Chapters Prologue: Just a Normal Guy
My name is Shadows. That's right, Shadows , as in the plural form of the word shadow . Most people have a hard time understanding my name for some reason, just because my name is in a plural form doesn't mean I'm not a normal guy. So yeah, I'm just a normal guy. I take life one step at a time, play things safe, I try to keep my head down. As of late, those skills have proven to be very useful, with the war and whatnot. About ten years back, Equestria was taken over, yeah that's right. Not only was it taken over, but it was taken over by freaks . These guys, they're called Elites, they look a lot like us, but they all have brown fur, black manes, and no pupils. Then again, I guess I can't really call them freaks now, can I?
About thirty years back, some unicorn named Lyra cast some crazy spell to turn all of Equestria into, what we're they called? Humans? It was totally crazy, nobody ever thought it would be possible, but this lady did it. Although, there were some complications with the spell, which caused pegasi to keep their wings and unicorns to keep their horns, plus our fur was all but gone. Man, I remember when it first happened, it took a few years for people to stop saying 'everypony' and start saying 'everybody' instead. Last I heard, the crazy lady was locked up in some Canterlot jail. I can't tell you the amount of times my new thumbs got in the way, but the hands did come in 'handy' from time to time, like when I had to shoot a gun.
Finally, I decided to drift back to reality, as I didn't want my mind wandering towards the Equestrian takeover. Most people try to forget about that, because those who don't, don't normally lead a happy life. Then again, it was hard not to think about, as I looked out the side of the chopper, the Elite military base was looming in the distance. My black fur rippled in the wind, and my black mane would have been up in my face if I hadn't cut it off like my tail. I found the extensions of hair to be distracting, plus it wasn't exactly comfortable to have a cutout in my clothing specifically for my mane and tail.
I grabbed a parachute off the wall and clipped my SCAR-L with attached silencer to my vest. I already had my five seven modified with a built in silencer, so I grabbed the sidearm as well. Those half wits at BLACK didn't know how to do anything, with a little time and effort, I made my own arsenal and formed my own rogue crew. I was able to make it away with one of BLACK's modified tac-maps, a wrist mounted display system with low-light technology, and used it to contact their lead engineer often. Gear Head was the guy's name, he seemed pretty okay, for one of those tech types. He sent new recruits my way if they were operating in my vicinity, so I could show them the ropes.
BLACK, that was a stupid agency if I ever saw one. BLACK is this secret government agency that's been around since the Equestrian takeover. When everybody relocated to this new land, we renamed it the Equestrian Republic, naturally. To rub salt in our wounds, the Elites renamed Equestria in their own image, they named it Illesia. Tonight, Gear Head informed me that BLACK would be sending a team of Special Ops forces down to the main compound in former Canterlot. He said that if I wanted to gather intelligence or had something to accomplish there, that this was my chance, the BLACK operatives were on my side. I accepted his advice, and got on this chopper and headed here as fast as I could. Thanks to sound reduction technology, I would be air dropping in way closer than anybody from BLACK would be by swimming in. Then again, I have an entire team working on my gear.
BLACK was a great idea and all, but Celestia was a horrible person to run it. The agency's lead tech adviser was the same person who turned all of Equestria into half pony-half human freaks, Lyra Heartstrings. That's right, Lyra, the same idiot who turned the entire nation into bipedal monsters, was the lead technician for this agency, and that's just the icing on the cake. The agency wanted to issue gear that frequently broke down, it seemed like everything was rigged and poorly put together. You would think that they would have somebody smart enough to start making operable equipment, but it seemed that person was just out of their reach.
Here I am rambling to myself again in my head, and I'm already over the drop zone. The pilot looks over and gives me a nod, and I fast rope down onto the docks of the base. I signal the chopper and it flies off into the distance. I had no need for it now, as Gear Head told me he'd get me on a transport back to BLACK and I'd go back home from there. It would be the first time I'd be inside ever since I escaped the agency. According to him, the only reason they'd let me in is because Celestia needed a word with me, and she also needed something for me to do, something that only I could do.
She needed me to bring back the princess. Princess Twilight Sparkle.
Old Stereotypical Friends
Operation: Skulking Eagle
Location: Tuto, Illesia: Site of main Elite military headquarters, suspected to contain vital information
Date and time: September 24, 2037. 00:23 Hours
Subject: Shadows
Objective: Find Princess Twilight Sparkle, and bring her back to BLACK HQ to gain entry to the base.
The darkness.
I'm not a morning person by any means, but I have always loved the dark. I guess it kinda makes sense, considering my name is Shadows. I had feet on the ground, and I was making my way up to the base, when Gear Head appeared on my tac-map. His face was fuzzy, due to the frequency jammers that were probably scattered about, but I could hear him.
"Hey? Shadows? You there Shadows?" Gear Head asked
"Yeah, I'm here. What's up?" I replied
"We got a newbie who needs a little guidance. Would you mind helping her out? She's had past experience, but not enough to get her through this."
"Sure, I could use a little backup in this place."
"Great, what's your position?"
"I'm at the concrete docks, approaching the military base from the rear."
"Great, I'll send her your way. She'll be coming out of the water." Gear Head said, as his face fuzzed and the screen went back to the default map setting.
I looked around, to make sure nobody had heard my little conversation, and went up to the water. I hate to admit it, but I was a little excited about meeting this girl. The last time I'd seen a good looking woman was way back before the war started, but then again, that girl was my wife. I stopped thinking about it before my brain wandered dangerous places, and tried to focus on this newbie. I doubt she was old enough for me anyways, I mean, I'm 48 for Pete's sake. I kept looking for her, but to no avail. Finally, my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and I realized why BLACK had picked tonight. The clouds were thick, and covered the moon completely, Luna would be furious. I heard some rustling up towards the base, and saw somebody trying to cut the fence. I put on my NVG's to get a better look and saw it was a BLACK operative.
"Psst! Hey!" I whispered out to the operative, the operative turned to face me in response. Holy shit , this must be the girl Gear Head was talking about, and damn she was a looker. I approached her, and said, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Getting into the base! Why?!" She silently screamed back
"Because don't you think they'll see a gaping hole in the fence when they inspect it in the morning?" I made my point
"What other way is there to get in?" She asked
I pointed towards the nearby gate that was bathed in light. I led her to it, and she skeptically followed. Before I could step into the light, she protested, "We'll be lit up like a Christmas tree! Is there any other way to get in?"
I'm sure she couldn't see it, but I had this huge grin on my face. I held up three fingers, and started dropping them, one by one. When I dropped my last finger, Cogs had shut off the lights, just as planned. Cogs, my lead engineer, could do almost anything. Only problem was, that the blackout wouldn't last long before the backups kicked in. The nearby guard yelled, "DAMN SHITTY WIRING!"
"Ladies first." I told her, gesturing towards the gate.
"How kind of you." She replied sarcastically
We dashed into the base and hid under a truck, that's when I got a good look at the girl, as the lights came back on. She had black fur and a black mane and tail that were all soaking wet, which was totally hot. Shoot, I can't be eyeing this girl, I'm on a mission. I quickly ignored my testosterone, and focused on the guards ahead, waiting for an opening. The building we need to get to wasn't too far away, but far away enough that we needed a second to run.
"I'm Rainbow Dash, I'm new to this whole stealth thing."
Really? I couldn't tell, "Well, Rainbow Dash, nice to meet you. My name's Shadows." I still had my attention on the guards
"Shadows...?" she waited for me, as if I needed to complete my name. Great, here we go again.
"That's it, Shadows. That's my name."
"Do you mean, Shadow?"
"No damn it! Shadows, it has an 's,' why is that so hard for everybody to grasp?"
She awkwardly replied, "Well, uh, that's a cool name!"
I decided to cut the conversation short, "Rainbow Dash, I know that you're new to this, so I'll cut you a break. But the first rule of sneaking around is to shut-up. If you talk then you can give your position away."
"Oh, okay then," she was deathly quiet now, "So then how do we communicate?"
I noticed our chance, and ignored her question, "Quickly, follow me." I commanded her, as I jumped out from under the truck. I ran for the building and jolted inside, not even checking to see if she followed me. I stopped as I heard a familiar whirr noise coming from the walls of the hallway in front of me. Rainbow Dash ran through the doorway, and I caught her by the arm. She drew her knife, and stopped dead in her tracks when she realized it was me. She sheathed it and closed the door, silently.
"What the hell? You gave me a heart attack! I nearly stabbed you!" She protested
Ignoring her once more, I reached for the grey 'laser gas' can on my belt, Cogs' custom design. This stuff was made to reveal lasers, and it certainly got the job done. I sprayed the canister in front of me, revealing several rows of red laser beams that crossed like jail cell bars. I don't think I could fit my hand in between them if I wanted to. Dash was clearly astonished, "Well, what now?" she asked.
Wow, she was new to this I guess. I responded by pointing to the ceiling and saying, "The second rule of stealth is that the ceiling is your best friend." I was making these up as I went along. Lucky for me, Rainbow Dash couldn't tell. I jumped up and popped a ceiling tile out of place and climbed into the ceiling, motioning for her to follow. She jumped up and could barely struggle to get in, I had to help her up. When she was finally up, I moved the tile back into place and said, "Rule number three, leave no trail."
