Flame of the Sun

Griffish Isles, August 5th, 1502.

"You realize the risks we endure by taking you in, correct?"

"Yes."

"And you realize that at any moment, we have the capability to terminate you, correct?"

"Yes."

"Furthermore, you understand that if Equestrian military forces become to pressing, we may have to surrender you, correct?"

"I don't believe that will be necessary."

"And why would you think that?"

"Because I know ponies, and ponies know me. I also have interests in line with Griffonstone if all else fails."

"In that case, I really hope you know what you're doing, Starlight."

"I really hope you do, too, Nova."

Equestria, August 9th, 1502.

Daybreaker rode within the interior of a carriage alongside Sunrise lead by a force of thirty-six royal guards. The carriage itself was large to accommodate Daybreaker's height, and clothed in radiant décor that doubled as impenetrable armor. Colors of white, orange, red, and gold shrouded the carriage in a beautiful array of spectacular designs signifying the eternal sun. The guards themselves were equipped with a new armor of similar design, with emblems of the Solar Empire's new icon at the center of their appearance. While their bodies could surely not handle the solar blood, the armor could, and Daybreaker had plenty to spare. Of course, upon the death of any soldier wearing this armor, their body would be immediately destroyed along with the armor surrounding it. A new method of respectful burial to the fallen in which brave warriors were rightfully returned to the sun that gave them life.

Daybreaker understood that it would take a while longer to arrive by carriage than by train or by portal, but that was fine to her. Travel by carriage meant closeness with her little ponies, it meant safety to every equine who watched it pass. A little extra time for thinking and rest is something she figured she would need anyway. She looked at Sunrise, who appeared deep in thought.

"Sunrise," she said, causing Sunrise to direct her attention to the Empress, "what plagues your mind?"

"Nothing plagues my mind, my liege," Sunrise said, "I'm just thinking about the future in an attempt to prepare. I must admit, however, that I am grossly unfamiliar with what thought process I should assume."

"It will come with time, my dear Inquisitor," Daybreaker said, "relax for now, this is a time for rest and easy thoughts. No need to cause harm to yourself by way of confusion, simply allow things to be as they are. You are intelligent, the most intelligent pony I know, you will learn quickly I assure you. Remember, patience is your best friend in times like these."

Sunrise nodded, giving a small sigh before smiling. It wasn't long that she could maintain that smile, however, as the carriage came to a sudden stop as some shouting came from outside. Daybreaker turned to look out the window.

"We should be brushing past the Galloping Gorge by now, why have we stopped?" Sunrise asked. Daybreaker held up a hoof of silence.

"Stay inside, Sunrise," Daybreaker said, "there was word of Changeling activity in this region. I will observe it myself."

With that, the Empress exited the carriage and stepped outside. Most of the guards were in a defensive formation, while two were investigating a corpse up ahead in the middle of the road. The Empress walked towards the body and observed it. It was surely equine, and upon further observation...

"I can assume she. . ." the guard speaking held back his stomach as he turned away from the corpse, ". . .was twelve."

The corpse was not simply slain, but was skinned in the most gruesome fashion. The word animal carved into it's side. The only way to judge the age was by it's size, as any other identifying traits were no longer recognizable. Daybreaker didn't want to know whether or not the filly was alive during that, but she assumed the worst before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The stench of rot was present, and she knew the filly was not killed that day.

Sunrise leaned out of the carriage to see the filly's remains from a distance, covering her mouth with an expression of fearful disgust, tears falling from her eyes more suddenly than she thought even possible. Without a moment longer, Daybreaker spoke quietly.

"From the sun you were made, to the sun you will return," she said softly, "I am sorry, my little pony. I was not there for you."

She lit her horn, causing the corpse to burn immediately as it's ashes flowed freely in the wind. As she did so, the guards readied their weapons quickly as a party of five Changelings had stepped out of the forest and into the road. Their faces were stained with wicked smiles, and Daybreaker knew upon seeing them that they were the culprits. She at least believed as much, she didn't particularly care whether or not it was one of them, two of them, or some Changeling she was not yet aware of. After all, they would be extinct by the time she was done regardless.

"Step away and maintain the carriage," Daybreaker said softly to her guards, "I will deal with this."

The guards nodded, trotting back and joining formation with the other troops. Sunrise watched quietly from the carriage as the Empress walked towards the Changelings. They hissed in response, before a few of them began to cackle.

"Enough playing, she's vulnerable," one said, "kill her!"

One of the Changelings lit it's horn, firing a bolt of hivemagic at the Empress. What they witnessed next was something absolutely unheard of, something that cemented the fact that they might have been dealing with the ruler of Equestria, but surely not Celestia. The party stepped back in confused horror.

