When the darkness comes

Five hundred sixty years after Nightmare moon.

Royal council chambers

Twelve hours after the invasion of the Zebra states.

“Lumber exports have increased 30% since last year and trade routes have doubled with the…griffon nations.” The minister of trade spat the last words with venom, but was quick to hide it. “But there was also been a decreased in imports from the nation of Gargolia (Gargoyles) due the nation reorganized of its government from a Hegemony to a Hierarchical Meritocracy due to their civil war.” He stated, observing around the gazes from the other Council members. Most of them (except the princess), including the minster of war were in deep thought. The civil war in Gargolia was a success. The Apollo council knew that the civil war was imminent, thanks to the minister of Intelligence were able to locate two rebel groups that are currently fighting a guerrilla war with the fifth royal army, command by General Darkwing of the sabertongue family in the royal house of the supreme Autarch, Gargula XIV. Secretly, the equestrians were equipping the two rebel groups since the beginning when Gargolia close it borders to outsiders ten years ago. Of course this Equestria the perfect time to get rid of the land’s current government.

Since first contact of the Gargoyles two hundred years after the Nightmare moon incident, they became sort of a menace to Equis and griffin traders along its nation southern coast since they harbored pirates. Gargolia is border in the north and the northeast by the Zebra states and the griffon kingdoms. A mountain provides a natural barrier between them and the griffons; of course the mountain is disputed territory, and sometimes a few border clashes, but it doesn’t explode into full-scale war between the two. Of course Equestria had posted several embargos on the Gargolia to stop harbored pirates and practicing it, but the embargos do little to stop it since their pirate acts had earn them a lot of revenues for them.

So the only way to stop these acts upon their trade routes was sending in unicorns, using speech infused magic to influence the populace into rebellion. It worked perfectly; for the past two years, the council was getting daily reports of protesting, rioting in the major cities and across the countryside. The Gargolia hegemony responded brutality by crackdowns on the populace. Martial law was ordered across the nation. Anyone who breaks curfew will be shot, but the protesters wouldn’t give in to a dictatorial power that will exploit them. Only a tiny stark can make the entire country explode into war, and exactly what Equestria wanted.

“Well Gentleman, it seems that Operation: FAMES OF THE GODDESS is a success. The Gargoyles are not going be problem to our traders any longer. Now than onto other businesses; minister of agriculture, sugar tooth, would you like to report your team’s latest findings into expanding into th…” He was interrupted when the great oak doors of the royal council chambers was swung open, revealing a unicorn royal guard with a scroll in his mouth, even princess Celestia broke her train of thought to see what was going on.

“Guard what is the meaning of this, snow runner?!” the minister of trade asked, anger and confusion in his old voice.

The guard, now known as snow runner, regains his breath from running across the castle to deliver this message to the council.

“Councilors and…Princess Celestia I have a…message from the…embassy in tehmane.”

The councilors, including the princess were confused. Why was the embassy at Zwanda sending a message this urgent? They know that was unrest was spreading through the people of Zwanda due to claims of government mismanagement and corruption, but if the unrest turns into riots in the streets, the embassy would be going into lockdown and supported by 2 regiments o royal guards.

Snow runner removes the scroll from his mouth, using his left hoof, and encases it in his green magical aura, sending it to the highest power in the room: Princess Celestia.

Celestia caches it in her magical aura, taking off the seal of the message. She begins to read. The councilors (including the guard) held their breath, knowing what inside the letter could lead a series of events that could either destroy their kingdom or lead to glory as they studied the princess facial features.

Celestia was…shocked by the contents in this message. Zebraica has invaded the Zebra Free states in a thousand years, since her mother, Lauren Faust and the Guardian had leaded an army of former slaves of liberating their lands from Zebraica three thousand years ago, and now they’re now out for revenge, at the expense of the Free states’ people, but of course Equestria isn’t with an alliance with the Free states, despite the fact that her mother and her…friend liberated them, yet that doesn’t stop her subjects’ businesses.

