Strings of Fate: Core Series

Chapters

Strings of Fate: Origins (α)
Strings of Fate: Mercury Team (β)
Strings of Fate: Vie's Story (γ)
Strings of Fate: Exodus (δ)
Strings of Fate: Gathering Storm (ε)
Strings of Fate: Heart of the Maelstrom (ζ)
Strings of Fate: Reconciliatios (θ)
Strings of Fate: Rainbow's Raiders, the Sentinels, and the Vespers (η)

Strings of Fate: Origins (α)

It was a cool summer’s night. He had been through many of them, walking. No apparent purpose or visible destination, just walking. His hooves were now dragging on the ground from starvation weakening him. He could barely remember the last time he had had a real meal. Now that he thought more deeply on it, he realized he could barely remember anything at all. He could remember his name, though: Vance. It wasn’t much of a start, but at least it was something. He was certainly an uncommon sight to behold. A small jet black pegasus just walking. No flying or other means of transport, just his four hooves meeting the dirt day in and day out. He can’t remember if he had ever even been on a cloud, not that he even knew he could stand on them. For all his conscious life, it was just walking. His entire past was a blank slate. As he walked, he shook from the chill the wind brought with it. His normally snow white mane had been sullied with all manners of filth since whenever he had begun his journey, and it was now clumped into greasy globs of brownish-gray. His dull golden irises were a perfect reflection of his physical state. His stomach rumbled, a reminder of how long he had been without food. He stopped for a moment on his path which was following the borders of some unknown forest. He glanced up and saw the image of the Mare in the Moon plastered onto the face of the night. He momentarily wondered what relevance it had to this world, then shrugged the thought off and continued on his way. After another several hours of aimless wandering, the crippling weakness of hunger and cold finally overtook him and he collapsed into the dirt. As his vision slowly blurred out, he saw a small white blob curiously approaching him.

Strings of Fate: Origins

As he came to, he immediately noticed his surroundings had changed. Instead of the pitiless embrace of the night, he lay on a sofa, enveloped in a soft blanket. His filthy status had been reversed and his coat shined and smelled faintly of… something that appeased Vance’s stale nostrils. Day had made its presence known as he cleared his eyes. Suddenly, another pony was coming out of what from Vance’s guess would be a… well if Vance ever had an education, he would certainly have an intelligible answer.

“I’ll bet you’re starving. Well when you wake up this breakfa-” the pony was saying, before noticing Vance had awoken.

In surprise, she had dropped the tray of whatever she had prepared for Vance and backed up a bit into a sitting position. Several moments passed by as the two just stared at each other, one at a loss for words, the other at a deprivation of speaking ability. Finally, the stranger made the first move.

“I… I’m Fl… Fluttershy.” she stammered.

Vance was incapable of audible speech. Another few moments passed by.

“So, um… what’s your name?” she asked timidly.

Silence.

“That is, if, um… you don’t mind telling me, o… of course…” she quickly rephrased.

Not getting an answer, this “Fluttershy” crept backwards into the room she had just been in, and crafted a new breakfast for this strange mute pegasus that had collapsed a short ways down the road to her cottage. Vance ate slowly, half-listening to the yellow pegasus’ attempt at casual conversation. Once he was done, Fluttershy stared at him in a mix of intrigue and worry.

“Can’t you speak?” she inquired.

Vance pointed at his agape mouth, stuck out his tongue, and shook his head ‘no’. Over the next several hours, Fluttershy tried various methods of communication. Writing, body gestures, even a bit of Prench. None were successful. She thought on it over the night and decided to enlist the help of the town’s newest teacher, a pony named “Cheerilee.” After (awkwardly) asking for her assistance, Vance was finally introduced to a formal education. After several weeks of private sessions, Vance had finally learned things he should have known years ago like verbal communication and writing. Fluttershy tried her best to teach Vance how to fly. Due to his neglect of his wings, they had atrophied beyond repair and would forever remain smaller than average, but soon Vance strengthened them enough to allow him to fly. They could never be powerful, but they soon became very reliable, and Vance could fly longer than the average pegasi, though not as rapidly. Vance was on track to getting a normal life.

A lonely candle lit the room. A small circular wooden table with six chairs occupied it. All was still… Then suddenly the door creaked open, and six cloaked figures crept in, their faces enveloped in shadow and cloth. Each took their seat and their meeting began.

“Agent Hermes has failed to check in.” - Pony 1 (male)

“Has Celestia discovered our plan?” - Pony 2 (female)

“I doubt it. For all her power, she’s never been able to detect our presence, much less our influence on a puppet.” - Pony 3 (male)

“Has Hermes gone rogue?” - Pony 1

“And what incentive would he have to try and leave us? We are too well hidden, so any public accusations will fall on deaf ears. He has nothing to use against us.” - Pony 4 (male)

“Still, this development is worrying. It has been running smoothly for months, yet only now nearing the end of Phase 2 do we encounter problems?” - Pony 2

“What of Eosphorus and Hesperus?” - Pony 5 (female)

“Eosphorus is on schedule. But Hesperus…” - Pony 3

“Hesperus is a complete failure. We did not do enough earlier. Our influence over her is broken, and it is doubtful she even remembers us.” - Pony 1

“We should have realized it would be harder to break a pure descendant of a Protogenoi. Fortunately her assistance was a luxury, not a necessity. Our plans can continue unhindered.” - Pony 6 (male)

“We shall adjourn for now and attempt to locate Hermes. Protogenoi watch over us.” - Pony 1

“Protogenoi watch over us.” - Ponies 2-6

The recent time he had been spending with Fluttershy was the best he had ever known. Granted, it was the ONLY time he had ever known, but still the best nonetheless. He finally had what had been deprived of him for so long: memory, knowledge, and purpose. By this time, both he and Fluttershy had finally physically matured into their adult forms. Vance was still too unsure of himself to go into Ponyville itself, preferring to keep his existence a secret. Cheerilee had long since put Vance in the back of her mind, so only Fluttershy remained wary of the truth of Vance’s existence. It hadn’t occurred to Vance until recently, however, that Fluttershy had had her cutie mark during the entirety of their relationship, while Vance was still lacking his. He knew the requirements to obtain it, but it hadn’t bothered him that he was lacking it until now. As he kept maturing without it, he felt somewhat naked and embarrassed about it, despite Fluttershy being the only pony to ever actually see him in person.

One day not too long after Vance started having concerns about his blank flank, Fluttershy and he was taking a brisk walk in the edges of the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy liked to inform Vance of things that were going on in Ponyville and the seclusion of the Everfree Forest was the perfect setting. They took a route they knew well that didn’t cut too deep into the woods, always within sight of the rolling hills just beyond the border. Vance never paid too much attention to what Fluttershy was saying. Matters of the residents of Ponyville had little effect on the secluded world he had formed. He just enjoyed hearing her timid voice flow freely. He played along, nodding and adding a “Really?” every now and again. Having a pony around that allowed Fluttershy to speak her mind without fear of being overpowered by any other noise really brought out Fluttershy’s smile. Vance couldn’t help but grin himself whenever he saw her happy. They were enjoying the moment so much they failed to see three not-so-friendly looking earth ponies approach them.

“Well, would ya look at diss? Two pegasuses thinkin’ they can just trot troo our part a deese woods widout payin’ da toll, eh?” said the ringleader, a malicious gleam in his eye.

Just then, all other sounds around Vance were drowned out. Fluttershy was trying her best to make herself smaller as the highwaycolts closed in on the two. Vance’s eyes dilated rapidly. These petty thieves were about to threaten the same pegasus who gave him a chance to have a real life. He felt a spark go off inside him. His irises gained a bright, brilliant golden hue and he sprung into a head-on assault. The highwaycolts, unprepared for any actual resistance, froze in place as Vance instinctively beat their flanks senseless. Fluttershy looked on in amazement at the fluidity of Vance’s strikes, like a psychotic ballerina. With the two lesser bandits dissoriented, Vance approached the staggering leader, turned around, and delivered a mighty hind kick straight to the thief’s flank. The sound was audible as the bone had snapped under the ferocity of the blow, leaving a bloodless but nonetheless incredibly painful injury. Still in a fevered rage, Vance raised himself up onto his hind legs, preparing to crush his pathetic foe’s vertebrae, when he looked down onto the broken figure. Vance, realizing that none of them could or would do anything to them at this point, let out a long sigh and stepped back. He immediately called for Fluttershy to go with him in a strange new authoritative voice neither Fluttershy nor Vance had yet witnessed. They left the three pummeled bandits where they lay and returned home.

The entire way home, neither of them spoke a word. Vance’s gait was now one of certain regality to it. His near-perfect militant posture was the direct opposite of Fluttershy, who resumed her usual niche of silent follower, trailing behind him in a crumpled ball of adorable pink. She had difficulty processing what she had just seen. This other pony she saw as her potential equal had displayed a ferocity and bravado so powerful she feared the old Vance had died and this new one had emerged in his place. It was only when Fluttershy noticed Vance’s new cutie mark, a proud white aquila, did she make a remark.

“Vance, your cutie mark!” Fluttershy pointed out in astonishment.

Vance, surprised at the accusation, eagerly checked his flank to behold his new emblem. A joyous smile spread across his face.

“YES! Finally, my own cutie mark!” he declared.

Fluttershy perked up a bit, seeing that militant Vance had not become a permanent replacement. Vance noticed Fluttershy’s relief and tried his best to console her.

“I’m sorry if I scared you back there. I had finally gotten a life, and they were threatening to take it away. I didn’t know what to do until something within me just… woke up!” he tried to explain.

Fluttershy gave a quiet “mhm” as a reply, a hint that Vance hadn’t fully alleviated the fear he had put into her. With a defeated sigh, Vance and Fluttershy made the remainder of the trip in despairing silence, Vance mentally bemoaning himself for having scared the gentle mare dragging herself behind him.

Ever since Vance’s tenacious defense of Fluttershy at the expense of 3 ponies’ well-being, Vance and Fluttershy gradually grew more disconnected with each other. Vance steeled himself in order to try to coax Fluttershy back into resuming their blossoming friendship by assisting her in whatever capacity he could. Fluttershy’s main source of income was through her veterinary expertise, a rare commodity in Equestria. She also needed to house, feed, and tend to large droves of massively varying animals. While Fluttershy could keep up without missing a step, Vance soon exhausted himself in attempting to follow suit. He proved himself a valuable pack mule, carrying the heavier burdens that Fluttershy was far too incapable of doing herself. You’d be surprised how much fish a captive family of seals can go through in a week. Communication between the two was at a cripplingly low amount. Vance’s efforts to rekindle whatever he and Fluttershy had seemed to be failing, and now he felt more like a hired hoof than a guest.

“Alright, enough of this nonsense!” he said one day, fed up with the persistent silence. “I’ve been busting my flank around here trying to make up for what I’ve done and all I’ve gotten is a cold shoulder! If you want me to stick around here, then I would like a bit of recognition for all the burdens I have to put up with!”

Fluttershy was stunned by Vance’s sudden outburst. Vance realized this and quickly attempted to cobble together an apology.

“Wait, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten mad like that, it’s just… We had a good friendship going, and now it feels like it’s withered. Personally, I liked it better when we took walks in the forest and you would talk about stuff, and…” Vance trailed off, trying to comprehend what had prompted him to say what he just said.

“Umm, well… you never, uhh… asked to ever spend time together.” Fluttershy stated the obvious.

Stunned at his own lack of seeing what was so evident, Vance’s face derpified before he shook his head to readjust it. He regained his posture before continuing.

“Oh. Well, in that case, would you like to just hang out sometime, then?” Vance said, unconsciously pawing at the ground.

“Well, um… what did you have in mind?” she asked.

“Uhh… well I was hoping you’d have something in mind.” Vance said, flustered.

Vance never had extended social interaction with anyone aside from Fluttershy. He knew nothing of Equine culture, never needing it up to this point. In their usual recurrence, the two pegasi stood staring at each other silently for a bit. Fluttershy wasn’t much help either, never having such a proposition given to her before. She had seen other ponies dating, but had never been asked by anypony herself. She knew as much of this subject as Vance did. Strangely, this made her more comfortable. For the first time, Vance took the lead on this one.

“Ok, should we… go get some muffins or something? Does that sound good?” Vance asked with baited breath.

Fluttershy started to curl up into a defensive ball of pink, but just when hope seemed lost, Fluttershy burst forth in an uncharacteristic display of self-confidence.

“Sure.” she boldly stated.

Vance managed to keep a straight face, but inside he was overflowing with joy.

“Good.” he blankly responded.

Things had been going great for Vance. He had restored his friendship with Fluttershy and perhaps even added onto it. He could easily occupy himself with caring for Fluttershy’s menagerie. The two of them continued to enjoy going to Ponyville every now and again for socializing. When she was around Vance, Fluttershy could relax and let her hair down (figuratively, of course). Vance took note of this, but knew not what to make of it. Regardless, these were some of the happiest times Vance ever had.

The shrouded six shuffled into the meeting room and began their procession.

“Scouts report Agent Hermes has been located.” - Pony 4

“Excellent. Now how to proceed?” - Pony 1

“Why not just send in a black ops team to wipe the threat?” - Pony 6

“Because that would be a waste of good resources. We’ve poured too much into this to destroy it on a whim.” - Pony 2

“Then send in a team to capture him.” - Pony 6

“He’d still be of no use to us. We need to manipulate him, make him do our bidding without him realizing it.” - Pony 1

“And how would we do that, may I ask?” - Pony 3

“Form a team of commandos for ‘Equestria.’ If Hermes responds like I expect him to, he’ll play right into out hooves. Protogenoi watch over us.” - Pony 1

“Protogenoi watch over us.” - Ponies 2-6

As time went on, Vance began to have an unexplainable urge. Despite his entire life being spent with Fluttershy at her cottage, he felt like he wasn’t belonging. He had kept this issue to himself for as long as he could, but nearing the 1000th Summer Sun Festival, he brought this issue up with Fluttershy to see if she could help.

“So what do you think I should do?” Vance asked her after explaining his predicament.

“I’m not sure.” she replied.

“It’s just… I don’t feel like what I’m doing here is my calling. My cutie mark’s an aquila, a war symbol, yet I’m here, helping you with the animals. Come to think of it, that’s not a very good fit.” Vance said to himself, pondering what line of work would fit with his destiny.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you, but I’m very busy helping the birdies prepare a song for Princess Celestia’s arrival in a couple of months.” Fluttershy said.

The mayor had requested Fluttershy’s aid in assembling a choir of birds to greet Celestia, as Ponyville had been chosen to host this year’s Summer Sun Festival. Most of the town had been relatively lax about it at this point, though that was understandable considering their more than plentiful time frame, and rumor had it an overseer would be sent straight from Canterlot to ensure the preparations were adequate shortly before Princess Celestia would arrive. Vance, unsatisfied with the nonexistent progress he didn’t just make, went outside and stared out towards Canterlot.

“Hmm…” he said, thinking.

An idea was slowly taking shape in his head. Could it be possible? It would be a spur-of-the-moment decision, but if he didn’t resolve his issue soon, it would drive him to utter insanity.

“That’s it!” Vance said to himself.

“What’s it?” Fluttershy asked, poking her head through the door frame.

“I’m going to enlist in the army!” Vance declared proudly.

“Oh! But wait, doesn’t that mean you’ll have to go all the way to Canterlot?” Fluttershy timidly asked, glancing downward.

“Yeah. It does. I’m sorry Fluttershy. As much as I’d like to remain here with you, I can’t deny myself this.”

Without much delay, Vance prepared to leave Ponyville and enlist in the army. He gave himself a few days to allow Fluttershy to smoothly transfer his duties over to some actual hired hooves. Finally, the time came for Vance to leave.

“I promise to write you every week. I’d do it every day, but you know how shoddy the post office is.” Vance said with a nervous chuckle.

Fluttershy couldn’t reply. Watching her guardian leave was a tumultuous event for her to go through. Seeing this, Vance hugged her.

“I’ll visit you every chance I get, okay?” he said.

*sniffle* “O… okay.” she replied.

With his packs filled with his belongings, Vance took one final look back at Fluttershy before spreading his stubby little wings and flying off towards Canterlot.

==========

Bonus points to:

Keystroke: for being my pre-reader

Author’s notes:

Hello, everypony! Dissoriented here with a few post-script items to add:

The 1st in the Strings of Fate series, this story is to set the back story of several characters. My hope is that it does not contradict with established canon as to provide a more interesting reading experience. It’s the first work I’ve ever published to a major audience, so hopefully my work has lived up to all your expectations.

Your new, faceless writer,

Dissoriented

Disclaimer:

“My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” and its derivatives are the intellectual property of Hasbro©. I do not, nor claim to, have the rights to any and all intellectual property this story uses and is partly based on. You hear me? NONE OF IT!!!

Strings of Fate: Mercury Team (β)

It had been a good period of service in the Equestrian military, albeit a short and boring one. Drills all day long with no enemy to fight made for some uninteresting soldiers. For all their training, they weren’t being put to very good use. Vance kept true to his promise, writing Fluttershy every week. Her reply was usually the high point of Vance’s own week. Vance’s squad never made much of an impact on him. They were either hot-headed colts looking for action where there was none, dropouts of little intellectual or cultural value to Equestria, or those who felt a pressing need to serve their country but didn’t have the guile for politics or the creativity for the arts, which Vance most easily related to his own predicament. It was of great relief to Vance when a silver unicorn approached him one day with a tantalizing offer.

“Excuse me, are you Corporal Vance of the 8th Phalanx?” inquired this stranger.

“Yes ma’am!” Vance eagerly replied with a salute.

“I work for a higher echelon of the Equestrian military, and they’ve concluded your skills are wasted in the Army. I’ve been sent to offer you a position of Sergeant in a new squad of commandos being formed. This is a highly classified group and you can never tell anyone outside our branch of its existence. Other than that, you will get a large pay raise and you are free to spend your off-duty time as you see fit, provided you stay in accordance with our rules.” she explained.

This was it! A chance to prove his mettle and really make an impact! Vance pondered this decision for an extremely short time. Accepting this new post meant he could get the freedom to visit Fluttershy whenever he wasn’t on call, but it also meant he would have to keep an entire portion of his life a secret from her. To him, the benefits outweighed the costs.

“I accept your offer!” Vance proudly declared.

“Excellent! Take this briefcase and go to Canterlot on the next train. Enter the coffee shop just off to the right when you leave the train depot. An informant will meet you there at booth #3 to give you further instructions. Do not open your briefcase until you arrive at the safe house.” she said, handing him the briefcase and a train ticket.

Strings of Fate: Mercury Team

Without so much as a good-bye, she turned around and promptly left, disappearing as fast as she had appeared. Vance was a bit befuddled by this, but decided to himself that was normal behavior of a secret military branch. Vance hastily packed his things and left immediately. He followed the directions to the letter and went to booth #3, where a light blue earth pony wait sitting. When he sat down and introduced himself, the other pony promptly placed an envelope on the table and left. It read:

Good. Now that you’ve made it into Canterlot, exit the building and take a right. Go 5 blocks and take another right. Go another three blocks and turn left down an alley way (it should be obvious). At the second door, knock seven times. When you are asked a question, respond with “I bear a message.”

Vance again did exactly as the letter asked of him. It wasn’t kidding when it said the alley way would be obvious, it was the only one he’d seen the whole time. He went to an unassuming door and knocked seven times.

“Why are you here?” said the doorpony.

“I bear a message.” Vance slowly replied with uncertainty.

After hearing several tumblers jostling, the door opened. Vance cautiously entered, unsure of what he’d find. The hallway was dark, and very little light was offered by the door. All he could see was a small staircase spiraling downwards into more blackness.

“Follow the light.” said the doorpony, shrouded in shadow.

Vance nervously went down the steps, each one creaking very loudly in comparison to the dead silence around him. When he reached the bottom, he saw a hallway with a light at the end. He continued onward towards the light. He saw it was emanating from a much more ornate-looking door. With a small gulp, he gently opened the door and looked inwards. What he saw was utterly amazing. It was the most garnished room he had ever seen! Strange contraptions he never saw before coated the far wall in giant, glowing screens. The technology here was far more advanced than anything he’d ever dreamed of. He made his way down from the small overlook he had entered in on, and noticed there were other ponies in here. A mustard earth pony snoring quite loudly in a reclined chair, an orange unicorn over at a workbench mumbling to himself, a white unicorn over at one of the smaller mechanized wonders he’d yet to examine, and a blue pegasus reading. Oddly enough, it was the orange unicorn that noticed him first.

“We have a GUEEEEeeeeest!” he erratically shouted with a deep opera voice, bounding over to Vance with an unexpectedly rapid pace. “Pleased ta meet’cha! I’m Stitch, Mercury Team’s demolition expert and resident loon!” he said with a twitch in his left eye, which was a pale oval of gray as opposed to his orange right eye.

Vance, taken aback by the unexpected enthusiasm, stared wide-eyed, stuttering as he tried to put together a response. Luckily for him, the white unicorn stepped in to establish a bit of sanity as Stitch cart wheeled back to his workbench.

“Ah, pauvre. Forgive Stitch for his personality. You’ll get used to it… eventually. I’m Vie, Mercury Team’s medic and most likely the only real Prench mare you’ll ever meet. Bienvenue to our ‘humble’ dwelling.” she added without a trace of emotion.

Vance had heard of the Prench, but never studied too deeply into them. What he did know was that long ago, there was a schism from the main Equestrian populace following the rise of Celestia and Luna. They formed a new republic called Prance, and ever since relations have been lukewarm. The mustard pony was still asleep and the other pegasus was setting down his book.

“Hey. I’m Cook, the team cultural expert and, well, cook.” said the pegasus, smirking. “Sleepy over there is Cameroon. She’s our scout and navigator.” he added.

Suddenly, the giant screen dominating to wall flickered to life, showing a light green unicorn with square glasses. Cook prodded Cameroon awake and she quickly came to full attention.

“This thing working?” he said, tapping the screen twice. “Ah, good. Hello, Mercury Team! I’m Oculus, your liaison to Command. While you’re at the safehouse here, I’ll relay missions to you face-to-face. Well, figuratively speaking, of course.” he continued with a chuckle. “When you’re out in the field, I can relay commands to you and keep you all in contact with each other with the earbits you’ll find in your briefcases.”

“Yeah, yeah, enough with the gizmos. Just get to the fun part!” Cameroon impatiently demanded.

“Right, right. Uhh… *fiddles with the machinery* Ok, here we go. Your first assignment is to head to an ancient ruin and await further orders there. Your goal is to extract something of value, but Command’s not telling us what it is just yet.”

“Wait, why are we being sent in? Isn’t this more a job for an archaeological team?” Vance inquired.

“Maybe they want us to blow the whole place to bits when we’re done with it!” Stitch maliciously pondered while rocking his chair from side to side.

Everypony, including Oculus, just stopped and stared at Stitch for a bit.

“Yeeeaaah, so like I was saying, the reason we don’t have civvies going in there is because the area’s contested by the Griffon Confederacy for some reason. Sending in professional excavators would attract too much unwanted attention. The Confederacy has no information regarding what might be within these ruins, so that gives us the upper hoof. We’re paradropping you in from a high altitude at night to avoid attracting too much attention from the Confederates. Instructions on where to go for pickup should have appeared in your mailbox by now. I’ll contact you again with further instructions when you hit the ground. Oculus, out.” he said, and then the screen went black.

“Well this is exciting!” Cook remarked.

“Hay yeah it is! Dropping into unknown territory, risking our lives, looking for ancient treasures! What more could you want?” Cameroon complied with tenacity.

“A location of where we’re going would be nice.” Vie remarked coolly.

Vie had a point. They were going to a ruin that was ‘somewhere.’ Vance watched unmoved from his chair as Vie went over to what was definitely a mailbox standing in the middle of their loft. She opened it and found nothing.

“Oh cieux…” Vie remarked in disappointment.

As she was turning around, however, a brilliant flash of bright green fire erupted in the mailbox itself. Vance was initially concerned it was something malicious and got to his hooves, ready to act. Vie, remaining casual about the whole situation, turned around and found the documents that should have been there.

“NEAT! I gotta get me one of those things!” Stitch remarked with glee.

“Ah! Here we go! It says here to meet with the Royal Guard standing watch at the south gate in an hour.” Vie read.

“Well we haven’t got much time. We’d best get going.” Cook said.

After quickly gathering their things and Vie talking Stitch out of bringing enough explosives to level half the city, the group set out to meet their mysterious contact. Vance stayed out of their conversations. For all he knew, this cadre had been friends for years until he intruded, although really the only ones with a previous relationship were Cameroon and Cook. They met with their contact, who asked for the documents to verify. Vie handed him the papers and then after the Guard did a bit of cautious peering around to ensure his presence would not be missed, he led the group to an awaiting chariot with some heavily-laden beefed-up pegasi attached to the cart. The Royal Guard showed them inside a small shed which contained winterized clothing for them all.

“Oh great, a winter Op.” Vance said with sarcasm. He never really liked winter.

“You’re dropping into the Ancient Wastes. Command will relay…” the Royal Guard said before Stitch broke in.

“A TUNDRA? There’s nothing flammable in a tundra! How do you expect me to work in these conditions?!”

“Wow! The Ancient Wastes? Such a vault of cultural significance!” Cook said, dreamy-eyed.

“Yeah. Command will relay further orders once you’ve touched down. You two,” the Guard said towards Vance and Cook, “no wings on this Op.”

Vance never made much use of his wings before, but now he felt nervous. Nothing but whatever was in the backpack he was given would slow his descent. With little time remaining, they donned their winter gear. Thick coats and boots and balaclavas and even ushankas for the hay of it. They boarded the fairly cramped chariot and no time was wasted before they took off. As the sun was going down, Canterlot became nothing but a gleaming marble blot on a vast green landscape. Vance was barely able to pick out Ponyville amongst the rage of colors stirred into a frenzy by the orange haze of the setting sun. His mind drifted to Fluttershy and stayed there for most of the trip. He was brought back to reality thanks to Cameroon’s hoof.

“Have a nice nap, princess?!” Cameroon ironically shouted over the blasting wind.

Vie was already peering over the edge, waiting for the signal from the pegasi pulling the chariot for them to drop. After several minutes of looking over a vast frozen wasteland, one of the pegasi up front made a motion and Vie tumbled out of the sky. Stitch eagerly followed in pursuit, cannonballing as he did. Before jumping out himself, Vance heard Cameroon and Cook consoling each other. Without the luxury of wings, Vance would have to rely on this ‘parachute.’ Looking below, Vie fell into an ocean of clouds, disappearing into the giant fluff balls. Vance tried to copy her rock-solid descent with his legs spread out in all directions. He sunk into the cloud floor as well, only to zoom past Vie already with her parachute out and straight into a raging blizzard.

“Well this can’t be good.” Vance said to himself, trying to calm his nerves to no avail.

He desperately grabbed at the straps of his pack, pulling whatever he could to open it. He finally got it open and the resulting vertical pull knocked him out.

Vance’s vision returned to him, blurred and dazed. While recovering his bearings, he felt himself being dragged through the blizzard. Looking down as to who was yanking him by the tail, he realized that they all looked the same in this burdensome winter gear. Still, at least he wasn’t freezing… for the most part. He laid his head back, going along with the pull to give himself time to recover. The blood was still swirling around in his head. He faded out again.

When Vance awoke again, he could easily see that wherever he was, it wasn’t out in a merciless snow storm. Groggily, he lifted himself up.

“Ugh…” he moaned.

“Well look who finally decided to wake up!” Cameroon said with scorn. “You’re lucky Cook found your sorry flank.”

“What? I couldn’t just leave him there! He could’ve died!” Cook defended himself.

“Would’a served him right, not knowing how to open a parachute…” Cameroon muttered under her breath.

Vie, catching that bit, frowned at Cameroon’s pragmatic callousness and approached Vance, checking him over for injuries.

“Good to see you’re still alive, Vance.” she flatly stated.

“Well with the way my head’s spinning, I’m not sharing your optimism at the moment.” he retorted.

“That will clear in a bit. Anyway, Oculus contacted us again and guided us here. Apparently we’re in some city once ruled by the Ancients.” she said.

“Yeah. They want us to look for some big crystal, or something.” Cameroon added.

“Not just some crystal, it’s THE Iliaki Krystallo! It’s Ancient for ‘Sun Crystal.’ Oh, this is gonna be so exciting!” Cook said with much enthusiasm.

“Cook, you egghead…” Cameroon jokingly added with a playful smirk.

“Hey, where’s Stitch at?” Vance asked.

“Well, despite our protests, Stitch went, or should I say, flipped further into the caverns. We’re hoping he’ll be back soon. Otherwise, we’re going to need an escape plan in case he gets happy with his toys. Le fou…” Vie replied.

“Well let’s not wait for Stitch to generously offer to make Equestria a new quarry. I think I can walk straight now. Let’s get going.” Vance said.

The four of them proceeded down a tunnel mixed with both ancient pillars and ice coatings. Vance could still hear the maelstrom above him, signifying they weren’t that far beneath the surface. As they continued on, Vance looked in wonder at the glistening ice somehow refracting light around the lifeless cavern, giving off brilliant shades of bluish-green. From the looks on everypony else’s faces (well, except Vie’s), they had never seen anything like it either. They walked down a gently descending slope, going deeper and deeper into the tundra’s bowels. They came upon a sign on a pillar carved out of stone. It was in writing that nopony seemed to understand.

Η ΠΟΛΗ ΤΗΣ ΩΚΕΑΝΟΥ

“Huh, well this is strange.” Cook said. “It looks old enough to be Ancient writing, but I don’t understand half the letters used here…” he trailed off, murmuring to himself while analyzing the lettering. “I’m making a partial guess here, but I think the last word says ‘Oceans,’ or something along those lines.”

“And this helps us, how?” Cameroon asked.

“Well it tells us this might have been a port, which gives us a hint as to how this city might have been organized. It’s likely the deeper we go we should see the layout…”

Vance had lost interest at that point. He started walking forward again in hopes to get the others to follow him so they could get what they came for and leave. After Cook had finished giddily trying to explain the city’s organization to deaf ears, the other three generously decided to join Vance further down the corridor. Soon they had entered a massive dome-shaped cavern, which was quite the oddity, considering there were many ancient stone-hewn building half-encased in the ice walls.

“Guys! You see how massive this place is? Do you have ANY idea how many lemons I could store down here? No more hours-long lines for me! NO MORE!!!” roared Stitch, somewhere in the dome.

“Stitch, if you’ve got anything that can go boom, set it down.” Vance bargained.

“Ooh, a betting stallion, eh? What’s your offer?” Stitch asked.

“For every ruin you don’t destroy, I will spare one of your lives.” Vance said.

“You drive a hard bargain, Stubbs, but alright.” Stitch said, emerging from one of the buildings.

“Good, I- wait. Did you just call me ‘Stubbs?’” Vance asked.

“Well with those stubby wings of yours, how can I NOT?” retorted Stitch.

Vance glared at Stitch, who merely maintained a statue-like smile. Vance lost the staring competition and the group began to explore the encased city.

“Any idea what might’ve caused all the ice around this area to melt while still under the snow?” Vance asked.

“Perhaps it is the giant, heat-emitting Sun Crystal centerpiece.” Vie said, pointing to the large, bright, orange decoration placed atop an intricately designed stone pillar.

“Yeah, I can see the logic in that guess.” Vance said before facehoofing. “So, any ideas on how we move it?”

“Want me to kick it down?” Cameroon offered with anticipation.

“Unless you would prefer to set yourself on fire, you should let me handle this. Unicorn magic is best suited to this task.” Vie said, chin raised.

Vie started to use her telekinesis to move the gem. As it turned out, a rock the same size as an average pony was pretty difficult to lift, even with magic. Some progress was made, when Cook noticed something back near the entrance to the cavern.

“Uh, guys? I think we have company.” Cook said nervously.

“Oh for Celestia’s sake… Step aside!” Vance said, his patience exhausted.

Vance glared back up the corridor and spotted several figures, but at the moment couldn’t distinguish what they were.

“Who do you think they are?” Cook said, peering cautiously over Vance’s shoulder.

“Not sure. Could be a pickup crew waiting for us, could be griffons. Only one way to find out…” Vance trailed off.

“Uhh… what are you doing?” Cook asked.

“HEY!!!” Vance shouted.

Whoever they were, Vance had their attention now. Vance waited patiently to see what would happen next. Before he was even aware of it, five griffons were racing down the tunnel towards them.

“OH CRAP!” Vance shouted, diving out of the way with Cook to evade a griffon barreling right at them.

In all the excitement, Vie had lost her focus, and the Sun Crystal came crashing down onto the cobblestone roadway beneath, making a small crater in the process. Vance tried to take to the skies to bring the fight to the griffons, only to crash face-first into a nearby wall, thanks to his wings being constricted, though Cook latching on to his tail probably did not help the matter either.

“Who the hay are these guys?” Cameroon said, unsheathing a machete.

