After taking the reigns of Leadership Twilight Sparkle faces her biggest challenge yet: a team of rouge Guards return from hiding to complete their mission: Destroy the Monarchy...at all costs
During the Changeling Invasion a team from the elite 1st Asymmetric Reconnaissance Battalion disappeared mysteriously, later it was determined that the team: Known only as "The Silent Step", aided the changelings in their assault. Now over a year later their commander returns to Canterlot under mysterious circumstances...but the reason for their treason is far from the biggest secret that they carry...
Scheduled date of the Royal wedding of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor
Canterlot Sewers, 0945 hours
Captain Piercing Lance of the Royal Equestrian Guard marched calmly through the dark, dank, putrid labyrinth of the waste management viaducts. The lack of ventilation and the overriding urge to be out in the open air would dissuade most from even considering movement through the sewers. The grey Unicorn however moved with purpose, he and his stallions had a mission to complete and they were damn well going to complete it. The sounds of combat overhead echoed through the system of waste and masked the important work that was being done below. He came upon its source, one of the open nexus ways where the waste from separate sections of the city would collect and then be funneled out to various plants where it would be processed. And it was here that he found two of his stallions drilling through the soft earth that lay below the sewers hard lining.
“Gentlecolts” he said as they looked up at their commander “Progress?”
The light gray Earth pony, Sergeant “Chemist” replied
“Well, we’re about 30 meters from target depth, we’re right on schedule, sir”
“Excellent work, and the device is where?”
The blue and orange Pegasus: Guard Corporal Wind Flare, produced a small black crystal
“Safe and secured, sir”
“Alright, once you’re done, we’ll bug out then blow the nexus”
“Bug out?” asked Chemist “I thought that we-“
“The Changling army will soon be expelled, they are bringing the 'Elements' to Chrysalis now,
and I’m afraid that it won’t be long before they are able to repel the assault”
“But-“
“The fewer questions you ask the faster we can leave”
Both stallions went back to their work, seemingly dejected by their commander’s lack of resolve
Lance, sensing that the moral of his stallions was in doubt reassured them
“Don’t worry, everything is going according to plan”
As he finished he received a telegram teleported to him by his communications officer,
a unicorn codenamed “Grapevine” it read simply: Teams 1 and 3 have reached target
depth, pulling back to rendezvous.
He turned to his stallions
“How much further?”
“Just…about…THERE, Ha!” answered Chemist
“Wonderful, corporal, the crystal if you please”
Wind Flare laid the crystal on the floor in front of him and the captain teleported the
device to the bottom of the freshly dug shaft. As he did he could hear the commotion
above begin to die down; the changelings had been expelled from the city.
“It would appear that out welcome has been worn out gentlecolts”
“And now we Step silently into the shadows, sir” came the reply
“As we have always done” He replied with conviction
They collected their gear and made their way to the spill way, where all the waste funneled out. They reached the end of the line for the explosives, which also marked the minimum safe distance for the blast zone. Chemist struck a match and lit the end of the line. None of Lance’s Stallions could ever go home now…but their actions today were in preparation for a grander cause than the lives of seven stallions.
“So it begins” Lance whispered to himself
The trio casually walked to the end of the tunnel whistling all the way, as daisy chained explosives collapsed the nexus behind them and cemented their treason.
18 months later (6 months after the coronation of Princess Sparkle) 1307 hours, Princess Sparkles Chambers, Canterlot Castle
“SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE”
The stout purple dragon ran through the door frantically, slipping on a rug
and flipping backwards eventually colliding with a stack of papers that had
overflowed from Twilight’s desk. Spike collected himself.
“What is it Twilight?”
“This is terrible, absolutely terrible!”
“That bad?”
“I’m missing the 188-077 forms, if we can’t get those files sent out then we won’t
get any shipments of parchment until next Tuesday”
Spike was, as usual, amused at Twilight's overreaction
“Oh, Twilight”
“SPIKE! This is serious, if we don’t find those forms-“
“You mean these forms?” asked Spike producing a stack of paper
“Where did you find those?”
“I was filling them out when you called me”
“Are they-“
“All taken care of, I just have to drop them off at the outgoing mail-room”
Twilight put her face on her desk in shame “UGH…I'm sorry Spike, it’s just that I’m-“
“Overworking yourself...again”
Twilight shrugged and mumbled “yes”
“Come on Twilight, you haven’t left the castle in over a week, we have lower
level ponies to file this paper work”
“But Spike, I’M the princess, if anything doesn’t get through, if there are errors in the bureaucracy
then I’m the one responsible for what doesn’t get done, if the proper paperwork isn’t filed then
we could lose crop planting time and we could be faced with a food shortage, then the citizens
would revolt against Celestia and then Equestria will be thrown in chaos and it’ll be ALL MY FAULT!”
