//------------------------------//
// Loyalty Mission 2: Neon Element Pt. 4 
// Story: Sparkle's No. 1 Assistant 
// by Wanderer D 
//------------------------------//


Sparkle's No. 1 Assistant


Loyalty Mission 2: Neon Element


Pt. 4



By Wanderer D






The night was ablaze with lights and fireworks. The Canterlot Arena was by no means a small venue, and that night it was packed. Ten of the most known DJs would be blasting the crowds with music and flair, making them stomp their hooves and shake their bodies to the rhythm they created with magic, LPs and sheer skill.

And if Twilight and her friends failed, a sour group of ponies would be blasting the crowds with far more explosive material.

So there was no pressure.





"Okay everypony," Twilight called. "Pay attention. We're ready to head into a potentially deadly situation. Vinyl Scratch is already inside, getting ready, so presumably she's drawing the attention of our enemies." She levitated several pictures and held them, floating, in front of her team. "These are Riff, Vocal Scale, Deep Bass and Brass Valve. These are our enemies. Non-deadly combat is expected, so always remember that the princess frowns on deadly force. However, crippling injuries can sometimes be healed."

Rarity raised her hoof.

"Yes, Rarity?"

"Are you suggesting we cripple our enemies?"

"I'm saying crippling injuries can sometimes be healed. Death can't."

Rarity lowered her hoof.

"Now, the teams." Twilight pointed at Rarity and Octavia. "Team one, you will incapacitate or cripple Deep Bass and Brass Valve, who are in charge of flooding the arena."

The pair nodded, readying their weapons.

"Team two will be Wrex and I. We'll take care of the explosives, so that means we'll be up against Riff and Vocal Scale."

Octavia raised her hoof.

"Yes, Tavi?"

"Are you sure you and Wrex should be handling the explosives?"

Twilight nodded. "We have the most experience with them."

"But I thought the objective was for them to not blow the arena up into pieces?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "We know how to avoid that. Have some faith."

"And keep your radios on, in case faith is not enough," Wrex added.

Octavia lowered her hoof.





"Ugh, this place is filthy!" Rarity whined, lifting up an armored hoof to show some slime sliding down and splatting on the floor to Octavia. 

"Well, if you had designed your own armor, it would be getting dirty too," Octavia pointed out.

Rarity's face scrunched up and she shuddered. "Maybe I spoke too soon. Maybe I should keep this lovely, efficient, non-designer armor for now, until I understand the materials better."

Octavia smirked. "Maybe you should."





Deep Bass and Brass Valve stared at the mass of metal pipes, valves and levers in front of them with something akin to awe.

"I never knew..." Brass Valve sniffed. "That there were so many pipes in one single place. Their metal frames perfectly capable of containing sweet, sweet sounds, but used instead to move water." She shook her head and brushed away a tear. "This is a travesty. We need to liberate the water, flood the arena and finally get rid of that... that mare!"

"Hush, dear," Deep Bass urged, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "The Betrayer will be punished for her deed, and her existence erased from concerts forevermore." He valiantly turned around a large wheel, watching in satisfaction as one of the gauges started turning towards red.

"Oh, Deep!" She swayed, leaning on to him. "My deep, Deep Bass, how could I ever blow a pipe again without you?" She nuzzled him. "Or any other musical instrument?"

"Ahem."

The pair immediately separated and turned to stare at the two mares in strange armor that had shown up at the entrance to the water main.

"W-who are you?" Deep Brass stammered. "You are not authorized to be here! This is a restricted area!"

"That's true, darling," Rarity agreed, levitating several knives. "And it is you who is trespassing."

"Quick!" Deep Bass shouted, "Turn all the other levers!"

Brass Valve shot off in the direction of the several wheels and levers, but just as she was about to get to one, a knife embedded through it and stuck to the wall. "Eep!"

Deep Brass had attempted to roll another of the wheels, but a loud CRACK! echoed in the room, and the metal part was suddenly missing a whole section. Slowly, and still holding in his hoof the other side, he turned around, looking at Octavia's Widow with wide eyes.

Another CRACK resounded in the room and he flinched, then forced to turn when he heard the sound of a wheel turning. The one that he had closed earlier had rolled the opposite direction behind him.

Slowly, and keeping his eyes on Octavia, he raised his hooves, balancing precariously on his hind legs.

"You will never stop us!" He shouted, some of his courage returning. "We will rid Equestria of Vinyl Scr—"

Whatever he was going to say was violently interrupted when the wheel behind him shot out and smacked him in the back.

Octavia raised an eyebrow at Rarity, who shrugged while holding a knife to Valve's neck. "He'll live."





"Wrex."

"Sparkle."

"I think we found them."

"Ehehehe..."

"Let's party!"





"Ladies and Gentlecolts! Viiiiinyyyyl Scratch!"

The crowd roared as Vinyl jumped on stage, getting behind her turntable and beginning her show with booming soundwaves from her speakers. "Get your hooves up, CANTERLOT!" she shouted onto the mic, her voice echoing over the raving ponies as her music pumped so hard that most ponies in the crowd felt like they had just discovered brand new heartbeats inside themselves.

