Conviction

Prologue

“Gentlecolts.”

“YES SIR!” The two ponies simultaneously added their responses.

“We have reason to believe that rogue assets within the Boardorean Military intend to sell a megaspell to the Zebras. You two are to stop this deal at ANY cost. Two HVT’s are somewhere inside the complex, find them and kill them I will update you later when you’ve reach the objective point. Lethal force is authorized. This is Prince Blueblood over and out.”

The two unicorns looked over at each other. Both minds were contemplating their next course of action. A small security detail was inside and out of the complex patrolling. They were only thugs though. Run of the mill, gun-toting, loose cannons. Each one was a potential catastrophe to the mission if they were to alert the others of the two pony team that was slowly approaching them.

Water trickled down their suits as they emerged from the water. The darkness aided in their stealthy infiltration. Silence. The improved Mk IV version of the stealth suits they dawned had integrated communications, a thicker Kevlar fabric, and a muffle spell that allowed for easier mobility. Its jet black color aided the ponies in low-light conditions to hide from possible threats.

The pony on the right wearing a pair of trifocal goggles flicked them down onto his face. He peered over the fence to spot the guards. He counted two outside, and one upstairs on the second floor of the building. Looking over at his parting who was wearing a similar pair they nodded to each other and began to advance in position.

“3…2…1”

The two earth ponies guarding the main entrance dropped dead, hitting the ground with a thud. Blood pooled under the ponies as the two figures in black kicked away their weapons started to scale up a nearby drainage pipe leading up to the roof.

“Huh?!”

That was the only sound the earth pony could make as he was pulled out of the open widow and fell to the ground.

“Nice one, for an Equestian I suppose.”

“Heh, you haven’t seen anything.” Retorted the pony lifting up his trifocal goggles and entering the window. He extended his hoof reaching down to help his partner up and into the building. Another flight of stairs remained before they could proceed to the mission objective.

Six hostiles in all. The vast expanse of the room would make it harder to remain undetected. The bright fluorescent lighting would give them away too easily. There had to be another way to avoid suspicion. The unicorn on the left backtracked down the stairs before his partner could notice.

“I will shut off main power comrade. You take three on the right. I take the rest.” Before he could react to his partner’s brash decision and verbally scorn him over his mic the lights went out. Complete darkness. The unicorn couldn’t see his hooves in front of his face. Instinctively he flicked his goggles down and pulled out his trusty five-seven.

“Fifteen seconds until back-up power is restored!” the voice said over his comm.

Two down. The ponies on the third level were completely oblivious as to what was happening. They stood on their hind legs patting the air like a mime attempting to find a wall to shimmy across. Only a gasp came from one as the expert marksman shot his first target in the eye dropping him dead. The second pony felt the blood spray across his face only letting out a tiny gasp before three rounds were placed inside his chest.

Jumping down to the second level hurt his hooves as it was easily a 10hoof drop. The guard patrolling the ground turned around quickly only to be met with a hoof smashing into his face and his then a sharp pain entering his back as he spun around smacking against the wall.

The assailant pulled out the combat knife from his back and wiped it on the victim’s fur. His foreleg wrapped around the ponies mouth prevented him from screaming as he lost consciousness and soon died. The unicorn laid his body down carefully.

The lights flickered on and off, then on again. A unicorn in a similar outfit came around the corner panting a bit. He lifted his goggles above his eyes and looked at the dead pony in front of his partner.

“

I guess you ponies can fight.” Said the unicorn sarcastically.

“Hmph. The security room is ahead. We need to shut off the back-up generators from there if we want to make it out of here alive.”

Large cables hung from the ceiling and decorated the walls all converging into a single room. The two unicorns passed under the large window to and braced themselves against the door on each side. A simultaneous nod and they breached inside the room. No pony. The room was empty other than a few monitors and computers. A weapons rack to the right on the wall held several pump shotguns and a bolt-action rifle.

“Watch my back.”

The unicorn in the blue trifocal goggles looked back to his partner who nodded with an understanding of his words. He cautiously waiting for the pony to finish his work aiming his pistol right at the doorway waiting for any intruder to be stupid enough to walk in front of him.

