//------------------------------// // Mare Do Well Rises // Story: The Wandering Physicist Adventures // by WanderingPhysicist //------------------------------// Main Characters: Octavia, Lyra, Silver Fox, Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, TWP Cameos: Sugar Cloud, Rei, Inkie, Vinyl Scratch, Archibald Skybound, Lucas, Kaeko, Mr and Mrs Sparkle, Stormy, Celestia, The Doctor (10), Derpy, CMC, Trixie, Nurse Redheart Original Write Date: 04/16/2012     Twilight takes a sip of her coffee while she checks the morning news on her laptop. Spike yawns and comes downstairs as Owlowiscious flies up to go to sleep for the day. The young dragon picks up a newspaper and starts reading.     ‘Print media is dead,’ Twilight says as she clicks a link.     Spike folds his paper down. ‘Says the pony who lives in a library.’     ‘Well, obviously not books. Books are eternal. In fact, on my last date with James, he took me to The Library. It is a library so big it doesn’t have a name. Just a big “The”!’ Twilight sighs contently. ‘He is the greatest pony to have ever...’     ‘Twilight! Look at this!’     Spike shoves the newspaper into Twilight’s face. Twilight growls and levitates the paper so she can read it. Her eyes go wide. She sets the paper down and starts using her magic to type.     ‘Spike, get the rest of the group. I think somepony is sending us a message.’     All of Twilight’s friends have gathered in the library to go over what Twilight has found. Twilight has a map of Canterlot on the table with seventeen pins in it. The friends are giving both the map and pony confused looks.     ‘See. Do you get it?’ Twilight asks.     ‘You’ve been hitting the cider, haven’t you?’ Rainbow Dash replies.     ‘Come on! It is so obvious,’ Twilight protests.     The others stare at Twilight. Rarity catches something. She looks from Twilight to the map and back up.     Rarity levitates a marker. ‘You could have done this for the benefit of others who are not as detailed oriented as I am.’     Rarity draws in a six-pointed star on the map and another under it. All of the others look at the star and up at Twilight’s cutie mark.     ‘OH!’ They all say.     ‘Now do you see why we have to get to Canterlot as soon as possible?’ Twilight asks.     ‘Not really.’ Applejack shrugs.     Twilight groans. She levitates over her laptop and shows them the screen. Centered on it is a picture of a poster of Mare Do Well from the time when they had to teach Rainbow Dash a lesson about humility. With the poster are several confused-looking ponies. Rainbow Dash crosses her forelegs and turns away.     ‘You have to rub that in my face, don’t you?’     ‘No, Rainbow, not that,’ Twilight growls. ‘Don’t any of you read the news in the morning?’     The others look away from Twilight.     ‘I, uh, read the article on the Mare Do Well posters,’ Fluttershy speaks up.     ‘Finally!’     ‘But I didn’t really understand what it means.’     Twilight groans and drops her head. ‘It means that somepony is sending us a message! It means somepony needs Mare Do Well’s help!’     ‘Looks like they are asking just for you, princess,’ Rainbow Dash shoots.     ‘Using my cutie mark was a surefire way to get my attention. It was how the pony in question knew we’d listen. It is also a clue as to where to meet them.’ Twilight connects the points of the stars before anypony can say something. All of the lines cross at one point. ‘By using these Mare Do Well posters and my cutie mark, the pony is saying she knows we played her and needs all of our help. We have to go.’     ‘Ah guess it wouldn’ hurt t’ check it out.’     ‘I’m in for an adventure!’ Pinkie cheers.     ‘Wait. Does that mean I get my own costume too now?’ Rainbow Dash asks.     ‘I’ll sew it on the train ride, deary,’ Rarity sighs.     ‘Yes! All right! I’m a real superhero now!’ Rainbow Dash starts dancing. ‘Better clear a shelf now, Twilight. Daring Do is about to get some company.’     All the others groan at Rainbow Dash’s reaction.     Four of the six mares watch a large warehouse from a safe vantage point. They are all in their Mare Do Well costumes, even Rarity, but their heads are exposed. Twilight watches the building through binoculars. Pinkie has her hooves up like she is holding binoculars.     ‘Doesn’t look like anypony is in there...’ Twilight notes.     ‘I agree,’ Pinkie says.     Twilight growls. ‘Looks like there is only one entrance.’     ‘Just the one.’     Twilight grits her teeth. ‘Rainbow and Fluttershy can probably sneak in through the skylight on top.’     ‘It is that big sky-ie, lighty thing on top.’     Twilight snaps her binoculars in half with her magic. ‘Pinkie! Stop copying me!’     ‘But you were saying everything I was about to say but in a smarter way.’     Twilight controls her anger and does not push her friend from their vantage point. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy fly up. They are costumed as well.     ‘Looks clear,’ Rainbow Dash reports. ‘If this is the place, there ain’t anypony here.’     ‘Either that or they are being very quiet,’ Fluttershy notes.     Rainbow Dash groans. ‘Nopony can be that quiet.’     Fluttershy whimpers and stares down. She kicks at the ground a little. Rainbow Dash sighs.     ‘Except you. You’re the world champ.’     Fluttershy replies with a happy squeak. Twilight lifts her mask and places her hat on her head.     ‘Okay, girls. Let’s go see what this is about,’ Twilight says. ‘Enter one at a time and spread out. Rainbow, Fluttershy, you enter from the roof.’     ‘Through that big sky-ie, lighty thing on top.’ Pinkie adds.     Twilight huffs and flies down from the perch. ‘Let’s just do this.’     The others climb down from the perch. They slip to the entrance swiftly. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy fly to the roof. Twilight does a three count in her head and ducks inside the building. The others follow after short counts of their own. Rarity is the last through the door. She enters the darkened warehouse and quickly scans the room. Rarity spins around at the sound of the door locking. Before she can react, a tub of jelly falls on her, soaking her through the costume.     ‘Dear Celestia, I never thought this would happen again.’     Rarity tries to move, but she is stuck.     ‘Oh no.’     A sharp blow to the back of the head knocks Rarity unconscious. The attacker unmasks her before she falls, mane first, into the jelly.     ‘Rarity!’ Twilight calls.     Twilight moves to help her friend, but all of the lights in the warehouse are activated. Everypony is temporarily blinded as their eyes adjust. A shape swoops from the ceiling and knocks Applejack back.     ‘They have airpower!’ Applejack shouts.     ‘Well, so do we!’ Rainbow Dash calls as she dives into the room.     Rainbow Dash looks around and quickly finds a pegasus dressed in a grey stealth suit. The other pegasus’ head is covered. Rainbow flies at the mysterious pegasus. The two pegasi fly around the room. Rainbow Dash catches up to her target, but the prey flips upside down and kicks Rainbow Dash in the face, knocking her hat to the ground.     ‘Little help here!’ Rainbow Dash yells.     ‘Oh!’     Fluttershy flies into action and gains on the unknown pegasus.     ‘Twitchy tail!’ Pinkie shouts as she runs into the middle of the room.     A loud dragon’s roar comes over the warehouse’s speakers. Fluttershy tenses up and drops from the sky. She lands right on Pinkie’s back to soften the harsh landing. A rope flies out of nowhere and binds Fluttershy’s legs and wings while she is still scared. A pony runs out on its hind legs and covers Pinkie with the adhesive jelly before she can pick herself up. The new combatant is wearing a white, hooded robe. The grey muzzle of the new pony sticks out from the hood. It looks at Twilight and Applejack, smiles, and motions for them to attack.     Applejack charges forward. A meter from the hooded pony she plants her forelegs and spins. She tries to buck her challenger, but she gets flipped over when the other pony dodges and pushes Applejack’s legs upward. Twilight catches her friend’s fall and helps Applejack right herself.     ‘I got your back,’ Twilight calls. ‘Take him down!’     Applejack smirks and goes on the offensive. Every kick she attempts gets dodged or knocked away with ease. Applejack is able to force her opponent backwards and pins the pony against the wall. She takes a moment to line up a knockout blow to the chest and bucks as hard as she can. The hooded pony spins around the attack and chops Applejack in the back of the head. The earth pony drops to the ground like a sack of flour.     ‘Applejack!’ Twilight calls.     The hooded pony starts walking towards Twilight. She plants her hooves and readies a spell. Her opponent shakes its head and reaches under its robe. Twilight shoots a light magical bolt at the standing pony, but her target spins out of the way and appears to throw something at her. Twilight closes her eyes and braces for a hit. All she feels is something metallic ring the tip of her horn then slide down its length. She shrugs off the feeling and tries casting a spell. Nothing happens. The alicorn tries harder, but she does not even get the slightest sparks of magic.     ‘My magic!’     Another rope shoots from nowhere and ties Twilight’s legs. The hidden unicorn uses its magic to flip Twilight on her back, trapping her wings. The hooded pony stands in the middle of the room and adjusts its robe. Applejack picks herself up. She sees the perfect target. She gallops at the distracted pony and dives in a tackle. Rainbow Dash drops from the air and knocks Applejack unconscious. Lyra steps out of the shadows and uses her magic to tie up Applejack and Rainbow Dash.     ‘That was easier than I thought,’ Lyra comments.     Silver Fox lands and pulls off her mask. ‘Really?! You weren’t the one that had to race Rainbow Dash! She’s basically a Wonderbolt!’     ‘You won, didn’t you?’     Octavia holds a hoof up. ‘Wait. Where did that crate come from?’     The three ponies turn to see a mysterious crate sitting in the center of the room.     Silver scratches her head. ‘Now where did that...’     The pegasus freezes mid-sentence. Lyra goes over and waves a hoof in front of Silver’s face. Her eyes go wide.     ‘We have another unicorn!’     ‘On it.’     Octavia runs at the crate and flips over it. There is a filly-ish scream from the other side then silence. Octavia drags Lucas around the crate and drops him next to Applejack.     ‘Good distraction,’ Octavia compliments.     ‘Arigato gozaimasu,’ Kaeko replies as she stands over an unconscious Lyra. Her nodachi is drawn in her mouth.     Octavia draws a broad sword. ‘Again?’     The two combatants circle each other. Kaeko makes the first swing and knocks Octavia back a step. Octavia hits the longer blade to ground to knock Kaeko off balance.     ‘You still fight without honor,’ Kaeko growls.     ‘I fight to win, and I do.’     Kaeko makes a series broad slashes, adjusting the grip in her mouth as she goes, to drive Octavia back. Octavia slides under the last attack and kicks Kaeko in the knee. The pegasus slices at the earth pony with a blade mounted under her wing. Octavia rolls away. She swings her sword as she stands on her hind legs to deflect a volley of shuriken.     ‘Going to play like that, eh?’     ‘Play to win, right?’     ‘Right.’     Octavia lifts her left foreleg up. Kaeko falls to the ground. A thin wire connects the appendages. A precision shuriken slices the wire and embeds itself in Octavia’s leg guard. Octavia pulls her right foreleg back. Kaeko screams as she is flipped onto her wing. She flaps her free wing and launches more shuriken. Octavia backflips to dodge the attack. Kaeko lifts herself to her hooves and picks up her sword. The two combatants stare at each other. Octavia smirks and sheathes her sword.     ‘Getting sleepy?’     Kaeko tilts her head to the side. She blinks and feels her eyelids get heavy. She looks at the wires around her legs. A strange liquid drops from them.     ‘You bitch.’     ‘I always win.’     Kaeko falls to the ground. Octavia laughs and walks through the battlefield. Everypony is standing or laying where they were eliminated. Octavia nods to herself.     ‘That was fun.’     She walks over and taps Lucas with her hoof. Something strikes her.     ‘Wait. If he is here, then...’     Twilight cackles. ‘That’s right.’     Octavia looks around for her target. Four translucent, red walls spring into existence around her. She touches one and receives a shock.     ‘Don’t worry, Octy. Cold plasma forcefield. Non-lethal, but highly effective at keeping things in that need to be kept in.’     Octavia drops her hood and looks around. James calmly walks out from the crate. He checks his mobile.     ‘Three minutes, forty-two seconds. Getting sloppy, Sparkle.’     ‘Just shut up and untie me.’     ‘I will, but first.’ He goes over to Octavia. ‘We have to agree to talk like adults and not behave like little fillies.’     There is a sharp ripping sound. James looks down to see one of Octavia’s hidden blades caught in the force field. He shakes his head. She frowns and looks away. She plops to the ground with her hoof still raised with the trapped hidden blade.     James smiles. ‘Good. Now sit tight. I’ll get to you in a moment. Lucas! Get the solvents from the TARDIS, will you?’ He pauses. ‘Right. Unconscious. Sparkle be a dear and...’     Twilight glares from where she is tied up. James just closes his mouth and works on untying his fillyfriend.     Everypony has been freed or recovered from being knocked out. The ponies playing Mare Do Well have their masks off. The Trio ad Libitum apologize profusely for the conflict. Rarity still has some jelly in her mane.     ‘Sorry about that,’ Lyra apologizes. ‘Do you need any help cleaning up?’     Rarity sighs. ‘No, no. I have plenty of experience getting nasty goos out of my mane.’     Rainbow Dash falls over laughing. Applejack barely contains a snicker of her own. Rarity growls at her friends. Octavia clears her throat as she moves to the front of the gathered ponies.     ‘Again, I apologize for the trick and the attack. We wanted to test you to see if you could handle what we are about to ask of you.’ She glares at James. ‘I just didn’t know you were going to cheat.’     Twilight gasps. ‘I would never cheat on a test.’     Rainbow Dash stops laughing. ‘Yeah. We totally cheated. Showed you!’     Octavia snorts. ‘Anyway. We called you out here because there is a major threat to Canterlot and Equestria as a whole.’     ‘Shoot. We handled Chrysalis. Whatcha got?’ Applejack asks.     ‘There is a plot in the works to destroy the city and kill the princesses.’     Twilight and her friends gasp. Twilight is surprised when James, Lucas, and Kaeko show no major reaction.     James raises a hoof. ‘Help us out here. Destroy the city by invasion? By zombie plague? By fire-breathing, robotic spiders?’     ‘The spider one,’ Lyra replies.     Octavia hits her friend in the back of the head. ‘Actually, it will be with a series of magically-enhanced bombs placed around the city.’     ‘Okay. Back up,’ Twilight says. ‘Nopony would ever try to harm another pony intentionally.’     ‘Inkie!’ Pinkie coughs.     Twilight growls. ‘Okay, nopony would ever intentionally try to overthrow Celestia.’     ‘Hey, do you think I have time to visit Luna while we’re here?’ James asks.     Twilight stomps the ground. ‘Okay! Nopony would ever do what Octavia is saying!’     Lyra sighs. ‘We saw the bombs ourselves. We know exactly where one is planted. We have schematics and locations for all of the remaining eight bombs.’     Fluttershy faints at the mention of how many bombs are hidden.     ‘Now hold on a minute,’ Applejack says. ‘Shouldn’ y’all have gone t’ the authorities or the princesses with this infermaton? Why come t’ us?’     ‘Normally, we would go to the authorities,’ Silver replies, ‘but with an attack like this, they would only muck things up and potentially get everypony killed. This needs to be done covertly.’     ‘That is why we needed you,’ Octavia adds. ‘With us and Mare Do Well, we have as many ponies as we need to disarm all of the bombs and turn them over to the authorities before anypony can be hurt.’ She glances to James. ‘Your backup might come in handy as well.’     ‘And if you need more, we have backup too.’ James grins.     Octavia’s eye twitches. ‘You have backup too?’     ‘Yeah! The Doctor, Derpy and Trixie are standing by. Behind them, RSI is ready. If all else fails, we can call on the Cutie Mark Crusaders.’     ‘What?!’ Applejack and Rarity shriek.     James looks over at the mares. ‘I highly doubt it will come to that.’     ‘See that it doesn’t or I am holding you personally responsible,’ Rarity states.     Octavia clears her throat again. ‘If you don’t mind, I would highly enjoy getting this mission over with. I would hate to have my hometown turned into a smoking crater because of some petty bickering.’     ‘Yes. I would like to see what evidence you have to back up your claims as well.’ Twilight adds.     Octavia sighs and starts getting out all of the group’s findings. …     Twilight has all of the evidence laid out in front of her. She reads a paper levitated in front of her. Lyra comes over to answer a question. Everypony else mills about the warehouse while Twilight takes her time being convinced. James has the TARDIS open for everypony to get refreshments and relax. Octavia stands against a wall and watches Twilight. Kaeko trots past. The two mares exchange glares. Lucas notices and trots over to Octavia.     ‘What was that?’ Lucas asks.     ‘What was what?’     ‘You and Kaeko. I have never seen her act cold to anypony. It just seems so unnatural. So...’     ‘So me?’     ‘I plead the fifth.’     Octavia scowls. ‘We were in training together. The best of rivals. Somepony just doesn’t want to accept when she gets beaten.’     ‘Like you with boss.’     Octavie growls. ‘That doesn’t count.’     ‘You have a rival with the same talents as you do, but you can’t look past it and pretend to get along in public?’     ‘She shaved me bald once.’ Octavia’s scowl intensifies. ‘Nopony messes with my mane.’     ‘Oh, geez.’     ‘I glued her feathers together in retaliation. It was either pluck or intense pain pulling them apart.’ Octavia gets the creepiest grin. ‘The screaming was beautiful.’     ‘My throat was dry for a week because of the screaming.’     Lucas tenses up when he finally senses Kaeko behind him. The pegasus steps past the scared unicorn.     ‘None of that would have happened if you just returned my doll,’ Kaeko snarls.     ‘She was mine, and you know it. My mom got her for me the day I left for training.’     ‘You stole her from my bag while I was called away from the bunk.’     ‘I did not! And who cried all night because she wanted the top bunk?’     ‘You did! Just because you were a spoiled filly doesn’t mean you get everything given to you now.’     ‘Hmpf! So you finally admit that I earned top marks.’     ‘You earned nothing. You poisoned my food the night before.’     ‘Just because you had really bad gas...’     ‘Uh... Maybe you two have deeper issues than...’ Lucas starts saying.     Both mares turn and glares at the stallion. Lucas can literally see how they are going to kill him in their eyes. Kaeko turns away, slapping Octavia in the face with her tail.     ‘Shrimp.’     ‘Hag.’ Octavia calls back.     ‘If it means anything, I am really sorry I asked,’ Lucas says, hoping to repair some damage and add a few minutes to his life.     ‘Whatever.’     Lucas breathes a sigh of relief. He turns and makes a quick retreat.     ‘Hey!’ Octavia calls.     Lucas looks back.     ‘What does he see in her?’ Octavia asks, nodding toward Twilight.     Lucas looks over at Twilight. James is standing behind the unicorn. He makes a joke at her expense, and Twilight literally snaps at him and tries biting his nose. James and Lyra laugh at Twilight’s reaction.     ‘I mean, I am about the same size, shape, and age.’ Octavia says as she kicks at the ground. ‘I am smart. I am sophisticated. I speak five languages. I’m athletic, generous, a good cook... cute smile...’     Lucas shakes his head. ‘They are alike. They have a lot of similar interests. The doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you too, but I really have to say that sometimes they are practically the same pony.’     ‘Right...’     ‘If you want him to notice, do something that makes you stand out and shows you have a special connection. That’s what everypony else he likes has done.’     ‘Hmm... Thank you.’     ‘No problem.’     Lucas starts trotting away.     ‘You know if you tell anypony about either conversation...’     ‘I know. I know.’ Lucas groans. ‘Why do you think I learned Reraise?’ …     Rarity comes out of the TARDIS with her mane wrapped in a towel. She frowns when she sees everypony still going over the plans.     ‘Still obsessed with that, I see.’     Twilight growls. ‘Rarity. This is important. If there is a threat to the princesses, we have to know all about it.’     ‘I just say we throw on our costumes and go. Nothing says “surprise” like a legion of superheroes busting down all of the doors.’     ‘I am still not convinced a threat exists.’     ‘Darling, no matter how many times you go over the same documents they won’t tell you anything different.’ Rarity taps her chin. ‘Isn’t that a sign of insanity?’     Twilight growls. Lyra shakes her head and points out more details to Twilight. Rarity sighs and rolls her eyes.     ‘I hear that,’ Silver says. ‘Lyra said did the same thing when I criticized her plans to “Monitor! Everything!” or some such nonsense.’     ‘My word!’ Rarity gasps. ‘Why would anypony want to do that?’     ‘Exactly.’     Rarity takes the pegasus in. ‘Miss Silver, was it? I must say that I really love your outfit.’     Silver shows off her suit. ‘Thank you. Custom-made for maximum stealth with the added feature of flight.’     ‘It appears you quite enjoy it as well.’     Silver winces. ‘I have to keep my wings ready at all times due to the suit’s design. What about your costumes?’     Rarity tugs on her costume. ‘This? I am quite fond of it myself. One of my more stylistic designs on top of being quite light and functional. Twilight enchanted them with a perception filter spell to help us avoid detection.’     ‘Hmm... That might prove useful...’ …     ‘As much as I am still mad at you for following me, I am quite impressed with your thoroughness and attention to detail,’ Twilight compliments as she goes through more files.     ‘I like your obvious passwords,’ Lyra smiles.     ‘What?’     ‘Nothing.’ Lyra grins. ‘Are you convinced yet?’     ‘One thing bothers me.’ Twilight levitates a paper. ‘You have several needless steps in your instructions for magic-less bomb disposal. Here.’     Twilight gets out a pen and crosses out the steps.     Lyra examines the changes. ‘How the hell..?’     ‘Also, this whole section detailing Skybound’s daily schedule seems highly unnecessary. You could have just gone with the times of his meetings and his route to and from work. We really don’t need to know his washroom schedule.’     ‘Well, I just wanted to...’     ‘Worst of all, that whole section on the parasprite destruction of the town is utter nonsense.’     ‘I know right!’ Lyra says. ‘Who would ever believe that?’     ‘Actually... That is true...’ Twilight grimaces.     ‘Yeah!’ Pinkie cheers. ‘She was all “Magic Missile”, and the parasprites were all “lol nope” so I was all “Irresistible Dance”! Natural twenty! Yay!’     Pinkie starts marching around the room singing her Parasprite luring song. Twilight double facehoofs. Lyra stares at Pinkie as she marches around the room.     ‘I can’t believe she is the one who saved the town.’ …     Twilight joins Octavia in addressing the large group.     ‘I think we should help them,’ Twilight states.     ‘Finally!’ Rainbow Dash cries. ‘We’ve been waiting for you to come on board.’     Twilight growls at her friend. Octavia sets up her map with the targets marked on it.     ‘Each of us will have to disarm each of the bombs simultaneously. Since they are all identical, Lyra will walk us through the instructions once we are in place. According to his plans, Skybound is going to strike a few days from now. He also doesn’t have enough security to sacrifice them guarding the bombs,’ Octavia explains.     ‘That works in our favor since it means we won’t have to fight anypony to get to the bombs. We just need to be able to find them. We should each pick one to find. After that... Maybe we should stop for the night and get some rest. We will have a long day ahead of us,’ Twilight adds.     Pinkie raises a hoof. ‘Who picks what bomb to target?’     ‘We should pick the one in the area we feel most comfortable with,’ Octavia answers. ‘I will be going after the one in the symphony. The others are at the palace, Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, Canterlot University, under a music academy, in the shopping district, in the sewers of an upper class residential area, at the pegasus race tracks, and in the train station.’     ‘I should go after the one in the palace,’ Silver says. ‘I know the security there really well.’     ‘No,’ Twilight states. ‘I spent a lot of time at the palace growing up. I know it well enough, and my brother will support me if anything bad happens. If all else fails, I can ditch my disguise and make everypony thing it is royal visit. I want to make sure the princesses are safe myself.’     Silver nods. ‘Okay. Then I’ll take the university.’     ‘I could never live with myself if the shopping district were damaged,’ Rarity shudders. All of Rarity’s friends groan. ‘Oh. And losing the rest of the city would be bad, too.’     ‘I should take Celestia’s school,’ Lyra says. ‘Easier for an unicorn to sneak around there.’     ‘Ah don’ mind getting dirty,’ Applejack begins.     ‘That’s an understatement,’ Rarity says to herself.     Applejack growls. ‘Which is why Ah don’ mind takin’ the one in the sewer.’     ‘I can handle the racetrack,’ Rainbow Dash nods. ‘Might even score some points with The Wonderbolts when I save their lives. Again!’     ‘That just leaves the music academy and the train station.’ Octavia says.     Twilight turns to Fluttershy. ‘They know exactly where the one at the academy is hidden. You won’t have to search hard or get too much attention.’     ‘I... guess that is okay...’ Fluttershy smiles.     ‘Well! I guess that is the train station for me,’ Pinkie states.     ‘What about us?’ Lucas asks.     ‘We’re going to provide support back here,’ James replies. ‘I can use my TARDIS to drop us where we need to be when we are need. We can also use it to keep in touch with the other backup units.’     Everypony thinks over the plan. Twilight and Octavia look around at their friends.     ‘I think it is safe to say we all agree on the plan’ Octavia says.     ‘We’ll go over the details in the morning,’ Twilight adds. ‘For now, let’s try to get as much rest as we can.’     James turns to the group. ‘I have rooms in my TARDIS if you want one as well as plenty of food from all over the universe. Uh... Pool, pool hall, pool in a pool hall, a pool hall of pools... Uh, what else?’     Twilight comes over and gives James a nuzzle. ‘That will do. I am going to slip out to see my parents. Just in case...’     ‘That is a good idea,’ Octavia agrees. ‘We don’t have to be cooped up here. Let’s say we meet back here around eight in the morning? That should give plenty of time get out and about and get plenty of rest.’     The others murmur in agreement and start looking for ways to relax.     Twilight trots up to a large house. There is a star-shaped crest on the doors. Twilight takes a deep breath and knocks on the door. After a few moments, a blue unicorn stallion answers the door.     ‘May I help... Twilight!’     Twilight instantly grabs her father in a big hug. ‘Hi daddy!’     ‘Twilight, what are you doing back here? We weren’t expecting to see you until your birthday.’     ‘Uh..’ Twilight looks away. ‘My friends and I have some quick business to take care of tomorrow. We split up for the night, and I felt like seeing you and mom again.’     A light grey mare walks up to the door. ‘Twilight! What a surprise.’     Twilight looks up and fights back tears. ‘Mom, dad... You can’t ask why, but I need you to stay home from work tomorrow.’     ‘Is something bad going to happen?’ Night Light asks.     ‘You know you can tell us anything,’ Twilight Velvet adds.     ‘It is...’ Twilight shakes her head. ‘I can’t. Just know that something potentially very bad can happen. Much worse than Shining Armor’s wedding. I just want you to be safe.’     