Her tea was remarkably soothing, flowing down her throat quicker than a pouring waterfall and tingling the itchy feeling that pestered her throughout the day. Princess Luna knew she would need to praise her hoofmaiden the next time she saw her for her efforts; their time together may have only been brief yet her loyal servant had yet to disappoint her.
The time for that would need to wait however for the night was dark and the castle was fast asleep, resting under the shine of the moon above. The lone Princess sat upon the balcony of her private tower, gazing up to the shining stars above and the twinkling lights of Canterlot below. Such a sight it was, a sight which Luna always laid to appreciate. Candles, gaslights, lanterns, neon signs, their glows all blended together, shone and reflected against the grey and scattered clouds. Sometimes it was impossible to tell which was brighter, the stars or the city. Some would wonder but Luna however didn't particularly care, the scenery was too mesmerising to ponder such trivial matters.
Tonight however was different. Thoughts plagued Luna, dark thoughts which despite her efforts to dismiss continued to linger, clouding her vision and souring her mood, her prior feelings of serenity suddenly seeming like a distant memory.
Equestria had been attacked again, in the heart of Ponyville by some creature suspected to have originated from the Everfree Forest. The damage it had caused was extensive with various buildings needing to be restored, though thankfully the number of reported injured was minor to the point of being effectively nonexistent, a miracle which put Luna at ease. It had almost been a complete disaster however, the wedding she and Celestia had been invited to was almost ruined entirely.
Had either herself or Celestia been aware of the attacking creature the second it had appeared it would have never made its way beyond the Everfree border, Luna would not have allowed it. But alas it had and now the citizens of Ponyville would have to once again recover from yet another catastrophe.
This was becoming far too frequent for Luna’s taste.
The day was however saved thanks to the efforts of the resident Elements of Harmony, once again jumping into the fray to save their home, family and their friends. They had done such a good job that neither Luna or Celestia had become aware of the incident until after the wedding had gone ahead as planned and they were promptly informed about it over tea. Celestia had laughed it off with her former pupil and dismissed the situation as a consequence of the town's close proximity to the Everfree forest, commending Twilight Sparkle and her friends for their swift response.
Luna had not joined in with the festivities.
The Elements of Harmony were civilians. Farmers, bakers, veterinarians and dressmakers. Yes, they were civilians gifted with a magic beyond comprehension, but that didn't make them any more expendable than anypony else, yet whenever danger struck it was not Celestia or even Luna herself who rushed off to battle, it was the Elements of Harmony and their Princess in training.
That was something Luna refused to condone any longer.
Her thousand year absence from Equestria had left Luna ignorant of the common customs and expectations of its citizens, but despite all that, Luna refused to accept Celestia’s ‘armchair’ approach to defence. In the days of olde it would be her and Celestia leading the charge, sisters united in the pursuit of peace. Now that had changed. Celestia had soldiers, personal students and now even the Elements of Harmony at her disposal. “The old ways are no longer needed’” Celestia had once told her, “Equestria needs leaders who lead through peace, not strength, not through displays of power.”
Luna rolled her head at the memory, annoyed by her sister's words. While Luna accepted that the times had changed and so she must do the same… Some things just lingered. Luna was always the warrior of the two, a strategist at heart, perhaps that was why these thoughts plagued her so? Perhaps Luna wished to return to the role she used to play in Equestria, no longer needing to pretend she was simply Celestia’s sister, identical in every way that mattered.
Her head fell low and Luna found herself looking across the city once more, yet it did not appear the same. As if a switch had been flicked, the Canterlot of light and glamour Luna had gazed out upon mere seconds ago was gone, replaced by something seedy… Heinous. It was as if Luna could see every darkened alleyway, every fearsome figure, laid in waiting, ready to pounce.
That was the Equestria Luna knew.
She had taken it upon herself to protect the realm against the creatures that wallowed in the night, in the shadows and in the foliage of the blackened forests and decedent ruins. Luna routinely ventured out to do just that, often at times forgetting to lower the moon in morning as she returned to the castle matted in sweat and the grim of her enemies. One such glorious battle had culminated in the discovery of Tiberius, her fiendish opossum companion, but that was a story for another time.
Luna’s ventures into the dark weighed upon her conscience heavily, every night protecting against the monsters reduced to simple fairy tale stories to many, though Luna knew firsthand that they were anything but. It was Luna’s duty as a Princess, one which she carried out with great exuberance. Yet after today, one bug-bear slipping past her watch… Perhaps there was something else she could do, something more. Another line of defence for the citizens of Equestria, one which did not rely on the magics of Harmony or risk the lives of unwilling combatants.
