Tempest took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She'd finally been released back to her room under doctor's orders to get a good day's bed rest and take the next night off from her training and schooling.

It'll give you some time to think about what you want to do with that letter of recommendation! Constant Care had giggled, as if they were simply talking about a letter she'd gotten from some grade-school colt, rather than her foreseeable future.

Now she was laying in her bed, the letter sitting on her dresser. She'd read it at least a dozen times, now.

"Quill" or "Pennington" or whatever his name really was had put her in a difficult position. He hadn't approved her to accomplish the goal that she had set out to do, which was the join the Night Guard. In fact, she was now banned from joining because she had lost her focus for a few short seconds fighting him.

However, at the same time, he had ALSO recommended her for what she had discovered was a coveted position. The first pony she'd visited after getting out of the infirmary was Quick Strike, who seemed much more concerned with how undeserved and cheap Pennington's victory was. After calming her down and assuring her that she wasn't leaving the New Lunar Republic just yet, she'd asked Quick Strike what a Field Agent's role actually was.

Well, there's two types of field agents: boring and deadly! I got a buddy named Sure Shot, now HE'S a boring agent. By day, he's a pilot on the NLR's flagship, and by night, he keeps his hoof on the pulse of Equestrias grossest and most dangerous rumor mills. A lot of field agents just go, collect whatever info they can find about threats to Equestria or leads to new assets, and report back to collect their checks.

Compared to the deadly ones, yeah! Imagine this: some boring field agent finds an ancient, supposedly "cursed" treasure map, but is too chicken to go after the goods! Well, ancient treasures tend to pretty dangerous in the wrong hooves, right? So a REAL field agent comes in, picks up the tip, and BOOM! On your way to cursed treasure in ancient crypts!
You go in, prove you're smarter than the trap-builders, then come back to glory and a NICE commission!

"Weeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllll, the survival rate isn't GREAT... and more often than not, you DO wind up being on the front lines when Equestria comes in contact with an opposing force... AND when things are peaceful and there's no leads, you're PROBABLY going to need to get a day job...

Tempest sighed, staring blankly at the wall. Quick Strike certainly made the job sound glamorous, but it seemed more like "Field Agent" was the New Lunar Republic's way of saying "Scout Of Whom Too Much Is Expected."

On the other hoof, however, it DID seem like a good fit for her skills. She knew how to handle collecting information from dubious and unscrupulous sources, and before she'd joined the Storm King, she excelled in navigating even the most dangerous cities and perilous terrain.

All in all, Quick Strike's information had been educational, but not very helpful. She was still unsure of herself and her choices. She could either take the position, or make a request for some lower-ranking place. She doubted "I lost a bet" would be little more than a trivial matter in official application if she REALLY wanted to join the Night Guard, and Twilight could probably power through an application for her...

"Heya! Good to see you out of that neck brace!" Moonstone's voice chimed as she waltzed into the room, shutting the dorm door behind her.

"Hmm..." Tempest hummed a quiet acknowledgement, not tearing her eyes away from the wall.

Tempest felt a weight land beside her, and spotted Moonstone peering down at her from the corner of her eye.

The toasty warmth of Moonstone's body leaned up against her back as she took a seat on the bed, the heat helping her relax. "So... what's up? Lay it all out for me."

"I'm just... disappointed." Tempest sighed. "I didn't get what I came here for, and now I'm being pushed towards something else. I don't know much about being a Field Agent at all, and I just..." She took a moment, breathing deeply and collecting her thoughts again. "I didn't WANT attention when I came here. I tried to join the Night Guard because I wanted to get OUT of the spotlight, not into it! And now I'm being told I should be a glamorous, swashbuckling Field Agent? I'm not going to just let other ponies push me around like this! But..."

Tempest simply nodded in affirmation. "So, here I am. Staring at a wall. Thinking."

"Well, I can't say I'm mad at you for a little moping." Moonstone sighed. "It's been a pretty crazy couple of days. But do you mind if I say something?"

