Chapter 8
Shadowbolt Harmony Division Training Facility, 1005 ANM.
TWEET! The sharp blast of the drill sergeant's whistle was music to Rainy's ears.
"That's it for today, Shadowbolts! Cool down and report to barracks for lights out. Another early morning tomorrow, and I'll be expecting better results than today, so rest up! You'll need it."
Rainy obeyed the sergeant's commands and angled her wings to swoop to the ground, touching down with a tired groan. Her wings ached like they'd never ached before, the result of a full day's worth of flight exercises and endurance training; she lets the sore appendages dangle limply against her sides as she trots to the barracks in the distance. Behind her, the other recruits had fared even worse, with some of them on the verge of collapsing, wobbly making their descent. Only a turquoise and gold mare seemed to fare as well as Rainy; Lightning Dust huffed and stalked after the white pegasus, a scowl fixed on her face.
Rainy pushed her way into the barracks and quickly trotted to her cot, flopping onto the hard mattress with a relieved groan. She was sore beyond belief, sweaty, and probably stunk to high heaven, but she had survived another day. And based on the poor performances of the rest of the recruits, she was well on her way to graduating with high marks if she could keep this pace up. Her training to become a member of the guard had been tricky, and it had prepared her for something like this, sure... but this was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Princess Celestia hadn't been lying when she said this unit would be for the best of the best.
Rainy relaxed on the cot for a while before daring to move again, body aching in protest once she did. By now, the rest of the recruits had filed their way inside the barracks as well, some stretching their tired muscles to avoid cramping while others socialized in the corner, none of them paying attention to her. She took the opportunity to secretly reach into her pillowcase and pull out a piece of illegal contraband; a small, grainy picture, smuggled into training hidden between the feathers of her wing. The Shadowbolt leaders had forbidden any personal belongings, but she hadn't been able to resist.
The picture in question was a portrait of a mare, with blue fur and a yellow-gold mane, adorned in a doctor's white lab coat and her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her navy eyes were hidden behind a cute pair of reading glasses, and she beamed at the camera with joyous enthusiasm. Around her neck was a necklace with a ring looped through it, along with a stark white feather that stood out in stark contrast to her blue chest fur. A white feather much like Rainy's own.
To my favorite guardpony, the hoofwritten text reads in the bottom corner. Can't wait to see you again~ Dr. Glimmershine.
Rainy sighed and stared at the picture for what felt like hours to her tired mind, though it must've only been a few seconds to everyone else in the room. However, before she could safely tuck it back into her pillowcase, a turquoise hoof reached in and snagged it with a snigger.
"Oh?~ What's this, Cadet Sky?" Lightning Dust jeered with a scornful glare. "Personal belongings? You know we're not supposed to have any of those, right?~"
Shit. Rainy groaned and sat up in her cot, watching the other pegasus look the picture over. "Hey, cut it out, Lightning."
"Nah, I don't think I will," Dust replied in a taunting, singsongy voice. "Why's it fair that you get to have something like this, but not me? I'm sure the C.O. will be very appreciative if I reported this..."
Rainy quickly rolled off the bed onto her tired hooves at that, closing the distance between her and the other pegasus in a second. "Can't beat me fair and square on the track, so you're trying to get me disciplined instead, huh? No wonder you couldn't make it onto the Wonderbolts. You can't accomplish anything without strong-arming your way to the top."
Lightning's eyes widened, taken aback at the sudden shift in Rainy's tone, before they narrowed in anger. "At least I was invited! I had the skills to be one of the best. You didn't even make it onto the Wonderbolts' radar."
"I'd rather not be invited to the academy at all, than be invited and completely embarrassed like you were. Now give me the picture, and we won't have any problems," Rainy responded coolly, eyes staring into Dust's own without blinking once.
Lightning, not one to back down so easily, took a step back with a snarl. "You want it so bad? Come and get it yourself."
"With pleasure," Rainy growled back, and the white mare suddenly leapt into action.
With a pump of her wings, Rainy propelled herself forward, launching right at Lightning in a blur of speed. Lightning--even as tired as she was--didn't flinch, holding her ground to meet the assault head on. The two collided, and all hell broke loose in the barracks.
