6. Third Party
Canterlot Castle
08:00
October 13, 1196 CE
Day 2
While Calliope rested in her bed and recovered from her injuries, Captain Mitchell entered the holding room containing the unicorn mage captured during Viper Team’s operation the previous night. Equipped with just his Crosscom monocle, his tactical vest and his sidearm because of the low threat, he entered the room. He felt he didn’t need a helmet indoors, so he’d left it in his room.
Crystals were placed in every corner of the room, and in the center of each wall, the ceiling, and the floor, making for fourteen in total. They were supposedly magic siphoning crystals, which would disrupt the unicorn’s ability to use magic as long as he was inside.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” Mitchell said, lightly slapping the snoozing pony’s head. She sat up quickly and looked around.
“Where- Nevermind,” The yellow mare said. She became surprisingly confident almost immediately. Or seemed to, at least.
“Alright, then you probably know why I’m here.”
“To interrogate me of course. Which might get you something except for one little thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“That’s a lie and we both know it.”
“I’ll give you my name: Apate. And since you’re some kind of law enforcement, you can’t hold me without a charge,” The mage pushed smugly.
Or maybe she’s stalling. But what’d she be doing that for?
“Not gonna happen, Apate. See, you aren’t officially here, and neither am I. That means I have carte blanche on what I want to do with you. Guards?”
Two Royal Guards entered, stern looks on their faces. He intended to show that their hosts wouldn’t get in the way if he went to an extreme, and might even help.
Scare tactics usually work pretty well, a lot better than torture.
She grinned and lit her horn up like the sun. The crystals on the walls hummed with growing frequency and exploded. The room fell apart, and its occupants fell into crystalline caverns beneath the room. Landing clumsily, Mitchell and the two guards looked around for their captive and saw her running around a corner.
“I thought that room nullified magic?” He asked, drawing his HK45T as he and his companions chased the mage. He fired a couple of shots, but a bright green shield stopped the bullets cold.
“She must’ve held her magic back, then put a large amount into the crystals at once. It was too much of a shock for them to handle,” One of them explained.
“She overloaded them? Clever.”
They rounded a corner and got hit by blasts of energy, knocking them to the floor.
“Everypony dies sometime,” She taunted. “But you will before me!”
Getting back to his feet, he sprinted forwards before turning back to look at his allies. They got to their hooves, their eyes changed to glowing emerald pools. They snarled at him and fired bolts of magic, seemingly brainwashed.
“Not so simple now, is it?”
A bolt of green magic struck him in the back and knocked him against the walls. The guards-turned-minions fired their own cyan magic at him, only for it to bounce off the walls and ricochet wildly around the room.
Scott rushed at the two guards, dodging spells from three ponies with a serpentine path. Once he got close enough, one of the guards tried to kick him. Sidestepping the attack, he wrapped his arm around the pair of legs and threw him into the other guard with enough force to stun them.
It seemed that by stunning them, he’d stunned the mare controlling them.
I must’ve overloaded her senses.
He took the chance to fire a few shots at her, targeting her legs. Her shield flattened the rounds on impact. However, the ward’s luminescence was weaker than the previous time.
The trio of ponies amassed light around their horns, then fired a spread of energy that covered the whole room. Scott dove to the ground to avoid the blasts, which ricocheted around the room, bouncing off of floors and walls. The bubble-like shield that guarded Apate absorbed several of them, dimming slightly with each impact.
Pushing himself off the ground, the Ghost put himself between the drones and the mage and goaded the lackeys into attacking him.
Their horns practically ablaze with magic, they rushed at him. At the last second he rolled out of the way, letting them collide with their master. It sounded and looked like a flashbang had gone off, and the three ponies went flying. The guards landed in a corner, unconscious from the blast.
Apate slid away for her part, some of her fur singed. Using her momentum to assist her, she got to her hooves and fled deeper into the crystal caves.
Scott put a finger to his Crosscom monocle. “Can anyone hear me?”
“Scott, I’m getting some interference, but I hear you. We heard an explosion in the room you were in. What’s going on?” Rosen responded.
“The prisoner, Apate, overloaded the crystals with her magic and used the blast to open an entrance to some kind of crystal caves under this part of the castle. She took control of the two guards with a mind control spell or something, but I knocked them out. I’m in pursuit, heading deeper into the caves.”
“Copy, I’ll send some of the Ghosts down there to assist.”
“Negative, I can’t risk her turning them, too. Get those guards out and keep some backup ready in case things change. If you can get me some intel on this place, good. Otherwise, keep the comms clear. Out.”
