The Adventures of Shadow Chaser: Shadows of War

by RangerBeef

Chapter 3

Shadow awoke a few hours later and glanced out the cave entrance. The storm had died down considerably but it was still snowing. If he had heard Shimmer correctly then the snow wouldn't be stopping any time soon. He would have to bear with the conditions and press on.

Using magic to dim and extinguish his fire, he shuffled the ground to not make it obvious he had stopped here. Content with his work, he edged out of the cave and saw the sun just beginning to rise in the east. Exactly the direction he needed to head.

Sticking close to the cliff wall to his right, he moved as quick as the storm would let him. Bracing against heavy wind blasts and dodging the occasional falling clump of snow was the worst of what he had to deal with for the moment.

He could not, however, continue on and remain exposed to the elements as he was. He had to hope the safe house that had been set up years ago on the edge of the griffin territory would still be there and still have equipment hidden away.

Shadow was optimistic as he trudged on. The eastern side of the Griffin Kingdoms were not bordered by another nation so the griffins would rarely send any patrols out this way, let alone search for a hidden safe house. As Shadow exited the last of the mountains that bordered the griffin territory, he found that his optimism had paid off.

In a small densely packed clump of trees, he spotted the tiny shack. Approaching the shack, he noted the star that Luna had adopted as the Code Star logo. The tip of each star was colored differently. Clockwise they were black, blue, green, orange and white. The colors extended to the middle of the star when they met a second, much smaller, star, this one red.

Luna had told him once that each color stood for the environments her operatives worked in. First and foremost was darkness. Every operative worked deep undercover, or under the cover of night, as often as would permit. Shadow often joked that Luna had made it the top point as a nod to his abilities, and as the first agent in the newly restarted program.

Next, the blue and green represented sea and ground. Or air and ground, depending on who you asked. Realistically, the blue and green represented the world they protected. No matter what color it may be.

The orange, or, sometimes yellow, point, represented the fire that agents would often times put themselves in the middle of in order to complete their objective or protect other ponies. It represented the clear and present danger in everything Code Star agents did. A danger they accepted when they were inducted into the agency.

White, the final point, represented the light they brought to the world. The dark secrets they dragged into the light, often kicking and screaming. And it stood as a reminder to agents that no matter how dark things looked, there was a light on the horizon.

The red star in the center was the blood each agent shed for their country and the blood they sometimes had to spill in its defense. As things stood presently, Shadow imagined he'd be leaning on that red star quite a bit in the coming days and weeks.

Shadow had never been fond of the emblem. He felt it had too many colors and was too flashy and noticeable. As he passed the emblem he zapped it with a bolt of magic and turned it completely black. This was not a sign of disrespect but more of a game he and Luna had begun some years ago. He had made mention that he didn't like the emblem and she proceed to tell him harsh hay, there were already hundreds dotted across Equestria and their other areas of operation. So Shadow had resolved to change each star he saw in the course of his travels as an agent. He made a mental note to remind Shimmer he had just hit number 98.

Shadow entered the shack without hesitation. No smoke outside meant no fire inside. No fire inside meant no one staying here. He moved quickly to the middle of the room and tossed away a poorly placed rug.

He scanned the hardwood floor, quickly spotting the gap he was looking for. Using his magic he tore up the board and the two boards neighboring it, pulling up a black case from below. Opening the case, he spotted several items of clothing and a map. He pulled them all out, giving the map a quick study, but stopped when he spotted something even more valuable.

The small scroll sat in the very bottom of the case, rolled up and tucked away as the emergency kit. Shadow was never one to use the emergency kit but an impending war on two fronts, that Equestria could very well lose, was probably the correct time to do just that.

Opening the scroll, Shadow made sure to read it carefully, understanding it to be a method of quick and instant travel that could take you anywhere in the world, but it only worked once. All it took was saying the location you wished to travel twice out loud and off you would go.

Gathering the clothes back into the case Shadow stuffed it back into the hole, before standing upright and sighing heavily. Standing in front of him were two griffin guards, fully outfitted with battle armor.

"What's that you got there, pony?" The right guard said, noticeably feminine.

"Just some light reading." Shadow smiled, wiggling the scroll in front of them.

"Yea right. Gimme that." The left guard snatched the scroll out of the air and opened it. "What the? What language is this?"

"I call that, 'Shadow Speak.' Trademark pending, mind you. Most just call it spy code."

The female guard grabbed the scroll from her counterpart and looked it over. "I recognize this. This is the code Dash and I used to pass notes in flight school so no one else could read them."

The shock on Shadow's face was hard to hide. "You know Rainbow Dash? How?"

"She and her lame friends tried prank me out of Ponyville. I left because they couldn't handle me."

Shadow racked his brain. What was her name? Giles? Gloria? Gilda!

"I heard you made Fluttershy cry while you were there."

"Oh yea, that lame yellow pegasus with the ducks. What a loser." Gilda turned her attention back to the scroll. "Am I reading this right? We can go anywhere?"

"What are you taking about?" The male guard was beginning to lose his patience.

"It says it can take whoever is holding it anywhere. But I can't read this last part."

That's because the last part really is my own language. Shadow thought. It was a language he and Luna had come up with together to mask transmissions.

The other guard grabbed the scroll from Gilda and looked it over once more. The look on his face said he didn't understand it any more this time than he had the first time.

"To activate it you have to say the password." Shadow said, nonchalantly.

"What's the password?" Gilda tried to grab the scroll from her partner but he held it tight, she continued to try to wrench it from his grasp.

"Forsaken Forest."

Gilda stopped in her attempts to recover the scroll with a claw still on it and both griffins gave him a questioning look and spoke together. "Forsaken Forest?" In a flash, they were gone.

Shadow retrieved the black case once more, gathering a cloak, four rubber shoes that stretched over his hooves to warm them, and a visor that would help him see clearly in the snow. Donning each piece, Shadow spoke to the empty cabin.

"Ya know, I know you're probably not a bad griffin. Not deep down. But no one makes Fluttershy cry and gets away with it. Enjoy trying to find your way out of the forest. Here's hoping you don't find the Graveyard of the Forgotten."

Shadow once again replaced the case underneath the floor, replacing the floor boards and the rug as well. Exiting the shack, he had a moment of guilt. He had essentially sentenced both of them to starving to death. He knew deep down that they would have tortured and killed him without a second thought, but that did little to comfort him. If he was forced to kill, he preferred quick and painless.

Taking a deep breath, the cold air bringing him back to the here and now, he flipped the cloak up, adjusted the visor, and, remembering what the map had read, he set off to the east once more, heading across a tundra to Noveria.

Comments

[debio]

My response:
...
...
...
hehehehehehehehe
Oh wait, now he doesn't have a scroll anymore. That's a bit sad.

On the other hand, why wouldn't he just say Canterlot really quickly before Gilda could stop him? Seems do-able...

[RangerBeef]

1705791 Less risky. Besides, he knows he can make it. ;)