Arc 1- 6 (The Beginning of the End)

Shining Armor is at the Royal Guard Train Station, overseeing a hundred Royal Guards being loaded up on a train painted white with Celestia’s symbol on it. The Equestrian government had finally made it mandatory for all guardponies to be equipped with a brilliant invention called a “battle saddle”. Spears are a thing of the past as ballistic weapons have replaced them, and proven to be more effective in just about every occasion. Their only downside was that they were hard to handle. But with the invention of the battle saddle anyone can control their choice of weapon with a simple, yet effective, bit that acted as a joystick. It took the largest retraining in Equestrian history, but basically everyone agreed that it was worth it. And the thing that the soldiers like the most about the new saddles is that they can easily switch out their weapons. Shining Armor heard the newer batch of Royal Guards joke about how they would like to see the terrorists try to pull off any attacks now that they have battle saddles. However, Shining Armor would like it if the terrorists just surrendered, but that’s just as likely as the sun suddenly imploding.

The train station has been seeing a flurry of activity recently when Shining Armor drafted up plans to fortify cities where the violence has dramatically increased, or where important events, like elections, are being held. He, Celestia, and a few other high ranking officials have also crafted a plan that would slowly replace Local Guards patrolling their state borders with the Royal and Night Guards. The Royal and Night Guards are better trained and more reliable than the Local Guards, anyway, so it was an easy choice for Celestia to make. However, when being forced to give up nearly twenty thousand of his guardponies because their cutie marks said they were better at gardening than protecting, it makes the task more difficult than it should’ve been. On top of that, the news of their growing presence is not being taken too well by most, especially in the small towns like Ponyville, which is a place he’s going to personally.

About forty five minutes later, Shining Armor finds himself watching the scenery zip by the window in a blur, listening to the casual conversations taking place between his soldiers. The conversations are built around basic questions, like what they plan on doing when their tour is over, or which celebrity they’d marry if they got the chance, or if anypony  has heard of the fatal poisoning of dozens of griffins in Detrot. The last part butchers the good mood on the spot.

A few hours later, and the train comes to a grinding halt at the Ponyville Train Station. As the soldiers hop out with their jumbo battle saddles and gleaming gold armor, they are met with suspicious gazes. Most of the soldiers ignore them, but some of the recruits thought that now would be a great time to hit on the locals, obviously forgetting about Shining Armor’s presence. But after a quick scolding, the rookies regain their senses and head towards the temporary base being set up.

=**********=

Terra is sitting in her rented out room, caressing the mechanical box found in Redheart’s safe. She watches the soldiers march into town and she chuckles softly while levitating the box over her back. When it is above her back, it splits open in the shape of a saddle and wraps around her back and chest, and when she a pushes a large button on its chest a cannon with gems on the side attached to a rod on a ball-and-joint system slides out from the side. A multi-jointed appendage also pops out from the robotic saddle and she grabs it in her mouth like a bit. She tests the cannon by swinging it around on its swivel and charging the cannon without firing it. The cannon makes a satisfying humming noise, and an electric orb appears at the end with the crackling and popping sounds of powerful energy. Then it all goes silent. Terra pushes the button again and the cannon retracts to the suit and she spits out the bit, which also retracts to the suit, and she smiles at the chances she’s getting to test such a powerful weapon.

=**********=

Pinkie Pie silently goes through her journal of doodles for ideas while trying to listen to the happy-go-lucky party music she’s famous for blaring at basically every event. But the music is almost completely silent to her, her mind is too busy going places that no mind normally goes to. She heard about Redheart and Vigilance’s murder, despite the Local Guard’s best efforts to keep it quiet. Pinkie Pie is certain that it was the unicorn who bought her blender is the assassin, her Pinkie Senses nearly made her lose it at work when she saw her in front of Mrs. Cake the other day. She’s certain that it was the same organization that Redheart worked for that ended her, and they never leave a job unfinished. She hopes she can find and stop the new assassin before anyone is hurt.