The parents comfort their child and bring her inside to talk.     Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Lyra are in one of the TARDIS’s movie theaters taking in a film. The three are sitting relatively spaced apart due to their viewing habits. Rarity levitates up some popcorn to munch on. A thought occurs, and she levitates her mobile as well. Lyra picks up the other end.     ‘Miss Lyra. Why did you not prevent the actions of, say, Nightmare Moon or Chrysalis?’ Rarity asks.     Lyra groans. ‘Ugh. We don’t normally target large, overt threats. All three of us specialize in smaller, covert, single-target threats. We tend to disrupt communications or provide intelligence to the proper authorities.’     ‘Oh. I only ask because...’     ‘She got to me. Okay! Let’s just leave it at that.’     ‘I didn’t mean to bring up a sore subject. My apologies.’     Lyra snorts. ‘Its okay. … If I ever wanted to bring up a sore subject of yours, I’d mention last Thursday.’     Lyra covers her mobile, but she hears Rarity swear quite clearly when she shouts an expletive.     ‘Hey! Keep it down, you two!’ Rainbow Dash shouts.     Lyra laughs. ‘You should never have given your IP to a professional spy. By the way, was he ever able to walk straight again?’     A magically-thrown bucket of popcorn hits Lyra in the head.     Vinyl Scratch trots into her bedroom and collapses on her bed. The scattering of blankets reveal that she is in the exact same position she woke from in the morning or afternoon or whenever she got up.     ‘And you plan on being my sound engineer with this sort of schedule?’     Vinyl looks up from her bed. Octavia, still in her robe but with her hood down, is sitting on a nearby window sill. Vinyl takes off her sunglasses to get a better look at her friend.     ‘Tavi?’ Vinyl asks. ‘Did you do something to your coat?’     Octavia sighs. ‘Good to see you too.’     ‘Why are you here? Do you know what time it is?’     ‘I have something important to tell you.’     Vinyl groans and snuggles under the blankets. ‘I love you too, but can it wait until morning?’     Octavia blushes. ‘No, that is far from it. I wanted to tell you to stay out of downtown tomorrow.’     ‘Why?’     ‘It is not important. If what could happen happens, just stay in one of the poorer areas of town until it is over. If it doesn’t happen... meet me at seven in the place where we first met. My treat.’     ‘You know it is your treat. You’re the only one with any money.’     Octavia growls. ‘That is because I don’t flitter it away on... whatever it is you waste you money on!’     ‘Aw! Tavi. I thought you liked that new old album I got you last month.’     ‘Yes, it was very nice.’ Octavia sighs and gets up. ‘Just promise me you’ll be safe tomorrow.’     ‘I promise, mom.’     Octavia sighs and trots over to her friend. She gives Vinyl a small kiss on the tip of her horn. The act returns Vinyl’s trademark grin to her face. Vinyl moves around and starts sitting up.     ‘When did you start getting so sentimental?’     Vinyl looks around her room once she is up. She is all alone. She sighs, drops back to the bed and levitates her blankets over herself.     James is in the TARDIS control room. He is going over several monitors at once and inputting commands on the control panels. Silver walks out of part of the ship.     ‘You should have better security for some of your rooms and displays. They are quite easily broken into.’     ‘The golden brooch you have under your wing. Try tossing it out of the ship.’     Silver is surprised at the accusation. She lifts her wing up and flicks the broach hidden under it towards the door. Right when the item crosses the threshold, it disappears. Silver takes a step back.     James laughs. ‘I think my anti-theft system works fine. You’re lucky I was on duty too. She might never have let you get this far under normal circumstances.’     ‘She?’     James taps the console. ‘My ship. You didn’t think it was that easy to make it back here after the maze of corridors to get to what you consider valuable.’     ‘I guess not...’ Silver thinks. ‘In that case, where do you keep the real valuables?’     James checks a monitor. ‘One is in the kitchen marveling over the various alien treats I have in stock. One is in the arboretum smelling the freshly-blooming flowers. One is visiting her parents. The last is... Is she eating my ice cream? Oh. She is so grounded.’     Silver smiles. ‘I see. ... Is she happy?’     ‘Who?’     ‘Uh...’ Silver blushes. ‘The one who smells like you. … Sort of like potatoes and pineapple.’     ‘Say her name.’     ‘Rei! Is Rei happy? I sort of... have a crush on her.’     James laughs. ‘I know. She’s fine. She talked a lot about you after her trip. Thanks to you, Inkie switched to a more flowery shampoo for a few weeks.’     Silver smiles and laughs. ‘She was a funny one.’     ‘You should come by sometime. I am sure Rei would love to see you.’ James covers his mouth with a hoof. ‘Come in disguise and Rarity will totally freak out.’     ‘You know about my disguise?’     ‘Silver Fox in Istallion is Vulpe d’...’     Silver groans. ‘Yep. Just like her. I see the resemblance.’     James growls. ‘She is adopted. As in not really mine.’     Silver rolls her eyes. ‘All I know is that you’re her caretaker. I am not like Lyra and obsessed with every detail about you.’ She laughs. ‘She says she has been following you all her life.’     James gets back to work. ‘Spoilers.’     ‘Whatever. … Hey. Can you give Rei something for me?’     ‘Ask one of the others, especially Lucas. It would be weird if it were from her father.’     Silver laughs. ‘I understand.’ She stretches her wings. ‘Well, I am going to find a bed. You get some rest too.’     James sighs in response and taps some buttons. Silver trots away. James watches the young mare leave and turns to a monitor.     ‘When and where was Lyra born?’     Everypony is assembled in the warehouse for the final planning stages of the mission. Everpony is in costume and ready to go. James, Lucas and Kaeko stand by the TARDIS. Octavia walks in front of the map.     ‘We each make our way to the bomb locations and once we are in position, Lyra will walk us through the disarm sequence.’     ‘Thanks to Twilight, the sequence is much simpler than I thought. Everything will be over before we know it,’ Lyra says.     ‘Thank you so much for helping us.’ Octavia throws her hood over her head. ‘We cannot do it without all of you.’     Octavia turns and trots out of the building. Silver nods to the other pegasi, and they fly away. The rest of the land-based ponies gallop out of the building. One of the costumed Mare Do Well figures turns around and gallops to James. She pulls back part of her hood to reveal an orange muzzle. She leans in and kisses James briefly.     ‘Ya know. Fer luck.’     She covers her face and gallops away. Lucas turns to look at his boss.     ‘Dude! Since when did that start?’     The costumed Rainbow Dash flies up to the cloud stadium. She loops under the structure to avoid being seen. The regular security does not see the purple-clad pegasus fly under the structure. Rainbow Dash makes her way to a small service hatch in the underside and enters the building. She pulls back her costume and checks a map she drew on her leg.     ‘Okay. Gotta go this way.’     Rainbow Dash slinks down the halls. She stops every few intersections to check her map. A door opens in front of her and she hides in an air vent. While waiting for the pony to pass her, she hears voices echoing through the vent. She follows the sound of the voices and comes to a locker room. She looks in and her eyes go wide. She is staring into the stallions’ locker room right as the male members of The Wonderbolts are showering and relaxing after practice. A wicked idea pops into Rainbow Dash’s head, and she starts crawling through the vents to find a specific pony.     ‘Come on, Soarin. Where are you?’     Soon, a baby blue pegasus with a navy mane comes into view through the vents. Rainbow Dash giggles. She stops and turns her head a bit. She raises her front hooves as if to measure something. After some quick math in her head, she lets out a big sigh.     ‘It needs to be about twenty percent cooler.’     The costumed Rarity runs through the alleys connecting Canterlot’s downtown shops. In addition to using her gem-finding spell to search for the magical stones in the bomb, she is making mental notes of all of the sales she will visit later once she has saved the district. She stops in an alley and starts scanning the buildings.     ‘Where is that blasted thing?’     Rarity nears a street and starts looking for her next search location. The large number of shoppers about makes it hard for her to act covertly. She ducks behind a dumpster when a young couple nears the alley. When they get close, she realizes there is something familiar about them.     ‘How do you like that tart you got?’ Inkie asks.     Stormy bites a tart. ‘UGH! This is gross. Never going there again. That bakery should be blown up.’     Stormy dumps the tart as well as a bag with the store logo in the dumpster as he and Inkie pass. Rarity retrieves the bag and checks her mobile for a route to the bakery.     ‘Thank you, dear Stormy,’ Rarity mumbles to herself as she gallops away.     Down the street, Stormy is using his magic to scrape his tongue. Inkie groans at her friend.     ‘You know, we passed her already. You don’t have to keep acting.’     Stormy stops his cleansing. ‘Who is acting? That tart was vile. I hope the building really does get destroyed.’     