"H-how is that possible?" one said.

"You can't. . .you can't just. . ." another spoke.

The sharpness of Daybreaker's teeth allowed them to transfer a small amount of magic energy similar to her horn. Their structure was similar, therefore it was theoretically possible to perform minor spells, though none too powerful. Regardless, it put on a display of power to the Changelings that, had their deaths not been guaranteed the moment Daybreaker discovered that filly, they would have remembered. When the Changeling fired upon Daybreaker, she, with a viscious snarl, caught the magic with her mouth, biting onto it and eating it.

Without another word, she lit her horn, flattening a Changeling into the ground at such a speed that it's body was shredded well beyond recognition, now a greenish stain to drain into the earth by the next rainfall. Before they could retaliate, she fired a blast of force magic towards them, causing them to stumble, before darting towards them at a sound-breaking speed. Her horn lit once more, as three of the remaining four Changelings' faces were surrounded in flame, burning only the surface of their skin while they died suffocating on the smoke of their own flesh. The last Changeling fired another bolt, which Daybreaker caught once more, chewing down on with an air-shattering thunder. As he charged his horn again, the Empress leaned down and bit through his horn, tearing it off.

The Changeling screamed in agony as the Empress looked down upon him.

"I smell the blood on your body," she said to him grimly, "perhaps those sounds your making are the same ones you enjoyed when your tormented one of my subjects to death to make a silly statement. Nay, your screams are nothing compared to the brave cries of that filly, but that of a dying bug. A parasite upon the world, using it's vocal chords the way there were naturally designed. You were made to scream."

As she said this, she lit her horn, causing a searing pain to pierce the Changeling's side. Burnt onto it's skin was the word 'insect'. Her horn flashed again for reasons unknown before she levitated the Changeling and hurled him thousands of miles away. After that, the carriage drew near once more as the commanding officer of that unit approached her.

"My empress, what should we do with these corpses?" he asked. Daybreaker smiled.

"1-14, 1-12, 1-18, and 1-4, I want you to stay behind and call reinforcements," she said, "escort these dead parasites to the field outside of the Wandering Woods and have them impaled."

"What of the one you, ahem, threw?" he inquired further. Daybreaker chuckled to herself.

"That was a gift from me to Chrysalis. I hope my aim was good enough."

Changeling Hive, August 9th, 1502.

"Those are the reports for today, your highness," a voice spoke, which could only be described as sour and scratchy. It was a Changeling Mindcarrier, specialized Changeling troops with magic that allowed the Hivemind to flourish at a greater distance. Their loyalty was considered absolute, unwavering, and unchangeable. Stories and rumors among the hive said that they could even resist the strongest mind-control because of it. Militarily, the functioned as Generals, Field Marshalls, or Commanding Officers depending on their magical abilities.

Queen Chrysalis, the sole ruler of the Changeling Hive, sat upon her throne impatiently as she listened to the report. It was honestly quite a bore to her, but her advisors suggested that she play things strategically, so as not to have another embarrassment likened to the Canterlot wedding. She wasn't much of a strategist, she simply enjoyed feeding and killing. There was nothing else that brought her joy in the world. Equestria was a fun target, but one that became more annoying by the day. Yet, she had made things more interesting for herself by allowing her hive to enact "messages" by any means they wished, preferably violent ones. She sighed.

"I figured you would go on for longer, today was actually shorter than usual," she muttered nonchalantly as she played with her hair, "I'm not sure if I should be angry with you for having a less informative report, or pleased with you for having a less lengthy one to bore me with. Though I suppose I did ask you to do it, oh well."

Before the Mindcarrier could respond, the wall of her castle burst apart causing the armed Changelings nearby to charge their horns and prepare their weapons. Chrysalis became suddenly alert, jumping from her throne and slowly approaching the creature that managed to make it's way through. She lit her horn briefly, realizing that his body was physically protected from the force of the collision by some magic she had never seen before. Furthermore, it seemed there was another active spell inside of his body that she couldn't figure out. She read the burns across his skin.

"Insect, hmm," Chrysalis pondered aloud, "I wonder what that—"

Before she could continue, the Changeling on the ground began to moan loudly in agony before he began to choke on something. After a moment, the greenish blood within his veins began to spew from the openings of his face while it appeared his chest deflated.

"Is that. . ?" Chrysalis mused, before she noticed something exiting his oral cavity. The Changelings nearby stepped back in confusion as they all noticed that what was coming from the dead bug's mouth was it's own lungs. Chrysalis would have been disgusted if she wasn't so amused by the creativity of whoever had enacted such a violent death upon the small insect. To her delight, however, an orb burnt through the left lung of the creature and hovered in the air.

