Chapter 6
Clandestinity
A lone silhouette, outlined by the brilliant yellow rays of the sun, glided silently across the rooftops of Fillydelphia. As if it was second nature, its wings flapped and hooves pushed off the ground in perfect harmony, creating a rhythmic pattern of ease and stealth as it galloped noiselessly across each gap in the endless plateau of buildings. Rust and lime from the weathered concrete roofs caked onto Flash's fetlocks, staining them a dingy orange that brought back memories of the past. The entire trip to his father's house was simple muscle memory; he had traversed these very rooftops hundreds of times going to and from home and school. That gave Flash a little more time to think.
Whatever happens here, I can't give myself away. No matter what they do to Fluttershy, I have to stay hidden or I've doomed everyone.
Immense weights pressed on Flash's head and heart as his mind raced, trying to brace himself for what he may see. Images from his dreams flashed through his mind as well as others that were merely the product of his frantic imagination. A beaten, bruised heap of yellow and pink slung to a wall, stakes driven through dripping, red hooves. A distant expression creeping from her needlepoint pupils as the blood-encrusted fur on her thighs was made wet again by the forceful penetration of another stallion. Tears mixed with blood on the dark stony floor, swirling in a pool of pain and misery. The yellow pegasus was numb to all, allowing all things to violate her. Cuts ran across her mangled face, morphing what was once breathtaking beauty into a terrible image of torture.
Flash suddenly became alert to his heavy breathing. He was traveling at insane speeds, the buildings whizzing by, mere inches from his hooves. He realized also that his teeth were clenched and his head shook from his self-induced rage. Finally regaining total control of his senses, Flash slowed himself to a steady pace, letting his racing heart ease itself into a steady pulse of life. He proceeded at a regular speed until he reached his old home.
The massive estate marked the end of the concrete streets of the city. Nearly 10 acres in size, it stretched out in a formidable, grassy expanse. A long, winding trail of cobblestone led up to a large, white mansion surrounded by greenery. The entire property was surrounded by an ornate, wrought iron fence that stood about 12 feet tall. This was only for show, Flash knew, as it would only keep out earth ponies. The real defense, that would keep out Pegasi and all but the strongest of unicorns, wavered in and out of it's invisible state as Flash poked it with his hoof. The magical forcefield surrounded the estate. As Flash pressed on it, waves of a deep indigo were dispelled across the transparent surface of the shield. That could only mean one thing:
Mist
The powerful unicorn had always been, and apparently still was, his father's right hand mare. She was the only high-ranking female in the entire outfit for that matter, but there was a reason for that. Images of her jolted Flash's memory as he remembered her nightmarish features. A combination of blue and purple twined in jagged spirals down the length of her formidable horn, giving reason to the indigo glow any object affected by her magic obtained. The rest of her body was spectacularly lust-inducing. Her slim, curvacious form was accented by her hazy blue coat and long, wavy, golden hair, the styling of which could only be rivaled by Rarity's glamorous locks.
What was most stunning about this mare, though, was her blood-red eyes. They sharply contrasted every feature of her physical stature, but reflected perfectly every one of her interior motives and thoughts. She was a wretched, evil pony who had, under Flash's observation, committed countless abhorrent crimes. From burglaries to murders, this unicorn was probably the most heinous in all of Equestria. But her appearance kept her clear of any police trouble. One night in a stranger's bed was all it took to ease any lawful suspicion of her actions, and so her crime sprees, in tandem with the operations of Flash's father, were wanton and endless across the city of Fillydelphia. Nopony was safe here, but that was just a fact of life.
Two things ran through Flash's mind at that moment, both questions that were difficult to answer. The first was what Mist's true potential was and how much of a challenge she would present to Twilight. He was not willing to have her hurt or killed for his own purposes. Mist, being a coldblooded killer, would not refrain from ending Twilight in any way possible. But Twilight, though her magic was unbelievably strong, was not a fighter. In fact she was the most pacifist pony he knew next to Fluttershy; and even she could get feisty when a problem arose. Twilight though, he'd never seen her or could even see her harming a fly.
The other thought swimming around in his ever-stressed mind was a memory game that was becoming fairly frustrating. Mist had always left a door-sized hole in the forcefield in case of emergency situations. With luck, the entrance would still be in the same spot, allowing Flash to slip, undetected, into his father's grounds to try to find a basic plan of action. The problem was, Flash couldn't remember where the entrance was.
He flew up a ways, dragging his hooves over the dome-shaped forcefield, leaving a wake of magical energy spreading out across the protective layer. When he found the top of the dome, he sat down on it as he had on so many cloudless days back in his youth. Looking out over the estate, Flash tried to look for specific landmarks that might jog his memory. As his eyes swept over the land again and again, coming up blank every time, Flash began to grow incredibly tired. He searched disinterestedly while his mind wandered. But when a small blur of movement caught Flash's eye, he perked up and spun his head toward the source.
