You waited patiently in the diner, your trusty sidearm, a Luger P08 holstered, ready at any time, a duffle bag placed beside you instead of the usual briefcase. You stayed at one corner of the diner, having a clear overview of the patrons of the diner and the only entrance that also served as the diner’s exit, with most of the patrons being generally welcoming and not overbearing. Contrary to them, your minimalistic style, and outfit alone, made you stand out like a sore thumb, or, that just wearing any kind of wear made you stand out nonetheless, with few creatures actually having anything to wear.
But you digress, ending that train of thought as you looked outside the windows of the diner, the view of the beachside, something that you could indulge in. A lone dinner just in the outskirts of Griffonstone, near the shoreline, although not the place you would have liked for your journey to end in, but the scenery will suffice, you still had some time to spare after all.
You reflect on your actions in this world, you were only human, yet the inhabitants of this world, be it pony or otherwise… didn’t stand a chance, they never did, not with the intellect you brought with you that is. The game was rigged from the start, you knew the in’s and out's of a governing system, the limits of any economic empire, and the flaws and unexpected results that interactions between harmony and chaos could bring, the chance to prove to yourself that you could win. All of those classes and hours spent perfecting your craft, majoring in economics during college, being taught political science, and many more studies, and yet with the advantage that you possessed, be it on the field of knowledge or morality, you allow yourself to bargain with them, maybe its nature, maybe it’s a sense of standard, but you were unsure to the reason as to why…
So you waited, looking at the shoreline, the sea seemingly endless from your point of view and you remind yourself: knowledge is key, but wisdom is power, act accordingly.
So you waited, you waited patiently for your chance, because you were ready to leave that life behind and to reap the benefits of your hard work, and this was what you wanted, something simple for a change, simple change.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Tempest asked, feeling very doubtful of the ‘operation’ that she was doing with her partner, an unexpected partner at that, with an even more unexpected employer. And only now did this entire things seem dodgy to her, something was clearly amiss.
“Yep, this is the place the Chancellor said,” Spike respond, the young dragon had grown quite tall to see eye-to-eye with the former commander, “looks run down and beat, no wonder Neighsay had doubts about joining us personally, the trek alone was unbelievably unbearable.”
“And yet we're still here... Fine and well, for the most part, the bag, still fine as is,” Tempest responded.
Looking to their sides and their front, a simple diner, admittedly in the middle of nowhere, by the shoreline, surrounded by tall ledges, making any other route besides the one Tempest and Spike took to be unviable, not to mention hard to bypass and dangerous place that is the outskirts of Griffonstone.
“And this is the part where we meet our mystery pony?” Spike asked, flapping his wings to hover a bit, bag in hand, the contents being a mystery to both of them.
“Well, we can’t exactly turn back now since we got this far, and besides, were battle-hardened and ready, I’m sure we could put up a fight against any schmuck that crosses our path, besides, I know our names reach far and wide for good reasons,” Tempest replied, following Spike into the diner, although, they were in for an interesting meeting, one that they will likely remember.
You eyed the door of the diner with great intent, you still waited, and finally, a bell rang and you saw the door swung open. Your patience finally paid off, you sigh in relief, but this relief was abruptly ended when you saw who came into the diner. And although you didn’t know them by heart, you knew them enough from… other sources, and based on those you knew that this won’t go with you commandeering a smooth sailing conversation, or that’s what you expected at worst, but you hoped that these two would see reason despite the unknown.
And so, you prepared for their eventual arrival at your table, making final adjustments and checks on both yourself, equipment, and things that you brought with you. This was indeed going to be interesting, and certainly, you were going to enjoy every moment of the next moments of your life if it meant you riding high and confident, but until then, you continued to prepare for the eventual meeting.
As Tempest and Spike walked into the diner, the sense of being watched now settled in. It was a sense that they could not shack off, despite what they had to go through in the journey at this point in time, this… feeling of being watched, it was unsettling, near unshakeable even.
That was until they saw a figure, the figure, from its posture, appeared to have sat at a far corner of the diner, they had a window all to themselves as they seemed, at least from the duo’s perspective, to just look out to the shoreline view, something both the pony and dragon could respect to a certain degree.
