Everything Changes (Its Tune)
Main Characters: TWP, Octavia, Jack Harness
Cameos: Redheart, Lyra, Silver Fox, Shining Armor, Fancy Pants, Fleur, Moon Glow, Lyra’s parents, Melodia
Original Start Date: March 27, 2013
James runs the counter at The Power Block. Lucas talks with a customer about a recent game. Mimi comes out of the back, having finished restocking. The disguised changeling joins her boss. They get out hoofhelds and start playing against each other. The shop door opens, and the clerks turn to greet the new arrival. Both drop their game. James gallops around the counter to catch Octavia before the cellist falls over. The mare is covered in small cuts and bruises.
‘Try anything funny and I’ll cut you,’ Octavia threatens, passing out immediately afterwards.
‘Mimi, get Redheart,’ James commands. ‘Looks like something bad is going down.’
James carries his passenger upstairs while Mimi gallops to get help.
Octavia groans when she awakes. She is laying in a bed. Her injuries have been bandaged. Beside her, a white mare taps a hoofheld device. James sits in the background.
‘A little more rest and a healthy meal, and she’ll be good as new in no time,’ Redheart reports. ‘But she will have to do something important first.’
‘What?’ Octavia moans.
The nurse smiles and holds out clipboard with a medical report on it. ‘Could I trouble you for an autograph? I’m a big fan.’
Octavia laughs and signs. ‘At least somepony knows how to treat me properly.’ She smiles at Redheart. ‘There you go. It is wonderful to have fans such as you.’
Redheart takes the clipboard. ‘Good to know you’re one of the good ones.’ She trots to the door and punches James. ‘Remember: healthy meal and rest. And tell Rei that if she avoids her checkup again, I’ll have Daring drag her in kicking and screaming.’
James groans. ‘I’ll have a word with her.’
Redheart leaves. Octavia sits up.
‘I like her,’ the mare comments.
‘What happened to you?’ James asks.
‘And hello to you, too.’
‘You enter my shop and collapse. You were covered in wounds. Are you okay?’
‘According to the readout, she is fine,’ a new voice speaks.
Octavia grumbles. ‘You called Lyra?’
The unicorn sits with her friend on the bed. ‘Hey, I know if you see a changeling galloping across town to get Redheart, something has to be going down at The Power Block.’
‘Better you get involved now than hurt later.’ Octavia takes a deep breath. ‘I was attacked.’
‘Skybound’s stooges?’ Lyra asks.
‘Maxie’s minions?’ James questions.
‘Neither,’ Octavia replies. ‘It was one of my own.’
Lyra panics. ‘Another assassin? Are we safe here?’
‘Nopony in our organization is stupid enough to come here.’
‘Except you,’ James notes.
‘Right. Except me.’ Octavia pauses. ‘Hey!’ She throws a pillow at the stallion. ‘This is serious! Lives are in danger!’
‘And you lead them right to my daughters,’ James growls. ‘Can I trade you to keep them safe?’
‘I told you, nopony would dare anger you.’ Octavia leans back. ‘Everypony who has heard of you knows not to mess with you Time Lords or your loved ones.’
‘What about my loved ones?’ Lyra worries.
Octavia looks at her friend. ‘Tell Bon Bon to come here if you are concerned.’
‘Back on topic,’ James interrupts, ‘what did you do to get one of your own after you? Unless of course, this is your way of saying Kaeko is back in town.’
‘I don’t know who is after me,’ Octavia sighs. ‘It was after my last concert. I was heading back to my hotel when I just sensed something amiss. I left my cello and gear with Beauty Brass and caught the next train here. The assassin’s flunkies are now littering the rails from here to Los Arion.’
‘No other clues?’
Octavia shakes her head. ‘Not a one. I’ll have to contact headquarters to find out more.’
A mobile lands on the bed in Octavia’s lap. The mare sighs and picks it up. She makes a call. After several moments, she hangs up.
‘No answer. Something bad is going down.’
‘I’d let you hide here,’ James offers, ‘but the last time I tried that, Daring went stir crazy in a week.’
‘If we could access their computers, we’d be able to find something out.’
Lyra stretches. ‘Leave it to me. I can break into anything.’
Octavia laughs. ‘Impossible. The mainframe is kept on a secure network with layers of security that would make Celestia jealous. The only way you can access their files is in our headquarters. One pony tried, but his body was left in a dumpster.’ She smirks. ‘That was a fun afternoon.’
‘So, we have an unknown enemy who is willing to target assassins and the only way to find out who it could be is to break into the only place in Equestria more secure than this building?’ Lyra asks.
‘I know just who to call,’ James says.
--------------------------
A dark blue stallion shoots a basketball in an enclosed rec center. A loud beeping sounds right as he takes the shot, causing him to miss the basket. He groans.
‘Coming!’ the stallion shouts.
He trots from the basketball court and through a series of halls. He reaches a computer center. A monitor is flashing. He taps a keyboard.
‘Now, who caused me to miss my hookshot?’ the stallion states.
`Hello, Jack,` James greets from the monitor.
