Target acquired

Some people will tell you to forget your past, but how could I forget the atrocities that I have done, how could I forget the screams of agony, how could I forget everything... I have met a lot of creatures in my life, some were ponies, others were from different parts of Equestria, but they all had something in common... They never saw the sun again.

"Hey Shad' ! Heard Tremor wants to see ya. Got any idea what its about ?"

A familiar pony trotted towards me and started walking next to me. I had barely paid attention to his remark, I admit. I was lost in my thoughts. Lost in my own world, the only quiet and peaceful place left in me.

"Probably another mission, heh, It'll be good spending some time outside this shit hole." I said

Outside... it's been a while. Since my last 'assignment', I had been redirected to this secret underground campus near the crystal mountains. But to be honest, It was more like a very poorly designed school trip camping facility... Things hadn't been going to well for O.R.A.C.L.E. lately... especially since twelve of our agents had been caught in the crystal empire. It was suppose to be a routine mission, a joke for such experimented ponies. They were infiltrated successfully but for some unknown reason, they got caught. There might have been a traitor with them, but I doubt it. They were all captured, interrogated and then, all executed...

O.R.A.C.L.E. hadn't been as discrete as it could have been lately, but Tremor knew what he was doing. Losing a dozen of our agents might have been a big hit, but we always got back up after a fall. 'What kills you makes you stronger', that's what he always said to the ones that were doubting the power of O.R.A.C.L.E..

I was walking a long side a pony I had met a few years back, on my second mission, I believe. We had both been sent to deal with an undesired big mouth that lived close to Appleloosa. We had so much fun. It was a really memorable bounding experience. Killing the guy had been easy, I could say we had a natural talent, after this, we were both pretty prestigious, I mean, we were only thirteen... The name of this pony was Crimson, Crimson mask. He was a strong and tall black furred stallion that had to join the organization at roughly the same time as me. Tremor said he had a really good physiological condition and would fit in no problem.

When I entered myself, things were a bit different... I didn't want to do this, I didn't want to kill all those poor ponies, I almost got killed myself for not cooperating. But Tremor saw my potential and protected me. In the end, I got used to it, at first it was hard, almost impossible, I thought I wasn't made for this... and I really wasn't. But after some time, it became easier, it even felt... fun. It might take somepony merciless to kill, but there is nothing like a good brainwash to take away any form of resistance or doubt away.

Today, it was nutritive vegetables on the menu... I hated that stuff, I hated everything in this facility. I was hoping that the mission that Tremor had in mind for me would be my last here. But, now that I think about it, it was the first time he had asked only a single agent for a meeting, the missions I had been assigned to always included other recruits, more or less experimented... I took one of the remaining trays and presented it to the canteen pony, a green-skinned stallion so thin that if threatened, he could just hide in the wall's cracks. I got served, followed by Crimson. We both sat down at an available table. There were about fifty other ponies eating with us. This entire campus probably sheltered at least five hundred agents, from newbies to very experimented. There was a lot of noise...

I ate the food slowly, thinking about what that mission would be, and who would I had to deal with. Crimson didn't have all those worries or thoughts, no, for him, the killing was normal, he took great pleasure in practicing his methods and teaching them to others. He had a particular style of... how could I say it... Oh, yea : "busting in the front guarded door with a motorized twin turbine chemically powered engine Jeep and then blowing everything up"... I had a more sneaky and infiltration style of attack. I liked to fool my enemies, trying to gain their trust, slowly but surely, and then, when the moment is right, I would strike, leaving no traces behind.

"Hey man, what are you thinking'bout ?"

I swallowed the remaining food in my mouth and raised my head, looking at Crimson.

"Nothing... I just am a little anxious about the mission, I can't really say I'm nervous or excited, but I am sure curious about this." I said

"I'm sure it is going to be something big. Anyway, you won't forget to tell him to transfer me too after your mission ?" Crimson said, with a pleading look on his face

"Sure" I replied

I had barely touched anything in my plate. It didn't matter anyway. We both got up and walked out of the canteen. It was time for me to meet with Tremor. This place was a real labyrinth, but luckily, I still remembered the way to Tremor's Throne room from all the time we took me there to report my failures... After waving bye at Crimson, I walked down a few familiar corridors, stopping to say hi to some of my "associates". I arrived in front of an elevator, the big metal doors opened in a very slow manner, I got in and pressed the button for the third underground. When I arrived, I showed my mission assignment order to two guards. They looked at each other, puzzled, but finally let me pass. It was finally time, my heart was beating fast. I had to wait in a small room lacking in any kind of decoration or color, just like the rest of this damn place