First Class Guards

Chapters

Chapter 1: Opportunity
Chapter 2: Orientation
Chapter 4: Field Work
Chapter 5: Frantic Flights
Chapter 6: Full Moon Frolic
Epilogue
Chapter 3: On the Job

Chapter 1: Opportunity

“You...quit?”

Slowly, the noise in the mailroom stopped. Conversations died down, letters gently came to rest, and everypony around the receiving area listened in, with only a few even trying to be subtle.

“Yep! I quit,” said Derpy cheerfully, her smile bright as she dropped her mailbag onto the desk. “Right now.”

Slowly, the mailcolt looked around the silent room, suddenly nervous as he saw the rumor mill already starting to turn. “But you've been working here for fifteen years. Why now?”

“Sixteen years,” corrected Derpy. “And I'm quitting because I want to leave this job.” Her voice remained cheerful, oblivious to the menacing aura that was building behind her, directed towards the supervisor.

“This...isn't because of the muffin ban, is it?”

“Nope!”

“You're not mad about the hour cuts, are you?”

“Nope!”

“If this is because of the time I shouted at you-”

“Already forgiven!”

Sweating now, the postmaster looked around the room for a lifeline. As a recent transfer from Manehatten, he'd immediately singled out Derpy for her less than stellar performance and accident prone nature, only to quickly learn how well liked she was by every pony that worked there. The week after he'd publicly taken her to task had been one of the most miserable in his life.

Lowering his voice, the stallion tried to keep his volume to an absolute minimum. “If it was anything I've done-”

“Nope! Well, I mean, you did make me cry that one time, but this isn't about that.”

The postmaster fought the urge to whimper as Derpy's voice carried to everypony in the mail room. Finally, he asked, “Then why leave now?”

“I've found a new job!”

“You did?” The surprise clearly wasn't his alone this time. “What place would possibly hire...I mean, we'll be very sorry to see you leave. Where are you going to be working now?”

Derpy straightened her posture, bringing a forehoof to her chest as she looked off into the distance. “I...am going to be a Royal Guard! Princess Twilight's Royal Guard!”

“That's...amazing,” said the postmaster, finally recovering from his shock. “Well, there will always be a place here for you.”

Flashing him a bright smile, Derpy turned, her tail flicking out and accidentally brushing against the coffee mug on his desk. Fortunately, the mug was devoid of coffee. Unfortunately, the mug itself landed precisely on a fracture point on the floor, the weathered boards breaking apart and making a hole. A second later, the leg of the postmaster's desk slid into the hole, the entirety of the desk tilting at precisely the right angle to send all of the papers and objects on it sliding to the floor.

The stallion didn't even bat an eye. “That poor, poor princess.”

“Position yourself exactly fifty meters from the entrance of the castle and face the door,” read Derpy aloud. “There will be a giant red X at your hooves.” Looking down between her forehooves, Derpy spotted the symbol on the ground and shifted her body so she was right in the center. “Wait there for further instructions.”

Nodding resolutely, Derpy rolled up the scroll and took a seat as she faced the door.

“Incoming!”

Derpy's head snapped skyward at the shout, her eye immediately catching sight of the orange and blue streak in the air, twisting her way through the clouds on a direct path towards her. Eyes wide, Derpy raised a hoof...and waved at the approaching pegasus as she wildly careened out of Derpy's path and crashed into the bushes beside the road.

“Are you okay? That looked painful,” said Derpy, still rooted to the center of the X.

With a groan, the orange pegasus pulled herself from the shrubs, knocking away several twigs and leaves from her messy blue mane. “Oww...why didn't you move? I could have crashed into you.”

Derpy held up her orientation scroll. “They said to wait on the X.”

“You're not supposed to take the instructions that literally!”

“Why not?”

“Hey you! Move it!”

The sudden shout from above, this time phrased in the form of actual instructions, made Derpy bolt from her spot. A second later, a green pegasus landed, kicking up a cloud of dirt as she touched down perfectly in the center of the X. “Heh. Nailed it.” She flicked her golden mane back behind her head and turned to the mare she'd displaced. “Who are you two?”

“My name is Derpy,” said the gray pegasus cheerfully. “Nice to meet you.”

“Flare Warden. Miss...?” asked the other pegasus, far less cheerful.

“Lightning Dust.” Her eyes passed over the pair, a small smirk visible on her muzzle. “Don't tell me you’re gonna be Royal Guards, too?”

“What's that supposed to mean?” snapped Flare, her eyes narrowing.

“Nothing. I just thought you'd need reflexes for a job like this.”

“We do?” gasped Derpy.

“That's funny. I thought social skills were more important.”

“They are?” squeaked Derpy, looking worried.

Ignoring the increasingly antsy gray pegasus, Lightning Dust pushed closer to Flare. “I'd at least think they'd want pegasi that can avoid crashing during landing.”

“They probably also want someone who isn't a total bi-”

“Um, excuse me!”

“What?!” Flare and Dust both yelled at the same time.

Derpy blinked and shook her mane as it was blown back by the dual shout. “Do either of you know who we're supposed to be waiting for?”

A moment of silence passed between them before Flare replied. “I guess I assumed Twilight would be meeting us here.”

“Why would she want to meet us outside the castle?” asked Dust.

“She doesn't. You're here to meet me.”

As one, the three pegasi turned to the new voice. A small squeak escaped Derpy as she saw the large, purple colored and black-armored unicorn.

Lightning Dust looked unimpressed. “And you are?”

“Tempest Shadow. And I'm here to kidnap Twilight Sparkle.”

Flare blinked. “You what?”

Without a word, the unicorn pushed past them and headed on a straight path towards the crystal castle.

“So...should we stop her?” asked Flare. “I mean, it's our job, right?”

“It's obviously a test,” scoffed Dust. “Just stand back and try not to get in my way.”

“Wait! Lighting, that's a really bad-”

Derpy barely had time to form the words before Lightning took off, zipping through the air fast enough to leave a trail in her wake, forehooves extended for a quick, powerful strike.

At the last possible second, Tempest shifted her weight to the side and rolled, Lightning passing above her, close enough to brush against her side. Tempest’s hind leg struck out, hitting Lightning in mid-flight and sending her spiraling into the brush by the side of the road.

“...idea,” finished Derpy, wincing in sympathy. Quickly, she and Flare rushed over to the bush while Tempest continued her leisurely stroll. “Lightning, are you okay?”

“Gah!” The foliage burst as Lightning Dust jumped not, nearly knocking Derpy over in her haste. “Lucky shot,” she growled.

“Was it?” asked Flare mockingly. “It looked more like she kicked your ass.”

Shoving Flare aside, Lightning spread her wings and crouched, readying herself once more. “I just underestimated her, that's all.”

“More like you're overestimating yourself,” retorted Flare, but Lightning was already gone.

Her path was far more chaotic this time, zipping back and forth around Tempest in a complex pattern of feints and glancing blows. Tempest didn't break her walking pace, but Derpy could see her eyes moving back and forth, tracking Lightning's movements. Suddenly Tempest lept, meeting her in mid flight and tackling Lightning straight out of the air as she flew above.

With her forehooves at her sides, Tempest pulled Lightning headfirst into the ground, and in the next motion her hind legs slammed into Lightning’s stomach, putting her down for the count.

“Yeah, you definitely almost got her that time,” mocked Flare, following leisurely behind the worried Derpy as the gray pegasus rushed to Lightning's side.

Groaning and rolling over, Lightning glared up at Flare. “Shut up! I'd like to see you do better!”

“Um, maybe we should try-”

“Not like you set the bar very high,” said Flare, cutting off Derpy as she stretched her wings. “Watch and learn.”

“-working together?” finished Derpy as she watched Flare take off...only for her to return a second later, hurtling past Derpy at precisely the right angle to send her crashing into Lightning Dust. Neither of them seemed in a hurry to get up again.

Derpy trembled. Tempest was less than ten meters from Twilight's castle now, and she was the only one left standing. But what could she possibly do against...no, she was one of Twilight's Royal Guards. She needed to be confident! She needed to be brave! She...needed a better plan, but there was no time for that now! Determined, Derpy flew past Tempest and landed between her and the door.

The surge of confidence quickly waned under the cold gaze of the much taller unicorn.

“Um...I'm sorry miss Shadow, but I can't let you go any further!” Derpy raised her hooves, readying herself, only to yelp as Tempest took a menacing step forward...and then a second menacing step right past her. The third menacing step left Derpy with her hooves raised against empty air as Tempest continued towards Twilight’s castle.

Derpy blinked in confusion. Had she just been brushed off?

“H-hey, don't ignore me!” She squeaked, firming her resolve before turning and leaping at the 'fleeing' unicorn. To her surprise, her tackle landed, her hooves managing to wrap firmly around Tempest's hind legs. Great! Now all she had to do was...um...

Derpy yelped as she found herself being pulled forward. “Wait, stop!” she pleaded, her body being dragged forward at Tempest's walking pace as though she were nothing more than dead weight. “H-halt! Stop where you are...please?”

Finally, the two of them came to a stop in front of Twilight's door. Raising a powerful armored hoof, Tempest brought it down against the castle doors...and knocked politely.

“Tempest! It's good to see you!” The voice of a familiar princess rang in Derpy's ears, and a moment later, Tempest was on her back hoof as Twilight hugged her tight. For the first time ever, Derpy saw a crack in her steely facade.

“We've been planning this for weeks, princess.”

“That doesn't mean I can't be happy to see you,” said Twilight with a laugh, releasing Tempest and finally catching sight of the scene behind her. Lightning and Flare were only now starting to untangle themselves and Derpy was still clinging tightly to her hind legs.

“Fizz...I thought we agreed not to do the Princess in Peril orientation,” chided Twilight gently.

“It was the fastest way to gauge their abilities,” said Tempest, sounding almost sheepish.

Twilight sighed. “So what did you learn?”

“Well...they've got a ways to go. I'd still take them over the Canterlot Royal Guards though.”

Lightning groaned softly as she held an ice pack to her stomach while casting an annoyed look in Derpy's direction. “So why didn't she kick your flank, huh?”

The uninjured Derpy squirmed in her seat, guiltily. “I'm sorry, I tried my best.”

“Maybe it's because she's not irritating or annoying,” retorted Flare, nursing her own ice pack against her head.

“At least I didn't go down in one hit.”

“I thought you were both really cool.” The bickering cut off abruptly at Derpy’s interjection. “She didn't even think I was a threat.”

Lightning and Flare shared a look, the two seeming to come to a truce of sorts in the second that passed.

“Well, we all have to start somewhere,” said Flare.

“Yeah, and besides, getting kicked really isn't all that fun,” added Lightning.

The door to the classroom-like area opened and cut off further conversation when Tempest entered, followed closely by Twilight. “Heads up and on your hooves! Salute your princess properly!” barked Tempest, her voice making the three would-be guards jump from their seats and into hurried salutes.

“Thank you, Tempest. At ease everypony,” said Twilight as she moved to the front of the room and behind a desk. “Thank you all for coming here today. You three are the first of what I hope will one day be a robust Royal Guard squadron for this castle. I know you might be wondering why there are only three of you right now, and the truth is, we're all a little new at this. Myself and Tempest included. I've worked with previous guard captains to put together a training course, but the only real way to see if it works is to test it, and that's something I hope the three of you can help me with, in addition to being my future guards.”

Letting her gaze pass over each of the three recruits, Twilight continued, “I realize we've all technically 'met' each other, but why don't we formally introduce ourselves?” Her eyes briefly paused on Lightning Dust, giving her an encouraging smile.

With a sigh, the green pegasus stood up from her seat. “My name is Lightning Dust. I used to work as a weather pony for Cloudsdale, and then I was a Wonderbolt Trainee before I decided to take a job here.”

“Thank you, Lightning Dust, I look forward to seeing what you can do,” said Twilight, nodding to the next in line.

“I'm Flare Warden,” said the blue maned pegasus. “Pretty much everypony in my family has been a guard of some kind or another, so that's why I'm here.”

“Do you have any family in the Royal Guards right now?” asked Twilight.

“Well, my parents are retired, but my brother Flash Sentry is one of Celestia's guards.”

Twilight's smile became strained at the edges. “Oh… him. Well, we're happy to have you.”

“You know my brother?” asked Flare, tilting her head slightly.

“In a sense,” said Twilight vaguely. “Let's move on.”

As the only one left, Derpy got to her hooves and smiled. “My name is Derpy Hooves. I used to be a mailpony, but then Twilight accepted my application.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” said Twilight suddenly, “But isn't your name Muffins?”

“Well… you could call me that, if you wanted to,” said Derpy with a slight blush.

Twilight fidgeted as she hastily checked her notes, stealing a glance towards Tempest who was absolutely not smiling. Not even a little bit. It was clear that Derpy wasn’t going to clear this misconception up. Clearing her throat, Twilight gestured with a hoof. “Please continue.”

“Right! Well, I don't have any experience as a guard, or family in the Royal Guards...but I've been a mail pony for a long time so I'm pretty good at flying.”

“Well, that's certainly a useful skill to have,” said Twilight. Finally, she nodded to Tempest.

“My name is Tempest Shadow, but you will refer to me as Commander Tempest. I’ve been a conqueror of Equestria and a leader for the armies of the late Storm King. I’m a villain in every sense of the word.”

Silence followed her statement. Even Lightning Dust seemed a little taken aback at that.

“But that's all behind me now. Today, I am the commander of Twilight's guards, and I am looking towards the future. I expect everyone here to be doing the same, becoming the best royal guard you are capable of being regardless of past failures, family expectations, or lack of experience.”

Pacing the room now, Tempest walked back and forth in front of the three pegasi. “For the next month, all of you will undergo intensive training. You will learn to navigate this castle as though it were your second home and develop a mental map of every corner and potential hiding place. The second most important thing to know as a guard is everything about the place you're guarding. I shouldn't need to say what the first is.”

As one, the three recruits shook their heads, all of them glancing towards an increasingly sheepish looking Twilight.

“Sounds easy enough to me,” said Lightning suddenly.

“Oh?” asked Tempest.

“Yeah, it's just a castle. Not even a very big one. How hard could that be?”

“Glad you asked,” said Tempest, walking right up to Lightning's seat and pulling out a piece of paper from the front of her armor before setting it down in front of her.

Lightning gave it a wary look. “What's that?”

“Your first assignment as a Royal Guard,” said Tempest with the hint of a smile. “Use this map and find the guard barracks.”

“That's it? That's easy. We'll meet you there, commander,” said Lightning, snatching up the piece of paper with her wing.

“Feel free to surprise me,” replied Tempest as she returned to Twilight's side.

Lightning Dust held her breath as she slowly opened the innocent looking door and peeked inside. It was dark, but she couldn't feel anything leaning against it, nor did she hear the sound of shifting objects. More confident now, she opened the door the rest of the way, the light from the hall spilling inside.

Her eyes widened as she saw exactly what the room contained. “Oh come on!”

CRASH!

Behind her, Derpy and Flare winced as a myriad of brooms, mops, buckets, and various cleaning supplies spilled out, burying her. A moment later, the pile burst outward, forcing Derpy and Flare to duck and cover.

“How many broom closets does this stupid castle have?!”

“At least four that we know of,” said Derpy helpfully, brushing off a mop head that had fallen over her eyes.

“And about six different studies,” grumbled Flare, kicking some empty buckets to the side.

Noticing that the map had landed next to her, Derpy picked it up and smoothed it out. “Maybe we're looking at the map wrong,” she suggested, slowly rotating the paper in her hooves as her eye moved up and to the side.

Flare glanced over Derpy's shoulder. “You've got it upside down.”

“Ooops!,” Derpy said while quickly rotating the map.

Flare's head tilted in confusion. “Wait, maybe this is upside down...”

“Ugh, gimme that!” snapped Lightning, snatching the map out of her hooves and glaring at it. Reaching a decision, Lightning turned to the door next to the broom closet and kicked it open before immediately flying up and away.

Flare peered around the frame. “Well, it looks safe enough.” And indeed, the room seemed devoid of cleaning supplies and books.

When it was clear that there was no collapse imminent, Lightning landed and entered the door. “Finally! Now where the heck-”

BHWEEEE!

A loud bang echoed throughout the hallway, making all three of them jump and recoil. Party streamers erupted from the innocent looking room, followed by a shower of confetti. By the time the brightly colored paper settled, almost none of Lightning's fur or mane was visible.

“Ohh...so that's what 'Party Room' means,” said Derpy as she looked at the map that had been blasted back into her hooves.

“Buck this, I'm going outside!” Shaking off the party favors, Lightning took flight. “We're just wasting our time here.”

“Try not to get lost finding the exit!” shouted Flare after her retreating form. “Sweet Celestia that mare is a piece of work.”

“Well, getting lost can be really frustrating,” said Derpy sympathetically as she studied the map. “It happened to me a lot when I was first starting out as a mailmare.”

“I feel like you're giving her too much credit,” grumbled Flare. “Still, for a princess famous for being organized, there's a real lack of signs around here. Seems like we've run into more dead ends and useless rooms than anything else.”

“You know, it kinda reminds me of Discord's place,” said Derpy with a nod.

“Discord's...place? That 'thing' actually lives somewhere?”

“Yep!” said Derpy with a smile. “I've delivered mail to him plenty of times. His place is full of dead ends, pointless rooms, and magical traps.”

“Huh, do you think Discord is messing with us now?” asked Flare curiously.

“Well...no, but it’s a magic castle, right?”

Flare paused for a moment, looking between the two opened doors. “Okay, let's assume for a moment that this castle is giving us the runaround. How do we beat it? It's not like either of us can use magic.”

Derpy shrugged her wings helplessly. “We could ask a unicorn for help.”

“That would kinda defeat the whole purpose of the test,” said Flare, only just managing to keep the exasperation from her voice. “How did you get around Discord's place?”

“Um...well, usually I just wandered around and ran into things until Discord showed up and said he felt sorry for me.”

Flare sighed. “Okay, we'll file that under plan B. Got any other ideas?”

Derpy scrunched her nose as she really put her mind to work, her left eye slowly rolling back towards the center. “Maybe?”

Lightning growled as she kicked a nearby cloud into vapor. Far from helping her calm down, she only felt more frustrated. The only point of reference on the outside of the castle was the balcony, and even that seemed to shift position every time she circled the place.

“Fresh start my ass,” grumbled Lightning, slumping backwards onto the last unburst cloud. “Just another test I was set up to fail.”

“Lightning!”

Wincing slightly at the overly cheerful voice, Lightning peeked her head up above the cloud. “Easy Lightning, you want to keep this job, remember?” she muttered to herself before Flare landed next to her. A hoof length's behind, Derpy landed face first, briefly burying her upper half in the cloud before pulling herself free.

“What are you doing here?” asked Lightning finally.

“Dunno,” said Flare, pointing a wing at Derpy. “This was her idea, not mine.”

“We figured it out! Twilight's castle is magic!” said Derpy, shaking away the cloud vestiges clinging to her face.

Lightning’s eye twitched. “Yes Derpy, I'm well aware.”

“No, not that kind of magic. I mean, the weird kind of magic. The kind that makes it impossible to navigate!”

“What kind of stupid magic is that?”

“Well...we were kinda hoping you would know,” admitted Derpy, pressing her forehooves together as she looked at Lightning with hopeful eyes.

“Do I look like a unicorn to you?”

“Well...no, but you're a super good pegasus!”

Ignoring the sight of Flare gagging, Lightning smirked. “Well...you're not wrong.”

“Does that mean you have an idea?” asked Derpy eagerly.

“I've got one better. I have a plan. Is there any place in Ponyville where we can get a bunch of yarn and tape?”

Flare stared at her. “Seriously? You think something like that is going to work against the power of a magic castle?”

“Got a better idea?” retorted Lightning.

“...Carousel Boutique. Rarity always has extras,” said Derpy helpfully.

“You know, they're probably going to make us clean this up, right?” said Flare irritably, shifting carefully to balance the dozen or so balls of yarn on her back.

“You won't have any trouble finding a broom closet then,” Lightning shot back as she affixed another piece of yarn to a door with tape. Behind both of them, Derpy slowly walked, trailing yarn behind her to mark their path.

“Why am I the one carrying everything?”

“Because for one, it's my plan, and for another, Derpy dropped a ball of yarn in Rarity's shop, caused one of her customers to trip into a mareiquinn and topple over nearly two-dozen displays,” said Lightning flatly.

“Oh...so that’s what all that shrieking was about,” murmured Flare.

“I just don’t know what went wrong,” Derpy said for what was the third time today.

