//------------------------------// // Tactical Espionage Operations // Story: Foals Of Liberty // by The Ancestor //------------------------------// 1002 AB, ONE YEAR PRIOR TO FORMATION OF G.S. A stunning sunset descended onto the magical land of Equestria, bathing its citizens in beatiful rays of blood-red light. The evening streets of Equestria's Shining Diamond were bustling with life, crowds of annoying tourists taking unnecessarily long to get 'a perfect picture' of every building of one of the oldest cities in the country, pairs of lovebird ponies too enthralled with eachother bumping into exhausted nine-to-five workers, the latter too tired to cause a scene, resorting to mumbling obsceneties under their breath in the best case scenarios, or growling at the apologetic pairs in worst cases. A wooden cart caught the attention of passerby's as it moved through the middle of the street, a giant two-story cake towering over all who saw it. Despite the intimidating size and an equally cumbersome weight of the cargo, the pony towing it seemed commited to the action with an unusually positive attitude, hopping forward, ignoring the yoke attached to her withers. Her bubbly demeanor seemed contagious, spreading like wildfire to everypony she passed. To any outside observer, the pink-coated mare with an extravagant mane style seemed awfully chipper, unbothered by anything in the whole wide world. Even those who knew Pinkie Pie personally would think nothing was out of the ordinary, the earth pony being her usual hyperactive self. It's not widely known, but beside her talent for party organizing, Pinkie had another talent. She was terrific at keeping up appearances. Under her bubbly demeanor, Pinkie was a veritable bundle of nerves, a coiled spring, ready to come to life at any moment. Some might say it was business as usual. "Twilight, remind me again why do we have to hide you?" Pinkie asked, applying pressure to a small crystal attached to her left ear. "Nopony's going to get suspiscious just because you walked into the castle, you know?" A few seconds passed before Pinkie heard an irritated groan form her earpiece. "First things first, no names over the channel, Muffin." Pinkie giggled at the silly codename, much to Twilight chargin'. "Secondly, I don't want anypony to know I was in Canterlot today, nevermind the castle." Twilight said, turning from one side to the other, trying to get into a somewhat comfortable position. "Celestia's private archive is no joke, heads will roll after today, I guarantee you that." "If you say so..." Pinkie trailed off as she approached the castle gates, a pair of snow white unicorn guards greeting her with unwavering stoicism. She stood wtill in front of the closed gates, just as the guards crossed their spears, preventing her from entering. "State your business with the crown." One of the guards said while Pinkie was busy awing at the golden grace of the Castle. She shook her head, turning to look at the guards, suddenly realizing she didn't know which one of them asked the question. A solution popped into her head almost instantly. "I'm delivering the Princess' monthly order!" She chirped, looking dead ahead, ignoring both of the guards. "I've got all the goodies here in the cart! A XXXL-sized chocolate cake with vanilla whipped cream and frosting, a three months worth of calorie intake for an average pony in strawberry eclairs, enough cupcakes of all shapes and sizes to feed an orphanage for a year-" Her excited explanation was cut abruptly by a guard shoving his hoof into her mouth. "We got it, you're free to enter." the guard said, retracting his spear and opening the gate. He slowly removed the hoof from her mouth, squinting at her all the while. He sighed with relief when Pinkie remained silent. "In the future, please refrain from telling what you're delivering to ponies outside the guard." Pinkie raised an eyebrow as she moved through the open gate. "Princess' orders. " The guard muttered, sighing inwardly as he heard Pinkie giggle. After distancing herself from the two guards, and making sure there were no new ones around her, she pressured the crystal in her left ear. "We're past the palace entrance, get ready for infiltration." She waited for a few seconds, growing hesitant when no reply came. "Sunrise, do you copy?" Contagious giggling carried through the crystal reached Pinkie's ears, prompting her to giggle herself. "Heard you loud and clear, Muffin." Twilight coughed into her hoof stifling a giggle. "Never thought Celestia to be self-conscious, is all." "Self conscious? What's there to be self conscious about?" Pinkie replied, rubbing her chin. "I eat tons of sweets, and I've got nothing to be self conscious about!" "That's because you're an enigma, Pinkie. How come all those pastries go into just the right