Equestria's Race War

Chapters

Chapter 1: Plague
Chapter 2: War part 1
Chapter 2: War part 2

Chapter 1: Plague

Race Wars: Equestria’s End All Doc version

Chapter 1: Plague

Time and time again, sixcitizens of Ponyville have proven that friendship is strong, friendship is golden, and yes, friendship is even magic. However, friendship is not forever. Throughout human history, war has become an overbearing force that destroys friendship, yet the ponies have neverencountered such problemslike tyranny, genocide, or assassinations that lead to such events. Over the course of the next seven months all ponies of Equestria become exposed to a deadly airborne pathogen known as war.The friends they once knew and the land they once called home are no longer the havens they once cherished, but rather lands of pain and violence.

“There are many things to resist, but disease is not one of them.”

― Herbert M. Shelton

Three months had passed since any clouds had passed over Ponyville, or all of Equestria for that matter. Months prior, Equestria had been getting a good amount of rain that supplied sufficient water to crop fields and the affairs of ponies carried out as usual. For reasons unknown to earth ponies, the skies remained clear for the most part from Appleloosa to Equestria’s eastern mountain ranges. The pegasi knew exactly why. It was seven months ago that Princess Celestia had allowed unicorn ponies to inhabit and be permitted to work in Cloudsdale.

Cloudsdale had once been a pegasi only territory that created and delivered clouds to all of Equestria, due to the fact that other ponies generally are unable to stand on the clouds by which the city was built, but discoveries in magic had proven otherwise. Twilight Sparkle had made a discovery in the fragmented journals of Star Swirl the Bearded which allowed her to make potions that would make clouds solid but retain their buoyancy. Upon telling Princess Celestia, Celestia declared that in an effort to increase equality among all ponies, all privileges limitted to pegasi in Cloudsdale would be removed and unicorns would be permitted to thrive there, but for safety reasons regarding the instability of Twilight’s potion, earth ponies were not yet allowed to inhabit the city.

For the first month the pegasi seemed okay with the idea of unicorns in Cloudsdale and were even happy to see more of their friends in the city, but i soon became apparent that Celestia was favoring unicorns over pegasi at every turn. The unicorns were given priority for housing, priority for work, and it even became as drastic as priority for lunch. Still, the more prominent issue was that the unicorns were creating automated magic cloud generators rather than using the traditional hurricane methods.

During the three months following what seemed like a unicorn take over, the unicorns successfully built what they thought was a rain generator. During this time many of the pegasi abandoned their work seeing as they no longer needed to lift rainwater in hurricanes; the unicorns were more capable by using mass levitation spells. Now the remaining pegasi that made the clouds would be out of work, and many left before that happened. The trouble was the generators the unicorns built didn't work. The unicorns had no clue how to make clouds, and there weren't enough pegasi to make clouds for all of Equestria.

It had been three months since Equestria had seen its proper amount of rain. It had become apparent that the unicorns had no clue how to make clouds. Their problem was they had no clue about the Power of the Pegasi. It took a real pegasus to work the heat stacks to make rain; it took a real pegasus to hoovecraft snowflakes; it took a real pegasus to mix rainbow juice.

Three ponies in particular... Well, two ponies in particular had unanswered questions that they needed to see Princess Celestia to solve.

Three ponies – Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Derpy Hooves – entered Princess Celestia's throne room on an unannounced visit seeking answers to their troubles. They entered Celestia’s Royal Castle and surprisingly, but not uncommonly, they entered Celestia’s throne room not being stopped by any guards. As they approached Celestia, Applejack spoke out.

“Umm... Princess, I've got a straight forward question for ya,” Applejack said, “Where's our water? 'Cause our apples can't take much more of the drought.”

“I assure you that the unicorns are trying their best to resolve the issue,” Celestia responded with hollow promises, “In the mean time I ask that you use your local water sources to irrigate your crops.”

“Well that’s just it Princess,” Applejack stated, “We can’t seem to manage off just water supplies from Hoofer Dam. We...” She is interrupted by the sound of Derpy breaking through a window.

“My bad!” Derpy said from outside the window.

“Aww, Derpy ya can’t just,” Applejack said. She stopped herself to speak to Celestia, “ Well, anyway Princess, we...”

“Look Celestia,” Rainbow Dash said interrupting Applejack, “the solution is simple, just give Cloudsdale back to the pegasi. The unicorns have no idea what they are doing up there and it’s throwing everypony off balance.”

“But Rainbow Dash,” Celestia responded, “I can’t just uproot the unicorns that are living there, and what am I supposed to do about the college they just built.”

“What about the water?” Applejack shouted aggressively.

Derpy broke through another window. “Oops! Sorry!” Derpy yelled. Applejack rushed to the pile of broken vases where Derpy landed to retrieve her and sit her down where she can watch her.

“Wait, did you say something about a college?” Rainbow Dash inquired.

“Ah, yes. The unicorns are turning The Stadium into a college,” Celestia answered, “I have no doubt that a college will prove more useful than a stadium.”

“But the Best Young Flyer competition is next month,” she exclaimed somewhat confused, “Where are we supposed to have it now?”

“I suggest you use a lighter tone when speaking to me,” Celelstia commanded, “Remember who you are talking to Rainbow Dash. As for the Best Young Flyer competition, I’ve decided to cancel it this year. Sorry, maybe next year.”

“You can’t do this!” Rainbow Dash cried, “You’re breaking tradition.”

Tears rose in Derpy’s eyes as she realized her favorite day of the year was gone. Applejack attempted to console her, but still listened closely to Rainbow Dash and Celestia’s conversation.

“Well perhaps you’ll learn some manners from this experience.” Celestia remarked, “Keep yelling and there will never be another competition again.”

Rainbow Dash got herself to calm down and asked, “Your highness, isn’t there something you can do to solve all of this?”

Celestia let out a sigh and responded, “This must be really important to you, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is,” Rainbow Dash said softly.

“Then no” Celestia answered.

“What?!” Rainbow Dash screamed, “Celestia this is unfair.”

“No no no no no no no no,” Derpy repeated as tears swelled in her eyes.

“These fellers are right.” Applejack said, “Celestia you can’t do this.”

“Obviously none of you know my power,” Celestia roared, “All of you out of my sight before you are banished.”

“This isn’t over Princess,” Rainbow Dash shouted just as she bolted out of the room.

“This ain’t gonna end well,” Applejack said with dismay.

Derpy finally bursted into tears. “Is it my fault?” she asked Celestia.

“No, Sugarcube,” Applejack quickly said, “It’s not your fault.”

Derpy and Applejack exited the room following Rainbow Dash. Applejack tried to console Derpy as her eyes rained like a fountain.

Later that day, the ponies discussed the events of the day in Applejack’s barn on Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Derpy explained what happened at Canterlot to Fluttershy. Afterwards, the ponies tried to think of a plan to reverse Princess Celestia’s decisions.

“I still can’t believe this,” Rainbow Dash said, “What are we gonna do girls?”

“Well I don’t know fellers,” Applejack said, “but whatever we’re gonna do we gotta do it quick ‘cause this farm can’t take much more of this.”

“Um, we could just accept the fact that Princess Celestia has banned the competition and wont solve the issue of unicorns not making weather.” Fluttershy timidly suggested.

“Listen to yourself Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash replied, “Does that even sound like a solution?”

“No, sorry.” Fluttershy said.

“I can help guys” Derpy said while she chewed five apples at once.

“Oh really Derpy?” Rainbow Dash said excitedly, “Do you have an idea?”

Derpy spat out the apples and answered, “Uumm... No. Oh! I know! I know! I could put mail in people’s boxes.”

“Derpy that’s a dumb id-... Wait a minute,” Rainbow Dash said with growing excitement, “We could inform all the citizens in Equestria about this by writing a letter and putting a copy in everypony’s mailbox in every major city and maybe if we rally enough ponies then Princess Celestia might revert her decision. Derpy you’re a genius.”

“Wo-hoo!” Derpy shouted, then fell off of a hay stack.

“That plan might just be crazy enough to work,” Applejack added.

“Okay ponies, lets get started on that letter,” Rainbow Dash said, “You ready Fluttershy?”

“Okay,” Fluttershy replied softly, but enthusiastically.

“Okay ponies lets get started,” Applejack exclaimed.

The letter read as follows:

Citizens of Equestria:

As you may have noticed, there hasn’t been much rain in the past few months. We don’t mean to point fingers, but the unicorns have not had any success in producing rain clouds as the pegasi once did. We ask that, if you would please, write letters to Princess Celestia to please change her rules back to leaving the pegasi alone to make weather in Cloudsdale, hopefully. Also, Princess Celestia has cancelled the Best Young Flyer competition so if you could please mention that in your letters to, but you don’t have to. If you want to, we will be will be having a rally outside of Canterlot’s Royal Castle on Saturday of this week, so please join if you’re free. We hope you will join our rally, but we wont be mad if you don’t.

