Equestria: The Crystal War

Since Braveheart’s first battle as a CER soldier, after proper military training under Rainbow Dash's command, he accompanied her in many battles against Sombra's forces. He moved up the military ranks as time went on, reaching the rank of Captain at 24 years old. He became command of the Gold Battalion, soon leading them to many victories against Sombra's forces. Braveheart gained much respect from his soldiers and superiors alike, even catching the eye of another captain. Sunset Shimmer. This on its own shocked Braveheart, but he was even more surprised to find out she was Captain of the Sunrise Battalion. And the Sunrise Battalion did not fuck around. They were Princess Celestia's personal choice for her security force, granting them high honor and respect from the soldiers of the CER.

Rainbow Dash and Braveheart were in the war tent in the badlands with Sunset Shimmer and other military officers. They were debating an attack plan against the Crystal Empire.

“I don't know,” Sunset Shimmer said. “A head on attack sounds too risky. Our forces would be slaughtered much too quickly.”

“She's right,” Braveheart agreed. “But even if we would try to flank Sombra's forces, it would take too much time, and he'd catch on to it.” Rainbow Dash let out a sigh.

“We seem to be at a dead end,” she said with a frown. With a sudden flap of wings and a skid of paws on the dirt, Lieutenant Rusty Ace burst into the room.

“General, we have a big problem,” Rusty said, panicked.

“Lieutenant, what's wrong?” Braveheart asked.

“Sombra has launched a massive siege on Vanhoover,” Rusty said.

“What!?” Dash, Sunset, and Braveheart cried in unison. Rainbow Dash stabbed her knife into the map, squarely in the middle of Vanhoover.

“Forget the attack plan,” she said. “We defend Vanhoover. Those refugees take top priority.” Sunset Shimmer turned on her hoof-com, and it erupted with screams, gunfire, and military orders.

“We're being overwhelmed!” a cry rang out. “Captain, we need reinforcements now!”

“Corporal, what's going on?” Sunset asked.

“Sombra's forces are pushing into the city!” the soldier on the other end cried out. “We're sustaining heavy casualties! We need...” his voice was cut off by a squelch, and a moan of agony before the com erupted with static. The officers and leaders ran from the tent.

“Let's go!” Sunset shouted. “Move it, Braveheart, double time!” The CER forces ran from the badlands, ready to defend the refugees in Vanhoover.

“Tears of the Refugees”
Vanhoover, Equestria.
Braveheart
CER Special Activities Division
January 17th, 2039

As the CER trucks rolled fast toward Vanhoover, smoke and fire could be seen from the city.

“Dear Celestia,” Sunset breathed.

“How could Sombra have known about the refugees being moved into Vanhoover?” Braveheart asked. “That order was given by the General herself. There's no way Sombra could have heard.”

“You forget what Shining Armor said, Braveheart,” Dash coldly muttered. “Before I killed him, he said 'He even has ponies in the CER.' I didn't want to believe it at first, but as the war dragged on, I found myself believing that statement more and more every day. Remember what happened at the Battle of Ponyville, when we tried to take back the town?” Braveheart shuddered.

“Yeah,” he said. “I do. Our forces were decimated in a matter of hours. We had the element of surprise too, and Sombra still tore us apart. It's like he was waiting for us.”

“There’s no doubt,” Rusty agreed. A nearby truck suddenly exploded, sending the truck Braveheart, Dash, Sunset, and Rusty were in swerving. As the driver tried to regain balance, the truck tipped, sending it onto its side. The soldiers crawled out of the truck, weapons at the ready.

“Sombra is aware of our arrival,” Dash said. She turned to the CER soldiers massing behind her. “Remember,” she cried. “The refugees are of the highest priority. Make sure they make it out at all costs. Protect them with your lives.” The soldiers followed Sunset into the city, ready to push back Sombra’s forces. Braveheart started to follow, but Dash stopped him.

