Chapters With the White Berets
Operation Black Spire
A dark blue earth pony crawled on his belly up the snow-covered hill his red eyes scanning the barren tundra around him. A blizzard was gathering and he wanted to use it to hide his approach.
“Agent Roy?” His earpiece buzzed .
“Yes, Control?”
“You’re about 15 kilometers from the castle; is it visible?”
“Nope. Blizzard’s coming; I can barely see the next hill.”
“Alright castle’s, to the northeast; you have your mission?”
“Get to Castle Blackfrost, kill any rebels inside, get out. I’ve been over it a hundred times.”
“Good luck, agent.”
“Bye sweetie, see you at dinner.”
“Hilarious. Control out.”
Roy sighed, someday Control would respond to his advances. What was not to like? He was tall, athletic, good-looking and smooth as silk. He may look a bit chaotic, his mane and tail didn’t match and his hooves were a little yellow, but he could always take home the prettiest filly in the bar. Control must be crazy, he thought as he trudged to the northeast.
The blizzard was truly raging now and Roy caught sight of the castle, a huge twisted structure of black metal, the polar opposite of Canterlot, with imposing fortifications and gates that dominated the surroundings. Roy raised an eyebrow. Someone was compensating. Oh well. He ran to the wall, keeping his eyes and ears open for any movement, almost wishing for something to show its ugly head. Nothing. Just the sound of wind and blowing snow. He couldn't find an entrance so he braced himself against the wall and climbed. It was hard going and he felt his hooves slip multiple times. There were no hoofholds so he had to brace himself against one face of the uneven wall and push himself up with his hooves. It was arduous. He reached the top and took a moment to look around the ramparts as he rested on the cool flagstones the ramparts looked and felt barren. A small door on a tower was the only visible entrance to the castle. He ran over to it and put his ear to the door. Silence. The door was unlocked. He opened it and entered.
The interior was dark and gloomy. What a surprise , Roy thought, “Just once, coudn't I be assigned to somewhere nice, sunny, warm, and filled with fillies? ” Not that he expected that, of course. the White Berets always operated in the meaner, darker, colder, and considerably less filly-filled parts of the world. Like this dreary castle.
At least it was lit.
By glowing blue torches lining the wall.
Blue.
Magic fire torches... something must be powering them. Roy resolved to find the power source; blue flame indicated a crystal base power source and to power the castle the crystal would have to be huge-- probably in the dungeon then. Ponies had a tendency to put large but needed things underground. So he kept moving and looking for stairs.
After an impossibly long hallway he came to a symmetrical set of stairs leading down to the ground floor. Keeping as close to the railing as possible he moved to the ground floor. He was standing in what appeared to be a great entrance hall. Pillars supported the ceiling and iron chandeliers lit with soft blue flames creating dancing shadows along the walls. Nothing moved. Roy slowly walked to the center of the hall, keeping his eyes moving. He heard nothing but the hiss of the flames. Then he blinked.
Magic flames supposed to be silent.
He realized this the second a huge mass slammed him into the ground. Roy grunted as he rolled onto his back and flipped out his commando knife. He aimed for the closest piece of flesh he saw, stabbing his knife into the creatures leg. It sprang back and screamed at him. Roy hopped to his feet and appraised his opponent, a black and vaguely pony-shaped creature with long fangs and insectoid features.
A changeling. The changeling hissed at him again and sprang. Roy caught the black creature on his shoulder and flipped the changeling over his back. With lightning speed he pulled his knife from the creatures leg and plunged it into the changeling’s throat.
That did the trick, Roy thought. H re-sheathed his knife and whipped his eyes from side to side, looking for more changelings. Nothing moved, nothing hissed. Roy moved on.
Choosing to proceed into a smaller hallway leading to the east, Roy walked slowly taking in his surroundings. Blue light, imposing architecture, stone floor-- it had a carpet though. A nice bit of variety. There was a door, tall and wooden, placed halfway down the hallway. Roy tried the handle: locked of course. He kicked it open. The door slammed open and black smoke poured out of the room. Roy coughed and shook but walked in anyway. The room was a mess. Broken screens lined the walls and smoking computers covered the floor. Whoever ran this place had gotten the heck out, probably quite recently. He’d need to report that, but not until he investigated the entire building. Hopefully the rest was changeling-free. He closed the door behind him. There was one more door in the hallway
It was bloody red, and stuck out like a sore thumb. Definitely the dungeon, Roy thought. Surprisingly the door was unlocked, opening to a poorly lit staircase. Roy glanced behind him and started to slowly down.
