As the moon gave off a pale glow, the CIA Agents, Luna, TwIlight, and two Lunar Guards headed out to a nearby sawmill that had been abandoned since the murders. Seeing as it featured long sightlines and plenty of spare lumber, it would be a decent substitute for a firing range.

"Alright, where would you like to start, Cougar?" Luna asked as the team, minus Bell and Adler, laid out their weapons to display them. "These guns seem...rather diverse in appearance. Do they all function in the same way?"

"They do." Cougar said as he unloaded his XM4, emptied the chamber, and set the magazine aside. "Mind if we start with my team, Adler?"

"By all means." Adler replied, as he and Bell were currently occupied by sending an intel package over the radio to the USS North Dakota, which would then be passed on to President Reagan and the top echelons of the CIA.

"Alright, first up is my personal favorite, the Colt XM4 Assault RIfle." Cougar said. "A variant of the standard M16 battle rifle, the XM4 fires fully automatic, at 722 rounds per minute from a standard 30-round magazine. It's lightweight, accurate, and hits moderately hard. It's chambered in the USA's standard cartridge, the 5.56mm round."

"It was first used by MACV-SOG units in the Vietnam War, where it was called the Commando." Cougar continued. "Since then, it has entered more widespread use in the USA's armed forces."

"What's the sash wrapped around it used for?" Luna asked.

"Mostly for getting it ready and in firing position quicker, but somewhat for cosmetic purposes." Cougar replied. "Aspen, you're up next."

"Alright, this is the Heckler and Koch MP5 Submachine gun." Aspen said. "Chambered for 9mm, it fires fast and has less recoil than an Assault Rifle, but it doesn't hit as hard. German forces on both sides of the Iron Curtain love this weapon. It's widespread, too, meaning ammo isn't as hard to find in the field."

"Iron Curtain?" Twilight asked.

"That's the metaphorical term for the territorial split in Europe between countries influenced by the US, and those by the Soviet Union." Dart answered. "There's East Germany, for example, which is governed by the Soviets, while West Germany gets aid from the US and NATO."

"Moving on…" Aspen said. "Care to take over, Raider?"

"Fine by me." Raider replied. "This fine shotgun is called the Streetsweeper. It's able to carry 18 shots in a single magazine, though it takes time to reload due to the drum mag's turning mechanism. It also sends out those 18 shots quickly, and they hit hard. Problem is, since it's a spread of shot and not a single bullet, this doesn't do much past short-range combat."

"But should the enemy get in close, you can cut 'em down quick. Just be sure to keep your magazine topped off. This gun runs through ammo fast."

"Finally...there's Dart." Raider said.

"Thanks." the slim-framed agent replied. "This is the Pellington 703 sniper rifle. Not much to say, as this is built for distance combat. It's bolt action, meaning I have to rechamber a round each time I fire manually, but it compensates by putting down targets reliably with that one shot. It handles like a dream and rechambers quickly, but it only carries 5 shots by default."

"Since I specialize in sniper warfare, this was the ideal choice. Picking off my enemies before they can even know I'm there."

"That sounds rather...dishonorable for a warrior." Luna said. "Wouldn't you rather fight your enemy face to face in a fair fight?"

"Nope." Dart replied instantly. "As a sniper, my job is to take out the enemy quickly and accurately, and if they get in too close, I'm done for. Having a sidearm like my 1911 on me helps, but I'm in my element at long range."

"Plus, it's a quick death for them. May not make you feel better, but that's how a sniper works. And just so you know, no one really plays fair in combat. You're supposed to do whatever it takes to win. If that means circumventing what's seen as honorable or whatever, that's just...what it takes. No getting around that."

Luna didn't seem convinced, but she nodded. As the presentation continued by Woods, then Mason, and then Sims, Bell and Adler watched Twilight take notes on a pad of paper held aloft by what was most likely their magic.

"Huh." Bell said. "That's some comic book or movie stuff right there."

"I'd agree." Adler replied, as they finished sending the intel package to the USS North Dakota, then they turned off their portable radio. "It's likely that moving things with your mind is just the tip of the iceberg. There's no telling what else they can do with magic."

"And that's a bad thing?" Bell asked quietly.

"Maybe." Adler shrugged. "All I'm saying is if this operation goes sideways...we'll likely have more than just bullets to worry about."

Bell nodded, and as they packed up the radio into a duffel bag, Bell and Adler returned to the group just as the weapons exhibition finished.

"So, magic." Adler said. "Would you care to show us what it can do besides just moving stuff in the air?"

"You sound rather suspicious." Twilight asked. "Why is that?"

"Because as I told Bell, I'm concerned that it'll be more than bullets coming at us when we hit the camp." Adler replied, wiping his glasses. "I need to know the full extent of what you can do, so we can know what we'd be potentially up against."

"Your reasoning is sound." Luna replied. "Though I also have a question. What does your world have to gain by aiding us? This "Cold War" that you spoke of certainly seems manageable enough for your kind alone."

"That may be so." Adler replied. "But after...Greenlight, we can't be too sure about not having enough allies."

"What's Greenlight?" Twilight asked. "You hesitated when you said that word."

Adler gave a sigh and sat down, motioning for everyone else to do so as well.

"Operation Greenlight was a US-led project that was nearly hijacked by a Soviet Agent known as Perseus." Adler said. "The Greenlight plan involved placing atomic bombs in every major European capital as the ultimate countermeasure to a Soviet invasion of western Europe."

"Uh...didn't you say those bombs could annihilate cities in one blast? And poison the surrounding environment for a long time after the blast?" Twilight said, shocked and horrified.

"Yes. And in 1974, the original bombs were upgraded to Neutron bombs that were more powerful and would preserve infrastructure.'" Adler continued. "The whole thing was overseen by a CIA agent named Jason Hudson, who Mason and Woods know...to an extent."

