A Clandestine Action

Chapters

A Clandestine Action

A Clandestine Action

I told you I didn't like Celestia didn't I? Well, yeah sure I did, but I think you should understand how badly I didn't like her. Back in my unit we had a saying, "Don't be a Princess." Which was what we all told the rookies on day one. Essentially, we were telling them not to stand at the back and be useless or get in the way. I thought that pretty fair back then. After all, Celestia never actually seemed to do much besides attend all those useless political functions. You know how bad the military hates politics when it gets in the way of a decent plan right? Well you should.

At any rate I'd changed a lot since I'd arrived in Ponyville, but I still hadn't found room in my heart for our glorious overlords. Twilight assured me on multiple occasions that Celestia was doing the best she could to run the kingdom. While I admitted freely I never expected her to use her all powerful magic to solve every problem, once or twice wouldn't hurt. I guess that's the problem when the leader of the country has to do all the things that seem to have no effect on the rest of us, everyone starts to think they aren't doing anything at all. In reality, they're working extremely hard.

So, you'll imagine my surprise when I received a letter asking for my assistance in leading a team of ponies to an ancient alicorn tomb. A team she would be part of no less, but we're getting ahead of ourselves here, let's backtrack.

It had been several months since the Neman Lion attack. I'd moved into my own house in Ponyville. It was small and out of the way, perfect. Pinkie Pie threw a house warming party for me, which I was told more than made up for my welcome party fiasco. As a way to keep myself busy and to pay the rent, I took up some private security jobs. The Everfree Forest as you know lies very close to Ponyville and everypony was scared of it. Well, everypony except me. Some paid quite generous sums of money to be protected while they gathered rare and exotic materials. To be honest though, it was dull work. I rarely ever saw combat. Even when I did it was just Timberwolves, and they are hardly fitting opponents.

I was bored, Ponyville didn't need protecting. Equestria could be dangerous at times sure, but not right then. The summer passed me by and I longed for some decent action. Yeah I know, you should be careful what you wish for right? Anyway, I was quite pleased to get the letter even if it meant I had to put up with brass. An ancient alicorn tomb, that meant action.

"What could this mean Clandestine?" Twilight asked. "I've never even heard of such a thing, why would Celestia go herself if she needs to bring her guards with her?"

Twilight had stopped by when I received the letter as she often did. I got the feeling she liked to check on me, her little pet project. Either way, her visits broke up the monotony of Ponyville life.

I didn't care about what Twilight was getting at and I was rather callous with my reply, "Maybe she needs someone to carry her royal hide up there, I dunno."

"I very much doubt that Clandestine, this might be dangerous," Twilight insisted.

She was concerned, and I could see that. But she needed to understand that risks were part of my life.

"Look, Twilight," I began. "I'm a soldier, she wouldn't ask me to help if it wasn't dangerous. Danger is part of the trade, but I can handle myself, ok?"

She looked a little better, "I still want to know where you're going and what I can do to help."

Unfortunately, the letter also stated specifically that my new friends couldn't come. Apparently this was a problem only I could solve and I had already been given a team to help me accomplish the goal. "You can't," I answered. "But what does that mean, problem only I can solve?"
Twilight took the letter with her magic and examined it for the paragraph I mentioned, "I'm not sure," she admitted. "Perhaps your unique skills will be useful?"

I chuckled, "What unique skills? I'm a soldier Twilight, there's plenty of us, nothing unique about me."

She looked doubtful, "Everypony is unique in their own way Clandestine. What about your special talent and your cutie mark?"

"Protecting ponies?" I asked. That was my special talent after all, and it didn't make me feel any better. "Great, she needs somepony to dive in front of whatever comes her way."

Twilight didn't look pleased by that particular statement.

"Ahh, I'm being negative again aren't I. Well, it's going to get me out of my rut, I'll take the job." I smiled at Twilight, "But don't you go worrying about me, alright?"

I spent the rest of that night preparing for the trials ahead. The Princess was going to be arriving the next day, which was hardly ideal as it didn't give me nearly enough time to prepare. I guessed that it was probably urgent, but it still annoyed me a little. After all, if I was going to be leading a team I wanted to know who was on it. I hadn't received any information in that regard.

Well, suffice to say I didn't sleep all that well that night. The thought of this new mission was driving me crazy and the general lack of information about it was irritating. Do I bring climbing gear? Winter clothes? Camouflage? My new...

Of yeah, I forgot to tell you about my new armour didn't I?

Sure it's nothing fancy now but back then it was revolutionary. The fabric that we stole from the bandits could be replicated as it turned out. The result was a lighter and stronger material that could stand up to some seriously hard lance blows. It was waterproof and could protect from wind chill as well. I had to hand it to Rarity, she really out-did herself with that one. It was a lot easier to get into than my regular plate armour as well. Not to mention I could sleep in it without doing myself some serious harm.

I'd also upgraded my weapons as well. Due to the new lightness of my armour, I integrated some new armed gauntlets into the design. Sharp blades could be drawn from a few discreet slits, allowing for an advantage in hoof to hoof combat. Wristblades as they're known.

In any event, I packed everything I thought I would need. Everything from a tinderbox to my new flashy armour. Princess Celestia sure wouldn't catch me unprepared.

Night gave forth to day and I set off early to get to the place where Princess Celestia had requested I meet her. A small clearing on the outskirts of Ponyville.

Saying goodbye to my friends, I set forth for adventure and glory. Or at least, that's what I was thinking would happen at the time. I sure was wrong about that one...

I arrived to find that I was the first one there, circled the perimeter a few times, and I sat down to wait. I was still pretty annoyed about knowing very little about the assignment.

Soon after, Celestia arrived in her chariot. Escorted by two of her royal guard and a number of other ponies who looked more like regular army. A striking cyan mare with yellow hair led the pack of grunts, armoured lightly in the fashion of the winged cavalry which was light padded armour reinforced with chain. A pegasus of course. Then there was a light brown stallion with red hair, he was built like a tank and sported a pair of shades along with some heavily modified brigandine armour. Another stallion, this one pale green. Smaller than the one before but meaner, with a snarl on his mouth and a short military crew cut. He looked rather dangerous, I liked him already. His beard and moustache were untrimmed and he was armoured in heavy plate mail. Then there was a unicorn, he was small compared to the other stallions and was a calming blue tinge. His hair was grown out and he looked somewhat nervous about being around the other grunts. That one was wearing some simple padded armour and didn't look the faintest bit military. Last but not least there was a dull white unicorn. He struck me immediately as someone interesting, the expression of disinterest on his face was intriguing. He had pale blue hair, cut short in military style and wore only a light coat which wasn't exactly armour. He seemed graceful, and the most dangerous for some reason. Perhaps it was my combat intuition?

Celestia's guards seemed to blur into one with me. Both pegasi and both white, armed in the style of the palace guard. It seemed the only difference between the two was one wore a blue tufted helmet, the other a purple one.

"Platoon, halt," the green stallion barked as Celestia's chariot ground to a halt.

Yep, careful, better park that nice chariot carefully...

She dismounted gracefully and thanked the two other guardsmen pulling the chariot. Shortly after, they turned around and left their cargo in the glade with its two guards, and the rest of us ponies. The grunts came to a halt and stood at ease after surveying the area.

"Greetings Clandestine, thank you for meeting us here," the Princess began. She strode over to where I was sitting with a smile on her face.
My instinct was to reply with the typical military drill. But then I remembered, I wasn't military anymore. At least, not right then. "Yeah, well, I wanted to know what the mission was. Not to mention why I was needed."

"Please understand," the Princess answered in that same annoyingly calm tone. "I did not want Twilight to know the full extent of the danger you would be in, she would have tried to help you and that would have put her in peril."

Of course, back then, Twilight wasn't all that good at magic. Sure, it's easy to say she would have been fine, but that was before we had even seen what was waiting for us on this mission. It also irritated me to know that I was now expendable apparently.

"Uh huh," I replied in a somewhat non-committal tone. "So, where are we going?"

The Princess beckoned the rest of the grunts forward. "You know why we're here, to enter an ancient alicorn tomb, as I said in my letter. What you don't know is which tomb we are going to enter and what item we must retrieve from it." She paused for a brief moment. "We are going to travel to Princess Trynta's final resting place and steal from it a powerful magical artefact known as the Equine Seed."

Of course, none of us had ever heard of a Princess Trynta, or an Equine seed. The Princess explained...

