Chapter One: Before the Storm
A thousand years passed since Twilight gained her wings. The four alicorn princesses of Equestria had kept the peace for many generations, letting the elements of harmony rule the land. Everything was perfect.
But then they came.
Equeatria's greatest enemies, Nightmare Moon, King Sombra, Queen Chrysalis, and even The God of chaos, began their long over due revenge on the pony goddesses. They captured Canterlot,.. and slayed the alicorns before the populace of our once great land.
With no rulers, Equestria fell into chaos. Wars between the enemies' armies and our small rebellion raged through every city. Chaotic weather and unreasonable hate was spread across the country, and worst, the sun and moon forever shared the sky, neither of them to set again.
With no princesses, our kingdom fell.
Without an alicorn to take back our once beautiful home,... Equestria is doomed.
~ Spike Sparkle.
The Last Alicorn
Chapter 1: Before the Storm
The ruins of a once regal city lay crumbling on a sun scorched cliff. A single, sun-baked tower still stood sentry over the tattered palace, and staring out across the land on the tower's balcony, was a rather short alicorn.
Her pearl pink fur glistened with magic, and her flowing mane shone with the colors of the setting sun and rising moon. Her tail was long and only had a few strands of silken hair at the end, but her hooves were narrow with curled fur.
She was a picture of hope.
I looked out at the Eternal Day, letting out a frustrated sigh. I wanted to leave, to fly far away from here, maybe even to the Eternal Night.... but I couldn't, because the voices in my head told me not to.
I'm not crazy. The voices told me that. They say I'm special, like how they once were. They say that I was born of a spell they cast before they died, and that I'm a combination of the four of them.
The voices told me not to leave the castle. It was safe here. They would find me if I left, and from what the voices say, I am not ready to fight Them.
But I must listen to the voices.
' Indeed thou must,' a voice whispered in my head. I smiled. I loved talking to The Voices.
' Stop messing with her thoughts! Anyway...I think she's ready for the battle with *Them***,' Sharp Voice snapped at Polite Voice.
' Why must we always fight? We're all stuck in here together,' Gentle Voice murmured.
I heard a hoof smack someone's face, ' It's the only thing we have left.... and just because your power is love, doesn't mean you need to push that on us,' Smart Voice grumbled. I laughed.
Smart Voice was my favorite.
' May I interrupt?' I asked them in my head. It suddenly went silent, as if they were surprised by my voice.
'Oh, of course you can, my little pony,' Sharp Voice said sweetly. I laughed again. She couldn't fool me with her fake kindness.
'Well, I've been wondering for awhile.... why do I have to fight *Them?** Aren't there other alicorns like me?*' I quizzed the voices.
They went silent again.
I stepped away from the balcony, ' Never mind...,' I muttered to them, slowly trudging into the small room in the tower. I collapsed onto my pile of mangy blankets, which the voices called a bed, and buried my face in my narrow hooves. Faint whispers ran through my thoughts as the voices discussed something I wasn't aloud to hear.
I didn't want to listen. Closing my eyes, I waited for the memories.
Chapter 2: Memories
When I opened my turquoise eyes, I woke into a dream. I was hovering above the Canterlot, which was where a lot of the memories took place, but this time was different.
Next to me was my favorite balcony, looking polished and new, but what interested me was the four alicorns that stood on it.
The Voices.
I knew they had other names, but Voices was what I knew them as. They stared sadly down the balcony, at a large, terrified group of non-alicorns. I dropped onto the balcony, knowing that no one could see me.
Tears streamed from Smart Voice's purple eyes, and Gentle Voice's face was twisted in hate, as if she was remembering something awful. Both Sharp Voice and Polite Voice had blank expressions, trying to be strong for their citizens' sakes.
Something was horribly wrong.
The doors to the balcony swung open, almost scaring me out of my fur. Leaping back, four creatures moved towards The Voices, each one wearing a vicious smirk.
A tall, insect-like pony stood behind Gentle Voice, while a dark unicorn glared at Smart Voice. The two creatures behind Sharp Voice and Polite Voice were terrifyingly familiar. I had seen them in other dream's before. They were called Nightmare Moon and Discord.
