As Faith departed, a feeling of emptiness enlisted across the room. There was nothing to do; the loneliness was hardly bearable again. In less than 24 hours they had gone from friendly rivals to… something more. It was strange and new, Scarlet never got attached easily to somebody outside her group. Yet, there was the situation. And she could never get used to it, even though the reality was crashing down harder and harder with every passing moment. A reality Scarlet was not prepared to admit herself.
I can do perfectly fine without her. Just like I did until now, right? I mean… right? The question remained unanswered. The darkness and the emptiness stung a bit deep down inside. It seemed as if even for a moment, she was back together with someone who understood her, for better or for worse. Maybe… Just maybe, one day it’s going to happen.
She had loads of time to contemplate by herself the meaning of the past day. The floor, the couch, the flight… Everything pointed out the obvious, obvious Scarlet was ready to deny at the time. Where the hell is that message from Conflux? Damn bureaucrats!
She grumpily threw herself on the couch, contemplating the issue at hand. The squishy water pillows reverberated under her weight back and forth, as if following with the stream of her thoughts. “You’re the only one who understands me Bubbles…” Trying to flip over, Scarlet forgot one vital aspect: this was a couch, not a bed. And she had just run out of couch. With a sad whimper, she lifted herself off the floor with a painful grunt, giving Bubbles a displeased look. “You too, Brutus?”
The orange mare turned towards the window. Somewhere, out there, Faith had chosen to spend the night on a cold slum rather than with her. It stung one of her most sensitive chords. Maybe the rats are in fact better company than I am. The thought nearly brought another tear to her eyes.
A knock in the window brought her back to reality. She… she came back! I knew she would! Rushing towards the window, Scarlet let out a squeal of excitement while undoing the deadlock “It’s…” It only took a couple of seconds before her entire figure changed from happiness to utter disgust. “You… Look who the wind dragged in. If it isn’t Ogon 8’s pride and joy.”
The arrogant smile on the other side of the window widened. The deep blue pegasus was hardly visible in the night. It was probably for the better that way. Scarlet was in the mood to punch somepony, and Storm Wrangler’s face always looked like he was always asking for it. “Missed me, Scarlet?”
“You’re like my target practice, Storm. I never miss you,” the mare fired back. The rivalry between the two started even before they had been selected for special training. “What brings your smug flank here? News from HQ?”
“Good news and bad news alike, cutie. May I come in, so we can talk like two grown-ups?” It was a tad too late for Scarlet to tell him that one couldn’t have a discussion with him and asses him as a grown up, the blue stallion slid inside and closed the window behind him. Typical Storm. You give him a chance; he steals all of your private space… “Oh good, you’ve still got your drinking habits,” he gleefully stated while downing the remaining liqueur in the bottle previously sat on the table.
“Why are you here Storm? You said something about news. If I ever wanted to see you again, Id have thrown a party at your place. Along with a couple of grenades while at it. Now, before you open your mouth again, I want the bad news first, then the good news. I’m short on time, and even shorter on temper. The colt always managed to bring out the worst in Scarlet, without too much effort.
“I was hoping you’d be a bit more enthusiastic. It’s been so long since we last met, and you’ve grown quite… wow. A bit of chit chat would have been nice.” With the same unnerving smile, Storm sat on the couch, laying his legs on the pillows. He’s dead. No, wait. I’m going to kill him myself. It took every ounce of self control she had to refrain from touching the modified bracer blade. “Bah. You’re no fun. What was it that you wanted to know?” His smile took a twist for… Scarlet couldn’t tell.
“Bad. News. First.” Scarlet could swear 90 percent of Storm’s brain was merely random access memory. “And get your filthy hooves off Bu… the couch’s pillows. Some ponies still sleep there.” In the meantime, Scarlet was contemplating all the thirty five ways she devised to kill Storm and make it look like an accident. She figured she would settle for a chandelier drop.
“Since you’ve always liked so much to see me suffer, I’ll be very much obliged. Your funding got approved by Conflux. Three thousand five hundred bits in cash. Do whatever you want with them, I’d use them to go buy something pretty.” With those words, he tossed a seemingly heavy bag on the table in front of Scarlet. The blue stallion snickered a bit while raising his hind hooves off the couch, then looking her in the eyes. “ You never did get it, Scarlet… The reason I always tried to compete with you… It was the only way.” His face changed expression, for a first time showing seriousness; Scarlet didn’t notice it. She was already on cloud nine.
