Dark Empire

You circle another name on the list of Party members suspected to be disloyal. Raul was too clever for his own good, not useful, and his hot wife flirted with you a while back. You didn't really need another reason to send him to a labor camp. For some, bizarre reason, however, you felt a sudden urge to play with your favorite handgun. You didn't even notice your hands taking it out from under your desk, fingering the nickle-plated slide all the while.

"Maybe I should put it in my mouth and pull the trigger", you said to yourself. It just felt natural for some reason.

But it shouldn't. You eyes flew wide, and you realize that the CIA had probably just drugged you in yet another assasination attempt. You were about to shout out for help, but your throat clamped closed.

In the corner of the room, you suddenly see a small black horse - a unicorn? Suddenly is the wrong word. It had been there all along, watching you. You checked your memory, and you realized that it had been following you for days. But it just hadn't seemed important enough to notice until now.

You try to get up and run away from the source of your confusion, but your limbs fail you. A dark glow surrounds your hand and its horn, as you feel a foreign force grip your hand and slowly move the barrel of your gun into your mouth.

"The exiles send their regards", a booming voice in your head says in heavily accented English.

You pulled the trigger and were no more.

"So a magical pony did in a week what your entire agency couldn't accomplish in years and with millions of dollars. I'm not sure if I should be impressed by the pony, or profoundly disappointed in you, Allen."

"Mr. President, the death of Fidel Castro and several other members of the Cuban leadership has given us an opening. Cuban Army commanders are already fighting each other for control. An invasion by the exiles now would be able to devestate the Communists and take control of Cuba."

Kennedy nods. "The Joint Chiefs will be here in an hour, and we'll launch the operation. God bless the freedom fighters of Cuba."

"And God bless Sombra for helping us get here", you said under your breath.

The self-styled King was charismatic in a way that reminded you of Kennedy, but you noticed small discrepencies. The way his face would lose all emotion when he thought he wasn't being watched. The fact that recordings of his speeches lacked quite a bit of his in-person charm. The casual way in which he speaks of torturing his enemies. You were fairly certain he was a psychopath and using magic to manipulate minds at every opportunity. But until you had mages of your own who you could trust, the best you could do was have outside sources vet recordings of him, and hope that is enough to detect his influence.

The KGB director probably didn't have to put up with this shit. Then again, he also didn't get invisible assassins at his disposal. It was probably a fair trade.

Captain Thorne surveyed the winter landscape from his concealed position under a tree. He wasn't wearing anything identifying him as a member of the US military. If captured, he would be disavowed as a lone mercenary by the United States. It was a high risk job, but he was the best damn ski-trooper in North America as the Reds found out more than once in the Winter and Continuation Wars. It was no wonder he was recruited to the secret unit.

He had been scanning the horizon for over two days without a minute of sleep. But it wasn't anything he wasn't used to. A small yellow figure walked out from behind a hill. It looked exactly like the pegasus printed on the king of hearts of his unit's new playing cards. A brief thought of how cute and ridiculous the little horse looked crossed his mind briefly as he saw the sweater it was wearing and the baby silver fox it carried on its back.

Thorne had never used a tranquilizer gun in the field before, but it took minutes to take effect, and the antidote must be adiministered soon after, else the target risked dying. He considered the avenues it might run and how he might track it down through the forest. But that turned out to be unnecessary as it didn't even seem to notice the dart hit. Limbs must have gone numb from the snow. That was a very bad sign, since hypothermia could kill her in minutes if sedated. Looks like he was going to have to build a fire.

Well, warming up a sapient demigod horse he had drugged was definitely something he hadn't done before. The little fox cried a little as it noticed the pegasus getting weaker.

"And what should I do with you, little guy?", he said to himself as he lifted it by the nape of the neck.

"Don't... hurt him...", Fluttershy said as she slipped into the void.

Well, he was instructed to keep her cooperative as possible, given the circumstance. Maybe the little thing can come in handy after all.

You woke up from your brief nap as the pony on your chest carrier stirred. The antidote must be taking effect. The fox kit was fast asleep on the cave floor, enjoying the warmth of the small fire. You took a month of intensive Equestrian classes before you came here. You still weren't entirely fluent, but you understood what she said next.

"Thank you."

"Why do you thank me? I have you in a bag."

She couldn't quite turn to face you, but she still looked you in the eyes. "I was in trouble, underdressed, and a little lost. I was starting to pass out, and then I saw you... I was so scared that I was going to die there, and leave no one to care for my animals. No one to get Snowfall somewhere safe."

"The moment I saw you, I knew that I was safe, even though I've never seen a creature like you before. And now I'm safe. So, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you." You couldn't read ponies as well as you could people yet, but you didn't think she was bullshitting you.

This was certainly better than resistance. "I have you in there because you might running off somewhere while were cold and stupid. We start skiing in the morning, take only a day, we get somewhere safe."

She looked confused. "But the closest pony settlement is only eight hours by foot."

"Safe for me. Not sure how your people will react to me."

The pony thought for a moment, before nodding in understanding. "When you wake up, can you tell me a story?

You smiled. "Sure. I have many stories. Many about my birth-country, Finland. Many about skiing. Many about fighting."

Cross-country skiing over rough terrain was one of the most energy-intensive exercises known to man. Good conversation makes it easier, at least.

"So, you ask me if I'm good at languages. One time in Winter War, I took command of Swede company, they didn't speak word of Finnish, and I didn't a word of Swedish. Managed to get them fighting off full regiment of Russian infantry assault. So my answer? Maybe. If you yell loud enough, most understand, at some point."

"What's a Swede, and why were you guys fighting?"

"Well, imagine me, but speak a different language, and bad at alcohol. We were one country hundreds years in past. And Russians wanted our land. We said no."

She frowned. "Whatever you gain by fighting, wouldn't you lose more in the war?"

"Maybe. You ever been in a fight?"

Her voice started to shake a little. "When I was a filly. I got bullied a lot."

"And did you ever fight back?"

"No! That would have only made things worse. Then I would have been just as bad as they were."

"Well, it doesn't matter if you win or lose, both you and bully are bloodied at the end. The bully decides to start fight, so by losing a few fights, you prevent more fights in future."

"And did your people win your war?"

"Nope. We lost twice, but only gave a little land. I would say it's one part of a bigger struggle."

She thought for a moment. "Can we agree to disagree?"

You shrugged.

"The only reason no one takes things you have by force is someone out there will hit them with a big stick if they try. But the point of civilization is so you don't have to be 'someone'."

A ripple in reality marked your extraction point. You pulled out a black amulet from your pack and tried to remember the activation sequence.

"Wait, that looks like something from Sombra's Empire!" She sounded terrified, and was struggling to wiggle out of her carrier. You smeared a drop of of your blood, and felt yourself pulled back to Earth.