The Lunar Wars

by ShadowSteel18

Rating: mature
Tags: Tragedy, Dark, Sad, Romance, Adventure
Length: 5895

For over a millennium there has been peace and tranquility in the land of Equestria, but in a matter of seconds that all changes. It is up to Twilight and her unlikely allies to help prevent a war and save Equestria.

With a strange cast of characters Twilight must help prevent a war that has been brewing for over a millennium. It will take everything she and her friends have to defeat the most dangerous threat to Celestia that has ever walked on hooves. It will take more than the Elements of Harmony to defeat the evil that is within the Lunar Republic. There will be twists and turns that will shock you. Blood will be shed as many lives are lost at the hands of one of the greatest evils that walks the night.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-10-31 19:19:33 UTC

Prologue: Revival

For over a millennium the Celestial Empire has been at peace with the world around it.  Over time there has only been a handful of incidents that have broken this peace and tranquility.  However it what has not been seen of nearly a thousand years that will finally destroy that peace.

00000

Our story starts in the town of Ponyville where a young unicorn named Twilight Starla Sparkle is heading to bed after a long day.  She had been spending most of the day organizing her books in a manner that was nice and neat.  It was something she had been meaning to get done after going to her older brother's wedding.  As she started to fall asleep one thing popped into her head.  For the past couple of days she had been feeling uneasy about something.  She was unsure of what it was but she knew that something was going to happen, something bad.

Once she was asleep she saw something that horrified her.  What she was seeing was a vision of war.  She could see a massive shadow rising from the Everfree Forest and making its was toward Canterlot Castle.  In the distance she could see a symbol that she couldn't quite make out.

Then as quickly as it began it stopped and she woke.  She could still feel her heart racing as she started to get out of bed.  “What was all that?” she thought.  She looked toward the Everfree Forest, knowing that whatever she just saw was linked to the forest.  It was still fairly dark out as the sun was barely peeking over the horizon, but Twilight wanted to go into the Everfree and figure out what was going on.  “Whatever is out there it isn't good,” she said.

She then started to pack up various items to prepare herself to go into the Everfree.  She knew that it was going to be dangerous as she had no idea what was lurking deep in the forest.  She knew she had to be careful.  Whatever she saw in that vision was bound to be out there in the forest.  As she made her way toward the edge of the Everfree Forest she went through all the possibilities of what could happen to her and how she would be able to get out of them.  Before she knew it she was standing at the very edge of the Everfree Forest.  “Well... Here goes nothing,” she said.  She then took a deep breath and stepped into the dark forest.

00000

As Twilight went deeper and deeper into the forest she had this overwhelming feeling that she was being followed.  Every so often she would stop and look over her shoulder, trying to see who or what was following her.  Yet there was usually nothing there.  The closest thing that she saw that was following her was a few woodland creatures.  “Something is following me and it starting to creep me out,” she thought.

Then without realizing it she came to the very same set of ruins that she had found the Elements of Harmony.  She could see that there were signs that someone had been there recently and she decided to go into the ruins.  At that point the feeling that she was being follow only grew stronger.  “I know that somepony is out there.  I'll have to be on guard the whole time,” she thought.

As she reached the top of the stairs she was horrified to see the room that onced housed the Elements of Harmony filled with arms and armor.  There were hundreds upon hundreds of different weapons stacked up in crates.  Twilight started to walk toward a flag that was folded nicely and placed on top of one of the boxes in the room.  As she unfurled it she saw the symbol that she had seen in her vision.  It was symbol the struck fear into her heart and a select few outcasts, pride.  She dropped the flag to the floor and started to backaway.  As she did so she suddenly found herself frozen in place.

“What!?  What's going on?” she shouted.  Just then she could hear footsteps coming toward her.  “To be honest I am impressed that you found this place with relative ease,” a voice said.  Twilight tried to move her head to see who was talking but the spell kept her in place.  She tried to use her magic to counter the spell, but it didn't work.  “Who are you, and what are you doing here?” the voice asked calmly.  Twilight then watched as the pony behind the voiced showed himself.  Her eye went wide with fear as she saw him.  He was a unicorn with a jet black coat and a blood red mane with a lone silver stripe.  On his flank was a blood red star with four points and four smaller silver stars surrounding the main one.