‘Jimmy!’ Jack Harness cheers. ‘It has been a long time.’
`Has it? I try my hardest to avoid dealing with your organization.`
Jack shrugs. ‘Well, I figured you were the ones who gave me those lovely Cyberpony samples in Neighpon recently. The rest of the crew is still out retrieving the ship. Do you know how hard it is getting a Cyber scout ship out from under a national monument in the middle of a Neighponese city without anypony noticing?’
`Who’s that?` Lyra asks, pushing her way on screen.
Jack smiles coyly. ‘Hello.’
`Not now, Jack,` James moans.
`Sorry. I’m married.` Lyra replies. She turns back. `I thought you said the pony who ran Trotswood was cute or is she coming later?`
‘Cute? James, I’m touched.’
`In more ways than one,` the other stallion groans. `Jack, we need your help.`
‘Every time I help you or the Doctor, I get in some major trouble. What’s in it for me?’
James closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. `I’ll let you make one pass at Rei.`
Jack’s eyes go wide. ‘If that is on the table, it must be something more dangerous than breaking into a Dalek fortress in the middle of a black hole in order to steal the Key of Time from Rassilon who is armed with the Hand of Omega, freshly delivered by the Master.’
`If you’re not interested...`
Jack smiles broadly. ‘Tell me what to do.’
James, Octavia and Lyra ride a train to Canterlot. Octavia lays on a bench. A small meal is beside her head. James and Lyra are on their mobiles.
‘No, mom, you’re not listening,’ Lyra says. ‘I want you to take dad and go to Melodia’s house for a while. I’ll tell you why later. Trust me. Okay? Good. Love ya.’ She hangs up. ‘Sheesh! Parents! Thanks for asking your mom to watch everypony for us.’
‘They need protection. She is the best we have to offer until we know what is going on.’ Octavia sits up. ‘Mr Wanderer, can I borrow your mobile for a moment?’ The stallion gives her his mobile. She starts dialing
Lyra makes another call. ‘Silver? Hey, I’ve got a favor to ask.’
`A favor? Great! Just what I need right now.` Silver Fox says from a video call. `I’ve done nothing but favors for you recently. You know how hard it was going public with my secret identity? Damn annoying, is what it was! Luckily, I only got ordered to work for your damn school as some kind of twisted community service. You are lucky my contract renewal was going to be pure crap, and I wanted an out.` She snorts. `And how are you?`
‘Somepony is targeting Octavia. If they know her, they know us. Get your parents and get to Melodia’s place.’
`Well, damn. Why didn’t you say so? You’ll fill me in on the plan when you arrive?`
Lyra shrugs. ‘We’ll do our best.’
`Okay. Class is cancelled.`
Silver hangs up. Lyra breathes a sigh of relief. On her bench, Octavia looks upset. The other end of the line is picked up and her ears perk up.
‘Vinyl? Hey, listen... Can you go to my mom’s for a bit? N-nothing is wrong. Just go there for a bit, okay? I’ll explain when it is all over.’ She pauses. ‘Hey, um... Once it is all done... would you want to move in with me? Yes, I’m feeling all right. I just... I mean I... Be safe, will you?’
Octavia gives the mobile back. She smiles and wipes some tears. James pats his friend on the shoulder. The train whistle sounds as it slows to a stop.
‘Behind the bin near the mares’ washroom?’ Octavia asks.
‘Just don’t ask how he got it there,’ James replies.
Octavia groans and gallops away. James and Lyra calmly trot off the train. They make their way through the station. As they near the main concourse, they spot a very conspicuous pony. Jack Harness stands in the middle of the crowds, flashing his trademark grin, clad in his old air force uniform.
‘Good to see you, James,’ Jack greats.
‘Jack.’
‘It must be bad if you’re more antisocial than ever.’ Jack turns to Lyra. ‘And who might you be?’
‘You know how Trotswood sold that “questionable” gene sequencing technology recently? Thank my parents.’
‘Ah! Lyra Heartstrings. The greatest information broker on the planet.’ He taps Lyra’s head. ‘The secrets here are worth more than your family’s company.’
‘That’s nice to hear from somepony older than Celestia,’ Lyra replies, smiling.
Jack smirks. ‘So, what’s the fix and why one third of The Trio?’
‘Assassins are being targeted, and we need to know who,’ James replies. ‘I have a feeling you might have some knowledge of their inner workings.’
Jack holds his hooves up defensively. ‘Whoa! Trotswood might have a bit of a long reach, but it is not that far. I mean, I tried getting in once, but the cutest little grey filly used me as a pin cushion. I was recuperating for a week afterward. Me!’
‘Little...’ James gapes.
‘Grey...’ Lyra stares at Jack.
‘Filly?’ they say in unison.
‘How many times have I told you not to tease me in public?’ Octavia snorts as she trots up. She is in her armor and robe, but her hood is down.
Jack smiles. ‘Hello.’
Octavia shoves her hidden blade into the stallion’s chest. The other wince as Jack falls.
‘I see you remember he comes back.’ James grimaces.
‘He comes back?’ Octavia asks.