Pinkie Pie looks out her room window a moment to watch the Royal Guards marching in the street in uniformed formation with their new battle saddles. She sighs depressingly and goes back to her journal, more specifically, her plans for a better Mare-Do-Well outfit. Armored and more high-tech than the simple jumpsuit that the current design has. It will still hold the same color scheme and basic design, but the way she has it planned out is that cuirass and leg pads will, of course, provide the protection, but will be equipped with little gel pads that help break the falls and reduce trauma. As for the jumpsuit in general, it would be made with reinforced stitching, like wearing a sandwich of material. Bottom, regular cloth; middle, chainmail; top, regular cloth again. The cape will also be more suited for gliding and made with memory fabric, rather than flapping around. She likes the cape and figures it will be better if it served a purpose rather than just a piece of decoration. The only downside she sees for the suit is that it’s expensive. Incredibly expensive.

=**********=

“Spike! Spike! Get up!” yells Twilight excitedly.

Spike groans and groggily rolls out of his bed while his massive jaws open as wide they can with his tongue flexing as he yawns. Once out of bed cracks his back and reluctantly walks down the stairs while rubbing his eyes.

“So much for my afternoon nap,” mumbles Spike.

Twilight teleports in front of Spike with a very large, excited grin, making him scream and jump back. He clutches his heart and glares at Twilight as she stares at him with that admittedly adorable grin she gets when she’s so excited she can barely sit still.

“Don’t do that!” scolds Spike.

“Guess what, Spike!” says Twilight, completely missing the anger in his tone.

“Uh... a stallion finally asked you out?” guesses Spike.

Twilight’s smile instantly disappears and her ears droop and she looks down, pouting. “No, but that would be nice. Seriously, I followed every step down to the letter in all the dating secret books and books on how to get a stallions attention.”

Spike mumbles: “Uh huh.” while scratching an itch on his ear like a dog.

“And what do I get? Mares hitting on me!”

Spike stops and looks at Twilight with big eyes as his leg slowly drops. His interest has been peaked and his hormones can’t help but picture Twilight and another more -like Rarity for example- making out in the library.

“Go on,” say Spike while leaning forward, eye ridges raised in anticipation for what's next.

“I mean, don’t stallions like strong, independent, intelligent mares?”

Spike frowns in disappointment and leans back. “Obviously not.”

“What?”

“What?”

Twilight eyes Spike suspiciously and he smiles innocently, doing his darndest not to let his nervousness show. A few seconds into it and Spike doesn’t know if he’ll be able to keep up his innocent smile. He kind of feels like Applejack when Pinkie Pie practically interrogated her at her own barn that one day she forgot about her birthday. Speaking of forgetting about things, Spike forgot that-

“Today’s Election Day!” says Twilight happily and completely unexpectedly.

‘Speak of Discord.’ “Yeah, silly me. I forgot about that,” says Spike with a yawn.

“Are you still tired? I let you have a nap in the middle of the day.”

“What can I say? I’m still a baby dragon at heart.”

If Spike hadn’t helped Pinkie Pie catch Redheart before she carried out her attack, then he’d be in a completely different mood. Like uptight, worried, and very jumpy, but at least the threat is locked away in jail so now all he has to worry about is the cramps he’ll get from Twilight’s checklist. He doesn’t really mind, he’s actually used to getting the cramps, but he really wishes that Rarity wasn’t touring Equestria with her new line up. He’s glad that her years of sleepless nights, sweat and tears have finally paid off, but still, he has more fun with the fashionista than Twilight in most cases. Plus Twilight is more willing to let Spike go if Rarity needs or wants Spike’s help. They share a fondness in ice cream, too.

“Spike, snap out of it.”

Spike blinks and looks at Twilight with a duh expression. “Huh, what? What’s wrong?”

“You were zoning out. I was saying we need to help organize the reading of the results and then we have to say our greetings to Shining Armor. Oh, I’m so excited to see him again! It feels like it it’s been forever!”