“Confederate commandos!” Vie exclaimed before firing off a magic bolt.

Vance spent most of his time leaping around, trying to evade attacks. Cook, who never was partial to combat, hid under an ancient cart that was partly frozen into the ground. Vie and Cameroon had managed to defend themselves quite adequately, with Cameroon’s machete skills and Vie’s magic deterring the griffons for quite some time.

“Thanks for finding the treasure chest for us, ponies! Now we’ll take that burdensome treasure off your hooves!” said a griffon.

“You? Take our new chandelier? Never!” Stitch proclaimed triumphantly. “I challenge thee to a duel, whelp! That is, if you have the courage to face me alone!” *twirls fake moustache while grinning*

Quite aggravated by Stitch’s taunt and challenge, the griffon chased after Stitch, trying to corner him, but Stitch always managed to slip away, possibly by tearing the very fabric of space-time itself to evade capture, or just by being sneaky. After several frustrating failures at trying to mangle Stitch, the griffon just plain lost it.

“Hrrrrrg! WILL YOU SHOW YOURSELF ALREADY?!?!” the griffon screeched.

Stitch popped his head out of a barrel right next to the griffon.

“Excuse me, could you hold this for me for a bit?” Stitch politely asked the griffon, handing him a lit ceramic grenade.

“Oh, sure. No problem.” the griffon replied, nostrils still flaring.

“Thank you!” Stitch replied, waving the griffon farewell while sinking back down into the barrel.

In a poof of feathers and smoke, the enemy had taken the first casualty. The other griffons were distracted by this, allowing Cameroon to get in a fatal strike with her machete. Soon, the griffons were stricken with panic, making them easy targets for Vie to throw bolts of magic at, and in Stitch’s case, peanuts. Now only one griffon remained.

“I won’t forget what happened here today! You can count on it!” the sole griffon exclaimed before flying back out the entrance tunnel.

“Well I’m glad that’s over.” Vie said.

“I’m not. Two more and I get a free panda bear toy!” Stitch said, invoking an exhausted sigh from everypony else. “Geez, tough crowd tonight.”

“Let’s just get the crystal and get out of this Celestia-forsaken place.” Vance said.

Despite apprehensions from the entire team, Stitch assisted Vie in telekinetically removing and carrying the Sun Crystal back to the ruin’s entrance.

As they exited the ruin, they looked up at the night sky above, the Aurora Aether dominating the sky.

“That’s strange, I thought it would be daytime by now…” Vie wondered aloud.

“Oculus, we have the crystal secured. PLEASE tell me we’re getting picked up.” Vance asked.

“I sure hope so. Cab fare’s probably through the roof out here.” Stitch interjected.

“Retrieval crews have been dispatched. ETA is approximately 30 minutes. Sit tight.” Oculus started. “Did you run into any trouble from the Confederates?”

“Yes. A squad of griffons attacked us as we were attempting to retrieve the crystal. Only one managed to escape.” Vie reported.

“I see.” Oculus said with a long pause. “Well good job, Mercury.”

Mercury waited until several pegasi similar to the ones that flew them in glided in, towing two chariots. They loaded the gigantic crystal into one of the chariots, while Mercury piled into the other.

“Something’s not right. It should be daylight by now.” Vie said.

“You sure we didn’t just get our times mixed up when in the caverns?” Vance asked.

“It’s unlikely, but I suppose not impossible…” Vie pondered.

It appeared Vie’s guess was wrong, as sure enough the sun was cresting over the edge of the horizon by them time they had reentered Equestrian airspace. What was peculiar to note was how fast the sun seemed to be moving, as if it had been delayed and needed to catch up. As they were landing, Cameroon unexpectedly blurted out a question to Stitch.

“Ok, I can’t take it anymore. What the hay happened to your eye?” Cameroon said, noting Stitch’s pale gray left eye.

Everyone but Stitch stared at her, mouths agape, even Vie was shocked at her insensitivity. Nonetheless, Stitch replied, seemingly unaffected.

“What?” Cameroon said ingloriously.

“Phosphorus accident, Cammy! Word to the wise: don’t be easily distracted if you’re hoof-crafting fireworks!” Stitch replied mirthfully, immune to Cameroon’s callousness.

By the time they had landed and returned their gear, it was already near midday. Nopony but Vie spent much time confused about this issue, and the first thing they did was get some well-earned lunch.

Over a decent span of time, Mercury had gone on a multitude of missions. They settled a border dispute with Cattleonia. And by ‘settled,’ I mean ‘pretty much obliterated any opposition.’ They uncovered an information leak the Confederacy was exploiting and promptly sewed it up. There was also an ordeal involving flesh-eating parasprites that none of them would be able to clean out of their minds anytime soon. All this and much more. Vance stayed true to his word, visiting Fluttershy whenever he could. Much as it pained him, he had to withhold all his adventures from her ears. Though even with that being the case, Fluttershy still proved invaluable at relieving Vance from the tensions of being a commando. Although he could not indulge his life, she could indulge hers. Vance learned of her newfound friend Twilight Sparkle (and even managed to be introduced to her, although that went over quite poorly), a milder parasprite infestation, her own problem with griffons, and a dragon, among other things. Vance was quite content to see that not only could he maintain his relationship with Fluttershy even with his demanding occupation, but that she was finding ways to fill any voids his absence might have left. For him, it looked as though life continued to get better and better. How he wished it could remain that way forever. How he wished it could.

The shrouded six shuffled into the meeting room and began their procession.

“Mercury Team is proving to be very useful pawns. They’ve secured our needed components and have silenced those who might reveal our existence, all without realizing the ramifications of their actions. We can begin building the Helios Cannon.” - Pony 4

“Do you think they’re ready to hunt down Hermes?” - Pony 1

“Hermes is a devious foe. Even with Mercury’s skill, he will prove challenging to capture.” - Pony 2

“You take much pride in your project, Selene.” - Pony 3

“Capturing Hermes is a secondary objective. Our primary goal is to stop him from threatening our plans. If that means terminating him, that is what we must do.” - Pony 6

“Why not train Eosphorus and attach him to Mercury Team? Surely the combined skills of Mercury with the power of an Agent, even an inferior one, will be enough to ensure Hermes’ defeat.” - Pony 5

“Enough! We will give Mercury Team a test. Send them to dispose of Hesperus at the upcoming Gala. If they accomplish that without drawing suspicion, then we may proceed with attempting to frame Hermes as a traitor. Protogenoi watch over us.” - Pony 1

“Protogenoi watch over us.” - Selene and Ponies 3-6

Mercury gathered around at the table as Oculus popped on.

“Got a doozey of a mission for you guys this time! Turns out there’s somepony pretty high in Canterlot society a lot of important people would like to see disappear. Command’s pretty scarce on the info at the moment, but they know the target will be making a showing at the Grand Galloping Gala next week. They’re already making other arrangements to get a diversion going so you can have a chance to take out the target without making it look intentional. All you guys have to do is infiltrate the Gala and eliminate the target and this mission’s in the bag!” Oculus said, pumping his hoof.

“The Grand Galloping Gala? How does Command expect us to sneak in there? They can’t get us some tickets?” Vie inquired.

“Sorry Vie. I don’t explain the orders, I just relay them. Oculus, out.”

As the group debated various ideas on how they were supposed to get into one of the biggest events the Equestrian high-brows hosted, Cameroon sighed.

“…I can get us into the Gala.” she said with disdain.

“YOU?!” Stitch exclaimed. “I would’ve expected Prenchy or Pretty Colt, but geez, Cammy, I didn’t know you blackmailed somepony!” *Cameroon grumbles*

“That’s good to hear, Cameroon. You’re sure you can get us in?” Vie asked.

“Yeah. I got, well… I’m a noble.” Cameroon said, almost with shame.

“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed!” Vie said with amusement.

“Wow. That’s… pretty surprising, actually.” Vance said.

“The plot thickens! Dun dun duuuun!” Stitch joked.

“Ugh, I hated that life. I was only a showcase for my parents to dress up to impress everypony. My sister took it the other way.” Cameroon explained.

“And she’s our ticket in?” Vance gathered.

“Bingo. Give me a few days to set up a meeting.”

It was the night before the Gala. Oculus hadn’t squeezed anything out of Command about who the target even was yet, and that had Vance concerned their performance would suffer without a clear idea of who they were gunning for. As per Cameroon’s request, Vie, Cook, and he met with Cameroon in a small park after nightfall. Stitch had mysteriously vanished on them, giving no clue as to where he went off to. Under normal circumstances they would have concern, but then again, this was Stitch they were talking about here. As they approached a pony cloaked in shadow, Cameroon popped out of nowhere and joined them.

“Alright, my sister’s just up ahead. Hey, where’s Stitch?”

The other three all shrugged indignantly in unison. They approached Cameroon’s shadowy sister.

“It’s good to see you, Roo-Roo.” the stranger said.

“You too, Tavi.” replied Cameroon.

The figure stepped out of the shadows and turned out to be none other than Octavia. Cook was the only one stunned by this revelation, as Vance didn’t know her fame and Vie kept her usual blank expression.

“I got you the tickets and the outfits. Why do you need them on such short notice?” Octavia inquired with a hint of concern.

“We’re on vacation, so we decided tonight we’d live it up a bit.” Cameroon answered through a poorly-forced smile.

“You never were good at lying. I’d ask further, but I don’t think you’re allowed to tell me. And a part of me says I don’t want to know.” Octavia said.

A moment of silence passed. It seemed that although these sisters had wildly different personalities, somehow they still confided in each other.

“Y’know, mom and dad are still waiting to hear from you.” Octavia added.

“Tavi, there’s a reason I’m part of a covert branch. Just… tell them I said hi and that I’m all right.” Cameroon said, disgruntled.

After exchanging the tickets and wardrobes, Cameroon and Octavia hugged each other tightly.

“Take care of yourself out there, Roo-Roo.” Octavia said with sadness.

The night of the Gala. Stitch was still MIA, but by now the remaining four thought this was a more preferable situation. Stitch’s antics could blow their element of stealth. In order to best prepare themselves to blend in with the snobbish crowd of nobles, Vie and Cook took to viciously cleaning up the look of the whole team. Much to the chagrin of Vance and Cameroon, Vie and Cook quite giddily set to purging every physical trace of their military roles. Vie actually found enough amusement in her torturing of Cameroon that she was able to crack a smile several times, even giggling. Vance found out the hard way that Cook was quite merciless with a comb. As Zero Hour approached, they donned their costumes. Cameroon, despite her entire life being to the contrary, was quite well fitted for the elegant gown she was wearing. A nice emerald dominating the dress, as was her standard secondary color, and trimmed with black. Vie wore a pink and red dress to match her hair perfectly and had it trimmed with white. Vance and Cook, being males, wore pretty much the exact same thing: black tuxedos.

“ACK! Do you have to pull it so tight?” Vance gagged as Vie strangled him with his bowtie.

“Aw come on, it’s not that bad!” she replied without concern.

“Exactly how many ponies have you killed like this?” he asked.

“Only one. Well, maybe two, but I didn’t read the obituaries that week.” she said calmly.

“Somehow that isn’t comfor-GYAAH!” he said as Vie pulled tighter.

Once Vance had finished restoring his capability to breathe, Vie plopped a top hat on his head and handed him a showcase monocle.

“Really?” he said.

Vie just smiled and nodded once. Realizing any resistance was doomed, he adjusted his hat and stuck the monocle in his left eye. With their ensembles now complete and no longer attempting to kill them, the four ponies all met in the meeting room. With their entire means of entry perfectly set up, they set out for the palace as the sun was taking its leave.

On the evening before the Gala, Stitch walked down the streets of Canterlot dressed up all spiffy to avoid drawing attention, a particularly difficult feat for him, but his goal was cause enough for him to set aside his usual chaotic manner. He walked to the University of Canterlot and asked where he could find the wing for unicorns. After receiving directions, he hastened towards the mare’s dormitories. Scanning the directory, he found his target. He made his way to the corresponding room and knocked.

“Who is it?” came a voice from inside.

“It’s me.” Stitch replied.

A tense moment of silence passed by. The filly he was talking to knew exactly who he was and what he was here for, but was reluctant to confront him. Finally, she sighed heavily and opened the door a crack.

“What do you want, dad…” she said.

“I wanted to check up on you. I was in town and I…” he started.

“I’m fine. Now go away.” she said sadly.

As she was trying to pull the door shut, Stitch telekinetically held it in place.

“Wait. Can I talk to you? Please?” he pleaded.

After a brief moment, the door opened. Stitch entered the dorm.

“Thank you. I know I haven’t been the best dad ever, but…” he began.

“Yeah, that much is obvious.” the young mare replied dryly.

“Look, I’m sorry, ok? I should be here for you, but I’m not. My job’s demanding.” he defended himself.

“That’s your excuse? You haven’t seen me since you dumped me here!” she snapped.

“And how do you think your bills get paid, huh? I wanted to give you a good education so you could live your life however you wanted, and to do that, I have to work my flank off!” Stitch shouted back.

The mare buried her face, now awash in tears, into her front legs.

“Wait, I’m sorry! Please don’t cry! I’m so sorry Gumdrop. Please…” Stitch said.

Stitch reached his hoof out, but a moment later retracted it. With a sullen look of defeat, he began to leave.

“Wait…” Gumdrop said. “Dad… I’m…”

Stitch put his hoof up to her mouth.

“It’s ok. I know.”

Gumdrop hugged the only family she had tightly.

“Promise me you’ll visit again sometime soon?” she asked.

“As soon as I’m able.” Stitch promised.

Stitch left, sure that he would see his daughter again soon.

They had arrived fairly early, but they wanted time to set up and get a layout of the area should things go sour. Besides, it appeared a good number of ponies had shown up ahead of schedule too. The entry went off without a hitch and all of them were allowed in. They entered the main ballroom, and saw Octavia already masterfully working her cello. Cameroon seemed to relax a great deal upon seeing her sister again.

“Alright, Oculus, we’ve waited long enough! We’re in the palace and we’ve scoped the place out. Now tell us who the target is!” Vance demanded with a hushed shout.

“Okay, okay! Don’t choke on your bowtie!” Oculus snapped back.

“No promises.” Vance dryly replied, invoking an eye-roll from Vie.

“They’ve given me a name. Your target’s ID is ‘Hesperus,’ but physical details are sketchy. They don’t know what she’s wearing or her location at the moment. What I can tell you is that she’s a unicorn and she’s very important.”

Glancing around the room, about three quarters of all the unicorn mares in attendance could fit that description.

“Yeah, we’re gonna need more details than that, Oculus.” Vance said, slightly annoyed.

“I’m working on it! Command’s not being too forward with the details here. Sounds like their scouts are doing a pretty sloppy job.” Oculus said with a strange hint of pride. “Until I can get some more information, just… try to blend in with the crowd. Do some mingling, eat some finger sandviches, stuff like that.”

“What the hay’s a ‘finger’?” Cameroon said confused.

“Alright, I’m getting some more info…” Oculus said slowly. “Looks like she’s got connections to the Royal Family. Wow. Whoever she is, she must be into some deep, incriminating stuff.”

“When you actually get some helpful intel, THEN contact us.” Vie added remorselessly.

The band of misfits then tried their best at mingling. And it went about as well as you hoped it wouldn’t. Vance, still not adapted to social interaction, walked around admiring the palace’s architecture and art. Whenever somepony tried to strike up conversation with him, he was as conversational as when he first met Fluttershy. Cameroon was constantly fiddling with her gown, her anxiety apparent. This attracted some… curious glances from several aspiring bachelors. Cook helped himself to the miniature foods like he was a living self-help booklet. His voracious hunger for Canterlot’s finest snacks was noted by more than a few ponies, and Cook soon took notice himself, his face turning as red as Vie’s eyes. And finally, Vie, not wanting to reveal her Prench heritage and potentially caused a scene, awkwardly stood in a corner. An admiring stallion attempted to court her, only to run head-first into her brick-like emotions. He quickly backed off, humiliated, Vie all the while never letting the laughter past her teeth. This torment continued into the first hour of nightfall. Then things really started to get strange. A team of six heroes, supposedly responsible for reinstating the recently returned Princess Luna, had arrived. Like Mercury Team, they did not fit in at this party at all. Just as Vance was starting to feel a semblance of normality, in burst a pink pony, bounding about the room and seemingly defying the laws of physics.

“Wow. If Stitch ever had an equal…” Vance noted.

“I GOT IT!” Oculus suddenly screamed in their ears. “Hesperus is wearing a blue gown and is currently assisting Princess Celestia with the formal greetings!”

“Thank you, Oculus. Can you requisition Command for four hearing-aides?” Vance dryly replied.

Ignoring Oculus’ grumbling, Vance set out to see this ‘Hesperus’ to get an idea of how they were going to take her out in the middle of a ballroom. Vance was fairly sure that sending Vie to give Hesperus an extreme neck massage while she was standing right next to Princess Celestia herself wouldn’t fly too well, so now they had to think of how to lure her away from safety. He walked to the entrance to the ballroom to see Princess Celestia and this ‘Hesperus’ alongside her.

“Wait a minute…” Vance quietly said. “That’s Twilight Sparkle…”

“You know her?” Vie said from her corner, relatively close to the door.

“Yeah, she’s one of Fluttershy’s friends.” Vance said.

“Who?” Vie replied.

“Erm… nevermind. The point is, she’s Celestia’s protégé.”

“So what’s holding you back?”

“Well first off, if we’re working for the Equestrian military, then we’re under Celestia’s command, right? Secondly, why would Celestia want her own student offed? Unless…”

Vance paused for a long time, having finally unraveled the mystery.

“Uhh… Vance? What’s wrong?” Cameroon said, approaching from behind.

Vance turned around slowly to face his two team members, Cook’s attention caught by the aforementioned pink pony, who was now harassing the orchestra.

“We’re not working for the Equestrian military.” Vance replied in shock.

The two mares were struggling to wrap their own minds around it.

“Oculus, are you there?” Vance called in.

Static.

In a small break room, two security officers were casually relaxing, trying to enjoy some doughnuts.

“Dang. It’s just not the same since Krispy transferred. I don’t think I can go back to store-bought anymore.” one of them lamented.

Suddenly, a panicked green unicorn rammed through the door, panting heavily.

“They’re on to us!”

“So what do we do now, Vance? Vance!” Vie asked, slapping Vance back into reality.

“Wha-? Oh, erm… Ok, grab Cook and let’s get out of here. We need to leave Canterlot now.” Vance ordered.

“But what about Stitch?” Cameroon asked.

“I don’t know what happened to him, but we can’t let that concern us. We have to-”

Vance was trying to lay out his plan, when everything went to utter madness. As if one energetic pink pony single-hoofedly trying to start a rave wasn’t chaotic enough, suddenly the door leading to the palace grounds burst open, and an odd menagerie of animals swarmed the ballroom. After the dust of their entrance had settled, Vance saw what he thought he’d never see.

“Mother of Celestia…” Vance said while removing his monocle.

“You’re… going to LOVE MEEE!!!” Fluttershy screamed.

Vance’s jaw hit the floor. With no time to recuperate, he was swept up in a tidal wave of woodland critters away from the rest of his team.

“Meet at the train station!!” Vance shouted to the other three while he was being carried away by a horde of animals.

Eventually the terrified torrent of squirrels and ducks dropped Vance off, and he wasted no time in sprinting for the train station. Vie and Cameroon scooped Cook out from under a table and proceeded.

Stitch reclined in his chair, slowly sipping a glass of cheap wine from the bottle he stole from a closed shop several minutes ago. He was doing very un-Stitchy things, like contemplating the meaning of life in the vast expanse of the universe. He then resumed thinking of where he stood in the cupcakes vs. muffins debacle. Stitch didn’t look the part, but if he took life seriously he could be wearing a white lab coat and living underground most of his life. Suddenly he heard somepony racing down the street below the balcony Stitch was relaxing on. It was Vance. He chucked the bottle off the edge of the city, got a running start, and dropped right beside the tuxedo-wearing pegasus.

“Well fancy seeing you here, fancy-looking buddy!” Stitch comically stated.

“Not now, Stitch. We’ve got to get the hay out of the city!” Vance said, short on breath. “Wait, where were you this whole time, anyways?”

“I had some stuff that needed stuffying.” Stitch reflected.

“Fine, I’ll ask later. Right now, we need to hijack a train.” Vance suddenly decided.

“Aww… did Cook cozy up to you yet?” Stitch teased.

“Wha-? No!” Vance snapped back, still oblivious.

Vance and Stitch reached the train station a while before the rest did. The train was prepared to be lifted when the others did show up.

“Sorry we’re late, Frère. We got a bit lost along the way.” Vie explained.

“I told you to leave directions to me, but nooOOoo!” Cameroon sneered.

“Need I remind you we’ve got several Royal Guards chasing us from a couple blocks back? We don’t have time to point hooves here!” Cook yelled.

“Just get in the dang train! Stitch and I rigged it up, so we can roll out once you get your flanks on board!” Vance snapped.

“Stitch is with you? Where the hay was he?” Cameroon asked, annoyed.

“Cammy, remember what happened to the pony that asked too many questions?” Stitch said benevolently.

“No.” Cameroon said impatiently.

“Me either.” Stitch said malevolently, that manic twinkle in his left eye.

Cameroon took the hint and decided it would be best for her health not to press further. The last time she underestimated Stitch did NOT go well for her, and she still had the scar to prove it. The train began to leave the station as several exhausted unicorn Royal Guards were trying to run after it. Mercury Team huddled around in the engine room to plan their next step.

“Ok, so let’s recap what’s happened. We’ve spent the past Celestia-knows how long going on missions for the benefit of a shadowy organization that didn’t want us to know about it. We’ve gathered relics and claimed resources for them, along with silencing enemies of the ‘state.’ And now we’re stealing a train with no established destination in an effort to flee Equestria.” Vance said heavily.

“You forgot the part abo-” Stitch started.

“Stitch, s’il vous plaît. No jokes now.” Vie said solemnly.

“Your loss.” Stitch said, reclining back against the wall.

“I don’t know what the hay we’re going to do, but I’ll think of something. I always do.” Vance said with confidence. “Everypony try to get some sleep. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

While the others were dozing off, Vance found himself a nice spot on top of the train. He couldn’t sleep, there was far too much to think about. Who was behind this? What were they after? Why Mercury Team? Vance didn’t notice Vie gingerly make her way atop the train car to talk.

“Can’t sleep, Frère?” she asked.

“Huh? Oh. Naw, I got too much on my mind to sleep. Apparently we’ve just been pawns in a much larger game this whole time. Makes me wonder if all we’ve done is going to come back later to haunt us.” he prophesized.

“Oh don’t think like that. There’s no way to know for sure. Assuming the worst just leads to wasted nights.” she insightfully added.

“Heh. Maybe you’re right. But still, if they’ve been pulling our strings for this long, what else are they capable of? Weaponizing the weather? A giant mind-control device? Animatronic pony legion?” he continued. “It’s too much to contemplate.”

The two sat on the train for a bit, taking in the night wind and the lunar lights.

“Alright, something’s been bothering me. Earlier Stitch mentioned something about Cook. I’m probably gonna regret this, but is there something going right over my head?” Vance asked.

“You mean aside from everything else that already does?” Vie joked.

“Seriously. You’re the best mind splicer I know. What’s going on?” Vance glared.

“Well if you really want to know, Cook has had the tendency to act… differently when you’re around. He’s more submissive and tends to rely on you instead of taking action himself. When I first met him, I thought he would display that behavior towards Cameroon or myself even, but no. Does that say it clearly enough for you?” Vie explained.

Vance felt a chill run down his spine as his mouth juxtaposed itself into an awkward shape. He was right when he said he’d probably regret it.

“Alright, so what about Stitch then? Anything incriminating or mentally scarring about him? I mean something we don’t know already?” Vance continued.

“Well other than him bordering on psychotic, he’s hiding something. I can’t determine what, there’s too much chaotic thought going on in that little head of his. I’ve never seen a specimen like him before. He’s impervious to conventional psychological observation.” Vie lamented.

That was… not what Vance was expecting to hear. He never thought of Stitch as being the secretive type. Maybe there was a mad genius hiding in that silver and golden mane of his.

“And Cameroon?” Vance pressed.

“Easy. Emotional trauma over her cutting family ties. She was very close to Octavia, and now those emotions are blinding her to the sensitivity of others.” Vie deduced.

“Huh.” Vance quipped. “Never thought of it that way. Alright, how about me?”

“You’ve got your own skeletons that you want to stay hidden from us. I have a good idea as to what they are, but for your sake, I’ll not tell just yet.” Vie said slyly. “To be honest, though, you didn’t make it hard to deduce.”

“Ok, then how about you?” Vance asked with a smirk on his face.

“And ruin all my fun? I don’t think so!” Vie playfully deflected. “Bonsoir, Vance. Try to get some sleep.”

Vie hoisted herself up and carefully made her way back inside. Vance wondered if Fluttershy would like to meet Vie. He looked back towards the moon, watching it glide across the sky as the hours passed, until finally it began to settle in the distant west.

After a mostly sleepless night on the roof imploring the moon for assistance, Vance went up the chain of cars to find the others, save Cameroon, who was half sleeping on a bench and the other half on the floor, had already woken up and tended to the train. Vance made his way to the front of the locomotive.

“What’s our status?” he asked.

“We recently passed through a town called Appleoosa. Cook is in the caboose, taking inventory. I presume you know where Cameroon is?” Vie said.

“Cameroon is diligently keeping watch over the dreamscape.” Vance said.

“Don’t mind me! Just digging some coal! Diggy diggy coal!” Stitch sang.

“You know, you could just use your magic to do that.” Vance pointed out.

“But then I don’t get to use the shovel! Tell me when I get to use a shovel! TELL ME!” Stitch exclaimed.

“Good to see the betrayal of our employers hasn’t got’cha down, Stitch!” Vance replied.

Suddenly, a shrill scream reached all the way to the engine.

“That sounded like Cook. Stitch, stay here and guard the engine! Vance, let’s go make sure Cook hasn’t seen a spider!” Vie ordered.

The two ran back to the caboose, passing by Cameroon who had finally awoken for the day’s festivities.

“Wuzzat? I’m… muffins…” Cameroon muttered in her daze.

Vie telekinetically blasted the door open in time to see a pegasus, clad in a black flight suit, a tan vest, and green goggles, holding Cook’s mane in one hoof, raise a serrated knife to Cook’s throat.

“Help… me…!” Cook said through flowing tears.

The fiend pulled back the leg holding the knife before any of them could do anything. The next thing Vance knew Vie had magically yanked the knife from the black ops pony’s hoof and proceeded to eviscerate him with it. Vance had to cover his eyes.

“NOPONY MESSES WITH MY COMRADES!!!” Vie screeched, breathing heavily.

“Oh sweet Celestia! Cameroon!” Vance said, remembering Cameroon all alone in her car.

They rushed back to the car with Cameroon in it to find her barely defending against three black ops with her machete. Before they could react to Vie’s frenzy, one of them found their comrade’s knife firmly entrenched in their face. The other two promptly jumped out the windows, waiting for a better time to strike.

“Travíxte pros ta píso! Omadopoíisi!” Vance overheard one saying as he was leaving.

The trio wasted no time in getting up to the engine room to make sure Stitch was safe. As Vance had half-expected, they found Stitch perfectly fine. After stepping over what little remains were left of the two black ops that had made an attempt on his life, the remaining four discussed what to do next.

“Alright, so Cook is dead and we’re surrounded by some of the toughest fighters we’ve ever encountered.” Vance started. “So how are we getting out of this?”

“Divide et impera, as your Equestrian generals of old times would say.” Vie chimed in. “We each take and hold a car and whittle down their numbers until they’re wiped out or retreat.”

“Who are we dividing? Us or them?” Vance added. “Well I can’t think of anything better, so we’ll go with that plan!”

Vie charged ahead down several cars, shortly followed by Cameroon. Vance was about to go when a black ops jumped him from above in-between cars. Luckily, Vance had spotted him a half-second before, giving him enough time to avoid a knife to the gut. Vance pulled the surprised pegasi down hard onto the little platform conjoining the two cars. They struggled for a while, almost equal in strength, until Vance finally got the upper hoof. He claimed the altitude and gave the black ops several hard punches to the face, the last one hit so hard it pushed the assailant’s body beneath the train. The train lurched from the surprise speed bump.

“Wow. I am NEVER doing that again!” Vance quipped as he pulled himself back into the engine room.

As the situation was rapidly deteriorating, Stitch approached Vance with one final desperate idea.

“Stubbs, we’ve had some kick-flank times together in Merc, but it looks like if we don’t do something about it now, none of us will make it out of this to remember. *takes a deep breath to compose himself* I’ll blow up the rail and take the whole train out, hopefully with these black ops scumbags still inside.”

“Have you gone completely insane this time? Not only would that kill us all anyways, but you don’t even have the time to set up a bomb!” Vance pleaded.

“Well, one well-placed stick of short-fuse dynamite thrown just in front of the train might do the trick.” Stitch replied, that crazy twinkle shining in his left eye. “It’s been an honor, sir.” *salute*

“I’m staying too.” Cameroon interrupted, a black ops slumping to the floor right behind her. “These guys will just escape and hunt you down if somepony’s not on here to keep ‘em busy. I’ll hold them off while you and Vie make a break for it.”

Vance, knowing there would be no use arguing with the headstrong earth pony, smiled in gratitude as tears began to gather in his eyes.

“We won’t forget you. We’ll find out who’s behind this and make them pay for what they did.” Vance stammered through partial sobs.

“Vance, wait. I want you to have this. Get it to my sister.” Cameroon said, handing Vance her emerald necklace. “She needs to know…”

Vance nodded and took the necklace and swore to himself to guard it with his life. Stitch opened the window of the engine, stick of dynamite in mouth. Vance and Cameroon rushed back to find Vie holding her own against three black ops.

“Vie, it’s time to go.” Vance said with a hint of remorse in his voice.

Vie, understanding what he meant by the sound of his voice and the look of fear in Cameroon’s eyes, only nodded somberly before eliminating another black ops. The remaining enemy reinforcements popped in through the windows. Vance looked out the sides and it appeared the skies were now clear. The tracks above the ravine were fast approaching and Vance knew he and Vie needed to leave now. They bid the bravest earth pony Equestria never knew a fond farewell and they ran to the caboose. They jumped into the desert brush as the crack of dynamite filled the air. The next was a sickening sound of buckling wood and twisted metal.

With Vance and Vie making their way to the back, Cameroon was now faced with several enraged black ops. In that moment, time seemed to have stopped. She realized what needed to be done and embraced Death, becoming a whirling scythe that slashed and maimed its way with relative ease through some of the most fearsome enemies one could ever encounter. Leaving only trails of casualties and grievous injuries, she made her way to the front car just as Stitch had chucked his last bomb. The sound dissoriented them for a bit, and they next found themselves floating in the falling train.

“I’m sorry, Tavi.” “I’m sorry, Gumdrop.” they said simultaneously.

In this chaotic time consumed with violence and death, the two hugged each other tightly, teary eyed, having finally found something they had never known before:

Peace.

As Vance and Vie gathered themselves together, then came the inevitable crush of the train hitting the bottom of the ravine. They both remained motionless for a bit, a time of acknowledgement at what Stitch and Cameroon had sacrificed to let Vance and Vie live. Vance then dragged himself to the cliff’s edge and looked down onto the burning wreck of scrap metal and pine. Vie joined him and they both sat down to pay their penance. After a few minutes, Vie broke the silence.

“They were the bravest ponies anypony could ever know.”

Somehow this didn’t console Vance.

“So,” he began, “what do we do now?”

“Oh, I think I’m going to see if I can regain my status as a Prench citizen. I think I’ve had enough of Equestria for a long time. Would you care to join me, Frère? It could be like one of those cheesy spy films with the two agents joining forces and going rogue.” she said with her rare smile. An odd time to be showing it.

“Heh. Well that does sound appealing, but I made a promise long ago that I still have to keep.” Vance said, reflecting on Fluttershy.

“She’s lucky to have somepony like you.” Vie added, kicking a pebble.

Vance chuckled at how easily Vie could pick apart his mind. The duo got up and headed back to Appleoosa. They took a carriage back to Ponyville and hugged each other goodbye.

“Perhaps one day we will meet again, mon doux.” she said, giving Vance a quick kiss on his cheek.

Vance waived her off as the conductor called for all passengers. He watched as Vie rode away to parts unknown. It was currently dusk and soon the sun would be completely gone. He slowly meandered his way back to Fluttershy’s cottage, pondering all he and the rest of Mercury Team had gone through in their time together. Ancient cities, terrifying foes, and a conspiracy rotting in the heart of Equestria itself. Vance knew he could not escape the role he would play in all these things, but for now he was content to become drunk on the euphoria of the moment. He suspected that soon this mysterious organization would realize he had not perished alongside Stitch, Cameroon, and Cook and would probably send assassins after him who would not be above endangering everyone in Ponyville he held dear to get to him. He arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage and saw she was sleeping on the couch tonight.

