Our takeover of Camp Pendleton was running into problems. We were forced to ASK our minions to help us, instead of ordering them around. But would they help us?
"We'd like you to bring your Mistress to see your direct report. Can you do that for us?"
The surgeon immediately began to fidget.
"I can't...she'll be seen walking through the halls."
"It's okay, she can change into a cloud of mist and fit herself into a briefcase or a large bag. All you need to do is carry the bag to your boss."
The surgeon's fidgeting slowed, but did not stop completely.
"I don't know...won't I be betraying the chain of command?"
"No, no! Really, we just want to talk. Like you said, the Mistress is quite noticeable and folks may get the wrong idea. You're sneaking her in so folks won't panic."
"It still...something about it doesn't feel right."
I turned my head to face Nightmare Moon.
"Is his shadow parasite still in control?"
"Yes, or at least in as much control as it was last night."
"Drat. Looks like this one is a bust."
I turned back to the surgeon.
"Never mind. We won't force you to do something you're not comfortable with."
The surgeon's fidgeting finally stopped, to my immense relief.
"Thank you, Master."
"I'll let you back down. Can you get back in the same door you came in?"
"Yes, Master."
"Alright, off you go."
I returned the surgeon down to the parking garage level and released him.
"Looks like we'll have to try your other minion, my Queen. Hopefully she'll be more helpful."
"Agreed."
She was. We found her not in Mainside in the barracks, but in an apartment complex in the nearby city of Fallbrook. We told her what we wanted to do, and to our surprise she readily agreed. She called her direct report, who sounded annoyed to get a call just after nine in the evening. But he agreed to meet with her that night when she said she had a 'personal matter' to talk about. Our minion even had a large duffel bag that Nightmare Moon could hide in. However, before she turned into her mist form my Queen had an order for me.
"Sit. And stay."
"Excuse me?!"
"Your role in this affair is minimal. In addition, you can not become intangible like me; only invisible. For that reason, it is likely that your presence will be discovered and endanger the plan. My minion is necessary to enact the plan, so she shall accompany me. I shall return to retrieve you regardless of whether the plan succeeds or fails.
"So I shall say again: sit, and stay."
At that, the ebony mare changed into her mist form and slipped into the provided duffel bag. Our minion zipped up the bag and walked down the stairs to her car, leaving me alone in her mostly-bare apartment. With nothing else to do, I decided to look around and see if I could find something interesting to do. I was standing in the small living room, maybe ten feet wide and fourteen feet long. I was facing the front door, which was in the right corner of the room. Just to my left, on the same side as the door, was a large window with glass louvered windows on either side of it. You know, the kind of window made of horizontal strips of glass, which you open and close with a lever? Yeah, those. Both louvered windows were open, letting the cool night air inside the apartment and rattling the open blinds. I suddenly felt exposed, standing in front of an open window looking like a black cat wearing metal armor. So in a flash, I cast an illusion spell to make me look human and wearing normal clothes. Maybe the neighbors would think I was a visiting friend or something.
Now that I was safely disguised, I continued my search of the apartment. The wall to my left was bare, with black scuff marks all over the paint. I turned around to face the rest of the room, and saw a small TV sitting on a table with a Nintendo Wii underneath. The TV was in the far left corner, from my point of view, and a small futon was in the far right corner facing the TV. The walls were all painted a dull white, and were entirely bare. There was a doorway next to the futon, off to my right.
Mow mildly curious, or simply too bored to care, I walked through the doorway and found myself in a small hallway. In front of me was another doorway that led into the small kitchen. To my left were doorways that looked like they led to the bathroom and bedroom. I took the easy choice and walked into the kitchen. The room was narrow, barely wide enough for two people. There was a small refrigerator that looked so old that it should have been retired long ago. There was a small sink piled up with dirty dishes, and the small counter space was covered in empty takeout containers. I saw a small electric stove next to the refrigerator. The rest of the room was filled with cabinets, above and below the countertop. I wasn't bored enough to dig through the cabinets, so I turned around and checked out the bathroom. Like the rest of the apartment, it was small with just enough room for a sink, toilet and stand-up shower. Toiletries were piled up around the sink and in the shower, and an unused toilet paper roll was on top of the toilet's tank.
