Sunbeam

by TheMajorTechie

Rating: teen
Tags: Daybreaker, Slice of Life, Death, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Other, Original Character
Length: 23024

Twilight Sparkle has stepped down. This is how Equestria crumbled.

A standalone prequel to Splintershard. You don't need to read Splintershard to understand this story, nor do you need to read this to understand Splintershard.

Day by day, the rift in Equestria grows. The factions align, but nobody knows--

Will the nation still stand?

Or will it fade away, leaving only dust and sand?

This story starts off pretty lighthearted, but will grow progressively darker as time passes. Additional tags will be added as the story progresses.

Support this story by buying me a Ko-fi! :raritywink:

Reviewed by Lumina Faith in My Little Reviews & Feedback!

Published 2020-07-17 17:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-12-09 09:01:37 UTC

Prologue

"And so, it is with a heavy heart--" Twilight paused, wiping an unseen tear with a hoof. "--that I announce my resignation. It has been a wonderful seventy-plus years that I have ruled, but..." her quiet sniff echoed over the watching populace. "...but I believe I am unfit to rule for any longer."

A collective murmur rose from the ponies beneath the balcony.

"Wait--" Twilight sighed, lowering her head. "Before you begin, I must address why I believe my reign is over; my ascension to the throne was lined with close friends and acquaintances. I do not have the same resolve that my mentor, Princess Celestia, had during her own rule, and it pains me every day to remember the friends that I have lost over this past couple of decades."

The mare raised her head again, tired eyes flitting between the individual faces of the ponies watching her.

"I... honestly don't know what I should say anymore. I won't try to drag things on for any longer. I will leave Starlight Glimmer and Spike as stand-ins for myself until self-rule may be accomplished. I myself will step back from my duties, and simply oversee the transition of power."

Twilight fell silent. An almost peaceful smile began to spread across her face as she began to turn. Soon enough, she had disappeared from view.

Wednesday

So... Princess Twilight stepped down today. She said something about how her friends were gone now, but can't she still make some new friends? Like last week in school, a colt named Whirlwind got into a big fight when he was talking about making a flying machine that can go faster than the old sky-chariots! He cried a little bit after, but he made new friends after that who were a lot nicer to him!

Anyway, my mom and dad were talking about stuff like "stability" earlier today after Twilight said all of that. What do they mean? We live on flat ground and we don't have earthquakes, so what kind of "stable" are they even talking about?

Oh, oh-- and Starlight Glimmer said that she would also take over for a little while too. I think Luster Dawn is taking over Starlight's current job because of that, but I don't remember exactly what the news ponies said.

So yeah. Weird stuff happened today. I still don't really know why Twilight doesn't want to be a princess anymore, but I guess if Starlight wants to be princess for a while instead then she can. Me and my friends like the idea of letting Twilight take a break, but some of the fillies and colts at school said after the announcement that their parents didn't like Equestria without a so-called 'real' princess.

Maybe by next year, they'll learn that Starlight can still be a fun princess, just like Twilight was!

Friday

Friday

Twilight was on the radio again today. I think she wants to run a radio station, since she's always talking on one now. Maybe she might even make some songs! Though, I don't really think she's happy enough to make any poppy songs or anything, because she was talking about all the things that she was worried about. Why does she have to be worried too? Starlight Glimmer is a great Princess-in-waiting (that's what my mom called her), and she's been keeping Equestria going just fine!

Twilight shouldn't have to worry. Everypony around me seems to be worried about something. I'm worried too, a little bit, but I don't mind it very much. Ponies keep talking about the nobles in Canterlot, too. Are they also worried? Changing Princesses happened before when Twilight took over from Celestia and Luna, and that turned out fine! I even read about it in school when we were learning about the history of Equestria! So why are ponies worried now? Is it because Starlight isn't an alicorn? I don't think you have to be an alicorn to be a Princess, right? Like, Princess Platinum was just a normal unicorn I think, and... yeah. Unicorn.

But anyway, I think I talked enough for now about being worried. Whirlwind brought his flying machine toy to school again today, and he told us that this time, he superglued everything together! We threw it around at recess at school, and it fell into stuff like the mud puddles, the grass clumps, the woodchips, and all kinds of other stuff! It got really dirty by the time recess was over, so Whirlwind took it into the bathroom and washed it with some soap, except now the popsicle sticks are all wet and drippy. He had to put it on a paper towel after recess was over so it could dry off.

Now that I think about it, since I go to school with a lot of fillies and colts from noble families, does that mean that I'm a noble too? Mom and Dad don't have that much money, but I think we still have a lot. I'm not completely sure, though. My mom does talk to a lot of nobles, though, and she said that they want an alicorn to rule still instead of Starlight Glimmer, because they don't think that Starlight can be a real Princess. Starlight can be a real Princess if she wants to be! Just because she doesn't have wings doesn't mean she isn't strong! I learned about her last year in school, and the teacher said that Starlight was so strong that she almost defeated Twilight Sparkle in battle! How does that mean that she isn't strong enough?

Saturday

Saturday

I was eating cereal this morning when my dad turned on the radio. The newspony was talking about how some of the nobles were thinking about bringing Celestia back, but I don't think that's going to happen. I learned in school that Celestia and Luna retired, so why would they want to come back? They don't want to be in charge anymore, right?

There's also talks that Starlight might not completely know what she's doing. Even when we went grocery shopping earlier today, at the market I heard some ponies talking about how it's possible that other countries might try and take advantage of Equestria since it doesn't have an alicorn in charge anymore. All this talk about alicorns and power and how Starlight Glimmer can't be as good as Twilight! Why can't anypony give Starlight a chance for once? Is it because they still think she's evil because of that one thing she did all those years ago? I know it was bad and all, but she really doesn't like to talk about it because she said it was one of her biggest regrets once when she visited my school, and she also said that she's trying her best every day to put that behind her and to be the kind of pony that everyone can look up to!

Ugh... sorry if I wrote a lot about Starlight this time. Seeing that ponies don't want to give her the chance she deserves is just mean! Like, can't they see how well she and Twilight worked together all this time? Starlight even said that she uses a special spell to keep herself alive for longer, so that she can still help Twilight and be her friend. I would say that that's a really good sign of being a friend, if you are doing everything you can to stick by someone's side no matter what. Yeah, she's a lot more sleepy than Twilight ever was because of that spell she uses, but she's trying!

One of the things Twilight said she wanted was for us to rule over ourselves, so that we wouldn't need to have a pony that needs to live forever just to stay together as a country! That means that the nobles that are complaining that Starlight shouldn't be in charge can just choose who they want to have leading the country soon, so why can't they just wait a little bit longer? Mom and Dad always say that it's good to be patient and wait my turn. Maybe they should teach that to the snooty nobles too.

I know I sound like I really don't like the nobles here in Canterlot, but I'm not mad at all of them. Just the ones that are complaining all the time and stuff. Mr. Fancypants' family is really nice, for example, and every year they host the end-of-school parties! There's a lot of food and snacks, and they even bring things like slides and bouncy-castles, too! Though, I heard that this year it's going to be a trampoline instead because some unicorns popped the castle last year on accident. But anyway, I'm looking forward to this year's party! Whirlwind said that he might even have his dad help him make a real version of his flying machine toy that we could maybe sit in and pretend to fly in! It's coming up in a couple of weeks, so hopefully nopony is going to be worried anymore by then.

Anyways, I think that's all that I'm going to write tonight. I wonder what Twilight wants to do since she isn't in charge anymore?

Sunday

Sunday

Big news from the radio today! It was announced that Equestria would do its first round of "elections" next week! Starlight Glimmer explained that since ponies were getting mad about Twilight stepping down and stuff, she would give everyone a chance to choose who they want to replace her. Of course, there's not very many ponies that we can choose from right now since the announcement was so sudden, but I'm pretty sure that someone from Prince Blueblood's family is planning on trying to get elected.

Also, the newspony on the radio said that there's some "disturbances" in the cities at the edge of Equestria. I don't really know what they're talking about, but I think it might be something to do with places like Klugetown wanting to take over some places for more territory. I know, I know, they're a single city in the middle of nowhere and stuff while Equestria is this big ol' country, but I'm just hoping that the ponies living in Klugetown don't decide to try attacking anyone. Also, I'm just saying Klugetown because it's the first place I could think of that isn't friends with Equestria. We weren't really taught very much about them in class though, so I don't really know what it's like over there. Maybe they're actually really nice!

Anyways, I have to go to bed now. I have school tomorrow, so Mom and Dad said to go to sleep. Don't tell them that I stayed up late to write this! I forgot to write it after dinner like I usually do!

Wednesday

Wednesday

Whirlwind was back at school again today! Turns out that he was throwing up yesterday because he ate something weird, but he's all better now. Today at school, we learned about geometry! Lots of things can be cut up into smaller shapes, except for circles. Circles are weird because they're curvy and don't have corners and stuff.

Hmm... and we also learned more about Equestria's history, and how Princess Luna was banished to the moon and stuff. It was kind of interesting, but I don't really like stories about fighting. I'm happy that at least Celestia and Luna aren't fighting anymore and are just living in a beach house. Must be nice being able to wake up and just watch the ocean from bed.

Mom and Dad had the radio on again when I got home like usual. The newspony was talking about how the nobles were able to get Celestia "onto the ballot" or something like that, and that they were going to go ask her to come back to Canterlot soon. I really don't think that she's going to like that, though. She just wants to be alone with her sister! Twilight didn't want to be in charge anymore because all her friends are gone! How many friends did Celestia have to lose? Just let her be happy for once!

The newspony also said something about how some of the cities on the edge of Equestria were getting attacked and stuff, but I didn't get to hear about who was attacking them before Mom turned off the radio. I wonder if that Klugetown place got attacked too? Maybe it was pirates that attacked, and they were all yelling "ARRR" and swinging around on ropes and stuff! That would be cool to watch... but... uh, probably not so cool to be in.

Friday

Friday

No big news over the radio today. I think the guards won, but they didn't say anything about it on the news. Cadance arrived in Canterlot today to help Starlight Glimmer out, and some of the nobles that wanted Starlight to not be in charge anymore are a little happier now that there's an alicorn in Canterlot again.

Whirlwind stopped by again, too! He says that when all of this crazy stuff is over, he's going to invite all of us to a party at his house so that he can show off his flying machine! His dad was with him too, and he said that he's really surprised that Whirlwind was able to build something that fast. He said that maybe Whirlwind is secretly the alicorn of flying machines and so we all laughed at that.

Hmm... yeah, not really anything else happened. I got a letter in the mail from my teacher saying that if I want, I can have my homework and stuff mailed to me so that I can keep learning stuff. I... guess I can do that. I won't like it, but I can do that. I think. Oh, and also, we made some cupcakes today! Dad found an old box of cake mix in the pantry while we were cleaning stuff out, and it wasn't expired yet so we made some yummy chocolate cupcakes! We didn't have any frosting for it though, so he said that we can just eat them like muffins. Cake muffins!

So yeah. I have to do homework at home now... uh, schoolwork at home? And I also made cake muffins and ate them. There's a lot of leftovers though, so we're having some for breakfast tomorrow, too! I can hear Mom coming to my room. I should put away the pen and flashlight now. Byeee!

Sunday

Sunday

The royal guards lost. On the radio they said that they found the pit that they were thrown into. None of them are alive, and... and the city fell. It turns out that it was one of the smaller towns by the ocean. Silver Shores or something if I remember correctly. The nobles that want to bring Celestia back to Canterlot say that they were able to "save" her from the destruction, but I didn't hear anything about Luna. Hopefully she's okay. There's an airship flying back to Canterlot right now with Celestia on it.

Cadance and Starlight Glimmer made an announcement a little bit after lunch that they're going to start "drafting" more ponies to replace the guards because nobody knows how much fighting there's going to be. There's also the problem of the statue that went missing, too. Luster Dawn was put in charge by Starlight to look for it with her friends, since they're the closest thing that we have right now to the old Elements of Harmony from waaaaay before I was born.

I just really don't know what's going on anymore. Everything seemed fine until like a week ago, and it all started because Twilight said that she didn't want to be in charge anymore! I really hope that she at least helps out or something, or else all of us are going to have to clean up after the mess that she made.

Honestly, I'm starting to get why the nobles want Celestia in charge again.

Monday

Monday

Celestia arrived in Canterlot today. She looks confused. And scared. She was asking about where Luna was, and what happened to Twilight. Starlight's apologizing to Celestia for the mess that everything is in over the radio right now, and me and my family are all listening.

