Tales of suspence, action, snkeaking, espionage, and magic to bring it all together!
"War is no reason to end a friendship..."
Equestria, now torn into factions, each relying on tactics and sneaking agents in a constant war, is not what it used to be. There used to be flowers, peace, and the friendship all ponies shared amongst one another, but that was gone too, after individual areas began to want independence and tried to break off. In an attempt to create the perfect squad, the Harmony Operation was enacted so that they one day could restore peace to this forsaken land that was once so perfect and serene. These are the adventures of the mane six characters and their mission to restore Equestria, all the while meeting new and old friends alike.
Twilight Sparkle has been a sneaking agent for the past few years under the guidance of her teacher and the ruler of New Equestria, and Equestria before that. Although Twilight Sparkle has an unmatched record for her skills without failing a single mission, Celestia has seen that her isolation from other agents and refusing help from others is not a good sign of things to come. When Twilight was first born, she was brought to a chamber hidden under the streets of Canterlot amidst the sewers and infrastructure beneath the massive city, along with five other newly born fillies to take part in Operation Harmony, A plan thoughtup by Celestia should Equestria be in need of a new hope to bring them through dark times and possibly even the end to what she had upheld for many years. As the ruler of New Equestria, Celestia spent many a year thinking of a possible solution to the problems she and her citizens faced during these hard and saddening times. One night she was hit with a spark of inspiration and decided to take the now stone Element of Harmonies that once protected the land with their magic, and made them into a serum that would make the person injected exhibit the respective properties of their Element of Harmony. Once this was finished she undertook a search for pure souls, those of newly born foal's that contained no impurities in them. Throughout this search, she came across many a candidate, but through the remaining traces of the elements' powers that remained within her, she found only the true wielders of the elements and brought them together to entwine their lives into a pattern that only time could tell the events of. .
The six chosen were as follows, Rainbow Dash, the element of Loyalty, Pinkie Pie with the element of Laughter, Applejack with Honesty, Rarity with generosity, Fluttershy with kindness, and to unite them, Twilight Sparkle with the final element, Magic. Each were sent back to where they came from, but Celestia had great plans for each, but the most vital was Twilight, for she would lead them through any situation. At the young age of eight, Twilight was sent an invitation by the Princess, Celestia herself to become her apprentice as a sneaking agent amongst the elite should she perform well and surpass most of her expectations. Without a single moment of hesitation she accepted and was sent to Canterlot Castle to begin her training with little to no thought of what greater forces she had put into play nor why she had been chosen so quickly or even chosen at all.
During her years spent under the Princess' wing, she exceeded all expectations without any failure and broke all previous records made by other cadets. Through her amazing prowess and ability, she began creating a reputation for herself and was seen as a role model by all who trained along side her. For any other pony, they might let it get to their head, but not Twilight. She couldn't have cared less if she was revered, she just tried her hardest and always found her way out of situation regardless of how impassible it might have seemed.
Only four years after joining, she accepted into a squad where most ponies had to continue training for almost twice as much time. Although the younger ponies idolized her, the older and more experienced ponies of the academy thought she had let the fame get to her head. This was soon disproved after an incident in the outskirts of Appleoosa where the squad she was part of found an encampment of Buffalo holding one of the other squads that were sent to investigate captive. Her squad warned her not to venture in and attempt to save them, but she disregarded their warnings and began descending the cliff towards the camp. Her Squad returned to Canterlot for backup but the next day when they were ready to depart, she walked through the glistening stone arches with the captured squad following in her wake. This earned her a great deal more of respect, and from hence forth began her solo career as Celestia's elite Sneaking Operative of whom would receive the most challenging and difficult tasks.
To begin our story, we start off with that very mission that she had braved against all odds and upon its completion, attained the rank she now upholds in modern Equestria.
One, two, three, four,turn. One, two, three, four,turn. The guard's hoofbeats echoed rhythmically down the hallway in unison with Twilight's beating heart. One wrong move in what was to come and she would have to deal with more than one guard. Twilight took a deep breath to reassure herself and as the guard turned away from her position, she leapt. Before the buffalo could see the intruder, his head hit the floor with a muffled thump after being knocked out with the force of a ten ton sledgehammer by Twilight's magic. Without wasting any time, she made her way into a supply closet that was around the corner, she dragged the guard's massive limp body into it and arranged it to look like he had been resting and taking a short nap. Just as she finished placing the body in the way she thought up, her horn began to glow faintly and a light beeping sound echoed through her head. This was the codec spell, it was her way of contacting Celestia, or whoever she needed to talk to if she had their frequency. The codec spell generates a five digit code with two points as decimals and made only the people having the intended conversation hearing one another unless a public frequency is used. For those who couldn't use magic, they usually would have a small mirror hanging around their neck, or wherever they would prefer to have it.
