“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.”

Chapter 3: Know your enemy

“I am sorry Zarok, but I must refuse your proposal,” I said with a firm stomp of my hoof. Meetings like these before battles can become tedious. Of course it is necessary to hear all the plans and proposals from my subjects, but as much as I love combat, I wish these meetings could be just a little shorter. That is why I bring my son with me to them now. His adorableness helps make them more tolerable. He was currently playing around my legs, pretending to be a wolf. Zarok, one of the senior archmages, did not look happy with my dismissal of his proposal. Thankfully, he was the final one today. We were in the proposal room. It was a small room that had a throne for me to sit in while ponies would come in, kneel, and deliver their plans and proposals for my approval. Pictures of my ancestry adorned the walls and a blue carpet led from my throne to the doorway. A portrait of my mother, Queen Faust, was hanging just above the throne.

“What do you mean!?” Zarok nearly shouted at me. He always had a tendency to forget his place.

“Hold your tongue, Zarok! Remember who you are addressing!” He visibly cringed at my raised voice. My son looked up at me in worry, but I stroked his mane to reassure him. He was only a year old as of three days ago. I held a private birthday for him without my servant’s knowledge. One must keep up appearances.

“I-I am sorry your majesty, but… we must win this war. The spell I have perfected will ensure our victory. How can one lose the numbers game when they have the dead on their side?” Zarok had a pale green coat and a red mane and tail. What was eye catching about him was his mane. It was shaped like a banana coming out from the sides of his head. A rather odd look, but he told me he felt like it gave him some authority over the lesser Unicorns. He looked like a red banana to me.

“We have the support of the Wolves and the Griffons, even the sea ponies have agreed to capsize my sister’s ships. We need no more,” I assured. “We are already winning in the numbers game.” My son jumped up onto my lap and started to snuggle up to me. Zarok looked at my child with contempt.

“Perhaps, but we are losing the power game. The majority of our kind joined Celestia’s side. Surely you cannot put your faith in that thi…”

“HIM! ADDRESS HIM NOT AS A THING!” Zarok practically dove onto his knees and grovelled at my hooves. He started to whimper an apology when the door clicked open and a familiar face stepped into the room. Dusk, along with the nanny who had come to pick up Carnage. We remained silent until Carnage was picked up and taken out of the room. Carnage looked sad, but I could not coddle him, he would have to learn to deal with some time spent apart from his Mother. Dusk joined me by my side and spied Zarok grovelling at my feet.

“Allow me to make a guess,” he said. “Zarok here was trying to convince you to go along with his ‘army of the dead’ idea again. It sounds like that old horror story that was written by Snake Ram, oh what was it called…. ‘Dead Evil?’”

“Something like that,” I replied. “And you’re perceptive as always.” Zarok shot up and continued to plead his case.

“Ever since the Dragons and Zebras were convinced to side with Celestia, the situation has changed. And because negotiations with the Changelings collapsed, we are practically even. This army….” I cut him off before he could finish.

“… Could lead to the ruin of all of Equestria. We want to convert the populace, not destroy them. They will all love the night in time. They cannot do that while dead. And please, don’t bring up the Changelings again, Daedalus will pay for his betrayal soon.”

“NO ZAROK! It is you who does not understand! I have heard enough. Dusk, make sure Zarok is escorted back to his study.” Dusk responded swiftly.

“Yes, your majesty,” he said with a bow. “Daniel! Get in here now!” The Doors burst open and a smallish Stallion galloped inside, tripped over his own right hoof and face planted on the ground. This caused the helmet lid to slam shut. I didn’t flinch, but I was somewhat surprised to see one of my guard acting so foolishly. Dusk turned to me and muttered, “He’s new.” I inwardly giggled. “Fortesque, stand up and salute your commanding officer.” As quick as a flash, he stood up, but when he spoke we received a muffled reply.

“Oh gods help us, his helmet is jammed again. I swear he does this every week.” Zarok watched over the scene with utter contempt for Fortesque. Perhaps they had some history. I stepped forward and faced the Stallion as he struggled with his helmet.

“Sir Daniel Fortesque. Escort Zarok back to his study immediately!” Daniel saluted and grabbed Zarok by the leg, dragging him away through the door. Zarok tried to fight back, but found he was too weak to fight against the knight.

“You fool!” He cried. “She didn’t mean like that, gah! Watch the stones!” When we could no longer hear Zarok’s cries, we returned to conversation.

“Daniel Fortesque is an unusual name for a pony,” commented Dusk, “apparently his mother just put a bunch of random letters together and it stuck.” I remembered something I had been told before.

“Isn’t that the Earth pony who apparently took out a seven headed hydra all by himself?” I asked in confusion.

“I assume he’s an excellent storyteller when he doesn’t have a helmet jammed on his head,” this brought out a small laugh from Dusk. Moments like these were rare during war time, and even I knew to treasure them when they came around. Dusk had a small sigh and brought out a bunch of sealed letters.

