Splinter Cellby The philosopherChaptersProlgue 1:Record Data: uploading File Records of [Classified]Prologue 2: Luna's ArmyChapter 1: The MarinesChapter 2: RevengeChapter 3: The 3rd EchelonChapter 4: Hunter KillerProlgue 1:Record Data: uploading File Records of [Classified]Classified_Information: Cannot_upload_data_on_<1st\_echelon> Luna continued to Glare in frustration at the computer. Only the upper echelons of the Equestrian military were granted to use computers, so it was very rare to classify information since most ponies didn't even have a computer to gain access to any important data. Nonetheless, she understood why this of all information was restricted to even te highest of authorities. Likewise, she knew how to bypass the classification. Override_Classification: Identity Verified: Welcome back, Princess Luna. Luna smiled as she pulled out the forbidden files that had disappeared into oblivion since the last thousand years. All these precious files in the computer contained the valuable information of a once powerful army: her army. Data_record: file 109702 Date: 3-13-1012 Location: Trottingham Objective: Capture the city The bell rang twelve times to signal midnight as the two soldiers idly stood in the town square, trying to hide the fear consuming them. Celestia had received a tip just that morning that Trottingham would be Nightmare Moon's next target. Trottingham would be a powerful strategic point, if it fell, there would be only small cities like Hoofington or Ponyville standing in the Lunar Republic's way to reach Canterlot. They were given intel that Nightmare Moon herself was to engage in this soon to be bloody battle. The silence was eerie, and the guards exchanged worried glances towards each other. Not even the sounds of their own army marching through the streets could be heard. There was something disturbing about this night... Operation: Eclipse A patrol of five guards marched down the street. They watched carefully for any sort of movement, any sort of disturbance in the tranquility of the night. It was all in vain, for they never peeked deep enough into the shadows, and thus never noticed the three sarosians, all three armed with a pistol in their jaws, creeping behind them. One had grabbed the guard in the very back and held him as a meat shield, while the others grabbed the two who were just in front of the last guard. They quickly and quietly subdued the two soldiers. The remaining guards turned around in shock, but were never able to cry for help as the sound of two gunshots rang like thunder. Uploading_file: Upload...Complete Weapon: P228 sidearm Manufacturer: SIG Sauer Cartridge: 9x19mm Parabellum Description: Produced in secrecy during the Equestrian Civil War, the P228 was the standard weapon of the infamous and secretive Eclipse Echelon (now referred to as the 1st Echelon upon the installment of the 2nd Echelon in the Equestrian Armed Forces), replacing the Lunar Spear. Small, sleek, and dark colored, the P228 not only caused the Eclipse Echelon to become the backbone of Nightmare Moon's army, but also gave birth to the superstition that Nightmare Moon's presence was proclaimed by thunder. The weapon, by decree of Princess Celestia of Equestria, is forbidden, regardless of a pony's rank or status. The existence of this weapon has been denied to the public and it's information is classified. Luna stared at the screen, analyzing the weapon before her. She remembered when she was first shown this instrument of death. It was designed to give her army an edge over Celestia's. The technology, long forgotten, would have still been considered advanced even now. But Luna wasn't impressed, to her it was rather obsolete. Not to mention loud. The two soldiers in the town square were shaking in fear. For the past four hours, thunder had been echoing through the city, and yet there was not a cloud in the sky. "W-what, what's happening?" asked one of the guards wearily. "I-I don't know! Has the battle started?" asked, the second guard. "But where is everypony!?" The first guard was trying to suppress his panicked state. "I- I don't... My Celestia!" he screamed as he saw the tip of a sharp dagger protruding out of his comrade's chest. "C-Corpral?!" he screamed. Suddenly, he felt a cold, jagged blade pressed against his sweating throat. His muffled screams were the last noises heard in the night. The news reached Celestia by noon. According to the reports, an army of five hundred sarosians, accompanied by Nightmare Moon herself, had overwhelmed Trottingham with the sheer number of soldiers. The event was forever remembered as Nightmare Night. Luna grinned at the computer, reading the post-battle reports. Enemy_Casualties: 300 Friendly_Casualties:0 Friendly_Forces: 7 Luna smiled, even though it felt wrong to. Although ashamed of the blood she had shed, she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in her creation. The 1st Echelon did not disappoint. Prologue 2: Luna's ArmyDate:4/28/2012 Location: 2nd Echelon HQ Objective: N/A "Please, sister!" exclaimed Luna. "An intelligence branch would serve well for the Equestrian military. With it, we could be one step ahead of any threat!" It was only a week after her return when Luna had suggested an intelligence agency, one that would extract the information from the shadows of Equestria. "I do not wish to invade the lives of my subjects, Luna." answered Celestia, "I don't wish for you to harm them." "Sister, we assure you, we intend to help our subjects, not harm them! The 2nd Echelon will help us prevent crises before they happen!" "But I do not wish to have a military branch as... aggressive as your Ecliipse Echelon." retorted Celestia. "You misunderstand us sister," assured Luna. "This second Echelon will only monitor chatter from suspicious suspects and simply keep in touch with your scouts. They will not comprise of field agents, we can promise you this." . . . Luna regretted that promise. While the 2nd Echelon was praised with success inside the halls of the castle for being the chief reasons Celestia could quickly respond to a disaster, such as the incident with the sleeping dragon and the riot in Ponyville over a doll, Luna was frustrated with the poor execution of the wedding a few weeks ago. Despite the 2nd Echelon's interception of the intel regarding a plan to attack Canterlot, despite the fact that they successfully relayed the message to Princess Celestia and drastic measures as radical as a forcefield were performed, all of Canterlot was caught by surprise when the changelings attacked. "What troubles you, your majesty?" asked a deep voice from behind Luna's back. The princess of the night turned to greet the concerned guard. "General Stargazer," addressed Luna to the sarosian guard. "I feel as though I am losing faith in my sister's military force." "Your majesty, I believe, under Shining Armor, the Canterlot Royal Guard has been at its strongest-" "But that is only half as strong as the 1st Echelon, which would have been perfect to accompany the 2nd." "Your majesty, may I ask, what are you trying to say?" "I am trying to say that The Canterlot royal guard fails to keep up with the efficiency of the 2nd Echelon. We need a force that can strike as soon as we receive new intel. I know I promised my sister that I wouldn't use such a force, but I believe we need an army as aggressive, an army as effective, as the 1st Echelon!" "But Princess Celestia-" "Would be perfectly safe because of an army, and would not to find out. Who would tell her? The 2nd Echelon?" General Stargazer found Luna's logic hauntingly true. Luna spoke. "It will be like the 1st Echelon, with technology that far outranks our current level. We will need to be ahead of Celestia to outrun her suspicion." "Your majesty, this is treachery! We shouldn't be conspiring behind your sisters back." "This is no conspiracy, General. This is an agency that will protect her from the shadows. Unknown to even her. A guardian angel, if you will." The General was quite, deep in thought. "General, I will need you to recruit scientists from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The 3rd Echelon will be awaken soon." Chapter 1: The MarinesDate: 3/14/2026 Location: Ponyville Objective: N/A The twenty-four year old mare used to dream that she was in the Wonderbolts, right next to her idol, Rainbow Dash. Sadly, neither pegasai were to live that dream. For some strange reason, Rainbow Dash surprised everypony in Ponyville and left the flight group. She had only participated for half a year. Scootaloo marched passed the small building with a sign that read, Equestrian Military Enlistment Center. She never imagined herself as a soldier, but it seemed appropriate. She always tried out new things when she was a foal, perhaps that is why she decided to sign up for Princess Celestia's new branch, the Equestrian Marine Corps, four years ago. She, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle became "Crusader squad" with seven other ponies. It was a strange branch, given the latest equipment the Equestrian military had to offer, with kevlar vests made to be as equally effective as the royal guards' armor but was a third of its weight and the radio phones made to keep the squad together when they were a hundred miles apart. But today, Scootaloo wasn't a marine, only a friendly orange pegasus walking through the peaceful town of Ponyville to see her two closest friends. Although she promised Sweetie Belle and Applebloom she would meet them at the local cafe`, Scootaloo was in no rush. She and when she Saw Rainbow Dash, she decided that a few minutes to talk with her idol wouldn't hurt anypony. "Hey Rainbow!" Shouted Scootaloo. The sky blule Pegasus just slowly turned her head. "Hey." It was an expected answer. Ever since she left the Wonderbolts she's been like this. She was distant now, even to her friends, tired, and edgy. "So... uh, whats up?" asked Scootaloo. "Nothing." grunted Rainbow Dash. "Uh....thats cool....I guess...." "Not really." "Well, I just wanted to say hi, since the Crusaders and I are going to be on tour again at the Crystal Empire..." "Are you now?" Suddenly Rainbow Dash sounded a bit interested in the conversation. "Why is that?" The orange pegsasus sighed, "Because of the civil war. You know, some of the ponies don't like Cadance ruling and want to be a powerful empire again, and-" "Yeah, I've heard about the conflict." "Anyways, there's been some hostile activity lately by the mountain region." continued Scootaloo. "I see, sounds pretty intense. Why do you think they're settling at the mountains?" "Dunno." said Scootaloo. "Huh. Well it was nice talking to you Scootaloo, take care now." "Thanks Rainbow Dash," "And good luck in the mountains, too." "Thanks. Celestia knows I'll need it." Scootaloo flew down to the cafe. Thanks to her wings, she was able to reach her friends quickly as if she hadn't stopped to talk with her hero. "Hey girls," said Scootaloo. "Howdy Scoots," said Applebloom. "Where were you?" asked Sweetie Belle casually. "I was just talking to Rainbow Dash." answered Scootaloo. The conversation continued from there to what the three had been doing while they were at Ponyville, how Applejack's farm was doing, to Rarity's latest design. Finally, the conversation switched to the most infamous of discussions. "So did you ever find out what your cutie mark means?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Pfft. I've given up figuring out what it years ago. I'll just be grateful that I have it." said Scootaloo. She looked at her flank. There were three red dots that formed a triangle. What it meant, Scootaloo had no idea. They appeared on her flank during her first mission as a marine, six years ago. . . . Date: 10/10/ 2020 Location: Gemstone Mountains, Crystal Empire Objective: Locate PCE spy, call sign Pyrite, and capture him She was nervous, for both herself and her friends. The thought of being blown out of the sky lingered in her head, as did the thought of capture or death. The squad was approaching on a large, flying chariot to a compound where a mole for the Ponies' Chrystal Empire, the PCE, as the insurgents called themselves. While the Crystal Earth Ponies and Crystal Pegasie were more than happy to see Princess Cadance govern their kingdom, the Crystal Unicorns, loyalists of King Sombra and the backbone of the original Crystal Empire, weren't willing to abandon the old regime of imperialism. "Hey, Scoots. You alright?" asked the Staff Sergeant, a brown earth pony with and black mane. "Yeah, Landslide, I'm fine." She lied. "Hey Scootaloo, I was wondering, why don't you have a cutie mark?" asked a white pegasus. Both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle glared at him, while Scootaloo looked like she was ready to strangle him. She hated it, how Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were eventually gifted with cutie marks while she remained a blank flank. She never let her jealousy get the best of her, she never lashed out her frustration on her dear friends. That did not, however, mean she didn't hate it whenever somepony brought up her lack of a cutie mark. "Touchy subject?" he guessed. Scootaloo angrily nodded. "Don't feel bad, Scoots." said a light green unicorn stallion with a olive-green mane, "My older sister, she's twenty-two..." He leaned in as if he was going to whisper, but instead mimicked the hush tone of a whisper so everypony could still hear, "She's still a blank flank, too." Even Scootaloo couldn't help but snicker. "Damn, Twenty-two? I seriously hope I find my special talent before that age." "Is that why we became the 'CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MARINE FORCE RECON! YAY!'?" Sweetie Belle imitated the screaming chant that she, Applebloom, and Scootaloo would cheer whenever they tried something new as foals. Applebloom and Scootaloo were cracking up at this point, and some of the other squad mates had chuckled too. "I don't get it." said the white pegasus. "Oh sorry, Storm Cloud," said Sweetie Belle, "Its kinda an inside jo-" "Approaching the drop zone! Thirty seconds!" shouted one of the six pegasai keeping the chariot airborne. "Alright, You heard the pilot!" shouted Landslide. Pegasai, hold onto any of the non-pegasai squad members while we're dropping!" The pegasai in the squad consisted of Scootaloo, Storm Cloud, a light blue mare with a purple mane named Morning Breeze, another mare who had pink fur and sky-blue mane named Parasol, and a yellow stallion with a brown mane named Heatwave. "The rest of you! Carry your spear and your pegasus' spear! Understood?!" "HOOWAH!" was the response. "You know the music, Crusader squad! Start dancing!" bellowed Landslide before he was carried off by Storm Cloud. The green unicorn, Green Beret, held onto Heatwave as they jumped out of the chariot. Another unicorn, who had a yellow coat and blue mane with oak colored streaks named Hidden Treasure jumped out with Morning Breeze. Sweetie Belle jumped with Parasol. Only Applebloom and Scootaloo remained in the chariot. "Ya ready, AB?" asked Scootaloo. "Ready!" shouted Applebloom. There landing was rough, and as soon as Applebloom's hoofs stroke the ground both the earth pony and pegasus began to roll on the grass in a painful touchdown. "You alright, Scoots?" asked Applebloom. "Fine. Where's my spear?" Applebloom handed the weapon to Scootaloo. "Where's the rest of the squad?" asked Applebloom. "Here!" shouted a familiar voice. The two mares turned to face Green Beret calling them. . . . It became apparent that Scootaloo and Applebloom weren't the only members of the squad that became separated from the group. Shortly after the two mares rendezvoused with the squad on a nearby hill, Morning Breeze and a leaf-and-twig covered Hidden Treasure met up with the squad. "Hidden Treasure," laughed Heat Wave, "You look like hammered shit!" "Yeah, well, buck you too, buddy." "Squad, form up." Commanded Landslide. The compound was just down the hill, it was a small villa with a large mansion in the center. That was where there objective rested. "Lets move!" whispered Landslide. "Roger," answered Storm Cloud, "Moving!" The rest of the squad obediantly followed, a silent parade moving in the night. Scootaloo was left with only Sweetie Belle. "Are you worried?" asked the orange pegasus. "Of course, this is our first mission." answered the white mare. "Me too. I'm trying not to let it get to my head though." "Same here." "That's good. Moving!" "Moving!" . . . The Compound was quite, even the hoofsteps of the marines could barely be heard. Despite this, every small noise seemed too loud. The quite hoofsteps felt like the obnoxious march of a parade, and the buzzes of the mosquitos were like growling manticores. The entrance to the mansion had two guards, both guarding the ends of the large double sided door. Within the mansion there were no doubt several dozens of guards patrolling the area. "Two guards. Switch em' off?" asked Storm Cloud. "And enter using the front door? Negative, the open entrance hall would allow the guards to instantly corner us at the doorway." "So where do we go?" asked Morning Breeze. "Around the corner, look for a back door or cellar entrance of some sort." answered Landslide. Parasol found a cellar entrance, while Sweetie Belle located a back door. "Convenient." smiled Landslide. "We can split into two teams. Storm Cloud, take Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Green Beret through the cellar and begin a search and destroy mission. It'll be a lot easier to carry Pyrite out of here if there aren't any guards." "Roger that," responded Storm Cloud. "We'll keep in touch using our radios. The rest of you, on me." said Landslide, "We move out. Now." Storm Cloud's fireteam quietly proceeded to the cellar. "Green Beret, take point." Commanded Storm Cloud. "Yes sir." said Green Beret as he entered the cellar. The room was dark and moist, and was without a soul. "We're clear." said Green Beret. As the fire fireteam entered, light invaded the end of the room. "Hold it! Find cover!" ordered Storm Cloud. A tired unicorn entered the cellar. He casually walked passed Scootaloo, stopped next to Sweetie Belle, and turned to his left. He scanned the room, but didn't see any of the marines. He was simply checking if in case of his partners were present. Then, Silently and ever so gingerly, he carefully extracted a bottle of grape juice from a cupboard. He took a small sip, carefully scanned the room again, then piggishly proceeded to chug the sweet drink. He gave out a satisfied sigh, and his eyes trailed to the ground. There was.... something. A purple and pink manifestation of cotton on the ground, resembling a tail. His eyes followed the cotton until he reached where it ended and a white body began. Suddenly before him was a terrified unicorn mare. "Wha- what?" was all he could ask before a sharp pain stung his back. . . . Scootaloo's heart nearly flatlined when the guard noticed Sweetie Belle's tail. As soon as she became obvious, so would the rest of the squad. The entire team would be compromised. "Wha....what?" asked the guard, confused. Before he had time to comprehend what was happening, Scootaloo emerged from her hiding space and bucked the guard in the back. All of a sudden, training turned into instincts as Scootaloo reached one of her forearms around the stallions neck as he stood on his hind legs in pain from the blow to the spine. Scootaloo pulled the guard close to her and tightened her grip. His scream was emitted as a faint whisper as he fell to the ground, dead. "That was too close," said Sweetie Belle. "Tell me about it," said Scootaloo, unaware of the faint glow on her hips. The cellar lead to a bright hall, empty. It must have been the section the guard left in the cellar was watching. There were faint footsteps heard, Storm Cloud assumed that they were close to the entrance hall. "This is Landslide," said a static- filled voice. "Approaching the objective's room now. "Roger that." responded Storm Cloud. "Scootaloo, take point." Scootaloo walked passed Storm Cloud, the radio quietly speaking behind her. "Room Clear. Objective is not here. We're checking the other rooms now." The mare gingerly stepped through the hall. Her hoofs made no noise, but her heart bested like a loud drum in anxiety. She could hear the hoofsteps of countless guards, and she could've sworn one pair was getting louder. There was a light-switch beside her. She reached for the switch, allowing the darkness to immerse itself around her. The hoofsteps were becoming louder. "Sit back, Scoots. This one's mine." whipsered the voice of Green Beret in her ear. He approached down the hall, his spear lowered ahead of him. He crouched like an animal about to pounce as he waited for the guard to turn the corner. The two marines waited. Whether it was for five seconds or five hours Scootaloo did not know. The hoofsteps finally revealed themselves as a brown unicorn guard. He didn't see Scootalo, and he didn't see Green Beret. Nor did he notice the long spear aimed at his throat. The blade cut through the flesh smoothly and pierced the throat of the pony. He fell clumsily, but the loud thud from the body hitting the floor was prevented by Green Beret gently placing the body on the floor using his magic. "Clear." said Green Beret. The entrance hall was large and bright with a colossal lobby and a walkway in the back that lead to two hallways, one of which sheltered the fireteam, and door in the middle. The room was occupied by fifteen PCE guards, all disiplined and devoted to the art of killing. There was no way of sneaking past the them to get into a position that could help the fireteam overwhelm them. No, instead the fireteam would have to begin their fight in the crowded hall, and being trapped in a doorway of death like that could end a fight before it even began. The solution to the predicament was simple: begin the fight with an unfair start. "Beret, Sweetie Belle. You're up." The horns of the unicorns began to shimmer with faint lights as a small white orb the size of a golf ball began to form in front of them. It gently glided through the room, calmly making it's way to the center of the large room. It's unfamiliarity and grace one the curiosity of the many guards patrolling the room. They peered deeply into the mysterious, delicate ball of light. When suddenly it violently exploded. White blindness possessed the confused soldiers as they screamed in there disoriented frenzy. The wails of the stupified ponies was a signal for the marines to strike. "Go go go!" Screamed Storm Cloud. A storm of spears cut through the air and pierced the backs of five of the ponies. The remaining hostiles were just recovering from the ambush when the five marines charged into the room. "Get to cover!" screamed Storm Cloud as the first fires of magic stabbed the air above him. They were pinned down and scattered across the room, but at least the cover they crouched under was strong, and in the open room they could outmaneuver their magical opponents. "This is Landslide! We have captured the objective and are exiting the building! We're dealing with some hostile resistance! We should be at your position in ten Mikes!" Sweetie Belle and Beret were on opposite ends of the entrance hall, both using their magic to retrieve the spears and return them to their allies, and both prayed silent prayers that they weren't shot by the heated magic as their team rearmed. But no such luck existed in warfare. The guards turned their heads to face the unicorns. Green Beret stubbornly returned fire with his own scorching bolts of energy, while Sweetie Belle continued to carefully moved the spears to return them t her friends. She didn't notice the unicorn flanking her cover to attack her. She didn't realize he was there until the light of his horn was shining against her soft cheeks. It burnt to look at it, like gazing at a fire for too long. The burning feeling and ominous glow told her that this spell was meant to kill. It was meant to stab, cut, and burn all at once. All she could do was freaze in fear in her last terrifying seconds of her life. Suddenly Applebloom's spear jammed itself into the guard's side. His concentration broke, his waist bled, and he flew five feat backwards as Sweetie Belle retaliated with her own magic. "Watch yourself, Sweetie Belle!" warned Applebloom to her childhood friend. The white mare lifted the spear into the air with a faint shimmer of her horn, passing the weapon to Applebloom. "Got it." . . . The nauseating smell of sweat and blood infected Scootaloo's nostrils. The dead were scattered across the room, and the thought of joining their ranks was disturbing. She peeked out of her cover, threw her spear, and recoiled back behind the coffee table that shielded her from the bolts of energy flying across the room.Safe again. Although, wasn't the safety but an illusion? Her protection was withering away before her eyes, and sooner or later it would be gone. She looked to her right where a turned over couch sat as dead as the fallen guards, then faced her left to Parasol. "I need new cover! Can you give suppressing fire?" she screamed. "I'll see what I can do." said Parasol. The pegasus launched her spear at the unsuspecting guard that had Scootaloo pinned, earning his attention and granting Scootaloo the perfect window of opportunity to move. "Go! Now!" Scootaloo felt naked, unprotected, as she ran to cover. She was vulnerable, like a limping deer. The couch all of a sudden seemed too far, and Scootaloo began to wonder why she chose to run to it. Her old cover was safe, and sturdy, and she gave it up for a new one she may not even reach. Her final breath was one of relief and exhaustion as she slouched against the back sofa, unscathed. "Watch out! Reinforcements!" Storm Cloud's voice boomed as ten more guards emerged from the halls on the walkways. Scootaloo felt betrayed, cheated even. Suddenly the cover that protected not only her, but all of the fireteam, had turned into walls that forced them to face the ten extra guards. The battlefield was turned into a targeting range in the blink of an eye. Everything moved slowly, from the charging horns that were beginning to pulse with vibrant colors, the confident grins that began to shape themselves on the faces of the PCE soldiers, to the sudden burst of fire from the center door consuming all but six of the guards, who fell like dolls as Landslide's fireteam emerged from the smoke. "Clear!" called Heat Wave. "Roger that," answered Landslide, carrying an unconscious unicorn on his back. He turned on his radio, "This is Crusader squad, we have captured the objective. Meet us at the extraction point." "Roger that." answered the radio. "Meet at the extraction point in five mikes, over." "Roger." ended Landslide. "Alright team, we're Oscar Mike." The night sky was disturbingly peaceful, as if the world didn't care that so many ponies had died that way. Then again, the squad acted no differently. They talked as they did before the mission, acting as if it never happened. It made Scootaloo uncomfortable to see how easy it was for the squad to shrug off death so easily, and by the looks of Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, they must have felt the same way. At the same time though, it was reassuring to see her brothers and sisters in arm talk like ponies and laugh like ponies, because thats what they were: ponies. Ponies, and maybe something greater. . . . The flight back to Canterlot was much livelier then the one to the Crystal empire. "So Treasure, what are you gonna do when you get to Canterlot?" asked Green Beret. "I dunno," Hidden Treasure began to muse the question. "Morning Breeze, got any plans tonight?" "Not with you." silent laughter filled the compartment. "What about you, Beret?" asked Hidden Treasure. "Me? I'm going to hold my sweet wife Blue Wave close to me, eat dinner with my kids. You know, spend time with my family." He began to think for a second, "Maybe I'll pay my sister a visit, too." "Good idea, maybe I'LL visit your sister too!" "Oh buck you, Treasure!" once more, the compartment was filled with laughter. "I think I'll stay in Canterlot." said Sweetie Belle. "My sister said she would be here to pick up some fabrics. She's supposed to leave tomorrow, so I can go home with her." "You have a sister, too? How old is she?" "Keep it in your pants, Treasure." answered Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo leaned towards Applebloom, "Don't let him find out about AJ." she whispered. Applebloom snickered in response. "So Scootaloo, what are you gonna do?" "I'm going the Tartarus home!" laughed Scootaloo. "So you can tell everypony about your cutie mark?" asked Applebloom. "My what?" She looked at her flank, three red dots were seared into it to form a triangle, "Oh you have got to be freakin' kidding me!" "What? What's wrong?" asked Applebloom. "Eighteen years of waiting and I get three freakin' red dots? What the hell! What does that even mean?!" Landslide was one of the many ponies chuckling at Scootaloo's reaction to her new cutie mark. "Geez. Calm down, Scoots. At least you have one now." "Still..." eased Scootaloo, "Eighteen years for a freakin' triangle?" she chuckled at her own expense.. . . . "I dunno..." mused Scootaloo. "Frankly, I really don't care about what my cutie mark means anymore," admitted Scootaloo. "Maybe you were destined ta' be a marine the whole time." suggested Applebloom. "Maybe..." thought Scootaloo, "But why three red dots? Why not, I dunno, the marine logo or spears or something?" "Ah dunno, ah don't design these cutie marks." answered Applebloom as a cream colored mare brought three cups to the table. "We ordered for you, Scoots." explained Sweetie Belle, "We thought you'd want some ice tea." "Thanks," Scootaloo. "Well," began Applebloom, "To a safe trip to the mountains, and for peace by the time we're done their!" she raised her glass into the air like a flag, "Cutie Mark Crusaders force recon!" laughed, Sweetie Belle. "Yeah!" "I'll drink to that!" laughed Scootaloo. . . . Date: 4/23/2026 Location: Emerald City, near the Sapphire Mountain range Objective: Maintain peace within the region Throughout the six years of service the squad had turned into a family, and the members that remained closest to each other was Storm Cloud's fireteam. To Scootaloo, he and Green Beret were her dear older brothers, and Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were her two sisters best friends forever. It made her feel safe walking down Emerald city, knowing that her siblings were at her side to protect her. "Roger that, Landslide. Proceeding to the market, over." Storm Cloud turned off his radio and faced the rest of the fireteam. "Alright before we meet up with the rest of the squad Landslide wants us to check out the market. There have been reports about suspicious activity there for a few days now." The rest of the fireteam followed without answer or question, loyally obeying their superior. The market wasn't dangerous, but it wasn't a surprise that there were so many reports regarding "suspicious behavior". As the marines walked through the streets of venders and consumers, Scootaloo caught over a hundred irritated glances at the local. Once when the fireteam passed a local resteraunt, to ponies spoke on the balcony quietly, paused to watch the marines with disdain, and didn't resume their conversation until the last soldier left their sight. It was the type of gesture that told a pony someone was after them, but there was nothing to prove it. It was no wonder Crusader squad was sent to investigate this place! As safe as the market seemed, nopony could help but distrust it. The setting itself seemed to express hatred, although the citizens here seemed to hide theirs very well. "Area clear..." said Storm Cloud to his radio before turning it off again. "...More or less." "I didn't like that place," said Sweetie Belle. "Things seemed so off there. It look liked everypony wanted to kill us." "Yeah, but that doesn't make them insurgents." said Green Beret. "There's no way there aren't any PCE members there." said Applebloom. "Why do you think command keeps stationing troops there?" asked Beret, "We're just waiting for them to slip, give their position away. Then we can kick all their asses." "Until then," said Storm Cloud, "Its gonna be nothing but days of distrustful staring." "At least we're out of there now." said Scootaloo. The walk to the checkpoint was, much to everyponies' gratitude, far calmer than the market. The crystal ponies around the marines were more far more welcoming and friendlier, and it brought a sense of comfort to the soldiers. Green Beret was flipping threw three small envelopes, just something to do to past the time. The letters brought a week smile to his face as he began to read them. "Watch'a got there, Beret?" asked Applebloom. "Oh, nothing. They're letters from my kids." he said. "This one's from my son Notebook, I think I've told you about him." He pulled out the second letter, "This one's from my daughter Sunflower and from Blue Wave." He pulled out a third letter, "Look! I even got one from my sister!" "Your sister, huh? Did she ever get her cutie mark?" asked Applebloom. "Yeah. She's had it for quite a while now." answered Green Beret. "Aaaaaaaaw..." said Sweetie Belle. "That's so sweet... I wish my sister would write to me..." Applebloom chuckled, "Sweetie Belle, your sister doesn't write to you because you can't read!" "Very funny" said Sweetie Belle, "Laugh it out, when I get home-" "-You're going to kindergarden." laughed Scootaloo. "I dunno," added Storm Cloud, "I heard they have entrance exams for kindergarden now, Sweetie Belle might not even-" BOOM! There was fire, fire everywhere. Scootaloo felt the