Prologue/Teaser for "The Requisition"
My eyes shot open, instantly reorienting themselves to my current position. My mind, working purely on instinct now, powered my body into action as my legs propelled me upward. My eyes fell to the crack of light filtering beneath the door and I flung it open, my body tense with anticipation.
She had come for me.
“Get up,” she said gruffly. I looked pointedly down at myself. She turned and I followed her as she led me out of the dank pit to which I was kept during the night. She ignored my presence and we soon parted ways. I had a mission to prepare for and she was going to make sure that I completed it with top notch standings.
I looked up and it looked back, eyes saying more than it's mouth would ever convey. “You're filthy,” it said to me. I couldn't help but agree as I viewed my reflection in disgust. I quickly set about cleansing myself and trying to make myself somewhat presentable for my upcoming hurdle. Though in a state of weathering fatigue and ever waxing seriousness, I allowed a small smile to creep onto my usually straight set lips as I viewed myself in the mirror- my straightened spines, polished scales, and my perfectly toned tail all making me up to be a pinnacle of dragonhood. “Looking good Spike- looking reeaaal good…” I flexed once, admiring my muscled arms, then left my temporary morning recluse.
I walked down the long, desolate hallway and into the brightly lit cafeteria with it's maniacally colored walls and wooden patrons. The mare wasn't there yet so I gave myself over to preparing a small breakfast out of the dry, preserved food rations.
“Who!”
I paused my meal to glance over at the odd but lovable secretary of the facility and gave him another small smile. At two smiles this morning I was risking a state of euphoric dementia but this owl had grown a soft spot in my heart and I couldn't deny him this one small act of gratitude. “Hi,” I said simply. He smiled and I knew I'd made the right decision.
“Spike!”
I snapped to attention as the mare entered the cafeteria and stared at me, scrutinizing my posture and appearance. Seemingly satisfied she continued, “you're mission has been made clear, you are cleared for departure.” I nodded once in confirmation and grabbed my utility bag, checking it for the necessary supplies and then settling it into it's familiar position around my slim shoulders.
The mare looked at me once more, then her gaze softened and she said simply, “be careful as you cross the street.”
I nodded in confirmation one last time, my eyes glistening with unshed tears as I recognized her sentiment. “I will,” I replied. Then I grabbed my stealth gear and walked out the door and into the ever-consuming darkness.
Outside the tree that served as our intel-center a shiver coursed through me as I was encompassed by the brisk morning air. I quickly set about pulling on my stealth gear as I trudged through the heavy darkness. I made a final check to my provisions then ducked the bushes encompassing the facility. Leaving the back way was becoming habitual as it provided a safer means of leaving the facility and made for a much swifter passage through the dead, silent, monoliths surrounding the facility.
I coursed through the darkened alleyways, avoiding the overhead surveillance lights where possible and always making sure to avoid the fragmented revenants resurrected by my overly-thoughtful mind. I would need full thought capabilities for what was to come next.
I approached the chasm just as the sun began to breach the mountains darkening grasp. I would have one chance to get this right. Failure would result in a tortuously slow death as I rolled down the steep sides of the chasm, chunks of my flesh being torn away by the sharp, protruding rocks that lined its side.
Taking in a deep, calming breath, I steeled my nerves for what I was about to do. Then jumped.
The adrenaline surged through my body as the ground fell away from my feet and I began my stomach wrenching fall through the air. Then suddenly I was on the other side. The air swooshed out of my body as I slammed hard into a large boulder, my ribs creaking in protest. I gasped as I attempted to fill my lungs with lost air.
I had just regained my breath when I heard it. The loud grating noise shaking me from my perch almost as effectively as the pursuing rockslide. Desperately I jumped from rock to rock as they slid away down the hill. Then, with a final desperate lunge, I hurled myself onto the the great stone ledge of the chasm edge.
I sat. I sat until the adrenaline finally washed out and my body began to move properly again. And then I turned. I knew it would be there- I always had. Yet the truth of seeing it with my own eyes did marvels for my morale. I had made it. Granted I still had to infiltrate and retrieve information, but I had made it.
I knocked on the door and listened as the slow clops of a walking pony grew louder.
“Hello Spike! Thank you for coming on such short notice- I’m terribly sorry about this…”
“It’s alright Rarity!” I cheerfully walked in and she closed the door behind me. I put on the expected expression of pure love and turned back to the mare- as long as she thought I stalked her because of mere infatuation then I was safe. “I’d do anything for you, even if it means waking up early.”
She looked back at me with an odd expression on her face. Was that… regret? The last thoughts that flowed through my minds as she hit me over the head with a manikin were that it had better be, 'cause if it wasn’t then she’d be feeling that tenfold later.
