Prologue: Fall From Grace
There are a lot of stories to tell in the Equestrian Wasteland.
You've heard the story of the Lightbringer who brought an end to the Enclave's control of the sky. The Renegade who shaped the future of two factions. The Jewel of the Wasteland who brought an end to a terrible war in the southern wasteland. The Six Heroes who brought peace to New Pegasus and ended a greater threat that had created them. The Crystal Crusaders who ended the Changeling threat in the Crystal Wasteland, and more.
But there are still more stories to tell, Wastelanders who set out to achieve their goals and changed the world. This is one of those stories.
The thing about the Enclave is that they don't die easily, the Crystal Wasteland and New Pegasus became the target of two of the Wonderbolt Generals, a third makes a peaceful life for herself in the south.
There are still generals out there though, and not all are as willing to turn on their old ideals like Shimmering Skies was. The remaining generals seek to get what they want at all cost.
To rebuild the once great Grand Pegasus Enclave, no longer able to have the great cities in the clouds, but built from the cities of the earth.
But from that, there will always be Ponies who want to do the right thing. The challenge is to be able to do that, no matter what the cost.
This is the story of Shooting Star, one of those Ponies.
00000
I couldn't take it anymore, it was too much for me to bear it any longer. I looked at myself in the mirror as I splashed my face, it didn't help. Staring back at me was a light purple Pegasus with a long navy blue mane, she looked at me terrified, and angry.
"Pull yourself together, Shooting Star..." I muttered to myself. "Its okay, you're going to be okay..."
But I wasn't, I couldn't close my eyes without seeing the faces of those Ponies, they where just Ponies... not raiders, not Applejack's Rangers... just Ponies trying to survive in the wasteland and the ruined city of Whinneyappolis.
I wasn't the one who pulled the trigger, I was just, there... I stood by and let them get killed. General Cloud Chaser had ordered it of course, the town was just another one that had fallen under the gaze of the Enclave's great general.
But there was nothing I could do, was there? I was just a soldier, a Pegasus warrior like my ancestors, the battlefield had changed, but I was bound to my oath to the Enclave, so there was nothing I could do.
Wasn't there? I took one long look at the bug eyes of my helmet, and made a decision, one that would change my life forever.
I put the helmet on once more, and left the room.
00000
I made my way through the hallways of the Nimbus, a massive airship that had become the main base of operations for General Cloud Chaser's branch of the Enclave remnant. One of the last remaining remnants of the once great Pegasus Empire that had stretched across the sky until the day of Sunshine and Rainbows 9 years ago.
There had once been 7 Enclave Wonderbolt Generals like Cloud Chaser, one of them was now dead, and a second had been branded a Dashite by the council.
What I was going to do would brand me a Dashite too, but I didn't care, this would either free me, or kill me. I could have just fled, but I knew the Nimbus was just going to be used to hurt more ponies.
If I couldn't stop it, I was going to at least hurt them.
"Lieutenant," an officer said as I walked past him and into the armory.
"Sir," I said politely as I went into the armory.
I had to get what I needed quickly, I picked out several small malleable blocks and detonators. P-4 Explosives, small, but destructive, they where exactly what I needed as I headed back out and headed towards the forward hangar first.
I quietly went from Vertibuck to Vertibuck, placing P-4 on every third craft. I didn't want to hurt my former compatriots, thankfully there wasn't to be anypony going in them, at least not for now.
I finished the last one and started moving away when I heard a voice call out. "Stop that pony!"
Crap, they must've noticed one of the explosives, I tried to run but I was quickly caught by two guard Ponies.
I had been caught before I could even make it out of the hangar.
00000
I found myself tied to a table in the Nimbus' brig, there where two guards, I couldn't even see as a door opened.
"So, you thought you could sabotage the Enclave," the cold voice of General Cloud Chaser said as he examined me closely. He was taller than average, a navy blue Pegasus wearing a neatly pressed military uniform with the Wonderbolts symbol.
"We can't go killing Ponies like this," I said, struggling against my bonds. "The Ponies of Equestria won't stand by forever."
"The Wasteland belongs to the Enclave, Shooting Star," Cloud Chaser said coldly. "Equestria belongs to the Enclave, you should know that better than anypony. Renounce your actions, and I'll let you go."
"I'm not going to stand by and let innocent Ponies get murdered," I said, glaring at the General. "The Enclave needs to change, how many Generals need to die before you realize that?"
Cloud Chaser didn't answer, he instead nodded to one of the guards who picked up a brand and heated it. I tried not to look at it, I knew what was coming, everypony in the Enclave knew what that brand meant.
"Shooting Star, for crimes against the Grand Pegasus Enclave, your punishment is exile," Cloud Chaser said. "You will be branded a Dashite and stripped of your rank and family titles. The Enclave will remember you only as a traitor and a criminal. No traitor is exempt from this crime..."
I screamed as the brand was pressed against my flanks, forever erasing my cutie mark of a comet. I couldn't do anything but scream as the pain shot through my body until they finished.
"Not even my own daughter."
00000
I was thrown out of the Nimbus, the pain of the impact was even worse than that of the branding. I couldn't move, I couldn't even get up, my wing... oh Celestia, my wing had been hurt so badly that it wouldn't move.
I don't know how long I laid there, thinking I was going to die when I heard the sound of hooves.
"Oh Celestia... look at her," one of the voices said. "She's a Pegasus... what should we do with her?"
"Check that brand, she's a Dashite," another voice said. "Load her up, lets take her to Nomad City."
As I was hoisted upon a stretcher, I tried to speak, but my vision started to go black.
00000
Shooting Star, an Enclave Soldier turned Dashite, her past erased by the brand. But now she has a new life, in the mysterious Nomad City.
Things where changing in the Wasteland, the Enclave under Cloud Chaser where making a new move against the Wasteland. 6 years would pass, another General died, the always ambitious Bluejay who went after New Pegasus, with her death Cloud Chaser became the most dangerous.
But whenever tyranny rises in the Wasteland, there will always be Ponies who rise to fight against it. And that will inevitably result in war.
And war, war never changes.
