//------------------------------// // The CIA // Story: Thing a Day // by Rennoc215 //------------------------------// Thing a Day: The CIA Darkness. That was the first thing Talon realized about his surroundings. It was noon. Why was it so dark? "Ah, hey C! Our guest is waking up." A voice called. A light came on, and Talon immediately wished he had stayed home that day. Calling this abomination a room would be giving it some serious liberties. It looked like the interior of a mossy cinder block. The walls were mechanically aligned stones, the mortar was absolutely flat, leaving what would have been a flat grey surface. But then they went ahead and left the cinder block in a river for several years, letting moss and slime grow over most of the faded walls. The stench of decaying and growing plant matter filled the air like a fog, thick and relentless. And even though it was being illuminated by one of those electric lights, the room seemed to have recesses, places of shadow ground into the green and grey walls. But the pony sitting across from him was what unnerved him most. The copper coated pegasus sat unmoving, his eyes closed and his breathing easy. But Talon recognized him. There was something about him that was familiar, yet in an uncomfortable feeling of familiarity. Like this was somepony you did not want to be around. The pegasus smiled, and cracked one eye open. This eye is what put an even greater sense of unease over Talon. The eye wasn't natural. It had a hammered and forged look to it, and crafted straight from metal. Where there should be white, there was silver, and the iris was gold leaf, crumpled and rippled to make it look natural, like a metal flower, with each petal hoof-forged. The pupil was a solid piece of smoky quartz, and Talon immediately wondered if this pegasus could actually see out of his artificial eye. He lifted a hoof and waved it in front of the pegasus, who didn't even flinch. Smiling, Talon got up as quietly as he could, and silently snuck around the pegasus, to reach for the door on the other side. "I don't like it when my guests try to leave without a proper conversation," Whispered a voice in Talon's ear, causing him to jump and turn around. There was the pegasus, watching him with that cold steel eye. "Perhaps we can become better acquainted. My name," He said, holding out his hoof, "Is C." Talon quirked an eyebrow. "C? As in, the letter?" "I had another name, at one point, but I had to lose it for... my job." He said, a wicked smile creeping over his face. C motioned towards the chair Talon had just gotten up from. "Please, take a seat. Neither of us can leave until... My partner comes back." Talon's ears perked up at the word partner. "Alright, I can wait." C took a breath in as Talon sat down. "You still haven't told me your name." He prodded. Talon looked down at his pale, cream colored hooves, and a blue strand of mane fell in front of his face. "Blue Day." He replied, and looked back at the pegasus, who was frowning. "That's not your name." C stated, as if it were fact. "What makes you think that?" Talon asked, a bead of sweat sliding down his spine. "Because Blue Day was a personal friend of mine. And you," He said, pointing a hoof at Talon, "Are only delaying the inevitable. Now, what is your real name." He stated. It wasn't a question, a friendly way of learning, but a command. Something that must either be obeyed or refused, each with respective troubles. Talon huffed up his chest. "My name is Blue Day." He repeated. "Now, If you are so close of a friend to me, why don't you tell me your real name? The one you discarded for this job." Talon pressed. Maybe, if he had some information, he could bite back. "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? Nay, I won't tell you who I was, but at least I'll be truthful about who I am now. My current name is... Cog. Agent Cog." He chided, chortling lightly. "Let me tell you this, I'm not angry. After all, what else were you supposed to do? A delicious relationship, two young folk in love, any irregularities ruled out in the heat of the moment. I've seen it a hundred times." Another icy bead rolled down his spine, and Talon shifted his posture slightly. "But honestly, I want to know. Who did I catch? It wouldn't happen to be, oh, Talon Eversteel, Changeling general and survivor of the canterlot invasion, would it?" He asked, laying down a thick dossier labelled 'Talon Eversteel'. Talon gulped. They can't possibly know who I am. Everything went off perfectly. No witnesses, no messes, no troubles. How could they know. "I'm sorry, Cog. I think you have the wrong pony. I'm Blue Day, alchemist-in-training, back home for a few months from a mission trip to Zebrica." Cog lifted an eyebrow. "Then why do we not have your return forms?" Talon flinched. "My whats?" Cog smiled. "Your return forms. Everypony fills out 'Departure' forms when they leave the nation, and when they return, they fill out their 'Return' forms. It helps us know what nation our people are in at any given time, and as it shows here," He said, pulling a half blank sheet from the dossier, "You haven't officially returned yet." Cog leaned across the table. "I have you under my hoof. Come clean, and we might actually put you through the Equestrian justice system. And unlike myself, they might take pity on your chitinous hide." Talon took a breath. "Chitinous hide?" he asked, trying to make up his best incredulous voice. "That stings, C. I take much pride in my pale fur." Cog laughed. "You mean your pale disguise?" Talon