The Life and Missions of a Winning Agent

by Web of Hope

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Luna, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Adventure
Length: 9315

Star Kicker may have put all of Equestria in danger, and now she’s been given an opportunity to set things right.

Cloud Kicker has fought her mother's killer to the death and ensured her family's honor was intact, but her cousin Star Kicker's role in the fiasco was far less noble: Her family-oriented idealism has left Equestria facing an unidentified threat with few avenues for answers. Now, she’ll have to team up with a few unlikely characters and be guided by a ruler trapped under a mountain of suspicion to find exactly who, or what, is threatening to invade her homeland.

This is my contribution to Chengar Qordath's Winningverse.

Huge thanks to Chengar for helping me wrangle this into something relatively cohesive (and for reining in my crazy nonsense), and many more thanks to both he and Comma-Kazie for creating such an in-depth and vibrant continuity.

Endless thanks as well to my editors and prereaders, without whom nothing in this story would be what it is:
Dusk Watch
Mrjerrio
Eakin
Jaketheginger
Luminary
Rodinga
621Chopsuey

Published 2013-05-29 16:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-03-29 05:10:27 UTC

Ch. 1: The Pony Whose hindsight is 20/20

“Cadet Star Kicker.”

“Sir!” I responded before even finishing my about-face to acknowledge who had called me, not that I’d needed to guess. I came face to face with the Sergeant-Instructor who’d been my supervisor for the last several months.

I was still in my final year at West Hoof Military Academy, but since my specialization followed my talents in tracking and gem enchantment, I'd been put forward to do my last semester out in the field.

Sgt. Coltson was a quiet, stocky earth pony with an even temper and an unfazable no-nonsense attitude. How he hadn’t been assigned to Intelligence for his poker face alone, I might never know.

“At ease. The Captain has requested our presence immediately after lunch.” As usual, his pleasantly bland expression and neutral tone told me absolutely nothing of his thoughts on the matter.

That could be bad, considering that I’d as much as outed myself for having intentionally let my cousin, Cloud Kicker, slip through my hooves when we’d crossed paths: I’d given her one of my panic gems, which sent a mental ‘ping’ to me when smashed. The Sergeant had given me a funny look when I’d told him – after having apprehended Cloud’s decoy of a fillyfriend who’d been given both of my tracking gems, mind – that I knew where Cloud Kicker was, and I knew that she’d needed help. But nopony had said a word about it since, and considering that the camp had been turned on its ear with new orders and transfers falling on the unprepared Captain, I had sort of been hoping that my gaffe had fallen off the radar.

Still, if she was giving us time to finish lunch – discounting the fact that we had both just left the mess tent - then it couldn’t have been too urgent. At least, that’s what I hoped.

In either case, our instructions translated to ‘go now’, so without further adieu we went. The short walk to the Command Tent passed between us in silence, so I let my mind wander a bit as we walked.

Some camp officers organize their camps so that the higher your rank, the closer your tent is to the mess hall, but Major Nimbus Gust - my aunt by marriage - always made sure it worked the other way around. It was never a huge difference, since of the twenty-something Companies in the Equestrian Guard, Mach Wing was one of the smallest, but it sent a message: Major Gust always takes care of her ponies. It was one more reminder of...recent events.

About a week ago, Aunt Nimbus went missing. Cloud Kicker - my cousin - went after her, though I don't know what she had actually been planning. I'd gone to intercept her; an easy feat since my mom had planted a few of my specialty tracking gems on Cloudy's armor when she'd visited to give Cloud the news. Long story short, Cloud and her friends had talked me into giving them an out so she could confront Aunt Nimbus. I still didn't know what had happened after that; being a Cadet generally means that when something is actually going down, you don't get to be on the need-to-know list.

Three days later and I still didn’t know what had happened beyond that Cloud had returned with a nasty leg wound that couldn’t have come from anything I've ever seen. In fact, the only thing I did know was that Aunt Nimbus was dead. The 'how' was being kept as hush-hush as possible, so neither I nor my sister knew any details.

Since then, ponies from Mach Wing Company have been going on bereavement leave in droves. More than a third of Mach Wing’s eighty members, including our detachment platoon from the Long Patrol, was absent. Ponies had been coming and going every day as some returned and more left to see their families.

It struck me as odd, really. Yes, the Major had been one of the most well-respected officers in the Guard and most ponies who had served under her considered the company to be like a second family, but the way everypony seemed to be arbitrarily given leave, even for only a day or two, just seemed out of place. More like they were preparing for a long-term departure.

Needless to say, the last few days have been hectic and full of worry. The fact that so many ponies were missing from camp didn’t help, either; the whole place was starting to feel like a ghost town, and fewer ponies meant fewer distractions during downtime.

We arrived at the Command Tent in fairly short order. It was generally used as both the Commanding Officer’s sleeping quarters, sectioned off in the back of the tent, and the main strategic meeting room. In the last few days only the front section had been used; nopony had been sent in to replace the Major, so her quarters went untouched. The only significant change to the Command Tent was that it now had a two pony guard posted to it at all times. Both were currently standing by the entrance in full armor, including the company’s color enchantment, Aunt Nimbus’ tan coat and brown mane.

The Guard in Canterlot isn’t the only outfit with color-change enchantments on their armor; the Solar and Lunar Guard - Princess Celestia’s and Luna’s personal guard squads - each have their own colors, and occasionally certain well-decorated units will opt to take their Commanding Officer’s colors while on duty. Once a new CO was chosen for Mach Wing, the company would vote whether to adopt the new CO’s colors, drop the enchantments entirely, or to keep Aunt Nimbus’ colors in the her memory. Until then, though, the enchantments stayed.