“If that’s the bad news, for once, I can say I’m eager for you to open that big mouth of yours once again. Now, can you tell me what the good news is? This could just make my day slightly better than expected.”
The stallion sighed desperately. His point had not made it across. He sat upright, stretching his wings across the couch “Good news… Yeah, maybe two. One would be that we’re getting reinforcements. Ten squads from Ogon and Sora should be arriving tomorrow. We’ll be taking the battle back to the Creed in the open. We won’t be alone anymore and… Oh, Scarlet. You don’t get it, do you? You’ve never changed…”
Scarlet’s film was cut out at “reinforcements”. Ten squads? That’s suicide! Even more, it would be a disaster for her covert mission she was so close to accomplishing. Outnumbered and under gunned, it would be a slaughter. “No… Storm, we can’t let this happen! While the master of the Hooftail still lives we stand no chance against them. Conflux…” Scarlet rushed to her terminal typing out her identification sequence. “Storm, for once in your life could you coop…”
The stallion was near her, not giving her time to think. Everything that followed happened in a blur. His hooves wrapped around her wings and neck, pulling her closer… The kiss was different. Unlike Faith, Storm had a much cruder, wilder approach. His lips; tightly locked with her own. The lust he emanated was almost visible, while his determined tongue explored every corner of Scarlet’s mouth… He was so different from Faith. It felt so good… He felt so much like Blaze.
The memory flash was enough to bring Scarlet back with her hooves on the ground and gave her the required strength to pull away from the kiss. Her cheeks flushed red, even brighter than her orange mane. The mix of feelings followed. She wanted him, but the thought of letting down Faith was stronger. For a second, however, she actually had the impression the kiss was two-sided. “I told you you never understood me, Scarlet. You never saw what was in front of you all the time.” All of the past events played back in her head. The rivalry between her and Storm Wrangler, all the Hooflocker matches she played against Spark Dust, how she always got in even the smallest of competitions with Blaze. Faith taking her up on each and every contest she proposed… Everything had indeed been under her nose all the time.
Her words never come out. She sat in front of Storm like a dummy, unable to reply. She wasn’t sure herself what she wanted him to do. Stay, go, yes, no… The thought that everypony she ever competed with eventually fell in love with her… There still was Faith. She would not let Faith down. “I’m sorry, Storm… I can’t do this. Not now.” Her hooves slowly backed off from the stallion, shaking. Why is it so hard to pull back? You hated him until five minutes ago! Another realization struck her. She was the only one between them who never let go of the rivalry. By her count, it was the third time Storm Wrangler requested a mission just so he could be near her… “We can talk about this some other time. Now please, do us both a favor and… Just go.”
It was cruel and the words nearly brought tears to her eyes, but she knew it was for the greater good. I will not let Faith down. I’ll make her trust me… The azure pegasus turned away, half disappointed, half upset “You bet we’ll talk about it some other time. I just… I just figured you’d be over it. It’s been three years since the accident. It wasn’t your fault, you know?” He really thinks it’s about this, does he. That must be… Scarlet’s mind was blocked for a second. It was actually true. She still blamed herself for the incident. “Very well. Another time, then.”
Before she could reply, the colt was already outside. Alone… Scarlet was alone again. Her whimpers of confusion made way for a few tears. The kiss was so much like him… And so different from hers. It wasn’t possible. Just when she thought she’d be happy did she realize half of the pieces were missing.
That arrogant, obnoxious colt finally made sense now. All the times he tried to spend time with her, even though they had been assigned to different divisions, snide comments every now and then in the mess hall and his random feats of kindness were typical in such a situation. The orange mare banged her head on the terminal’s monitor, making it blink a couple of times.
WELCOME BACK, SORA 501.
It was a good couple of minutes before Scarlet remembered the exact reason for contacting Conflux. Unruly behavior of an Ogon squad commander… No, that’s not it… Reinforcements… RECEIVED COMMUNICATION OF POSSIBLE REINFORCEMENTS ENTERING THE PREMISES OF FAIR-FEATHER. PLEASE CONFIRM.
CONFIRMED. REINFORCEMENT REQUEST 5891 ISSUED BY OGON-8 NINER CONFIRMED TWO HOURS AGO. TEN SQUADS AND A CONFLUX OVERLORD SET TO DEPART FOR THE CITY IN FIVE HOURS.
