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Prologue (TW0 S1D3S)4,462 words
Chapter 16,371 words
Chapter 24,369 words

Chapter 2

Author's Note:

Lt.Lickme came out with a new video! A video featuring BOTH his Anonymous character and The Watcher! So, along with a kickass new cover photo, we also get another chapter of this story in celebration!

The room was quiet, silent as the grave. If a fly were to find its way in, its wing beat would be more audible than the caught breaths of the ponies residing within the confines of this room. All were still, faces frozen with mixed emotions. Some were in shock, others will filled with surprise. One in particular had a look of its own. Unique to those around her.

Twilight's chest felt heavy, making something as simple as drawing breath a difficult feat to accomplish. It was as if her heart had gained several pounds and was now resting on top of her lungs. Her face, as well as the rest of her, was stuck; In awe of her own actions. Her cold, calculating mind was at war with her morals. Part of her felt that what she had done was right, but another part was disgusted by her decision.

It was difficult to shift her gaze, but once she had, she immediately regretted doing so. The look on her old mentors face was heart wrenching. It was a look of pain and betrayal. Her sister-in-law was no different, but was much more emotional for some reason. Twilight's shame made itself known as tears threatened to escape her eyes. The choice she made hurt her deeply, but it was the only one that made sense in her eyes. Regardless, it's too late to go back now.

The silence was finally broken when the radio beside Luna spoke up. "The tension is so thick...I can feel it from here." It said with short laugh, it's robotic tone pulling the attention of the ponies close enough to hear. "Princess Twilight,
though you may not realize it yet, you made the right choice. Welcome to The Watchers."

Looking defeated, Twilight walked to the opposite side of the table that she had been sitting on. Joining both Luna and the group she now represented. Her eyes remained on the floor, refusing to meet the gaze of those in her company. She just couldn't find it in her heart to face them right now. It would hurt too much to see their looks of disappointment again.

A comforting hoof found its place just above her wings. She glanced over to see Luna offering her a small smile as she rubbed the spot between her neck and her wings. "Thank you, Twilight. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Twilight couldn't respond, she was still in an emotional purgatory, unknowing of how to feel. The room would have fallen into another silence if not for the radio sitting beside Celestia.

"We seem to have failed to go over the contract." Anonymous mentioned, his tone difficult to read. "Though, given the circumstances, I believe it can wait. For now, I think it is about time we meet with our new partners. Would that be agreeable to everyone?"

Shaking herself from her near-catatonic state, Celestia nodded solemnly in approval. "I think that would be best. We will see you shortly, Anonymous."

"I graciously await your visit, Princess Celestia; Yours as well, Princess Cadence." Anonymous said calmly, "We look forward to working with you."

Cadence has to swallow a lump in her throat before responding. "I look forward to it as well." She replied, her voice weak in both tone and structure. "I was just hoping that there would be more of us."

Twilight keeps her head down, but cringes at her words. They cut deeper than any knife blade ever could and brought a pain that she couldn't describe. If she weren't already on the verge of tears, she would be now. A few drops fell from her eyes, landing on the floor.

The only one who seems to take offence to this is Princess Luna. She couldn't believe her niece would enact such a 'Low Blow' as they call it. The night princess can understand being upset all too well, but that was completely uncalled for. If not for the interruption, she would have made a hostile response.

"Oh, Twilight~" Twilight reluctantly lifted her head to the radio, staring at it intently as she waited for him to continue. "I think it's time that I show you what we're all about." He said, the door where several watchers had entered earlier opening on its own right behind her. She looked back at it, staring into the blackness that awaited her. "Come, little filly; Let me take you away, into my garden shadows."

There was an odd static coming from Celestia's radio that drew everypony's attention. It was odd and unintelligible at first, but after a while it started to sound like laughter. It was soft and quiet, but Anonymous was laughing. "You simply could not resist, could you?"

"What can I say?" The Watcher responded with a dark chuckle, drawing the ponies attention to Luna's radio. "I'm a sucker for the classics."