“She must have been thinking about me.” he whispered to himself, a bit fat-headed from having cheated Death tonight.

Seeing she had no blanket on her, Vance quickly grabbed one and gently placed it over her. Realizing that soon all he cherished would be at risk, he cozied up next to Fluttershy’s gentle figure, resting his head on her side. He usually was up by the crack of dawn, so he figured Fluttershy would be none the wiser to what he was doing. As he began to slip into unconsciousness, Fluttershy opened her right eye and peered discreetly over at Vance. A coy smile creased across her face as well as they both fell into sleep.

The next morning, Vance awoke on the couch… alone. Noticing this, he became flustered and embarrassed. He began to think of ways to explain this to Fluttershy aside from his attraction towards her, when she walked in carrying a large platter of food and a heart-melting smile on her face.

“Morning, sleepyhead!” she said with her usually cheery demeanor, but with something else underneath. “You looked just awful when I saw what shape you were in, so I took care of your wounds and made you a breakfast fit for a hero!”

Vance looked down at his body to notice his wounds had all been cleaned and bandaged.

“Fluttershy, I-” he began.

“Oh no no no! You should eat your fill first, I insist!” she said, smiling from ear to ear.

He looked at her again, a bit unsure, and she gave her signature *squee* to show she was insistent on him doing as she requested. He then ate everything in front of him, Fluttershy staring him down all the while, that smile never leaving her face. What happened next was totally unexpected. Fluttershy took the initiative and laid her head right on his chest! The surprise and excitement caused Vance’s wings to instantly spring open, his right wing nearly punching through the couch. He was paralyzed as Fluttershy, the pegasus who saved his life and became his reason for living, was now affectionately snuggling up to him. His head nearly burst into flames from the flustering he had been given, but slowly came to relax little by little, accepting her cozy embrace. He and Fluttershy just laid there for what seemed like forever. Suddenly, Fluttershy glanced up at him, her eyes piercing into his soul, her smile destroying his heart. He stared back for about a minute, and then the two of them went upstairs…

The shrouded six shuffled into the meeting room and began their procession.

“Mercury Team has been disposed of.” - Pony 3

“A shame, really. They were useful pawns.” - Selene

“The clean-up crews report Hermes destroyed the bridge they were traveling on with an explosive. They noticed something amiss, however. Aside from the two squads we had sent, there were only two bodies discovered amongst the wreckage. One was later found swept a ways downriver, but there is currently no trace of the remaining two.” - Pony 6

“Was Hermes among those found?” - Selene

“It is currently indeterminable if Hermes perished in the wreck, though it is likely he did.” - Pony 6

“Selene, are you showing concern? I have not seen any trace of emotion in you for a very long time.” - Pony 1

“Hermes is an asset, Hyperion. A tool to be used and nothing more. My only concern is that our investment of time and finances may have been wasted in a lost cause.” - Selene

“If you say so. This meeting is adjourned. We shall now look into potential candidates to begin Phase 1 again. Protogenoi watch over us.” - Hyperion

“Protogenoi watch over us.” - Selene and Ponies 3-6

Vance stared out at the moon, now unmarred by the facade of a unicorn. Something had occurred in his time with Mercury, and supposedly Fluttershy had a part to play in it. He decided he’d save that question for another day. He glanced over at Fluttershy, sleeping peaceably in her… erm, their bed. These times of peace would soon be fleeting. He could feel malevolence worming its way into Equestria. Looking back out at the moon, Vance became determined to prepare himself. He then went back to sleep, exhausted by his newfound intimate relationship with his Flutterlove. He couldn’t stay. He would have to leave, at least for a while. Roam Equestria’s borderlands and visit exotic locations until some of this ordeal blew over. It’s not like he had a choice in the matter. If he stayed, he’d be endangering everypony’s wellbeing. His mind was now set. He was leaving tomorrow.

==========

Bonus points to:

Keystroke: for being my pre-reader

Author’s notes:

Hello, everypony! Dissoriented here with a few post-script items to add:

The 2nd in the Strings of Fate series, and I personally had a blast writing it. Mercury Team was my first batch of OCs, all of them my own. Had the planned course of the series not demanded otherwise, I very much would have liked to keep them all alive, but the plot I’ve already formed doesn’t allow for it. Rest assured, they’re not my only OCs, and this is definitely not the last time you’ll see Vie.

Your OC killing, faceless writer,

Dissoriented

Disclaimer:

Strings of Fate: Vie's Story (γ)

After waiving a fond farewell to Vance, Vie relaxed in her chair as the train was setting out for Manehatten. From there, she could make her way to the Prench embassy and reapply for citizenship. She could finally see her family again. After half an hour, she began to notice something was off. She was on a train bound for Manehatten, yet the train seemed utterly devoid of life, save for a giant plume of red hair snoring loudly several rows ahead. Granted, it was a night run, but such an important financial center usually meant there were dozens of businessponies and construction crews coming and going from the city, and Ponyville’s expansions should have meant these contractors would be in no short supply. She glanced out towards the front of the train to check for signs of life, but before she could check the other way, a blackjack hit her over the head.

Strings of Fate: Vie’s Story

She had grown up in a rather cozy upbringing with her family in Stalléans. Her parents noted her medical expertise early on as she tended to her younger brother’s scrapes with natural ease. When she got older, she was sent to study amongst the hallowed halls of Mareis’ finest universities. She was fresh out of L’Université de Mareis and eagerly applied to serve in the Mareis police force, hoping to put her medical training to good use. While studying, she soaked up biology and psychology like a sponge. While not particularly skilled in other fields, her soaring marks in the biological sciences ensured she could get any health-related job in all of Prance. Unaware of the things she would see during her time serving on the force, she leapt at the opportunity to, what she thought, would be treating civilians after natural disasters or riots. Prance at the time was on the verge of political upheaval. Clashing opinions between the political elite and the common pony occasionally boiled over from peaceful protests to violent riots. While Vie thought her skills would be put to use tending to anypony with wounds, her services were made exclusive to the police, which soon became the riot police, and then after them the military police. Vie could only sit there and watch as civilian victims caught in the uproar of violence had to suffer with burns, gashes, and broken limbs. It slowly ate away at whatever sense of patriotism Vie had for her homeland and her emotional health. One day, after a particularly brutal clash between protestors and police, Vie snuck off, took government-issued medical supplies, discarded her uniform, and began to tend to the wounded on the other side of the conflict. That was how she earned her Cutie Mark. One of the leaders of the protestors, a revolutionist, noticed her and remembered seeing her before behind a wall of stoic riot shields and tear gas. He knew she could never return to the other side without facing serious punishment and decided to smuggle her out of the descending country. After many hours of needing to convince her, Vie finally agreed to board a train for the Equestrian border. With a fake identity and a small sum of Equestrian currency, she left her home city engulfed in the flames of revolution at the behest of not only a complete stranger, but someone who was supposed to be her enemy. She had just dropped everything - her career, family, and any hope of a stable future - all of it because of some selfish bureaucrats. On that day, she vowed to herself that she would put her skills to use for those who truly needed it.

Upon arriving in Equestria under a false title, she immediately found work as a surgeon’s apprentice to pay for her Equine lessons so she could properly meld into Equestrian society. She soon discovered that, try as she might, her accent would not fade. She would forever be marked as an outsider for this, but decided that if her skills were put to proper use, it wouldn’t matter in the long run. After several years working in Manehattan, she was approached by a silver unicorn with an offer to join a covert division of the Equestrian military. While initially hesitant, having had poor relations with government contracting in the past, she eventually decided to accept. A life in the shadows would alleviate any compulsion to change herself to fit in with manestream society, and she could once again express herself as she chose. Besides, a group of nonexistent warriors might be more open to the idea of serving with a Prenchmare. She made her way to the Canterlot safe house, and that was how she joined Mercury Team.

As Vie steadily regained consciousness, she was immediately approached by somepony she couldn’t see, due to a light being beamed directly into her face.

“Can you understand me?” said her interrogator.

“Ugh… Où suis-je?” she responded.

“Don’t give me that Prench crap. We know who you are. Now tell us, are you the only survivor?” he demanded.

“Go to the moon.” she flatly responded.

The inquisitor, having little patience, promptly slapped Vie.

“Gah! Cochon sale! Je vais vous dire rien!” she retorted.

The inquisitor responded with another hoof, drawing blood from Vie’s nose.

“We can do this all night if you’d like, but my bosses gave me a directive and I don’t want to upset them. You tried that and your whole team died.” he coldly stated.

“You haven’t gotten me yet, saleté.” she quickly stated.

“You think you’re gonna be able to leave this place alive? Good luck with that.” he said with a wicked grin.

Vie began fiddling with the ropes binding her hooves ever so carefully. She could feel they were hastily done and would be easy to escape from.

“What do you want?” Vie asked.

“Are you the only survivor of your team?” he repeated.

“Oui.” she lied.

“We’ve only found three corpses so far. What happened to Vance?” he demanded.

“I told you, he’s dead!” she insisted.

Another hoof.

“Quit lying and tell me where he is! You know he’s alive!” he screamed.

Vie had finally managed to slip free of her bindings and brought both her hooves around into the inquisitor’s unexpecting head. The guard present wasn’t able to react fast enough, and Vie managed to get her hooves around his neck and permanently prevent him from helping. Vie spotted an ornate knife on the inquisitor. Stiletto. Pristine condition. Black painted wood handle. Garnished with silver. Small circular ruby embedded in the hilt. Seeing as she had no weapon on her, she took the blade. Her first mark with it was the previous owner. Carefully exiting the room, she scouted both hallways. The building looked like a small hospital of some sorts, but she wasn’t sure where she even was geographically. As quickly and quietly as she could, she made her way to what she hoped would be an exit. As luck would have it, she did indeed find one. As luck would have it, it led out into a military complex. Vie, unaware that the Equestrian Army had no connection or knowledge to the events surrounding Mercury Team, thought she was surrounded by hostiles. Creeping her way around the edge of the chain link fencing, avoiding detection in the night set ablaze with lamp posts, she made her way to a storehouse as she spotted some ponies looking similar to her interrogator exiting the building she was just in. Scrambling in through an open window, she landed on the cold concrete floor of the empty building. While checking through the equipment to see what she could use, she found she had stumbled onto a large cache of explosives.

“Good to see you’re still around to help out, Stitch.” she jokingly quipped to herself.

She hastily began jury-rigging a gigantic bomb out of the entire warehouse. Using this gigantic explosion, she could cover a smaller blast and blow a hole in the fence for her to escape through.

“I sure hope this works. Ici va rien!” she thought to herself.

She watched the flame snake its way along, split on the diverging pathways, then hid behind a portable restroom as an echoing explosion filled the air, a wall of scorching heat sailed over her, slightly singing her mane. Although the sound had deafened and dissoriented her, by sheer force of will she ran into the breach in the fencing.

As Vie ran through the forest, she could still see the light of the flames echoing off the trees. She had little idea where she was even going, but at this point anywhere was safer. She stopped a moment to look back at the inferno she had created and saw soldiers scampering about in terror as their entire warehouse just randomly exploded. She felt no concern for them, still believing they were aware of the threat she posed. She turned back towards the darkness and sprinted off. Eventually she came across a road and decided to follow it for a while. As the dawn began to crest over the horizon, Vie stopped at a small brook off to the side of the road and slaked her thirst. She still had no idea where she was or how safe she would be for the time being. Lifting her head from the stream, she watched the sun rise to greet the land. She had survived so much on her journey. Nothing would stop her now. Vie breathed deep the night air and marched on.

==========

Bonus points to:

Keystroke: for being my pre-reader and for being Vie’s first fanboy

Author’s notes:

Hello, everypony! Dissoriented here with a few post-script items to add:

The 3rd in the Strings of Fate series, I thought Vie should get her own spotlight, given all she’s gone through. This was actually the first piece I had a rough draft completed for, and had I not fallen in love with the story potential of Vie, it was originally planned she wasn’t to have survived the train. Thank goodness that’s not the case! Had I decided to let Vie not survive Mercury, the whole future of the story would be vastly different than what I presently have planned.

Your knife-loving, faceless writer,

Dissoriented

Disclaimer:

Strings of Fate: Exodus (δ)

“I’m sorry Fluttershy, but for your own safety I have to leave for a while.” Vance painfully stated the next morning.

“But why? What happened? Don’t you trust me?” Fluttershy cunningly quipped.

“Look, I… I messed up bad. I found out stuff I shouldn’t have and ended up on the wrong end of some very powerful ponies’ wrath. If they find Ponyville, if they find you… They’ll use anything they can get to get their revenge on me.” Vance said.

“Oh, I… I see…” Fluttershy replied, looking down sorrowfully. “How long do you think you’ll be gone for?”

“I’m willing to bet my hunters have very long memories and don’t easily forgive. I’m going to leave Equestria. See other lands, nations, and stuff like that. If I can, I’ll try to get in contact with you, but your safety comes first. I don’t want you to wake up to a pair of green goggles.” Vance said, shuddering.

Vance was filling his pack with a multitude of survival gear. He had gathered as many books on wilderness survival and geographical information on Equestria’s neighbors as he could. He was in this for the long haul. The sun was now fully visible to the east. Vance was straggling. He knew how quickly the black ops were able to track down their train and every second wasted put someone innocent at risk. He loaded his pack onto himself and made for the door. He turned to give Fluttershy a farewell.

“I’ll be back, I promise you.” he said, hugging her tightly.

“O… Okay.” she replied, stifling tears.

For the second time, Vance departed Fluttershy’s cottage, this time unsure if he could keep his promise. He took the old path he and Fluttershy used to walk back when they were younger. It was now overgrown and weeds puckered the dirt. Vance couldn’t help but scold himself. For all that Fluttershy had done for him, THIS was how he was treating her? Running off on a foal’s errand in some glory-seeking career as a soldier? Equestria hadn’t been at war for a good long time! The army had grown soft and lazy, a consequence for having a stable nation. Vance stopped for a bit to check his map. He charted a course for Baltimare. From there he could hitch a ride on a ship to somewhere far away. With relatively little money on him, Vance had also needed to prepare himself to eat wild flora, a first for his conscious life. Then again, what could be so different between wild grass and cultured grass? They were the same thing, biologically speaking. Well as it turns out, aged natural grass had a… dirty taste to it. The little seed pods at the end of the stalk didn’t help the situation, either. This was going to be a long journey.

Strings of Fate: Exodus

After an exhausting (and thankfully trouble-free) walk to Baltimare, Vance looked onto the glow of the city lights and sighed with relief. Descending into the city’s cobblestone streets, Vance found out the hard way that city life wasn’t as sunshine and butterflies as rural life was like in Ponyville. He found himself being shoved by a mob of ponies who apparently really needed to be somewhere else immediately. Vance had cursed himself for isolating himself in his own little world while growing up with Fluttershy. He had no idea how to proceed. Glancing at the many shops from the main square, he decided to check out a tavern, whatever that was. ‘The Sole Regret’ was its name, and this was where Vance learned about alcohol. Entering the noisy and crowded bar, he looked around for anyone who might know information. He saw ponies that looked like they were about to pass out, ponies that probably wanted to hurt him, and a peculiar-looking, lime green unicorn in the back, sitting in an awkward position all by himself. Figuring he hadn’t much to lose, Vance approached him.

“You got my respect for walking up to a pirate captain like he’s a secretary, colt.” said the peculiar pony. “Name’s Swash. Captain Swash Buckler.”

“Vance. … Just Vance.” Vance clumsily blurted out.

“Well ‘Just Vance,’ what brings you to this… ‘fine’ establishment?” Swash asked.

“I’ve got my reasons. You said you were a captain, right?” Vance cautiously continued.

“You forgot the ‘pirate’ part, but I’ll let it slide this time. Yes, I got a ship, and yes, you can flee the country aboard it… provided you can carry your own weight.” the clever unicorn deduced. “I may be a pirate, but I didn’t survive this long on just my devilish good looks and barrels upon barrels of cider, though they did help. Got to be smart if you want to stay competitive in a pirate’s market these days. Hire selectively and back check your supplies’ sources, and other fancy economic terms. Yee har.” *drinks from mug*

Vance had become utterly befuddled at the pony he had just met.

“You look like tartarus! Pull up a seat and let’s talk business. Waiter! Another Cinderbrick Stout and one Balti-malt!” Swash shouted.

The waiter returned with two more wooden mugs filled with foamy brown drink. Vance noticed Swash’s was significantly darker in color than his was.

“When you’re out at sea for months on end, you need drink that can last that long. Pretty soon, you acquire a taste for it and the sweeter stuff just won’t cut it anymore.” he continued, swirling his mug and spilling a bit on the table.

“So where’s your ship going?” Vance asked, apprehensive on drinking whatever was brought to him.

“I don’t do business with weak stomachs. Swig that and we’ll talk.” Swash demanded.

Vance looked into the mug, seeing the reddish-brown drink still fizzling. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and took a drink. It was the worst thing he ever had. Still, this was Vance’s best chance to leave Equestria, so he summoned all his will to force the drink down his throat, coughing viciously afterward.

“Eh, you’ll learn.” Swash said unsympathetically. “Dock 4. It’s the sauciest ship in sight. See you then.”

Without another word, the lime green unicorn seemingly vanished.

After stumbling his way out of the tavern reeking of sweat and fear, Vance walked towards the ocean. The logical place to look for a dock would indeed be the ocean, and find one he did. After glancing both ways, looking for a ‘saucy’ ship (whatever that meant), Vance just said to hay with it and started walking up and down the docks, hoping to find this sauce ship.

“‘The Saucy Mare?’ Are you joking me here?” Vance said to himself, noting the suggestive mare carved out of wood bolted ingloriously to the ship’s nose.

Thank Celestia for elegant flowing hair.

“Well, ‘bout time you got here!” Swash called, hanging from some netting. “Was starting to think you got shanked in that bar!”

Vance, unsure of what to do, simply stood and listened.

“Well don’t just simply stand there listening, come on up!” Swash invited.

Somewhat hesitantly, Vance boarded ‘The Saucy Mare.’ Swash was on the floor to greet him faster than seemingly possible.

“Great to have ya aboard! Lemme introduce you to the crew, so they don’t accidentally think you’re from the Thieves’ Guild and cut out your innards you while you sleep. Alright, colts! Line up! 1, 2!” Swash shouted.

After Vance dispelled the disturbing image Swash planted in his head, he followed him on down the line of pirates of varying appearance. For the most part, they seemed unremarkable and not worthy of mention, save for several unique faces.

“Here’s Bilge Rat. He’s our cook. Don’t let the name fool ya. He keeps his station clean… mostly. This here’s Bynn. He’s our top archer. That bow’s misleading. He can bust up a lot of things with one good shot, boxes and bones alike.” Swash explained.

“He’s a breaker all right!” said a random pirate.

“Here’s Polaris. He’s in charge of making sure we don’t end up stranded at sea. And this *voice becomes smoother* lovely mare is our courtesan, Minerva. She’s in charge of… entertainment for our long sojourns at sea.”

Vance looked directly at Minerva, who flashed him a suggestive wink. Vance had no visible reaction, slightly surprising both Minerva and Swash.

“Well maybe Minerva’s style of entertainment isn’t the variety you prefer…” Swash said, slightly distraught.

Vance made no mention of Fluttershy.

“Well with this crappy introduction ceremony out of the way, let’s get outta here ‘fore the port authority figures out I wrote on their walls.” Swash said nonchalantly.

As if leaning on Swash’s beck and call, the crew immediately made the appropriate preparations to leave. As they were sailing off, Vance saw what Swash meant by ‘wrote on their walls.’ He had painted several rude gestures and provocative words onto the outer walls of the port authority building. Vance became bug-eyed as he began to think what he had gotten himself into.

The life of an Equestrian sailor is one of extreme repetition, mitigated by infrequent bursts of life-threatening occasions. Most days Vance worked alongside the grumbling cleaning crews, ensuring the deck was habitable. Most nights Vance merely lay outside, looking at the stars. Most of the crew was in the dining hall, taking part in the ritualistic activities of getting smashed like a ripe pumpkin and hitting on Minerva, which only worked when a few stray bits were showing out of your pocket. Vance found himself frequently visiting the paranoid Polaris who was often too preoccupied with scanning multitudes of stellar maps to even notice Vance’s presence. He never conversed with him, but he liked to feel the presence of another living thing, erratic and tireless as it may be.

“Is this really a pirate’s life?” Vance asked in disappointment to Swash on one of the odd days where they had time to speak.

“As I recall, you weren’t looking for the life of a pirate. You wanted to come aboard my ship, so I put ya to work.” Swash said with a pipe in his mouth, leaning over the ship’s railing and watching the coast of whichever country they were passing by.

“I was under the impression the journey wouldn’t last more than a week.” Vance grumbled.

“We’ll have plenty of opportunities for you to get off if you so choose, but until then, you need to make rent. I’m buying your food and not selling you to the Seljuk slave market, so count your blessings.” Swash said while blowing out tufts of smoke, his eyes never leaving the coast. “There’s an old song I remember. It covers my life pretty well. I’ve forgotten how it goes, but I can still hear the beat. Ah, memories…”

Without getting any satisfying answers, Vance walked around the ship to see if any of the crew could be more enlightening. He found Bynn casually shooting at a flock of overhead birds. Each shot fired found a mark, and each mark thumped onto the deck several moments later.

“Hey there. Bynn, was it? You mind if I ask you some questions about this whole gig?” Vance asked.

Bynn turned to face Vance, a worn scarlet scarf covering his face. Given how hot the days were, Vance was puzzled as to why he wore it. Bynn said nothing.

“Uh, can you tell me anything about the ship?” Vance tried again.

Without a word, Bynn beckoned Vance to follow him down to Bynn’s personal quarters. Going to the far end of the room, he reached far back into a desk drawer and pulled out a small, glossy wooden box. Inside it was a knife crusted with dried blood.

“I… don’t understand…” Vance said, starting to become on-edge, thinking Bynn might try to harm him.

Bynn then went over to a bookcase, shifted several away, and pulled out a small jar. In it was a tongue, floating in brine. Vance was somewhat mortified by this, but what really got him was the note sealed onto the case with a red wax stamp of a crown. It read:

I win. You work for me.

Swash

Bynn gave Vance a look of loss and boiling vengeance.

“So he owns you…” Vance deduced.

Bynn nodded somberly, his eyes becoming tired and hopeless.

“I… I don’t know what to say, I…” Vance started.

Bynn slowly nodded his head once, indicating he knew what Vance was trying to say. With nothing left to be said, Vance nodded back and began exploring the bowels of the ship. Wandering through the various nooks of various purpose, Vance spied Polaris scurrying about a miniaturized observatory, rolls of paper erratically jutting out from shelving. They were apparently stellar maps, as Polaris kept muttering on about constellations and solstices.

“So Polaris, do you ever talk to anypony else?” Vance asked.

“Canis Major, not Minor… 33 degrees… north by northwest…” Polaris was muttering to himself.

“Do you even do anything besides this? Do you even eat?” Vance said mostly to amuse himself.

“Got to earn my keep. Captain’s orders. Got to earn my keep. Need to repay debt.” Polaris said, stopping in his tracks and looking down to the floor. “Need to pay…”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Polaris went back to his clockwork routine. Getting a tad nervous about what he’d been seeing so far, Vance moved on. Continuing further into the bowels of the ship, Vance finally saw for the first time the dining hall. It was smaller than he expected. Much opposed to how it was in the cold hours of night, it was completely barren, save for one mare carelessly sprawled out on the table.

“Ah, if it isn’t our latest acquisition…” Minerva said, obviously intoxicated.

“Minerva, right? You mind if I ask you about what goes on around here?” Vance inquired innocently enough.

“Boss doesn’t like his possessions consorting when he’s not around to keep us under his hoof.” she said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

“Everypony here owes their life to Swash. Either he bought them off the black market, sliced off a piece of them, or in the case of his favorite filly toy, took her from an orphanage when freedom was ‘almost’ within her grasp.” Minerva said, reaching for the ceiling. “He just HAAAD to have me. Pretty sure he threatened the director. Bought me and whisked me away to this floating prison. Never mind I had some of the best grades in my class, my body was too precious a commodity to be wasted in more productive ventures. *long, drawn-out breath* So here I am, a broken shadow of the mare I could’ve been. Stabsinthe helps dull the pain, though. Thank… who was it again? Celestia? Yeah. Thank Celestia for imported drink.”

“Oooo… kay then…” Vance said, creeping over to the kitchen.

“He owns us, hot stuff. He owns us aaaaaall.”

Deciding he’d had enough psychological scarring from an exotic dancer, Vance went to talk to Bilge Rat. The name really didn’t make him trust the food any more.

“From the look on your face, I take it you’ve seen Bynn’s prized possessions?” Bilge asked.

“Seems everypony on this ship isn’t here of their own will. PLEASE tell me you can explain what goes on around here.” Vance begged.

“Well colt, I was ‘ere on the Mare’s maiden voyage, an’ I can tell ya that things aren’t as bad as they seem.”

“You’re going to have a tough time convincing me that slavery is a preferable alternative to anything else.”

“You know what Bynn did before joining? ‘E was ‘ead of Las Pegasus’ Thieves’ Guild. The Guilds aren’t as professional in the southern provinces. Bynn ‘eld the city in a grip o’ terror. Best archer Equestria’s seen since ‘Deadeye’ Fletcher. ‘E ordered assassinations on anypony who threatened ‘is rule, an’ ‘e carried out a good number of ‘em ‘imself.”

Vance’s day just went from bad to worse. Not only was he on a pirate ship with nothing important to do, but he was also on it with the lowest elements of society.

“Wasn’t ‘til Swash challenged ‘im 1-on-1 that the city could be retaken by Celestia’s colts. Swash took ‘is tongue an’ bound Bynn to a code o’ ‘onor.”

“Still, it’s a pretty gruesome contract.”

“Better ‘ere than out there. Minerva’s an even sadder tale. Good prospects in life, even for an orphan, but ‘er director… ‘er director was more into turnin’ a profit than ‘elpin’ the needy. You think what Swash ‘as ‘er doin’ now is bad? Multiply that by 4 an’ that’s what she COULD’VE been in.”

“That doesn’t seem to justify what Swash is doing, though.”

“‘Who said anything about justice? Swash does the things that ‘ave to be done for the good of everyday society. It’s a grim outlook, but it’s for the best.”

“Wait, what about Polaris?”

“Look at ‘im! You think ‘e could fit in with normal society? Swash found ‘im after ‘e ‘ad a nervous breakdown. Swash cut ‘im a deal to bury ‘is past in exchange for ‘is loyalty.”

“I think I’m starting to see it how you do. It’s still horrid to see them living like this, though. So how’d you end up with Swash?”

“You don’t wanna know.”

Vance decided to take Bilge’s word for it.

“Swash ain’t no saint, an’ ‘e’d be the first to admit it, but trust me, ‘e’s doing the world a favor keeping us out ‘ere and outta trouble. That answer your questions?”

“Er… kind of. Thanks, Bilge.”

Having his ethics class for today over, Vance took his leave, his mind conflicted. He’d have a lot of nights ahead to contemplate Bilge’s words.

Vance had expected this day to be like any other. However, unbeknownst to him, an ancient evil was stirring from its slumber back in Canterlot. And it likes chocolate rain. Vance awoke to immediately find something was off about today, as his bed was attached to the wall instead of the floor. When he questioned this, gravity wasted no time on humiliating Vance. As he recuperated, he could hear heavy hoofsteps above. Something bad was happening.

“What the hay is trying to kill us today?” Vance asked Swash while covering his eyes from the fresh sun.

“Well, Bynn can now speak fluent Arabic, even though he’s only been there twice and he has no tongue, Minerva’s tail is now made of cotton candy, so even more of the crew are trying to *puts on sunglasses* git sum o’ dat flank, *removes sunglasses* and Polaris is calm.” Swash reported with an expressionless face. “It’s an apocalypse.”

The crew was in complete chaos. Flaming lobsters were crawling onto the ship, spreading misery and writing crappy poetry on the ship’s hull. The ocean turned a bright red. Swash lowered himself over the side railing with his grappling hook, dropped down, and popped back up a few seconds later.

“Aaaaand the seas are now made of fruit punch. Well that certainly doesn’t happen every day.” Swash remarked. “And that is a walrus flying a scooter across the sky.” noting the walrus flying a scooter across the sky.

“Woah! Double rain*BANG*

“NONE OF THAT ON MY SHIP!!!” Swash screamed at a random (and now dead) pirate, holding a small, smoking cannon in his hoof.

“What the hay is going on?!” Vance said, starting to panic.

“Whatever it is, you’ll probably want to hold onto something.” Swash remarked.

In an almost prophet level of convenience, a giant whirlpool began churning a short ways away. The oddest part was that it was pulling… up. Wasting no time, Vance and Swash went back indoors, trying their best to herd as much of the other crew with them, though some nameless and unimportant characters were lost to strings of licorice jutting out from the ocean, acting similarly to the tall tales of giant squid attacks.

“SWEET CELESTIA!” Vance exclaimed as ‘The Saucy Mare’ was now being pulled rather violently towards the reverse-whirlpool.

Before anypony knew it, the entire ship was being shot straight up at speeds nopony before them could even fathom. The force was so great that they had broken through the planet’s gravitational pull and soon found themselves soaring through space. Despite the lack of oxygen or life-sustaining conditions, everypony that remained on the ship was perfectly safe. A large *thud* signaled that the ship’s nose was now grinding out a new trench for the Lunar Front. Their entire sojourn into space took a good couple of hours, and despite the atrocious casualties they received, had a reasonably entertaining time. Plus, they got some sweet moon rocks as souvenirs, being able to capture them with either magic or by snagging a stray that got kicked up by the ship. Finally, the time came to return home. Everypony held on tightly as the ship left the moon’s surface, followed the gravitational arc back around, and right for their home planet.

“THIS DOESN’T MAKE ANY SEEEEENSE!!!” Vance screamed as the ship reentered the atmosphere, somehow retaining its integrity.

With a loud (and painful) splash, ‘The Saucy Mare’ was once again in her natural environment, and for a short period, under it. The surviving ponies recuperated as quickly as they could, the deck coated in fruit punch and animate marshmallows, which apparently had replaced the fish. Swash was barking out orders to the scrambling crew as he tried to reestablish some sense of order, when a vibrant wall of the color spectrum appeared on the horizon. In but a moment’s time the wave of color washed over them all, restoring everything to its original status. The ocean was deep blue, the marshmallows turned back into fish (much to a horrified Bilge’s surprise, in the middle of eating one raw), and the licorice giant squid was now just a regular giant squid, which Swash promptly shot in the face with his miniature cannon, killing it.

“Is… is it over?” Minerva asked, panting heavily, a pirate nibbling on her tail, now not made of sugary goodness.

All the pirates glanced around at each other.

“Yeeeeah let’s just take today off.” Swash said.

They threw out the anchor and went to bed early that day.

The shrouded six shuffled into the meeting room and began their procession.

“Hermes’ trail has grown cold. Scouts last report seeing a similar figure in Baltimare, speaking with Keter.” - Selene

“We should have just terminated him when we had the chance! Now we have 2 ponies loose, both of whom show great potential to unravel our magnificent plan.” - Pony 3

“Silence, Iapetus. Regardless of their capabilities, they are but two ponies, and they are still unaware of our intentions.” - Hyperion

“We dare not risk an intervention into Hasu’s affairs. If any group is capable of combating us, it’s them. We must do all we can to evade the eyes and ears of the Webwork.” - Pony 5

“Agreed, Phoebe. For the time being, Hermes is a non-threat while he is outside Equestria’s borders. He has no hopes of amassing enough forces, and Saddle Arabia is ill-prepared to attempt an invasion. Shift focus over to finding and eliminating Krínos. Protogenoi watch over us.” - Hyperion

“Protogenoi watch over us.” - Selene, Iapetus, Pony 4, Phoebe, Pony 6

For a pirate outfit, Swash’s current assignment was seemingly legitimate. Despite being a marauder of the high seas, Swash was also a successful merchant vessel. He managed his ragtag band of misfits like a company, just with even more corrupted authority. And just like any merchant vessel, it was a constant target of… pirates. It was the break of dawn when the crack of a massive ballista bolt impaled ‘The Saucy Mare,’ startling Vance awake by destroying his room. Before he even realized what was happening, the crew had already begun setting up countermeasures. The incoming enemy vessel had a mast of cyan with a white lotus symbol emblazoned upon it. Swash recognized this enemy. They were not pirates.

“Hasu…” Swash muttered angrily upon seeing his foe’s standard.

“Friends of yours?” Vance teased.

Swash shot a dead-serious look right at him.

“The Keter line’s been fighting the Hasu line for generations. Before the Webwork, before Celestia, even before Equestria was settled. The firstborn colt of my line fights the firstborn filly of theirs. Centuries of battle…” Swash said, seeming to fade into a trance.

