Tales of an Enslaved Equestria

Chapters

Chapter 1- The Book
Chapter 2- The Magic
Chapter 3- Unexpected Allies

Chapter 1- The Book

The whip bit deeply, but Twilight Sparkle had long since learned to hide any reaction to the snap. Her body flinched only from the force of the blow, and she made not a move to wipe up the blood that trickled across her flank and belly. To do so would take her attention away from the face of the statue Twilight was pain-stakingly forming with a chisel in her hoof, and mallet in mouth. But deep down, in the little care of Twilight Sparkle that still felt, she screamed. She screamed, and screamed, and...

Twilight tapped ever so softly with her mallet, and a fleck of stone fell away from the wide, magnanimous smile of the marble statue of her master, Magister Ellik Oson. The unicorn dared not move, dared not breath. If her strike was wrong, the lash would let her know. If she had more to do, the lash would remind her. Instead, a fiery lance of red-hot agony lit up her body; Twilight barely, just barely, managed to keep herself absolutely still as the healing magic washed over her body, knitting the whip wounds closed. It would not due for Twilight to look worse for wear before her night in the Stables, after all. She was finally ready to breed again, her body stabilized from the last difficult birthing, her first. Her colt had been larger than most, having been bred from a stock of pure-blood draft ponies, and Twilight's body was small and compact compared to other unicorns. It had taken quite a bit of work, and healing magic, to save them both, and get Twilight back to looking perfect. Absolutely... perfect.

The purple unicorn's eye twitched once, and she prayed to the nothingness that her Master had not noticed.

"Very well, my dear, you have done... adequately."

Another twitch.

"One day they will be perfect. And perhaps then I'll let you see that silly little colt you blather on about. You have ten minutes to get to your Stable."

Bowing and mumbling the needed honorifics, Twilight slowly turned from the bloated, grotesque body of her master, and his smooth, sinuous voice. Turned and trotted, slowly as not to offend, out of the darkened hall and its cabinets full of imperfect centaur statuettes.

******************************

The crowds of centaurs sounded like a freight train roaring by at full blast, and Rainbow Dash had to lower her ears to try and tune some of it out. Her body ached and bled in several different places, despite the ancient armor they allowed her to wear, collected from each of her wins. Rainbow Dash was an experienced gladiator, and her body was covered in hammered plates of steel and leather. Her teacher had a wicked sense of humor, and took great care to make sure Rainbow's helmet was cut in a way to allow her namesake mane to fly free in the wind. Her cape, a garment that got in the way and gave her opponents just enough edge to make the fights interesting, was white-and-blue, with Rainbow Knight emblazoned on the back. No amount of blood or dust could ever cover it up, the Magister's magic made sure of that.

To her left, a larger pegasi mare panted heavily, down on one knee; Rainbow Dash's fighting partner, Fluttershy. She, a master of the bladed staff, while Rainbow was a master of the wing and hoof-blades. Fluttershy was dressed in white chain-and-robes, her pink mane flying tattered in the wind of the arena; every bit of her was coated in blood, both her's, and those of the broken pile of fur, blood, and bone in front of her. Gore dripped thickly down the haft of the staff, and Rainbow couldn't see the face of her friend. Her hood took care of that, and Rainbow Dash was still fighting her opponent. The brawny white pegasus was deceptively fast, and his single-edged blade, perched in his mouth, was biting deeply into Rainbow's blades. He eyed her dejectedly; both knew what must be done to come out alive.

A flap of her clipped wings launched Rainbow Dash forward, but she didn't scream. The crowd didn't like that; they booed and hissed, chanting for the tell-tale battle scream of the pegasi that they got from other pegasi gladiators. Indeed, most matches were loud enough even to beat out the chants of the crowds: screeches of the fighters, of the metal contacting other metal, the meaty thunk and schlick of a blade sliding home. The brittle gasps of a pegasus dying on the sands of the arena. Rainbow Dash trotted slowly to a stop, head down as she listened to the heavy thud of her brother of the sky hitting the ground, dying with a pathetic, ignoble whimper. The crowds roared their disapproval; they had demanded a prolonged battle, the gladiators letting the battles drag out to gain further fame and "glory." The teachers often gave them extra food for this, or even time among the Stables, letting themselves be pleased for once, instead of the other way around. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy never cared. They never had, not since the start of their gladiatorial careers five years prior, at the edge of twelve. The day the two had been forced to rip another pegasus' throat out with their teeth just to survive, while dozens of other pegasi foals had been butchered around them. With a pair of faint snorts, the two mares turned away from the roaring crowd, slowly making their way back into the darkness of the inner arena.

Armor and weapons were shed onto the blood-soaked, sandy ground with a clatter, not a care given to their up-keep. Both mares looked over at each other. To Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy looked horrible. She was practically green with sickness, her eyes clouded and teary from horror. Her mouth dropped open slowly, allowing the accumulated blood from the haft of her polearm to drain out. Her barrel, heaving and covered in scars, tensed every few breaths; she had two broken ribs, that much was easy to tell. To Fluttershy, however... Rainbow Dash looked worse than her. Far, far worse. Her ruby eyes were clouded, and seemed almost black. Her entire cyan body was stained with blood, matted into her fur and pushed into every nook and crevisse. Her wings were a horrific mess, having never known a preening; Rainbow Dash could not bring herself to preen the useless appendages. To taste the blood anymore than she had to. But it was her face that tore at the soul of her battle-sister. Rainbow Dash's self-loathing went down to her core; bruises from her own hooves lined her muzzle and cheeks, and she held a perpetual, self-focused scowl. She was a traitor. A damned, murdering traitor.

