Light of the Storm

Day of Celestia’s Disappearance

“You play a dangerous game, General Luna.” Luna’s best Captain, Rainbow Dash announced with a sigh as the two and a handful of other military officials looked over the maps before them.

“Well, what would you suggest? The enemy have us completely surrounded on all sides, including the air, and have shown that they retain patrols all hours of the day and the night. We have absolutely no way to get in or out of Canterlot and our food supplies are running thin!” Luna huffed angrily, having reached the end of her patience. “What would you suggest we do then?”

“Well we can’t very well blow them up! We don’t have anything powerful enough to do that!” Dash shouted back, now no longer seated as her forehooves posted on the table. “If we had someone who could do so, I’d suggest we get somepony to take up Captain’s rifle and shoot those motherbuckers!”

“But we don’t.” Luna stated slowly and matter-of-fact, glaring at her younger. “Fact is that the amount of precision and training it would take for somepony to be able to accurately use that thing would take as long as it would for us to get the Captain back in the first place! Never mind the fact that only a unicorn or alicorn could use it, and even then only my sister and I would have the magical strength to keep it from flying off when we pull the trigger!”

“Then why don’t you use it! You’ve seen him do so, you were there when he killed the Manticores and the Basilisk among others. Why can’t you fire his .50 cal?” Dash demanded, glaring right back at not only her princess, but her friend and superior officer as well.

“Because I don’t know how! He had to use all kinds of formulations and equations that I don’t even know where to begin!” Luna shouted back, just as heated as Dash. The other officers wisely remained silent as they formulated their own battle plans amongst themselves.

“I might.” A single, sweet female voice announced from the doors of the room. In stepped Luna’s Colonel, Sunset Shimmer in her blue and silver uniform and cap under her arm with Captain’s Berret slung over her shoulders. At her arrival the remaining officers under her rank, which was just about everypony in the room, all stood at attention with a sharp salute. “At ease.” Sunset ordered, stepping up to the empty end of the table. “I’ve done a bit of research into shooting techniques and had Captain’s old sergeant teach me what he knew before having Twilight adapt those formulas to Equestrian science. I may not be as accurate as Captain, but I think I might be able to at least use it.”

“Would you be willing to try?” Luna asked both hopefully and eagerly in the hopes that they’d get a very powerful asset through Sunset and Captain’s gun.

“I don’t see why not.” Sunset shrugged the rifle off and approached a window at random. “Frankly, I can literally point this thing out any window and be able to put a griffon in the sights.” Sunset added as she knelt down at the window sill and unfolded the bipod. Flipping up the lens caps, Sunset took a moment to orient herself and take aim out past the Canterlot walls.

“Can you do it?” Dash asked, looking up and over Luna’s shoulder from the table.

“Shh and we’ll find out.” Sunset replied as Luna’s horn glowed and bestowed the flight data that she’d often give to Captain on their hunting trips. “Thank you.” Sunset mumbled as she zeroed in the scope for 1000 meters. By her estimates, she had an almost 40 degree downward angle towards the nearest target: a tent set up for what looked like officers.

Doing her best to do so, Sunset worked at slowing down her breathing just like the sergeant had taught her and once she was ready, pulled the trigger between breaths. The gun pushed back with the recoil but Sunset watched the flight of the bullet all the way to the left of the tent and her intended mark. At least she had the elevation set correctly.

Adjusting her windage dial, Sunset began to work on her breathing again before putting another bullet down range; this time through the tent and presumably through an officer, judging by the sudden explosion of blood and gore.

“Well there we have it.” Sunset sighed, watching the griffon’s scramble trying to figure out where the shot had come from before extracting the rifle from the window and shut the scope lens caps. “By no standards am I a sniper but I can apparently get lucky with Captain’s rifle.”

“That may be all it takes to turn the tides on this war, Colonel.” Luna grinned as she began envisioning the potential success and coming end of this war, now shifting towards the Equestrian victory.

“Excuse me, but I bring urgent news!” A guard burst into the room, all heads turning to face the newcomer.

“Then out with it!” Luna demanded as Sunset brought the rifle to the table to set it down and adjust her clothing.

“Ma’ams, Princess Celestia is gone!” The guard replied, dropping the jaws of everybody in the room save for the General.

“Guards,” Luna turned to the other soldiers in the room with a scowl. “Take this joker to the sub-dungeons so he can think about how funny his words were.”