Starlight said that Twilight was worried that if she tried to rule for any longer without her friends, something bad might happen, and she wouldn't be "mentally able" enough to handle it since the last of her oldest friends died not too long ago. Pinkie Pie, I think she said. Nobody knows where Twilight herself went, though. It's like she disappeared too, like Fluttershy did according to Mom and Dad.

But yeah. Celestia's back, and according to the nobles that brought her, she's in charge again now. I don't think she really wants to though, and from how she was talking to Starlight, I don't think she really knows what's even going on as far as being in charge and stuff. She said that over the years, she and Luna thought that they could just live on by themselves and not have to worry about being in charge of anything anymore, and that eventually they could just... uh, disappear. Maybe that's what Twilight did?

Some ponies also started signing up to volunteer as guards today after Starlight announced it. She said that she won't be "drafting" any ponies yet, but it would be very helpful if volunteers stepped in to help out as much as they can before anybody else got hurt.

Also, is it just me or is it starting to feel a little colder than usual?

Tuesday

Tuesday

It still feels a little bit colder than it usually is. On the radio, Celestia announced that she and Starlight were working together to try and figure out what happened in the attack, since the guards themselves... well... yeah. Some of the radio hosts were asking if it might've been a new Storm King invasion, but I learned that the Storm King died a long time ago when he got shattered, so I don't really think that's the case.

In the meantime, the volunteer army is starting to grow, too. Dad was saying that if he absolutely has to, then he'd join, but for now he wants to stay home to make sure we're all safe still. Whirlwind stopped by earlier today again with his mom and dad too, though this time instead of talking about having a party or something he only said that he's here to say goodbye. I... really don't know what happened there? He didn't look sad or anything. All he said was something like "I won't be able to see you anymore" or something like that, and then he left. Maybe he has to move?

I'm just glad that Celestia isn't so confused anymore. The pictures I saw of her in the newspaper yesterday made her look really scared and confused about what was going on, but I think Starlight Glimmer probably did a good job telling her everything that happened. One interesting thing I found out today too when I was listening to the radio was that Luster Dawn and her friends found the missing statue. I was really thinking that it would take a lot longer than a couple of days! But either way, they found the statue in a pit at the edge of the Everfree Forest. They didn't really announce anything else on the radio about the statue though, probably because they're afraid someone might try to steal it again.

Anyways, that's basically it for today. They're shutting down the radio station every day around dinner time now just in case if someone's trying to use it to spy on us, so it's also possible that there might not be as much big news from now on. I don't really know. There's a lot of things happening right now.

Wednesday

Wednesday

Just like I thought yesterday, there was a lot less news today. I think Starlight and Celestia might be preparing for a bigger attack just in case. I didn't hear anything about what happened to Whirlwind though, so he probably did have to move away. I'm still wondering why he had to move, though. Did his flying machines make too much noise or something?

I did hear a little bit about how Luna was spotted somewhere recently, too, but they only said that they know she's at least alive. Hopefully she can find her way back to Canterlot to be with Celestia. Luster Dawn and her friends are staying in Canerlot for now, though what they're doing wasn't mentioned either. That's... basically it, actually, as far as the news on the radio. The rest was just music and ads saying not to worry about anything that's going on.

Um... let's see... nobles are still a little annoyed that Starlight is working alongside Celestia, even though they managed to put Celestia back in charge like they wanted to. Then again, do they ever not complain about things?

Oh, and I also got my first package of homework to do. It was boring.

Saturday

Saturday

Finally, something exciting! I got to go with Whirlwind and his family to see what they were doing! A lot of my other classmates came too, and it was the first time in a looong time that I was able to say hi! Whirlwind's dad picked us all up in a bus and took us into the special part of Canterlot that Mom and Dad say is for "very important ponies" only, so Whirlwind's family must be really important!

So, we arrived at this really big building, and it turns out that Starlight found out about Whirlwind's flying machines, too! She offered him and his family a place to stay and somewhere for him to keep going to school, and also that she'd give him as much help as possible to build a real flying machine! Can you imagine that? A flying machine that's heavier than air and doesn't need a balloon! Whirlwind was really happy to see all of us again, and he just kept on blabbering on and on and on about all the stuff he was able to make now that he had as many parts and tools as he wanted, and he gave each and every one of us our own little toy flying machine! He's so cool!

Right now, he's working on a really big flying machine with big fancy windows and stuff. He said he can't tell us what it's for, but it looks like it can fly pretty fast!

I wonder what Starlight plans on using it for, though?

Monday

Monday

I didn't have time today to go visit Whirlwind again. Most of everypony in class were too busy with homework and stuff to be able to go, so we decided to just not go to the special flying machine place today.

But, I got to play with the little toy flying machines that Whirlwind gave all of us! I don't really know what they're supposed to sound like, so I just made bird noises and ran around with the toys. Mom and Dad said that I need to finish my homework, but I already did! Yeah, it took until after dinner to finish it, but I still finished it!

Celestia also came onto the radio with Starlight again. They were talking about how they've spotted so-called "suspicious movement" between cities around the one that got attacked. What do they mean by that? Did they see someone sneaking around or something? You'd have to be really sneaky to be sneaky enough for Celestia to say that you look suspicious!

But... yeah, honestly, I'm still pretty worried about what could happen. The nobles are still mostly happy for now since Celestia's back on the throne, but Luna's missing too, and Starlight is still having ponies tell her to step down. Like, do they want Celestia to be in complete control so soon? It sounds like a recipe for disaster if you ask me.

Wednesday

Wednesday

Sometimes, I wonder if all of this is actually even happening. I keep hearing that Equestria is being attacked, but that's all that I know. I see Whirlwind's flying machines flying around in the sky, but that's all that they do. The nobles are still complaining, but that's what always happens, so how do I know if I should care?

And going back to that part about volunteering for the royal guards, one of the neighbors just signed up to volunteer. I don't really know her all that much, but I guess if she wants to volunteer then she can volunteer.

Honestly, I'm starting to run out of stuff to write about at this point. It's always just "oh, I'm nervous about this", or "oh no, another bad thing happened". That's why I was so excited to be able to go see what Whirlwind was doing! But even that's already starting to get boring. When we went earlier today, all he did was wave hi and then ignore us. The ponies guarding the place said that he's really busy, and that we shouldn't distract him right now. I guess he's just more important than the rest of us then.

Do you know what would be nice? If something good happened for once. I'm tired of hearing about all this bad stuff happening. Can't we have news about, like, I don't know, maybe a cake factory opening or something? Celestia would probably like that kind of news too since I read that she really likes cake.

Thursday

Thursday

So it finally happened. The first airship of new guards has been sent off to the place where the old guards... uh, disappeared. I'd wish them good luck, but I think everyone knows what's going to happen to them. On the radio, Celestia finally spoke again, but she sounded really nervous. I think she might not be used to doing this stuff anymore, since Twilight used to handle everything for a long time.

After Celestia and Starlight went off the air again, the radio host started talking about a rumor that was going around that there might be spies sneaking around. I'm not really sure how much of that might be real, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is. There was also a report that we know for sure that Klugetown is the attacker, by the way. Something about how without Twilight, they saw an opportunity to try moving in, whether or not we liked it.

It started when their first airship docked at the coast. Some of the creatures onboard entered peacefully, 'cause they wanted to get away from Klugetown. Apparently, it's not really all that easy to live there without being afraid or running away from something. But other creatures onboard came from parts of Klugetown that sold ponies. Like, I read up a little bit about Klugetown after I found out that it was them that attacked, and it turns out that they did everything from keeping ponies as slaves to selling body parts of ponies like horns and wings. Ew! Getting back to what some of the other creatures onboard did, though. I think I remember hearing that they were arrested really quick after they tried to attack some ponies, but some of them were somehow able to call back to Klugetown and say that they were under attack, and so a few days later, warships started coming in. I don't think that Klugetown's leader is very friendly, short to say.

But yeah. Klugetown's army was able to pretty much demolish the royal guards sent there, and for all I know, the ponies that didn't escape are either dead or in cages or something. Some of the creatures that came to get away from Klugetown were able to get out too, and they're apparently here in Canterlot now telling Starlight and Celestia everything that they know.

Soooo... yeah. Fun times.

Author's Note

And with this chapter, we have officially bumped the rating to T.

Friday

Friday

I found out what the flying machines Whirlwind's been making are used for. They're... warships. Flying warships. They're meant to fly fast because that way they can outfly even the fastest pegasi and airships. Whirlwind said that he knows what he's doing when I asked him about it. There's a hidden compartment on the bottom to hold stuff, too. He said that it can hold just about anything from crates of food to magically-charged bombs. I... I really didn't think that Whirlwind, of all ponies, would be in charge of something like this! It would've made more sense if it was his dad or something, but no, it's Whirlwind!

But... well, yeah. The first warships flew out today, probably carrying bombs to Klugetown or something. I'm sure that with the warships flying now, the war will at least be over soon. At least, I hope that it's gonna be that way.

No word from anypony in charge at the moment, though. Pretty sure they went radio silent again just in case now that there's ships flying. Whirlwind calls them the Whirlybird model. Kinda funny to think about. Like, imagine having to say to someone, "Oh no, my house got destroyed by a Whirlybird!" or something like that. I guess he named it that way to maybe confuse the enemy? Like, you really can't tell what a "Whirlybird" even is based on the name by itself, so it's probably just a way to disguise things.

Anyway, now that things are ramping up, we also have a daily curfew too, just in case. I'm not going to try and stay up in secret again like I used to. I don't want to put anybody in danger.

Saturday

Saturday

More Whirlybirds were sent out today. I watched them fly out of Canterlot from my bedroom window. I don't really go outside very much anymore besides when I go to see Whirlwind. It's hard to think that not even a full month has passed yet since Twilight stepped down. I really wish that she didn't.

There's still so much that I'm unsure about. Now that we're at war, what's going to happen? Am I gonna be stuck at home this entire time?

Still pretty much nothing but radio silence from Celestia and Starlight. I'm guessing that they're probably too focused on keeping Equestria safe to really do much else. Figures.

Anyway, I'm not in much of a mood to write tonight, and there really isn't anything interesting happening anyway, so I'm just going to end things off here.

Monday

Monday

So it finally happened. Celestia's gone out to fight. The Whirlybirds apparently helped a little bit, but whatever Klugetown has been sending was able to hold up and move forward. Starlight's in charge again for now, and Celestia's flown out on a special armored Whirlybird. Still no mention of Luna at the moment. With the war going on, I don't think very much attention is being put on her.

Anyways, after Celestia left this morning, a bunch of the nobles started rallying more ponies to volunteer for the Royal Guard. The descendent of Prince Blueblood even went as far as saying that he would join the guards if he has to. They're also talking about holding a vote to rename Equestria's Royal Guard force to something else, but I'm not really sure what they have in mind. I'm just hoping that this whole thing can end soo--

Wednesday

Wednesday: Day 1 since Celestia's return

It's been hardly two days since Celestia and the guards returned to Canterlot. I'd expected that their mission would take a day or two, but... well, it took less than a single day. Hundreds of deaths were reported on both sides. Instead of taking the Whirlybirds back to Canterlot, Celestia herself arrived in a giant, flaming fireball. The noble-led royal guards followed close behind in the remaining Whirlybirds. The impact from her landing rocked the entire city. Literally.

Short to say, Celestia looks... different now. Her rainbow mane and tail are gone now, replaced instead by fire, and her eyes... ugh, it gives me the chills. Whatever it was that happened out there, it was not good.

But anyway, that's enough about last night. Yesterday I was too busy listening to the reports on the radio to do much writing. It's been made official that the Royal Guards have now been renamed to the Sunbeam Corps of Equestria. I don't know who or where the name came from, but apparently there are more branches of the army that are going to be made soon. The petrified statue that Luster Dawn and her friends were watching was also reported to be obliterated by yesterday morning, with Luster Dawn herself having since gone missing. Celestia has fully retaken the throne, forcing aside Starlight Glimmer. I have no word on how the nobles feel about it, but I know that the ones in the Sunbeam Corps have wholeheartedly cheered on the takeover.

For now though, it seems that some of the ponies speaking out in concern about Celestia have mysteriously vanished. Some of them were known to have run away like Starlight Glimmer, but others like Luster Dawn... I'm not sure if they're even alive anymore. I've heard that some ponies have even begun to be dragged from their homes and forced into the new army units, though for the most part, it seems that the Sunbeam Corps is the umbrella unit that everyone's been drafted into so far. I don't know how much longer it will be before Mom or Dad is dragged into it as well. Celestia herself hasn't spoken on the radio again since she arrived.

