Secret Protectors

Chapters

Mission Briefing
Duel of Wits
Octavia's Knight
Number Four: Shock and Awe
Base of Operations
Face to Face
The Return of Nightmare Moon
Into the Everfree

Mission Briefing

The hall was silent. The only noise in the grand palace came from the hooves of a gray earth pony trotting through the corridor. Her mane and tail were a darker gray, though not quite black. She bore a perpetually dignified expression on her face and a purple treble clef cutie mark on her flank. She approached a set of double doors guarded by a fierce and vigilant looking pair of guards.

Octavia pushed the doors open with her hoof as she passed silently by the guards. No words were needed; they knew who she was, and she knew she needed no permission to enter. Not to mention she outranked them by a mile. The double doors slammed shut behind her, drowning out the clopping of her hooves against the stone tiles as the thunderous echo resounded through the hall.

Octavia now stood in the throne room, where Princess Celestia herself guided the ponies of Equestria and governed their country. She trotted along the majestic red carpet. The gleaming white stone floors reflected the images of beautiful and massive stain glass windows adorning both walls of the hall. Most ponies gazed at awe at the magnificent scenes of Equestria’s history, as they recalled the epic tales that they displayed. Octavia passed each one – Equestria’s first dawn, the successful treaty with the dragons of the far east, and the banishment of Nightmare Moon, who threatened Equestria with eternal night – without giving even a single glance. Octavia already had every minute detail of the windows perfectly committed to memory.

Princess Celestia waited, sitting gracefully upon her throne. Her multicolored mane and tail flowed as if they were submerged in water. Octavia approached her majesty and gave a graceful bow, before rising again and looking up at the Princess with a serious look.

“Greetings, Octavia,” the princess said as Octavia rose, her voice conveyed warmth with a subtle hint of urgency.

“Greetings your majesty”

“I apologize for the haste. Time is short, and I’m afraid we must skip the pleasantries.”

Fine with me, Octavia thought. As much as she revered Princess Celestia, she was never one for small-talk. “If our business benefits Equestria, then I too am eager to begin, my princess” she proclaimed, before giving another bow.

Princess Celestia arose from her throne, high atop a set of stairs, and gently glided down to the bottom. Her wings spread wide, much wider than a regular pegasus pony. She trotted gracefully to one of the massive stained glass windows. “A thousand years ago, I banished Nightmare Moon using the elements of harmony.”

Most ponies believed the story to be nothing more than an old mare’s tale, but Octavia had access to a much more complete library pertaining to the history of Equestria. One guarded against even the most scholarly and powerful of unicorns. The library was only known to those who dedicated their lives to defending the pony world in secret.

“My sister Luna, rose against me and attempted to plunge our world into an eternal night. Her jealousy and rage twisted her, and she became a terrible threat to Equestria” said Celestia, as she gazed sorrowfully at the window depicting her sister’s exile.

Yes. I’ve heard the story, thought Octavia, beginning to become impatient.

“But before her eventual defeat, she succeeded in turning a good deal of ponies against me, promising them power or riches in return for their service. Others she turned by convincing them to worship her. Now, a thousand years has passed and there are still those who wait in the shadows, loyal to Nightmare Moon, awaiting her return. I have received intelligence that claims that her cult has found a way to release her from her prison.”

This too, Octavia already knew. She was one of the agents tasked with obtaining this information. But she knew important facts would come next.

“The plot has already been put into motion, and within the week, Nightmare Moon will return from her exile to once again plunge Equestria into eternal night. This cannot be stopped at this time,” she turned and looked at the gray earth pony. “Our only hope now lies with the elements of harmony.”

Octavia at last spoke up, “But can’t you simply use the elements yourself? They are placed here in the castle are they not? What prevents you from returning Nightmare Moon to her banishment?” Other ponies simply would have waited for Celestia to explain, but Octavia was anxious to get to the information about her mission. And she was used to speaking less formally with the princess than other ponies. Her rank was high enough to do just that.

Celestia looked at the window again, “The elements no longer obey my command. It seems they have chosen a new replacement.”

This was news. Octavia now waited for the alicorn to continue.

“Do you remember the mission I sent you on a few months ago? Your stay in the town of Ponyville?”

“Yes. You asked me to gather information on several of the ponies there. Are they affiliated with the Nightmare Cult?” She committed their individual traits to memory during her mission. A hardworking earth pony, a fashion-obsessed unicorn, a pink pony who giggled incessantly, a speedster pegasus and a timid one who cared for the animals. She had observed no possible connection with the cult among them. But then again, the cult contained impressively cunning agents.

Celestia returned her look back to Octavia, this time very serious and somewhat grim. “No, they are not. They are the new manifestations of the Elements.”

Octavia took a step back and her eyes widened, visibly surprised. (Which, if one knew Octavia, was a rare occurrence.) “But…My princess, how can you be sure? Why would the elements go from being items to being ponies? How do you know they’re within those ponies?”

“There is ancient magic of this world that even I cannot possibly hope to understand. The elements are powerful and unpredictable. As for your second question, a great many spells were cast to obtain that information. Even with your intel, we had to be sure.”

Octavia did not understand the reasoning for her reconnaissance at the time of her mission in Ponyville. Despite the fact that full information was rarely given on such missions, she felt spying to be beneath her talents. Now she understood the gravity of her information.

“Come the summer solstice, those ponies will be Equestria’s only hope. We must make certain that they realize their power, and vanquish Nightmare Moon.”

Octavia instantly recognized a missing factor. “What of the sixth element, Magic?” She already understood how the personalities of the five corresponded with five of the elements. For example that ridiculous pink pony would undoubtedly be the element of laughter.

“You’re very quick, Octavia. Not once have I doubted my faith in you.” Octavia’s question wasn’t answered. That bothered her.

“One of my personal students, the unicorn Twilight Sparkle is the element of magic.” Octavia raised an eyebrow. She knew of this Twilight. A gifted unicorn sure, with a clear amount of potential. But she had not been known for her “harmony” with other ponies. She was quite reclusive in her studies.

Princess Celestia noticed her reaction. “Yes she may not be very friendly yet, but the spells I mentioned could not possibly be wrong. Besides, I have seen the potential for deep friendship within her.” Octavia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “That is why I am appearing in Ponyville in this year’s Summer Sun Celebration. And I am sending Twilight to oversee the party’s preparations.”

“But princess, you shouldn’t appear in public on the very eve of Nightmare’s return! Not when Nightmare’s cult is planning – “

“It wouldn’t matter, Octavia. Whether I am killed that day or if I hide away in my deepest bunker, our only hope lies in the elements. We must be sure that those ponies meet and become friends. That is priority one above all things, even my own protection.” The gray pony gazed at the floor, contemplative.

“And they must not know importance of their friendship?”

“Again you impress me my little pony. If the elements are to be used, their friendship must grow naturally. It cannot be forced. That is why neither Twilight nor the other five can ever come to know about their importance until the time is right.”

Octavia waited for the final bit of info.

“That is where you come in, Octavia. No doubt the Nightmare cult will eventually figure out the value of those ponies and seek to stop the elements themselves. You must make sure they find their way, and use the elements against Nightmare Moon. I want you to assemble a team…”

Crap.

“…and you must protect those ponies with your lives. Precision and stealth are essential here. That is why I can’t simply send an army.”

Octavia saluted.

“You have one week to assemble your team, Octavia. I want you at that Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville.”

“Understood!” Octavia said loudly.

“You are dismissed my little pony” Celestia said as she bowed before the gray earth pony. Octavia bowed in return and quickly made her way out of the throne room.

There was much to be done.

Duel of Wits

In the old library, it was difficult to not arouse small clouds of dust when opening or closing a book. The air in the cramped aisles was thick and hard to breathe. Rarely were the doors ever opened into this library, and there were only a few select lanterns to light the way of whatever pony may be browsing through the aged selection of tomes. Few individuals had access to the wealth of hidden knowledge within the library.

Underneath a single lantern, two ponies were engaged in a game of chess. Octavia was speaking to the pony across from her, informing her of her new mission. Her opponent, a pale yellow mare sporting a swirling purple and blue mane and a series of wrapped candies for a cutie mark, watched the pieces on the board dance about in potential strategies and maneuvers. When she finally decided on a course of action, she deftly pushed a piece across the table, toppling one of Octavia’s own.

“…and I have until the solstice to have a team formed and waiting in Ponyville.”

Bon Bon lazily looked up from the board. “And I assume you want me to go with you.”

“Your skillset is valuable.”

“Forget it. I haven’t done a mission in five months. I’ll just be a hindrance.” Bon Bon waited for Octavia to make her next move.

Octavia took the hint, and observed the battlefield in front of her while contemplating what to say. Ugh, I'm going to have to use metaphors now, She thought to herself. “Bon Bon, I’m sure you know better than anypony the importance of having the right pieces in a game of wits. And anypony knows that having two rooks on your board is better than just one.” She moved a small stone tower forward.

“I’m a rook. You’re a bishop.” Bon Bon responded seriously, contemplating her enemy’s move.

“Oh?” replied Octavia, slightly amused.

“I can only move certain ways. A rook isn’t known for its flexibility. Often its path is obstructed, and it doesn’t move around obstacles as easily; or at least not as quickly. I can make plans, but when unforeseen obstacles block my path, there’s little I can do to move around it.” She raised a hoof before rethinking and lowering it back down. “A bishop however, can easily slide between two opponents and take out a target.” She moved her own bishop diagonally between two pieces and knocked over Octavia’s rook, illustrating her point.