Twilight didn't say a word to him as he started to walk around her.  She could tell that he was examining her.  “If you were seen at a distance one might mistake you for a dark-coat,” the unicorn said.  “Of course I would know better.”  Twilight simply glared at the unicorn.  Deep down she was terrified, but she wanted to show him that she wasn't afraid of him.  After walking around her few time the unicorn started to look directly into her eyes.  “Just who are you?” he asked.

Twilight looked him right in the eye.  She knew that she was under his control.  She had little choice but to explain who she was and what she was doing there.  “My name is Twilight Starla Sparkle.  I am a student of Celestia and I am not afraid of you,” she said.  The unicorn gave a frustrated sigh and turned away from her.  He then walked over to the flag that she had left on the ground and began to fold it back up.  At that very same moment he released Twilight from the spell.

Twilight hit the ground with a thud.  She then looked over to the unicorn.  “Why did you let me go?” she asked.  The unicorn didn't even bother to look at her as he answered the question.  “I can tell that you were scared.  I can also tell that you are telling the truth about you and Celestia,” he said.  Twilight was very skeptical of this unicorn.  There was no reason for him to believe her.  She had no proof that she was a student of Celestia nor did he have any reason to let her go.

“I suggest you leave,” the unicorn said.  Instead of heeding the his advice Twilight instead started to walk toward the unicorn.  She was curious on why the one “dark-coat” wasn't being violent toward her.  “Just who are you?  Why are you doing this?” she asked.  The unicorn glanced over to her as he put the flag back on the crate where it was.  He then shook his head and sighed.  “If you must know, my name is Shadow Star.  I am part of the Lunar Republic.  However I do not wish to be at war with the Celestial Empire,” he said.

Twilight was a bit confused by this.  Since the end of the Lunar Wars over a thousand years ago the Lunar Republic was thought to be completely destroyed.  Many ponies didn't even know that the Lunar Wars even happened as there were only a handful of books that even talked about the war.  However many ponies knew about the many “dark-coats” that walked the night.  They were usually feared as they were the only ponies who could use black magic.  Black magic was banned by Princess Celestia shortly after the end of the Lunar War to help prevent another war and over the years it has proven useful.

The fact that Twilight was standing next to a “dark-coat” who claimed to be a part of the Lunar Republic was a bit of a shock.  “You mean to tell me that you are a part of the Lunar Republic?” she asked.  Shadow looked over to Twilight and rolled his eyes.  “What was your first clue?” he asked sarcastically.  He then started to walk around the room, checking to see if Twilight had touched anything else.  “Then why do you not want to go to war with Celestia?” Twilight asked.  Shadow looked back at her and gave her a simple response.  “Because I know what will happen to Lunar Republic if we go to war,” he said.

With that Twilight walked up to Shadow and grabbed him by the nape of the neck.  Before Shadow could react to what was happening Twilight teleported the two of them back to her library.

00000

When the two of them arrived at the library Shadow nearly lost his balance and started to stumble.  He then looked around the room.  He was shocked to see that he was no longer at the ruins.  “What the hell do you think you are doing?!” he exclaimed.  Twilight physically recoiled when Shadow shouted at her.  For one he was considered dangerous, however it the fact that he had used the word “hell” that surprised her.  Shadow knew that he had surprised her, and started to apologize.  “I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to yell at you.  I was just surprised that you did that,” he said.

Twilight cocked her head in confusion and gave him a look of skepticism.  “You're sorry?  That's a first,” she said.  Shadow took a deep breath and nodded.  He knew that his kind was looked upon with fear and anger, so the fact that Twilight was skeptical of his apology wasn't too far fetched.  “I know that you have no reason to believe me, but you must understand that the Lunar Republic is planning to go to war with the Celestial Empire,” he said.

Twilight turned away and started to call Spike down.  Shadow was a bit worried about what she was going to do, and as he watch the little dragon walk down the stairs the two of them made eye contact.  Spike looked back over to Twilight and asked her why a “dark-coat” was in the library.  Twilight told Spike that she would explain to him later and told him to write a letter to Celestia.  “I don't doubt that you are telling the truth.  I am just confused on why you are telling me this,” she said as she looked at Shadow.  She then began to tell Spike to write down what she had been told what was about to happen.