This was absurd. Are TWOS out of their Celestia-damned minds? Damn Conflux for making me do this. The time to set things right was running out, and trying to appeal to Conflux’s voice of reason was a waste of time. OVERSTATE CLASS-5. REQUEST TO OVERRIDE CURRENT ORDERS. Scarlet’s hooves gently slid across the keyboard entering a complex sequence of numbers and signatures. Being a star in the past had its perks now.
Five minutes of silence. Probably they were checking the code Scarlet let had sent. The deal in the past had a more or less fortunate turnover: after losing her team, Scarlet had chosen to remain under Sora division instead of moving to conflux. The cloaked pony kept his word. Her special code had the authority to overtake almost any order issued by Conflux, issued within reason.
REQUEST APPROVED. DELAYED FOR 72 HOURS. TRANSMISSION TERMINATED. While not nearly enough, 72 hours was something. She had to speed up the timetables. In two days the information she requested would be available and the operation could begin. At last, it was time for her to do something constructive.
Pulling a few books from her shelf, Scarlet was determined to do everything to get herself closer to Faith. I’ll bring myself closer to the Creed… For her. The books contained the whole history of the Creed, background, special cases, etcetera. The books were quite a fortune, some of them being unique. With time, she would show them to Faith as well. Maybe, just maybe, then she would approve her as an equal, and even more. Perhaps more than just as a friend…
***
The next morning got Scarlet to the TWOS armory on the outskirts of Fair-feather. Disguised as a derelict warehouse, it contained most of the high-tech equipment a TWOS operative could need. It was the keeper’s duty to destroy any evidence should the house fall into enemy hands. That was almost the case when Scarlet entered the premises; she scared the poor colt out of his way by coming unannounced. It took a few minutes and a good smack to the head to make her standing point that she was not a Creed.
“For the last time. I am Sora division 501. I gave you my authentification code so you can check in with Conflux. What more do you want?” The message was starting to get across to the terrified agent in charge of the warehouse. “Now take it slowly and tell me. What can you give me along the lines of stealth technology and covert missions?”
Bad choice of words… It took another five minute to calm the poor unicorn down. She had to reveal her modified bracer blade for that. Creed members considered it a profanity to modify a bracer blade in any way than the traditional style, and the contraption she build was too technologically advanced for any Creed member to build. It was a true proof of engineering mastery…except for one. When the warehouse keeper was convinced she was who she said she was, Scarlet asked, him, revealing the remaining pieces from Faith’s bracer blade. “I know this is absurd but… Could you please revert it to its original state and move the add-ons to another device. This meant a lot for somepony, and I want it back the way it was.”
“If that is the case, I will try my best. But it is pretty far gone. I may salvage the bracer blade, but not all of the modifications.” This is going to hurt. The tactical advantage the modifications presented were vital, perhaps even the difference between life and death. Yet Faith had been disappointed in her for doing what she had done. It needed to be fixed, one way or another.
“Do it. And see if you can reactivate any of the old runes. I read something about enchantments being laid on the bracer blade. It’s supposed to… uhh… protect the blade, somehow.” She was putting all her hopes and life on a string, but she was going to master the blade, even if it meant her own death.
“I think it’s doable. For an extra cost.” Isn’t it always? The pony took her to another section of the room. “Here you have everything somepony would dream of regarding stealth technology.” Minutes later, Scarlet’s cart was almost full: A completely new mechanism on which she could attach her modifications, two pistols: one for darts, one for bullets. An aerosol spray with a built-in vaporization mechanism. Bullets and darts, lots of bullets and darts. A couple of gas masks. A couple of pairs of night vision goggles. The rockets and the smokescreens would be pretty useless on a nighttime mission, so Scarlet decided for a small, glass cutting laser.
“Wow. You look like you’re about to assault a fortress.” Not too far from the truth. “That’s going to be 2.5 k bits.” We’re cutting it close here… The Trade Guild usually tolls high on information. Let’s just hope I got enough for the endeavor. Scarlet paid up quickly, before looking in the outfit zone. “Oh, I see you’re interested in a suit as well. Did anything catch your eye?”
That’s when it hit Scarlet. The sweet irony of having to face the Creed master was too good to let it pass by. As a smile appeared on her face, wider and wider, she realized it would also be a chance to impress Faith. A small token of appreciation for you, Faith. “Say… Do you happen to have any cloaks?”