ground being yanked from under her hoofs like a carpet. There was an explosion. It was loud, so why couldn't she hear anything? She hit the cold ground, bleeding from scrapes and cuts, pinned under a flipped wagon. Storm Cloud was lying on the ground motionless with a large broken beam of wood nailing him to his spot. There was a deafening ringing in her ears, but it wasn't loud enough to block the distorted voices from around her. "Capture their wounded!" Scootaloo saw a group of ponies she didn't know carry off an unconsious Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. They were about to pick up Green Beret when he suddenly surged and released a powerful bolt of lightning right into one of the attacker's face. Two more fell at Beret's hoofs before the marine was shot in the back. Scootaloo tried to scream at him, but her voice remained noiseless. She tried to move and help her fallen comrade, but her limbs would not obey. She tried to turn her head away, but she couldn't help but watch with her tear filled eyes as a unicorn approached Green Beret, stepped on his throat, and punctured his forehead with a horrible, blood-red beam. Scootaloo cried at the sight of her fallen brother, "Beret..." was the last word she croaked before her visioned darkened. . . . Uploading_Data: Crystal Ponies Information: Like Equestrians there are three types of crystal ponies: Earth (Also known as gem ponies in their culture), pegasie- (called Diamond Wings in the Crystal Empire's culture), and unicorns. However, their society greatly differs from Equestria, as it is the earth ponies who live in the urban society. The pegasie reside in the Crystal Clouds (which could be considered the Crystal Ponies' equivalent to Cloudsdale, where the country's weather is manufactured). The unicorns have immigrated to the cold mountain regions, not wanting to be affiliated with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's rule. The unicorns had affiliated themselves, and still do affiliate themselves, with the fallen King Sombra. Chapter 2: RevengeShe woke up with the taste of blood in her mouth. Scootaloo's eyes were bloodshot, and her vision was blurry. The first thing that came into her focus was the motionless corpse of Green Beret surrounded by a red pool. Wiping the blood off her face, the orange mare crawled out from the rubble of the cart towards the fallen soldier. She nudged him softly, even though she new he wouldn't wake up. His eyes were wide open, trapped in a gaze of eternal fear for a death that had already passed. The letters in his Kevlar vest were red and drenched with his own blood. She couldn't look any longer, she felt an agonizing sting looking at her brother like this, dead and mutilated. Not far from him was Storm Cloud's body, frozen in his expression of surprise, and crucified to the ground by the beam of wood lodged into his stomach. Scootaloo stared at his body from behind the veil of tears covering her eyes. How alive they seemed only a few minutes ago. And it was only a few minutes ago. She could still see some of the PCE members lingering at the end of the street, their mear presence fueling Scootaloo's burning rage. They killed her brothers, they took her sisters. The pegasus turned to face the silver spear of Storm Cloud lying on the ground as dead as it's owner. She snapped off the head, then turned to retrieve the bloody dog tags of her family. She looked out to the PCE soldiers once more with eyes bloodshot in rage. They will pay.... . . . She passed Storm Cloud's body, quietly crushing the ground beneath her, ignoring the rambling static from his radio. "Storm Cloud! Crusader two-one actual! This is Crusader one-one actual over! Does anypony copy?! Crusader two-one! Shit.." She slowly stalked them, cutting the distance between her and the ponies in half before ducking behind an overturned table. It was obvious the bomb that had set off by her squad wasn't the only one in the city, debris was scattered like seed on a field. Scootaloo quietly advanced towards the insurgents, holding back the feral rage that coursed through her veins. Instead she hid once more, crouching behind a carriage on the road. Scootaloo wasn't a brute, she was far worse. She was cold and calculating, the type of murderer who knows how to kill somepony with precision. And precision was Scootaloo's weapon. Her sword, her vorpal blade. She saw not just the ponies, but an order. A sequence to overwelm them that would ultimately lead to Scootaloo's own demise if not followed exactly as it should be. there were three of them. The closest to her had his back turn. Strike his back. Turn his body into armor. Scootaloo eyes, blazed with rancor, never moved away from the three unicorns as she slowly approached them. Throw the makeshift knife at the second pony for a quick, clean kill. As for the third and final pony, he will be the trickiest to take down. There is no doubt that he will be firing magic bolts, and with the knife gone there was no way to fight back. The sequence played smoothly like a movie as the gears in Scootaloo's head were spinning. Use the first unicorn as a shield. When the target is close enough, throw the first unicorn on the third to disorient him. Kill him while he's on the ground. The orange marine watched them silently, hiding behind the debris of a building. The first pony was mere inches away from her. The moment to strike was now. They were all marked, it was time to execute. She moved behind the first stallion and kicked his hind legs, causing him to fall backwards. As his head remained in the air the pegasus quickly wrapped her hooves around his neck. The other unicorns were shocked by the sudden attack, not even responding as Scootaloo used her mouth to throw her knife into the second pony's throat. The agonizing wail of the soldier brought the last unicorn to his senses. He released a barrage of magic, only to scorch the body of his comrade. He continued to fire as the mare and stallion began to approach him, ignoring his friend's pleas for mercy. Suddenly, the burnt unicorn was thrown onto him, violently knocking him to the ground. He felt the cold earth on his back, and seconds later, an even colder dagger on his chest. . . . She could see it, a school, ahead of her only a few meters away. At least a dozen guards Occupied the structure. It was suicide to fight them all, but Scootaloo hardly cared. Brutish rage had clouded her rationality. She moved from cover to cover closer to them, hidden from view. Date: 4/23/2028 Location: Emerald City, near the Sapphire Mountain range Objective: Maintain peace within the region KILL THEM ALL First guard, dead. Second guard,dead. Third guard, dead. She should've been smarter and tried to bypass the guards, or at least kill a selected few to remain undetected. She shousld have watched where she was going, maybe if she had she wouldn't have crushed a shattered plate on the ground as he stalked the fourth guard. "Shit..." she murmmered as the guard spun around. The guard was quick to react, firing a charged bolt at Scootaloo's chest. "Gah! B-uck...." she whimpered, as she felt her back collide with the ground. "Hey! We've gotta straggler here!" cried the unicorn. "Shit! We've got injured!" "Oh my Celestia! How the hell did she take out eight of us?!" Eight? The number frightened Scootaloo, who had killed the other five? "Search the area! She can't be alone!" Two guards remained in front of Scootaloo, disgusted by the sight of her. "A mule with wings I see..." he chuckled. "What are we supposed to do with her, Sergeant?" asked the second. "Finish her off." responded the first. "But what about our orders to capture-" "We already have enough prisoners." said the Sergeant. "All this mule will do is take up space and eat food like a pig. Just kill her," The second stallion peered into the pegasus' eyes. They pleaded for mercy, for compassion. He kicked her side, knocking the wind out of her. "Guess you're right," he said. "All she'll do is take up space-" He never finished his sentence. The unicorn laid on the ground, bleeding at his head. His sergeant's own incapacitated body rest right next to them. The marine gasped in shock, her mind failing to comprehend what she saw. The two soldiers were dead on the floor with a cavity that tunneled through the front and back of their skulls, the insurgents that fortified the perimeter around the building were now on the ground oozing dark red blood, and standing in the middle of the bloodbath was a familiar figure. . . . Date:4/23/28 Location: Emerald City, near the market, twenty kilometers from the Sapphire Mountain range Briefing: Three members of Crusader squad (fireteam two) are eligible candidates for the 3rd Echelon. Unfortunately, Crusader fireteam two was ambushed at ten hundred hours as they were exiting the market. Intel reports of two members that are KIA'd, and three member's MIA. At least one of the three is guaranteed to be one of the candidates. Objective: Rescue the candidate(s) and the candidate(s) alone, as the 3rd Echelon is not associated with Celestia's military branches, and the 3rd Echelon therefore cannot have any form of affiliation with them. Good luck. A lone pegasus with a satchel bag stood in a crater outside the market. A white pegasus, pierced by a large beam of wood could be seen from the corner of her vision as she gazed at the body of a marine unicorn with a green coat. "shame..." muttered the pegasus, "He was one of the canidates too." The pegasus flew to the roof of what was left of a small building. Setting down her sachel bag, she pulled out what seemed to be a pair of massive glasses. They consisted of three lenses, two at the bottom placed where a pony's eyes would e and a third placed at the top where it would rest on a ponies forehead. They resembled something that of binoculars than glasses. She rested the odd goggles on her head before pulling out another alien tool. It was an olive green, L-shaped instrument, that looked similar to the P228 weapon utilized by the 1st Echelon, albeit longer. A clicking noise could be heard as the top of the weapon was pulled back. From the top of the building she could see everything that had been scattered on the war-torn streets, including an old school that the intel from the 2nd Echelon suggested the prisoners were. She also noted the bodies of three unicorns. By their build and mediocre armor, the agent knew that these were the bodies of PCE members. She glided down to the soldiers. One had died by kinetic bolts. The second unicorn was killed by a wound in the chest. The final soldier, the Pegasus noticed, had a similar wound that suggested he had been stabbed in the neck. A spearhead, by the looks of it. A marine had been here. The school looked more like a prison, with the crystal classrooms had llost their luster and had been crumbling buildings for years now and a stone wall that had recently been fitted with barbwire trapped everypony within the campus. The agent rested behind the stone wall now, listening to the approaching hoofsteps. The guard had been told to search for anymore marines. The order made sense to him, they had found a marine trying to infiltrate the compound only a few minutes ago, and only an idiot would try such a feet alone. Passing through the entrance gate, the unicorn quietly scanned every millimeter of the street that faced him. Nothing. Not a single living thing could be seen. Suddenly an ice cold grip latched to his neck. The mare reached her forehoof around the guard's mouth, suffocating his scream. Wrapping her second forehoof around his neck, the mare squeezed the unicorn's neck. The gruard tried to cry for help, but found that he couldn't even whisper the words. "Aaaaaaaa....aaaaaagh......." The mare released her grip, placed her forehoof on the back of the guard's head, and slammed it against the wall. She grinned sadisticaly at the lifeless body, "I almost felt bad about that- Almost..." She pulled the goggles onto her head. In an instant, the walls turned into windows, revealing thirteen silhouettes. Twelve of them were patrolling the area, while the thirteenth... The thirteenth seemed to be stalking one of the guards. Then the thirteenth sillhoutte murdered the guard. There was no questioning it, that pony was the marine. The Pegasus' face was unreadable, trapped between the urge to grin or grind her teeth. The marine, who based on the shape was unquestionably a mare, was either the bravest soldier or biggest idiot the agent had ever seen, and it amused and frustrated her to see a pony act with such couragous stupidity. Perhaps that's why she decided to help the mare. Perching herself on the ledge of a schoolhouse, the Pegasus watched over everypony like a hawk. There were still eleven guards, not surprisingly, all unicorns. The marine on the other hand, was a Pegasus, with an orange coat and purple mane. The agent, hanging over the ledge of the roof, chuckled lightly. "The second candidate... Sure does explain alot." The agent could see five unicorns, one by an old vending wagon, another by a derelict cafecterIa, two in the middle of the school yard, and one that was right under her hooves. The pegasus pulled out her olive green weapon with a trigger-happy feeling lurking within her. Breathing steadily, she aligned the sights with the first unicorn's head. The weapon didn't erupt with the ear-splitting scream of the P228, instead only releasing a calm hiss. The first guard fell go the ground, as if struck by a plague. The second guard, dropped dead without warning as if his heart had simply decided to stop. The third and fourth were killed by the calm breeze. The last unicorn, with fear gripping his heart and freezing his spine, shifted his eyes in an erratic frenzy. He struggled to control his breathing, half-expecting death incarnate to personally take him. He frantically faced left, then anxiously turned right. But he never looked up. He could feel the force of two powerful hooves crush him, smashing his spine. He mouthed the word "help", but the only noise he heard was the snap of his backbone. "Hey! We've gotta straggler over here!" The Pegasus was petrified like a cold statue, frozen by the chilling voice of a distant guard. What had she missed? Who had seen her? Slowly she turned. The Pegasus marine was on the ground, surrounded by four guards. "Search the area! She can't be alone!" The agent could see the malice in the unicorns' eyes as one of them kicked the vulnerable, purple- maned pony. His voice stung the ears of the agent as his horn began to glow a sickly green, " Yeah, guess you're right, all she'll do is take up space-" pew The first unicorn collapsed on the ground, his head like a fountain of blood. Not even a second passed as the agent placed a round within the second guard's head. pew "What the!" "Hey!" pew pew The last two guards slumped down on the earth like ragdolls, slain by the death that had slaughtered their comrades and left them baffled in their final breath. The ornanfe Pegasus raised her head, almost terrified by the fact she was not dead yet. What she saw she couldn't comprehend. Bodies. Bodies everywhere. Her executioners were bleeding at her hoofs, the guards were scattered motionless like discarded rags, and a familiar figure stood above the bloodbath. . . . Scootaloo couldn't believe what she saw. Her eyes were betraying her, that must've been it! Before her eyes, there was a Pegasus dressed in a black suit with an extremely slim Kevlar vest and a bizarre, three-eyed pair of goggles. But that wasn't what Scootaloo saw, what she saw was a mare she knew, she saw... "...R...Rainbow Dash?" The sky blue Pegasus scolded her, "You nearly got yourself killed, Squirt. What were you thinking?" "What... Why?" Why was she here? "What are you doing here?" "They found you much too valuable to loose." "They? Who's 'They'?" "That's classified. Is Sweetie Belle here? I'm here for her too." "What about Applebloom?" asked Scootaloo. Time had stopped, and the air became uncomfortably chilly. "I can't get her." answered Rainbow Dash. Now Scootaloo was convinced that not just her eyes, but for certain her ears, must have been treacherous. When she didn't hear Applebloom's name, she assumed Rainbow Dash didn't know she was here. After Scootaloo had corrected her, everything would be alright, and the crusaders, the three sisters, would be one again. What did she mean, she couldn't help her? "What?" she looked at her idol like a naive child, "what do you mean? Of course we can get her! She's here! Probably not even that far from Sweetie Belle! We can get her! It'll be easy!" "They don't want me to get her." argued Rainbow Dash. "Well buck them! Whoever the hell 'they' are!" she cried. She didnt want to loose Applebloom, "I'm not leaving with out her! I can't leave without her!" She couldn't walk away from another sibling. The dog tags of Green Beret and Storm Cloud were already too heavy for her. Rainbow Dash stared in silence. She thought about her loyalties. She thought about how they rested with the princess, how they rested with Canterlot, with Equestria. Then she thought how they rested with her friends. She thought about her friend Applejack, how the colors of worry and fear mixed grossly with the apple farmer's orange coat that wouldn't leave until bleached by a letter from Applebloom, and the ugly thought of the somber colors of pain and loss that would defile her golden coat if she was ever told that her sister had been killed. It was a thought that sickened Rainbow Dash, twisting her stomache in self-disgust. Could she cope with such pain? Could she live with herself knowing so much pain that would be casted onto her friend, one of her closest ones, whom she loved like a sister, was her fault? To do nothing, to Rainbow Dash, was no different from killing Applebloom herself. How could she ever have the cold blood to kill her best friend's own sister? "I can't help her Scootaloo... I can't....." The sky blue pegasus spoke, sick from her own words. "You have to! Please! I'll do anything! I'm not going to lose a sister!" she begged. Rainbow Dash felt a cold piece of metal touch her chest. The sensation made her smile, happy that she found where her loyalties lied. "I can't save her.... But....but you can!" she grinned devilishly. "Wha....huh?" stammered the orange marine. Rainbow Dash pulled out a large, boxed-shape pistol with a long cylinder attached at the end of it. Scootaloo was terrified by the monstrous object. It was black like ash, and despite its size more intimidating then a dragon. But what shocked her the most was that it was in front of her, suspended in the air as if it was in the magical grip of a unicorn. "Take this." ordered Rainbow Dash. "You were the only pony I was supposed to retrieve that wasn't a unicorn. Figured you'd need this just in case escaping was going to get tough. It's a Mark twenty-three SOCOM pistol. You can't hold it with magic, so you're going to have to wield it the old fashion way." "You mean to tell me this thing has been around long enough that there is an old fashion way to handle it?!" Shrieked Scootaloo. The moment she saw the pistol, as Rainbow Dash called it, she new that she hated it, and with good reason. It was new, and unfamiliar. "Hold it in your mouth at the grip- that thing." she pointed at the part of the gun at the end pointed down. "You're gonna have to deal with the metallic taste. This has eighteen bullets, or rounds- think of them as small, lead spears- in a magazine, which is located inside the the grip. See that thing? In the trigger guard, the circle by the grip. Looks like a 'C'? That's the trigger. Pull that to fire one of the round. After eighteen rounds, the magazine will need to be replaced. Pull down that switch at the bottom of the trigger guard. That'll slide out the old magazine. All you need to do is put in a new magazine, and, if all eighteen rounds were used last time, pull the top on the side of the pistol back to chamber a new round. Got it?" "What? How am I supposed to remember all that?!" Screamed Scootaloo. "You're gonna have to, for Applebloom's sake." answered Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo retrieved her composure, "Alright. For Applebloom," . . . The two pegasie skulked through the school, praying that Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were close by now. They approached the first building, which would have been the science wing before the school fell into disarray. Stopping at the door, Rainbow Dash pulled out a small stone that was clear like water and placed it near the bottom of the door. "She's not in here, nor is Applebloom." She groaned, Just a few guards. Best to avoid them." "How can you tell?" asked Scootaloo. The blue pegasus waved the stone, "this tells me. You'll learn all about it in time. Trust me." The base seemed silent, but the quietness did not fool the pegasie. Both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo could see the guards monitoring the entire base. They were quiet like watchdogs, with no noise emitting from them except their cold, malevolent breaths. They were professionals, their discipline could be seen in their eyes. "There's no getting around them," cursed Rainbow Dash. "We need to take them out in an orderly fashion. We don't need a firefight." A wagon had approached the guard as the two pegasie spoke, carrying a barrel of glowing red liquid. It was only when the pony carrying the load was inches in from two guards that guarded the gate to a playground that was connected to a large classroom did they awake from their open-eyed slumber. "Who goes there? State your purpose." "Shady Business," responded the pony. "I've got a delivery for your commanding officer." "Fine. Put it by the playground with the rest." ordered the guard. "And watch it! That shit's freakin unstable!" "Scootaloo, fire. Now!" ordered Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus rose from her cover, levitated the gun, and fired a single, silent round into the guard's head. Scootaloo was far more clumsy. Chewing on the grip of her gun, she shot the unicorn's chest armor, then the wagon, then the wall. One more bullet flew out the barrel as Scootaloo cleanched her jaws on the gun. This time, a deafening roar blasted through the sky. The bullet had pierced the barrel, causing it to bleed it's blazing fire, consuming the unicorn guard and the pony attached to the wagon. Then all Hell broke loose. Eight guards, all combat trained, looked at the pegasie with bloodlust splashed on their faces. Again Dash found herself behind cover, while Scootaloo felt the foreboding thought of death creep up her spine again. What had she gotten herself into? "Celestia Dammit! Hey Squirt! Try bucking shooting!" Shouted Dash, snapping Scootaloo back into reality. Scootaloo peeked outside her cover, and began to fire blindly. She didn't stop firing either. She didn't. Stop when she killed the first guard, injured end second, and incapacated the third. It was only when the top of the pistol suddenly punched backwards did Scootaloo finally halted her firing. Trying her best to remember what Dash had told her, she awkwardly replaced the empty magazine with a fully loaded one. The gun rattled her teeth a bit as the slide jolted forward. With a satisfying click, Scootaloo was ready to pick off the last of the soldiers with Rainbow Dash. "That was sloppy..." critisized Rainbow Dash as the last guard drew his last breath. They searched the silent hallways of the next building. Once more, Rainbow crouched at the base of the door, and the blue pegasus grinned as she gazed into the enchanted stone. "Scootaloo," She whispered, "She's here; Applebloom's here." "And Sweetie Belle?" Inquired Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash placed the crystal at the door on the opposite side of the hall. "In here," she smiled. "I've got her. You go help Applebloom, alright? Be careful. There are two PCE members in there too." Scootaloo felt her legs tremble as she approached the door. The soldiers inside didn't frighten her, but the black pistol that rested in her jaw. One poor shot, one stray bullet, what if it hit Applebloom? What if Applebloom died in front of her because of the very weapon she wielded? Scootaloo banished the thoughts with a shake of her head. She would just have to make every shot count. She bashed down the door. Two unicorns were facing Applebloom, who was tied to a chair. The first unicorn had been punching the earth pony mercilessly, stopping suddenly as she heard the sound of crashing wood. The second had been attacked by the sharp splinters that fled from the bursting door like startled bats. Scootaloo pointed the barrel of her pistol at him, squeezed the trigger, and fired. The hot bullet cut through his head like it was butter. The Pegasus turned to her right and fired a round at the first unicorn. Then another round. Then another round. The unicorn mare collapsed to the ground as the third bullet casing danced on the floor. "Applebloom! Are you alright?" the Pegasus ran to her best friend. Her cheek was bruised and her left eye was puffy, and her words were slurred. "Wuh.... Whadda 'ell happen'd?" the earth pony groaned, "Wha ard'day dead? Whadda 'ell did'ya do?" Scootaloo untied the ropes restraining her friend. "Relax Applebloom, try to keep calm. Are you okay?" she comforted. "Yeah....yeah.... Ah'm fine..." she slurred. She carried Applebloom out of the room. Rainbow Dash was waiting for her at the frame of the door with Sweetie Belle supported on her back. She was bruised worse than Applebloom. "Come on, Squirt," guided Rainbow Dash. "We're getting the hell outta here." Like ghosts the four ponies moved about the school without a sound. Reaching the exit, the two pegasie ran to an old cart outside the school, carrying the two marines on their backs. The cart was a simple supply wagon, but to the four Equestrians, it was a golden chariot sent by Celestia herself. Rainbow Dash helped Scootaloo load Sweetie Belle and Applebloom onto the wagon before harnessing herself in the front. She casted one final glance at the school, looking uneasily at the red, volatile barrels in the school yard, before she finally spread her wings. The evening breeze kissed the pegasie's mane as the twilight sky greeted them home. It releived Scootaloo to see Equestria welcome her back in open arms. "So where to?" she finally asked Rainbow Dash. "You've heard of the 2nd Echelon?" asked Rainbow Dash. "The intelligence agency?" Responded Scootaloo, "Yeah, I've heard of it, Why? Are they the ones who wanted you to rescue me and Sweetie Belle?" "Not exactly," Rainbow Dash said, "Somepony else wants you. Somepony alot more important then the 2nd Echelon." . . . Uploading_Data: 3rd_Echelon Field_Intelligence: Uploading_File: Mk. 23 SOCOM Pistol Maufacturer: Heckler & Koch Cartridge: .45 ACP Description: Built in secret, as Luna had requested, for the 3rd Echelon, a far more advanced pistol was required, despite the existence of a pistol in general would be considered "advanced". SIG Saur, the original inventor of the pistol, also known as the P228, had long since passed away. However, his descendants, the twin brothers Heckler and Koch were also advanced engineers. Given their ancestor's design, the brothers were told to create a noiseless sidearm pistol to replace the P228. Abandoning the original layout of the handgun, the twins created a larger, bulkier pistol and a larger calibre along with it. The brothers had abandened the 9x19 mm parabellum for the wider .45 ACP calibre. Most importantly, the Mk. 23 had a small part of the barrel protruding from the body, giving it enough room to have a thick cylinder twisted onto it that would silence the gun (Hence its name as a "silencer"). The Mk. 23 was used for the first twelve years as the standard sidearm of the 3rd Echelon. Uploading_File: FN Five-seveN Manufacturer: FN Herstal Cartridge: 5.7x28mm Description: Named after its unique calibre, the FN Five-seveN was constructed in response to the Crystal Civil War. The PCE had sometimes sported armor that outmatched the standard Equestrian armor, and in such cases the .45 ACP calibre had been reported to fail in penetraiting the crystal armor. Luna privately called the pony engineering wonder known as FN Herstal to produce a weapon capable of piercing body armor. His first prototype, the five-seven, utilized the 5.7x28mm armor-piercing rounds. His second prototype, the SC-57 pistol, could accept a silencer and had replaced the Mk. 23 in the 3rd Echelon. Its final variant, the FN Five-seveN, sports a unique, intigrated suppressor and is still in service with the 3rd Echelon today. Uploading_File: Ultra High-Frequency Sonar Goggles Manufacturer: 3rd Echelon Description: the 1st Echelon composed of sarosians, who had natural night vision. The 3rd Echelon, however, consists of earth ponies, pegasie, and unicorns. To allow these ponies to see in even the blackest of nights, the 3rd Echelon instilled multiple-vision goggles, which provided nocturnal, thermal, and EMF vision. For fifteen years this model was used by the 3rd Echelon until it was replaced by the Ultra High-Frequency Sonar Goggles, which utilizes all three vision modes in one lens (Although the design still oddly sports the appearance of a three lens goggle). the Sonar Googles can only be utilized by Earth ponies, or alicorns (including pseudo-alicorns). If the sonar goggles are being used by a pseudo-alicorn, then unless the original species of the pseudo-alicorn is that of an earth pony, the vision of the Sonar Vision is poor and polluted with static, especially when moving. Chapter 3: The 3rd EchelonThe princess of the Night elegantly strolled through the hallways of the 2nd Echelon Headquarters. She was approaching the hanger. She could hear the echoes of two arguing ponies at the end of the hall, which troubled her. What would cause an argument? a discrepancy in information? or perhaps a disobedience of orders? Both were unacceptable, in both the 2nd, and especially the 3rd, Echelon. Their voices echoed down the hall, "What is the meaning of this?! She isn't a candidate!" "I couldn't just leave her! And Scootaloo wouldn't either!" "Your orders were clear!" Shouted Stargazer, "Get the candidates and get out! We were not authorized to rescue all the POWs! Just the 3rd Echelon candidates!" The final news had all but burnt the nocturnal princess's ears. What had Rainbow Dash done? As the element of loyalty, she was the last pony Princess Luna had expected to ignore orders. "WHAT HAS SHE DONE?" she screamed as she barged into the hanger, "WHY DO I HEAR THESE ACCUSATIONS OF TREACHERY?" She casted a furious glance at Rainbow Dash, who was trying to stand dignified as she struggled to lock her cringing legs. Then she focused her attention to the cart, the cheap wooden chariot that Rainbow Dash had brought, and saw a white unicorn and a sleeping yellow earth pony. There wasn't supposed to be an earth pony candidate. General Stargazer turned to Luna with pleading eyes and pointed at the earth pony. "What are we going to do with her? She isn't supposed to be here!" No 3rd Echelon members had disobeyed orders, except the ones who were dead, and no agent would ever let the thought of the 3rd Echelon being compromised. The first reaction Luna wished to do was shriek. Shriek and curse. Curse the sky, curse her soldiers, even scream and curse her sister. But instead she closed her eyes and suppress her fury. This wasn't all bad...no....it wasn't all bad....An innocent life has been saved today.... this wasn't bad.... Had she been convincing herself that what had transpired may be fortunate for minutes, or days? She didn't know, and frankly she didn't care. This isn't all bad...no... The Earth Pony's field records- they were just short of Sweetie Belle's records, who's records barely made her eligible to be a 3rd Echelon recruit... It was a stretch, and Luna knew it. The 3rd Echelon needed to be strict. There were no curves, no exceptions. Either a soldier was worthy of being a 3rd Echelon agent, or they weren't. Still... She may still be able to pass as an agent. It was either that or have the pony under constant surveillance less she utters anything about the 3rd Echelon. She may not have seen the headquarters, but there was no doubt she had seen one of their agents, Rainbow Dash. And then there was the concern of whether or not she had seen the technology used by the 3rd Echelon. Not only was it secret, it was illegal. The gears in Luna's head continued to turn. She was just under the cut, and training would be able to transform her into a 3rd Echelon agent...possibly. It would be a shame to have a pony suitable for the 3rd Echelon under blackmail for the rest of her life when she could be a useful asset. Once more, the last thought was a stretch. The Earth pony may have been close to being a suitable member for 3rd Echelon, but the fact is "close to being suitable meant" they weren't suitable, period. Then again, she was close, and close enough to withstand the training...Right? "Your....Majesty?" hesitated General Stargazer. "This...." spoke the Princess with an uneasy voice, "isn't a bad thing...." Rainbow Dash gazed at the midnight princess with an expression of doubt before finally speaking, "Your majesty, I need to speak with you." Luna was grateful for an excuse to leave the fiasco in the hanger, but her mind soon found herself occupied with the news the sky-blue pegasus was about to tell her. "You weren't told to rescue the earth pony," she grunted. "The 'earth pony' is the least of our problems." retorted Rainbow Dash. "The least of our problems? You nearly compromised us Rainbow Dash! What could possibly be worse than this?!" "For one," answered Rainbow Dash, "Our technology getting out of hand." "What are you speaking of?" questioned the lunar diarch. "At the school where Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were being held, I saw a can of magic. Raw magic, the explosive stuff. The same kind of magic we're testing to use for an under-barreled weapon system for the SC-20K, if I'm not mistaken." "then we shall order a squad of Lunar Guards on reconnaissance." Ordered Princess Luna. "Thank you for this vital intelligence." "Yes ma'am," saluted Rainbow Dash. The lunar princess departed from the pegasus leaving her troubles about a certain unwanted visitor in the hanger behind as the problematic news Rainbow Dash had told her gnawed at her brain. It seemed like the day was throwing more and more trouble at her. . . . Date: 4/25/28 Location: 2nd Echelon HQ [Location Classified] Objectives: Train as a 3rd Echelon cadet The intel had reached Princess Celestia. A squad of Lunar Guards had been dispatched on a search and rescue mission to retrieve the captured marines, and would be returning the following day to the 2nd Echelon for debriefing, and to monitor the three marines psychological and physical recovery under the course of three months maximum. Of course, Princess Celestia was never told of the 3rd Echelon, or that the three marines were already within the walls of the 2nd Echelon HQ. "The 3rd Echelon?" asked Applebloom skeptically as she, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell walked to the lobby of the 2nd Echelon, "Alright, ah'm callin' B-S on this here story." "Call it what you want." retorted Scootaloo, "But last time I checked, Celestia didn't have these... guns. And she never made weird goggle thingies either!" "Still, why keep it secret from the princess?" asked Applebloom. "I don't know! I didn't come up with the damn thing! Ask Princess Luna! She's the one in charge!" answered Scootaloo. "Well you're alot of help..." "Yeah? Well, screw you." "Screw you!" "Screw-" "Girls!" yelled Sweetie Belle, "We are twenty-four year old disciplined marines! Quit acting like you're eight years old! SHUT UP." Scootaloo and Applebloom remained silent until they reached the lobby, half out of closure and half out of fear that Sweetie Belle would yell at them again. The princess of the night stood in the center, waiting patiently for the three mares. "Ladies," she addressed. "Your majesty," they bowed. "Rise, my little ponies. I am here to take you to the 3rd Echelon's headquarters." "Where is the headquarters for the 3rd Echelon?" asked Applebloom, her skepticism replaced by genuine curiosity. Princess Luna smiled at the three candidates with a pompous expression, "Underground." "Why underground?