Chapters I sat outside the small coffee shop, watching carriages go by over the top of today's newspaper. The refreshing sea breeze ruffled my lime green coat as I waited patiently for my target. The birds chirped in soft tones as street vendors struggled to sell their wares. The soft Vanhoover rain drizzled against the rooftops.
I glanced at my watch and sighed. Already 5 minutes late. I hailed the waitress with a flick of my hoof.
"Yes sir, what could I get you? Another coffee, or one of our fine pastries perhaps?" She asked in a cheerful, slightly bored tone.
"Another coffee please. Black. No milk or cream." I answered quickly.
She wrote my order carefully down on her notepad.
"Will that be all, sir?" The waitress asked in a businesslike tone.
"Yes, yes that's all" I said, shooing her away. I had to watch out for my target.
Another minute passed. Saddle Arabian agents were not known for being tardy.
I took out my radio.
"Are you sure the target is supposed to be here?" I whispered carefully from behind my newspaper.
"The Saddle Arabian agent we captured said he was supposed to meet the target at the coffee shop for the file exchange." Mission control answered in a simplistic voice.
"Well, she's not here!" I complained, probably louder then I should have.
I slammed the newspaper into table, and rested my head on my hooves. Mission control can be hopeless sometimes They have no idea what they are doing. The waiter came back with my coffee. I sat there drinking the hot beverage slowly.
I felt a cold, metal object poke into the back of my head. A pistol. The pistol racked it's slide, pulling a round into the chamber.
"Excuse me, could we take a quick trot?" A mare's careful tone asked from behind me.
Trembling, I nodded worryingly. I wasn't about to argue with a loaded gun pushed against the back of my skull.
We stepped onto the wet street. The pistol was hidden in my mane as we trotted to keep it from public view.
"Are all Equestrian agents this obvious?" She chuckled. "You practically screamed 'undercover'."
I grumbled. This wasn't in the plan!
We clopped into an alleyway. The wet Vanhoover rain trundled off the adjacent rooftops. A scurrying rat darted from box to box, looking for food. We went to the end of the alleyway. It was a dead end. The pistol against the back of my skull was removed.
"Hooves on your head, turn around slowly. No funny business." Gulping, I did what the mare asked.
As I turned around, her hoof came up and struck my head. I sprawled across the alleyway.
"Shit!" I screamed in pain, standing up and clutching my jaw with my hoof. I got my first good look at her. A sand-coloured unicorn mare with a short cut brown mane. Her cutie mark was hidden behind a long trench coat.
"Get your hooves on your fucking head" She screamed. I obliged, not wanting to get shot full of holes.
"Now, you are going to answer some questions for me, okay?" The mare said through gritted teeth. The water continued trundling down into the alleyway.
"Cunt" I grumbled, not looking her in the eye.
In a flash, her hoof knocked my front hooves away, smashing my already damaged jaw against the hard concrete of the wet alleyway.
"You answer my questions, I don't shoot a bullet through your simplistic brain. Now where are the files?" My laugh made her clutch the gun harder. Sweat poured down her brow. She was obviously worried now.
"Where the fuck are they?" She trembled. Obviously these files were not supposed to be in Equestrian hands. I just laughed harder.
"Shutup!" She whacked me hard in the side of my head.
"Could you stop hitting me?" I groaned. She ignored my question.
She started to back up. "You have them, don't you? FUCK!" She screamed. Her concentration dropped for a nanosecond. That's all I needed. I charged, knocking the pistol out of her magic aura. It clattered across the wet stone of the alleyway. She looked at me, and bolted. I picked up the pistol in my teeth and followed her.
She cut down the street and into the marketplace. Cursing, I followed her. The throng of the marketplace would hide her. I caught the tip of her trench coat in the crowd, and followed. It took winding she took wanting turns around the stalls, and I struggled to follow. She started to slow down, obviously thinking she had lost me. She finally stopped beside the wall a building. Trembling, she fumbled out a cigarette and began to light it. I smiled and took out my radio. I dialed into the agency frequency. "Agent flame here." Are you there, Ms. Parsnip?" The radio crackled.
"Parsnip here, did you catch the Arabian agent yet?" She asked through the radio.
