The Great Equestrian War

The Great Equestrian War

Part 2 - The Solar Empire.

Pinkamena observed the remnants of the blighted town. Scorch marks and splatters of red marked the previously clean streets, building that were previously broken were rebuilding as they tore themselves and a chunk of the ground into the air. All around, the Chaos Army was rallying survivors, and mopping up the dead. An unusually large Flying One landed next to her, a gust of wind blowing her coat a bit.

"Lady Diane. The town has been secured."

"Excellent." She grinned. "Lord Discord will be pleased."

The Flying One glanced away nervously. "Actually, m'lady, Discord wishes to speak to you privately."

She dropped her smile, and looked at the Flying One. "Did he say why?"

"He did not." It randomly twitched its wing.

"Well then." She turned to the street on her left, away from the construct. "I guess I should go. Keep this town secure, and bring the survivors to the Chamber."

"Yes m'lady." The Flying One flew off, leaving her standing there. She was quickly enveloped in a glowing pink energy, the same scream of metal-against-reality, and then it faded off into the air.

* * *

"I have made a grave error, Pinkamena." Discord sat on his throne, looking slightly nervous.

"What sort of error, m'lord?"

"The error is," He stood up. "Is that Hoofswell wasn't actually neutral."

Pinkamena's jaw dropped. "Since when?!"

"Oh, for a few months. I had outdated faction updates." He pulled out a wad of paper from nowhere. "Rest assured, they have been updated immediately after my discovery."

She sighed. "So, what is the next course of action?"

"Well, the Solar Empire will likely attack the Chaos Army on sight, but you have connections with some of the Empire." He looked to the window. "You can pass through freely, I hope, and reach the newest and last neutral town." He handed her a map. "Some small village near the Everfree Forest."

Pinkamena grinned. "Ah yes, the Everfree Village. I sent a letter there a week ago. Should we send the second warning?"

"Soon. You won't be striking very soon, so I shall send it when the time is right." He flew closer. "One... interesting note, though."

"Oh?"

"There's an Element user there. Kindness, I believe."

Pinkamena's heart skipped a beat. Fluttershy is there?

"What's the matter, Pinkamena Pie?"

"N-nothing, m'lord." She turned away. "I should get going." She was surrounded by the same energy and noise, and disappeared from the room.

Discord sat back down and grinned.

"This will liven things up..."

"Commander Twilight?" A young soldier asked.

"Yes?" She looked up from her bunk, in the process of tying her boots.

"If you don't mind me asking, but who is going to take leadership of the Magika Army while you're away?"

"I'm not going for that long, private." She finished tying her laces. "I'll be ready to redeploy in an instant, if the Princess wishes."

"Thank you, ma'am." The private snapped off a salute, and dashed off somewhere. She put her gloves on, her mind suddenly snapping to thoughts of long before the War. When she and the others lived a relatively quiet life. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind when Rarity approached her cabin.

"Greetings, Commander." She closed the door behind her. "We'll be at Canterlot Hangar in a moment."

"Thank you, Admiral."

Rarity looked out the small cabin window. "Though I have to inquire, could you not just teleport there?"

Twilight followed Rarity's gaze. "It's rude to teleport in the presence of the Princess-"

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind. She isn't a tyrant."

"And it would take most of my energy to teleport from the front. Which reminds me..."

Rarity tilted her head quizzingly.

"Why did she send us to the front, only to pull us back to Canterlot?"

"Change of plans, maybe." Rarity turned her sight to Twilight. "You seem nervous."

"I'm going to be in the presence of the Princess, Rarity, and the rest of the Command. What if I make a fool out of myself?"

Rarity gripped her by the shoulders and pulled her face closer. Twilight's mind raced, resulting in a blush.

"Do not freak out over this. I know you to be quite acceptable." She pulled back. "You will do fine, dear." She walked out of the room, and Twilight slumped. Oh Celestia, she was close. She looked to the window, and saw the spire of Canterlot Tower. She touched her horn. I think our horns touched. Is that weird? She shook herself out of those thoughts. No, must concentrate. Meeting the Princess in an hour. Keep cool, Twilight. She stood up and left the cabin, making her way to the hangar.

Save Rarity until later.