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Simple," answered Luna. "We needed it to be in a place not only where nopony could not find it, but also in a place where nopony would be allowed to trespass. But wouldn't you find it suspicious that a place was off-limits when there was seemingly nothing there? The 3rd Echelon was built beneath the 2nd Echelon because it wouldn't be seen, and because there is a reason for the surrounding area to be off-limits, due to the 2nd Echelon's HQ being here." The four ponies stepped onto a large platform, which slowly began to descend. "Hoooow far underground is it?" asked Scootaloo nervously. "Not too far underground," answered Luna. "In fact, we'll be there in less then a minute. The 2nd Echelon's lobby was fancy, almost like a hotel. With couches and a fountain in the middle. The important rooms monitoring communications were all hidden in the back. The lobby for the 3rd Echelon was a totally different ballpark. It wasn't even a lobby, it was more like a huge computer room. A large enchanted globe floated in the center, revealing footage from different locations all around and even outside Equestria. Around the globe were dozens of unicorns, no doubt scientists from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns told to work at the "2nd" Echelon. They were studying all sorts of things. Holograms, weapons, gadgets. Of course, through the three marines' eyes, these unicorns were analyzing "thing that shouldn't exist number one", "thing that shouldn't exist number two", and "thing that definitely shouldn't exist number three". It was horrifyingly magnificent, beyond comprehension. "As you can see, the 3rd Echelon finds in success in the one thing Celestia doesn't have." "What would that be?" asked Scootaloo. "Technology. We have mixed engineering and magic to create technology, and that leads to limitless creations." stated the lunar diarch."Celestia may have tampered with the art with the Kevlar vests and radios you and your precious corps have, but the 3rd Echelon truly embraces it." The barracks were filled with hardened soldiers, all doing different thing in different rooms. There were ponies cleaning their weapons in the first room the candidates had entered, There were ponies firing their weapons in a room with targets in them, and in one room there was familiar pegasus was sparring an earth pony. The most disturbing room was the one where a pegasus was strapped to a table, surrounded by surgeons. They injected a needle in her, and he started to flail. She started to wheeze as she hyperventilated, and Scootaloo could have sworn she saw drops of blood escape the mare's lips as she coughed. "What's happening to her?" she frantically asked. "Ah yes," Spoke Luna. "She is under augmentations." she saw the concerned look on Scootaloo's face, "There haven't been any fatalities reported, I assure you. The process just doesn't...cooperate with the body well." There was still an uneasy tension lingering among the three marines from the sight of the violent procedure. "Listen, the procedure will be painful, but it is one necessary to survive the 3rd Echelon's training. It is vital you undergo the augmentations, it's why we are here. Do you three wish to join the ranks of the 3rd Echelon?" The Lunar diarch opened the door to a terrifyingly white room, "Then enter." The three mares made no movement, cemented to the floor like statues. Finally, an orange hoof stepped forward. . . . The first shot was sickening. As the clear liquid entered Scootaloo's bloodstream she felt everything become sluggish. Her head swayed with a slight headache, her vision blurred and her hearing dulled. She felt fatigue. "MiSs.....SCoOtaLoo.... HoW...... ArE..... YoU..FEaLiNg.....?" She could barely understand the purple unicorn in the white lab coat. The doctor seemed to recognize Scootaloo's behavior, because she tapped Scootaloo's shoulder reassuringly, "Your...HeArInG..Is.....DuLliNg........It'S..AlriGHt.......ThAts..NATural.........JUst...RElax..." The doctor turned to the other scientists, Scootaloo could barely understand her words as they poured from her mouth like sludge, "ReStRaInTs......" Suddenly she was held to the table by thick ropes at the end of her legs and at her stomach. Her wings were also tied together. The second shot was the only clear thing she could see. The liquid inside was also clear, but had a lining around it that changing to different magnificent colors of all sorts. As the needle breached her skin and the liquid within the small capsule drained, Scootaloo felt as if her arm caught fire. Then, like sharp electricity, the pain darted all around her body. Her headache became unbearable, her lungs were sore, and her legs, dear Celestia her legs! they were on fire! She wanted to swing them, flail them, anything to put the fire out! But the ropes, they were too strong! The burning was unbearable and offered no mercy to the pegasus. She began squirming sporadically like a worm in a futile attempt to relieve herself from the restraints. "Dammit! Celestia dammit! Make it stop!" she screamed, she pleaded, and she sputtered, then coughed crimson blood, and fell silent. . . . The light-gold earth pony could hear her friend's wail from the other side of the wall. Her forehead was a fountain of sweat, for she was next. The door opened ominously slow, and a purple unicorn with a dark purple mane with a light purple and nearly white streak spoke, "Miss Applebloom? Please enter." The first shot was clear with a light-blue tint. It made her feel light-headed, and she felt as if her stomach had been filled with helium. There was a subtle, but ever present ringing filling her ears. "Miss Applebloom..."said the unicorn, You've just been injected with the first drug, it's going to make you feel slightly sick. If you feel light headed, and or have a stomach ache, then you are experiencing the normal side affects. You may even experience a high-pitched ringing noise." What was the mare with the lab coat saying? Applebloom could barely hear her, the ringing was-Gah!- to loud... "Restrain her." ordered the purple coated unicorn. The second syringe invaded Applebloom's body. She felt fire, fire everywhere! her forelegs, her hind limbs, her head....Celestia, her head! Her limbs suddenly felt numb as all the fire assaulted her head. She felt as if her skull was going to violently erupt anyminute now, scattering blood and grey matter across the room. The ringing, it was deafening now! She wanted to rub her temples or even slam her head against the wall. If it would stop the pain, she would do it! "Miss Applebloom, you are going to have to remain-" Buck! The ringing! make it stop! make it bucking stop! Ah'm gonna go bucking deaf!" One hoof escaped the ropes and cradled her head, but instantly Applebloom regretted it. The sides of her head were wet with blood that was leaking from her ears. More blood beginning to stream from her nose. Applebloom screamed in terror, but then suddenly felt tired and fatigue. She tried to make sense out of all that was happening, but couldn't before collapsing on the operating table. . . . What had happened to them? All Sweetie Belle could hear was the tormenting screams of her friends. She was shaking now, frightened of what awaits her behind the white door her fellow crusaders had stepped through. Her eyes shrunk in fear as the door slowly opened for her. The same purple unicorn with the lab coat walked out, specks of blood tainted her jacket. "Miss Sweetie Belle, please enter." At first Sweetie Belle hesitated, reconsidering her decision to join. But then again, who would drag Applebloom and Scootaloo out of trouble? And Celestia knew sooner or later they would get in trouble. Bravely, the white mare entered the white medical room. Sweetie Belle felt her stomach turn violently with every step she took as she approached the white room. The purple unicorn tried to comfort Sweetie Belle, and assured her that her two friends were in another room while they recovered, and she could join them soon. Sweetie Belle laid on the table, awaiting the first shot. It was light blue, but also clear like water. As the liquid began to course through her veins she felt energetic, excited even! She felt like she could run laps around Canterlot, or do five hundred jumping jacks! Then suddenly her head began to sting. A piercing ring invaded her mind. It was high pitched but also quiet, and yet Sweetie Belle could hear it everywhere. "Doc, why... why is there a ringing noise?"she asked. Don't worry Miss Sweetie Belle, it's only a side affect from the drug you were just injected with. Everything is going to be fine..." promised the mare. The doctor turned to her colleges. She didn't order them to restrain the white unicorn, only requesting a bucket instead. Then, she took the second syringe, which had a liquid that looked like liquid glass. As the needle bored deeper and deeper into her skin, Sweetie Belle began to feel sore. She felt as if she had ran laps around Canterlot, or she had done five hundred jumping jacks. The ringing in her ears increased, but at a lower pitch, like a high humming noise. Then everything seemed so...slow. Her vision began to blur, and her head felt heavy and she couldn't balance it on her shoulders. The doctor began to talk to Sweetie Belle, but her words sounded cloudy and slurred to her. "ThE SeConD DrUg iS GoiNg tO maKe YoU VeRy TiRed.....YoU....MaY...ExPeRieNcE... BluRReD..... ViSiOn...AnD......ClOudEd....HeArInG.........YoU......MaY.......AlsO.....FeEl...........NaUSeOuS....." The doctor handed the bucket to Sweetie Belle. "Doc..." slurred the white unicorn, "I..I-I don't....I don't feel.....I-I feel sick....I...I feel-" She suddenly and violently vomited into the bucket. Sweetie Belle began to breathe heavily, than peered into the bucket. Blood. The bucket was filled with blood. Her blood. She screamed with tears streaming from her face. She was confused, lost. She couldn't comprehend what was happening, but she knew she needed to escape somehow! "MiSs....SwEeTiE..BeLle....PleAsE...TrY...To..ReMaIn..CaLm....!" ordered the doctor. The white unicorn once more upchucked, blood spewing from her mouth and was beginning to leak out of her nose. "Celestia!" Cried the mare, "Oh Celestia! Oh Celestia Celestia Celestia! No more! Please!" she whimpered before being restrained by two of the doctors. Suddenly everything went black, and all was calm. . . . Date: 4/30/28 Location: 3rd Echelon HQ, [Location Classified] Objectives: begin training A dream. A Luna-forsaken dream. A nightmare, that's all it was. It had to be. Scootaloo awoke in a large room aligned with hospital beds with soreness surrounding her body. The flames had long died away, but the pain still remained. On the neighboring bed to her left was an unconscious Applebloom, her forehead wrapped in bandages. To her right was Sweetie Belle, who had awoken far before Scootaloo did. "Hey Scootaloo-" she was cut off by the invading vomit exiting her body, pouring itself into a large pale. "Oh my Celestia. Sweetie Belle, are you alright?" "Yeah," muttered Sweetie Belle, throwing up into the pale once more. She gestured the bucket with her hoof, "I'm just glad it's not blood anymore." "Blood?" repeated Scootaloo. "Yeah. Blood." The purple-maned crusader knocked her head against the pillow of her bed, "What the hell. Just...what the hell." It was only now did Sweetie Belle notice that the crusaders were not the only beings in the room. There were ponies grunting in discomforting pain, or puking, or laying unconscious filling every hospital bed aligning the room. They were in the barracks. A brown earth stallion with a leaf-green mane was the first to acknowledge the trio. Like Applebloom, he had a bandage around his forehead that was tainted in red where it covered his ears. "The hell...." he muttered before facing the crusaders, "Hey...hey...." he greeted groggily, "Do you know where we are?" "We're in the barracks." answered Sweetie Belle "How...how did we get here?" "I don't know. Sorry." "The nurses probably brought us all here." guessed Scootaloo. "That makes sense..." started the earth pony. Suddenly everything turned dark. "Shit! What the hell is going on?!" "What the buck?" "What was that?" "Damn!" The commotion of the awaken had stirred the unconscious. "What's going on?" asked Applebloom, "Celestia damn! My head! Why is it so dark?" "I don't know," replied Scootaloo, "The lights just gave out-" ZAP! A violet bolt had struck an earth pony, a blue mare with a red and purple mane, in the chest. She toppled to the ground like a rag doll. "Oh shit! Somepony's been hit!" "What the hell, are we under attack?!" Commanding officers of all military branches were the only things suppressing the panic. "Keep it together guards!" "Pull it together! Remember, you're a leatherneck!" "I thought the army would have squeezed this chicken shit out of you soldier-" ZAP! The army member was the second soldier to fall. "They got the Warrant officer!" "Keep it together! Find cover!" Then the bloodbath began. The soldiers began knocking over their beds to create cover, but as they did so countless ponies began to fall by the hooves of the unseen attackers. The remaining ponies hid and waited for the right time to attack, but never did. They would die before the opportunity would present itself. They were all being picked off, hunted like animals. "Where the hell are they?" whispered a yellow unicorn mare to her partner. "Dunno...there!" he replied. "Fire!" The mare launched a blue beam at the silhouette, but whatever she had fired at had created a shield out of energy to defend itself. The bolt bounced of and turned its course towards the mare's direction. It collided into her like a train. Her teammate didn't even last ten seconds afterwards. His muzzle was wrapped by a a strong hoof and his body was thrown to the ground beneath his attacker. He struggled against his opponent, but ultimately succumbed to the suffocation. After every twenty seconds or so, there would be a flash of violet, signaling the fall of yet another soldier. Scootaloo turned to her fellow crusaders with a worrisome glance, for she knew what fate would come upon them if they remained in one place. "We need to move. Use the beds at the different rows to move from cover to cover." she ordered. Silently, the Pegasus slipped into the darkness and hid behind the second row of beds before signalling Sweetie Belle and Applebloom to do the same. Before Scootaloo moved to the next cover, she carefully peeked from her cover. The bed ahead of hers was the one the brown earth stallion was hiding behind. "Psst!," she hissed, "Psst!" The stallion looked at her. "We're getting outta here. Come on." whispered Scootaloo The stallion nodded in response. Satisfied, Scootaloo raced to the third row of beds, followed by Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and the nameless stallion. zig-zaging across the room, the ponies slowly but safely advanced towards their freedom. It was when the four attempted to reach the second row again that things went awry. The green mane-stallion had realized a terrible truth: the enemy was literally right behind them. Instinctively, he bucked at his attackers. His hoof was intercepted by the silhouette skulking the four ponies, and suddenly he felt a second hoof shatter his ribs. He was lifted above the ground, and was pushed over the shoulder of his assailant and hit the marble floor hard. He didn't get back up. The remanding three mares went into overdrive, and sprinted down the hall to escape. It was too late to hide, they could only run. Sweetie Belle felt like whatever was still in her stomach would soon litter the floor, and Applebloom felt like the blood in the veins of her head were painful needles jabbing her brain. Ahead of the two was Scootaloo. Her lungs were burning and her already sore legs screamed from the new abuse. The next thing Scootaloo knew was that she was lying on the floor, dazed. Her friends were surrounded and she was at the mercy of the pegasus that stood over her like a cold statue. He glared mercilessly at her before finally shouting, "Turn the lights back on!" The sudden brightness blinded Scootaloo for a second. When her eyes finally adjusted, she realized the figure standing over her was not a pegasus, but a sarosian. The attack, it was a simulation. And the dead bodies, were just stunned candidates. "We pick the best soldiers for a reason." announced General Stargazer. "So that no matter the situation, our agents will not be intimidated, or frightened, or confused. They will be calm, collective, and strategic. So tell me, cadets, Why the hell was it so easy for four unicorns and three sarosians to beat down all twenty-seven of you dirtbags?!" By then all the soldiers could control their bodies again, and had realized what was really happening. They realized that it was all a test, and that they miserably failed. Of course, one reason they failed was because of the augmentations. Loud noises became hammer blows to the head, and disorientation was common. Furthermore, most of the ponies had their energy sapped from them thanks to the augmentations as well. It was why every time they performed this stimulation everpony would get "killed" the first time. "This. Is. Unacceptable." shouted Stargazer, "You all better step up your game if you be a part of the 3rd Echelon." . . . Date: 5/01/28 Location: 3rd Echelon HQ, [Location Classified] Objective: N/A It had been one week since the ambushed in the barracks-which had been the first exercise of "hell week" as the drill sergeant had called it, one week of back braking physical exercises and mumbled curses-when all twenty seven cadets had stepped into a large, circular room. The room was like that of a college classroom, with rows descending towards the center like a vortex. In the center was a unicorn, no doubt a graduate of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He began the lecture with a single question. "How many of you...ever pretended they were Princess Celestia or...maybe an Alicorn king when you were children?" The class chuckled at both the odd question and the sight of a few ponies raising their hooves as a way to say yes, not realizing the question was hypothetical. "Then you all know that an alicorn...." explained the proffesor, "Is a unique pony that bridges the three types of ponies together. About a week ago, you all underwent special augmentations. These augmentations were designed for one purpose. To turn every 3rd Echelon field agent into an Alicorn." The words echoed in every cadet's ear. An Alicorn? Impossible! Unbelievable! Unnatural. "Don't get too excited, none of you are gonna sprout wings or horns." informed the professor. "You are all now what we at the 3rd-echelon call a pseudo-Alicorn, or 'artificial Alicorn'. You are all still anchored to your original genes. That means if you aren't an earth pony, for example, you have inherited the strength of an earth pony, too an extent, and a...rather unique and newfound ability, which you will be informed of later, as well. You cannot raise agriculture like an earth pony. If you aren't a unicorn, you have inherited a weak form of telekinesis. This is the only spell at your disposal. And finally, if you are not a Pegasus, you have gained the ability to walk on clouds as well as the ability to absorb shock from a fall. Like the earth pony's strength, this is only to a certain extent. And don't jump off cliffs or anything. You. Can't. Fly. Understood?" To say the three months of training were the longest three months in Equestria for Scootaloo. Even if the physical training was Tartarus, but still, it was a familiar process to Scootaloo. The technology, the weapons and the gadgets, they were alien to her. But her training had ended, and the wespons and tools of the 3rd Echelon had long since been integrated into her life. The boot camp had became barracks, and the cadets true soldiers. She carefully dissasembled the pistol, an FN Five-seveN, her Five-seveN, although she would never call it hers. She still didn't like seeing such a bizarre instrument in front of her. Finishing her dissection, she gingerly reassembled the weapon. Beside her was Applebloom, who was cleaning the barrel of her own pistol, and beside her was Sweetie Belle, who was attending to something far more sinister. It was at least ten times larger and more massive than the pistol and was a midnight black. "Celestia damn, that there is one big gun," commented Applebloom. "Yeah," replied Sweetie Belle, "The S.C-20K is supposed to be too heavy for pseudo-alicorns. You need to be a unicorn to levitate it." "You know," said Scootaloo, "What would happen if we left." "Whady'ya mean?" asked Applebloom. "I dunno. Lets go see Canterlot." "Can we do that?" asked Applebloom. Scootaloo shrugged her shoulders. "I guess. Rainbow's been in the 3rd Echelon for years apparently, and we've seen her in Ponyville all the time." "We've got permission to leave the base for the weekend." reminded Sweetie Belle, "I say we make good use of it. Lets go out to eat something." Going out to eat seemed like a splendid idea. Finally, the three mares could hold onto a peaceful moment, a silent, serene moment, in life. Peace was a state of mind that the three crusaders could almost never have. "I'm worried," confessed Scootaloo. " 'Bout what?" asked Applebloom. "What we've pulled ourselves into. I mean, what if we get killed out there, on some mission?" "It ain't much of a difference from bein' in the Marines." Applebloom pointed out. And she was right. Weren't they all risking their lives every day they were on duty? Perhaps death just seemed more apparent after the sapphire mountains. "Ah'm worried too," said Applebloom, "but ah've been worried since 2020-" "Ohmigosh! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! Applebloom!" The three mares twisted their heads towards a familiar blue mare with a purple mane. "Morning Breeze...is that you?" asked Sweetie Belle. The mare sprinted to her long-lost squad mates and hugged them as she greeted them. "Are you all okay?" asked Breeze. "I heard about what happened...about the market... what happened to you three? How did you girls get out of there?" "We were rescued," explained Sweetie Belle, "by Lunar Guards. Can...we leave it as that? I don't want to talk about what happened in the empire...." "I understand," said Morning Breeze; she had been told that her squad mates, her friends, had been under therapyto relieve themselves of any possible trauma caused by the event. "It was nice seeing you though," said Scootaloo. "Hey listen, Sweetie, Apple, and I were going out to dinner. If you want, you could join us." "That would be nice." smiled Morning Breeze. The four mares had eaten dinner at a nearby diner. It was simple, comfortable, and friendly. It was one of the very few restaurants in Canterlot that wasn't fancy, but rather had an atmosphere one would expect in a restaurant in Ponyville. "How are the rest of the squad?" asked Scootaloo. "They're fine...Hidden Treasure, Landslide and Parasol... The news about Beret and Stormcloud hit them really hard ... but for the most part...we've moved on..." Morning Breeze insisted wit and her gaze traveled to the floor. "We still m-miss them...w-we all do..." she focused her eyes onto the three crusaders. "Do you want to pay them a visit? They miss you three too, you know. It would do them well to see you all again." "Maybe another time." promised Scootaloo. "I'm just too tired to tired right now." "Same here." added Sweetie Belle. "It is pretty late," said Applebloom. "But we should see them soon," "I guess you're right..." said Morning Breeze, disappointed. The waiter had approached the table with the tab. "Here," offered Morning Breeze. "Let me pay." "For four ponies? Don't be ridiculous," replied Scootaloo. "Yeah, let us pay." smiled Applebloom. "No, no, I insist." said Morning Breeze. "Then at least let us split the bill with you," said Sweetie Belle. "Fine," said Morning Breeze, paying her share. "It was nice catching up with you three. Seriously, please visit us soon. If you can't go in the barracks, then we'll all come to you, okay?" "Alright," smiled Scootaloo. "Great." smiled Morning Breeze, "See you all soon then," For a while the three mares just watched where their friend had disappeared, but eventually turned away and walked back to the barracks of the 3rd Echelon. No longer a pack of three, but a family of ten- with two brothers missing and five that worried siblings that wondered where three of their sisters were. . . . Uploading _Data_: 3rd_Echelon_Field_Intelligence: Uploading_File: Pseudo-Alicorn Description: While most special forces units conventionally recruit only unicorns, the 3rd Echelon sought to be more dynamic then to be limited by the usefulness of just one species. The development of the pseudo-alicorn augmentations were made for the soul purpose of making the 3rd-echelons a versatile weapon, regardless of their race. The augmentations are extremely limited- Doctor Bastion Yorsets, the creator of the serums that produce the augmentations, describes it as, "Not giving you the abilities of all three races, rather only a taste of the abilities of the two species you aren't." The procedures are infamous among the 3rd-Echelon members for the violent side affects which are theorized to be the body attempting to fight off the invading genes. Uploading_File: SC-20K M.A.W.S. Manufacturer: FN Herstal Cartridge: 5.56x45mm Description: The SC-20K was designed at Princess Luna's request to increase the firepower of the 3rd Echelon. The weapon's large calibre was, clearly, too large to fit within the pistol grip and was moved behind it at the stock. The weapon can be fitted with a silencer and a telescope capable of 1.6x magnification. A weapon system designed to fire raw magic is currently being tested to be an under-barreled application to further increase the lethality of the weapon. The SC-20K's single drawback is it's weight, which makes it impossible to carry for a pony unless said pony is a unicorn (pseudo-alicorns that are not unicorns cannot carry this weapon). A prototype weapon, called the XC-3000, is currently being designed by Herstal as a lighter variant of the SC-20K. Author's Note Knowing that "alicorn OCs" are very unpopular, I am VERY worried about the reactions to the "pseudo-alicorns" if they are mistaken to be the same thing, because they aren't. If what I've written about pseudo-alicorns in this chapter is clear to you and you understand what a "pseudo-alicorn" is, just skip this note and enjoy the next chapter. The following is just a final clarification. NO. SCOOTALOO ISNT GETTING A HORN, SWEETIE BELLE IS NOT GONNA GROW WINGS, AND APPLEBLOOM ISN'T GOING TO HAVE A HORN OR WINGS. I decided to create pseudo-alicorns as a way for 3rd-echelon members to carry side-arms without having them in their mouths. Pseudo-alicorns are still normal ponies, and are still limited to their physical boundries. A good example is with this is the SC-20K. Sweetie Belle can wield this weapon while Applebloom and Scootaloo can't, because it's too heavy for their artificial magic. However, Sweetie Belle can carry this weapon because of her natural ability to levitate things as a unicorn. This logic is used to balanced the characters. Scootaloo can't do any magic aside from very weak levitation, anything more would require a horn, which as I said before she does not have nor ever will have. Her "earth pony abilities" are useless outside the 3rd echelon because the only ability she inherited is the ability to see through the sonar goggles, and even so her vision is clouded, while Applebloom- born as an earth pony- can see through them crystal clear. Scootaloo's own abilities as a pegasus have not been augmented, nor have Applebloom's or Sweetie Belle's abilities as an earth pony and unicorn, respectively. What I'm trying to say is don't let the name fool you, none of the characters in the 3rd Echelon are a Celestia. ...Okay, well, except Luna. But she doesn't count. She really is an alicorn. Chapter 4: Hunter KillerDate: 5/02/28 Location: The Diamond Spire, within the Capital City of the Crystal Empire Briefing: Three months ago, it was discovered that the insurgents have been smuggling raw magic. The provider is unknown, but the pony providing the funds to purchase the volatile material is Gold Silk-codename: Charity-, a unicorn aristocrat who has been suspected by the 3rd-echelon to be financially supporting the PCE. Charity's position in the Crystal Empire, coupled with the uneasy relationship between Equestria's and the nobles of the Empire makes her impossible to kill without sparking conflict. A fight among family is the worst kind of fight; she is not to be executed. The castle will be patrolled by Imperial Guards; they too must not be killed. Objective: Infiltrate Charity's office within the Crystal Castle and search through her records for anything pertaining to the raw magic. Capital City was a Beautiful city, one of the Very few locations in the Crystal Empire unblemished by war. Blood did not stain the streets, and the entire town glistened as the sun glimmered its golden rays onto the crystal buildings. But the buildings displayed no gleam in the dark moonless night. The midnight shadows were spread like grass on a field-it was the perfect kind of night for Scootaloo. For missions that took place in nights, Luna would ensure the night would house a new moon. The darkness allowed Scootaloo to quickly travel through the city. Dressed in a midnight Kevlar vest and goggles, Scootaloo neared the spire in the middle of the metropolis when her earpiece lodged to the side of her head rang to life. "You are approaching the target." informed Princess Luna, "Remember, the castle is being patrolled by Imperial Guards, not PCE members. You are not authorized to terminate them. If it is necessary to neutralize an enemy, do so in secrecy. Don't draw attention to yourself. Understood?" "Yes Ma'am." Responded Scootaloo, keeping her pistol tucked in it's holster at the side of her vest. If everything went smoothly this night, she wouldn't need it. "I would suggest you also do not fly too close to the castle. Use the shadows I have provided this night to infiltrate." "Yes ma'am," she repeated, and with that, Scootaloo's wings flared, spreading like beams if light on a summer day. She only flew for a few minutes, and dived to the ground when the spire was only a mere twenty meters away. The darkness of the night would carry her to the castle. The shadows were numerous, and Scootaloo was easily able to pass through the town like a spectre. The night had blinded the guards, their eyes failing to the the shifting and twisting shadows of an orange pegasus pony. Their gazes were fixed on the road ahead, for fear that an enemy of the empire was to approach at any second- and for that reason they failed to see the pegasus' silhouette as she passed behind them and cautiously entered through the large doorway to the castle. The inside was no safer. The tight hallways and numerous guards proved to be a difficult