//------------------------------// // The Attack // Story: In Odd We Trust // by marmalado //------------------------------// The supervillain lair wasn't quite the foreboding place Twilight had imagined it to be. Instead, it looked to be more akin to a town hall building in appearance and a community center in design. With its wooden, pockmarked walls, its many rooms, and even a swimming pool (that was just installed last year, according to Odd Todd), she could hardly believe that the villains of this world would set up shop here. None of Equestria's villains would, that's for sure. As the group descended down a flight of stairs, Twilight took the time to glance at the pictures on the walls. All of them consisted of villains from both past and present, and even some ones that looked futuristic. Sweet Celestia...is this what Odd Squad has to fight? Is this what they've been fighting against ever since cavepony times? she thought, fiddling with her own badge. Now I understand. I know why this world has to be saved. They're just kids...they shouldn't have to face threats like this. Threats that try to destroy the very world they live in. But damn it, that doesn't mean they're not going to try. Even if they stake their lives on it. It was, perhaps, the same reason that she and her friends had saved Equestria many times over. They loved the home they lived in, and if anyone tried to threaten it or destroy it, they had no qualms with stepping up to the task to save it. To preserve its purity, its hope, its freedom. We both have similar motives...we both live our lives in similar ways...I was so foolish for not realizing that earlier. The group arrived at a room that looked much like a meeting room. Folding chairs lined the walls, and there was a platform and a podium with a microphone that stood at the front. Twilight couldn't explain it, but for some reason, the wooden walls made the place feel more...homely. Perhaps because she was a mole, a hero plaguing the villains' side undercover, who was "becoming the mask", so to speak. Twilight magically conjured up some thick rope, levitating it behind her without turning around. "Put the ponies down on their backs and use this to tie their hooves together." The villains complied, with the ponies shooting concerned glances at Twilight. In response, the alicorn merely pulled five necklaces with gems attached to them from hammerspace. Each gem was in the shape of the ponies' cutie marks. "What are those?" Odd Todd asked, in the midst of helping Mr. Lightning tie up Rainbow Dash. "Power limiters." Twilight replied, levitating them towards the villains. "Look at the marks on each pony's flank. Put these necklaces on them and make sure that they correctly correspond with each mark." Jamie, Evil Teddy, Kooky and Stitcher all complied without hesitation. Mr. Lightning, however, was a little skeptical, eyeing the red-lightning-bolt-studded necklace with intrigue. "Hey, Oddlight. Ya sure this is a power limiter? Seems like it does the opposite to me!" Twilight's breath nearly caught in her throat as she forced herself to remain cool. "No, no. Uh, no. Believe me, Mr. Lightning, I crafted these myself. Do you think I would make such items that would give power to our enemies?" Her question was met with the same suspicious look. "No...no I don't." Mr. Lightning began to head for the door on the other side of the room. "Anyway, I'm just gonna head to the bathroom, I'll be right back." Fluttershy's eyes widened as her gaze shifted to Twilight. Is that...that's where... A falsetto scream made her jump. Mr. Lightning rushed back inside and slammed the door. "It-it's a setup! She's trickin' us! I knew it!" "What the hell are you talking about?" Jamie asked. "There- there are animals waiting outside!" "Animals?" Odd Todd laughed. "Oh, you mean Odd Squad agents, right?" "No, not them!" Mr. Lightning speed-walked over to Odd Todd and grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him to the door. "Go and see for yourself!" The pair went out the door. "Holy FUCK!" Twilight smirked. Kooky, Jamie and Stitcher all raced to the door and poked their heads out. What met their gaze was a large crowd of animals, ranging from bears to moose to birds to bunnies -- and needless to say, they weren't necessarily happy to see them. "Wh- why are there animals in our supervillain lair?!" Kooky blinked, and then smiled. "It's kind of kooky." "What do they want?" Jamie asked, her tone completely full of panic. "Everyone, back inside, now!" Odd Todd