Equestria Aflame.

        Rainbow Dash did her best to hide from her friends over the course of the next three days. She just couldn't face them after what she did. She was joining the military to escape Ponyville and, by proxy, her guilt. She hid out in the Cloudsdale library most of the time, that's the only place nopony would look. She decided to read up on the history of her people while she was there. What else was there to do? She did all the research she could on Pegasi history. She already knew the Pegasi was a proud militaristic race long ago, but she didn't know how deep those warrior roots went. Every history book was another war the Pegasi fought. Page after page was battle after battle. Rainbow Dash was surprised by what she found, she learned of the Dragonic Uprising: a Pegasi rebellion against the powerful and now gone Dragon Empire, it also marked the Pegasi as a force to be reckoned with. There were also countless civil wars. The Earth Pony Conquest: a short series of campaigns to conquer the "Flightless vermin".The campaign failed miserably. The Pegasi were defeated when they Earth Ponies allied with the Unicorns. The Griffon War: A dispute over territory led to an all out war between Griffons and Pegasi, the longest war in their history and the last. The Pegasi history is marred with battle and soaked in blood.

     Rainbow Dash was amazed at her people's history. They didn't teach this in school. At least not to her. It's probably because the Pegasi were ashamed of their past. They were no longer the ruthless conquerors they used to be. Rainbow Dash also learned that when the Pegasi allied with the Earth Ponies and Unicorns to form Equestria their warrior way declined and faded, and was practically gone when Celestia and Luna came to power. Rainbow Dash also learned of the last Pegasi leader to see battle: Commander Hurricane. She lead the final battles in the Griffon War.

     Rainbow Dash was amazed by all this history and she planned on living up to her ancestors' standards in the military. She kept thinking about it more and more. The more she thought, the more she knew that there was no way out of it.

     Applejack and Rarity were helping with some volunteer work at the recovery center, Applejack was making food, and Rarity was making clothing; all for ponies who were destitute. The center needed all the help they could. There were many volunteers from the unscorched part of town, even Zecora came and offered to make healing potions for the injured.

     Everypony was engrossed in their work when they heard panicked noises from outside. Applejack and Rarity went outside to see what everything was about. They saw half a dozen pegasi fly overhead at an incredibly high speed, as if they were trying to escape something. They kept yelling, "They're coming back! They're coming back!"

     "What in tarnation?" Applejack questioned. Then she saw what the pegasi were flying from. About twenty armored pegasi in four V formations, were chasing them. They were closing in fast. Then she heard the pounding of hooves in the distance. "No...No!" She choked out, preparing to run. She turned and saw soldiers marching down a road; their weapons, were down. Everypony began to panic. They survived one hell, they didn't want to go through another one. Everypony galloped for their lives. But the soldiers were corralling them to the center of town. They were marching down every road to make sure nopony escaped. Ponyville was in the fifty mile radius from the ambush and it must be locked down. Those terrorists must be found.

     Soon, all of the citzens were packed into the town square. Some could barely move it was so tight. "Halt!" was heard.

     All of the soldiers stomped their hooves and unison and bellowed a loud "Aye!" before stopping cold. Nopony moved.

     A pegasus flew into view, he had a crest as well as a blade on his helmet, signaling high rank. He undid the strap on his helmet and removed it, holding it in his hooves. He flew to where everypony can see him, he addressed the Ponyville citizens with a menacining glare. "My name is Captain Ironsword!" he shouted to the frightened ponies, "You will all be held here and questioned as to the whereabouts of four fugitives. After you have been questioned and have been cleared, you will be allowed to return to your homes. But, if anypony is caught attempting to leave Ponyville you WILL be arrested and detained indefinitely. Understand!"

     A few nervous nods replied his rant. The captain slammed his helmet back on and raised a hoof. All of the soldiers backed up a little bit to give everypony room.

     Many other towns were locked down by royal troops, much to the dismay of the citizens. Nopony was used to this. Everything was going so well in Equestria, it was almost a utopia. Nothing significantly dangerous happened, except for a few dragon sightings. There hasn't been a war in millenia. Now it seems that everything is changing.