“Point is, I'm not trusting her to carry more than one thing at a time,” concluded Lightning.

“I do fine when it's a bunch of things in one bag,” insisted Derpy.

“We could have asked Rarity for help. Twilight's friends visit her here, right? They have to know what's going on with the castle. It's not like Commander Tempest forbade it,” Flare complained.

“Yeah, that’ll look real good to the Commander,” said Lightning with an eyeroll as she marked off another door. “Might as well give up at that point.”

“Pretty sure you already crashed and burned your first impression,” retorted Flare.

“Um...girls?”

“Not like you did much better. I got up after I got kicked down though.”

“Girls?”

“After charging in recklessly without assessing the situation.”

“You know you'd still be wandering around like an idiot if you didn't-”

“Girls!”

“What?!” Flare and Lightning both yelled at the same time.

For the second time that day, Derpy found herself nearly knocked over from the force of their shouts. Fortunately, she'd managed to brace herself this time, although the ball of yarn she'd been holding was blown away, rolling down the hallway before hitting a slight groove and turning at a sharp angle down the stairs, right as Spike was coming up said stairs with an armful of scrolls.

Ignoring the yelp, the crash, and the gout of flame that erupted behind her, Derpy stood completely still. “We missed a door. It's right behind me on the left wall.”

Lightning's eyes narrowed. “I don't see anything. Where are you looking?”

Without moving her head, Derpy gestured with her hoof. “Whenever I try looking at it, I can't see it.” Her left eye was rolled up almost entirely to the far corner.

“Wait, Lightning, close your eyes,” said Flare suddenly.

“How the heck is that going to-”

“Just trust me,” Flare interrupted. “Now, Derpy, use your voice to guide her to the door.”

“I'm starting to think this stupid castle doesn't want guards,” grumbled Lightning as she closed her eyes and pressed her hooves against the wall.

“Okay...left, a little further left...no wait, my left...no, my other other left.”

“Derpy...” growled Lightning.

“There! You're touching the handle!”

Cautiously, Lightning opened her eyes, her head slowly looking at the unmarked door in front of her. To the left and right were two doors, both with a piece of yarn taped to them. “I really hate this castle.”

“Well, at least your plan almost worked,” said Flare while she approached the door with a bright pink yarn ball in one hoof and several strips of tape in the other. “Just pin that there, tape that here, thread the S and...ta da!”

Pulling away, Flare revealed her work, a large squiggle of pink cursive letters that spelled out the word 'Barracks' across the door.

“Great. Now we just need to do that for the other five hundred doors,” said Lightning as she reached for the door handle, only to suddenly jump away as the door was pushed open from the other side.

“Fifteen minutes slower than I was expecting,” said Tempest, looking at each of them in turn. “I will be sure to adjust my expectations accordingly.”

“You expected us to wander around this castle for forty-five minutes?” asked Flare incredulously.

“Yes. It’s a magic castle after all.”

“You don't say,” groused Lightning.

Turning, Tempest beckoned them inside a rather spacious room with beds lining the walls. “Pick any bed you want as long as it's those three in the corner.”

“Huh? But there are beds everywhere,” pointed out Flare.

“And you don't get any of them except those three,” repeated Tempest.

“Right, got it.” Taking to the air, Flare landed on the corner bed while Derpy crawled onto the one next to her, leaving the opposite one for Lightning.

“Don't get comfortable,” warned Tempest. “Orientation isn't over yet. Until you can navigate this castle without yarn and tape, you're going to be useless as a guard here.”

“Yeah, okay, but how?” demanded Lightning. “None of us are magic users.”

“Never been a problem for me,” said Tempest, turning and letting a few sparks fly from her broken horn. “But if you're not feeling confident in yourself, the castle will happily show you the way out. Entrance hall, ten minutes. And pick up your yarn trail on the way down.” And with a final flick of her tail, she was gone, the door to the barracks closing firmly behind her.

“You know...she's pretty cool when she's not trying to take over Equestria,” said Derpy cheerfully.

Flare and Lightning groaned.

“I told you not to meet me here. This place is being watched.”

“By who, the janitorial staff? This is your office. Why wouldn't you take meetings here?” asked the exasperated pony across from him. “Wouldn't it be more suspicious if you were meeting people outside of your office?”

The elderly unicorn fought the urge to sigh and rub his head. Such a thing would be undignified for a pony of his position after all. “Was there something you wished to say?”

“Yeah, you're gonna wanna take a look at these,” said the standing pony, levitating three photos from his bag and spreading them out on the desk. “You're looking at Twilight Sparkle's new Royal Guard force.”

The unicorn's eyes widened as he picked up each of the photos in turn. “When did this happen?”

“Like...a day ago? Today was orientation day.”

The gray maned unicorn frowned. “This is a problem.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why is it a problem? You're trying to break into a castle that houses Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, and Tempest Shadow. Three of the most dangerous magic users in Equestria. What difference are three pegasus guards going to make?”

“I don't know, and that's the problem,” replied the pony behind the desk. “I have plans for Twilight and her entourage. I do not have plans for these three, and therein lies the problem.”

The standing pony sighed, forced to concede the point. “What do you want to do then?”

“For now, we observe. Watch them carefully. Learn their habits and report everything back to me. One way or another, our plan will move forward, but I have not come this far by being careless.”

“Right, of course,” said the standing pony, already mentally planning out another several days of tedious surveillance.

“And from now on, you meet me in the cafe across the street.”

“You know you're far more conspicuous in public, right?”

“I mean it.”

“Fine, but you'll be picking up the bill. Hey, don't look at me like that, you're the one getting a government salary here.”

Chapter 2: Orientation

“Wow, here I thought the Canterlot guards had it good,” said Flare as she looked around the room.

“How is this even fitting in the castle?” asked Lightning.

Derpy could only stare. Stretched out across the length of a ballroom was one of the most robust training areas she'd ever seen, looking like a combination between a gym and a barracks. In one area were weights, benches, kicking bags, and a variety of exercise machines. Other areas were dedicated to more guard-centric activities, with wooden dummies for spear practice, sparring rings, and racks with suits of training armor prepared.

“Dunno,” said Flare finally. “But it feels like a waste to not use it.”

“That's changing today,” said Tempest, walking out from behind the sparring ring with a heavy metal burden on her back. “We'll be doing morning exercises from this point forward.” Shifting slightly, Tempest let the bundle she carried fall to the floor with a loud clang.

Derpy was the first to ask the obvious. “What are those?”

Flicking a hoof at the tie, Tempest pushed the cloth aside. “Your new uniforms.”

Tightly bound in three separate sets were suits of armor. Fashioned after the standard royal guard attire that Celestia's security wore, the only noticeable difference appeared to be the dark royal purple color.

“From this day forward, any time you are on duty, you will wear this armor and keep it clean and presentable. When you are not wearing it, it will be somewhere within reach in case you need to grab it quickly.”

Flare was the first to approach, tugging at the bindings with her teeth, carefully examining each piece individually as she put it on. “This isn't going to turn us purple, is it?”

“Have a problem with purple, recruit?” asked Tempest pointedly.

“W-What? No, I was just wondering,” replied Flare hastily.

“There are no built in illusions on this armor,” said Tempest as she walked in front of the other two piles. “Princess Twilight thought that there were better enchantments instead of the standard guard glamour.”

Lightning frowned as she tested the weight of the hoof guards and took a few experimental flaps. “Do you not want us flying or something?”

“We want you protected,” said Tempest calmly, looking over Derpy and Flare's progress.

“If someone attacked me, I'd trust my wings before anything,” Lightning scoffed.

“Derpy, could you come here for a moment?” asked Tempest politely.

Adjusting her helmet, Derpy approached, a look of confusion on her face. Slowly, Tempest walked in a circle around her, examining the straps and plates along her body, stopping occasionally to tighten and adjust a couple. Finally, she nodded before promptly turning and kicking Derpy square on the neck.

Metal clashed against metal, the loud clang echoing through the chamber. Unprepared for the blow, Derpy was flung back and clattered to the ground. She rolled head over flank several times before she stopped.

“Commander?! What the bu-”

Tempest silenced Flare with a raised hoof. “Derpy, how do you feel?”

With a groan, the shaken pegasus slowly stood up, her eyes still spinning. “Um...fine…I think?” she squeaked.

“Excellent.” The surrounding light dimmed for a moment as Tempest's horn began to glow, the broken length gave off sparks as it built power. Nervously, Flare began to move back while Derpy's eyes widened, her body freezing up as she looked at the bright light.

A ball of unstable electricity was unleashed and sped towards Derpy. The magical, cackling bolt detonated with a blinding flash and a boom of thunder. In the closed space of the training room it left everypony’s ears ringing.

When the spots finally faded from their eyes, Derpy was on the ground, her forehooves clutched tightly over her head, body shaking with fear.

“Derpy, at attention!”

Tempest's shout cut through Derpy’s fear and the trembling ceased as she opened her eyes.

“On your hooves!”

The second shout spurred Derpy into action and stood her straight.

“Status report!”

“Um…?”

Tempest sighed. “Tell me how you feel.”

“Oh! Scared out of my wits!”

“Your physical status, please,” pressed Tempest.

Derpy’s head turned left and right, looking over her body. “...fine?”

“As you can see,” said Tempest, turning back to Lightning, “this armor is enchanted to protect its wearer from both physical and magical harm. Considering the threats Princess Twilight faces on a semi-regular basis, such protection is just as important as being able to fly and dodge.”

For once, Lightning didn't seem to have a reply, looking at the armor with a measure of respect.

Meanwhile, Flare had already finished putting the remaining pieces in place and eyed Tempest's horn warily. Derpy patted herself with her forehooves, still not entirely convinced she didn't have a bruise or lightning burn on her body.

“I'll be measuring your skills now,” said Tempest as she walked toward one of the training rings. “You're first, Lightning. Make sure that armor is secure.

Swift Shadow let out a steady breath and blinked the spots from his eyes. Despite Nexus having assured him that the cloak would keep him hidden from sight and muffle any sound he made, he was still very cautious. He was in the home of the two most magically gifted mares in Equestria, and often it seemed like the castle itself could sense his presence. Fortunately, for the time being, the cloak was working, and this was a perfect opportunity to assess their skills.

Moving slowly and deliberately toward the gym side of the training room, Swift watched the one called Lightning Dust square off against the commander. Almost immediately he could see the Wonderbolt influence in the way she fought, utilizing a great deal of flight in her approaches and attacking in complex patterns and at odd angles to try and put her opponent off balance.

In sharp contrast, Tempest was like a hunk of steel. She remained mostly stationary with eyes following Lightning closely and only expended the bare minimum of movement required to deflect Lightning’s attacks. For the first few minutes, Tempest let the rain of blows fall, evaluating Lightning much like Swift was doing. Then, she retaliated, poking holes in Lightning’s defenses and knocking her off balance. The spar finished with a hoof strike to Lightning’s stomach in mid-flight that sent her to the ground.

Flare Warden was more grounded in her approach to fighting and showed traces of the standard hoof-to-hoof combat of typical royal guards. Her wings were used sparingly, mostly to close distances and gain space between flurries of blows.

Just like before, Tempest stayed defensive, letting Flare attack, but it was quickly apparent the recruit was making even less progress than Lightning had in getting through. Flare clearly knew the forms and style well, but hadn't put it into practice very often, and just like with Lightning, Tempest eventually laid her out.

Now it was Derpy's turn and the ex-mailmare showed herself to be a complete novice. Her strikes were uncoordinated, she didn't really commit to the ground or air, and on one of her attacks, she outright stumbled and...landed a solid hit?

Tempest looked as surprised as Swift felt, but that didn't stop her retaliation, which missed by a mile as Derpy scrambled out of the way with a squeak.

What followed was both comical and fascinating as Tempest chased an increasingly frantic and apologetic Derpy around the arena. None of Tempest's attacks seemed able to connect. It wasn't until Lightning finally yelled, “Hit her back!” that Derpy paused, opening her up to a powerful buck that sent her flying into one of the kicking bags.

‘Curious...but not threatening’, Swift determined as he made a mental note.

Meanwhile, unnoticed by Swift Shadow, the bag had swung upwards just enough to rattle the weight rack. This in turn caused a loose bolt to shake free on the other end with the shelf beginning to tilt...

CRASH!

The loud sound had everypony startle in place as the weights rolled off the shelf and piled on the floor one after the other.

Flare rushed to the shelf and lifted the end to stop the clattering tumble. “Is everypony okay?” she asked then blinked. “Did somepony scream?”

“Good catch, recruit,” commented Tempest as she checked the other two for injuries. “You’ve had formal training?”

“From my family,” confirmed Flare.

“How long?”

“Since I was a foal. I've had training with the spear, too.”

Tempest helped Derpy up before turning to the rest. “I'm pleased to say that none of you are beyond hope.”

As one, Lightning and Flare let out a relieved sigh, while Derpy's face was positively beaming.

“Some of you are going to have to work very hard though. Out of every Princess in Equestria, Twilight Sparkle comes under threat the most. I was one of those threats, so think of me as the standard by which all of you are judged.”

The relief the trio had felt before evaporated at hearing that. Derpy's expression in particular was the most dramatic dropping from the wide grin to open mouthed despair.

Tempest paused, her head tilting slightly as she noticed Derpy's complete lack of anything even remotely resembling a poker face. “That's why, starting tomorrow, each of you will have a personalized training regimine. Follow it closely, work hard, and I'm confident all of you will measure up...eventually.”

While Flare and Lightning seemed rather neutral toward the 'praise', Derpy's delight was clear. At least until the next part. “Now pick up this mess and meet me outside."

“How in the name of Celestia did we miss this yesterday?” asked Flare aloud, eyes wide as she looked over the myriad of elemental magic on display in front of her.

“Because it was built this morning,” said Tempest. “This obstacle course is going to be the next part of your training. Princess Twilight herself designed it.”

“Seriously? That's an obstacle course?” cried Lightning. “That looks more like a torture chamber!”

“Any more lip from you and you're going in head first,” said Tempest sharply. “You have that shiny armor on your flank for a reason. Secure it, and plant your hooves on the starting line.”

The 'obstacle course' was behind Twilight's castle and a good distance away from Ponyville. It was easy to see why as magic was seeped into every segment. First was a magically shifting rock wall that led into a series of clouds dancing with bolts of electricity. Beyond that was a series of laser emitting prisms in front of a drop onto uneven terrain that quaked and shifted like the earlier rock wall.

“While you are on this course, there will be no flying allowed,” said Tempest as she directed them to the start. “Each of you are going to complete four laps. If you fail in this task, you can be sure I'll have something in store for you.

Cautiously, Derpy raised a hoof into the air.

“Because a royal guard needs to train every part of their body,” answered Tempest without so much as a glance in her direction. “I see flying, and it's another lap for all of you. Now move!”

Flare and Lightning immediately galloped off. Belatedly, Derpy chased after them and nearly stumbled as the weight of the armor made itself known. As she began to scale the rope, the rock wall rumbled ominously beneath her hind legs. Suddenly, stones began to jut outward from the top, moving in a rippling wave towards her. With a squeak, Derpy braced herself and clung tightly to the rope, her hind legs flailing as she was bucked away from the wall momentarily before clattering against it.

Breathing heavily, Derpy opened her eyes. She'd managed to hold on. And the top was only-

“You're never going to reach the top if you don't start climbing,” said Tempest suddenly.

Blinking rapidly, Derpy looked Tempest in the eye before looking down. The ground was only a foot away.

“Right! Thank you commander!” said Derpy, taking a deep breath as she faced the wall with renewed determination-

-only to be knocked from the wall and sent back to the ground.

Clattering and groaning a bit, Derpy rolled back to her hooves. “I'm okay! I can do this!” she declared, not even hesitating to run at the wall again.

“As long as you keep at it,” agreed Tempest before moving on to observe the others.

Unsurprisingly, Lightning had already cleared the cloud-hopping portion, though Flare wasn't far behind. Soon, both pegasi stood in front of the prisms, eyeing them warily as the beams of light swept about.

Lightning took the lead and darted forward, performing a lively dance as she weaved between the beams, only to trip one halfway through.

Suddenly, a cloud of telekinetic energy enveloped Lightning, and before she could even try to break the field, she was flung back to the entrance of the prism lane, landing hard on the clouds. “What the buck?”

“The princess really outdid herself with that one,” commented Tempest from below.

It was also the most difficult obstacle on the course, as Flare and Lightning quickly found out. While the beams of light were slow, they were numerous and seemed to rotate on a whim.

After the fourth time of getting thrown back, Lightning's wings twitched with irritation, giving away how much she wished to use them. “This is impossible!”

“Hold on, I see a pattern here,” said Flare, putting a wing up and pointing to the nearest prism. “That one is constant, the one behind it is shifting forty-five degrees every five seconds, and the one behind that is always moving opposite of the second.

“Great, so how does that help?” snapped Lightning.

“I'm thinking! Something you should try to do more of!”

“Look out!”

Neither pegasi batted an eye when Derpy tumbled into the cloud bank next to them. Her mane and tail were both frazzled and a small scorch adorned her armor. “Nnhh...that cloud section was tough. Thanks for waiting up!” said Derpy cheerfully.

“We weren't-” began Lightning, only to sigh and shake her head. “Actually, yeah. We could use your help. How would you get past this?” she asked, wagging a hoof at the laser field.

Derpy put a hoof to her chin and tilted her head. “Um...have you tried running through it? Like...really fast?”

Lightning's eye twitched. “Of course we bucking-”

“Maybe you could show us what you mean,” interrupted Flare with a jab to Lightning’s flank.

“Okay, here goes!”

Taking a breath, Derpy stepped up to the edge of the safe area and took off, setting a brisk pace toward the first prism, heading to the intersection point, only to stumble as the rotation changed and swept several beams right over her head. Scrambling to her hooves, Derpy pulled forward... and promptly tripped to a halt when the prisms shifted a second time. Orienting herself, Derpy turned to the exit, just in time to dodge again and she trotted, now moving at the perfect pace to stay in between the lasers before landing safely on the opposite side of the obstacle.

Slowly, Derpy turned back to Lightning and Flare, looking a bit embarrassed as the two of them stared back at her. “Um...something like that?”

Lightning turned back to Flare, her eyes narrowed. “Alright, tell me this stupid pattern again.”

Swift Shadow tried his best not to grimace as he stayed hidden in the treeline surrounding the obstacle course. The cloak should have allowed him to get closer, but after the last incident, he was content with keeping his distance and using a pair of binoculars.

As far as he had been able to assess, all Twilight's guards were performing as expected, save for Derpy, whom he was finding increasingly difficult to place. Overall she seemed incompetent, and yet she had almost effortlessly made it through the most difficult hurdle in the obstacle course.

“Are you acting, or are you really that lucky?” he murmured as he observed her start the second lap, once again struggling to climb the rope and bouncing against the shifting wall. If it was acting, then the stage had missed a truly amazing talent.

For the second time, Derpy stumbled on the clouds, kicking one off course as she awkwardly jumped to the next.

“What does a bubble cutie mark mean, anyways?” he mused. Turning back to his notes, Swift began to write further observations, oblivious to the gentle breeze that had picked up and blew an errant cloud toward his position.

“Wait, no, come back!” Scrambling on her cloud, Derpy tried to catch the floating nimbus as it breached the containment shield and flew towards the forest.

“Focus on your lap,” called out Tempest from below as she followed after the cloud. “This course is away from Ponyville for a reason. None of the clouds should trigger outside-”

KA-BOOM!

Tempest slowed as she observed the blackened brush. “Odd, that shouldn't have happened.”

“Okay, I know I heard somepony scream that time,” insisted Flare as she searched for the source of the noise.

“Focus on your laps,” repeated Tempest. “I'm going to start running the course in two minutes, and you don't want to know what happens if I lap you.”

With a gulp, Flare continued forward while Derpy scrambled back to her hooves and immediately missed her next jump.

“I'm done for...I'm sorry everypony,” moaned Derpy, her head on the table and her hooves to either side.

“That's not a unicorn,” growled Lightning as she poked at her food. “That's an Earth Pony someone accidentally gave a horn to.”

“Or a modest alicorn,” grumbled Flare. “And I'm pretty sure that armor she wears is twice as heavy as ours.”

Resisting the urge to simply plant her face in her food and graze, Derpy pushed herself up to a sitting position and picked at her tray. “At least we actually found the cafeteria in less than ten minutes this time.”

“Yeah, 'at least',” groused Lightning. “I swear this stupid castle just hates us.”

