Chapter I: The New Captain
The morning sun rolled over the horizon lazily, filling the green fields with light. The golden hue cast itself over the towers and buildings of Canterlot as the streets began to fill with ponies making their morning rounds. Post was being delivered, guards were patrolling and the very posh were making haste to their boutiques to prepare for their very posh days. The morning, however, was not kind to one pony in particular, who grumbled and rolled over in bed.
Twilight Sparkle, or Captain Twilight Sparkle as the story calls for, nestled the downy pillow as the light of a new day threatened to flood her room through thick, drawn curtains. In her sleepy state, she could already feel her head pounding and spinning as though a particularly loud circus were rolling through it. That was when the light of day suddenly exploded all over the room. She quickly drew her blanket over her head, moaning in protest, attempting to stay hidden from it a little longer.
Spike frowned at her display and rolled his eyes. She had always been so "up and at 'em" before the sun had even dared to crest the walls of Canterlot. Now, after so many early mornings and long days spent as magical advisor to the Royal Guards, she simply hated to get out bed. Stepping over books, inkwells and discarded quills, he moved to her bedside with brow knotted.
"Good morning, Twilight," he said, attempting to sound cheerful. "It's seven o'clock, and you are to be-"
"Go away," Twilight muttered beneath the covers.
Spike huffed a bit and grasped the covers in his claws. Tossing them away from the bed, Twilight cried out in protest. Not only from being so rudely interrupted and exposed, but for having to suddenly deal with so much bloody light! Shielding her eyes with her hooves, she tried to cover her head with the pillow.
"You're meeting Princess Celestia in an hour," Spike said as he crossed his arms. "You know how she hates to see you late."
"Please keep your voice down and exit this room quietly," Twilight's voice came, muffled by the pillow.
Spike rubbed his temples and groaned. He missed the old days when this routine were quite the opposite. When she was the one rousing him from bed for notes to be taken and checklists to be made. Ever since she had taken this blasted position, she changed for the worst. Muttering a few choice words beneath his breath, he snatched the pillow away from her head and tossed it to the ground with the covers.
"Why do you torment me?" Twilight asked as she rolled away from Spike, trying to find another object to keep her in the dark.
"I'm not tormenting you, I'm trying to help!" Spike exclaimed, scampering to the other side to face her. "You have to snap out of this rut you're in!"
Twilight opened her eyes slowly and stared down at Spike. She would have said something in protest but the stinging pain in her head made it hard to even think of a witty comeback. Her hooves went to her head as she sprawled out on her back and stared at the ceiling.
"Fine, I'm up," she said, giving in to the young dragon's demands.
"I'll fetch your armor, then, as well as something for that headache," Spike said, relieved she finally decided to get out of bed. He moved out of the room, leaving Twilight to slowly get out of bed. Her body protested with every movement as joints creaked. A yawn fell out of her as she hit the floor and moved towards the stand adorned with a mirror across the room.
Her mane was a wreck worthy of being condemned. Bags sat heavily under her eyes as she studied herself for a moment. Another throb in her head made her regret keeping her eyes open for longer than a moment. Her horn glow faintly as a brush came up and began to run through her hair, trying to straighten out the mess. Soon, Spike returned with a glass of water and a tablet, setting them on the stand for her.
She placed the brush down, content that her mane was going to be as good as it could get as the tablet and water floated next to her. Swallowing both, the glass hit the counter with a clunk as Spike fished out a rather regal looking hat and shiny breastplate from the closet nearby. Moving back to her, he set the hat down and began work putting the breastplate on for her, clamping it closed around her body and making certain the straps were cinched nice and snug.
The hat, filled with plumes of birds of varying colours, floated to her head and came to a rest. Studying herself in the mirror once more, she wished there were something she could do to make herself look less tired. A grunt shortly followed as she turned towards the door and moved begrudgingly out into the cursed light of day.
Canterlot was alive and bustling now, shops open and the smell of freshly baked goods wafting in the breeze. Twilight stepped briskly onto the familiar street and began her stroll towards the castle. Many of the castle’s citizens greeted her with polite smiles and nods, guards saluted proudly and little children galloped beside her laughing and playing.
Feh.
All the good cheer in the world couldn't slide the corners of Twilight's mouth upwards. Only polite nods, returns of salutes and tolerance for the incessant quipping and giggling of children was returned. Perhaps she was being far too grumpy; after all it wasn't their fault she had too much cider after work and stumbled through the streets shouting at nothing in particular only to wind up face down in her bed and curious as to how she'd gotten there this morning.
She had finally made it to the castle and, upon receiving salutes from the guards, the door slowly creaked open. The sprawling foyer of the castle lay before Twilight as she sleepily headed inside and up the stairs towards the throne room. Passing more guards meant more saluting, a practice which Twilight always grew tired of the moment it began. Mercifully, she had arrived at the throne room and was let in.
There upon the throne sat Princess Celestia whose eyes were running over a parchment. The sound of her chamber doors being opened made her glance over and smile a bit, seeing her pupil on time. The parchment rolled up in front of her, she set it down next to a cup of tea which was then brought to her and sipped lightly.
