Eclipse and the Shades made their way in silence along Cherilee's secret path.  They had made so many turns that they no longer had an idea of where they were going; but still, they trudged through the dirt path, heads low to avoid smacking them off the roof.  Eclipse looks on in the darkness, sincerely wishing she had thought to bring a candle.  Her eyes had adjusted well enough to see where she was going, but only barely.  As she made a turn to the right, she thought that she saw a light ahead.  A faint one, but a light nonetheless. She turned to look behind her, making sure that all the members of the group were present.

"Hey guys, I think I see a light ahead." she said, remembering to keep her voice down.

"About time!" Trixie shouted from the back of the group. "Trixie is getting very tired of this small path!"

"Trixie," Footnote said, "Keep your voice down.  We can't risk being found here."

"That won't matter if Eclipse here is right.  If there's a light, there's an escape."  The four ponies advanced on the light, getting closer and closer to it's source.  Eclipse was beginning to make out where the hole lead.  It looked very much like a basement, and as they got even closer, she could see papers strewn carelessly across the floor, and shelves filled with books. Eclipse made the assumption this was the basement of Cherilee.  It certainly made sense; after all, the path did come from the school. She turned back to the group again. "Stay here for a second." She advised. Footnote, who had been following right behind her gave a simple nod. The grey unicorn made a small jump from the little hole into this basement.  She landed on some of the papers, and struggled to keep her balance as the papers shifted under her feet.  The rest of the group followed shortly after her, each slipping on the papers a little bit as well.

"Where..." Palm Branch started, "Where are we?"

"To be honest," Eclipse said, "I have no idea."  She turned to observe the room a little bit more, noticing a window providing the light of the moon, and stairs that she could only presume lead to the main floor. "I think that this is Cherilee's basement.  I'll go up the stairs and have a peek."

"We'll stay here." Palm Branch said, as he proceededk to dust himself off.  "Shout if you need help though."

"Will do." Eclipse said, as she cautiously proceeded up the stairs.  She could see the top was closed off by some sort of cellar door.  She used her hoof to pry it open, and could see the inside of a home. 'Good.' she thought to herself as she open the door the rest of the way, revealing a sight she certainly wasn't prepared for.  This house wasn't Cherilee's.  It was her own.  Eclipse entered her own home, which she had never found to have a basement, and proceded to check the other side of the door.  It had been made from the floorboards, and had a small latch.  It was near one of her bookshelves, in an area that she never really used. "Hey," Eclipse called down to the group below. "Come check this out."  The sounds of hooves coming up the stairs shortly followed.

"What's going on Ecli-" Trixie stopped herself as she observed where they were. "Oh my gosh."  She stared at the room where she had been living for this past week and a half.

"How the hell did Cherilee manage this?! It looks like she lived under my freaking house for goodness sakes!" Eclipse shouted at the top of her lungs. "What else could she have hidden from us?!" Eclipse yelled in her confusion.

"Eclipse, relax yourself." Footnote calmly said. "She was our leader, and likely hid many more secrets from us.  Just have a look at Operation Dragon's Claw as an example.  That was one of her best kept secrets. We all knew about that little tunnel under the school, but we had no idea where that lead."  Eclipse remained silent.  Footnote was right, but right now, she needed more time to think.  More importantly, she needed to plan.  Celestia had seen her, and the school would most likely under intense investigation.  They'd find this little hidey hole soon enough, and come crawling down to find them.

"Everypony, make yourself at home for a few minutes.  I need some time alone to  think."  With that, Eclipse began to pace, while everypony else retreated into the basement.  This time was absolutely critical.  Celestia and the royal guards could be at her doorstep within minutes.  After all, Twilight, who she had also seen at the school, knew where she lived.  She needed a plan, and fast.  'Where could we go?' Eclipse asked herself. 'Anywhere in Ponyville is a risk; hell, anywhere else is a risk too.' She quickly ran through a list of places they could run to, in order to avoid Celestia.  "Hey, Footnote!" she shouted down the stairs.

"Yes Eclipse?"

"Think your place can hold the 4 of us?  We need to leave Ponyville, and fast."

"Are you out of your damn mind, Eclipse? My place is in Canterlot, and I'm far too close to Celestia!"

"That's a risk we're going to have to take." Eclipse replied. "Twilight Sparkle, who was with Celestia at the school, knows where I live.  This'll throw them off the trail, at least for a while."  Footnote was silent for a few seconds, pondering Eclipse's argument.

"Well then, we should get moving." The three ponies moved up from the basement again, ready to move towards Canterlot.

"Let's go." Eclipse said.  The four ponies donned their hoods again, and stepped outside of the door.  Eclipse realized that this could be the last time she set hoof in this house.  But, that was an occupational hazard at this stage.  She closed her door, walking away from the home she had grown up in and loved.

"Goodbye." She whispered quietly as she walked further and further away from her home.