Jack gasps and sits up. ‘I remember you now. Just as sharp as ever. Not just the blades.’
Octavia grins. ‘Oh, this will be fun.’ She leans down and runs her hidden blade across Jack’s throat. ‘Try that again and I’ll find a new way every time.’
‘Thanks for the warning.’ Jack grunts as he stands. ‘I liked this shirt.’ He takes a deep breath. ‘Well, if you’re being targeted, let’s get back to base and plan the raid.’
‘You told him already?’
James shrugs. ‘Between you killing everything in sight and his ability to be killed, this might be the best shot we have.’
Octavia sighs and looks at Jack. ‘Canary Wharf, right?’
‘The Hub, hidden under a tourist center,’ Jack replies.
Octavia scowls. ‘Ah. The boring place.’
‘We have a dinosaur.’
‘Excuses!’ Octavia shouts, trotting away.
The others sigh and trot after her.
‘A dinosaur?’ James asks.
‘An eager “applicant” caught it from a rift near Ponyville,’ Jack explains. ‘I’d watch that area for more incursions. Don’t want a whole Silurian tribe popping up at some point.’
James groans. ‘I’ll keep my eyes open.’
‘What’s a dinosaur?’ Lyra asks.
‘You took her to Earth, but you didn’t show her the dinosaurs?’ Jack exclaims.
‘She wanted to see the stupid, smelly apes!’ James defends. ‘We didn’t get to see the cool stuff.’
Lyra groans and pushes past. ‘Aliens.’
‘Hey!’ Jack shouts. ‘He’s the alien. I’m a time traveller.’
‘And you’re both slowing us down!’ Octavia shouts.
The stallions groan and hurry to catch up.
At The Hub, everypony is gathered around a workstation. Jack has a mug of coffee. Lyra types away. Octavia sits behind the group, sharpening her blades.
‘You’re welcome, by the way,’ Jack says. ‘I had a hard time convincing your friend to let me have your case and an even tougher time getting it into your apartment with your friend there.’
Octavia looks up from her blades. ‘Did you seduce Beauty Brass?’
‘HA!’ James laughs. ‘Future pony pheromones. He’s usually in at “hello”.’ He gets a mug of coffee of his own. ‘I’m surprised Vinyl resisted you.’ He takes a sip. ‘Do you have Sugar Cloud tied up in the back or something?’
‘What makes you think Vinyl resisted?’
‘Octavia hasn’t killed you yet... again.’
Jack laughs. ‘You and The Doctor. You’re always a step ahead.’
Lyra finishes typing. ‘Well. I’m impressed. I’d say you have about half of it right.’
‘And the other half?’
The unicorn motions with her hooves. ‘Aliens.’
Octavia groans. ‘Standing in front of you!’
‘No, that is the part that is right.’ Lyra taps all the screen. ‘I think Tavi cut the memory part of your brain out when you tried to raid their base. Everything is all wrong. You even list Kaeko as still being active.’
‘She’s not?’ Octavia asks.
‘Retired six years ago when she moved to Ponyville and set up her shop.’ Lyra shrugs. ‘She did maintain her contacts. Great source of information when I tapped her fiber.’ She glances at James. ‘You don’t want to know what Daring looks up when she is bored.’
‘Tamer than what Rei downloads,’ the father shrugs.
‘My life and the lives of everypony I care about are being threatened!’ Octavia shouts. ‘I’ll buy both of them a lifetime’s supply of clop if we can just cut to the part about how we stop the killer!’
Lyra turns to her friend. ‘Killer? Thought you were just attacked.’
‘That sense I told you about...’ -- Octavia takes a breath -- ‘it was more like blood seeping into the carpet under my hotel room door.’
The unicorn turns back to the computer. She puts on a headset. ‘And that is why I am staying here during the operation. One main entry point guarded with more firepower than I can muster in a lifetime of magic.’ She brings up a new screen. ‘Now, point to where on the map your base is located.’
Octavia glances around. ‘That is private.’
Jack groans and points. ‘There. Right in downtown. Moved after my attempted raid. You can keep it secret from the rest of the world, but it is hard to disguise loads of work crews fortifying the core of the building and the power flow going into that place. Won’t even mention the one and only one fiber line going in and out of the building. Hoshi had to build our system from scratch after the last time we tried getting through your defenses.’
James raises an eyebrow. ‘Defenses?’
‘Every incoming packet is met with a sonic pulse. Unless met with a counter-pulse, nothing will get through and your system will burn. They likely send a pulse ahead of their outgoing packets so they don’t accidentally fry every computer on the planet.’ Jack sips his coffee and looks at Octavia. ‘We just pinged their line. They shut down the internet in this half of the city for three days. We spent the night putting out the fires you caused in here.’
‘Only half the city?’ James turns to Octavia. ‘I thought I told them the proper settings to blank the city if anypony tried getting in.’
‘And the power requirements for just this setting costs more than running my school for a year.’
‘Excuses!’
Jack laughs. ‘I figured you were the one who gave it to them. We’ll have to get ours upgraded to match them.’ He goes to his office and gets his coat. ‘Shall we be off?’