00000

Meanwhile in Canterlot Celestia and Shining Armor were looking out toward the Everfree Forest.  Just like Twilight, Celestia had also seen a vision of war.  “Are you sure that the Lunar Republic is really out there?” Shining Armor asked.  Celestia started to walk away from the window and toward a large table.  On it was a map of Equestia.  As she looked at the map she focused on the town of Ponyville.  She knew that it would one of the first towns to be hit if war with the Lunar Republic were to breakout.

At this point Celestia's younger sister, Princess Luna, came into the room.  “Princess Luna!” Shining Armor exclaimed as he bowed at her.  Luna smiled then turned her attention to her sister.  “I see you have the same concerns as I,” she said.  Celestia nodded as she continued to study the map.  Meanwhile Luna walked toward the balcony and looked out toward the Everfree.  “It has been some time since that fateful battle, and I fear that my recent return has only strengthen them,” she said.  Shining Armor walked over to Luna.  “You don't mean that the Lunar Republic is still out there, right?” he asked.  Celestia turned towards them and answered for her sister.  “That is exactly what she means, and I fear that war will soon break between the Lunar Republic and the Celestia Empire,” she said.

It was at this very moment that Twilight's letter reached them.  All three of them were a bit surprised by the early morning letter.  As Celestia opened it and began to read it she looked back over to her sister.  “What is it?” Shining Armor asked.  Celestia then handed over the letter to Shining Armor.  As he read it Luna walked over to Celestia and asked if it was what they thought it was.  Celestia just nodded and looked back toward the Everfree Forest.

00000

Back in Ponyville Twilight now had to deal with the fact that a “dark-coat” was in the library.  By now Shadow had made it abundantly clear that he had no ill-intent toward Celestia or the Celestial Empire.  In fact she was a little curious on why Shadow seem to be okay with being out in the open.  She soon started to ask him various questions, much to his annoyance.

“So how long has the Lunar Republic been around?” she asked.  Shadow sighed and looked through the various books in Twilight's library.  “We've been around for quite some time,” he said.  The vague answer didn't sit well with Twilight.  She knew that her question were starting to annoy him, but she wanted to know about the enemy that she would soon face.  Shadow could see what Twilight was trying to do, but he didn't want her to be dragged into something that he felt was his responsibility.

He could tell that she wasn't going to let up.  He gave a frustrated sigh and turned toward Twilight.  “If you must know, the Lunar Republic has been around since before the Lunar War,” he said.  Twilight was a little confused by this.  Many ponies had thought that the Lunar Republic had been destroyed, so to hear that it had been around for over a millennium was unbelievable.  “Wait!  You mean to tell me that you've been around for over a millennium?” she asked.

Shadow once again started to look through the various books that Twilight had in her library.  “Which one are you talking about, me or the Lunar Republic?” he asked sarcastically.  It was that that point that Spike came running down the stairs.  He was calling out Twilight's name as he waved a scroll in his hands.  Both Twilight and Shadow knew that it was from Princess Celestia.

Upon reach the base of the stair Spike tripped and the scroll flew into the air.  Shadow grabbed it before it hit the ground and handed it over to Twilight.  As Twilight began to read the letter her face started to turn pale.  “I'm guessing that she is coming here,” Shadow said.  Twilight simply nodded and handed the letter over to Shadow.

As he began to read it he began to smile.  In fact he started to chuckle.  Twilight was shocked by this.  She had no idea why he was laughing or why he seemed to be in a good mood.  “My father would have had a field day with this information,” he chucked to himself.  Twilight started to step back.  “Your father?” she asked.  Shadow took a deep breath and put the letter over on a table near Twilight.  “My father is the leader of the Lunar Republic.  However I am not loyal to his cause,” he said.

Twilight didn't believe him as he said this.  After all he wasn't very convincing as he laughed while reading the letter.  However she had no time to get anymore information as out of the corner of her eye she could see the Royal Carriage coming straight for the library.  By the time she could react Celestia and Shining Armor were already walking in.

Upon seeing Shadow, Celestia looked over to Twilight.  Almost immediately Shining Armor took a defensive stance.  “What the hey is a dark-coat doing here?!” he exclaimed.  Shadow gave a frustrated sigh as proceeded to offer himself to be captured.  It was at this very moment that Luna walked in.  She took one look at Shadow and smiled.  “I see you have done well for yourself Shadow,” she said.