"Yes, Princess? What is it?" Twilight said. "How are you doing? Have you managed to make it to the door to the room with the missing squad?" Celestia asked. Sadly Twilight replied, "Not yet, But I should be there soon. Spike, are there any shortcuts there?" Spike popped onto the codec and he said, "Sure Twilight, there's an air vent right next to you. It's on your right, just follow that to the end and you'll be right at the door, but why are you risking this? You could have just waited for backup instead of rushing in head first." Twilight began making her way towards the vent, and she saw that it shouldn't be a problem to traverse. "Because Spike, I can't just stand around and let something happen to them!" She wanted to shout but instead murmured angrily." There's also a high priority target there. lieutenant Braenurn was leading the unit. He's the leader of the Appleoosa division, he knows everything about Appleoosa's database and its strategic value in this war." Shortly asfter finishing that sentence she heard hoofbeats echoing down the hallway outside the closet. Twilight quickly cut off the connection and hurried inside the vent.
Inside the vent, Twilight could hear the guards' shouts as they saw that their comrade was not on his post. Twilight quickly scurried through the ventilation shaft but soon slowed down after hearing that her ploy had work. The guards' had thought that their comrade was sleeping on the job, and had proceeded to leave him wake him up. "He won't be getting up any time soon." Twilight thought to herself with a slight chuckle. Minutes later, she arrived at the opening to the hallway below where the door was located. Taking precaution, Twilight dropped the grill on the vent with a loud clang, and just as she had planned, the buffalo guarding the door walked over to see what had happened. The guard looked up, and was surprised to see a pony in the vent. "Just dropping in to say hello," Twilight said with a smirk as she rammed the guard's head wit her horn and cast the same spell as she had on the other guard. Once the guard had been taken care of, Twilight glanced around to see if the was some place to put the unconscious guard, but to her dismay, there weren't any god locations so instead she propped him against the door.
As Twilight made her way through the open door, she noticed that the room was circular but each cell was grooved into the walls in a spherical shape. From what she could see, the room itself was well-kept except for the individual cells which were covered in grime and dirt. In the center of the room was a pedestal which twilight guesses was the main cell-control mechanism. Twilight cantered over and glanced at the controls and noticed that there were six buttons, one for each cell in this block. After trying to find the correct button, Spike's voice came onto the codec. "Geez Twilight, you're taking forever, it's number five for the squad and number three for Braeburn." With a sigh of relief Twilight replied, "Thanks Spike, You've been a big help." Twilight pressed the buttons and saw the cell doors raise. Once they were all the way up, the ponies of the captured squad charged out to meet their captors and were surprised to see Twilight standing there with a big grin on her face. "Hey, you're Twilight Sparkle, right? We've heard of you before from the new recruits who were sent to us from the academy in Canterlot. Anyway, we should head out and get to Appleoosa, we've got families who we haven't seen in forever." With that said, they exited through the door and made their way out of the building. "Well now, little miss Twilight Sparkle. Never thought you'd be the one to rescue me, But Time's a wasting and we best get out of here before we get caught." Braeburn said as he left the captivity of his cell and began towards the exit. Twilight trotted along side him and asked, "It sure has been a while hasn't it? I haven't seen you since I was a cadet learning from you, but I guess we'll have time to talk later, for now, let's get out of here! Spike is going to pick us up if we can get to the roof!" Swiftly they darted through hallways and doors, knocking out unaware buffalo guards left and right.
Minutes later they had made their way to the rooftop and saw the other squad standing patiently as a bright ball of light came down from a rift in the sky.Without wasting any time at all, the ponies scurried through the portal into it's counterpart in the Appleoosa Town Hall, but Twilight was sent directly to her chambers in Canterlot Castle where Spike and Celestia eagerly awaited her arrival. "Why hello there Twilight, News of your success has already been spread to to the rest of the academy. I think it best if you would wash off before leaving to return to the academy." Celestia said with an uplifting tone. "It was a mission well done, and I'm sure there will be more opportunities for you in the future." And true to her words there would be, for what awaited Twilight would change New Equestria, and The fabric of time itself.
Ever since that mission, Twilight had begun to be receive respect from the rest of the other squads and even the generals of the New Equestrian Vanguard began to take notice of her actions and accomplishments. Usually, The Vanguard was formed back the splitting of Equestria occurred, and help to defend the little land left. They were always the first to charge and the last to fall, which made being a part of it or noticed by them a very prestigious honor. That mission was what jump started Twilight's Reputation, but that had been several years ago, and Twilight still had that same amount of respect if not more. Twilight had completed mission after mission without any failure or mishaps, yet for the recent five weeks she had not been given a single task or mission to carry out for Princess Celestia, which puzzled her. In order to get answers she is on her way to take initiative and find out what is going on.
