"You still here Wispy?" My voice awoke Wispy whom had been sleeping, cuddling with the mop she had been using to clean under the printing presses.
"Wah-hah?" Wispy woke with a start, recognising her boss' voice. She swept at the floor with the mop, trying to look as if she hadn't dozed off during work.
I opened the door to the printing room, "Wispy, have you been here all night?"
Wispy looked at me and nodded. Her eyelids drooped as I threw her left fore-hoof over his shoulder. I trotted her from the printing room to the front office, and helped her put on her jacket.
"Now you go home and get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow." I waved as Wispy left. I was left, alone in the largest ministry of image hub other than the one in Canterlot.
I wasn't Black cap.
Well, I was.
My name is Horilous, a changeling who was posing as an night shift manager at the MoI. I collected my breifcase from behind the front desk where I had stashed it when I arrived.
I had four hours to complete everything that needed to be done tonight before the early-shift ponies got to work. I unlatched the briefcase and examined the contents to insure the interface tool for the terminal in the day-manager's office was still there.
Entering the office end of the building. My smell receptors registered old coffee and cigarette smoke, telling me I was close to the day-manager's office.
"Poor foal should quit smoking, I could find my way to her office even if the lights were off."
The door to the day-manager's office was carelessly left unlocked. I entered the office and inserted the interface into the computer's spell matrix. All I had to do was wait for the zebra interface to work its magic, and deliver it to the changeling operative waiting in the park east of the seaddle spire.
This espionage job needed to be done, but I took no pleasure in this work. I actually enjoy time spent working for the ministry of image. The ponies were nice folks. Some of which he had grown very fond of, namely Wispy. Her love had gotten me through some rough days.
But this was no culture exchange, this was war. A war of which battles were fought behind the scenes as much as on the front lines.
The interface beeped twice, and I removed it from the terminal. I moved to the filing cabinets next, switching out documents with forged copies. Double the casualties here, reduce the troops trained there. All the little things that make everything a little more hopeless.
I kept the real documents, they would earn him extra at his next payment. The zebras always paid well for such things, such as troop strength and hardware production. The documents slid into the folder in the open briefcase.
I clocked out, and locked the outside door behind me. I began my trot towards the East Seaddle Park. The bit of flesh that always itched beneath my black carapace at these dark exchanges began to do its thing. I did my best to ignore it.
Snow had began to fall in the cold Seaddle night, and the chill slowly crept through his exoskeleton. I wonder if this chill would send a shiver down my spine, you know, if I had one.
The park was empty, everyone sane was home. I hugged the fence until I came to a rusted bench. I sat, waiting in the cold for the changeling infiltrator to arrive. I prayed to the great hive queen that all of this espionage would soon be over and I wouldn't have to do this anymore.
"Horsefly?" a invisible speaker questioned.
"Cheeselegs?" I responded.
The changeling infiltrator ceased his illusion spell as he tossed a similar briefcase at my hooves.
"That will include your next mission and contingency plans."
"Contingency plans?" I questioned. I floated the briefcase full of documents and the interface to the other changeling.
The other changeling sighed, "The war escalates every day hive-brother. If worst comes to worst, it would help to be prepared."
I looked down at the briefcase I had received, "Yes, It would. Keep safe Cocoon."
"And you as well, hive-brother." The infiltrator resumed his illusion, and disappeared into the night.
And there I sat on the rusty bench, looking at the briefcase he gave me.
I wrapped the scarf around my neck and grabbed the briefcase in my mouth. I took a quick saunter around the park, admiring the scenery of the wintry Seaddle night. The nights in Equestria, I noticed, had a way of enchanting those who spent the time to looked up to admire it. So unlike the bleak nights back in the dustlands.
Soon, I broke from the wintry scene, and realized how cold it had gotten. Looping the scarf around a second time, I began a swift trot towards home.
___ ____ ___
The case had contained locked container labeled:
Contingency Plan
Do not open unless heavy threat of capture
The suitcase had also contained a box of cigarettes laced with some zebra drug he couldn't pronounce. The drug was confirmed lethal in anything but minute doses in the mission briefing. I felt my nine chambered heart in my throat as I read what I was supposed to use them for.
The zebras behind my operation had grown tired of sifting through her personal messages, mostly received from her drug addict sister, who was the notable head of the ministry of morale. But this was a Day Manager in the ministry of image, where the only thing her sister meant was more posters needing printing.
It was sad really, she had been his trainer when he got his internship at the ministry of image. I had grown fond of the dark-maned manager.
And the fact I had never been assigned to kill anyone before. I was from the worker caste, not some trained, cold-blooded murderer.
The bitter irony ripped at me. She had started smoking to relieve stress that her sister's drug problems caused her. Even more ironic was that the cigarettes she smoked passed through her sister's ministry.
I placed the cigarette box back into the briefcase, and latched it shut.
My apartment was in stark contrast with the world around it. So many a technicolour home had been built in Seaddle, but Horilous' home was a dark, warmer place. My bed slightly muddled, but I liked it that way. The room had a smell that reminded him of the hive queen and his true home.