"Captain Twilight Sparkle, so wonderful to see you again," Celestia said cheerfully as Twilight knelt.
"At your service, your highness," Twilight responded, rising on Celestia's silent command.
"How are you feeling?"
Twilight cleared her throat a little. "Feeling quite well, thank you, your highness."
"You look absolutely ragged," Celestia said, giving Twilight a bit of a smirk and a side long glance.
"I apologize for my appearance, your highness," Twilight replied, half-heartedly trying to adjust her mane and breastplate in one go. "Been having trouble sleeping, is all."
"Twilight, I'm going to be frank with you," Celestia began with concern in her eyes. "You worry me. You used to be on time and organized when you were my student. Now that you have this charge of being the magical advisor, you've been distant, disgruntled and disorderly. It's disturbing to say the least."
"Again, I apologize, your highness."
"I don't need apologies, Captain, I need results. You're very good at your job, but these liberties you're taking simply cannot go on, despite you being my prized pupil and confidante. Instead of strip you of your rank and take you back beneath my wing, however, I feel like perhaps you could use a test."
"A test, your highness?" Twilight asked, now truly curious as to what this could be.
"A test to see if you perhaps have those traits that made you so invaluable as a student. Your organization, your impeccable timing, and the most important thing you lost, your kindness."
Twilight scrunched up her nose a bit, she was still kind! Just, perhaps to certain people. Important people! Bartenders and angry people with large pointy sticks being chief among them. Celestia cleared her throat a bit and continued on.
"Down in Ponyville there is a Watch that was formed just a few years ago after a string of mysterious kidnappings. The town is having kidnapping troubles again, but the Watch is far too disorganized and out of sorts that they just can't cope. That's where you come in; you're going to replace the original Watch captain."
"What happened to the other, your highness?" Twilight asked.
Celestia seemed to tear up for a brief moment before the smile returned to her face and she waved a hoof towards the door.
"Oh, nothing at all," she said cheerfully. "Retirement came up is all. Now, there is a room in the Watch house which you will be staying set aside specifically for their captain. You're set to arrive later today to meet with your fellow Watchmares. I know you'll do well, Captain. A change of scenery and a fresh beginning are going to be exactly what you need!"
"W-Wait, today?" Twilight stammered, approaching the throne a bit. "How am I supposed to get everything packed and shipped out today, your highness?"
"Oh don't worry, everything is already being packed up!" Celestia explained cheerfully.
Twilight nodded a little, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. So suddenly everything had changed for her. No longer would she have to perform inspections, attend terrible meetings and pretend to like her peers. Now she would have to perform inspections, attend terrible meetings and - oh blast it. Twilight rubbed her temples and grumbled. At least her headache had gone. Not that it made much difference given the circumstance.
With a polite nod, she turned to exit the throne room and the castle all together. Back out in the street, she plopped down and let out a slow sigh, staring at the ground. Ponyville, she thought, This had to a joke. Yes, it had to. Twilight was going to march into her home and instead of finding her things being loaded onto moving carts to be flown down to Ponyville it'd be something else. A party perhaps! Maybe it was a birthday she didn't know about.
Her heart sank, however, as she reached the door of her home and found the place nearly picked clean. Only a few items were being loaded up from the balcony, tossed into the back of waiting cart that read "Two Pegasi and a Cart" on the side. Twilight rubbed her eyes in disbelief, not only on the fact this was all happening, but also that they had been so efficient in taking all of her things.
"So, I guess we're leaving?" Spike said, coming up behind Twilight who nodded.
"We're going to Ponyville," Twilight said, turning and walking towards the door once again. "Apparently the Watch needs a captain to take the reins."
"Well that's great Twilight! It'll be a new place with new ponies to meet! You might like it."
"I will not like it," Twilight said sourly as she shut the doors of her place and slid the key beneath the doormat to leave it for good.
"You don't know that for sure," Spike said, scampering next to her as she walked back to the castle to find a chariot.
"I do know it for sure," Twilight said, letting out a sigh. "The Watch there has been through three captains already. Either they ran away because the posting is so horrible or they got themselves into more trouble than they could handle because of incompetence. Either way I'm not going there to make friends. I'm going there to set the place straight and promote one of them to captain so that I can come back here and return to my normal comfortable life."
Spike frowned, staring down at his feet and the paved road that passed below them. This was nothing at all like the bookish yet cheerful Twilight he'd known when he was first hatched by her. This Twilight was someone else; someone who simply couldn't find joy again. It hurt him to think she would be like this even amongst new ponies who could be friends.
The chariot cut the sky like a knife as it sailed towards the valley below. Ponyville could be seen clearly in the distance, getting closer and closer as they approached. It seemed a cheerful place, albeit homely. The homes and roofs and even the ponies seemed thatched and quaint. It was very much the opposite of the posh and glamour that made up Canterlot.
