Equestria Aflame.

     The moon provided adequate light for the princess of the night. She slowly trotted to the rally point through the forest. She was deep in thought. She finally had time to think about the sequence of events that led to her assumed exile. 'I have my elites.' She thought. 'But that is not enough to stop my sister.' Luna knew she needed the support of the people if she was going to get anywhere in deposing Celestia. 'This may end without bloodshed, if I can just get the ponies of Equestria to support me. She will have to step down.' Luna contemplated on ways to do this as quickly as possible. 'What if she won't abdicate? What if she would rather die then give up control?' Luna's doubts arose but, she quickly shook them out. Regarding them as absurd fantasy. 'I know Celestia, and she may be stubborn and shortsighted at times, but she is honorable. She will step down if she is shown that she is wrong.'

      Just as she finished her thought, she came upon the hill her captain was talking about. A river ran along the base and a grassy plateau topped it. It was in the middle of the plains, making it a perfect vantage point. With the river on one side and open terrain on the other, it was strategically sound. There weren't many clouds in the area normally so an air drop from a cloud could be spotted and defended against pretty easily. Luna weighed all of this in her head and nodded to herself at the facts. She was happy with the hill.

     She flew to the top and sniffed the air, it was fresh and free. But, she couldn't bring herself to smile at the sweet air that entered her nostrils. She gazed out across the plains and at the base of the hill, she immediately thought about all the defenses and traps she could put in. Luna always saw herself as the warrior princess, always quick to act and use force. Also with a strategic mind when it came to conflict. She was the one who planned the attack on Sombra's sanctum a millennium ago. Luna thought again, Celestia was always the gentle, understanding one. She would always settle Luna down when she knew conflict was not the answer, Always trying to settle everything without violence. Luna turned her mind to the hill once more. She gazed at the northern horizon, towards Canterlot. She took a deep breath and thought how her elites were fairing in the city. Then she looked at the ground. "We need a name for this camp." She said to herself, "Fort Artemis." She smirked to herself. She liked the sound of it. "The fort where we will plan to return Equestria to harmony." She said, sounding hopeful.

     Captain Brave Hooves and his elites strode the city of Canterlot under the night sky. There ceremonial dark stained bronze armor soaking in the moonlight. Mostly Everypony was tucked away in bed, sleeping the night away to return to a life of aristocracy the next day. A few guards in ceremonial brass coated bronze armor patrolled. Keeping the streets clear of trouble makers.

     Most of the guards that saw the elites just kept their distance. They didn't want to mess up the comfortable routine of Night Watch by getting involved in whatever the Lunar Elites were doing.

     The Lunar Elites always marched quietly, almost too quiet. Their silence was almost otherworldly, their hoofsteps almost made no sound at all, and the sound of breathing or armor clanking was nonexistent. It was as if something was absorbing their sound. It always creeped out the other guards.

     The group of elites silently marched through Canterlot to the Canterlot Army Base, the largest in the country. They returned to their wing of the barracks. Upon arriving they immediately told of the situation.

     Two Hundred elites in all were ready to serve Luna, they just needed to get there gear from the armory. The captain met with his lieutenants about what the best course of action would be. Diverting from their orders and attempting a direct coup was out of the question. Celestia has probably doubled her guard count and she wouldn't hesitate in using her own alicorn magic against them. They decided the best way to go would be to go to the armory directly. The captain would lead fifty into the base and retrieve their armor in crates, they would haul all 200 suits out at once. The royal armory was massive, housing enough weapons and armor for an entire army, along with barrels of powder and thousands of cannon shells of all kinds.

      Captain Brave Hooves marched up to the guard at the iron doors. The armory was a huge, warehouse looking building at the back of the base. It's rear wall being the mountain that Canterlot was built on. It had no windows and had reinforced walls.

     The guard looked uneasy at the approach of the elites. He was a rather short unicorn, barely fitting into his armor. He looked up at the captain with a touch of fear in his eyes.

     "Well? Open the door!" The captain ordered. Leaning his head in closer to the guard.

     The unicorn cleared his throat and said with a shaky voice, "Umm, st-st-standard protocol says that all entries into the armory after 2100 hours must have written orders from the base c-commander. N-new protocol instituted by Princess Celestia. Sir."

     Brave Hooves just gave the guard a look of slight surprise, he hadn't expected that, "Who do you think ordered me to get my soldiers suited up!" He snapped,

     The guard just stammered and sputtered, "I-I-I just need to see the order." He was a little frightened to say the least.

     "Princess Celestia doesn't need to write down an order that should be a given to begin with." Brave responded, "She just had to fight her own sister and, literally, blast her out of the castle. She sent the best unit in Equestria to find her, capture her, and bring her in for prosecution! That unit belongs to me. Now you will open the door and give my soldiers their gear! Or so help me, I will drag you to the Princess herself and make you explain to her why her orders weren't carried out!"