As Swash regaled the epic saga of his dynasty’s war, grappling hooks began to snare onto the ship, and many obscured ponies, all unicorn, engaged Swash’s colts. The attackers certainly seemed to have the advantage, with magic and finely crafted, exotic-looking weapons. Given the current stream of casualties, it certainly seemed like a losing battle, but Swash didn’t break a sweat or unfurl a brow. He brought out his cutlass and grappling hook and began effortlessly hacking his way through the boarding party. This wasn’t the first time he had done this. Minerva was also seen, holding her own with 2 daggers, as was Bilge using his trusty frying pan as a mauling pan. Bynn was doing well with his trade, unloading arrows at a remarkably fast rate and cutting down a good number of enemies.

“What, your ‘fearless’ leader couldn’t come to face me herself, eh?” Swash asked the few bleeding survivors once the fighting subsided and the enemy ship disengaged. “Typical Hasu! Cower behind your puppets!”

Vance gave Swash a bit of time to vent before pressing the subject.

“Who were those ponies?” he asked.

“Lackeys of the Hasu family. They’re pretty selective in their recruitment process, and any one of theirs can outmatch my run-of-the-mill pirate easily. They’re got the skill and equipment, but I’ve got the numbers and stubbornness.” Swash replied with a vicious wink.

“Care to tell the tale?” Vance inquired.

“To the dining hall!” Swash ordered.

Swash very much enjoyed putting on a show. With the surviving crew assembled, Swash recited his family’s legacy.

“Before Equestria, two families coexisted until their ideologies drove them apart. One was for progression, expansion, and diplomacy. The other was for tradition, consolidation, and security. The Keter family, my family, struggled against the Hasu family for dominance. Our war reached such epic proportions that, to limit the bloodshed, our ancestors agreed that only the firstborns may lead their family’s armies into battle. The first colt of the Keter and the first filly of the Hasu would battle against each other either until one family would finally be doomed or until time itself had ended. To this day, neither family has yielded. I tell you sorry lot this, because you’re on the forefront against the Hasu family’s army. Now, let’s crack open a few kegs and forget this entire speech!” Swash said to a mass of cheering pirates.

The remainder of the evening dissolved into their average night, so Vance took his leave. Aside from the occasionally pirate attack, in which the opposing ship was usually obliterated in some comical or improbable manner, the following weeks were quiet. Swash ran shipments from port to port. Vance had considered leaving the ship permanently several times, but they were usually in strange lands he knew nothing about. Instead, he hid away in Swash’s uncharacteristically large personal library. Vance did not expect a pirate to own books on Theology and engineering, particularly involving experimental steam technology. And so it became regular for a while that Vance would hide away in Swash’s library, expanding his knowledge into subjects that held little relevance to him at the moment. Whenever ‘The Saucy Mare’ made a stop in an Equestrian, Cattleonian, or Confederate port, Vance made sure to send Fluttershy a letter. They usually set sail in a day or two, so the chance of being caught by his hunters was slim. Still, the threat was troubling…

Feeling his time at sea was complete and seeing that ‘The Saucy Mare’ was passing by Equestria’s coast soon, Vance requested to be let off at the earliest convenience. The crewmates whom Vance had come to know well looked around nervously, each knowing what Swash would interpret that as. Swash got a creepy grin on his face upon hearing Vance’s wish.

“Take care of yourself out there, sweetie. And if you ever change sides, you know where to find me…” Minerva said, seductively.

“I have a fillyfriend, you idiots!” Vance blurted out, finally sick of the misinterpretation.

A look of sudden realization and embarrassment came upon the crew’s faces. Everypony looked mildly relieved. As Vance was turning to Swash again, Bynn tapped Vance on the shoulder and forwarded his signature scarlet scarf.

“Really? You sure about this?” Vance asked.

With a simple nod from Bynn, Vance accepted the gift, flinging it around his neck.

“Take care o’ yourself out there, mate.” Bilge said. “It sure ain’t gonna be as fun without you ‘round here.”

“Thanks again, Bilge, for everything.” Vance replied. “And Polaris? Keep at it, pal.”

Polaris twitched and murmured something, which Vance equated to a farewell.

*ahem* *aherm* *AGHBLGRBLAGHIBGRB* Swash cleared his throat in many loud, attention-getting manners.

“Thanks for everything, Swash. You’re one crazy old salt, and I wouldn’t want you any other way!” Vance complimented.

“AW C’MERE, BUDDY!” Swash exclaimed, rushing Vance with a hug of epic proportions. “Don’t go dying a horrible, painful death out there while I’m not around, y’hear?”

After exchanging formal goodbyes, Swash telekinetically launched Vance over the side of the ship, shortly followed by a gondola (where Swash was hiding it, nopony could say) and all of Vance’s possessions. Vance quickly struggled to get in the little boat. At least Swash had the kindness to pack Vance’s things for him. Now secure in his transport, Vance took one final look back at the galley.

“That crazy old salt.” he said, chuckling to himself as ‘The Saucy Mare’ sailed off, the entire crew waving goodbye to Vance.

Vance picked up a small oar stashed on the gondola and paddled his way back to land. He washed up on the shores of Cattleonia, near Taurcelona, which was separated from the Equestrian city of Albuckerque by Boca del Rio Bay. Despite not knowing a lick of Cattlean, most Taurcelonans understood Equine, and Vance managed to survive for the time he spent there. He took this opportunity to send Fluttershy a letter. He would need to leave Cattleonia immediately, as there was a pretty good chance his hunters would find the letter and see where it originated.

Some time later, after another near-death encounter with those *squee*ing flesh-eating parasprites in those forsaken jungles, Vance had decided on a whim that he wanted to make a visit to Canterlot. Maybe he was hoping to uncover something that could answer the deaths of his comrades, or possibly it was some unseen Force tugging him towards what would transpire there. Getting there was much easier than Vance had anticipated. Despite his bedraggled look, he had little issue getting into the city itself; though to be honest he did go in through the more decrepit section of Canterlot, the Undercity. Vance was abhorred at what these proles were living with, and disturbed to know a utopia was sitting atop it. The locals didn’t pay any attention to him, which was just how Vance wanted it. Much to his displeasure, a day after his arrival a large magical bubble shield was erected and the number of Royal Guards out on patrol increased greatly.

“Looks like I’ve overstayed my welcome.” Vance told himself.

Vance began integrating into Undercity life, at least until a means of escape arose.

Over the next several days in captivity, Vance had done his best to evade detection. He ate at a soup kitchen and dressed accordingly to the role he was playing. Eventually he found out the reason for the tightened security. There was a high-profile wedding between a princess and the captain of the Royal Guard. While out surveying the city on the day of the wedding, a blue unicorn mare randomly joined him.

“Nice view, huh?” she asked.

“All I can see is the cogs that turn beneath it.” Vance replied.

“Uhh… ok? So what’s your name?” she pressed.

“…”

Vance was apprehensive about giving away any information. Was she hunting him? Against his better judgment, Vance decided to take a risk.

“Vance.” he said, extending his hoof towards her. “And yours?”

“Min… Colgate.” she replied, shaking his hoof. “So what’re you doing in Canterlot, Vance? Invited to the wedding?”

“Anything but. I doubt they’d let me onto the palace grounds.”

“What, you some criminal or something?”

Vance started getting nervous.

“I never got an invitation, and I doubt they’d let a prole crash the party.” he said.

“A ‘prole?’ What’s that?” she asked.

“It’s from an old book. It’s a… oh nevermind what it is. The point is I’m stuck in this city for who knows how long.”

They stood silent there for a while.

“So did you not get invited either?” Vance asked.

“Ugh… I was supposed to be a mare of honor for the bride, but then out of nowhere I suddenly get told I’ve been replaced! So here I am, no formal invite, and not able to leave until the wedding’s over.” Colgate lamented.

Colgate started letting her woes fly free, when Vance noticed that the sky outside the shield was blotted with little black patches. He focused to try to get a better look.

“Hey, what’s going on outside the shield?” he asked, interrupting Colgate’s tirade.

Colgate glanced out to the shield, noticing the blots in the sky as well.

“I don’t know… but it can’t be good.” she said.

Colgate walked away from Vance, placed her hoof on her ear, and started talking to herself. Vance tried to imagine what these things could be outside the shield, when Colgate suddenly appeared beside him.

“We have to move. NOW.” she barked.

“Why? What’s going on?” Vance asked.

“No time to explain, just follow me!”

Colgate began running to some unknown destination. Vance figured she may have a better idea about what was going on than he did, so he tagged along for good measure. Colgate led him through the upper levels of the very vertical-oriented Undercity, where sunlight still permeated through, to a nondescript shack. She rummaged through it, throwing out a perfectly good pie, a set of golf clubs, and an unfinished robotic replica of Colgate before emerging with a set of keys.

“What’re those for?” Vance asked.

“Keys to an airship. We need to leave Canterlot as soon as we can. And to do that, we need to get to the drydocks and commission a ship.” Colgate replied.

The two began heading for the docks. Now was when they were noticed by the overhead changeling drones, who wasted no time zeroing in on them and attempting to stop them from whatever it was they were doing. Vance discovered much to his displeasure that they could use their magical abilities to crash into the ground with minimal physical damage.

“Living artillery! Every day, something new!” Vance quipped, quite annoyed.

He and Colgate made their way to an abandoned intersection. Looking behind them, some drones were in hot pursuit. Vance looked around to try to find a means of escape.

“Vance!” called a voice Vance had nearly forgotten from a dilapidated storefront. “In here!”

Vance and Colgate wasted no time bolting it indoors, Colgate occasionally blasting a few drones away. The two got inside the makeshift fortification made of brass instruments and a grand piano.

“Good to see you again, Vance, even under these… circumstances.” the voice said.

*panting heavily* “Good to… see you… too… Octavia.” Vance mustered.

“You two… know each other?” Colgate managed.

“Somewhat.” Octavia said defensively.

“Story… for another day… Colgate.” Vance said.

“I saw the swarm conglomerating outside the shield several hours before it shattered. It was clear the Captain wouldn’t be able to sustain it for much longer, so I made a few preparations.” Octavia explained.

Vance and Colgate were finally able to catch their breaths.

“A few? It looks like you prepared for an apocalypse!” Vance noted.

“Well it seemed appropriate, given the situation.” Octavia said, glancing out a small window.

“Fair enough. Alright, we need to get to the south end of town.” Vance asked.

“What do you hope to find there?” Octavia asked.

Rummaging through the various containers, he tossed Octavia an artisan crossbow that had been left lying around in a random crate.

“A way out of here, hopefully.” Vance said.

“There might be an airship we can use. The only problem is getting there.” Colgate said nervously.

“You’re going to flee? What happened to the Equestrian commando I met?” Octavia demanded.

“Have you seen what’s going on outside? We need to get the word out as quick as possible before this spreads beyond Canterlot, which it will unless we get a deus ex machina or something else equally unlikely.” Vance explained.

“Woah, wait. Equestrian commando?” Colgate asked.

“So how do we get there? And why’d you even give me this thing? I’m a cellist, not an archer!” Octavia complained.

“Well I was thinking we just make a run for it.” Vance said.

“HellOOooo?” Colgate whined.

“And I hope you can learn well under pressure. I doubt you can shoot lightning out of your face or crack spines with a single kick, so you’re the crossbow. Besides, you’re good with string instruments, right?” Vance continued.

“That’s not the point!” Octavia persisted.

Colgate slammed her head against the wall in surrender.

“Something on your mind?” Octavia asked impatiently.

“… Nothing.” Colgate said grumpily.

With no time to spare, Vance plucked every crossbow bolt he could find and loaded them onto Octavia, still trying to pull back the string.

“Of course, the ONE time I come back, it just HAD to be in the middle of an invasion! Canterlot despises me, and the feeling’s becoming mutual.” Vance bemoaned. “Flesh-eating parasprites were bad enough back then, but now it’s a sentient swarm!”

“Alright, I finally got this *angry grumbling* thing prepared. Shall we proceed?” Octavia asked, visibly ticked off.

“We don’t have to go the whole way above ground, y’know. I know the sewer system pretty well. We can use that to make it to the drydocks!” Colgate chimed.

“You can’t expect me to wade through sewage!” Octavia complained.

Vance shot her a look that brought her into compliance. The three waited for a time when it seemed the swarm wasn’t paying much attention, then rushed over to a manhole… whatever a ‘man’ was. From there, it would be a long and poor-smelling walk to the drydocks.

The sewers seemed to be changeling-free for the time being, so the three took the opportunity to slow their pace and gather their strength for when they would next need to surface.

“Alright, this is as far as it’ll take us. We’ve got to hoof it the rest of the way to the airship.” Colgate said, surprisingly very much in control of the situation.

“Are you sure this plan will even work? And where are we to go?” Octavia asked.

“I know a place…” Colgate said ominously.

Colgate peeked out through a storm drain. Unfortunately, there were a decent number of drones scavenging the area.

“Here’s the plan. We see the airship… and then we run to it.” Colgate said.

“Or how about you give me the keys to jumpstart the ship while you provide a distraction and make an opening for Octavia to use her crossbow with minimal chance of drawing attention?” Vance postulated.

“… Or we could go with that.” Colgate said, a bit flustered and giving Vance the keys.

“I’m not so sure I like this idea anymore. Is there any chance we could turn back and attempt to secure a living space to ride this out?” Octavia asked.

“Nope! LET’S DO THIS!!!” Vance shouted, shoving the 2 mares out into the open.

Vance dumped his companions on the street and shot straight for the airship, occasionally sucker punching an unfortunate changeling that was standing too close to his path. Things did not go so well for Colgate and Octavia. The changelings did their whole deal, copying the trio with little effort. While Colgate gladly leapt into battle, Octavia became paralyzed with fear, unable to get a single bolt off. Evil Vance clones spammed Octavia, knocking her weapon away. They tried to pull her out into the open air to permanently take her out of the fight, but Vance, seeing her predicament, flew back to help her. He had managed to get a firm grip on her back legs just in time, and began pumping his wings backwards to keep in place.

“Oh… no you… don’t!” Vance strained. “Colgate, can you lend me a hoof?”

“A little busy at the moment!” Colgate said amongst a pile of Vances, Octavias, and Colgates.

Vance could feel his strength getting sapped from him. Colgate was preoccupied and Octavia was incapacitated.

“I could sure use that deus ex machina now!” Vance shouted to Anyone who could hear him.

As if on cue, a massive surge of energy emanated from the Royal Palace, sending the swarm back to whatever lands they came from. Vance felt it as Octavia fell, the changelings no longer keeping her aloft. Vance lost his grip on one leg, so he redoubled his efforts to hold on to the other one.

“Don’t worry, Octavia! I got’cha!” Vance exclaimed.

“Vance.”

“Just hold on! Colgate will be here to help soon!”

“Vance!”

“I’ll hold on for as long as I can!”

“VANCE!”

Vance finally opened his eyes and looked down to see Octavia had two hooves firmly planted on a section of pavement below.

“Oh.” he said, letting go of her leg. “Hehe… sorry about that.” *awkward grin*

Colgate, having finally recuperated from being mobbed, rushed over to see that her two comrades were ok.

“Oh, good! I was starting to get worried there for a second!” Colgate said, relieved.

“Yes, this has been a most… interesting day.” Octavia said, retrieving her crossbow.

Colgate walked a short distance away from the other two, putting her hoof to her ear and muttering to herself.

“Another day, another apocalypse, eh?” Vance said, trying his luck at dry humor.

Octavia merely sighed and rolled her eyes. She was utterly exhausted. Colgate returned.

“Well I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m needed back at the palace. You two can take care of yourselves from this point, right?” Colgate asked.

“Yeah, we’re good. Thanks for all your help, Colgate.” Vance said.

“Yes, you both have made fabulous, if a bit unorthodox, company.” Octavia added.

“Ok. Take care!” Colgate said before leaving.

After watching Colgate rush down to join the party, Vance’s eyes caught on some peculiar cargo.

“Hey, you said this whole ordeal was over a wedding, right?” Vance asked.

“Yes. Why?” Octavia inquired.

“I’ve got an idea…”

As dusk began to settle, Vance glanced down towards the festivities. Apparently a near-apocalypse isn’t enough to stop a celebration.

“So what is it we’re waiting for, exactly?” Octavia asked anxiously.

“Figured I should give the bride and groom a proper sendoff. And since I can’t do so personally, this is the next best thing.” Vance replied.

Finally the moment arrived. The newlyweds loaded into their cart, and after the bride tossed her bouquet to a deranged unicorn mare standing near Colgate, the carriage took off.

“All right! Fire the mortars!” Vance ordered.

Octavia lit a bundle of fuses, watching the fires snake along to their payloads. The shells leapt into the sky and set it ablaze. It was a spectacular fireworks show for being cobbled together by two exhausted ponies that had little idea what they were doing. Vance even found one of those fancy ones that exploded into a giant heart shape.

“Congratulations, ponies I’ll probably never meet!” Vance said, waving at the shrinking carriage exiting the city.

Finally with all the day’s activities at an end, Vance and Octavia relaxed.

“So where are you vanishing off to now?” Octavia asked.

“Well now the shield’s down, so I think I’ll get out as soon as I can to avoid suspicious eyes. Not sure if my former employers have forgotten about me yet.” Vance said.

“Wait, so you’re not working for the military anymore? Then what happ-”

“We never were working for the army. Turns out its some shadow group that was manipulating us the whole time. When we found out, we fled. *deep inhale* They chased after us.”

Vance took out Cameroon’s emerald necklace and presented it to Octavia.

“Oh… oh my…” Octavia said, her voice starting to quiver. “So she’s…”

Vance nodded painfully. Octavia was now on the edge of tears.

“She told me to give this to you before sacrificing herself to save me. She died a hero.” Vance lamented.

Octavia choked back her sorrow and recomposed herself. You could still hear the pain in her voice, however.

“Keep it. Keep it as a reminder of who you’re fighting for. If you ever need anything, I’ll do my best to assist you. Merely promise me you’ll find and eradicate the monsters responsible for this.” Octavia said, seething with anger.

“I promise. She shall be avenged.”

“Good…”

Vance turned and began to make his way out of the city. Security would be focused on the party, so he shouldn’t have too hard a time escaping.

“And Vance?” Octavia called.

Vance turned his head back to the broken cellist.

“Take care of yourself out there, Vance.”

Vance complied and walked on.

Vance was indeed able to slip out of Canterlot without trouble, resuming his haberdasher disguise of a worn cloak coupled with Bynn’s scarf. It was excellent clothing for the freezing temperatures of the mountainous borderlands between Equestria and the Griffon Confederacy. Vance grew lax in his progress, leisurely strolling the lands, forgetting the dangers he faced on either side. This eventually proved to bite him in the flank. While walking one fresh morning in a coniferous area, Vance found himself between a rock and a hard place. Or to be more realistic, between some griffon commandos and some black ops pegasi. Vance was meandering along when an unimportant old foe dropped in one day, along with a new, not dead team.

“Well looky here! If it ain’t the same pegasus who killed off my old team!” the grizzled griffon said. “Where’re your buddies at?”

“Let’s not be rash, here. Does it look like I pose a threat to you?” Vance said, taking a step backwards.

“Hmm… nah. And that’s why you’re the perfect target.” the griffon said, his one good eye dilating with hatred.

“Wait, what happened to your eye? Last I saw it was perfectly fine.” Vance asked.

“An intense game of extreme underwater basket weaving, but that’s beside the point. Griffons! Go for the neck!”

“Kratí̱ste to!” called out a voice from behind Vance.

The black ops.

“Oh no… not you guys too!” Vance bemoaned.

“Wait, who are they?” the griffon asked.

“The ponies that did what you couldn’t…” Vance said in a hushed tone.

“Na ypanacho̱rí̱soun. Hermes échei skotó̱sei mas, grýpas apóvrasma!” shouted the black ops sergeant.

“I don’t know what you just said, but no!” retorted the griffon.

“Den epizó̱ntes!” the sergeant yelled before the black ops dove right for Vance.

Not to be outdone by some ponies again, the griffons got right into the fray. In the confusing pile-on, Vance managed to slip out and bolted for a more heavily forested area.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" the griffon called out.

"Gýrna píso̱!" shouted the sergeant.

Vance sprinted as fast as he could through the pine trees, careful to evade the prickly trees. The griffon (somewhat clumsily) pursued, matching Vance's pace, while the sergeant deftly breezed through the thickets. Vance checked behind him to see how far away his pursuers were when he suddenly found the ground beneath him no longer existed. Vance plummeted into the sinkhole a ways before gliding further inward, hoping to lose the chase in the caverns. Vance settled into a nice, dark, damp corner behind some limestone stalactites and waited patiently (and quietly).

"Xéro̱ óti eísai edó, Hermes..." the sergeant taunted.

A few moments later, the griffon, coated in tree sap and pine needles, stumbled into the room, quite dazed. The griffon tried to get out a witty one-liner, but the sergeant, having lost all patience with him, simply threw a small knife at him, which found a comfortable resting place in the griffon’s eye socket. Vance seized this opportunity to lunge at his assailant. Not expecting Vance to go on the offensive, the sergeant was quite roughly thrown up against the damp cavern wall. Vance made extra sure to secure the serrated knife before beginning his interrogation.

"Alright, who are you working for, what do they want, and why all the secresy?

"Pistév̱ete eilikriná óti tha páo̱ na sou po̱..." *chokes*

Vance pressed the serrated dagger tantalizingly close to the sergeant's throat.

"What is it you would like to know?" the sergeant said, doing his best to be cooperative.

"Who are you working for?"

"The Archaía Áloga."

"Well that doesn't help at all."

"I answered your question."

Vance pressed a bit harder.

"They're an old collection of unicorn mages. They're the descendants of those who ruled all ponydom in the Ancient Era."

"What do they want?"

"To regain control of Equestria, then reunite all pony nations and place us at our rightful position of dominant race."

"So then why all the secrecy?"

"You are not their chosen."

"And what does that mean?"

"Not even I am sure. My intel says you weren't their chosen and now you're a priority target, following Krínos."

There were still so many questions Vance wanted to ask, but he could feel the sergeant worming under the knife's edge. It was also almost guaranteed the black ops pegasi won the skirmish and would quickly and efficiently begin searching for their leader. It was time for Vance to leave.

"Sooo... can I go?" the sergeant asked.

Yank.

A long time later, Vance had continued winding along Equestria’s border, always keeping watch to ensure he wasn’t detected by any pegasus patrols or border stations. By this time he was hiking through the mountainous region separating Equestria from the Ancient Lands. Aside from one instance of a cloaked figure who seemed to have picked up his trail for a short while, Vance had never encountered anything dangerous. With nobody to talk to on his long road, Vance had to keep his mind occupied to prevent utter hilarious insanity from taking him. He had delved into the books Swash had let him have. They were surprisingly sophisticated tomes for a gruff pirate to have been in possession of, with subjects of experimental technology, Theology, and poetry. Despite his preparation with his maps, Vance soon found he had become dissoriented. One twilight, he looked up to the clouded sky and pleaded for help.

“Micia, if you’re up there, can you lend me a hoof?”

Whether it be divine intervention or luck of the draw, the clouds parted, revealing a brightly burning star off in the distance. With nothing to lose, Vance set off towards the star’s light, hoping it would bring him to where he would be safe.

A couple of nights later, Vance found himself wading through a swamp. The fog was thick and Vance soon lost his direction. He cursed himself for having trusted an entity he knew almost nothing about, thinking she was to blame. Suddenly, he heard something approach him. He became paralyzed with fear. He was in a strange land and knew nothing of it, and this time there was no Mercury Team or pirate crew to back him up. As the figure became more defined, he realized it was another pony. Finally he came into full view. He was a dull navy earth pony, with a black beret and a brown shawl.

“Qui êtes-vous?” this stranger asked.

“Uhh… Equestrian.” Vance said, pointing at himself.

*sigh* “Je vois. Venez avec moi.” the stranger replied, beckoning to Vance.

Despite not having any idea what this Prenchy said, Vance followed anyways, hoping he knew a way out of this swamp. After several minutes, they had gotten out of the murky waters and onto dry land. Glancing around, Vance could make out the figures of small towers, enveloped in fog. He began to wonder just who he had discovered as they arrived at the entrance of a cavern with a giant wooden gate and two guards.

“Regardez ce que j’ai trouvé errant dans le marais!” said his escort.

“Ha! Je n’ai pas pense que nous avons des réfugiés qui entrent en Prance!” said a cream colored guardmare.

Their jovial attitude didn’t make Vance any more comfortable. Walking through the cave, Vance finally was able to put two and two together. He had entered Prance, and was walking in the middle of a Prench Resistance camp. With a nervous gulp, he wondered just what he was being taken to. He was led through a tent flap into what looked like a command center. A serious-looking gray earth pony with a moustache was glancing over a table with a city of Prance pinned to it, surrounded by several other ponies.

“Un réfugié Equestrian, monsieur.” his escort announced.

“Merci. Laissez-nous s’il vous plait.” the gray officer replied.

When the retinue had left, the officer spoke to Vance in Equine.

“So tell me, what’s an Equestrian doing here in the middle of war-torn Prance?” he inquired.

“Well, sir, I’ve been roaming for quite some time, and I guess I just ended up here.” Vance nervously replied.

“One does not simply roam into Prance. You came here with a purpose, and I want to know what it is.” the officer demanded.

“Enough with the interrogation, Renéigh.” said a very familiar voice entering the room.

Vance spun his head around in time to see Vie enter the room. While Renéigh stood at attention, a smile spread across Vance’s face as he ran to give her a long overdue hug. A smirk appeared on Vie’s face as well, stunning Renéigh.

“It’s good to see you again, Vance.” Vie said with a sense of relief as he released her.

“You… know this stallion?” Renéigh asked, confused.

“Oui. He and I were part of the same unit when I was in the Equestrian military. Vance, this is Lieutenant Renéigh Bastille, my second-in-command.”

“So this is the famous Vance Vie’s told me so much of, or as your former comrade Stitch called you, ‘Stubbs.’” Renéigh said with a hint of disdain.

“I see my wings are in better shape than yours.” Vance returned, noting Bastille’s lack thereof. “Come to think of it, I’ve yet to see any other pegasi here.”

“That’s because there haven’t been any pegasi in Prance for generations.” Renéigh said.

“When the Prench schism occurred, very few pegasi went with them. And those that did tended to marry other variants of ponies as well. You’re the first pegasus in a very long time to set hoof on Prench soil.” Vie explained. “But enough history for now. You’ve come at a most opportune time. The Resistance is finally going to make a push to capture the city of Monacolt. If we are successful, it will greatly boost our morale and give us the resources we need to really fight back against the Oligarchs.”

“Good to see some things never change.” Vance said with sarcasm.

The three of them gathered over the map pinned to the table. It was of Monacolt and the surrounding geography. Vie had learned much of warfare since her time in Mercury Team, and Bastille had studied much as well, most of it first-hoof. Together, they formulated a plan of attack. Their target was the Governess of the city. If they could eliminate her, the remaining forces in the city would be crippled morally and easier to destroy. However, the Oligarchy’s army was simply too strong for their band of irregulars. Most of these ponies were never meant for war. Bastille himself was originally a baker!

“Okay, so how do you plan to get an untrained militia past some of the most hardened soldiers I’ve yet to see?” Vance asked, unhopeful of the situation.

“We’ll go right under their noses. The sewer system is large enough for ponies to access. The only issue we have is moving a small army through them without drawing the Noble forces’ attention beforehoof.” Vie explained.

“Another sewer. Grand…” Vance whined.

“This won’t take place for a while now. Communication is difficult between our separate strongholds, and gathering the needed soldiers will take some time.” Vie said.

“So what am I supposed to do until then?” Vance asked.

“Train the soldiers in guerilla warfare. Most ponies here are green as grass, and some have yet to see battle.” Vie said, regrettably.

“What?! It is my duty to train the stallions, not some étranger!” Bastille roared.

“Calmer, Lieutenant. You are not being replaced. Rather, you’re getting a new Major.” Vie said.

“WHAT?!” Vance and Bastille said simultaneously.

Vie was startled at their unified response. Not visually, of course, but startled nonetheless.

“I came here as a refugee, not a war asset! That, and I’ve never led anything bigger than a squad, and you well remember how loose the chain of command was!” Vance argued.

“How can you even trust this pegasus? You haven’t seen him since you were in Equestria last time! Is your romanticized imaging of him clouding your better judgment? Rappelez-vous l’etalon qui a combattu à vos côtés durant tous ces mois sur de simples promesses!” Renéigh protested, his mustache riveting from his Prenchiness.

“Don’t use languages I don’t understand! If you’ve got something to say to me, then say it!” Vance shouted, turning on Renéigh.

“Dragonnet! Vous êtes dans notre pays comme une faveur à Vie! Vous acceptez ce qu’on vous donne!” Renéigh snapped back, pressing his face against Vance’s, neither of them yielding.

“ENOUGH!” Vie shouted.

Vance and Renéigh immediately ceased, astonished at Vie’s noisy outburst.

“I don’t care your opinions on this situation! Vance, you need a place to hide, and here you can do that as well as working for a truly noble cause. Renéigh, you are beneath me in the chain of command. You will obey orders or I will have you imprisoned for treachery. We are close to a great accomplishment, and I won’t have the opportunity wasted because of a simple fight between boys!” Vie said staunchly.

What Vie wants, Vie gets.

Days rolled on by as preparations were made. Vance had finally encountered Vie’s enemies, the Chevaliers, while being shown the extent of Prance’s swampy marshlands and jungles where the Resistance made their home. Thinking back to Canterlot, they made Celestia’s Royal Guard look like standard fodder. The Resistance was hardly prepared to take on such intimidating foes. Oligarch earth ponies were covered in armor on their front, and in appropriate fashion were used as living battering rams that could break Resistance morale just at the sight of a charge. Their unicorns were more evenly covered and were trained in picking off single targets. Standard Resistance fighter of either subtype was unskilled and poorly armored, their numbers and fanaticism being their only strengths. This still did not make much progress, as the Oligarchy boasts their training regiments kill more Chevaliers than the Resistance does. Vance did his best to teach the Resistance all he could about stealth and sabotage, but given the language barriers, the intrigue into pegasi long absent from Prench blood, and the hot-headedness of the Resistance, progress was slow, to put it on the bright side. Bastille was more of a conventional face-to-face fighter, resulting in embarrassingly high casualty ratings, but popularity with his ponies for his bravery/foolishness. As time went on, the numbers they needed gradually trickled in, and the infiltration could commence.

Vance thought Canterlot’s sewers were bad. Monacolt’s sewers were a whole new level of nasty. The main garrison of the Oligarch troops were stationed at the city’s gates and a small navy protected the port, but nopony bothered to keep watch over the waste disposal, much to Vie’s pleasure and Vance’s disappointment. Vance had been tailing the main composition, being kept on a short leash by Bastille. Vie was probably already in the city, directing the soldiers around while the city was still waking up. When they finally did make it topside, Monacolt was already a warzone. The Resistance had entrenched itself in several heavily fortified and well thought-out dugouts, and with a large backing from the civilian population, it didn’t take long for the Resistance to throw the Oligarchy forces into chaos.

“Well it looks like you’ve got things pretty well handled here. You sure you needed my help?” Vance asked Vie in a café-turned-command post.

“Bien sûr! You may not know it yet, but you’re a natural leader. The troops are driven on by stories of the Equestrian who came to Prance’s aid when she needed it most. Well, I may have colored you in a favorable light when I used stories of our time in Mercury to inspire them in dark days.” Vie went on.

Bastille was checking the defensive line they had set up around their entrance point. The Oligarchs and even the Resistance had little organization going on at the moment, but everypony knew the ultimate target was the Governess. Skirmishes took place all over the city for the majority of daylight, the Oligarch forces attempting to gather and form a unified counter attack, and the Resistance picking off as many Chevaliers as they could. Vie, Vance, and Bastille slogged their way to the Governess’ palace, their speed impeded by the Resistance’s lack of discipline.

“Wow. For a high-value target, they sure didn’t seem to bother with defenses.” Vance said, noting the lack of guards on the grounds.

“Stay focused. We have no idea what could be inside. Just find the Governess, put her down, and win the day.” Renéigh said.

“Indeed, Vance. We mustn’t lose sight of our goal now. We have bigger things to be concerned with.” Vie added.

“You’ve been at this for a long time, haven’t you Vie?” Vance said, worried about Vie’s health.

“A humiliating string of defeats led up to this moment. This may be the last chance we have to make a difference. Let’s just say a lot is riding on today.” Vie said, mentally exhausted.

The trio along with a small squad of Resistance fighters entered the Governess’ Mansion. Vie and Bastille were accustomed to Oligarch frivolous spending. Vance, however, was in awe at the opulence of the mansion.

“Woah. Nice digs!” Vance said, noting the high ceilings, carefully cut stone arches, stained-glass windows, and polished marble flooring.

“‘Digs’?” Renéigh said, having never heard the phrase before.

“Fancy place.” Vance elaborated.

“Shh!” whispered Vie. “Chevaliers could be anywhere!”