"Auditory magic," Chrysalis thought aloud once more, "that's interesting. Let's see who did the dirty deed."

She lit her horn, activating the small orb as it appeared to open up with flames encircling it. Chrysalis figured it might have been something from Tartarus at first, but it made no sense for Tartarus to interfere with the Undersky. The Undersky was what the Changeling's called it, anyway, as in their theology the sky was the border between the Eternal Hive and the breeding ground. Being nothing more than a breeding ground, it was not important to give it it's own name per se, just a place "under the sky". Chrysalis, of course, didn't buy into the Changeling's religious practices, she just invented them to keep them in line easier. Her chain of thought about this was broken, however, as the message began to play.

"Hello Chrysalis, I see you've butchered one of my fillies, and I've sent you this gift to return the favor. I figured because your troops ripped out the hearts of my stallions, I'd do the same with yours. But alas, while I searched for one, I couldn't find it. I hope his lungs will do, after all, they've stolen Equine oxygen for long enough without paying their due. Also, check up with the press. I know your technology is lacking, but it wouldn't hurt to get outside of your wasp nest for a while to see the beautiful sun, would it? See you soon, Chryssi."

"By the gods," Chrysalis said with a grin on her face so wide she truly thought she had ran out of face to have it, "now this. . .THIS is what I wanted! Have it your way, Celestia! If you want to play dirty, I'll play dirty! Hahaha!"

She danced around the throne room, unable to contain her joy. Finally, a war worth fighting! How perfect, how brilliant, how wonderful, how fated! The boring Equestria of Harmony, now resorting to unspeakable violence in retaliation! This is the blood she wanted, she didn't even care to win now, she just wanted to watch the nation break apart.

"Miiiiiindcarrier~!" she sung gleefully, "Issue a message to the hive, we are officially at war with Equestria~!"

Chrysalis continued to dance, taking one of her Changeling guards and giving them a quick but passionate kiss before falling into her seat like a tired out child after playtime. She hadn't had this much joy since tricking Shining Armor into having sex with her as Princess Cadence. She was certain he still felt guilty about that, and she just loved the thought of it. Loved it so much she could almost feed from it, but of course that was impossible.

"Oh, and please," Chrysalis said with a playful look of disgust as she shoed her hoof towards the corpse, "get rid of the dead bug."

Two of the Changeling guards nodded, tossing the bug back out of the hole along with it's ousted lungs.

Crystal Empire, August 9th, 1502.

"She's taking longer than expected, what if she was attacked by Changelings?" Cadence said, prancing back and forth with a visible look of stress on her face. Shining Armor sighed loudly as he sat in a chair within the throne room, which was positioned closely to the throne itself. It wasn't his designated chair beside the throne, but it was a very comfortable one anyway.

"Calm down Cadence," he reassured, "even if she were attacked by Changeling's there's no way they would be able to defeat her without at least fifty of them."

"But there could have been fifty! Or a hundred! Or-or three hundred!" Cadence said, "Oooh! Damnit why do I worry so much!"

She walked over to Shining and laid her head over his neck with a pouting expression. Shining simply chuckled and turned his head to nuzzle her gently before giving her a quick kiss. She smiled, getting up and turning towards the door.

The whole room was ethereal in appearance, lit only with love magic gathered from the Crystal Heart beneath the castle structure. The reflections of the Crystals that made up the castle allowed the light to travel evenly throughout the entire structure. While not reflective as a calm pond or mirror, it was just enough to refract the little bits of light in such a way that looking towards the room at any angle was like looking into the night sky. This structure had been around for a long time, and it was honestly a mystery even to Cadence as to how it truly came to be. The story that the Crystal Empire settled with was that one day, long ago, the ground was seeded with a magic crystal that grew into a civilization, and gave birth to the first crystal ponies. It sounded bogus, but it was fun to teach the children who would eventually grow up to accept the fact that nopony really knew what in Tartarus actually happened, but that it did and they live there peacefully now.

"Is it getting warmer in here?" Cadence asked suddenly, "I thought I told you to keep the temperature at—"

Before she could continue, there was a knocking at the door. She sighed, lighting her horn to open it. A strange light shone from behind the door, and Cadence froze as she saw Daybreaker walk in with Sunrise at her side, along with four accompanying guards adorned in an armor she hadn't seen before. Shining Armor got up, almost in wife-defense mode as he looked upon the transformed Celestia and Twilight in confusion.

"Celestia? Twilight?" Cadence said, before Daybreaker chuckled and shook her head.