When the doors mercifully closed, finally blacking out the sight of each other, the two mares, as they did after every duel, fell to their barrels, lifted up their heads, and screamed into the blackness.

**********************

Pinkie Pie screamed her lungs out the second she was secured firmly in the Stable stocks and harness. They were dark, cramped spaces, smelling of sweat, fear, and mating. Rarity hated it; she hadn't it more than any place she had been to in her life. And, being the pretty little mare that she was, Rarity Belle had been brought by her master all over the Equestrian Province to service other masters and their pony pets. But this place... Rarity shuddered in sympathy at the scream from the stall next door. She knew what it meant. They all knew what it meant. In the very front of the cage was a small green, glowing screen. Usually it simply read Estrus or Non-Estrus. But there was one other setting. The hated, dreaded word. Pregnant.

"Who could bring a foal into this?" Rarity whispered, though she knew the answer before she said it.

They all could. Pinkie Pie could. She could...

Tears dripped down onto the console.

"Just hold on, Pinkie Pie," came the quiet voice of Applejack, though by all rights she was most likely yelling.'

The Stables were practically sound-proofed. The centaurs did not like their sluts to make noise, and the stallions coming in on rotation... hearing the mares they were raping had sent more than one good-hearted stallion into a suicidal episode. Rarity did not hate the stallions. She truly didn't. They had no more say in this than any of the mares. She couldn't force any enthusiasm on their part, though. Indeed, she couldn't even move in the restraints. She could only lie back and take it. And take it. And take it. Till the next time she would see the dreaded P word, and scream just as loudly as Pinkie Pie was now, broken-bodied and broken-hearted.

There was a soft beep, and Rarity closed her eyes even as a thick appendage speared into her- slowly, so definitely a stallion. She sniffled, only once. The day had only started, and crying herself to exhaustion would just make it all worse. She had to be strong, for herself, and for Sweetie Belle, once she was returned home later that night. Next year, Sweetie Belle would begin to go into estrus, and would be put into the Stables alongside her sister. Rarity had to prepare her, and herself, for that day. She grit her teeth slightly, gut rolling as macabre thoughts overtook her fixation on the rape.

*****************************

Twilight Sparkle shuddered as she stepped out of the Stables that night, her hooves shuffling across the dusty ground, head refusing to lift, in both exhaustion, and a healthy dose of self-hatred. There had been a tinge of pleasure this time. Just a tiny bit... but more than enough to get her soul writhing in disgust of herself. Despite Applejack's soothing words, or even Fluttershy's hugs, Twilight Sparkle felt like a traitor. A slut. A whorse. She could only pray that it had been a stallion, and not one of the centaur. Especially if she had yet another foal. Half-breeds were always massive. If she could barely handle a draft horse foal...

Bile rose in Twilight's throat. How could she bring another foal into... this? Twilight raised her head sadly. The Centaur had created their capital on the side of the mountain, on the very corpse of old Canterlot. Steel and glass rose up alongside the burned-out hulks of marble that the Grand Magister kept intact- most likely a show of power over the old Equestrian civilization. From her vantage point, Twilight could see the sprawling modern metropolis Asherein had become, with towers of smoke rising from its factories, helicopters to and fro from its heliports, and screams from the ever-running Arena. Lights sprang up from the School, the teaching place and old rookery of the pegasi foals; next door to that was the Academy, the teaching place of Centaur children, where they were indoctrinated and trained to be soldiers. There were only two classes in Centaur culture. The Magisters, like Twilight's master, who wielded magic and ran the Empire, and the Soldiers. Centaurs needed no crafters, no merchants. All their needs were watched over by their slaves. Millions of replaceable, trainable puppets to do the dirty work of the Centaur, to pop out more ponies, and to die.

Twilight slowly raised a hoof to her forehead, to the smooth, hard patch were her horn would be. Would be, had the Centaur not sliced it off seconds after she was born, just like every unicorn since the fall. Word of mouth was that Canterlot had been the crown jewel of unicorns, the most magical city in Equestria before the Invasion. Its buildings had been shaped by the arcane, metal and marble fused together as one, nearly indestructible. It was certainly still intact, while all other cities from the old times were long since bull-dozed over and built upon. The Magister's Spire, some claimed, was the old palace of the twin sisters. The diarchs of Equestria, Celestia and Luna. Twilight peered sadly up at the full moon that shined overhead, silver moonbeams glinting coldly off the steel and glass of the Centaurs.

"Why did you leave us?" she whispered to the night sky, tears blurring her vision, "Why did you let us become this?"

Lightning burned through Twilight's spine, and she fell to her barrel as grief ripped through her soul. Tears poured thickly from her closed eyes, and it was all she could do to not sob out loud; no doubt it would disturb a master somewhere. They always reacted strangely to strong emotions from ponies; ponies were trained from birth to be perfectly emotionless around the Centaurs.

"I can't d-do this a-anymore," Twilight blubbered out, grinding her hornless head on the asphalt below herself, "I-I can't carve... a-anymore statues."

