Oct 22nd, 2013
Southern Dessert
1840

Two men clad in camouflage fatigues and balaclavas sat beside one another. As they continued the drive through the desert. "Andrik, how close are we to the target area?" Asked the man on the left, as he occasionally used the steering wheel to turn the massive 15-ton truck. Which, of course, no one could see but them. Thanks to the enchanted paint scheme mixed with cloaking tech.

The other man raised his head from the tablet he was holding. And turned to look at the driver. "It shouldn't be much further, Yaropolk." He then turned back to the screen. "Only about two klicks left."

"Good, I need to stretch my legs." He said as once again focused on the path in front of him.

A few minutes later...

"You have arrived at your destination." Announced the GPS in a monotone as they came to a halt. Of course, neither man noticed. As they were both far more focused on the scene in front of them. The whole area was covered in ash and fire, bodies, and the remnants of wooden and sheet metal buildings.

Then, they both turned to each other with eyes wide with horror. They quickly nodded before Andrik pulled out his radio. "This is Yarkivy to Orel-2. Come in over?" He heard nothing until...

There was a moment of static before the radio went clear. "This is Orel-2. What do you need, over?" Came the boisterous masculine voice.

Andrik once again turned to look out the windshield. "Preform a satellite scan for life signs, over?"

Another bout of static. "I copy, over." Then, the radio went silent again, as both silently hoped they had not been too late. "I'm sorry, Comrades. The scan came up empty, out."

As soon as he said this, Andrik's face went red with rage. No. No, no, no, NO! I've come TOO FAR to fail now! Then, he quickly turned off the radio. Before opening the door and jumping out into the cold night. "Hey, wait for me!" Yelled Yaropolk, as he did the same.

Once on the ground, the first thing that hit them was the smell. It was that of ash and burning flesh. They both closed the door and met up with each other. "Alright, I'll check around the smaller buildings. You check the big one. And remember, if you spot anything that has even a smidgen of rainbow hair in it. You are to immediately report back." Said Andrik as Yaropolk nodded, and they both separated to check the bodies.

At first, he found nothing. But then, when he was checking the body of a stallion in a leather jerkin. He saw what appeared to be a few strands of rainbow hair stuck in his armour. "Comrade Private Kulikov! I think I found something!" But, when he turned back to doublecheck, he also spotted tracks leading away from the body.

"What is it, Comrade lieutenant Pavlov!? What did you find!?" He asked as he ran up behind him.

"You checked all the bodies in your area, yes?" He turned to face him with a slight smile.

"Of course, but why do you-" He stopped when Andrik held out a strand of rainbow hair and pointed to the tracks. "Wait, does that mean..."

"Yes, it does." He said before his hand started to glow dimly, before becoming brighter the closer his hand came to the Kamaz 4911 truck. "Come on, we don't have much time! They both ran as fast as they could to get back to the vehicle. Wherever you have gone, Comrade Dash, I promise we will find you...

Oct 27th, 2013
Attaistown, Storm Kingdom
1720

Five days... It had been five days they had spent in that Sovetska forsaken desert. As a sandstorm had blocked their connection. Causing them to lose their way for about three days. (Thankfully, the truck was filled with enough provisions to last them five weeks.) So, when they finally received a message from one of their agents in Attaistown, they were overjoyed. They parked the truck behind a large rock. That was about a few hundred meters away from the settlement. "Alright, you stay here. I shouldn't be too long." Said Andrik to Yaropolk as he opened the door and hopped out. Then, he walked up to the rock before engulfing both his hands in a blue aura. At that moment, the world flashed before him.

When he came to, he quickly realized that he was much shorter than before. And he looked behind himself to see that he had gained the shape of a pegasus with a yellow coat and a navy blue tail. And on his side, he wore a pouch with his bayonet and money. Good, the spell worked. He then walked out from the rock before he made his way into town.

When he got there, he quickly came to realize just how poor this town was. As, in his eyes, it looked more like a slum than a proper settlement. Classic Fudelism at work. But, once he made it to the gate, he was immediately stopped by two lightly armed guards. "State your business traveller!" Ordered one of them with a spear pointed at his chest.

Thinking on his feet (or hooves in this case.) He put on his best-terrified expression. "I-I d-don't mean any harm. You see...The caravan I was with was ambushed by raiders. And I was the only survivor." He then lowered his head for emphasis. This should work.