"Word must travel slowly, I'll have to work on that," she said softly, "Empress Daybreaker, and this is Sunrise Sparkle."

"By the gods. . .what have you done?" Shining Armor said defensively, walking towards Daybreaker before she held her hoof.

"I've done what is necessary, Shining," Daybreaker said in a rougher tone, "and need I remind you that there is one goddess in this realm, and you are graced with the privilege to look upon her. Now enough chit-chat, I believe we have a meeting concerning Changeling activity, which, by the way, I have dealt with in the Galloping Gorge region. A twelve-year-old filly was skinned alive with the word 'animal' carved into her flesh. I'd like to inform you, Field Marshall, that while Changelings may be hard to detect, a filly's screams are not. This is unacceptable."

"Uh. . .yes. . .your highness," Shining said, standing down and stepping back. Cadence shook her head quickly.

"Wh. . .skinned?" she said suddenly, "what are you talking about, there's no way that—"

"I returned her to the sun myself!" Daybreaker shouted with a booming voice, causing the couple to jump, "and I've slain the Changelings in a likened manner which they deserved. Now with that settled, I'd like to discuss more important things, like how we can prevent that from happening again. Have I made myself clear?"

Cadence nodded nervously. She was expecting to meet with Celestia today, not this. . .thing that took her over. It was freaking her out, she wasn't so keen on the idea of a god-complexed Celestia, though it wasn't all that far-fetched all things considered. Still, it worried her greatly—though voicing those worries would not have been all that wise a course of action. Cadence took a deep breath, before taking a seat at a table within the room surrounded by several chairs. She held her hoof out, gesturing towards the vacant ones.

"Well then, Empress," she said with a deep breath, "have yourself a seat and let's get down to business."

The guards remained stationed at the door as Sunrise and Daybreaker took their seats, Shining along with them. Daybreaker lit her horn, displaying a map of magic upon the empty table with borders of heatless flame. As she would explain locations and scenarios, the map would light up in the spots she referenced to provide further clarity.

"Our guards are currently stationed across the borders of the east and west, focused more densely around populated areas with surveillance on Starlight's cave and the Griffith Isles. While the Changeling threat remains the priority, we also have troops engaging in warfare against Griffonstone in the southern Burbear Territory and northwestern Trotslyvania. The Trotslyvanians have been a phenomenal trade partner, while Bugbear Territory remains a great area for natural resources. Neither of these can be lost to Griffonstone, but Bugbear Territory is the priority. What troops do you have to spare?"

"Not many, if I'm being absolutely honest," Cadence said, "we've doubled up our security and sent our spare troops out to reinforce the Equestrian Frontline Defense, the only way we could get more troops is. . ."

". . .A wartime draft," Shining Armor said with a frustrated sigh, "good luck getting the harmonious equines to agree to that."

"As a matter of fact, I last saw a report 85,000 citizens had signed up willingly to join the Imperial Army in Canterlot, Ponyville, and Cloudsdale," Daybreaker proudly pointed out, "after we have employed propaganda around Vanhoover, Las Pegasus, and—"

"Propaganda?!" Shining said suddenly, "what do you take the citizens for, animals?"

Before Daybreaker could speak, Sunrise spoke up. Mostly in fear of what rage that comment would have brought to the Empress.

"Field Marshal, please," she said softly, "do not interrupt the Empress."

"Twilight, surely you can't be—"

"ENOUGH!" Sunrise shouted, slamming her hooves on the table and earning Shining's silence, "You will address me as Sunrise Sparkle, am I understood, Field Marshal?!"

Shining wasn't sure what to think, gritting his teeth and breathing deeply as he glared at Daybreaker who was settling back in her seat with a small but visible smile.

"Yes, Inquisitor," he finally replied, before siting back in his chair.

"Thank you," Sunrise said with a smile, sitting back as well as she looked towards Daybreaker, "you may continue, my liege."

Daybreaker couldn't help but to show a grin, which was very obviously noticed by both Shining and Cadence. Shining was lost in his own thought about what was happening, and against all of his mental capacity he couldn't reason around what would have caused this. He almost believed it was worse than the entire issue of the Changelings and the Griffons altogether, but gods forbid he have a dissenting opinion now. He might as well go along with it and hope it blows over after the war.

Cadence on the other hand was putting her confusion aside for sake of trying to solve the issues at hand. While she was quite a worrier, she knew how to get to the important things when needed, and right now it was desperately needed. She knew there would be time to ask questions later, but right now they had a war to fight, and with how Celestia was acting, it would be of no surprise to Cadence if Celestia had already made a public declaration of war.