The two Shadowbolts were nothing more than a blue and white blur as they wrestled and tangled with one another, hooves and wings landing blow after counterblow as each mare tried to get the upper hoof. Some of the other cadets had to quickly scramble out of the way to avoid being hit themselves; others gathered around the scene with whoops of excitement, just happy to be spectators to the dustup.
The two pegasi were evenly matched, and even though they were both exhausted, they both found a second wind when it came to finally getting the better of their rival; days of built-up tension and competitiveness were being released with each blow, and they weren't holding anything back. Blood and spittle flew across the room in droplets, sometimes spraying over the observers as they stomped their hooves.
However, the commotion was immediately halted by the sound of a familiar voice that filled everyone present with immediate dread.
"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH!"
All the spectators immediately turned and stiffened to attention at the drill sergeant's voice, with Rainy and Lightning joining them a few seconds later after untangling from each other’s grasp. Rainy sported a black eye that was quickly swelling up, and was grabbing at her injured ribs, wincing with each breath; Lightning's muzzle was crooked and dripping blood, and she spat a couple of her own teeth out onto the floor.
"Now what in Nightmare Moon's great blue hell is going on in here?" the drill sergeant asked.
The picture that had started the whole thing was on the ground between the two Shadowbolt cadets, and Rainy quickly covered it with one of her forehooves before the drill sergeant could notice.
"Just a disagreement, sir," was Rainy's measured response; thankfully—and curiously—Lightning said nothing further.
"Just a disagreement, my ass!" the drill sergeant exclaimed, stepping up to be face-to-face with the two injured mares. "It looked like a Celestia-damned fight club to me! And from two of my best recruits, no less.”
The uneasy silence continued as the stallion leaned in until he was mere inches from Rainy's muzzle, eyes sporting a dangerous glint as his gaze bored right into her own.
"And you know what? I love it."
What? Rainy's eyes widened in surprise, but she was able to keep the rest of her body at stiff attention; some of the spectating recruits, however, weren't able to hold back their shocked, uncomfortable murmurs, which quickly died out as the drill sergeant turned his attention back to them.
"What do you ponies think this is? A daycare? A therapist's office? A support group? Hell no! You are a collection of some of the best ponies our country has to offer, so you better start acting like it!"
The drill sergeant started pacing back and forth in front of the collection of cadets, his accusatory stare sweeping over all of them.
"You think that when the government collapses, and the princesses are killed or worse, the enemies you'll be fighting against will be lining up to shake your hoof? Of course not! There will be no more of this friendship shit, no more of this harmony shit; the world will be completely turned upside down, and you ponies have to be the ones that pull it all back together again! So get mean. Get competitive. Might as well get used to it now. There's no room in the Shadowbolts for weak links."
The drill sergeant let his words sink in before turning and stalking his way out of the barracks just as fast as he had arrived, the cadets giving each other uncomfortable glances before turning and returning to their cots. Soon, all that remained in the middle of the room were Rainy and Lightning, both of them still catching their breaths without looking at the other.
"See you tomorrow, Cadet Sky," Lightning broke the silence with a threatening snarl before turning and stalking off, pushing her way out of the barracks to take a visit to the medical tent; the unicorn medics there would be able to restore her teeth and broken muzzle before training tomorrow.
Rather than join her, Rainy stood alone, each breath sending sharp bursts of pain through her body from her cracked ribs. She slowly moved her forehoof to reveal the picture that had been hiding beneath it... all this trouble for so small a thing. The paper had not escaped the fight unscathed either; it had begun to tear slightly, separating the mare's head into two, and it was splattered in someone's blood... whose it was was anyone's guess.
Rainy takes one last long look at the pony before finishing the job, ripping it apart along the tear before doing it several more times, leaving the scraps of paper littering the barracks floor as she limped off.
No point in playing pretend anymore.
Manehattan, 1008 ANM.
Rainy knew that she wasn’t supposed to use her wings.
But when you’re plummeting off the roof of a skyscraper with the ground rapidly approaching, you’re not left with much of a choice.
