Chapter not complete yet.  May or may not be finished during the holidays.

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Shadowmere went to the spot near the road to the Everfree Forest at 7 P.M. and he spotted a pony in a black robe.  From what he could make out of the pony's features, the pony had a white coat of fur, and she had wings.  The pony took off its hood, and Shadowmere was shocked to see Princess Celestia.  "You are the one named Shadowmere?" she said.  Shadowmere simply nodded his head.  Celestia then said, "Now, you can accept my contract.  I want you to sneak into the home of that pompous bastard Prince Blueblood and END HIS LIFE!  My sister, Luna,  has accused him of raping her, and I performed the Black Sacrament.  If you successfully kill Blueblood, and bring me his horn as proof of his death, I shall pay you 5000 bits."

With a murderous grin on his face, Shadowmere said, "Very well Princess Celestia, I shall report this to my superior, and I shall make haste to Blueblood's home tomorrow night."

Shadowmere then proceeded to walk back to the entrance of the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.  Since he has spoken the phrase to the Black Door on his first entry into the Sanctuary, the Door recognized him and allowed him to enter without speaking the passphrase.  Astrid was waiting by the entrance, and she said, "Well?  Who was the pony who wanted to meet you?  And who is the contract for?"

Shadowmere replied with, "You will not believe this.  The pony who wished to meet me was Princess Celestia herself!  She told me that the contract was a pony named Prince Blueblood, and that he was accused of raping her sister Luna."

Astrid had a look of surprise on her face, and she replied with, "Incredible!  Our first contract, and already we're going after royalty?!  This world is ripe for the picking!  Tomorrow morning, I shall visit that pony named Rarity and have her fashion a set of Dark Brotherhood armor for you.  We cannot have you on the job unprotected, and you need something to keep your identitiy secret."

The next morning, Astrid and Shadowmere walked to Carousel Boutique.  "Let me get the door for you Astrid." said Shadowmere.  Shadowmere opened the door with his hoof, a bell ringing as it opened.

"Thank you Shadowmere." said Astrid.

Rarity heard the bell ring, and she walked up to the entrance of her shop, and she saw Shadowmere and Astrid there.  "Hello Astrid!  Hello Shadowmere!  Welcome to Carousel Boutique!"

"Good morning Rarity," said Astrid, "I require your services.  You see, Shadowmere is in need of a new set of clothes, and I need you to make a set of clothes for him.  I brought a set of mine for you to use as a base." Astrid then laid her set of Dark Brotherhood armor on Rarity's workspace.

"I'll see what I can do!" said Rarity.  From out of nowhere, she pulled out a tape to take measurements of Shadowmere, and she wrote down the measurements on her business notepad.  She then proceeded to take Astrid's armor and put it on a mannequin so she could see what it looked like on a pony.  "The design of this armor is simply FABULOUS!  Although, I think that maybe this seems a bit more stealth oriented rather than the typical armor that I've seen on the Royal Guards.  I'll get straight to work on making Shadowmere's armor now!"

With a flourish of light from Rarity's horn, a vast assortment of sewing tools and fabrics the same color as Astrid's armor came out from a closet.  Rarity then manipulated these tools so that the fabrics were cut, sewn, and put together in a similar manner as the appearance of Astrid's armor, but to suit Shadowmere's measurements.  After 5 minutes, the entire suit was completed, and Rarity gave out a victorious "Voila!"  She then had Shadowmere put the armor on in the changing room, and when he came out, he looked, as Rarity put it, "Dashing, but deadly!"

Shadowmere moved around a bit in the armor to get used to it.  Then he took a look at himself in the mirror.  "it's perfect," he said, "But how should I pay you?"

Rarity then said, "Oh please!  This one's on the house!  Although next time you need some new clothes, I'll be wanting payment."

Shadowmere said, "Thank you Ms. Rarity.  Your generosity only rivals your beauty."

At this statement, Rarity's face blushed so red that it looked as if roses had bloomed on her face.  "Why thank you, you handsome rogue!" said Rarity.  "Also, here's your armor back Astrid."

"Thank you Rarity." said Astrid.

"Have a nice day you two!"

"You too Ms. Rarity." said Shadowmere.

Astrid and Shadowmere then left Carousel Boutique and started to head back to the sanctuary.  Along the way back, they discussed how Shadowmere would go about his contract on Blueblood's head.  "I shall sneak into his house late at night, and I shall slit his throat while he sleeps."