“Like surrounding us?” Vance said, noticing the Chevaliers surrounding them.

“Er… oui…” Vie said, facehoofing.

“La victoire ou la mort!” Renéigh shouted, leaping into battle.

Vance and Vie quickly followed suit, and so began an epic battle of martial prowess. The Resistance fighters, as is there nature, were quickly eliminated from the equation. Vance, Vie, and Bastille carried on for a measure of time, the flow of battle being directed towards the Governess’ office. Vance kicked down one of the two grand doors using a Chevalier’s head. The Governess calmly rose to her hooves. Bastille joined Vance while Vie continued to hold off the remaining Chevaliers, a small silver dagger flying all over the hallway.

“So you’re the Governess?” Vance said, approaching the plain-looking unicorn’s generic look.

“And you’re an Equestrian?” the Governess replied with more than a hint of snoot and disdain.

Bastille was barely able to contain his rage. Here was the Governess, his hated enemy, and for whatever reason he found himself unable to act!

“Grah… Why is it that everypony in foreign countries can speak Equine?” Vance said, noticing the convenient linguistic knowledge of nearly every foreign pony he met.

“The story wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if we all spoke only Prench, now would it?” the Governess said, glancing towards the fourth wall and smirking.

“…? Who are you talking t-… oh nevermind!” Vance said, looking behind him, trying to see the audience she was addressing.

Finally, his rage unable to be contained any longer, Bastille launched himself at the Governess, knocking them both out the giant window she used to watch over the occupied city. Vance had the massive displeasure of being dragged by the face right out the window by the panicked Governess. Bastille managed to grab onto the windowsill while Vance and the Governess began tumbling towards the courtyard below. Despite the need to start flying to avoid an untimely demise, Vance also had to deal with a hooffight with the Governess herself. Despite her docile appearance, she could throw a mean right hook. Through force of will, Vance regained control of his wings, which the Governess promptly took advantage of, shifting her weight on top of Vance and beginning to pummel his head. In desperation, Vance began grazing a building, leaning so the Governess took the brunt of the friction.

“Y’know, for a politician, you’re pretty tough!” Vance said, taking a hoof to the face.

“And for a protagonist, you’re not doing too well!” she mysteriously replied.

They continued to fight viciously for several minutes.

Renéigh was beginning to lose his grip trying to hold on to the windowsill. Vie was still occupied by the remaining Chevaliers, and so could offer no assistance. Finally his stamina was exhausted and he began to plummet to the ground. He felt somepony grab his back left leg.

“Wow. You are SO lucky I’m good at timing these things!” Vance said to Renéigh.

“Yes, yes! You’re the big hero! NOW GET ME OUT OF HERE!” Renéigh shouted.

Vance complied and lifted Renéigh back into the palace. The Governess now dead, the Resistance wasted no time mopping up the remaining pockets of Oligarch forces with maximum prejudice. Vance watched the Fleur-de-Lis wave proud over the conquering soldiers. He returned to Vie and Renéigh.

“Well there you have it. One dead Governess and one revolution.” Vance said with a hint of dissatisfaction.

“Something wrong, Frère?” Vie asked.

“Was all this worth it? I mean, this was a lot of bloodshed and destruction just for one city. Will the end result even be worth the cost?” Vance redirected.

“You’re friend’s starting to sound like an Oligarch.” Renéigh interjected.

“Oh shut it, Lieutenant. Vance is right. We need to watch our step to ensure we don’t become the enemy we’re fighting.” Vie said while walking to Vance’s side. “Vance, would you do us the honor of placing our flag on top of the building?”

“I’d be honored to.” Vance replied.

Vance removed the Oligarchy flag of two unicorn horns crossed in front of a shield and replaced it with a tattered standard of three gold fleurs-de-lis. Vance said his farewells to the brazen Prench freedom fighters that he had just met and helped them besiege a city in a short period of time. While he still couldn’t understand what the hay they were saying to him, their faces were full of hope and gratitude, and that was enough for Vance.

“Plan on going on any more nomadic journeys anytime soon? We sure could use your help here.” Vie said jovially. “You’ve been an inspiration to our soldiers and an invaluable ally. If you ever need assistance, don’t be afraid to contact me, Frère.”

“Thank you, Vie. These are some of the bravest ponies I’ve ever met, and it was a true honor serving with them.”

Vie prodded Bastille, prompting him to give his gratitude.

“Oh,” *ahem* “ah yes. Err… Thhhhank… you. For all your… help.” Bastille mustered.

Vie rolled her eyes and smiled while Vance laughed at poor Renéigh’s attempt to share the spotlight with somepony else for once.

“Take care, Renéigh. Try not to die.” Vance jested.

With nothing left to say, Vance took to the Prench skies heading for home.

“Much as it pains me to say this, I might actually miss him.” Renéigh quipped. “Ok, I have to know. Is he really your brother?”

Vie laughed the loudest she ever had.

“No, of course not! He just reminded me of my own brother when I first met him. He was shy, yet so headstrong. He has the makings to become a great leader one day.”

“No arguments here. There’s some kind of air about him. One of hope. We were in short supply of that before today.”

“Indeed. Our work has only just begun.”

Flying back over the forests signifying the Prance/Equestria border, Vance could hardly contain his joy. For the first time since he had first set out for Baltimare those many weeks ago, he was going to see Fluttershy! Looking back to Prance, he could still see the faint glow of Monacolt’s fires still raging following the Resistance’s conquest of it. Looking upwards, he could see that bright star that had led him the Prance when he had lost his way. A parting gift from Micia. Looking ahead to Equestria, the moon dominated the cloudless night, shimmering brightly. Vance had finally returned home. Unbeknownst to him, a cloaked figure waiting patiently in the woods made note of his migration. Vance spent the next several hours casually flying through Equestria’s air, lazily drifting toward Ponyville and Fluttershy’s embrace. Oh, how he had missed Fluttershy. He hadn’t had a good night’s rest ever since the one he shared with her. As he entered the skies over Ponyville, he made a slow descent onto a familiar pathway. He took a moment to enjoy the feel of Equestrian soil beneath his hooves before sauntering the rest of the way home. Vance quietly slipped through the door, though this time Fluttershy wasn’t waiting for him on the couch. Vance grabbed a blanket and settled there for the remainder of the night.

While still peacefully sleeping, Vance heard a shrill cry pierce the air.

“VANCE!!” Fluttershy shouted before piling on to his semi-conscious body. “Oh I missed you so much! I thought about you every day you were gone!”

“I missed you too, Fluttershy…” Vance sleepily replied as Fluttershy tried to burrow into his chest with her nose.

“Tell me everything! I want to hear what you’ve been doing!” she said eagerly.

And so Vance relived everything he had been through, from his voyage with Swash to his encounter with the griffons to his involvement with the Prench Resistance, making sure to leave out key details that might reveal why he had to go through with them in the first place, and they even cross-examined their activities during the Changeling Crisis. Fluttershy was in awe for the majority of the time. All the exotic locales and the plethora of ponies he had met came to life in her mind. Vance had spoken a picture to her. More than that, a mural. Vance spent the whole day mesmerizing Fluttershy with his stories. Before they realized it, the sun had already begun to set.

“Oh my!” said Fluttershy. “We spent all this time talking and the day’s already gone!”

“To be honest, I’m glad. I’ve yet to spend a night alongside you since I left all that time ago.” Vance said, turning the mushy factor up with a suggestive grin.

Taking the super-overly-obvious cue, Fluttershy invited him upstairs for a ‘good night’s rest…’

A large unicorn was reclining in a grand chair, casually swirling a glass of red wine. He was staring into his fireplace, his mind abuzz with thought. A knock was heard at the door.

“Enter.” he said.

In walked a slightly scared green unicorn. Oculus.

*gulp* “S… Sir?” Oculus said.

“What is it?”

“…” Oculus pointlessly adjusted his glasses. “We’ve found Hermes.”

==========

Bonus points to:

Keystroke: for being my pre-reader

Author’s notes:

Hello, everypony! Dissoriented here with a few post-script items to add:

The 4th in the Strings of Fate series, I liked the openness of this piece, because I could whisk up whatever I wanted, as there aren’t many official maps of Equestria detailing her borders and what neighbors she may have. This gave me the ability to experiment with a multitude of ideas, which was a ton of fun.

Your experimental, faceless writer,

Dissoriented

Disclaimer:

Strings of Fate: Gathering Storm (ε)

Vance had some difficulty acclimating to civilian life, given all the crazy crap he’d been doing. For everypony’s well-being, he resumed his role of holing up in Fluttershy’s cottage for a good majority of the day. However, try as he might, he couldn't help but see strange things were happening. Despite the flourishing economy of Ponyville, thanks to it being a nexus point for many of the larger cities, the standard of living had hardly changed at all since Vance had first joined the Army. On the rare occasions he actually went into town (usually to look for more books), he frequently overheard complaints of the increasing taxation Canterlot was hammering down onto them. Agriculture and mining were hit the hardest, forcing many companies to hand over their operations to the government. Only the stubborn took a stand, and frequently their short-term futures were uncertain. Vance couldn't make out if this was the work of these 'Archaía Áloga' or if Celestia was letting the power she wielded go to her head, but after everything he'd been through, Vance decided enough was enough. It was time to make a stand.

Strings of Fate: Gathering Storm

"Do you see my point, though? Who was your friend... Applesomething? Didn't you say she was having trouble making enough money to keep her farm going?" Vance said, explaining what he was seeing to Fluttershy.

"Well... um... yes, but..." she replied, distracting herself by stirring her cup of tea for a short while. "Do we have any pickled ginger?"

Vance raised an eyebrow at this odd request, but paid it no mind.

"Sorry. I shouldn't burden you with this. It's not your domain. It's just... *inhales deeply* This town has done a lot for me, whether it realizes it or not. I'm just trying to help it out."

The shrouded six shuffled into the room and began their processions.

"Efforts against Krínos have been less than ideal, though the recent turn-up of Hermes has put our plans back on schedule." - Hyperion

"I still do not understand why we continue to let him live." - Iapetus

"Oh come now, Iapetus. Where's your hunter's instinct?" - Pony 6

"Settle down, Themis. Iapetus' concerns are well-founded." - Pony 4

"I must concur with Themis on this matter, Crius. The hunt is too much a pleasure for us to ignore, and unlike our prey, we can afford to be careless." - Hyperion

"And one day, those words will bear no fruit..." - Iapetus

"Enough. Agent Eosphorus is in place and is prepared to finally put an end to any threat Vance poses." - Hyperion

"Do we have our puppeteers ready to assume the empty mantle?" - Phoebe

"Despite their incompetence in virtually all other matters, they are as prepared as they can be to be the front of our rule. Continue to watch over the developing situation with Hermes and Eosphorus, and step up efforts to eliminate Krínos. Protogenoi watch over us." - Hyperion

"Protogenoi watch over us." - Selene, Iapetus, Crius, Phoebe, Themis

Vance went into town this chilly day. The fellow residents of Ponyville had begun acclimating to the winter climate. He walked past Applesomething's apple stand. She was desperately trying to sell off her remaining apples before the winter cold would claim them, haggling back and forth with several customers. Food prices had been steadily dropping. Vance made his way to Sugarcube Corner, ordered some generic coffeehouse-style food, grabbed a copy of Equestria Daily, and began reading, hoping the contents could pull him away from the turmoil for a moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure approaching him. Without lowering his paper, this figure sat down at his table.

"Rough times, aren't they?" this stranger said.

"Eeyup." Vance responded without diverting his attention.

"Say, don't I know you from somewhere?"

A single bead of sweat formed on the side of Vance's head. Black ops? Midday? In public? Had they gotten that desperate? He said nothing, pointlessly hoping this stranger would forget him and leave.

"Ah, I think I remember you. Army, right? Weren't you in one of the Phalanx regiments?" the stranger asked.

Vance quietly exhaled. Looked like this was just another veteran, despite Vance's short period of service.

"Yeah, I was in the 8th. You?" Vance said.

"6th Scout, but as I recall you mysteriously disappeared shortly after enlisting. Something about a 'higher echelon' or something?" he replied.

There was that bead of sweat again.

"I've come across some... interesting papers, some of which concern you. Care to take a look?" the stranger said with a sly grin. "Oh, and the name's Lucius, by the way."

Lucius passed Vance a folder with several documents in it. The newer pieces were indeed about his time in Merc, but the older ones had... distressing material.

The night of the Gala. The security guard was asleep. Why post a security checkpoint so far out of the way and so high up? Was there anything worthy of protecting here? That didn't matter to Lucius. He and his friends, Mephistopheles and Belial, had been given a tip that they could find incriminating evidence against Celestia, and events occurring during the Gala would ensure their infiltration would go unhindered. They nonchalantly crept by the snoring guard and proceeded down the hallway.

"This way. If this isn't a trap, this could really rally some major support for our cause." said Lucius.

"Who needs support? We should just burn this whole castle to ash!" Belial said maliciously.

"If we need underhanded methods to entice others to join us, it does not speak of the nobility of our cause, Lucius." Mephisto warned.

The three entered a darkened wing, calmly walking past several doors until they came to an unassuming one with an unusually strong lock on it. Lucius fumbled with a lock pick for a bit. It was only the second time he'd ever try to use it.

"It may be magically sealed, too, if what we're looking for is as valuable as we've been led to believe." said Mephisto.

Belial struck the lock with one mighty hoof, smashing it immediately. The guard made one loud snort, then resumed quietly napping.

"Shall we go, mares?" Belial teased.

With Lucius grumbling and Mephisto checking over his shoulder every two minutes, Belial led them down an unkempt stone staircase, barely a few barred windows providing moonlight. The stairs extended further below the surface until it finally opened up to a musty old repository.

"A broom closet? All that for a broom closet?!" Belial whined.

"So short-sighted, Belial! Have a little faith!" Lucius countered.

Lucius began poking around. It was a small room and had not been well-maintained, and it was likely Celestia had wanted to forget that room, along with everything in it. Lucius' eyes latched onto a small manila envelope, tucked away behind several broken Ancient artifacts.

"Oooh, what have we here?" Lucius said, a grin worming its way across his face.

Belial looked on with vicious delight, while Mephisto was merely disappointed.

"Where... where did you get... these..." Vance said, slowly sinking into the contents of the documents. "These papers, they're..."

"Incriminating? Yes, quite so. Now let me guess. 'How can I be sure they're real?' you say. Check that seal. It's magically infused into the paper itself, and there's only one pony old and powerful enough to place that complex of a seal on these rather aged papers. Would you like a guess as to whom, or should I just not bother wasting time?" Lucius said with a disturbing grin.

"So why show this to me, then?"

"Have you seen what's on those papers? You've traveled all over the continent, and you disappeared for a sum of time as well. You know the corruption that runs rampant in Canterlot's heart. You're quite the tantalizing asset and you need a place to hide. I propose an exchange. You render to use some of your... services, and in return we keep you hidden from... prying eyes..." Lucius said, dragging out the final consonant.

Vance considered this. He wasn't really trying to hide anymore, so maybe this wasn't such a bad offer? Priorities first, however.

"Extend that offer to Ponyville and it's a deal."

"Very well then." Lucius said, slightly disappointed. "The Nightingales shall watch over Ponyville in exchange for your service. Now if you'll just sign this..." Lucius said, extending a document.

Vance could barely make out any of the words on the document. He was a bit uneasy about signing what he couldn't read, but he decided that this Lucius was worthy of his trust. For now, at least.

Over the next several days, crime in Ponyville (or what passed for it) saw a rapid decline, as did the average well-being of any government officials. Vance was somewhat pleased at these results, though he feared he may have unintentionally brought more unwanted attention, as well as provoked his hunters to resume their search with renewed vigor. As per his arrangement, Vance had agreed to help out Lucius in whatever it is that he needed help with.

"A bank robbery? Are you insane?" Vance said, lacking excitement in his voice.

"Well unless I'm mistaken, you're bound to serve in exchange for the Nightingales' protection, are you not?"

"But a bank robbery?"

"Hey, you're not physically taking the money out of the bank, you're just moving it from point A to point B. If everything goes smoothly, nopony will know what happened." Lucius said cooly.

Vance facehoofed. It was all he could do in this situation. From all Vance was told, a bank was robbed and he helped move the money along with several Nightingales. From the newspaper the next day, several thousand bits were lifted from Trottingham's city bank. Vance felt disgusted with himself. Trottingham had fallen on hard times recently, and now Vance had unwittingly helped compound their woes.

"Oh my, a bank was robbed! Oh those poor, poor ponies!" Fluttershy lamented.

"Yeah. Poor. Double entendre." Vance muttered to himself while staring out the window, leaning against the doorway from the kitchen to the living room.

"Vance, have you seen the paper? Oh, it's just awful!" Fluttershy said, extending the paper to Vance.

Reluctantly, he took it and read the whole article from start to finish. He was slightly relieved that neither he nor the Nightingales were identified, but that still didn't ease Vance's conscience by much. Lucius continued to have Vance assist in numerous "endeavors" of his.

"What do we do? What if they come here? Oh, that would be... *gulp* frightening..." Fluttershy worried.

"Shhhh... Everything will be fine, trust me on this one." Vance cooed as he moved in to hug Fluttershy and began stroking her mane.

Fluttershy instinctively grabbed onto Vance's still leg. She enjoyed having him as an anchor for when times got too rough for her. He enjoyed it, too.

"Oh, why can't it just be like this? None of this worrying or bad news, just us, here?" Fluttershy asked, her gaze fixated blankly forward.

Vance had no answer for this. Now, he couldn't even imagine a peaceful existence with just him and his Flutterlove. Everything was determined to drive a wedge through any chance of happiness the two could have together. Fluttershy suddenly cringed and leaned forward.

"Could you get me some more tea and a blanket, please?" she asked, covering her belly.

Fluttershy had been complaining of stomach pains recently, and occasionally she was getting uncharacteristically irritable. Vance thought it was just recent events causing her unneeded stress, and so did everything he could to keep her at ease. It was 1 of the few tasks he enjoyed doing implicitly, both taking care of Fluttershy and keeping his mind off everything going on. For the rest of the day they held on to each other and reclined. They wanted more days to be like this.

Vance found strange comfort in being amongst the Nightingales, as they were surprisingly sympathetic to Vance's situation, many of them having been hunted by somepony in Canterlot at some point. The Nightingales were a talented, yet humble group of shadow warriors, each of whom have shed their identity to fight against whatever they see as tyranny throughout Equestria and in some cases beyond.

"You should consider joining us, Vance. You've got the skill set and the motivation, and we'd be honored to have you in our ranks." said a Nightingale.

"R-really? You... really?" Vance said, somewhat stunned at the offer.

These were good stallions and mares, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. This was the closest thing to a family he felt he ever had.

"So wait, what do you call each other then? Don't you get rid of your names?" Vance asked.

"Well, some of us pick new names, like Subterfuge, Vulpes, or Eclipse..."

"...and some of us just go by 'brother' or 'sister.'"

Vance... couldn't. No. Even with all the danger he was putting her in... he couldn't let Fluttershy go. Not yet.

"I'll... have to pass this time, but maybe one day..."

Not... just... yet...

"I think it's time you made some new friends." Lucius said to Vance while they were having one of their public discussions.

Despite everything Vance had done for Lucius, nothing was getting better. The economy was still collapsing, civil unrest was increasing, and it became harder and harder to remain neutral. Several riots had occurred in the southern portion of Equestria, its main agricultural hub.

"Really? The ones you've given me aren't doing what I thought they would." Vance complained.

"They are fulfilling their end of the bargain, as are you. However, these new associates are a bit more... feisty, shall we say."

"How feisty?"

"They may or may not have derailed that train carrying weapons and soldiers last week."

Vance's eye twitched several times. NOTHING was going the way he hoped it would. Vance had to start prematurely destroying Fluttershy's newspaper to prevent the headlines from causing her panic attacks. Unfortunately, Vance could see no way back. Not anymore. There was something big under all these trivialities, but he just couldn't piece it together yet. He needed more time, more information before he could take any action. Much as he hated it, he now needed Lucius.

"My close friend Belial leads a group of militant opposition against Canterlot's tyranny. Those papers I showed you also had some insight of protesters and oppositions groups that 'mysteriously' vanished without warning. Belial's stallions demand Canterlot answer for their crimes, and are met with silence."

"So terrorism is a justified response?"

"You're labeled as one, though your intentions were for a higher purpose. I think if you look at it, you'll see they're not so different from you..."

Lucius dug around in his pouch for a bit before throwing several folders on the table.

"Here. Everything you need to help us avenge those who dared oppose tyranny." Lucius said.

Vance perused through them. Time schedules, train tickets, guard rotations and locations. Whens and wheres, but no whats.

"You mind telling me what these are all for?" Vance asked, a bit confused on what Lucius was planning.

*facehoof* "They're plans to help us infiltrate the Royal Palace in Canterlot! All our efforts have been met with silence, so we will march in there and force them to listen to us!" Lucius boldly declared, making grand gestures. "No more of this cat-and-mouse. They will listen to our demands and then... we will change everything, make Equestria into a better place, fix everything they've broken!"

Lucius had started to go off on a tangent, possibly no longer aware Vance was even there with him. Vance reclined roughly, nearly tipping his chair backwards. What Lucius was talking about was a coup. Vance reread everything given to him. Lucius' intel was very thorough. He mulled the plan over in his head a couple of times. He wanted no part in this ridiculous attempt at usurping Celestia. Regardless of how well Lucius may have planned, there was no way he could force the entire governing body of Equestria to submit to his demands. Still, perhaps this could be an opportunity for Vance to get more information. After all, his former employers were supposedly headquartered in Canterlot as well, and even if Lucius was on a collision course with disaster, maybe Vance could reason with Celestia to figure out why all this was happening. He still felt queasy about technically being part of a coup, but the potential gain was too tantalizing to ignore.

"I'm in."

The infiltration had gone smoothly enough. Large numbers of Rebels disguised as civilians had been steadily leaking into Canterlot through the train system over a short period of time. The day Vance arrived was the night everything would commence. Vance met with Lucius in the same park he met Cameroon's sister. He hoped Octavia wouldn't see him like this, a traitor, a Rebel. Lucius introduced the several teams also responsible for the operation. Belial would distract the Royal Guards by staging a riot in the Palace courtyard, Mephisto would secure a means of exit, and Lucius, along with Vance and the Nightingales, would infiltrate the Royal Palace and confront the Celestial Council, and hopefully Celestia herself. The Nightingales proved to be quite adept at creating distractions, taking care of what meager security forces were left behind. Finally they were there. The Royal Throne room. Oddly, nopony was present.

"They may be discussing legislation. Stay here while I go search for the Council." Lucius said, unsheathing his rapier.

After Lucius left, Vance walked around the massive, well-lit room in awe. Stained glass portraits of heroes and legends of old. Moments of great triumph and reminders of great loss. Vance was starting to eye a particular piece closely, as he thought he saw a pony that resembled Fluttershy. Fluttershy? A hero? That... didn't seem likely.

"What is the meaning of all this?!" an angry voice called out as it entered the room.

Princess Celestia.

"There's a riot in my courtyard and the Council dares have the nerve to tell me everything's all right? Who are you? Speak!" she demanded.

"Princess Celestia, I am Vance. Although this probably does look incriminating, I'm not part of this Rebellion. I'm here looking for answers."

"Then that makes two of us." she said. "The Council continuously updates me and says there aren't any issues I need be concerned with, and then my sister approaches me and tells me ships are being burned at port and officials are being foalnapped!"

"Wait... you haven't been seeing what's been going on out there?"

"Apparently not. I'm getting conflicting reports and I'm not sure who to trust, yet when I press for information all I get is ambiguity!"

"Well the economy's collapsing, hostile opposition groups are forming, and your government may be only a puppet regime."

"Ah, I suspected as mu... wait, what? What do you mean 'puppet regime?'"

"Long ago, I signed on as a recruit into the army, then shortly after was contacted by a higher echelon, claiming to be working for Equestria. They sent me and my team all over the map to resolve crises, secure resources, and eliminate important characters. Later, we found out they were completely detached from Equestria, pursuing their own agenda instead, which I now believe is to overthrow you and establish their own rule."

"Hm... I see. And do you have any idea who this group may be?"

"They call themselves the Archaía Áloga."

Princess Celestia froze for a moment and her pupils dilated.

"Are you sure that was their name?" she asked earnestly.

"Yes. Why? What do you know of them?"

Celestia gave a heavy sigh and composed herself, her face taking on a look of grimness and severity.

"During the first several decades of our reign, my sister and I waged a secret war with a group of the same name, and with similar goals. We thought we had stamped them out, but they rose up again after my sister had been corrupted into Nightmare Moon. Again, I thought they were eradicated down to the last pony, but it appears I don't give my foe enough credit. No doubt, they're the ones responsible for deafening me to the brewing rebellion." *long inhale* "I thank you for your honest with me, Vance. You were quite courageous in confronting me, but tell me... did you come here alone?"

"DEATH TO TYRANTS!!!" Lucius screamed, lunging from his hiding place.

Time slowed down for Vance as he watched Lucius' rapier plunge into Princess Celestia's neck. Vance watched in horror as Celestia fell, a triumphant Lucius looming over her with a twisted visage. Mephisto chimed in on the radio to inform them that Belial's rioters had been eradicated with maximum prejudice and with no survivors, but Vance heard nothing. Lucius declared to them all that Celestia, the Great Tyrant, was now dead by his hooves. Rebel operatives, many of whom also were uninterested in a full-on coup, were now in disarray, struggling with what they should do now that their leader had finally lost his mind. The result was a catastrophe, as many of them were caught off guard by the prowling Royal Guards. The Nightingales that had come along returned to the Throne room just in time to see Vance knock Lucius out cold with a vengeful hoof to the face.

Fluttershy was out tending to her animals, when suddenly Twilight Sparkle arrived, clearly in a panic and out of breath.

"Oh, hello Twilight! What brings-"

"No time to talk! Pack your things, NOW. I've got to get you out of here before it's too late..."

"What? What are you- *cringe* ... talking about?"

"No talk. MOVE. I'll explain everything once we're safe."

All Vance’s planning had just been thrown out the window. This was never supposed to happen. In the ensuing panic, Vance rallied all Rebels loyal to him retreated outside the city, dragging Lucius' sorry flank with him. Lucius was bound by rope, and Vance had decided that for Lucius' treason, there was only one suitable punishment.

“I’m sorry it had to come to this.” Vance said somberly and on the edge of tears, looking down at his former friend.

Lucius looked up past what was his rapier, the spark in his eyes extinguished.

“I’m not.” Lucius said heartlessly.

With that, all remorse left Vance, as he quickly brought down the rapier on its former owner. No emotion to be felt. Vance then boarded the airship Mephisto had stolen for them all and they escaped the city.

“This is all Lucius’ fault! That stupid foal!” Vance raged.

Vance and what remained of the Rebel leadership had regrouped just outside of Ponyville. Thanks to Lucius, they were now all labeled as terrorists.

“What now?” said a Nightingale.

Vance paced back and forth, bitterly grumbling to himself.

“Is the Helios Cannon ready?” - Themis

“Almost. We just need to ensure its safe to operate. We don’t want a misfire disintegrating half the palace.” - Iapetus

“It’s ready enough to use. Grow a pair, Iapetus.” - Hyperion

Iapetus scowled at Hyperion’s lack of concern for their safety. Who would lead Equestria if they all died? Protogenoi know Luna’s not capable at the moment.

“Have we acquired our target?” - Hyperion

“Yessir. The Catalyst is at full power, the mirrors are adjusted. You’re free to fire when ready.” - Oculus

Suspended in the middle of the room was the Iliaki Krystallo, glowing brightly from all the solar energy it had been collecting. The shrouded six each took up a predesignated position so they formed a perfect hexagon around the Catalyst. Each of their horns began glowing intensely.

As Vance continued to try to think up a plan for how he was going to fix this, a small glimmer of light caught the corner of his eye. He turned his head and slowly began to walk towards it.

“What the *squee* is-” *BZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!!!*

Before Vance could finish, the glimmer from Canterlot had become a giant orange laser that blasted dangerously close to his head. He was not the intended target, though. Fluttershy’s cottage was. When Vance determined it was safe to lift himself from the ground, he looked behind him to see his former home had become a raging inferno. Without speaking, Vance just stood there, looking on to the fire that had consumed the mare that gave him purpose. The mare that was always there for him. The mare he loved. The Rebel remnants tried to stir Vance out of his stupor, all unsuccessful, so they left him to his own accord for the remainder of the day. When the sun was finally setting, he took to the air.

And just like that, Vance was gone.

Without Vance’s willpower to hold the Rebel ranks together, tensions quickly escalated out of control. Using this cover, the Celestial Council publicly declared that Luna, having sympathized with the Rebel plight out of genuine concern for their pleas, was an enemy of the new Solar Empire. Martial law would be instituted “for the general welfare of all ponies loyal to Celestia and Equestria.” Soon, the Rebels found themselves facing an organized military, and quickly repurposed themselves into the New Lunar Republic, with the goal of destroying the Solar Empire and fixing Princess Luna as rightful heir to Celestia’s throne. The opening stages of the war went disastrously for the NLR. They were at a numerical and technological disadvantage, and nopony could get near Canterlot with the Helios Cannon guarding it. Not only that, but the Solar Empire had the best elite infantry, better officers, and a relentless propaganda machine to indoctrinate the ponies of their territories into conscription. They also enjoyed employing mercenary armies to bolster their already swelling ranks. It seemed as though the NLR was inevitably doomed until, ostensibly out of nowhere, General Trotton, formerly of the Solar Empire and commander of a vast majority of pegasi troops, took all forces loyal to him, captured Cloudsdale and a great number of pegasi outposts, and promptly seceded the northwestern portion of Equestria. This was the saving grace of the NLR, drawing the attention of the Imperial armies off of them long enough for them to regroup and rearm. Firmly entrenched in the southern portions of Equestria, though still fighting a losing battle, the NLR struggles to hang on long enough for two of their best officers to retrieve what could be their last hope.

==========

Bonus points to:

Keystroke: for being my pre-reader

Author’s notes:

Hello, everypony! Dissoriented here with a few post-script items to add:

The 5th in the Strings of Fate series, this piece was a look at the political mindsets of the rulers vs. the rebels, as well as a chance for me to deepen the conspiracy and begin setting up the finale. To be honest, this one was a toughie. Still, for the sake of plot cohesion, it had to be done.

Your Nightingale, faceless writer,

Dissoriented

Disclaimer:

Strings of Fate: Heart of the Maelstrom (ζ)

A small chandelier swung from the light breeze blowing in through the open window of the small Cattleonian tavern. The minotaur bartender was washing out mugs when Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked in.

“Are ya sure this here’s the right place?” Applejack asked somewhat nervously.

“Since when have I steered you wrong?” Dash confided with herself.

Applejack rolled her eyes and walked further into the bar. Berry Punch was fighting her own war on grapes, and seemed to be winning. Applejack walked past her towards a wrecked pegasus hunched over a mug.

“Vance?” AJ asked, slightly mortified at Vance’s disheveled appearance.

“…”

“Equestria needs you Vance. The New Lunar Republic needs you.” AJ continued.

“Come on, Vance! Perk up!” Dash said, playfully punching Vance’s shoulder.

Vance turned his head just enough to give Dash a death stare with one dull-golden eye. Dash promptly stepped back, her smirk gone.

“Most of all, though, WE need you. Why, you were the best gosh darn leader I’d ever seen! You kept your goals straight, you gave everypony hope with just your presence, you…” AJ said, trying to convince Vance.

Vance gave a heavy sigh and reached into the small pouch he had hanging from his neck and took several small coins of varying size out.

“Aqui.” he said, sliding them over to the minotaur bartender, still wiping out the insides of a mug.

“Hasta mañana, caballo.” the minotaur said.

Without another word, Vance left the tavern and began walking down the sloped street the tavern was situated atop of. Applejack and Rainbow Dash persisted, determined to get Vance to listen to them.

“C’mon, Vance. Hear us out.” AJ pleaded.

“Don’t you wanna get back to the action? Taking on the Solar Empire, fighting for the good of all ponies?” Dash added ruthlessly.

“For what? So I can be undermined by my overzealous comrades and sit helplessly as the Solar Empire uses a superweapon to destroy my only reason for living? Again? Pass.” Vance said hopelessly, drooping his head further.

“Then perhaps We can convince you.” said a tall, cloaked figure emerging from a shadow-covered alleyway.

Princess Luna.

“Wow. You must really be desperate.” Vance said, not intimidated.

“Thou art unmoved even in Our presence?” Luna asked.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash had their front legs on the ground, bowing before the Princess. Vance was unmoved.

“I’ve lost everything. There’s nothing left for me.” Vance said unemotionally, pushing past the Princess and continuing on his way.

“Ah didn’t wanna have ta do this, but ya leave me no choice!” AJ said, a reluctant scowl covering her face. “Fluttershy’s still alive!”

Vance stopped in his tracks.