The dungeon was nauseating, to say the least. Torture racks lined the circular wall, each seemingly competing to be more disturbing and blood-covered than the last. If Roy hadn’t seen worse he would’ve lost his lunch right there. The room smelled of iron and something else. Something sticky and acidic. He moved towards it and looked, mixed in with the dried blood. He put his hoof in it and felt it squelch. It was green against his hoof-- changeling goop. Gross. It was interesting, though. Where was it coming from? There wasn’t any on the stairs or torture racks. He inspected the walls. No goop. His hoof caught on an indentation, and felt around it. It indented, and half the wall swung open. Roy was shocked at the sight. The wall revealed a beautiful hall, brightly lit by iridescent crystals sprouting like flowers from the wall. The floor was made of clean white flagstones that seemed to give off their own light. Roy gaped at the amazing contrast between the dark blood covered stones of the torture chamber and the bright cavern surrounding it. His training took over, However and he inspected the floor finding more changeling goop. Roy followed the trail of green liquid down the hallway. The hallway forked eventually, with the green ichor leading down the right. Roy turned to face the trail but as soon as he did he felt a tingle go through him. Then a shake. Then a spasm that made him feel like his entire nervous system was shutting down. He felt his legs collapse from under him. His head hit the ground. The buck was that? he thought. Whatever it was it came from the left hand hallway. Roy unsteadily got to his feet and ran to the left.
The crystal lined hallway went on for an impossibly long time. Roy had to stop and brace himself multiple times as the waves of energy washed over him, growing more and more intense. He kept running until he nearly ran into a heavy wooden door. He opened it and braced against a wave of energy more powerful than all of the others. Shaking off the effects he went inside.
The room seemed small and cramped compared to the cavernous hallway. It was circular and dominated by an enormous crystal that seemed to impose itself over him. Well, I think I found my powersource, Roy thought. Now how do I deactivate it?
He inspected the crystal; it seemed to be made of diamond, something he was sure even Celestia could not break. But when he looked closer, he saw something interesting-- Black spiked wire embedded in the jewel. It burned to the touch and wrapped around the crystal. Roy followed it around and what he saw made him jump. A pegasus, legs tied to the crystal by the wire. Roy immediately felt pity for him. He ran to the pony and tried to untie its arms when the barbed wire sparked and the pony spasmed, releasing a wave of intense energy that knocked Roy back. Most of the energy was absorbed by the crystal, though, and it in turn sent a wave of power through the other crystals, which reached into the chamber outside of the door.
Well that solves where the power’s coming from, Roy thought. Thinking quickly, he ripped off his leather knife sheath and wrapped it around his hooves. He rushed over to the pegasus and,using the leather to insulate himself from the worst of the burning, untied the dark crimson pony. However the pegasus did not drop to the floor and was obviously still anchored to the crystal. Roy looked at the pony's head until he found what was still tied; His antlers.
Antlers on a pony. Roy was utterly dumbfounded. What the heck is this thing, he wondered as he slowly lowered him to the floor. Smallish, rust red coat, black mane, with antlers. Roy was not getting payed enough.
Antlers, as Roy had taken to calling him, was also bleeding. Roy pulled out his small field first aid kit and bandaged the pegasus’s hooves, cut by the barbed wire.
What now? Roy needed a plan. His mission was to search and destroy, not search and rescue. What should he do?
Luckily, the castle answered for him. The wire flashed and without a pony to connect to, it completed its circuit with the crystal. The big crystal turned red. The small crystals turned red. A huge hiss seemed to reverberate through the halls.
Changelings.
Hundreds of them.
Roy moved in a flash. He re-buckled his sheathe, slung the pony over his shoulder and ran.
He ran down the hallway and came to the fork and swung in the direction of the torture room. Sparing a glance behind him he saw at least twenty Changelings running from the other side of the fork. Roy kept running. He sprinted up the stairs and burst into the ground floor hall. Antlers moaned in his state of blissful unconsciousness.
“You are no help at all!” shouted Roy as he burst into the grand hall. He ran to the stairs but froze.
Close to a hundred Changelings were swarming down them. He looked right and left, more were pouring in from all sides. Roy backed up away from the stairs. he was pinned between the wall of stone and the wall of changelings.
Antlers’ antlers flashed. Light poured from the ground, forming a circle around Roy. The circle emitted lines that raced in all directions across the floor. when they struck the wall behind Roy. The wall split in two and swung open. Roy didn’t question it. He just ran into the open air and activated his radio.
“Control! I need evac NOW!”
“We can pull you out in one minute. Get to the evac point.”
Roy looked back. A couple hundred changelings were still on his tail, running through the snow like a black wave. He wasn’t going to make it. “Well, Antlers,” he said, his breath ragged. “This is it.”
Antler's eyes shot open and glowed with black energy. His antlers started to emit black light like a black star. Roy felt a chill wind shoot through him. And he stopped dead in his tracks. A blizzard formed around him in an instant, and its white wave of snow, wind and ice collided with the black wave of changelings. “Okay. What the flying buck is that!” Roy shouted. Antlers then wavered and collapsed on Roy’s back, declining to answer. Roy swore a couple of times and then trudged to the evac point.
