The Eye That Sleepeth Not
Langley, Virginia
If one were to look inside the hallways and offices of the Central Intelligence Agency, they would have seen agents scurrying everywhere, with hushed chatter filling the air from the cafeterias to the restrooms. The Director had received several large assignments from higher, none larger than the one he was currently briefing.
“Alright gentlemen, we’re sending in a team of diplomats to New Mexico tomorrow. You’ll be attached to them, under the guise of being their aides. Your actual mission is to begin investigating the society that lies beyond the portal. Weapons capabilities, threat level, I want everything. I want to know what the abilities of their royals are, the flight capabilities of their pegasi, the general level of magic ability amongst the unicorns,” CIA Director Harold Brumley said. It had been quite the struggle to assemble this team. Several duties had been forced to be shifted around, dozens of phone calls had been placed, and the armory had been frantically gathering the gear necessary for the mission.
“You’ll notice the packets in front of you contain all the information that has been gathered thus far and has been deemed mission essential. Also contained are photos of key structures and personnel, as well as a force disposition chart on what we have on the other side. Any questions, I need to hear them now. You’re headed straight to the airstrip after this,” Brumley said.
“What force is authorized?” one agent asked.
“None. This is strictly intelligence-gathering. If you actually need to discharge a weapon, then things have gone horribly wrong, and we’re enabling a back-up plan that is still in the works at this time,” Brumley said.
“Will General Richards be in overall command?” another asked.
“Negative. Ambassador Hunt will be in overall command, but look to General Richards for tactical command. It is a bit unprecedented for a flag officer to be attending these types of discussions, but the President felt it was necessary to show that our military is also capable of talking. Also gentlemen, be aware that Daredevil will be conducting recon patrols constantly while this conference is going on. I’ll need you to link up with them at their bivouac area in… ‘Ponyville’, as often as you can. The conference will be taking place in… ‘Canterlot’”, Brumley said.
The room was covered in silence. Brumley took this to mean that there were no more questions.
“Alright gentlemen, you have a flight to catch. Good luck and Godspeed.”
DARPA Headquarters
“No, no, no. There’s no reason for the numbers to be differing like this sir. None at all. Also, I know this project was being tracked, but why the lax accounting of personnel? Just under a year ago, the lead researcher was replaced, as well as three other assistant researchers. Who does that in the middle of a project?” Bowers said.
“I don’t know what to tell you Adam. Really, I don’t. All I’m telling you is, we need answers on this one, and fast. That email you sent me was troubling, to say the very least,” DARPA Director Chris Scott said.
“Email! That’s another thing. You read what I sent you. Why in the fuck was that facility sending encrypted messages back and forth with Chinese researchers at Shanghai University?” Bowers said.
“It’s troubling Adam, it really is. The thing is, we’re going to need more assets to get to the bottom of this one. We’re going to need to contact the NSA,” Scott said.
“You think they’ll be able to piece it all together sir?” Bowers said.
“I certainly hope so. Or else we might have a serious problem on our hands,” Scott said.
Canterlot Royal Palace, Equestria
“Yes, I understand this is a very delicate situation, and I can assure you that we are doing all we can to smooth this out,” Celestia said to the Royal Assembly at their morning meeting. Reports were coming back from the disastrous party in Ponyville, and the results were not very encouraging. By all accounts the party was a disaster.
“This is an outrage! How can we stand by and let these humans conduct these types of despicable acts with no repercussions?” Minister of the Interior Cradle shouted.
“To provide a counter-point, this party was the idea of one of the Elements of Harmony. Were the actions of the humans at the party questionable? Absolutely. However, they are not entirely at fault,” Minister of Finance Abacus said.
“Was it not their idea to bring a simply absurd amount of alcohol to this gathering? An amount they clearly could not handle, judging from the damages done to the location,” Minister of Affairs Silver Tongue said.
“Please, everypony. We are working this situation as best we can. All of you will be able to provide your input to the diplomats and ambassadors at the conference in two days,” Celestia said.
“I demand justice! I demand we show these humans what kind of forces they are tangling with! Princess, I humbly request that you and your honored sister conduct a demonstration of your power! That will show them not to mess around with our beloved Elements of Harmony!” Cradle shouted, many ponies nodding their heads as he finished.
“I will do no such thing,” Celestia said firmly.
