//------------------------------// // A Weary Agent // Story: A Disparate Bond // by the7Saviors //------------------------------// Fleur stepped into her room and lightly closed the door behind her with a weary sigh. After having heard what she just did, she had to once again thank her keen instincts for the decision she'd made to keep quiet. Some would've called it rampant paranoia, but Fleur wouldn't have gotten where she was today if it hadn't been for that 'rampant paranoia', so if that's what they wanted to call it, that was fine with her. As far as she was concerned, they were keen instincts and they were a blessing. Just because you're paranoid and all that... She stretched languidly and let out a jaw-cracking yawn before moving past her simple ivory vanity and armoire to reach the nightstand by her bedside. A pale pink flash of her horn lit the small desk lamp, illuminating the half-rolled bit of parchment on the stand in a soft white glow. Fleur frowned down at it, her thoughts racing and her mind filling with questions and possibilities. She was a careful mare, she was a cautious mare, she'd questioned the letter—of course she had. She knew it might be a trap, she'd figured the foals might tell somepony at some point. The possibility was always there, so rather than trust them to keep their word, she chose to use the situation to her advantage. Until tonight, Fleur had only suspected that Aeon might be on to her, but then she'd gotten the letter. The fact that somepony had gone out of their way to sneak into her room and leave the letter at all meant that their conversation that morning had reached the wrong ears... or so she thought. Fleur hadn't been living in the Grey Asylum for all that long, but she'd been able to observe Aeon long enough to know what kind of mare she was. If nothing else, she was fairly confident that the crafty mare wouldn't make any overt moves until she could get more information. And so she took the bait. She'd gotten word through an outside contact that Aeon had left the city for one reason or other and the necessary Defenders had already been bribed to move their patrols elsewhere for the night. There was a curfew, yes, but it was easy to get around if you knew the right creature and knew what they wanted. It was all the easier because Aeon wasn't here to keep an eye on things, though very few ponies probably knew she was gone at all. So with those problems out of the way it was just a matter of waiting in the appropriate place at the appropriate time. Bad as she felt about fooling the poor foals, in reality, she had no intention of telling the two anything at all about her 'request'. In reality, that night's conversation—and to a lesser extent, the conversation that morning—had been a ploy to draw out Aeon and her lackeys... and the ploy had worked splendidly. Yes, it worked but I really am going to need to get Twilight to accompany me at some point. The problem is how to do so while she and that other filly are under Aeon's eye and those of her pets... Twilight hadn't always been part of the plan. In fact, up until she'd literally run into the foal, her mission had been entirely different and far more daunting if she was being honest. Yes, the original plan still needed to be carried out, but ever since she'd reported her run-in with Twilight Sparkle to her outside contact, the foal's retrieval had become a high priority as well. Fleur's frown deepened into an irritated scowl as she picked up the letter in her magic. Her original mission had already been off to a frankly disastrous start—a fact she was reminded of every time she looked in a mirror and saw that hideous scar. There had always been the possibility of the outcome, but she'd been certain she'd have help from at least one of the other agents that had come with her... but no. Plans had to be changed, drastic measures had to be taken, and Fleur had to relearn everything she thought she'd already learned during her training. She knew the Equestrian Outlands was a different beast, but there was only so much you could expect from a report, even one as detailed as the one she'd read before passing through the Celestial Barrier. Neither her training nor those reports had prepared the lanky mare or her fellow agents for what they found in these Celestia-forsaken wastes. But what was done was done, no use looking back now. She had to look forward, and she was trying—Celestia knows she was trying her best, but she'd already felt like she was being thrown out to sea without even a wooden plank to grasp onto. Time and time again she found herself wanting to just give up altogether. She'd told her contact time and again that the mission had been a failure and to send a team for extraction out of the Outlands. She'd all but begged, but all she'd ever receive in turn were orders to continue the mission. When that didn't work, she thought about taking more drastic measures, but every time those dark thoughts crossed her mind she remembered her superior's words without fail. Every. Single. Time. And so she pushed through her frustration and despair and strove to finish her mission no matter the cost. Even in death, you won't let me rest, will you, you old nag? Fleur almost tore the letter wrapped in her aura to pieces at the thought of her current predicament, but held herself back and gave another tired sigh instead. She set the note back down on the nightstand and fell heavily onto her bed. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment in bitter silence, then closed her eyes and let the images of her fallen comrades flood her mind again for what felt like the thousandth time. Somewhere outside the living quarters and beyond the castle walls she could hear the beginnings of a storm approaching. The distant rumble of thunder matched her mood and she couldn't help but smile a bit sardonically at that. She stayed like that for several minutes, wondering what to do next as she tried to calm her frustrated mind. Her contemplations returned to the filly, Twilight Sparkle and she grimaced. The mare hadn't known the foal personally but rather found out about her through work. She'd known of Twilight for a while, even before she was shipped off to the Outlands. She didn't know everything about it—and in fact not many, even in her line of work did—but she'd heard plenty of rumors that the Princess had a plan that had been centuries in the making. The rumors that had reached her own ears said that the filly in question had been a key piece, the final piece in that supposed plan. Curious, Fleur had looked up information on the foal and had been fairly impressed with what she found, but that had been as far as her curiosity went. Time passed and she'd forgotten all about both the rumors and the filly... until she ran into that same filly in the one place she never expected her to be. It wasn't until after she'd reported back the info that she found out that the supposed plan had some ring of truth to it. She'd been horrified to hear about the fate of the filly's family and stupefied as to how Twilight had managed the jump from Canterlot all the way to the Outlands of all places. She wanted to know more, but evidently, there wasn't much more information to give on the subject other than that the death of Twilight's family and her own disappearance had left Canterlot in a rather precarious state of unease and growing paranoia. It really was a frustrating situation. On one hoof, she'd been saddled with even more responsibility on top of a situation she was only barely managing to cope with. On the other, she genuinely did want to see Twilight Sparkle safely back to Canterlot if she could. The problem was that she didn't know if that was possible given the circumstances. Her new responsibility was made all the harder by the fact that, somehow, for some reason, Aeon herself had decided to take the filly and her 'sister' under her wing. Why? For what purpose? Why Aeon of all ponies? Fleur needed help and she needed it badly, and that was where the mysterious letter came in. At first, she thought Aeon might've caught wind of her earlier conversation with the two fillies and pulled something. She thought maybe she'd gotten one of her lackeys to place the letter in her room, but apparently—after using one of her favorite spells to eavesdrop on the conversation immediately following their most recent meeting—that hadn't been the case. She'd been right about Aeon's sycophants having overheard her and the foals that morning, but she'd been wrong about Aeon's involvement regarding the letter. That implied that there was someone else involved—a third party that neither Aeon nor Fleur herself expected. What's more, given the contents of the letter and how it was written, that third party most likely knew about Fleur and her mission to some degree. Whether the interloper was after what Fleur knew or if they wanted the foals for some unknown purpose remained to be seen. It put the agent on edge, but also gave her a slight bit of hope at the same time, hope that just maybe, whoever or whatever this third party entity was, it was on her side. It was a small hope, minuscule even, but it was something to consider at least. She'd have to ask her contact about it when she next got the chance, but until then, Fleur decided then that she'd do a bit of digging of her own before confronting the issue of Twilight Sparkle again. She knew it was a long shot, but she also planned to request assistance from the mainland... again. It hadn't worked yet, but with this new development, perhaps she could finally convince them to at least try. I know it wouldn't be easy. I know that now far better than I did before, but I don't think I can finish both these tasks without some kind of help. I've tried making my own allies out here, but... It hadn't gone well. Fleur had found out very quickly that far too many of the creatures that lived in the Grey Asylum couldn't be trusted. The best she could do was find out what creatures wanted, use her wits and what little resources she had at her disposal to get it, and bribe her way into their good graces. Even then, loyalty wasn't a guarantee and she'd been burned more than once. The biggest lesson she'd learned the hard way was that out in the Outlands, self-interest was the name of the game. That, and strength. Fleur knew how to use self-interest to her benefit, but she still lacked the kind of strength needed to survive in a place like the Outlands. She and the others in her squad had been trained by some of the best Equestria had to offer, but it was clear that hadn't been nearly enough. Though it technically sat within Equestria's borders, the land beyond the Celestial Barrier was just too different. That was a large part of why she was working to build up the power necessary to not only survive but thrive in the wastes—she needed to if wanted to accomplish the mission with any kind of chance of success. Mental, physical, magical, and even spiritual fortitude were all a must. Her experiences since crossing over showed she was lacking in all of those traits, and that needed to change. So, after much deliberation, she chose to act on the old adage, when in Roam, do as the Roamans do. She chose to follow the path of a Hunter, and while she was far, far from reaching the level of competence she was aiming for, she was certainly making progress. Thinking about each and every little accomplishment, reaching every little goal she'd set for herself made Fleur smile, if only slightly. But the smile didn't last as she remembered the daunting tasks still left unfinished. She still lacked a solid plan of action and her next chance to reach out to her contact back in the mainland wouldn't come for a while yet. In the meantime, all she could think to do was to keep building up her strength enough to face the wastes head-on and figure out a way to get Twilight away from Aeon long enough to introduce her to the contact. Once Fleur did that, she could leave the rest in 'his' hooves. She was sure he would know what to do from there. She let the thought permeate her mind for a moment before it floated away along with all her other thoughts. She had too many problems to count, but right now, at this moment, all she wanted to do was forget it all and sleep her frayed nerves away. And so, with one last fleeting thought of her home back in the mainland, Fleur did just that.