Inkie groans and facehoofs.     Lyra levitates a map in front of her as she navigates Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She is beginning to regret going to a music academy instead since she is completely lost in the maze of hallways and corridors.     ‘Why did I go to this place blind?’     `Third hallway on your left and six doors down,` a voice says over Lyra’s headset.     ‘What? Lucas?’     `Trust me. I’ll get you there.`     Lyra gallops down the halls, following Lucas’ directions. She opens the door in front of her and finds a set of stairs leading down.     `The bomb is in the chamber where they store the school’s reactive stones. If it goes off, the whole mountain could crack.`     ‘I understand.’     Lyra heads down the stairs. A pair of royal guards stand at the bottom of the stairs, before a large vault door. Lyra jumps out of the stairwell and hits both guards with her adhesive jelly. The guards try leaping into action, but they are stuck. Lyra gallops over and slips magic restrictive rings on their horns. She starts opening the vault.     ‘Sorry boys. Nothing personal.’     After cracking the vault security, Lyra enters and scans the room for the bomb. She finds it hidden at the far back of the vault. She levitates it to a position with better lighting and analyzes the device. She clips a scanner onto part of the bomb. Several small dots appear on the scanner.     ‘This is Lyra, do you read me?’ Lyra says into her headset.     The other ponies respond.     ‘Who else is at their target?’     `I am.` Rainbow Dash replies. `I also found where The Wonderbolts are` -- she giggles -- ` “hanging out”. So awesome!`     `I am mere moments from arriving,` Rarity says.     `I think most of us are still a ways out or still looking for the bomb,` Octavia adds. `Give us a few moments.`     ‘I read you,’ Lyra says as she turns to her scanner. ‘Wait a second. According to the network, one of the bombs is missing.’     `Which one?` Octavia asks.     ‘The one at the palace.’ Lyra scratches her head. ‘That doesn’t make sense. According to Skybound’s files, that was the first one placed.’     `Could that mean it is offline?` Twilight asks.     ‘No way. They were all rigged to detonate if one goes offline. This must be a different model. Skybound must have wanted ensure the palace was destroyed even if the other bombs were stopped.’     `I am on it.` James says.     `Wait!` Twilight says. `Shouldn’t somepony else go? We need you to coordinate the other groups.`     `This is a bomb of unknown design. I am a scientist. I have more expertise with this sort of thing than anypony else in this group. Trust me.`     There is a long pause over the radio.     ‘Trust him, Twilight. He knows what he is doing,’ Lyra assures.     `Okay. I’ll meet you here,` Twilight replies.     `Roger, Twilight` James laughs before getting off the line.     Lyra sits back and sighs. She starts going over the deactivation process in her mind while the others get in place.     Twilight darts behind a statue and waits for a pair of guards to pass. She tries to remember the route to the crystal chambers under the palace. She knows she is close. She needs to a moment to search. The guards begin patrolling again, but they stop and salute. Celestia trots over and start chatting with the guards. Twilight uses her magic to tap into her radio.     James? Are you here yet? I need some help. Twilight thinks into the radio.     `Whoa! Turn off caps lock. I’m almost to your location.`     Good. Then can you give me a bit of a distraction? I think I know where to go, but the burst of magic will alert Celestia.     `On it.`     Twilight peeks from behind her hiding place. Celestia and the guards laugh at a joke between them. A brown form trots up behind Celestia.     ‘Hey! Celi! How’s it going?’ James cheers.     Celestia snaps around. ‘Mr Wanderer? What are you doing here?’     ‘Oh, I was just in town on business and thought I would stop by,’ James smiles. ‘Do you know why Luna came by my place the other day? During the daytime? Crying? And only saying “Cloudchaser”?’     Celestia’s eyes go wide, and she starts sweating. The guards form up beside their ruler.     She what?! Twilight shouts in her mind.     James winces a bit at the feedback on his headset. ‘Anyway. While I am here, Twilight wanted me to give you something.’     Dear Celestia. What is he going to do? Twilight facehoofs.     James grins and looks towards Twilight’s hiding place. Celestia gives a big sigh.     ‘If it is from Twilight Sparkle, I will accept it, Mr Wanderer.’ Celestia says.     James’ grin grows. ‘I am sure you will like it.’     James motions Celestia a little closer. She leans forward slightly as he leans up and kisses the princess on the lips. Celestia’s eyes go wide, and her wings stick up out of shock. The guards stare at the kiss, not knowing how to react. Twilight stares at her coltfriend kissing her mentor. Her jaw literally on the ground. James waves Twilight to continue her search. Twilight growls and gallops away.     If she doesn’t kill him, I will. Twilight thinks.     I love you too. James thinks in reply.     Twilight stumbles a bit when she realizes she was still magically tapped into her headset. Once Twilight is out of sight, James breaks the kiss. Celestia stares down at the shorter earth pony as she ponders her next move. The guards stand ready for anything. Celestia sighs and frowns at James.     ‘Guards. Take him to my chambers. I’ll deal with him personally,’ Celestia states before trotting away.     James sits on the ground and puts his front legs in the air as the guards take him into custody.     Under the city where her friends cannot see her, Applejack has replaced her Mare Do Well hat with her stetson. She creeps through the sewers at a pace balancing speed and the desire not to accidentally step in something that will make her hooves smell for weeks. She also curses Rarity’s choice in fabrics that do not block smells. She reaches under her hat and gets out her mobile device and checks her location using GPS.     ‘Now where in the hay am Ah?’     ‘A tomb!’ echoes down the sewer. ‘I always love a good tomb.’     A light brown earth pony and grey pegasus come into view. The pegasus is wisely flying above the filth.     ‘Of course you do, Doctor,’ Derpy replies. She looks up. ‘Hey Applejack!’     Applejack, carefully, makes her way over to the others. ‘What in the hay are y’all doing here?’     ‘Well, I got tired of waiting for James to call, so I figured why not have some fun,’ The Doctor replies.     ‘Fun? In a sewer?’ Applejack’s mask clearly and accurately shows her disbelief.     ‘It has a certain charm.’ The Doctor takes a deep breath. He instantly doubles over, choking on the fumes. He looks after catching his breath. ‘I just don’t know what went wrong there.’     Derpy pats The Doctor on the back. ‘That is okay, Doctor.’     ‘Anyway. I am here to help,’ The Doctor says. ‘This way!’     The Doctor starts trotting the direction Applejack came from.     ‘Actually, professor, Ah think it is this way.’     The Doctor turns and trots the other direction. The mares sigh and follow.     The disguised Fluttershy has made it most of the way through the music academy. The spell in the Mare Do Well costume along with her natural shyness has kept her unseen so far. She just has to slip past the headmaster’s office, and she will be at the access tunnels leading to the bomb. She trots up to a corner and nervously looks to see if the coast is clear. The headmaster can clearly be seen in his office. Fluttershy squeaks and backs away. Suddenly, there is a commotion from the office. Fluttershy peeks to see an unicorn run into the office.     ‘I am sorry, headmaster,’ the unicorn says. ‘They just barged right in here.’     The unicorn moves enough for Fluttershy to see three fillies standing in the office. Her eyes go wide with surprise.     ‘And what do you three want?’ The headmaster asks.     ‘We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders! And we are here to rock your socks off!’ Scootaloo declares.     The headmaster facehoofs. ‘Dear Celestia. Make it quick.’     Scootaloo clears her voice, and the others take a step back.     ‘WE are tHe CutIE MarK CruS...’     ‘Make it stop!’     The unicorn magically covers Scootaloo’s mouth and levitates her out of the room. The headmaster turns to the others.     ‘Well?’     Apple Bloom nudges Sweetie Belle. ‘Go on.’     ‘Why me?’     ‘Ya wanna help Miss Fluttershy, right? Well, mah voice ain’t the one that will help her.’     Sweetie Belle sighs and clears her throat.     ♫ We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders~ On a quest to find out who we are~ And we will never stop our journey~ Not until we have our cutie marks~ ♪     The headmaster stares at the embarrassed Sweetie Belle in awe. Apple Bloom smirks and steps out of the room.     ‘Ah’ll jus’ leave ya t’ talk.’     Apple Bloom closes the door. She looks around and waves Fluttershy over. Fluttershy quickly dashes to the basement entrance. She nods to Apple Bloom before slipping under the school.     James looks around Celestia’s chambers. They are a lot more sparse than Luna’s, especially the lack of the massive gaming rig the Princess of the Night enjoys. All of the sun motifs remind James why he dislikes going out while the sun is still up. He makes sure to stay away from the bedroom in case Celestia believes in eye-for-an-eye punishment. He also notes how far a drop it is from the balcony in case he needs to use a regeneration or two in his escape.     