“Come with me,” she said, almost demonically. “We’re going to end this.” She flew off, and Braveheart followed her.

~~~

The two soldiers landed in front of a Sombra occupied building a ways north of Vanhoover. Trucks, tanks, and soldiers surrounded the building. The bitter cold nipped at their muzzles and hooves. Snow fell from the sky, the wind blowing it into the CER soldiers’ faces.

“Do as I do,” Dash whispered. Braveheart nodded, and the two quietly hid behind a parked truck.

“What now?” Braveheart quietly asked.

“Now we wait,” Dash replied. “These trucks will drive into the building soon, and we’ll be hitching a ride.” Dash looked around the truck at the two soldiers talking next to it. Braveheart caught her drift and smirked.

“Go around the other side, and don’t get caught,” Dash ordered. Braveheart nodded and snuck around to the other side of the truck. He pulled out a knife and got ready. Dash and Braveheart assured eye contact, then Dash started the countdown.

“Three, two, one, now!” Dash mouthed. She and Braveheart ran over to the Sombra soldiers and slit their throats. The soldiers fell dead, and the two CER soldiers dragged them into the back of the truck. Dash closed the flap on the truck.

“All right, Braveheart,” Dash said. “Hurry and get on that armor.” Braveheart removed the armor from one of the soldiers. The soldier was a light blue coated crystal pony mare with a messy purple mane. Her eyes were a sickly white. Braveheart used his hoof to close the crystal pony’s eyes, mentally apologizing for her harsh treatment under Sombra. He then picked up the armor chest plate. Before he could put it on, Dash put a hoof to his chest. Braveheart turned his head to see Dash giving him a begging look.

“Braveheart, what you’re about to put on, you need to know something,” Dash said, much anxiousness in her voice.

“What is it?” Braveheart asked. Dash looked at the armor, a fearful anger in her eyes.

“This armor is nothing like you’ve ever seen,” she murmured. “The soldiers should be teaching about this stuff, but they don’t. The armor Sombra’s soldiers wear, it’s practically an embodiment of Sombra, worn by his soldiers. He brainwashes them constantly, connects them to each other. They’re almost machines wearing this. When you put this on, you must fight Sombra’s pull. Don’t let him take control of your head.” Braveheart nodded, and slid on the armor. It seemed to latch onto his body. Braveheart quietly grunted in pain as the armor seemingly fused to his body. Once Dash and Braveheart got the armor on, they slipped back outside and stood in place of the guards they killed.

“Get in the truck Braveheart,” Dash ordered. “You’ll be driving into the outpost.” Braveheart nodded and climbed into the driver’s seat of the truck. Rainbow Dash climbed into the passenger’s seat. Braveheart’s head was pounding with voices. Voices from every soldier under Sombra’s control, from Sombra himself, and even Dash’s thoughts. Hers were most prominent. Braveheart, despite his better judgement, listened in to Dash’s thoughts. She was panicking in her head. Badly. Her own conscience was being pounded with voices, and she couldn’t take it. Physically, she didn’t show it, but her conscience was struggling to remain in control.

“Let’s go, Braveheart,” Dash said. Braveheart nodded and drove to the outpost. More trucks soon followed. As the trucks pulled up to the outpost, a hangar opened up. Inside were trucks, helicopters, jets, and ammunitions of every kind. Braveheart’s eyes went wide under the helm.

“What is Sombra preparing for?” he asked.

“He must be ready for a complete invasion,” Dash replied. “Probably Canterlot.”

“All the more reason to blow this base clean to hell,” Braveheart said. The trucks parked into the hangar, and the Sombra soldiers got out, walking into the building. Dash and Braveheart exited their hijacked vehicle and walked to the far end of the hangar, acting as casual as possible. Once they were in the clear, they opened up a nearby ventilation duct and crawled inside. They closed the duct behind them, and Braveheart took off his helmet. The voices were silent, and Braveheart breathed a sigh of relief. He helped Dash take off hers, and they crawled through the vents. Dash pulled out satchel charges and gave half to Braveheart.

“Those go along the gas line,” she instructed. “And anything else explosive. This place needs to come down. It will be crippling to Sombra, and very beneficial to the CER.”

“Yes ma’am,” Braveheart nodded. The two soldiers stayed together, navigating through the vents. They planted charges in specific places to maximize the destruction of the outpost. When Braveheart and Dash split up down a pair of smaller ducts, Braveheart found a nuclear power line. He very carefully planted a charge and kept going.

“I think I’ll be hitting a nerve with this one,” he commented to himself. He met back up with Dash above the hangar, going back to their vent. They were below a control room.

“Status report,” Dash said.

“Down to my last charge,” Braveheart said.

“Same,” Dash responded. They both looked to the control room. They had the same idea. They quietly crawled out of the vent, and snuck behind the snoring Sombra soldier at the control panel. Braveheart acted fast and stabbed the sleeping soldier in the throat. Blood sprayed onto the control panel as the soldier fell out of his chair. After getting the Sombra armor off themselves, Braveheart tossed his charge on the roof, and Dash placed hers on the control panel.

“I’m overloading the entire building’s systems,” Dash said, randomly pressing buttons on the panel. “Even if we don’t detonate the charges ourselves, they’ll blow themselves up with the building overload.” Braveheart scanned the panel, finding a big red button with yellow and black tape around it.

“Fuck it,” Braveheart said. He opened up the glass cover and slammed his hoof on the button. An alarm sounded through the building, and a computerized voice spoke.

“Self-destruct sequence started,” the voice said. “T-minus one minute to self-destruct.”

“Hope the soldiers here didn’t hear that,” Braveheart muttered.

“They didn’t,” Dash assured. “I shut down the speakers to the entire building.”

“Then let’s get out of here,” Braveheart said. He looked away and shot the charge he placed on the ceiling. It exploded, blowing a hole in the roof. The two soldiers flew from the control room back to Vanhoover. Dash detonated the charges, and the resulting blast could be seen from space, and heard all across Equestria. The mushroom cloud spread for four miles in diameter, destroying unfortunately placed Sombra outposts within the blast zone. The two soldiers flew back to Vanhoover to help the refugees escape.