She gave me a strange look as I proceeded to crawl along the ceiling, something told me my rules were going in one ear and coming out the other. I crawled through, keeping myself above the wall, because I knew the ceiling would collapse out from under me if I was anywhere else. I just hoped she would catch on and do the same. She did, and kept close behind me as we dodged pipes and wires. At some point, I lifted up a tile to see how far down the hallway we were, we still had a ways to go. We kept crawling, and I finally reached the end of the hallway, and turned to see she was struggling to catch up. When she did, I simply said, "Here we are." and jumped down, she followed. We were right in front of the door that stood at the end of the hallway, and there weren't any more lasers in our way. This wasn't right, it was almost as if this was made just easy enough for us to get through. Either way, I picked the lock with ease and swung the door open, revealing a huge stairwell that led deep underground. A grin crept across my face as I turned to her and said, "Well, into the rabbit hole!"
After descending the flight of stairs for what seemed like an eternity, we finally reached the bottom into a well lit room, made of grey metal. The room was frigid, and stretched out like a long hallway for half of a mile. Doors lined the walls, each one with a bronze plate on it. The one to our left was labeled 001 , and the one to our right was labeled 237 . Shit , of course they wouldn't tell me how many CTC's there were, I wouldn't have agreed to find the princess if I knew there were 237! I have to look through each one of these until I find her! I made my complaint known, saying, "Wow, I never knew there were this many!"
"This many what?" Dash asked me. Stupid kid.
"You don't know what these are?"
"No, what are they?"
"They're cryogenic time chambers."
"English please."
Before I could slap her, I calmly replied, "Each of these rooms has a frozen person in it."
"Oh, and why do they have these down here?"
Wow, could you be anymore oblivious? "Don't you feel how naturally cold it is down here? It's perfect for these!"
"No, I mean why do the Elites need frozen people?"
Oh, of course she wouldn't know that. She works for BLACK, and they don't tell their field agents jack shit ! I know, from personal experience. I told her, "The Elites keep important individuals down here: Kings, Queens, Government Officials-"
"Princesses?" She interrupted
She interrupted me? Now I was mad again, "It's possible, but if you're asking about somebody in particular then I wish you luck in finding them! You have over two hundred chambers to look in!"
"Well then why did we come down here?"
Great, now I felt like a jackass, "Well...uh...to look for somebody..."
She didn't seem to notice I had the reason I just yelled at her for, typical soldier. She replied, "Well I guess we better start searching, who are you looking for?"
"Funny you should ask! We're looking for princess Twilight Sparkle, she might be-"
"WHAT?!"
I was caught off guard by her yell and I turned to search for any sign of danger. When I couldn't find any, I asked, "What? What's wrong?"
"TWILIGHT IS IN HERE?"
"Shhh! Keep your voice down! Yes! She might be in here, we're not sure yet!"
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get searching!" She quickly ran up to the first chamber.
Hmm, why was she so enthusiastic? I thought BLACK was after intelligence tonight, not prisoners. Did she have her own reasons?
From then on out, I kept an eye on her, just to make sure that she wouldn't do anything crazy when she found Twilight Sparkle. What sort of BLACK operative comes in here looking for a princess? Then again, Gear Head was sending me after her, so they did need her. But BLACK has never been known to send operatives on rescue missions unless the situation is dire. Is it possible that Rainbow Dash knew Twilight Sparkle personally? The chances were one in a million, but I didn't cross it off the list. We kept working our way down the doors, peeking inside and shutting them just as quickly. Cogs tells me about these things all the time, and how dangerous they are. He would always say that it only takes five minutes to freeze you, and five minutes for you to defrost. Cogs has some sort of medicine in development to prevent the side effects and grogginess that normally follow a 'defrosting.' Apparently, he wants to install some at HQ so we can store hostages there. It would cut back on the amount of food we need, and the amount of trouble we go through to take one of those Elites out of their cell. We would be in the medical ward and Spitfire would have a broken nose from where a prisoner punched her, and I would always say "Maybe this is why BLACK doesn't hold prisoners!" It would always get a good laugh, but now it just kinda makes Spitfire irritated, so I stopped.
Me and Dash were at the hundredth-something door, when footsteps came from the stairs. I freaked out, and silent yelled to Rainbow Dash, "Quick! Hide!" She jumped into a CTC and I decided that was the only way we were going to remain undetected. I jumped in one too, and probably should have shut the door more quiet-like, but I don't think they heard.
After a few minutes of waiting for the enemies to walk down the hallway, they finally came within range that I could hear them outside. I instantly recognized the voices.
"Now now," a German voice said, "I assure you, this is completely safe. The chambers are designed to hold prisoners for over a millenia!"
A thick Russian voice responded, "That may be true, but how long does it take for them to recover from sleep for interrogation?"
"That's the beautiful part, only five minutes!"
"FIVE MINUTES? That means at least ten minutes total for each prisoner! And that's not counting interrogation time!"
"Well then, I see we have reached an impasse!"
I knew these two. The German was Dr. Steiner, an Elite scientist who studied the psychological habits of the enemy, in hopes of discovering weaknesses and easier ways to gain information from them. I turned to see that the guy I was laying on had one of Steiner's patented brain simulators on. The helmet placed the wearer in a world where they could solve problems and perform tasks, and Steiner processed the data. The Russian, on the other hand, was known only as Mr. Spetz. I assume his name is derived from the 'Spetsnaz' but I wouldn't know for sure.
Mr. Spetz and Dr. Steiner don't have a history of working together, so they must have recently come together for something big. Probably on account that they planned on removing all the prisoners from Cryogenic sleep for interrogation. My tac-map automatically kicked up a countdown timer on my display, and I noticed it had about thirty seconds left.
Then Mr. Spetz said something that caught my attention, "It's too late to discuss this now, besides, we have an eavesdropper." The door flung open, and a huge brown fur covered fist came in and landed on my chest. I felt a rib crack, but I don't think anything broke. The other hand flew in and pulled me out of the chamber, as I gasped for air. I struggled relentlessly as he slammed me up against the wall. Spetz smiled and said, "Well well well, if it isn't my old friend! Good to see you!"
The two looked as evil as always. Spetz was in his camo pants and Steiner was wearing a full bio suit. They both had brown fur and black manes, their completely white eyes looked deep into my soul. Damn, who know people without pupils could scare the shit out of you so much? I'd killed hundreds of Elites, but their eyes always got me scared for some reason. Either way, the Russian had this huge grin on his face, and I couldn't let that stand. I spat on his face and said, "You filthy piece of shit, you'll never keep Equestria from its rightful owners!"
Spetz was about to crush me, when Rainbow Dash burst out of the CTC she was in and landed a shot right between Steiner's eyes with her M4. She took aim at Spetz and I and was about to shoot until Spetz hurled me at the BLACK operative. I flew past her and slammed into the wall, breaking the rib that was originally cracked, and then some. I rolled over in agony and tried to force myself up, but found that I couldn't bring myself to do it. I saw Spetz pick up Rainbow Dash with one hand, and hold her in the air.
Spetz, with that classic evil villain grin on his face, lifted Dash up by her neck, and growled, "What do you think you are doing little girl ?"
Rainbow Dash's voice was raspy when she replied, "I was going for a stroll and thought I'd drop by and say hello!"
I would have burst out laughing if my ribs didn't complain when I tried, I think I may have a punctured lung.
Spetz gave a deep, hearty laugh and replied, "You are funny! I wish I could keep you here for shits and giggles, but I'm assuming there are more, correct?"
Rainbow Dash spat on him and said, "Fuck you!"
I would have wanted to give her a high-five if the behemoth's face didn't instantly turn sour at the comment. The monster roared, "I AM VLADIMIR BISCOFF MIRSCHEETIN THE FOURTH! HOW DARE YOU SPIT ON ME!"
Okay, two questions popped in my head at that comment. The first, why did he flip out when Dash spat on him? I had done it so many times before and he never flipped a lid! Second, why did his name sound so familiar? This was the first time I had heard his real name, and Mirscheetin was ringing bells all across my brain.
Vladimir's grip tightened around Dash's neck, and she began to choke. I reached for my sidearm, to find that it fell out of my holster. I looked around me as best I could from my position on the floor, and tried to find it. I couldn't find the gun, it was nowhere to be seen, or it was out of view from my now blurry vision. This was it, Rainbow Dash was gonna get strangled and then Spetz- I mean, Vladimir, was gonna come over here and step on my skull. There was no way I was gonna get out of this one.
Just then, when everything seemed like it was falling apart, and Dash's struggle started to fail, as life left her body, a foot appeared at the corner of my vision. Suddenly, an ear piercing bang! rang throughout the hallway, and Dash fell to the floor, quickly followed by Mirscheetin's lifeless body. Rainbow Dash turned to look at her savior, and I looked as best I could. Of course, it was princess Twilight Sparkle. She was holding my gun, this was too good to be true.
"Let's get the fuck out of here!" Twilight yelled.
The rest of our journey was a blur. The two girls scooped me up and carried me out of the base, alarms and sirens going off. Somehow, we managed to evade the scouts looking for the intruders, until the heat died down. We took a getaway boat, and ended up in a chopper somehow. In the chopper, were about six other BLACK operatives, not including Rainbow Dash. They patched me up and went all googly eyed over Twilight. Personally, I didn't see why they weren't all over Rainbow Dash. Sure, Twilight was a princess and all, but she wasn't that good looking. Dash really had it going, and if I was about twenty years younger, I'd be on her like white on rice.
Somehow, she managed to get to sleep, and fretful expressions consumed her face. Many different times, a tear might even escape her eye. I knew what she was going through, she was dreaming about an attack of some sort. Even if it wasn't the day the Elites invaded, it was obviously painful for her to remember, and being in a dream made it seem real. I used to get those dreams, but not anymore. Because now, now I have a goal. A goal that I know will be reached.
