Chapters The captain wiped some ash off of his face.
He looked into the canyon of flames and bodies. Ponies were littered everywhere, all burning. The royal guard smirked at the sight. The plan went on without a single glitch, to burn the base of the organization was easy. It was beautiful, watching the canyon burn in a wonderful shade of red and orange, writhing as the flames spread. The guard looked to the walls of the canyon and smiled as he watched pegasi try to fly out, failing and falling back into the fire and set ablaze, their screams echoing across the chasm. One managed to get to his gray hooves. A tan mare with a blue mane, she had a cutie mark of a map. The guard would think she would be beautiful if she wasn't a member of the revolting scum he had killed millions of times. The mare opened her mouth and spoke, her voice limp and raspy.
"Why do you follow...that monster? She is a terrible pony, no forgiveness in her veins. All she wants is power. Nothing else. All she ever does is hate, hate, hate. No love, mercy, or care. She doesn't care who lives or dies."
The stallion looked into her eyes with his dead pupils. This terrible excuse of a pony deserved to die. No pony ever resisted the queen and lived. Forever would she rule all of Equestria, her laws lasting until the end of time. He slowly pushed her hooves off the side of the cliff, her eyes widening and tears forming.
"Long live the queen. He whispered into her ear, his voice as soft as death.
The mare plummeted into the canyon. She stared at him with dead eyes as she fell. She screamed as her body was set aflame.
The captain smiled. The screams were music in his ears.
"My queen!"
Dead Star walked into the room. As the captain of the royal guards, he had to report everything to the Queen. His pale blue mane following behind him, he bowed to his great leader and spoke.
"The mission has been a success. The Resistance base has been destroyed. No survivors were found. The flare went off perfectly. No pony had expected that one of their new 'members' was a guard. He snuck in and planted the device where no pony could find it. He flew out at night, where he told us when to ignite it."
The Queen turned to him with cold eyes. Dead Star cowered under her gaze.
"I don't care abut what that Pegasus had accomplished. Did you not search the area to see if anyone escaped?" She asked.
"No. We were sure that no one could escape the flames..." Dead Star responded, before the burning sensation closed around his throat. It constricted into his respiratory system and he choked, he had been a victim of this spell many times, but he still couldn't breathe when she did it. He was lifted into the air.
"Fool. " The Queen growled. "No one had to escape. Some might have been outside of the base. You should have scouted the area!" She tossed him to the wall, coughing. "No matter. The air force will take care of it. They will be bombing the area soon."
"My lady... I'm sorry for disappointing-GACK!" The burning once again closed around his throat. He choked and gagged until the spell was taken off of him. The Queen's Horn glowed and her wings flared.
"Are you AWARE of what I had to go through to get my place!? I had to murder my friends, brother, his wife and my mentor. I had to destroy the Crystal Empire and everyone in it. I am a GOD. No, more. I killed the immortal. I am more than a God! A Deity! I will never be stopped by a group of sorry excuses that think they can take me down!" The Queen turned around."But why are we still talking? My subjects are waiting." She stepped on to the balcony and was greeted by the poor and defenseless ponies she ruled over. They looked at her with fearful eyes, the rich and poor, young and old. The royal guards and air force bowed to her.
"My subjects! Today, I bring great news! On this day, the Resistance, the very ponies that robbed the stores, bombed our buildings, kidnapped our foals, and defied me, has crumbled! No pony was found alive at their base! They thought that they were safe, but one flaw was visible: no one could guard them or their base! My soldiers infiltrated them and set the canyon afire! Now their mistake led to their deaths!" A filly cried out in the audience. The Queen gestured to the sound and an air force officer brought the filly toward her. A green maned, yellow filly was brought to her, struggling against the hoof against her mouth and cheek. The cowering look in her eyes made the Queen smile. She nodded and the snap of the foal's neck echoed everywhere in the audience. The lifeless body dropped into the bushes below the castle. The mother rushed to her foal and cradled the dead body in her hooves, wailing. The Queen looked at the officer, and he swept down and took her away.
"Let every pony know that my rein will last for an eternity! No one will bring me down. I will forever be your loved queen."
The Queen walked back into the castle. The air force and royal guards walked on to the balcony and waved the star printed flags.
