Equestria Aflame.

     Applejack yawned when she entered the room that she first met Bronze in the night before. Her trademark hat covering her disheveled mane.

     "How'd ya sleep?" Bronze asked, gazing down at a large map of Equestria on an old table. The map was dotted with X's and arrows at very precise locations.

     "Good enough." Applejack replied. Swiveling her head, surveying the room. The room was still just as trashed as she remembered from last night.

     "Come here for a second." Bronze motioned his hoof over to the map he was studying.

     Applejack walked over to the table, stood next to Bronze and peered down at the map. She could see all the major cities in bold print and the web of roads connecting them. Then in smaller print she could see the names of towns and villages. One that took her attention was a red X over the word Ponyville and an arrow that went northwest of it to a circle around the word: Fort Wingstead. She asked, "What is all this?" waving a hoof over the map.

     "It's Equestria's future, Miss... uh." Bronze answered.

     "Applejack."

     "It's Equestria's future Applejack. The liberation from the tyrrany of the solar princess."

     "Ya sure like using fancy words." Applejack deadpanned.

     "Huh, I guess I do." Bronze said, bringing his head up and staring forward in thought, he quickly looked back down and continued, "Well, a better explanation of it would be our plans for Equestria's future. None of us could take Celestia head-on. So..."

     "So ya nip at her heels like forest mice." Applejack cut off Bronze with a stern look.

     "Think of a better way we can resist." Bronze shot back.

     "Why are ya even doing this?" Applejack asked, "How did this start? Why do ya hate Celestia so much?"

     "I suppose you do deserve an explanation as to who I am and the reasons behind me and my brothers' actions." Bronze turned towards Applejack and said, "But first, what's your story?"

     "I think it would be easier for all of us to get to know each other with everypony else here." Applejack said.

     "You're right." Bronze said, putting a hoof up to his head and chuckleing, "Well the reason I asked you in here was to tell you of a plan that my brothers and I have been working on."

     "I don't know. We hardly know y'all, we appreciate ya takin us in but we still don't even know each other." Applejack said, cautious.

     "Of course, of course." Bronze chuckled again, "I do apologize. It's just that we've been needing some ponies such as yourself and that gargantuan, red friend of yours for a while."

     "He's my brother." Applejack chimed.

     "Is he? Well then you'd be the perfect team for what we need accomplished." Bronze said, a little cheerful. "But first, we should all get something to eat, we all can tell each other's tales over a good breakfast, wouldn't you think so, Applejack?"

     Applejack just nodded her head and smiled. The thought of food was very welcoming, she could feel her stomach begging for a meal.

     "Excellent." Bronze smiled, "Gather your friends and meet us in the main hall. You just make a right from the old barracks and..."

     "Up the spiral stairs and to the left." Applejack interrupted with a grin. "I've explored this place before."

     "Alright. I'll see you there then." Bronze said and the two left for their own destinations.

     Within a few minutes everypony was gathered in the main hall of the castle. A long stone table spanned the center. The surface was covered with cracks and moss, a few chunks were missing as well. There were no chairs so a few crates and boxes were used in place of them. On one side sat Applejack and the rest of her group and the other sat Bronze and his three brothers. There wasn't much of a spread, most of it was wild edibles found in the everfree forest. Applejack shared some of the food they brought from the farm, adding a little more variety.

      Bronze was the first to speak after everypony got their share, "I guess we can start with names and our stories as to how we are where we are." He scanned the rest of the group. "I'll start." He cleared his throat. "As you know, my name is Bronze Buckler. My father was a soldier in the Equestrian Army: a battlemage. Our family moved from base to base, throughout the years." Bronze's complexion then turned grim. "About a year ago, he left on a big deployment. His company was sent to the deserts of the southern frontier. Are you familiar with Equestria's southern expansion?" He gave a quizzical look to Applejack.

     Applejack replied, "I think so, isn't Appleoosa one of the new settlements?"