As they approached the figure, both prepared themselves for the possibility of hostilities, but as it would show, Spike would be the first to speak and set the stage for this, being the usually reasonable dragon that he was.
“Excuse us,” Spike said, as he seemed to have gained the attention of the figure, hovering ever so closer to them in the process, “do you know, by any chance, a pony named, ‘Turncoat’ or even a griffon named, ‘Gustav’? By what our… source have to lead us to believe, they were supposedly both the same creature, and we were asked to meet up with them by our employer, a package drop of sorts.” He said, taking a seat in front of the figure without regard, and before they could even answer, Tempest was visibly shocked and... Infuriated might be the word, as she herself followed Spike's example and sat beside the dragon, all without a hint of remorse or care for the figure who had yet to respond.
Sitting there, these two creatures, just... sat down, like it was nothing. And you haven’t even had the chance to respond properly yet!
Ok, stay calm, this is fine, they are only here because they were probably sent by the Chancellor, the fucking cunt can't even show up to his own meeting in the making, alas, you couldn’t stay silent forever, and soon, you responded to the dragon's question.
“Yes, that would be me,” you reply, seeing the reaction of the dragon and broken horned pony, it was clear they wanted some answers, “I think a semiformal introduction is needed, we could talk about your backstory and reasons as to why your here in the first place, don’t you think?”
The dragon was the first to respond, “Y-yeah, um... ok, I guess I'll go first,” the dragon said as he made himself comfortable from his position, while also setting aside what you assumed to be the bag that they brought with them.
“I simply prefer to be referred to as Spike and only Spike, Hero of the Crystal Empire and royal advisor to the new monarch of Equestria, Princess Twilight Sparkle, amongst other things.” The dragon said, chuckling a bit as he made his short introduction.
The pony was next and akin to the dragon, she also introduced herself in a similar fashion.
“My alias is Tempest Shadow, former commander of the Storm King's fleet, currently a mare-for-hire as ab informant and courier, my real name is none of your business.”
As the pony ended her introduction, you felt compelled to ask about her broken horn, but from what you could see, it seemed to be linked to some sort of traumatic event, best leave it at that, you guessed. And now, it was your turn.
“It is a pleasure to meet the both of you, Spike and Tempest, and as you may know, my is name Turncoat and Gustav, but as you could probably guess, those are just my alias, my true name is irrelevant to our discussion today, but you could just refer to me with the former or later, I won’t mind, now, shall we continue? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you have something for me, I also have something in return as well.” You said, a smile forming on your face, obscured from ever being seen by the two fellows.
Tempest and Spike, both visibly confused with the figure, withholding such crucial yet basic information such as a name, and both were about to object to it, but then they stared towards each other as they drew closer to discuss the next move.
But as they did so, the figure, their face still obscured by what seemed to be a hat and thick coat that covered most of any defining feature as it seemed impossible to make out anything definitive for identification. So, they decided not to ask about it further since they thought it would create tension between themselves and some other consequences, that thought would be best avoided, so they instead, in silent agreement, dropped it.
“Right, right,” Spike said as he placed the bag, the entire reason as to why they came here in the first place, on the table, “Tempest and I, we were told to deliver this bag to you, sent by Chancellor Neighsay, must be important if he entrusted us with its safekeeping,” Spike said.
The figure nodded and spoke a response, “Yes that would be correct, the Chancellor did promise me something, and in return, I could give him something beyond his full compression.” They said, their voice, at least to Tempest, seemingly becoming more sinister, as if they knew something that they didn’t.
“And hopefully,” Tempest began, eyeing the creature intently, “you could prove to us you are, indeed, the right... someone, that we were supposed to meet.”
No outward reaction from the creature, and it spoke again, “would you like to do it inside here or outside?” they asked.
Spike and Tempest, initially taken aback, silently stared at each other, and with a confirming nod, both silently agreed on one thing, “We would like to do so inside, no need to get dirty,” Tempest said, “can't have you pulling something sneaky under us.”
“Fine by me.” That was the reply.
You reached to the bag beside you, placing it on your lap before you spoke again, “Again, I must also ask you to allow me to see the contents that you have brought, as to be assured that you have indeed brought what I seek.”