places?" Twilight thought to herself, her cheeks reddening, before shaking her head. "Nevermind, focus on getting into the castle. Over and out." Pinkie proceeded towards the large castle doors, her hops turned into careful trots. As she approached the castle entrance, the doors opened, inviting her to enter. Just as she entered, a pair of guards approached her one of them pulling a cart, stopping her from going deeper into the castle. Pinkie smiled as a unicorn guard levitated the pastries into his companion's cart, a bead of sweat rolling down his brow as he strained to pick the massive cake up. The unicorn grunted, releasing his hold on the two-floor pastry, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He nodded towards the exit, before turning away, muttering something about excessive consumption of sweets. The earth pony towing the cart turned too, making his way deeper into the castle with his companion. Pinkie trotted out the castle, stopping after passing the gates to cast one final glance at Canterlot castle. "Good luck, Twilight." She whispered. Twilight suppressed a yelp as everything around her shook, her elaborate hiding place hitting a hard surface with a quiet thud. The unicorn strained her hearing, catching a disgruntled muttering from outside her hiding place, one that grew more distant as time went on. She waited a good ten minutes after the sound of conversation disappeared, nodding to herself when she was sure there was no sounds coming from the outside. Pushing her hooves against the side of the pitch-black hidden compartment, she exerted herself until she heard a soft click. She opened the sliding door, daylight shining into the crammed confines she currently found herself in, blinding the pony momentarily. Twilight carefully crawled out of the base of the cake, taking extra care not to touch the actual cake, stepping onto the table. She looked around the lavish room, golden walls and marble floors accompanied by red oak wooden tables filled to the brim with all kinds of pastries leaving her with little to no questions regarding her position. "I'm in the banquet room, that means the archives are on the other side of the castle." Twilight thought to herself, her hooves clopping against the marble floor as she approached the exit door. Still, the sound was muffled to a noticable extent, all thanks to the tight black body-suit she was wearing. "Never thought I'd wear this again..." The door opened without a squeak, no doubt due to the hard work of maintanance ponies, and Twilight stuck her head out, looking around for any guards. She was fortunate enough to find the way clear of any unwelcome patrols as she stepped into the hall, closing the door behind her. "Muffin, infiltration successful, I'm just outside the banquet room. I need directions, do you copy?" Twilight said, pressuring the crystal in her ear while on a lookout for any passing guards. "Good to hear!" Pinkie chirped through the earpiece a little to loudly, making Twilight wince. "Take the right corridor, and at the end of it take a left. Then, move forward until you bump into Canterlot Archives, Princess' private section is somewhere inside." Pinkie reported as Twilight began sneaking down the hall, following her instructions. "Can't say exactly where her section is, since it's not on the map, but looking for any walled off part of the archives is probably a good guess." She continued, just as Twilight rounded the corner. "Probably should start with the 'history' section, we're after the truth, not some fancy new spell like last time." Twilight responded, peeking around a corner, only to see it suspisciously clear. "Usually I'd aggree with you, Sunny, but I've been thinking: If you had a private section of the archives, would you bother categorizing them by 'type' of data, and then put them in an alphabetical order? Or would you stash it all in one place, since you know you're the only one who'll ever use them?" Pinkie argued, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Forget that 'you' part, think about somepony else, alright? Knowing you, you'd actually do something like that." Twilight ignored that last part, approaching another corner. A sign reading CANTERLOT ARCHIVES hung on a nearby wall, pointing in the direction she was going, suggesting she was on a right path. She peeked the corner, finding it once again clear of any guards. She frowned, not liking how empty this part of the castle was. "Muffin, you got any idea where the guards went? I've seen almost no guards up to this point, excluding those that delivered the cake." Twilight asked, creeping through the hall. "Princess is on an diplomatic visit in Minos, most of the guard went with her. The rest are probably on a shift change, it's about time for that." Pinkie argued, just as Twilight