Manehattan's Lone Guardian

by Curtis Wildcat

Off Your Marks, Get Set, G_o_

The evening prior...

There were three ponies that met First Quarter and Ignition in the tower's sub-basement, which was long since emptied of any employees. The first two had little to set them apart from the crowd, being male pegasi with no real distinguishing features. Both of them were maintaining neutral expressions and sporting manestyles that were a bit a dozen. Even their Cutie Marks were fairly plain.

The third was a young unicorn, and a fairly cute one in a 'socially awkward' kind of way. Quarter had told Ignition after they first met her that she had the potential to be one of the greatest spellcasters in Equestria's history, but he wouldn't know it from looking at her now: she was rather unsteady on her hooves; her eyes were unfocused, staring at something just a bit to her right; and when she talked, he got the impression that she wasn't listening to what they were saying to her.

All according to plan.

"So let me see if I have this straight, Mr. Mocha," the unicorn said after their customary greetings. "Your co-workers told me that you were ready to have your Cutie Mark swapped with that of a willing volunteer?"

"Correct, Stratos," Quarter answered, maintaining her poise and answering with all due seriousness. She nodded off to her left. "She's right over there."

Ignition wondered silently what the unicorn was really seeing. There was nothing in the direction Quarter had indicated aside from the stone pillar housing one of her pet projects. But instead of giving them a look questioning their sanity, 'Stratos' responded as if somepony else was present. "It's no problem. I'm glad to do it for you. Some practice before I set off on my own won't hurt. Just remember that this will only last for twenty-four hours, alright? Now, brace yourselves!"

'Stratos' closed her eyes, and her horn lit up. Quarter's flank followed suit, and her Cutie Mark---its form obscured by a mass of light particles---was yanked free. The Mark flew awkwardly at first, but gained speed before impacting the pillar and vanishing inside.

There was nothing for the 'recipient' to give in exchange, as the pillar's occupant was far too young to have earned her Mark yet. Regardless, the same recognition failure that made 'Stratos' see Cocoa instead of Quarter made her see two mature ponies swapping their Marks. She cut off the spell, satisfied. "This will work."

Quarter heaved a sigh. "Much better, much better." She wasted no time cutting to the chase. "So, you're going to be leaving tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah. A big city like this doesn't feel like the right place to start endorsing equality, and I haven't felt safe here these past few days. I think I'll try to find someplace a bit more isolated and work my way up from there." 'Stratos' stretched a little, then offered a nervous smile to the group. "Thanks for giving me access to your personal library. I didn't expect an earth pony like yourself to have so much magical lore stored away."

Quarter waved off the compliment. "Part and parcel of my family being collectors for centuries. You never know what might be useful later."

"Well, it's helped me out a lot. Hope you recover quickly, Mr. Mocha," 'Stratos' offered.

"And I hope you find the equality you're looking for," Quarter answered politely. "Please write to me after you're firmly established. I know a few ponies who may be interested in your manifesto."

The unicorn's eyes lit up at this, and she nodded thankfully. She turned and trotted back the way she'd entered, completely ignoring everything else in the room in her eagerness to leave.

And for the rest of her life, Starlight Glimmer would never realize the ramifications of what she had just done.

---

The group waited seven minutes from the time the door shut and locked behind her before moving. One of the bland pegasi wavered in and out of visibility, then vanished entirely as somepony else took his place. "Illusion dropped, unicorn blinded~," Illudere crooned, her horn's glow receding. The crab attached to her mane repeatedly bumped into her temple as she spoke, jerking her head to and fro. "Doesn't suspect a thing and never will! Her little world twists, turns, and flies flies flies~!"

"Translation: she doesn't realize that I abused the knowledge that I 'generously' donated to her cause for personal gain," Quarter commented, pulling up one of her pant legs to double-check. As she knew would happen, Hazelnut's former Cutie Mark was where it was supposed to be. "Excellent work, Illudere. Feels much better now that I don't have two different Marks fighting each other for supremacy." She flinched. "Though that headache I've been having is going to linger for a while. Hopefully that specialist can get rid of it."

None of the three twitched as a wave of emerald fire flared across the second pegasus's body. The flame fizzled out quickly, leaving an auburn-coated, dirty blonde-maned earth pony in his place. "I'm confused," Bushwhacker admitted. "I thought ponies couldn't have more than one Mark."