Strings of Fate: Heart of the Maelstrom

“What?” Vance asked.

“Twilight caught wind o’ what was goin’ on and took Fluttershy to Zecora’s hut. She’s been hidin’ there ever since so the Empire don’t find her.” AJ explained.

“And how long have you known this?” Vance said with a hint of anger.

“Twilight slipped us a tip a couple of weeks ago. Imps don’t like ponies crossing any of their borders, so getting into the forest won't be a cakewalk." Dash warned.

"We can't do this without ya, Vance. Please..." AJ pleaded.

A moment of silence passed.

“Well then what the hay are we doing standing around here?” Vance said, the fire within him reignited for the first time in a long while, his eyes now shining brightly.

“Welcome back, Vance.” AJ said with a victorious smirk.

“Very well then. We mustn’t tarry. Make haste to Las Pegasus. 'Tis where We have established our center of operations. Given thine superb command capabilities during the Uprising, We shall give thee command over the 9th Legion. Good luck to thee, General Vance.” Luna declared before teleporting away.

Vance took a deep breath of the Cattleonian air. He might not get to for some time. He was still having trouble accepting the Fluttershy was indeed alive, though. Maybe it was a lie to trick him into service?

“Wait, how can I be sure Fluttershy’s really alive?” Vance demanded.

“What, you want us to bring her to you?” Dash said, growing more impatient.

“Actually, yes. That would be nice.” Vance replied.

“We ain’t got time fer that malarkey! Let’s just mosey on back to Las Pegasus an’ we’ll git Fluttershy to ya, ‘kay?” Applejack said, puffing her chest out in determination.

“Fair enough. Now, uhh... how are we supposed to get to Las Pegasus?"

They had a long walk ahead of them.

The shrouded six shuffled into the room and began their processions.

"Everything has been going quite spectacularly. Agent Eosphorus performed his duties most excellently, and then was silenced, severing the main connection between us and the Uprising." - Crius

"Efforts to conceal our involvement have been going well, too. The Webwork has yet to chase any links back to us." - Themis

"Consequently, we remain unable to take any action against them at this time." - Phoebe

"Once the Solar Empire has won the war and our elected figureheads are established as their leaders, we'll have no issue publicly hunting them down. The public will assume they're terrorists or criminal organizations." - Selene

"Telikí̱ níki̱ is at last in sight, my brothers and sisters. We have waited so long for this moment. Protogenoi preserve us." - Hyperion

"Protogenoi preserve us." - Selene, Iapetus, Phoebe, Crius, Themis

All but Iapetus quietly exited the room.

"Using the Emperor's Prayer already, Hyperion? I swear you shall lead us all to ruin with your ambition..." - Iapetus

Iapetus blew out the candle.

After solving their transportation issue, the three disembarked into the city of Las Pegasus. It was an odd fixture, given it was a tourist city in Equestria’s more rugged, industrial, and generally less populated southern portion, but nonetheless it was capable of surviving, drawing tourists from nearby Cattleonia and as far as some of the Griffon Confederate clans (depending on hostility towards Equestria). The war had completely shattered the tourist industry for a time, especially since a ferocious Imperial commander, Colonel Elegant Tear, had been burning a path right into the heart of the NLR’s lines and straight for Las Pegasus itself. Walking into the NLR’s main camp, Vance was surprised to see that he looked like most of the soldiers here, like they had been dragged through a couple miles of mud, and then poked with many, many pointy sticks. In turn, the soldiers cast odd glances at Vance. Some of joy, some of disgust, and some of confusion. Vance could just barely recall a few faces from the Uprising.

"I take it a lot of these ponies remember the Uprising pretty vividly?" Vance asked.

"It wasn't exactly what we'd call a bright time fer us. Some of us still have scars from the scrap in Canterlot." AJ said.

"Wait, you were there?" Vance said in astonishment.

"Had ta be. My family farm faced foreclosure. Ah couldn't just stand by an' watch without puttin' up a fight. Ah was with Meph when we heard what Lucius did. We just..." AJ choked up a bit. "We couldn't look at ourselves for a couple o' days after."

The three walked through the camp to the main tent, where the regional commanders were located.

"Ah, thou hast finally arrived. We were beginning to grow suspect." Princess Luna said.

"A ride over here would have been nice." Vance said annoyed.

"Oh, erm... yes, We suppose that would hath been preferable to walking." Luna said, blushing slightly. "No matter. We are transferring command of Rainbow's Raiders and the Sentinels over to the 9th Legion. Thine first assignment is to repulse the incursions made by this Colonel Elegant Tear and secure our position's safety."

Vance sighed heavily as Applejack and Rainbow Dash led him to address the newly created 9th Legion. Vance stood silently before the assembled thralls, each of them wearing a countenance of hopelessness. Colonel Tear was cutting a swathe right through the NLR lines, and they've been handed over to some dirty old drunk terrorist to lead them. After noticing the silence, Applejack gave Vance a helpful push.

"Uh, yer supposed to say some inspirin' word ta them."

"What is there to say? We're already low on morale and now they're expecting us to hold the line against a ferociously zealous Imperial commander? I've beaten the odds before, but this is just... I-I don't see how..." Vance tried to finish in a way that would not further crush the hopes of his own thralls.

"And that's where we come in! Rainbow's Raiders! Form up!" Dash called out.

Almost instantaneously, several pegasi wearing blue vests landed in an orderly row. Vance could hear excited whispers from the crowd of thralls. Apparently, these pegasi were pretty famous in the NLR ranks. Not to be outdone, Applejack called out her own team.

"Sentinels! Gather 'round, y'all!"

Out from a tent came three earth ponies coated in technologically advanced copper armor. Their eyes glowed green and their faces had menacing masks over them. Aside from their tails, there wasn't a single open patch of skin to be seen. The crowd of thralls was silent this time, instead with their mouths agape, their eyes bulging.

"Sweet Micia, where'd you get that armor?!" Vance asked, his face like the soldiers'.

"Some Prenchy sent 'em to Princess Luna, and She had 'em commissioned to help us fight the Empire. I proudly say we ain't had one casualty with 'em!" Applejack boasted.

"Oh yea? Well who's got the longer service record and more medals? That's right, this team! Raiders, sound off!"

"Silver Streak! Raspberry! Fleetfoot! Thunderlane! Zero! Stuka! Junkers! Spitfire! Hawker!" cheered the pegasi in order, drawing cheers from the thralls.

"Well if'n y'all are done showboatin', we've gotta go get ready fer a war!" Applejack said while leaving, her Sentinels following her. "Oh! Before I go, Vance, that Prenchy I mentioned? She sent ya somethin'. I left it in yer tent, along with the letter she sent ya. See ya on the front!"

Vance went to his tent to find an elongated package resting on his desk, coupled with a rolled up parchment.

Dear Vance,

Things are beginning to quiet down here. Most of the Oligarchs have either fled the country or have been put into the ground, and now we're working to rebuild our beloved Prance. I understand that the situation has become quite dire for you as well. I wish I could come to your aid, but pressing matters here require my attention. I promise to send aid once I can spare it, but until then, I've sent you several gifts. As we pushed further into Oligarch territory, I began reading the books you accidentally left with us. We took some of the principles in them and applied them to a new, advanced set of armor for earth ponies we found in an Oligarch facility, dubbed Sentinel armor. The inspiration Micia and Lemaign have provided have also served to strengthen our resolve. And as a personal token of my appreciation, I commissioned our smiths to forge for you a saber with some exotic capabilities. As you'll note, the blade's edge is composed of several varieties of gemstones and has gemstone dust ground into the blade itself, both of which have been specially treated to resist and possibly deflect magic. Perhaps you'll find this to be of use, given the advantage unicorns have is now negated. I wish you good luck in your battles, and may you serve as a beacon of hope for your ponies as you still do for mine.

Avec l'amoure,

Vie

"Stay safe out there, Vie..." Vance said with a touch of regret that they were both unable to help each other.

Vance gave his new sword a thorough look-over, noting small sparkles of powdered gems ground into the blade, culminating in the tip, which was composed of diamond. There were several garnishing gems added to the handle, presumably for show, but knowing Vie's pragmatism, they probably served an ulterior purpose. He gave it a few swings, getting a feel for the weight and focal point.

"I am blessed to have such loyal friends."

Just then, a courier knocked on one of the wood posts at his tent's entrance.

“Letter for you, sir. It came with a couple large crates.” said the courier.

“Well that was fast! Thank you.” he replied.

Vance opened the letter, curious as to who else had vested interest in sending him gifts.

Hope these help.

All'ottava

Inside the crates were a large multitude of crossbows, vast quantities of bolts, and maintenance gear.

“Huh.” was Vance’s answer. “Well these’ll sure come in handy.”

With all his deliveries taken care of, Vance made his way to the back-most trench, casually hopping in next to some thralls, their hooves all coated in mud from the week's heavy rains. They escorted him up to the front. As Vance approached the battle, the sounds of clashing metal and the thunder of artillery, both coming and going, became more prominent. The number of wounded, dead, and shell shocked also increased, making Vance a tad nervous about this Colonel Elegant Tear. His vision was also becoming obscured by the dust and smoke in the air. Finally, one of the thralls escorting him said they were now at the front, and they quickly snaked down a trench to reinforce a failing line. Vance poked his head out of the trench to see the Sentinels and a multitude of thralls were ferociously battling the advancing Imperials. Vance could see many conscripts clad in the Imperial gold had already perished, along with a number of thralls, but the two sides kept bitterly trading blows, the NLR line never faltering, and the Solar Empire continuing to throw a seemingly inexhaustible number of meat to grind them down. Beyond the battle, a raging wall of fire had been steadily advancing for the past several days. Colonel Elegant Tear.

"'Bout time ya made it here, sir!" Applejack said as she threw a conscript to the ground and sent him to the next life.

"What's the situation, Captain?" he asked, lifting himself out onto the field.

"Line's been holdin' for a while now, but we ain't gonna stand much chance when Colonel Elegant gits here."

"I take it she's the ominous wall of fire?"

AJ nodded as she used her back hooves to take out a conscript that managed to get past the others and flank her. Just then a small wooden palisade exploded in a flash of light, revealing Colonel Elegant, clad in magnificent golden armor, and flanked by two armored unicorns, apparently her personal guards and likely the ponies responsible for burning their way to the front. Vance and even the seasoned Applejack were momentarily stunned by the intimidating entrance. Vance tried to swallow his nervousness.

*gulp* "Well, we found Colonel Elegant." Vance said with a misleading calmness.

With the mention of her name, Colonel Elegant snapped towards the source, her eyes fixating immediately on Applejack, the more threatening-looking of the two. With a snort of dust being cast from her nose, Applejack steeled herself and alerted the rest of the Sentinels to rally to her. Before they even arrived, she charged forward, dead set on the Colonel, who met her challenge. Vance, admittedly a bit hesitant to get in the fight just yet, held back as the remaining Sentinels engaged Colonel Elegant's guards, making surprisingly short work of them.

"Y'all git back ta holdin' the line! Vance an' I got this!" AJ called to her troops and partly worrying Vance.

Vance approached Colonel Elegant, presently struggling with Applejack, their strength fairly well matched, despite AJ's natural and technological advantages. Vance surveyed the two before being jumped by three conscripts, who were all terminated in a minute's time thanks to Vance's training having become instinct. Remembering he could hold his own in a fight, he lept towards the Colonel, giving AJ a brief moment of respite before Vance was given an uppercut that sent him flying back several meters. AJ looked on in minor despair before getting back to holding the Colonel off. Vance saw Dash zooming by ahead of him, frustrating a few Imperial pegasi before several other Raiders finished them off.

"Hey Dash!" Vance shouted. "We could use some help down here!"

Dash gave a salute and turned to her Raiders for a bit while Vance picked himself up, thinking of how they could get an advantage over the Colonel, when he remembered what he left behind.

"Crap! Forgot my sword! Hold on for a bit!" Vance exclaimed as he hastily flew back to retrieve his weapon.

"Did he just ditch us in the middle of a fight?" AJ asked herself.

When she turned back, the Colonel struck with her rear hooves at Applejack's chest, denting the armor and sending her flying back a few meters and into a trench. Dash saw that AJ was in a precarious state and bolted over, tackling the Colonel before she could start an annoying monologue. Dash and Elegant wrestled for a time while Applejack regained her bearings and the Raiders and Sentinels held off the Imperial vanguard. Despite her prowess, Dash was unable to overtake Elegant, and found herself under the Colonel, who fully intended to finish Dash off. When the Colonel tried to stamp out Dash's life, Dash darted her head to the side. The same situation repeated itself several times in rapid succession, each time making the Colonel more and more aggravated.

*growls* "Why... won't... you... just... die!?" the Colonel exclaimed.

Dash gave her a smarmy grin and used her wings to push herself to freedom, causing the Colonel to give chase into the sky, now fully enraged. Colonel Elegant, try as she might, couldn't keep up with Dash, and her anger prevented her from rationalizing a strategy, so Dash did what she did best in these situations and began toying with her prey, much to the displeasure of the rest of the Raiders, who really wished she could get back to the fight.

"Hey Cap! You mind finishing up and getting back to the fight?" Silver Streak called from atop several conscript corpses.

*sigh* "In a min-WAGH!!"

Seeing Dash had made herself vulnerable, Colonel Elegant took this fleeting opportunity and, in a burst of speed that would have impressed even Dash, speared Captain Dash and crashed them into a dilapidated outpost, stunning the Colonel and knocking Dash out cold. Colonel Elegant staggered to her hooves and dizzily made her way to the unconscious body of Dash, pinning both her wings down first, just to be sure.

"Another... NLR Captain, eh? Your head will... look nice on my fireplace." Colonel Elegant mustered.

The Colonel raised her right hoof, intent on striking Dash hard enough to induce a hemorrhage, her eyes dilated with vicious anticipation. She felt a presence take hold of her outstretched wings, pulling them closer together, and then a sharp sting as Vance severed them from her body, permanently grounding her.

"Ha! And you thought I was gone!" Vance taunted the Colonel.

Elegant stood still for a while, consciously comatose as Vance pulled Dash's unconscious body away from potential harm. Elegant's eye began twitching. Her wings... gone. No more flight. Her honor... She slumped to the ground, blacking out from a mix of shock, disbelief, and pain. Vance peered out onto the battlefield, despite the choking fog of dust and ash, and saw that the sun had begun poking through and the Solar Empire was starting to be driven back in a rout. They never expected to be bested by the NLR's raw recruits, and now that their line of command was severed and their inspiration depleted, they began to panic. Vance shouted out to hammer the retreating conscripts with arrows and explosives, which was hastily carried down the line in both directions and used to maximum effect. Vance took a deep breath.

*violent coughing* "Ah crap!" *cough* "Too much dust!" *clears his throat* "Ah, victory."

The 9th Legion spent the next several hours mopping up Imperial stragglers, taking prisoners, rebuilding fortifications, and counting casualties.

"We had a deal which you've already broken! Get me to the Everfree Forest or you can forget my continued assistance!" Vance shouted at Applejack, who was trying to delay getting Vance to see what had happened to Fluttershy.

"Y'all know how hard it'll be ta get in there? Help us break open a path to Ponyville an' this'll be so much easier!"

"You're asking me to wait weeks what you promised me yesterday!"

"Halt! Surely, we art able to reach a consensus that is beneficial to all parties, correct?" Princess Luna interjected as she entered the tent the argument was being held in.

Vance and Applejack were both leaning on the war map, facing each other with unblinking stares, neither of them intent on backing down any time soon.

"Princess Luna, I requisition a strike force to get me into the Everfree Forest." Vance said, not breaking his stare.

"We ain't got the resources ta risk this!" AJ rebuked.

"You promised..." Vance said through his teeth.

"If thou hast promised, thou must maketh sure to fulfill thine promise! We art not so depraved as to forsake our oaths, even in these troubling times." Luna spoke.

Vance and Applejack continued their staredown for a bit longer, before AJ finally ceded and withdrew.

"Ah don't like this one bit, but ah guess ah ain't got no choice." AJ lamented.

After another couple days' preparation and several painful hours of meticulous planning, Vance had assembled a small team of subordinates to help him infiltrate the Everfree Forest. They quickly hopped from cover point to cover point, and even managed to take out a few patrolling conscripts. Vance stopped at the entrance to the forest, dragging his hoof across the dirt patch sparsely populated with grass. It was the trail he and Fluttershy used to walk. His team urged him to keep moving.

"Sir, please! We can't stay exposed like this for long!" Silver Streak pleaded with him.

"..." Vance paused as he lifted his head up. "Give an old warrior a few moments of peace, will you?"

The team hurried to a more visually secure position, while Vance casually walked deeper into the forest. After several minutes of hacking their way through the thick underbrush, Vance noticed the changing conditions.

"Hey, anypony else notice it's getting hotter?" Vance said, noticing steam clouds emanating from the ground in certain spots.

Vance got no answer as they all pushed forward until the steam gave way to water. Applejack placed a hoof on Vance.

"Take yer time. We'll be on guard." she confided in him before his team let him continue alone.

Vance had quietly progressed, silently praying to himself that this wasn't some cruel lie meant to exploit him for the NLR's purposes. He heard the sound of water splashing lightly, and he crept up behind some reeds to get a concealed view. He had no idea why he was doing it, but it felt appropriate for the situation. He saw a huddled mass of pink and yellow in the spring water, lifting water and letting it run down her legs and hair. She guided her hair into a mass in front of her, then energetically pulled her head back, flinging her hair and a flailing tail of water along with it. Vance could've sworn it happened in slow motion and there were sparkles in the image, but perhaps it was just the steam messing with his head.

"Ahem..." Vance faked.

In true Fluttershy fashion, she was startled at Vance's announcement and plunged her head in the water, quickly resurfacing due to the heat. She submerged her head partly and, from the safety of her hair, rotated herself to see where the noise had come from.

"V... Vance?" she asked from her glistening defensive ball.

"I, uh... I heard you were alive out here. I... didn't know that for a while."

"Really? I didn't know you made it back from Canterlot. I... I thought..." she said, starting to tear up.

Vance couldn't help but feel similar. They both remained at their spots, quietly stifling tears for a few minutes.

"So how've you been?" *sniffle* "Keeping safe, right?" Vance asked, unable to bear lifting his head just yet. "Say, why are you here instead of a refugee camp?" he wondered aloud.

Fluttershy cringed again, looking like she was fearing Vance's judgment.

"I'm sorry, Vance. I-I didn't know how to tell you, so I-"

"Momma, what's going on?" called out a young pegasus filly emerging from the brush.

"Um... who's this?" Vance asked, a bit afraid of the answer.

The little filly entered the water and curled up in Fluttershy's embrace. Fluttershy's face started beaming with joy.

"Vance, this is Artemis." *pause* "She's um... ours."

Vance stood there in shock for a bit, having to restart his brain twice to finally process what Fluttershy said. Fluttershy occupied herself by cooing to Artemis.

"You mean we... We're..."

"Artsy, go get your brother. I've got something important to tell you both." Fluttershy told Artemis.

Vance waited until Artemis had scampered off back into the brush.

"So... We're parents..." Vance said.

"Mmhm." *nod*

"Twins, I take it?"

*nod*

"War's been far away, right? Nothing I've read says there's anything of strategic value here."

"Nope. We're safe."

"I missed you."

There was a brief pause. Vance motioned to enter the water. Seeing no objection from Fluttershy, he proceeded closer to her. Finally, he set himself next to her, though leaving two inches of space between them. He was unsure if Fluttershy still felt for him. Shortly after, Artemis returned with a small colt. A... unicorn colt? No... an alicorn colt?! What? WHAT?!

"Wait, I thought you said they were twins?" Vance asked, confused.

"They are. I'm not sure why Apollo is an alicorn, but isn't it wonderful? Come here, my little ponies!" Fluttershy said as the two foals paddled over to their mother. "Artemis, Apollo, this is Vance. He's an old friend of mine. He couldn't meet you sooner because he was busy doing dangerous stuff in the Outside to protect us!"

"No way! Nopony can survive that long in the Outside!" Artemis said.

Apollo then muttered something Vance couldn't hear, which sparked a small verbal fight between the two foals.

"Had a lot of time to work on stories, have you?" Vance said to Fluttershy.

"Oh, I couldn't bear to tell them what's happening out there, but they know it's too dangerous for us to leave."

Vance looked down at the two bickering ponies. His children. Apollo's unicorn traits worried Vance, as the prevalence of enough unicorn genes meant either Fluttershy had lied about her parents (and therefore her entire childhood), or Vance had a previously unknown lineage heavily laden with unicorn genetics. Finally, Vance couldn't hold back the questions gnawing at him.

"Could you send them off for a bit? I'd like to discuss something with you in private." Vance requested.

"Run along you two. And stay safe!" Fluttershy called to the foals as they ventured off.

Vance turned so his whole body faced Fluttershy. He took a second to banish any hesitation from his mind.

"Do you... still love me?" Vance asked.

Fluttershy cringed a bit and a small tear gathered at the base of her eye. Vance feared she did not.

"Yes..." she said. *sniffle* "I've missed you so much. It's been so hard *sniffle* taking care of the twins with just me and Zecora."

Fluttershy suddenly lunged at Vance, holding him close to her and letting her tears flow, invoking the same response from Vance, who embraced her.

"I never thought I'd see you again. When Twilight told me what happened at Canterlot, I feared you... you..."

"I managed to make it out, but when I did, those Archaía scum destroyed your cottage. I thought you were there and I... I died there. I ran. I tried to drown my pain and I spent a long time feeling nothing but regret."

Vance pulled Fluttershy back a bit so both their tear-stung eyes were gazing into each other.

"Promise we keep better watch over each other from now on?" Vance asked.

"Mmhm." *slowly nods once*

Vance pulled her in for a well-earned slow kiss. Apollo and Artemis were more than a bit baffled by what their mother was doing with this strange stallion as they watched from a thicket of reeds.

"Sorry to do this to you, but I need to go for now." Vance lamented.

"Don't go, Vance. Stay here with me and the kids. Let the war burn itself out, we have all we need right here!" Fluttershy pleaded.

"I'm sorry, love. I made a promise and I need to see it through. I've got a team waiting on me, and the longer I stay here, the more I put you at risk. I promise that I'll come back soon, hopefully without an escort. Stay safe for me... please."

Vance held Fluttershy tight one more time, and then took his leave, now determined as tartarus to end this forsaken war and keep his mare and foals safe.

Following the defeat of Colonel Elegant, the war began grinding into a bloody stalemate, rather than seeing the NLR slowly get chewed up by an inexorable march south by the Empire's forces. Vance had become infamous for his innate ability to ‘command without commanding,’ rather taking to the front lines himself with the Sentinels and issuing orders as he saw fit through radio. His natural talent was to inspire his forces to do what was needed for victory. As for the rest of the war, the Winter Maiden held a firm grip on Shire, despite being cut off from Imperial supply lines by Trotton's hit-and-run tactics. Trotton continued to harass Imperial holdings in northwestern Equestria and kept a firm hoof on his magnolium plantations in the Glade. He refused to weaponize the volatile flowers, but still kept any other side from utilizing them for cannons or other heavy explosives, forcing them to hunt for the elusive black powder. Queen Cadence, unable to declare war on either of her aunts’ regimes, declared neutrality and closed the Crystal Empire’s borders. Several tribes of the Griffon Confederacy took this opportunity to try and claim some Imperial territory in the northernmost reaches, with varying levels of success. Manehatten was tested several times by the 5th Legion, but never broke. The 6th Legion, their numbers severely depleted after several protracted battles, set to hit-and-run tactics and sabotage, hoping to force the garrison at Fillydelphia to surrender. The 7th Legion was busy running an insurgency in Baltimare. The 8th Legion was nearly obliterated slowing down Colonel Elegant. All others were held back after being battered in the initial weeks of the war to nurse back to health, defending their lines as best they could.

"How goes the war effort?" asked Imperial General Victus from his post in Canterlot.

"Excellently, sir."

"I want an honest answer here." the General demanded.

"Terribly, sir. The NLR has managed to win several stunning victories and they’ve redoubled their efforts. Seeing that, Confederate raiders have gotten bolder, and our failures against the Secessionists are turning into an unproductive drain on our resources."

“And what of our SpecOps?”

“They’re stretched beyond their limit. We can hardly train enough replacements to cope with the casualties they’re mounting.”

The grizzled veteran looked towards the smoke pillars coming from Fillydelphia. They weren't just from the factories. He gave a tired sigh.

"There's not enough coffee in Equestria to get me through this... Thank you, Captain. That will be all."

With a salute and a turn, Captain Oculus left the despairing commander to his woes to report to his true superiors.

Vance and the NLR brass were hunched over a map of Equestria, once again arguing over what course of action they should take. They had managed to gain some ground to the north as well as cut some of their railways, depriving the Solar Empire of transporting supplies across the country to defend against the Secessionists. General Trotton had proven to be quite the thorn in the Empire's side.

"That's why we need to take him out!" Vance argued.

"In case you hadn't noticed, General, Canterlot is over here!" said General Bright Eyes, forcefully prodding the map. "We can deal with Trotton once we've secured the throne and Princess Luna is in her rightful place."

"Vance, have you any idea how hard it's going to be for us to attack, let alone capture, Cloudsdale? Trotton made it into a flying fortress! We’ve got enough problems with the Winter Maiden holding Shire in a vice grip and the Imperial Navy threatening our supply lines as it is." General Steel Wings pointed out.

"Perhaps Vance has a point, here. Eliminating Trotton will give us the edge in air superiority and a wider theatre of operation." General Rorschach said.

"Come on, Klex. You know that'd stretch our lines too thin for us to properly defend them." argued Bright Eyes.

"Then we go all in. Cloudsdale, then Canterlot. We end this now." Vance said, his eyes glued on Cloudsdale's position.

"Utter madness..." Bright Eyes bemoaned.

"You got a better idea, Bright?" Rorschach asked. "How about you, Steel?"

No answer. Vance might just get what he wants after all.

The 2nd Legion, its numbers restored to operational levels, marched towards the Secessionist capitol alongside the 9th. Despite the 2nd being primarily comprised of earth ponies, this had little effect on Vance. An Imperial garrison had been holding strong in the earthbound village just underneath Cloudsdale, specializing in archery to deter any Secessionist assault from forcing them out.

“Ah take it we’re gonna hit ‘em both at the same time?” Applejack asked.

“The 2nd will hit the garrison, drawing the attention of the Secessionists away from our infiltration teams long enough to knock out some of their fortifications.” Vance explained.

“Wait, so y’all are gonna leave us down here while ya go up there an overthrow Trotton?” AJ continued nervously.

“You’ve got the 2nd at your side. Weren’t they your old Legion? Rally them and take the village!”

AJ gave a heavy sigh in her heavy armor. To survive the Secessionist air raids, the Imperials dug in deep, as in underground deep. Vance was aware the 2nd Legion wouldn’t be walking away from this unscathed, but all he needed them to do was draw attention.

Vance, Rainbow’s Raiders, and several other NLR pegasi teams watched hidden in several small clouds as the Secessionist guards abandoned their usual posts to watch the puny blips hundreds of meters below them smash into each other. They had made it a habit, as this certainly wasn’t the first conflict the Solar Empire had. The NLR, Confederate raids, and even 1 resistance group had all made attempts on the fortifications, all meeting failure. Vance waited a few moments until he thought they wouldn’t be detected.

“Okay… Alpha through Theta, move up!” Vance quietly shouted.

The eight teams darted over against the cloud walls surrounding the city. Aesthetics, really, but also good cover. Vance poked his head through and saw some civilian activity, but no Secessionists. Each team set off for its particular job, and soon the vast city of Cloudsdale was suddenly under attack – the first time in the war. The Secessionists, who were unaccustomed to playing defense, became confused, dispersing themselves in odd numbers across the city or completely ignoring the threat. Vance and Zeta easily made it to the courthouse grounds, following the bouts of chaos Beta was spreading. Once the small retinue of guards was cut down, an NLR pegasus from Beta stumbled backwards over a cloud railing leading into Cloudsdale’s capitol building. It was clear he didn’t survive, given that after him walked out a calm General Trotton, wielding an ornate saber of his own.

“I see you have brought war to my bastion of peace, General Vance. Well you can rest assured that my men and I will sooner die than allow some unworthy tyrant to impose dominion over this fair city! Pursue me if you are so bold.” Trotton taunted in his Glade accent.

“Dash, secure the grounds. I’ll handle Trotton.” Vance ordered.

Dash saluted as Vance lifted himself past the stairs and into the courthouse’s entrance hall. He could hear hoofsteps clanking to his left.

“I admire your resilience, but you’re doomed to fail.” Trotton called from halfway up the stairs of one of the courthouse’s turrets. “Tyranny always falters in the end!”

Vance summoned all the energy he could, and with a quick burst of speed tackled Trotton with enough force to send them both reeling over the balcony. Trotton was a slippery one, though, and soon the freefall became a hooffight. Vance found, much to his dismay, his equal in hoof-to-hoof combat. The two generals from afar looked like a drunken pair of flies glued to each other, erratically attempting to fly despite the inevitability of the crash they would have. Luckily, they had both slowed down enough to keep themselves from careening right through the cloud flooring of the city. The impact was still great enough to make them both dissoriented for a bit.

“I’ve got to stop doing that…” Vance said, exhausted.

Vance was expecting Trotton to be too dazed to fight back, but to his surprise, he found Trotton was still conscious enough to swordfight. Vance was quick to step up, but for the first several strikes found himself on the defensive, skipping backwards to give himself distance and with Trotton equaling his speed forward. Vance finally was able to get his composure, but found that Trotton seemed to have been formally trained in swordfighting. After getting his flank handed to him, Vance gave up and grappled Trotton, throwing the mustachioed General's sword up in the air and knocking him to the ground. Vance didn't feel too proud of his victory, but it was either that or a humiliating death and the NLR's defeat in the war. Vance pointed his saber right at the mustache.

“Any final words, General?”

“I only regret that my colts will fall for the wiles of your propaganda machines. Go on and finish it. You’ve won your troops.” Trotton said, looking away with disgust.

Vance took a moment to think. Trotton’s pegasi were fiercely loyal only to Trotton, and Trotton himself was only concerned with the safety of those under his command. To execute him would be a waste. Dare Vance risk it? He was already stacking himself up against the odds, and if Trotton betrayed him, it would doom the NLR.

“Tell you what, Trotton. I’ll cut you a deal. I’ll spare your life, and in return you join us in our fight against the Solar Empire.” Vance offered.

“And if I refuse?” Trotton retorted.

“Then Cloudsdale suffers without its strongest leader. Despite your misconceptions, the NLR doesn’t seek an autocracy, and we don’t want to fight you. We have a common enemy in the Solar Empire.” Vance argued.

“You sure seemed like it was a priority to knock me out of the competition.” Trotton fired back.

“Every soldier wasted in battle between us is one that could’ve been brought to bear against the Imperials. Had I delayed this, it would have been worse.” Vance continued. “I want what’s best for my troops as well.”

Trotton got to his hooves with a large grin on his mustachioed face.

“Long have I waited for a commander worth my allegiance. You’ve earned yourself an armada, General Vance.” Trotton said, brohoofing Vance to seal the compact.

Rainbow Dash and several NLR pegasi were quickly on the scene.

“We got you now, traitor!” Dash said, bearing her teeth.

“Easy, Rainbow. Trotton and I have worked out a deal. Call off the assault. The Secessionists now fight alongside the Republic.” Vance commanded.

“What? But what if… he’s just using you to strike when you least expect it?!” Dash said, pointing her hoof accusingly at Trotton’s muzzle.

“It was your own commander who made the offer, whelp.” Trotton said, brushing Dash’s hoof aside.

“But I… but…” Dash said, trying to get her head around the idea that Trotton was now a friend.

“Now, Rainbow. Go call this off before more pegasi have to die needlessly.” Vance said as seriously as he could.

Dash took a moment to readjust her mind, and then went to carry out her orders.

Applejack had managed to make life very unpleasant for the Imperial troops stationed in the tunnels underlying the village. There were definitely perks to having nigh-impenetrable armor in very small spaces. As she emerged from yet another tunnel, now laden with enemy corpses, another Sentinel came to greet her.

“Good hunting, ma’am?” Sugarbeet asked while saluting her.

“One less tunnel them Imps can cower in, Sugar!” she heartily replied.

“What’s our next target?”

“Punch through to the other side an knock down all their fancy shmancy guard towers. Watch my flank, will ya?” AJ asked, glad to have Sugarbeet guarding her side.

Sugarbeet made sure to watch her flank and, because he was feeling generous, guard her side as well. Thank Luna for these helmets.

“I think I can see the first tower, ma’am.” Sugarbeet stated, when something from above caught his eye. “Uhh… ma’am? Why is every pegasus in Cloudsdale falling on us?”

