Shades of the Past

The day progressed as normal for the Citizens of Ponyville, nopony aware of the danger that was consuming the city of Cloudsdale as they went on about their lives. The day drew to a close, Twilight finding herself helping her friend Applejack deliver a large order of Apple Products to the town's small hospital.

"Hey, Applejack; have you seen Rainbow Dash at all today?" Twilight asked as they walked away from the Hospital once the delivery was finished.

"Can't say that ah have, Twi. She's probably sleepin' late, or maybe just elsewhere around town..." Applejack said, almost having a heart attack as soon as a familiar Rainbow-Maned Pegasus suddenly dropped down in front of them.

"You were talking about me?" Rainbow Dash asked, trying to hold back a laugh as Applejack stumbled backwards.

"That ain't funny, Rainbow." Applejack replied, calming down some after the sudden shock of the Pegasi's appearance.

"Really? You should have seen the look on your face." Rainbow Dash said in response, laughing while Applejack sighed and looked over at Twilight, who seemed to be holding back laughter as well.

"S-sorry, Applejack." Twilight said, putting on a straight face so as not to offend the orange-coated mare.

"So; how has flying been, Twilight? Feel up for practicing today?" Rainbow Dash asked, eager to get to it, it seemed.

"Sure, they could probably use a little exercise." Twilight replied, avoiding the first question as she hadn't really flown much since the Coronation, which was odd now that she thought about it; how it seemed so natural then, only to seem so difficult to learn now. Better not to question it, she guessed, watching as the excited Rainbow-Maned mare before her spread her own cyan wings.

"Alright, then! Let's get going!" Rainbow exclaimed, taking off, Twilight following by hoof. "Later, Applejack!" Rainbow Dash shouted back as she flew off to the flight-practice course, Twilight stopping briefly to wave goodbye as Applejack smiled, waved back, and continued on her way back to town.

Twilight looked ahead, the distance between herself and Rainbow Dash being greater than she'd anticipated. She sighed as her wings spread out, for once when she wanted them to, it seemed. She kicked off the ground, frantically flapping her wings to stay airborne, doing so in a manner that was very unstable and required a lot of effort to maintain. Then some of Rainbow Dash's advice came to mind; leading to her taking a deep breath and calming down some, allowing her to stay in the air with little effort, as she cleared her mind and let her wings do their job.

The Alicorn then opened her eyes to be met with... A tree. The sound of the impact echoed through the otherwise noiseless field as Twilight ran face-first into the tree, falling down to the ground with a bleeding nose, stunned and disoriented. Her vision began to return to focus eventually, Rainbow Dash standing over her with a hoof held out to help her up.

"That was a pretty nasty crash there, you okay, Twilight?" Rainbow asked as the lavender Alicorn sat up slowly.

Twilight grabbed her friends hoof, shaking off the disorientation as Rainbow pulled her up. "J-just a little headache; I'm fine." Twilight replied, holding her head at an angle to keep her bleeding nose from making a mess.

"You actually flew pretty well for a moment there, you know that?" Rainbow asked with a smile as she took off into the air again. "Right, I guess we'll start once your nose stops bleeding then. Unless you'd rather go home, of course."

"No, I can watch for a while." Twilight replied, sitting in the grass, watching as Rainbow Dash practiced some tricks and maneuvers, always impressed with how her friend made flying look like an art, even the most simple of tricks pulled off near-flawlessly by Rainbow Dash. She sat for a while, waiting and watching, eventually standing and taking a deep breath as she readied herself for flight once again. Twilight kicked off the ground, wings spreading and carrying her off the ground in a much more smooth, stable manner than before. Rainbow Dash watched from above as Twilight gained altitude, soaring down to meet her as the Alicorn struggled not to look down.

"Not too bad; want to race?" Rainbow Dash asked as she flew side-by-side with Twilight, who seemed nervous as she began to fly forward with Rainbow Dash, slowly at first, though eventually gaining speed.

"Uh... O-okay..." Twilight replied, almost spun off course as Rainbow soared ahead of the Alicorn. Recovering from the sudden shock of the moment swiftly, Twilight began to fly after Rainbow Dash. The feeling of flight was nothing short of amazing to her; the wind in her mane as she gathered speed, the great feeling of freedom as she flew with Rainbow Dash among the clouds, all of this felt so new and absolutely amazing to Twilight. She almost forgot about the race as she maneuvered over, under, and around clouds, for a moment she even forgot she was putting any effort into flying whatsoever, the feeling become more and more natural to her as she flew over Ponyville. She was nowhere near as talented at this as Rainbow Dash, of course, but she never once hoped to compete with the mare who could pull off a Sonic Rainboom.

Twilight once again found herself drawn away from the world of her thoughts to reality, this time thanks to a could she had not been paying any attention to. She came to a sudden stop, the impact into the soft, fluffy mass of vaporized water feeling much, much more comfortable than the tree she crashed into earlier, save for the fact she now found herself stuck inside the cloud. As she struggled to pull her head out of the clouds, literally, she heard Rainbow Dash laughing shortly before the pegasus yanked on her tail, freeing her from the cloud. Because of this, Twilight found herself falling down to the ground below, thrown into too much of a panic to fly, though her wings still spread, slowing her fall and allowing the Alicorn to glide somewhat gracefully down to the ground, with Rainbow Dash following her in her descent.

"Twilight!" The two mares heard as they landed, the voice belonging to Spike. They turned to see him running towards them, a familiar look of urgency on his face as he approached with a parchment in his claws. The exhausted dragon was too out of breath to say anything by the time he reached them, holding the letter out to Twilight, who took and opened it, reading it with Rainbow Dash.

