I wrote this story in response to this video. As I'm using it as the base for my story, please watch that video first. Enjoy the story!
~Canterlot, 1984 ASU (Age of the Sisters United)
I'm no stranger to war. Though for the last eighteen years I've made a living as a classical musician, I've seen things that would make a sane pony scream in terror. I've done things that would make a normal pony gallop away from me faster than the Wonderbolts if they ever found out. I know more than a hundred different ways to kill somepony, close to half of those ways being with my bare hooves.
I'm most known for my unusual style of playing my choice instrument, the cello. I, like most Earth Ponies, was blessed with powerful hindlegs and muscles. After my days as a soldier I started using my skills at standing upright to play the cello, holding the instrument with one forehoof and the bow in the other. But back then, during the War of 1972, I used my skills to fight, and even kill, my enemies. After the war, I focused on my Cutie Mark, a treble cleft, and pursued a career in music, swearing to never use my talents to hurt anypony again.
Yet here I was, looking at two changeling guards from a distance, trying to figure out how to take them out silently without alerting anyone.
They were guarding the entrance to Canterlot, making sure nopony could get inside without them being a changeling. I had to get inside however, preferrably inside the castle. That was my main objective in reclaiming Canterlot from the changeling Queen, who had suddenly invaded Canterlot yesterday. According to Princess Luna, Princess Celestia was being held somewhere inside. She was the first in a long list of ponies I had to save in order to ensure that the changelings left Canterlot for good.
To say that I took the mission by accident wouldn't be too accurate, but I didn't mean to get involved with this. I was just on vacation in Canterlot. Like most other ponies in Canterlot that day, I wasn't expecting the changeling invasion. Unlike most of the ponies though, I was prepared for all situations like this.
Before I knew it, I was fighting the changelings simply to survive. Along the way, I ran into three ponies: two pegasi named Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, and to my surprise Princess Luna. Apparently they were all attending the wedding of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. The Princess Cadence present turned out to be Queen Chrysalis in disguise, who was draining the love of Shining Armor. Using the love of the young knight, she was able to defeat Princess Celestia with ease.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were sent with four other ponies to get the Elements of Harmony, but they were overwhelmed and recaptured. Only Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were able to escape, and they ran into Princess Luna, who had a secret hideout directly outside of Canterlot. With all of their soldiers taken by the changelings, they had no one to help them reclaim Canterlot. That was until the Princess learned who I was and what I was capable of. All she had to do was ask. Cut to a few hours later, and I'm here, trying find my way back inside the city I worked so hard to flee from.
Damn it, why was I so goddamned nice?!
I decided that rushing in head first wasn't a good idea. Instead I thought to catch their attention to lead them away from the gate. I crouched down close to the ground and slowly made my way to the side, hiding in a bush. There was a small rock on the ground in front of me, perfect for what I had planned. If I could just get them to come over here, I could sneak my way over to the other side and into Canterlot undetected.
I threw the rock at the side of the gate. They looked at the rock, and then turned to my direction. I was hoping that both of them would come, but sadly only one came.
Oh well, I thought. I'd have to do this the hard way then.
The one on the left walked over to the bush I was hiding in. When he was clsoe enough, I pulled him into the bush with me. From there, I fell down to the ground with the changeling on top of me, and wrapped my forelegs around his throat, cutting off the circulation to his lungs. It took a few seconds, but eventually he was knocked out.
One down, one to go.
I walked out of the bush and started galloping over to the changeling that was left. He noticed me a little too late though. Once I reached him, I quickly jumped to my hind legs and punched him hard in the face with my fore hoof. He was knocked down to the ground, but he quickly kicked to his feet, also standing on his hind legs.
The changeling rushed over to me and began swinging his fore legs wildly. I ducked and dodged his assaults first, and then grabbed his fore leg, throwing him to the ground. I braced myself for his second assault, which came immediately when he stood up in the form of a flying spin kick. This time I ducked under him, and when he landed I did a side kick to his back. My back legs were so strong that I was able to break his back with that kick, so he fell down easily from that.