* * *

"I have gathered you all here for an important reason." Celestia stood far taller than anyone else in the room, making a few officers look nervously around. Twilight, having been the Princess' personal student, was used to being around such a large being.

"Which is?" She inquired.

"An excellent question, Twilight." She pulled out a map. "There is a third faction in the War."

Gasps of shock overtook the room. "A... third?"

"Indeed. They have taken over Hoofington, and according to aerial surveillance, has had its entire geology drastically altered. Reports indicate that sections of the ground have started levitating, and unusual weather patterns have occurred."

"Excuse me, your majesty," Rarity butted in. "But, doesn't that remind anyone of anything?"

"Oh yeah!" Twilight responded. "About 8 years ago, we locked Discord in stone. Seeing Ponyville under his control, it also had floating buildings and unusual weather patterns. Where was Hoofswell attacked from?"

"I have the reports here, ma'am." Another officer called out. "The invading force hit moments after one person showed up. An eyewitness who managed to escape moments before the invasion claimed that the ringleader was a woman with straight, pink hair."

Wait a minute.

"The same person also claimed that large black things tore the city to shreds."

"Hang on," The Princess interrupted. "Discord was locked in stone, and the Elements of Harmony had their full power restored. How could this woman and Discord be linked-" Celestia stopped. A silence fell. "Twilight, with me. Admiral Rarity, prepare to head to the front. Everyone else, return to your appropriate stations"

"Excuse me, Princess," Twilight said as Celestia stormed off. "But, where are we going?"

"We're going to see Discord."

* * *

The two approached the stone path around the labyrinth, looking at all the statues. "Just curious, are any of these statues petrified people?"

"Of course not, Twilight. They're too large."

Twilight nodded. They approached a blank pillar base, its smooth surface reflecting the sun onto the next statue. "This is where Discord was?"

"Indeed." Celestia studied the base intensely. "He must have broken free somehow. But the Elements are at full power, how could-"

"Doesn't make sense, I know." A voice rang out from everywhere. A green energy started coiling itself atop the pillar, taking the form of the lord of Chaos himself. "But if you know what happened, then you'll understand."

"Discord..." Celestia gritted her teeth. "Tell me how you escaped! NOW!"

Discord grinned. "Well, seeing as though I have nothing else to do, I'll tell you. 5 years ago, as you well remember, you and your sister had an argument, and split the country in two."

"That explains nothing."

"It explains everything. Now, because of that split, the Element users had to split forces. This broke their links, or at least thinned them down enough for me to be freeable."

"But even so," Twilight pointed out, "You need an act of Disharmony to be free."

"Indeed, Twilight." Celestia further added. "And it has to be next to you to work. You couldn't have escaped, as I had banned all access to the garden."

"Ah, but that's where you failed in your calculations. Yes, a small act is enough to free me provided it is within range, but Chaos on such a large scale, as was caused by the War, can free me, even at that range!" He broke into laughter. "It cracks me up just thinking about how you could skip that tiny detail!"

"Then why did you attack Hoofswell? That is an act of war, Discord!"

"At the time, I thought that Hoofswell was neutral. That's all." He glided closer to Celestia. "An intel error, that's all."

"Discord!" Twilight yelled, to get his attention. "Answer me some questions."

"Fire away, Commander Sparkle." Discord sat on the pillar relaxingly. "It's all I can do."

"Firstly, why are you slaughtering innocent townsfolk?"

"I try to avoid that, but it's the town's fault for not paying attention. Next?"

"Secondly, who did all that?"

"Ah, that's a good question. Technically, the Chaos Army did the actual damage, but the attack was directed by me and Lady Diane."

"Thirdly, who is Lady Diane?"

"A friend."

"That's it?"

"Not quite. By 'friend', I mean one of your old friends. Take a guess."

Twilight stopped to think. Can't be Rarity. Applejack and Rainbow are Republic. Fluttershy is too kind. So it must be...

"Pinkie."

"Ding ding!" Discord leapt up. "She wins ten points! Yes, it's your friend Pinkamena; she was in a horrible state after the breakup. So I provided her the best place to go, and where her... unusual... talents are quite useful."

"Ok, final question. Where is she going to strike last?"

"I'll tell you that later, but for now, I can tell you that she is traversing the Plains of Mareston, on her way to the next target." He swooped low, almost right in Twilight's face.

