Equestria's Secret Service

by EdwardJ

III - The Expedition

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Chapter Three

"Secret Service ponies are chosen for their skills as much as their talents. It is widely known that a pony has a talent that defines them, but all ponies can learn a variety of skills that have nothing to do with their special talent. While they will never be as good at these skills as ponies who have them as talents, it presents a great opportunity to widen one's horizons. It is unfortunate that most ponies focus on skills relevant only to their talent, as doing so creates a hampered society where ponies can only do a single thing."

~Excerpt from the Guiding Manual of the Secret Service

Dawn found the party on the move. The ponies made their way across the plain, dressed in their camouflage even this far away from their destination. Only three, Autumn, Dew, and Gleam, wore none. Both Dew and Gleam wore blankets to hide their colours, while Autumn...

Celina glared at the back of the cloaked pony leading the group, mentally wishing some unnamed catastrophe on him. She couldn't do anything, of course; the unicorns were practicing the new code, and she was expected to be there, learning alongside them. She found it maddening; there were better things she could be doing, things she had to do.

The unicorns were all around her, sending tiny whispers and trying to unravel the secrets. It would be impossible to send a message to the Cause without any of them noticing. And what if Autumn was right? If the Shamans could detect strong magic at this range, sending anything could result in the death of everypony here. She wanted to stop this expedition, not kill everypony involved.

Maddening.

She had tried previous night. After the plan was revealed, she had wandered some distance from the camp; the tall grass had been easy to hide in. Even with the all the ponies nearby, she had felt safe in the night, looking up to Luna's sky. Perhaps, in truth, not even Luna could claim this sky as her own, but Celina liked to think of it that way. With the stars twinkling against the black, and the moon shining brighter than ever without the Mare darkening its face, she could feel that even the sky belonged to them.

To ponies.

The thought gave her solace as she looked away from the night sky. She had no idea where the Cause's agents would be at that time; presumably they'd be searching for them. The best hope she had was to send a message back to the palace where they would eventually return. Sighing, she put together a letter telling where they were, and gave them suggestions for a perfect surprize attack at dawn.

Then Autumn had woken everyone before daybreak, and they had been on the move at least an hour before sunup. Even before then, when she had tried to dismantle his plans, she had been met with solid answers; answers she couldn't fight without giving herself away. Sun and Stars, does that pony have an answer for everything?

For now, she could hope. They had left the verdant green behind, and were now in barren land. The ground was dry and cracked, and the only vegetation that grew here were spindly trees and brown shrubs. The sky was free from clouds, and the relentless heat was playing on all of them. The whole group was exposed out here, and perhaps the Cause would be able to find their trail and catch them out here. Perhaps, if the earth ponies would stop hiding their tracks.

Hope, she thought. That's all I have. Maybe I'm not cut out for subterfuge like this.

"Celina?" asked one of the unicorns, bringing her attention back to the present. "Are you feeling all right? You're kinda spacing out on us."

She forced a smile. "Oh, right, right... I'm sorry; just tired, I suppose. Stayed up a little late, I guess." She gave a fake yawn. "I'll be fine; don't worry about me."

The unicorn smiled. "Yeah, I don't think any of us were prepared for that awakening. I tell you, I was having the nicest dream right before he interrupted it. Can't really remember what it was about, but I do remember I had such a happy feeling while I was in it." He pursed his lips in a thoughtful expression. "I think there were some balloons involved."

She couldn't help but chuckle at that. Balloons were such a foalish thing, and here was this full-grown unicorn having such a happy dream, and the only thing he could remember about it was balloons. It was absurd! It was... kind of cute, really, she admitted to herself. In that pinch-his-cheeks kind of way. "Well, I'm sure that we could find some real balloons after the mission," she teased. "You know, if you want to."

He laughed. "You'd do that for me? Why, it's a date, then." He smiled and winked at her.

Celina hadn't expected that, that was for sure. Had she really just asked this stallion on a date with balloons? She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Before the situation could get really embarrassing, Gleam stepped in.

"As good as it is to know that you now have activities planned for later, we really need to focus on the task in front of us. Celina, what does this mean?" She accompanied her question with a tiny flare of magic, almost undetectable; her horn didn't even glow when she cast it. As the nature of the training, the signal had been sent to all the unicorns present; it was just her turn to answer it's meaning.

She rolled the signal in her head for a moment. Learning new code was always hard; like learning a new language, but this one was especially difficult. Not wanting to be discovered, the code developed was using power well under the known level that a Shaman could detect, and on a scale this small, only a slight breath of magic could be used. To say that it was a daunting challenge was not giving it enough credit. They were working on deciphering the colours of the magic, the slight accents and inflections, and the sharpness of the spell. Each unicorn had even added their own signature to the code, so that the others would know who had sent it and which team it had come from. "Caution; Increased patrols," she finally said.

Gleam turned to the rest of the unicorns. "Anypony have a different take?" The rest of them shook their heads 'no.' Gleam nodded. "Good. Celina, your turn. Send us a message."

Celina thought for a moment, then cast her spell. She wasn't quite as quiet at Gleam had been, but in the daylight nopony would notice the glow of her horn. She looked to the unicorn beside her. "All right, Balloons: what was that one?"