Bon Bon continued, “I don’t even understand why you approached me in the first place. Surely you know what transpired in Stalliongrad.”

“Of course, Commander Redmane led twelve of our best ponies into a slaughter.”

“And of those twelve only four survived.”

“And those four were branded as cowards and traitors for abandoning their mission.”

“And they have not since participated in any covert activity,” Bon Bon added, bitterly. “Those four agents were effectively shut down, if only by rumor and speculation. Which is why I wonder how my ‘skill sets’ are still valued, especially from an agent such as you.”

“Eight dead ponies is better than twelve dead ponies Bon Bon. Redmane was arrogant and foalish. That mission was doomed to failure regardless of whether or not you and your comrades abandoned it. The way I see it, escaping and preserving the lives of four agents was more important than attempting to carry out the mission.” Octavia stared intently at Bon Bon, who gave a similar gaze at the chess board.

The lantern overhead barely lit Bon Bon’s face and had Octavia not been as observant as she was, she would have missed the melancholy look that her opponent wore. “You’re one of the cleverest ponies I’ve ever met Bon Bon. You graduated with scores just under mine and you’ve been repeatedly praised as one of the sharpest shooters out there and a great mind. If not as tactical, you sure have a wealth of knowledge that we will most certainly need on this mission. The fate of Equestria rests upon it. Now are you going to accept my offer or not?” Octavia felt herself getting impatient with Bon Bon’s reluctance.

“You don’t even need me. You’re a much quicker tactician than I am. And your combat skills are far more developed.” Bon Bon replied with a hint of jealousy. “That’s why I’ve been waiting so long for this game of chess. I’ve wanted to challenge you since the academy.”

“Well like I said, two rooks are better than one. I may need your advice in the field.”

Bon Bon watched again as potential strategies played themselves before her. Not many of them looked bright. She picked the lesser of the damage, and moved a piece. “Okay. Tell you what; if I win this game, I’ll know that you need my abilities on your mission, and I’ll join your team. If you win, that will be evidence enough that you’re perfectly capable without me.”

Octavia smiled confidently, and the game continued slowly as both players considered their moves before taking action against one another. The lantern warmly illuminated the war games on the desk. The light ignored the lengths of the aisle on either side of the pair and made it seem as if they were the only two ponies in the world – just them, their board and the rows upon rows of books that towered high into the thick, dusty air.

After quite some time, Octavia spoke up and broke the utter silence. “So, who do you think some of the other pieces are?”

Bon Bon contemplated the idea and, after pushing a piece forward with her pale yellow hoof, answered, “Well, in most cases our Princess Celestia would be the queen. She is the most powerful piece on the board no doubt, but she also must be protected.” She rested her head on her hoof, deep in thought. “But I suppose in your mission, the queen would be those six ponies you mentioned. They need to be protected but they’re also the final weapon against our enemy.”

“And who’s the king?”

“Equestria is. Without the queen or the rook or the bishop or any of its other defenders, Equestria becomes endangered. That’s the most important thing that we protect. Without it, there isn’t even a board to put our pieces on.”

Octavia smiled. This had gone on far enough. She moved her queen diagonally, taking out Bon Bon’s rook. Bon Bon sat up and blinked confusedly at the scene before her. Octavia’s king was now defenseless and in perfect alignment with her own queen, save for a knight in the middle. If she took the knight, that would put Octavia in check. She glanced around the board to see if Octavia had any other defenses against such a move as Octavia herself stood and began trotting away from the table and into the darkness beyond the lantern. Bon Bon muttered, “You just…”

Octavia stopped and turned back to the game, “I want you to meet me in the royal garden at noon tomorrow, soldier.”

“Why there?”

“I need a knight” Octavia said as she turned away and disappeared among the dusty bookshelves.

Octavia's Knight

“You know, you were strangely cryptic yesterday about what we’re doing here exactly. I believe you said you were looking for a knight..?”

“Yes. We’ll find the third member of our team here in this garden.”

“What kind of agent could be so easily found in a garden?” Bon Bon glanced around at the exotic trees and other various flora that grew around her, a stark contrast from the cramped and dusty libraries she often found herself in. The yellow pony was much more accustomed to operating at night, or in dark corridors. Walking around during the day put her out of her element.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of meditation” Octavia replied without looking back at her companion, who followed uneasily through the brush.

“Yes…well of course. I don’t understand exactly what it’s useful for, but isn’t it supposed to be done in areas that are a bit quieter?” Bon Bon flinched at a bird that launched itself out of a nearby tree and swooped down low in front of her. Octavia kept walking forward and widened the distance between her and the nervous mare. “I mean this place doesn’t seem like a spot to relax – what with the smell and all of the...interesting…wildlife.”

“Believe it or not Bon Bon, there are ponies that actually find themselves more comfortable in nature.” Her mind recalled the element of kindness, who tended to the animals that lived on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Although the pony she was looking for had much more…bizarre reasons for finding peace in an exotic garden. “However, the pony in question is a bit different from normal ponies to begin with.”

“Even for an agent?” Bon Bon raised an eyebrow as she struggled to avoid stepping in various puddles of mud and patches of questionable fungi.

“Especially for an agent. But that’s why I want her.”

“So then why does she meditate so deep in this wretched forest?”

Finally Octavia stopped and looked at Bon Bon, who seemed positively exasperated from the trek so far. Oh Celestia, how is this pony ever going to handle the stress of this mission, wondered Octavia. “She probably spends time in this garden because it appeals to the more…” Bon Bon widened her eyes and leaned forward in deep interest, “…animal side of her nature.”

“HEEEEEEEYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!” came a deafening cry from the tree canopy above as both earth ponies snapped their heads to catch the source of the interruption. Octavia lowered herself on instinct, expecting a fight to come.

An aquamarine blur zipped down from the branches straight at the two ponies, who promptly dodged it as quick as they could, Bon Bon just barely getting out of the way in time. They turned their heads to see who or what just lunged at them and saw a pony swinging down from a vine with a leg outstretched to kick, and screaming high at the top of her lungs.

Octavia growled a curse under her breath before calmly picking up a thick tree branch. The vine-swinging pony came around for another attack and Bon Bon lunged out of the way. As the minty-colored blur swung close to the ground, Octavia sidestepped and hit her with a loud “CRACK” across the chest with the stick. The assaulter toppled from the vine, rolling several meters on the ground before lunging up with another “HIYA!” and landing in an elaborate battle stance.

Before them stood a unicorn pony with an Aquamarine coat, a light blue mane and tail with white streaks and a lyre for a cutie mark. “Who dares disturb the tranquility of the royal garden?!” she hollered threateningly.

“Tranquility…?” Bon Bon muttered, picking herself up out of the dirt.

“Stand down, Lyra! It’s me, Octavia.”

With that, Bon Bon shot up and whipped around to face Lyra. She scowled. “LYRA?! Your third team member is HER?!” her face turned red with anger.

Octavia brushed the dirt off of her coat. “She’s a skilled fighter. So you’ve met?”

“You could say that…” replied Bon Bon as she glared at Lyra.

“What’s this all about Octavia?” Lyra asked.

“I’ve been given a mission from Princess Celestia. It’s top priority and top secret and I’ve been tasked with getting a team together. It’s going to be dangerous and I figured with your fighting capabilities –“

“Okay.”

Well that was easy, Octavia mused. Usually she only accepts a mission when there’s a big payoff involved.

“On one condition”

Dammit. Octavia furrowed her brow and asked “What exactly might that be…?”

“Not with her.” Lyra said as she sat down and pointed a hoof at Bon Bon, who shot her an angry glare.

“Lyra. I want both of you. That is not up to discussion.”

“Well then I’m sorry Octavia but I guess I’m just gonna have to decline” Lyra said as she crossed her forelegs and looked away.

Bon Bon grinned and said “Good! Now that that’s settled Octavia, let’s go find a different pony. One better suited for such a demanding mission.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Nuh uh! There is NOPONY out there better suited for demanding missions than me!” Lyra hopped up and stomped a hoof.

“Hah! Please! You’re dumber than a sack of rocks!”

“At least I’m not a coward!” Bon Bon’s face turned bright crimson with a mixture of rage and embarrassment.

“At least I’m not a rowdy half-wit!” she retorted.

Octavia felt a headache coming on from all the bickering.

“Nice pale coat, Bon Bon. Don’t get out much since that time you abandoned your comrades?” The distance between the two ponies closed as they argued. Lyra yelled right in front of Bon Bon’s face.

“Better than looking like toothpaste!” said Bon Bon as she literally butted heads with Lyra.The two ponies struggled for dominance as they pushed their foreheads against each other and threw insults back and forth. Octavia sat and rubbed her temples with her hooves to soothe the growing migraine.

“THAT’S IT!” yelled Lyra. She pulled back, causing Bon Bon to stumble forward. “I’ll fight you for it! Whoever wins gets to go on the mission!” she said as she assumed a bipedal fighting stance.

“Fine by me you illiterate buffoon.” Bon Bon assumed a more traditional four-legged crouch, like a feline ready to pounce.

“Don’t bother trying to trick me with big words Bon Bon.”

