//------------------------------// // "Hawkeye out." // Story: The Winds of Change: Fog of War // by AgentSnail //------------------------------// "Hawkeye out." Jason looked around, amazed at how quickly the crowd had dissipated. A fairly large group was still hovering around the princess, but most of the ponies had apparently grown bored or something, given the rather empty landing strip. It had been ten minutes at least, but still, he'd expected more for some reason. Dash broke into a trot, quickly moving over to the princess's group as the last remaining ponies started to break away. Other ponies seemed to have the same idea, as several other members of Team Green Bean converged, possibly all of them if the rest were blocked from view. Cadence shooed a few other ponies away before she looked around at the group, taking special pause as her eyes drifted across Dash and Jason. Shining turned and threw in a few arm motions before the rest of the team trotted around to the front, making a general box formation. Actually, that was giving them too much credit. It was kind of an orderly group, if he squinted and tilted his head. "So this is the Team Green Bean Shining has told me so much about." She looked them over again. "My, aren't you a diverse bunch." She paused, looking around at the camp before whispering to Shining. He whispered back for a moment before addressing the group. "Just a general heads up for those of you that I don't see all that often, we're working on an insurgent operation with the griffins that came in a few days ago. Hopefully we'll be able to incite revolt or at least get a few moles into the capitol. That's all I'm saying about it, this is staying under wraps as far as I'm concerned. If you have any questions, stop by and I might be able to answer them." "How high up is the classification?" The mare officer asked, her face becoming slightly confused. "I thought we were as high as the rankings went." "Like I said, I'm keeping it under wraps." Shining continued. "It's not that I don't trust any of you, because I do. But that said, the more ponies that have plans, the further information can spread. I'm not saying you'll give up information, but there's always the chance that you get overheard or become a target. It's not like you'll be kept from knowing, as soon as this plan falls into place you'll be the first to know." Jason heard a few groans and resisted the urge to chuckle. "Now let's see, Hawkeye, Tank, Dash and Jason, you'll be with me." "I'm here I'm here!" Evening yelled as she galloped up, before face-planting into the ground. Jason facehoofed, glad that he was blocking most of the view directed towards the aquamarine mare. Cadence's face changed from one of general amusement to a heavy frown, as she directed a stare towards Jason. "Why is she a-oof!" She stared over at Shining, as he sent a quick elbow into her front leg. He stared into her eyes, apparently conveying enough of a signal for her to remain quiet, although the sound of her teeth grinding didn't help. Jason ventured a glance at the rest of the team, most of which looked completely confused. Besides the officers, their little conspiracy theory apparently backing this up perfectly. Jason sighed, before the group started to break apart and he followed behind Shining. He wasn't sure why he had this feeling in his gut, he knew his explanations were sound, at the very least. The walk to the tent seemed longer than usual, and judging by Evening's unhappy expression, she knew what was going on as well. He'd talked himself out of most of the rest of the situations like this, so at least he had a leg up. "What's this wing for?" Cadence asked, lifting up the wing that hung from Jason's neck. "Dash made it for me, so just be careful." She smiled slightly and let it slacken, looking instead at Dash's hoodie. "And that...thing?" "Uh, it's called a hoodie." He paused, before adding awkwardly, "Because of the hood." Dash snickered as they entered the tent and Cadence looked around, sporting the same drawn expression as before. She walked a full circle around the room, either looking because she was curious or checking for any unwanted guests as Tank and Eravel navigated to the bunks, aware of the coming storm. "So tell me," She started, making the group jump, minus Shining who seemed to be regrettably expecting it. "Why is a monster like this hanging around?" She gestured to Evening. "And why is she acting like she's friendly with you two?" she asked Dash and Jason, before starting to pace. The whole, love princess 'I recognize mannerisms' thing was offputting to say the least. He'd hoped to have at least a little time to formulate a response. "Listen," Jason began, looking at her cooly. "I know you've had a bad experience with changelings before, but you've got to hear me out on this one, it may take a while." She floated over a chair and sat down, staring back expectantly. "Go on..." "Wait, real quickly, how