"Long ago, during the beginning of my reign, there was another alicorn princess called Trynta. She was born and raised in a poor family and was undiscovered until I visited her village. I saw a greatness in her and offered her a place at my side, so she might learn what it meant to be an alicorn princess. Her lessons went well to begin with, but then something changed in her. She began to think herself better than other ponies simply because she was born an alicorn. All my attempts at convincing her that she needed to respect her power and use it to help those less fortunate fell on deaf ears. She struck out on her own, convinced that she was the most powerful princess who had ever lived. Her pride eventually got the best of her and she killed herself performing a powerful spell that remains unknown to me even to this day. Trynta's body was locked away in a tomb with the Equine Seed. The seed was intended as a gift, to calm her spirit and maybe bring her peace in the next life. Unfortunately, we have need of its power now and we must take back our kind gesture."

I asked the question on everyone's minds, "What exactly do we need this seed for?"

The Princess replied with a look of concern, "There are some places in Equestria that are not as safe as they used to be. This magic may be the key to solving the puzzle.

Cryptic much. "Ok then, where are we headed, where is this tomb?"

"Through White-Tail Woods," the Princess indicated. "Then on past the Smokey Mountain to the Bay of Tranquility, that is where the tomb is located." After she saw I had no more questions, she smiled. "I have chosen Clandestine to lead a platoon in my company. Your unique talents will serve us well and help retrieve the Equine seed. I will give you a moment to introduce yourselves, then we must be off."

Introduce yourselves? We're soldiers, we don't introduce ourselves. By that point I was starting to think the Princess didn't have any experience leading a military force. I was wrong of course, but it sure felt that way. Veterans didn't introduce themselves. They simply told everyone what they could do and if you made it out alive, then you might have made a friend for life. At least, that's what it had been like in my other platoons.

"Platoon, attention," I shouted at the grunts. Since I was in charge, I felt I could give the orders. Though it nagged the back of my mind that I wasn't military anymore.

They fell into line obediently and with appropriate gusto. That was good.

I marched down the line once, then twice, sizing everyone up. I turned to the green earth pony with the crew cut. "Soldier, sound off," I demanded.

"Sergeant Whistledown sir, everyone calls me Sarge sir. Specialised in hoof-to-hoof and lance combat. Five years regular infantry sir," he replied. His voice was rough, worn from shouting at his own squad I guessed.

"Good to have you aboard Sarge," I replied. "Soldier, sound off," I repeated for the large stallion with the glasses.

"Slickshot sir," he replied with a smile. "I can hit almost any target you like with a crossbow. Two years regular infantry, two years mobile infantry."

I didn't like his attitude, he sounded cocky about something. Still, always good to have a sharpshooter.

I repeated my question to the light blue mare. "I'm Lightning Dust sir. Fastest flyer in the winged cavalry."

I didn't much care if she was fast, could she fight? "Experience?" I asked.

She looked a little worried about that, "Just a year in the winged cavalry sir. But I'm a great flyer, I am... was going to be in the Wonderbolts. I got kicked out of the academy though."

That was slightly alarming. If she got kicked out then it must have been for a good reason. I could hear the other squaddies chuckle, a years experience wasn't enough experience to go on a dangerous mission with brass in tow in my book.

I must have looked doubtful or concerned right then as the next thing she blurted out, "It wasn't my fault, sir. Honest, it was that stupid..."
"Enough, rookie," I silenced her. "If you're as good as you say you are then I'm sure one years experience was enough to teach you to keep your head down."

I sidled past her, unconvinced by my own argument, and onto the next trooper. I'm certain the Princess was still in earshot and noted that I didn't assure Lightning Dust that the Princess must have picked her for a reason. I didn't want to feed the Princesses' ego. Not that I knew it at the time, but that little exercise would turn out to antagonise her for no reason. She didn't have much of an ego.

"Soldier, sound off," I repeated to the small unicorn.

"I'm called Deepsky," he replied. Definitely not military. "I'm skilled in most forms of magic, though I have a talent for detection and decryption of magical sources."

That would certainly come in useful for disarming any magical traps we would encounter.

"Princess Celestia has also given me all the reading material available from the Canterlot library on Princess Trynta and her tomb. It's not much, but I'm sure it will come in handy. I'm not a member of the Equestrian Defence Forces, but I am a graduate of Princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns and I have advanced my studies further through my own adventures."

A bookworm too. At least we had knowledge covered. Despite his lack of military training, I liked him. He seemed competent and calm, and from the looks of things he was starting to pick up drill already.

"I'm sure you'll come in handy, us unicorns always do," I commented with a smile.

Last, but far from least, I directed my question at the ghostly unicorn. For a moment nothing happened, then I was surprised to find the Princess answer for him. "His name is Lightsoul," she supplied, casually walking over.

"Unfortunately, Lightsoul is both gifted and cursed. He's a mute, thus, cannot speak. He is however, extremely talented in the arts of healing. He can read the land and find us almost anything."

I nodded to her for thanks. Lightsoul didn't even look her way, let alone acknowledge her.

"Glad to have you soldier," I said, but he didn't react to that either.

"My guards," the Princess interjected, "Are named Shining Steel and Emerald Sheen. They are not in your platoon though," she explained.

Made sense, I had only been a royal guard myself so ordering them around might have felt a little odd. Besides, I don't think the Princess would have taken it too kindly if I had started ordering her own guards around, then who would be there to make her look important? "From this moment Clandestine, I am suspending your extended leave and granting you the temporary rank of Captain. We shall head west to Whitetail Wood," she informed me.

The platoon stood up a little straighter.

"Thank you, your highness," I added reluctantly. Great, now I was back on the leash... Still, I wasted no time in making my new title useful.

"Alright platoon, saddle up. We've got a lot of ground to cover. Fall in behind me, marching order," I barked.

The Princess sidestepped as the platoon followed my orders and turned in the direction we were heading. They formed a column two abreast with Sarge at its head, a noticeable space for me next to him. I quickly joined him at the front of the column then asked the Princess, "Shall we follow you or go in front."

"By all means," she answered with every tone of politeness. "Please go first."

Yeah so if there's any ambushes or traps, we'll spring them.

"Platoon, fall out," I barked.

We set off at a brisk walk in the direction of Whitetail Wood. I'd studied the map of the area around Ponyville well enough to navigate my way there.

Leading a platoon brought back memories. Some good, others bad. An interesting experience nonetheless. The Princess and her guards kept pace with us the whole time. If I'm honest, it felt like they were herding us to our objective. Still, I was back with the grunts once again so, we began to sing marching songs to pass the time. The Princess even joined in on some of the less rude ones. Her bright and regal voice clashing somewhat with the deep militaristic crescendo.

Of course, nothing was stupid enough to attack a platoon of heavily armed ponies escorting the most powerful being in Equestria to a dangerous place. Well, not nothing. Some things. But anyway, because of that the trip was actually pretty relaxed. We didn't let our guard down of course, but still. Over the course of our marching and singing I got to know the rest of the platoon. I remember at one particular nightly halt we decided to swap stories. The fire was lit and the night was clear. With Whitetail Woods all around us, it made for a rather atmospheric setting.

"So, Captain?" Slickshot asked as he gulped down his canteen of water. "You know us, who are you? What's your skill set? If you don't mind me asking?"

It was an honest question and I could see the rest of the platoon, who had gathered around the campfire, turn with quiet interest.

"I'm Captain, Clandestine," I answered slightly cryptically. "Skilled in stealth ops, actually I think I was the best in the whole regiment. Five years, mobile infantry. One year, royal guard."

Sarge chuckled at that, "Didn't take you for one of those pansy guardsmen. Mind you, you've only been with them a year, I'll forgive ya'."
Slickshot joined in Sarge's laughter. They seemed to be the only two in the platoon who were military through and through. The rest were likely unaware of the rivalry between the regulars and the royal guards. The stigma came from the royal guards being under the direct command of the Princesses, who most of the regular army didn't like all too much. Something about getting off their royal butts and helping the infantry for once, but I think I've already told you enough about that.

"The royal guards are far from pansies," I said, defensively. Of course, the regulars always forgot that the royal guards had all been regular army before their lofty duties as the Princess's personal protection. They also forgot that the royal guards were a significant order of magnitude above regular troopers. "Besides, I left after a year."

Slickshot nodded in recognition, "Oh yeah. I thought the Princess said you were on extended leave. What happened? They kick you out or something?" He asked.

I was starting to get a little irritated at their probing but I kept my attitude at bay, for the moment at least. "I left actually, I got tired of standing around Canterlot all day."

The stallion clearly didn't expect that answer since he was quiet for a moment, before finally just saying, "Oh, and now you're back."

I smiled, "After a fashion. If Celestia really needs my help then I'll help. Not that I'll like it, and it's more of a favour to Twilight than anything else."

He looked puzzled at that, "Who?"

"Twilight," I answered, then I remembered he wouldn't know who she was. "She's Celestia's student, I'm friends with her."

Sarge's eyebrow rose, "Wow, someone's gone soft."

It was true, I had gone a little soft, I just used the F-word. Almost nobody in the regulars had friends as such. Everyone had squadmates and colleagues, never friends.