“Uh, Twi…aren’t you, I don’t know? Over thinking that, just a little bit?"
Twilight collected herself and sighed
“You’re right Spike, perhaps I’m overreacting and we have been working hard lately”
Spike stomach rumbled for want of food, Twilight giggled
“Tell you what Spike? Why don’t I treat you to lunch? Anywhere you wanna go, my treat”
“Um…I know! There’s a place down on 5th avenue called the Leaf Shack and I
hear that they do a magnificent ruby shake”
“Alright, let’s get going then”
The pair left the office which was situated in one of the castles more remote areas so as to give Twilight, ever the diligent student, some peace to continue her studies and (much to Spikes chagrin) complete her paper work. Even in this part of the castle the hallways were magnificently adorned with painting from Equestria's best artists lining the walls, gold framed its doorways and marble pillars supported its great halls. The Royal Equestrian Guards stood at the entrance way to Twilight's wing of the castle, guarding against trespassers and with past events fresh in mind, Infiltrators. Twilight passed the guards and waved them off as they tried to follow her, this was simply a lunch run and she didn’t feel the need to bring them along if she could afford not to, at her heart Twilight was still the same awkward student and Guards just brought more unwanted attention to herself (Slightly less than her status as a princess, but still…)
Twilight stepped up to the open window at the end of the hallway, Spike knew instantly what
was about to happen
“Oooooooh no Twilight” the young dragon replied fearfully “Can’t we just teleport there?”
Twilight turned to the dragon “Oh Spike, what’s the point of having wings if you never use them?”
“But the last time you flew with me on your back we crashed into that night club”
“Oh, it wasn’t that bad”
“I almost hit the wall! If the DJ hadn’t caught me when she did, I would have been crushed”
“Oh, come on”
Twilight grabbed Spike and threw him on her back, jumped out into the air… extended her wings and glided out over the capital She looked down admiring not only the architecture as she often times would gazing out of her room back when she was a student but she also admired the hustle and bustle of the ponies of Canterlot. Its vendors lined the streets peddling their wares, young ponies were shopping the capitals array of fine fashion boutiques and construction crews were laying the foundations to future buildings. Twilight remembering her objective scanned the streets from above trying to pick out her destination; then remembering Spike was on her back (clinging to her out of fear) simply asked him.
“So where are we going again?” she asked casually
Spike barely squeaked out his answer “5th…and…Trottingham”
“Oh, right”
Twilight found their appropriate intersection and landed without incident, she turned to the young
dragon still clinged to her back, smiled slightly then picked him up and put him firmly on the ground
where he stood motionless.
“See Spike? I can totally fly and NOT crash. What do you think of that?” Asked Twilight
Spike however was still firmly shaken up and didn’t respond
“You know Spike? For a dragon you sure do hate flying”
Spike composed himself and responded
“BABY dragon, I still haven’t matured enough to grow wings ya know”
Twilight giggled to herself, “You coming Spike?” she asked as she made
her way to the Leaf Shack
Spike got up and followed her in, as they entered the fragrant smell of fresh greens reminded Twilight that she had skipped breakfast…and lunch…and dinner…and then breakfast again. Spiked rushed to the back of the long line of ponies waiting to order as Twilight looked at the menu that was hanging on the wall trying to decide what she wanted.
“Hmm, the asparagus wraps sound good, what are you getting Spike?” she asked
as she turned to the dragon.
What she saw instead was Spike at the front of the line with the line of ponies waiting parted in two.
“SPIKE! What are you doing? Get to the back of the line”
“I did, but these ponies wouldn’t let me”
“What?” Twilight asked flatly
One of the patrons spoke up “Well, your Highness, we understand that you have important
duties and we didn’t want to make you wait”
Twilight groaned at the special treatment, she was uncomfortable with fanfare for the most
part and she hated being placed on such a lofty perch. Twilight picked her words carefully
“I appreciate this, but please I wish to simply wait with everyone else”
The ponies gathered there all nodded in agreement and reformed their line as Spike returned
with his shake slurping happily. Twilight rejoined the line and ordered her meal without further incident.
