Chapter One - Just Another Mission
Some ponies say war never changes. I’m almost inclined to agree, though there’s really only been one war I’ve lived through. A war I work to end in a victory for the right side; Equestria. I strolled down the hallway, yawning and blinking the sleep from my eyes. It was early morning and I was dressed in my usual work attire: a simple suit jacket and blouse with a skirt. Right now, I was working as a loyal secretary for a Zony who ran the San Prancisco branch of Robronco Industries. The smell of fresh coffee met my nose, and I was instantly drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Making a left and entering the employee break room, my eyes went right to the coffee machine over by the small kitchen-esque area. A few other ponies were sitting in the room, chatting and laughing about their plans for the day. They greeted me kindly as I entered the room, and I simply gave a nod back with a small smile. My goal was the coffee pot just waiting for me.
I poured myself a mugful of the steamy black wake-up juice, and wasted no time in sipping it. Pony Joe’s brand coffee - I’d recognize it anywhere. Taking another, longer sip, a familiar voice came from off to my side. “G-good morning, Tulip!” Glancing to my left, I saw a bright-eyed pegasus mare with a bright purple mane. Morning Bell
“Oh, good morning Bell.” As I responded, I noticed her cheeks flush pink. Everypony knew she had a thing for me - she wasn’t really the best at hiding it. A shame that I’m not interested in being with anypony. She’s the type of mare I’d usually go for…
“M-Mister Silicon is hosting a gala tonight. I heard y-you were invited?” she asked, fidgeting nervously.
I let out a sigh. “Yeah, though I’m only going just to make sure he sticks to script and doesn’t make an ass of himself- pardon my language.”
Morning Bell looked down at her hooves. “W-well, I hear ponies who are invited are allowed to b-bring a date...h-have you asked a-anypony yet?”
I knew exactly what she was getting at. Even though it’d be a risk, I suppose I could bring her along this one time… “Not yet. Did you want to go?”
Her face lit up, both with a smile and possibly the brightest blush I’d seen yet. “Y-you want me to go with you?!” she said, almost ecstatic.
I gave her a soft smile. “Sure, why not? Aside from work-related stuff and the standard morning greeting, you’re the only pony who chats with me. It’d be good to have some company other than my boss.”
“Y-yes! I’d love to go!” She all but shouted at me, startling the other employees a bit. “I’ll be waiting a-at my place at eight o’clock! It doesn’t start until eight thirty, right?”
I gave a slight nod, a small smirk appearing on my face. I quickly finished my coffee and left the break room, and a giddy Morning Bell. If I did things correctly, this would be my last night with this company, and I’d be back in Canterlot by tomorrow… I’m gonna miss this place, at least a little. But, the EIA waits for no pony, and the Director does always warn about getting too attached. This time tomorrow, back to being Midnight Dove for me...
I sat down at my desk and switched on my terminal, checking for any invoices received since the night prior. Luckily, there was only one - a reminder for the gala, and that I should wear something elegant. I clicked out of the invoice and began checking Mister Silicon’s schedule for the day. “Let’s see here...meeting at eight o’clock AM, lunch with Stable-Tec representatives at noon, conference call with Mr. Horse at three…” I sighed and set the schedule down. Just another boring day at the office. I pulled out a brush from one of my desk drawers and undid my ponytail, gently brushing my mane free of tangles and such. The usual strong winds that this coastal city got did a number on my neat mane every time I walked outside. I turned on the radio sitting next to my terminal and listened to the song that was playing.
“...step around, I hear the sound c-clip c-cloppin’ up and down the street. The shuffling of hooves, it surely proves I’ll see you ‘fore the day’s complete…” Not a bad song. Don’t remember the mare’s name who sang it, but at least it was entertaining enough while I got my work done…
As usual, Mr. Silicon didn’t show up until five minutes before the meeting at eight. The Zony always had a serious look on his face, and never talked much aside to ask me to do something. He wore his usual bowler hat and long gray trench coat, looking more like a detective than a business pony. How a half-stripe like himself could get such a position was beyond me. I guess his pony side was influential enough. Still… He was the reason I was here in the first place.
As he passed me, I gave him a smile and wave, and he simply gave an acknowledging nod. “I don’t want to be disturbed for four hours, Tulip.” With all the cold pleasantries I’d come to expect from him, he entered his office.
“Yes sir.” I quickly put on an earpiece and switched it on, listening in through the bug I’d planted on the first day I’d stepped hoof in his office. I heard the shuffling of hooves and the creaking of chairs, before somepony finally spoke.