“Your majesty, I have the letters that you requested. “ I gratefully took them. They were updates on our recent push towards Canterlot. Slowly, we had gotten closer and closer to Celestia. The push was agonisingly slow, but we were making progress, which was more than my sister could say. “If that is all your majesty, then I will be on my way.” Dusk saluted and began to trot towards the exit.

You’re not getting away from me that easily, I mused. I used my magic to shut the door in front of Dusk, who turned to me in confusion.

“No, nothing is wrong Dusk,” I smiled as sweetly as I could muster. “Please, come over here.” Dusk, as a good soldier would, did exactly as he was told. “I have been meaning to talk to you for some time now. Privately.”

“Um, alright.” Dusk seemed unsure about where this was leading. I had given him plenty of subtle hints over the months, perhaps he assumed since I was royalty I wouldn’t be… well, he’ll find out in a minute. I got off my throne and began to lift Dusk into the air with my magic. Initially, I saw a panicked look in his eyes, but he started to relax a little when I lowered him onto the throne.

“Dusk,” I said in a sultry voice, “since the first day you arrived here, you have been one of my most loyal and outspoken subjects. You have challenged me on decisions, but even if you did not agree, you never shied away from doing your part. I’ve always liked that in a Stallion.” I saw him gulp slightly. He looked a little uncomfortable, but I would fix that in a moment. “You have gone beyond the call of duty for me.” I pointed to my womb. He looked confused at first, almost if he was trying to put all the pieces together inside his head.

“Wrong. Add one more.” Again I pointed at my womb. When it clicked for him, his eyes opened as wide as dinner plates.

“Yes, Dusk. You asked me to wipe your memory of the entire event due to the loyalty you have for your wife. Relax, we never conceived him that way. You simply lent me your seed for the project. I asked you too because… well… I thought you we’re the best option I had.” Dusk looked shocked as he shook his head.. However, it was evident he was starting to remember.

“B-but, why are you telling me this now!?” Dusk was the only pony I would allow to raise his voice at me like that. It was also quite understandable. It’s not everyday you learn that you fathered a secret child that you don’t even remember.

“Dusk, as princess of the night, I have the rare ability to enter dreams or simply observe them. And your dreams have changed quite a bit as of late.” I didn’t think it was possible for Dusk’s eyes to open any wider.

“… Oh yes Dusk, they have become somewhat… naughtier, as of late.” I slowly trotted up and put my fore hooves on his shoulders, preventing any kind of escape. “They used to be quite innocent. You returning to work on your farm, enjoying a picnic with your family, spending time with the child you lost.” I could see a pang of regret hit him and I quickly changed the subject.

“Lately though, your dreams have taken a different turn. You had dreams about your wife pleasing you in new and different ways, but they don’t seem to be about your wife anymore. Refresh my memory, who were they about again?” He didn’t answer. I brought my left hoof and started to make small circles on his chest, his breathing became more erratic. “Dusk, who were they about?”

“N-no, we can’t... we…” My lips met with his. His initial resistance quickly parted as lust took its place. He kissed me back with full force as we practically wrestled on top of the throne. The hunger and longing that had been building up for who knows how long inside of him was being released. I broke the kiss suddenly on purpose to see his reaction. Clearly his hunger was not satisfied. I brought my mouth to his ear and gently nibbled it.

“Do you want this body?” I whispered into his ear. I heard his breathing grow faster the further my hoof trailed down his body. Before it drifted to his lower area, he managed to breathe out a reply.

I made a mental note that I should help come up with an excuse as to why Dusk would not be home until tomorrow.

I sat as far away from Carnage as I could. Unfortunately, that meant I was directly opposite him. So every time I looked up, he was there. I couldn’t help but berate myself on how stupid this all was.

Damn it, I’m a Wonderbolt, I don’t let fear hold me back from anything. I’ve seen actual war zones before! I need to grow up.

Silver had explained to me what caused Carnage to snap like that. From outward appearance, he seemed like a gentlestallion. Apparently he even acted like one when he wasn’t aggravated. He looked very smart in his vest, tie and hat, but I could also see his eyes and teeth and that kept reminding me of what I saw.

I’ve only been scared twice before. And I’m not talking about when somepony jumps up from behind you and shouts boo. I’m talking about real fear. When you think you're about to lose somepony, or you're about to die. That kind of fear. The second time was only a couple of days ago, when out of nowhere a savage monster attacked me and I swear if Silver had arrived a second later, I wouldn’t be here right now. The first time I was that scared was when I discovered my powers. Not because of discovering them but… what happened after. It still hurts to think about it.

After ‘Mr. Carnage’ was introduced to everypony, we were all properly briefed by the Illusive pony and headed out into the city of Canterlot. Since we we’re more than a little conspicuous as we essentially consisted of two monsters, a pony that looked like a burns victim, an A list celebrity, a world renowned DJ and a general bunch of odd looking ponies, we decided to stick to the roof tops and soon found ourselves with a great view of the castle. Since it was lunch and due to the Doctor's insistence that nopony should work on an empty stomach, we had to stop and get something to eat. Now we found ourselves sitting on a rooftop, eating some hay fries (which I really shouldn’t because of how unhealthy they are.) Silver was sitting next to Carnage and Vinyl. I found myself sitting next to Guardian and to my annoyance, Fade. I wish he didn’t feel the need to take a peek at my flank every half a second. At least I could now see his hooves since he was wrapped up in bandages and a brown coat. Silver was trying to press Guardian on his background which he was reluctant to share.