     The guard didn't miss a beat, he spurted, "Yes Sir!" and he fumbled with the keys and opened the door. The iron door scraped on the cement floor and the captain walked in with the rest of the elites filing in.

     Lanterns on the wall flooded warm yellow light on the interior and armor lined the walls in their own small cubicles with the name of the armor's respective soldier on each cubicle. Spears lined the other side of the wall, dozens of spears. Luckily there was nopony inside and the elites moved to their own section of the armory where their jet black, combat armor was stored. They each ditched their ceremonial armor and donned their pristine combat armor. It was a non-reflective black, so it would soak in the light, making them near impossible to see at night. The helmet blades were sharpened to perfection and the spiked and bladed horseshoes and shin guards were a class higher than others.

     They put their comrades' armor in crates and loaded them up into carts. Brave Hooves pushed one more crate onto a cart. This crate was beautifully crafted, The wood was smooth and decorated with carvings on the trim. It was painted a navy blue and was black at the trim. The Lunar Seal of a half moon on it's side with its ends pointing upwards and a spire rising from the middle of the moon and had a white star at the tip of the spire. Brave Hooves knew exactly what was in the box and he ordered that the crate was to be taken as well. Fifty elites tugged their own cart. Armor, spears and other supplies were being hauled out in a train out of the base.

     The lunar supply train was halted at the gaits by a dozen guards with the base commander in the center, he had the red crest of a commander on his ornamented helmet. "Whoa! whoa! what do you think your doing?" The commander shouted.

     Brave Hooves quickly strode up to the commander and said, "Just carrying out orders Commander."

     "What orders? That's alot of gear you're hauling." The commander said peering over the captain's shoulder at the abundance of weapons and gear. "I wasn't informed of this." He brought his attention back to the captain, "If I recall correctly, it's standard protocol for the base commander to be informed when a company arms itself using weapons and armor from his own armory. Care to explain what you're doing?" The commander was being as condescending as possible with his statement, but it didn't intimidate the elite.

      "The orders of Princess Celestia. Commander." Brave Hooves spat, bringing his face closer to the commander's, he continued, "I apologize for going over your head, but we have a crisis on our hooves. Luna the defector has attacked our princess and is now loose in the countryside! Princess Celestia has charged us, the Lunar Elites to track her down and bring her to justice. If you don't believe me then feel free to wake the princess up and get confirmation."

      The air became dead quiet and the guards waited eagerly for the commander's response. Everypony was frozen including the commander. He finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity of silence. "Alright...get your soldiers out there." a touch of humility in his voice. He stepped aside and the guards did the same. As the train passed the commander stopped the captain and brought his head close enough to the captain's that he could feel his breath. And the commander whispered, "Go over my head again and you'll regret it."

      The captain just gave a look of acknowledgement and was about to continue before he was stopped for another split second. "I mean it." The commander said.

      The captain just glared at him for a second before continuing. The train made it out of the base and regrouped with the rest of the elites, and they continued to the rally point. After a solid hour they arrived at the hill, they immediately began distributing the weapons and made plans for fortifications.

      "Excellent work, captain." Luna said, "we should stand a chance now."

      "Thank you, princess." Brave Hooves nodded, "There is one more thing you should see."

      "What is it?" Luna replied.

      "This way, your majesty." He trotted to one of the carts. The crate he was looking for was already unloaded. He motioned towards it. "I felt it was appropriate to bring this as well." The crate he was motioning to was the navy blue, hoof-crafted container with the lunar symbol on the sides.

      Luna knew what was inside and sighed, "You were right to think so. however much my heart disagrees." She pulled the top of with her magic. She effortlessly lifted the ornamented lid and set it aside. She gazed inside at the contents. She pulled an object out with a dark blue glow around it. It was a helmet. Completely black, a long, sleek, serrated blade across the top. Two curved, jagged blades stretched from the jaw piece. The tips of the blades were silver. It was a beautiful piece of armor/weaponry. The eye ports were sharp and pointed downward giving the expression of extreme anger. An incredibly thick face plate curved around the front. Scaly spikes pointed downward lined the back of the helmet. It was made out of a magic tempered steel alloy. It was nearly indestructible.

      Luna gazed into the eye ports as if she saw a separate set if eyes inside. She flipped the helmet around and slid it on. She took a breath and tasted the steel in the air. She hadn't worn this helmet in ages. She strapped the cloth straps to secure it on her head. And turned towards the captain. The helmet gave the look of a professional warrior. She looked even more menacing than she already was.

      Brave Hooves just nodded to his princess.

      Luna looked back at the rest of her armor meticulously placed in the crate and sighed. The very thought that she needed this armor troubled her soul.

      Rainbow Dash awoke to trumpets playing. It's been three days since she finished basic training and she just got her new assignment. She is to be stationed at Cloudsdale Air Force Base as a grunt Interceptor. Her speed was taken into account when the decision for her position was made. It was a security forces job mainly.

