Plot Devices!
Sitting alone in his office, a half consumed bottle of burben on his desk, Malich reluctantly read the report from Conno one more time, eliciting the same sense of irritation and aggravation that he'd gotten the last seventy seven times he'd read it. And even as he took yet another swig of the happy tingle inducing beverage, his mind felt no worse for the wear.
This was a problem, a very big problem. One of his brother's closest friends was imprisoned and out of his reach. His plan didn't have room for such an incarceration. Why hadn't this been reported to him before hand? Where was Silvia?
His agents reported searching for her but never finding her. Malich had known Conno for years, and as far as he knew, had no beef with his assistant or any other reason to lie and earn his ire towards her. His initial thought was that she may have been hurt and in need of rescue, but that thought faded to the more likely scenario that she was just slacking off.
As if everything else wasn't irritating enough for him today.
Malich sighed and pulled out another parchment, writing up a new set of orders to be carried out. The first of which was a denial for Conno to question his brother about any and all affairs, the same with any Triple M agent. He knew his brother, and for all of his talk about non-aggression and volunterism, he knew that Sin was a resourceful and pragmatic pony, and by no means stupid. If he had the slightest idea that his company was involved, the banker wouldn't put violence and coercion past him to get the information he wanted.
Conno and all of his mercenaries and spies weren't push overs by any means, but it was a situation that could end up with either his brother dead or his own subordinates, most likely both. A situation Malich would rather avoid.
Secondly, he pulled out another piece of parchment, this one holding multiple photos of a very incriminating circumstance in which the Grand Alpha was observed consuming a still living pony. He wanted to resolve this issue quickly and peacefully. There was a profit in war, to be sure, but there was a greater profit in avoiding it.
Once he'd written his demands for the black mail, he called in Radcliff and gave him instructions to assemble an incognito escort to deliver the message to the Dog Empire by tomorrow.
Satisfied that his part in this plan had been painless yet effective, Malich wrote down how the next few days should play out for his agents in Equestria. Giving them permission and instruction to disrupt the trial until his influence had been introduced.
At that point, a large smile began to twist onto the vice president's face as a great idea came to mind. He could use this all to his advantage! He quickly pulled out another piece of paper and began writting up another contract. Giggling to himself menacingly as he wrote down every single word. It was perfect! He couldn't help but feel silly for worrying about what was actually a blessing in disguise!
After he'd finished the contract and looked it over to ensure no loop holes could be wiggled through, he placed it beneath the paper to be shipped off with the official order.
He smiled, his mind slowly giving into the happy euphoria that the burben offered. Fatchitaz was on an impossible mission, the Federal Inquary was off questioning the new Captain of Sigma III, Project New Wave was well ahead of scheduled, and his newest success would ensure his brother's return.
Things were finally starting to look up!
As she sat in her tree, staring up at the clouds, Silvia's mind continued to wonder on about the way she wished her life was. Missions like these became boring very quickly, and as skilled as she was in stealth and seduction, she was still a griffon, and bordom was a threat that would drive anyone to madness if not kept at bay.
Though she couldn't do much, even reading a book was frowned upon in her field when on long stake outs. So, she instead settled for thinking, writing up scenarios in her head, creating characters who went on adventures and found themselves in stupid situations. She always found most of her life lived in her own head, and as much as she would rather live in the real world, her choice of career more than hindered such a prospect.
She couldn't wait until retirement so that she could be the heroine in her own stories. Sex for love instead of business, having someone she trusted as a mate, traveling with the sole purpose of enjoyment, wondering through the Zeborican jungle for the sake of adventure and at the end of it all coming home to a small little cottage in the middle of the country, with little hatchlings and a loving husband or wife waiting for her.
A life of adventure on her own terms and a loving family, was that too much for a girl to ask for?
A sudden snap from below caught her attention and she looked down. To her surprise, her target and the librarian from before were both walking towards the hut.
Quirking her head to the side, Silvia wondered when he had left the hut at all. She had seen the black pony being pulled there twice a few days ago, once by the librarian and another time by a huge white Alicorn she knew as Celestia.
The two knocked on the door and Silvia's eyes widened in horror as a brown cloaked, hooded figure came to greet them and grant them access.
All this time, she was watching the wrong pony...
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Relaxing in his father's recliner, Macintosh took a sip of lemonade to cool his throat from a hard day's work. Annabelle helping out was a huge plus and somehow her presence made him even more productive.
Though his mind was still preoccupied with everything going on that he couldn't get the full benifit of his down time. His younger sister handled the eastern feilds with Applebloom for most of the day, and immediatly departed the house to visit with her colt friend. Though, she didn't seem as eager to see him as she usually did.
'Maybe she's finally coming to her senses, eh?'
A possibility, but still he'd never seen AJ second guess herself before. If she was unsure of something, she'd make a note of it with careful wording to her feelings and logic, but this whole affair never sat right with Mac to begin with. So his opinion was bias.