ordered, making a shooing motion with his hands as everyone made their way back inside the room. He slammed the door shut, heavy breaths wracking his body. A pause hung in the air. Mr. Lightning extended his index finger towards Twilight. "You." "Huh?" "You sent those animals here, didn't you?! Admit it!" "Mr. Lightning, stop it! I trained Oddlight plenty in the ways of oddness. There's no way she would fight back against us." Odd Todd scoffed. "Maybe you took one too many lightning bolts to the brain." "No, I-" Mr. Lightning stammered. "Look at her. She's from another world. She's wearing an Odd Squad agent suit. Doesn't she make you even a tiny bit suspicious?!" By this point, Twilight would most likely be panicking out of her mind about how the plan was falling apart before her very eyes. About how she and her friends were all dead to rights. About how she would be letting so many people down -- Ms. O, Olive and Otto, the princesses. But the truth was, these villains were playing into the plan exactly. While she hadn't anticipated Mr. Lightning's outburst, the point of the matter was that five of the six Elements of Harmony were on her friends. All she needed was one more to begin the reformation. But before that... "Oddlight?" Odd Todd looked at her with an expression of anguish and hurt. "Is this true? Were you really just faking turning to the side of oddness?" Twilight remained silent, ducking her head low so that no one could see her expression. The three villainesses looked genuinely surprised, while Mr. Lightning was about ready to blow his stack and send thunderbolts raining down on the alicorn hard enough to make Zeus shed a tear. Slowly, ever so slowly, her horn became surrounded by a purple aura. The rope holding her five friends in capture followed suit. She slowly untied the knots holding their hooves together, freeing them. "Unbelievable!" Jamie's eyes widened. Twilight let go of the rope, allowing the others to stand on their own hooves and march over to her side. Odd Todd looked genuinely speechless. "That is correct." The alicorn pulled out a tiara affixed with a gem matching her cutie mark from hammerspace, resting it on her head. "I knew it! Those aren't power limiters! What are they?!" Mr. Lightning's voice was practically a shout. Twilight could feel the fire blazing in his eyes, but didn't flinch. "These are the Elements of Harmony from our world. When used together, they will purify you and turn you to the side of good. And that is exactly what we intend to do!" She gestured to her five friends, who all gave nods of agreement. "No! I don't wanna turn to the side of good!" Kooky exclaimed. "I've been kooky for so long, there's- there's no way..." With her large clown shoes, she made her way over to the door on the other side, and flung it open. She was instantly met by the crowd of animals, all growling at her. "I wouldn't try to escape if I were you. Fluttershy's animals are very well-trained, and they're very strong." Kooky whimpered. Her eyes darted around, trying to find any means of escape. But there were none -- she quickly came to the conclusion that even if she did manage to escape, some animal in the crowd would catch her within ten seconds, given her lack of speed. She closed the door, giving a shaky sigh. "Would you believe that none of you" - she gestured to Jamie, Kooky, Mr. Lightning and Stitcher - "are our targets?" "So you're not gonna reform us?!" Kooky asked, giving an exhale of relief and clutching her hand to her chest. "No, no. We're still going to reform you." Twilight walked towards Odd Todd. "But our primary target...is you." "M-me?" "Yes, you. Don't think we don't know what you did to Olive." Twilight scoffed. "You killed many of her co-workers and caused her trauma. Trauma that haunted her up until very recently. It was very lucky for you that she saw us coming here and defeating you as a chance to better herself and heal. So instead of going straight out and killing you, as Ms. O wants, we're going to reform you. Because I believe that you can do good in this world. That you can use your powers for good instead of evil." Something snapped in Odd Todd right then and there. Whatever shock he had been going through completely wore off. What festered in its place was rage. Pure, unadulterated rage. "Let me tell you something. If that scrappy little bitch had said yes to my offer of joining the Todd Squad, we wouldn't fucking be here right now. Instead, she's stuck with people that don't fucking support her. She's stuck with people that want normalcy in the world. Well, guess what? 