‘Even with me, we’re not getting in without a fight,’ Octavia replies.
‘Sure we can. James flies us in. Lyra plugs into the mainframe. You tell us who we’re after. You and I bust some skulls. Simple as that.’ Jack looks at James. ‘Unless there is something you’re keeping from me.’
James holds his forelegs up defensively. ‘Hey. The pulse generator was payment for Daring. But I’m staying here with Lyra.’
‘Come on, James. Not like a Time Lord to sit on the sidelines. Hell, River is usually in the middle of the trouble in most of our encounters.’
‘I’m going back to Twilight with the face I have now. If I go return home and I don’t care for her or my daughters, I promise to hold on to the drive to use up all of your excess life energy in the most painful ways possible. So if you’ll excuse me, I would prefer not getting in the middle of a war between a rogue assassin, the organization that trained her and the two of you.’ James laughs slightly. ‘Is that okay?’
Everypony takes a step back. Jack adjusts his coat and places his gun inside. Octavia pulls her hood over her head.
‘Let’s go, pretty boy,’ Octavia grunts.
Jack smirks. ‘Pretty?’
The mare stabs him in the chest. ‘Figure of speech.’ She trots away from the body. ‘Coming?’
Jack groans as he stands. ‘I have got to stop wearing my good shirts around her.’
James drinks his coffee. ‘Try being around her when she is upset.’
Jack groans again and follows Octavia.
Octavia and Jack gallop into an office building. Jack rounds the security desk. He checks the officer on duty, but he gets no pulse. Octavia gallops to a stairwell.
‘Direct route to HQ. Forget about him.’
‘He activated the alarm,’ Jack reports. ‘Police will be here in a matter of minutes.’
`Give me a sec,` James says over their headsets.
`Is this thing on?` a voice asks.
Jack grins. ‘Hello.’
`He’s mine, Jack!` James yells. `Ahem. Go ahead, sexy. I mean, Shining.`
`Uh,` Shining Armor stutters. `I’ll keep my men back. Just hurry.`
‘You’re going to allow outsiders into the op?’ Jack asks.
‘They aren’t coming in to help. They are clean up,’ Octavia replies. ‘Right, handsome?’
`He’s mine, Octavia,` James growls.
`After Skybound, we have been liaising with the various organizations operating within Equestria. It makes the cover-ups go smoother,` Shining explains. `Didn’t you get the memo?`
‘Hurry up!’ Octavia shouts. ‘This area is probably just ten minutes from a gas leak explosion.’
‘Gas leak?’ Jack asks.
‘The core of the building is rigged with a self-destruct device designed to look like a gas leak. Everything of value will be blown away and buried under rubble.’ She enters the stairwell. ‘Are you coming or not!’
Octavia gallops down the stairs. Jack grunts and follows. They pass many more bodies as they head down several flights of stairs.
‘And that makes five,’ Jack counts. ‘Looks like they were taken out on the way up.’
‘Wrong way. They were at the front door. Whoever broke in was tough enough to battle them all the way down.’
‘And all these doors?’
‘Like you don’t have rooms for show at your half-rate fortress,’ Octavia snorts.
The assassin jumps a rail and lands in front of an open door. She steps over the body keeping it open and enters a destroyed office space. Cubicles are trashed. Several computers are destroyed. Some workspaces are on fire. The ponies that are not dead are either bleeding to death or tending to those that are bleeding to death. A pegasus pulls an unicorn’s horn from his shoulder before tending to a fallen ally. An unicorn uses her magic as a sling while she ties a bandage around another pegasus’ broken wings. Jack pushes past a shocked Octavia.
‘Five guards, a false door and an office of trained killers were a much better deterrent than terawatt force fields, automatic lasers that can puncture Dalekanium and a neurotoxin that can drop a legion of Sontarans in a single second,’ Jack says as he helps the unicorn with the pegasus.
Octavia regains her composure and trots through the office. She passes several more wounded ponies. One of the barely-injured ponies notices the new arrival and salutes.
‘How long?’ Octavia asks.
‘F-five minutes,’ the pony reports.
‘Damn.’ Octavia gets out a small USB device. ‘Plug this into the mainframe and download as much as you can. Sensitive data first. Once that is started, get as many survivors out as possible. If they are too far gone, leave them.’
‘Y-yes, ma’am.’
Octavia wipes a tear. ‘P-please find as many as possible.’
Octavia gallops deeper into the building Jack follows after her. They pass more injured ponies trying to evacuate. A number of doors are blown off and their rooms collapsed. The mare growls and taps her headset.
‘Pretty boy, you there?’
‘Right behind you,’ Jack replies.
‘Not you.’
`I’m here,` James says.
‘I mean your brother-in-law!’ Octavia growls. ‘Shining, wounded coming your way. If you have somepony who can keep a secret, send them down to help.’
A bolt of magic passes Octavia. She stops. In front of her, an unicorn in a dark blue hood and robe aims another shot while backing towards a server bank.
