> Shadows of the Moon
>  by Morty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Introduction, The Deep
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Quin!” shouted the massive earth pony. “What do we do?”
“I don’t know I don’t know, let me just think for a second”
“Yeah, take your time, it’s not like OUR LIVES DEPEND ON IT!” shouted the volatile pegasus. 
Quin surveyed the cavern to assess their situation, illuminating the space with magic. The bizarre scorpion-like creatures, each about three feet long with no visible eyes, were closing from all directions. The creatures clicked to each other as they closed in, somehow able to pinpoint the location of Quin’s squad through some means other than sight. Oh how he’d love to get a sample of their magic resistant exoskeletons, but now wasn’t the time for science. For now, he had to figure out some way to keep his friends alive. 
The cavernous they had been exploring were now crawling with these monsters, creatures that had proven to be immune to Quin’s magic. The small black pony quickly formulated a plan. 
“Move to the wall! Razorspark! Riposte!  See how they fair against your long range. Spark, take the left flank, Rip you got the right. I don’t want anypony getting stung by these things. Crush, you’re my eyes. I’m dual casting.”
“Understood” Stone Crusherhooves replied gruffly. The giant earth pony stood at 6’7 feet tall, towering over even an alicorn. Most of his body was covered in heavy metal plate armor, with his horseshoes especially fortified and enhanced through Quin’s own magical power. There was no better pony to have watching his back.
Razorspark flew in circles a few feet from the ground, a small dark cloud forming in the center.  She flew behind her cloud as the creatures approached.
“COME GET SOME FUCKERS!” the rather extreme pegasus shouted at her enemies..
Using her unusually long, thin legs she started to beat the cloud like it was a punching bag. Each strike of her hooves unleashed a bolt of lightning, blasting away creature after creature.
“Quin mon ami, whenever you get le chance I could really use a hoof over here!” 
If Riposte was asking for help, Quin knew things were bad. He couldn’t open his eyes while dual casting, so he took the risk and tri-casted for just a moment, the sabrecat’s eye spell. Through the magic floating eye that appeared, he saw Riposte was having quite a bit of trouble. The young unicorn’s magical energy blade techniques had no effect on the strange opponents they now faced. Seeing that they were even immune to his magical telekinesis, Riposte threw whatever loose debris he could at them, but the creatures were growing bolder. Quin knew he did not have long.
Finally one of the spells was ready. Quin’s magic burned a summoning rune into the floor. In a flash of pink light three fine swords appeared: a katana, a broadsword and, Riposte’s favorite, a personally enchanted rapier. He quickly shut down the sabrecat’s eye before he lost control of the other spell that was charging.
“Riposte” shouted Crush. “Your blades!” 
“Excellent” responded the white unicorn smoothly. His burning coal red eyes filled with glee as he telekinetically grabbed his weapons. He struck a pose with his slicked back red hair, magically twirled the end of his pointy red moustache, and displayed his sword cutie mark. With a wicked grin he brandished his three swords. “Form an orderly line gentlemen, everyone shall get a taste!”
He swung his blades around furiously at the monsters, impaling and killing a few. Despite this, it wasn’t long before things started going horribly wrong. Even with his intense focus and skill, his strokes were slowing down. Suddenly one of the beasts grabbed his rapier, biting at it incessantly. Several of the creatures piled on his rapier, and his connection with it broke entirely.
“What is this!?” shouted Riposte. “Razorspark, I need support!”
“A little busy here!” She cried back frantically.
Beads of sweat ran down Razorspark’s face as her wings struggled to maintain the cloud underground. She was growing tired and the creatures just kept coming. She smiled to herself as the beasts she had just blasted twitched, but her smile soon faded to dismay as the creatures righted themselves and continued their advance.

“Quin, you may need to revise your plan” said Crush, a concerned look crossing his face.
“Already have, several times.” 
Quin’s eyes were still closed in concentration. He was only working on a single spell now, but it required intense focus due to its great magnitude. He had no choice; he had to finish them all in one blast. He was going to try to summon a storm of armor piercing arrows, but to set up such a spell took time.
The creatures had already swarmed over Riposte’s katana, leaving him with just his broadsword. He swung sluggishly at the creatures. 
“Stay back you filth!” he shouted.
While it was a well known fact that Quin was the brains of their group, nopony gets to Alpha Squad of UMBRA without having a quick wit about them. Riposte scanned the field in an attempt to lcate his other weapons and try to make magical contact again. He found his trusty rapier and started to lift it off the ground. As the magic formed around it, several of the creatures pounced on it, some even turning back to get to reach the weapon. He struggled to fight them off by wielding the broadsword in his mouth as a last resort when it became clear that magic was getting them nowhere. He noticed one of the injured creatures bite the sword and, to his horror, its wounds immediately began to heal. Suddenly it became clear. He dropped the sword to speak.
“Quin, these things EAT magic!” He had to get that info to Quin, but as he tried to reach for his sword one of the creatures lunged at him. He fell down on his side as he jumped out of the way.