“I jest not, General. I’ve personally checked the Princess’s quarters and her servants said that she hadn’t been seen since sunrise.” The informant replied as his compatriots held melee weapons aimed at his neck to subdue him.

“Release him.” Luna demanded and stepped slowly towards the pony. “What do you mean, she’s gone?”

“I mean, General, she’s not in Canterlot. She’s gone!” The pony reported as dutifully as he could as his nerves rose with each step that the Princess of the Night took towards him. “I had soldiers scour every inch of the city, ma’am. She’s not here!”

“How long has she been gone? Are there any indications that she may have been captured by the enemy?” Dash demanded, now stepping up behind her superior.

“I don’t know ma’am. The servants say that Princess Celestia wasn’t in her room when they came to wake her for the sunrise. There was no evidence of forced entry into her tower either.” The guard replied, looking between the General and the Captain.

“Which means that she likely disappeared in the hour between sunrise and moondown. That’s the only hour of the day that neither of us are aware of the other’s dealings. We usually spend that hour in our rooms preparing for the day.” Luna mumbled to herself. “So if there was no forced entry, then either she knew her captor or she left of her own volition. Have the staff servicing her all last night taken into custody and interrogated. Find out everything they know about my sister’s behavior last night and if they may know where she has gone.”

“General?” Sunset spoke up from relaxing against the table behind everypony. “Not that this isn’t interesting but if i’m going to be a sniper, I need to get somewhere to train. I also have some tasks I need to deal with in my world.”

“Fine, do what you must but be ready to receive orders at a moment’s notice; even in your world.” Luna replied firmly. “Dismissed Colonel.”

Sunset saluted and shouldered the rifle currently being closely examined by a small handful of pony officers, all chattering about how such a rifle was so lethal at such extreme ranges.

Stepping out of the room and pressing her back to the wall momentarily, Sunset had to take a deep breath as she lightly nuzzled the rifle strap; imagining it slung over her boyfriend’s shoulder or the buttstock pressed into his powerful shoulder.

“Fucking hell, where are you!” Sunset hissed, directing the question towards her absent lover as she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes to clear away the moisture condensing on her face.

“Are you sure? It’s not a false positive or something like that?” Sunset asked, staring at the results on the page before her in disbelief. “But, we’d only been together once and we were careful!”

“I’m quite certain, Miss Shimmer. We ran the tests quite a few times just to be sure. I must remind you that the best way to prevent pregnancy is by not engaging in sexual activities in the first place. Even with the best contraceptives, there is still at least a two percent chance of failure and impregnation. I must say, whoever the father is, he has quite the strong swimmers.” The doctor replied with a sigh, looking down at the upside down clipboard in Sunset’s hands. “Now, you’re still at the stage where you don’t have to keep the child, whether through abortion or by giving up the child to a couple who does want one.”

“I, um, I’d have to talk to the father first. He doesn’t know that i’m pregnant yet.” Sunset mumbled back, the clipboard dropping to the medical bed next to her.

“Would you like it if I told him? You could bring him in and the three of us can talk about options.” The doctor offered supportively, taking the clipboard from next to the girl to look over things for the thousandth time.

Shaking her head, Sunset pulled her knees to her chest and sat back against the wall. “He can’t. He’s serving in the military and he’s overseas right now.” Technically not untrue, but still not technically accurate. “Last I heard he went missing…”

“Oh, I am so sorry. I didn’t know. I’m sorry if I brought up any bad emotions about that.” The doctor backpedalled, trying to cover for anything he may have done to offend the girl.

“No, it’s fine. The government tells me they’re actively trying to find him and bring him home to me.” Sunset replied with a heavy sigh, staring at the floor with the world racing through her mind. “He’ll be home soon and we can talk about things then.”

Sunset found herself coming out of the memory having sunk down against the wall and tears actively streaming down her face. The rifle had clattered to the ground next to her as the strap no longer had a shoulder to hang from and now rested against the wall with a pair of NLAF soldiers standing guard.

“Fucking bastard, why’d you have to go and let yourself be kidnapped!” Sunset screamed suddenly, startling the guards though they refused to take away Sunset’s privacy. “Thanks for the privacy.” Sunset announced weakly, addressing the soldier’s before her through sobs and tears.

“Of course, ma’am. We both have family who haven’t come back from battle. We both understand the need to cry sometimes.” One pegasus replied, looking back with only an eye before turning to offer a winged assistance to help the girl to her feet.