"You alright, Mac?" Annabelle asked, sitting on the couch opposite him, enjoying her own fruit flavored beverage.
"Yea, jes' thinkin'."
"About that brown pony and his marefriend?"
She couldn't have picked a worse time to say anything so inconceivably hilarious Mac was just in the middle of a drink when those words garnered the very first spit take of his life. He tired to stop laughing and cough his air way free, but just the idea Sin making mushy talk was enough to push out every stressor in his life.
"What's so funny?" The mare asked innocently. "She seemed like a nice enough pony to me. I don't get why you're laughin'."
"Him? A marefriend? Ah'm sorry, Anna, but Ah just can't see 'im doin' that."
Anna shrugged and changed the topic to the reason for his visit, Mac returned the shurg and explained that Sin had wanted to talk about something but he was too busy with the field to bother with it at the time, which was true. Though, now Mac was getting a little curious now that his mind was free. Hopefully it was a plan for helping Spike, and knowing his friend, it most likely was.
"Hey Mac, Ms. Annabelle, what are you guys talkin' 'bout?" Asked Applebloom, wondering into the living room. Mac dismissed it as nothing important and instead asked about how her and Applejack's day was.
"It was alright." The filly said with some thought. "Well, actually, Sis seemed pretty distracted fer most the day. First she brought out the Rejuvinizer instead o' the fertilizer, so that was an hour of unloading and reloading. After that, she fertilized the same tree three times in a row. Somethin's eatin' at here, Ah think, but she wont say what."
That wasn't anything new, Applejack always tried to handle all of her problems by herself. It wasn't something the family condoned, nor her friends, but pride ran thick in the Apple blood line. Though, as the filly continued her recount, a constant theme was her date with Soarin tonight. According to her, he head something special planned for the two of them.
Now, like any caring and loving sibling of the male persuasion would, Mac's face was horror struck as the worst case scenario came to mind. Both he and Applebloom were too preoccupied to see Annabelle look away with a pained look.
She couldn't be? She wouldn't! She'd only been officially with him a week or two, for Celestia's sake! She ain't that kinda mare, she knew how much ma and pa valued abstinence.
'You really think you have any right to get on her about that?'
Mac's muscles tensed from his inner critic's words. It wasn't like! Luna had practically raped him!
'Really? Because from the fact I was there, it didn't seem to me like you were fighting it.'
It hurt bad enough knowing his friends sat by and let her take him, he didn't need this from his own cynicism. Applejack was her own mare, and as much as he may lothe the stallion she was with, it wasn't his place to dictate to her how to express or repress her sexuality.
"Ya'll right, brother?"
"Ah'm fine." He nodded, smiling at his sister. "Ah think AJ might jes migh' be a tad nervous, is all. Nothin' we shoul' worry about." Applejack was her own mare who would make her own decisions, and so too would the consequences of those decisions. Buck Soarin, he was tired of having that stallion constantly giving him grief, especially when he wasn't there.
Applebloom asked if he was sure, and Mac responded in the affirmative. Her confidence on the matter boosted, the bow maned filly chirped her thanks and scuttled off to get a bit of last minute play time in before bed.
"You're not that good of a liar." Annabelle said gently.
"She's a grown pony, ain't my right to stand in her way." He replied, Annabelle tried to interject that it was natural for family to worry about one another, but Macintosh brushed it off. Fact of the matter was what it was, and his sister wasn't somepony he could nor wanted to control. Besides, worrying about it wouldn't make a lick of difference to the outcome, he didn't need that kinda stress anymore.
"So you're just going to let her be lead on because she's an adult?" Annabelle, unfortunately, didn't take well to his sentiments. What was he supposed to do? Stop her?
"YES!" The mare almost shouted. "She's your sister, fer Celestia's sake. You're supposed to take care of the ponies you love!"
Mac quirked a brow, "Ah do love mah sister, but Ah've already tried talkin' to her. She's made her choices n' she can take care of herself. Ain't my job to protect her from her bad decisions."
Abject shock over took the mare's face. Anna tried to offer some means of argument, tried to show him how cold he was to the fact his sister may have her heart ripped out and trampled on, but Mac stood firm in his convictions. She stood up, humphed in disgust and began trotting to the door; stopping only to give a few words. "Maybe she's being careless, but if you really loved her, you'd try to save her."
The door slammed shut and Mac sighed.
A part of him told himself that he needed to get up and go after he. To tell her that she was right and that he was being too emotionally distant on the matter, but a larger part told him that he didn't need that kind of stress. They were both adults, it wasn't his job to save her. No, no. His job was to take care of himself now. He'd help with the farm and earn some money as well as help out the family, but that was it.
If his sister didn't care about what he thought about Soarin, than why should he care about what Soarin does to her?