Okay, I thought. That wasn't too hard.
Once inside, I decided it was time to call Princess Luna. Putting my hoof to the tiny earring on my ear, I turned the ring around until the magical number suddenly appearing in my eye matched the number the Princess gave me. Once I pressed the small stud in the earring, I heard a small ringing sound and a second later I saw Princess Luna's expression in my eyes.
"Princess," I said, "This is Octavia."
"Octavia, I assume you arrived?"
"Just got inside. I was lazy, so instead of jumping the gate like Rainbow Dash said, I decided to just fight my way through the front door."
"Ha ha, as long as you were careful not to get noticed. Remember, the changelings possess a hive mind, so if one spots you, the others will know as well."
"Right, I know," I rolled my eyes. Faust, talk about overly cautious. Then again, I was the only pony who could rescue her sister at the moment, and reclaim Canterlot. I guess it made sense for her to be a little paranoid.
"If it is safe, I would like to go over your objectives."
I sighed, as this was always my least favorite part of being a soldier, when the commanding officer has to review your objective a second time. It always seemed pointless to me, but I had perfect recollection, a photographic memory, and perfect pitch. Of course to someone like me this would be repetitive.
"It's safe here. Go on."
"Well, as you know, the main reason you're here is to reclaim Canterlot. For that reason it is important that you make your way to the castle."
"It's there that I'll find Princess Celestia, correct?" I asked, seeing Princess Luna nod in my eye.
"Exactly. I'm certain she's being held there with my niece Cadence and her husband to be Shining Armor."
But more than likely not in the same place. That would be silly to put the two most powerful ponies together in the same area, "Weren't there some other ponies I needed to rescue besides those two?" I asked.
"Ah, yes. I'm glad you remembered. Unfortunately, I was only able to escape with the Elements of Loyalty and Kindness. There are six total, one of which... is a dear friend of mine."
She was referring to Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic. Apparently, there were three others too: another Unicorn named Rarity, and two Earth Ponies, one named Applejack and another named Pinkie Pie. Though the Princess was worried about all of them, she mentioned before that she and Twilight were very close.
"Don't worry," I said, "I promised that I would save her, and I meant that. I'll save all of them."
"I'm... grateful..." she said, her tone softening a bit along with her expression.
"Do we know why the changelings took over Canterlot like they did?" I asked, trying to get back on topic.
"No, which is your other objective. You must find out whether or not this is a simple occupation of Canterlot, or if something much more sinister is happening."
This seemed too big of a takeover for it to just be an attempt at gaining more land. This was planned out. I knew enough about war to make that connection. What I needed to do was figure out what that was.
"So, I need to save your sister, the Elements of Harmony, your niece and her husband, learn what the Changeling Queen is planning, and reclaim Canterlot. No pressure," I said sarcastically. More like all the pressure. If I wasn't an expert on covert operations, this would be impossible. Thankfully Princess Luna knew my reputation.
That was why I was here in enemy territory all by myself, with no one to help me.
"If you are in need of assistance, remember this frequency. Worry not about volume. The magic in that earring sends the words of the second party directly to your mind. You will be the only pony able to hear it."
"Got it. I think I want to check on Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash before I get started."
All Princess Luna did was nod, "I wish you the best of luck, Octavia."
With that she cut the link. I decided to next check on Fluttershy. She was a really cute Pegasus, and quite literally the epitome of her name. She seemed really uncomfortable when she first laid eyes on me, but she warmed up to me shortly after. Turning the earring so I could get her frequency, I eventually found hers and pushed the stud down, seeing her sweet smile waiting for me.
"O-Octavia..."
"Hey there, Fluttershy. How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine now," she said sweetly, "Princess Luna's base is actually cozy, in its own way..."
I laughed, glad that I called her, "I think whatever you injected in me is helping. I still feel full of energy."
"Oh, that's good. That particular potion was meant to keep your metabolism at its peak. You won't have to stop for food or water as much, and you won't have to worry about getting tired."