The guards both raised their spears. "Well, I guess you can enter. But, you had better not cause any trouble."

He quickly managed to shift to a more neutral tone. "Thank you so much. But, before I enter... Have any of you seen a rainbow maned, pegasus mare pass through here?"

One of the guards seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "Actually...yes, I have."

His eyes went wide with excitement. "You have? Where?" He asked as he saw a small airship lift off from the other side of the mountain.

The guard then pointed to it. "I think she went with them." He said as it turned and slowly started getting up to speed.

"I see... Well, thank you. This is very helpful." Said Andrik as he quickly made his way into town. As he did, he came across numerous creatures sitting or walking through the street. I would love to talk to them, but I'm in a rush. He thought as he came to an Inn. Here we go. The contact should be in here. He opened the door and walked inside. As he did, he quickly trotted through the crowded bar area and made his way to the counter.

"Well, well, well. What can I help you with, comrade?" Asked the lizard.

Andrik proceeded to lean his back against the counter. Before he put a hoof in his pouch and pulled out five storm bucks. "How's the weather?" He asked in a hushed tone.

The barkeeper then proceeded to take the money. Before he bent behind the counter. And then giving him a small glass of cheap beer. "Not great."

He quickly drank it. But, as he did, he tasted and felt a small metal sphere enter his mouth. And, when he did, he turned to face the bar. Before he slowly pulled it out of his mouth and stuffed it in his pouch. "Well, that is...unfortunate." He stated softly.

The barkeeper then leaned forward. "You should get going. You already have everything you need." He whispered.

"Okay, goodbye." Andrik then turned around before running back outside. We'll have to hurry. He continued to run through the small town. And when he finally made it outside the palisade wall. He quickly flew over to where they had hidden the truck and opened the door. "Yaropolk, we need to hurry!" He yelled as he swiftly transformed back into his human form and jumped inside.

Yaropolk, who had been napping in his seat, was quickly jolted awake. "Huh, what-"

"We don't have time for this!" He bellowed before he pointed at the airship. (that was now nothing more than a dot in the sky) "You see that airship?"

The other man seemed to squint at it before he put on his binoculars. "Yes. I see it." He said before he put them away.

"I have reason to believe she's on it." Said Andrik simply.

Yaropolk quickly nodded before he started up the engine. And the large vehicle began to accelerate at an ever-increasing speed. Moving towards the direction of the airship. Andrik grabbed the sphere from his pouch. And, upon seeing that it had a single line running through the center. He quickly popped it open with his telekinesis. Inside was a holographic projection of the barkeeper that said:

"Date: Oct 27th, 2013
Location: Attaistown, Storm Kingdom
Time: 1700
Comrade Agents, while I was proud to have received RD 22-30. I quickly came to see just how much damage those fascist pigs have done to her! She has dull fur, multiple healing wounds, as well as a missing wing and cutie mark. She has also changed her name to "Void Streak." Presumably, as a way to cope with the damage to her body. Along with the new environment.

But, I am afraid she slipped through my fingers. As just when I gave her a room, she got hit-on by a stupid, dunk mercenary dog while I was out of the room contacting you! Of course, she dispatched him quickly. But then, his collages offered her a job. And she went with them. And I even offered her a premium room for a cheap gem. So far as I know, they are planning on leaving in their airship in 15 minutes!

Also, as if it couldn't get any worse, it would appear that Comrade Agent: Dmitriy Nikitin. (Full Tankard) Left me and Comrade Agent: Stasya Kuzmina. (Arzu) After I informed him of her arrival.
Comrade Agent: Vikentiy Kuzminov signing off."

When the massage was finished, there was a light beeping that emanated from the small orb. Which, Andrik quickly threw out the window before he heard a small explosion. "Well, that is good to know. I wonder how he found all of that out so quickly?" He said as he looked with glued eyes towards the airship. And subconsciously began writing down all the information.

"He probably has the whole place bugged." Said Yaropolk. "Hey, we should probably get a lock on that airship."

At this, Andrik blinked a few times as he attempted to escape his tunnel vision. "Right." Then, he turned on the radio. "This is Yarkivy to Orel-2. Come in, over?"

There was a moment of static. "I copy Yarkivy. What is it, over?"

"There is a small airship in our area, and we know that RD 22-30 is onboard! We need a target lock, over?" Said Andrik

There was yet more static. "I copy Yarkivy. Getting Radar lock." As he said this, Andrik pulled out his small screen. Before pressing a small button located at the side and changing it from GPS mode to radar. When he did, he saw a large blue dot appear as the radar waves came into contact with it.