"Outliers exist, young changeling," Quarter informed him. "The one Stratos transferred was the very first Cutie Mark I ever posessed, and each time I move to a new body it tries to come along with me and override the one that's already there. You can imagine how cover-blowing that would be."

"Lady Hazelnut's tomboy phase was well-timed, then," Ignition brought up. "It wouldn't take long for Lady Caramel to discover that her sister's Mark was not her own otherwise."

"That's the problem with using obscure magic that's not well-documented," Quarter grumbled. She turned and slowly walked towards the elevator, her subordinates following behind. "There's always going to be some sort of catch. Imagine my surprise the first time I transfered bodies on death. The Cutie Mark switching spell was the first one I figured out as a proper unicorn. Matter of necessity, and all that rot. Even then, it still kept finding its way back to me on my revival."

"Is what you did here supposed to be a permanent solution?" Bushwhacker wondered, turning his head to regard the pillar for a moment.

"Project Ashes is my joy." Everypony would need to be deaf to not hear the pride in Quarter's voice. "With that Mark no longer hounding me throughout my existence, I don't need to take the time to worry about it anymore. I can just let it die whenever the little munchkin does. Just leave her at an orphanage when she's old enough---one of the good ones, mind you, not the cruddy ones that don't care about foals---and that will be the end of it."

Bushwhacker frowned and made to say something, seeing something that wasn't right about her explanation, but changed his mind at the last moment. Illudere was more vocal as their elevator opened, but not about the same topic. "Ralph hopes you know about Cutie Marks adoring their real owners."

By way of a reply, Quarter snorted back some laughter and stepped inside after them. "Ponies just don't give immortality enough credit. As long as you live, you will never run out of things to learn. Trust me. I've had the appropriate countermeasures devised for my past three lifetimes." As an aside, she added in an embarrassed tone: "Just took until four years ago to implement them."

The elevator slid shut and carried them away. A few seconds passed.

Quarter nudged Illudere. "Did you seriously name your crab 'Ralph'?"

"Yeppy!"

"Why?"

"Because I was eating cookies when I---"

Illudere's mouth found itself closed mid-sentence as Quarter's tongue hung out in disgust. "Never mind. Calling TMI."

At roughly the same time as Leviathan's reaction to the newspaper...

"Aaand checkmate."

Hazelnut leaned back in her seat, satisfied at the move. Caramel, for her part, had enough sense in her to be surprised that the game had ended so quickly. One more quick look confirmed that her king had no place left to go. Checking the clock to confirm the time, she whistled. "By far the quickest victory you've ever earned."

Hazelnut's smile shifted quickly as she abruptly flinched. "Doesn't really feel fair to play speed chess. You're still coming off of last night."

"So were you," Caramel rebuked her. "When you had that breakdown, you scared me. How's your headache doing?"

"It's a little better, but not at the point where I feel like canceling the meeting with that specialist, whenever it's supposed to be," Hazelnut complained. "I want it gone, not just quiet."

Caramel collected the pieces and set about returning them to their original positions. "Here's hoping it improves before Grandpa's memorial service. Ponies are going to wonder why you missed it in light of how much you've said you idolized him."

Hazelnut snorted quietly. "The service is a week off, Carrie. If it isn't better by then, I'm really in trouble. Are you up for another round?"

Caramel pondered this for a few moments, but finally shook her head. "I think I'll get a workout in and step up my exercises. You just beat me at my specialty while in pain, Hazel. The next time you feel well enough for a fight, I'm going to return the favor."

The speckled pegasus bristled. Of the two, Hazelnut had always had a slight edge in the martial arts. She never lorded that edge over Caramel, but she always took any potential challenges seriously. After a few seconds, she managed to calm herself. "Well, in that case, I'm going to drop in on Ignition. See if he's gotten back from formalizing his guardianship over us."

I suppose I should probably talk to him sometime myself. I might not have truly wanted him for the job, but that's no reason to alienate him if he plans on doing his best. "Ask him to visit the suite sometime. I know he's always busy, but..."

"I'll see what I can do." Hazelnut climbed out of her chair and trotted away. "See you later, little sis."

