"It's suicide," Jack-o finally said once Calypso finished telling him their plan. "The pair going for the palace will die too quickly for the assault team to even break into the cell blocks of the Bastille."

"Normally, yes," Calypso agreed. "But the mare in question is probably one of the only I'd trust to do it."

Dribble gave a sharp nod, "She can do it."

Jack-o looked between them, rubbing his chin in thought. "I'm not seeing it." He glances at a picture on his desk, a picture of an older stallion standing with a younger Jack-o. "But," he said with a sigh. "I think it's worth the risk."

Calypso sat back relieved.

"I'll round up some Bronies," he said as he stood up and walked towards a door. "There's plenty of Bronies around here that have friends and family in Bastille, so there will be plenty of willing volunteers. Just," he stops at the door, turning his head to them, "this all hinges on your mare keeping the Queen distracted. Otherwise everyone involved will die."

She nods back in understanding, "You can count on her."

"I hope," Jack-o remarks as he disappears into the doorway.

"This way, please," a stallion said from behind them, holding open another door for them.

They were led back outside and given a radio.

"Jack-o will be in touch," was all the stallion said before he returned into the building.

Once they were alone, Jero turned to Calypso and asked, "So who exactly are these guys?"

Calypso just grins as she starts walking down the street, "Resistance, the 'bad guys' of this world."

This confused Jero as he followed, "If they were the bad guys and you guys were cops, then why didn't you arrest them or turn them in before?"

"It's complicated," she replied. "We worked with them once upon a time to bring in actually bad Bronies, but the OEA shifted things from being about stopping bad guys and keeping ponies safe, to just repressing Bronies in general. They've been putting in a lot of effort to paint all Bronies as the villains, and it's working."

Dribble sighed, "Working so well, that even a few of us started to believe it."

Calypso patted his shoulder as they walked, "We're correcting all that now. We can't fix the past, but we can fix the future."

"Last stop," Scamp said aloud as the pair entered a different kind of shop, this one filled with weird devices and scrolls.

The shopkeeper, an old Unicorn, walked out from the back, doing a double take when they saw the pair.

"Scamp?!" They yelped as they turned and started hobbling out of the room.

"Stop, I'm not here as a cop," she said calmly, but annoyance was clear in her voice. This interaction seemed to be normal for her around here.

"Heard that before," the old mare snapped, head peeking out of the door.

Scamp stepped up to the counter and dropped her bag on the floor, "I need some of your wares."

"All we got are the legal kind, lil' copper!" the mare insisted angrily.

"Yeah, well I need the questionable kind," Scamp sighed, reaching into her saddlebags and pulling out her last item for trade; a metal looking card with gold trim.

"Is that..." the mare said in awe, coming out of the back and approaching them.

"A government card with unrestricted access to the city's funds? Yep, it's good for one withdrawal of any size before it gets shut off." The mare seemed to hang on every word, eying the card with hungry eyes.

"I guess we can do business, Scamp," the mare said with a wide smile, putting on a polite act.

Scamp only nodded, glancing at Greg, who looked confused but invested in the situation. "I need contraband, the kind brought from other dimensions."

The mare's eye twitched at this, but she continued to smile, "Oh, those kinds of wares! Sure, we've got it." She did an one eighty and walked for the door leading into the back of the shop, waving for them to follow.

Scamp lifted her bag and grabbed the card with her wings, and the pair followed the old mare.

"What's that card exactly?" Greg asked curiously.

"It's supposed to just be used in emergencies, so that members of the SWAT team can keep functioning no matter what. But it'll be shut down the moment its used, just as intended. So it's value is basically limitless."

Once in the back they were led to a second door and then down into a basement, then another door, and finally a door that opened to a huge room. It was obvious they'd just entered a pocket dimension of some kind, as the room stretched too far to be a part of the building they'd just been in.

"What are you looking for exactly?" The mare asked, stepping next to a computer screen.

Scamp reached into her saddlebags and pulled out an old piece of paper with a drawing on it she'd gotten years ago. Over her years looking into Lance's past and talking with Bronies, she'd found out about a few creations and items that were brought to this dimension from others when some Bronies figured out how to swap dimensions. However, there was only one that interested her. She'd used it once, in a temporary form when she was still in the army.

She opened the paper and turned it towards the old mare, showing the symbol to her.

"You know about that one?" the mare asked in slight surprise.

Scamp only nodded once in response.

"You also know that there's no guarantee you'll actually receive the mark, right?" she warned.

"I'll risk it," Scamp remarked, holding up the card.

"I've sold this item many times over the years, but no one's actually received the mark," she further warned.

"I understand the risk, just bring me the item," Scamp snapped in annoyance.

The mare stared at her before shrugging and walking away to retrieve the item.

"What exactly are you getting?" Greg asked, not recognizing the symbol right away.

Scamp glanced at him and tapped the paper with the symbol on it, "I used to be in the Army before the police, and during the war on the Griffons, I stumbled across a Brony Griffon who had these strange powers that let him teleport and blast wind from his talons. After the battle, a Unicorn in my unit was able to use a spell to let us all mimic using the abilities, for fun. But if I could actually gain these abilities, then I'll have no problem assaulting the palace all on my own." She then muttered under her breath, "It's the only way to do it solo."

