//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11 - En Route 
// Story: For the New Lunar Republic 
// by Moxypony 
//------------------------------//

	Chesh, the eerie black unicorn who served as Doolit’s right hand, guided Moxi and Dreamcatcher through the city, slipping through alleys and gaps between structures like a serpent, her lithe movements all but invisible to passers by even without the use of her camouflaging magic. “C’lestia’s troops been buildin’ up dey’s forces ever since dey opened up dis facility,” she spoke in a hushed whisper, peering around a corner before leading them running across an empty street, “Chase don’ like to admit it, but he don’ know why dey’s got so many, can’t even get an eye inside the place, only ponies goin’ in dere so far is dems what’s loyal to the Empress.” She turned to give them a fanged grin, “s’pose that’s about to change, now innit?”
The facility’s entrance was drastically different from the Fillydephia base, Celestia had clearly made no attempt to hide this one, four guards stood out front, marked by the same dark overcoats as the ponies who’d accosted them in the alley. Moxi drew a pair of binoculars from the bag under her robe and peered through them at the windows on the front of the structure. “Doesn’t look like there’s any guards inside,” she said, passing Catcher the scope, “at least not immediately, if we can get past those guards at the front we should have enough time inside to plan our next move.”
“Big if,” Dreamcatcher replied, “no way we’d be able to take all four down before they could get some sort of alarm off.” He shook his head and handed her back the scope, “No, we can’t risk it, if they call for reinforcements, or worse, if they get the lab ponies to destroy the research, everything will have been for naught.”
“Then what are we supposed to do?” Moxi asked, exasperated, “We can’t exactly wait for nightfall, and even without the weather patrol, it looks like the skies here will be too clear to give us any weather advantage.”
“Ye know,” Chesh spoke up, causing both ponies to jump, “Chase only told me ta show ya how ta get ta this place, but…” she cupped Dreamcatcher’s chin with the end of her tail, “fo’ such a han’some fella as yerself, I might just see my way to doin’ a sight more fo’ you.” 
Catcher and Moxi watched in awe as the unicorn disappeared from sight, they turned to watch the guards at the building’s entrance. After a short pause, two of the guards slammed their heads together, slumping unconscious to the ground, the others barely had time to react before the nearer of the two had his feet swiped out from beneath him, he splayed out on the ground, confusion evident on his face as his sword leapt from its sheath of its own accord and sliced through the throat of the final guard before spinning around to slam through his eye, piercing his skull and sinking into the dirt behind him. Chesh reappeared, her face flecked with scarlet blood as she turned her manic grin on the unconscious guards. She approached them slowly, placing one of her front hooves on each one’s neck and laying against them with her full weight.
Moxi made to run after her, to stop her, but Dreamcatcher held her back. She rounded on him and snarled, “are we just going to let her do this!?”
“I don’t like it either,” Dreamcatcher sighed, shaking his head as he released his grip on Moxi, “but those soldiers would do far worse to us, they made their choice. This is war, don’t forget that.”
“Not like this, Catch,” Moxi said, despair in her voice, “they can’t even defend-”

-SNAP-

The sound of both ponies’ necks snapping echoed through the empty street, and Moxi felt her whole body go cold. She turned back just in time to see Chesh’s body give a little shiver of pleasure as she lowered herself from atop the lifeless soldiers. She turned to face them and called across the road, “You all gonna wanna help me move dese fellas? Or was you finkin’ o’ jus’ leavin’ ‘em out in the open ‘ere?”  

Catcher and Moxi helped drag the corpses off to another nearby alley, stashing them behind a couple of heavy trashcans. Chesh eyed Moxi’s expression with interest. “You ain’t been a soldier long,” she observed, “‘ave you lassie?”
“Long enough,” Moxi snarled back, scowling at the unicorn, “I still don’t see the justification in murdering those who can’t defend themselves!”
Chesh’s eyes flashed and her body tensed, Moxi thought she might pounce on her but instead she spoke in a calm voice, her anger only barely audible in her tone. “You don’ ‘ave any idea what you’s talkin’ ‘bout, girlie,” she snarled, “You ain’t seen the kind a shite these thugs pull ‘round ‘ere. Celestia don’t care what ‘er boys do so long as dey keeps the order. Gives ‘em free reign to ruin as many lives as dey see fit, an’ lil’ miss Luna ain’t done much so far as I can see to help out da lil’ folks ‘round ‘ere. Only reason anypony in dis ‘ere town’s got any safety at all is cause o’ Mistah Doolit.” The unicorn glared at the mangled bodies of the guardsmen, “Way I sees it, every one o’ dem put in da ground is one less lassie on da streets what’s gettin’ forced ta do fings she don’ wanna, an’ frankly, miss, that’s more’n reason ‘nuff fo’ me to kick these scum while dey’s down.”
Moxi opened her mouth to respond, then closed it, turning away from the unicorn and nodding silently. 
Chesh raised herself to her fullest height and spoke to Dreamcatcher, “Dis is where I take’s my leave laddy, hopes your mission works out well enough.” She turned and walked away, and as her shape began to fade she called out, “Good luck, you’s gonna need it."