"You always were..." After a brief pause, the door behind Celestia and Cadence opened up. This one had more light to it, but not with any amount of intensity. "Princess..." The solar princess rose from her seat. Her younger sister did so as well and their new partners followed by example.

"I guess it's time we go our separate ways." Celestia announced, shooting one last hurt look to her former student, who avoided her gaze when she noticed that it was directed at her. "Twilight..." She said, wanting to say something. However, she found the words difficult to produce and settled with ending it in silence.

A masked member from both groups approached and retrieved the radios before receding into their respective doors with the rest of their group. Celestia waited for the last one to pass before following behind with Cadence trotting slowly behind her.

Twilight looked up as they left, watching them with sad eyes as the door closed behind them. She wanted to reach out to them, to plead for them so that they would not hate her. If not for the night princess, she probably would have.

Luna gently grabbed the young alicorn and directed her toward the dark hallway that awaited them. "Come, Twilight. There is much that we need to discuss and The Watcher is eager to meet you."

Resigning herself to the choice she had made, Twilight turned around and followed Luna, who led her into the pitch black void that she had signed herself over to. Once they were in, the door behind them closed, and all was black.

"I can't believe she would do this!" Cadence all but yelled, her frustration finally taking hold as they descended a long, winding staircase made of stone. "How could she side with those...those...monsters!" There were many thoughts that were tormenting her mind as she tried to make sense of it all. "There has to be something wrong...Maybe The Watcher used some kind of spell to manipulate her!" She concluded, "And there has to be a rule or something against that! He's doing something to her and-"

"Please, Cadence!" Celestia snapped, her words only making her feel worse about the situation. She continued to follow the Anonymous members deeper underground, doing her best to keep a level head and not let her emotions get the better of her. "Neither Anonymous nor The Watcher has the capabilities to do such a thing. They are both completely incapable of using magic of any kind."

"B-but...Twilight..." Cadence stuttered, unable to formulate any kind of resolve. "But she...she's-!"

"She made her choice, Cadence." Celestia finished for her, still finding it hard to believe as well. "We cannot fault her for what she thinks is right. Even if it goes against our own beliefs." Her words hit her niece like bricks, shattering the walls in her head like glass. "This is something far greater than just simple laws and regulations."

Cadence almost didn't hear that last part. Her aunt had added it quietly and with a disturbingly ominous tone. She went to question her words, but stopped when they reached the end of their decent. Her hooves left the stairs and was met with a flat stone floor. What she saw in front of her was absolutely amazing.

They marched forward down a large room filled with all sorts of activity. All around her were hundreds of desks stacked with folders, files, manila envelopes, large filing cabinets, and so on. Each desk had a minimum of one pony, each pony dressed identical to the other. Black suits covering every inch of them, white masks; The only differences she could make out was the color of the bottom of their hooves, the back of their heads, and the occasional wings/horn. These ponies were coming in from all over the place. Pegasi were flying in from balconies that led to Celestia-knows-where, earth ponies marching in from doors that practically lined the walls, and unicorns popping in and out from every direction.

The room was packed, the only real opening being small spaces between each desk and the large walkway down the center that lead to a much larger desk with a single chair in the center. Above this desk was a white flag, one that had an image that took her a minute to figure out. There was an odd design to it that was circled and in the center was a headless, suited form; It's head being replaced by a simple question mark.

They finally came to the end of the room, walking up a single step to reach the large desk that awaited them. The structure was set up like any other office desk; With pens, papers, files, markers and all. Everything was neatly placed in certain areas that pleased the one who frequented it...Who appeared slightly more intimidating than she expected.

It was not the demeanor of this creature, nor the way it presented itself as it rose from its seat. It was its size that caught the princess of love off guard. It stood just inches taller than Celestia, her horn barely reaching its masked face. She watched in silence as it crossed it arms behind its back and leaned forward slightly, bowing to her and her aunt.

"Princess Celestia, a pleasure as always." It said, standing back to its full height. "Princess Cadence, I am equally pleased to make your acquaintance." It finished, gesturing at them with a gloved appendage. "Please, take a seat."