"All hail our Queen! Twilius Ancora Sparkle!"
The Queen grinned. She said in a quiet voice from when she was accepted as the former ruler's student.
"Please, Celestia. Call me Twilight Sparkle. "
Apple Bloom stared up at the sign.
E CO O APP O A
Apple Bloom knew too well what It had originally said.
WELCOME TO APPALOOSA
She sighed. The town had been renamed "Desert Trees" a few years after Twilight had took over. The place had been decimated by the bombs when they dropped, only a few buildings and trees survived. Apple Bloom passed through the place she spent summers at, visited relatives, and picked apples. She walked through the orchard, the stale fruit rotting on the ground. In the tree, she saw a rare sight.
An actual apple.
She picked it out of the leaves and stared at it. Pure red, like back at what used to be home. Apple Bloom put the fruit in her pocket and headed into what used to be town square. The one building was a tavern, where Apple Bloom spent most of her time. The smell of tequila and cocktails reached her before she even got close. A table flew out of the doors and pass her. Usual behavior. Inside, a brawl was happening with the drunks, tables being thrown and tipped, chaos was reining, and no one was stopping it, instead placing bets and cheering them on.
The minute she stepped through the door, everything seemed to stop. Ponies stopped cheering, flipping tables, anything reminiscent of the fight. Spurs jingling, Apple Bloom trotted over to the bartender, a pink mare by the name of Pina Colada.
"Afternoon, Bloom. What can I get you? Rum, as always?" She asked.
"Nope. Apple Cider." Apple Bloom slid the apple across the table towards Pina Colada. "Found it in the orchard. Make me some cider."
"Alright, then. It'll take a long time, though. A pony came by earlier, said she was looking for you."
"Seriously? Where is she?"
"In the back. Go talk to her if you want."
Apple Bloom walked toward the back. "I expect my cider when I'm out!" She pushed open the doors and into the dimly lit room where she would talk to other ponies.
"Good day, Apple Bloom. Sit down."
Apple Bloom whirled around to see a unicorn with white hooves and a dark-blue horn. She wore a gas mask, for unknown reasons.
"I'm known as Apple Shot around here."
"Sit down, Apple Bloom."
Apple Bloom sat down on the chair on one end of the table. The stranger sat down on the other.
"What do you need? Assassination? Theft?"
"No, I just ask of a favor. Do you remember this?" The stranger slid her bag across the table. After a few seconds Apple Bloom reached in and pulled out a piece of aged fabric.
The Cutie Mark Crusader cape.
Memories flooded into her brain. Applejack's death. Her cutie mark. Twilight taking over.
"Where....Where did you...."
"Does 'Sweet Apple Acres' remind you? I got it at your clubhouse, of course."
"My... My clubhouse?"
"Indeed. Now Apple Bloom, tell me. I want you to let it all out. What do you remember before Twilight took over?"
Apple Bloom stared at her. She wanted to tell some pony everything that had happened ever since witnessing her sister die right in front of her.
"...Alright. It started a many years ago...."
"So why are we going to the library again?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Applejack told me that the meeting Twilight was holding was for big ponies only. But we're big ponies! We'll go there and show them we're adults!" Apple Bloom replied.
"You sure? We could get in trouble..." Scootaloo said.
"We'll just look through the window and tell them we saw everything when they get out! It'll be easy!"
They got to the library to see carnage and Applejack rip something off of Twilight's neck. She stared at her in triumph, then confusion, then worry. Twilight had a devious grin and her horn started to glow brighter and brighter. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom ducked.
"Scoots! Get down!"
She was too transfixed on the scene. As the horn turned it's brightest, she ducked but only part of her face was down before the flash.She screamed and clutched her eye.
"I can't see out of my eye! It hurts!"
Apple Bloom looked to the room. Ashes remained where her friends were. In Applejack's place was the largest pile.
Apple Bloom wailed.
Everything was blurry after that. Big Mac thought She had simply went missing and went to find her. Every night, Apple Bloom would sneak into his room and get a small metal box.
A pistol was in it.
Every night she would go out into the orchard and practice shooting apples. She was surprisingly good at this, and eventually go her cutie mark; A black apple with a bullet through it.
She didn't remember much after. Twilight's take over, the Crusaders disbanding, escaping to Appaloosa. She did remember one thing though.
