A light layer of ash coated the ground. The moon shone brightly in the sky, but it was nothing compared to the inferno that engulfed the Crystal Assassin bureau. It blazed like a beacon, luring in all who laid eyes on it. I found myself drawn to it, walking closer against my better judgement. I did not want to believe what I was seeing: our own headquarters being razed. My head buzzed with questions.
How did they know we were here?
What else do they know?
How will we continue our fight now?
"Soldier! What are you doing, staring like a wide-eyed mule?! Stand at attention!"
I heard a harsh, rough voice but did not know to whom it was directed. I turned my head to see an officer glaring at me disapprovingly. I winced and shook my head, trying to rid it of the after-effects of teleportation. Looking down I saw I was still wearing my captured armor. For now, I would have to play along.
"I-I'm sorry sir, it's just...I've never seen such destruction before." It was technically true. I had sabotaged buildings many times in my missions, but I never stuck around to witness the desolation.
"Don't give me excuses colt! Now get back in formation!" he barked.
I wordlessly complied and took a position in a long line of identical soldiers. They all stoically watched the fire as though it were one of King Sombra's public speeches, which, in a way, it was.
Just then a section of the roof caved in, sending a flurry of sparks into the night sky, immediately followed by a panicked shriek from what sounded like a mare from within the structure. Many of the soldiers broke their unmoving expressions and glanced around confused. I instinctively took a step forward.
"What are you doing now, soldier?!" shouted the same officer from earlier.
"There is still somepony in there!" I replied. "We need to get her out before she burns to death."
The officer glared at me for a few seconds before turning to the inferno and then turning back to me suspiciously. I grew increasingly anxious as the inn continued to burn.
"And? What stake do you have in her survival? Are you looking to impress our King with a random act of bravery on his behalf?"
"Well, um...I." I began, rapidly formulating a story. "It's...uh...my niece. She was on her way to visit associates in Equestria and was probably staying at this inn, I fear she may not have left before we set fire to it."
The officer showed no signs of backing down; I leaned in and lowered my voice. "Please, how about this. I'll go in on my own and try to save whoever it is in there. If I die, it's no fur off your back. If I rescue an innocent civilian, that is one less of the King's loyal citizens who has to die for no reason. If I capture an enemy agent, you can take the credit for giving another traitor the justice she deserves."
He looked at the other soldiers around us, pondering for a moment while wordlessly telling them you didn't hear anything. "If you want to risk your life to temporarily save a traitor go ahead. But don't expect any assistance!"
I nodded and galloped to the building. The gigantic blaze was scorchingly hot, but imperial armor, magically designed to keep the wearer comfortable, would protect me against the worst of it for a minute or two. The front door was inundated by fire, but a nearby window was not yet fully in flames. I jumped through it and landed on the charred floor, which creaked under my weight. I would have to be careful; the structure was growing weaker by the second.
"Hello!" I yelled. "Where are you?"
"HELP!"
The response sounded like it came from...beneath me?
Oh wait, the inn has a small cellar for storage. Whoever it is must have hidden there to avoid the imperial troops.
I hurried to the cellar's entrance, which was hidden under a staircase.
Now, if I remember correctly, I need to pull an adjacent candelabrum to ---
The floor suddenly gave out under my weight. I crashed to the lower floor, bringing singed debris with me.
That works too.
I groaned in pain. My right shoulder had taken much of the impact and ached terribly. I tried getting up, but the sharp pain brought me back down instantly.
I rolled onto my side. My panting was making the helmet stuffy, so I opened the visor. Most of the smoke was on the ceiling anyway.
Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. I groaned. But, whoever is down here, if I can rescue her, then it will not be a total loss. We need all the help we can get.
I rose, grunting against the pain. Sombra will not have the last laugh!
With renewed vigor, I shouted to the room. "Where are you!"
"Over here."
I limped over to the voice. A soot-covered crystal pony lay huddled in a corner, silently wimpering. A burnt support beam had crashed in front of her, trapping her where she lay. I shoved it out of the way.
"Hey." I said, putting a hoof on her shoulder.
She turned around, her eyes wet with tears.
"Renida?"
