Vanguard

by knives4cash

Phase Three Point Five

“Two-hundred and seventy bits,” Vanguard counted to herself. “That will be more than enough.” She stood up and stretched her legs. Looking around her campsite, she sighed in contentment and swept the pile of bits back into the brown bag that Applejack had given to her in exchange for her brother’s well being. “Phase Three is complete, but I fear that my hints were too subtle.”

The pony walked over to her stash of supplies. “Perhaps this plan of mine is too elaborate.” She began to pace around the clearing. “I already possess the Alicorn Amulet. My confrontation with Big Macintosh proves that my strength, speed, and agility are unmatched.” She paused. “But Twilight Sparkle’s magical abilities are impassable! I will have only ONE chance at achieving vengeance and justice for my fallen comrades! Failure is not an option!”

She began to pace in circles once again. “Phase Five will guarantee a leveled battlefield. I will finally have a chance at taking that wretched unicorn down!” She came to her decision. “I will persue my plan, elaborate as it may be; it is still my safest and most secure means to the desired end result,” in anger, she used a foreleg to crack through the trunk of a random tree. “Initiating the destruction of Twilight Sparkle!”

---

Within the hospital of Ponyville, Zecora had been moved to a larger room, which was also occupied by Big Macintosh and Applejack. The room didn’t feel any larger with the presence of Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy accompanying them as well.

Looking at the clock, Twilight Sparkle said, “Princess Celestia should be arriving within the next five minutes.”

“She’d better bring backup,” Applejack said while staring up at the ceiling. She glanced at her brother who remained silent, due to the massive cast that was wrapped around his face. “First Zecora gets her legs broken, and now Big Mac gets his jaw broken.”

Fluttershy moaned, “I wish this pony would just tell us what Twilight did to her.”

Twilight racked her brain at the thought. “I’ve gone over every possible action a thousand times! I can’t think of anything that might pose as a solution!”

Applejack grumbled, “She’s calling herself ‘Vanguard’ now.”

Twilight looked at her notes. “Yes, quite fitting considering her desire to be my vanguard of destruction.”

Pinkie Pie asked, “Would throwing her a party help?”

Rainbow Dash facehoofed. “No, Pinkie. No.”

The sound of somepony knocking drew everypony’s attention to the door.

Princess Celestia stood before them. “It is good to see that you are alive and well, Twilight.”

Twilight sighed in relief. “Princess Celestia, it’s good to see you.” She gestured to the three hospitalized ponies. “As you can see, we’re not exactly in pristine condition.”

“Your letter was very brief,” the princess stated, “I suggest you give me a more detailed report of the events transpired.”

---

The pony, now wearing a newly acquired, legitimately purchased sundress and sunglasses to disguise herself, casually strolled past the hospital. “As much as I hate parting with the Alicorn Amulet, I must forego it in favor of a more ideal and covert approach. Glowing red eyes would most likely arouse suspicion.”

As she made her strafe of the hospital, she got a full view of the two Royal Guards that currently stood outside the entrance. “Excellent! Wonderful! I see that they took the bait.” Vanguard smiled knowingly as she passed the hospital and continued on her current trajectory. “All too easy, Twilight Sparkle. All too easy.”

A couple of bits were pushed forward by the clerk. “Here’s your change, ma’am!”

The pony grabbed her ticket and placed it in her newly purchased, matching saddlebag. “You can keep it.”

The train whistle blew, followed by the conductor yelling, “All aboard! We are now leaving for Canterlot!”

The pony grinned under the brow of her hat. “I’ve got a train to catch.”

Vanguard was soon aboard her intended means of transportation. “As much as it pains me to make such a detour, I will have to make it in Phase Seven anyways.” She looked out her window to see the scenery flying by. “But for now, Phase Four will soon be underway.” She leaned back in her seat and sighed. “And by the time I get back, Phase Five will already be greenlit.”

---

“And now Vanguard has a handsome sum of currency in addition to the Alicorn Amulet and her customized Mare Do Well costume,” Twilight finished reporting. "Her identity will be hidden from us; her physical attributes are now unmatched; and now she's financially supplied."

Princess Celestia stood tall, having taken in all of the information that her faithful student relayed to her. “I see.”

Unsure of what her teacher meant, Twilight asked, “Um, what now, princess?”

Princess Celestia slowly paced towards the window overlooking the outdoors. “First of all, my faithful student, I shall be temporarily abandoning my royal duties in favor of monitoring this turn of events.”

Everypony looked at one another in realization of the sudden change.

“Furthermore,” the goddess continued, “I know that you are a very capable pony, Twilight Sparkle; and I am more than aware of your consecutive successes in dealing with the abnormal anomalies that have befallen Equestria.” The princess grimaced. “But considering the fact that you are now the target of this pony’s vendetta, I will be assuming command of this matter.”

Twilight nodded. “Of course, princess.”

Princess Celestia turned to face her student. “I am confident that we are dealing with a single, mortal pony. She only managed to increase her stature via acquiring the Alicorn Amulet. She must be disarmed of it, no matter the cost.”

Big Macintosh nodded in eager agreement.

“If we are to have any hope of recovering the Alicorn Amulet when Vanguard makes herself known to us, we must divide our resources.” She called to her guards at the door, “Guards, to me!”

Two Royal Guards entered on cue, carrying a certain case.