Another blackout in power confirmed his task was done. The two advanced through another door outside the security room and the two felt the texture in the ground change. Looking around them they noticed fully tiled walls and a wave of humidity rushed over them. Sweat dripped into the eye of one of the unicorns and he wiped it away quickly as the two split up taking both sides of the hallway clearing each one room by room.

Climbing above the ponies was the only way to remain silent. They had flashlights now. No doubt the blackout put the small fortress on high alert. One by one the duo of killers silently eliminated all the ponies up until they reached the showering room.

A sound came over their comm. system, “this is Prince Blueblood. One of the HVT’s is inside the bathing room. Kill Boaris and proceed forward. I will update you with instructions after you’ve confirmed his death.”

The two agents looked at the door. It was barred and reinforced. The only way to break through it would be a simultaneous breach. Both ponies would have to buck the door at the same time to rip it from its hinges.

They aligned themselves respectively and with one fell kick the door busted down revealing four ponies armed with automatic weapons. The unicorns dove to each side and took cover behind a low tile wall as machine gun fire richoeted throughout the bath house.

“FUCK! KILL THEM!-“ The thugs were too focused on spraying and praying for a hit that they didn’t notice the unicorns slithering on the sides of the walls advancing behind them. Only four shells hit the ground making little noise. The two pony team kicked their weapons away and took a pictures of the HVT and uploaded them individually to their respective supervisors.

The supervisor conducting this operation came over their comms, “good work gentlecolts. Proceed. Forward to the outside and into the next building. You will find Boaris’ Boss. He has information on the broker for this deal and the buyers. We need that list. Kill him once you get the list. Oh! It seems there’s been a slight change. Boaris’ men have come to escort him out. Take them out. Blueblood over and out.”

“Boaris! Where the fuck-“ Three more ponies fell to the ground dead. The unicorn with the blue lenses on his trifocal goggles looked over at his companion who’d just slain the ponies before he could draw his weapon.

“Good shot, for a Boarean.”

The unicorn holstered his pistol and smiled under his mask.

“You too comrade.” He said, patting his hoof on the shoulder of his partner and trotting out into the main bathroom and exiting the area through the double doors that Boaris’ entourage came through.

The two unicorns walked down the hallway pressing their backs to the wall, shimmying to the far left. One peeked around the corner and tapped his partner four times indicating the number of targets to neutralize.

The unicorn peeked his head back over to his partner, “go up the stairs take them out and take exfiltrate down the drainage pipe. I’ll take care of things on the first level and I’ll meet you outside. Good luck.” The other unicorn nodded and waited for his partner to make the first move.

He slowly crept up behind a Pegasus who was smoking a cigarette. The smell of tobacco seeped into his nostrils almost causing him to cough. He grabbed the pony from behind putting his hoof around her mouth to stop her from screaming and plunged his knife into the mare. She slumped down and the unicorn dragged the body back into a corner away from view. That was his partner’s signal to move forward as he quickly made it up the staircase.

From the bottom floor he couldn’t see his partner at all. Only that a pony walking towards him hit the floor falling backwards making a loud thud. The officer on the ground floor however didn’t seem to notice. There was only one more enemy he had to neutralize before making it outside.

Creeping up on this one would prove a little more challenging. The guard would not stand in one place for long. He was mobile moving from wall to wall in a random pattern. The unicorn had to think fast if he was going to meet up with his partner.

The clever pony picked up a soda can with his levitation and threw it in the opposite direction he was standing. The sound of the tin can banging on the ground echoed through the vast room causing the remaining guard to turn around and run in the direction of the noise pointing his flashlight at the wall and scanning the area for the intruder.

“What the… what was that? Huh, must have been my imagination.” The guard chuckled to himself and in an instant started squirming, gasping for breath. The unicorn snuck up behind the oblivious pony and put him into a full nelson choking his brain from oxygen. He dropped the unconscious body and the pony smacked his head on the ground. A concussion would probably kill him. The unicorn saw no need to waste ammunition on this pony.

