Legion of Shadows

by Strythio

Disguises and Jests

"How silly, to think that you can trust Flash Sentry so easily. The moment you shut your eyes he can turn you in and collect whatever prize he so seeks. Stupid mare."

Sunset woke up, this voice echoing through the dimly lit room. Her ears flicked every which way to find the voice, but the echo faded before she could fully get a bead on it. Straining her ears, she listened, hearing only the sound of her own breathing. She looked frantically through the sheets only to find that Flash Sentry was not present.

This did not bode well, and the concerned Sunset was prepared to make a hasty gallop for the door when a chuckle could be heard from a dark portion of the room.

"Rise and shine."

The voice belonged to Flash, but before Sunset could react, light flooded the room, completely blinding the unicorn. For several minutes she winced, eyes tightly shut as her mind reeled from the unprompted wake-up call. All the while, Flash could be heard laughing, the sound of glassware being shifted being heard.

When Sunset opened her eyes, she found that the room had a particularly large hole in the roof. How had she not noticed that before? With sunlight pouring through it, Sunset could only assume that it was some sort of sun roof.

"Drilled out myself after last night's activities," Flash explained, hopping back onto the bed, "You slept like a rock. A very smart rock at that."

Sunset rubbed at her eyes, looking to find breakfast in bed. Apple turnovers, some fruity pastries, and just plain old apples were all arranged neatly in front of her and Flash. They had not been there before either.

"Took me an hour to set this whole thing up," Flash continued, beaming all the while, "Now then, while you eat, there are a few things that we need to go over."

Sunset did not feel like a lecture, but she was far too enamored with the gesture of breakfast in bed to make it known. She began chomping at the apples, all the while listening to Flash speak.

"I have spoken to an associate of mine, old friend from the funeral. Funny how that works. Anyways, I had a chat with her, and she is willing to take you on board with some occupational hazards in mind. However, they have a major deal going down sometime later this day, so you will probably not get the chance to get involved-"

Sunset swallowed the last bits of an apple before dropping the core to speak. "What have you exactly referred me to, Flash?"

Flash sheepishly chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with his left hoof, a smile on his face. "An old friend. Just trust me, you will definitely fit right in considering your less than noble history."

"For the record, I am turning that around," Sunset insisted, eyeing the apple turnover that Flash had seized in his mouth, "If I am going to be an alicorn someday, I am going to have to hang with the right crowd."

Flash practically inhaled the turnover, licked his lips, and then carried on as if he had not taken a pause to eat. "In whatever they have planned. Until the whole magic teleportation thing gets fully sorted out, they, and we, are going to be very busy. Did I mention that they pay well?"

Sunset frowned, still munching on the last turnover, lost in thought. She had not considered how she intended on living in Equestria, as the few bits that she had stored up would have likely been confiscated by now, if not outright taken as tribute for property damage in Canterlot. Flash was a rather upstanding citizen of Equestria, so whatever this group was, they had to be in good standings with Celestia.

Or at least, as far as Flash knew. Considering that they paid well, and that Flash had an insider, then it did not sound like a bad start. After all, she needed more than anything to find a group of her own to hang out with. Equestria was a very boring place without some companion.

Swallowing the turnover's last morsel, Sunset looked up to the sun roof. She could feel her half-brother's intense gaze seeking eye contact, something she continued to deny while she made her decision and Flash carried on with his explanation.

"Some of the creatures that got landed here have little interest in going home; the Military is being mobilized in order to make sure that no troublemakers stay behind, if you catch my drift."

"So this contact may be helping out with that?" Sunset still avoided eye contact, instead granting a side glance instead, "You have not told me much about her. Who is she?"

"I cannot tell you that." Flash laughed, and used his wing to pop an apple into the air. "It is supposed to be confidential." While in mid-air Flash snaps the apple between his jaws and removes half of it from the core; the other half neatly falls onto the plate.

Sunset mockingly claps with her hooves, slowly as to emphasize her lack of astonishment. "Have you two done anything together?"

Flash shook his head quickly, a little too quickly for Sunset's taste. "Of course not, I am not that kind of stallion, though she is not half bad looking. Listen, just trust me on this one. Did you have any other destinations in mind other than Canterlot?"