Lastly, I strolled into the bedroom. It was a small room, as wide as the living room but shorter, maybe ten or so feet long. There was a twin-sized mattress on the floor to my right, with a few boxes and pieces of clothing strewn across the floor. The mattress was bare, with only a crumpled-up blanket and pillow on top of it. Just to my left was a closet; the doors were covered by two full-length mirrors. The mirrors made the room look a lot bigger. A peek into the closet revealed a dress uniform, a couple of sets of combat fatigues and a bunch of normal clothing. Shoes and boxes lined the floor of the closet.
Now that the apartment was fully explored, and nothing interesting was found, I went back in to the living room and sat down on the futon. Then I turned on the TV. About fifty minutes of dull channel-surfing later, our minion came back to her apartment but without Nightmare Moon. The minion said that the Mistress had left with her Gunnery Sergeant, and had commanded her to return to 'keep me company'.
She looked at me, and I looked at her. She waggled her eyebrows, and inclined her head towards the bedroom. It was obvious to me what she had in mind.
So we played Wii Sports for the next two hours until Nightmare Moon returned. Strangely enough, our minion seemed grumpy the whole time and didn't seem to have her heart in the game. She and I were in the middle of a game of Wii Golf when Nighty returned just before midnight. She streamed in through the open front window in her mist form, then reformed back into herself. Then she told us of her night.
"Success! The base is now under our control through the Commanding General."
"That's good news!"
"It is now time for us to leave, Captain. I shall convey tonight's happenings to you while we travel.
"Minion, your duties have ended for now. Know that you have my thanks. You may resume your normal life unless we call upon you again."
"Yeah, sure. Thanks, Mistress."
With that, Nightmare Moon and I left our minion's apartment. We took to the air and angled ourselves towards Camp Pendleton. While we flew, Nighty told me how she conquered the base and its leadership. The tl;dr was this:
Our minion brought Nightmare Moon, still hidden in the duffel bag in her mist form, to her direct report who held the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. Once they had privacy, our minion unzipped the duffel bag and Nightmare Moon streamed out. She immediately put both soldiers to sleep. Then she gave the Gunnery Sergeant a shadow parasite and started the Savior dream. Nighty said she put our first minion to sleep so she wouldn't betray us while we were enslaving her boss. Once the Gunnery Sergeant was ready, Nighty woke him up and asked him if he would bring her to his boss. After a bit of discussion, he agreed. She woke up our first minion while the Gunnery Sergeant called his direct report. Once informed that the Gunnery Sergeant had a 'personal matter' to talk about, his direct report agreed to meet with him immediately. According to the Gunnery Sergeant, his direct report was a Sergeant Major. Nighty then sent the first minion back to me.
The same scenario repeated when the Gunnery Sergeant met with the Sergeant Major. Nightmare Moon put them both to sleep while she enslaved the Sergeant Major. After a short conversation, the Sergeant Major agreed to take Nightmare Moon to his direct report, who was the Commanding General of Camp Pendleton. He was the leader of Camp Pendleton, and was our final target of the evening. The Sergeant Major spoke to the Commanding General's aide, who was taking the Commanding General's calls as it was late and long past normal office hours. As with the other soldiers, mentioning that this was a 'private matter' was enough for the Commanding General to agree to a late-night meeting. The Commanding General was at his home, so he asked the Sergeant Major to hold their meeting there. Nightmare Moon readily agreed to the meeting location. The Gunnery Sergeant was sent home, as he was no longer needed.
Again, the same scenario worked out perfectly. However, since the meeting was inside of a home Nightmare Moon had to search the entire house for anyone else living there. While the Commanding General was dreaming the Savior dream, the ebony mare found the man's wife and children and cast a spell on them to keep them asleep until morning. As soon as the Commanding General was enslaved, she dismissed the Sergeant Major and left to get me.