      Rainbow Dash rose from her bunk in a dorm at Steelwing Air Force Base, about 60 miles north of Canterlot. She yawned as she slowly planted her hooves on the wooden floor. She was still used to the drills of basic training and she made sure her bed was in pristine condition before leaving for the mess hall.

      She got a tray of food and sat at the end of a long cafeteria table away from the rest of the airmen eating their breakfast. She sniffed the warm oats in a compartment of her tray a few times and smirked. They smelled cheap and typical of a cafeteria, 'Well beggars can't be choosers.' She thought. She took a bite and downed it in a single gulp. She smirked again at the blandness of the food. Before she could take another dreaded bite she heard a sharp, female voice from behind her.

      "Mind if I sit here?"

      Rainbow Dash turned, expecting to see another airman, and slightly jumped from who it actually was. She turned to see Spitfire in a uniform that Rainbow Dash had never seen her wear: armor. It was sleek and thin, but it was made of the best skysteel bits could buy. The armor plates were a light blue, blending in with the sky and was aerodynamically shaped. The armor gave her the appearance of a bullet with spikes at really flat angles running along her back. She wasn't wearing her helmet, Which is how Rainbow Dash recognized her.

      Rainbow Dash immediately jumped out of her seat and gave a sharp salute.

      "As you were." Spitfire quickly said.

      Rainbow Dash brought her hoof back down and took a breath.

      "So, do you mind?" Spitfire asked again with a smile.

      Rainbow Dash just shook her head, "No, ma'm."

      Spitfire sat down next to Dash, her armor slightly clinging. She glanced over and said, "So I hear you're getting stationed in Cloudsdale."

      "Uh yes, ma'm," Dash replied, "Security forces. I'll be an interceptor."

      Spitfire lightly nodded, "Sounds fun. A position like that should keep you busy for a while, it certainly takes advantage of your exceptionable speed."

      "Thank you, ma'm." Rainbow Dash replied sternly.

      "Please, drop the rank." Spitfire shot, "It's Spitfire. I'm not an old mare." She then smiled and Dash followed suit. "I have a little proposal."

      Rainbow Dash cocked her head slightly, "What is it?"

      "The Wonderbolts could use a pony like you. Your speed and skill rivals that of current members." Spitfire offered.

      Rainbow Dash's eyes brightened up and her ears shot towards the ceiling, a smile forced its way on her face.

      "We're actually looking for new members, Princess Celestia has plans for us. I could get you re-stationed to Canterlot and recommend you for membership." Spitfire said with a smile on her face, she could sense Rainbow Dash's excitement.

      Rainbow Dash Immediately half-shouted "That would be aweso-!" then she remembered her training and the importance of protocol. She stopped herself and cleared her throat, "I would be honored, ma'm."

      Spitfire raised an eyebrow, a smile on her face.

     "Spitfire." Dash said.

     "Very good, I know Soarin and Fleetfoot would vouch for you, I'll be seeing you in Canterlot." She then arose and walked out.

     Rainbow Dash quietly fist pumped and whispered "Yes!"  'This is so awesome!' She thought. 'I'm finally a wonderbolt! I've been waiting my whole life for this!' She squealed to herself, 'I can't wait to tell my friends about th-' She stopped herself and her happy complexion dropped into a look of sudden realization. She remembered exactly why she was there. She gasped a short breath. She had been dreading this moment, memories came flooding back to her, the fight, the fire, the killing. Reality had caught up to her at the worst time possible. Rainbow Dash breathed heavily and quickly, completely overwhelmed by these memories and experiences. She began breathing heavier, she got up and abandoned her now cold breakfast and staggered towards the door in quickened, forced steps. She pushed the door open and shot for the sky. She flew higher and higher, the wind rustling her mane. She found a cloud high in the atmosphere. She collapsed into its fluffy texture, and sobbed with her face buried in the soft cloud as if it were a pillow.  Reality assaulted her with barrages of guilt and emotional pain. She continued to sob and stammer incoherent sentences to herself. "I didn't... mean it." Her words were sporadic, some short, some drawn out. She kept sobbing, "I'm so sorry." She drew out the last word in a long train of tears. She continued to cry and wallow in her misery.

      "Rise and Shine!" a shout echoed through the ruined barracks of the ancient castle of the two sisters. Applejack slowly forced her eyes open and turned her head towards the noise. Bronze Buckler was standing in the doorway, his black mane ruffled, a sign that he had just awoken as well.

       Bronze saw the Applejack was awake and said, "Meet me in the planning room when your ready. We have a lot to talk about." He waved his hoof towards the others, "Take all the time you need to gather your bearings." He then slowly trotted off with a yawn.

       Applejack yawned herself and saw Big Mac getting up. Her back ached from sleeping on the floor. She groaned as she arose from the hard stone floor. Everypony else was already yawning and stretching on there bed rolls. Applejack smacked her lips and slightly grimaced from the morning taste in her mouth, she was also incredibly thirsty. She turned to her brother, "I guess I'll see what he wants." and then tiredly trotted out.