Midnight Rising

"What would you have me do? Imprison her? Words and ideals are harmless, sister. No ill can come of what she and a small minority of Equestria's citizens think."

Her Reign was a beautiful, quaint city. It made a fine capital for Equus Prime. Its design was classical, the buildings made of stone, the streets of cobblestone. The town square was more of a circle, the center dominated by a massive oak tree, shading most of the square. All the major shops ringed the square, making the town square the hub of commerce for not only Her Reign, but also all of Equus Prime. Yes, it really was such a beautiful city.

As it stood, it was a smoking, flaming ruin. Many buildings lied in rubble, the stone turned to dust. Several were freshly burning from my fight with the Star mare. Most streets were littered with rubble, and all were littered with some manner of debris. I checked every house I saw, but I hadn't found any survivors yet. Plenty of bodies, but no survivors.

A mare, my little pony said. A living, breathing pony leads the Starborn. But, why? It was confusing enough when I thought the Starborn had attacked us of their own accord, now it was even more perplexing that a pony is involved.

Town square was completely devoid of life, and so I moved on to the main street. A great amount of destruction had occurred here. Most of the buildings were rubble, fires raged, and smoke bled into the sky. There were a lot more bodies here, too. It seemed nopony had been spared the wrath of the Star mare and her forces; stallions, mares, and foals alike lied among the dead. It kindled a great rage in my heart to see this, to see and realize that WE had been attacked. US! The most powerful species on Equus, and the RIGHTFUL rulers of it and its species. What gave anyone, even a pony, the right to attack US?! Our will is LAW, and ALL others should bend to it.

I bucked the door to a relatively intact building open, surprised to hear a scream of terror in response. I spun, my weapons ready, seeing several ponies taking cover behind a lounge. At the sight of me they cowered further, and I stepped in, reaching up to retract the visor of my helmet. The ponies relaxed at the revelation I was a living pony. "Is everypony OK?" I asked, shutting the door behind me. A mare cautiously stood up, never once taking her eyes off me.

"Yes. We're OK. M-My name is Gentle Wind" the mare stated. She stepped out from behind the couch, the other ponies--another mare and two foals--stayed behind. At the sight of my Hunter badge Gentle Wind relaxed, realizing just who I represented: the Empress. "Thank the Empress you're here. Did the...Starborn...leave?" Gentle Wind asked.

"Yes, miss. They left. They weren't alone, either. A pony was with them; a mare. She seemed to be their leader" I explained to her. Her brow furrowed.

"But, what kind of pony would attack their own kind? WITH the help of the Starborn?!"

"The kind who seems to have a grudge against the Empress" I answered, turning away. "A deep, burning hatred of Her, and Her reign over us."

"Ingrate" Ms. Wind spat. Her anger faded as quickly as it passed, confusion returning. "Mr., uh, Royal Hunter; just how did you know we needed help? I thought the Starborn jam communications."

"When we couldn't reestablish communications with you the Empress sent me out to investigate. As I approached my ship, I caught word of some sailor bucks from the Haylysses talking about Equus Prime. One of them mentioned that his sister had sent him a message just before the blackout, warning of Starborn" I told Gentle Wind, her eyes widening as I finished speaking.

"Storm Wind got my message? I didn't think he had! I'm his sister; oh, thank the Empress my message got to him, and that you caught him when you did. If you hadn't..." Gentle Wind trailed off.

"It's OK, miss. I'm glad he got it, too. Without the information from that message, I don't think I would've been prepared to face the Starborn. You should be proud of yourself" I told her. She turned her gaze away, wincing.

"Hard to be proud when your home was turned into rubble."

I nodded grimly, stepping closer. "I assure you, miss, that with the Empress's blessing, I will personally track down and kill the mare responsible for this, and destroy the Starborn under her command."

"Thank you, sir. Did you get the name of this nasty subpony?"

It took a moment for me to realize I hadn't demanded her name, or why she'd attacked Equus Prime, or how she'd gotten the Starborn to accept her commands. All I got was what she looked like, and a clue that she did not view the Empress's reign as just("I'd sooner die than face your injustice!"). No real clues to go on, but I had taken video when I first saw her, and I had recorded all the way until the Starborn left.

"No, miss, but I do think I have a way to find out."

With the Starborn gone, the communications blackout on Equus Prime ended, and the distress calls began going out. I waited until the first of the aid ships arrived before boarding my own, taking off for the void to return to Equus and deliver my report to Empress Twilight. During the trip back I took off my armor, switching back to my Hunter casual dress, and allowed myself to relax. I leaned back in the pilot's chair, silently watching the Void as I raced across it.