“Are you ready for tonight, Zebanyo?” Definitely a foreign voice. Best guess, it belonged to his Zebra contact I’ve seen him exchange emails with - for a collaborator, he was really sloppy with those passwords...
“I am, and my name while here is Silicon Dreams.” Mr. Silicon replied. A few office ponies passed by me, and I did my best to look busy. Honestly, I really couldn’t trust anypony in this building, just in case - part of the job, unfortunately. After filing some paperwork and signing a few documents, I listened in once again. “We plan on striking tonight, rip Equestria’s heart out and burn the corpse. The princess will be at the party.” Wait, Princess Luna will be there? I thought she and her sister we're too busy preparing for the Grand Galloping Gala tomorrow night!
“If you succeed, you will be hailed as a hero across the homeland. If you fail…we will use plan B and you will be a failure, an example of what not to do.” The zebra contact said.
“I won’t fail…” I heard Silicon reply after a long pause.
I quickly signed another form and shut off my earpiece. If the Princess was in danger, that meant I had even less time to finish my mission...fuck.
The work day dragged on, the party tonight being the only thing on my mind the entire time. Shit...Morning Bell was going to be there. I couldn’t take her, not if there was going to be trouble. It’s going to be hard enough trying to keep the other civilians safe. I walked into the break room during lunch, doing my best not to look worried. I saw Morning Bell sitting alone in her usual spot, the table in the far corner of the room. I walked over and sat down. “Hey, Bell. About tonight…”
She looked at me with a great big smile. “Oh! I’ve been thinking about what to wear! I might go to the tailor’s after work and rent a new dress! What do you think? Should I go for red or blue?”
“Well, I was thinking-” Before I could finish my sentence, she cut me off.
“Oh! I know! I’ll go with purple! It’d match my mane very well!” She hummed a tune and casually took a bite from her sandwich. “So, what was it you wanted to talk about? I-it’s not often I’m able to speak with you…”
“Oh...was just going to ask if we should wear matching brooches or something is all…” Shit. Have I seriously grown attached? I just couldn’t bring myself to break this mare’s heart. She was always alone while at work, almost always too shy to talk to anypony but me. Her working up the courage earlier must’ve done something to me… Good job, Midnight.
Morning pondered for a moment. “Well, I did see a pair of dove brooches in a jewelry store down on 5th...I can see if they’re still there! We can put them on when we meet up tonight.” Morning Bell said happily, seeming to like the idea I pulled out of my ass. I blinked a bit though, when she mentioned a pair of dove brooches. Little did she know how well a brooch like that would fit me…
I nodded, and gave a fake smile. “Alright! I’ll see you later. We’ll meet outside the Pound Cake Memorial Hall five or ten minutes before the party begins.” Before she could give much of a response, I stood up and left the breakroom. “Damnit...damnit damnit damnit damnit…” I muttered to myself as I walked down the hall towards the elevators. Welp, might as well get some lunch. Hayburgers and fried carrots from McDonkey’s sounds quick...and within my budget.
I gave a slight shiver as I exited out onto the busy street. The wind was as strong as ever, my mane and tail whipping around wildly. Busy ponies walked by in a hurry, and carts rushed down the roads towards their destinations. The cloudy sky above threatened to pour rain down on us at a moment’s notice. Skyscrapers rose all around me, blocking the view of the smaller buildings in the outlying residential areas of the city. Hurrying over toward a crosswalk that was about to turn, I pulled my jacket tighter around me with my magic. As I crossed the street with a crowd of other ponies, I noticed the very impatient looks on the cart driver’s faces. One of them even bit down on a horn, even though it really wouldn’t change anything. Nowadays, Canterlot wasn’t much different than this. The only real difference was that it was on the side of a mountain and had a lot more of Equestria’s nobility roaming around.
After making it across the street, I turned left and spotted the large neon sign with a large yellow double-arch with donkey ears. Walking into the restaurant, I noticed just how busy it was. Ponies filled almost every single table and booth. The cashiers behind the front counter ran back and forth, taking orders, making coffee, making milkshakes, and helping displeased customers- some of which had little fillies and colts with them. I sighed, thinking back to my first time at a McDonkey’s. I was very young and my mother couldn’t speak Equestrian very well, being from Neighpon herself. I remember I had to order for her, and we’d get the same thing every time we came after that.
