Sworn to Moonlight

by Corwin Freiss

Paves the path

Creeping away from Royal Guard’s bonfire didn’t turn out to be a bigger challenge than getting close to it. I have no doubt Vial Glass would have told them that not everypony of our group was present in the headquarters this evening - that is if he had had that knowledge.

Of course he would have noticed the absence of my little task group, had he been present earlier that day. Yet the duty of acquiring food and other merchandise needed for day-to-day life fell to him on this fine day, so he had left in the morning.

Thanks to that, we are all now believed to be dead or quickly getting there in the smoldering heart of the building. The guards don’t pay any attention to their surroundings other than to extinguish any sparks carried by wind into the forest.

Thus the same trip that allowed that little whelp to betray us to authorities also prevented bigger damage to our organization. In retrospect, to send rookies unsupervised into the cities wasn’t my brightest idea.

Well, the future newcomers, and there will have to be many since we lost our current trainees in this attack, will most certainly get a set of chores excluding leaving the headquarters. Our long-term members (those with so many “crimes against nature” to their names that Princess wouldn’t pardon them) won’t be happy about their new responsibility, yet it will be necessary.

Caring primarily about logistical difficulties in such a situation may seem cold hearted, but as far as I am concerned it makes much more sense than falling to the ground stricken by an unbearable sadness of loss. Our brethren will be mourned and will be avenged, but there is a better time for that than now.

Problems at hand always gain priority over irreparable problems. After two hours of sneaking through the bushes at the best possible speed, I stopped. “We need to get rid of these capes before dawn.” I whisper in the direction I think Fire Caller is. We are far enough now, so there isn’t any need to be stealthy anymore, yet being sure of something usually means being wrong.

“What’s the big deal, just throw them into the garbage in the next town.” Fire obviously doesn’t follow my sentiment of not tempting fate. I swear to... whomever I’m supposed to swear to when my deities hate me, that he doesn’t follow the thought patterns known as 'reasonable' either.

“And sending the guard an invitation to our new housewarming party would be a nice finishing touch.” I retort snidely yet still quietly. “Those capes aren’t exactly a widespread fashion hit. If somepony finds them, guards will be after us quicker than Celestia after cake!”

“No need to be so mean about it. I’m just tired.” His voice betrays a slight hurt. After all, it was a really long night. “But you are right, we have to destroy them. Do you have any acid?” I look at him incredulously. “Alright, just making sure. Then burn them.”

I’m too tired, otherwise I would thank him for stating the obvious.

“Do you see any place shielded from view? If somepony saw fire, they might get suspicious.”

“You know, you were always paranoid when exhausted. It’s 6 in the morning. Ponies are still fast asleep at this time. And in the rare case somepony saw it, they would think it’s just a campfire, for pony’s sake!” Fire grows more aggravated as he continues his speech and ends it with his hooves thrown above his head.

I don’t enjoy admitting mistakes. Nopony does. But… he has a point.

“Sorry. It’s just getting to me. We could have avoided this mess, and I don’t want to bring more trouble by overlooking something.”

“Just do it already. The sun will rise soon.” He tries to sound angry, but he doesn’t have strength to anymore. Thankfully conjuring fire is a basic spell not requiring much energy. It also doesn’t take much time, so we were back on our way momentarily.

---

The moment of dispersion is also the moment in which the “everypony-for-himself” rule takes effect. Getting to the new hideout is their responsibility, and I am certain they will manage. And so will we. The journey can be made use of too.

As the leader, I take care of receiving the payment from our customers. Without written contracts, we have to handle the transactions in cash. Creating a veritable cover story for the bank would swallow precious resources and time and could backfire badly when proved false. That means I currently have 79,000 bits in 1,000 bit notes (thanks Celestia and her finance minister for discovering nominal value) and 1,000 bits in coins. Having some change makes us look natural in these situations.