I'm going to take part in freeing Equestria, one way or another. We will have our homes back, and I can live peacefully once more. Just...without her ...
Operation: Skulking Eagle, Phase II
Location: BLACK HQ (Unknown)
Date and Time: September 24, 2037. 6:40 Hours
Subject: Shadows
Objective: Get insider intel on the operations within BLACK.
Damn I was tired!
My body needed rest, I had broken a rib. The guys on the helicopter did a good job putting it in place, and they even were able to perform surgery to lock it back while on the helicopter . I always knew BLACK wasn't as far advanced as my team was, at least when it came to the battlefield. But when it came to the simple stuff, like health and food, they were covered beyond anyone's expectations. I still couldn't believe I had been on under operation, on a helicopter . It was just too crazy to seem real. Then again, I wasn't exactly awake for the situation, so maybe something else went down. Hell, maybe they didn't even lock it in place with a steel rod. Maybe it was just temporary. Either way, I needed it looked at by Spitfire, and I wouldn't be seeing her for a while now.
We had already arrived at BLACK HQ, so any chance I had at seeing where they relocated since my "departure" had long since been out the window. Then again, the helicopter doors were solid, and there was no way of looking out anyway. I caught Twilight being escorted out of the helicopter, by a BLACK guard. Strange, last I remembered the guards were cyborgs, according to Gear Head. Then again, I wasn't here, and I was notorious for stealing BLACK technology. Damn it! They would keeping close watch over me!
Just then, I noticed Rainbow Dash scowling at Twilight. She was jealous ? I couldn't believe it, I had to do something. Of course, at this point, I thought of Dash more as a daughter (a really hot one at that). I should comfort her, at the very least. Plus, it looked like she was about to fall over. I jumped out of the helicopter and grabbed Dash's hand, entangling it in my arm.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" She attacked
"Escorting a young lady to debriefing!" I defended
Her grim expression turned bright, and I walked her towards the debriefing room. We walked inside, and a party was being hosted to welcome Twilight. Dash was obviously jealous, and I was about to escort her out, when I noticed the table...
WHAT DID YOU DO!
NO! I needed to get out of here before I had a meltdown! Memories were something I didn't quite like, especially those ones!
In the calmest voice I could muster, I said, "C'mon kid. Let's go somewhere else, this place bums me out."
"Thanks Shadows." She replied
I wanted to find Gear Head. The party was obviously a trap for me, Celestia really needs to work on her planning skills. If I could find Gear Head, then he might keep me on the inner circle, and that would give me an edge up. We needed intel from this place, I've been in the dark too long and I need some light shone on this case. The citizens of the Equestrian Republic can't rely on these idiots, I needed to personally see to it that the intelligence is put to good use. Hell, even if I couldn't take the intelligence myself, I needed to make sure these morons could use it appropriately.
I remembered Gear Head saying something about the Loadout room? Maybe he was in there. I followed the signs and led Rainbow Dash to the room. Sure enough, Gear Head was inside tinkering on some M4, his tac-map was sitting beside him. As a matter of fact, I think that was the one he contacts me with. Of course, Gear Head didn't even notice us coming in, that goofball. He had the same look as any other member of BLACK, black fur and white mane and tail. Well, now that I noticed it, Dash didn't have a white mane and tail, I guess Gear Head finally got that pill to work after all.
Something caught my attention, there was some rustling coming from the closet in the back. Somebody was back there, so I shouldn't go snooping around, in case they come out. No, I'll get to that later. I let go of Dash and she sat down next to Gear Head, he barely noticed.
"Watch'a workin' on?" She asked him
He simply nodded and hummed, "mhm." He didn't even pay attention to her? Jesus, forget it. If I wanted somebody backing me in this place, I didn't want it to be this jerk. How naive could I be to like him?
Dash simply pressed harder, "Gears?"
Gears actually looked at Dash and said, "Oh, sorry Dash I'm just really focused. What do you need?"
"Nothing, I was just wondering what you're working on."
Perfect, this is prime intel.
"Oh, it's a prototype rifle with a built in silencer." Gear Head replied
Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? That would cut back on the balance issue I've been having! Then again, my sidearm had a built in silencer. All I had to do was look at that, and simply ask Cogs to replicate it on an M4. Gosh, maybe I'm the stupid one?
Dash looked at it, "It looks like an ordinary M4 to me."
"That's the point, the silencer is built in. Don't you have a mission you need to go on?"
What a douche-bag.
"Just got back from one, sorry if I was bugging you." Dash moved to get up, so I reached for her arm. Gear Head thrust for her other arm, and stopped her dead in her tracks.
"Sorry, sit down, we can chat!" He scrambled for words.
Seriously? This was his attempt to get her to stay here? After he said that? He didn't even ask her to stay, he told her to! I was about to grab her hand and keep walking when Dash started laughing. She sat back down! What the hell has gotten into her? She motioned for me to go back to the party and I just stormed out anyway. This place was full of crazy fucks!
I stood outside the door to the debriefing room, just waiting and hoping for somebody important enough to come stumbling out. Time passed, and I decided this was taking too long. Hopefully, that table would be covered up now, or maybe I could just ignore it. I cracked the door open and was met with loud music and dancing people. I quickly located Twilight, who was the center of attention (of course). Then, my eyes wondered to that table again...
HOW COULD YOU LET THEM DIE!?
I slammed the door, breathing heavily. They would come out, soon enough. Until then, I wasn't going in there.
It seemed like forever, but it probably wasn't that long. Finally, I got lucky and Celestia stepped out. I caught her attention, and the moment she spotted me, her face went sour.
"So, I hear we have you to thank for bringing back my old student..." she scowled.
"Yeah, and I was hoping we could have a little chat." I replied, just as mean.
"Okay, but in the debriefing room..."
Damn it!
I hated that bitch, hated her with all my guts. She stuffed me in a holding cell until the party ended and she attended to some business. Apparently, she was hoping Dash and I would walk in there, and she could throw me in the brig while she talked to Dash. She knew what happened in that room, and she intended to put me through hell all over again. I had been letting my mind wander for the past few days. Often, I would come dangerously close to re-living some...unspeakable events. One of those events occurred in that room, while I was handcuffed to that table. That was the day I escaped BLACK...the day I lost- NO! I'm not going back there! She can't make me! If I go in there, all the memories will flood back! I'll be forced to reminisce about the past! Everybody knows if you do that, then that leads directly to a path of insanity! Or...does not thinking about them do that to you? Either way, I was gonna end up in that room, but not without kicking and screaming all the way. I kind of hoped I killed Celestia while I was in a PTSD induced rage. Rage...just like...
This is ALL YOUR FAULT!
Operation: Skulking Eagle, Phase II
Location: BLACK HQ (Unknown)
Date and Time: September 24, 2037. 7:34 Hours.
Subject: Shadows
Objective: Get insider intel on the operations within BLACK. And avoid the debriefing room if possible...
Fucking plans, they never work.
I don't know why I ever bother making plans. Nothing ever goes according to plan, ever. Cogs, Spitfire, and I all gathered together and made a seemingly flawless plan. Get Twilight, get in BLACK, steal shit, get out. Plain, simple, and to the point. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Fucking Celestia.
She knew what happened in there, she knew. Why! Why does this shit happen to me? Why not somebody else? I'm the good guy! I'm not supposed to deal with this! I get shit done, and then I go home and get rewarded. Then, I repeat.
Well, I can't say I never knew this was coming. My actions would catch up with me eventually, maybe it's better that it happened this way. Without her here to see...
YOU MONSTER!
Fuck, this won't end well...
Operation: DATA CORRUPTED
Location: DATA CORRUPTED
Date and Time: DATA CORRUPTED
Subject: 5H4D0W5
Objective: DATA CORRUPTED
Well, insanity is about to be my new friend.
Yup, it's official. I'm about to go insane; that is, if I haven't already. I was gonna be handcuffed to that table, and forced to re-live the events of that day. I hope that Luna shoves her horn up Celestia's ass when she finds out she's still alive.
The guards dragged me down the hallway. They had me by my arms, and I was barely keeping up. These were the cyborgs Gear Head talked about. I could hear the spinning of the gears inside them and the fact that my efforts to resist did nothing at all, proved my hypothesis.
I could see it, the debriefing room. That's where it all happened. Well...not all of it...just the sad, sad ending. I hope Celestia intended to watch a soldier break down and cry in front of her, because I think that it was about to happen.
They shoved me in the room, and slammed the door behind me. The table wasn't in here. What the fuck? Celestia walked in behind them, and the door slammed shut again. She gave me a pitiful smile, and directed me to one of the chairs. What the hell was going on? Where is the table? What is she planning?
"Shadows..." Celestia snapped me out of my reverie
I sat there, silently, killing her over and over in my mind. What made me freak out is that I actually wasn't doing it!
"I'm here to help you..." Celestia continued
Help me? "Yeah right!" I accused, "prove it!"
"You may have noticed, I had the table removed from the room..." Celestia calmly replied
Shit. She had me there. Why would she help me though?
As if reading my mind, she said, "Because I need your help."
"My help? You have an entire agency. What can I do?"
"You can give me intelligence I have needed for a long time." Celestia frowned, more so than she was already doing.
"Me? I don't know anything!"