The chariot slowly descended towards the edge of town and touched down softly, the pegasi pulling it coming to a halt. Twilight huffed and stepped out of the back of the chariot with Spike and gave the pegasi a salute. Returning it, they turned about and took off back into the air. It had only been a few seconds standing about in the dirt and grass just outside of Ponyville and Twilight already wished this was all one big joke and the chariot was going to turn around or Princess Celestia was going to pop out from behind a tree and scream "gotcha!" obnoxiously.
She turned and looked at the town begrudgingly. Her mouth twisted in a bit of disgust at the rustic simplicity of it all. She had been living in Canterlot for so long that the "simpler things in life" she avoided as though the simpler things in life pertained to plagues and famine.
A tapping at her breastplate made her pull herself from her thoughts and look down to Spike who motioned towards the village. She still had a duty to perform. That headache seemed to be coming back to haunt her as well. Breathing deeply, she let out a steady breath and made her way into town.
The towns ponies milled about in what Twilight presumed was the town’s square. Stalls gathered about a fountain and shops with their doors wide open and inviting. Perhaps it wasn't so different from Canterlot after all? It seemed dirtier, yes, but it had a certain charm about it. Twilight's violet eyes turned this way and that as she observed the ponies until she found a pony in a rusty breastplate and a rusty helmet of copper and iron. The pink, disheveled looking creature stared at the ground, eyeing what looked to be bugs and muttering something about "moving violations".
"Excuse me, are y-" Twilight couldn't finish the sentence before the pink pony turned and went wide eyed. Twilight could have sworn all the oxygen in the world was suddenly consumed by the gasp the pink pony made. As quickly as the ordeal had begun, the pink pony took off in quite a hurry down the road, leaving Twilight and Spike to stand there dumbfounded.
Twilight muttered under her breath as her eyes scanned the town square. She was simply trying to ask where town hall was, not give someone a heart attack or whatever it was that just happened. Finally, her eyes rested on a small sign that hung from a tall building that read "Town Hall". All of a sudden it seemed rather obvious to Twilight as she rolled her eyes and walked up the stairs leading to the entrance.
Inside, she found the largely empty building to be a bit bigger than it necessarily needed to be. For such a small town, why would they need such grandiosity? She shook her head again, believing now questions like these were the reason why her head ached once more. At the end of the room was a desk where a pony sat, looking as though she were buried in a book on the desk. Twilight straightened her hat and moved to the desk with a polite smile.
"Can I help you?" the pony asked, sounding a tad upset that she was being interrupted.
"Yes ma'am, I'm Captain Twilight Sparkle, I'm here to let your mayor know that I've arrived in town," Twilight explained as the pony clicked her teeth and waved dismissively towards the set of doors to the right. Twilight stared at her for a few moments before she began to trot over to the doors and walked through them. Spike took this opportunity to sit in a chair just outside to wait for her.
The office was quite plain. The only thing that seemed to stand out was a portrait of a tan coated, white haired mare just above a fireplace that sat behind a sturdy desk. She noted the office seemed to be abandoned besides the sound of what she swore was snoring.
"Hello?" she called into the empty office before a thud startled her. The side of the desk suddenly slid out like a drawer, only far bigger. Inside was the same mare in the portrait, who was in the process of kicking off a blanket and rolling onto the floor hurriedly. Twilight noted the inside of the drawer also contained a small mattress and a pillow as well. As the older mare closed the drawer she'd been in, she quickly got behind the desk and rested her hooves atop it with a grin. The resemblance was uncanny between her and her portrait. The same smile and everything.
"Welcome to Ponyville," she said cheerfully. "You must be Captain Twilight Sparkle, the new Watch captain. I'm Mayor Mare."
Mayor Mare? Surely this was a joke. "Yes, I'm Captain Twilight. I came by to make you aware of my arrival as well as get the key to the Watch house. I also wanted to get directions to the Watch house and a map of the town if possible as well."
"Of course!" the mayor exclaimed, now rifling through the drawers of her desk. Produced were a key and a map that were soon slid in the direction of Twilight.
"Appreciated," Twilight said, stuffing both items into her breastplate to be held.
"You'll find the Watch house in a hollowed out tree just up the way, accommodations have been made all ready and I received word your things shall be arriving there in the morning."
The mayor paused a moment before looking around and waving Twilight closer.
"Captain," she said in a hushed tone. "You might want to be careful going there straight away."
"Don't be silly, mayor. As I understand it, nothing shall keep the Watch from their duty!"
"Of course," the mayor replied with a weak smile. "Do be careful then."
Twilight gave a crisp salute as the mayor waved meekly. Twilight turned to walk out the door as the mayor slid the drawer on the side of her desk open and hopped in, closing it promptly. Twilight's eyes lingered on the desk a moment before she returned back to the lobby to gather Spike and leave as quickly as they could.
"Well, how'd it go?" Spike asked as they walked back out into the town square of Ponyville.
"I honestly have no idea," Twilight said. It was true, she had no idea what just happened or even what she was expecting. She brought the map out from her breastplate, floating it in front of her. Her eyes went over it, until she found the squiggled drawing of a tree with the words "Watch House" scribbled seemingly hastily. It wasn't terribly far from here, but why it was in a tree was beyond her.