As it stands, it looks like Equestria has won its war against Klugetown, at the cost of itself.

Friday

Friday: Day 3 since Celestia's return.

Mom and Dad haven't come home yet tonight. I'm a little scared. What if Celestia did something to them? Or what if the nobles from the Sunbeam Corps grabbed them and forced them to go fight? My dad can't fight, he got knocked out once when he hit his head on the cabinet door!

So... well, I guess I should talk about the other things that happened today. I was able to go see Whirlwind again by myself. I almost was taken by one of the Sunbeam Corps ponies when I was waiting to be let in, but Whirlwind came and told them to leave me alone. I'm still kinda shakey from that, but I think I'll be okay. Whirlwind told me that he's also worried about what happened to Celestia, since she was originally very nice and stuff. Now, though? He says that she's been ordering more Whirlybirds to be made than ever before, and both the machines and the ponies putting them together are being stretched thin.

He's also always tired now, too. Celestia wants newer and faster-flying Whirlybirds every time she visits, so he always has to make sure he has a new design ready. She told him that he's only useful to Equestria as long as he keeps designing Whirlybirds, and if he ever stops then he's going to have to be in the Sunbeam Corps instead. I think he's scared of her now.

The radio was silent again as usual today. Celestia didn't come on to talk like she did yesterday, but I expected that. Instead, the radio was just playing the Equestrian anthem and some weird ads saying to join the Sunbeam Corps all day long. I think when the food in the refrigerator runs out, I'm going to have to see if I can stay with Whirlwind or another one of my friends instead. Hopefully, Mom and Dad come home safe soon.

Sunday

Day 5 since Celestia's return.

My vitals continue to be maintained. I am in good health, and I have settled into my tent.

Training has commenced for the first time today. Basic martial arts, though I did not bother to learn its name.

Regarding physical injury, I have sustained minor bruises and abrasions from the day's training, but I am otherwise unharmed.

So... I guess that's my daily report. Didn't have much to do during my first training session besides learning how to punch and how to block a punch. My instructor was at least pretty helpful, so I guess she'll be the closest thing I have to a teacher from now on.

I heard that there were a few more beamings that happened today-- oh, by the way, that's a term that I learned from the camp. Turns out that it is something that Celestia is doing. I'm not sure exactly what she does, but the disappearances are called "beamings" here, kinda modeled after the whole "Sunbeam Corps" name thing. Honestly, I really don't care all that much to find out what happens in a beaming. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to avoid being beamed myself.

As far as day to day life goes, it's been... eh, a little on the weird side. Found some bugs in my tent that were trying to get at my rations, so I ate them too. Hot water was a little too hot to drink at first, but it's better than possibly being poisoned by the dirty water that's been pumped from the ground. Anyway, that's basically all for today. No word about my parents or Whirlwind.

Tuesday

Day 4 of camp

My injuries remain insubstantial, though I have acquired numerous bruises from my training. I am not yet sufficient in the practice of evasion, though my skill is steadily growing, if not only to avoid additional injury.

My nutrition needs continue to be met by our rations. Bread, beans, and hot water appear to be sufficient, going forward.

The formation of the Old Guard faction, a dependant state formed in the Everfree Forest, has become hotly debated within the Sunbeam Corps. There are rumors that the nation may further fracture with time. I am unsure of what may become of those who dissent.

More flying machines as usual. It's been a little while since I've seen my parents, but I'm getting used to it. I just don't think about them anymore. Also, that whole "planes" thing from yesterday's report is another term I picked up, so I might switch between "airplane" and "flying machine". Not much else has been happening besides getting punched multiple times in training. King Blueblood is directing ponies to build out a mirror of Canterlot in the Everfree within the fort's boundaries, so that's a thing I guess.

Wednesday

Day 5 of camp

I have received fewer injuries today in comparison to the previous few, though they are less minor than before. I must thank my instructor for the lessons later.

My health and nutritional needs continue to be met by our daily rations.

Training has begun in basic weaponry as of today. I am... afraid.

Well, if there's anything even moderately interesting today, it's that I've learned how to fight with a knife. Full swords are impractical for me, but shorter knives and daggers seem to be an okay fit. I was able to slash multiple sandbags in rapid succession during training, and I also got a couple big scratches because of those knives. It's nothing too big or bad, though-- just a little bit of blood.

More beamings today, too, though there were a lot less than there were before. I think ponies are starting to get an idea of what could happen to them. I think the radio announcer might've been one of the beamings, 'cause there was a different host for the first time ever as far as I know.

Thursday

Day 6 of camp

Today marks the beginning of our field-training course. I have received orders to carry out an attack on a false village set up for training purposes.

We were ordered to remain as ground troops, systematically entering homes and slashing sandbags stationed in various locations. My duties thus far have been fulfilled, and my superior officers are satisfied with our performance.

As a reward, our rations have been temporarily increased from a single roll of bread to two per meal, and for that we are grateful.

Starting tomorrow, we are expected to carry out our first assignment: bring Ponyville under control. The Old Guard faction is set to work closely with us in supplying troops and materials from their Everfree fortress.

Friday

Day 7

Today marks the first day of our Ponyville assignment. We hope to tame the rebel town with minimal if any bloodshed. This report has been written en-route to the town, and as such may be lacking in detail due to the inability to record the future.

Regarding today's duties, much of the morning's tasks consisted of packaging and shipping rations and weaponry ahead of time, in order to avoid the slowdown of our own deployment.

As of now, I am currently onboard a Whirlybird model C-01, short for "Canterlot, Model One". It is a smaller plane than what has been recorded exiting the airfields, but it is enough to carry roughly six or seven others besides myself, not counting the pilot. Unless there is heavy resistance, I do not expect for this mission to take very long to complete.

Sunday

Author's Note

Whoops! Hit publish too early. Guess tomorrow's chapter is gonna show up as a second post for today instead. :P

Sunday

Day 9

Casualty reports have arrived. We suffered minimal losses, and I'd rather not discuss what was detailed. Today was much more uneventful, thankfully. Most of the populace has since fled, or otherwise... perished. There are rumors beginning to spread that there is a deeper reason for Ponyville's rebelliousness, though I do not plan to pursue them.

Regarding personal health, I have suffered major abrasions along a hind leg due to the collapse of a structure I was standing in close proximity to. It is of no significance to me, however-- our doctors and nurses were quick to halt the bleeding, and there was no breakage to be found.

For its historical significance, however, Sweet Apple Acres has been left untouched by the orders of Celestia herself. Any who violate this order can and will be beamed.

We will be returning to Canterlot by tomorrow.

Monday

Day 10

The return to Canterlot was uneventful. My wounds are recovering, and we have suffered minimal losses. Ponyville in its current state will no longer be able to function as an independent governing district, save for the semi-autonomous Sweet Apple Acres plot.

I have found the time to meet with Whirlwind today as well. He states that the next model of Whirlybird is almost ready for production, and that if I wish, I may be one of the first to fly in the improved models. He has nothing else to report.

Hhhhhh... well, it's been a little while since I've actually written about how I feel, hasn't it? With all this crap that's been going on, it feels almost like I'm losing a part of myself! It actually took me a moment to remember how to write something that wasn't a report on the day's work!

So, yeah... I did get a pretty bad scrape on one of my legs while we were wrecking Ponyville. I'm still trying my best not to think about the faces of the ponies I had to kill. They were part of the enemy. I think. I've been having pretty bad nightmares about it, though.

Anyway, I don't really have much else to say except that the food they give us smells funny. I think it might be a little moldy.

Tuesday

Day 11

Nothing too eventful today. I feel like I can finally relax a little again. I'm not gonna do any of the usual report crap that I've been writing these past few days. It's a bit too depressing to think about.

So anyway, today was pretty much just busywork day. We just went around doing some training exercises and fixing some stuff up. I put one of the Whirlybird toys I got from Whirlwind in my tent on a box that I use as a table for decoration. The radio is also starting to come back on again, though all it's been playing is Celestia blabbering on and on about victory and stuff.

Oh, and Starlight finally came back, too. She returned with us from the fort in the Everfree, though she said she's leaving again for another journey to somewhere else. She said that this time it's important that she go with only a small number of guards instead of the entire caravan like before. Maybe she's going somewhere where there isn't very much room? I was able to get some time alone to talk with her for the first time ever just out of randomness, but it'd be nice to go with her instead of having to go out and... kill more ponies... I don't think I'd have to do much fighting anyway if I did go with her. I've seen her in action a couple times before, and she's pretty strong by herself already.

Welp. That's pretty much all I have to say for now.

Thursday

Day 13

Finally, I get to go with Starlight! She said that I can't tell anypony about what she's doing or where she's going, so I guess I'll try and keep things vague or something. Actually, you know what? I'm gonna write it down anyway! I'm getting sick of being told what I can and can't do, and even though Starlight's been nice to me, that doesn't mean that I'm not gonna try and enjoy myself a little and write stuff down.

So.

I genuinely got afraid when we started heading back towards Ponyville again. Turns out that Starlight was just making a stop by the Old Guard base to make sure that things were still fine there before moving on. Apparently, we were going to Ponyville, 'cause that's where we went to right after we stopped by the fort. Starlight went to Twilight's old castle, but instead of going inside (like we did during the battle), we went under it. I'm not really sure who knows about it and who doesn't, but it seems like a lot of the ponies that were able to flee were able to escape into the underground tunnel. Starlight said that the tunnel is connected to the Old Guard fort, but nopony else but her knows that. I think she might've made the tunnels, possibly during the time she went missing.

...

...

Wait hold on, is Starlight a double agent? Cool! I can't believe it took me an entire day to realize that just now!

So anyway, a lot of the ponies looked scared of me when I arrived since I was wearing my uniform. Starlight told them that it's okay, that I was only there to guard her and not to go after anypony else. Honestly, I wish that I was part of these ponies hiding in the tunnels. I hope I can find the families of the ones I killed to apologize.

So, continuing on... Starlight said that during the time she was gone, she met with Princess Luna, who said that Celestia is going through the same thing she herself went through when she turned all Nightmare Moon and stuff. She calls Celestia's current form "Daybreaker", so I guess I'll use that as well. The ponies here under Ponyville are part of a resistance movement that's gonna try and take down Daybreaker with the help of Starlight and Luna, though since Starlight has to play double-agent, she can't do all that much herself or else she'll blow the group's cover. There really isn't much of a plan yet as to how we're going to take down Daybreaker, but Starlight said that since the Elements of Harmony worked on Nightmare Moon, they might be able to work on Daybreaker too. The only problem? They don't really exist anymore in the same way they used to.

Also, I asked Starlight about why she chose me specifically, and the funny thing about it? She said she chose me because I looked the most harmless. I don't think she knows that I was one of the soldiers that had to go and kill ponies from this same group not too long ago. She probably thinks they're scared because of my uniform. But either way, I'm glad she chose me to be with her on her guard team. Yeah, there's some other ponies too, but not all of them really look all that trustworthy. At the very least, if things go wrong, I'm still completely onboard with Starlight! Let's just hope that the same goes with the other guards now that they know about the resistance.

Speaking of which, the resistance does have a name.

They call themselves the Ashen.

Friday

Day 14

Okay, so Starlight said that she'll be going back and reporting both me and the other guards as deceased to keep us undercover. Some of the shadier ponies are being kept under watch by those of us that are more obviously onboard with Star's plan. Just in case. But anyway, Starlight also said that we'd have to change our identities to keep anypony from figuring out who we actually are if we're caught. A lot of the other guards that came with me chose codenames like "spearfisher" and "iceberg", but me? I think I'll go with Sunbeam. I'm already from the Sunbeam corps anyway, so I'd might as well try and put a bit more of a positive twist on that name.

So anyway, today, me and the rest of the Ashen Resistance started working out some plans. Starlight said she wants Luna to be in charge while she's gone, but Luna isn't exactly here yet. I think I remember hearing that Princess Cadance from the Crystal Empire is also supposed to be chipping in to help, so we've got a lot of firepower on our side already! But anyway, continuing on.

Starlight says that she thinks that even though the Elements of Harmony themselves have been destroyed, it might be possible to use the Tree of Harmony itself (or at least, the treehouse that it turned into) as a weapon against Daybreaker. I don't really know any exact details, but I think I remember something along the lines of "makeshift Elements" or something like that being thrown around. That's gonna be interesting to see.

Also also, I finally learned a bit of news on what was happening and what caused what! It turns out that firstly, the Ponyville attack was a direct order from Daybreaker herself, not Starlight, because there was a rumor that Luna was building a resistance army there to take down her sister. I guess that rumor turned out to be true. Secondly, apparently there was a short time where the Windigos started to return when some of the early fighting broke out, but Daybreaker kind of... uh, smited them. I don't think they'll ever be a problem again.