"'Little'? Hazel, for the last time, you're only a few minutes older than---" The door closed, with Hazelnut's hoofsteps showing no signs of slowing down. "---I am," Caramel finished, hearing her sister leave the suite entirely a few seconds later. She huffed, leaving her chair to change into her practice uniform.

I love her, I really do, but there are times when I've wished that I was the older sibling. She knows that calling me "little sis" irks me. Though if she's just trying to distract me from recent events, that's... not so bad.

Dear sweet Luna, I love calling her that. Always being the oldest sibling is fun. Still, I won't lie and say she didn't need that.

She kept her amusement to herself as she walked. It would raise questions if one of Cocoa's heirs was smiling and laughing so soon after his death had been reported.

Aside from the hidden conference room and the suites used by her best agents, the upper floors of Mocha Corp. HQ were reserved specifically for the family's use, that of their hired servants, and any guests they were able to entertain. All the same, Quarter remained solemn for the sake of anypony who might be watching. She uttered a soft "thank you" in passing to a pony who was making sure one of the staircases was properly maintained.

Even after all of these centuries, attending my own memorial is still going to feel very awkward. I wonder if I should have an antagonistic relationship with my next child just so I would have an excuse not to go.

Quarter's lips curled in disgust. My next child... of course, that would require me to stay alive long enough to come of age and find a husband. I really hope that whatever's giving me those headaches isn't life-threatening, or else I'm going to need to utilize Project Ashes for its secondary purpose after all. I refuse to let my ambitions die just like that.

At the top of the stairs, she heard ravenous noises as if somepony was eating loudly. Reaching out with senses that were perfected across many lifetimes of practice, she was able to detect Calico Driftwood's presence on the other side of a barren wall. I'd forgotten how much she liked to eat, Quarter thought, disgusted as she listened to the kirin going to town on her breakfast. I could probably pass off the number of dirty dishes to the servants as me and Carrie stress-eating, but I wouldn't be able to keep that up forever.

The noises came to a stop, and for a moment Quarter dared to believe that was the end of it. She was proven wrong when she heard whale songs coming from where Calico was, rattling her eardrums something fierce. ...No, wait... that's snoring. Very awful snoring. If she starts attracting actual whale pods to Manehattan, I swear...

Her lips twisted in a playful smile. You know what? I'm going to endorse her desire to start dating Ignition. It'll be funny.

Leaving Calico to catch some more sleep and confident that she would do what she'd been told later, Quarter continued on her way.

...

As she expected, Ignition was waiting in her private lounge. Prior to losing any real desire to leave her room as Cocoa, she had liked to visit it to relax and unwind after a long day. Per her standards, the entire room was spic-and-span. A classical music record was playing somewhere nearby. "Give me a chocolate milk, please," Quarter told the pony manning the counter. "Then go ahead and take the rest of the morning off. Report back at two o'clock for your afternoon shift."

The server regarded her curiously, then turned to Ignition. "Sir?"

"Do what she says," Ignition confirmed. "As her guardian, I'll take responsibility. Extend the same privileges to Caramel, if she chooses to accept them."

"Certainly. Coming right up," the server agreed, hurrying to complete the task. A minute later, he was out the door and a glass of cold, sweet milk was in her hooves.

Quarter seated herself on a couch across from her most loyal and hard-working servant. "Don't know what I'd do if I ever ended up in a body that was lactose-intolerant," she commented as she sipped her drink. "Also, Moztrot. Nice choice in music."

"The younger generation doesn't know what it's missing. Plebeians, all of them," Ignition said, sporting a rarely seen smile. "When all else fails, stick with the classics."

Chuckling filled the air. "I knew there was a reason I'd hired you aside from your dedication. So, anything to report?"

"Nothing unusual as of yet," stated Ignition, the smile leaving him. "My guardianship of you and Caramel has been finalized, as expected. Memos have been sent to the board of directors notifying them of Mr. Mocha's passing, and I suspect they will have a meeting to discuss the direction of the company sometime tomorrow, if not today."

"Your dedication and your ability to get things done quickly," Quarter complimented him. "Did you remember to refill the pantry in Driftwood's room?"

Disgust, plain and simple. "I've been doing so daily. Are kirins known for their ability to put away an entire household's worth of food over the course of a single day?"