“I’m assuming you’re a carnivore then, since you’re not eating with us,” she said. The only other pony who hadn’t eaten anything was Ulysses, but I assumed that was because of the mask. How he ate was a mystery.

“Yes, in the Everfree I would usually dine upon any creature I could find. These ‘hay fries’ do not suit my stomach.” I inwardly wretched at the idea of a chicken or a bunny being devoured. Me and Soarin always found performing in Griffon country difficult because there were very few vegetarian options over there. I recalled the time we dared Rapid to swallow a piece of fried chicken. The look on his face as he tried to swallow it is one I will never forget. I missed my friends. This was the first shore leave I’ve ever taken in over eight years. That fact surprises a lot of ponies, considering I’ve been performing with them since I was eighteen. The youngest Wonderbolt ever.

“C’mon Guardian,” Silver persisted. “Won’t you tell us more? Don’t you trust me?”

“Excuse me for interrupting, your majesty,” Shadow said as apologetically as possible. She’d been like this ever since she discovered the ‘Prince’s’ lineage. Technically, Carnage never gave up his title so he was still royalty. In fact, if Silver is to be believed, if Celestia and Luna die, he would technically be next in line for the throne since he is also the eldest. The other children that Celestia has had over the years have died since they were born mortal. None of them ever became Alicorns for one reason or another. “But could you remind me what we’re doing again, Silver?”

“It’s simple,” stated Silver. “We kill the Batmare.” There was a pause at that before I ended up asking what everypony wanted to ask.

“Um… never mind. Again, all we have is that whatever is going on, we’ll find out in this city. We have one lead, but the entire city to cover so the Illusive pony wants us to split up into four groups.” Silver Tongue walked into the circle and began to pair everypony up. “Spitfire, you will work with Ulysses to scour the skies.” I looked over to my now partner who didn’t even acknowledge the pairing. He didn’t move his eyes towards me or nod in response to Silver. In fact, he hadn’t said anything at all. Did he even eat? That mask would always get in the way. He certainly didn’t join in for the meal. Ever since I met him, he’d been nearly always silent. Silver signalled for me to join him so I trotted over and sat down next to him. Again, no reaction. Either he really didn’t care at all, or… No, he probably didn’t care. Funny really, I was so used to getting even a small reaction just by trotting into a room. That’s what fame will do to you I suppose.

Silver continued. “Fade, why don’t you team up with the delightful Shadow, and our big friend, Guardian.” Heh, that was clever. Place Romeo with a mare who will break his leg if he tries to flirt with her, and a Stallion that scares the crap out of him. That will keep him on course and make sure he doesn’t wander off. I noticed how he gingerly made his way to the other two as Shadow gave him a death glare. “Vinyl told me it would be a good idea to cover the city centre for suspicious ponies, so she and the Doctor will go over there.” Vinyl seemed quite eager to join the Doctor and he gave her a warm smile. I knew the two apparently had some history, but I couldn’t help but feel that there was some sort of other motive. “And finally, myself and Mr. Carnage will check out the office. According to Illusive, we may find an important clue there.”

Well that isn’t a surprise, I mused to myself. For the first time today, I heard Ulysses speak.

“Interesting, isn’t it?” He mused aloud. Everypony turned towards the usually silent stallion.

“A predator will target the weakest link, instead of going for the strongest. It will only target the strongest when it is at its weakest.” Oh brother, he’s one of those stallions. The kind that feels like it has to give every answer as a cryptic clue.

“I can attest to that,” said Guardian, “but what does that have to do with any of this.”

“The monarchies approval ratings have never been lower. The Equestrian citizens don’t feel as safe as they used to. First, their world was turned to utter chaos by Discord, then the palace itself was invaded by a race that could look like anypony, and only a couple of months ago, we were all nearly turned into metal robots without feeling or emotion. Each time, we were narrowly saved. And not once by the Princesses.” He explained slowly.

Carnage interrupted Ulysses. “So what? My mother and my aunt are incompetent. I could’ve told you that.”

“When ponies lose faith in their leaders, they turn to others for guidance and leadership. That is when the predator strikes. That is when the predator assumes control.” For some of us, we began to understand where Ulysses was leading to. Others still hadn’t quite got it.

“Wait, Timberwolves are trying to assume control of Equestria?” Asked Vinyl Scratch. I wanted to facehoof so hard after that comment.

“No, the predator would not be so obvious or driven by instinct. We are working for a stallion who is holding information back from us. He wants us to stop a certain group, but to what end?” Shadow grabbed the spear by her hoofs. I noticed she did that whenever she felt threatened or somepony was implying that the royal family was in danger.

“Are you trying to say that we might be simply opening the door for the Illusive pony to take over?” She asked with an aggressive tone. Silver interjected though.