A pony walked up from either side, sliding a chair to the Princesses before departing. They accepted and took a seat as the creature set himself back in his own chair. "I would first like to say that I am grateful that you have decided to join our cause, Princess Cadence."

Putting on a smile, Cadence gestured to herself with a hoof. "The pleasure is all mine." She said, "I'm hoping that this arrangement will improve law enforcement in my kingdom, as well as all of Equestria."

"As long as we are permitted access to essential information, we WILL bring justice to your kingdom." Anonymous assured, placing his hands on his desk. "However, there are a few things that you must be made aware of. Things that were overlooked during the signing of the contract."

A blush appeared on both of the Princesses as they glanced over at each other wearing nervous smiles. "Sorry..." Cadence began. "I guess we got a little too excited thanks to that watcher fellow."

"He tends to have that effect." Anonymous commented, shifting in his seat as he leaned back and placed his hands on his lap. "Watcher aside; There are a few important we must to go through before establishing a base in the Crystal Empire.

"I'm all ears." Cadence said, leaning forward to emphasis her point.

"First and foremost, we must have a headquarters within the castle. Preferably somewhere secure and secluded. A place where ponies are not permitted to enter." He explained.

Cadence went through a mental list of her castle's rooms. When she was sure she knew of a place, she nodded. "I have the perfect spot; It's in the East wing of the castle." She began, "It used to belong to-"

"The Tyrant King, Sombra." Anonymous interrupted, surprising the love goddess some with his knowledge of the previous dictator. "It's understandable why they would avoid that part of the castle. It would make a suitable base for our operation."

Cadence confirmed this with a smile. "My thoughts exactly."

A pony trotted up to Anonymous, levitating a small folder to him. He accepted the folder and opened it, the pony leaving shortly after. "It should also be known that only members of Anonymous will be allowed to shadow you, and we will at all hours, unless directed otherwise."

Closing the folder, he turned his attention back to the princesses. "Anything we come across will go by you before any action is made. Should we cross any boundaries, or you would like us to cease from a certain project for whatever reason, you need only say so."

"That sounds more than fair." Cadence's smile dropped as a thought occurred that started to haunt her. Along with the voice that sparked the concern in the first place. "May I ask something?"

"You may ask anything."

"When we were supposed to be going over the contract..." Cadence began, her discomfort with the topic showing. "The Watcher brought up my daughter...I wasn't sure what he was trying to prove, but if he knows all of this stuff about me then-"

Anonymous opened a drawer in his desk, pulling out a large folder and setting it on the edge closest to her. "Your file,
princess." Cautiously, the princess picked up the file in her magic and opened it. "This was delivered to a member of anonymous by a watcher shortly after you announced your alliance. As part of the terms of our contract, The Watcher is no longer permitted to hold on to this information."

Though it did bring Cadence some comfort that this information was no longer in The Watcher's possession, it disturbed her how detailed the information held within was. Everything from the date of her birth all the way to just a few days ago seemed to be documented in this one bulking, folder. Not every detail of her life was in there, obviously. But, there was still more than enough to make her uncomfortable.

"Why did he have all of this?" She asked curiously.

Anonymous took a breath, not being pleased with how well-informed his nemesis had become shortly after his operations revival. "The Watcher somehow knew of Celestia's plans to bring both yourself and Princess Twilight into our order." He began, "Whether he did this out of suspect, or based on facts, we do not know. Regardless, you both became potential threats, and in the two days he was freed, he took full advantage of his power. He gathered everything he could to know as much about you and Twilight as possible before such an act could be forbidden by the contract."

Cadence appeared as though she had just watched someone leap off of a bridge. How could The Watcher collect all of this in a short amount of time? Two days was all it took for him to learn almost everything about her! He knew where she lived, where she was born, her first job, even her first boyfriend! There was literally an entire section about the first colt she dated with a note tucked beneath a current photo of him that read, 'Possible Leverage'.

