Smudge Marks & Engel Werks

This is one of the drawing I started during my most recent Picarto stream. The stream was tribute to the late Syd Mead, so I decided to do a Blade Runner themed Tempest Shadow piece. Below is the story that popped into my head as I worked on it.  It's a much more complicated drawing than I usually do for stream pieces, but I wanted to experiment with some shading techniques.

Tempest's hooves echoed down the palace hallway as she walked briskly on her way past 6 statues on plinths. 2 earth ponies, 2 pegasus ponies, 1 unicorn, and 1 small alicorn. She gave them no attention as she hurried to the spinner pad.

The mare sprinted through a heavy mist to the waiting spinner. It was probably going to rain hard tonight. Unfortunately weather in Equestria was much more unpredictable now. While the capture of Canterlot had almost been a textbook operation, the taking of Cloudsdale had been a much more drawn out and messy affair. This had resulted in much of the weather control equipment located there being damaged or outright destroyed by the forces defending the floating city.  As a result Equestria's weather had reverted to a much more wild state.

At least they'd been able to tap into the Royal Sisters control of the sun and moon even in their petrified state. This gave the new regime the control that aspect of the world and reduced the former sisters to glorified time pieces.

The spinner pilot was finishing a checklist as Tempest Shadow climbed into the front passenger seat and toggled the gull-wing door on her side to close.  He was a relatively small simian male from the same southern lands as the Storm King heralded from. Finishing the checklist he stowed it and addressed his passenger.

"Evening ma'am. Where do you need to go?"

The unicorn secured her 4-point safety harness before replying. "Take me to the Town Square in the old part of town sergeant."

"Do you want me to put you at the nearby spinner pad?"

Tempest looked out the window at the cloudy nighttime sky as the craft's engines began to spoil up.  "No sergeant. Put me down in the Town Square itself."

"Understood ma'am. Town Square." The pilot toggled his mike. "Canterlot Air Center. This SP-033X asking for permission to depart from pad 01 over."

A few seconds later a disembodied voice was heard through the craft's speakers. "SP-033X you are cleared for takeoff."

The deep purple mare felt the spinner shudder a tiny bit then it rose into the evening sky.  As far as flights went it was a short thing. She could've used a ground car, but she wanted to make her entrance known.

The general pacification of Equestria had been achieved 2 years ago, and for the most part the population had accepted their fates and had went about their lives as best they could. Most of them.

There were small, organized resistance movements in the former kingdom that continued harass and make themselves a general nuisance. In particular the one run by a pony named Starlight Glimmer was proving to be most troublesome. She was wily mare who had avoided numerous attempts to capture her.

So it had been a surprise when Starlight contacted Tempest's office with news of a common foe who was attempting to exploit the fragile nature of the Storm King's new regime. Changelings. In particular those loyal to Queen Chrysalis. The queen was working hard to get her operatives embedded into king's new government like ticks in a pony's hide.  This had resulted in a very fragile, distrustful peace while both in their own way dealt with the problem. There had even been a very small amount of sharing intel over the last couple of weeks.

Now neither party truly trusted the other, and moment this problem was resolved Tempest was certain that Starlight's cells would be back to work trying to thwart the Storm King, and for her part Tempest would be trying to either capture or kill Starlight.

The Town Square in the old part of Canterlot had existed for hundreds of years. Once it had been the center of commerce in the capitol. Now it was a relatively worn down affair. Small shops and row houses lined the edges of the square. Still in spite of the weather there was a large crowd of ponies going about their evening business. However the combination of spotlights and instructions via the spinner's loudspeakers had resulted in the crowd getting out of the away of the descending craft.

Tempest climbed out of the spinner and looked back at the pilot. "Take off and assume an orbit about 2000ft over the Old Town. Keep my tracker signal on your scanner at all times.  If you lose it for any reason contact me immediately via my sending crystal. This shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. Understood?"

The pilot repeated his instructions. Satisfied with what she heard the Head of Internal Security sent him on his way. Slowly the spinner rose back into the nighttime sky.

With this accomplished Tempest scanned the evening crowd. Few friendly faces met her eyes. Not surprising she thought. She was collaborating with conquerors of their kingdom. However none of them looked liked would stick a shiv in her. The Storm King had made it abundantly clear he would not tolerate attacks on his forces. So for now they just glared her. The mare shrugged her shoulders and thus secretly adjusted the straps of her shoulder holster. Then she walked off into the crowd. The whole point of this operation was to be bait. To see if she could flush one of the changelings in the area to make a move on her. Hours before her very public arrival, security forces had covertly entered the Old Town and taken up positions. Now they were tracking her movement as well. Waiting to pounce.

It took about 20 minutes for Tempest to pick up a tail.  A young, earth pony mare who hung back about 100ft from her. The mare pretended to be unaware of her shadow and continued to peruse the wares being sold by the street vendors. Pausing to admire some embroidered rugs the unicorn glanced down to the bracelet around her left wrist.  A small sapphire gem was glowing faintly.  This meant that there was a changeling in the immediate vicinity. This was some of the intel Starlight had provided. The means to detect disguised changelings.

Casually Tempest rubbed her left wrist and the bracelet in the process. This triggered a quick, pre-coded signal telling her security forces to standby. Glancing around nonchalantly she spotted her shadow standing by a food vendor. It was possible she was just a nervous pickpocket or a random pony attempting to screw up the courage to attack her, but Tempest had a hunch this was their changeling.

Slowly Tempest wandered off and her shadow followed.