Chapter 57 (Night Dreams and Meetings Part 4)
Chapter 57
Trotting down a dark alley, a cloaked figure cast a furtive glance behind them to see if anypony was following. Seeing as how it was quite late at night, the odds were low that anypony had taken notice of the cloaked figure’s movements. Even if they had, very few would care.
However, this particular individual felt that prudence was best and so took their time heading to their destination, taking various turns and twists in an attempt to throw off any would-be pursuers.
Eventually, satisfied that they were alone and not being followed. The cloaked figure turned down a final alleyway, a few overflowing garbage cans lined one side of the narrow passage, while a few rotten crates clogged up the other side.
Winding their way past the debris, the lone figure finally reached their intended destination. A nondescript wooden door at the end of the alley.
Striding forward confidently, they reached up with a blue-colored hoof and knocked three times, followed by a pause, then twice, another pause, then finally five times. After waiting several seconds, a small slit at eye level slid to the side revealing a pair of amber-colored eyes.
“Can I help you?” a deep male voice asked.
“I was told that I can purchase fresh persimmons here,” came the reply.
“Who told you that?”
“The baker on Merry Lane.”
Glancing to the left, and then the right, the eyes stepped back, shut the slit, and began undoing several locks and chains on the other side of the door. After several seconds, the door opened inwards and the cloaked pony strode forward.
Stepping into a narrow entryway, they glanced back over their withers as a large, orange-coated unicorn quickly shut the door behind them. With the door firmly shut, they finally lowered their hood, their bright red mane shining under the lone electric light bulb dangling from the ceiling above.
The orange unicorn looked the cloaked pony up and down for a moment before simply nodding and wordlessly walking past.
Falling in behind him, the blue-coated unicorn silently followed the orange one down the dimly lit hallway until they reached the end. Coming to a stop in front of a large black oak door, the orange unicorn gave a pair of swift knocks.
A muffled voice called out from the other side, “Enter.”
Opening the door, he wordlessly stepped aside, allowing the blue unicorn to enter.
Shutting the door behind him, the orange-colored unicorn returned to his spot at the front door, leaving the visitor alone with the only other occupant in the room, a dark gray unicorn mare with a short, dark cerulean-colored mane sitting behind a large oak desk in a high backed swivel chair. Her emerald green eyes almost seemed to glow in the dimly lit office as she sized up her late-night visitor.
“Well, well, well,” she purred as she leaned forward in her seat, her teeth gleaming as her lips parted in a wide, almost predatory smile, “Haven’t seen you in a while, Bluey.”
The blue-coated stallion sighed, lit his horn, and in a flash, dispelled the illusion covering his body. His previously blue coat turning a bright white, and his red mane fading to blonde.
“I really wish you wouldn’t call me that,” grumped Prince Blueblood sourly as he stalked up to stand closer to the mare’s desk.
Said mare cackled. “Oh, but it’s so much fun to tweak you whenever I see you, which isn’t very often. Letters can only do so much for my entertainment, Bluey. Besides, that glamor was terrible, I would have thought you, with all of that fancy education and money would be able to craft a better disguise than a ratty old cloak and basic glamor spell.”
Blueblood rolled his eyes in exasperation and shot back, “I was in a hurry, and not all of us have cutie marks in subterfuge like you, Mystery.”
“Who said I had a cutie mark in subterfuge? I don’t remember telling you about my cutie mark,” replied Mystery with a cheeky smile.
“Well considering your line of work, I just assumed,” replied Blueblood.
Mystery giggled. “Well, you assumed wrong then, but enough about my flank stamp, what’cha got for me? It’s gotta be good considering that you came down here yourself instead of using one of my dead drops.”
Lighting up his horn, Blueblood pulled a manila folder out of his saddlebags from underneath his cloak and laid it on Mystery’s desk in front of her.
Gathering it up in her brilliant green magic, Mystery quickly poured over the folder’s contents.
Humming to herself, she idly chewed on her bottom lip as she read. After a few minutes she replied, “Well, this is very interesting alright. Can’t say I’m surprised that this is going on behind the scenes. Old Sunbutt ain’t exactly the most attentive ruler in the world, so it’s not surprising the corruption has gotten worse.”
“Do you know anything about this?” pressed Blueblood.