A carriage pulled by two pegasi awaited him. He heaved Antlers onto it then got on himself. Seating himself next to a gray unicorn filly that he realized he had dropped Antlers onto in his haste to get on the vehicle.
“Hello Control, you’re looking beautiful. Are you taking me to dinner in this?”
“Agent Roy, report.”
“Explored incredibly drab castle, found and killed a changeling, found a bunch of abandoned equipment, found the generator, found Antlers, took Antlers, ran from changelings, got to evac and asked you out.”
“ Very well done, not exactly to our objectives but...”
“Hey, I saved Antlers’ life! you can’t court martial me!”
“As I was about to say, he, or “Antlers” as you call him, was pretty much the reason we came. So job well done.”
“ But what is he? And why changelings? And...”
“That’s classified. Rest knowing you did well.”
Roy thought about it. He looked at the castle. He looked at Antlers. A job well done. He was fine with that.
Chapter II
Operation Skyline
Roy would be the first to admit that he was very drunk. He was aware that he had downed several pints, if not gallons, of berry mead. The fact that he was aware of this however indicated one of two things;
He hadn’t had enough,
He had the amazing power to tell how much he had drunk. This power made him the chosen one from prophecies of old, indicating that he must train with the drunken masters on the highest peaks of the griffon mountains to slay the giant dragon araghlytmionasghl the unpronounceable.
The pony was inclined to believe the second. After several proclamations of his prowess in dragon slaying he was kicked out of the bar. As he wandered down the streets of canterlot he wondered where his home was exactly and he was checking the starry sky for it when he ran into large heavy object. Namely a cloaked earth pony twice his size.
“Mr. G Biv?” The tall pony asked without any emotion.
“Thats my name!” Roy replied, giddy in the fact that he had remembered it.
“I’ve come to deliver a package.”
“Weee! is it a present?”
“No.”
“Flowers?”
“No.”
“A pony?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t want it.”
“Sir!” the colt exclaimed, “This is your latest assignment”
“Ew. Definitely don’t want that.”
“Sir!”
“NO!” Roy turned and ran. After a full 40-yard dash, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and knew no more.
Roy woke up the next morning with a hangover, a bruise, and a mission briefing on his bed. He skimmed it and galloped out of his apartment. As he sprinted he reflected on how it wasn’t the worst way he’d ever received a mission.
He entered Canterlot castle through a kitchen door and stole a poppy seed bagel. after pausing before the exit to straighten his spiky hopeless hair he entered the castle proper. Moving quickly, but with care enough to not offend anyone more important than him, Roy proceeded down deeper and deeper into the castle’s bowels until he was well below street level. Opening a service door he entered a small room barely lit by a dim light bulb. Dirty flagstones and a constant dripping leak overhead made the room seem depressing. Its only feature was a rusty grate covering a small portion of the back wall. Roy sighed walked to the back wall, spun and kicked the grate as hard as he could. Its rusty screws gave and the grate fell. Roy grinned and flung himself into it. He fell into a irrigation tunnel and cannonballed into the water. He recovered and swam to the surface, gasped for air and swam to the edge of the river of water. He climbed out, shook himself off, walked down the dark tunnel and stopped when he found a service door. He tried the handle, did the retinal scan, the hoofprint scan and the DNA scan. He tried the handle again and it opened. He entered the headquarters of the White Berets.
It was information central. Countless ponies worked like ants in a huge brightly lit work space, all checking information, reacting, and trying to stay on top of everything.And tose were just the ponies playing video games. Roy walked in, rubbed his Hooves on the welcome mat and took his beret from the hook assigned to him. He walked through the office, nodding disinterestedly in greeting to ponies he knew. He entered his cubicle, sat down, spun around and opened his computer. However as soon as he opened the internet, a single message displayed onscreen, ROY GET YOUR LAZY FLANK UP TO THE OFFICE NOW. Well that was a little direct. Roy sighed, so much for his last haven.
Control was where she always was, her elevated “Supervising platform.” Watching everything. Her light pink eyes constantly moving, screen to screen, pony to pony. “Roy,” She said icily, after pretending to notice him for the first time, “You’re 15 minutes late.”
“Ooo, sorry,” Roy said flippantly, “Was time of the essence?”
“Luckily I always add a 20 minute Roy delay to my schedule.”
“I’m early then aren’t I! I’ll just slip away...”
“No you won’t. We have a problem.”
“You look serious. Why do you look serious?”
“Baron Redwing is having a parade.”
“So?”
“He is about to become the grand duke of Hoofnia.”
“SOO?”
“You told us you had a degree in international relations when we recruited you.”
“I thought that was the lie portion!”
“...Whatever, the point is that Hoofnia has recently reformed after almost 10 years of civil war and north Hoofnia lost. The duke has decided to hold a parade in the recently recaptured north Hoofnia.”
“So let him die. What do we care?”
“We extended diplomatic ties to them after they reformed, the duke gets assassinated, we’re in a foreign civil war.”
“Well what do you want me to do?”
