Politics

by Dai Kirai

Escape

6/1/14 3:45am Equestrian Embassy, Earth

Aiko stood at the third floor stairway, ready to go leave. All of her bugs had been placed throughout the second and third floor; all she had to do now was evac. The first floor wasn’t deemed worth the risk, Intel said it was just paperwork stations, nothing of value so it wasn’t bugged.

Aiko looked between the window in front of her and the stairwell. The stairwell had no doors and it would be easy for a guard to get the drop on her, but a three story drop to the ground might cause damage and affect her escape. A broken leg tends to make running hard. The stairwell was a straight shot with no doors, no way to hide or take cover once she was in there. The outside surface on this side of the Embassy was too smooth with no easy way down; it had been hard enough getting in. Take the stairwell to the second floor then take a window exit to the ground. She planned. A two story drop is nothing.

Before the female operative could move into the stairwell though, two gunshots rang out. “Shit!” She spat vehemently. “Who the hell switched to their sidearm?!” This had just become a timed mission; she only had so much time to get out before guards came out of the woodwork. Aiko ran to the window just as the whole building shook, followed instantly by the sound of a large explosions above her. Dust rained onto her back and head from the ceiling. Fuck! Was the only word that came to mind as the familiar feeling of a bomb blast almost knocked her off her feet.

Aiko ran to the nearest window, the drop was now her best option, any moment now guards would be running up the stairs. The only thing on the top floor was Celestia, and a human running around would be the prime suspect. She would be captured if not outright killed, worst fates had befallen her colleagues and each was now only remembered by a star on a wall. The window was the same as the second story one, but it wouldn’t budge. As Aiko tried pushing it out or up, it stayed solidly in place. That’s some security. The windows had locked, so she tried using the butt of her dart gun to shatter the glass, but it rebounded with a small thwack, a sound glass rarely made. The only thing that could break it would be actual bullets, which would have its own problems. It would alert the guards to her presence upstairs and make escape almost impossible. At least for the moment she could hide in offices.

Aiko went back to the stairwell, happy she took all her precautions in preparation for this mission. Halfway down the stairwell a unicorn guard appeared at the bottom. Without thought, the gun came up as Aiko pulled the trigger.

Quick Wit was roaming the second floor looking for her partner, Autumn Breeze. Quick wasn’t the biggest fan of Autumn, he always had a way of sneaking up on ponies, even knowing where they were hiding, it just creeped her out. But he had never hidden like this, for the past twenty minutes she had hunted, even calling out his name. “Gah!” She groaned. “Where has that troublemaker gone to now? If this is some kind of prank Autumn, you had better sleep with one eye open from now on.” The guard called out, she knew ways to get her payback. Still, he never appeared.

Quick Wit fell to her flank as the building shook and a sound like air ripping could be heard. She had never experienced anything so fierce before, magic didn’t do that. “The Princess!” The idea had just struck her, but the violence could only be an attack and the only thing worth attacking in this building was Celestia. Autumn will have to wait. If he’s hiding then this will bring him out. A knot formed in her stomach as a different thought took form. What if he was attacked? What if he died trying to defend her?

With a speed only panic could induce, Quick ran for the stairwell. She reached it in mere moments but as she turned the corner and looked up at it, a dark shape appeared. The bipedal form of a human dressed in black. Before Quick could even scream out, the human had a gun raised and pointed at her. Quick had hoped to never see such a device, not while alone and the Embassy was under attack. The gun emitted a hissing noise and Quick knew it had fired.

The guard’s eyes enlarged while the pupils shrunk to mere pinpricks. The attack had been unexpected and quicker than anything she had ever expected, it might as well have been a cobra strike. Most attacks had some sort of warning. The dart stung as it ripped through her flesh and embedded into her leg. It hurt, but immediately began to numb, she never felt the second one imbed itself a half an inch higher. Within moments her vision swam as her thoughts began to slow, but she wasn’t dead. Aren’t these things supposed to kill? Where’s the blood?” The leg looked just like a leg but with two furry things attached. Stories of what happened to the last pony that was shot swam through her head.

Quick leaned against the wall to try and steady herself. The human ran past, it was small but didn’t have a smell, they were supposed to smell. She tried calling out for it to stop, but her mouth refused to work, her mouth now felt like cotton. Her vision slowly began to recede as the darkness closed in. Maybe this is how they kill now. Quick let out a subtle whimper as she collapsed to the floor.