Pistol in hand, he followed the sound of hoofbeats deeper into the caves. He couldn’t afford to lose one of their only two leads, or let somepony compromise the humans’ existence. Rounding a corner, he came to a large room resembling a mining pit, and with structures to match too. In the pit itself and the far side of the chamber. dozens of copies of Apate lined the area, each with a red diamond superimposed on them on his Crosscom.
“You might as well-”
"-give up now-"
“-you're out of you're depth!” The mirages mocked him. There was no delay, no change in tone or pitch as the one talking changed. It was like a single piece of audio that was switched between identical speakers spread around the room.
The illusions began firing bolts of magic at Mitchell, and to his dismay they all fired “live” rounds, each one digging pits in the ceiling and walls as it hit.
He took cover behind a long-dead furnace. Bolts of energy flew around the sides and impacted the object itself, though the metal was sturdy enough that it didn’t give an inch to any amount of impacts.
While he tried to figure out a plan, Scott glanced at his HUD’s ammunition counter. He’d fired five rounds from his current magazine so far, leaving five in the magazine and one in the chamber. He had five spare 10-round magazines for his HK45T.
One of the clones approached, trying to flank him. He raised the pistol in a flash and double-tapped the mare’s chest. The first shot had a ripple effect, distorting its body, and the second disrupted it enough that it faded out of existence.
Peeking around the corner, he activated his monocle’s FLIR filter, illuminating the room and highlighting enemies in red. But that was exactly the problem: there were still more than one.
“Rosen?”
“Scott, the area you’re in was a mine a few hundred years ago, but when the castle was built the Canterlot’s economy shifted from mining to services, and it was abandoned.”
“Fascinating.” A bolt of energy flew dangerously close to him. “Is Princess Celestia there? What about Twilight?”
“What do you need, Captain?” The regent responded.
“I’m pinned down, and Apate made a couple dozen copies of herself. They’re pretty well synchronized and they can all attack me. They all give off heat like normal ponies too, so I can’t tell which one’s the real one.”
“That’s a high-level duplication spell. Hmm… They’re illusions, so they aren’t physically solid, just made of magical energy, which would explain why they give off heat.”
He glanced at the tactical light mounted under his pistol’s barrel.
“Would the copies have shadows?”
“No, but unless you have a strong light source, that doesn’t seem like it’d work.”
“I’ll know in a few seconds.”
He flicked on the light and leaned around the corner. Sweeping the light across the area, he hoped to spot a figure with a shadow before the enemies could react. He didn't see any shadows as he swept the light across the chamber, but in the far corner, he spotted a shadow. In his peripheral vision, he saw a green glow coming from the clones’ horns. Scott fired.
Because of the distance he made the shot from and how much of a hurry he was in to avoid getting blasted by the clones' attacks, he missed. However, the bullet was close enough to disrupt Apate’s concentration, causing the duplicates of her to vanish. She fled deeper into the mine and Scott followed, swapping magazines as he ran.
In a fairly narrow corridor, he dodged the occasional blast of magic she fired at him, continuing until she reached another room. This one was simply a wider hall with piles of ore on the sides, alternating in their position. The far side was a dead end.
I have her cornered, and I have good cover.
Orbs of green energy began to fly in his direction once again, this time with arcing trajectories. When they impacted, they released waves of heat, warping and cracking the crystal.
One of them hummed over his head, prompting him to sprint forward to the next pile of ore, diving just in time to avoid the blast. He pressed his back against the pile, waited for the next orb to fly and repeated the process.
Apate was just around the corner, and as soon as she loosed the next blast the Ghost bolted out and shot her flank to disable her, convinced it was the only way to stop her resistance without killing her, but then, he didn't know enough about pony anatomy to be sure. As the mare fell on her injured side and blood pooled around her, he holstered his weapon. He knelt next to her, hoping to get something useful before she bled out.
Damn it, I must’ve hit an artery!
“Talk, and I’ll help you out.”
“The Strangers… They wanted to start an incident. Planted evidence against the AWT and made it look like a major player in Helia was complicit in their attack against the CECS. So the CECS wanted a way to get spies and paramilitary forces into the heart of the continent to verify that, and strike if need be. They know Equestria isn’t involved, but there are already cells in place throughout the continent.”
“Why are you telling me this?” It was too easy.
“I’m dying, and I don’t owe the Strangers anything. So go, destroy them. That’s your role…” Her eyes glossed over and her breathing stopped.
He got up and left her body behind in the depths of the crystal caverns, finding no reason to carry her all the way back. She’d lost too much blood.