But yeah. Things have gotten a lot more interesting for me!

Saturday

Day 15

Well, Luna's arrived just in time for Starlight to leave again today. She said that she won't be able to come back for a little while, but I think a lot of the ponies down here are alright with letting Luna be in charge until then. Luna said that just like Celestia, it's been a long time since she was in charge of anything, but she'll try her best. That's good, I guess.

So anyway, today was spent collecting resources and scouting things out. It looks like the Old Guard fortress in the Everfree is also... er, guarding the Treehouse of Harmony. Luna said that she'd go ahead and try and break in to steal(?) the Elements of Harmony from them. I'm not entirely sure how she's gonna do that, since the actual crystal Elements have been gone for a long time. I think she said something along the lines of making new Elements? I'm not entirely sure though, and I definitely don't know how she'd do it either.

Besides doing stuff like gathering firewood and making sure the tunnels don't collapse and stuff though, I think there wasn't really anything all that interesting besides the planning and scouting that happened today.

Now that I think of it, I'm honestly really surprised that this diary is still in one piece! It's literally been through a warzone and back, and it's only gotten a little scuffed around the corners!

Sunday

Day 16

Well I can definitely say that things happened faster than I could've imagined. Not talking about the pace of things happening here in the hideout, though. Nothing happened today. I think Luna was snooping on some daydreams, though.

But yeah. It's only been... what, about a month and a half or so? Geez. To think that just two months ago, none of this was happening. Twilight was still in charge, ponies were generally happy, there was definitely no war happening... yup. Feels like it's been years already.

So... uh... yeah. Nothing to really report on here. Unless you count one of the guards I came here with accidentally setting her tail on fire while tending the campfire.

Monday

Day 17

Some of the ponies down here are starting to feel that it's safe enough to begin returning to the surface again. Though, this is only for getting supplies and stuff. We also spent a lot of time today digging deeper into the ground to make a more open space than the plain tunnel that we've been in. Me and the other guards along with Luna have made sure that these open chambers are sealed off from the rest of the tunnel, just in case. We'll return to the tunnels again when Starlight returns, though. It's best to keep it known to as few ponies as possible. That way, if Starlight ever gets captured or something, it'd be impossible for her to tell where the real base for the Ashen is, because she wouldn't even know! I think we should probably tell her after all this craziness is over, though.

So anyway, yeah... most of today was just spent digging out the beginnings of the room. Some of the others were able to use their abilities to stabilize the ceilings as well to keep any cave-ins from happening, and Luna's been working all day and night to make sure that nopony is planning on giving us away. Oh, and we also took our watch off the guards that looked more suspicious. They're good. Also, it turns out they've got pretty good jokes.

Thursday

Day 20

Cadance arrived today in secret. She had to disguise herself as a pegasus before landing, but luckily nopony suspected anything when she climbed into the tunnels. Now that we have another alicorn on our side, I think we'll be set to strike back against Daybreaker!

So anyway, we started... uh, training again. Man, I thought I'd escaped all the training stuff when I joined in here. Guess not. At least the food's better and I'm not afraid for my life every day though. In fact, I'm one of the ponies training others, since I was such a fast learner back in camp. I went over the basic dodging and maneuvering stuff today, and I think Starlight was training the unicorns in combat magic. Not completely sure what Luna and Cadance are doing though. Either way, training's going to be faster than it was back in camp, which is both good and bad. Good because we can try shaking Celestia out of Daybreaker form faster, bad because the reason why it's faster is 'cause there's less ponies to train.

I wonder how Whirlwind's doing.

Saturday

Day 22

Starlight had to leave again today. I'm pretty sure Cadance didn't know about our secret hideout when she arrived, but we aren't worried about telling her about it. The reason why we haven't told Starlight is because there's a chance that Daybreaker might try to... well... torture her for information. I've seen it happen already in the camps. It's best just to not tell her at all.

But anyway, we moved back into our underground bunker thingy again. It didn't take too long to move everything back in from the tunnels, since most of what anypony had was food and firewood and stuff like that. I'm honestly not all that sure how long it's gonna be before anything big happens again, but I guess for now I'll just enjoy the peace. It's a nice break from all the craziness that's been happening. I don't really have anything else to say about today, so I'm not going to try and make it longer than it needs to be.

Sunday

Day 23

Well... nothing interesting really happened today. We decorated the place a little bit, did some more training... stuff like that. We've got enough supplies to last us a while now, so nopony's really feeling like coming out of the bunker or the tunnels again anytime soon. Luna and Cadance have pretty much settled into their own roles, so that's good too.

I think, with how peaceful things currently are, that these entries will likely stay pretty short for a while.

Still wondering how Whirlwind's doing, though. I think I remember hearing Starlight say that she'd tell me when she gets back. Not sure if I wrote that down in an earlier entry or not, though.

Monday

Day 24

Guess what? Nothing happened! Man, I never thought that there'd be a point where I get excited about days like today and yesterday when nothing's going on.

Well... not entirely nothing. We found out that there's a lotta ants down here, and they like the smell of our cooking! I don't think the others are all that happy about the ants crawling around, though.

Gee, it feels weird to not have anything to write about for once.

Tuesday

Day 25

Man. It's getting close to a full month since Celestia returned. Not that it really matters, since this Celestia isn't exactly the nicest pony around. But anyway, a few things happened today. All of them were related to the campfires. I'm just gonna say this, but some of the ponies down here do not know how to deal with accidentally lighting their tail up. Luckily, the ponies that did know were pretty quick to put out the fire, but now we have... what, four? Five or so ponies with singed manes and tails?

No word from Starlight yet on how things are going, but that's to be expected.

That is all for today. I'm gonna eat some dinner.

Thursday

Day 27

Whoop-de-do, nothing happened. At least it's better than having to be out there fighting and... uh, killing ponies. We're still teaching fire safety protocols to anypony that comes near the campfires, but I'm happy to say that today's the first day this week where we've got zero accidents!

...

...

Welp, at the time of writing this, we no longer have zero accidents today. Somepony tripped over a bucket onto a campfire. Somehow. The bucket wasn't even close!

Friday

Day 28

Well, something interesting actually happened today. You know how the tunnels are connected to the Old Guard fortress? Yeah, somepony stumbled in on us while we were doing our rounds guarding the bunker. We caught them, tied 'em up and brought them in. Luna says that we shouldn't have done that, but what else were we supposed to do?

But yeah. Anyways, we've got a prisoner in the bunker now, and we can't let him escape or else he might tell somepony about us. Maybe we could get him to defect or something, but I don't know. Anyways, Luna and Cadance told me and the others in the guard rotation to instead pretend that we are regular scouts, and to wear the guard uniforms that we had when we were with Starlight. That way, if we come across somepony again, it'd be easier to make an excuse.

Saturday

Day 29

Well, it's my first day of pretending to be an Old Guard... er, guard. Yeah, technically they're a whole separate faction, but they're allied closely enough with Daybreaker that they're basically one and the same. I'll probably just follow along and call the "Equestria" ruled by Daybreaker "Old Guard" like everypony else has been.

So anyway, boring guard duties aside, I got to watch the interrogation of the stallion we captured! Luckily, it seems that he's a bit of a softie, 'cause it only took a matter of minutes before he started talking, and all that happened was Luna stepping into the room! I guess it could have something to do with the fact that the Old Guard's main rallying point is pretty much just "put an alicorn on the throne". Luna's an alicorn, so I guess he respects her for that? I honestly have no idea. Either way though, he didn't seem to have all that much to say. He could only talk about things like where the Old Guard's fort is in the Everfree and what sort of stuff they have there, but he doesn't know a thing about any important ponies or buildings. Chances are he's probably just some low-ranked guard that had to go out on patrol or something.

Sunday

Day 30

Welp. It's been more or less a month now since Daybreaker took control. Not that it really matters whether or not I'm counting, but whatever. Guard duties were as boring as they were yesterday, the stallion we captured still isn't speaking much... I know this is stuff that I should be happy to have happening right now, but it'd be nice if something big happened for once. I'm getting tired of the same-old. It's starting to feel like the training camp in here, only a little less strict and not as emotionally-breaking.

Still no word from Starlight, as usual. I wonder what she's doing right now? It's been a little while since she left.

Tuesday

Day 32

I've been tasked to scout the area a bit since I've already had experience navigating the tunnels. This'll be my first night in a while where I'm not staying with anypony else, because for the first time in a long time, I'm not underground tonight. I'm staying with the Apple Family under disguise, since one of their own foals is currently sick and unable to work. Because Sweet Apple Acres is considered harmless by the Old Guard, I will be using my disguise as a way to get into the fort undercover, and report back on what they're capable of.

I know that our main concern is Daybreaker and Canterlot, but the Old Guard have a much closer base of operations, and so can act much more quickly in comparison. I was told that this is why I'm suddenly being sent to scout. And besides, if my cover is blown, all that would happen is that I would be "found alive" again, since Starlight if I remember correctly reported me and the others as missing in action or something.

Anyway, I'm spending the night with the Apple Family like I said. The choice of apple dumpling pie was a little odd for a main course, but then again--it's the Apple Family. What else would they have?

Also, my legs are sore from failing at bucking trees.

Friday

Day 35

My identity has yet to be discovered. I have disguised myself as an orphan child like I planned to, having buried my uniform in an undisclosed location. I will not, however, be entering any orphanage, because as far as I can tell, there are none, thanks to the wealthy status of nearly all of the fortress' inhabitants.

Whew. Who knew pretending to be a broke lil' foal would take so much work? Now that I'm back in my little alley of darkness again, I feel that I can finally drop the act and be myself again. So--the haul for today is a few meager bits. Based on the prices I saw in the markets, I think I should be able to afford at least breakfast and lunch tomorrow using what's left of the money I earned through begging today.

Am I a good actor? Probably not. Am I good enough? Seems like it. Either that, or all the nobles here are dimwits.

But now that it's nighttime, it's time to get onto the real work. I've already done some scouting for tonight, and I'll be recording my findings in these entries:

The Tree of Harmony is still, in fact, a treehouse, which makes things weird. It's clear that the nobles here seem to be interested in weaponizing it somehow, but there really isn't all too much going on regarding that.

Training grounds do exist, as, obviously, this is a military fort--regardless of how civilian it looks from nearly every angle. They don't appear to see all too much use, and are more or less just glorified empty spaces with a few targets scattered around. If this place ever is used for military purposes and not just a remote getaway for Canterlot's nobility, then I can confidently say that they probably have no change against even a small rebel alliance like ourselves.

Anyway, that's about it for tonight's scouting.

Sunday

Day 37

Three days in, and still nopony suspects a thing. After all, who in their right mind would accuse me, a lil' foal who'd fit in better in an elementary school, of being a spy? Yes, I've definitely picked up a lot of things these past couple months, and my writing style isn't exactly the sort of thing that matches my appearance, but who cares?

Not me.

...

...

What was I writing about? Oh yeah, I was gonna talk about how absolutely nothing happened today. I didn't think that things could get more boring than it did down in the tunnels now that I'm here in this fort-city thing, but somehow, it did.

Nothing was open today. No shops, no restaurants, not even the military buildings. I hardly saw anypony on the streets, either. It's like... they all just disappeared. Once or twice I saw a guard or another scout like myself roaming the streets, but besides them? Nothing.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Friday

Day 42

Had to lay low today. Some of the other guards and nobles began to grow suspicious of me after I got a little pokey yesterday. I suspect it may be because of how many questions I'd asked, when to others it was likely common knowledge.

Either way, much of today was spent in my civilian disguise, begging for crumbs from passers-by. At most I got a few scraps of a sandwich and a couple of bits, but from what I have grown accustomed to in the training camp, it should be enough.

I'm just worried that I won't be able to use my guard disguise anymore.

Author's Note

👀

https://twitter.com/TheMajorTechie/status/1309384018085904385?s=20

New Splintershard cover coming soon :V

Saturday

Day 43

Alright, so I've ditched the guard getup for the time being. It'll be too risky to try sneaking into restricted areas as a guard again from what I can tell. The problem now, however, is that I don't have any backup disguises other than what more or less amounts to "peasant".

I feel that it may be time for me to return from my mission. I didn't accomplish much, but I do still have valuable information at the very least. The others that snuck in should hopefully be able to fill in any gaps that I didn't get myself.

Hopefully, we can soon move to put an end to all this craziness.