“What was that all about?” he asked as they exited the cafe and sat down at one of the outside tables
Twilight opened the wrapping paper around began to eat “I don’t know Spike, maybe it could
have something to do with my wings” Twilight replied sarcastically between bites
“Fine, Fine, you don’t have to be so mean about it”
Twilight slumped slightly and sighed “I’m sorry Spike, it’s just that I don’t really like the attention is all”
“What about the Coronation? You seemed comfortable with the attention then”
“That’s different it was a public event, I had time to prepare, time to make it look like I was
confident and ready to take on this challenge…but really-“
“You’re not sure you’re a good enough princess…are you Twi?”
Twilight silently went back to her asparagus wrap
Spike finished his shake “You know Twi? You really are the right pony for the job, I mean you’re
smart and kind and you always know what time of the day it is…more than I can say for some ponies”
Twilight shrugged “Still, it feels like I have the weight of Equestria on my shoulders sometimes,
Ponies count on me to make decisions and if I screw up then…”
Spike reached out and held Twilight's hoof “But you haven’t screwed up yet, have you?”
“No, I suppose I haven’t”
Spike let go and replied jovially “Well, there you go Twilight! Everything’s going to be just fine, right?”
Across Town, Royal Guard Barracks, main barricade
The two guards that had pulled the day time shift watching the front gate of the main Barracks compound were busy debating which of the Wonderbolts they’d have sex with; bantering back and forth, neither able to get the other to see it their way. But that’s what you did when on guard duty: find random topics and argue pointlessly for one side or the other, just to make the time go faster.
“I’m telling you” started the Guard-Corporal “Spitfire is the hottest Mare in the whole of this
stallions army, I mean come on, those bedroom eyes, that flank, you’d have to be crazy NOT
to find her attractive”
His friend waved him off “Pfft, Spitfire is an officer, no good comes from them, now
Fleetfoot on the other hoof-”
“Is also an officer, ALL the Bolts are ranked Ensign or higher” the corporal replied sarcastically
“Ensigns don’t count, anyway. Anyway, Spitfire’s way too muscular, Fleetfoot on the other hand
is a nice balance of soft and fit, you know what I’m sayin?”
“You’re a moron”
“And you have unrealistic expectations”
“Yeah right like you would ever-“
The Private interrupted him “Hang on, who is that!?”
Two meters from the first barricade stood a single stallion in an officer’s long coat.
The guards looked at each other perplexed.
“Did…did you see him approach?” the corporal asked his companion
“We should have seen him before now, it’s not like there’s anything to hide behind in broad daylight,
it’s all open space”
It was true, the area in front of the barricade was all open ground and off limits from civilians,
if anything entered that area, even the most inattentive guard would notice it.
The officer for his part waited patiently for them.
“Is there anyone on the visitation list? Scheduled inspection?”
The Private looked the list up and down but couldn’t find anything on the schedule
“There’s no visitation until 1600…go see what he wants”
“Why don’t you do it?”
“You’re the ranking officer here, go and lead by example”
The Guard-Corporal sighed and glared at his fellow guard
“Fine, but keep your eyes peeled, I don’t like this one bit”
The corporal stepped out of the booth and walked up to their mystery visitor, saluted him and then asked
“What can I help you with today, sir?”
The officer wasted no time responding
“I believe you have a wanted stallion in your presence, Corporal”
It was only then did the guard take a good look at the officer’s well scared face, and at that moment the young guard’s jaw dropped. The other guard in the booth was already hitting the alarm button, sending the entire barracks complex on alert, and by extension the rest of the garrison.For his part the officer smiled, and gazed upon the mobilization of the guards as the corporal threw him to the ground and slapped a pair of shackles on to him. The Sergeant-At-Arms, a grizzled, old Unicorn named Stryker who was nearby had run over to find the source of the commotion.
He poke his head into the guard station
“Why the Tartarus ‘ave ye sounded the alarm and what in the name of Celestia gave ye cause fer it?”
He asked the private with a sharp, almost dangerous edge to his tone.
Stryker noticed the wide, frightened stare in the young stallions eyes and the private responded
merely by pointing to the officer on the ground
The chained stallion noticed the Sergeant, and looked up at his old friend with a smile and asked simply
Twilight and Spike finally returned to the castle after their lunch to find Guards scrambling in and out of the Castle, alarms were sounding and gates were slamming shut, the grounds keepers were being shooed inside.