Her wings snapped open, and her free fall slowed immediately with a jolt as the cold winter air was caught under the feathered appendages. Rather than flapping them and using even more magical energy, Rainy opted to taper off into a glide, and she flew towards the ground in a low, swooping arc in an attempt to absorb as little of the virus as she could. Then, before she knew it, the injured pegasus crash-landed onto the Manehattan street, the layer of fresh snow cushioning her fall as she rolled several meters before coming to a halt.
Rainy laid there for a few seconds, motionless, just feeling the cold biting chill of the snow underneath her. It was a stark reminder that yes, she was still alive, despite the fact that her hindquarters were hot and scarred from her burn wounds, and her stomach was ruptured and bleeding over the fresh white snowfall. The Shadowbolt resisted the urge to close her eyes and forced herself to roll over onto her back with a groan, every movement causing fresh waves of agony to shoot through her. Her hoof snagged the first aid injector off her tool belt and held it up; the indicator told her that it was 98% charged. Rainy watched the last few percentage points charge up as her body shuddered and ached, each second feeling like an eternity. Then, finally, the indicator flashed green, and she jabbed the needle into her thigh, relief flooding through her almost immediately.
She watched as the hole in her stomach sealed itself up, her skin and fur growing back until there was no trace of an injury there at all. Rainy could feel her insides reforming and rearranging, a rather uncomfortable sensation. And the burns on her rump were fully healed now with a second dosage. Her tail was still scorched, her Shadowbolt flight suit had several bullet holes and was melting in some places, but she was still alive and healthy enough to move. She took another couple seconds to catch her breath, just laying on her back and looking up at the cloudy night sky as snow continued to fall around her in an ever-thickening haze.
However, a large explosion and a tremor through the ground below her from what she assumed was the spellcaster hitting the ground on the other side of the office building reminded her that she needed to keep moving. Lightning Dust was somehow in Manehattan, somehow at the spellcaster, and she would no doubt be coming after her once again. She needed to move, get distance between them before the other pegasus could catch up. But where? She had nowhere to go in a hostile city with no supplies. She could only go back to the Base of Operations and hope that Agrippa and Aerion could help her.
Rainy took the pain and the aching sensations flooding through her body and shoved them to the side, focusing only on regaining her footing, one hoof at a time. She rolled over onto her stomach and pushed herself up onto all fours, wings flared to steady herself. Then, she limped off down the street, trudging through shin-deep snow on her way back to the Base of Operations. It would be a slow, painful journey, but she needed to get there before Lightning did. That's all that mattered.
"Manehattan, Manehattan! It's me again, Suri Polomare, with an emergency episode for you lovely ponies tonight. Yes, I know it's in the middle of the night, but something BIG just went down in the city, and the aftermath is making it hard to fall asleep. So listen closely, ladies and gentlecolts.
“Everyone's heard of the EUP, right? The Earth-Unicorn-Pegasus Guard, the Protective Pony Platoons sent in to reinforce the Manehattan police in maintaining order? Well, they've done the best job that they could, but there just isn't enough of them to go around. And whenever there's a power vacuum left in this city, you can be damn sure that someone's chomping at the bit to fill the void. That's how we get to the subjects of today's special edition of Wouldn't You Know It.
“You ever noticed strange ponies in bright white jackets wandering around? Or hear the most annoying broadcasts over speakers in certain areas of the city? Ponies, turns out that these heavily armed newcomers call themselves Freelancers, led by one Commander Dusk Fire. They've got all the markings of a PMC, all the equipment to back it up, and they seem very keen on pushing ponies around and getting their way, no matter the cost.
“I had to do some digging just to find out what the hell these ponies are... luckily, I'm trapped in my apartment with nothing to do, so it's not like I'm lacking in free time. From what I've been able to find out, these Freelancers were active overseas in places like Griffonstone and Klugetown, helping spread the Equestrian ideals of 'peace' and 'harmony' to our latest satellite states. Apparently, it was by force as well, considering how heavily-armed these ponies are. Then, once everything started going to shit here, the Freelancers were recalled back to the Equestrian mainland to assist relief efforts... only to be abandoned and trapped here once the quarantine went into place.
“And lemme tell ya folks, trapping dangerous, highly-trained operatives in a city with no power structure and no hope is never a good idea. These Freelancers have started carving out pieces of the city for themselves, enforcing martial law on any ponies in the area, using lethal force if they have to. And with no E.U.P. to keep them in check, they've had free reign to do whatever the fuck they want.