‘About time you show up,’ the unicorn snorts. ‘I knew my minions couldn’t handle you on the train, but it slowed you down enough for me to get here and get what I want.’
‘And you have only four minutes to get past me, out of here and through the royal guards before a “gas leak” destroys the building.’
‘More than enough time.’
The unicorn stands on her hind legs and extends her hidden blades from under her robe. Octavia does the same. The unicorn charges. The two warriors exchange blows. Octavia is faster, but the unicorn uses her magic to create shields to block additional attacks.
‘What the hell is going on?’ Octavia demands. ‘Why are you attacking other assassins?’
‘Are you really that dumb?’ the unicorn scoffs. ‘It is all your fault.’
‘Huh?’
‘You went soft against Skybound. That sent ripples through the whole organization,’ the unicorn accuses. ‘Orders were less and less about justice and more about turning the criminals over to the do-nothing authorities like the ones you have outside. I am going to purge the organization of weakness and rebuild us as the true protectors of Equestria!’
‘You’re insane.’
‘And you’re soft. You’re weak.’ She magically forces Octavia back. ‘You’re dead.’
The unicorn charges a spell on her horn. Before she can fire, a shot rings out and smashes into the servers.
‘We got all we needed,’ Jack reports. ‘And I hate to come between two beautiful mares, but we have to get out of here.’
The unicorn removes a drive from the smoking servers. ‘I have enough here to begin the purge. Those who won’t join, will die.’ She smirks. ‘And don’t think hiding at mommy’s house will help you. They are good as dead already.’
The unicorn discharges her spell and disappears. Jack fires again, but the shot goes through the disappearing unicorn.
‘How the hell..?’
Octavia sighs. ‘Ironically, we leave the top unshielded. It is for magic users to get in and out quickly.’
‘And how does that help us?’
‘Well, were there any unicorns still alive out there?’
‘With or without horns?’
Octavia taps her headset. ‘Mr Wanderer, tell Vinyl...’
A rose-colored burst of magic appears behind the ponies. Shining grabs them and charges a spell.
‘Hello,’ Jack says with a smile.
`I’ll gut you!` James screams.
Shining teleports everypony away right as explosions bring the building down on top of them.
Back at The Hub, Lyra works at the computer. Octavia sits on a couch and holds her head. James brings her a mug of coffee.
‘Thanks.’ Octavia takes a sip. ‘It feels horrible.’
‘Theta was the one who blew up the planet while I was away. I wish I could say I can relate, but I really didn’t like it back there.’
‘Not that. We got most of the information on our operatives and operations. Lyra is contacting them and telling them to be ready.’ She sips again. ‘It feels bad being blamed for all of this.’
‘We don’t know what the unicorn said was true. It could have been displacement.’
Octavia looks away. ‘After Skybound, all our orders were to bring targets in alive or turn them over to the authorities. I was the first to do so with that mission. It is my fault.’
‘Well, I was the one who convinced you to let him live. You can blame me.’
Lyra turns around. ‘I have some good news and some bad news.’
‘Good,’ Octavia states.
‘Checking the operative list versus recent deaths in the news, it is very possible that your attacker didn’t get to them before the raid.’
‘And the bad?’
Lyra takes a deep breath. ‘Unless you want to run the organization yourself, most of the staff is either dead, in intensive care or MIA, likely still in the building...’
‘We had trainers, scouts, secretaries, analysts and all the administration in that building. Not to mention funding and cover businesses. Everypony who had access to the finances were in there.’ Octavia hangs her head. ‘This is impossible.’
‘Regular impossible or extra-crispy impossible?’ James asks.
‘The impossible that says that even with all our contacts and operatives recovered, we don’t have the infrastructure to exist. She won without even killing us.’
‘And the better news is that I have IDed the unicorn,’ Lyra states. She brings up a picture of a dark purple unicorn with a yellow and pink mane on the monitors. ‘By using her basic description and a voice sample, I was able to identify her as Bright Orchid. She runs, er, ran a flower shop in Los Arion. Master of assault tactics. Worked really hard at cleaning up gang activity in her area of the city. She is known for using any means necessary for taking out her targets.’
‘She was recruited a few years before me,’ Octavia adds. ‘My handler talked about her a lot. He didn’t really care for her. Apparently, her cover in LA was punishment for a little too violent handling of a corrupt MP.’
‘Is your handler still about?’ James asks.
‘Why?’
‘I’m working on your infrastructure problem.’
Octavia stares at James, then gets an idea. She smiles and turns to Lyra. ‘Get me a list of all of tonight’s social events in Canterlot. You’re also going to have to call in a few favors to get us tickets.’ She turns back to James. ‘You’re going to need a tuxedo.’
James stares back. ‘Why does this feel worse than the op you just ran?’
Jack trots through a hospital. The entire ward is filled with survivors from the attack. A television broadcasts the ongoing rescue efforts of ponies trapped in the rubble. Shining Armor is giving an interview about the explosion. Jack sighs and continues his patrol, looking for a survivor who is still conscious. He stops outside a room and sighs.
‘You are not going to talk with any of them.’
Jack turns. A young cream-colored unicorn with a light green mane trots up to the stallion.