"Guess it's all the Ponyville air," I joked. "But honestly, I think I missed a trick with not having friends."

"How so?" Slickshot inquired.

I shook my head, "I dunno," I replied. I was trying to get my head around the idea right then. "I guess I sort of never had friends, feels good to have some now."

The two veterans exchanged a look. I knew what they were thinking of course, it would hurt bad if I lost them. A strange and eerie custom had developed in the mobile infantry. Whenever you lost a pony, you just forgot they existed. Sure you got their body out if you could, but you forgot they were ever in your unit. It was easier that way. Looking back, it was easy to say it was a stupid tradition. Thinking about it, it made sense though. It meant that the soldiers didn't worry about grief, they just got on with their jobs. In the field, focus is everything sometimes. The fire crackled ominously, sending its bright embers into the darkening sky.

"So, Slickshot, you said you were in the mobile infantry too?" I countered.

The stallion nodded, "Sure did. I was a really good shot with the crossbow when I went into the regulars. Some Lieutenant must have liked me enough to put me in with the mobile infantry," he answered.

Slickshot must have been a really good shot if his cutie mark was a crossbow. I felt he didn't quite have the discipline aspect of soldiering quite down. Hence the glasses, still, it was nothing compared to Lightning Dust.

"A useful skill to have," I commented him.

He smiled at that, happy to be recognised.

Speaking of Lightning Dust actually, it was at that point the pegasus decided to join us by the fireside. "Hey guys, what you talking about?" she asked.

"Clandestine's a sissy royal guard," Slickshot answered her. "Or at least, was a sissy royal guard, other than that, not much."

Lightning Dust just nodded, taking in that information. "Cool, I guess. Hey, did you hear about that platoon of winged cavalry in the Unicorn Mountains, what were they called? Razor platoon?"

"Yeah," Sarge confirmed. "Strange ponies around these days, I'll say."

That perked my interest, I hadn't heard about any teams going up into the mountains for a while. "What's this?" I asked.

The pegasus smiled, eager to divulge the story. "Razor platoon is one of the top units in the Winged Cavalry, as you know. Anyway, they get tasked by Celestia to scout out a very specific area of the Unicorn Mountains," she told us, looking over at Celestia's tent as she did so.

Evidently this wasn't supposed to be common knowledge. "They come across this group of ponies, though they're not like any ponies we know. They were like earth ponies, only with darker and browner shades of colouration, they also didn't have cutie marks."

Slickshot gave off a guffaw of laughter, "No cutie marks? What? Foals?" he asked, confused.

"See that's just the thing," Lightning answered. "They were full grown ponies. That wasn't the only thing wrong with them."

The stallion looked even more intrigued, "Having no cutie marks is pretty darn strange, these flying fillies sure they were ponies?"

"Yes," Lightning snapped, clearly annoyed at Slickshot for doubting her. "But that wasn't the only strange thing about them. They wore weird grey fabric, tough but light, it was armour they'd never seen before."

I was starting to get the feeling I knew more about this story than I thought. These ponies were sounding a lot like the bandits me and my friends ran into when we went into the Unicorn Mountains after Twilight. Either this was the same group, or there were more of them. Both possibilities were quite distressing.

"They were also organised," Lightning continued. "Not your usual scum that heads up into those mountains. They were almost military apparently. Anyway, Razor hit them hard and took prisoners. They're being interrogated at Canterlot Castle."

Sarge looked dubious at that, "Cmon rookie, everyone knows there's no dungeons in Canterlot. Besides, I talked to a few contacts in the royal guard. They haven't seen or heard of Razor, or anyone else, bringing in prisoners."

"So what?" Lightning asked, aghast. "They just vanished? And I don't appreciate being called rookie."

The sergeant waved his hoof, "Easy there. I'm sorry. No, I'm not saying they vanished, I'm saying the whole thing is made up. Probably some greenhorn telling stories."

"It's not made up," both myself and Lightning Dust argued at the same time.

Lightning looked a little confused, "What? I thought you said you hadn't heard of this before?"

"I haven't," I confirmed. "But, I was in the Unicorn Mountains a few months back."

Slickshot, who had remained quiet till now, raised his eyebrow and asked simply. "Do tell."

With a chuckle I recounted how I went on an expedition with my friends to save Twilight from a Neman Lion. I also recounted while on said expedition, we got ambushed by some bandits fitting the description of the strange ponies from the Razor platoon tale.

"No cutie marks and all?" Slickshot asked.

I chuckled, "I wasn't paying their butts too much attention right then. Shame I didn't take a prisoner, though I stole some of their armour."

"C'mon, let's see then," Lightning asked excitedly.

I began to wonder if she wanted to see my new armour just to see if the story was true, or just out of curiosity. Either way, I presented them with the strange armour that Rarity had fashioned me.

"Like you said, it's light and tough. This stuff can deflect a lance blow like it was nothing," I commented as the three poured over the armour. "I'm friends with Rarity, a fashion designer. She said it's not armour, more like fabric. Works like it though."

"Cool," Lightning commented. "See Sarge, I told you it was true."

The sergeant nodded in approval, "Hey, when I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But now the stories are true then that's slightly concerning," he commented.

"New breed of bandits," Slickshot added. "Though I still don't believe they had no cutie marks."

Back then, it was hard to imagine what these new ponies represented. Even though I knew they were real, I too found the no cutie mark thing hard to believe. That made it sound like we were dealing with a whole other species, and I didn't believe it at the time. I began wishing I'd paid closer attention to the bandits. I'd been too preoccupied with Twilight, and that had clouded my vision. Was I beginning to let my personal feelings interfere with my better judgement?

"Me too," I agreed with Slickshot. "I remember when I was skirmishing close to the Everfree Forest, we covered ourselves in mud to give us camouflage. Something like that could have hid a cutie mark, or even just armour. Likely they're just a load of earth pony bandits with some powerful family backing them. I won't be the least bit surprised when there's a power grab in the royal court soon."

Lightning gave a snort of derision, "Who'd be stupid enough to try and grab power from the Princesses?"

She had a point, all I could do was shrug.

"It's happened before," Sarge recalled. "Nightmare Moon a few years back now. I know she's Princess Luna now, but it begs the question."
"No," I stated bluntly. "Twilight said the Elements of Harmony changed her to good, and I believe her. Probably some idiot like Prince Blueblood."

Slickshot gave me a crooked smile, "Is that your friends again? Huh, Clandestine?"

For that, he was awarded an evil glare. "Watch your tone, Corporal." I hated pulling rank like that, but I wanted to stop that particular line of inquiry before one of us said something we'd regret.

Fortunately Lightning cautioned us both. "Cmon guys, this probably isn't the best conversation we could be having. Let's leave it there."
We all nodded in agreement.

Over the course of those days we kept having conversations like that. Getting to know each other a little better, but never too well. Those were the rules. It wasn't just the grunts I got to know on that trip either, I even got some face time with the Princess. That came later though.

It was a day after our chat about the strange ponies in the Unicorn Mountains. I couldn't get the story out of my head. It seemed like they were important for some reason. I knew in the back of my mind that it wasn't just bandits, nor was it a power grab. Call it intuition, but I knew that something bad was going to come of them. I was also busy thinking about what lay ahead in the tomb. I kept recalling the look of concern on Twilight's face. They were worried about me back home. The mission was dangerous no doubt about it and I might not come back. For the first time in my life, I actually had something to lose. It was a strange feeling.

At any rate, I was out at the front of the pack when I spotted what looked like a downed tree. Of course, this being a forest, that wasn't exactly anything to be of concern. Trees were downed all the time. That's when I noticed there was more than just one though.

I ordered a halt so we could investigate.

"What's going on then?" Slickshot asked, trotting up beside me.

I gestured to the downed trees then started barking orders. "Princess, stay here. Lighting, give me an aerial fly-by, check it out. Sarge, Deepsky, Lighsoul, flank left. Keep low. Slickshot, with me."

The ponies did as they were told. Celestia stood still, regal as ever, and glanced around. I couldn't tell if she was simply annoyed about being ordered about or just bored by my antics.

Lightning Dust gave an enthusiastic, "I'm on it," and climbed through the air on her wings. She was fast, I could give her that.

The three other ponies flanked left, keeping to the undergrowth. Lightsoul and Sarge were quiet and easily concealed. Deepsky tried his best, but he was like a fish out of water. The bushes rustled and he kept bumping into things. Hardly the picture of stealth.

I beckoned for Slickshot to follow me as I headed straight for the downed trees, lazily circling right. This wasn't my usual approach of course, but I was betting on cover from the left flank, and the sky. Besides, we still had an Equestrian Princess in reserve. I was confident that as long as she was around, we could handle pretty much anything.