"I think Penn's right. I think you would really like being a Field Agent. You don't have to be in the spotlight for it, you can be as grandiose or as subtle as you like. You could become a ghost, if you wanted to. Field agents run their own missions pretty much from start to finish, and each one does things differently." Moonstone thought quietly for a moment.

"Come on a field mission with us. Give it a test run!" She turned and gave Tempest a tired-looking smile. "If Penn doesn't like it, I can pull rank on him and force him to go along with it!"

Tempest pondered the offer for a moment. "I don't know if I could spend too much time around him without trying to bash his skull in."

"Well, that just means that you're not going to be intimidated into doing things any way but your own!" Moonstone gave her shoulder a good-natured punch. "Come on, just one TINY adventure? I don't know if I'm ready to quit hanging around you, quite yet!"

The statement caught Tempest off-guard. In all of this time, she had been so worried about staying on top of one disaster after the next, it had never occurred to her that all of this had to come to an end once basic training was over. Eventually, she, Quick Strike, and Moonstone would all have to part ways. Just thinking about it struck a wound surprisingly deep, she hadn't realized just how attached to her new friends she'd become. Thinking about being without their help again felt...

"Or, alternatively, I'm certain anyone with your experience AND your ability to make Penn angry would be welcome on the NLR's dune-worm-hunting flagship, the Cliffjumper." Moonstone shrugged, her tone dismissive of the option. "Where you'll probably wind up spending most of your time in a room even smaller than this one, except when there's the occasional burst of action for about half an hour. It's a ground-based transport, but it's at least as big as the airships you're used to, you'd be right at home! Far away from challenge, never left to fend for yourself or solve a problem alone... Right in your comfort zone, free to coast along on your prior skills..." Moonstone looked up at her, barely containing her obvious disdain for the second option.

"Gee, you make it sound so appealing..." she muttered sarcastically. "I sense bias."

Still, that makes it a choice of two kinds of reliance, reliance on my friend or reliance on my comfort zone...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the recommendation for her progress through basic training to be accelerated, Tempest's schedule changed, and much for the better.

First of all, she was no longer required to attend her classes, instead receiving private teaching from Moonstone. With only two hours a day to focus only on the differences between the New Lunar Republic's and the Storm King's protocols, she had been thoroughly educated in a week, and passed her final examination with flying colors. This left the rest of her days free for training alongside Quick Strike and relaxing with a good book.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the fact that, when she wasn't studying or keeping her muzzle buried in a book, she could tell that the attitudes of the ponies around her had changed. She wasn't getting half the number of dirty looks she had before. Instead, ponies would occasionally approach her with smiles on their faces, stopping to congratulate her on her skill in the match against Quill. Even though she'd lost, she had apparently made such a good show of it, many ponies had taken her side. Suddenly, Tempest Shadow was the newest, most divisive topic in the New Lunar Republic.

In response, Tempest began reading in her room. She wanted nothing to do with ponies whom she had to win over with a show of power. Admiration of power made for flimsy alliances.

Moonstone's reading recommendations weren't awful, though many of them had either "Pennington Inkwell" or "Scorching Quill" listed as the author. She didn't like the "Daring Do" character he wrote so much about, though Moonstone assured her that there was more truth to those stories than fiction.

Finally, the time came for her graduation. Tempest had tried her best to deny her dread about the day, but when she walked into her room to see Moonstone polishing a fresh set of Night Guard armor, she couldn't deny that the time had come. The armor felt heavy on her, poorly fitted and cumbersome, it was a ceremonial piece for her graduation to be returned later.

Still, she couldn't help feeling a bit proud to be wearing it, holding her head high as she made her way through the halls of the New Lunar Republic, down the now-familiar path to Quick Strike's dojo. Just as she was about to enter, she overheard Quick Strike already having another conversation. Seeing an opportunity to surprise her friend, Tempest took up a guard's position outside of the door, waiting for Quick Strike to come out and see her in her armor.

