• Published 25th Oct 2021
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Return of the Ancient Mage - Zoshe



An old face returns, seeming to have some past with Equestria's rulers. Who is he and why is he returning now?

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Chapter 18: Night Raid

Princess Luna flew through the night sky above Canterlot once she had finished raising the moon. For a moment she thought about making this night darker than normal. However with what they had planned for tonight, it was more important that nothing seem out of place so as not to alert their target.

She flew low over the tops of the building as she made her way to the designated location. Only a few houses still had their lights on since many ponies would already be in bed this late. Once she made her way over one last rooftop, she found the flat where the royal guard and a great number of her own night guard were milling about. The bat ponies could be seen taking off and landing at regular intervals. They were wearing their customary night guard armor, the darker hues of their outfits barely catching any of the moonlight as they flitted from place to place.

Luna quietly landed and was soon approached by a pair of unicorns, they both wore darker garments in order to obscure their much brighter coats. Luna could see hints of yellow and orange peeking in around their black masks so she could assume the camouflage was necessary.

"Halt," one of the unicorns said in a quiet voice. "You may only pass once we've verified your identity."

Spitfire had told her about the checkpoint she'd have to pass once she landed. They were all operating under the assumption that they were dealing with a changeling incursion and that everyone would have to undergo a magical screening when they arrived on site, royalty was no exception.

Luna stood still while she let the two guards do their jobs. The unicorn that hadn't spoken stepped forward and cast a soft blue field over her that made Luna's fur tingle for a moment before withdrawing. Seemingly satisfied, the unicorn stepped back and nodded to their companion.

The first unicorn gave Luna a curt salute, "my apologies, Princess Luna. Security's tight right now."

"We shall not fault thee for only performing thy duties," Luna maintained a stern demeanor, it was all business tonight. "Take me to the command tent."

"Right away your highness," the unicorn beckoned for her to follow. "This way."

Luna got a good look at the makeshift camp as she was guided through it. Ponies of all tribes could be found throughout it, all wearing dark outfits similar to what her escort was wearing. The only ones dressed differently were the bat ponies, which were here in great number. She could see them ringed all around the edges of the roof, their yellow and red eyes constantly sweeping the streets below and the skies above. They were chosen for this duty mainly for their ability to operate so well at night. Their ability to fly silently as well as their natural night vision were immense assets with the stealth they needed tonight.

She was escorted up to the edge overlooking Soarin's apartment where another dark robed pony was quietly giving orders. The two guards at her side gave the pony a salute, "we've brought you Princess Luna."

"I'll take it from here," came the voice of Spitfire from behind the mask. "Return to your stations."

"Captain Spitfire," greeted Luna once her escort had departed. "How does everything appear this evening?"

"Unnervingly quiet," She beckoned in the direction of the lit room down below them. Inside they could see Soarin, or more accurately, the imposter pretending to be Soarin sitting comfortably and reading a book. "The more I watch him, the more I'm convinced that isn't Soarin. He's never been the 'sit quietly and read' type. Plus we did a little digging on this residence."

"Did you find something?" Luna asked curiously.

"We did," Spitfire said incredulously. "According to the landlord, Soarin's been living there for half a year. However, when we checked on the utilities that this place uses, it all came up empty."

"Empty?" Luna raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Spitfire nodded. "According to them, Nopony's lived here for about two months. Same goes for the paper route and local market. They've only started seeing Soarin today."

Luna took another look down at the apartment, everything still seemed very quiet. "What's your professional opinion?"

"That whoever is down there set this place in a hurry and wasn't too concerned with covering all the details," Spitfire reported.

"How long until we proceed?" Luna asked calmly.

"Now that you're here, we're just waiting on our last patrol to check in," she said. "Hopefully there won't be anything for you to do. We just needed either you or Princess Celestia here in the event we encounter Queen Chrysalis."

Luna gave her a nod, "so we're operating under the assumption that this is another invasion attempt."

"We don't want to take any chances. Everypony's still on edge with how badly we were beaten during Princess Cadenza's wedding." Spitfire looked up into the sky, "here comes the last patrol."

A bat pony touched down near them. Luna instantly recognized her from among her night guard due to her being one of the ponies with a bit more color to them. She had streaks of red, black, and purple running through her mane and her red eyes almost glowed in the moonlight.

The mare approached and gave them a quick salute, "Private Jimmy Hook, reporting in."

"At ease, private. Give us your report." Spitfire saluted back.

"At once ma'am. Skies still remain clear with no signs of additional movement from within the residence. Everything still seems a little too quiet." Jimmy concluded her report.

"How long have you been on patrol tonight?" Spitfire asked.

"Four hours, ma'am," reported Jimmy.

"You're relieved for now," ordered Spitfire. "I want you rested and ready to mobilize at any time if this turns into a shit show."

"At once ma'am. Thank you ma'am." Jimmy then turned to Princess Luna and gave one last salute, "it's an honor to have you with us tonight, Princess Luna."