"So I'll be able to end this in a day or so. Good job, Fluttershy."
She made a small squel, a sound she had a habit of making when she was feeling bashful. It was a shame that this sweet pony had to be a part of this horrible situation.
"If you need anthing concerning medicine, I'll be available on this frequency. I may be a Pegasus, but I know a lot about potions and other forms of medicine. Also, since we're really close to Canterlot, you can call me to do rescue runs if you find anypony injured."
"Well, it's certainly reassuring that I'm not completely alone here. Thanks, Fluttershy."
"Don't mention it..." as usual, whenever I thanked her, she got really somber. I could tell that she appreciated it, so I could never understand where her sadness came from.
"Fluttershy, is something wrong?" I asked her.
"Well, Octavia... you see..."
"Hm...?"
She sighed and shook her head, "It's nothing. Um, Rainbow Dash wanted to talk to you before you got started, so you should call her."
"I will. See you later, Fluttershy."
She nodded and hung up. As sweet as she was, there was something weird about her. Sometimes she seemed to reach out to me, as if asking for help with something, or at least wanting to tell me something. I never paid it too much mind. After all, the first time I met her was really embarrassing. It was during the Grand Galloping Gala of 1983, the last Gala I ever performed at. After some of her friends caused a commotion in the main ballroom, Fluttershy chased a large amount of animals into the room, shouting "you're going to LOVE ME!!!!!" I thought she was insane at first, and ironically I was afraid of her when we met. Imagine my surprise when she turned out to be really sweet and kind.
Still though, I couldn't help but feel like there was something more to it.
I turned the earring to Rainbow Dash's frequency. At first I didn't really like her, but when I sat down with her for a few minutes I realized she was actually really deep. Who would have thought she was so well versed in magi-tech and above all literature! I pushed the stud down and waited until I saw Rainbow Dash's image.
"Hey, Octi! Just the mare I was waiting for!"
That was the one thing I hated about her... that nickname...
"Hi Rainbow Dash..." I groaned, trying to hide my annoyance at the name she gave me, "Just got into Canterlot."
"Did you use the short cut I told you about?" she asked me.
"Jumping the side gate? Nah, once I got here I felt lazy, so I decided to fight the guards and walk through the front gate."
"That was the lazy route?!" she sounded shocked, "You soldiers are hardcore!" Truthfully I realized that I would have needed wings in order to get up the gate, so I really had no choice but to use the front door. But hey, it worked out, right?
"You learn that the hard way is usually the real easy way after fighting in a few wars," I explained laughing, "So, you told me that this earring had another use, right?"
"Oh yeah, now that you're inside it should work. Okay, push the little diamond over the stud."
I did, and immediately noticed something weird. On the other side of my eyes, next to Rainbow Dash's image, was a map! How the hell did that get there?!
"Um... what is this?"
Rainbow Dash laughed, "Ya like that, huh? That's a military grade mapping system called a SOLOTON Radar."
"Aren't those used mainly by military pegasi to see their flight path?"
"Well, yeah, but I adjusted it so it'll work just as good on the ground too. Princess Luna wanted me to give that to you. You can thank me now," she said triumphantly. Faust, she was arrogant. Oddly that made her that much more appealing.
"Well, thank you, Rainbow Dash," I said slightly sarcastically, "Now how exactly does this work?"
"What? No trial and error? Ugh, I'll break out the instruction booklet and explain," she acted like she was annoyed, but I could tell she was happy. She was the type that liked to talk. I knew someone just like her actually, and she and I were good friends.
"Okay, the white dot in the center is you. The earring scans the area around you in a five mile radius, and keeps up with your movements in real time. Anything red is a changeling."
"Why red? For enemies?" I asked.
"I don't know. Something about reacting to the magic in their bodies. Also, you'll notice there are blue cones in front of them. That's basically their point of view."
"So basically, stay out of that blue cone."
"Yep, you got it. When you run into any of our friends, they should appear as blue dots. Any civilians will be green."
"This should make my mission easier," I said, silently waiting for the catch. Things like this always had a catch.
