Rainbow Dash stood atop a roof of a derelict shop. From here, she could watch the teens by the derelict town hall as they duelled each other, teaching each other valuable attack and defence methods. Some even decided to explore the town hall, being careful not to disturb anything and bring the entire building crashing down.
Rainbow could also keep an eye on the nearby streets, allowing the teens to relax slightly knowing that she would do anything to keep the guards at bay long enough for them to disperse and hide. They even called upon the rainbow-maned pegasus to decide who won a duel or a bet.
Currently, Diamond Tiara was circling Cotton Cloudy.
Diamond wore more armour than the archer, as she needed to get closer to her enemies to do more damage. Cloudy's armour was suited for her move quickly and silently.
The duo watched each other, attentive, looking for any sign of weakness.
Unlike five years ago, this was not Diamond being the bully; she was helping those she used to torment to stay alive. She was now friends with a lot of ponies her own age and, although she wouldn't admit it, she couldn't imagine losing any of them. The battle they had faced to stay alive had made all of them closer than they had thought possible.
Cloudy stood on her hind legs, arming her bow with an arrow, unfurling her wings, not once looking away from the pink pony who circled her, eyes narrowed, a long curved sword in her hoof.
They both had been taught to not give anything away, to try and throw the enemy off before going for the true attack. This tactic was the one Cloudy opted for, while Diamond slipped into a defensive pose. Cloudy shot away from Diamond, feigning retreat. Diamond fell for it, chasing shortly after.
Cloudy switched from hooves to wings before twisting around and shooting the arrow. The distance between the two was close; it was no surprise the arrow slid past Diamond Tiara's sword and embedded itself in her armour.
The pony froze. The arrow didn't reach her, but it was a shock, although it was the same thing that happened each time one duelled with a pegasus archer. It wasn't exactly a feeling you could get used to; the metallic thunk of a metal arrow head embedding into mental armour, accompanied by the power behind it, which could easily knock a pony off their hooves.
Cloudy crashed into the ground as Diamond Tiara pulled the arrow from her armour and slipped her sword into its sheath on her side.
"You know, Cloudy," Diamond smiled, holding out a hoof to the pegasus. "You need to work on shooting backward while flying. It will come in handy if you can easily get away."
"I know, I know," Cloudy sighed. "It's just I get confused."
"Don't worry," Diamond grinned, giving the pegasus back her arrow. "A lot of pegasi can't do it and if I had wings, I'd be useless with them."
Rainbow Dash smiled. It was nice to see ponies getting on. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that times like these brought ponies together. She knew that all the teens saw each other as extended family, after losing their own or because they needed company, and who better to provide it than ponies their own age? They all needed each other and the teens had brought the best and worst out of themselves and each other.
Once level headed and scheming Diamond Tiara had used her scheming to confuse the guards. However, she was bloodthirsty. She loved to kill the guards, although they where caught under Twilight's control. It took the combined effort of Rainbow Dash and Luna to stomp it out, but even then, Diamond Tiara still had the urge to kill every now and again, but it was better than her waking up every day with the urge.
However, the blood lust had come in handy. One of the younger ponies, Rainbow couldn't remember the name, wasn't quick enough to escape the guards when they came searching. They had followed Diamond Tiara and had shouted out when the guard caught them.
Rainbow shook the mental image of Diamond's enraged blue eyes from her head.
The pink pony had flown off the handle when she saw the pony in danger. She had brutally slaughtered the guard, beheading him, while laughing manically.
Rainbow Dash couldn't comment on Diamond Tiara's brutality. She had survived Twilight's attack with Pinkie Pie, at the cost of the Elements of Harmony, but Rainbow couldn't have done anything to get them back. Her versus an all powerful unicorn- make that alicorn- who defeated Celestia and almost killed Luna? She wouldn't stand a chance.
When Pinkie almost got caught, Rainbow was blinded by rage. One moment she was watching the guard about to kill Pinkie, next thing she knew, she was standing over a mangled and bloodied body. It had terrified her, although she'd never admitted. She never knew she was capable of something like that. Then again, no pony expected to be capable of killing other ponies, although Luna had drilled it into their skulls to not kill them, only to knock them out long enough to get away or, if you can, lock them up somewhere.