The unicorn raised an eyebrow. "Is that the game now? So, what am I supposed to make of this 'All Clear' signal?"

'All Clear'? Is that what I sent? "Anypony else?" she asked the rest, hoping that one of them would speak up.

One did. "Um, I think it's 'Captive Missing.' Am I wrong?" There were a few murmurs in the group. Gleam looked pointedly at Celina and raised an eyebrow.

"Uh... I was trying to send 'Danger: Contact made,'" she said sheepishly.

Gleam shook her head. "You need to spend more time on your notes, I think, and less time on your after-school plans. As for you," she said, turning to the other pony, "I think you mixed her signature in with the message. Try to avoid that."

Celina sighed and pulled out her diagrams. The parchment was a complex scribbling of magical notations, each describing a certain accent, colour, shape, or edge of a spell, and its corresponding meaning. She looked and, indeed, she had sent the 'All Clear' sign. Damn; she was usually very good at this kind of thing.

Balloons sidled up beside her with a pitiful expression. "You wound me," was all he said. She didn't answer. If they did end up entering the mines, she was going to have to know this code inside and out. She stared at her notes and rolled the spells around in her head, familiarizing herself with them all.

"Autumn! There's a pony over there!" Dew's sudden cry grabbed her attention, and she followed the cry to the head of the group, where Dew and Autumn had started running out ahead of everypony. Looking forward, she saw a pony stumbling toward them. At this distance it was hard to make out, but it looked like it was an earth pony; it's coat certainly blended a bit with the dead plains. However, given it's apparent state of health, it was unlikely to be one of the Cause.

Still, she thought, Autumn will probably call us to a stop while we care for this vagabond. Perhaps I can make good use of that time...

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

Spotter awoke in shade. As his eyes began to focus, he saw that there had been a blanket pulled above him, suspended in the air by some sticks; there was also a canteen lying next to him. At the sight of it, his dry throat was suddenly quite apparent. "You're awake; good," a voice said as he reached for the canteen. He rolled over to see a deep blue pegasus standing up to leave, a brown blanket wrapped around her shoulders. "Wait here a moment," she said.

So he waited, pulling himself into a sitting position and drinking the water. Somepony had also left some rations with him, and so he ate those as well. He was feeling his strength slowly return when the pegasus arrived with Autumn. "Autumn! You're alive!"

"Yes, you mentioned that just before you collapsed."

"Yes, well, it's good to see it wasn't a hallucination; it's been a rough few days."

"I can believe that," Autumn said as he sat down. "You were barely keeping your hooves under yourself when you found us. What happened out there?"

"Oh, this?" He gave a dry chuckle. "This is nothing; just a little bit of hunger and dehydration, is all. I was trapped in the mines a few days and my rations ran out. There is no water in this barren place, and eating the shrubs just dries you out faster."

"I had hoped you escaped the mines; I was not able to find you before I left."

Spotter couldn't help but laugh. "Maybe it was easy for you, but us regular ponies can't turn invisible at will. After Sly's spell got the attention of the Shamans, they increased security patrols and damn near locked the place up tight. It was practically a miracle that I got out at all."

"What happened in the mines? I know the Shamans sent dogs after Sly, but..."

"'Sent dogs'? Sent the whole mountain, looked like. The Shamans themselves stayed behind, though. Two of them started casting some spell that looked like swirls of blue and green. I don't know what it did, but they were quite intent on it. I don't know exactly what the third did; I didn't stick around that long. After that..." Spotter shrugged. "I went deeper, I guess; took me a bit to get my bearings after the stampede. I spent a lot of time in the belly of the mines, trying to avoid getting caught. By the way, I want to thank you for the pointers you gave me on hiding; I doubt that I would have made it without those."

"You give yourself too little credit; you were well trained before my advice. Please, continue."

He took another swallow of water. "As I said, the dogs increased their security. The deeper I went, the less they patrolled, but to get out I almost had to swim through Guards. It was tough, and by the time I had found our exit, the dogs had, too. Our entrance shaft now has guards on the inside; I think they are hoping to surprize the next pony who tries to drop in."

Autumn seemed troubled at that. The slight narrowing of his eyes, the faint twitch of his jaw; that was all that Spotter needed. "You... you're planning on going back there right now, aren't you?" He looked around; he could see a few ponies drifting about in the sun, some standing watch, some resting under whatever shade they could make. It was a small force; he could make out ten different ponies. "Autumn... please tell me that you brought more than this."

Autumn followed his gaze. "There are a few more; the outrunners are keeping an eye out for any patrols, though we do not expect to find any this far out. We-"

Spotter leapt to his hooves. "Don't joke with me, Autumn! You know how many dogs there were before; that number has grown! Packs have been arriving every day, some as large as a hundred! And this... this is what you bring?"

"Hey, hey... calm down," the pegasus chimed in. "Autumn knows what he's doing, and he has a good plan. This will work, I'm sure of it."

Spotter looked her over; deep blue coat, blue-white mane, falling-raindrops cutie mark. "You're... Dew, aren't you?"

"Yep," she said, straightening up.

"I know of you; you're Autumn's friend. Forgive me, but I'm not sure if you are in the best position to judge his plan."