“'Why is Suri talking about this?', you may be asking yourself. Well, I'll tell you why. Anyone out there notice a shudder rumble through their houses a couple of hours ago? That was no earthquake, ponies. A source close to the scene tells me that the cause of the shuddering was the Freelancer HQ itself. You know that giant cannon they had strapped on top of the building? The one that was shooting down all the supply helicopters and leaving us completely isolated here? Well, it's no longer. Something, or someone, blew it right off the roof, and now the whole building is burning down!
“Given that the fire department is nowhere to be seen, I hope that it doesn't start to spread through the borough... but it looks like the Freelancers have been given a massive blow to their dreams of citywide domination. And with the spellcaster out of commission, that should mean that supply shipments will start up again soon... if they haven't forgotten about us here, that is. And to whoever blew that thing up: thank you.
“This is Suri Polomare, signing off. I need to get some sleep. You should too! Stay safe out there."
The trip back to the base of operations was indeed slow-going, with the exhausted Rainy having to stay at a slower pace than usual to avoid pockets of riled-up rioters and squads of Freelancers retreating from their burning HQ deeper into the city. The white pegasus had neither the energy nor the health to start picking unnecessary fights, especially when she was hard-pressed for time already. She needed help from Agrippa and Aerion before Lightning found her again, and she wasn't going to risk calling them and allow Lightning the opportunity to hack into the connection.
The snowstorm had started to die down, and the sun was poking up over the cloudy horizon by the time Rainy reached Maneway station once again. The Shadowbolt quickly pushed her way through the large doors before shutting them behind her, turning her attention to the large atrium that housed the remainder of the EUP. All the guards looked up in alarm at the sound of the door opening, but they quickly returned to their activities at the sight of the familiar Division agent.
The first pony to trot over to greet her was Aerion, of all ponies, and the usually hostile pegasus had a grin on her peach-colored muzzle.
"Agent! You're back-" she started, but she paused when she was able to see the severity of Rainy's injuries. "...aaaaand you look like shit. Perfect."
"Aerion, I..." Rainy started, before taking a deep breath to find her thoughts. "I fucked up. Badly."
Aerion tilted her head in confusion. "Fucked up? What are you talking about? We heard the spellcaster's explosion from here. The Freelancers are on the run and supply deliveries are going to resume-"
"No, not that,” Rainy cut her off with a wave of her hoof. “The Shadowbolts, I-... They’re coming, and we need to get out of here as fast as we can or we’re all going to die-”
Now it was Aerion’s turn to cut her off. "Woah, woah, you need to slow down and elaborate, Rainy. C'mon, let's go find Agrippa so she can have a look at you."
Rainy wasn’t in any state to argue, so she just nodded softly and limped off after Aerion to the medic’s temporary quarters. The two crossed the lobby of the station to the shop that had been converted into a medical station, where Dr. Glimmershine was digging through the supply boxes to take inventory.
“Not enough pain meds, not enough bandages, not enough antibiotics…” Agrippa muttered under her breath, before the approaching clip of hooves alerted her to the presence of guests. “Oh, hey Aeri. Rainy. Here to use up all my medical supplies again?”
“Agrippa,” Aerion greeted her in turn before gesturing over to Rainy with a hoof. “Agent Orange here says that her mission was successful, but now she’s talking gibberish, can’t figure out a word she’s saying. Might be all the injuries making her delirious or something-”
Rainy shook her head and stepped forward. “No, no, I’m serious. This is serious. We’re all in danger right now and we need to hurry.”
Aerion and Agrippa made eye contact for a second before Agrippa leaned back onto her haunches with a sigh. “...Alright, spill it then.”
“The Division, they’re here. In the city. Now,” Rainy started.
“Already?” Aerion exclaimed.
“Isn’t that a good thing? More reinforcements, more help?” Agrippa asked in a more level-headed manner.
Rainy shook her head. “No, no it isn’t. It’s Lightning Dust.”
That name drew zero reaction from the other two mares.
“...Who?” Aerion finally asked to break the silence.
