//------------------------------// // Double-Crossed // Story: A Glimmer of Hope // by Gordon Pasha //------------------------------// Swift Strike stepped off the train and onto the platform. It was the dead of night, probably about midnight or so. No, it was exactly midnight. Swift Strike had always needed to be precise about these sorts of things, and so he had trained himself to be able to make extremely accurate estimates of time no matter his circumstances. And his circumstances could not be worse. What was the name of this place again? It didn’t really matter. The colts back at the EIS had even had to pull out Maredeville’s Comprehensive Atlas of Equestria (Sixth Edition, which would not be officially published for another year) just to find it. The message they had received had been cryptic — “About what you’re looking for in re Seaddle, I can find it. Meet me at the train station of the town this message originates from at midnight tonight.” Of course, whoever was contacting them had information about the fugitives. But why be so secretive? The lads had all thought it must be either a hoax, a prank, or an attempt to lure the EIS into an ambush. But Swift Strike knew better. He had been pouring over all the information he had received about the three over the last week or two and felt he knew them better than they knew themselves. Then again, Swift Strike knew most ponies better than they knew themselves. That was his job, after all. He had just been fortunate that this little hamlet even had a train station and tracks leading to it. They had had to requisition a train from another line just to get here, and the haste required meant that only the barest of necessities were provided. Swift Strike could not remember a more unpleasant train-ride. What I have to do in service of princesses and country…. It was amazing that the train-station stood at all. From the dust, from some of the broken windowpanes, and from the fact that at least one door had fallen off its hinges and was lying sideways in its doorway, it was obvious that nopony maintained the upkeep of the place. The line must have fallen into disuse some time ago — which would also help to explain the general bumpiness of the ride itself. It was beginning to look like it might be an ambush after all. Swift Strike looked to the other railcars, each of them filled with highly-trained agents ready to jump out and defend him should things go awry. They were all as skilled as they could be, and their sudden collective jumping to alert behind the blacked-out windows would be imperceptible to anypony. Anypony but Swift Strike himself. Swift looked to see what had put them all on edge. There was a dark figure coming toward him. Though visibility was poor, he could tell by the general outline that it was a pony in a cloak. He made a rough guess that it was a male, though there was not much to definitively point in that direction. Swift Strike wondered whether this was some assassin sent to take out whoever stepped off the train. He quickly banished the thought; he had tussled with assassins before and they all had more brains than to dress in a way that practically advertised their occupation. He raised a hoof to steady all the eyes he knew were nervously watching him and approached the pony. Swift lit a small yellow light on his horn as the pony approached. It wasn’t much, and he could do better, but he did not want to scare his informant off. And it gave him just enough light to make out who his informant was. “Dr. Fie, I presume,” Swift said. The doctor stepped in front of him and pulled down his hood. “The very same, my dear sir.” “It was you who sent us the message, wasn’t it?” Doctor Fie nodded. “Yes. But you have the advantage over me. How might I address you?” “My name doesn’t matter,” Swift Strike responded. “I’m not even here.” Dr. Fie poked Swift in several places and lifted up the agent's foreleg. “Really? You seem pretty solid to me. I’ve never seen a projection this convincing.” Swift pulled his foreleg away. “I’m not a hologram. What I meant was, my presence here is to be known only by the two of us.” And the battalion of agents in the train, but best not to let the good doctor know that. “Oh,” Dr. Fie said, beginning to wipe off Swift’s foreleg. “Of course, I knew that, but I merely wanted to make sure. Can’t be too careful with the sensitive information I have. Speaking of which, I had hoped that I could relay this information to a pony directly connected to the princesses. Are you such a pony?” “I assure you, if your information has any merit, it will be passed along to the princesses,” Swift said, pushing away Dr. Fie’s hooves. “Excellent,” said the doctor. “But do you mind if we talk indoors?” “This train station seems perfectly secluded. There’s just the two of us.” Swift looked back to the train and hoped the agents would not do anything to reveal themselves. He didn’t need another Fillydelphia Incident to clean up. “Oh, yes, of course. But there is such a draft in the air and this cloak itches terribly. If I’m going to be aiding the authorities, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be comfortable doing it.” Swift looked back to the train one more time, making sure the others were still concealed. Then, he nodded. Dr. Fie began to lead the way. Swift knew his agents must be biting their hooves by now, but he was certain he knew Fie and what he was capable of. There would be no ambush. Dr. Fie walked to a door and magically opened it. It was not locked. Inside was a small room, almost completely empty. By the dust it was covered in, they may have been the first ponies to enter it that decade. There was a single large window from which a vague impression of the station outside might be deciphered, but that was all. The only furniture was a single chair by the door. Dr. Fie undid his cloak and threw it on the chair. “That’s better,” Dr. Fie said. “It is a shame that we must conduct ourselves in such ghastly surroundings, but it can’t be helped.” “No, it can’t,” responded Swift. It suited his purposes well enough. Dr. Fie sat back on his haunches and pressed his hooves together. His eyes grew narrow and the grin on his face grew wide. Swift was standing next to him, and the doctor insisted on looking at him from the corners of those narrow eyes. “It is my understanding that you are currently interested in the where-abouts of certain ponies of questionable character. Is that so?” “We are looking for three ponies we consider to be extremely dangerous,” Swift said. “In fact, doctor, you are one of those ponies.” “So I have been made aware, but I assure you, my dear sir, that my part in the whole affair was completely involuntary. In fact, I contacted you because I would like to bring those two treacherous mares behind this to justice just as much as you would.” Swift did his best to play along. “You would?” he asked in a