challenge to Scootaloo's progression to Charity's quarters. Nonetheless, the pegasus was able to evade the guards and the compromising illumination of their flashlights through the use of the crystals that clung to the wall and the occasional sanctuary of the ceiling above-which proved to be even more useful when Scootaloo would here a guard while she climbed the staircases. An hour had passed when Scootaloo had reached a noticeably wider hallway, about the size of a ballroom. In the center to the wall on her right was a large pair of doors. It was the entrance to the throne room, she had realized this when she saw the princess of the Crystal Empire passed through the doors. She had heard the tapping noise of hooves from the opposite side of the hallway.In a frantic search for a hiding spot, her eyes caught the sight of a window, placed on the wall parallel to the wall sporting the large doorway. Thinking quickly, Scootaloo jumped out the window, spun, and clung to its base. From the window Scootaloo could hear the soft voice of the Crystal Empire's princess. "But they are not our soldiers." spoke Princess Cadence, "And I do not wish for my aunt to sacrifice her soldiers for our country. To be a strong country, we must have a strong army. But what good is a strong army if it is not ours? I am grateful for the support provided by Equestria's military, but I do not wish to see these soldiers needdlessly die for a country that isn't theirs." "But princess-" spoke a pompous voice, most likely belonging to one of the aristocrats of the Empire. "My husband is already training soldiers for our army and Princess Celestia has agreed with my proposition." Shot Cadence, "We shall begin phasing the equestrian soldiers out of our country and replace them with our own by the end of next month." "What great news your majesty!" exclaimed another regal voice. Scootaloo peered over the window's base and saw Princess Cadence walk side by side with two nobles. A unicorn with a cream colored coat and a green and purple-streaked wavy mane in a bun entered through the doorway in the center of the hall with the princess and the other noble. It was Gold Silk. As soon as the two ends of the colossal doors grasped each other together, Scootaloo had began to sprint madly up the spire. Every second Silk spent in the throne room were precious seconds the orange pegasus made needed to find her objective. The orange pegasus continued to ascend to the top of the tower. Near the top, she silently moved down a long hall. There were long rows of wooden doors, the four corners of each one connected to their center where a glistening gem would lay, which differed from door to door. Each door led to one of many living quarters of the Imperial Elite. "Your Majesty," spoke Scootaloo through her earpiece. "Go ahead, Scootaloo."permitted Luna. Scootaloo casted passing glances at the entrances with frustration, "There are multiple rooms here, which one is Charity's?" "Fourth door. Left side." answered the midnight princess. Scootaloo quickly advanced to a door with a polished ruby in the center. Slowly opening it, she quietly entered a small room. It was neatly kept, with fine china scattered at the sides in an orderly manner, a fireplace at the right side. A large desk guarded by two shelves above that were separated by a large window that was kept at the opposite wall, and a bed laid against the wall parallel to the door, as if it was there to keep the wall from falling. With much grace and finesse, Scootaloo noiselessly walked to the desk. She opened the drawer and found a letter sealed with red wax. ...Nothing. The second drawer was just as disappointing, the third even more so. The shelves above were rich in documents, but most were just political papers-all but one. It was a letter tied by a golden ribbon. After carefully opening it, the agent quietly began to read it out loud. My Dearest Gold Silk, How thy skin glows like the fair moon above, And thy eyes shine bright like stars in the night, My soul would travel seas to seek your love Scale mountains to feel your radiant light... "Nope. That's not it." murmured Scootaloo, crumpling the paper and tossing it over her shoulder. It was at that moment Scootaloo's search became more desperate. She began looking in less conventional places. Under the rug, in the pillows of the bed, Under the bed, beneath the firestones in the fireplace. She finally found what she was looking for beneath the mattress of the bed. It was a crunmpled, dirty paper with torn red wax. Gold Silk, While the crystals in the empire are numerous, seldom meet the requirements neccissary to produce raw magic. Therefore, we wish to inform you that our efforts in the Crystal Empire have ceased, and have been relocated to the fair land of Equestria. Our brothers own a mine near a small rural town named Ponyville. We shall continue our escavations there, on Equestrian soil. Because of this, it is neccisarry to inform your smuggling units. Too much suspicion would collect if...our kind was seen crossing the borders with such frequency. -Petr "Petr?" questioned Scootaloo, "Not exactly a pony name." Suddenly Scootaloo heard footsteps, the increasing volume suggested a pony was approaching the room. Instincively Scootaloo pulled her sonar goggles over her eyes. Through the wall she saw a shape resembling Gold Silk walking down the hall. Thinking quickly, Scootaloo ran towards the window-only to trip on one of the legs of the bed. The goggles had blurred her vision as soon as she took her first step, and in her blindness her foot struck the bed, causin her to roll to the floor. The footsteps on the other side of the door quickened, alerted from the loud crashing noise from inside the room. Scootaloo sprung to her feet and lept out of the window. She had heard Gold Silk gasp before jumping. Even if it was dark, even if it was only a split second, Scootaloo knew she had been seen. "Shit..." she cursed, "Shit shit shit!" she wasn't supposed to be seen! "Your majesty, I think I may be compromised!" said Scootaloo, mentally punching herself. "Did you aquire any valuable intel?" asked Princess Luna. "Yeah, the raw magic is being mined through crystals. Someone named Petr is providing Charity with them." answered Scootaloo as she continued to soar through the night sky. "I see..." responded Luna, "I don't think this 'Petr' is a pony." "Dammit!" screamed Scootaloo. The pegasus' response had unsurprisingly left Luna rather confused, "Come again, Scootaloo?" Luna could here heavy, panicked breathing on her end of the line. Finally, Scootaloo's familiar voice rang loudly,"I'm taking fire!" . . . It started with light, a bright and powerful light, one that could imitate the bright moon on summer nights. It forced the night sky to surrender all its secrets, including a certain orange pegasus flying from the tower of the Crystal Empire. Had the guards been alerted of her presence? It seemed unlikely. After all, she hadn't been seen by anypony, save perhaps Charity. But she wouldn't have tipped off the guards, otherwise they'd find out about the letter, and Charity would have been seen as the traitor she was. Another bolt cut through the wind mere centimeters away from her wing- whoever was shooting her, their aim was getting better. Sooner or later, they would hit her. Retracting her wings, Scootaloo dive bombed to the ground, spreading her wings only to stop herself from colliding with the cold earth. She dipped millimeters lower so her front whooves could touch the ground, then rolled into the alleyway between two houses. "The mule landed here somewhere!" Shouted a male voice. Peeking around the corner, Scootaloo saw two unicorns walking down the street. There horns were brightly illuminated, mimicking the beam of a flashlight. "Look around here," answered the second pony. She was a pink mare with a blue mane. "Whoever took that letter can't be far. "Ah," Chuckled Scootaloo, "So they were after the letter." "If you see anything!" shouted the stallion, "Radio in with your phonetic crystal!" Scootaloo's radio began to speak again, "Scootaloo," it whispered, "You're being hunted by PCE members, not guards, You're clear to execute, but be selective. We don't want unneeded attention." The Five-seveN, surrounded by an aura as purple as Scootaloo's mane, slowly rose from its holster and stood at bay next to Scootaloo like a rabid dog ready to be freed from its leash. . . . Even with their horns illuminated, the moonless night still blinded the insurgents. Their eyes were only limited to the small illuminated light in front of them. They couldn't see Scootaloo, even when the their lights cutted deep into the spaces between the buildings. the night kept her hidden from their shortsighted eyes, and Scootaloo knew it. She stalked them silently at a respectful distant, eyeing them behind the corner of a nearby building or in the shadows of an alleyway. There were only two of them, but they were close by. There wasn't a way to kill one without alerting the other-yet. One of the insurgents was obviously irritated that he needed to be awake at such a nightly hour. His paste had been slowly increasing and he was checking alleyways less frequently, and when he did it was a only casual glance thrown into the dark lane before continuing his march down the street. The other insurgent was much more thorough, and didn't allow her patrol become mediocre like her partner's despite how late it was. "You didn't even look here!" she hissed. "Right, because whoever took the boss's letter was probably hiding in there the whole time," his voice dripped with sarcasm, "whoever the bucker was is probably out of the Sombra- damned country and at the freakin' train station by now! Why the hell should we still even be looking?" "Because we need that letter! And if the thief is still here then we can't let them slip through our hooves. Now shut up and start searching!" retorted the tired mare. Even if she hadn't been hiding in the dark alley to the stallion's left, Scootaloo could easily hear them. How they hadn't awoken the entire block was beyond her. Still, the bickering between the two unicorns made it easier for Scootaloo to keep track of them. From the corner of the building she saw the stallion turn around to continue the feud with his partner, giving Scootaloo the window of opportunity to slip away from them. Quietly settling at the corner at an adjacent road, Scootaloo paused to look through her sonar goggles. Before her eyes the buildings disappeared, and ghostly silhouettes surrounded Scootaloo, with only the invisible structures of houses and shops separating them from her. She had taken special notice of one specific unicorn just up the road, blocking her only exit. Like the previous pair of insurgents Scootaloo had encountered, the warrior's partner was searching an alleyway. However, the first unicorn was clearly watching the street for movement, patiently waiting for her partner to finish flushing the alleyways with light. Whoever these pair were, they were far more coordinated then the previous duo Scootaloo had evaded. Scootaloo quietly approached them, ducking behind a vender's cart just a few meters from the unicorn on the street. She was a light brown mare with a gold mane. Her eyes carefully scanned the street, but did not peer far into the darkness. Scootaloo aligned the sights of her weapon to the mare's head, and with a deep breath, squeezed the trigger. Only a small hissing noise was released as the bullet gluttonously ate the few meters dividing the cart from the unicorn and dug and burrowed itself into the mare's temple. The mare fell to the ground, lifeless. She was the perfect bait for her partner. . . . Whoever stole the letter Silk needed wasn't residing in the alley. That was all the pink mare with a curly blue mane knew. Still, the sky diamond- and it must've been a sky diamond who stole the letter, for the thief had been seen flying in the night sky- hadn't landed that far from where she was, and hadn't been a report that the pony had taken flight again. It was just as possible that the thief was in the next alley over as the possibility that she was over at the next block. Or...perhaps the thief was closer than she thought. Her partner, her friend, was bleeding on the ground. How could have this happened? Was it the thief, their target? She couldn't have been struck by magic, their target had already been established as a pegasus! Unless....were they hunting one among the holy alicorns? The thought disturbed her. No, It couldn't be, she began to realize the flaws in her theory. Even if the thief was an alicorn, or perhaps if the killer was a different pony from the thief and was a unicorn, there would have still been an illumination from the beam, and there had been no light. But there wasn't any noise from a brawl, either, so her friend couldn't have been stabbed. The mare broke away from her thoughts to pull out a blue crystal with a visible wave of energy in the middle dancing between the poles of the crystal. She fumbled it close to her mouth and began to speak while she slowly approached the corpse of her friend. "Uhh, M-Maday! Maday! She's killed! Somepony killed her! I need help!" "Come again? Who is this?" Answered a voice from the crystal. "It's Sweet Amethyst. Listen! Somepony attacked Alluring Silver! She's bleeding I need help!" She was out of the alley now, and was running to her friend on the street. "Oh Sombra! How could have this happened? Please, send some pony to-" she never finished, for a sharp piece of lead dug a cavity into her head. She died instantly, not even living long enough to see the silhouette of a pegasus emerge from behind a nearby cart just a few feet away. Scootaloo silently scampered down the street, leaving the two corpses behind her, the PCE knew she was still somewhere in Capital City, she could thank Sweet Amethyst for that. Still, slipping passed the insurgents would hardly become more challenging. She wasn't very far from the edge of the town, perhaps only two or three streets away. before reaching a street with four guards, all of which were slowly scanning the streets. It was hardly an improvement to the original structure of their patrols, especially since they didn't even check corners, or alleyways, or even behind carts! Why the decline in thoroughness? Suddenly it occurred to Scootaloo; the game had changed. These ponies were playing it safe. They knew that a pegasus would have to get close to them to harm them, and by staying together they could kill her before she could even get close. Still, they must've been pretty stupid soldiers if they were looking at the ground for a pegasus, did it occur to them she could easily fly right over them as their eyes remained plastered to the stone road? That was when she saw something glint from a nearby balcony. It was from a pair of binoculars, temporarily being brought down from the eyes of a unicorn who gazed through them at the midnight heavens. A sniper, so that's who was watching for her in the sky. How could she advance? From the corner of the street Scootaloo considered the layout. There were a few carts scattered down the street, but they were too far apart to jump from cover to cover. And Even then, all it would take to kill her was have the sniper look down. She slid to the first cart. She was only a few meters, just about three at the least, from under the balcony. Scootaloo peeked over the top of the cart, just to see if the coast was clear, then jumped on the wall. there was a ledge running across the building by her that was two inches above the door of the building, most likely to mark where the floor of the second story was. Regardless of its purpose, it was now Scootaloo's ticket to the sniper. Ever so gingerly she moved across it, being particularly careful not to slip, until she hung on the base of the balcony. The sniper was facing her, but with his eyes fixed on the stars he could not see her. After a short while he turned and treaded to the opposite side of the balcony, oblivious to the pegasus climbing over the rails at where he once stood. Like a prowling Timberwolf Scootaloo quietly approached her prey. She was mere centimeters from him. Striking quickly she covered his mouth with her forehooves she covered the stallion's muzzle and pulled him to his hindlegs, then used her wings to free her own hindlegs, which she used to deliver a catastrophic blow to the back. She had shattered his spine. Scootaloo jumped over the edge and latched her hooves around the rails. The remaining PCE members were about to trot past the balcony, and, unfortunately for the mare closest to the sidewalk, right under Scootaloo. Scootaloo silently counted in her head.... one.... two.... Suddenly she leapt from the rail, crushing the mare beneath her with her powerful hooves. three! She fired at the soldier directly ahead of her, then quickly shifted left and opened the head of the stallion to her right with a red-hot 5.7 round, and spun to her left to greet the last insurgent with the very same fate. Scootaloo reloaded her pistol as she casually walked from the bloodbath. As soon as she pulled the slide back she broke of into a sprint and spun around the corner- only to quickly retreat back to the corner. At the street there were five ponies residing by two booths placed side by side. "Woah!" shouted the voice of a mare from around the corner. "What is it?" responded another from around the corner. "I thought I saw something at the corner of the street!" "Bet it's that pegasus," gowled a third voice, a stallion. "Tell Copperhead that the pegasus is on his street." "Copperhead..." spoke the first voice, "Copperhead?" "No response..." murmered a fourth voice. That would be four of the five ponies that were guarding the very street that lead to the border of Capital City's shield, providing Scootaloo had seen every pony that was guarding the exit when she had turned the corner. "Damn that pony.... let's kill the bucker!" "Are you stupid?" Spoke the fifth voice at last, "Stay on guard! If we go to the pegasus, we'll probably get killed like Copper and his team." his voice became louder then, directing it right to the corner Scootaloo hid behind. "Do you hear that? We aren't as dumb as you think! You want us?! We're waiting!" The stallion's final words echoed in Scootaloo's ears for a moment. Then, with her pistol hugging her chest, Scootaloo turned around the corner, drew her side-arm, and fired a single round into the insurgent's skull. All hell broke lose after that. The remaining insurgents sent a barrage of beams at the corner of the street in an attempt to burn Scootaloo with a scorching beam of magic. The Pegasus, alternatively, continued to deliver her own red-hot bullets. One impatient soldier ran up to the corner, but at the opposite side of the street, in an attempt to flank the orange mare. He assumed that the distance between he and her would keep him safe. The the single bullet jammed into his throat proved he was wrong. Scootaloo turned away from her now dead target to finish the remaining three, only to find they had disappeared. They were all behind cover, momentarily pausing the firefight. It was a moment Scootaloo know she had to take advantage of, to get into a position where she could easily eliminate her targets. Swiftly she moved from her cover to a stand, a bit off to the right from between her and her enemies. Scootaloo turned to see her targets again. Their heads were peeking over the stand they crouched behind, patiently waiting for her head to appear from behind the building. Scootaloo continued two move around the insurgents, she wasn't worried or nervous; not the slightest. She could see the insurgents from the corner of her eye, they had tunnel vision. Their eyes were glued to that street corner. Scootaloo was behind them now, with her pistol warily taking aim at the first mare's head. All she needed to do was pull the trigger, turn to the second mare, and fire. They would both be dead before anypony could react. It would be so easy, she could take them both out if she wanted to... Except, honestly, she didn't want to. How could she? She didn't need to kill them. The edge of the forcefield surrounding the city was literally right at her back, only a few meters away, unguarded. To shoot them now when she could leave without trouble? Murder, not war. The gun lowered itself, as if ashamed that it had pointed itself at the unicorn mare only four meters away. Soon after Scootaloo turned to the forcefield, the unicorns had grown impatient and advanced to the corner where the pegasus was allegedly hiding, only to find it empty. Scootaloo only knew of this because she heard their confused-and frustrated-shouts from behind her. They looked for her, but never found her, for she had escaped within the nocturnal blizzards waging outside the Capital City. . . . The arctic winds of the north bit at Scootaloo's skin as she trudged to the train station- or at least, where she thought the station was. It was impossible to see anything beyond a yard. Scootaloo pulled down her sonar goggles- this had been the fourth time she had since she had left the borders of the Capital City- in hopes that the station, distant as it may be, was still ahead of her. Snow was replaced by darkness, which, in a flash of light, gave way to static. Static everywhere- everywhere but a long block out in the distance. Surely that was the station, Scootaloo had been telling herself it had been for the past twenty minutes. Or had it been half an hour she had been plodding in this snow? Hell, she may have even been marching for fourty-five minutes for all she knew. There was another shape revealed by the sonar. It was small sack and six meters away from Scootaloo- plus a foot underground. Picking up her paste slighty, for she was tired, Scootaloo advanced to the spot above the bag and began to dig. A green and silver saddlebag rested in the snow. It was a sign that meant that the glowing prism ahead was the train station, for Scootaloo had buried this saddlebag as she departed from it. There was only a purple scarf and a thermos filled with hot chocolate inside. Scootaloo drank the hot chocolate greedily, welcoming the warm liquid into her body, feeling its warm course around her body. She kept the scarf in the saddlebag. While it could provide warmth, it would be no more than what her body armor provided her. She slung the bag on her back, and patted it as if to reassure it wouldn't fall. There was a bump on the side beneath the fabric, she hadn't noticed it until now. For a second Scootaloo wondered what it was, but the cold wind directed her attention to the train station once more. With the unconventionally shaped saddlebag on her Scootaloo continued to plow through the snow. It was odd, really. Instead of hanging on her sides the bag wrapped around her body, so that the compartment was on her back, but the opening rested at her side. After a few more minutes of marching a gold light illuminated ahead of Scootaloo. It was a lamp post, one that stood at the entrance of the train station. While she was still out of the range of the light Scootaloo brought the saddlebag to the ground again and began to strip herself of her armor. It was the very reason she had brought the saddlebag, to conceal her equipment. She wrapped the scarf around her neck. It was warm, partially because it had been next to the thermos, but also because the unicorns in the 2nd Echelon had enchanted the bags of field agents. They were resistant to fire, water, temperature, and-well, Scootaloo didn't really care for the last one at the moment, she could ask later, at headquarters- where frostbite wouldn't be trying to chew at her hooves. There were a few ponies at the station, a couple were Equestrians, and some were Crystal ponies. A few saw a pegasus approach from the shadows. She wasn't dressed in black, and she had no goggles on her head. In fact, all she sported was a purple scarf and an oddly shaped backpack. She was certainly not a special agent of some sort, if somepony was to suggest that then they were crazy. Anypony could tell, she was merely another tourist riding the midnight train home. . . . She was a tired, crimson gem pony, with an aqua blue mane in a bun. She was also a mother, who went by the name of Star Sapphire, sitting on a couch at the right side of the carriage, behind a simple table in the first of the three passenger cars. The train was noiseless and stationary, for the time being. In a few minutes the train was expected to leave, but not until after the last batch of passengers were to board. Until then, she would simply enjoy the tranquility of the passenger car with her lovely foal cradled in her arms, his soft purple coat and short, dark purple mane wrapped safely within the blanket hugging his sleeping body. The peacefulness of the coach continued, through the door's sudden opening and the few passengers entering, the calmness of the carriage remained and lingered. Even the loud whistle signaling the train's departure sounded like the hum of a lullaby as the locomotive began to crawl away from the station. There weren't many more beings on board, at least not many sharing her coach, just a unicorn stallion at the back right row, another earth pony mare three rows away on the left side of the carriage, and a pegasus sitting right next to her. Of all places, why next to her? Star Sapphire shrugged off the question. She didn't mind the company. The pegasus had an orange coat and a purple mane that was the exact same hue as her son's. She looked tired, but was purposely evading sleep. Her hooves were crossed and her back was turned, as if she was in a deep slumber, but her eyes were clearly open, even though Sapphire couldn't see them, she knew. On the other side of the table was an oddly shaped bag, brought by the pegasus, hogging the entire seat. Neither the bag or it's owner moved nor did they look like they ever would. Half of the trip was spent in silence, broken only when the conductor entered and announced that they would be crossing the borders to Equestria soon, and that they would be arriving in Canterlot in only a a couple of hours. Excitement began to stir in Sapphire, it was evident by the childlike smile she wore on her face. In her silent joy she turned to her neighbor, eager to speak, just to share some happiness on this train. Surprisingly, the pegasus spoke first. "You have a lovely foal, Miss." started the pegasus. "Oh! Why thank you!" responded Sapphire. The declaration surprised her, but it was a nice surprise. "What's the little guy's name?" asked the pegasus, peeking at the child's face. "His name is Shining Tanzanite," Declared the mare proudly. "He's so cute," The mare complimented. "Isn't he? He's so special..." responded Star Sapphire, holding her child close to her like treasure. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Star Sapphire, by the way. It's nice to meet you." "Scootaloo." answered the pegasus. "So what brings you to Equestria?" "Well I've heard that it is a beautiful country! I went there once, when I was three, but that was so long ago I don't remember anything of it. I figured, since I haven't seen it for a thousand years, why not visit? Anyways, why are you on this train?" "I was visiting the Crystal Empire, or the Capital City at least. It's such a beautiful town." "So you are returning home now, I take it?" "Yeah, I live in Ponyville." "Ponyville? I've never heard of Ponyville before, whats it like?" "I'm not surprised you haven't," chuckled Scootaloo. Actually, given the ponies who live there- the elements of harmony to name a few, she was a bit surprised. "Ponyville was founded after the Crystal Empire disappeared, it's small and out in the country." "It sounds like a lovely place," concluded Star Sapphire, "I think I'll have to visit there while I'm in Equestria." "I'd be more than happy to give you the grand tour," offered Scootaloo. "Why thank you!" laughed Star Sappire. Then, in an instant, the peacefulness died. It started with a hum. A quiet, unsuspecting noise that would've been ignored if a pony wasn't trying to hear it. Luckily, Scootaloo was. The orange pegasus turned around just in time to see the unicorn sitting in the back of the coach- now standing with his horn glowing brighter and brighter. In an instant the Pegasus reached her hoof over Star Sapphire's neck and quickly ducked below the table, bringing herself and her new companion to the ground. The sound of a heated beam, shattering glass, and the cry of the scared Tanzinite erupted in the carriage like a volcano. The unicorn marched down the aisle, noiseless. Emotionless. Not a single head portruded from the seats; everypony had the sense to hide from the killer on board. Two were trembling in terror, their minds trying to comprehend the situation. Why was this happening? What's going to happen to us? One pony was crying, for he was but an infant, and the cruelty and twisted madness of this world was alien to him, and it terrified him. The final pony, the Pegasus, was still, and concentrated. She was no stranger to this. In fact, she was in a distant memory. The first day in the 3rd Echelon, there was helplessness, there was confusion. There was darkness. Ironically, what one factor that had became her greatest ally had abandoned her. She looked at her bag, her Five-seveN rested in there. But she wasn't supposed to use it, technically, the Five-seveN didn't exist. She peeked from the side of the seat, only to be greeted by a red beam passing right by her face. Surely, the 3rd Echelon would consider the circumstance she was under as an exception, and even if they didn't, she sure as hell would. A second impediment was the width of the table, which wasn't wide enough for Scootaloo to move around without making herself vulnerable. Perhaps she could use kinesis? Push the bag to make it look like out of a stroke of luck it had fallen? It was worth a try. Scootaloo concentrated on the bag, every fiber, every strand of silk, and applied with all her being a force to push it. The damn thing didn't even budge. Thinking quickly, Scootaloo's mind raced to other solutions. Her hind legs! Why didn't she think of it before? Carefully unwrapping them from under her, Scootaloo reached her hind right leg to the bag and began to push it off the seat. "What are you doing?" Whispered Star Sapphire. Scootaloo ignored her, directing the bag to the edge of the seat. Finally, gravity took over and claimed the bag as its own. Right when it had made contact to the ground, the entire coach went dark. "What the hell?!" Sceamed the unicorn, as the glow of his horn suddenly vanished. Scootaloo was asking the same question in her head. Darkness, her ally, had returned to her. Grabbing the opportunity to strike, Scootaloo rushed out from under the table, bucked the unicorn, and turned around to bash his head into a nearby window. Once more, the sounds of an infant screaming and shattered glass filled the room. The lights returned, revealing the aftermath of the quick, turbulent battle. The stallion laid by a window, his head bruised and bleeding by various cuts. "Oh my Celestia!" Shrieked Star Sapphire, distraught by the sight of the body, "Oh my Celestia! What happened?! What happened?! My Celestia! Is he-" "Ma'am, calm down," comforted Scootaloo, "Calm down Sapphire, everything is all right, he's not dead, okay? Everything is fine. Ma'am, listen, I'm going to check the other coaches, I'll come back here when it's safe, alright? Listen, it's important that you try to remain calm, okay? I'm going to be right back, and then we can all go to the next car over." Scootaloo spoke like a mother- to both Star Sapphire, and to the earth pony as she went to retrieve her saddlebag. A close inspection revealed it had crushed the odd button in the between the fabrics when it had landed. Had that caused the lights to go out? Scootaloo slipped the saddlebag on her back, knowing it would come in handy. As for Star Sapphire, she began to cradle her baby. She ignored the quiet sobbing of the earth pony a few rows away, and just continued to rock her beloved child, trying to calm it with a lullaby. In a shaky voice, she began to sing, "Hush now.....quiet now i..it's time...to lay y..your sleepy head, h-hush....now...quiet now, it's time...to go....to bed.... She kept on singing until her son's screams reduced to a silent whimper, and continued to hum the to the tune until Shining Tanzinite once more slept angelically. Scootaloo entered, quietly and calmly, into the coach just three minutes after the foal had closed his eyes. "Okay, everypony," she whispered and directed as a mother would, "We're gonna go move to the next car over, okay?" She shook the earth pony mare, offered a reassuring smile, and guided her to the door. Then she turned to Star Sapphire, "Are you ready to move?" She whispered. Sapphire nodded, and tried to hold back more sobs as she spoke, "yes....yes I'm ready." "It's all gonna be okay," promised Scootaloo as she walked alongside her friend. Together, they opened the door, crossed I've the small space between the carriages, and entered into the coach. And as the door quietly shut, peace greeted the train once more. . . . Uploading_Data: 3rd_Echelon_Field_Intelligence Uploading_File: Portable EMP Description: All 3rd Echelon members are given a special saddlebag to carry any necessities required for a mission. This bag is waterproof, fire-resistsant, and cannot be teleported or cursed (it can, however , be levitated depending on its weight and the species of the operative). The bag also doubles as a portable EMP (electro-magic pulse). An electro magic pulse releases a wave of both electro-magnetic energy and magic to disable almost all forms of nearby electricity and light, including light from magic (the soul exception being an enchanted gem that naturally produces light).
