How a prodigy from Equestria found himself in the middle of a blooming hacking scene in the 1980s.
When Princess Celestia sent a young, bright-eyed, Nova to the land of America, she sent him with the intent to study the technology that humanity possesses. Cut to a decade later, and Nova is still in America, having cemented himself as a Legend in what could only be described as the blooming hacking scene of the 1980s.
But those days are long past, all he can do now is relive them as he tells his story to one of his closest friends.
When Chance was hired by the Equestrians, he never expected to become their ambassador, but he somehow landed himself that position through sheer luck, and his connections to Nova. But something from his time as a black hat is coming back to haunt him, and it's time to tie up loose ends.
[This Story is a Pony turned Human on Earth story. It constantly switches between taking place in the present and the past. It is not necessary to have read the first story before reading this.]
As the door to the cafe creaked open, two men pushed themselves inside. Their entire bodies obscured by the heavy winter wear they wore. Stomping their boots on the ground they blearily looked around the cafe for an open table of some kind.
“Over there.” One of the men said, his deep voice cutting through the murmurs of the cafe as he pointed towards an open table with a view of snow-capped mountains. They lumbered over to the table and proceeded to plop down removing a majority of their snow gear in a hurry.
“Why the fuck is it so cold.” The man with a deep voice complained.
“You’re the one who made the call to come to Switzerland, Nova.” Was the reply from the other man.
“Chance, I fucking know that. Let me complain.” Chance chuckled and waved for a waitress who quickly approached them.
“Good afternoon gentlemen, what can I get for you?”
“We’ll take two coffees please.” As the waitress walked off, Chance turned to Nova, who was rubbing his hands together in a vain attempt to warm them up. “Seriously, why the hell did you come all the way to Switzerland with me, and more importantly, how did you get the ok from the spooks?”
“Eh, considering my background and how long we’ve known each other, they actually approached me.”
“No shit?”
“Yup.”
“Damn.” The waiter came back with their coffee, which Nova greedily began sipping.
“This is some damn good coffee.”
“Thanks, I always get it whenever I come here.” Chance replied, pulling the laptop he had from out of his bag and onto the table, Nova did the same as well.
“What’s IRC saying.”
“Nothing much, still no leads on where that bastard went.” Chance replied. “My main concern is how the hell was he able to escape, we had that house surrounded from all sides, including the exit tunnel. How the hell he managed to slip past Equestrian spec-ops concerns me.” Chance replied, running his hand over the burn scars on his face. “The only way he could have known we were there was if there was a mole of some kind.”
“The same kind of mole that caused that.” Nova replied, gesturing at the burn scars with a slight tip of his mug.”
“Yeah, and no offense to you guys, but I feel Luna and crew have been dragging their feet when it comes to finding them.”
“Some taken, but we’ve mostly slowed down any involvement other than just placing sleepers here in your world. The only reason why we were so upfront during the Sombra debacle was because we had no idea if he could come back to our dimension, and if he did find a way to come back, with the technology that this world has the not even the yaks up north or the griffons to the east could survive a slaughter like that.”
“Projectile weaponry, fun but deadly.” Chance muttered.
“Yup, makes me wish for the days of old.”
“Days of old? You’re only forty fuckin’ something.” Nova chuckled.
“Yeah, but considering the life I lived since I stepped into this world, I would say its a long one.”
“How did you come to earth anyways?”
“I never explained it?”
“Not really.”
“Well then, allow me to tell you how I built a miniature working airship.”
==================================
Cloudales elementary school may have been closed for the day, but clubs and other extracurricular after school kept many colts and fillies behind. But that wasn't the reason why the door to the school's storeroom was open, no, for some reason, a little pegasus colt had somehow sneaked in and was rummaging through the various bins in there that held school supplies. And it was something that had caught the eye of the janitor working there.
“Hello? Anypony in there?” A gruff voice called out.
“Yeah!” Nova called out. The Janitor facepalmed as another box toppled over. “Whoops.” The sounds of rustling were heard as the janitor set his foot down on the cloud below him.
“Colt, is that you?” The janitor said with a hint of annoyance.
“Yup!” Nova continued to rummage through the mess “Aha! Found it!” He exclaimed as he bounded over to the janitor with a tote bag, filled to the brim with parts. The janitor unamused continued to glare at Nova.
“And who exactly is going to clean this mess.” He gestured with a wave of his hoof. Nova looked back and grimaced slightly.