“No, that’s not true,” she said in desperation. She suddenly became rather flustered. “Look, my dad told me that this pony wants to keep Celestia and Luna in power. My father has never been wrong about this kind of stuff. The Assassin’s would never work with a pony who had intentions of taking over the monarchy. Believe me, he’s legit when he says he wants to help.”

“Perhaps,” responded Ulysses. “However, it doesn’t change things for me either way. As long as he gives me what I asked for at the end of this. If you expect me to fully trust somepony who won’t share his name, then you’re going to be very disappointed.” An awkward silence fell amongst the entire group. Nopony was in a very trusting mood this morning to say the least and who could blame us. Clearly we were all here for our own reasons and not many of us felt like sharing. It was never like this with the Wonderbolts. We flew together, worked together, heck, even showered together. We shared our entire life histories with each other as well.

Minus the whole whole fire powers part. It was hard not to trust each other, we are a family. I saw the same thing with the elements when I met them. They were more than friends, but they weren’t lovers, they were a family. A tight nit group that could never be broken apart no matter the challenges they faced. We are not even close to that. We’re more akin to a time bomb. Still, maybe if we got some victories under our belts, we might start opening up a bit. But that’s a big if. The silence had gone on long enough in my opinion.

“Alright, listen up troops,” I barked out. Everypony turned towards to me. “I don’t know the whole story either. So we should go out there and find out. The first step is to discover what we’re up against. Who’s with me?” I received a series of murmurs and nods from everypony present. I suppose that would have to do.

“Ah, before everypony goes, I have a little present for all of you,” announced Silver. Everypony turned towards Silver who was rummaging in her pocket. Fade, who was beginning to unravel his bandages couldn’t help himself.

“Sorry Fade, you’re not my type. I’m more into the hard core, gentlestallion kind of guy,” she smirked. My eyes couldn’t help but drift over to the electric blue stallion to the far right of me. And judging by everypony else’s expressions, they couldn’t either. Carnage seemed completely ignorant though. “Ah, here we are. Everypony take one.” She dropped the small objects on the floor. They were white and round with some kind of speaker on the side of them. The Doctor quickly grabbed one and scanned the small object with his weird screwdriver.

“I’ve seen this before, you shouldn’t have this technology,” he said. “This was used during the Cyberman invasion.”

“I thought they looked familiar. What’s your game, Silver? Trying to control us or something?” Accused Vinyl.

“Hey, relax you two,” assured Silver. “These are purely to communicate with each other from long distances. There is no mind control elements in these earpieces. It’s true that the Illusive pony acquired them after the invasion and modified them. They are completely safe.” The Doctor stopped scanning the device and placed it in his own ear.

“She’s right, they’re safe,” he announced. With that everypony began to place one in their ear. Fade already disliked his and he wasn’t shy in pointing out it will be weird to see a floating earpiece hovering in the air. Silver was ahead of him though, and gave him a special invisible one the Illusive pony developed.

“You then simply press this button here to answer it. And this button is to make a call.” With that sorted, we quickly left the rooftop as discretely as possible. I had to carry Ulysses due to his busted wing. I made a mental note to ask him about that later.

“Hmm, around fifteen if my memory serves me correct.” I had to be careful not to hold my sides while flying through mid-air. I knew after only a moment of meeting them that there would be three ponies that I would have trouble getting to open up to me. Guardian, Ulysses and Carnage. Carnage was quickly being broken down though. However, trying to find out more about the supposed living weapon would have to wait until we raided the office. We flew near the window and peaked inside. We didn’t see anypony about so this was our best chance.

“Okay, you ready to do this?” I asked. His reply was him unsheathing the blades in his forelegs. “I had a feeling you’d say something like that.” I brought out my own hidden blade which I had used to take out many a pony and picked the lock on the window. Nopony was looking up at us and the blinds on the window were down so we had to hope we wouldn’t run into anypony. I slid the window up and we looked inside. It was a small office, the lights were off and since nopony was in sight, we flew in quietly. I didn’t imagine sneaking and espionage was Carnage’s style, but he hadn’t made any complaints yet so I didn’t ask.

As soon as we floated in, we could sense an eerie atmosphere. Like somepony or something unnatural had been here before us. Papers were scattered all over the floor, shelves were in disarray, and the smell was something foreign. It smelt a little like wax. I noticed Carnage trot towards the office door. He peered through the keyhole, but simply shook his head.

“I think we’re the only ponies on this floor,” he said, “perhaps the only ones in the building. What is this building for? What do ponies do here?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.” I’d been to Canterlot before, but this building was so inconspicuous. You wouldn’t give it a second glance along with the other buildings. Perhaps because it looks so generic and similar to the others. How long had this place been like this? “Have you ever seen anything like this?”

“Disappearances? Yeah, a few. This feels more eerie though. I can smell… wax and… bugs? Like cocoons. I can’t hear anypony else either so I think we’re safe from being discovered.” I relaxed a bit when he said that. “Normally I knew beforehand who was behind the disappearances. Usually solar guards who had taken farmers and workers to be ‘re-educated’ on who the rightful ruler is. I read up on the war y’know.”

