The Equestrian Civil War

Rarity stepped onto the train platform just before three o’ clock. It was deathly silent; somepony would really have to listen to hear what would be said. There was a cold breeze blowing through, cold enough to make Rarity shiver.

She heard somepony walk up behind her, and Rarity turned around in an instant with a knife drawn.

“Whoa, it’s me, Rarity!” Applejack whispered.

Rarity put down her knife and apologized. Nerves were running high for her. Applejack nodded in agreement, and they stayed close together for warmth. The full moon was out, but it had been since the night of the party. All the stars were out, it was very beautiful.

“Where’s Fluttershy?” Rarity asked, “It’s past three, and that Tuxedo guy isn’t here either.”

“Ah don’t know.” Applejack replied. She patted her thigh, and Rarity heard flesh strike metal, “But ah came armed. Just in case, ya know?”

“That’s what I thought about my knife.” Rarity replied. She looked towards the moon, and saw something black pass through it. She squinted her eyes, and saw it had eyes, and a knapsack.

“And that must be Fluttershy.” Rarity pointed, and watched as the figure touched down in front of the train depot. It walked forward, and Fluttershy appeared under the dim light.

“Hello everypony.” She said. Her eyes were red and stuffy from crying, and her skin was paler than usual. Her hair was out of order, through Rarity walked over, and tried to help her fix it.

“Fluttershy,” Rarity asked, “Have you been crying? What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that…” Fluttershy stopped, looked away and said, “It’s nothing.”

“You know you can talk to me, Fluttershy.” Rarity grabbed her shoulder, and Fluttershy flew into her arms, tears forming in her eyes.

“I’m having second thoughts, Rarity.” She sobbed, “I don’t want to be the one to kill the others! We’ve just been through too much for me to do that!”

“Fluttershy, oh you poor thing!” Rarity exclaimed. “You won’t have to do that! We probably won’t see each other until this is over.”

“But I wish they could come with us.” Fluttershy sobbed, and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m just too kind sometimes. I really don’t want to hurt my friends.”

“Fluttershy,” Rarity gripped Fluttershy’s shoulders, and looked her in the eyes. “We’re going to hurt them by doing this. But we need to do this. If not, what will we do then?”

“You’re right.” Fluttershy sniffed, and nodded, “We have to do this.”

“Glad to see we’re decided.”

Everypony turned around. Tuxedo Masquerade stepped into the light. He was wearing a trench coat and matching fedora. The only thing recognizable about him was the green moustache and eyes.

“If you would just follow me.” He said. “I have an airplane waiting in a field not too far from here. You’ll be in Stalliongrad before anypony realizes you’re gone.”

He walked off, and didn’t wait up. Everypony struggled to keep up with his brisk pace. As he walked out of Ponyville and into the outlying fields, Applejack always kept a hand near her gun. Of course Tuxedo knew that she had one, but it was reassuring if he was a Celestial spy.

Tuxedo suddenly stopped in his tracks, and bent down. He crept forward silently, until he came in front of a bush.

“The moon is full,” he whispered, “And bright as the sun.”

“Only because it reflects the sun’s light.”

Tuxedo relaxed, and walked into the field, where a small plane was waiting for takeoff.

“Three this time,” he said, “Though these are high-value candidates. Fly low; we don’t want Equestrian fighters on your tail.”

“I know, I know.” Fluttershy turned her head, to where a white female Earth Pony walked around the plane. “I know how to get somepony important to Luna. I’ve been doing this for a week now, Tuxedo.”

“Alright,” he shrugged, and said, “Godspeed.”

“Thanks.” She had an accent that made Fluttershy immediately think of Trottingham and Lundy. She had a dark blonde mane, and brown eyes. She had a plane in flight as her Cutie Mark, and she wore a cap and a headset. She was an Earth Pony, and was taller than most.

“My name’s Honey Song.” She greeted, “I’m guessing you’re here for the Republic, eh?”

“Oh, yes.” Fluttershy replied, “When are we taking off?”

“Whenever you are ready,” Honey replied, wiping her hands on her pants, “And when Lightning Dancer decides to finish rearranging the seats to make way for three. At most we’ve only taken two at a time.”

“Lightning Dancer?” Rarity asked, “Who might that be?”

“She’s a Pegasus,” she replied, “From Neighjing. She’s my co-pilot. And she is taking forever!”

“It’s not my fault!” The reply came in a coarse hiss. “Stupid seat won’t get in here!”

“Would you excuse us for a second?” Honey Song sighed, and climbed into the plane. Everypony heard something along the lines of:

“What in bloody hay are you doing…? No, it goes here…! Oh, buck it all! Dammit!”

Honey poked her head out of the plane, smiled, and said, “Just a moment please. No, you do it like this you twit!”

She went back into the plane, and finally she came out and said that they could climb in.

Applejack didn’t like the plane. It was too small, and she was feeling claustrophobic. She never did like being cramped in between some ponies and now wasn’t an exception. Fluttershy was on her left and Rarity her right.

As Honey Song turned on the engine, it sputtered for a few seconds, and came to life. The small piston engine drove the plane across the field, and Honey Song expertly lifted it off the ground. She turned it west, and steadied it at three thousand feet.