"Yes you do. You know more than we do." Celestia admitted
What? How is that possible? I mean, sure, I operated within Illesia, but that doesn't mean that a fully funded and operational military base should know less than I do! The whole reason I was here was because I thought she did! This wasn't adding up, "How can you know less than me?"
"Because we've refused to tread in Illesia for ten years now. Last night was a desperate attempt to achieve as much information as possible, to make up for lost time." Celestia explained, "Equestria was taken by the Elites, and I have been afraid to see what they have done with my wonderful land. In fear of seeing it twisted beyond my expectations, I refused to gather intelligence from the area. My fears were realized tonight. When Equestria was changed to Illesia, not much changed in physical appearance. Many buildings stayed up, and the new ones don't alter much from the originals. It still looks like Equestria, but the morals of the people are what have changed. The Elites are cruel. My agents retrieved many reports about robberies, jailbreaks, murders, and even...rape. Equestria was a land focused on love and tolerance. Just to hear about my home being transformed from such a beautiful thing into...such a horrible place, pains my old heart."
Woah. This was some personal stuff. Fine, I take back some of the stuff I said. "Why lock me up then? If you're on my side?"
"Can you honestly say you wouldn't turn tail and run at the first site of me approaching you?" Celestia countered
Wow. For an old princess, she sure knew how to win an argument. Then again, she was a woman...
"But first, you must cleanse yourself."
Wait. What? "I had a shower just before I left for the mission, thanks."
"No. I mean of mind and spirit."
"What? I don't understand."
"You have to face the past, Shadows..."
"What!? I DON'T HAVE TO DO SHIT!"
"Shadows. If you do not face your past, it will destroy you. You must."
"I...I...I..." I sighed and looked at my feet. She was right, it would destroy me. I always thought I could just ignore my past, and put it all behind me, but it had been bothering me lately. Every time I looked at an enemy, I thought of...her . It was time I faced it, and accepted it, and hopefully, come to terms with it.
"When you are ready, I will manifest the table..." Celestia told me, glumly
That table, that was where it all happened. Well, there I go again, not all of it. Just the really bad part. Shoot, not even the really bad part, just the part that affected me the most. I looked to Celestia, and saw she had a smile on her face. She looked like she used to ten years ago, back in happier times. She had the smile that said, "I'm here to help you, no matter what happens!" I missed that smile, and I knew this was gonna be one of the last times she ever gave it, so I took a mental picture. From here on out, we were at war. There wasn't any room for smiles during war, and those that found time for them, normally ended up dead. She would help me, "I'm ready..."
Celestia's horn glowed, and a pop could be heard behind me. I turned around, and faced the interrogation table.
Along with the wave of memories that came with it...
I was a soldier following orders! I didn't know that would happen!
YOU WERE A MONSTER! YOU ARE NOT THE MAN THAT I LOVE!
In the Magical Land of Equestria
0100010101010010010100100100111101010010
0100010101010010010100100100111101010010
0100010101010010010100100100111101010010
/User has lost sanity
/Initiating Pinkamena defense program...
/Program fail
/Initiating system wipe...
/System wipe fail
/System takeover imminent
/Activating self-destruct protocol...
/5...
/4...
/3...
/2...
/System takeover prevented
/Locating source of solution...
/Source located: user has restarted
/Rebooting...
/Reboot error, data corrupted
/Resuming last intact data file...
Operation: Homeland Security
Location: Canterlot
Date and Time: September 23 2027. 14:08 hours. Day of the Equestrian Takeover
Subject: Shadows
Objective: Protect the citizens of Equestria from danger
What a beautiful day to die...
I lied in the grass, bleeding to death. The citizens of Canterlot scurried about in fright. Some only sparing me a passing glance. Those that offered more, were shot.
The Elites were here, and they meant business. I had heard rumors of a terrorist threat on Equestria, but I never imagined this. People were being brutally murdered all around me. Women and children were lined up and shot. Men were hauled off to most likely be worked to death. Screams could be heard everywhere, that is, if you could hear over the gunfire. The Canterlot security force had definently put up a fight, but we were no match for such a huge force. We had failed, and people were dying.
I just hope Rosa doesn't have to see this.
Rosa, my love. Please let her death be painless. Don't let her see this horror. Don't let her know I died.
The citizens were gone now, and a wall of Elite forces pushed up the road. It was as if they were corralling them into their deaths. Well, they actually were. They even led them to their deaths as if they were animals. These Elites were bastards. They marched up the street, not paying any attention to check the bodies, hopefully they would notice me and put me out of my misery. As they approached, one spotted me. His white, pupil-less eyes stared me down. His brown fur, the fur of all Elites, rippled in the wind with his black mane and tail. A huge smile grew across his face as he sealed my fate. He was going to kill me, not physically, but mentally.
"We've got a live one!" He snarked to the Elite at his side, pointing at me. His friend aimed his rifle at me, and the first Elite pushed it out of the way.
"What are you doing?" The second Elite asked
"I say we have him direct the lines! Kind of ironic don't you think?" The first Elite laughed
The second Elite started suppressing giggles, and said, "Good idea!"
The two hoisted me up, and continued their march, dragging me behind them. My rifle lay abandoned in the street, hopefully somebody could make use of it. What scared me the most was how large the puddle of blood was where they lifted me away, and the streak I left in the dirt as they dragged me.
If I was gonna die, I was gonna die doing something productive. At least, that's what I always told Rosa when she asked me why I work so late. I only wish I had never said that, because now the most productive thing I could do was direct people to their deaths. If there was a woman, she went to the woman's line, straight to the kill zones. If there was a child, it went to the children's line, straight to the kill zones. If there was a man, he went to the men's line, straight to the districts that were already cleared, either to be shot, or worked to death. I didn't think I'd ever cry, but I did that day. The entire experience was blurred through my tears. Though, I can remember the faces of every person I sent. The look of pity they had when they saw the broken man before them, forced to direct others to their deaths. When you are about to die, and you can give somebody a look of pity for a different situation, then you know things are bad. I had to remember their faces, I had to. Not a single one of them deserved to die, so I made it my duty to remember them. That, and I was also afraid I might send Rosa. I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do that, even worse, I wouldn't be able to not bring myself to send her, in fear they might shoot me right in front of her. If Rosa walked up to me, I don't know what I would do, probably break down and cry, even harder. Then cry harder than that for the fact that I would be crying right in front of my own wife. Then cry even harder for all the people that didn't have time to cry, and were shot before they could.
This is fucked up...
Luckily, Rosa didn't come to my line. I didn't know whether to think that was a good thing or a bad thing. Good because she might have escaped. Bad because she might have died wondering where I was, or if I was alive. I wasn't alive, or rather, the Shadows she knew wasn't alive. That Shadows had his mind broken by a horrible event that scarred him for life. This changed him completely, into what I am now. In layman's terms, I wasn't myself anymore. How did I know this? By the time I was sending the last few people to their deaths, I wasn't crying anymore. I had lost all feeling for them, and what scared me the most, was that I didn't know why. How could I not care for the people that were walking to their own deaths? Was it because I had been doing it all day, and had grown numb? No, I was just out of tears. Yes, that had to be it. Well, maybe it was because I was too focused that Rosa might still be alive.
The Elites let me go.
They healed me and told me to head south, where I would find another group of people that they had let escape from their cities. I asked if anybody would be joining me. They simply told me the last thing I wanted to hear, "You are the only survivor allowed to leave Canterlot." That was it, Rosa was dead. Unless she had escaped unnoticed, then there was no chance of ever seeing her again. I slowly walked away, and cried some more. Wallowing in my loss of my home, my wife, my job, and my life.
I headed south, only to be cut off by none other than Princess Celestia herself. I expected her to be sad, to see only one survivor from Canterlot. Instead, her expression was nearly unreadable. Something involving sadness, confusion, and shock, "Come with me, soldier. You need a debrief." she stated.
Celestia grabbed my hands, and lifted me into the air. She flew me to a far away land, a land now known as the Equestrian Republic. She took me to a base, and led me to a debriefing room. When there, she told me I was at BLACK. At the time, I told her this was no time to joke, because BLACK was an old myth that went about the military at the time. She proved it by showing me the operations they had going on inside, and giving me the grand tour. We returned to the debriefing room, where she handcuffed me to the table.
"What? What are you doing?" I asked
"You've seen too much now, you have to work with us." Celestia responded
"I'm not working with a bunch of cowards who refuse to show their faces to fight!" I snapped
Celestia was taken aback, obviously she had never heard somebody look at her agency that way.
"You may make a bunch of advanced tech, but since you're undercover, it's never used! Why make shit that's never gonna get used!?" I continued
Celestia's face grew stern, and then it transformed into a look of sorrow, "There is somebody you need to see...the person who started BLACK." she mumbled, "Send her in!" Celestia called to the door.
The door opened, and Rosa stepped in. Her gorgeous crimson fur reflected the light, and her strawberry blonde mane wrapped around her shoulders. It was styled on the ends to subtly put emphasis on her breasts, which she knew I liked. She looked beautiful as always, until I looked at her eyes...
"WHAT DID YOU DO!" Rosa screamed at me, tears streaming from her eyes
"What?" Was all I could manage
Celestia cut in, "Please, Rosa, he did his best to-"
"NO! NO HE DID NOT!" Rosa screamed, then turned back to me, "HOW COULD YOU LET THEM DIE?"
"They forced me to! Do you think I wanted to direct them to their deaths?" I yelled back
"YOU MONSTER!!!" Rosa screamed, "YOU ONLY CARED ABOUT THE CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA!"