“Uhhh?”
“Oh for Celestia's sake.” The Janitor mumbled, grabbing nova by the scruff of his neck along with the bag. He throws the bag over his back, he continued to walk with nova still held in his grip.
“Hey put me down!” Nova whined.
“No way in Tartarus kid, not until we have a little talk with the principal.”
==================================
“So this whole thing starts with you getting your ass chewed out by a janitor.”
“Just wait, it gets better.”
==================================
“Found him rummaging through the supply room.”
“Oh dear, that's not good at all.” The mare replied as she took Nova from the janitor. “I’ll take it from here.”
“Thanks.”
Both Nova and the Principal sat down in their chairs, the Principal bearing a look of exhaustion while Nova looked just plained confused.
“Nova, how many times have I told you, if you want to get items from our supply closets, just ask! One of us will accompany you!”
“Yeah, but you guys ask way too many questions.” The principal groaned before asking another question.
“Alright, do you know what the term liability means?”
“I think I do, does it mean if I get hurt, you get in trouble?”
“Yes, and if you get hurt in places where you’re not supposed to be, then we get in trouble even more.”
“But I’m careful though, I don't get hurt when it comes to looking for parts.”
“You don’t know that though, you don’t know if the next time you enter that room you’ll leave with a fractured foreleg or a sprained wing!” Nova shied away from the Principals glare. “You are without a doubt one of our brightest students at this school, and I don’t want to put you in detention just because you don’t want any supervision!” The principal took a deep breath before speaking once more. “I know none of this is going to stop you, so for your safety, can you please for the love of Celestia, just let us know that you’re going to be raiding our supplies?” Nova huffed before sighing.
“Fine.”
“Good, keep whatever you took. And whatever you don't use, return it. I hope to see your project at the science fair next week.”
==============================
“So you built a miniature airship, somehow got the attention of your government, and came to the US through one of those freaky portal things.”
“Yeah, and let me tell you when they first approached me I was kinda shocked.”
=============================
“Nova?” A mare called from the lower portions of the cloud house.
“Yeah, ma?” Nova called back, focused on the blueprint in front of him, the mini airship had been a hit at the science fair, but there were numerous places that it could be improved, either with performance or with efficiency.
“Can you come down here please?”
“I’m kinda busy ma!”
“We have visitors!”
“Well tell them I said hi, and that I’m busy!”
“They specifically came here to visit you!” Nova looked up from the table.
“And they want to talk, right now?!”
“Yes, now! And if you make me keep yelling, Celestia help me I will come up there and drag your flank down her myself!”
“Fine! Fine! Hold on a second!” Nova yelled, stepping off his chair and walking out of his room.
As he reached the bottom of the staircase, he saw his mother, two guards, and a stallion in a business suit.
“I didn’t do it!” Nova explained, his wings flaring out as he took a step back up the staircase.
“Called it, pay up sucker.” One of the guards said, holding out his hoof to the other guard. The stallion in the business suit cuffed the guard on the back of the head with his wing and an accompanying eye roll before turning back to Nova.
“We’re not here for any crimes you may or may not have committed. We saw your little display at the science fair, and are interested in how exactly you built that miniature model.”
====================================
“From there it was smooth sailing, for the most part, I came to America, and through business deals that Equestria somehow secured during the ’20s to the ’60s I somehow found myself sitting in front of a weird device called a ‘Personal Computer,’ When it was fresh off the factory line.”
“That’s interesting as fuck.” Chance said with a nod looking down at his computer. “So you came to earth, and started using computers from day one, no wonder people think you’re old school on forums everywhere, its because you are.”
“Damn right.”
“Hey, want to visit New York?” Chance suddenly asked. Nova paused, the coffee mug halfway to his mouth as he stared at Chance. “Like, right now. I can get us first-class flights to JFK in minutes.”
“And why the hell would I want to go to New York after I just arrived in fucking Switzerland?”
“I got business there, I figured I would drag you along. C'mon I’ll pay for your meals and housing.”
“You just want me for security, don’t you.”
“I’m not gonna lie and say that thought didn't cross my mind. But no, I’m genuinely curious as to your other exploits on this realm of existence.”
“So you want to use me as entertainment?”
“No, god no! I want to bring you along as a friend who happens to be an abundant source of entertainment. There's a big difference” Chance said with a smile. Nova looked at Chance with a skeptical look on his face before sighing and taking a gulp of his coffee.