"Not quite. Say, do we still have the blocks of plastic explosive from the last bust?"
My question caught her by surprise. "Sit, whatever do you need that for?" She puzzled.
"Just wire it up to the ceiling and set the frequency to 76.4."
"The ceiling? You want to blow the ceiling?" She asked in disbelief.
"Just do it." I answered before smiling and closing the radio.
I trotted out into the open where the mare could see me. "Equestrian Spy Agency! You Are under arrest!" I announced to her.
Startled, she dropped her cigarette and made a beeline for the fire escape of the building. I just stood on the ground and stared up at her. I took out the radio and set it's frequency to 76.4. Just as she got to the roof of the building, I pressed the red 'Transmit' button on the handheld radio. Nothing happened.
"Fuck!" I shouted, and pressed it again.
For a second. Nothing happened. Then, a loud 'Boom' and a plume of debris came off the top of the building. I grinned and slowly walked up the fire escape.
The damage to the building wasn't major, only the roof had crumbled in. The unconscious body of the sand-coloured mare lay in the middle of the pile of rubble. I dropped down into the room and quickly handcuffed her. I took off my coat and dusted it off.
Parsnip came in with a tray of tea. "Welcome back, Mr. Flame! May I take your coat?" She said cheerfully, sweeping rubble off my desk and placing the tray down. "Oh, and Twilight wanted to speak with you about the 'Damages'."
I smiled. A normal day in the office.
The agency was the main office on the west coast. Most espionage missions came through here before being accepted. Like most agents, I was an orphan. It's better that way, as the Saddle Arabian agents can't hurt your loved ones. For the last few years, I have been working to become a field agent. Unfortunately, my track record of collateral damage does not help me much. With a sigh, I walked purposefully down the agency hallway, nodding to staff as they scurried about on their business. I sipped on Parsnip's tea as I knocked on the door of Twilight's office. The hallway lights flickered, probably on account of my little escapade into high explosives.
"Come in, it's unlocked!" Twilight shouted in a rather tired voice.
I slowly opened the door, noticing how messy the office was. Coffee cups and papers littered the desk as the purple alicorn tapped furiously on the computer.
"Twilight, is something wrong?" I ventured. "You aren't usually this messy."
"Is something wrong? Of course something is fucking wrong! It's war! And it doesn't help with you blowing the roof of the agency with high explosives!" She scowled, and then seemed to droop in her chair.
"With the Arabians on a large offensive, I already have too much on my hooves." She straightened he back. "Princess Celestia put me in charge of the espionage agency because I am the most organized pony she knows. But even I could not hope to manage all this!" She raised her hooves at the scattered paperwork all around.
I took another sip of Tea. "Why don't you take a Vacation? I'm sure Princess Celestia could find someone as a replacement."
Twilight sighed. "There's a war going on. I can't just take a vacation. I wish I could, but Equestria needs me."
She straightened a stack of papers with her magic, and pulled out a folder from her desk. With thwap, the papers smacked against the desk.
"Now, let's deal with you, Mr. Flame." Twilight grumbled. "Over the last month, yo have caused property damage, collateral damage and have killed multiple Arabian agents we wanted alive."
What can you say, I'm dangerous to be around" I remarked with a smile.
"A bit to dangerous, don't you think?" Twilight took out a photo of me setting explosives of the running wheels of a train. It was dated to last week. "In what sane mind did you think setting high explosives on a civilian train was a valid idea?"
"The target....." I began
She stood up in anger "I know the target was on the fucking train! You ended up killing the target we wanted to capture along with 8 innocent civilians! Do you even possess common sense!?"
"Today...." I started, but yet again she cut me off.
"I know you captured the target today, but that resulted in the destruction of the agencies' roof! Do you know how expensive building materials are in wartime?" She sat down in anguish. "Eugh... I've had enough. You are relieved from duty until next month, in when you will be sent to Saddle Arabia for an espionage mission. Hopefully you will cause them as much destruction as you caused us."
"So, you are just making me a field agent?" I asked with a smile.
Twilight looked at me. "I wish I wasn't rewarding recklessness, but you are the only agent qualified for the Saddle Arabia mission we have not currently occupied. Now, please let me get back to my paperwork." She slumped again in her chair, picking up the pen with her magic.
