A View to a Kill
The Manehattan Sanction
Seems like every time I come here, it’s raining.
It wasn’t that Starlight Glimmer minded the rain. For her current mission, the benefits and drawbacks were a wash, really. On the one hoof, the clouds helped obscure the moon, and the increased darkness made it easier for her to avoid being seen in her current location.
On the other, the occasional flicker of lightning heightened her chances of being spotted by the wrong pony, not to mention the increased difficulty of making the shot. As the best markspony in the Service, that last part wasn't really a risk. Just something she kept in mind.
At least the tarp was keeping her mostly dry, though her chest and tail were soaked. The rooftop of Le Petit Plat, one of Manehattan’s finest eateries, was hardly her preferred choice for a sniper's nest, but it had two things that made it suitable for the night’s work. First, it had three methods of escape that wouldn’t require her to use magic, something she considered essential. Teleports were flashy and noisy, and when trying to escape both were things to be avoided.
Second, it had a perfect line of sight into the penthouse suite owned by Astral Meadow, her target that evening.
For a pony clever enough to have hidden his activities for years, having an apartment only a few stories off the ground with great sightlines thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows seemed like an uncharacteristically stupid move. But, in her years of working in the service of the Crown, Starlight had long since learned that even the brightest ponies could be stupid when they wanted to be.
That the glass wasn’t even bulletproof was ample evidence of that.
She checked the time. Meadow would be arriving home soon, assuming he didn’t stop on the way home from the charity gala. She doubted that would be the case. The ponies of Station M (Manehattan) had done a bang-up job of shadowing the businessman for the past five months, and they had found that he always made sure to be home early on the third Tuesday of each month.
He had an auction to run, after all.
The dossier on her target had been notable for the lack of the usual biographical information, but given the subject it was hardly a surprise. Everypony with even the slightest bit of awareness knew who Astral Meadow was. Nearly every major happening in Manehattan over the past decade had borne his hoofmarks, and with good reason. A billionaire, Meadow had made a name for himself with his generous philanthropic work, always claiming that he wanted to give back to the people who had helped him get to where he was.
Starlight wondered how much of the charity had been genuine, and how much of it had merely been attempts to curry favor. Even Princess Celestia hadn’t wanted to believe the evidence at first, though she’d quickly come around after seeing that it was incontrovertible.
Astral Meadow was more than a philanthropist. He was also a foal smuggler, supplying the seedy underbelly of Manehattan and other parts of Equestria with orphans and foalnapped children. And he’d been doing so for years.
To succeed in her position, Starlight had developed a certain detached coolness toward the darker things in life. It was one of the first things they’d taught her when she’d joined the Special Branch of Equestrian Intelligence, and she prided herself in her not-inconsiderable talent for it. But she had found it very difficult to maintain that coolness after reading the reports detailing what had happened to some of Meadow’s victims. The photographs had only served to make things worse.
The only reason she was still on the mission was that every other pony in Special Branch had reacted the same way, and perhaps none more than Princess Luna, their leader.
“Send a damn message, Glimmer,” Luna had said when she’d given Starlight the assignment. “Let these foul ponies know that the shadows will not protect them any longer.”
Of course, that was easier said than done. There were considerable politics involved, complicated by the fact that Meadow was currently the leading candidate for the mayorship of Manehattan. Celestia had agreed with the need to send a message, but she had made it clear that there could be no political blowback directed at Canterlot, to say nothing of Special Branch or the Princesses themselves.
That was why Starlight was on the rooftop, watching through the scope of a FarSight sniper rifle as the lights in Meadow’s penthouse turned on. As her target appeared in the scope, she had to swallow the urge to kill him right there. Astral Meadow was the primary objective, but the secondary objective was nearly as important; getting photographs of the other attendees that evening, for use in later prosecution.
She activated the small camera attached to the side of her scope, bringing one hoof up to rest on the shutter button.