tone that was meant to be surprise. “Indubitably,” Dr. Fie said. “Not because of any personal cowardice on my part, for I would gladly endure the thousand pains they threaten me with, but because I feel it is my duty to my country and her princesses. That, and I too wish to see the cause of justice prevail.” Swift nodded. “And you are ready to aid us in the apprehension of Starlight Glimmer and Radiant Hope?” “Indeed. I know where they are currently staying. At much risk to my own person, I managed to separate myself from them earlier to send you that message and have just now once more escaped from underneath their hawk-like gaze, so great is my sense of duty to my sovereigns. You will tell them that, won’t you?” “Dr. Fie,” Swift said. “I believe you. You are our country’s most eminent physician, a respected member of society and a pillar of the Seaddle community. Your recent paper on healing spells has turned the whole field on its head. And anypony that doubts your deep love and devotion to your motherland only has to look at your distinguished record of military service. I always knew you had nothing to do with whatever Hope and Glimmer are planning.” Dr. Fie’s already-wide grin widened. “My dear sir, I can tell that you are a trustworthy pony. I’m a doctor, so I know about these things. I shall take you into my confidence. Hope and Starlight Glimmer are staying at the Dragon and Eagle Inn not far from here. I can lead you to the very spot if you like.” “That won’t be necessary, doctor,” Swift said. “Your information is more than enough.” “Oh, but I know how much you would benefit by consultation with a pony of my incredible discernment and vast intellect. I shall propose a plan to you that will take these two villains unaware.” “We would value any advice you can give us.” Swift Strike told more lies than truths in his profession, but he could not recall any lie being harder to tell as this one. “Both Starlight Glimmer and dear Hope are incredibly crafty, make no mistake about it! It is probably why they joined up together and how they knew to take me as a hostage. Any attempt to capture them in town is bound to fail. There is too much clutter everywhere, buildings and things, that they can use to slip from your grasp. Instead, what we shall do is this. I shall return to them and act as though I have never left. Tomorrow morning, I shall use my superior persuasive powers to convince them to take the southeasterly road out of town. I have heard from locals that there is a bridge along that road. I imagine that there are trees and other such elements of nature for you to conceal some ponies of your own. I shall lead them to the bridge and, as they cross, your ponies shall jump out. They will have no place to go and you shall take them practically unaware.” “Oh, what an excellent plan! So much foresight and wisdom!” Swift Strike sincerely hoped that the increasing difficulty of saying these lies was not because he had suddenly and inconveniently developed a moral compass. “I did think it was rather good, myself,” Dr. Fie said. “But I suppose that goes without saying.” “Rest assured, doctor,” Swift said, “We shall follow your recommendation.” “You once more vindicate my judgment of you as a pony of reason,” Dr. Fie said. And then, though Swift would have sworn it was not possible, his eyes grew even narrower and his grin became even wider. “I offer to do this completely without thought of my own well-being, concerned only with seeing the rule of law upheld in every corner of our fair land,” Dr. Fie said. “But I did notice that your posters promise anypony who aids in the arrest of these wicked wretches is to be entitled to… a reward?” Swift nodded. “Yes. In addition to the gratitude of the princesses and every law-abiding citizen of Equestria, a reward of 500,000 bits is on offer.” Dr. Fie’s grin became, briefly, a toothy smile. Then he put one of his hooves to his chest and raised the other as though swearing an oath. “Of course, I have no interest in such a paltry thing as money when matters of principle are at stake! But I suppose that it would encourage our less noble breed of citizens to themselves aid the authorities if they saw that the authorities were willing to pay out a pony’s due reward.” “I suppose it would,” Swift said. “I will explain that to the princesses and I am sure they will see the wisdom of what you say.” Dr. Fie nodded, his eyes glowing. “Good, good. And I’m sure it has only been a mere oversight on their part that has kept me out of the Hearth’s Warming honors every year?” “Let’s focus on nabbing Hope and Glimmer,” Swift Strike said. “I’m sure the princesses will be more than appreciative of the role you’ll play.” There was a limit to how much even Swift Strike could stand to indulge an informant. “Of course, of course. But you know how mares are. Things slip out of their little heads so easily….” Swift forced himself to remain stone-faced, despite the fact that he felt certain that such insinuations against the princesses must constitute treason somehow. “I promise you, doctor, that I shall use all my influence with them to see you get exactly what you deserve.” Dr. Fie rubbed his hooves together as his grin became a full smile. “I thank you, my dear sir, for once more showing yourself to be a pony of honor and merit. I know we shall achieve great things together. We two shall be very great friends, indeed. But, for now, I must get back to the inn before either of our enemies is alerted to my absence. Farewell, my good friend, until we meet again.” With the bow of an actor receiving a standing ovation, Dr. Fie snatched up his cloak and exited the room. Swift Strike followed and watched him disappear into the night. Once the doctor was gone, one of Swift’s agents came from the train and stood beside him. “Should we apprehend him?” the agent asked. “No,” Swift said. “Just let a few of our lads trail him. We need to get a message to the princesses.” “What are you going to tell them?” “That I’ve located the inn the fugitives are staying at and that in a few hours, I shall have surrounded their position entirely. The princesses can expect that all three of them shall be brought to justice before morning.” Swift nodded in satisfaction and walked past the agent toward the train. He would make some final preparations and then he would follow the colts down to the inn. Everything was in place. As inappropriate as it was, Swift felt a rush of anticipation as he looked up at the moon and the stars above. He even began to smile. This may just be the operation that defines my whole career, he reflected. And with that happy thought, Swift Strike disappeared into the night. Almost like a shadow. And if anyone should know about shadows, it was three dark beings swirling high above, almost indistinguishable from Luna’s somber night. Would Swift Strike succeed in taking our heroines unaware? Read on.