"Unless someone gets in her way."

Pinkamena stopped in a ruined village, in the middle of the great plains that surrounded her. Even with Chaos on her mind, she can take a moment to marvel at the scenery. The grass was astonishingly green, despite the fact that the area around her was a warzone years ago. Rays of light poked out of the clouds, their golden beams illuminating patches of ground far away. It was amazing. Perhaps I should ask Lord Discord to keep this section free...

Suddenly, something dropped out of the clouds, in the distance. Pinkie tore a pair of binoculars from the aether, and looked at it closely. It was a large wooden ship, somehow keeping aloft in the sky. It took her a moment to realise that the object was, in fact, an airship. What are they doing here? Looking for me?

The airship moved closer, casting a huge oval of darkness onto the surrounding land. It turned slightly, and powered its way past her. Only then, did she realise that this airship was from the Empire. Like she caught its attention, it slowed down to a halt, revealing the name Dauntless. She took a step back, startled.

* * *

"Admiral, we've detected someone within the ruins."

Rarity flicked her hair back. "Republic or Empire?"

"Uniform suggests neither, but we have a visual." He handed her the sheet of paper. "I believe it matches with the special target. Shall we send Captain Hooves' squadron out?"

She examined the image on the sheet. It was definitely familiar. She pulled out an image of Pinkie from her jacket, and compared. Undoubtedly similar. "Seekers 15-30, lock onto target on the ground. Fire on my command."

* * *

Pinkamena stared at the Dauntless. It merely hovered there, as if it was examining her. She took another step back, to which the entire ship's side sparkled for an instant. She started running through the ruins, a desperate attempt to escape the possible danger.

Then the missiles hit.

The fire-spewing explosives rained down on the ruins, reducing the remaining segments to rubble. Through the maelstrom of fire left by the missiles, one flew on a dead-on course in her direction. Her combat reflexes kicked in, and she jumped up as the missile moved beneath her, and she slashed down with an aether-screaming blade, knocking the halves away. One detonated next to her, spattering her with mud and soil, but the rocket end flew somewhere and crashed heavily. She glared at the Dauntless, which remained still. She started leaping through the ruins, changing into a full-on sprint when she hit the plains.

* * *

"Did we hit her?"

Rarity looked through the binoculars at the ruined ruins. "If we did, I would bet you she is still fine."

The officer looked dumbfounded. "But we hit her with 15 Seekers! No one can survive that!"

"But this is an Element user we are talking about." She looked back. "I could survive that, so could a Seraph, and a Draconequus." She turned back to her observation of the ruins. "There's no doubt she has."

"Could we fire again?"

"We could, but she would expect that." She sighed. "I know who we are attacking. She is capable of perceiving things before any normal person can react."

"This means we're at a disadvantage."

"But not enough to lose automatically." She returned her view, seeing the coat-clad girl run from the burning wreckage, towards them. "I know what she wants."

* * *

She leapt into the air, keeping her momentum going. Mechanical objects sprung from her back, screaming to reality, and formed themselves around her, metal smashing into other metal, pieces grinding together, clicks of finer-detailed workings whirred, and engines fired up. With a single click, the jet sprung into life, roaring straight to the Dauntless. The side of the airship sparkled, and more missiles closed in. Pinkamena clicked on the controls, and a storm of plasma bolts roared into the oncoming storm, blowing up a path for her to fly through. In the rear camera, she saw the remaining missiles turning to her. She gunned the jets, aiming above the Dauntless' top. She flicked a large switch, and the jet started breaking apart, each broken part dissolving into pink energy. She continued going faster, until the cockpit broke around her, just as she clipped the Dauntless. She grinded along the wooden deck, the missiles chasing after the last part of the jet, scattering about and crashing into each other when it dissolved.

Pinkamena stood up, as armoured troopers sprinted from a stairwell straight to her. She aethered the same blade, a long cook's knife sharpened extremely finely, and slashed at the closest, sending him sprawling over the edge in a trail of red. She dodged the swing of the next one, and kicked him into the one behind him, and ran up and jabbed the blade down. She turned to the stairwell.