"What?" was, again, all I could manage
"HOW MANY? HOW MANY ELITES DID YOU KILL TO 'SAVE' THE CITIZENS?"
She...she was mad at me for killing...terrorists...
"DO YOU THINK THEY WANTED TO DO THIS? WHO WOULD? DID YOU EVER STOP TO THINK, TRY AND NEGOTIATE!?!?" She kept yelling
"THEY WERE KILLING US!" I retorted
"YOU WERE KILLING THEM!"
"I WAS A SOLDIER DOING HIS JOB!"
"YOU WERE A MONSTER!"
I was still handcuffed to the table, making it very uncomfortable for the standing position that I somehow got in. Silence enveloped the room, and I looked at Celestia. Her expression showed, that she now saw Rosa's point, and was agreeing with her. This was going to shit.
Rosa's expression turned mildly to sadness, but the rage in her expression still showed plenty. She reached behind her back, and pulled out a pistol.
"WOAH! Rosa, think about what you do next very carefully !" Celestia warned
"I have, and I know exactly what I'm going to do. This world is going to shit. Because of this, the citizens of Equestria will have to go into hiding, and a war will erupt between the Elites and the Equestrians." Rosa responded
"Please, Rosa..." I started
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Rosa shouted
Was...was she right? I think she was...but I hadn't done it intentionally, "I was a soldier following orders! I didn't know that would happen!
"YOU WERE A MONSTER! YOU ARE NOT THE MAN THAT I LOVE!" Rosa put the gun up to the side of her head
"NO!" Celestia and I screamed at the same time.
Rosa pulled the trigger...
/Data corruption resolved
/Rebooting...
/Reboot successful
/User is now enlightened
/Resuming normal data flow...
Operation: Resonating Hope
Location: BLACK HQ
Date and Time: September 24, 2037. 8:03 Hours
Subject: Shadows
Objective: Give the Elites...hope...
No fucking way...
I never thought it would be possible, but I am admitting that the Elites are not our enemy. The real enemy here, is a lack of communication. How I was able to reason that to myself is beyond me. Maybe Rosa gave me the knowledge from beyond the beyond? Maybe I'm just going crazy? Maybe Celestia's unstable magic is having some sort of effect on me? I don't know.
But, the Elites are evil. Celestia had reports of crime all throughout Illesia. Then again, a large portion of the Elites were the corrupt military, maybe that had something to do with it. Either way, I needed to tell Celestia of my findings. Then, we could work together to solve this problem. I blamed her for the incident, when it really was my fault. It was my fault, but I didn't do it on purpose, and there was no way I could have known it what would have happened, so in a manner of speaking, it also wasn't my fault. Wow, that makes even less sense now that I've said it to myself. Either way, I am at least partially responsible for this war. Even if I never intended for it to start, then I still had to find a way to stop it before things got out of hand.
I came out of my flashback, sweating and breathing heavily. Celestia watched me with worry, waiting for me to say something. I simply looked at the table, it no longer scared me. That table used to stir memories of Rosa's death, and the pain along with it. I now know that Rosa killed herself because she thought that her husband had betrayed her own wishes. When in reality, I didn't know her wishes were to save the Elites in the first place. Rosa probably had documents about her intentions stashed away somewhere. Shit, maybe the Elites weren't even here to take over Equestria. Maybe one of our guys shot first and asked questions later, causing an all out conflict. A simple lack of communication, similar to what me and Rosa had, both with dire consequences. When one of our guys killed one of theirs, then they had to kill one of ours to get back, then we killed one in return, then back and forth. An eye for an eye...makes the world go blind...shit.
"Shadows?" Celestia snapped me out of my reverie
I shook my head, and calmed my breathing, which became more furious during my thoughts. I was still sweating.
"Shadows?" she repeated, a little louder
"Y-yeah?" I mumbled
"Are you okay?" she stated awkwardly
Are you okay? HA! The simple stupidity of that question made me start laughing out loud. Of course I wasn't okay! I had just relived the experience of my wife dying! Oh shit, just after I had some...daydreams about...another woman! Rosa was right! I was a monster! But I was gonna fix that! But first I had to stop laughing.
"Um, I'll take that as a no?" Celestia continued
"Oh...no...no, I...I think I'll be alright..." I managed to say
"Are you certain?"
"Well, not really." I stated truthfully, "Frankly, for all I know, I've been insane for the past few years!" I chuckled
Celestia obviously didn't find it funny, as her expression grew more stern, "Have you come to terms?"
"You know what? I have!"
Celestia appeared a little shocked, "Well, what do you think now?"
"Well before I say anything like that, I want to say sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"Sorry for blaming you. It wasn't your fault what happened to Rosa." I noticed Celestia snapped back a little at the mention at my wife's name. I snapped back a little too, that was the first time I'd said her name out loud for ten years.
"Are you implying it was yours?" Celestia asked me
"In a manner of speaking, yes. But also, in another manner of speaking, no."
This confused her more, so I went on to explain my feelings of how it sort of was my fault. Also, I told her about the Elites, that they deserve a fighting chance, her face turned sour at that part in the conversation.
"The Elites need help, and we can give it to them!" I told her
Celestia's face turned angry at my words, "NO!" she yelled
"What?"
"No! They took my kingdom and soiled my land with violence! It will take ages to clean Equestria of their filth, and even longer to earn the great reputation that my land once held!"
"How can you just turn your back on them!"
"How can you be certain that your words are true?"
I couldn't be, I had told myself this in my flashback.I wasn't even sure if it was true. Should I even be trying to help the Elites?
"What would Rosa do?"
"I can't be, but we should at least try!" I boldly responded
"This is ludicrous! I need your help Shadows! Don't side with the enemy now!"
Oh no, she thinks that I'm siding with the enemy. I need to get out of here before things get hairy!"I'm not! The Elites aren't the enemy! Corruption and a lack of communication is the real enemy!"
"Corruption!? Is that your best retaliation?"
"YES! AND IT SEEMS YOU ARE CORRUPTED AS WELL!" I stormed away, bashing the door as hard as I could. Thank god it wasn't locked, because if it was then I couldn't have broken it in. When the door fell off of it's hinges, alarms instantly sprung up around me. A cyborg down the hall faced me and his eyes turned red.
"SHADOWS! STOP!" Celestia yelled to me
I ignored her. She wasn't going to help me, she was as corrupt as the leaders of the Elites. I had to escape, again, and do something about all of this. The cyborg advanced towards me, eyes still red, and pulled an M9 sub-machine gun out of his jacket. I dove to cover as the robot opened fire and more alarms went off. I turned and bolted down the hallway to my back, running as fast as I could. A cyborg rounded the corner and pulled out a Glock 19. I snatched the gun and slipped the legs out from underneath the mechanical monster. I planted two rounds in the spell matrix of the cyborg, located where the brain should be, and trudged forward. Thank god Gear Head never shuts up about his inventions, I know just how to kill these things. The M9 wielding cyborg reached the end of the hall, so I carefully aimed and landed two shots in his robo-brain, sending him to the floor. Celestia rounded the corner, and nearly got two herself.
"STOP AT ONCE!" Celestia screamed
I looked around, and located a fire alarm switch. I pulled it and the sprinklers instantly turned on, shrouding the hallways in humidity. When Celestia disappeared from view, I bolted down the hallway to my left, where the exit was. I bashed the door in to the indoor heli-pad, and bolted for the chopper. Two guys tried to stop me, so I shot them in the legs. I would have killed them, but Rosa's voice rang in my head, "Love and tolerance, Shadows. Love and Tolerance." She used to always tell me that when I got road rage.
I jumped in the chopper and started it up. I pushed the blades to max speed, so they would spin up faster. I jumped out and found the lever to open the roof to escape. I had done this all before, but this time I wasn't killing anybody while I did it. I ran into the helicopter and started making adjustments for takeoff. The roof opened up, revealing a long tunnel that led to a bright light at the surface. Just then, three cyborgs came out of the agency, guns ablaze. I returned fire with the Glock, reaching out the passenger door, downing two of them, but the third got me in the leg. Most of the windows were bulletproof, but I guess for only so many shots. Plus, the cyborgs were pinpoint accurate, so they shot the same place a few times. I winced in pain, and was able to put the last one in his place. I set the Glock in the passenger seat and made final adjustments, then I slowly began my ascent. The helicopter entered the tunnel, and everything went silent. Sure, the blades were still running, but I felt so quiet. Why did it seem so quiet?
I began thinking, was it because something bad was gonna happen? Maybe, I can't say. Wait, I know what it is! I'm thinking clearly! For the first time in ten years, I'm at peace with my thoughts! Wow, maybe I was crazy! Either way, I needed to get home and fix all of this. There was a lot of work to be done. Shit, Spitfire hates work.
Then, I realized something else. For the first time in ten years, I had thought of something my wife had said to me, that didn't involve that incident. What was it? "Love and Tolerance" was what she said. Maybe that had more meaning than she meant it to? I'm not sure, I can't say, but it was amazing that it took me this long to think of something nice she had said to me. No, wait. The Shadows she had come to love died that day on the battlefield. That is what broke her. The Rosa that killed herself wasn't the Rosa I had come to love either. That wasn't Rosa, that was a hollow shell. I made a vow then and there to never consider that...person that killed herself to be Rosa. That wasn't Rosa, I loved Rosa, and that wasn't her. Rosa was strong, she just wasn't strong enough. If only she was here to see me now, then she would know that the Shadows that she loved was back, and she would be back too. It was sad, yes, but I knew that she was in a better place, looking at me and knowing I had finally found my way again.