“Time’s up Quin” stated Crush calmly as he made an epic leap to Riposte’s position, the ground shaking as he landed. Riposte scrambled behind Stone, the creatures in close pursuit. Stone made quick work of a dozen or so, trampling and crushing them with his expert Hammerhoof style. The creatures backed off a bit, seemingly confused, then surged forward once again. Riposte tried to fight alongside Crush but the unicorn just didn’t have crush’s skill in unarmed combat.
“Get back” yelled Stone. 
Riposte ran back to the wall with Quin, feeling utterly useless without a weapon. Stone crushed creature after creature, but somehow a few slipped past, uninterested in the big earth pony. 
“Quin!” shouted Riposte.
“Almost!” Quin yelled.
Crush blew away a wave of the creatures with a mighty back kick then leapt onto the ones threatening his friends, spilling their entrails on the cavern floor.
“Now!” Quin cried “Spark, to me!” 
The exhausted pegasus darted back to the group. Quin opened his eyelids, his eyes glowing white with magical power. The ground shook and spikes of stone burst forth from it, ripping into the creatures. Large stones broke away from the ceiling, whirling violently around the heroes, crushing all the creatures in their paths. 
“Thanks for that” Riposte said to Quin, but the young pony was engrossed in his magic. 
He didn’t have time to bring in the rain of arrows, so he resorted to a simpler geomantic spell. With as much charge time as he had, manipulating tons of rock was as natural to him as breathing. The creatures scampered wildly after the flying stone wreckage, trying to eat the magic guiding the rocks, only to be crushed before having time to feed. Before long the swarm was dead, but the walls continued to shake.
“I was afraid of this” Quin said. “The geomancy caused a cave in. We have to move now!” The ponies began running towards the exit of the cavern, but Stone Crusherhooves struggled to keep up.
“Stone move it!” shouted Razorspark, but then she noticed his limping leg. “Guys Stone’s hurt” she yelled ahead.
Quin and Riposte stopped. “Crush were you stung?” asked Quin with panic in his voice.
At first Crush said nothing, simply nodded, facing the ground. Then after a pause he looked straight at Quin. Stone’s face was stoic as ever, but Quin saw immense pain in those eyes.
“You have to keep moving, leave me” Stone said through gritted teeth.
“Bullshit we’re leaving you!” shouted Razorspark. She may not have the best demeanor, but there was no way she’d leave a friend behind.
“What other options do we have?” asked Riposte.
“EXCUSE ME?” challenged Razorspark furiously.
“You were busy Sparks, you didn’t see it” said Riposte. “Those things eat magic. They were after Quin and me. When I was fighting them they were agile and focused, but when monsieur Crusherhooves fought them they were sloppy and confused.”
“Maybe Stone is just, oh, I don’t know, BETTER THAN YOU!” She shouted.
“No” Quin started somberly. “Rip’s right.”
“What the hell Quin!?” Razorsparks shot him a poisonous glare.
“Sparks, those creatures had no eyes. There could be merit in what Rip says. For all we know, the presence of unicorns here will just make things worse.”
“You’re both just being cowards!” she yelled, but deep down she knew Quin was right, he almost always was. “Well I am NOT leaving Crush to the mercy of those…things.” 
Crush looked down, saying nothing.
“Listen” began Quin. “We need to move fast, before those things return. I see only one possible course of action.” He began to draw a magical rune in the stone floor with a magical burst from his horn. “This transport rune is meant to send objects, not ponies. We can send you supplies Crush, but it would be too dangerous to try to transport you out of here.” He drew another, more complex rune a few yards away which glowed even after the magic faded. “There, that should keep those freaks busy for a while.”
“Quin I sai-“ started Razorspark.
“Sparks, I am sorry to ask this of you, but will you please stay and guard Crush? Just until we can come back with reinforcements and medical supplies.”
Razorspikes anger melted into a warm smile. She knew Quin would never ask her to leave a friend behind. “You got it Captain” she said, her voice brimming with determination as she walked over to Stone.
“Also” Quin spoke as he raised his horn, several of the dislodged boulders and stalactitesrising in unison. He closed his eyes in concentration as a magical pink adhesive bound the rocks together, creating a barrier all around Crush and Razorspar. He was sure to leave some cracks free of adhesive so they could breathe.
“This should keep you safe if those things do decide to come back” he called to them. “Don’t worry everypony, we are going to make it out of this ok.”
As he began walking away with Riposte Quin muttered under his breath “Just hang on Stone.”
“What was that Quin?” asked Riposte
“Oh, nothing.”
“Hurry back!” They heard Razorspark call.
“Will do cherie!” Riposte called back. “So Quin, what is the plan?”
“Well, we have to inform Princess Luna of our situation right away. According to my intel, there is a town with a dragon not too far from here.
 

> Chapter 1, The Beautiful Pegasus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight was, as per her usual afternoon routine, curled up with a good book. Still, today was no ordinary day for the young unicorn. After months of incessant coaxing, she finally got somepony to agree to be her reading buddy! She often lamented the lack of scholarly ponies in ponyville, and had become sick of always reading alone. Today however, she finally had a partner to explore the wonders of her library with her. She smiled to herself and suddenly couldn’t resist breaking the no-talking rule.