Her hoof skittered across the chemical-smelling ground, sending a small shower of sparks. "I-I can't keep hoping to s-see my colt a-alive. I c-can't listen to my f-friends c-cry anymore. S-screaming in their sleep..."

Ponies lived in big camps, often sharing large groups to preserve warmth in the mountain cold. It was where the six ponies had first met, in their herd, doing everything in their power to survive day to day.

"We're w-withering away," Twilight whispered, glaring up at the moon, no idea why she was so angry with a celestial body, "Are w-we destined for t-this? Are we just... s-slaves?"

Twilight slowly rose to her hooves, eyes widening slightly as they dropped to the bleak, dark asphalt. Something cold, like ice, gripped at her heart. Was that it? If the sisters were real, had they left because this was the destiny of ponykind? She took a slow step forward, then another. Had they angered them? Become too jaded, too foolish? More steps, closer and closer to the un-guarded edge of the terrace. An one hundred foot drop, straight down. Had ponies angered their goddesses, and lost their magic in turn? Their souls? Their futures?

"Is this it?"

Closing her eyes tightly, Twilight grit her teeth, tensed every muscle in her body... and began to gallop. Gallop forward with every bit of her speed, all of her power and bitterness and self-loathing. Closer, so close to the edge, to the sweet kiss of the night air. If she jumped hard enough, she could miss even the terrace below, go clean off the mountain. Save a pony the trouble of cleaning up her mess. So they could die faster in some other way. Screaming her heart out, Twilight leaped.

Silver light, roaring like a great wave on the coast, caught her mid-flight, flinging Twilight Sparkle back to the asphalt, somehow pillowing her body from the rough, unforgiving ground. Twilight cried out in surprise, limbs clutching instinctively at a large, heavy object thrust against her out of nothingness, body rolling a time or two before finally coming to a stop. Twilight snapped her eyes open, looking around in a panic for whomever had caught her. But no one was there; all the lights in the area were off, all but for that of the full moon, which seemed... duller. Almost exhausted, spent. Only when she was sure she was alone did Twilight peer down. And she stared.

The Book of Equestria: Love and Friendship.

It was a massive book, nearly as thick as Twilight's barrel, yet it was somehow incredibly light, bound in thin strips of ebony wood, and stamped in gold. It was the first book that Twilight had ever held that was not bound in leather, and she drank in the novelty like a drowning pony. It represented life... yet danger. Twilight was absolutely certain that, should a Centaur catch her with it, she could be killed on the spot. Books were a Centaur novelty, not something the average pony was allowed to read, much less own. With a trembling hoof, Twilight slowly opened the pages, awed on the spot. Equestrian. It was written in Equestrian Proper; Twilight had managed to teach it to herself over the years, always in secret, with some old manuscripts her master had kept around. But unlike the prim, proper script of the manuscripts, what was written at the very front of the book was seemingly hoof-written. It was sloppy, seemingly done in haste... and it would change Twilight Sparkle's life from then on out.

Twilight Sparkle,

What you hold in your hooves is the collected musings, writings, spell books, and mago-mechanical documents of Equestria; most importantly, of myself and my sister. I am sorry... but you cannot kill yourself, Twilight. You have to great a future ahead of you. I can only apologize. We can only apologize. One day, I hope beyond hope that I may beg my forgiveness of you in person. But as of this moment, time is of the essence. Magic must come back to Equestria. Love must return. Friendship... Turn the first page... and I swear in my name... you will have the power to save yourself, your colt, and your friends. I know that I have no right to ask this of you... but I'm begging you to trust me. Take the plunge.

Sincerely and with hope,

Princess Luna Aerithias Celene

For a very long moment, the longest in Equestrian history, Twilight Sparkle sat still. A gleam lit her forehead... and the first page of the Rebellion turned, alight in a lavender aura.

Chapter 2- The Magic

"What d-do you mean Twilight is gone?" Applejack hissed through her teeth, staring wide-eyed at a tear-stricken Rarity.

They were all settled down in their sleeping herd, each of the five friends cuddled firmly together. It had been two days since their night together in the Stables, each of them having been taken away from their herd to work their various jobs around the city. Pinkie Pie was still quite timid and quiet, hair hanging straight and eyes firmly focused on the ground beneath her. It was a technique Earth Ponies had developed to deal with extreme stress, focusing on the ground, their birthright. Granny Smith, before she had been euthanized when Applejack was small, had used to tell them stories about how Earth Ponies could speak to the ground, to call it to come to them in times of pain and hardship. Applejack sadly peered down at the iron boots she, Pinkie Pie, and all Earth Ponies were forced to wear. She rubbed it slowly along the ground, wishing fervently that she could sense her missing friend.

"If those damn C-centaur took her," Rainbow Dash muttered from Applejack's left, "I-I... I'll..."

They were all quiet after that. What could they do? If Twilight had run away, she was already dead. The Centaur had cameras everywhere, and even more automated weaponry; runaways were butchered on the spot. And if her master had gotten tired of her... or if a passing Centaur took his fancy on her...

"She w-was looking q-quite upset when she left, last night," Rarity whispered, eyes closing as all her friends winced and teared up immediately.

Suicide was a sad fact of life in the herds, especially among the empathic Earth Ponies, and the frail, ever-stressed unicorns. More than one pony body was reluctantly handed over to the Centaur each week; some brave herd members made secret pyres in abandoned sections of the city to cremate friends and family. Getting caught usually ended in said family members being tossed onto the pyre themselves.