She spoke to the Starborn I suddenly thought, remembering what had happened right before I engaged the Alicorn Star. She spoke to a squad of Starborn. The Starborn had been programmed to speak Equestrian, obviously, but they also had a language they used to communicate with each other, similar to how a computer displays Equestrian, but speaks with other computers in its own type of 'language'. This was momentous because nopony had ever been able to translate, let alone learn to speak the Starborn's unique language.

Except for the Alicorn Star.

This keeps getting stranger and stranger my little pony mused. I leaned forward, drawing up my computer's input board, and began to draft my report to the Empress while the events were still fresh in my memory. Time would pass quickly as I wrote, and by the time I got back to Equus the final version would be ready. I made sure to upload the video footage I had recorded, intending to attach it along with the report on a spark tape, which would allow the Empress to view both on her computer.

My thoughts died off as I slipped into 'report mode', my focus entirely on typing up my report, making sure it was as accurate and well-worded as I could.

After all, I knew how much the Empress liked to read.

"Starborn..." Empress Twilight said after reading my report. I stood once more in Her private tower, this time in Her kitchen. It always struck me as surreal that for how majestic She was, how beautiful, I got to see Her as a common pony. She rarely wore Her regalia when in Her tower, and often times when She summoned me Her mane was unkempt, or Her eyes haggard. She felt completely relaxed around me.

She had, at least, showered recently. My nose drank in Her scent; lavender and coconut.

"Yes, Empress" I reflexively responded, earning an eyeroll. I immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, Emp-- Twilight. I know you prefer us to speak on a personal level."

"Yes, Meteor Shower. I hear enough of 'Empress' this, 'Our Will' that, from the nobility and common folk, respectively. I'm just Twilight to you. Now, back to the attack on Equus Prime. I find it disturbing to know that the Starborn were involved in this attack, but more so that apparently a pony was behind it all. I noticed that you mentioned Unicorn and Pegasus Stars as well, but tell me about this pony" Empress Twilight said.

"Well, she was a mare. I took video of her, so you can have her pictured posted throughout the colonies. I should warn you, though; she spoke to the Starborn" I stated, interrupted by Twilight, who appeared a bit apprehensive at my warning.

"She spoke to them? What did she say?"

"I don't know; she spoke in the Star's language."

"WHAT?! She SPOKE to the Starborn IN the Starborn's language!?"

The Empress turned Her back to me, facing the kitchen table, Her eyes unfocused as She slipped into thought. I pressed further. "I took video of her, Twilight" I reminded the Empress. "Even got a shot of her face, after I bucked her helmet off." Empress Twilight turned back to face me.

"Video, hmm? Come with me" Twilight stated, turning for the staircase that went up. My heart quickened as I realized I was about to see the Empress's bedroom. Her private bedroom! I was about to be the first pony outside of the Empress to see Her bedroom since the castle was built nearly a thousand years ago. It was a short trek up, and my eyes were overwhelmed by a single word as I took in the sight of Her most private chamber.

Books.

Holy books, Empress. Thousands of books spread across dozens of shelves that stretched from the floor to the high dome ceiling. The Empress's room was circular(as was the rest of the tower), and outside of the bookshelves there was only a desk and Her bed, which dominated the far wall. On the desk was Her computer, which She had read my report from. She sat before it, playing the video file(that She had apparently missed). I turned away, not interested in viewing my own fight with the Alicorn Star(and seeing how many times I came close to dying at her hooves). The video wasn't very long, and when it ended I turned back to see Twilight lost in thought once more.

"E-- Twilight?" I asked, stepping closer. She blinked, but otherwise did not acknowledge me. It was another minute before She pushed away from the desk, getting to Her hooves.

"Was that all this mare spoke to you?" She asked, referring to the Alicorn Star's cries of defiance against the Empress's rule. I nodded, and Twilight looked back at Her computer. I could tell She knew something, but it wasn't my place to push Her. Instead, I waited for Her to collect Herself, and speak once more.

"Meteor Shower, I am about to tell you something that is to NEVER leave this room. The mare leading the Starborn, the mare you saw on Equus Prime, is an echo of Equestria's time under the Princesses' rule. A mare who was but a foal when I Ascended. A mare who... Who I knew, back then. I want you to track this mare down and kill her without hesitation, and with extreme prejudice. Her existence threatens the very fabric of Equestria, and the Golden Age. She cannot be permitted to exist, and this attack on Equus Prime proves it" Empress Twilight explained.

"But, Twilight," I began, testing the waters. This mare had a personal connection to Empress Twilight, and I knew such a thing could weigh heavy on Her. "Who is she?" I asked, watching as the Empress turned her back to me once more, muttering the name of the Alicorn Star so low I nearly didn't hear it.

"Princess Flurry Heart."