     "Yes it is." Bronze said with a nod, "Equestria's borders were going further and further into the uninhabited southern desert. Appleoosa was one of the forerunner colonies for the expansion. Anyway, my father's company was sent to the southernmost colony, named Sandy Hoof. You can guess how they came up with that." He took a sip of water from a canteen and continued, "It turns out, the south wasn't uninhabited after all, the Changelings had made a home out of the desert and they claimed Sandy Hoof and a few more of the southernmost colonies and forts as their own."

     "I had no idea about this." Rarity interjected, "Changelings?"

     "Yup." Bronze answered, "I wouldn't expect any of you to know about that. Celestia kept that under wraps. Well, my father's company was sent there to give some extra protection to the colony and to show their queen that Equestria intended to stay. It was a bluff. Celestia had no intention of defending the colonies if the Changelings attacked. The reasons for this, one can only speculate. It certainly doesn't coincide with her actions now." He paused and stared at his half-eaten food for a second and sighed. "Celestia herself actually came down and met with the Changeling queen. Tensions were high of course, but surprisingly both parties were extremely professional about the situation.  They deliberated and came to an agreement, Celestia was to recognize the 'Changeling Supremacy' as a sovereign nation, and to relinquish a good chunk of the south to them. The parts of the south that good ponies worked hard for. But, as the deliberations were going on, the Changeling Army had already moved in. They swarmed the helpless colonies like locusts. Hundreds of thousands of them."

     His tone and expression turned solemn, "They didn't kill the colonists, but they did drain them of all their love and emotion. They became emotionless husks of their former selves. When Celestia learned of this, she was enraged but she didn't do a single thing about it. She just gave in to Chrysalis's demands and left with her tail between her legs. She had all the colonists and soldiers evacuated. My father's company was taken by surprise. He was drained of all feeling just like the rest of the colonists."

      "It seems like Celestia didn't have a choice." Applejack said apologetically.

      "She could've fought back! or at least allow our soldiers to defend themselves!" Bronze snapped.

      "I'm sorry, sugar cube. I didn't mean to upset you." Applejack quickly said, calming Bronze down.

      "It's ok, it's ok, I'm sorry too." Bronze took a breath and continued, "Well, the Changelings took everything and forced the drained colonists out with nothing, their livelihoods, gone. Their lives, ruined. Most were so drained they lost their will to live. Over half the colonists just wandered the desert until they died of dehydration. The very few that actually made it back to civilization were told to keep quiet by Celestia. And what the Changelings didn't tell them was that the draining process also destroys the bodies immune system. Many more died of disease."

      "How do you know all this?" Rarity asked.

      Bronze answered, "My father told me. Against Celestia's command, he told me everything that happened and what others told him while he was down there." His voice turned to held back anger, "Just before he died from a simple cold."

      "I'm sorry, Bronze. I don't know what to say." Applejack said, looking down.

      "You don't have to say anything." Bronze said, he glanced at his three brothers who remained silent the entire time, then turned his attention to the group. "Because of Celestia, our father and over a thousand others are dead. And she covered it up. We plan to make her and those who support her pay." He sighed, "Now you know."

      After a brief pause he spoke again, "Well, now that that's out of the way. What's your story? How did you ponies end up here?"

      Applejack put a hoof around her brother and sister who were sitting either side of her and said, "Well, this is Big Mac, and this is my little sister Applebloom." Applebloom waved and Mac just nodded. "The unicorn is Rarity, and that's her sister, Sweetie Belle. That's Fluttershy and Scootaloo, and y'all know Pinkie Pie" Applejack pointed a hoof towards each respective pony and they all greeted Bronze in their own way.

      She told of how they were socializing when they heard the garrison explode and how they regrouped and made their run for the farm. Bronze listened intently and was very interested in Applejack's story. She came to the part right before they made it out of Ponyville. "We were runnin down an alley, when we heard a shout behind us. There were two guards." She sighed at what was coming, "They tried to take Sweetie Belle from Rarity for some stupid reason, probably just cause they wanted to. Rarity ended up stabbin the guard right in the eye with a pair o'scissors." She shuddered at the memory, "He screamed and I yelled for all of us to run." She paused and glanced at Fluttershy, then back to Bronze, "We all ran and the other guard got a hold of Fluttershy and we didn't know that she was caught and..."

