Shadowbolt Harmony Division

by Rainium

Chapter 4

Canterlot, 1005 ANM.

"She's ready for you, your Majesty."

Celestia looked up from her paperwork to thank the pony who notified her before standing up and stretching her white pinions. She was in the middle of the preliminary interviews for the first wave of Division candidates. Several ponies had come through, all of them mostly qualified for the position... but Celestia was looking for the best. The fate of her nation may depend on these soldiers, and she was determined to find the greatest she could.

She set her quill on her desk before making her way out of her office, walking down the hall towards the interview offices. Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows as pegasus ponies fluttered away on the other side, enjoying the early afternoon sunshine. Ponies of all kinds were out in the streets of Canterlot, making good use of their weekend off. However, the Crown never stopped working.

It had taken five long years filled with setbacks and obstructions, but her idea conceived at the Summer Sun Celebration was finally coming to fruition. The various obstacles, along with the several attacks on her country, only hardened her conviction and resolve that the Division was necessary.

Celestia made her way down the palace hallways to the briefing room area, where a guard greeted her and let her in. Inside the room was Princess Luna, looking into the room through a one-way mirror.

"Ah, hello Sister," Celestia said warmly, greeting her sister. "How is our newest candidate?"

"Promising," Luna replied. "She checks all the boxes. Strong flyer, skilled fighter, fiercely loyal to the Crown. I'll let her file speak for itself."

The night sister floated over the tan folder to Celestia, who accepted it and flipped it open, skimming through it.

"...Guard at the Friendship Castle... Wonderbolts Prospect... With how the previous interviews have gone, she may be overqualified for the position," Celestia remarked with a bit of dry humor, though she nodded slowly as she read through it. "But you are right, sister. Very promising."

She closed the folder and looked through the viewing window at the pony sitting inside, a pegasus mare with pure white fur and a jet-black mane. The only splashes of color were on her bangs, bright orange, and her eyes, deep blue. She sat in the chair with trained patience, hooves resting on the table in front of her as she glanced around the empty room. Only her gently twitching pinions gave away her unease and impatience.

"Well, let's not keep her waiting too long, eh?" Celestia said, patting her sister on the back before making her way into the interview room, a guard opening the door for her.

As Celestia entered, the pegasus quickly scrambled to her hooves, almost tripping over herself as she hastily snapped off a wing salute.

"Y-Your Majesty! My apologies, I wasn't informed you were-"

"At ease," Celestia replied, waving a hoof dismissively. "Have a seat."

The pegasus mare blinked, then nodded, fixing her chair before sitting back down. Celestia sat down across the table from her and set her case file down in front of her.

"Do you know why you're here?" Celestia began, looking the other mare over.

The pegasus nodded. "I was told that this was some sort of job interview for the Crown, but I'm not sure what it's for exactly."

"Yes, this is a job interview, but I can't tell you about it just yet. That information is still classified," Celestia leaned forward slightly. "For now, I just want to learn about you."

The pegasus nodded, and Celestia continued. "We are completely alone. Anything you say here will not be held against you. Feel free to speak as freely as you'd like."

The white mare nodded affirmation once more before responding. "My name is Rainium Skysoarer. I was born in Cloudsdale, my current residence is Ponyville. I work as a guard in Twilight's Castle."

"Any siblings? Spouse? Kids?" Celestia interjected.

"No siblings, no kids. I have a fiancée."

"Ah," the Princess replied, a slight frown tinging her face, almost unnoticeable. "How long have you been engaged?"

"A few months now. Her and I have been planning on getting married in October."

"I see. Congratulations, then." Celestia flipped open the case file, sifting through the papers for a few seconds. "You were offered a place in the Wonderbolts Academy."

"Yes," Rainium nodded.

"And you turned it down?"

"Yes. I know they were created for a purpose, but they're... they're useless now," Rainium shifted uncomfortably as she said this, glancing around the room, as if she was scared they would somehow hear her and take offense. "They're nothing more than showponies. I want to make a difference. That's why I joined the guard, so I could help ponies."

"Well, Rainium, I think we can offer you that chance." Celestia paused, contemplating her next words carefully. "I am looking to put together a... spec-ops unit of sorts. You would live a normal life, but once you're called to service, you would have to drop everything and report in. You would specialize in grave threats to national security and other situations beyond the capacity of the normal guard. Is this something that interests you?"