The pair glared intensely for too many moments for Octavia to bother counting. She was simply glad the trash talking had ceased for a much quieter form of conflict. Let them glare all they want, she thought as she planned out how she could get both of them on her team without them screaming at each other the whole time. Headaches were not welcome on this mission.

Violence should work. But let’s see what they’re really made of. A chance to watch how they fight might be helpful later on. Octavia sat daintily sat on a patch of grass next to a tree. Shade: welcome. Headaches: not welcome. Let the demonstration begin.

Contrast to their superior’s relaxed demeanor, the two combatants strafed cautiously around some invisible ring between them; trying to size up potential weak spots. Without warning however, Lyra brought herself down on all fours again unceremoniously. She blinked nervously at the trees behind Bon Bon and said, “Princess Celestia! I…uh..what brings..”

Bon Bon turned quickly around as guilt and fear shot across her face. Lyra let out another battle cry and swiftly rushed forward, just as Bon Bon whipped back around – realizing the trick. Lyra swept her hind legs around and knocked her opponent’s forelegs out from underneath her. She whipped around again and bucked hard upwards, catching Bon Bon’s muzzle before it even hit the ground. The earth pony twisted herself in the air to land back on her hooves. Lyra rushed forward and spun around Bon Bon as the pony attempted to brace herself for a tackle. Temporarily stunned, she had no chance to defend herself as the aquamarine blur whipped around and wrapped her forelegs around her in a tight bear-hug – trapping her arms.

Lyra lifted Bon Bon into the air, bent backwards and made to slam her head into the ground. But as she lifted, Bon Bon unexpectedly kicked forcefully up and used her own momentum to flip fully, landing on her back hooves. The awkward position for Lyra allowed Bon Bon to free her forelegs and give her a hard punch in the back of the head.

Lyra lunged forward at the same time to reduce the impact of the blow, but the damage it caused could be heard in the garden with a dull thud. She clutched the back of her head for a moment and cried, “OW!”

Now Bon Bon was more in her element. She was more of a ranged fighter. Being caught in a scrap without her typical weapons was a less than advantageous position for her, so she improvised. She darted around the garden scooping up rocks anywhere from the size of a bottle cap to the size of her hoof, and cradled them in her foreleg. By the time Lyra finished muttering curses under her breath, Bon Bon had amassed a formidable arsenal of stones perfect for chucking at smack-talking, toothpaste colored unicorns.

Lyra turned around at last, and was met with a stone that collided perfectly between her eyes. She reeled backwards at a second assault at her head. She opened her eyes just in time to watch Bon Bon scoop up another rock with her hoof and launch it at blazing speed at her knee. Fortunately she twisted her leg just enough for the hit to connect with her flank instead. The blow was fierce, and would leave a nasty bruise, but at least it hit somewhere with more muscle instead of bone.

Bon Bon continued her relentless assault as Lyra learned to dodge and deflect the barrage of stones – but just barely. Bon Bon picked up a hoof-sized rock and hurled it at Lyra, twisting her arm a bit mid-throw. Lyra pulled away her hind legs, as this one was once again aimed at her knee. Just as she dodged she watched the trajectory of the rock curve and connect right into the knee of her back leg. She cried out in pain as the back half of her body collapsed to the ground. “It curved…?!” she complained. Her pale yellow assaulter sent another rock at her face once more, and Lyra ignited her horn just in time to bend the path of the rock, which whizzed just past her ear. Bon Bon now grabbed two stones and chucked them at Lyra. Lyra used her magic again to block the one aimed at her throat, while the other crashed violently into her horn.

“GYYAAAAAHHHH!” cried Lyra as she pressed her face into the dirt, trying to block out the immense pain atop her head.

“There! Now you won’t be using that pesky horn of yours. If you ask me, I’d say that sounds like a really unfair advantage to be able to use magic against an earth pony. Tsk tsk” Bon Bon said as she casually tossed a stone into the air.

Lyra struggled to stand up. “I…don’t…use my…horn for fighting…”she panted. Her legs were shaky.

Bon Bon launched another pair of rocks at her enemy, who suddenly spun around and kicked both of them back at Bon Bon. The canary colored mare hopped backwards to avoid the projectiles, losing her balance. “I use my horn…” Lyra galloped swiftly toward Bon Bon.

“…to play the LYRE!” she yelled as Bon Bon hurled another stone, which Lyra promptly leapt over. She slid under the swirly-maned pony, kicking her hooves out from underneath her.

“…and I make…”

Bon Bon let out a yelp as Lyra grabbed her out from mid-air.

“…BEAUTIFUL MUSIC!” howled Lyra as she hurled Bon Bon as hard as she could at a nearby tree. Bon Bon collided with the tree trunk –dropping a sizable rock – with a resounding “THUD” Lyra launched herself at her enemy, both hooves up high and ready to be brought down on the cowardly rock-chucker. Bon Bon reacted quickly and picked up the rock she dropped, and brought it upward so it would meet with Lyra’s temple.

Before either of them could connect their blows with their targets, a gray flash intercepted both of them. Bon Bon’s rock-bearing hoof was kicked aside and Lyra was whipped around and tossed backwards away from the tree. She landed hard, knocking the wind out of her lungs. As she lay gasping for air, Bon Bon was likewise picked up and dropped hard on the ground next to her. Both ponies tried standing to find their bearings before being kicked again back onto the ground.

Octavia stood over the both of them and leaned her head down to glare straight into their eyes. She whispered menacingly, “Here’s the deal you two. Both of you are going to participate in this mission. This is top priority and the fate of all of Equestria depends on our success. So you’re both going to follow my every order, without question. And if you two can’t get along, so help me Celestia, I am going to beat your sorry flanks into the ground so hard, you’ll already be half buried for your funeral. Understand?!”

The two wide-eyed ponies nodded meekly in agreement. Octavia gave a satisfied “Hmph” before releasing the two ponies and turning away. The pair stood up, dusting themselves off and collecting their senses. They looked at each other and remained quiet for a few moments.

Lyra broke the silence. “Ugh. It looks like I’m just going to have to be the bigger pony here. Fine. I’ll work with you. I’m not going to like it, and I’m not going to be nice. But Octavia’s right, Equestria needs us. And I’m willing to put up with you long enough to see this through.” She lazily held out a hoof.

Bon Bon sighed. “Nor will I be nice to you, you intolerable buffoon. But if we must…” she grudgingly reached out her hoof and bumped Lyra’s with it. “For Equestria.”

The two ponies limped away, covered in bruises and scrapes, and favoring whatever good legs they had left.

Number Four: Shock and Awe

“I don’t see it.”

“Over- It’s over there. See?”

“Uuuuhhnnnn…no. What am I looking for again?”

“You should be able to see a big tree. That’s the library. And to the west there’s a big apple orchard. The Everfree Forest is even more west from there. Ponyville’s right smack in between the Whitetail Wood and the Everfree.” Bon Bon struggled to show Lyra where Ponyville was. From a balcony near the great hall in Princess Celestia’s castle palace, they could see the entire valley below the magnificent city. Lyra and Bon Bon leaned against the ledge of the balcony.

“Ummmm. Nope. All I see is hills and trees.” The squinting mare said as she scanned the valley for their destination, “Honestly I don’t know how you can see anything that far away.”

Bon Bon puffed up her swirly pink and blue mane with a hoof, smirking. “Perfect vision. How else do you explain my impeccable aim?”

“Whoa now, Bun Bun. I wouldn’t go that far,” said the aquamarine unicorn lazily.

“My name is..! Ugh! You’ll see! Had we been able to finish our little scrap in the garden, you’d have-“

“Please. I could whoop your skinny little flank any day of the week.” Lyra interrupted, facing Bon Bon with a scowl.

Bon Bon approached Lyra aggressively. “Ha! Lyra, if Octavia hadn’t have jumped in when she did, I would have clobbered you silly!”

“Hello ladies. Getting along I see?” Octavia seemed to pop out of nowhere as Lyra and Bon Bon hadn’t seen her approach amidst their arguing. Both of the ponies jumped at the surprise.

“Oh! Yea, of course!” Lyra said.

“Splendidly!” Chirped Bon Bon with a sheepish grin. Octavia had successfully beaten the fear of Celestia into the mares.

“Marvelous”, Octavia said, turning away. It was just 2 days until the Summer Sun Celebration – and their mission. With 3 ponies on the team, Octavia needed to recruit only one more. Celestia’s sun was just coming over the horizon. There was much to do today.

“So, who’s number four?” said Lyra as she eyed the small saddlebag hanging from Octavia’s back.

“You wouldn’t know her, Lyra. She was two grades below us at the academy. Her class only just graduated last year” replied Octavia as she scanned the gardens.

“Well maybe she did something we would have heard about? Surely she’s completed a mission or two by now.” Bon Bon added.

“Nope. She hasn’t done any missions. She didn’t graduate.”

“She flunked??” Lyra said, stunned. She and Bon Bon looked at each other with worried expressions. Was their team leader really going to trust their lives and the fate of Equestria with a pony that failed out of the academy?

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll see.” Octavia said, not wanting to have to explain the story more than once today. Everything would come together in due time.

The group wandered through the grand halls of the palace. The pearly white floors gleamed, contrasted by the dark red carpets and drapes hanging in front of the tall columns. All around there were grand statues of heroes of old; seemingly keeping watch over their home long after their time had passed.

“So this number four, what does she do?” Lyra asked.