was about to interject something when Cog shushed him. "I'm not listening to any more lies today, Talon. You see my eye here?" He asked, motioning to the metal eye. "The smoky crystal has a particularly nice enchantment on it. Want to know what it is?" He asked, smiling. "It's a detect charm spell. Useful for archaeologists looking for magical relics, but I discovered something else about it. It can be used to see through your petty disguises. After all, Changeling magic is still magic." A knocking at the door caused Cog to lean back, and let Talon release a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Come in." Cog called, turning that accursed metal eye away to look at the door. In strode a tall, gray Unicorn, with an electrified blue mane, which faded to a more calm dark blue at the ends. As he moved, it shimmered slightly, rippling like a pool of water. Cog smiled. "Ah, this is my partner, Agent Yamgrenade." "Greetings. Please, call me Yam." Yamgrenade stated calmly, bowing slightly. His presence was imposing, yet not in a way terrifying. More like the kind of imposing you get from being around a bodybuilder. "Cog? We've got something else to do. Leave the poor insect to the inquisition. Maybe they can squeeze the truth from him." The Inquisition? They wouldn't really do that, would they? Look at them, they found me, of course they would. Talon sighed. "Were you serious about the Equestrian courts taking me on?" -+-+-+-+-+- "Did you really have to do the whole 'eye of suspicion' play again?" Yamgrenade asked, turning to Cog. Cog shrugged. "Hey, man. It works. Besides, what else am I going to put my psychology minor towards?" He laughed lightly, before turning to look at the town that lay in the distance. "Besides, this eye looks cool enough that it just might be able to hold a scrying spell." Yam laughed. "It could, but it doesn't." He pointed out. Cog sighed. "Yeah." He took a sip of his coffee. "So, what is this new assignment?" Yam placed a folder on the table between them. "That town seems to have an unusually high number of found Changelings. We're mostly being sent in as cleanup crew." He sighed. "We never get the action." Cog lightly pushed his shoulder. "Hey, cheer up. At least we won't wind up like Agent Lesley, right?" Yam cocked his head. "Lesley?" Cog pulled back. "You really didn't hear?" With a shake of the head, Cog continued. "Lesley was a frontman. Scouting and all. Well, one time he goes into a hot zone, and the next day, they find him in several pieces. He was ripped apart by seventeen separate changelings. He didn't stand a chance." Yam gasped. "How did they know it was seventeen?" Cog pulled out his own folder. "The inquisition descended upon the town, and interrogated each and every pony within town borders. They caught seventeen individuals in one day." "Wow." Yam said, leaning back. "Poor son of a gun." "Yeah. So, what's the name of the town we are heading to?" Cog asked, taking another sip of his coffee. "Some backwater town called Ralleigh." Yam stated, closing his eyes. "Best get some rest. We need to be on our best when we arrive." "Agreed. But I don't need sleep. I have something better." Cog replied, which caused Yam to crack open one eye. "I have coffee." This drew light laughter from both agents, before they drifted off into a comfortable silence. -+-+-+-+-+- The whistle from the train signaled the mass of metal behind them beginning to move, and they stepped further away from the platform. "Where to start?" Cog asked, before a colorful mare came up to them. "Welcome to our quaint town, gentlemen. I don't believe I have met either of you two before. What brings you two to town?" She asked, with a pleasant smile. "I'm Cog, With the CIA. Here to help." "CIA...? As in, Changeling Investigation Agency?" She asked, suddenly absurdly nervous. Cog was about to answer, when Yam shoved a hoof into his partner's mouth. "Is there something wrong, ma'am?" "No... I just... Have to go." She stated, before taking off. Cog turned to his partner. "Shall we pursue?" Yam bowed, and waved his hoof. "After you." Cog smiled, before stretching his wings. "And you said we never get any action." He stated, lightly laughing, before taking off after the fleeing mare. "Ma'am, please stop. I'm authorized to use force if needed." She ducked into an alley, and Cog deftly darted in after her, slamming her into a dumpster and burying her slightly in trash. The impact knocked her out, and Yam rushed in. "Just a moment..." He said, cranking up his dark red aura, and blasting her with a soft zap of magic. A ripple of green flame later, and the changeling was exposed to the world. "Got one." Cog said, suppressing a shudder. "And, could you please remember to use that when I'm not looking? That red just seems... unhealthy." He added, looking up. "Yam? You need to see this." He stated, pointing at the town. Yam turned around, to find the streets of the town devoid of any ponies, each and every member of the town shifted into those black insectile abominations. "Cog?" Yam asked, the dire-ness of the situation sinking in. "It was an honor." Cog looked down at his partner, a look of grim determination on his face. "So it has. So it has." Suddenly, a wild smile crossed his face. "In blaze and glory, or like cowards in an alley?" Yam looked at his longtime friend and smiled. "Do you really have to ask?" He replied, laughing under his breath. And then they charged. -+-+-+-+-+- Ponies often ask me if being a member of the CIA ever gets boring. I always tell them this: "Never."