Dew bristled, but her response was cut off by Autumn; "Peace, Dew; perhaps Spotter has a point. I think it would be best to let him know the plan himself. Are you interested?"

He sat back down. He was, admittedly, curious to know why Autumn had brought so little help. "Very. Please, tell me."

Autumn laid out the plan as Spotter listened, quietly processing the information. He found himself unsurprised that Golden Lock refused to believe the report Autumn had given—it was, after all, a very unbelievable circumstance—but still found his inaction inexcusable. Because of him, it was only this small band of ponies trying to bring down a mountain. Autumn's plan was simple, but that was hardly a mark against it; it was the complex plans that usually got bogged down in details gone awry. Once the whole thing was before him, he couldn't help a wry smile; what the Shamans were trying was incredulous. An alacorn, he thought. They are trying to breed an alacorn. In all his wildest imaginings, he never would have even considered that.

He worked over the plan from a thousand different angles. He had to admit it had merit; he had seen the chasm between the Shamans, and knew it was a weakness waiting to be exploited. It was, however, desperate and optimistic. He had no idea exactly how much power the Grand Shaman held over the other two. If that Shaman can hold them together after this...

Autumn took his silence as a need to justify himself. "We cannot just wait for her to foal; the Shamans-"

"I know, Autumn. Even if the foal only has the appearance of an alacorn, it could prove disastrous." He pawed at the earth, and looked at the small gathering surrounding him. "But what will you do if they just find another pony and keep trying? You cannot expect to just keep rescuing them."

"Testimony," he replied. "If Golden Lock and the council hear from all these ponies, I would hope that—"

"Hope doesn't win this," Spotter interrupted, looking him squarely in the eye. "This... this is insane; you recognize the weak spot in this whole thing, but fail to see how superficial it is. Oh, it's your plan, alright. Get in, get out, and never be seen; always hiding, never taking direct action." He shook his head. "It's a wonder you got out here in the first place."

"Hey!" Dew came to her hooves. "You can't talk to him like that! He's the reason everyone is here right now trying to help. He brought them all out here, and he is the reason these dogs are being dealt with."

Spotter regarded her curiously. "So it was you, then." She paused, blinking. "You brought him out here. You have my thanks for that, and possibly all of Equestria will owe you as well." He turned back to Autumn. "You want this to end? Once the pegasus is free, we assassinate the Grand Shaman. That dog gathered them in the first place, and he will be what keeps the others in line after her rescue. Once we're all in the mines, it's the perfect opportunity. Do you really think we have the time to wait for the council to come around?"

Autumn remained silent for several moments, while Dew looked back and forth between them. She was clearly torn; she believed in her friend, but saw Spotter's words for the truth they carried. Perhaps, Spotter considered, she dislikes the idea of killing as much as Autumn does. Such a strange place for these two to end up.

Autumn finally broke the silence. "Who... who would do this?"

Spotter shrugged. "I could, if others aren't willing to be up to the task." He saw the eyes behind Autumn's mask had lost some of their shine, and their gaze never lifted from the ground. He sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I can wait a few days; if the gathering breaks up, then I won't kill him needlessly."

Those red eyes regained some of their light. "I..." Autumn straightened and took a deep breath. "It is a good plan," was all he said.

Spotter nodded.

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

"Hey." The word woke Celina from her reverie. "We're about to get moving again. You should get ready." She thanked the pony and he wandered off, leaving her with her thoughts.

It had been hard deciding what to do. She was sick of just having hope; she wanted action, but what to do? Since word came down that nopony was allowed to stray from camp alone, she had been stuck surrounded by those who didn't understand. All she could do was think, and she was tired of thinking. Now, though, the ponies were packing up; they were too busy to notice her. Now she could move.

She stood and, moving purposefully, began to trace lines into the dusty soil. The old code wasn't the best option, but it was the safest. If she used her magic, she would easily be seen, and if the Shamans could detect her this far out...

She shook the thought from her head; it wouldn't get her anywhere. Hells, even this was a long shot. Assuming that whatever ponies were searching for them came this way, and assuming that the winds didn't erase this message, and assuming that they even saw it at all, then it would point them in the correct direction, and would help them catch up before it was too late. Autumn was right, after all; if this was seen publically, then there would be no choice but to help disperse the dogs. That had to be prevented; an opportunity like this could not be wasted. How long would it take for another like it to show up? Years? Decades? Celina didn't want to think about it.

She paused; she had dug the lines a little too deep. While that would probably help it survive the winds, it did make it a little more conspicuous. She looked over at the ponies running around, packing away the lean-tos and preparing for march. None of them were looking in her direction; they probably wouldn't notice. Casting a last glance over her shoulder, she joined the party again, clearing her hoofprints behind her. Now the earth ponies wouldn't go over that area again; they would have no reason to. They wouldn't see the message carved in the dirt.

A few minutes later, when the march resumed, she noticed that the vagabond had joined in at the front. For a moment she wondered who he was, but quickly she lost interest as she looked at the cloaked pony leading them all. She felt a moment of pity for him. In truth, she could not hate him at all; his intentions were noble, and she respected that. He was just... misguided, is all. Her task, however, was beyond something so frail as intentions.

