"This is it, Sweetie Drops! We're approaching our target now!"
Sweetie Drops could barely hear Night Glider's voice over the sound of the wind rushing past her. She was too preoccupied with maintaining her balance on her fellow agent's back. She placed a hoof over her eyes to shield them from the snow and get a better view. The mountains that stretched out before her appeared as intimidating as the local stories made them out to be. She swallowed and steeled herself for the mission ahead.
"That should be close enough, Night Glider!" she hollered, straining her voice over the wind. "I'll take it from here!"
"Roger that!" Night Glider shouted back. "I'll see you back in Canterlot! Happy landing!"
With that, she did a lateral roll and dropped Sweetie Drops from her back. After free-falling for a few seconds, Sweetie Drops pulled the cord on her parachute and unfurled it. As the parachute caught her, she steered herself to a nearby precipice and readied her grappling hook. In one fluid motion, she snagged the stone outcropping and detached her parachute. Slowly but surely, she rappelled down the mountainside until she reached solid ground.
"So far so good," she muttered, tapping her earpiece radio. "Dr. Colgate, this is Sweetie Drops. I've arrived at Coltlat without any complications."
"Excellent," said Dr. Colgate. "Now, if my calculations are correct, Chanticleer Hegemony's secret library should be a short hike north from your current position."
Sweetie Drops glanced down at the compass on her left foreleg and nodded. "North, gotcha. Any word from Lady de Lis and White Lie?"
"Last I checked, they were being led to the front door by one of Mr. Hegemony's servants. You should try and rendezvous with them once you're inside."
"Of course. Anything else?"
"Just don't get lost. The mountains of Coltlat are notoriously difficult to navigate if you're not careful."
Sweetie Drops scoffed. "Sounds like the perfect place to set up a secret library."
"That does seem to be the idea," Dr. Colgate mused. "Makes me wonder if there's some credence to White Lie's theory."
"I guess we'll just have to find out," said Sweetie Drops with a shrug.
"Mmm," Dr. Colgate hummed. "Well, whatever the case, Mr. Hegemony probably has a few guards stationed around the place, so stay frosty." A series of giggles were heard over the comm. "Which shouldn't be too difficult for you. Considering that, well, y'know..."
Sweetie Drops let out an exasperated sigh. "You're a regular riot, Dr. Colgate. I'm starting the mission now."
"Copy that. I'll be right here if you need anything."
With that, the transmission cut out. Sweetie Drops quickly retrieved her grappling hook and began making her way along the mountainside.
***
"Ugh, I hate this. Why do we have to be out here? I'm freezing my wings off!"
"Shut up, Larrance. Your whining isn't exactly making this better."
After a somewhat difficult trek through the light snow, Sweetie Drops managed to overhear a conversation just around the corner. Quickly, she ducked behind a rock and peeked her head over it. Two ponies bundled up in heavy wool coats were standing out in the open and talking with one another.
"I'm telling you, Den. This is an injustice," said one of the ponies. "We have to stand out here and protect this place from absolutely no one while the others get to just hang out in that stupid library. The library we built, no less!"
"Hey, they built it, too," said the other. "Someone has to guard the perimeter."
"From whom?! Even if ponies were stupid enough to scale this mountain, they wouldn't find us in a million years!"
Sweetie Drops furrowed her brow. These guys must be working for Chanticleer Hegemony, she thought. She quickly checked her surroundings. No way to sneak by them, either. Only one thing for it.
She tapped the button on the side of her ankle brace, and her crossbow was unfurled. Quietly, she removed a sleep bolt from her quiver using her mouth, placed it within the crossbow, and drew back the bowstring. One of the guard perked up.
"Hey. You hear that?" he asked.
The other guard snorted. "Probably just your imagination, Larrance. Despite what these ponies claim, I'm sure these mountains aren't haunted."
Inch by inch, Sweetie Drops made her way into position, aiming her crossbow at one of the guards. For a moment, everything slowed down to a crawl. She focused her vision, tuning out all distractions that stood between her and her target. Her breath hitched as she flexed her hoof.
"Okay, now I know I'm not ju— Doof!"
One of the guards spun around as the crossbow fired, but it was too late. The bolt hit the target square in the chest, injecting its full payload of tranquilizers. As the guard fell to the ground, his body became engulfed in green flame. Sweetie Drops's eyes went wide. She knew that sight from anywhere. Sure enough, the unconscious body lying in the snow was not that of a pony, but of a changeling.
"Larrance? Wh-what happened?" the other guard sputtered.