“Maybe you should stop insulting it?” Derpy suggested helpfully.

“Why? It's not like it can hear us.”

“But...it's a magic-”

“I know it's a magic castle!” snapped Lightning. Silence blanketed the lunchroom at her shout and Derpy meekly turned her head back to her food.

Muttering a curse under her breath, Lightning spoke again, in a kinder tone. “Sorry...you might have a point.”

As if the past ten seconds hadn't even happened, Derpy beamed at Lightning. “Do you think the castle has a name?”

“Twilight's Castle,” said Flare simply.

“That’s not really a name,” mused Derpy.

“Well...no, but would the castle have a problem with that?” asked Flare with some uncertainty. She glanced sidelong at Lightning.

Lightning snorted. “Don't look at me. I don't speak Magic Castle.”

“Is there a course for that?” asked Derpy curiously.

“Maybe you should try asking Twilight,” suggested Flare. “Who knows? The castle might already have a name.”

“Maybe Twilight could also ask the castle to stop being such a pain,” muttered Lightning, eyeing the pile of yarn in the corner of the mess hall.

“For somepony who went through Wonderbolt training you sure do complain a lot,” observed Flare.

“Wonderbolt training was straightforward. This magic crap gives me a headache.”

“So why did you leave then?”

“They were too slow for me,” said Lightning simply, ignoring Flare's incredulous look. “What about you? I bet the palace in Canterlot isn't this difficult to navigate.”

“Yeah, but then I'd have to work with my brother. And he'd outrank me.”

“You two don’t get along?”

“No…it’s not that…it’s just…embarrassing to have to work underneath family. Besides, Canterlot is dull. I mean, sure, the invasions make it seem exciting, but most times it's standing around, giving ponies directions, and making sure no one wanders where they're not supposed to.”

“And you think Ponyville is going to be more interesting?” asked Lightning skeptically.

“Ponyville is super interesting!” Derpy cut in with pride in her voice. “We get a monster almost every Sunday! Sometimes Tuesdays, too.”

Lightning stared. “What? Really? Why did you want to be a guard here then?”

“Because I wanted to help,” said Derpy without hesitation.

“Seriously?” asked Lightning. “I just thought the pay at the post office was bad.”

“Well it wasn't great,” agreed Derpy. “But really, I just wanted to be helpful to Twilight. The Everfree Forest was a real problem before she drew up wards and organized her friends to fight the threats. All our houses were always getting smashed, and everypony was always worrying over the next thing to come and attack us. Now it's pretty rare that anything even clears the treeline before the whole town is on alert. And that's just one thing. She's done so much for Ponyville that I just want to help her however I can.”

“Well damn, no wonder you got hired,” said Lightning with a chuckle. “Using a line like that is almost cheating.”

“Especially with that level of sincerity,” agreed Flare.

Derpy blinked. “I don't get it. What did I say?”

Lightning squinted at her briefly before simply shaking her head. “Unbelievable. An honest pony.”

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-”

“Don't apologize, Derpy,” said Flare pointedly. “The world could use more ponies like you. Celestia knows we have far too many like her,” she said with a pointed look towards Lightning.

Lightning's eyes narrowed again. “Like me?”

“Angry, confrontational, chip on your shoulder. It's really not that difficult to tell why you didn't get on with the Wonderbolts.”

“You've known me for what...two days now?” accused Lightning, “And you think you have me figured out? Amazing! Didn’t know they taught recruits psychology over in Canterlot.”

“Did you?” said Derpy suddenly, interrupting the brewing argument. “...umm...can you do one of those psycho-things on me? The Ponyville doctor always runs when I try to approach him, and the other one is really hard to find.”

Silence lingered at her statement. Flare finally broke it. “Seems a bit unprofessional. What happened?”

“Well, it's a funny story...at least I've been told it was funny. You see-”

Before she could start with the tale, Derpy’s eyes went wide and she stumbled off the bench and snapped off a salute. Flare and Lightning quickly caught on and turned to salute Tempest and Twilight as they came in through the lunchroom doors behind them.

“At ease, everypony,” said Twilight quickly.

With a relieved sigh, Derpy flopped back into her seat and put her head down on the table.

“Maybe not quite that eased,” chided Tempest.

Derpy lifted her head, confusion clear on her face as she tried to work out the proper middle ground between attention and easement.

“We'll work on it,” assured Tempest. “Princess Twilight and I have finished building your morning routines. For the first two hours of the day, you are to use the facilities in the gym as outlined. After that, you will join me for combat training. When lunch has passed, you will be taught the finer points of what makes a good royal guard, concluded by a final two hours of tactics and wargames.”

As Tempest spoke, Twilight took a walk around the table, pausing briefly in front of each of her new guards, horn glowing slightly. At the end, she returned to Tempest's side. “Looks like the armor is performing to expectation.”

A flash of a smile appeared on Tempest's face. “Excellent. Be certain you're wearing it at all times when you're on duty in this castle,” she reminded them.

“So,” Twilight cut in, “How did your first day of training go? Are you finding everything in the castle alright?”

Swift Shadow held his breath as he observed the conversation take an odd turn when Derpy asked Twilight what the castle was called. He was barely paying attention to the words though, focusing solely on the gray pegasus. She was hiding something, of that he was certain. She'd attacked his hiding places twice now, and no matter where he moved in the mess hall, that lazy eye drifted to follow him.

The cloak spell was working though. Twilight and Tempest hadn't taken notice and neither had the guards. Maybe he was just being paranoid. If Derpy really did know where he was, there was no reason for her not to tell Twilight after all.

Slowly, Swift moved to the center of the cafeteria, watching as the three mares finished their meals and left the room, with Flare taking a quick detour to gather up the yarn balls in the corner.

“This is getting obnoxious,” said Lightning.

“We're getting better though,” insisted Derpy. “It only took us two balls to find the mess hall, right?”

“Progress of a sort,” agreed Flare. “Just keep a lookout like last time.”

With a confident smile, Derpy saluted, the tip of her wing just barely brushing the top-most ball of yarn and knocking it free from the stack.

Swift's eyes widened as the ball of yarn rolled ominously towards his position. Stifling a frightened whinny, he bolted away from his position, darting as fast as his cloak would allow to the opposite wall.

For several moments after the guards had left, Swift stayed entirely still, only breathing a sigh of relief when all the motion in the room stopped and the voices of the guards were no longer audible through the door behind him.

Swift chuckled nervously to himself. “Relax, it's just a ball of-”

SLAM!

“Oops, I forgot my helmet,” called Derpy over her shoulder, frowning slightly as the lunchroom door stopped halfway and stuck. Closing it, Derpy tried to push it open again, only for it to stop a halfway a second time.

“Celestia dammit, that was somepony groaning!” exclaimed Flare flying back while still carefully balancing her load.

“That's odd...the door wasn't stuck when we came in,” said Derpy, trying the door a few more times without success. On the sixth attempt, a sudden popping sound was heard on the other side, followed by a bright flash.

“Maybe the castle doesn't want me to go this way?” Derpy theorized.

Curiously, Lightning nudged past her and peeked through to the other side. “Or some pony is blocking it,” she said, pushing the rest of the way through. A moment later the door opened completely, revealing Lightning standing over the body of a cloaked pony. “So who is this guy?”

“Don't know, but that's definitely a cloak of shadows he's wearing,” said Flare with a frown. “Good work apprehending him, Derpy.”

“Huh? But I didn't do anything. I hope I didn't hurt him too bad.”

“I'm going to find Tempest,” declared Flare. “Derpy, if he wakes up, hit him with the door again.”

“It was an accident!” insisted Derpy, but Flare was already flying away. Left alone with Lightning, Derpy looked a bit lost before suddenly remembering. “Should we restrain him?”

“With what?” asked Lightning.

“Um...this?” asked Derpy, holding up one of the discarded balls of yarn.

Lightning sighed. “Fine. Hold his forelegs together.”

Chapter 4: Field Work

“You talked, didn't you?”

Lightning's statement, while delivered as a question, couldn't have been more accusatory if she'd tried.

Derpy didn't even try to deny it. “A little bit...”

“It's lucky she did, considering you came back empty-hooved,” cut in Flare, pausing her stretches to make a slight adjustment to her armor.

Lightning opened her mouth to retort but seemed to think better of it, instead turning her attention to the kicking bag and laying into it a few more times. “Iron Hoof said that the pink gunk was a incomprehensible concoction that would need careful study and extreme experimentation.”

“So, we'll be waiting a while then?” asked Derpy.

“She said to come by the next day.”

From the corner of her lazy eye, Derpy noticed the flash of a smile on Flare's lips. “Sounds like her. I had a feeling she'd enjoy the challenge.”

Taking a break from her push-ups, Derpy rolled onto her back to catch her breath. “How did you meet her?”

“Family friend,” said Flare simply, continuing her own set of push-ups beside her. In the silence that followed, it became clear she wasn't going to elaborate.

Derpy went back to her workout checklist and fought the urge to whimper when she saw flight practice was next. Even just rising to all fours was a challenge in her armor. Nevertheless, she spread her wings and started her laps. Snippets of Lightning and Flare’s conversation reached her as she made the rounds.

“So are you like part of a family that has a bunch of high society contacts in Canterlot?” prodded Lightning.

“Iron Hoof would kick you silly if she heard you call her High Society,” replied Flare with a snort. “She's a working pony, and she's proud of it.”

“Still got the biggest shop on Steel Street. Real estate like that doesn't come cheap.”

The conversation faded as Derpy moved away and concentrated on her flying. Something about the armor helped regulate her body's temperature, but that didn't stop fatigue from setting in.

“Dust, I'm not a pony that can 'hook you up',” came Flare's irritated voice as Derpy passed by them again. “I had one favor to call in with Iron Hoof and that was it.”

“Yeah, and then Iron Hoof said you should drop by to visit. Sounds like a little more than just quid pro quo to me.”

Curious as she was, Derpy was more determined to finish the training regiment Tempest had outlined. Her last lap might have been her fastest, despite her protesting wings.

“Yes, I know who Silver Thread is. That doesn't mean I can clap my hooves and move a commission to the front of the line. Try cozying up to Twilight. Rarity is probably better than him.”

Lightning balked at that and turned away from Flare as she finished the last of her cooldown stretches. “Yeah, pretty sure I'd have better luck with Thread,” she murmured under her breath.

“Guards, at attention!”

Tempest's shout rang through the training room and put a halt to further conversation. Derpy quickly landed and scrambled to line up with the others as Tempest moved to inspect them.

“You have a job today, recruits. King Thorax needs an escort to and from Canterlot, and you three will be giving it to him via chariot.”

Lightning scoffed at the news. “Chariot? Did the Friendship Express break down or something?”

“I assume it’s less secure than a personal flight and reserving the entire train is a hassle to other ponies,” replied Flare.

“Right on both counts,” said Tempest. “It’s also the perfect opportunity for some on-the-job training.”

“Bucking knew it,” grumbled Lightning.

Tempest ignored Lightning’s mutter and continued. “For anycreature Twilight wishes you to escort, their safety is of the utmost importance. You must be alert, attentive, and be on the lookout for potential security risks.”

Slowly, Flare raised her wing and waited for Tempest's permission before she spoke. “Shouldn't King Thorax have his own guards?”

“Yes, he should, but he doesn't like bringing them to Ponyville, which is why you'll be the escorts.”

The lecture resumed and the details slowly began to get more complex. Royalty was given some leeway in what they could request of a guard, but only so far as it didn't compromise their safety or go against Twilight's orders. There were even guidelines as to when and where it was appropriate to touch or speak to who they were guarding.

“And you can expect all of these instructions to vary depending on the royalty in particular,” concluded Tempest.

“Wow! I didn't know guard duty was so complicated. Don't worry, I don't really have any special orders.”

Tempest's head slowly turned towards the brightly colored changeling sitting behind her, looking quite attentive. “King Thorax, how long have you been sitting there?”

“Oh! A few minutes now! I didn't want to interrupt. Your lectures are very intense.”

Derpy tried her best not to giggle at that and almost succeeded, but the small sound that escaped her earned a glare from Tempest.

“We've just about concluded the briefing, so if there's anything you would like to add, this is a good time,” continued Tempest stiffly.

“Um...I don't actually mind all that much if you want to talk to me,” said Thorax as he addressed the three pegasi directly. “I like meeting new ponies.”

Tempest's eyes narrowed.

“I-I suppose my safety should be the first thing on everypony's mind?” added Thorax with a glance to Tempest who nodded ever so slightly. “So...uhh...maybe only a little small talk?”

“If you insist, King Thorax,” replied Tempest smoothly. “The chariot has been prepared outside. You'll leave within the hour.”

Thorax's eyes seemed to light up with excitement. “Oh! A chariot? I've never ridden in one of those before! Is something wrong with the Friendship Express?”

While the chariot looked simple enough on the surface, there were an impressive amount of magical features hidden within. A shield to part the wind, a 'sticky' spell to keep the occupants grounded, and a stabilizer to stop it from tilting over. Even the basic harnesses at the front had an air of quality about them.

“Who will be pulling?” asked Thorax curiously.

The three guards shared a glance. “Me and Lightning,” said Flare quickly. “Derpy will ride with you and keep a lookout.”

“Really? I don't mind pulling. I'm not that tired from my workout.”

“Maybe next time,” murmured Flare with a side-glance to Lightning. The silent thought between them, 'When we don't have a living passenger'.

“Oh, okay. You’re probably faster than me,” Derpy conceded.

“Are you though?” asked Lightning, a small smirk on her lips as she looked aside at Flare. “I've seen you two on the track, and I think Derpy has more flying experience than you.”

“Only as a mail-carrier!” said Derpy.

“And I don't mind taking things a bit slow,” said Thorax from his seat. “This is a really comfortable chariot.”

“I know how to fly just fine, Dust. Not every good flyer tries for the Wonderbolts,” retorted Flare.

“Tell ya what, I'll go half speed for your sake,” taunted Lightning. “Wouldn't want to spin out or anything.”

Flare didn't respond. Instead she took off, the chariot lurching into the sky slightly askew as Dust was forced to catch up to Flare's pace. It didn't take her long, though, and soon she matched her wingbeat for wingbeat.

Lightning grinned. “Oh good, I was starting to think this would be a boring flight.”

“I really don't mind a boring flight,” insisted Thorax, squirming in his seat as the coach picked up speed.

“Um...maybe we should take it slow-eep!” The chariot lurched again as Lightning pulled ahead this time, nearly throwing Derpy back. Fortunately she was kept steady by the sticking charm.

“At least they're enjoying themselves,” squeaked Thorax while he gripped at the chariot’s seat. Derpy could only take him at his word as she was too busy huddling next to him as their speed continued to build. The ground was becoming a blur and any cloud foolish enough to be in their path was instantly dissipated.

“Nice to see your family guard training wasn't just learning how to stand around all day,” prodded Dust, putting on another burst of speed. Flare didn't respond verbally, instead she pumped wings to match Lightning's increasingly demanding pace.

In the back, Derpy and Thorax clung to each other and whimpered.

“Does that carriage look a little fast to you?”

Tilting his helmet slightly, the royal guard looked to the sky. The chariot in question was streaking through the clouds, leaving a golden trail behind it in addition to the twin trails of the pegasi pulling it.

“Seems a little quick. We expecting anypony?”

“King Thorax, but he's not due for another half hour.”

Both of the guards watched as the carriage zoomed past the outpost. The guard who'd spoken first suddenly tensed. “Could be an emergency! Send a message and get a rapid response team ready to intercept them, along with medics and a love donor.”

“Well I sup-suppose that's one way to av-avoid small talk,” said Thorax shakily as he slowly let go of the equally shaken Derpy. “And we did get here a lot fa-faster than the train.”

“Honestly I thought pulling this thing would be harder,” said Lightning as she shook off the harness. “You're not a bad wingmare, Flare. You should fly more.”

Flare elected not to respond, instead taking the opportunity to catch her breath and not fall to the ground in an undignified, exhausted heap.

“Oh come on, I wasn't that fast, was I?” Only then did she finally turn and see Thorax and Derpy, both still shaking slightly. “Ah...crap.”

The sound of numerous hoofbeats became audible a moment before the landing platform swarmed with guards, several unicorns and earth ponies on the ground while a squad of pegasi took to the sky. At the head of the herd was none other than Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor.

Derpy barely had any time to extract herself from Thorax and make it to a standing position before Cadance was there.

“Thorax! Are you okay? Was something chasing you? Do you need an emergency love dose?” With each question, Cadance pressed a little bit closer until she was practically touching her muzzle to Thorax’s own.

“What? No, nothing like that! I'm fine, really!” assured Thorax. His hooves flailed slightly as he was nearly bowled over.

“Then why was your cart moving so fast?” asked Shining.

Thorax hesitated for a moment as he looked toward Lightning. “I...thought I was going to be late for the meeting today, so I asked Lightning Dust to go as fast as she could. I guess I didn't realize just how fast that was.”

Lightning stiffened, the flash of surprise clear on her face, but only Derpy had been paying attention.

“Really? That's all?” asked Shining skeptically.

“That's all, really,” said Thorax a bit more confidently. “And well, truth be told, I'd never been in one of these before, so I wanted to have some fun.”

Shining sighed and lit his horn to send a signal flare up into the sky to call back the hovering pegasi. “Alright then. Just make sure to slow down when you get near Canterlot in the future.”

“Our deepest apologies, Prince Armor. We’ll be more careful,” assured Flare. “If there is nothing more, we would be happy to leave King Thorax in your care.”

“Actually-” began Shining.

“Not now dear, we have a meeting to get to,” interrupted Cadance. “You'll have plenty of time to play the overprotective big brother later.”

“What? I wasn't-”

“You were. Now thank the guards and let's go say hello to my aunt.”

Shining briefly hung his head in defeat before turning to Flare and saluting. “Thank you for escorting Thorax to Canterlot.”

Derpy and Dust mirrored the salute, holding it until the royal procession had departed. Only when they were out of sight did Flare finally speak. “Shining is going to be trouble for us.”

“What? Why?” asked Lightning.

“Because we're Twilight's royal guards and Twilight is his sister.”

The upper reaches of Canterlot City were some of the most luxurious in Equestria. Large mansions held noble families stretching back generations along with influential business leaders and those with political clout. The shops were of a similar class, selling luxury goods and services that only the most wealthy would even bother to look at.

Steel Street stood in defiance of all of that. Cutting a swath right through the heart of Canterlot's noble quarter, the buildings and shops along the wide street were simple, utilitarian, and owned by ponies who were skilled and devoted to their craft. The trio had barely set hoof in the district, and already the sound of hammers working metal filled the air.

“Heard a rumor once that Blueblood's family tried to buy out all the property here,” said Flare. “Something about how this street was a blemish on Canterlot. Might have succeeded, too, but then Iron Hoof cornered him.”

“Did she beat him up?” asked Lightning.

“No idea, but ever since then, nopony in the Blueblood family comes within a mile of this street. I imagine they enjoy a lot of protection from Celestia though, considering they supply the bulk of Canterlot's armor and weapon commissions.”

“Was our armor made here too?” inquired Derpy.

“If not, then it was still probably made with Iron Hoof's techniques. They're standard practice in the industry now.”

Lightning smirked. “You know a lot about this, don't you?”

“It's called a hobby. Lots of ponies have them.”

“Hey, no need to get defensive about it.”

Flare opened her mouth but seemed to change her mind. “Right, sorry. This is the place.”

Iron Hoof's Armory was easily the biggest shop on Steel Street, stretching the length of at least three of the other storefronts. Unlike the others, there were no displays outside, and nothing seemed to be visibly on sale. Aside from a large sign across the front, it would have been indistinguishable from a common warehouse.

“She doesn't show off very much, huh?” asked Derpy.

“Iron Hoof says her work speaks for itself,” replied Flare smugly.

When they pushed open the large double doors, the three pegasi were immediately blasted by a wave of heat and noise. Lined up along the back, several dozen forges were lit and ponies of all tribes were hard at work, banging metal into shape and keeping fuel in the fires. The layout looked chaotic at first, but there was an inherent method in the madness. The armory was sectioned off with specialty areas for delicate magic work, metal shaping, and an area for the younger apprentices.

Derpy's eyes wandered back and forth as she took in the sights but at the same time she noticed something different about Flare as well. Her posture was more relaxed, and the hint of a smile touched on her lips. She moved with confidence as she led them through the chaos toward the apprentice area and before long a deep, booming voice made itself heard above the clash of metal.

“Don't shy away from the heat! Face the forge and own it! Fear will only get you burned!”

