It was around 11 pm, and as the rain fell over Cloudsdale, yet another side-effect of nature's magical disruption by the absence of Celestia and Luna, Matthew Gates, or Aegis Lead, pulled his scarf up a bit to cover his face.They were stacked up in an alleyway between buildings, and Gates tapped his helmet, signalling for a comms check.

"This is Domino, 5 for 5."

"This is Rook, good to go."

"This is Sparrow, green across the board."

"Check." Gates replied, as the comms check for their allies, Ghost Team Cyclone, led by Captain Jason McCoy, sounded off. "Alright, Aegis Team, Cyclone Team, here's the op."

"Our target is Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, and currently imprisoned in a brothel south of our location. Since stealth isn't an option thanks to the number of civilians, we'll be doing this op loud, hard, and fast. The target building is a large villa with two obsidian guard posts. It's apparently a favorite locale of the Eqaharian soldiers stationed here, so be ready for hostile action once we kick the door down."

"Once we have secured the objective, we bail. Remember, there's going to be witnesses no matter what, seeing as we don't kill civilians, so do whatever it takes to keep our identities hidden. Smoke, flashbangs, anything non-lethal is fair game."

"Clear?"

"Clear!" the other seven Ghosts replied. Aegis Lead cocked his Remington R5 assault rifle, and motioned for them to move into the streets towards the target location. As they walked, their cloaking systems and the dark environment kept them hidden.

"I'll tell you one thing, guys…" Fury said, her Vector moving from alleyway to street, back and forth to cover their flanks. "It's too quiet for my tastes."

"Agreed." Cyclone Lead added. "You think they'd be more guards stationed here in town, and on higher alert seeing as we just took one of their prison camps."

"True." Aegis Lead replied. "Button it up, though. The brothel's straight ahead."

====

As the Ghosts approached the wall surrounding the Grecian-style villa that contained the brothel and its necessary facilities, Gates motioned for a sync shot, marking the two guards at the nearby checkpoint, then he swiped his hand across his throat.
Fixit and Domino dropped the two guards, and Gates then doused the nearby lamps, shrouding the courtyard in darkness. Then, they noticed a third guard, who seemed to have drunk a bit too much, nodding off nearby.

Gates sneaked forward and grabbed him, whispering into the Guard's ear forcefully.

"Where's Fluttershy? I'm only asking once."

"Gah…the dungeons! Don't…" the Guard stammered before Gates knocked him out and set him down, positioning him to make it look like he was asleep. As the Ghosts regrouped at the main entrance, Vasily prepped a Flashbang while Rook took out a smoke grenade.

"3...2...1...breach." Gates ordered, and Vasily tossed in the flashbang, then shut the door behind it. As it detonated, the shrieks and panicked screams of the attendees and the staff could be clearly heard. Rook then threw in the smoke, and as the Ghosts kicked the door down, they switched to filtered vision through their Cross-Coms.

They had clearly interrupted some sort of dinner party, as multiple tables of food and drink were scattered about, and many of the brothel staff were dressed a bit more fancy than the Ghosts had expected. As they moved through the smoke, shooting any Eqaharian soldier they encountered, they kicked a second door open and shot the three responding guards on the other side.

"Cyclone, we'll cover you! Head for the objective!" Gates ordered, motioning to a stairwell. Cyclone Team split off, while Gates and Aegis Team continued to pop smoke grenades when needed, as well as eliminate the responding guards with suppressed gunfire.

====

As Cyclone Team entered the dungeons, they could see several depraved instruments scattered about, and the smell of such activity, even through their masks, was noticeable. Fury let her face show rage when she looked around, her firm grip on her submachine gun tightening.

"Goddamn…" Vasily growled, noticing a pair of stocks also equipped with some form of a branding instrument. "These fuckers are perverted, that's for sure."

"Focus up." Cyclone Lead replied. "Cell block, up ahead."

As they entered the cell bay, which was filled with cages and chains, they quickly found the butter-yellow pegasus in her own cell, shackled to the ground with her wings limp at her sides, clearly broken. She whimpered fearfully as they approached, but she registered surprise when Fury broke her chains and picked her up shepherd style on her back.

"Aegis Lead, we have the target, but she's not walking out of here." Cyclone Lead replied. "We're coming to you."

"Copy!" Aegis Lead replied. "Make it quick, someone must've sounded the alarm, we've got more hostiles headed our way!"

As Cyclone Team headed out of the dungeons and back to the atrium, the two teams, once they rejoined each other, began to fight their way out in a diamond formation with Fury at the center, who had also drawn her pistol.

Now that the element of surprise was gone, the Eqaharian soldiers began to charge, only to be cut down by gunfire or blinded by a thrown smoke grenade. Gates dropped a Guard with a plumed helmet, and noticed a packet of papers fall out of his chest. He quickly stuffed the package into a pocket on his tac-rig, and motioned for the Ghosts to evacuate. As they kicked the gate open and vanished into the night, dropping the three pursuing Guards, Gates radioed Nomad to report mission success and to have medics ready when they returned to the castle.

"Copy, I'll tell Rainbow Dash." Nomad replied. "Good work, Aegis, Cyclone. See you when you get back here."

"I also found some intel on an Eqaharian captain." Gates continued. "Haven't looked at it yet, but I reckon we'll get some use out of whatever it is."

"Nice job. Now focus on getting back here. Nomad out."

As the Ghosts disappeared into the streets of Cloudsdale, the Eqaharians began to sort through the carnage they had left in their wake.

====

Canterlot, Chambers of the King

Prince Hector knocked three times on his father's chamber door, and a grim voice replied with "enter". As Hector came in, the gaunt, bearded face of his father, King Diomedas, could be seen in the faint light from a dying fire in the fireplace.

"What is it?" Diomedas asked.

"Our work camp in the western plains was attacked." Hector said. "The attackers, their identity, origins, and weapons are unknown to us. They eliminated the full garrison there, and freed over 500 prisoners. I ask your permission to search for and destroy them."

Diomedas was silent as he turned to his son.

"Unknown, you say?" he asked.

"Yes. We know nothing of what they look like, but they have weapons capable of piercing, even shattering our armor." Hector continued. "They are most likely not from Equestria or any other realm we know of."

"I see." Diomedas said calmly. "I will take this under advisement. But as to your request...I command you not to go. Your brother Ajax shall go in your place to hunt these attackers down and, as you said, destroy them."

"Ajax?" Hector asked. "May I ask why, father? He is not a warrior like me."

"But he will become one. I have foreseen it." Diomedas replied. "Tell him to leave with a host of troops to the western plains at dawn tomorrow. Make sure he is well-equipped."

"Yes, father."

"Is there anything else you would ask of me?"

"No…"

"Then go."

As Hector bowed and left, Diomedas turned to the dying fire and sighed. Since he was of age, he had been blessed by a gift of foresight, being able to see the future in flashes through his mind. He had used this gift to aid him in becoming King of the Eqaharian city-states, and then again in conquering Equestria.

The Equestrians couldn't rely on a single strategy, no matter how effective, to work more than once, due to Diomedas's gift. So, it greatly disturbed the King to not be able to foresee these attackers or where they came from.

The King doused what remained of the fire, shrouding the room in darkness.

"Whoever it is that has dared challenge me...know your days are numbered." he thought. "For I see everything. And you are not part of the picture I have painted, one of conquest and power over all things."

"Someday, we will meet. And who will live and who will die...has yet to be determined by the cast of fate."

Update!

Yeah, Diomedas is a real piece of work. It's hard to fight someone when he can see your every move before you can make it.

Next time - Prince Ajax begins the hunt for the attackers, and Nomad plans a dariang ambush...