"I gotta admit, I almost didn't believe it when they told me!" Quick Strike chirped, sounding somewhat in awe. "So, they any good in a fight?"

"Well, I CAN fly!" a familiar voice replied. "It gives me a bit of an advantage when I want one!"

Tempest's breath caught in her throat, and she silently leaned into the doorway, peeking through to try and confirm her suspicions.

"You're taller, too! That means you've got more reach!" Quick Strike nodded in affirmation, dropping the wing she had been examining in favor of stretching out one of her guest's legs and measuring it against her own. "Won't be long until you're as tall as Luna! Heck, I'll bet you're gonna get even taller than Celestia, herself!"

Twilight Sparkle turned on a dime at the sound of Tempest's voice. The two of them stared at one another for a tense moment before Twilight's face broke out into the biggest grin she had ever seen.

"Fizzlepop!" With a gleeful cry, Twilight dashed forward, wrapping her hooves around her in a spine-crushing hug. Tempest chuckled and returned the gesture, wrapping one of her own hooves around her and pulling her close. It was... warm. And soft. It felt better than she had expected.

"Hey! Rule number three! If you're gonna get all mushy, take it outside!" Quick Strike chided, giving a playful wink. "I just got this new carpet installed! I want the first stains to be blood, not happy friendship tears or something!"

"Well, I believe THAT could be arranged." Tempest replied, winking back. "I WAS coming here for one last sparring match before graduation, after all!"

"You look... fantastic!" Twilight pulled herself away to look Tempest up and down. "That armor really suits you!"

"This old thing?" Tempest smirked, pretending the praise hadn't left her blushing. "I don't know, I was thinking about trading it for something a little more... flashy." She set off a shower of sparks from her horn that fell across her helmet and breastplate, making the polished surfaces shimmer.

"Are you SURE that's the same Tempest who came here two weeks ago? She's telling jokes!"

"Well, only one way to find out!" Quick Strike chuckled before jumping forward and throwing a punch at Tempest's head. It was so clearly telegraphed, she easily dodged underneath it and planted her hoof in Quick Strike's abdomen, forcing the air from her lungs and through her gritted teeth. The two of them made eye contact for a brief moment, and Tempest could see the satisfaction in her eyes.

"... yep... those reflexes... not a changeling..." Quick Strike barely eked out the words before stepping back and taking a deep breath, rubbing at the point of impact with her hoof.

Twilight rolled her eyes, obviously familiar with Quick Strike's "teaching methods."

"It looks like you've really grown here. Thrived, even!" Twilight smiled, beaming with pride. "You've even got a pretty good friend, by the looks of it!"

"Two, actually..." Tempest felt her blush returning as Twilight beamed at her, her eyes full of pride. "But Moonstone's busy finalizing some paperwork for my graduation and my first assignment."

"Done, actually!" Moonstone's voice rang out across the room as the dragonet walked in, sending the last of said paperwork away in a flash of flame. "It's been a long time, Twilight!"

"Moonstone!" Twilight trotted over, only to hesitate for a moment. Moonstone, however, seemed to feel no trepidation, jumping up and wrapping her arms around Twilight's neck. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, wrapping one hoof around Moonstone in a quick embrace before the two of them separated again.

"How long has it been, Sparky? Three years? Last time I saw you, you were still a unicorn!"

"And I'm not supposed to call Pennington 'Penny,' either! But that doesn't stop me!"

"It looks like you two have a bit more history than you let on, Moonstone..." Tempest smiled wryly as she walked up beside the princess. "Is this another one of those 'long stories' you never have time to tell me?" Moonstone simply shrugged, deflecting away the question in her usual manner.

"Actually, I was there the day Moonstone and Pennington were assigned to work together!" Twilight chimed in, picking up for Moonstone's silence. "She and I have been through our own share of adventures together!"

