Phoenix Squadby Cake SparkleChaptersPride Without PrejudiceEmbers of EnvySlothful SerenityPride Without PrejudiceThe casket was slowly being lowered into the grave as Daffodilly continued to sob into Cake's mane, the mare wasn't there for her team when they needed her and now they would have to bury another one of its members. Cake's headache combined with her feeling of guilt made her oblivious to the amount of moisture and mucus over her neck. A sight the press seemed to love almost as much as they did seeing Daybreaker attend the first and last military funeral of the Griffonia - Equestria war. Through it all, however, Yellow Diamond stood tall and brave as the grave digger began to shovel dirt on top of the wooden casket. She seemed to have been staring more at the sky than the grave, unlike every other pony present at the small gathering. Daybreaker was the first to leave, nodding to Cake to signal that she wished to speak to her afterwards and giving the go ahead to nearby guards to make sure the reporters watching from behind the steel gate of the military graveyard would not be able to publish any of the photos they had taken. Even though the skies were clear that day, by order of the empress, Cake still felt that it was raining in a way, and that she had not truly seen the sun since she had awoken in her hospital bed earlier that week. Daffodilly was the first to speak. “Let's just go, I don't want to be here any longer.” Yellow Diamond nodded and took flight back into the palace while the two unicorns walked unenthusiastically behind her. Inside Daybreaker had already taken her place on the throne, while three others stood below her at attention, their eyes pointing forward but somehow looking directly at Cake. The first was a changeling wearing one of the newly designed Solar Invicta officer uniforms, with bright red highlights on a white robe with an orange steel helmet. The sight made Cake sick to her stomach, she instinctively reached for a spear she could not find and opted to pretend she was scratching her side. The second was a kirin, with a grey mane and brown coat, wearing nothing but a bright talisman around her neck in the shape of a small sun. Yellow knew immediately who the kirin was, remembering how the Griffonian Empire directly referred to her as a monster at one of the many peace talks Daybreaker had brought her to attend. The last was a modest earth pony stallion, wearing a full set of the orange steel royal guard armor, complete with a magically enhanced spear on his left side and a prototype magical rifle on his right which she could not identify. Cake took a few steps forward and bowed to the empress before raising her head to hear what she had to say. “Sadly, Equestria’s finest little Octopus Squad has lost its leader to that whore, Mi Amore, and all I am left with to replace her is an arrogant little unicorn, a basket weaver, and a dog too loyal to its master to give commands... I am going to be promoting you, Cake, to lead it. As it seems I always should have done, instead of promoting a traitor. I trust that even despite your recent injuries you will be more than capable.” Daybreaker idly wrote Cake’s signature on a piece of paper before setting it ablaze. “And that hideous name, Octopus, we will need to change that. I'm sure you can understand why you will be hereby referred to as Phoenix Squad from now on.” The promotion had indeed been for Cake to take Shining Armor's spot as head of the squad, not for her to be the new captain of the Royal Guard. A question which Cake did not have to ask the empress as she saw the helmet sitting on a marble pedestal in the corner of her eye. She would have been relieved by this, had her brain not felt like someone was stabbing pin needles into it and had the changeling standing across from her not been there. Daybreaker smirked as she saw Cake’s eyes constantly scanning the shape shifter as she stood and stepped down from the throne. “Oh, don't you look so worried now my little pony, all who pledge loyalty to me are worthy of serving as my pawns. I expect there to be no trouble whatsoever with Wandler.” Cake stood firm but her eyes refocused on Daybreaker, showing that she understood the command. The alicorn goddess returned to her throne and signalled her away with a hoof as she continued to sign new laws into the government and occasionally open one of the many letters from concerned ponies and foreign leaders, before lighting them on fire and laughing at their request. As Cake left the throne room, the three new recruits marched behind her in a constant rhythm almost matching her pace to the letter. After she left the castle and made her way out the gate and onto the sidewalk, she felt as if everypony was watching her, from the fillies with their mothers walking down the street to the stallion now inches away from her face, staring at her in anticipation. “What are our first orders, ma’am?” he asked. “To shut the fuck up and leave me alone, I’ll send you a letter when Daybreaker sends me one telling me what the fuck she expects someone who just got out of a fucking four month coma to do.” Her simple command quickly becoming a rant, she continued, “She could have at least given me a fucking newspaper or something…” Cake trotted down the street with Daffodilly close by, leaving the rest of the squad behind her. Once inside the small restaurant Cake quickly brushed past the waiter who tried asking them if they had a reservation, before taking a seat at a booth as far in the corner as she could away from the other nobles enjoying their lunch. “Last time I saw the Princess she wasn’t on FIRE! What in Celestia’s name happened?” asked Cake. “She… she doesn't like to be called Princess Celestia anymore, she prefers Empress actually-” “Yeah well she's about to get a call from me, informing her of my two week notice,” said Cake. “And what's all this about Shining being a traitor? Bastard didn't even show up for the funeral.” “You can't quit!” Dilly blurted out. “You- you can't! She's already about to snap like a twig, Cake!” “I can't lead, Dilly, I don't know what she expects me to do here, me not being able to lead was the only reason why I decided becoming a royal guard was a good idea instead of taking over the family business” “I know, I know but- she would have chosen Diamond if she didn't believe you could do it.” “And what in Tartarus’s name is up with her? She didn't say a word to me at the funeral, didn't shed a single tear when one of our own brothers got put into the dirt.” “She… hasn't been the same since the rest of Octo walked out.” Cake was silent for a moment while she considered this before reaching her conclusion. “Daybreaker wants me to find them, that's obvious enough. Any leads?” “We already know where they are, they took the Crystal Empire a few weeks ago after the- Empire War… Shining took some royal artifacts with him to super charge the Crystal Heart and to keep the shield up.” Cake looked concerned for a moment. “Did- she go with him?” “Twilight? No, she's, um… she doesn't like to be called Twilight anymore either.” “I must still be dreaming… out of all ponies to lose their sanity I thought SHE would be able to hold it together.” Cake looked away as she kicked her hooves under the table, nervously looking out the window like she was hiding from something. A waiter walked over, carrying trays and laying them onto the table, and Dilly looked up at the stallion in confusion. “We didn't order anything.” The waiter didn't respond as he walked away, leaving a small note on the plate of hay fries and grass sandwich in front of Cake, and another on the small pastry for Dilly. The timid unicorn quickly picked up the note and read it before turning her attention onto Cake who was staring out the window and tapping her hoof on the wooden table. “When Violet died, I- asked Daybreaker if I could take my leave and she told me I could. We have to go get the others, Cake, before she does.” Cake turned her head back onto the plate and began to eat the fries eagerly in her magic as her eyes looked over the note. It was a small thank you message from the staff, saying that due to their service they could eat for free, along with a small imprint of Celestia's cutie mark. Cake took one of the half eaten fries out of her mouth and pushed the plate away as she returned the note onto it, and Dilly did the same. “We could get into the shield through a weak point in the Heart, simply taking a tank and starting to fire shells at it will cause the ponies inside to panic, then we can hit it there with a-” Dilly put her hoof up to Cake’s mouth as she slid her note over to Cake, she opened it and inside was the same message, with a small addition about an eavesdropping pony in a booth behind them. Cake threw the note onto the table and stood up. Sure enough behind them was a unicorn mare pretending to look over her menu right up until Cake threw it out the open window and pulled her out of the booth. “Shining should have known better than to send a rat to the exterminators!” Cake shouted as the mare quickly shed her skin for an exoskeleton, hissing as her horn flashed. Cake’s horn flared up but was quickly suppressed by her painful headache, luckily the blast of magic missed her and hit the roof after Dilly delivered a kick into the jaw of the