“Alright, fine, when's the first flight out?”
“Four hours, more than enough time to pack, do you want window seats or what?”
“Yeah, window seats sound nice.” Nova replied, finishing off his coffee and stowing his laptop away in his bag “Let's go?”
“Yup, uh, alright.” Chance said into his phone, staring outside at the mountains as the voice on the other end droned on. “Ok sounds good. Talk to you when we land.” Chance hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket. “We got a bit of time, no rush.”
“I assume business?” Nova asked.
“Yes, I just had to tell them the time we were landing, they’ll have a car waiting for us when we get off.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Wish I was, you ever have lobster while a mile high in the fucking air?”
“No I have not, but more importantly, what the fuck kind of strings are you pulling that not only are you living comfortably in Switzerland, but you’ve got Wall Street picking you up in a limo?”
“Remember the money I had stashed away?”
“Yeah?”
“After laundering it all, I decided to invest. Bought a couple of businesses for laundering. Then turned that money into even more investments. After that, they started taking off, and it became less about laundering the money I had, and more about raking in this new cash from customers.
“Holy shit.”
“I kid you not If I wasn't set for life before, I am now. Now, this is just going to be a simple meeting between me and a vendor, if it works out, we may start stocking their products. After that, I’m going to Vegas.”
“And I assume you want me to tag along to the roulette table.”
“Of course.” It didn’t take long for them to get back, but the moment they stepped into their apartment, Nova made a mad dash to the safe and began pulling out his firearms.
“You sure about that?” Chance asked. “We’re not gonna be working our normal jobs, I highly doubt we need guns.”
“I feel better carrying one.” he replied, packing it into his suitcase.
“Well, whatever works for you, We’re not really in a rush right now so take your time. Chance walked over and began packing a few of his clothes along with documents as well. They wasted no time packing their essentials.
The trip from the apartment to the airport was uneventful, and so was their trip through security. And with their flight slated to leave in less than half an hour, the two decided to do what they do best.
“Two coffees please.” Chance asked the barista. The had found themselves at a local coffee shop. They paid and collected their coffee before walking to a nearby table. And sitting down.
“So.” Nova stated, taking a sip of his coffee.
“So.”
“Who exactly are we meeting?”
“No one you need to worry about.”
“That's the answer you’re going to give me?
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“And then, Vegas.”
“Yup.” Nova just looked at Chance in disappointment.
“You’re planning on popping an edible and gambling, aren't you.”
“Cmon, it’s gonna be fun.”
“I don’t doubt that, but Vegas?”
“Oh, where would you go?”
“I dunno, Colorado maybe?”
“Alright, the next time we come to the US, we’re headed to Colorado.”
“Nice.”
They finished up their coffee and began walking to the gate. They had a flight to catch, and they weren't about to miss it.
========================
The plane was high in the sky as Nova and Chance continued to talk. They had both paid for the in-flight internet, but due to how slow it was, they didn’t really bother with using it, opting to talk instead.
“So, you said you were going to tell me about…” Chance gestured, trailing off, taking a sip of his whiskey.
“Oh yeah, I did. Kid, let me tell you about, the fucking 80s’”
============================
An 18-year-old Nova hunched over his computer as he typed away. He was connected to a Bulletin Board somewhere in the country. Constant use of this kind of software though was costly. He had to personally ask Princess Celestia for funds to install a second phone line in the house he was in.
Of course, during all of this he had to maintain appearances by attending school. But now that he finally graduated, he could do whatever he wanted. Either by entering the workforce, or going to college.
Turning from his chair, he grabbed a nearby VHS tape and swiveled over to the tv on the shelf next to him. He started the movie, skipped past all the advertisements, and turned back over to the PC that he was using.
“Dammit. No new posts.” Standing up from his chair, he walked over to his closet and opened the door, grabbing a mason jar from the top shelf, he opened it and retrieved a nugget of marijuana. He gently set it down and resealed the jar, keeping it back in its original spot. Three knocks came from his bedroom door.
“Nova!” One of his handlers called for him from outside his door. He walked over and opened it.
“Yeah, Ruby?” He asked the woman outside.
“Just letting you know. The car will be here in about 15 minutes.”
“Got it.”
“If you don’t mind me asking. What exactly are you planning on telling her?”