~~~

Rainbow Dash landed in an alleyway in Vanhoover, and Braveheart landed next to her.

“General, what are we doing here?” he asked. “Yes, we destroyed Sombra’s outpost, but the battle is on the other side of town.” Dash cocked back her pistol, loading a bullet into the chamber. She turned around to face Braveheart. To his horror, Dash's eyes were glowing green, and purple smoke was emitting from her eyes. She smiled wickedly and pointed her gun at Braveheart.

“Kill Valiant's son,” Dash said, a demonic echo in her voice. Braveheart tackled Rainbow, knocking the gun out of her hoof. Dash grabbed Braveheart by the neck, trying to choke him to death. Braveheart fought back swiftly, getting his general off of him. He grabbed her in his magic and tossed her into the air. As Dash opened her wings and blasted back down, Braveheart grabbed her in his magic again and slammed her into the side of a building. He blasted her with a magic spell, and the green tint quickly faded from her eyes. From Dash's head sprung a puff of black smoke. It convulsed, seemingly in agony before darting away towards the battle. Braveheart took a few magical shots at it before it disappeared from sight. He looked back at Dash, who was breathing heavily on the ground of the alley.

“General?” Braveheart asked. “Are you OK?” Dash groaned, holding her head.

“I think so,” she said. “What happened?”

“I think Sombra's influence is growing in Equestria,” Braveheart said. “You were possessed.”

“Impossible,” Dash denied. “I've fought against Sombra's tyranny for years. How did he get me?”

“I don't know,” Braveheart said. “But I blame putting on the armor back at the outpost. Right now, we have to get back to the battle and help the refugees escape.” He reached out his hoof, and Dash took it. Bravheart helped her up, and they flew back to the battle.

As Braveheart, Dash, Sunset, and Rusty fired, Sombra's forces were being slowed, but not stopped.

“Keep firing!” Sunset shouted. “The refugees must be bought enough time to escape! Get them on the train out of here. I want escorts with the train on the double!” The soldiers followed her orders, directing refugees to the train. Once they were all accounted for, the train pulled out of the station, four helicopters escorting it to its new classified location. Sombra's soldiers were being cut down. Suddenly, when the battle was almost over, the CER soldiers stopped firing. They were backing away. Even Sunset and Rusty had stopped. There were two Sombra soldiers standing side by side, not attacking.

“What are you doing?” Dash cried. “Shoot them down!”

“General, do you know who those two soldiers are?” Rusty gasped, near tears. Dash looked, and instantly recognized the two Sombra soldiers. She dropped her gun in disbelief. She was looking at the rotting, walking corpses of Sergeant Valiant Effort and Pure Soul. Braveheart's parents.

“No,” Dash gasped. “Impossible. There's no way.”

“Now we know how Sombra knew our secrets,” Rusty said. “Every soldier he ever killed, he's forced them to fight for him as mindless soldiers, bent to his will.”

“They told him everything,” Sunset murmured. “Our tactics. Our maneuvers. Our soldier count. Everything! We've been fighting a losing battle since the start of the war!” Amidst the disbelief, the sobs, and the silence, Braveheart stepped between Rainbow Dash and Rusty Ace, stealing a pistol from Dash’s belt.

“Braveheart, don’t!” Dash cried. “They’re not your parents anymore.” Not breaking stride nor looking back, Braveheart cocked back the gun.