approached the doors to the Canterlot Archives . "Don't you remember? We chose this day to sneak in because of her absense." Twilight stood in front of the golden double doors, hesitant to enter. "I know, I know. It's still weird that I encountered no guards whatsoever on this floor." "So you're telling me you've got a bad feeling about this?" Pinkie asked. "You can say that again." Twilight said with a snort. "So you're telling me you've got a bad feeling about this?" Pinkie repeated, causing Twilight to shake her head. "I'm going in, I'll keep the chatter to a minimum, just in case." Twilight opened the door, looking in to check for any witnesses, quickly spotting a snoozing librarian slumped over in her chair. Carefully tiphoofing past the pony, staying vigilant to spot any other visitors, she failed to notice a bookshelf in front of her, hitting it with her muzzle with a startled yelp. Twilight scampered to hide behind said shelf when she heard a gasp from behind her, followed by a yawn. She waited with baited breath for what felt like eternity, allowing her to relax only when the snoring resumed. She slowly reared her head, only to find that the librarian was asleep once again, albeit in a different pose. Breathing a sigh of relief, Twilight looked around, noticing a sign hanging from the ceiling, a number of arrows pointing in different directions, titled 'spells', 'history', 'fantasy' e.t.c. She followed the arrows, finding arrays of shelves corresponding with the title, all except a single cabinet that stood right next to the wall, noticably missing any sort of lighting, as if trying to stay inconspicuous. Twilight approached the shelf, carefully examining the books. She squinted, her tongue sticking out of her mouth as she noticed a book that had no writing on it's spine. "This has to be it!" Twilight thought, her horn lighting up with a strawberry aura, grabbing the book and tugging at it. The book jutted forward with a soft click, before sliding back into place as soon as Twilight's grip on it faded. With a quiet grinding noise, the bookshelf slid to the side, revealing an upward staircase, leading deeper into the archives. "Jackpot!" Twilight grinned, walking up the stairs and into a giant open room. Rows upon rows of bookshelves, divided seemingly by centuries, stretched deeper into the room, and seemingly into infinity. Twilight's heart ran a mile a minute as she looked over the signs bolted onto the shelves. "'700 A.B., 800 A.B., 900 A.B.' ... Faust almighty, how far back do these go?" She salivated as her gaze fell upon a sign reading '100 B.B.'"No! Focus on the mission, Twilight!" She shook her head, forcing her gaze away from the sign, and walking towards the shelf that said '900 A.B.'. Even restricted to a single century, the sheer size of knowledge in front of her made Twilight gulp in both fear and awe. As she walked, passing rows of bookshelves full of biege folders, all the while searching for a sign with a letter 'M', she couldn't help but wonder why would Celestia hide all this. She stopped when she arrived at the coveted 'M' sign, scanning the nearby shelves for her target, proceeding to slowly move forward when she found none. "Mak, Mal, Mam... Aha! Man!" Twilight though triumphantly, levitating the corresponding folder closer to herself. Opening the folder, she flipped through the documents, stopping on a familiar headline. MANEHATTAN INCIDENT, 18.08.972 "This has to be it." Twilight thought, pressuring the crytstal in her ear. "Muffin, found what we've been looking for. Let's see what all this is about." She said, preparing to read what she's found aloud. "18/08/972 6:40 A series of explosions rocked the Manehattan power plant, leaving the city in the dark, inducing a mass-panic among the populace. 6:45 Emergency generators shut down in Manehattan branch of 'Sun's Right Hoof' R&D department, leaving it unable to communicate with the Head Office or request for backup. 6:50 A distress signal, originating from without the R&D department is sent on a frequency reserved for emergencies. 6:51 The signal reaches HQ, but is cut off before its exact location could be pinpointed. 7:00 SRH strike squad arrived on the scene, tasked with investigating the incident. 7:40 Colonel Steelhooves, reports extensive damage to the facility's equipment, as well as zero survivors among personnel. No research regarding 'Manehattan Project' was found. 7:45 Contact is lost with SRH strike squad as an explosion originating from inside the SRH R&D building destroys its upper levels. 