The door to the cell opened and I sat up from my cot, fully intending to give a sarcastic greeting as I had done the past two (three?) days, but stopped as someone new entered the room. He stood on two legs as I once had and he had black hair, olive green eyes, and grey skin. I should've been surprised but after spending three years in Equestria I had seen a lot and this was only a small hit compared to some things. I knew a little about who this was from the reports on Canterlot's security and yet I didn't think I'd meet him. He was Eli and he sat as Luna's main guard during the night. That still didn't explain why he was here, unless Luna planned something for me that she didn't want to let her sister in on.
"You're going to follow me. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way," he said, his voice sounding surprisingly close to how mine sounded.
"And where exactly am I going," I asked, settling my hooves on the ground.
"An interview with Luna."
I was silent for a few minutes before finally moving over to the door, Eli stalking out ahead of me and nodding at the guard stationed by my door. We strode down the confusing twists and turns of the hallways of the Canterlot Castle for a few minutes, rising to the ground level where I caught sight of the moon high and bright in the sky and I paused to stare at it, wondering what exactly would have happened to it if I had succeeded in my mission. Eli cleared his throat and we continued on to Luna's room. We arrived and Eli knocked on her door, opening it and entering at Luna's reply.
"Ah, 'Omega'...it's nice to finally meet you," Luna said as we entered.
Eli backed into the corner as I wandered into the center of the room. "Any reason you've summoned me," I asked.
"Lilly is asleep and Celestia wishes the interrogation to continue," she replied.
I archived the name of my interrogator and replied, "Don't lie, you just want to hear my story first-hand."
"I'm going to assume that a hand is somewhat like a hoof and not get sidetracked," she replied. "Now if you wouldn't mind, please continue where you left off."
"Well nothing important happened after where I left off for a while, other than me earning bits and creating something of a life for me and my team in the little town of Ponyville," I started. "I suppose nothing interesting happened until about a year later, when that stallion showed up..."
It was just another day in Ponyville...and by that I meant that there was a Manticore attacking the town. And as had become tradition over the past year my crew, Twilight, her friends, and myself were the ones defending the town against it. Rose and Rei both had assault rifles, the bullets fashioned by Twilight after extensive study on them and how exactly they worked, while David and myself used 10mm handguns, my limited magic sending my gun flying around the creature and aiming for its weak spots. We were all contributing to the fight except Fluttershy, who was sitting off to the side trying to negotiate peace that was never going to happen.
That was when things got weird.
The Manticore suddenly froze, and I mean this in the most literal of ways. It gave a roar and then stopped in mid-roar, also causing the retaliation force to stop. Ice began to creep up its body, starting at the claws and continuing up its form. We all looked at Twilight but she simply shrugged, just as confused as us. It froze completely and Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to say something, stopping as a stallion stepped out from behind the Manticore. He was a unicorn with dark green fur, bright green eyes, and a mixture of blue and grey in his mane.
"I thought you folks could use a bit of help," he said, eyeing me for some reason.
"Uhh, thanks," Twilight said, apparently deciding to play it safe.
My team put their weapons in their respective holders at my signal and I strode forward to meet the stranger. "Thanks for the assistance," I replied, "but we had it under control."
"I know, but I figured I'd cut this short so I could talk to you and your...ahem, team," he said, pausing before referring to my crew.
I turned and looked at Twilight and her friends who were waiting, apparently unsure of whether to leave or stay. "Go on," I said to them, "we can handle this." I turned back to the stallion. "What did you want to talk about."
"I want to hire you."
"Hire."
"Yeah, like mercenary work."
"What's the job?"
"Nothing much for you. Just a little hit."
"How little?"
I was already a bit paranoid, thinking of my last job that had ended up with me here.
"Just a mob boss."
Long story short, he asked us to take out a figurehead for the Foallywood drug dealers, offering a couple grand if we completed the mission. And we did. We walked into their base of operations and mowed down ever sonofabitch that got in the way, arriving at the kingpins room with ease and blowing his brains out against the wall. After that, we were suddenly on the market for freelance work, word of our victory over the boss who nobody else had been able to kill spreading quickly. Things were going good for us, killing the impossible to get bad guys and earning enough bits to keep us alive and well...until we were hired to kill that senator.
"I need you to make a hit."
I sat across the table from a mare who had taken essentially every precaution to keep me from seeing anything about how she looked. She was wearing a brown overcoat that covered most of her form with a hood that was hanging low over her face along with gloves covering her hooves.
"Okay," I replied, "we'll take whoever it is out without question."
"I need you to kill senator Itero," she said.
I paused for a second to think about the name. He was a member of the royal senate, helping Luna and Celestia pass laws and regulations. He was at the top of the board in fact, having been there for quite a few years, and had a great influence with both of the princesses.
"Itero hasn't done anything worth ki-"
"Stop, did you not say that you would take out whoever it is without question?"
"Well yes I di-"
"Then take the money and make the hit or walk away."
My moral compass was telling me not to do this, but my need to keep my squadmates alive was outruling my conscience.