So the contact was likely a unicorn, Sunset guessed. That would make sense; she could get along with other unicorns decently well, as most unicorns tended to have a keen interest in magic. Canterlot though had been the last place that she would have wanted to go; she would have preferred taking her chances in Manehatten before going right to her mentor's doorstep.

"I guess not," Sunset grumbled, conceding that she did not have much of a gameplan, "Ending up here practically in your lap was a stroke of fortune right there."

Flash gave Sunset a confused look, most likely not understanding the reference. Upon realizing this, Sunset shook her head. "In the other world you can have laps because you walk on twos instead of fours and can have your thighs act as a seat-"

Flash put a hoof up for silence, shaking his own head furiously. "I get it, it's a human thing. Anyways, we can't have you walking out of here as yourself, so I also got a disguise ready."

"Disguise?" Sunset incredulously stated, "What do I need a disguise for?"

"Well, the later Celestia knows that you are back the better," Flash explained, "Considering that you did try to kill her studnet, do you really want royal guards tailing you wherever you go?"

"I eventually have to reveal myself though," Sunset pointed out, "Hiding from Celestia is not my top priority."

"Then why did you not go out to her when she called for Equestrians?"

Silence, save for the breathing of two ponies and the faint drop of an apple from its perch on the bed. The noise of it rolling was near defeaning as Flash waited for Sunset's answer, to which he would recieve none.

Sunset turned her head completely, turning her back to Flash for the first time since she had awoken that morning. "So where do I go after I get on this disguise?"

Not wishing to press the matter any further, Flash diverted his gaze to the floor. "The train station. A train leaving for Canterlot will be departing soon. An unusually large amount of ponies are having a dream gap, and want an explanation from Luna herself. Considering the boldness of that, I would say that something must have happened in the dreamscape overnight."

Sunset would have laughed at the thought of the dream world having its own issues, but then again, she had managed to get back to Equestria before the portal was properly open. In that light, the dreamscape having issues seemed much more normal.

Sunset pondered for a moment longer before Flash stacked the mostly empty dishes and disappeared to the other side of the bed. In his hooves was a bucket, and his mouth a large cloak of sorts. He also had a grin, using a wing to brandish a paintbrush playfully in Sunset's decision.

Sunset could already tell where this was going. " That paint had best be washable," she playfully threatened, putting a hoof to her chest for emphasis, "Sunset Shimmer does not like stains."

"Then I hope you wash up good after last night."

Sunset did not get a chance to respond before the paintbrush, already dunked into the paint, was already flying through the air in the grasp of Flash.

---

---

After the paint job, Sunset donned the cloak and had her mane and tail dyed; as Flash put it, attempting to completely conceal her cutie mark would draw attention, as it would take a real artist to draw on a false one. When she took a look in the mirror, Sunset could hardly believe that the pony staring back at her was her.

Her mane was a sugary white and her coat a bright blue. The cloak covered most if not all of her body, even her tail not sticking out the back. It was, to say the least, quite impressive, though she reasoned that it would draw some levels of attention.

Flash escorted her from the empty Barracks and through the Crystal Empire's main street, not even trying to keep to the shadows. Though she received a few strange looks, most onlookers were too busy with their own dealings to pay her any serious attention to the mare with the brown saddlebags and oversized cloak. Celestia had apparently left in the night without any further word, leaving the remainder of the extradition work to Shining Armor and Cadance.

Publicly they were thrilled at the notion, but Sunset highly doubted that they truly looked forward to the extra workload. Nevertheless, the duo reached the train station without incident, only to find an incredibly long line of ponies, many armed with cameras and small microphones.

"Celestia dodged a bullet warping out of here without another word," Sentry joked as they strode up to the end of the line, "Look at all the paparazzi."

"This is going to take forever," Sunset concluded, seeing the line moving literally a foot every few minutes, "We are not even halfway up there yet!"

"Nevermind that," Flash said, noticing a contingent of crystal guards checking the lines for problems, "I got this. Sword, over here!"

One of the crystal pony guards looked up and smiled upon seeing Flash's waving hoof. He was a large and bulky sort of stallion, blue both in color and in dress, his armor matching his coat almost too well.