"Geez Twilight, Why can';t you just accept that she is giving you a break for your hard work?" Spike asked as he and Twilight ascended the staircase to Celestia's study. " I'd think maybe two weeks would have been adequate enough for a rest, but five weeks? Something is going on, and I intend to find out what it is!" Twilight replied with discomfort in her voice, "and once this is sorted out, I'll have my answer." Spike groaned and muttered, "Then I guess there's no turning back then." Minutes later they reached the door to Celestia's study and Twilight banged the knocker three times against the door. A few seconds passed until a voice which could only have been Celestia's came from inside as the door swung open. "Come in, I'll get the door for you!" As they entered the room Celestia turned her head from what she had been working on and exclaimed, "Oh, Twilight! what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be relaxing in your study or elsewhere?" "Yes," Twilight responded, "But I haven't been given a mission for the past five weeks, and I don't understand why. I've never failed a mission yet!" "Oh Twilight," Celestia said with a grin, "I've been planning something for you, and planning takes a lot of time and work. I've decided that you'll be needing a squad to undertake missions with, I've already selected five other ponies who I think will do just fine."
Just as Twilight was about to protest, Celestia walked over the fireplace and shifted the candle on the right to reveal a tunnel that seemed to have no end in sight. "Come Twilight, Your mission starts once we reach the other end, I'll explain the details to you and Spike on the way there." With that said, Celestia began to make her way down the tunnel and with her Spike riding upon Twilight's back. "Princess, I hardly find it necessary to assign a squad for me, I've been doing just fine on my own. Don't you think that might just slow me down instead?" Twilight asked as they traversed the long dark moss ridden tunnel. "I have full faith that they'll prove to be a greater asset than you imagine, and the mission you and your team will be assigned is far greater than anything anypony has attempted yet. If this mission fails, New Equestria is lost and will be overrun. You'll be taking the train to Ponyville to meet your new companions, and Spike will of course be accompanying you on this arduous journey." Celestia Said in response. It seemed like hours of silence and darkness as the tunnel loomed endlessly ahead until after many twists and turn they came to a dead end. Twilight knew better than to ask, and she was right once she saw the princess' horn glow as a loud clicking noise was heard from the wall, as it slid open to reveal a small cottage.
"Here Twilight, take this satchel, in it are your train tickets, codec necklaces for your squadmates who can't use magic, and a letter detailing your instructions once you arrive in Ponyville and have met up with the rest of your squad.For now, I must take my leave and return to Canterlot in my studies. The train station is straight down the street to the left. Goodbye for now Twilight, I'll talk to you again once everything is settled." Celestia said as she handed to Twilight the satchel and made her way back into the tunnel. Twilight was about about to ask her about the letter but, just as she was about to, Celestia disappeared behind the wall. Twilight and spike made their way to the door and saw that is exited into the slums of lower Canterlot. With a glance around Twilight said to spike, " Well, Let's get going then. We've got a long journey ahead of us." Through the slums they traveled, and Twilight began to take notice of the poor living conditions. House after dilapidated house they passed, and some weren't even houses at all, but small little cardboard boxes with anything from a pillow to maybe even more than one box attached to the side of the other. The slums were filled with ponies covered in grime and dirt, along with refugees from the war when their homes were either destroyed or taken over.
After forcing her way through the large crowd, she reached the station and was surprised to see that there wasn't a single pony in it. As she entered the facility she realized why, The prices of tickets were so high because of the risk involved during travel unless you were rich or had a lot of connections with higher ranking ponies. Twilight slowly made her way to the center of the room and looked up to see if there was a mural that remained but to her disappointment, the beautiful design that had once brought tranquility to those who gazed upon it had slowly worn away. Sadly, Twilight decided to head to the train, she trotted through the large empty station. As she walked through the cavernous room, she imagined what it must have been like before, filled with ponies everywhere heading to all sorts of exotic places. As she boarded the train Spike was running after her with panic in his eyes, and a small metallic object in his scaly hands. Once they were both seated, Twilight asked him, "Spike, Why were you running? Did something scare you?" With a small grin spike replied, "Nope, It's just that the train was leaving, and I wouldn't want to be left behind, but hey, check out what I found!" From his hands he dropped a small cog on the table and said, "Isn't that cool?" And before Twilight could reply, The train began moving. Taking them to Ponyville, and with it, the beginning of a new adventure that would test everything Twilight knew and did.