“What do you think has got them so spooked?” Spike asked rhetorically
“I have no idea, but I’ll find out” Twilight responded as she walked up to one of the door guards
As the guard spotted her, he ran up to her, with a look of relief on his face
“Princess Sparkle, we’ve been looking everywhere for you, we have to get
you someplace safe, immediately”
He turned to a pair of Guards running past
“You two, with me, we have to get the Princess and her secretary inside now!”
“Secretary?” Spike asked unamused
But before he could correct them one of the guards threw Spike on his back as the other two flanked Twilight and hurried them both inside past multiple layers of security to a room in the castles interior. Upon entrance, the guards blocked off the one entrance to the room and teleported a message confirming that Twilight was safe. Only then did Twilight get the chance to ask questions.
“What is going on here? Are we under attack!? Are the Changelings back?!”
“We don’t know Princess” one of the Guards responded
“There was a commotion at the main barracks compound and the alarm has been sounded
for a full castle lock down”
“What could have caused this?”
Suddenly the Guards bowed, at first Twilight thought that they were bowing to her but then
she turned to see that her mentor Princess Celestia was already inside the safe room.
She walked towards Twilight
“My most gifted Student, there are things that I must discuss with you in private”
Celestia turned to the guards.
“Take Spike to the southwest safe room, I wish to be alone with Princess Sparkle”
“Yes, Princess” the guards replied in unison as they bowed and then left the room
Spike followed them out “Seriously though…Secretary?”
Celestia barred the door after they had left and then when she felt the room was secure
she began to explain
“Last year, during the changeling attack, one of our elite teams from the 1st Asymmetric
Reconnaissance Battalion went missing and it was only after we sifted through the rubble,
did we piece together that they had actually aided the changelings in their attack”
Twilight stood there confused for a moment “So what does that mean? Are we under attack
NOW? What does this have to do with the lock down?”
“Well that’s the thing, the leader of this group, a unicorn by the name of Piercing Lance,
turned himself in at the Main guard barracks a few moments ago”
“But why would THAT cause the entire garrison to go on high alert? I mean for one pony,
that’s a bit excessive don’t you think?”
“Captain Lance was no ordinary unicorn and neither were the stallions under his command,
only the best of the guard were even on the list for consideration in the 1st Battalion,
90 percent of those chosen for selection do not even pass, and only the absolute best of those
stallions were even considered for Lances team…we are talking about stallions that know the
guard inside and out, they’re motivated and they, for whatever reason, are working to bring down
the Kingdom”
Twilight thought about all this for a moment, then being as logical as ever referred to her
knowledge of Canterlot emergency procedures to determine the next course of action.
“Alright, so our next step would be to have the prisoner interrogated, to find out what he knows,
as per regulation 45-b of the ‘Canterlot Emergency Management Handbook’ if memory serves”
Twilight said with a certain level of professional pride.
Celestia let slip a brief chuckle “Ever the student I see”
Celestia then looked over to a desk in the center of the room and levitated a series of files
from inside of it.
“These are the dossiers of Team 6, otherwise known as ‘The Silent Step’, I want you to conduct the
investigation of this matter on my behalf, along with the questioning of Captain Lance”
“The Silent Step huh? Spooky” Twilight mused as she took the Dossiers. She flipped one open,
just sort of glancing at it, then she looked back at Celestia “Consider it done”
“One more thing” Celestia added “well, three actually: First, no pony but a very select few in the
Guard, as well as you and my sister know the specifics of “The Step’s” crimes, most in the guard
assume that they’re deserters, dangerous deserters…but nothing more”
“Understood, my lips are sealed” Twilight crossed her heart and put her hoof up to her eye
“And the second thing?”
“I’m bringing in your friends, just in case we need the Elements of Harmony”
Twilight nodded in approval, her friends had all gone off to follow their own dreams and
she was looking forward to seeing them again.
“As for the Third: I’m bringing in a former member of ‘The Step’ to help you conduct your
investigation, he has experience with the Captain and will aid you with your investigation”
“Can he be trusted?” Twilight asked skeptically
“I’d hope so, you know him quite personally”
Twilight was confused, she didn’t know many in the Guard personally, and she was racking her brain for the possibilities and on top of that she wasn’t too keen on putting her trust in a pony who could still be loyal in some way to this ‘Lance’ character.