Sunday

Day 44

I made my exit from the Old Guard fortress earlier this morning. I remembered hearing that the tunnels are connected to a second tunnel system that links up underneath the fort, so I decided that it would be my best bet for escape. There's a trapdoor leading to the tunnels that I noticed in the training grounds. Luckily, nopony seemed to be nearby or watching when I slipped in. I don't think very many ponies use that place, given how well-kept it is.

So anyway, I was able to make it back in one piece. That's good. I also told Luna about what's been happening in the fort, though... uh, she told me that she already knew some of those things from dreamwalking. Kinda forgot that she's able to do that. But yeah, we now know where the Tree of Harmony is, though since the Elements of Harmony aren't exactly there anymore, we might have to get... creative with our ways if we want to blast Daybreaker with the so-called "rainbow friendship laser" of years past.

Man, at this point I can't tell any difference between formal and casual writing anymore. Is this a report? Is this a diary entry? Who knows? I'm the foal that murdered a couple of ponies in cold blood as part of their duties! I wouldn't know!

Author's Note

Sunbeam's slowly losing it.

In other news, Splintershard's got a new cover! Check it out here!

Tuesday

Alright, prep time. Luna's heading out alongside the scouts tonight with an illusion spell on. She'll be charting out the quickest way in and out, and if possible, experiment on what can be done to retrieve the crystals. Personally, I'm thinking that the tree will likely have to be destroyed to get the Elements of Harmony, given how they were more or less absorbed back into the tree if I remember correctly.

But, that's not what matters at the moment. What matters is that we are able to create a new set of Elements of Harmony from the tree, regardless of what must be done to it.

Now then. As far as Cadance goes, she's working with Starlight at the moment to further train the ponies here, myself included. Luckily, the training regiment isn't nearly as brutal as it was back in Canterlot, and hopefully, this time around... I...

You know what? I'm not going to talk about that. The less I think about it the better.

But yeah. I'm not quite sure when this whole offensive on Canterlot is going to happen, but I know that it will happen soon.

Wednesday

More preparations today. Starlight said that she has a path charted through Canterlot that should take us straight to Daybreaker. I'm not entirely sure if that's the greatest idea, though. Wouldn't cutting through the middle of the city expose us to attack from multiple fronts?

Either way, it looks like the pieces are setting into place. There still isn't any date planned yet, but from the looks of it, especially given how quickly things have been happening lately, it will happen soon, mark my words.

If Celestia's still in there somewhere, I hope she knows that we're coming for her. Er... not "coming for her" in a threatening way... I mean that we'll be there for her.

Yeah.

Author's Note

New Splintershard chapter!

Splintershard

Whisked away by a voice in her head calling herself "Starlight Glimmer", Emily Ashton finds herself in a land far different from anything she'd ever expected.

If only getting back was going to be as easy.

Thursday

To be honest, half the time I feel like we're just stalling now. We've got the plans, we've got the charts, we've been training for days on end... what else is there for us to do? I recently overheard Luna talking about the dreams of Whirlwind, so I guess that means he's at the very least still alive. Not really sure why she was looking into his dreams, though. Maybe she's trying to turn him over to our side?

I'm really not all too sure what else I can write about at this point. Things have started to become repetitive again just like before. I mean, yeah, I definitely appreciate the fact that we're not afraid for our lives or anything right now, but when even the campfire accidents have stopped happening, I think that shows that daily life has become a little mundane.

Saturday

Good news today. Luna said that she's figured out a possible way to separate the Elements of Harmony from the Tree of Harmony, though, just like I was thinking, it apparently means that the tree will be at least partially destroyed in the process. She's already discussed the plan with Starlight, but I think she cut out the part about shattering the tree. Something about Starlight apparently having a closer tie to it now than she herself did, or something like that. Either way, she's set to chip just enough away to create new elements, though I have no idea how long the tree would last without those pieces of itself.

Anyway, I think now that we have both a rough idea of where we'll be headed in Canterlot, as well as how we're going to beat Daybreaker, we should be able to have at least a fighting chance. Still not really sure when we're gonna follow through, but with so many pieces falling into place, it's only a matter of time.

Monday

Whoops, looks like I missed a day. Must've gotten so bored that I forgot. I really can't think of much that's happened today, either. If this is the calm before the storm, then holy crap, we're living in a paradise of a calm right now. Not that I'm complaining or anything--it's just... well, nice.

I just hope that the upcoming battle, whenever it comes, will be short. If we can't bring down Daybreaker in under a day, then we're for sure going to be dead meat.

Wednesday

No word from the scouts yet, though I don't exactly expect a quick response anyways. Our plans are set, our training's more or less complete... really, all we can do, once again, is wait. Only this time, we know for sure that this will be the calm before the storm.

Luna came back last night with a few shards of the Tree of Harmony. I think Starlight might have a bit of an idea of what's going to happen to the tree, based on what I overheard her talking about to Princess Luna. Either way, it seems that at the very least, the shards are able to be used to cast "Harmony Magic", instead of acting like power sources for regular spells and stuff. We don't have much of a way to really test the actual Harmony Magic part of the crystal, but from what we could do right now, it seems that it also amplifies whatever normal spells are funneled through it.

Short to say, things are about to get interesting.

Author's Note

How 'bout y'all give some love to Splintershard, the sequel to this story? I'm trying to get it into my top 4 stories on my about page here on Fimfiction! It'd really make my day after spending hours trying to find what went wrong in my programming assignment for college, only to find out that I had an extra "+ 1" tacked onto a line.

Thursday

Wow.

Like, wow.

It really didn't take us long to fully mobilize, huh? Now that Luna's got the shards/makeshift Elements of Harmony, we've suddenly shifted from training in secret to moving back to the surface! At least this way, it's not as likely that somepony's going to catch themselves on fire from being in such a cramped space all the time. Starlight, as I talked about before, is leading the whole thing. Since I'm still pretty small, I'm also going to be up front where I can maybe slip through the defenses during all the chaos and stuff that happens. If that ends up being what I have to do, and Luna for some reason can't get the Elements to Daybreaker, then me and a few other smaller members of our little resistance will have to bring them ourselves, and wait for Luna to arrive.

I think this is the one time I won't be looking forward to playing hide-and-seek.

Author's Note

Yup, Sunbeam's back, and so is Splintershard! :raritywink:

Friday

It's almost here! The day we're going back to Canterlot!

I can't tell if I should be excited or scared. We're set to leave tomorrow morning in small groups. Some of us will be taking airships disguised as tourist ships, some will be taking the train, and a few will be flying there themselves. We also have some changelings serving as body doubles of ponies like Starlight and Princess Luna and Cadance that we'll be sending out, too! That way, hopefully it might confuse Daybreaker and her own army when several of the same pony breaks through the ceiling!

And yeah, apparently we're going through the roof. Luna said that from her experience, they're very brittle and don't have very many eyes watching them.

I'm going to go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow's a big day.

Saturday

Hoo boy, did we do a lot today.

So, I left in the same group as Starlight Glimmer. The actual one, I mean. That meant that we were sitting on the train heading back to Canterlot. Thankfully, the line is still owned by a pony that doesn't really like picking sides, so we got to sit on our own private carriage once Starlight promised him enough bits in return. He said he'd be using it to repair the railway, and if he doesn't, then he's going to leave it to rot 'cause he's absolutely done with how things have been going. His words, not mine.

Now that we're in Canterlot again, I've had to hold myself back from exploring around. I really want to go back home and see if my mom and dad are okay. I highly doubt it, though. I don't really want to think much about the training camp, either. We're staking out positions right now so that Starlight and the other leaders have some time to communicate on what exactly it is that they'll be doing. Last I heard, Princess Luna and Cadance have still yet to arrive no thanks to them being alicorns. Those two have to be far more careful since Luna's being hunted I think, and I'm pretty sure Cadance is also on pretty shaky ground.

But yeah. Really exciting stuff! I even got to get some donuts from Donut Joe's! Starlight shouted at me for going out on my own without a disguise, though.

Sunday

It's go-time.

Sunday.

Unlike my other diary entries, this one is one I'm writing ahead of time. Our resistance has been gathered. I'm accompanying Starlight personally alongside the others that were originally sent out as her personal guards. We will be headed directly for Canterlot Castle at sundown tonight.

It's kinda funny. Sunday. Sunset. Opposite of daybreak, y'know? I'm pretty sure Star must've timed all of this for symbolism or something since I know from school that leaders in Equestria seem to like doing that.

Luna will be coming from the opposite direction with Cadance, while most everypony else will be fending off the guards to give us an opening. Part of why me and the other former guards are going with Starlight is because Luna and Cadance are alicorns, so they should have plenty of power by themselves to stay safe. Starlight, though? She's not only older than my granny, but she's also only a unicorn!

As for how we're taking down Daybreaker, we're taking the three strongest, meaning Luna, Cadance and Starlight, and giving each of them two "elements" to wield. We're hoping that because of their shared goals and interests, it'll allow them to use the elements and give Celestia a taste of her own medicine.

If that doesn't work, then I have no idea what Starlight has in mind.

Monday

One day.

One freakin' day.

That's how long it took us. I'm... honestly not sure where Starlight went at the moment. I know I left with her, but... she said that she had to leave as soon as possible once we were done, and then there was this explosion, and... well, she shoved me out of the way and put a shield spell bubble around me and the other guards to protect us. She looked like she was running out of mana to do her magic after that, though. She told us to stay in Canterlot Castle and then teleported away. I hope she's okay.

I guess I should probably also talk a little about what exactly happened between yesterday and today, since I'm writing this like an hour before midnight.

Our plan went pretty well as far as plans went. We were able to break in through the roof like Luna suggested before. By the time we did that, there weren't very many of Daybreaker's guards or army left inside thanks to the distraction force that we sent through Canterlot's streets. I swear I saw mom and dad in the crowd for a second or two from the rooftop. Not completely sure, though.

Once we got inside, we were able to take down the other guards pretty easily since it was two alicorns, a really strong unicorn, and a bunch of armored guards against only a few other armored guards. We were careful not to... well, kill them. Just bonk them really hard so that they went to sleep. I don't want to have to see somepony else's blood ever again.

And then something bad happened.

I don't really know when or how it happened, but while we were running through the halls, at some point Cadance went missing. We have no idea where she went, or even what happened to her! She was at the back of the group so that we had an alicorn defending our tails while Luna led at the front of the line. Luna says that she thinks Cadance might've fallen into a trap or something, but right now she's spending time talking to Celestia, so I don't think it's a good time yet to ask.

So that meant that without Cadance, we would've had to split the not-Elements of Harmony between two ponies instead. Luna said that she would be fine taking three, since she's done it before with Celestia. Starlight, though? Starlight really seemed nervous about the whole idea of using three Elements at the same time herself, so instead, she took two, and gave me the third one. I'm not really sure what Element I got, but I'm just very glad that it worked. Kind of.

First of all, the rainbow laser thing that I learned about in school didn't happen. There was no laser. We did manage to... I guess, "activate" them, though. The crystal pieces all started glowing and stuff, and Starlight gave this whole speech about friendship and magic and unity and stuff like that. I was really thinking that the rainbow lasers would happen after that, but instead there was this really big explosion. I'm still not sure how we were all still alive after that, though I think part of it was Starlight's shield spell. Luna was fine on her own. Also, that wasn't the same explosion that made Starlight have to make a shield spell again to protect us before disappearing. That came later.

Oh, oh, and... and after all the smoke cleared out, we saw Celestia! Luna went up to Celestia and started crying for her to wake up, which she did and booped Luna on the snoot. Luna got mad for a little bit after that. Apparently, Celestia remembers almost nothing about her time as Daybreaker, and even worse, she doesn't really seem to remember anything right now. She's acting like... like a filly! Like I'm one to talk, though.

So, after all of that happened, Starlight walked out to what was left of the balcony to declare victory. She also announced that she was with us officially instead of being with Daybreaker. There was a lot of cheering, and it looked like a lot of the nobles were retreating, too! I'm pretty sure that not very many, if any of them heard Starlight since she didn't have a megaphone or anything. Not only that, but they were retreating out of Canterlot. I think they're going to go to that fort place Starlight helped build in the Everfree Forest.

All in all, it took a lot less time to attack and reform Daybreaker back into Celestia than I thought it would. I know that Princess Twilight took only one night to reform Nightmare Moon back into Luna years ago, but that was with five other ponies that later became her friends! That made things so much easier to have each pony only wield one element, not like this time when everything went boom after!

And then there's the part I was talking about at the very beginning. Apparently, there was a bomb or something that was dropped into the throne room where we were before the Old Guard went and retreated. Or maybe it was hidden somewhere. I don't know. Either way, Starlight said that she wanted to retreat to Ponyville for a time and "lay low", just in case.