“I wanted to see what history remembers. They practically make it out that mother had no supporters. In fact, they make it out that only Mother and Celestia fought. It was all of Equestria, heck, in the end, it was the entire planet. The Changelings, the Buffalo, the Dragons, the Wolves, the Zebras the Sea ponies…”

“Oh, they’re still a myth, aren’t they? Mother did say they would never want their existence to be widely known. They used to capsize solar boats for the Luna republic.”

“Heh, the more you know.” My attention was brought back to the task at hoof. I thought my best bet was to start looking through the papers scattered about. “Alright, I’ll start wading through this mess.” He nodded at me.

“I’ll look around the complex, be back in a few.” He tipped his hat to me and departed through the door. Such a gentlestallion, a rare trait if you aren’t super rich. And after my encounter with Blueblood, it appears to be rare amongst the one percent as well. My initial look revealed graphs and figures. Further inspection showed that they involved biology. It was surprisingly vague though. They were doing something to Ponies or maybe some other creatures which either made them stronger or enhanced some other ability, but that’s about all I got. I could only assume it was because whoever these ponies were, were worried somepony might stumble across this so they kept the information limited. That way, only ponies told previously would fully understand all of this. Around ten minutes later, I could hear Carnage coming back and I was about to meet him at the door when something caught my eye.

It was a big, black folder. It seemed to be somewhat untouched and not thrown about. Whatever was in there was either of no importance, or so important it had to be kept in one piece. There was nothing else on it, just black. I opened it up and discovered that they were orders. A mix of agreements, contracts and delivery dates but again it was vague. The only thing I could make out was that it was definitely metal. Metal x to be precise. Either they stumbled across something even they couldn’t identify or again it was an odd security measure. Maybe they didn’t trust the grunts that worked for them. I heard the creak of a door opening and Carnage approached me from behind.

“I was right, the entire place is empty,” he said, “my best guess is that this place is used off and on. They’ve come through recently but that’s all I can say for certain.”

“I think I can back that up, take a look at this.” I pointed to the dates on the piece of paper in the folder. Today’s date was marked for a delivery of the metal. I saw Carnage’s unnatural eyes scan the paper.

“Metal of that quantity can’t be carried around by Pegasi, there’s too much of it. They obviously want to keep what they’re doing a secret. They must be carrying their cargo in large carriages. Plenty of those must constantly be coming through Canterlot. They would just be an everyday occurrence.”

“You’re right. We need to tell the others.” I pressed the call button on my earpiece. “Everypony, we’re looking for a large carriage that will be carrying a significant amount of metal objects. That will lead us to where we need to go.”

“Yes, I had to do it in order to evade the family of blood, but that’s another story. I have no idea how humans function with just one heart,” I replied. “Then again, I didn’t know you could pick up things with your hooves. That is fantastic.”

“No you're right, too strong a word. Their brilliant!” Vinyl shook her head at me.

“Really? Ponies keep calling me weird. In fact they never really shut up about it. They also keep asking me ‘Doctor Who?’ Nice to see some things never change.” Vinyl snickered a little at that. Vinyl had suggested we take the cities centre. Normally I would make the plans, but Vinyl’s reasoning had convinced Spitfire that hiding in plain sight would work best in the busiest area of the city. Talking to Vinyl was… interesting. I acted like her Doctor, talked like her Doctor, but I wasn’t. It wasn’t something she could forget. I could read her face, and what it said was that she was talking to a cheap copy. That was just something I would have to accept.

“You know, my Doctor had to become a regular pony once to avoid being taken by an alien army. It appears you both had similar adventures,” she noted.

“That isn’t surprising,” I replied. “We were practically identical apart from our physical appearance and how we handled the Time war.”

“Yeah… I still can’t believe what he tried to do.” Vinyl hung her head in disappointment. The small frown on her lips was the best indicator that she missed her old Doctor, the one in his final act, called himself the Master. The most disturbing thing about that to me was how easily I could have ended up like my counterpart. I shook my head and scanned the crowd but I saw nothing suspicious. It was rather frustrating when you were looking for something yet you had no idea exactly what you’re looking for. We were looking for a large carriage. Something big enough to carry large quantities of metal discreetly. Right now we were in the city centre with no roads in sight. Vinyl appeared to shake herself out of her glum and asked me a question.

“Oh yes, they call me Captain Finder. Actually they don’t call me Captain Finder. I don’t want to be called Captain Finder. Never call me Captain Finder.”

“Well, ‘Captain Finder’. Do you think you can find whatever we’re looking for amongst that?” She pointed her hoof towards the centre. There were ponies galore, busily going about their business. I noticed the more upper class looking ponies were avoiding any pony that looked remotely poor. This consisted of Earth ponies and anypony who was working at a food stand or on construction. I noted some of the funny looks that I had received since arriving. There was still a problem that persisted in Equestria that could be mainly found in Canterlot. Classism.