On the outside the other unicorn had made quick work of the surrounding enemies. A high precision rifle on his back aided him in several long ranged kills. He took out the far Eastern and Western patrols as well as two ponies in the next building over that were scanning the ground from the second story. Only one more guard remained when his teammate exited the front of the building at the perfect time. The last enemy was only hooves away from him and he took this chance like he had no other and whipped out his pistol laying down six rounds into the pony. It must have startled him to open the door and almost be shot. If he wasn’t careful just then the guard could have turned the unicorn into swiss cheese.

“You forgot one.” Said the unicorn holstering his pistol and smirking under his face mask.

His partner chuckled a bit and the two unicorns made their way into the next building. Another pair of large double
doors were locked and blocking their access. The two looked at each other and turn around again and bucked the door down.

“UH!” The Boarean unicorn fell down as an earth pony lunged on top of him wielding a knife trying to plunge it into his throat, “get this fucker off of me!”

His partner took no time to react and kicked the assailant as hard as he could in the ribs. He could feel the pony’s ribs cracking under the force of his blow. The earth pony smacked against the wall and staggered to his hooves and lunged at his attacker who quickly disarmed the pony and grabbed his right hoof putting it around his back and jammed his pistol under his chin as he waited for his partner to recover from the blow.

“That wasn’t very nice.” Said the Boarean unicorn getting onto his hooves, “ah, you must Boaris Boss.”

The earth pony spit in the unicorns face. He pulled out his knife and put it to the earth pony’s forehead and dragged it down over his right eye and thrusted the blade inward gouging out his eye. The pony wreathed in pain kicking and screaming as the merciless agent twisted his knife around and pulled the pony’s eye out. The optical nerve dangled down the serrated blade. The unicorn looked at it with fascination studying the eye then flicking it off into the pot of soup that was cooking on a stove nearby.

As blood ran down the pony’s face mixing with his tears he dropped the ground and the other uncorn kneeled down to face, “you’ve got one more chance before I walk outside and let my partner to whatever he wants to you. You’re going to tell us where’s the list.”

“I… I don’t know. I’m not the boss of this operation. That’s Breznyov.”

“Ooh, wrong answer.” The unicorn got up and proceeded to walk away. Fear overflowed in the earth pony causing him to urinate all over the ground in panic.

“WAIT! WAIT! Breznyov has the list. It’s in his office. Bottom floor all the way to the back on the left. You can’t miss it.” The pony was crying profusely as the unicorns walked past him.

“One last thing.” The voice of the Boarean unicorn sent a wave of dread that filled the earth pony. He was lifted onto his hooves and he could feel the barrel of a pistol being pressed against the back of his head.

“Walk. If you run, you die. If you don’t comply, you die.”

The earth pony walked over a metal door and stood in front of it. He turned his head around slightly only to feel the barrel pressed down harder against him.

“Open the door.” Said the unicorn.

“Open up you stupid fucks I need to talk to Breznyov.”

“Why?” said the voice behind the metal door.

“The cops are coming you fuckwad now open up or I’ll beat your fucking skull in.”

“Ok, ok, you don’t have to be suck a dick about it.” Said the voice.

The metal door opened and the unicorn shoved the earth pony into it knocking the pony behind the door down. He shot both ponies killing them instantly and looked over his shoulder nodding his head to his partner to move up with him.

Another flight of stairs down and the ponies could hear the beat of techno music. The loud bass resonated in their ears. A few guards patrolled this area. Only four with Breznyov in his office. The two unicorns split up once again taking their time to eliminate the guards.

After the enemies were neutralized the team made their way to Breznyov’s office. The wooden door was the only thing standing between them and him. The doorknob slowly turned and opened itself. A small snake camera was put under the door to identify where he was. He was watching tv with two mare escorts. They looked up at each other and pushed the door open. The Boarean unicorn took aim at Breznyov while the other Equestrian unicorn tied down the two civilians. He couldn’t risk them taking some sort of action.

“Breznyov, where’s the list?”

“Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you fucking know who I am? You little sh-“ The unicorn hit him over the head with his pistol causing the earth pony to cradle his head, gritting his teeth in pain, “you’re going to fucking regret that when I’m done with you.”