Mystery nodded. “A bit, military ponies are like old wives, they love to gossip and tell tales,” she paused as she flipped the page, before continuing, “The military hasn’t really been very high on my priority list to keep tabs on in recent years, and Discord showing up screwed up what network I had inside to Tartarus and gone. It’s taken me months to get things somewhat back to normal, and even then it’s still a mess,” she shook her head and clicked her tongue in irritation.
Reaching back into his saddlebags, Blueblood pulled out a large bag and threw it on the desk. The bag landed with a heavy thump and a jingle of coins.
“Consider its priority level raised,” said Blueblood seriously.
Cocking an eyebrow, Mystery leaned back in her chair and regarded Blueblood with a small smile. “Oh? You think you can just throw a large bag of money on my desk and tell me how to run my operation, hmmm?”
“Considering how much money and favors I’ve spent on you over the years, I would assume I have some say in what it is that you do with your operatives,” retorted Blueblood, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice.
Mystery chuckled as she pulled the sack closer to her and opened it. Inspecting a random coin, she replied, “I suppose you do have a point in that regard, though this is a bit of a change from your normal informational gathering requests on potential business, and romantic partners.”
“Does that mean you’re not interested?” pressed Blueblood.
Mystery shook her head. “I didn’t say that, now did I?”
“It sounded as though it might be implied,” shot back Blueblood, an unamused look on his face.
Seeing his expression souring by the second, Mystery dropped the coin back in the bag and heaved a weary sigh, “Oh you’re no fun tonight. Alright, who do you want me to dig up dirt on then?”
“It should all be laid out in that folder,” replied Blueblood as he pointed a hoof at the folder before her.
Mystery nodded as she returned her attention to the folder. “Hmm, yes I see. So you want me to find dirt on Pish Posh, along with Moneybags and their combined associates? I can do that, but there is a problem. I don’t have enough agents to go around right now. So I’ll ask again, who do you want to be looked at first, and how deeply?”
Blueblood sighed. He’d been hoping that Mystery would be able to spy on both Pish Posh and Moneybags at the same time, that way the princesses could deal with both of them at once rather than separately.
But it doesn’t look like that is going to happen now, great. Thought Blueblood sourly to himself, though outwardly he replied, “They are both equally important, but my information on which is more dangerous is sadly, limited. Perhaps you might have some additional insight into the matter?”
“Sort of,” replied Mystery with a smile, “though it only really pertains to Pish Posh as he’s more local. As I said, the military was a low priority until now, considering that everypony that uses my services either wants to know if their loved one is cheating on them, or to get a leg up on the competition in regards to business affairs. Spying on the government and military has been, until now, a fairly high-risk, low-reward sort of work considering the consequences if we got caught. Besides, doesn’t your aunt have her own spy network?”
Blueblood nodded. “She does, but they’re bound by law to not spy on Equestrian citizens, and up until now, there didn’t appear to be a need to engage in these sorts of activities.”
“However things have changed,” finished Mystery.
“Correct,” replied Blueblood, “This is only the first payment. Should you decide to continue helping me, and by extension the Equestrian Crown, then you can expect additional payments, along with certain protections, should anything go awry.”
“Well, isn’t that a nice thing to hear,” purred Mystery, as she levitated the sack of bits off of her desk and set it down on the floor. “However, both of us know that if ‘things go awry’, as you put it, myself and my agents will be left swinging in the breeze as it were.”
“Turn to page four, paragraph five. That should alleviate your fears.”
Turning to the indicated page, Mystery quickly scanned the indicated paragraph. Her eyebrows slowly rising in surprise as she read. Eventually, she leaned back in her chair and fixed Blueblood with an impressed look on her face.
“Well, this certainly changes a few things, but that still won’t fully save us if we get caught.”
“Then don’t get caught,” replied Blueblood with a thin smile. “You’re the one saying that your ponies are the best in the business and have never been caught in the act before.”
Mystery burst out laughing. “So I have,” she replied after she had gotten her laughter under control.
“Okay, we’ll do it,” she replied after a few moments of idly tapping a hoof on her desk in thought, “We should have something in a week or two, I’ll let you know through the usual channels once we’ve got something.”
Nodding, Blueblood replied, “Very well. Make sure that what you bring us is ironclad. The situation is very delicate right now, and we need to make sure that our group is the one holding all of the cards when the time is right.”
Arching an eyebrow, Mystery shot back, “Who do you take me for? An amateur? Next, you’ll tell me you’re going to teach your grandma how to suck eggs.”