This, of course, was quickly filed under the questions she perhaps didn't want answered at all. Everything here felt backwards from the way they were in Canterlot. Rolling up the map and stuffing it back into her breastplate, she turned and began to walk down the road. Her eyes drifted from pony to pony, observing the goings on of the street around them. She began getting a feel for the road below her hooves. That was what she was always told. Feel the road beneath you and you'll never be lost.
She decided a detour might be in order. She didn't necessarily have to report in quite so early, and it would give the movers enough time to get everything put into her new office. She needed to observe the town just a little bit more. Get used to the way things moved and looked. Get used to that feeling of the roads.
Her trail took her around some of the places pointed out on the map. Sweet Apple Acres was the first place she passed by, a bit in awe of the sheer number of trees the land held. She wondered just what sort of crack team possibly farmed the area. It had to be dozens of workers coming in just to make a dent in it!
She and Spike continued down the road headed back towards town, observing a stream that ran by. Her walk would take her by what looked to be a rather tall shop in the distance. Outside were set many mannequins in elegant dresses that seemed far too stately and glittery to be for anyone that lived here in town. This town continued to become a curiosity wrapped within a riddle slathered by an enigma. It perplexed Twilight to no end how a place such as this could be anymore backwards.
Her journey finally ended as the sun was slowly beginning to sink. Her legs ached a bit and she was quite tired from the day, but she still had a duty to perform. The Watch house was in full view now, everything seeming to be quiet as she approached. Spike rubbed his feet tenderly while riding on her back. The walk had taken quite a toll on him as well, being a baby dragon after all.
"Well, I can say without that doubt this might not be as difficult as I'd thought," Twilight said.
"Why do you say that?" Spike asked, wincing a little.
"Well, this town is rather small," she explained. "Shouldn't take too many ponies to patrol. Low maintenance. I feel like this won't be near as bad as I was made to believe."
The door to the Watch house squealed open and it seemed the lights were turned off.
"I feel like this post might be quite a pleasant-"
"Surprise!" several voices came from the darkness before the lights were turned on inside. Twilight leapt back outside in surprise before she poked her head around the corner and stared inside.
There she saw ponies with coats of varying colours, including the pink one who had gasped and took off earlier. Dumbfounded, Twilight trotted back inside looking to each of them. The pink mare galloped towards Twilight with a giant grin on her face. This caused Twilight to shrink back just a little, wondering if this were some sort of backwoods ceremony she found herself wrapped up in. She also found Spike had taken off straight up the stairs at the opposite end of the Watch house.
"Were you surprised!?" the pink pony asked excitedly before Twilight found herself set upon by the other five ponies that occupied the Watch house. "When I saw you in town earlier, I thought to myself, who else here has shiny armor and a big fluffy hat. That's when I gasped and realized, you have to be our new Watch captain! So I ran all the way back here and told everyone you were here! Then the movers showed up. Then they left. I asked if they wanted to stay, but they said no!"
To say Twilight was befuddled would have been the biggest understatement to have ever been uttered in history. Her eyes went from the group before her to the desk where a giant sign hung that said "welcome!" in big blue letters. Her eyes then turned to a table that had a cake and various drinks laying around on top of it. She finally looked to the six ponies that stood before her.
"I'm Constable Pinkie Pie!" the pink pony exclaimed, hopping up and down. "And this is Sergeant Applejack, Sergeant Rainbow Dash, Corporal Derpy, Corporal Rarity, and Constable Fluttershy!"
Each pony waved as her name was called. Twilight didn't believe this group could become stranger than it had previously. She cleared her throat a bit, trying to buy herself some time to find words.
"Right, well," Twilight began, wishing those words found her faster. "I'm Captain Twilight Sparkle, your new Watch commander. The baby dragon that scampered past is my friend and servant, Spike. I know a small bit of what the lot of you do, but I'm certain it can't be any different than my old job."
There was a distinct silence in the room after she'd spoken. She took the silence as an opportunity to lurch a bit forward and close the door behind her. The awkwardness in the air was settling in quite nicely before Twilight moved towards the table laden with treats and drinks.
"Right," she said feigning a smile. "Why don't we get some of this cake, a drink and sit around and talk more about ourselves. I'd like to get to know the ponies I'll be working with."
This seemed to go well as they did so; each of them grabbing a slice of cake and a drink then setting them down and sitting in a circle. Things were quiet save the sound of the moist chocolate cake being devoured and the occasional obnoxious sipping of drink. Finally, Twilight decided to break the silence by looking to Applejack.
"So, Sergeant Applejack, tell me more about yourself," Twilight said.
"Ah, well mah family an' I have been in Ponyville fer a while," Applejack replied with a proud smile. "Mah Granny Smith founded Sweet Apple Acres an' we've been workin' th' farm ever since. In fact, I still work it when I'm off duty."
"Oh, that impressive farm must be the one I passed by earlier!" Twilight said. "I must say that's a lot of land. Must be quite nice though, all the help you have around and all."
"Help?" Applejack questioned, raising a brow. "Well mah brother Big Macintosh helps when I'm here, an' so does mah little sister Apple Bloom."