Your friends from Ponyville,

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Derpy Hooves, and Fluttershy

Over the next two days, the four ponies spread their letters across Equestria, with the three pegasi spreading to the far off cities and Applejack delivering the letters to the local areas. Derpy was exceptionally fast at delivering letters. Not once did anypony stop to sleep. Once they had spread the letters to every major city they could, they all gathered back to the barn and slept for a full day. The next day would be the big rally. When the ponies woke, Rainbow Dash was gone.

The ponies of Equestria were now made aware of Celestia’s absurd rules. The ponies knew this had to be true because Applejack, the element of honesty, personally signed it. Tensions grew in the land of Equestria, but like any government, the ponies always have their say. A good size of the pony population was in support of speaking out against Celestia’s laws, and some were even willing to write the letters requested and attend the upcoming rally. All races of ponies were ready to peacefully protest against Celestia’s hot-tempered mistakes.

The ponies woke sometime before noon and were immediately greeted by Pinkie Pie who has been eagerly waiting for them to awaken. The first to wake was Applejack who opened her eyes to Pinkie Pie’s eyes staring at her a hand (four inches) from her face.

“Finally your awake,” Pinkie Pie exlaimed, “Did you know that you were asleep for a full day?”

“Well good mornin’ to you too, Pinkie,” Applejack responded, “Did you say a full day?”

“Yep!” Pinkie Pie shouted, still a hand from Applejacks face, “By the way I had a present for Derpy but it’s a day ol-.”

Derpy instantly smelled the muffin and jumped out of a hay stack she slept in. “Muffin!” she shouted in excitement. She immediately flew towards Pinkie Pie, hugged her, took the muffin and zoomed out of the barn. Fluttershy woke after Derpy slammed the barn door.

“Hey Pinkie Pie. Do you have any more muffins?” Fluttershy asked.

“No, sorry Fluttershy,” Pinkie Pie replied.

“Oh... Thats okay,” Fluttershy said with disappointment.

“But I have cupcakes,” Pinkie Pie stated enthusiastically.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy happily responded. Fluttershy smiled, took a cupcake and began eating.

“Here Applejack. Take one,” Pinkie Pie said, then handed Applejack a cupcake. “So I heard you girls were the ones who sent out all of those letters,” She said.

“Sure were,” Applejack anxiously replied, “So has there been any commotion around town.”

“Well,” Pinkie Pie started, “cacti went on sale, Rarity made Spike another funny little dress, Mr. and Mrs. Cake hired another babysitter which I wasn’t too happy with and...”

“Pinkie Pie,” Applejack interrupted, “has anyone been talking about the letters we handed out?”

“Only non-stop,” Pinkie Pie yelled, “C’mon! I’ll show you.” Pinkie Pie pulled Applejack out of the barn by the hoof. Fluttershy followed the other two out of the barn, but realized that Rainbow Dash was missing. Before exiting the barn, she looked back and forth for Rainbow Dash.

The ponies entered Ponyville's market place to see if the protest efforts had made any progress. Fluttershy rushed to catch up to Pinkie Pie who had been dragging Applejack by the hoof since they left the barn.

“Hey girls,” Fluttershy said, “has anyone seen Rainbow Dash?”

Pinkie Pie finally stopped dragging Applejack. “Wow. I didn’t think of that,” she responded, “Maybe Twilight might know.”

Suddenly, Soarin’ of the Wonderbolts made a crash landing in front of Applejack, who was lying in the dirt, leaving a hoof crater in the ground.

“Hey, ponies!” Soarin’ said, “I just wanted to personally congratulate you on behalf of the Wonderbolts on making a stand against Princess Celestia.”

Applejack rises from the dirt Pinkie Pie left her in. “Well,” she started, “I wouldn’t call it a stand, but we sure do mean to make a point.”

“Well still, congratulations,” Soarin’ replied. “I’ve gotta get going.” Soarin’ said, “I’ve got some business to attend to. See you at the rally.” He began to fly away, but stopped and turned after making a realization. “Hey wait a minute. Where’s Derpy and Rainbow Dash?” he asked.

“Well Derpy took off a while ago,” Applejack explained.

“And nopony has seen Rainbow Dash all day,” Pinkie Pie added.

“Oh, Okay then,” Soarin’ said, “If you see either of them tell them I stopped by. See ya.” Soarin’ took off and the ponies continued towards Twilight Sparkle’s house.

As the three ponies walk through the village, several ponies waved and smiled. Everypony was being extra friendly with them; some even gave them gifts which were mostly food items that Pinkie Pie ate up. It was almost as if they were heroes without even having to do anything yet. It made Applejack feel much better about what she had done. Even Fluttershy felt pretty proud for writing the letter. The thoughts going through their mind were that they were making a difference, they were doing the right thing, they were saving Equestria. The idea didn’t cross that they were becoming revolutionaries.

Twilight Sparkle and Spike were at their house going through her checklist of tasks she needed to do that day.

“So Spike,” said Twilight, “lets go through that list again.”

Spike began to read the checklist, “Alright, make tomorrow’s checklist, check; restock the bookshelf and include the new books we got yesterday, check; sort Star Swirl’s journals by color, then by potion names, then by practical use value, then by chronological order, then by alphabetical usage,” Spike stopped and glared at Twilight then continued, “check; visit the construction site for the new college, that took longer than expected, check.”

“Sorry about losing you back there” Twilight said sincerely, “but at least you were safe for the time I was gone.”

“Yeah, and the nice guard even gave me ice cream while I was with him,” Spike exclaimed excitedly.

“So what’s next on the list?” Twilight asked. Twilight opened her door to exit just as Pinkie Pie was about to knock.

“Hey Twilight!” Pinkie pie yelled, “Have you seen Rainbow Dash?”

“Actually, I saw her earlier today in Cloudsdale,” Twilight explained, “She asked to borrow Star Swirl’s journals. I told her I only had one of them with me but she said it was the one she needed so I gave it to her.”

“So what happened after that?” Applejack insisted.

“Well,” Twilight continued, “we said our goodbyes and she took off and Spike and I came back home.”

“And that’s it?” Applejack questioned.

Derpy crashed through Twilight’s second story window. “Sorry Twilight,” Derpy shouted, which echoed from the second story.

“Wow!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, “She is in every scene isn’t she?”

Everypony paused and stared at Pinkie Pie, then continued their conversations. “So as I was saying,” said Twilight, “Spike and I were just leaving The Stadium when we bumped into her.”

“And I got ice cream,” Spike shouted with enthusiasm.

“Quiet Spike, I’m talking.” Twilight yelled, “Now what was I saying?”

Suddenly, the faint sound of thunder followed by the ground shaking occurred. “Derpy? Derpy!” Applejack shouted.

“It wasn’ me.” Derpy said, “I swear.”

“Girls, Look,” said Fluttershy. She pointed to what looked like an ember in the sky. What ever it was, it was big.

“C’mon fellers,” shouted Applejack, “We have to help.”

The ponies and Spike rushed towards the scene. Derpy flew out the window she had just shattered and followed.

The ponies traveled to the origin of the thunder. The noise grew louder and more frequent and the flames grew brighter. The sky quickly grew red and the air filled with ash. The ponies were soon aware of the situation; The stadium had been sabotaged. The sight was unbelievable. Rainbow Dash spotted her friends and flew towards them, carrying several unconscious ponies. Rainbow Dash flies down towards her friends and speaks to them.

“Everypony, grab all the ponies you can and rush them to safety!” she shouted.

“Rainbow Dash, whats going on?” Applejack inquired.

“No time. Just do it!” Rainbow Dash roared.

Applejack found a few abandoned hay carts and she, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, and Spike began collecting as many injured ponies as they could. Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Derpy caught as many falling ponies as they could. Bits of the Stadium fell from the sky as the ponies hastily dodged them while rescuing ponies. During Applejack’s hustle she spotted what could have been the most horrific thing she had ever seen. She saw a filly pegasus laying on the floor with her wings, back hooves and parts of her mane burnt off; Applejack couldn’t see it but her skull must have been cracked because a bit of blood was in her mane; her eyes glistened as if the last thing she had witnessed was horror; the only way Applejack could distinguish who she was, was by her pink color, her egg yolk yellow mane, and her cutie mark which was slightly bloodstained. Her cutie mark was a heart-shaped ice sapphire.

She wasn’t the only one to witness the horror of this tragedy. Each pony had a view of darkness. The awe inspiring burn of The Stadium was gruesome and sickening. The ponies managed to collect a good number of ponies and retreat to town. As they returned, what remained of The Stadium fell from the sky in one massive, ground shattering heap. Everypony in Ponyville prayed for the souls of anypony that didn’t make it out. When the ponies arrived back in town only a few ponies applauded them. Everypony’s heart was filled with hate that day. Immediately after arriving in town the six ponies and Spike discuss the events that has just occurred.

“What happened?” Pinkie Pie asked with woe in her voice.