"S-she said she'd talk to us about t-that, if she decided..." Fluttershy whispered, closing her eyes.

Pinkie Pie sighed faintly, "...I-I hope she... didn't break a Pinkie Promise. If one goes..."

"We all go, together," the other's whispered solemnly.

Applejack sniffed; at her side, a little bundle of amber fur and cherry-red mane murmured in her sleep, nuzzling against Applejack's side. She knew Twilight's pain; Applejack had found a long cut down Applebloom's side earlier, but her little sister had refused to talk about it. Sweetie Belle, snuggled up against Applebloom as well, refused to talk about it either; she had just sniffed, given a few sobs, and collapsed to try to sleep. Not even Fluttershy, who was amazing with the other foals of the herd, could get the two foals to speak. Goddesses Above, Applejack felt like a failure. She had promised her parents that she would take care of Applebloom. She shouldn't have, in the end. You couldn't protect anypony with the Centaur around.

"M-maybe... maybe we should," Applejack whispered, eyes wide- but her voice was carried away by a strong breeze that rushed through the barn, carrying up the surprised cries of their herd.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were on their hooves in an instant, wings spread wide in a defensive positure; driven by instinct, Applejack whipped Sweetie Belle and Applebloom into the center of the protective circle, presenting her broad chest towards their open perimeter, knowing Pinkie Pie would be facing the other way. Rarity was standing tall in the center, her lanky body straddling the awake and shaking foals. This was the ultimate defensive pony posture; one burned into them by a thousand years of social engineering and survival. The pegasi, the consumate warriors of the equine race, would engage the threat, while the earth ponies defend the weaker members of the herd with their powerful bodies, all while the unicorns analyzed the threat, and used their magic to help end it. The ancient ponies would be... satisfied.

"What was that?" Applejack whispered tersely, scanning the doors to the barn; it was nearly dawn, the light of the sun just barely inching over the studded horizon.

"Not sure," Rainbow Dash replied quietly, entire body tense, ears perked in the air, "Felt like a helicopter, but no wind... maybe a-"

And without a sound, the floor gave out from under the entire herd.

********************

Twilight Sparkle watched with wide, awed eyes as the barn floor ever so gently floated down into the cavern. She had been hiding out in the crystal caverns beneath Asherein since the Book had appeared; its first pages had led Twilight to them. In fact, Twilight had been surprised to find that most of the beginning part of the Book was not about magic at all. Hidden spell-zones, secret passageways throughout the city foundations, the crystal caverns and where one could find water and food... And true food, at that. Twilight had been eating processed nutrient sludge her entire life. Being able to cook and devour a pair of hefty mushroom caps over a campfire had been mind-blowing. Of course, not as mind-blowing as having her horn.

The fabled appendage was beautiful, when she had been able to see it in a clear puddle of water. Long and slender, it was tapered to a wicked point, with grooves swirling along it. According to the book, now that she was full-grown, Twilight's horn would be incredibly difficult to remove, and the Sisters had developed spells to make it impossible. Those Twilight would learn ASAP. She would never be bereft of magic again. Not after she had felt its kiss for the first time... the first unicorn to use magic in centuries... The arcane energies had rushed up long unused capillaries in her body, fulfilling a biological need so long ignored that it burned at first. Twilight had screamed during her first spell, tears streaming down her face at the torrent of fire in her body. But the pain had faded. The fire had slowly cooled, and began to pulse with each second of her spellcasting, feeling all the world like one of Aloe's deep tissue massages. At the memory, Twilight's eyes had drooped. Poor Aloe and Lotus, locked in the Centaur-only Stables day and night...

To Twilight's surprise, that feeling of pity had not abated like it had once done. She could do something about it now. She had the magic, and the book! Her teeth had gritted together and Twilight's spell, originally just a simple light spell, had begun to morph.

All ponies are attuned to a certain shape, style, and element of magic.

Fire had begun to dance along Twilight's horn, leaving a tingling trail that left her mouth dropping open in a small gasp.

Pegasi tend to be attuned directly to the sky, or in some cases water, in order to fill clouds with rainwater. Some lucky pegasi are directly attuned to the elemental lightning, allowing them to create storms. Only an odd few find themselves attuned to fire, and that usually means they have unicorn ancestors.

The fire had traveled along Twilight's mane and across her withers, turning her fur into a blazing sheet of plasma.

Fire is the birthright of the unicorn race. It was unicorns who first brought fire to the other races. It was they who helped teach the first Earth Pony shamans to delve deep into the molten earth, to bring forth lava to suit their purposes. The greatest among the unicorn magi were known as archmages, Those unicorns with archmage-level magic, attuned to the elemental fire, were known as pyromancers.

When Twilight had opened her eyes, they had blazed with light, an ecstatic smile spread across her lips. She had felt... free. Two decades of stress burned away like so much trash, and she could only imagine what would happen to her master's whip if it struck her shimmering body then. Amazingly, the Book was not harmed by the crackling flames, flames so hot that the very stone was beginning to warp. And for hours, Twilight had studied on, sitting in a cavern of crystals as a living flame. She had so much to learn, and so very much to share with her herd.