This was for the good of Equestria.

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

They stood over the desecrated body of Sly, her broken form lying in a heap on the dusty plains. Dew felt sick; the mare was barely recognizable. The dogs had torn into her viciously; most of her blue coat was dyed brown with dried blood. Long, deep cuts ran through most of her body, bearing the tell-tale marks of rough claws, but there were no flashes or burns of magic. Her horn was missing, and the hide of her flank had been torn off. Why this had been done, and why they had left the rest of her for the buzzards and scavengers, Dew could not even guess.

Spotter had led them here. He had stumbled upon her body shortly after escaping the mines, but had little time to do much but make note of where she lay. Exactly why he had brought them here, Dew couldn't say; perhaps it was a sense of obligation to a fallen comrade, or as a reminder to everypony else of how high the stakes were in this game. Maybe he just wanted everypony to see her, in the hopes that doing so might prevent others from sharing her fate.

"How could this happen?" Autumn wondered aloud. "She should have been able to get away." He looked to the mountain; the sun was almost set, and they were only an hour's march away. "She knew how to teleport; they never should have caught her."

"I don't know," responded Spotter. "The Shamans stayed in the pit the whole time, as far as I could see. The only thing they did was that green swirly magic I told you about. I wish I knew more."

"We should..." Dew coughed. "We should give her a burial, at least."

Several ponies voiced their agreement, but Autumn remained silent. After a while, he disagreed. "The dogs are patrolling this area. If we bury her, they will notice. We need to remain unseen."

"Autumn..."

"No, Dew. I do not like this any more than you, but we must remain unseen. If we give the dogs reason to believe we are here, everything we have done will be for naught." He looked at Sly's body, and, much more quietly, said, "We can give her the burial she deserves afterwards."

"There won't be an afterwards. Once we get out of the mines, we will be running away as fast as we can. By the time we will be able to return, the scavengers will have picked her apart." She gave him a pleading look. "This is the only chance we have."

"The time it would take—"

"We can build a cairn; it takes less time. Please, it's the very least we can do."

Autumn was silent again. Spotter likewise said nothing, but watched with a look of mild interest. When Autumn finally spoke again, his only reaction was a raised eyebrow. "Very well. Build a cairn, but dig a small pit for it as well; we don't need it standing tall and warning our enemies we are here. Move quietly, and stay alert; nopony else needs to share her fate."

Several of the gathered ponies eagerly volunteered, and Autumn even helped dig. He and Spotter carried Sly's body to the cairn. So it was that after nightfall, working slowly and under constant alert, they laid Sly to rest, her cairn half-buried in the dirt. All ponies present gave a quick prayer before they resumed their march to the mines.

It was a New Moon night, dark and heavy; the ponies were easily able to disappear into the night. Dew was still worried. True to Spotter's reports, the diamond dogs had increased their night patrols heavily. Autumn suggested that this might be because the pegasus was so close to term, the dogs wanted no chance of this plan being interrupted; Dew and Spotter agreed that it sounded reasonable, but it still made their mission that much more dangerous. Since the entrance shaft they had previously used was under guard, they had to try to find new ways to get in. In the dark night, the ponies would watch the torches carried by the dog sentries to see what they did. It was not easy work.

"Those damn Watchdogs have no schedule!" This was a common complaint from those watching the mines. "It's maddening, it is! One watch stays for an hour, the next for six. How can we plan a good operation under a schedule like this?"

"Improvise," was all Spotter would say. He and Autumn were working to put together a map of the mine interior, drawing on every detail they could remember. It wouldn't be a complete map, but it would help. Dew, meanwhile, had been talking to the unicorns, trying to figure out what may have happened with Sly; it wasn't going very well.

"It makes no sense, though," one pale brown unicorn was saying; he had been saying it rather often. "If she could teleport, the only thing that could have made her not jump is if one of the Shamans blasted her before she could cast it! I examined her body myself; there were no signs of magical trauma anywhere."

"But the Shamans weren't there," she reminded him. "There must be something that you're missing." The whole conversation was made in whispers, and there was a sentry standing watch over them, keeping an eye out for any dog patrols.

"Easy for you to say; you don't know what magic is or how it works. I grew up with this; I know what can be done."

"In that case," Dew said in a dangerously level voice, "educate me. Tell me everything you know about the magic of the diamond dog Shamans."

That brought the unicorn up short. Dew was well aware of the basics on how magic worked; the Secret Service had mandatory classes on the basics of every pony type. This was done to ensure that all ponies knew the strengths and weaknesses of their comrades, allowing them to work together in better harmony. She also knew that very little was known about the magic that the Shamans used. This was not for a lack of trying; many an expedition had been fielded with the goal of learning more, but very little useful data was ever gained. The Shamans kept their secrets to themselves, and usually the best way to see them use their magic was to attack them; ponies tended to shift their concerns from 'data retrieval' to 'survival' when an angry Shaman started flinging magic in their direction. "So," Dew supplied after some silence had passed, "not much, I take it."

"That's... no, we don't know a lot about how the Shamans use their magic, but the principles are the same everywhere, no matter how you use it. I know these principles; there should be—"

"We know; you've said it often enough." She turned to another of the gathered unicorns. "Bellrose, what can you tell me? Why do you think that Sly didn't teleport?"