changeling, a ray of sunshine beaming down on the face of the bug from the new hole in the roof. Cake held her hooves to her head as small drops of blood trickled down from her muzzle, Dilly passed her a napkin as she dragged the spy outside. Cake looked up at the restaurant's other guests staring back at her, one still eating their meal with a smile on their face. Everycreature looked relieved in a way besides a single changeling, hiding undisguised behind their menu and shivering. Cake trotted outside to see the new members of the squad talking to each other as they watched the unicorn mare struggle to pull the unconscious changeling onto the sidewalk. Cake signalled for them to help her as she looked around the tops of buildings and ponies on the street for anything else that may have been keeping an eye on them. Suddenly a young filly trotted up to the dazed unicorn and passed her a letter which she laid in Cake’s hoof. The small pegasus then bowed before flying off in the direction she’d come from. While the rest of the squad was loading the spy into a police carriage Cake ripped open the envelope with her teeth and began to read the letter. Dear Apple Cake Please report to the crystal castle in Ponyville as quickly as possible. Do not bring any other creature with you. Do not tell any other creature where you are going. Sunrise Sparkle Cake put the letter back into the envelope and tossed it into a nearby trashcan before rejoining the group. “Take her to the CPD for interrogation, off the books, don't waste time giving her a trial or anything like that.” After the rest of the ponies left, besides Daffodilly who stayed close to Cake's side, the pair looked at each other for a moment in silence, both waiting for the other to say something. “Don't you want to give the interrogation yourself, Cake? You've always been good at them.” Cake shook her head and leaned closer to Dilly's ear. “Secret mission time, come with me.” The pair made their way back to the Castle where they boarded a pegasus driven carriage. The pair were silent to each other through the flight, with Dilly opening her saddlebags and looking through old photos while Cake looked over the changing scenery brought by the never setting sun. Large lakes had evaporated, fields of grass had become dry without rest from the scorching rays of light, and Cloudsdale off in the distance looked as if it had tripled in size, constantly sending off clouds to either block out the sun temporarily or give relief to the drier parts of equestria with rain. Cake wondered how Appleloosa had held together through it all, with the town struggling to get rain water before Daybreaker declared the Forever Sun Celebration. Once they had arrived in Ponyville, the pair walked together into the crystal castle. The castle itself had changed greatly. The table of harmony’s seven crystal chairs gathered around it had been removed, with a single chair left belonging to Twilight. The map had disappeared and left only the crystal corpse of the table behind, the large remains of Golden Oak library which once hung overhead had been removed. Banners to Daybreaker were everywhere within the castle and it seemed as if it had been turned into a military outpost by an occupying force rather than a bastion of friendship. Sunrise Sparkle’s footsteps echoed audibly through the castle’s walls as the pair continued to look around at how much the place had changed since the last time they had seen it. “Hello Cake, congratulations on your new promotion. I assume you must be proud considering you no longer have to remain in my brother's shadow,” the alicorn said. The highlights on her mane had changed to a deep red, making her name stick like glue to her new appearance in Cake’s mind. Despite this she still decided to test the waters. “You know I'm not, Twilight.” “Of course you aren't, not yet anyways. I meant to go see you when I got a letter saying you woke up, but sadly Daybreaker forbade me doing so until after… well… I suppose it doesn't really matter now. It is good to see you, both of you,” said Sunrise as she bowed to them. Dilly returned the bow but Cake did not, standing with an emotionless face as she eyed over the purple pony in front of her. “I'm not surprised to see what you’ve done with the place, Sunrise, I take it the others did not approve?” Cake turned and faced the table. “All in time, Cake, all in time. For now we have to deal with my brother, he has amassed quite a resistance in the crystal city. And the Heart’s only going to grow stronger everyday,” Twilight said as she joined Cake and looked over at the table. With a flash of her horn the map came to life, in the center was the large metropolis of the capital city of the Crystal Empire surrounded by a large pink shield. “He has taken a large number of heretics with him, turning the population of the city from… around three point six million into an estimated five million. The Crystal Heart has never been stronger with him constantly giving speeches and Daybreaker delaying an attack.” “Delaying? Doesn't sound like her,” Cake commented. “Watch your tongue Cake, it slips too often,” Sunrise said with a smile. “She is delaying it because she wants to test you, see if you can lead properly again.” Cake scratched her head as her headache grew with the memory. “I can get in but I'm not sure what she’ll expect from me. Shining would have already surrendered if he wasn't confident, or maybe he’s trying to spark something bigger and biding his time with the shield. We could pop it like a zit with some strategic bombers, or just cut a hole inside.” Twilight nodded in agreement. “Which is why I’m coming with you, I can convince Cadence to stand down and Shining will follow her.” “Won't Daybreaker be upset?” asked Dilly softly looking up at Twilight. “No, maybe, I mean- she has eyes everywhere, if she had a problem with that then she would have told me, I think.” The alicorn stroked her chin as she thought this over. “It doesn't matter, what does matter is getting this done quickly before whatever Shining is stalling for kicks off. Dilly, write a message to S.M.I.L.E., tell them we need three of those changeling cloaks from the Great War, the good second gen ones. We should go in early morning, if everypony is still on the same sleeping schedule and-” A thundering of hoofsteps echoed through the hall as Yellow Diamond marched into the room with the rest of Phoenix squad behind her. She bowed to Sunrise who ignored her and turned her head over to Cake. “I thought I told you to come alone! I can excuse Dilly but not the rest of these freaks.” Cake rolled her eyes as she looked back up at Yellow Diamond. “Report, I told you to stay in Canterlot and find out what the changeling knew.” “Yeah, well, S.M.I.L.E. showed up with mages and kind of forced us to hand her over to them, they even had the nerve to wear the all black suits!” the blonde pegasus exclaimed. “What? Did you tell those assholes that we have orders from Celestia and that bug was a part of that?” “Yes, then they showed us a signed letter from Daybreaker saying S.M.I.L.E. would handle all the dealings with spies personally.” “Fucking bureaucracy, I’m not wasting time writing the Prin- the ‘Empress’ a two page letter on why we should be the ones currently waterboarding a love sucker. Just take the newbies and get out, we’ll meet you when we have a plan.” Yellow Diamond huffed as she took flight and stormed out of the castle, leaving Cake and the two other mares back to their scheming. “You better be careful Cake, I'm supposed to remind all the little fillies still saying Celestia that it's Daybreaker now.” Cake stopped and turned to look into Sunrise's eyes. “And what about you, why did you change your name?” Sunrise turned a shade of red as her nuzzle recoiled. “Well, now that the sun no longer sets there really isn't a ‘Twilight’ anymore, is there?” Cake shook her head and looked back at the map. “Yeah, I guess there isn't.” Embers of EnvyCake along with the rest of her team were currently seated around the table, with Sunrise at its head holding a large ruler as she began to talk about the defences, patrols, and dangers they would face once inside the shield, and how to avoid them. Yellow Diamond constantly asked questions which Sunrise ignored, and when the pegasus turned over to Cake for help she was ignored again making her face turn red in frustration. “The crystal guards don’t have enough factories to produce weapons for all their soldiers, as such they have turned to grabbing almost anything they can find. You are likely to run into guards holding yak boomsticks, or old swords from before the Empire disa-” “ARE THE SWORDS LIKELY TO BE ENCHANTED?” Yellow Diamond yelled. “PROBABLY!” Sunrise replied as she looked on, the tension had reached its breaking point now as Yellow Diamond turned over to Cake. “Why aren't you saying anything, commander?” Cake put her hooves over her eyes and groaned. “Because I already know I can grab one of you as a body shield in case we start getting shot at,” she replied. The kirin, who was trying to light her cigarette without turning it to ash with her body, looked over to the changeling at this comment, who proceeded to turn the solid parts of his torso into the same cheese-like structure on his legs. Yellow jumped up and walked out