Starlight didn’t recognize the first two ponies, but the third made her pause; Iron Cuffs, the Chief of the Manehattan Police, had just entered the room, a smile on his face as he greeted Meadow warmly.
Either the intelligence is bad, or he’s here for the auction. As much as she wished it were the former, her gut told her it was the latter. That would certainly explain how the operation had remained hidden for so long.
She snapped pictures of the fourth, another pony she didn’t recognize, and the fifth, who she did. Flower Tree was Meadow’s business partner in the foalsmuggling. It made sense she would want to be there to see the latest fruits of her cruel hoofwork.
The five ponies sat in various chairs, chatting idly with their host, who was serving them all copious glasses of some libation; brandy, if she had to guess. As that was going on, she removed the camera from her scope, sliding it into the small saddlebag on her right side. There wouldn’t be time for that after she’d fired – she estimated she had thirty seconds at most before eyes started being cast outward. Less, perhaps, with Chief Cuffs involved. Either way, she intended to be gone before then.
Once everypony had their drink, Meadow took his place in the most padded chair, the one near the fire, and gestured to somepony she couldn’t see from her vantage point.
As the first terrified filly was led into the room, she felt her tension ease, even as bile rose in her throat. The intelligence was good…and damn it to Tartarus for being so.
There was nothing left to do but take the shot.
She sighted in on Meadow’s head, waiting for him to stop moving as he laughed at a joke he’d just told. As she stared into his glowing eyes, she felt a surge of hate, which she had to tamp down lest her hooves start shaking.
“Watch the filly, you bastard,” she whispered, taking one last breath to steady herself.
She blinked once to clear her eyes, made sure the crosshair was in the right place, and pulled the trigger.
Even suppressed, the sound of the shot echoed off the buildings around her, but wearing earplugs, Starlight didn’t hear it. As soon as she saw the flash of red through the scope she pulled back, tossing the tarp away and throwing the rifle down on the ground. Picking up the flask she’d been issued, she tugged the stopper out with her teeth before using the contents to douse the rifle. The bespoke acid immediately went to work on the metal, which bubbled and sagged. If anyone happened to search this rooftop later, all they would find would be a pool of untraceable slag.
She wadded up the tarp, picked up the brass casing from the round she’d fired, and ran for the ladder at the back of the roof.
Half-an-hour later, she was safely in her hotel room, nursing a glass of scotch as she turned the camera over again and again in her hooves. In the morning she’d turn it over to the head of Station M and be done with the whole affair.
She couldn’t help wondering how they would handle Chief Cuffs. Probably a forced retirement, she decided, followed by a lot of questioning to find out what else he knew. With any luck, he’d be ‘disappeared’ afterward.
Either way, she was glad that wasn’t her problem to handle. Finally feeling calm enough to sleep, she drained the glass, setting it down on the nightstand before sliding into the cool sheets of the bed.
She slept soundly that night.
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Hm
I haven’t watched the old Bond films in a long long time.
I love this fic!
Very well written.
The idea of Starlight as a James Bond-like agent is an intriguing one, but here it works.
Looking forward for more of her adventures.
This is an interesting concept... and I can dig it. Good stuff.
10788879
I think the title is a reference to The Eiger Sanction, a 1970s Bond-esque film starring Clint Eastwood.
A very intriguing story, well written and executed too.
However, there's one point where Astral Meadow is referred to as "August Meadow". You might want to fix that.
10789450
Whoops, that's what I get for editing after it's been pre-read. Fixed! Thanks for that, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
10789315
The overall concept is a blend of Bond, but yes, the title is closer to The Eiger Sanction.
Thanks to everyone else for your comments.
10789454
I really enjoyed it. Not often you get good spy stories on here.
Really cool story !
Short but good, dipping a hoof into the AU. I like.
Man I love that your stories are fairly simple and short but still pack a big punch. Top marks for that.
Also Super Spy Assassin GlimGlam with a license to kill sign me up.