One day, she would avenge her sister.
"...And that's all I remember."
The stranger looked into her eyes.
"Thank you. I have all the information I need. I think you're the right one."
"Right one for what?"
"I am the last surviving member of the Resistance. I wish for you to reform the organization and become the leader of the Resistance to take down the Queen."
All that Glitters is Deceiving
Apple Bloom stared.
The masked pony stared back.
Apple Bloom spoke calmly and gently.
"The resistance was destroyed. Queen Twilius said no survivors were found."
"She was wrong. Few survived but were found and captured. I was the only one who escaped. I was the previous leader, but it won't be long until she finds me. The resistance must go on. Alicorns are immortal. If we don't manage to take her down, her living hell will live forever."
The masked pony once again slid down a bag. Inside was a aquamarine crystal surrounded by a Sun and Moon.
The badge of the resistance.
"Think of your sister, Apple Bloom. This is the time for vengeance."
Apple Bloom stared.
Behind her mask, the pony smiled as Apple Bloom slowly pinned the badge to her hat.
"I'm In."
The gravel rolled among the ground as Apple Bloom walked.
This place was reminiscent of a desert, but still resembled the rocky terrain it was.
Diamond Dog territory.
The pony, whom Apple Bloom named Masquerade, told her that there was a mare in the territory, and the main objective right now was to recruit. The dogs were hardly affected by the takeover, still retaining the tradition of digging up gems.
A gallop was heard in the distance.
Apple Bloom turned around to see something she wouldn't have expected in a long while.
The Royal Guards.
Her eyes widened as they got close. She needed to run. Being a race who didn't respect the Queen, it was off limits to normal ponies. Apple Bloom quickly erupted into a run, trying to find somewhere to hide. A hole. It was steep, but she had no choice and jumped. She bounded around the walls of the chasm for a few seconds, but quickly stopped. She heard the guards trotting overhead, then fading off.
That's all she remembered when she was knocked out.
Apple Bloom woke up to the grinding of rusty chains.
She was in a cell, bounded by the chains. She had known what happened. The Diamond dogs took anyone who trespassed.
She would be bought to the leader and judged, usually used for slaves. She watched as two burly Dogs walked in and opened the door.
She was yanked out to the smelly cot she was on and dragged through the caves. Holes littered the walls, floors and ceiling, no doubt being where they farmed. She was thrown onto the unexpected plush carpet in front of a large velvet chair, the throne of the leader. A brief trotting entered the room. They were lead by a pony.
"Well done boys, you caught another intruder. I guess you can have this." said the now-alleged mare, and a diamond was thrown next to her. The dogs grabbed it and ran off.
The mare walked in front of her, both of their eyes widening. Apple Bloom would know that cotton-candy pink mane anywhere.
Sweetie Belle.
"I can't pay the debt!" Sweetie Belle yelled to the ceiling. Businesses were required to pay a debt every week to keep it running, but the Carousel Boutique was going to be torn down. Tears streamed down her face. "I'm sorry Rarity..." She packed the last thing in her saddle bag, took one last look, and walked off.
~
Sweetie Belle looked into the dark, large hole. She fell down here when thinking about the Boutique, and what Rarity would think of her. An idea came to her, and remembered a spell she had seen her sister use many times. She focused and watched as her horn blazed a blue light. She waved it around to see, only to see a sparkle in the darkness.
Gems.
She just stared at them, the shining rocks glimmering in front of her. She slowly dug them up and felt a smile come across her face.
She dug up almost everything, until being stopped by the Dogs. She beat them and they surrendered, making her their leader. Shrouded by her greed, she didn't even notice her cutie mark; A diamond in a bear trap. The mark of deception.
Knighting Gale's Story- 1
"My Queen."
Twilius turned to Dead Star. His hooves scattered as he stopped to bow to her.
"What is it, knight?"
Dead Star inhaled, and began to speak.
"The patrol was scouting the town as usual. However, a crazy white mare with a light pink mane tackled one of the guards, saying that he killed her husband. She ended up stabbing him to death, we drowned her later."
Twilius looked on, her rage slowly building. Have these filthy vermin forgotten that she was their ruler!? She exhaled hastily.
