//------------------------------// // Summons // Story: Crimson Warlord: How do I feel? // by shattered_sky //------------------------------// East of Canterlot was the city of Manehattan. Manehattan was like no other city. The skyscrapers, the commerce and the bustling harbor. Canterlot may be one of the greatest architectural wonders but there was something about this city. Ponies went about their business, merchants selling fare from all over Equestria and the harbor where creatures around the world came and go. Of course there was the fear, but it was way less pronounced than in the little villages and cities. People – not just ponies – went on their lives. Despite the war brought by the Celestial Tyrants. Despite being the nearest city to Celestia’s seat of technological might Fillydelphia. Despite the large guard presence. People did not give in to the fear. Of course there was crime and strife. But it was way better than a decade ago. Infact Manehattan used to be a cesspool of the unsavory and criminal elements of society. Sophont trafficking, smuggling, gang activity and more… “And it’s all thanks to us!” Light dust proudly declared. “Some thanks we get though.” She pouted. She was known as Mrs. Saturday. Member of the gang that called themselves ‘Flavor of the week’. She lay down on top of a crate and stretched. The huge brown stallion pushing the crate smiled and rolled his eyes. He grunted as he lifted the crate – larger than himself – and tossed it unto a high stack. He daintily wiped his bushy brows and sighed. Mountain Express was known as Mr. Monday and his cutie mark was a parcel. “Ugh we work sooooooooo hard!” LD complained, rubbing her eyes. Mountain chuckled and ‘hmm’d’ in response. “I mean I get it, we gotta keep the other gangs in line. And we keep Celestia’s lackeys out of the picture-” “Imperative even.” He cut off as he started pouring gasoline all over the warehouse. “-but they should cut us some slack. We haven’t got a new Friday!” She continued her rant. “Including the creepy dog there is only six of us!” “Be nice. She’s my daughter.” Mountain gently chided. “And OUR boss.” He added more firmly. “Although we are seven. The boss just doesn’t have a day.” “Well Pepper is dog. A diamond dog to be exact.” A lean but muscular grey diamond dog reasoned. Pepper wore a brown vest with various metal plates attached. A claymore was strapped to his back. “Not you Tuesday, the frou frou mutt!” She poked her head to glare at the diamond dog. Mountain rubbed his face and grunted. “She is alpha of pack. Respect her, yes?” Tuesday clasped his hands and smiled. “She help us. Then we help others. And we help each other.” He happily declared and mountain nodded in agreement. “There is a reason she doesn’t fight.” Mountain added. “But she’s weird! And she’s hardly around too.” LD complained. Pepper dug into one of the containers. Fabrics that held cubes of salt. He grabbed a cube and called out to LD. “Salt?” He offered. “Gimme.” LD abruptly replied and Pepper tossed it at her. LD held in her hooves and licked it a few times. “Oh, yeah… That’s the stuff.” She smiled stupidly. Mountain shook his head disapprovingly as he pushed a few more crates to the center of the room. “You need help?” Pepper asked. Mountain smiled and pointed at Lightning Dusk swaying on top of the pile. “Ah yes, Saturday.” He smirked as he looked up. He sighed as Mountain went past him and pushed the crate he was digging in. All of these firearms and salt seemed to go to waste. He thought it was a complete waste. But orders were orders. “Get down now.” Mountain commanded, LD gave an exaggerated sigh in return. “Yes, I will catch you.” Pepper chimed in. He dug through the crate again and grabbed a bundle of towels. He held his arms out and grinned. “Soft and comfy.” Mountain watched with interest as Pepper grinned wickedly for a moment. Lightning Dusk looked on in a daze. She shifted into a pouncing stance. She must have forgot that she was a Pegasus because instead of gliding down she jumped with her wings shut. Halfway her descent Pepper nailed her with the bundle of towels. “Oof!” She hit the ground with a soft thud. Pepper snickered as he removed the Pegasus from the bundle. He tossed the cloth back into the crate. LD appeared to be unconscious. “Lightweight. It’s just salt.” He muttered as he hoisted her over his shoulders. Mountain splashed