I had travelled through a number of keypoints in this planet's history and I’m happy to say that it isn’t nearly as bad as it used to be. However, it was still present. Vinyl, despite being a Unicorn, was looked down upon due to her ‘style’. Although the bits she had collected allowed her to perform anywhere she chose. Vinyl had told me that she had to make the apartment arrangements for her and Tavi because some upper class ponies would turn away Earth ponies seeking to rent an apartment.

One thing that had allowed Octavia to perform in Canterlot was where she came from. She had told me she was born from Unicorn parents. Much like the cake’s twins, some of their Earth pony ancestry (which apparently they were never aware of) had led to Octavia being an Earth pony. They loved her all the same and never treated her any different, in fact she had many Unicorn friends in college which she told me was a sign that things were changing. Vinyl had told me that Octavia was doing well but hadn’t said much more on the subject. To be honest, despite all the things I had seen, during my time away there was one mare who was on my mind all the way through. Octavia Philharmonica. It was reminiscent of the time that I lost Rose. Unlike Rose though, I chose to leave Octavia behind. Also unlike Rose, I promised Octavia I would come back.

“The obvious problem here,” I began to surmise, “is there are no carriages in this area. No roads either. And from my studies, I’m sure that the number of Pegasi it would take to carry said items would be too conspicuous. We’ll have to leave and start walking down the roads if we have any chance of finding what we need.” As I began to head out of the area, Vinyl’s voice beckoned me to stop..

“Hey, real talk,” I heard Vinyl call out to me. I turned to her as she wore a serious expression, something that was almost alien on the part mare. “Do you know why I wanted to come here?”

“You said that the ponies were looking for what would most likely be hiding in plain sight so we should head over to a busy public area. I get the feeling that wasn’t the only reason tough.”

“Yeah, that was one part of it, but there’s another reason.” She pointed towards a tall building quite close from where we stood. “That building right there, is where me and Tavi live. Look, I respect the fact that the whole relationship thing is kind of new to you. I mean you did tell us you were a granddad and all but that isn’t my point. I also get that this whole universe is new to you and you needed to get your hooves wet before doing anything else but… Tavi has been worried sick.” Guilt hit me quickly. To my shame, I left another one behind. Only this time it was a pony. Somepony that was in love with me. Me, going domestic. What a horrifying thought. Perhaps that was the real reason I left.

“Yeah, and your back. Heck, I understand why you didn’t visit her straight away. You were picked up by the Illusive pony, just like me. But you could have visited and you know that. She told you we would be in Canterlot. She told you to see her as soon as you could, so why didn’t you?” I stood there looking at her blankly because I had no answer to give her. No decent one anyway. I had only excuses. She grunted in anger as she stared intensely at me. “Your silence says it all. Well now’s your chance to make it right. She’s home right now, so go talk to her.”

“BECAUSE I’M STILL IMMORTAL!” A number of ponies in close proximity turned to look at us, but quickly went back to whatever they were doing. Vinyl raised an eyebrow at me.

“So? The other you was immortal too. It was because he would regenerate when he was close to death. Heck, I saw him do it once. What does that change?” I let out a heavy sigh. I never liked thinking about this. I was old. Too old. I trotted up right next to Vinyl and led her away from the apartment complex. As we walked I resumed the conversation.

“I’m sorry I got angry at you. I’ve had this conversation more times than I wish to count,” I assured her. “Let me put it into perspective for you. Imagine loving somepony, and that pony spends the rest of their life with you. But you could never spend the rest of your life with them.” I paused so she could take it in. Slowly I saw her expression change to one where she understood. “Octavia will wither and die in front of me. Me, I’ll continue. That was the curse of the Timelords, and apparently, the curse of the Timeponies as well.”

“No, I had to know more about the world I live in before returning. My full intention was to return to Octavia. But, slowly it began to dawn on me. To you, I’ve been gone for over six months. For me, I’ve been gone for 10 years.” Vinyl gasped slightly and I received a quick slap around the face for my trouble.

“Don’t you get it? You have the chance to make that mare, living in that apartment block, the happiest mare in Equestria, just by walking through that door. I get that you’re scared. I understand it may hurt in the end. But can you really go on knowing that you’ll miss all that time with her?” She had a point. I would probably wonder a lot but…would I really be doing the right thing? What does she know? She’ll wither and die like the rest of them. They always die. Before I could respond, we both heard the tiny ringtone go off in our ears. The look Vinyl gave me, told me we weren’t done talking. As we answered the call the voice of Fade greeted us.

Do you know what the point of being invisible is? To not be seen, to not be conspicuous at all. And I, the master of stealth, had been partnered up with probably the two most head turning ponies in our group. Minus Spitfire’s sweet flank. That could turn more heads than the giant fucking spider. At least he had the common sense to stay off the street so he didn’t cause a mass panic. Instead, he was following us on the rooftop. Unfortunately, the ‘delightful’ Shadow Heart decided she didn’t trust me. So, now she was following me about everywhere. Luna guards were incredibly rare to see during the day, even at night you would be lucky to even get a peek at them. So while I could have been completely invisible while sitting on this bench, everypony was gawping at the Luna guard sitting on the other side. And since she wanted to see where I was at all times, I had to put my bandages and coat on so now it looked like she was hanging out with a pony who just left the burns ward. It’s moments like these when I wonder what I did to deserve all of this. Well… okay I kind of did deserve it, I’m certainly no angel.