Princess Celestia enveloped the case with her telekinesis and opened it, revealing the Elements of Harmony. “Considering what has happened within the last twenty-four hours, I get the impression that Vanguard is a pony who does not waste her time.” She telekinetically placed each Element upon the person of each, respective pony; and she placed the tiara atop Twilight's head. “You all must be ready for the inevitable confrontation.”

Applejack gave a polite cough to draw Princess Celestia’s attention. “Pardon me, yer highness, but no pony’s gonna have a chance if she’s wearing that amulet.”

Princess Celestia said, “I agree, Applejack. The direct assault that you and your brother launched may have been a failure, but we now possess the means of turning the tables in our favor.”

Fluttershy timidly asked, “How so?”

Princess Celestia reminded, “When it comes to numbers, Vanguard is already at a grave disadvantage. But now, picking you off one by one will no longer be a viable means of approach in her tactics.” She gave a small grin. “And from what I have gathered, she seems to only use direct force when she is unable to use stealth or any other covert method.”

Rainbow Dash asked, “What are you getting at, your highness?”

Princess Celestia answered, “My point, Rainbow Dash, is that we are forcing Vanguard’s hoof. By arming you six with the Elements of Harmony, Vanguard loses her tactical edge provided by the Alicorn Amulet. We force her to make a full and frontal assault against you all and the Elements of Harmony.”

Twilight finished, “And then there’s no way she can win!”

“Then what are we waiting for,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “Let’s get out of here and find Vanguard now!”

The goddess quickly moved to block the athlete’s flightpath. “Retain your enthusiasm, Rainbow Dash. Ponyville is a heavily populated area. Any strike we may coordinate, calculate, or execute must be measured with the utmost precision and accuracy as a team.”

Rainbow Dash attempted to protest. “But-”

“Rainbow Dash,” Princess Celestia warned, “I would appreciate your cooperation in my plan. If you do not wish to follow my command, that is one thing. But,” she shook her head, “endangering the citizens of ponyville would be unacceptable and would not be tolerated. I will not condone even a single innocent casualty.”

"Fine," Rainbow Dash sighed.

Princess Celestia looked up and addressed everypony in the room, “Vanguard still remains at large, but more importantly: She is unaware of the sudden change in favor. Since we now hold the aces, I believe that our best course of action is to bunker down and wait for her to make her next,” she grimaced, “And last move against Twilight Sparkle.”

“It’s a sound plan, princess,” Twilight spoke up. “But how for long are we supposed to wait? What if Vanguard goes into hiding?”

“With the Alicorn Amulet in her possession,” Princess Celestia reasoned, “I am confident that Vanguard is in a state of overconfidence. Having bested both Applejack and Big Macintosh with ease, I believe that she believes that she will still be able to control the engagement.”

Twilight suggested, “What about the Royal Guard, princess? Wouldn’t dispatching multiple squadrons enable us to pursue her? Track her down? Draw her out?”

The princess shook her head. “Under normal circumstances, perhaps. But this pony wants you, my student. And while we know of her tactics, we know not her motive or mental stability. I fear that her realization of your calling in reinforcements may cause her to take drastic, and possibly lethal, measures to maximize her miniscule chance of dispatching you.”

Now confused by the seemingly hypocritical words of the princess, Rarity asked, “Then why did you even come here? Surely she would have seen you or the guards stationed outside.”

"We landed on the outskirts of Ponyville and traveled to here on hoof. Nopony saw us." Princess Celestia reasoned, "And unless Vanguard wished to pay Applejack or Zecora a visit, I highly doubt that she would stop by the hospital. As for why I came here in lue of responding to Twilight's letter, I wanted to arm the six of you with the Elements of Harmony for defensive purposes."

"So," Rarity asked, "What happens now?"

"I will remain with Twilight Sparkle at the library," the princess answered. "That way, I will be able to monitor the situation more closely as well as defend Twilight when Vanguard does make her move.”

Applejack raised a hoof. “Does that mean I get to leave this place?”

Twilight stated, “Her injuries are relatively minor. We only brought her here for an examination.”

Princess Celestia nodded. “Very well, I will authorize the premature release of Applejack,” she looked to Big Macintosh, “Nothing personal.”

---

Author's notes! Okay, I sent this in about a month ago, and as of 1-3-13, EQD has refused it.

If you're interested, the exact wording is:

1.) Comma usage. You sometimes add commas where they are unnecessary, such as when you wrote "... of stolen, packaged bread...". I disagree! What kind of bread is it? It's stolen AND packaged bread! Thus warranting the comma to separate the adjectives used to describe it!You also sometimes use them to denote the continuation of a quote when you've actually begun a new sentence. This should be noted with a period. You do it correctly at times, but other times you make this error.

2.) The formatting is a little odd. At times you separate the paragraphs with a line return, but other times you do not, as though you are attempting to use formatting to show different types of speech. Please don't do that. Keep the formatting consistent throughout the work.

3.) The principal problem we have is how much "tell" is present in the story. We aren't really allowed to picture the action or the scenes as they develop, and this makes it hard for us to be drawn into the world you've created. We need to spend more time with the characters, especially Vanguard. We honestly can't tell if she is the villain, or some kind of anti-hero. We must be presented clues to engage the reader.

So, yeah, I'm just going to finish the story and then resubmit it. With luck, watching all of Vanguard's plan unfold should allow safe passage to the Featured Stories.