Octavia answered, “We already have a recon specialist as well as ranged support. I’m the squad leader, and you’re the close combat specialist. All that leaves is somepony who can successfully execute rapid dominance strategies in the battlefield.”

Lyra put a hoof to her face. “That’s the big worded version. Somepony give me the simple version.”

Bon Bon replied, “You mean the stupid version?”

Lyra glared at Bon Bon, who merely continued, “Imagine our team as a set of tools needed to build something. Octavia would be the directions, I would be whatever measuring instruments are involved, and you would be a wrench – to apply the right kind of force in the right way. What’s missing?”

“A hammer.”

“Precisely. Our number four will be there to apply brute force and inflict shock and awe upon our enemy, making it easier for us to react, and harder for them.”

“You’re right. That was the stupid version. You suck at metaphors.” Bon Bon’s face grew red as she growled at Lyra. “And besides, I thought I was the shock and awe.”

Bon Bon took the chance to strike back at her insulter. “I hardly think swinging from the treetops, screaming like a wild creature would count as shock and awe. I believe a certain gray pony had enough wits about her to give you a good crack in the head with a big stick.”

“Yep. While you sat cowering in the mud. I remember” replied Lyra with a satisfied smirk.

“There she is” Octavia said, breaking away from the other two. As they followed they noticed a blonde-maned gray pegasus looking up in awe at one of the tall statues in the hall. A set of bubbled adorned her flank.

Bon Bon recognized the pony. “Oh her! I know who that is. That’s Ditzy Doo. She was very formidable in combat training. I’m surprised to hear she failed the graduating exam.”

As they approached, Octavia greeted the pony. “Hello Derpy,” Bon Bon blinked confusedly at Octavia’s use of the name. “It’s me, Octavia. I’m glad you could meet me on such short notice.”

The gray mare turned and looked at the group and smiled. “Hi!” she chirped, shaking hooves with Octavia.

Bon Bon and Lyra trotted a few meters away to sit down, letting Octavia explain things to their newest member.

“We’re going to have to skip formalities, Derpy. Princess Celestia has given me an extremely important mission, and I want you to join my team. Your skillset is very valuable.”

“Why is Octavia calling her Derpy? I thought her name was Ditzy Doo.” Bon Bon whispered to Lyra.

“Guess you were wrong yet again, stupid” replied Lyra.

Derpy blinked confusedly. “Me? But, I never graduated…” Derpy hesitantly said to Octavia. “I failed the test…” Derpy looked down and kicked her hoof nervously.

“Actually, Derpy, I have your test right here.” Octavia opened the saddlebag with her mouth and pulled out a small booklet of paper. “Turns out you scored top of your class, with near perfect scores in situational awareness, close quarters combat, strength testing, and advanced combat techniques.”

Derpy’s ears perked upward and she blinked at the papers.

“The only reason you failed is because you signed the wrong name on the paperwork” said Octavia as she handed Derpy the packet. “You were registered in the academy as Derpy Hooves. You signed your name as Ditzy Doo.”

“I knew it” whispered Bon Bon, gloating to an annoyed Lyra.

“Oh…” Derpy sat down clumsily and flipped through the booklet. She closed her eyes and smiled happily at Octavia. “Oops!” She seemed less concerned about the minute mistake and more concerned about the fact that she didn’t fail at all.

“After I discovered that, I decided to research a bit more” said Octavia as she dug for more papers in her bags. “Somepony doesn’t just ace the final exam and then forget their name. Turns out you’ve been signing half of all your documents as Derpy, and the other half as Ditzy.” She handed Derpy copies of various legal documents. Her flying license and academy registration form were signed as Derpy, whereas her house and passport were signed under Ditzy. “Derpy, you are legally two entirely different ponies.”

Bon Bon blinked rapidly, trying to process just why in Equestria anypony would do that. Lyra scratched her head, saying “Okay, that’s either got to be really stupid, or really smart but…I really can’t think of any practical reason to…” trailing off, she looked in the distance trying to think of some way two identities could come in handy.

Octavia continued describing the specifics of the mission as Derpy sat happily absorbing the information and nodding. As she went on, Derpy’s face suddenly grew very serious. Her right eye darted to the side, while the left stayed focus on Octavia.

“What the..?” Lyra said, perplexed.

Derpy hopped onto all fours, grabbing Octavia. “DOWN!” she hollered. She threw the gray earth pony to the tile floor and leapt on top of her, taking Octavia by surprise. A bright streak of electric blue light shot just overhead, and Octavia could feel the heat from the beam. Just as the two ponies rolled sideways and shot back up, a dozen or so masked colts darted from behind the statues and pillars.

“No unicorn!” Derpy shouted.

Octavia couldn’t see where the bolt of magic had come from either. All of the masked ponies rushing toward the group were dark-colored earth ponies. She rushed forward and collided with a purple colt with a black mane, matching the mask. He was easily twice the weight of Octavia but she managed to knock him off his hooves and send him stumbling into another assailant. “Bon Bon! I need to know where that unicorn is NOW! Lyra, form up on me!” A unicorn with that kind of magic could be a large problem if not in sight.

Bon Bon leapt past Octavia, dodging around two masked ponies toward where the blast of magic seemed to originate. Derpy flew straight up, spinning around and scanning the hall. Octavia and Lyra toppled another two colts.

“To think that they have the audacity to mount a strike in Celestia’s own palace.” Octavia mused. Derpy quickly agreed and dove straight down into one of the ninja ponies, knocking him out cold. She picked him up and – not threw, or hurled – but LAUNCHED him straight into one of his comrades sending them both flying.

Just as Derpy was about to celebrate this small triumph, a large beam of light collided with her and knocked her right out of the air. She landed hard on the marble floor. Octavia turned to find the source, only to see somepony dart behind a column. Bon Bon charged behind the column but was met by a large ninja pony before she could get there. The small mare didn’t work well with close quarters combat.

Octavia called, “Lyra! Assist her!”

“Got it!” Lyra answered, speeding towards Bon Bon and her attacker.

Derpy regained consciousness after the harsh blast of magic and pulled herself up slowly. Octavia weaved around the assailants and helped her to her hooves. Derpy crossed her eyes, each one focusing on a different target. “Left!” she cried. Octavia got the hint and rolled over Derpy’s back to her left side, landing hard against the jaw of an assailant. Derpy flipped around and kicked another pony square in the chest. She then twirled around again to beat down another opponent, but another flash of light landed just in front of her – blinding her. The colt tackled her, wrapping his forelegs around her wings, preventing flight. Octavia jumped in to help but was tackled herself by another colt, and she landed hard against the ground.

Meanwhile, Lyra and Bon Bon struggled with their own enemy. The massive ninja was easily as big as both of them combined. He smirked at the two ponies crouching before him. “I’ll handle this one, you go find that unicorn.” Lyra said.

“Are you kidding me? He’ll crush you flat!”

“Just go!” Lyra charged the colt, letting out an earsplitting battle cry. The colt, with surprising speed, twirled around and sent Lyra flying with his hind legs. She corrected herself midair and landed on her back hooves. Bon Bon used the distraction to get behind the colt. “Bun Bun! You idiot! Don’t!”

The colt realized what Lyra was saying and whipped around again, grabbing Bon Bon and lifting her high. She kicked helplessly while he threw her hard against the ground. Lyra managed to catch her just in time, but both were sent to a hard landing with the hard floor. “You’re the one…who gave me away you idiot…” Bon Bon groaned.

Octavia weakly pushed herself back up. “I have…had…enough of this…” she growled. She sensed the pony behind her about to bring down a hoof to knock her back down. Octavia whirled around and grabbed his leg mid-stomp and tossed him down to the marble. Hopping up to her hooves before he even landed, she spun around and brought a hoof down hard on his chest. A couple of his ribs audibly snapped. She felt the sickening feeling of bones breaking as she stomped. Sickening to most, but Octavia suddenly felt herself reveling in the feeling of violence.

Octavia saw red.

With a gray flash she rushed the pony holding onto Derpy ripping him off of her and bending backwards to drop his head against the tile. Two more ninja colts had rushed up to aid their comrades. Octavia deflected the blow of the first and brought her hoof down against his elbow. “CRACK!” Her enemy wailed in pain. Oh those sweet, sweet wails. She knocked him over and went to meet the pony behind him. After trading a few blows between them, she managed to maneuver behind him and choke him unconscious.

Feeling the rush of battle coursing through her, her adrenaline charging her up, and the glorious feeling of inflicting pain upon those who had the audacity to attack her and her team in broad daylight, Octavia galloped to where Lyra and Bon Bon were about to be crushed by a massive ninja colt. With a powerful leap, she head-butted the colt in the side and sent him stumbling. Had he been smaller, he would have been flying.

Octavia ignored the desire to trash-talk her opponent, opting instead for clobbering him silly first. She kicked at his legs, causing him to stumble further – keeping him off balance while she connected a few well-placed blows to sensitive areas of his humungous body; the nose, the stomach, the neck. Glad she was finally about to finish off this incredible nuisance and show these fillies just exactly who was boss; she raised a hoof and brought it down toward his head.

Then suddenly, a brilliant blue light blinded her. A fierce heat collided with her side. With the sudden trauma, her senses failed and all she was aware of was the intense heat and her surroundings flying past her. Before she knew it she was face down on the marble, groaning in pain. She looked up, and saw all of her new teammates lying just as battered and barely-conscious as her.