Twilight narrowed her eyes a bit. "You mean that huge farm is tended to by you, your brother and your sister? No one else?"
"Darn tootin' ma'am!" Applejack proudly said.
Twilight just stared at her in silence, unsure if she should press the matter further with the fact that was plain silly. "Sergeant Rainbow Dash, how about you?"
"I joined up after Applejack did," Rainbow Dash began, crossing her hooves. "Thought if she could do it, I could too. Besides, the Watch would need Equestria's best flyer obviously. When I'm off duty, I tend to the weather with other pegasi from Cloudsdale."
"Ah good, some bravado, that's refreshing!" Twilight exclaimed with a smile. "So, how is the weather looking?"
"Uh, well, some rain soon but other than that...sunny?"
"Lovely, Corproal Rarity, how about you?"
Rarity looked up from her cake and cleared her throat. "In my off time I design beautiful dresses and wonderful chapeaus. In fact that was the reason I joined the Watch. With Applejack and Rainbow Dash here, I figured they could use the sophistication. That and I need the money. While my lines of clothing are always glorious in every way, I simply cannot seem to sell my wares."
"How...mysterious," Twilight said, rubbing her head. This had to get better, right? "Corporal Derpy?"
The grey pegasus looked up from her cake, much like Rarity had, only with a muzzle covered in chocolate icing. "Well, I used to work as a mover here in Ponyville, but I was sacked after I delivered a few dozen couches to the wrong house. Then I worked for the post office, but I was sacked from that after I delivered a few dozen packages to the wrong house. Then I tried to be a baker, but I was sacked from that after I delivered a few dozen fires to the wrong house."
Twilight's mouth hung open before she shook her head and coughed a bit. "I take it there haven't been any bad deliveries since you've been here?"
"None yet, ma'am!" Derpy happily said, giving a sharp salute, albeit with the wrong hoof.
"Constable Fluttershy," Twilight said in exasperation.
"Oh, uhm, I'm nohufdhakf-" her voice trailed off as she meekly stared to the ground.
"Her name is Fluttershy, she works as a veterinarian of sorts in her off time. She also has this freaky ability to speak to animals. Trust me ma'am, this would have taken forever trying to get it out of her."
"I would have rather heard it from her, though," Twilight stated with a twinge of anger.
"Oh, no, it's quite all right," Fluttershy answered, nearly sounding like a whisper.
Twilight grit her teeth a bit, determined not to blow a gasket. "Constable Pinkie Pie."
Pinkie hopped up suddenly, excitement in her eyes. "I'm Pinkie Pie! Or, Constable Pinkie Pie when I'm working here! When I'm not, I'm baking yummy treats at Sugar Cube Corner with Mister and Missus Cake! In fact, I was there earlier making this delicious cake! Well, it was being made anyway, but I helped make it! It was for a birthday, but it turns out the family didn't want a cake so I just took it. That's why it says Happy Birthday, even though it's not your birthday!"
Pinkie continued talking without taking a breath. She yammered on further about the finer details of the cake. Twilight in the meantime stood up from her spot and walked towards the stairs at the end of the room behind the desk. What followed, besides the uninterrupted voice of Pinkie was hooves going up the stairs. They could swear that as soon as the door opened upstairs though, there was the distinct sound of a head being banged against a desk. Finally, Pinkie was quiet, smiling brightly and looking around the group.
Twilight returned shortly and rubbed her temples. It was night outside, she was tired and prepared to turn in for the night. All of these ponies were driving away what little bit of her precious sanity she still clung desperately to.
"Is there a night's watch?" she asked into the room, her head in her hooves.
"No ma'am," Applejack answered. "Never a night's watch on Sunday's. Only durin' th' week an' Saturday nights. Schedules posted on th' back wall."
"Very well," Twilight said. "You'll all report back here at eight in the morning tomorrow, sharp. Do not be late. No excuses, no days off. You'll be expected to be wearing your best uniform, that means polished breastplate and helmet."
"Ma'am?" Sergeant Rainbow Dash piped up.
"Yes, Sergeant?"
"These are our only uniforms."
Twilight ran her hooves down her face. "Very well, bring your uniforms in tomorrow morning, I shall inspect and find faults and those faults will be corrected tomorrow. Until then head home and get rest. We'll do everything official tomorrow."
The six ponies looked to one another as Twilight moved back upstairs. With a few shrugs, they dispersed and headed out of the Watch house, closing the door behind them. Upstairs, Twilight opened the door to her office once more and saw Spike busily unpacking all of their items and neatly putting them away. Twilight lifted the hat and breastplate from her body, both glowing pale purple with her magic. Setting them beside her new bed, she climbed up on top of it and groaned, finally getting off of her hooves.
"I'm guessing everything is going well like you predicted," Spike said with a smirk.
"Yes, Spike, I always enjoy hugging desks with my face," Twilight said sarcastically as she wrapped herself up in her blanket. "Let's finish all this up in the morning, Spike."
Spike placed his hands on his sides and frowned. With the shake of his head, he set up his bed and fluffed both the pillow and the small mattress in the basket. With blanket in claw, he settled in and stared up at the ceiling. Before he drifted off to sleep, he silently hoped to himself that Twilight would eventually get out of this funk and get back to her old self soon.
