Pussyfooting no longer

[multaekappae]

The gathered onlookers stared in dumbfounded consternation until the brown earth pony spoke the thought on many pony minds and broke the spell. "Is he really going to keep just arsing around until more of those blighters show up?"

"I just want to go home," Carrot Top moaned.

"Of...of course, Ma'am." Black Ops stammered, trying to regain some momentum. "Right now we need to focus on getting out of the open, so if the two of you would please follow us?" The agent eyed Jack Harness, desperate for any sort of lead at the moment.

"Yeah, get those two to sa–"

"Wait, there was a filly before, wasn't there?" The brown stallion interjected.

The orange maned earth mare nodded, "Of course, how could I forget. What happened to her?"

The three Torchwhoof agents glanced at each other nervously. Silver Lining noted jealously that Captain Harness had already slipped away to retrieve the Inspector.

---

"Ah haha ha..." The gray pegasus cackled, thoroughly enjoying himself. The bug had switched to an almost entirely defensive posture, and reacted to the slightest feint. It was simply too much fun.

Agent 4-13 considered his condition, carapace shattered in no less than three locations, one leg lamed and two more next to useless, 'and yet the bastard still won't finish me off'. Still, the information gathered had proven invaluable, as the overconfident pegasus had revealed so much of his fighting style over the course of dispatching twenty doppelgangers of himself. 'As Sun-Hoof said, the enemy will always teach you how to destroy them, if you are patient and attentive'.




The changeling considered the consolation of knowing that this information had already aided three squadrons facing members of the EIB reinforcing the Royal Guard. Their quick takedown helped demoralize the common soldiers. 'Shame I won't survive to see the completion of the invasion'. The changeling gurgled a chuckle to himself. He was about to decide whether it was worth it to try for a suicide attack–

Jack Harness wiped the ichor off his hooves as well as he could, glaring at the Inspector. "I think you've forgotten that getting the civilians and your friends to safety needs to be our first priority." The blue pegasus snapped. "We need a safe location to regroup, and we need it now. Can you think of any place that might serve?"