Celestia and Luna made their way to their bedrooms together for the second time that night. There was a lingering sense of fear and anxiety regarding the whole situation with the Ghosts and Wraith, and neither of the two sisters wanted to talk about it.
Celestia did however want to talk about how Luna was handling the situation. More specifically, who she was sending to handle it. She had concerns about Quickdraw. Although he was very disciplined when on duty, his loyalty was a cause for concern and he had a tendency to lose himself. It had happened before, when Quickdraw tried to find the pony that killed his brother, and he ended up killing innocent ponies for various reasons ranging from simply being unable to distinguish between his target to killing them because they were related to said targets - it didn't matter to him, he just wanted ponies to suffer as he and the other victims of the experiments did, maybe even more. That, and he said he found it oddly satisfying to watch.
With this operation - 'White Noise' was the name they gave it - Luna ran the risk of Quickdraw going berserk again, as he did when he 'tasted' enough blood.
Celestia took a quick glance at Luna. She was looking straight ahead. Good, Celestia didn't want to give away her worry yet. She didn't quite yet know how to express her concerns without offending Luna; the subject of Quickdraw was a very sensitive one after all.
Before she ran out of time, she decided to spill it straight away and improvise from there. "Luna," she called her name.
"Yes?"
"Do you think you can actually trust Quickdraw to get this all done? The last time he was hunting down his ene-"
"He will be fine. I have the utmost faith in him to complete his mission." Luna interrupted. She didn't want to speak about Quickdraw right now - it would just kickstart her doubts about him. He had always succeeded thus far, why would he throw it all away now?
Celestia however wasn't going to let her questions go unanswered. She stopped and put her hoof out to the side, blocking Luna and making her stop too.
"Listen to me. I know you have your doubts about Quickdraw aswell. He may be our best asset, but mentally? He's deranged. That also makes him our worst asset. How many times has he almost abandoned his post because he saw an opportunity to get... whatever it is he wanted that he couldn't get if he stayed?"
"He may say that working for you has always been beneficial to his needs, but when it isn't, it takes a lot of power to stop him and get him that which he wants, or a substitute for it, without him going on a killing spree or something. You know this as well as I, sister," she ranted, not allowing Luna to interrupt again.
Luna wanted to tell her sister that she was talking nonsense, but truth be told, she knew exactly what she meant. Quickdraw was indescribable. One half of him was a well trained, stone faced soldier that would do anything in service of his superior. The other half was an unstable killer, a being incapable of mercy that would go to extremes just to satisfy his bloodlust.
There was no reasoning behind his actions, and nothing to understand about him. In either of his states, he had almost zero emotion, besides annoyance or a slight smile. That only made him more ambiguous. The only time he would display more was when the situation called for it - such as one of his comrades needing comforting after something bad happened. Most ponies, such as Prisma (until recently) thought that he just had a stiff upper lip, but they didn't know the half of it. And they were the lucky ones.
Luna knew the only way to get Celestia off her case was to agree and tell the truth.
"To be truthful, sister, I do have my doubts about Quickdraw. I know that on this mission there is no chance of Quickdraw not running rampant. However, I also know that his team will be able to stop him and bring some sense into him before he can cause any unnecessary damage or reach the point of no return. He just needs to be reminded every now and then, and nopony does a better job than operative Switch." Luna revealed, "They have been friends since the two were colts, and nopony knows him better."
Celestia gave her a look that screamed "I'm not convinced", prompting her to elaborate with a roll of her eyes.
"Look, Quickdraw's mental state may be akin to that of Tirek, or Discord, but he can be controlled. We must take this risk, his abilities are out of this world. There is no greater fighter than him because of his physical enhancements, and his primary need or want is almost always to use those enhancements to see how much harm he can inflict on the enemy, which will most certainly be met. Unless his needs change, he will not be a threat. You have my word, Tia. If worst comes to worst, I will step in and take care of him myself, but rest assured, Switch will be able to keep him focused on the task at hoof."
That seemed to suffice for Celestia, if only temporarily. She nodded her head and put her hoof down, allowing the two to start walking.