With her story done, Nightmare Moon and I made the rest of the trip in silence. A short time later, the two of us landed in front of the Commanding General's home. It was a single-story building, with a circular driveway in front and bushes up against the walls. There were two SUV's parked in the driveway, and a third, smaller car parked behind them. Between the three cars, the black asphalt driveway was quite full. We walked up the driveway and past the cars, then made our way to the front door. But before we could knock, the Commanding General opened the door.
"Ah yes. Good evening, Mistress."
"And a good evening to you, minion. This feline to my right is my Captain, and my second-in-command. In absence of any orders from me, you will follow his orders instantly. Do you understand?"
"Of course, Mistress. Before you come in, I should tell you that my aide has arrived. He will need to 'join us', if you get my meaning. It will be difficult to execute your orders without his help."
Nightmare Moon immediately turned into her mist form, then streamed past the Commanding General into his home. The two of us started after the dark mare and into the Commanding General's home. We heard a single choked gasp, then silence. The Commanding General then turned back to me.
"My home is yours, Master. Please follow me."
Once I crossed the threshold, the Commanding General closed the door behind me. He then led me into and down the home's foyer. Its bare walls were painted a dark shade of brown. The Commanding General's shoes squeaked on the polished wooden floor, while my feline feet were silent as always. We crossed the small foyer in six steps, then we turned left into what I presumed was the main living room of the house. Directly in front of me were two comfortable powder-blue armchairs, both facing to my left. To my right and behind the armchairs was a large opening, which lead into the kitchen. To the left of the armchairs was a coffee table made of glass, with a few magazines and doilies piled upon the glass surface. Past the coffee table was a couch, which was big enough for three people to sit comfortably upon. The back of the couch was up against the wall, which was painted some shade of tan. Lying on the couch was a man that must have been the Commanding General's aide. He appeared to be asleep, and was presumedly dreaming the Savior dream. Past the couches and chairs on the far wall was a TV and entertainment unit, with maybe 6 or so feet of empty space between the TV and the couches & chairs. The floor was carpeted, a medium pile that was colored a dark chocolate-brown.
I entered the living room, and saw another armchair up against the wall just to my left. The carpet felt soft under my bare feet. There was a small table in the corner, between the couch and chair, which held a lamp. The lamp was turned on, and was the sole light in the room. Nightmare Moon was sitting on the carpet on the far side of the coffee table. She was facing us with the TV to her back. The Commanding General gestured towards the two armchairs, indicating that I should sit in one of them. I took the armchair closest to Nightmare Moon, while he sat in the chair next to the corner table with the lamp. Once we were all settled, the Commanding General spoke to us.
"So Mistress and Master, what can I do for you this evening?"
I deferred the question to Nightmare Moon, who spoke up immediately.
"We would like to have a talk with your direct report, please."
"Much like the 'talk' you had with me tonight?"
Uh oh. Is he aware that he's been enslaved?
I turned to Nightmare Moon to see if she'd picked up on the Commanding General's implication. By how wide her eyes were, it was clear to me that she had. After a moment's pause, she answered.
"Yes, that is correct. Will that be an issue?"
The Commanding General leaned back in his chair, then steepled his fingers. He sat there quietly, examining both Nightmare Moon and I with his eyes. Finally, he spoke.
"I have no issue with that. However, he resides in Washington DC so meeting with him in person will be difficult."
Nightmare Moon turned to me.
"'Washington DC', Captain?"
"It's our nation's capitol, our version of Canterlot. It's on the other side of the country from us, maybe twenty-five hundred or so miles away. Most of the people that run the country are there, including the head of the country. He's called the President."
"Ah. Please continue, minion."
"Yes. Due to the distance between us, all of my communication with my commander is via phone or email or a rare Skype call. In order to get approval to travel to Washington DC and meet with him, I need to have a really good reason to do so. Simply stating that I have a 'personal issue' is not good enough."
"I see. That is unfortunate."
Looks like our little plan ends with the Commanding General here.
"Then I would like to make use of the soldiers under your command. I wish to deploy them to the south, to conquer the city of San Diego and the surrounding areas."
The Commanding General immediately began to fidget in his chair, although he kept his fingers steepled in front of himself. I spoke up before the dark mare could.
"Is there a problem, General?"
"Yes, I...
"I will not attack American citizens. It's against the military code."