We reached the downed trees without incident. From there it quickly became apparent that whatever had happened, it was big. A huge path had been torn through the canopy and downed trees littered the forest floor, all pointing roughly west.

Lightning Dust returned to me from above, landing quickly and expertly. Almost as if she'd been dropped like a stone. "Sir, this destruction goes on for a few hundred yards until it reaches some sort of crater."

I nodded at this information, maybe something had crashed? "Ok private, fly back to Celestia and tell her we're going to investigate. Join me and Slickshot on your return flight."

As I started to head off Lighting Dust remained rooted to the forest floor, "What should I tell her to do sir?" she asked, looking concerned.

I smiled and responded, "She's brass, she can go where she likes. I'd prefer she follow at a distance though."

Satisfied, Lightning Dust sped off.

I indicated with my hoof for the team flanking left to follow us but remain in cover.

After a while the crater Lightning Dust had observed from the air quickly became apparent to us on the ground.

The pegasus rejoined us shortly after we approached the crater. What little cover there was quickly disappeared and the flanking team were forced to abandon their stealthy approach.

There was nothing in the crater, save a recent scorch mark and the debris of several more trees. It was almost like something had torn through the forest, only to land and dissapear.

"What could have done this?" Lightning asked, a little fearfully. "I don't like this, maybe we should leave."

I shook my head, defiantly. "We're not leaving until we figure out whatever did this. My guess was a wyvern or a dragon crash. There's no body though, nah, this is something else."

Slickshot used a mechanical lever to cock his crossbow. The crossbow itself was laid on his back, to be used from a prone position. A mechanical pulley stretched down his foreleg connected to a lever. This was connected to the string which was used to fire the crossbow. Bolts still had to be loaded manually, but this system still allowed the pony to use a crossbow as one would normally expect. "Something smell wrong to you cap?" he asked. "I'm getting a weird feeling like we shouldn't be here."

I had to admit, I was feeling somewhat uneasy. A glint of metal caught my eye, and I looked at the ground. I'd spotted a small token, buried into the dirt.

The flanking team joined us as I fished it out of the earth with my hoof. I held it up, examining it closely. The token was a bronze badge of the Equestrian Defence forces. A patrol?

"That's not good," Sarge commented.

I stowed the badge away in my saddlebag. "No it isn't, we should leave, now." And just as I said that, the wind picked up.

"Don't leave us," a voice whispered over the breeze.

We all heard it and looked around, wary of anything that might attack us.

"We're so scared, please don't leave us," it came again.

Deepsky's horn flared as he scanned for anything magical and Sarge started corralling the soldiers into a defensive circle. It didn't take long for the threat to be made apparent.

A dark mist rose from the ground around us, swirling and twisting like a watery night. The foul voice came once more, "Please don't leave."
It came through much clearer. Whatever it was, it sounded scared. A being of intense fear had surrounded us with a deep black mist.
"Lightsoul, flare, now," I barked. The unicorn obeyed without question, casting a bright magelight directly up to the sky before the shroud of evil swallowed us. "Deepsky, energy sphere." The blue unicorn's horn flared once again and cast a protective shield around the platoon. It shimmered to life, a bright blue dome amidst a fog of dark. I saw the flare lance across the sky, casting its light for all the world to see. Then darkness as the dark presence swallowed us whole.

There was nothing to see other than the faint light of the protective shield and the swirling mist outside. Deepsky sank to a sitting position, looking strained. "Clandestine," he called through a wheeze. "I don't think I can beat this, it's too strong."

It didn't matter, I knew that. The Princess was close, she'd get us out of here. "Don't worry, keep strong. Lightsoul, help him would you?" I asked.

The unicorn joined his strength to Deepsky's and the shield shimmered a light gold colour.
"Buck, why is it never just something I can shoot?" Slickshot asked. He sounded uncertain, as if he was simply trying to reassure himself with humour.

The magical curtain of black hissed and snarled at us. The shield began to ring in a high pitched tone as the magical energies collided. We all held our ears back at the grating sound.

"Keep it together soldiers," I encouraged them. Of course I was scared myself, but I was betting the Princess would come and rescue us. Benefit of having the most powerful being in Equestria on your side. "Are you sure you can't deal with this thing?" I asked, trying to sound optimistic.

"No," Deepsky called, exasperated. "It's lashing at my defences like a rabid diamond dog. It's ethereal so your weapons won't be of help here. We need the Princess."

"Buck," I swore.

We remained huddled together as the shield slowly wore down. Minutes past and I could tell the squad was getting tenser and tenser. "Sir," Sarge asked. Even his veteran calm was shaken. "Orders? Please."

"We hold," I demanded. "We hold..."

The shield shrank dramatically as Deepsky howled in pain. The rest of us flinched at the motion and the darkness took the opportunity to press against the mages. "Can't, hold," the blue unicorn complained.

Then there was a bright light and we all hit the deck.

The darkness vanished and shrank back in on itself. It snarled and tried to bite back against the pure white magic. It failed.

Out of the shining light stepped the Princess, her horn a-flare with an aura of gold. "Find peace," her voice boomed in a great commanding shout only a princess could muster. "Find peace in the light and fear no more."

The swirling black presence, now as small as a mouse winked out of existence with a sigh.

After the light was gone I got up, looking about to see only the flattened trees and the crater around us. The Princess stood before us, looking as regal as ever. "You took your time," I greeted her. "Still, thanks."

The Princess nodded curtly towards me.

Sarge waved his hoof at our saviour, "Excuse me. Am I the only pony here who is wondering what the hay that was."
The Princess smiled, "That was a Caller in Darkness."

I'd heard the term before, but I'd never actually faced one until then. Celestia explained what it was in great detail. Essentially a Caller in Darkness is a spirit of a group of ponies who have died in great fear and agony. We dug around the crater shortly after that and found the bones of a patrol of soldiers along with their badges. Of course, I didn't know what they were doing there or how they had died. Still, the sight sent shivers down my spine. This was central Equestria, hardly a place for such an evil being.

At any rate, Sarge and I took the badges. Hopefully we could return them to their families and bring them some closure. We also buried the soldiers properly, marking their final resting places with crude wooden markers. Hardly a fitting monument for such heroes, but it was all we could do. The Princess said a few words and we were off, troubled at what could scar these noble souls so badly.

That night there were no songs and there was no conversation. We ate our food glumly and set watch.

The only other thing worth mentioning about our journey was my conversation with the Princess.

It was the morning after our encounter with the caller and we were camping on the far edge of Whitetail Woods. I'd volunteered myself for last watch in the dead hours of the morning where nothing dare stir. The still air holding its breath against the predawn cold.

"Greetings Clandestine," the Princess acknowledged me as I sat staring across the woods.

"Eh, what?" I asked, startled. Then I shook myself to bring back my focus. "Princess, what are you doing up in the hour of the wolf?" I asked, after I realised who I was talking to.

"The hour of the wolf?" she asked, puzzled. "I don't believe I've ever heard it called that before."

Admittedly, nopony except me did. "Eh, I've found it's the time everypony seems to be at their most vulnerable. A little dozy from a long watch in the night or just stirring from their dreams. The perfect time to attack, when their guard is down. That's why I call it the hour of the wolf."
The Princess seemed to comprehend my reasoning, but didn't respond to it. Instead, after a pause, she answered my question. "I am up because it is nearly time to raise the sun."

I'd almost forgotten that the whole cycle of night and day would be obsolete without the two Princesses. Kind of made you wonder what would happen if something were to happen to them. How would we raise the sun and the moon then? As far as I knew, only the two sisters possessed that knowledge, or the magical ability. "Huh, guess we'd better get moving then," I acknowledged.

I turned to go but she stopped me with, "Wait Clandestine, we still have time yet."

I stopped in my tracks, that was when I knew she wanted a discussion with me. Probably about my attitude, or something equally unimportant. "Alright," I responded, rejoining her at my watch post. "What did you want to talk about?"

The Princess smiled, "Nothing in particular. There aren't reasons behind everything I do you know?"

I was taken aback by her informality, and also by the way she seemed to know what I was thinking. Because I was definitely thinking she had some kind of agenda. Sure, I'd gotten past my suspicion of everypony. I was still wary of those in places of power though. My parents as you know, had been nobles in Trottingham. Everything they did was to further their own ambitions. Even the horrors they inflicted on me.

"Is that so?" I responded. "You know, I've developed quite a taste for apple cider?" I asked, attempting to small talk.

The Princess nodded with approval. "I quite enjoy it myself. I take it Applejack had something to do with that?" she asked, a hint of mischief in her voice.

"True enough," I responded. "Though Rainbow had more to do with it. She kept going on about it for weeks, about how she never gets any and it's the best cider in Equestria. Well, I noticed Pinkie Pie camping out so I joined her. Poor Rainbow didn't get any I don't think. Ahh well, I'll buy her a mug next time."