“Who?” she finally inquired
Celestia turned and replied without hesitation
“Your brother”
********
Later that night, 2245 hours, Princess Sparkle’s personal Library/bedroom
Twilight sat alone in her candle lit library looking over the files of the members of this Team 6; the “Silent Step” as they were known in the guard… and what she had read both scared and thrilled her. Their after action reports read like a Daring Do novel come to life; harrowing escapes, life or death battles often times with the fate of Equestria hanging in the balance...
“I can see why they put the city on lock down for the afternoon now” she mused as she
rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes.
Spike walked in with a tea kettle and cups on a platter
“Hey Twi, I figured you could use something to keep you awake”
Twilight levitated the tea kettle onto her desk, Spike looked at her confused
“Ugh…Twi, don’t you need-“
Spikes thought was cut off by Twilight drinking the boiling hot tea straight from the kettle
“Never mind then” Spike said to himself as he began to leave
Twilight put down the kettle and waved Spike back to her
“Check this out Spike, it’s the Dossier on Captain Lance”
Spike waddled over and hopped up on the desk
Twilight continued
“Honestly, if even half the stuff in this file is true, then even I might have something to worry about.
Graduated top of his class at the Guard Academy, one of the youngest Captains in the history of the
Guard at twenty, He was selected then for training with the 1st Battalion where he demonstrated
‘Incredible capacity for small unit tactics, evasion, and subterfuge”
Spike interrupted “And let me guess, he graduated 1st in his class?”
“3rd, actually” Twilight corrected
“Ah, go on”
Twilight resumed
“After the Dominion war he was head of Guard training for 10 years after which he ran
‘Team 6’, Celestia’s go to team for operations outside of the Kingdom, which he did until
my brother’s wedding when his team went rouge”
Spike thought about this for a moment
“Okay, but does it say anything about why he might have turned traitor?”
Twilight flipped through another set of files
“Well, from what I understand, observers in the guard noticed a change in his demeanor
after returning from a mission deep inside the Southern Nieghmazon Rainforest; an area which
boarders Changeling territory. This was just one month before the invasion”
“You think that the Captain and his team could have been replaced by changelings?”
“I can’t speak for his team, but we’ve had the Guard confirm that the Captain himself is not a
changeling…but what could have caused them to go rouge I wonder…”
“Well, couldn’t he be under some sort of mind control like your brother was when Chrysalis was
disguised as Cadence?”
“I’ve thought of that too Spike, but Shining Armor was in a weakened state and he lost most
of his ability to function once Chrysalis’s mind control was in full swing. But the Captain shows no sign
of Changeling influence on his mind.”
“Still, it could be a possibility, what does the report from the Neighmazon mission say?”
Twilight sorted through the mission files to find the last report, marked “Operation 476-I”
(Secret operations aren’t the thing you attach big flashy names to)
“Well, the report IS collated properly, there are no spelling or grammar errors-“
“But what does it say Twi?”
“Basically, it was a “Routine Recon” mission whatever that means, but I can’t trust what the
Captain wrote in this report, by this point they could have already been working for Queen Chrysalis…
but that’s not what bothers me”
“Hold on Twi…A team of Elite Guards going rouge and helping the Changelings take down
Equestria DOESN’T bother you?”
“What bothers me is their target location, the area where they were sent to survey is
…well…empty. Granted there’s some old ruins in that area…but it was surveyed roughly 40
years ago, it holds no tactical or political importance, and all the artifacts in those ruins are on
display in the archives…so why go there?”
“Hmm, I don’t know Twi…OH, Maybe there was ugh a…pack of pony eating manticores!”
“Manticores, Spike?”
“Yeah, and maybe they were sent to defeat them before they could gobble up more
innocent camper ponies”
Twilight face-hoofed “What am I going to do with you Spike?”
“Well” Said the dragon as he raised himself up “I think a Lordship would be in order, I’ll take
…um…half”
Twilight chuckled slightly, realizing what the dragon was trying to do; the day had been stressful, and tomorrow was only going to be more taxing on her… and Spike always did have a way of making her smile, even if it was at his own foolishness.
Spike hopped off Twilight's desk
“Well, I think I’m going to bed, a Lord after all needs his rest if he is to rule the WORLD! Mwahahaha!”
Twilight rolled her eyes at the dragon as he walked off to bed. Then Twilight remembered.
“Spike!”
He turned back to Twilight, awaiting instructions
“Rarity is coming to the Capital tomorrow, at around 10, and I’ m sure that she’d love it
if you were there to greet her”
But before she could tell him where to greet her the dragon ran off to make what preparations
he deemed fit.