The guards greeted us as we approached, asking me to enter, but for Coltson to remain outside for a few minutes. As ordered, I stepped into the tent.

Inside, Captain Calm Rush sat behind a desk near the far end of the tent, filling out some paperwork. The Captain was a prime example of her ancestry; heavy-set and solidly muscled from years of wearing her clan’s full plate and leading lance charges. Clan Charger may have been officially disbanded almost nine centuries ago, along with the other major clans who led the rebellion, but many ponies had opted to keep tactics of their heritage afterwards. The Doo family was a perfect example.

She was currently unarmored, her burnt-orange coat somewhat faded from its usual crisp luster, and her turquoise mane lay in a way that suggested multiple sleepless nights and even more days full of little beyond undue stress and tension.

Between the desk and the entrance was a large table covered in maps, taking up most of the available floor space.

“You wanted to see me, Ma’am?” I made my presence known with a quick salute. Time to get down to business.

“Yes. Please come have a seat, Cadet,” She responded without looking up from the papers on her desk.

As I made my way around the table, I noticed another pony seated in front of the desk, her black mane’s single white streak giving her identity away. Lieutenant Storm Kicker, my loveable and frustrating sister, was the cobalt-blue pegasus in charge of Mach Wing’s Delta Platoon, our dispatch from the Long Patrol. She’s fairly well decorated for her age and rank with several monsters’ heads under her belt, including a rusalka that we’d taken down together a few years back.

Storm turned around to give me a confident half-smile in greeting, and as she did, I noticed a tension her demeanor that I hadn’t realized was there. As soon as she recognised me, all that tension evaporated, leaving just cocky old Stormy, but it left me wondering what had her so spooked. Resolving to figure that mess out later, I took a seat next to her.

After a few moments of silence, save the scratching of pen on paper, Captain Rush set her pen down and looked up at us. “My apologies for keeping you waiting, ladies; the past few days have been rough going. Star, you and I have much to discuss, so I’ll be brief with this first part. Your request for leave has been pushed through. By Princess Luna herself, no less.” She slid two packets containing our orders across the desk to us before turning to my sister. “Storm, I know that you wanted to stay in camp until Star’s request had been approved, so I’d suggest you start packing. You’ll both be leaving at twenty-one-hundred tonight. You’re dismissed, Lieutenant.” Storm murmured her thanks and gave my shoulder a supportive bump before making her way out of the tent with her packet of papers under one wing.

Once Storm had left, Coltson entered. “Good afternoon, Captain.” He saluted and took the seat where Storm had been.

“Sergeant.” She acknowledged him with a nod before continuing.

“Again, I have to apologise to both of you for not dealing with this issue earlier. I would, however, advise you to not mistake the delay as a lessening in the severity of the issue at hoof.” Now she was watching me like a hawk, with an intensity that would have a lesser mare squirming in their seat.

Okay, maybe I squirmed a little.

“Before I make any decisions, Cadet, I want you to give an account for exactly what happened when you let your target slip through your hooves, despite the fact that your mission was to bring her back to camp uninjured. And keep in mind: any untruths would be very unwise right now.”

I was starting to feel like my stomach was dropping through the floor. I hadn’t planned to lie in the first place, but at that point what else could I do? I gave her the whole story, starting with receiving my orders - through the Captain herself - from Lieutenant Commander Tornado Kicker to find and apprehend one Cloud Kicker, his daughter, should she make an attempt to, and I quote, ‘do something reckless about her mother’s disappearance’. I made certain to leave nothing out, not even the several-days-old raisin muffin Cloudy had given me.

Once I’d finished recounting up to the point where Sergeant Coltson had left camp with his team and headed toward the coordinates I’d given him, the Captain stared at me for a few moments longer. She then inhaled deeply, pressing a hoof to her temple for a moment before letting out the breath she’d held and continuing her two-eyed assault on my nerves.

“Cadet Star Kicker, can you give me any further justification for both ignoring a direct order from a superior officer, and then lying to your direct supervisor?”

I took a steadying breath before responding. “No, Ma’am.” I’d done it solely because I trusted Cloud’s judgement when she’d said it was important. That kind of response wasn’t likely to fly in here, though.

“I thought not.” she deadpanned. “Cadet, do you have any idea how badly you’ve screwed up?”

“I━” I was cut off when the Captain slammed her hoof on the desk, abruptly rising to her hooves and kicking her cushion away from the desk in the process.

“Not only did you ignore orders and then lie about it, but you also allowed a pair of civilians to confront and kill an agent from an as yet unidentified foreign power.” Captain Rush started pacing back and forth. She clearly wasn’t used to dealing with these kinds of issues, and the stress of the last few days was only making matters worse. “If you had followed your orders, we could have quite easily captured said agent, and they would currently be in custody.”

She stopped pacing and spun to face us again, pointing a hoof directly at my face. “Your feather-headed stunt not only put your cousin and one of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony in mortal danger, but you’ve jeopardized the security of all of Equestria!” By this point, Calm Rush was anything but calm. Her breathing was ragged, her eyes blazed, and half the camp could probably hear her.

Sergeant Coltson cleared his throat discreetly, fixing the Captain with an emotionless gaze.

The effect of his silent rebuke was immediate. The mare across the desk halted her ranting, probably the habitual byproduct of her days as the head of a parade ground, and tersely stalked over to the table in the middle of the room. The Sergeant and I followed her, turning in our seats as she went. She stopped, staring blankly at the maps on the table, deep in thought and clearly reining in her temper. I had the sense to keep my mouth shut, but all the while I couldn’t help but balk at the information being thrown at me.