To my surprise, the Princess actually giggled. I didn't think she had it in her. "It's nice to hear that you've made some friends. I was worried about you when I heard you were quitting the guard."

I was even more surprised, "You, were worried about, me?" I asked, quite confounded.

"Well of course Clandestine," the Princess enthused. "I am a Princess. All of my subjects are my responsibility. I was especially concerned when I was told your story."

That peeked my attention, "Told my story. By who?"

"Shining Armour," she replied. "He let me see your, what was it, personnel file?"

Of course. Every member of the Equestria Defence Forces had a standardised psychiatric profile that had to be updated every year or so. I guessed mine said something along the lines of 'unstable' and 'angry' or whatever. It also had your name, number, a list of conflicts you'd been involved in, where you were promoted. Pretty much your whole military life, all in one little folder. The force had entire libraries dedicated to the things. Back then, I thought it a whole waste of time and resources.

"Oh yeah?" I asked, somewhat curious. "What did it say?"

Princess Celestia's response wasn't quite what I expected. "I won't go into detail, that would take far too long. Essentially it painted the picture of someone who didn't know what they were fighting for anymore. You lost everything that kept you together at the Battle for Highsaddle Range. You were, and still are I hope, an exceptional soldier. I wanted to help you get back on your hooves, despite what you thought of me. That's why I promoted you to Royal Guard."

"So you could keep an eye on me?" I interrupted, starting to get a little angry.

"It's not like that Clandestine, I wanted to help you." She reasoned, "I thought that maybe through my friendship you could heal.

Unfortunately, over my reign I've found it hard to find the time for friends. Whenever I did manage to plan something, you always declined and before I could talk to you properly, you left for Ponyville."

I still found it hard to understand that one of the ponies I despised the most had actually been trying to help me. Knowing full well my views on her and about my attitude problems. I wasn't sure what to think. If the Princess was telling the truth then everyone I knew during my troubled months after the Battle of Highsaddle Range had been trying to help me. Shining Armour, Celestia, Twilight. Heck, that invitation I received from Luna to attend a jousting competition because I 'looked lonely' had probably been part of it too. If I had been wrong about this, what else had I been wrong about.

"So, you want an apology or something?" I asked, confusion reigning on my face.

The Princess shook her head and said, with her usual calm soothing voice, "No. Nothing of the sort, I simply want you to know the truth.

Twilight has helped you get over your troubles where I could not. I'm glad to see that you are beginning to heal."

We were quiet for a few minutes, watching the still air hang onto the last gasp of night.

Then a thought popped into my head. "Why me?"

To which the Princess simply answered, "Because you were in need."

There was a very pure kind of moment then. I felt reassured that despite all appearances, the world was kind and safe and happy. I had let my hate blind me for many years, never again.

“You asked me why I needed your help,” Celestia said, changing the subject. “I feel you have a right to know but I did not want to say anything before I had a chance to clear the air.”

Great. Now she wanted a favour, perfect. “What?” I asked. “You know this isn’t the most auspicious start to our friendship. Still, I forgave you and I’ll forgive you now.”

I saw no reason I shouldn’t trust her. She had wanted to wait for the best time to tell me instead of springing it on me last minute. For that, I was grateful. I got to be in the loop for a change, which was rare when it came to brass. “So what is it?”

The Princess began by reminding me of the tale of Princess Trynta. However, this time she added, “At first I thought Trynta had killed herself with her spell. Fortunately, she did not. Trynta was alive, Alicorn magic is no so easily extinguished. For her crimes, I sealed her in the tomb with the equine seed in the hope that one day she might see the error in her ways and break out.”

I looked at her, confused. “So let me get this straight, Princess Trynta is alive? But she’s just been trapped in a hole for a few hundred years?”
“Yes,” Princess Celestia confirmed with a sober tone to her voice. “I had hoped that her imprisonment would give her time to reflect on her wrong doings. It was, similar to the punishment I gave Luna when she made her own fateful choice. I used the Elements of Harmony to create a magical seal to protect Equestria from her wrath. None may open the door to Trynta’s prison, unless they have rediscovered the magic of friendship.”

I nodded, “So that’s why you need me. I’ve only just discovered friendship for the first time. How convenient.”

The Princess of the sun looked troubled by my reaction. “Take this as it is Clandestine. I did not plan this, it was merely chance and circumstance that the pony I needed happened to be one of my own royal guard.”

“Ex royal guard,” I reminded her, kneading the grass with my hoof. I was still suspicious about the prospect of having been groomed for this. Then again, magical friendship aside, if Equestria needed this seed I wasn’t about to argue. “Fine,” I said finally. “It’s a big coincidence. Now is there anything else you wanted to tell me?”

The Princess smiled, “Clandestine. If I needed somepony who had recently discovered the magic of friendship, I would have found one and asked for their assistance. It was simple co-incidence that my search led to you.” Her eyes grew serious after I absorbed that information. I guess she kind of did have a point. Better me than some random grunt who had the same problems I did.

“There is one other thing,” the Princess intoned.

Great, more complications. This is why we have mission briefings you know?

“Trynta wasn’t trying to steal all the magic in Equestria. Not quite,” the Princess stated. “She was trying to redistribute it.”

My brain was already pretty scrambled from all the rest of our little conversation. “So, you lied to us?”

The Princess giggled, again it was strange to see royalty laugh. “No, I lied to the history books to prevent anyone else trying something so foolish. Princess Trynta decided that alicorn magic was too powerful. She believed that all ponies should be equal in ability.”

“And you stopped her.” If everypony was equal, then that meant that nopony would be inherently special. No more royalty, no more brass. Sounded good to me. I never liked how the aristocracy had the upper hand on regular ponies. “Why?” I asked.

“Please, understand Clandestine,” she began. I was having a pretty hard time of it though.

“I stopped Princess Trynta from casting her spell. I knew exactly what she wanted to do, but I couldn't let her. We had no idea what her spell would have done if it was completed. For all I knew, it could have rid the whole of Equestria of magic. I stopped Trynta's spell to ensure the safety of Equestria. If she had calmed down then I would have considered performing it myself if it would have been a beneficial thing. If such a thing could have been done though, would that necessarily have been a good thing? True equality among all, not one pony excelling in any task, nor anypony performing terribly in another. I have studied the spell. It would not just have divided alicorn magic though. It would have spread all magic in Equestria, and all skill as well, equally among ponies. All pony talents are linked to their cutie marks, this we know. It dictates their destiny and their special talents. Because talent is woven into the inherent magic of ponyfolk, it would have meant that nopony would have been special at all. Everypony would have the same skill and the same destiny, to be average at everything. Then again, since all skill would have been divided equally we don't know, it might have meant that everypony would have become worse than average. Then where would we be? Equestria would have suffered and ponies would have become lost and confused. No longer driven by their destiny, they would have lost all purpose. We would have lost everything that made us who we are."

She lowered her head. “I understand how Trynta must have felt. To see some ponies prized above others. It is true that some ponies destinies shine greater than others. That can lead to mistrust and hate. So, if everyone were the same who would be there to lead the way? Who would dictate right and wrong? Who would find the better solution and improve society? It is our differences that make us ponyfolk who were are. When we work together, we are all equal just as we all have our special talents.”

Unfortunately I couldn’t fault her there. No matter how you choose your leader, whether it’s through force or political consent. At the end of the day, there are always leaders. Sure, you may not like them or you may not think of them as a leader. They’re still in charge though. As for working together, well. I’m a soldier, so I understand the need for difference. Just like my team right then. You need a guy who’s good at shouting, a guy who’s a good shot, a guy who’s good at healing, a guy who’s good at magic, a girl who can fly, a girl who knows what she’s doing. Altogether we made a team. In that team, we were all equals. I guess that was something Trynta never got.

After that, Celestia raised the sun, and we were off. And I had a lot to think about. So it turned out that she didn’t think herself all high and mighty. That made me like her a whole lot more.

Tranquility bay is a lovely place. Sort of goes with the name really. The waters there are heated by underground geothermal vents from the nearby Smokey mountain. A clear blue crystal sea sparkled before us, the sand soft and warm underhoof. If we weren't on a mission, I would have ordered a halt so we could spend some time there. It felt very peaceful. Yes, that's how soft I was getting.

The two sides of the bay were flanked by two large headlands made of hard grey stone. The Princess directed us to the northern headland and told us to scan the rock face for any indication of a doorway. She vaguely remembered where it was but it had been such a long time. Must be nice to be immortal. Deepsky came in useful here.

"Hey," I asked as the platoon fanned out. "Is this door magical or something?"

"I do not know," Celestia replied. "I was not directly involved in the tomb's construction, other than using the Elements to create the magical seal around Trynta’s prison. I suspect that it would have been however."