“What happened was obvious Pinkie,” Twilight said agressively, “someone blew up the new college.”

“But who would want to do that.” Pinkie inquired.

“I don’t know but whoever it was must have,” Twilight said before coming to a sudden realization, “Wait a minute... Rainbow Dash, you had Star Swirl’s journal. That journal had an entry with instructions for an incinerate potion in it.” She gasped. “You Didn’t? You wouldn’t?” She questioned.

“I didn’t,” Rainbow Dash replied worriedly, “I swear I was jus-... but, you knew about the potions, too.” anger rises in her voice as she said, “And you were at The Stadium, too. How do we know you didn’t do it. You could have done it at any time, and you probably had a motive to destroy The Stadium since it was the cause behind us speaking out against Celestia.”

“Not a chance!” Twilight screamed, “You probably blew up the future college so you could still hold your stupid competition.”

“What!” Rainbow Dash roared viciously.

“Look, girls, I’m sure there’s an explanation for all of this” Spike coaxed.

“Shut up Spike!” Twilight screeched viciously.

Spike came near to crying. Seeing this Twilight took a moment to pause. Apologetically she said “I’m sorry Spike, I don’t mean that. Rainbow Dash, did you really blow up the new college?”

“I’m done trying to explain myself,” Rainbow Dash answered with agitation, “Goodbye Twilight.” Rainbow Dash flew off. Moments later, Applejack followed her, not saying a word.

“Wait. Applejack,” Twilight yelled confused, “Well we don’t need them right Derpy?”

Derpy flew away with Applejack.

“What? Derpy?” Twilight said, even more confused, “Your still with me right Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy turned away from Twilight Sparkle and headed towards Rainbow Dash, quietly crying. Twilight was near to tears. “Fluttershy,” she whispered with disappointment. “Well Pinkie Pie, are you gonna leave me, too?” she inquired.

“I... I need a moment to think,” Pinkie Pie muttered in confusion, “I’ll see you tomorrow Twilight.” Pinkie Pie headed home trotting slowly with her head down.

“Your not gonna leave me are you Spike?” Twilight whimpered.

“Of course not, Twilight,” Spike said softly, “I couldn’t leave you at a time like this.”

“Thank you Spike,” Twilight sighed in relief, “I could really use a friend right now.”

Twilight picked up Spike and put him on her back. Both of them headed home together at a slow-paced trot.

The official report that evening was 23 dead, 17 injured. These martyrs would be the fuel that feeds the brewing fire storm. Plans hadn’t changed; the gathering was still set to occur tomorrow. The difference now was rather than a rally, tomorrow’s gathering would be a riot.

Everypony that saw the feud immediately knew what was happening. Neighbors looked at neighbors with animosity. Tensions between citizens of Equestria had reached an all time high. It was as if a broad line had been drawn in the soil putting pony against pony. They hated one another, and maybe some even hoped for vengeance, but the ponies just weren’t ready to turn on their brothers and sisters. Equestria was not yet ready to turn to violence, but the pressure was at its peak.

The day of the rally had arrived, but the attendants shared similar causes. All of the ponies wanted an end to the tyranny. Many things could have been done to prevent this day or even solve it. Maybe if Princess Celestia had stepped down, maybe if she had allowed the pegasi to take back Cloudsdale, maybe if she had conformed when Rainbow Dash had made her requests, maybe if she had never allowed the unicorns into Cloudsdale, and maybe if she had just been reasonable at any given time of these events things would have turned out better. Unfortunately, none of these things happened.

Down on the field in front of the Royal Castle, many ponies shared conversations between one another on what possible events could occur that day. The entire crowd was solely built of pegasi demanding what is rightfully theirs and earth ponies in support of the pegasi or in need of rain that they would so humbly and willingly supply. Notable members among the crowd were the original authors of the letter, all of the Wonderbolts, original residents of Cloudsdale, and a majority of Equestria’s farm owners and their kin. Notable members not among the crowd were Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rarity who has yet to show involvement, all Equestrian government officials, and a nation of unicorns.

Down on the field, Spitfire, leader of the Wonderbolts, gave a speech to the attendants of the rally. “Ponies, are you tired of this tyrannical hell ‘Princess’ Celestia has brought us?” she shouted.

The crowd, powered with the voices of millions, responded, “Yeah!”

“Don’t you feel that we deserve more privileges than we are getting?” Spitfire demanded.

The crowd successively wailed louder, “Yeah!”

“Don’t you feel that this has gone on for far too long?” she asked.

The crowd responded, “Yeah!”

“Are you willing to fight for your demands?”

The crowd responded, “Yeah!”

Rainbow Dash hears Spitfire’s question and flies towards her from a far distance.

“Are you willing to fall to aid your brothers for the cause?”

The crowd responded, “Yeah!”

“Are we gonna stand by while Princess Celestia and her government step all over us?”

A single buff pony shouted, “YEAH! Uhh... No!” The crowd cheered.

Rainbow Dash finally reached Spitfire and Spitfire greeted her with a warm introduction. “And here is the pony that started it all,” Spitfire said, “Everyone, please welcome Rainbow Dash.”

The crowd cheered once again even louder than before. “Wait, everyone wait!” Rainbow Dash yelled apprehensively, “We shouldn’t have to resort to any sort of violence. This is supposed to be a peaceful protest.” Whispers start among the crowd. “Ponies if we just make our demands known to Princess Celestia I’m sure we can work something out.” Rainbow Dash added, “What happened at The Stadium was a tragedy but we can’t let it overcome our better judgement...”

Rainbow Dash continued her speech which steadily, but slowly decreased the aggression held by the crowd.

Minutes prior to the speeches, Princess Celestia was informed that a rally had formed outside of her castle. She wasn’t given any other details aside from that so she went to investigate. She flew to the highest point of her castle to stand an view the rally. She saw the millions of protesters out in the field and in the pit of her throat worry began to grow. As she heard the violent roars of the crowd she got a genuine, deep-felt, strong taste of a concept she had never truly known before: Fear. Fear grew inside of her as her spine tingled, her hooves shook, her teeth chattered, her eyes widened, and she began to sweat violently. Never had a more powerful force stood against her; not even the previous wicked deities and demigods she had faced matched such power. She was sick to her stomach and she reacted with the only reaction she could think of at the time. In the middle of Rainbow Dash’s speech, Princess Celestia let out a powerful blast with her magic horn that knocked the entire crowd of ponies over. Exhausted from overexertion, Celestia retreated to the home of the only pony she could trust, her own apprentice, Twilight Sparkle.

The Blast wasn’t strong enough to kill anypony but they all knew what it meant. The guards of the Royal Castle took it as a sign of aggression by Princess Celestia and began to attack the rioting force. The crowd took the sign the same way and attacked the guards. The guards were heavily outnumbered but fought anyway. The ponies fought with wings, hooves, and any tools they had brought with them. The guards managed to kill about five rebels to every mare or stallion they lost, but they were overwhelmed. Those that survived retreated to the castle. A large shield formed around the castle pushing all ponies away and blocking entry of everypony. When this happened, everypony retreated from the Royal Castle. Where they retreated remains unknown, but one thing is for sure, when they came back they brought hell with them.

Chapter 2: War part 1

Race Wars: Equestria’s End All Doc version

Chapter 2: War

War is never a beautiful thing. There are those who believe that war serves a purpose and that purpose is to fight for freedom; there are also those who believe that wars only purpose is to display the follies of man. Ponies are no different. The people who thirst for blood are typically those who have not gone to war, and thus far nopony has gone to war. Individuals only go to war when they aren’t given what they want or aren’t given a choice and in this case it is both. Retaliation in a war is like beating a dead horse, but for some reason it always occurs.

“An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

Previously, certain ponies gathered outside of the Royal Castle in Canterlot to aggressively protest Princess Celestia’s tyrannical laws. During the riot, Celestia, out of fear, let out a massive blast knocking most of the crowd over. Afterwards, Celestia retreated to the home of Twilight Sparkle exhausted from letting out such a powerful blast. Following her attack, guards of the castle and the attendants of the riot fought, resulting in many protesters dying, but nearly all attacking guards dying as well. The guards, realizing they were losing, retreated to the castle and put up a rainbow force barrier that expelled all ponies from the vicinity, causing them to retreat. The location of their retreat is a mystery, but it took them only three days to come back to the war.

Somewhere, possibly in Equestria, the ponies gathered to discuss war tactics. Through almost a unanimous decision, Rainbow Dash had become some sort of leader figure. Along their trip to their unknown destination, Rainbow Dash continued to read through Star Swirl the Bearded’s journal that she had kept from when Twilight gave it to her. She discovered several secrets that were hidden in the journals, and in the back of the book she had found a peculiar material that she would share later. Among the documents she found several potion recipes that seemed darker than normal magic. It would seem that she had discovered a book with research focused on black magic. After finishing, she told the rest of the ponies what she learned.