Prolgue 1:Record Data: uploading File Records of [Classified]Classified_Information: Cannot_upload_data_on_<1st\_echelon> Luna continued to Glare in frustration at the computer. Only the upper echelons of the Equestrian military were granted to use computers, so it was very rare to classify information since most ponies didn't even have a computer to gain access to any important data. Nonetheless, she understood why this of all information was restricted to even te highest of authorities. Likewise, she knew how to bypass the classification. Override_Classification: Identity Verified: Welcome back, Princess Luna. Luna smiled as she pulled out the forbidden files that had disappeared into oblivion since the last thousand years. All these precious files in the computer contained the valuable information of a once powerful army: her army. Data_record: file 109702 Date: 3-13-1012 Location: Trottingham Objective: Capture the city The bell rang twelve times to signal midnight as the two soldiers idly stood in the town square, trying to hide the fear consuming them. Celestia had received a tip just that morning that Trottingham would be Nightmare Moon's next target. Trottingham would be a powerful strategic point, if it fell, there would be only small cities like Hoofington or Ponyville standing in the Lunar Republic's way to reach Canterlot. They were given intel that Nightmare Moon herself was to engage in this soon to be bloody battle. The silence was eerie, and the guards exchanged worried glances towards each other. Not even the sounds of their own army marching through the streets could be heard. There was something disturbing about this night... Operation: Eclipse A patrol of five guards marched down the street. They watched carefully for any sort of movement, any sort of disturbance in the tranquility of the night. It was all in vain, for they never peeked deep enough into the shadows, and thus never noticed the three sarosians, all three armed with a pistol in their jaws, creeping behind them. One had grabbed the guard in the very back and held him as a meat shield, while the others grabbed the two who were just in front of the last guard. They quickly and quietly subdued the two soldiers. The remaining guards turned around in shock, but were never able to cry for help as the sound of two gunshots rang like thunder. Uploading_file: Upload...Complete Weapon: P228 sidearm Manufacturer: SIG Sauer Cartridge: 9x19mm Parabellum Description: Produced in secrecy during the Equestrian Civil War, the P228 was the standard weapon of the infamous and secretive Eclipse Echelon (now referred to as the 1st Echelon upon the installment of the 2nd Echelon in the Equestrian Armed Forces), replacing the Lunar Spear. Small, sleek, and dark colored, the P228 not only caused the Eclipse Echelon to become the backbone of Nightmare Moon's army, but also gave birth to the superstition that Nightmare Moon's presence was proclaimed by thunder. The weapon, by decree of Princess Celestia of Equestria, is forbidden, regardless of a pony's rank or status. The existence of this weapon has been denied to the public and it's information is classified. Luna stared at the screen, analyzing the weapon before her. She remembered when she was first shown this instrument of death. It was designed to give her army an edge over Celestia's. The technology, long forgotten, would have still been considered advanced even now. But Luna wasn't impressed, to her it was rather obsolete. Not to mention loud. The two soldiers in the town square were shaking in fear. For the past four hours, thunder had been echoing through the city, and yet there was not a cloud in the sky. "W-what, what's happening?" asked one of the guards wearily. "I-I don't know! Has the battle started?" asked, the second guard. "But where is everypony!?" The first guard was trying to suppress his panicked state. "I- I don't... My Celestia!" he screamed as he saw the tip of a sharp dagger protruding out of his comrade's chest. "C-Corpral?!" he screamed. Suddenly, he felt a cold, jagged blade pressed against his sweating throat. His muffled screams were the last noises heard in the night. The news reached Celestia by noon. According to the reports, an army of five hundred sarosians, accompanied by Nightmare Moon herself, had overwhelmed Trottingham with the sheer number of soldiers. The event was forever remembered as Nightmare Night. Luna grinned at the computer, reading the post-battle reports. Enemy_Casualties: 300 Friendly_Casualties:0 Friendly_Forces: 7 Luna smiled, even though it felt wrong to. Although ashamed of the blood she had shed, she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in her creation. The 1st Echelon did not disappoint.
Prologue 2: Luna's ArmyDate:4/28/2012 Location: 2nd Echelon HQ Objective: N/A "Please, sister!" exclaimed Luna. "An intelligence branch would serve well for the Equestrian military. With it, we could be one step ahead of any threat!" It was only a week after her return when Luna had suggested an intelligence agency, one that would extract the information from the shadows of Equestria. "I do not wish to invade the lives of my subjects, Luna." answered Celestia, "I don't wish for you to harm them." "Sister, we assure you, we intend to help our subjects, not harm them! The 2nd Echelon will help us prevent crises before they happen!" "But I do not wish to have a military branch as... aggressive as your Ecliipse Echelon." retorted Celestia. "You misunderstand us sister," assured Luna. "This second Echelon will only monitor chatter from suspicious suspects and simply keep in touch with your scouts. They will not comprise of field agents, we can promise you this." . . . Luna regretted that promise. While the 2nd Echelon was praised with success inside the halls of the castle for being the chief reasons Celestia could quickly respond to a disaster, such as the incident with the sleeping dragon and the riot in Ponyville over a doll, Luna was frustrated with the poor execution of the wedding a few weeks ago. Despite the 2nd Echelon's interception of the intel regarding a plan to attack Canterlot, despite the fact that they successfully relayed the message to Princess Celestia and drastic measures as radical as a forcefield were performed, all of Canterlot was caught by surprise when the changelings attacked. "What troubles you, your majesty?" asked a deep voice from behind Luna's back. The princess of the night turned to greet the concerned guard. "General Stargazer," addressed Luna to the sarosian guard. "I feel as though I am losing faith in my sister's military force." "Your majesty, I believe, under Shining Armor, the Canterlot Royal Guard has been at its strongest-" "But that is only half as strong as the 1st Echelon, which would have been perfect to accompany the 2nd." "Your majesty, may I ask, what are you trying to say?" "I am trying to say that The Canterlot royal guard fails to keep up with the efficiency of the 2nd Echelon. We need a force that can strike as soon as we receive new intel. I know I promised my sister that I wouldn't use such a force, but I believe we need an army as aggressive, an army as effective, as the 1st Echelon!" "But Princess Celestia-" "Would be perfectly safe because of an army, and would not to find out. Who would tell her? The 2nd Echelon?" General Stargazer found Luna's logic hauntingly true. Luna spoke. "It will be like the 1st Echelon, with technology that far outranks our current level. We will need to be ahead of Celestia to outrun her suspicion." "Your majesty, this is treachery! We shouldn't be conspiring behind your sisters back." "This is no conspiracy, General. This is an agency that will protect her from the shadows. Unknown to even her. A guardian angel, if you will." The General was quite, deep in thought. "General, I will need you to recruit scientists from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The 3rd Echelon will be awaken soon."
Chapter 1: The MarinesDate: 3/14/2026 Location: Ponyville Objective: N/A The twenty-four year old mare used to dream that she was in the Wonderbolts, right next to her idol, Rainbow Dash. Sadly, neither pegasai were to live that dream. For some strange reason, Rainbow Dash surprised everypony in Ponyville and left the flight group. She had only participated for half a year. Scootaloo marched passed the small building with a sign that read, Equestrian Military Enlistment Center. She never imagined herself as a soldier, but it seemed appropriate. She always tried out new things when she was a foal, perhaps that is why she decided to sign up for Princess Celestia's new branch, the Equestrian Marine Corps, four years ago. She, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle became "Crusader squad" with seven other ponies. It was a strange branch, given the latest equipment the Equestrian military had to offer, with kevlar vests made to be as equally effective as the royal guards' armor but was a third of its weight and the radio phones made to keep the squad together when they were a hundred miles apart. But today, Scootaloo wasn't a marine, only a friendly orange pegasus walking through the peaceful town of Ponyville to see her two closest friends. Although she promised Sweetie Belle and Applebloom she would meet them at the local cafe`, Scootaloo was in no rush. She and when she Saw Rainbow Dash, she decided that a few minutes to talk with her idol wouldn't hurt anypony. "Hey Rainbow!" Shouted Scootaloo. The sky blule Pegasus just slowly turned her head. "Hey." It was an expected answer. Ever since she left the Wonderbolts she's been like this. She was distant now, even to her friends, tired, and edgy. "So... uh, whats up?" asked Scootaloo. "Nothing." grunted Rainbow Dash. "Uh....thats cool....I guess...." "Not really." "Well, I just wanted to say hi, since the Crusaders and I are going to be on tour again at the Crystal Empire..." "Are you now?" Suddenly Rainbow Dash sounded a bit interested in the conversation. "Why is that?" The orange pegsasus sighed, "Because of the civil war. You know, some of the ponies don't like Cadance ruling and want to be a powerful empire again, and-" "Yeah, I've heard about the conflict." "Anyways, there's been some hostile activity lately by the mountain region." continued Scootaloo. "I see, sounds pretty intense. Why do you think they're settling at the mountains?" "Dunno." said Scootaloo. "Huh. Well it was nice talking to you Scootaloo, take care now." "Thanks Rainbow Dash," "And good luck in the mountains, too." "Thanks. Celestia knows I'll need it." Scootaloo flew down to the cafe. Thanks to her wings, she was able to reach her friends quickly as if she hadn't stopped to talk with her hero. "Hey girls," said Scootaloo. "Howdy Scoots," said Applebloom. "Where were you?" asked Sweetie Belle casually. "I was just talking to Rainbow Dash." answered Scootaloo. The conversation continued from there to what the three had been doing while they were at Ponyville, how Applejack's farm was doing, to Rarity's latest design. Finally, the conversation switched to the most infamous of discussions. "So did you ever find out what your cutie mark means?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Pfft. I've given up figuring out what it years ago. I'll just be grateful that I have it." said Scootaloo. She looked at her flank. There were three red dots that formed a triangle. What it meant, Scootaloo had no idea. They appeared on her flank during her first mission as a marine, six years ago. . . . Date: 10/10/ 2020 Location: Gemstone Mountains, Crystal Empire Objective: Locate PCE spy, call sign Pyrite, and capture him She was nervous, for both herself and her friends. The thought of being blown out of the sky lingered in her head, as did the thought of capture or death. The squad was approaching on a large, flying chariot to a compound where a mole for the Ponies' Chrystal Empire, the PCE, as the insurgents called themselves. While the Crystal Earth Ponies and Crystal Pegasie were more than happy to see Princess Cadance govern their kingdom, the Crystal Unicorns, loyalists of King Sombra and the backbone of the original Crystal Empire, weren't willing to abandon the old regime of imperialism. "Hey, Scoots. You alright?" asked the Staff Sergeant, a brown earth pony with and black mane. "Yeah, Landslide, I'm fine." She lied. "Hey Scootaloo, I was wondering, why don't you have a cutie mark?" asked a white pegasus. Both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle glared at him, while Scootaloo looked like she was ready to strangle him. She hated it, how Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were eventually gifted with cutie marks while she remained a blank flank. She never let her jealousy get the best of her, she never lashed out her frustration on her dear friends. That did not, however, mean she didn't hate it whenever somepony brought up her lack of a cutie mark. "Touchy subject?" he guessed. Scootaloo angrily nodded. "Don't feel bad, Scoots." said a light green unicorn stallion with a olive-green mane, "My older sister, she's twenty-two..." He leaned in as if he was going to whisper, but instead mimicked the hush tone of a whisper so everypony could still hear, "She's still a blank flank, too." Even Scootaloo couldn't help but snicker. "Damn, Twenty-two? I seriously hope I find my special talent before that age." "Is that why we became the 'CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MARINE FORCE RECON! YAY!'?" Sweetie Belle imitated the screaming chant that she, Applebloom, and Scootaloo would cheer whenever they tried something new as foals. Applebloom and Scootaloo were cracking up at this point, and some of the other squad mates had chuckled too. "I don't get it." said the white pegasus. "Oh sorry, Storm Cloud," said Sweetie Belle, "Its kinda an inside jo-" "Approaching the drop zone! Thirty seconds!" shouted one of the six pegasai keeping the chariot airborne. "Alright, You heard the pilot!" shouted Landslide. Pegasai, hold onto any of the non-pegasai squad members while we're dropping!" The pegasai in the squad consisted of Scootaloo, Storm Cloud, a light blue mare with a purple mane named Morning Breeze, another mare who had pink fur and sky-blue mane named Parasol, and a yellow stallion with a brown mane named Heatwave. "The rest of you! Carry your spear and your pegasus' spear! Understood?!" "HOOWAH!" was the response. "You know the music, Crusader squad! Start dancing!" bellowed Landslide before he was carried off by Storm Cloud. The green unicorn, Green Beret, held onto Heatwave as they jumped out of the chariot. Another unicorn, who had a yellow coat and blue mane with oak colored streaks named Hidden Treasure jumped out with Morning Breeze. Sweetie Belle jumped with Parasol. Only Applebloom and Scootaloo remained in the chariot. "Ya ready, AB?" asked Scootaloo. "Ready!" shouted Applebloom. There landing was rough, and as soon as Applebloom's hoofs stroke the ground both the earth pony and pegasus began to roll on the grass in a painful touchdown. "You alright, Scoots?" asked Applebloom. "Fine. Where's my spear?" Applebloom handed the weapon to Scootaloo. "Where's the rest of the squad?" asked Applebloom. "Here!" shouted a familiar voice. The two mares turned to face Green Beret calling them. . . . It became apparent that Scootaloo and Applebloom weren't the only members of the squad that became separated from the group. Shortly after the two mares rendezvoused with the squad on a nearby hill, Morning Breeze and a leaf-and-twig covered Hidden Treasure met up with the squad. "Hidden Treasure," laughed Heat Wave, "You look like hammered shit!" "Yeah, well, buck you too, buddy." "Squad, form up." Commanded Landslide. The compound was just down the hill, it was a small villa with a large mansion in the center. That was where there objective rested. "Lets move!" whispered Landslide. "Roger," answered Storm Cloud, "Moving!" The rest of the squad obediantly followed, a silent parade moving in the night. Scootaloo was left with only Sweetie Belle. "Are you worried?" asked the orange pegasus. "Of course, this is our first mission." answered the white mare. "Me too. I'm trying not to let it get to my head though." "Same here." "That's good. Moving!" "Moving!" . . . The Compound was quite, even the hoofsteps of the marines could barely be heard. Despite this, every small noise seemed too loud. The quite hoofsteps felt like the obnoxious march of a parade, and the buzzes of the mosquitos were like growling manticores. The entrance to the mansion had two guards, both guarding the ends of the large double sided door. Within the mansion there were no doubt several dozens of guards patrolling the area. "Two guards. Switch em' off?" asked Storm Cloud. "And enter using the front door? Negative, the open entrance hall would allow the guards to instantly corner us at the doorway." "So where do we go?" asked Morning Breeze. "Around the corner, look for a back door or cellar entrance of some sort." answered Landslide. Parasol found a cellar entrance, while Sweetie Belle located a back door. "Convenient." smiled Landslide. "We can split into two teams. Storm Cloud, take Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Green Beret through the cellar and begin a search and destroy mission. It'll be a lot easier to carry Pyrite out of here if there aren't any guards." "Roger that," responded Storm Cloud. "We'll keep in touch using our radios. The rest of you, on me." said Landslide, "We move out. Now." Storm Cloud's fireteam quietly proceeded to the cellar. "Green Beret, take point." Commanded Storm Cloud. "Yes sir." said Green Beret as he entered the cellar. The room was dark and moist, and was without a soul. "We're clear." said Green Beret. As the fire fireteam entered, light invaded the end of the room. "Hold it! Find cover!" ordered Storm Cloud. A tired unicorn entered the cellar. He casually walked passed Scootaloo, stopped next to Sweetie Belle, and turned to his left. He scanned the room, but didn't see any of the marines. He was simply checking if in case of his partners were present. Then, Silently and ever so gingerly, he carefully extracted a bottle of grape juice from a cupboard. He took a small sip, carefully scanned the room again, then piggishly proceeded to chug the sweet drink. He gave out a satisfied sigh, and his eyes trailed to the ground. There was.... something. A purple and pink manifestation of cotton on the ground, resembling a tail. His eyes followed the cotton until he reached where it ended and a white body began. Suddenly before him was a terrified unicorn mare. "Wha- what?" was all he could ask before a sharp pain stung his back. . . . Scootaloo's heart nearly flatlined when the guard noticed Sweetie Belle's tail. As soon as she became obvious, so would the rest of the squad. The entire team would be compromised. "Wha....what?" asked the guard, confused. Before he had time to comprehend what was happening, Scootaloo emerged from her hiding space and bucked the guard in the back. All of a sudden, training turned into instincts as Scootaloo reached one of her forearms around the stallions neck as he stood on his hind legs in pain from the blow to the spine. Scootaloo pulled the guard close to her and tightened her grip. His scream was emitted as a faint whisper as he fell to the ground, dead. "That was too close," said Sweetie Belle. "Tell me about it," said Scootaloo, unaware of the faint glow on her hips. The cellar lead to a bright hall, empty. It must have been the section the guard left in the cellar was watching. There were faint footsteps heard, Storm Cloud assumed that they were close to the entrance hall. "This is Landslide," said a static- filled voice. "Approaching the objective's room now. "Roger that." responded Storm Cloud. "Scootaloo, take point." Scootaloo walked passed Storm Cloud, the radio quietly speaking behind her. "Room Clear. Objective is not here. We're checking the other rooms now." The mare gingerly stepped through the hall. Her hoofs made no noise, but her heart bested like a loud drum in anxiety. She could hear the hoofsteps of countless guards, and she could've sworn one pair was getting louder. There was a light-switch beside her. She reached for the switch, allowing the darkness to immerse itself around her. The hoofsteps were becoming louder. "Sit back, Scoots. This one's mine." whipsered the voice of Green Beret in her ear. He approached down the hall, his spear lowered ahead of him. He crouched like an animal about to pounce as he waited for the guard to turn the corner. The two marines waited. Whether it was for five seconds or five hours Scootaloo did not know. The hoofsteps finally revealed themselves as a brown unicorn guard. He didn't see Scootalo, and he didn't see Green Beret. Nor did he notice the long spear aimed at his throat. The blade cut through the flesh smoothly and pierced the throat of the pony. He fell clumsily, but the loud thud from the body hitting the floor was prevented by Green Beret gently placing the body on the floor using his magic. "Clear." said Green Beret. The entrance hall was large and bright with a colossal lobby and a walkway in the back that lead to two hallways, one of which sheltered the fireteam, and door in the middle. The room was occupied by fifteen PCE guards, all disiplined and devoted to the art of killing. There was no way of sneaking past the them to get into a position that could help the fireteam overwhelm them. No, instead the fireteam would have to begin their fight in the crowded hall, and being trapped in a doorway of death like that could end a fight before it even began. The solution to the predicament was simple: begin the fight with an unfair start. "Beret, Sweetie Belle. You're up." The horns of the unicorns began to shimmer with faint lights as a small white orb the size of a golf ball began to form in front of them. It gently glided through the room, calmly making it's way to the center of the large room. It's unfamiliarity and grace one the curiosity of the many guards patrolling the room. They peered deeply into the mysterious, delicate ball of light. When suddenly it violently exploded. White blindness possessed the confused soldiers as they screamed in there disoriented frenzy. The wails of the stupified ponies was a signal for the marines to strike. "Go go go!" Screamed Storm Cloud. A storm of spears cut through the air and pierced the backs of five of the ponies. The remaining hostiles were just recovering from the ambush when the five marines charged into the room. "Get to cover!" screamed Storm Cloud as the first fires of magic stabbed the air above him. They were pinned down and scattered across the room, but at least the cover they crouched under was strong, and in the open room they could outmaneuver their magical opponents. "This is Landslide! We have captured the objective and are exiting the building! We're dealing with some hostile resistance! We should be at your position in ten Mikes!" Sweetie Belle and Beret were on opposite ends of the entrance hall, both using their magic to retrieve the spears and return them to their allies, and both prayed silent prayers that they weren't shot by the heated magic as their team rearmed. But no such luck existed in warfare. The guards turned their heads to face the unicorns. Green Beret stubbornly returned fire with his own scorching bolts of energy, while Sweetie Belle continued to carefully moved the spears to return them t her friends. She didn't notice the unicorn flanking her cover to attack her. She didn't realize he was there until the light of his horn was shining against her soft cheeks. It burnt to look at it, like gazing at a fire for too long. The burning feeling and ominous glow told her that this spell was meant to kill. It was meant to stab, cut, and burn all at once. All she could do was freaze in fear in her last terrifying seconds of her life. Suddenly Applebloom's spear jammed itself into the guard's side. His concentration broke, his waist bled, and he flew five feat backwards as Sweetie Belle retaliated with her own magic. "Watch yourself, Sweetie Belle!" warned Applebloom to her childhood friend. The white mare lifted the spear into the air with a faint shimmer of her horn, passing the weapon to Applebloom. "Got it." . . . The nauseating smell of sweat and blood infected Scootaloo's nostrils. The dead were scattered across the room, and the thought of joining their ranks was disturbing. She peeked out of her cover, threw her spear, and recoiled back behind the coffee table that shielded her from the bolts of energy flying across the room.Safe again. Although, wasn't the safety but an illusion? Her protection was withering away before her eyes, and sooner or later it would be gone. She looked to her right where a turned over couch sat as dead as the fallen guards, then faced her left to Parasol. "I need new cover! Can you give suppressing fire?" she screamed. "I'll see what I can do." said Parasol. The pegasus launched her spear at the unsuspecting guard that had Scootaloo pinned, earning his attention and granting Scootaloo the perfect window of opportunity to move. "Go! Now!" Scootaloo felt naked, unprotected, as she ran to cover. She was vulnerable, like a limping deer. The couch all of a sudden seemed too far, and Scootaloo began to wonder why she chose to run to it. Her old cover was safe, and sturdy, and she gave it up for a new one she may not even reach. Her final breath was one of relief and exhaustion as she slouched against the back sofa, unscathed. "Watch out! Reinforcements!" Storm Cloud's voice boomed as ten more guards emerged from the halls on the walkways. Scootaloo felt betrayed, cheated even. Suddenly the cover that protected not only her, but all of the fireteam, had turned into walls that forced them to face the ten extra guards. The battlefield was turned into a targeting range in the blink of an eye. Everything moved slowly, from the charging horns that were beginning to pulse with vibrant colors, the confident grins that began to shape themselves on the faces of the PCE soldiers, to the sudden burst of fire from the center door consuming all but six of the guards, who fell like dolls as Landslide's fireteam emerged from the smoke. "Clear!" called Heat Wave. "Roger that," answered Landslide, carrying an unconscious unicorn on his back. He turned on his radio, "This is Crusader squad, we have captured the objective. Meet us at the extraction point." "Roger that." answered the radio. "Meet at the extraction point in five mikes, over." "Roger." ended Landslide. "Alright team, we're Oscar Mike." The night sky was disturbingly peaceful, as if the world didn't care that so many ponies had died that way. Then again, the squad acted no differently. They talked as they did before the mission, acting as if it never happened. It made Scootaloo uncomfortable to see how easy it was for the squad to shrug off death so easily, and by the looks of Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, they must have felt the same way. At the same time though, it was reassuring to see her brothers and sisters in arm talk like ponies and laugh like ponies, because thats what they were: ponies. Ponies, and maybe something greater. . . . The flight back to Canterlot was much livelier then the one to the Crystal empire. "So Treasure, what are you gonna do when you get to Canterlot?" asked Green Beret. "I dunno," Hidden Treasure began to muse the question. "Morning Breeze, got any plans tonight?" "Not with you." silent laughter filled the compartment. "What about you, Beret?" asked Hidden Treasure. "Me? I'm going to hold my sweet wife Blue Wave close to me, eat dinner with my kids. You know, spend time with my family." He began to think for a second, "Maybe I'll pay my sister a visit, too." "Good idea, maybe I'LL visit your sister too!" "Oh buck you, Treasure!" once more, the compartment was filled with laughter. "I think I'll stay in Canterlot." said Sweetie Belle. "My sister said she would be here to pick up some fabrics. She's supposed to leave tomorrow, so I can go home with her." "You have a sister, too? How old is she?" "Keep it in your pants, Treasure." answered Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo leaned towards Applebloom, "Don't let him find out about AJ." she whispered. Applebloom snickered in response. "So Scootaloo, what are you gonna do?" "I'm going the Tartarus home!" laughed Scootaloo. "So you can tell everypony about your cutie mark?" asked Applebloom. "My what?" She looked at her flank, three red dots were seared into it to form a triangle, "Oh you have got to be freakin' kidding me!" "What? What's wrong?" asked Applebloom. "Eighteen years of waiting and I get three freakin' red dots? What the hell! What does that even mean?!" Landslide was one of the many ponies chuckling at Scootaloo's reaction to her new cutie mark. "Geez. Calm down, Scoots. At least you have one now." "Still..." eased Scootaloo, "Eighteen years for a freakin' triangle?" she chuckled at her own expense.. . . . "I dunno..." mused Scootaloo. "Frankly, I really don't care about what my cutie mark means anymore," admitted Scootaloo. "Maybe you were destined ta' be a marine the whole time." suggested Applebloom. "Maybe..." thought Scootaloo, "But why three red dots? Why not, I dunno, the marine logo or spears or something?" "Ah dunno, ah don't design these cutie marks." answered Applebloom as a cream colored mare brought three cups to the table. "We ordered for you, Scoots." explained Sweetie Belle, "We thought you'd want some ice tea." "Thanks," Scootaloo. "Well," began Applebloom, "To a safe trip to the mountains, and for peace by the time we're done their!" she raised her glass into the air like a flag, "Cutie Mark Crusaders force recon!" laughed, Sweetie Belle. "Yeah!" "I'll drink to that!" laughed Scootaloo. . . . Date: 4/23/2026 Location: Emerald City, near the Sapphire Mountain range Objective: Maintain peace within the region Throughout the six years of service the squad had turned into a family, and the members that remained closest to each other was Storm Cloud's fireteam. To Scootaloo, he and Green Beret were her dear older brothers, and Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were her two sisters best friends forever. It made her feel safe walking down Emerald city, knowing that her siblings were at her side to protect her. "Roger that, Landslide. Proceeding to the market, over." Storm Cloud turned off his radio and faced the rest of the fireteam. "Alright before we meet up with the rest of the squad Landslide wants us to check out the market. There have been reports about suspicious activity there for a few days now." The rest of the fireteam followed without answer or question, loyally obeying their superior. The market wasn't dangerous, but it wasn't a surprise that there were so many reports regarding "suspicious behavior". As the marines walked through the streets of venders and consumers, Scootaloo caught over a hundred irritated glances at the local. Once when the fireteam passed a local resteraunt, to ponies spoke on the balcony quietly, paused to watch the marines with disdain, and didn't resume their conversation until the last soldier left their sight. It was the type of gesture that told a pony someone was after them, but there was nothing to prove it. It was no wonder Crusader squad was sent to investigate this place! As safe as the market seemed, nopony could help but distrust it. The setting itself seemed to express hatred, although the citizens here seemed to hide theirs very well. "Area clear..." said Storm Cloud to his radio before turning it off again. "...More or less." "I didn't like that place," said Sweetie Belle. "Things seemed so off there. It look liked everypony wanted to kill us." "Yeah, but that doesn't make them insurgents." said Green Beret. "There's no way there aren't any PCE members there." said Applebloom. "Why do you think command keeps stationing troops there?" asked Beret, "We're just waiting for them to slip, give their position away. Then we can kick all their asses." "Until then," said Storm Cloud, "Its gonna be nothing but days of distrustful staring." "At least we're out of there now." said Scootaloo. The walk to the checkpoint was, much to everyponies' gratitude, far calmer than the market. The crystal ponies around the marines were more far more welcoming and friendlier, and it brought a sense of comfort to the soldiers. Green Beret was flipping threw three small envelopes, just something to do to past the time. The letters brought a week smile to his face as he began to read them. "Watch'a got there, Beret?" asked Applebloom. "Oh, nothing. They're letters from my kids." he said. "This one's from my son Notebook, I think I've told you about him." He pulled out the second letter, "This one's from my daughter Sunflower and from Blue Wave." He pulled out a third letter, "Look! I even got one from my sister!" "Your sister, huh? Did she ever get her cutie mark?" asked Applebloom. "Yeah. She's had it for quite a while now." answered Green Beret. "Aaaaaaaaw..." said Sweetie Belle. "That's so sweet... I wish my sister would write to me..." Applebloom chuckled, "Sweetie Belle, your sister doesn't write to you because you can't read!" "Very funny" said Sweetie Belle, "Laugh it out, when I get home-" "-You're going to kindergarden." laughed Scootaloo. "I dunno," added Storm Cloud, "I heard they have entrance exams for kindergarden now, Sweetie Belle might not even-" BOOM! There was fire, fire everywhere. Scootaloo felt the ground being yanked from under her hoofs like a carpet. There was an explosion. It was loud, so why couldn't she hear anything? She hit the cold ground, bleeding from scrapes and cuts, pinned under a flipped wagon. Storm Cloud was lying on the ground motionless with a large broken beam of wood nailing him to his spot. There was a deafening ringing in her ears, but it wasn't loud enough to block the distorted voices from around her. "Capture their wounded!" Scootaloo saw a group of ponies she didn't know carry off an unconsious Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. They were about to pick up Green Beret when he suddenly surged and released a powerful bolt of lightning right into one of the attacker's face. Two more fell at Beret's hoofs before the marine was shot in the back. Scootaloo tried to scream at him, but her voice remained noiseless. She tried to move and help her fallen comrade, but her limbs would not obey. She tried to turn her head away, but she couldn't help but watch with her tear filled eyes as a unicorn approached Green Beret, stepped on his throat, and punctured his forehead with a horrible, blood-red beam. Scootaloo cried at the sight of her fallen brother, "Beret..." was the last word she croaked before her visioned darkened. . . . Uploading_Data: Crystal Ponies Information: Like Equestrians there are three types of crystal ponies: Earth (Also known as gem ponies in their culture), pegasie- (called Diamond Wings in the Crystal Empire's culture), and unicorns. However, their society greatly differs from Equestria, as it is the earth ponies who live in the urban society. The pegasie reside in the Crystal Clouds (which could be considered the Crystal Ponies' equivalent to Cloudsdale, where the country's weather is manufactured). The unicorns have immigrated to the cold mountain regions, not wanting to be affiliated with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's rule. The unicorns had affiliated themselves, and still do affiliate themselves, with the fallen King Sombra.