"Well well well, what we have here?" Sword bellowed with his small entourage, " Our fair second-in-command and his mistress? No doubt the recipient of that breakfast."

A few heads turned as Flash's ears flattened against his head and his cheeks burst bright red in color. "She is not a mistress-"

Sword laughed, cutting off Flash and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "We heard all that noise last night. Thought it was just you going at it again solo, but then somepony else actually responded. You have no idea how permeable your door is to sound Cap."

Sunset was not quite sure how to react to this, and based on Flash's lack of speech, he too was unable to form an appropriate response.

"So, all jokes aside, what can I do you for? I am sure the mare knows your price better than I do." Sword released Flash, allowing him enough physical distance to get his head back into the situation.

"Ah yes, need this mare at the front of this line. What is the holdup?"

"We were waiting on you," Sword pointed out, "Nopony leaves this town without your approval. Shining's delegation duties delegated this task to you."

"Well, I approve this mare," Flash quickly stated, gesturing towards Sunset, "Send her on board already."

Sword shrugged, a few outcries of protest present among those in line. "Alright, but if these good ponies get pissy, I am not the one telling Shining that we bopped them in the head for unruly behavior."

Sunset and Flash both rolled their eyes at the same time. Sunset turned towards Flash, who smiled sheepishly as his cheeks returned to a more natural coloration.

"Yeah well, good luck. My contact in Canterlot should already be aware that you are on your way. Make some friends while you are at it alright?"

Sunset laughed and started trotting towards the train cars, ignoring the deathly stares of the waiting ponies. "I will try my best. Thanks for the favs." Flash nodded and waved her off, still eying the less than enthusiastic crowd.

Sunset had brought a saddlebag with her, a brown one, which held the rather large tome that weighed down one side of her pack. The other side had to be counter-weighted with bits, writing materials, and some packaged food. All in all, she had went prepared for a relatively short trip.

Her "ticket" had been for first class, with a personal cabin all to herself; supposedly, the night before, Cadance and Celestia had been on that very train. Hardly anyone seemed to show much care until rumor got around that the princess of love had brought Shining along for the ride, and may have been up to something in the car next door when the two had some alone time together.

In due time, a swarm of curious investigators sought the potential scene of the royal screwing, much to Sunset's disdain, especially since they had to pass right through her car in order to get to the scene. She bolted her cabin shut, not wanting any intruders to disturb her reading. Once the train got moving, not much could, or would, disturb her, she was certain of that. Within a few hours, the herd settled down, but many seemed to be camping on the other side of the door; they eagerly hoped that Sunset would require the attention of the front of the train for any reason.

Obviously they had never met the unicorn, for once she delved into a good book, nothing short of Celestia herself could tear her from it. And this book was filled with lore and hard to decipher spells. Rather than picking through the rather convoluted spell notes of the previous owners, Sunset focused on reading through the more clearly written and more neatly organized notes on magic in general. Some of it was review, but some of it also added some interesting touches to her knowledge base.

One particular chapter caught her interest: How to Kill an Alicorn.

No doubt her mentor came to mind for a brief moment, but Twilight Sparkle stayed in her mind the entire time she flipped through the seemingly endless pages in an attempt to get to that chapter. She could see that it was rather short due to the few pages that were devoted to it, but her mind did not allow her to dwell on that too long. Maybe this detailed multiple methods.

At some point, it occurred to me that alicorns are very difficult to kill; perhaps taking an experienced one in head-to-head combat was a wake-up call that I ignored. Other than being long lived, they are also extremely magical, and quite unique in that regard.

However, like a blazing fire, they only have so long before they too die out. Otherwise, reproduction would be pointless, and ascended ponies would lose all ability to reproduce. As I know for certain now, that is not the case.

Though Luna wishes not to describe the passing of her mother, I have already surmised that it was likely an unpleasant end. I hear that Discord put up a fight in order to maintain control of Equestria; that draconequus defeating Solaria would explain why he seemed relaxed enough to send me a letter announcing his triumph, boldly stating that he had taken down the only serious threat to his continued rule.

He should have kept up with history, but that is a point for another time. He killed Solaria not with physical force, but psychological warfare. You do not kill the alicorn's body or mind; you kill their very soul, and the rest will follow suite.