Bellrose didn't answer right away; she seemed to be organizing her thoughts. "I... I don't know, honestly," she said at last. "Conker is right, she should have managed to teleport to a safe distance. Why she didn't... it's as though she couldn't use her magic."

"Is that even possible?"

"It has been known to happen, but—"

"It's a hex, Dew," Conker interrupted, "and a powerful one at that. There would still be traces of it on the body if it was used, and there aren't any of those either. I'm telling you, this—"

"Dog," whispered the sentry, and everypony fell silent. Lying on the ground, hiding beneath their brown blankets, they held their breath as the patrol wandered close, praying that they would not be noticed. The dogs came close enough that Dew could smell them.

The patrol was a four-dog team, and they were moving slowly, quietly talking amongst themselves in that guttural language of theirs. Dew didn't understand a word of it; languages had never been something she was good at. The patrol walked right through the middle of the camp, pausing only briefly as one of their number stubbed his toe on a rock and the others laughed at him. She sent a quiet thanks to the dark night.

Everypony began to breath again once the patrol had passed. "That was close," whispered Bellrose. "I thought they were going to step on me."

"Be glad they didn't. The night is good, but I worry about what we will do when the sun comes up. Please, keep working on this; I can't believe that a scared pony would choose to not get away. I'm going to try to find Autumn." With that, Dew left the unicorns to their own devices and carefully made her way around the outpost.

Calling the site an outpost was really just a courtesy. Little more than a large patch of ground, the eighteen ponies spread themselves about so that they might be harder to detect. The closest thing to cover was at the doorstep of the mines, and nopony wanted to get that close. After some time spent searching around, Dew began to suspect that was where Autumn had gotten to. She was spared the prospect of checking by Spotter. "Autumn? Yeah, I saw him here a moment ago. Probably still over there somewhere." She thanked him and went in the direction he indicated.

Autumn addressed her when she got close. "How is everypony?"

Dew didn't see him. "Jumpy, but otherwise they seem to be fine. The unicorns don't have an answer for Sly's... for her... they don't think there is any way that her magic could have been blocked. I still disagree with them, but... I don't know. What's the look from the front here?"

"Busy. When the sun set the mines exploded with activity. I think our best notion might be to move during the day, but I do not want ponies sleeping while dog patrols walk through this area almost every half hour."

"We could have them sleep in the morning, keep the watches light, then start moving at noon."

"True, but that does cut our operating time."

"The other option is the energy pills, and you know as well as I that those can be a liability in operations like this. A morning's rest is our best option."

There was a sigh. "I suppose you are right, Dew; spread the word, then: we will sleep come sunup, and move come midday." She nodded, and slipped away.

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

Autumn's ponies had arrived.

Grey Gale watched the ponies on the barren plains, his enchanted spyglass turning the dark night into bright day. He counted eight distinct spots where a pony was hiding, and seven spots where one could be. Relying too much on the darkness to hide you; sloppy. It wasn't a completely fair assessment, though, since he had watched them arrive and knew where to look. He still saw about fifteen ponies who needed to brush up on their vanishing skills.

He hadn't seen Autumn, though given that pony's reputation, it was hardly surprizing. He'd heard all sorts of things about him, though; Autumn's skill was something of a legend in the Service, some saying that he wasn't an earth pony at all, but a unicorn using magic to hide and disguise himself. The tale was understandable, given that his skill at hiding crossed into the supernatural if the stories were to be believed. Gale didn't believe most of them, of course; it was downright impossible to steal fire without anypony noticing, but he knew that all legends are born from some point of fact. He really wanted to know the real story behind that one.

"What happened?" the silver pegasus mare to his right whispered. "They weren't supposed to have made it this far."

"How should I know, Starwind?" he responded, keeping his eye on the ponies below. "That was Scroll's task. He usually doesn't fail."

"Do you think they found Scroll first?" she asked excitedly. "Do you think they killed him?"

"You're getting paranoid again," he chided. Starwind fell into a grumpy silence, and Gale continued his vigil. She's right, though, he reflected, looking at the group below; it looked as though they hadn't been harassed at all. Could they really have simply avoided the Cause this whole time? Is that why they took so long getting here?

Grey Gale's team had been dispatched two days previous, shortly after Autumn had given his report to the Vice-Commissar; their task was assessing the situation in the mines and determining if there was opportunity there. At that time, Silent Scroll had been excited while giving them the mission, but it had quickly switched to fury when he received word of Autumn's group.

"Sun and stars! I should have known he'd do this!" He turned to Gale and his team. "Carry out the mission; I will see to it that Autumn doesn't get far. Protect the Dawn." He stormed off without waiting for the response, muttering about placing Autumn under guard.

"That might prove interesting," commented Spell Swirl, one of the unicorns. "Can you imagine? A guard keeping tabs on Autumn?" He chuckled quietly.

Grey Gale looked over slowly, his expression unreadable. "Don't tell me you believe all those stories about him, Swirl." His voice held a hint of contempt.

Spell Swirl straightened up as Gale spoke. "Of course not, sir. I just-"

"No matter," Gale interrupted with a dismissive flick of his wings. "Our concern is not Autumn; the councilpony will deal with him. If you doubt his ability, then you have my pity." Swirl didn't move. "Come, then; we have a mission to accomplish."

