Author's Note

Hey everyone, William here. I'd like to give a big round of applause to ShadowManz for co-writing this chapter (and the next) with me. It was a whole lot of fun, and I enjoy seeing interactions between characters that are not from the same author. Makes for interesting dialogue and content, eh?

So enjoy this chapter if you can! If you like the character introduced in this chapter, you can go read Dangerous Storms by ShadowManz to get more. It's a bloody brilliant fiction and I enjoy reading it whole heartedly.

Aside from that, hope everyone is 'enjoying' the new school semester.

Signed,

William Sable

Chapter 14: Botched Operations

Sitting alone in the midst of Canterlot, Shadow attempted to relax his shoulders. He had checked his six five times and not a single agent was on his tail. No legionnaires were patrolling nearby. No pegasi were soaring overhead.

Yet there was something still making him uneasy. A basic fear in the back of his mind gnawed at him; a fear of abandonment.

Storm grimaced at the thought. This fear was deep within him, and impossible to dissuade. It was really the reason why he didn't make friends all that easy. He always had a fear of rejection and abandonment.

The café that he now sat in was rather nice. The silver-blue tables and chairs lined up, row by row, all contrasted the cream building that housed the kitchen and indoor seating. The noise in this section of the city was quite low, and in fact peaceful and calming.

Shadow couldn't calm himself, however. His shoulders remained tense. His mind raced. Standing up, he darted his eyes around. She was late and nowhere in sight. Something felt off here. Dash was unreliable in a normal situation, but in these dire circumstances, it was beyond odd for her to be late.

"Where is she?" he muttered, straining his neck to peer through the crowd outside the café.

He stood up and slid around to the right side of his table, trying to get a better view at the pedestrians. Taking a step forward, Shadow bumped against an adjacent table. Cringing, he prayed for the sound he dreaded to remain silent. The sound he had heard so many a time…

Clink splosh!

There it was. Sighing, he turned, facing the table's coffee soaked resident.

Before he had even turned around fully, Shadow began, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bump into your table. You alright?"

"Oh yeah, I'm perfectly fine. I've always wanted to be drowned in coffee at a café," a black pony snapped back sarcastically.

"Ah. I uh... here, let me buy you another coffee," Shadow stated, glancing over his shoulder as he slipped into the seat opposite the dark pony.

"Thanks, but keep your money. I don't take charity", he muttered.

"You sure? I mean..."

Shadow trailed off into silence. He spotted the one thing he wished he would never see. Three ponies clad in dark armour were now at an intersection a few blocks away, and closing in on the café fast.

Shaking his head, he snapped himself out of his trance, repeating, "You sure? I feel pretty bad. Is there anything else I can do... uh... I didn't catch your name."

"The name's Night. Night Shiner. And why are you being tailed by somepony?"

"Tailed... me? How..." Shadow muttered, frowning at Night.

Glancing over his shoulder again, he watched the three guards. They were now a few feet from him, walking past the café. Holding his breath as one looked to the side, Shadow felt his heart fluttering.

Then they were gone. As fast as they had appeared they disappeared, becoming part of the opaque mess of the crowd.

"Well, I guess I may as well be frank with you. How did you know I'm being tailed?" Shadow questioned, giving up his former, happy façade.

The black unicorn gave a snort. "The way you're constantly looking over your shoulder and have your muscles tensed, always alert. And your eyes are darting around, never-resting too long on one thing. Although, I never would've guessed if it weren't for those factors".

"That obvious eh... you don't seem particularly worried. I mean, I've been labeled a terrorist."

"Why should I? For all you know I could be a bounty hunter, a murderer, or just a suicidal idiot".

"Touché," Shadow remarked, smirking, "Well Detective Hooves, one guess as to who I am. You've got damn good deductive reasoning. Many lack any skill in it whatsoever. So try me."

Night's eyes flickered, the gears turning inside his head.