Chapter 2: RevengeShe woke up with the taste of blood in her mouth. Scootaloo's eyes were bloodshot, and her vision was blurry. The first thing that came into her focus was the motionless corpse of Green Beret surrounded by a red pool. Wiping the blood off her face, the orange mare crawled out from the rubble of the cart towards the fallen soldier. She nudged him softly, even though she new he wouldn't wake up. His eyes were wide open, trapped in a gaze of eternal fear for a death that had already passed. The letters in his Kevlar vest were red and drenched with his own blood. She couldn't look any longer, she felt an agonizing sting looking at her brother like this, dead and mutilated. Not far from him was Storm Cloud's body, frozen in his expression of surprise, and crucified to the ground by the beam of wood lodged into his stomach. Scootaloo stared at his body from behind the veil of tears covering her eyes. How alive they seemed only a few minutes ago. And it was only a few minutes ago. She could still see some of the PCE members lingering at the end of the street, their mear presence fueling Scootaloo's burning rage. They killed her brothers, they took her sisters. The pegasus turned to face the silver spear of Storm Cloud lying on the ground as dead as it's owner. She snapped off the head, then turned to retrieve the bloody dog tags of her family. She looked out to the PCE soldiers once more with eyes bloodshot in rage. They will pay.... . . . She passed Storm Cloud's body, quietly crushing the ground beneath her, ignoring the rambling static from his radio. "Storm Cloud! Crusader two-one actual! This is Crusader one-one actual over! Does anypony copy?! Crusader two-one! Shit.." She slowly stalked them, cutting the distance between her and the ponies in half before ducking behind an overturned table. It was obvious the bomb that had set off by her squad wasn't the only one in the city, debris was scattered like seed on a field. Scootaloo quietly advanced towards the insurgents, holding back the feral rage that coursed through her veins. Instead she hid once more, crouching behind a carriage on the road. Scootaloo wasn't a brute, she was far worse. She was cold and calculating, the type of murderer who knows how to kill somepony with precision. And precision was Scootaloo's weapon. Her sword, her vorpal blade. She saw not just the ponies, but an order. A sequence to overwelm them that would ultimately lead to Scootaloo's own demise if not followed exactly as it should be. there were three of them. The closest to her had his back turn. Strike his back. Turn his body into armor. Scootaloo eyes, blazed with rancor, never moved away from the three unicorns as she slowly approached them. Throw the makeshift knife at the second pony for a quick, clean kill. As for the third and final pony, he will be the trickiest to take down. There is no doubt that he will be firing magic bolts, and with the knife gone there was no way to fight back. The sequence played smoothly like a movie as the gears in Scootaloo's head were spinning. Use the first unicorn as a shield. When the target is close enough, throw the first unicorn on the third to disorient him. Kill him while he's on the ground. The orange marine watched them silently, hiding behind the debris of a building. The first pony was mere inches away from her. The moment to strike was now. They were all marked, it was time to execute. She moved behind the first stallion and kicked his hind legs, causing him to fall backwards. As his head remained in the air the pegasus quickly wrapped her hooves around his neck. The other unicorns were shocked by the sudden attack, not even responding as Scootaloo used her mouth to throw her knife into the second pony's throat. The agonizing wail of the soldier brought the last unicorn to his senses. He released a barrage of magic, only to scorch the body of his comrade. He continued to fire as the mare and stallion began to approach him, ignoring his friend's pleas for mercy. Suddenly, the burnt unicorn was thrown onto him, violently knocking him to the ground. He felt the cold earth on his back, and seconds later, an even colder dagger on his chest. . . . She could see it, a school, ahead of her only a few meters away. At least a dozen guards Occupied the structure. It was suicide to fight them all, but Scootaloo hardly cared. Brutish rage had clouded her rationality. She moved from cover to cover closer to them, hidden from view. Date: 4/23/2028 Location: Emerald City, near the Sapphire Mountain range Objective: Maintain peace within the region KILL THEM ALL First guard, dead. Second guard,dead. Third guard, dead. She should've been smarter and tried to bypass the guards, or at least kill a selected few to remain undetected. She shousld have watched where she was going, maybe if she had she wouldn't have crushed a shattered plate on the ground as he stalked the fourth guard. "Shit..." she murmmered as the guard spun around. The guard was quick to react, firing a charged bolt at Scootaloo's chest. "Gah! B-uck...." she whimpered, as she felt her back collide with the ground. "Hey! We've gotta straggler here!" cried the unicorn. "Shit! We've got injured!" "Oh my Celestia! How the hell did she take out eight of us?!" Eight? The number frightened Scootaloo, who had killed the other five? "Search the area! She can't be alone!" Two guards remained in front of Scootaloo, disgusted by the sight of her. "A mule with wings I see..." he chuckled. "What are we supposed to do with her, Sergeant?" asked the second. "Finish her off." responded the first. "But what about our orders to capture-" "We already have enough prisoners." said the Sergeant. "All this mule will do is take up space and eat food like a pig. Just kill her," The second stallion peered into the pegasus' eyes. They pleaded for mercy, for compassion. He kicked her side, knocking the wind out of her. "Guess you're right," he said. "All she'll do is take up space-" He never finished his sentence. The unicorn laid on the ground, bleeding at his head. His sergeant's own incapacitated body rest right next to them. The marine gasped in shock, her mind failing to comprehend what she saw. The two soldiers were dead on the floor with a cavity that tunneled through the front and back of their skulls, the insurgents that fortified the perimeter around the building were now on the ground oozing dark red blood, and standing in the middle of the bloodbath was a familiar figure. . . . Date:4/23/28 Location: Emerald City, near the market, twenty kilometers from the Sapphire Mountain range Briefing: Three members of Crusader squad (fireteam two) are eligible candidates for the 3rd Echelon. Unfortunately, Crusader fireteam two was ambushed at ten hundred hours as they were exiting the market. Intel reports of two members that are KIA'd, and three member's MIA. At least one of the three is guaranteed to be one of the candidates. Objective: Rescue the candidate(s) and the candidate(s) alone, as the 3rd Echelon is not associated with Celestia's military branches, and the 3rd Echelon therefore cannot have any form of affiliation with them. Good luck. A lone pegasus with a satchel bag stood in a crater outside the market. A white pegasus, pierced by a large beam of wood could be seen from the corner of her vision as she gazed at the body of a marine unicorn with a green coat. "shame..." muttered the pegasus, "He was one of the canidates too." The pegasus flew to the roof of what was left of a small building. Setting down her sachel bag, she pulled out what seemed to be a pair of massive glasses. They consisted of three lenses, two at the bottom placed where a pony's eyes would e and a third placed at the top where it would rest on a ponies forehead. They resembled something that of binoculars than glasses. She rested the odd goggles on her head before pulling out another alien tool. It was an olive green, L-shaped instrument, that looked similar to the P228 weapon utilized by the 1st Echelon, albeit longer. A clicking noise could be heard as the top of the weapon was pulled back. From the top of the building she could see everything that had been scattered on the war-torn streets, including an old school that the intel from the 2nd Echelon suggested the prisoners were. She also noted the bodies of three unicorns. By their build and mediocre armor, the agent knew that these were the bodies of PCE members. She glided down to the soldiers. One had died by kinetic bolts. The second unicorn was killed by a wound in the chest. The final soldier, the Pegasus noticed, had a similar wound that suggested he had been stabbed in the neck. A spearhead, by the looks of it. A marine had been here. The school looked more like a prison, with the crystal classrooms had llost their luster and had been crumbling buildings for years now and a stone wall that had recently been fitted with barbwire trapped everypony within the campus. The agent rested behind the stone wall now, listening to the approaching hoofsteps. The guard had been told to search for anymore marines. The order made sense to him, they had found a marine trying to infiltrate the compound only a few minutes ago, and only an idiot would try such a feet alone. Passing through the entrance gate, the unicorn quietly scanned every millimeter of the street that faced him. Nothing. Not a single living thing could be seen. Suddenly an ice cold grip latched to his neck. The mare reached her forehoof around the guard's mouth, suffocating his scream. Wrapping her second forehoof around his neck, the mare squeezed the unicorn's neck. The gruard tried to cry for help, but found that he couldn't even whisper the words. "Aaaaaaaa....aaaaaagh......." The mare released her grip, placed her forehoof on the back of the guard's head, and slammed it against the wall. She grinned sadisticaly at the lifeless body, "I almost felt bad about that- Almost..." She pulled the goggles onto her head. In an instant, the walls turned into windows, revealing thirteen silhouettes. Twelve of them were patrolling the area, while the thirteenth... The thirteenth seemed to be stalking one of the guards. Then the thirteenth sillhoutte murdered the guard. There was no questioning it, that pony was the marine. The Pegasus' face was unreadable, trapped between the urge to grin or grind her teeth. The marine, who based on the shape was unquestionably a mare, was either the bravest soldier or biggest idiot the agent had ever seen, and it amused and frustrated her to see a pony act with such couragous stupidity. Perhaps that's why she decided to help the mare. Perching herself on the ledge of a schoolhouse, the Pegasus watched over everypony like a hawk. There were still eleven guards, not surprisingly, all unicorns. The marine on the other hand, was a Pegasus, with an orange coat and purple mane. The agent, hanging over the ledge of the roof, chuckled lightly. "The second candidate... Sure does explain alot." The agent could see five unicorns, one by an old vending wagon, another by a derelict cafecterIa, two in the middle of the school yard, and one that was right under her hooves. The pegasus pulled out her olive green weapon with a trigger-happy feeling lurking within her. Breathing steadily, she aligned the sights with the first unicorn's head. The weapon didn't erupt with the ear-splitting scream of the P228, instead only releasing a calm hiss. The first guard fell go the ground, as if struck by a plague. The second guard, dropped dead without warning as if his heart had simply decided to stop. The third and fourth were killed by the calm breeze. The last unicorn, with fear gripping his heart and freezing his spine, shifted his eyes in an erratic frenzy. He struggled to control his breathing, half-expecting death incarnate to personally take him. He frantically faced left, then anxiously turned right. But he never looked up. He could feel the force of two powerful hooves crush him, smashing his spine. He mouthed the word "help", but the only noise he heard was the snap of his backbone. "Hey! We've gotta straggler over here!" The Pegasus was petrified like a cold statue, frozen by the chilling voice of a distant guard. What had she missed? Who had seen her? Slowly she turned. The Pegasus marine was on the ground, surrounded by four guards. "Search the area! She can't be alone!" The agent could see the malice in the unicorns' eyes as one of them kicked the vulnerable, purple- maned pony. His voice stung the ears of the agent as his horn began to glow a sickly green, " Yeah, guess you're right, all she'll do is take up space-" pew The first unicorn collapsed on the ground, his head like a fountain of blood. Not even a second passed as the agent placed a round within the second guard's head. pew "What the!" "Hey!" pew pew The last two guards slumped down on the earth like ragdolls, slain by the death that had slaughtered their comrades and left them baffled in their final breath. The ornanfe Pegasus raised her head, almost terrified by the fact she was not dead yet. What she saw she couldn't comprehend. Bodies. Bodies everywhere. Her executioners were bleeding at her hoofs, the guards were scattered motionless like discarded rags, and a familiar figure stood above the bloodbath. . . . Scootaloo couldn't believe what she saw. Her eyes were betraying her, that must've been it! Before her eyes, there was a Pegasus dressed in a black suit with an extremely slim Kevlar vest and a bizarre, three-eyed pair of goggles. But that wasn't what Scootaloo saw, what she saw was a mare she knew, she saw... "...R...Rainbow Dash?" The sky blue Pegasus scolded her, "You nearly got yourself killed, Squirt. What were you thinking?" "What... Why?" Why was she here? "What are you doing here?" "They found you much too valuable to loose." "They? Who's 'They'?" "That's classified. Is Sweetie Belle here? I'm here for her too." "What about Applebloom?" asked Scootaloo. Time had stopped, and the air became uncomfortably chilly. "I can't get her." answered Rainbow Dash. Now Scootaloo was convinced that not just her eyes, but for certain her ears, must have been treacherous. When she didn't hear Applebloom's name, she assumed Rainbow Dash didn't know she was here. After Scootaloo had corrected her, everything would be alright, and the crusaders, the three sisters, would be one again. What did she mean, she couldn't help her? "What?" she looked at her idol like a naive child, "what do you mean? Of course we can get her! She's here! Probably not even that far from Sweetie Belle! We can get her! It'll be easy!" "They don't want me to get her." argued Rainbow Dash. "Well buck them! Whoever the hell 'they' are!" she cried. She didnt want to loose Applebloom, "I'm not leaving with out her! I can't leave without her!" She couldn't walk away from another sibling. The dog tags of Green Beret and Storm Cloud were already too heavy for her. Rainbow Dash stared in silence. She thought about her loyalties. She thought about how they rested with the princess, how they rested with Canterlot, with Equestria. Then she thought how they rested with her friends. She thought about her friend Applejack, how the colors of worry and fear mixed grossly with the apple farmer's orange coat that wouldn't leave until bleached by a letter from Applebloom, and the ugly thought of the somber colors of pain and loss that would defile her golden coat if she was ever told that her sister had been killed. It was a thought that sickened Rainbow Dash, twisting her stomache in self-disgust. Could she cope with such pain? Could she live with herself knowing so much pain that would be casted onto her friend, one of her closest ones, whom she loved like a sister, was her fault? To do nothing, to Rainbow Dash, was no different from killing Applebloom herself. How could she ever have the cold blood to kill her best friend's own sister? "I can't help her Scootaloo... I can't....." The sky blue pegasus spoke, sick from her own words. "You have to! Please! I'll do anything! I'm not going to lose a sister!" she begged. Rainbow Dash felt a cold piece of metal touch her chest. The sensation made her smile, happy that she found where her loyalties lied. "I can't save her.... But....but you can!" she grinned devilishly. "Wha....huh?" stammered the orange marine. Rainbow Dash pulled out a large, boxed-shape pistol with a long cylinder attached at the end of it. Scootaloo was terrified by the monstrous object. It was black like ash, and despite its size more intimidating then a dragon. But what shocked her the most was that it was in front of her, suspended in the air as if it was in the magical grip of a unicorn. "Take this." ordered Rainbow Dash. "You were the only pony I was supposed to retrieve that wasn't a unicorn. Figured you'd need this just in case escaping was going to get tough. It's a Mark twenty-three SOCOM pistol. You can't hold it with magic, so you're going to have to wield it the old fashion way." "You mean to tell me this thing has been around long enough that there is an old fashion way to handle it?!" Shrieked Scootaloo. The moment she saw the pistol, as Rainbow Dash called it, she new that she hated it, and with good reason. It was new, and unfamiliar. "Hold it in your mouth at the grip- that thing." she pointed at the part of the gun at the end pointed down. "You're gonna have to deal with the metallic taste. This has eighteen bullets, or rounds- think of them as small, lead spears- in a magazine, which is located inside the the grip. See that thing? In the trigger guard, the circle by the grip. Looks like a 'C'? That's the trigger. Pull that to fire one of the round. After eighteen rounds, the magazine will need to be replaced. Pull down that switch at the bottom of the trigger guard. That'll slide out the old magazine. All you need to do is put in a new magazine, and, if all eighteen rounds were used last time, pull the top on the side of the pistol back to chamber a new round. Got it?" "What? How am I supposed to remember all that?!" Screamed Scootaloo. "You're gonna have to, for Applebloom's sake." answered Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo retrieved her composure, "Alright. For Applebloom," . . . The two pegasie skulked through the school, praying that Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were close by now. They approached the first building, which would have been the science wing before the school fell into disarray. Stopping at the door, Rainbow Dash pulled out a small stone that was clear like water and placed it near the bottom of the door. "She's not in here, nor is Applebloom." She groaned, Just a few guards. Best to avoid them." "How can you tell?" asked Scootaloo. The blue pegasus waved the stone, "this tells me. You'll learn all about it in time. Trust me." The base seemed silent, but the quietness did not fool the pegasie. Both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo could see the guards monitoring the entire base. They were quiet like watchdogs, with no noise emitting from them except their cold, malevolent breaths. They were professionals, their discipline could be seen in their eyes. "There's no getting around them," cursed Rainbow Dash. "We need to take them out in an orderly fashion. We don't need a firefight." A wagon had approached the guard as the two pegasie spoke, carrying a barrel of glowing red liquid. It was only when the pony carrying the load was inches in from two guards that guarded the gate to a playground that was connected to a large classroom did they awake from their open-eyed slumber. "Who goes there? State your purpose." "Shady Business," responded the pony. "I've got a delivery for your commanding officer." "Fine. Put it by the playground with the rest." ordered the guard. "And watch it! That shit's freakin unstable!" "Scootaloo, fire. Now!" ordered Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus rose from her cover, levitated the gun, and fired a single, silent round into the guard's head. Scootaloo was far more clumsy. Chewing on the grip of her gun, she shot the unicorn's chest armor, then the wagon, then the wall. One more bullet flew out the barrel as Scootaloo cleanched her jaws on the gun. This time, a deafening roar blasted through the sky. The bullet had pierced the barrel, causing it to bleed it's blazing fire, consuming the unicorn guard and the pony attached to the wagon. Then all Hell broke loose. Eight guards, all combat trained, looked at the pegasie with bloodlust splashed on their faces. Again Dash found herself behind cover, while Scootaloo felt the foreboding thought of death creep up her spine again. What had she gotten herself into? "Celestia Dammit! Hey Squirt! Try bucking shooting!" Shouted Dash, snapping Scootaloo back into reality. Scootaloo peeked outside her cover, and began to fire blindly. She didn't stop firing either. She didn't. Stop when she killed the first guard, injured end second, and incapacated the third. It was only when the top of the pistol suddenly punched backwards did Scootaloo finally halted her firing. Trying her best to remember what Dash had told her, she awkwardly replaced the empty magazine with a fully loaded one. The gun rattled her teeth a bit as the slide jolted forward. With a satisfying click, Scootaloo was ready to pick off the last of the soldiers with Rainbow Dash. "That was sloppy..." critisized Rainbow Dash as the last guard drew his last breath. They searched the silent hallways of the next building. Once more, Rainbow crouched at the base of the door, and the blue pegasus grinned as she gazed into the enchanted stone. "Scootaloo," She whispered, "She's here; Applebloom's here." "And Sweetie Belle?" Inquired Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash placed the crystal at the door on the opposite side of the hall. "In here," she smiled. "I've got her. You go help Applebloom, alright? Be careful. There are two PCE members in there too." Scootaloo felt her legs tremble as she approached the door. The soldiers inside didn't frighten her, but the black pistol that rested in her jaw. One poor shot, one stray bullet, what if it hit Applebloom? What if Applebloom died in front of her because of the very weapon she wielded? Scootaloo banished the thoughts with a shake of her head. She would just have to make every shot count. She bashed down the door. Two unicorns were facing Applebloom, who was tied to a chair. The first unicorn had been punching the earth pony mercilessly, stopping suddenly as she heard the sound of crashing wood. The second had been attacked by the sharp splinters that fled from the bursting door like startled bats. Scootaloo pointed the barrel of her pistol at him, squeezed the trigger, and fired. The hot bullet cut through his head like it was butter. The Pegasus turned to her right and fired a round at the first unicorn. Then another round. Then another round. The unicorn mare collapsed to the ground as the third bullet casing danced on the floor. "Applebloom! Are you alright?" the Pegasus ran to her best friend. Her cheek was bruised and her left eye was puffy, and her words were slurred. "Wuh.... Whadda 'ell happen'd?" the earth pony groaned, "Wha ard'day dead? Whadda 'ell did'ya do?" Scootaloo untied the ropes restraining her friend. "Relax Applebloom, try to keep calm. Are you okay?" she comforted. "Yeah....yeah.... Ah'm fine..." she slurred. She carried Applebloom out of the room. Rainbow Dash was waiting for her at the frame of the door with Sweetie Belle supported on her back. She was bruised worse than Applebloom. "Come on, Squirt," guided Rainbow Dash. "We're getting the hell outta here." Like ghosts the four ponies moved about the school without a sound. Reaching the exit, the two pegasie ran to an old cart outside the school, carrying the two marines on their backs. The cart was a simple supply wagon, but to the four Equestrians, it was a golden chariot sent by Celestia herself. Rainbow Dash helped Scootaloo load Sweetie Belle and Applebloom onto the wagon before harnessing herself in the front. She casted one final glance at the school, looking uneasily at the red, volatile barrels in the school yard, before she finally spread her wings. The evening breeze kissed the pegasie's mane as the twilight sky greeted them home. It releived Scootaloo to see Equestria welcome her back in open arms. "So where to?" she finally asked Rainbow Dash. "You've heard of the 2nd Echelon?" asked Rainbow Dash. "The intelligence agency?" Responded Scootaloo, "Yeah, I've heard of it, Why? Are they the ones who wanted you to rescue me and Sweetie Belle?" "Not exactly," Rainbow Dash said, "Somepony else wants you. Somepony alot more important then the 2nd Echelon." . . . Uploading_Data: 3rd_Echelon Field_Intelligence: Uploading_File: Mk. 23 SOCOM Pistol Maufacturer: Heckler & Koch Cartridge: .45 ACP Description: Built in secret, as Luna had requested, for the 3rd Echelon, a far more advanced pistol was required, despite the existence of a pistol in general would be considered "advanced". SIG Saur, the original inventor of the pistol, also known as the P228, had long since passed away. However, his descendants, the twin brothers Heckler and Koch were also advanced engineers. Given their ancestor's design, the brothers were told to create a noiseless sidearm pistol to replace the P228. Abandoning the original layout of the handgun, the twins created a larger, bulkier pistol and a larger calibre along with it. The brothers had abandened the 9x19 mm parabellum for the wider .45 ACP calibre. Most importantly, the Mk. 23 had a small part of the barrel protruding from the body, giving it enough room to have a thick cylinder twisted onto it that would silence the gun (Hence its name as a "silencer"). The Mk. 23 was used for the first twelve years as the standard sidearm of the 3rd Echelon. Uploading_File: FN Five-seveN Manufacturer: FN Herstal Cartridge: 5.7x28mm Description: Named after its unique calibre, the FN Five-seveN was constructed in response to the Crystal Civil War. The PCE had sometimes sported armor that outmatched the standard Equestrian armor, and in such cases the .45 ACP calibre had been reported to fail in penetraiting the crystal armor. Luna privately called the pony engineering wonder known as FN Herstal to produce a weapon capable of piercing body armor. His first prototype, the five-seven, utilized the 5.7x28mm armor-piercing rounds. His second prototype, the SC-57 pistol, could accept a silencer and had replaced the Mk. 23 in the 3rd Echelon. Its final variant, the FN Five-seveN, sports a unique, intigrated suppressor and is still in service with the 3rd Echelon today. Uploading_File: Ultra High-Frequency Sonar Goggles Manufacturer: 3rd Echelon Description: the 1st Echelon composed of sarosians, who had natural night vision. The 3rd Echelon, however, consists of earth ponies, pegasie, and unicorns. To allow these ponies to see in even the blackest of nights, the 3rd Echelon instilled multiple-vision goggles, which provided nocturnal, thermal, and EMF vision. For fifteen years this model was used by the 3rd Echelon until it was replaced by the Ultra High-Frequency Sonar Goggles, which utilizes all three vision modes in one lens (Although the design still oddly sports the appearance of a three lens goggle). the Sonar Googles can only be utilized by Earth ponies, or alicorns (including pseudo-alicorns). If the sonar goggles are being used by a pseudo-alicorn, then unless the original species of the pseudo-alicorn is that of an earth pony, the vision of the Sonar Vision is poor and polluted with static, especially when moving.