"Tirek? Discord? You have faith in him and yet you compare him to those two?" Celestia joked.
Luna simply shook her head and stayed quiet.
"That's our current plan right now. We're setting off tomorrow, but coming back in a few days to pick you up," Quickdraw fully recounted what was said in the conference room earlier that day.
Switch didn't want to admit it, but he was rather nervous about the whole thing. After a few moments' thought, he saluted half-seriously, half-jokingly, "Right, I'll be ready when you're back." As he said it, Speed appeared next to him copying his exact movements but with his eyes crossed and his tongue stuck out. Still looking at Quickdraw, Switch lifted his hoof up and slammed it down right between Speed's legs.
"AAAaargh! Why would you do that?" Speed uttered in a really high pitched tone.
"Don't make fun of me, asshat," Switch replied snarkily.
Prisma burst out laughing, much to Speed's misfortune. She wiped a few stray tears away as she watched him attempt to stand up, grimacing and almost crying himself. Quickdraw didn't laugh, but he did find it satisfying to see his comrade get what he deserved.
"You didn't... have to... hit my-aaah..." Speed squeaked, making Prisma laugh even more.
"Don't... laugh!" Speed shouted, his voice returning to normal as he gave Prisma a teary glare. "If you had balls you would know what that's-"
"-Okay, enough, Prisma doesn't need to know about that," Quickdraw interrupted, "You deserved it anyway."
"Hey, we'll see if you like it when-"
THUMP
Speed's eyes snapped wide open as Switch landed a second ballbreaker. He flopped to the floor again and stayed there, staring ahead, his eyes staying wide.
"My kids... my sweet, sweet kids..."
"PFFFFFFHAHAAA!" Prisma burst out laughing again aswell, losing her balance and falling onto Quickdraw's side.
Quickdraw flinched a little, but it wasn't noticeable to anypony else in the room. He slowly moved his eyes down to Prisma, watching her as she laughed at Speed. She was being very forward with him recently, a lot more than she ever had been. He normally wouldn't care, but it was a deep contrast to how she was not too long ago. If she fell onto his side like that a few months ago, she would be right back up and apologising for it. Also, what was she doing here after Celestia took her out of the meeting room? Celestia must've sent her here for some reason. At least she wasn't stressing over everything now, so whatever Celestia told her to do here must have worked.
Looking back up, he saw that Speed was still on the floor sulking over his newfound infertility and glaring daggers at Switch, who whistled in response.
"You started a war, Switchy... ugh," Speed muttered slowly through gritted teeth.
"Switchy?" Switch repeated in a disgusted tone. "I'll drop an anvil on your balls if you repeat that, slowpoke!"
"Goddamn slowpoke..." Speed grumbled, "I hate being called slow..."
Quickdraw looked up at the clock. It read 12:47am. Well shit, he thought. There was no way they were going to get enough sleep for tomorrow unless they set off late, and Quickdraw wasn't fond of doing that. He would have them set off at the usual time (6 o'clock), but Prisma, not to mention Speed, would be far too groggy to function properly, and that would result in them not being as effective as possible in the field. He decided to wrap things up here - they didn't need to waste any more time than they already had.
"Okay, it's late and Operation White Noise commences tomorrow. Everyone, get to bed."
Speed looked up at Quickdraw from the floor with puppy eyes. "Awww, but sleep is boring!" he whined. Quickdraw gave him a stern look, muting any more arguments from the little blue stallion in an instant.
"Now."
With a sigh, Speed got up and walked towards the door. On his way out, he pointed at Quickdraw with his wing and mouthed 'lovebirds' at him.
Confused, Quickdraw tilted his head. "What?"
A snort from Quickdraw's right then followed, which served as a reminder that there was one more pony in the room. That pony being the mare still leaning on his side. He didn't know until he looked down at her that she had actually fallen asleep on him.
"I think she's warming up to you," Switch cooed, Quickdraw moaning in response.
Not really knowing what else to do, Quickdraw tapped Prisma on the head a few times, but she wouldn't wake up. She stirred a little but stayed asleep otherwise.