***
Captain Mitchell explained the circumstances to Celestia, the officers, and a few of the ponies aware of the situation. He was clearly disappointed in the fate of their prisoner.
“But she did give me something useful. She said the Strangers were behind this. They planted evidence against something called the AWT and made a major player on this continent look like they were in on in an alleged attack against the CECS. The CECS used the Aegis Gate to pipe in spies and paramilitaries into the center of the continent, so they could spread out and gather intel, and strike if they had to,” He explained. “They know Equestria isn’t involved, but there are still cells across the continent.”
“So they control the Special Observation Group and they’re framing the AWT…” Artemis repeated with a grimace.
“You know something about them?”
“…I know a few things.”
“Like?”
“They’re a group of nations in Selenia, the southwestern continent. The name stands for Allied Western Territories, because they make up the western part of the Selenia. They’re a rival to the Confederated Eastern City-States, which take up the eastern part,” She explained.
"How come we've never heard about these countries before?"
“Selenia was originally colonized under my parents’ rule, but after they died… After they died their support was cut off and they were forced to fend for themselves. They’ve been distrustful of those outside their continent ever since,” Princess Celestia added.
“And the CECS are the ones behind the incursion last night,” Reeves said. “Are we going after them?”
“No. They’re not an immediate threat, because I believe Apate that they’ve got no reason to attack Equestria. If we suspect they may take hostile action against Equestria, we’ll act. Until then, they’re a group we need to keep an eye on. We’ll wait for more information from Calliope, then we’re focusing on the Strangers.”
“I agree with the Captain’s assessment. They may have been reckless in opening an Aegis Gate, but there was no clear indication of active malice against Equestria in any of Viper Team’s reports,” The Princess concurred.
“Alright,” Reeves conceded.
“Until Calliope finishes her debrief or we get actionable intelligence from another source, we aren’t planning any operations. I want her under constant watch until her recovery, and a patrol passing her guards every five to ten minutes. Security spells are a must. Clear?”
Shining Armor nodded.
“Dismissed.” The group dispersed, while Celestia and Mitchell stayed behind.
“Captain. I’ve been wondering about your world, your country. I’d like to know if you or your comrades have any literature or other media I could use to get a better understanding of human culture.”
“I’m sure someone brought some books and movies. Definitely music. Since there aren’t any operations planned a movie night sounds good.”
“Speaking of which, the team working on sending you and your people home has been assembled and instructed. They’ll begin work on Project Odyssey tomorrow.”
“Thanks. I’ll tell the unit to take a vote on movies and plan for a movie night, plus tell them that your team finding us a way home is beginning shortly. I’m guessing you’ll want a few other ponies with you to share the experience.”
“Yes. I’ve got just the room, assuming you have a film projector.”
“We’ve got a few. Normally they’re for briefings, but given the situation there’s no reason we can’t use it for movies once in a while. It could help with morale too, and since we’ll probably be here a while… I’ll get back to you on the movie situation. Anything else?”
“There are a lot of questions about humanity among those of us who know you’re here. I was wondering if you could hold an informal question and answer session for our sake.”
“I’ll look into it.”
***
There were some humans who’d chosen not to watch the movie, citing various reasons. Still, this was the first chance these ponies had to glimpse human society, and for many of the individuals working on finding them a way home, it was their first time seeing the humans at all. It seemed that the tradition of gathering to watch a film was something shared between their cultures.
A brief question and answer session covered some of the things the ponies wondered about them, such as their beasts actually being machines, the surprisingly light militarization of their society, their lack of control over the weather, and their lack of magic.
After that, the movie began. It was a fine film for them, showcasing a slice of American history. Much of what was seen seemed remarkably futuristic to them, and that the most modern aspects of the film only replicated the human world three decades before made it much more impressive.
Who knew what life was like on Earth in the present, with all the advances in their lifestyle? It would’ve been an intriguing place to visit.
Canterlot Castle
05:55
October 14, 1196 CE
Day 3
The next morning, just before dawn, Celestia woke at her usual time to hoofbeats outside her door. After donning her shoes, necklace and crown, she opened the door, and found both Captain Mitchell standing and Twilight pacing there, wearing a saddlebag. The Ghost seemed preoccupied with a tablet-like object of some sort.
“Oh, Princess! I didn’t mean to wake you,” The teenage mare said sheepishly.
“It’s quite alright,” She answered. “I was due to raise the sun in a few minutes anyway. Care to join me?”
The two of them nodded, and followed her out to her private balcony. Mitchell attached his tablet to his hip.