We couldn’t very well take a pegasus-drawn carriage. Their records keeping is too meticulous. Trains are slower but provide much more privacy. A pony feels most alone while in a crowd, as the saying goes. Besides, the speed and directional journey were the last things we desired. We made as many direction shifts as possible to confuse possible pursuers. And the long train ride provided us with enough time to catch up on last night’s loss of sleep.

Somewhat refreshed, we disembark in Manehattan. As I said, when we have to travel, let’s make the best of it. This beautiful city hides many ponies who wouldn’t exactly be smiled upon if the subject of their undertaking were to be uncovered. And one of these will soon be graced with our visit.

“You know how I hate 'shopping.' Can’t somepony else do it instead?” Fire’s whining is starting to get repetitive. I would have expected him to develop some resistance to seeing corpses and viscera after so many years guarding our rituals, but I guess I can’t hold it against him so long as he doesn’t vomit onto our experiments.

“We are here, and somepony else isn’t. We can’t afford to waste more time.” I really should try to work on my irritation control. Now is as good a time as ever. “I would go there alone, but you know what sort he is.” His face says clearly that fulfilling his duty means more to him than keeping his stomach at peace. “When we finish the business, we can have a better lunch.” I try to use bribing to finish convincing him.

“No, we have lunch before we go there. I would rather lose that food after enjoying it than not manage to force it down my throat at all.” Fire bargains with a smirk on his face. We did rub on him after all.

“Fair enough, if it keeps you quiet…” A minor delay is little price for alleviating a bit of his discomfort. And when I think about it, I am hungry as well. We deserve a good lunch for the trouble of last night anyway.

---

I have to admit that calling the lunch detour “a minor delay” was a rather blatant understatement. The places serving actually edible food are of course located in more prosperous districts of the city, which do everything in their might to put a distance between themselves and the slums. The only reason the railway station wasn’t moved to a richer location was that poor ponies use trains too, and the elite of the society had no intention to look at them striding their streets.

Thus our itinerary grew in its length significantly - from the station to luxurious downtown, back through the neutral territory and into the filth of the slums. And since the lunch itself wasn’t a short affair either, I was quite certain that the night would catch us in this Celestia-forgotten Tartarus gate.

Not that spending time here during daytime brings any pleasantries. You are for example forced to look at all the shacks, half torn down houses and dirty, ugly foals running around among rats and debris, but when the sun is in the sky, the worst thing that can come your way are some insults thrown at you by creatures barely deserving the name “ponies.” Night, on the other hoof, poses an enormous threat to most outsiders.

Outsiders (although not endangered) we are. You don’t need to be a genius to say so much from our appearance. Just consider our races. A unicorn and a pegasus in an earth pony slum are approximately as inconspicuous as a griffin at a vegetarian buffet, and although I despise assuming anything from the coloration, my way of thinking represents insignificant minority of modern Equestrian society. As was with our last customer, and what that ritual could bring to him in terms of recognition. My charcoal black coat, long midnight blue mane and golden eyes don’t exactly yell “commoner” and Fire’s orange and crimson hues work for him the same way they do for poisonous tropical frogs. The only difference is those amphibians tend to be tiny and Fire is anything but. Really, he could probably march through Everfree and timberwolfs would run away from his path.

---

I don’t like “shopping” any more than Fire does, but I have vastly different reasons. While the biggest issue for him are the goods alone, I would rather change the merchants. Everything would be so much better, if Celestia saw further than on the tip of her muzzle…

Our research needs vast amounts of biological material. We can grow and improve any part of the pony body, but we need the most basic components - proteins, saccharides, lipids and so on - which are unique for ponies. We could, of course, simulate the metabolic processes, but when you need a paper, do you grow a forest, or just visit a stationary shop?

Ponies die everyday. If they have family, their relatives take care of the funeral and burial or cremation. If they were alone in the world or they didn’t die naturally (strange expression, what’s so unnatural on a knife in the heart causing death?), their body is brought into a morgue for the authorities to worry about. It works the same way everywhere, yet in the slums the bodies aren’t identified or counted.