Chapter 3: The 3rd EchelonThe princess of the Night elegantly strolled through the hallways of the 2nd Echelon Headquarters. She was approaching the hanger. She could hear the echoes of two arguing ponies at the end of the hall, which troubled her. What would cause an argument? a discrepancy in information? or perhaps a disobedience of orders? Both were unacceptable, in both the 2nd, and especially the 3rd, Echelon. Their voices echoed down the hall, "What is the meaning of this?! She isn't a candidate!" "I couldn't just leave her! And Scootaloo wouldn't either!" "Your orders were clear!" Shouted Stargazer, "Get the candidates and get out! We were not authorized to rescue all the POWs! Just the 3rd Echelon candidates!" The final news had all but burnt the nocturnal princess's ears. What had Rainbow Dash done? As the element of loyalty, she was the last pony Princess Luna had expected to ignore orders. "WHAT HAS SHE DONE?" she screamed as she barged into the hanger, "WHY DO I HEAR THESE ACCUSATIONS OF TREACHERY?" She casted a furious glance at Rainbow Dash, who was trying to stand dignified as she struggled to lock her cringing legs. Then she focused her attention to the cart, the cheap wooden chariot that Rainbow Dash had brought, and saw a white unicorn and a sleeping yellow earth pony. There wasn't supposed to be an earth pony candidate. General Stargazer turned to Luna with pleading eyes and pointed at the earth pony. "What are we going to do with her? She isn't supposed to be here!" No 3rd Echelon members had disobeyed orders, except the ones who were dead, and no agent would ever let the thought of the 3rd Echelon being compromised. The first reaction Luna wished to do was shriek. Shriek and curse. Curse the sky, curse her soldiers, even scream and curse her sister. But instead she closed her eyes and suppress her fury. This wasn't all bad...no....it wasn't all bad....An innocent life has been saved today.... this wasn't bad.... Had she been convincing herself that what had transpired may be fortunate for minutes, or days? She didn't know, and frankly she didn't care. This isn't all bad...no... The Earth Pony's field records- they were just short of Sweetie Belle's records, who's records barely made her eligible to be a 3rd Echelon recruit... It was a stretch, and Luna knew it. The 3rd Echelon needed to be strict. There were no curves, no exceptions. Either a soldier was worthy of being a 3rd Echelon agent, or they weren't. Still... She may still be able to pass as an agent. It was either that or have the pony under constant surveillance less she utters anything about the 3rd Echelon. She may not have seen the headquarters, but there was no doubt she had seen one of their agents, Rainbow Dash. And then there was the concern of whether or not she had seen the technology used by the 3rd Echelon. Not only was it secret, it was illegal. The gears in Luna's head continued to turn. She was just under the cut, and training would be able to transform her into a 3rd Echelon agent...possibly. It would be a shame to have a pony suitable for the 3rd Echelon under blackmail for the rest of her life when she could be a useful asset. Once more, the last thought was a stretch. The Earth pony may have been close to being a suitable member for 3rd Echelon, but the fact is "close to being suitable meant" they weren't suitable, period. Then again, she was close, and close enough to withstand the training...Right? "Your....Majesty?" hesitated General Stargazer. "This...." spoke the Princess with an uneasy voice, "isn't a bad thing...." Rainbow Dash gazed at the midnight princess with an expression of doubt before finally speaking, "Your majesty, I need to speak with you." Luna was grateful for an excuse to leave the fiasco in the hanger, but her mind soon found herself occupied with the news the sky-blue pegasus was about to tell her. "You weren't told to rescue the earth pony," she grunted. "The 'earth pony' is the least of our problems." retorted Rainbow Dash. "The least of our problems? You nearly compromised us Rainbow Dash! What could possibly be worse than this?!" "For one," answered Rainbow Dash, "Our technology getting out of hand." "What are you speaking of?" questioned the lunar diarch. "At the school where Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were being held, I saw a can of magic. Raw magic, the explosive stuff. The same kind of magic we're testing to use for an under-barreled weapon system for the SC-20K, if I'm not mistaken." "then we shall order a squad of Lunar Guards on reconnaissance." Ordered Princess Luna. "Thank you for this vital intelligence." "Yes ma'am," saluted Rainbow Dash. The lunar princess departed from the pegasus leaving her troubles about a certain unwanted visitor in the hanger behind as the problematic news Rainbow Dash had told her gnawed at her brain. It seemed like the day was throwing more and more trouble at her. . . . Date: 4/25/28 Location: 2nd Echelon HQ [Location Classified] Objectives: Train as a 3rd Echelon cadet The intel had reached Princess Celestia. A squad of Lunar Guards had been dispatched on a search and rescue mission to retrieve the captured marines, and would be returning the following day to the 2nd Echelon for debriefing, and to monitor the three marines psychological and physical recovery under the course of three months maximum. Of course, Princess Celestia was never told of the 3rd Echelon, or that the three marines were already within the walls of the 2nd Echelon HQ. "The 3rd Echelon?" asked Applebloom skeptically as she, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell walked to the lobby of the 2nd Echelon, "Alright, ah'm callin' B-S on this here story." "Call it what you want." retorted Scootaloo, "But last time I checked, Celestia didn't have these... guns. And she never made weird goggle thingies either!" "Still, why keep it secret from the princess?" asked Applebloom. "I don't know! I didn't come up with the damn thing! Ask Princess Luna! She's the one in charge!" answered Scootaloo. "Well you're alot of help..." "Yeah? Well, screw you." "Screw you!" "Screw-" "Girls!" yelled Sweetie Belle, "We are twenty-four year old disciplined marines! Quit acting like you're eight years old! SHUT UP." Scootaloo and Applebloom remained silent until they reached the lobby, half out of closure and half out of fear that Sweetie Belle would yell at them again. The princess of the night stood in the center, waiting patiently for the three mares. "Ladies," she addressed. "Your majesty," they bowed. "Rise, my little ponies. I am here to take you to the 3rd Echelon's headquarters." "Where is the headquarters for the 3rd Echelon?" asked Applebloom, her skepticism replaced by genuine curiosity. Princess Luna smiled at the three candidates with a pompous expression, "Underground." "Why underground?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Simple," answered Luna. "We needed it to be in a place not only where nopony could not find it, but also in a place where nopony would be allowed to trespass. But wouldn't you find it suspicious that a place was off-limits when there was seemingly nothing there? The 3rd Echelon was built beneath the 2nd Echelon because it wouldn't be seen, and because there is a reason for the surrounding area to be off-limits, due to the 2nd Echelon's HQ being here." The four ponies stepped onto a large platform, which slowly began to descend. "Hoooow far underground is it?" asked Scootaloo nervously. "Not too far underground," answered Luna. "In fact, we'll be there in less then a minute. The 2nd Echelon's lobby was fancy, almost like a hotel. With couches and a fountain in the middle. The important rooms monitoring communications were all hidden in the back. The lobby for the 3rd Echelon was a totally different ballpark. It wasn't even a lobby, it was more like a huge computer room. A large enchanted globe floated in the center, revealing footage from different locations all around and even outside Equestria. Around the globe were dozens of unicorns, no doubt scientists from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns told to work at the "2nd" Echelon. They were studying all sorts of things. Holograms, weapons, gadgets. Of course, through the three marines' eyes, these unicorns were analyzing "thing that shouldn't exist number one", "thing that shouldn't exist number two", and "thing that definitely shouldn't exist number three". It was horrifyingly magnificent, beyond comprehension. "As you can see, the 3rd Echelon finds in success in the one thing Celestia doesn't have." "What would that be?" asked Scootaloo. "Technology. We have mixed engineering and magic to create technology, and that leads to limitless creations." stated the lunar diarch."Celestia may have tampered with the art with the Kevlar vests and radios you and your precious corps have, but the 3rd Echelon truly embraces it." The barracks were filled with hardened soldiers, all doing different thing in different rooms. There were ponies cleaning their weapons in the first room the candidates had entered, There were ponies firing their weapons in a room with targets in them, and in one room there was familiar pegasus was sparring an earth pony. The most disturbing room was the one where a pegasus was strapped to a table, surrounded by surgeons. They injected a needle in her, and he started to flail. She started to wheeze as she hyperventilated, and Scootaloo could have sworn she saw drops of blood escape the mare's lips as she coughed. "What's happening to her?" she frantically asked. "Ah yes," Spoke Luna. "She is under augmentations." she saw the concerned look on Scootaloo's face, "There haven't been any fatalities reported, I assure you. The process just doesn't...cooperate with the body well." There was still an uneasy tension lingering among the three marines from the sight of the violent procedure. "Listen, the procedure will be painful, but it is one necessary to survive the 3rd Echelon's training. It is vital you undergo the augmentations, it's why we are here. Do you three wish to join the ranks of the 3rd Echelon?" The Lunar diarch opened the door to a terrifyingly white room, "Then enter." The three mares made no movement, cemented to the floor like statues. Finally, an orange hoof stepped forward. . . . The first shot was sickening. As the clear liquid entered Scootaloo's bloodstream she felt everything become sluggish. Her head swayed with a slight headache, her vision blurred and her hearing dulled. She felt fatigue. "MiSs.....SCoOtaLoo.... HoW...... ArE..... YoU..FEaLiNg.....?" She could barely understand the purple unicorn in the white lab coat. The doctor seemed to recognize Scootaloo's behavior, because she tapped Scootaloo's shoulder reassuringly, "Your...HeArInG..Is.....DuLliNg........It'S..AlriGHt.......ThAts..NATural.........JUst...RElax..." The doctor turned to the other scientists, Scootaloo could barely understand her words as they poured from her mouth like sludge, "ReStRaInTs......" Suddenly she was held to the table by thick ropes at the end of her legs and at her stomach. Her wings were also tied together. The second shot was the only clear thing she could see. The liquid inside was also clear, but had a lining around it that changing to different magnificent colors of all sorts. As the needle breached her skin and the liquid within the small capsule drained, Scootaloo felt as if her arm caught fire. Then, like sharp electricity, the pain darted all around her body. Her headache became unbearable, her lungs were sore, and her legs, dear Celestia her legs! they were on fire! She wanted to swing them, flail them, anything to put the fire out! But the ropes, they were too strong! The burning was unbearable and offered no mercy to the pegasus. She began squirming sporadically like a worm in a futile attempt to relieve herself from the restraints. "Dammit! Celestia dammit! Make it stop!" she screamed, she pleaded, and she sputtered, then coughed crimson blood, and fell silent. . . . The light-gold earth pony could hear her friend's wail from the other side of the wall. Her forehead was a fountain of sweat, for she was next. The door opened ominously slow, and a purple unicorn with a dark purple mane with a light purple and nearly white streak spoke, "Miss Applebloom? Please enter." The first shot was clear with a light-blue tint. It made her feel light-headed, and she felt as if her stomach had been filled with helium. There was a subtle, but ever present ringing filling her ears. "Miss Applebloom..."said the unicorn, You've just been injected with the first drug, it's going to make you feel slightly sick. If you feel light headed, and or have a stomach ache, then you are experiencing the normal side affects. You may even experience a high-pitched ringing noise." What was the mare with the lab coat saying? Applebloom could barely hear her, the ringing was-Gah!- to loud... "Restrain her." ordered the purple coated unicorn. The second syringe invaded Applebloom's body. She felt fire, fire everywhere! her forelegs, her hind limbs, her head....Celestia, her head! Her limbs suddenly felt numb as all the fire assaulted her head. She felt as if her skull was going to violently erupt anyminute now, scattering blood and grey matter across the room. The ringing, it was deafening now! She wanted to rub her temples or even slam her head against the wall. If it would stop the pain, she would do it! "Miss Applebloom, you are going to have to remain-" Buck! The ringing! make it stop! make it bucking stop! Ah'm gonna go bucking deaf!" One hoof escaped the ropes and cradled her head, but instantly Applebloom regretted it. The sides of her head were wet with blood that was leaking from her ears. More blood beginning to stream from her nose. Applebloom screamed in terror, but then suddenly felt tired and fatigue. She tried to make sense out of all that was happening, but couldn't before collapsing on the operating table. . . . What had happened to them? All Sweetie Belle could hear was the tormenting screams of her friends. She was shaking now, frightened of what awaits her behind the white door her fellow crusaders had stepped through. Her eyes shrunk in fear as the door slowly opened for her. The same purple unicorn with the lab coat walked out, specks of blood tainted her jacket. "Miss Sweetie Belle, please enter." At first Sweetie Belle hesitated, reconsidering her decision to join. But then again, who would drag Applebloom and Scootaloo out of trouble? And Celestia knew sooner or later they would get in trouble. Bravely, the white mare entered the white medical room. Sweetie Belle felt her stomach turn violently with every step she took as she approached the white room. The purple unicorn tried to comfort Sweetie Belle, and assured her that her two friends were in another room while they recovered, and she could join them soon. Sweetie Belle laid on the table, awaiting the first shot. It was light blue, but also clear like water. As the liquid began to course through her veins she felt energetic, excited even! She felt like she could run laps around Canterlot, or do five hundred jumping jacks! Then suddenly her head began to sting. A piercing ring invaded her mind. It was high pitched but also quiet, and yet Sweetie Belle could hear it everywhere. "Doc, why... why is there a ringing noise?"she asked. Don't worry Miss Sweetie Belle, it's only a side affect from the drug you were just injected with. Everything is going to be fine..." promised the mare. The doctor turned to her colleges. She didn't order them to restrain the white unicorn, only requesting a bucket instead. Then, she took the second syringe, which had a liquid that looked like liquid glass. As the needle bored deeper and deeper into her skin, Sweetie Belle began to feel sore. She felt as if she had ran laps around Canterlot, or she had done five hundred jumping jacks. The ringing in her ears increased, but at a lower pitch, like a high humming noise. Then everything seemed so...slow. Her vision began to blur, and her head felt heavy and she couldn't balance it on her shoulders. The doctor began to talk to Sweetie Belle, but her words sounded cloudy and slurred to her. "ThE SeConD DrUg iS GoiNg tO maKe YoU VeRy TiRed.....YoU....MaY...ExPeRieNcE... BluRReD..... ViSiOn...AnD......ClOudEd....HeArInG.........YoU......MaY.......AlsO.....FeEl...........NaUSeOuS....." The doctor handed the bucket to Sweetie Belle. "Doc..." slurred the white unicorn, "I..I-I don't....I don't feel.....I-I feel sick....I...I feel-" She suddenly and violently vomited into the bucket. Sweetie Belle began to breathe heavily, than peered into the bucket. Blood. The bucket was filled with blood. Her blood. She screamed with tears streaming from her face. She was confused, lost. She couldn't comprehend what was happening, but she knew she needed to escape somehow! "MiSs....SwEeTiE..BeLle....PleAsE...TrY...To..ReMaIn..CaLm....!" ordered the doctor. The white unicorn once more upchucked, blood spewing from her mouth and was beginning to leak out of her nose. "Celestia!" Cried the mare, "Oh Celestia! Oh Celestia Celestia Celestia! No more! Please!" she whimpered before being restrained by two of the doctors. Suddenly everything went black, and all was calm. . . . Date: 4/30/28 Location: 3rd Echelon HQ, [Location Classified] Objectives: begin training A dream. A Luna-forsaken dream. A nightmare, that's all it was. It had to be. Scootaloo awoke in a large room aligned with hospital beds with soreness surrounding her body. The flames had long died away, but the pain still remained. On the neighboring bed to her left was an unconscious Applebloom, her forehead wrapped in bandages. To her right was Sweetie Belle, who had awoken far before Scootaloo did. "Hey Scootaloo-" she was cut off by the invading vomit exiting her body, pouring itself into a large pale. "Oh my Celestia. Sweetie Belle, are you alright?" "Yeah," muttered Sweetie Belle, throwing up into the pale once more. She gestured the bucket with her hoof, "I'm just glad it's not blood anymore." "Blood?" repeated Scootaloo. "Yeah. Blood." The purple-maned crusader knocked her head against the pillow of her bed, "What the hell. Just...what the hell." It was only now did Sweetie Belle notice that the crusaders were not the only beings in the room. There were ponies grunting in discomforting pain, or puking, or laying unconscious filling every hospital bed aligning the room. They were in the barracks. A brown earth stallion with a leaf-green mane was the first to acknowledge the trio. Like Applebloom, he had a bandage around his forehead that was tainted in red where it covered his ears. "The hell...." he muttered before facing the crusaders, "Hey...hey...." he greeted groggily, "Do you know where we are?" "We're in the barracks." answered Sweetie Belle "How...how did we get here?" "I don't know. Sorry." "The nurses probably brought us all here." guessed Scootaloo. "That makes sense..." started the earth pony. Suddenly everything turned dark. "Shit! What the hell is going on?!" "What the buck?" "What was that?" "Damn!" The commotion of the awaken had stirred the unconscious. "What's going on?" asked Applebloom, "Celestia damn! My head! Why is it so dark?" "I don't know," replied Scootaloo, "The lights just gave out-" ZAP! A violet bolt had struck an earth pony, a blue mare with a red and purple mane, in the chest. She toppled to the ground like a rag doll. "Oh shit! Somepony's been hit!" "What the hell, are we under attack?!" Commanding officers of all military branches were the only things suppressing the panic. "Keep it together guards!" "Pull it together! Remember, you're a leatherneck!" "I thought the army would have squeezed this chicken shit out of you soldier-" ZAP! The army member was the second soldier to fall. "They got the Warrant officer!" "Keep it together! Find cover!" Then the bloodbath began. The soldiers began knocking over their beds to create cover, but as they did so countless ponies began to fall by the hooves of the unseen attackers. The remaining ponies hid and waited for the right time to attack, but never did. They would die before the opportunity would present itself. They were all being picked off, hunted like animals. "Where the hell are they?" whispered a yellow unicorn mare to her partner. "Dunno...there!" he replied. "Fire!" The mare launched a blue beam at the silhouette, but whatever she had fired at had created a shield out of energy to defend itself. The bolt bounced of and turned its course towards the mare's direction. It collided into her like a train. Her teammate didn't even last ten seconds afterwards. His muzzle was wrapped by a a strong hoof and his body was thrown to the ground beneath his attacker. He struggled against his opponent, but ultimately succumbed to the suffocation. After every twenty seconds or so, there would be a flash of violet, signaling the fall of yet another soldier. Scootaloo turned to her fellow crusaders with a worrisome glance, for she knew what fate would come upon them if they remained in one place. "We need to move. Use the beds at the different rows to move from cover to cover." she ordered. Silently, the Pegasus slipped into the darkness and hid behind the second row of beds before signalling Sweetie Belle and Applebloom to do the same. Before Scootaloo moved to the next cover, she carefully peeked from her cover. The bed ahead of hers was the one the brown earth stallion was hiding behind. "Psst!," she hissed, "Psst!" The stallion looked at her. "We're getting outta here. Come on." whispered Scootaloo The stallion nodded in response. Satisfied, Scootaloo raced to the third row of beds, followed by Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and the nameless stallion. zig-zaging across the room, the ponies slowly but safely advanced towards their freedom. It was when the four attempted to reach the second row again that things went awry. The green mane-stallion had realized a terrible truth: the enemy was literally right behind them. Instinctively, he bucked at his attackers. His hoof was intercepted by the silhouette skulking the four ponies, and suddenly he felt a second hoof shatter his ribs. He was lifted above the ground, and was pushed over the shoulder of his assailant and hit the marble floor hard. He didn't get back up. The remanding three mares went into overdrive, and sprinted down the hall to escape. It was too late to hide, they could only run. Sweetie Belle felt like whatever was still in her stomach would soon litter the floor, and Applebloom felt like the blood in the veins of her head were painful needles jabbing her brain. Ahead of the two was Scootaloo. Her lungs were burning and her already sore legs screamed from the new abuse. The next thing Scootaloo knew was that she was lying on the floor, dazed. Her friends were surrounded and she was at the mercy of the pegasus that stood over her like a cold statue. He glared mercilessly at her before finally shouting, "Turn the lights back on!" The sudden brightness blinded Scootaloo for a second. When her eyes finally adjusted, she realized the figure standing over her was not a pegasus, but a sarosian. The attack, it was a simulation. And the dead bodies, were just stunned candidates. "We pick the best soldiers for a reason." announced General Stargazer. "So that no matter the situation, our agents will not be intimidated, or frightened, or confused. They will be calm, collective, and strategic. So tell me, cadets, Why the hell was it so easy for four unicorns and three sarosians to beat down all twenty-seven of you dirtbags?!" By then all the soldiers could control their bodies again, and had realized what was really happening. They realized that it was all a test, and that they miserably failed. Of course, one reason they failed was because of the augmentations. Loud noises became hammer blows to the head, and disorientation was common. Furthermore, most of the ponies had their energy sapped from them thanks to the augmentations as well. It was why every time they performed this stimulation everpony would get "killed" the first time. "This. Is. Unacceptable." shouted Stargazer, "You all better step up your game if you be a part of the 3rd Echelon." . . . Date: 5/01/28 Location: 3rd Echelon HQ, [Location Classified] Objective: N/A It had been one week since the ambushed in the barracks-which had been the first exercise of "hell week" as the drill sergeant had called it, one week of back braking physical exercises and mumbled curses-when all twenty seven cadets had stepped into a large, circular room. The room was like that of a college classroom, with rows descending towards the center like a vortex. In the center was a unicorn, no doubt a graduate of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He began the lecture with a single question. "How many of you...ever pretended they were Princess Celestia or...maybe an Alicorn king when you were children?" The class chuckled at both the odd question and the sight of a few ponies raising their hooves as a way to say yes, not realizing the question was hypothetical. "Then you all know that an alicorn...." explained the proffesor, "Is a unique pony that bridges the three types of ponies together. About a week ago, you all underwent special augmentations. These augmentations were designed for one purpose. To turn every 3rd Echelon field agent into an Alicorn." The words echoed in every cadet's ear. An Alicorn? Impossible! Unbelievable! Unnatural. "Don't get too excited, none of you are gonna sprout wings or horns." informed the professor. "You are all now what we at the 3rd-echelon call a pseudo-Alicorn, or 'artificial Alicorn'. You are all still anchored to your original genes. That means if you aren't an earth pony, for example, you have inherited the strength of an earth pony, too an extent, and a...rather unique and newfound ability, which you will be informed of later, as well. You cannot raise agriculture like an earth pony. If you aren't a unicorn, you have inherited a weak form of telekinesis. This is the only spell at your disposal. And finally, if you are not a Pegasus, you have gained the ability to walk on clouds as well as the ability to absorb shock from a fall. Like the earth pony's strength, this is only to a certain extent. And don't jump off cliffs or anything. You. Can't. Fly. Understood?" To say the three months of training were the longest three months in Equestria for Scootaloo. Even if the physical training was Tartarus, but still, it was a familiar process to Scootaloo. The technology, the weapons and the gadgets, they were alien to her. But her training had ended, and the wespons and tools of the 3rd Echelon had long since been integrated into her life. The boot camp had became barracks, and the cadets true soldiers. She carefully dissasembled the pistol, an FN Five-seveN, her Five-seveN, although she would never call it hers. She still didn't like seeing such a bizarre instrument in front of her. Finishing her dissection, she gingerly reassembled the weapon. Beside her was Applebloom, who was cleaning the barrel of her own pistol, and beside her was Sweetie Belle, who was attending to something far more sinister. It was at least ten times larger and more massive than the pistol and was a midnight black. "Celestia damn, that there is one big gun," commented Applebloom. "Yeah," replied Sweetie Belle, "The S.C-20K is supposed to be too heavy for pseudo-alicorns. You need to be a unicorn to levitate it." "You know," said Scootaloo, "What would happen if we left." "Whady'ya mean?" asked Applebloom. "I dunno. Lets go see Canterlot." "Can we do that?" asked Applebloom. Scootaloo shrugged her shoulders. "I guess. Rainbow's been in the 3rd Echelon for years apparently, and we've seen her in Ponyville all the time." "We've got permission to leave the base for the weekend." reminded Sweetie Belle, "I say we make good use of it. Lets go out to eat something." Going out to eat seemed like a splendid idea. Finally, the three mares could hold onto a peaceful moment, a silent, serene moment, in life. Peace was a state of mind that the three crusaders could almost never have. "I'm worried," confessed Scootaloo. " 'Bout what?" asked Applebloom. "What we've pulled ourselves into. I mean, what if we get killed out there, on some mission?" "It ain't much of a difference from bein' in the Marines." Applebloom pointed out. And she was right. Weren't they all risking their lives every day they were on duty? Perhaps death just seemed more apparent after the sapphire mountains. "Ah'm worried too," said Applebloom, "but ah've been worried since 2020-" "Ohmigosh! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! Applebloom!" The three mares twisted their heads towards a familiar blue mare with a purple mane. "Morning Breeze...is that you?" asked Sweetie Belle. The mare sprinted to her long-lost squad mates and hugged them as she greeted them. "Are you all okay?" asked Breeze. "I heard about what happened...about the market... what happened to you three? How did you girls get out of there?" "We were rescued," explained Sweetie Belle, "by Lunar Guards. Can...we leave it as that? I don't want to talk about what happened in the empire...." "I understand," said Morning Breeze; she had been told that her squad mates, her friends, had been under therapyto relieve themselves of any possible trauma caused by the event. "It was nice seeing you though," said Scootaloo. "Hey listen, Sweetie, Apple, and I were going out to dinner. If you want, you could join us." "That would be nice." smiled Morning Breeze. The four mares had eaten dinner at a nearby diner. It was simple, comfortable, and friendly. It was one of the very few restaurants in Canterlot that wasn't fancy, but rather had an atmosphere one would expect in a restaurant in Ponyville. "How are the rest of the squad?" asked Scootaloo. "They're fine...Hidden Treasure, Landslide and Parasol... The news about Beret and Stormcloud hit them really hard ... but for the most part...we've moved on..." Morning Breeze insisted wit and her gaze traveled to the floor. "We still m-miss them...w-we all do..." she focused her eyes onto the three crusaders. "Do you want to pay them a visit? They miss you three too, you know. It would do them well to see you all again." "Maybe another time." promised Scootaloo. "I'm just too tired to tired right now." "Same here." added Sweetie Belle. "It is pretty late," said Applebloom. "But we should see them soon," "I guess you're right..." said Morning Breeze, disappointed. The waiter had approached the table with the tab. "Here," offered Morning Breeze. "Let me pay." "For four ponies? Don't be ridiculous," replied Scootaloo. "Yeah, let us pay." smiled Applebloom. "No, no, I insist." said Morning Breeze. "Then at least let us split the bill with you," said Sweetie Belle. "Fine," said Morning Breeze, paying her share. "It was nice catching up with you three. Seriously, please visit us soon. If you can't go in the barracks, then we'll all come to you, okay?" "Alright," smiled Scootaloo. "Great." smiled Morning Breeze, "See you all soon then," For a while the three mares just watched where their friend had disappeared, but eventually turned away and walked back to the barracks of the 3rd Echelon. No longer a pack of three, but a family of ten- with two brothers missing and five that worried siblings that wondered where three of their sisters were. . . . Uploading _Data_: 3rd_Echelon_Field_Intelligence: Uploading_File: Pseudo-Alicorn Description: While most special forces units conventionally recruit only unicorns, the 3rd Echelon sought to be more dynamic then to be limited by the usefulness of just one species. The development of the pseudo-alicorn augmentations were made for the soul purpose of making the 3rd-echelons a versatile weapon, regardless of their race. The augmentations are extremely limited- Doctor Bastion Yorsets, the creator of the serums that produce the augmentations, describes it as, "Not giving you the abilities of all three races, rather only a taste of the abilities of the two species you aren't." The procedures are infamous among the 3rd-Echelon members for the violent side affects which are theorized to be the body attempting to fight off the invading genes. Uploading_File: SC-20K M.A.W.S. Manufacturer: FN Herstal Cartridge: 5.56x45mm Description: The SC-20K was designed at Princess Luna's request to increase the firepower of the 3rd Echelon. The weapon's large calibre was, clearly, too large to fit within the pistol grip and was moved behind it at the stock. The weapon can be fitted with a silencer and a telescope capable of 1.6x magnification. A weapon system designed to fire raw magic is currently being tested to be an under-barreled application to further increase the lethality of the weapon. The SC-20K's single drawback is it's weight, which makes it impossible to carry for a pony unless said pony is a unicorn (pseudo-alicorns that are not unicorns cannot carry this weapon). A prototype weapon, called the XC-3000, is currently being designed by Herstal as a lighter variant of the SC-20K. Author's Note Knowing that "alicorn OCs" are very unpopular, I am VERY worried about the reactions to the "pseudo-alicorns" if they are mistaken to be the same thing, because they aren't. If what I've written about pseudo-alicorns in this chapter is clear to you and you understand what a "pseudo-alicorn" is, just skip this note and enjoy the next chapter. The following is just a final clarification. NO. SCOOTALOO ISNT GETTING A HORN, SWEETIE BELLE IS NOT GONNA GROW WINGS, AND APPLEBLOOM ISN'T GOING TO HAVE A HORN OR WINGS. I decided to create pseudo-alicorns as a way for 3rd-echelon members to carry side-arms without having them in their mouths. Pseudo-alicorns are still normal ponies, and are still limited to their physical boundries. A good example is with this is the SC-20K. Sweetie Belle can wield this weapon while Applebloom and Scootaloo can't, because it's too heavy for their artificial magic. However, Sweetie Belle can carry this weapon because of her natural ability to levitate things as a unicorn. This logic is used to balanced the characters. Scootaloo can't do any magic aside from very weak levitation, anything more would require a horn, which as I said before she does not have nor ever will have. Her "earth pony abilities" are useless outside the 3rd echelon because the only ability she inherited is the ability to see through the sonar goggles, and even so her vision is clouded, while Applebloom- born as an earth pony- can see through them crystal clear. Scootaloo's own abilities as a pegasus have not been augmented, nor have Applebloom's or Sweetie Belle's abilities as an earth pony and unicorn, respectively. What I'm trying to say is don't let the name fool you, none of the characters in the 3rd Echelon are a Celestia. ...Okay, well, except Luna. But she doesn't count. She really is an alicorn.