It didn't take long to find the speaker. With a brown coat and a dirty golden mane, Iron Hoof stood above every other pony in the shop and then some. Coated with soot and carrying a heavy looking tool belt, she paced in front of a group of young ponies as she spoke.

“Respect the forge but do not fear it. Timidity and over-caution will only lead to mistakes and injuries. Above all else, do not let your mind wander, no matter how simple your task may be. Complacency leads to shoddy, substandard work, and there will be none of that in my shop. You all have your assigned mentors. Find them, and show them that you are ready to learn.”

At her final word, the group dispersed, leaving only the guards. Iron Hoof's stoic face almost immediately turned upward into a smile at the sight of them. “Well now, there's a face I haven't seen in an age and a half.”

Flare stepped forward. “It's good to see you again, Iron Ho-oof!” Flare's wings spread as the much larger Earth Pony practically enveloped her with a crushing hug.

“Calling in a favor...when did you get so cheeky, Flare? You know I'd do anything to help a desperate friend.” Releasing the unsteady pegasus, Iron clapped a hoof on her shoulder, making Flare's legs buckle slightly.

“I didn't think I still had that status after what happened,” replied Flare, her voice slightly shaky and breathless.

“Nonsense! That wasn’t your fault and I won't hear another word about it. Now about this pink monstrosity.” Gesturing with her leg, Iron Hoof led the trio towards the back of the shop where many of the unicorns were at work. “I've seen plenty of magical dyes in my time, but none that could fuse this tight.”

Flare's eyes widened. “You mean to say that it actually adapted to the armor and fused without side effects?”

“That's exactly what I'm saying,” said Iron Hoof with a grin.

“So that means you must have tried isolating the disparate magics and unraveling them first,” theorized Flare, thoughtfully. “But if it was that simple, you wouldn't have needed an entire day.”

“Right again. That Pinkie is a madmare through and through.” Pushing her way through to the back room, the trio were treated to the sight of what had to be Iron Hoof's private forge. The magic in the air hung as thick as the heat, with rows of well worn tools lining the walls and examples of her craftsmanship filling the shelves. Even Lightning Dust looked impressed at the sight. Derpy was similarly awestruck but Flare's attention was immediately drawn to the covered armor standing on display in the center.

“So if you couldn't separate the enchantments, that means you must have had to rework the spell on a fundamental level and adapt it to the armor,” concluded Flare.

“Close, but you have it backwards,” said Iron Hoof with a grin.

“You reworked alicorn magic?” The awe in Flare's voice was obvious.

Iron chuckled. “Wouldn't be the first time. Take a look for yourself.” Raising a hoof, the armorer pulled the sheet aside and unveiled her work.

Derpy's eyes widened. The colors were almost the same and the armor itself looked similar, but it wasn't the same armor they had sent off with Lightning Dust yesterday. Something had fundamentally changed about it. Instead of giving off an intimidating aura, it radiated a commanding feeling instead. One that inspired confidence in its mere presence.

The black colors were still imposing in their own way, but they seemed to blend together with a more consistent tone. Even though she hadn't really followed Iron Hoof's explanations or Flare's questions, Derpy could still look at the armor and feel the changes...and she felt it had changed for the better.

“Am I going crazy, or does that armor look nicer than before?” asked Lightning, giving a voice to Derpy's thoughts.

“It's not just you,” answered Flare. “There's a lot going on here on a magical level, just like with our own armor.”

“It's good to see that your senses are still sharp after all this time,” complimented Iron.

“It's only because you pounded the lessons into me so hard that I'd never forget them.”

Derpy gasped. “You mean she was your teacher?”

“Years ago,” said Flare, her smile faltering a bit. “I'm sorry for distracting you, Iron. We should get this packed up.”

The idea had barely finished leaving her mouth when the door to the back room burst open. Four heads turned just in time to see an orange pegasus loudly proclaim, “Where's my little sister at?”

Flare's good mood seemed to evaporate instantly at the sound of Flash Sentry's voice, her expression returning to the carefully stoic one Derpy was used to seeing. “Hello Flash, what are you doing here?”

“Since when did I need an excuse to see my little sis?” replied Flash jovially, swooping in for a hug, only to find himself stopped short by Iron’s heavy hoof.

“You don't, but you do need an excuse to be back here in my private workshop,” interrupted Iron Hoof.

Flash waggled a wing and chuckled. “Sorry Miss Hoof. I heard my sister was back in Canterlot and I wanted to catch her before she caused another security freakout.” Behind him, Flare rolled her eyes at that comment, before going stony faced again when Flash turned towards her. “Mom and dad were hoping to celebrate your appointment to Twilight's Guard. How long ar--”

“I'm here on business,” said Flare shortly. “And I don't have time off yet.”

Derpy squeaked. “We don't? But what about-mmph!”

“Not now,” murmured Lightning as she muffled Derpy with her hoof. Fortunately, Flash hadn't seemed to notice.

“You don't? I didn't take Princess Twilight for the tyrant type,” said Flash playfully. “Are you sure you can't spare a little time? At least let them get some pictures of you in guard armor? They were worried you’d have to start working as an apprentice again.”

Iron Hoof's eyes narrowed. Flare looked as though she wanted to sink into the ground. Lightning moved before either of them could say something, interjecting herself between Flare and Flash with a quick flap of her wings. “Hey buddy! What part of Royal Business' and 'Restricted Area' wasn't clear to you?”

Flash jerked back in surprise. “Huh? But I-”

“You're getting in the way of our work. Do you really want your name to come up when Twilight asks why we were late?” Lightning pressed, taking a step forward and making Flash back up a pace.

“What? No, I just-”

“Then get out of here!”

Flash blinked and looked over at Flare. “Sis?”

“Just go, please,” Flare said, not meeting his eyes.

“You heard her. Outta my shop,” Iron Hoof added.

Flash opened his mouth as if to say something then shook his head. “I guess I'll see you later... when you are not busy...” he said and made his way to the door.

“We should get going,” murmured Flare once the door had swung shut.

A hoof rested on her shoulder. “You know you're always welcome back here,” said Iron quietly.

Flare managed a small smile. “Thank you Iron, but I'm satisfied where I am right now.”

Even if the blatant lie wasn't fooling anypony, nopony spoke as the armor was gathered up and secured in the crate.

“So is that why you didn't want to take a position in Canterlot?” asked Lightning when the three of them made their way back to Canterlot Castle. The armor had been placed on a cart, forcing them to walk instead of fly as Lightning pulled it along.

Flare sighed. “Can we not talk about this? Preferably ever?”

“Fine...so long as you can think of something more interesting to talk about.”

Flare sighed. “No, it's not just him. It's my whole family. They've been serving as royal guards for over ten generations now. They have awards and accolades dating back over eight hundred years.”

Lightning let out a low whistle. “I'm guessing your career path was set even before you got your cutie mark.”

“Oh they were happy to let me try other things,” said Flare with a snort. “So long as I kept up with weapon training, politics, and court etiquette.”

“Etiquette class? Doesn't sound like it stuck all that well,” teased Lightning.

“Hilarious. Flash thought he was incredibly clever for coming up with that joke too. You two would get along great.”

“Maybe if he learned to read a room,” retorted Lightning. “Is your entire family that overbearing?”

“Only since our great ancestor Magnus up and appeared out of the blue,” grumbled Flare. “Now they’re more than overbearing, they’re downright insufferable.”

Lightning's eyes widened. “Whoa, wait. Flash Magnus? The legendary Pillar of Equestria guy? Does that mean you're-”

“Related? Yes. Now my parents think everypony in the family is destined for this job.” Flare sighed. “Going to Ponyville clearly wasn't far enough.”

“Um...if it makes you feel better, I'm really happy you're my co-worker,” said Derpy suddenly. “Even if it wasn't your first choice, you're still really good at it, and you really helped us out with the armor.”

Flare smiled, her annoyance fading. “Thank you, Derpy. It's certainly been an experience to say the least.”

“At least Iron Hoof seems willing to take you back,” added Lightning. “This wasn't my first career choice either, but I'm pretty sure my bridge got smashed and the pieces set on fire.”

“I've been wondering about that,” said Flare. “It's fairly obvious you didn't leave the Wonderbolts by choice.”

“Let's just say that I miiiiight have endangered our current employer's life at one point.”

Derpy nearly stumbled. “You mean Twilight?!”

“Hard to imagine anything could endanger an alicorn,” said Flare.

“She wasn't always an alicorn,” reminded Lightning as they came to a stop in front of the golden chariot that would see them back to Ponyville. “Still, she was willing to take me on as a guard, so I suppose it's in the past now. Spitfire though? She’s got a longer memory and keeps grudges.”

Derpy burned with questions, but it didn't seem like Lightning wanted to talk any more about it. In the meantime they took seats in the staging area as they waited for the meeting to conclude. Fortunately, they weren't kept waiting long.

Standing at attention, the three pegasi saluted as the various members of royalty and leaders passed by, meeting with their own guards and talking in hushed whispers as they split off. The conversations were impossible to follow, but Derpy did hear 'changeling' used more than once. It wasn't until a good deal of them had left that Thorax finally became visible.

“King Thorax,” greeted Flare as their charge approached. “I hope this meeting was productive.”

“Well, mostly. But we should really get going before-”

“Thorax! No need to rush,” came a familiar friendly voice above the noise of the crowd.

“-before Shining gets here,” concluded the changeling quietly.

Hot on his hooves and looking as though he'd been trotting to catch up, Shining approached with Cadance and Flurry Heart a few paces behind him. The Princess of Love seemed to have a somewhat strained smile on her face while Shining's own smile didn't quite reach his eyes. His actual target soon became clear as he brushed past Thorax and went straight for Flare.

“We didn't get a chance for proper introductions last time, though I guess you all know who I am,” said Shining casually, even as his eyes were clearly assessing them.

“Flare Warden. My fellow guard ponies are Lightning Dust and Derpy Hooves,” Flare introduced.

Shining gave Derpy a curious look. “I thought your name was Muf-”

“Dear, only special ponies are allowed to call her that,” said Cadance gently. “Now if you're quite finished harassing Twilight's guards-”

“Almost,” said Shining. “The three of you are being trained by Tempest, yes? I was curious to see how that training was coming along.”

“You want to test us,” clarified Flare.

“I did offer Twilight and Tempest advice on putting together a training regiment,” said Shining. “You can't blame me for wanting to know how it's working out.”

“Not at all,” said Flare calmly. “But at the moment, we're on a job for Twilight. It would be rude to keep King Thorax waiting since we are his escort back to Ponyville.”

“Well if Thorax doesn't mind a bit of a delay, I'm sure this won't take long.” Shining gave the changeling a pointed look that made him stiffen slightly.

“Shining, sweetie, what did I tell you about pushing your weight around as a prince?” asked Cadance patiently.

The admonishment from his wife seemed to bring Shining up short. “But Cadance-”

“This isn’t the time or the place for posturing.”

“Yeah, we're kinda drawing a crowd,” murmured Lightning. Despite the rest of the gathered nobles doing their best to feign disinterest and remain in their small groups, their curious glances and twitching ears flicking in their direction gave them away.

“It's okay, Princess, I would be happy to show Shining what I'm capable of,” said Derpy.

The surprise was plain on Cadance's face. “Muffins, are you sure?”

“He's worried about his sister. It's our job as royal guards to reassure him.”

Cadance let out a small sigh and stepped aside. “If you're certain.”

“I'm certain,” said Derpy, stepping forward and ahead of an equally surprised Flare. “So long as King Thorax doesn't mind waiting.”

“I don't mind at all,” cut in Thorax. “There's no rush back to Ponyville.”

Shining glanced towards his wife and waited for her small nod before turning his attention back to Derpy. “Alright then, the test is simple. All you need to do is apprehend me.” His horn glowed and a solid pink magical barrier surrounded him.

Flare frowned along with Cadance. Shining’s shields were legendary for their strength and durability, to the point where even Celestia had some difficulty getting through them. Asking a pegasus to do so seemed downright impossible.

Derpy, however, remained still. In fact, she continued to do nothing at all as she watched the barrier twinkling in front of her. The nobles and dignitaries around them didn’t even bother to disguise their interest any longer and were actively watching the 'challenge'. In silence, a minute passed. Then two.

“Is everything okay?” asked Shining from behind the shield.

“Yep!” said Derpy cheerfully.

“You're not trying to apprehend me?”

“You're not being a dangerous pony. It would be unprofessional for a guard to apprehend a pony that hasn't done anything and isn't suspicious.”

Flare and Lightning both turned to hide their smirks while Cadance openly giggled. “She's right, dear. It’s bad form for a guard to subdue an innocent pony.”

“Alright, how about this?” Shining's horn glowed and created a hole in the shield. Through it he sent a beam of magic straight towards Derpy.

Without moving a muscle, Derpy let the beam strike her. The magic struck and splashed harmlessly off her armor.

To the surprise of everypony gathered, Derpy turned away from Shining and called out. “Lightning, Flare, I need your assistance.”

“Wait, what?” Shining sputtered. “Hold on now-”

“You're a very powerful and potentially dangerous unicorn. As a guard, if the situation calls for it, I shouldn't hesitate to call for backup,” recited Derpy.

“She's absolutely right dear,” repeated Cadance, openly smiling now. “You are a rather dangerous unicorn. Isn't that right, Flurry?”

“Bah!” agreed the tiny alicorn with a nod of her head.

“Hey! Don't you start too!” protested Shining.

Derpy ignored the family drama and huddled with the others. “How do we get past the shield?”

“The armor. If we use that, and then Lightning-” started Flare.

“Heh, I see where you're going with this,” finished Lightning with a grin. “I'll take the back. You two come in at the sides.”

“Make as much contact as possible,” added Flare. “Ready?”

Lightning nodded. “Ready. Derpy?”

Derpy nodded as well. “Go!”

The three pegasi sprung into action, Derpy charging straight at the shield while the other two took to the sky and circled around, their forms briefly a blur.

Quickly turning his attention back to the challenge, Shining reinforced his shield and braced himself right as Derpy made contact. Sparks flew as she turned and struck the barrier with her barrel, slamming Twilight's magic-dampening armor against the surface.

At the exact same moment, Lightning and Flare both charged into the barrier, one from the side and the other directly behind, adding their own armors to the surface area of the shield. The barrier buckled and shimmered, but held, and through the pink color, Derpy could see Shining's hornglow wavering as he struggled to reinforce the shield before it collapsed.

“Lightning, now!” Flare's shouted.

Lightning pulled away from the shield, just enough to make a sharp twist in the air and slam hoof first against it. The magical dome caved in and left a small hole just large enough for her to get through.

Shining turned his horn towards Lightning, but Lightning was faster.

Click! Click! Click!

Derpy fell forward as the barrier collapsed. Shining himself fell sideways on his flank as his forelegs and horn suddenly sported three new restraining bracelets.

Walking forward, Flare hoisted Shining up on his hooves while Lightning supported him on the other side, clearly following Flare's lead as she pulled the bound prince toward Cadance.

“Princess Cadance, we apprehended this dangerous unicorn. We would be happy to turn him over to your custody,” said Derpy cheerfully.

“Manacled and chained, hmm? You’ve saved me some trouble tonight,” murmured Cadance before adding, “I'll take him off your hooves. I hope he wasn't too much trouble.”

“Nothing our guard force couldn't handle,” said Lightning with a proud grin spread on her muzzle.

“Alright, alright, you win,” admitted Shining. “I'm not so full of myself that I won't eat some humble pie. Just don't let me hear of any slacking on your training.”

“Of course not,” said Derpy as she gently removed the bindings from his horns and legs. “Princess Twilight is important to us, too.”

With a nod and another round of farewells, the two groups parted company and the three guards rejoined Thorax. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” said Flare.

“No, no, it's alright. That was really fun to watch,” replied Thorax happily. “Besides, I know the flight back to Ponyville won’t take long.”

Lightning rubbed the back of her neck and sounded sheepish. “Yeah...sorry about that. Thank you for...well, you know.”

“Don't mention it,” said Thorax as he took his seat in the chariot. “We might need to hurry a little bit though. I promised Twilight I'd have lunch with her and Tempest.”

Hiding her relief as she strapped herself into the harness, Lightning grinned at Flare. “I think we can do that. You up for another round, Flare?”

“Oh for the love of...at least wait until we get out of Canterlot you speed addict,” Flare grumbled, even as she strapped herself in beside Lightning.

“No promises,” said Lightning cheekily. This time though, she waited for Flare to prepare herself before she took off which brought the chariot to a much smoother rise.

Derpy smiled as she braced herself against the packaged armor and watched Thorax's pleased look as they picked up speed. Even if it had been a small one, today felt as though they'd achieved a victory that all of them could enjoy.

Chapter 5: Frantic Flights

Why was everything coming undone now? It should have been a simple, straightforward plan, but everything seemed to be unraveling before his eyes. Two years of planning and careful observation were threatening to go up in flames in the final week, all because of those three blasted guards.

For the sixth time in as many minutes, Spell Nexus checked his observation spells. Still fully functional, yet they showed nothing but pink. Frustrated, he tossed the scrying glass aside and slumped to the ground. “Who are you ponies?” he asked aloud, but it was a rhetorical question. He knew who they were. A washout Wonderbolt, a career dodging noble, and an ex-mail pony. And yet they'd taken a sledgehammer to his carefully laid plans.

Perhaps...perhaps he was simply looking in the wrong direction. They were only as good as the pony training them, weren't they? But could Tempest really have achieved these results in such a short period of time?

Clearly they were on to him. Why else would they have taken the armor to a specialist so close to the stellar event? And the things that could have happened in that pony's forge...

Pulling the curtain to his room aside, Spell Nexus let himself bask in the glow of the moon. The gentle, silver light calmed him. No...if they knew he was involved, Celestia would have been at his door in an instant. Maybe they suspected, but they didn't know. Not everything at least.

“Please be patient my liege. You will have your freedom soon.” Once she was in her proper place on the throne, Equestria wouldn't have to fear the constant threats like the Storm King or other savages from the Badlands.

With the curtain still open, Spell Nexus turned to his workbench and began to weave a complex series of spells on the materials there. Equestria would have its proper queen, no matter what sacrifices he had to make, and not even the most elite of Twilight's guards were going to get in his way.

Derpy groaned loudly, shaking and struggling to make it back to her hooves. Her wings stretched to give her a little more balance, but it was all for naught as the weight of her armor and the pain from her bruises sent her clattering back to the ground in a heap.

“Haa...haa...do you think she just lets us wear the armor so she doesn't have to hold back?” groaned Lightning. Much like Derpy, she was sprawled out on the ground, a hoof on her stomach as she lay on her back.

Derpy rolled herself onto her back so she could breathe a bit easier. “I think our captain really enjoys her job.”

“Missing the mail room yet?”

The conversation was interrupted by a loud crash as the third member of their squad was unceremoniously slammed on the floor next to them.

“They might have an opening for all of us,” said Derpy encouragingly as she watched the victorious Tempest walking towards them.

“Better work from all of you. I'm satisfied with your progress. But you're all a ways from dealing with alicorn level threats.”

“Appreciate the praise, commander.” Turning to look to Flare, Lightning whispered loudly. “Was that praise? My ears are still ringing.”

“It's as close as we get with Tempest,” mumbled Flare.

“On your hooves, all of you.” The grumbling immediately stopped at Tempest’s order, the three pegasi fighting through their fatigue to stand at attention.

“Flare, use your wings more and coordinate better with your squad. You have plenty of strength, but you can use blind spots and odd angles of attack to better use that strength.”

“Yes ma'am,” replied Flare.

“Lightning, you need to better recognize when not to use your wings. Flying gives you plenty of freedom, but you don't have leverage in the air.”

“Right, right, I got it...”

“And Derpy, keep working on your basics and fundamentals. Luck is only going to get you so far.”

Still catching her breath, Derpy only replied with a nod.

For a moment, it seemed like Tempest hesitated before she spoke again. “The three of you handled yourself well with Shining and Cadance, but it's best not to let those sorts of things go to your head. If he had a mind to test you again, he won't be nearly as lenient.”

“Understood commander,” said Lightning. “My ego has been thoroughly trampled underhoof by your words of wisdom.”

“I wonder about that,” murmured Tempest.

“Um, commander? How did you get so good at fighting?” asked Derpy.

“Through the sort of training you don't get inside Equestria's borders,” said Tempest shortly. “And it's not the kind of training I'd wish on anypony...at least, Twilight and Shining insisted that I shouldn't.”