Aiko had no time to retrieve the dart or even check on the condition of the pony. It shouldn’t kill, but chemical weapons are highly unreliable. The impromptu soldier thought as she ran past the woozy guard. Every time! She hissed. Every time I work with that stupid pair, it always involves having to shoot my way out!

A chill ran down her back, something she felt only occasionally and Aiko ducked into the nearest doorway not a moment before a half dozen guards ran past, one of them talking about why Shining Armor hadn’t joined, pressing business elsewhere. This was good information; the guards had to have come from somewhere. They didn’t seem to be stationed in the Embassy and if they were, it wouldn’t be on the first floor. With any luck the front door would be unlocked and she could simply sneak out.

The rest of her hurried escape was completely silent and uneventful, moving as quickly as she could while moving from one doorway to another, no ponies appeared. Aiko moved down to the first floor and turned left toward the main doors only to see one last pony standing in her way.

The pony was larger than the standard guard and his armor was unique as well. The standard gold of the guard’s armor was relegated to a border color, the main color being a vibrant shade of purple. This guard was something different, probably a higher ranking officer and clearly tasked with guarding the only entrance left into the Embassy, which also happened to be Aiko’s only way out. Beyond the doors could be seen the distant light of fires and the occasional flash of light from something more explosive coming from the village.

Aiko raised her dart gun again, one last obstacle. She had a suspicion this was the captain of the guard, Shining Armor. If so he was also the one responsible for the shield. Three shots left. The operative counted, wishing there were some way to sneak past. If the attack dropped the shield than whatever happened after would be her fault and could make it look like a serious assault rather than a botched mission. Without further thought and needing an escape, she fired two shots, the hiss of compressed air the only indication.

The guard’s horn lit the second the dart gun emitted it’s hiss as he was encompassed by a sphere of pink light, the twin needles just bounced off. The stallion turned around and stared at his attacker. His expression seemed calm, but the glare he cast said something different. His horn lit up with a spell waiting to be unleashed as he made the human an offer. “Surrender. You can’t get out of here. Tell us what you planned on doing, how you got in and who you work for and you will be offered leniency.” Shining Armor didn’t move as his voice turned cold. “But if you cause any more trouble I will stop you.”

Aiko knew she couldn’t surrender; her association with the Human Ambassador was well known and would cause unknown problems. Besides, when had surrendering ever helped an operative, that would be followed by torture and death, they all worked the same. Her face was covered so all she had to do was get out. Her small dart gun had no hope against the shield; there was no force behind it. Normally if asked to surrender she would, and simply use a knife when they tried to arrest her, but she had no knife this time, and any true professional would see it coming. The weight of the pistol against the small of her back became more obvious as she let the dart gun fall to her chest, hands falling to her sides.

Shining Armor let his spell dissipate as he stepped closer, keeping the shield up just in case. That was what the operative had been waiting for.

Aiko reached around her back, pulling out her pistol. The plastic baton rounds didn’t pack as much force as the armor piercing option, but still packed quite a punch, it should be enough. She aimed at the stallion’s nose and released a three round burst, the sound reverberated through the room. The operative’s ears rang and the shots bounced off the same spot on the shield, but not without leaving a spider web across its surface. Two more shots, follow your training. When it breaks through the impact to his nose and face should stun him long enough. Aiko predicted, trying to guess how much force it would take to break the bubble like an egg as the stallion lowered his head. Aiko realized how quickly she would have to act.

As her finger tightened on the trigger however, she felt something similar to a freight train slam into her chest. A beam of blue light went from the stallion’s horn and into her chest. Aiko slammed back into the wall, feeling something in her chest snap as her head impacted and she crumpled to the floor. And I thought Applejack hit hard. She mused through a fog.

Aiko knew she is losing consciousness, it’s a unique feeling that one never forgets. She looked back up toward the stallion but saw two guards. All she could make out was a white shape wearing gold talking to a smaller white shape wearing gold. The female agent tried to hear what they were saying but it was drowned out by the ringing in her head and the sound of her own labored breathing.

Avery ran for all he was worth. He was on the outskirts of Bridle Lake when the two gunshots had gone off. He suspected it was Aiko; no one else was that close to the Embassy. But when the top floor of the Embassy went up in a fireball that was his cue to vacate. He sent the retreat signal to Victor and started running. A moment later he heard another explosion, but this one had come from just behind him, in the village.