In case you couldn’t figure it out, we were by the roadside, watching the carriages and ponies trot by. If there was anything I was good at, that was pony watching. That and pinching bits from purses.

I’m a patient Stallion, an old mate of mine used to say I would make a great sniper, but I’m not that methodical. I’ve never gotten those ponies that name their weapons and talk about their weapon as if it was their lover. That shit’s just weird. I suppose on the positive side, I technically don’t have to be invisible or that inconspicuous for that matter. When I’m told to find or get something, I get it. Like my father before me, I have a rare natural talent for being able to pick out even the tiniest object in a sea of ponies and take it. It’s sort of like a sixth sense of mine. If I was told to get a priceless helmet, I instinctively know where to look. Now that I knew we were looking for a large, suspicious carriage, my intuition brought me here, much to the confusion of Shadow Heart. In the end, she would have looked crazy if she was talking to thin air so that was another reason I was forced to put my coat and bandages back on. I looked like I just came out of the hospital after every bone in my body broke. Because you know. That won’t draw anyponies attention.

“So tell me again, why did you bring us here?” Shadow asked me. I let out a sigh. I hated trying to explain this to others.

“Look, sometimes I just get these feelings and impulses when I’m looking for something. And they’ve always pointed me to where I need to go.”

“Normally I would, but I have too much on my mind right now, so I won’t be any help today.” Oh brother, I knew where this was heading. Might as well get it over with.

“Alright, I bite. What’s the matter?” She grabbed onto her spear that was resting on her lap and held onto it tightly.

“Do you think his majesty is still mad at me?” I took me a moment to figure out who she meant by that, then I realisation.

“Yeah, Carnage. I’m talking about his sharp teeth.” She nodded. “Look, don’t worry about it. We all took a shot at the guy. And the one who actually took him out is still alive. Hell, I think he has a thing for her.”

“You are most likely right, although I can’t believe I’m saying that.” I couldn’t help but smirk, but she wouldn’t be able to see it. “But my loyalties to Princess Luna have left me in a compromising position.”

“That is her son. Who she believes is dead. Normally I would tell her at once but before we left, the Illusive pony told me that the prince does not want her to know.” When she said Prince, I assumed she was still talking about Carnage.

“But that’s where the issue lies. I am deceiving the one I swore to protect with my life. I swore to protect this country with my life. It is difficult for me to justify to myself that I am doing the right thing.”

“Look, you’re not lying to her, you're just not telling her something. Aren’t you supposed to take orders from all royalty?”

“Not exactly, all the guards have been told that we no longer take orders from Blueblood. You only have to look at a weekly newspaper to see why that is.” She made a good point and I had to chuckle because of how much sense that made. “Plus, my main loyalty is to Princess Luna, she can override anypony else’s commands that we’re given to me.”

“Well if she never knows, then she can never override the command. And since the command is to not tell her something, you’re in the clear.” I could see her face scrunch up in thought at what I said. To my surprise she actually calmed down. I was more surprised though that I was able to resist checking out her flank for a whole five minutes. That might have been a new record for me. Gotta say though, she was strangely hot, in a ‘I will kill you’ way. She let go of her spear and gave me a surprisingly soft look.

“Thank you Fade, I suppose you are…” Something tingled in my spine. I was about to get what I wanted.

“Hold on a moment sweet cheeks, I think we’re about to find what we’re looking for.” I pointed towards the road and simply leaned back and waited. Shadow looked at me with a puzzled expression and after a moment of nothing but ponies walking about, she snapped at me.

“What the heck was that about? There was…” Before she could finish a large red carriage pulled by four smallish stallions began to pass us. I was thankful that it was impossible to see my smug grin as I probably would’ve received a whack around the head. All the royal carriages that transported supplies were red but there was something off about this carriage, and before I could point it out, Shadow beat me to the punch.

“Hold on, does the royal insignia on the carriage look funny to you?” Indeed it did. Despite it being the correct colour, black. The actual symbol was on the smaller side. In fact, as it passed us a little further, we looked at the back and there was no registration plate on it. All royal carriages had registration plates so ponies could find specific items more easily, and this one was conveniently missing one.

“I believe we’ve found our suspicious carriage.” I signalled to her to fly us up to the rooftop. I hated flying, as an Earth pony I like to keep my hoofs firmly on the ground. Once she flew me up, we ran to Guardian who was patiently waiting in the centre of the rooftop. “Yo, Guardian, we need you to follow that carriage.”

“If I do as you ask, I will surely reveal myself to the ponies below and that is not an option. The gaps between the buildings require me to be slow and careful so I am not seen. They are not the same as moving through the trees.”