I grabbed the briefcase in the middle of the table and turned and walked away, hearing the mare say one last thing before I left. "I'll enjoy reading about it in The Daily Equus."
"And for your crimes against this nation you are hereby banished from Equestria and it's provinces including Saddle Arabia, Antarcticolt, Whitetail Woods, and anywhere within 100 miles of the Prench border. You will have an escort to the edge of Equestrian and left where you wish," Celestia said, looking down at my team and myself. "And just consider yourself lucky that I am not executing you for this treason."
She was referring to the murder of Itero, a murder that would stay with Equestria for the next year, and one that would essentially lead me to be standing before Princess Luna. I decided to head for the Griffin Empire as they were not specifically off limits for me and my team and we soon made a home there, our fame having already spread to team Griffin Empire and earning us some fame. And although it seemed that the Griffins didn't share much of a love for Equestrians, but I wasn't just another Equestrian. I had murdered and killed, shed blood all for the sake of keeping my team safe and they respected me because of that. Some of them at least.
There was Griffin by the name of Fraa who would always find some way to humiliate my team and me in particular, he was just one of those asses who preferred to learn not to mess with certain people the hard way. One day, after a few weeks of living in a small town a few miles away from the Griffin king's castle, Fraa came to visit with a bag of eggs slung over his shoulder. I met him in the of the yard to speak with him.
"You get one chance to leave," I said. "I suggest you take it before you get hurt."
"Aww, is the widdle pony making threats now," he asked, "that's adorable."
"Your funeral."
I turned and started walking back towards the house, nodding at one of the upper level windows. He went into the bag and picked out one of the eggs, lifting it above his head and preparing to throw it. A loud crack sounded and suddenly the egg exploded, the egg and yolk dropping on Fraa's head.
"You missed," he shouted angrily at the house.
"If she had missed then you would be dead Fraa," I yelled back at him. "She was aiming for the egg."
It's safe to say he never bothered us again after that. Although word of out little standoff spread and soon enough reached king Hathgar, his curiosity getting the best of him and making him summon us to his court. We were soon added to his guard and had our own materials to create team bullets we required, some of us still a bit sad that we no longer had Twilight's help. Over the course of the course of the next half-year we worked our way up through the ranks, completing the most impossible missions and earning medal after medal. Eventually Equestria took their eyes off us in favour of a new crisis that had happened at a wedding with one of Twilight's family members. Apparently Hathgar came to the same conclusion because he came the same conclusion that we did.
We were no longer being watched over to make sure we didn't enter Equestria or its providences.
"Over the past twenty-six weeks you have proven yourselves to be able warriors and I would like to give you guys a once in a lifetime opportunity. You will have a secure spot in the castle if you perform one last mission for me. Now this mission may prove difficult even for you guys and that's the reason for the reward I'm offering," Hathgar said, examining each of us as though he hadn't seen us all before.
"Anything you give us we can do sir," I replied, my team opting to be silent.
"Good. I want you to kill Celestia and Luna." I paused for only a second before nodding but apparently he caught it. "Are you having second thoughts about this?"
"No sir, it's just a bit of a surprise to be sent back into Equestria."
"You'll be fine, now go."
I saw an unusual look in his eyes, one of sorrow and comfort but then I blinked and found it gone when I looked at him again. And so I turned and led my team to the mission we would fail.
"And that's what happened to us over the past three years," I said.
"I suppose it sounds true enough but we'll question others mentioned in your story tomorrow," Luna said, moving for the door.
"Wait, how did you two know we were going to be there," I asked her as Eli got ready to escort me back to my cell.
"Your king sold you out."
I stopped suddenly, feeling as though I'd just gotten punched in the gut. I felt weak and my voice trembled as I asked, "H-he sold us out...why?"
"He's a Griffin," she said, stopping and looking at me, "they do horrible things to their own people and you're not even one of th-"
"I'M A LOT MORE OF A GRIFFIN THAN AN EQUESTRIAN," I shouted at her, causing Eli to jerk back one of my hooves.
"Well he sold you and your team out either way so maybe you weren't as much of one as you thought."
Her gaze had hardened due to my outburst and I felt a coldness settling in my stomach that spread throughout my body as I thought of my team. "Where are they?"
"What?"
"Where's my team at?"
"I don't know, why do you...oh."
She seemed to reach the same conclusion I did and we both looked at each other, my eyes full of pain and hers filled with sorrow.
"Do you think anything will happen to them," I asked her.
"I don't know," she answered truthfully.
"I could go check it out," Eli said, surprising both of us with is voice.
"You'd do that," I asked.
He seemed to think about something for a few seconds before looking at Luna and asking, "Princess, do I have your permission to go on this search and secure mission?"
"Yes, please take whoever you wish to accompany you," she said, beginning to turn away.
"I choose Omega," he said, causing both of us to freeze were we were.
"Are you sure," she asked, not turning around.
"Yes, I am."
She was silent for a few seconds. "Please come back safe Eli."
"I promise my love."