A set of white hooves stepped into her field of vision. Octavia struggled to lift her head to finally see the mare who caused such annoyance. One of the hooves gently stepped on her head, forcing her chin back down to the gleaming floor. Octavia was too weak to fight back now. A blue glow emitted from above her field of vision – presumably from the stupid marshmallow’s horn.

Stupid unicorns. Octavia felt an overwhelming sense of frustration. This is how she would finally go out. Beaten by a magic filly. And she couldn’t even see the face of the one who actually bested her. Every bit of her screamed in protest. Her mind railed violently. Every muscle strained to move. All she could manage was a pathetic shudder.

Somewhere, there was distant yelling. A few voices. A lot of voices? Celestia’s voice. She was mad. The blue glow cut off suddenly and the white hooves darted away. Octavia strained as hard as she could to turn her head to the side. A dozen dark-colored ninja pegasi were scooping up their unconscious comrades. They piled the fallen ninjas into black chariots and sped out of the palace through the balcony.

Stupid marshmallow. Octavia fell unconscious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Derpy Hooves anxiously prodded Lyra’s nose a few times. As the aquamarine unicorn finally came to, Derpy smiled happily. “Yay!”

Lyra rubbed her head and looked around. She was in a hospital bed. A few medic ponies surrounded her. Some were tending to Bon Bon, and Derpy looked like she wasn’t too badly beat up. Further away, she saw Octavia talking to Princess Celestia. Octavia was already fully healed. No doubt the medic unicorns worked on her first. Celestia needed to know exactly what just transpired from the highest ranking agent. She groaned and sat up while Derpy took a step back. It took a moment to recall some of the events prior to being unconscious. She remembered watching Derpy fight.

“You’ve got a few moves, kid” she chuckled weakly. “I don’t get why Octavia picked Bun Bun, but I know why she chose you. She was right. You’re pretty strong.” She said as she recalled seeing Derpy launch a fully grown colt halfway across the grand hall. Derpy smiled brightly.

Bon Bon interjected, “You don’t get why she picked me? You’re the one who doesn’t know how to pick her battles.”

Lyra snapped her head at Bon Bon. “I had it under control. You were supposed to be finding that unicorn. If you hadn’ta gotten in my way I would have been fine.”

Lyra and Bon Bon argued and Derpy frowned. Octavia finished her conversation with the Princess and slowly trotted to where her team recovered.

“I was behind him, and YOU gave me away!”

“You weren’t even supposed to be there.”

“I know I wasn’t. I had no choice since somepony decided to wrestle with a colt twice her size.”

“Ladies.” Octavia interrupted. The group fell silent and looked upon their leader. An awkward silence lasted several moments as Octavia looked at each of the ponies one by one. She continued calmly, “That was the worst thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen school fillies with more teamwork than us.” The other ponies looked at the ground. “Now I just had a serious talk with Princess Celestia. I told her my team sucks, and I need a new one. But turns out we just don’t have time for that, so I guess you will have to do. Maybe an Equestria in eternal night won’t be so bad.” She turned away, paused, and turned back. “Did anyone at least get a glimpse of that unicorn?” The blast that knocked her out was uncannily powerful. She’d never seen magic of that ferocity besides experimental spells performed by Celestia’s top wizards.

Derpy meekly raised a hoof. “I saw unicorn far away…before we got hurt…”

Octavia recalled Derpy’s fortunate eye trick shortly before the attack. No wonder she aced situational awareness in the final exam. “Well?”

Derpy paused , deep in thought for several moments before finally answering, “Just saw...blue…”

Octavia groaned and walked past them. All she saw was the blue light. “Chariot leaves tomorrow at 6 A.M. If I see you limping, you’re doing laps.” She said as she trotted away.

Derpy cried a little.

Bon Bon stared at the ground.

Lyra went back to sleep.

And Octavia sighed. Celestia help us, she prayed.

Base of Operations

Short chapter this time. It's more filler than I like to write, but I just need to connect the events. It starts to pick up next chapter, I promise =]

Inside a house near the edge of Ponyville, three ponies each passed the time in a different manner. Lyra sat with her hind legs crossed in the middle of the kitchen table and meditated. Bon Bon was organizing the various kitchen utensils in one of the drawers. And Derpy was watching the fire in the fireplace dance atop crackling and popping wood. Nopony spoke to one another, nor even looked at one another. Besides the sounds of the fireplace and the clanging of knives and spoons as Bon Bon arranged and rearranged them, the silence was almost tangible. The group still remembered their painful humbling at the hands of the moon cultists and a particularly powerful unicorn.

A set of hard, loud knocks abruptly ended the quietness. Bon Bon hurriedly cantered to the door and opened it. The gray earth pony with dark hair trotted in, wearing her usual perpetually dignified expression. Derpy turned from the fireplace and watched the door, curious. Lyra peeked open an eye to see. Behind Octavia walked a light brown colt with a darker brown mane and hourglass cutie mark pulling behind him a large black box.

Octavia and her companion brought the box to the middle of the main living space in the house in front of the fireplace. Lyra finally roused from her meditation and met Bon Bon and Derpy in the front room as well.

Octavia’s voice interrupted the silence at last, “Thanks for your assistance, Doc.”

“No worries, glad to be of help” Doc responded with a Trottingham accent.

“This here ladies, is our equipment for the mission,” Octavia began to pace as she addressed her teammates. “You’ll find all of your weapons of choice are inside this crate. Now we can’t simply be lugging weapons around through Ponyville, so unfortunately we’ll have to leave them here while we’re out and about. This will serve as our primary base of operations. Should any of you come into direct contact with the enemy, do your best to come straight back here and arm yourself. At even the slightest sign of trouble, I want everypony to meet back here. If we’re caught alone, it will mean bad news.” She gave a nod to Doc, who inserted a key into the lock on the crate and pulled away the chains.

The other ponies started pulling out their favored weapons from the box, testing their weight and making themselves familiar with them again. Bon Bon juggled a set of throwing knives, and Lyra watched in awe as Derpy swung a massive steel hammer over one shoulder. A horseshoe was bolted to both business ends of the weapon. Octavia pulled out a sheathed katana and eyed it with satisfaction. The only thing Lyra picked up out of the crate was a purple headband.

“No weapons?” Bon Bon asked.

Lyra held up her hooves, “Right here” and gave a smirk. Bon Bon scoffed and returned to her own items. She strung a bow and set the arrows next to it.

After everypony was settled, Octavia spoke again, “Alright now, let’s go over the agenda for today. Tonight is the Summer Sun Celebration. There will almost surely be enemy presence and Nightmare Moon will arrive. From there the elements of harmony, with Miss Sparkle’s suggestion, will probably head to the last known location of the elements themselves, The Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, in the Everfree.” Bon Bon sighed at the thought of having to go into that forest. Lyra was more enthusiastic of going into wild nature.

“Until then, we’ll be monitoring the embodiments of the elements themselves. Lyra and Bon Bon, you two will be keeping watch around the town.” Both ponies let out a groan before being silenced by a sharp glance from Octavia. “Blend in. Derpy, you volunteer to help out with setting up the celebration, try to get any info you can. Our enemies will likely have an agent blending in, like us. If you see anything or anypony suspicious, bring your findings directly to me. I’ll be keeping an eye on Celestia’s student – she’s scheduled to meet with the other elements throughout the day. Doc’s team is here as well, but they’re reconnaissance ponies. They’re not going to be able to help in a fight but Doc has given me his word that they’ll assist in whatever way they can. Some of you may have heard of Berry Punch, Colgate or Carrot Top?”

At the mention of Carrot Top’s name, Derpy raised a hoof and said, “I know Carrot Top. She’s a nice pony…” and turned a deep shade of crimson.

Lyra chimed in as well. “I used to spar with Berry”

Octavia nodded and continued. “Also, be sure to avoid the pink one. The element of laughter. She throws parties for every new pony she sees and we can’t draw unwanted attention to ourselves. Understand?” The other mares nodded. “Good. Move out soldiers.”

Lyra and Bon Bon reluctantly exited the house together. Derpy floated happily out the door and off toward the festivities. Octavia sighed and looked to Doc. He was one of the few ponies she trusted. Had he been more skilled in combat instead of stealth, she wouldn’t have hesitated to put him on her team. But as it was, there was sure to be fighting, and he would only end up as a liability. He tilted his head at her, curious of her thoughts.

She afforded herself a rare moment of vulnerability. “Do you really think we can pull this off? Those moon cultists Doc, they’re sharp. They know what they’re doing.”

Doc gave a lighthearted laugh before saying, “Octavia, if they’re up against you, well they really don’t know what they’re doing. I’ve made it a point to stay on your good side you know. I’ve seen what happens to ponies when they don’t.” At this they both chuckled.

“There’s a unicorn though. Whoever it was, they were powerful. I took one hit from that magic and I was down. Nopony has ever defeated me that easily.” She said worriedly.

“Why did they even attack you anyways? Why take the risk of doing that in Celestia’s own castle?”

“To catch us unaware. It worked. We barely managed to keep ourselves alive before Celestia and her guards arrived. Thanks to Derpy’s eyes, we were able to dodge the first blast.” She gave a look at the katana resting on the kitchen table. “But next time will be different”

Lyra groaned. “Uuuuggghh. I’m tired of all this ‘reconnaissance’. Let’s go sit down somewhere, my hooves are killing me!”

“Lyra you know we can’t just ignore our mission. We need to keep a close eye out for the enemy.”