She looked up, her eyes widened and she scooted further into the corner.
"Whoever you are, please don't hurt me! I swear I am only the front-desk lady and know nothing of the Assassins!" she blurted, apparently startled by my appearance.
"Whoa, whoa, Renida, it's me, Equeir." I consoled, removing my helmet.
"Equeir?" she asked, wonder replacing fear. "Wh-h-how are you here?"
"Long story. We can catch up when we get out of here!"
Suddenly, a portion of the ceiling collapsed, bringing more flaming timbers into the basement. We ducked and I replaced my helmet.
"Stay right on me!" I commanded.
Resting my injured limb over her shoulder, we rushed to the stairs. More of the ceiling was caving in, burning wood tumbling right behind us as we hurried up the wooden steps that thankfully held our weight. It was when we got to the top of the stairs that I remembered a certain problem.
"Oh buck." I stated as we observed the closed door.
"You didn't open it on your way down?" Renida asked critically.
"No! I fell through a hole in the floor, it was a one-way trip!" I answered, frustrated. "Where's the mechanism on this side?"
"At the bottom of the stairs." She replied.
I glanced behind us, where fire was rapidly climbing the steps. Where we had been seconds ago was now part of the blazing inferno.
"Screw it." I muttered.
Disregarding my sore shoulder, I turned around and gave the wall my hardest buck, hoping the fire had at least weakened it enough that I could break it down. It shook, but remained standing. I bucked several more times, making indentations but not breaking it. The flames were catching up.
"I could use some assistance here!"
"A surprising statement coming from you."
"Just shut up and help me break down the door!"
We synchronized our bucks, causing the door to tremble more with each hit. Finally, it gave way and fell forward onto its face with a resounding CRASH! With no time to lose, I dashed out with Renida hot on my tail. My original entry point was no longer available, recently added to the conflagration. I frantically perused the area, seeing nothing but smoke and fire everywhere I turned.
Smoke and ash invaded my nostrils and tore at my eyes, hampering my breathing and obscuring my sight. The armor, which up to this point had protected me from the worst of the heat, was now itself growing unbearably hot, threatening to cook me like a metal oven.
"Now what?!" Renida shouted between coughs.
"We try not to die." I replied calmly before grabbing her with a foreleg and pulling her close.
"Hey! What are y--ahhh!" She cried as I rushed us through a path that appeared to have less fire in the way.
I leaped over a small concentration of flame, Renida screaming all the way. A jolt of pain received my landing, reminding me of my injured shoulder and the searing heat that was encroaching on the armor. Past the fires, I watched as a section of wall collapsed. The debris extinguished nearby flames, making it the perfect exit point.
"You see that?" I asked.
"S--*cough* see what?" she replied wearily.
I could tell the fire was getting to her. By now she had surely inhaled an unhealthy dose of smoke and I could see a number of burns on her usually crystal-like body.
"Come on!" I shouted, "One final push! We're almost out!"
Again, I rushed both of us around burning debris and lashing flames. While the route only looked to be about ten or fifteen yards, it felt like an eternity. Nevertheless, I got both of us to the other side -- just in time for a smouldering support beam to strike my head. I fell to the floor (or rather, what was left of it) disoriented. I could make out the profuse coughing coming from Renida, the roaring blaze all around me, and the moonlight that was barely out of reach. In one, last exertion of my battered body, I dragged both of us out of the flames and onto the searing dirt just outside.
At least we won't burn to death out here.
We lay there for about a minute. The armor cooled slightly, but I was still too close to the fire to be comfortable. Renida had not moved, meaning she was probably either unconscious or dead. Either way, I was in no mood to listen to her complaints or pained groans.
"Over there!" I heard somepony shout. A few soldiers ran to us and dragged both of us away from the building. Just as we were received by a field medic, the remainder of the building's supports gave out and collapsed, bringing the entire structure down in a spectacular fashion.
I was turned away from the sight by the medic trying to remove my badly dented helmet. I panicked and swiped his hoof away.
"She needs it more." I stated in response to the quizzical look I received from the medic.
"Why? She'll be dead in a few days anyway," he replied.
