Chapters The conversation that split the world.
"Hey Blank-flank come on!"
"I am not a Blank-flank!" Shockwave shouted back as he ran up the hill after his brother.
"What did you just get you're Cutie Mark in being slow?" Blitzberg inquired as he turned around.
Shockwave just sighed as he looked at his flank which was indeed completely blank.
"Hey," said Blitzberg coming to sit down beside his brother, "ya know I was only teasing right?"
"Yeah I know." Shockwave just kept looking at the ground."but you got yours around my age so..."
Bltizberg looked back at his Cutie Mark, a snow capped Mountain being struck by lightning. It had taken them a while to figure out it meant they were combining into a force as fast as lightning yet as strong as a mountain. Him in other words. As he looked back though he noticed something that made his purple eyes light up mischievously.
"I see something that might cheer you up, or at least get you to stop moping he said as he turned back around"
"What?" Shockwave looked up his own green eyes looking hopefully into Blitzbergs. The gray teenage stallion stood and uttered a single word that made Shockwaves heart freeze.
"Vinyl" he said, a smile on his lips.
Shockwave immediately stood up and started craning his neck to see around his brothers bulk.
"Where is she." he said as his wings fluttered excitedly.
"Now, now steady on lad." Blitzberg said. still smiling but Shockwave wasn't listening anymore. he had spotted Vinyl walking along the lake side with her best friend Octavia beside her. Shockwave made to run towards her but Blitzberg held out a hoof to stop him.
"What" Shockwave half shouted but Blitzberg stood firm.
"You can't just go running up to her and expect results" he said calmly, "just because you share her coat-color, mane-style and love of music doesn't mean she'll fall in love with you. You need a plan."
Shockwave stopped struggling and thought. Blitzberg released him then leaned in closer.
"If i might give a suggestion, Vinyl will be preforming at the young flyers race next week. Why don't you enter. if you win in front of her i'm pretty sure it would increase your chances"
Shockwave smiled. There was a chance of the plan backfiring of course but he was confident of his abilities and he would only be up against other young fillies and colts his age.
"Lets do this!" he said confidently as his smile grew wider.
The day of the big race dawned. Shockwave stood by the starting line looking around for Vinyl. He could see Blitzberg and his parents smiling in the audience. Next to them was Rainbow Dash, who seemed just as excited as the young ponies competing. Rainbow was a good family friend though she lived in Cloudsdale with her parents. Shockwave turned his head as Ponyvilles Mayor began speaking.
"Fillies and colts, welcome to Ponyvilles best young flier race. The rules are simple. You will race around the outskirts of ponyville. Anypony seen taking a different route or trying to hurt another pony will be disqualified. First pony back here wins!" The crowd gave off a round of applause befor the Mayor cleare her throat and continued. "Also here to provide music for the event is the winner of Ponyvilles best young musician Vinyl Scratch!" The crowd gave another round of applause as Shockwave whipped his head around to see Vinyl back on to the stage. With out wasting any time she walked over to the DJ station already set up and slid a disc onto the the player. Shockwave instantly recognized the song as Aerodynamic by Daft-Pony. He smiled, a perfect choice. As he did so he felt a strange tingling in his wings that grew and enveloped his whole body. No time to worry about it know though, the race was about to start. He took his position with the others as the Mayor stepped back up to the announcers podium. "On your marks" Shockwave settled into a comfortable starting stance. "Get set" He raised his wings. He still felt tingly all over. "GO!" He thrust his wings down and back, feeling the air rush into his face. Then he took a double take.
That one wing beat couldn't have taken him this far. He tried it again and again his wings shot him forward farther then he expected, straight in to one of the poles at the marking the course. He fell to the ground as the crowd moaned and the other competitors rushed over him. He got up slowly prepared to take flight again and then realized something. The pole he had crashed into had one of the tracks speakers on it, set there so that the racers could still here Vinyls music. As he listened he realized that his whole body was throbbing, but not from pain. it was throbbing to the beat of the music and it felt good. Now he realized why he had went so far. The music was acting like a steroid on his body, making it stronger than ever. He smiled slowly.