“Want to get rid of me that easily?” Nova asked with a grin. “I think I’m staying in this world for a while to be honest.”
“We figured that much, but are you going to stay here or go off on your own?”
“I’m still trying to figure that out.”
=====================
“You got lucky, honestly. Coming here in the 80s” Chance commented.
“Damn right I did.”
=====================
Nova currently had a blindfold covering his eyes, standard procedure. He knew what to expect when going back to his home. Though he did consider Earth to be his home more than Equestria.
“We’re here.” One of the men in the car said. Nova turned his head in the direction of the voice.
“Can I take this thing off now?” He asked.
“Sure.” Taking off the blindfold he blearily looked around as his eyes adjusted to the light, only to find. “Yup, just woods.”
“What, did you expect us to open a portal in downtown Manhattan?”
“No.” Nova replied, stepping out from the car and grabbing his backpack. “But it does get old after the fiftieth time.” He turned to see a portal, with two men standing next to it.
“She’s waiting on the other side.” One of the men said. Nova simply nodded before stepping through.
When he came through on the other side, everything felt just a bit warmer, and his clothes where nowhere to be found, not that he needed them anyways. He looked down at his hooves and flexed them slightly as he adjusted to his surroundings. He was a pony again.
“Oh good, you’re not panicking.” Princess Celestia said as she looked at Nova.
“That was once, I was 10, and it was my first time coming back, are you really going to hold that against me?” Nova grumbled as he got back on his hooves and rummaged through his bag.
“I’m not holding it against you, I’m simply just having a laugh at your expense.” She replied with an impish smile.
“Well keep it up and you won’t be getting a puff of this.” Nova quipped, pulling out a small joint that he had rolled beforehand.
“Oh dear, you do drive a hard bargain.” She said, her smile was still prevalent though. They stared each other down for just a bit longer before laughing together.
“It would be boring to smoke alone.” Nova said with a chuckle.
“Indeed.” Princess Celestia replied, pulling Nova into a hug, he returned it as their wings enveloped each other. “It’s so good to see you again.” They pulled away from each other.
“So about that light.” He held the joint in his mouth, Celestia's horn sparkled slightly and the end of the joint was lit. he took a small puff before holding it out to Celestia, who took a puff. They began walking out of the room that held the portal and towards the hallway.
“I still can’t believe that this is illegal in that world.”
“You know exactly why it's illegal, don’t you?”
“I’ve experienced this kind of thing first hoof multiple times, I know the repercussions this will bring in the future if they continue down this path of prohibition.”
“It’s not like you can waltz on over there and get them to change. We’ve had a non-interference protocol for the past 60 years, and if Alchohol prohibition wasn't enough to break that, then why should marijuana.”
“The woes of confining yourself to an observing force, unfortunatly,” Celestia said with a sigh as she opened the door to a meeting room. “Here, take a seat.”
“Anyways.” Nova started, putting out the joint in a nearby ashtray, and sparking up a cigarette in its place. “Let's get the boring stuff out of the way first.” He pulled out a binder of papers and flipped through it, double-checking everything that was contained inside of it. “This here is the current report on technology regarding consumer-level electronics. It should line up with your reports from other sleeper agents. There is also a request in there to place a few sleeper agents in Japan, for some reason we’ve been seeing lots of high-quality goods come from that country and I think it would be a good idea to keep a few agents there.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, here is a request for more funding. Funds will be used to mostly buy more electronics.” He pulled out an envelope and slid it to Celestia.
“Mostly?”
“You know me.” He replied with a grin. “There is also the request to add another phone line into our current residence for me to operate more effectively without interruptions.”
“I’ll pass it off to the bean counters, but there is one thing that we still need to talk about.” Nova sighed and gestured for her to continue. “As you just demonstrated, the crown will finance most endeavors that you decide to take on that world until such a time that you can be independent on your own. Your handlers relayed to me that you have three options, return to Equestria, find a job on earth, or pursue higher education. You don’t have to choose now, but it would be nice to have an answer in the next couple of months. And please do keep in mind that the option to return to Equestria will remain open for as long as we have contact with our portals on Earth”
“Well, my grades are high enough that I can go wherever I want to. So my plan is to go to college. I’ve sent out my transcript to a lot of colleges and I’m waiting to see what they say.”
=============================
“So where did you go?”
“New York University.”
“Good shit.”