After a long moment, the Captain turned back to us. “Sergeant, sending your student out into the field alone was your idea. Do you have anything to add?”

Coltson tossed an unreadable glance my way before shaking his head. “I have no further justification for my Cadet’s actions, but I stand by my decision. There was no better way to test her abilities than to simply get her hooves wet.”

Captain Rush nodded, more in thought than agreement, and resumed her introspection of the maps in the table.

All three of us were silent for a few minutes, until Captain Rush finally passed judgement. “Phil, I want you to finalize your report on Star’s progress.”

I felt like the floor had dropped out from under me. Finalizing my report could only mean one thing: the Captain was ending my field study. Fortunately for my sorry hide, my training held and I didn’t start making a scene like a pissed off teenager. Growing up in the Kicker Clan helped with keeping one’s composure. Still, it took me a moment to realize that the Captain was still talking.

“Star Kicker, you will not be returning to the field with your sister after the Major’s funeral. This entire incident, or at least as much as I’m able to share, is going in your service record, along with my personal recommendation against your continued military service. Were it in my power, I would also ensure that you were unable to graduate at the end of this spring. As it is, I’ll leave it to Sergeant Coltson to determine how this incident affects your academic career. That is all. Dismissed.”

Leaving the Command Tent, the folder with my leave orders following me obediently, I couldn’t help but feel out of place in the camp. Rough olive canvas ranging from small personal tents to massive barracks, squads trotting in formation on afternoon drill, ponies going this way and that on various errands...it all felt completely alien now, when not twenty minutes ago it had all felt so familiar.

I suppose I should more accurately say that I felt like an alien, like I didn’t belong. I guess I never really did to start with, but Coltson’s squad had been so relaxed about having a cadet on the team, it never really became an issue. Maybe it was just really sinking in that I now had approximately zero chance at any future in the Guard. If the Captain had been right about how serious things were, then that’s exactly where I stood: effectively barred from service.

Walking through camp, I headed back to Bravo Platoon’s barracks tent and my bunk therein. I had trouble focusing my thoughts on anything specific and simply considered what I was going to do now. Go to Aunt Gust’s funeral, obviously, but after that? Maybe I could set up a cornerside joke shop. Certainly many of the gems I could make had pranking potential; Storm and I had plenty of experimental data to prove that. Those memories made me chuckle: Mom still didn’t trust me around rubber bands or playing cards.

Sweet Celestia! What would my parents say when I told them? What could I tell them? ‘Oops, I let Cloud get away and ruined any chance at a career in the family business’ didn’t quite cover it. I could have easily been angry at Cloud, but if I was really being honest with myself, I knew it wouldn’t have been fair. She hadn’t been in a solid state of mind, and I’d just let her go like a kid blindly trusting their older, cooler sibling.

Stupid.

When I got to the barracks, Storm had already finished packing and made her way over from Delta Platoon’s tent. Of course, she’d been mostly packed for two days, and didn’t need to pack everything, just the essentials for a few days off duty. I, on the other hoof, would be packing all my belongings and effects, including my school books and enchantment supplies. Thank Luna we would be taking a carriage home. Literally, since it turned out that she’d arranged the carriage in the first place.

My sister looked up and smiled when she saw me. It wasn’t a grin, or a smirk, just a smile, like she was relieved to see me still alive. She’d been really subdued over the last week, very unlike her usual confident self. Any time we were separated she’d start getting antsy, and when she finally caught sight of me her whole demeanor would just sort of...unwind. I guess it made sense that she’d started doing that shortly after Aunt Gust had disappeared, since it got ten times worse once word had spread that the Major had been found dead. I was feeling the loss too, don’t get me wrong, but I’d never been all that close to our aunt. Storm, on the other hand, had kind of idolized her.

“Equestria to Star, hello?” I blinked and took a step back when Storm’s face was suddenly inches away from mine. Judging by her tone, she’d probably said ‘Hi’ twice already. The fact that I was also standing by my bunk - instead of by the entrance - lent some credence to the idea that I’d stopped paying attention to the world around me for a few seconds. Mom might call it ‘A.D.D.’, but mostly it was just a nuisance.

“There you are. You walked in and just zoned out on me.” She reached out and tapped me on the forehead. Just because we’d grown up together, that didn’t mean she didn’t get impatient with my flighty attention span.

“Sorry, guess I spaced out there for a sec.”

“Hard, filly. You spaced out hard.” There was the smirk that had been missing. Then she gave me a concerned look. “What’s eating you, sis?”

I turned away, briefly considering blowing her off, giving her the usual ‘oh, nothing’ crap, but then I remembered just how deep the mess I was in had become; I honestly needed my big sister right now.

“I messed up, Stormy. Bad.”

Storm turned me back with a hoof on my shoulder. “How bad? Like, ‘sneaking extra rations’, or...?” She let the question hang unfinished, prompting me for more.

I took a deep breath to gather my thoughts, leaning forward to rest my forehead against hers. I closed my eyes, though whether it was to filter out any distractions or simply to avoid seeing Storm’s reaction, I wasn’t sure. Out of habit, she pushed back to support me, and put her wings around my shoulders in a gentle hug. In spite of her history and position in one of the most rough-and-tumble divisions in the Guard, Stormy’s a total softy. Tea and biscuits, theatre, all that. Really, you’d think she was a proper noble lady.

Who hunted and killed monsters for a living. Yeah...

In a rare moment of forethought, I put up a small privacy shield around us. “You know how Cloud got away from me a few days back?”