Rainium, whose eyes were widening as the Princess spoke, squeaked softly. "Wow, that sounds-... I-I would be honored to."

"Fantastic," Celestia replied, closing the file folder before leaning in once more. "Do you have any conflicts of interest, any emotional attachments, anything that could hinder you when you're called to duty?"

Rainium's eyes flashed with emotion, almost too fast for Celestia to catch, and she looked down away from the Princess's gaze. "...No."

Celestia tilted her head slightly. "...And if you did, you would take care of it?"

"Absolutely."

"Perfect," Celestia nodded, before leaning back slightly in her chair. "Well, Private Skysoarer, I still have some paperwork I need to sort out, but if Princess Twilight is fine with letting you go, consider yourself a member of the squad. You'll receive more information in the coming days about your new assignment, should you choose to accept it. You work for the Crown now."

Celestia rose from her chair and offered a hoof across the table, which Rainium promptly shook, a feeling of pride glowing on her face.

"Just one last thing, " Celestia added. "Do you have a preference for a code-name?"

"...My friends call me Rainy."

"Perfect. Just remember, everything we have just discussed is classified. I'm sure you're familiar with the punishment for leaking information."

"Of course."

"Very well," Celestia nodded, smiling reassuringly down at her. "You are dismissed."

Rainium nodded, standing up from her chair and snapping off a salute once more before stepping out of the room, where a guard let her out and escorted her to the exit. Celestia waited in her chair for several moments before following her out, where Luna was there to greet her.

"What do you think?" Celestia asked.

"I like her," Luna replied simply.

"Me too. There aren't many gifted fliers out there that aren't already snatched up by the Wonderbolts. And she's a guard as well, she already has combat training. She's as close to a perfect pegasus candidate as we can find."

"I agree. However, she stumbled on the attachments question... is this a potential weak point?"

Celestia frowned, then shook her head. "I don't think it will be a problem."

---

Manehattan, 1008 ANM.

"...Clear."

Rainy lowered her rifle and waved back to the entrance to the Madisoat Mare Garden, signaling to the other ponies to come out onto the street. Slowly, the group of wounded EUP soldiers stumbled out into the dimming daylight, led by a weary-looking Agrippa.

Agrippa offered a shoulder to a struggling guard, helping to steady him, before looking up at Rainy. "You're sure the base is safe?"

Rainy nodded. "I cleared it out before I came here. The tracks, I'm not sure about, but we can keep them locked up for the time being."

"We could always stay in the Garden..." Agrippa said, glancing back at the building they just exited.

"I don't like it. There’re too many ways in and out, too many places to defend. Maybe once we have more ponies, we can restore the Garden to operational status, but not now."

"If you say so. You're the expert," Agrippa replied with a hint of mocking sarcasm in her voice that Rainy chose to ignore.

Agent Rainy led the ragged group of ponies across the street, scanning the rooftops for any snipers, until they reached the towering front doors of the Maneway terminal. Rainy pushed them open with a grunt, holding them open to allow the injured soldiers to stream past her into the base. Agrippa was the last one to enter, staying back to help each pony up the short flight of stairs to the entrance. Once all the ponies were inside, Rainy slammed the doors shut, locking them as best as she could.

Agrippa helped the soldiers get settled before calling out to the group, "Does anyone require immediate medical attention?" Silence greeted her, as the EUP personnel appeared to already be bandaged up by the doctor. "...Good, because I need some sleep."

"Wait, I need to speak with you first." Rainy interrupted, stepping forward.

Agrippa glanced over at her before letting out a sigh. "Of course you do..."

"I'll make it quick; I promise. I have shit I need to take care of as well."

"Sure. Whatever." Agrippa waved a hoof dismissively. "Just let me get back to my lab first. I need to sit down."

"Fine," Rainy nodded, accepting the compromise.

Agrippa led Rainy to one of the shops lining the lobby of the station, which had been repurposed into a lab. A sad excuse for a lab, consisting of only a few gurneys, a couple run-down virus scanners, and a few other pieces of lab equipment that Rainy didn't recognize. Nothing in the room was on due to the power outage, leaving the room lifeless and quiet.