“Yea, and we need to blend in. We can do that just as easily from a bench somewhere. Nopony’s going to be suspicious of us just sitting down.”

Bon Bon spent a few moments in thought, and reluctantly agreed before the pair trotted over to a nearby park bench. She lifted herself up onto the bench and curled her four legs underneath her, finally getting a chance to relax. She watched aghast as Lyra plopped her haunches onto the bench, sitting upright.

Lyra noticed the look. “What? It’s good for my chi. Gotta have my chi if we’re gonna be fighting” she said before crossing her forelegs.

“How unladylike…” The pair sat closely watching the park inhabitants happily go by, anxious for the celebration that would start that night. Lyra and Bon Bon silently contemplated the fact that they had no idea just what was about to happen at the celebration.

Face to Face

Derpy was not stupid. Many ponies assumed she was. And Derpy was a lot of things, but stupid was not among them. Even those who respected her and valued her abilities treated her differently, and explained things more slowly. She had made a few mistakes in her life. Forgetting which name to sign on the final exam at the academy was on the top of that list. But nopony besides her was surprised to hear that she didn’t pass the test. Nopony trusted her then. No missions. No scouting. No friends. Derpy Hooves was forgotten.

But Derpy was not stupid. Very few ponies ever trusted her to handle things on her own, and always gave her very specific instructions on what to do in certain situations. But when a certain pink pony she was explicitly told to avoid snuck up on her, Derpy didn’t bat an eye as she lied in the face of one of the most intuitive ponies in Equestria.

“GAAAAAAAAASSSSSP! HI! You’re totally new to Ponyville aren’t you?! I’m Pinkie Pie. I live over at Sugarcube Corner, where I work and we sell pastries and treats and stuff. You should come by some time! But if you’re new here you’re not gonna know where it is! Silly me. I should give you a grand tour of Ponyville!” Pinkie Pie was just inches away from her new friend’s face.

Derpy gave Pinkie Pie a blank expression as the pink pony rambled on, letting her eyes drift apart in separate directions. When Pinkie finally paused to take a breath, Derpy pointed to herself and said “Not new” and smiled.

Pinkie gazed at Derpy, confused. “Of course you’re new. You have to be if I don’t know you!” Pinkie sounded a bit unsure of herself. “And I know everyone in Ponyville!” Derpy simply shrugged. “Well if you’re not new then you gotta know who I am right?”

Derpy pointed a hoof at Pinkie Pie, tapping her on the nose. “Pinkie Pie. Party Pony!”

Pinkie blinked a few times more; apparently forgetting she had just introduced herself to Derpy just a mere minute ago. She talked fast, so she wasn’t used to anypony remembering what she was saying on the first try. “Oh…well I guess I don’t know everypony in Ponyville. But since I don’t know you, we should hang out some time” she said, returning from her confusion to her typical bubbliness.

“Okay!”

“But first, once we’re done setting up the decorations for the celebration, I’m throwing a party for a different new pony today! She just got here. And I know she just got here because I watched her get here! And since she just got here she must not have any friends. And if she doesn’t have any friends then she must be lonely. And that just made me so sad so I went ‘GAAAAASSP’ and went off as fast as I could to get started on getting a party together for her. How great is that! Two new friends in one day!” Pinkie chirped, positively bouncing

Derpy nodded in agreement.

“Oh if only I could decide what kind of punch to get her?”

“Oatmeal!”

“Oatmeal, are you crazy??”

Derpy smiled. This pony craved illogical.

“It’ll take forever to make oatmeal flavored punch! I better get started right away!” and the pink party pony zoomed off.

Just as she expected. Derpy turned back to her work setting plates around the tables in the town hall and sighed in relief. Derpy wasn’t stupid. Odd, yes. But often times she marveled at her own little feats of wit. Others could call her stupid all they wanted but Derpy cherished her moments of cleverness. They were her special secret.

The passing day was uneventful for Octavia. She spent most of it on roof tops, hiding in apple trees, or peering inside from just out the window. From her scouting, the only thing she could tell was that Twilight Sparkle was antisocial. And that it would take quite a change for her to realize her role as the element of magic. After Twilight entered the library after checking up with all of the other soon-to-be elements, Octavia went back to the base of operations and had Doc set bring her team’s weapons to the town hall. After a few minutes tidying herself up to be presentable at a social gathering, she set out again to the library.

The knocked on the door softly and was answered by a handsome colt. He smiled at her and let her in. She walked past him, without so much as a glance; leaving him a little deflated. Not on your life kid, she thought.

After some searching she found her team, as well as some of Doc’s surveillance team. Lyra was arm wrestling with Berry Punch, a purple pony with berries adorning her flank. Another light blue pony with a blue and white mane and an hourglass mark just like Doc's was talking with Bon Bon. Derpy was playing pin the tail on the pony. She approached the group of mares.

“Hello Octavia!” Bon Bon said, “Looking sharp. I didn’t quite guess you for the dress-up type.” She said, motioning to the collar and pink bowtie around Octavia’s neck.

“I do my best to look presentable at social gatherings.” She replied, sounding half-interested. She turned her head away and watched the crowd.

Bon Bon and Colgate awkwardly turned back to each other. Colgate, eager to start conversation back up again, asked “So you and Lyra are working together? I thought you hated each other.”

“Oh, we do.” Replied Bon Bon matter-of-factly. “But we’ve decided to put our differences aside for the mission. Equestria first and all that.”

“Of course. So what exactly happened between you two?”

“Well, believe it or not, it actually all started in a lunch line in school as fillies. It was shortly after my cutie mark appeared. I was excited that day, and in the lunch line I was talking to my friends about it. I was first in my class to get one after all. And when I turn back, there she is walking in front of me. So I ask her nicely to let me have my spot back, and she refuses! I mean the nerve on that foal, to deny me my lunch! So I ask again and again, and when I finally resolve to let our teacher know, she calls me a ‘snitch’. I didn’t even know what that meant at the time and when I asked her, she said it meant I was stupid. And I don’t like being called stupid, so I gave her a hoof right in the eye. The teacher broke up our fight, but we’ve been rivals ever since.” Bon Bon shrugged.

Somewhere during the story, Derpy popped in and watched them. Her eyes were crossed. One eye looked to Carrot Top and the other to Bon Bon.

“You know, Ditzy, I’ve been wondering. Just how exactly did you learn to do that with your eyes? That’s quite a trick.” Bon Bon asked.

“Do what?”

Octavia was already tuned out of their conversation, floating her gaze over the crowd of ponies in the library. Sure enough, the antisocial ‘element of friendship’ was upstairs avoiding everypony else. Can’t say I blame her though, Octavia mused. The others were there though, participating in the reverie. The pink one bounced all over the party, almost seeming like she was in ten places at once.

Ugh, I just wish something would happen already. Octavia was anxious for round two with the moon ponies. She let her gaze drift to the floor, and stared at all of the hooves in the room. Some stood still, others were dancing. There were dozens of various colors and sizes. Octavia started to count them and organize the room according to the color. Suddenly she found herself staring at a set of marshmallow white hooves among the various other colors. Her heart quickened pace for a moment.

She got up and slowly walked through the party crowd, keeping her eyes fixed on the white hooves. As she neared the pony, she raised her vision up. The pony was behind another, but she could clearly see a white horn from where she was. She walked around the pony in front of her, ready for anything. The pony finally came into view.

And Octavia’s breath came back at last. It was just the element of generosity. Rarity was her name. Her over styled mane bounced lightly spoke animatedly to another party guest.

A heavy weight then pushed itself onto Octavia’s shoulders. Her heart felt like it was trying to burst out of her own chest. Behind Rarity, another unicorn came into view. A white unicorn with a spiked, electric blue mane and a pair of techno sunglasses. The world stopped as Octavia watched the unicorn walk through the crowd calmly. Her eyes were obscured and if the pony saw Octavia, she couldn’t be sure. She followed the mare slowly, and eyed her with deep suspicion. Looking at this pony, she felt something in her gut that told her it wasn’t happy being there. It must be… thought Octavia. She noted the cutie mark on the unicorn’s flank. A musical note. Copycat.

As she followed, she vaguely heard the mayor speak up over the crowd and announce that the sun would be rising shortly. Everypony began filing out of the library, and toward the town hall. She looked to her team and motioned for them to go with the crowd. She turned back and as the unicorn was exiting the door of the library, she turned her head, smirked, and dashed off into the night. Octavia followed suit.

Leaving the library and the party crowd behind, the unicorn and her pursuer dashed through the streets of Ponyville. The unicorn whipped back and sent a few bolts of magical energy toward Octavia to encourage her to stop. Octavia sped up, determined to catch her. As the earth pony made ready to make one final lunge at her opponent, the unicorn whipped around again. This time, a bright flash of light burst out of her horn, blinding Octavia. By the time she regained her sight, the pony was gone.

Octavia rushed to get to the town hall, where the rest were gathered. She ripped away the bush, hiding the weapons from view and grabbed her sheathed katana. She wrapped the strap around her and leapt up to the roof of the building, peering inside. No chaos yet. That was good.

A hoofstep behind her. Octavia exhaled and stood tall. She turned around to face the moon cultist once and for all.

“Hello, Octavia. It’s nice to finally meet you face to face.”