As the Princess approached the edge of the balcony, facing east, and shut her eyes. She let magical energy pulsate within her, flowing through her body until she was enveloped with a golden glow, the sun’s essence flowing through her like liquid. Picturing a void, she mentally projected a circle of light rising from behind an object that encompassed the bottom half of the void. That sun rising over the horizon disappeared as she opened her eyes.
She felt the warmth of the sun, her ancient companion and closest friend, wash over her like the sea. Light peeked over the horizon, the golden disc rising now that its trip had been started. She continued to guide it, raising her head with the light, giving it the energy and direction to rise and set on its own. She put enough of her energy into it that it could run itself for a while without her. But that was what she did every day, slowly building up enough magic that the sun would handle itself if she were ever unable to do it herself for some reason.
The glow over her body ceased as she severed her thaumatic connection to the sun, the magic returning to her heart and horn.
Twilight looked on in awe, as did Mitchell, though he attempted to hide it.
“Alright then. You wanted to speak with me?”
The soldier stepped back and let the student speak first.
“A courier arrived this morning. She crashed into my window and woke me up, then told me to get this to you.” The young mare used her magic to open a pouch on her saddlebag, and pulled out an envelope. It had a faint sepia tint, and was stamped shut with a red wax seal. The seal was of a griffon rampant in front of a shield and a pair of crossed spears.
“The Griffon Kingdom…” She muttered. “The trade negotiations aren’t supposed to be for another six days.” The regent opened the letter and read what was within.
To Her Majesty Princess Celestia,
As you know, my caravan was to make several overnight stops in the southern reaches of my Kingdom before arriving in your capitol. However, some minor unrest there has prompted me to cancel those stops, meaning that I will arrive in Canterlot today, likely by mid-afternoon. I regret the belated notice, but you must understand that I had little choice. Prepare quarters for both I and my usual entourage within your castle.
Some other matters must be discussed as well, but those will be discussed over dinner.
Cordially,
His Omnipotence King Agamemnon
She read it again, this time aloud. Afterwards, she set it down on a nearby table.
Mitchell crossed his arms. “My people are in an isolated section of the castle, and likewise for the garden, right?” He asked.
“Yes. They’ve been maintained, but unused for hundreds of years. The part of the garden your people are in is actually the most unimpressive part and masked by an illusion spell to prevent your discovery from the air. You’ll be isolated enough that there’s no chance of you being discovered, but you’ll need to stay there. Your vehicles also risk drawing attention from the delegation if you use them.”
“As long as we’re on the subject of the Griffon Kingdom, there’s something we found out. We continued interviewing Calliope yesterday, and she had her own version of the events in the south of the Kingdom, which is a treasure trove of news. The ‘minor unrest’ Agamemnon is talking about? He’s got a Caucasus-style armed separatist movement on his hands that he clearly doesn't want to talk about, and our reporter friend provided intel that the Strangers or a similar - maybe affiliated organization - are behind it. It didn’t seem like a worthwhile lead, since it seemed like something the SOG would do. But the more I thought about it, the less it matched up. The CECS wanted units in place to act against the AWT, but neither group would gain by supporting this insurgency unless the other was an extremely staunch ally of the griffon government. The Strangers’ goal of creating a new order does line up with that report.”
“Wait a minute. An ‘affiliated organization’?” Twilight repeated, curious. “You think there might be a group allied with the Strangers?”
“That’s the thing. They use similar strategies, but their execution is a lot more modern, tactics and equipment especially. That means that either there are prioritized units within the Strangers with better training and equipment, there are logistics problems, or there’s a different group under the same umbrella. If the first part was true, then that attack on us would’ve been by armed Strangers. If the second was true, then their commander is an idiot for sending underprepared assassins, which is pretty unlikely given how secret this group is. If the third is the case, then these forces might be a more typical SOF unit rather than assassins.”
Maybe the Strangers who attacked us were set up to fail from the start?
“Do you think it might be the same group Viper Team encountered the other night?” The Princess asked. “In other words, unrelated to the Strangers?”
“It’s possible, if the Griffon Kingdom is considered a threat to the CECS. But as far as we know the CECS and AWT are being played, and we don’t have any evidence that they’re actively threatening Equestria. Those two factions have nothing to gain from destabilizing a region as far as we know, but the Strangers definitely do. If we can learn more about that insurgency and what’s going on there…”
“Then we can figure out who they are whether they’re connected to the Strangers,” Celestia finished.