Yes…
Something different, something new. Ponies who fight for the better of Equestria and for the betterment of themselves in the process. As a princess Luna was able to be persuasive, able to bend others to her will and illuminate new paths to pursue, that would be how she would acquire her manpower. She would not rely on the Royal Guard however, they were seasoned and veterans yes but their discipline and methods were just as much a liability as they were a strength. If Luna was going to go about this, it would be on her terms, her rules, her methods.
Yes.
This was an idea worth looking into.
That 's an odd cast: why would Starlight leave her current position as Twilight 's student to join Luna 's suicide squad? Isn't Trixie doing better with her shows? How did Luna recruited Sonata from the portal? And why would Ember, a dragon Princess, bother with all of this?
This seems interesting. Not a lot of pure villains on the team like the Suicide Squad, but more like a few jerks and/or old bullies with a few token good teammates. I'd like to see how Luna handles their recruitment and if she'll keep them in line the same way they did in the film with explosives or some other way.
Kewl premise. I'll be interested in how this develops. Lots of ponies to choose from to fit this type of team.
More.
s6.postimg.io/5ul2jmext/continue_Monkey.jpg
s2.quickmeme.com/img/7f/7fa6b0be9d5614e6e8aa57089f47c718ec462a462188bb1b058a1456cfd02d12.jpg
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/070/945/ca9.gif
7494701 a good question that I hope will be answered
Equestrias very own suicide squad!!
I like this. Now it's time to assemble the Aveng-er oops, wrong world. Guardians of- no not that one.... *Taps chin* How about M.A.R.E.S? Mares Assault Recon & Espionage Squad? I cheated and used something I had in a fic of my own.
7494924 Yeah suicidal cause they work for Luna.
7494959 yeah that is eardrum suicide in itself
7494979 LOL I know right? Can you imagine Lightning when she meets Luna?
iambrony.steeph.tp-radio.de/mlp/gif/151579__safe_princess-luna_animated_luna-eclipsed_traditional-royal-canterlot-voice.gif
7494991 lightning: rubbing her ears with her hooves* WHAT DID YOU SAY?! I CANT HEAR YOU!!
........HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Sorry......Love the idea, proceed with the Suicide Squad Pony Style ^~b
7494701 Yeah... Who knows? derpicdn.net/img/view/2016/7/7/1195661__safe_solo_twilight+sparkle_animated_meme_wide+eyes_milk_chocolate_chocolate+milk_spilled+milk.gif
Now this is gonna be good!
I love this premise. I have not yet seen the full movie, but I found about half of it online (don't ask) and loved it. If the comics share any similarities at all, this will be good.
But I have to agree with many people. Sonata, a pre-"No Second Prances" Trixie, a Changeling alcoholic (Captain Boomerang?), and Lightning Dust all make sense. Ember, Starlight, and Bon-Bon (Sweetie Drops, whatever) do not. Unless Bon-Bon is Rick Flagg, that might work. But seriously, Garble would be a better choice for a dragon, especially to represent the Killer Croc type team member. This is, of course, assuming your cover image is something you made or had commissioned specifically for this story, and is not a huge mislead.
7495646 Garble was actually part of the original lineup (As was Gilda) but I removed them simply because I found Ember to be the more interesting character with the better personal story to tell. The story I had planned for Garble I gave to another character.
I'm also not actually trying to have this squad just be expy's of the actual suicide squad (Bon as Flag, Luna as Waller, etc.) I was more just inspired by the general concept. I've also tried to justify just why these characters may or may not agree to this whole idea in the first place, and let's just say some aren't going to be happy once the stakes start ramping up.
Ah, the framing chapter an age old staple of literature. Anyway so far this alternate universe(cough, cough) has got my interest keep up the good work.
From the desk of: M.Hatter
Interesting. You have my attention.
7494701 Thank you.
This is interesting.
Sonata= Harley Quinn
I like the general portrayal of Luna, being more forward thinking than Celestia. It makes sense, considering she's seen first hand the results of one big mistake. She'll be like a nicer, more intelligent version of Amanda Waller.
Then again, there's always the chance of Celestia finding out about this. How would she react, I wonder?
This shows promise.
Interesting premise. However, there are quite a few punctuation errors and at least one "it's" where it should be "its". Do you have an editor? I'd be glad to help if you don't.
That would be a interesting story to see
Hmm, interesting.
7551747 that story is in the comics derpicdn.net/img/2013/12/18/500400/full.jpg
You got me hooked just from the introduction chapter... Now I'm interested.
Well this is a very interesting story so far so it looks like Princess Luna wanted to do something new a new way to protect ponies and creatures from any other monsters from the darkness and it looks like she wants to create a team well I wonder who could it be
the moment luna take in a heir of another kingdom and current student of another princess as part of her low profile fodder teams, you should already know you're in for garbage tier story.