Another Day at the Office

Nocturne was a rather simple stallion.

He lived in a small(for Canterlot) flat, big enough to hold his family but not obscene or even excessive. He didn't eat out much, he paid his taxes, and he only haggled with merchants and vendors when their prices didn't match their signs. All in all, simple.

He hated that the civil war was cutting into that.

He had no doubts that the rebels were sending messages through him. He didn't entertain the thought that they weren't, not for a moment. After all, he enforced a strict no-peeking policy on all deliveries that his business handled. Anyone who broke the Oath of Confidence while working for him was immediately fired.

And this made him the perfect choice.

Only one or two ponies working under him had ever been fired for breaking the Oath of Confidence, and the others knew better- it was why he'd hired them; they were reliable and trustworthy. They got their jobs done, in a timely manner, and they had no problems with trust.

Nocturne enjoyed his success.

And anything to change that? Well, he wouldn't like it.

Nocturne||Pegasus||Stallion[WIP]

Nocturne
Adult
Male
Pegasus
Neutral
Courier

---

Physical Status

Coat:

Silver.

Mane:

Alternating red and blue.

Tail:

See mane.

Eyes:

Red.

Cutie Mark:

A swirl of smoke, signifying his evasive talent.

Other:

<Information>

Psychological Evaluation

Likes:

<Spaghetti and oatballs>
<Running/flying>
<Freedom>

Dislikes:

<Curfew>
<Racism>
<Broccoli>
<Being too restricted>

Dreams:

<To see the Diarchy properly reinstated so he can go about his life as he used to.>

Fears:

<Losing everything all over again>

General Remarks:

"Am I a Rebel? Will I join the Guard? Yeeeeeeeano. You can get the hay out of my office now."

Permanent Records

Childhood:

<Born to a pair of wealthy and very influential ponies in Canterlot, both of whom worked in the Palace and one of whom worked closely with Princess Luna.>
<Was often seen being brought into the Palace to visit while his parents worked.>
<Got his cutie mark by accident when he wandered onto an archery training field just as they were firing, narrowly evading all but one arrow. Though easily removed, Nocturne was unable to use one of his wings for a time, and thus was born his dislike of not being free.>

Adolescence:

<Finishes his basic schooling, begins and successfully completes secondary schooling with high marks, garnering much pride from his parents.>
<Is sent off to flight school, where he earns good marks. Does not return home immediately, instead utilizing his parents' standing and wealth to travel Equestria for a while. Tirek strikes during this time.>
<Manages to get home in time to see his parents off. Demands to be allowed to join the war effort, but is refused. His parents never return.>
<Disappears for a time, returning as an adult to his home city.>

Adulthood:

<Is distant and slightly bitter for a time, but then returns to his cheery self.>
<Starts his own business, the Shadowrunner Courier service. Builds a reputation for reliability despite his occasional disappearance.>

Retirement:

<Nocturne refuses to retire until he feels he has made his parents truly proud.(Nopony knows what he means by this, as he never elaborates)

Backstory

In Equestria, there are many things that were once legends that have become known as fact. Nightmare Moon, the Elements of Harmony and Discord are the three most prominent examples in modern times; but there are many legends that still linger in the back of the minds of so many ponies, one such legend is that of ‘Tirek’.

In the time immediately after Discord’s defeat, when the Sisters had yet to establish their authority in his absence, there was talk of a creature that was only half pony; with it’s head replaced by the body of a strange beast the likes of which had never been seen in Equestria. This was Tirek, Emissary of Destruction. His ruthlessness was legendary; caring not for the tricks and games of Discord, Tirek only sought to destroy that which he could not control; unlike Discord however, he was also smart enough to bide his time. Having witnessed the Elements entrap the draconequus in stone, he saw no need to rush his conquest and fall into the same fate.

So he waited, gathering allies among the dragons; beasts of great power that he had always respected. He conscripted bitter mages to gather information on the Elements of Harmony in secret and forge twisted copies of them for his own use. As a being for whom Time was near meaningless, he could afford to wait until such a time as he saw fit to act. He nearly made his move 1000 years ago, following the defeat of Nightmare Moon; only to choose to wait until both princesses could be defeated, rather than deal with the looming threat of alicorn returning at an inopportune time. However, with the return of Discord and the revelation that the Elements had passed to mortal and flawed ponies, he chose his time at long last.