Chapter 4: Hunter KillerDate: 5/02/28 Location: The Diamond Spire, within the Capital City of the Crystal Empire Briefing: Three months ago, it was discovered that the insurgents have been smuggling raw magic. The provider is unknown, but the pony providing the funds to purchase the volatile material is Gold Silk-codename: Charity-, a unicorn aristocrat who has been suspected by the 3rd-echelon to be financially supporting the PCE. Charity's position in the Crystal Empire, coupled with the uneasy relationship between Equestria's and the nobles of the Empire makes her impossible to kill without sparking conflict. A fight among family is the worst kind of fight; she is not to be executed. The castle will be patrolled by Imperial Guards; they too must not be killed. Objective: Infiltrate Charity's office within the Crystal Castle and search through her records for anything pertaining to the raw magic. Capital City was a Beautiful city, one of the Very few locations in the Crystal Empire unblemished by war. Blood did not stain the streets, and the entire town glistened as the sun glimmered its golden rays onto the crystal buildings. But the buildings displayed no gleam in the dark moonless night. The midnight shadows were spread like grass on a field-it was the perfect kind of night for Scootaloo. For missions that took place in nights, Luna would ensure the night would house a new moon. The darkness allowed Scootaloo to quickly travel through the city. Dressed in a midnight Kevlar vest and goggles, Scootaloo neared the spire in the middle of the metropolis when her earpiece lodged to the side of her head rang to life. "You are approaching the target." informed Princess Luna, "Remember, the castle is being patrolled by Imperial Guards, not PCE members. You are not authorized to terminate them. If it is necessary to neutralize an enemy, do so in secrecy. Don't draw attention to yourself. Understood?" "Yes Ma'am." Responded Scootaloo, keeping her pistol tucked in it's holster at the side of her vest. If everything went smoothly this night, she wouldn't need it. "I would suggest you also do not fly too close to the castle. Use the shadows I have provided this night to infiltrate." "Yes ma'am," she repeated, and with that, Scootaloo's wings flared, spreading like beams if light on a summer day. She only flew for a few minutes, and dived to the ground when the spire was only a mere twenty meters away. The darkness of the night would carry her to the castle. The shadows were numerous, and Scootaloo was easily able to pass through the town like a spectre. The night had blinded the guards, their eyes failing to the the shifting and twisting shadows of an orange pegasus pony. Their gazes were fixed on the road ahead, for fear that an enemy of the empire was to approach at any second- and for that reason they failed to see the pegasus' silhouette as she passed behind them and cautiously entered through the large doorway to the castle. The inside was no safer. The tight hallways and numerous guards proved to be a difficult challenge to Scootaloo's progression to Charity's quarters. Nonetheless, the pegasus was able to evade the guards and the compromising illumination of their flashlights through the use of the crystals that clung to the wall and the occasional sanctuary of the ceiling above-which proved to be even more useful when Scootaloo would here a guard while she climbed the staircases. An hour had passed when Scootaloo had reached a noticeably wider hallway, about the size of a ballroom. In the center to the wall on her right was a large pair of doors. It was the entrance to the throne room, she had realized this when she saw the princess of the Crystal Empire passed through the doors. She had heard the tapping noise of hooves from the opposite side of the hallway.In a frantic search for a hiding spot, her eyes caught the sight of a window, placed on the wall parallel to the wall sporting the large doorway. Thinking quickly, Scootaloo jumped out the window, spun, and clung to its base. From the window Scootaloo could hear the soft voice of the Crystal Empire's princess. "But they are not our soldiers." spoke Princess Cadence, "And I do not wish for my aunt to sacrifice her soldiers for our country. To be a strong country, we must have a strong army. But what good is a strong army if it is not ours? I am grateful for the support provided by Equestria's military, but I do not wish to see these soldiers needdlessly die for a country that isn't theirs." "But princess-" spoke a pompous voice, most likely belonging to one of the aristocrats of the Empire. "My husband is already training soldiers for our army and Princess Celestia has agreed with my proposition." Shot Cadence, "We shall begin phasing the equestrian soldiers out of our country and replace them with our own by the end of next month." "What great news your majesty!" exclaimed another regal voice. Scootaloo peered over the window's base and saw Princess Cadence walk side by side with two nobles. A unicorn with a cream colored coat and a green and purple-streaked wavy mane in a bun entered through the doorway in the center of the hall with the princess and the other noble. It was Gold Silk. As soon as the two ends of the colossal doors grasped each other together, Scootaloo had began to sprint madly up the spire. Every second Silk spent in the throne room were precious seconds the orange pegasus made needed to find her objective. The orange pegasus continued to ascend to the top of the tower. Near the top, she silently moved down a long hall. There were long rows of wooden doors, the four corners of each one connected to their center where a glistening gem would lay, which differed from door to door. Each door led to one of many living quarters of the Imperial Elite. "Your Majesty," spoke Scootaloo through her earpiece. "Go ahead, Scootaloo."permitted Luna. Scootaloo casted passing glances at the entrances with frustration, "There are multiple rooms here, which one is Charity's?" "Fourth door. Left side." answered the midnight princess. Scootaloo quickly advanced to a door with a polished ruby in the center. Slowly opening it, she quietly entered a small room. It was neatly kept, with fine china scattered at the sides in an orderly manner, a fireplace at the right side. A large desk guarded by two shelves above that were separated by a large window that was kept at the opposite wall, and a bed laid against the wall parallel to the door, as if it was there to keep the wall from falling. With much grace and finesse, Scootaloo noiselessly walked to the desk. She opened the drawer and found a letter sealed with red wax. ...Nothing. The second drawer was just as disappointing, the third even more so. The shelves above were rich in documents, but most were just political papers-all but one. It was a letter tied by a golden ribbon. After carefully opening it, the agent quietly began to read it out loud. My Dearest Gold Silk, How thy skin glows like the fair moon above, And thy eyes shine bright like stars in the night, My soul would travel seas to seek your love Scale mountains to feel your radiant light... "Nope. That's not it." murmured Scootaloo, crumpling the paper and tossing it over her shoulder. It was at that moment Scootaloo's search became more desperate. She began looking in less conventional places. Under the rug, in the pillows of the bed, Under the bed, beneath the firestones in the fireplace. She finally found what she was looking for beneath the mattress of the bed. It was a crunmpled, dirty paper with torn red wax. Gold Silk, While the crystals in the empire are numerous, seldom meet the requirements neccissary to produce raw magic. Therefore, we wish to inform you that our efforts in the Crystal Empire have ceased, and have been relocated to the fair land of Equestria. Our brothers own a mine near a small rural town named Ponyville. We shall continue our escavations there, on Equestrian soil. Because of this, it is neccisarry to inform your smuggling units. Too much suspicion would collect if...our kind was seen crossing the borders with such frequency. -Petr "Petr?" questioned Scootaloo, "Not exactly a pony name." Suddenly Scootaloo heard footsteps, the increasing volume suggested a pony was approaching the room. Instincively Scootaloo pulled her sonar goggles over her eyes. Through the wall she saw a shape resembling Gold Silk walking down the hall. Thinking quickly, Scootaloo ran towards the window-only to trip on one of the legs of the bed. The goggles had blurred her vision as soon as she took her first step, and in her blindness her foot struck the bed, causin her to roll to the floor. The footsteps on the other side of the door quickened, alerted from the loud crashing noise from inside the room. Scootaloo sprung to her feet and lept out of the window. She had heard Gold Silk gasp before jumping. Even if it was dark, even if it was only a split second, Scootaloo knew she had been seen. "Shit..." she cursed, "Shit shit shit!" she wasn't supposed to be seen! "Your majesty, I think I may be compromised!" said Scootaloo, mentally punching herself. "Did you aquire any valuable intel?" asked Princess Luna. "Yeah, the raw magic is being mined through crystals. Someone named Petr is providing Charity with them." answered Scootaloo as she continued to soar through the night sky. "I see..." responded Luna, "I don't think this 'Petr' is a pony." "Dammit!" screamed Scootaloo. The pegasus' response had unsurprisingly left Luna rather confused, "Come again, Scootaloo?" Luna could here heavy, panicked breathing on her end of the line. Finally, Scootaloo's familiar voice rang loudly,"I'm taking fire!" . . . It started with light, a bright and powerful light, one that could imitate the bright moon on summer nights. It forced the night sky to surrender all its secrets, including a certain orange pegasus flying from the tower of the Crystal Empire. Had the guards been alerted of her presence? It seemed unlikely. After all, she hadn't been seen by anypony, save perhaps Charity. But she wouldn't have tipped off the guards, otherwise they'd find out about the letter, and Charity would have been seen as the traitor she was. Another bolt cut through the wind mere centimeters away from her wing- whoever was shooting her, their aim was getting better. Sooner or later, they would hit her. Retracting her wings, Scootaloo dive bombed to the ground, spreading her wings only to stop herself from colliding with the cold earth. She dipped millimeters lower so her front whooves could touch the ground, then rolled into the alleyway between two houses. "The mule landed here somewhere!" Shouted a male voice. Peeking around the corner, Scootaloo saw two unicorns walking down the street. There horns were brightly illuminated, mimicking the beam of a flashlight. "Look around here," answered the second pony. She was a pink mare with a blue mane. "Whoever took that letter can't be far. "Ah," Chuckled Scootaloo, "So they were after the letter." "If you see anything!" shouted the stallion, "Radio in with your phonetic crystal!" Scootaloo's radio began to speak again, "Scootaloo," it whispered, "You're being hunted by PCE members, not guards, You're clear to execute, but be selective. We don't want unneeded attention." The Five-seveN, surrounded by an aura as purple as Scootaloo's mane, slowly rose from its holster and stood at bay next to Scootaloo like a rabid dog ready to be freed from its leash. . . . Even with their horns illuminated, the moonless night still blinded the insurgents. Their eyes were only limited to the small illuminated light in front of them. They couldn't see Scootaloo, even when the their lights cutted deep into the spaces between the buildings. the night kept her hidden from their shortsighted eyes, and Scootaloo knew it. She stalked them silently at a respectful distant, eyeing them behind the corner of a nearby building or in the shadows of an alleyway. There were only two of them, but they were close by. There wasn't a way to kill one without alerting the other-yet. One of the insurgents was obviously irritated that he needed to be awake at such a nightly hour. His paste had been slowly increasing and he was checking alleyways less frequently, and when he did it was a only casual glance thrown into the dark lane before continuing his march down the street. The other insurgent was much more thorough, and didn't allow her patrol become mediocre like her partner's despite how late it was. "You didn't even look here!" she hissed. "Right, because whoever took the boss's letter was probably hiding in there the whole time," his voice dripped with sarcasm, "whoever the bucker was is probably out of the Sombra- damned country and at the freakin' train station by now! Why the hell should we still even be looking?" "Because we need that letter! And if the thief is still here then we can't let them slip through our hooves. Now shut up and start searching!" retorted the tired mare. Even if she hadn't been hiding in the dark alley to the stallion's left, Scootaloo could easily hear them. How they hadn't awoken the entire block was beyond her. Still, the bickering between the two unicorns made it easier for Scootaloo to keep track of them. From the corner of the building she saw the stallion turn around to continue the feud with his partner, giving Scootaloo the window of opportunity to slip away from them. Quietly settling at the corner at an adjacent road, Scootaloo paused to look through her sonar goggles. Before her eyes the buildings disappeared, and ghostly silhouettes surrounded Scootaloo, with only the invisible structures of houses and shops separating them from her. She had taken special notice of one specific unicorn just up the road, blocking her only exit. Like the previous pair of insurgents Scootaloo had encountered, the warrior's partner was searching an alleyway. However, the first unicorn was clearly watching the street for movement, patiently waiting for her partner to finish flushing the alleyways with light. Whoever these pair were, they were far more coordinated then the previous duo Scootaloo had evaded. Scootaloo quietly approached them, ducking behind a vender's cart just a few meters from the unicorn on the street. She was a light brown mare with a gold mane. Her eyes carefully scanned the street, but did not peer far into the darkness. Scootaloo aligned the sights of her weapon to the mare's head, and with a deep breath, squeezed the trigger. Only a small hissing noise was released as the bullet gluttonously ate the few meters dividing the cart from the unicorn and dug and burrowed itself into the mare's temple. The mare fell to the ground, lifeless. She was the perfect bait for her partner. . . . Whoever stole the letter Silk needed wasn't residing in the alley. That was all the pink mare with a curly blue mane knew. Still, the sky diamond- and it must've been a sky diamond who stole the letter, for the thief had been seen flying in the night sky- hadn't landed that far from where she was, and hadn't been a report that the pony had taken flight again. It was just as possible that the thief was in the next alley over as the possibility that she was over at the next block. Or...perhaps the thief was closer than she thought. Her partner, her friend, was bleeding on the ground. How could have this happened? Was it the thief, their target? She couldn't have been struck by magic, their target had already been established as a pegasus! Unless....were they hunting one among the holy alicorns? The thought disturbed her. No, It couldn't be, she began to realize the flaws in her theory. Even if the thief was an alicorn, or perhaps if the killer was a different pony from the thief and was a unicorn, there would have still been an illumination from the beam, and there had been no light. But there wasn't any noise from a brawl, either, so her friend couldn't have been stabbed. The mare broke away from her thoughts to pull out a blue crystal with a visible wave of energy in the middle dancing between the poles of the crystal. She fumbled it close to her mouth and began to speak while she slowly approached the corpse of her friend. "Uhh, M-Maday! Maday! She's killed! Somepony killed her! I need help!" "Come again? Who is this?" Answered a voice from the crystal. "It's Sweet Amethyst. Listen! Somepony attacked Alluring Silver! She's bleeding I need help!" She was out of the alley now, and was running to her friend on the street. "Oh Sombra! How could have this happened? Please, send some pony to-" she never finished, for a sharp piece of lead dug a cavity into her head. She died instantly, not even living long enough to see the silhouette of a pegasus emerge from behind a nearby cart just a few feet away. Scootaloo silently scampered down the street, leaving the two corpses behind her, the PCE knew she was still somewhere in Capital City, she could thank Sweet Amethyst for that. Still, slipping passed the insurgents would hardly become more challenging. She wasn't very far from the edge of the town, perhaps only two or three streets away. before reaching a street with four guards, all of which were slowly scanning the streets. It was hardly an improvement to the original structure of their patrols, especially since they didn't even check corners, or alleyways, or even behind carts! Why the decline in thoroughness? Suddenly it occurred to Scootaloo; the game had changed. These ponies were playing it safe. They knew that a pegasus would have to get close to them to harm them, and by staying together they could kill her before she could even get close. Still, they must've been pretty stupid soldiers if they were looking at the ground for a pegasus, did it occur to them she could easily fly right over them as their eyes remained plastered to the stone road? That was when she saw something glint from a nearby balcony. It was from a pair of binoculars, temporarily being brought down from the eyes of a unicorn who gazed through them at the midnight heavens. A sniper, so that's who was watching for her in the sky. How could she advance? From the corner of the street Scootaloo considered the layout. There were a few carts scattered down the street, but they were too far apart to jump from cover to cover. And Even then, all it would take to kill her was have the sniper look down. She slid to the first cart. She was only a few meters, just about three at the least, from under the balcony. Scootaloo peeked over the top of the cart, just to see if the coast was clear, then jumped on the wall. there was a ledge running across the building by her that was two inches above the door of the building, most likely to mark where the floor of the second story was. Regardless of its purpose, it was now Scootaloo's ticket to the sniper. Ever so gingerly she moved across it, being particularly careful not to slip, until she hung on the base of the balcony. The sniper was facing her, but with his eyes fixed on the stars he could not see her. After a short while he turned and treaded to the opposite side of the balcony, oblivious to the pegasus climbing over the rails at where he once stood. Like a prowling Timberwolf Scootaloo quietly approached her prey. She was mere centimeters from him. Striking quickly she covered his mouth with her forehooves she covered the stallion's muzzle and pulled him to his hindlegs, then used her wings to free her own hindlegs, which she used to deliver a catastrophic blow to the back. She had shattered his spine. Scootaloo jumped over the edge and latched her hooves around the rails. The remaining PCE members were about to trot past the balcony, and, unfortunately for the mare closest to the sidewalk, right under Scootaloo. Scootaloo silently counted in her head.... one.... two.... Suddenly she leapt from the rail, crushing the mare beneath her with her powerful hooves. three! She fired at the soldier directly ahead of her, then quickly shifted left and opened the head of the stallion to her right with a red-hot 5.7 round, and spun to her left to greet the last insurgent with the very same fate. Scootaloo reloaded her pistol as she casually walked from the bloodbath. As soon as she pulled the slide back she broke of into a sprint and spun around the corner- only to quickly retreat back to the corner. At the street there were five ponies residing by two booths placed side by side. "Woah!" shouted the voice of a mare from around the corner. "What is it?" responded another from around the corner. "I thought I saw something at the corner of the street!" "Bet it's that pegasus," gowled a third voice, a stallion. "Tell Copperhead that the pegasus is on his street." "Copperhead..." spoke the first voice, "Copperhead?" "No response..." murmered a fourth voice. That would be four of the five ponies that were guarding the very street that lead to the border of Capital City's shield, providing Scootaloo had seen every pony that was guarding the exit when she had turned the corner. "Damn that pony.... let's kill the bucker!" "Are you stupid?" Spoke the fifth voice at last, "Stay on guard! If we go to the pegasus, we'll probably get killed like Copper and his team." his voice became louder then, directing it right to the corner Scootaloo hid behind. "Do you hear that? We aren't as dumb as you think! You want us?! We're waiting!" The stallion's final words echoed in Scootaloo's ears for a moment. Then, with her pistol hugging her chest, Scootaloo turned around the corner, drew her side-arm, and fired a single round into the insurgent's skull. All hell broke lose after that. The remaining insurgents sent a barrage of beams at the corner of the street in an attempt to burn Scootaloo with a scorching beam of magic. The Pegasus, alternatively, continued to deliver her own red-hot bullets. One impatient soldier ran up to the corner, but at the opposite side of the street, in an attempt to flank the orange mare. He assumed that the distance between he and her would keep him safe. The the single bullet jammed into his throat proved he was wrong. Scootaloo turned away from her now dead target to finish the remaining three, only to find they had disappeared. They were all behind cover, momentarily pausing the firefight. It was a moment Scootaloo know she had to take advantage of, to get into a position where she could easily eliminate her targets. Swiftly she moved from her cover to a stand, a bit off to the right from between her and her enemies. Scootaloo turned to see her targets again. Their heads were peeking over the stand they crouched behind, patiently waiting for her head to appear from behind the building. Scootaloo continued two move around the insurgents, she wasn't worried or nervous; not the slightest. She could see the insurgents from the corner of her eye, they had tunnel vision. Their eyes were glued to that street corner. Scootaloo was behind them now, with her pistol warily taking aim at the first mare's head. All she needed to do was pull the trigger, turn to the second mare, and fire. They would both be dead before anypony could react. It would be so easy, she could take them both out if she wanted to... Except, honestly, she didn't want to. How could she? She didn't need to kill them. The edge of the forcefield surrounding the city was literally right at her back, only a few meters away, unguarded. To shoot them now when she could leave without trouble? Murder, not war. The gun lowered itself, as if ashamed that it had pointed itself at the unicorn mare only four meters away. Soon after Scootaloo turned to the forcefield, the unicorns had grown impatient and advanced to the corner where the pegasus was allegedly hiding, only to find it empty. Scootaloo only knew of this because she heard their confused-and frustrated-shouts from behind her. They looked for her, but never found her, for she had escaped within the nocturnal blizzards waging outside the Capital City. . . . The arctic winds of the north bit at Scootaloo's skin as she trudged to the train station- or at least, where she thought the station was. It was impossible to see anything beyond a yard. Scootaloo pulled down her sonar goggles- this had been the fourth time she had since she had left the borders of the Capital City- in hopes that the station, distant as it may be, was still ahead of her. Snow was replaced by darkness, which, in a flash of light, gave way to static. Static everywhere- everywhere but a long block out in the distance. Surely that was the station, Scootaloo had been telling herself it had been for the past twenty minutes. Or had it been half an hour she had been plodding in this snow? Hell, she may have even been marching for fourty-five minutes for all she knew. There was another shape revealed by the sonar. It was small sack and six meters away from Scootaloo- plus a foot underground. Picking up her paste slighty, for she was tired, Scootaloo advanced to the spot above the bag and began to dig. A green and silver saddlebag rested in the snow. It was a sign that meant that the glowing prism ahead was the train station, for Scootaloo had buried this saddlebag as she departed from it. There was only a purple scarf and a thermos filled with hot chocolate inside. Scootaloo drank the hot chocolate greedily, welcoming the warm liquid into her body, feeling its warm course around her body. She kept the scarf in the saddlebag. While it could provide warmth, it would be no more than what her body armor provided her. She slung the bag on her back, and patted it as if to reassure it wouldn't fall. There was a bump on the side beneath the fabric, she hadn't noticed it until now. For a second Scootaloo wondered what it was, but the cold wind directed her attention to the train station once more. With the unconventionally shaped saddlebag on her Scootaloo continued to plow through the snow. It was odd, really. Instead of hanging on her sides the bag wrapped around her body, so that the compartment was on her back, but the opening rested at her side. After a few more minutes of marching a gold light illuminated ahead of Scootaloo. It was a lamp post, one that stood at the entrance of the train station. While she was still out of the range of the light Scootaloo brought the saddlebag to the ground again and began to strip herself of her armor. It was the very reason she had brought the saddlebag, to conceal her equipment. She wrapped the scarf around her neck. It was warm, partially because it had been next to the thermos, but also because the unicorns in the 2nd Echelon had enchanted the bags of field agents. They were resistant to fire, water, temperature, and-well, Scootaloo didn't really care for the last one at the moment, she could ask later, at headquarters- where frostbite wouldn't be trying to chew at her hooves. There were a few ponies at the station, a couple were Equestrians, and some were Crystal ponies. A few saw a pegasus approach from the shadows. She wasn't dressed in black, and she had no goggles on her head. In fact, all she sported was a purple scarf and an oddly shaped backpack. She was certainly not a special agent of some sort, if somepony was to suggest that then they were crazy. Anypony could tell, she was merely another tourist riding the midnight train home. . . . She was a tired, crimson gem pony, with an aqua blue mane in a bun. She was also a mother, who went by the name of Star Sapphire, sitting on a couch at the right side of the carriage, behind a simple table in the first of the three passenger cars. The train was noiseless and stationary, for the time being. In a few minutes the train was expected to leave, but not until after the last batch of passengers were to board. Until then, she would simply enjoy the tranquility of the passenger car with her lovely foal cradled in her arms, his soft purple coat and short, dark purple mane wrapped safely within the blanket hugging his sleeping body. The peacefulness of the coach continued, through the door's sudden opening and the few passengers entering, the calmness of the carriage remained and lingered. Even the loud whistle signaling the train's departure sounded like the hum of a lullaby as the locomotive began to crawl away from the station. There weren't many more beings on board, at least not many sharing her coach, just a unicorn stallion at the back right row, another earth pony mare three rows away on the left side of the carriage, and a pegasus sitting right next to her. Of all places, why next to her? Star Sapphire shrugged off the question. She didn't mind the company. The pegasus had an orange coat and a purple mane that was the exact same hue as her son's. She looked tired, but was purposely evading sleep. Her hooves were crossed and her back was turned, as if she was in a deep slumber, but her eyes were clearly open, even though Sapphire couldn't see them, she knew. On the other side of the table was an oddly shaped bag, brought by the pegasus, hogging the entire seat. Neither the bag or it's owner moved nor did they look like they ever would. Half of the trip was spent in silence, broken only when the conductor entered and announced that they would be crossing the borders to Equestria soon, and that they would be arriving in Canterlot in only a a couple of hours. Excitement began to stir in Sapphire, it was evident by the childlike smile she wore on her face. In her silent joy she turned to her neighbor, eager to speak, just to share some happiness on this train. Surprisingly, the pegasus spoke first. "You have a lovely foal, Miss." started the pegasus. "Oh! Why thank you!" responded Sapphire. The declaration surprised her, but it was a nice surprise. "What's the little guy's name?" asked the pegasus, peeking at the child's face. "His name is Shining Tanzanite," Declared the mare proudly. "He's so cute," The mare complimented. "Isn't he? He's so special..." responded Star Sapphire, holding her child close to her like treasure. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Star Sapphire, by the way. It's nice to meet you." "Scootaloo." answered the pegasus. "So what brings you to Equestria?" "Well I've heard that it is a beautiful country! I went there once, when I was three, but that was so long ago I don't remember anything of it. I figured, since I haven't seen it for a thousand years, why not visit? Anyways, why are you on this train?" "I was visiting the Crystal Empire, or the Capital City at least. It's such a beautiful town." "So you are returning home now, I take it?" "Yeah, I live in Ponyville." "Ponyville? I've never heard of Ponyville before, whats it like?" "I'm not surprised you haven't," chuckled Scootaloo. Actually, given the ponies who live there- the elements of harmony to name a few, she was a bit surprised. "Ponyville was founded after the Crystal Empire disappeared, it's small and out in the country." "It sounds like a lovely place," concluded Star Sapphire, "I think I'll have to visit there while I'm in Equestria." "I'd be more than happy to give you the grand tour," offered Scootaloo. "Why thank you!" laughed Star Sappire. Then, in an instant, the peacefulness died. It started with a hum. A quiet, unsuspecting noise that would've been ignored if a pony wasn't trying to hear it. Luckily, Scootaloo was. The orange pegasus turned around just in time to see the unicorn sitting in the back of the coach- now standing with his horn glowing brighter and brighter. In an instant the Pegasus reached her hoof over Star Sapphire's neck and quickly ducked below the table, bringing herself and her new companion to the ground. The sound of a heated beam, shattering glass, and the cry of the scared Tanzinite erupted in the carriage like a volcano. The unicorn marched down the aisle, noiseless. Emotionless. Not a single head portruded from the seats; everypony had the sense to hide from the killer on board. Two were trembling in terror, their minds trying to comprehend the situation. Why was this happening? What's going to happen to us? One pony was crying, for he was but an infant, and the cruelty and twisted madness of this world was alien to him, and it terrified him. The final pony, the Pegasus, was still, and concentrated. She was no stranger to this. In fact, she was in a distant memory. The first day in the 3rd Echelon, there was helplessness, there was confusion. There was darkness. Ironically, what one factor that had became her greatest ally had abandoned her. She looked at her bag, her Five-seveN rested in there. But she wasn't supposed to use it, technically, the Five-seveN didn't exist. She peeked from the side of the seat, only to be greeted by a red beam passing right by her face. Surely, the 3rd Echelon would consider the circumstance she was under as an exception, and even if they didn't, she sure as hell would. A second impediment was the width of the table, which wasn't wide enough for Scootaloo to move around without making herself vulnerable. Perhaps she could use kinesis? Push the bag to make it look like out of a stroke of luck it had fallen? It was worth a try. Scootaloo concentrated on the bag, every fiber, every strand of silk, and applied with all her being a force to push it. The damn thing didn't even budge. Thinking quickly, Scootaloo's mind raced to other solutions. Her hind legs! Why didn't she think of it before? Carefully unwrapping them from under her, Scootaloo reached her hind right leg to the bag and began to push it off the seat. "What are you doing?" Whispered Star Sapphire. Scootaloo ignored her, directing the bag to the edge of the seat. Finally, gravity took over and claimed the bag as its own. Right when it had made contact to the ground, the entire coach went dark. "What the hell?!" Sceamed the unicorn, as the glow of his horn suddenly vanished. Scootaloo was asking the same question in her head. Darkness, her ally, had returned to her. Grabbing the opportunity to strike, Scootaloo rushed out from under the table, bucked the unicorn, and turned around to bash his head into a nearby window. Once more, the sounds of an infant screaming and shattered glass filled the room. The lights returned, revealing the aftermath of the quick, turbulent battle. The stallion laid by a window, his head bruised and bleeding by various cuts. "Oh my Celestia!" Shrieked Star Sapphire, distraught by the sight of the body, "Oh my Celestia! What happened?! What happened?! My Celestia! Is he-" "Ma'am, calm down," comforted Scootaloo, "Calm down Sapphire, everything is all right, he's not dead, okay? Everything is fine. Ma'am, listen, I'm going to check the other coaches, I'll come back here when it's safe, alright? Listen, it's important that you try to remain calm, okay? I'm going to be right back, and then we can all go to the next car over." Scootaloo spoke like a mother- to both Star Sapphire, and to the earth pony as she went to retrieve her saddlebag. A close inspection revealed it had crushed the odd button in the between the fabrics when it had landed. Had that caused the lights to go out? Scootaloo slipped the saddlebag on her back, knowing it would come in handy. As for Star Sapphire, she began to cradle her baby. She ignored the quiet sobbing of the earth pony a few rows away, and just continued to rock her beloved child, trying to calm it with a lullaby. In a shaky voice, she began to sing, "Hush now.....quiet now i..it's time...to lay y..your sleepy head, h-hush....now...quiet now, it's time...to go....to bed.... She kept on singing until her son's screams reduced to a silent whimper, and continued to hum the to the tune until Shining Tanzinite once more slept angelically. Scootaloo entered, quietly and calmly, into the coach just three minutes after the foal had closed his eyes. "Okay, everypony," she whispered and directed as a mother would, "We're gonna go move to the next car over, okay?" She shook the earth pony mare, offered a reassuring smile, and guided her to the door. Then she turned to Star Sapphire, "Are you ready to move?" She whispered. Sapphire nodded, and tried to hold back more sobs as she spoke, "yes....yes I'm ready." "It's all gonna be okay," promised Scootaloo as she walked alongside her friend. Together, they opened the door, crossed I've the small space between the carriages, and entered into the coach. And as the door quietly shut, peace greeted the train once more. . . . Uploading_Data: 3rd_Echelon_Field_Intelligence Uploading_File: Portable EMP Description: All 3rd Echelon members are given a special saddlebag to carry any necessities required for a mission. This bag is waterproof, fire-resistsant, and cannot be teleported or cursed (it can, however , be levitated depending on its weight and the species of the operative). The bag also doubles as a portable EMP (electro-magic pulse). An electro magic pulse releases a wave of both electro-magnetic energy and magic to disable almost all forms of nearby electricity and light, including light from magic (the soul exception being an enchanted gem that naturally produces light).