“Enjoying your book Fluttershy?” she asked excitedly.
“Oh, um…yes Twilight very much” she said as she looked up from her copy of Greenhoove’s Guide to Gardening.  She smiled as sincerely as she could to her friend.
Twilight squinted with suspicion. “Really? You don’t look very relaxed to me.”
“Oh I am Twilight…It’s just, well, do you really think Spike can take care of the animals all by himself?”
“Come on Fluttershy this again? I told you Spike takes care of the library all the time. He can handle a few bunnies.”
“Yes, but animals are a teensy bit different than books and I just worry is all.” 
Twilight looked at her with exasperation. “Do you want to go home Fluttershy?”
“No…well, yes… I mean…only if that’s ok with you that is” she smiled nervously.
Twilight sighed. She shouldn’t have tried to force this on poor Fluttershy. 
“Sure it’s ok with me” she said, trying not to sound too disappointed. She smiled politely as her friend put away the book and headed for the door. Just as Fluttershy was about to exit Twilight’s home, a knock sounded at the door.
“Fluttershy could you get that?” called Twilight.
“Sure Twilight” she said. “Hello ther-“
“Mademoiselle, forgive me but you have a beauty that I simply cannot allow to go unpraised”
“E-e-e-excuse me?” stammered Fluttershy.
Riposte rushed into the room and positioned himself behind Fluttershy, whispering in her ear.
“My sweet, how is it that you have been able to mask your radiance from mine eyes.” Riposte took a deep breath from her mane. “C’est magnifique! Like the most fragrant of blossoms.”
“Fluttershy who is it?” called Twilight. “…Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy’s face glowed bright crimson. She tried to talk, but all that came out was a timid squeak. Curious, Twilight came down the stairs to her door and gasped at what she found. There were two ponies, their bodies covered by dark, tattered cloaks. One’s face was concealed by a hood, and the other’s face was visible, adorned with a sinister smile. Fluttershy was on her back; it looked like she was out cold.
“Alright who are you ponies and what have you done to Fluttershy?” Twilight’s expression was fierce and her horn glowed with purple magic.
“Apologies” replied the hooded pony. “Your friend is suffering from a bad case of embarrassment, nothing more. My companion has yet to fully grasp what it means to…keep a low profile.” The last four words were thick with disapproval.
“But Captain! How am I to stay silent when faced with such a fabulous creature?”
Fluttershy squeaked and twitched. Twilight blinked, her anger having dissipated to pity for poor Fluttershy. 
“Well” said Twilight, magically lifting the pegasus onto the carpet. “You still haven’t explained who you are. And I assume you didn’t come here just to freak out my friend.”
“Yes, forgive our intrusion” said the hooded pony. “You see we are friends of Princess Luna. She brought it to our attention that we might be able to contact her here. Is it true that a dragon lives at this residence?”
“You mean Spike?” replied Twilight. “He’s actually not here at the moment, sorry.”
“Do you have any idea when he will return?” asked the hooded pony patiently.
“Well actually, Fluttershy was just about to go take over watching the animals for him but…” She looked over to her unconscious friend sympathetically. 
“I see” responed the hooded pony “Is there any chance I could trouble you for some directions to the dragon’s location? We would like to communicate with the princess as soon as possible.”
“Sure” replied Twilight. “Only…”
“Yes?”
“Only do you guys mind if I give you the directions magically? Something simple like directions seems perfect to help me practice my new spell-- ‘I know, you know’.”
“The ‘I know, you know’ spell?” asked the hooded pony in surprise. “I wasn’t aware that a master capable of teaching such a spell resided in Ponyville.”
“Oh no sir” replied Twilight impressed that her strange guest even knew of the spell. “Just a little something I picked up from my books.” She paused. “Are you guys interested in magic too?”
“You could say that” responded the red headed unicorn, clearly amused by her question.
“Your books you say?” asked the hooded pony. “But the only book that lists that spell is…my word!” he exclaimed. “Do you really have a first edition copy of Dream Prancer’s Tome of Neuromagic!? Where in Equestria did you get a copy?”
Twilight blinked a few times in surprise, taken aback by her guest’s intimate knowledge of magical literature. “Well, actually it was a gift from Princess Celestia.”
“Princess Celestia?” asked the hooded pony. “Ah I see now. You must be Twilight Sparkle. Pleased to meet you.”
Twilight’s surprise turned into a perky smile. “Pleased to meet you as well. And you are…”
“Oh I’m nopony special” responded the mysterious pony. “As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, an address would be preferable to the spell. We can find our way just fine.”
“Are you sure?” asked Twilight disappointedly. “Any friends of Luna’s are welcome to stay for a while.”
“Mademoiselle, your offer is flattering but we are horribly short on time” replied the red haired pony.  “Perhaps another time cherie?”