"And our fair share of beatings!" Moonstone chuckled. "Remember the time we faced off against Carnival Cat? We nearly wound up a pair of sideshow attractions!"

"Or what about when we all wound up crashing into each other in a mad dash to make it through the Macintosh Hills in that giant blizzard?" Twilight returned Moonstone's smile. "That OLR agent really had you all on the ropes until I got there!"

"Hey! If I remember correctly, we were there trying to rescue YOU, little miss hostage!" Moonstone retorted, punching Twilight in the shoulder.

Tempest smiled. It was nice to see Twilight getting to meet her friends and getting along so well, even if they'd met before. Even if I feel a little out of the loop... I NEED to make Moonstone sit down and tell me all these long stories!

"Speaking of Penn, where is he? You two are never far apart!" Twilight looked over Moonstone's shoulder and into the hallways beyond.

"Twilight, you KNOW he still isn't your biggest fan, right?" Moonstone muttered. "If he knows you're here, he's probably made sure he's on the opposite side of the complex."

"If I may... what happened?" Tempest didn't whisper, despite the sudden tension in the air. "The way he treated me, just knowing that I was here on your recommendation... It was pretty awful."

"But- but I thought that the two of you would get along! You have so much in common!" Twilight almost looked as if she were panicking.

"Penn was also running a zero-approval gambit trying to get Tempest to act a bit humbler and learn to work with others, regardless of whether she liked them or not." Moonstone muttered. "Seriously, though, Twilight! All those books you've read, and you didn't realize putting two ponies who were the same kind of insufferable together was a bad idea?"

"Own up to it, Tempest, it's not necessarily a bad thing." Moonstone replied, not even taking her eyes off of Twilight. "Anyway, the idea was that he'd make an enemy out of Tempest while I stayed on good terms with her and tried my best to befriend her."

"What, like a 'good cop, bad cop' scenario?" Twilight sighed, shaking her head. "That doesn't sound like him."

"It sounds just like him!" Moonstone began to raise her voice, only to catch herself. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself again. "If you don't recognize that, then I guess it really has been a long time, hasn't it?" To Tempest's surprise, Twilight looked down, as if ashamed.

"I'm just happy that I wound up making a real friend after everything that's happened!" Moonstone tried to smile and lighten the mood, but it didn't work well. "Unfortunately, Penn came across a bit more... genuine than he probably should have, too. I made a real friend, and he may very well have made a real enemy..."

"Oh, come on!" Tempest interjected, grabbing all of the attention in the room. "How petty do you think I am?"

"His method was ridiculous, but there was some grounding in logic." She reached up, removing her helmet. "He wasn't working off of what made sense, he used his own broken mindframe as a base for how he acted around me, right?" She glanced at Moonstone, who nodded. "Deep down, he DID think you were right about us being alike, so he acted the way he thought would have been best for HIM when he was in a similar place! Even if it wasn't the most effective way he could have treated me, it still made me stop and examine myself. It made me realize that making friends didn't mean my life would be all daises and sunshine, that I would still have to fight for myself and what I want!"

"It was the most stupid plan I've ever heard... just short of asking the Queen of the Hippos for help." She gave Twilight a smile. "But it was how he thought he could help. Making up plans on the fly like that is what field agents do, right?"

Everyone in the room was caught off-guard as Pennington entered. The tense look on his face was somewhat undermined by the fact that he was still walking with a limp, a fact Tempest couldn't help taking some satisfaction in.

"A bad plan is better than no plan at all. Working in the field, you're going to find yourself settling for the former more often than you'd like!" He took a moment to look over the gathered group, and Tempest noticed that he made a concerted effort not to let his eyes linger on Twilight, only staring at her wings for the briefest of seconds.

"It looks as if everyone we need is here," Pennington ignored Twilight, cutting her off mid-sentence and turning to Tempest. "Three superior officers and a princess. Shall we make this official, Fizzlepop?"