“I know,” he said. He stepped up to his parent’s walking corpses. His head was drowning in voices from the many dead soldiers through the battlefield, intensified by the undead voices of his parents. They were all chanting the same phrase, over and over again.

“One of us. One of us. One of us. One of us.” Braveheart ignored the calls of the dead. He looked into the eye slits of his undead parents’ masks. He felt the pull of the dead, calling to him to join his parents and fight for the shadow. Dash suddenly noticed the purple smoke coming from Braveheart’s eyes.

“Braveheart, no!” she cried. Rusty held her back as she tried to run to her protégé. Braveheart didn’t notice the green tint in his vision, nor the eye smoke. He stared into his parents’ undead glowing eyes. The voices flooding his head intensified; the chant grew louder, and the calls grew more powerful. He closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them back up and pointed his pistol at his father and Dash’s at his mother. He stared into their glowing eyes and said a prayer.

“Celestia, ask of me, and I shall give thee the justice of thine inheritance. For thy possession, the ends of Equestria. I shall break thy enemies with a rod of iron; thou shall dash them in pieces, like a potter’s vessel. Be wise therenow, ye soldiers. Be admonished ye judges of Equestria. Serve Celestia with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the sun lest she be angry, and you perish in the way, though her wrath be kindled but a little.” Braveheart closed his eyes, the voices in his head becoming angry at the mention of Celestia.

“There are fates worse than death,” he whispered. “You deserve none of them. Rest in peace, Mother and Father.” Braveheart pulled both triggers. The resulting blast could be heard all across Vanhoover in the dead silence. Sombra heard it. The undead heard it. The CER soldiers closest to Valiant Effort most defiantly heard it. Braveheart did not. The bullets pierced the shadow armor helms, finding their way to the brain stems of Braveheart’s parents. Blood and brain matter sprayed from the backs of their heads, severing Sombra’s connection to them. The helms shattered as the bodies fell to the ground, revealing the rotting faces of Pure Soul and Valiant Effort. As they hit the rubble scattered on the road, the voices in Braveheart’s head went quiet. He knelt down in front of his parent’s dead bodies. Their eyes were revealed to be a sickly white as the green glow faded from their eyes. Braveheart closed his parents’ eyes, allowing them peace. He stood up and walked back to the CER forces, his eyes shadowed. He walked past Dash, Rusty, and Sunset, climbing into the back of a military truck and sitting in the back.

“Let’s go,” Dash somberly said. “The refugees have made it out, and we need to mend our wounds before Sombra strikes again. Let’s go home.” She turned to Rusty.

“Take Sergent Effort’s body back to camp,” she quietly instructed. “He deserves a proper funeral.” Rusty nodded and retrieved Valiant and Pure’s bodies. The CER soldiers returned to their transports. The CER forces pulled out of Vanhoover, with Sombra having escaped capture once again.

~~~

Valiant Effort and Pure Soul’s bodies were laid in coffins back in the CER camp in the badlands. They had been clothed in a suit for formal burial. The rest of the CER soldiers wore their formal military suits and caps. Braveheart stood close to his parents’ coffins. His eyes were closed, holding back tears. Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer stood next to him. Rusty stood on the other side of the coffins. Everypony was silent. Dash waited for a time before nodding to Rusty. Rusty nodded back, and she raised her bugle slung over her shoulder. As she did, the CER soldiers saluted in honor of Valiant Effort and Pure Soul. Braveheart straightened up and did the same. Rusty played Taps on the bugle, and when it had finished, the soldiers ended their salute and bowed their heads.

“Sergeant Valiant Effort was an honorable stallion,” Dash said. “He fought and died for Equestria. Even away from the service, he was ready to defend his homeland. May he and Pure Soul rest in peace.” Braveheart walked up to his parent’s coffins, and put a hoof on each one, saying goodbye to them. The service ended soon after, and everypony returned to their post, sadness in their hearts.

~~~2 Years Later~~~

Braveheart and Sunset Shimmer had retired from the service a year earlier and were married soon after, moving to a corner of Ponyville where Sombra did not control. Sunset bore a child, a Pegasus filly named Blazing Fire. Blazing had a dark brown coat and a bright red and yellow mane and tail. The war had subsided for the time being, allowing the CER time to recover from the Vanhoover invasion. But Sombra had returned to the Crystal Empire, mending his own wounds and massing his army. The times seemed peaceful, but Rainbow Dash and Braveheart stayed wary of Sombra’s return, waiting for the day he struck again.