As the helicopter broke the surface, I turned on the built in MP3 player in the helmet I had put on at some point. The song Silent Night began to play. Rosa loved this song...
Operation: Resonating Hope
Location: Former Ponyville Countryside
Date and Time: September 24, 2037. 20:47 Hours
Subject: Shadows
Objective: Give the Elites...hope...
Welp, here I am again.
I'm all alone, with nothing to do but think. How did I get myself into this situation? I don't know. Frankly, I'd rather not think about it.
No...wait...
I do know, and I can think clearly about it. I always feared treading into my own thoughts, in fear of remembering Rosa. It was second nature for me to avoid my own mind. Not anymore, now I had cleared the corruption from my own brain, and was ready to face my thoughts head on.
Oh...right, I already did that...table and all...
Well, anyways, how did I get in this mess? Well, allow me to explain:
I was flying the helicopter, it was like an ordinary helicopter, too ordinary. You see, the helicopters that I use have the same model interior. In a way of speaking, they are the same helicopter, on the inside. I let my mind fool itself into thinking I was flying one of my own helicopters, which is integrated with stealth technology. So, when I tried to fly over the Elite base camp, I fully expected their thermal radar would never detect my Air Conditioning Interlaced plating on my chopper. Only...it was BLACK's.
Like I said, BLACK was way more advanced when it came to simple stuff, like medical; but, when it came to operating in the field, they were like a bat with its mouth taped shut. So, I was quickly spotted, and grounded shortly after. The Elites knew I survived the crash, so they sent out a team to find me in the field they downed me in. I wasn't exactly sure whose farm I was on, but I knew it was an apple farm. The large number of apple trees that stretched for miles beyond view assured me of that.
When the team of Elites arrived, I surrendered. What else was I to do? I can't tell which Elites are evil, and which are good! I wanted to give them all a chance at redemption anyways, so I didn't retaliate. Besides, I've escaped from BLACK...twice. I could escape from whatever the Elites had in store for me.
So, the Elites disarmed me and took me to a nearby military base, based in old Ponyville. It seems like it was used by the original Equestrian military at some point, but it was now under Elite control. There were plaques all throughout the the entrance, identifying locations where Elites died. After they took me inside, that's when I saw something that truly surprised me. A group of Elites were tearing down a statue of six girls. Two of the girls on the statue were Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, before she became a princess. I didn't know the other four, but they seemed important. Then I realized another thing, the Elites weren't tearing down the statue, they were building it! Why would the Elites build a statue of these these six girls? The statue was outside the base fence, so maybe this was the townsfolk's way of rebellion? Who knows, maybe they just thought these girls were really pretty, and they thought they deserved to erected in concrete.
Either way, I didn't let myself be concerned with it, as I had bigger problems at the moment. The two Elites "escorting" me took me towards a small cage. It was made of steel bars, and was just big enough for me to lie down in. There was no floor, it simply sat in the dirt and razor wire covered it from the outside. The razor wire gathered heavily around the edges of the cage, especially the ground, so as to prevent me from digging my way out. They unlocked the cage, threw me inside, and locked it again. The Elites spat at me, and went about their business. I was starting to have second thoughts about letting them live.
Anyway, now I was trapped, and had a chance to rest. So, I took it. I got as comfortable as possible in the dirt, and tried to doze off. The sound of gunfire all around me at the practice ranges made it kinda hard, but I managed. Then, for the first time in ten years, I had a dreamless sleep...
Operation: Crawling Spider
Location: Former Ponyville Military Base
Date and Time: September 25, 2037. 12:24 Hours
Subject: Shadows
Objective: Escape...is that all you ever do?
At some point, I woke up.
The gunfire was nearly silenced, which told me it must be around chow time. If the Elites were at lunch, then now would be a perfect time to escape. I'd better hurry though, I can already feel the humidity in the air from a coming storm.
I decided the best way to escape would be to try and pick the lock. I pulled out the small lock-picking set that I kept in my sock and got to work as best that I could. Normally, I could pick a lock fairly easily, but I was groggy from my nap, and I couldn't see what I was doing. Just my luck, I dropped the pick, and it was near impossible to find. It blended in easily with the dirt, and I couldn't find it until I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Of course, it was just barely out of my reach. I tried to snatch it up with the other tools from the kit, but I ended up losing the pick for car doors. Naturally, a guard saw me at work, and beat me with the butt of his rifle, then searched me for any more tools. He removed the rest of my lock-picking set, and took my knife. Funny thing too, I was just about to use it on him.
So now, I had no tools, no weapons, and I was trapped. How could things get worse, right? Oh, right, rain. Of course, the downpour started, and the ground beneath me quickly got muddy. I slipped on the new slush and fell on my face. When I wiped the mud out of my face, I noticed something. The mud was letting the razor wire slip around on the ground, where it was normally secured. I dug underneath the edge of the cage, and tried to wiggle the razor wire out of the way. After a few cuts on my hands, I was able to make an opening just large enough for me to slip through! I slithered my way under the edge of the cage, trying to get past the razors unscathed. Of course, I failed, and ended up with many gashes along my back. I was bleeding fairly badly, and I would soon start to be disoriented by blood loss. Okay, first goal, patch myself up. I looked around and found the medic tent, without hesitation, I hurried over to the tent and peeked inside.
Inside the tent, a small light hung in the corner, revealing a wounded Elite fast asleep in a cot. His face was pale, and I could tell (from the stain on the cot) that he was suffering from blood loss. If I didn't patch myself up, I'd be in the same situation, only thing is, that I don't think the Elites would give me equal care. I located a roll of medical gauze, and started to dis-clothe. I wrapped the gauze around my wounds repeatedly, and slipped back into my combat jacket.
Just my luck, a loud crack of thunder rang overhead, causing the Elite to stir. He mumbled something about muffins and slowly brought himself to rise. I stood totally motionless, somehow convinced that if I didn't move then he couldn't see me. Obviously, he wasn't a T-Rex, so the moment he opened his eyes, he saw me. What truly surprised me, was how he reacted. He asked questions first.
"Who are you?" He asked me
"A prisoner, in the process of escaping. Don't try anything, I could easily take you." I calmly replied
The Elite laughed, and swung his legs around slowly, "You think I don't know that? My vision is so blurry that I can barely see you! My ears are ringing so loud that I'd think you were blowing a whistle! If I wanted to try anything, I would have done that first."
I wasn't sure how to respond, "Well, I'm gonna just knock you out now."
Before I could act on my words, he raised a hand to stop me, "Don't bother, if you don't wanna talk then I'm going back to sleep."
"What? You mean, not only are you not calling for help, but you're just gonna let me escape?"
"Well, of course! We took your home from you! The least I can do is let a prisoner escape! What, you think all Elites are evil?"
Well, I wasn't sure, but now I was. This Elite proved my theory, at least a little, "Well, no, but I always thought the military was corrupt."
"Our military is corrupt, but that doesn't mean we all are. In our government, you are drafted into the military, no choice. The ones who are crazy, and hate the Equestrians, volunteer for front-lines and what not. They also take up most of the guard positions, because they can be trusted not to let people like you through."
"Oh, so, you're not one of those people?"
"No, of course not, that's why I'm messed up. I was a sleeper cell, and refused to kill your people. I revealed myself to them, in an effort to show that not all Elites are bad. Unfortunately, your military didn't show any kindness."
"That sounds about right. I guess both sides are kinda stupid on some level huh?"
"I'll say, war is stupid. It's always the same, never changes."
"What do you mean?"
"People always wage war over stuff that if they would just set aside their differences and talk to one another, then they could have settled it without blood. I don't understand what you guys did to us that we have to hate you so much for! Sure, you killed a lot of our people, but that was because we were taking your home! We didn't even have to do that! I'm sure you had some spare space, right?"
"If not, we could have found some."
"Then why are we at war?"
I pondered that for a moment. A lack of communication, duh. We did something wrong to them, and they returned the favor before we could apologize.
"Simple, a lack of communication."
"Really? Please explain what you mean."
I was about to, until things started picking up on the practice ranges, reminding me that I didn't have time. So, I decided to cut this short, "Look, I can't explain right now, but I do have a proposition for you. I'm starting on a operation to put an end to this war, peacefully. I could really use your help, what do you say?"
I fully expected the Elite to just turn me down and go back to sleep, but he actually thought it over! I saw the gears turning, and he finally looked at me and said, "I'll help, not sure what I can do, but I'll help."
"Great! First, you gotta help me get out of here!" I said, looking towards the exit of the tent, the rain still roaring outside.
"I think it's you who needs to help me !" He said with a chuckle, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm suffering from severe blood loss. Quite frankly, I'm surprised I have the energy to sit up!"
"Shit, fine. C'mon." I grumbled. I reached down and helped the Elite off of the cot, and slung his arm over my shoulders. He gained his balance and I motioned for him to follow my lead. We stepped outside and started trudging through the mud. The Elite was very heavy, and hard to carry in my nutrient deprived state. I needed a meal when I got out of this mess. Again, the rain just made things worse.
Thank Celes- no, thank Rosa. Yeah, I'm going to use her instead. Rosa is more deserving of my thanks. Thank Rosa, there were no guards out and about. A few gave us some trouble, but the Elite was able to tell them that I was leading him to the doctor. Of course, the guards fell for it, thinking I was just being subjected to menial labor. How could I escape from a fully guarded military base in broad daylight? Right under their noses, that's how. I set the Elite down for a moment, and approached the gate by myself. I sneaked into the gate control room and choked the operator unconscious. I fiddled with the controls until the gate swung open...
