The Equestrian Civil War

Rainbow Dash dove to the ground as soon as she heard gunshots. She reached inside her boot, and grabbed her Colt M1911.

She got up, and shot one of the gunmen in the chest two times. She turned, and fired at another three times.

“Spitfire, Soarin’,” she called, “Could use some help!”

“Got it Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire called, “Soarin’! Get Celestia to safety! I’m going to help Rainbow Dash!”

“Got it Spitfire!” Soarin’ shouted over the gunfire. He flew over to Celestia, and escorted her inside.

“General Shining Armor,” Spitfire shouted, “I would advise you help get everypony that’s still alive out of here!”

Shining Armor nodded, and began to get everypony inside the castle.

Spitfire rolled over to Rainbow Dash, who had flipped over a table. She upholstered her Glock 17C pistol, and switched the safety off.

“Never leave home without it.” She smirked, and stood up and fired three shots. Rainbow Dash rolled out of cover, and fired the rest of her magazine into another gunman. Blood spurted from his chest and neck as he fell to the ground, dead.

She ejected her empty magazine, and loaded another one. After this clip and another, and she would be out of ammo.

“We need to get out of here!” She called to Spitfire. “And get some better guns!”

“Agreed!” Spitfire replied, “Let’s finish these flank-holes off!”

They both stood up, and fired at the rest of the gunmen. They walked over to the dead bodies, and looted guns and ammo.

Rainbow Dash picked up a MP5K submachine-gun and three magazines from one gunman and another four magazines from another gunman.

Spitfire looted an Ingram MAC-10 and half a dozen magazines of ammo. They looked at each other, and nodded.
They ran out of the Castle Gardens, and onto the streets. Gunmen were running through the streets, throwing Molotov Cocktails into houses and firing into their walls.

“This is just like Whoazambique.” Spitfire mumbled, “Rainbow Dash, we have to kill as much of them as possible.”

“Got it,” Rainbow Dash said, running behind a vegetable stand for cover. She pulled the charging handle for the MP5K, and raised the gun at a gunman.

“Hey, you!” She called, waiting for the Earth Pony to turn his head. She let loose a short burst, and watched as he fell into a pool of his own blood.

“Target down!” She called to Spitfire, “Let’s move!”

Rainbow Dash tore at her dress to make her more mobile. It wasn’t easy running around in a dress.

They made their way to an intersection, where a lot of gunmen were engaging Canterlot police and Royal Equestrian Army soldiers.

Rainbow Dash looked to Spitfire, and nodded.

She raised her MP5K, and fired a short burst at a gunman. The others turned around, and fired at Spitfire and Rainbow Dash. They dove into an alley for cover, and Spitfire stayed close to the entrance.

“They’ve got some heavy armament.” Spitfire said, “They must’ve broken into the armory here. It looks like they have a lot of assault rifles and light machine guns. We’ll never kill them all with our pea-shooters.”

“Damn,” Rainbow Dash said, “Was this Luna’s plan all along?”

“I don’t know, Rainbow.” Spitfire said, “But for now, focus on killing these flank-holes.”

She nodded, and got behind Spitfire. They rolled out of the alleyway, and opened fire at the barricade the gunmen had set up.

“Get to cover!” Spitfire shouted, “They’ll kill us here in the open!”

Rainbow Dash flew on top of a roof, and looked down on the barricade. She looked down, and checked her ammo. It was good enough.

She ran back, and took a deep breath. She ran towards the ledge and jumped down. She unfolded her wings, and landed inside the barricade.

She turned, and fired five shots at a gunman’s back. He screamed as he fell down, getting the attention of the others. They turned to Rainbow Dash, and opened fire. Rainbow Dash rolled behind a truck that had overturned inside the barricade, and reloaded her MP5K.

Bullets were whizzing past her, and the gunmen were approaching. She stood up, and fired at a female gunman. Bullets tore at her neck and face, and blood spurted from the wounds. She was dead before she hit the ground.
Rainbow Dash was aiming at another gunman, when a bullet hit her in the shoulder. She screamed in pain, and fell to the ground. Blood was oozing from her wound, and the pain was unbearable.

As she was lying down, a male Pegasus gunman stood over her, and aimed his AK-47 at her. Rainbow Dash grabbed her MP5K, and shot him in the legs. He fell to his knees, and she shot him point-blank in the head.

His head nearly exploded from the impact of ten bullets hitting it. Blood splattered on Rainbow Dash’s face as the gunman fell to the street, dead.