Rainy sighed. “Lightning Dust. She’s a Wonderbolt dropout, and my main rival in training camp. Command sent her into the city because… they thought I went rogue, and they needed her to finish the job.”
“The spellcaster?” Agrippa deduced with a frown.
“Mmhm… We ran into each other at the Freelancer HQ. And she put a bullet in my back,” Rainy winced at the memory.
Aerion whistled under her breath. “Damn… I always thought you Division types were cold-hearted, but that’s just crazy.”
“Aeri, not helping,” Agrippa scolded, before turning her attention back to the Shadowbolt. “So she’s hunting you now, Rainy?”
“As far as I can tell… yes,” Rainy replied with a nod. “She sees me as a rogue agent, and that means I’m someone she needs to put down. And our rivalry means that she’s extra devoted to finishing the job.”
“Well, this is obviously just a misunderstanding then. When she gets here, we can talk it over with her, and we can smooth this all over,” Agrippa said with an air of optimism.
Rainy shook her head. “I don’t know if she’ll be convinced… and I’m not really willing to stick around and take that chance.”
“So what are you going to do now?” Agrippa asked.
“Run… somewhere, I don’t know,” Rainy admitted with an exhale. “Deeper into the city. Find somewhere to lay low until this all blows over.”
“So you’re going to fight the allegations that you’ve gone rogue… by actually going rogue? Not seeing the logic here,” Aerion mused.
“I’d rather be rogue than dead,” Rainy retorted. “I’m not sure Lightning is going to give me much of a choice on that front. Her hatred of me is that deep.”
“You do that, you won’t be alive for very long anyway… you’re infected, remember? You’re already on limited time,” Aerion pointed out.
“And running away means we’ll lose our only test subject… which means we’ll lose our best chance at finding a cure. And saving your life,” Agrippa added with a frown.
“But if Lightning kills me here, you’ll lose your test subject too. And she might kill you too for standing with me,” Rainy explained. “She’s fucking crazy, you two. She won’t stop until she leaves her mark on this city, I can promise you that.”
“Sounds like a typical Shadowbolt to me. All the power, none of the accountability,” Aerion said snidely as she stood up to stretch her legs. “And if she’s as bad as you say, that means that I’ll be in danger if I stay… which means I have to come with you.”
“...What?” Rainy asked in disbelief.
“If you leave and we stay behind, then we lose all our progress on the cure. So we go on the run with you and continue our tests. It’s the only logical course of action,” Aerion explained with an eye roll, as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe.
Rainy blinked, then shook her head. “No, it’s way too dangerous out there. I can barely keep myself alive.”
“Aerion’s right, Rainy,” Agrippa stepped forward as well, compounding Rainy’s shock. “As much as I hate to admit it. It’ll hurt me to abandon all these injured EUP soldiers, but… we need you. Our research on your virus progression could save millions of lives, and that’s not something we can give up on. I’m coming too.”
Rainy looked back and forth between the other two ponies, trying to think of some reason to reject their proposals, before lowering her head with a defeated sigh. “But… I don’t know where to go. We’ll be lost, scrounging up scraps to barely survive. And we’ll be leaving behind your virus testing equipment…”
“I might have a solution for that,” Aerion said, drawing the attention of the other two mares. “My condo is downtown, near Gramarecy Park. It’s not the biggest, but it has MagiTech equipment we can repurpose for testing, as well as some stored food and water to survive on for a couple weeks… as long as it hasn’t been looted while I’ve been gone. We can easily hide out there.”
Rainy and Agrippa made eye contact, but neither of them had any inkling of a better course of action.
“It’s the only plan we’ve got, so we’ll go with it,” Rainy said finally. “How do we get there?”
“Well, obviously the streets aren’t safe to travel on, with all the rioters and freelancers roaming around… not to mention the crazy Division Agent that will be looking for us. So I propose we take the Maneway tunnels all the way,” Aerion explained, pointing in the direction of the steps down to the train platforms. “There’s a stop within a block of my condo. Keeps us nice and hidden the whole way there.”
Rainy nodded. “Alright. You have three minutes. Pack all your necessities and meet me at the steps down to the tunnels. I’m sure Lightning will be here any minute.”