Nightmare moon pushed Sharp Voice out of her way as she trotted to the end of the balcony. Her misty, violet mane flared up in anticipation as she spoke.
" Citizens of Equestria, today, we shall vanquish the bane on this simple-minded land. You shall be free of your soft-hearted... princesses," she spat the last word.
Cries of disagreement rose from the crowd below.
The dark unicorn stepped forward, the purple and green mist around his eyes sparking, " SHUT UP AND LISTEN YOU PATHETIC MAGGOTS!" he bellowed in rage.
You could smell the populaces' fear as they shrunk away at his words.
He glared at them in disgust, but then nodded at Nightmare and let her continue.
"Thank you, Sombra, " she responded, " and now, we shall commence the executions. Twilight? Cadence? Any last words?"
Twilight and Cadence. Finally, I knew their real names, but I didn't dwell on that. This was the part of their lives the voices had told me about so many times.
Their deaths.
Tears ran freely down Smar-... Twilights', cheeks. Cadence had a forelegs wrapped around Twilight as she tried to comfort her. Looking up at the four mythical creatures, Cadence spat, "Burn in Tartarus, you pieces of shit!"
The insect-like pony let out a snort of laughter, while the other three watched Cadence in amusement.
" Well, Celestia? Luna? What have you to say, hmm?" Discord asked the two taller alicorns as he floating above them.
The two alicorns I knew as Sharp and Polite voice kept their stony expressions, not letting Discord have the pleasure of seeing their weakness.
I knew they wanted to run. They wanted to live another day, but after their two thousand years of being rulers of Equestria, they would rather die than abandon their kingdom.
Their home.
Letting out a sniff of disdain, Discord turned back to Nightmare, only to be stopped by Celestia. She looked into his uneven eyes, her own filled with malice, "I knew I should have killed when I had the chance," she growled through gritted teeth, " I should have gotten rid of all of you,.. for good!"
Narrowing his eyes, Discord summoned a long, slender blade with the snap of his talons.
" My dear, it is I who should have gotten rid of YOU," he whispered.
I knew what was happening. Leaping forward, I tried to blocked Celestia, but it was pointless. This was a dream, a nightmare, a memory; it was something that had already happened, and no matter what I did, I couldn't change anything.
Discord's blade came down on me, but it slipped through me like I was a ghost. I heard a gut-wrenching cough, that sputtered on for a few seconds before it died out.
Grief stricken wails clouded the air, the saddest of them from Luna. I didn't want to look.
I couldn't help it. In a moment of pure curiosity and horror, I turned to look at Discord's work.
I wish I hadn't.
Her body lay crumpled on the marble , and look of pain was frozen in her dead eyes. The blade had pierced right through her chest, giving her a slow, painful death. Crimson liquid dripped from the wound, pooling on the floor of the pristine balcony. I wanted to throw up.
The three remaining alicorns were wrecked. Tears of fear, hate, and unbearable sorrow spilling over like a waterfall. They cursed and screamed at their captors, even tried to attack them, while the on-lookers below them quietly wept at their loss.
Discord glared at the body, but I knew I could see pain and regret in his eyes. Then it was gone. Without hesitating, he scooped up Celestia's corpse and flung it off the tower.
Screams erupted down below as I heard a sickening thud.
Three more blades appeared, each wielded by the other three executors.
One against Twilight's head. Another, finding a home in Cadence's chest, while Nightmare Moon's sword came striking down on Luna's back as she grieved for her older sister.
Smash. Crunch. Crack.
Three more bodies joined Celestia's.
My stomach twisted in knots. The four alicorns who had practically raised me lay in a bloodied heap, while citizens ran in a haze of fear and confusion.
The four murderers overlooked the madness, giving wicked smiles. The insect-alicorn looked like she was about to burst into song.
Nightmare quickly silenced her with a simple glare of her dragon eyes. "Put a sock in it, Chrysalis," she hissed, turning back towards the balcony doors. Chrysalis and Sombra almost tripped over each other as they followed, but Discord continued to stare down at Canterlot.
I didn't understand. I thought Celestia had cast a spell before she died. That's how I had come into being, but nothing happened. I trotted next to Discord and looked at the four bodies splattered on the ground below.
I felt sick again.