The Bridge must be here. She leaped down the stairs, and sliced the guard at the bottom. She saw the large wooden door of the bridge, and aethered Firecracker. With a sound like fireworks, she pulled the trigger and the missile detonated, tearing the door open. The crew inside scattered, except for this one woman.

"I have been expecting you."

Pinkamena disregarded Firecracker, which disintegrated, and held out her blade. "Oh, you have, huh?"

The woman turned, revealing a familiar face. "Of course, Pinkie."

"I'm not Pinkie."

Rarity chuckled. "Oh, of course you are not, 'Lady Diane'. But you will always be Pinkie, regardless of what crap Discord throws at you."

Pinkamena charged at her, attacking with a wide swing, only to be blocked by a sudden blade.

"Are you declaring a challenge, Pinkie?"

"Kinda, yeah."

"Fair terms of combat?"

"Alright." Pinkamena pulled her blade away, and took another swing, only to be blocked again.

"Brute force won't break through skill anyday. Just watch." Rarity flicked the long blade out of the way and thrust at Pinkamena. She leapt away from the strike, Cakecutter grinding on the ground.

"You're good, Rarity. Too good."

"Well, I shall take that as a compli-" Rarity took another jab, Pinkamena narrowly dodged it.

"Not fair!"

"You got distracted." Rarity took a precise strike, but was blocked by Pinkamena's blade. "Only fair."

Pinkamena withdrew, and charged Rarity straight on. Rarity dodged the thrust, but she turned her blade around and swung back, Rarity barely blocking. Rarity flicked Cakecutter out of the way, and swung low, Pinkamena jumping and slashing. The slash knocked Rarity's hat off and in half, but she was unable to defend against her counterattack. Rarity shoved Pinkamena to one of the windows, and swung down again, only to be blocked again. This time, no one was willing to move, Rarity pushing Pinkamena against the window. Pinkamena looked aside, and saw a gun being raised. She yelped as a bolt of plasma just missed her head and hit the glass.

Which started cracking.

Rarity and Pinkamena looked at each other as the glass broke instantly under the pressure. Pinkamena fell through the open frame, screaming. Rarity almost fell through as well, but was caught by a magic grip. She looked down at the glass raining down, and the screaming girl falling to her death. She was yanked up, and spun around once the grip was dropped. She saw the officer from before, and Twilight, standing there. Rarity sheathed her crystal sword.

"Admir-" The officer started, but was cut off.

"Rarity!" Twilight ran up and wrapped her arms around her. "I thought you were going to die there!"

"Unlikely." She wrapped her arms around her. "Just Pinkie."

Twilight pulled back. "You fought Pinkie?"

Rarity looked to the open window. "Indeed." She turned back, and felt a pain in her arm.

"Celestia, Admiral, you're bleeding!" The officer pointed out.

Rarity looked to her arm. It was, in fact, bleeding. "How did-"

"Go to medical bay." Twilight pointed out.

Rarity grinned. "It's just a cut. I'll live."

Twilight looked down. "Actually, it's about seven."

"Wha-" Rarity looked down her form, several deep cuts along her limbs and torso. Suddenly, she felt light-headed, and fell to her knees.

"She's... good..." Rarity collapsed, her world turning dark.

Pinkamena crashed next to the road cutting through the plains. She took her glider off, and observed the damage. A wing was bent out of shape, and one of the jets had broken. She dropped it, and it started disintegrating. She took of her coat, and noticed the red marks on it. Then her arm felt in pain. She gripped the pain, feeling wet over it. She pulled her hand to her sight, and saw it was stained in red. She looked to her arm, and saw that it was badly cut. The same pain shot through her side several times, and then down her legs. "Oh my..."

She pulled some bandages out of her coat pocket, and wrapped it around her wounds. As she relaxed, her hand clinked against something metal. She returned her arm to it, and gripped it. She pulled it up to look at. A metal cylinder with a glowing field within it. And inside the field, was a blue crystal, shaped like the symbol on her shoulder. She looked at its shape for some time, turning the canister around carefully. She caught a name etched on its side. Laughter.

She continued looking at it, remembering why she had it. It was given to her before the Faction Split, in a stasis canister with a magic so powerful even Discord couldn't break it. The others had theirs, in similar tubes.

The crystal flashed, a deep, resounding noise emanating from it.

"What the..."

To Be Continued.