Luna had said this in a hope she could undo what the Queen had done to them. Luna had been studying the spell for two years now. She'd tried to take it apart to see how it worked, but the spell was something only the Queen could undo or alter and it frustrated the lunar alicorn to no end.
The pegasus was broken from her thoughts when she noticed a white pony, hovering before a cloud. Rainbow almost missed the pegasus as her coat matched the cloud. What gave her away was her mane and tail colours; light and dark, but vivid, blue.
There was a strange black creature beside her. It's wings not visible; they were beating too fast. A pegasi's keen eyesight made it possible for the two to see each other, but no pony else could see the pegasus above.
"Changeling!" Rainbow gasped, recognising the black exoskeleton.
The last she'd heard of the changelings was they where planning to ally with the tyrant Queen, to limit their losses. Had they succeeded? Where they here to fight? To kill? Or to ally with them? Rainbow somehow doubted the last option, it didn't seem changeling-like to ally with ponies you tried to go against, especially after what happened at Canterlot.
"You lot!" Rainbow leapt from the roof, using her wings to stop her smashing into the ground. "Come with me, right now!"
Her tone silenced any form of protest before it could even be thought of. Rainbow trotted in the direction of the Everfree Forest, she heard all the hoof falls of the teens she'd taken with her.
"Um, Loyalty?" Cloudy used the nickname all the Resistance used although everypony knew who she really was. "What's going on?"
"We may have a new enemy," Rainbow replied.
"What do you mean?" Dinky asked. The unicorn was levitating weapons for the others, needing to use her magic as sometimes there was just too much of it for her to handle, a rare problem for unicorns.
"About a year ago we got a report that the changelings where considering an alliance with the Queen. We haven't heard anything about them since, so we don't know whether they are still against the Queen or not. At current-" Rainbow glanced up "-we have a changeling above us. Whether they are hostile or not, I don't know, so I'm warning Luna, just in case."
"Wise, Loyalty, very wise," a new voice made the group freeze. "You are smarter than the Queen gives you credit for."
Rainbow turned around and floored the pegasus hovering silently above them. She barely got time to act before she was pulled off the white pegasus and flung back towards the wide eyed teens.
A changeling growled, making Rainbow stand in a defensive position in front of the teens, ready to attack, only if the changeling made the first move.
"Mimik! Stand down!" the pegasus ordered.
"But, my-"
"Stand! Down!" the pegasus growled as she got to her hooves. Her tone softened as she addressed the ponies. "I'm sorry for the fright, Loyalty, but if you wish to remain in the good books of my changelings, then you better be careful."
"Is that a threat?" Rainbow hissed.
"No, it's advice," the pegasus said, no trace of anger of hatred in her voice. "I wish to speak with you and Luna. Is this possible?"
"Where are they?" Rainbow asked hesitantly.
"Hiding, but not in Ponyville. This is your territory, everyone knows that. The Queen still thinks we're licking our wounds, too cowardly to do anything. We cannot be seen here en masse. So, they're...around."
"Follow us," Rainbow Dash coldly, standing up straight and finding a way to look down at the pegasus and changeling despite the fact they were the same height as her. "But don't be surprised if we deny whatever you are here for."
"I'll understand if you need proof of where our alliance lies," the pegasus ruffled her wings as Rainbow led the way. "It was a mistake to go to the Queen this far in. We had no other options at the time."
"And what's different now?" Rainbow asked, not turning to face the pegasus who walked at the back of the group with her changeling companion.
"We would rather not explain here," the changeling spoke up. "What we have to say may not be suited for sensitive ears to hear."
Rainbow nodded once in acknowledgement, but didn't speak. She was fully aware of the younger ponies who walked loser to her than they had been previously. Dinky had returned the weapons to their owners. It was clear none of them knew what to do, so they stayed alert, not sure whether or not these two would cause trouble despite the fact only one wore armour and neither had any weapon.
They weren't far from the hideout when Rainbow turned to the pegasus and the changeling and told them to wait. She told Dinky and Diamond to keep an eye on them.
If any of them had any objections, they didn't voice them.