of the castle in a huff while the recruits looked at Cake. “Go with her for lunch or tea or something, tell her we can talk about this all on the way to the Crystal Empire.” Twilight put away her ruler and smiled at the white unicorn while the recruits followed Yellow Diamond out of the castle. Once they had left, Sunrise cleared her throat and got closer to Cake. “I haven't had lunch in while, why don't we all go out to eat and catch up?” The group made their way to a local restaurant that seemed to have been torn down and rebuilt. Cake recognized the place as a former burger joint which Sunrise frequented that had half its sign torn down and replaced with a new flaming neon sign proclaiming ‘EMPRESS Burger’, with the other half being made of carved wood suspended by metal support beams. Once inside Dilly spotted the other half of the group eating at a table in the back of the restaurant, and tapped the other unicorn's shoulder, making her groan. “Welcome to Empress Burger, y’all, what can I getcha?” asked a young earth pony mare as the trio sat down. “Drop the fake fucking accent and bring me a plate of hay fries,” demanded Cake. “One super solar sunrise with extra sriracha sauce on top and flaming chili fries please!” asked Sunrise with a bright smile. “Water and a grilled cheese sandwich,” said Dilly before turning to Cake. “Are we going to stay and eat this time?” “Uh, yeah, I hope so, I dont wanna have to go to three restaurants today,” said Cake as the waiter nodded and walked away. “But you are going to have to go to three castles!” said Sunrise with a laugh. “And the sun never sets, so everyday is Sunday and we go off time tables now.” “What about the fucking months? Or seasons even?” asked Cake. “Still being worked out,” Dilly said as she pulled over the small checkers board on the table and set it up opposite of Sunrise. The alicorn grinned as she began to move the first piece. “LIking the changes so far, Cake?” asked Sunrise with a smile. “Somehow, I don't understand why we didnt do all this sooner, if we could have. Everything is all organized now, you can't walk down the street without seeing a soldier or a guard. Makes me feel like Cele- Daybreaker, was holding back for too long. You remember how hard it was to get new recruits, or equipment when we had to storm Sunset?” “I do, and I remember the protest in Ponyville about how the Wingbardians had a right to invade and suppress the civilians there. I still can't believe we found Beakolini hanged from a lamp post in Katherin.” Sunrise giggled. “Oh, Dilly, where is your brother, I met this wonderful-” “Dead, Sparkle. We buried him this morning.” Daffodilly moved her checker over and jumped Twilight’s, in retaliation for this the alicorn jumped over hers and tossed it to the side of the board. “Damn, sorry, I didn't know, I've been so busy recently I didn't hear about it.” Sunrise tapped her hoof on the table nervously before returning her eyes back onto Cake, who watched the game intrigued. “So, have you had a chance to visit Appleloosa yet, Cake?” “No, I haven't. But my mother was the first one I talked to when I woke up, said they recently cracked a spell to separate the salt from ocean water. Takes a lot of focus and it’s pretty slow but their reserves are in check, for now.” “Well that is wonderful, I'm sure that must be a massive weight off their shoulders. And your mother, is she doing well?” “Yes, her and my sister have taken a much larger role in the local government down there, Aryanne finally won the mayoral election and has been working on new schools and better roads to link the southern cities.” The waiter returned and laid the plates onto the table before smiling and trotting away, again the same notes that had previously been seen in Canterlot lay on top of the food with the same small yellow sun. Cake tossed it aside and began to eat her food eagerly as the other two mares did the same. Right until the scraping sound of a different table being pushed closer to theirs grabbed the group’s attention. The large earth pony stallion shoved one of the center tables right into the trio’s booth as the rest of the squad moved their chairs over. Yellow diamond sat down right beside Cake and greeted her with a grin. “You know, I ordered the exact same thing as you did, Sunrise, how's it taste?” asked Yellow, her grin not fading. “Mmm, I would say it's probably the best thing on the menu here, and I have ordered everything!” Sunrise exclaimed with a fake friendliness to her voice “Really? I personally prefer the firestacked hashbrowns,” said the earth pony. Cake looked closer at his uniform and noticed his nametag, which made her groan. “You order hashbrowns everywhere we go, Gunshot,” said the kirin. “I love potatoes, part of my Las Pegasus upbringing.” “Damn that sure is crazy!” Cake said as she stuffed her mouth with hay fries, putting the conversation to a halt. “What types of food do you like, Wander?” asked the kirin as they looked over at the changeling. “Meat, preferably gryphon, but I also do enjoy the occasional apple.” Cake stood up and walked over to where the Changeling was sitting at the far edge of the table, she stood on her back hooves and placed her front hooves onto his shoulders as she leaned closer to his ears. “If you think you can try to threaten me, little cockroach, I will personally send your exoskeleton back to Vesapolis to be buried alongside your ashes in a tin can.” The bug shuddered as he heard the words and looked down at the wooden table top. “No, Commander, I meant no- no threats to you.” “Good, because I would hate to have to make the waiters mop up green blood off the tables and floors, it takes a lot of bleach to get out once it sticks.” Sunrise was grinning ear to ear as she picked up a chili covered fry in her magic and chewed, Dilly continued to stare at the checkerboard which had quickly fallen into chaos with black and red pieces scattered all through the board in an odd array of king pieces and regulars. Cake returned to her seat as the waitress came around a second time with the plates for the rest of the members of Phoenix Squad. The alicorn had already finished her plate and was looking around for her drink, when she couldn't find it she looked up pleadingly at Dilly who was sipping her water, trying to think of her next move as the game came down to its final 5 pieces. “Dilly, can I please have your water?” she asked softly. “You can have my soda if you want it, Princess!” Gunshot offered. “If I wanted your soda I would have just taken it, jarhead, but sadly your disgusting face has already made contact with the straw,” Sunrise said in an oddly cheerful tone. “Alright, good lunch. I'll see you in a train car heading to Rainbow Falls at um... what time is it and what time would be good to hop on a train and promptly go to sleep?” Cake said, turning her attention away from Yellow Diamond and onto Sunrise who had finished her checker game by trapping Yellow's last piece into a corner, a move that made the sour expression of defeat wash over the unicorn's face. “That would be in about seven hours, do you need to do something in seven hours?” asked Twilight. “I was hoping to maybe go to the spa and make myself look presentable before we go meet the traitors and talk diplomacy. You two should probably come along with me. Yellow, you will be in charge of getting the three misfits to behave themselves.” Cake got up and left the restaurant with the other two mares and Yellow stared at the ponies around her in a hateful glare. “We aren't going to let that bitch use Twilight to roll over the Empire and solidify herself, unless any of you want to be taking orders from that mentally deficient toddler then I say we make sure her plans become complete disasters, and disgraceful to serve Daybreaker.” Slothful SerenityCake stood in the center of the throne room, Cadence was looking down at her with a mixture of anxiety and bewilderment. Shining Armor stood below the staircase leading up to the throne, roughly thirty feet away from the white unicorn mare who looked at the duo annoyed. The royal guards next to the walls and stained glass were shivering with anticipation, as their eyes darted from their towering leader to the black sheep glowing in her new orange steel plated armor. Twilight stood at the far end of the room next to the door, ready to react if she needed to, but staying out of the main conflict, Shining refused to look at her. “I have two ponies on the heart, I can cast a basic message spell and they'll shatter it like glass. Surrender, Shining, Daybreaker offers mercy to those who admit defeat.” “You know, Cake, when that landmine went off we were ambushed, griffons began falling from the sky, firing at us while more began to run out of the forest, but despite that I still was only concerned with you. I pulled you to safety and bandaged your legs to stop the bleeding. I was the one who stole a car and drove you to the field hospital. I thought at the time that I was saving my best friend.” Cake's eyes shifted downwards as small tears began to fall down her cheeks. “You of all ponies should understand why I'm asking you to stop this madness! Do you honestly believe any of these ponies know how to fight, or that they could launch a civil war and tear apart Equestria?” “What is the alternative? You