Dawn came early for Moon Chaser. The night shift always does that.
She woke up at the sound of the trumpet, got dressed, went to do the morning drills, and then went to the shower.
After showering, she waited near her locker until no one was around. She opened her locker, then opened a secret compartment at the bottom of her locker.
In the secret compartment lies a magical box sealed with a combination only she knows. Inside the box, she would usually find a letter.
That was how she kept contact with her handler from the outside.
Usually, she would read the letter, memorize it as quickly as possible.
Usually, she would write any detail of what she needs, or whether something needs to be done from the outside, like a bribe or a blackmail.
Usually, she would close the box, then the compartment, and be on her way to carry out any plan.
Today, despite starting normally, suddenly turned unusual when, upon opening the compartment, she did not find the box.
Moon Chaser panicked. She double checked every inch of the compartment with her hooves but the box is gone.
“Where is it?” She asked herself, frantically, as every horrible possibility rushed to her head. “Where is it??”
“Looking for this?”
The voice came from above her head.
The very familiar voice that should not have been in the military academy came from above.
Moon Chaser lifted her head and squinted her eyes, not believing what she is seeing.
“That’s some elaborate scheme you got there,” The foal said. His fur seemed to be newly grown as his pinkish skin still shaded under its blackness. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you are a yakyakistani spy or something.”
However, those eyes are unmistakable.
“Sun Light?” Moon Chaser asked.
The foal smiled. “The one and only.”
“What happened to you?” Moon Chaser wasn’t sure what was she horrified about more, the fact that Sun Light is almost furless, or the fact that her box is in his hooves.
“Didn’t you read my letters?” He asked sarcastically. But when she gave him a blank stare, he continued, “Of course you didn’t. I know that for a fact because I found all of them in Blueblood’s secret drawer.”
Moon Chaser’s eyes went wide.
“It seems, those who hired you to be their saboteurs didn’t trust you either,” Sun Light said calmly.
“What are you doing here?” Moon Chaser asked. She knew that she needed answers, but in order to get them, she needed to capture her brother for a small interrogation.
Kind of like old times.
“I opened the box,” He said, “Using your birthdate according to the calendar of the Phoenix Mountains is probably the least imaginative thing you could think of.” He opened the box, took the piece of paper inside and threw it at his sister. “You should read this carefully; it’s quite important, I assure you.”
Moon Chaser caught the piece of paper. There was only one line written on it: “They know everything.” Moon Chaser let out an ‘Uh-Oh.’ But when she looked up, her brother was not there.
“You should consider your options before following me.” Moon Chaser’s head snapped toward the door, where Sun Light was casually walking out of it.
Immediately, Moon Chaser ran toward the door. Once she stepped outside, she turned her head left and right only to see her younger brother running down toward the classrooms.
She gave chase.
Knowing that Sun Light isn’t that fast, she quickly caught up to him as he reached the end of the hall.
“Wait!” Sun Light exclaimed, “Wrong direction, the mess hall is the other way.” But when he turned, Moon Chaser was already on top of him.
“And where do you think you’re going,” She said with a huff. She was smiling. At the end of the hall are the classrooms. There, the teachers will help her in catching him.
“To the mess hall,” Sun Light smiled back, “I’m meeting everyone else there.”
Moon Chaser paused. Usually when caught, Sun Light would become frantic, but he is too calm in this situation. However, what normally happens isn’t happening today; Moon Chaser needed to take extra precautions. “No you are not,” She said, “Not until you tell me everything that’s going on.”
“Only if you can catch me,” Sun Light said. He lowered his body as if trying to outrun her.
“Fine by me.” Hoping to catch him off-guard, Moon Chaser jumped at Sun Light.
Only to be blinded by a flash of light as she landed head first on the ground.
“What the?” Moon Chaser quickly stood up, looking left and right, trying to discern where her brother evaded her.
“Where the hell did you come from?” Butterfly Kick suddenly exclaimed at the other end of the hall.
“Oh you know,” Sun Light retorted as he moved away from the pegasus filly, “Here and there.”
“Get Him!” Moon yelled at the other end of the hall.
But before Butterfly could do anything, Sun Light zipped to the other end of the hall at such tremendous speed that, had she blinked, Moon Chaser was sure she would have missed him.
“What in Tartarus?” Butterfly sat stunned by what just happened.
Moon Chaser came running at her. “Follow Him!” She ordered with a gentle tap on her shoulder, and so Butterfly did.
“Who tha hell is that?” Butterfly asked as she ran after Moon Chaser.
“My brother!” Moon replied.
“Mare, he’s way too quick to be your brother,” Butterfly commented. Only to be ignored.