Celestia could see the growing panic on her niece's face and placed a hoof on one of hers. "Cadence..." She began, waiting for her to make eye contact before continuing. "I understand how you feel. The Watcher put me in a similar position once as well."

"You have nothing to worry about. We are bound to Anonymous and The Watcher cannot touch us." Celestia said as she placed her other hoof to the love princess' cheek, staring through her eyes and into her soul; Offering comfort and solace. "His followers are forbidden from your land. You and your family are completely safe. I wouldn't have asked you to join me if it would have put any of you in harms way."

Cadence closed her eyes and took a breath, letting her aunts words sink in. It helped to alleviate some of her anxiety,. Not all of it, but some. "Okay...Okay...I'm calm..." She took another few seconds to collect herself then looked to Anonymous. "What else needs to be prepared for your arrival?"

Its presence was haunting, the very air around it felt as though it was filled with mischief and evil intent. The long coat it wore was torn and tattered, it's hooded face resembling the faces of the ponies around her, but with no muzzle. Its stature was the stuff of nightmares. Standing on two legs, it easily surpassed Princess Luna in height. Though the night princess had grown accustomed to the ambiance that came with The Watcher, her new partner was less-than-prepared for a meeting with such a being.

Twilight's hooves were locked in place as she stared up at the tall creatures metallic face, her body trembling as she took in every detail. While the rest of the room was buzzing with similar, ominous life; The sight of this particular life form demanded her full attention. More out of fear than anything else.

"Please don't eat eat me." The young alicorn muttered. It wasn't what she had intended to say, but her instincts provoked this very response.

The Watcher laughed softly at her response to him. "Oh, how I do so love meeting new members. The fear I instill simply by existing is almost euphoric."

Luna rolled her eyes at him, turning her attention to the cowering princess beside her. "You really must relax, Twilight. Your foal-like behavior is unbecoming of a princess."

The Watcher's gaze moved to the night princess with no readable expression. "Don't be so hard on her, Luna. You were in no better a state when you plucked me out of the sky." She was going to retort, but he didn't give her the chance. "Don't bother denying it. I can smell fear for miles. And at the time, I was close enough to hear your heart beat."

Luna's cheeks reddened slightly from embarrassment, not that the dimly lit room made it stick out. "Perhaps this is a conversation for another time; I believe there are more important matters to discuss."

"Killjoy..." As fun as it was to torment her, the lunar princess was right. There was business to attend to and he was not known for slacking when it came to such things. Redirecting his gaze, he focused on the newest member of his society. "Twilight Sparkle..."

A bead of sweat ran down the side of Twilight's face as she continued to stare with wide eyes at the creature. "Y-yes?"

"If you couldn't tell by now, I am the one referred to as The Watcher." He explained, getting that bit of introduction out of the way. He gestured to the large, almost cave-like room they were standing in. "This is my home. You will find no safer place in all of Equestria."

Though she was weary in doing so, she took in as much of her surroundings as she could. The lack of light made it difficult to see any sort of detail, but there were some things that stuck out. For starters; Several ponies were going about effortlessly, despite the dark that surrounded them. They were hard to pinpoint at first, but after a brief adjustment, she could make out their masked faces moving in all directions.

Figuring out what they were doing was a challenge as well, but she could see that some were looking through files and papers. This was only made noticeable by the brightened lights coming from their masks. Aside from them, the only other things she could see were Luna, The Watcher himself, and a large, red smiley face etched onto the back wall.

"In time, Ponyville will be just as safe." The Watcher added, quickly earning the attention of the purple pony he already found so amusing. "Your town, your friends, your youth, even your number one assistant; All of those and more will be under the protective gaze of my watchers."

"H-how do you know...?" Twilight asked, finding the words getting caught in her throat as she looked back to him.

"I know everything about you, Twilight." He replied, as if knowing what she was trying to ask. Which only served to make her that much more intimidated by him. "As one of your watchers, it is my job to keep track of you and know what you are doing at all times."