"As I was saying," Daybreaker continued, "with propaganda employed within those regions, we will have numbers beyond our wildest imaginations. By the way, I had brief thoughts of using a love spell to promote breeding so that we would have our numbers reinforced, but I knew that would be unfeasibly cruel, Field Marshall, just to assure you that I am not absolutely devoid of morality because of wartime actions."

"Well, it's not really a bad idea. . ." Cadence said, before Shining looked at her with an expression of disappointed shock, "what? There's nothing wrong with a little procreation, isn't that what I exist for?"

"Do you even hear yourself Cadence?!" Shining said, "do you have even the faintest idea what you're implying?"

"Now's not the time to question me dear," Cadence muttered with a huff, "you didn't even set our magical thermostat correctly."

"Well I'm sorry," Shining said sarcastically, "but I didn't anticipate the SUN to walk into our palace today."

"Oh, stop it," Daybreaker said, waving a hoof with a chuckle, "I might have your head for such a direct compliment."

Shining crossed his forelegs and sat back, turning away with a frown. Cadence shook her head, before getting up from her seat.

"I believe we have a plan, then," Cadence said with a smile, "have some copies of your poster material sent to our post offices and I'll send out a royal order to put them up across the empire. Crystal ponies make phenomenal fighters."

"Perfect," Daybreaker said with a smile as she and Sunrise got up from their seats, "then I and my Inquisitor will be off to attend to other matters. I trust you will do well with your leadership here as you always have, my dear Cadence."

Cadence smiled, though it was a bit of a fake one. She wasn't so intent on sending her citizens off to war, but it was a necessary action. After all, Celestia, or Daybreaker, was always right. She always had a reason. Shining didn't think so, however. He felt as if his warning had been absolutely ignored by Celestia, letting herself go to this beast like this. He didn't even want to think about what she might have done with the Changelings she encountered. Deep down, however, he couldn't imagine that he would have been any less cruel given the circumstances. Daybreaker walked out, Sunrise following behind at a small distance.

"Sunrise," Shining said, "come back here when you're able, we need to talk."

"When I have time, brother," Sunrise said, before continuing out of the room.

As the doors closed, Shining turned to Cadence, who was busy writing out executive orders on a few papers.

"Cadence," he said quietly, "what in Tartarus is happening?"

"War, Shining," she said with a tone of slight dismay, "war is happening. We never asked for it, yet here we are, having to fight for our continued freedom against two powerful enemies. One technologically superior, one crueler than our worst nightmares. At some point, we have to realize that Harmony isn't enough to halt evil. We've just gotta bite our tongues and make sure we win. That's what you always say, right?"

"Yeah," Shining muttered, "but I'm starting to think I was wrong."

Griffonstone, August 10th, 1502.

King Taurus III sat within his office in a very modern-looking building, adorned with fake bushes clothed in lights which were plugged into the wall. The control of electricity was discovered five years prior after some early technological models were shipped from Manehattan as part of an old trade deal before Taurus took the throne. It was about a year ago when his father passed away at age 89, allowing him to take leadership of the country at age 26. There was quite a disparity between the age of father and son, but that was merely due to the fact that lady griffons had no issue with an age gap if that gap was relevant to marrying a king. That being said, his mother was alive for six months before she attempted to seize control of the nation. This was with futility, of course, resulting in Taurus having her executed publicly as a message to those who wished to take advantage of a King for sake of unearned power.

Looking through his reports for the week, he began to grow tired of the boring news. Statistics, logistics, and all the like. Stacks and stacks of paper delivered to him by military superiors that he would never read further than a brief skim, but his time something caught his eye. A report from a Spy within the Equestrian border by the name of Slyphiani. There was a USB drive—made in Manehattan—enclosed with a note that read, The prophecy of the old myth may have just came true. Please watch.. Taurus thought to himself for a moment as to what this could have meant, as he wasn't up-to-date. . .or down-to-date with the old myths of their region. He popped open a laptop, manufactured in Griffonstone with Manehattan blueprints, and plugged in the drive to watch the video on it.

His eyes grew wide as he realized which prophecy Slyphiani was talking about, immediately grabbing the phone on his desk and dialing the number of his Executive Commanding Officer.

"Hello?"

"This is King Taurus III, we have an urgent situation. Alert all of our Administrative Division to come to the Taurus Manor immediately."

"Yes sir! May I ask, what exactly is wrong?"

"The Eternal Sun has risen."

"No, no it can't be. Does that mean. . .?"

"Yes. We will be preparing the Nightmare soon."

"She still resists, what if Celestia finds out?"

"She will not find out. Now do as I told you, time is not to waste!"