“Get to the city. Watch the parade, keep him from being killed. Simple.”
“It’s not going to be simple is it?”
There were over 3000 ponies at the parade. The duke was in an open carriage. The parade had a twisting winding path. It was surrounded by ten story buildings. There were obstructions and distractions everywhere.It was definitely not going to be simple.
“Roy are the glasses working? Can you hear me?”
“No Control. No I can’t.”
“Cut it Agent, Don’t get distracted.”
“Your lovely voice is doing that.”
“Just... test the glasses.”
Roy was a little weirded out. He had his knife belt like normal, but other than that Control had completely revamped his equipment. He had a hoofheld crossbow strapped to his foreleg and a chainmail shirt, made of some light but incredibly strong metal, protecting his torso. Control’s coup de grace however were the sunglasses. Infrared, 40X zoom, motion detector, and for some reason, X-ray. Roy wasn’t sure why X-ray was included. They must’ve had budget and time to burn. He flipped through all the settings, even X-ray.
“Everythings working.”
“Good. No mistakes now.
Roy watched the parade. They were making a show of it and the Duke looked very happy. Suspiciously so. Despite the rabble raisers. Roy counted 40 of them spread out at almost even intervals through the crowd. They were inciting the crowd, bringing them to a riot, but always seeming to just fizzle them out before things turned violent. Interesting enough but not his job. He kept his eyes moving. Pony to pony. Building to building. He took just as much care to not be seen. The Duke had four security teams posted on rooftops. They had crossbows and what were probably unicorn battle mages. Fun. They could fry him in a half a second if they wanted to. Roy kept watching.
Roy was getting bored. At least that was his excuse to start checking out the fillies. This one was quite nice. White coat. Grey mane with a red stripe in it. Flank that wouldn't quit. She was carrying a huge case with her magic and didn’t seem very interested in the parade. She ducked into one of the buildings that had a guard post. He ducked behind the raised wall to hide from one of the guards. He lost sight of her.
“What are you doing up here?”
Roy turned. There was a security team for this rooftop too apparently. Well. No choice then.
“I’m just watching the parade,” He lied as convincing as he could with a knife and crossbow in his hooves.
“We’re going to have to ask you to leave.”
“Control? You listening?”
“We have other problems Roy,” Control nearly yelled, “Look across the street!”
Something was definitely wrong. There wasn’t a security team there anymore. That could be problematic.
“Sir!” the Guard was shouting now, “Please leave the premises!”
Roy was running out of options. He needed to get across the street five minutes ago and he didn’t have time to go to street level and cross the street. He was going to have to do something crazy. He looked to his left. There was a long line of banners leading across the street from the slightly shorter building. That would have to do. He took a deep breath and jumped off the building.
He landed in a roll and sprinted. He took a moment to recover, hearing the shouts of the guards running off the roof behind him. Across the lane he saw a crossbow being aimed by red energy. No time to rest then. Lovely.
He swung onto the line of banners and climbed hoof over hoof, swinging himself across the street quickly.Thankfully the crowd was focused on the Dukes car. He swung up to a small decorative alcove right below the roof and turned on his goggles. Infrared showed the sniper was crouched right behind the wall and hadn’t noticed him, across the street the security team had gone inside the building, their blobs of red light moving quickly down the stairwell. He took a deep breath and pulled out his knife. He was going to have to do this right the first time. He put one hoof on the alcove and flipped over the wall. He flew over the edge of the building at the would-be sniper, tackled her and put his knife at her throat.
“Miss, it would be easier for both of us if you would come quietly,” Roy said with exertion.
The mare flicked her grey mane. Roys eyes, trained to follow any movement, flicked with it. In that second she kicked him in the stomach. The agent felt all of his breath escape him as the mare shoved him off and ran into the stairwell leading into the building.
“So thats how its going to be. Fine,” Roy said, his breath returning. He got up as quickly as he could and ran after her.
Roy sprinted down the steps keeping his eyes to the left down the spiral stairs hoping to catch a glimpse of his quarry. He did, and almost too late. Roy saw a glimpse of her mane; and had to throw himself into a roll to dodge a magically sped up arrow shot at him with alarming precision. Roy stopped his roll breathing heavily, he was getting tired. She was too, if she was desperate enough to take a shot. As he threw himself down the stairs Roy realized that doing stupid things had been his path to success lately. So, time to do something stupid. Roy stopped running and flung himself off the stairwell.
He fell down a level then grabbed the railing, hung for a split second then swung head over hooves another level. He found himself hanging upside down, not a foot away from the sniper. He aimed with his hoof-held crossbow and fired at her leg. She moved at the last second and the arrow stuck in the post behind her. She turned and pulled it out then moved to stab him with the pointed tip. He fell from the railing above her dodging the wickedly sharp tip. He pulled his knife out and split the arrow with the pommel. Then he flipped the knife in his hoof and went in to stab her. She pulled out her own blade and parried. They dueled knife to knife down the stairs, the white pony constantly on the retreat. Roy was getting irritated. This lady was good. The fight continued as they went down 3 floors. They burst into the lobby wrestling for control. Roy thought this was probably the only time he didn’t like wrestling with a women.