"Well, there is a catch," see? "Some places have a bad magical interference, so you won't be able to use the radar in those areas. Also, you won't be able to us it in tight enclosed spaces."
So I could only use it outside, or inside the castle. Now it didn't seem as useful. Oh well, at least I could see the enemies before they saw me.
"Well, I'm sure I can find a use for it. So, any ideas of where I should go first?"
"Well, looking at the computer here..." she trailed off a bit as she searched something on her computer, "Okay, the hospital is being used as a changeling stronghold. You should go there."
"They captured the hospital?"
"Yeah, looks like it. Careful there though, Canterlot hospital is the largest hospital in Equestria. If you go east from the front gate you should see it."
"Got it," before I hung up I took a look at Rainbow Dash. She looked like she wanted to say something else, "What's wrong?"
"Well, it's just," she sighed, "I wish I were there with you. I messed around and got hurt escaping though, and now all I can do is desk work."
I did feel bad for her. She was a pegasus interested in joining the military, in particularly the Wonderbolts, which was the most well known military flight team in Equestria. Trying hard to fight off the changelings to save her friends, she broke her wing and had to be carried away by Fluttershy. She does have a bit of military training, and her father apparently showed her how to use military grade magi-tech. It was her knowledge of magi-tech that earned her the current spot in Luna's Rebellion against the changelings. She did good desk work, that didn't mean she liked desk work.
Apparently she hated every second of it.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash," I said sympathetically "I know that you're going stir crazy in that base, but I need you to stay there and protect the Princess and Fluttershy."
"Yeah, I know..."
I thought about what I could do about this issue. Most soldiers in covert operations had a pony keeping a record of their actions. This way if something happened to them on the field, somepony else would know exactly where they left off. Many soldiers were saved based off of this set up.
"Hey, what if you kept my record?" I suggested, "You heard about that system, right?"
"Oh yeah, the navigator keeps record of everything that happens on the mission. Wait, you want me to keep your record?" she asked hopefully.
"Well, I can't bring you on the field, but I can keep you updated on my situation. It might help you feel like you're right there with me."
"Considering that otherwise I'm just stewing here collecting dust, YEAH! Besides, you're, like, a legend among military buffs like me. Is it true that you won the War of 1972?"
"I wouldn't say I won the war, but I did play a major part in the victory. The part where I fought twenty griffons by myself though, that part is true," only because my entire squad was murdered by a single pony on the enemy side.
Braveheart...
Apparently Rainbow Dash knew a bit of the story, because while most ponies were amazed that I even could fight that many griffons, she looked down somberly, "So, what my dad said was true. You did lose your squad. What was she like? Braveheart, I mean."
"She was, and probably still is, a killing machine. She's nothing more than a living weapon, and I will kill her if I ever see her."
"W-what did she-"
"That isn't important right now," I said changing the subject, "I need to get started."
"Right, sorry. Why don't I make a record of what you did to get inside," I recalled everything I did for her, and she put a record of it on her computer, "Will you tell me more about the war next time?"
"It's not a pretty tale, but if you don't mind having nightmares then sure, I tell you in small sections."
"Great, thanks Octi. Good luck in there," she said hanging up. It felt good knowing I could share my story with someone. I tried therapy once, but it didn't help stop the nightmares from that time. Contrary to what some ponies think of me, I'm not iron willed. In fact, it's pretty common for me to cry myself to sleep at night.
Well, that's what Cider was for, I thought pulling my flask out of the small magic bag the Princess gave me. Apparently it was charmed so even though it was small enough to stay out of my way, it could hold an assortment of weapons and items. I'd need that if I was going to survive, since most of the weapons I would use had to be picked up on the scene.
After taking a small swig from my flask to calm my nerves, I put it away and galloped over to the hospital. The Changeling Queen had one thousand plus changeling soldiers. All Equestria had was me, a single war veteran plagued with night terrors, yet couldn't say no to someone in need. Sounds impossible, right?
Well, here's the story of how I did it...