“Alright, I’ve got my jokes out of my system. What do I need to know? If it’s about there being more than one demon, I figured that out already.”
“It’s about how many demons have been arriving. I need to know what this one’s capabilities were, so we can cross-reference them against the other Incursions. As well, I’m going to be inducting you into the web of secrecy surrounding this. I’m sorry to say it, but you’ve been covertly drafted, seeing as how you tracked down and eliminated this demon before my team could finish mobilizing.” His voice carries much more hardness than I’ve heard from him before, and I don’t think it’s related to the jokes earlier. And if he said he already had a team...
There must’ve been a lot more than just two.
“You’ve been aware of multiple demon arrivals and never once told me?” I ask, matching his tone. “Any particular reason the royalty of Equestria wants me in the dark about this?”
“Actually, they argued for your inclusion from the beginning. The project head disagreed, as you are -that is, were- just a civilian still. A heroic one, but still a civilian. Just as my sister and her friends have been kept from it. As well, we haven’t been aware of ‘multiple demon arrivals’. We’ve been aware of hundreds. It’s been a really nasty time keeping the nation from finding out in a bad way, and we’ve had to pull some very quasi-legal strings to keep the press from reporting some of them as anything other than ‘random monster attacks’. At this point though, you’ve been cleared to know all of this information. You’re also going to be tasked with finding some of them if possible, and eliminating them as a threat to Equestria, either by force or diplomacy.” he looks at me as all the information sinks in.
‘Hundreds’ makes it sound like an invasion, but it hasn’t been announced the way an organized one would, for the safety of the nation.
“So this has been going on for a while. And I assume this means I’ll be part of the Golden Helmet squad until it’s resolved in some fashion or another?”
“No, the Royal Guard isn’t involved in this.” he says with a shake of his head.
“Then who’ve you got? Spec Ops?”
“Special operatives would be the correct idea, yes. Formally, we’re just another ‘research project’ funded by the crown right now, though we’ve got a small workspace and lab set aside for us like any other Night Project.” he steps forward, and I realize his horn has been lit this entire time, but very faintly. As I see that, I also realize I can see the walls glowing the same color as his magic. “Now, the first thing I need you to realize is that you cannot tell anyone about this who you don’t already know knows. And I don’t mean it isn’t allowed. I’m afraid the project head went ahead and authorized -against my protestations- a minor geas seal preventing it. Unfortunately, the project head is the only one who can remove it without hurting you significantly, and Princess Luna is presently arguing they do exactly that.”
“So you’ve got a selective silencing collar on me. I’ll sign up for keeping folks safe, but if I can’t warn them of how much actual danger they’re in, how can we expect them to be aware they need to evacuate, not just run inside and lock doors and windows? This reeks of ‘Needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.’ right now.”
“Thankfully, you’re not prevented from warning anyone in danger, you just can’t reveal the project, or tell anyone the identity of one of the agents involved, so long as there’s anyone present you don’t honestly believe is part of the organization already. And since we don’t plan to introduce you to any of the other agents besides myself, that should cut down on that issue.” he explains.
“And if I go whistleblower and start telling about the demon attacks but not your little club, what then? Can I not request help from people or ponies who aren’t involved already? Do I wait for you or your paranoid friends to recruit them?”
“No, you do what you think is right. This is why I thought the geas was a useless idea. It doesn’t restrict any information that would actually matter, and just makes you angry, which means you’re less cooperative. Frankly, if you encounter another demon, take it down if you can. We’ll direct you towards other Incursions that occur nearby you and not nearer to another agent or cell.” Well, he sounds sincere about not agreeing with the geas, and the more he talks about it, the more it sounds like someone overly paranoid not thinking anything through. Sounds like a bureaucrat alright.
“Alright, and if I feel the need to recruit capable civilians, namely Myrna, are they gonna be dragged into this little government secret too, or are they just going to stay blissfully unaware that the world as they know it is on the brink of a potential invasion by Hell?”