She made a motion like she was going to nod, but apparently thought better of it. It was appreciated, considering that our heads were still connected. ”Yes, why?”

“I━” I hesitated. I could feel Storm tensing up more and more every second I delayed. This was harder than I’d planned. “I let her walk. And gave the tracers to her friend.”

Storm jumped like she’d been hit. She pulled back and held me at foreleg’s length, her hooves on my shoulders. I pressed on, eyes open and practically begging her to take my side, before she could interrupt me. I needed to get this out before the tirade started. “She told me it was important! That she needed to be the one who found Aunt Nimbus. She wouldn’t tell me what was up, but she was convinced that it was something that needed to stay quiet. I couldn’t just━”

“So you just let her walk, tried to cover it up, and lied about it? What were you thinking, Star?”

“I━” I did make a token attempt at a reply, but I knew there was no stopping her now.

“Do you even realize what this could mean? You haven’t even graduated yet, you idiot! What happens if they decide that you aren’t fit to graduate? Because I can guarantee the Captain will decide that you aren’t fit to serve. Luna’s flank, does the Captain even know?!” I nodded. “Buck, Star, I can’t even think of the last time anypony in the family’s messed up this badly. I mean, I understand backing Cloud, I’d give a wing for her, too, but there is a line between ‘loyal’ and ‘stupid’. Is that what that meeting back there was about?”

I gave her a second to see if she would continue without me, but it seemed like she was aiming to turn this back into a conversation, instead of a lecture. “Yeah, Coltson and the Captain wanted my side of the story before they passed judgement.”

“How much did you tell them?” The look she gave me then was kind of intense, like she was willing me to have said the right thing. What she thought the right thing was, I wasn’t sure.

“Everything, Storm, I’m not stupid. They already knew I’d lied, they just wanted details. Probably to get as much information about this whole ‘national security’ issue as possible.”

She was back to giving me the concerned-big-sister stare now. “So what was the verdict?”

I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could manage, trying to play it down. I probably failed miserably, but It’s the thought that counts, right? Then again, maybe that was the sentiment that got me into this mess in the first place. “I’m being sent back to West Hoof, technically, and the Captain is filling out the initial statement in my service record with the most scathing report she can without divulging state secrets.”

Stormy shook her head and hopped up to sit on my bunk. “Well, at least they didn’t give you an all-out court martial. Still, Mom and Dad are going to kill you.”

I chuckled humorlessly and climbed onto the bed to join her. “Dad? Yes. But I’ll bet you ten bits that Mom already knows I screwed up somehow.”

“Hah! I’m not taking that bet! You and I both know that no matter how much she denies it, that mare is psychic.”

“Yeah...” I couldn’t help but imagine the look of disappointment Mom would give me.

“Hey,” She reached out and smacked my shoulder. “No moping. We’ll figure something out, okay? I’ve got the whole week off; we’ll tackle Mom and Dad when you’re ready.”

“Okay. Thanks, Stormy.” I gave her a smile that was probably even more pathetic than it felt.

“No worries, that’s what big sisters are for, right?” She rolled off the bed and looked around at my allotted bunk-side area. “Need any help packing?”

My smile felt a bit more genuine now. “Nah, I’ll be good. Besides, You always mess up the way I have my gems.”

She started laughing as she walked away. “Well, it’s not really my fault that you organize them by ‘arcane value’ or whatever, is it? I’m going to go get some food, didn’t get lunch yet. See you at dinner?”

“Yeah, see you then...”

And thus I began the intensive task of packing. To leave the military. Forever.

Buck me...

After dinner - where there had been several stoically non-tearful goodbyes between me and a few of my recent squadmates - Sergeant Coltson pulled me aside to let me know that despite recent events, he would back me up if I ever needed it. It was nice to know that there were no lasting hard feelings, seeing as Sarge was directly responsible for my grades.

Okay, that’s not the only reason; I liked him. He was easy to work with, spoke plainly and clearly, and was a good teacher. I was going to miss working with him. Plus, he’d given me a few intriguing ideas for my next gem project once I finished the final project for my Advanced Tactical Applications of Magic class. That was gonna be a blast, once I got it working...

Excitement over upcoming breakthroughs in geomancy aside, Storm and I said our goodbyes and packed the carriage once it arrived. As soon as we boarded the vehicle, I made sure to claim dibs on the first shower when we got home, and Storm mock-grudgingly acquiesced, laughing.

The ride home would be a few hours, so my sister and I agreed that we should sleep while we could; the funeral was supposed to start a few hours before dawn, as per Cult of Shadow tradition, so it was going to end up being a long night. As any soldier can attest, sleep is golden.

We were woken by the shaky rumbling of the carriage landing in front of our house, situated in the ‘scenic’ Kicker clanhold, shortly before midnight. After we exited and got all our stuff unloaded, assisted by the guards pulling our transport, we thanked the helpful stallions and made our way into the house with our luggage.

Unsurprisingly, the house was empty; Mom and Dad were, I knew, thanks to my talent with tracking gems and a necklace I’d given Mom a few years ago, at Uncle Tor’s, most likely staying the night. That’s Tornado Kicker, Aunt Gust’s...widower.

Wow. It kinda hadn’t hit me until right then how messed up this whole thing was, how badly everyone must be hurting. It was one thing to know that we’d all lost someone close, but it seemed like a whole new world when you looked at just how much some of us had lost.

Storm mumbled something about bed and asked me to wake her once I was done in the shower, then wandered her way to her room with her duffel bag. I heard the muffled thump of her flopping onto her bed and chuckled. Stormy only loses her sense of decorum in two situations: when at work, and when sleepy.