did you know she was a changeling?" Dash asked, looking from Evening to the princess. "I'm not sure how much you know about Alicorn powers, but mine aren't as specific as with Auntie's. One of them, which I used to think was useless, was the ability to tell the general situation with a pony and whoever they loved, whether it was a crush, love of their life, whatever. But Changelings are unmeasurable, something that comes in handy when they need to be rooted out." "So what? I'm incapable of feeling love?" Jason shot back, watching as the princess formulated her response. "I never said that. Changelings are different than ponies, and it shows in their love, to say the least." Her expression brightened, and she reached over to lay a hoof on Jason's shoulder. "It's not like all that isn't obvious by how you act anyway." She giggled, before her expression hardened again. "Now, this one, what's her story?" Jason sighed, before he floated over some more chairs and sat down in one of them. "During the Canterlot raid, a changeling saved Lyra, who is a resident of Ponyville, from the rest of the changelings. Lyra gave her personal account of the story, saying that she seemed to be arguing with herself, until she was blown away by the love wave. So I didn't think much of her, besides that there was a way to break from the hive mind, at least partially." "So you're saying that said changeling appeared to be showing signs of cognitive thought?" "Yeah. Now skip ahead a few weeks, back to the last camp. We went scouting, and Evening here was just walking along, arguing at herself like the mare Lyra saw. She couldn't have known we were there, we were all well hidden." "Who's we?" Cadence asked, raising an eyebrow as she started to relax in the chair. "Me, Dash and a random group of other ponies. Anyway, it turns out that Chrysalis was arguing through her, and she started-" He cut off, wondering if he should tell the whole truth. Cadence had stronger feelings towards changelings than Twilight, and it showed with the look she was giving Evening. But if she found out he was lying, that could be worse, even. "She started attacking me with the hive mind, like I wasn't connected prior. It was terrible, like a migraine that starts to impair your thoughts, even a little bit of vision. Chrysalis said a few things, like about some plan she had, how I wasn't a threat, and then let Evening go." He sighed, biting his lip. "And then..." Cadence continued, making a few hoof gestures. "Then we brought her back here, put her on medication, and now she's just a little weird." "Why would you trust her? She's just like the others, little monsters that just bide their time, waiting to strike and stab you in the back." Evening's head drooped. "Is that all I am to you? A monster!?" She yelled, tears already running down her face. "They appreciate me, why can't you?! Do you think I wanted to be stuck in the hive mind?!" She turned and galloped out of the tent, her sobs echoing backwards, quieting as she disappeared into the distance. "What was that, Cadence!?" Shining yelled. "She's not the enemy!" "But-" "No! For once in your life you're wrong! I know you've had a shitty experience, but Jason's a changeling, and he's done wonders in the time he's been here! It's Chrysalis, not changelings in general!" "In answer to your question," Jason replied calmly, "I trust her because she's helped me through a number of Chrysalis related problems, and she's been nice to have around, if nothing else. You may think you're good at judging ponies, and maybe you are, but you should probably keep it contained to just that." He stared for a few more seconds before offered a hoof to Dash as he stood up. "We're going to go find her. Just because she's a changeling doesn't mean she's any different than we are, not really." Dash shot a slightly apologetic look back before they galloped outside and took off, spreading out from each other to look. There was a fair amount of space between the trees and the ground, so they could easily glide over the tents as they searched. It didn't take long, luckily, as Dash pointed downwards and yelled some words he couldn't distinguish. He banked and descended, landing a few seconds after her. Evening was propped up against a tree, her face wet and her eyes focused on something far off. "Evening, you there?" Jason asked, waving a hoof in front of her face. She turned her head slightly and focused on the pair, giving a slight hiccup as another tear jostled out of her eye. "I thought it'd be different." She said after a long silence. "That if I just stuck out of sight and got love from friends like you, that nopony would care." "You can, Evening." Dash cooed, sitting down next to her against the tree and putting a hoof around her shoulders. "It'll all work out." The changeling buried her muzzle in Dash's shoulder, starting to weep again as fresh tears surfaced. Jason sat down as well, stroking a hoof across her