“Listen up,” she said, “These notes have data that can probably win this battle. As you saw at our last battle we lack in power what we have in numbers, but numbers mean nothing if no one lives to celebrate the victory, and I’m not willing to sacrifice all of my brothers for this war. This journal has detailed information on potions and fabrics that could save this war.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire interrupted, “You need to hurry this up. Remember we are working on a tight schedule.”

“Right,” Rainbow Dash replied, “Spitfire has just reminded me that we only have three days to prepare for our first attack. The reason is we need to attack before the news is spread and they prepare their own army. Our first target is the recapture of Cloudsdale, but before then we need to make as many potions as possible. Now so far I’ve listed just a couple potions we can prepare, which include incinerate potions and boom rocks, but aside from that we need weapons so spears, swords, and axes.”

“General,” one pony said, “how are supposed to fight magic? There’s no hope against that.”

“General?” Rainbow Dash questioned, “That’s a new concept. As for the magic that brings me to my next point. Everypony, check this out.” Rainbow Dash took the flat material she found in the book and presented it to the crowd. It was a pinkish bronze with a shifting rorschach blackness on it. The crowd looked at it with fascination. Rainbow Dash continued her speech, “This, ponies,” she said, “is orichalcum. It’s capable of deflecting any direct spells and cancelling any potions used on the wearer, but don’t think you're safe just yet ponies, it doesn’t allow you to cross barriers but with enough strength you can break through them, and on top of that indirect spells can still hurt you. This is just to keep you safe from anything the unicorns might try on you first. Now Spitfire is gonna go over the details with you about our plans.”

Spitfire took the crowd. “Alright ponies,” she shouted, “listen up ‘cause I’m only say this once. We are not on vacation. Over the next three days I want to see some hustle. According to the journals there are oric deposits in Ghastly Gorge so Applejack will have a team mining that location; Big Macintosh will have some ponies manufacturing weapons and armor from the recovered ore; Rainbow Dash will be training ponies to craft potions for use on the field; the Wonderbolts and I will be training a handful of troops basic battle tactics. You can sign up for duty with Fluttershy who will assign you to your leader. Remember ponies, I’m not looking for quality, but I’ll be darned if you don’t give it your all.”

Over the next few days everypony was hard at work. The Wonderbolts were able to moderately train about 600 troops before the end of their given time period. In that time, Applejack managed to mine enough ore to supply twice the troops, and Big Macintosh constructed a surplus of weapons and armor from the orichalcum he received. Even Rainbow Dash made a lot of progress as she was able to make a boom rock and two incinerate potion vials for most of the first battalion. Everything was going according to plan.

While Rainbow Dash was giving her speech, Princess Celestia had finally arrived at Twilight Sparkle’s Library. Her knees were shaking and her wings were flaccid. She was ready to drop, but she mustered up the strength to knock on the door. Twilight opened the door and was shocked to see Princess Celestia in such a vulnerable state and immediately invited her in.

“Princess!” Twilight said in shock, “What happened?”

“I... the pegasi... they... we,” Celestia managed to utter just before falling unconscious.

When the Princess woke up she found herself in Twilight’s bed and Twilight on the other side of the room at a desk flipping through pages of a book. Twilight saw she had woken up and walked to her.

“Princess, you’re awake,” Twilight said, “You fell unconscious so spike and I brought you here where you slept for the night. I managed to remedy your shaking, but... well it’s probably best that I show you.” Twilight levitated a mirror in front of Celestia’s face for her to see.

At first she noticed no difference in her face, but she was awe stricken when she saw the change. Her horn was gone. “Oh my goodness” she squealed, “Twilight, what in tartarus have you done with my horn?”

“Well Princess,” Twilight said, “it was gone when you got here. I’ve gone through every book in my collection to see if there was anything I could do to get it back, but I didn’t have any luck. It looks like it just disintegrated. Don’t worry Princess, I’m sure it will grow back... I think. Celestia, what did you do before you got here? Do you remember what you were going to say before you passed out?”

Celestia sat up and explained with a trembling voice, “Well, it started when Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Derpy came to my castle and started asking about the lack of rain.”

“I already know what you did Princess,” Twilight insisted, “What happened after?”

“Right,” Celestia said, “Well yesterday a lot of angry ponies showed up in front of my castle and were violently shouting. I knew they were going to attack so I let out a heavy blast to knock them back and after that I came here.”

“Why would you do such a thing Princess?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know. I panicked,” Celestia said, “That’s not what’s important right now. I know they’re going to attack again. You have to do something.”

“But princess,” Twilight inquired, “What am I supposed to do?”

“I thought you would have an answer,” Celestia said, “I’m sure you’ll figure something out. I have faith in you Twilight.”

“Okay Princess. I won’t fail you,” Twilight said with worry, “Spike, watch after the princess, I’ve gotta go.”

Twilight went to Pinkie Pie’s house, the Sugarcube Corner, to see if she would help her. Upon arrival she noticed that Pinkie Pie's house was different to say the least. The windows were shattered, the drapes were ripped and the inside was completely dark, but that was just what could be seen on the outside. Twilight Approached slowly both in fear of what happened and what might happen next. She knocked and waited for Pinkie Pie to answer. About a minute later, Pinkie Pie answered the door.Oddly, Pinkie Pie’s mane was completely straight.

"Hi!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"Uh, hi Pinkie,” Twilight responded softly, “What happened to your hair?”

“Well,” Pinkie said rapidly, “after our little venture at Cloudsdale a couple days ago I decided to do some redecorating. I started with refurbishing my house; I just could not bare the sight of my current house so I got so frustrated with it that I destroyed and rebuilt everything in my house. Then, I had to do something about my looks because my current look just made me so mad. After that I tried to ease my anger by making cupcakes. Here, take one!” Pinkie Pie handed Twilight a cupcake. The cupcake was just a cupcake wrapper holding small pieces of rubble, broken glass, fragmented metal pipes and frosting.

“But don’t you think Mr. and Mrs. Cake might be upset about you destroying their house?" Twilight asked.

"Acually, yesterday morning when I woke up they were gone." Pinkie Pie replied, "They said they were moving to Manehattan and might never come back. That's part of the reason I'm so darn cranky."

Twilight looked at the cupcake, then at Pinkie Pie in utter confusion. Regardless, she needed Pinkie Pie’s help so she needed to make the request. “Uhh... Pinkie,” She muttered, “I’m gonna need your help so... any chance you could do that?”

“Sure Twilight!” she said, “What did you need?”

Twilight explained the situation to Pinkie Pie and she agreed.

They began walking to Rarity’s house to see if she would join them. Along the way they they discussed what their next plan was going to be.

“So it’s war they want huh?” Pinkie Pie said with frustration in her voice.

“It would appear so,” Twilight responded with disappointment.

“Spec-tacular!” Pinkie Pie said, “This means I get to use my Super Duper Party Cannon.”

“Your what?” Twilight questioned.

“My Hyper Ultra Party Cannon!” Pinkie Pie shouted. Pinkie Pie pulled out a large, strange pipe-like device that had a pull string, a strange heart-shaped scope, and an open front and back end. The tool was crudely painted pink with the words “Party Cannon Mk.2” scratched on it. “This is the upgrade to my old party cannon,” Pinkie Pie said, “The old one was just too bulky and it took too long to repack so I built this one yesterday. This baby is lightweight, can fire anything, and is ready in an instant. Just pack something in the front, pull the string and launch the party. Watch.” Pinkie took a cupcake out and loaded it into her contraption. She aimed it to the sky at an angle and pulled the string. The cupcake was launched with incredible speed and flew out of sight. Twilight expressed her shock to see such an amazing device to Pinkie Pie, and then they continued to Rarity’s house, the Carousel Boutique.

Nothing out of the ordinary appeared to be wrong about Rarity's home. Twilight knocked on the door and Rarity answered fairly quickly.

"Can I help you Twilight?" Rarity asked in a pessimistic tone.

"What's with the attitude?" Twilight responded.

"I already know what you are here for so hurry up and ask," Rarity yelled angrily.

"Okay, will you join us to,” Twilight said.

“No!” Rarity interrupted. She immediately slammed the door on Twilight. Twilight knocked again and Rarity answered again.

“Rarity I don’t have a choice in the matter,” Twilight said, “The pegasi are going to attack and my only option is to fight back.”

“Your only option?” Rarity inquired, “When in the history of Equestria has bloodshed ever been the only option?”

“You don’t understand, Rarity,” Twilight replied, “I am duty bound to Princess Celestia.”

“Yeah, Rarity.” Pinkie Pie added, “How can you stand by and not honor your princess?”

“Celestia is the one calling this war,” Rarity remarked, “She should fight it, not us. As for you, Pinkie Pie, how can you be a part of this? You always brought joy to others and now you plan on bringing terror.”

“Hey, I didn’t start this war,” Prinkie shouted, “but I am not gonna stand by while everything is destroyed.” Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s younger sister, approached the door and stood next to Rarity after hearing the commotion that was going on.