The six ponies all wore a uniform of black with a dark purple trim, denoting them as an elite group. As with all the uniforms of the Secret Service, it covered the bright ponies nose to hoof, while on those with more earthy tones, the head and neck were left free. In the white halls of the palace, they stood out in a stark contrast as they made their way to the teleportation chamber.

The teleportation chamber: a large rotunda with a zebra incantation circle engraved upon the entirety of the marble floor. Large enough to send a hundred operating teams in times of crisis, the six elite ponies were tiny, inky blots on its alabaster interior. Gale didn't know a lot about the magic of the runes beneath his hooves, only that it somehow allowed a unicorn to call upon more power than they normally could. In truth, however, he didn't much care; magic was the realm of the unicorns, not pegasi. The most enjoyment he ever got out of the circle was the artistic æsthetic of the whole piece; the gentle curves, the flowing lines, the multitude of runes... the magnificence of it all called to him, and many a lonely night would find him in this room, gazing at the floor, tracing it out with his hooves. That, however, was when there wasn't a mission to be accomplished.

He and his team walked to the centre of the room, where five unicorns were gathered, waiting for them. They were the Gatekeepers, masters of the room and guides of the spell. Every exiting team went through them. As Gale approached, one of them stepped forward. "Afternoon, Grey Gale," he said. "Emergency mission, I hear."

"I've heard that as well. Please co-ordinate your spell with Dusk and Spell Swirl."

The unicorn laughed. "Straight to business as usual, eh? Well, who am I to argue?"

Gale stood in the centre of the room and waited, where he was joined by Starwind and the two earth ponies, Chestnut and Good Harvest. He watched the floor; it always excited him the way the circle and runes would light up as the spell was being cast...

They arrived South of Morlan Mountain, working under the theory that since almost all mining had taken place on the North, the South should be relatively unguarded. After a half-day's march, they had arrived at the southern foot of the mountain and found it completely unwatched. They rested a few hours, then began their climb over it near midnight. They crested the peak at dawn and spent the rest of the day studying the dogs and their movements. They could find no way in undetected.

Autumn's ponies had arrived a little after nightfall. They were now huddled up about a kilometre from the mountain's base, watching the dogs just as he had been all day. He doubted that they would see anything he hadn't, but he resolved to keep himself informed of their movements.

"Are we going to attack them?" Starwind asked, eagerness on her tongue; Gale could almost hear the smile on her lips.

"No. Our mission is to observe." There was a silence that told him she had resorted to sulking. "Go wake the others," he told her. "Tell them that Autumn is here. We are to keep an eye on them during our watches. If they find a way in, we'll be right behind them."

Starwind shifted so she was lying right next to him. "This will cut into our night," she whispered playfully, licking his cheek. When he turned to face her, she was gone, flying down the mountainside to tell the rest of the team.

Grey Gale sighed turned back to the ponies below him, keeping watch through his spyglass.

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

Spotter had been awake all night. Try as he might, his eyes refused to stay closed, so he ended up standing a lonesome watch. The sun had risen hours ago, hidden behind some thin clouds, but he paid it little mind; the mines and the dogs it contained were the only things he could see. He lay in the shadow of the mountain, thinking his thoughts.

"I take it you could not sleep either?"

Spotter looked to his right; nopony was there. "Is that you, Autumn?" Silence. "Yeah, thought so." He looked back to the mountain and sighed. The dog patrols had vanished with the morning light, but the sentries still hovered in the dark of the mine's entrances. "This doesn't make sense, you know? Golden Lock should be here; he isn't the kind of pony to let his orders be ignored. Where is he?"

"That has been on my mind as well," came Autumn's reply. "I had thought that, perhaps, he teleported in too close, and the dogs had attacked him, but that does not fit. Even if he disbelieves my story, the report we were sent to investigate mentioned a Shaman; he would not overlook that."

Spotter gave a dry chuckle. "That, and if the dogs had attacked, there would be a few bodies out here."

"Yes... there is that." There was a pause as a hawk flew over, scanning the ground for a hapless meal. "Is that what has kept you up all night?"

"For the most part; I've also been thinking about our current problem. You do realize that it's going to be relatively easy to get into the mines; getting out is the real challenge."

"I... have realized."

"What will you do?"

Silence. Spotter began to suspect that Autumn had left before he suddenly began speaking again. "Move quickly, I think. I have Sleeper's Dust, enough to make certain our entry will be easy. I... did not think there would be so many more guards; I doubt I have enough to see us out."

"So you would bet on the dogs taking their time to change their watches." He chuckled lightly. "Dangerous proposition, Autumn."

"What else can I do? I had hoped that Golden Lock would be here; that he and his forces would be obliged to help us, but now..."

"You may learn yet, you know. That is a good plan, it just seems that Lock has dropped the ball on his end. Not your fault, of course, but there are other options."

There was a hint of desperation in the response. "Please."

Spotter crossed his forelegs and rested his chin on his ankles. "Distraction." Silence followed, and it stretched into minutes. He glanced over at the clump of earth he assumed was Autumn. "Still listening?"