~Reggie
great story, glad Starlights cleaning up the trash
Enjoyable short fic!
Hope to get more character development in Starlight in the sequel.
I loved this a lot, it's definitely a new favorite of mine.
You have earned yourself a follower.
I know Bond was the main inspiration, but this has hints of Jason Bourne *the title mainly*
I always like a fic where you can see the real world inspiration for the villains.
Hm, and then you get that Iron Cuff was there on his own undercover investigation to arrest Meadow and get from him the rest of the chain... but with him dead all is in vain...
10789747
It's funny you say that - I felt like this short didn't have much 'kick' compared to my usual stuff, but since it was meant to be an extra-short intro piece I wasn't too worried.
10789920
Yep, I'll be giving her a nice grand adventure.
10790713
Word of author says no, he's dirty. I'll probably give an update on his 'future' in the follow-up.
Thanks for the kind words, everypony!
Quite an interesting thing ya made here, and it fits pretty well from what I can see! From Starlight's little backstory to the lead-up of the ending, all of it is a damn good satisfying read! I hope ya didn't mind, but I made a lil' reading of this undercover fic of yours!
Audio Linkyloo!: https://youtu.be/iX1O5-OVU2A
(I don't mean to offend anyone with this comment in any way!)
10790877
Hey, thanks a bunch! I'll add it to the description.
Yeah, gonna need some more stories in this AU.
10790376
Damn straight...
"On Her Majesty's Special Service"...
Title for the next one, gratis, to get it started...
I love Bond. I have followed them since I went to a theater with my mother, and saw "Thunderball" on the initial run...
Not too many "deux ex machina", please. Though Aston Martins are very cool...
Liked, and following...
Nick Nack?
No
Odd Job?
Onatop?
Sheriff Buford P Justice?
P Galore?
Dr. No?
10791317
Hey, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
As far as gadgets and gizmos go, the original version of this story had the lead character (which wasn't Starlight) using a combination cracker similar to what Connery uses in You Only Live Twice. Those sorts of 'cool but not outlandish' gadgets, along with things like the acid Starlight uses, are as gadget-heavy as I plan to get. For the most part, Starlight's going to get by with wits, magic, and a gun.
I hadn't considered the car angle, actually. If I do include them I'll have to figure out how to ponify Bentley or Aston.
10792124
Ooohhh...a true fan!!!
Not many know about the Bentley...even with the brief appearance in "To Russia With Love"...
Okay...this is in safe hoove...hands...
Q's gonna be dissapointed...
10792287
I've read and own the bulk of the original books, so in my mind the Bentley is as 'Bond' as the Astons are.
I'd have to say Moonraker's my favorite of the novels, but I'll be going for a blend of book/film Bond in the follow-up.
I'll try not to take too long...and don't worry about Q. I have that problem solved.
This was a very good one-shot.
To blazes with pedophilia and child smuggling, and slavery of all kinds!
I really loved the story, but why Starlight though? You can replace Starlight's name with any other pony's, except maybe Fluttershy, and story will read exactly the same. I don't associate Starlight with spy stories in any way; usage of magic for solving problems is quintessential to her character, yet it is explicitly avoided here; moreover, we already have canonically established secret service agent pony to fill the role - Sweety Drops aka Bon-Bon. So I genuinely wonder what is the motivation for this choice?
10980190
During development the lead role was taken by an original character named Lime Light. I eventually decided he wasn't working, and so I decided to re-write the first third and replace him with Starlight.
This story was just meant to be a short for me to explore two things: whether the concept would work, and whether there was interest in it. Both those were established, and so I'll be continuing this AU in a longer story, the first teaser for which is already posted here: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/960889/preview-the-baltimare-affair
In the full story, it'll be more apparent why I felt Starlight was the correct choice.
10981103
Thanks for clarification.
A fascinating alternate take on how Starlight might contribute to the community. Given this context, I'm sure I'll enjoy the sequel.