“He’s probably going to dye his scales” She mused aloud
Twilight then turned back to her stack of reports, she hesitantly grabbed for one that she knew involved her brother: Shining Armor. She had been hesitant to look at the ones that made mention of him for fear of reading about him being in peril, but if she wanted to gain some insight on what his relationship was with the Captain she had to read them. She levitated a file in front of her open:
Operation 9057-K
Objectives-Primary: Extract Vital Information package from Gryphon Dominion military instillation
(Designate: Wheat Mill)-Status: Successful
Primary: Avoid detection at all avenues of Operation- Status: Failure
Primary: Avoid implication of Kingdom in any actions taken against The Dominion-Status: Successful
Flight Sergeant Blitz Sling – Equestrian Air Navy (P)
Communications Specialist Grape Vine- Equestrian Signal Corps (U)
Sergeant “Chemist” Trotsky- Equestrian Air Navy (E)
Guard Corporal Wind Flare-Royal Guard (P)
The approach to the “Dig site” was simple enough, the underbrush surrounding the site was thick
enough to hide the whole of the Kingdom under it and still have room to spare, clearly the Griffons
didn’t expect anyone to approach from the south, personally would have cleared the area in a 300
meter perimeter. Sloppy. Upon reconnoitering the surrounding area my team split in 2,
I (Captain Piercing Lance) lead three of my stallions to retrieve the “package” while the remaining
stallions under Lieutenant Armor made their way to extract the defector: Doctor Felipe Nightwing,
archeologist responsible for the excavation. The extraction on our end was flawless,
Team 2 however ran into problems. First the team was apparently spotted during infiltration by
one of the maintenance crew who then alerted the legion detachment. Upon the entrance of team 2
to the doctor’s quarters they were set upon by an estimated 5 Griffon legionaries. Flight Sergeant
(FS) Sling suffered a cracked rib and Sergeant Phalanx a mild concussion, the Doctor along with
Lieutenant Armor and Sergeant Trotsky were un-harmed in the scuffle. Lieutenant Armor withdrew
his team with the Doctor en-tow, back towards the rendezvous point. Upon hearing the alarms and
realizing that team 2 had been compromised I sent Corporal Flare and MSG Arsenal to light the
match on an explosives payload that we had crafted out of local materials mostly consisting of a
local ignition compound and our own fecal matter…incredibly crude, but efficient, in order
to provide the Lieutenant’s team a few extra moments to escape. However, in the course of
attempting to escape LT Armor had to make use of a bridge to escape the pursuing guards as
their primary route was split in two by a griffon platoon. Unfortunately, the super structure of the
old iron bridge collapsed as they attempted to cross it, and while my team was able to climb off the
bridge and onto he opposite side; Doctor Nightwing became trapped beneath a section of the
iron superstructure of the bridge and was unable to escape plummeting to his death. LT Armor was
unable to react in time to save the Doctor due to having to pull up FS Sling who had also gotten
trapped in the iron of the bridges super structure. We would spend the next 2 weeks evading patrols,
eventually leading them to dragon territory where they ceased their search.
Overall evaluation of the mission: “Package secured”, mission successful…
but sometimes even the best leaders can’t save everyone.
NOTE: Lieutenant Shining Armor requested transfer to Capital guard detachment:
request was granted.
NOTE: Presence sanitary: Griffons assumed we were bandits seeking a quick ransom,
no links to the Crown but this report.
Twilight put down the report with many, MANY questions, but her foremost thought was simply
“What WAS so valuable to the princess that she would risk re-igniting the war with the Griffon
Dominion to claim it?”
Twilight filtered the options in her head: It couldn’t possibly be anything of monetary value,
the Dominion military would not have had jurisdiction over their gold mining, so that was out.
Simple artifacts and most magical charms and amulets were out since they would have required an
on-site Magical Historian to head up the project and not an Archeologist…so what could possibly have
been excavated there?
Twilight racked her brain as to the possibilities but was unable to think of anything that made sense…
perhaps she could get a better picture from her brother tomorrow.
“He’s got a lot to answer for” Twilight yawned “But for now, I think it’s time for bed”
Twilight reached down under her desk for her study pillow, cleared the reports from out in
front of her, put her pillow on her desk and drifted instantly into sleep.