‘Hello,’ Jack greets with a smile.
‘I’m sixteen, and I prefer the artistic types.’ The young mare sighs and shakes her head. ‘I’m Moon Glow. I was recruited only a few months ago. I was in Canterlot for training when we were attacked. I don’t really have anything to go back to now...’
‘I’m sure the organization will pull through.’
‘Unless the attacker doesn’t wipe us all out tonight. We can’t get police protection; not like that would stop her.’
‘You’ll be fine. Octavia will keep you safe.’
Moon Glow sighs. ‘I hope so, mister. I really hope so.’
Octavia trots through a large social gathering. The important ponies of Canterlot greet the famous cellist. James groans as he follows.
‘I am so glad Twilight doesn’t like functions like these and prefers functions like Ψ(x,t),’ the stallion complains.
‘Just shut up and look pretty,’ Octavia snorts. ‘I’ll do the rest.’
‘If you wanted pretty, you should have asked Jack.’
‘I have him guarding the hospital. He is more useful there.’ She stops behind a tall unicorn in a suit and taps his shoulder. ‘May I have the next dance?’
Fancy Pants turns around. He gasps when he sees Octavia.
‘Hey, Mr Fancy Pants,’ James greets, earning an kick to the gut from a short grey earth pony mare.
‘Miss Philharmonica!’ Fancy Pants cheers. ‘So rare to see you at one of these functions and not as a performer.’
‘My schedule was free. Now, about the dance?’
Fancy Pants bows and leads Octavia to the dance floor. Fleur trots over and stands by James.
‘You’re that pony from the garden party last year.’
James giggles, ‘Pants.’
Fleur groans and holds out a hoof. ‘I’m Fleur. Charmed, I’m sure.’
James shakes the hoof. ‘Sure. Why not? Are ya famous or something?’
Fleur groans. ‘You must be that Mr Wanderer the Canterlot circles are talking about. The crass pony that is somehow engaged to Princess Sparkle.’
James blushes. ‘Well, we’re not engaged yet...’
‘Hurry up, then. We need more ponies like you to shake things up. The Canterlot elite is so~ boring.’
...
On the dance floor, Fancy Pants leads Octavia as they circle the room.
‘I saw the reports. I’m surprised you’re alive,’ Fancy Pants states.
‘The prince saved us at the last second,’ Octavia sighs. ‘We need your help.’
‘I’m out of the game, Octavia. You were the last pony I supervised. I cannot have any more connection to the organization.’
‘Says one of the few living ponies to collect a surprisingly large insurance payoff from the loss of a major metropolitan office complex.’ Fancy Pants spins Octavia. She comes back smirking. ‘Not to mention the sale of companies and assets that were lost today.’
Fancy Pants frowns. ‘I have already made plans to invest those payoffs in charity. Any efforts to taint the money will look like an attack on charity.’
‘Would a music school happen to be one of the charities in mind?’
‘What are you scheming, Miss Philharmonica?’
‘We have facilities and staff. Depending on how many ponies survive the night, we might need some more funds to make some new hires.’
‘You would turn your school into a new headquarters? A school you bought from Skybound and employ an infamous thief at?’
‘Reggie donated the school back to the district. My mother and I just kept it from becoming something other than a performing arts academy.’ Octavia is spun again. ‘As for Silver Fox... She volunteers. She quit her show to help a new generation of actresses follow in her hoofsteps. There are only rumors that her show was based on real crimes.’
‘You would need administrators.’
‘Arctic Fox and my mother.’
‘And trainers.’
‘We can call Fyrefly from Cloudsdale for one.’
‘And a cover story.’
‘Did you miss the part about the performing arts school?’
The music stops. The mares and stallions bow. Fancy Pants leads Octavia back to their escorts. Fleur is giggling at the pictures of Rei and Del that James is showing her. They stop and look over as the others return.
‘Can I be on the recruitment team?’ Fleur asks. ‘It would be such a wonderful excuse for you to take me more places.’
Fancy Pants groans. ‘We’ll see. I’ll have to contact some others first.’ He looks at Octavia. ‘As well as Melodia.’
‘She’s, uh, a little busy right now.’
Fancy Pants raises an eyebrow.
‘She’s guarding our families. Silver is there helping her.’
‘Melodia might have been one of the finer recruits the organization has seen,’ Fancy Pants begins, ‘but two ponies versus one who can bring down the headquarters.’
‘M-m-mom can handle Orchid.’
Fancy Pants tenses up. ‘Orchid? She is behind this?’
Octavia nods. Fancy Pants turns and trots towards the exit.
‘Get to your mother’s right away. I’ll call in every favor I can to get you all the backup you need. Do you have anypony at the hospital?’
‘N-’
‘I’ll have Prince Shining Armor there himself if I can, but you might have to settle for Commander Sunshine for now. No. Scratch that. His brother will guard them. I’m getting Sunshine to back you up.’
‘Fancy Pants, what are you saying?’ Octavia asks.