“Or whether this continent is being used by the CECS and AWT as another front in their own Cold War, with Strangers encouraging that discord,” Mitchell concluded. “If that’s the case, we may be looking at three distinct threats.”
“How are we going to prove this? You can’t fly over to their capital or these conflict areas, or anywhere at all while they’re here in the castle, not without your vehicles drawing their attention,” Twilight interjected. “If you can’t even leave the castle, how are we going to get that information?”
The Ghost put his fist on his chin for a moment, then grinned.
“We don’t need to. They’re bringing it to us on a silver platter.”
Celestia caught his drift. “His daily briefings.”
“So you’ll have to sneak into his quarters and get pictures of his briefing documents?”
“Exactly. But unless I know his schedule, whoever goes in might get caught, which will draw their attention and potentially make them search the entire grounds.”
“I’ll have Twilight send you any information we have after the dignitaries arrive.”
The student left after a few minutes, saying something about her studies for the day. The officer and the goddess stayed behind.
The princess sighed ruefully. “I can’t help but wonder if I’m doing the right thing. Breaking the trust of another leader is a reprehensible act itself, but to lead them on while their privacy is violated, smiling all the while… It’s impossible for me not to have misgivings.”
I guess Celestia really is a straight arrow. She’s kept her country at peace for a thousand years and she’s had regrets about this whole conflict so far. That’s a strong moral compass, but it doesn't leave a lot of room for pragmatism.
“Ma’am, sometimes you have to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. It’s as simple as that. I can’t tell you how to cope, but you’ll find a way.”
A half-hour later, Mitchell returned to the camp after informing the men and women under his command of the impending visit from foreign diplomats via his Crosscom and word-of-mouth. He also asked to speak to Josh Rosen. The officer met him near one of the bottomless tents and ushered him inside.
“What do you need, Captain?” Rosen asked.
The captain laid down a floor plan of the wing of the castle Agamemnon and his cronies would be staying in.
“Alright then. It’s going to be a solo sneaking operation. Inside the castle, there’s enough cover that I might be able to hide from all the guards, and UCP should work well enough there too. It is mostly gray.”
“You can’t kill or attack anybody except as a last resort. You’ve got to avoid contact with the guards, and any interaction with them has to look like an accident. If they suspect an intruder, they might end up combing the castle grounds more thoroughly and finding us.”
“Got it.”
***
Matthew Reeves heard someone in the doorway as he read a book. He set it down and looked over to see Artemis standing in his room.
“What do you need?” He asked.
“Straight to the point? Okay. I was hoping for a little small talk first.”
"I'm not the outgoing type. So what's up?"
“The way I see it, there’s a lot you people don’t know about this world. I’m offering my expertise to your team as somepony who’s used to danger and well-traveled. All I want in return is training in the use of your weapons, and being allowed to use them on missions.”
“Well you’ve already proven useful, so I’ll throw my support in for that idea. No promises.”
“Fair enough.”
***
Princess Celestia and her entourage watched as King Agamemnon’s chariot and those of his entourage touched down in front of her castle. The chilly mountain air provided a convenient excuse for her to wear her purple cloak, the one she still wore to hide her injury at the hands of her attackers several nights before.
The king’s own chariot was shaped like a teardrop with forward swept wings, and had gold inlays on the exterior, in addition to the brass used in the metal sections of the undercarriage. It was designed to be elegant and protective, and to endure the humidity of the Griffon Kingdom’s coastal capital city. Brass was commonly used at sea for its resistance to corrosion, and the luxurious interior of the enclosed chariot was purportedly protected by a remarkably resistant fiber, which was sandwiched between the inner and outer shell.
The guards, armed with ceremonial sabers and with the relatively new dress blues over their torsos, formed two parallel lines facing in the direction of the royal chariot’s door.
Celestia noticed that the guards had the same sort of sheathes the humans wore on their thighs, albeit made of brown leather. These griffon guards had worn them the last few times she’d been visited by their kingdom, but she’d never wondered more than briefly what they were. For the first time, she realized they were weapons.
One of the griffons opened the chariot, and King Agamemnon stepped out.
He wore a crimson leather harness with a ceremonial dagger and a low-profile golden crown with inset sapphires. His head was a pale gray, eyes similarly colored but with a slight olive tint, and his beak was yellow with a silver-black color that started in front of the nares. His fur and feathers on the rest of his body were rufous, with black on the edges of the wings and on his back. Black streaks marked the visible sections of his breast.
The king strode towards his hostess, a friendly grin on his beak.
“Good evening, Princess, it is good to see you again,” He said. “How long has it been since I visited last? …It must have been four years!”