"Your graduation!" Moonstone interjected, flapping her way up onto Pennington's back to address her at eye level. "Technically, the promotion really only needs three superior officers! With Twilight present as a witness, we could make you a field agent-in-training right now!"

"Heh, sounds pretty good to me!" Quick Strike chuckled, wrapping her hoof around Tempest's shoulders and giving her a rough hug. "Whaddya say?"

Tempest thought for a moment. She didn't want to admit that her time here was over, but she couldn't think of any good excuse to stop them. "I suppose there's no reason to delay any more, is there?"

Pennington nodded to the side, and Quick Strike walked over and stood alongside him. Moonstone clambered down off of his back, making the trio complete. Standing before Tempest was everyone she had come to know at the New Lunar Republic, two friends and one... less-than-friend.

"Fizzlepop Berrytwist!" Pennington stood taller with the posture of a soldier, keeping his chin held high with dignity. "You have overcome great obstacles to arrive here!"

"You once stood as Equestria's enemy, but now stand as its ally!" Moonstone continued, her words taking on an official-sounding tone. "You have displayed great loyalty and exemplified the virtue of grace under fire!"

"You now belong to a greater good, and you answer to a higher call!" Even Quick Strike seemed to have caught the fervor that was making everyone so tense. "You are part of the best and greatest, and there is NO room for failure!" She stepped forward, prodding her hoof into Tempest's chest. "You will leave behind all weakness! You are no longer a mortal! You are now an indestructible soldier of the night!"

Tempest nodded, recognizing the sound of a rehearsed speech. This was obviously some kind of official swearing in.

"Fizzlepop Berrytwist, do you swear to protect Equestria from all threats, foreign and domestic? To serve faithfully the Princesses of Equestria, and to seek out all those who would conspire against them, no matter how deep or dark their hiding place?" Pennington stepped forward, bringing his face close to hers. Although Tempest was taller and in better physical condition, she could feel an intimidating energy radiating off of him. She couldn't be certain whether it was his position as her superior officer, the weight of his words, or something else that gave him that feeling of authority, but she didn't shrink away from it, keeping her eyes locked straight ahead. She lifted her helmet up and placed it on her head before snapping to a salute.

"Do you swear to serve Equestria? To uphold its laws and to, at all times, serve as a paragon of its virtues? To keep always in your heart the elements of kindness, honesty, loyalty, generosity and laughter, even in the smallest portion, and to never be without them?" Moonstone continued, stepping forward and pressing a claw against Tempest's breastplate.

Quick Strike looked uncharacteristically solemn as she took her turn to step forward. "Fizzlepop Berrytwist, do you swear to serve the New Lunar Republic and protect it? To, with every faculty of your being, uphold and serve the values for which this organization stands: to fight for the right, even in the darkest places where no eye may reach, to fight back the nightmares of Equestria with no mercy so that its inhabitants may sleep soundly and safely under Luna's watchful moon, and to protect the princesses at all costs, to your release from your charge or your dying breath?"

"Then, by the power invested in me as General..." Quick Strike turned and looked at Moonstone.

"And the power vested in me as a Royal Agent..." Moonstone looked up at Pennington.

"And the power vested in me as a Senior Field Agent," Pennington finished the trio, "and as witnessed by the Princess of Friendship, we now declare you a fully-fledged member of the New Lunar Republic, and promote you to the position of Field Agent In-Training!" With a smile, he led out his hoof to Tempest. "Congratulations, rookie."

The tension in the air finally eased as everyone present finally relaxed again. Tempest reached out, giving his hoof a firm shake. Moonstone and Quick Strike were far less formal, both leaping at her in a fit of laughter and tackling her to the ground.

"You did it!" Moonstone cried, grinding her knuckles into Tempest's skull with one hand and nearly choking her with her other arm wrapped around her neck in a hug.

"You better make sure to come back here and keep your skills fresh!" Quick Strike chuckled, wrapping one hoof around Tempest's shoulders and poking the other into her ribs just under her breastplate. "I expect at least once every other mission!"