Rainbow Dash shot the pegasus and changeling an odd look before walking away with the teens, trying to make sense of them. The pegasus was familiar. She had seen her before, but couldn't recall where. It was clear that she knew her. Most only called her Rainbow Dash, but many did prefer 'Loyalty'.
Rainbow entered the charred remains of Sugar Cube Corner where, hidden in the basement of the old bakery, the Resistance lived.
No pony knows how the fire started. It will always remain a mystery as Ponyville was attacked very soon after Canterlot. All the ponies who didn't escape or die trying became the brainwashed guards that chased them to kill or imprison them or farmers that worked large fields of land.
Twilight had claimed to be freeing them, but instead she imprisoned them.
The rebels were never brainwashed. The Queen believed them to be impure, contaminated and corrupted beyond brainwashing. She didn't kill them either. She tortured them to get information about the rebel's movements. Even then, she wouldn't kill them. No, she would keep them on hoof just to bride or threaten the rebels.
Rainbow Dash loathed the idea of them being trapped there. She had tried to convince Luna multiple times to launch an attack on the prison. She knew why Luna kept turning the ideas down; they were horribly outnumbered.
The cyan mare wondered how she would tell Luna exactly why there was a changeling and a pegasus mare waiting to talk to them. A normal day would have been fine, but the stress and frustration of not being able to free her subjects was starting to get to her after five years.
* * * *
Dinky Doo had taken up a perch on a building nearby, keeping an eye out for guards, although they usually have a few patrols going at night rather than in the day, and midday hadn't long passed. In a world like this, however, you can't be too careful.
In the distance Dinky could see the rippling of heat waves. It was summer, so it came to no surprise.
The summer heat helped the ponies in the rebellion out; the armour the guards wore wasn't suitable in the heat, so they were often more interested in keeping cool in the day rather than what was going on around them. At night, however, they made up for the lack of vigilance in the day as it seemed they could hear a pony's light hoof steps from up to twenty feet away. This was a feat that not even the changelings could pull off.
Diamond Tiara was watching the pegasus and the changeling a few feet away from her.
The changeling -did the pegasus call him Mimik?- had curled up on the floor, eyes closed, like he was sleeping. His light blue wings were folded to at his sides, like a normal pegasi's wings, but Diamond could still the unnatural tear on the tip of it. In fact, as the young pony looked closer, she noticed a number of cracks in his exoskeleton running up one of his front legs, across his side and even his head.
Diamond Tiara looked away from the changeling. She was curious to know what had happened for him to sustain such injuries, but it wasn't right to ask. A sneaky glance at the cracks on his leg and head told her that they had been healing for a long time.
The pegasus, the moment Rainbow Dash had left, had sat down beside Mimik and turned her gaze to the sky. Her lips moved as if she was speaking, but no words could be heard. Her expression changed every now and again. When she first started, her expression was nervous, then it changed to concern, anger and, right now, happy. She even laughed a moment or so ago.
It was strange to see these two together. Usually, it would be pony and pony, forgetting their race differences. A pony and a changeling? That was strange, considering nopony was exactly friendly towards the changelings. And the pony had called them 'my changelings'.
Was she the Queen?
Diamond glanced at the pegasus. There was something odd about her, but that may have come from five years of having changelings for company.
"She can't be the Queen," Diamond muttered, shaking her head. "She's a pegasus. Why would they have a pegasus for a Queen?"
* * * *
Rainbow Dash led the teens into the basement of Sugar Cub Corner. She made sure the last pony through had closed the door properly, she didn't fancy a guard tripping over it and finding the basement. Even then, they'd have a hard time clearing away the rubble halfway down the stairs that blocked them almost entirely.
The rubble posed no obstruction to Rainbow and the teens. To the left near the ceiling there was a gap big enough for a stallion Big Mac's size to fit through, with a bit of trouble.
Luna and Rainbow knew that the guard didn't like entering a strange place one-by-one, so they'd ignore the gap and start clearing it away, giving the Resistance enough time to grab their armour, weapons and supplies and either fight or flee.
The basement was, at first, the right size for a few ponies to hide out in. It soon became a base when more ponies joined and they began planning missions to steal weapons, food and armour. As more ponies began to find them, wanting to be part of the movement, they needed to expand. Instead of moving entirely, which would have been difficult, they used weapons and magic to make the basement bigger.