Agrippa sat back on one of the medical gurneys, which doubled as her bed, with a loud groan and a sigh. "What did you need from me?"

Rainy sat on the edge of one of the other cots across from her, a respectable distance away. "I just need to know exactly what happened here. Command didn't really give me very many specifics."

"From when?"

"Start from the helicopter crash. That's when the intel got fuzzy."

Agrippa waved a hoof. "First, take off those goggles. You look so goofy with them on."

"...Fine." Rainy slipped them off and set them next to her on the bed, rubbing at her eyes for a second before looking up at Agrippa. "There. Happy? Anything else I can do for ya?"

Agrippa smirked, taking a moment to look over Rainy’s unobstructed face before answering. "You could get me some coffee. Get some for yourself, as well. You look like you could use some."

"The coffee machine is offline, Agrippa." Rainy said matter-of-factly.

Agrippa blinked as her sleep-deprived brain registered what she had just said. "...Right. Whatever. I don't think we have any coffee beans left in this place, anyway..."

"Or hot water." Rainy smirked, but only for a second, as she quickly returned to being serious and focused on the matter at hoof. "Please tell me what happened, doctor."

Agrippa sighed before closing her eyes as she began to speak. "All I heard was a loud crack, coming from outside... I assume that was the sound of the spellcaster firing. Then I heard it slam into the supply helicopter that was about to land on the roof... The pilot tried to recover, but it was too damaged. It went into a death spiral, slammed into the corner of the building, causing it to cave in. The pilots were killed, the supplies destroyed, several ponies injured in the impact... It sent the place into chaos. The crash knocked out the electricity as well, and the whole place plunged into darkness... We had no defenses, no light, no leadership. We were easy targets."

"Targets for who?" Rainy interjected.

"The rioters... they moved in almost immediately. In all the confusion, we didn't have the time to set up an effective defense. We were overrun almost immediately. All the ponies still fit to move retreated out the back... we had to leave the rest behind."

Rainy nodded slowly as she absorbed the information. "So you retreated to the Garden after that?"

Agrippa nodded. "Yes. It was close by, and it was pretty secure. It was our best option, given the circumstances. But unfortunately, the rioters followed us there as well. We were prepared for them this time, so we put up a pretty good fight, but the rioters had been reinforced by the weapons they recovered from the Base. They busted through the defenses, and I wasn't able to make it out in time."

"Damn..." Rainy shook her head. "Did anyone make it out?"

"Yeah, a few EUP soldiers did. I have no idea where they are now though. I stayed behind to try and evacuate the wounded, but I wasn't fast enough. They could be anywhere in the city by now."

"Well, maybe if we get this place back operational, we can find them and get them to come back."

"That's a big if, Rainy."

"It's worth a shot."

Agrippa shrugged, conceding the point. "Now, I have a question to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"You're infected, aren't you?"

Rainy opened her mouth to answer, then closed it, making sure to choose her words carefully. "...I don't know. I might be, but Command doesn't know how the infection spreads, so I can't tell you for certain."

"Well, I can definitely tell you for certain. The disease is transferred via magic. Unicorn magic, pegasus magic, earth pony magic, MagiTech... doesn't matter. If you've flown in this city, there's a good chance you're infected."

"What?" Rainy blinked, disbelief filling her eyes, followed by terror. "No... No, they would've told me in the briefing..."

Agrippa rolled her eyes. "Of course they didn't. You had to fly across the river to get here, didn't you? They couldn't have you backing out if they told you the truth."

"But I still would've flown here if I knew! They knew that... they must've just not known..."

"Whatever you say, Rainy," Agrippa said, without much sympathy in her voice. "You're still infected either way, which means we need to get moving on a cure."

"Right. Right," Rainy let out a sigh, regaining her composure. "What do we need to do?"

"First, we need to get the power back online. Lights, heating, water purification, defenses, lab equipment, it's all down until we can get the generators back up. We can worry about a cure after that."

Rainy nodded. "I checked the main generator, that thing's fried. I don't have the parts or the know-how to get it running again."

Agrippa paused. "...I do know one pony who can."

Rainy tilted her head. "Who?"

"Her name's Aerion Featherquill. She's the CEO of a MagiTech startup, specializes in technology. She'll have the skills and the supplies to get it working again. Plus, her equipment will be super important with the cure research."