“Preferably the second option. Frankly, we’d rather keep this to as few as possible until we find an adequate way of preventing the Incursions entirely. What worries us more than the demons though is the potential for more like Myrna. Strong, capable, and bearing powers even your kind are unfamiliar with... but without the moral compasses you and Myrna each follow. I’m know you’ve read comic books from what Spike’s told me, so I definitely know you understand the idea of Supervillains, and the danger an intelligent and capable one would represent.”
“Pfft, I’ve been reading comics since before Spike got hatched, I know plenty of baddies from Carnage to The Joker. I’ve seen all types. I know how psychopathic superpowers are.”
“Good. Then you understand why we have the ‘by force or diplomacy’ clause. I’d rather have them be friends with Equestria, as even you’ve done good while you’re here, but they could be extremely dangerous if they set themselves against any of the world’s nations, or seek conquest above all else.”
“Any research into Fluttershy by your little shadow organization? I recall her being the proclaimed target of the first demon I fought. Anything you know about her that might explain why she seems to be a target beyond being the Element of Kindness’ Bearer?”
“We have, but there’s something odd. None of the other’s we’ve encountered have mentioned anything of the sort. Many seem obsessed with either eating, killing, some combination of the two, or dominating the locals, possibly incorporating one or both of the other two into the process.” he says, taking a seat on a chair by the bed.
“To stop a monster you need to think like a monster. I can’t be the only one of... dubious action in this group, am I? And your boss is aware of my rather nasty tendencies when it comes to fighting, hopefully. If I get reprimanded for dirty fighting or similar, I’m out.” I warn.
“As long as civilian casualties are kept to a minimum, how you fight is up to you. The same goes for every other agent, and there is... quite some diversity, and a few royal pardons involved. As for ‘thinking like a monster’ the problem is that while they’re all being dangerous, they aren’t showing any coordinated or consistent reasoning to their actions. Some are very overt, some are covert enough we find that they’d been influencing the place they’d come to for months.”
“So you have a way to detect where a demon is? I’m getting tired of there being no warning, and-”
“Actually, no. We do, however, have a way to tell when and mostly where a demon is about to show up. We’ve almost narrowed it down to a four-hundred mile radius at this point, though the progress on pinpointing is slowing down. Something else to mention... you were the first known Incursion. None of the others started showing up until you did.”
“I’m guessing there are some higher-ups who think this is my doing, intentional or not, that it’s my fault? Also, you should probably have a way to alert me of a nearby Incursion, right? Like a Spider Sense or some kind of artifact that glows when danger is around?”
“We’ll be giving you some simple gear, tailored for you. For one, we have a crystal we can use to display a hologram of a mission statement.” he pulls one of his saddlebags off, revealing it’s actually a human-style backpack that had been hooked to his side. From within, he pulls out the pale blue crystal, one end rounded and the other finished in a gem cut I’d expect from something like a Chaos Emerald. “The image will project from the rounded side, so you’ll need to point it at a wall. It will flash and vibrate slightly, making noise in the process to alert you when a mission is incoming, giving you a minute or two to get somewhere you can study the documents explaining the situation. As well, in a pinch, throw the crystal onto a hard surface and it will shatter, and alert every agent of its location when broken, so we can send a rescue or cleanup team. Don’t worry about breaking it normally, it requires intent to make it break.”
I take the crystal and inspect it. “So I just carry it in my pocket, or can I make a sort of necklace out of it?”
“Your choice, as long as you don’t obscure the rounded end. A few of the other agents have incorporated their own into their day-to-day wear.” Shining says, drawing a nod from me. “The next item is one I think you’ll appreciate.” he opens one of the side pouches, hidden by what I’d assume was a velcro strip, except there wasn’t any fuzzy or scratchy stuff on it. It just adhered shut, and had to be pried open, with more apparent force than magnets would require. Inside the black bag is... just more blackness. Puzzled, I think for moment before realizing I can feel the bag without being near it, and the explanation for the hidden compartment makes itself known: It’s padded with coal dust.