“We will see about that,” Rarity responded, “I will be seeking refuge in Manehattan with the Cakes until this whole thing blows over. We’ve agreed to rent a place out there until it is safe to return. Goodbye Twilight. Goodbye Pinkie Pie. Sweetie Belle, please say goodbye to our guests.” Rarity went back inside and continued packing her things to go to Manehattan and meet with Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Sweetie Belle felt obligated to investigate the situation.

“Twilight, what's going on?” Sweetie Belle asked, “Rarity says I can’t talk to my friends anymore.”

“Sweetie, you probably won’t understand this until you're a mare,” Twilight replied, “but grown ups owe their loyalty to the princess so they must do everything they can to keep her and her kingdom safe.”

“Maybe I won’t understand what’s going on,” Sweetie Belle said, “but I know that whatever it is can be fixed if your heart is in the right place. Goodbye girls.” Sweetie Belle walked back inside, closing the door behind her, and helped Rarity pack.

“Well Pinkie, it looks like we’re on our own,” Twilight said.

“Nonsense, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie replied, “There’s plenty of ponies here in Ponyville who are willing to fight alongside us. We just have to get out there and ask.”

The two ponies walked to towards town square and once again discussed their next plan of action.

“So where do you think they are going to attack?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I’ve asked myself that same question,” Twilight replied, “I’m almost positive that they will try to attack Cloudsdale, but we need to keep an eye on other towns just in case.”

“Cloudsdale?” Pinkie Pie questioned, “Yeah that sounds about right. They probably want to take it back for the pegasi right?”

“Exactly,” Twilight said, “By the way, do you think you could make some more of those contraptions you had shown me earlier?”

“You mean my Incredi-Mega Party cannon?” Pinkie Pie responded, “Of Course. The one I have only took me a couple hours to build yesterday. I’ll have some ready by tomorrow.”

The ponies continued walking towards Ponyville’s town square.

Upon arrival to town square, Twilight stood at a podium on a stage in front of the town hall and drew the citizens attention. A reporter in the area took note of what Twilight said.

“Attention, citizens,” Twilight shouted, “If you haven’t noticed by now a lot of ponies are missing from town. That’s because they are planning a staged attack against Equestria. If everypony could just contribute themselves to our cause then we can put a stop to this.”

As Twilight started drawing a crowd, Princess Celestia stepped onto the stage with Spike at her side and walked towards the podium, still very weak. The crowd was surprised to see Celestia in such a weakened state and more began to gather around the stage. As she approached the podium, Twilight stepped away so that Celestia could take the audience.

“My loyal subjects,” she whimpered. Immediately after, Twilight placed a megaphone in front of her face so that others could hear. “My loyal subjects,” Celestia said, “Recently, several opposers formed an attack against me and my castle. The current state you see me in is entirely their fault. These rebels seek to kill your princess, and with it your kingdom and your land. I ask that you join the fight against those who wish to harm your homeland. With that, I name Twilight Sparkle general of my army, and general of you who will defend the kingdom of Equestria.” After her speech, Celestia walked back to Twilight’s library with the aid of Spike.

Twilight was confused by Celestia’s speak. Nonetheless, she took the crowd again and explained what would happen over the next few days.

“Ponies that want to help,” she yelled, “I need you to spread the word about our growing defense. If you think you have the courage to fight then meet here tomorrow and we’ll figure out what to do with you then. Other than that we need to evacuate Cloudsdale as soon as possible. I have reason to believe that they may be in threat of an attack so we need as many escorts as we can get to evacuate the citizens that may be in danger. Aside from that, umm... Pinkie take the crowd.”

“Okay, ponies,” Pinkie Pie wailed, “Twilight has asked that I build a few party cannons so anypony that wants to help should bring pipes, springs, confetti, chicken fence wires, feathers, paint, dog biscuits and lots of scrap metal to the Sugarcube Corner tomorrow and be prepared to work.”

The next days would be busy work for they ponies under Twilight’s command. As plans went into action, Twilight gathered ponies to evacuate the citizens of Cloudsdale before they could be harmed by the opposing forces. Pinkie Pie worked on her party cannons, creating several duplicates and inventing new models and improvements on the previous ones. The ponies that would serve Celestia’s military gathered the town square and received emergency volunteer military training. The majority of the army was unicorns who were also specially trained in spell casting and even had their own spell casting knowledge to contribute. Their numbers totalled at roughly 300 troops, 38 varying prototype party cannons, and total evacuation of Cloudsdale in only two days.

Though there was much support for the war, several ponies opposed it. News reporters quickly spread the word about the oncoming war. When more ponies became aware of the situation, support for both sides increased, but so did opposition of the war. In the meantime the ponies that were evacuated from Cloudsdale either stayed with relatives or rented homes, sometimes in other cities.

The day of the attack was today and the pegasi were prepared. Of the 600 troops the Wonderbolts trained, the 400 pegasi capable of flying to Cloudsdale on their own were allowed to fight. Their gear consisted of two incinerate potions, one boom rock, orichalcum armor, and a weapon of their choice which included orichalcum spears, swords, axes, hammers, knives, and more.

The army that was loyal to Princess Celestia was armed in only a handful of party cannons stocked with shrapnel and improvised flak made of glass. They only had about 200 ground troop unicorns capable of entering Cloudsdale, but a few of the remaining troops were able to set up artillery positions from the surface below. They had been set up for an attack since before Rainbow Dash was ready to move her troops.

Before the battle, Rainbow Dash gave a preparatory speech to her troops from 2 klicks (2 kilometers) away from Cloudsdale.

"Pegasi, pay attention" Rainbow Dash yelled, "We are not looking for bloodshed today. All we want is for the current non-pegasi or non-supportive residents to leave from Cloudsdale. It might take some effort and maybe even a little bit of force, but nopony will be killed today. Do you all understand?"

The battalion let out a large hoo to show that they understood.

"Good," Rainbow Dash said, "Let's get moving.”

The ponies ascended to Cloudsdale fully prepared.

As the pegasi descended into Cloudsdale, they were baffled to find that the town was completely vacant. General Rainbow Dash had no idea what to think of the odd disappearance. Her second in command, Spitfire, jump to conclusions in assuming someone had betrayed their army. After walking into the center of town, Twilight and her squadron revealed themselves. The pegasi quickly understood what was happening.

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted angrily, “I should have expected you were behind this. I assume the princess sent you here to stop us.”

“What you’re doing is wrong Rainbow Dash,” Twilight replied.

“No, what you’re doing is wrong,” Rainbow Dash responded, “You defend ‘her highness’ after the crimes she has committed against us and the entire pony race and you think we’re wrong?”

“You could have talked things out with her,” Twilight replied.

“Like I said Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, “I’m done trying to explain myself. Spitfire.”

After calling Spitfire’s name, Spitfire shot out from the crowd with incredible speed and, with a knife strapped to her shin, attempted to slice Twilight’s throat. Twilight had less than a second to react, but managed to pull her head away from direct impact, but Spitfire left a brutal scar on her cheek. Though Spitfire didn’t kill Twilight, she used the force aimed at Twilight to drill her knife into a unicorn behind her and smash her face into the ground killing the unicorn instantly. Spitfire hastily retreated and at the crowd’s realization of what just happened both sides commenced the battle.

The battle took no more than half an hour. The artillery from the floor beneath Cloudsdale could not span the height of it so they were the first to retreat. After 15 minutes Twilight’s troops’ numbers were down to half of their original numbers. Their issue was that they had no way of compensating or coping with the pegasi’s new armor and weaponry. The pegasi were completely unaffected by the unicorns’ magic and magic barriers put up were easily destroyed by the pegasi’s orichalcum weapons. Even the commanders from Celestia’s military stood no match for the incredible speed of the Wonderbolts, despite some of them being pegasi themselves.

The battle was unfair to say the least. Without the use of magic, the unicorns had to rely on hoof-to-hoof combat, but in other words they were sitting ducks. Twilight realized her losses were becoming detrimental and signaled for a retreat. The pegasi cheered with triumph at the sight of the enemy’s shameful retreat. The unicorns losses were excruciating whereas the losses for the pegasi could still be counted with just a set of hooves.

After the unicorns abandoned the city, Rainbow Dash dictated their next orders.

"What now General?" Spitfire asked.

"This is our home now," Rainbow Dash replied, "Reconstruction begins tomorrow. We are going to build this into what it should have been, and what is gonna help us win this war. I need you to pass this message onto our troops and onto our supporters back at our previous location. In just a few weeks this will be a sanctuary for pegasi and earth pony alike. We can start by cleaning this place up. Clear out the bodies, but save the horns; I have plans for those."

Spitfire did what she was told and carried out the order.

Word spread like wildfire about the first battle of many to come. Rainbow Dash's supporters built Cloudsdale into a fortress as well as a sanctuary for ponies like them, as was intended. A base was set below Cloudsdale so that earth pony followers could live there as well. Many ponies and supporters sought refuge in Cloudsdale, and as support grew, so did the army.