"...No matter. Go to town and get a colt to take his place. Unicorn, blank flank. Do you understand?"
Dead Star bowed. "Yes, my Queen." He quietly sunk out of the room, making no sound.
The patrol's hooves trotted among the road.
The ponies by them cowered in fear as they shot them side glances. One step out of place would end up with the common folk getting punished. The patrol, however, were only interested in a mare by the shop.
"Just one bit." The pony passed a stallion a rotten apple, which he took hastily and ran off, his eyes becoming giant as he spotted the royal guards.The mare turned to them, her eyes just as wide. She put on a nervous smile and began speaking in a shaky voice. "H-hello, sirs."
"You are Missus Redheart, yes?"
"Yes, s-sirs."
"We understand you have a young Unicorn colt. We have come to take him as a Royal Guard."
Redheart's eyes grew wider, her voice becoming shrill.
"...No...No, no, no! His father died, we lost all our money, and we have been doing bad enough! Please, he's all I have left! "
The guard stared with cold eyes. "Whip her."
Her eyes continued to grow large, as two guards came out with a young, pale-white coat.
"What are you doing!? MOM!" He shouted in a pubescent voice.
"Congratulation, young colt, you are going to become our new royal guard."
The colt stared, and let out a scream.
The guard payed no attention.
"My Queen!"
Dead Star trotted into the room, two more following carrying the young colt, his eyes red from crying. Twilius turned around and grinned, her sharp teeth showing.
"Ah, our new guard. Drop him here." The two guard plopped him down in front of her. "Hello, there. Do you know who I am?" She said in a quiet, gentle voice tangled with an icy whisper.
The colt stared at her and took a deep breath. "You are Queen Twilius, our-" The colt had to stop himself from saying "Vile and cruel"-"Amazing, wise leader."
Twilius smiled, still staring at the colt. "What did your mother call you?"
"...I...I was called Last Magic by my mother, I think it was because I'm a Unicorn like my dad, and my mom is a Earth Pony..."
Twilius looked at the Guards, then at the colt. "By this day forward, your name shall be Knighting Gale. You will be taught in the ways of the Royal Guards."
The colt stared at her in surprise.
"Dead Star, you will be his mentor. I expect no mistakes ."
"Yes, my Queen. Come, Knighting Gale."
He trotted out of the room, gesturing to the door to Knighting Gale. The colt looked to the Queen, then to Dead Star. He quickly followed him. Only one word floated in his mind.
Why?
An Old Friend and a New alliance
Sweetie Belle gazed into the eyes of her foal hood friend.
"...Apple bloom?" She said with the no longer squeaky and high pitched voice, but a mellow and seducing one. "How are you... Why are you...." She ran to a large cushioned chair and buried her face in the pillow. "I-I... When we first saw what Twilight had done... I-I took over the boutique but left.... You stayed..... and Scootaloo ran away.... I... I-I'm sorry, I have to process this."
Apple Bloom stared at her. She had a longer mane, a larger horn, and had the Diamond Dog jacket. What disturbed her most was the Cutie Mark; A gem inside of a bear trap, Apple Bloom calculated what it meant. She came up with Deception,
"....Sweetie Belle, why are you here?" Apple Bloom asked her friend.
Sweetie Belle gazed at her for a moment, then sat down to tell her story.
"...Sweetie Belle...Sweetie Belle, that's awful."
Sweetie belle wiped the tears from her eyes.
"...Thank you. Now tell me, why are you here?"
Apple Bloom flipped her hat and let it slip off. On it was the badge, Sweetie Belle's eyes went wide when she saw it, and took it into her hooves.
"But... But the Resistance was destroyed!"
"No. The leader survived. She tasked me with finding anyone, anyone willing to join the Resistance. Please, Sweetie Belle, Twilight has taken so much from us. Happiness, our family, everything. We need to fight back. Please, help me. If we never retaliate, we'll never be free."
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom stared at each other.
Slowly, she reached for the badge and stared at it.
She quietly muttered something repeated ever since she was a filly.
"...I'm going to avenge you, Rarity. No matter what it takes, I am going to avenge you. Nothing gets in my way, nothing shall stop me. I love you, sis. Always have. That day has always been burnt into my memory. I swear, I will never rest until the deed has done. Twilight will pay."