The pale moon sat low in the sky casting long shadows along the ground around Ponyville. Among the darkness ran a lone black cloaked figure, galloping across the town square towards a home with two candles burning in the window. The figure knocked once, twice, one -half times. A mail slot on the door was opened as two eyes peered up. The door opened to a dim room and another hooded figure who let the other off the street.
Inside the room stood many more hooded figures, about five of them. One of them, the most important of hooded figures, stood behind a podium with a banner that had a crescent moon embroidered on it. With the door shut, the figures gathered around the podium. The shadowy mare behind the podium looks around the group and frowns behind the darkness of her hood.
"Where is Shadow Five?" she asked, sounding slightly annoyed.
"You mean Sterlin' Silver?" a hooded pony spoke up. "He's got a sick one, he does. His little filly has come down with somethin', and the missus won't let him outta the house for nothin'."
The hooded mare placed a hoof on her head and sighed. "You do know there's a reason we don't use everyone's real names, right?"
"I thought it was because it's a stereotypical trope common among shadowy figures meetin' in a dark house," the hooded pony said again before another one next to him spoke up.
"Now that's just silly," she said. "Are you saying we're just like something out of a Daring Do novel? One of those shadowy cults on about getting shiny trinkets and summoning some sort of terrible curse? Next we'll be one of those technicolour moving pictures about vegetables and friendship you watch."
"Now who's being silly?" he replied with a frown. "All I'm simply saying is we're the existential personification of fictional characters."
"Enough!" the mare behind the podium cried, slamming her hooves into it. "We gathered to discuss our progress, not to discuss made up words!"
The group settled once more, turning their eyes towards the mare behind the podium.
"Now that I have your attention again," she said with a sneer showing through the shadow of her hood. "We are soon upon the day that Nightmare Moon will return to us to face her sister Princess Celestia and take the kingdom back. Night time shall reign eternal and we shall be holding all the cards."
"Excuse me?" a hooded stallion said, raising his hoof.
The mare groaned, knowing she was going to regret asking. "Yes?"
"Why do we want eternal night, again?"
"Because we're a cult of the night? It's a bit daft to be a cult of the night with the day time always hanging around."
"Oh yeah..." the stallion said as the mare behind the podium groaned again. This was far too simple, but these were the members she could get.
"I've been assured we shall have full control over all aspects of Ponyville once we have summoned Nightmare Moon," the mare behind the podium stated. "One she has returned, we shall rule over Ponyville, sitting comfortably while the rest of them suffer beneath the moonlight. Once the summer sun celebration has arrived, we shall have more than enough captives to perform the ceremony and bring our glorious princess back to her rightful place on the throne."
There seemed to be a general agreement and nodding amongst the other shadow figures in the house. The mare behind the podium let out a slow, steady breath, trying to keep herself calm. There were several other topics, such as talk of a bake sale or perhaps even a cook out, all of which were shot down due to it being rather difficult to get stains out of their cloaks. They would rather have clean hoods and robes for when Nightmare Moon returned.
The meeting was soon dismissed, leaving the hooded mare behind the podium to shut the door after making certain there was no evidence they had ever been in that house. Now on the street, she silently made her way towards the edge of town, ducking and dodging lights and any stragglers that might have caught sight of the suspicious pony, suspiciously dressed and skulking about rather suspiciously.
She soon reached a small cart on the edge of town and walked inside. All about the cart were posters and flyers promising prestidigitation and tricks to astound. The hood was hung up neatly on a rack as she came to a mirror and grinned at her reflection.
"They're all fools," she muttered to herself. "As soon as their goods are mine, the Great and Powerful Trixie shall perform her greatest vanishing act of all time!"
Her laughter filled the cabin but was quickly silenced by a yawn. It was late; she would laugh menacingly in the morning.
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Discworld Equestria, with one of my favourite sub-series... Hell yes
Huh-what? There's Discworld crossovers? The entire world looks shiny and new now.
Twilight's going to basically become Vimes over time, isn't she?
Well, at the moment, Vimes and Twi would share some very heated words over how to run a Watch. (Vimes' "We Do What Works" as opposed to Twilight's "By The Book")
2556310 I always found it weird that there aren't more of Discworld crossovers. I mean, in Discworld characters can travel between dimensions via libraries, and Twilight lives in a library. As such, there is a perfectly good explanation for a Discworld character to wind up in Ponyville, and yet I have never seen a story about it.
Bugger me, this has gotten on quite well. Thank you everyone for the comments thus far, it's always nice to see people who enjoy not only the concept but potentially the story. Of course this also means I have a standard to live up to. Oh dear.
EDIT: Jumping Christmas somehow this made it to the feature box! The concept of which is frightening to me.
I always look at stories whose names might be somewhat clase to bring some Discworld crossover and I'm always disappointed when they aren't. So imagine my surprise when I find one that actually is.
This is a great first chapter, and there weren't many mistakes.