Rainbow Dash's army became known as the Outlaws; a name given to them by their enemies. Despite the connotations, they wore the name with pride since they knew they were fighting for a just cause even if it was a crime against the kingdom. Twilight's army already had a name; they were known as Her Majesty's Royal Marines. They too wore their name with honor because they were serving the princess that always faithfully served them.

During the time that Cloudsdale was rebuilt, Canterlot's Royal Castle became a base of operations for Twilight and her army, but new recruits were never allowed to enter the force barrier around it. All new recruits were kept in the surrounding areas of the castle, for example in the courtyard or the fields, due to the possibility that one might make an attempt to disrupt the marines' operations or take Princess Celestia's life. The entire castle was held to secrecy and the only ones who could ever possibly know what went on in there are Calestia, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and military officials within the castle walls, but even they sometimes didn't know what went on with each other.

Aside from the warmongers, those devoted to peace also created their own refuge. Not everyone was for the war so they needed an escape as well. They had two clear zones: Las Pegasus and Manehattan. Those with the money and the connections had the luxury of staying in Las Pegasus, but all others had no choice but to live in Manehattan. It was mutually agreed by both sides of the war that both of these cities would not be invaded and would remain undisturbed by the war entirely. These havens were mostly undisturbed aside from the occasional preaching recruiter, but they were monitored daily by both armies. Many of the ponies that fled to Manehattan usually had no money and no home due to the war, thus the ponies built shantytowns around the city and lived in depression and misery. Citizens of Manehattan tried to help the needy as much as they could whereas the ponies of Las Pegasus kept to themselves. Both the poor and the wealthy inhabitants of Manehattan protested the war on a daily basis, blaming it on the arrogance of both sides.

As the conflict progressed so did technology, especially for the unicorns. Shrapnel munitions were invented for use in the artillery version of the party cannon as a counter to the pegasi's air attacks. Party cannons were redesigned using higher grade parts to maximize proficiency and power, as well as build new designs for more versatility. Using phoenix feathers, Twilight Sparkle was able to create hot mist; the difference between the hot mist and incinerate potions was the former was a gas form and it ignited everything in its immediate area after two seconds where the latter was liquid and only burned any organic or flammable material it came into contact with instantaneously.

Twilight also discovered a new element liquid called true silver. True silver had a unique magic property which when drunk would greatly increase a unicorn's magic ability. It also served as great armor, because of another unique power that allowed it solidify when heated with a dragon's fire. With this ability, the Marines were able to coat normal clothing in a light material that protected them from most physical damage and coat their horns to increase its durability and, in some cases, use it as a weapon.

The Royal Marines weren’t the only ones to advance, for the Outlaws kept up with their technology at roughly the same speed. Immediately following the battle for Cloudsdale, Rainbow Dash mixed a miracle syrup made of powdered unicorn horns and honey. This potion had the power to close any wound, heal any burn, fix any broken bones, and with enough given time even restore any lost limb under the condition that the pony was still alive and the injury is recent. Because of their reintroduction to Cloudsdale, the pegasi were able to make clouds again, especially thunderclouds which served them well for fly by tactics. Lastly, Rainbow Dash’s appointed head scientist, Dr. Whooves, modified Star Swirl the Bearded’s original designs by adjusting the boom rocks’ formula to explode within proximity to an enemy when tossed or planted into a surface; with that he combined boom rocks and incinerate potions to create cluster burners, which would explode and splash incinerate nectar in the surrounding areas killing anypony unfortunate enough to be within range.

Ingenuity was on the rise in Equestria with all credits due to what became known as the End War of Equestria. It was a great feat for both forces to advance their mechanics so greatly, but it was an even greater feat to have done so in only three months. It took them only 12 weeks to destroy the once lively urban cities of Fillydelphia, Hoofington, and Ponyville, Ponyville being the first to turn to rubble. Because their homes were being destroyed, many citizens were flooding Manehattan seeking asylum. Ponies lost their money, their homes, and often times their lives. At the speed that the war was going troops and supplies were being exhausted. The only convenience to it was that clouds were being produced again, but because of the social and economic state of the nation many farmers were forced to give their crops away at a minimum compensation.

By week 14 things got much darker. Celestia’s horn had finally regenerated, and she was feeling vengeful. Her fear became hate, and her hate was aimed towards the pegasi. She scheduled a dirty attack on the pegasi with the help of her royal guards. To some, the day would be called Night of Broken Hooves, to others it would be known as the Flames of Justice, but prior to Celestia’s involvement it was known as Hearts and Hooves Day.

Chapter 2: War part 2

Race Wars: Equestria’s End All Doc version

Princess Celestia’s true colors were shown after her horn recovered. On the night of Hearts and Hooves Day she chose to wickedly strike against the pegasi. She chose Las Pegasus as her means to do so. She Took about 50 royal guards and began knocking on every door and ordering any pegasi to evacuate their residence. They claimed that they were in danger of an airborne pegasi-targeting pathogen that had been discovered in the local area. Nearly all pegasi, out of fear for their own safety, agreed to evacuate. Celestia generously boarded everypony on trains headed to Prance, a country north of Equestria that had agreed to provide homes for the pegasi until the disease was controlled or cured. Nopony questioned what was happening. No one wondered how this disease came into existence, why they were being assisted solely by unicorns, why has no one heard of this disease before, or even what evidence there was that proves any of this is true.

The ponies were boarded on the trains headed nowhere and waited peacefully in their ignorance to arrive in their unknown destination. They took no notice to the lack of windows in the train or lack of personnel on the train. Their only discomfort was the heat in the carts from improper ventilation, but aside from that they all just assumed that the princess was just acting out of duty. Along their path, they traveled through a desert east of a small town called Hille Steed. In the train, the passengers began seeing purple haze haze around them. At first it did no harm and only confused them, but in a flash of light the entire train was ignited at once. Everypony aboard burned slowly and experienced agonizing pain. The train was knocked over on its side by a purposely broken section of the railroad. The explosion was heard for miles, as well as the ponies screams. The pegasi aboard the train suffered a slow, painful, and fiery death.

As it turned out the vents had been fitted with hot mist, which was Celestia’s plan for exterminating pegasi, including mares, stallions, fillies and colts alike. The only thing good that could be said was in their last moments they were with their loved ones, and prior to their death they shared their love with their very special somepony in honor of Hearts and Hooves Day. That day, Celestia had damned the souls of her victims by atrociously murdering ponyfolk both young and old in the most vile way possible, and without the proper burial they would never receive, their spirits would have no rest.

The next day, scouts from Las Pegasus and Hille Steed informed General Rainbow Dash about the news they discovered. Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were in a command center in Cloudsdale discussing where they should move their troops while Fluttershy took notes on their conversation when the first scout, Soarin’, brought in his report on Las Pegasus.

“General,” Scout Soarin’ said, “I’m reporting that the city of Las Pegasus has been evacuated of all pegasi.”

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash shouted in confusion, “Why? What do you mean? By who? To where? Soarin’, give me an answer!”

“Ma’am, they were escaping a pegasus targeting disease.” Soarin’ answered, “According to some royal guards who escorted them out, there was a known pathogen in the area that specifically targeted pegasi so the pegasi of Las Pegasus evacuated by train to a location in Prance until it’s safe to return.”

Just then, another scout named Airheart crashed through the door frantically and presented her report from Hille Steed. “General Rainbow Dash!” She shouted while panting in exhaustion, “I’ve just discovered a derailed train with at least 1605 confirmed dead ponies. All were pegasi and everyone was burnt to a crisp.” Airheart took a break to catch her breath.

Rainbow Dash removed her general’s cap after hearing that report. She tilted her head down and put her hat over her chest in respect for the dead. She wanted to cry, but in a time of war she had to be strong for her sake and those she led. “Soarin’, who did you say led these royal guards in evacuating the city,” Rainbow Dash asked with sorrow.

“From what it seemed former Princess Celestia since she was the only one there giving orders,” Soarin’ replied.

Rainbow Dash’s sadness turned into anger after hearing that name. She understood exactly what happened. “Do you mean to tell me that I have four perfectly capable scouts stationed at Las Pegasus and not one of you could have made any attempt to stop Celestia or the royal guards from taking the pegasi” Rainbow Dash screamed while hovering over Soarin’ and staring him in the eyes.

“Ma’am, I- I thought it was real. I mean it seemed like they were telling the truth. What was I supposed to think?” Soarin’ sheepishly replied.

“You were supposed to think!” Rainbow Dash screeched. Rainbow Dash calmed down and stood back on the floor at eye level with Soarin’. “I shouldn’t do this to you. This isn’t your fault and it isn’t your problem; it’s Celestia’s fault and it’s my problem. We have no choice but to retaliate.”

“Good,” Spitfire exclaimed, “We can kill the rest of that unicorn scum in Las Pegasus. We can start-.”