Giving a sigh, I trudged forward as the line slowly moved. When I finally got to the counter, I placed my order, paid, and waited patiently for my food and drink. After receiving them, I walked over and sat down at the only empty booth in the store. As I did, another pony sat down across from me...and I immediately recognized who it was. “Hey there, Frostbite.”
The white and blue pegasus now sitting across from me smirked. “Junk food, huh? A bit unbecoming of an Equestrian Super-Spy, Dove-”
I quickly used my magic to shut his muzzle. “Be quiet. Do you want to blow our cover?”
After I let him go, Frostbite rolled his eyes. “Please, the kids here are so loud, nopony would even be able to overhear us.”
He had a point. Meeting in a very public place to relay information was a good way to not be noticed. Barely anypony would be listening to anything other than what was being said to them. “Fine. I assume you’re here for an update?” I asked before taking a bite out of my burger.
“Yep! So what’s new? Got any juicy intel?” Frostbite said as he pulled out a mini tape recorder.
I set my burger down. “Silicon is planning something tonight, and it involves Princess Luna.”
Frostbite only looked confused at this. “The Princess? She’s all the way in Canterlot under heavy guard.”
I shook my head and munched on a fried carrot. “She’s going to be at the party tonight apparently, and she’s going to be in danger.”
“For the love of- who would even let somepony that important close to somepony under investigation?!” Yep. He had gone into panic mode.
I used my magic to toss a carrot at him, which booped him on the nose and made him blink in confusion. “I can handle it, Frosbite. I’ve had harder jobs...though, it’d still be nice to have backup on standby just in case things go south.”
Frostbite nodded uneasily. “Alright...I’m giving you express permission to take Silicon out if necessary. Though, try to capture him alive please.”
After finishing my lunch and sending Frostbite on his way to report, I headed back to work. The rest of the day dragged on as, while doing normal work, I was formulating many different ways tonight could go. I’d need to keep Morning Bell away long enough before Silicon could do anything… I left work around six in the evening, and made my way through the windy busy streets back to my apartment. Only had two hours to get ready...and to find a dress to wear that’d be able to hide a sidearm.
After a long shower, I tore through my closet before finding a suitable dress; a long bluish gray gown with tiny sequins sewn all over it. There were no sleeves, but a thin cloth wrapped around my shoulders perfectly. Before I forgot, I strapped a holster with a suppressed pistol to my back leg, just under the dress so nopony would notice. After making sure I had everything I needed, I walked over and sat down in front of my mirror, flipping open a small makeup kit. A girl’s gotta look nice, right?
I grabbed a coat and left my apartment. One taxi cart ride later, I was standing in front of the Ministry of Morale’s very own Pound Cake Memorial Hall - an old building, renamed in memory of a fallen Hero of Equestria. Morning Bell was waiting eagerly for me outside the main doors, wearing a purple short-sleeved gown with silver trims. The music inside already loud and playing through the walls, even though nopony was inside yet. I put on the best smile I could and trotted up to her. “Hey! You look beautiful!”
Her sparkling blue eyes looked at me, a deep blush forming on her cheeks. “T-thanks, you look amazing...h-here!” She pulled out a box and opened it. Inside were the two brooches she mentioned earlier.
I blinked down at them and lifted one up, examining it. It was beautiful… I quickly pinned it to my dress and gave the mare a smile. “Thank you. Let’s have a good night tonight, alright?”
Morning Bell smiled at me and nodded. Damn not getting attached…she made it difficult anyway. We both headed inside, as soon as other ponies started doing the same. The interior of the ballroom was decorated lavishly. Velvet cloth hung over the large windows, the dark wooden floor was visibly recently polished, and an orchestra played on the grand stage, a gray mare with a dark gray and teal mane singing along with the music. Compared to the pictures of her when she was younger, one would say Coloratura had aged very well, and her voice only seemed to get better as time went on. I did a quick scan of the crowd for Silicon, and spotted him over by the punch bowl talking to some rich stallion. I did another once-over, and noticed that there was no princess in sight.
As I let out a sigh of relief, Morning booped my nose. “You don’t have to worry, I’m sure Mr. Silicon will be alright.”
I blinked at her “Huh?”
She giggled “I’ve noticed you always scrunch your muzzle up when you’re worried about something or nervous.” Really? I guess I never noticed...leave it to somepony who has a thing for you to pick up on the small things.