An army that had waited centuries invaded Equestria, with Tirek leading the charge on a chariot of his own design and the black magic of his perverse Elements cutting through all who opposed them until the Royal Sisters and the Elements of Harmony made their stand. The fight was not what was expected, however; even with the princesses using the full extent of their divine power and the element wielders fighting their hardest, Tirek and his dragon legion were still far too powerful to simply defeat. On top of that, the clashing of the opposing magics of the two sets of Elements was utterly tearing the land apart. Celestia and Luna, their hearts heavy, had no choice but to combine their magic with the Elements of Harmony and seal away their friends and themselves to trap Tirek as but a constellation in the stars; with them as the binding chains. It was shortly after the battle that Spike- dragon familiar of Twilight Sparkle- disappeared, with rumors being that he had gone into a self-imposed exile to come to terms with what his kind had done in aiding Tirek.

Now, with the rulers of Equestria as good as dead (and, indeed, many ponies believe that actually ARE dead), the country has had to make due with an unpopular choice.

The line of Blueblood was a fail-safe started by Princess Celestia some time after the defeat of Nightmare Moon; with her declaring a member of nobility to be part of her family and heir to the throne should Equestria ever find itself deprived of its princesses. However, over the centuries, those in charge of teaching the line the necessary values and customs that need to be observed by a ruler have grown lax; even more so with the return of Luna to her throne. They never saw the need to train a mortal prince when Equestria’s rulers were nigh immortal goddesses. However, with their apparent death, there was no choice but to declare Blueblood acting ruler of Equestria.

Needless to say, with an incompetent foal like Blueblood on the throne, things went to pot very quickly.

While very few would contend that Blueblood is an adequate replacement for Celestia, many ponies still have faith that the old system is still the way to go. One such pony is Sky Skimmer, highest ranking general of the royal guard. He was in service to Celestia almost his entire life and unquestioningly loyal to her, to the point that he was even willing to stand by the royal brat that was Blueblood because it was what Celestia had wished.

However, as everything started to fall apart, he began to take matters into his own hooves. He felt that Equestria needed a strong government and leadership in the aftermath of the war with Tirek. And, since it obviously wasn’t going to come from Blueblood, he covertly stepped up. At first, it was a boon for the kingdom and things started to prosper again. However, after some time had passed and the shock of Celestia and Luna’s apparent death had warn off, there was some talk about phasing out the old system in favor of a pony run republic. Such things had been going on for a while now, but they now had some support thanks to Blueblood’s ineptitude even in spite of his sudden apparent competence.

Sky Skimmer, loyal as he was to the Princesses, didn’t want this to come to pass; as he saw it as an affront to everything that they had done. However, as more and more ponies began to agree with this viewpoint, he became increasingly desperate; until, eventually, he took a huge step and started to pass laws to keep the new king (and himself) in power. Showponies were recruited to give out royal proclamations on an almost daily basis, including a certain ‘Great and Powerful’ magician. Some of the ponies that more vocally opposed the idea of the old regime even started to disappear; there were rumors, but nothing major happened until a few years after the incident.

Several family members of the Elements of Harmony began to speak out against Blueblood and his leadership. They felt that the new monarchy had become an insult to everything that Twilight Sparkle and friends had fought for and needed to step aside in favor of a republic. It was not long after this that several of them turned up dead; when the palace was confronted about this, they merely called them the unfortunate victims of violent crimes and didn’t look any further into it. That ended up being the final straw; the ponies who had opposed the old government were now convinced that it was corrupt and needed to be stopped, it was time for a change.