To the several hundred ponies on the floating floor, seeing Twilight Sparkle was an utter shock. She looked brighter, her fur shining in some way that gave her far more luster than her counterparts. Her head was held imperiously, a small smile on her face; eager, and happy. And, of course, the horn. The unicorns in the crowd gave a united cry, surging forward frantically the second the floor touched to the ground; few noticed as the ground above closed in around the hole. Questioning voices and gentle nuzzles surrounded Twilight on all sides, and she giggled softly, gently quieting her friends with little taps on the muzzles. Rarity was staring at her in awe; she had never heard her friend giggle.

"I know you all are curious," she shouted over them happily, "Just sit down, and I'll show you. Everypony! Gather around, please!"

Obedient to a fault to any voice that seemed in authority, every pony quickly gathered in a semi-circle around Twilight, gazing up at her with a mix of apprehension, awe, and worry. Smiling softly, Twilight scooted close to her friends, leaning over to nuzzle each of them on the cheek. To their surprise, little tears were running rivulets down her own. Rainbow Dash had scooted forward in an instant, the loyal pegasus gently wiping the tears away with the back of her hoof.

"I-I nearly broke my promise," Twilight whispered softly, closing her eyes, "I'm... I'm s-so sorry... I just couldn't... t-take it anymore. My s-statue had been perfect t-tonight. My Master... was never going to l-let me see my son."

But before her friends could reply, Twilight's eyes snapped back open, her horn beginning to gleam a soft lavender hue as a fierce grin, one unseen on ponykind for centuries, split her muzzle.

"But if he won't let you see him, then we'll just... have to take him, huh?" Applejack breathed, her friend's confidence shockingly infectious.

"And your's, Applejack... Rarity's too... Rainbow Dash..."

"A-and mine?" yelled a soft, timid voice from the crowd.

"What about mine? I've had three, a-all I ever w-wanted was to have them..."

From across the herd, hundreds looked to Twilight with wide, pleading eyes. The Centaur had been holding the young of ponies as hostages for generations, working to break their herd bonds and make them more pliable. For some herds, it had worked. They had fractured into smaller and smaller groups, easily corralled and manipulated by the Centaur, their hopes slowly dashed by familiar colts and fillies who were sent back to them, but wanted nothing to do with their parents. Twilight and her friends had seen many suicides by the hand of despair and destroyed dreams. Twilight's own herd closed in around her, trembling and trying to share their own needs and hopes.

The lavender light grew in intensity, as did Twilight's smile.

"We will get them back," she promised, gesturing to the Book with conviction, "We will get everything back. The Sisters have shown me the way."

With a dull boom, the magic blasted from her horn in a mix of lavender and white light; to a unicorn's sight, they would have noticed tendrils of light joining the magical flare from the floor; Twilight's magic had tapped directly into the ley line nexus old Canterlot had been built on. According to her book, the nexus was the reason for the site of the construction. It had given the original unicorns the needed power to draw the marble, basalt, and granite up from the mountain's depths. And in doing so, they had left massive voids in the mountain's inner workings: the crystal caverns. The great crystal mine of Equestria, its greatest storeroom, and the source of its most powerful magic. Even that to heal and restore.

The pegasi in the herd cried out in bliss as the tendrils of magic poured into them; thaumaturgic magic latched onto their clipped wings and under-used flight muscles, warping and healing the damage so long lived with. Fire lanced across their spines for the briefest moments... and the world opened up like a great book. Rainbow Dash let out a small sob of wonder as scents and a new way of seeing opened up to her. She could smell each and every scent and pheromone of each individual pony in the room, and was certain she could distinguish between them; moisture in the air, earthy and tinged with metal, danced among the pheromones and, with a twitch of her forming wings, powerful layers of ozone. Rainbow-tinged lightning coursed across each feather and down her spine, causing Rainbow's hooves and tail to curl in bliss. It was practically sensory overload, and the young pegasus was close to sobbing as she realized just how much she had been missing her entire life.

It was only through the pegasi that Equestria was made strong. While they were consummate fighters, there was more to their race than war. They controlled the very heavens themselves. Clouds bent to their will, and rainbows poured their weather control mago-technology. For millenia, not a storm happened in our borders that was not planned out to the letter. When we were at war, it was custom that the pegasi send a mighty storm to herald our approach and our displeasure, and to give our enemies once last chance to sue for peace. It worked many a time. To have a strong and independent Equestria, you will need the stewards of the sky.

The magic latched onto the iron horse-shoes of the Earth Ponies first, vaporizing the metal instantly and flinging the atoms away in a great cloud of discarded tyranny. Applejack and Pinkie Pie cried out in surprise, joined by a horde of their fellows, as their soft hooves were unused to the ground beneath them. But the magic wasn't finished, and poured into their bodies, super-charging senses long dormant. Long ago, Earth Ponies had been thought as magic-less, called mudponies and other, worse things. That was far, far from the case. In the Book, Twilight had learned that Earth Pony magic was some of the strongest elemental forces at work. With effort and concentration, Earth Ponies could draw water directly to the surface from underwater springs, or find patches of nutrients to bring to their trees. Rocks and earth bent to their will like water could to unicorns, or the air to pegasi. And there were few with as much predilection to runic magic than a strong Earth Pony. They were quite literally the foundation and bedrock of pony society.