'Normal' is a relative term! If normalcy is achieved, there will always be at least one person that fights back against it because it doesn't fit their perceived definition of what 'normal' is!" Odd Todd clenched his fists. "Odd Squad's modus operandi is flawed, and that's not even getting into their own hypocrisy." He scoffed. "I had my suspicions on you from the beginning. Seems I've been proven right. And it seems Mr. Lightning has been proven right too." "Damn right! It was that one that made me suspicious!" Mr. Lightning pointed at Rainbow Dash, who held a hoof to her chest in a "who, me?" gesture. "Actin' all calm when I captured her. No Odd Squad agent acts calm, they act cocky 'cause they think they got the upper hand!" "That's not true!" "SILENCE!" The shout from Odd Todd caused Rarity to take a step back in shock. "I think I've made my point quite clear. I see no reason to continue with my rant. But if my words don't sway you..." He chuckled. "Then go ahead. Try and reform us with your stupid little gemstones. See how far you get." "Gladly." The gemstone on Twilight's tiara began to glow a bright purple. The light was blinding enough for the five villains to shield their eyes. As the ponies began to float, the pink butterfly gemstone on Fluttershy's necklace shot out two bright, thin, rainbow-colored tendrils, one on each side, which slowly connected with the gemstones in the other necklaces. As the ponies' eyes began to glow white, the two tendrils made their way to Twilight's gemstone and connected. Before the villains knew it, a multicolored laser was speeding towards them. It hit them dead-center, much to their dismay as they began to let out horrific cries of pain and anguish. However, the only one who wasn't showing any sort of reaction at all was the villain whom they were primarily targeting. The laser faded away, and the ponies floated back down to the ground. Kooky, Jamie, Stitcher, Mr. Lightning and Teddy were all lying on the ground and moaning in pain as bolt-shaped remnants of the laser crackled above them. "No way! It can't be!" Pinkie cried out. But, to her and the others' horror, it was. By some miracle, Odd Todd had survived the blast completely unscathed. He stood in place, a smirk slowly spreading across his face. "It...didn't work?" "Of course it didn't...Agent Twilight!" Odd Todd let loose his signature evil laugh, a shrill cackle that echoed throughout the room. "Your most powerful magic won't work in this world. Because you see, I don't wish to reform. There is a reason why I'm called Odd Todd. I won't rest until Odd Squad is on their knees, completely begging for mercy. Begging to be consumed by the wonder and whimsy of oddness." "Twilight!" Applejack called out, giving a single nod to her as though reminding her what had to come next. The alicorn gave a heavy sigh and closed her eyes. "I didn't want to have to do this, Odd Todd. None of us did." Her Element of Magic began to glow once more. "But we don't have a choice." The sound of a yelp and a thump was heard. Twilight opened her eyes, the glow of her Element dying down as she tried to take in what she saw. "Your life is forfeit, Todd." "It's Agent Olive- gah!" Kooky attempted to lift her head, but she was still in massive pain from the laser and didn't get very far, only being able to identify the agent that had somehow, some way, gotten so close to Odd Todd that she had knocked him on his stomach and had placed one foot on him to keep him steady. "Olive?" Twilight was taken aback, blinking rapidly as though trying to confirm that what she was seeing wasn't some kind of dream. "What are you doing?" "I told you I wanted to kill him, didn't I?" Olive's voice was more rigid and steely than usual, in a way that it shook Twilight to the core almost as much as Mr. Lightning's stares of suspicion. "And did you not say that you don't want to use your Elements of Harmony to kill him?" "Well...yes. But I talked to the princesses and they said that by all means, we should kill him using the Elements if reforming him doesn't work." "Please. The Elements couldn't reform him. It's like he said -- they don't work in this world. What makes you think they're going to effectively kill him?" "Olive, you don't-" "Shut up, you impudent asshole." The agent dug her heel into Odd Todd's spine, causing him to wince from the pain. Twilight's eyes widened. She's right. The Elements are the most powerful magic known in Equestria. If