I checked the bathroom to see what I’d need to dig through my trunk for, and noticed that there were fresh bottles of my favorite shampoo already in the shower. My mom really is the best ever.

That thought brought a small wave of guilt with it; here I was gloating about my mom, mere hours before attending the funeral for a mother of two. I guess you never know what matters most till you start thinking ‘What if I lost them?’ Suddenly, I couldn’t wait to get over to Uncle Tor’s and hug Mom for all she was worth.

I got through the shower as quickly as I could, reveling in the marvels of being back in civilization. Well, maybe not that quickly. This was the first private, hot shower I’d had in months, after all. And Goddesses, did it feel good.

After my little stop in heaven, I wandered down the hall, still dripping wet, and landed a kick on Storm’s door as I passed. I heard an “Ack!” and another thump that I assumed was her falling out of bed, and smiled to myself serenely. It was good being the little sister some days. Or nights...whatever.

Across the hall, my room sat mostly untouched since I’d been here last. Thank Celestia, Mom hadn’t tried straightening my room again. It did look like it had been dusted recently, but my gem crafting desk seemed to be in exactly the organized chaos I’d left it in. I stepped in and touched the piece of amber hanging on the wall next to the doorway, feeding the enchanted sap a bit of magic.

To say that my high school attempt at making a drying gem was a success would be an understatement. As it had for the last five years, it dryed me in a sudden blast of hot air that left my mane, tail, and coat standing straight up off of my body.

I’d forgotten to expect it, however, and fell to the floor giggling uncontrollably. I knew that there’d been a reason I hadn’t taken it with me.

As I started getting my fit of hysteria under control, and swearing to myself - for possibly the millionth time - that I was going to tone down the power ratio on that stupid thing, I looked up to see my loving big sister watching me with a look that told me, in no uncertain terms, exactly how crazy she thought I was. This, of course, only renewed my howling laughter, to which my darling sister merely shook her head while making her way to the bathroom. Oh, dear Shadow, I’d needed that laugh.

I didn’t expect Storm’s shower to take too long. I took a moment to fondly remember years long past, when Storm had habitually been a massive bathroom hog.

On second thought, maybe not so fondly...

Once I’d finished rolling on the floor and brushed all the excitement out of my mane and tail, I spent some time getting my baggage sorted instead of taking another nap. My armor was organized onto its stand, school books were piled around my desk, and all my odds and ends were put in their proper places. The ability to do it all with magic made the process fairly short, however, and by the time I’d finished, Storm still wasn’t out of the shower.

I spent the next few minutes getting ready for the funeral, finding a few of my favorite pieces of jewelry. The Kickers in general weren’t that big into ornamentation, but it had originally been Aunt Nimbus’ idea for me to wear at least a bracelet so that I could keep a few defensive gems inconspicuously on hoof, so it seemed like a good way for me to honor her memory. I tried a few ideas, but in the end stuck with a small silver bracelet designed with a dozen facets for whatever gems I felt I’d need. I filled them with tracers, - small gems that I used to keep track of the ponies close to me - which had become a sort of security blanket over the years. I may have also had a few more in my saddlebags, but really, who was counting? I then grabbed a small tri-faceted earring, which I did put a few defensive gems into; it never hurt to be cautious.

I’d spent a number of years on my own, and quite a bit of time in conference with a local jeweler, designing both my gems and my ornaments to have the settings for the gems be easy to undo, should I need to use them in a pinch. The end product actually looked pretty cool, and I’d gotten many compliments for it over the years.

Storm ambled out of the bathroom clean, dry, and almost certainly more alert than she let on, and shuffled her way into her room, shutting the door behind her. A few moments later, she stuck her still-messy head out the door.

“Hey Star, can I borrow your brush? I think I left mine back at camp.”

Right, because you’re going back to camp. “Sure,” I said, tossing the item in question via magic. I wasn’t bitter about it. I really wasn’t, but the momentary reminder did sort of kill the enjoyment of being home. Then I remembered why I was home, rooting through my desk at half past one in the morning instead of back at camp, sleeping, and my mood took another dive. Maybe I’d even have been out on an assignment. Jeez, when I thought of it like that, I’d still be in the field if the whole thing with Aunt Nimbus hadn’t happened.

At that thought, I shook my head to clear it. If I kept that up, I’d work myself into an ulcer. My problems were nopony’s fault by my own.

Storm emerged a few minutes later, and we made our way over to Uncle Tor’s place to wait with the family.

When we got to the house, the place was pretty quiet. What I’d expected, I wasn’t really sure; maybe a pre-reception pow-wow? More ponies, at least.

What Storm and I walked in on was our parents and Uncle Tor sitting around the kitchen table, huddled over a pot of coffee. Cloud was nowhere to be seen, though I wouldn’t have blamed her for being in bed at this hour. I was surprised to see Alula in her dad’s lap and out of bed, until I realised that she was dead asleep. That, at least, helped explain the quiet.

We entered, and the look on Uncle Tor’s face just about shredded my heart right there.

As soon as he heard the door open, his head whipped around to stare at us with a look of desperation that quickly turned to crushed hope, like he’d half expected Aunt Nim to walk in and start grumbling about featherbrained recruits.

Without thinking, without speaking, I did the only thing I could. I ran over and held him.

It didn’t even really amount to a hug; he didn’t have enough life left in him to reciprocate. I held my uncle, second in command of Their Majesties’ Armies, as his composure shattered. He broke down and cried for what must have been the dozenth time that night, if the raggedness of his voice was any indication.

