Mystic Rune loved ancient history. Ever since she was a filly, excavating old bones and buried items in her backyard as well as learning about the old way of ancient Equestrian society was her passion. When she finally came of age it was no wonder her cutiemark came so quickly. The golden crossed protractor was worn on her flank proudly as she quickly realized her destiny was in the field of archaeology. Years of study and an intricate knowledge of ancient arcane magic earned her the title of lead researcher in the field of pony anthropology. This meant that she spent more time out in the field than anywhere else and that suited her just fine.
For the past few weeks Mystic Rune had been spending her time with a research team of ten ponies in the Everfree forest. The Royal Canterlot museum had become quite interested in a new sub-level found after a cave in underneath one of the ruins that dotted the area. Naturally, she and her team had jumped at the opportunity of exploring this new and uncharted territory. What they had found was a marvel of treasures ranging from jewels to ancient tomes. She could have wished for nothing more spectacular than to go down in history as one of the ponies who had unearthed another piece of Equestrian history.
Seated in one of the research tents, she was inspecting a particularly gaudy piece of jewelry. The design was clearly part of a collection of items that belonged to a noble wizard some time ago. From what she could work out, this sub-level was designed as some sort of ritualistic chamber. Whatever it was, it was truly fascinating.
Before she could investigate the piece any further one of her subordinates, a pitch black unicorn with a splendidly long, light grey mane streaked dark blue, peeked her head into the tent. “Umm, ma’am?”
“Yes, Onyx Night?”
“It seems a few ponies have arrived at our research site,” Onyx said cautiously. Disrupting the boss was never something done unless you wanted your face chewed off, or unless it seemed really important. “They say they want to speak to you specifically.”
Mystic lowered the piece back onto the washer bay and turned to face her subordinate. “And who exactly did they say they were?”
“They didn’t say,” Onyx replied. “And they didn’t seem like another research team. In fact, they looked more official to me.”
“Oh,” Mystic sighed. The last thing she wanted to deal with was a rival research team coming in and claiming stuff she hadn't yet found. However, now that she had come to think of it, no rival team for a find such as this was a bit unusual. Not that Mystic was complaining. “Well, where are they?”
“By the main entrance to the sub-levels,” Onyx replied.
“They better not be poking around in anything they may end up breaking,” Mystic shot at her. “These government types have a knack for ruining weeks of careful work with just one misstep.”
“I left them with Crescent Swirl, ma’am,” Onyx responded quickly. “He’ll make sure they stay out of trouble until we return.”
“Fine, fine, take me there.”
Mystic stood up and followed Onyx from her tent and out into a small treeless opening in the Everfree. The sun was beginning to set over the forest treeline, casting and orange glow on the research tents that were all laid out in neat rows. Their presence was a stark contrast to the wild an unkempt nature of the forest surrounding them. To her left lay a pathway out of the forest opening and into the thick tree lines that lead to the ruins themselves.
“Why were they not taken to me directly?” Mystic asked as they rounded onto the path and began their trek to the ruins.
“They said they wanted to see the sub-level as soon as possible,” Onyx replied, leading the way. “They were rather insistent. I came to you as quickly as I could.”
Mystic sighed. “How many of them?”
“Three, ma’am.”
“Time wasters,” she muttered to herself.
“Ma’am?”
“Nothing Onyx, let’s just get this over and done with,” Mystic snapped at her. “I’m a very busy pony.”
Following Onyx into another clearing revealed the ancient ruins that sat nestled within a thick overlay of trees. Time had not been kind to the ruin’s complex since all that was left was the husk of what was once an extraordinary mausoleum. The walls had become cracked and corroded and were all that truly remained. The ground within the complex was lined with grass and vines snaked around the pillars that signified what was once the original entrance, slowly and methodically taking them apart.
The entrance to the sub-level was by no means conventional. The cave in had created a manhole somewhere to the north of the ruins that became the primary means of ingress into its bowels. The corroded supports now revealing a network of tunnels that nopony had been in for centuries. Nopony but Mystic and her team of course.