Twilight gave them the address and the two ponies left her home. “Wait!” she cried, running out after them. “I never caught your names!”
“Corn and Cob!” the hooded pony blurted out and the pair broke into a full gallop.
After they had made some distance away from Twilight’s home Riposte turned to Quin.
“Corn and Cob?” chuckled Riposte. “You really have no tact do you?”
Quin glared at his companion. “Me? What about you! That poor girl’s heart almost stopped back there.”
“Yes” said Riposte. “I do seem to have that effect on the filles.” (French for girls, not the young horse)
Quin looked at Riposte with  half lidded eyes. “How did you ever make it to Alpha Squad?”
“You recommended me captain” replied Riposte.
“Oh, right. Remind me to be more discerning in the future.” Quin rolled his eyes and Riposte laughed quietly. 
“So…no mind wipe on the filles?” asked Riposte
“Couldn’t risk it failing. That was Twilight Sparkle after all.”
“Right... Twilight…was she the cute one?” asked Riposte.
Quin sighed. “Don’t you ever read the dossiers? Twilight Sparkle is the living embodiment of magic itself. Her power is possibly beyond even alicorn levels.”
Riposte looked a bit stunned. “Surely she can’t be more gifted than you?”
“She is, without a doubt.” Riposte sensed something strange in Quin’s tone as he spoke, but decided to just let things be. Who could guess what went on in that pony’s mind? Shortly thereafter, they arrived at Fluttershy’s home.
“Ok” began Quin. “This time, we cut the chitchat. He’s counting on us Rip.” 
Riposte nodded. “Do your stuff mon ami.”
Quin knocked on the door, but there was no response. He knocked again, hearing nothing but a few strange shrieks coming from inside. Quin and Riposte looked at each other quizzically until suddenly the door burst open, a flood of animals nearly flattening them as they fled the house.
“Wait comeback I still need to feed you!” cried a small purple dragon out to the animals. The two ponies peeked inside, to find the young dragon in the firm coils of a long green snake. “Don’t worry I have everything…under…control.” He struggled to speak as the snake squeezed tighter. Finally, he managed to grab hold and pry himself free, flying off into the wall as he popped out of the snake’s grasp.
“Uuugh” said the small dragon, stars swirling around his head. He shook them off. “Wait, who are you guys? You won’t tell Fluttershy about this will you?”
Quin took his hood off.
“Woah dude what is up with your head!” cried Spike. Riposte winced. He knew Quin didn’t like people reacting to his…condition. Suddenly a pink spark of energy lashed out from Quin’s horn and struck the small dragon. Spike’s eyes rolled up in his head and he slumped to the floor.
Riposte looked at Quin in shock. “Captain? Was that really appropriate?”
Quin put his hood back on. “Relax” he said. “The dragon is unharmed, just momentarily stupefied. We are lucky that this dragon is so young, his mental resistance is low. We can now communicate freely with the princess. Quin pulled out a letter he had prepared beforehand and levitated it in front of Spike.
“Dragon, breathe fire” commanded Quin. Spike had no choice but to obey, and the letter was sent.
Back at the library, Twilight was still mulling over what had transpired earlier. She had sensed that something was…not quite right about the two ponies that came to her earlier. She sensed something strange about them, something that both put her on guard and excited her at the same time. She paced the library as Fluttershy recovered, getting more riled up with each passing second.
“I mean, why were they in such a hurry” asked Twilight
“Um, I don’t know” responded Fluttershy.
“Why the heck were they in such a hurry?”
“I don’t know.”
“How did they know so much about me, and about magic!?” yelled Twilight.
“I don’t know” whimpered Fluttershy, lowering her head in response to the yelling.
“We don’t even know who those ponies are! For all we know, they aren’t friends of Luna at all, just some creepy…creepers!”
“That one before was pretty… um… pretty…”
“You thought he was pretty?” asked a confused Twilight.
Fluttershy’s face burned red. “No! No I didn’t mean that! Oh gosh.” Fluttershy quickly tried to think of some way to change the subject. “Um uh, I sure hope Spike is ok with all the animals.”
“That’s right! Those weird ponies were after Spike and they might just be creepy creepers! We shouldn’t leave him alone with them. He is a baby after all. C’mon Fluttershy we gotta get over there right away!” Twilight put a hoof over Fluttershy and her horn began to glow.
“Wait Twilight I don’t Noooo-“ and the two ponies disappeared in a bright flash of white.

> Chapter 2, Discovered
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quin took in the scene around him. The house he was in was trashed by animals; he was currently breaking and entering said trashed house and a semi conscious dragon was rolling around on the floor in front of him. Why was he rolling? Who knows, the stupefaction spell is just weird like that. After taking it all in, the result was official. This day was weird, even for the young squad captain of Umbra. 