gasoline all over the crates and shook his head. “Unrefined.” Mountain grunted. He didn’t want to go into detail how it affected ponies, nor did he want to detail her problem with controlled substances. “Let’s go.” He commanded. Pepper nodded and they left the warehouse. “I wonder. How is boss?” Pepper curiously asked. He was digging for something in his pack. “Pony King wants to talk. Maybe we have a new member?” He was curious and a bit off put he wasn’t there. “Though new friends are welcome, yes?” He grinned widely, his tail wagging. Mountain grunted in agreement. “We need people from the system.” He commented as he spied his surroundings. The thick fog ensured than workers would not go in this side of the harbor. But only until the weather division came by. However due to the major weather factories in ruin many Pegasi we laid off. Which meant they had a lot of time. But mountain wanted to be far away before authorities knew. “Leader is quite powerful. How she make fog?” Pepper questioned as he pulled out a Molotov. “I don’t know.” He patiently replied. “Well, we finish soon. We should celebrate.” He pulled out a lighter and lit the rag. Mountain’s ears twitched. He slowly turned around and shook his head. He tried to reach out and stop him but he already tossed the Molotov. “With fireworks!” He yelled as he jumped for the water. The huge blast let out a huge shockwave which knocked LD and Pepper farther. Mountain stood his ground and one of the large steel doors was propelled in his direction. He punched it aside before diving into the water. Pepper surfaced and was laughing hard, the Pegasus held over his head. His posture was relaxed and his feet were keeping him afloat despite all of weight he carried. Mountain resurfaced a few seconds later and floated over to the diamond dog. He glared at Pepper and he merely chuckled in return. “Let’s get out of here.” Mountain said after a while. He would have a word with this dog later. ****** A white and pink canine was being escorted by three unicorn guards. They bore the purple and navy blue armor of the Guard. Both male unicorns had a grey coat due to the enchantments of the armor. Except for the officer in the front who kept her red mane and white coat. The mare at the front, Sargent Moondancer was in a foul mood. “Ah Moony. Thank you very much. You shouldn’t have” The pink canine sweetly cooed. Two pink, blue and white ribbon like appendages on her head fixed her yellow sunhat. She smiled at the guards beside her. “And such hardworking gentlemen. Taking me right to the palace on short notice.” She praised. Both guards couldn’t help but smile. “And quite far was the distance we’ve travelled. It isn’t hard on all of you?” She asked in concern. “No mam. It’s our duty, no need to thank us.” “And we’re quite fine. With Sarge here it’s a breeze. She’s very-“ “Private Zoom and Private Pot! I did not give you permission to speak.” Moondancer snapped. “And you will refer to your superior with the respect which is due. Is that clear!” She bellowed. “Mam yes mam!” They responded with a salute before walking again. Private Zoom to the right squeaked a request. “Permission to speak freely?” “Denied.” She growled out. Private Zoom sighed and looked sad. “Well I’m not a soldier so I’ll talk AT both of you.” She happily concluded. Both guard perked up at her statement Serene Grace went on to thank the Guards for their service. She also talked about the charity concert she was singing at a few weeks ago. She talked about her various hobbies outside of work. Eventually Moondancer dismissed the guards in frustration and teleported herself and near the meeting room. “Aw. That wasn’t nice.” She pouted at the interruption. “Look cut the horseshit. You know why you’re here.” Moondancer growled. She faced down the canine. Serene’s expression went blank as she started tracing lines in front of Moondancer’s face. The sergeants left eyelid twitched. “What are you doing?” She broke into a goofy smile. “I’m tracing constellations and your freckles are stars…” She then made beeping noises. Moondancer turned around and walked to the nearest wall. She then rhythmically banged her head against it. “And I thought soldiers were more disciplined.” She smiled as Moondancer did strangling motions with her hooves. “You seem on edge. Do you want to talk about it?” Moondancer found that there was something