back, trying to calm her back down. "It won't work out! I'm not some alter-ego, this is just me, this is the best I can do!" She buried her head further into Dash's fur, muffling the noise. "Evening, listen." Jason started, waiting for her to calm down slightly. "Cadence just doesn't like changelings, she got attacked, remember?" "Yeah, but that was Chrysalis!" "She doesn't know that much. Sure, we can blame her for immediately taking a dislike to you, but I guess I'm saying it's understandable." "How's that supposed to make me feel better?!" "Because you can work to change your image from what it is. It's not impossible, and I'm sure the princess will come to her senses. She's probably just a little tired from traveling." "You're saying that I'd be able to walk around like you? Even though I can't command an army or fight all that well?" "I'm sure of it." He said, moving forward and hugging her. She wiped at her eyes, smiling up at the pair once they got to their hooves. "Thanks." Evening replied gratefully, taking Jason's hoof and pulling herself up. "It's not easy, not acting like a changeling." "I know, it's a lot more work, huh?" "It's more tiring at least." She replied, a slight smile spreading across her face. ____________________________________________________________________ "We're back." Jason announced as he entered the tent, immediately noticing Cadence, who was sitting in the same chair with an unreadable expression. It made sense, if part of your talent rested on deciphering the expressions of others, developing one that was tough to read would be just as easy. Cadence sighed and got to her hooves, waiting for Evening to walk through. The changeling did, and immediately stuck close to the wall, floating a chair further away from the princess before sitting down. Cadence let out a sigh, not daring to take a step closer. "Shining has informed me that I acted without sufficient reasoning, and I'd hate to cause harm to any of my subjects, which Shining tells me you are. So hopefully you can accept my apology." She shot a look back at her husband, who had his arms crossed at his desk, and he gave a nod of approval. "It's a little hard getting past the whole changeling thing." "It's fine." Evening said quickly, not appearing as if she wanted to be there. "I, um, accept your apology." "I don't really want to make another enemy, so listen, how about I be more open minded towards you, and we'll start with a clean slate. Are you alright with that?" "Uuuuuuhhhh..." Evening glanced at Jason, who gave her a nod. "Sure." She stuck a hoof out and shook hooves with the princess, and a slight smile spread across the faces of them both. "Hey honey?" Cadence asked, rousing Shining from his thoughts. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" "Because you could've done this, but in the castle. I don't want things to spread about her if they aren't true. The less that gets out, the better." "Ah, like this infamous thing you're planning?" She asked, her face starting to light up. "Yeah, Eravel, Tank, care to join us?" Jason asked, gesturing for them to come over. They gave each other a look and got up, meeting the other five over Shining's desk. "So how's training and stuff going, Eravel?" "Well it's nothing like what we did before, that's for sure. It's a lot of getting aliases together and knowing as much as possible about things in the Capitol. But any way you look at it, there'll always be holes in any information we create." "Yeah, but those can't be too blaring, right?" "Probably not." Jason scratched at his chin, looking around at the other ponies. "Listen, we need to push this mission before they find out we're here, otherwise we'll have to take this place the old fashioned way. There'll be a lot more casualties, besides the amount of time it'll take to clear the city." "So you want to go tonight?" Eravel asked, tapping one of his talons on the ground. "Yeah, that'd probably be best." He paused. "Hold on, let me go get something." He trotted outside, his normally quiet hoofsteps quickly disappearing into the distance. "Where's he going?" Cadence asked, looking out the tent opening after him. "How much do you know?" Dash asked, shifting her gaze to the princess. "Not much. Shining insists that he's friendly, and apparently he's helped a great deal, that's about it." "Okay then. The short version is, he ended up here fro reason's we don't know as of yet, and stuff comes through from his home country, random stuff, mostly." "Like what?" "There's a fair amount of technology that's hundreds of years past ours, at least at the rate we're moving. It's apparently a pretty daunting place, cities with populations larger than we have in all of Equestria, towers that extend into the clouds..." "Taller than the Canterlot spires?" Cadence asked with a smirk, figuring she'd caught Dash in a lie. "Probably way taller. And they don't even use magic to help support them." Cadence furrowed her