The Adventures of Shadow Chaser: Shadows of War

by RangerBeef

Chapter 4

Shadow leaned into the wind, trudging through the snow flying at him. Before the storm had hit fully he had seen a town on the horizon, and prayed it was Noveria.

He wished the two griffins had not happened upon him. He wished he'd have been able to warp safely back to Canterlot and inform them of the coming danger. But he knew if his presence and immediate disappearance had been reported that would've caused the griffins to move up their time table. As it stood now, he could still cross through to Noveria, contact the proper ponies to help and get things on track to deal with the invasion. In essence, by removing those two guards, he may have saved himself time. At least, that was the hope.

Shadow squinted through the flurry of snow. Noveria looked no closer now than it did five minutes ago. Swearing at the weather, he pulled his cloak tighter around himself and kept moving. He did so hate the cold.

He only hated the cold when he was forced to work in it. Normally, he loved spending time with his family during the winter, which was always a festive time for them. His first daughter had been born in late fall and that meant celebrating a birthday in between other holidays. Pinkie Pie made sure each party was bigger than the last, year after year.

Shadow had been even happier at her birth because it had completely blown his cover of being dead and he was able to rejoin his friends. None of which had been too pleased with his disappearance. Least of all, Rarity. He had come up with a crazy story of him leaving for a big case the day everyone had claimed he died and that he was just now returning. They all accepted this except Applejack, whom he quietly told the truth to.

Soldiering on, Shadow thought more of his family, recalling each birthday. There were never usually many toys, his daughters always just wanted to spend more time flying which Rainbow Dash had always encouraged. He remembered buying the Daring Do set three times. Once for Rainbow, once for his eldest daughter, Sky, who loved the books as much as her mother, and once more for his youngest daughter, Moon, still too young to read.

He remembered the last time he had been home. Sky had just begun to flit around the house, and he had encouraged her to work on her control before working on her speed. Much like Rainbow Dash, she had no intention of sacrificing speed. A broken tree limb, a shattered window, and a skinned knee later, she conceded that maybe she could use some control. Twilight Sparkle and her freshly broken window agreed.

Shadow lost himself in more visions of home. Of his girls playing in the streets of Ponyville. Of Rainbow Dash, doing her best not to be overly cautious with them, her own daredevil days mostly behind her now. He was so lost in thoughts of his own home that he nearly ran into someone else's.

Stopping just short of the house, Shadow looked around. He had wandered into Noveria without even looking. The streets were barren, the weather had driven everyone inside. Shadow wandered from house to house, looking for some sign of life. When finally he reached a building that looked like a library he spotted a familiar star and quickly zapped it black.

99. He thought as he knocked on the door to the library.

Shadow was all but certain he glanced someone in the window of the door before he heard locks on the inside begin to rattle. Something about that many locks set him on edge but it was probably just a precaution.

As the door finally opened, Shadow was waved inside by an elderly looking stallion with a coat similar in color to his own but his mane had turned a darker gray. Shuffling inside, he reveled in the warmth of the building as he shook off the snow from his cloak and boots, trying his best not to make too much of a mess.

The old stallion finally led him into an adjacent room, and directed Shadow to warm himself by the fire.

"So you're the agent they sent, eh?"

Shadow nodded. "You're the contact here in Noveria?"

"Not by choice, I assure you. You're coming from the Griffin Kingdoms, right? Something about an invasion, if I remember correctly."

"Yes. How did you..?"

"Please, son. When you've been in this business as long as I have you begin to develop a sixth sense for things, like political dissent and rebellion. More often than not, the rebellions will never actually rise. Even if they do, they're normally dealt with in a way that causes no bloodshed to either party."

"And when the rebellions refuse to be subdued politically?" Shadow asked.

"That's where we come in. It is our mission to keep it from coming to an all out war. You like to think of yourself as a first line of defense against the enemies of Equestria, am I right?" Shadow nodded.

"You're not wrong. But, what if I told you, you're the last as well?"

"That can't be true, though. The Equestrian military is mighty, they would defend what I fail do," Shadow said.

"Again you are right. And also wrong. The military is not the shield that protects Equestria; they are the sword. You are the shield. Should the shield falter, the sword must take it's place."

Shadow felt his patience begin to wain. "Listen, philosophies aside, we need to warn Equestria. A war is coming."

"Yes, yes. The Germaneish and the griffins are allied. Together they are a formidable foe but their truce will not last."

"Look, I just need to contact Luna and find a way back to Equestria. Can you help me with that or not?" Shadow bit his tongue. He knew letting his anger flare at a fellow agent wouldn't help him in the long run.

"Relax. Luna is aware of the coming danger, I assure you. However, the next train out of town leaves this evening and is headed to Hufgrund in Germaney. So why not indulge an old spy with some light conversation until then?" The old stallion smiled at him. He had just told Shadow he had no choice but to wait, if he wished to proceed in a timely manner.

Shadow sighed and resigning himself to a wait with a philosophical old stallion. "So, you're an old spy? Have you been working for Luna all this time?"

"The pony in charge has changed a few times. It's been Celestia for a long time. But I go where I'm needed, and work for who I'm told." His voice had a level of regret.

"You don't sound proud about what you've done."

"I used to be proud. Proud of my work for Equestria, proud that I felt I was doing my duty. Proud that I worked my tail off for a better life for my family. But you know what they never tell you about this job? The world keeps turning even without you at home. They keep growing. My wife died of some rare disease while I was roasting in the Zebrician deserts. My daughter was off in the world before I knew it. I can't tell you what I would give to be a normal schlub with a boring job and just have my family back."

Shadow nodded absently. He thought of his own daughters and of those birthdays he had missed.

"But who else would do what we do?"

"There's always another agent, son. But don't let my experience sour you. I'm sure you're the next big thing in this agency."

Shadow laughed to himself. "Yea. I'm pretty good, I guess."

They talked about the things that spies talk about for the next few hours. Trade secrets, tricks they had learned, near misses that had almost not missed. They discussed the rise and fall of nations and rebellions. The elder stallion explaining that this was not even close to the first time Equestria was unknowingly on the brink of war.

When the topic turned to family, Shadow failed to mention his own. It was a habit he had picked up many years ago. The less ponies knew of his personal life, the less they could use against him.

When finally Shadow rose to leave for the train station some hours later, he felt refreshed. Never had he been able to just talk so openly about the things he did. As he donned his cloak and boots the elder stallion gave directions to the train station. Fully dressed and ready for what await him outside, Shadow shook the hoof of the elder stallion.

"Friends call me Shadow," he said.

Taking his hoof and shaking it, "Fisher."

They shared a nod and Shadow was out the door and moving down the street. He found the train station and boarded the outbound train quickly. Germaney was not his destination of choice at the moment but it would give him a chance to collect a little intelligence.

Settling into his seat and wrapping his cloak around him like a blanket, Shadow prepared for the rather long trip. Hoping to catch a few hours of sleep along the way.

Comments

[debio]

I neglected to ask about it last chapter - have you by any chance played Mass Effect? I seem to recall a somewhat different freezing town called Noveria...

[RangerBeef]

1731374 Haha! Yea, I'm a pretty big Mass Effect fan but I had not realized that. I'll post a link to the unofficial map that I'm using when I get home this week. I really had not even thought of that.