I finished my tea, placing it on the desk. "C'mon twilight, come to the bar with me. Celestia know's you need the break." I asked hopefully.
Twilight glanced at me, then her paperwork. She dropped the pen with a yawn. "Fine. One drink. Then I need to finish my paperwork."
/////
After a few drinks more than one, Twilight and I sat across form each other in the almost empty bar. The chat had shifted from business topics to more personal ones as our blood toxicity rose.
"So, are you virgin or not?" I questioned. It probably wasn't something that I would ask if I wasn't drunk.
"Wha... What?" She blushed. "I've done it..... A few times." She took another sip of her martini
"Details! C'mon!" I pestered her as I took another shot of whiskey.
Her cheeks turned tomato red.
"Erm, well.... The first time, I kind of wished I didn't. It was really kind of a one night stand." Twilight shifted uncomfortably in her seat and stirred her drink. "How about you?" Her violet eyes stared deep into mine.
"Well, really just a few flings. No major relationships" I answered with another shot of whiskey.
Sitting there, looking back at me, she looked beautiful. Like an elegant, natural sort of beauty. I never realized how sexy she was before now.
"Well, it's getting late." I proclaimed, glancing at my watch.
She just stared at me, as if captivated by an unknown force.
Without thinking, I leaned over and planted a kiss right on her mouth. Her eyes opened wide, startled by my sudden movement.
I pulled back quickly. "It's getting late now better go now bye!" I worryingly rushed, my cheeks blushing.
Before I could move, Twilight took my mouth in hers, startling me. We stayed like that for a while, before she pulled away.
"I liked that." She whispered quietly in my ear. "Want to come to my place, for... you know" she blushed heavily.
I was so stimulated all I could do was nod and drink in her sight.
/////
We walked along the street back to her apartment, Twilight wrapped her wings around me and rested her cheek on mine. She spoke softly.
"I wish this war never happened." She sighed. "Too many good ponies have died already. We don't need more to die. This war is just silly"
I pecked her on the cheek and nuzzled her softly.
"Well, all we can do right now is get through it. Eventually the War will end, And Equestria will be back as it was before. I just hope I get to live to see it." I said to her slowly, trotting down the lonely, dark Vanhoover street.
/////
When we got to her apartment, twilight lay down on the bed, her wings spread out along the linen she smiled softly, inviting me. I lay down on top of her, stroking her wings with my hooves and entwining my tongue with hers. The actions made her shudder with ecstasy. This was going to be a good night.
I lay silently on the soft bed, watching as the morning sun filtered through the closed blinds. Birds chirped as the city continued in it's business outside. A musky scent filled the room. I looked over at Twilight, her chest rising and falling. I sighed, and wondered what it would be like to have a family. To actually have someone you legitimately care about and would give your life for. I pecked Twilight on the cheek and headed to the bathroom. I needed a shower.
/////
I trotted along the street to the market. A refreshing ocean breeze was in the air. As usual, the market was extremely busy. I pushed my way through the crowd. All around me, ponies were selling and buying their wares. I stopped to pick up some haybacon and a dozen eggs. As I was putting them in my bag, I spotted a bookseller. There was a locked book on the counter. I walked up and inspected it.
"Excuse me, what are you doing with a locked book?" I intrigued
The bookseller shrugged. "I'dunno. Somebody left it here overnight." I don't who's it is."
I was interested. "How much?"
"Not for sale." He countered. "I don't know who's property it is."
"20 Bits?" I offered
The bookseller looked around carefully, then smiled. "Deal"
/////
The smells of haybacon and eggs wafted around the kitchen. Twilight trotted in, rubbing her eyes with her wings. She still smelled like last night. "Oh.... You're still here?" She said, shocked.
My heart plummeted, but I kept a straight face. "I... I just thought that could make you breakfast. It's the least I could do."
Twilight blushed, obviously sensing my disappointment. "Well, it's just that all other stallions have left before I woke up." She trotted up to me, and kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you." She whispered.
Heart restored, I got back to making breakfast. She trotted away and stood in the doorway. "I'll have breakfast after I wash myself." She smiled before continuing to the bathroom.
I still had a slight hangover from last night. Other them that, I was feeling better then I had been in years.
