Agent Con Mane in Undercurrent (to be rewritten)

by Fairytail

Chapter 1: The Monster in the Mirror

“Thank you for everything you've done for me and my family, Milord. Thank you!”

The Earth Pony mare bowed so low, her muzzle touched the soft carpet that was sprawled across the floor. The audience chamber of the castle was carved out of blackstone and supported by thick columns. The cold dryness of the night air breathed into the chamber through the tall windows that were situated high above. The cold bounced across the blackstone and blanketed the room in goose-pimply briskness. The navy blue carpet ran between the heavy, iron belted doors and the elevated altar upon which the throne sat. Seated upon the elegant red lining of the throne sat a stallion, gently smiling down at the mare. She was naked and attempted to hide her shivering from the stallion. He, however, was protected from the cold by a thick cloak draped around his shoulders.

“There is no need to thank me, my little pony.” spoke the stallion’s soft congenial voice, “We here at the International Brotherhood for the Assistance of Stateless Ponies strive to help unfortunate ponies such as yourselves. In this day and age, where our world is being slowly pervaded by the forces of Disharmony, many ponies such as you are finding themselves with no home to call their own. Our Brotherhood provides that home.”
The wide-eyed mare stared up at her benefactor. The tears in her eyes glistened with hope and adoration. She gazed upon the stallion as if he were the most beautiful pony she had ever seen. As he sat diligently on his throne, the tiny creature that was comfortably sleeping, nestled into his shoulder, stirred with an adorable yawn. It was a tiny yellow Parasprite. The Parasprite purred and chirped as the stallion tenderly stroked it. This tiny act made the mare smile.

“We were beginning to think that the ponies of Equestria had abandoned the ponies from the Griffon Nests just as the Griffons did. When their Great Storm Cloud suddenly vanished, they fled and left the earth too dead to farm. They left us to die.”

Her eyes welled up at the memories and covered her sobs with her hooves. The stallion looked down on her with pity and with a hoof on his heart. “No need for tears, my friend. Our Brotherhood is more than willing to take in all the ponies who have found themselves free from the Griffon Nests. We also recently began harboring a number of former Lunar Soldiers that were exiled from the New Lunar Republic after that horrible insurrection.”

He descended from his throne, which jostled his pet Parasprite awake, in order to approach the young mare. He lifted up her chin so that she could stare into his beautiful eyes. A smile of relief warmed her face.

“Such Kindness and Generosity. You would do our Princesses proud, My Lord.”

Her admiration was interrupted by a mighty voice that echoed through the chamber. “Lord ‘Magic’!” it called out. The booming voice flooded the room. The mare looked around in confusion, but could not ascertain the source of the voice. Her stallion benefactor took a small step away from the mare. His smile faded and he closed his eyes as if in thought. She looked at him with concern.

“It would seem as though I am needed.” he said dryly and without the warm compassion he spoke with earlier. The horn on the stallion’s head glowed with a yellow light which surrounded a small, pure iron door at the side of the chamber. The door creaked open with a chilling screech. Beyond the threshold was a flight of stone steps that led into an impenetrable darkness. “Just step through there and my ponies will take care of you.”

The mare looked between the door and the Unicorn, still baffled as to the nature of the voice. Eventually, the stallion’s stare became too much to bare and so she quickly made her way to the door. “Thank you, Milord! Thank you!”

‘Magic’ watched as she disappeared down the stairs and into the cold dank dungeons. He slowly trotted his way towards the doors across the rug that led out of the chamber. The Parasprite fluttered into the air and flew to catch up with its master, nestling itself comfortable onto his back. As ‘Magic’ magically opened the doors, a piercing, horrific scream echoed from the dungeon. ‘Magic’ smiled pleasantly to himself as he slammed the doors behind him.