Just as Moon Chaser reached the end of the hall, Sun Light had vanished again.
Moon Chaser yelled a sailor’s word.
Butterfly shuddered. “That foal is creepy.”
Moon Chaser busted into the mess hall, puffing. Every pony stared back at her in surprise. She did a quick scan of the room but could not find her target.
“Moon Chaser!” Yelled Butterfly, “Calm down. You nearly broke the door… again.”
“I can’t be calm,” Moon replied, “He’s here, and he knows too much.”
“Yeah? So?” Butterfly asked.
Moon chaser’s head snapped toward her friend so fast that Butterfly nearly jumped. “You don’t get it, do you,” Moon started to shake, “If Sun Light is here, it means my father is here, and that he is about to carry out his plan.”
“And is that a bad thing?”
Moon Chaser glared at her friend. “Is that a bad thing?” She gave her friend a dry laugh before lifting her in mid-air by the shoulders and shook her violently, “Have you been listening to any of the stories I’ve been telling you?”
“Weren’t… They… Exaggerations?” Butterfly managed to say between shakes.
Moon Chaser dropped Butterfly with her mouth hanging open. “That’s it,” She said, “I’m done for,” before she started laughing maniacally.
Duke Golden Hoof came to her side, “Is she okay?” He asked Butterfly.
“Apparently, her family is here,” Butterfly replied.
“And is that a bad thing?”
“I don’t know, but her little brother was creepy.”
“I got it!” Moon Chaser suddenly exclaimed, “We’ll kidnap Shining for a day.”
"Are you okay?" Night Vision asked Shining Armor.
"I don't know," Shining said, "I feel fine, but my magic isn't working like it supposed to."
Night Vision had been with Shining Armor since this morning, he could tell that his friend wasn't in his best condition ever since he couldn't make his bed properly. "Did anything happened while you were on guard duty last night?"
"Yeah, Moon Chaser gave me some medicine for the bruises," Shining said.
"Moon Chaser?" Exclaimed Night Vision.
"She had guard duty with me last night," Shining Armor informed him.
"I never trusted that pony," Night Vision sat in his chair cross-hooves.
"You never trusted anyone," Shining said, dismissing his friend's intentions.
"What did you talk about?" Night Vision asked.
"Well, she said if I promise to break up with Princess Cadence, she would guarantee that no one will bother me until our break," Shining replied.
Night Vision mulled over that bit of information for a second. Then he realized something amiss, "How can she guarantee something like that?"
"I don't know," Shining suddenly realized the same thing, "I didn't particularly think about it."
"Do you...?" The more Night Vision heard, the more he became convinced, "Do you think that Moon Chaser is behind the bullying?"
"She did say that she was benefiting from it," Shining did not affirm nor deny it, but the more he thought about it, the more things became clearer in his mind.
“I got it!” Moon Chaser suddenly exclaimed, “We’ll kidnap Shining for a day.”
Every pony looked at her with uncertainty, in particular, Shining Armor from across the room.
“Chill Moon,” Butterfly grabbed her by the shoulder, “There’s always another way.”
A grin appeared on the Duke’s face. “I don’t know Butterfly, If those stories weren’t exaggerations, then we’d be in deep trouble.” He motioned for a couple of cadets behind him, “Boys! Get to it.”
“Wait!” Shining yelled when two of the Duke’s goons approached him. “We can talk this through!”
Night Vision grabbed the knife he was eating with, then took a combat stance. “Looks like we’ll have to fight our way today,” He said to Shining Armor.
“You heard the order, Armor,” Duke Golden Hoof dismissed, “Don’t make a fuss about it and come along.”
Frustration turned into anger as Shining yelled, “We had a Deal! Moon Chaser!”
“A new situation demands a new form of action,” Moon Chaser simply mumbled, “I’m sorry.”
Despite his current condition, Shining readied himself for a fight. Five of Golden Hoof’s gang surrounded him and his friend.
But before anyone could throw a punch, a dark figure appeared behind one of the statues. “This is getting too painful to watch,” The black foal said.
His eyes shining golden at the goons, “First I’ll take care of you,” He said.
Then, Sun Light tapped with his hoof a rope and it started glowing a strong yellow aura. He lifted his hoof while rising with his entire body, and the rope stood up like a snake. He then threw his hoof with a wide circle and the rope went flying toward the goons tying them up before they could even breathe.
The room suddenly fell silent. “Enchanted rope from Princess Celestia,” The foal explained, “She thought it might come in handy.”
Moon Chaser felt her blood boiling. “Sun Light!” She yelled. Her frustration toward her little brother exploding. She charged at him.