--Please message me with feedback, I would really appreciate it.-- "So, what is it?" Spike asked. Twilight glared at it and in a deep voice said, "Metal Gear..." *Grumble, Grunt* And then there was metal gear and it pew pew'd teh train and made it go boom into teh sunset with teh magic negative double rambo! --Gladly, this is not the ending....Celestia would probably banish me to the everfree forest if it was--
Birds, trees, and grasslands whizzed by as the tracks let out out a constant rhythmic tempo. Spike lay curled up in a ball in the seat across from Twilight with the satchel they had received from Princess Celestia as a makeshift pillow under his head. Twilight was instead gazing out the window into the passing landscape as they drove by. The warm rays of the sun barely passed through the jagged mountains to the east as the sun began its cycle once again. Twilight 's mind began to wander to Celestia's earlier words In the tunnel. Questions began to form in her mind, but Twilight shook her head to drive them from her mind. She blinked her eyes a few times to calm her dry eyes, and decided that she should get some fresh air. Without any noise, she made her way out of her seat and down towards the rear cart to take her thoughts elsewhere, and to consider them with a clear mind. It seemed like forever as she traversed cart after cart, some contained delicacies that she had never seen before, others were stocked with toys, art, and even something that resembled a miniature library filled with a single row of bookshelves. By the time she had reached the rear cart, Twilight was exhausted, and collapsed upon the nearest seat she could find. With a deep breath of relief, she became relaxed and filled with the the fresh air from the passing landscape.
Now relaxed, the thought from earlier began to fill her head as she looked off in a daze towards the mountain where the city of Canterlot was built, where citizens traveled from place to place, and where Celestia sat in her study. With her mind clear, she began to enter deep thought and her eyelids became heavy, but before she could get any further, another pony entered the cart and came over to her after slamming the cart door shut with a loud bang.
"Well lookie here, if it ain't little miss Twilight Sparkle. We never did catch up back in Appleoosa did we? You disappeared before I could even properly thank you!" Said the pony whose voice could only be that of Braeburn. Once she recognized the voice she shot up in her seat like a rocket and exclaimed, "Braeburn?! What are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be back in Appleoosa leading the defense against the buffalo tribes?!" Braeburn let out a laugh and heartily replied, "Well sure I should be, but I'm on vacation right now, goin to see my cousin Applejack in Ponyville, said she got a letter from the Princess about joining some elite squad or something, and I figured I'd also help with harvesting the apples. More importantly, why are you headed to Ponyville?" It took a second for it to register in Twilight's mind, but once she did, she giggled, and said, "How ironic, As it turns out, the reason I'm going there is to meet up with my new squad that Princess Celestia assigned to me. So it would seem that your cousin and her companions would be that very same squad. You wouldn't happen to know anything about them, would you? I think it would be best if I got to know a little bit about my new squad before I meet them face to face."
"Well sure I know something about them, but I ought to warn you, they're a strange bunch of ponies.First off you've got my cousin Applejack, strong, courageous and never one to tell a lie. Next up is Rarity, a real drama queen she is, but as much as that is so, she's very generous, and an expert when it comes to armor or clothing, last time she tried to make me model a dress for her. Probably the strangest of the bunch is Pinkie Pie, a pyromanic, might not be the best combination, but she's brings up the spirits of the ponies around her, real handy in tight situations too. After her is Rainbow Dash, a pegasi from Cloudsdale, I don't think I've ever seen a faster pegasi than her. She's also the one to never let her friends down or abandon them, but a tad bit too brash if you'd ask me. Lastly, there's Fluttershy, Never met a kinder pegasi, but scared of the smallest things. Chances are that she'll be your team's medic." With that said, braeburn paused for a second to make sure he didn't leave anypony out, and then continued as he began to make his way towards the door, "Yep, that just about does it, but all this talk's making me hungry, I'm going to go grab some breakfast before we arrive. I guess, I'll be seeing you around once we're in Ponyville."
Once Braeburn left, Twilight's mind began to wander off to the letter she had received from her mentor before departing. Feeling as though she was refreshed enough, she returned to her seat to read and what her mission was. Upon returning to her seat, she saw that Spike hadn't woken up yet, and without disturbing his slumber, she carefully used her magic to slowly remove the rolled-up letter from the satchel that bore it, and began to read it.