“Yeah, it was a wild four years.” They would have continued talking more, but it was at that moment that Nova let out a large yawn.
“We should probably take that as a sign to go to bed, we got a long ass day tomorrow, and I don’t want to be jet-lagged all day.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. We’ll talk in the morning.”
“I fucking hate flying” Nova grumbled as he picked up Chances suitcase
“You’re the one that decided to come along.”
“First class, coach, it doesn't matter, the seats still suck dick.”
“God, you are never happy when traveling, are you?” Chance said, grabbing the handle of the suitcase and looking at Nova with an annoyed grimace. He began to walk, awkwardly limping while trying to balance himself with his cane. Nova followed close behind.
“You sure you don’t need help with that?”
“I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“I think I'm sure.”
“I dunno, it kinda looks like you’re waddling like a penguin.”
“Ok, you know what, just take the damn suitcase already.” Chance said, letting go of it. Nova took hold of it and began following Chance around like he was his bodyguard. And for all intents and purposes, as long as Nova was anywhere near Chance he was legally classified as a bodyguard, thanks to the G men pulling a few strings for Chances safety.
“Over there.” Chance gestured, pointing towards a man holding a sign with his name on it. “I think that’s him.”
“You’re probably right.” They began walking over to the man and flagged him down.
“Excuse me, are you with Wei Incorporated?”
“Yes sir I am, you must be Chance, my name is Ed.”
“Yes I am, it’s good to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine, I assume this is the bodyguard you informed us about earlier?”
“Indeed, I’m Nova, nice to meet you.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you as well. If you don’t mind, I can take that suitcase from you.”
“It’s fine, I got it. Anyways we should probably get going seeing as how-” Nova started to say before a commotion of men which seemed to be getting louder distracted him. They turned and saw at least 12 men in suits full-on sprinting towards them. They seemed to slow down as they approached, and a majority of the men took up positions around Chance, Nova, pushing Ed away from the group entirely. They faced away from them but kept them enclosed in a circle of sorts. What stood out to Chance and Nova, was the fact that every single man that just appeared, was nervous as hell.
“Chance Rockwell, Nova. I need you to come with me.” One of the men said. He was the only one to not be a part of the protective formation.
“What the fuck is this?” Chance muttered.
“I’m Ahmed Talib, with the CIA. You need to come with us. This is for your own safety as requested by Secret Service and the Equestrians.” He whispered, flashing his badge
“That doesn't answer my question, what the fuck is going on?”
“I will explain everything once we’re on the road, for now, I need you to come with me.” Chance and Nova looked at each other. Realizing they had no choice, Nova nodded to Chance, who nodded back.
“Fine. Lead the way.” The CIA agent seemed relieved the moment Chance said that.
“Thank you.” He said, before putting his wrist to his mouth and speaking. “VIPs secured, Status report, over.” Talib said, whatever was said on the other line, the duo could not hear, but evidently Talib could. “Understood, Exfil to location Alpha. Over.” He lowered his wrist and spoke to the Duo. “We’re taking you to the Manhattan heliport, from there we’ll take you to an undisclosed airport, which will deliver you to an undisclosed destination. We don’t have much time.”
“Then lead the way.” Still in protective formation, half the group circled around chance, the other half circled around Nova as they guided them out of the airport, and towards the SUV.
The cold air nipped at their faces as they spotted the plethora of Government SUVs waiting for them, and the extreme amount of CIA Agents and police officers patrolling that area decked out in body armor and wielding shotguns and rifles. The duo slowed down a bit as they gawked at the scene in front of them.
“What the fuck?” Nova muttered
“Guys, slow the fuck down goddamnit.” Chance said as they tried to guide him towards the SUV in the middle. My leg isn't what it used to be.” He exclaimed as he quickly limped along. The cane tapping on the ground as he walked.
“I’m sorry Mr. Rockwell, but we need to get you out of New York ASAP before specific parties become aware-” a CIA agent began speaking, just as the sound of a small engine roared across the airport, near their location. “Get down!” The agent yelled, practically tackling Chance to the ground, while another agent grabbed Nova, bringing him down to the ground as well. The Sounds of submachine gunfire reverberated through the airport as the glass behind them shattered from the hail of bullets. The would-be assassins on their bike tried to flee, but less than a second later the sounds of multiple rifles and shotguns going off obliterated the men on the bike, killing them quickly.