"...yes."

"Just checking." He gazed up at the mountain, picking out several shapes moving in the shadows of the mines. "Reorganize the teams," he said. "One team of three unicorns, and the rest as normal. The three will stay outside, waiting for the rest of us to signal when we need to exit. Once received, they will cast a powerful spell, one that the Shamans cannot fail to notice. If they act like last time, most of the tribe will be sent out to find the unicorns, leaving the rest of us an easy exit." He paused, cocking his head thoughtfully to one side. It felt wrong, calling that gathering a 'tribe'; such a word felt so small, so inaccurate, but he couldn't think of anything else to call them. Pack? No, same problem. Nation? No, implies too much. Gang? Oh, definitely not.

"What of the unicorns?" Autumn asked, interrupting his thoughts. "How would they get away?"

"You mean, 'What if they can't use their magic, like Sly?' I respond that Sly could use her magic, at least while she was with us. I presume that it was that strange spell the Shamans were casting that cancelled her magic, in spite of what our current unicorns say; I think they're too caught up in what they know, and they're forgetting to think about 'possibly'. Anyway, the unicorns should have no trouble with casting a single spell. Make it a teleport spell, and they've escaped before the rest of us."

"You are... risking a lot on this."

"Aren't we all? Nineteen ponies, thousands of dogs, and a magic mystery. Not to mention the firestorm we may all face when we return." He let out a small sigh. "We're risking too much simply by being here, but still we must press forward. How can we turn back now?"

He didn't expect an answer, and none came. After some time, he decided to close his eyes and enjoy the quiet, feeling the warmth of the sun as it drifted overhead. Enjoy this while it's here, he thought, for tomorrow may never come.

"Come, then," Autumn said, breaking the long silence. "It is time." Spotter looked up; the sun was at it's zenith.

Midday.

In the daylight he moved carefully, waking sleeping ponies around the outpost. As they rubbed the sleep from their eyes he told them to gather together; there were things to discuss. It was a strange thing, it seemed to him: a meeting where everypony involved did their best to not be seen. But, then, one sees all manner of strange things in the Secret Service.

As Autumn explained the new plan, he saw several of the ponies look around at each other, as if to wonder who their new partners would be, but there were no objections. Conker, Bellrose, and Merriweather even volunteered to remain outside to cast the escape spell. For that, Spotter was grateful; as much as he believed they would be safe, he didn't want anypony forced into that role. His own team would be another matter altogether.

"Finally," Autumn was saying, "there is one other change. Spotter shall lead the last team; the watchers. If, after the pegasus is rescued, the dogs do not disperse, then... then they shall move to eliminate the lead Shaman."

There was a moment's silence before Forte spoke up. "Um... can't we just do that?"

"Not while they still hold the pegasus," Spotter responded.

"Okay, but what about right after we rescue her?"

"We could, sure. But if the dogs tear themselves apart first, why bother? Less work for us, right?" He glanced back at the mountain, looming over them in the noontime sun. "We watch and see. If they break apart and the Grand Shaman still looks like he could start over, then we strike anyway, and with less other dogs in the way. Our mission becomes a waiting game." He looked back at the assembly. "Who will join me?"

Forte didn't even hesitate. "Love to."

Spotter nodded. "We'll need a unicorn."

A pause, then a mare's voice. "I... I'll do it." Spotter turned, curious. Celina had spoken hesitantly, and her face betrayed a look of reluctance; she didn't want to do this. Why is she coming along? What is she hoping to gain from this? His thoughts were interrupted by the rest of the assembly finalizing the new team layout. When it was all finished, he looked Autumn in the eye. "Ready?"

The cloaked pony nodded, and the groups made their way over the last stretch of open plain. They moved slowly, and it took near an hour to get to the mountain base. There, Autumn signalled a halt, and vanished. Spotter took a deep, slow breath; it was Autumn's game now. He had no doubts, but it always seemed difficult to just wait on somepony else.

The minutes felt like an eternity. It was odd, really, how much relief he felt when Autumn returned, signalling to them that they way was clear. They moved again, up the side of the mountain and past the sleeping dogs; everypony being careful to step around them. They kept moving, and the light of the sun was soon lost to the rock. In darkness, then, they moved, and soon found a torch bravely standing against the dark. Before them, lit bright by the torch, the passageway split in three.

Spotter looked around at the assembled ponies.

Showtime, he thought.

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

The bleeding had stopped the night after it had started, and for that Clear Skies was grateful. Her foal was still moving, but she took a strange sense of comfort in that now. She had long since grown used to the feeling, and so long as it was there it meant her foal was alive; still had a chance. She still sang whispered lullabies to her belly every night, partly because she wanted her foal to know her voice and her love, and partly because they helped her sleep.

The rations that Autumn had given her had run out before she had last slept. She still didn't want to eat the meals the dogs brought, but she was too hungry to ignore them. As something of a compromise, she ended up only eating half of each meal she was brought. It wasn't enough to satisfy her, and more and more she prayed that rescue came soon; each passing hour whittled her hope down. How much longer could she wait?