swore an oath to Equestria, not Celestia. Its citizens deserve better than to be ruled by a tyrant and a warmonger,” Cadence chimed in. “Can you shut the hell up for one minute you slutty candy cane?” Cake retorted before focusing back onto Shining. “Are you really going to be the one to send these young colts to their deaths? Some of them don't even look old enough to drink, they can't even use the spears they’re holding.” “Everypony dies eventually, it's up to them to decide when and how,” Shining reaffirmed as if he was reading scripture. “Are you even listening to yourself? These- children, have never seen war. They have no idea what they’rer up against, you sound like an old fuck general trying to line his pockets, or Hightail giving a speech to his blackclaws!” “You have a lot of nerve to say something like that while standing next to the mercenaries of the griffon he sold his country to.” Shining said, his face turning red. “After everything we've seen, after everything we’ve been through you’re still trying to wage war? Our entire purpose as a squad was to do everything in our power to prevent things like this, what I'm doing right now is trying to prevent that!” “And you were always terrible at it.” Cadence chuckled. Cake’s horn glowed and the glass ceiling above the throne room sparkled as the large shield dome covering the city dissipated, already the sound of chaos had filled the streets along with gunfire. “You have given me no choice, Cake!” Shining took aim with his spear as he stood on his hind legs, then threw it at the mare's chest. Her horn flashed again as she tried to grab it in her magic, only to realize too late that in its hilt lay an anti-magic talisman that fizzled out her spell. It struck her hard in the chest as the world went dark around her. She awoke, startled, in the spa room, next to the purple alicorn who looked at her concerned as she lifted a cucumber slice off her eyelid. “Is something wrong, Cake? Another nightmare?” After taking a deep breath and picking herself up, the unicorn rubbed her head and looked back at the alicorn as if she had just realized she had been asked a question. “Yeah, yeah. I always get them before… I don't know, I wish I had talked to Luna about them before this whole mess.” “Mess?” Sunrise asked coyly. “Yes, Twilight, its a fucking mess! I mean- Sunrise. FUCK!” Cake continued to run her hoof over her forehead in agony. “And you’re supposed to be the sane one…” “Never afraid to speak your mind, that's what I love about you, not one drop of fear even when speaking heresy to the high inquisitor.” “What in Tartarus are you even talking about ‘high inquisitor’ you sound like those cultists in the Oleanian Rike. Well, before they lost to Chrysalis.” “Daybreaker thought it was high time she got the recognition she deserves as a goddess, so she asked me to ensure the creatures of Equus know that she demands-” “Yeah, exactly like a religious fanatic. She's not even the only pony to raise the sun! Unicorns used to do it and that was before we had several huge population booms. Hell, I think it would only take half the current unicorn population in equestria to raise the sun.” Sunrise looked very annoyed, even angry to an extent. “And that's what I don't like about you, you never know when to shut up.” “Speaking of, well, speaking my mind. What are we, Sunrise? Are we just friends now?” Cake asked in a somber tone. “I don't… know. I guess I thought we were still dating, or at least seeing each other, but with everything that's going on and both our new positions-” “Yeah, it’s probably for the best if we don't think about it. Let's just wait until the situation is more stable. The salt in here is making my headache worse, I think I'm going back to the castle. Tell Dilly where I went when she gets out of the massage room, I don't want her to worry.” “Oh, yeah yeah. Will do!” Sunrise nodded as she reapplied the cucumber to her face. Back at the castle, Cake felt a tugging at her mane to walk into the map room. When she did she was surprised to see the kirin from before going over files as she sat in the large crystal chair. “Oh, hello commander. I was just going over these maps one more time before we set out for the empire. I like to know the enemy's weak points and things before I walk into urban environments.” “That's good, but you will probably be going in with no lethal weapons. Make sure whatever weak points you plan on exploiting in the city don't involve setting stores on fire, or other ponies.” “Oh, and what about the other creatures in the city? Isn't that a little specist, Cake?” “I could go on and on about how primitive other species are compared to us ponies, kirin, like how for the last one thousand years Equestria has had undisturbed peace, while Griffonia looks like a non stop game of blood fueled chess and Zebrica burns itself deeper into tribalism and degeneracy. If only Daybreaker had arrived sooner…” Cake’s eyes shifted to the banners laid above the glass windows in the room and how they shimmered in the eternal sunlight. “You know, I read a newspaper on the way to the spa, the Griffionian Empire actually sent a letter to the Empress begging her to lower the sun because they've been in complete darkness for the last month! Can you actually believe the gall they have to do that after they banned Celestialism when the Archeon took over? Fucking bird brains.” The kirin remained silent as she returned her attention to the city, writing down routes onto the small sheet of parchment she had stolen from a nearby stash of Sunrise’s and trying to ignore her commander's rant. “But, you still swam over here to enlist, so I guess maybe not all you kirin are brain dead communists…” Small embers began to flicker off the kirin’s fur, much to Cake’s delight. “You’d think after that whole stream of silence business you would have the fucking intelect to elect Autumn to lead your nation instead of the tallest bitch in the village, at least we can make the excuse ours is a alicorn and all.” Streams of smoke began to emit off her horns and the pencil she was holding while the unicorn continued on giggling. “At least the changelings were able to crawl their way to modern civilization, mostly by stealing our technology, but they still did it! Your entire continent on the other hoof is about to FORGET the wheel!” The kirin simply picked up a small, black piece of parchment on the table and set it ablaze in her hoof. In an instant it was nothing more than ashes and vapor fumes. She took a deep breath and sighed as her attention returned to her commander with a lite smile. “Yup, only through Daybreaker will they ever see the light. Those poor ponies in the Riverlands aren't doing so well either, you know?” Cake rolled her eyes at her failed attempt to make her squad mate blow her top as she trotted out of the room, down the hall, and back in her old bedroom. She looked around at how it felt as if she had never left. Her golden armor which she was sure was abandoned in Wingbardia sat battered and battle scarred on the wooden stand holding it. Laying next to her bed was a large crate, she recognized it as military when she saw it, not something Sunrise or Twilight would have used if they or- them, were to try and move her belongings out of the room. After flipping it open and pulling out the bubble wrap the orange tint shimmered over her eyes. The small letter tucked between the helmet and chest plate made her headache flare as she read it, a reminder from Daybreaker about the cost of royal armor and how she should avoid having this set end up like the last five pairs she had worn. She threw the pieces onto her bed as she lay down on the cold crystal, relaxing for a moment from the blistering heat, then Dilly opened the door and stepped into the room. “It's time, are you ready?” she asked in a soft whisper. “Yeah, I’ll just down a bottle of tylenol or get Twi to cast a spell on me, something,” Cake responded. “You should be careful Cake, doing a mission while… wounded... It's bad luck. I don't want you getting hurt again.” Dilly put a hoof unto her commander’s shoulder as she lifted up the orange steel helmet and placed it on her head. “Don’t worry about me, Dilly. Focus on those newcomers, if they fuck this up I’m going to be dead either way.” Dilly nodded as Cake strapped on her chestplate and wiggled into her metal skirt. The pair trotted out of the room where they met the rest of the squad, along with Sunrise, waiting for them at the castle's entrance. “How long is the train ride going to be?” asked Wander to Gunshot who was still drinking his large soda. “I don't know, I don't use trains, the food on them sucks,” the large earth pony responded. “I guess we all can't be blessed with an appetite for salad, or hay grass that hasn't been fried,” the kirin said with her nose up. “Hey, don't get bitchy with me, Firestarter, it ain't my fault everything you put in your mouth becomes well done,” he responded in a huff. “Really, Firestarter? You couldn't have thought of something better like Ash Fall or even Nuclear Winter? Christ, I should write a book on clever names to rename yourself to when you lobotomise yourself,” Cake said, rolling her eyes and taking the lead of the group. “I chose Gunshot because it's my favorite sound!” “SHUT UP!” Yellow Diamond demanded. “Yes, do as she says for once.” Sunrise groaned.