Switch spoke up once again, "She ain't getting up?"
"No," Quickdraw answered.
"I guess you're gonna have to carry her to her room then."
"I'm not doing that," Quickdraw instantly retorted. He began to press down on her head a little harder in an attempt to wake her up, which still didn't work.
"Don't think you don't have a choice, Draw."
"I can see that, Captain Obvious."
Great, Quickdraw thought, Of course she's a heavy sleeper. With a grunt of frustration, Quickdraw picked Prisma up and, with Switch's help, placed her on his back, keeping her still with his wings. Afterwards, he nodded his goodbye and left the room.
After closing the door, Quickdraw muttered 'goddamn it' under his breath. He was going to draw so much unwanted attention because of this. Probably more than he was getting now, what with all the nurses looking at him.
Quickdraw looked around at all of them and slammed his hoof down, ordering them to get back to work and mind their businesses, before leaving the infirmary and heading straight towards the Ghosts' barracks. He didn't need anypony asking him about it - that would only add to the inconvenience that Quickdraw was already suffering enough from. Everypony he passed gave him a questioning stare - they knew Quickdraw would never carry a sleeping mare around. Well, they thought they knew.
After turning the corner near the stairs, Quickdraw stopped just before he ran face first into Speed, who had a goofy grin and wide eyes on his face. He was clearly waiting for Quickdraw.
"BOO!"
Quickdraw stared unamused at Speed for a few seconds, blinking. "That was a horrible attempt. What were you even trying to do?" he asked.
Speed hesitated. Clearly he didn't think this far into his plan.
"I, uh, wanted... to scare you?" he guessed, "I don't actually know." He slumped down, before springing right back up onto his hooves with a wide smile. "Sooo, Prisma clearly likes you hmm?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Enough, stop it. She was stressed out before and whatever she did with Celestia and Switch clearly calmed her down enough for her to fall asleep," Quickdraw explained. "...and not wake up."
Speed's smile widened, signalling to Quickdraw that he was in one of his 'annoy everypony' moods. "Why would she fall asleep on you though? Seems a little romantic to me, hehe!"
Quickdraw was getting bored of this. "Speed, please, just please... fuck off."
Chuckling at Quickdraw's annoyance, Speed pestered him further. "Jeez, boss, I don't think I've ever seen you this pissed off before! What's gotten into ya?"
He suddenly flinched as he saw Quickdraw's hoof reaching for his face. Speed dodged right in the nick of time, Quickdraw's hoof skimming against his cheek as he flipped around to Quickdraw's left side. "Missed me! Boy is your age slowing you down!" he taunted as the two began walking again.
"I'm only four years older than you," Quickdraw clarified, "and your name is Speed. It would be a sin if you were too slow to dodge that."
The two descended down the stairs leading to the Ghost Barracks. Upon reaching the last step, Speed scoffed, poking further. "Meh, I didn't even try. Why I bet an old mule could have dodged that-OOF!"
In a flash, Quickdraw had Speed on the floor with both front hooves holding him down, rendering him immobile. "Am I slow for my age, or do you not live up to your name?" he roasted Speed.
"Slow for your age!" Speed giddily shouted like a little colt. Quickdraw grabbed Speed's left forehoof and twisted it into a lock behind his back, tightening it immensely.
"OW OW OW! I DON'T LIVE UP TO MY NAME!" Speed cried, taking his previous statement back. "OWOWOW! STOP STOP STOP!" He started squirming underneath Quickdraw, trying to loosen his grip.
"What was that?" Quickdraw asked, tightening his grip just that little bit more, making Speed cry out more.
"I DON'T LIVE UP TO MY NAME YOU SADISTIC FUCK LET GO OF ME- AH!"
Quickdraw grinned, satisfied with his revenge. He pulled Speed up whilst keeping his forehoof locked, somehow not breaking it. He had to admit he enjoyed making Speed suffer. He watched as Speed shakily got up, keeping his left forehoof off the ground. "You always take things too far, you know that?" he managed to sound both angry and happy at the same time.
The two started heading to the barracks once again. Quickdraw could feel something moving around on his back, pushing against his wings. He tried swatting whatever it was away, but a feminine voice unexpectedly called out.