“Fine,” I said, “I’ve got another idea, let’s call the others.” I put my hoof up to the earpiece and pressed the call button. “Everypony, I’ve found something. It’s our suspicious carriage…”

“… Again, look out for a large red carriage. The royal insignia is smaller than usual and it’s missing a registration plate.” The call ended and I switched my focus to looking for a carriage that matched the description given to me. As soon as the call began, I told the mare carrying me to place me on top of the roof of the building we were heading over. It was extremely tall and a good spot to look over the city through a sniper scope. First, I looked over to where Fade, Shadow and Guardian were meant to be. When I spotted them, I moved along the road and soon enough, I found the carriage. It was now a waiting game. Follow the carriage until it stopped, and that’s where our enemy resides.

Spitfire was fidgeting behind me. She had control, but no patience. Working with a partner of any kind was alien to me. Even when I thought I had found my home, I still worked alone. It was easier, as my work only required one pony. As a courier, that same rule applies. The packages I would deliver were special, and a lot of the time, illegal. It did not matter to me, but only recently I came across a package that stirred me; reminded me of what I should be doing. She is the last one, and I will find her. The courier that changed my life.

“Hey, are you sure you have the right carriage?” My train of thought and concentration was interrupted by the voice of my, ‘partner’. I quickly found the carriage again which I lost for only a split second as it continued towards the edge of Canterlot.

“S-sorry,” I heard her splutter. She was likely not used to receiving such a cold response from a pony. That must be from her celebrity side, though I wouldn’t know much about that. As I continued to follow the carriage, I noticed something odd. The ponies pulling the carriage were all on the smallish side. Normally you would have to be a larger pony to pull a carriage of that size. In fact, with the right sized ponies, you would only need two. Strange that they would hire individuals not built for the task and cost themselves more money. Again, my train of thought was interrupted. This time it was a feeling, a feeling of eyes on me. Specifically on my back, and I knew who was staring at me.

“You may ask me if you wish.” She let out a gasp, I couldn’t see her face but I imagined it was one of surprise.

“You’ve been staring at my dead-wing. I know you want to ask how it got like that,” I replied bluntly.

“Yes, it was burnt. But not by fire, it was something I did not think could exist on this earth.”

“It was from a weapon. A weapon most do not know exists. I doubt the monarchy is even aware of its existence. It makes no difference to me, though. I have always preferred to walk the path of life rather than fly over it.” I kept focused on the target. It was easier now since the taller buildings were no longer in the way due to the carriage heading to the edge of the city.

“I’ve never used a gun before,” she said suddenly. I believe she was trying to make idle conversation. Normally I would have ignored her, but something piqued my interest.

“I have, we fought with the Griffons recently in their short war with the Diamond Dogs, but I never needed a gun. Griffons never use them and I barely saw any action. It was all over after a month of our arrival.”

“I see. The Griffons have always had a taste for combat, and I believe the war you're referring to was one of the few wars they didn’t start. Their thirst for combat quickly disappears though when they begin to lose.”

“You’ve got that right. Shoddy training as well. They only showed their recruits a few basic fighting moves and that was it. Didn’t show them how to protect themselves while falling, no CQC, no endurance training. It’s like they only wanted their cadets to be cannon fodder.”

“Yep. I train them all in the stuff I mentioned and more. As well as the captain, I’m the head trainer as well. I’ve got a shortlist of who I want next year and I know a certain element of Loyalty who’s on the top of my list. Good kid. She’ll make it even bigger than she has now.”

“Are you referring to the one who can perform a sonic rainboom? I would have thought she would have joined your ranks by now. It is no secret among the press that she eyes a place amongst your group.”

“We would have, but Princess Celestia didn’t like the idea of one of the elements getting caught up in a military group. Mainly the risk of her getting killed or us taking advantage of her. We only recently convinced her to let it go, so now she’ll definitely be joining up. Not gonna go easy on her though.”

“And you shouldn’t. If you want the best of somepony, you must push them to their full potential.”

“I wouldn’t have taken you for a pony that follows the news, especially celebrity gossip.”

“I have researched your backgrounds. Yours was very easy to find out. The other stories were just related.” I realised that I had let slip more than I wanted. Even hinting at my history could be dangerous, so I quickly ended the conversation. “I need to focus. The carriage appears to be heading to its final destination.”

“The edge of the city.” The more I continued to follow the carriage, the more certain I was that this was too shady for it to be a normal delivery. It appeared that Fade had some use after all. After a moment, the carriage pulled into what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse complex. Nopony was around the area; in fact, the entire block appeared to be deserted. “The edges of Canterlot do not match the cities beauty. They’ve pulled up into an abandoned warehouse complex on the edge of the city.”

“Alright, I’ll call…” Suddenly I spotted something happening to the four ponies pulling the carriages. Their bodies were engulfed in green fire as a creature made his way out of one the warehouses to greet them.

“… Spitfire... I know what we are up against...” Their black bodies were now revealed as they pulled the carriage into the warehouse. “Changelings... they are Changelings.”

The League of Extraordinary Ponies

by Infinite Carnage

Chapter 3: Know Your Enemy