Fortunately for all of us, Alula’s always been a pretty heavy sleeper, so she didn’t so much as stir. Storm tried to take her and give Uncle Tor some space, but as soon as he felt the weight shift, he tightened his grip on his daughter, like she was his only lifeline keeping him from drowning.

For a second, Storm almost looked like she was going to insist. She’s kinda stubborn like that. She quickly gave up on that idea, as Uncle Tor just curled around his daughter in his chair and Alula snuggled in closer, somehow still sleeping.

“Alright,” Storm said, attempting to break the mounting tension and failing miserably. “Nevermind, then.”

Uncle Tor just closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the sleeping filly in his arms.

Instead of fighting it, I did what I’d needed to do all night: I walked over and gave Mom the biggest hug she’s ever had to endure.

I’ve missed you.

I’m sorry.

Please don’t leave me.

I love you, Mom.

I didn’t need to say any of it out loud; the hug said everything. From the way Mom hugged me back, I knew she’d heard every word I didn’t say, and added a few of her own in reply. Seeing her little brother like this must have been killing her; She’d spent her life helping ponies deal with grief, but that didn’t make this any easier on her.

With a final squeeze, I let go and looked over at Dad. Even through my teary eyes, I could see that he’d understood every word we’d left unspoken.

That’s the cool thing about my parents: Mom is the Head Counsellor for the guard in Canterlot, basically the best Psychologist in the city, and Dad is the head of the Cult of Shadow - which isn’t nearly as sketchy as it sounds, although it is exactly as awkward on your school’s career day as one would expect - so they’re both really good at reading ponies. Storm and I inherited some of that, but they’re scary good.

While Storm gave Mom a similar treatment, Dad cocked his head in the direction of the living room.

Come talk.

I followed him to the other room. As soon as he stopped, standing next to the sofa, I hit him with a hug almost intense as the one I’d given Mom. He couldn’t really have expected to get away without one, could he? He returned it gently; Dad’s never been one for displaying affection, but he still gives great hugs when he loosens up enough.

Once I’d had enough, I backed up and started the conversation, hoping that if he didn’t initiate it, he couldn’t steer things in a direction that I wasn’t ready to talk about. Namely, my recent adventures in ‘command restructuring.’

“How have things been?” It might have been a stupid question, but I needed to start somewhere.

“Less than ideal,” Dad said, sounding disgruntled. Burying family was never easy, but I got the feeling that wasn’t what he meant. My confusion must have shown, since in a rare moment of talkativity, Dad explained himself. “One of your friends, that gem hunter from Ponyville, has been insisting on ‘helping’ with the funeral.”

Gem hunter? I mulled that over for a second, before realizing that only one mare could get on my austere father’s nerves this much. Other than Mom, anyway.

“Rarity’s here?” Generally speaking, Rarity considers herself a ‘fashionista’ at her most casual, but since we’d met through her side business selling off the gems she found but wouldn’t use in her designs, it made sense that Dad would identify her by that. It also may have been an underhanded way to get under her skin, in recompense for giving him as much grief as she seemed to have.

Rarity had been recommended to me years ago by a local gemcutter who I’ve been on good terms with pretty much since I knew that I could use gems for my tracking. She sold me her unusable odds and ends at awesome prices, kept her eyes out for any gems that I needed for specific projects, and made a decent amount of extra money off of my constant experiments. I, meanwhile, benefitted from a fairly constant supply of gems of varying quality and had made a good friend whom I visited as often as possible. As an added bonus, it gave me an excuse to visit Cloud, who had moved to Ponyville several years back. I hadn’t been able to visit either of them in months, being out in the field, and my stock of gems was running dangerously low.

It was more than that, of course. Rarity, underneath the prim and sometimes frustratingly prissy facade she puts on, is really a great pony. She’d probably give a limb to a crippled rival, given half a chance. As much as it wasn’t usually my thing, we tended to do business over a session of extreme pampering at the spa down in Ponyville. She had to be their most frequent customer, the way she talked with the owners.

Still, if her ‘help’ was driving my dad this far up the wall, maybe I should talk to her. Although, since the funeral was supposed to be in a few hours, I guessed I was a bit late for that. Once I really thought about it, Rarity ‘helping’ with a Shadovar funeral, what with all the solid black stoicism involved therein, couldn’t have been a pretty sight, despite her best intentions.

Dad nodded, acting rather nonplussed. “Yes, she came up with the rest of Cloud’s friends earlier this week. We provided them accommodations, as is only right, but she’s spent seemingly all her free time heckling me about making your aunt’s funeral ‘suitably beautiful’,” Dad seethed with distaste. “I understand that she has this need to ‘spread fabulosity across the globe’,” Her words, I guarantee. “but that overly decorated harpy had obviously never met Nimbus.” He glowered out the window, probably in the direction of whichever guest house the nuisance in question had been assigned.

I gave my dad a supportive smile; sure, I was excited about seeing Rarity, but I didn’t think that would go over well if they’d been feuding over banner decor all week.

He shook his head, clearing away the negativity. Among family, he tended to relax and let his mane out, figuratively speaking, but being Cult Leader meant that he had to be the strong, neutral face to lead the masses.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. I shouldn’t be unloading all this on you, especially not about your friend. It’s completely unprofessional,” he said with a tiny smirk. I just rolled my eyes and hit him with another hug.

With everything that had been happening lately, this little dose of normalcy was a nice distraction.

The rest of the night leading up to the funeral was a quiet affair. Alula woke up at some point, and once she started getting antsy about sitting still for so long, Storm and I relocated her to the living room for a board game or two. It wasn’t long before Uncle Tor came in to join us for what became possibly the silliest game of Battleclouds I’ve ever seen. For a bit there, he almost seemed back to his old self. I couldn’t tell if the act was for Alula’s benefit, or his own.