The giant screen behind her was alight with swirling colors, replaced from time to time with full-screen image of herself headbanging to her music. It was during one of those that the part of the screen showing her sunglasses exploded out and two shapes came crashing onto the stage.

Eyes widening behind her sunglasses, Vinyl quickly took stock of the situation and the shocked looks of the ponies as the music paused. No. This would not do.

Her magic flared as the two unicorns, Twilight Sparkle and Vocal Scale stood up slowly. The lights went off. A beat started shaking the air and suddenly the lights flared as the music exploded just at the same instant Twilight and Vocal jumped at each other.

The crowd roared their approval as the lights flashed on and off, making it seem like both unicorns were moving in slow motion as they fought each other. The crowd was loving it, a complete rave-y feeling was building up as the ponies off-stage started jumping up and down with the beat, hooves in the air and whooping and cheering as the two 'dancers' on stage dodged and twirled, using magic to toss elemental spells at each other.

And then, when she stopped and the lights went off again, Vocal Scale threw a gigantic fireball spiraling down the stage towards Twilight Sparkle. Since everything else was pitch-black it looked even more imposing, but, where Twilight stood, an ethereal orange glow surrounded her hoof snapping into some sort of pointy blade of energy, and the crowd gasped and laughed in awe when instead of blocking the fireball with a shield, or dodging, Twilight went through it cutting it in half with her strange magical blade and using the momentum to smash her other, armored hoof, onto Vocal's face.

The male unicorn was sent flying back and landed like a sack of potatoes on the stage, sliding back a little, coming to a stop in time to have another pony land on top of him.

Vinyl looked up to see the grinning Wrex jump down and land heavily next to Twilight, giving Celestia's student a hoofbump.

The crowd was still roaring while they picked up their opponents, bowed and left the stage.





"And we would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for your meddling psychopath friend and her... her.... dinosaur!" Riff shouted as the police officer threw him into the wagon with the other band members.

"Take him away officer, and once they're locked up, send me the key. I'll make sure it's never found." Twilight said.

The police pony gave her a look and shook his head before signalling the others to pull out.

"Twilight!" Rarity and Octavia rushed up to her. "Are you alright, darling?" Rarity asked, grimacing at the singed mane. "I heard you forced your way through a fireball! Did you get hurt?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Twilight shrugged. "I could have taken him quicker, but then Vinyl wouldn't have had some awesome material happening on stage, live."

Vinyl rubbed her temple. "Next time, can I have some forewarning? I had to change my whole act so that ponies didn't panic!"

Twilight smirked. "I'll try."

"That wasn't too bad, Twilight," Wrex acknowledged. "With that much destruction to property, even Shepard would be proud, but he would also do one more thing." He nodded to the ponies in suit walking angrily towards them.

Twilight blinked. Then blinked again as she caught on. "Oh!"

"Who is responsible for all of this!?" The taller of the suited ponies asked angrily. "We never agreed to have our screen destroyed for a concert! I'm going to sue--"

"It was destroyed to apprehend dangerous criminals which were going to destroy your building and then flood it, potentially murdering several hundred ponies in the process," Twilight interrupted. "In fact, thanks to our interruption, you still have an arena at all."

The pony sputtered for a moment. "And who the hell are you ponies?!"

Twilight smiled. "I'm Commander Sparkle, and this is my team." She leaned forward, glaring at him straight in the eyes. "And we don't appreciate lack of gratitude."

The pony cringed and stepped back, looking away nervously and rubbing his foreleg through the suit. "But... who's going to pay for the damage? That screen is not cheap!"

"It's cheaper than the lives we saved," Twilight snapped. "If you still have a problem, bring it up with the crown."

"Couldn't the Royal Guard have taken care of this?" The pony tried one last feeble attempt at complaining.

Wrex started laughing.







Dear Princess Celestia,

As you are aware, we of the Royal Guard have a long, proud tradition of protecting our beloved Equestria from the until now admittedly few threats it has faced. We go through drills and constant training to hone our skills and be able to stand proud at your side as an example of unity, harmony and reliability.

Your Majesty, I implore you to please have a talk with my sister and Wrex about laughing like drunk hyenas whenever someone questions whether the Royal Guard could have done a better job than her crew of mercenaries. Especially on National Television. It's disrespectful and made at least one rookie (a young lad named Flash Sentry) break down crying in shame. 

It might be true that we have not faced any serious threat in the last nine hundred years and that our armor is made of tin, spray-painted to look like gold, and that two of our best were smacked around by Nightmare Moon like they weren't even there, but we are ponies that are proud to be of service to Crown and Country, and I'm sure I'll even learn to use shields to do other things besides shielding.

So, again, I implore you, please ask Wrex and Twily to not embarrass us constantly.

Your Captain of the Guard,
Shining Armor



Celestia put the letter that had suddenly appeared next to her down next to her bed. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Wrex. You can stop laughing now."