A few minutes later, I hummed to myself as I dished put the eggs and haybacon onto two plates.
Twilight trotted in, her mane still dripping wet from the shower. She sat down at the table with an awkward smile. I set the plate down in front of her and sat down with my own.
We sat there, just eating silently for a few minutes.
Twilight finally broke the silence. "So.... about last night...." She began.
I sat there slowly nibbling on the bacon.
"So.... Was I any good?" She blushed and fidgeted in her seat.
Finishing my food, I picked up my plate and walked over to her. "You were perfect." I exclaimed quietly.
Looking relieved, Twilight took happy bites of her egg. Moving over to the sink, I began to wash the dishes. "I picked up a book for you at the marketplace. It has a strange lock on it." I informed.
"I'll look at it later. I have a lock picking spell." She said, still tucking into her bacon.
I continued on the dishes. After Twilight finished, she trotted up to me and Hugs my with her wings from behind.
"I don't want to go to work today." She nuzzled my neck.
"Didn't you give me an entire speech on how Equestria needs you and you can't take breaks?" I proclaimed
"But that was yesterday." She whined. "And besides, I want to spend the entire day with you." She hugged me tighter
"Fine." I sighed. Then smiled happily. I turned around and kissed her right on the mouth. "I'm so lucky having a mare like you."
Twilight flicked her mane. "Now you're making me horny all over again" She complained jokingly.
I grinned like a madman. "Well, if you're horny, why don't we do it again?"
Twilight looked at me. "Are you serious? Then I'll have to have another shower....." She put on a mischievous smile. "Sure, why not?"
/////
Twilight and I lay side by side on her bed. I was feeling extremely relaxed. Based of her breathing patterns, she was too.
She looked at me lovingly. "Where did you learn to do that with you're mouth?"
"I've been around the block a few times." I exclaimed.
I got up slowly. I trotted to the bathroom, and got in the shower for a second time that day. I turned on the jet of water. The cool water was refreshing on my coat.
A few minutes later, I was drying off when I heard a screech from outside the bathroom. I blundered out, expecting something horrible. Twilight was muzzle deep in the book I had picked up from the marketplace.
"This book..." She stuttered, flipping pages frantically.
"What's wrong with the book? Is it important?"
Twilight's eye's bore into me. "Star Flame, you may have just stumbled on an invaluable war asset. One that could completely change the outcome of the war."
/////
Twilight and I rushed down the street. Rain pattered alongside us as our hooves contacted the pavement. She explained the book to me as we went.
"The book contains... a list. A list of names." She explained, short of breath.
"Who's names?" I asked seriously
Twilight stopped, out of breath. She panted an then continued. "I need a closer inspection, but...." She paused. "I think it contains a list of saddle Arabian agents. It's not a small list either. I... I think it contains every single one of their agents currently in Equestria."
I gawked. Certainly a book that important shouldn't have been misplaced.
We sped up again. "If they find out we have the book, not just our lives, but the entire agency may be in danger." She informed.
We sped along the street. The agency came into view.
"We just have to get to the age-" She started. Before she could finish, a giant fireball erupted from where the agency once stood. Tons of debris blew up into the air as if they weighed nothing. The explosion shook the very ground we stood on. The explosive cloud took on a strange blue electric hue before every light in the area dimmed out.
"Fuck! They blew the agency! Quickly! Radio for help!" She exclaimed in a rushed, demanding tone.
I fumbled out my radio and turned the knob. Nothing. Not even static. It was as silent as death. "Radio's disabled!" I shouted to her.
"Shit! EMP Bomb!" She realized, cursing loudly.
"What do we do now?" I asked worringly.
Twilight looked into my eyes. "We have to hide." She admitted. "They will be using all the assets they have trying to kill us."
Twilight and I had holed up in one of the many abandoned apartment complexes in downtown Vanhoover. She said that they probably knew where both of our apartments were, so it wasn't safe. Our plan was to hold up here until the power came back on and we could radio for escort. Twilight had lit a fire in the centre of the room with her magic The flames lit up the room in a eyrie green glow, but kept us warm. Twilight had her face buried in the book, trying to figure out how many Arabian agents could be close enough to kill us. I looked out the window. Nothing except the rain. It seems that after the bomb went off, the entire city was abandoned. Or at least this area.