So, the bomb went off, setting off a second explosion. Except this time, none of us were expecting it, and apparently I was standing closest to where it was coming from, so Starlight jumped in front to cast an emergency shield spell. That saved pretty much all of us besides Luna and Celestia since they weren't really in danger anyway. The explosion blew out one of the walls of the castle. After that, Starlight said again that she was going to retreat, and that she might even spend some time looking for Cadance. She didn't really say anything else before she teleported away.

I guess... things might start going back to normal again. I hope. Since Starlight is "laying low", Luna said that she will be in charge for a while until things are put back together. After that, we're going to go by Twilight's original plan to elect a new government. Maybe in the future, we can even welcome the nobles back!

Wednesday

Well, there's bad news, and there's even badder news.

For one, we still haven't been able to find Cadance yet. Flurry Heart apparently sent a letter asking about Cadance, and now Princess Luna is freaking out a little.

And then there's the worse news.

Starlight Glimmer is... well, dead.

Remember how I wrote that we had guards patrolling the edges of Canterlot City? That's where they found her body. I didn't see it for myself, but apparently, she ran out of mana mid-teleport. Something about her anti-aging spell wearing off and her body giving up right then and there, resulting in her popping back into existence and falling to her death.

What a way to go. Like I needed one more bad thing to have happen after all this craziness. We don't plan on announcing any of this to the public, though. To them, Starlight's still going to be MIA. At least that way, it'd keep the Old Guard from getting suspicious about her if they found her in Ponyville.

Well, I guess this is basically it for now. I'm still not entirely sure of my parents are alive or not, but once again, I'm pretty sure I saw them at some point or another. Oh, and Whirlwind, too! Apparently, even though his Whirlybirds were speedy and small, the Old Guard never really used them all that much past those first few times. I was able to find and talk to him earlier today, too. He said that he and his mom and dad are just fine, and they plan on starting a whole business around his Whirlybirds and other inventions!

As for Celestia and Luna, Princess Luna's going to be in charge for a little while. She even said so herself. I think she's hoping that the Old Guard will figure out that things still turned out alright. Yeah, they wanted Celestia on the throne, but with everything that happened? I'm sure they'll come back to Equestria with Luna in charge, right?

Though, Luna also said that she won't be staying for very long since she has to take care of Celestia until she starts to remember things again. After that, she wants to go back into retirement, meaning that we're going all the way back to square one with how Twilight said she wanted elections and stuff.

Hopefully that'll turn out alright.

Hopefully.

I don't think I'm going to be writing any more in this diary. One, there's blood stains on it and that's gross, two, I don't want to ever think about this stuff again. Especially some parts. I just want things to go back to normal, and pushing all of this away I think is the first step.

To anypony who might be reading this in the future:
One, thank you for reading.
Two, why the heck are you reading my diary?

Author's Note

And with that, Sunbeam has come to a close. Our little ambiguous foal that you've nicknamed "Sunbeam" after the story itself will now be moving on with life, and leaving this chapter--or story, really--behind.

Equestria, though somewhat restored, remains in pieces.

The Ashen interim government now controls the majority of the nation, with most major cities and towns falling in line in support.

Yet, the Old Guard still lurks in the Everfree, bitter at their defeat, but biding their time.

And all it takes is a little spark to blow everything sky-high once more.

What, or rather who is this spark, one might ask?

Emily Ashton.

ESplintershard

MLP: FiM

Adventure

Sci-Fi

Once upon a time, Equestria flourished. That time is now long-gone.

Human

Alt. Universe

OC

Starlight Glimmer

TheMajorTechie · 59k words  ·  54  6 · 597 views

As always, thank you for reading. :twilightsmile:

Friday

Not much again, just like the last few days. Today, I spent some time alone. It's still hard to imagine just how quickly the world has changed in only a little more than two months. Yes, I still do blame Twilight for starting all of this, but... after what I've seen and been through? After watching the life drain from the eyes of others by my own hooves? I think I'm beginning to understand.

Twilight has seen her own fair share of death in her years ruling Equestria. It was certainly far less violent than what I was forced to go through myself, but my point still stands. Friends, family--they all passed away at one point or another. I'm not sure if even my family is still alive, either. Death can do things to you. No doubt that some have long-since become desensitized to it, or even to the world as a whole. I consider myself lucky in that regard. Though I do have brief flashes of those few moments, I believe I came out alright. More than a little rattled, yes, but still, mostly sound in mind nonetheless.

To be honest, I do wonder what Twilight has been doing ever since she stepped down.

Thursday

Thursday

New day, nothing exciting. Twilight was on the radio today talking about what she wants to do now that Starlight's in charge, but that's really everything that happened.

Whirlwind also brought a popsicle stick model of his flying machine to school today, though! That was a lot more fun, because we got to play with it at recess, and we were running around taking turns pretending to make it fly! In the end, though, we accidentally broke it when he tripped on a dangerous grass clump outside. But, he said that he can fix it at home, so tomorrow we can play with it again!

Right now, I'm just sitting at home on my bed, writing in this diary. I kind of find it funny how some ponies like me can hold a pen using only my hooves, while others have to hold it in their mouth and sometimes taste all the icky ink that spills out if they bite too hard. Mom and Dad said not to think about it, but I saw a pony holding chopsticks when I was walking home earlier, and that really made me think about it instead, and now I can't stop thinking about it because all I can think about are ponies holding things they shouldn't be able to hold!

I am a little bit worried, though. Mom and Dad were talking about "stability" again not too long ago today, and were saying that maybe we should move to somewhere like Ponyville instead, where there's less ponies but more weirdness. I don't want to have to move away from my friends! I told them that we shouldn't because I was doing good in school, but they're still saying that we should move "just in case" and then something about the rich nobles living here in Canterlot. Just in case of what? The worst that I heard about those nobles is that they don't want Twilight to not be Princess anymore. Can't they just wait and see if Starlight will be like Twilight as Princess? They're more impatient than I am!

Monday

Monday

Yawn. Today we learned how to mix fractions together. You basically just take the bottom half of one fraction and the bottom half of the other, and you see what number both of those can fit into. There's something else too I think, but I'm too tired to think about it right now.

Whirlwind brought a bigger model of his flying machine to school today, too. I don't really think he's having a very big problem anymore with the mean ponies in class, because I saw that they were playing with him at recess like they were friends again. Maybe they decided that his flying machine was actually pretty cool! Like, yeah, it's still kind of small, but it can fit two ponies inside it, so we took turns trotting around pretending we were flying in the air!

Though, Whirlwind is a pegasus pony already, so I think he's doing it more for ponies like me that don't have wings.

But yeah, we had a lot of fun. Whirlwind tripped while we were running across the field, so both of us tumbled in the grass after that happened. We broke the model flying machine again, but because it was bigger and stronger, it only dented the cardboard a little bit instead.

I'm just happy that there wasn't all that much stuff happening on the radio today. I didn't have to hear more about nobles being mad at Starlight Glimmer. Instead, I could just listen to music after school, and then I took a nap after dinner. I don't really think very much else happened after that because when I woke up I was in my room again. Soooo... yeah, I'm writing in the middle of the night again.

I wonder what Whirlwind wants to do with all of the model flying machines he's been putting together at home?

Tuesday

Finally, some momentum. We sent out some advance scouts today to gather some more information on what's happening in Canterlot since Starlight's still with us at the moment. I didn't tag along this time, so instead, I got to hear about what Luna's planning on doing. Sometime later tonight, she's going to sneak into the Old Guard fortress through the tunnels with a pick and try to break off a few pieces of the Tree of Harmony. From there, since we can't be entirely sure that they'll even work like the old Elements of Harmony, we'll also enchant each crystal just in case.

Cadance and Starlight will be leading the charge, serving as a distraction while Luna brings the Elements into Canterlot Castle to face her sister in an ironic turn of events. Once that's done and over, we'll retreat just in case, leaving Luna behind with a hopefully-reformed Celestia. Starlight at this point would need to retreat, as if she stays behind, then those loyal to the Old Guard would know that she was working with us if she was there during the invasion. If she doesn't, well... I'm not really sure what would happen to her.

Tuesday

Tuesday

Okay, so nothing all that interesting happened at school today. Whirlwind got sick, so he had to stay home. School was boring without him.

But, the newsponies on the radio had something really interesting to say today! I don't think that it's really anything bad, but they were talking about how some of the nobles who were complaining about Starlight decided to try to elect Princess Celestia to lead again! They're calling it "the Sunbeam movement" or something like that, because they're saying that Celestia never should've stepped down in the first place now. One of the nobles that are trying to elect Celestia said on the radio that they're calling it Sunbeam because they want Celestia to raise the sun again, instead of Twilight Sparkle like it has been for a long time. At least, that's what I think they said. I wasn't paying very much attention.

Though, Celestia and Luna have been living on their own for a pretty long time now, haven't they? They retired to, like, a beach or something if I remembered correctly, and don't really talk very much anymore about stuff that happens. Even if the Sunbeam movement does elect Celestia or something, I don't really think she'd be able to handle leading anymore. There's a lot of stuff that's changed ever since the time when they stepped down, so if they aren't always listening to the radio like I am, or going to school anymore, then how would they know what's even going on anymore?

So yeah. Equestria is really weird and confusing right now.

Thursday

Thursday

Big news over the radio today! One of the big cities with the nice beaches was attacked! I don't remember who they said was attacking, but a lot of ponies are starting to panic now! It happened this morning and so school was cancelled and I stayed home and now the Sunbeam movement is really freaking out!

They're saying that Celestia needs to come back now, because she wouldn't have let this happen. Starlight Glimmer said over the radio that we should turn off all the lights at night just in case, and that the royal guard would be sent out to try and make things better. I really hope they do! Whirlwind stopped by earlier today and told me that he wants to invite the whole class to his house to try out his biiiig flying machine, and I don't want to have to miss that!

Um... oh, and also, Starlight Glimmer said that she's going to have Cadance come over here to help out, while Flurry Heart stays in charge of the Crystal Empire. She's still pretty young though, so I really hope that her mom taught her what to do and stuff! So yeah. A lot of stuff happened today, and now I'm stuck at home writing this because I didn't want to listen to all the bad news anymore. At this point, I'm starting to think that maybe it would be better for Celestia or Twilight to be in charge again.

Wait... wait, I just heard the radio turn on again downstairs. The... statue? I can't hear it very well, but I just heard something about a statue. What statue are they talking about? I learned about the Discord statue not too long ago at school, and how he passed his power on and disappeared and stuff, and that after he did, we built a statue of him. I don't think that that's the statue they're talking about, though. I just hope that it's nothing too important. I don't want to have to have another bad thing happen after all these other bad things.

Saturday

Saturday

They're... gone. The newspony on the radio said that all of the royal guards sent went missing. I really hope they're still alive, because they said that they're still sending reporters over right now to find out about what happened. Princess Cadance was able to help keep a lot of ponies here in Canterlot calm, but now we have the problem of needing to replace the missing guards. I learned in class that Equestria doesn't really have very many royal guards or anything because we're a "neutral country", so all we have is a small bunch of them. But because we don't have very many, that means that now we don't have enough! Starlight sent a lot of guards to the city that was being attacked, and now there's really not very many left over here!

I also learned a little bit more about the statue that went missing. It's the old statue of Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow that was made when all the creatures in Equestria came together to beat them years ago. I'm really starting to think that maybe something bad is going to happen really soon now. Somebody doesn't like Equestria. I think.

But that's enough about talking about scary things and stuff. I had more cake muffins for breakfast today! We ate them with some bananas and strawberries and whipped cream! Dad said that we should probably start "rationing" or whatever it was that he said in case if we can't go out and buy stuff anymore. I think he's also really worried like I am. Every day now there seems to be something big happening. It's scary, but Mom and Dad always say that when I'm scared, think about all my friends and family and everyone that I love! It helps a little bit, but I really don't know right now...

Thursday

Thursday

Homework was boring, nothing interesting was on the radio, blah blah blah... News of Luna being found reached Canterlot, and I did hear a little bit of arguing on the radio about whether or not she should also be brought back to join Celestia. I... think I heard something along the lines of "we shouldn't keep all our eggs in one basket" or something like that, so I don't think she's coming to Canterlot anytime soon.

Since there really isn't all that much on the radio anymore, I guess I can try filling in what I see going on. There were some balloons drifting around the city all day today. All of them had ponies riding in them with binoculars and stuff, so I think that Starlight and Celestia decided to have them keep watch for anything bad that might be coming. That's a good idea.