Then by lucky chance he ended up on top. He stuck his knife to her throat and pinned her to the ground. “Now can I question you?” He gasped.
“You can try,” She gasped just as tiredly.
“Who hired you to kill the Duke?”
“No idea. Don’t ask questions about the job. Bad for business.”
“Damn assassin. Tell me!”
“Assassin is such an ugly word. Try mercenary, hired gun.”
“So a political agenda then.”
“Maybe.”
“So who hired you?”
“Earth pony. Maybe Pegasus. Unicorn. Blue red or green. I forget.”
“So a changeling then.”
“Two for two! Possibly. If I told you the real score they’d kill me.”
“Dangerous organization of changelings with a political agenda.”
“I said nothing.”
“Anything else you want to squeal?”
“Stalling is spelled S-T-A-L-L-I-N-G.”
Roy saw the magic aura around her horn too late. He glanced behind him and saw her crossbow; just as it fired its bolt into his side. He felt his body tell him in a not polite way something was not supposed to be there, and knew no more.
Roy regained consciousness slowly and painfully. He opened his eyes with effort and looked around. Same lobby he had collapsed in. Same riot outside. He looked at himself; the arrow had stuck in his side, and he was bleeding badly. He grunted and reached back I’m really going to have to lodge a complaint about this chainmail, His agony ridden mind wondered deliriously, It’s obviously not arrow proof. He swore and clenched his teeth as he removed the arrow. Thankfully It wasn't barbed, He examined the bloody tip. It was designed to be aerodynamic and kill from the initial shock of impact from long range, Roy noted looking at the teardrop shaped tip. Custom job. Roy would use it to track her down later. He put it in his own quiver and stood up legs shaking. He limped to the door and shoved it open with his shoulder. Through blurred eyes he saw the scene in front of him. The ponies were being brought to a boil again. They began to riot, lashing out at guards and each other. Roy heard glass breaking from behind him, somepony had crushed a window with his bare hooves. Roy focused on looking for the instigators he had picked out before. He picked out one and started to stumble over to him. The green pony had stepped back from the riot, obviously proud of the chaotic scene before him. Roy stumbled a little closer. He moved his arm back to his quiver and pulled the crossbow string back. He aimed It his arm weaving back and forth. He shot.
The recoil sent him back on the ground. His eyes began to flutter, his vision hazed. He saw black hooves with holes approach him.
And a flash of red.
And he sank into a peaceful sleep.
Roy’s eyes flickered back open. He groaned and heard ponies move, a white one with a red cross ran through his field of vision. A grey pony with a coal-colored mane and pink eyes swam into his line of sight. Control. “Is this heaven?” He asked groggily, “‘Cause you’re definitely an angel.”
Roy could have sworn he saw Control grin. He must be delirious. He sank back into sleep.
With the White Berets III
Repercussions
Roy was very happy. Exceedingly so. He was out of the hospital after 3 weeks and was on his way home. He could move his side without pain! He could not spend all day in bed! He could eat actual food! After buying himself three hotdogs from a street vendor he walked happily to his apartment building. It was a dingy building, but it was home. He opened the building’s front entrance and walked in. His room was three floors up and after an arduous climb he walked down the low-lit, boring hallway. He opened the third door down, walked in, and closed the door behind him. He looked around: open main room with a couch, his laptop and T.V. His bedroom door was slightly open and his kitchen seemed clean. His many posters were untouched. Control was sitting on his couch. The bathroom door was cracked. His rugs were seemingly clean. Roy did a double take and swore.
***
The hotel room was huge. It was the penthouse suite of a 5-star hotel in Manehatten, the windows revealed a beautiful view of the city’s skyline. However, the grey pony inside designed not to appreciate the view. Dark clouds were on the horizon and she had a job to do. After throwing a few personal necessities into her small suitcase she carefully placed a silver briefcase on the bed. She opened it almost affectionately and carefully removed the contents. Her crossbow was a thing of beauty. Custom designed for her, sleek, powerful, yet easily disassembled in a few seconds. Maintaining this was always her first priority. Always. She carefully took it apart piece by piece, polishing and oiling the trigger mechanism and testing the string and limbs. She lost herself in her work, falling into the dreamlike state of habit.
Until a shadow loomed behind her.
A shadow with antlers.
***
Roy spun around, “Please stay here I need to let security know there’s an intruder in the building.”
“Door’s locked.” Control said in her monotone.
It was. “Do I even want to know how you-”
“No.”
“So why are you here? Did you finally realize how much you love me?”
“How much I Looooooove debriefing you yes.”
“Do I hear a note of sarcasm? For that matter a note of emotion at all?”
“Irrelevant. We really need to talk.”