Both Twilight and Shining Armor were surprised that Luna knew Shadow.  Celestia smiled and turned toward her sister.  “I am assuming that you've know him for some time,” she said.  At this point Shadow stepped in and started to explain.  “My name is Shadow Star.  I am a member of the Lunar Republic and have been for over one thousand years.”  Twilight looked back at Shadow.  She was shocked to hear that Shadow had been a part of the Lunar Republic for over a thousand years.  In fact both she and Shining Armor figured that it was impossible for anyone other than an alicorn to live for so long.

“You are joking, right?  That's impossible,” Twilight said.  Shadow looked over to Twilight and gave a sarcastic smile.  Luna then stepped in and started to explain.  “Shadow is indeed nearly one thousand years old.  After all he is my son,” she said.  Shining Armor and Twilight looked at each other in disbelief.  In their minds there was no way the Luna and Shadow were related.  “Okay now you are just pulling our legs,” Shining Armor said.

Luna shook her head.  “No I am not.  Shadow was born just before I was banished.  Toward the end of the Lunar Wars,” she said.  Twilight looked over to Shadow.  She couldn't believe what she was hearing.  Shadow had been around for as long as Celestia had, and yet he wasn't an alicorn.  However Shining Armor had one thing on his mind.  “What should I do your highness,” he asked.

Celestia looked over to Shadow then over to Twilight.  “Is he the one that told you about the war?” she asked.  Twilight bit her lower lip as she answered.  “Y-Yeah,” she said nervously.  Celestia then turned to her sister for advice.  Luna walked over to Shadow and stood in front of him.  “Considering that his father is the leader of the Lunar Republic I would strongly suggest that we not capture him.  It may provoke a war that we are not capable of winning just yet,” she said.

Celestia smiled and turned toward Shining Armor.  She then told him that she would not take Shadow captive, nor was she planning to in the first place.  Both Twilight and Shining Armor were shocked by this.  However Shadow knew this from the beginning.  He figured that Luna had told Celestia about her past and knew that Celestia would side with her sister.  He knew that there was no reason to worry, but he also knew that this was most likely not going to happen again.

Then Celestia said something that shocked everyone in the room.  “Twilight, I want you to take care of Shadow.  If he has no ill-will toward me or the Celestial Empire then there should be no trouble if he stays out of the Everfree,” she said.  Twilight and Shadow looked at each other.  They were not sure what to make of this.  Shining Armor was just a confuse.  He knew that even if Shadow had no ill-will toward the Celestial Empire there would still be the problem of the everyone else having ill-will toward him.

Luna was just as surprised as everyone else.  She figured that Celestia would see Shadow as a threat to the peace and tranquility of Equestria.  As a result she figured that she would interrogate him to find out just how powerful the Lunar Republic has become.  The fact that she had no intention of taking him back to Canterlot as a prisoner was a bit of a shock.

Finally after for what seemed like an hour Shining Armor started to speak up.  “Your highness, I don't mean to be rude, but don't you thing that this is a bad idea,” he said.  Shadow nodded in agreement.  He also figured that staying out of the Everfree was a bad idea.  However he knew from experience why it was a bad idea.  However Twilight was kinda happy about this.  She had no idea why she was happy, but she knew that she wanted to learn more about him.

Celestia could see the excitement in Twilight's eyes as she learned that Shadow would stay with her.  “Twilight,” she said.  “Shadow's father is considered to be very dangerous.  It would be wise to be extremely careful when venturing back out into the Everfree.”  Twilight nodded and told Celestia that she wasn't planning on going back into the forest just yet.

With that Celestia and Luna went back to the carriage to head back to Canterlot.  However Shining Armor walked over to Twilight and handed her a small dagger.  “Be careful Twilly,” he said.  He then left the library leaveing Twilight and Shadow alone.  Shadow turned to look at Twilight and asked, “Twilly?”  Twilight instinctively blushed as soon as Shadow asked the question.  “He has called me that since I was a little foal,” she said.  Shadow smiled and started to chuckle.  “I guess that means that the two of you are foalhood friends,” he said.  Twilight nervously shook her head.  “No, he's my older brother,” she said.