“Er...commander?” asked Flare worriedly.

“Don’t worry. I still have plenty of regular back-breaking training to subject you to.” Tempest smiled in a way that was hardly reassuring. “Including a special guest trainer to cover the one area of training I can't.”

“You mean there's something you can't do?” muttered Lightning.

“Plenty. But one thing I can do is make your life miserable if you keep back-talking me.”

“Apologies ma'am, I'll be good.”

“I'll believe it when I see it. Add two laps and ten push-ups to your morning routine. And once you're finished everypony report to the obstacle course for flying drills.”

Flare let out a small sigh as Tempest left them to their training. “Are you a masochist or something? Eventually she's going to make you do something you can't bounce back from.”

“Oh please, I was in the Wonderbolts. This training is nothing compared to-”

Lightning immediately went silent as the door opened again.

“I nearly forgot. You'll be wearing these for the rest of the morning, too.” Tempest tossed several heavy weights with straps in front of Lightning.

Lightning gulped. Flare failed to fully hide her grin.

Two hours later, Flare was still having trouble hiding her amusement as the three of them moved out ot the obstacle course bordering the small woodland. Tempest was waiting for them, her eyes on the sky and a slight frown on her face.

“Would you like to take those off now?” asked Tempest as they approached.

“Actually-mmh!” Lightning flailed as Flare's hoof snapped over and rapped the side of her armor. “Yes, I would like to take them off.”

“Good,” said Tempest while turning and undoing the bindings.

“Is our instructor here yet?” asked Derpy, looking towards the sky.

“Another ten seconds and she'll be late.”

Lightning's ears perked. “Wait a minute...don't tell me...”

In the distance, a faint boom reached their ears. A second later, a bright rainbow trail became visible, streaking through the sky and rapidly approaching the castle. Exactly nine seconds after that, Equestria’s fastest wonderbolt landed right next to Tempest, bringing with her a rush of air.

“Nailed it!” said Rainbow Dash with a grin.

“Quite,” said Tempest with a rare smile. “I'm sure your instructor needs no introduction, so let's start. Rainbow Dash is your flight coach from this day forward. Two days out of the week after morning training, you will join her here for flight drills. Treat her with the same respect you give myself.”

“Yes ma'am,” they chorused.

With a nod, Tempest took a step back and motioned Rainbow forward.

“Right, so...” Clearing her throat, Rainbow paced in front of them, her head held high. “You rookies think you know a lot about being guards, but you don't know flying like I do! I'm going to be drilling you so hard you'll be flying in your sleep! And after that, I'm gonna drill you some more, and when I'm done, you won't even remember what the ground feels like!”

Silence followed her bold proclamation. Lightning was the first to break it. “Was that supposed to be a Spitfire impression?”

“What? No, of course not!”

“I thought it was very good!” encouraged Derpy.

“She's not as intimidating as Tempest though,” murmured Flare. “Then again, who is?”

Rainbow groaned and turned towards Tempest. “I told you this wasn't going to work.”

“I said authoritative, Rainbow, not overbearing,” reminded Tempest. “We'll work on it.”

Letting out a defeated sigh, Rainbow turned back to the squad. “Alright, alright...we're not doing anything complicated. You've all had flying training before, I'm just here to organize your squad performance and get you working together as a flying unit.”

“Suspect pursuit as well as search and rescue are all potential things you might be called on to do,” continued Tempest. “Speed isn't nearly as important as good technique, communication with your squad, and organization.”

“And so we'll be going into squads of two to start with. Derpy, you'll lead Lightning. Flare, you'll take point with me. Our sweep will take us over the nearby forest. Your targets will be three missing fillies who have already hidden themselves. Now, the patrol route-”

“Really?” interrupted Lightning. “Derpy on point?”

“Yes, she is,” replied Rainbow instantly, almost as though she'd been expecting the push back. “One of you needs training, and one of you had squad training in the Wonderbolts already.”

“Right, whatever,” grumbled Lightning. “Can we get started already?”

“Lightning...” began Tempest, a clear warning in her tone, but Rainbow was quick to hold up a wing and shake her head.

“We're going over the plan first. The crusaders can wait a bit longer.”

“Um, Rainbow Dash? I wouldn't mind flying second so I can see how it's done,” said Derpy.

“Thanks Derpy, but we're doing it this way for a reason,” said Rainbow as she unrolled her map and laid it across the ground. Derpy tried her best to pay attention to the patrol route and flight paths, but increasingly, all she could feel was the subtle growing frustration of her designated wingmare.

“Are you upset with me?” asked Derpy. One of her eyes turned back to track Lightning's flight path while the other continued to survey the forest.

“No Derpy, I'm not mad at you,” said Lightning shortly.

“Oh...are you sure? You seem really angry and you've been glaring a lot.”

“It's got nothing to do with you,” Lightning snapped. “You're listing off the patrol route again.”

Nodding her thanks, Derpy corrected her path and moved back on course. “So what are you upset about? Is it the squad leader thing? Rainbow said we were going to switch off-”

“It has nothing to do with that either. Just drop it, okay?”

“Oh, okay. Hey Lightning?”

“What?!”

“You're drifting off course,” said Derpy helpfully.

“Oh, sorry,” mumbled Lightning.

“Sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“No. It's in the past, it should stay there.”

“But it doesn't really feel like you've moved on from it,” mused Derpy.

“For the love of...how can you possibly be this thick?”

“My mom always said it was either my cutie mark or alicorn genes.”

Lightning nearly tumbled out of the air at that. “What? That...that's not the type of thick I meant!”

“Oh. What type did you mean then?” asked Derpy innocently.

“Arrgh! Look, Rainbow was part of the reason I got kicked out of the Wonderbolts, alright? She's why I ended up here instead of there. Now will you drop it and focus on the patrol already?”

Derpy's expression of surprise slowly turned to one of determination. “I can't believe that.”

“It doesn't matter what you believe. She was my wingmare and she ratted on me.”

“Rainbow is the Element of Loyalty. She'd never do something like that,” insisted Derpy. “I'm going to ask her to clear this up right now.”

“Wh-wait! Hey! Get back here!”

Derpy veered away and made a beeline towards the distant figures of Rainbow and Flare. “I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding,” she called back.

Lightning reacted quickly, darting in front of Derpy and stopping her forward progress. “I got kicked out of the Wonderbolts, Derpy, there's nothing to misunderstand!”

“How do you know?”

“I know because I was there!”

“Well I wasn't, so I want to make sure. It won't take long.”

“Don't you dare!”

“The buck is going on over there?” muttered Rainbow.

Flare glanced towards the forms of her squadmates. From a distance, it seemed like the two were engaged in an odd aerial ballet, with Derpy twisting and turning in the air while Lightning sped around to stop her.

“Er...maybe they spotted something and are trying to get a better look?” suggested Flare hopefully, though it was clear Lightning was trying to intercept Derpy.

“Change course, Flare. I need to sort this out,” sighed Rainbow.

Lightning let out a frustrated growl as Derpy slipped around her once again. She didn't have the speed or finesse of a Wonderbolt, but her erratic flight path was simply impossible to predict. “Will you just let it go already?”

Flailing her hooves, Derpy dropped like a rock for a few moments before straightening herself and slipping past Lightning again. “No! It's important to you!”

Flustered, Lightning poured on the speed and forced Derpy to turn away and avoid a collision. “Look, it was my fault, okay? I don't want to talk about it!”

“Well Rainbow does! She's just as anxious as you!”

That brought Lightning up short. “She...is?”

Derpy didn't reply, however. Instead, she used the opening to fly past Lightning once again.

Putting on a burst of Speed, Lighting managed to bite Derpy’s tail and tug her back. The mare yelped and her wings splayed out, all of her momentum stopping instantly. Lightning didn’t slow down in time and with a clash of armored bodies, the two collided and tumbled out of the sky and through the trees below. Several branches broke on their way down before the two landed in a heap in the underbrush.

“Aww, they found us already!”

“I thought we had the perfect hiding spot, too!”

“I told you no one ever wins this game against Derpy.”

Shaking her head to clear it of the post crash daze, Lightning looked up to see the faces of the three fillies looking out of the bush they'd crashed through. Beneath her, Derpy was already getting to her hooves, eyes spinning more than usual.

“Oh wow, they did find something,” called Rainbow from above. “Hey Crusaders! I thought I told you three to find your best hiding spot.”

“We did!” protested Apple Bloom. “You didn't tell us we were going up against Derpy!”

“Why would that matter?” asked Flare.

“She's...well, she used to be a mail-mare. They can find anypony!” said Sweetie Belle.

“Rainbow there's a question I wanted to-mmphh!”

“No! No she doesn't!” said Lightning, wincing as Derpy nommed on her hoof in an effort to continue speaking.

“Lightning, compose yourself.”

Lightning stiffened at the voice, slowly removing her hoof from Derpy's mouth. “Sorry commander.”

Pushing her way through the undergrowth of the forest, Tempest turned to the three fillies who were trying very hard not to look interested in the unfolding drama. “Break for ten and then go find a new hiding place.”

“Aww, but we wanna see-” began Scootaloo.

“Now.” The sharp order quickly spurred them into scurrying away, leaving the guards and instructors alone. “Derpy, what did you want to ask Rainbow Dash?”

Oblivious to Lightning's pained look, Derpy spoke. “I wanted to know if it was true that Rainbow got Lightning kicked out of the Wonderbolts. Lightning seems to think so, but I don't think Rainbow would ever do something like that.”

The statement landed with a metaphorical thud. Everypony was soon looking at Rainbow Dash, waiting for her answer. She simply sighed. “Celestia dammit Twi, I knew you were setting me up. It's...complicated.”

“The buck it is!” Lightning shouted angrily. “You were my wingmare! You were supposed to be my partner! But you couldn't even last two months before you ratted me out to Spitfire! Was being second-in-squad really that damaging to your ego?”

“Rat you out? Lightning, she knew exactly what you were doing! You had at least a dozen buck-ups on record for your reckless flying!” countered Rainbow.

“Reckless? Rainbow, we did 'reckless' things because we were good enough to do them! We were the best in that class! We...we should have been running that damn place!”

Derpy heard the slight choke in her words. Cautiously, Derpy turned to Tempest. “Should we...”

“...leave them to this?” finished Flare, clearly having the same thought.

“Lightning is your squad mate,” said Tempest simply. The rest didn't need to be said. Beside them, the argument continued to heat up.

“You were putting other ponies in danger! It's one thing to risk yourself for a stupid stunt, another thing entirely to do it to ponies that can't even fly!”

“Then why wasn't I warned? Why didn't they say something to me? We were the golden pair for almost two months! Why...why couldn't I get a second chance?” Lightning's voice cracked again and this time her eyes started to water.

Rainbow's head fell, her forehoof stomping at the ground a couple of times. Her wings shifted and there was a clear look of discomfort on her face. “I never wanted you kicked out, Lightning.”

“Horse apples! You went into Spitfire's office and when you came out, I was stripped of rank!”

“I didn't demand anything like that!” snapped Rainbow. “Do you even remember what Element I am?”

“Then why-”

“Because of politics,” said Tempest suddenly, cutting both of them.

“Politics?” echoed Lightning, confused.

“Yeah...don't take it the wrong way. You played a part, but Spitfire's lax attitude and bad luck was part of it too,” confirmed Rainbow.

“I don't understand,” said Lightning, looking between Rainbow and Tempest.

“Put yourself in Spitfire's horseshoes for a moment,” said Tempest, moving to stand next to Rainbow. “You have two pegasi under your command who might possibly be the best fliers you've seen in a generation. One of them has the prestige of being an Element of Harmony and the other might just be her equal, but she has some rough edges you need to smooth over. But that's fine. That's what the reserves are for. Hammer out a pony's flaws and temper them in to a proper Wonderbolt, but you do it gradually so you don't discourage them or push them away.”

“But...she never said anything-”

“But then, right before your first review, your promising recruit causes a disaster that could have injured or even killed several Elements of Harmony.”

Lightning's ears folded at that, but Tempest continued. “Still, no one was hurt, just a bit shaken up. And Twilight is a reasonable sort. But then, the Element of Loyalty comes banging on your door, threatening to leave the Wonderbolts.”

“Spitfire called it a PR nightmare,” said Rainbow softly. “She said something had to be done and needed to be done immediately.”

“And she overcompensated,” finished Flare, speaking up. “Happens a lot in the military, especially a public-facing branch like the Wonderbolts.”

“Rainbow was brash, Spitfire was lax, and you were reckless,” concluded Tempest.

“But nopony thought you deserved to be canned,” said Rainbow. “Why else would Twilight give you a second chance like this?”

Lightning snorted at that. “So I was just some pity hire then?”

Tempest's eyes narrowed at her. “Do you think I'd waste my time training ponies out of pity?”

Lightning balked at that. “No...you wouldn't,” she admitted quietly.

Rainbow quickly moved the subject back to the pony at hand. “Look, if you do a good job as Twilight's guard, nopony would question a reinstatement into the Wonderbolts, especially if she gave you a recommendation.”

“Don't want it,” mumbled Lightning.

Rainbow blinked. “Huh?”

“No...I don't need it,” corrected Lightning, her voice raising a bit. “If you say that I have another shot, then I'll damn well earn it on my own. I'll be such a good bucking guard for her that she'll regret it if I ever decide I want to do something else, you hear?”

Tempest smiled. “I hear you perfectly clear.” Turning back to the other two pegasi, Tempest's stoic expression slid back into place. “Back in the air in five minutes, all of you.”

Rainbow smirked at that. “You're giving me orders now?”

Tempest replied with a flat look.

“Right, five minutes,” mumbled Rainbow. “Come on, Flare, you're still lead pony.”

A few moments later, Derpy and Lightning were the only ponies remaining in the clearing. “I'm sorry,” said Derpy. “I shouldn't have pried.”

Lightning sighed. “No Derpy, it's okay. Honestly, it was a conversation long overdue. I just...I didn't want to have it.”

“I'm sorry-”

“Stop apologizing. I need to own up to my own mistakes,” insisted Lightning. “Even if it was easier to just keep blaming Rainbow and Spitfire for everything.”

“But it was partially their fault, right?”

“Yeah, but I can't control their actions. Only my own. And if I'd been a better Wonderbolt, it never would have happened. I mean...I guess I always knew that, I just didn't want to admit it.”

“Do you...feel better at least?”

“Yeah...yeah I do. Thank you Derpy. Come on, we'd better get back in the air before Tempest kicks us up there.”

“You knew that was going to happen, didn't you?” said Tempest to the empty air beside her.

With a shimmer of light, Twilight dropped her cloaking spell and kept pace beside the taller mare. “Honestly, I thought it would take a bit longer than that. Sorry to interrupt your training session.”

“You're not sorry,” corrected Tempest.

Twilight giggled. “You're right, I'm not. But a Princess still has to be polite. Do you think she's serious about what she said?”

“Plenty serious,” affirmed Tempest, pausing for a moment as the pegasi patrols passed overhead. “We'll just have to see how long her resolve lasts. If nothing else, she'll be a better, more emotionally stable guard now.”

“I hope they choose to stay,” confessed Twilight.

“Derpy will,” assured Tempest. “And I have a feeling she'll keep the others around as well.”

“I'm still not sure why you won't let me use a friendship speech.”

“You need guards, not zealots. You don't want them to end up brainwashed like me.”

“Hey! I didn't...are you chuckling? You are! Oh you are so getting it tonight!”

Not for the first time, Spell Nexus turned around and looked over his shoulder. Even though he was cloaked in the most powerful spell he could muster and had put several more layers of spells underneath, he still couldn't shake the feeling that somepony was watching him. It was the castle, he concluded. Everything about it put him on edge. Perhaps when his liege returned...

Shaking his head free of the idle thoughts, Spell Nexus paused at a turning point and listened. Silent, as expected. Even though Princess Twilight had guards now, she still lacked a dedicated night shift, giving him a perfect opportunity to perform this task. Still, caution was necessary. Swift Shadow had been caught after all, and he was still entirely unaware as to how it had happened.

Letting out a steady breath, Spell Nexus slipped his hoof into his cloak and withdrew his map. Good, he was still going the right direction. Now all he had to do was take another right and he'd be-

Hoofsteps. Carefully, Spell Nexus pressed himself against a wall and held his breath, only to nearly jump in surprise as the door right next to him opened, the edge of the wood catching his map and tugging it from his hooves, sending it fluttering through the air and away from his cloaking field.

“Thanks, Derpy, I don't know how you navigate this place.”

Breath silent, Spell Nexus observed the two pegasi within inches of him. Lightning Dust, the washout, and the eternal enigma whose name he couldn't find any solid record of.

“I just tend to pick a direction and let the castle guide me,” said the gray pegasus. “I get to where I need to go eventually.”

“Yeah well, I hope I don't need to ask for your help every time I need to find a bathroom,” grumbled Lightning. “I could have sworn there was one right next to the barracks.”

“Maybe the castle just really wanted you to use this bathroom tonight.”

“Really Derpy? Why in the heck would...hey, what's this?”

Nexus debated for a minute whether or not he could disable the two armored mares. Maybe if he unleashed everything he had...but then Twilight and Tempest would definitely take notice, and leaving behind his magic signature would definitely expose him. Biting his tongue, Nexus watched helplessly as Lightning Dust picked up the dropped paper.

“A map? Has Tempest been holding out on us?” asked Lightning, unfolding the paper. “That little sneak.”

“We should give it back then,” said Derpy.

“Yeah, I suppose she'd figure out who had it eventually,” sighed Lightning, the two pegasi turning and heading away from him. “Wonder if we could make a copy of it first.”

Spell Nexus didn't wait to see how the rest of the conversation would turn out. He was already speeding down the opposite hallway, his eyes casting left and right to try and find the vault. His horn glowed, his mistress' magic coming to bare as he called out to her essence. Exceptionally risky, but he had a bead now. Right, through a door, left down a hallway, take the curve on the right, and- his hooves nearly slid on the floor and his horn winked out. Lightning and Derpy were in front of him again, just a few feet away.

“...was just lying on the ground,” finished Lightning, turning over the map to the figure in the open doorway.

“No, it's not mine,” came the distinct voice of Tempest. “Nopony this castle trusts would ever need a map to navigate it.”

“Trust? Why am I getting singled out then?” protested Lightning.

“Maybe the castle finds your frustration endearing,” said Tempest as she looked the item over.

“Maybe it belongs to an invisible pony,” suggested Derpy.

Tempest's eyes snapped upward. “Like Swift Shadow?”

“He never did say who he was working for,” agreed Lightning.

“I'll wake Twilight up. Go get your squad mate,” said Tempest immediately, not waiting for a reply before shutting the door.

Lightning blinked. “Hang on a sec...isn't this Twilight's room?”

Spell Nexus fled. The mission was a failure and his time was up. If Twilight began magical sweeps of the castle, his cloaking spell wouldn't hide him for long. Stairs, he had to find stairs. The castle couldn't possible hide those, could it? There! And the entrance hall was right in view and...impossible! How could she have made it here so quickly?

Flare Warden stood right in front of the doors, her ears perked up and her eyes looking around.

A gust of wind passed over him a moment later, the green pegasus narrowly swooping past his back. “Flare! You're up! Did you already hear?”

“Hear what? I thought I saw Twilight and I followed her here.”

“We've got another invisible intruder lurking around,” said Lightning quickly. “Keep the door guarded. Twilight is about to do some sweeps of the castle.”

“Maybe we should just wait for Derpy to give this one a concussion, too,” suggested Flare, though she was quick to plant herself at the doorway and begin looking around again.

Spell Nexus balked. Derpy had been the one responsible? The mare had immediately fielded the idea of a cloaked pony...and now she was galloping down the hallway towards him at this very moment, a wild look in her eyes.

Abandoning his plans for the door, Spell Nexus turned in the opposite direction and ran right before the mare's voice reached him. “Lightning, they're going this way!”

Nexus didn't even have a chance to realize what had given him away before Lightning was in the hallway, looking around as the lights of the castle came on in her presence.

“Alright, try this one!” shouted Lightning, moving at a dizzying speed up and down the hallway, opening the doors on either side. Brooms, mops, and buckets spilled out from each one, scattering into the hallway. Behind him, Derpy was approaching from behind and at the end, Lightning was sitting and waiting for any of the clutter to be disturbed.

That was it. There was no other choice. He couldn't be caught here, not now. Not like this. His horn glowed, turning from a bright blue into a sickly green and black color, and with a twist, he fired it at the crystal wall, melting a hole through it. The wall behind met a similar fate, and soon the one after that until he could finally see the outside. Gripping himself with his telekinesis, Spell Nexus flung himself outside, letting out a breath of relief as he finally felt the teleportation wards lifting. Even now though, he could see the green pegasus flying after him.