Ponies started filtering in a few at a time, plenty of whom I’d never met. It made sense, really: Aunt Nim had been a well respected officer in the guard for a few decades, and plenty of ponies in the Guard, Mach Wing or not, had turned out to give her a good sendoff. There were a few exceptions like Lyra, who I’d known through Cloud for years before they both moved to Ponyville. There was no sign of Rarity yet, but I assumed that if she didn’t join the party before the Funeral, then I could at least run her down at the reception.

Storm and I got Cloud out of bed about an hour before we were supposed to head over. Once she had showered, Dad gave us all a quick run-down of how the service was going to happen. It was nothing out of the ordinary, and most of us present had been through it before - being Equestria’s main military family came with certain hazards, after all - but this just felt more… real, I guess. Most of the time it was some second cousin or aunt twice removed or some pony we’d only met once and we’d gone sort of as the Clan’s ‘Head Family’. This time, though, it felt a bit closer to home. As soon as Dad had finished the Funeral Briefing, he slipped out to go make sure everything was ready at the burial site.

Once the time had come for those gathered to move to the clan graveyard for the funeral itself, ‘those gathered’ was a fairly large crowd. Mom, Storm and I led the procession, with Cloud, ‘Lula, and Uncle Tor following closely. As we went, ponies came over to give their condolences to Aunt Nim’s husband and kids, while the three of us tried to keep them from being overwhelmed. From the corner of my eye I noticed Rarity join the crowd near the back, accompanied by a yellow pegasus mare who I swear must have been the long-lost twin of an earth pony I knew from around the clanhold━nevermind.

When our meandering crowd reached the torchlit graveyard, I noticed Dad and a few of his ponies gathered around the coffin. I also noticed Princesses Celestia and Luna sitting just outside the light, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible.

Remembering Dad’s complaints about Rarity’s attempts to ‘help’, I looked a bit closer at the decorations. They were definitely more cared-for than I was used to: most of the flags and banners looked brand new, and the foliage around the graveyard seemed, to anypony who really looked at it, almost artistically arranged. Overall, though, it still carried the Cult of Shadow somber stoicism, just with a bit more polish. I wasn’t sure if anypony else appreciated the work that Rarity had put into this funeral, especially with having to work through Dad to do it, but...knowing that somepony had gone to those lengths for us, despite not even knowing Aunt Nim, nearly brought me to tears. I decided I’d need to do something seriously big to thank her for this.

Everypony took their seats while Aunt Nim’s family stepped up to the coffin. Storm sat next to me in the front row, with Mom on her other side, while I left a spot for Dad.

Cloud pulled Alula aside to give their dad a moment alone. I didn’t have the heart to just sit there and watch, so my attention wandered a bit. I noticed what looked like a pink poof of a mane over behind…Great Uncle Thunderdrop’s grave, I think. I didn’t pay it much attention. Sure, it was kind of an odd time to visit somepony’s grave, being around four in the morning, but he’d had a history of attracting odd ponies.

That’s when I locked eyes with Princess Luna.

Some ponies say that to stare into the eyes of one of the Princesses is to stare into eternity. Others say that feeling the weight of Celestia’s gaze is so awe-inspiring that the experience has left smaller-minded beings in tears. Still others have said that Luna’s attentions were a gateway to the infinite expanses of equine imagination.

Some ponies talk too damn much.

I’ll admit, staring into the contemplating eyes of one of the immortal diarchs of our great nation – to say nothing for the fact that until just under two years ago, she was one of the top three greatest evils in pony mythology – was rather intimidating. That said, all I could think of was Shadow Kicker’s memoirs, and how very non-deific Celestia really was. So if Celestia was just another pony, wouldn’t the same be true for Luna as well?

I was knocked out of the mesmerizing stare by Storm latching onto my foreleg. I looked up to see Alula standing on the lip of the coffin, with Cloud holding her up. After a few tense seconds of staring into the coffin, the filly did something that defined my memory of her for the rest of my life. She straightened up, the perfect image of a tiny Guardspony, and saluted.

Storm buried her muzzle in my shoulder and cried. Mom leaned in to add her support, probably also crying. Through my own tears, I almost couldn’t see Dad standing off to the side of the casket, but our eyes met, and I knew he was there for us, too.

It didn’t occur to me until later, on our way out of the graveyard, that Princess Luna had been watching me already when I’d looked her way.

I finally caught up with Rarity at the reception, which was held in one of the numerous extra ballrooms in the castle. I still hadn’t had any ideas on how to repay her for not only helping with the funeral, but apparently also organising the reception itself, so we made plans to get together later in the afternoon, once everypony had had a chance to rest from the long night. She introduced me to the main reason she was here: the yellow pegasus I’d seen earlier, whose name was Fluttershy. She lived up to her name, only barely managing to hold a brief conversation from behind her mane.

We made our goodbyes when Rainbow Dash, an old friend of the family, flew through, hoof-bumped me, and stole Fluttershy away for something. I went hunting for Lyra, who found me first. She came over with another unicorn from Ponyville. Sparkler was purple from head to hoof, and had a pretty snappy wit. In an interesting twist, Sparkler was the adopted daughter of Ditzy Doo, a long-time friend of Cloud’s. She was also kinda cute, but now was definitely not the time to pursue that line of thought.

We were having a pretty cool chat when my morning got Weird. Yes, like capital ‘W’ weird.

Star Kicker, Please don’t panic. I need you to follow a few instructions.