It was a long task that took over a week to finally complete, but it was worth it if more ponies could be here. The task was only made easier by the fact that they had knocked into Berry Punch's cellar, where wines aged on racks. The older ponies quickly moved them out of reach of the younger ponies, who got excited at the prospect of alcohol, but were only disappointed when it 'disappeared'.
Luna would often be here, hiding out, chatting, plotting, relaxing. However, recently, she had vanished. For over two months, she hadn't sent anypony out on missions to steal food or weapons, so they had to make do with the apples they bucked from Sweet Apple Acres and some even went there on a regular basis to tend to the land.
As for weapons, those that wielded two or more weapons gave their spares up to help out somepony who had either lost their or broken it in a fight. A few unicorns gave up all their weapons, as they could use magic to repel enemies and defend themselves. Some earth ponies did the same, opting for their strength and more protective armour. The odd pegasus gave up their weapon, offering the archers extra protection from flying and spell casting enemies.
"Let me guess," Rainbow turned to Derpy. "Luna's still hiding away?"
"Yeah," Derpy nodded, one of her eyes on the cyan pegasus before her, the other on the stairs. "Nopony has heard or seen her."
"This is getting ridiculous," Noteworthy stomped his hoof. "She's supposed to be our leader, alongside you, Loyalty. But what is she doing? Certainly not leading us. No helping us to get her throne back."
"Would thou care to say that to our face?!" Luna snapped from the stairs, standing in front of the rubble. For a moment, a brief moment, her mane darkened and swirled above her head, much like that of Nightmare Moon's. Then she returned to normal, the power fading, but echoes of it still there. "We hath been busy and if thou cannot respect that, then thou better leave."
No pony even dared to breath heavily.
"I thought so," Luna smirked, walking down the stairs and turned to Rainbow Dash. She was clad in her black armour, that gleamed in the light from the candles. She was the same height as Big Macintosh, her mane was light blue and her body light purple, a stark contrast to her darker colour scheme when she regained her power. "I believe you wanted to speak with me?"
"Yes," Rainbow replied, consciously aware everypony was watching their exchange. "A pegasus and a changeling wish to speak with us. They propose an alliance."
"Lead the way," Luna said, her expression unreadable.
Rainbow nodded once and ascended the stairs, Luna at her heels.
* * * *
The pegasus stood up when she heard the sound of hooves draw closer. She leant down and helped Mimik to his hooves as Diamond Tiara looked around and Dinky got down from the roof, using a stack of carefully placed crates and barrels.
The two ponies slowed as they drew nearer the quartet.
The pegasus and Mimik relaxed slightly, realising it was just who they needed to see, but they kept up their guard, knowing one wrong move could have them flung across Equestria.
"You requested an alliance with us?" Luna looked the pony and Mimik.
Diamond and Dinky now stood flanking Luna and Rainbow Dash. They wanted to know what the strange duo where doing here and were pretty pleased that neither Luna or Rainbow Dash told them to leave.
"Yes, we did," the pegasus replied, her tone flat, compared to a few moments ago.
"And yet you went to the Queen a few years ago to seek an alliance with her," Luna raised an eyebrow. "How do we know you aren't really on her side? And the reason to seek an alliance with us is to try and get us killed or imprisoned?"
The pegasus flinched at the accusations, as if each one of them caused her physical pain.
"I understand your reluctance, after we tried to ally with Twilight," the pony's wings flared. "But at least give us the benefit of the doubt long enough to prove our alliance to you."
"How can we trust you? How do we know you are really on our side? How do you know you won't kill us the second we let our guard down?" Rainbow Dash queried.
"It is unwise to doubt us," The pegasus stomped her hoof in frustration. "But if you need proof, follow us."
With that she turned tail and trotted off, Mimik beside her.
"Rainbow Dash," Luna said quietly. "You take the fillies back to base and stay there until I return."
"But-"
"No 'but's," Luna silenced the rest of Rainbow's protest. "I can handle myself. And something tells me that she is the healthiest one of the changelings. They won't stand a chance if there is any treachery involved."