Mason and Woods scoffed, and Twilight could've sworn she heard Mason mutter "Fucking ice-cube…" under his breath.

"Problem was, Perseus infiltrated the program and stole one of the nukes, planning to detonate it and pin the results on the USA. Seeing as it was an American nuke in the wild, and one it was detonated, the US would be world enemy number one once that particular fact got out." Adler said.

"And it nearly succeeded. Perseus had sleeper agents in the US reverse-engineer the necessary codes to activate the entire array, and he was ready to annihilate a third of a continent at any moment and change the course of the world. We were barely able to stop the activation signal from being sent, all thanks to Bell."

Bell gave a reluctant sigh once Twilight and Luna looked in his direction with raised eyebrows. For Bell, his days as a Perseus agent, then being betrayed, then being subjected to MK-Ultra and having his memories messed with to reform him was still a...really sore subject for him.

Bell had told Mason once that even though he told the truth about Perseus...he still harbored some hard feelings about Adler and Park's actions. While he was in the hospital in England, recovering from being shot in the side...nearly every night, Bell would have a nightmare about his experiences.

Even though he had told Adler "no hard feelings", it still felt like a lie at times. Bell took in a breath and interlaced his hands.

"I used to work for Perseus." he said. "Adler and his team saved my ass after I got betrayed and was nearly killed. Though, I can't share a lot of the details as they're all heavily classified...let's just say I knew where Perseus planned to broadcast the signal in the end."

"Using that knowledge, we stormed the Solovetsky Monastery, stopped the activation, and Perseus went into hiding. We were also able to dismantle a Soviet spy ring in the US and eliminate the remaining sleeper agents as a result."

"So....everything worked out, right?" Twilight asked. "A third of Europe didn't get blown up?"

"Yes. And then Adler shot me in the side to cover our tracks." Bell scoffed, causing Twilight and Luna's gaze to jump to Adler in shock. "I had to spend a week in a British hospital thanks to that asshole."

"You..shot your own teammate?" Twilight dropped her jaw. "Why in heaven's name would you do that?"

"I had my reasons." Adler replied simply. "That whole story is not important right now. Can we get back to magic now?"

Twilight and Luna looked at each other in surprise, as Adler's sharp tone left little room for protest.

"You can handle this one, Twilight." Luna said. "I need to raise the Moon...and settle my mind."

She didn't see it then, but Bell moved to follow her, saying quietly that he needed to take a leak to Adler.

====

As Twilight began her lecture on magic theory, Luna, a decent distance away, summoned her powers and bid the moon to lower, and it did. As the sun began to rise into the sky, Luna took a seat on a nearby stump.

"These humans…" she thought out loud. "They are so...strange. We haven't fought a war in over 1000 years, and they speak of fighting wars so casually, so...easily. They can call others their friends, but can just as easily wound them."

"Just...they are so different in words and actions from us…"

"That's true."

Luna turned to see Bell approach.

"Yeah, I'm not really gonna sugarcoat it, Princess." he sighed. "I've done some really messed up stuff in my life, and killed a lot of people in the process. I don't really dwell on stuff like that, but...at least I know that if I go to hell, I'll be proud that I did what I believed was right."

"You follow a religion?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, back in the hospital, the only book I could read for about two days was the Bible." Bell sighed. "It's basically the main book of faith for those who follow the world's largest faith in terms of numbers, Christianity."

"And you are one of them?" Luna sounded surprised. "I didn't expect you to be a religious person, Bell."

"Well, the Pastor at the hospital, Father Fitzpatrick, was really nice, and he helped me out a couple times when I needed a kind word more than painkillers." Bell said. "Princess, humans are not just soldiers. We're artists, musicians, writers, cooks, leaders...it's not like we enjoy excess violence and warfare, it's just...in our nature."

"Besides, our world has so much to it besides war, that it's kinda hard to believe. There's so many countries with so many cultures, languages, foods...hell, I'll admit it's easy to focus on the negative aspects."

"So you think more on the positives?" Luna looked away for a moment. "For a person in your line of work, Bell, I think that does sound reasoned."

"Yeah, I got all that from Father Fitzpatrick." Bell chuckled. "Would you believe me if I told you that he saw combat as well? Not as a soldier, but a Chaplain for the British Army during the Second World War?"

"There are priests in the armies of your world?" Luna asked.

"Gotta keep morale up." Bell said. "And it's not just priests, there's cooks, technicians, mail workers, there's more to fighting a war than having warriors at the ready."

"Well, that is true." Luna said. "How did you come about all of this knowledge?"

"Well, apart from exercising, eating, and sleeping, I read books for most of the week I was in the hospital." Bell said. "Father Fitzpatrick brought them to patients every day. For a man of about sixty-seven, he's pretty physically fit."

Bell stood up and stretched, and Luna followed suit.

"We should get back to the group. We've got a job to do, and there's no time like the present to do it."

As the two of them headed back to the sawmill, the others were already ready and waiting with weapons loaded and ready.

"You set?" Adler asked.

"Yeah, we got caught up talking." Bell nodded. "Let's go, guys. Time's wasting."

As the group headed towards the northwest, straight for the enemy camp, Luna furrowed her brow slightly at the thought of what was to come.

Author's Note

UPDATE!

I will admit, I missed writing here on this site. There's a few reasons I haven't been as active here, but the gist is I've been busy with life.

Anyway, expect more frequent updates going forward for all stories (Hopefully).

Next time - The CIA agents attack the camp, President Reagan authorizes Carver, Weaver, and Samantha Maxis to fully commit to the hunt for the Emissary in Equestria, and in the meantime, the shadowy villain comes into contact wtih a man named Vikhor Kuzmin, alias "Stitch"...