My sister and I were often saddened by the tribalism showed to the Earth Ponies. Unicorns believed they were lesser for not having magic they could easily see and quantify, and the pegasi looked down on them, quite literally, for being stuck to the ground. But that is the Earth Pony way. It is hard to move a mountain from high in the air, after all. The strength of a herd of determined Earth Ponies is manifested in just how much ground they wish to move. I have seen more than my fair share of stone walls breached by their hooves, or lava surging from the depths by the call of their shamans. Keep them on the ground, and an Earth Pony can work miracles in your name. They will fight, they will create. They will help shoulder whatever may be thrown against you.

Twilight winced in shared pain as the unicorns of the group screamed in surprise and pain, their horns emerging with a flash of multi-colored lights and sickening cracks. Those screams quickly, however, turned to yelps of bliss and joy, their minds opening up to the arcane so long denied to them. To their eyes, the dim lights of the ley lines they had seen before would change to a brilliant radiance. Where such brightness would blind other races, unicorn eyes were incredibly durable, able to fixate on lights as bright as the sun with no hope of being damaged. Many unicorns instinctively dug them into the magic of the ley line nexus, shaking as their mana reserves were instantly refilled. An eternal emptiness, one that drove many unicorns mad with a desire they could not place, was gone. All around the herd, crystals and rocks glowed with a variety of colors and auras as they rose into air. The unicorns simply couldn't help it. With so much magic, they had to let it out, somehow.

Unicorns are the light that guides Equestria. That does not, under any circumstances, make unicorns better than any other race. If anything, it adds responsibility to your species, Twilight Sparkle. Your kind control the arcane. You are the ones who give life to the magotechnology, once it is created and energized by the Earth Ponies and Pegasi. While they grow the food, become craftsponies and artisans, and control the weather, it is the unicorns who study magic, and help improve the empire. Only when all three of you work together can Equestria be great. We forgot that. Hubris on the part of all the races led to the death of the first Equestria. It led to our banishment. Twilight Sparkle... you cannot allow that to happen again. Guide the unicorns... and guide Equestria.

It took quite awhile for the herd to finally work through their excitement, but Twilight was patient, sitting among her best friends in the world as the rest of the ponies settled back into the semi-circle. Only once she was sure everypony was paying full attention once more did she rise back to her hooves, and begin to speak.

"The odds are against us. The Centaurs hold absolute power over Equestria. They have guns, and missiles, and Sisters' knows what else. But we do have something... something they can't fathom."

Twilight firmly stomped on the crystalline ground, purple light shimmering out.

"The average Centaur knows no magic. None at all. Only the Magisters hold true magical power. And there are one hundred and twelve of those inside the city. We already outnumber them over three to one."

Twilight's smile was dark and mirthless, eyes hard as she gazed at each and everypony. Finally, she turned towards the wall at her back, horn flashing once. A deep rumble shook the cavern; the herd cried out as a whole, rising into a defensive posture. Few had worked in the mines before, though many Earth Ponies stood still, eyes wide as the fake wall slid down into the floor. And revealed a true treasury of ancient Equestria. Or, in this case, an armory. The room was massive, lit by brilliant sunstones set high into the marble ceiling; weapon and armor racks lined the sides of the armory, over seven rows deep. Gleaming spears inlaid with a mix of small rubies, sapphires, and emeralds were settled in some, side-by-side with warhammers with heads of crystal, silver wing-blades, and warshoes made of still-shining steel. The pegasi were quick to flutter to the weapons first, carefully lifting and testing their weight and make. Judging from their impressed murmurs, Twilight imagined the weapons were high-quality. And she could tell from a glance that each and every one was enchanted.

The unicorns and earth ponies congregated on the opposite side of the armory, whispering to each other as they eyed the pony-sized armor settled on the armor racks. They were sleek, made of large, interlocking golden plates, with runes etched onto each of them, with sloping helmets with a single, circular viewport. There were three styles of armor: one, obviously made for earth ponies, was larger than the other two, with thicker plates and a built in battle harness for hook-up weapons. The hind leg armor was noticeably thicker, with arcano-servos to amplify the strength of a buck. When she lifted up one set of armor, Twilight was surprised to see that the front boots were opened to the ground.

"To allow elemental contact," Twilight whispered, giving a slow grin at the genius of the construction.

The pegasus armor was sleeker and more aerodynamic by far, with less armor along the sides, but plenty on the back and belly, to protect from strikes both above and below. Cables, inscribed with earth pony runes, ran directly from several pouches up to the foreleg armor, with had hooks to implant a variety of weapons. For the wings, stripes of armor with wing-blade indentions would attach to the shank and outer edge of the wing, while the rest of the feathers would be left free. Curiously enough, every third pegasus armor had a large communication crystal embedded between their wings: Twilight had seen one of the curiosities before with her master, though he had not known its use. It had taken Twilight much study to figure it out herself, honestly.

The unicorn armor was, rather obviously, the most interesting to Twilight. While not as bulky and powerful as earth pony armor, the silver-gold armor was practically covered in amplifying runes and circles. The helmet had a strong, and bladed, horn guard made of adamantium, also inscribed with empowering runes. Crystals, ranging from red, to blue, to green, to even black, lined the sides and forelegs, and the bottom of each boots was tipped with enchanted silver. A quick check revealed a long-lasting sticky cantrip, or an activated long-jump spell.

"Offense, defense, and support," Twilight murmured, horn gleaming as she quickly brought the book around; to her surprise, it was already opened up, just after the point she had paused in her reading before.