"Then make sure she lasts that long!"
He begrudgingly turned to Renida, whose burns were now visibly red over her diluted pink coat.
Rising to my hooves, I heard a long, low blast from an imperial battle horn. Most of the soldiers broke ranks and began filing into an encampment I had not noticed previously. A few ponies were already huddled around campfires, cooking meals and warming themselves. Others retired directly to their tents, their stone-faced expressions giving way to exhaustion and yawns.
"Report to the medical tent, sir. I'll take her to the prisoner tent."
The medic threw Renida's limp body over his back and walked away. I pretended to go in the opposite direction, but quickly turned around once we were far enough apart. I followed him for a few minutes, maneuvering slowly through the maze of tents, campfires, and torches. I made sure to keep far enough away as not to alert him to my presence, but close enough that I would not lose sight of him. Sometimes he would make a sharp turn or look behind himself and I would have to duck into the nearest tent or pretend to converse with a group around a campfire to avoid detection.
Finally, he reached a large tent with several guards.
"I have a prisoner."
"We'll take it from here."
The two guards slapped shackles around her legs and brought her into the tent. I noted that due to the location of the tent, near the center of the camp, I would not be able to spring her out with brute force. Getting her past the patrols would be another issue.
I wandered around the area. Though most of the troops were asleep, everypony assumed I was a part of the nightwatch. Nearby I heard a grunt, followed by a heavy object landing on wood. Curious, I trotted over.
A lone Crystal pony was lifting corpses onto a wooden cart. A small pile of bodies wrapped in brown cloth sat right behind him.
That could work.
"Hey, are you taking these bodies to be buried?"
"Yes, the fossors should finish the grave ditch soon"
"Well when you're done with this pile, I need you at the prison tent."
He stopped his work and addressed me directly. "Whatever for? Do we even have captives?"
"Yes, but one of them died of her wounds, so I need you to take away the corpse."
"Ugh, just give me a minute." He heaved another wrapped body onto the cart.
"I could lend you a hoof if that would speed things up."
"Uh, yeah, that'd be nice, thank you."
Together we loaded several more corpses onto the wagon. As it was heavier than he anticipated, I helped him bring it to the prison tent, where, just my luck, the guards had just changed shifts.
"We're here to take away the deceased prisoner," I announced.
"What deceased prisoner?"
"A prisoner in this tent bled out a few minutes ago."
"Why wasn't I informed?"
"Fetching the cart took longer than expected, we were supposed to be here before the shift change."
"Sir," said my companion, "the sooner we clear out the corpse, the sooner we can get some sleep. Just let us do our job."
The guard sighed and stepped aside. I grabbed a spare blanket from the cart and we went into the tent. Renida, luckily, was still unconscious. Her breathing was slow and faint, so hopefully my colleague would not notice it. We removed the shackles and laid out the blanket next to her before rolling her onto it and wrapping her limp body. If my luck held out, she would remain unconscious at least until we were out of the camp.
After loading her onto the wagon, we pulled it outside the camp to an area where other soldiers had dug a long ditch. The location was relatively isolated and far enough away from camp that I would not have to worry about being seen. The moon continued to shine bright enough to negate the need for torches.
"All right," my colleague started as we brought the cart alongside the ditch. "Now we just have to--"
"Actually, this is where we part ways," I interrupted.
He turned to question my statement when I silenced him with a hoof to his mouth and a blade to his throat. He struggled for a second, gurgles from his pierced throat indicating attempts to scream, before succumbing to his fate. I allowed his lifeless body to fall into the ditch, a dull ache reminding me of my mishap in the burning inn.
Some stirring and a tired groan alerted me to the one living pony on the cart.
"What...what happened? Am I dead?"
I unwrapped her from her coverings. "No, and I intend to keep it that way for now."
"Oh, uh...thanks." She got off the cart but had trouble keeping her balance.
"Come on, we have to get to Equestria as soon as possible, the border is only about a day's journey to the south."
She nodded and took a few steps before stumbling. I rolled my eyes, this would be harder than I thought.
"Don't expect me to carry you the whole way." I said, putting her foreleg around my neck.