“Sir! Are you ok? Sir?” The agent yelled, getting off of Chance, and trying to help him up. “Sir?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine, get us the fuck out of here.”
“Gaah, fucker got me in the leg!” He heard one of the agents yell, he was sitting on the ground, grasping his leg as he tried to staunch the wound, Chance could only stare at the blood pouring out.
“Shit shit shit.” Talib said, raising his wrist back up to his mouth. “Man down! Man Down! Shot in the leg! Senko, you stay behind and wait for EMS services to arrive. Everybody else, Exfil the VIPs to Location Charlie, I repeat! Location Charlie! Over! Full security detail should be ready at Charlie, Over!” The agents grabbed the luggage, and the duo, and borderline dragged them to one of the SUVs in the middle. Chance and Nova quickly bolted inside the SUV, while the CIA agents threw their luggage in the back. Immediately, the Emergency lights on all the SUVs lit up, and sirens blared across the airport as the SUVs sped away from the Arrivals pickup of JFK airport.
“Where the fucks my gun?” Chance yelled out as Nova reached over into the exposed trunk of the car, picking up a suitcase. The other SUVs surrounded them in record time as they sped away.
“It's in this suitcase, along with holsters.” Nova said, opening the suitcase and pulling out two small pelican cases, and two small holsters. He pulled some keys out of his pocket as he unlocked the cases, and passed one over to Chance. Immediately, chance unbuckled his pants, and attached holster to the left side of his hip, before pulling out a small box of ammo, and loading a magazine to the brim with .45 ACP rounds. Nova did much of the same, but instead of loading a magazine, he loaded the chambers of a revolver with .44 magnum rounds before holstering his Smith and Wesson. Chance loaded his mag into his 1911 and pulled back the slide and loading a bullet into the chamber before holstering his weapon.
“What the fuck is going on, Ahmed?” Chance asked.
“I don’t know.” The CIA agent responded simply, turning around from the front passenger side seat to face the backseats. “This was supposed to be a simple extraction mission. We’re taking you to LaGuardia right now, a private jet is ready and waiting there. Manhattan Heliport may be compromised, which is why we’re diverting from our original destination.”
“Ok, What do you know, right now. Why is this happening, who the fuck is coming after me?”
“I don’t know, all I was told to tell you is that the Equestrian feared for your safety and requested that large escort. Considering what just happened. I’m glad they did.”
“What the fuck is the press going to say? I mean, fucks sake two assassins were gunned down, a CIA agent was shot in the leg, and all of this happened in one of the busiest airports in the US!” Nova yelled out.
“I… I don’t know. I’m sorry, we’ll leave that to our superiors.”
“What’s the news saying.” Chance asked
“Good question.” Talib replied, turning on the car radio.
“-Special bulletin from WNYC of recent events just unfolding. Two men were shot down by Police and government officials less than 10 minutes ago. They were said to be riding on a motorcycle and fired at said government officials. Soon after, a large convoy of Government SUVs were seen heading exiting the airport and heading northbound. All flights at JFK, LaGuardia, have been delayed indefinitely by the FAA until further notice. It’s currently not clear who specifically was being targeted in this attack, or why-” Ahmed turned off the radio.
“That's enough of that.” Ahmed said, annoyed at the fact that this was most likely going to be a media shitstorm. “Do you guys have anything you can cover yourselves up with. Particularly, Your face.” Ahmed said, looking at
“I think I got a cap in here, and some sunglasses. Why?”
“For obvious reasons, you cannot be identified.” Talib said, as he pulled out a first aid kit from the glovebox, and retrieved a medical face mask from inside it. “Here, put this on too. We can’t risk anything.” Chance obliged and put on all the extra clothing.
The rest of the ride there was in silence. The cars on the road moved out of the way for the government SUVs like Moses parted the rivers. Chances mind was still boggled at the fact that all of this security was for both of them. If they shut down flights at both LaGuardia and JFK, this was serious. As they pulled into the runway of the airport, Chance noticed the entire airport was swarming with police vehicles of all kind, ranging from police cruiser to full-on SWAT trucks, with SWAT members patrolling the runway.
“Jesus…” Chance muttered as he stared outside of the car.
“Arriving at Charlie, ETA 30 seconds, Status report, over.” Ahmed said over the mounted radio in the car.
“Snipers and foot patrols in position. All Clear, over.”