Canterlot Catacombs That very same night
Beneath the Castle, under the hooves of the citizens of Canterlot, Three black crystal sat in position, dormant since they had been placed, they began to pulsate and glow…their revival and re-union with the ‘Whole’ was moving ever closer …it was now simply a matter of time…
-0102 hours, Port of Grand Lakes, Equestrian Air Naval Base ‘Invincible’, Headquarters of 1st Fleet
-20 minutes north of Canterlot
Admiral Broadside was getting quite tired of this shit. Yet another night of rain and cold in this backwater
posting that passed for the home port of his fleet. The air was heavy with the stench of booze and vomit,
ponies littered the streets from their night of debauchery, the cobblestone paths were slick with mud and
the Admiral silently thanked himself for wearing his combat boots for this weather. Broadside could hear a
familiar tune carry itself through the streets; following it he found what he was looking for.
The Establishment was called ‘The Anchor’, a tad generic for the sophisticated ponies, but it was the
bar of choice for his sailors. He entered to many ponies in the white and blue of the Air Navy and the
dark khaki of the Marines gathered around a white coated pegasus, who was dancing atop one of the
sturdier tables, leading the song.
Celestia, guard and guide the ponies who fly
Through the great spaces in the sky
Be with them always, in the air
In darkening storms and sunlight fair
Oh hear us when we lift our prayer
For those in peril in the air.
Broadside could only smile to himself as the entire bar clapped to the young stallion’s rendition
of the song . He walked over to the crowd, parting it as they realized who the old stallion was.
He came upon the singer, who saluted him despite having collapsed on the floor.
“Mister Typhoon” The Admiral started "You seem to be having a good time i see"
The young commander looked up and smiled "You should join me, Sir"
"Perhaps later, i do however need a word with you, if you are so inclined"
The Commander looked up quizzically and lazily got up on all fours, he turned to his audience
"Excuse me, gentlecolts"
As they walked away the assembled service ponies resumed their revelry. Broadside gave a
small nod to the bartender as the duo made their way to a relatively secluded part of the counter
as they sat down the Bartender produced two bottles of fizzy cider.
“You know?” Started Typhoon “It’s not often that the Admiral of the Fleets buys me a drink...and not the good
stuff either…am I getting promoted, sir?”
Broadside simply took a long drag from his bottle
Typhoon pressed the issue “Worse than that, eh?”
“We’ve been placed on alert, it’s a possible 'Code Black' scenario”
“Code Black?!” Typhoon sat there for a second completely dumbfounded “But the last time they called a Code Black-“
“They’ve never called a Code Black for the Navy” the older stallion corrected
“Do we have a target? Do we have a timeframe? Who is responsible? Has something bad happened already?”
he shot off in quick succession
“Well, to answer your questions young one…in order I might add” Broadside allowed himself a moment
to get his thoughts straight “Canterlot, No, A team from the First Asymmetric Battalion, and not yet no”
The young stallion relaxed slightly “Wait, it’s just one team?”
“Well, it’s believed that this particular team is responsible for that Changeling invasion a while back,
but you didn’t hear that from me…or at all for that matter”
Typhoon took a long swig of his drink to give himself a moment to process that information
“Well that’s something” He stated dryly “so what now?”
The admiral swirled his cider as he worked on forming his response
“Well…we wait, and we respond in kind to aggression. We are also to be ready to respond
to and intercept any large scale threat…so say my orders at least”
“I don’t know Admiral, this seems like over kill to put the whole Navy on alert”
“Well, the new princess, as you know, is a bit of a worrier, I had to talk her out of moving the fleet
directly over Canterlot…so the Air Navy will stand ready to respond to threats as they arise”
“Should have known, Princess Sparkle IS the kind to overreact to a mean stallion who has
missed one too many psychiatric evaluations” He stated without a hint of malice
“You show some respect there Commander; for the position if not the mare…same goes for the Princess”
“Hehehe, oh I’ll show her a position or two”
“You’re pushing it Mister Typhoon”
“No, no, just follow me here for a second Admiral, picture it: a besieged city, a forlorn princess waiting for rescue,
a dashing commander leading a charge of ships with big caliber rifles from over the distant horizon, locked in
pitched combat the dashing commander personally goes and saves the princess form the clutches of the
‘Basket Case Battalion’ in a duel for her life…and her heart…it’s all very ‘storybook’ wouldn’t you say?”
“Leading? You killing me off already whelp?”