"Ah! What the...?"
Prisma's head poked out between his wings and looked around, confused and groggy.
Speed slid underneath Quickdraw's hooves and hovered next to Prisma's head. "Rise and shine sleepyhead! Enjoying your ride?"
Prisma had no idea what Speed was talking about. She didn't even know where she was, now that she thought of it.
"Speed? What's going on?" she asked.
"Your stallion's just taking you back to your room," Speed replied in a suggestive tone.
"Wha-WOAH!" Prisma jumped in shock, landing on her plot behind Quickdraw. "QUICKDRAW! What? I wasn't! Where? Wh-"
"-You fell asleep on me when we were talking to Switch and wouldn't wake up. I was taking you back to your room."
Prisma's eyes snapped open at the realisation of what she did. "I fell asleep on Quickdraw?" she thought out loud. She then flinched as Speed shouted into her left ear, practically deafening her.
"Sure did!"
"OhmygoshsorryQuickdrawIdidn'tmmeanto..." Prisma trailed off and looked down, her cheeks puffing a very deep shade of red. Quickdraw turned around to face her and sighed.
"It's fine. Just... try not to do that again."
Speed looked like he was about to say something, but was silenced by Quickdraw pointing a wing at him.
"As for you, if you even bother, I'll triple the amount of damage Switch did to your balls."
That was more than enough for Speed to comply. He flinched at Quickdraw's statement and took a step backwards, his back legs crossing. "Err, yes boss, sorry."
With Prisma now wide awake, the three set off (for Quickdraw's fourth time now) towards their quarters. Speed was silent for the rest of the journey, his concern for his balls taking over him completely.
Quickdraw had the rest of the squad up by eight in the morning, despite what he thought last night. He needed them to be up earlier anyway so that they could check if their equipment was sufficient before they left.
Each Ghost had special gear for this operation, along with a few adjustments of their own. As well as their usual black and fern suits, they each had thin metal plated body armor over their chests, designed to block arrows and withstand explosives whilst not being to heavy to carry around. They were given enhanced flight goggles - the lenses were sturdy enough to also block arrows, and they were capable of night and thermal vision.
Prisma's flight suit was made out of a special material that improved her overall grip on surfaces - perfect for keeping her steady and not slipping when she would be working from a vantage point. She also had a strap for her crossbow so that she didn't need to carry it in her hooves all the time.
Speed's face mask covered his mouth, which allowed his breaths to be quieter when he needed to infiltrate an enemy building. He had a knife holster on his left shoulder that allowed for easy access when the dagger was needed.
Switch's flight suit (for when he recovered) was prepared with extra armor around his shoulders and flank. This would allow him to act as a shield for the others if needed, and it wasn't too heavy for him because of his larger size.
Quickdraw had a belt secured around his waist that could carry two daggers, one at each side.
Currently, the Ghosts were at a workshop in a separate underground area next to their HQ. The workshop didn't belong to the Ghosts themselves but was used for all military forces within the castle.
"You're sure this armor is good enough to stop anything from breaking through?" he asked Hot Shot - a muscular cream coloured unicorn stallion with a short, swept back red mane, and the Ghosts' main arms dealer.
"Relax kiddo, ain't nuthin' gonna break through it." Hot Shot answered, confident with his abilities.
Quickdraw wasn't convinced. "Definitely? I don't want any of us to go down because your armor was faulty, like last time, if you remember?"
"Hey, that's because I gave you the weakest armor, at your request, might I conveniently add, and you went and got hit with damn rockets!" Hot Shot fired back.
Prisma was getting tired of listening to the two bicker like they always did. She thought of one way to prove Hot Shot right (or wrong), and that was a practical test. There was a crossbow hung up on the wall behind her, and a few modified arrows on a table next to it.
"We didn't know they had explosives! If we did then-"
CLANG
Quickdraw felt something small bump against his side. Upon looking, he saw a broken arrow on the floor next to him, and Prisma holding a crossbow. Giving her a stern glare, he deadpanned, "You just shot me in the side."