Onyx and Mystic rounded a corner placing the sub-level entrance in view. Four ponies stood with their backs to her as she trotted briskly behind them. One of them was Crescent Swirl, turning his head to his bosses approach and grimacing. The other three were looking into the manhole seemingly unsure of whether or not going in was a good idea.
“Ma’am,” he called out, causing the other three to look up.
The three ponies looked as official as Mystic could have guessed. Two of them wore black over suites that covered their entire bodies, leaving only their heads bare. The other pony was, for all intents and purposes, quite handsome. He was a brown unicorn with a light peach coloured mane and he wore a black over coat with gold linings. Whoever he was, he was important.
Mystic found her anger dissipating as she gazed at him. His features made her feel at ease, calming her down and slowing her pace towards the party. Well, calm enough not to ask him to leave the moment he opens his… sexy mouth.
“I’m Doctor Mystic Rune,” she began, moving towards the handsome pony. “Head researcher here.”
The handsome pony smiled and extended his hoof cordially. “Agent Chestnut.”
He had a deep and almost harmonious voice. Mystic found herself slightly stirred up by the sound of it as she took his hoof and shook it. She hardly even remembered why she was so upset.
“What um… To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” she asked, looking towards the ponies that flanked him.
“This find is quite an important one, Doctor,” he answered at once. “My fellow agents and I need to document what you and your team are up to and bring back a report to our superiors.”
Mystic raised her eyebrow. “Geological finds hardly seem like the sort of thing that would concern an intelligence agency. Or so that’s where I've surmised you've come from.”
“You are correct. I represent Director Black Hooves. Our interest is in connection to a current investigation he is conducting and much of it is linked to these ruins,” Chestnut replied, motioning his hoof to the sinkhole. “However, we have the authority of his deputy, Satin Grey, whom, as you may or may not know, has invested much of our agencies resources to the ongoing support of all archaeological funding.”
Mystic bit her lip. Watch what you say in other words. She wasn't sure how exactly she was meant to respond to this.
“Perhaps if you could show us any of the more notable artifacts that you have found?” he offered, breaking the silence.
“Yes I…” she stammered. “Onyx, show Agent Chestnut and his… associates the research tent. Most of what we have found can be viewed there.”
“Yes ma’am,” Onyx piped in from behind her.
Chestnut bowed his head graciously as he and his two escorts followed Onyx back around the corner and towards the main research camp. Mystic felt her eyes fall upon his flanks as he moved out of sight. Goddess… He even trotted with a kind of alpha stallion sway. She almost felt like one of those fillies from high school that gawked at all the pretty colts that never gave her a sideways glance. She shook her head with a kind of self-loathing. You’re a highly qualified archaeologist, she thought to herself. Far beyond these petty thoughts. Pull yourself together, girl.
“Umm… Ma’am?” the voice of Crescent Swirl chimed in from behind her. “Are you okay?”
“What...? Yes… Yes I’m fine,” she blurted, turning to face her subordinate. “Well, don’t just stand there looming over the hole like some over grown hedge. You're supposed to be the historical go to stallion here, not a manhole guard!”
“Yes, ma’am,” Crescent stammered, jumping slightly and rushing past Mystic back towards the main ruin complex.
“Idiot…” she muttered coldly, turning on her hoof and gazing back down towards the sinkhole.
It was immense, the sheer size of the sub-level. And it had only taken her team four days of non-stop excavating and cataloging to finally map out and gather anything of value. Mystic supposed that much of what they had accomplished she had to owe to Onyx’s insight. Perhaps she should give them a bit more slack since they had worked so efficiently. Then again, it was Mystic's ability to get their lazy asses together that got them this far to begin with. They’ll thank her when they all win awards for the work done here.
With a sense of comfort in her own justification, Mystic turned and headed back towards the main camp. The walk was always pleasant. So many ponies were scared of the Everfree yet in reality it was nothing but a macrocosm of undiscovered wonders. Mystic felt almost like a pioneer, braving places where few would tread.