/Warning! Powering down the Lyradex mission recorder can cause life threatening brain damage!
/Are you sure you wish to power down?
/User input: Y
/Powering down...
/Power down successful!
/No brain damage detected!
/Goodbye!
The escape was clean, and we got out unnoticed. Well, it wasn't exactly clean when considering the mud, and we left the main gate open, but you get the idea. I finally decided to turn off that stupid mission recorder, you know, the thing that's been recording my memories on paper for you to read? It was a useful device when it came to keeping record of what happens, but I'd rather just leave it off for now. I hated it, because that meant that somebody would read the reports it made, which kinda creeped me out. So for now, I'm just gonna keep a journal of what happens in short tidbits. Hopefully I can speed things along this way.
September 25, 9:25 P.M.
I've learned my new Elite friend was a sleeper cell in a Wonderbolts camp. He actually operated pretty closely with Rainbow Dash. When I told him that I used to think she was hot, he told me I better watch out for Soarin then! Guess I dodged a bullet with that one, I don't need a Wonderbolt after me.
He says his code-name in the base was Delta. He was able to blend in by using technology the Elites have borrowed from the Changelings. The moment that the Wonderbolt base he was in figured out he was using Changeling technology, they sent a squad after the hive. He knew it was suicide for them, and even as they held him at gunpoint, he tried to reason that much with them. They just refused to listen.
Oh, where are my manners. I haven't even told you his name! His real name is Skar Streak, his friends call him Skar, and his co-workers call him Streak. He says I can call him Skar, so I guess that means I'm his friend.
September 25, 11:46 P.M.
Skar isn't holding up too well. We've been walking towards Manehattan for hours now, trying to get signal to my HQ, no luck. Skar is getting some well needed rest at a small camp I set up, and I'm keeping watch. We need food badly, hopefully I can find some in the morning, but I'm gonna sleep now. Screw keeping watch, if nobody's come looking for us then that means we're not worth looking for.
September 26, 9:12 A.M.
I slept in, haven't done that in awhile. Skar is out cold, I think he's unconscious. Oh, did I mention we had been travelling through the rain? Well, it's finally stopped, so at least I won't have to carry him in the rain. Luckily though, I did find a gate that lead into a hidden garden, it was out in the middle of nowhere. Whatever, I have food, I'm good.
I'm beginning to get static on my frequency over the radio. Either this means that my the Elites use my exact encryption, or I'm getting within range of my HQ.
September 26, 10:34 A.M.
Finally, after about another hour of travel, I was able to hail Spitfire over the radio. She said she was gonna smack the shit out of me when I got back. I told them I made a new ally who was badly injured, so they were sending some mercenaries with medical know-how to fix up Skar. Only thing is, I didn't tell them that he was an Elite.
September 26, 10:50 A.M.
The mercs weren't too happy to fix up an Elite, but they did it, with a pay increase. I need my own guys so I can quit outsourcing positions like this. It's eating up all of my available money. Anyways, I'm in the chopper on my way back to HQ now. I can't wait to see Spitfire and Cogs, and try to introduce them to Skar. These three people are the closest things I have to friends, and if they are my friends, I'm still not sure if I deserve them. Either way, they trust me, and together we can fix this mess that Equestria is in.
I think I'm gonna turn the mission recorder back on after this. I'm running out of ink in my pen and my hand is starting to hurt. Plus, it becoming a growing annoyance to write these. Now I see why Lyradex came up with this thing. For the craziest person alive, Lyra sure was smart.
/Powering on...
/Thank you for choosing the Lyradex mission recorder!
/Activating brain scanner...
/Scanner activated
/Recording data...
Operation: Resonating Hope
Location: Former Manehattan, Shadows HQ
Date and Time: September 26, 2037. 11:07 Hours
Subject: Shadows
Objective: Give the Elites...hope...
Jesus my friends are assholes...
The moment Spitfire laid eyes on Skar, she went into all out beserk mode. She would have blown his brains out if I didn't step in the way! After a heated explanation, Spitfire put her weapons down and went back to what she was doing. She said she was going to finish up and then debrief us. Cogs just sat in the corner of the room, silent, staring at the Elite. Is orange-rust colored fur showed extreme tension in his body, as it stood up around his neck. His black mane hung loosely at his shoulders, and his arms were crossed, he was tapping his pointer finger on the inside of his elbow. His wings weren't completely extended, but they looked ready to flap and put ten yards between him and Skar. He didn't say anything, but it was clear he was agitated.
After a long silence when Spitfire left, Cogs finally spoke up to Skar. Cogs said, "So...Skar, you were-"
Skar cut him off, "You call me Streak."
"Oh? Shadows tells me your name is Skar." Cogs replied calmly, although his body language didn't change.
"My name is Skar Streak. You can call me Streak, for now."
"Oh...well...Streak, you were a part of the Elite military...correct?"
Skar raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"
"Is there anything about their...uh...technology...that you could tell me about?"
Skar sighed, "Sorry, I was more of a soldier. I left the tech stuff up to the tech guys."
"Oh...that makes sense..." Suddenly, Cogs shifted, and his wings expanded a little more, forming a defensive position, "How many people did you kill?"
Skar looked at his feet, "836."
Cogs stood silent, just waiting for something. Though, I couldn't really tell what. Maybe he expected Skar to attack?
Skar continued, "And every single one of them was an Elite..."
Cogs gasped, and another gasp could be heard from the nearby doorway. I turned and saw Spitfire, with her hand covering her mouth, and her eyes wide open.
Skar looked at Spitfire, although he was still talking to Cogs, "I was a sleeper cell, and in order to keep my cover I had to kill Elites. I counted every single one, 836. 945 if you're counting the wounded too. Personally, I don't think that killing ever solves anything. But I did what I had to."
Cogs put his wings down, and his arms were now uncrossed, "I'm...sorry. Jesus, I'm an asshole. Look, you're just the first Elite that I've met who didn't try to kill me instantly. Please forgive me for being so rude, Streak."
"It's fine, I understand. Please, call me Skar."
Well, it seems Skar and Cogs are okay now. But Skar never stopped looking at Spitfire. Now it was Spitfire's turn to be shown up. She gestured towards me and Skar and said, "Shadows, Skar, come with me."
All Skar said was, "You call me Streak..."
Spitfire took us back into the debriefing room. I noticed she had the interrogation table removed, like always. She knew it bugged me. I walked towards the closet where she stored it. Opened the door, and pulled it back out. Needless to say, Spitfire was thoroughly surprised, and gave me a look that said we'll talk about that later.
Spitfire sat on one side, while me and Skar sat opposite of her. Before Spitfire could talk, Skar spoke up.
Skar stated, "You are Spitfire."
Spitfire wasn't the only one with wide eyes. How did Skar know that? I never told him!
Spitfire voiced my question, "How do you know that?"
"Does the code-name 'Delta' sound familiar to you?"
"Delta? HOW THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW THAT! WHO ARE YOU?" Spitfire screamed
This conversation was taking a turn that I didn't anticipate.
Skar was still calm, but his eyes seemed glassier that normal, like tears were forming, "Love is like a fire, even if you go. It'll just keep burnin', melt away the snow." Skar's voice was low, was he singing?
Spitfire eyes shot wide, like she made a sudden realization. Then, she began to sing too, "No matter where you are, you will always know. That I love you so..."
Skar continued to sing, and stood up face to face with Spitfire, "Break away the chains, follow me now. Even if it's cold, we'll stay warm somehow."
Now, Skar and Spitfire were inches from each other, and singing together, both in low voices, "No matter where you are, you will always know. That I love you so..."
Hold up a minute, this was totally fucked up. Did I just watch Skar and Spitfire kiss ? After singing some song? What the fuck is going on? It's like two distant lovers were just reunited! What the hell? That's it, now it's my turn for questions!
"What the fuck was that?" I asked blatently
Spitfire and Skar were still staring each other down, oblivious to my question.
"HEY! I'M STILL FUCKING HERE YOU KNOW?" I yelled
That jogged their focus, and whatever reverie they were having was interrupted. Spitfire and Skar looked at me, Skar said, "Well, there's no easy way to say this...but...me and Spitfire used to date...heavily..."
Okay, now I'm totally baffled, "What?"
Spitfire replied, "Delt- I mean, Skar used to be a member of the Wonderbolts fighting force. Though I didn't know he was an Elite."
Hold on, I still had some questions, "How do you know he's Delta?"
Spitfire smiled at Skar, as if reminiscing about something, and said, "Delta was the only one who knew that song. He sang it for me on the day of our first anniversary."
Skar chuckled, "It was the cheesiest crap ever!"
Spitfire giggled (it was the first time I ever heard her do that!), "It was sweet!"
I fake gagged, and that brought a hearty laugh out of both of them. Then I had my most burning question, "And...you don't care that he's an Elite?"
Spitfire raised an eyebrow, saying, "Why would I? I love him! I was taken hostage by the Elites during their raid, and then you took me in after I escaped that compound with you! Jesus, is escaping stuff all you ever do?"
I laughed and shook my head, remembering how the battle recorder asked me the same thing in the objective display. Lyra even gave those things a sense of humor! Or...was it using my sense of humor? Damn, if that was the case then I was kinda mean! Either way, Spitfire was more than happy to work alongside her old partner.