The unicorn continued his assault and dragged Breznyov by his mane to his tv and smashed his head into it repeatedly until shards of glass protruded from his face making him look more disfigured that his last victim. The mares screamed as they cowered in the corner speaking in some foreign tongue the Equestrian unicorn could not understand.

“I’m not going to ask you aga-“ another incoming message from Prince Blueblood.

“Hold on, don’t kill him, put him on the phone.” Coincidentally a phone in the back corner by Breznyov’s computer began to ring. The two unicorns looked at each other in confusion, but went with the orders. The Boarean unicorn picked up Breznyov by his mane once more and dragged him to the phone and put his gun to the back of his head.

“Answer it.”

“Why?” The defiant earth pony would soon realize his mistake as two rounds pierced through his legs.

“That’s why.”

Breznyov picked up the phone and his face changed from anger to shock. Something about what was said over the phone sent him into a rage.

“YOU FUCKING SHIT! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I’LL TEAR YOUR HEART OUT AND EAT IT IN FRONT OF YOU!” Breznyov slammed the phone down and swung at the unicorn. Another round ripped through his abdomen, bringing him to his knees. The loss of blood and pain were overwhelming him as he spoke his final words, “you stupid fucks have no idea what you’re doing do ya?”

A part of both ponies wanted to ask him what he was talking about, but they knew they were being monitored as well. Even the slightest indication of being a double agent would be a one way ticket into a body bag.

“Just tell us where the list is.” Said the other unicorn still aiming at he mares.

The earth pony coughed up a bit of blood and laughed, “the list in my desk. Just take it. It does not matter now I-“

The unicorn interrogating him placed his hoof to his neck and looked over at his part and shook his head. Breznyov was dead.

The list wasn’t hard to find. A single round to the lock and the Boarean agent shoved the papers into a satchel on his left hoof. The unicorns walked out of the room and advanced to the exfiltration point.
It was a long night that was finally over.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“You are to stop the deal at all cost, am I clear? Don’t allow them to buy that spell. Prince Blueblood, over and out.”
The team was headed underground. An old subway system now condemned would be their entry point. The tunnel had collapsed forcing the Boarean government to shut down the subway permanently. Too many souls were lost down there. All that remains is the armed guards watching the subterranean entrance to the secret facility below.

“I see five guards. Two patrolling the Northern part and Three patrolling the back Southern part where we are. I’ll take the three, you take the two.” Said the accented voice of the Boarean unicorn.

The team dispersed into the shadows not making a single sound as the ponies guarding the entrance, one-by-one were killed. The two black figures rose from the shadows and joined up at the stairwell leading up.

They climbed the flight of stairs which lead to the main building. It was dark and dim. Only a few lights remained on where security stood waiting. Construction was being done to the building’s interior making it a lot less troublesome to navigate through, but making it easier for security to spot the intruders.

Killing any guards would arouse too much suspicion which they could not handle at this point. They were getting close to their main target. They crept from wall to wall shimmying out of possible visual contact with the patrolling units.

Not even a hint of uncertainty crossed either pony’s mind. They knew they could do this. They were the best at it.

Their mission was to find the Zebras purchasing the megaspell and the Boarean traitor. They were only to eliminate either target if forced to. Observing the deal was top priority. Stopping the deal was only to happen when Prince Blueblood ordered.

A few more rooms and bodies later the ponies made it outside to a series of catwalks. The deal was happening in the middle of the courtyard. Three Zebras and three Boareans walked up to each other. One zebra held two large bags of bits while the other two held up automatic weapons.

The Boareans came prepared too aiming the same amount of firepower at them with the middle pony holding a briefcase cuffed to his hoof. He pulled out a key and unlocked the cuff and opened the suitcase. Research papers were held inside. No doubt experimental data from the Manehattan Project. The parties exchanged goods and then the unexpected happen.

The Boareans opened fired on the zebras killing them all. Just as this happened a convenient voice came over the comms, “lethal force is authorized, secure the notes. Blueblood, over and out.”