Barely enough time. His horn glowed, his magic built, and in a flash he was gone, leaving only a fluttering cloak behind. Several more teleports followed, disguising his trail until nothing would be able to track him. The final one took him back to his study in Canterlot.

That was it. His plans were ruined. The eclipse was coming and he had nothing. He needed a new plan, but for now he needed sleep. The dark magic had taken a lot out of him and he still had appearances to keep up.

Banishing what magical traces remained, Spell Nexus collapsed into bed, not bothering to remove his clothes, entirely unaware of the small string of bright green yarn that finally came unstuck from his hoof.

Chapter 6: Full Moon Frolic

Tempest surveyed the holes in the crystal wall grimly. Even hours after the incident, the lingering traces of dark magic remained, tainting the crystals around it.

In a teleport flash,Twilight appeared next to her and sighed. “It's bad, but we should be able to repair it eventually.”

“I'm more worried about the unicorn that did this,” said Tempest flatly. “The list of ponies with dark magic potential is short.”

Twilight met Tempest's gaze for a moment before looking away. “If you're wondering if I suspect somepony...I know a few, but I don't want to throw around baseless accusations.”

“The timing of it all bothers me,” muttered Tempest. “What is his motive?. Assassination, negotiation disruption, and thievery could be reasons, but there's a flaw in all three.”

“Do you think we should cancel-”

“Absolutely not,” said Tempest firmly. “Equestria needs you there.”

Raising her hoof, Tempest caught Lightning's attention. The signal was quickly relayed to Flare and Derpy. A minute later, all three of them filed in through the hole and were lined up and at attention.

“I realize the three of you are tired of this question, but if there's anything you can remember about the intruder, say so. The smallest detail could be important.”

“The pony was extremely good with their magic,” said Flare. “They were very careful not to leave a trace behind. That sort of talent takes years of practice and control even before you factor in the dark magic.”

“He really wanted to avoid fighting,” continued Lightning. “I mean, I dunno how strong this armor is, but before the castle woke up, he didn't attack at all.”

“Maybe they were doing the same thing Swift Shadow was doing,” suggested Derpy. “The magic cloak was the same, right?”

Tempest considered the suggestion. “The two cases could be connected, but Swift Shadow insists that he was working alone.”

“You don’t actually believe that,” said Lightning immediately.

“No,” replied Tempest. “But he's not saying anything more.”

“Maybe Swift Shadow was trying to steal something, and when he failed his employer stepped up instead,” suggested Flare. “But then why not wait until Twilight left the castle? Was she taking anything with her to the diplomatic summit?”

“Nothing noteworthy,” said Tempest, casting a glance towards Twilight before she straightened and dropped her speculative tone. “For now, we're going to play both angles. I will escort Twilight to the summit. The three of you will remain here and safeguard the castle.”

“You can count on us,” assured Depry.

“I'm sure I can,” said Twilight warmly. “Please be careful, okay? There isn't anything in this castle that I'd value over my own guards.”

Derpy beamed at that. Even Lightning looked a little bashful at the praise. Only Flare managed to remain stoic enough to respond. “Your concern is appreciated. We won't let you down.”

“You know,” began Lightning as she watched Twilight's chariot pull away into the sky. “I realize that we're called 'guards' and all, but I feel like we should be doing something instead of waiting for something to happen.”

“Like what?” asked Flare pointedly. “Tempest has probably considered all of the angles already. If there was something we could do, she would have ordered us to do it.”

“Unless she thought we couldn't do it,” reasoned Lightning.

“Alright, I'll bite. What could we do that Tempest couldn't?”

“Well, think about it. She's been distracted training us and helping Twilight prepare for the summit. There might be something she's overlooked.”

“Tempest did say she had a list of suspects,” pointed out Derpy.

“Probably,” replied Flare as she turned and let the trio back into the castle. “But investigating powerful unicorns is complicated and time consuming.”

Lightning huffed, taking to the air and idly flying at Flare and Derpy's walking pace. “Well we know what their target is, right? It's gotta be something in the vault. Unless they really needed a broom or something.”

“The cutie map is another target,” reminded Flare. “We can watch both easily enough on the schedule Tempest gave us.” Pausing for a moment, Flare looked at the door to the artifact room. Twilight's magical barrier shimmered in front of it, radiating power, though Tempest had said that they could pass through it so long as they had their armor on.

“Maybe we should try talking to Swift Shadow,” suggested Derpy.

Lightning looked at her in surprise. “You want to interrogate him?”

“Well...no, but maybe we could try something different?”

“Like what?” asked Flare. “Swift Shadow is a career criminal. He's probably endured dozens of interrogations. If Tempest couldn't get anything out of him, what chance do we have?”

“Maybe we shouldn't try interrogating him them.”

Flare inclined her head. “I don't follow.”

“Hang on a sec, I think I see where Derpy's going with this,” said Lightning, landing in front of Flare. “Think about it. How easy is it to talk to Tempest even when you're not in a dark room and sitting on a steel chair?”

“That's not how interrogation rooms are actually built,” muttered Flare.

“Whatever. But we've got a secret weapon that Tempest doesn't.” Sliding over next to Derpy, Lightning placed a hoof on her shoulder. “You've already got an idea of what you want to do, right?”

“Yes.” Derpy’s tone was confident.

“Are you sure about this though? This is almost certainly outside the scope of Tempest's orders,” reminded Flare, though she was starting to waver.

“I want to do this,” said Derpy firmly, not a trace of hesitation in her voice. “We're supposed to protect Twilight against anything that might threaten her, and this is one of those things.”

“Good enough for me!” said Lightning cheerfully.

“You could at least pretend not to enjoy rule-breaking so much,” grumbled Flare. “Oh don't look at me like that, of course I agree with Derpy. We’d better think of a good reason to see him, though. They’re not going to just let us walk in and use an interrogation room.”

“Swift Shadow? Oh, absolutely. I'll have a room prepared for the three of you right away.”

Flare twitched slightly at the prompt and honest response from the local constable. “Are you sure you don't want to check our identification or ask why we are here?”

“It's as plain as the sun in the sky that the three of you are Twilight's guards. Did you want to talk to him alone or would you like one of my officers on standby?” asked the warden happily.

“You're giving us a choice?” asked Flare, clearly shocked now.

Lightning gave Flare a light side kick with her hindhoof.

“Ahem. I mean...alone will be fine.”

“Splendid! I'll have the room prepared for you right away!”

Flare waited until the constable was out of earshot before speaking again. “Unbelievable. No wonder Tempest is so critical of the security forces in Equestria.”

“One problem at a time,” murmured Lightning. “Be glad we're getting this without trouble.”

Flare sighed and smoothed over her expression when one of the officers waved them over and led them through the building.

The 'interrogation room' was not a metal room with a single light and chair, but more like an office room with simple, comfortable benches and a carpet.

Swift Shadow was there, waiting behind the one way glass. The earth pony looked bored, as though he'd been through this a number of times before. “He's all yours,” said the officer cheerfully. “Just knock on the door when you're done.”

“You ready Derpy?” asked Flare.

Derpy nodded and shifted the bag on her shoulder. “Ready.”

Pushing the door open, the three of them filed in, with Flare taking point and Lightning closing the door behind them.

“Swift Shadow, I am Flare Warden. These are my fellow guard ponies, Derpy and Lightning Dust, but I'm sure you already know us.”

Shadow sighed and shook his head. “What do you want to ask me? I've already said my piece to Tempest.”

“Say it again for our benefit,” said Flare.

“Fine, fine. I was in Twilight's castle looking to snitch something. One of her quills, maybe a book or two. She's a very popular princess so things like that sell incredibly well to the right ponies.”

“And the cloak you were using?” pressed Flare.

“Purchased anonymously.”

“A pony using the exact same style of cloak broke into Twilight's castle yesterday,” revealed Flare. “When they were cornered, they used dark magic to melt a hole in the crystal and escape.”

Shadow simply shrugged. “I don't know who made my cloak. Like I said, I purchased it without ever seeing the seller. I wish I could be more help.”

“I think you can be,” said Flare flatly. “But I also think you don't want to talk to me. Derpy, he's all yours.”

Without another word, Lightning and Flare turned to the door, leaving him alone with the gray pegasus.

Swift Shadow stared at the object on the table in front of him, unable to shake the suspicious feeling in the back of his mind. “Is this...”

“A muffin,” confirmed Derpy.

“Yes, I know that. What's it for?”

“For eating of course,” said Derpy. “I mean, I suppose there are other things you could use it for, but eating is the best one.”

“No, I mean...why are you giving me a muffin?”

“To apologize. I really didn't mean to hit you in the head all those times. I promise I'm a much better guard now. I've been taught proper takedown techniques.”

Slowly, Swift Shadow leaned his head down and gave the muffin a sniff. It smelled quite pleasant, much better than the food he was getting here. “What's in it?” he asked suspiciously.

“Bread, sugar, and blueberries. Are you doing okay? I know concussions can be pretty bad.”

“I’m fine,” replied Swift, still poking at the muffin. “How did you know I liked blueberries?”

“I didn't. I'm best at baking blueberry and I wanted to give you my best when I apologized.”

Slowly, Swift Shadow took the muffin in his hooves and nibbled a bit off the top. It was just as good as the scent implied and didn't seem to contain any traces of magic like he'd been suspicious of. Less hesitantly, he took another bite and then another.

“Don't suppose you have...” he began, only to trail off when he saw Derpy pulling out a water bottle from her bag as well. Again, Swift braced himself for some sort of magical compulsion, but again, nothing came. Putting on his best sympathetic face, Swift pre-empted the question he thought was coming. “I'm sorry I can't be of more help. If there was anything-”

“Oh I don't want to talk about that,” said Derpy.

Swift swallowed the bit of muffin and gave her a curious look. “You don't?”

“Nope! I wanted to talk about Twilight. I used to be part of her fan club, but I never knew she had her own black market.”

Swift Shadow took another bite of the muffin and sipped the water after. It really was a good muffin and she was already pulling another one out of her bag. “Alright...what do you want to know?”

The time for stealth was over. Time itself was already short enough as it was, and his most recent failure had only closed the small window further. Nothing short of an all-out assault was going to work at this point.

Sliding his mask into place, Spell Nexus watched as several ponies emerged from the trees, each one with their face hidden and their features cloaked. Unlike the garments he'd given Swift Shadow these were built for combat.

“I've been given word from our contact. Twilight Sparkle and the other princesses are at the summit,” said one of the masked ponies.

Spell Nexus simply nodded in response. “Then we have no time to waste. Keep the plan in mind and remember what to do if the guards interfere.”

Letting the light of the full moon guide his hooves, Spell Nexus took the lead, four ponies filing in behind him, only their horns visible. The rest stayed behind, working quickly to draw up the circle and trace the runes for the coming ritual.

The first obstacle was the easiest, the door to the castle looming over them and shimmering in the moonlight. Nodding to two of the masked unicorns, Spell Nexus watched the sky. If Twilight's guards were expecting him, this was going to be the first point of contact. He'd come prepared though, with more than enough tools at his disposal to punch through their armor if need be.

And yet, even as horns glowed and carefully opened the door, nothing came. The night was quiet, the crystals glittered, and the castle was soon breached, letting his group of five slip inside. Things were going smoothly so far. Almost too smoothly, and the lack of anything even resembling increased security worried him.

From the way the others fidgeted and turned, it was clear they were thinking much the same thing. The feeling only grew worse when they made their way through the halls with nary a loose broomstick impeding their progress.

When the door to the artifact room came into view, it was almost a relief to see the powerful magical barrier twinkling in front of it, glowing with the color of Twilight's magic. She had increased her defenses, but it wasn't going to be enough. Nodding to the next two in the group, Spell Nexus took up watch once more. Still, no sign of the guards.

“They might be waiting for us behind the barrier,” he said aloud.

The ponies tensed at his warning, but the minutes passed and the castle remained eerily silent, only broken by the magical crackle as Twilight's barrier flickered and faded.

Letting the glow of his horn show, Spell Nexus took the lead once more and prepared to meet whatever resistance awaited him on the other side. Yet he saw nothing save for the artifacts within the room, with the object of his desires perched as the centerpiece.

“Light the room,” he ordered and shielded his eyes as a blue glow chased away the shadows. Even with the darkest corners illuminated, however, there was nothing to see save for the glass covered displays.

“Is it a decoy?” asked one of the masked unicorns.

Spell Nexus quickly probed the armor with his magic. “No, it's authentic. Our mistress' magic is still sleeping within. Pack it up, quickly.”

The unicorns didn't need to be told twice, each of them levitating pieces to them and gently putting them into black silk bags. All the while, Spell Nexus continued to listen for a clink of metal or a flap of wings, but nothing reached his ears. Was he simply being paranoid? Maybe Twilight's guards hadn't expected him to return to the castle again so soon, but what of the castle itself?

Again, nothing. The armor was secured and his group was out of the castle within the minute. Their pace picked up into a canter once the castle doors had closed behind them, but even when the castle was a distant image in the corner of his eye, Spell Nexus couldn't relax. Everything had been too smooth. Too easy. Was Twilight really that careless? If so, that made his mission all the more essential to Equestria.

Only when they were deep in the Everfree Forest did Spell Nexus feel some measure of security.

“Ten minutes to the moon's apex,” said one of the ponies at the circle. “The catalysts are in place and the circle is finished.”

Spell Nexus still looked the work over himself. Could there be a traitor within the cult out to sabotage? Again, nothing. The runes were impeccably drawn and glowing with the light of the moon, ready to receive and channel energy.

“Good work. I'll take things over from here,” he murmured, but there wasn't much left to do except wait.

Spell Nexus occupied himself by rechecking his work again and again. The minutes seemed to stretch out into hours, but finally one of the ponies murmured, “Showtime.”

Spell Nexus lit his horn and the runes lit with it. The clearing glowed brightly with both moonshine and magical aura. His magic shifted shade and matched the glow of the moon before he turned it onto the pieces of armor in the midst of the circle. This was it. After two years of planning, the proper ruler of Equestria would finally-

“Above!”

“Pegasus!”

The shouts nearly distracted him from his work, but he kept his calm as the other unicorns turned their horns skyward and let loose with a barrage of magic.

“She dodged?”

“How?!”

“Never seen flying like that!”

Spell Nexus risked a slight turn of his head, just barely catching sight of a gray coat. “Hold! Look for the other one! The green-”

He didn't even get a chance to finish before Lightning Dust burst from the trees, swooping low and blurring between the skyward looking unicorns. The sound of several metal clicks reached his ears and the ponies around him dropped with bright golden chains secured around their legs and glowing rings on their horns.

The four ponies that had accompanied him quickly closed ranks and erected a shield, only for it to shatter as the final pony in the trio burst from the trees and crashed into it and laid into his protectors with her hooves and own sets of chains.

Spell Nexus couldn't watch. He could certainly hear it and from the panicked shouts and bodies hitting the ground, it was not going well. He pushed more power into his channeling, exerted himself, and slowly his mistress’ armor rose into the air. Within it, the hint of an ethereal figure slowly started to take shape.

Around him, the cries had stopped. He could hear the sounds of hooves approaching him, but they were too late. “Nightmare Moon! Return to us!” With a final cry, Nexus let loose with the last of his magic. This was it! He could feel her energy building, being called to her armor and...and...

Something was wrong.

Across the armor, magical runes were appearing, glowing a gentle green color. Protective runes? But not Twilight's work? But how? No, he recognized this magic. Nearly stumbling from his fatigue, Spell Nexus whirled on Flare. “You! What did you do?”

Flare Warden stretched a single wing out, the very tip glowing with the same green color as the runes. “A trick I picked up in armoring school.”

Before he could even question the absurdity of her statement, Lightning Dust landed next to her. “Locked up every one I could find. Got one more ring for him. Good thing Tempest overstocked these things.”

No, he couldn't fail here. Not now. Not when he was so close! Turning around, Nexus nearly stumbled as he bumped into Derpy who had been standing behind him. He hadn't even heard her land.

“Um...Spell Nexus? Can you please tell us why you want to bring back Nightmare Moon?” Derpy asked politely.

Spell Nexus stared at her, but there wasn't a hint of cynicism in her voice. Even Flare and Lightning were holding their ground, waiting for his answer. “It's for Equestria's future. We're not safe anymore. Think of how many threats we have faced in the past few years. Discord, Sombra, Tirek, the Storm King...our enemies see us as vulnerable and weak. Equestria needs a ruler who can properly put fear into our enemies, not hope to maintain order through nebulous concepts of love and friendship.”

“But we've made it through all of those threats,” insisted Derpy. “And we stopped you from taking over Equestria too, didn't we?”

Spell Nexus snorted. “You should have put the chains on me first.”

He threw the cloak aside, revealing a myriad of powerful crystals strapped to his flanks. Their stored magical energy refreshing and amplifying his own. Lightning Dust lunged for him, only to be knocked aside as the earth around him tore from the ground and batted the guards aside with physical force rather than magic.

Glowing like a beacon, Spell Nexus turned his horn on the armor in the circle, pouring every last bit of power he had into completing the ritual, the crystals shattering one by one as he taxed them for every vestige of power they had. His vision blurred, his limbs went numb, and just as the last of his energy flowed from his very being into the ritual circle, Lightning slammed into his side and forced the sealing ring onto his horn.

His body collapsed, but a smile was on his face. “You’re...too late...Nightmare Moon, my liege…”

Every fiber of his being wanted to pass out, but he had to stay awake. He had to see the culmination of all his efforts finally pay off. Slowly, the shape of the alicorn took form, the protective runes on the armor burning away from the overload of magic. She was just as imposing and intimidating as the legends said, and even the guards seemed intimidated by her presence, taking a cautious step back while Spell Nexus crawled forward.

“Your majesty, I give you my fealty and Equestria. I beg of you, lead us into a new age under your wise rule!”

Vestiges of lunar energy flowed off of her in wisps as she moved, dark wings settling at her sides. Light from the moon bent around her, giving the alicorn of nightmares a ghostly look. Then, her horn glowed and the runes in the circle darkened while the wisps disappeared. The power in her horn grew at an exponential rate as she pointed directly at him. His eyes widened, his limbs too weak to move, and his magic entirely drained. “M-My liege?”

The magical blast warped the air around it as it left the alicorn's horn. Dimly, he heard shouting and a flap of wings, but his eyes remained fixed on the destructive force heading towards him. Why? Where had he gone wrong? Had he failed her?

“-own. Get down!” Something heavy slammed into his side. Spell Nexus only had a moment to see Derpy above him before the blast struck her square in the back, her armor glowing bright as she shielded him from the wave, crying out but standing firm. A moment later a second pony joined her, Flare Warden spreading her wings and easing Derpy's burden as the two sets of armor proved much more stable than one alone.

Lightning Dust moved as well. She swooped in and pulled him out of the way, before the sheer force of the magic pushed everypony aside, the beam continuing through the trees and decimating everything in its path.

“Form up!” The shout came from Flare and Derpy quickly fell into formation in front of Spell Nexus. “Lightning, get him out of here and get a message to Twilight! We'll hold her here!”

“Spell Nexus.” The quiet voice spoken in a duality of tone gave everypony pause. The armored alicorn was staring at him, but made no move to attack. “Please, Spell Nexus, put your fears to rest.”

The archmage's shock at her words eclipsed that of when he'd been attacked. “M-Mistress?”

“Equestria has its protectors. The princesses who are working even now to foster a lasting peace with our enemies, and the three in front of you who didn't hesitate to put their lives at risk for your own. There is no need for a pony like myself in this world any longer.”

The alicorn's horn ceased to glow and slowly the body began to fade. “Please, tell Pinkie Pie...I greatly appreciated her gift.”

One by one, the pieces of the armor fell away, the body of Nightmare Moon becoming more and more transparent until finally, the last of the pieces clattered to the ground, leaving only an empty shell behind.

Had Lightning not had a grip on him, Spell Nexus would have collapsed. Instead, he stared at the dull empty circle where Nightmare Moon had been standing moments before. Slowly, his attention turned back towards the guards. “How...how did you know?”

“Your friend was worried about you,” said Flare simply. “Said you weren't eating right. Were acting increasingly paranoid and reclusive.

“Friend? What friend?”

“Swift Shadow was really hoping we could help you,” clarified Derpy. “He said he missed the times when the two of you were testing and refining Equestria's lax security.”