Stepping back into base camp, she spied Onyx giving the lusty stallion and his friends a tour of the research tents. She now regretted not doing it herself, Mystic wasn't half as pretty as she was. Onyx could win anypony over with a swish of that long tail.
She whinnied jealously and continued back to her private tent. There was something that she had found that may be worth showing Chestnut. If she was lucky, he would probably come and see her to examine it. The artifact was found in the central chamber of the sub-levels: A simple golden bracelet shaped like a snake eating its own tail and bearing the cutiemark of one of Star Swirl the Bearded’s followers. The very same follower she knew the mausoleum had been built for. For all intents and purposes, it was nothing but an heirloom. Yet something about it resonated a kind of magic Mystic was unsure of how to tap into.
She stepped inside and proceeded to her wash basin, using her horn to pour a small amount of ethanol into it before filling it with water. She turned and trotted to her desk, levitating the golden bracelet out of a box and examining it. Maybe if she washed it carefully she could have another go at deciphering what was so important about it.
Her mind began to draw from her vast understanding of Star Swirl’s history. He was once a powerful unicorn that was credited for not only learning a vast array of spells, but inventing a whole lot more. Most ponies were under the impression that Star Swirl was nothing more than a bearded old warlock brooding over a stack of old tomes. But Mystic knew better. Star Swirl was a charismatic and an extremely gifted manipulator. He was able to convert a large group of exceptional young unicorns to his cause, using their combined magical power to restructure the very fabric of magic and opening doors to brand new and exciting possibilities.
In the end, Star Swirl was limited by his own mortality. Some ponies, prone to conspiracy theories, believed that his ultimate goal was to become an alicorn. Extending his own life to rival the magic of the Princesses themselves. However, he had failed and passed on his knowledge to his three most trusted followers in the hopes that they would continue his work. The idea was that his magical knowledge would be accessible through an item of great importance. An item that only certain, trusted unicorns could access.
These were all unconfirmed fantasy stories, not facts. Little was truly known about the pony’s personal life. Then again, here levitating in front of her was an item of immense magical power inscribed with the cutiemark of one of his most favored students. If anything could give credence to the conspiracy theory, it was this bracelet floating in front of her.
Mystic carefully levitated it towards the basin and submerged it fully, taking care not to allow it to sink to the bottom. Even with magical levitation, she felt a certain eerie heaviness for its small size.
"I hope I’m not interrupting you," said a deep and harmonious voice from the entrance.
Mystic smiled and levitated the bracelet back out, resting it on the side of the basin. "Not at all, agent Chestnut. In fact, I was hoping you would come see me."
The handsome stallion turned and whispered something inaudible to the nameless pony agent behind him before stepping into the tent alone.
"Just the one?" Mystic asked, noticing the absence of the other agent.
"Yes, I left him to catalog the artifacts your friendly astronomer had been kind enough to show us," he said curtly. "She told me you may have more for me to note down?"
"Indeed," she intoned with a smile. "A few items I took a personal interest in. You’re welcome to take a look."
Mystic lent against the basin in the most seductive yet professional pose she could think of as she watched him walk casually over to the table bearing the other artifacts.
"Hmm," he said, perusing the various golden jewels and ornate baubles. "You took a particular interest in these, you say?"
"Well, those were all the items I found in the central chamber," Mystic replied. "Anything linking to the pony that was interred here."
"I see," he said, still gazing at the items on the table. "And he was one of Star Swirl's apprentices, was he not?"
"That he was," Mystic confirmed. "The main mausoleum was discovered years ago, but nothing of value was ever stored there. Obviously, this frustrated many of the archaeologists that found out who the mummified corpse in these ruins belonged to. Why would he have no valuables buried with him? It was the done thing if you were important enough for such a vast tomb. The discovery of the sub-level answered many of those questions, yet raised many more. Why go to all the trouble of building a sub-level instead of encasing your items with you? I, however, believe it was because our mummy friend didn’t want his valuables to ever be found. That means he had something of great value he wanted locked away for eternity. Something he may have worn, even. Something like this bracelet."
Chestnut twisted his head around and stared at Mystic. "A bracelet, you say?"