Blueblood rolled his eyes. “It never hurts to remind somepony of what is expected of them.”
Mystery snorted in amusement. “You keep telling yourself that. In any case, I’ll let you know when we’ve got something. Was there anything else you needed?”
Blueblood shook his head as he lit his horn to reapply the illusion. “No, I believe that is all for now, get us something on Pish Posh and his local associates first, then see what you can do about Moneybags and his ilk in Manehatten,” lifting the hood of his cloak, he turned to leave, before pausing and looking back over his withers and saying, “and thank you for your help Mystery. The Crown will not forget this.”
“I should hope not, considering you’re gonna need to pay for all of this,” she replied with a cheeky grin.
“Quite,” was Blueblood’s only reply as he turned and left, leaving Mystery alone in her office.
Several minutes later, the door guard returned and shut the office door behind him as he trotted up to Mystery’s desk and glanced at the folder left open before him.
“So what now?” he asked.
Mystery shrugged. “We do the job, nothing more.”
“And your mother?”
“What about her?” asked Mystery with an eye roll, a touch of annoyance creeping into her voice.
“You know she’s gonna want to know about this,” he pressed, as he lifted a hoof and pulled the folder closer.
“Ugh, fine. I’ll tell her, but you know she’s gonna want to micromanage the whole operation,” grumped Mystery.
“And for good reason,” he retorted.
Mystery thunked her head against her desk and groaned. “One time, just one time, I’m part of an operation that goes sideways and I’m branded a dunce for life.”
“To be fair, it was a pretty big screw-up,” he replied simply.
Mystery rolled her head to one side to glance up at her assistant and gave him the stink eye. “Oh, like you haven’t messed up before Orange? Besides, it wasn’t my fault it went pear-shaped in the first place!”
Orange shrugged. “Sure I have, I won’t deny that, and I will even grant that you weren’t solely responsible for that operation going down the tubes. But you certainly didn’t help by getting drunk on caffeine and finishing what Bees started with his little stunt earlier in the mission.”
“Well, what was I supposed to do? Not drink it? That would have been just as bad!” complained Mystery as she shot up and spread her hooves wide in anger.
Orange calmly shrugged again as he idly leafed through the documents that Blueblood had brought. “I don’t know, but it didn’t help that you practically chugged the whole cup in a single go. Besides, you knew that Zebrican coffee was stronger than Equestrian.”
Mystery’s head dropped back down to her desk as she collapsed into her chair in defeat. Moaning, she replied, “Yeah well, next time, mom shouldn’t mess with Zebrican smugglers. Those guys guzzle that damn coffee by the bucket load, and since I was masquerading as another zebra smuggler at the time, it would have looked kind of odd if I hadn’t drunk the damn cup in the first place, now wouldn’t it?”
Another shrugged. “Your mother did tell you that in situations like that you need to load up on food before drinking, and only take small sips in between as it’ll reduce the effects of the caffeine on you until you are finished with your mission.”
“Ugh, now you’re starting to sound like my infiltration teacher,” she grumped.
Orange chuckled. “Well... was he wrong?”
“... no,” she admitted begrudgingly.
“Then stop complaining about past operations and focus on this one, everyone makes mistakes, even your mother, it is what we do after we mess up that separates the good operatives from the poor ones. From my understanding, even though you blew your team's cover, you managed to get everyone out in one piece and still achieve most of the objectives, so it wasn’t a complete loss.”
Lifting her head from her desk, Mystery took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right, I’ll get in touch with mother and we’ll see what she says.”
His smile morphing into a smug grin, Orange followed Mystery into a side room and replied, “I usually am.”
Shooting him a half-annoyed look, Mystery just rolled her eyes and elected to ignore her underling’s smugness.
Passing into a smaller room, she stepped up to a small stone altar, an iridescent green orb floating placidly between four curved spikes that met just above the orb. Stepping up to it, she placed a hoof in an indent and lit up her horn. Her magic reached out and touched the orb, causing it to begin pulsing rhythmically for several moments before with a flash, the floating ball turned into a flat oval as the call connected. The face of a cream-colored earth pony with a dark, rose-colored mane done up in a ponytail appearing before Mystery.
“Oh! Howdy Mystery!” the mare happily drawled in a thick Appleloosa accent. “Haven’t heard from ya in a while, what’s up?”
Keeping her expression professional and neutral, Mystery replied, “Hello Apple Crisp, I need to speak with my mother please, we’ve received an interesting request from a patron with ties to the Equestrian Crown, and I need to run the details by her before we proceed.”