Spell Nexus stared, open mouthed. Had he really had that sort of relationship with him? It had always seemed like business and yet...he did recall those times sharing meals while listening to his reports and the stories of his break-ins while telling stories of his magical studies in turn. Hours spent exchanging notes and building plans for improving Canterlot's security while pulling the occasional juvenile prank when Swift Shadow penetrated the castle's security.

Unable to help himself, Spell nexus wheezed a small laugh, the fatigue he'd been holding off now demanded his attention all at once. “Done in...by f-friendship? Perhaps...Nightmare Moon was right,” he managed before fatigue took him.

“I think we made the right call taking this outside,” said Flare as she surveyed the clearing. Just shy of twenty ponies, most of them unicorns, were in varying states of consciousness. Some had spent nearly all of their energy towards the ritual and fainted like Spell Nexus, while others were simply too exhausted to get back on their hooves with the cuffs around their limbs and horns.

“I don't know about you two, but I'm angling for a promotion from this,” said Lightning suddenly. “We bagged an arch-mage!”

“Who exactly are you going to get promoted over? Tempest?” asked Flare with a snort. She cautiously approached the armor and tapped it with a hoof, making certain no more energy remained.

“Well at least ahead of anypony they want to bring on next.”

“We'll already have seniority.”

“Come on Flare, don't ruin the moment,” grumbled Lightning. “You could at least show a little enthusiasm.”

“I'm happy we saved Equestria!”

“See? Derpy gets it!”

“You haven't already forgotten what comes next, have you?”

Lightning's face fell at the reminder. “The reports.”

“And the interviews and we have to carry all of them back to the castle. We'll need to get a message to the princesses as well. Celestia will probably want to hear what her archmage has been getting up to.”

“What are we going to tell Twilight?” asked Derpy.

“We're going to tell her that there was an incident that we took care of,” said Flare simply. “Like we're supposed to do.”

“You could make us sound a little better than that,” said Lightning before she turned to the downed ponies. “Alright, anyone who can walk, get your flanks up and start moving! If we have to carry you, you're getting thrown in the Friendship Dungeon!”

A few days later...

“I should have been there,” said Twilight for the sixth time that day as she read over the full report instead of the heavily abridged one she'd been given on her trip.

“You needed to be at the negotiation table,” corrected Tempest calmly.

“I know you said that we wanted our guards to deal with alicorn threats, but Spell Nexus? Nightmare Moon?”

“And your guards performed their duties admirably while you successfully negotiated a border dispute, a trade agreement, and took a meeting with one of Chrysalis' delegates,” reminded Tempest. “Because there were competent ponies to take care of things in Equestria.”

Twilight groaned, letting her head pitch forward and thump lightly on the desk. “You're right,” she mumbled. “I still feel like Nightmare Moon should be something I should deal with though.”

“Your guards did their job so you could do yours. You may be an alicorn, but even you can't deal with everything on your own.”

Chuckling lightly, Twilight lifted her head and reclined back in her chair. “So...you think they're competent then?” she asked playfully.

“Compared to the Canterlot Guards and Luna's Nightwatch? Yes.”

“That's high praise coming from you,” teased Twilight. “Are you going to let them know that, or do you need to maintain your image?”

“I will give them an appropriate amount of positive reinforcement,” assured Tempest. “And I will allow you to show your appreciation as well.”

“Oh, you'll allow me?” noted Twilight with arched brows. “You're giving me orders here, too?”

Inwardly, she celebrated as she saw Tempest's stoic look crack for a brief moment.

Twilight spared Tempest having to answer that and continued. “Well, you've given me proof of concept. How many more are you going to take on from here?”

“As many as it takes until you can stop worrying about your security. Then you'll be free to worry about other things. Like sleeping properly at night.”

A small smile slid onto Twilight's face at that. “Was that your plan all along? Hire guards to ease my schedule so that we can spend more time together?”

Tempest returned Twilight’s smile with a rare one of her own, flicking her tail in Twilight's direction as she slipped out of the room.

Epilogue

Breathe. You can do this.

Derpy made one last adjustment to her helmet to make sure it wouldn't tilt before she leaped from the starting line and flung herself at the stone wall, tightly holding the rope and pulling herself up. Tremors rippled through the wall and nearly threw her off, but her grip remained stable even as her body was shaken and jostled. Determined, Derpy hung on until the wave passed her and she climbed upward.

The waves intensified and the final buck would have shook her grip free, but Derpy was ready for it and kicked away from the wall at just the right moment to avoid the obstacle entirely before she rolled onto the cloud bank that awaited her at the top. Forgoing rest, she scrambled to her hooves, a strong leap taking her to the next cloud. She stumbled, once, and stalled, waiting for a more favorable pattern before she took the next several steps in sequence at a rapid pace.

Now she faced the Prism Gauntlet. Flare had explained the pattern to her numerous times, and she’d tried to learn but even now her best strategy was to simply trust her instincts. Instincts that immediately sent her stumbling under two beams, rolling out of the way of a third, and narrowly missing a dozen more as she reached the end and moved on to the sprint portion.

Somepony was waiting for her at the finish line.

“Good time, Derpy. A new best for you.”

Derpy ignored her fatigue as she straightened and saluted Tempest. “Thank you, commander.”

“At ease,” said Tempest before she passed Derpy her water bottle. “What brings you to the castle on your day off?”

Derpy downed half the bottle before she answered. “I wanted to get in more practice.”

“You're certainly free to use the castle as you wish, but overexertion will do you more harm than good.”

Derpy turned away with a light blush on her cheeks to avoid Tempest's gaze. “I don't want to fall behind.”

“Do you feel as though you're behind Flare and Lightning?” asked Tempest plainly.

“I just.I want to be more than lucky,” confessed Derpy sheepishly. “You said I shouldn't rely on it and I don't want to rely on it either. And you did give Flare and Lightning more work so I thought-”

Tempest raised a hoof and stopped Derpy's rambling. “Let's take a walk. You need a break.” Her tone left no room for debate, and soon Derpy was in step beside her as they left the obstacle course behind.

“I won't lie. In terms of physical ability, Lightning and Flare are quite a ways ahead of you. Flare has been training like this since birth and Lightning is an athlete who would have made the wonderbolts.”

Derpy sighed and hung her head. She'd come to much the same conclusion.

“Of course, if raw ability and potential were all that mattered, Lightning Dust would be leading the Wonderbolts instead of Spitfire.”

“Commander?” asked Derpy, puzzled.

“Form ranks! At attention, all of you!” The sudden shout traveled the length of the training field, interrupting Tempest's reply. Near the front of the castle, Lightning paced in front of a small group of pegasi with eyes narrowed. “Sloppy, all of you. Do you think this is some kind of race? This is a search and rescue drill. It doesn't matter how fast you are if you can't find your targets. Now, let's go over this patrol route one more time!”

Silently, Tempest and Derpy watched as Lightning went down the line, critiquing each of the ponies in turn while behind them the Cutie Mark Crusaders fought to hide their smug grins.

As the new recruits were chewed out over one detail or another, Derpy couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the pegasi as nothing seemed to have slipped Lightning's eye.

“Break ten and catch your breath, rookies. We'll be going another round once you're back!” A collection of groans met her declaration, but Lightning ignored it as she turned and approached Derpy and Tempest.

“Derpy. Commander,” acknowledged Lightning. “Come to strike fear into the new recruits?”

“And the old ones,” replied Tempest. “Your Spitfire impression is spot on.”

Lightning’s lip turned up in a small smirk. “It gets results. I'm still a ways from your death glare though. So whatcha here on your day off for?”

“Practicing,” replied Derpy meekly.

Lightning chuckled at that. “You push that course record down any more and they're gonna have to build a new one. I'm...what, two seconds behind you now?”

“Two and a half,” corrected Tempest. “Twilight does have plans for a new course, but that's not the reason I interrupted. I have a message to you from Spitfire.”

Tempest withdrew and presented her with a scroll. Derpy only needed a single glance at the ribbon to realize exactly what type of message it was.

“Oh...oh wow! Congratulations, Lightning!” Derpy exclaimed.

Shaking off her shock, Lightning unrolled the scroll and began reading. “Huh...I never actually thought...” she murmured, only to trail off.

“Are you...going to take it?” asked Derpy with a small quiver in her voice.

Lowering the scroll, Lightning's eyes flicked towards Tempest and then to Derpy. Finally she snorted and rerolled the scroll. “Nah. Send it back with my insincere apologies.”

Derpy squeaked and fumbled with scroll as Lightning tossed it at her. “Y-You mean-”

“When they want to make me a squad leader, then we'll talk,” replied Lightning haughtily. “Besides, things in the Wonderbolts aren't even a tenth as exciting as they are here.”

“I will be sure to pass along your message,” said Tempest with a tone that seemed to approach amusement.

With a final nod to Derpy, Lightning turned back to the recruits. “Alright, on your hooves! If you have time to eavesdrop, you don't need to catch your breath!”

“That was barely a five minute break!” protested one of the pegasi.

“Don't back talk me rookie or you'll be flying the next patrol with the weights on!”

Catching Derpy's eye, Tempest motioned toward the castle doors and the two of them left Lightning's shouts behind. “I used to think your lack of a poker face was a downside,” admitted Tempest, “but I now think it's one of your better qualities.”

“Really?” asked Derpy, astonished.

“Lightning saw your worry when you thought she might be leaving.”

Derpy blushed. “Oh. Well...I would have been sad to see her go.”

“I have a feeling she would have been sad to leave you behind. Maybe even Flare, too.”

The path Tempest took seemed rather indirect, wandering from the first floor to the second, a few more recruits passing by them, stopping only briefly to salute the pair.

“I feel like we make a really good squad,” admitted Derpy.

“You three do make a good squad,” corrected Tempest, “and I don't say that because of what happened with Spell Nexus.”

As Tempest was a pony who had always been sparing with her compliments, Derpy nearly did a double take at the continued praise. Instead, she managed just in time to stop the wide grin on her face and give a simple, humble, “Thank you commander. How is Spell Nexus?”

“Recuperating and being purged of dark magic. His office was searched and a number of Nightmare Moon artifacts were discovered. While it doesn't excuse what he did, Twilight theorized their continuous influence turned his reasonable security concerns into paranoia.”

“Have you considered using Pinkie's Party Dye on the artifacts? It worked really well for Nightmare Moon's armor.”

Tempest coughed. Had she just covered up a snort? “I’ll pass along your suggestion.”

The pair paused for a moment as the small group of recruits they'd passed earlier came back around, opening various doors and searching the rooms within.

Once the group had passed, Derpy opened up one of the nearby broom closets. “Have they come close to finding you yet, Swift?”

One of the objects in the broom closet that looked like a mop slowly turned, revealing itself to be a pony head instead of a mop head. “Two close shaves,” Swift replied in a whisper. “I'll jump out and surprise one of them in a bit.”

With a nod, Derpy shut the door and returned to Tempest's side. “He's really good, even without invisibility.”

“Clearly not the best though,” murmured Tempest. “So tell me, Derpy, what are you plans for the future?”

“I haven't really thought about it,” said Derpy. “A lot of the plans I tried to make before didn't work out for...reasons. Now I just try to adapt and take what opportunities come to me.”

“What if I told you that there's an opportunity for you here?”

Before Tempest could elaborate further, a voice floated through a nearby open door. “Is this really what you want, sis?”

“I don't know where you got the impression that I hate my job, Flash.”

Derpy paused at Flare's voice and motioned to the door. “Should we...”

“I had a talk with Iron Hoof,” conceded Flash. “She was...very direct.”

“She would be,” chuckled Flare. “Look, I don't hate you and I don't resent our parents. Do I wish I'd held my ground and stayed with Iron Hoof? Maybe. But there are good ponies here that are worth protecting, and they clearly need the help given what has happened in the last few months.”

“If you're sure, sis, but if you want to, I'll back you up against mom and dad. Everypony heard about what you did to Nightmare Moon's armor.”

“And I'll second that.”

Tempest's eyes widened slightly at the third voice. “Magnus?” she murmured aloud.

“You do?” asked Flare, the confusion clear in her voice.

“A hundred percent. You haven't forgotten my legend already, have you? Everypony always talks about the dragons and the trickery, but I've always remembered a different part of it.” The sound of metal sliding against metal spilled out into the hall.

“Is...is that your shield?” gasped Flare.

“Damn right. The only reason I'm standing here today is because the pony who made this did an amazing job. One corner cut and I'd have been a dead idiot rather than a living legend. The first thing I did after surviving that brush with death was to find Iron Phalanx and beg her to handle all of my commissions and gear from that point on. If your parents don't see the benefit of having an armorer in the family, I'll set them straight.”

Derpy couldn't quite hear Flare's reply, but she did hear Tempest's thoughtful 'hmm' next to her.

When she looked over, Tempest looked back at her steadily. “Interesting. I would assume we’d get an announcement for a pillar’s visit.”

“He...might have come because of a letter somepony sent,” said Derpy quietly, avoiding Tempest’s gaze again.

“Thank you, both of you,” came Flare's voice a bit louder now. “But you don't need to worry. I'm not letting my talents go to waste. I've been talking with Twilight about making her armor more cost effective and less energy intensive to produce.”

“Excellent,” said Magnus jovially. “I'd best get back to Canterlot before they send out a search party.”

“Can I ask one more thing from you, sis?”

“If you're going to try and get another picture-”

“One is enough!” said Flash hastily. “How about a hug from my favorite sister?”

“Only because we're not in public.”

There was a light clink of metal, some exchanged goodbyes, and a moment later Flash recoiled in surprise as he nearly bumped into Tempest outside the door. Quick to recover, the pegasus snapped off a salute and gave Derpy a smile before trotting off, Magnus following a pace behind.

When Flare emerged behind them, she didn't even look slightly surprised at Derpy's presence. “Could have sworn I shut this door...you talked, didn't you?”

Derpy shook her head. “Nope! I wrote a letter this time,” she said cheerfully.

Flare rolled her eyes. “You would.” Then, in a move that surprised both Derpy and Tempest, Flare stepped forward and wrapped Derpy in a hug. “Thank you.”

Even unexpected, Derpy was quick to return it. “You're welcome,” she replied, slightly muffled.

“I'm going to be careful about telling you secrets in the future though,” added Flare as she released Derpy.

“I'm just glad you could patch things up.”

“We'll see where things go from here,” corrected Flare, her tone a bit more cautious. “It's not as though Flash is any less of an oblivious dork, even if he is well meaning.”

“Speaking as your commander,” cut in Tempest with a raised brow. “I would assess that obliviousness is one of your family's shared traits.”

Flare jolted in place and made a belated salute at Tempest. “Sorry commander, was there something you needed?”

“I was wondering what your plans for the future were.”

“Well, in a minute I'm going to pull Swift Shadow out of hiding and embarrass the new recruits.”

“And after that? I hear you've been given an offer from Iron Hoof.”

Flare hesitated and her eyes flicked to Derpy before she replied. “And I'm going to be staying right here.” With a final nod to them both, Flare moved to the nearby broom closet and pulled it open. “I think we've enraged the recruits enough, Swift.”

With a gesture, Tempest led Derpy up the next flight of stairs.

“This place has gotten really lively,” observed Derpy.

“It's only going to increase,” said Tempest. “With a proper guard force looking after things, Twilight is planning on opening her castle to visitors. Particularly the library. Beyond that? Well, she has some big plans for Ponyville.”

Derpy stopped as Tempest slowed, ending their journey in front of Twilight's study.

“You recall before that I said I have an opportunity for you?”

Perplexed, Derpy nodded.

“I want-”

CRASH!

“So what did she say?” Twilight asked eagerly and blinked when she only saw Derpy in the hall.

“Too soon, Princess,” said Tempest patiently, stepping out from around the door.

“Oh...sorry, I'll just-eep!”

Twilight backpedaled into her study when Tempest closed the door.

“I want to promote you to squad leader,” said Tempest plainly.

Ignoring the squeak of surprise, Tempest continued. “It's not going to happen immediately. You still need some training and more experience, but I want to start grooming you for the position.”

Derpy looked as though she were about to hyperventilate. “But...but Flare...and Lightning-”

“-are both excellent choices. But above all else, a squad leader needs to inspire the ponies they lead, recognize their strengths, and know how best to use them.”

“You...see that in me?” asked Derpy, now practically breathless.

“I see flashes of it,” said Tempest. “And I see a lot of untapped potential. Even putting aside the crisis you helped resolve, you learned about your squad mates, helped them utilize their strengths while covering their weaknesses.”

Derpy's throat closed up slightly. She'd never heard Tempest give so much unconditional praise before, and she wasn't even finished.

“And however you manage it, ponies simply like you. And the castle? She really likes you, too. What do you say, Derpy? Do you want to put in the time and effort to become a proper squad leader?”

Twilight fidgeted in her chair while several small objects floated in her telekinetic field. She desperately wanted to hear the conversation outside her door, but she resisted the urge. She'd already embarrassed herself once by jumping the cart.

The second she saw the knob turn, Twilight teleported to the door and yanked it open, the objects on her desk falling into an unceremonious heap behind her. “Well? What did she say?”

Tempest smiled at Twilight’s antics and delayed responding for several seconds, clearly to make her squirm. “She said yes. Not in so many words, but I'll be starting her training tomorrow.”

Twilight beamed, only to hesitate as the rest of what Tempest had said sunk in. “Wait, what do you mean, 'in so many words'?”

Tempest stepped aside and revealed Derpy who was passed out on the floor with a dreamy grin. “Mare has no poker face whatsoever.”

Chapter 3: On the Job

Derpy squirmed a bit in her seat, adjusting her armor as she looked up at the chalkboard Tempest was standing in front of. Although the commander hadn't said anything to her directly, it was impossible to feel like this lecture wasn't targeting her specifically.

“The curriculum devised by Twilight and myself aimed to cover this subject later in the week, but recent events makes it necessary to discuss this now.” Placing her hoof on the board, Tempest drew their attention to the title.

Takedowns: Effective Technique & Procedure

“I’d say Derpy's technique with the door was pretty ‘effective’,” said Lightning with a chuckle.

“I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to-”

“Effective but not ideal,” interrupted Tempest. “Inflicting a concussion on a pony is dangerous to their health, and being rendered unconscious, as was the case with Mr. Swift, it makes them incapable of being questioned.”

“Um...is Swift going to be okay?” asked Derpy softly.

“He’s expected to make a full recovery, but he's not the issue here. The important thing is knowing how to do these things properly for the future.”

“He was standing invisible in front of a door, how could we have done anything differently?” grumbled Lightning.

“You couldn't have,” agreed Tempest. “This isn't a punishment, it's part of your job. Now keep your mouth shut and pay attention unless you think Swift Shadow is the only intruder you'll ever have to deal with.”

Lightning glowered but held her tongue as Tempest began showing the various tools and magical devices at their disposal. All of them were fairly straightforward. Hoof cuffs, horn rings, and a band to lock around the wings of a pegasus.

The actual takedown methods were not so simple.

Head trauma was obviously out, and there were only certain places one could strike at the wings, unless there was an actual threat to life. The instructions didn't stop at ponies, either. Yaks, griffons, changelings, and even dragons had their own rules of engagement and methods of binding.

“Do we often get visitors that aren't ponies?” asked Derpy once there was a lull in the lecture.

“Not presently, but Twilight has plans for Ponyville, and I imagine you'll be seeing lots of different species here soon.”

The lecture continued for a while after that, with Tempest highlighting some of the more commonly used 'social tricks' utilized by ponies to get around authority such as feigned outrage, 'knowing a friend', and talking nonsense to buy time.

The most surprising part of the lecture came at the end.

“And now that we've concluded, our field training today will take place inside the castle. You'll be walking your first patrol, with a small wrinkle.”

Flare and Lightning straightened in their chairs and looked more attentive while Derpy simply tried not to look nervous.

“Starlight Glimmer is hiding in the castle right now. She will be playing the part of a disgruntled noble. Keep these lessons in mind once you've found her and are made to take action.”

Hesitantly, Derpy raised her hoof. “Um...isn't Starlight a really powerful unicorn though?”

“She is,” agreed Tempest. “She’s also one of the most dangerous ponies to break into this castle and threaten Equestria through her actions.”

Flare blinked in shock at the news. “She did? How?”

“Through obscure magic and incompetent guards,” said Tempest sharply. “You'll find that to be a common theme with a lot of Equestria's problems.”