Upon hearing this Shadow actually recoiled and started to step back.  The news that Shining Armor and Twilight were brother and sister was a bit of a shock.  In fact he was a bit concerned for his own safety.  He knew that if anything happened to Twilight he would be hunted down by Shining Armor and killed on the spot.

“So you mean to tell me that the captain of the Royal Guard is your older brother?” he asked.  Twilight could see that he was slightly horrified by this.  She knew that “dark-coats” were usually hunted down by various groups if the were seen out in the open.  Some of the biggest offenders were not normal ponies but members of the Royal Guard.  Quite often they would claim that it was to “protect the kingdom and its citizens”.  However Twilight knew that most of those statements were a lie and felt that many ponies were only hunting them down for personal reasons.

“Yeah, my brother is the captain of the Royal Guard,” she said.  Shadow could see that Twilight felt like it was her fault that her brother was the captain.  He could help but give a comforting smile toward Twilight.  He knew that she didn't mean to make him feel unsafe.  “Well as long as nothing happens to you then I'll be fine,” he said.  A faint smile came across Twilight's face as soon as she saw Shadow's smile.  At that very moment the two of them knew that everything was going to be okay, just so long as they were together.

00000

By noon Twilight and Shadow had gotten to know each other pretty well.  Shadow had learned that not only was Twilight a student of Celestia, but she was one of the Elements of Harmony.  Twilight had learned that the reason that Shadow had lived for so long was because of a curse that had been placed on him and his father before Nightmare Moon was banished.  Shadow explained that there was a way to break the curse but it had been lost to time.

As they continued to get to know one another, they heard a voice outside the library.  “Hey Shadow!  Are you in there?” the voice asked.  Twilight froze almost immediately.  However Shadow rolled his eyes and groaned.  Twilight could see from Shadow's reaction that the voice was of another pony from the Lunar Republic that had no intention of going to war with Celestia.  “He is going to get himself killed one of these days,” Shadow said.

“Hey if you are in there Shadow I need a place to hide.  I am being chased by a mare out here,” the voice called out.  Shadow looked over to Twilight.  She could see the look of disdain in his eyes.  She couldn't help but smile and laugh a little bit as she told him to the let the other pony in.  When Shadow opened the door Twilight could see that it wasn't just one pony but in fact it was a stallion and a young filly.  Shadow just shook his head and told them to get inside.

As they did so Twilight could see that the filly didn't have her cutie mark while the stallion had appeared to be a zapapple on his flank.  Both the stallion and the filly had jet black coats, however the young filly had a bright red mane with a yellowish tint to it.  The stallion had a slightly darker green mane with a yellow tips at the end.  The stallion's eyes were a ruby red color while the filly's eyes were a emerald green color.

“You know James, you are going to get killed one of these days,” Shadow said.  The stallion smiled and gave a hearty laugh.  He then turned his attention to Twilight.  “I see you've gotten friendly with a day walker,” he laughed.  He then looked over to the young filly.  He started to try and get her to speak up, but it was obvious that she was very shy.

Suddenly there was another voice that was a little more familiar to Twilight.  “Where did that thieving varmint go,” the voice said.  Immediately the young stallion sighed and looked over to Shadow.  However Twilight was a bit shock to hear that particular voice.  “Are you two running from Applejack?” she asked.  Both the stallion and Shadow looked over at Twilight.  They were surprised that she knew the pony that was chasing the stallion.

Just then there was a knock on the door of the library.  All of them knew who it was and each one of them had something different going through there minds.  “Twi' I need yer help with finding a no-good thievin' dark-coat,” Applejack said.  She was still behind the door and was waiting for Twilight to open it.  Twilight and Shadow looked at each other.  Both of them didn't even have to say anything.  They knew what the other was thinking.

The stallion knew what the two were thinking and he knew that it wasn't going to be pretty, at least not for him.  He turned to Shadow and asked, “You're not seriously gonna let her let that mare in here are you?”  Shadow nodded.  He then looked over to Twilight who was on her way to open the door.  “You have to face the consequences of your actions.  Otherwise you will only make things worse,” she said.  Shadow agreed with Twilight.  “James, if you keep this up you'll get in more trouble with the Lunar Republic.  You of all ponies should know just how ruthless my father can be when you start to cause trouble,” he said.  The stallion didn't say a word and simply bit his lower lip.