“How bad do we need to talk? ‘Cause theres a bottle of jack with my name on it...”
“This is a major international incident we have to deal with Roy.”
“ I notice a distinct lack of civil war.”
“ It’s worse than that.”
“Oh.”
***
The grey mare swung her foreleg at the intruder but it met air. The intruder moved like a breeze. She recovered and examined the intruder. A dark red pegasus stood before her, on the smaller side definitely but the antlers that extended up and back from his head made him loom over her like death's shadow. She felt fear rush through her, then felt it turn to adrenaline. She lashed out with a ferocious charge seeking to impale him on her horn. He moved, ducking under her, quick as lightning his hoof swung up catching her in her neck and forcing her up on her back legs and pushed her into the wall. “Well this is a compromising position.” She said. “What now mystery man?”
“Apologies Miss but I need to ask you some questions.”
“What kind of questions?”
“You know the unimportant and mundane, like, “Whos planning an equestrian coup.””
She swore that she could see the long grin under his hood.
***
“Hoofnia nearly collapsed into civil war yes, but it didn’t.” Control said angrily, “Instead a new political faction rises up and takes the throne, led by a known enemy to the queen!”
“That sounds bad.”
“And he’s involved with changelings to boot.”
“What?”
“Mmm we made the connection thanks to the changeling you shot. So at least you did that for us.”
“ I’d like to think I accomplished something despite my near impalement.”
“Don’t be a baby. And your “near impaanythinglement” is an issue. Walk with me.”
She strolled to his door and opened it. Roy blinked and rolled his eyes.
“You coming Roy?” Control said, making it obvious it wasn’t a question.
***
“I know nothing more than I was hired by a changeling with the eventual goal of taking Equestria.”
The cloaked pony was still grinning. She still didn’t know how she could tell but it was obvious.
“But where? By who? How did they get in contact with you? How much money? What currency?”
“Unimportant things.”
“Very important things.”
“Still not telling you anything.”
“You sung before.”
“Because I thought he was cute. Can you blame me?”
“Do I have to flirt with you? Or can we trade?”
“Trade?”
“The old ways. We trade information for information.”
“Aren’t we antiquated.”
“I’m older than I look.”
“Fine then.”
And she explained everything.
“...Now what information can you give me thats worth all of that,” She said after a brief pause. The Pegasus sighed.
***
“Where are we going?” Roy asked after 5 minutes of silent walking.
“That was an exercise of patience, we’re going now” Control said in a monotone.
10 minutes of silent walking.
“For Celestia's sake! We’ve passed that light post at least 3 times!”
“That was an exercise of making you shut up, we’re really going now.”
Control glanced behind her. Their tail was gone. She turned towards their real destination. She had been circling and doubling back for 15 minutes to avoid him had been tiring. But getting Roy to shut up for a while had been nice.
“So is this it?” Roy asked after a very short walk.
“Yes. But first,” Control frowned, “ Roy you’re a good agent. Maybe one of the best I’ve ever seen. But the fact remains, you've nearly failed two missions.”
“But I did all I could!” Roy exclaimed.
“I realize. But you’re just one pony. So I decided to change that.”
***
“I just have a little bit of advice for you.” The cloaked pony said, “Just a little bit from someone who’s seen wars.”
She was staring at him, as he spoke he grew more and more terrifying. He seemed to be a creature of pure shadow, barely framed against the dark clouds, his antlers looming above his head like branches of a ghostly tree. When he spoke he spoke in a whisper: “Run, get as far away from equestria as possible.”
The storm broke with a huge trident of lighting. The Pegasus vanished with it. The grey pony fell to the floor. “That was creepy.” She said. She hastily gathered her gear and nearly fled the building.
***
“What.” Roy said as he entered the cafe Control indicated. She didn’t respond verbally, just pointed to a table where a unicorn and a pegasus were arguing heatedly. The blue unicorn looked up and smiled “You must be Roy. I told her you’d be here.”
The light yellow pegasus snorted.
“Wait.” Roy said. “Who are you two?”
“The Control didn’t tell you? I’m Hertz.” The blue unicorn said giddily. “Shes Corona. “We’re your new teammates.”
With the White Berets IV
Operation Complex
The red pegasus blinked then blinked again, his antlers were telling him that this place had bad magic radiating off it: Old magic. Twisted magic. He eyed the building and frowned. It was well guarded. Two security ponies at each entrance with sentries walking and flying around the property, and a group of ponies huddled on the top of the roof. Mages no doubt or at least changelings skilled in small spells. He considered, then took flight. His weak red wings put him in the air and he pulled on the wind to do the rest. He glided silently to the rooftop and crouched behind one of the many ventilation pipes that crisscrossed the flat terrace. The guards were lazing around obviously bored with their midnight shift. They were idle easy targets, but despite that he grimaced. The pegasus would not like what he was about to do. Their break done, the guards resumed their rounds, beginning to sweep the roof and scan the grounds.The antlered pegasus tightened his focus, waiting for an opportunity. One of guards, a green unicorn grew close, and the pegasus moved in a flash, flying out from behind the pipe and brushing the unicorns neck with a hoof. His nightmare did the rest. As the unicorn collapsed into a sobbing heap, the other ponies turned with a shouts of alarm on their lips. But the nightmare had tasted pony, and it wanted more. The pegasus was wont to give him some, if only to keep it from feeding on himself. The unhindered nightmare flew out of his antlers and engulfed the guards like a black wave of pure fear. With effort the red pegasus drew the nightmare back in after it had finished its work. He sighed, feeling it settle back within him. With the sated nightmare fading into his mind he opened the fire escape door and ran in the building.