brow, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're just pulling my leg..." "Who's pulling legs?" Jason asked as he walked back in, carrying two saddlebags on his back. He passed Dash's hers, opening a flap to reveal some food that he had apparently picked up from the cafeteria. "Your mare friend, she said that you have skyscrapers and technology of unbelievable proportions." Cadence said with a laugh, her grin fading slightly when she saw a smile start to spread over Jason's muzzle. He pulled out the computer and set it on the desk, floating the chairs around in a half circle as the computer's screen lit up. Cadence gasped, moving her head to more closely examine the screen. Dash giggled. "It's pretty obvious that you haven't been around Jason a lot, this kind of thing becomes commonplace pretty fast." Jason chuckled, pulling up an image of the New York skyline, before pulling up a more zoomed in picture from central park afterwards. "Those-how do they not blow over?" "Steel and concrete, and a deep foundation." "But how-" "I'm sorry princess, but we're pretty pressed for time. I can answer your questions later, but I want to at least get the griffins on their way." "Why's there a statue of a human here?" She asked, pointing at the Statue of Liberty, silhouetted against the horizon. He saw Dash stiffen out of the corner of his eye, and calmly reached over to tap Dash on the shoulder. "A moment, Princess?" He asked calmly, as if nothing was wrong. "Sure, go ahead." She replied, moving her muzzle closer to the screen, pointing out various buildings and points of interest for future reference. Jason trotted outside and turned to face Dash, quickly casting the noise canceling spell around the two of them. "Should we tell her?" Jason asked, his expression growing more nervous. "I don't know, you made the obvious point of coming out here!" "You know I don't like to keep these things from ponies, even if it could be bad." "Yeah, but now? You'd prove the fact that you've been lying to them all along." "But then what? Make it worse later?" "I don't know, you could just keep it a secret!" "Twilight caught on apparently, what's to stop Cadence or Shining from doing the same?" "What happens if you get sent back? If you lose your job?!" "I beat down a pony and Shining hardly cared, why would he relieve me for this? He'd know that he's sacrificing the lives of ponies by removing me, he wouldn't do that! I'm just worried that my relations with Shining will take a dive, that stallion's a really good friend." "Fine, do what you want." Dash said, drooping her head. "I'm not going to stand in the way of whatever you think is right. Just remember, you're screwing with my life too, I'm stuck with you no matter what happens." Jason smiled, leaning over to give her a kiss. "Thanks. I love you, by the way." She smiled, stepping forward and wrapping him in a hug. "I love you too." Jason smiled back and let the spell drop before trotting back inside. "That took a while..." Shining said suspiciously, apparently having conferred with Cadence in the time they'd been gone. "Yeah, Tank, Eravel, you can go if you want. But you two...well...I need to tell you something." Shining scowled as Eravel took his leave, murmuring to Tank, who looked like he was going to stay. Jason sat down on one side of Shining's desk and sighed, gesturing for Cadence and Shining to face him. He grabbed the computer and put it away, taking a few moments to stare at his saddlebag before turning back. "I-- I haven't been completely honest with you, Shining. Either of you, really." There was a long silence as Jason tried to think of the right words, before Shining interjected. "You-you're not with Chrysalis, right?" At least his answer still held value. "No, I would never counteract this-- any of this. Why would I work so hard for something just to knock down my own work?" "It could all just be another trick." Cadence replied, crossing her arms. "Just-- I'll start from the beginning." He paused again, before the first words popped into his head. "I was born twenty four years ago in a small-ish town on the west coast of the United States of America. You know that. But I wasn't born as a changeling, I was born as a human." Shining almost looked angered, while Cadence's face suddenly contorted into a face of total confusion. "You know, I take it?" Cadence asked, looking around at the other ponies present. They all nodded slowly, Dash included. "Anyway," Jason continued, "I lived my life there for all those years before I ended up here, as a changeling." He sighed, partially of relief that he had gotten that out without too much issue. "I wanted to tell you, I really did, but with that on top of everything else... I dunno. Whatever you think about me now, well, it's probably deserved. Fire me, do whatever you want, I don't care. Just don't pull Dash or anyone else into this." He put his head in his hooves, jarring a tear out of his solid