Umbra—Princess Luna’s secret task force, the silent sentinels of Equestria. They were the shadows of the moon, always there but ever hidden. When nopony else could handle the job, Umbra was called in. Whether it be dragons, Ursas, or even covering up the political wreckage that formed in the wake of Prince Blueblood. The members of Umbra were a peerless group of ponies. What’s more, they managed to do it all in secret.  Quin had been a member of Umbra for the past 11 years; almost half his life had been spent serving and upholding the values of Umbra. The associate director and third in command, Commander Shadowhorn, had been more of a father to Quin than his real father had ever been. In truth, Quin found in Umbra the family he had been longing for, which made reading Luna’s reply all the more painful.
(Decoded from the original text): 
Captain Quin,
We have considered your request for reinforcements, and we are sorry to report that we simply cannot mount a largescale rescue at this time, especially so close to Ponyville. Help will arrive in four to seven days, depending on the situation. Sorry for the delay and good luck on your mission.
Luna (decoded from Nightmother)
Quin couldn’t believe his eyes. Four to seven days!? In that godforsaken place? That was a death sentence and they damn well knew it! How could Luna condone this? He stomped his hoof on the ground and glared at the signature. Shadowhorn was right. Luna was not to be trusted. This sort of decision never would have been made in the days before Luna’s return, when Director-General Silverglow and Commander Shadowhorn were in charge. 
“1,000 years in isolation has made her as bitter and cold as the moon itself” shouted Quin.
“Quin, you mustn’t say such things” said Riposte.
“Or what!? shouted Quin, outraged at the situation. “Will I be left to die in some god awful hole too? I mean, what are we, insane? We’re following a pony who, not too long ago, called herself Nightmare Moon and threatened to destroy daylight forever!”
“I see you as more of a night person anyway” joked Riposte, but the comment was devoid of the unicorn’s typical flair. Try as he might to cover his pain with sarcasm and humor, Riposte was hurting inside. To think he would never see Crush alive again? And what of Sparks? The thought of her watching Crush die…it was too painful to think about.
Quin ignited the letter into ashes and stepped on them angrily. He looked back at Riposte, who noted that Quin had that look about him. Every so often, Riposte had noticed that those eyes, usually carefree and calm, gave way to something dark. It was a look that, as Riposte envisioned it, betrayed a desire to burn the whole world to the ground. One time Riposte even joked that somepony like Quin may even succeed in such an endeavor. That joke seemed a lot less funny now.
“Captain, what are we going to do?”
Quin looked to the window defiantly. “I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do. We’re—“
Suddenly a bright flash of white burst throughout the room. Blinded for only a moment, Quin looked back to the source. Twilight and a slightly crisped Fluttershy were swaying back and forth, readjusting themselves after the teleportation. For a moment, confusion gripped everyone in the room, except of course Spike, who was otherwise preoccupied making spit bubbles. Then the tensions flew higher than Cloudsdale.
“What the heck happened here!?” shouted Twilight.
Riposte looked to Quin for guidance, but he was just staring dumbfounded at Twilight. Riposte even thought he saw a bit of admiration somewhere in there. At any rate, it seemed Riposte was on his own this time.
“Well ladies” he said. “You see it’s kind of a funny story…” he waited for his captain to signal a retreat but no signal came. Riposte was treading water in a tank full of sharks. “Anypony hungry? I saw a marvelous little deli on the way here.”
Fluttershy said nothing, just whimpered behind Twilight in the havoc of her home. That’s when Twilight noticed Spike.
“Spike? SPIKE?” she called to him.
“Mommy can I have a cookie?” responded the dazed and confused dragon.
“Alright no more messing around. Who are you ponies, what have you done to Spike? Why is this place such a mess?”
“Ugh…well to be fair it was like this when we got here” responded Riposte sheepishly.
“Yeah, uh huh” said Twilight. “And Spike? Was he like this when you got here too!?”
“Oh him” said Riposte nervously while laughing. “Well you see he… um… mood swings?” He inched even closer to the door.
Twilight slammed the door shut magically. “Nopony’s leaving until I know what the hay is going on here! I want answers NOW!”
“The dragon will be fine in a few minutes, but his memory will be a little hazy” said Quin, finally breaking out of his trance.
“Sorry, not buying it. Fluttershy!” Fluttershy snapped to attention. “Take Spike and get out of here.”
“But Twiligh-” protested Fluttershy.
“GO” yelled Twilight, and quick as a whip Fluttershy scooped up Spike and raced out the window.
“Captain this is bad” said Riposte.
“No this is good, we have her alone.” A pink flash became visible under Quin’s hood.
“Uh… Captain?” said Riposte. “It’s against our code to harm civilians.”
“Umbra has abandoned us. Until we get our friend back, to hay with the codes.”
The two expert fighters approached slowly, as Twilight backed into a corner and gulped.
Meanwhile Fluttershy was zipping through Ponyville, beating her small wings as fast as she could in a rush to get Spike to the hospital.
“F-Fluttershy?” asked the dragon.
“Hang on Spike, it’s going to be alright,” said Fluttershy anxiously. “Oh dear oh dear oh…”
“FLUTTERSHY!” shrieked Pinkie Pie.