"It must have been a recent happening, or the royal guard would have caught you by now. And if you managed to evade them this long, it would have taken discipline and skill, not to mention knowing how the inside works. If Celestia has her top guards after you, she must've known that you would be...rather difficult to locate", he paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"One would have to know when to be seen and not to be seen, mimicking the factors of MIA. Although, there is one stallion that comes to mind, having been on the covers of newspapers multiple times would know this...the last paper I read stated that he had escaped capture...how did I do? You impress me with your game of shadows, Shadow Storm. What did you do to piss the royals off?"

"Well, colour me impressed. One wrong detail though; not the Royals specifically. The Equestrian Secret Service, and one Director Silverhoof. They call it treason, murder, terrorism. Me? I call it being betrayed by your own government, and a lot of 'wrong place wrong time'."

Glancing over his shoulder again, Shadow scanned the crowd for the familiar mane he knew so well. Rainbow Dash was nowhere in sight, however. Turning back to Night Shiner, Shadow sighed, wiping the smirk from his face.

"So how are we going to go about this? You obviously are well versed in these sorts of things, so I'm assuming you're military. Are you going to turn me in? Hand me over to the ESS and doom Equestria?"

"Correct Shadow, I am in the military and I would be going against my duty not to turn you in. But, if I did, you'll probably face execution, and I won't let any pony die by my hooves. So, with your permission I would like to perform a quick truth spell on you", Night said, narrowing his eyes.

"A truth spell... wow. Straight to the point eh? How do I know you won't just kill me? How can I trust you?"

"Here's the thing: you shouldn't trust any pony if you want to stay alive. I could've killed you when we first met, five minutes from now, or whenever I feel like it. But I'm not going to if you allow me to see what really happened. So, do you really want to take the chance of getting arrested? Or, having somepony have faith in you? In conclusion, you have no reason to trust me, and I have no reason to trust you. But I will help you stay free if you let me in your mind".

"Let me in your mind…" Shadow murmured.

He was torn. Every time he looked for Dash, she was nowhere to be seen. This situation was a puzzling one. Thinking for a few seconds, Shadow considered all possible variables. The idea of 'letting somepony' into his mind was beyond creepy. On the other hand, it wouldn't hurt to have some good PR…

"Fine," he stated finally, "It's not like I can stop you anyway."

"Good point, asking was a courtesy. Either way, I was going to perform it on you", Night said.

Horn glowing, he gently touched Shadow's forehead with it.

Shadow felt his eyes close as a strange feeling came over him. Peace? Yes, he believed so. Peace. He had almost forgotten what that felt like.

Then that warm feeling abruptly stopped and was replaced with something else. Despair. It felt like being dropped in freezing lake. Instantly, he opened his eyes, to see Night's perplexed expression.

"That was rather...interesting", the black unicorn said, "I know the truth now but, I...I saw somepony else. Who was that blue mare?"

"Somepony close to me."

Shadow glanced over his shoulder again. Within a moment he had decided his next course of action.

"Somepony who is late..." he muttered, standing up.

"What are you looking for?"

"Well, I was supposed to RV with an ally here. Now, I'm looking for an escape route."

"It shouldn't be that difficult, knowing how many escapes you've pulled. Care for any assistance?" Night asked.

Shadow raised an eyebrow curiously, a grin sweeping across his face. Each passing minute made him like his new comrade more and more. It was odd; he seemed trust worthy but shifty at the same time. Storm was already regretting some of the details he revealed to this odd unicorn. On the other hand, what could he possibly do?

Shadow opened his mouth to speak but never actually uttered a word, as a large figure came crashing down on him.

Within seconds, a dazed and surprised Shadow found himself sprawled on the floor, staring at a silver unicorn that now stood over him. The unicorn had a single hoof raised, with a dagger-like blade wrapped around it.

Shadow's life flashed before his eyes.

'Not like this...' he thought, feeling his heart flutter as the world seemed to slow down to a halt.

The sun glinted off the blade. All around him, the wind seemed to stop. Only one thing came to mind.

'I'm going to break my promise.'