The two unicorns laid down the Boareans and quickly advanced up to the zebra that dropped the briefcase. Upon looking through the notes it was nothing about a megaspell at all. In fact, most of the pages were blank. It was a ruse the whole time.

“Prince Blueblood, come in, the deal was a ruse it’s going down somewhere else. The notes are fake. Over.”

“I see, check Krevcha’s office. He was the Boarean traitor. There might be something in his office that indicates where it is. Blueblood, over and out.

A door to the far left under the catwalk was the only other entrance so the two pursued onward. The large metal door closed behind them as the two unicorns looked around for any hostiles. Empty, for now.

The large dark hallways lead them into a vast two story room. Above and below them they detected movement with
their trifocal goggles. The new sonar upgrade made finding hostiles so much easier. A pony with a jet black mane and a grey coat was inside the middle office. It was the most likely place they would find some answers seeing as how this pony was not a guard. He was shredding papers. It wasn’t clear if these documents were important, but the two unicorns would soon question him to find out.

A plaque with the name Krevcha labeled the door. They knew all too well whose office this was. The Boarean agent slid the door open carefully as only a minor squeak came from it. The pony shredding papers didn’t even hear them enter.

“Stop. Don’t move or you die. What are you shredding?”

The grey earth pony grinned slightly putting both unicorns on edge. The pony stood there with his hooves above his head and said nothing to the unicorns. The Boarean agent was getting aggravated and decided to take the more direct approach.

“AAAHHH!” It was a good thing the walls of Krevcha’s office were so thick or everypony would have heard the screaming. The unicorn had shoved the earth pony’s muzzle into the shredder mutilating his lips and nose. Blood and bits of flesh were sprayed across the top of the machine as the pony was thrown back on top of the desk. More blood pooled off his face and the Equestrian pony walked over to the injured pony.

“He’s not in a very good mood. What were you shredding?”

Sobs and tears were all that the pony could manage for a moment until the Equestrian unicorn slammed his combat knife through the elbow of the earth pony. The knife stuck inside the wooden table and he grew just as impatient as his partner.

“I-I was sh-shred-d-ing hi-his ac-account records. H-he’s be-been embezzling.” Said the terrified pony. The fear in his eyes told the unicorns he was telling the truth. He knew nothing about the megaspell research notes.

“Check his computer. Download everything. I mean, everything.” Said the Equestrian unicorn looking at his partner. He yanked his combat knife out of the pony and wiped it on his coat sheathing it in its place on his right flank. He grabbed the earth pony’s head and twisted his neck breaking it instantly. No pony could be left alive.

“I’ve found something. He’s been sending a lot of troops and funneling a lot of money into this unmarked installation in Sibearia. I bet that’s where we’ll find some answers.” Said the Boarean agent.

“Good work, I will report this to Prince Blueblood after exfiltration. Let’s go.”

All of this would soon come to an end.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Good work gentlecolts. You’ve uncovered a secret military installation not even the Boarean government knew about. You two will be spear-heading the operation. You are to infiltrate the bunker and secure the research data. The Boarean military will clean up the rest. Lethal force is authorized. Blueblood, over and out.”

The two unicorns were airdropped into the snow from some Boarean pegasi. They quickly rushed to the entrance trying to avoid the blizzard. The heavy snowfall was making it hard to see and the winds were picking up. They had to finish the mission fast if they wanted exfiltration today.

A shaped charge later and a nice sized hole in the bunker was exposed allowing the agents to creep inside. It was dark and damp. The smell of mold filled their noses. The Equestrian agent coughed a bit and his partner covered his muzzle and peeked around the nearest corner to spot any hostiles. None.

They walked down a large stone corridor. They could still faintly hear the echoing of their hoofsteps even with their advanced stealth suits, but only the trained ear could hear the faint sound otherwise they were just two shadows among the bleak blackness before them. Only their goggles helped them now.

The complex was almost empty it seemed. A few guards patrolling here and there. Obviously Krevcha never expected anypony to find this place. The guards didn’t even chamber a round in their weapons, but this was just making the two unicorns’ job easier.