Sunset began to feel that the writer was dragging out the answer for her own torture. However, she patiently waited, and continued reading.

Alicorns are intimately connected to their primary magic specialization; the moon for Luna, sun for Celestia, for example. Solaria and her mate were connected to their respective conquests, the conjoined gains not always printed on their cutie marks. When the Empire died, her mate did as well; how Solaria survived as long as she did truly was a mystery.

So rather than fighting Solaria on her terms, Discord attacked the minds of the Equestrians. He made their lives most miserable, which oddly enough forged them an identity far different than that of the Empire of past. Before long, they renounced ever having had a previous Empire, and declared themselves Equestrians through and through.

Ironically enough, they also cast away their previous culture, preferring to instead be ruled by alicorns, not because they were the most powerful, but because they represented all three races.

Touching, but inevitably this abandonment killed Solaria off; not all that slowly either. One week she is scouring the land in search of the elusive spirit of disharmony, and the next, Luna sends a tearful letter regarding the natural death of their mother.

But where does all of that magic go?

Sunset stopped here, contemplating. Connected to the sun and the moon respectively, the odds of either of Celestia or Luna going out would be slim to none, which would explain why neither of them had yet bitten the dust. And yet, certainly not all of the Equestrians would have renounced their very roots? That would be quite something, even for the likes of Discord.

There had to be something more to that tale. Sunset eagerly read on, hardly noticing the change in weather outside.

Well, cut off from their specialization, alicorns die, and may very well take their magic with them to the afterlife. As alicorns are not dying left and right, I cannot exactly test this anytime soon.

Sunset snorted, finding that the end of the chapter was near to hoof. There was only a paragraph left, and a brief skim suggested that she would not get any tips on taking out Twilight. Then again, now that it came to mind, why was that even a priority?

Twilight had saved her from herself. And stripped her of her power over the Canterlot students, ruined her image of invincibility, and crushed any hopes of invading Equestria with a teenage army. The strategy of course had its flaws, but it would have been worth a shot, one that Twilight had put an end to.

Screw it, Sunset reasoned; she had more than enough grievances against the purple alicorn! Of course, killing her without knowing her specialization would be a burdensome task indeed, if the author could be credited with doing their research on offing alicorns.

As these thoughts ran through her mind, the more Sunset began to realize that she was on a train trip to the wrong place; she needed to find Twilight's castle, if she even had one yet, and see what she could scrounge up there for information. A bookworm always placed a book of secrets somewhere in their personal library.

Before the thought could fester anymore in her mind, Sunset was thrown forward out of her sitting position. The entire world lost balance as it seemed to tip, twist, and turn, the confounded Sunset rolling and slamming into anything that decided to get into her path. Worst of all, her saddlebag slammed into her stomach, knocking the very breath from her. The final clock to darkness came when the large tome came inbound.

Rather than allowing it to hit her head on, Sunset managed to levitate the book just a few inches to the right; though it spun her from sheer momentum, she did manage to avoid kissing the book cover. When the world finally found itself again, Sunset came to a rolling stop, a few new bruises making themselves known on her body through their ache.

Barely conscious, Sunset heard the familiar sound of fireworks, along with the startled cries of ponies. Getting to her hooves slowly, she would have taken a look outside, but a flash of light completely blinded her, along with a blunt amount of force sending her backwards.

Whiplash would have been one way to describe the ill side-effects of this as Sunset found herself thrown through glass and rolling in the cold snow. Her belongings scattered around her, and the world took on a crimson tint. Sunset had not even realized that the weather had changed since she had last looked up from her book, from a bright, sunny day to a light snowfall.

On her back, Sunset fell to her side, shivering instinctively from the change in weather. She looked towards the bright orange flames, realizing that her mane had returned to its normal color. A unicorn, silhouetted in the gathering snowstorm, rushed towards her position, clearly in some sort of charge.

The train had certainly derailed, but billowing smoke from the front suggested that it had not been a mere driver error.

She was in the middle of a train robbery.

Author's Note:

As I came back to re-read while I was working on the next chapter, it occurred to me that some parts near the middle stopped making sense, since Sunset boarding the train had been the beginning of the chapter rather than the middle prior to me coming back to this chapter. I think it is all good now, though if I still missed something I am sure someone will make it known.