//------------------------------// // Stealth Missions Are Magic // Story: Odrsjot // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// “We’re turning about again,” spoke one stallion to another as the two guards marched firmly across the side deck of the Lightning Bearer, close to the stern. “We’re headed back east.” “I thought we had just diverted from our previous path half a day ago!” The other looked out into the dissipating gray mists beyond the hull’s edge. “I don’t get it. Fortis has never made an order this random before.” “I heard that we picked up a very important pony. A mare from Blue Nova.” “She’d better be important!” The one stallion frowned as the air around them rumbled. “And the sooner we ditch this weather the better.” “You’d rather deal with enemy warships?” “If it means killing some tattooed bastards, you bet!” “Heheheh. Come on, let’s finish our rounds.” The two trotted down a stairwell, leaving that spot of the deck empty. A few seconds later, two mares--one colorful and the other clad in metal--climbed over the nearby railing. They hoisted a stallion onto the deck with them like a wet sack of meat. “Ungh…” Zaid rolled over, wincing. “My body’s noodly in all the wrong places.” “Get used to it.” Rainbow Dash panted as she nervously glanced around the area surrounding them. “And you’d better be sober! I need you around for when we grab the book.” “I thought we were looking for the kid.” “One thing at a time.” Rainbow Dash glanced over at the mare to her right. “Roarke?” “Hmm?” “Does your fancy helmet thingy see any dastardly beret dudes loitering about?” “Hmm…” Roarke leaned forward, her helmet flickering with red light. Rainbow glared. “You know, half the time I can’t tell when you’re thinking or just brooding.” “Can’t I do both?” “Your heart’s really not into this sneaking mission, is it?” Rainbow Dash leaned in to mutter. “You’d rather have gone in guns blazing.” “Don’t be silly. I’d waste my ammo.” Rainbow sighed. “Glad to know your priorities are straight.” “The coast seems to be clear,” Roarke said. “Though that’s not the case with the area below deck. It’s practically crawling with equines down there.” “I’m guessing that’s where they took Khao’s glowy magazine of runes?” Zaid remarked. Rainbow Dash tilted her head around, ultimately sighting a lavender glint of light midway towards the bow, and below them. “Ugh. Why’s everything gotta be so mega-lame? I liked things better when it was… like… diet lame.” “Just calm down,” Roarke said as she snuck towards a stairwell, spotting it for guards. “We’re more than equipped to get the foal, the book, then escape undetected.” “I don’t suppose you picked up anything at the village back there that could help us?” “Not quite,” Roarke said. “Just a couple of bits, a switchblade, a crystal detector.” She jerked, “Oh, and one of the stallions in the tavern had dropped a rather tasty sandwich made out of yellow cheese melted between two slices of toasted bread--” “You mean you had grilled cheese and you didn’t tell me?!” Zaid shouted. “Shhhh!” Rainbow Dash slapped him upside the head. “The next yelp out of you, cultist, and you’re goin’ out one of these ship’s cannons!” “I’d proudly die with a smile on my face! Darn it! Why didn’t you share, girl?!” Rainbow sighed and leaned in towards Roarke. “Any guards down there?” “Doesn’t seem like it.” The metal mare droned as she grabbed Zaid. “One way to find out.” “Huh--Gaaaie!” Zaid hissed as he was tossed mercilessly down the steps. His limbs made several thumping noises, then lay silent. After a few seconds, his voice echoed upwards. “He didn’t have a side of pickles with that sandwich, did he?” “Works form me.” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and glided down. “Let’s go!” Roarke hurriedly trotted down after her. Zetta shoved a tray across the cot. “Please. You need to eat something!” She blinked with worried eyes. “I can tell that you haven’t had a bite in ages! You poor thing. Don’t you want to feel better?” Kera sat in the far corner of the bed, hugging herself tightly. She went through extraordinary lengths to avoid visual contact with the female enforcer. Zetta gulped. She glanced up at Basso. The stallion shrugged, his massive shoulders taking up most of the space in the cramped officer’s quarters. With a sigh, Zetta slid the tray against the wall, rotating the apples atop it so that their skin’s shine could reflect Kera’s jaded expression. “Well, we’ll leave it here in case you change your mind. And if you need anything, please don’t be afraid to ask one of us, okay?” Kera gazed down at the bed, her expressions limp and emotionless. Zetta smiled kindly. “I dunno what your folks in Xona think about us, but we’re not really that cruel. Honest! We’d never hurt a kid of theirs. That just isn’t right. I mean, once this war is over, you can go back… back to…” The mare’s words trailed off. Kera was frowning at this point. Her teeth clenched tightly beneath her tattooed muzzle. With a wincing expression, Zetta stood up and trotted quietly out the room with Basso. The stallion closed the door as the two stood alone in the hallway. “Well, she was certainly chatty,” Basso muttered. “You suppose she even understands Ledomaritan Basic?” “I dunno. Wouldn’t she? I mean, how else could Madame Nightshade have communicated with her?” “Maybe Nightshade saved the kid from the warfront, and somehow she got stuck with the mare after what went down in Blue Nova.” “Whatever the case, it looks like that kid has been through a lot.” Zetta gazed at the door with a sad expression. “I… I’ve heard stories of what the Xonans do to their foals: tattooing them at a young age, forcing them to practice mind-bending feats of magic. I didn’t want to believe it, but now that she’s here… and she’s so miserable looking…” “Perhaps we should just stick to our task at hoof,” Basso said. “Fortis and Straker want us guarding the kid.” He turned around to face the far end of the hallway. “As long as we do that right, we should have nothing to be concerned about--” “Ooof!” Rainbow Dash turned a corner and slammed directly into Basso’s thick chest. Unmoving, the stallion glanced down towards the collapsing pegasus. “Oh! Uhm… hi there!” He smiled. “Did Nightshade bring you too?” Rainbow Dash stopped rubbing her head and gasped. “Nightshade?!” She looked up, caught a brief glimpse of the stallion’s beret, and immediately flew towards him with murderous uppercut. “Raaaaaugh--” She bounced off him again. “Acck!” Thud. Basso blinked. “So… is that a no?” “Look out!” Zetta gasped, reaching for her taser. “Rrrrrrgh!” Roarke flew in, rockets blaring. Behind her, Zaid pumped his hoof, cheering. “Wooo! Let’s rock, baby!”