‘I always knew she was a loose cannon. I wanted her banished or even arrested, but the higher ups settled on relocation and my retirement. We should have gotten rid of her a long time ago.’ He stops and looks at Octavia. ‘Remember everything you learned, especially the compassion and desire to protect others you recently acquired. That will save your life. Do you need me to call a cab to get you home faster?’
‘No need,’ James replies. He opens a closet. ‘I have us covered.’ He turns and gets out his mobile. ‘Jack? We have new orders.’
Fancy Pants gives Octavia a hug. ‘Good luck.’
Octavia smiles and adjusts her bow tie. ‘Trust me. I’m a cellist.’
Two older green unicorns trot through a mansion. They approach a burgundy mare wearing a white robe. The male unicorn clears his throat.
‘Miss Philharmonica, how long do you plan to keep us in that cellar of yours?’
Mel groans and turns around. ‘You are free to use the rest of the house as long as Silver or I escort you. The basement is the easiest room to defend. Do you want to risk your life against somepony who can bring down a whole building?’
‘What my husband means,’ the unicorn mare speaks up, ‘is that we would have preferred hiding at our mansion since our staff knows our tastes better.’
‘And we wouldn’t have to make our own meals.’
Mel sighs. ‘Mr and Mrs Heartstrings, you have known me since Lyra was a baby. You know you can trust me. Until we know it is safe, please put up with these few restrictions. We’ll be able to get back to a normal life soon.’
Mr Heartstrings smiles. ‘We trust you. We’re just worried for our children.’ A loud crash is heard. ‘And now ourselves.’
The unicorn raise shields around the group. They keep spells charged on their horns. Mel looks around for the attacker. An object impacts the shields. Mr Heartstrings strains to stop a bullet from breaking through.
‘Safe with you, eh?’ Mr Heartstrings taunts.
‘Good catch, dear,’ Mrs Heartstrings compliments. ‘Got the shield?’
The stallion’s eyes flash, and the shields glow brighter. Mrs Heartstrings releases the spell on her horn. A burst of magic radiates from her and fills the mansion. A glowing form drops from the ceiling and lands with blades drawn. A ring of shields and firearms levitates around it.
‘Pretty clever, but your illumination spell will only last as long as you’re alive,’ Orchid growls.
A glowing pegasus drops from the ceiling and throws daggers at Orchid. The attack is blocked by one of Orchid’s shields. The unicorn aims a firearm up and fires at Silver. The pegasus flies away and throws another dagger, knocking the weapon from the unicorn’s magical grip. Orchid fires another weapon at Silver. She turns back to her original targets, but they are gone. She growls and trots through the halls.
‘Having a heart makes you sentimental. Having a heart makes you weak. You care to much to finish what you start.’
A sword stabs out in front of Orchid. She knocks it away with a shield and swings her blade. A white-hooded figure rolls out of the way and blocks the path. A bit of grey mane sticks from under the hood.
‘Getting slow in your old age,’ Orchid taunts.
The hooded pony motions for the unicorn to follow and gallops down a hallway. Orchid gives chase. The hooded pony ducks into the kitchen. Orchid drops her shields and weapons as they get caught on the stoves and counters. The leading pony dodges a magic blast by going down a side stairs. The angry unicorn follows. The hooded pony leads them through a sound studio and traps herself in the recording booth. Orchid growls and advances with her blades drawn.
‘Thank you for trapping yourself, Melodia,’ the unicorn snarls. ‘We should have plenty of time together while I carve you up for your daughter.
The hooded pony stands and pulls back her hood. ‘Now,’ Octavia commands.
The door slams behind Orchid. Vinyl pops up in the control room and cranks a dial. A high pressure bassline plays from the booth’s playback speakers. Orchid screams and covers her ears. Octavia calmly walks over to her attacker and disarms her while she writhes in pain. The sound is turned down, and Octavia places a magic-cancelling ring on Orchid’s horn. She removes earplugs and drops them on the ground.
‘When you live with Vinyl, you learn to protect your ears,’ Octavia says, dragging the unicorn from the booth. ‘She’s all yours, Jack.’
Orchid groans and looks up at the stallion above her.
‘Hello,’ Jack greets, grinning.
‘Not now, Jack,’ Octavia groans.
Orchid looks around her. She kicks back, knocking Octavia into the booth, while she swings upward, stabbing Jack in the chest. The stallion falls while the criminal unicorn jumps up. She holds her blade towards Vinyl while she knocks a cabinet in front of the booth door. Orchid gallops away, allowing Vinyl to help her friends. Jack groans as he stands up.
‘Help Octavia,’ Jack tells Vinyl. ‘I’ll get Orchid.’
Orchid removes the ring from her horn as she gallops from the recording studio. She levitates a pair of her guns as she passes back into the kitchen. She bursts into a dining room, only to be confronted by Mel. The older assassin aims a hoof-mounted gun at the unicorn. Orchid charges and Mel fires. The shot is deflected by a magical shield. Orchid plows into Mel and catches her in her magic. They enter a foyer. Silver, Arctic and the Heartstrings are waiting. Orchid levitates a gun to Mel’s head.
‘Don’t try anything or she gets it,’ the unicorn threatens.