they don't work here...then they don't work here. She leaned over to her left at the four villains who were still moaning and groaning in pain, some attempting to sit up but ultimately failing. At best, it seriously wounds people. But Odd Todd...he's just too powerful. He's not like the other villains. "She has a point, darling." Rarity rested a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "We cannot reform him using the Elements. So our next best option would be to kill him." "Ah know this has ya troubled." Applejack spoke. "But just think of all the bad things he's done t' Odd Squad." "And think of what he's done to Olive!" Rainbow Dash scoffed. "If she wants to kill him, then he should be killed!" "It would be the best option for both worlds." Fluttershy nodded. "You did mention that the princesses had told you he could go into Equestria and begin causing trouble there. If Olive killed him right here..." "Yeah! There's no way a big ol' meanie-pants like Odd Todd should be allowed to cause Odd Squad more harm!" Twilight listened to her friends' input. She was quite surprised that Fluttershy in particular was all for Olive killing Todd -- normally, any word relating to the act wouldn't dare be brought up by her. If she wants Odd Todd dead, then... By this point, Odd Todd only had fear and pain written all over his face. Olive, meanwhile, smirked, seeming to sadistically enjoy the aura of distress that radiated off of her former partner. "All right, Olive." Twilight stepped back, and the other five ponies followed suit. "If you want to kill him...then we won't stop you." "Good." Olive reached behind her back, moving her hand around as though digging for something in her hammerspace spine. "Now, let me decide on a good murder weapon...such a pity we have a Chaos-inator but no Murder-inator in our arsenal. Gotta ask Oscar about that." "O-Olive, please, look, I'm sorry!" Odd Todd stammered. "All I wanted was for...for you to join me in causing oddness! To drop Odd Squad and team up with me! To experience the thrill of us being partners again! Is that something you would stake my life over?!" Olive laughed, although it wasn't one of her typical genuine rare laughs -- it was a laugh that held absolutely no niceties within it, a laugh that was filled with poison of one of the most harmful degrees. "Is that a rhetorical question?! You motherfucking dumbass. A simple 'I'm sowwy, Owive' isn't going to make up for the shit you've done, Todd. For fuck's sake, you murdered kids. Kids! Innocent kids! And for the kids you didn't kill, you certainly fucked up their lives. You even had the audacity to try and kill someone that, in any other instance, would be immortal! All because of your selfish desire to try and make the world more odd." Her hand grasped something long, steely, and hard. "Well, you know what they say...living well is the best revenge. And surprise, motherfucker! I'm alive, relatively healthy, and with a new partner that certainly doesn't have a stick up his ass all the time blabbing about how normalcy sucks. He's been a great teammate. We're like brother and sister. I couldn't imagine life without him." She pulled out a tool that Twilight, and Odd Todd, were both very familiar with. A thick sword, with a handle made out of the same material as a jackalope's antlers. "You are honestly the most pathetic piece of shit I have ever seen. After today, I don't ever wanna see your fucking face or hear your fucking voice ever again. And I'm quite sure the rest of Precinct 13579 feels the same way." She gripped the handle of the sword hard enough for her knuckles to turn white and raised it as high over her head as she could muster, making sure to angle the blade directly in the middle of Odd Todd's spine. "Any last words before you become a dead meat sack?" Odd Todd's eyes drifted to the blade of the sword that would swiftly mark the end of his life. Instead of pleading with Olive once more, however, his expression of fear turned into one of calm, a soft smile dancing on his lips. "It's Odd Todd now." Twilight couldn't bear to watch as the sword was brought down. She winced, holding a wing over her eyes to shield her vision while also folding her ears downwards in a futile effort to block out the crunch of bone, the squelching of organs, and the choking sounds Odd Todd began to make. The other villains, now free from the attack's remnants, slowly sat up. As Kooky rubbed her head, her eyes slowly opened. "Odd...Todd?" Teddy, Jamie and Mr. Lightning all gasped as