The businesses in Equestria have deep interests in the Zebra Free states, generating over five million bits overseas, but there are other problems that get her solders to the zebras if she has to intervene; the relations with the zebras and her subjects living in the States.

When first contact with the zebras was made through traders sailing twenty eight thousand miles from the griffon kingdoms to one of the first cities that was near the coast: Manehatten

Manehatten at the time was a small village controlled by the earth pony tribe until the founding of the nation, Equestria, on the coast of the Mare Pacificum Ocean. The village location was the perfect place for traders to rest and sell their wares on the markets, allowing trade to flourish across Equestria early years. The village grew from a population of five hundred to twenty thousand in short of five years, due to the ever-glowing economic expansion and the growing immigrants, ranging from griffons getting way from the wars in their homelands. Zebras, escaping from their masters in Zebraica, or economic clashes from the Zebra Free States.

This made Manehatten turned into one of the largest cities on the east coast of Equestria. The nation’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was growing continuous, bringing in gold in the commons and goods being shipped out across other emerging cities like Fillydelphia and trottingham, but usually prosperity and greater jobs to others can bring out the worst of ponies.

Corruption and xenophobic feelings begin to emerge from ponies or the ‘nativists’ as they like to be called, have been protesting about the influx of immigrants moving in. When their voices were ignored by the officials were being bridled by the companies that use the cheap labor to feed their coffins from cheap goods; they rioted, destroying everything in their path, murdering everyone that had connections to the government and giving jobs to immigrants. When the riots were finally put down by the 33th Royal Guard regiment stationed near the city. About one-third of the city was destroyed in the fighting, and about two thousand seven hundred ponies, griffons, zebras had died. The Incident in Manehatten had turned it into diplomatic shitstorm when the news reaches in the griffons and zebra lands.

Across the Griffon Kingdoms and Zebras states, riots have broken out across the capitals’ all across griffon and zebras nations. Rioters have hang dummies lookalikes of the princess being hanged and lighting up from the torches of the rioters. The embassies were under siege from the rioters that were attempting into breaking down the gates, and take their revenge for their fallen brothers and sisters in Manehatten, yet they were put down by the National Guard and militias before any of them starting a war.

Despite their anger towards the “Manehatten riots” the governments weren’t foolish as the rioters were.They know that a war with the Equestria would be foolish and of course they were scared of their goddess power wrath; afraid that she will do the same thing to them as she did with Nightmare moon a thousand years ago.

One week later while Manehatten was being rebuild,they sent in a compromise to settle this incident before their people demanded their governments to declare war on Equestria; their compromise demands that Equestria pays reparations for the killings of their people, and ordered the arrests of the leaders that organized the riots.Celestia accept most of the demands since she herself was disgusted by her subjects’ actions against the other races of her home, but the reparations that she going to have a hard time paying since most of the money is diverted towards social services; yet this is a temporary sacrifice for Equestria. She will not get her ponies into another war; Not another repeat of the Nightmare moon Rebellion.

So the compromise was settled; there will be no war, but it will leave a bad taste in the collective ponies’ mouth in interspecies relations. Of course this turn of events help form a terrorists group called the PSG, Pony superiorly group, created by the unicorn noble named, Vox Populi.

Their goal and belief that the ponies are the superior race that is destined to rule the world, the group believes that the Princess has betrayed the people, and should be overthrown in order for a new government to bring back their species to their former glory. Their membership went up from ponies that were involved in the Manehatten riots, ponies that lost their jobs to immigrants; even some in government had supported them.

The group begins to organize protests in several cities, including Canterlot. They called out for the Princess to step down from her corrupted government, and be exiled. She refuses to, and sent in her guard to stop the protests.

The protests quickly turned into riots when one of the protesters fired a pistol at the guards; which the guards fired back.The riots were short lived as the protesters quickly surrender despite outnumbering the guards.

The royal guards were able to track down the leaders of the PSG by using a memory spell on a few of the rioters; by the end of the week, The PSG were all but destroyed, their leaders were either imprisoned or had killed themselves than rather be captured.