blue eye. "I'll be back." Shining said gruffly, getting out of his chair and walking outside. The tent was silent as his hoofsteps disappeared into the distance. "So you were a human up until you got here?" Cadence asked, looking his changeling body over. "As far as I'm concerned, I still am. At least in mind." She paused, scratching at her chin. "How's it any different from a pony?" She asked, chancing a look back to the tent entrance. "I'm sure everything will work out fine, he gets like this from time to time." Jason nodded, stuck in his thoughts. "Humans don't have magic, as I'm sure you know. Everything we do has to be done by hand or by something we built by hand. We're pragmatists at the lowest level, and everything needs a new and inventive solution. You move huge stones with magic, we had to build something to carry those without that asset. To the top of some of those buildings no less." Cadence's face lightened a little. "So we're not all that different, at least." "No, although I suppose humans can be a little more cynical than you ponies, and that's been an asset if I've ever had one." "That explains the booby traps all over the place." Dash said with a groan. "Oh, heh. You found those?" "Yeah, the ones in the house, the ones under our house..." She paused. "The rockets you hid on one side!" "What if we need to move the house?" "How'd you even make rockets?!" "Loosely packed gunpowder." He put his head back in his hooves. "Don't beat yourself up." Cadence reached across the table and gave him a pat on the back. "You're just happy that I wasn't always a changeling." Jason mumbled back, watching as she withdrew her hoof. "Maybe so, but that's apparently not a bad thing." She glanced over at Evening, who had been uncharacteristically silent during the whole conversation. "As long as you're not stuck to Chrysalis." Evening muttered, flicking some dirt off an arm. "Fucking maniac." "Wait, repeat that." Cadence said, pointing at Evening. "Fucking maniac?" "Yeah, what does that first word mean? Shining's said it a few times after Canterlot got invaded." "Ask Jason." She said, pointing a hoof. "It's a swear word. Other bad words include, but are not limited to: shit, cunt, dick, ass, cock, bitch, twat... The list goes on." "I feel like I've lost whatever's left of my innocence." Dash stated, running the words over in her head. "Religious backgrounded cus words include: Damn, Hell, and any variation of Jesus." "Why do you need so many swear words?" Cadence asked. "You try calling someone featherbrained, then see if you like calling them a retard or a fucking idiot better." "Well you're in a good mood, Jason." Evening mentioned. "Do you really fucking expect me to be happy in any way shape or form?! Besides the fact that I'm waiting to see if I still have my job, I could just as easily loose a friend. And with how few ponies there are that actually want to associate with me, I don't want to loose someone to a non death related reason." There was a long silence, eventually broken as Shining walked back inside. He sat down and sighed, pulling his chair closer to the desk. "You have a minute to tell me everything that isn't a realistic secret to be kept, and then we'll talk." "Do I start-" "Now." "Um, uh, I may have given up information when I was tortured, I think the hive mind's getting stronger..." Jason looked at Shining's stony expression. "I-uhh, well my parents died when I was sixteen, I'm technically a millionaire..." "Stop, Jason. You don't have to get personal." He sighed. "That last part, about your parents, is that true?" "Yeah." "Well you seem pretty together." Shining said, doubt evident in his voice. "Me mourning them isn't what they would've wanted anyway. Not after a while, anyway." Shining took a long pause, probably considering his options before he laid out a verdict. "Jason, I'm your superior. I don't care that you have your own secrets as long as they don't pertain to the military. But as a friend, I'll be honest, I'm--I dunno, sad? It was your secret to keep and that's fine, I wouldn't have needed to know, but I guess I was just angry that you didn't trust me enough until now. So I went out there and thought, and realistically, well, it took me forever to trust you, and I don't deserve to get mad at you if I was constantly on the lookout for any funny business before." "So, you don't care?" "Well of course I care, just--we can trust each other, right?" "Yeah." "Well then don't worry about what I'll think, I'm always out for the best interests of my troops." He paused. "But don't think that makes you exempt, if you can't control the hive mind or something goes wrong with Chrysalis, I'm going to make sure I act for the greater good here." "I understand, I would do the same." "Okay good, we're all friends again!" Cadence smiled, clapping her hooves together. "Now, what was this you said about a hive mind." There was a unanimous groan, as Jason started to talk