Twilight smiled and finally opened the door.  “Thank Twi'.  This no-good thievin' dark-coat stole some apples from my apple cellar.  Unfortunately I lost him as he entered Ponyville,” Applejack said.  Twilight took a deep breath and gestured over to the stallion who was standing toward the back of the room.  When Applejack saw the three of them she immediately looked at Twilight with a mix of fear and anger in her eyes.  “What in tar- What are they doing in here?” she asked.

Twilight started to try and calm Applejack down.  She explain that Shadow had no ill-will toward the Celestial Empire.  She explained that Celestia already knew that Shadow was with her and told her that Celestia was completely fine with Shadow being outside the Everfree.  This was enough for Applejack to believe her.  After all she knew that Twilight wouldn't have done something so dangerous as to bring a “dark-coat” back to Ponyville without a good reason.

However that wasn't the biggest thing on her mind now.  She was now more concerned about the other two “dark-coats” that were in the room with them.  “Well then what about those two?” she asked.  Twilight looked over toward Shadow who in turn looked over to the stallion.  Twilight had heard Shadow call the stallion by the name James.  It was that and the fact that both he and Shadow seemed to talk pretty casually toward each other that suggested to her that two of them knew each other quite well.

Shadow soon started to glare at the stallion in the most intimidating way.  The stallion was obviously unnerved by this, but it was the filly was terrified.  Without any warning the little filly ran straight to Applejack and started to hide behind her.  This surprised everyone in the room.  “Well that's a first,” the stallion said.  “She has never gotten that close to anypony other than me and our mom.”

Applejack looked up toward the stallion and finally noticed the cutie mark on his flank.  She then looked down toward the young filly.  She saw her emerald green eyes and bright red mane.  Upon seeing all this Applejack turned to the stallion and asked for his name.  For a brief moment the stallion didn't respond, but after Shadow call out to him he answered her.  “My name?  Uh... Right... My name is... Uh... James,” he said.  Twilight gave a frustrated sigh as she shook her head.  “I think she wants to hear your full name,” Shadow said.

This cause James to become a little flustered.  “Right... It's... Uh... James David Apple,” he said.  Applejack then looked back down to the little filly.  By now the filly had realized that she was extremely close to Applejack and was starting to back away.  “So what's her name?” she asked.  James looked down toward his sister and gave her a comforting smile.  “Her name is Jennifer Mellonie Apple.  She was named after a young filly who was the daughter of one of my mom's friend,” he said.

Twilight and Shadow could see that this upset Applejack a little bit.  However only Twilight really knew why.  “Yer lyin'!” Applejack shouted.  “There is no way that's true!”  Shadow and James were a bit confused by this sudden outburst.  Twilight decided to quickly step in and tried to calm Applejack down.  “You do know that Rainbow's mother may have other friends out there, right?  Maybe it isn't Rebecca that he is talking about,” she said.

At this point Shadow realized why this were suddenly taking such a turn.  However it took James a few seconds to realize the same thing.  “Wait!  You don't mean Rebecca Apple, do you?” he asked.  Almost immediately Applejack flew into a rage.  She suddenly started to charge James, but just before she could get to him Twilight decided to step in.  She started to hold Applejack in place by using the same holding spell that Shadow had used on her just hours earlier.

“What in tar- What are ya doing Twi'!?” Applejack exclaimed.  Both Shadow and James were shocked that Twilight had managed to cast a spell that to them was considered to be a black magic spell.  However they knew that this was not the time to ask her how she was able to do this, but instead they need to help calm Applejack down.  “If you are willing to listen to me, I will explain what happened,” Shadow said.  Everyone could see that Applejack wasn't going to listen unless she was forced to.  “Are you going to listen to him, or do I need to keep you away from James?” Twilight asked.

Applejack looked over to Jennifer and could see the terror in her eyes.  She then looked back over to James.  She then gave a frustrated sigh and said, “Alright... I'll listen.”  The tone of her voice was very much one of frustration, but none the less Twilight released her from the holding spell.  While Applejack was trying to get her bearings again Shadow decided to ask Twilight about the spell.  Twilight smiled and told him that it wasn't a black magic spell, but a null spell.  “A null spell?” Shadow asked.