“No, Spitfire,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, “How is it any sort of justice if we just kill more innocent ponies? We can’t do that. We have to destroy the Royal Castle.”

“Ha ha!” Spitfire chuckled, “That’s a good one General, but seriously what is our plan of action?”

“This isn’t a joke Spitfire,” Rainbow Dash responded in her most serious tone.

“But it’s impossible to get in.” Spitfire said, “The shield is unbreakable and so far no one knows how to get around it."

"That's not true," Rainbow Dash said, "While it does take a lot of force it can be broken."

"How?" Spitfire asked.

"According to Dr. Whooves if we have a force that can go at Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound) or higher then we can break through the barrier." Rainbow Dash explained

"And how do we do that?" Spitfire asked again.

"The Supersonic Rainboom" Rainbow Dash answered.

"you can't be serious," Spitfire said doubtfully, "You couldn't pull something like that off."

"I have to try," Rainbow Dash said.

"Even if you could pull that off and you somehow didn't crash into the ground, how would you survive in there?" Spitfire inquired.

"I don't plan to," Rainbow Dash responded.

Spitfire grew angry when she heard this."You can't do this, Rainbow Dash," She yelled, "You can't just abandon your nation. You... you can’t abandon us.”

“You don’t have to do this Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy whispered with worry.

“That’s where you're wrong,” Rainbow Dash replied, “Perhaps I’ll reconsider. I’ll give you all my final decision in the morning, but for now everyone besides Fluttershy leave the room.”

The two scouts glided out the door and headed back to their assigned location. Spitfire trotted towards the door, then stopped and turned to face Rainbow Dash. “By tomorrow you will have forgotten all about this idea,” Spitfire said, “Trust me RD, it’s for the best.” She exited the room and headed towards the training grounds.

“What is it you needed to speak to me about, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’m resigning my position as general,” Rainbow Dash responded.

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Fluttershy admitted.

“It’s simple Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash answered, “I’m not gonna be the general for much longer, and when I’m gone you're going to be general.”

“Gone?” Fluttershy inquired.

“I haven’t changed my mind,” Rainbow Dash said, “I know what I must do, and you know you can’t stop me. Spitfire might have tried, but she can’t know about this.”

“I know I can’t stop you,” Fluttershy confessed, “I just wish there was some other way. I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone. Goodbye, Rainbow Dash.”

“Goodbye, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said sincerely. They hugged goodbye and Rainbow Dash headed out the window to leave unnoticed.

“Wait!” Fluttershy shouted, “What am I supposed to do as general? I can’t run this myself.”

Rainbow Dash stopped and turned back. “I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Rainbow Dash replied, “I chose you specifically because of your kind heart. I don’t think anyone else would do the job better, not even me. You’ll know what must be done for the good of Equestria. I believe in you.” With that she headed towards the window again, but stopped and turned back again. “One last thing,” She said, “Give this to Scootaloo.” She removed her armor and handed it to Fluttershy. “I’m not gonna need it anymore,” She explained, “She’ll make better use of it I’m sure.” She then pulled a scroll from the armor and showed it to Fluttershy. “Take this scroll, too. It shows that I gave you my leadership position and has been signed and hoofprinted so that others know it was me.”

Fluttershy was surprised to see an already prepared scroll. “How long have you had this?” She asked.

“I knew I would eventually have to make this decision,” Rainbow Dash answered, “The war didn’t break you like it did us, you remained innocent throughout. I’ve thought this over for a long time, and now it’s time for me to leave.”

The two ponies said their final goodbyes and Rainbow Dash left the building, and Cloudsdale, for the last time. Fluttershy shed only one tear for the loss of her best friend, because she knew it was all she had time for. Fluttershy left through the entrance of the building and was stopped by Spitfire.

“Head Scribe Fluttershy, where is Rainbow Dash?” Spitfire asked, “I need to speak with her.”

“She... um,” Fluttershy muttered.

“And why do you have her armor?” Spitfire insisted.

“You see... I... she... uh,” Fluttershy poorly replied.

“Why are you acting so strange?” Spitfire questioned. Spitfire noticed the scroll and snached it from Fluttershy. The scroll essentially said that for reasons unknown, Rainbow Dash was unfitted to lead her people, so she has left Fluttershy in charge. Spitfire knew that Rainbow Dash had gone through on her plans anyway and grew aggressive. “Where is she?” Spitfire angrily inquired.

“I can’t tell you,” Fluttershy timidly replied.

“You idiot!” Spitfire shouted, “Why didn’t you do anything? I have to stop her.” With that, Spitfire bolted towards Canterlot hoping to stop Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy was then approached by an owl carrying a message. The message read to meet Zecora in her hut as soon as possible, also stating that it was urgent and important for the value of Equestria. Fluttershy would have Derpy deliver Rainbow Dash’s armor and visit Zecora to find out what she needed.

Rainbow Dash had finally arrived at the Royal Castle. She armed herself only with a lance. She knew that any armor would throw off her balance and reduce her speed. She flew over the castle’s barrier and traveled upward as far as she could possibly go. As her muscles froze, her vision hazed, and she nearly fell unconscious, she descended back towards the castle. At the moment she was able to see again, she shot towards the barrier with all of her speed with her lance aimed forward and pointed at the castle gates.

As she fell, tears flooded her eyes. Tears had three main causes: the shear speed she was going had affected her vision; she was suffering excruciating physical pain from both being in the outer atmosphere and from the friction she was creating from her rainboom; and the biggest reason she was crying was because she felt regret from all she had done up to this point. This war was brought on by her, and she had hoped to gain forgiveness for all of the evil she created by sacrificing her life to end it. She let out an extra jolt of speed and in a flash of blue light she broke the second speed barrier and easily broke through the castle’s shields. Instantly after, she plowed into the castle gates and drilled into the mountainside’s surface. The resulting explosion destroyed most of what was held within the barrier and the remnants of the castle fell from the side of the mountain, killing anything and everything in the area. No remains of Rainbow Dash were ever recovered, but it is likely for the best; who knows what the unicorns might have done to her corpse had they ever found them.

Spitfire had arrived in time only to witness the explosion. She was only a couple miles away from the epicenter of the explosion, but anyone for at least 50 miles could have seen it clear as day. The concussive blast of the explosion, added to the ear-shattering scream of it blasted her away from the scene and rendered her unconscious. She woke from a tree she had been safely tossed into and saw the ruins of the castle. She cried in anguish for the loss of her leader. She searched the ruins for hours frantically trying to find the remains of Rainbow Dash. Eventually she exhausted herself rested on top of another mountain. She was heartbroken to find that her hero was dead. She had no idea how to handle it, so she grew more aggressive. filled with hate, she returned to Cloudsdale to report the news. The only thing she now knew was to hate the unicorns.

After that day, the event came to be known as the Boom Heard ‘Round the World, not only because it was literally heard all throughout Equestria, but because at that moment everyone heard the scream of freedom. Despite this, and despite the Royal Marines’ base of operations being destroyed, the war was far from over. Twilight Sparkle had not been in the castle when it was destroyed, nor was Princess Celestia. Instead, Twilight had been visiting Pinkie Pie’s weapons depot miles away and deep underground. As far as she knew, the world was still turning. Celestia on the other hand was catching phoenixes to use for potion making when she heard the sound of thunder. When she heard it she traced its origins to her castle and was devastated at the sight of its destruction. Once again, she was heavily stricken by fear, and once again, she turned to Twilight for help.

The night of Rainbow Dash’s martyrdom, after the dust had settled, Fluttershy visited Zecora’s hut. She was still devastated by the fact that her longtime friend Rainbow Dash ceased to exist. Zecora greeted Fluttershy in a very serious tone when she arrived.

“Welcome, Fluttershy the meek,” Zecora said, “I know what it is you seek.”

“I don’t think I’m looking for anything,” Fluttershy moaned depressingly, “I only came because you said you needed to see me. Sorry if I wasted your time.”

“I know what it is that makes you upset,” Zecora stated, “but take my advice and you won't regret. Your friend’s sacrifice has become the key to ending perfect harmony. Enter the forest and you will find the result of friendship’s broken bind.”

“Friendship’s broken bind?” Fluttershy inquired.

“You’re past, present, and future lies ahead,” zecora said, “As well as a spirit once thought dead.”

Fluttershy left Zecora’s hut and headed deeper into the forest. She grew fearful as the forest grew darker and darker. Normal nighttime noises became frightening thunder to her the more she pressed on. Along her journey she spotted a tree that had a layer of obsidian coated around its trunk with a faint purple glow in the center of it accompanied by a soft chant. Fluttershy was enticed by it, and she walked closer and closer to it. The closer she drew the brighter the glow became and the louder the chant became. Still, she came closer and closer and the chant seemed like the voices of an infinite amount of ponies. As she pressed her ear to the trunk, the chant became a roar, then a shriek of violence came from the trunk which scared frightful Fluttershy away. She tried heading back, but she lost her way and only went further into the forest. Her gallop slowed to a trot the more her anxiety developed, and suddenly a halt as a dark figure approached. As the figure brought itself to a more visible light it revealed itself to be a sickly mare who was missing an eye, bits of flesh, a hoof, and a jaw. The mare drew closer, groaning louder and louder, and Fluttershy backed away until she was stopped by a tree. The undead mare drew closer and closer until it was only a hand away from Fluttershy’s face, and suddenly it was spontaneously set on fire. The mare screamed for a second, then disintegrated.