about this woman that made her blood boil. Moondancer stared at Serene for a good while before opening the door. “Just get in” She tiredly said. “Thank you kindly.” Serene gave another sweet smile before entering. The office that she entered was really bare but clean. The black tiled floor and the grey walls gave the room a very depressive atmosphere. The very nice looking mahogany desk seemed out of place here. A grey stallion wearing a green and white suit was idly chewing a folder. “So that’s all the information they have? Disappointing.” He muttered before his mouth expanded to swallow the whole thing. Chewing loudly he opened his eyes. Which oddly looked like strawberries in a sea of yellow, literally. Serene tried not to think about it. The stallion smiled broadly at the Sylveon. “Ah, good evening to you. Thank you for coming on such short notice.” He clapped his hooves and a red gaming chair erupted from the floor. “Please have a seat, we have some things to discuss.” He invited. Serene walked over to the chair and a footstool appeared so that she could easily get up. “Hello C, doing good for yourself these days I see.” She tried to strike up a conversation. “So how have you been?” “Quite fine. I do apologize for whisking you away all of a sudden. But I wanted to give your assignments in person.” He explained. His face went serious as he pulled out a few reports out of thin air. “And I have some… reservations on how your team handles things.” “We get the job done Director Curiosity. You only care about the results.” She stated matter-of-factly. “I don’t see what the problem is.” She gave a coy smile. “Look Serene, you’ve done a lot of things. And I’ve been begging the Director of Night Shift to not shelve the Warlord Initiative.” Curiosity explained. This wiped the smile on her face. “If she drops this I can’t do anything. And you’d be sent to Tartarus for ALL of your crimes. So tone it down.” Night Shift, the covert organization used to be run by Director Luna before her corruption. Now run by Director White. Director White backed by the crown was tasked to handle criminal threats in various cities. Curiosity Impact came up with the Warlord Initiative to use ex-convicts to police the various cities underworlds. The dubbed Warlords were criminals or very influential people who wielded their power for the crown’s interests. Who would think the singer and actress Serene Grace was a Warlord? “I thought I knew you. But I keep finding more horrifying things in your past-“ “Well Director, my past does not make who I am.” She reasoned. A different smile appeared on her face, wicked. “I toil for the well-being of this country. I hope that Director White realizes that. Without me Manehattan would be a cesspool of corruption and crime.” “Your services are well appreciated so up to this point we’ve left you to your own devices. But if you keep on going like this… Causing large scale collateral damage and loss of civilian life… I can’t help you.” He calmly spoke. “So please Serene, I need you to proceed with more care. You’re a scalpel not a fucking sledgehammer. Conduct your operations with this in mind.” “Of course director. I understand.” She nodded. “Do you? Because just half an hour ago you blew up a warehouse. I hope this kind of incident does not repeat.” “How did you know?” She raised an eyebrow. “Director White is trying to keep tabs on you. Your mission was to destroy the illegal weaponry and substance.” He groaned. “Not a whole warehouse.” He then tapped the table a few times before pulling out an empty bottle. “What’s taking his update so long?” “Oh I have an idea.” ******* A griffon garbed in a black monks garb was meditating. Various wooden charms adorned his body and a grey bandanna was wrapped around his head. He was also humming to himself. “Inner peace…” A drop of water from a nearby snapped him out of concentration for a moment he growled and began to chant ‘inner peace’ over and over again. He was simply referred to as Sunday. Nobody in the team actually knew his name. The door slammed open. He got up with a start and growled. A dark brown unicorn mare was levitating a sack over her head and a monkey hanged from her shoulder. The unicorn mare wore a weathered brown jacket and she had a long spiky mane. The monkey only wore a pair of jeans and carried a black briefcase. “Ah Kapatid! Nice to see you!” The monkey