“Princess, if not you, then the magic users of the Royal Guard. We must show them that we are not to be trifled with, and that the pitiful assortment of weapons they have brought cannot stop our might!” Silver Tongue shouted.
“What might? Equestria hasn’t had a proper war since the Unification. We are in an age of unparalleled prosperity and peace. Have you read the reports coming back, regarding the conversations that have been overheard? What they have brought is but a drop in the ocean of their power. There is nothing we can show them that they would be impressed at,” Abacus said.
“The might of our magic! With that we can overcome any obstacle in our path!” Silver Tongue shouted.
Celestia looked around with uncertainty. She had never heard her advisors this agitated, and had certainly never heard this
type of talk from them. She wondered what could have possibly gotten into them…
It clicked.
Boulder.
She had not seen hide nor hair since the impromptu meeting in Ponyville. He had clearly been busy in the intervening period.
She could easily refuse the requests of a display of power. Hers was the highest authority in the land. But she would need their support as Equestria continued to push through this trying time.
Finally opening her mouth, she uttered the words that would kick off everything.
“Fine. I will concede on this point. Gather five of our best magic users and ready them to leave for Ponyville. They will conduct a brief demonstration of their abilities, then return to Canterlot. Nothing more, nothing less. Understood?”
As she looked around the room, she saw solemn faces nodding in the affirmative. With that piece of business finally taken care of, she continued to push through the agenda. They had a lot to cover.
Ponyville
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go! We got a bird coming in!” Picante yelled as the portal opened in the sky. Operators ran through the area establishing the perimeter for the landing zone.
“Daredevil Actual, Daredevil Actual, this is Princess One, we’re about one mike out, over,” a pilot said over the radio.
“Good copy Princess One. Light wind coming in from the north, LZ will be marked by smoke,” Picante said.
Ponies in the area looked at the commotion and saw another strange machine flying through the sky. It looked like a strange hybrid of the two flying machines they had used the other day.
“Pop smoke!” Picante bellowed, and he watched as a stream of purple smoke trailed into the sky.
“I see purple smoke, Daredevil. Is that you?” the pilot said.
“Affirm, Princess,” Picante replied.
There was no more radio chatter as the Osprey came in for its landing. Ponies trying to see what was happening shielded their eyes as the tremendous amount of rotor wash kicked up a wall of dust, and the bird landed.
The team of diplomats poured out, along with their aides, and were directed by Picante as to where the bivouac area was.
As the personnel filed out and the Osprey picked up and took off, the diplomats soaked in the area. Brightly lit, curious looking buildings, and a crowd of ponies looking at them off in the distance.
“Gentlemen, welcome to Equestria. Things are little hectic here right now, as I’m sure you might have heard. If you could follow me this way, I’ll show you to your tent. There’s a bird scheduled to pick you up tomorrow morning for the flight to Canterlot, so I wouldn’t get too comfortable. Other than that, just stand by here,” Picante said.
Tomorrow’s gonna be one hell of a day, Picante thought. Things were moving and shaking, and between the insertion, the incidents from the night before, and the fact that the CIA had made footfall, Picante didn’t really know what was going to happen. He just hoped it would all turn out okay.
Manas Transit Base, Kyrgyzstan
“Gentlemen, you’ll be making a covert insertion at 0400 local time tomorrow. You’ll be wheels up here in about an hour, and you’ll fly from here to Edwards Air Force Base, directly through the portal. We’re timing this so that your bird goes through at the same time a resupply drop is being conducted, to cover up the noise. You’ll conduct a HALO jump to establish positions in and around the royal city, known as Canterlot.
“After you’ve hit the deck, we’ll need you to conduct reconnaissance on the area, as well as drawing up a rudimentary map. Once that’s established, set up hides and be guardian angels for the conference. If things get hairy, don’t hesitate to do whatever is necessary to get the diplomats out. Overall command is General Richards, callsign ‘Overlord’. Don’t expect too much contact with him, he’s got his hands full dealing with a hell of a mess right now.
“Any questions?” Colonel Silk, base commander finished.
Team Edge sat there in silence. This was a confirmation brief, and no questions were expected to be asked at this point.
“Very good gentleman. Good luck, and Godspeed.”
The men went back to their hooch in silence and grabbed their gear. This was a mission unlike any other they had ever conducted. They weren’t even sure if there was a victory to be obtained here. But they had their orders.
They would always have their orders.