The Return of Nightmare Moon

Octavia stared wearily at the white unicorn. Her dark mane waved lightly in the soft night breeze while the other mare’s electric blue mane stayed angled defiantly against it. The ponies downstairs inside the town hall were restlessly chattering and the crickets outside were chirping. The entire world was oblivious to the stand-off. Both ponies stood still for several moments. Octavia narrowed her eyes, waiting for that white horn to let out a burst of deadly magic. The unicorn, stood tall, smirking at Octavia. The expression in her eyes was hidden underneath her dark spectacles.

“Hm. I was at least expecting some sort of response.” The unicorn said at last.

“Well you failed to introduce yourself” Octavia replied, her tense body standing as still as a statue.

“Oh yea, I suppose I did. Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt. My name is Vinyl Scratch” she said, placing a proud emphasis on her own name. “There. Now we are properly introduced” Vinyl said with another smirk.

“Good. Now I know what to put on your tombstone.”

“You’re pretty confident considering our little tussle in Canterlot.”

“You caught me off guard. This time I can see you clear as day.” Octavia glared with fury while recalling her defeat at the hooves of Vinyl. “You should have killed me when you got the chance.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t make that mistake again.”

Through the window into the town hall, Octavia heard the crowd gasp as somepony said, “She’s gone!”

Octavia glanced at the window and saw Rarity standing where the Princess was supposed to make her appearance. The ponies inside were beginning to panic.

She snapped back at Scratch, but was met with a brilliant flash of light. Octavia was blinded. A burst of heat collided with her back, sending her to the ground. The unicorn landed on top of her and grabbed Octavia’s hooves – wrapping them around her back and immobilizing her. “WHERE IS SHE?” yelled Octavia, struggling.

Scratch bent over and spoke into Octavia’s ear. “Now this I think is the best seat in the house. Prepare yourself, Octavia. You’re about to witness the beginning of a new era!” She pushed Octavia’s head toward the window and forced her to watch the events downstairs unfold.

A dark mist with various twinkles mimicking the night sky formed on the platform. The ponies gasped with fear. She found her fellow teammates franticly looking around, presumably searching for their team leader. It seemed everyone had no choice but to watch. The mist parted swiftly, revealing a tall, slender alicorn. Her coat was black as the abyss and her mane and tail were formed of the night sky. Her serpentine eyes glared with a mixture of triumph and disdain. The townsponies gasped once more. Three small fillies clung to each other in fear.

“Oh my beloved subjects. It’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious little sun loving faces!”

“What did you do with our princess?!” somepony yelled.

The alicorn chuckled. “Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don’t you know who I am? Does my crown no longer count now that I’ve been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?”

Twilight Sparkle answered “I did. And I know who you are. You’re the mare in the moon, Nightmare Moon!”

“Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I’m here!”

“You’re here to….to...” she was afraid to say it.

“Remember this day little ponies, for it was your last! From this moment forth, the night will last forever!” Nightmare Moon announced with a booming laugh.

Octavia struggled more, to no avail. Scratch tightened her grip on her arm, putting Octavia in fear of it breaking. Octavia growled.

A few royal guards charged at Nightmare Moon. Tendrils of night extended from her mane and conjured fierce lightning, sending the guards crashing to the ground. Nightmare Moon laughed maniacally. She formed once again into her mist of night and floated snake-like out the door. The ponies ran around, trying to flee. The hall was utter chaos.

Octavia could see the pride painted on Vinyl’s face out of the corner of her eye. She struggled against the unicorn again, who had her locked tight in her grip. There was no moving.

Downstairs, she saw Derpy point up at the window and she, Lyra, and Bon Bon rushed out of the front door.

“Where are the Elements of Harmony? We know you’ve been sent here to protect them. Where are they?” Vinyl asked again, grabbing Octavia’s hair and pulling her head back.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me where the Princess is” Octavia growled.

Vinyl chuckled, “In a few minutes she’ll be suffering the same fate she sent her own sister to a thousand years ago.” She released Octavia’s mane and glared at her. “Your turn”

In answer, Octavia bucked her head back, bashing Vinyl in the nose and sending her stumbling backward. Octavia jumped to her hooves. Vinyl regained her balance just in time to dodge a hard punch from the gray earth pony. She released another brilliant flash of light and jumped down off the roof of the building.

Octavia held her forelegs over her head for a few moments, protecting herself from any attacks as long as she was blinded. When she finally readjusted to the dark night and noticed Vinyl fleeing toward the forest, she jumped down from the ledge. Lyra, Bon Bon and Derpy came careening around the corner and met with Octavia.

“Follow her! She knows where the princess is!” Octavia called to her teammates who promptly turned and chased after the unicorn. Octavia followed a bit behind. As she galloped she didn’t notice the purple unicorn running toward her until they crashed into each other.

Twilight Sparkle lay groaning on the ground. Octavia helped her – or more accurately, lifted her – to her hooves and ran off before the element of magic could utter a “sorry” or a “thank you”. Twilight scratched her head for a moment, but didn’t think twice about it; ponies were definitely in panic state right now. She turned and ran off toward the library once more.

Octavia’s team disappeared into the trees of the Everfree forest, and she quickened her pace. Ponies were running frantically all over the place and she was forced to dodge, weave and even leap clear over other ponies. Some ponies might wonder about the acrobatic skill, but there wasn’t time for camouflage anymore. She at last came to the edge of the forest and entered without hesitation. Behind the trees, seemed like utter chaos.

A dozen masked unicorn cultists were gathered in a circle, casting a pitch black aura around Princess Celestia. Outside the circle was another half dozen battling with Octavia’s team. Vinyl was standing on a tree branch barking orders at them. So far as she could tell, nopony had noticed her yet. So she took the opportunity to think a minute and try to figure out a strategy.

If she could free Celestia, then every problem would be solved. Checkmate. To do that, the unicorns had to be interrupted from their spell. To do that, she had to get around the ninja ponies, not to mention Scratch’s spells. Her team seemed to be holding off the ninjas well enough for now. A plan formulated inside her head: sneak around, get behind marshmallow, give her one good punch to the back of the head and knock her out cold, finish off the ninja cultists, and then take out the rest of the unicorns – most of whom probably can’t cast battle magic like Vinyl. Checkmate.

She darted around behind the bushes and found the tree that held Vinyl. She leapt from branch to branch, and clung to the tree branch just beneath Scratch. As she dangled from the branch, she gave another look to her team.

Bon Bon was dragging an unconscious Lyra while Derpy swung her battle hammer back and forth, discouraging ninja ponies from closing anymore distance. Bon Bon desperately shook Lyra, who finally responded with a few half-conscious mumbles as she finally returned to the waking world.

Damn it. Octavia had to move quickly. She leapt up to the branch and snuck up behind Scratch. She whirled around to give Scratch a good roundhouse kick to the head, but when she should have connected with stupid marshmallow skull, she met only air – sending her off balance a little. Vinyl ducked beneath her and blasted her with a blazing hot bolt of electric blue.

Damn it. Octavia was launched off the tree and landed just inside the circle of unicorns. She ignored the brutal pain in her ribs and made to interrupt one of the unicorns from their spells. Before she could connect with the elderly bearded colt, Scratch collided with her back, sending her to the dirt once more. She looked up to see Celestia hovered in a dark sphere, pleading with the other unicorns.

“Please think about what you are doing! Equestria isn’t the only land at stake here! The entire world will be cast into darkness! Nightmare Moon isn’t-“ one of the moon cultists cast a quick spell to silence the bubble. The circle of unicorns parted behind Octavia, revealing Derpy and Lyra being dragged in by ninja cultists – ropes tied around their hooves.

Damn it. Bon Bon was missing, and Octavia looked at Lyra. “She ran away. Left, just like that. I told you it was a bad idea to bring – “

“Silence!” barked a voice from above. Everyone looked up. Nightmare Moon hovered menacingly in front of Celestia, who watched with grief.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

“Well, well dear sister. It’s been a long time. A thousand years, was it? No matter. Equestria knows just who its rightful ruler is. Its citizens have risen up to replace the throne, and my loyal subjects have demanded that Equestria be ruled by eternal night once more!”

A tear rolled down Celestia’s cheek. “Sister, please…”

“Sister? Do sisters BANISH EACH OTHER FOR A MILLENIUM?!” Nightmare Moon’s voice abruptly began booming, nearly deafening the spectators with its rage. “ALL I WANTED WAS FOR THE NIGHT TO BE APPRECIATED! ALL I WANTED WAS MY FAIR SHARE! AND WHAT DO I GET FOR DEMANDING EQUALITY?!”

Tears flowed freely from Celestia’s eyes and dropped from her cheeks to the soil below. Her face contorted with grief. Octavia had never seen her beloved princess lose her composure even the slightest, and to see the pitiful spectacle above her stabbed at her heart.

“Banishment…” The pitch black alicorn quietly finished.

“Luna! Please!” Celestia cried.

“And banishment shall be your punishment as well! Princess Celestia, of the royal Equestrian court! I hereby banish you to your namesake. You shall spend a thousand years inside your precious sun!” Nightmare Moon hovered close to the princess. “And unlike you, only the great moon shall grace my subjects with its presence. You and your sun will be forgotten.” She hovered back and joined in with the spell the unicorns were channeling.