“I know, I know. I’m not the only one who’s lost a loved one.” Sunset sighed and sucked back the remainder of her emotions to shoulder the rifle again. “Gah, but it definitely feels like i’m the only one.”

“You’re never alone, Colonel. I actually go to a therapy group every wednesday who helps family members who’ve lost loved ones to this bloody war, if you’d like the meeting place?” The second soldier, a unicorn, offered.

“Maybe. If I feel up to it i’ll come find you for that information, Corporal.” Sunset replied, wiping her face off on the back of her sleeve before excusing herself to her duties. “Oh, have you seen Princess Twilight anywhere?”

“Last I heard she’s still in the labs working on both recovery and trying to perfect those new magic guns.” The pegasus replied, saluting at the officer’s exit.

“Thanks!” Sunset replied, giving a quick salute back before running off. The one place I don’t want to go right now; the dungeons where Captain used to live.

~~~

A short jog through the castle halls later, Sunset stood before the large wooden door into the ex-dungeons/ex-Captain’s home/newly equipped Canterlot Laboratories. With a sigh, Sunset pulled on the large handle of the door and stepped inside. Immediately she could hear the chattering of military scientists and the humming of various machines that’d been magically added to the rooms.

“Twilight?” Sunset called as she set foot onto the landing of the dungeon, watching any number of pony scientists scurrying about in white labcoats.

One such scientist approached Sunset and requested that the human follow her deeper into the expansive room. Many of the cells had been knocked down entirely, leaving stone pillars to hold the ceiling up in order to make room for the new labs and projects that had quickly taken up the space left behind.

“Sunset?” Twilight’s head stuck out from around one of the few walls that contained the lead scientists offices, her head still bandaged from Twilight’s recent release from the Canterlot hospital. “Sunset! How great to see you! Too what do we owe the pleasure?” Twilight’s entire body rounded the doorway as the guide left to her own work. “Please, come inside!”

The two females stepped into Twilight’s office, formerly Weiss and Eben’s room, and Sunset shut the door behind her, shutting out most of the noise.

“Hey Twilight. I’m actually here to see about our… Uhm, project?” Sunset replied, setting the rifle down at the doorway before taking a seat before Twilight’s large oak desk.

“Oh, that.” Twilight nodded in understanding of the vague inquiry. “Yeah, i’ve been unable to make much progress; considering…” Twilight replied loosely as she looked up at her forehead devoid of horn.

“Right, sorry. How’re you doing with rehab?” Sunset asked, trying to sound supportive of her friend’s severe injury.

“Slow going. I’m still trying to do everything with levitation but I can’t. It takes me a second to remember I have to do things with my wings more often.” Twilight sighed, lifting a cup of tea with her right wing to take a sip before setting it down again. “And I can’t even turn myself human now… Must be nice to have hands.”

“I suppose so…” Sunset replied. Already the mood in the room was grim and neither girl had much to offer to cheer things up. “How goes the other projects?”

“They’re on-going.” Twilight grumbled, her head now resting on her hooves on the desktop. “Slowly, mind you without my magical input. But,” Twilight’s head and ears perked up as she deviated away from the dark mood in the air. “You’re here about Project Lazarus, right?”

“Yeah. As much as I hate to say it, we’re fighting in a war where the ability to instantly recover even fatally wounded soldiers has become necessary to win.” Sunset sighed, leaning back against the chair to lift and rest her leg over the armrest.

“Yeah, and this isn’t even a project that we can tell anypony about.” Twilight added before taking another sip of tea.

“Playing with black magic has that effect…” Sunset mumbled, examining her nails absently. “Did Weiss find what we need?”

“Actually, yes.” Twilight replied confidently, surprising Sunset if but a little bit. “Through her own research she’s discovered that red diamonds achieve the effect we’re looking for. Charge those with the appropriate spell and we should be able to restore any soldier who’s not dead or missing their brains.”

“So what if a soldier has suffered the removal of all limbs, left to bleed out?” Sunset asked, looking directly at Twilight. She was still having to get used to seeing Princess Twilight without her horn.

“As long as they’re not physically or brain dead, the black magic should be able to completely restore them to full health.” Twilight reported as she hopped down from her chair to interact with a floor safe under her desk. Popping back up a minute later with a pile of papers in her mouth, Twilight sat back down and passed a number of them to Sunset who looked them over.