She had been given a bath earlier. The dogs had been unusually careful with their task, and the whole while the Shaman watched. Every other time she had been bathed he had worn that smile as he told her that he wanted her foal, but this time was different. He had watched in silence, a look of genuine concern over his features. Every time she winced he would twitch a bit, as if holding back an instinct to leap forward and help, but every time he would settle back down when it was clear she remained unhurt.

His silence was more frightening that all the times he had promised to take her foal.

She huddled in her cell, watching the torch sputter its dying flame. She knew the Shaman didn't hold a concern for her; he only cared about the foal she carried. He had placed a rough paw on her stomach after her bath, and when he had felt the foal still moving he had cooed softly; he sounded sad. Afterwards he had left, pausing only slightly with a look over his shoulder before disappearing from view.

A dog came by and changed the torch before it went out. He said something to her she didn't understand, his voice rough and grating, before he left. She had gotten used to the leering that a lot of the dogs did, but recently all that had stopped and been replaced with something resembling kindness; it made her uncomfortable.

A sudden thump caught her attention, and she bolted upright. Looking out through the bars of the cell, she saw the old torch rolling on the ground, sputtering and going out. She watched it, and suddenly a unicorn, a brown blanket around her shoulders, walked into view. Her coat was the colour of fresh cream and her mane looked like fire. She looked into the cell and smiled. "Found you."

A deep blue pegasus mare, also blanketed, stepped into view, followed by another, a younger stallion covered in camouflage. Clear Skies found herself standing, blinking back tears. "W-who-" she began.

"Hello, Clear Skies," a familiar voice said, as Autumn appeared by the door. "I brought friends."

She felt as though she could fly without her wings.

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

Celina had seen the pit, and it was immense. There were two Shamans down there right now, but what really shocked her were the regular dogs. Hearing the numbers was one thing, but seeing them... there were thousands of them, all milling around and creating such a cacophony that she doubted any of the dogs had the slightest idea what was going on. Why, this force alone, ignoring the Shamans, was a great threat to Equestria's peace.

She glanced over at Spotter. As glad as she was that she wasn't on the all-unicorn team outside, she didn't feel she had it much better. Staying here after the captive was freed just sounded like an invitation to suicide, but what other choice did she have? If this gathering refused to break up, Spotter was determined to break it himself. Forte, too, had seemed excited about the prospect. She had to be there; she had to try and keep them from succeeding.

Fortunately, that was something she didn't have to worry about just yet; the captive hadn't even been rescued. With the number of dogs milling about, there was still a hope that the rescue would fail. Autumn's team had remained unchanged, even after the shuffle, so she hadn't the chance to join them and try from that angle. She was left to hope, and act only if the situation arose.

"Inform the teams," Spotter ordered her. "Objective reached: two Shamans accounted for." She nodded as she mentally reviewed the code. The message would have to be sent in two parts, but that wasn't a concern of the earth ponies. She waited several seconds between the two parts so the others wouldn't get confused by the second message while they were translating the first. The two earth ponies were whispering to each other as she finished sending off the messages, and so she peered over the edge again.

It was still unbelievable. The pit was cavernous, large enough that the whole of the royal palace might easily fit inside its expanse. Huge columns carved out of the rock held the mountain from collapsing upon itself. There were torches all along the walls and the column bases, and several large orbs hung from the ceiling, glowing with a gentle light; the source of which she could not say. In the light she saw the dogs, thousands of them, swarming around like bees in a flower garden. She had imagined that, maybe, this was the threat that Equestria needed, but seeing it, actually seeing it... the feeling was indescribable. Even without knowing what the dogs wanted with an alacorn, she felt as though this was the right opportunity; this was what was needed. The more she thought that, the more she knew that the mission had to be stopped. If this gathering dispersed, it could be decades before another such thing appeared. How, though? How?

She was suddenly aware of Spotter's loud whispers, trying to get her attention. "CELINA! MOVE!" She looked behind her, and a dog on patrol stepped around the corner. It stopped when it saw her, surprize written all over its face. A cascade of thoughts tumbled through her head, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Forte start to move against the dog. Before she really knew what she was doing, she lowered her head and unleashed a magical blast that knocked the dog out cold.

Forte stopped in his tracks, and Spotter gaped at her. "What... what the hell was that?"

"I..." she took a step back as a loud howling erupted from the pit below. "I panicked! I'm sorry!"

Spotter looked down into the pit, where the two shamans were shouting instructions. "Well," he said, as they slammed their staffs down and began chanting, green and blue swirls emanating from the staff heads. "This just got difficult."

つづく
To Be Continued...

Comments

[TCSNxs]

Good thus far, but there is one issue.

Autumn was silent again. Spotter likewise said nothing, but watched with a look of mild interest. When Autumn finally spoke again, his only reaction was a raised eyebrow. "Very well. Build a cairn, but dig a small pit for it as well; we don't need it standing tall and warning our enemies we are here. Move quietly, and stay alert; nopony else needs to share her fate."

Tactically, what Autumn said makes the most sense. Given these are ponies trained in the art of espionage and "Special Forces" work, they should understand that. This feels slightly out of context versus the world they inhabit and the lives they know. Granted, this is very, very minor as it looks like it won't affect the story. Just a thought basically.

Onward!

[Riku006]

I wonder what the deal is with this Cause Celina's working for.