“Right. Organize and say ‘Hi’ to big bro and then sleepy time. But, Twilight, I got a quick question.”

“Sure thing, Spike. What’s on your mind?”

“Oh nothing much, I was just wondering if we could grab some ice cream or something before we do anything today.”

Twilight giggles and walks out the door with Spike following close behind.

“Oh Spike, we already relaxed today. We have work to do. But I promise that we’ll get some after all this is over” says Twilight lightheartedly.

Spike pretends to be crying as he closes the door behind him, this actually makes Twilight turn around, worried that she actually made her assistant cry. But when she sees him grinning at her, she rolls her eyes amusingly and holds back a laugh. The good mood is ruined, though, when they start walking through Ponyville. Spike gets a nervous feeling when he sees what the Royal Guards are doing. Even though Redheart had already been arrested, the Royal Guards are forcing ponies living near the Town Hall to leave their homes and other buildings to inspect the places for anything unusual. There are protests, but the Royal Guards won’t have any of it. They quickly shut them up with harsh language and threats of arrest for not cooperating. Twilight also seems concerned about this, but she refuses to question why her brother is allowing it to happen.

“What the heck is going on? Didn’t the news say that the would-be assassin was arrested?” asks Spike worryingly while staring a group of soldiers guarding a scarred family while another inspects their home with the grace of a manticore.

“Spike, I know this looks bad, and I’ll talk to Shining about it later, but he doesn’t do anything without Princess Celestia’s permission and she always has a good reason for what she does,” says Twilight.

Spike is unconvinced, but it’s no use in trying to convince Twilight that what’s going on is a cause for concern. Just implying that Celestia could be in the wrong is enough justification for her to chew you out and then ignore you for a week.

=**********=

Shining Armor is overseeing the Royal Guards setting up the command center for their temporary base. He’s really tired, not due to lack of sleep, but for the lack of help. He knows his position calls for a lot, but some of the fresh Royal Guards seem to lack common sense, and oil and water get along better than the Local and Royal Guards.

“Shining!” squeals Twilight happily.

Shining Armor instantly turns around to see Twilight bouncing towards him with Spike and a couple of Royal Guards casually walking behind her. He laughs and they hug each other in a tight embrace. Spike stands back and tries to look cool with his arms folded across his chest. The duo had shown up at the temporary base and with their high prestige they were able to get inside easily and got a personal escort to Shining.

“Aren’t you supposed to be doing homework?” teases Shining Armor.

“I thought I’d take a break,” says Twilight with the same teasing tone.

“That is not like you at all. You’re getting lazy.”

Twilight and Shining Armor share a chuckle, and then Shining Armor excuses himself so he, Twilight, and Spike can talk without being in the presence of the other soldiers. He leads them to the cafeteria, which isn’t much, just a bunch of fold up tables and chairs. The food is not even out yet. After taking a seat in the back, Shining Armor asks where the rest of her friends are since they’re almost always together.

“Well Rarity finally got her big breakthrough and is now showing off her lineup with other fashion designers around Equestria. Last I checked she was in Detrot and she already got a deal with three big clothing stores to sell her stuff in,” says Twilight proudly.

“Oh that’s nice,” says Shining Armor with a smile. “What about the others? Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie?”

“Rainbow Dash also had a big breakthrough. She’s off training with the Wonderbolts,” says Spike.

Shining Armor grins and can imagine the joy Rainbow Dash got from getting that acceptance letter. He remembers when he was accepted into the Royal Guard he fainted from the immense joy, that almost made the Royal Guard change their mind, but that’s another story. The Captain wonders if Rainbow Dash fainted when she got the letter; despite all the claims the colorful pegasus makes, she can be quite the drama queen.

“Well if anypony deserves to be a Wonderbolt, it’s her,” says Shining Armor cheerfully.

“Yep, and Applejack actually went to visit her cousin, Braeburn, and Pinkie Pie is trying to start a business selling blenders. Speaking of Pinkie Pie, we haven’t seen her all day, have we Spike?” says Twilight.