At that I barked at our resident magic expert, "Deepsky, can you detect any magical auras or anything?"

The unicorn jumped at the sound of my voice and turned his head swiftly in my direction. "Err yeah," he said, nodding. "Hold on."

Deepsky's horn glowed a faint light blue, the telltale sign of magic. After a brief moment he gestured to an area of rock. "There," he said, taking a step towards the area he indicated. "It's here, I can feel it."

His horn glowed blue again and a segment of the rock lit up like a flare, blinding us momentarily. When the light died down we could see magical trace lines had been embedded into the rock in the shape of a door. Runes now covered the grey stone, though what they said was a mystery to me.

"I suspected as much," Deepsky said in a very matter of fact way. "Go on Princess, open her up."

I was a little confused at this point, but when I saw the Princess step forward I began to understand. The door would only react to alicorn magic. I knew enough about magic to understand that alicorn magic and unicorn magic were different.

Before the Princess could begin however, Sarge interrupted. "Hold up, what do those runes say?"

Celestia looked them over and shook her head, "Nothing useful Whistledown. They tell us that this is the grave of Princess Trynta and that we should not enter, or we will meet certain death. Nothing we didn't already know."

That was reassuring, even the door didn't like us.

An aura as bright as the sun shone on the door then with a loud crack and a grating squeak, the door swung open. We were greeted with a dark and uninviting abyss. "Oh no," Deepsky exclaimed. "Not this."

"What?" I asked.

"The darkness," he indicated. "We won't be able to see through it, it's magical."

I shrugged and suggested, "Torches?"

"Won't work. It's magical and I doubt any light spell I can conjure will dissipate it," he said, disheartened.

Before I could react, Lightning laughed. "It's just darkness, I'll just fly as fast as I can through it to the other side." Then before I could stop her she darted into the cave, her wings propelling her to impossible speed.

"Rookie, traps," Sarge shouted after her.

Then there was the sound.

We saw a faint blue flash and heard the screech of electrical current as it raced through Lightning Dust's body and straight to the ground. I'm pretty sure I heard her wail too. She'd probably never admit to that though. Then after a brief moment of silence we heard a loud flap as she hit something hard.

"Rookie, sound off," Sarge shouted down the tunnel.

No response came.

"Buck, we do this slowly platoon," I swore at them.

Slickshot pointed at Celestia as if to emphasise his statement. "Erm, hello. Why are we all being idiots about this darkness. We have a Princess of the Sun right here."

I nodded, "Can you disperse the darkness, we need to get in there, now." My heart was beginning to race. I needed to get Lightsoul to Lightning as fast as possible. There was no telling how badly injured she was. I didn't want to lose a trooper this early in the mission, especially not the rookie with her whole life in front of her.

"I can try, but this magic is old and powerful..."

"Quit the chatter," I snapped. "Get in there and light the way for us, Lightsoul, with her. Slickshot, Sarge, rearguard. Deepsky with me. Shake tail we've got wounded."

The Princess seemed to understand my reasoning immediately. Before I was even finished yelling she was casting a light in the cave and moving forwards slowly, her guards moving just in front of her who surveyed the area very carefully. Lightsoul obediently followed them into the abyss, Deepsky and myself just behind him and the two veterans casting their eyes to our backs. The cave was narrow with barely enough space to fit four ponies standing shoulder to shoulder. The low ceiling caused Celestia to stoop over, which in turn was casting the light forwards.

The light from the Princess's horn managed to pierce through the magical darkness, but only so far. We could see three metres ahead, but that was it. The floor and walls seemed to be made from ordinary grey stone, an echo splashed across them as we stamped forwards.
We found Lightning Dust quite quickly, somewhat worse for wear. The two guards came to a halt and approached her cautiously, looking around for the trap she'd sprung. They didn't find it. Then Celestia moved forward with Lightsoul leaving the rest of us patiently waiting in the shadows.

I was no medic but it was bad. Scorch marks ran the length of her hide, one of her wings looked askew as if broken, there was a large gash on her right flank and she kept shaking every few seconds. I guess that last part must have been any residual electrical current running through her.

"Sarge," I ordered while Lightsoul attended to the pegasus. "Go back to the beach and see if you can't find a few loose rocks."

"Sir?" he asked, puzzled.

"Don't worry, we've already established there are no traps. Just trot straight and you should be fine."

With a nod, the veteran disappeared into the fog.

I trotted a little closer to the injured pegasus to see what was going on. Seemed like Lightsoul was actually pretty good at his job. He bound her cut with some form of bandage. Then, using magic, he lifted the pegasus off the ground then with his hoof touched her underside. Sparks flew around his hoof momentarily and he fidgeted uncomfortably. The ground sparked briefly, Lightning shook once again, then Lightsoul gently put her back on the ground. Her shaking had stopped and her cut had been attended to. Lightsoul deftly took her wing in his mouth, and tugged hard. The pegasus gave off a screech which subsided as suddenly as it came about. She then flexed her wing carefully. Seemed like that was also healed.

"You may stand now Lightning Dust," the Princess said gently. I'm not sure if I imagined it, but I thought I heard a hint of annoyance in her royal tone.

As she stood up I immediately bombarded her with my angry voice, "The hell is the matter with you rookie? You just nearly got yourself killed, why in Equestria didn't you wait for my order?"

Lightning shrugged, "I thought I could handle it. Besides, not much to live for now anyway."

She could still move her shoulders which was good. Lightsoul really did fix her up good, she was fine as far as I can tell. But still, a hothead with a deathwish. That was a toxic combination. I cursed myself for not realising this before. "What you have to live for, is the mission. You defend Equestria and you fight for your friends, your family, your brothers in arms. Or do you really want to just give up, huh?"

I hoped that would appeal to her vanity. If she really thought she could dive head first into a cave riddled with traps, then hopefully she would rise to the challenge. I was getting there, but I missed my mark.

"Why not?" she asked. "I don't want to leave you guys here, but other than that. Why should I? It was my dream to be a Wonderbolt. Now I'll never get into the academy."

I didn't know the details of her story, not then at least. All I could do was to say, "Well. You certainly won't if you run headlong into another trap. Because if you're going to do that then you should turn around right now Lightning. I don't need a stupid Rookie with nothing to lose."
I felt like I missed my mark again. She looked at the ground and I could tell she was weighing up her options. "What I do need, is a stupid rookie who hasn't given up on her dream," I added sympathetically.

I of all people could understand what she was going through. Although I never had lofty aspirations or delusions of grandeur. I understood what it was to have one's whole world ripped asunder.

She shook her head, "Ugh. Alright, you win this one Clandestine. It was stupid of me, now, what are your orders?"

"What exactly happened?" I queried. Any information about what lay ahead would be useful.

"I'm not quite sure," she told me. "There was a flash, then there was sort of a shock. I dropped in altitude but then I noticed a load of spikes on the floor so I swirled around and catapulted myself backwards. It felt like a strange burning sensation."

I nodded, then my face lost its sympathetic expression. "Get into formation Rookie, in front of Slickshot. Deepsky, join the Princess on the forward row. Lightsoul, stay here with me. We wait until Sarge gets back."

It didn't take long for Sarge to get back to us, even with the magical darkness obscuring our location. Not that he could get lost in a small corridor of course.

"Stones sir, as requested," he announced.

"Good, toss one in front of us sergeant," I ordered.

The plan was that the stone would trigger the trap, then we would know where it was. If we knew where it was, then we could potentially disable it.

Sarge hurled a stone forward and true enough, it triggered the trap. It was as I suspected, a web of electricity caught the stone in mid air and sent volts of charge cascading through it. The floor then opened up, revealing a spike pit. After a brief few seconds it closed again and the electric web finished sparking.

"My my," Slickshot commented. "You could say that's one sparky trap."

I ignored the stallion, and summoned Deepsky. "Deepsky, is there anything magical about this trap?"

The unicorn stepped forward and his horn began to glow. I guessed he was scanning the trap.

"Yes, there is," he said after a brief moment. "This trap is controlled by several magical crystals. One is sensing movement which triggers the other two. They control the electrical web, but nothing is magical about the pit trap. I guess the electrical current of the web must activate some other device."

I nodded and I could tell the platoon was think what I was thinking. "Can you disable the movement sensor crystal then?"

"Err," he said, wrapped in thought. "A focused vibration spell should shatter the crystal, making it vibrate uncontrollably. I'll have to get really close to do that though, thankfully the pitfall trap is on the other side of the web."

"Ok," I thanked him. A plan was already forming in my mind. "Sarge, throw another stone, I'll get close then Deepsky can follow me."
"Yes sir," Sarge replied.