I looked over at Discord, expecting to see a smug expression on his face, but I was shocked. A tear slowly fell from his cheek, splashing into the puddle of Celestia's blood.
"Forgive me, Celestia...," he whispered, snapping his talons again. I could see a distant shadow encasing Equestria, but it stopped half way to Canterlot.
The Eternal Day and Night. I couldn't drag my eyes away from it, but I continued to listen to the Draconequus' murmurs.
"It was all Moony's fault! Just don't banish me when you return..," he muttered, followed by another snap. There was a bright flash, and then it was gone... along with the princess' bodies.
Discord had cast the spell. He had tried to bring Celestia and the others back.
Suddenly Discord melted away, and the castle and sky began to fade.
I was waking up.
Chapter 3: The Visitor
Four sleeps had past since my last dream. I had told the voices all about it, but they already knew all the details. They had refused to tell me anything else about that memory.
I now wandered the peeling halls of the Canterlot castle. Many memories swam through my head, but they weren't mine. My mane and tail slowly waved through the air as I explored each room. This is what I usually did most days, but sometimes the voices would train me and teach me things that would help me defeat the four creatures.
I stopped in a small room, probably had been a servants room, and examined it's scorched walls and shattered windows. The heat of the Eternal Day had started many fires over the years, but they always died out since there was not much to burn.
I was about to start rummaging through a crisp dresser, when the sound of metal hitting stone echoed through the castle. 'What was that?' I heard Cadence whisper in my mind.
'I don't know...but we should go back to the tower just in case..,' Luna whispered in an unusually scared tone. I ignored her, and not just because I was mad at them for giving me the silent treatment, but I was curious. Not many creatures had ever entered the palace.
I grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be a dusty candle holder, with my magic and shakily levitated it as protection.
Even though I was an alicorn, my magic wasn't very strong.
I inched towards the door to the hallway, blocking out the cries of protest in my mind. Carefully, I opened the door, hoping it wouldn't make any noise. Building up all the courage I had, I peeked out into the brightly lite hall. We all held our breaths.
It was empty.
A loud, screechy cry nearly scared me out of my hide, and I dropped the candle holder with a clang. Taking a step back, I looked around for the source of the sound.
It went off again above me. I whipped my head up to see a small, black creature sitting on a broken window. Its pointed head was turned so its beady eye could get a good look at me before it spread its shaggy wings and flew off down the hall.
Sighs of relief echoed in my head, ' Just a crow,' Twilight explained to me.
I nodded. Of course. A crow. I knew that.
An unbelievably strong force shot through the right side of my face, bowling me over onto the floor. Pain, something I had rarely experienced in my life, consumed my jaw. I could hear everyone screaming in my mind, spitting at who ever hit me and telling me to get out of here.
I cradled my face in my hooves, too shocked to really move, but my blood almost went cold as I felt a thin blade being held lightly against my neck. I dared to sneak a look at my attacker.
A tall, broad pegasus stallion stood above me, patchy armor covering his back with a helmet shielding his face. His hide was a light peach, with a crow cutiemark on his flank. A sword was strapped to his front leg, which was now pointed at me. "Surrender, changeling scum!" he growled, his deep voice being slightly muffled by his helm.
I was baffled. He was talking to me.... but.. not in my head. I heard him with my ears, not my mind. The princesses continued to scream at me, but I tuned them out. I wanted to know more about this non-alicorn.
His blade pressed a little harder to my throat, "I said, surrender, changeling," he roared. I didn't know what to do. Should I surrender? I wasn't a changeling though! "Speak!" he yelled, hurting my ears. I shrunk away from him, suddenly immensely frightened.
"Great Celestia, you're a friendly face, aren't you...?" I whimpered.
He froze in place, the sword still at my neck. Suddenly, in one fluid movement, he pulled the sword back and slid it into its sheath, unstrapping it from his hoof. He stepped back, letting me get to my feet.
I carefully gathered my hooves under me and shakily stood, still holding my cheek. He continued to observe me before unhooking his helmet and setting it on the floor.
His lush green mane was cut short, with striking light blue eyes. He was biting his lip and rubbing one foreleg over the other, as if he was nervous. I waited for him to do something.... anything, but he continued to remain silent.