“And you don’t look a day over thirty-four,” She responded with a smile.
“You flatter me. And this must be your star pupil, Twilight,” He looked to the teenager, who smiled nervously at him.
“Shall we go inside?”
“Yes. It is probably better that we do.”
“I’ll have my guards show your entourage to their quarters. Since you’ve come so far, I’m sure you’ll want to rest after we eat.”
“Thank you.” He motioned for most of his guards, advisors and servants to unload their luggage from the chariots. A group of Royal Guards led them into the castle via one of the myriad doors, whilst the higher-ups entered through the main entrance.
The two royals led their advisors towards the dining hall, which had been repaired from the Strangers’ incursion, unbeknownst to the visitors. As far as they knew, it was the same hall they’d seen four years ago, with nothing different about it.
On the table was a vast feast, even featuring meats prepared specifically for their omnivorous guests. While ponies were technically omnivorous as well, capable of eating things like eggs and deriving nutrition from them, there was a very deeply-ingrained cultural custom of not consuming animals. The main exception was chicken eggs, which were used in baking recipes and in some cases, breakfasts.
After everypony had taken a seat, Agamemnon took the first bit of his meal. It was customary to allow guests to be the first to eat, a sign of graciousness by the host. Griffons and royalty were subjected even more so to this custom.
After a minute of eating, dinner conversation began.
“Did you hear of the incident in southern Prance?" The King inquired.
"No. I remember when most of the country’s citizens left centuries ago during the famine and left it a shell of its former self, though that was obviously far before your time. I was glad to hear its population was announced to have recovered to a million a couple days ago."
"Over a dozen ponies were found murdered, most without cutie marks or clothes to keep them warm. As strange as it is horrible.”
Celestia’s heart skipped a beat, though she calmly continued chewing her food before swallowing and responding.
“As a matter of fact I had heard. I can’t imagine what could do such a horrible thing…”
***
Scott hid just outside the section of the castle the griffons would be staying in, awaiting a signal from Twilight Sparkle. As soon as the king was notified his quarters were ready, she’d ask to be excused and head to the bathroom. From there, she’d find a two-way radio for her to communicate with him. She’d tell him when to move and give him relevant information she’d found out over dinner, if any.
“Captain, can you hear me? Did I turn this thing on?” Twilight whispered.
“I hear you.”
“Wow, this technology is amazing. I can talk to you just as if you were right here!”
“Keep it down. We don't want anybody thinking you have company. Besides, there are better places to meet men than the women's bathroom.”
“Right, sorry! One of King Agamemnon’s advisors came to tell him his room had been set up. The king himself will be here another hour before he goes to his quarters. That’s enough time, right?”
“Yeah. Mitchell out.”
He checked his sidearm and screwed on a suppressor, then holstered it to carry cocked-and-locked. It wouldn’t be whisper quiet in close-quarters by any means, but it’d be a marked improvement. His Modular Rifle-Caseless was fitted with a gun camera and a suppressor, and had a gray fractal pattern. Combined with specialized caseless ammunition, the suppressor would be more effective at quieting the rifle than the one on the pistol, and it wouldn’t leave any casings behind if he fired. If he couldn’t kill the guards, he could distract them by breaking glass instead. The guncam was meant to let the user fire from around corners, but it was just as good for simply looking. He didn't have any plates in his vest, because wouldn't need them against these guards if it came to that, and they'd just make things more difficult.
So when he cracked open the door from the abandoned part of the castle to the occupied part, he stuck his weapon through. The image was relayed directly to his Crosscom, with his heads-up display still transposed on top of it. A single switch on the camera itself activated a low-light mode that brightened the picture but didn’t sacrifice color. While it wasn’t as effective as more conventional night vision filters, it did allow for more detail.
The halls were devoid of life. Furniture, torches, carpets, and windows, but not a creature in sight. Scott pulled the door open further and slipped through. He walked quickly and quietly through the hallway, which ended in a right turn. Pressing himself against the wall, the soldier slowly stuck his rifle around the corner. Spotting movement, he doubled the zoom to inspect further.
There were a pair of griffons in Marine-like dress blues, sabers sheathed. One had a pistol drawn, and from what he saw of that gun’s silhouette and the visible portion of the other guard’s holstered weapon he deduced its identity.
A Smith & Wesson Model 59. There’s a different stamp on the slide though, and the trigger guard looks modified for their talons. Reeves’ theory about these weapons being reverse-engineered might be right. There are a lot of places on Earth like the Bermuda Triangle. Some lost shipments or individual guns in places like end up on this world, and they get reverse-engineered.