"What!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, in disbelief. "We have to get to Cloudsdale, now!" She exclaimed, taking off, only to have her tail grabbed by Twilight's magic moments later.

"No, Rainbow! It's too late... The city... It's already fallen." Twilight replied, having been the one to finish reading the letter. "You'd only be putting yourself in danger. We have to tell the others and contact Celestia, she'll know what to do."

Through gritting teeth and her strong sense of devotion to her home-city, almost as strong as her loyalty to her friends, Rainbow Dash let rationality win this round, landing once Twilight let go and turning to walk back to Ponyville with the Princess. "Fine, but I'm not going to sit around waiting forever." The Rainbow-Maned Pegasus said, the three walking back to Ponyville without another word.

There was chaos and confusion in the streets of Cloudsdale as Pegasi fled the Legion that had breached the walls of the Cloud-City. The few Royal Guards stationed there tried desperately to defend the City, only to be destroyed by the superior training, tactics, and weaponry of the Ancient Army they fought against. To make matters worse; these Pegasi seemed to have little trouble killing, blood being shed, albeit only a little, as few actually tried to resist, but still.

A few Pegasi on the farther end of town made their escape towards other settlements, some flying for Canterlot to warn the Princess' about the threat to Ponykind that had only recently risen, though a majority of Pegasi remained trapped in Cloudsdale by this army, which terrorized the population until finally, the Capital Building with the High Council, standing face-to-face with the General of the invading Army.

"Tell me; where is Commander Hurricane? I do not desire any more unnecessary bloodshed to my fellow Pegasi." The General said, a crowd having gathered, the watchful Legionnaires watching the people with growing curiosity, wondering why so many were out of uniform, why the army stationed here was so small, and why they all seemed to be timid and fearful, so unlike Pegasus-Kind.

"Commander Hurricane is dead, long dead. She's been dead for many centuries; what madness has overtaken you? Why would you disturb the peace like this? Why would you kill innocents!? The Princess' will banish you for all eternity for this!" The High Chancellor exclaimed angrily, showing some strength, standing up to the invaders considering the position he found himself in.

"Dead? Centuries?" The General asked, admittedly shocked at the fact she and her Legion had been locked away that long.  Still, she got over her initial shock, returning to the matters at hand. "Princess'? I take it the Unification Treaty has stood strong this long, then. It is not my intention to kill any more of our great people, lest you prove yourself to be weak and unworthy of the great legacy we all inherit by birth." The Pegasus General said, turning to the crowd. "Citizens, let it be known that I mean no harm to my comrades-in-arms. We are all Pegasi; we are all the greatest of the three species, and many throughout our history have fought long and hard to preserve our honor and glory, to assert our dominance over the inferior races which dwell on the ground below! I do not know how much has changed in the time I've been gone, but whatever the case may be; I shall endeavor to restore us to our rightful place in the world! Let the winds be our guide, let the steel be our voice; let us bring peace and order through superior power, and let all who challenge us face the wrath of our united might." The Pegasus General said, quoting Blue Typhoon, an ancient hero to all Pegasus-Kind, a quote which struck deep with many Pegasi throughout the square.

"Those days of senseless violence and conflict are over, Mad-mare! We have peace, order, and unity; without the need for armies or weapons of destruction and devastation. Why break the peace we already have in favor of war, a war you can't possibly hope to win? The time of our ancestors is long past, all ponies are equal now; so explain why you would pull us back into archaic times? For your outdated sense of 'Glory' and 'Honor'?" The Chancellor asked, his attempt to counter the General's appeal not as effective as he might have hoped.

"Peace? There would be peace; peace through our superior power. Equality? Why put ourselves on the same level as those who dwell below? We are Pegasi! We ruled the skies in the time before your foolish treaty with the Unicorns and Earth Ponies! You are a disgrace to your people and all we stand for, and you shall be punished for your weakness and treachery! Hold his wings out!" The General exclaimed, several of her legionaries surrounding the High Chancellor, holding him in place and forcing his wings to extend, as their General drew her blade and approached the Chancellor, who tried fruitlessly to break free. One swift strike from the sharp steel blade and the Chancellor's right wing was severed from his body, the Pegasus screaming in pain as the General moved on to "clip" his second wing, leaving him wingless; a symbol of dishonor to any Pegasus, at least a symbol in their ancient society. "Toss this one over the sides of the city; he does not deserve to walk among us." The General then said, sheathing her blade as the Chancellor was dragged away kicking and screaming to the edge of the clouds. She then turned to the Citizens, watching in shock, and some in horror as she condemned their High Chancellor to his death. "Citizens! I, Crimson Sky, swear here and now that I will not rest until the great name of the Pegasus Nation has been restored! Together, we can and will rule this world; together we can overcome those who would weaken us with their foolish concept of equality with our lessers! For the Glory of all Pegasi!"

Some in the crowd started cheering, their strong sense of nationalism re-awakened by Crimson Sky and her ideals from archaic times. More and more began to cheer for her, whether out of national pride or fear of her willingness to use violence, one could not say, though it was clear that she had the support of a majority of the Pegasi in Cloudsdale, and to the General, that was all that mattered; her soldiers cheering for her as she acknowledged the reactions she was getting from the crowd, turning to the council behind her, still in shock and terror from the condemnation of the High Chancellor. "Now, tell me; just how much about our land has changed in the years I've been gone." She said, a fire burning in her eyes as she spoke, a plan for revenge taking shape in her mind.