The mare returned with a strange rune, the symbol engraved in it, "The Mark of the Outsider." She placed the rune down and pushed it towards Scamp, "This rune will summon the Outsider's attention once you fall asleep, and if he deems you worthy he'll summon you and grant you his mark. If not, then you'll just wake up the next morning as normal. If that happens, I'll only return a fourth of your payment, but in this case," she eyed the card in Scamp's possession, "I can only offer a smaller item of much lesser value as repayment."

Greg's eyes widened as he stared in awe at the item, realizing where it was from. "Bad ass, man."

"Deal," Scamp said as she placed the card down and took the rune, placing it in her bags.

"Good doing business, I'll see you tomorrow when you return the rune," the mare almost mocked as she snatched up the card and held it close.

Without another word, the pair left the basement and returned to the street outside.

"What if it doesn't work?" Greg asked as they began to head down the street towards the meeting spot.

"Then we're screwed and I'll have to figure something else out," Scamp replied, keeping her mood high as they walked.

Greg frowned, but glanced at his saddlebags, where a glass tube was sticking out. He used his magic to push it back in and they continued on.

"We're a go," Calypso said as Greg and Scamp met up with them in the center plaza of the town.

"Same on our end," Scamp replied, patting her bag on her back.

At this, Calypso sighed, "That means we'll be splitting up here soon."

"Yep," Scamp nodded with a small frown. "But we'll all three be together after this is all over."

"No doubt," Dribble said. "It'll just be a quick little operation at a maximum security prison, and then a hop and a scoot to Canterlot to meet up with you two for the final leg of the operation."

"It's so simple when you say it like that," Calypso joked with a roll of her eyes.

Greg walked over and slammed hoofs with Shadow Breeze. "Yo bro, how's the town on your end?"

"Actually really nice!" Shadow Breeze said with a smile. "The Bronies here might be being put through some tough shit, but they're willing to help despite all that."

"Sounds nicer than the ones we've met," Greg chuckled.

"I'm sorry to break this up, but I need to get Greg back to Jack-o's so he can train some Unicorn's on how to cast that spell to release Lance's consciousnesses," Calypso interrupted.

"Oh yeah, let's go then," Greg said with a smile as the pair started walking away.

She looked over her shoulder at Scamp, "We'll meet up tonight before you get on the train for Canterlot."

Scamp nodded in response. She then turned to face Dribble and Shadow Breeze, "Speaking of that train, we should go get those tickets and get ready before we head out."

Night had fallen on New Ripman, and the group had regrouped at the train station on the edge of town.

They were all solemn as Scamp and Greg waited for the train to arrive.

"We're all going to see each other again," Dribble said suddenly, looking extra sad to split up.

"I know," Scamp replied, not wanting to mention that their entire mission hinged on her receiving a marking that almost no one else had been given.

A moment of silence passed before Dribble couldn't stand it anymore and he stepped forward and hugged Scamp. Calypso couldn't help herself as she too joined the hug, all three embracing each other tightly.

"You come back alive," she said tearfully to Scamp.

"Of course," Scamp responded, squeezing the two harder.

Shadow Breeze walked up to Greg and the two stared at each other. Greg holds up his hoof for a shake, "Yeah, uh, you stay alive too, bro."

Shadow Breeze just stared at his hoof before knocking it aside and going in for a hug. "Damn it, Greg, don't do anything stupid out there."

"Jeez, I won't," Greg said, trying to remain tough and not return the hug. But after a moment he relents and hugs Shadow Breeze tightly. "We're going home after this, I promise, brother."

"Thank you," Shadow Breeze said thankfully, breaking their embrace. He looked over to the others who had also just broken their hug, and addressed Scamp, "Please watch out for Greg, we need him back home."

Scamp wiped her face and nodded, "I won't let anything happen to him, don't worry."

'Don't you burn us.'

She ignored her internal thoughts, not wanting to deal with them right now.

Shortly after this, the train pulled into the station, and the pair lifted their baggage and boarded the train. Handing their tickets to the ticket master as they did so.

They found an empty room and opened the door, closing it behind them. They put away their luggage on the floor and seats, and took their seats next to the window.

Outside, their friends waved to them. They returned their waves as the train pulled forward, removing them from their sight.

Once they were moving along, they sat back and looked at each other.

"We're probably not going to survive this, are we?" Greg asked, already knowing the answer.

Scamp sighed and shook her head, "Probably not, that's why I volunteered to do it, I couldn't allow any more of them to die for me."

Greg nodded in understanding, "That's the same reason I came along, I can't let Jero die, he's a much better person than I am."

This brought a sad smile to Scamp's face. "Well look at us, a pair of suicidal buds going to attack one of the most heavily protected places in Equestria with the literal God of this world residing inside."

"Piece of cake, am I right?" Greg smirked, holding out his hoof for her.

Scamp rolled her eyes and slammed her hoof into his. "For sure."

Next Chapter: Animal I have become Estimated time remaining: 39 Hours, 59 Minutes