Pride Without PrejudiceThe casket was slowly being lowered into the grave as Daffodilly continued to sob into Cake's mane, the mare wasn't there for her team when they needed her and now they would have to bury another one of its members. Cake's headache combined with her feeling of guilt made her oblivious to the amount of moisture and mucus over her neck. A sight the press seemed to love almost as much as they did seeing Daybreaker attend the first and last military funeral of the Griffonia - Equestria war. Through it all, however, Yellow Diamond stood tall and brave as the grave digger began to shovel dirt on top of the wooden casket. She seemed to have been staring more at the sky than the grave, unlike every other pony present at the small gathering. Daybreaker was the first to leave, nodding to Cake to signal that she wished to speak to her afterwards and giving the go ahead to nearby guards to make sure the reporters watching from behind the steel gate of the military graveyard would not be able to publish any of the photos they had taken. Even though the skies were clear that day, by order of the empress, Cake still felt that it was raining in a way, and that she had not truly seen the sun since she had awoken in her hospital bed earlier that week. Daffodilly was the first to speak. “Let's just go, I don't want to be here any longer.” Yellow Diamond nodded and took flight back into the palace while the two unicorns walked unenthusiastically behind her. Inside Daybreaker had already taken her place on the throne, while three others stood below her at attention, their eyes pointing forward but somehow looking directly at Cake. The first was a changeling wearing one of the newly designed Solar Invicta officer uniforms, with bright red highlights on a white robe with an orange steel helmet. The sight made Cake sick to her stomach, she instinctively reached for a spear she could not find and opted to pretend she was scratching her side. The second was a kirin, with a grey mane and brown coat, wearing nothing but a bright talisman around her neck in the shape of a small sun. Yellow knew immediately who the kirin was, remembering how the Griffonian Empire directly referred to her as a monster at one of the many peace talks Daybreaker had brought her to attend. The last was a modest earth pony stallion, wearing a full set of the orange steel royal guard armor, complete with a magically enhanced spear on his left side and a prototype magical rifle on his right which she could not identify. Cake took a few steps forward and bowed to the empress before raising her head to hear what she had to say. “Sadly, Equestria’s finest little Octopus Squad has lost its leader to that whore, Mi Amore, and all I am left with to replace her is an arrogant little unicorn, a basket weaver, and a dog too loyal to its master to give commands... I am going to be promoting you, Cake, to lead it. As it seems I always should have done, instead of promoting a traitor. I trust that even despite your recent injuries you will be more than capable.” Daybreaker idly wrote Cake’s signature on a piece of paper before setting it ablaze. “And that hideous name, Octopus, we will need to change that. I'm sure you can understand why you will be hereby referred to as Phoenix Squad from now on.” The promotion had indeed been for Cake to take Shining Armor's spot as head of the squad, not for her to be the new captain of the Royal Guard. A question which Cake did not have to ask the empress as she saw the helmet sitting on a marble pedestal in the corner of her eye. She would have been relieved by this, had her brain not felt like someone was stabbing pin needles into it and had the changeling standing across from her not been there. Daybreaker smirked as she saw Cake’s eyes constantly scanning the shape shifter as she stood and stepped down from the throne. “Oh, don't you look so worried now my little pony, all who pledge loyalty to me are worthy of serving as my pawns. I expect there to be no trouble whatsoever with Wandler.” Cake stood firm but her eyes refocused on Daybreaker, showing that she understood the command. The alicorn goddess returned to her throne and signalled her away with a hoof as she continued to sign new laws into the government and occasionally open one of the many letters from concerned ponies and foreign leaders, before lighting them on fire and laughing at their request. As Cake left the throne room, the three new recruits marched behind her in a constant rhythm almost matching her pace to the letter. After she left the castle and made her way out the gate and onto the sidewalk, she felt as if everypony was watching her, from the fillies with their mothers walking down the street to the stallion now inches away from her face, staring at her in anticipation. “What are our first orders, ma’am?” he asked. “To shut the fuck up and leave me alone, I’ll send you a letter when Daybreaker sends me one telling me what the fuck she expects someone who just got out of a fucking four month coma to do.” Her simple command quickly becoming a rant, she continued, “She could have at least given me a fucking newspaper or something…” Cake trotted down the street with Daffodilly close by, leaving the rest of the squad behind her. Once inside the small restaurant Cake quickly brushed past the waiter who tried asking them if they had a reservation, before taking a seat at a booth as far in the corner as she could away from the other nobles enjoying their lunch. “Last time I saw the Princess she wasn’t on FIRE! What in Celestia’s name happened?” asked Cake. “She… she doesn't like to be called Princess Celestia anymore, she prefers Empress actually-” “Yeah well she's about to get a call from me, informing her of my two week notice,” said Cake. “And what's all this about Shining being a traitor? Bastard didn't even show up for the funeral.” “You can't quit!” Dilly blurted out. “You- you can't! She's already about to snap like a twig, Cake!” “I can't lead, Dilly, I don't know what she expects me to do here, me not being able to lead was the only reason why I decided becoming a royal guard was a good idea instead of taking over the family business” “I know, I know but- she would have chosen Diamond if she didn't believe you could do it.” “And what in Tartarus’s name is up with her? She didn't say a word to me at the funeral, didn't shed a single tear when one of our own brothers got put into the dirt.” “She… hasn't been the same since the rest of Octo walked out.” Cake was silent for a moment while she considered this before reaching her conclusion. “Daybreaker wants me to find them, that's obvious enough. Any leads?” “We already know where they are, they took the Crystal Empire a few weeks ago after the- Empire War… Shining took some royal artifacts with him to super charge the Crystal Heart and to keep the shield up.” Cake looked concerned for a moment. “Did- she go with him?” “Twilight? No, she's, um… she doesn't like to be called Twilight anymore either.” “I must still be dreaming… out of all ponies to lose their sanity I thought SHE would be able to hold it together.” Cake looked away as she kicked her hooves under the table, nervously looking out the window like she was hiding from something. A waiter walked over, carrying trays and laying them onto the table, and Dilly looked up at the stallion in confusion. “We didn't order anything.” The waiter didn't respond as he walked away, leaving a small note on the plate of hay fries and grass sandwich in front of Cake, and another on the small pastry for Dilly. The timid unicorn quickly picked up the note and read it before turning her attention onto Cake who was staring out the window and tapping her hoof on the wooden table. “When Violet died, I- asked Daybreaker if I could take my leave and she told me I could. We have to go get the others, Cake, before she does.” Cake turned her head back onto the plate and began to eat the fries eagerly in her magic as her eyes looked over the note. It was a small thank you message from the staff, saying that due to their service they could eat for free, along with a small imprint of Celestia's cutie mark. Cake took one of the half eaten fries out of her mouth and pushed the plate away as she returned the note onto it, and Dilly did the same. “We could get into the shield through a weak point in the Heart, simply taking a tank and starting to fire shells at it will cause the ponies inside to panic, then we can hit it there with a-” Dilly put her hoof up to Cake’s mouth as she slid her note over to Cake, she opened it and inside was the same message, with a small addition about an eavesdropping pony in a booth behind them. Cake threw the note onto the table and stood up. Sure enough behind them was a unicorn mare pretending to look over her menu right up until Cake threw it out the open window and pulled her out of the booth. “Shining should have known better than to send a rat to the exterminators!” Cake shouted as the mare quickly shed her skin for an exoskeleton, hissing as her horn flashed. Cake’s horn flared up but was quickly suppressed by her painful headache, luckily the blast of magic missed her and hit the roof after Dilly delivered a kick into the jaw of the changeling, a ray of sunshine beaming down on