“That should keep me armed in a pinch.” I nod. “Any other items? Like, Idunno, a sword or something, or is that too conspicuous?”
“We’d heard you can make and move coal-based weapons of high effectiveness, including a knife that cuts wood easily.” I think back to the one time I’d done that - I’d been shaving off wood chips for a prank on Pinkie. Nobody’d been around then, as far as I knew.
“You’ve been active for over three months.” I surmise, thinking on how long it had been since that prank. “And until now you’ve managed to keep all this on the downlow. Not bad, but what about Ponyville, they’re already fully aware that the demons aren’t standard monsters. The same can be learned by anyone who’s in an affected zone. You may be good at keeping yourselves quiet, but how do you plan on preventing planet-wide panic?”
“At the moment, only a few Incursions have been in population centers of any size, and we’ve been coordinating with sister organizations in other countries. Oh, and I should tell you, you’re going to have a couple more guests here shortly. I got here first, but the Ranger Corps and REINS want in on this.”
I blink at what is almost definitely an acronym. “REINS being one of your branches? I thought I wasn’t meeting any agents but you.”
“Of course you aren’t. You’re having a meeting with three of the military heads who are coming to congratulate you on behalf of Equestria for defeating another terrible monster. I’ll just happen to be introducing them as their selves that help coordinate the efforts of this Night Op. REINS is the Royal Equestrian Intelligence and Naval Service, and is the one providing most of our support personnel, while the Ranger Corps are providing our agents. The Royal Guard is happily picking up the paycheck without paying any attention, as we’re primarily for evacuation efforts, not military ones.”
“I can tell, given that they wear freaking gold. I mean, really? I know you guys have steel...”
“Yes, but gold is far easier to enchant, especially en masse. Royal Guard armor is lighter, stronger, and more protective than steel armor, most importantly, has electrum cores to help shield the wearers against celestial magic to a rather significant degree.”
I can only think of one reason why they’d need to be resistant to Celestia. “You afraid she’s dangerous to have around?”
“No, Celestia and Luna thought they might be dangerous if ever compromised, when they designed the armor themselves more than a thousand years ago. They also worked on the base designs of the enchantments used to empower the armor, but also shut themselves away from the information on what those enchantments are for similar reasons. Also, celestial magic refers to any magic connected to the sun, moon, stars, or other permanent objects of the sky.”
“Bet it can’t do shit against true cosmic magicks.” I say.
“That was tested a thousand years ago, and it stood up rather well according to the history books.” he doesn’t clarify further.
“Alright, send your friends in, let’s get this show on the road.” I attempt to move my arms but I’m still firmly held by the casts. “And how long will I need these? I’m not much use to you immobile.”
“That’s up to the doctors.” he says, his magic flaring for a moment and the shield across the door pulling aside in time for that door to open. Two ponies stepped in, a pegasus mare in a casual suit, looking far too chipper to be working for the government, and a large unicorn, big enough to vie for Big Mac in a size contest, wearing what I can only call a ‘down unduh’ hat.
“Howdy~!” the mare says, bouncing in place slightly, making her seem very young. “Wow, you’re even bigger than the reports say. I hope that backpack fits you right.”
The big stallion doesn’t say anything.
“If not, I know where I can take it to get fixed up. So, we’re all in this together then? I get that I’m supposed to keep this all quiet but... seriously, we’re dealing with demons, I’m still a bit depowered... I’m not terribly sure now’s the time for congratulations and back-patting.”
“Oh, silly, that’s called a cover story! Y’see, when two spies need to meet each other really bad...” the mare starts, sounding like she’s giving the ‘how babies are made’ speech.