Sweetie Drops shook herself and loaded another bolt into her crossbow. The guard narrowed its eyes and snorted, scanning the entire area for any sign of an intruder. Just as its back was turned, Sweetie Drops fired again. Once again, she hit her target. The other guard fell alongside its comrade, revealing its true shape in the process.
"Well, that answers that question," Sweetie Drops muttered, tapping her radio. "Dr. Colgate, this is Sweetie Drops. Looks like White Lie's changeling theory was right on the money."
"Yeah, I kinda guessed that three seconds ago after double-checking the time stream," Dr. Colgate said with a sigh. "Fleur is not going to be happy about this."
"Well, how about you let me tell her?" Sweetie Drops suggested. "I can physically calm her down if things get too heated."
"Yeah, that's probably for the best. I'll leave this in your capable hooves, Sweetie Drops," said Dr. Colgate. "Proceed with the mission as normal, and stay vigilant. White Lie can attest to how tricky changelings can be."
"Got it," said Sweetie Drops, disconnecting the transmission. She deftly walked past the two unconscious changelings, the gentle snow resting against her eyelids and eyelashes. After blinking a few times and rubbing her eyes, she managed to catch a glimpse of a light just above her. Curious, she ventured towards it, readying her grappling hook.
Upon closer inspection, the light gave way to what appeared to be a large stone mansion. At least, that's the best way Sweetie Drops could describe it. The material seemed to have a very archaic vibe, but the overall design was far too modern to be any sort of ancient castle. What's more, the area around the mansion had a few guards patrolling the mountainside. Sweetie Drops narrowed her eyes and smirked.
"I do believe we found our secret library," she mused, tapping her radio. "Dr. Colgate, what's Lady de Lis's status?"
"She and White Lie should be inside by now," said Dr. Colgate. "Mind you, I haven't heard from them directly yet. They might be maintaining radio silence so as not to arouse suspicion."
"Smart move," said Sweetie Drops with a nod. She quickly checked her compass. "Okay, I'm gonna try and come in through the second window on the West Wing. Tell Lady de Lis and White Lie that's our rendezvous point."
"That room specifically, or the second floor in general?" asked Dr. Colgate. "Keep in mind, I don't exactly have a layout of the building on me."
Sweetie Drops was about to groan in frustration, but she ended up conceding Dr. Colgate's point. "I-I don't know. We'll just have to improvise."
"Hmm. Looking at things right now, that's probably the best course of action," said Dr. Colgate. "Keep up the good work, Sweetie Drops."
"I intend to," Sweetie Drops responded before disconnecting. She then slunk her way up to the mansion, taking extra care not to be spotted by any guards. Once the coast was clear, she took her grappling hook in hoof, swung it around, and tossed it up to the window. It landed on the ledge with a satisfying clank, latching onto part of the balcony.
"Hmm? What was that?"
Sweetie Drops's heart pounded as she heard voices followed by a series of hoofsteps. With no time to lose, she leapt at the building and scaled up the side of the wall. She barely acknowledged the pieces of debris that fell from her hooves as she climbed. Just as she arrived at the top, she could hear voices below.
"Hoofprints. Somepony's been here."
The guard looked around this way and that, trying to find the culprit. However, neither hide nor hair of an intruder could be seen. From the balcony above, Sweetie Drops watched the guard with bated breath. After a few seconds which felt like an eternity, the guard shrugged.
"Must've scared 'em off," it reasoned, flying away.
Sweetie Drops breathed a sigh of relief before detaching her grappling hook and walking over to the window. She quickly peered inside to make sure no one was around. From her view, it did appear to be some sort of fancy library. Books of all shapes and sizes lined the walls, and there was very little else. There wasn't even a desk or anything to sit at. With a shrug, Sweetie Drops used her grappling hook to undo the latch holding the window shut. She then made her way inside and dusted herself off before tapping her earpiece radio again.
"This is Sweetie Drops," she stated in hushed tones. "I'm in."
"Good to hear, Sweetie Drops. If my calculations are correct, Lady de Lis and White Lie should've made it inside by now as well," said Dr. Colgate. "Your next objective is to track them down and bring 'em up to speed. I can't say for certain where they are right now, but chances are they haven't split up yet. I told them about your proposed rendezvous point, so with any luck, they should come to you. In the meantime, I'd recommend getting the lay of the land. Without getting caught, of course."
"Understood," said Sweetie Drops. "Um, the time stream didn't happen to mention some sort of map by any—?"
She stopped mid-sentance when she saw the silhouette of an unfamiliar pony flicker on the far wall.
"Let me call you back, Dr. Colgate. Something just came up," she said, tapping her radio off. She then heaved a sigh before loading another bolt into her crossbow. "An agent's work is never done..."