I can see Pinkie being the Nobby Nobbs of this watch, and Celestia and Vetinari have similar manipulative tendencies.
I really hope this story doesn't die, as it's probably the ONLY Discworld crossover that I've seen.
You've got a like and a fave from me.
I guess I'll add this to my watch and read later list with about seventy-three other stories. I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually. Right?
I wasn't sure of it at the time, but there is a Mrs. Cake in the books, the owner of the lodging home for supernatural creatures, and who has the ability to see the future? I think it would a riot if you had Mrs. Cake (from MLP) be like her, that is, only if you don't try to shoehorn it in.
2557483
That would be absolutely brilliant to do that parallel but at the moment from the plan I have for story focus and direction it would be shoehorned in sadly. Cracking idea though.
2557508 Yeah I figured. Well, the author's always right.
...i dont know what Discworld is but i like this so far
2557673
Honestly, you don't really need to know what the Discworld series is to enjoy this. I've written it so those that enjoy those books can be in on the joke while those that have no idea can still find enjoyment and possibly look the books up and give them a go. Glad to hear you like what you've read so far!
I've been a Pratchett fan for a long time, so this is going on my "read later" list. (I've got some other stuff I've been meaning to read, plus I'd like to save this for when it's complete or at least close to it.)
2558195
Given how much I want to do with the story that might be some wait. But, with how popular it seems to be, I know this will be top priority as far as my fanfiction writing is concerned. Being a long time Pratchett fan though, I certainly hope this doesn't disappoint, mate.
2558211
Well, okay, maybe I won't wait for it to be finished. But I do want to get some other reading (and writing) done, stuff I've been putting off. I'm sure you know how it is...
And yeah, I also hope it doesn't disappoint. Do you realize how difficult it would be to send you an organgutan to properly express my anger?
2558286
Believe me I do. The postal service tends to get rather fussy over live animals sent through the post.
2558296
They're also touchy about certain delivery destinations. (Don't ask about Mrs. Cake.)
derpicdn.net/thumbs/1200/800/2012/07/18/11_59_19_598_47887__safe_vector_artist_shelltoontv_mrs_cake
Read later'd!
42 favorites and still in the feature box? I'm beside myself at the moment.
2557673 HERASY!!!
But seriously, The Discworld is an amazing series based around the belief of giant disc floating on the backs of four elephants (there is also a fifth, but that is only known to avid Terry Pratchett fans) who are standing on the back of "The Great A'tuin." A giant Turtle roaming the depths of space (and similarly to Equestria, the sun and moon revolve around the Disc).
Many of These stories are done by an author called "Terry Pratchett" who is a great writer of stunning humor and witty intellect. His books even got made into fils that you may have seen already, examples include "The colour of magic" and it's continuation "The light fantastic" as well as "The Hogfather" and "Going Postal" to name a few off the top of my head.
His most well know (in my opinion) books are trilogy's, There is the "Guards" trilogy, the "Witch" trilogy and the "Gods" trilogy. all of which I own (kind of, family counts right?).
The one this particular fan-fiction author is basing his around is the "Guards" trilogy, wherein lies my favorite city "Ankh-Morpork" with my favorite characters of all time: Commander Vimes (of which is bearing a striking resemblance to Twilight) Captain Carrot (a man that grew up around dwarfs, and he is most definitely not a direct descendant of Ankh-Morpork's deceased royal line), Sergeant colon (a grizzly, old, cowardly fat man), Corporal Nobby Nobbs (Human, we thing, or at least, that what his special note says he is... though, you might want to keep an eye looking in his general vicinity), Corporal Angua (a werewolf/Shewolf?), Corporal Cuddy (an AMAZING Dwarf, who was friends with Corporal Detritus, that I shall dearly miss (fun fact: Dwarfs hate Trolls)) and Corporal Detritus (a Troll, and a dumb one at that. He was friends with Corporal Cuddy, and he can also pick up a Siege Crossbow with ease (fun fact: a Siege Crossbow bolt can go through several walls before stopping)(fun fact: Trolls HATE Dwarfs).
I want to continue, but my words can't do Terry Pratchetts work justice, you'll just have to read his books yourself. I highly reccomend reading them
2557692 I have had my ideas about this particular crossover for a while, but couldn't quite get round to starting. I Am an avid reader of the genius that is Terry Pratchett, I hope that you will post more chapters and that you can include some of his humor inside this work of fiction.
2558426
I shall do all that I can. I can not hold a candle to him at all. However, I can at least stand in awe of his shadow and glean, perhaps for a moment, that mad genius he produces so well.
HAAAAAANDS!!!!
+1 to my Read Later list.
2558599
Ah, cheers mate, thanks for the catch!
2558426 well name one for me to start on and ill get right on it
(and yes family counts. i own ALL the Forgotten Realms books though my brother
)
2559217
I'd suggest starting at The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. Both are fairly short reads but are jam packed full of all the humor and story you can except out of Pratchett. I believe they're also great launching points since those were the first out of the Discworld novels.
2559228thank ya kind sir(is that right?)
2559266
Don't worry, that little detail does return. It also pleases me to see someone mention it.