That would make Equis as a whole more imitative than innovative. Their tech doesn’t seem to pass the 80s. The harmonious mentality could lead to groupthink, which might be why they’re so stagnant. Enough individuals embrace the status quo, and the rest go along because they desire harmony over all else. Fewer debates, more unused ideas, less progress.
Still, even with stagnant technological development, any aggressor state on Equis can do a lot of damage with 1980s military tech. And with magic, a few scrapped concepts could be more practical…
Maybe their fashion is from the 80s too.
Despite the serious implications of those thoughts, he grinned at the last one. Focusing on the task at hand, he plotted a way forward. Mitchell stalked forty meters towards his target and the guards, over to a table with pillows beside it – probably a place for ponies to sit and read with a window to their backs – and knelt down.
From where he was, he could see a shadowy space large enough for him to hide in, near the corner at the end of the passage. Judging by the sound, the griffons were coming towards him. If they passed him now, they’d see him when they turned back.
He decided to risk it, and ran as quietly as he could over to the darkened crevice. As soon as he reached it, he pressed himself against the wall, letting the shadows mask his presence.
Luckily, the guards strode by, oblivious to him. Once they were five meters from him, Scott left the shadows and rounded the corner. There were several doors on either side of the hallway, masterfully woven tapestries, and another pair of griffon guards headed away from him.
He glanced around and noticed that there were vacant shadowy spaces behind the tapestries, big enough to hide in. Overhead were sturdy-looking wooden rafters, which would be accessible when standing on furniture. But shimmying along those wouldn't be very effective, and he couldn't drop down silently.
Instead, he moved from cover to cover using shadows, furniture and tapestries to conceal himself.
“Twilight. I’m in a hall with rows of doors on either side, tapestries in between, and some furniture. Do you know which room the King’ll be staying in?” He whispered.
“No, and I can’t stay in here much longer. If I’m gone too long it’ll seem odd. The King will probably have a special incense in his room to keep the smell of the capitol in his mind and remind him of his people. It’s a traditional practice for griffon leaders of the current bloodline… I have to go. Good luck!”
Scott paused and tried to search for a smell, any smell. There was a faint odor in the air, like the sea, and as he headed deeper down the hall it intensified. A red seal hung from a door further down the hall. He continued climbing along the rafters, staying out of sight of the guards. Once he reached the door, he checked to see where the guards were at. They were all a dozen meters away, none facing him. He moved towards one of the beams supporting the rafters and slid down.
The captain opened the door quietly, and slid in through the small opening he’d made. Had he opened the door too far, it might’ve made a noticeable squeak and drawn attention, or it might not have. He wasn’t willing to risk it. It smelled like he was at sea, which was actually quite nice.
Scott looked around for anything that might carry important documents. Suitcases, folders, envelopes-
Bingo.
A leather binder lay on a desk, marked with the same griffon royal seal he’d seen that morning. He opened it and began flipping through the pages, putting a finger to the Crosscom monocle’s ear mount. His HUD displayed an icon every time he turned a page, capturing everything written on each. Within a minute, it had all been copied, and he shut it. After carefully returning it to its previous position, he opened a window and climbed out of it, closing it behind him.
He climbed down and snuck back to the encampment.
I hope I don’t have to do that again.
Canterlot Castle
21:00
October 16, 1196 CE
Day 5
With Agamemnon finally gone after a 2 night stay, things were back to “normal” at the castle. Captain Mitchell met with the officers and the more informed ponies to discuss the next steps. Copies of the King’s briefing papers were distributed among them.
“The king’s briefing confirms what Calliope claimed, that an unidentified group is supporting an armed insurgency in the southern reaches of the Griffon Kingdom. It also claims that the CECS is supporting a faction within the rebels and that the AWT is a patron of the Kingdom, mainly through arms sales. Neither have conventional units present in the region.”
“Conventional?” Twilight repeated.
“Normal soldiers on official missions, not like us,” Reeves clarified. “What are they armed with?”
“Royal Griffon Army uses dated American gear, and the insurgents use a mix of different weapons. The unknown faction uses NATO weaponry. It’s all Cold War-era tech, but that’s still plenty dangerous,” Mitchell answered.
“They speak Equestrian and a few other languages there, so communication won’t be a problem.”
“Objectives?”