“She’s probably trying to keep Fluttershy company. You know she’s almost living in complete isolation because of what’s going on, and Pinkie Pie doesn’t like seeing others alone,” says Spike casually.

Shining Armor sighs and looks down. “Yeah, can’t really blame her for being afraid.”

There is a moment of silence before a Royal Guard approaches Shining Armor and informs him that the temporary command center is fully functional now. Shining Armor thanks the Royal Guard and then looks at Twilight and Spike.

“Sorry, guys, I gotta cut this conversation short. Duty calls,” says Shining Armor.

“Oh it’s alright, Shining, me and Spike have some work to do too,” says Twilight sympathetically.

“Oh the joys of hand cramps,” quips Spike.

The three chuckle and go their separate ways.

=**********=

A group of four Royal Guards march up the stairs to the inn where Terra is staying. Before kicking out the caretaker, she told them that she was staying there and they just wanted to tell her that the inn will be off limits for the duration of the reading of the results. When they enter her room they find her staring out the window in a trance like state.

“Ma’am, we’re going to have to ask you to...” begins the lead Royal Guard.

The Royal Guards notice the odd saddle she’s wearing and they aim their weapons at her nervously. When she turns around and gives them a devilish smirk, they take a step back, it’s like her very presence sucks all the goodness out of the atmosphere.

“Ask me to do what?” asks Terra in an evil playful tone.

She pushes the button on her chest and the cannon pops out, and before the Royal Guards can fire two rocky daggers fly forward and impale two of them in the neck and then her cannon shoots the third in the chest with an electric beam. The beam burns through his armor and his organs easily and is dead before he hits the ground. The surviving Royal Guard is so terrified that he drops to the ground, whimpering, as Terra walks towards him. The knives are yanked out of the corpses and float next to her.

“Please don’t kill me,” whimpers the Royal Guard, obviously fresh from camp.

“Base to Team Four. Is the inn clear? Over,” says a pony on the radio.

“Tell them that the inn is clear and that you are requesting to stay to keep a high ground,” orders Terra.

The Guard nods and after taking a gulp he says into his radio: “This Private Hayseed. The inn is clear... And base... Bass is requesting we stay in the inn.”

“...Why? You’ll get your cider when this over. Over.”

“Um well-well the inn has a-has a uh great view of where the reading is and-and we um we would like to use it our advantage to-to keep watch... Over.”

A minute passes before the radiopony makes contact again. “Captain Armor says it’s a good idea. Also, Hayseed, is it?”

“Yes, sir. Private Golden Hayseed.”

“Private Hayseed, relax.”

“...Yes sir.”

“Base out.”

The radio clicks off and Terra smiles and rubs her hoof across Hayseed’s cheek in smooth strokes. “That’s a good boy.”

“Wi-will you let me live?” asks Hayseed pathetically.

Terra taps her chin. “Hmm... nah.”

Before Hayseed can say another word, Terra stabs him through eye and then pushes his corpse away.

=**********=

Back at the temporary base command center, Shining Armor is using his magic to put on a battle saddle with a radio pack attached while giving out orders. The reading of the results is in just an hour and he needs his soldiers to have the area quarantined. The Local Guards are also involved in the quarantine, but they seem... off. Shining Armor doesn’t really know why they are so off, but he’s guessing that it has something to do with the large number of Royal Guards in their town without royalty to guard.

Thirty minutes later, Shining Armor heads out with his escort to the Ponyville Town Hall. When they get there, he can tell Twilight and Spike had been busy. The whole Town Hall courtyard is decorated with exquisite decor that would make Rarity proud. There is even an orchestra band playing upbeat music to keep the crowd lively. The ponies that arrive have to undergo an extensive and embarrassing search by the Local and Royal Guards, which leads to a lot of disgruntled civilians. Shining Armor sees Twilight and Spike coordinating a last minute touch up, the Mayor and the two other candidates sitting patiently for the main event, and a purple blur jumping across the rooftops. After seeing the purple blur he instantly contacts the pegasi patrolling the sky.