     Along with the lockdowns there was to be a garrison installed in every city, and construction was already underway. Many more protests took place and a few riots, but nopony wanted another "Ponyville Massacre" so everypony disbursed at the first appearance of troops. Thousands of troops were being spread across the country to keep it's people in check. Even talks of a draft were being discussed in Celestia's council chamber.

     The pony hunt for these terrorists turned up fruitless, further angering Celestia.

     Three days soon passed and Rainbow Dash found herself taking the ASVAB. She answered all the questions as best she could. It wasn't like any test she had taken in school, it was... different. A few weeks passed and she found herself standing in line getting screamed at by a drill instructor. The military was much different and much worse than the academy.

     During those weeks, things took a turn for the worse in Equestria, Nopony liked the garrisons and courage was soon returning to the populace. The pony hunt for these terrorists turned up fruitless, further angering Celestia.

     Fluttershy headed for sugercube corner to meet up with Applejack and Rarity. She was so worried of the current events. Things were changing and she feared it was for the worst. Ever since the garrison installation, curfews were enabled and surprise cart checks were enacted, and a mandatory cart check if it was a certain size. All this invasion of privacy greatly worried Fluttershy, as well as the rest of Ponyville and other locked down cities. She neared her destination and saw two guards patrol right past her. One guard eyeballed her before returning his eyes to the road. Fluttershy was relieved that the guards who patroled the streets and guarded certain buildings, no longer wore the combat armor but instead the ceremonial brazen armor. It was more comfortable and easier to maintain for the troops and it scared the populace a little less. But, the combat armor was kept in the garrisons for appropriate use.

     She arrived at her destination to be greeted by applejack and Rarity. Sugercube corner has become a regular meet-up place for the three. Applejack greeted fluttershy with a smile and Rarity motioned her towards a table they were sitting at.

     "Hi, girls." Fluttershy greeted, "I'm so sorry I'm late." She looked at the ground apologetically.

     "Aw it's alright, sugercube." Applejack said reassuringly, "Just sit yourself down and have an apple fritter."

     Fluttershy joined the group and began chatting.

     Applejack started the conversation, "I'm getting more and more worried about this new garrison, they just finished building it just outside of town."

     Rarity chimed in, "I know, I saw it yesterday. It's just a giant wooden square with a door and four turrets at the corners, no flair at all. They should put more style in their construction." She sipped her tea after finishing her statement. Applejack gave her a questionable look. "What? I'm trying to make the best of a situation." She sipped her levitating tea again.

     Applejack continued, "Anyway, there is at least seventy-five soldiers stationed at that garrison; and every day they go through my apple carts as I bring them into town. You don't even want to know how long it took for me to get them to let me go home, me living out o'town and all."

     Rarity and Fluttershy knew that their friend was angry. Applejack was never one to complain, but some ponies have their breaking point.

     Applejack said, "I don't like all this invasion o'privacy." Fluttershy and Rarity nodded in agreement.

     "But, what can we do?" Rarity asked. "Maybe we should just learn to get used to it. I'm sure it wil all end once they find the ponies they're looking for."

     "But what if they never do find 'em?" Applejack argued, "What if they tighten the rules, and make it so we can't even leave our own homes or even speak to one another!" She realized she was ranting and stopped to take a deep breath. "Sorry, I've been keeping this in for a while."

     "Oh, it's quite alright." Rarity said with a smile, "I understand that a pony needs to blow off steam every once in a while." She turned to Fluttershy, who hadn't said a word this whole time and asked, "What do you think about all this?"

     Fluttershy's ears perked up at the question, "Umm, I'm not sure. I guess I would have to agree with Applejack, all these soldiers make me nervous."