Apple Crisp’s smile faded and she adopted a more serious look, her Appleloosa drawl quickly fading as she asked, “Is this a priority call? Her Majesty is a little busy at the moment with a recent report that came in from near your office in Ponyville.”
Cocking an eyebrow at that piece of information, as she hadn’t been informed of any operations around Canterlot, but not saying anything about it, Mystery simply nodded and replied, “It is.”
“Alright, hold on a second and I’ll patch you through,” said Apple Crisp before her face disappeared and soft music began to play. Much to Mystery’s irritation.
“Ya like jazz?” joked Orange from near the door.
Shooting him an annoyed look, Mystery shot back, “Shut up, Orange, you know what music I like, and it isn’t this,” expelling an irritated huff of air, Mystery muttered to herself, “I don’t understand why Mother thought that we should have hold music, let alone this kind of music. I feel like it's going to put me to sleep every time I hear it.”
“I chose it because I like it, as it helps me relax, and I have good taste in music, thank you very much, unlike some people that I know,” cut in a voice suddenly from in front of Mystery, startling her and causing her to flinch.
“Mom! Don’t do that!” complained Mystery as an older-looking version of herself appeared in front of her.
Chuckling, her mother replied, “Sorry dear, but it’s always funny to watch you jump like that, reminds me of when you were little and I’d spook you. You’d always make the cutest pout after I managed to get you down off the ceiling.”
“Moooom! Not in front of my underling!” hissed Mystery as she watched her mother roll her eyes.
“Oh, quit being so dramatic, Orange Slice already knows about it from your file that I gave him when I assigned him to work with you,” retorted her mother with another eye-roll.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to say it out loud!” she complained, her ears pinned back. From behind her, she heard Orange snicker quietly to himself.
Mom simply chuckled. “Anyways, I’m sure you didn’t just call and interrupt my meeting to just have a little chat. Apple Crisp said that you had a potential mission you wanted to run by me before you get started?” she asked, a curious light shining in her emerald eyes.
Glad that her mother was refocusing the conversation on something that wasn’t personal and embarrassing, Mystery hastily nodded and said, “I had a client come in asking us to look into some things going on in the Royal Guard. Apparently, there’s quite a bit of rot and corruption festering below the surface and this client wants me to find them hard evidence.”
Leaning further back in her chair and steepling her hooves together in front of herself. Mystery’s mother idly tapped the tips together as she pursed her lips in thought. “Hmm, what is the status of your local network?”
Mystery sighed. “A mess I’m afraid, I’m still trying to track down quite a few agents and contacts that were flung about when Discord got loose.”
Nodding, Mystery’s mom replied, “Well it can’t be helped. Thankfully, your timely warning saved quite a few of our agents from... undesirable outcomes thanks to that chaotic noodles antics.”
Mystery shuddered as she recalled the draconquus’s rampage. Even though he’d spent most of his attention and energy on the Elements of Harmony, Equestria as a whole hadn’t been fully spared from his shenanigans either. This of course had extended to her own informant network and even though it had been several months since he’d been put back in his stone prison, the nature of her organization meant that tracking down lost informants and field agents wasn’t always a straightforward process. As a consequence, her information network had several large holes in it that she was scrambling to fill in again, with oftentimes mixed results. It was quite frustrating for the little information broker.
Giving her head a shake, Mystery, refocused her attention back onto her mother and replied, “It was the least I could do given the circumstances. I just wish I could have done more.”
Her mother shrugged. “Such is life dear, we all wish we could have done things differently at times, but there is no way to fix them, so with that being said, why don’t you bring me up to speed on what your royal customer wants you to do?”
Giving a nod, Mystery quickly filled her mother in on what Blueblood wanted her to do along with most of the why of it. By the time she finished her report, her mother looked pensive and silent. After several quiet moments, she finally nodded and said, “If your network can handle it, go for it. But don’t stretch yourself too thin, I don’t have anyone I can spare at the moment so if you get in trouble, I won’t be able to help you.”
Bowing her head in acknowledgment, Mystery replied, “Understood Mother, I told my customer that I could only deal with one target at a time.”
“Hmm... well that’s not entirely true dear and you know it,” replied her mother carefully.
Mystery’s face scrunched up in irritation and she replied, “I’d rather cut off my horn than work with him, and you know it.”