If you can see this, then you have decided to open the armory. We are glad. As much as my sister and I detest war, we were always prepared for it. At least, we believed we were. While we had steered our ponies towards peaceful pursuits and culture, we keep the weapons of our more war-like days in a place of protection. In the days of the empire, our armies boasted everything from flying sky-ships, to arcano-golems, to the Spires of Canterlot. Their activation is simple; I have drawn the rune here on this page. Merely have an earth pony draw the symbol on the floor of the armory. Then have a pegasus brush one's wing across it. And finally, a unicorn must add their magic to it. Once this is complete, you will have full control over every weapon and piece of armor in Canterlot. You must perform the same ritual in the throne room of the castle, in order to gain access to the Spires of Canterlot defense system. Finally, information and specifications on all the weapons and armor in the armory will be written on these pages, once the ritual is complete. Use them well, Twilight Sparkle.

A dark smile still spread across her muzzle, Twilight Sparkle turned back to her awe-struck friends, and waved them close. It was time to prepare for war. The Centaur wouldn't know what hit them...

Chapter 3- Unexpected Allies

Aloe shuddered in disgust as the Centaur pulled out of her, his rough and untrimmed hooves slicing raised lines down her thin-coated flanks. Of course, she said not a word. The Centaur hated noise from their ponies during sex, and tears... tears had made many a rape turn into an enraged and unscheduled "euthanasia." Doing anything she could think of to keep her mind off the seed pouring out of her, or the brilliant light of the screen in front of her reading Estrus, Aloe turned her mind to the reactions of Centaurs to emotions. Aloe was a fairly empathic Earth Pony, as was her sister Lotus, and she could notice the tense stance of the Centaur whenever they were around Ponies. They kept their eyes away from the Ponies, and were quick to stop a retort or angry snort with the back of a hand. And yet, amongst each other, Centaur were roaring louts, slamming into each other and locking horns to show dominance. It was... curious.

"Next," rumbled a deep, rough voice, and Aloe closed her eyes, mind tugged back to her present.

She was... here. Stuck. Likely for the rest of her life. Aloe and Lotus, while Earth Ponies, were quite small for their size. Half-breeds would kill them, that was just fact. They had one, maybe two half-breed births in them before they'd simply fade away. Aloe had taken care of enough of the herd who had simply been bred to death, and she knew her fate. If they were lucky, she might be able to see her friends and families a few days before they'd pass on. If she was lucky, she might be able to see her twin sister one last time...

The tears were accidentally, and Aloe cursed herself as her emotions grew. Her sobs reigned unchecked, her body shaking and tugging frantically at her bonds as she had one hell of a panic attack. Cramps tore through her stomach and legs, the harness tightening its grip on her neck and head as they gave out, body sagging to the floor. Her ears were splayed, and she sobbed anew as the door to her stall opened again. The deep, sharp intake of breathe told her exactly what had just approached, seconds before the hoof slammed into her stomach.

"Compose yourself!" The Centaur roared; a Magister, most likely, judging from his higher, nearly hissing voice.

Fiery pain roared up Aloe's spine from his magic, and she... just... screamed. There was no decorum, no false smile or guarded expression that could hold it in now. All of her pain, all of her depression, rage, and impotence tore out of Aloe in a deep, horrific shriek. And unseen to Aloe, her shriek had a profound effect on the Centaur inside the Stable. The two dozen of the Soldier caste roared in surprise and quickly rising anger, striking out blindly at anything around them, splintering wood and kicking ponies out of their frames. All said ponies instantly curled in on themselves, screaming and sobbing themselves, terrified that they were about to be put down en masse. The emotions and screams of over a hundred ponies filled the Stables, punctuated by the deeper roars of the Centaurs.

The Magister was panicking, his inner fight-or-flight reactions firing in a blind panic, slinging his magic aura around. One such pulse struck Aloe's frame, and she yelped in surprise as it exploded, flinging her out of her stable and onto the scuffed and scorched linoleum. Her head was pounding, and her entire body seemed to be ablaze. Knowing the magister's magic, she would not be surprised if she was. Babbling out apologies and pleas, Aloe peered up with tear-filled eyes. And found herself with a front row seat to a very... odd scene. Several Soldiers had their pistols, great hand-cannons, drawn on the terrified Magister; their eyes, while still a deep black as per normal, now had a small glimmer of white in their centers. They were raising themselves up, towering over the frail Magister. His meaty hands were raised, bearded and vaguely ape-like face scrunched up in terror as he babbled.

"Pl-please, just c-calm down, my good troopers... e-everything will be f-fine, we can talk about-"

BANG!

Aloe gave a small cry as blood and brains spattered her in a fine mist, the Magister's body toppling lifelessly to the ground just hooves in front of her. The Soldiers were beginning to gather behind one Centaur, eyeing the quivering ponies around them. Their leader was a massive specimen of the Soldier caste, easily nine hooves tall and wider than two Earth Ponies put side by side. His fur and mane were both midnight black, and his underlying skin was a deep red. His black eyes turned slowly to Aloe, and he studied her with far more intelligence than Aloe had ever seen in a Soldier.

"Lord Tirek, what do we do now?" Another of the Soldiers rumbled, gripping his pistol tightly.

"Gather up the ponies, and fetch us a transport. We move on the Academy in one hour."

***************************

"TWILIGHT! COME QUICK!"