The large stallion shakes his head and puts said head in one hoof, with the steadiness born a thousand hours of perfecting each movement of your body. It’s a thing soldiers and predators do, and I’m not 100% sure where he lies on that chart, given he moved to the side of my bed when I wasn’t looking and without noticing or hearing him, and he’s taller than Cadence. Sans horn.
Only one stallion I know can move like that, but Galeam wasn’t a Unicorn... “Either way, if we’re here on business, I’d still prefer to be on at least a basis where I know names, or at least something resembling them. You already know me, so... fair’s fair, right?”
“Ah, right. The larger gentlecolt you see before you is Captain Ramming Bow, and was originally from the coastline before he began to make his way through the Ranger Corp dealing with the dense Jungles often found in the southeast-”
Southeast? Wait... “You mean the Dragonlands?”
The big stallion speaks up, voice calm. “Ahyup.” His voice is different from Big Mac’s, but I swear someone is cloning gigantic, burly equestrians for some nefarious purpose.
“I was working on plans to go when the demon showed up.” I explain. “Got any suggestions on what to bring?”
“Don’t bother. Not worth dyin’ over.” he responds. “Village got burnt. Family got burnt. I got left. Swam t’ Equestria.”
I’m... not entirely sure if he’s joking or not. “Anyway, I’m guessing if you’re in the Ranger Corps, the mare is part of REINS then?”
“Yuppers!” she says, making me jump, as she’s literally right behind me, sitting atop the bed. What the hell is with these sneaky-ass ponies!? “Well, not just a part of, y’know, more like the head of it.” she laughs, the sound accompanied by a nasally snort. “Don’t worry, we’re from the government, we’re here to help!”
I roll my eyes. “In my experiences, of which there are many, the government is never around to help anyone but themselves.”
She giggle-snorts again. “That’s silly, the best way for a government to help itself is to help the people they work for! Otherwise they’ll get all stuck up in internal politics, and those can be a real killer!” ‘Her grin is very unsettling’, I decide.
“Internal politics is all the government has ever cared about, they don’t bother with the ‘small stuff’ like rape cases or-”
“Hey, we take our jobs real serious!” The mare says, jabbing a hoof at me, all joviality gone from her voice. “You may come from a shitty world, son, but I will not ever allow Equestria to fall to such a level where something as heinous as rape is overlooked. If I had my way, no crime would be overlooked at all, but the Princesses have vetoed a totalitarian rule by a police state, so I’ll just be content catching anyone who thinks they’re above the law.” I realize that at some point in the conversation she’d moved to my chest without me noticing.
“Sorry, but I must admit, I’ve heard that before and it was a lie. I sincerely hope you aren’t and for the sake of ponies not being human I’ll assume you aren’t lying, just understand that the terms ‘justice system’ and ‘government’ are very... sketchy where I come from.”
“As long as you don’t apply such low standards to my organization...” she leans back, smiling and chipper again, “Then we have no problems!” She bounces off the bed, and I see that both Bow and Shining were leaning back with looks of fear on their faces, which are slowly fading.
“We better not.” I agree. “So, what exactly are you here for? I assume the shield that Shining put up includes sound-proofing so I’m guessing there’s no harm in speaking of the more... sensitive subjects at hand?”
“Oh, it’s more than sound-proofed. You couldn’t scry in here without anything short of Chrysocolla’s Crystalline Sphere.” he says, sounding proud. “I developed the spell myself.”
“Back on topic, though, we came to make sure you knew what you’re getting into. The three of us, the princesses, and the agents are the only ones who presently know, and we’ve been working very hard to keep the incursions as covert as possible. There’s been almost forty we’ve taken care of more than an hour out from any contact with civilization, but we’ve only found three that’re benign. Two of those are Ponyville, and the third has been keeping the others out of Manehattan, and doesn’t seem to have started being a problem yet.” she says.
“There’s a third besides Myrna and I?”