“Just like Honduras.” Victor stated from just behind his commander, as pegasi guards started to appear in the sky.

“You do remember that we had backup on that one, yes?” Avery replied, remembering that specific mission quite clearly. They had gone in to rescue British citizens held hostage only to get discovered as they tried to leave the country, it hadn’t ended well.

“Technicalities.” The younger laughed back as they continued to run. He lifted his gun and fired at an approaching pegasus. The creature fell out of the sky and landed with a thump, no research had been done on what happened to a pegasi dropped from the sky. But they were only halfway to the research facility and easy targets on the ground.

A unicorn guard teleported in front of the pair, Victor loosed three shots with the first one missing its mark and the pony went down. Even with running, the occasional guard was slowing them down, allowing more to catch up to them. Two more pegasi and Victor was in trouble. “Reloading!” He called as he popped the top off his gun and loaded a new magazine, leaving the old one behind.

Avery covered his friend but he hated leaving behind any trace of their activity. He raised his own gun and took down another pegasi, but these weapons were not made for heavy combat, they were stealth weapons and if things continued the way they were then neither human had any chance of escape. The noose was tightening as more guards kept appearing, within moments they were both out of ammo, again.

Avery made a tough decision, the mission came above all else. “Switch to your backup.” He ordered.

Victor stared at him in shock. “What?! But-“

“It’s either that or capture. We have one way out of this mess.” Avery reasoned. “Aim for non-critical areas if you can, but we have to get out of here now!” He reluctantly dropped his own dart gun in favor of the P90 and immediately fired it above the head of an approaching pegasus, forcing it to dive and bank out of the way and making room for his escape. But there were still too many, there was no way to make it through without at least a few casualties.

A bright flash behind the pair caused them to turn and stare in disbelief. Standing with wings fully erect, horn and eyes glowing with an ethereal power stood the intimidating presence of Princess Celestia. Physical waves of heat rolled off the alicorn as she stared fiercely at the intruders. There was no compassion in her eyes, no loving kindness. This was the sun.

“You have attempted to assassinate me and have killed who knows how many of my little ponies.” The Princess said tumultuously, the anger on her features clear to all, behind it all a look of deep loss. “You will put down your weapons and surrender or I will burn you where you stand!”

Isao lay motionless on the roof, everything had gone to hell. First the top floor of the Embassy went up, rendering his optical bug completely useless. But then houses in Bridle Lake began to explode, it wasn’t from small explosives either, someone had to have planted military grade CL-20 or stronger to get that kind of effect. There was no way casualties could be avoided at this rate.

Guards had entered the Embassy and his sister had yet to come back out, Celestia had just confronted Victor and Avery. The mission was over; there was no way to save it. Isao’s orders were now to find a way out, but that wasn’t going to happen. “Semper Fi.” He whispered. “Marines don’t leave people behind.” He settled in and disassembled his rifle, it wouldn’t do any good now, but he kept out the scope.

The sniper settled in for a long wait, there was too much activity to guarantee he could escape at the moment anyway, and with so many of the devices destroyed, he was the only one that could report what was actually happening back to the Director and the President. The situation had escalated in a way no one could have predicted and no one would have wanted. But someone wanted it.

Isao had no allusions though, his comrades were captured and with the sheer numbers of guard alone, there was no way to get them out, and he wouldn’t degenerate the situation by using lethal force, yet.

"It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart."
- The Diary of Anne Frank

"As in the rankest soil the most beautiful flowers are grown, so in the dark soil of poverty the choicest flowers of humanity have developed and bloomed."
- James Allen

Author's Note:

I have decided to put the next section "Repercussions" at the end of this story. The main reason is the loss of readers between the two and for some reason it feels right. Also there is the fact of how strongly politics plays into what is coming. Especially with international relations. Figuring this would already be an international incident at least. But how do ponies respond and how do other countries respond? Would the EU try to back up the US or leave them alone for fear of their own relations? How would China and Russia react? And yes, I will try doing it justice so they will at least be mentioned, not sure how in depth I will go.

ps i lie, or just don't give the 'full' truth. there is an epilogue coming.

Comments

[Voltaje]

Ok, now soon the war will start.

[Silentwoodfire]

It doesnt help that one side was playing politics, and the other side was not

[Just Sandy]

4915214 whould be a war that ends i less than minutes because the us has a fuckton of powerfu weapons