Her mother sighed. “Dear, you really need to let that go. Mirror apologized and Manehatten is his area of responsibility. Even though you are my daughter, and I let you have a lot of leeway in how you run your operations, you know it’s only polite to inform the local office of any operation that you are going to conduct in their area. Besides, he knows the area better than you do, and his agents and contacts will make your job that much easier.”
“But-”
“No buts, I’m putting my hoof down. This little spat between you two has gone on long enough. He admitted he was wrong, and apologized. Now you are going to accept his apology and work with him. No more solo operations in Manehatten, this is my command. Understand?”
Feeling her mother’s order flow across her body like cold water with a shiver, Mystery hung her head, and weakly said, “Yes, mother.”
Softening her features, her mother leaned in closer and quietly said, “I love you sweetie, and I know you don’t like Mirror, but we can’t afford divisions in our organization. Please work with him to the best of your abilities and focus on the mission. I’ll send him a message to let him know to expect a call from you soon and to not be an ass, alright?”
Mystery simply nodded without saying a word. Realizing that was all she was going to get, Mystery’s mother leaned back and gave her daughter a single nod before asking, “Now, was there anything else you needed to discuss with me?”
Biting her bottom lip, Mystery asked, “Apple Crisp mentioned that you were going over a report from Ponyville? I wasn’t aware that we had anything going on in that little town.”
Sighing, her mother muttered something under her breath, Mystery wasn’t sure, but she thought it sounded like her mother was speaking about ‘having a chat with Apple and the importance of keeping her big mouth shut when taking calls,’ but it could have been something else she’d heard, and she wasn’t going to press her mother on it either.
Either way, her mother didn’t elaborate and instead replied, “Yes, one of our traveling agents found something interesting in Ponyville. Apparently, Discord left behind a little present before he left,” seeing her daughter tense up, she quickly reassured her with a wave of her hoof and explained, “as far as we can tell, there is nothing immediately concerning about this ‘present’. Apparently, Discord pulled some creature called a...” she paused and pulled a piece of paper from off-screen and carefully continued, “human, along with his farm from another world and plopped it on the outskirts of Ponyville. Up until now, I haven’t had anyone that I could send to check more closely on the situation, so we were relying on second-hoof sources, which were few and far between. As it seems that Princess Celestia and Luna decided to try and keep this human’s presence as quiet as possible from the general public.”
“But now things have changed?” queried Mystery.
Her mother nodded, setting the paper aside. “They have, and considering the timing of your current patron's request, I think it’s time that we send in someone to keep a closer eye on Ponyville and its denizens. To be honest, it is long past time that I set up an operation in that town anyway. Considering that Princess Celestia’s personal student now lives there, along with the fact that she and five others wield the Elements of Harmony, it seems prudent to keep a closer eye on them.”
“And the ‘human?’” asked Mystery.
Her mother shrugged. “So far the human hasn’t caused any issues, but they are an unknown, and you know how much I dislike not knowing things.”
Mystery rolled her eyes and replied, “Which is why we all go through such lengths to hide your birthday, and Hearth’s Warming gifts from you, Mother.”
“Don’t you sass me, young lady, I brought you into this world, and I can take you out,” her mother shot back, but Mystery could tell she wasn’t serious in her ‘threat’, as she saw her mother's lips twitch upwards ever so slightly as she breathed out her mock threatenings. After a moment, however, her features turned properly serious and she said, “Getting back to the task at hoof, was there anything else you wished to share with me concerning this mission of yours?”
Mystery shook her head. “Not at this time, no.”
“Very well, keep me apprised of your plans, but otherwise do as you see fit, so long as it doesn’t go against protocol.”
Mystery’s ears perked up and she hopefully asked, “Does this mean that I’m off the leash again?”
Her mother sighed and shook her head. “Mystery, how many times do I have to tell you, you were never ‘on the leash’ or being punished for the Zebrican job fiasco.”
Looking down at her hooves, Mystery idly kicked at a small pebble and muttered, “It sure felt like it.”
Another sigh. “Mystery, look at me,” commanded her mother.
Tearing her gaze away from the floor, she looked up at the frowning visage of her mother.