“Where in Celestia's name is he!” Corona yelled slamming her hooves against the glass coffee table. They had been sitting in Control’s office for almost 15 minutes waiting for Roy and Corona had grown impatient quickly. Hertz only smiled in his self-assured way. Hertz found amusement in everything. Especially Corona. Control only sighed. “He’ll open the door in three...two...one” She counted with the exaggerated patience that obviously came from repetition. Below a door slammed open and a soaking wet Roy walked in.
“Does he realize there's a drier way into the base?” Corona asked, almost casually, hiding her indignant rage.
Control nodded.
Roy put on his uniform beret, frowned, then grabbed a cleaner one from a neighboring locker. He then proceeded to grab a magazine and went to the bathroom.
“He’ll go to the second stall.” Control said, “Which he will learn is trapped.”
A large bang came from the bathroom and Roy walked out seemingly unfazed, if a little singed. He strolled over to Control’s office as casually as possible. He pushed Hertz off the Couch and laid himself down. “What's up?” He asked innocently.
“We’ve tracked the changelings,” responded a nonplussed Control. “You three are ordered to infiltrate their base, get any information you can out of it, and finally destroy it.”
And so they sat, at midnight, crouched in the bushes outside the complex. “So what's our way in?” Hertz asked. Roy sighed. He had quickly grown tired of Hertz’s constant chattering. Corona was always unnervingly silent.
“I have no idea how to get into this place.” Roy said pointedly. “Corona. Anything?”
“There are two guards per wall which are completely covered by wards and cameras, plus 12 roaming the grounds. And there’s at least six pegasi overhead patrolling.”
“Nice eyes. Any way in?”
“The roof’s wide open.”
“Is it covered?”
“The aerial sweeps skim it.”
“Way up?”
“Soft spot on the left side.”
“Route to the roof?”
“Hertz is already there”
“But he’s-”
Hertz had vanished. Roy jumped. Corona sighed and rolled her eyes. She gestured with a hoof at the building below. A blade of grass moved. Tree leaves rustled slightly. Hertz moved like a ghost, quickly, silently and relentlessly. Completely invisible.
Roy swore. “How does he do that?”
“He has a knack for getting into places he shouldn't be.” Corona said, without bothering to elaborate further. Roy looked down, Hertz was waving at them from the wall of the building.
“Well thank Celestia he uses his powers for good.”
“He doesn't usually.”
The cloaked pegasus was also practicing the art of getting into places he shouldn't be. He flitted through the halls like a ghost, checking every room. until he finally found his way to the basement. He opened the door and looked down, beholding a dark stairwell that spun downwards, its bottom obscured by the darkness. The pegasus focused on the black, braced himself and jumped.
Roy and Corona moved silently to the wall where Hertz was. Only to find the eccentric pony had vanished again. Roy searched desperately for the strange unicorn until Hertz dropped a rope on him. Roy swore quietly, rubbed his head, and climbed. Corona flew up, keeping close to the wall. Hertz grinned at them as they walked in. Roy shut the door behind them. And Hertz finally spoke, “So...”
“We’re very impressed Hertz.” Roy and Corona said simultaneously. Hertz ignored the sarcasm. The team moved slowly through the halls, poking their heads in every deserted room. After many empty offices and conference rooms. Finally, Corona waved Roy and Hertz over.
“Found the IT room,” She whispered, “Lets get to it.”
The pegasus fell through the darkness. Instead of opening his wings and gliding as most pegasi would, he spiraled through the air, cloak flapping in the wind. He reached out with his senses through his antlers, feeling the earth surround him, feeling the wind of the shaft rush past him. He could feel the bottom now, and it was guarded. Two changelings, wearing armor like ponies, stood in front of the staircase. They were still, sentry like. The pegasus felt them breathe. The air from their lungs mixed with the wind in the shaft. the air from the shaft flowed in and out through the windows of the complex, which in turn flowed through the sky, where wind constantly swirled and cycled in chaotic patterns, the primal essence of the storm. The pegasus exhaled, feeling his storm connect with the primal one. Everything grew sharper and more contrasted. He felt the storm gather around him and the air crackled with static. He focused it to his fore-hooves feeling them become bolts of solid lightning. He fell on the sentries then, his hooves connecting with their backs, feeling their carapaces break and the electricity blow out their nervous system. He landed and the storm settled back within him. He walked past the smoking corpses, heaved open a steel door and walked inside.