Quarter thought back to the first time she'd crossed paths with Calico years before. "What little she disclosed to me at our first meeting tells me that no, they aren't. She's an outlier in every sense of the term, Ignition. Incredibly free-spirited, a born wanderer, and a love of the modern age that her kind doesn't share. Basically your exact opposite. And given that opposites attract, you could do a lot worse than her."

Ignition started to nod, then paused in mid-motion. The two ponies---one indignant, the other unapologetic---locked stares. "If I left her at the podium, would she stop obsessing over me?"

"That would just make it worse," Quarter denied him. She sipped her drink and licked her lips clean before continuing. "One thing she does share with her kind is a strong sense of justice. If you abandoned her on her wedding day, she'd feel betrayed and do everything in her power to make you pay for it."

Ignition snorted. "She's constantly trying to get my attention because of a single dance, young lady. I have no time or desire to pursue romantic interests, and I've made that quite clear to her once already. All that accomplished was making her swoon."

Quarter shrugged. "It's to be expected. She might have an array of good points, but she's still an idiot. The entire reason I was able to get her to join us was because she refused to believe that she misread that icebox's price tag."

"I'm not going to date an idiot, much less marry one. And I will not take the time to find a mare of my own until after the coup is complete. That is all."

Elsewhere in Manehattan, Limefrost Spiral had the strangest feeling that she'd been jilted without meeting the one responsible. Again.

Quarter shook her head at his complete seriousness. Excellent servant, but absolutely clueless sometimes. I'll put this on the back burner. "A change of subject, then. It's my understanding that there's a question about Project Ashes that you never asked me last night."

"Indeed." Ignition straightened, the conversation's levity forgotten. True to form, he didn't stop to wonder how she could possibly have known that. "I am aware that you have utilized everything you have researched and developed across your life to accomplish it. It is also common knowledge among your most trusted scientists that the subject's shape was deliberately guided and molded into a specific form. However, I am curious as to whether you were simply exercising creativity in doing so, or if there is a specific reason for the child being what she is now."

Of course. Leave it to him to discover the key to all of this. She closed her eyes, uncomfortable as she cobbled her thoughts together past her cranial pain. "I haven't discussed this tie to my past with anypony of this generation, Ignition. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"I would not have brought up the subject if I wasn't willing to hear your comments, young lady. I do not waste my breath on questions that could go unanswered."

...

Quarter turned to stare out the window, wistful. Idly, she watched several pegasi at another tower hard at work washing windows. He's been nothing but trustworthy, and he's always done everything I've asked him to do. ...Oh, why in Tartarus not, then? He won't gossip about this with anypony. He's better than that. "Then let me tell you about somepony, Ignition. Somepony whose life I was forced to steal without warning, following an accident. She loved music and acting, and was adept with a flute. If life had been kind, she would have lived her life as a bard for quite some time. A better world would have seen her traveling the lands and seeking out those in need of cheering up.

"However, when I stole her body early, those dreams were left to gather dust. I was preparing for the long-term, planting the seeds for what would shortly become the Mocha Beverage Corp., and researching everything magical and mundane for the slightest edge against Celestia. She wouldn't be able to follow her dreams anymore, and I was not willing to live her life in that manner. She would live and die after forty years of life with little more than the odd festival to her name, and I would subsequently transfer to the oldest of her children." She snarled at nothing. "Blasted pneumonia...

"I remember all of the bodies I've taken to further my cause, Ignition. I have all of their memories and lives buried beneath mine. I still remember all of their names, but her identity comes the easiest to me. Her personality, her likes and dislikes... the underlying cleverness in her actions... I recall them all. She was me, if I had been driven by entertainment instead of vengeance."

...

For half a day, it had struggled. It didn't belong there.

Runes around the cylinder continuously repulsed it, holding it in place.

Gradually, it weakened.

...

"I knew that if I had to bring back one of my many children in any way, shape or form, it would be her. She deserved better than to die... well, not young by any stretch, but with decades still ahead of her. Maybe with my original Mark and talents backing her up, she'll be able to make something of her life. After all, her love for acting wasn't connected to her Mark; that was something she developed on her own. Between my brains and her abilities? She may very well become a star by today's standards."

...

It lost the will to continue. It finally settled down, all the fight taken out of it.