“Find out who this third group works for, obtain all the intel we can, and eliminate any threats to Equestria we find. I’ll take Diaz, Nolan, Jenkins, Beasley, Smith, Viper Team and Warhound Team. Artemis will come in an advisory capacity, once we give her some basic weapons training to supplement her bow. For transportation, we’ll take one of the Ospreys, ‘Albatross’. The retractable, belly-mounted GAU-17 could be useful. For drones, we’ll take one Cypher UAV and a MULE. If Calliope has finished recovering by the time we leave, we'll bring her too. Lieutenant Rosen?”
“Sir?”
“You’re in command here. We’ll have to exchange updates in text and images only, no transmitting NARCOMs or helmet cams unless we find a way to broadcast that much data over a long distance discreetly. We can’t afford to underestimate the enemy’s ELINT capacity; even if Unit 61398 couldn't crack our encryption, that doesn't mean we want them to know we're communicating at all.”
“What’s the ROE?”
“Agamemnon’s forces are just trying to keep order, but expect them to shoot first and ask questions later. RGA, insurgents, or these enablers, anyone that presents a threat is fair game. What do we know about the environment?"
"The closest analogue to the terrain in the Agon City area of operations is the American Southwest," Reeves said. "It is a desert, but it has plenty of vegetation and wildlife. I'd recommend we bring plenty of antivenin for snake bites though. We've all fought in deserts before, so we know what to do to. The northern portion of Agon Province bordering the Gulf of Gryphos is more temperate and densely vegetated. Conflict in that area is less intense, but still present. Hopefully we won't need to go there."
"Alright. We'll leave in two days," Mitchell said.
Tom Clancy (1947-2013)
Sorry for the long wait. A perfect storm of college, holidays, writer's block and new vidya slowed my writing.
Also, the Ghosts won't be wearing UCP on their next mission.
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First, and interesting...
Multicam? And keep'em coming!
Okay, really bad plot mistakes. Someone is killed yet they're alive anyway? Also noticed copy paste. I mean really? He just repeats exactly what she told him. WORD FOR WORD. That's just laziness. I don't know if you need an editor or need more time. But it does need improvement.
3777751
Nein. It's called "GhosTex", fittingly enough. MultiCam looks totally different.
3777819
What? If you're talking about Apate, the shot was meant to disable her but inflicted a mortal wound that killed her shortly after. Most gunshot-wounds that kill the victim actually do so by causing them to bleed out.
And yeah, my editor has been off of the site for almost 2 weeks, I dunno why. I sent it to him for editing, waited a week, figured he wasn't coming back anytime soon, and took a risk publishing this.
EDIT: I will go back and clarify that point though.
so the griffins have cold war tech, that means that if they get caught, its raining hell since heavy weapons were popular, especially since they're going to enemy bases.
I wonder how the changelings figure in this.
3778930
No backup
No air strikes
Infantry only
Final Destination
I'm glad I caught this! Noice work as always~! <3
Also RIP Tom Clancy... Military Fiction will never be the same...
tom clancy you are sorely missed
WHHYYYYYYY?????
Nice. It's good to hear from this story again.
Also, R.I.P. Tom Clancy.
~ Super-Brony12
RIP tom. I should read one of his books. recomend any? also its good to see this story going strong still
3840688
The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and Cardinal of the Kremlin are excellent reads.
Just a slight detail issue I noticed. When Mitchell asks if anyone on the team is being tapped for Third Echelon, keep in mind that the Splinter Cell games are set several years before the Ghost Recon games (SC1 was set in 2004, while GR1 was in 2008). GRAW 2 would actually take place after SC: Blacklist, so he really should be asking about Fourth Echelon, assuming he's on the "need to know" list.
This would also take place after R6: Vegas, as that is set in 2010 (more or less concurrent with the PS2 exclusive Ghost Recon 1 expansion/sequel Jungle Storm).
All that said, if all I can really do is nitpick on minor details, I'd say you're doing a pretty good job.
3843626
That's true, 3E would be defunct at this point in time. The Rainbow thing isn't as much of an issue, since it still involves the US in 2014, even in the EndWar alt-universe.
pony ghost awesome
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Shit, I never noticed most of those. The capitalizing after quotes is a firmly entrenched habit, and the mage was being captured by the other part of Reeves' team, whose perspective wasn't followed; only Reeves and Artemis were.
4073208 Ach, forgot two from Chapt 6. Don't worry about missing these things, that's what boring people like me are for. Besides, we are all our own worst proofreaders.
Rosen
griffon guards, griffons' guards?
Y U NO UPDATE? Dis is good story
4122219
I'm working on a new chapter, but I've also got some unreleased fics to work on, college, and a non-pony Metroid-Fallout fic on Fanfiction.net that I haven't updated in almost six months.