"Clandestine," I was surprised to hear the Princess's voice in my ear. "Be careful," she said, laden with concern.
I didn't reply, instead I trotted forwards then stopped just where the light was beginning to fade. "Princess, can you move up a little? I can't see remember?"

Obediently, Celestia obliged and moved forward another metre.

Sarge threw another stone triggering the electro web, just three meters away from my current position. "How's that Deepsky?" I asked, moving what I thought was another metre towards the trap.

"A little closer and to your right," Deepsky called. "That's where the crystal is."

Sarge threw another stone triggering the trap which was barely two metres away. I could practically feel the air distort as the electro web fired.

I, very carefully, took a step forward.

Sarge threw yet another stone, this time the electro web was right in front of me. The hairs in my mane began to stand on end. "Buck, tell me that's close enough Deepsky."

"Yes," the unicorn replied, which relieved me a great deal. "That's close enough." He trotted forwards then stopped, and stepped up to my line. His horn was swathed in the aura of magic and I heard a rumble from the right wall. Then there was a crack. The electro web triggered and started flashing it's deadly bolts wildly, right in front of us. To me it seemed like it was angry we had bested it. Then it stopped when we heard a second crack, and it fell silent.

Just to be sure, both me and Deepsky backed off. Then Sarge threw a stone, which clattered to the ground harmlessly. The electro web had been disabled.

"Ok, everyone get back in formation. Deepsky, rearguard. I want you scanning for any magical auras. Sarge, come to the front. Toss a stone every ten metres," I barked. The shuffling of ranks commenced and then we were off again.

A tension rose among us now that we had hit the first trap. I thought it curious how easy we were able to disable it though. It made a lot more sense to put the spike pit before the electro web, not after. Perhaps it was designed to catch someone moving fast through the corridor? I didn't know.

That dark corridor seemed to carry on forever. Sarge threw his stones, Deepsky kept scanning and we all kept our eyes peeled against the oppressive darkness. But still, nothing came of it. I started to feel very tired and I could see similar emotions from my platoon.

"Hey, you know I feel a little groggy, can we stop?" That was Slickshot, asking me from the rear guard.

Lightning Dust chuckled, "I think we could all use a break actually."

Both of Celestia's guards exchanged a sleepy eyed look, Slickshot even visibly yawned. That wasn't right, something was wrong...

"Princess?" I asked, shaking my head awake. "You with me?"

Celestia answered with a sigh, "Yes, although I don't know why I'm so tired. I think this may be another trap."

Deepsky looked like he was about to fall asleep, so instead I asked the Princess. "Scan ahead for any magical auras."

The light dimmed, which really didn't help my tired eyes stay awake. The Princess then reported back. "Yes, there is something ahead. A sphere of fatigue lies ahead. We had best be quick or it will send us into an eternal sleep."

Right then I began thinking that it already had. With the last of my flagging energy, I dashed forward with the Princess. Only Sarge and Lightning Dust followed us, the rest of the platoon was busy battling their urge to sleep.

We entered a small grey stone room with four pillars supporting the grey stone roof. On the other side of the room was a large decorative door, but right then I wasn't paying much attention to the door. My eyes were drawn to the, roughly head sized, green gem resting on a plinth in the middle of the room.

"I guess that's the source of, of, it, thing," I yawned. Seriously, I was barely standing on my hooves at this point. Lightning collapsed after entry and Sarge looked as bad as I felt. Only the Princess managed to stay remotely conscious.

"Smash it," Celestia urged. "I fear I am not strong enough," she said with a yawn.

I blundered into the plinth, rocking the orb. It clattered to the ground but didn't break. I felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me and I slumped to the ground, trying to force myself out of the slumber.

Meanwhile, Sarge sauntered over and brought his full weight down onto the orb. It cracked under his mighty hooves, but still didn't break.

Now it was the Princess' turn to struggle with tiredness. She yawned and began to settle herself on the ground, though I could tell she didn't really want to.

I cuffed the thing with my hoof, but to no avail. I didn't even dent the thing.

It began to look like all hope was lost, then Sarge reared yet again and brought both hooves down onto the orb. This time, he met with success and a large crack appeared in the orb's shell. After a brief moment and an unhealthy creek, the orb shattered.

My sleepy mind immediately regained its composure. I shook myself and stood up, looking around. "I'm back," I announced. "None too soon, thanks Sarge."

The Princess stood up and shook herself down. "I hate those things," she complained. "I shall retrieve the rest of the platoon, wait here."

I shrugged as Celestia departed, leaving us in darkness. Lightning Dust stood up and nodded in my direction. "Sorry," she apologised, "I couldn't help it."

"That's fine," I answered sympathetically. "None of us could."

Once Celestia returned with the rest of the platoon, Deepsky informed us that this was the end of the magical darkness. Instead of relying on Deepsky and the Princess for all our magical needs, both myself and Lightsoul lit the room with two magelights. I asked the Princess to extinguish her own to save her energy. Of course, she said it wasn't much trouble, but I thought it best for her to save as much energy as she could. She was the most powerful of us after all, and I wanted to keep her as our ace in the hole.

That's when we turned our attention to the door. It was made of solid rock as far as I could tell. It had a lot of strange writing on it, runes. Probably some form of ancient language nobody used anymore. There were a lot of circles and several figures of equines painted on the door too. Celestia and Luna were there, and another alicorn figure I didn't recognise. I guessed it was Princess Trynta. When I asked Deepsky to read the inscription, he said it told the tale of Princess Trynta's downfall. It also told of her incarceration beneath the earth, even in death. "It also says," he continued. "That only the blood of the redeemed can open the door."

I shrugged, "Whatever. Crack it open," I demanded.

Deepsky looked at the stone door in despair, "I'm not sure I can Clandestine. There's a powerful magic about this gateway."

I growled at the unicorn, "I said knock it down. Now get to it." I was beginning to get quite angry at this cave with all its obstacles.

"Actually you said crack it open, but hey," Slickshot pointed out. That was another thing that irritated me.

The Princess stepped forward, "We cannot," she answered. "Even my magic cannot remove this obstacle. Clandestine, this is the door I told you about."

I looked at her, confused, "What?"

"You are the redeemed Clandestine. Only the magic of friendship can open this door, and you carry that spark within you," Celestia answered.
I still had no idea by what she meant by the "magic of friendship" so I just thought that she was referring to my friendship with Twilight. I couldn't quite comprehend why I was needed. I was a soldier. Sure, I had made friends recently and I had come to the realisation that the world wasn't all bad. Nevertheless, I humoured her. After she had told me that she used the Elements of Harmony to seal the door, that kind of gave some evidence for the story.

"Whole, friendship is magic thing aside. I’m not sure this will work, but hey. Who wants to live forever," I replied.

I'm pretty sure I heard a few hushed guffaws from the military veterans in the room. I felt like doing the same, but I held my tongue.

"But that's the point Clandestine," the Princess answered me. "Friendship is a magical thing, it can have influence beyond simple ideas and feelings. You have only recently been touched by this magic, so only you can open the door."

I wasn't willing to argue with her. I still didn't understand. I couldn't understand. Then there would have been a reason for all of the evil in my life, and it was better for me then just to blame it all on my upbringing. Or my luck. Or everypony else. Just not me. I don't think I could have taken it.

"So what, there some magic words I have to say?" I asked.

The Princess shook her head, "No. The protective seal requires something more than words. Blood."

Oh great, now I'm bleeding on doors, I thought.

"Ugh, fine," I exclaimed. "Sarge, give me your boot knife."

The soldier did as he was told, though I could tell he was trying to hold back a smirk.

Taking the knife in my mouth, I made a small cur in my right hoof. Then, after giving Sarge his knife back I placed the hoof on the door.

At first, nothing happened. Then the door sparked to life. A bluish light shone from the runes and the door wheeled itself off to the right, revealing another dim corridor.

Huh, what do you know? This crazy friendship stuff works.

I didn't quite know what to make of it, so I just barked some more orders. "Ok, Platoon, formation. Sarge, Slickshot up front with me. Deepsky, Lightsoul, behind us. Lightning Dust, rearguard, Princess in between. Let's move."

Celestia shook her head sadly, but didn't press the issue. No doubt I would hear about it on the trip back though.

Deepsky tossed a magelight spell down the corridor at my order, then we advanced slowly through the corridor. An aura of tension surrounded the group as the corridor opened to another small room. This one lacked the supporting pillars, and was furnished. A very old bed laid next to the right wall, a small table and a chair in the centre. Over on the left was a small bookshelf, lined with a number of books. There were scratches on the walls, like marks on a tally chart. Deepsky tossed another magelight, revealing a figure in the centre of the room.
"So, you've come at last?" it asked.

The figure was facing away from us, but my mind twigged. Of course I knew who was standing in front of us. Wasn't it obvious?