The sudden shock was just too much for the gentle pegasus to take. She flopped over on her back and fainted.
Time passed, and after a while Fluttershy thought she heard something in the darkness.
“Fluttershy…Fluttershy…” Fluttershy began to stir. Was that…Rarity? 
“Fluttershy, darling please do wake up…Fluttershy--”
“I’ve had it!” cried Rainbow Dash, and she began shaking Fluttershy. “Waaaaaaaake uuuuuuuuup”
“I'm…a….wake…” said Fluttershy as she shook.
“Glad to see yer awake sugarcube” said Applejack.
“Yeah yeah, can we get on with this? Derpy has rain duty today and if I’m not there to supervise Equestria will be underwater in 10 seconds flat!”
“Or worse” agreed Rarity.
“What…what’s…where…” said Fluttershy, still trying to shake off drowsiness.
“Oh look, the poor girl’s hardly even outa the hay” said Applejack. “I swear Rainbow Dash you can be so thoughtless at times.”
“Derpy. Major weather movement. Downfall of Equestria!”
“What’s going on?” asked Fluttershy as she began to fully recover.
“What’s going on?” asked Pinke Pie “What’s going on is a party for you silly willy nilly. I saw some of your animals in the town gardens, and the other ponies were all like ‘nuuuu my plants’ but I was all like ‘oh no poor Fluttershy must be worried sick about her animals’! Then I started to think about you being sad and it started to make me sad too so I decided I wanted to have a party to cheer myself up. But then I had an even better idea to throw you one instead so that way I wouldn’t have to think of you being sad at all ‘cause you wouldn’t be sad ‘cause you would be at a PARTY!”
“A party? Oh I can’t, sorry Pinkie” said Fluttershy. “I just have the feeling I was doing something really important…”
“See she says she can’t stay. Ok gotta go!” said dash as she started to head out towards the door.
“Hold it Dash” said Applejack. “Ya can’t just leave the poor girl all messed up in the head like this. Come on, think Fluttershy what were you doin before Pinkie Pie startled you.”
“Well, it was…SPIKE!” she cried.
“What? I’m sorry I didn’t think anyone would mind if I just helped myself! After all you guys are just standing around. At least let a guy grab some cake!” said Spike.
“Fluttershy looked past Applejack to see Spike, cake frosting all over his face. The young dragon looked completely fine to her save for the slight look of embarrassment.
“Spike are you ok?” asked Fluttershy.
“Well of course he’s ok darling” said Rarity. “Like you, he seemed a little… shaken up shall we say at first after SOMEPONY caused your crash landing.” Pinkie Pie just smiled brightly and Rarity rolled her eyes.
“No, you guys this is serious” protested Fluttershy. “Something was wrong with Spike and-“
“I’ll say something is wrong with Spike, he ate all my cake!” shouted Pinkie Pie.
“It was more than that, there was something really wrong with Spike and-“
“Oh no! The rain is starting early!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “Can we wrap this up?”
“TWIGHLIGHT IS IN DANGER!” screamed Fluttershy.
“What!?” cried every pony in unison.
Before long, the whole gang was in a full gallop to Fluttershy’s. They ran through the rain as Fluttershy explained the situation.
“I don’t remember any of this” said Spike, who was being carried in Rainbow dashes hooves. “I don’t even remember being at your house Fluttershy.”
“Well I’ll be hogtied before I believe that anypony like Fluttershy would fib about something like this!” said Applejack.
“Oh this is horrible, just horrible!” cried Rarity.
“If they hurt one hair in Twilight’s mane I’ll knock those ponies into next week, or next month! Just lemme at em!” Rainbow Dash put up her dukes for a few quick jabs, dropping Spike.
“Woah” shouted Spike in surprise, but he was quickly caught by Pinkie Pie.
“Thanks Pinkie I owe you one” said Spike.
“Grrrrrrrrr” was all Pinkie said in response. Fight mode had been activated.
As their journey to Fluttershy’s neared an end, Rainbow Dash sped ahead of the pack, barging into the house.
“Alright” she said. “You ponies better get ready for the fastest beat down of your…what?” Rainbow dash just hovered inside the home, dumbfounded.
“What is it Dash?” called Applejack. “What’s wrong?”
There’s…nothing wrong at all!” Dash relied in surprise.



> Chapter 3, A Different Magic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Huh?” was all Fluttershy could manage as she stepped into her house. There was no sign of Twilight or the robed ponies anywhere, but the thing that really shocked her was the condition of her home. It was spotless, nothing at all like the wreck she had come home to earlier. 
“But, but but I…” Fluttershy turned to face all her friends. “They were here I know I didn’t just dream it!”



Meanwhile, Twilight was hurrying two cloaked ponies inside her home. She slammed the door shut and looked at them intently.
“Alright, you guys have five minutes to explain yourselves. Who are you, what is Umbra, and what do you mean your friend is in danger?”
“Captain, we really shouldn’t be doing this” Riposte protested. “Technically, I am authorized to use deadly force against you to ensure our secrets stay hidden!”