"Aha," she grinned, levitating it from the basin and in front of her as if to entice him.
The expression on the handsome pony’s face bore an almost smug sense of accomplishment as he made his way towards Mystic, pausing in front of her with his face only a few inches from hers. "Now that… Is a pretty looking bracelet."
Mystic watched as his horn glowed lightly, enveloping his own magic around the bracelet she was already levitating. The act of sharing the load with their combined magic, even for the few split seconds it took her to release her hold and allow him to levitate it himself, felt immensely intimate to her. She turned, her eyes still on him, as he walked to stand beside her in front the basin. His own eyes fixed on the bracelet.
"Fascinating," he murmured. "The Oroborus is real."
"The what?" she asked, now feeling slightly confused.
Chestnut smiled to himself and levitated the bracelet back onto the side of the basin. "The Oroborus," he began, turning to gaze at her and slowly reaching his hoof up to her cheek. "Is what this bracelet is called."
Mystic closed her eyes, unable to resist his touch. He was making his move, it seemed, and she was in no way going to let this moment go to waste. Wait. How did he know what it was called? Not even she knew that. Mystic opened her eyes again just in time to see his kind and smiling face become hard and focused. Something felt wrong.
Yet before she could even register what was happening, Mystic felt his hoof move swiftly from her cheek and behind her neck, pushing her whole head into the water filled basin with such force that her muscles had begun to spasm painfully. She felt her horn crack as it struck the bottom of the basin, her entire head submerged under water. The splitting pain that followed caused her to yelp as she allowed precious air to escape her lungs. It was only then that she realized what was happening and began to struggle against his vice-like hold. She began swinging her forehooves wildly behind her, trying desperately to somehow get him to let go. But he had her perfectly pinned.
Time was no longer on Mystic's side. The desire to open her mouth and breath was starting to creep up on her as she remained fixed under his hoof. She tried again to grip at the hoof itself. Pulling, scratching and even banging on the table proved completely ineffective against him. Her head was aching, her body was screaming for air and she knew she was seconds away from the moment she was dreading. With one last desperate buck with her hind hooves into thin air, her body involuntarily forced her to inhale. Water flooded from her mouth and into her lungs. The crushing sensation made her feel as if her entire chest was violently pulverized before she began to convulse. The excruciating pain flooded from her chest to her head as she splashed water everywhere and bashed her hooves against side of the basin. Blissfully, the pain began to recede. Her body now flooded with the odd sensation of euphoria as her mind began to flash with memories, questions and no answers. As the sensation continued, she found herself in the center of a vast kaleidoscope of colors, the sight of their vibrancy had an odd yet calming effect on her. Finally, in the wake of all this seemingly unexpected psychedelics, Mystic Rune began to plummet into a never ending darkness.
***
Onyx Night began to panic as she backed up into the table lined with all the jewels from the sub-level, causing some of them to fall and shatter on the hard ground. The realization of what she had just done had not quite hit her. There, before her eyes, lay the corpse of one of that Chestnut pony’s agents. It had happened so fast and so suddenly that instinct and self-preservation had taken over before she even knew what she was doing.
One moment she was talking to him, turning her back for a split second to pick up a certain ornamental dagger and the next he had descended on her, his horn glowing as a magical blade was conjured just below her chin. It was with sheer unwitting luck that she had managed to launch the dagger she was levitating back with her own magic, slashing a deep wound through the side of his neck. The look in his eyes as he began to bleed out, his magic failing him and his utter surprise at underestimating her was an image she would never forget. Collapsing slightly and grabbing awkwardly at his neck, the agent’s eyes began to slowly glaze over as blood continued to pour down his chest and towards the floor. He gazed up at her one last time before slipping out of consciousness and crumpling to the ground completely, his eyes still slightly open.
Onyx was only vaguely aware of the priceless artifacts she had shattered in her panicked state. But as reality started to dawn on her, she began to try and piece together what just happened. Why did he try to attack her? What was he hoping to achieve? What was their real purpose for coming here?