“You had a bad operation, some of it wasn’t your fault and some of it was. We all make mistakes, and mistakes lead to people getting hurt or killed in our line of work, you know this. Thus, we as managers of the organization need to be better than anyone else out there. I understand that you believe I was punishing you by taking a more direct hoof in your daily operations after that incident, but that was not the case. You were shook up and your confidence was damaged. I sent you to Canterlot and kept a closer eye on you than the others because I didn’t want you to make more mistakes because you weren’t confident in your abilities, whether you believe your confidence was an issue or not,” she added when she saw Mystery open her mouth to argue with her mother.
“Someday you are going to take over from me and there won’t be anyone else that you can turn to when things go wrong. You will need to know how to pick yourself up and dust yourself off when you make a mistake, and most importantly, you will need to know how to learn from that mistake so that it doesn’t happen again and that you don’t become paralyzed with fear of making another mistake in the future. Understand?”
Looking down at her hooves again, Mystery idly tapped a hoof against the rock and quietly nodded.
“Good, I’m glad that you do. Your confidence has returned over these past few years, which is good, but it has been tempered with humility and an understanding that you and your agents are not invincible. As such, I feel as though you should be able to deal with this sensitive manner appropriately. As such, you will have full say in your operational decisions. However, if you wish, you may ask me for advice at any time, okay?”
Looking up at her mother, Mystery nodded, a look of determination set on her face. “I will.”
Her smile growing large and proud, Mystery’s mother gave her daughter a nod of her own and said, “Very well then, make up your plans and let me know when they are ready. I am going to look forward to seeing what you have planned.”
“Okay Mom,” replied Mystery with a single nod, plans and contingencies already forming in her mind.
“Was there anything else you needed from me before I go?”
Mystery nodded and asked, “Who are you sending to Ponyville to set things up? I thought we didn’t have anyone to spare?”
Her mother sighed and nodded. “In truth, we don’t, but I felt the situation there was a high enough priority that it warranted some shuffling around. Besides, your youngest brother needs the practice, and Ponyville should be safe enough for a first-time deployment.”
“Wait... you mean you're sending him out into the field?!” exclaimed Mystery in shock.
Her mother rolled her eyes. “Oh don’t be so dramatic, he’ll be fine. Besides, I’m sending your brother Onyx with him as well as Kevin to act as field operations officer.”
Hearing that her youngest brother wasn’t going to be running a solo operation on his first time on the outside calmed Mystery a bit, but she still bit her bottom lip in worry. Her youngest brother was a bit of a spaz in her opinion, and even with a seasoned field operations officer like Kevin in charge of things, she wasn’t confident in the overall success of the mission, especially with her younger, hot-headed, edgelord brother, Onyx tagging along as well.
Groaning to herself, she pinched her eyes shut and asked, “Please tell me he’s finally decided on a persona, Mom. Last I heard, he hadn’t even picked out a name yet.”
“Well... he’s, working on it,” admitted her mother hesitantly.
Mystery’s head fell in her hooves and she wearily shook it. “Moooom, he’s terrible at operations, and you know it. I mean, for Epona’s sake, he failed Background Character 101! That’s the easiest class to take! It’s practically a guaranteed A+! All you have to do is just not be noticed, and he couldn’t even manage that!”
“He’s gotten better. He managed to pass it last semester with a B+, I’ll have you know,” replied her mother in a more defensive tone.
Mystery groaned again and replied, “Mom... even Bees managed to get an A+ in that class, and he’s an idiot.”
“Mystery! What have I told you about calling him that?! Bees does the best that he can.”
“And yet he’s banned from fieldwork!” shot back Mystery, heedless of her mother’s chastizing tone.
Sighing, replied, “Yes... I know, but he can’t help it, he is a real sweetheart around the office, and everyone likes him, so watch what you say, young lady.”
“But my point still stands, Bees has a persona, even though he doesn’t go out in the field anymore, my youngest brother can’t even manage that!”
“And that is why Onyx and Kevin are going with him. Besides, he’s managed to create a persona, just not a name yet... or a credible backstory... and his cutie mark is still a work in progress.”
Mystery arched an eyebrow.
“Alright fine, you’re right. He’s not ready to go out yet, but I’ve tried everything else!” she exclaimed in exasperation.
“So you’re just going to throw him into the deep end and hope he doesn’t drown?”
Groaning, Mystery’s mother gently massaged her forehead just under her horn and tiredly replied, “It was the only thing I could think to do, sweetie. He’s not getting any better sticking around the office, and it’s killing his confidence.”
“Do you want me to help them? I could send Orange down there to help them get set up,” offered Mystery gently upon seeing her mother’s frustration.
