TCB - Zero Hour

Chapter 5

Twilight felt physically sick, she couldn’t believe what she had just been told. Her mind was racing, drowning out Josh as he continued to offer his sympathies. She can’t be dead, she just can’t be. Yet that was what she was being told. “How did it happen?” Rainbow Dash asked her voice unusually shaky.

“From what I’ve been told it seems that they encountered a problem with their auto-pilot shortly after takeoff. They disconnected the auto-pilot – probably believing it to be faulty – and then, for reasons yet unknown, the plane’s rudder failed... and they simply dropped like a stone”.

“But why did it fail?” Rainbow asked sounding slightly agitated.

Josh shrugged, “I’m not sure, as soon as I know something I’ll let you know”. Rainbow wasn’t satisfied with that answer but she could see that arguing wasn’t going to get her anything more.

Shortly after that the friends departed from the OHR offices. None of them spoke as they made their way slowly to Sugar Cube Corner. Followed, as always, by their OHR shadows. Agents in OHR uniform instructed to follow them and relay their every activity back to OHR HQ in Canterlot. They sat in silence around an outside table, drinking the hot chocolates that the Cakes had brought them. The OHR agent sat on the table next to theirs drinking a coffee and reading the paper.

“I can’t believe it... how can she be dead?” Rarity asked

“You heard what Josh said” Twilight replied, “Sometimes these things happen”

“HORSEAPPLES!” Rainbow exploded, everyone in the café stopped what they were doing and stared at them. “That’s a load of horseapples” she said quieter.

“What do you mean?” Rarity asked looking around at the ponies and humans staring at them.

“He’s lying... there’s something about that plane crash that he’s not telling us”. Twilight was worried. The OHR agent had put down his newspaper, and had his eyes fixed on the fuming cyan Pegasus. His face was unreadable and his gaze unwavering.

Rainbow noticed the agent staring at her and spun around in the air, her eyes aflame with pain, loss and rage all rolled into one. “What are you looking at!” she yelled. The agent was on his feet in an instant, but not angry, not threatening. He just stood and stared at her with the same blank look on his face. “Why can’t you people just leave us alone?!” Rainbow knocked his coffee to the ground, gritting her teeth and Seething with anger. This time the agent reached inside his grey jacket for his Glock 23 handgun, everyone in the café gasped.

Rainbow’s heart was pounding in her throat. The world around her slowed down to a crawl as she watched the agent draw his weapon, the sunlight glinting off its gleaming barrel. Her eyes tracked the muzzle as it was levelled at her exposed chest. She knew that just one bullet at this range could kill her. The agent’s storm grey eyes were fixed on hers, daring her to lunge at him...to give him a reason to shoot her.

Twilight’s jaw was nearly on the table. Never... never in the two years since OHR had been set up in Ponyville had an agent ever drawn their weapon, and now one of her friends was staring death in the face. Literally.

(Isla Azul Agua, Caribbean Sea)

Applejack sat opposite Santiago on the balcony. Looking out at the rolling waves, she glanced at Santiago. He was staring at her with those piercing blue eyes. She watched as he sipped his wine, his steely hair blowing slightly in the gentle breeze. Usually, if someone was sat staring at her like that it would unnerve her, but she felt strangely at ease in Santiago’s presence; odd considering the fact that she knew next to nothing about him.

“I was surprised you know.” The sudden sound made the orange mare jump. “I received a call from my employer late last night; warning me to be on the lookout for something strange. I guessed that the passenger plane falling out of the sky and smashing into the ocean at 500 kilometres an hour was what he meant.”

“Wait,” Applejack interrupted, “They knew that the plane was going to crash”.

"I assume so." Santiago shrugged. "No sooner had it happened, than the phone had rang again. This time, my employer told me to send a boat out to search the wreckage for you. I admit I was skeptical... but my employer has never been wrong before so I played along... and found you half drowned.”

“Did you find Applebloom?” Applejack asked frantically leaning towards Santiago, who looked nonplussed, “A little filly with a maroon mane and a pink bow."

Santiago took a moment to consider this and then said, “Yes we did find a filly... I assume she’s related to you”

"My sister..."

“Ah, then you’ll be glad to know that she’s safe and unharmed”. Applejack felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her. No longer able to hold it back, she burst into tears. Hot streams were pouring down her face and splashing onto the cream fabric she was sitting on. Santiago got up silently from his chair and put an arm around the mares shaking shoulders; Applejack buried her face into Santiago’s chest and began to cry harder. All of her emotions from the crash, nearly drowning and thinking her sister was dead came pouring out like a tidal wave.

It was at least ten minutes before Applejack managed to get her wracking sobs under control. She apologized to Santiago for the huge wet patch she had made on his pristine white jacket. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about. You've been through a hell of a lot in the past 24 hours," Santiago said as he sat back down and drained the last dregs of his wine.