She didn’t have long to ponder on it before the sounds of shouting and screaming began to break out in the camp. She turned her head swiftly away from the body and towards the entrance. It sounded as if the whole camp was now under attack, but by whom? The sounds of scampering hoof steps were now coupled with the sound of magical spells being cast. Bright lights began to illuminate the side walls of the research tent, silhouetting the outlines of screaming ponies, some of them being hit by what looked like the same kind of blade that was cast under Onyx’s chin just a few moments ago. This Chestnut pony had brought more with him then just the two.
Without a second to spare, Onyx dashed behind the table and remained as silent as possible. There was nothing she could do for them. The flashes and the screams continued on as she lowered her head into her hooves and tried to stop herself from crying. Her friends, her co-workers, they were all being massacred by some military group and all she could do was cower under a table. But she couldn't let them get away with this, she had to survive somehow, she had to tell. The Museum had to know what happened here. Hell, all of Equestria needed to know.
The few research ponies that were here were completely out matched and outnumbered. The onslaught lasted no longer than five minutes before the killing frenzy began to die down. The last of the screams being cut violently short as these bastards were now hunting for stragglers hiding where ever they could. They were just research ponies, not soldiers. They had no way of defending themselves against a battalion of agency spooks. And this Chestnut guy knew it.
Onyx’s thoughts began drift towards Mystic. Chestnut was going to go see her. That’s why he left, him and his other friend. That could only mean one thing; Mystic had what he wanted and was most probably dead too. But what? What had she found that was so important to them that they were willing to kill an entire team of ponies for it?
She felt a lump grow in her throat as tears started to well up. This can’t be happening, surely this was just a horrible nightmare and she would wake up to the sound of Mystics incessant nagging. However tyrannical her leadership was, she was not deserving of this. None of them were.
Onyx opened her eyes and peered cautiously over the table at the entrance. Nothing. Not even a sound could be heard. The deathly silence had chilled her to the bone, yet it was now time to get out. If she stayed any longer, she would be joining her colleagues in some unceremonious mass grave. That’s how they operated, wasn't it? She’d seen the vids.
Onyx stood up and silently tiphoofed her way towards the entrance, each step sounding so loud to her she wondered why she wasn't found already. She bit her lip as she mentally prepared herself for what she would see once she poked her head outside, her heart beating so loud and violently she was surprised it hadn't given her away. And then she did it, crossed the threshold and braced herself for what might happen next.
The sight before her made her stomach turn. There, just a few meters from the entrance, lay Crescent's dead body. His lifeless eyes staring up into the sky as he lay in a pool of red. The wounds on his neck and chest were deep and glistening with blood. She forced herself to look away, covering her mouth with a hoof to stop herself from squeaking in anguish.
Fighting back the urge to cry again, she looked around her. The sun was now completely out of view and the darkness of night began to blanket over the forest opening. There were bodies here and there but Onyx did her best to try and not look at them directly, instead scanning the area for anything that moved. However, it was empty. No agents could be seen. It was as if they had simply vanished after swooping in like a plague. Their absence chilled her more than the silence did. Surely they would be looking for more ponies? At the very least wondering why one of their numbers was missing.
She had no choice; she had to start moving, the sooner, the better. Taking care not to make any more noise, she silently crept from the tent and into the open, quietly saying a prayer to Celestia as she began to move past the living quarter tents and towards the opening to the ruins.
She had barely made her way around the corner of one of the tents when she realized she had walked straight into their trap. They had been waiting for her. At least five agents dressed in black and fully masked had been camping at the entrance to the forest opening. Their horns began to glow at once as three of them advanced on her and the other two began to flank around the tent. She was trapped.
She screamed and jumped to the side narrowly missing a magical blade that shot through where her head had been moments ago. The agents were almost upon her and all she could think to do was dart towards the entrance of the tent. She felt one of their hooves brush across her tale as she narrowly avoided being tackled by the lot of them. She galloped into the tent and towards the research table on her far left, hoping that the chisel used to gently remove caked up dirt on artifacts was where it was supposed to be. The agents had quickly followed her in; if she couldn't get the chisel in time then she was trapped.