greeted in a heavily accented English. He leapt off and filled a pail with water, putting the briefcase aside. “They are finished. But we have some lose ends.” He shut off the faucet and grabbed a chair. The middle aged monkey was Armando. Called Isboy by friends and Wednesday by his teammates. The unicorn mare emptied the contents of the sack, which was a young stallion “Hey wait a minute… Where have I seen this person?” “Pony.” The mare absent mindedly corrected. She tied the stallion to the chair and levitated the pail of water to her side. This was Quills, Mrs. Thursday. Her cutie mark oddly enough was pink sheet with a needle and thread. “Person. Tao kapatid. It is general term Wednesday.” The monkey answered back in irritation. “Speaking of… I think I know this stallion.” “We’ll find out.” She replied as she splashed the stallion with water. He groaned and coughed and after processing his current situation he began to struggle against his bonds. “Now who do you work for?” She demanded. A face palm and a face claw. “Have you tortured someone before?” The monkey asked “She has quite an intimating presence. So most likely not.” The griffon answered. “Water flows free from the cracks, and a gentle push makes it gush out.” “A virgin.” “I... W-what!?” The griffon rounded on the monkey “A tree digs it roots deep into the earth and even the strongest, are overcome by storm. How much more those frail and thin!” He shouted at the monkey. “I don’t get it.” The griffon let out a roar and assaulted the wall with his claws. The monkey and unicorn covered their ears. The assault lasted a good few minutes which left the griffon panting and growling. He eventually calmed down and leaned on the wall, crossing his arms. The monkey shrugged and started looking around the panicking stallion. “What he means you’re going to break one way or another.” The mare stretched and her horn crackled with a lightning spell. “Well mam I don’t think that’s necessary.” He nervously supplied in a high pitch voice. The mare frowned, he was hardly an adult. “It’s just a misunderstanding.” He smiled. She now had reservations about hurting him. But she needed to know which side of the fence he was on. “Wait a minute I know who this is! It’s little Mash. Except not so little anymore.” The monkey realized as he crouched down and examined the controller cutie mark. “Heh. So you’re working nights huh?” The monkey rubbed his chin. He couldn’t help but chuckle as Button Mash paled. “Night Shift?” The griffon raised an eyebrow. “Okay then, a little test.” The mare decided. “Long nights but it’s the first light. Wrong for right, out of sight, I guard the night.” The mare recited. Which identified herself as the Warlord’s ally. “Day or night, out of sight. Dark be brought to light. And into night wrought light.” He recited in return. “You… weren’t supposed to see me.” “This young man is an agent?” The monkey spoke in disbelief. “They get younger and younger.” He shook his head in disapproval. “Good job of staying out of sight.” The griffon sarcastically muttered before freeing Button Mash. “You two idiots just foalnapped an agent. Great!” He kicked the pail and shattered it. Mash jumped back in surprise. “Well… You got me. Director isn’t happy about the way things are going here.” He explained. “So he wanted me to check on things.” “You’re the pony that had been tailing us. They’re usually satisfied with our reports. So what changed?” She narrowed her eyes and fixed her gaze on the stallion. “Well Director C and Warlord Serene are currently having a discussion. There have been a few incidents that made my superiors… concerned. So they sent me to keep an eye on things.” He explained. “Oh buck. I need to make my report.” He realized and he went into panic. Wordlessly Quills floated over the briefcase to Mash. When he grabbed it she threw him out of the room. “That was unnecessary.” Both Sunday and Wednesday said at the same time. Armando walked towards Quills with his arms open. “We don’t need any more trouble Quills.” The monkey added. “Shove it. Why, do you have any problems?” She faced down the monkey. “Hmmm… yes actually.” He pondered for a few minutes before grinning widely. “I don’t want to go back to Darkside. Tang ina. I might just be thrown in Tartarus.” His grin was replaced with a somber expression. “We’ll we shall know our fate when our boss comes