As the other two mares sprang to action to grab their stuff, Rainy stood up and slowly walked into the lobby of the Maneway Station; she had everything she needed on her body already. She felt completely, utterly lost, even though Aerion’s plan had dulled her fears a little. She was abandoning her mission, her purpose for being here, because one of her squad mates wanted to see her dead based on a lie… and she had a virus eating away at her from the inside, putting her on limited time. What was she even meant to do now? Spend her last days hiding away in a small condo, hoping that a miracle breakthrough in the cure could save her? It terrified her to no end.
However, Rainy’s inner musings were interrupted by the sound of approaching hoofsteps.
“Agent?”
Rainy blinked and turned to see that a couple of the EUP guards had approached, standing nervously in front of her.
“Yeah?” Rainy replied.
“Me and a couple other guards couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, and we just wanted to say… we believe you,” the lead guard explained, her one good eye shining at Rainy while the other was covered in a blood-soaked bandage. “You showed up when all hope was lost, and you saved us. We will never forget that.”
“Thank you. It was the least I could do, after all.”
“No, it wasn’t. After command abandoned us, we were scared, desperate, hopeless… we thought that the government had cut their losses and left the city behind. And that we were going to be left here for good. We know low-level grunts like us aren’t very high on the list of priorities, and you could’ve ignored us completely when you arrived to focus on the important shit… but you came and saved us. A rogue agent wouldn’t have done that. You’re one of the good ones, Agent.”
Rainy tried to take a breath, but it was quickly caught in her throat. “That’s why I signed up for this job, soldier. To help ponies in need. And that’s what I’m here to do, damn what anyone else has to say.”
“And we respect you for that, agent. We’ll do our best to make sure this other Shadowbolt doesn’t come after you when she makes it here. Just get Equestria that cure when you finish it.”
Rainy stepped forward and placed a thankful hoof on the guard’s shoulder before turning to leave. However, before she could make it to the waiting Aerion and Agrippa, an idea flashed through her mind; she quickly jumped up onto the information desk surrounding the broken clock and called out to all the EUP guards in the terminal.
“Listen up, all of you! I know things seem very grim right now. We’re stuck in a city that’s hostile to us in every conceivable way, from the inhabitants to the invaders to the very air we breathe in… I know you’ve been fighting for a long time. I know you’ve lost a lot of good friends and good squad mates. But they didn’t bring you here because it would be easy. They brought you here because you were the best ponies for the job. I believe that wholeheartedly. Taking this city back isn’t just going to come through force, or the barrel of a rifle. It’s going to come by good ponies restoring the hope in every inhabitant of this town. And we’re gonna do that, one block at a time, one heart at a time. Be the good example, the good change this town needs. I believe that all of you can do that. Repay the hope that I’ve given you.”
There was no sudden commotion of stomping hooves or whooping voices when Rainy finished her impromptu speech, but she could see in the eyes of the EUP soldiers that it had meant something to them. She had only been in the city for a short while, but she had made a significant impact on it already; that was all she could ask for. She just hoped that her words and her actions would have enough impact to see the city through its darkest hour and allow it to rise triumphant at the end.
Rainy jumped down off the desk and trotted her way over to Aerion and Agrippa, who were waiting for her atop the steps down to the train tracks with full saddlebags on their flanks.
“Wow, agent. Didn’t realize you had a flair for the dramatic,” Aerion sneered in her usual jesting manner, but Rainy could detect a tone of respect behind the biting sarcasm this time.
“Just a spur of the moment thing,” Rainy replied with a shrug as she started to make her way down to the Maneway platforms. “Which way?”
“We need to head south, sooo… green line. That way,” Aerion pointed a hoof down one of the tunnels as they arrived at the tracks.
Rainy nodded and unholstered her rifle. “Got it, let’s move. Move quickly, but safely. Be prepared for anything.”
“You really think there’s anyone down here?” Agrippa asked.
Rainy looked down at the platform under her hooves, and noticed a familiar sight; there, covered in dried blood, was a severed horn… the same one that had distracted her long enough to be attacked in her first trip down into these dark depths. A reminder of the unexplained horrors that still awaited her in this city.
“I’m sure.”