The figure turned towards our platoon. Her burgundy skin eschewed malice and hate. She was very tall, and slim of frame. Her pale red hair was aflame with bright pink highlights, creating a curious pattern in her short mane. Her tail and mane were ragged and split. Once, it might have been beautiful, no longer. She had a peculiar pointed muzzle and her eyes were split, like cracked glass. Her wings unfolded as she turned, and with the horn on her head that simply confirmed my assertions. Princess Trynta stood before us, her appearance nothing short of nightmarish. Though where one might expect anger or hate from the Princess, she simply asked with a depressed sigh. "Are you finally here to kill me?"

Celestia stepped past me and Sarge, and entered the room paying us no mind. "No young one, I am here for one thing only. The Equine seed."
Right then, Trynta's expression took on a ghastly smile. "Good, because you can't. Believe me, I've tried. You let me rot down here, in this dark hole. Now you come to reclaim that little gift of yours. Well fine, take it, I don't care anymore."

I made a sideways glace at Celestia. I wasn't too sure if I should head into the room and take it, or if Celestia wanted to keep talking. The Princess nodded to me, so I took a step closer to Trynta. "Where is the seed?" I asked, trying to sound polite. A few hundred years alone can warp a pony's mind. She seemed reasonably together though.

"Always getting others to do her dirty work," Trynta retorted. "What has she told you. That I was evil and tried to take all the magic in Equestria for myself? That the seed will save Equestria from some unknowable foe." There was that ghastly smile again, her eyes pierced right through me. "I see in your soul soldier," she sneered as I took another step closer. I was pretty un-phased by all this, but the next thing she said shook me like a twig. "I wonder if you want to know the truth?"

I stood there for a brief moment, trying to make up my mind. I already knew what the Princess had told me about her. A sliver of doubt crept into my mind. What if she wasn’t telling the whole truth?

"Cmon Clandestine, don't listen to this mad ex-Princess. Let's grab the seed and let's get out of here," Lightning Dust called from the rearguard.

I shook my head, "No," I demanded. "I want to hear what she has to say. What is this truth?" I asked. "After all, can’t hurt to ask.”

"I know what Trynta will say," Celestia admitted. "It is nothing I have not told you myself."

Well, with that settled I turned to Trynta and asked for her side of the story.

"No doubt Princess Celestia has filled your head with the idea that I was evil. I was not," she started.

No, you were just going about it the wrong way. You were arrogant and reckless. What evil doesn't think they're doing right? I thought to myself.

"I was trying to bring balance to the world. As an alicorn, I always thought it unfair how we should have so much power in this world. The other ponies can't even come close to what it means to be a true alicorn. Magical energy flows through our blood, we dwarf the other equine races in terms of our sheer might. But there are so few of us." She gave Celestia a wicked smile. "The alicorns are the sole possessors of the magic, able to raise the sun and the moon. Ever wonder why? Due to our power, we are given lands and titles. We rule over all. And why? What is so special about us? You've already witnessed Celestia's ability to hide the truth. Nightmare Moon is another example of the terrible consequences of a rogue alicorn mage. By my count she would have been released from her prison by now. How did that go?"

I briefly recounted the tale of Nightmare Moon's transformation back to Princess Luna, thanks to the Elements of Harmony and my friend Twilight.

Trynta reacted with disdain, "Yes, well. Be that as it may, why should us few wield such power? I argued that all power must be shared equally, among all ponies. Celestia, would have none of it. I went off on my own and forged a spell that would right the ancient wrong. It would spread, not just alicorn magic, but all magic in Equestria out evenly and fairly to all ponies. Each would be just as powerful as the other. Pure fairness, pure equality. I was stopped before the spell was complete, and was killed as a result. Fortunately for me then, alicorn magic is as powerful as it is ancient. I was brought back to life. Then for my crimes I was sent here, to languish forever."

None of this was new information. “Yeah I know all that. You’re wrong Trynta,” I interrupted her just before she was going to add something. “Sure, equality among all is a good thing. Problem is we already are.”

The glassy-eyed mare looked somewhat taken aback by this. She hadn’t expected for Celestia to be so honest with us. An evil glare flashed across her eyes.

"This is true, we are all equal in our own special way. Each of us may have a different destiny, or may shine brighter. At the end of the day we are all part of the same society and we are all equally prized," the Princess began, her head laid low. "I did not wish for your imprisonment, but you left me no choice. Over eight hundred years, I would have thought you would have realised this truth by now."

Trynta, now visibly fuming, screamed at the Princess. "You always had a choice. You became a tyrant. You locked me in here so I would lose my mind. I did, a few times, but it came back to me. You can't kill an idea Celestia, you can't kill freedom."

"Silence," I interjected, stopping Trynta from raving further. "I promised I would hear both sides, I heard yours and I didn’t care for it. Now shut up.”

My harsh tone was enough to quiet the alicorn. For a time at least.

“So as you see Trynta,” Celestia began, “we are all equal in our own special way. That is what I imprisoned you here to reflect on. Is that not what you wanted?"

The dark alicorn snarled at Celestia, "I wanted peace and harmony."

This time it was Princess Celestia's turn to shout, "Have you not achieved that? Through your long imprisonment, have you forgotten what that looks like? We have been at peace and we have had harmony, but that time is slipping from us. That is why we need the Equine Seed."
Although it didn't come as quite a surprise to me, I still had to ask. "What are you talking about? I thought you said you just needed it to calm a troubled area of Equestria?"

The Princess shook her head, "I do, but there is more to it than that." Then she turned to Trynta again and demanded, "Well?"

"I wanted equality, if what you say is true, then I guess I achieved it." She smiled. It wasn't a wicked smile, it was more a smile of defeat and acceptance. "I've spent so long underground. So many twists, so many turns. I don't understand Celestia, I don't think I ever will."

The Princess of the sun turned away, "Then your fate is sealed." With that she started to leave.

The platoon looked at me, confused. The two royal guards came in, took the Equine Seed from a chest by the far wall and began their exit with their Princess. This couldn't be happening. Princess Trynta had wanted a great and noble thing, she just went about it the wrong way. Was this really going to be the way it was going to be?

"Stop," I called to the Princess of the sun. "We're just going to leave Trynta down here?"

"Yes," Celestia replied curtly as she walked away.

Inwardly I was getting more and more frustrated with the brass. I tried not to let it show in my voice. "I'm sorry, I can't let that happen Princess. Trynta may have been wrong, but she doesn't deserve this."

This time Celestia actually stopped and turned around to face me, on the border of the great stone door. "Then what would you have me do? If I let her go then she will be a great risk to Equestria. I cannot allow that."

"So you'll let her rot down here contemplating a question she can't answer? She doesn't understand what she did, so how can she ever hope to come to terms with it?" I asked. Didn’t Trynta deserve a little more than being stuck in a hole for the rest of eternity? “What if she came back with us? What if you taught her to understand what she did wrong? If Equestria truly is under threat as you say, surely having another alicorn on our side would help turn the tide in our favour?”

The Princess looked doubtful, “I do not think she would listen to me.” Then she smiled, “Perhaps she would listen to you?”
“What?” both Trynta and myself asked at the same time.

And that’s how I ended up as mentor to one of the most screwed up Princesses of our time. Celestia argued that since I’d only recently discovered the magic of friendship myself, I would be the ideal teacher for Trynta. I still didn’t believe all this magic of friendship nonsense. I wanted to help her see the light though. She was blinded by hate just as I had been. With a little nudge in the right direction, maybe she could redeem herself one day?

At any rate, we left the prison and began our long journey back. Trynta was amazed at the beauty of the sun. She’d forgotten what it was like. We had to keep her in the shade for most of the day else the light would have blinded her.

Over the course of two days I started to get to know Trynta. She was grateful for my part in getting her out of her prison but she still remained an enigma to me at this point. What little I did discern was about her life in Canterlot and how she hated the aristocracy. I decided it would be best to get back to Ponyville before I tried to make any headway in that area. I would get Twilight’s help with this one. She had turned me around, she could do the same for Trynta. Fate it seemed, had other ideas.

On the third day, the Princess received a letter my means of magic. I ordered a halt as Celestia began to read its contents. We were all pretty laid back, but that letter would turn out to change everything.

“It has begun, we are too late” she stated after reading the letter.

The Princess turned to us and, in her most regal voice, announced to us. “Ponyville is under attack.”

This confused me, and enraged me at the same time. “What? By who?”

“They call themselves the Union,” the Princess answered me, “and there will be no stopping them.”

Author's Note

Cover notes:

I am not artist so I would appreciate no comments on it, made in photoshop.

Celestia image: http://90sigma.deviantart.com/art/Nonplussed-Princess-Celestia-342295416
Lightning dust image: http://kiowa213.deviantart.com/art/Lightning-Dust-is-ready-SVG-368971308
Rest done in ponymaker.