After some time had passed, I decided he was no longer a threat. I spun around and started to head back towards the tower, no longer interested in outsiders. "Oh,... uh, ...w.wait! Don't go!" he called after me. I stopped and looked over my shoulder. His was looking at the ground, " Uh.. forgive me, miss..... I thought you were a changeling....," he paused for a second, " I am Private Treetop of the Apple family, bearer of the... uh.. element of kindness.."
Chapter 4: The Rebellion
"..and I've been living here pretty much my whole life..," I sighed, finishing my story to TreeTop. He nodded, amazement shining in his eyes.
We sat at my balcony, basking in the light of the Eternal Day. After he had apologized and introduced himself, Treetop had been utterly shocked when he realized I was an alicorn. I guess it was a big deal where he comes from.
"I just can't believe I found you! Me! Not Ripred or Spectra! I found you!" he practically giggled in joy. I smiled.
I know what you're thinking. He punches me in the face and threatens to kill me, then all of a suddenly we're acting like best friends? The attack had been an honest mistake. TreeTop had been assigned to an annual patrol through the castle this year, and being the new guy in the rebellion, he was quite jumpy.
He sighed and grinned to himself, but it quickly faded, " I never did get your name..," he told me a bit awkwardly.
My mind went blank. Name...?
'Are you going to listen to us now?' the irritated voice of Celestia said, echoing through my thoughts.
'Fine, whatever, what do I tell him?' I whispered to them.
No answer. I wanted to yell at them.
'You choose a name for yourself,' Luna told me confidently.
Great. More wisdom from the ex-rulers of Equestria.
I couldn't answer TreeTop's question. Looking down at my unusual hooves, I refused to make eye contact with him. I could feel his blue gaze burning into my pink hide. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Do..do you not have a name?" he stuttered.
More awkward silence.
"Well, since you don't have one... I'll just give you one. What about..... Ally?" he inquired. A small smile spread across my lips. Ally the alicorn. So original.
I glanced up at the sun, letting its rays warm my fur. "Sola ...," I murmured to him, " Call me Sola,"
He nodded, " Well, Sola, it is nice to formally meet you,"
A flutter of wings interrupted us. I looked over my shoulder, coming face to beak with the crow that nearly scared the pee out of me earlier. A small roll of paper was held in its shiny beak. " Phantom, there you are," TreeTop called to the bird. At the sound of his voice, Phantom leapt past me and hopped over to him, dropping the note. Giving the bird a gentle pat with his hoof, he unfolded the scroll and started to read aloud.
Phantom returned to base without you, and we can only assume the worse. If you receive this letter, know that General Ripred is to arrive at your location shortly after you read this.
Stay safe.
~Commander Spectra.
"Oh geez..," TreeTop muttered, rubbing his face with his hoof.
'Great... now someone's coming to kill you..,' Cadence muttered to me. I ignored her.
Just then a blinding light suddenly sparked in the middle of the balcony, making me shield my eyes. A light breeze whipped around me before it slowly died away. "Private TreeTop?" came a rough voice.
Peeking between my hooves, I let out a small gasp. A white, muscular unicorn stallion stood tall and proud infront of Treetop, his back turned to me. His mane and tail had several shades of red spattered across its short length, with brilliant gold armor covering him from head to tail. Another non-alicorn!
Treetop lifted his hoof to his head in a salute, his face showing a frustrated expression. "General Ripred, sir," he responded in a formal matter.
I didn't move. This sounded serious, so I tried to melt into the background, not wanting to be seen.
Ripred let of a snort of annoyance, "Commander Spectra informed me you were in need of assistance... but I do not see any creature that may be a threat here... explain,"
Treetop rolled his eyes, "Well, sir, you see, I never called for assistance. I was never in trouble. I sent Phantom back to the base thinking that I was in a situation, but it was a false lead," he murmured bitterly.
Ripred's anger was about to explode, for his mane was starting to spark like a fire, the first sign of a rage-shift. Not wanting TreeTop to get in anymore trouble, I tapped on Ripred's shoulder. "Um... excuse me, do not blame Tre-," a magical aura grabbed my hoof and twisted it away from the unicorn stallion, making me yelp in pain.
What was up with all these unfriendly stallions?
Ripred whipped around, his horn glowing as he continued to twist my hoof. I almost screamed when I saw his face.