The doors to the chambers open, and Celestia enters. She seals the doors behind her. The tall alicorn glares down at the shorter earth pony. She stares past his glasses, through his eyes and into his soul.     ‘You put me in a really tough place, Mr Wanderer.’ Celestia states. ‘You see, there are rumors that float through this palace. Rumors that say I force ponies to do... certain things for me or that I use my horn for less than its intended purposes. No doubt calling you here will cause those rumors to spread.’ James sweats and gulps. ‘No. Those rumors are far from true.’ James sighs in relief. ‘I called you to my private chambers to say one thing to you about your behavior earlier.’     Celestia stands over James as tall as she can. The Time Lord can see all of his regenerations flash before his eyes. The princess grabs the gamer in a big hug. James can feel Celestia’s tears fall on his head as she cries.     ‘Thank you. Thank you so much.’ Celestia sobs. ‘It has been centuries since anypony tried kissing me. Though I know it was without affection or even hint of passion, it was by far the best kiss I have ever received. Thank you so much, Mr Wanderer.’     James is stunned. ‘Uh... No prob?’     James pats the side of the larger pony while Celestia continues her hug. Eventually, the crying princess releases her hug and sits facing her guest.     ‘Many apologies. I have been a little emotional recently. And then your act...’     ‘That wasn’t really from Twilight, you know.’     ‘That much was obvious. Do you wish to tell me why you are really here?’     James thinks hard on the subject. ‘I cannot. Not yet. I am sure the truth will be told one day. If it is not soon, I will see that I personally inform you and Luna of what happened.’     Celestia looks away. ‘Luna...’ She glances back. ‘Apologies. It was the Luna and Cloudchaser situation that has put our emotions at this level. Once again, I have ruined another other Luna’s relationships.’     ‘She was pretty devastated when she came to me,’ James says. ‘It wasn’t so much anything you had said. It was more how Cloudchaser had crushed her in return.’     Celestia shakes her head. ‘No. It was all me. Even if the others acted on their own, I was the one that forced the situation before the romance could blossom and potentially bloom. I am always ruining her relationships.’     ‘To be fair, the two of us are doing as good as ever, and Discord was an ass.’     ‘Yes, it is just that...’ Celestia starts crying again. ‘The relationships you have with my sister. All three of you... How do you do it? How do get her to open to you as you do? We are closer now than when we were foals, but she still feels so distant from me.’     ‘Are you saying you are jealous of our relationships?’     Celestia nods.     ‘Um... I really don’t know what to say. I am pretty new to the relationship game myself. There is just some level where we click. Some level where we can just be open with each other. Surely you felt that in your last relationship.’     Celestia meekly looks at the other pony. ‘I... never had a coltfriend...’     ‘But you said...’     ‘I have had relations, yes. It is hard to live as long as I have and not feel the urge.’     ‘Tell that to my left hoof,’ James mumbles.     ‘As crass as it sounds, yes. I understand that, too.’ Celestia grimaces and shakes her head. ‘Those acts are not important. The fact remains that I am a destroyer of relationships, especially my sister’s. It is like I subconsciously don’t want her to be happy.’     ‘That is a lie, and you know it. She is the most important pony in the world to you, and you want her to be happier more than anything. You not wanting Luna to be happy would be like me not wanting Rei or Twilight to be happy.’     ‘But all of the things I have done..!’     ‘Discord deserved a wary eye! As for me and Cloudchaser...’ James shrugs. ‘Well, I really doubt you can stop either. You have learned to be more accepting and while you have made recent missteps, the damage is slowly going to undo itself. Did you at least apologize to Luna?’     ‘Of course! I would never want her to know I meant to hurt her feelings!’     ‘Did you tell her you were wrong, though?’     ‘But I was right! She agreed with the logic of the situation. Their relationship was unsustainable. She would have been exposed. If not with Cloudchaser, she would have made a slip with you.’     ‘Logic does not hold in the chaos that is love,’ James states. ‘Luna came to my shop with her guards and no disguise. If Lucas wasn’t able to BS his way with the few customers we had at the time, she would have been exposed by now. … Because you told her to hurt Cloudchaser.’ He glares at Celestia. ‘There is another pony you owe an apology to as well.’     Celestia stares at the ground. ‘I... I am sorry.’     ‘Princess... You have friends. We are here for you if you ever need advice. Your friendship reports don’t have to be a one-way street.’ James tries to make eye contact with Celestia. ‘Rei and I are learning what it means to have friends for the first time in our lives. Pinkie and I work on our feelings of aloneness together. Fluttershy and I struggle with our social awkwardness together. And Twilight... Twilight and I are learning a lot together. You have friends that can help you with anything you are feeling. Please just ask us.’     Celestia looks up at the pony sitting across from her. She half smiles. ‘Will you be willing to help me?’     ‘Of course.’     ‘Will you also stop exposing our nation’s secret history?’     ‘Not on your life.’     Celestia laughs. ‘That will have to do.’ She pulls James in for a hug again. ‘Please let this be our secret for now. I do not wish to worry my sister or Twilight.’     ‘Cross my heart, hope to fly, double rainbow all the way across the sky.’     Celestia laughs again. ‘Thank you, Mr Wanderer.’ She pauses. ‘Would you care for a banana?’     James breaks from the hug and backs across the room as fast as he can. Celestia laughs, knowing that rumor still has power.     Silver Fox flies through a dormitory at full speed. She turns into a room, flies out the window and loops to the next story in the building. She flies down another hall and dives into the communal showers. Shortly afterwards, the doors are burst open by the most persistent law enforcement known to ponykind: campus police. Everypony knows that campus police are glorified parking attendants and when they get a real case, such as a professional thief sneaking around campus, they are overly aggressive to the point of being obsessive brutes. Silver wishes they were as easy to shake as real law enforcement.     ‘Where is she!’ a pegasus holding clubs in his wings and mouth shouts.     ‘Come out with your hooves and wings where we can see them,’ a female earth pony says.     In her shower stall hiding spot, Silver starts drawing a dagger in anticipation of fighting her way out. Suddenly, there is a series of loud explosions outside of the building. The campus police spin around.     ‘That sounded like fireworks,’ the female officer says.     ‘Dude. I totally love fireworks,’ her partner responds.     The stall next to Silver’s bursts open. An overly-buff pegasus with tiny wings charges out. ‘YEAH!’ he yells as he flies past the officers. The officers shrug and leave to watch the fireworks. Silver sighs and sneaks out. She finds a window and looks out.     ‘Come one! Come all! Prepare to be amazed by The Great and Powerful Trixie!’     Octavia trots through the concert hall. She climbs to the stage and paces out the location of her instrument. She stops to play a few imaginary stanzas before taking a bow and continuing her search for the bomb.     The Canterlot train station is buzzing with reports of a pony clad in purple running about the station. Some ponies are buzzing more than others since Canterlot guards are interviewing them about the mysterious pony. A pair of guards stand watch as a train full of passengers disembark after their trip. A purple-clad hoof taps one on the shoulder. He turns and faces Mare Do Well.     ‘Hi! Have you seen a bomb around here?’     Before the guard can call for back up, darts fly out and the guards freeze in place. A white-clad hoof pulls Pinkie into the shadows. A pegasus with silver wings in garb similar to Octavia’s armor holds Pinkie to the wall.     ‘You are in public,’ Kaeko growls. ‘You have to be more subtle.’     ‘OH!’ I get it.’     Pinkie salutes and hops out of the shadows. She hops across the platform and climbs on top of the train.     ‘HEY! EVERYPONY!’ Pinkie shouts. ‘HAS ANYPONY SEEN A BOMB?’     Everypony stares at Mare Do Well Pinkie for a few seconds before a pink earth pony with a blonde mane screams. Everypony panics and starts running about the station. Kaeko flies out of her hiding and lands next to Pinkie.     ‘You just live in your own special world, don’t you?’     ‘I’d love a Chimicherry! Thank you!’     Kaeko facehoofs at maximum intensity.     In the magic stone repository, Lyra is keeping boredom at bay by arranging the magical stones in artistic patterns while keeping the reactive ones away from each other. She takes a picture of her caricature of Bon Bon before groaning and activating her headset.     ‘Everypony in...’     `Stop asking!` several voices shout.     `We might have to go early,` Kaeko says. `Somepony started a riot at the train station.`     `Ha, ha! That’s our Pinkie Pie,` Rainbow Dash laughs.     Lyra facehoofs. ‘Are you at least in position?’     `My Pinkie Sense says we’re almost there!