Spike, in response to your request, brought a bag and placed it on the table, which you promptly took to see its contents as he spoke, “sure, go ahead, we don’t even know what’s inside.”
Although you notice them noticing your covered hands reaching out for the bag, you assumed they miss took it for a claw, but you didn’t care to openly notice that detail.
Spike's remark only served to bring you joy as you saw that indeed, they brought what you had asked for from the Chancellor. 3 gems that are all similar in form yet somehow different in some ways at the same time, unique not in its aesthetics, but in its application when wielded properly, its utility, at least towards yourself, could be limitless, these gem’s, these are the key to an infinite amount of possibilities. Most in this world just refer to these as simple gems stones, unaware of their utility beyond just aesthetics, food in the case of dragons, and basic usage such as for communication or in some rare instances, currency although being less powerful than the bit (SOMEHOW PRECIOUS GEMS ARE WORTH LESS THAN A GOLD COIN, HOW!?), but you knew better, and the Chancellor probably also did, as the gems before you, although unique, also had a proper name, ‘Lucida Navitas, which formed the backbone of the study of ‘Dark Matter’, and the possible discoveries along the way. Indeed, the Latin classes you took paid off when it came to historically naming things.
“Thank you, it is indeed what I asked for.” You reply, content with the fact that it was now at arm’s reach, the possibilities are near endless once you get your hands on those gems, and best make this a clean deal.
“Ah, ah, ah,” Tempest spoke out, feeling that there are still questions that needed an answer, and answer she will find, making sure it wasn’t obvious, she prepared herself in case she needed to unleash a barrage of lightning should sudden hostilities arose, “We still have questions, and I think you could answer some of those...”
“Sure,” the figure spoke, seemingly having no problem in humoring her curiosity, “Although I can only entertain 3 questions, I still have somewhere to go. And do note that I will answer however I want, it’s up to you how you’ll take my answers.” They said, seemingly taking up a relaxed position as it waited for the questions to come, while they seemed to formulate possible answers. It was weird to see, at least for Tempest, seeing someone so calm, they were indeed a unique experience for her
Tempest had no problem with this since they were being compliant, and so, she gave her first question,
“So, Turncoat, what exactly are you giving in exchange for... this?” she asked, pointing a hoof the bag, “from our view, you must be giving a lot for something so small.” She remarked.
“Oh, this?” The figure said as he patted the bag that they seemed to have brought with them, “I’m not supposed to tell you the contents, just like how you were left in the dark on the bag that you brought here. Although, you could always ask the Chancellor afterward.”
A moment of thinking was shared between Spike and Tempest, they won't push their luck now, but they will when they get a chance to speak with the Chancellor, then it was Spike’s turn who would ask the next question.
“Your origins, Turncoat, not the name or to bring any offense, but you seem to be an interesting creature that Twilight might actually be interested to meet with.” He said, honestly in his voice as he reflected on the figure, who he thought seemed to be lost with no sense of direction in life.
“Hmm...” the figure pondered for a moment, seemingly thinking and taking his moment with being careful with their words, “I hailed form a very distant land, beyond the reach of any map of today, I came to this land, the land of Equestria and her neighboring nations for... research and reasons and I am only doing what needs to be done in order to innovate and strive for a better world, does that answer your question?”
“Somewhat, yeah,” Spike responded, nodding in the process, although he felt as though it was lackluster.
“Ok, now,” Tempest interjected, no her eyes set on the figure for anything suspicious, “Last and final question, and really, I think it's best you answer it to the best of your ability.” She said, her voice becoming hard as steel.
“Sure,” was all you could say in a sarcastic manner, not even worried about the next question, “Just make it quick, I still have to do something outside of this quick meeting of ours.”
Eyeing Tempest carefully as she now straightened herself for her final question, “So, if you are so fine with it, I must ask, what are you? And what’s your deal with Equus?” She said with venom in her voice, whether intentional or not, you are unsure.
Nevertheless, you were taken aback by her line of question, and what it told in her line of thinking, and you thought to yourself, you mostly had your life straightened out at this point in time, you are near the end of your journey, even if time was spared, the deck didn’t entail you to lose much if you humored her.