An empty eye socket was surrounded by ragged scars, revealing raw, pink flesh. It looked recent, maybe a week old.
His one remaining amber eye burned into mine, as if he was deciding whether or not to snap my hoof off. "Red stop!" I heard TreeTop shout, pulling Ripred's shoulder. Ripred released, letting me fall to the floor, but he didn't take his eye off of me. "What is the meaning of this, Private TreeTop?" he hissed, still watching me.
" Knock it off, Red. You might be a general, but you're still my friend, so shut up with army talk," TreeTop growled, glaring at Ripred. The general flinched at his words. Walking over to me, TreeTop held out his hoof. Taking it, I got up and dusted myself off.
"This, is Sola. She isn't a changeling, Red, she's an alicorn. A real alicorn..... she can help us.. she can stop the war. Red, she's what we've been looking for all these years!" he explained excitedly. Ripred looked at TreeTop, then at me, and back.
'Hey.. Sola.... can you please stop getting yourself almost killed? Being killed once already is fun enough,' Celestia said to me while I waited for Ripred's reaction.
'I appreciate all those years of keeping me safe, but its times for me to take fate into my own hooves,' I muttered to her crossly. Ripred's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Fine. She can come back to the base with us... but if Spectra doesn't trust her.. she's gone. You got that Tree?" he ordered.
TreeTop nodded, grinning at me.
Ripred cleared his throat, " Good, now, you and Phantom fly back to base, I can only teleport so many ponies at a time," he explained.
His wings buzzing to life, Treetop leaped into the sky, Phantom at his side. "See ya there!" he called down at us, then zipped away. I was left with Ripred....
He watched Tree until he was no more than a speck in the sky before turning to me. There was no emotion in his cold eye. "Shall we go?" I asked him somewhat nervously. He shook his head.
"Not yet," he replied simply.
'I swear, if he rapes you-'
'Shut up!' I interrupted Celestia.
Ripred cleared his throat again, "Ahem... I.. uh.. wanted to say.. sorry.. for that whole almost breaking your leg thing.....," he muttered. I was shocked. An apology was the last thing I had expected him to say.
I swung my long tail back and forth, "Its fine, I understand," I told him, forcing a tiny smile.
He let out a sigh of relief, his horn starting to glow, "Good.... and honestly, you seemed far too beautiful to be a changeling,"
What?
With a loud, magical pop, we disappeared.
Commander Spectra Dash sat in the Command Room, several maps of Equestria spread out in front of her. She ran a gray hoof through her colorful mane, hopelessly trying not to stress out. One hundred years. The citizens of Equestria had been fighting this war for one hundred years. Three generations of family fighting for something that was a lost cause. Both her grandparents and parents had died to this war....
Slamming her hooves on the table, Spectra swiped everything off of it. Hopeless! It was all hopeless! The enemy was too powerful, too tricky. She couldn't stand the thought of telling yet another family that they had one less member. Tears began to flow down hers cheeks, leaving dark streaks in their place.
A hand suddenly gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, startling her. Looking up, she was met the the familiar purple snout of a particular dragon. " Oh.. *sniffle* ... Spike. I didn't hear you come in...," she told the large dragon.
Spike was small for an adult dragon. True, he could barely fit into the command room, and a lot of the doorways in the base had to be enlarged for him, but he was still considerably small.
His green eyes met with Spectra's, " ... Spectra, you can't give up. You and the other Mane Five are the only ones keeping this place going," he murmured to her.
Spectra tried to wipe away her remaining tears, " I just can't do it anymore, Spike. I'm not Rainbow Dash. I'm just her lowly granddaughter that got pinned with this job," she sputtered.
Spike looked at her, his brow creased in anger. "You do not talk that way, Spectra. What do you think that mark on your flank means? Hmm?" he muttered,pointing at her cutiemark. It was a simple lightning bolt, which was bathed in the shades of the color spectrum, placed in the middle of a light blue shield. He didn't give her time to answer, "It means you are a Dash, Spectra. The toughest and bravest of any other pegasi in this world. I knew your grandmother and parents better than anyone here, and I can tell you, you are nothing less of a Dash!"