"To my faithful student Twilight Sparkle,
By the time you're reading this letter you should either be in or approaching Ponyville, and wondering why I couldn't have just told you what I'm telling you now before you departed on your mission. If you've ever heard the saying that the walls have eyes and ears, then the pony that told you that would be correct in saying so. As far as what we've gathered, we know that an organization known as the Lunar Caravan is constructing a robotic mecha that, once finished, will have nuclear launch capabilities as well as many other weapons at its disposal. Should it be completed, it will disrupt the somewhat stable balance that was created amongst the other factions and ourselves, this will most likely lead to the downfall of all of Equestria which will leave it open for invasion. The technology they have barely surpasses that of our own, but is not a threat to be taken lightly. Even more disturbing is that their leader has magical powers that rival my own, which means that they could have been listening in on our earlier conversation. The reason I assigned you a squad was not only to improve the chance of the success of your mission, but for you to learn leadership skills and form a bond with your new teammates for future needs. Do not neglect their skills or knowledge, I can guarantee that you'll be needing both. Once you are safely in Ponyville, I'll give you the co-ordinates for your destination. Take care, and do your best during the course of this mission, once I can, I will contact you through your codec.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia Of New Equestria"
Now with new information, Twilight began to understand the Princess' earlier words to her, But before she could take the time to contemplate what her plan for her team was, The whistle that signified the train's arrival in Ponyville sounded. Twilight gently woke up Spike and placed the letter back in the satchel to be prepared for departure. Not only would this a new chapter of Twilight's career, but also a major chapter in her live through the bonds she would form upon arriving in this new Town.
--But before she got off the train a voice shouted, "Get Over here!" and all that was heard from the train was a deep voice saying the words, "K.O."--
An ear deafening screech echoed throughout the train station as the train slowly came to a halt within it. Once the train had stopped completely Twilight, Spike, and all the other passengers began to exit the train from their individual carts out into the large station. While they made their way out of the train, Twilight began to notice the number of passengers leaving the train compared to the number of carts that made up the train's main body. Upon further inspection it could be seen that there had barely been any ponies on board. Yet another sign of the country's poor economy, Twilight thought to herself until she felt a strong tug on her mane, only to see it was spike with an impatient look on his face. At first she was puzzled, but once she saw what he was waiting for he understood his concern. As they were exiting the station Spike took notice that Braeburn was standing over by a pillar while Twilight's mind drifted elsewhere.
Spike and Twilight proceeded to meet up with Braeburn and exit the station together. Up and down the streets of Ponyville they came and went with Braeburn giving them the grand tour. House after house, store after store, ponies everywhere, Ponyville seemed a much calmer and more festive place than Canterlot was. The air was so much fresher, the streets and buildings so much more joyful, and even Spike was a lot cheerier than usual. Eventually, they left Ponyville and after crossing over a bridge, journeyed along a rough dirt trail until at last they came to an apple orchard that seemed to go on forever in every direction in front of them as if it were a wall of sorts. As they pressed on through the endless forest of apple trees, Twilight couldn't help marveling at such a sight. She had never before seen anything like this during any of her missions or studies at Canterlot. For what seemed like at least thirty to fifty minutes they continued on until they reached a clearing with a barn resting in the midst of it with small gardens scattered around here and there.
They stood in silence and in awe, gazing upon the beautiful landscape that lay out before their eyes. As wonderful as Ponyville had been, this was utterly amazing. As lively as it had been, here flowers and plants of all sorts flourished everywhere, animals were everywhere, and even the atmosphere in general seemed more appeasing overall. Before Twilight and Spike made their way to the barn, they saw Braeburn starting to head back in the direction of Ponyville. Curiously she asked,
"Braeburn, Where are you going? Weren't you going to take us the rest of the way?"
"Now don't ya'll worry your little heads off, I'm just heading back to Ponyville to pick up some groceries for Granny Smith. I'll be back later for dinner, and hopefully you'll be joining us. Anyway, just continue on down to the barn and you'll find li'l Applejack inside. I'm sure you'll get a warm welcome from them, and I'll just be on my way."
With that said, Braeburn continued on his merry way, leaving Twilight and Spike to continue on to the barn by themselves. The closer they came to reaching the barn, they began to see the condition it was in. The red paint that covered the walls was chipping, an occasional termite here and there, and the whole thing itself just seemed to be in poor condition overall. Having reached their destination, all they was left was to open the doors and see what lay ahead for them.
"Are you ready Spike?"
Twilight asked as they stood before the door. In reply, Spike just looked at here with an expression that seemed to say that he'd be going in after her.
--Sorry this chapter was shorter than usual, and that it took so long to get out. My time lately has been occupied with an array of various activities, but now that everything has been calming down, More chapters will be out soon!(And won't take FOREVER to finish. Also, I'm still messing around with the format, so once i have it set, it will be continuous.--