the face of the bug from the new hole in the roof. Cake held her hooves to her head as small drops of blood trickled down from her muzzle, Dilly passed her a napkin as she dragged the spy outside. Cake looked up at the restaurant's other guests staring back at her, one still eating their meal with a smile on their face. Everycreature looked relieved in a way besides a single changeling, hiding undisguised behind their menu and shivering. Cake trotted outside to see the new members of the squad talking to each other as they watched the unicorn mare struggle to pull the unconscious changeling onto the sidewalk. Cake signalled for them to help her as she looked around the tops of buildings and ponies on the street for anything else that may have been keeping an eye on them. Suddenly a young filly trotted up to the dazed unicorn and passed her a letter which she laid in Cake’s hoof. The small pegasus then bowed before flying off in the direction she’d come from. While the rest of the squad was loading the spy into a police carriage Cake ripped open the envelope with her teeth and began to read the letter. Dear Apple Cake Please report to the crystal castle in Ponyville as quickly as possible. Do not bring any other creature with you. Do not tell any other creature where you are going. Sunrise Sparkle Cake put the letter back into the envelope and tossed it into a nearby trashcan before rejoining the group. “Take her to the CPD for interrogation, off the books, don't waste time giving her a trial or anything like that.” After the rest of the ponies left, besides Daffodilly who stayed close to Cake's side, the pair looked at each other for a moment in silence, both waiting for the other to say something. “Don't you want to give the interrogation yourself, Cake? You've always been good at them.” Cake shook her head and leaned closer to Dilly's ear. “Secret mission time, come with me.” The pair made their way back to the Castle where they boarded a pegasus driven carriage. The pair were silent to each other through the flight, with Dilly opening her saddlebags and looking through old photos while Cake looked over the changing scenery brought by the never setting sun. Large lakes had evaporated, fields of grass had become dry without rest from the scorching rays of light, and Cloudsdale off in the distance looked as if it had tripled in size, constantly sending off clouds to either block out the sun temporarily or give relief to the drier parts of equestria with rain. Cake wondered how Appleloosa had held together through it all, with the town struggling to get rain water before Daybreaker declared the Forever Sun Celebration. Once they had arrived in Ponyville, the pair walked together into the crystal castle. The castle itself had changed greatly. The table of harmony’s seven crystal chairs gathered around it had been removed, with a single chair left belonging to Twilight. The map had disappeared and left only the crystal corpse of the table behind, the large remains of Golden Oak library which once hung overhead had been removed. Banners to Daybreaker were everywhere within the castle and it seemed as if it had been turned into a military outpost by an occupying force rather than a bastion of friendship. Sunrise Sparkle’s footsteps echoed audibly through the castle’s walls as the pair continued to look around at how much the place had changed since the last time they had seen it. “Hello Cake, congratulations on your new promotion. I assume you must be proud considering you no longer have to remain in my brother's shadow,” the alicorn said. The highlights on her mane had changed to a deep red, making her name stick like glue to her new appearance in Cake’s mind. Despite this she still decided to test the waters. “You know I'm not, Twilight.” “Of course you aren't, not yet anyways. I meant to go see you when I got a letter saying you woke up, but sadly Daybreaker forbade me doing so until after… well… I suppose it doesn't really matter now. It is good to see you, both of you,” said Sunrise as she bowed to them. Dilly returned the bow but Cake did not, standing with an emotionless face as she eyed over the purple pony in front of her. “I'm not surprised to see what you’ve done with the place, Sunrise, I take it the others did not approve?” Cake turned and faced the table. “All in time, Cake, all in time. For now we have to deal with my brother, he has amassed quite a resistance in the crystal city. And the Heart’s only going to grow stronger everyday,” Twilight said as she joined Cake and looked over at the table. With a flash of her horn the map came to life, in the center was the large metropolis of the capital city of the Crystal Empire surrounded by a large pink shield. “He has taken a large number of heretics with him, turning the population of the city from… around three point six million into an estimated five million. The Crystal Heart has never been stronger with him constantly giving speeches and Daybreaker delaying an attack.” “Delaying? Doesn't sound like her,” Cake commented. “Watch your tongue Cake, it slips too often,” Sunrise said with a smile. “She is delaying it because she wants to test you, see if you can lead properly again.” Cake scratched her head as her headache grew with the memory. “I can get in but I'm not sure what she’ll expect from me. Shining would have already surrendered if he wasn't confident, or maybe he’s trying to spark something bigger and biding his time with the shield. We could pop it like a zit with some strategic bombers, or just cut a hole inside.” Twilight nodded in agreement. “Which is why I’m coming with you, I can convince Cadence to stand down and Shining will follow her.” “Won't Daybreaker be upset?” asked Dilly softly looking up at Twilight. “No, maybe, I mean- she has eyes everywhere, if she had a problem with that then she would have told me, I think.” The alicorn stroked her chin as she thought this over. “It doesn't matter, what does matter is getting this done quickly before whatever Shining is stalling for kicks off. Dilly, write a message to S.M.I.L.E., tell them we need three of those changeling cloaks from the Great War, the good second gen ones. We should go in early morning, if everypony is still on the same sleeping schedule and-” A thundering of hoofsteps echoed through the hall as Yellow Diamond marched into the room with the rest of Phoenix squad behind her. She bowed to Sunrise who ignored her and turned her head over to Cake. “I thought I told you to come alone! I can excuse Dilly but not the rest of these freaks.” Cake rolled her eyes as she looked back up at Yellow Diamond. “Report, I told you to stay in Canterlot and find out what the changeling knew.” “Yeah, well, S.M.I.L.E. showed up with mages and kind of forced us to hand her over to them, they even had the nerve to wear the all black suits!” the blonde pegasus exclaimed. “What? Did you tell those assholes that we have orders from Celestia and that bug was a part of that?” “Yes, then they showed us a signed letter from Daybreaker saying S.M.I.L.E. would handle all the dealings with spies personally.” “Fucking bureaucracy, I’m not wasting time writing the Prin- the ‘Empress’ a two page letter on why we should be the ones currently waterboarding a love sucker. Just take the newbies and get out, we’ll meet you when we have a plan.” Yellow Diamond huffed as she took flight and stormed out of the castle, leaving Cake and the two other mares back to their scheming. “You better be careful Cake, I'm supposed to remind all the little fillies still saying Celestia that it's Daybreaker now.” Cake stopped and turned to look into Sunrise's eyes. “And what about you, why did you change your name?” Sunrise turned a shade of red as her nuzzle recoiled. “Well, now that the sun no longer sets there really isn't a ‘Twilight’ anymore, is there?” Cake shook her head and looked back at the map. “Yeah, I guess there isn't.”
Embers of EnvyCake along with the rest of her team were currently seated around the table, with Sunrise at its head holding a large ruler as she began to talk about the defences, patrols, and dangers they would face once inside the shield, and how to avoid them. Yellow Diamond constantly asked questions which Sunrise ignored, and when the pegasus turned over to Cake for help she was ignored again making her face turn red in frustration. “The crystal guards don’t have enough factories to produce weapons for all their soldiers, as such they have turned to grabbing almost anything they can find. You are likely to run into guards holding yak boomsticks, or old swords from before the Empire disa-” “ARE THE SWORDS LIKELY TO BE ENCHANTED?” Yellow Diamond yelled. “PROBABLY!” Sunrise replied as she looked on, the tension had reached its breaking point now as Yellow Diamond turned over to Cake. “Why aren't you saying anything, commander?” Cake put her hooves over her eyes and groaned. “Because I already know I can grab one of you as a body shield in case we start getting shot at,” she replied. The kirin, who was trying to light her cigarette without turning it to ash with her body, looked over to the changeling at this comment, who proceeded to turn the solid parts of his torso into the same cheese-like structure on his legs. Yellow jumped up and walked out of the castle in a huff while the recruits