=================

"Starry Night?" Celestia asked, "That's her name?"

"If your description of her is accurate," Twilight said, "then yes."

"She was a grey unicorn, with orange eyes and a slightly messy mane. I'm one hundred percent certain of this."

"Then it's true.  It is her." Twilight said. "I know where she lives, and I can take you there."

"There'd be no point though.  She's dead.  The fire in the schoolhouse had to have killed her."

"If that was true, where was she in the wreckage of the school?" Celestia thought about this question for a few seconds.

"She's right, sis." Luna said. "There would have been some sign of her left in that building."

"Well how did she manage to get out without us noticing, let alone past the magical field I had up?" Celestia asked.

"I have no idea, but since the wreckage has started to cool off, we can have a look for ourselves.  There might be something at the schoolhouse that allowed them to escape without being noticed." Twilight reasoned. Celestia and Luna couldn't help but agree.  "It's settled then.  We'll go look through the wreckage of the school for evidence."  With that, Twilight moved towards the door, exiting once again into the cold night, followed closely by the alicorn princesses.

===============

The Shades reached Canterlot without issue, and were coming up on Footnote's home now.  The group had kept quiet since they left Ponyville; they couldn't risk anypony figuring out who they were.  Besides, there wasn't much to talk about.  They just walked on through the night, ignoring the sights and sounds around them.  After finally reaching Footnote's home, everypony was certainly glad that there would be warmth in his home; the night had been so cold that Eclipse could have sworn she felt some frost on her cape.  He rapped quietly on the door, and it was answered by a small, dark green dragon with red eyes.

"And where do you think you've been?" Midna paused briefly, and observed the 3 ponies behind Footnote "Who the he-"

"I'll explain it to you later.  Right now, we just need to get out of the cold."

"Fine. Come on in." The dragon opened the door the rest of the way, and allowed the three ponies inside.  After they had all come in, she slammed the door, shutting out the cold night air.  "So Footnote," Midna started to say, "who the hell are these guys?"

"I don't believe you have been properly introduced to the rest of the Shades."

"I've met Cherilee, but none of these idiots."

"Midna." Footnote said, sternly.  The dragon rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I haven't met any of these fine folks."

"Much better." He turned his attention towards the Shades. "Remove your cloaks please.  There is no reason to hide in here.  We'll be safe."  Everypony else obliged, removing their cloaks and placing them by the door.

"The pale yellow one is Palm Branch, and the grey unicorn is Eclipse.  She's the new leader."  Midna's eyes met with Trixie's.

"And I know exactly who you are." The little dragon said.

"I should expect nothing less." Trixie said, "The Great and Powerful Trixie is known far and wide through Equestria."

"Yeah, right." The dragon muttered under her breath.

"These fine folks will be staying with us these next few days." Footnote told Midna,  "I expect you to treat them with respect, all right?"

"Whatever."

"Better than a 'no'." he said. "If you need me," he said to the group, "I'll be in my study, upstairs.  Knock before entering!" With that, he proceded to go up the stairs, before remembering one last thing.   "Oh, and Midna, be a good assistant and help our guests find their blankets. They should be in the basement."

"Ugh, fine!" Midna replied in a huff.

"Thank you." Footnote said, as he retreated onto the second floor. Midna turned back to the Shades, and rolled her eyes again.

"Whatever.  Let's get your blankets and stuff.."

============

Luna, Celestia, and Twilight had been digging through the wreckage of the schoolhouse for near a half hour now, with very little success.  They had found nothing of interest so far, and things certainly didn't look like they were going to change from there.  Morning was getting near, and Celestia would be needed to raise the sun above the horizon shortly.  The three ponies continued to search through the charred wreckage of a building that had once symbolized everything about learning.  Now, it was gone from Ponyville, and a new one would have to be built in its place.  Luna's horn was in a near constant glow as she lifted pieces of the building out of the way.  They were starting to get near the foundations of the school now.

"Celestia, how old is this building?" Twilight asked.

"Ponyville school was built almost 50 years ago now.  I remember opening it's doors for the first time, ushering in a new era of education in Ponyville." Celestia stated, taking a few seconds to pause. "Now, it's all going to have to be rebuilt." Luna had continued to surf through the wreckage during this small conversation.  The moon princess stood near where the teacher's desk had once proudly stood.  Her horn began to glow with magic, as did a plank of wood in front of her.  The plank began to float above the ground, and finally, she shifted it aside.

"Tia, come see this!" Celestia stopped what she was doing on the other side of the school, and made her way towards Luna. Twilight followed shortly after.

"What have you found, Luna?"

"Looks like a metal plate." The dark alicorn replied. "It has lots of debris around it though.  We probably won't be able to-" Celestia's horn began to glow with a lot of power, shifting the debris clear off the plate, unveiling it fully.  