A small rodent, probably some sort of groundhog or mole, was dashing out of the vegetable garden on the east side of the estate, its mouth filled with life-giving food. He eyed it closely, knowing that no wild animals could live inside the forcefield for long, or they would be detected and exterminated immediately. As he watched, the animal darted straight past a lone tree on the northeast boundary and through the invisible barrier that was meant to keep all things out of the area. Flash knew the instant it happened that he had, with the help of the little rodent, found the entrance he was looking for.
Flash, looking about quickly to confirm that nopony was watching him, bolted for the spot where the rodent went through while keeping it locked in his vision. He couldn't afford to lose it; he needed all the time he could get. As he slipped through the invisible gap, he passed into a meadow filled with memories of the past. So many days he'd spent with, unbeknown to him murderers and thieves.
A shiver of anger ran down Flash's spine as he flew silently toward a basement window of the intimidating mansion. But the anger was transformed into something else. What, he didn't know, but when he saw the cream yellow figure slumped in a corner, muzzle pointed downwards, his stomach lurched. He gritted his teeth and forced down his impulses to rescue her, as brash action now would most definitely lead to everypony Flash loved being taken and possibly tortured by these ponies.
Taking a short glance to get a view of her condition, Flash felt relief rush over him. Save for a slight tarnish and dirt stains to her coat, the downtrodden filly seemed unscathed. Nothing terrible had happened to her. With this fact repeating over and over in his mind, Flash reassured himself and was eventually able to tear his eyes from the window to survey the rest of the land.
The forcefield went an equal distance from the center in all directions, except for a small stretch that cut off abruptly with a mile-long ridge towards the back of the estate. There, sheer cliff faces loomed over the comparatively small house, providing protection from a rear attack.
But with Twilight on our side, that could be the ultimate vantage point for an attack on the house.
The gears whirred in Flash's head as he analyzed and absorbed information from every square inch of the environment. Many of the windows had been left unlocked, probably on account of the protection the forcefield would give from any burglars or enemies of the family. There was also a large shed about midway between the estate and the cliffs that could make for an excellent base of operations once they infiltrated the area.
Suddenly, a loud bell rang from within the estate. Flash jolted and his heart grew sore as it beat faster and faster. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he jumped for cover behind some bushes. After the bell sounded for the eighth time, Flash watched as two large, muscular earth ponies exited the mansion from a side door. They walked around the house, closely observing everything around them, then proceeded to inspect the rest of the area close to the house. One went off to the shed and remained there for a minute or two, then came back, giving his partner a hooves up to confirm that nothing suspicious was on the premises. They both returned to the side door and casually strolled back inside.
Flash waited another hour in the underbrush and, sure enough, the bell rang nine times and a patrol came out. Except the two guards were not the same two that had been out before. Another surprise came when two pegasi came out and began flying around the estate, screening the ground for any movement that might reveal an enemy. Flash hunkered down under the thick brush and prayed, eyes closed, that the two pegasi would not see him.
After five anxiety-filled minutes, Flash heard a faded murmur and the sound of the door closing. He waited about in hiding for two more hours and found that the patrol had an easy pattern to figure out. Every odd hour, the pegasi came out on patrol. There were only two pegasi on grounds duty, as opposed to the six earth ponies who scoured everything in near proximity to the house.
When he was satisfied with the information he'd gathered, Flash slipped out from under the brush, receiving a few cuts and scratches from thorny plants he brushed against. He then bolted back to the invisible hole in the forcefield, slid through it with ease, and flew away before he was noticed by another soul. The streets were busy now, but Flash's knowledge of the city allowed him to easily avoid high traffic streets and familiar faces. As quickly as possible, he returned to the safe house to divulge the invaluable knowledge he'd gained from this recon.
Upon returning to the house, Flash found that the fire they'd made was merely glowing, red coals and a steady wisp of curling, meandering smoke. Everypony was still asleep, so he crept in trying to remain quiet, but to no avail. He stepped on a loose floorboard that creaked liked the moans of the damned, causing Pinkie Pie's ears to jolt up, quickly followed by her entire body.
Her eyes, dilated and clouded over, stared at Flash in a vacant manner that made it apparent that she wasn't quite there. But still she stared at him, mouth agape and bags under her eyes, a truly disturbing facial contortion that began to unnerve Flash. After about a minute of having their eyes locked, Pinkie spoke in a dazed and surreal tone that made the hair on the nape of Flash's neck stand on edge, sending tremors through his body and down to his hooves. She spoke clearly, leaving an ominous message in Flash's mind:
"The first will not be true. You must kill the first, or you will never find your true love."
Pinkie then collapsed to the floor, returning once again to her peaceful slumber. Flash, slightly disturbed by the message, lay down near the fire and shut his eyes, but found sleep would not reach him. Images of pain and war and blood and death raced through his mind as he thought of what might take place in the next few days, but soon enough, he fell haphazardly into a restless sleep.