Infiltration

Thursday, July 9, 905 CE. 6:53 AM.

I'm in my apartment, number 36, in progress with hacking an unspecified section of the New Lunar Republic's military casualty logs. Ebony Aura's the real deal with it comes to the real guts of hacking - I actually owe her all I know, not to mention showing me the true face of the NLR. If I hadn't confronted her that one day in high school, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Wednesday, May 21, 904 CE. 11:31 AM.

I make my way to one select lunch table of thirty others, a tray of monotonous foods and plastic cup of processed water hovering in front of me, both surrounded by a deep red aura. The nearest end of the table is unoccupied, thank Luna, yet it's unfortunately closely monitored by a Davy's gray mare. Most of her black mane covered by a pastel red bandana and her face now looking at another pony opposite of my general direction, I cannot clearly identify her. Maintaining my momentum, I continue walking towards the empty seating space. As I get closer, I can clearly make out what they're saying.

"...eah, the bastard that told me to save him a seat."

"Did he really?" utters the cerulean mare she's speaking to.

"I fool you not," she replies. "He actually gave me two bits."

The other one begins laughing hysterically, her short, six-colour mane jittering about. "What a bucking idiot!" she bellows between laughs.

Good grief, my vision's really wearing out... There's Rainbow Dash. She's just about as self-centered and brutal as a Senior pegasus can get. She's known across the entire school, a panicked discussion about her at almost every corner. She's relatively kind and forgiving when she's not in a bad mood, which only occurs once in a blue moon, I dare say, unless she's with a certain other pony. Now that I think about it, this does seem to be the pony Rainbow usually hangs out with. But just to be sure...

"I know, right!? What was he thinking?"

Just about finishing her laughter prematurely, Rainbow looks at me with her narrowed cerise eyes, points a hoof and says "You're a sad bucking wretch, you know that!?"

Slightly shaken by the statement, I flatten my ears. Just as I open my mouth to speak, the grey mare turns to me and swiftly back at Rainbow.

"Dash!" she exclaims. "This isn't him!"

"Oh, ponyfeathers..." Rainbow leans forward. "Look, I didn't mean that. I thought you were somepony else."

"It's fine," I mutter coyly.

"What was that?"

"It's fine."

"Alright, then." She looks back at the grey mare, resuming the conversation she was previously in. "Did he say anything else?"

I suppose it isn't a direct confrontation, but remains as a technical confrontation nonetheless.

Later on, she asked to meet up with me in a certain area in the courtyard for a sort of briefing. She thought I had the stuff for the task in mind, something about "a look in my eyes."

Wednesday, May 21, 904 CE. 12:03 PM.

There she stands, near the SouthEast staircase, consistently scanning the courtyard for my face. I've yet to understand why she wanted to meet me near the end of lunch. Her eyes widen when she catches my luminescent white eyes, and waves a hoof in the air for my attention. As I don't want to keep her waiting, I swiftly approach her.

"What eyes?" I humour once within an adequate distance for regular conversing.

She chuckles under her breath. "Nevermind that. Listen, I just need some minor assistance while I'm infiltrating the school's database. One of my brothers who attended this school was murdered by another anonymous student. There's information the school has but desperately hid from the police department. They feared that their reputation was on the line if the police department knew of the precise details. Anyway, It'll be a swift one-two-three; look for the casualty log, download it, and get right out of the system before anyone catches us. I'll take care of the rest. Now, I can teach you the basics after school, and then we'll get started in Mrs. Hail's IIT class during seventh period tomorrow. However, if you don't think you're up for it, I can send you on your way and we shall never speak of this again. It's your choice. Get it thought out quickly, though, because we don't have much time."

"This isn't just something minor," I imply. "You're talking about illegally accessing their database."

"Are you in or not?" she stresses, desparate for a final decision. It is critically nearing the end of lunch, which would explain why she's in a slight panic. "We'll sort out the details later. Just give me an answer right now."

I couldn't let her down. With the information she chooses to share, it does seem legitimate. I emit a lowly sigh before finally responding. "Alright, I'm in."

Just then, the transition bell rings - just in time, too.

Thank Luna I had made that hasty decision; as much as I insisted it was my pleasure, Aura continually expressed more gratitude than expected; this brother of hers seemed to be very important to her. Nonetheless, she did not go easy on me after school. As heartening as the memory may be, It'd be best I focus on the task at hoof. I cannot afford any more delays.