"Never mind." Luna said, observing the metal plate.  It was covered in a layer of ash and dust, which Celestia quickly cleared off with a brush of magic.  Observing slightly closer, Luna found herself staring at a strangely familiar insignia. Her eyes widened in shock, as Celestia looked at her.

"What's wrong, sister?" Celestia asked.

"It's...not possible." Luna said, ignoring her sister's question. "We need to get back to Canterlot!"

=================

Everything was nearly silent at Footnote's place.  Most of the ponies had fallen asleep, save for Eclipse and Trixie, who had stayed up reviewing the plan, and just quietly chatting.  As they had talked though the night, the topic had shifted more towards the Shades, and more specifically Cherilee.

"So," Trixie began to ask, "have you ever really stopped to think about why we're doing this?  Why Cherilee wanted this?"

"To be honest, not really.  I just know we're doing it, fulfilling her orders.  I didn't know what her motives were. I still have no clue what they were for that matter."

"Well, do you think she left anything in the plan?  Any notes? Something?"

"Why don't we just have a look then?" She turned towards her saddlebags as her horn began glowing.  "I still have to pore over this whole thing, so why not start now?" The saddlebags silently opened, revealing the contents of papers and books.  She removed the plans for Operation Dragon's Claw, and brought them towards her.  "Got a light?" she asked Trixie.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie always has a light." Trixie's horn lit up, producing enough light to see the pages before them, but not enough to disturb any other sleeping ponies.  They began to look over each page, searching for Cherilee's motives.  At first, there was no signs of any motivation at all.  They looked over several pages of plan, exploring every detail and possible theory, looking for hidden motives in each sentence.  

As they continued to over-analyze the plan, Celestia's sun began to creep over the horizon.  Appropriately, the two mares had found themselves on one of the last pages, which depicted Cherilee's final spell which she would use to control Celestia.  Eclipse scanned over this page now, looking for anything that could provide a reason for this plan to even exist.  Near the Celestia's mane in the drawing of this final scene, she could make out a small couple of scribbles.

'Nothing significant.' Eclipse thought. Somehow though, those scribbles bugger her a little. She turned towards Trixie. "See anything?" Trixie pressed in to have a closer look at the page.

"Some writing near Celestia in that drawing, but other than that, no."

"Writing?"

"Yes, writing.  I don't know how you could have missed it." Trixie smugly smiled, gesturing towards the scribbles near the alicorn's mane.

"That's no writing, Trixie.  It's just some scribbles; nothing to worry about."

"And that's where you're wrong." She stated bluntly. "Use a spell to try and get a closer look at it."

"What, like a vision enhancing spell or something?"

"Yes." Trixie said, rolling her eyes. "Hurry up and do it.  We don't have all day!"

"Relax, Trix. Sheesh." Eclipse tried hard to tolerate that pony, but sometimes, she just became far too obnoxious.  Regardless of that though, Eclipse's horn lit up, and the spell was used.  The specific spell she had chosen would allow her to see things up to a mile away in perfect clarity.  Which also meant she could focus on some scribbles, which Trixie claimed was writing.  She looked into the scribbles, and found that Trixie was right; there was in fact writing here.

"Celestia and Luna; both tyrants and utter foals." She read aloud. "They fear the darkness, they fear it's might.  All we need now is the right time to strike."

"Cherilee, from what Trixie can tell, thought that the alicorns were tyrants.  It sounds like she knew that they feared the powers of dark magic, which we could work to our advantage, providing we can figure out what spells they fear."

"I might be able to help you with that." A voice said from behind them.  Eclipse and Trixie both turned to see Footnote standing in the doorway.

"Footnote!" Eclipse half-shouted. "Sorry to disturb you, we were just-"

"Going over the plan again, and questioning Cherilee's motives?" Footnote asked.

"Yes." Eclipse responded shyly.

"Thank you for being honest." Footnote said.  "In this group of murderers and chronic liars, it's nice to see a little honestly once in a while."   Murderers. The word struck Eclipse like a sonic rainboom.  It was obviously a comment directed at her.  Nopony else in the group had ever killed anyone.  Just her.

"We did find a little motivation though." Trixie contributed, "Or, rather The Great and Powerful Trixie did."

"And that is?" Footnote asked.

"She thinks that Celestia and Luna are tyrants and weak foals."

"And you don't?" he asked. Eclipse and Trixie froze, unsure of what was coming next. "It's obvious, and you should have known from the very start.  Celestia and Luna are complete tyrants, and need to be eliminated.  We need to rise up against them, for a better Equestria."

"Well, don't you have the impressive knowledge about all this?" Trixie said in an irritated tone.  "Anything else we should know?"

"I think you're fine for now.  Keep studying that plan though.  It's more than what meets the eye." Footnote quietly left the room, leaving the two ponies alone again.

"Why didn't we just ask the smart one in the first place?" Eclipse asked herself. Next Chapter: Chapter 9 - Investigations Estimated time remaining: 29 Minutes