they bore witness to the villain who was dying right in front of them. The villain who effectively served as their leader. "Get off of him, Olive." "The damage has already been done, Jamie Jam." Olive spoke, not bothering to turn around. "Twilight, you and your friends call up Precinct 13579. Get them to send a couple agents over here to collect these guys." "But-" "I'll be fine. There's not much this asshole can do in his current state." Olive smiled at Pinkie. "Just do it." Twilight turned to Rarity. "Rarity, please do the honors. I...need some fresh air." "Of course, darling." As Rarity unclipped her badge phone and opened it, Twilight made her way to the door nearest to the podium. Her magic aura gripped the handle and turned it, and out she went. "You can't possibly be walking out on us after what you did! YOU SON OF A BI-" The door slammed closed. She didn't bother to listen to Evil Teddy anymore, instead plodding down the path she had come. The sound of the door opening and closing did nothing to draw her attention. Fluttershy glided to her side and landed before walking alongside her. "I'd like to get some fresh air, too. I-if you don't mind." Fluttershy remarked. "Is everything okay, Twilight?" No answer. Fluttershy didn't seek to push further as the two mares headed outside of the lair. The bright sunshine and cool breeze were warm and welcoming sensations that Fluttershy couldn't help but smile at. Twilight, on the other hoof, wasn't as accepting of nature's gifts, instead taking a seat on the ground and giving a heavy sigh. "I just...I can't believe..." "None of us can." Fluttershy sat down beside Twilight and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "I didn't think the Elements of Harmony would fail in this world. And before they did, I really didn't want Odd Todd to die. I thought he could be reformed, like Discord." She looked up at the sky. "But Olive killing him...I came to realize that it was for the best. He's caused her so much pain, and he's changed Precinct 13579 in so many ways. Now that he's gone, Olive and the other agents will be free. They'll be able to fully recover, seek help from each other, and move on." Although it didn't look like it, Twilight hung onto every word her friend said. Deep inside, she knew that she was right, and she had come to the same conclusion a while back. The shock of Olive calling her former partner out before making the killing blow, however, still clung to her core. She couldn't imagine killing anyone that had done her wrong, killing countless ponies and injuring hundreds more. She just wasn't like that. It was just like she had told Olive: she was the Princess of Friendship, not the Princess of Murder. "Fluttershy...would Odd Todd have done good if we were able to reform him? Would he refrain from hurting Olive anymore?" "You know I can't answer that." The Pegasus mare's voice was as soothing as it ever was, and it provided a little beacon of comfort to Twilight's conflicting thoughts and emotions. They sat in silence for what felt like centuries upon centuries, with nothing but the breeze rustling the trees filling their ears. And then, the sobs came. Twilight's body racked with each heaving sob she took, collapsing on the ground and wailing as though she was on the brink of death. Fluttershy, in turn, couldn't help but start to cry as well, rubbing Twilight's back. They laid there, crying their eyes out, for a very, very long time. With tear-stained faces, Fluttershy and Twilight made their way back to the meeting room where everything went down. Upon arriving, they spotted a couple Security department agents leading Kooky, Jamie, Teddy and Lightning away, while a few more Security agents were securing Odd Todd's bleeding, lifeless corpse in a body bag. Twilight's eyes drifted over to Rarity and Applejack, the former of whom was on the phone. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were conversing amongst themselves, and the alicorn couldn't help but crack a small smile when they laughed. I'm glad to see that nopony else seems to be horribly shaken up by this. And they shouldn't be. My mission -- our mission -- has been successfully completed. As she made a mental note to report back to the Princesses as soon as she arrived back in Equestria, she spotted Olive, Otto and Oscar also conversing with each other on the far side of the room. Amidst the chatter of the others, she couldn't understand what they were saying. "Fluttershy, I'm going to talk with Olive and Otto. Can you guide the animals back outside?" "Of course." Nodding, the Pegasus mare spread her wings and glided to the other side of the room and opened the door, only to be met with the happy sounds of her fellow animal friends. "Come on, now, everyone. Let's go outside, okay?" The door closed. Twilight spread her own wings and went over to the trio, a small smile dancing on her maw. "Hey, you three." A chorus of "hello's" greeted her. "Are you feeling okay now? I know you were shaken up by my...you know." "I'm fine, Olive. A short visit outside, and a talk with a friend" - her gaze drifted towards the door that Fluttershy had exited from - "helped a lot. Thank you." "Guess you can call your mission complete now, huh?" Otto gasped. "Oscar, do you realize what this means? The ponies will have to go back to Equestria!" He glanced at Pinkie Pie, still chatting with Rainbow Dash. "I'm gonna miss Pinks." "Well, they'll still be able to visit, heh! Unless we find some way to destroy the portal...or it closes on its own." Oscar scratched his neck. "A-and even then, who's to say they can't visit us again? Or we can't visit them?" "You want to turn into a pony?" Olive raised an eyebrow. "Yeah! Equestria sounds like a great place. I'd love to visit sometime!" Twilight laughed. "Well, you three are always welcome to visit Equestria anytime, by any means. I think Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in particular would love to meet you and congratulate you." The trio all gave chatters of agreement. "Twilight..." Olive stepped forward. "Thank you. For working to stop Odd Todd. I know it was a hard thing to do, given how you knew so little about him. But I'm truly grateful to you for undertaking this mission and saving the organization -- the family -- we love." "We all are." Otto put his hand on Olive's shoulder and smiled. "Now that he's gone, the world's gonna be a far less odder place. And he won't be able to cause oddness in Equestria, either." "You and your friends are really something else, Agent Twilight." Twilight turned to find Ms. O walking up to her, a small smile on her face (quite a shocker to all) and a juice box in her hand. "Ms. O? What are you doing here?" Otto blinked. "Normally I'm content with staying in my office and assisting agents from there. But when I got word that Twilight and Olive had more or less worked together to defeat Odd Todd, I had to come and see the aftermath for myself." She sighed and turned around, watching the two Security agents grab the body bag and make their way towards the door. "He's dead. His corpse will be personally cremated by other agents. And nothing of value was lost." "I...I'm really sorry, Ms. O." "For what?" "We...we tried reforming him, and we failed. You were right. We should have killed him. If not with the Elements, then with other means." "Nonsense. The important thing is that you and your friends tried your best. I always say that trying and failing to save the world is better than never trying at all, and the same holds true for stopping villains." Ms. O said. "Olive, you were the one that killed him, right?" "Yes. I rammed a sword through his spine after giving him some choice words. It felt...satisfying and freeing. To see the expression of pain and terror across his face in his final moments..." Olive chuckled. "It was perfect revenge." "And do you feel better?" "Of course. Knowing that he's dead and won't ever come back is like a huge weight off of my shoulders. I can finally go back to doing what I want, together with the best partner in the world." She nudged Otto, who gave a hearty chuckle in response. "Um, Ms. O..." Oscar stepped forward. "You do know that-" "Twilight and the others will have to go back to Equestria and stay there for good? I'm aware." Ms. O nodded. "We still haven't found out the entire story about the portal. But we think it'll disappear when you six have finished what you need to do in this world." "I see. Well, in that case...thank you all. For everything." "Hey, hey! Save it for the goodbye ceremony back at Headquarters, huh?" Ms. O took a sip of juice. "Come on. The agents will handle things here." The group of five began heading for the door that Fluttershy had left earlier, with Twilight beckoning her other friends to come along. As they all rushed out the door and everyone began the journey back to Headquarters, Twilight held the door open and watched the cleanup process continue on. A smile formed and a single tear fell. We did it. We really did it. The door closed once more.