The rebellion that has formed takes all comers, but 5 ponies in particular have risen to become prominent figures in it. Wave Runner; an idealistic pegasus mare who leads the council, hoping to carry on the ideals that the kingdom once stood for in the new republic. Lancer; an earth pony and former royal guard stallion who brings insight into loyalist strategies and a cunning mind. Spiral Stream; a unicorn academic who uses her knowledge to plot and plan their new republic’s next moves. Wing Song; a hot-headed mare who, nonetheless, is a skilled tactician and is often the first to suggest quick and forceful strikes. Clever Clover; a unicorn who emulates his famous ancestor and favors compromise over flat out conflict.

These five ponies, while they may not always agree with one another, now lead the rebellion from a base of operations outside the capital city of Canterlot. This is where our story starts, some four years after the climactic battle for Equestria; which side do you stand for?

Magic

While your characters' exact method of casting is up to you, we do have a set of guidelines established. If you don't like them, feel free to ignore them; they're just here if you don't want to think up your own method or would rather use the method Tinkertop and I use.

There are two parts to a unicorn's ability: What they can do, and how they do it. The descriptions are split into two categories for your convenience.

==What to do==
Magic can be expressed in four terms: Wind, Fire, Water, and Magic.
Wind - Things involving the atmosphere around you, or involve telekinesis. (Telekinesis, sound creation, etc.)
Fire - Anything involving pure, physical force. (Conjuring fire, hitting something, etc.)
Water - Spells involving the solid and liquid world. (Conjuring physical objects, etc.)
Magic - Whatever doesn't involve anything besides pure arcane energy. (Teleportation, mind-reading, etc.)

With those four criteria in mind, make a chart of what your character can do, in this format: Strength/Affinity-Affinity/Weakness. A pony's strength is the spell type they use most often and are the best with and defending against, their affinities are their second and third best, and their weakness is just that: whatever is most likely to break their defenses and hurt them. With that chart, you should have a general idea of what your unicorn is most likely to do use in a fight and do well with.

==How to do it==
Ley lines are the basis of all magic. To do anything more complex than telekinesis, a pony needs to create a spell matrix out of the lines. The more complex the spell, the more complex the matrix, and thus the longer it takes to make. A spell matrix, be it complete or not, can be rendered back into raw ley lines by being struck by another ley line, which is the normal way of fighting using magic. One pony makes a spell matrix, the other breaks it, and they repeat until one can finish the matrix and get a shot off. Repeat until the battle is over. You can also directly clash spells against one another vis-a-vis freezing a fireball or stopping concussion waves with a shield, in the case that both combatants don't know how to fence with leylines.

Ranks in the Rebellion and the Guard

Rebels:
==Fighter==
Rabble Rouser - An entry level soldier in the rebel army, they do all the basic fighting.
Bomber - A rebel with special training in the use of explosives.
Elite Fighter - A rebel that has proven themselves in battle, and has much more freedom on the field of battle. May also command small groups.
Rebel Champion* - Appointed by the High Council themselves, these ponies can do whatever they wish in a fight.

==Espionage==
Agent - A basic intelligence pony, that passes what they find on to their leader.
Contact Pony - The pony informants report to, who in turn send everything on to the regional leader. They're also sent on more dangerous reconnaissance missions.
Assassin - A pony tasked with eliminating any target they're directed to by their commander.
Darksider* - Appointed by the High Council themselves, these ponies have total freedom within the rebellion to find out anything they can.

==Command==
Hackers* - A small group of ponies hoof-picked to create and distribute propaganda for the rebellion. They are some of the most wanted ponies in the rebellion, outside of the High Council.
Cell Lieutenant* - The leader of a team of both fighters and intelligence agents in the field. They have the authority to do all their soldiers are capable of to accomplish any task ordered by the Regional Commander.
Regional Commander* - The leader of the rebels for a major area such as a city. Reports directly to the High Council.
Council Member* - One of the five members of the High Council that has total control over the rebellion. Currently, all five positions are filled.

Guard:
==Enlisted==
Chore Boy
Private
Private First Class
Specialist
Corporal
Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Master Sergeant

==Comissioned==
Ensign
Junior Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Lieutenant Commander
Major*
Captain*
Lieutenant Colonel*
Colonel*

==Command==
Brigadier General*
Major General*
Lieutenant General*
General*

Titles marked with an * can not be applied for, only awarded by higher ranking characters.