He slowly made his way through the halls of the massive, foreboding castle on DISCORD Island. The pony that previously took care of the estate sadly perished some time ago and so the castle was falling into disarray. Dust painted the walls and cobwebs decorated every corner. ‘Magic’, however, cared little for such things because he knew that this castle, like all things in life, was expendable. The castle and the island merely served as a place for ‘Magic’ to gather his followers and execute his designs. When the time came, it would become just another ruin in his wake.

‘Magic’ arrived at the private chamber. It was guarded by two ponies, both of which lacked Cutie Marks and possessed faded colors. Their emotionless eyes stared blankly as ‘Magic’ walked passed them and entered the room beyond. The room was very small and dimly lit by a pair of wall mounted candelabra. The only other decorations of any sort were five full-sized mirrors. However, all the mirrors, with the exception of one, were shattered into pieces.

‘Magic’ stood before the last remaining mirror and charged his horn. His reflection in the mirror shimmer and warped until the image was gone entirely. In its place was another throne. This throne was much more massive in size and much more elaborately decorated. It was carved out of golden colored coral and carved to resemble the shape of ocean waves. Occupying the throne was a massive creature, twice the size of a normal pony. Its fish like body was covered in luminescent green scales, and in one of its fins it grasped a golden trident sharpened to a point. It had the face of a lion, also covered in green scales. A bony, golden scale of a crest adorned its head which was flanked by two long curved horns. A thick, fiery red mane surrounded its lion face and bellowed about freely in the water that surrounded it.

“Lord ‘Magic’,” the sea-lion spoke in the same booming voice from earlier, “do you read us?”

“Yes, ‘Loyalty’, I can see you. You are late in contacting me.”

The sea-lion’s eyes went wide for a moment before he quickly bowed low. “Our apologies, Lord ‘Magic’. We were overseeing the final preparations for the E.U.P. Project.”

“Everything is in order, I presume?” ‘Magic’ casually stroked his purring Parasprite.

“Yes, ‘Magic’.” ‘Loyalty’ bowed slightly again. When he raised his head, ‘Magic’ could see the trepidation in his beady eyes. “Although, to be frank, we are worried. For things to have escalated this far… Are we prepared? Do we have enough Discorded Puppets?”

‘Magic’ laughed to himself as he looked behind him back towards the direction of the dungeons. “A new batch of refugees has just arrived. They will make the perfect slaves. They will not be missed. It is not like you to be so paranoid, ‘Loyalty’.”

‘Loyalty’ glared solemnly. “When we began we were six! First it was Ironhoof. Then Rook and Griselda. Even our own ‘Element of Laughter’ chose to abandon us. Now there is only us two. Perhaps it is not too late?”

‘Magic’ glanced at each of the four broken mirrors. The sight of them made him want to spit in disdain. “We cannot fail after coming this close, ‘Loyalty’!” he barked.

“But all of our plans have failed!”

“Failed!” ‘Magic’ said loudly, overbearing even ‘Loyalty’s’ great voice. “In what way? Sure Dr. Ironhoof was far too ambitious. Destroying the barrier to the New Lunar Republic? He was asking to be overwhelmed by Mane6 and the LIA. But his shadow magic generator served its purpose. The world is now drowning in concentrated evil! The territorial struggles between Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom have been thrown out of balance. Not to mention our new alliance with the Changeling Hive, the uprising in the NLR and the Dragons declaring their neutrality. The political environment has grown unstable. Now Harmony is all but a memory. The time to put our final plan into action is now! We shall achieve our ultimate goal! And I trust there will be no failure.”

‘Magic’ stared coldly into the sea-lion on the other end of the mirror. ‘Loyalty’ was hesitant a moment before saying, “No failure, whatsoever, Lord ‘Magic’. The operation is already in effect. With the aid of the Changelings, we have successfully infiltrated the ranks of the E.U.P. Guard. Once the Sword of Starswirl is in our possession, The Cosmic Council will have no choice but to force Princess Celestia to give in to our demand. The Changeling in charge of the operation, Count Cocoon, is currently blending in within a health clinic located right next to the E.U.P. Guard base. And nopony will be able to stop him.”