Lightning Dust stalked through the streets, pistol at the ready as she weaved through a maze of broken-down carriages. The explosion of the spellcaster and the fire ravaging the Freelancers’ former HQ had thrown this portion of the town into disarray; there were crowds of Freelancers, rioters, and civilians all freeing from the scene of the chaos, and pockets of infighting often broke out, which Lightning took care to steer clear from. She had a job to do, and a criminal to catch.
However, her job was made a lot harder by the sudden malfunctioning of her equipment. Every time she tried to see if the intersection in front of her was clear of hostile ponies, her motion tracker flickered and displayed phantom dots, moving back and forth at impossible speeds. Either some suicidal maniac was using teleportation magic, or something was broken in her SPARC.
“My motion tracker’s on the fritz. You seeing this?” Lightning said over her commlink.
“Acknowledged. We’ve got someone looking into it. If it keeps malfunctioning, you’ll have to go blind for now,” Command replied.
Weird. Could it be due to a signal jammer nearby? Or maybe some part of the virus was interfering with her SPARC’s systems. Either way, it made her nervous. No scanner meant she didn’t know what was around her… and Rainy could be setting up an ambush at any point along the route. She needed to be careful.
Lightning shut off her HUD and raised her pistol to a ready position as she stalked down the sidewalk, taking care to scan the windows and rooftops of the skyscrapers towering over her, but there was no sign of the rogue agent she was looking for. At this point, she could be anywhere in the city, in any of the thousands of buildings, on any of the hundreds of floors in each of them… without working equipment, there was no chance to find her until she showed her face again.
Soon, the imposing Maneway station came into view through the few flecks of snow that still continued to fall, one of its corners collapsed due to the helicopter crash on the roof. Despite the damage, it surprisingly still had electricity running through it, and she could see the interior lights shining through the cracks of the front door.
“Command, I’m approaching the Maneway Station now. Lights are on.”
“Be advised, the rogue agent Rainy Sky may be inside along with an unknown number of EUP survivors. Proceed with caution.”
Lightning slowly stepped up to the door and pressed her ear to the wood; she could hear the muffled murmurs of pony voices inside, but nothing alarmed or panicked, nothing to suggest that Rainy was here setting up an ambush. However, she wasn’t going to take any chances.
Rather than quietly pushing her way inside, Lightning turned her back and reared up on her forehooves, driving her back hooves into the door and bucking it open. She rushed in with her pistol raised, scanning the interior to see…
Bloodied, injured EUP guards, sitting in groups across the terminal and huddled in the abandoned shops lining the exterior, completely unaware of the possibility of her arrival. When they heard the slam of the door opening, they quickly scrambled for their weapons, most of them with simple swords or daggers, as they turned to the source of the commotion. However, their momentary alarm was quickly dispelled when they saw that the newcomer wasn’t a looter or freelancer.
Lightning lowered her weapon and looked around the room at the sad state of affairs. “Who’s in charge here?”
The crowd of ponies glanced around at each other in confusion at the question. Wow, they were in worse shape than she expected.
Finally, a mare stood up and made her way forward, a blood-stained bandage covering one of her eyes. “I… guess I am. Sergeant Copper Top, Manehattan Police Department.”
“Only a sergeant? Where’s the rest of your chain of command?” Lightning asked.
“Dead. Or missing.” Copper replied. “A sizable group were able to flee deeper into the city after the initial attack on this station, but we haven’t heard from them since. Everyone else was killed at the Garden…”
“You’ll have to do, sergeant,” Lightning said while holstering her pistol. “I’m Agent Lightning Dust. I’m assuming command of the rest of the EUP forces in this city, so you and all your guards answer to me now.”
“Yes, ma’am. We’re beat up, but we’ll do what needs to be done.”
“I’m sure you will. Now, I’ve heard that another Shadowbolt stopped by this place yesterday. Agent Rainy. Have you seen her recently?”
Copper’s one good eye glazed over as she went into deep thought. “Uh, yeah, she did stop by, actually. Looked like she was in a hurry. But she left, and she took Dr. Glimmershine with her. Seemed urgent.”
“She did? And you didn’t stop her? What the fuck were you thinking?” Lightning exclaimed.
Copper tilted her head in confusion. “Why? Was I supposed to? What did she do wrong?”
“Celestia-dammit,” Lightning cursed as she stomped a hoof in frustration. “Which way did she go?”