"As you can see, the armor works well enough. Stop bickering with our dear armorer here, and let's go." Prisma replied snarkily.
Hot Shot cut in after her. "Thank you Prisma. Now shut up and appreciate the work I put into these designs Cap'. They are perfect."
Quickdraw grunted. Turning back to face Hot Shot, he murmured, "Yeah, clearly. Thanks."
Hot Shot nodded in thanks and turned towards a metal table. There was a small gadget on the table with multiple tools strewn around it. The gadget was small and had rotors, making it capable of flight. It also had a small lens at the front, where a camera could broadcast the drone's view back to the user. He was currently programming said lens to move accordingly with a small wing-held controller.
Speed noticed what Hot Shot was doing and walked up to the device. His eyes wandered over it in curiosity before he asked, "Hey, what's this?"
"It's a new project I'm workin' on. A drone. Capable of scouting out areas without the risk of being spotted. That's if I can install this cloaking skin type thingy on to the thing first," Hot Shot explained.
"Cloaking skin?" Speed questioned.
"Yeah, assuming it works, the drone exterior will be able to bend light around it, making it invisible. Pretty cool, eh?"
Speed looked back at the drone. If the cloak could work, that would make scouting a whole lot easier. "That's pretty neat. When do you think it'll be ready?"
"No idea, kid. If you don't break any of my other stuff while you're out there and let me work on this twen'y four/ seven, then I can have it ready for y'all a lot quicker. I'm only making four though, one for each of ya. DON'T break 'em." Hot Shot emphasised the 'no breaking' rule, since it was violated almost every other time he created a new design for anything.
"Nice..." Speed commented, scanning over the drone once more.
"Speed! Let's go!" Quickdraw called from the door to the workshop, snapping Speed's concentration out of the drone. He turned and waved goodbye at Hot Shot before catching up to Quickdraw and Prisma, the three leaving the workshop.
"Alright, let's get this brief done and dusted, then let's go," Quickdraw ordered as they made their way to the conference room to meet with Luna.
While Prisma and Speed were still asleep, Luna told Quickdraw that she had a few contacts that were willing to give her some information to assist him. That information was going to be revealed as soon as Luna and the Ghosts were together in the conference room. Given the time, they would be ready to deploy by eleven at the latest, which was plenty of time for them to make sufficient progress before nightfall.
When they entered the conference room, they found that Luna was already waiting for them. Quickdraw took the initiative and apologised for making the princess wait for them.
"At ease, Commander," Luna replied with a wave of her hoof. "Our contacts have given us some information regarding Wraith patrol routes and outposts. They will aid you in finding Wraith captains and commanders and shutting their operations down."
The Ghosts gathered around the main table where Luna had laid out the information. There was a small map with some red lines on it, a few photos of the 'outposts' which were also marked on the map, and a photo of a red pegasus stallion with a spiky yellow mane and tail.
"These outposts are minor, mind, and will only have limited intel. However, the soldiers may be of use." Luna continued. "Each patrol squad has a captain that reports to any soldiers in the outposts upon their return. These soldiers then report to their superiors, and those report to the commanders."
Luna then tapped the photo of the red pegasus. "We know of one commander, name of Riot. He was in command of the compound you raided previously before it was shut down, all contents moved to another location. They are in charge of planning, and have a small involvement in the Wraith weapons operations, mainly testing. You can intercept the patrol routes or attack the outposts directly, it is up to you how you want to proceed."
Quickdraw studied the patrol routes and outpost locations; they were in the same forest as the old compound, but on the other side of it. Prisma and Speed made a note of the general location aswell, but they knew that Quickdraw would remember exactly where to go.
Quickdraw nodded to himself after a moment's thought and turned to Luna with a salute, the others following suit. "We will use this information and be able to track down Riot by the time operative Switch is ready to deploy, ma'am."
Luna smiled a little. Quickdraw's eyes showed determination - she was confident he would deliver as promised. "Very well. I will see to it that Switch is ready for deployment in three days. I expect to see you then and hear about your progress. You are dismissed."
The three nodded in sync and left the room.