Flare opened her mouth to argue the point, but Tempest didn't give her a chance. “Your patrol route is outlined on the map here. Follow it, find Starlight Glimmer, and use the lessons I've taught you once you find her.”

“Is she um...going to fight back?” asked Derpy nervously.

“Just make sure your armor is secure.”

“You know, I think she's warming up to us,” said Derpy happily, a few minutes into the patrol.

“Tempest? Doesn't feel like it,” muttered Lightning as she closed a door and marked off another room on their patrol.

“No I mean the castle. We haven't gotten lost yet!”

“Derpy, we've barely started,” groaned Lightning.

“And you haven't run into a single broom closet!”

Lightning paused in the middle of opening another door. It was true, she hadn't gotten a faceful of bristles and brushes yet. Cautiously, she continued opening the door to find a simple guest bedroom on the other side.

“Wait, what do you mean 'her'? Does the castle have a gender?” asked Flare on the other side of the hall as she finished inspecting a different room.

“Well...no, but I think she identifies as female.”

“Based on what?” asked Lightning, pausing at the door to the next room.

“Well… it was made with the magic from the bearers of harmony and they are all mares.”

“Huh! That's actually pretty thoughtful,” said Flare after a moment. “How long have you been thinking about this?”

“Seriously? Come on,” scoffed Lightning. “For all you know, the castle is male and picked a bunch of mares because it's secretly a giant pervert. You're way over thinking-”

CRASH!

“Oh hey, looks like you found another broom closet,” deadpanned Flare as Lightning pulled herself out of a pile of mops, brooms, and buckets. “What are the odds?”

“It must be really convenient for the janitor to have so many cleaning closets around,” said Derpy cheerfully.

“Shut up...just shut up,” growled Lightning as she kicked the supplies back into the closet and slammed it shut.

After that, Lightning brooded in silence and, perhaps coincidentally, no further broom closets were found on the first floor. Though, neither was there any sign of Starlight. Their patrol eventually took them to the second floor and Lightning halted the group when her ear caught a sound.

“Hoofsteps, just around the corner,” she murmured.

“Talk first,” reminded Flare. “We don't know what kind of pony Starlight is emulating.

“I wasn't going to-”

“You were. Your wings are tensed.”

“Fine, you handle it then!”

Calmly, Flare took the lead and rounded the corner, frowning slightly as the pony clearly wasn't Starlight.

“Might be another curveball in the test,” murmured Lightning as they approached the blue cape-wearing pony outside Starlight Glimmer's room.

“Excuse me, miss, you're not permitted to be here,” said Flare clearly as she approached, flanked by Lightning and Derpy.

The unicorn in question jumped slightly, looking at the three guards in surprise before responding. “Not permitted? Do you ponies even know who I am?”

“We do not,” said Flare, bluntly. “You're going to have to come with us.”

“Come with...this is absurd! I am a friend of Starlight Glimmer!” A breeze seemed to flow through the hall, making her cape wave. The guards began to tense as her horn glowed. “I am the one...the only...great and powerful Trix-”

Several things happened at once. The unicorn's horn glowed bright, a myriad of objects detonating in bright flashes behind her as she reared up on her hind legs, but her declaration didn't even fully leave her lips before a green and gold blur zipped past Flare and brought the other mare to the ground in a clatter of metal.

“Get the ring on her!” snapped Lightning, spurring Derpy and Flare into action.

“Unhoof me! Trixie is a valued guest!”

“Ow! Grab her legs!”

“I'm really sorry about this!”

“Stop kicking!”

“Trixie refuses!”

“Does anyone have something to shut her up?”

“Um...would this work?”

“Why are you still carrying that around?”

“Get that thing away from Trixie's-mmph!”

“Because they've been really useful so far?”

“Is everything alright in here?”

All four ponies in the pile paused at the new voice and slowly looked upward to see Starlight Glimmer standing above them, a bewildered expression on her face.

“Starlight Glimmer! We were patrolling and found this suspicious pony wandering the halls. When we tried to escort her back to the entrance, she attempted to use magic,” said Flare quickly, finally managing to get the last cuff on Trixie's leg.

“Mmphh!”

Starlight brought a hoof to her mouth, trying and failing to hold in a giggle at the sight of the ball of yarn keeping Trixie silenced.

“Umm...did we mess up?” asked Derpy worriedly. “She did claim she was a friend of yours.”

“No, not at all,” said Starlight, ignoring Trixie's glare as Lightning and Flare pulled her upright. “You seem to be doing your jobs admirably.”

“Mmmph!”

“So what are you going to do with her now?” asked Starlight as she fell into step beside the guards.

“Well, we were supposed to bring you to Tempest, but since Trixie is an actual trespasser, bringing you both seems appropriate,” explained Flare.

“I see. Well, carry on,” said Starlight with another giggle.

“Mmmmph!”

“Oh relax, Trixie. I'll make it up to you later.”

“Right then...” began Tempest while she rubbed a hoof across her forehead. “Let's go over what you did right, and what you did wrong.”

On one side of the lecture room, Trixie and Starlight were in attendance, the former still shooting glares at the three guards on the other side.

“First of all, it is not acceptable to use gags as part of the restraint procedure.”

“Oh I don't know, I've found them to be pretty useful with Trixie,” tittered Starlight. Her amusement quickly wilted under Tempest's flat look. “Sorry, I'll be quiet.”

“Second, at my most generous, I'd assess that your reaction to Trixie's harmless magical display was excessive.”

“More than excessive! Trixie was tackled and cuffed and humilated and-” Trixie’s outburst was cut short when Tempest turned her stern glare on her.

“Trixie is exactly the kind of pony you might find yourself dealing with on a semi-regular basis. Arrogant, conceited, and with an expectation that you know exactly who they are and what privileges are allowed to them.”

“Hey!”

“And if she were somepony important, this incident might have caused actual trouble for Twilight.”

“Oh come on!”

“W-Well to be fair to Lightning, Trixie did cause an explosion with her magic,” said Derpy meekly.

“That sort of magic could have easily been interpreted as an attack,” added Flare with a nod.

Starlight sighed. “Trixie, I thought I told you to stop setting off fireworks in the castle.”

“Trixie has a brand to maintain!”

“Next time, let them attack you,” said Tempest flatly. “That armor you're wearing would give an alicorn pause.” Her eyes flicked to Trixie and Starlight. “Thank you for your time. You two can go now.”

“Trixie is still waiting for her apology!”

Lightning's eyes narrowed while Flare’s rolled in annoyance.

Derpy spoke up. “We're really sorry for the misunderstanding, Trixie.”

“Oh...well thank-”

“We're also sorry for putting the ball of yarn in your mouth. And for getting lost trying to find out where we were supposed to take you.”

“In retrospect, it does seem obvious that a Friendship Castle wouldn't have a dungeon,” muttered Flare.

“We're also really sorry for going through your saddlebag on the pat down and revealing all of your-”

“Trixie is grateful for your apology! No need to relieve the past!” said the mare quickly, standing abruptly and practically dragging Starlight behind her.

Tempest raised a brow once the pair of unicorns left. “What exactly did you do?”

“Nothing!” said Lightning.

“Nothing important,” corrected Flare.

“Well we thought it was a good idea to search her and it turned out she had a really exotic stock of-”

A chill seeped into the room as Lightning pointedly stared at Derpy.

“I mean...nothing?” finished Derpy, lamely.

Tempest frowned.

“Has anypony ever told you that you have the worst poker face ever?” asked Lightning as she pushed the bucket of soapy water to a new location.

“I do? But all of my old co-workers love playing poker with me,” wondered Derpy.

“Yeah I bet they do. Hey Flare, you actually gonna clean or are you just gonna stare at everything?”

“I'm looking, not staring. How often are you going to get a chance to look at Nightmare Moon's armor like this?”

Derpy did have to admit, even amongst all of the other trinkets, trophies, and baubles in the room, the armor stood out. Sharp and angular in appearance and colored in overlapping shades of black, even the pony mock up managed to make the suit look intimidating.

“Has a dedication and everything,” observed Flare. “Think it was bound for a museum?”

“Maybe. Guess Princess Luna didn't want her past mistakes being on display for everypony to gawk at. You gonna clean the damn thing or not?”

Flare sighed and withdrew one of the rags from the bucket, running it over the dedication plaque first before working on cleaning the plates. “Don't know why, dust doesn't have the nerve to settle on this thing.”

Quietly, Derpy found her own corner to begin working in away from the other two, trying her best to ignore the simmering tension. Nightmare Moon's armor may have scared away the dust, but that was clearly not the case with the other objects in the room, and it was an impressive collection to say the least. Amulets, statues, relics of various shapes and sizes...even though the majority of the items were behind sealed glass cases, the power coming from them was still rather noticeable. Several of them even had cards describing what they were and their purpose, lending proof to Flare's museum theory.

“Anything interesting in your area?”

Derpy looked up from a description of a strange looking bit and saddle to see that Flare had wandered over. “Some things...but a lot of this seems really dangerous. Why is Twilight keeping it around?”

“Historical or research purposes, probably. My family often talked the same way about the Starswirl Library in Canterlot. Lot of dangerous magical knowledge that can be catastrophic in the wrong hooves, but kept around because of its potential for good.”

Derpy could understand the sentiment, but it was really difficult to see how something like 'Sombra's Subjugation Collar' could ever be good for anypony, and while the talon from the Ursa Major's claw was interesting to see, it still seemed a bit tasteless to put it on display alongside things such as a bugbear's stinger.

It wasn't until Derpy was halfway through her work that a real problem came up though. “Um...Flare? Dust? Did Tempest tell us what to do if we found an artifact outside of its display case?”

“Is that a hypothetical question?”

“Um...”

Following Derpy's line of sight, Flare spied an almost innocent looking pink bottle on the ground tucked away between two display cases. The design was like that of a ketchup bottle one would see at a fast food restaurant.

“We should probably call Twilight to take care of it-” began Flare.

“Oh yeah, that's gonna look real good to our boss. It's a stupid bottle. Don't squeeze the thing and you'll be fine,” said Lightning with a snort.

“As if you're some kind of expert,” snapped Flare. “You haven't even read the plaque on the box!”

“Um...” said Derpy loudly, drawing Dust and Flare's attention towards her. “It says here that the object is called...” she paused for a moment and wiped her rag along the bronze dedication. “Perpetually Permanent Pink Party Dye. Handle with extreme caution.”

“Well that's just downright menacing,” taunted Lightning. “Maybe we should call Princess Celestia and Princess Luna while we're at it.”

“Maybe you should keep your mouth shut and think for once in your-”

“Don't worry, I'll take care of it!” said Derpy quickly, interrupting them once again. Ignoring their sudden panicked looks, Derpy used the cloth in her hooves to cover the bottle and gently roll it up into a ball before very slowly lifting it from the ground.

“I'll get the case,” said Flare hurriedly, moving around Derpy's side to undo the latch.

“Derpy, drop it!” Lightning shouted.

Derpy startled and the bundle dropped from her hooves and onto the floor. A moment later she saw Lightning's reason for the alarm. The rags were turning pink before her eyes, as if a dye was moving in slow motion across the cloth.

“Don't let it roll away!” Flare exclaimed.

“Get back! Don't touch it!” commanded Lightning before she grabbed her water bucket and slammed it over the rolling squirt bottle. To her shock, the bucket started to turn pink underneath her hooves.

“What kind of sadistic pony makes something like this?” cried Lightning.

“Ah-choo!”

The chaos within the bakery suddenly ground to a halt as a particular pink party pony sniffed and wiped her nose. Thoughtfully, Pinkie turned towards her assistant.

“Hey Gummi, you ever get the feeling that somepony out there is being suuuuper critical about your best work?”

Gummi responded with silence and a blank look.

“Yeah, you’re right. It's probably just my imagination.”

“Okay…now do you want to call Twilight?” asked Flare irritably.

“No!” Lightning replied hotly. Through a very careful maneuvering of the bucket and one of the last non-pink rags, the three of them managed to get the bottle back in its glass case, but the damage had been done.

The buckets were pink. Much of the water was pink. Nearly all of the cleaning rags were pink, and there was a bright pink streak along the floor where the bottle had rolled.

Yet all of that seemed insignificant to the single pink splotch that had somehow landed on Nightmare Moon's armor, and was even now spreading across the black plates and turning them into a bright, eye-gouging shade of pink.

“I mean...it doesn't look that bad,” said Derpy earnestly. “It’s a lot less depressing than the black.”

“Derpy will you just-” Lightning started, only to stop and take a breath. “We need to clean this... somehow. Flare, give me an idea.”

“Tell Twilight. Own up to the mistake. It was an honest accident,” said Flare. “Twilight is the Princess of Friendship, she'll understand.”

“I meant give me a good idea! Even if Twilight understands Tempest won't, and she's our commander! If we can't fix it, then fine, we'll say something, but don't tell me we don't have any other choices!”

Derpy hesitated, recoiling a bit at the near shouting tone. Lightning didn't sound angry so much as...desperate. Hesitantly, she spoke up. “Um...in Canterlot there's this armorer who I delivered packages to on occasion. Really big, dark orange earth pony...”

“You mean Iron Hoof?” asked Flare. “I know her. She's the one who handles the commissions for the guard captains and squad leaders. You're not seriously thinking-”

“If she can clean this crap off, you can be damn sure I'm going. Just tell me where I can find her.”

“She's all the way in Canterlot!”

“So it will take me a few minutes. I didn't get into the Wonderbolt reserves because of my looks!”

“Must have been your winning personality,” said Flare with a roll of her eyes. “Fine, you really want to do this? She's on Steel Street. Has a sign above her shop, Iron Hoof's Armory.”

Lightning nodded and took flight, zipping out of the trophy room before returning with a blanket from the barracks. She gathered the armor pieces off the display and bundled them up only to grimace as the blanket started turning pink. “Anypony have something to tie-”

She stopped abruptly when Derpy held out a ball of yarn to her.

With a sigh, Lightning took it. “I really should have been expecting that.” A minute later, the armor was neatly bound and tied to Lightning's back.

“When you get to Iron Hoof's Armory, tell her Flare Warden is calling in her favor,” said Flare. “You might have to wait a while otherwise.”

“Thanks for the tip,” replied Lightning, begrudgingly before taking off and leaving the other two alone.

Flare sighed and shook her head before turning to Derpy. “We should get back to cleaning. I wouldn't put it past Tempest to check up on us midway through.”

“What should we say if she asks where Lightning is?”

“We tell her that she went to get Nightmare Moon's armor properly cleaned up.”

Derpy blinked. “You want to lie to Tempest? Is that a good idea?”

“No! And sweet Celestia no! But Lightning is desperate right now and she isn't going to listen to reason.”

“But I was the one who messed up!”

“And Tempest seems to like punishing us as a squad,” reminded Flare. “Lightning probably already feels like she's on thin ice after Trixie.”

“But...why? Twilight is the Princess of Friendship and Tempest...isn't... always terrible.”

“I don't know. But what I do know is that most pegasus drop out of the Wonderbolts because they can't handle the training. And Dust is definitely not that type.”

“You mean she was kicked out?”

“Probably. And a black mark like that can follow somepony to their deathbed depending on how bad the break is. Come on Derpy, grab a rag, we're doing the work of three now.”

Derpy opened her mouth, clearly wanting to reply, but stopped, a troubled look on her face as she went back to cleaning.

“So...how are they doing?”

Tempest did her best to hide her smile. “I left a report on your desk, Princess.”

“Yes, but you're spying on them right now, aren't you?”

“If one of the dangerous artifacts gets loose, I will be certain to inform you,” assured Tempest as she adjusted the mirror she was looking into. On the other side, she had a clear view into the artifact room where Derpy and Flare were at work.

“That's not what I'm interested in and you know it,” huffed Twilight. “If you're not going to let me have a hoof in their training, the least you can do is keep me updated.”

“Would you like to know hourly, or shall I inform you every five minutes?” asked Tempest calmly, her eyes playful.

Twilight grumbled, her horn glowing as she rearranged several papers and books on her desk, resisting the urge to teleport the looking mirror over to her.

“If you must know, Princess, Flare is still cleaning and Derpy appears to have gone to the restroom. Lightning isn’t back yet. I'll be dropping in on them in a few minutes to make them squirm a bit.”

“Do you really think they're going to try and lie to you?” asked Twilight.

“Lightning would. Flare might. Derpy...maybe, if the other two put pressure on her. I didn't expect things to escalate quite so dramatically though.”

“Maybe it's a sign you need to ease back on the scare tactics.”

Before Tempest could respond, there was a gentle knock on the door to the office.

Twilight and Tempest shared a glance before the commander went to answer it while stowing the mirror away. On the other side was Derpy, who was unquestionably nervous as her single eye darted between Tempest and Twilight, clearly not having expected to see both of them.

Tempest was the first to break the silence. “Do you have something to report, recruit?”

The sharp tone made her flinch, but Derpy quickly straightened her pose and saluted. “I wanted to report that there was an accident in the artifact room. One of the treasures had been misplaced and I dropped it while trying to put it back. As a result, Nightmare Moon's armor got...um...pinked.”

Twilight and Tempest shared another glance before Tempest pressed Derpy to continue. “And?”

“And Lightning Dust volunteered to take it to a specialist to...help fix my mistake, but I wanted you to know that I take full responsibility for what happened!”

Tempest nodded, her expression unreadable. “Thank you for your report, recruit. You are dismissed.”

“Y-You mean...” Derpy's breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened. For a rare moment they were aligned in their shock.

Tempest realized a bit too late exactly how that had sounded. “No, I mean-”

“Derpy, come sit here, please?” interrupted Twilight.

Confusion flashed across Derpy's face and she gave Tempest an uncertain look. The commander quickly provided a verbal prod for her. “Go on, she's your superior too.”

Twilight gave her an encouraging smile as she sat down in one of the comfortable armchairs in front of her desk. “You're not in trouble, Derpy. You're not going to get punished, and you're not in danger of losing your job. Owning up to your mistake is absolutely the right thing to do in this situation.”

The relief on Derpy's face was clear, though the joy quickly wilted. “But...Nightmare Moon's armor was still ruined because of me, and Lightning...” She hesitated, realizing a bit too late that she might have said too much.

“Nightmare Moon's armor is a thousand year-old relic that I'd be happy throwing in the trash,” said Twilight bluntly. “Most of the 'treasures' in that room belong there. And none of them are worth more to me than a pony who was willing to throw herself in front of me to save my life.”

Derpy's expression changed from gloomy resignation to positively beaming in the blink of an eye.. “Th-Thank you Princess,” said Derpy, a slightly embarrassed blush starting to form on her cheeks. “Will...will Lightning be okay, though?”

“Lightning will be fine,” said Tempest before Twilight could speak. “Right now, you should worry about finishing your work in the vault.”

Enthusiastically, Derpy rose from her seat and gave Tempest a crisp salute. “Right away, commander!” And with a spring in her step, she was out the door.

Silence followed her departure, stretching out several seconds before Tempest let out a sigh. “You are radiating smugness, Princess,” she said without even turning to look.

Twilight quickly smoothed over her expression. “Am not, I'm just happy for her, that's all.”

Unseen, Tempest smiled as she turned back to the mirror, and watched as Derpy rejoined Flare in cleaning, working far faster and with much more coordination than before. “I don't think that approach is going to work with Lightning Dust, however.”

Twilight sighed and slumped back into her seat behind the desk. “Probably not. But everypony needs some positive reinforcement once in a while. Just try to keep that in mind?”

“Of course, Princess,” assured Tempest. “Although I'd come across as insincere if I don't temper my compliments with a healthy dose of pride trampling.”

Spell Nexus was careful not to let his calm demeanor drop until the door to his office was secure and the privacy wards were firmly in place. Only then did he fling his cape against the wall and let out a string of curses in long forgotten languages.

Things were starting to unravel before his very eyes. A simple reconnaissance mission which Swift had been able to pull off dozens of times before had ended with his capture, and while he trusted him to keep silent, the castle was no doubt going to be on high alert, and he was still no closer to learning anything about the guards whom Swift had been sent to spy on in the first place.

There was no time to make new plans and the window to adjust his current plans was rapidly shrinking. There were other agents he could use, but if Twilight had some new security system in place, then he'd simply be sending in another pony to get captured.

Idly, the archmage withdrew his scrying mirror and spoke to it. “Show me the artifact room,” he murmured. If nothing else he could at least be certain that it was still there.

Spell Nexus frowned. “Artifact room,” he repeated. “Artifact room!” With a frustrated snort, he tossed the mirror on the desk. The glass only showed a bright pink color.

They were on to him. There was no other explanation.