"Understood," Rainbow nodded once, but it was clear she hated the idea.
Luna followed the changeling and the pony.
The moment they were out of sight of the three ponies, the pegasi's form began to ripple and change. Luna didn't even look surprised at new appearance of the pony.
Her coat turned from white fur to a silver exoskeleton that looked weaker than a normal changeling's exoskeleton. The strange creature turned to Luna and grinned, revealing long fangs, a curved horn and Chrysalis's eyes, only in purple and not green.
"I'm guessing you went to the Queen like that and she rejected you because she thought you were an alicorn; as powerful as she is, if not more," Luna raised an eyebrow. "I would laugh at her ignorance if she weren't trying kill us."
"I wouldn't, although it's nice to be feared for a power I do not have," the ponyling grinned, running her tongue over one of her fangs, cocking her head to one side. "It's nice to watch the guards scram the moment I decide to gather the power to transform because they think I'm powering up to bring meteors and comets raining down upon them."
"They don't take me seriously," Luna smiled evilly. "They think my power is something to scoff at. It's funny to strike them with lightning as they flee, screaming like fillies as they go."
"That is a sight I'd love to see," Mimik chuckled.
"Why don't we fly?" Luna asked, unfurling her own wings.
"No," the ponyling shook her head. "Mimik is too weak and I cannot leave him behind. I'll never hear the end of it."
"Maybe you can get away with it just this once," Mimik sighed, glancing at Luna. "Just as long as you don't do anything stupid, there really is no need for me to constantly be shadowing you. Besides, you are needed."
"Thank you, Mimik," the ponyling smiled crookedly. "I'll owe you for this."
"You saved my life a few moments ago," the captain grinned. "So, we're about even."
"Thank you, again," the ponyling unfurled her wings and took to the sky, Luna on her tail.
The duo flew on in silence for some time, their eyes darting around, there were no pegasi patrols around, but they both kept their guard up.
"You and him seem close," Luna commented.
"I treat my changelings like equals," the Queen smiled at the older pony. "But I view them like Queen Chrysalis did; like they're my own. I see them as my children and care for each them as though they are. I went to the Queen, forgetting it was her own brother who helped Princess Cadence throw them from Equestria, and not even have second thoughts! The moment she saw me, I could tell she feared me, but for the wrong reasons. I was fool to believe she would help us."
"Rain," Luna glanced down to see they were descending over the castle she lived in before she became Nightmare Moon. "You wanted to talk, and yet here we are, talking, but not about what you came to Ponyville for."
"I need to show you something, before we talk," Rain said, her voice flat. "This you need to see, but even if you do, I don't think you'll understand the position I am in."
Rain adjusted her angle of descent, she landed behind the ruined castle. Luna watched the strange creature, the hybrid, as she carefully folded her wings to her sides, as if she had a wing injury. Before Luna could question it, Rain strode off, walking away from the castle.
Luna decided that now would be a good time to maintain silence as she followed Rain.
The silver ponyling glanced around, checking if it was safe, her ears twitched, listening out for a noise that did not belong to her, Luna or the strange forest. When she was sure it was safe, she trotted over to a bush and pushed it aside, revealing a small cave. She gestured with her head for Luna to go first.
When she was sure there was nopony following them, Rain followed Luna, pausing only to hide the tunnel from view.
The tunnels were small, small enough for a changeling, or pony equivalent, to get through without much difficulty, so Luna had to move slowly, in an effort not to get stuck or injured. It was a good defence as the Queen's guards would have difficulty getting through with their size and bulky armour.
Thankfully, for the alicorn, the tunnel wasn't long before they dropped into a cave.
When Luna straightened up, she was amazed by the cave itself. Grass and flowers grew in the natural light, on the floor and even out of the walls. The entire area was concealed by rocks and trees; nopony could access it by air and Luna doubted that even the most skilled mountaineers would be able to climb over the rocks.
A waterfall spilled down the rocks and into and underground lake, it wasn't loud or thundering, the water was almost silent as it slid down the rocks. The only noise it made was when it hit the pool from three feet above.
Her amazement, however, quickly turned to horror when she saw the state of those who dwelled here.