In the Shadow of the Sun

by Juntao112

Chapter 13

"Winning a war is easy; the hard part is winning a peace. Unlike stories, real life seldom has clear cut beginnings or endings. The good guys may win and the bad guys may lose for one round, but there'll be plenty more of those, right up until the end of time."
–King Leonide X of Gryphonia, 655 CE

Assassin's Creed
By Snap Shot, The Daily Sun

At last, Phrase Mark's mysterious month–long absence has been explained! Our senior reporter has led a shocking double life as a spy and assassin for rogue unicorn house long thought to have perished in the aftermath of the Lunar Rebellion: House Argent.

Famous for being diplomats and public servants under the Unicorn King and Celestia, and infamous for rumored involvement in espionage and assassination, House Argent was one of the first unicorn houses to have betrayed Celestia. It also had the ignoble distinction of being the only house to have defected back to the loyalist side, leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake.

Resentment from both sides ensured that House Argent's bloodline could not continue, but the surviving members secretly adopted many war orphans and taught them their dastardly trade. The next generation would lay the groundwork for the house's new operations; they would bide their time in the shadows, building up wealth and influence while manipulating events from behind the scenes.

Not only were their operatives placed in key locations within the Equestrian government, but they even included such prominent ponies as Celestia's personal courier Morning Herald, rock musician Dive Bomb of the Stormbirds, Captain Thunderball, who had fought to protect Ponyville and Princess Twilight from Queen Chrysalis six months ago, and even Phrase Mark, my predecessor on the staff of The Daily Sun. All done in an attempt to subtly control Equestrian politics and popular opinion.

The house may have gone unnoticed if it were not for their secret war against the changelings, which recently culminated in the hijacking of the sun. Initial reports indicate that Captain Thunderball, Dive Bomb, Phrase Mark, and several other operatives attempted to rescue dozens of hostages and eliminate the changeling threat by themselves. However, their mission soon went awry, and the changeling swarm overran them soon after the hostages escaped.

Fortunately Princess Luna managed to visit the dreams of one of the operatives shortly before the of the start of their operation (and Chrysalis's hijacking of the sun). Without her timely forewarning, the House Argent operatives would surely have perished in the Badlands.

The hostages, many of whom were been missing for years and replaced by changelings, have already been given a clean bill of health by the staff of Canterlot General Hospital and were quietly reunited with families and loves ones over the course of this month as the Royal Guard discretely apprehended their impersonators.

The liberation of these ponies has brought Queen Chrysalis to the bargaining table for a steady supply of love to feed her hive. Negotiations are underway as we speak for a lasting peace treaty. Equestrian citizens can now rest safely at night knowing that the changeling menace to our society (and our sun) will be no more.

As for the members of House Argent…

Story continued on page 4

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The walls of the old Everfree castle were bustling with activity, echoing happier times of ages past. Masonry was rebuilt, tapestries were hung, and new furniture arrived by the hour. It would have been an inspirational sight for anypony, if the majority of workers had not been changelings.

"Careful with that statue!" Adjutant barked at the changeling helping her lift an old statue of Celestia out of the courtyard's fountain. "I know it's heavy, but Daring Do want us to keep contact with it to a minimum. Body oil and sweat are acidic and will damage the marble, so be sure to wipe it off when you're done!"

"Sorry, boss." One of the changelings panted, sweat glistening in the mop of purple hair atop his head. "Really not my cup of tea, you know? I signed on for library duty."

"You can get to the books as soon as the engineers certify that the library isn't a death trap."

"Hey, they don't call me Ace Gambit for nothing. Danger is practically my middle name!"

"They don't call you Ace Gambit, but if you want that to be your ponysona, so be it. Just keep out of the crumbling castle unless you want to end up squashed by a falling pillar. Now get back to work!"

Adjutant put her hooves under Celestia's outstretched wings and pulled up hard, while Ace did his best to push it up from below. The statue slowly teetered upright and slid back onto its pedestal.

She took a moment to wipe the sweat off of her brow while Ace busied himself with a cleaning spell ("Go Go Gambit Bubble Scrub!"), and caught sight of a large brown draft horse walking into the courtyard. "Hey there!" She waved at him. "Haven't seen you around in a while, Creme. What brings you by?"

Creme blushed a deep shade of red. "I heard Thunderball's staying in here now?"

She motioned her head towards the castle. "Yeah, in the old warden's office at the bottom of the dungeon. You can't miss it."

He followed her instructions through the labyrinthine corridors until he came upon a door marked "Director". It was unlocked, and he slowly opened it to reveal Thunderball sitting in oak office chair, in front of a mahogany desk whose surface was cluttered with paperwork. A few potted plants, several bookshelves filled with literature, and a soft couch in one corner were the only things paying him company. Judging from the pillows and blankets on the couch, he had been sleeping there for some time.