“Can I see Applebloom please?” Applejack sniffled. Santiago nodded sympathetically and said that he would have something to eat sent to her room later. Then one of his staff – the maid that she had seen earlier – led her through the villa to a small dining room... and there sat at the table, munching though a plate full of roasted aubergine in a tomato sauce, was her precious Applebloom.

(Prison Facility, Mount Inostranka, Alaska)

Princess Luna struggled against the leather straps that held her to the chair; she was sat in a pool of light generated by the surgical lamp above her which was the only light source in the room.

“Princess Luna, how are we feeling today?” A voice asked her from the darkness.

“We would feel better if we were released from this chair," she answered continuing her struggles.

“Now, I couldn’t do that now could I, remember what a mess you made of my lab the last time we let you out?" The man whom the voice belonged to stepped forward. Doctor Edgar Quade was rather small in stature, his gaunt face was pitted with wrinkles and his small watery blue eyes were yellowing at the edges. A few locks of black hair were all that remained atop his head, combed over to give the illusion of more. All in all the 73 year-old man had definitely not aged gracefully.

He crossed the room and bent down near her face as he fiddled with the metal stand beside her chair. His breath smelled of black coffee mixed with cigarette smoke and she moved her head as best she could to escape it. Doctor Quade finished what he was doing by pushing a small hypodermic needle into her front right leg; it was connected via a clear plastic tube to a small glass receptacle on a stand beside the chair. As she watched her silvery blood filled the tube and began to drip into the receptacle. This had been going on almost since they arrived at the facility; periodically they would be taken out of their cells to the labs, and then either a blood sample would be taken or they would be interrogated.

Doctor Quade took a seat near the edge of the light pool, put on a pair of half-moon spectacles and began reading from a book that he always had with him. There would be no conversation today.

On the other side of the facility Blake Sterling was settling into a chair opposite Celestia, who was sitting on her bed. Once he was settled he held up a paperbound book.

“I brought you a present” Sterling said as the Princess of the sun took the book from him and examined the front cover. She was surprised to the see that it was a picture of her, and then she noticed the title: "Secrets, Lies, And Genocide: The Equestrian Crisis".

Celestia opened the book and read the first paragraph out loud. “History has known many great liars, Richard Nixon, Goebbels, Neville Chamberlain. But there have been none quite so vile as Princess Celestia - who not only lied to us, but also to her own people in order complete her insane plan for mass murder.” Celestia put the book down to see Sterling smiling at her.

“It’s a best seller," he said, his smile widening. “You should read the rest of it when you get some time." Sterling chuckled at his own joke knowing full well that the Princess had nothing but time.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Sterling slapped his thighs and got to his feet, “I have an appointment to see Doctor Quade so I’m afraid this will have to be the end of our little catch-up session”. Sterling crossed to the door.

“What’s going on in Equestria?” Celestia asked suddenly, Sterling paused, and looked over his shoulder.

“Things are interesting”.

(OHR Main Office, Canterlot)

George Van-zantan was again in director’s office; Cribben was sat behind his desk sipping his ‘after lunch’ glass of whiskey as George explained to the director why they should give more power to the Royal Guard. Cribben waited for George to finish, and then he got up and walked round his desk to come face to face with his second in command.

“Agent Van-zantan, are you aware of why this office exists?"

“Yes… of course, sir," George replied, knowing exactly where this conversation was going.

“And do you honestly think that the UN would order us to give power back to the Royal Guard, taking into consideration the fact that they killed hundreds of our soldiers, and therefore present a serious security risk?"

"No sir."

“Oh… then you must be suggesting that I defy an order from the United Nations, and go behind their backs!"

“N… no of course not sir.” Van-zantan stammered.

“Then we have nothing further to discuss. You are dismissed, Agent”. Cribben waved his hand at George and sat back down.

Once outside the office George mopped his brow of sweat and walked along to his office. George checked his watch, 12:07pm. He shrugged casually, pulled out a hip flask and took a large swig. He then picked up the phone. “This is Deputy Operations Director George Van-zantan, confront Field Marshal Exley and if he fails to take action eliminate the targets”.

George put down the phone receiver and buried his face in his hands. He didn't like where this was going. And it definitely wasn't what he signed on for.

Back in the director’s office Cribben finished reading the report on the failed operation to capture Applejack.

"Shit." Cribben finished the last of his whiskey and poured himself another. He then reached into his desk and took out an envelope he had received that morning. On the front was emblazoned a large, golden V. Carefully he opened the envelope and pulled out the white sheet of paper inside. As he did so something fell out of the envelope and fell onto the floor. It was a black chess piece, a knight to be precise. Then confused, he read what was on the paper. Two words.

Your move.

“What game are you playing?” he mused aloud, and then a thought occurred to him. He brought up security footage from one of the hangers at Ponyville International Airport; he then searched the archive for footage of the repairs being made in the cockpit of the plane that Applejack had boarded. Zooming in on the jumpsuit of the mechanic present he noticed something. Embroidered onto the handkerchief that he was using to blow his nose was a large, golden, V.

"Of course," he said to himself. "White always moves first."