I couldn’t help it; I jumped a bit. Honestly, I never imagined that ‘hearing voices’ would be quite that literal. I felt, more than heard, the ‘voice’ coming from slightly behind me.

I turned to see Princess Luna staring at me again. Guess that explained the voice, and wasn’t I relieved to know I wasn’t going crazy?

Not really. I was still getting telepathic instructions from the Princess of the Night.

Parting from the group with a slightly distracted “One sec.”, I made my way over to the Princess, who wanted me to hold on to ‘Lula for a bit while she had a talk with Cloud and Uncle Tor. My uncle wasn’t really on board with the program, and it took him a few seconds before he was willing to let me take the nearly unconscious filly. As I did, however, she sparked back to life and started winding herself up to a full panic. Fortunately, Luna caught her with a simple sleep spell before the tyke was able to build up any steam.

I tried to make my way back to Lyra and Sparkler, but I didn’t get very far before Fluttershy swooped in with a unicorn filly I didn’t recognize. The pair proceeded to snuggle Alula to the point where if she’d been awake, or able to wake up, she might have started trying to fight back.

Lucky for me, my unforgotten party saw the predicament I was in and came over to save me.

“Dinky, let go of ‘Lula.” Sparkler got a few sleepy-sounding grumbles in return for her efforts. “I know she needs Get-better hugs, but she’s asleep, Squirt.” That got another grumble, this time slightly assenting, as Dinky allowed Sparkler to pull the filly onto her back ─ and thankfully, off of mine.

That only left one unwanted limpet. I turned to the mare who was trying to smother my cousin with her soft pink mane. “Um...Fluttershy, right?” She looked up at me and nodded. “Right. Think I could get a little personal space?” At this she squeaked ─ really adorably ─ and backed up, before stammering an apology and winging away, probably to locate Rarity.

Sparkler winced slightly. “Yeah, she’s kinda sensitive.” Dinky waved a hoof at me and mumbled something about not being a meany. I made a note to apologize to Fluttershy later, possibly through Rarity.

Sparkler righted Dinky as the filly started to slip off of her back. “And this is my baby sister Dinky, otherwise known as Cuteness Incarnate,” Sparkler introduced her now sleeping rider with the best deadpan I think I’d ever witnessed.

Celestia help me, I think I may have been in love. Stupid Kicker Libido.

“I’ll take your word for it,” I laughed. Things slipped back into a normal conversation after that.

Or they seemed to, at least. I was stuck wondering about the rest of Princess Luna’s ‘instructions’. Eventually, Uncle Tor came to retrieve his youngest, and I excused myself, claiming to be headed for the little fillies’ room.

I hated lying to Lyra and the new girl like that, but one doesn’t simply ignore a royal edict, even a telepathic one.

Per my instructions, I made my way out into the hall, shrouding myself with a Background Pony spell. It wouldn’t make me invisible, or even hide me from somepony who was really paying attention, but any passersby would ignore me as long as I didn’t do anything too conspicuous.

Following the directions I’d been given by Her Royal Secretiveness, I found myself in front of a small door about halfway across the palace grounds from the reception. Opening the door revealed a small, dimly lit meeting room with a table set for eight. At the far end of the table sat a mare dressed in Lunar Guard armor, bat wings and all, staring disinterestedly at some point just left of the door. Her fin-crested helmet sat on the table in front of her, along with a lumpy unmarked envelope.

I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. Her ears perked up as soon as my hoof left the door, and I caught just the hint of a smile, her silver eyes lighting with interest, as she slid the envelope to the seat on her left. It seemed that she couldn’t actually detect my presence, but had figured me out anyway. Clearly, she’d been waiting for me.

Left with few options and far too many questions, I took the unspoken invitation and sat down in front of the envelope, picking it up to inspect it. When that turned up nothing useful, I emptied its contents onto the table. Two small gems tied to strings, both a beautiful dark violet that looked almost black in the low light of the room, fell out along with a folded note. Opening the note revealed a beautifully scrawling script, though perhaps not the clearest message.

To The Spider Who Weaves a Crystal Web,

The crystals enclosed with this missive lead to a very secluded meeting place where thee and I will be more able to speak freely. Place thy hoof over the gems, with their carrier’s hoof between, and activate the enchantments I’ve engraved according to Greyhoof’’s Third Rule. We’ll meet more properly later, once you’re resting; I understand you’ve had a long night.

~"The Lady of Bats

‘We’ll meet once you’re resting’? Doesn’t she mean ‘rested’?

I chalked it up to the thousand years away from social contact, since there was pretty much no possible way that Princess Luna didn’t write this.

Looking up, I realized that the other mare’s bare hoof was already covering the gems in question, her sabatons on the table next to her helmet. As soon as I put my hoof over hers, she looked right at me. I definitely had her attention now.

I opened my mouth to ask her what the hay this was all about, why the cloak and dagger routine, but her evaluating half-smirk turned a sharp frown as she put a hoof to her lips. Once she was sure I’d gotten the message to stay silent, she tapped the note twice, and both the note and its envelope disappeared in a flash of blue fire. No ash, no scorch marks, no trace that they’d ever existed.

Yikes.

The message was clear enough: Get on with the show, kid, we’re not here to play hoofsie.

I focused my magic through my horn, through both hooves and into the gems on the table. A muted tingle told me it had worked, and I drew my hoof away. The mare in front of me did the same, taking one of the gems and tying the string around her neck. Still at a loss for what was really going on, I followed suit. Once I was done and the gem was secure, she made a quick shooing motion with her hooves, urging me out the door and presumably back to the reception.

So back to the reception I went.