Skar let his friends call him Skar, and his co-workers called him Streak. Spitfire got to call him Snookums! He's never gonna hear the end of that! Me and my friends had a long day, so we sat down for a drink to celebrate a happy reunion, and an addition to the team. Things were going great, and we could get right to work on preventing a full out war on the Elites, and trying to solve this matter peacefully!
We chatted for about 30 minutes, sharing stories about what was going on while we were separated. I looked at the clock, and noticed it was already going on noon. I decided now would be the best time to start making lunch, then we could get straight to work on Operation Resonating Hope. First, I needed to use the bathroom. I headed down the hall to the restrooms, and went about my business. We had the restroom sort of set up like a lobby, due to the fact that we normally had a bunch of mercenaries in the place, and it always seemed like ten of them were trying to crap at once. The TV hung in the corner of the room played the Elite national news regularly. I was finishing up, when something the TV man said caught my attention.
"Crisis in Tuto today!" The anchorman said
I opened the stall door, and looked at the TV, wondering what was wrong.
The anchorman continued, "An unidentified force assaulted the Illesian capital of Tuto this morning in a raid for the ages. Hundreds are confirmed dead, and even more are injured. It is still unknown who assaulted the capital, but sources suggest an attack from The Equestrian Republic. More on the story at 1."
No...we're too late...
"NO! WE CAN'T GIVE UP!" Spitfire screamed, slamming her fist on the table, "NOT NOW!"
"What can we do Spitfire?" I reasoned, "The Elites now have plenty of reason to hate the Equestrians! Even those who didn't originally!"
"It will take a lot more than that..." Skar noted.
"What do you mean?" Cogs asked.
Skar looked at me, "Did you see the statue in Irkutsk town square?"
"Irkutsk? Is that former Ponyville?" I asked
"Yes." Skar answered.
"Yeah, the one with those six girls on it?"
"Yes, do you know who they are?"
"I know two of them. One is Princess Twilight Sparkle, and another one was Rainbow Dash. I couldn't tell you the other four."
"Those six girls are the elements of harmony. Their friendship was the strongest in all the land. The Elite military forces took that away from them when they raided Ponyville. They killed the other four: Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy. This caused their friendship to completely fall apart, and the elements of harmony became cold and dark. The stones still sit in the Irkutsk library, waiting for the next bearers. The Elites there use them as a sign of hope, that one day a group of Equestrians will have to come there to get them. Any bearer of an element of harmony, would gladly hear both sides of the story, and the Elites would have a chance at peace with the Equestrians. They were erecting that statue to show they meant no harm to the Equestrians when they should they arrive, but in a way that the military would be too corrupt to see."
"Wow." Was all I could manage to say.
Skar continued, "The purple and blue ones still have some glow, showing that Twilight and Rainbow Dash are still alive."
Cogs, who had left the room at some point, was now coming back, and said, "Not anymore..."
Skar and I both raised an eyebrow, and Skar asked, "What do you mean?"
Cogs looked at his feet, "I was doing some research on what you were saying. Just this morning, the Irkutsk library posted that the blue element of harmony lost it's glow early this morning...during the attack on Tuto."
Skar shook his head, obviously not too fazed about it. To him, it just meant that Rainbow Dash died. To me, it meant Rainbow Dash died.
I broke down, I finally gave in. First Rosa, then the Elites, then the Equestrian Republic's attack, and now Rainbow Dash? I was sobbing like a baby. That girl didn't deserve to die. Sure, she wasn't too bright, no BLACK operative is, but she didn't deserve death. All she wanted was to win this war, have things go back to the way the were before it, I could see it in her eyes. I didn't see her for very long, but I knew more about her than most anybody did from just being around her for the time that I was. She was a soldier, she followed orders, no questions asked. I used to be that way, in a way, it was what got me in the mess I was in. She didn't know the Elites weren't all bad, and she killed them because of her lack of knowledge. Because nobody told her...a lack of communication...wow. Because of one stupid lack of communication, Rainbow Dash was dead. Why didn't I tell her? She could be here, with us, fighting for the right cause. I was making the same mistake all over again. Funny...how things work that way...
In the Magical Land of Illesia
/User data restored
/Resuming data transfer...
/Link established
/Interfacing with memory interlace...
/Interlace locked
/Activating reasoning program...
/Activated
Operation: Placing Blame
Locatoin: BLACK HQ
Date and Time: September 23, 2027. 17:23 hours. Day of the Equestrian Takeover, Aftermath.
Subject: Shadows
Objective: Come to terms with the death of your wife.
No...
Rosa...my love
Why? Why would she do this?
Was it my fault?
No...it wasn't my fault...it couldn't have been...
Maybe...maybe it was that time of the month, and this put her over the edge?
No...no that wouldn't be it. How could I even think that?
Why? Why then?
Maybe this was somehow Celestia's fault...
Because she saw the chance the Elites have at love...
What?
She saw hope for them, and this event wiped it out...
But...they're monsters. They kill and laugh about it!
No...those ones are the monsters. Do not label the
Elites for what a few do. They are not all this way...
Well then...why did they attack us?
Who knows, they may have been forced to.
Equestria has never taken too kindly to outsiders.
So they attack us?!
If they needed new homes, they would have to.
Maybe they ran out of space or food.
They could have asked!
Maybe it was corruption...
What do you mean?
The Elite government is strange, even the citizens of
Illesia believe that they need a new form of government.
So, why not overthrow the government? Revolt?
Do you not remember the forces that attacked?
How could the people of Illesia stand up to that?
So...the Elites are a people waiting to be freed from their own government?
The Elite's form of government is known as a Supremial,
in their terms. This puts a few aristocrats in charge, and
the military handles a large majority of the rest. The
people have very little say in what happens, if any.
So it is a revolution waiting to happen?
Correct.
Then...why did Rosa kill herself?
She saw the light in the Elites, the hope they had.
When Equestrians started killing Elites, we wiped that hope
clean. You, being a soldier, played a role in that.
But...she had to have known that I didn't know that!
Obviously, she did not...It seems there was a
fatal lack of communication...
No...this is Celestia's fault...
How? She did nothing wrong.
I...I dunno, she's the only person I can blame...
You can blame yourself.
No! This isn't my fault!
You said it yourself, you didn't know. It was
your fault, but it also wasn't
What?
You caused this, unknowingly. You had no idea
your actions would cause this much damage.
But...but...
It is your fault, but it was an accident. Accidents happen,
and if we learn from them, they can be fixed...
How?
You must restart the light in the Elites. Give them hope again.
But...Rosa...
I'm certain, Rosa is looking down on you right now,
feeling the utmost remorse for her actions. She never knew
that you didn't intend for all of this to happen. She still loves you...
Who...who are you?
I'm you, but enlightened.
Which means?
You are now me.
Wait...now I'm confused.
It does not matter now, what matters is what happens
next. You can save the Elites, or 'save' Equestria, by killing
them. Which would Rosa want?
...The Elites deserve as much a chance as we do...I'll help them...
Keep her in mind. Whenever you have a decision to
make, ask yourself, "What would Rosa do?" Then, you will
know you made the right decision.
Thank you...without...whoever you are, I'd have surely blamed Celestia.
Celestia does not know about the Elites. You cannot get
help from her. You are on your own. Escape, escape BLACK now.
I...I will...
I love you, Shadows...
/Data transfer complete
Operation: Resonating Hope
Location: Former Manehattan, Shadows HQ
Date and Time: September 27, 2037. 2:57 Hours
Subject: Skar Streak
Objective: Give the Elites...hope...
Journal Entry #1- Sept 27 2037
I have joined Shadows in his efforts to show the world that not all Elites are as bad as the military portrays them. Many people only know the darker side of the Elites, the more corrupted side of the military. That's the side that Illesia tries to show off, in an attempt to portray that message. They send out the corrupted troops to do the dirty work, that way they seem like the bad guys. Obviously, not all of us are bad. I'm an example. I've never killed anybody who didn't deserve to die, and I don't ever plan on starting.
Rainbow Dash's death didn't hit me too hard. Rainbow Dash was a good ally, but she was a total moron sometimes. She was hotheaded and cocky, it was a matter of time. For some reason, Shadows was hit hard by the news of her death. Something about her just being a kid. She was a grown woman. She made her mistakes.
It's going to be a lot harder now that the Equestrians have taken land from the Elites. Now, not only do the Equestrians see the Elites as evil doers, but vice-versa as well. We're going to somehow have to convince both sides that they mean each other no harm. After Shadows explained that this whole war was started by a lack of communication, I am starting to find that more and more harder to believe. I think there's something deeper here. Maybe even involving the princesses of Equestria themselves? No, not Luna at least, she's been on the moon for so long. Whatever the case, there's a bigger play going on behind the scenes, I'm sure of it.
On the brighter side, my joining with Shadows coincidentally landed me back beside my love, Spitfire. The Elite raid on the Wonderbolt camp took her from me so many years ago. That's when this whole conflict really started. Ever since then, the Elites and Equestrians have had little petty battles here and there. Now things were about to get serious. Hopefully things would be getting serious with Spitfire here again soon, hardee har har. Gosh, I guess Shadows crude humor is starting to rub off on me, at least that's what Spitfire was saying. Speaking of which, she's giving me the look. That crazy woman.
Either way, big things are about to go down, and I feel I'm going to be playing a big role. All I can hope is that it won't drive me insane.
Yours Truly,
Skar Streak