"Sweet, where is she?" Rainy asked.

Agrippa sighed. "That's the problem. She left to her headquarters a few hours before the helicopter crash, said she had to work on something. I haven't seen her since."

"Nothing can be easy, can it?" Rainy sighed as well. "What do you think happened? Think she's still alive?"

"Well, I think there's two scenarios. She could've seen the attack and retreated back to her HQ to lay low, or she was attacked by looters as well, either there or on the way. Either way, she's probably in danger."

Rainy frowned. "So, you want me to travel through a hostile city, find some random mare who may or may not be alive in her headquarters, all while I have more pressing matters at hoof?"

"This is important, Rainy," Agrippa insisted. "If she dies, we won't get the power back on, and we won't get the tech required for cure research. That not only means your death, but the deaths of millions, including the Princesses. You really want to be responsible for that?"

Rainy rubbed her temples with a sigh. "…Give me a minute, I'll run it past Command for you."

"Thank you," Agrippa said as she leaned back on her cot once more.

Rainy slipped her goggles back on, using them to open up a link with command. "Agent Rainy to Command, can you hear me?"

"...Ah, it's good to hear from you again, Agent. Was the mission a success?"

"Yes, I was able to rescue Dr. Glimmershine, along with a few EUP survivors. We're holed up in the Base of Operations for now."

"Perfect. Your next objective is to neutralize that spellcaster. The sooner we can send in reinforcements, the better."

“Copy. Wait one," Rainy glanced over at Agrippa, who gave her a nod. "...Command, Dr. Glimmershine tells me I need to find an 'Aerion Featherquill'. A MagiTech CEO. She says she's important for her cure research.”

There were a few seconds of silence from the other end. “...Negative, Agent, that is not your objective. That spellcaster is your top priority, we need it down so we can send in reinforcements and supplies.”

"It's urgent." Rainy insisted. "Agrippa says she's in danger, and she needs Aerion's help with the cure research. If she dies, we may never find a cure."

"Agent, we don’t have time for you to run around finding private sector CEOs. If you die, the city will fall. We can't risk it."

Rainy fell silent, a hoof raised to her goggles.

Command sensed her hesitation. "...Agent, don't even think about it—"

Rainy flicked off the commlink before turning back to Agrippa, pointing an accusatory hoof at her. "This better be worth it."

"Of course it is." Agrippa stated simply. "When have I ever been wrong?"

"Don't get me started," Rainy grumbled as she grabbed her rifle. "Get some rest, doctor. I'll be back soon."

Rainy trotted off to the front entrance, making her way outside once more as the sun began to set.

"Aerion Featherquill... here I come."

---

"Hour 31... still no contact from the Base of Operations."

Aerion sighed and sent her emergency signal through once more, but static greeted her again.

"They're either dealing with a severe power outage, or they're all dead. Either are real possibilities."

She turned away from her transmitter and trotted back to her workbench, where a small recording device sat on top along with some schematics.

"I would head back and find out what's wrong... but I've got my own problems here."

She glanced up at her security monitor, which was kept online by a small emergency generator rumbling in the corner of the room. In the security feed, she spotted a group of ponies making their way through the hallways of her headquarters, armed with guns and a variety of blunt weapons.

"Keep searching!" one of them called out to the others. "She's gotta be around here somewhere. The ransom money we can get from this bitch might let us buy our way off this island."

"...Great," Aerion sighed, glancing at the hidden entrance to the safe room she's hiding in. "Let's hope these assholes aren't the perceptive type, I'd hate to let all this work go to waste..."

She turned back to her work, glancing down at the recording device as it whirred softly on the table in front of her. "I hope you haven't forgotten about me, Agrippa, because I could really use some help right about now..."

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Will the Equestria Girls Shadowbolts appear or at least get mentioned in this story?

[Rainium]

9449564
I'm planning on having at least one of the members show up.

[RDgamer321]

I know about most of how The Division worked but I'm still not sure if Rainy ignoring command orders would count as her going rogue considering to go rogue in the game you have to kill a fellow agent, but I know that if you do go rogue command usually makes you a priority target or something similar.

[CommanderApplejack]

Hmm, I'd like a little more info on the virus itself, it's a little vague as it's clearly not the flue strain from the game.