The tiny filly's flank glowed. All movement stilled.

A red rook, permanently inked on a coat of pink fur, set the stage for a dreadful encounter years in the future.

...

"She sounds like quite the child, young lady," Ignition agreed respectfully. "You obviously treasure her memory if you chose her to be the basis for the Project. If you have the time, I wouldn't mind learning more about her."

Quarter checked a clock. Plenty of time before I have to meet back up with Carrie. She got as comfortable as she could while still holding her glass. "Then let me tell you a story, Ignition. A story of a filly named Cozy Glow."

Author's Note:

Gotcha!

...Pardon me. Anyway, the music links for this chapter are: "Evil Heritage", from Mega Man ZX Advent, and Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K.467 - Andante.

Two revealed identities, two canon characters. The 'Stratos' that was referenced in the past (both unintentionally and not) is actually ol' Glimmy prior to the formation of Our Town, and the tube's occupant that someone in the comments referred to as 'Ashe' is actually the little menace from Seasons 8 and 9. I have a vague feeling like I'm going to regret doing this later, but I've had a rough draft of this twist sitting in my head for about a year now. For better or for worse, I'm going through with it.

And yes, Cozy's adaptational origin will become important down the line. Starlight, on the other hand, won't: she's served her role, and now she's getting out of Dodge and finding a suitable place to establish her canonical village. She might have a cameo before story's end, I don't know.

This one's less of a bombshell and more of a firecracker, but if anyone thought about Bushwhacker and thought 'he's probably a changeling', you were right. There'll be more information on him when I get around to writing up the profiles for the remaining members of Quarter's elite.

Leviathan will be regaining the focus next chapter as the plot continues to move ahead.

TVTropes Page!

Ko-Fi!

Comments

[Ze1a7in]

Those headaches aren't the actual Hazelnut, right? Quarter mentioned that she didn't know their origin, and I assume she'd know if they were from Hazelnut fighting back.

Methinks a certain Metal Messiah might not be as dead as everyone would want them to be...

[Hyan]

Wow.

Not only did you manage to make my opinion of Starlight Glimmer plummet far below the depths of the earth, you've somehow managed to make me hate Quarter even more.

She appearently managed to clone her daughter, and she never tried to make spare bodies for herself? Not even once?

[Velvet-Fresh]

Ohhh shit. Two big name drops, hah. What she did not realize the unicorn she used would be her child's downfall as well!

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

the icon is a half moon not a quarter.

ANd not happy with the glow thing. but I hope Quarter suffers for all eterity for what she has done

[Curtis Wildcat]

11566838

the icon is a half moon not a quarter.

Might want to see what's on this webpage when you get the chance: https://moon.nasa.gov/moon-in-motion/moon-phases/

11566823
There's a caveat to the spell that Quarter uses to switch bodies, but it's not plot relevant at present.

[badninja]

Well when Quarter falls I hope they leave a massive impression. Then again sending them to another universe with no magic would definitely throw them for a loop.

[tsaukpaetra]

!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ayyeeeee! What a reveal!
Well that's another piece off the board, with another yet painted. The fog of war is still thick, but the situation hasn't yet become impossible.

[Twilight_Shimmer]

Calling it now the reason for "Hazelnuts" head aches is because the REAL Hazelnut is actually still in there fighting

[Curtis Wildcat]

11578088
That's a nice thought, if not for the fact that her headache started before Quarter went 'grand theft pony' on her.

[Animatorsnake]

Honestly I like this change, understandable that Glimmer isn’t important to the story except for this one moment - who would best be involved in the changeing and manipulation of cutie marks - and I always wondered how did Cozy Glow get to where she was in the show prior to her plans - I haven’t seen S9 so much of her past is unknown to me from the show.

Seeing her being the cloned daughter of one of Mocha’s past lives is something that makes a excellent change to the OG timeline!

[Poparakelis]

Quarter checked a clock. Plenty of time before I have to meet back up with Carrie. She got as comfortable as she could while still holding her glass. "Then let me tell you a story, Ignition. A story of a filly named Cozy Glow."

Burn in hell

[coopda]

Starlight Glimmer and Cozy Glow get name-dropped in the same chapter...

(couldn't find an isolated clip of Riddler Paul Dano screaming)