"Lets do this!"
He shot of again. He had lost a lot of ground but it felt like foals play to catch it back up. He passed pony after pony with ease, laughing all the while. But he had lost more ground than he thought. He came around the last bend with one colt still in front of them. This colt was bigger than the rest and try as he might Shockwave couldn't get around him. they were running out of course he wasn't going to make it! Then the song hit it's climax. Suddenly his wing muscles tightened, his feathers all seemed to lock and his wings came down with more force than he thought was possible. A massive sound-wave erupted behind him as he was propelled forward like a rocket, smashing through the colt in front of him, shooting past the finish line and crashing straight in Vinyls stage. The music cut out and silence fell upon everything. And than a lone fillies voice came from the crowd. "That was Awesome!" Rainbow Dashs shout seemed to bring everyone back to their senses and suddenly everyone was cheering and beating their hooves on the ground. But Shockwave didn't care. He only had eyes for one filly as he pulled Vinyl Scratch to her hooves.
"Hi"he said slowly.
"Um hi" she responded. Then her hoof slipped, knocking the record player, which then started on the next song in the album. Shockwave felt himself blush. Digital Love, it just had to be Digital Love.
"Um, so..." he swallowed, "want to go out some time or..." he closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable. Why did he say that, just why did he say that.
He took a deep breath opened his eyes again... and found Vinyl looking straight into his eyes. "You know," she said slowly "I've been waiting so long to hear you say that..." Shockwave sat down in shock. Then he started laughing. he laughed with both relief and joy the latter of which doubled as Vinyl joined in and the Mayor walked up to them. "Shockwave"the Mayor started "I am pleased to announce you the winner of the Ponyville best young flier competition. The crowd cheered as the Mayor motioned for two ponies to bring the trophy on stage only for Shockwave to stop them. "Thank you very much and all but" he walked back to Vinyl and put his wing around her, "the real reward is right here." The crowd all simultaneously went "Awww" as Shockwave and Vinyl walked off the stage together.
Blitzberg watched his brother go before turning to Rainbow and saying "Did you notice that he got another reward?"
"No, what?" she asked.
"His Cutie Mark" Blitzberg replied.
"Really, what was it?" Rainbow asked excitedly.
"Well i could by wrong" Blitz said slowly "But is looked to me like a lightning bolt intertwined with a music note."
Rainbow frowned "What the hay does that mean"
Blitzberg looked away from her in the direction his brother had went. "No idea."
The conversation that split the world.
Princess Luna looked up at her work, a small smile playing at her lips. She always enjoyed seeing what she could do to make the night sky more beautiful and this was probably one of her better works. The sky was an almost inky, midnight blue, the stars twinkled neither bright nor dim and the moon shone as if it had been polished by a master. Yes definitely one of her better works. she wondered if anypony would notice the new constellation she had added.
"Your highness"
She turned to see a member of the Lunar Guard. He looked like a mixture of a bat and a pony but in fact it was just a spell on his armor that changed his appearance. That was why all Celestias guards looked the same, although Luna had personalized hers a bit to make them better fit the night.
"Yes what is it?" Luna asked.
"Your sister would like to see you in the throne room. She said it was of the utmost importance that you come immediately" The guard replied.
Luna sighed, not wanting to leave the balcony and her night sky. But she knew Celestia wasn't to be kept waiting nor did she have any inclination to stay away from her sister. Indeed Celestia had been rather distant from Luna recently, something the Lunar Princess was becoming increasingly worried about. Perhaps tonight she would find out why.
"Very well, I shall go now" The guard simply nodded and walked off, supposedly back to his post.
Luna walked to the throne room, trying to think of what might be so urgent. she was sure it had something to do with her sisters recent distance but wasn't sure what it could possibly be. that question filled her mind as she arrived at the doors to the throne room, not even noticing the odd lack of guards that should have been their. She used her magic to open the doors and walked in to find Princess Celestia sitting on her throne and looking very somber. Luna opened her mouth to ask what was wrong but Celestia cut her off.