      Fluttershy started to quietly sob. Rarity did her best to comfort her.

      Applejack was about to continue when Bronze cut her off, "I think I know what happens."

      Applejack nodded then said, "Well, he didn't get too far, I looked back to see that she wasn't with us and I ran back for her, I couldn't believe what I was seein. I don't know what happened, Somthin just took a hold of me and I charged at him and gave him the strongest applebuckin kick I ever gave." She shut her eyes and grimaced at the thought of seeing his head crush against the wall. "My hoof must've got past his helmet 'cause i crushed his head against that wall. I've never seen so much blood." She held back tears of guilt and her voice gave away that fact, "I-I've never killed a pony."

     Bronze grimaced, "I'm sorry to hear that. Killing is never easy, but sometimes it's necessary."

     Applejack then told of the events that took place afterwards, of the guards that burned down her house, and of the death of her grandmother. "Then Pinkie Pie came and killed all the soldiers,  I couldn't believe it. Pinkie Pie isn't like that. Well, she took us here and here we are.

     Bronze nodded his head a few times, "That's quite the story, so you're pretty much sealed into this aren't you?"

     Applejack nodded, "How did ya find Pinkie Pie anyway?"

     Bronze shrugged, "We found her in the everfree just babbling to herself about fire or something. She was just wandering around like an old cat wandering out to die. We took her in and she was very willing to do whatever we asked."

     "Really?" Rarity asked. "So that's where she's been."

     "I guess, It's obvious you know her." Bronze said.

     "She's one of our best friends." Applejack added with a smile.

     "That makes two of us." Bronze said, smiling back. "She's quite resourceful."

     Pinkie Pie just sqeed and said, "Aww you guys are my bestest friends! I know! We can have a party!"

     "All in good time Pinkie," Bronze said, "First, we have a task we need done."

     "Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said gleefully.

     "Where are they!?" Celestia was pacing in the palace halls, growing very impatient. The longer Luna was loose, the more Celestia grew uneasy.

     "Princess?" was heard and Celestia turned around to see Twilight Sparkle, with a very confused look on her face.

     Celestia sighed and forced a smile, "What is it Twilight?"

     "What's going on? What happened to Princess Luna?" Twilight asked, eager for answers.

     "Twilight, She..." Celestia sighed and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "She has betrayed Equestria."

     Twilight gasped, "What? How?"

     "She openly attacked me, tried to usurp the throne. Luckily I was able to defend myself, but, in the process, she was cast out of the castle. She is now loose in the countryside. I've soon guards to capture her and bring her in for justice."

     "That's- that's unbelievable!" Twilight was completely shocked at what she just heard. She took a step back. "So-so she attacked you?! outright?!"

     "I'm afraid this isn't the first time she has done this." Celestia said, recalling the banishment of Nightmare Moon.

     "I-I still can't believe this. What happens now?" Twilight asked, eyes still wide from shock.

     "I'm afraid, I don't know." Celestia deadpanned.

     "We'll need more support to stand against Celestia." Luna said to Captain Brave Hooves and his lieutenants around a makeshift table with a map of Equestria under a small tent in the now brand new Fort Artemis. The cold morning wind blew across the fort. Small flags fluttered in the wind, the walls of the tent bowed against the wind. The sound of building and working sounded through the fort. Everypony was busy, the elites were not only soldiers but also carpenters, masons, and laborers. Each one had a skill in building.

     "How do we go about doing that?" Brave asked, raising a hoof.

     "I see that there is another fort near us to the south." Luna focused at the map, "Fort Wingstead. Perhaps we can convince the soldiers there to join our cause."

     "And if they don't?" A lieutenant asked with a gruff voice.

     Luna sighed, "No bloodshed."

     "That may be impossible, Princess." Brave said solemnly.