looked at Cake. “Go with her for lunch or tea or something, tell her we can talk about this all on the way to the Crystal Empire.” Twilight put away her ruler and smiled at the white unicorn while the recruits followed Yellow Diamond out of the castle. Once they had left, Sunrise cleared her throat and got closer to Cake. “I haven't had lunch in while, why don't we all go out to eat and catch up?” The group made their way to a local restaurant that seemed to have been torn down and rebuilt. Cake recognized the place as a former burger joint which Sunrise frequented that had half its sign torn down and replaced with a new flaming neon sign proclaiming ‘EMPRESS Burger’, with the other half being made of carved wood suspended by metal support beams. Once inside Dilly spotted the other half of the group eating at a table in the back of the restaurant, and tapped the other unicorn's shoulder, making her groan. “Welcome to Empress Burger, y’all, what can I getcha?” asked a young earth pony mare as the trio sat down. “Drop the fake fucking accent and bring me a plate of hay fries,” demanded Cake. “One super solar sunrise with extra sriracha sauce on top and flaming chili fries please!” asked Sunrise with a bright smile. “Water and a grilled cheese sandwich,” said Dilly before turning to Cake. “Are we going to stay and eat this time?” “Uh, yeah, I hope so, I dont wanna have to go to three restaurants today,” said Cake as the waiter nodded and walked away. “But you are going to have to go to three castles!” said Sunrise with a laugh. “And the sun never sets, so everyday is Sunday and we go off time tables now.” “What about the fucking months? Or seasons even?” asked Cake. “Still being worked out,” Dilly said as she pulled over the small checkers board on the table and set it up opposite of Sunrise. The alicorn grinned as she began to move the first piece. “LIking the changes so far, Cake?” asked Sunrise with a smile. “Somehow, I don't understand why we didnt do all this sooner, if we could have. Everything is all organized now, you can't walk down the street without seeing a soldier or a guard. Makes me feel like Cele- Daybreaker, was holding back for too long. You remember how hard it was to get new recruits, or equipment when we had to storm Sunset?” “I do, and I remember the protest in Ponyville about how the Wingbardians had a right to invade and suppress the civilians there. I still can't believe we found Beakolini hanged from a lamp post in Katherin.” Sunrise giggled. “Oh, Dilly, where is your brother, I met this wonderful-” “Dead, Sparkle. We buried him this morning.” Daffodilly moved her checker over and jumped Twilight’s, in retaliation for this the alicorn jumped over hers and tossed it to the side of the board. “Damn, sorry, I didn't know, I've been so busy recently I didn't hear about it.” Sunrise tapped her hoof on the table nervously before returning her eyes back onto Cake, who watched the game intrigued. “So, have you had a chance to visit Appleloosa yet, Cake?” “No, I haven't. But my mother was the first one I talked to when I woke up, said they recently cracked a spell to separate the salt from ocean water. Takes a lot of focus and it’s pretty slow but their reserves are in check, for now.” “Well that is wonderful, I'm sure that must be a massive weight off their shoulders. And your mother, is she doing well?” “Yes, her and my sister have taken a much larger role in the local government down there, Aryanne finally won the mayoral election and has been working on new schools and better roads to link the southern cities.” The waiter returned and laid the plates onto the table before smiling and trotting away, again the same notes that had previously been seen in Canterlot lay on top of the food with the same small yellow sun. Cake tossed it aside and began to eat her food eagerly as the other two mares did the same. Right until the scraping sound of a different table being pushed closer to theirs grabbed the group’s attention. The large earth pony stallion shoved one of the center tables right into the trio’s booth as the rest of the squad moved their chairs over. Yellow diamond sat down right beside Cake and greeted her with a grin. “You know, I ordered the exact same thing as you did, Sunrise, how's it taste?” asked Yellow, her grin not fading. “Mmm, I would say it's probably the best thing on the menu here, and I have ordered everything!” Sunrise exclaimed with a fake friendliness to her voice “Really? I personally prefer the firestacked hashbrowns,” said the earth pony. Cake looked closer at his uniform and noticed his nametag, which made her groan. “You order hashbrowns everywhere we go, Gunshot,” said the kirin. “I love potatoes, part of my Las Pegasus upbringing.” “Damn that sure is crazy!” Cake said as she stuffed her mouth with hay fries, putting the conversation to a halt. “What types of food do you like, Wander?” asked the kirin as they looked over at the changeling. “Meat, preferably gryphon, but I also do enjoy the occasional apple.” Cake stood up and walked over to where the Changeling was sitting at the far edge of the table, she stood on her back hooves and placed her front hooves onto his shoulders as she leaned closer to his ears. “If you think you can try to threaten me, little cockroach, I will personally send your exoskeleton back to Vesapolis to be buried alongside your ashes in a tin can.” The bug shuddered as he heard the words and looked down at the wooden table top. “No, Commander, I meant no- no threats to you.” “Good, because I would hate to have to make the waiters mop up green blood off the tables and floors, it takes a lot of bleach to get out once it sticks.” Sunrise was grinning ear to ear as she picked up a chili covered fry in her magic and chewed, Dilly continued to stare at the checkerboard which had quickly fallen into chaos with black and red pieces scattered all through the board in an odd array of king pieces and regulars. Cake returned to her seat as the waitress came around a second time with the plates for the rest of the members of Phoenix Squad. The alicorn had already finished her plate and was looking around for her drink, when she couldn't find it she looked up pleadingly at Dilly who was sipping her water, trying to think of her next move as the game came down to its final 5 pieces. “Dilly, can I please have your water?” she asked softly. “You can have my soda if you want it, Princess!” Gunshot offered. “If I wanted your soda I would have just taken it, jarhead, but sadly your disgusting face has already made contact with the straw,” Sunrise said in an oddly cheerful tone. “Alright, good lunch. I'll see you in a train car heading to Rainbow Falls at um... what time is it and what time would be good to hop on a train and promptly go to sleep?” Cake said, turning her attention away from Yellow Diamond and onto Sunrise who had finished her checker game by trapping Yellow's last piece into a corner, a move that made the sour expression of defeat wash over the unicorn's face. “That would be in about seven hours, do you need to do something in seven hours?” asked Twilight. “I was hoping to maybe go to the spa and make myself look presentable before we go meet the traitors and talk diplomacy. You two should probably come along with me. Yellow, you will be in charge of getting the three misfits to behave themselves.” Cake got up and left the restaurant with the other two mares and Yellow stared at the ponies around her in a hateful glare. “We aren't going to let that bitch use Twilight to roll over the Empire and solidify herself, unless any of you want to be taking orders from that mentally deficient toddler then I say we make sure her plans become complete disasters, and disgraceful to serve Daybreaker.”
Slothful SerenityCake stood in the center of the throne room, Cadence was looking down at her with a mixture of anxiety and bewilderment. Shining Armor stood below the staircase leading up to the throne, roughly thirty feet away from the white unicorn mare who looked at the duo annoyed. The royal guards next to the walls and stained glass were shivering with anticipation, as their eyes darted from their towering leader to the black sheep glowing in her new orange steel plated armor. Twilight stood at the far end of the room next to the door, ready to react if she needed to, but staying out of the main conflict, Shining refused to look at her. “I have two ponies on the heart, I can cast a basic message spell and they'll shatter it like glass. Surrender, Shining, Daybreaker offers mercy to those who admit defeat.” “You know, Cake, when that landmine went off we were ambushed, griffons began falling from the sky, firing at us while more began to run out of the forest, but despite that I still was only concerned with you. I pulled you to safety and bandaged your legs to stop the bleeding. I was the one who stole a car and drove you to the field hospital. I thought at the time that I was saving my best friend.” Cake's eyes shifted downwards as small tears began to fall down her cheeks. “You of all ponies should understand why I'm asking you to stop this madness! Do you honestly believe any of these ponies know how to fight, or that they could launch a civil war and tear apart Equestria?” “What is the alternative? You swore an oath to Equestria, not Celestia. Its