“Hmm…” You pondered for a moment, while most would play it safe, you wanted a statement, a little thrill won’t hurt, and besides, what use is that information even?
“I’ve got nothing against Equus,” you said plainly, “but that doesn’t mean I can’t make my own moves to better myself,”
“What do you mean?” She asked, her gaze never leaving.
“I think it's best explained with a metaphor, so, do you know what or even who the ‘Reynard’s’ are?” you asked, expecting her to not know.
“Of course I do, they are were said to have been plenty full before the dawn of the Alicorn’s, creatures of a myth really, their tales spoke of how their trickery was unmatched, bested even the most observant of creatures.” She said, recalling the many tales she heard relating to this myth during her time as the Storm King's commander.
‘Well, that’s interesting.’ You told yourself, impressed at Tempest's knowledge, clearly, she knew a bit more than the average pony, although you should have expected that, the broken horn was a telling sign.
“Yes, well, As much as myths go in Equus, some creatures, like fox’s, I consider them more as legends rather than myths, but the point is that their kind, at least from my experience, had never faced betrayal before, at least, not until the dawn of the Alicorns, and when their time came, they fell prey to the craft that they thought they had mastered.”
“W-what are you talking about? Because honestly, I don’t follow your line of thought.” She responded, now confused and somewhat conflicted by what you said.
You sigh at her inability to follow, but, as you have talked to the creatures of this land far and wide, philosophe isn’t this world’s greatest field.
“It’s simple, really is,” you said, preparing to leave the diner after this exchange, “the ‘Reynard’s’ simply weren’t prepared for betrayal because they never experienced it before, a true betrayal never comes from an enemy, and all their trickery, it all was at a cost, one that their species, at least in this world, paid dearly.”
But instead of Tempest speaking up, Spike was the one to take the initiative on this one, “Wow,” was his first remark, “you speak as if you know a lot of things, though you didn’t answer the question directly...” chuckling to himself at that one, he continued, “but that is to be expected form someone like you, Turncoat.”
“Oh its nothing much,” you said with a chuckle yourself, reflecting on the long journey that is your life, “let’s just say it wasn’t easy on me, I perfected my craft, created many things, admittedly some much more questionable than others, indirectly or not, several ‘monsters’ were created from the set stage, and my own inabilities only contributed to it, that was an experience that nearly killed me, but one I learned from and appreciated, although, such as the things in life, there are simply things that we will have to answer for.”
“Which is why I don’t want you to take this personally. By orders of Her Highness, you, Turncoat, are to be a creature of interest by the definition of Her Highness, until further notice I ask you to comply with it, don’t take this as a sign of ill will, Twilight would actually love to meet someone like you, perceptive or something similar, she had a pretty good reason and definition for this, even allowing me to meet you eye to eye under Neighsay.”
Your eyes widen as you realized you may have just piqued their interest a little much more comfortable. This wasn’t a game they should be playing or even know about, but the ropes were already tied, as twisted as it seems, the monarch seems to have been watching you, you might decide to pay her a visit, who knows, for now, your move to be played.
Both Spike and Tempest felt it, the sudden jolt of realization, and both knew (Spike mostly) that this meeting was about to take a big turn after what was said. Carefully, they eyed the movements of the other until the figure spoke, not in a demanding or angered outburst manner that they expected from someone who seemed to have been accused, but instead, they spoke in a heavy, somehow truthful tone that seemed to be condescending in some ways, as if they knew more than what they let on.
“What are you talking about, Spike?” They asked, now reaching for his own bag to give in exchange for the bag of gems, “I came to make a fair deal, nothing more nothing less, besides I have other business to attend to.”
And as the figure raised and placed his bag for the pair to take, in return for the bag that they have been told to barter with, Spike saw what the figure used what appeared to be talons, or more accurately, closer to claws but not exactly the same thing.
Spike, taking the opportunity, reached out for the bag on the table, and to fill his curiosity, he peeked inside, the figure spoke briefly.
“Be careful of what you read, some of those are beyond normal comprehension,” the figure said as Spike saw into the bag. What he saw was… books? Dozens upon dozens of books were in the bag it seemed, the topics covered appeared to be on a much more complex level by what symbols and titles would indicate, at least from what he could read and understand from.