One such morgue without proper records is administered by Peaceful Rest, our “friendly shopkeeper.” He is an earth pony of more than one profession yet not a single legal one. If there were a contest for most ironical name of Equestria, he would be one of the finalists. The corpses he gets his hooves on seldomly rest in peace. We, the black magic performers, aren’t the only ones with interest in dead bodies, and if the stench of Rest’s coat is to be trusted, he is his own most regular customer.

“Ahh, mr. Soaring Profit. I didn’t expect you today,” he says in a sickly sweet tone as we enter his ‘office’ if you can call this mess so. The amount of mold covering the walls, number of bugs running around the floor which hasn’t been swept once throughout the entire existence of the building and the odor in the air strongly hint that the potted plant in the corner is the only thing not alive in this room.

Peaceful Rest alone sits behind his writing desk. I’m not entirely sure what he needs one for since he doesn’t fill any paperwork ever. Well everypony needs a surface to place their cup of coffee on. He lifts his dark green hoof and tries to flatten his messy gray mane betraying his discomfort in the process. There were some stumbles in our business relationships in the past neither of us was happy about. Nopony tries to make fools of us and walks away unpunished. To top it off he looks tired and more unkempt than usual. He stinks worse too.

“I am all surprises from the beginning to the end, mr. Rest, you should know that by now.” My voice overflows with goodheartedness. The game of compliments can be played by two. He disgusts me to no end, but we need him. And this is his world, not ours, so violence isn’t viable option either.

“Yet If you had let me know, I could have prepared something special,” Rest complains, disappointment painted over his face.

For example a group of mercenaries. The thought completing Rest’s musing flashes through my mind, but I keep myself from voicing it. The conversation would turn into a monologue by now since Fire and I would lay on the ground with our heads cracked open and our possessions stolen. I wouldn’t even hold such action against you, I would probably act the same, were I in your place.

“You know that your standard deals are quite alright with us. No need to waste resources,” I smile maliciously. We both know the other pony understands. “Speaking of deals, let’s get to proper business.”

He turns around and takes a key from a hook on the wall behind his desk.

“Follow me. The normal composition of your orders, I suppose?” I am always amazed by his professional emotionless tone he uses when he talks about business affairs. We follow him through a dimly lit corridor to the morgue proper. The temperature is dropping constantly. Modern facilities cool only the coffins, yet here the whole place is freezing. On the bright side, the mold can’t withstand these conditions, so the environment becomes more healthy with each step we take.

“Yes, but there will be more. We need an extra liver and stomach. We will also need two bodies as a whole, a male and a female. Preferably with as little extraneous damage as possible, and in minimal state of decay.” At this point Fire’s face decides that exotic fauna isn’t sufficient and imitating local frogs might be a nice change. I only hope his statement about losing lunch won’t become reality. Peaceful Rest’s policy ‘you throw up on it, you buy it’ could make this visit really expensive.

A hungry grin appears on Rest’s face. After spending years doing the same transactions on daily basis, he could calculate the price on a whim, and he obviously liked the cipher he got. “Let me search my stock, I have so many wonderful choices for you to decide. This week has been very fruitful.” He and I have one thing in common. We both do a job we love from the heart…

---

Rest wasn’t exaggerating in the slightest. The amount of… material we could choose from turned out to be abundant. To be honest, I felt like a foal in a sweet shop.

To my surprise, Fire helped me immeasurably with choosing best corpses. His has kept the memories of training undisturbed by later experience with experiments (yes, even those without magical abilities are trained) so it turns out he understands what would be most practical for explaining anatomy. And once we don’t need the educational aids anymore, everything can be used as a raw material.

Fire… he took it rather well in the end, although the saying regarding the sweet shop would fit for him, only if he were a foal with tummy ache. I would have spared him of the “shopping” itself, but there was no telling what would Rest do.