However, there it was on the corner of the table. Using her magic to lift it up, she concentrated hard on the sidewall of the tent and sent it flying, sharp end first. The chisel pierced through the tent's wall and out the other side, allowing Onyx to use her magic to widen the hole as she leaped over the table and straight back outside. The jump had been less successful than she had hoped, bashing her hind hoof against the table and causing her to tumble through the hole and flop painfully onto the ground. Scrambling to her feet she realized luck was on her side. The pony that was meant to flank her on this side had been unfortunate enough to be in the direct path of the chisel. His left eye socket now playing host to its new resting place, he was dead before he even hit the ground.
Grimacing at the sickly image before her, Onyx propelled herself forwards and towards the path that lead to the ruins. The agents in the tent were far more agile than she was as they leapt effortlessly through the hole in the wall and silently chased after her, paying little heed to their fallen comrade. Onyx galloped onward as fast as her hooves would allow. To her right side she could see two more agents coming in for and intercept, but she had thankfully crossed over into the forest and onto the pathway before they could reach her.
Now she was in full gallop, leaping along the pathway over the fallen branches. She could see the ruins over the treetops. "Almost there…" she panted, glancing behind her to see how far the agents were.
They were gaining, their strides longer and faster than hers. Their horns fully aglow as they were getting close enough to cast their damned blade spells. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself to run faster, darting from side to side in anticipation for the blades she knew were moments from slicing into her flank. Sure enough, they had begun to swish past her as she rounded into the ruin complex and darted straight through them. She had hoped the walls would make her a harder target to hit. This way was far longer than simply skirting around the ruins since she would be running through a maze of walls to the other side. However, Onyx knew the layout better than any pony. If she was lucky, she could lose them before she got out.
Her gambit nearly cost a left hind hoof as one of the blades had ricocheted off the wall and sliced through her flank. She yelled in pain, feeling warm blood dribbling down her leg. She couldn't stop, she had to keep going but her body was starting to suffer. Stitches grew painfully in her chest, slowing her pace ever so slightly and allowing the agents to start gaining more ground.
"Nooo!" she screamed."Gotta keep going!"
She rounded another corner and began to make her way towards the other side. She chanced another glance behind her as she rounded a second corner to her left. The agents had only just come around the last corner. She was starting to lose them. The wall ahead of her was covered by thick and tall bushes. This was the wall she was banking on reaching for a hole, big enough for three ponies to fit through, had been conveniently hidden behind them. She concentrated on the branches, casting a magical field around them and parting them wide enough for her to squeeze out the other side and back into the open. She had barely made it through and shut them behind her when the agents had come back into view. Peeping back through the bushes, she could just make them out slowing their pace down and looking around in bewilderment.
Onyx backed away from the bush quickly and out into the open. To her left was the sinkhole that led to the sub-level, to her right was the Everfree and freedom. With barely enough time to catch her breath, she began to gallop towards the treeline and into the darkness. How long had she kept running? An hour?Two? It hardly mattered. All she could think of was putting as much distance between her and those ruins as possible. Yet her body was aching and screaming for a break. Just a few moments to catch her breath, she needed it.
Making sure she was truly on her own and not being pursued, Onyx came to a stop beside a large oak tree and lent her entire weight against it. She was finished, mentally and physically. The sight of Crescent's lifeless eyes and the knowledge that she had just killed two ponies was too much for her to handle. It was then that Onyx threw up. The sick feeling she had been carrying with her had finally taken its toll. And then she felt tears, unconsciously beginning to pour from her eyes like a deluge. She let them come as she buckled down and hung her head into her hooves.
"F-fuck…" she blurted through her tears."Fuck."
The taste of bile in her mouth started to dissipate as she lay there. The adrenaline was beginning to die away, causing feeling to come back to her. Various scrapes on her body began to throb, her hind hoof ached from where she had hit the table, but by far the worst was the searing pain on her flank where the blade had sliced her.