“Understood, over.” Ahmed said. Chance took this opportunity to conceal his identity, while nova did the same to a much lesser extent by just wearing a ballcap. The SUV slowed to a stop, and Agents exited their vehicles, surrounding their car. “We’re ready to move.”
The door opened, and two agents with rifles helped chance out of the car, while Nova held his shoulder. Many more agents surrounded Chance and Nova and escorted them to the small private jet waiting on the tarmac just meters away from them. Nova gripped chances shoulder, his .44 revolver drawn out of its holster, aimed towards the ground just in front of chance as he helped escort him to the jet as well.
“Plane is ready for takeoff, sir.” One of the agents said to Chance.
“Good, get us off the ground ASAP.” Chance replied as he climbed into the jet, Nova following right behind him. They sat down in their seats and buckled in. Nova re-holstered his weapon before buckling himself in. Ahmed came along with the duo and strapped himself into one of the seats as well.
Moments later the plane took off, and climbed high into the sky.
“The pilot is going to shut off the transponder in a few minutes, we’ll be dark soon.” Ahmed said. Nova stared at the ground while Chance slightly nodded his head, The events of the last half hour reverberating through his mind as he gripped the armrest.
“Now that we’re safe, I’m authorized to inform you that you can contact a high representative from the Equestrians through a secure line.” Ahmed said, pulling out a briefcase from his seat. “This line will connect you directly to them, and you can talk at your discretion.” He held the briefcase out to Nova, who passed it over to Chance.
“Thank you, Ahmed.”
“You’re welcome.”
“No. Thank you. If you hadn't caught us at JFK, we probably would have been dead by now. I owe you my fucking life.”
“Just doing my job, sir.”
Chance opened the briefcase, all picked up the earpiece, placing it against his ear. The Line on the other end rung for a few seconds before someone picked up.
“Hello?” A voice said on the other end. It was one that Chance didn’t recognize.
“This is Greyhound.”
“Understood, Greyhound. Hold for Eclipse.” The person on the other line said before the line went silent. He didn’t have to wait for long, as a voice he did recognize spoke to him on the other end.
“Chance?” Luna said.
“Luna?” Chance replied back, Nova’s head snapped to Chance, hearing that his ruler was currently in the country.
“Aye, it's me. I’ve been informed there was an attempt on your lives at the airport.”
“Unfortunately that is true. As of right now, I’m on a jet of some kind. I assume you know where it’s taking us?”
“Yes, but I’m not allowed to disclose that information. Nor am I allowed to disclose why we needed to intercept you at the airport.”
“Luna, I understand you’re my superior, but I need to know. Is he back? Did he do this?”
“I can’t answer that.”
“Luna, stop fucking with me. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Indeed I do, but I cannot answer that right now.”
“Fine. I’m going to pass it on to Nova. I assume he’s on the same info blackout that I am in?”
“Yes, I’m sorry for being so tight-lipped at the moment, but it’s for your own safety.” Chance said nothing as he passed the phone over to his friend, who eagerly took it and raised the earpiece to his own ear.
“Princess.” Nova said, Ahmed raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing otherwise. “We’re fine, Ma’am.” Nova glanced over at Chance who was looking at the ground. “Understood. See you soon Princess Luna.” Nova said before passing the briefcase back over to Chance. “She’s still got something to say.” Chance nodded and took the case and raised the earpiece to his ear.
“Luna?”
“One more thing, it’s come to our attention that you’re currently in the presence of a CIA agent named ‘Ahmed Talib,’ correct?”
“Yes.”
“Good, he’s going to be assigned to your security detail alongside Nova whenever you’re in the United States. As of right now, he’s currently in the dark about who we are, and we would appreciate it if you and Nova could help bring him up to speed.”
“Are you sure about that? I’m not an Equestrian native.”
“I know, but you’ve visited our land, and no doubt have learnt about some of our history from Nova. Not only that but have you forgotten your role as our ambassador? Officially speaking, you’re allowed to speak on our behalf.”
“I’m still going to let Nova take the lead on this, alright?”
“That’s acceptable, we will see you soon. Safe travels, Chance Rockwell.” Chance hung up the phone and passed it back to Nova, who gave it back to Ahmed who stored it away. Nova looked Chance, waiting for his queue.
“Go ahead, you know more than me about this.” Chance said.
“Alright.” Nova replied, turning over to Ahmed. “Ahmed.”