8:00 Colonel Steelhooves exits the SRH R&D building, reporting his squadmates KIA. 8:05 Emergency services arrive on the scene. AFTERMATH Any and all data regarding the 'Manehattan Project' is considered lost, likely stolen by a rival SOF. Power plant explosions were blamed on an unexpected power surge. The destruction of the upper floors of 'Manehattan National Institute', a front to the SRH R&D department in the city, was blamed on pony factor, citing incorrect handling of equipment as cause. Further investigation, coupled with Colonel Steelhooves' report, suggested the attack was premeditated and executed with the help of a sleeper agent. A number of bodies were left undiscovered, suggesting successful exfiltration of enemy agent/agents. Following the incident, a wave of resignations washed over the unit, including Colonel Steelhooves leaving his position as the head of the regular army, citing personal reasons for the action. His loss was negligible in the public eye, considering 'Pax Equestria' project required his resignation regardless of his choice. His resignation from SRH was unexpected, and although he has not yet leaked any sensitive information, further attempts at recruitment were met with considerable animosity, suggesting trauma caused by the incident. Current living address is 497, North Parker Drive, further recruitment attempts are ill-advised." Twilight stared at the document in her hooves wide-eyed, her mouth dry as a desert. How? How could this be true? An incident of this scale, and she's never heard of it? That's impossible, at least it should've been. And what on Equus is a SOF? She's pretty sure she never heard the word, yet whoever wrote this report definently knew what they were talking about. Just as she was about to search for a 'S' sign, a buzz in her earpiece caught her attention. "Twilight! I don't know what you did, but the whole city is bustling with activity!" Pinkie frantically explained, the tone of her voice harsh enough for Twilight to ignore her name slip-up. "Guards from all over Canterlot are converging around the castle, you have to get out of there ASAP!" Twilight hesitated, debating for a moment whether or not to take the folder with her. As if sensing her hesitation, Pinkie spoke once again."I wrote down all that you said, leave what you found there and scram!" Pinkie's unusually authoratative voice commanded, just as Twilight heard the clopping of a myriad of hooves coming from the entrance, forcing her to hide behind a nearby array of bookshelves. "Whoever is here, come out and you won't be harmed!" A gruff male voice commanded, prompting Twilight to hold her breath. "There's no use hiding, we've sealed off the only exit, you can't escape!" He finished, pausing for a few moments to wait for a responce. "As you wish." He said with a sigh, before clearing his throat. "The perpetrator refuses to cooperate, issuing a kill on sight order." He waited for a moment, before continuing in an aggrivated voice. "What are you waiting for, Celestia's orders? Start searching, idiots!" "Sir. yes. sir!" A dozen of voices said in unison, followed by a cavalcade of hooves clopping against hard marble floor. Twilight's breaths quickened, as her mind raced to find a way to escape the situation. She pressured the earpiece, a thought coming to the forefront of her mind. "Muffin, where are you right now?" She asked, her voice slightly wavering. "I'm at the train station, the last train for Ponyville's about to depart!" Pinkie said, worry clear in her voice. "Reserve a seat for me, I'm coming with you." Twilight replied, focusing energy through her horn. "So fast?! You can't make it here from all the way from the castle in time! Unless..." Pinkie trailed off, considering Twilight's options. "Unless I teleport." Twilight finished, beads of sweat rolling down her face as she concentrated on her spell. "But you can't! The Princess will be alerted if anypony teleports within the castle!" Pinkie protested, hesitant to let her friend take such a risk. "Would that matter? She's on the other side of the world, and I'll be out of Canterlot before she knows what happened." Twilight argued, magic circulating into her horn. "I'll be exhausted, but it beats being dead." She held her breath just as the guard was rounding the corner. A violent flash of purple light blinded the guard as Twilight disappeared from her hiding place, leaving the Canterlot Archives behind. Twilight shut her eyes as scenery flashed around her, from castle hallways to busy streets, and, finally, a train wagon. She collapsed to her knees as soon as her hooves hit the wooden floor, gasping for air as Pinkie rushed to her side, laying a hoof on her shoulder. "Twilight!" She squealed, both in happiness and worry. "Are you alright?" She continued in a lower tone of voice, as Twilight winced at the high-pitched sound. "I'm alive, Pinkie." Twilight replied, trying to rub her headache away. "I almost wish I wasn't, though." She finished, the Canterlot train station growing smaller and smaller behind her as the train barreled towards Ponyville.