“But sir, your death provides the sailors the will to carry on, give 'em motivation you see”
The old war horse managed to let out a mild chuckle “Sounds like quite the tale, I hope to
read it someday, you would have made one damn good wordsmith”
“What can I say? I’m a pony of many talents”
“Just like your old man” Broadside noted with a nudge
“You flatter yourself too much, ya crotchety old bastard”
“Perhaps”
Both Ponies sat in the relative silence at their own end of the bar. Both waited for the music to
pick up and get louder before they continued conversation
“So” Typhoon began “What’s the word on this guy from the 1st?”
“The Princesses aren’t sure yet, he’s supposedly one of their best and I couldn’t get much
more than that. They’re supposedly bringing in a specialist to talk to this guy by tomorrow;
wouldn’t say who but the smart money is on someone who served with him.”
“I thought that the First Asymmetric was re-deployed to forward base ‘Shadow’...deep in the
Equestrian Desert. How the hay could they get somepony here that quick?”
“Good question…but that’s not my concern…We’ve been getting reports from forward
listening posts of movement from the changeling swarm, they’ve been picking up vibrations on seismic scanners”
Typhoon almost dropped his drink “WHAT…Why have we not been alerted!?”
“Watch your tone…I don’t need this info public just yet.” He said as he glanced back
“Well, at first there was no pattern, no large move out, they were moving in half a dozen at a
time, all taking separate routes, staying off the main roads and before you know it”
Broadside slammed his hoof on the bar “2,000 changelings just north of the Equis River”
Typhoon blinked hard, and collected his thoughts before finally finding his resolve
“Alright, so when do we make our move against them?”
“We don’t”
“…what do you mean?”
“Think lad, we can see them, they know that we can see them, normally these guys don’t amass
in such numbers, last time they hit, they snuck in, they get right in your face and then they overwhelm
you…for them to be so open with their movements and it such number is unprecedented”
Broadside turned to the younger stallion “Think lad…you’re their bloody queen, why would you order this?”
Typhoon sat there for a moment, letting his thoughts collect. Putting his tactical mind to work he could only
think of one possibility
“They…they…wanted it to be spotted…to create a big enough threat so that we
must respond…and then you use the confusion to hit your real objective”
“Bingo, make your enemy watch one hoof and hit him with the other…so for now we’re
gonna do nothing; Celestia has been informed and she agrees with my assessment…so for now we wait”
“So what then do we look for, if this isn’t the main attacking force…where do we watch?”
“Honestly…I have no idea, but chances are that they’re gonna focus on Canterlot, so to that end I’ve
station the 7th Marines just across the river as a deterrent but we’ll keep our eyes focused on the
approaches to Canterlot. In the event of attack on the capital we are to move in with all possible
strength to prevent it from falling into the hands of the swarm…assuming the Guard can hold for as
long as it takes us to arrive”
“I’d rather bet on a pile of snow surviving a night in Tartarus”
“Well, to that end, Celestia’s ‘insurance policy’ is assembling in Canterlot for such an eventuality”
“Elements of Harmony?”
“Eeyup, they’ve worked quite well for us in the past…with luck this whole thing will blow over in a week”
“You believe that?”
“Let’s just say that I’ve ordered additional ‘point defense rifles’ fitted to the cruisers…just as a precaution”
“I’ll drink to that, sir”
Broadside took another long swig of his drink, looking back towards the dance floor he noticed a
young mare gazing in their direction, oblivious to the fact that she had been spotted.
“Me thinks you have an admirer” Broadside noted to his young protégé
Typhoon did not turn “She cute?”
“Never said it was a mare did I?”
“You’re funny”
“One of us has to be…and she IS cute”
“Good to know, where is she?”
“Seven o’clock, round table, magenta coat, light green mane”
“Got her” He said as he used the mirror above the bar “Not bad at all”
“I tell ya, if I were a younger stallion-“
“Then the mares wouldn’t be fighting over me as much, and we can’t have that can we, Sir?”
He stated with a sly grin “Now if you excuse me”
Rising from his spot at the bar he walked over to the young mare, leaving the admiral at the bar alone. He took up his glass once more and downed the rest of it, slamming it back on the counter with a satisfying thud. The bartender took notice.
“Need a refill, sir?”
Broadside let out a slight chuckle then pulled a small bag filled with large denomination ‘platinum’ bits out of his uniform pocket and placed it on the counter.
“They don't pay for anything...am i clear” he noted as he replaced his hat back on his head “Make sure that they spend it all”
Leaving the counter he fought his way through the throng of young ponies that crowded the establishment making his way to the exit and walking off into the night.