AJ started to shrug off his observation when she too saw a ridiculously large amount of pegasi, all of them aiming for the village they were sieging. AJ first thought Vance had failed and now the Secessionists were getting sick of the Imps and NLR, until a streak of rainbow whizzed by her head. A Secessionist pegasus landed softly next to them to tell them of the new alliance, and the whole garrison was taken less than a half-hour later. Vance and Trotton were getting a nice view from above, reclining in some clouds.

“Job well done, General.” Trotton said.

“Canterlot, here we come…”

After the conquest of Cloudsdale, it became evident that, barring a miracle, an NLR victory would only be a matter of time. The Solar Empire was being compressed from all sides, their recruitment lands tapped, their morale crushed, and their command collapsing. The Archaía had seen this happen before, and by now it was merely a cyclical process they had to endure before they could find their loophole and break it. But nonetheless, they began making preparations for their departure.

“What did I tell you, Hyperion? We granted him too much freedom! Next cycle we take a more authoritarian approach.” – Phoebe

“If anyone’s to be singled out for this blame, it’s to be Selene. Wasn’t Hermes her legacy?” – Themis

“Don’t go tossing around the blame like you can root out this problem so easily! Just because Hermes is of my own lineage doesn’t mean you suffer any less blame! Any of you!” – Selene

“Silence! I understand we are all irate about this failure, but now we have new avenues to approach. Technology has come a long way since we were of fresh blood.” – Hyperion

“No, no more! I’ve had it with you, Hyperion! You’ve led us to ruin for long enough!” – Crius

Hyperion’s eyes dilated and his ears drowned out this insubordination. His eyes turned to black and a whirlwind began forming around him, sparking with magical energies. Crius’ ranting slowly dwindled down and his posture became less aggressive as he realized he was about to be brought back into line again.

“NOT AGAIN, CRIUS. YOU WILL LEARN YOUR PLACE, NO MATTER HOW MANY TIME IT MUST BE TAUGHT.” – Hyperion

The other three averted their eyes. They had seen what Crius goes through enough times. Iapetus, meanwhile, had his own plans in motion.

As the 2nd, 3rd, 7th, and 9th Legions began to navigate the treacherous catacombs within the mountains that also housed Equestria’ political support structure, Vance made a quick stop at Zecora’s hut to see Fluttershy. He jogged through the spring, the sunlight at just the right angle to permeate through the tiny open patches in the thick foliage. Seeing no sign of her, he knocked on the house carved out of a giant tree. Fluttershy’s bright sea green eye poked through the window, and then the door swung open as she tackled him, getting as much physical contact with him while she could. Vance had to spend the next few minutes coaxing her off as she listed the reasons she missed and worried about him. Apollo and Artemis peeked out from the upper floor, their curiosity insatiable. Finally, Vance managed to stop Fluttershy’s onslaught.

“I… I just can’t stand to think of what could happen to you while you’re out there. I don’t want to be alone again…” Fluttershy said as a stray tear began to slide down her cheek.

Vance gave a weak smile and wiped the tear away before pulling her in for a hug.

“Just promise me you’ll come back alive…” Fluttershy said, sniffling.

“By Acobi I promise to return.” Vance reassured her. “I have to go now. Promise you’ll be strong for me?”

Fluttershy nodded wearily, though not officially saying yes. Vance took one long look into her eyes, burning the image into his mind. Half-hesitantly, Vance took flight to assist the Legions in worming their way through the catacombs.

“Art thou sure this will work?” Luna asked.

“Well, it’s either we give it a shot, or let the Imps use a giant sun laser against us.” Vance said impatiently. “Lemaign willing, we can overwhelm them with a rapid assault. The shock value of having their superweapon disabled will buy us some time to get a foothold. Let’s not throw it away.”

“Very well. Assuming thine proposed tactic goes well, then what?” Luna continued.

“This isn’t going to be like last time I attacked Canterlot. The train stations are a no-go and they’re not accepting refugees without the right papers. It was hard enough slipping in our spies, so we’re just going to have to break the door down. Now Canterlot, being built into a freaking cliff, has the singular tactical issue of being BUILT INTO A FREAKING CLIFF.” Vance griped. “We need to pull as many Imps away from the only easily accessible land-based entrance as possible, combine that simultaneously with our experimental tactic, and hope that causes enough of a distraction for us to get a foothold inside the city. Once we’re in, we’ve got a chance to put an end to all this.”

It was nearing midday, and the Republic’s forces couldn’t stay hidden burrowed in the nearby caverns for much longer without risking detection. There was still no sign of Trotton’s armada, which was a necessary component to begin the assault. The two leaders retreated to the war room to wait patiently, hoping they had not been abandoned by the mustachioed pegasus General. Luna was consulting with a unicorn assassin, shrouded in black wrapping and a pair of purple glasses.

“Recluse is already embedded. Thine job is to eliminate her unit and extract her, Wolf. Dost thou understand?” Luna asked.

Without a word, the ninja pony saluted the princess and in a flash of her blue and cyan tail had disappeared. A moment later, an emissary from Trotton had arrived.

“General Vance, Princess Luna. General Trotton and the armada will be here within the hour. What are your orders?” the emissary requested.

“Tell Trotton to hold position outside Canterlot’s airspace until we’ve eliminated their Sun Laser. The sign will be obvious.” Vance replied.

The emissary immediately set out to relay the order. It was all coming together.

The tension was almost unbearable. Even with one of the grandest armies the world had ever seen, there was still incredible risk. The Solar Empire still had armies, enough that if the NLR Legions were to be pinned between them, casualties would be absolute, and the closest Imperial forces are only a day away by rail. NLR scouts watched nervously as their Imperial counterparts paced back and forth upon the city’s walls, the wartime palisades and magical barriers appearing quite daunting from afar. Suddenly, they spotted the majority of the guards fleeing with much intent away from the main entrance. The NLR scouts turned their attention to where the regiments were running to, and they saw little blips forming against the blue sky.

“Generals! The armada’s here!” shouted a scout.

Vance, Klex, and the rest of Command got as close as they needed to see the pegasus kept his promise.

“Excellent! Princess, it’s time. Let’s blot out the sun!” Vance declared, eerily causing a cheer amongst some of the thralls.

As the Princess began to drag the moon halfway across the sky in merely a few minutes, Vance darted about, ensuring the Legions were prepared for the initial push. He had previously designated the Sentinels to lead the charge on the ground, given their famous reputation of never dying.

“Are the Sentinels ready?” Vance asked.

“Ready as we’ll ever be, sir.” Applejack said confidently.

“Good. Before I give the order, we’re going to try to take out that Pyth-forsaken superweapon of theirs. I need you to keep our forces focused when that time comes. If our plan works, it’ll be one hay of a show.” Vance said. “Dash! Are the Raiders ready?”

“Raider teams 1 and 2 ready and waiting, sir!” Dash exclaimed.

“Raider team 1, you’re going to assist out Secessionist friends for the time being. If a more pressing concern arises, I’ll contact you to reassign your priorities. Raider team 2, you’ll be joining the initial push to gain a foothold past the walls. You’ll be acting mainly as bomber support, so equip accordingly.”

Vance gave direct orders to anypony he deemed necessary, then returned to the other Generals as the moon’s shadow began to creep across the sky. The entirety of the NLR Legions fell quiet as they realized what was going on. General Rorschach of the 2nd Legion prodded Vance.

“Perhaps a moralizing speech from our commando turned commander?” Klex offered.

“That didn’t really work when Captain Applejack tried it…”

“The thralls as getting nervous with that moon blocking the sun. Don’t wait for somepony else to calm them, take the initiative!”

“Well why don’t you go up there if you’ve got such words of wisdom?”

“I’m a psychologist! I don’t moralize stallions, I break them down!”

“Agh, fine! But don’t say I didn’t warn you…”

Vance slowly made his way to the pedestal from which the scouts kept an eye on Canterlot’s wall. Unfortunately, looking out onto a sea of fidgeting thralls didn’t make it easier for him. He stammered out a few consonants, when he suddenly found himself surrounded by the Sentinels.

“My… my fellow stallions and mares. No, my brothers and sisters. It’s taken much for us to get here. A lot of sacrifice, a… a lot of… of…”

Vance became at a loss for words, when the Raiders took to the limited airspace in the cavern and began hovering above him.

“We have had to endure hardship after hardship, and it will take decades to heal the scars this war has caused, but we are true Equestrians! We’ve survived and even averted the end of the world when the threat loomed, and we can dang well do it again!”

“And you don’t need to do it alone, Frère!” called a familiar voice.

Vance and the whole NLR force turned towards the voice to find none other than Vie accompanied by Major Renéigh Bastille and a good number of battle-ready Prench earth pony and unicorn soldiers, each sporting a black vest and beret and equipped with a crossbow. Pretty much every NLR jaw was on the floor at that point. Vie sauntered authoritatively along with her entourage to back up the Sentinels. Everypony stood around silently for a moment, until Vance resumed.

“Holy crap that was epic.” he said to Vie.

“Merci, but I believe you were finishing your speech, non?”

“Crap…” *clears throat* “Today, we will make our stand against one of the greatest threats Equestria has ever faced. I won’t lie; this is going to be a long shot. Many of us will most likely not survive, and those that do won’t get out without some bruises, but this is a day when heroes are made! And no hero gets his title doing what’s easy. The Solar Empire wants our land? Our nation? Our lives? Then if they want it so bad, let them pay for every inch in blood! Death before dishonor! Let’s take our country back!”

The NLR armies were eager for battle. The eclipse was starting to freak them out and they were sick of this war. Vance liked to think it was his speech alone that got them riled up. Vance took his position at the horn that would sound the start of the siege. An entire eternity was packed into the first minute the moon was placed in front of the sun, and the horn was blown. The full might of the NLR and Secessionists was now bearing down on Canterlot. Judgment Day.

Day 1. The train station was captured in two successive blitzes. Vance had held himself and the Prench sharpshooters at the train station to ensure it remained in their hands. One train with Imperial reinforcements had already arrived, and they managed to break through to their lines, despite large casualties. An all-out assault by the Nightingales on the artillery batteries strategically held in the cliff face resulted in their capture and/or destruction, as the Imperials didn’t enjoy the thought of those guns possibly being brought against their city. Word of all sorts of unexpected parties converging on Canterlot began to flow in as Imperial radios were captured. Resistance cells, ponies from foreign lands, a scarf-wearing archer, mercenaries from Foalenze, Cattleonians, and ponies clad entirely in black with green eyes. The radios were constantly humming with reports, requests, and regrets. Several meters of ground were gained and a street was claimed. The Sentinels need to be everywhere. Rainbow’s Raiders lost another ace flier. By evening, Vance had worn a small groove in the train station.

“Relax, Frère. We’ve been secretly studying Imperial tactics for the past several months.” Vie reassured Vance.

“Ha! They’re like a crude hammer; poorly crafted and slow to act!” Renéigh laughed as he peered through his binoculars.

“And just look at Trottingham. When the hammer strikes, there’s not much left.” Vance lamented.

Vie went over to console Vance, placing her hooves on his shoulders.

“Don’t ache over what’s lost. You’ll give vindication once you’re victorious.”

“They say a single missionary was the cause of the shelling. Whole town ended up revolting, and then boom. Nothing left.”

“Focus, General. Trottingham is lost, but Canterlot can be won. Mourn the dead when the day is won.”

Vance took in a deep breath to try and calm himself a bit.

“Get some sleep. There’s another day tomorrow.” Vie commanded.

Vance got no rest that night.

Day 2. Most of the market and housing districts were now under NLR control. Imperial forces called back from their garrisons formed a second front close to the staging point, straining Republic reinforcements. Vance set Rainbow’s Raiders on disrupting Imperial communications and the capture of a V.I.P. Finally, his old nature couldn’t sit around and watch any longer.

“That’s it, we’re going in ourselves!” Vance declared to the Prench.

To the other NLR generals and the Prench sharpshooters, the idea of a ranking officer wading into the thicket of combat was unthinkable. To Vie, this was expected (and a little bit desired). Vance blew a half-hour arguing with the NLR officers, insisting Vance be around to take the fall should this siege turn sour. All the while Vie was prepping the sharpshooters to dive head first into Tartarus. When a good chunk of NLR supplies very near the train station suddenly exploded, Vance used the ensuing confusion to slip away with the Prench and a portable radio.

“So what’s the plan, Aigle?” Bastille asked.

“We cut through the Imperial lines, infiltrate the palace, and eliminate whoever’s really in charge of this massacre. What’s with the fancy new nickname?” Vance asked as they started walking towards the pillars of smoke.

“Your marque de cutie. It is an eagle, or ‘aigle’ in Prench. Our soldiers took to calling you that. It’s become a part of our military’s culture. Remember that, Vance. Your memory will live on no matter what happens in Equestria.” Vie said.

“You worried we won’t survive this?”

“I’m worried YOU won’t survive this. This is your fight, and you’ve been fighting it since the train. I think you’ve earned a rest.”

“You haven’t been fighting them this whole time? What have you been up to?” Vance asked with an underscore of anger.

“I do what I do best. I help.”

Vance was quieted for a while after that. The team crossed the present line between the two factions, and it quickly became evident that, despite their relatively small numbers, the sharpshooters could easily handle a larger force of conscripts without trouble. Vance had the team skirt around the edges of the city. They rarely came head-on to enemy infantry, though they had the chance to take pot shots on occasion. It seemed like everything would go smoothly.

“Periochí̱ safí̱s. Zi̱tó̱ntas nées parangelíes.”

“Oh sweet Micia…” Vance quietly cursed as a chill ran down his back.

He quickly motioned to all those accompanying him to quiet down. Vie immediately recognized the old foe, and motioned for her comrades to hide, which they did quickly and quietly. For several minutes everypony waited silently in the shadows, the radio chatter of the indecipherable code language the black ops were using inviting cold beads of sweat from Vance and Vie’s skin. Vance peeked out from the corner he was hiding in and saw at least three balaclavas with green goggles. He pulled his head back in just as one snapped their attention towards where Vance had been looking from. Vance tried to keep his breathing controlled, ‘tried’ being the keyword. The curious black ops, having nothing to do for the moment, decided to investigate. A black ops without an objective is a dangerous pony. As it walked through the small alcove toward the area where Vance’s team was hiding, the Nightingale patiently waiting in the rafters whistled as he fell onto the startled black ops. Several more Nightingales responded to the whistle and set upon the remaining opponents, cutting them down before they knew what was happening. Vance and company all poked their heads out, interested as to whom they owed their safety.

“Vulpes!” Vance exclaimed with relief as he motioned to give his ally a hug.

“General, what’re you doing out here?” Vulpes replied, allowing Vance to hug him. “A commanding officer should be kept safe.”

Vie and the Prench forces unveiled themselves, giving Vulpes pause for thought.

“I got it covered, Vulpes. What are the Nightingales doing all the way out here? Last I heard, you had taken the artillery batteries posted in the mountains.”

“We let the regulars take control of that. The Nightingales may be allies of the NLR, but we’re not under your command.”

“Fair enough. Keep up your work, Vulpes. This battle’s almost over.” Vance said as his team began to press on.

“I wish…” Vulpes muttered.

As time ticked on, the sun moved forward, while the moon was ever-present. Vance had received word that Raider team 1 was moving in to capture Colonel Twilight Sparkle and disable Imperial communications. Vance’s team had at last made it to the definitive line the Solar Empire brass declared to be the point of their last stand, should it come down to it. With the aid of a Resistance cell, they managed to slip underneath it and well behind it without complication, but still stuck to the outer rim of the city to avoid as much attention as possible. As Vance’s squad passed the front of the half-collapsed Canterlot Opera House, a crossbow bolt landed in front of him. The whole group casted their eyes up, only to see a battered Octavia with a bloodied smirk on her face.

“I’ve been practicing, Vance!” she called.

*laughs* “Can we come in?” Vance asked.

“Sure! Crescendo, unbar the door. They’re welcome.” She said back into the building.

After the sounds of several heavy wooden objects and one dropped trombone, the massive ornate wooden doors, remarkably unscarred by the siege, creaked open. The NLR entered to find a solid, although tested, Resistance cell. Octavia slid down a ladder to greet her old friend. The doors slammed shut. The Prench soldiers nervously clung to their weapons.

“Octavia! *hug* You look… wrecked! Is this a Resistance cell?” Vance asked.

“Practically. We’ve no formal training, but when we heard the commotion, I convinced several of my colleagues to join me in my stand.”

“Mad gambit is more like it.” said a disgruntled musician.

“You can always walk out the door, Crescendo. Otherwise I expect you to do your duty, understood?” Octavia snapped.

*sigh* “Yes, ma’am.”

“We’ve beaten back a few minor incursions. If they really wanted us gone, we’d be dead. Fortunately, they’ve got their hooves full with you lot.” She said back to Vance. “Which leads me to ask, why come this way? It’s an awful long detour to visit me.”

“We believe there to be an alternative entrance to the Palace. We are going to slip in through this weakness and decapitate the Solar Empire.” Vie interjected.

“Ah, thank you miss…” Octavia started.

“Mon nom est Vie. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Octavia.”

“Ooh, Prench? Vance, I had no idea you were so well-traveled!” Octavia said, her interest piqued.

“Oh, the stories we could tell you…” Vance said as he walked over to Vie.

“The Confederate capitol, the Scythian Wilds, the Sea of Wyrms …” Vie started.

“Saddle Arabia, the Archipelago of Antioch, the Jastreb Castle of Dyrrachium…” Vance continued.

“Oh my…” Octavia said with stars in her eyes.

“We can look at travel brochures later; we have a war to win!” Bastille said, irritated at this hold up.

Octavia directed her fellows to go behind NLR lines and wait for the fighting to subside, while she grabbed a few quivers of bolts and joined the sharpshooters. Initially they were skeptical about an Equestrian musician being good enough to stand with them, but after she wiped out a squad of conscripts single-hoofedly and without being seen, they didn’t complain. When she wasn’t thinning Imperial numbers, she was imploring Vie to regale her time traveling with Vance. Initially they entertained her curiosity, but as the lingering shadow of the Palace crept closer to them, the stories were silenced. The team stuck to the shadows, evading detection when possible, as they entered the area the NLR had begun to bombard with the captured Imperial artillery batteries. It was close to dusk.

"Vance!" shouted a pony, cloaked in white cloth.

Vance took a good long look, and could scarcely believe who was here in Canterlot, even as said pony approached him with great intent. Several similarly dressed figures were standing amongst the rubble of a building.

"Ajnabi? That you?" Vance said, pleasantly surprised.

Ajnabi pulled out a dagger and held it to Vance's throat. The sharpshooters lined up their targets. Vance motioned for them to lower their weapons. After several seconds, they hesitantly complied.

"What is happening here? I came here in a group of thirty emissaries, and when I arrive, I am confronted by soldiers. I mention your name and they begin to slaughter us! Do you know how many of us are left? Eleven! I demand explanation for this betrayal!" Ajnabi said with a familiar fire in his eyes.

"I am afraid you have come to Equestria in a most troubling time, Ajnabi. There's a civil war raging, and you had the misfortune of meeting my enemy, the Solar Empire. I'm sorry to have brought this on you." Vance apologized, not even concerned about the blade at his neck.

After several tense moments, Ajnabi sheathed his dagger. His face was still coated with anger.

"As am I…" Ajnabi said.

"So who is this stallion, Vance?" Renéigh asked.

"I am Abd al-Ajnabi, emissary from the Caliphate of Saddle Arabia. And who are you?"

"I am Major Renéigh Bastille of the Prench military, here to support Vance for services rendered during our own civil war."

"It is as if the world has been set ablaze with warfare..." Ajnabi commented. "And you still haven't learned how to identify me by a shorthoof name, Vance."

“Well considering you’re the foreigner here, ‘Ajnabi’ makes sense.”

Ajnabi snorted with annoyance. He returned to his fellow Arabians and spoke with them in their language, then they all joined Vance’s group.

“You’re going to avenge my fallen brothers, correct?” Ajnabi asked.

Octavia loaded a bolt. The creak of the string reverberated by the complying sharpshooters.

“You want in?” Vance asked.

Ajnabi smiled.

“We should find cover for the night.” Vance said, realizing how exhausted he was.

“I doubt we want to camp in the Palace gardens, General…” Renéigh stated, noting they were in the Palace gardens.

“Ugggghhhh… Onwards, then…” Vance complained.

Midnight. The 3rd day of siege. The Palace. There was no sense of grandeur. The ballroom was stale and dead. It hadn’t been used for weeks, by the looks of it. Everything was so… dead. There was no sign of any animals as they glanced out the windows back towards the gardens. No guards, no bureaucrats, not even a janitor.

“Oh, this is so a trap.” Vie remarked coolly.

Everypony alongside her heard what she said, and they silently complied. They all soldiered on, deeper into the Palace, until they finally reached the door of what used to be the Throne room. Vance placed his hoof on it and ran it down.

“What have I done…” he whispered to himself.

“More than you’ll ever know, Hermes.” Iapetus called to him from the main hallway, flanked by black ops.

Vance’s team looked down the two other hallways intersecting with their location, and black ops were crawling out from behind the support pillars. They were easily outnumbered here.

“Bonjour, les gars. Me oublier?” Vie said tauntingly.

The black ops took a step back.

“Who the hay are you?” Vance asked to the tall, cloaked figure standing amidst the fearsome enemy.

“Iapetus, member of the Archaía Áloga, and puller of the strings of fate. Your rise to greatness was no accident, though we certainly didn’t intend to lose control of you. And once again, Hyperion lifts us up, only to allow rats to gnaw at our heels until we are brought back down to the mud.”

“Speak sense, murderer.” Vance demanded.

“No more guilty than you, Hermes. Strange how of all your half-siblings, you’re the only one who can claim to have destroyed Equestria. All others have merely been instruments of paranoia, serving to divide the other nations and species. You however, have turned into quite the liability. It’ll take decades to clean up what you’ve done.”

“What are you talking about? My only family is safely out of your reach, and I fully intend to take back what you stole from me.”

“Oh, how fruitless this vine is! Counterproductive to the cultural evolution and unable to see his own genetics! Didn’t it ever occur to you how everything came so naturally? How you went from a poorly trained soldier to a commando capable of going hoof-to-hoof with our protégés here so easily? It was a gift from your mother and from us.”

“I… don’t understand…”

*sigh* “Of course you don’t. You’ve been so busy running you never stopped to look back! You were a carefully bred project. We had hoped you to be a unicorn, but regrettably, both Selene and her requisitioned gamete had traces of pegasus, and much to our misfortune and the delight of Oceanus, seem to have found it funny to ruin years of careful examination.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“We conditioned you that way.”

“No matter, where is this ‘Hyperion,’ then? As you can imagine, I have a few words and a sword I’d like to share with him.”

“I will divulge the location of Hyperion on the condition I be given free leave. I agree that Hyperion must be stopped, as this is hardly the first war caused by his lack of finesse.”

“You’re surrounded by black ops, and you’re asking to be let go?”

“Your cellist has had a bolt pointed at my neck the entire time.”

Vance motioned to Octavia, who after a bit of silent arguing agreed to point her weapon away.

“Tell us where Hyperion is and you’re free.” Vance agreed.

“Thank you. At least you gained a sense of rationality, unlike your mother. My colleagues are in the Grand Library. I presume you have some means of combating the most ancient sages in Equestria?”

“Oh, I’ve got a trick or two up my metaphorical sleeve…”

“Now go. The slate can finally be wiped clean. Perhaps next time things will go better…”

“Goodbye, Iapetus.”

“This is not goodbye. Stamatí̱ste tous.”

Iapetus teleported away to where Kalós was waiting for him. Meanwhile, Vie drew her stiletto as a cruel smile snaked across her face. This was going to be fun.

“Prêt à jouer, les garçons?” she taunted.

“Vance, go and do what you must. We will hold them here.” Ajnabi said. “Avenge my brothers!”

“I better get 1st cellist in whatever orchestra I want after this…” Octavia said, drawing a bead.

“La victoire ou la mort!” Bastille screamed as the bolts let fly.

As Vance disappeared into the massive door, Vie and the Arabian warriors dove into the black ops without hesitation. The sharpshooters excluding Octavia all set aside their crossbows and joined the fray with stilettos, made popular by Vie’s dedicated use of hers. Vie was casually wading through the violent flood, spewing out magic attacks without remorse as her stiletto sampled every available pony blood type. Bastille’s rapier snapped from so many enemies. The Arabians, despite their frail build, could match the black ops in agility and stand on their own. The fighting was close, fierce, and bloody. Several Arabians and sharpshooters were killed. Finally, the surviving black ops began to flee.

“Eínai pára polý. Ypochó̱ri̱si̱! Krínos den boreí na pethánei!”

“Retournez à vos mères, bande de lâches!” Bastille shouted after them.

Vie looked on, her expression blank.

“It’s time, Major.”

Renéigh turned back to look at his great leader, the same mare he once hurried out of the country in hopes of saving her. Later, she came back to return the favor, and gave him back his country. He removed the components loaded into his bags and handed them to Vie.

“Take care, your majesty.”

“I’m not a queen, Renéigh.”

“No. You’re so much more than that.”

Vie blushed, then galloped off. It was time to ensure the threat was stopped here. Renéigh watched her go, utterly helpless for what was coming.

“Where is she going?” Ajnabi asked.

“To spare us all.”

Vance wasted no time in clearing out. He slinked around the Palace, getting lost only twice, until he finally made it to the Grand Library. A whole tower, dedicated to the storage of ancient tomes and knowledge of years forgotten. Vance unintentionally yawned rather loudly, and then clamped his mouth shut. He lazily drifted around the room, his eyes and ears drooping with fatigue.

“Ah, the Messenger arrives at last.” Hyperion called from the shadows of the library.

“Who are you?” Vance asked.

“Those that were and who will be again.”

“The Titans of antiquity.”

“The guiding light for all ponydom.”

“The old gods.”

“Why all this secrecy?” Vance asked.

“Our shadow war is a safeguard. Each time we were close to usurping Celestia, she discovered our plans and exterminated our agents as far as she could dig. Given the chance, she would not hold back from destroying us, those who remember when she was but a filly. Her rule was a failure.”

“She may have lost her way at times, but Equestria had never been more prosperous when she ruled.” Vance retorted.

“Celestia could not do what was required to gain the loyalty of the proles. Those feeble-minded pawns would not know need nor want under us.”

“What can you give that she couldn’t?” Vance pondered.

“We can destroy the social barriers between all ponies!”

“Luxury is an effective sedative.”

“Remove all taboos, and Equestrians will blindly follow the source.”

“We must simply remove the pillars of society: history and tradition. Petty concepts like marriage and fidelity will not be missed when they are swept away.”

“A drugged populace will not care who holds their reins, so long as they get their laudanum.”

Vance drew his saber.

“For years, I have searched for a justification for all the damage I’ve done, all the lives I’ve ruined. I once thought it was all for the favor of a pegasus, but I see now Micia had something in the works all along. Celestia, give me strength.”

“Pathetic foal. We’ve entertained your presence long enough. Now it’s time to end this. After obliterating every molecule of your mistake of a life, everypony out there resisting our imminent victory will be mashed to a pulp. This whole war will be a testimony to the price of rebellion.” Hyperion threatened.

Hyperion shot a fireball at Vance. Vance braced himself for the possibility of death, and then opened his eyes after the flames breezed around him, parted by his sword.

“Ha! It actually works! Nifty!” Vance said, examining his weapon.

“A fluke.” Hyperion declared.

A bolt of lightning from Selene. Absorbed. Themis tried to levitate Vance, but the sword negated it. The sages tried a variety of tricks, to no avail.

“What is this? I don’t even…” Selene whispered before being interrupted.

“A delay. No matter what souvenir he stumbled upon, it can’t possibly stand against all of us. Let’s finish this now and get on with Phase 4.”

Vance held his saber as steadily as he could against the combined assault of four incredibly powerful unicorns. The energy proved to be too much for the poor sword, and the crystalline tip exploded in a shockwave of magical energy, lodging several chips of magic-infused gemstone into Vance's left eye. While Vance struggled to cope with the excruciating burning his eye was now getting from the inside out, the Archaía collapsed, their energy exhausted. Vie rushed over to him, and tried to tell him what she was about to do. Vance could barely make out her words through the haze and the blood pounding in his head.

“Vance! The bomb’s all ready to go, but I’ve got to ensure the Archaía don’t make it out! I’m detonating it manually!” Vie said.

“Vie? What bomb? What…”

“No time to argue, Frère! For Espoir’s sake, this ends now!”

And just like that, Vie magically flung Vance out of the tower. The resulting blast dissoriented him for a while, throwing him into a neighboring roof with bone-crushing force. He felt his wings crack, and then he passed out.

==========

Bonus points to:

Keystroke: for being my pre-reader and for providing the physical characteristics of General Trotton

Silver Streak: for being my pre-reader

Author’s notes:

Hello, everypony! Dissoriented here with a few post-script items to add:

The 6th in the Strings of Fate series, this marks the final battle over Canterlot to determine who will rule Equestria for the foreseeable future. Soon, I’ll tie up as many loose ends as I can/want and figure out where to go from there.

Your battle-scarred, faceless writer,

Dissoriented

Disclaimer:

Strings of Fate: Reconciliatios (θ)

As Vance’s vision for his remaining eye returned to him and the ringing in his ears subsided, he found himself in a cloud of dust kicked up from Vie’s bomb. Pulling himself out of the roof he was lodged into, he tried to fly up to assess the damage, only to find that his wings were broken. As the smoke cleared, he could make out the images of the Sentinels examining the wreckage.

“What in tarnation happened here?” Applejack shouted over the shifting of bricks.

Vance, too weakened from being a projectile, laid himself back into the dent he’d created to rest up. He could hear the Sentinels sweeping the area, talking back and forth of something Vance didn’t care to hear at the moment. All he wanted was to sleep, and this cozy hole in somepony’s roof was suddenly very inviting, and the blood seeping out of his open wounds was quite warm when he was still. As he was slowly fading, a shadow landed on his face, obscuring what light was getting past the eclipse and waking him back up. The Raiders were on the scene.

Strings of Fate: Reconciliations

“Vance! You alright?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Whoa, what the hay happened to you?”

“Well I’m sitting in a crater I made myself, I have pieces of my exploded sword lodged in my eye, and my wings are shattered, so I’m gonna have to say no, I’m not alright.” he replied weakly. “Can you give me a hoof down from here?”

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire hoisted Vance up and brought him down to the eager Sentinels. The dust was very thick at this level.

“What happened? Where’s the Prench gal?” Applejack asked.

“Oui, what happened to Vie?” Renéigh said, approaching the scene with the remaining sharpshooters, each with a look of sorrowful false hope adorning their faces.

“She stayed behind to ensure the Archaía would be ended here.” Vance said. “She just gave her life for a country that was not her own. We owe both her and the Prench a debt of gratitude.”

“No, she did not die for Equestria or Prance. She died for the freedom of all ponies.” Renéigh said somberly.

General Trotton finally arrived on the scene, curious as to the giant explosion that shook the entire city.

“Good to see you made it, General.” Vance said through the pain of two broken wings and a sliced eye.

“Sweet Author, Vance! I leave you alone for a short while and you run off, blow up half a city, and get your wings busted!” Trotton tried to joke.

Applejack whispered in his ear what had just happened and Trotton’s mood shifted over to sobriety.

“I’m terribly sorry to hear that. My deepest condolences to the both of you. Vie was a fine young mare and will surely be missed.” Trotton amended.

The odd medley of ponies all bowed their heads to pay homage to one of the bravest ponies anypony could ever know. Vance raised his head to see the moon, still being vanguard against the sun’s rays. Everything he was made to become, he had finally destroyed. He had claimed the right to his own life in full.

“What now, sir?” Applejack asked.

“Tell Princess Luna to get this dang moon out of the sky. It’s becoming an eyesore.” Vance replied, his left eye twitching a bit. “And get me a nap. I’m starting to get grumpy.”

Vance gave the order to take over all sources of Imperial communication and announce the capitulation of the Solar Empire and the taking of Canterlot. Most remaining enemy garrisons surrendered on that very day.

From atop the cliff overlooking Canterlot, Iapetus glared down at the shattered capital. All of their plans were laid to waste and now their organization was reduced to a pitifully small number.

“What do we do now, sir?” Kalós asked.

Iapetus merely grunted in anger before turning his back on Equestria and walking away from it all. This was the worst setback yet. Now it was time to rebuild.

Following the victory in Canterlot against the Archaía, Vance and Fluttershy became formally wedded in a procession overseen by Luna and the majority of the NLR military, including the former Secessionists. Vance hung up what was left of his saber, convinced his time as an acting general was over, though still occasionally popping in to lend his experience to the Republic Army’s new leadership. To groom Apollo and Artemis for their future roles in the Republic, they moved to a secluded coastal grassland recently gifted to the New Lunar Republic by Prance.

“It’s a lovely yard.” Fluttershy commented about the ocean of grass in combination with an actual ocean their kids now had free reign over.

“Indeed. The perfect place for a family of pegasi.” Vance said, watching Apollo examine a frog.