Courtesy of Rest, we were escorted back to the middle class district by some of his ruffians. We don’t have to worry about carrying anything, our purchases will be delivered to our contact and transported with high level of secrecy to us later. Cooling spells allow such machinations. And he wouldn’t dare to cheat us. He isn’t the only one with a ‘mercenaries’ club card.’

“Do we have to travel right away?” Fire asks as we approach the station. “The limit after the dispersion is three days, we have a lot of time to spare.”

“Yes, we have to.” I reply simply. He doesn’t seem satisfied with my answer, so I elaborate: “We aren’t in a hurry to get to HQ, you are right in that. But we need to get away from Manehattan as fast as possible. Slums are big, but not that big, and if somepony saw us leaving that place, we should better get lost.”

“Right,” he grumbles. “The whole of Equestria is after us.”

“More than you would think. Just yesterday one of our own members betrayed us. What do you expect from others? I might be going overboard with safety, but we aren’t exactly the most loved group. I refuse to rely on luck.”

He sighs, but doesn’t protest anymore. “How many transfers do you have planned?” The resignation in his voice doesn’t exactly lighten the mood.

“Two. But we will buy first class compartment with food included for every journey.” He visibly perks up after my statement. Little things really make life more bearable, and he definitely remembers to enjoy some of them.

---

Fire didn’t fail my expectations regarding his epicureanism which in his case translates to gluttony. Every time I see him eat, I thank the stars Fire wasn’t chosen as a model for our design of artificial pony’s digestive system. But I suppose Fire’s physical constitution makes this nutritional income understandable.

Apart from Fire’s feast our journey carried out without any significant events, and when the noon of the next day came, we disembarked our final train in Colton. We chose the city as our next seat for its multiracial population and snobbish lifestyle. In places like this you have to pay extreme attention to your public appearance because gossip of any mishap spreads like a wildfire, but nopony questions how you get your money or what happens inside the walls of your mansion.

That is another advantage of this place - big mansions aren’t suspicious in the least and are obtainable from any real estate agency. Wide and deep cellars are built in every single one too. We purchased one a few years ago to create a backup plan for situations similar to the one we are in now, and chose one of our members to play the role of an estate owner and noblepony.

During the preparations and moving itself we assigned everypony with a role to play in Colton. I, as the head of the group, get to be the noble’s brother who decided to pay his relative a long-term visit, yet often needs to supervise his actives in other cities in person. That leaves me with absolute freedom of movement. The rest is to be found in the columns “Staff” and “Security” on the paycheck. Nobleponies are known to keep extensive households after all.

We took the coach from the station. Walking a mile to our “brother’s” home would be considered uncouth in the eyes of high society. This is the first time I see our new home in person - showing up here before the actual move could damage our cover story. I use this as an excuse for being deeply impressed by the estate’s looks. The pristine white, two-storeys-high stone building with columns at the entrance and with a blue tile roof is located among the trees and flower beds of a big, well-kept garden. The pompous iron-rod gate opens in front of us on its own accord, and we tread a wide road made of white gravel leading to the door. Our noblepony is already waiting for us at the doorstep.

“Brother! What a pleasure that you finally arrived. My friends were constantly asking me why you hadn’t shown up yet. Why, oh why did you make us all wait?” he shouts out jovially once we get within 30 feet from him. We didn’t choose our actor randomly, he knows his craft well, and his silver mane and dark purple coat complement his role perfectly.

“You wouldn’t believe, dear Nightwind, how some of my business partners stall even the most basic of transactions. I swear to Celestia there should be a law against such behavior. It only keeps us from important things in life,” I reply in a feigned bored and frustrated tone. Fire only rolls his eyes at our charade. He has always been more straightforward.

“I couldn’t agree with you more, dear Midnight. But let’s get inside. One can always talk better in a comfortable seat and with brandy in the hoof.” New place, new name. He beckons us inside and we gladly accept his invitation.