"Luna" Celestia looked at her as though judging the wisdom of what she was about to say. "I am afraid I have have done something I promised I would never do. I kept a secret from you. But now i believe it is time for you to know. My sister. Do you know how our government works?
Luna was surprised by this but nevertheless she felt she should answer the question.
"Of course sister you and I have a monarchy over these lands. Our word is the ultimate word. Below us are nobles who have some authority over the citizens but still have to answer to us."
Celestia nodded "And do you know why this?"
Luna frowned at this question. "Because we are the most powerful ponies in Equestria and it is our duty to help the inhabitants of this land and keep peace both between them and for them. the nobles are their to help us as we can't be everywhere it once"
Celestia smirked "Right, little sister." she said. "And wrong. Oh, so very wrong." Celestia got up and started to walk towards Luna. "We are indeed the most powerful ponies in Equestria and that is indeed why we rule. But not to help those inferior ponies. We rule them because it is our divine right to rule them. We, as the only natural born Alicorns ever, were clearly pre-destined to do so."
Luna looked on with shock in were face. "But what about when we saved the ponies from Discord or King Sombra?"
"We weren't saving them! " Celestia laughed. "Oh Luna you can be so naive sometimes! We took out Discord and Sombra because they threatened our rule, our empire! That is the only reason."
Luna just stared at her sister aghast. "Our empire " She repeated.
"Well my empire at that point. I kept you in the dark because I wasn't sure is you were ready for such a responsibility. But I think it's time for you to join me on the throne sister"
Luna hesitated. Part of her wanted to trust in Celestia but could she really do that after hearing of these lies? She decided on a question that would cement her decision. "But this is all still for the good of the ponies isn't it?"
"Of course it isn't." Celestia snapped "Those ponies we call our subjects are just there to provide us with all our luxuries. And if they dare speak out against us we silence them. Now join me sister and bask in the glory of the Solar Empire, or rather, the soon to be Empire of the Royal Sisters!"
Luna looked up at Celestia and tears filled her eyes. She didn't want to believe Celestia but at the same time...
"No"
Celestia looked down at Luna and cocked her head to one side. "What did you say"
"NO" Luna put as much emphasis as she could on the two letters. "I will not be apart of this madness. I'm sorry sister, I don't want to go against you but you have walked down a path I cannot follow."
Celestia sighed. "If you are not with me, then you're my enemy."
"I'm sorry sister, but that's the way it has to be." with that Luna turned and ran as Celestia called for her guards.
The conversation that split the world.
Shockwave awoke to hear the sound of arguing coming from below him. Two mares voices, one accompanied by a hard metal track, the other by a slower but equally powerful orchestral piece.
"Oh not again." He thought as he rolled over and put a pillow on his head.
After a few minutes when it became apparent that the row wasn't going to stop without him he grudging got out of bed. He shuffled downstairs to find the exact scene he expected. On one side of the room stood his wife Vinyl Scratch with a boombox behind her. The other side of the room held his wife's childhood best friend, Octavia Melody, accompanied by a record player. As he walked in Octavi turned to him.
"Oh and here he comes, look at this scruffy oddball, was he really the best you could do?"
"My husband has nothing to do with your hatred of a little hard work!" screamed Vinyl.
"Mares please lets be civil about this." Shockwave strode in trying to come between them.
"And just what the hay would you know about being civil?!" Octavia half shouted, half laughed from across the room.
"Well for a start I'm the only one hear not screaming his head off." Shockwave retorted coldly.
Octavia started to answer only to be cut short by a frantic knocking at the door. All three ponies stopped and frowned towards tthe font of the house. Octavia quickly turned her music off and Vinyl reached behind her to do the same. Shockwave walked to the door and opened it to find Rainbow Dash with her hoof raised as if to knock again. Shockwave started to smile in relief only for Rainbow to step aside and reveal what was behind her. Shockwaves smile fell as he beheld Blitzberg standing there looking a bit battered and shaken up. And draped across his back was Princess Luna. If Blitzberg looked a bit bruised it was nothing compared to the state Luna was in. Her mane and tail were both disheveled and full of twigs, her eye shadow was all but rubbed away on one side of her face and she was covered in bruises and cuts all over her body. Shockwave quickly moved aside as Blitzberg stumbled forward into the house. He heard a gasp from the living room meaning Vinyl and Octavia and seen Luna. Well it was one way to get them to stop arguing. Octavia ran to get some towels and a first aid kit and Shockwave helped unburden his brother as Vinyl turned to Rainbow Dash.