I locked the door, set the alarm, and finally plopped down on my bed and fell asleep.
___ ____ ___
Black cap followed a procession of ponies dressed in black. Tissues patted tears away as the casket holding the corpse of the now deceased day-manager descended into the six foot hole that would be her resting place. Black cap looked on as the family members began to shovel dirt in the hole covering her.
A tear attempted to escape his eye, he held it back.
The plan had worked without a hitch. The drug lacing the cigarettes had done it, she had died within the week she had received the deadly box of smokes.
Of course this meant that he was now full time manager for the Seaddle branch of the Ministry of Image. All that the zebras behind his operation had wanted.
But as a single pink carnation fell from the magical grip of a lavender mare in the crowd, he was not so sure of what his advancement had truly cost.
Wispy found her way to his side again. He had been seeing more and more of her recently. They had even gone out to dinner once.
Black cap realised that the ponies that had attended the service had mostly left, besides a few stragglers. He moved away from the grave-site and and made for the exit of the bleak cemetery that had been chosen. He had a long way to walk if he was going to fill out the paperwork required to get his new pip-buck ordered and make his new job official.
___ ____ ___
Horilous stirred from his semi-comfortable position on his bed.
The plan had succeeded in getting him the position of full time manager of the Seaddle branch of the MoI. Any file, document, and code that moved into his jurisdiction was copied and sent back to his zebra counterparts. This success came with a unintended side effect however…
A twenty hour work day.
Horilous' first day had been a killer. Printing press number three died, and the repairpony had taken the worst of times to go on a four hour lunch break. Wispy had been his only solace the whole day. Her internship was finally over, and she had asked if she could throw a party on their floor. Being they were currently ahead of schedule, even with the printer mishap, he had agreed.
Horilous staggered his way to his bathroom on his one and a half hours of sleep. He examined himself in the mirror, discovering that changelings CAN get bags under their eyes. He prepared to take a quick five minute shower to wake himself up so he could function at work.
Unfortunately, he didn't notice that the shower pin had rusted in the on position. When he turned on the shower, a freezing jet of water doused him. He clumsily reacted, attempting to jump out of the shower. He slipped, and got caught up In the curtain. In a wet, freezing mass of plastic and changeling, he plummeted to the floor.
He groaned as he untangled himself and the curtain. He returned it to its original position, and got back in the now toasty shower. He washed himself for what felt like about two seconds. He pulled the curtain aside to look at the clock for the sake of keeping time. He had been in the bathroom for about twenty minutes.
"Twenty minutes!" the changeling panicked, having only ten minutes to get to work. The curtain was again knocked from its place as he rushed out of the bathroom. He collected his briefcase, scarf, and other office supplies as he got ready for the sprint to work.
There was a rapid knock at the door. Horilous changed his appearance, and Black cap opened the door.
He was shoved aside by the changeling infiltrator that burst through the door as he unlocked it. Cocoon hadn't even performed his illusion spell, and his rifle was drawn.
"What was in your contingency plan?!" The infiltrator questioned. He sifted through Horilous' belongings, as Horilous stood confused at his side.
"Why?" Horilous asked. The infiltrator spotted the briefcase and ripped it open, revealing the locked plans in question. The infiltrator pointed at the box, and Horilous reluctantly surrendered his key to the soldier drone.
Cocoon unlocked the case to find a small, metallic looking device sitting in the bottom of the case along with a cigar. He hurled the case and its contents into the wall with his telekinesis in frustration.
"What?!" Horilous asked, quickly becoming more concerned about why a well-trained infiltrator would be acting this way.
"They screwed us all," the changeling muttered, not paying attention to Horilous.
Now that Cocoon wasn't rummaging through his belongings, he could hear something he couldn't before. A faint, constant noise that filled him with dread the instant he realized what they were.
Sirens.
Horilous moved to the phone, pounding the keys.
"Why are you using the phone at a time like this?"
"Whispy's in danger!"
"We're in danger!"
"Whispy? Is that you?"
"Cap, whats going on?"
"There is a mega-spell in the city."
"By the goddess..."
"Wispy, I need you to listen carefully." Horilous looked at Cocoon and covered the phone.
"Where do we go?"
"She can't co-"
"Where is she meeting us?"
"Four blocks from here. The manhole cover in an alley behind a bunch of mom and pop stores. One of them is the Copper Bit Buffet, I think."
"Black Cap?"
"Wispy, Do you know where the Old Copper Bit Buffet is near my apartment building? There is a ponyhole cover there. Meet me in the sewer. When I get there, you need to stay calm."
"I'm on my way now."
Cocoon moved quickly to the door, motioning for Horilous to follow. Horilous stacked up next to the door behind him. Cocoon drew his previously holstered 9mm handgun and passed it to Horilous.
"Now, listen. You have to stay right behind me. I'll explain on the way, but we have to leave now if we're going to have a chance of surviving this." Horilous nodded, and both changelings quickly left the apartment. Leaving a pulsing talisman behind, attached to a remote detonator.