She got up, and hid behind the truck. She could hear the soldiers coming close. She just needed to hold out a little longer. She grabbed the gunman’s AK, and all of his magazines.

She flew up to the roof she was on, and called out for Spitfire.

“Spitfire, where are you?” She waited but heard no response. “Looks like I’m on my own for now.”

She went to the ledge of the roof, and aimed her AK-47 at some gunmen. She fired a short burst, and hit one in the abdomen. He cried out in pain, and fell to his knees. The other three turned, and returned fire at her.

She dove down onto the floor of the roof to take cover. They were exceptional shots; they must have been ex-Army.

She looked over the ledge, and shot at one gunman. The bullet hit the gunman in the shoulder, and twisted him around as she hit the street.

Gunfire was littering this intersection, and Rainbow Dash saw a tank roll up to the barricade, and fire its turret. The barricade exploded in flames. Rainbow Dash looked over the ledge, and saw nopony alive in the barricade.

She flew down to the soldiers, and asked what was going on.

“Canterlot’s a war-zone.” An Earth Pony replied, “These gunmen, who say they’re from the New Lunar Republic, have been shooting up Canterlot. We’re stretched horribly thin. We could use any help we can.”

“I think that can be arranged.” Rainbow Dash replied, holding her assault rifle upwards and resting it on her good shoulder, “Where to then, soldier?”
***

As Nightmare Moon’s plane left Canterlot, she could see flames all across Canterlot. It made her so happy that her loyal soldiers had caught the tyrannical Royal Equestrian Army by surprise.

She sipped at her cider as she saw an explosion rip through the Residential District of Canterlot. That must’ve been from her soldiers destroying the fuel depots stored there for the citizens. Smoke spewed from everywhere in Canterlot.

A phone that rested next to her rang. She picked it up, and put on her Luna voice.

“Yes?” She asked, “Who is it?”

“Everything is going to plan, Luna.” A gruff Eastern voice said, “Many soldiers are dying, and we have the upper hand.”

“Good,” she said, “Now, I want you to execute Order 24. I want Canterlot leveled by sunrise.”

“Order 24, are you sure?” The voice asked, “All of your loyal troops in Canterlot will die in the blast.”

“In war, there are casualties.” She said. “Now, I want you to execute the order. No mistakes or we face a prolonged war against Celestia.”

She hung up the phone. She went back to sipped from her drink as she watched the once-great city of Canterlot burn.

With Celestia dead, there would be nothing stopping her from liberating Equestria from the tyranny that was Celestia.
***

“Alright, everypony,” Soarin’ said, ushering everypony inside the castle, “Stay here. There will be evac helicopters inbound. Stay put.”

He ran out of the room. Applejack watched as he opened the door, and was greeted by Royal Guards. They handed him a M4 assault rifle, and closed the door.

The room they were in contained the few living ponies. Rainbow Dash had gone off with Spitfire, and the rest of Applejack’s friends stayed behind.

“Is everypony alright?” She asked, “Do y’all need medical help?”

“No,” Fancypants said, “I think we are all fine. Now can somepony please tell me what in the name of Celestia is going on here?!”

“Ah don’t really know.” Applejack replied, “But it looks like Luna’s had enough of being the younga sister, if ya catch my drift and all.”

“So she starts a war?” Fancypants replied, “That seems like the most selfish thing I have ever heard of.”

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Twilight said, “Why would Luna do this? It doesn’t seem like her at all.”

“And the way they butchered the guests out there,” Fluttershy said, “Was just horrible!”

“We’re lucky we made it out with our lives,” Fancypants said. “This can’t be happening. Oh, I wonder what’s happening in the rest of Canterlot.”

Amid the hysteria, Celestia sat in a chair. When she had had enough, she raised her hand.

“Everypony,” she said, “We just need to stay calm. The Army is taking care of this threat. Luna will be apprehended for her crimes tonight.”

Everypony nodded.

Celestia continued, saying, “What is important now is that we stand together as a nation to quell this threat. Right now, the Army is combating Luna’s forces in the East. This matter will be dealt with and Luna will be punished accordingly.”

Fluttershy looked at Celestia. She knew it wasn’t right, but she thought that Luna was right to a point. She had seen how Zecora had to live in a shack outside of Ponyville, and how the Griffons live in seclusion, barred from entering most major cities in Equestria. It just didn't seem fair

She shouldn’t be thinking of things like that, but she couldn’t. She was the spirit of kindness, after all. And Luna strived to be kind to all species native to Equestria with her New Lunar Republic. Of course, she kept these thoughts to herself. She was still loyal to Celestia, but she could see where Luna was going with this.