“Out the front door, I didn’t see which direction they took after though. It’s been at least 20 minutes since they left.”
By this point, Lightning Dust was trembling with anger. She’d had Rainy within her grasp twice, and both times she had managed to slip away underneath her nose. And now she was let loose on the city to continue to wreak havoc, while Lightning was left in her shadow. Again. The thought made her blood boil and her face flush, and she quickly turned away from Sergeant Copper to activate her commlink.
“Command, we’ve got a situation. Rainy was here, but she’s gone now, and she took the doctor with her.”
“Dammit. Should’ve guessed that she wouldn’t give up her last hope for survival…”
“Permission to pursue her, command? She couldn’t have made it far, especially if she’s taken an uncooperative hostage.”
“Denied. She could be anywhere at this point. Besides, a cure isn’t our highest priority at the moment. Getting this city under control is our most pressing matter, we can worry about the virus once the populace isn’t revolting against us. Get the station and the surrounding streets cleared, agent. Supply drops start again tomorrow, and we don’t want our helicopter pilots flying into gunfire again.”
“Acknowledged. I’ll get it done.”
Lightning severed the link and turned back to Copper, gesturing to the gathered guards with a hoof. “Get their attention, sergeant.”
Copper did as she was ordered, and soon every eye in the station was focused on Lightning as she stood atop the steps to the main entrance, towering over the injured guards. She let the silence drag along for a few more seconds before opening her mouth to speak.
“Our power has always come from our strength. The strength of our bonds between our fellow ponies, the strength of the magic in our horns, the strength of our wings, the strength in our earth pony hooves… and this power has allowed us ponies to create the greatest nation in the world. But now our nation is under attack, and they’ve tried to take our strengths away from us. They’ve taken our horns, our wings, and bad ponies have tried to take advantage of the chaos, but we have to show them our power still remains. We are still a force to be reckoned with, and we have to remind them of that fact in every single opportunity we have. Only through power and control will we bring this city back to heel… and we will succeed. I believe it.”
Lightning was met with silence once her speech was concluded, but she relished in the feeling. Fear was the best motivator, and she could practically feel the terror dripping off the guards surrounding her. But beneath that fear was also a feeling of belief, and a renewed sense of purpose… and as long as they feared her more than they feared the enemy, they had a chance to succeed.
“...Now, you’ve been sitting around for long enough. I want this block secured right now, and there need to be patrols sweeping the front of the station every hour. Supply deliveries are starting back up, and I don’t want rioters to even think about coming around here again.
“Look alive, ponies! We’ve got a city to take back.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.019 seconds
Total duration
770 users online
1,093,313 hits today, 1,996,409 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Dam
Does any one else feel like this is becoming another hostile faction?
Yep definitely another hostile faction in the making.
WHAT!? Um no you need to find that cure now along with getting the city under control but getting a cure is top priority.
Are the shadow bolts mission different that the Tom Clancy division agents like their mission is to save what remains meaning keep the civilians that survive from dying including those that have the virus.
Man this version of the division is so fudged up!
Oh no
It’s a Luna bucking HUNTER!
Welp she’s going to die
Also anyone who has played the division 1 or 2 will know what I’m taking about.
If not or you haven’t played it yet or seen hunters yet then imagine you are waking down a dark alley in New York or down the street in the middle of a blizzard then when you about to reach a safe house or chopper your division gear stops working your commutation cuts out/jammed then all you see in the blizzard is this waking towards you.
encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSsSC6CVBKCQBTksUsdEdV5ih3tKe33YNWSkQ&usqp=CAU
But before you could you hear a noise you turned around but when you see it was nothing but you feel a sharp pain in your leg then you arm then your other leg you fire at the attacker but it justs bouncies off you are just crawling away but that is when the unknown attacker puts an tactical ax/tomahawk into you back that’s when you start to feel unconscious the world blacking out before the darkness takes you.. you look at the attacker showing looking at you with just its eyes visible and emotion less before it turns around and walks away when darkness claims you
Hmm, interesting, a break from the Division continuity. Interested to see where this goes.
11282034
Pretty sure it's because of the virus, remember, this version of SHD sends their agents on suicide missions.