Twilight cursed heavily as she raced through the tunnels that had become their home the past few days; the herd had carved out little lean-to's and firepits, and the air was perpetually thick with the smell of grilling mushrooms and crickets. Both were shockingly tasty. Racing past the Forge, she spared the feat of unicorn-earth pony cooperation a happy glance. Using the unicorns' innate knowledge of fire, and the earth ponies' bond with the earth, they had managed to draw up a wellspring of lava, allowing them to use it as one gigantic forge, melting pot, and "slow mine." Sure, it meant most of the metal were alloys, but the earth ponies had found that they could easily separate the thickest and most useful metals to be cooled down, ingoted, and pounded down into useful shapes. The Forge was producing plenty of spears and hoof-blades, which would be given over to Rarity and her team of unicorns, gifted earth ponies, and eager pegasi to be enchanted for battle and utility. They already had more than enough for their own herd, but they wanted to have armor and weapons to equip the rest of their kind once they began rescue operations.

The yell had come from the other mining operation, deeper in the crystal fields, which had seen several dozen earth ponies digging out gemstones to be used as magical foci and batteries for storing arcane energies. Applejack had been eager to lead the team; she was one of their more gifted earthspeakers, and her insights had led them to several diamond veins already. As Twilight raced into the mine cavern, she was treated to a shocking sight. Standing easily twenty feet tall, with scales the deepest purple the unicorn had ever seen... was a dragon. An honest-to-goodness, living dragon. It was quite lithe, like a panther; its purple scales pressing to its sleek sides and so fine that it was more like hide than actual armor. Green spines, starting from the crest of its head, ran down its back, perked up in what Twilight imagined was agitation, or surprise. Bright green eyes, larger than Twilight's head, snapped up to Twilight as she skidded into the room, and Twilight was surprised to see it immediately relax, sitting back on its haunches... and smiling. With rows of dagger-like, very sharp teeth.

Gulp.

"Excellent, the unicorns have survived."

If Twilight's jaw could have dropped anymore, then it would have. The voice was shockingly feminine, coming from such a gigantic beast, and had an air of warmth to it. Sweeping out a wing, the dragoness bowed low, sending Applejack and her earth ponies scattering back.

"My name is Setheressa, humble ponies. It is truly warming to see that some of your species has managed to survive this... catastrophe.'

Blinking, Twilight tilted her head, ears folding back as the rest of the dragoness' introduction was lost to her. Catastrophe? Survived? Well, of course they had survived. Not well, of course, but... It had been generations. Just how long had this dragon been down in the caverns? Trying to peek around the dragon's bulk, Twilight's eyes widened as much as equinely possible, staring at the dozens upon dozens of dragons, some of them even larger than Setheressa, all of them trapped in clear crystal. Red dragons with frilled beards and brilliant scales; white dragons with gigantic fore-claws and mighty jaws; black dragons with alligator heads and swimming fins along their sides... Twilight had studied ancient pony books on dragons, and as far as she could see, there was at least one of every species among the crystals. Setheressa was a purple dragon, one of the deep breeds that rarely come out of the caves. Absently, Twilight concluded that that was the reason she had been elected to watch over them, most likely.

"-ertainly hope pony civilization has righted itself," Setheressa blathered on, her speech interspaced with childish giggles, "I've always wanted to go see some of it, and maybe eat-"

"There is no pony civilization."

The cavern seemed shockingly quiet as Applejack's remark stopped Setheressa cold. The dragoness blinked down at her several times, tilting her head in confusion.

"But, you're here!" she replied slowly, "If there is no-"

"The Centaur won," one of the earth ponies, a stallion, replied listlessly, "They killed alot of us... enslaved the rest. It's been... goddess, centuries, Miss Dragon..."

"I'm afraid he's correct," Twilight added softly, "We only just escaped, a few hundred of us. We're living down here, for the time being."

The dragoness looked like somepony had just curb-stomped a puppy in front of her. Tears (Twilight had to restrain herself from gathering the alchemical ingredient) poured down her cheeks, and her body moved quickly to one side, her paw reaching out to swipe the group of ponies and tug them into the room. Twilight yelped as she stumbled along, ears laid back in surprise. The crystal cavern was incredibly bright, and taller than she expected. Dragon-filled crystals lined the walls, disappearing into the darkness high, high above. She was almost certain it could stretch to the mountaintop. What was most stunning, however, were the occupants of a jagged, amethyst colored gem in the exact center of the room.

"I-if that's what's happened... then you're going to want him first."

There were at least thirty stallions settled into the crystal, almost all of them encased in sleek, crystalline armor. Magical rifles, much like those in the Armory, were attached to their harnesses, and they were a healthy mix of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns among them, though they all seemed to shimmer in odd ways. Their leader drew Twilight's gaze immediately, however. Taller than all of them, with a blade-like horn and jet-black mane, and charcoal grey coat, was a unicorn stallion, his body encased in runic steel armor, though his was without harness and weapon. His eyes were wide open, and seemed to stare at Twilight, their red depths enchanting and powerful. His mouth was bared in a snarl, and Twilight was further stunned by his long, dragon-like canine teeth. Power emanated from the crystal; dark magic, battle thaumaturgy, healing magic... These were warriors, in every sense of the word. A kind of pony Equestria had not seen in an age. And a kind of pony, Twilight Sparkle decided in an instant, that Equestria desperately needed.

Behind her, and sounding oddly respectful, Setheressa drew herself up tall, wings stretching out to shade the party of ponies.

"You want Crown Prince Sombra."