The others grit their teeth and back away. Orchid edges towards the door with her hostage.
‘That’s right. You won’t do anything. You care too much,’ the criminal spits. ‘You listen to your hearts and not your heads. You think your feelings and caring make you strong. HA! It makes you weaker. It allowed me to destroy the organization. I just defeated their top star too, and I have her mother at my mercy. How? Because I don’t care for anything! You searched for justice. This is it!’
Orchid kicks open the doors and steps outside. The mansion is crawling with bat ponies as they watch the criminal. Most are armed with spears. Several have electrified claws on their hooves. Sunshine stands in the way, ready to pounce. Orchid continues walking, pressing her gun into Mel’s head even more.
‘This is the justice you were fighting for!’ Orchid shouts. ‘Your pathetic adherence to your weak emotions will end in the death of you all! Watch as your kindness and caring are destroyed!’
Orchid starts pulling the trigger on her gun. Sunshine leaps forward to stop her. A shot rings out. Sunshine catches Mel as she falls. Orchid hits the ground, bleeding from a hole in her head. Mel thanks the bat pony and stands. She looks back at the house. Jack takes a deep breath and holsters his pistol. The Night Guard close on the house to begin cleanup operations.
James stands outside of a closet in the backstage area of an auditorium. Octavia and Lyra exchange their goodbyes with their friend.
‘You’re always good for an adventure,’ James laughs, hugging Octavia. ‘Let’s hope this is the last for a long while.’
‘Agreed. I need a few mellow gigs to relax with after this.’
The stallion smiles. ‘Speaking of which, have you ever wanted to play a wedding?’
Octavia smiles and laughs. ‘It would be my honor.’ She looks towards the front of the stage. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to stick around and see your idea come to completion?’
‘What idea? This is all you.’ He looks into the closet. Jack is waiting. ‘Besides, I have another promise to keep,’ the stallion groans.
‘Good luck,’ the mares say.
‘You’re gonna need it,’ Lyra adds.
‘Back at ya,’ James replies.
The stallion enters his TARDIS and powers it up. Once the closet is gone, the mares take a breath and turn around. They trot up to Silver. The Trio trots onto stage together. A small number of ponies are gathered. Most are injured, but they are all in good spirits. Fleur and Moon Glow tend to some of the more injured ponies. To one side of the stage, Fancy Pants talks with Arctic, Mel and Lyra’s parents.
‘Greetings,’ Octavia says. ‘It is wonderful to see you all again and in much better surroundings. The old organization is dead but today, a new one will rise from the ashes. One that will prevent those like Bright Orchid from ever joining. One that will bring justice to those that will dare harm Equestria or our allies.’ She smiles evilly. ‘One with an appreciation for classical music.’
The audience gasps.
‘NOOOO!!!!!’ Vinyl cries as she drops to the floor and weeps.
James escorts Jack down to The Power Block after landing the TARDIS. They wave to Lucas and Mimi as they exit and cross the street to Neighponese Imports.
‘Konichiwa, otoosan!’ Rei greets.
‘Rei, this is my friend Jack. Jack, this is Rei,’ James introduces.
Jack takes Rei’s hoof and kisses it. ‘Hello.’
Rei blushes. She rounds the counter. She looks the stallion over before going around him and kicking between his hind legs. Jack screams in pain and falls over. Rei snorts and goes back to the counter.
‘You’re nowhere near as cute as Inkie-chan.’
‘This is worse than being killed,’ Jack moans. He looks up and sees somepony. ‘Daring?’
The pegasus looks around. ‘Uh, well, you see, archaeology is an imprecise science,’ Daring dodges as she gallops to the back to hide in her apartment.
James laughs, yawns and heads back across the street to get to work.
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i could ignore most of the things wrong in this chapter because of the inclusion of Jack, and the only thing i sorta noted was those changes of pace, before and after the function.
other than that it was a pretty damn awesome episode/chapter
2421572
I know. It is pretty bad.
The Fancy Pants scene was the point that I had planned out to before writing. After that, I was stumped. I didn't use Jack properly. I lost direction of the chapter. I literally went through four or five different endings, none of them would have any good context or reasoning. All I have are excuses but in the end, it boils down to losing focus, horrible planning and just wanting to set up stuff for down the line. I am really sorry for how the chapter turned out. Unfortunately, two of the final ten are in the same boat, but I have been working on planning them better so I don't utterly mess up again.
I really wish I used Jack better. I just seem to have lost that 'Who-ness' that I was able to occasionally tap in the early chapters. I love Jack so much. He is one of my favorite characters. If I ever meet John Barrowman, I would let him punch me just for messing up Jack in this one chapter.
2422219 on your point of losing the Who-ness, i think it was just a natural evolution of this story away from that. The Master Game seems to re-capture it fairly well(for the given feeling of the season 3 finale).
i started reading this story for the doctor who elements, i stayed for the characters.
I think you wanted to write mansion
2726530
Good catch. Thank you.
Turns out 'Manion' is a proper name so web-based spell check assumes I meant that. Thanks Google.