By now, the figure began to… stand up? As Spike and Tempest suddenly realized an oversight on their part, they sat and discussed matters with a figure who saw them at a level head with all of them sitting down, meaning they were all seated and the figure was most likely taller than the both of them since it had no problem with either sitting down or having a raised chair (a much-added bonus of evidence would be the claw-like appendage used by the figure to reach out, grab, and place bags on and off the table during the meeting, and very few creatures with claw/talon-like appendages actually roam these parts of Equus, this figure could be deduced to be some creature either similar or hailing from that of a griffon, centaur, or maybe even a hippogriff).
Furthermore, since the figure seemed to be a bit knowledgeable on their art, being able to hold their composure for the entire meeting, the fact that ‘Turncoat’ could stand as a facade instead of an actual alias only furthered their suspicion and realization, one could say that the due is impressed. And this fault would cause a bit of fear and panic for both, but unfortunately, the last move of today would be made.
You eyed them carefully as you stood up, towering over them as you did so. You felt… a weight being placed on your shoulders, it was... unexpected. You didn’t want things to get ugly, but you knew what you had to do, the only thing needed now was to return with the crystals at hand. Unfortunately for you, this would be easier said than done, and this would only be further proven when Spike and Tempest began to slowly rise from their place. Knowing what is about to come, you make one last attempt to stall, if not deter them from what you think they are about to do.
“Spike,” You began, your slow rise and movements being eyed closely and closer with each moment, you positioned your hand over your trusty pistol, making sure it wasn’t obvious and masking it as though you were ‘emotionally’ hurt by seemingly being forced.
“Don't take it personally, it's just business,” you say, not for monologue sake, but it sort of just slipped as you thought of what the next moves will be, “Oh, and Spike, I’m sorry for what next..” You said as you reached for your sidearm.
And you could see, instinctively, Spike taking Tempest down to protect her and tanking the hit of the first bullet of your gun, with the bullet hitting him square on, it would likely break the bullet.
You made a mad dash to the exit of the dinner, shooting another 3 rounds down range at Spike and Tempest's place, a bag of gems in hand. The shots you made were, again, tanked by Spike, who by now, was probably with Tempest discussing how to chase you going up to you.
“DON’T YOU DARE FOLLOW ME!” You shouted as you shot the rest of your bullets downrange, hitting some bystanders and stray shots, you instinctively reloaded your gun while you neared the exit of the diner. You knew, you couldn’t keep running forever, and this will only stall them, but you were so close to the finish line, so screw it! You’ll try to make your goals a reality, even beyond death, even while you are taking your numbered days, you'll make it home.
As the figure made a mad dash for the exit, and Spike tanked the figure's mysterious weapon, Tempest carefully took her time in preparing to take a shot of lighting to hit the figure.
“Tempest, you alright?” Spike said, grunting a bit from the pain of being shot at, but still concerned for his partner.
“I'm fine, I'm fine, don’t go hurling yourself in danger now,” Tempest said as she raised her head, searching for the figure in the diner, but only seeing chaos as the diner's patrons were in a panic, a griffon and another pony was hit.
But that all changed when she distinctively heard the diner bells ring, the same bells that ring when someone entered or exited the diner.
She stood up and was about to make chase, but before she could, she had to tell Spike not you follow her, “Spike,” she said as she gave him a hard stare, “I want you to help those in the diner, I don’t need unnecessary casualties, and make sure the package is safe.”
“But-” Spike was about to protest but was interrupted by Tempest.
“If you think I might... die, from this, your wrong I can hold myself, plus, I need to catch up to him, now, DONT GO HELPING ME UNTIL YOUR DONE HERE!” She said, shouting the last portion as she made a mad dash, the final chase had begun.
Author's Note
OK, so this story was supposed to be a sort of "Christmas" gift, a one-shot, but as it's clear, I suck at pacing my stories (IMO).
Anyways, I decided to make this into a two-parter, the second portion will be out next year (based on the time of writing and publishing ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )
and as a reminder, the tags are used very leniently, for the most part, the story is very mild in nature.