back.” Sunday sighed. “We are but wolves on a leash. Heedless of our true nature we guard sheep. But what use do they have for us, if we turn on those we are supposed to protect? Of course, we would be put down like the wild beasts we are.” Now Quills looked somber too. ******* “I believe you understand the gravity of the situation Serene.” Curiosity rubbed his temples. “Of course Director.” She replied seriously “So what’s next on the menu? My team grows restless quite fast.” “There are a few matters that should be addressed. And one that requires immediate attention.” Curiosity pulled out a sheet of cardboard and folded it into a box. Turning it upside down, a few thick binders spilled out. Serene reached out with her ribbons to lift the files. They stared at each other for a while. “…You might as well take the box.” He muttered. The papers now back in the box Curiosity gave a short summary. “The first case had something to do with a portable turret known as a Sentry. Apple Corp has developed this machine. It’s a small compact machine with targeting talismans which ensure its accuracy. It scans targets for a card and if they do not possess one it lets out a barrage of small caliber rounds on targets.” He explained. “And someone got ahold of some blueprints?” Serene guessed. “Exactly. My concern is it’s not available in the market yet. So somepony leaked the blueprints to a third party. I do not want this to end up in Celestia’s hooves.” He slammed his hoof down. “There’s something else right?” Serene smiled. “Of course they wouldn’t be forward with ALL of its capabilities. And I’m guessing it was commissioned by the government. So if this was all it did it wouldn’t be that dangerous.” Curiosity glared at her for a moment before sighing in defeat. “Data on how to manufacture synthetic mana stone. Self-repair talismans. A variable weapon system. This kind of technology is far ahead of our time.” “Impossible.” Serene insisted. “Nobody in the world is smart enough for that.” “You underestimate earth pony ingenuity. Earth ponies created prototype tanks pre-unification era.” Curiosity countered with a smirk. “You mean giant hulks of metal pushed by earth ponies?” She idly observed her nails before scoffing. “They created cannons, I give them credit for that though.” She poked around in the files. “But the complexities of the spell matrices…” “You do bring up a valid point. But they have skilled unicorns too.” He then studied Serene intently “Another angle howere should be considered. A decade ago these so called digimon-“ “You know I’m a Pokémon C.” “-started popping all over. Who knows what other sort of creatures followed? And who’s to say just THESE creatures came?” He sighed and pulled out a chocolate mug. “For all I know there’s alien geniuses, comic book heroes, medieval humans and all sorts of crazy individuals under my nose.” He raised his hooves in frustration. “And now they have a bucking city!” He coughed into his hoof. “But I digress, I got carried away for a bit.” “I’ll get to the bottom of potential security breaches myself.” He promised. “I need you to get that data back. And eliminate the individuals responsible. Eliminate manufactured models if it progresses that far. Destroy all traces and copied data.” Serene gave a sweet smile. “Consider it done.” Curiosity offered a white chocolate mug but she politely declined. “About the other cases?” “To be honest I don’t have information much on the others.” Curiosity admitted. “But there’s been a rumor that the Alicorns actually have children. And I find the idea of half a dozen Alicorns flying around incredibly disturbing.” “As far as I know Cadenza does.” “You’re correct. She has daughter, Flurry Heart.” He pulled out a folder and revealed it to be empty. “Shining Armor himself confirmed it before his death. And now she’s gone missing. They were concealing it but we managed to capture one of their agents. And his mission was to return her only daughter.” Serene remained silent so he continued. “If we could get her we could use her as a bargaining chip. Or better yet, we could have an Alicorn on our side.” “I find that sickening. Not sure what’s worse brainwashing or foalnapping. She’s at least a teen.” “You manipulate ponies.” “Yes. But I’m a predator. Ponies are prey so hearing that from you is not just hypocritical. It’s against your nature.” She reasoned. “My kind