"So, Twilight, how many agents are hellbent on killing us?" I asked in an almost joking tone.
She didn't look pleased. "Well, there are 62 agents in downtown Vanhoover alone-" She began.
"What!" I shot up. I doubted anypony could take on that many agents.
"-so it seems they have more agents then we realized." She finished.
No shit.
I sat back on the ground, Dumbstruck. "But, Twilight, how did they get that many agents into Vanhoover? Surely our customs officers kept them out? And with all the random ID checks they wouldn't have gotten far." I complained. I thought we had better security in Equestria!
Twilight flipped to another page in the book. "It seems they have agents in almost every division of the government." She groaned an slammed the book closed. "If only I had an idea how ineffective our counter intelligence actually were, I could have prevented hordes of Saddle Arabian agents from infiltrating Equestria." She hissed.
I hugged her. "It's okay. It's not your fault. It could happen to anypony." I cajoled. Actually, I doubted that anypony else would be able to take the job at all.
Twilight sighed. "I guess so." She straightened up and smiled at me. "Tell me about your life. I fucked you twice and I don't know anything about you." She joked.
I looked down at my hooves. "It's just another sob story. You really don't want to hear it." And I really didn't want to tell her, I added mentally.
Twilight pressed up against me."Oh, but I do." She pressed.
I sighed. I wasn't about to say no to a smoking hot mare pressed up against my flank. And a princess for that matter. "Fine"
I breathed deeply then started. "I never knew my father. He ran away before I was even born. My mother refused to talk about him." I let out a breath. "My mother was a Pegasus who came from Cloudsdale looking for work. The economic crash was in full swing at that time. It especially hit Cloudsdale hard. It takes a lot to keep that city floating."
"Is that when she met your father?" Twilight interrupted.
"Sort of. Work was really hard to find at that time. She met him through work." I said bitterly.
Twilight coked her head to the side. "Sort of? What kind of work did she do?" She asked quizzically.
I gritted my teeth. "She was a prostitute." I spat out.
"Oh... Oh!" Her cheeks turned cherry. "What happened to her?"
"One day, after she had finished cleaning up after a session, she took more drugs then she should have. She told me it helped deal with the pain. I don't judge her, knowing what she was going through every day." I shuddered. "She took extra shifts so she could support me. She truly loved me." I whimpered. I really didn't want to start crying right now.
"I didn't even get to say good bye." I whispered. "I then was shipped off to an orphanage. The people there were nice enough." I intentionally didn't mention the regular beatings or bullies. It was already enough of a sob story.
Twilight looks at me. I could see the sides of her eyes welling up in tears. "That's so sad." She said simply. "And I thought Applejack had it bad, her losing both parents in a wagon accident." She looked down at her hooves then back up at me. "How did you end up in the agency?"
"After I left the orphanage, I ended up in a street gang. I had nowhere also to go." Tears started pouring from my eyes. "Twilight, I.... I killed innocent ponies in cold blood. For stupid things like money." A sob racked my body. "I don't think I can ever forgive myself for that. I truly turned into a bad pony during that time in my life." The tears poured down my cheeks, soaking my lime green coat with the salty liquid.
Twilight rushed over and wrapped her wings around me protectively. "Shh, Shh it's okay." She whispered lovingly.
With another sob, I continued. "I was getting reckless. I wasn't thinking. "The police caught me trying to rob a jewelry store." I rested my head Twilight's neck, the sobs dying down. "I already had a criminal record. I was looking at a lifetime in jail at best. They give me one chance. I could use my skills in the espionage agency, and my criminal record would be erased." I looked at Twilight and smiled weakly. "Right then, I realized I had to turn my life around. I took the job, and here I am." I breaths in Twilight's scent. "I'm just trying to be a good pony." I stated.
Twilight and I stood like that for a rather long time, wrapped in each other's embrace, neither of us wanting to let go. The green light danced off the cd concrete walls.
I reached forward and slowly kissed Twilight on the cheek. I looked into her eyes. Letting my thoughts out to her made it all feel less painful. I felt like my wounded soul healing for the first time in my life.
"Thank you." I mouthed to her. She smiled happily. And it was beautiful.