“If you’re going to kill me Riposte, make it quick. Otherwise we have to move quickly if we are going to rescue Stone and I can’t have any more of these trepidations” 
Twilight backed away, fearing that there might be some sort of conflict brewing. All she had been told so far is that they were some kind of secret agents working for Princess Luna, and that one of their friends was in trouble. She almost didn’t trust them, but there was something desperate in the hooded one’s voice when he spoke. She knew that she would do anything to save one of her friends, so Twilight was willing to maybe overlook some of what’s happened so far, provided that Spike really was just stunned like they said. In reality, she was a little afraid of the strange ponies, and she had every right to be. To her great relief, when faced with that challenge from the hooded pony, ‘Riposte’ just sighed and shook his head smiling.
“Good” said Quin. “Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Quin, and this” he said motioning with a hoof “is Riposte. We were on a mission when-“
“Wait a minute” Twilight interrupted. “How can I trust you if I don’t even know what you look like? Why don’t you take those robes off?”
Riposte quickly spoke up. 
“I’m sorry miss, I will of course remove my robe but for Quin… it is very important for the captain to ensure his appearance is-“
“Riposte” said Quin, putting a hoof on Riposte’s shoulder. “I’m going to ask a lot of her, her request isn’t unreasonable. Howerever” he said, looking at Twilight. “I will only reveal my appearance to you after you agree to help us. Is that acceptable?”
Twilight was a bit taken aback and confused by his odd terms, but she agreed nonetheless. Quin spent the next few minutes, filling her in on everything that happened in the caves. He described Razorsparks; how she was a tall, thin pegasus with a grey coat, a spiky grey and blonde streaked mane, and a similarly colored long bladelike tail. Her cute mark was a thundercloud and her eyes were a brilliant gold hue. Then he described Crush—a huge, brown earth pony with a slight grey coloration around the mouth. He had brown eyes and an auburn mane and tail of average lengths, though a bit thicker than most ponies. Twilight’s jaw dropped a little when he said his measurements; who wouldn’t be surprised to hear that any pony was 6’8 and 1500 pounds? He told her about the strange magic eating creatures of the everfree forest underground and about how Stone had been stung by one of them. He explained that they were on a mission to map out the ruins, which the higher ups believed could hold some very important history from the dark ages. Finally, he explained why they had to be so secretive, and that what they were now doing violated everything they stood for.
“I know I may lose my place in Umbra if word ever gets out that I told you, but it’s not unheard of for Umbra members to request help from civilians in times of crisis, though it was unheard of to reveal so many secrets when doing so. I’ve already crossed the line in telling you all this but…I can’t just leave Crush down there, and I think some of the higher ups may have my back on this.”
“Why do you have to be all secretive?” Twilight asked. “Wouldn’t be easier for you all if you could freely ask for help?”
“Umbra was founded under the principles that in order to avoid chaos, it was best that as few ponies as possible knew when a crisis was at hand. If possible, the best case situation would be that your memory of your encounter with us be erased, though I fear than for a pony as magically gifted as you that may not be possible unless you yourself assisted in the spell. There is one more thing…”
“Yes?” asked Twilight, her mind reeling in its attempt to absorb all this.
“You cannot tell anyone what I’ve told you, not even Princess Celestia.”
“Why? There’s no way the princess doesn’t know about you.”
“She does know, this is true. However it is imperative that Celestia not stay informed on the day to day workings of Umbra, especially not renegade missions like this. Such a thing would disrupt the balance of power between the two sisters, and the last time that happened the world was nearly plunged into eternal darkness. I know it may be tempting to contact her, if only to verify the existence of Umbra but I assure you-“
“Don’t worry” said Twilight. “I trust you.”
“As I was saying it is of the utmost importance that….wait, you what?” Quin struggled to keep his gaze on the ground and not look the pony before him in the eyes like she was crazy. “You trust us, already?”
“I do, should I not?” responded Twilight.
“No…I mean, that’s good that you trust us, I just anticipated a lot more…mistrust, initially.”
“If there’s anything I’ve learned as Celestia’s pupil” began Twilight. “It’s that there are more kinds of magic in this world than what comes out of our horns. Somehow I just…I just know that I can trust you Quin” she said with a smile.
Twilight Sparkle wondered Quin. There is something about you…that disturbs me. Just how far ahead are you?
“Yes…well thank you Twilight. With your help I have a plan to rescue Stone. I’ve worked it so that you are in as little danger as possible, but what I’m asking you to do won’t exactly be safe either. I hate asking so much of someone I barely know.” Quin shuffled his forelegs uncomfortably.
“Just tell me what I have to do, I think I’ll be able to handle it” said Twilight. She looked like the picture of confidence, but deep down she was scared. These creatures Quin described sounded like walking nightmares! She tried her best to look tough though, for Quin’s sake. She didn’t know why, but something about him intrigued her. Maybe it was his extensive knowledge of magic, she wasn’t quite sure. All she knew was that he had gone from her enemy to a friend in need faster than she ever could have anticipated. Well maybe not a friend, not yet anyways, but there was still something about him, something that made her feel connected to his plight in some way.