“Yes, although he asked us to simply leave him in peace, and we’ve honored those wishes. Given that he appears to be emulating an Ancient Wyrm dragon, of considerable power, we don’t have much of a choice. Nopony short of Luna could deal with him how powerful he’s acted so far, doing things far above and beyond what anything should be able to.”
I nod. “Perhaps I could meet him, maybe he’d be more comfortable talking with another humanoid. That said, why am I learning of this now?”
“Mostly because I’ve researched you a bunch and I don’t think you’re a danger unless you feel you’ve been tricked or forced into doing something. Sooo... I spilled the beans to Princess Luna about the geas the director put on you, ‘cuz they’re a paranoid cuntwaffle that won’t let us even say whether they’re male female or something else besides.” The head of REINS smiles at me broadly. “Of course, that doesn’t prevent them being insulted every chance we can, because they’re very brilliant at what they do they should’ve been punted out to make friends a decade ago or even gotten laid ever. I know you know it helps calm a person down!” she says, nudging me in the ribs, in spite of having been standing at the foot of my bed a moment ago.
“You’ve spied on me even in Wunderland? Ew, real mature guys.”
“What? Nah, we don’t have any spies in Wunderland. Not for lack of trying, mind you, but I was referring to... ooh, wait, those sometimes show the future. Nevermind, the thing I’m talking about might’ve been in the future, and thinking too hard about it can make your head explode. Sometimes literally.” she says.
I blink, taking a moment to comprehend her meani- “If you saw me having kids, it likely wasn’t me.”
“Pffft, nah. They don’t show more than a year out. Still, heckuva birthday party.” she says. “Anyhow, cards on the table, you’re an effective countermeasure and we’d like you on board for helping with that. I know you don’t like being lied to or manipulated, so I’m trying charm instead. Howsaboutit?” Damn, her grin is wide, like one of the Crusaders.
“Fine, but don’t feed me lines to say or anything in the event of things not going well.” I say. “And speaking of ‘charm’, I hope you mean that in a absolutely completely non-magical way.”
“Well, duh. I’m not a unicorn, y’know. I’m just adorable!” she stands on her hind legs for a moment, bringing her forehooves together on either side of her chest. On a human, it would’ve been a ‘see my breasts’ action, but instead is just makes her look super fluffy.
“Anyways, I think we’re mostly done here.” I say, unable to think of anything they could tell me that I don’t already know. Except... “Are there any agents in Ponyville? I’d like a little backup that I don’t have to hide my ‘second job’ from.”
“Not from this Night Op, and the one free-roaming agent I know of is technically retired and living with her high school sweetie. Sadly, I think the poor mare’s been permanently friendzoned.”
“So if some random nearby pony attempts to play hero with me, I’m to assume it’s a civilian.” I clarify.
“Oh, definitely. An agent would never do so poorly as to be seen being heroic. You’re the exception because you’re already a hero.” she says, clarifying it perfectly for me.
“Okay. And as long as I don’t blab on the operation, I can get help from others against the demons, I get that, but am I allowed to suggest someone be brought into the agency?”
“Suggest, sure, but keep in mind we gotta vet ‘em first. And before you ask, no Myrna’s not being inducted. She’s trying to get her hooves under her, not go gallivanting about.”
“Fair enough. So, any more brass tacks to deal with or we done here?” The three of them furrow their brows in unison, Shining barely beating out the mare’s ‘What?’ of confusion in timing. “Human slang, it means ‘serious business’” I explain.
“Ah, mostly at this point I say well done on not dying or getting any civvies hurt, so good job, buddy!” She says, before heading towards the door. I realize as Shining and Ramming Bow nod, the privacy spell falling, that I never got her name. Before I can ask, she’s ducked out of the room, as has the large guy, leaving just Shining heading for the open door.
Now I remember me getting a bunch of gifts, but no way to open, let alone enjoy them even if they were in the same room. Probably more thank-you’s from kids. I’d like that...