Sun Light simply shrugged, then pulled a small box with a button on top from behind him and placed it on the floor in front of him.
The moment Sun Light came in range, Moon Chaser jumped.
Sun Light pressed the button.
The box opened, expanded to a large size, jumped at Moon Chaser, ate her, then shrunk to his original size.
The room fell deadly silent.
Sun Light’s eyes light up with delight. “Ehh!? So that’s how it works,” He grabbed the box to examine it, “The tech department sure has a lot of neat stuff in their basement, I should go there more often.”
“Wh-who are you?” Night Vision stuttered.
Sun Light turned toward him with an unimpressed glare and said, “Her brother,” while pointing at the box.
“That’s crazy!” Duke Golden Hoof exclaimed. “You’re crazy!” He pointed a hoof at Sun Light.
“I beg your pardon!?” A voice came from behind.
The Duke turned his head only to find the minister of defense standing behind him.
“My son is not crazy,” The minister defended, “Though I wouldn’t put it past him to be an evil genius.”
“Hey dad,” Sun Light yelled, “Can I go to the tech department some more? These things are awesome.”
“No,” The minister denied, “You are too dangerous without having the most advanced weapons in the military at your disposal.”
Sun Light’s smile vanished. “Cheapskate,” He mumbled.
“Where is your sister?” The minister asked.
Sun Light picked the box and threw it to him.
The minister raised an eyebrow. “And them?” He pointed at the tied up ponies.
“Come here, rope.” Sun Light ordered, and the rope obeyed, untangling the five ponies, then flying toward him in a well-arranged loop.
“Isn’t there something else you wanted to do?” The minister asked his son, “Something Princess Cadenza asked of you?”
“I was going to do that now,” Sun Light said. He walked toward Shining Armor, grabbed his tail by his teeth, then with a “come with me” he dragged the unicorn outside.
After seeing his son leave the building, the minister let out a sigh. He then placed the box on the ground and pressed the button again.
The box opened and Moon Chaser jumped at the closest pony she could find with a “Gotcha!” Only to slam head first into her unmovable father.
Moon Chaser looked up to see her father glaring at her. “Hey... Daddy,” She said with her most winnable smile.
“Hey Moonie,” Minister Evening Star gave her his most forced grin to date.
“I’m in big trouble, aren’t I,” Moon Chaser said while fidgeting.
A dry laugh escaped minister’s Star’s lips. “You have no idea.”
“This looks like a good spot,” Sun Light said upon reaching one of the shores of one of the lakes.
Shining Armor just glared at him.
“No one should be able to listen in on us talking this far from the academy,” Sun Light noted, “Right?”
“I guess,” Shining pouted.
“Are you still upset that I dragged you from your behind all through the academy?” Sun Light asked.
“Not really,” Shining said, "Kind of relieved that you dragged me out of there... I didn't catch your name."
“Didn’t I already tell you?” Sun Light replied with a playful tone, “Where are my manners?” He said, taking a step back then giving a bow, “Sun Light Helios at your service.”
The name immediately jumped at Shining Armor. “Sun Light as in…”
“Moon Chaser’s little brother, Twilight Sparkle’s tutelage adviser, the Colt of Canterlot Castle,” Sun Light thought for a moment, “I bet I have more titles, but they are irrelevant to your situation.”
“Look, I didn’t do anything to your sister,” Shining reacted defensively, seeing the young colt's arsenal of defensive gadgets which took out too many ponies that are stronger than he is, coupled with the fact that his magic isn't working at all, he chose the path of least resistance. “If anything she’s the one who has a beef with me.”
However, Sun Light’s purpose was entirely different from what Shining Armor would expect.
“Oh, we’re well aware of that fact,” Sun Light replied to Shining’s surprise, “I’m not here to justify her actions. I am here to simply offer my help.”
Sun Light could read every emotion on Shining’s face; he could tell that Shining Armor regarded him with skepticism. “Well, to be more precise, I was ordered to help you by Princess Cadence,” He added.
But to achieve his purpose, Sun Light wanted Shining Armor to weigh each word he has to say.
“Princess Cadence?” Shining Armor said in surprise.
“Though I am a little disappointed when I saw you,” Sun Light said, trying to get Shining Armor back on the ground, “If Cadence was any reference, you’d be a few hooves taller, thrice more muscled with a horn the size of a sword. Colt, you turned to be a bore.”
“EH??” Shining felt his blood boiling again. He was completely at a loss if that colt was with him or was just making fun of him.
However, Sun Light immediately added, “Thankfully, that’s where I come in.”
Shining regarded Sun Light with more suspicion than ever.
To which Sun Light elaborated, “I’m going help you become the captain of the royal guard.”