After Quin filled her in on the details of his plan, Twilight was feeling even less sure of herself. It sounded dangerous, but above all extremely difficult for her. Why should she risk so much for a pony she just met? It was crazy, and not Pinkie Pie crazy but really flippin Screwball crazy. Suddenly she remembered.
“Hey, you’ve told me the whole plan now, it’s time to take your hood off.”
“That wasn’t the deal. The deal was that first you agreed to help, then I would reveal myself, remember?”
Drat, he was right, but Twilight still didn’t know if she wanted to commit to this!
“Well” she started. Suddenly the door to the library burst open and a rainbow bullet hurtled straight towards Quin. Quin was stunned by the incredible speed of the surprise attack, but Riposte’s quick reflexes kicked in and the crimson maned unicorn was barely able to push his captain out of the way. His horn flashed red, and suddenly a shield of floating needles surrounded the Umbra agents.
“Woah!” yelled dash as she swiftly pulled up to avoid the magical defense.
“Hold it right there you brigands!” Yelled Rarity as she galloped into the room between Twilight and the agents. She was quickly followed by Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and even Fluttershy stood boldly alongside them. Spike was panting by the time he caught up, but quickly caught a second wind and rushed to Twilight’s defense.
“Y’all aren’t welcome here no more” declared Applejack. “Ya best be headin’ out now, or there’s gonna be a heap a trouble!”
“Girl’s you don’t understand, they aren’t are enemies!”
“Consarn it, they musta gotten Twi with their fancy hypno magic.”
“Enough with the spells and let’s settle this hoof to hoof!” shouted Rainbow dash as she circled Riposte’s barricade.”
“Girls please-“
“Twilight, you must let us handle this!” countered Rarity. “You vile villains better leave here this minute!”
“Captain, what’s the plan?” muttered Riposte.
“Riposte, set up a magic ward for yourself, execution of tactic Zeta in four seconds”
“GIRLS!” yelled Twilight. “STOP!” Suddenly a bright flash exploded from Twilight’s horn. Quin instinctively cast a magic ward just in time before the wave exploded throught the room. Dash dropped out of the air, and all Twilight’s other friends collapsed to the ground, devoid of all energy, too exhausted to move. 
“I’m so sorry girls, but you just have to listen!” Before Twilight could say anymore a pink flash burst  forth from Quin’s horn, then everything went dark.
Twilight blinked several times, trying to shake the drowsiness off.
“Twilight… I’m so sorry” said Quin, casting a pink glow over her with his horn. It tingled her skin wherever the light covered. Twilight then shot up, realizing she had been on her back as this was going on. 
“What the hay are you doing!?” she shouted as she began to blush.
“I’m so sorry miss Sparkle, I was merely resuscitating you after you blacked out” said Quin.
“Blacked out…why was I blacked out?”
“Again… sorry. I had to knock out the room after your friends stumbled upon us”
Twilight looked around, and spotted her friends huddled up in the corner of the room, sleeping soundly, despite Pinkie Pie’s snoring.
“Why did you have to do that?” she asked angrily. “I had it under control!”
“Did you? What were you going to tell them? What could you possibly have said that would make them understand? I’m sorry Twilight, I didn’t see any other option.”
Twilight was still mad, but she did see his point. How could she have convinced them that Quin and Riposte weren’t attacking her, and in fact needed help themselves, without her friends getting suspicious of who they were? And what if her friends did find out who they were? She could just see it now: Pinkie Pie’s ‘Welcome to Ponyville Secret Agents’ party.
“Well, you could have at least given me a chance!” said one very flustered Twilight Sparkle. “And what about my friends?”
“They are fine” said Quin. “But they won’t remember the last day or so. Sorry to ask even more of you, but you might have to think of a cover story for that too. They should wake up around this time tomorrow so I guess you’ll have to explain away two days…”
Quin’s mind was racing, trying to come up with ways to say all this without it sounded so terrible, but to no avail. If she was on the fence about helping them before, she surely wouldn’t help now.
“I can completely understand if this changes things but…” Quin dropped down to his belly and put his fore hooves over hers. “Please twilight Sparkle I’m begging you!”
Both Riposte and Twilight were stunned seeing the dark and mysterious Umbra agent resort to flat out begging. Riposte even looked away in spite of himself, unable to bear the sight of his distinguished companion stooping so low.
Twilight looked at her peacefully sleeping friends and ran her hoof down her face in exasperation. I suppose I could just blame it all on a spell gone wrong she mused. She looked down at the hooded pony groveling at her feet.
“Um, it’s alright just please get up” she said uncomfortably. “You really are desperate to save your friend aren’t you?”
Quin stood up.
“I would do anything” he said sternly.
Twilight looked around desperately, as if she could find someone else to help the unicorns before her. Finally she hung her head in acceptance.
“Alright…it’s not like I have anyone else to hang out with for the next twenty four hours” she mumbled.