“Sky Patrol, do you see anything on the roofs?” asks Shining Armor through his radio.

There is a few seconds of silence before he gets his answer. “Yes sir, we’re seeing civilians on the roofs with cameras and Hail said he saw a purple thing dart into an alley.”

“Get the civilians off the roofs and find this ‘purple thing’.”

“Yes sir.”

=**********=

Pinkie Pie, now wearing her Mare-Do-Well costume, ducks under a motorized wagon to escape the Royal Guard Sky Patrol, it’s a very tight and uncomfortable fit. Her reason for hiding is that she knows that they would find her suspicious for wearing a full body costume and sneaking around during a major event. And if they catch her, then she’ll more than likely be detained, which she can’t allow to happen since there’d be a big commotion and while the Guards are distracted the new assassin could strike. Also, she needs to get closer to Shining Armor so she can signal that she’s not an enemy.

When she sees the Sky Patrol leave her general area, she crawls out from under the vehicle and sneaks around the town to find a good spot to get her signal out. After short while of sneaky searching she does find a good spot on the roof of newly built flower shop. The spot has a good line of sight of Shining Armor, and even from afar she can see how tense he is.

Pinkie Pie does a quick check to make sure she’s alone, and after finding out that she is, she pulls out a slingshot and a ball covered with sticky goo that has a note attached to it.

“Sorry about this, Shining,” says Pinkie Pie to herself.

oooOOOooo

The event has already started and Shining Armor is waiting in the back, scanning the crowd for any suspicious activity. Then he feels something sticky smack against his head followed by Guards swearing and laughing. Shining Armor takes a deep breath and yanks off whatever hit him with his magic and sees a note tied at the end of it. He ignores the snickering and reads the note quietly.

Hey Shining,

You and I are on the same team so please keep your guys off of my back.

Sincerely,

Mare-Do-Well

P.S.

Sorry about the goo, but a paper airplane just wouldn’t work and a slingshot has better range

Shining Armor groans, he remembers when Twilight talked about how she and her friends dressed up as a masked hero to teach Rainbow Dash a lesson, and how they donned the costume again to fight back Eclipse’s criminal empire. He knows it’s Pinkie Pie that’s dressing up as Mare-Do-Well again. Rainbow Dash hates the costume, Rarity and Applejack are away, he’s looking at Twilight right now, and Fluttershy is too cowardly to do something like this. Besides, only Pinkie Pie would use a slingshot to shoot someone with a sticky ball that has a note on it to get a message across.

“Sky Patrol, ignore the purple figure,” orders Shining Armor over his radio.

“Um, you sure about that, sir?” asks a Sky Patrol.

“Yeah, she’s a friend.”

“...Roger that.”

The Royal Guards around Shining Armor stop their giggling and cock their heads, curious about his sudden change about the “purple thing”, and Shining Armor looks at them.

“What?” asks Shining Armor coolly.

The guards murmur different phrases that translate to “Nothing.” in unison and continue to look around to make sure sure everything is okay. Shining Armor sighs and looks at the stage where the candidates, Twilight, and Spike are. As he observes the group he notices that the Mayor’s posture looks a little too confident.

“And the winner of this year’s election is... the Mayor!” says Twilight triumphantly.

The crowd stomps the ground in applause and the Mayor walks towards the podium with a Trixie class smug smile to give her acceptance speech as streamers and confetti float down around her. Shining Armor watches the crowd suspiciously, and then time seems to slow down when he sees a faint glow coming from the top floor of the inn. He doesn’t think, he acts on pure instinct as he runs towards the Mayor and Twilight with his horn charging.

=**********=

Terra charges her cannon and grins from ear to ear when the Mayor walks in the middle of her mental crosshairs.

“Have fun in Tartarus,” snickers Terra.

Then she fires.