they were closing in to the airship harbor. The stallion turned left and took the stairs leading to the rooftops. Trixie followed him, jumping from one roof to another. She saw an airship rising nearby. It seemed that they will be at the end of the roof path exactly when the airship is the closest to the buildings. Which means...

Suddenly Trixie slipped over a loose tile. She desperately tried to regain her balance, but was only able to prevent falling down. The scarred stallion jumped and landed on the airship's deck.

'No, no!', Trixie shouted 'Stop that airship immediately!'

By the time she was at the end of the roof path, the airship was disappearing in the clouds. She was angry that she failed. She shouldn't. She hated losing.

'I need to return to Canterlot as soon as possible!', Trixie demanded when Sunseeker joined her in the streets.

'You mean, we need.', he replied. 'The train leaves in fifteen minutes.'

They bought two tickets to Ponyville. It was as close to the capital city as they could travel from here.

'Why are you still helping me?', she asked as they were getting on the train. 'You're from Hoofington division, you don't have to go.'

'Conclave Code would describe it as a priority call. They're on a high value target.'

'What do you mean?', she stopped in the car's corridor, but Sunseeker gave her a nod to get inside their compartment.

Sunseeker locked the door.

'Remember when you chased that bad guy? After he left the other ponies panicked.', he said. 'Most of them escaped, but I managed to pin one down and get some answers.'

'So, what's their plan?', Trixie asked.

Sunseeker grimaced.

'They want to assassinate Princess Celestia.'

Comments

[SuperChaosKG]

DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNN!!!

[Öthnæar]

Oh god... Trixie pulling a Kanye. It's just a little too fitting.

[Emperor]

>Equestria Daily

I get it!

For apparently knowing about the cult's meeting out in the open, Sunseeker probably could have attempted to call for more back-up, unless Hoofington is so far away it would have taken too long for anypony else to come out.