Princess Celestia closed her eyes, blinking away her last tears. A pale, moonlight glow began to emanate from the horns of those casting the banishment spell. Lyra struggled harshly with her bonds and Derpy sobbed into the grass underneath her. Octavia locked eyes with Princess Celestia. They stared at each other for more moments than Octavia cared to count. She wanted to apologize to the princess for failing, for letting Equestria down, but she couldn’t bring herself to utter the words. So she hoped she could convey the feeling with her eyes. The princess returned her look with one of her own that betrayed her own sorrow for the situation at hoof. But her eyes quickly changed to that of a caring teacher.

The glow continued to grow. Celestia gave a quick glance to the unicorns, to Vinyl Scratch, to Octavia’s team and finally back to Octavia. “Remember, when the light changes abruptly, it pays to be able to adjust your eyes.”

The moonlight glow grew to a blinding level. For a moment, the night had ended and the world was bathed in pure white. But the moment passed, and the light faded, revealing a circle of moon cultists, Nightmare Moon, Octavia and her team, and no Princess Celestia.

Lyra was the first to break the silence. “You’re not gonna get away with this Nightmare! I swear it! When I get out of these ropes I’m gonna-“ a moon cultist connected a hoof hard with her face.

Vinyl spoke, “What about the Elements of Harmony, your majesty?”

Nightmare Moon turned toward the dense forest. “They are assuredly at the old castle. But they can’t be used without a host. We shall go there, and make sure nopony becomes that host” She formed once again into a twinkling mist and darted deeper into the Everfree Forest.

“You heard her! Unicorns and pegasi, make for the castle!” She gave a look to Octavia and her team. “The rest of you, finish them off, and then catch up” Vinyl Scratch and the unicorns sped off into the forest while the few pegasus cultists launched up into the air and soared above the treetops.

The remaining earth ponies turned to Octavia, Lyra and Derpy. The bound ponies struggled to free themselves of the ropes. Octavia stood up weakly. She needed to free Derpy and Lyra but a dozen ponies stood in her way. A dozen ponies in her condition. She knew it couldn’t be done. Octavia narrowed her eyes.

Since when did that stop her?

Into the Everfree

Octavia stood in a ready position, breathing hard and trying to ignoring the stabbing pain in her rib. She did her best to hide her trembling from the ninja cultist ponies encroaching toward her, but to no avail. Two or three of them snickered, enjoying watching Octavia’s pathetic attempt at defiance. Much as Octavia didn’t like to admit, things looked pretty grim at about this moment. Again. With Lyra and Derpy bound by ropes and Octavia barely able to keep on her hooves, the odds of successfully fighting off a dozen moon cultists dropped low.

One colt took a step forward, and Octavia flinched – she would call it readying herself – causing the stabbing sensation in her ribs to twist even more. She collapsed on her forelegs, groaning in a mix of pain and frustration. The cultists laughed again.

Laughing. A switch flipped in Octavia’s head as she pondered the word. Laughing….at her. Nope. She would have none of that.

A cultist approached Octavia and bent his head down toward her, arrogantly assuming she was defeated. She responded with a sharp buck upward with the back of her head, bashing him in the muzzle and knocking him unconscious. Another colt grabbed her from behind, lifting her up. She managed to get ahold of the colt’s foreleg in her teeth and clamped down violently. She let the cultist’s blood spill down her chin as he howled in pain and released her. She didn’t return the favor, and opted for biting down harder and eliciting more anguished cries from the pony.

Octavia finally released her grip when a third cultist rushed over and gave her a hard buck in the head, causing Octavia to see stars. She stumbled and collapsed once more. She heard a few shouts of annoyance and panic among the cultists. One grabbed her hair in his teeth to pull her head back while the one with the bleeding foreleg looked her hard in the eyes.

“You’ll pay for that” he said threateningly. His threats were soon unfulfilled however, as one of the cultists cried out in pain and toppled over. A knife sticking from his back. The ninja ponies mumbled in confusion. Another fell over, then another – each with knives protruding in the same spot.

“Oh good,” Octavia groaned, “she came back.” The ninja ponies finally located the source of their grief, spotting a cream colored pony amongst the tree tops.

“Bon Bon!” Lyra cheered with relief and a hint of glee.

“YAY” chimed Derpy.

The moon cultists struggled to deal with their new adversary, their only option being to dodge the projectiles that Bon Bon was so expertly hurling. More ponies collapsed in yelps of pain with sharp throwing daggers protruding from their flanks.

Octavia dragged herself to Lyra and Derpy, wrenching a knife from a limp colt along the way. She severed the bonds holding Derpy still, who took the knife and freed her aquamarine companion. The two launched out toward the ninja ponies. With only a half dozen remaining, the combined force of Lyra’s blazing fast strikes and takedowns, Derpy’s brutal hammer blows, and Bon Bon’s expertly aimed throwing daggers made quick work of the moon cultists.

Octavia remained collapsed on the soil. Despite her burning desire to teach the cultists just which pony not to mess with, she would let the other three have all the fun for now. Her injuries would permit no more fighting for now.

At last Octavia’s three teammates returned to her triumphant, all of the cultist ponies laying limp in the clearing. Octavia struggled to get to her hooves.

“Here, lemme help you with that.” Said Lyra, who bent her head down, turning her horn to Octavia’s rib. A glow emanated from the horn and Octavia felt a soft warmth in her side. When the warmth faded, she felt almost good as new, and got to her hooves triumphantly.

“Thank you, Lyra. That was quite good timing Bon Bon. We appreciate the assistance.”

“Yea! Saved our flanks!” chirped Lyra who, after realizing she was giving praise to her mortal enemy, continued, “I mean…I was pretty worried when you ditched us like that. Knowing your history and all. Might’ve been able to take out that unicorn had you stuck around instead of bookin’ it…”

“I apologize for the appearance, girls” said Bon Bon with a sheepish smile. “I knew we weren’t going to get anywhere, not with all those cultists and that unicorn around. I figured it to be best to retreat temporarily until I might gain the upper hand. Either I would get a chance to help you out, or I would be the only one left to finish the mission. Thankfully it was the former.”

“No need for apologies, Bon Bon. Your decision was spot-on. If we were to have fallen then, at least somepony would be able to continue the mission. The key here is not us, nor the Princess. But those ponies back at Ponyville.” Octavia reassured the cream colored pony.

“Precisely”

“We better get back to Ponyville and gear up. I suspect the elements are gathering soon, if they haven’t already. Move out ponies.” Octavia said, before turning toward Ponyville and setting off at a gallop. Derpy glided behind her.

Bon Bon gave Lyra a devious smile. “What?” Lyra demanded.

“Bon Bon!” cheered the earth pony dramatically and clapped her hooves together, mocking Lyra’s tone from before.

“Oh shut up. I was just glad I wasn’t dead.” Lyra said grumpily. A sharp whistle echoed from ahead, signaling Octavia’s impatience. The two ponies galloped off, with Bon Bon playfully sticking her tongue out at Lyra.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lyra, Bon Bon, and Derpy Hooves waited anxiously outside, while Octavia approached the crate hidden behind the stage inside the town hall. The building had long been vacated since the dramatic return of the moon princess. The others had already gathered their weapons just before they chased after the white unicorn into the forest. Octavia on the other hoof, had been fighting unarmed.

The gray earth pony pulled up the lid to the crate and beheld one of the most joy inducing sights she had ever seen. Few things caused her heart to give the light flutter it was currently experiencing. Some ponies would think it to be wrong, or mad, or sick even. But Octavia’s mind raced at the potential, the possibilities, and the inevitable victory that would be achieved. There at the bottom of the crate, was a single sheathed katana. Her beautiful tool of victory. Her beloved carnage-maker. With a care she rarely visited upon anything, she picked up the weapon and gently tied the strap around her midsection.

She whipped the blade from its holder to test its balance and become familiar with its weight once again. She admired the inscription in the blade.

“Let my enemies come, and let my enemies run. They won’t get far”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At last Octavia exited the building, her dignified expression taking the place of the excitement just before.

“Took ya long enough. Have a nice nap?” Lyra said. A split-second glance from Octavia’s deadly eyes quickly silenced the unicorn.

Bon Bon gasped suddenly, and shoved the other ponies into a set of bushes next to the building.

“Ow! What’re you doing?” Lyra protested.

“It’s the element-bearers! They’re heading to the forest!” Bon Bon replied. The four peeked out from the bush and observed the six bearers of the elements of harmony galloping toward the Everfree.

“Ah, they must be getting ready to head to the old castle” whispered Octavia.

“Why there?” Bon Bon asked quietly.

“According to most sources, that’s where the Elements were last placed. As we know of course, the Elements themselves are in fact manifested inside those six. Fortunately for them, Nightmare Moon doesn’t realize that yet.”

“Hold on, hold on. The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters? Isn’t that where Nightmare and the rest of those cultists are going?” Lyra asked anxiously. Sending their only hope toward the most dangerous ponies in Equestria struck her as a tad bit insane.

Octavia stayed silent for several moments, thinking hard. After a worrying minute from her comrades, the gray pony finally said, “The only way those ponies are going to realize the power of their friendship is through struggle. Time isn’t on our side so it looks like the quickest way for that friendship to develop naturally is for them to work together under stress. So it looks like that’s our only option.”

“That sounds pretty risky, Octavia…” Bon Bon said.

“Too late” Derpy chimed in. The other three turned to see the Element-bearers galloping into the forest.

“Well, looks like there’s our answer, girls” said Octavia as she leapt out of the bush and pursued the six. Her comrades followed.