“Wow. How’re we going to be able to even test this? We have no way of charging the red diamonds since nobody involved in the Project has any way of casting the black magic now.” Sunset looked up from the papers before her at the lead scientist.

“I know. We’ll have to bring somepony else in. Somepony who is otherwise unrelated to Canterlot Labs and is not actively serving. Somepony who, ideally, has already had dealing with dark or black magic.” Twilight explained, her face gradually becoming more and more grim as she spoke.

“You already have somepony in mind?” Sunset set the papers down on the desk again.

A knock on the door had Twilight request the pony come in.

“Perhaps I could be of some assistance, darling?” Rarity requested with a kind smile, shutting the door behind her.

“Rarity? What’re you doing here?” Sunset stood from the chair and addressed the newcomer.

“Dear, as Twilight said, you need somepony capable of casting magic, who has no ties to the Canterlot Labs or to the New Luna Armed Forces and has history of casting dark or black magic.” Rarity replied firmly as she entered deeper into the tiny room to climb up into and sit down in a second chair.

“You, have cast black magic?” Sunset asked incredulously, looking between the mares. “What happened?”

“Oh, Spike found a book in the old Castle of the Two Sisters some time back. It held black magic that let Rarity conjure up anything and everything she could imagine. Was a pain to clean up afterwards.” Twilight explained as Rarity coughed with a sheepish grin.

“All that even though I couldn’t actually remember what happened during it all. Twilight tells me that this project will be playing with life and death, right?” Rarity looked between the two existing co-conspirators of the project.

“Sort of.” Sunset replied, holding a finger up. “It’s not going to be so powerful as to raise the dead back to life, that would be not only morally wrong, but also would kill morale in our own troops to see their dead friends rise back up and continue fighting. Project Lazarus aims to let ponies who’re fatally wounded be fully restored. It won’t work on already dead soldiers.” she explained, finally bringing Rarity fully into the loop and permanently binding the unicorn to the Project.

“Oh, then I can get behind this endeavor. What do you want me to do?” Rarity inquired eagerly, flipping her mane out of her face in the process.

“Well, when Weiss get’s back from her own trip, we’re going to teach you a black magic spell. You’re then going to have to work with Weiss to charge the Red Diamonds into spellstones that should hopefully achieve the results we’re looking for.” Twilight explained anxiously.

“Red Diamonds? Why must we be using so rare of stones for such a task?” Rarity demanded nervously. “You realise that such stones are so rare, so expensive that not even most of the Canterlot nobility can afford to own even one?”

“They’re also, theoretically, the only stone with the structure to support this kind of powerful black magic.” Sunset replied for Twilight, staring directly at the white mare.

“You speak as though you have no real idea what you’re doing right now.” Rarity smirked, slightly curious about how much the two had already accomplished.

“Honestly, we don’t. Up to now we’ve only been able to work in theoreticals and hypotheses. Since I lost my horn and Sunset can’t cast magic, adding in the lack of proper materials, we’ve had nothing to go off of.” Twilight explained, taking another sip of tea in the process.

“So then what do you have at the moment?” Rarity looked from Sunset to Twilight and then back again curiously.

“We have the spell. Twilight had Spike dig through the restricted areas of the Canterlot Libraries and we believe we’ve found a book of black and dark magic spells that contains the spell we’re looking for. As soon as Weiss gets back with the Red Diamonds, we’ll have you learn the spell and before we even try loading the spell into a spellstone, we’ll have you test the spell on some of our mortally wounded soldiers in the hospital to test its effects.” Sunset explained firmly. “I understand the moral issues that there is with moving directly onto pony testing, but we don’t have the time to spare with animal testing.”

“I understand. I’ll also assume that this is going to be on a need to know basis, right?” Rarity looked firm in her resolve, as though she was glad to be finally able to properly help in the war efforts besides sewing up specialized officer uniforms.

“Yes. Officially, Project Lazarus doesn’t exist and not even the Princesses know about it.” Twilight nodded in reply. “So I suppose without much further adieu; I welcome you, Rarity, to Project Lazarus.”

“Welcome Rarity.” Sunset smiled warmly, giving the mare a hoofshake in welcome.

“I’m glad to be here. I hope we can make a difference.”

“Us too… Us too…” Sunset agreed as Twilight finished her tea.