again. _______________________________________________________________ "Eravel, how're things going?" He asked the griffin, walking up to his group on the edge of camp. "I should really ask you the same question, how'd that whole thing go with the princess?" Eravel asked back, clear concern in his eyes. "It could've gone worse, I suppose." Jason replied, shifting into Alternis and pulling a wing over Dash. "Shining's a little mad, but I still have my job and all." "Luckily for him, you little workaholic." "Hey, I think it's probably good to be a workaholic when it comes to this." He chuckled, turning back to the griffin as he asked another question. "Are we still on for tonight? We can go and all?" "Yeah, why're you so nervous?" Dash asked. "Worried about the undercover part or what?" "A little, but I'm worried that the other griffins won't go along with us, that they're too ingrained into the system to actually have hope anymore." "I guess that's what you're there for, huh?" Jason pointed out, smiling widely. "I mean, isn't that what you wanted?" "Well yeah, but I'm more worried about this whole plan's failure." "Eravel, or Hawkeye, whatever you want to be called, no plan's going to provide for every problem you come across. The only secret to war is how quickly you adapt. That, and attacking. Keeping the enemy on their heels, as it is." "And that, right there, is why I don't call the shots." "Oh, that reminds me." Jason reached into his saddlebag and pulled out an Xbox headset and walkie talkie. He broke the other little useless plastic tongs off and connected the headset, before sticking it onto Eravel's head. "These aren't super long range things, but you should be able to contact me with this." "How does it work?" He asked, turning it around in a talon. "Twist the dial on the top." Jason pulled out his own, turning it up to full volume. "Then just press the call button and talk." "Hello?" He spoke, taken aback as his voice came out of the other device. "Wow, that's cool." "Yeah, it works both ways, so I we can keep up better communications this way." Jason looked up, judging the time based on the angle of the sun. "You ready to go?" He asked, returning his gaze downward. "Sure, just meet over on that side of camp in like ten?" "Take your time, I'd rather be ready than not." "Okay. It'll still probably be like ten minutes." "Well, see you then I guess." Jason turned around with a slight chuckle, putting his wing more tightly around Dash as they walked. Jason liked this camp, it was turning out to be a really nice place to be, especially in the slightly nippy late fall weather. The duo walked past a tent as a small group of ponies ran by, before one of them yelled at the rest of the group and pointed at Dash. Great, Jason thought, they were probably news ponies judging by the fact that they were all wearing that one stereotypical news guy hat. What was that hat? Bowler? Fedora? The ponies crowded around, bumping against each other as they tried to get clear pictures and yell out their questions. He couldn't tell who was yelling out what, their questions just blended into an endless stream directed towards Dash. "What's this plan under wraps? Was Jason ever a love interest for you and why are you with this other stallion? Is it true that you beat down a pony yesterday because you wanted to let off steam?" "AAAH! One at a time!" Jason yelled, transforming back to normal. The reporters indulged themselves in the most brief gasp he'd ever seen before resuming their questions. Jason sighed and put a hoof to his forehead, smiling slightly at the musical sound of Dash's giggles. Eventually, he just pushed some power through his horn and pushed the ponies away. That did a pretty good job at silencing them. "Now listen, we're on a really tight schedule right now, if you want any questions answered, I'll point you out." Several hooves shot up as the group became rowdy again. "Uuh, you. With the red mane." "What was your reasoning in the military incident yesterday?" "The pony was out of control, and he showed hostility towards innocent individuals. That could've been an overreaction on my part, but I don't regret it." "Wait, can I pick the next one?" Dash asked, bouncing between her hooves. "I've never been interviewed like this before, although it is pretty fitting for a pony as awesome as I am." "And humble too." "Oh shh. You, go." "That conflict took place over griffin integration into the military, correct?" Dash nodded. "So how have things been since?" "Quiet, I guess." She shrugged. "There aren't that many griffins." "Do you plan to recruit more?" "It's a volunteer army, they can come if they want to." The reporter nodded and sank back a little ways. "What about the capitol, what plans do you have in place?" "None that are going in the newspapers." Jason replied. "It's well within our power to withhold military information, and I'm going to do just that. What I can tell you is that it should