The moment the door close behind us we drop the pretending. “Gather everypony for a briefing in an hour. We need to discuss next course of action, but not before Fire and I get some time to refresh ourselves,” I command simply.

“I will bring my report there. Everything will be taken care of, sir,” he assures as he shows us our rooms. “I will send you some drinks to your rooms. I have to go to the kitchen anyway, the cook needs to be told there are two more to be catered for from now on.” With that NIghtwind leaves. I applaud the way he takes host’s duties to his heart. Hopefully others do well too.

---

The conference room rebuilt from one of the cellars breathed with style and luxury. Two crystal chandeliers illuminate a dark-blue long-fiber carpet and heavy velvet curtains of slightly lighter hue which muffle the echo of the underground hall. The paintings hanging on the white walls between the curtains reinforce the calm feeling of the place. Members of our group are seated on cushions around a round eben table. Some of the places are empty. Too many. Three pairs from dispersion haven’t arrived yet, but those have still time before the limit expires and they are presumed dead. The other ten places hurt much more. Nine of us had stayed behind and perished in the fire. The tenth one would host Vial. He will soon see the horrors of Tartarus in retaliation for those nine empty places.

“As you all heard from your friends or saw for yourself, we were betrayed, and our brothers paid for it with their lives,” I begin the meeting with what troubles all of us the most. ”Fire Caller and I managed to sneak close enough to identify the culprit. Lieutenant Storm Gust, contact our pony in Royal Guard and ensure we know about the place of residence and all movements of Vial Glass.” Some of my anger is imminent in my voice. The faces of those present don’t show much of a surprise. They probably expected to hear this name.

“Now to our current situation. Frost Blossom, would you please report the state of our main project and equipment?” I ask in a calmer tone.

The addressed snow white unicorn mare with a sky blue mane gets up and walks to where I stand. She is the leading scientist of our group and spends most of her time in our laboratory. Although she believes in our cause, she refuses to take part in the rituals we use to raise money. I can understand that, and it doesn’t really hinder us. After all, the more important the pony is, the more conditions they can have.

“Most of our devices were thankfully moved in time, as were the notes and biological samples. All the parts of main project that weren’t destroyed by Vial’s ignorance are in pristine and ready state. The heavier and built-in parts of our laboratorium were of course destroyed, but replacing and rebuilding them shouldn’t be hard. The real problem is the lack of supplies, but this problem wasn’t caused by the fire, as you know,” she professionally recites.

I smile at her and nod. “That won’t be a problem anymore. On the way here we made a detour to Manehattan to see one of our friends. Our last contract brought us 80,000 bits, so we took the liberty to order necessary materials as well as new anatomical aids for future trainees.”

“So you plan to bring new recruits?” one of the lieutenants, earth pony called Saber Sharp, asks. Even though the security department didn’t lose anypony, his trainer nature senses an opportunity to get something to do.

“Yes, guards, scientists and casters alike. We will need them more than ever now that we are getting close to fulfilling our goal,” I smile and the expression is mimicked by most of the others.

“When will the supplies arrive?” Frost reminds us of technical aspects again.

“They should be delivered in six days. The work will start immediately after that. Once the remaining pairs appear, send them directly to me. For now please return to your tasks. I will come to each of you during the afternoon to discuss the new policy of duty distribution.”

With that the assembled ponies start to get up and leave the room. I decide to stay for a little while longer. The room really calms my mind, a trait that will be very important in the days to come. We are back on track, which means much more stress. But it will be worth it.

Comments

[Eater-of-Worlds Smooze]

This is quite interesting. I look forward to seeing where it goes. Am I correct in my belief that this takes place before season one of My Little Pony?

[Corwin Freiss]

3209081 Yes, at this point Luna is still imprisoned in the Moon. She will play a very important role though.

[Eater-of-Worlds Smooze]

3209099

I kind of figured, considering how much she is mentioned.

[Corwin Freiss]

3209150 Subtle hints were never my forte.