Her mother shook her head. “No, it’s already going to be difficult enough as it is. Any more agents showing up at the same time will just draw unneeded attention. If you want to pop down and visit them later after they get set up in town, you can, otherwise keep interactions to a minimum, alright?”
“Understood, I’ll send them a letter after they get established, and check in on them, see if they need anything, but otherwise keep my distance,” replied Mystery with a nod.
Giving her daughter a grateful smile, her mother looked away for a moment as someone off-screen caught her attention, and after a few moments of whispering, she turned back to Mystery and said, “I’m sorry sweetie, but I’ve got to go now. I’ll talk with you later, alright?”
“Okay, love you, mom.”
“Love you too,” replied her mother with a smile before cutting the connection, the screen quickly collapsing back into a softly glowing orb.
Turning away from the now smaller, and softly glowing orb, Mystery walked past Orange, who fell in alongside her as they both left the communications room.
“So... now what?” he asked.
“Start planning this operation, what else?” replied Mystery.
“And your brothers in Ponyville?”
She shook her head and sighed. “Mother knows best, if she thinks it’ll help the little spaz, then it probably will, besides, nothing really ever happens in that little podunk town anyways, so they should be fine.”
“And all the stuff that’s happened lately in that so-called ‘podunk town’ doesn’t count because?”
Groaning, Mystery rubbed her forehead with a fetlock and replied, “Because I said so, now shut up and get to work.”
Giving his boss a sloppy salute, Orange turned and trotted out of Mystery’s office, leaving her alone.
I need a drink, she thought tiredly to herself.
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Ladies and gentlemen we have a bug problem
Nice the Changelings are coming to Ponyville
Why can't you just be normal?
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Idk, Kevin's just there for the buffet.
Oh now this is interesting. Changelings hiding their information apparatus by hiring out their information apparatus is a novel stroke indeed.
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Being normal is hard, and tiring.
Yeah, it was transparent it was changelings the moment caffeine was mentionned.
Also Bees, which I assume, (but certainly don't hope for anyone's sake) is the same idiot bug as in Twilight Gets a Puppy.
I wonder from where the changeling portrayal comes from. Since I remember Severyana being a thing, the "office" might be VOPS... but if Bees is a thing, then you might have a more TGaP-ish portrayal of the lings. And if it's not TGaP-ish, then the "mother" in question might not be Chrysalis. And, more importantly, is the kid Thorax ?
Lot of words to say great new chapter though
So, Thorax shall meet Spike a lot sooner?
They must not have been paying much attention if they say nothing happens in Ponyville XD
Would be kind of hilarious if this little family intelligence enterprise turned out not to be changelings at all...though for safety’s sake I’m not holding my breath.
It’s interesting that if these actually are Chrysalis and her swarm (which I suspect would make Mystery’s ‘spaz’ brother Thorax), just actually acting as an apparently fairly functional family with competent leadership makes them considerably different from their canon depiction, and this version of Equestria might never see its own version of the whole wedding debacle simply because these ‘lings seem to have no reason whatsoever to engage in that kind of ploy -- they’re already established in Equestria with presumably few ponies any wiser and seem to be fending well for themselves. Of course, these could also belong to another queen altogether and end up just as annoyed by Chryssi & family unexpectedly sweeping into Canterlot as the regular pony inhabitants...time will tell.
They got Bees and Kevin?
Theyre going to be lucky that Cherry Berry doesnt get to them before Pinkie does.
As for poor Stomach, its going to be a wonder he dont end up crying over his Brussel Sprouts.
Kevin OH boy that sure gives away Mother .
so you are going to bring in the Changelings kind of early.
now the question is does Blue Blood know?
brother / Thorax, this is going to be sooo good.
so who was it in episode 100 sitting in the back of the church???
this is a awesome chapter.
I call forth a...
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He's great at fitting in!
Another great chapter. Well done.:D
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Oh boy is Crystal Hoof going to Ponyville? :P
I see some cuddlebug actoin in near future :3
Well this is interesting to see another hive. Looks like they are going to miss Chrysalis sneaking in and suffer a major blow when she tries her mad grab for power.
The Changelings are in town. Worse, they have the Great and Mighty Kevin on their side
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Yeah, not worth putting in the effort
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It's ok, we have Kevin to keep everyling in line.
Although... how the heck do you fail that class??? You can literally sleep through it and get a perfect score!