Twilight felt her heart skip a beat. The thought of eyes being on her constantly wasn't a comforting one, even if they were promising protection. She took note of his word choice though, and that was bothersome as well. "What do you mean by, 'one of my watchers'?"

The Watcher chuckled, still finding amusement in her unease. "Now that you have joined our cause, several of my watchers have already started moving in on Ponyville. Their eyes will take in all, you included." He explained, keeping a tab on her discomfort. "Don't worry though, they're not there to watch you go to bathroom or anything like that." Twilight blushed slightly at that, choosing to remain silent than respond. "I've even worked out a special arrangement to keep some of the stress of their presence off of your shoulders. Think of it as a...gift..."

"304! Step forward!" The Watcher's sudden raise in volume, and deepened tone, made Twilight jump. In the blink of an eye, a figure appeared next to her. "Princess Twilight; This is your personal watcher. Her eyes and ears are yours to command at all times. Should any of the watchers in your area have something to report, that information will be relayed to her. She is then to present that information to you."

Now she has ponies watching her entire town and one specifically designated to be right on her flank at all times. "Um, Mister Watcher; I'm not sure how I feel about-"

"Oh, don't worry." The Watcher interrupted, "If you don't want to see her, you won't. My watchers are very well-trained in stealth. You won't even know she's there."

"If that arrangement doesn't work for you, she can be assigned to accompany you as a friend." The Watcher explained, his face turning to the watcher assigned to her for a brief moment. "Shouldn't be too hard to pull that off." Another small laugh escapes him as he turned back to face Twilight. "And if there is anything you need, do not be afraid to contact me."

Without warning, a rough-looking pouch was thrown over Twilight's back. "Princess Luna?"

Luna fastened it in place with her magic, making sure it was secure. "Within this bag, you will find the face of the watcher. With it, you will be able to be able to reach out to fellow watchers."

304 stepped up, pulling down her hood and pointing to a dial on the side of her own mask. "There are three settings on each mask. One allows you to speak freely, the other will let you broadcast your voice to all nearby watchers, and the final setting will let you contact The Watcher himself."

Twilight swallowed a growing lump in her throat, trying to process everything. "This is all happening so fast...There's so much to take in. What am I even supposed to be doing?"

"There is not much you will be required to do." Luna answered, "However, you will have to set up a base in the castle where the watchers can hideout. This will be their resting place, workplace, and their safe space."

"They may seek your guidance; Advice on whether to follow through on certain plans and whatnot." She continued to explain. "And every once in a while, you may have to direct law enforcement in Ponyville the the other way so the watchers can complete a task. But, unless you decide to take a more active role, that is where your duty ends."

"Active role?" Twilight asked with a hint of dread.

"Yes," Luna confirmed with a nod, "But that is a discussion for another time."

"She's right." The Watcher cut in, "There is much we have to get through and I am a very busy man. Are there any questions you would like to ask before we begin?"

Twilight had a lot of questions she wanted to ask him, but found herself unable to for the most part. For example, she wanted to know about it species, about his world, about what led him to doing what he does. But, she felt as though those questions could wait. Her fear of angering him made that decision for her. If she was going to ask him something, it had to be relevant to their arrangement. Yet, she wanted to badly to understand The Watcher. Perhaps there is a way she can learn about him without going off topic...

With forced determination, Twilight finally constructed a question that may satisfy some of her curiosity without moving on to a personal subject. "What is a watcher, exactly?"

There was a pause and for a second, she thought she had upset him...until he started laughing. "That is a very good question, princess. What is a watcher?" He repeated, letting the air fall silent before continuing. "Ill tell you."

"We are the moths drawn to the burning flame of vile indiscretions, acts of violence to wrongful suffering. To those who do wrong, we are contracted Mercenaries of pain and suffering. We are the evil that comes for the evil." Taking a knee, The Watcher lowered himself to Twilight's level; Leaning in close enough that her face lit up whenever he spoke. "There is darkness in this world. And where there is darkness, there are those that hide within it. And for those that go bump in the night, we are the ones that bump back!"

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