     The two other ponies nodded and contemplated for a few moments before Appleck piped up. "Hey, have any o'yall heard from Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie yet?" The other two shook their heads, "It seems like they just disappeared. We know Rainbow Dash is somewhere out there, but Pinkie Pie... . She didn't finish the thought, her mind went back to that terrible incident as did Rarity's and Fluttershy's. "Let's talk about somethin else." Applejack stated.

A few minutes earlier...

    The Ponyville Garrison just received a shipment of two pieces of artillery along with one hundred shells and five barrels of black powder. The artillery was loaded and placed along the east side of the wall next to the armory, the ammuntion and powder was placed in the armory. The guard who loaded the last barrel was about to lock the door to the armory when he looked up and saw...balloons. Dozens upon dozens of balloons all floating skywards seemed to come from all around the fort. "What the..." The guard said in wonder gazing up at the balloons, leaving the armory door slightly ajar. All of the soldiers gazed up at the spectacle in confusion and what astounded them more was as the balloons floated away fireworks were going off, loud and colorful fireworks.

     After about twenty seconds it all stopped and the balloons flew away. And the captain yelled "What was that about?!" The guard went back to lock the armory door when the door flung open and smashed his face clanging against his helmet. He quickly regained his composure and saw a black cloaked, pink furred mare sprinting away towards the west wall. "Hey! Hold it!" he barked, catching the attention of all the other soldiers who also noticed the galloping mare who was already at the wall.

     Then "BOOM!" The armory was completely incinerated along with the guard at the door. The other soldiers nearest to it fell down from the shockwave along with one soldier who screamed before going silent from having his organs rupture from the concussion. Another soldier was impaled by a six foot long piece of wooden shrapnel. The pink coated mare had braced for the explosion and began clawing at the wall with climbing hooks on her hooves. The cannons flew from there placements and one of them hit the ground and went off firing a projectile across the ground, tearing a soldier in half and nailing a post of one of the corner turrets. It toppled over parrallel to the wall along with the guard at the top who was screaming on his way down when he was finally impaled by the pointed top of the wooden wall. The garrison was in complete chaos, the barracks was on fire along with the west wall and was spreading fast. The pink mare was almost over the top of the wall before a unicorn soldier fired a magic blast, but all it did was fry off the end of her tail.

     She made it over the wall, save half of her tail, and sprinted away towards Sweet Apple Acres.

     ..."Let's talk about somethin else." Applejack stated.  Then the three ponies heard a distant explosion. They all got up and went outside to investigate. They saw smoke rising in the horizon then a smaller explosion went off. "The garrison is in that direction." Applejack said, her voice quivering in fear.

     "Do, do you mean?" Fluttershy shuddered.

     "We need to get outta here!" Applejack began running. quickly followed by Fluttershy and Rarity.

     "Can we go with you?!" Rarity asked her friend whilst galloping.

     "Please do. Y'all will be safer at the farm." Applejack replyed.

     Rarity immediately stopped herself by digging her hooves in the ground, "Sweetie Belle!" She gasped. She turned around and yelled, "I have to get Sweetie Belle! I'll catch up!"

     "Well we're comin with ya! We have to stick together, we can't lose any more of us than we already have." Applejack answered back and soon Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy all galloped to Rarity's boutique.

     They finally made it there and they found Sweetie Belle painting on a canvas seeing if she can get her cutie mark as an artist. They didn't want to frighten Rarity's little sister so Applejack went up and said nervously, "Uuh, hey Sweetie Belle! You wanna have a sleepover with Apple Bloom?"

     Sweetie Belle was surprised and immidiatly stopped what she was doing and said "Uuh, Sure!"

     Rarity jumped in "Fabulous! Let's go!" and immediatly levitated her on her back.

     "Wait!" Sweetie Belle interrupted, "Can I get my stuff?"

     Applejack looked at Rarity with a somber look and said, "You better get everythin you need."

     Rarity put her sister down and said with a nervous smile, "Ok Sweetie Belle, go get your things."