“Y-yeah…” I said, giving a reassuring smile. Little did she know what I was really worried about…
Bell and I stepped onto the dance floor with other ponies as Coloratura started a new song. “You’re just too good to be true, I can’t take my eyes off of you. You’d be like heaven to touch, I want to hold you so much…”
The two of us started to dance to the slow song, though I was a bit distracted the entire time as I kept looking around for Silicon every now and then. The music picked up and Coloratura began belting out the lyrics, putting so much emotion into each word. “I love you baby, and if it’s quite alright I need you baby, trust in me when I saaaay…!”
When the song came to an end, Morning Bell poked my shoulder. “Are you alright? You don’t look like you’re having a good time…” The expression on her face looked sad as her ears folded back.
“Oh- no, I’m just...worried about what will happen. I heard there’s a special guest of honor tonight, and I guess I just want Mr. Silicon to be on his best behavior…” Well, at least it was a half-truth.
Morning took on a curious expression. “Special guest? Who do you think it- oh my gosh!” She cut herself off and looked behind me, toward the main door. I turned around, and felt my stomach do a flip as I realised who it was. A tall mare with a mane that reflected the night sky and a blue coat to match, walked in.
Princess Luna was flanked by several guards, moving onlooking ponies out of the way. She wore a long black and navy blue gown with little bits of glitter here and there, matching her mane very well. “Shit…” I said under my breath as I noticed that, coming in after her, was Silicon Dreams.The two of them we're talking about something I couldn’t hear, but it seemed to make the Princess laugh. I told Morning Bell that I’d be right back, that I was just going to go get some punch for the both of us. Instead, I followed the princess and the zony. The two of them entered the backstage area. Showing my work I.D., identifying myself as Silicon’s secretary, I managed to slip past one of Luna’s guards that stayed behind.
Sneaking down the hallway, keeping out of sight but still within earshot, I listened closely. “...Our new line of robots. From what I hear, you’re losing a lot of soldiers out on the battlefield- despite Miss Fluttershy’s best efforts. With the help of the Ministry of Wartime Technology, we’ve been designing a prototype android that from a distance, looks exactly like a real pony. They’re very resilient and are equipped to handle any type of field injury.”
“You must excuse my hesitance, Mr. Silicon, but are you sure they work correctly? The last thing we need is to put our service ponies in even more danger.” Well, if there were any doubt, that definitely was Princess Luna’s voice…
They exited through a back door and I followed, using the poorly lit back street and shadows to my advantage. “It’s still only a prototype, but the tests we’ve run have given only promising results. Ah, here we are.” I looked around where they’d stopped, and saw a large shipping container. It was opened, and out stepped what looked like a white unicorn mare with a white and blue mane. Her eyes were just as blue as the streaks through her mane, and she had what looked like Ministry of Peace first aid kits instead of saddlebags. On her thigh was a bolstered sub machine gun.
The Princess looked the mare over “Hmm… I’d like to see a demonstration,please.”
The tone in Silicon’s voice sent off several alarms in my head. “As you wish,my Princess.” He nodded to another pony and I sprung to action.
“Princess,get down!” I shouted. Just then, the android mare drew her gun and began firing at Luna and her guards. Luna was quick to shield herself, but her guards weren’t so lucky.
Silicon scowled at me “You!” He then nodded to what I now saw was a cloaked zebra. The android opened fire again, this time aimed at me.
Princess Luna swooped in and shielded me as well, giving me time to draw my own gun. “EIA Agent Midnight Dove, your Majesty.” As soon as the shield dropped, I fired off a few shots, hoping to hit Silicon but hitting his zebra friend instead. I guess that was good enough...now that damned robot would stop firing at us…
I quickly dove for a nearby trashcan as Silicon wrenched the submachine gun free from the robot’s grasp. “TULIP! YOU BITCH! I WAS SO CLOSE!” he shouted in a frenzy. Any other target would’ve tried to flee right now, but Silicon didn’t… Princess Luna quickly enveloped him in a bubble, and held him firmly in place. The guard pony that stayed behind earlier came galloping out and, at first, tried to arrest me. I then pointed in Silicon’s direction, as well as the wounded zebra.
However, as I was about to relax, I looked around and saw a heap of pony laying in the street over by the corner. I galloped over, and my eyes went wide in horror as I stopped cold at the sight of the body. It was Morning...she...she must’ve followed me out...and now, she was laying in a pool of her own blood. “Somepony, help! A civilian’s been shot!” The police had shown up and, upon hearing my yelling, one came rushing over to help. Tears streaked down my face… I didn’t understand why. I’ve seen civilian ponies get shot lots of times. This time, though...this...this was different.