“Yes?”
“What do you know about the Equestrians?”
“Honestly, not much. We just know you by name.”
“Right. For the basics. The Equestrians are a species from another dimension. We’re a species of ponies split into three races, earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. Earth ponies have a natural connection to the earth and are built much hardier than pegasi or unicorns. Pegasi, while being lighter, have the ability to fly with the help of their wings, and can live in the clouds. Unicorns are ponies who can use magic. All of the three races are ruled over by two princesses, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. Princess Celestia controls the sun, while Princess Luna controls the Moon.”
“Wait, wait, what do you mean ‘control?’”
“Their celestial bodies work differently than ours.” Chance interjected. “Whereas we rotate around the sun. Their sun and moon rotate around their planet, and are controlled by their Gods.”
“Although, Princess Celestia doesn't like to portray herself as a god, more like a motherly figure.”
Ahmed stared at Nova for a few seconds before chuckling. “You’re fucking with me.”
“No. We’re not.” Chance said. Ahmed looked at Chance, his face blanching as he just realized what he was being told. “Everything you just heard, and everything you’re about to hear is 100% true. The Equestrians have been on this planet for over a century at this point, planting sleeper agents. My bodyguard? He’s a sleeper pegasus. Nova has been here since the 80s.”
“I grew up in a city called Cloudsdale. But I was given the opportunity to study this world's technology at a very early age. I’ve lived on earth more than I have lived in Equestria. I went to high school and college here, got a degree in engineering from NYU. All while funneling information about this world back to Equestria.” Ahmed stared at the ground processing all this information as Chance leaned over to Nova.
“Should we slow down a bit? Seems like a bit much for the guy.” Chance whispered.
“We don’t know where this plane is taking us, or how much time we have left. The faster we can give him this information, the better.”
“Fair enough.”
“Wait, Nova.” Ahmed said
“Yeah?”
“I heard you say princess over the phone.” Ahmed said, staring down the duo.
“To confirm your suspicions. Yes, one of the rulers of Equestria is currently on US soil.” Nova replied. “The younger sister, Princess Luna. Despite being just below her sister, officially she is on equal footing as her sister. Unofficially due to her recent reintegration into society she has a reduced workload, and reduced responsibilities.”
“Wait, what do you mean by that?”
“What, reintegration?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, just a simplified version, a little over a thousand years ago Princess Luna was sealed on the moon by a set of powerful artifacts wielded by her sister, A powerful corrupt spirit called Nightmare had infected and corrupted her, transforming the Princess into Nightmare Moon. Cut to about a few years ago, Nightmare Moon escapes the moon, and the new wielders of the artifacts were able to purge the corrupt spirit, restoring Princess Luna. I’m telling you this now because it’s a touchy subject for everybody, and we would rather you don’t bring it up at all in her presence.”
“I… That’s…”
“Deep breaths, I know. It’s a lot. But this is what you’re getting into.”
“How did you find yourself in this mess?” Ahmed asked.
“Long story, Nova was able to get me a contract with the equestrians. Things went wrong, we underestimated our target, and our operation was nearly made public. The Equestrians were able to make contact with the government, and with their help, the operation was completed.”
“Operation?”
“Remember that joint strike by the DEA about half a year ago?” Chance asked.
“Of course.”
“We provided the intel, and took out the head of the organization. The person behind it was an Equestrian that had somehow come to this world after he was believed to be dead. Equestrians needed to clean up, and I stepped in to help.
“After that, I was designated as a liaison slash ambassador for the two groups, due to being one of the few humans who had worked directly alongside them.”
“And that’s why you’re designated as a VIP?”
“Yup, and now you’re up to speed.” Chance said. Ahmed reclined back in his seat as he stared ahead.
“So. That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“We’re flying, to meet one of the leaders of a species, a species that’s not even from this dimension.” Ahmed said out loud, more to himself than anyone.
“Yup.”
Ahmed continued to stare up at the ceiling, processing what information had just been dumped on him.
"Do you know who attacked you?" Ahmed asked. Nova shifted in his seat as he turned to Chance.
"That's actually a good question. Chance?"
"I... I think I might know who." He replied. "If it is who I think it is, then we're in serious shit."
"You really think it's him?"
"Who else could it be?"
"Wait, who are you talking about?" Ahmed interjected.
"An unintentional survivor from the previous operation, Sombras Lieutenant."