“Alright,” Honey Song said, “We should be arriving at Stalliongrad by noon Canterlot Time. Princess Luna will be waiting for you chaps. She’s wanted something to tip the scales like you.”

“So,” Rarity said, “Are you from Lundy or Trottingham? Your accent made me think that.”

“Oh yeah,” she replied. “My father was a very influential man in Lundy, and we lived the good life.”

“So why side with Luna?” Applejack asked, “Ya don’t seem like some’n that’d rebel.”

“Well,” Honey Song turned control of the plane to Lightning Dancer, and told Applejack her response.

“I think Equestria is due for a change of leadership.” She brushed her mane out of her face, and continued. “Celestia’s had enough time to rule. And what has she done? Write laws that segregate ponies from the Zebras and Griffons. She made sure only ponies, particularly Unicorns, lived well while everypony else broke their backs providing for them. It’s not bloody fair, I’m telling you.

“My father only lived well because he was a schmoozer. He bribed local politicians through his business, and we were never taxed the way we should have been. I might have lived in luxury, but I will not stand idly by while others are being put down by Celestia.”

She turned back around, and took back control of the plane. The plane flew silently as the pilots focused on flying the plane and Fluttershy and Rarity looked out the windows.

A few hours later, they flew past Las Pegasus; where Honey Song flew lower than usual. She didn’t want to be caught by Celestial fighters, she said.

The entire city was blacked out. No lights escaped from buildings or car’s headlights. It was almost that the city itself wasn’t there. But it was. It was weird, watching a city usually alight with thousands of headlights, streetlamps, and other sources of light, completely black. It was ominous; it just didn’t feel right.

Those thoughts passed through Applejack’s mind as they flew past the city. She could make out the half-mile high skyscrapers, but the usual glow of the city was gone. She had seen pictures of Las Pegasus at night, and it was purely mystifying. Now it looked malevolent and eerie.

The city soon disappeared over the horizon, and the plane flew on. Honey Song returned the plane to its normal cruising flight, and told us that we were going to pass the Eastern Ocean, and eventually fly into the Sahayra Desert.

Jerhoofalem was the religious capital of Equestria and the largest city in the desert it was the only city apart from Canterlot that had a Temple of the Sun. It also had a Temple of the Moon as well, where faithful Equestrians would gather at the setting and rising of the sun and moon, and worship Luna and Celestia. Though now, both Temples would be desecrated by both sides of the war.

Applejack felt a twinge of pity that how war can drive somepony to do something completely horrific and unacceptable. Mass murder, pillaging, rape, all were not tolerated, but happened in torrents when an opposing army occupied a city. It was how war worked in this world, there was no other war than total war. Every citizen was driven to hate the enemy, and when they occupied a city, all hay broke loose.

Applejack could only hope that things were tamer during this war. After all, ponies were fighting other ponies. The thought of lining up Luna or Celestia supporters in front of a grave they had dug themselves, and shooting them one by one made her grimace. War was not one of the things Applejack endorsed, but she was always prepared to fight for what she believed.

She smirked after that thought. How quickly an uprising could bring her entire upbringing of the old ways of life into question. Of course Celestia was kind-hearted, but only to her kind, specifically Unicorns, though she was always quick to deny such claims. Applejack only grew up knowing that Earth Ponies were the backbone of the Equestrian economy, but she had no idea.

The thought of preferring one breed of ponies over another made her sick. She then thought about the discrimination of half-breeds. Half-breeds were essentially fathered by one breed (say a Pegasus) and mothered by another breed (an Earth Pony.) They were given half the traits of both parents, so half-Pegasi usually had weak wings or none at all. This led to living in specialized workplaces for them, where they could excel, or so Celestia said. Basically it was a camp for the half-breeds to labor without any outside contact with Equestria. It was their fault they were born half-breeds, and they would pay the price with sweat, tears, and eventually blood.

The thought of Celestia, the perpetual Leader and Goddess of the Sun, lying to her own subjects, made Applejack cringe. She knew that Celestia couldn’t tell everypony absolutely everything, but the fact that she separated the three breeds, and segregated half-breeds even more, told Applejack that Equestrian Unity would never be accomplished.

Under Celestia it was just a myth, at the very least.

Applejack could only wish that it was possible under Luna. That what Luna promised would come to fruition, and that she wouldn’t go back on them. Applejack had known too many liars in her time, from the smaller ones, like Trixie, up to the biggest one, Celestia herself.

“Would you look at that sunrise? It’s absolutely stunning.”

Applejack jolted. She had been so deep in thought, that she hadn’t noticed how much time had passed. She looked, and saw they were over the Eastern Ocean. It was enormous. There was absolutely no land in sight.

The sun was rising over the horizon, and it made the ocean sparkle. It was truly captivating, something that could only be truly described by seeing it firsthand.

“It’s the most beautiful sight I have ever seen!” Rarity concurred. She found it truly marvelous, if she only had a camera! She would take so many pictures, and try to capture it inside the perfect dress! Alas, she had neither a camera nor the supplies needed for a suitable dress to truly match the beauty and character of this sunrise.