Still no talk about Whirlwind. I wonder if he thinks about his friends now that he's moved away? Maybe he already made some new ones. Ponies really seem to like his flying machines!

But yeah, nothing really happened today, and that's nice. Less stuff to worry about.

Friday

Friday

So.

Homework was boring (again!), not much happened on the radio, and the nobles are still saying that Starlight should step down. I just don't get why they're like that! Can't they see that she's doing her best? They can't just say "oh, Celestia's in charge now" and stuff when she doesn't even know what's going on! At least let Starlight teach Celestia some things before you try to kick her out!

But... yeah. I really don't have all that much that I can talk about anymore since nopony really ever says anything on the radio. Yeah, sometimes something happens and the newspony reports on it, but usually it's just music and ads that are saying stuff like "stay positive" and "don't worry" and stuff like that.

On a side note, Whirlwind actually stopped by again today! He said that he's allowed to take some of his best friends with him on a field trip to the place that he moved to, and of course I said yes! Maybe I'll get to meet some of his new friends! He said to keep it a secret though, so maybe he wants to do a surprise or something? He said that he gets a lot more time to work on his flying machines now, so he probably doesn't have as much homework as I do.

Anyway, that's basically everything that happened today. By Celestia, it'd be nice if something interesting happened for once.

Sunday

Sunday

Whirlwind said that he was able to get permission for the entire class to visit whenever we want to, though we still aren't allowed to go into some of the special rooms in the big building. He said that he and his dad get to do a lot of the designing, while his mom watches over other ponies while they do the actual building. He is a little disappointed that he doesn't get to do very much building himself anymore, though.

That really big flying machine is one of his favorites, so sometimes he takes a break and does a little bit of work on it. At least, that's what he keeps telling everyone.

So anyway, some of the smaller flying machines are already ready to fly. They're a lot smaller, and it looks like they can only really fit maybe one or two ponies and some luggage and stuff. Maybe they're, like, personal flying machines for when ponies want to go somewhere really fast by themselves! Or maybe it's gonna be used by the new royal guard ponies so that they can move around faster! Maybe if they were able to get to that town sooner, they would be able to stop all the weird attacks and stuff from happening!

Either way, after about an hour we had to leave again. Whirlwind did give all of us another little toy flying machine though, so now I have two!

Tuesday

Tuesday

Well, I know what Whirlwind's flying machines sound like now.

Earlier this morning, I heard this really loud brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr noise outside. I was working on homework in my room, so I decided to stop and take a look out the window. Turns out, Whirlwind's already testing out his flying machines! They weren't going as fast as I thought that they would go, but they were still really fast! Faster than any pegasus chariot that I've ever seen before, too! They were doing loops, and flying fast, and some of them even had big metal thingies sticking out under the wings! I know, because one flew really close to my house, and I could see it!

There was also a little bit more news on the radio today, too. Starlight Glimmer said that Equestria was going to prepare to go to war because of the invasion attack thing that happened. I still don't really know what we're going to war with, but I hope not too many ponies or creatures get hurt! I know it's war and stuff, so there will be ponies getting hurt, but still! Though... Equestria's also mostly been at peace all this time, so I'm really not all that sure about how well we'd be able to stop another invasion. After all, look what happened to the royal guards! How can Equestria be able to stay safe when the ponies that are defending it weren't able to defend? I don't know.

Sunday

Sunday

Even more Whirlybirds. I'm starting to wonder if Whirlwind might've also designed machines to build his flying machines instead of just having ponies build them. They can't possibly be working that fast, right?

...Right?

So anyway, some airships that weren't ours were spotted at the edge of Canterlot earlier today. Luckily, they were only coming from Ponyville. Though, it did scare a lot of ponies to see something big in the air that wasn't one of the Whirlybirds. The airships were carrying ponies out of Ponyville because apparently a lot of them over there don't really feel very safe right now. Mr. Cheese was in charge of the leading airship, and from what I heard on the radio, he was able to get everyone safely off onto Canterlot's skydocks. He's an old stallion from what I've heard, but his optimism seemed pretty helpful in raising everypony's hopes when he was speaking to the radio host around dinnertime. Apparently, he's the child of Pinkie Pie, so that makes sense.

Now then. Let's see... anything else to talk about? Oh yeah-- Twilight's old assistant, Spike, finally returned after spending several years away. Apparently, he completely freaked out over Twilight stepping down, and now he's also disappeared not even a day after he arrived back in Canterlot. I guess that means he's gonna be missing too, now.

Thursday

Thursday: Day 2 since Celestia's return.

More disappearances. One of the ponies that asked on the radio not too long ago about Luna hasn't been heard from since yesterday. There's been reports of solid beams of light shooting down from time to time into cities and towns, and every time it happens there seems to be another disappearance reported. I wanna be funny and say that it's aliens, but something deep down is telling me it's Celestia. She's killing them. I just know it.

Funnily enough, Celestia actually went on the radio again for once. She said that now that Klugetown's invasion force is crushed, Equestria will be launching their own force in retaliation. Based on the number of Whirlybirds flying out these past couple days, I wouldn't be surprised. I haven't had the chance to ask Whirlwind about his thoughts on all this yet, though. I wonder if he realizes just how many creatures are being killed in part thanks to his flying machines?

There was also a pony that came to our door earlier today. I'm pretty sure they're one of the nobles that helped vote Celestia back into power without her wanting it. Anyway, they assigned each member of our family a number. I think every creature living in Canterlot is getting a number of some sort. Not as sure about anywhere else, though. I don't know what the numbers are for, but I doubt that it's going to be for anything good. Not with how Celestia's been acting ever since she returned from battle. I think, just in case, I'm going to keep my diary close by at all times now. That way, if something ever happens to me or anyone else, someone can read these entries and figure out what happened. I'll try my best to keep it with me as much as possible, even if I can't stay here at home anymore for whatever reason.

Saturday

Saturday: Day 4 since Celestia's return.

Well, at least I know I'm still alive.

Today, while I was eating breakfast, some tough-looking members of the Sunbeam Corps broke down the door and took me away. I... I think I'm part of them now. I'm pretty sure I saw Mom and Dad once or twice here in the training camp, but I'm not entirely sure. I think this is part of why the numbers we were assigned are all random-- so that it's harder to find and band together with others.

Starlight Glimmer returned today, too. She said on the radio that she was visiting Twilight, so she must've known where she went. She doesn't seem very happy about what Celestia is doing, though, but for now she's been put in charge over the Sunbeam Corps since she's one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria. Not really sure how that's going to work out, though. I'm sure that if she says anything against it, she'll probably be zapped or something. I don't really expect much to change.

I... guess I should start keeping track of things from here on out. I'll... try to use something a little more formal so that nobody gets confused if they read this. Think of it as a sort of summary of what went on, without so many personal thoughts and opinions. This will be my first report.

For now, I am healthy. I have no wounds or other physical injuries.

I remain sufficiently fed and hydrated for now, though I am unsure of how long that may remain the case.

Today marks my first night in the Royal Canterlot Sunbeam Corps training grounds. Tomorrow begins my training, and I do not know what to expect.

I have been assigned a tent corresponding to the number I was given. Rations of food and drink come twice a day-- once in the morning, and once in the evening.

End of report 1.

Monday

Day 6 since Celestia's return, day 3 of camp.

My injuries remain minor, though are increasing with each training session. I have become proficient in basic hoof-to-hoof combat, and will now learn dodging maneuvers.

Rations have been cut, starting today, due to the influx of new trainees. A roll of bread and a cup of beans for each meal remains at the least sufficient for nutrition.

Starlight Glimmer remains reluctant to lead the Sunbeam Corps and has avoided direct oversight of the camps. We received a written memo stating that she will be taking some time to see to the preparation of the recently-established Everfree fortress, as there are rumors that there may be a potential attack on outlying towns surrounding Canterlot such as Ponyville.

Report over. Back to other things, I guess. One of the Blueblood folks have gotten a bit close to Celestia somehow. I'm not sure about the specifics, but I heard that he's basically her personal servant right now, which somehow led to Celestia giving him the title of "king" of that fort in the Everfree. A bit weird, but I guess since the Blueblood line has always been looking to rule over somewhere, it wouldn't hurt to give the family something to keep them quiet. I really don't have anything else to say right now. Whirlwind's still sending out more planes, I guess. And more beamings, but whatever.

Saturday

Day 8

I have... I have spilled blood. I-- I stormed Ponyville, seeking out rebels as per my orders. My group rounded up three, and we... slit their throats. We were told that they were too dangerous to be kept alive. All the other ponies that were in my group are older than me by at least ten years, if not more.

I... I can't do this. I can't! This isn't who I am-- this isn't who I wanted to be! But now, I've killed ponies! I have drops of their blood matted into my mane, all because of some-- orders.

Stupid, pesky orders. If I'm dead and gone after this entry, then you can count on somepony having read it and reported me to Celestia.

But... I don't really have a choice, do I? It's my life or theirs, and... and... ugh. Maybe I should just stop thinking at all. Ponyville is all but decimated as it stands, with the ponies that we didn't... well, kill having all fled from town. I'm just hoping that there's something, or someone out there that can stop this before it gets any worse.

Twilight Sparkle, if you're out there, if you can somehow read these words I'm writing, I have one thing to ask you:

Was it worth it?

Wednesday

Day 12

Honestly, I think I might've taken what I did back in Ponyville a little too well. Like, who in their right mind kills somepony and doesn't even lose sleep over it? Am... am I a monster for that? I don't feel anything. Haven't felt anything really since we left camp for Ponyville. I just hope I can knock some sense back into myself... or something. Hopefully.

So. Blah blah blah, vitals normal, the works. Food still smells funny, but that's pretty much a given. Starlight must've thought the same thing that I did about needing guards and being away from the fight, 'cause she picked me to be on her guard team! Me! Can you believe it? I finally get to get out of this place without needing to go anywhere to fight! Tomorrow's when we're leaving, but for now, I'm just training up a little bit more. I'm not really sure where she's going, but I did a little bit more practice on self-defense stuff today just in case.

Maybe Star might even meet Celestia! Maybe I could ask her directly why she's doing the things she's doing, and not get beamed for that! Actually... nevermind, it would probably be Starlight asking stuff. I would just stand around and listen or something. Not completely sure, like I said.

Anyway, that's pretty much it for this time around.

Tuesday

Day 18

More digging today. Funnily enough, we've actually dug far enough now that we're beginning to find stuff like gemstones that formed deep underground ages ago. Also some skeletons and fossils, but who's keeping track? We found shiny stuff!

Kidding, kidding. But yeah, we found a few scattered gems and ores and stuff while digging, and yes, we've gone deep enough now that we're practically mining underneath Ponyville. We've dug out ventilation shafts, and made an agreement with the Apple Family to hide those shafts in Sweet Apple Acres. They'll be covered up when we don't need them anymore so that nopony accidentally falls into one even with a grate over the opening. I'm glad Sweet Apple Acres was left alone by Cele-er, Daybreaker's orders. The apples they've been sending down to keep us fed are really tasty! Not so much of a fan of the so-called "apple stew" that one of the ponies has been making down here, though.

Now that I think of it, to be honest, this is actually the safest and least unsure that I've felt in a pretty long time. Yeah, I still don't know where my mom and dad are, and yeah we're preparing to go to war and stuff now that Luna's flying out as well to recruit more cities and stuff, but still. I have a safe place to live, I'm getting familiar with the faces around me, we're not eating garbage all the time... yeah. It's just... nice to belong with others again for once. We've even gotten pretty used to our nicknames, too! A lot of ponies call me Sunbeam now like I asked them to. I will not say my real name around anypony though, whether they're friends or enemies. Not even gonna write it here. It's... too personal.

Wednesday

Day 19

Guess what? Starlight's back! She said that she's now out on a mission to "find and destroy" any remaining stragglers (aka us) all across Equestria. It seems that Daybreaker apparently thinks it'll be faster to have a powerful magus like Starlight do all the zappy work instead of doing it herself or sending the army to do it. Probably not the most efficient way, but hey, since Starlight's a double agent and stuff, that means that no more ponies will be beamed! ...I think.

But yeah. Starlight's back, and since she told Daybreaker that she doesn't know how long it'll take to finish her task, if she ever will finish it, she's got plenty of time now to spend with us!