Vox Populi and the rest of his followers retreated to only place that anyone can’t go out for his group: The Everfree forest; He and his group enter the forest. Never to be seen again.

Celestia had stopped reading the parchment, and gaze her eyes around the room. The councilors and snowrunner were staring at her, sweat going down their necks.

She signed and put the parchment on the wooden table. She took a deep breath and let it out, her chest rising and falling into a pattern.

“Zebracia has invaded the Free States.”

She final spoke out. After she says those words, it all went to hell.

Khar'shan

Year 2210

Twenty four years after the Reaper war.

Turian FOB, near the capital of the Batarian Hegemony.

“Spirits help us in our darkest hour to defeat our enemies. Give my turian brothers and sisters the strength to overcome them; Help us. Help us in our battles against those who would take lives as their own property.”

Prometheus opened his eyes, stopping his praying, and gaze around the trench that he was snaring with a couple of soldiers, with a mix of turian, krogan, and oddly enough…. a batarian.

The nearest soldier near him was a turian had black eyes with almost a brown metallic carapace with the hint of black paint on his face.

“Atticus has there been any news on the batarian front?” Prometheus asked, slide in a thermal clip in his M-96 Mattlock as he poked his head out.

Atticus snorted. “If you mean what left of their command, than yeah.” To makes his point, he got up from his sitting position. Took out his sniper rifle and looked down on his scope.

“The northern continents had fallen, but there still heavy fighting near the western and southern continents, but the batarians loyalists are being routed due to part of our rebel friends." He nodded to the lone batarian at the far end of the trench.

‘Thank the spirits, this war almost over.’  Prometheus though, happy that he will finally see his wife and his newborn asari daughter, Selene, the little one was born several months before the battle of Khar’shan. She had sent pictures of his little one clawing around in his step father’s estate on Palaven or playing with his pet varren, Cerberus, in the backyard.

That always brought a smile to his face while out on the front lines.

Even in the darkness of times. A child will always lift the spirits of those who will fight on to the end.

Prometheus let out a sigh, as his turian friend try to find a batarian loyalist for target practice.

Bang!

Atticus fired his M-97 Viper, only one shot, making a thundering sound that can be hear across the trench line.

‘Just the way he always likes it.’ Prometheus thought, getting up to see where he shot, seeing the increased activity from the enemy trench.

His friend lifted his head form his scope, cursing in his naïve language.

“Dammit.”

“Miss again, Atticus?” Prometheus smirked at his friend’s little misfired.

“Shut up victus.” Atticus aggravate mutter under his breath, but the krogan next to him hear what he said, and just smirked.

“I believe that was your eighteen missed since we were deployed to this rock.” The krogan laughed at his comrade misfortune.

“Which means you’re getting old.” The krogan laughed even more as he loads a chip to his claymore shogun.

“Alright you two, cut it you too.” Prometheus ordered.

He knew that Atticus and the krogan had been rivals since they first lay eyes during the battle of Lorek, and they have a history of fighting between them, during their shore leaves on the Citadel.

So Prometheus wonder who in the right mind pitted these two in the same trench beats him, because if either one of them starts a fight during this battle. It would be bloody, very bloody. Yet, during their service on the war front. They made truce that fighting during combat operations is forbidden, only on short leaves.

Atticus just growled and looks down his scope again while the krogan just smirked and moves his three-finger hand to his pouch on his leg.

He undo’s the zipper and takes out a bottle of…ryncol.

Really Mordin? Drinking during the final stages of this goddamn w—‘

His thoughts were interrupted by an artillery shell and shouting from the other side.

‘Oh fuck me.’

He mentally cruse, as he bought his rifle pointing at the approaching enemy charge.

'Please, spirits. Make sure me and my comrades make it back home.' He mentally prayed as he fired a three-shot burst at the approaching horde, taking a head off a barbarian solder.

'please project us all.'

(Author Note: I hope you like cliffhangers. Next chapter, Contact)

EDIT: Change the title and did a few changes.