In post-war Equestria, a lot of power was exchanging hooves, as many of the vacuums left by Solar Empire politicians and generals had to be replaced by New Lunar Republican ones.

Twilight Sparkle was cleared of all charges brought against her for willingly handing herself over before hostilities ended, along with support from a petition signed by many notable figures in the Republican army. She was then elected Equestria’s first Chancellor to assist Princess Luna in assuming her new role in a constitutional monarchy.

Rainbow Dash stuck with her Raiders and continued to serve with distinction whenever the Republic called for her services. The Raiders soon became the premier pegasi scouting unit, and many a great flier of the new era had ties to them.

“You sure about this, Sarge?” Sugarbeet said to Applejack. “Wouldn’t Celtic be more qualified for this?”

“The Sentinels need a leader who’s level-headed. Hammer’s a tad hot under the collar, if’n ya catch ma drift, an’ Celtic’s got his head all cluttered with emotions.” she replied.

With her mind made up, Applejack handed the Crux Lunae over to Sugarbeet, making him the new leader of the Sentinels.

Trotton rocked slowly to and fro on his favorite mahogany chair, watching his grandchildren frolic about his plantation’s expansive lawn. He glanced up to see Cloudsdale floating peacefully in the distance. A quick smirk flashed across his face as he nodded off to sleep.

Renéigh was no longer capable of returning to life as a humble baker. After Prance and the New Lunar Republic fused together, he became a representative for the Prench ponies. He had acquired a taste for battle, regardless of the arena.

Vance entered the port authority building in Baltimare. The room was empty, save for a bored receptionist and somepony reading Equestria Daily.

“Excuse me, have there been any ships recently docked here under the name, *ahem* … ‘The Saucy Mare?’”

The receptionist pulled her glasses down, bemused at Vance’s request.

“No. No there haven’t.” she said.

“Ah. Well, thank you for your time.” Vance said before leaving.

After the door closed, a lime green unicorn wearing a trench coat, fedora, and pieces of fake facial hair lowered the newspaper he was reading, a sly smile plastered on his face.

Abd al-Ajnabi returned to Saddle Arabia with what was left of his diplomatic team. Despite only a tenth of the original party returning, it was declared a success, and shipping lanes immediately opened up to provide relief aid. Ajnabi made it a point to not walk in on revolutions from that point on, with limited success.

Minuette finally returned to the Webwork, Lyra in tow. Weaver came to greet them personally.

“Exceptional job, Agent Recluse. Ah, I see you’ve brought your recruit with you.” Weaver said, noticing Lyra, who was glancing around the vast interior of the building in awe.

“How come I never noticed this before? It's in such an obvious place!” Lyra remarked.

“You’d be surprised what we can hide in plain sight.” Minuette said with a wink.

Lyra was fully initiated into the Webwork as an Agent. Her designation became Agent Hobo.

Vance with his sweet new eye patch walked onto the balcony overlooking the untamed planes left untouched by Equestria’s agriculture and towards the setting sun, Fluttershy following close. Apollo was chasing after the more flight-capable Artemis several meters above the ground. Vance placed his front leg over Fluttershy’s shoulder and nuzzled her cheek affectionately.

“So what happens now?” she asked.

“Now? *long pause* The Archaía are gone, the NLR is victorious, and we’re married… The future’s left blank. It’s what we make of it now.” he replied.

The Age of Nocturnality had begun.

==========

Bonus points to:

Keystroke and Silver Streak : for being my pre-readers

Author’s notes:

Hello, everypony! Dissoriented here with a few post-script items to add:

The 8th in the Strings of Fate series, this marks the end of the Core Series. It’s been nothing short of a blast writing these, and to any and all loyal readers who stuck with me since Origins and those new to my personal Fic, I thank you for reading and hopefully enjoying something I hold very dear to my heart.

Your humble, faceless writer,

Dissoriented

Disclaimer:

The night following the elimination of the Archaía, Princess Luna looked towards her former prison, contemplating the challenges that lie ahead for her and the New Lunar Republic. Her job was about to get a lot harder. Beneath, amongst the rubble of Archaía Keep, the stone lay cold in the night. Luna retires to her quarters and extinguishes the light in the room as she leaves. All is calm.

Then, chips of granite and marble shift, as a white unicorn emerges from the wreckage and brushes herself off. Pulling her stiletto out of the rubble with her telekinesis, Vie breathed in deep the night air. She sheathed her dagger and once more marched off in the dead of night.

*giggle* “Couper un peu trop loin cette fois!”

THE END

Well… at least for now.

Strings of Fate: Rainbow's Raiders, the Sentinels, and the Vespers (η)

Although Vance’s involvement is pivotal to the NLR war effort, it’s not the sole turning point. Other characters’ involvements were key to how the war played out on both sides of the conflict. Although there were many specialist groups, such as the Mustangs, Alacrans, and Nightingales (among a multitude of others), there were three in particular whose actions had a great impact on the events in Canterlot. This is the story of the exploits of Rainbow’s Raiders, the Sentinels, and the Solar Empire’s Vespers during the Siege of Canterlot.

Strings of Fate: Rainbow’s Raiders, the Sentinels, and the Vespers

Rainbow’s Raiders

From high above Canterlot, Rainbow Dash, Raspberry, Spitfire, Clementine, and Silver Streak were planning how they were going to swoop in through the fierce battling taking place between the aerial forces of both Vance and Trotton against Canterlot’s elite Solar Guard pegasi and their anti-air crossbow fortifications on the ground. The NLR certainly had the numbers, but the crossbows were taking their toll since the NLR’s ground forces were unable to break through to attack them from where they’re most vulnerable. It was the middle of the 2nd day of the siege, the moon fully blotting out the sun, save for a halo-esque ring of light surrounding it. The Raiders had orders to capture Twilight Sparkle, who had been organizing the Imperial defenses from the start, greatly boosting their effectiveness and giving Vance one heck of a headache.

“What’s our target?” Spitfire asked.

“We need to break through the enemy line and capture their commander.” Dash explained.

“And that would be…” Raspberry interjected.

“…” Dash paused. “Colonel Twilight Sparkle…” she finally said with grievance.

“Oh…” Raspberry responded awkwardly, fiddling with a gold and tanzanite ring suspended on a silver chain.

The Raiders were all aware of Twilight’s friendship with Rainbow before the war. Even during the Rebellion, they remained close, but when the war broke out, Twilight made her position known and sided with the Solar Empire. She still held on to hope that it was Princess Celestia ruling in actuality. Whether she merely wanted this to be true or genuinely believed it is anypony’s guess. Despite this unfortunate news, they still had their orders and were relieved their goal was to capture her and not something worse. The unfortunate part about the giant aerial battle taking place was that no time was ideal. For most of the day, the Imperial pegasi, despite their dwindling numbers, were putting up a staunch resistance. At night, unicorns on the ground would harass any air units with blinding lights and crossbow fire. The Raiders had decided that their best chance was to bolt right through the Imperial lines with their unmatched speed in broad daylight. After amassing the willpower, Dash took the lead, closely followed by the rest of the Raiders. Unfortunately, there was no time to assist the NLR or Secessionist pegasi. The Raiders couldn’t afford any delay. Aside from a couple close calls of nearly colliding with other pegasi, they made it through without difficulty. Now through the Imperial air defenses, the Raiders essentially had free reign of the ground. The turf battles were taking place a ways away. Twilight was doing a VERY good job at keeping their lines stable.

“Vance, we broke through the defenses. What now?” Dash radioed to Vance.

“On a plateau at the opposite end of the city from where I’m at you should see a giant white tower. This is the Ivory Tower, and it’s the nexus for all Imperial communication in Equestria. Twilight has to be there. Storm the tower and extract Twilight. If she can’t be convinced to switch sides…” Vance said, implying drastic measures.

“Understood… sir. Rainbow out.”

In surprisingly un-Rainbow-like fashion, the Raiders cautiously made their way to Ivory Tower, taking care to evade enemy patrols. While this proved especially tough for Dash, she thought the best way to get Twilight on her side was to refrain from combat, painful as it was to watch an under-equipped and certainly inferior opponent walk by with their bodily functions still fully intact. This war had taken enough of her friends already. It wasn’t all that difficult getting to the tower. Most security had gone towards the front lines or to a tower post, both of which were continuously occupied during the day. Reaching the Ivory Tower, Dash busted in, surprising Twilight.

“Rainbow Dash? What’re you doing here?” Twilight asked, despite knowing the answer.

“Twilight, for the love of Celestia, please surrender.” Dash asked, her voice breaking once.

“So you can overthrow Celestia and plunge all of Equestria into chaos? Never!” Twilight said, entrenched.

“Look out your window, it’s already happened! If Celestia were still able to rule, you think she’d just sit by and let this go on?” Clementine pressed.

“Twilight, you’ve got to admit this just isn’t her. She’s not this cruel, not this despotic!” Spitfire boldly declared.

Twilight began cringing and backing up. She knew they were speaking the truth.

“Well you’re not proving Princess Luna’s fit to rule either! Under her direction you tore up half the country!” Twilight shot back.

“It’s the Solar Empire that uses Scorched Earth, not us. Just look at Colonel Elegant's record!” Silver protested.

“Come on, Twilight. You know Princess Luna’s not a traitor, and neither are we!” Raspberry pleaded.

“But what about your alliance with the Secessionists? Would loyal Equestrians align themselves with Trotton and his band of deserters?” Twilight stubbornly pressed.

“Trotton knew only those who deserved to rule Equestria would be able to defeat him. You of all ponies should know his record is too impressive for anyone to conquer him casually.” Clementine said.

“Come on, Twilight. You gotta see we’re the good guys here.” Dash pleaded.

Twilight thought about it, then glanced out her gigantic window. Canterlot was ablaze, yet weaponizing the very sun itself was of Imperial doing, not Lunar. It was the Empire that did all this damage. She finally opened her eyes to what the Solar Empire was doing to Equestria.

*sigh* “Ok. I’ll go.” Twilight surrendered.

“Good.” Dash said, barely able to contain her relief.

“You should find General Vance. He wanted you captured, so your best bets are with him.” Clementine advised.

“I will. And Dash?” Twilight said on the verge of happy tears. "Thanks."

As the Raiders turned to exit, their mission accomplished, a squad of several Solar Guards, unicorn and pegasi, broke through the door, blocking their exit.

“Twilight, teleport out of here! We’ll handle these chumps.” Dash said.

Twilight heeded them, disappearing in a flash of light. The Raiders prepared to charge their ferocious foe. They’d certainly taken on Solar Guards before, but each battle was always a risk. These were, after all, the best troops the Imps could deploy.

“Bring it on!” Dash taunted. “CHAAAARGE!!!”

With a multitude of war cries, the Raiders dived right into the Solar Guards, forcing them back outside and around the Ivory Tower with their rapid and furious attack. With the sun quickly setting, the advantage was steadily shifting to the unicorn Guards.

“Take out those unicorns!” Dash ordered.

Immediately the unfortunate unicorns were beset by a flurry of angry pegasi, and despite the attempted assistance of their own pegasi allies, were quickly eliminated. The demoralized pegasi opposition quickly followed suit. The Raiders had convinced Twilight to defect, severing Imperial Command, captured the Ivory Tower, a major communication hub, and taken out more of the vicious Solar Guard. It was a resounding success. Despite sustaining no casualties, all the Raiders were injured to some extent in their scuffle. With night upon them, they reported their success to Vance, barricaded the entrance to the Ivory Tower, and spent the night mending their wounds, doing their best to ignore the panicking sounds of the collapsing Imperial defense lines over the radio.

The following morning, the Raiders awoke after a surprisingly decent night of rest. Exiting the tower, they saw that, despite all the smoke emanating from the city’s center, Canterlot was still in a decent shape. The fighting had died down, as it usually did in the early hours of the day, so Dash took this opportunity to recon their immediate area. Clementine took this opportunity to talk to Spitfire, whom he had begun to develop a bit of a crush on.

“So, *ahem* you served in the military before?” Clementine asked, knowing the answer.

“You didn’t get out much, did ya kid?” Spitfire replied, slightly annoyed. “Alright, I’ll bite. What did you do before this?”

“Equestrian marines. We were the best of the best before the war put a schism right through our ranks and I hooked up with Trotton.” Clementine said. “You’d have done well in the marines. You got the gung-ho for it!”

“You really think so?” Spitfire replied, amused.

“Sure! You would’ve been a super marine, Spitfire!”

Dash returned to break up the two.

“Break it up, lovebirds; we’ve got a job to do. Vance wants us to take out as many guard towers as we can on our way back to command. Let's get to work so we can get a hot meal." Dash declared.

For the next hour or so, the Raiders took to mopping up the still-dreary crossbows of the Imperial banner. Rainbow let the string of minor victories go to her head, and after dispatching an oblivious crossbow, she ordered the Raiders with her to relax a bit, having cleared a swathe towards the Imperial defensive line, soon to collapse. Post after post was destroyed, as the Raiders hollowed out the Imperial defensive shell to ease the pressure on Trotton’s armada.

“Crossbows sufficiently owned! Take that, Imperial scum!” Silver proclaimed, shaking a hoof in the air.

Spitfire noticed a few blips away.

“We’ll never submit to your dominion!” Silver continued.

“Guys?” Spitfire said.

“Luna shall be placed in her rightful spot as Princess of Equestria!”

The blips now had wings and shiny gold armor. Everypony but Silver Streak had noticed.

“Incoming!” Spitfire exclaimed.

“With liberty and muffins for- AAAAAHHH!!!” Silver said as one of the few remaining Solar Guard pegasi speared him in midair.

The very last of the Solar Guards in Canterlot had made a suicide run, hoping to break the NLR advance long enough so their armies could come home and crush the rebels. The two factions fought ferociously for a furlough. As time dragged on, the Solar Guards were dwindling in number, although they did manage to break Silver Streak’s leg, knock out Raspberry, and kill Clementine. With the last Solar Guard, battered and bruised, barely managing to stay aloft, Dash bolted for him, close to breaking the sound barrier, and speared him into the base of an empty tower, collapsing the structure on top of them. Picking Dash out of a pile of rubble, the Raiders gathered around celebrate their domination of Canterlot’s sky.

“Alright, so the skies are clear of those wannabes. That gives us free reign of the air!” Dash exclaimed with pride, flying up in a twirl to embrace her sky.

Before they could all begin to celebrate, off to the distance and explosion tore through the merriment.

The Sentinels

With her fervent loyalty to the Rebels during the Uprising and having shown bravery and leadership by clearing the path for a number of injured allies to escape, Applejack was the obvious choice to lead the Sentinels. The mere presence of their power armor was enough to keep Republic morale together even under the most brutal of sieges and bleakest of battles. Such experimental technology meant the Empire had no time to analyze it for weaknesses and deploy a countermeasure. As the siege was about to begin, Vance had personally requested that the Sentinels lead the charge of the Republic’s regulars into the initial breach of Canterlot’s outer wall.

“All right, y’all. Vance himself asked us ta lead the charge.” Applejack said. “A lotta ponies are lookin’ ta us ta keep their fightin’ spirit strong, so let’s do our best for ‘em!”

With unison ‘Ura!’ from the rest of the Sentinels, Applejack took up position at the front of the army. While waiting for the order, Vance flew in.

“Are the Sentinels ready?” Vance asked.

“Ready as we’ll ever be, sir.” Applejack said confidently.

Vance continued with his checkups while Applejack returned to her soldiers. Despite the emotionless helmets, their nervousness was palpable. Sugarbeet, Celtic Cross, and Hammer Strike hazily went through the paces, drifting through Vance’s interesting speech and the final assemblage of the armies. The commotion and noise began flowing right through them. The hour was at hoof and the pressure was on them.

“Celt… Celtic? CHAPLAIN!” Applejack yelled at Celtic Cross, snapping him out of his trance. “We got a long battle ahead of us. Ya sure ya got the spirit fer it?”

“Yeah… yeah. I think so. Don’t worry, Cap, I won’t let you down!”

Celtic spaced out, mulling over what was about to happen, as AJ moved on down the line. Hammer Strike was mumbling to himself. AJ stopped, gave him a concerned look, and hugged him. She at last came to Sugarbeet.

“Ready to go, ma’am?” he said dryly.

*chuckles* “Ain’t nothin’ gonna shake you up, eh?”

“Scared as sheol, ma’am.”

“Talked to the Chap?”

“Almost non-stop, ma’am. Invaluable help, but even crusaders know fear.”

“We got yer back.”

“Thanks… ma’am.”

The Sentinels lined up at the tip of the spear, watching as the pegasi armada was eagerly pecking away at the city. Small explosions dotted Canterlot’s lovely façade, and then the horns blared. The Sentinels charged forth, the shriek of cannon sending artillery shells of varying constitution slamming into the entrance, scattering bits of wall and Imperial into the sky. Applejack set upon a terrified Solar Guard, and the siege had begun.

The next two days were a tornado of devastation. The Sentinels could only watch as the once pristine streets and hanging gardens and vibrant markets were withered to husks sheltering terrified citizens and misshaped piles of granite and marble. Monuments dedicated to the progress of ponydom were scattered and smashed. Nearly 1,000 years of history and culture, corrupted. The Sentinels had been called upon almost non-stop to crack open fortifications, route counterattacks, and to rescue trapped thralls. The NLR’s unicorns were just as busy recharging their suit power as the Sentinels were channeling it into their power weapons. No Imperial was safe when the Sentinels were in the area.

“Easy does it, there.” Applejack said, pulling Hammer Strike out of a pile of rubble.

*cough* “Wow. Didn’t think they’d rig their own barracks.” Hammer Strike said, getting back on his feet.

“The forge is clear, ma’am. I’ve radioed a scavenger team to come clear out the armory.” Sugarbeet reported.

“Yee-haw! Now we got their own weapons goin’ against ‘em!” AJ rejoiced.

Celtic removed his helmet to vent all the pent-up heat while the Sentinels holed up in a coffee shop. He pulled a chain out from underneath his armor, looking at the small engraved golden ring hanging on the end of it.

"Somethin' on your mind, Chap?" Sugarbeet asked, still wearing his helmet.

"... Yeah." he replied after a bit.

"You worried about her?" Sugarbeet continued.

"How can I not be? She can handle herself in a fight, but... still." he said, worry slowly filling his eyes.

"Don't worry. Silver will take an arrow to make sure she doesn't, and you know that. And for what it's worth... *looks away* I'm envious you have somepony to be worrying about, even in these... circumstances." Sugarbeet said, a small cringe in his voice.

Celtic gave a half-hearted chuckle at that. Sugarbeet's words didn't help as much as he would’ve liked them to, but he still appreciated the efforts of one of his oldest hometown friends. Celtic glared out the window, through the mild cloud of dust dancing in and out of it. Even with all the advantages they wielded, he still couldn't help but worry for his wife. It's what drove Celtic on in his darker times. He needed it.

The Sentinels stormed further down the street, crushing any opposition that the Republic’s crossbows didn’t strike down first. The weakened Imperial line collapsed quickly, with the few survivors kicking up dirt to fall back to a safer zone. Applejack could’ve sworn she saw a couple of unicorn mares that lived in Ponyville among those fleeing, but didn’t have much time to ponder on it, as a couple of Imps had tried to barricade themselves in a home, as if that would have spared them. It was the 3rd day, and much to their relief, the primary defensive line the Imperials had built had collapsed, making for easy pickings as the NLR marched ever closer to the palace to put an end to the war.

“Well that oughta teach those Imps about messin’ with the Sentinels!” Applejack said with relief. “Gather ‘round, team! We gotta find Vance!”

With the squad regrouped, they rushed towards Vance’s last known position. Without warning, a massive explosion came right from where they were heading.

The Vespers

The siege had already been going into its 2nd night, and the Vespers were busy with the Rebels pouring into the gaping wound their blitz had opened up. The Vespers were a commando team of unicorn mares for the Solar Empire made for infiltration and sabotage, particularly with fire and blinding flashes of light to cope with their lack of martial prowess. Initially formed by conscripts acquired by the Inquisition, they were nonetheless useful troops of the Solar Empire. Over the course of the siege, the Vespers were partly responsible for the rapid depletion of NLR supplies being stockpiled within Canterlot. While falling back to await new orders from Command over the loss of a member, the Vespers had been seeking temporary shelter to tend to their wounds.

“No matter what we do, the Rebels always have something to replace it!” lamented Lyra.

“Worry about it later! MOVE!” Colgate urged.

Rebel troopers were hot on their tail, mostly earth ponies. Normally that wouldn’t concern them too much, but the tales of the ferocity of the Sentinels had stricken a vast portion of the Imperial forces with a newfound fear of earth ponies and their durability. And these Sentinels were hot on their tails.

“We’ve got to lose them! Break right!” Colgate shouted to her two companions.

Following her advice, the trio of unicorns ran down an alleyway, and quickly sought shelter in a decrepit old building. The team recuperated in the abandoned structure for quite some time. Lyra, sitting back in an awkward position, took a moment to glance at a photo of her best friend, Bon Bon. Lyra had willingly allowed herself to be conscripted to spare Bon Bon the horrors of war. Then again, the Imperial recruiters, the Inquisition, were never known to honor their deals before. She sighed heavily, suddenly realizing her efforts may have been for nothing.

“Something bothering you?” Colgate asked.

“It’s my friend. She’s the reason I joined the army in the first place. We’ve been best friends for Celestia knows how long now. We’ve shared a house for most of that time, and when the Imperial Inquisitors came through Ponyville for the Empire’s conscription, I volunteered myself to go to spare Bon Bon. One of us would have to go anyways, those were the rules.” Lyra explained. “Maybe its best we got some time apart for a while. Things had been getting… weird, to say the least.”

“How so?” Colgate pressed.

“Well recently I’ve been thinking about looking for a coltfriend. Mare’s got to at some point, right? But whenever the subject comes up, Bon Bon gets this nasty look on her face. I don’t get it. You think she’d be happy for me and help me out, but no.” Lyra said.

“Bon Bon don’t want you looking for a coltfriend, sister.” Colgate muttered to herself.

“Huh?” Lyra said.

“Hm? Oh, nothing.” Colgate shrugged off.

Looking out at the war-torn city, Gumdrop saw the sun was abandoning them, not that it had been any help to them today in the first place.

“It’s getting late. Looks like we’re spending the night here. Secure all entrances and cover up any windows.” Colgate ordered.

After securing their safehouse, Lyra brought out her signature lyre. If the sounds from outside were any indication, nopony would be getting much rest tonight. Over the next several hours, the three of them just sat there in silence, save for Lyra’s calming music. An occasional crossbow bolt found a resting place lodged in the walls of their temporary shelter, along with the sound of metal clashing on metal and the cackle of somepony’s spell being fired off. Eventually they all managed to find sleep despite the raging war outside. The siege had entered its 3rd day.

Lyra awoke to find Colgate thinking out loud to herself again. Colgate had that habit whenever she thought nopony was within earshot, talking to herself in a more secluded area. Lyra stretched and yawned, alerting Colgate to her consciousness.

“You’re awake? Good. We need to get moving soon. The NLR is overrunning the surface. We need to get down into the steamwerks and plan our next step from there.” Colgate explained.

Lyra vaguely remembered the steamwerks. They’re an ancient system of pipes that gives all of Canterlot steam power. Their existence is heavily downplayed and isn’t common knowledge, because Celestia knew the nobility relies on the power the steamwerks provides, despite their lack of knowledge of their existence. Whoever controls the steamwerks, controls the noble houses, and by extension, a vast portion of Equestria’s resources. Only specialized engineers can maintain it, and the lack of security to give a sense of unimportance has made it a popular home for Canterlot’s ‘undesirables.’ Lyra prodded Gumdrop awake, indicating their urgent need to leave. The trio cleared out as soon as they could and made their way below Canterlot’s desolated streets.

“Guh. This place gives me the creeps…” Gumdrop said.

“This is the Undercity. A lot of the poor live here. They must’ve been scared off by the siege.” Colgate said.

“They actually live in these conditions?” Lyra asked, disgusted by the filth.

“Appearances are often deceiving. Canterlot looks and sounds like a utopia, but if you really check into what keeps it running, you’ll be mortified. See these old pipes? This is the very blood of the city. Without it, no power, no nobles, no Canterlot. Hard to think the glamorous paradise of Canterlot runs on… this.” Colgate explained.

“Not even the Rebels know about this?” Gumdrop inquired.

“Their higher-ups probably do, but these pipes are fragile, and only specially trained crews can keep them running. If the NLR attacked them, they might become damaged beyond repair, making this city nearly worthless to anypony.” Colgate continued.

A figure enveloped in shadow watched them silently from above.

“So how do you think we’re gonna push the Rebels out of the city?” Gumdrop asked.

“We burned up a good chunk of their supplies, yet they’re still gaining ground. How long does it take to get reinforcements here?” Lyra said, annoyed.

“I’ve been trying to contact Colonel Twilight, but comms have been severed. I hope nothing bad has happened to her. As for the reinforcements, they’ve got to get organized before they try to sandvich the NLR forces. If they just trickle in slowly, they’re not much more than fodder.” Colgate said.

“All this waiting is really gonna stretch our abilities to the limit.” Lyra complained. “We can’t hold out forever.”

Suddenly, the figure watching from above was on the move.

“Wait. Did you hear that?” Lyra said.

There was a distinct clanging on the pipes. It could have just been the centuries-old machinery, but it sounded too distinct to be the groans of the pipes.

“Everypony stay close and keep moving. I’m getting the feeling we’re not alone…” Colgate said.

As the three tried to move forward, suddenly without warning a figure wrapped in black clothing dropped right in front of them. The trio backed up quickly in fear, as this mysterious shrouded figure looked up towards them, a pair of purple glasses looking right into their very souls, paralyzing them with terror.

“RUUUN!!!!!” Gumdrop exclaimed, immediately bolting in the opposite direction.

“Gumdrop, wait! You’ll get lost in the tunnels!” Colgate shouted after her, trying to keep pace alongside Lyra.

Lyra looked behind them as they were chasing after Gumdrop. This cloaked figure, whoever they were, merely stood there, watching them flee. The two of them chased after Gumdrop for a short while, until Gumdrop slipped and fell down a chute, leading to the very bowels of Canterlot itself.

Gumdrop quickly tried to pick herself up, coughing from the noxious materials her face had just been introduced to.

“You okay, Gumdrop? Anything we can do to help?” Lyra called down to her.

*coughing* “Yeah, can you two get down here? Like, NOW?!” Gumdrop pleaded.

“Well we’re not taking the express route, if that’s what you’re asking, but we’ll look for a way down! Just hold on!” Colgate said.

The two rushed off, leaving Gumdrop on her own. As silence befell the area, she began to calm down. Just as she started to relax, the cloaked figure dropped from above, drawing a finely-crafted katana. In the grip of panic, Gumdrop backed up against a wall, having completely abandoned all her magical abilities.

“STAY BACK!” Gumdrop shouted in desperation.

Her plea fell on deaf ears. The assassin, sword in hoof, marched inexorably towards her. When there were only a few meters separating the two, the assassin sprinted quickly towards Gumdrop.

“No. Nono this can’t be happening!” Gumdrop thought to herself.

The life rushed out of her as cold steel had found its target.

“No! This is… too soon… wha? You promised…” she muttered as a haze of orange blurred her vision.

Gumdrop collapsed onto the ancient bricks beneath her as her assassin disappeared into the vast open spaces above. Lyra, having finally made it to the bottom level with Colgate, rushed over to the unmoving body of her former squad mate while sobbing hard. She held Gumdrop up, hoping to catch a glimpse of life still in her.

“Can’t you do anything to help her?” Lyra pleaded to Colgate.

“Darn it, I’m a dentist, not a doctor!” exclaimed Colgate from the stairs they had just jumped down. “That, and I’m pretty sure she’s flatlined by now anyways.”

“Don’t say that!” Lyra said, tears streaming down her face, knowing it were true.

Suddenly, she saw the assassin appear on some pipes a ways up. The ninja leapt down, appearing to be gunning for Lyra next. Harnessing her rage, Lyra blasted a powerful light right at the mysterious assailant. Despite the impressive display of power, the light was ineffective against the ninja’s reflective glasses. It landed right in front of Lyra, causing her to stumble back in surprise. As the cloaked figure approached, Lyra shut her eyes in preparation.

“Arrêt!” ordered Colgate.

Surprisingly enough, the ninja heeded her command, sheathing its katana and falling onto its front legs. Lyra looked on in shock.

“Wha-? But how did… You’re… WHAT?!” Lyra exclaimed in confusion.

*sigh* “Alright, I suppose trying to conceal it is worthless at this point. My real name is Minuette, and I’m a spy for the New Lunar Republic. My family came here from Prance long ago when I was just born. A while ago, I looked into the situation in Prance and saw it was a disaster, pretty much like what’s happening here now. I met some members of the Resistance, helped them move some supplies, then came home on their payroll as a spy. Then SHE rooted me out.” Colgate said, pointing at the ninja pony.

The ninja pulled off her glasses, revealing a set of piercing red eyes. She pulled back her mask, shook her blue and cyan hair, and revealed herself as, surprisingly enough, Vinyl Scratch, better known as DJ Pon-3.

“What can I say? I’m good at rooting out spies. Runs in the family!” Vinyl said mirthfully, adding a wink at the end.

“Yeah, yeah.” Minuette said, rolling her eyes. “Anyways, Vinyl here discovered I was sending intel back to the Prench Resistance. She relayed an order to me directly from Princess Luna herself to discuss my future. At first, I thought I was just going to be executed, but then Luna offered to make me one of her spies as well! Luckily for me, Luna was sympathetic to the Resistance’s plight. I’ve been working for her ever since.”

“But wait, then why are you in the Vespers?” Lyra asked while getting to her hooves.

“Both Luna and I saw it as an opportunity to get a mole planted deep in the Imperial military. Luckily, I’ve never come to the point where I’ve needed to actually kill an NLR soldier directly.” Minuette explained, relieved.

“So then why let… HER attack us? She killed Gumdrop!” Lyra shouted.

“The Webwork determined that the Vespers were too dangerous, given our impressive record, and Gumdrop was almost assuredly devoted to the Imperial cause. And now with our cover blown…” Minuette said, gesturing towards Vinyl, “… we’ve got to get out of here and back to the Funnel to plan our next step.”

“We gotta go soon, too. No telling how long we have until Imp Command tries to contact 1 of you and figure out something’s gone wrong.” Vinyl noted.

“So that leaves the matter of you.” Minuette said, pointing at Lyra. “You’ve got two choices, join the Webwork and keep your muzzle shut about what happened here, or take the express exit.” she finished, pointing towards a garbage chute leading to a steep drop down to certain death.

“Not much of a choice there.” Lyra grumbled.

“Lyra, I can sense good in you. You joined the Vespers willingly to protect your best friend. Do you even agree with what the Solar Empire is doing?” Minuette asked.

Lyra pondered this for a moment. She realized that the whole point of her joining the Imperials was to protect Bon Bon. In truth, she hated the Empire and its oppression. She missed Celestia’s rule, even if she was autocratic. This whole ‘Solar Empire’ thing had never sat right with her anyway.

“Alright, I’m in. I’ll join you.” Lyra said. “BUT… only on the condition that the Imperials are pushed out of Ponyville. I want to ensure Bon Bon’s safe.”

“We can do that.” Vinyl confided with a smile towards Minuette.

“Alright, with this mess out of the way…” Minuette said, pressing her hoof to her ear. “Weaver, this is Recluse. I’m here with Wolf. We’re in the steamwerks under Canterlot. The Vespers are now officially terminated. We’ve managed to get the sole survivor to defect. I can vouch for her combat prowess. She has potential.”

“Excellent work, Recluse. Bring your initiate back to the Funnel. Widow has another job for Wolf. Rendezvous with Angler for extraction.” Weaver replied.

Lyra and Minuette proceeded to escape from the Canterlot warzone. Minuette’s knowledge of the Undercity allowed them to turn the maze of sewers and grimy access tunnels into an escape far behind NLR lines, and subsequent safety. As they were nearing their exit, they felt an explosion send shockwaves all throughout Canterlot.

==========

Bonus points to:

Keystroke and Silver Streak: for being my pre-reader

Sword Flash: for letting me use (and slightly tweak) his OC, Hammer Strike

Raspberry Rhapsody: for letting me use her OC’s name and physical characteristics

Silver Streak (again): for letting me use his OC

Celtic Cross: for letting me use his OC’s name and physical characteristics

Author’s notes:

Hello, everypony! Dissoriented here with a few post-script items to add:

The 7th in the Strings of Fate series, this delves into the exploits of Rainbow’s Raiders and the Sentinels during the Canterlot siege, as well as bringing in a fresh new perspective from the Solar Empire’s side of the conflict through the Vespers. I had initially intended to leave the Vespers as just a background name, but fell in love with the idea of bringing in an opposing view of the war and the NLR, as well as exploiting some information regarding a toothpaste-named unicorn and a cameo for a DJ.

Your cliffhanging, faceless writer,

Dissoriented

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