A large red sign hung above the room they stood in front of. TESTING IN PROGRESS, is what it said and moments later the sound of a thousand thunder storms rocked the very walls of the compound. The light shut off and the doors opened.

A series of misting sprayers covered the unicorns in a sanitary solution to not bring in any dirt or pathogens that were left on us. The door in front of the two ponies opened and they exited quickly and looked up staring in awe of what looked like a gigantic glass sorb. Hexagonal panes of glass constructed in such a way to resemble a giant sphere. Five enormous wires connected to the tip of the sphere and radiated with magical energy. In the center a dense swirling black orb sat levitating in mid air. The unicorns looked at it with astonishment. They have never seen anything like it. Was this the true form of a mega spell?

A yellow light above them started swirling and blinking. A loud buzzing noise came through the laboratory and both unicorns quickly ran up the flight of stairs to their right into an observation room. Directly adjacent to them was a pony in white lab coat writing down something on a clipboard. The unicorn from afar didn’t notice the two intruders enter at all. He kept on working as the sounds of the siren got louder and then… BOOM! Again the sound of thunder rang through the facility. The once dense and small, swirling black orb had expanded to all sides of the sphere trying to push it apart. The barrier held up though as it always did. The magically reinforced glass could withstand a mega spell, but only one. If two were to happen at once the whole installation would be wiped off the map.

The two unicorns advanced over through the observation rooms and over the to scientist. He turned around and failed to spot the intruders in plain sight and continued to write on his clipboard and walked out into the hallway. They followed him into a main office area and the Boarean agent subdued the civilian.

“Don’t yell or you die. Now, can I download all the research data from this computer.”

“Ye-yes, but it will breach the security systems and put the whole base into meltdown. The shielding will fail and the system will remotely activate a mega spell testing to purge the sight. Kr-Krevcha took steps to prepare for ponies like you.”

“Hmph, that’s a risk I’m willing to take. Download the data Equestrian, we got to go. Now, how long until this place blows sky high?” said the Boarean agent.

“Thr-three minutes maybe?”

“Good, that’s all we’ll need.”

“Files are downloaded, we are leaving!” said the unicorn bumping into his partner’s shoulder.

They ran through the hallways backtracking their way back outside the complex. They soon made it out and an aerial extraction was waiting for them. The pegasi pilots lifted the cargo plane quickly as the situation about the megaspell was explained. None of them wanted to risk the back blast of such a spell.

In the distance they saw a roaring purple fire burst out the complex then the snow covering up what was a now former military installation. They had succeeded in their mission. Or so they thought.

“Eclipse, are you there? This is Blueblood, over.”

The Equestrian pony responded quickly, “yes sir, what is it, over.”

“Byrakev has betrayed us and the Boarean people. Kill him, over and out.”

The unicorn stood up and slid against the wall drawing his pistol out.

“Byrakev, are you there? This is Blueblood, over.”

“What is it?” Said the Boarean agent.

“Eclipse has betrayed us, and your people, kill him, Blueblood over and out.”

Byrakev heard the instinctive cocking of a gun and jumped up on top of some crates. He slid past Eclipse without either of them noticing each other. The two best agents in their field of work were going to fight to the death.

Eclipse spotted a shadow of his former ally and shot several times in his direction. He missed his target and ran towards Byrakev. Running around the corner was a bad idea. He was met with a hoof to the face and Eclipse took the blow, but not before grabbing the foreleg of the attack and snapping it. He rammed is hoof into Byrakev’s elbow upwards and sent the unicorn into a world of pain. Just as Eclipse was going to deliver the final blow and kill Byrakev the sneaky Boarean agent plunged his knife into Eclipse’s stomach. He fell to his knees and rested on his back.

Byrakev leaned over him and pulled his knife out and wrapped his hoof around his victim’s and pulled him up looking deep into Eclipse’s eyes. He could see he wasn’t a traitor. There was no malice or ill intent in him. They stared into each other’s eyes until Eclipse faded away into death.

Prince Blueblood came from behind the agent and pulled out a gun and aimed at the mourning agent. With a look of malicious pleasure he ended the life of Byrakev. A single bullet in the back of the head.