citizens deserve better than to be ruled by a tyrant and a warmonger,” Cadence chimed in. “Can you shut the hell up for one minute you slutty candy cane?” Cake retorted before focusing back onto Shining. “Are you really going to be the one to send these young colts to their deaths? Some of them don't even look old enough to drink, they can't even use the spears they’re holding.” “Everypony dies eventually, it's up to them to decide when and how,” Shining reaffirmed as if he was reading scripture. “Are you even listening to yourself? These- children, have never seen war. They have no idea what they’rer up against, you sound like an old fuck general trying to line his pockets, or Hightail giving a speech to his blackclaws!” “You have a lot of nerve to say something like that while standing next to the mercenaries of the griffon he sold his country to.” Shining said, his face turning red. “After everything we've seen, after everything we’ve been through you’re still trying to wage war? Our entire purpose as a squad was to do everything in our power to prevent things like this, what I'm doing right now is trying to prevent that!” “And you were always terrible at it.” Cadence chuckled. Cake’s horn glowed and the glass ceiling above the throne room sparkled as the large shield dome covering the city dissipated, already the sound of chaos had filled the streets along with gunfire. “You have given me no choice, Cake!” Shining took aim with his spear as he stood on his hind legs, then threw it at the mare's chest. Her horn flashed again as she tried to grab it in her magic, only to realize too late that in its hilt lay an anti-magic talisman that fizzled out her spell. It struck her hard in the chest as the world went dark around her. She awoke, startled, in the spa room, next to the purple alicorn who looked at her concerned as she lifted a cucumber slice off her eyelid. “Is something wrong, Cake? Another nightmare?” After taking a deep breath and picking herself up, the unicorn rubbed her head and looked back at the alicorn as if she had just realized she had been asked a question. “Yeah, yeah. I always get them before… I don't know, I wish I had talked to Luna about them before this whole mess.” “Mess?” Sunrise asked coyly. “Yes, Twilight, its a fucking mess! I mean- Sunrise. FUCK!” Cake continued to run her hoof over her forehead in agony. “And you’re supposed to be the sane one…” “Never afraid to speak your mind, that's what I love about you, not one drop of fear even when speaking heresy to the high inquisitor.” “What in Tartarus are you even talking about ‘high inquisitor’ you sound like those cultists in the Oleanian Rike. Well, before they lost to Chrysalis.” “Daybreaker thought it was high time she got the recognition she deserves as a goddess, so she asked me to ensure the creatures of Equus know that she demands-” “Yeah, exactly like a religious fanatic. She's not even the only pony to raise the sun! Unicorns used to do it and that was before we had several huge population booms. Hell, I think it would only take half the current unicorn population in equestria to raise the sun.” Sunrise looked very annoyed, even angry to an extent. “And that's what I don't like about you, you never know when to shut up.” “Speaking of, well, speaking my mind. What are we, Sunrise? Are we just friends now?” Cake asked in a somber tone. “I don't… know. I guess I thought we were still dating, or at least seeing each other, but with everything that's going on and both our new positions-” “Yeah, it’s probably for the best if we don't think about it. Let's just wait until the situation is more stable. The salt in here is making my headache worse, I think I'm going back to the castle. Tell Dilly where I went when she gets out of the massage room, I don't want her to worry.” “Oh, yeah yeah. Will do!” Sunrise nodded as she reapplied the cucumber to her face. Back at the castle, Cake felt a tugging at her mane to walk into the map room. When she did she was surprised to see the kirin from before going over files as she sat in the large crystal chair. “Oh, hello commander. I was just going over these maps one more time before we set out for the empire. I like to know the enemy's weak points and things before I walk into urban environments.” “That's good, but you will probably be going in with no lethal weapons. Make sure whatever weak points you plan on exploiting in the city don't involve setting stores on fire, or other ponies.” “Oh, and what about the other creatures in the city? Isn't that a little specist, Cake?” “I could go on and on about how primitive other species are compared to us ponies, kirin, like how for the last one thousand years Equestria has had undisturbed peace, while Griffonia looks like a non stop game of blood fueled chess and Zebrica burns itself deeper into tribalism and degeneracy. If only Daybreaker had arrived sooner…” Cake’s eyes shifted to the banners laid above the glass windows in the room and how they shimmered in the eternal sunlight. “You know, I read a newspaper on the way to the spa, the Griffionian Empire actually sent a letter to the Empress begging her to lower the sun because they've been in complete darkness for the last month! Can you actually believe the gall they have to do that after they banned Celestialism when the Archeon took over? Fucking bird brains.” The kirin remained silent as she returned her attention to the city, writing down routes onto the small sheet of parchment she had stolen from a nearby stash of Sunrise’s and trying to ignore her commander's rant. “But, you still swam over here to enlist, so I guess maybe not all you kirin are brain dead communists…” Small embers began to flicker off the kirin’s fur, much to Cake’s delight. “You’d think after that whole stream of silence business you would have the fucking intelect to elect Autumn to lead your nation instead of the tallest bitch in the village, at least we can make the excuse ours is a alicorn and all.” Streams of smoke began to emit off her horns and the pencil she was holding while the unicorn continued on giggling. “At least the changelings were able to crawl their way to modern civilization, mostly by stealing our technology, but they still did it! Your entire continent on the other hoof is about to FORGET the wheel!” The kirin simply picked up a small, black piece of parchment on the table and set it ablaze in her hoof. In an instant it was nothing more than ashes and vapor fumes. She took a deep breath and sighed as her attention returned to her commander with a lite smile. “Yup, only through Daybreaker will they ever see the light. Those poor ponies in the Riverlands aren't doing so well either, you know?” Cake rolled her eyes at her failed attempt to make her squad mate blow her top as she trotted out of the room, down the hall, and back in her old bedroom. She looked around at how it felt as if she had never left. Her golden armor which she was sure was abandoned in Wingbardia sat battered and battle scarred on the wooden stand holding it. Laying next to her bed was a large crate, she recognized it as military when she saw it, not something Sunrise or Twilight would have used if they or- them, were to try and move her belongings out of the room. After flipping it open and pulling out the bubble wrap the orange tint shimmered over her eyes. The small letter tucked between the helmet and chest plate made her headache flare as she read it, a reminder from Daybreaker about the cost of royal armor and how she should avoid having this set end up like the last five pairs she had worn. She threw the pieces onto her bed as she lay down on the cold crystal, relaxing for a moment from the blistering heat, then Dilly opened the door and stepped into the room. “It's time, are you ready?” she asked in a soft whisper. “Yeah, I’ll just down a bottle of tylenol or get Twi to cast a spell on me, something,” Cake responded. “You should be careful Cake, doing a mission while… wounded... It's bad luck. I don't want you getting hurt again.” Dilly put a hoof unto her commander’s shoulder as she lifted up the orange steel helmet and placed it on her head. “Don’t worry about me, Dilly. Focus on those newcomers, if they fuck this up I’m going to be dead either way.” Dilly nodded as Cake strapped on her chestplate and wiggled into her metal skirt. The pair trotted out of the room where they met the rest of the squad, along with Sunrise, waiting for them at the castle's entrance. “How long is the train ride going to be?” asked Wander to Gunshot who was still drinking his large soda. “I don't know, I don't use trains, the food on them sucks,” the large earth pony responded. “I guess we all can't be blessed with an appetite for salad, or hay grass that hasn't been fried,” the kirin said with her nose up. “Hey, don't get bitchy with me, Firestarter, it ain't my fault everything you put in your mouth becomes well done,” he responded in a huff. “Really, Firestarter? You couldn't have thought of something better like Ash Fall or even Nuclear Winter? Christ, I should write a book on clever names to rename yourself to when you lobotomise yourself,” Cake said, rolling her eyes and taking the lead of the group. “I chose Gunshot because it's my favorite sound!” “SHUT UP!” Yellow Diamond demanded. “Yes, do as she says for once.” Sunrise groaned.