Thunderball gave Creme a curt nod. "I was expecting you sooner. Come in, have a seat — I don't have any extra chairs at the moment, but you can take the sofa."

"I'll stand, if that's alright with you."

Thunderball shrugged and reached under the desk. He produced two glass tumblers and a glass bottle half–filled with a clear liquid. He poured out a generous measure of it in each tumbler, and slid one across the desk.

Creme sniffed it and gagged. He was no stranger to strong drinks, but whatever Thunderball had poured nearly killed his olfactory cells. "What in Celestia's name do you call that?"

"Ethanol, 99.9% purity. One of the few things they left behind in Flash Point's lab."

Thunderball tossed his drink back and broke down in a fit of coughing.

"And you drink it."

"It gets to the point quicker."

"What would that be, your untimely death due to liver failure?"

Thunderball frowned. "You've changed."

"I'm not going to be a bystander anymore — especially not when a good friend's killing himself! What in Tartarus is wrong with you? You lead an attack on Chrysalis's hive, freed a lot of ponies, and fought the entire swarm to a standstill. You came out of it with a position in the new changeling colony, and the noble deeds, coat of arms, and title of your house restored! Most ponie would call that a success."

"The majority of our assets were confiscated. A majority of our members are in a pod farm in the dungeons below as a condition of their royal pardon — rubs me the wrong way, even if it was their idea. We've been publicly revealed and saddled with the responsibilities of a noble house, so any hope of further covert operations has gone down the drain. Oh, and, the public hates us, so the future of the house is in peril once again. I don't see anypony wanting to marry us or let us adopt kids–" Thunderball ground his hoof into the table. "I have the next, probably last, generation of my House in this castle right now. How am I supposed to raise kids? Me? In a place like this?"

Thunderball grabbed the other tumbler, but Creme quickly pinned his hoof to the table. Thunderball tightened his grip on the glass and glared at Creme. "What's your problem?"

"Well, look at you! You're a professional badass most of the time, but then you go drink enough booze for two horses and fall apart. You know what it's like seeing you this way?"

"Fine! If you don't like it, then leave!"

Thunderball let go of the tumbler and pulled away so hard that he spun out of the chair and landed on the ground. He tried to get up, but his hooves gave out under him each time. Creme turned away in disgust, but paused at the door. He looked back at Thunderball to give a parting remark, and froze when he saw that he had curled up into a ball on the floor.

Creme put his hooves under Thunderball's forelegs and pulled him up. "Come on, let's get you onto the sofa."

"Alright." Thunderball stood the best he could on his wobbly legs. "Sorry I yelled at you."

"Do you really think you have no friends in the world?" Creme set him down on the sofa and looked him in the eyes. "I wasn't lying back in the tunnels, when I said you were a good pony at heart. You really did try your best to avoid killing changelings, even when it would have been easier to. And I'm not the only one who knows it; do you think Princess Twilight chose you just so you'd work under her? She did it because she knew the changelings would accept you."

He stepped in and hugged Thunderball. Creme felt his shoulders tense up for a moment, before Thunderball relaxed and leaned into the hug. "We support you, and if you need anything, you can count on us."

Thunderball's breathing grew steady again as he buried his head into Creme's neck.

"You're right," he whispered. "I–we can do this. Our assets may be gone, but we have retained our heritage and our identity. As long as we have those, we can make it through anything. We emerged from the Lunar Rebellion without our main vulnerability, a genetic trail. After being forced into the shadows, we focused on the true art of espionage, using finesse in place of force. And now, we have the opportunity to establish new alliances and help the Princesses build a better future, for all of us. This may be the end of one era, but it is the start of another."

Comments

[Perteks]

Adopt chabgeling problem solved.

but seriously thats it? Its fell very rushed you make few side plots and very qucikly ended them, i'm little disappointed.

[Juntao112]

5319547

I'll consider revising the ending if I can think of anything better.

In the meantime, there will be other stories that will, hopefully, provide better closure.

[Not so New Brony]

All those artifacts now under lock and key in Canterlot Castle(or somewhere nearby)...it's like putting up a sign that says 'I'm right here, come steal me!' Though I guess they would beef up security for that.

Also, it's such a shame that Thunderball's cousins are being used as collateral in the game of politics.

[Juntao112]

5372133

Politics is a dirty game, and Celestia's been playing it for longer than Equestria has existed.

[nocara]

A nice scenario you draw here. The politics and the subterfuge is quite interesting. I am eager to read more

[Juntao112]

5563640

There are sequels

[nocara]

5563665 eyup, i notice it and i am reading it eagarly xD

[tsaukpaetra]

And they all lived happily ever after! Just kidding!