last a few days and will hopefully bring a faster victory with fewer casualties." "But what of the Griffin empire at war's end, assuming the territory is conquered?" "I guess we'll have a much larger population." He said shortly, before starting to walk away with Dash. The group expectedly followed, throwing any remaining questions at the pair in rapid fire. "What's your opinion on the war effort and the soldiers?!" The question rang out, and Jason stopped and turned. "Who was the one with the opinion question?" Jason asked, watching as a young looking stallion singled himself out. "My opinion, and this is the last answer I'm going to give right now, because I really am in a hurry, is that this war effort, this group of ponies and griffins, is largely one of the most strong willed and hardy armies I could've ever hoped to help lead." "And most of Team Green Bean was from this army." Dash added. "Yeah, without these ponies willing to lay down their lives like this, well, we wouldn't be anywhere. You can't be a leader without anyone to lead." He finished, turning back around. Most of the group dissipated, save for one pony, who started to walk alongside Dash and Jason. "I know you don't have that much time, but I like to pull a quote from everypony I interview, so do you have any words of wisdom off the top of your head?" "Well, uh..." He scratched his chin for a moment. "Okay, how about..." He cut off, formulating words. "Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory." The pony smiled as his pencil scribbled the words down, floating off the pencil when it was done. "Thanks for your time, sir." The pony saluted and trotted off, tossing his notepad into one of the pockets of his saddlebag. "Where'd you come up with that, Jason?" "It's a quote from a general named George S. Patton." She frowned. "If they want to quote me so badly, they could have used any of the other stuff I said!" "I guess you have a point there..." Dash replied, giggling to herself. "Swarmed by reporters, I see." Eravel said, walking up next to the duo with a cloak over his back. "Why the beggar costume, Eravel?" "I can disguise my bow this way, and it's an easy alias. What does a beggar do, anyway? Get drunk and ask for money, right?" "I guess it is pretty simple." Dash replied with a laugh. "But how're you going to probe you aren't a loon? I mean, beggar and all, it's pretty easy for the other griffins to say you're just spouting bullshit." "Ah, Shining gave me this." He reached under his cloak and pulled out a badge, with a star and a few stripes flowing across the surface. The bottom read: Equestrian Royal Third Army. "Wow, that's pretty cool, how come we don't all get those?" Dash asked, taking the badge into her hoof. "Shining said that they're making these, at least for the officers. We qualify as that, for the record." "Yeah, I know." Jason said with a chuckle. "Well anyway, he said something about dog tags, but I don't know anything about what that means." Jason laughed gruffly. "Heh, he took my idea. Dog tags have names for recognition." "Oh, too bad they haven't arrived." "Well if you're caught, it could be bad for any family members of the other griffins." "I guess you're right. I don't want to be a nameless grave though, you better recognize me if I don't make it back." "Don't worry, we will. But it's not going to come down to that anyway." "I hope you're right." ___________________________________________________________ The escort down to the village was quiet, but for good reason. Any noise now could jeopardize the entire operation, besides the fact that no one had anything to say. Jason tripped over a branch, smiling as Dash's wing helped to catch him. "It's hard doing this when you're so much taller than me." She said with a giggle. "I'm not sure if I'd want to be as short as you though, it's gotta be weird operating two inches off the ground." Dash bumped into his side in slight annoyance, hopping over a rock as the caravan slowed. There was a chain link fence at the edge of the forest, glinting slightly in the dusk light. Jason walked up and looked at it, before turning to Dash and telling her to get a knife out. "Why do we need to cut through?" Eravel asked, just above a whisper. "That's just going to be obvious!" "If something goes wrong and one of your wings get's hurt, you'll need this. Plus, we can just drag that shrub over a foot or so, it's potted and all." "But how're we going to cut through metal with a knife?" "Ah, just get the orange portions." He said, before lighting his hoof on fire. He drew it down the cheap iron slowly, leaving a red hot trail in his wake, which Dash easily cut through, almost like butter. It didn't take long to make a sizable hole, and they waited a few minutes for the pointy ends to cool before sending the griffins through. Eravel dragged the shrub over and adjusted a few branches, before waving it and moving the headset closer to his beak. "Hawkeye out."