"What the hay happened?" she asked.
"Dunno." said Rainbow. "All I know is Blitzberg showed up at my house 'bout an hour ago carrying Luna. He asked if he could lay low for a while and I said why not. Then about 15 minutes ago some of Celestias guards showed up outside my house asking if I had seen the Princess. I was gonna say yeah until I noticed one of the guards had a poster sticking out of his saddle bags. it had a picture of Blitz on it and something like public enemy or something. Soon as I saw that I sent those guards away then got Blitz and Luna out of there as fast as possible. this was the only place I could think of to go."
"Right then" said Shockwave after helping Blitzberg lay Luna on a towel that Octavia had delivered. "We need an explanation Blitz and we need it now."
Blitzberg seemed to take a moment to find his voice. "I was flying my patrols around Cantorlot." He started. "When I heard a commotion behind. Next thing I know Princess Luna is flying past with several Solar guards chasing her. I didn't know what was going on but I know my duty as a Lunar guard is to protect princess Luna. I followed the chase and saw one of the Solar guards tackle the Princess straight down into the forest around Cantorlot. Then they sort of did a little victory cheer and I seized my chance. I dove in and grabbed the Princess before thy had time to figure what was going on. then I got out of there as fast as I could. I knew Rainbow and was closest so I headed there. You know the rest, although I didn't know about the public enemy thing till just now. Guess one of those Solar guards had better night eyes than I though."
Just then Luna opened her eyes and slowly raised her head. She took in her surroundings carefully before turning her attention to the five ponies now looking at her with concern.
"Where am I?" she asked slowly.
Blitzberg immediately got down on one knee. "Your Highness, I am lieutenant Blitzberg of the Lunar guard. I rescued you from the Solar guards that assaulted you last night. You are currently safe within the residence of my brother here." He lifted a hoof to point out Shockwave. "This is Shockwave. beside him is is wife Vinyl and his wife's friend and lodger Octavia." He pointed to them each in turn. "I believe you are already acquainted with the element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash?"
At the mention of Rainbows name Luna's eyes diluted and she started frantically backing away.
Rainbow cocked her head. "Is something wrong Your Highness."
Luna's breathing slowed again as she looked between them. "You don't know?" She asked. The five ponies just looked at each other and shook their heads. Luna visibly calmed down. "This may come as a shock to you but my sister isn't the ruler we thought she was. She's actually-"
"A tyrannical empress, we know." Said Vinyl
"What!" Blitzberg shouted.
"We figured it out recently" said Shockwave. "We were going to tell you on your next leave of absence."
"That's the craziest thing I ever heard!" Rainbow Dash piped up.
"That's what I thought as well." Luna said from the floor causing everyone to look round. "But I am afraid they are right. I was being chased by those guards because I refused to join Celestia on the throne. Now do you see why I was scared of you, bearer of Loyalty Rainbow Dash?"
"Don't worry Princess." Rainbow said, recovering quickly. "I may have been loyal to Celestia in the past but if what you say as true then that loyalty has shifted to you. Not to mention the fact that I'm still loyal to Shockwave and Blitz as well."
Luna nodded "That is good to hear Rainbow Dash. Thank you."
"I'm with you to." said Shockwave.
"As am I" said Vinyl
"You didn't even have to ask for my allegiance Princess." Blitzberg said.
"What about you Octavia." Said Vinyl, who then turned when she got no reply. "Hey where is she?"
Luna started to panic again. "She must have gone to alert the guards. We need to get out of here now!"
"But where can we go?" asked Blitzberg.
"Let's head to Fluttershy's house, she's sure to help." said Rainbow.
Shockwave nodded. "And it's close but still well outside of Ponyville. Perfect."
"Alright lads, let's move! C'mon times wasting!"