2559269
Yes, you are correct, and you are quite welcome.
2558426 Erm, the Watch stories aren't a trilogy. It goes: Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Night Watch, Feet of Clay, Jingo (not sure if this is before or after The Fifth Elephant, but it is after Feet of Clay), The Fifth Elephant, Thud!, and Snuff. Hardly a trilogy. The Witches of Lancre also aren't a trilogy either. There's Equal Rights (this is either before or after all of the other Witches of Lancre stories, but not after Eric, which is after Sourcery, which is in the Rincewind series, but I think Equal Rights can be said to take place in an alternate universe to Sourcery), Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, some Phantom of the Opera spoof (can't remember its name, but I know this is when Nitt becomes the third witch in Magrat's place), Carpe Diem (or some sort of name like that).
Then there's the Rincewind series, which is: The Color of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Interesting Times, The Last Continent, Sourcery, Eric, Unseen Academicals (to some extent, but I think this is more of an Unseen University book, but it has Rincewind in it).
I'd go into the other books too, but it's 11:30 and I'm tired. My point is that there are no trilogies, and if there are, they aren't trilogies in the same sense as... oh say, the Dragonlance trilogies.
Haven't read it yet but this concept intrigues me and I wish to know more.
Also wouldn't it be fun to have Sir Samuel Vimes and several other members of The Watch meet the Mane 6? I wonder if Vimes head would explode?
Well, this certainly seems enjoyable.
This post contains motivation to continue this endeavor.
So I was casually reading through the "Colour of Magic" last night, until I took a break to check on Fimfiction and I saw this story on the feature box. A Discworld crossover. On the feature box.
"!" I thought.
I enjoyed the brilliant coincidence of it all, so I decided to leave a comment about it right here, at the same time wondering if, perhaps, this hilarious event would be followed by some ridiculous mishap as is usually the case in the books.
Just as I was about to press "Add Comment" my internet connection was cut off.
I am not even kidding.
At first I was instinctively irritated, but then I was like:
"
"
"
"
"Hmm...
"Oh.
"I see what you did there!
"...Ha hah...
I don't know whether this means I should or shouldn't read this story...
But I guess I'll read it anyway?
2560638
Hopefully by reading it something awful doesn't happen such as hitting a button that launches a nuclear device into the atmosphere. Or you summon David Spade to your house. Both are catastrophes anyway.
You Have NO Idea How Long I've Been Waiting For Something Like This
Sorry, but when I read that description, it wasn't Discworld I thought of...
2557483
There's a fic - the name escapes me - in which it turns out Death's horse Binky is Pinkie Pie's grandfather, and Pinkie gets involved in Discworld shenanigans. In that story, Mrs Cake and Mrs Cake are indeed both mediums.
Well, I couldn't let this one pass me by. I'm interested to see where this goes.
Granted, when I saw Discworld X MLP, my first thought was that the cult was either going to try to summon a dragon and end up with Spike, or Lyra was the cult leader and was going to try to summon a human, so take my expectations and interest for what it's worth.
2559217 Start on the Guards trilogy as it has really funny moments and it's a great book to begin with. It also has quite a lot of Discworld lore involved. If you just want the separate books, they are "Guards Guards" "Men at Arms" and "Feet of Clay"
Those books are the ones that started me off on the Discworld series, so I recommend reading them first. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
2559963 but you get them in trilogies, he has three separate stories that all follow the same story line.
2561338 So you're going with the Douglas Adams definition of trilogy? Nah, I'm joking. So you're going with a weird version of trilogy. Yeah, I guess you're right, there's a little bit of a jump between Feet of Clay and Night Watch.
To quote Lord Vetinari:
Yes.... please continue
2560881
This is what you are thinking http://www.fimfiction.net/story/400/binky-pie
With over 120 favorites, nearly 400 views and having been the first story of mine to get into the feature box I just have to say thank you to everyone who gave this a chance, even the two people that disliked it. This has been a big surprise to me that it took off like it did, especially because I was prepared to post this, get a few views and have it vanish into obscurity. But this, I never expected this.
With that said, I'll be working on this to get chapters out and not leave everyone in suspense. I just hope I can keep them up to snuff.
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It's called Binky Pie. Death visits Pinkie to see his steed's descendant. Started off as a one shot, then actually has a plot in the latter chapters. Death gets stuck in Equestria, pinkie in the Disc, and slowly becoming the soulless Reaper like what happened to Mort.
Hasn't updated in a loonnngggg while.
2561802 Oh yeah, I forgot about that one. Oh well, but that still makes this one of the only ones I've seen.
add some spaces between paragraphs, it'll break them up better and make it feel less like a wall of text.
2562272
Oh bugger me, I thought I'd spaced them out after I edited it! Thanks for the catch.
2562287
f by catch, you mean noticing something that makes it annoying to read, then you're welcome :P
I opened the story, went 'ugh no spaces' then commented. Yup.
2562292
Must be difficult reading books then. Either way, spaced it out, easier to see, less digging, hooray.
The last section of this chapter was just pure excellence. The rest wasn't to bad either...
instant favorite/upvote.