So anyways, since I was sitting right next to Luna the last time we were talking about our plans, I went ahead and told Starlight all of the stuff that we're doing! Except for the secret hideout thing. That part's still secret. Moving on though, I told Starlight about the plan to use the Elements, and though she looked at us a little bit weird, she's onboard with it since it came from Luna. We already know that we don't need six ponies to wield all six elements, since they've been used before with multiple elements on one pony like Celestia. Since I know the plans the best besides Luna, I said that I could help with the elements too! Starlight laughed a little bit and said that I might be too young for that still, but I can! I'm tough! I went through the guard school thing like all the other ponies, and I'm not all that hurt at all!

Oh and also Cadance is coming to help I think. Don't remember if I said that or not already, but yeah she's coming over. Flurry Heart's taking charge over in the Crystal Empire for now.

Friday

Day 21

More training. I think some of the ponies down here are already starting to get tired of apple-based food, because I've started seeing foraging groups leave the tunnels and come back from time to time with different kinds of food. Nuts, berries, stuff like that. I think I might've even seen a fish or two in the stuff that they came back with. Didn't think we had any meat-eaters down here, but I guess I'm wrong.

So anyway, we kept up with some more training today. Luna was teaching about stealth, and how to take advantage of our surroundings in battle, while Cadance talked about what she learned from the Changelings long ago about deception. Starlight, of course, is still teaching unicorn magic, and I'm doing hoof-to-hoof combat with the other guards helping me teach.

I also brought up Whirlwind to Starlight today. She said that we could consider setting up a stealth mission to bring him over to our side, but she'd have to go back again first to figure out the best strategy. Plus, apparently Daybreaker is a bit more aware now of the fact that there's some sort of resistance going on. Starlight told me that she'll likely have to spend more time away from the tunnels again since she's been called back to Canterlot from her so-called "duties" to defend Daybreaker. Bleh. But yeah, I think Luna's gonna take over magical instruction in the meantime, while Starlight's probably going to end up being forced to fight against us for some time until she figures out how she can fully defect without any suspicion.

Wednesday

Day 26

So, I asked Luna about what she thought about Daybreaker. She said that it reminded her a lot of herself when she turned into Nightmare Moon, and personally, I can definitely see the similarities. Though, she did also say that the way Celestia turned into Daybreaker was very different from how she herself became Nightmare Moon, since Celestia apparently went Daybreaker out of stress or something on the battlefield, while Nightmare Moon came around out of jealousy or something like that.

But anyway, the point is that compared to Nightmare Moon, or at least what Luna remembers of being Nightmare Moon, Celestia as Daybreaker is a lot scarier. Like, yeah, Nightmare Moon wanted the night to last forever and stuff, but she still at the very least cared about the ponies she wanted to rule over. Daybreaker? She just wants complete and utter domination, no matter who is hurt in the process.

As far as camp stuff goes, we finally decided that enough was enough and taught some basic fire safety procedures to anypony that even so much as looked at the campfires. We don't have very many fire extinguishers down here as it is, so it's best to keep accidents to a minimum.

Monday

Day 31

Starlight was able to stop by again today! Nopony expected her, so she was confused when the only ponies she saw in the tunnel were me and a couple other guards. She asked me where everypony else went, and I made up the excuse that they were out in the Everfree on a scouting mission. She didn't entirely believe me I think, but it was good enough for her. Anyway, she said that she was sent to Ponyville by Daybreaker to get some apples from Sweet Apple Acres for a cake, even though that was absolutely not in her job description. That means that she can't stay for very long, though at the very least, she knows that one of the hatches leading into these tunnels is really close to Sweet Apple Acres anyway.

So, I asked her how things were going. Starlight said that things have sorta settled down now that Daybreaker's beamed anypony brave enough to dare speaking out against her. She knows that we need to launch an offensive soon, though we're still far from prepared. How the heck are we going to be able to resist against somepony who can call down death lasers out of the sky? I also asked about Whirlwind. Starlight said that she didn't have the chance to ask about him or meet with him. All she knows is that the whirlybirds he's been designing have been getting bigger and faster with each redesign. If we could maybe steal him, or at least some of his designs, it'd really give us a leg up in this upcoming war.

Wednesday

Day 33

Alright, so my first task on this mission is to infiltrate the Old Guard fortress in the Everfree. I was told that there's going to be other scouts such as myself sneaking in, but we are all remaining separate to avoid suspicion. This is my last night with the Apple Family for the time being.

Once I'm in, I'll have to try my best to blend in as much as possible. Not entirely sure how I'll be doing that yet, but I'm sure I'll figure something out by tomorrow. Maybe I can pretend to be an orphan or something that stumbled in. Idunno.

Author's Note

Splintershard, the sequel to this story, has resumed updates! :raritywink:

Thursday

Day 34

I have successfully entered the Old Guard's Everfree fortress. I made a quick stop down in the bunker to confirm my mission--it appears that Princess Luna may have her sights on the Treehouse of Harmony. Though the Elements no longer exist in a physical sense, she believes that it may be possible to form new elements using shards of the tree. This will be one of the things I will be collecting information on, though I am not entirely sure what data it is that I will be collecting. I suppose it would be information on the state of the tree and whether or not it can be chipped away at easily... or something.

Anyway, enough with the formalities. I got through the gates thanks to my guard uniform, but once I find a safe place to hide it, I'll be ditching the uniform until I need it again. It's best if I don't look suspicious while in uniform, after all. But... man, the Old Guard is actually really pretty inside its walls! I was expecting something more along the lines of a run-down dump covered in vines or something like that, but it's really, truly clean in here!

Then again, I think I remember hearing that Starlight Glimmer handled part of the construction work, so it being well-built is gonna be a given.

But anyway, I've settled down for now in an alley close to one of the shopping districts. Yes, one of them. The nobles that fled to live here really seem to have brought their lifestyle with them, that's for sure!

...Also, isn't this place supposed to be like a military base or something? It feels like the polar opposite of the kind of base that I was stuffed into a while back.

Saturday

Day 36

More scouting. I've moved out of the alley to a location closer to the things I'm actually interested in--namely, the military and operations-centric structures. From what I've heard, vertical farms have either been or are being planned to be built in order to support the population without the need to ever venture outside of the fort's boundaries to cultivate crops on outside lands.

King Blueblood (I think I remember saying he was deemed king of this place, right?) has been living in a pretty messily thrown-together "palace" of sorts as well, though it hardly compares to the buildings I've seen up in Canterlot.

Now, onto the juicy stuff.

I overheard some guards on the other side of a wall talking about how they've been unsuccessful in finding any more potentially-dangerous ponies. That's good. It means that our hiding place works. And, if I absolutely have to, since the tunnels are connected to the fort, I could slip in and out almost entirely undetected. In fact, that may as well be how I get in and out of this place normally! With most of our operations happening within our bunker off the main tunnels, I wouldn't have to worry so much about being followed if I slip away, and with the enclosed space, we could easily cut off their exit and capture them like we did that other guard a while back.

Haven't heard much else yet, though, but I'm just happy about the part about not finding anypony else.

Author's Note

Don't forget, Splintershard has exited its hiatus! You can learn a little bit more about what happens in the future of this story from it! :raritywink:

Wednesday

Day 40

Okay, good, I found this thing again. Man, I thought I'd lost it forever!

So anyway, what happened was that pretty much the entire kingdom had shut down for a while. Everypony was still there, but a couple days ago, there was a massive police and guard presence that ran through the streets. I got caught up in it all no thanks to my roaming about using my guard uniform just in case. I... guess my diary must've fallen on the streets while I was being forced to march.

All in all, I had to help pull a few suspected dissidents from their homes and banish them from the kingdom. No doubt they'll end up fighting for the Ashen cause instead. I'm just a little surprised that they weren't beamed like the ones in Canterlot were. I guess technically being its own autonomous kingdom means Celestia isn't going to have her hooves in anything?

So anyway, the level of panic in the kingdom's died down now, and I was allowed to go back "home". I still have a bad feeling that the whole military-sweep of this place is only the beginning, though.

Author's Note

Something big's happened to Emily in Splintershard...

Thursday

Day 41

Alright. So, even a full day after the sweep happened, there seems to still be a general uneasiness among the population. I suspect that even though the fort and its internal city are founded and run by former Canterlot nobles, the vast majority of the ponies living here are commoners that fled Canterlot themselves. Those ponies could be a good source of potential supporters to our cause... though, their existing feat of being purged in a sweep likely would hold them back.

Regarding further surveillance, I've since returned to my disguise as an orphan foal. Earlier in the day, however, I once again donned my uniform to carry out "inspections" on some of the structures. Surprisingly enough, the nobles in charge of authorization actually believed me!

Anyway, I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not, but it looks like the fort's aiming to be as self-sufficient as possible. There are some towers that are currently under construction, which, according to those who I asked, are set to be used for vertical farming. I don't exactly know what that is, but I'm guessing it's a way to stack farms or something so that not as much land has to be used to grow stuff. Not really sure how they're gonna manage to get between the layers and do all the farmwork, though. They'll probably use the non-noble populace for labor if you ask me. I wasn't able to stick around for too long, however, as I'd otherwise begin to look suspicious if I were to stay and stare at the incomplete towers.

Author's Note

It's my birthday! Send some love to Splintershard for me? It'd make my day to see that story reach more people. :twilightsmile:

Monday

Day 45

I suppose I can stop numbering the days since Daybreaker took power. Not like there's much of a point in counting, anyway.

Anyway, Starlight made a surprise visit earlier today to talk with Luna and Cadance and the others. Cadance is starting to show some worry about Flurry Heart, since this is the first time that she's ever been ruling completely alone in the Crystal Empire. Thing is, she's a full-grown mare at this point, and I'm pretty sure she's older than either of my parents, so I think she'll be able to handle it.

Moving onto the juicy bits now. Luna and Starlight discussed what can be done, and I chipped in with more information where I could. I think it's been more or less decided that we're going to launch an offensive on Canterlot sometime in the near-future. Yes, we know that we're far outnumbered since we don't exactly have the chance to reach out to other cities for help (if they're even still standing), but it's the only chance we've got!

So. Because Luna has far more experience, she will be infiltrating the Old Guard fortress to chip away at the Tree of Harmony... or retrieve the Elements of Harmony... uh, whatever. Point is, she's gonna figure out how to bring back the Elements so that we can use them against Daybreaker like Twilight and her friends did against Nightmare Moon.

Secondly, in order to keep her front up, Starlight will arrive the next morning at the fortress, claiming that she "heard something happen" the night before. She will then head back to Canterlot and sabotage the forces under her command to reduce the number of potential deaths on either side.

As for Cadance, she will be leading alongside Princess Luna our little ragtag army up into Canterlot, with hopes to recruit more ponies along the way. Once we're close enough to Canterlot, Starlight, Luna, and Cadance will wield the new Elements of Harmony against Daybreaker before making an escape. Given the number of loyalists apparently installed at higher levels, there's a good chance that even after Daybreaker is turned back into Celestia, we will be fighting an uphill battle just to stay alive.

To try and provide as much cover as possible, Starlight will have a cloaking spell covering herself and the others wielding the elements, and will call a retreat to safety while Celestia clears things up with Luna and Cadance. If for whatever reason things begin to fall through, then we will have to fight our way out. I have no idea what could possibly happen, however, if one of the soon-to-be wielders of the Elements of Harmony were to vanish or die in battle. I'm trying not to think about it for now.

Tuesday

We started looking for Cadance today, starting with tearing up the floor in the hallway that we last saw her in. No luck. Celestia is pretty worried too, though she's afraid to do anything right now after hearing about what she did as Daybreaker. I think Luna might've told her a little too much.

After the floor, we also checked the walls of the castle to see if there were any hidden passages or something that Cadance got lost in. Also nothing in there. None of us know where she went, really. Luna says that she thinks that something must've happened to Cadance that transported her far away, though where she would've gone is something none of us know.

At some point or another, somepony also mentioned Twilight Sparkle, since she's just kinda been gone this whole time. None of us know where she is or where she went, either. If you ask me, I'd say that Cadance might've gone to the same place Twilight went to... wherever that is. We don't have any clues to where they are, so Luna's declaring Cadance as "missing in action" and Twilight as just missing.

Oh, and Starlight was declared as missing in action too. Luna sent some scouts back to Ponyville to check for her, but nopony there said that they saw anyone that looked like Starlight even arrive. I'm pretty sure Starlight wouldn't go into the tunnels alone, since there isn't any food or anything left in there anymore, so unless she's sneaking food and water in too, she wouldn't be in there. I'm secretly afraid that she wasn't on our side at all that entire time, and went to the Old Guard fort in the Everfree instead. Hopefully that's not the case. For now though, we've also got Ashen guards patrolling the edges of Canterlot City. Just in case if the Old Guard tries to attack and take Canterlot back. Yay, rhymes!