“Basically it means that the spell can't do any harm or good,” Twilight said.  Applejack quickly interrupted the conversation by clearing her throat.  “I am listenin', ya know,” she said.  Twilight quickly became flustered while Shadow took a deep breath.  He then began to explain what exactly was happening.  “First off let me start by apologizing for my father's actions so far,” he said.  Both Twilight and Applejack were a little confused by this statement.

“What do you mean by that?” Twilight asked.  Shadow turned away from them and started to walk over to one of the windows.  Everyone could see that he wasn't very happy about what his father did.  In fact he seemed to be infuriated by what had happened.  It wasn't hard to figure out why and this really got to both Twilight and Applejack.  Applejack looked over to James and could see that he himself was a bit disappointed with himself for something.

“Over the course of a millennium my father has been building his army.  James and Jennifer are a result of this,” Shadow said.  James nodded and turnedto Jennifer.  “Me and my sister were born to be soldiers.  Luckily Shadow and our mother got us out of the Lunar Republic before any real training could be done,” he said.  Twilight looked over to Shadow.  She knew that he would have to explain this so-called “real training”.  “My father usually starts training his so-called 'soldiers' when the are little more than five years old,” Shadow said.

Twilight could only imagine what this all meant for the Celestial Empire, but for both Applejack and James it was a bit more personal.  “Ya mean to tell me that the only reason that the two of ya are here is that Shadow's pa... Did... Well... Ya know,” Applejack said.  There was really nothing more for Applejack to say.  They all knew how James and Jennifer were conceived.  “This is one of the reason that I am against my father bid to go to war with the Celestial Empire.  Almost all of the 'soldier' within the Lunar Republic are what my father calls half-bloods,” Shadow said.

Twilight figured that Rebecca was a special case, but Applejack had a different opinion.  She knew her mother always cared for her children no matter what.  “So I guess that Rebecca felt responsible for taking care of the two of you,” Twilight said.  James shook his head and looked oer to Applejack.  Just like her he knew that Rebecca cared for the two of them just like she cared for Applejack.  “That ain't true Twi'.  If anythin' my ma wanted them to be a part of our family, and I intend to take them in like she wanted,” Applejack said.

Both James and Shadow were surprised by this.  “You do realize that your family might not accept that idea, right?” James said.  However his sister, Jennifer, came running up to Applejack.  The look in her eyes was one of complete happiness.  There were tears coming to her eyes as she thanked Applejack for her kindness.  Twilight and Shadow couldn't help but smile as they watch Applejack comfort the young filly.

“You're not joking are you.  You really want us to stay are your place?” James asked.  Applejack nodded and told him that it was what she thought that her mother would have wanted from the beginning.  “I know it'll be a rough start, but I'm sure that ya'll will be welcomed in by the family,” she said.  James could see that she was being very sincere.  He could tell that she really wanted to accept them into her family.

It was only then that Shadow walked up beside James and started to encourage him to go with her.  He was a little surprised by this, but he could also understand why he was doing this.  He was one of the few higher-ups of the Lunar Republic that didn't want to go to war with Celestia.  He knew that Shadow wanted nothing more than to bring peace between the Lunar Republic and the Celestial Empire.  As a result he knew that the only way to bring peace to the two sides would be to show the citizens of Equestria that not everyone form the Lunar Republic wanted a war with them.  They need to show them that many ponies in the Lunar Republic were just like them.  They wanted peace and tranquility, just like everyone else.

“Alright.  Alright.  I'll go.  I just hope that you know what you are doing,” James said.  Everyone in the room couldn't help but smile.  However they all knew that this would also cause trouble for both sides.  Shadow and Twilight watched as Applejack, James, and Jennifer walked out the door, knowing full well that whatever would happen it would spark a war.

End of the Prologue

Author's Note: Hopefully you guys have enjoyed this little introduction to a story that I have been working on for a long time.  Considering that this is the fourth draft of the same story that I first wrote in October 2012 it has been a long time coming.  (Only one was ever submitted to Fanfiction.  It failed miserably.)  However I know that many of you don't really like the whole “War In Equestria” style of stories and to be honest it is one of the few styles that I am still working on.  This story is also a bit of a test bed for a few other war stories that I will be releasing during my fifth anniversary on Fanfiction.  If you are interested in seeing some other fan fictions then head over to my profile.

Hope you see you guys in the next chapter.