Fluttershy was in complete terror, and she shook violently as she carried on through the forest. She arrived at a pair of trees that formed an arc. Beneath the arc was a mirror showing her reflection. When she stopped to view it, her reflection became only a silhouette, and silhouettes of the five that used to be her friends walked into view in the mirror. Rather than being scared, Fluttershy was only confused. The figures shrunk down to the size of fillies and trotted in place. Then, the fillies emerged from the mirror, and walked towards Fluttershy, still completely black. Fluttershy turned away and started running, looking backwards periodically. She turned back to see if she was still being chased and suddenly she bumped into the pedestal of a statue. She looked up to view the statue, and the statue slowly looked down to view her. She galloped away as fast as she could but once again bumped into the statue. She tried again and again to escape the statue, but over and over it blocked her path. Finally, she gave up trying to run and stopped in place.

“What do you want from me!” She shrieked.

The statue revealed itself from the shadows. “I. Am. Back,” It shouted.

Fluttershy heard its voice and realize who the mysterious figure was. It was an enemy of her past. “Night Mare Moon?” She questioned in terror.

“Precisely,” Night Mare Moon responded.

“Why have you returned?” Fluttershy shouted.

“The Elements of Harmony have been disbanded, and now I rise again,” Night Mare Moon replied, “But it isn’t me you should fear. I’ve come to help you.”

“Is that why you set all of those traps here in the forest?” Fluttershy growled.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you are talking about,” Night Mare Moon said, “But this forest does possess some dark magic secrets. Perhaps you ran into one of them, they are said to reveal a lot about a pony’s life.”

“How do I know you just aren’t here to kill me?” Fluttershy yelled.

“I want this kingdom gone,” Night Mare Moon answered, “and you are going to get rid of it. Think about it young one, who is the real wicked being here, me or Celestia?”

Fluttershy gave her a nasty look, but deep down she knew Night Mare Moon was right; Princess Celestia was causing more atrocities than Night Mare Moon ever had.

“Take these,” Night Mare Moon said. She handed Fluttershy a couple of necklaces with obsidian emblems on them. “I am going to help you get your rainbow friend back,” Night Mare Moon said.

“Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy questioned, “But she... is gone.”

“That is exactly my point,” Night Mare Moon explained, “These amulets have the power to resurrect anything, including ponies. You are going to take these amulets into Hades and bring back the rainbow-maned one. You need to travel south of Equestria and follow the river Styx through Tartarus and find out where she went. After her courageous stunt I have no doubt that she was given the highest of honor. After finding her, place one necklace on her and one on you. By binding your souls, she will have the power to return to this plane with you.”

“How do I know this isn’t a trick,” Fluttershy inquired.

“Are you really willing to leave it to chance?” Night Mare Moon retorted.

Fluttershy let out a sigh. “I’ll do as you’ve asked Night Mare Moon,” Fluttershy said.

“That’s a good filly,” Night Mare Moon replied, “I must warn you though, if you should fall into the river styx you may never return to this world; and if either of you should remove the amulet then your rescued friend will be returned to Hades. Now go. Seek your friend.” Night Mare Moon teleported Fluttershy south of the forest, just a few miles north of Equestria’s shoreline.

During this time, Spitfire was reporting what she saw to Echo Fleetfoot, her fellow Wonderbolt, in their sleeping quarters.

“...And so she dove right into the castle, destroying it entirely." Spitfire explained.

"Gosh," Echo sighed, "We'll never have another pony as brave as her ever again."

"Don't you know what this means?" Spitfire said, "She wanted to show us that we have to fight no matter the odds and no matter the consequences."

"What do you mean?" Echo asked.

"I mean we need to take it a step further," Spitfire said, "We need to fight more, and we need to fight harder. No more holding back."

"What do you suggest?" Echo inquired.

"In three days time, we will attack Manehattan," Spitfire ordered.

"Are you crazy?" Echo shouted, "You know that's neutral territory. How do you suppose we do that? More importantly, why would we do that?"

"We have to let Celestia know that we are willing to go to any means to bring down her kingdom," Spitfire responded, "What I suggest we do is between me, you, and a few other Wonderbolts, we disguise ourselves so our reputations aren't ruined, then we attack Manehattan, but target only unicorns."

"I don't think that's gonna solve anything," Echo said, "I'm not sure I want to be a part of this."

"Remember who is in charge here," Spitfire said forcefully, "This is what we're gonna do and trust me, it will work."

After their conversation, the two ponies went to sleep. The next day they would prepare for their attack. Despite her explanation, Spitfire's true intention was solely to kill unicorns. She retained resentment against the unicorns for the death of Rainbow Dash and the death of hundreds of innocent pegasi. This attack on Manehattan would be her revenge for all of those that were killed at Princess Celestia's hoof, including and especially Rainbow Dash.

Princess Celestia teleported to Twilight’s location underground, in Pinkie Pie’s weapon depot known as the Party Pit. Twilight and Pinkie Pie were sharing technology discoveries in each of their fields of study when Celestia interrupted with her urgent news.

“So I said ‘why not just add more shrapnel’,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Wow, Pinkie!” Twilight replied, “Who knew oven mitts could work like that.”

Princess Celestia teleported into the room heavily breathing and frantic. “Twilight, there has been an emergency,” Celestia cried, “My castle has been destroyed.”

“Celestia, what do you mean destroyed?” Twilight inquired.

“I can’t be any clearer,” Celestia replied still shaking, “My castle has been annihilated. There is nothing left but rubble.”

“The Royal Castle?” Twilight said still confused, “That’s impossible! Right?”

“I don’t know,” Celestia shouted, “but it is true. The castle is completely gone. This is not a joke. Those Outlaws somehow managed to penetrate my castle’s shields and destroy absolutely everything that was in it.”

Twilight was inflicted with some of the same fear as Celestia at that moment. She turned away to calm herself so no one would notice her emotions. “What was lost in the castle?” Twilight asked.

“Many of our royal guards, your lab work, my throne,” Celestia answered, “but most importantly the Equestia’s Capitol building is at the bottom of a mountain.”

Twilight sighed. “Are our troops surrounding the castle still alive?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t really know,” Celestia said, “I think they are, but most of them were asleep when I got there. There is something else though, Twilight.”

“And what’s that?” Twilight inquired.

“Your brother, Shining Armor,” Celestia calmly confessed, “He was in the castle today. He most likely went down with the castle.

A piece of Twilight died inside her from hearing this. Her eyes rained, but she made no noises or groans. Still faced away, she spoke to Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie Pie, I need you to see if those troops are still breathing.” She ordered, “If they are, bring them back here; this will be our new base of operations until we can figure something out.”

“I’ll be right on it,” Pinkie Pie proudly answered. She fled into the elevator, but returned to gather five portable party cannons and a flying machine, then headed out towards the elevator again.

“Twilight, I probably shouldn’t tell you this,” Celestia admitted, “but I fear for my life.”

“It’s okay to scared at a time like this,” Twilight responded, “You’ll be fine Princess.”

“Let me finish, Twilight,” Celestia interrupted, “I am not so sure I will make it all the way through this war, so in case I do not, I want you to take my place.”

“Please don’t think like that,” Twilight barked, “Nothing is going to happen to you ever.”

“I hope you are right,” Celestia said, “but if something ever does, I want you to have my crown and my necklace.” Celestia magically removed the two pieces of attire and placed them on Twilight.

“I’m not going to take these from you,” Twilight yelled. She then magically removed them and placed them back on Celestia.

“I figured you wouldn’t,” Celestia replied. She conjured a magic box and placed the necklace and crown in the box. “At least secure them for me so that no one steals them,” she said.

Twilight stared at Celestia with agitation. “Fine,” Twilight said, “This doesn’t mean that I’m taking them. You’re getting these back when this is all over.”

“Of Course,” Celestia replied, “As for our current situation, have you put any thought into what we should do?”

“Well, Princess,” Twilight answered, “How is your relationship with the griffons?”

Everyone had their own plans: Twilight and Celestia would travel north to seek recruitment of the griffons; Pinkie Pie’s duty was to retrieve the remaining army from Canterlot and bring them to her weapons bunker; Spitfire expected to exterminate the unicorn population of Manehattan; Fluttershy would save her friend from the depths of Hades and bring her back to the mortal world. The success of their missions they have has not yet determined, but the best laid schemes of ponyfolk can often go awry.