Spectra still looked unconvinced. Spike decided to give it more more go, " Spectra, like it or not, you are the bearer of the element of loyalty, and right now I'm telling you to stay loyal to this group. You owe us that much!"
Spectra laughed at little, still wiping away tears.
"You're right Spike... I'm being selfish... maybe I need a few talks about generosity with Ripred," she joked. Spike let out a small laugh, patting Spectra's back.
"Shall I gather The Five?" he asked
Spectra nodded, composing herself, "Yes, right away,"
Within seconds, Ripred and I stood in the center of a large, somewhat full, room. The the dirt ceiling arched high over our heads, with muddy walls that were packed tight, but the most amazing part, was all the ponies in the room.
I had never seen so many in my life! Well, actually.. TreeTop and Ripred were the first I had ever met in real life.
They all bustled around the room, paying little to no attention to us. Some were tall, others were short. Some manes were curly, straight, or cut, and they all varied in every color imaginable!
"Welcome to the Resistance Central, " Ripred said proudly, "This is the main room in the entire underground complex, where the main entrance and main tunnels all are,"
'Did he say.... underground complex?' Luna gasped.
'No Luna, he said the Underground Railroad.... of course he said underground complex!' Celestia snapped back.
'Quiet, he's talking again!' Twilight whisper-yelled.
Ripred had taken a few steps forward, looking back at me. "You coming?" he called over his shoulder. I nodded, stumbling after him, my legs a little numb from teleporting here. He led me towards the largest tunnel in the room, probably large enough for a full grown dragon to fit in.
I followed, waving and smiling like an idiot at any pony who looked my way. Only when I saw some pegasi flying across the room did I notice the strange looking lights hanging on the walls. I leaned towards Ripred, "What.. are those?" I asked, gesturing towards the lights with one of my wings.
Ripred didn't even look, "Electric lights, haven't you ever seen those?" he questioned, still walking forward.
I shook my head, "I've never even left the palace before," I told him honestly.
"What?!" he replied, utterly baffled, "but there's not even a crumb of food or drop of water there!"
A loud voiced interrupted us. "Red!" In front of him, a rather young looking mare hobbled towards us. Her body was covered in a skin tight, black jumpsuit, a pair of gold and orange goggles resting on her head. Her mane was unusually straight, compared to some other ponies I had seen, but it was a brilliant, bright white, with a sunny, yellow hide. Her sky blue eyes didn't even glance at me, "RedSpectra'sgatheringthefivesomethingbigisabouttogoon," she rambled at light speed, staring intently at a small device strapped on her hoof.
"In English, Pen," Red sighed. The earth pony looked up at him.
" I said, Spectra is gathering the five. I think something big is about to happen," she repeated irritatedly. I stood next to Ripred, waiting for the teenage mare to notice me. She did.
She stepped towards me, raising a yellow hoof at my snout. Letting it in hover the air in front of me, she just squinted at my face. Her hoof abruptly shot at my nose, giving it a sharp jab. I leaped back, a bit surprised. She looked unimpressed, "That's a pretty lame camo-suit, there's no way the changelings will fall for that. The face is too glittery, your movements are too exaggerated, and the tail is..," she shuddered, " yeah, its... yeah,"
I was bewildered. Too glittery? Too exaggerated? Camo-suit? Ripred stepped in front of me, "Knock it off, PC, it isn't a suit,"
Turning her head to one side, the mare examined me again, "Oh.......eh... cool. Love the glitter, BTW, and, uh..., awesome tail. Very regal, and, hey, you're, like, an alicorn. It totally suits you," she giggled.
I feared for my life.
Red pulled me away. "Let's just go see what Spectra wants," he told me. The mare blocked our way.
"You're not getting away until I get a proper introduction," she paused to clear her throat, "My name is Penelope Cornelia Pie, but most ponies just call me PC. I'm the Head Techie around here, I design most of the weapons and fancy gizmos,"
Most of the words she used were gibberish to me," Oh...., I'm Sola, I-"
"Need to go talk to Spectra. Move it, Techie, lets go," Ripred interrupted gruffly, pushing past the overly excited mare.
" Blah blah blah bleh...," she mocked him quietly, pulling her goggles over her eyes. I snorted and trotted up behind Ripred, PC close to my side.
I needed to make a good impression on Commander Spectra.