uses our unassuming appearance to lure prey into a false sense of security. My feelers as bait and Pheromones to disarm would be threats.” “Thank you. Should I add that to your file?” He dryly asked. “Look just keep an eye out. You aren’t just going to run into her but they can’t get her back. A decade later she would be just as dangerous as the Celestial Diarchs.” “I do have some leads for you. But they’re cold at best. So we should move on.” “Anything else aside from looking for proverbial needles in the ocean?” “There has been rumors of a Voodoo master which has been giving out bad deals and cursing others.” He gestured to the box. “There had been a number of weird occurrences. A noble pony disappearing while his servant acquired riches. Ponies missing their hearts and eyes. A dragon maid in comatose. Somepony even aged a few decades. Among others.” “I’d dismiss them as separate cases. But an asset who dabbles in such arts described it as ‘vile and black’. And apparently all cases have traces of the same magic. Unfortunately I’m not well versed in such arts.” “I have friends on the other side~.” She sang ominously. At Curiosity’s raised eyebrow she giggled. “Oh it just reminds me of a song and some stories.” “Well the last thing I want you to look in is some deaths.” He finally gobbled up the chocolate cup before continuing. “Five ponies have died from odd circumstances.” “How so?” “They’re corpses were exsanguinated. Like colored raisins in fact. But on further study we found that they had small cuts.” His tail swished back and forth. “And lack of cutie marks.” “This is interesting. First time I’ve heard of such circumstances.” She frowned. “This is horrendous.” “Yes. This is certainly a vile magic. Ponies very being is stolen away from them.” He gritted his teeth. Obviously distraught at the idea. “The deaths are months apart. The most recent one was two weeks ago actually.” Serene chewed on her ribbon, trying to recall something. “Two weeks ago?” She scowled. “Quills saw a body at the morgue matching your description. At first I thought he was too young to have a cutie mark. But his identity was confirmed. In fact he received his cutie mark a few weeks. Before his death.” She sighed sadly. “Such a tragedy…” He nodded in agreement “Well that is all I have at the moment. You may take your leave.” He smiled and walked over to her. He offered a hoof and assisted her in getting down. “I’ve arranged a chariot to bring you back. I apologize, Moondancer is currently indisposed at the moment.” She wrapped a ribbon around his hoof. “Did I annoy her too much?” “Yes but that’s irrelevant. She has other tasks you know.” “So why did you call me?” She innocently asked. At his confused expression she giggled. “You could have sent the files. Or even sent someone to debrief me and my team.” He didn’t know this. But she was able to feel his emotions when her ribbon was wrapped around someone like this. A lot of sadness, some happiness, some anger and lots and lots of guilt. He felt embarrassed at the question she asked. “Things have been hard. I just wanted to see an old acquaintance. There are very few people who I enjoy company with.” He admitted. “I’m flattered.” She gushed as she removed her ribbon. “We are hunters Serene. You and I see things in a similar light. And we both stalk other predators in the shadows.” His voice fell to a whisper. “We are both monsters. There is no doubt. But everything we do is to make things better. Please try to remember that.” “As irrational as it sounds… I feel a certain kinship with you.” He sighed. “Maybe I’m just getting old. Or maybe Discord’s gift is driving me to madness. Or maybe the madness is the byproduct of all of the secrets and vile things.” She put a paw on his shoulder. “We could relax and have tea someday. You should have a vacation.” She offered. He shook his head. “No. I cannot indulge myself.” He smiled. “But thanks for your concern. Goodbye. The night watches.” He nodded as the doors swung open. “And the day gives life.” She bowed her head As she walked to the palace runway she was escorted to her ride. The two privates from earlier escorted her. She had a conversation with them and they seemed really happy. At the end she offered them tickets to her next concert. They were overjoyed. As she rode back her happy expression shifted to a blank one. “Kinship? What a foolish sentiment.”