     Sweetie Belle ran off to her room. And Rarity went to get a saddlebag, she filled it with her most valuable gems, all of her money and other various things. She wanted her valuables in case the worst happened to her boutique. She knew that if that was the garrison that blew up then a hammer of fire was swinging right at Ponyville, and she wanted her and her sister to be no where near the hammer when it strikes. She just prayed that Applejack's farm would be far enough away to be safe.

     As Rarity gathered her things, Applejack turned to Fluttershy "Is there anything we need to get at your place?"

     Fluttershy shook her head, "I just gave my animals their weekly supply of food, and I don't have anything to valuable there. I just want to make sure we're all safe." Fluttershy quivered with the last statement.

     Rarity packed her last thing: her lucky scissors. She tightened the straps of the saddlebag and said, "Ok, I'm ready." She cocked her head towards the stairs, "Sweetie Belle! Are you ready!"

     Sweetie Belle came running down the stairs with her own saddle bag. Rarity then levitated her on her back and all four ran outside. "Is Scootaloo coming?" Sweetie Belle asked, excited.

     "Umm, sure, whatever!" Applejack snapped, eager to get back to the farm.

     They all ran down the street, and they almost made it to the outskirts when they saw a bunch of enraged soldiers rounding up civilians. When one stallion objected he was immedietly jumped by two soldiers and was beat to death with bronze horse shoes. They looked around and saw a mare being pinned to the wall of her home by soldier who was yelling, "Are you harboring them!" and she was franticly shaking her head no with tears in here eyes. The soldier turned to his comrades, "Torch it anyway, just to be safe." And they threw a torch through the window setting fire to the mare's home.

     "This way!" Applejack cried, and all four ducked into an alley.

     Half way down they heard, "Hold it right there!" All of their hearts stopped and they turned around two see two soldiers charging towards them. They wanted to run but they were too scared to. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

     Applejack finally said, "We're going home. We've done nothin wrong."

     "Right." The soldier said sarcastically, "Maybe the foal knows what you're up to." And he moved towards her.

     "You're not touching Sweetie Belle!" Rarity shouted, backing up.

     "Hand her over!" the soldier ordered.

     "No!" she screamed.

     He then brought his hoof up and brought it across Rarity's face, knocking her to the ground along with her sister. Applejack tried to intervene but was met with a headbutt from the other soldier, making her nose bleed. Fluttershy was too scared to do anything.

     The soldier grabbed Sweetie Belle and she began crying for Rarity who just recovered from the blow and she panicked and pulled out her scissors from her bag with her magic and sent it straight at the soldier stabbing him in the eye.

     A bloodcurdling scream escaped his lips as blood spurted from his eye socket. The other soldier was completely surprised and he reeled back.

     "Run!" Applejack cried.

     Rarity who was shocked at what she had done, grabbed Sweetie Belle with her magic and took off with Applejack. Fluttershy finally snapped out of her frightened stupor and tailed behind the three, until she was tackled by the second soldier. She was about to scream but he put a hoof over her mouth. Applejack and the Sweetie Belle carrying Rarity rounded the alley corner and the soldier saw that and smiled. Fluttershy was struggling and they ended up rolling over until they hit the wall. The soldier was on top of her and he held her down with his weight and bent his head to her ear and said softly, "Yeah, fight. It's better that way." He kissed her ear after saying that.

     Fluttershy was panicking and her eyes widened when she felt something in between her back legs, she kept trying to scream but the soldiers hoof gagged her mouth. She started to cry hysterically when she realized what he was doing.

     The soldier continued what he was doing when he heard a loud snarl, and he looked up and saw the underside of a hoof. That was the last thing he ever saw.

     Applejack realized Fluttershy was missing and sprinted back to see the soldeir attempting to rape her. She then ran up and gave the best applebucking kick she ever gave and crushed the soldiers skull against the wall. "Fluttershy run!" she yelled, panicking. Fluttershy wasted no time in getting up and sprinting towards Rarity still crying her eyes out.

     Applejack tried and tried to pull her hoof out of the soldiers head, her back leg covered in his blood. She pulled it out and they all sprinted away and managed to escape Ponyville and towards Sweet Apple Acres.