Corona threw herself into a seat and began typing madly at the keyboard. Roy told Hertz to watch the entrance and swept the room. After he finished he walked over to Corona’s workstation. He gasped. She was bypassing walls of security like they were nothing.
“Anything yet?” He asked, trying to keep his voice free of the awe he had of her prowess.
“Almost. I’ve got a bunch of files, but they’re all coded.”
“Anything important?”
“Something called project Goliath.”
Project Goliath. The word loomed in front of the dark red pegasus. Seeming bigger than it was on the lit bulletin board. He could read the words on the prints. But could not understand their implications. They labeled a sketch of a gargantuan changeling. He stared at it. The shell was too thick for arrows. Infantry would be crushed by it in an instant. Ballista bolts could probably shut it down, but it would take two or three well-placed bolts. A squad of unicorn magi could take it down with a little luck, but-
The pegasus shook his head dismissing thoughts, born of a lifetime of warfare. These were dangerous living weapons and they needed to never become reality. He grabbed a sketch but as soon as he stuffed it in his cloak, harsh white light illuminated the formerly dark room and a loud klaxon sounded with an announcement that there were intruders in the building, changelings rushed from all sides and surrounded him. Fangs out and ready to pounce.
“Project Goliath huh?” Hertz said, “Sounds interesting.”
Roy looked up, finding Hertz at his shoulder.
“Shouldn't you be watching the door?” He said.
“Well…” Hertz replied.
“Nopony move!” A colt shouted.
Roy turned and looked. Two guards with crossbows and swords had burst into the room. They stood imposingly on their hind legs aiming crossbows. Roy grinned.
“Corona, save all you can, I don’t want to ” He said flipping out his knife.
He rushed the guards. One, emerald green, panicked and wasted his shot, and the bolt sailed well above Roy’s ducked head. The other fired a precise shot at his torso. Roy saw the bolt and deflected it with a quick flick of the blade. The first guard had his sword out and wound up a huge swing, leaving his stomach wide open. Roy Sliced it open and the pony screamed. The second swore and lunged for Roy. But the blue agent slipped past the blade and stabbed him in the eye.
The knife wielding pony turned on his awestruck companions and grinned.
“Lets move.”
The changelings tensed and the red pegasus had enough experience fighting them to know that they were going to pounce as soon as he made a movement. So he focused on everything around him, every detail, every small movement, every breath; and found the storm again. It exploded from him, blasting away the changelings and lifting him into the air. With all his might he focused its energy on the exit. Blasting off the steel door and screaming up the tunnel, he flew up past the steps and through two floors bursting through a skylight on the roof, followed by a rush of wind. He had what he came for. Now he just needed something to do with it. He flew into the winds, towards home.
Roy, Corona and Hertz heard what sounded like a explosion and covered their faces to shield themselves from the blast. “We need to get out of here. Now.” Roy said. “Any ideas how to get rid of this building?”
“Bombs are already planted Roy.” Hertz said innocently.
“When did you-- Never mind. I don’t want to know,” Roy said exasperated, “Corona?”
“All the data I could get is saved.” She said.
“Brilliant then. Hertz what's our way out?”
“The window!” The earth pony declared with glee.
“Wha--”
Hertz Grabbed Roy and Corona, and with little effort, tossed them through the window. After a moment he followed, and the building exploded behind him.
Two hours later they were back in Control’s office. A little singed but none the worse for wear.
“Well done you three,” The commanding officer said. “It’ll take a while to crack the code, but it seems we’ve got something good. Corona. Hertz. You’re dismissed. I need to talk to Roy alone. The two saluted and left. Roy watched them go, Hertz chatting and Corona rolling her eyes, but seemingly proud. He turned to face Control, “So is this when you’re finally going to admit you have feelings for me?”
“You like your teammates?” She asked with a surprising amount of care.
“They’ll do.”
“Thought so. You are really fond of them aren’t you.”
“You planned that though.”
“Of course.”
“Figures. I need a drink.”
“Dismissed to your rising alcoholism.”
“Thaaaaaanks.”
Roy left. Control sighed. It had been a long day. If the three hadn’t done so well she would have been worried, changeling movement was rising. Something was happening. And she had no idea what. It was like playing chess against an invisible opponent with hidden pieces.It had been a risky move to give roy a team, but it had payed off. But she could still only see the outlines of her opponent's strategy. She needed sleep. She had been working for 48 straight hours now. And they had been long. And the note wasn’t helping. “It just blew in the window. Why do we even have a window?” She reflected. The note was printed on a unadorned white sheet of paper. It read: Tomorrow ten pm, your office. We need to talk.
“Celestia. Why does everyone in this business have to be so cryptic?”