“I’m just glad all of us made it out of there alive.” Fluttershy said, “That was horrible the way they just fired into the crowd.”

“It also gave Luna time to escape for Stalliongrad.” Celestia said, “Shining Armor, come with me. We need to talk.”

“Yes Your Highness.” Shining Armor snapped to attention, and followed Celestia into the castle.

The night was surely not silent. Everypony could hear gunfire, explosions, cries for help, and collapsing buildings. Smoke came from most intersections in the city, and the muzzle flashes of guns firing lit up the streets.

“Oh my,” Fancypants said as he looked out the window, “This is certainly not what I was expecting from this party.”

“I just hope Rainbow Dash is alright.” Rarity said, “She went out there with Spitfire. Did she have that gun with her the entire time?”

“I guess so.” Twilight said, “I never noticed.”

“That was pretty wise if I do say so myself.” Fancypants remarked, “Now, what are we to do?”

“Ah have no idea,” Applejack said, “Ah guess we should stay here for now.”
***

Rainbow Dash crept silently with the soldiers. She had been given painkillers for her shoulder, and a medic had dressed her wound. She was heading with the soldiers to a location where a lot of these terrorists were wreaking havoc in Canterlot.

The squad leader raised his hand to signal a stop, and everypony stopped. He poked his head out of the alley there were in, and looked back towards the squad.

“I have eyes on ten bogies.” He said, “Take your positions, and wait for my go.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, and slid behind a parked car. She pulled the charging handle on her AK-47, and looked towards the squad leader.

He waited for everypony to take cover, and he nodded his head. Everypony stood up, and opened fire on the gunmen.

Six of them went down in the first exchange, while the other four took cover, and returned fire. Bullets whizzed past Rainbow’s head as she crouched down in her cover.

“I’m taking fire!” she said, “I’m pinned down!”

“Covering fire men!” The squad leader shouted. The soldiers opened fire, and Rainbow Dash ran towards the squad leader.

“Grenade out!” He called, and threw a grenade at the gunmen. One ran out of cover, and he was immediately shot up. The grenade exploded right as he hit the ground.

The explosion ripped apart a motorcycle parked near it, and it erupted into a huge fireball. The explosion threw the gunmen into a café, shattering the windows. The soldiers got up, and ran into the café. The gunmen got back up and raised their weapons. They never fired a shot.

As the night wore on, Rainbow Dash and the squad of soldiers went through Canterlot, taking out as many gunmen as they could. It was tiring, and by dawn, most of the gunmen had been killed, but Luna was nowhere to be found.
But, the soldiers looked up in the sky, and saw two large planes flying towards Canterlot.

“What’re they doing Sarge?” One of the soldiers asked.

“I don’t know,” the leader said, putting binoculars down.

Then, Rainbow Dash saw the two planes fly over Canterlot, and began to carpet bomb Canterlot.

“Get down!” The squad leader said, “Get to cover!”

They ran inside a cake shop, and watched the bombs drop. They exploded in mid-air, but the fireballs were enormous.

The shockwave destroyed the windows of the shop and toppled the pastries over. The three bombs ripped through everything that stood in its way.

“Sarge, what the hay are those?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“They look like thermobaric bombs!” He called, “Canterlot’s going to be nothing but rubble after this!”

As the bombers flew over the cake shop, a bomb fell a few dozen feet from Rainbow Dash and the soldiers. The shockwave itself wiped out the cake shop, and the fireball burned her wings and back. She cried out in pain, but it was drowned out by the explosion. Rubble flew over her head, and her ears popped multiple times under the extreme pressure.

When the explosion subsided, Rainbow Dash was trapped under a wooden beam. She couldn’t move, and it was pinning her to the floor. There were fires everywhere, and she was very disoriented.

“Buck,” she muttered, “Can somepony help me! I’m stuck here!”

“Easy there,” a male Earth Pony said, “Let me get you out of there.”

He lifted the beam off of her, and asked her if she was alright.

“That doesn’t matter,” she said, “We need to head up to the castle and see if Celestia is alright.”
***

Twilight watched as the bombers destroyed Canterlot. Tears ran down her face as entire blocks were wiped out by the explosions. The shockwaves destroyed the windows in the castle, and broken glass was everywhere.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Luna said that they would remember the speech for years to come, but they never imagined it would be like this.

Tell me what you think! So, with Luna escaping to Stalliongrad, the first stages of the war begin. And with Canterlot being carpet-bombed by New Lunar Republican planes, it seems that Luna has the upper hand. But will this last? Find out in the next chapter!