“It never gets old.” Honey Song said, “I used to fly an airliner for Las Pegasus airlines. I would always ask for the night flights, just so I could watch this sunrise. Of course I lost my job to a Pegasus, but I thought nothing of it. Until that speech Luna gave a week and a half ago. It opened my eyes the way nothing else could.”

Honey Song turned the plane downwards, and flew just above the waterline. She flew like that, and then pulled up gracefully, and did a barrel-roll as she steadied the plane. Of course it made everypony a bit nauseous, but Honey Song apologized soon after.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “Sometimes, I daydream about being a Pegasus, and flying across this ocean. It would just me, nothing else and nopony with me. I’m telling you, I was a bleeding Pegasus in the past life.”

“It’s quite alright.” Rarity smiled nervously, “Because how many times do you experience that while on an airliner?”

“Exactly,” Honey Song said, “You know, smaller planes are better than those bloody hulks of steel. I can do so much more in a spit second. That comes in handy, especially now.”

They flew over the ocean for only an hour, and soon they could see the other half of the Equestrian nation, the East. The Great Sahayra Desert stretched for miles, and only a few villages dotted the sands, and those villages around small oases.

This desert was where three nations met: Equestria, Zecoria and Camelu, the nation of Camels. The Equestrians were usually unfriendly to both, but preferred Camelu, only because they supplied oil for Equestrian machines. But, they butted heads over Jerhoofalem, because both Equestria and Camelu claimed it to be their religious capital. Celestia had taken it though through the Holy Pony Crusades six hundred years before, over the course of fifty years. And so it stayed in Equestrian hands.

“We’ll be coming up on Jerhoofalem and Damarescus soon,” Lightning Dancer announced, “Though we won’t go anywhere near Damarescus. There’s still some heavy fighting in the area. Lots of SAMs there, we would be crazy to go near there.”

The three ponies in the back nodded. They were feeling very tired; it was just before dawn in Ponyville. Twilight and the others would soon find out in a few hours of their escape from Ponyville to the East.

Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity could only imagine what their friends would do when they found out. But they didn’t know whether they would fight for Celestia, not fight at all, or stow away to Stalliongrad as these three had. They could only hope and pray it was the latter two.
***

“Hey, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight called to a cloud where Rainbow Dash was sleeping on, “Have you seen Fluttershy?”

“Why?” Rainbow Dash said sleepily, “What’s going on?”

“I can’t find her anywhere.” Twilight said nervously, “And her house is empty. All the animals were let free.”

“What?” That jolted Rainbow Dash awake. “Where are they?”

“That’s what I don’t know!” Twilight ran her hand through her hand as if it would calm her down. “And I can’t find Applejack anywhere either. Neither can the Apples.”

“Now this is weird.” Rainbow Dash landed in front of Twilight. “Let’s ask Rarity. She was the last one they were with.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. She couldn’t come up with anything better to do with this. Hay, she had just woken up to this. Her mind was still fried.

The situation at Fluttershy’s house bothered Rainbow Dash. The fact that the animals were set free meant that she had either been kidnapped and the kidnappers wanted to seem like she ran away or she did run away.

But Fluttershy wasn’t one to just pack up and run away.

“… Fluttershy did fly out of the sweets shop with tears in her eyes.” Twilight thought out loud, “Would that have anything to do with it? But, where would she go? There is Fillydelphia, but I doubt that the wedding would still be on. And she wouldn’t let the animals out for that. Damn, I can’t think of anything, Rainbow.”

“Neither can I.” Rainbow Dash replied. “This is just too weird.”

They came to Rarity’s boutique, and knocked on the door. It was answered by a red-eyed Sweetie Bell. She had obviously had no sleep, and was probably crying.

“Do you know where Rarity is?” Sweetie Bell asked, “I woke up around four, and Rarity wasn’t there!”

“Rarity’s not home?” Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash. “Do you have any idea where she could have gone?”

“Canterlot,” she beamed, but sunk down and said, “But it’s destroyed. There’s Trottingham, though she wouldn’t have left in the middle of the night. And if she did, she would have left at least a note.”

“This is not coincidence.” Twilight muttered, “Three ponies missing without a trace. Rainbow Dash, I need you to scan the area around here. Find any trace of them.”

“Got it,” Rainbow Dash nodded, “But, what are you going to do?”

“Find out what to do with Sweetie Bell.” Twilight replied, “I have to find somepony to take her in. She can’t live here alone. Maybe Applebloom would like her to stay with her.”

Rainbow Dash gave Twilight a thumbs-up, and took to the sky.

No matter how long it took, Rainbow Dash would find out. But she didn’t know what she would find, and their reasoning behind leaving.

Tell me what you think! Firstly, for clarification, I made the East like Earth’s Far East and Russia, separated by an ocean. The East is so far east that it is really west, unless you looked at a map of Equestria. Also, if somepony could send me a program that I could make a map of Equestria, I would gladly thank you and post it to my dA account. Next chapter: Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy meet Luna, and begin their fight for Equestrian freedom. But how long will it be until Twilight and Rainbow Dash find out where they went and why? Find out in the next chapter!