"Target lock confirmed. We are now in pursuit, out." Said Andrik as he turned off the radio. "Now we got her!" He yelled out in excitement.

Nov 1st, 2013
Kell's Forest, Storm Kingdom
1500

Andrik quickly came to regret his words. Because, after they had followed the airship for a day. Then the band of mercenaries disembarked. And boarded a Storm Kingdom train which they had spent another day following to no avail. Then, they spent another day following the airship. Which brought them...straight back to Attaistown. And, by the time they got there, the airship was back in the sky.

And, as it left the airspace, they quickly followed in pursuit for two days straight, before something finally happened. They were driving through a semi-dense wood. When a distant ship-shaped object appeared on the horizon. And, as it got closer, Andrik heart began to sink. For, as he looked through his binoculars, he could see the jolly-roger flying proudly from its stern as the larger ship came-about and began to fire on their target. "Step on it, Yaropolk!" Bellowed Andrik. "We need to hurry in case the ship goes down!"

Quickly responding to his colleague's demands. He pressed his foot harder on the accelerator, pushing it up to its full speed. (100 KPH) And as they sped closer, they saw the first explosion hit. Which caused a few pieces of debris to plummet towards the ground.

But, as Andrik put up his binoculars again. He realized that what he thought was a piece of wood was a pony...with a rainbow mane. Time seemed to slow as he saw her attempting to use her one wing to slow her fall. And tears began to form in his eyes. _{"No. No..."} He muttered before he wiped away his tears and his face became red with rage. ^{"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"} He bellowed as the pony disappeared beneath the thick canopy of trees.

A few minutes later...

Once Andrik and Yaropolk had seen the pony disappear, they quickly drove as close as was possible to the potential crash site. Before they dismounted and began their search.

20 minutes later...

They had been searching all along the path of trajectory. And both men began to feel slight fatigue. As they had been driving around for days on end with little to no sleep. "Where could she be? I swear she fell in this direction." Said Andrik as both men walked down the path.

Yaropolk just continued searching. "I'm not sure. But-" He stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes were glued to two trees that were seat across from one another. "Comrade Lt. Pavlov, you might want to look at this."

The moment he said this, Andrik turned to look at them as well. And when he did, he noted that some of the braches were missing or damaged. Then, his eyes slowly followed the trees to the ground as he walked closer. And when he did, he began to grin widely. "Comrade Pvt. Kulikov." He said as he walked closer to the pony-shaped impact mark in the mud. That was just off the path. Before he bent down to get a closer look. "I don't think our mission is over just yet..." He said as he picked up a few strands of multi-coloured hair.

As he saw this, Yaropolk began looking for tracks. And, when he saw pony tacks and a trail of blood. He then tapped Andrik on the shoulder and pointed at his find. "Indeed, Comrade." He said as he began to feel droplets of water impacting his uniform. "What should we do now?"

Andrik sighed deeply. "The rain will probably wash away the trail. But, at least we know that she's alive." He said as his hand once again became encased in his blue aura. "Come on, Comrade. We should head back to the truck to wait out the storm."

Nov 22nd, 2013
Kell's Keep, Storm Kingdom
1500

It had been three weeks that they had spent in those woods. As the rain never seemed to stop. And when it did, it was only for a short period. And, since everything was turned to mud. They found that they could not move lest they give away their position. So they sat in the truck and waited. But today, for the first time. The sun literally came out. And, after they remembered the sign that they had read: Kell's Keep, 20 Miles. They quickly started up the engine before arriving at their destination. They hid the truck near the edge of the forest. Once that was done, Yaropolk used his own magic to transform himself into a burgundy hippogriff. And they made their way to the main gate. When they arrived, they were met with two lizard guards in padded armour. On their heads, they wore bronze helmets. And they were armed with pole-weapons. "Sate your business travellers!" Bellowed one of the guards.

Andrik nodded to Yaropolk before he took a step forward. "You see, my friend here just arrived. And we were looking for a place to stay." Not to mention a proper meal.

The guard then looked up, presumably at one of the guards on the high wall, before he faced them once again. "Alright, you can go in." Said the guard gruffly.

Easier said than done. Thought Andrik, as he and Yaropolk made their way inside.

Words that are written like This are in the speaker's native language.

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