`     ‘Hurry. We may not have much...’     There is the sound of hooffalls outside of the repository. The immobilized guards yell for help.     ‘Oh no.’     Before the new ponies can investigate further, there is a silver flash and Lucas appears in the repository. He immediately forces the vault door shut and fries the lock with his magic. He turns to Lyra.     ‘Right after you got lost, I came to back you up,’ Lucas explains. ‘I was just waiting until you needed help.’     ‘How did you...’     Lucas sighs. ‘Your report on me should show that there is only one unicorn that scored higher than me on the entrance exam to Celestia’s school, and she is dating my boss.’     ‘Right.’ Lyra activates her headset. ‘Everypony better be in place now. I doubt I have much time before Skybound makes his move.’     `We’re here! We’re here! I found it!` Pinkie cheers over the radio.     Lyra sighs at the enthusiasm. ‘Good.’ She levitates a set of tools in front of her. ‘The first step you need to do is...’     Twilight gallops as fast as she can through the crystal caverns under the palace. She scans every surface for the bomb. She rounds a corner and finds a large, cylindrical metal tube in front of her. She screams in surprise then activates her headset.     ‘James! I found it! I am taking it to the surface. Meet me at the cave entrance.’     Twilight lifts the bomb with her magic and carries it out of the caverns as fast as she dares. She quickly gains speed as she gets more comfortable carrying the bomb. As she nears the cavern entrance, a form comes into view. The form turns to its side, revealing itself to be a unicorn, and calls out rows of royal guards. Twilight does not want to face who she is about to face.     ‘Halt right there!’ the unicorn calls. He is a large, white stallion with a short, dark purple mane. ‘Lower your weapon and surrender! There is no escape!’     Why’d it have to be him... Twilight thinks. She uses her magic to tap into the radio again. James! Hurry!     Twilight slows as she gets to the mouth of the cave. She carefully sets the bomb on the ground in front of her. The rows of angry-looking royal guards and their captain scare Twilight a little. The captain steps forward. He examines the costumed pony in front of him.     ‘You are the mare from those posters that appeared around town recently. Who are you? What are you doing in the palace?’     The knight takes a step forward. Twilight takes two steps back. Suddenly, there is a commotion from the ranks. James pushes his way through the guards and trots straight to the bomb.     ‘Sorry I’m late. The princess had me all tied up and things,’ James says as he studies the bomb. He looks up at Twilight. ‘I’d tell you, but you might blush a little.’     James.... Twilight seethes under her mask.     James gets out his sonic screwdriver and starts scanning the bomb. The captain of the guard stares at the interloper in shock.     ‘Excuse me! You are interfering with a royal investigation. You will be arrested.’     ‘Oh, keep you armor on...’ James turns back. His eyes go wide then he smirks. ‘Handsome.’     Twilight and the knight are stunned. James steps up to the knight and smiles.     ‘I don’t normally say this, but you are the most handsome creature I have ever laid eyes on.’     JAMES! Twilight snaps into the radio.     James looks back at Twilight. ‘If the ratios were reversed, I’d want him as one of your seven.’     Twilight pulls her mask down. She uses her magic to pull James to her. ‘He is my brother!’     ‘Twilight?!’ Shining Armor gasps.     ‘So... He would be a maybe?’ James asks.     Twilight growls. ‘Just get back to the bomb.’     ‘Ah! Right!’ James scans the bomb again. ‘Simple fission device. I haven’t seen one of these since grade school. Used to flush them down the toilets and blow out the pipes.’ He laughs. ‘Don’t try that at home, kids. Uh... This looks to be a gun-type construction.’ He puts his ear to one end. ‘Ah! Here is the, uh, core, shall we say. That means the other end is...’ He taps it and listens. ‘Yep. Just as I thought.’ He stands back and claps his front hooves together. ‘All right! First thing we need to do is...’ He hops over the bomb and takes Shining Armor’s sword. ‘Just need to borrow this for a moment, handsome.’ He swings the sword, and it slices into the middle of the bomb. He scans it again with the sonic. ‘Okay. That is that. The firing mechanism is completely deactivated. Now, to dispose of it.’ He turns around. ‘Pretty, which way to the nearest cliff?’     ‘What?’ Shining Armor asks. ‘Why do you want to know?     Twilight levitates the bomb. ‘James, follow me.’     ‘Oh right. You’re here, too.’     Twilight growls and starts leaving. The guards cut her off.     James sighs. ‘Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb.’     ‘Shining! Let me through.’     ‘I am sorry, Twilight. We don’t know what that is or what you two are doing here,’ Shining Armor responds. ‘For the safety of the palace, we can’t let you leave.’     James glares into Shining Armor’s eyes. ‘You might have the most beautiful eyes that I can stare into for days but know this, that bomb is still a threat. If it is not disposed of in a safe manner, this entire palace and a good deal of the city will be destroyed.’     Shining Armor backs off a step. He waves his guards back to give Twilight space to move.     ‘Thank you. I promise to tell you all about this later,’ Twilight tells her brother. ‘Come along, James.’     Twilight gallops away with the bomb. James winks at Shining Armor and slips a card into the unicorn’s armor.     ‘Call me.’     James gallops after Twilight. Shining Armor stares after them, the shock still setting in. He shakes his head and chases after the couple. James follows Twilight as she leads him through the palace.     ‘So... your brother... Is he..?’     ‘He’s married!’ Twilight snaps. ‘I was the best mare.’     ‘Is there any room in there for one more?’     Twilight stops and glares at her coltfriend. ‘If you dare think about harassing my brother like that again, this bomb will be the least of your worries. Got it!’     James nods at the furious Twilight. Twilight gives one last growl before continuing her charge to the edge of the palace. Shining Armor is able to catch up to the couple, though he takes a step away from them after Jim winks. Twilight leads them to the edge of the palace that overlooks the cliff. She holds the bomb over the side.     ‘Now what?’ Twilight asks.     ‘Throw it as far as you can and prepare to watch some fireworks,’ James smiles.     ‘I thought you said that it could destroy most of the city!’ Shining Armor cries.     ‘That is why I am going to dispose of it by dropping it off the cliff,’ James replies. ‘The best way to get rid of fissile material in a hurry is to blow it up.’ He smirks. ‘Or melt it.’     ‘Oh! I know what you are thinking.’     Twilight readies to launch the bomb as far as she can.     ‘Wait. Twilight, are you sure about this?’ Shining Armor asks. ‘Do you trust him?’     Twilight looks at her brother then smiles at James. ‘I absolutely trust him.’     ‘He’s not some kind of madpony?’     Twilight pauses for several seconds. ‘I absolutely trust him.’     Shining Armor sighs, and his magic joins Twilight’s in preparing to throw the bomb.     ‘Excellent,’ James cheers. ‘Just need one last piece.’ He runs as far forward as he can and raises a hoof to the air. ‘PLASMA BUSTER!’     James turns back to the mages, and they launch the bomb as far as they can. There is a crash of lightning from above. A pair of swirling bands and plasma spiral from the sky and intercept the bomb in midair. The once-solid weapon is ripped apart on the molecular level as the plasma flows over it. A small blue and white streak breaks from the plasma after directing it away from the ground. Shining Armor stares in amazement about what he is witnessing. Twilight steps up to James and gives him a quick nuzzle before teleporting away. James steps back beside Shining Armor.     ‘That vaporized most of the uranium in the bomb,’ James says. ‘I never really measured the temperature of her plasma, but it should have done the job. Just to be safe, have your scientists run some geiger counters through the area. It shouldn’t be that big of a mess to clean up if anything.’     Shining Armor mumbles sounds that barely classify as syllables in response. James checks the time on his mobile.     ‘Oh. I better be going.’ He looks around. ‘Well, since there is no other Sparkle around.’ He leans up a bit and kisses Shining Armor on the cheek. ‘Don’t be a stranger.’     Shining Armor stares at the slowly dissipating plasma for a few more moments before looking around. He is the only pony in the area. Princess Celestia calmly trots up next to her captain of the guard.     ‘Shining Armor, looks like you had a bit of a day,’ Celestia comments. ‘I think you should take some time off and see the wife, hmm?’     Shining Armor nods and trots away. Celestia giggles to herself about the broken stallion’s reaction.     `...and just cut and tie off the lines connecting the vats of binary explosive and you’re home free,` Lyra says over the radio.     Octavia cuts the line and gives a big sigh. She sets down her tools and stands up. She walks away from the bomb and climbs down from the rafters where the bomb was hidden. She looks out a window. The Skybound Tower is in view. Octavia pulls the hood of her cloak over her face and begins her next mission.     Vinyl watches from a bistro as the plasma trail dissipates. The whole city is buzzing about the purple-clad ponies running about and the disarmed bombs being found throughout the city. Vinyl sighs as she sips her drink.     ‘Looks like Tavi did what she needed to do.’ She checks a watch. ‘Still a couple hours, but I can get there early.’     Vinyl finishes her drink. She gets up and trots calmly down the street.     A pair of double doors are smashed open by a pair of pegasi being thrown through them. Octavia steps into the room and over the unconscious guards. At the other end of the room, a pale yellow pegasus with a sky blue mane rise from behind a desk.     ‘With the speed you came through my building,’ Skybound says, ‘it would seem as if you are late for a date or something.’     ‘Surrender, Skybound,’ Octavia demands. ‘Your plot is over. You have been stopped.’     ‘What are you talking about? I am just as shocked as you to hear somepony was targeting our fair capital, and even threatened our dear princesses.’     ‘Don’t play dumb. Our computer experts started hijacking your servers long before we moved against your physical operations. Your files are in the hooves of Celestia’s army by now. I would not be surprised if they are coming for you as we speak.’     ‘Oh dear. That would be a bad thing... if I didn’t have a private army waiting for them.’     Octavia shakes her sleeves and several feathers fall from them. ‘I don’t think that is a problem.’     Skybound rounds his desk. ‘Surrender is not an option.’     The pegasus raises his wings. Several gun barrels are revealed from his mounted weapons. He fires a volley at Octavia, who barely dives out of the way.     ‘You stupid earth pony! I was doing it for us!’ Skybound shouts. ‘I was going going to end the reign of the princesses and eliminate the unicorn menace once and for all.’     Octavia throws a volley of darts. ‘This is some stupid tribalist thing? Give me a break!’     ‘Think of it. Earth ponies would have been given more freedoms under the rule of the pegasi. We would have watched over our wingless brethren. No more worries about the damn magic users getting in our way.’     Octavia growls. ‘I happen to love one of those damn magic users.’     Octavia draws her sword and charges. Skybound fires another burst from his guns. Octavia slices through the bullets but winces as a few hit. Skybound fires again, but Octavia jumps. She leaps over the bullets and knocks Skybound to the ground. She quickly slices the bindings on Skybound’s weapons with her hidden blades and pins the pegasus to the ground by his wings. Blood drops from Octavia’s right foreleg.     ‘You got me, warrior,’ Skybound snarls. ‘Going to finish me off?’     ‘I would love nothing more than that.’     ‘Don’t!’     Octavia looks back at the source of the cry. James is standing in open TARDIS doors.     ‘Don’t kill him. He must face justice,’ James commands.     Octavia growls. ‘I know.’ She smirks. ‘But that doesn’t mean I can’t give him something to remember me by.’     Octavia activates her hidden blades. Skybound screams in pain as the blades slice through his wings. Octavia backs away and limps to the TARDIS with two injured legs.     ‘Don’t be a wimp. I only severed the connective tissue between your wings and your body. You’ll be able to fly again... if they ever invent technology or a spell to repair you.’     James helps Octavia into the TARDIS and closes the doors. Octavia immediately collapses and grabs James. She is sobbing uncontrollably.     ‘He got me!’ Octavia cries. ‘I can’t feel it. I can’t...’     ‘What happened?’     Octavia holds up her limp right foreleg. There is a bullet wound spilling blood to the deck. ‘My leg. I cannot feel it. I cannot... I cannot play any more.’     Octavia drops her injured leg to the side as James pulls her in for a hug. He pushes back her hood so she can cry freely.     ‘Don’t worry. It will be okay. Your leg will heal.’     ‘But it won’t heal properly. I won’t be able to play like I used to if at all.’     ‘Yes, you will. You will be the greatest composer ever to walk the planet.’     ‘Shut up! Quit lying to make me feel better! It is not working!’     ‘Octavia!’ James snaps. ‘Look around you. Do you think, with all of this technology, I cannot help you get back to better than new?’     Octavia looks around the ship. She looks back at the ship’s captain and gives a weak smile. James smiles in return and helps her onto his back. He starts carrying her to an infirmary.     ‘So... the magic user you love...’     Octavia puts her left foreleg on James’ neck. ‘I still have one working leg, you know.’ …     A loud whooshing sound fills Ponyville hospital. The doctors and nurses back away as a new door materializes on a wall in the middle of a ward. The door opens, and James sticks his head out.     ‘Ah! Good. I have the right place.’     James steps out and looks around.     ‘Okay. I am looking for the greatest medical mind on the planet. Quickly now!’     An earth pony with a curly orange mane steps forward. James stops him.     ‘No, no. Her.’     James points to a white earth pony nurse with a pink mane. She freezes for a second before stepping onto the TARDIS. She freezes again when she sees the inside of the TARDIS. James grabs her foreleg and drags her deeper into the TARDIS.     ‘Yes. Yes. Bigger on the inside. So many innuendo jokes.’ James stops in front of a door. ‘More importantly, you have a patient here.’     James pushes open the door. Octavia is laying bed with her hooves in a medical device.     ‘What do you need me to do?’ Nurse Redheart asks.     James rubs the back of his head. ‘To be honest, I am not sure.’     ‘Baka,’ Octavia grumbles.     ‘The manual said that it can perfectly regenerate the tissue of any living being. I figured I’d grab the best medical mind in existence and have at it.’     Nurse Redheart looks over the device. It is far more advanced than anything she has ever seen. She sighs and steps to the controls.     ‘Fine,’ Nurse Redheart sighs. ‘You monitor the tissue regeneration while I control the regeneration matrix.’ …     James opens the TARDIS doors and steps out into a party that is going full swing. Lyra invited everypony that helped on the mission to her family’s mansion for a victory celebration. Everypony is exchanging stories about what they went through to find the bomb. In one corner, Rei giggles while Inkie blushes when Rainbow Dash holds up her hooves as if to measure something. Rarity escorts Applejack out from a back room. The orange pony’s mane sparkles from the treatment it just received. Rarity motions for The Doctor to follow her next. Stormy and Pinkie trot out of another room while carrying trays of fresh-baked treats. A white pegasus peeks from the kitchen. One pony notices James’ arrive and stops her conversation. Twilight trots over from where she was gloating that her fireworks were more impressive than Trixie’s to see her coltfriend.     ‘Where have you been?’ Twilight asks. ‘I thought you were right behind me.’     ‘Well... I had to see your brother (and his hotness) off. Then I was needed somewhere very important.’     ‘Oh? Where?’     Vinyl checks her watch. She is waiting outside of a jazz club. It is almost seven in the evening, and she still has not seen Octavia. She groans and listens to the music coming from a club. A pony wearing a trench coat, fedora and a dark glasses trot up. She looks around nervously.     ‘Sorry. I am late. I needed to check something,’ Octavia mumbles from under her disguise.     Vinyl laughs. ‘You know, it wouldn’t kill you to show your face in public for once.’     Octavia glares from behind her glasses. ‘An important pony like myself should never be seen in a dive like this. No matter how delightful the melodies may be.’     Vinyl laughs again. ‘You’re so funny.’     The friends enter the club and find a place to sit.     ‘By the way, what did you need to check?’ Vinyl asks.     Octavia smiles. ‘Oh, I just needed some cello practice. Had to make sure my hooves were in working order.’     ‘And?’     Octavia’s smile widens. ‘I... I think I know exactly how to repay him now...’     The following afternoon, the six members of Mare Do Well and the Trio ad Libitum are having one last meeting at the Canterlot train station. The security is still on edge, but Pinkie knows exactly how to get past them. Twilight and Octavia are exchanging final farewells.     ‘This has been quite an adventure,’ Twilight says.     ‘Indeed,’ Octavia nods. ‘I cannot wait to see what next month offers us.’     ‘Yeah, Hopefully something exciting,’ Silver Fox adds.     Twilight’s eyes go wide, but she shakes it off. ‘I am beginning to see there is more behind the scenes than I previously thought. I am sorry for doubting you.’     ‘It is no big deal,’ Octavia shrugs. ‘Just don’t go telling everypony.’     ‘Yeah.’ Lyra agrees. ‘They’ll start thinking you’re crazy for some reason.’     Twilight laughs. ‘I’ll keep that in mind.’     Octavia extends a hoof. ‘Until next time?’     Twilight shakes the hoof. ‘Oh, well, uh...’ The train whistle sounds. ‘Oh! Gotta go. Bye!’     Twilight and her friends board the train. They wave as the train pulls away from the platform. The trio waves back to the leaving train. Once the train is gone, the trio sits back and sighs.     ‘We still have to record an album, don’t we?’ Lyra moans.     Silver winces. ‘I forgot all about that.’     Octavia closes her eyes and thinks as hard as she can. She looks up at her friends.     ‘Sugar Cloud?’     The other nod. ‘Sugar Cloud.’     The Trio ad Libitum pick themselves up and trot away while planning their album and what coffees they will partake in.