"Truly, General? How is this so?"
"I am sworn to protect the Constitution and its citizens, against all enemies foreign and domestic.
"If you wish me to attack Americans, then I will have no choice but to consider you an enemy.
"Don't make me do this, Mistress. Please don't make me do this."
Nightmare Moon responded quickly, to settle the Commanding General and the shadow parasite within him.
"Do not fear, I shall not force thee to fight against the citizenry. I am merely trying to ascertain what options are at my disposal."
As expected, the Commanding General stopped fidgeting as soon as the unpleasant command was lifted.
"Will you move against my people, known as Equestrians?"
In other words, Celestia and the Element Bearers.
"If they attack my Country, I will defend her."
Nightmare Moon made a face, a distasteful one like she had smelled something foul. The conversation was clearly not going the way she wanted it to, so I decided to intervene.
"Will you let your soldiers guard us, or help us set up military law, or something like that?"
"I will not deploy the forces under my command unless I receive a direct order from my superiors."
"You can't act on your own?"
"I can, but only under certain circumstances."
"Like what?"
"If I can't reach my superiors and immediate action is needed."
This isn't working, let's try a different direction.
"Is there any way you can act without direct orders?"
"No.
"Well..."
"Yes?"
"If I receive orders that I deem are illegal, I can ignore them. Or I can choose to act, if the illegal orders ordered me not to do so. But I must be careful, especially at my rank. Disobeying orders is a court-martial offense, and I must prove that the orders were actually illegal not just that I believed them to be illegal."
"So, it's a big risk to disobey orders."
"Quite. It's also a risk to obey orders if those orders were deemed to be illegal. There's no defense for simply following orders."
"Sounds risky."
The Commanding General spread his hands in a gesture of conciliation.
"Such is life.
"Is there anything else you need of me, or can I retire for the evening? I have a busy day tomorrow."
I turned to the ebony mare, who shook her head.
"No, we'll take our leave. Thank you for your time."
"It is my pleasure to help my Mistress. Here, one moment."
The Commanding General leaned over and reached for a binder on top of the coffee table. As soon as he had it, he leaned back in his chair and opened the cover. He removed a small card from the binder, then wrote on it with a pen.
"This card contains the direct line to my office. Give the code phrase 'the lady in the mist', and you will be directly transferred to me."
I took the card from his outstretched hand, and saw it was a standard sized business card with the Commanding General's name, rank and phone number on it. I turned the card over and saw that he had written the code phrase on the back.
"Thank you, we'll be sure to use this soon."
"Oh, yes. Did you have any plans for the Marine Corps Air Station here at Camp Pendleton?"
"Uh, aren't you in charge of it as well?"
"It seems your knowledge of Camp Pendleton is woefully inadequate. Fortunately, I can help you. The Air Station has its own Commanding Officer, though he and I cooperate fully on any matters that involve both commands. When you are ready, I can set up a meeting with him so you two can have your 'talk'."
"Okay. Thank you, we will let you know."
The Commanding General stood up from his chair.
"Then I shall retire for the evening. Let me show you the door."
Nightmare Moon spoke up just as I was about to stand.
"One moment, I have not finished subjugating your aide."
"I see. Once you have finished, exit via the front door and take him with you. Good night."
With that, the Commanding General stood up and left the room. I stayed in my chair and simply waited. About ten or so minutes later, Nightmare Moon proclaimed the Commanding General's aide to be ready. She woke him up, and the three of us made our way out of the Commanding General's home. Once outside and in the cool night air, the ebony mare and I waited until the aide drove off in his compact car before we took to the air. We were heading home early once again, but this time we were ending the evening with a huge success under our wings.
However, we arrived back at the Moon Palace less excited then when we left Camp Pendleton. We discussed that night's conquest on the way home, and realized that we didn't actually have control of the soldiers on the base. Their commander was technically under our control, but he wouldn't do anything that we thought was useful. The problem was that the shadow parasites weren't taking full control of their hosts, and we didn't have an answer for that.
Our plans were failing, and we had to fix them fast - or Nightmare Moon's conquest of Earth would have come to an early end.