One of the police ponies pulled out a healing potion and some bandages and began trying to stabilize Morning. I just backed away and slumped over. I knew I should’ve told her not to come… By now, ponies from inside the hall had began to gather around, talking in worried voices and hushed tones about what could’ve happened. The police that were there were trying their best to keep them away from the site. The police pony who had the healing items looked over to me. “This mare may die if she isn't brought somewhere that can offer her real treatment, and the nearest hospital is across the city!”
Princess Luna sighed and walked up. “There is a Stable under the hall, I will make sure she gets in there and receives full access to their medical bay.” She didn’t sound too pleased with the idea, but it was the best option we had…
Escorted by Luna’s guards and a few police officers, we rushed back into the grand hall, following the maintenance personnel to the basement doors. As we entered the basement and passed through another few tunnels, we eventually entered a larger room, where I noticed a large cog-shaped slab of metal with a large ‘94’ welded onto it embedded in one of the walls. Princess Luna spoke to a stallion who was wearing a blue jumpsuit near the giant cog. He plugged something into a console next to it, and a loud blaring siren rang out, the door then sliding back and to the side. The remaining guard stopped and spoke to the Princess before she looked at me. “Midnight Dove, I’ll leave this mare in your charge. I’m being told I should return to Canterlot to avoid rumors…”
I simply nodded, still distraught about what had happened. There was no way I was going to leave her side...it was my fault she was shot in the first place. We were ushered into the Stable, the entrance being a large room with a metal catwalk over a small pit with some machinery in it, and down a hallway into a medical bay. Morning was placed on a bed, and a mare in the same kind of jumpsuit I saw on the stallion outside, only this time with a lab coat, began checking her. She looked at me. “Are you family?”
I simply said “Friend and coworker…”, still looking right at Morning, who was still wearing her beautiful dress, now covered in blood.
The mare nodded. “I’m going to have to ask you to wait outside, then… I need to sterilize the room.”
“What? No!” I shouted in defiance. Before I could continue my argument, I was grabbed by two stallions and pulled outside. The sliding door closed and locked behind us. I quickly pressed myself up against the window. A Mr. Handy robot floated out and began helping the doctor. All I could do was watch…
The hours dragged on and on and before I knew it, a pony was walking past me saying “Good morning!” Was it morning already? I couldn’t tell… I heard about these Stables. They are apparently supposed to house ponies in case of megaspell bombings. I was asked if I wanted to sign up once, but I declined due to my lack of belief that such a thing could happen...suddenly, my mind shot back to the conversation Silicon had with his contact. Plan B… shit!
I quickly stood up and looked at the pony who’d passed by, before I rushed over and stopped them. “I need to get a message to Canterlot, fast!”
The stallion looked confused. “Uh, sure...the Overmare can help you with that. Her office is on the second floor of the atrium-” Just then, loud sirens rang through the Stable, before a mare’s voice echoed over an intercom speaker.
“All Stable personnel, prepare to receive occupants. The clock has struck midnight. I repeat, the clock has struck midnight.” The voice said. Just then, several ponies rushed past me, pushing me to the side.
After regaining my composure, I franticly looked around. “What’s happening? What does that mean?” It can’t mean…
A pony stopped and looked at me, a look of fear on her face. “It means our worst fears have come - the zebras have launched their megaspells!” Fuck...fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! How could I have forgotten!? I rushed over to the Stable entrance, and watched as a mob of civilian ponies began being filtered into the Stable, each being given their own jumpsuit. I stood back and saw the looks of terror on each of their faces. Mothers and fathers with scared little foals, elderly ponies being pushed in wheelchairs, even lone young children crying because they couldn’t find their parents in all the confusion.
I quickly hurried back toward the medical room “Those monsters…” I muttered to myself. Just then, the whole Stable started shaking violently, and a heavy reverberation could be heard from above-ground. I was tossed from my hooves and slammed hard into a window, my head breaking the glass and dazing me. I felt something warm and wet trickle down my neck, and heard the loud screams and hurried hoofsteps of the ponies now, instead of calmly getting into the stable, storming the place. Stable workers tried calming them down, though it seemed to be in vain as a few gunshots rang through the halls. The overmare spoke over the intercom again. “Close the door! Close the damn door!” Before my vision faded to black, one last thought crossed my mind;
Please let Morning be safe…
--Chapter End--
“The End was only the beginning...”
Quests Finished: The Last Day
Quests Started: The World We Live In
Levels Earned: 1->2
Perks Earned: none