"Heh, alright, alright! Let me up!" Tempest chuckled, clambering back up onto her hooves. At first, she had thought that Twilight had managed to keep her composure, but upon closer inspection, Tempest could see that she was been reduced to tears, all streaming down her face so quickly that they were beginning to form a puddle around her hooves.

"I"M SO PROUD OF YOU!" Twilight dashed forward, throwing her hooves around Tempest in the messiest hug, yet. "You've come so far in such a short amount of time, I almost can't believe it!" Twilight caught herself after a moment. "N-not to say that I didn't believe in you, you're just advancing so much faster than I could have expected! Not that I don't think you CAN advance this fast! I just- um... You know what? I'm not going to ruin the moment."

Tempest chuckled to herself, and was about to speak up, only to be cut off by the sound of a loud belching behind her. Turning around revealed Moonstone sheepishly watching a cloud of fire materialize into a scroll of paper.

Moonstone shrugged, breaking a wax seal and unrolling it. As she set herself to reading, Pennington stepped forward, still making a very obvious effort not to make eye contact with Twilight.

"So, ready for your first assignment, Fizzlepop?" He seemed to be making his best effort to smile, but she could tell that he wasn't as happy as he was trying to look. "Moonstone tells me you've been assigned to come with the two of us?"

"Well, it was train with you, or find some other boring field agent to learn from!" Tempest returned the smile, but couldn't help but notice that there was still a lingering tension from all the time they had spent hating each other. "I'm told you're a bit more exciting to be around than, say, a tired ship captain or a washed-up archaeologist?"

"Well, I was told that we recently uncovered a new lead into recovering the Terram Lenticularis. Does that sound exciting enough for you?"

"THE Terram Lenticularis? As in, the artifact used by Commander Hurricane to create the first cloud cities? I thought it was destroyed a thousand years ago!"

"Good, you're familiar with the legend!" Pennington replied, turning his back. "Rule number one of field work: quantify any dangerous item's destruction yourself, especially when it could sent all of Cloudsdale plummeting in an afternoon. Pack your things, we're leaving in the morni-" He was cut off as Twilight reached out to him, placing a hoof on his shoulder.

"Pennington... It's been four years. Don't you at least have one day for us to catch up?"

Pennington froze in place at her touch, as if paralyzed. Slowly, painfully, he turned and made eye contact with her for the first time. The way they looked at one another, Twilight pleading with her eyes and Pennington staring at her with a mix of suspicion and...

"Penn!" Moonstone interrupted them, flying onto Pennington's back and shoving the letter in his face. "We need to get back to Mount Aris, PRONTO!"

Pennington reached up and took the letter in his hoof, scanning it in a matter of seconds. His eyes widened and Tempest could see much of the color drain from his face.

"What? What happened?" Twilight asked, reaching out for the letter. Before she could even touch it, Pennington dashed in the opposite direction as quickly as his injured leg would allow, allowing the scroll to drop to the ground. Twisting around, Moonstone waved back at them.

Tempest looked back at Quick Strike and Twilight, as if asking for permission. Quick Strike simply nodded before motioning with her hoof for her to leave. "Well, get going! They're your ride, Tempest!"

Twilight, meanwhile, had picked up the scroll and was speed-reading it to the best of her abilities. Her expression grew solemn as she handed the letter to Tempest.

"And Tempest!" Twilight grabbed her shoulder, stopping her for one more moment. "Try to learn as much as you can from him! He's reckless, but he has more experience than just about any pony in Equestria!"

"And if he gives you a hard time, you have my full permission as HIS superior officer to kick his flank!" Quick Strike grinned, nodding towards the door. "Now get out of here, you have adventures to go on!"

Tempest nodded, setting off at a full sprint to try and catch up with her new teacher. As she left, she could hear Twilight calling out to her one last time.

"You Do NOT Pass!"

by Pennington Inkwell

Graduation