Luna gave the energetic guard a nod along with a small smile, "the honor is mine to have such loyal guards serving us in this time of need."

While they finished their little exchange, Spitfire sent out runners to the various corners of their makeshift camp. The operation would soon begin.


"On my mark. Three... Two... One. Go Go Go!"

On Spitfire's command, the unicorns that had spread themselves out around the complex all fired off a series of magical blasts in through the windows. The spells detonated and filled the night with a blinding light while the earth ponies quickly broke down the front door.

All at once, the remaining flyers swarmed over the building as earth ponies and unicorns rushed in to secure the residence.

"Residence has been secured," reported a unicorn stationed at the command tent, his horn alit with the communication spell.

As the flash of light died down, they could see Soarin still relaxing as he had been all evening, not once seeming to care about the intruders. Commands to surrender that they could hear from their station were being completely ignored.

"Living room is secured but the target is refusing to acknowledge us," came the report.

"Take them down," ordered Spitfire.

"At once," the unicorn saluted before relaying the order.

The shouts and grunts came from below were soon followed by shouts of outrage and confusion.

"What's happening down there?!" Growled the captain.

"I'm... I'm not sure..." The unicorn seemed to strain his eyes in concentration. "Report's coming in." His jaw dropped, "the target is incorporeal! I repeat, the target appears to be some kind of illusion! We are currently searching the remainder of the residence."

"What?!" Shouted Spitfire in outrage. "Have we been guarding an empty building all this time?!"

"Reports are coming in, ma'am," the report continued. "Two hostages have been found bound in a bedroom closet and... uh..."

"What is it?!" Demanded Spitfire.

"Ma'am," the unicorn saluted, even as sweat started to roll down his face. "The hostages have been identified as lieutenant Soarin and private Jimmy Hook."

"What?!" Roared Princess Luna as she whipped her head around and tried to locate the member of her night guard she had just seen. The red streaks of her mane should have her stand out from among her fellow bat ponies, but no matter how hard the princess looked, she could see no sign of her.

Spitfire shouted out to the rest of the camp, "everypony scramble! Find that bat pony and bring her to me!" She pointed a hoof at the unicorn with the communication spell, "I want those hostages immediately processed and brought into camp!"


A few minutes later found them sitting in the medical tent. Lieutenant Soarin, the real Soarin, was stretched out on a cot while medics looked him over. Not much could be made out from what they were saying, but it was clear they were completely baffled by his loss of color and missing cutiemark.

Several paces away found the now naked member of the Lunar Guard wrapped in a blanket. Luna sat directly next to the shaken Jimmy Hook, the wing she wrapped around her bringing a small blush of embarrassment to the bat pony's face.

Spitfire took a few deep breaths as she approached the rescued member of the night guard, "ok private. In your own words, tell me what happened."

"Ok," Jimmy said timidly. Between losing her armor and being this close to the night princess, she was feeling more than a little vulnerable at the moment. "I arrived with the rest of the guard and we were screened for changelings the same as everypony else was. I started my patrol and everything stayed pretty quiet at first. About an hour into my patrol I started having trouble seeing, despite it being such a clear night." Jimmy started to strain, apparently having trouble remembering clearly, "I felt a sharp pain in my hind leg and the next thing I knew, I woke up bound and gagged and hovering over me was my twin wearing my armor." She shuffled nervously, "it was really unnerving."

"This isn't good," Spitfire pondered. "This means somepony else has been making your reports for at least the last three hours. And you didn't get close to the estate the whole time you were airborne?"

Jimmy shook her head, "no, I stayed a good distance away. I don't know how they managed to get the jump on me."

Their questioning was interrupted by another member of the night guard poking their head into the tent, "Commander Spitfire. We found something." They said just before passing a folded piece of paper over to her. "We found this on a discarded set of night armor several blocks away. The armor is currently with the magic division while they inspect it for tampering."

Spitfire opened the note and read aloud. "Nice try. You ponies are way out of your league if you ever think you're going to get the jump on me. I had fun watching you all scramble about, but better luck next time. P.S. Next time try giving me a bit more of a challenge."

Spitfire turned the note over a couple times before slamming it down on the table, "that's all?! No demands, no ransoms, no threats, nothing?!"

"Are you going to be alright?" Luna asked, already feeling tired despite how early the night was.

"I don't like feeling like somepony's plaything," Spitfire sighed as she sat down, exhausted. "At least I got my lieutenant back, even if he hasn't woken up yet."


On the opposite side of the city, far away from the botched night raid, a red streaked bat pony stepped out of the shadows. She rolled her shoulder before her form was overtaken by a flicker of green fire. The torch completely consuming her form before snuffing itself out and leaving a slender pink unicorn in its place.

"Well that was a fun little distraction," she said to herself before disappearing into the city.

Author's Note:

The bat pony OC was created by JimmyHook19.
I only had so much to go on regarding her personality so I hope I did ok with her.

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