___ ____ ___
"They used us to deliver a mega-spell to Seaddle's doorstep?" Horilous questioned as both changelings moved quickly in between alleyways.
"It would appear that way, The only safe place we could reach is a old abandoned hive that is connected to the sewer tunnels. Hopefully we'll be far enough underground to avoid any magical radiation should that spell detonate." Cocoon's tone of voice betrayed this worry about how protected they would really be.
"And if we aren't?" Horilous questioned, quickly hating himself for doing so.
Cocoon stopped for a moment to peek around a corner that lead to another alleyway, "Then we pray that Hive Queen Flux has mercy on our souls."
Horilous swallowed, loud enough for Cocoon to shush him.
Back around the corner, a sprite-bot lazily floated towards the pair of changelings. It floated around the corner the same second Cocoon peered around again, the robot bumped into him.
Cocoon, Horilous, and the sprite-bot shared a deathly silence. Cocoon inched his rifle out, and pointed the business end at the floating robot.
BANG!
The robot faltered, but didn't fail. Its speaker began blaring sirens, and returned fire with the laser weapon attached to it. Cocoon emptied his clip into the floating radio, which fell to the ground in a flaming hulk.
"MOVE!" Cocoon turned from the incapacitated sprite-bot. Rushing past Horilous, who was still staring at the burning remains of the robot. Cocoon grabbed Horilous as he went, breaking him out of his trance.
Now, over the din of the siren, Horilous could hear voices approaching.
"Draw your weapon. We're going to have to fight our way out," Cocoon reamained calm. The same could not be said for Horilous however. The pistol was barely held afloat by his telekinesis. He held it almost up to his face. The sights trained on the direction of the alerted guards voices.
Seconds passed like hours.
"Keep your sights steady. When they ease up, we make a run for the nearest pony-hole. We're gonna make it, just stay with me." Cocoon said again, trying to reassure himself as much as his worker counterpart.
The first guard rounded the corner, and Horilous' world exploded around him. The pistol dropped to the ground. He couldn't even hear the siren anymore. Gunfire ripped through the alley. Guards were slain by precise rifle shots while Cocoon sustained multiple wounds of his own. Three guards dead, one fatally wounded, and Cocoon losing blood quickly.
Horilous shook even more as he examined the scene. Cocoon staggered down the alley, locating a pony-hole around the next corner. He attempted to remove the cover, as the mortally wounded pony shifted. The pony lifted his weapon. With his last breath, he would end Cocoon's life.
Horilous reacted. Without thought, he instinctively aimed the pistol and emptied the gun's contents into the guard's skull. When h finished, nothing but a bloody pulp was left behind. Horilous slowly levitated the pistol up, and examined it.
Cocoon watched as Horilous looked between himself, the bloody mess of the last guard, and the pistol. Horilous threw the gun away and fell to his knees, realizing what he had done. Sobs escaped him as Cocoon supported him on his own shredded body.
Cocoon removed the pony-hole cover, and helped his traumatized friend down into the sewer.
___ ____ ___
It had taken a while for Horilous to compose himself. Ten minutes after their violent encounter, Cocoon had collapsed. Now Horilous was the one supporting him. Cocoon had enough energy left to direct Horilous towards the hive.
They finally reached a rusted metal door that Cocoon identified as the entrance. A terminal with a shattered screen was attached to the wall next to it.
Cocoon could barely stand on his own but he did so anyway. He coughed up blood as he pulled a old key out from a pocket. He slid the key into a slot where the spell matrix interface port should have been. He turned the key, and the door opened. Revealing a odd force field that sat in the threshold of the door.
Cocoon looked over at his worker friend, who walked through the force field. Horilous stopped and turned when the infiltrator didn't follow. His flesh began to itch again. The earth above shook slightly, with small rocks cascading down from above.
"We'll, if she's not here now" Cocoon sputtered.
Horilous spoke first, "Do you need my help?" Horilous moved to cross the threshold again, but Cocoon waved him away.
"I'm afraid this is as far as I go. The wards on the door prevent magic use across it. I have to close the door behind you." Cocoon's voice sounded at peace through the green blood trickling out of his mouth. "There wouldn't be enough medical supplies to treat my injuries. Best I die and you live than both of us getting consumed by magical fire."
Horilous couldn't argue, the infiltrator was set in his thinking. Horilous locked eye-contact with him as the key turned back. Locking him inside on somewhat-safety, while Cocoon sacrificed himself for the safety of another.
Horilous waded through the darkness that consumed the tunnel.
Suddenly the earth shook, and a loud rumble sounded through the cave.
A boulder the size of a small cart dislodged from the ceiling, catching him by surprise. The rock crushed him from the flank back. His chitinous exoskeleton was the only thing that had kept his legs from bursting.
He managed to lift the rock up enough with his magic to slide his legs out from under it. He couldn't move them, the muscles came apart under the weight of the rock.
He laid there bleeding, broken. Horilous fought to stay awake, but shock eventually overcame him. He slipped into unconsciousness on the cold rock floor.