Pulling herself back up, she twisted her head and gazed upon it for the first time. It wasn't the depth of the cut or the blood that she hated seeing, but the fact that it had gone straight through her cutiemark. The three silver shooting stars that defined her special talent and set her apart from everypony else was now tarnished. She felt violated all of a sudden, yet fully aware of the real issue that she now faced. If she didn’t get out of the forest and to help soon, she would either bleed to death or risk her wound becoming dangerously infected. The time for feeling sorry for herself was over. Onyx needed to keep moving.
It took a surprising amount of effort to steady herself once more as she got to her hooves and ambled from the giant oak and towards a break in the treeline, revealing the starry sky above her.
The stars, they were her guide. She was an astronomer by trade, her involvement with the ruins closely related to the fact that the mausoleum had housed the mummy of an astronomer as well. It was her expertise and knowledge that allowed them to map out how closely the sub-level had been built in correspondence to the night skies above. She gritted her teeth and whinnied woefully. Not that it mattered anymore.
It took no longer than a few seconds for her to figure out her bearings. If she continued west she would reach Ponyville. It was hardly the best option but she had no other choice. She could make it in a few short hours, all she needed to do was pace herself. With that, Onyx Night began to move again, her mind fully focused on the task ahead of her.
"Keep going," she wheezed. "Just keep going."
***
Chestnut cocked his head, gazing at the lifeless form in front of him. He had taken the time to pull her head from the basin and lay her out across the floor. There was no necessity in leaving her hanging there in that awful position. Satisfied that he had done her a relative justice, the handsome agent levitated the bracelet from the basin and into a plastic bag which he stored in his pocket. He had thought it best to wait here until his agents outside had finished off the remaining researchers. Then he would have to oversee the disposal of their bodies.
All in all, the ruse that his agency had created was rather brilliant. The discovery of the sub-level was no accident. They had known it was here all along thanks to that codex Black Hooves was so fond of. All they had to do was stage the cave in and hire an unwitting research team under the guise of the Canterlot Museum to do the dirty work. Then it was simply a matter of taking care of any witnesses. Nopony even knew they were here.
If only this poor researcher truly knew the extent of Star Swirl's true depravity. The lengths that he had gone to and the things that he had discovered. Her and her team would have most likely stayed clear of this bracelet and this accursed place altogether.
"Sir?" a rather impatient voice uttered from the entrance.
Chestnut looked up from the unicorn's corpse. "Is it done?"
The agent shuffled uncomfortably as he took a nervous step into the tent."Yes," he stammered. "We have dealt with everypony, but…"
"But?"
"Well, one of them seems to have… escaped."
Chestnut shook his head in annoyance. "And how exactly did you let that happen?"
"Well, sir. We had created a barricade for any stragglers just as you had commanded. One unicorn was able to make it to us and she… Well, she managed to kill one of our agents and break through our containment procedure."
"Kill one of our agents?" Chestnut repeated in surprise. "A lowly field researcher managed to overpower one of you?"
"Well, two of us." The agent mumbled in embarrassment.
"H-how…?" Chestnut shook his head and looked away. "It matters little. She can’t have gone far." He began to pace as he tried to work out a strategy. "These ponies are all expended assets. Their records and identities have been completely wiped out. Even if she makes it to civilization, she won’t have any proof of our involvement. She doesn't even technically exist anymore. At any rate, we'll find her."
"Sir, would you like us to set up a contingency in Ponyville?" the agent asked, trying to remedy his apparent failure. "It’s the closest town from the Everfree. She is most likely headed there."
Chestnut kept quiet for a moment, the agent staring at him hopefully.
"No," he finally said. "I have a better idea. Send somepony out to follow her movements. Find out who she may seek shelter with. When you do, I’ll take care of her personally."
"Yes, sir," the agent said, nodding his head and backing out of the tent.
Chestnut turned his gaze back to the dead unicorn and smiled. "Looks as if one of your little researchers has a fight in her," he mused. "But don’t you worry, I’ll make sure she joins you soon enough."
It was a minor hiccough but everything was still going to plan. Phase one had been completed and now it was time to enact the second and more grueling part of the operation. The Mane Six and their Elements of Harmony were a threat. It was time to deal with them… and their protection.