The reign of the Tyrant

Chapters

Prologue : The day of the Fall
Chapter 01 : The Ponyville massacre
Chapter 02 : Chess pieces
Chapter 03 : Sisterhood and Brotherhood
Chapter 03.5 : The Cloudsdale Raid
Chapter 04 : The ugly underbelly
Chapter 05.5 : The assasination of the Commander
Chapter 05 : Escape from Canterlot

Prologue : The day of the Fall

Prologue : The day of the Fall

The voices. They never stopped. Twirling around, running in circles, they penetrated her mind in a deafening cacophony. It was all she could hear ; she had even lost the ability to plead or pray, pray to whatever god existed that this torture would stop.
It didn't start out like this.

***

When Twilight Sparkle was first crowned Princess, she accepted this title and power with humility and grace. But what she had received was more than a crown ; she had received a gift, a strength, a strength so powerful she couldn't comprehend all its might. Her body was transformed by this new energy, she could feel its intensity running through her veins, fueling her with newfound energy. As she felt the heavy crown on her head, Twilight promised herself one thing : all this power she had received, this force she had been gifted with, she would use only to make good.

The first few weeks were fine, normal even. Twilight had felt the changes inside of her, but this was to be expected. She welcomed each new feeling, each new sensation, and relished in them. She savoured it. But the sweet taste of this gift, too good to be true, would soon turn sour, and poisonous. It was too late for Twilight ; the changes had already started. She was trapped. She was too small for a power this great ; and it started to overflow.

It all started with a sickness. An aching in the bones, that painful feeling of your body parts being stretched and stretched and stretched, then put back together, but as if they were backwards. Twilight, as always, tried to think rationally ; it was her wings, it had to be. After all, her body was never supposed to have wings. It was perfectly normal that it took some time to adjust to them. She would feel better soon, and the terrible ache twisting her insides would soon vanish.

The nights became shorter as she kept waking up drenched in cold sweat from horrifying nightmares she couldn't even bear to try and remember. She felt dizzy, her head was boiling hot but her body freezing cold. She felt like she was bound to explode, her brain feeling like it was melting, a burning liquid pouring into her. Twilight woke up in screams, pure cries of terrors, as she held herself tight, trying to make all the hurt go away. But it didn't leave. In fact, her state worsened, and she was soon bed bound, unable to move, her fragile breaths shaking her whole.

Twilight refused to see anyone. More than afraid, she was ashamed. She could feel that this power was too great to be contained in her, and she was absolutely guilt-ridden. How could she face her friends ? How could she face her mentor ? She couldn't face anyone. She couldn't even face herself, as she hid away from everyone.

"Help me," she softly cried. "Please. Help me."

That's when the voices started.
We can help you, they whispered in a low, threatening yet calm tone. If only you would accept to let go, we could take control and make the pain go away. It's painful, isn't it ? This power. It wasn't meant for you. You can't contain it, but we can, we could make you whole.

Twilight tried to ignore it at first. She thought that this was a trick, made to deceive her, and she had to be strong against it. But as she grew weaker, and the voices grew louder, she found herself unable to fight back anymore. She could feel what she previously thought was a gifted strength ensnaring her like thorns, constricting her and taking ahold of her. Twilight was tired. She didn't want to fight what she knew was too strong for her to defeat, she wanted to give in, let go and finally rest. Her mind was already broken. Insanity had slowly spread through her soul. There was nothing left to do. In the midst of her agony, Twilight let out a squeal of pain, trying to say something. Baring her teeth, putting the little bit of strength she had left into her words, she uttered ;

I think i'm going mad.

***

No one could believe it when they saw Twilight Sparkle, standing in the throne room, her posture elegant and stately. All of Equestria rejoiced that their Princess had finally recovered from her unknown, terrible sickness. And she appeared fine, better than before even. She looked more in control of her movements, confident and regal. But there was something wrong, something deeply, horribly wrong, hiding inside of her. Her friends noticed, but the love they had for Twilight made them try to ignore it.

The princesses could feel it as well, and their uneasy feeling only grew with each day. While she tried to convince herself otherwise, Celestia knew that this was not her student anymore, but a puppet to a greater force. The sun princess ignored it, hoping that this was only temporary, and things would soon return to normal. Twilight would return to normal, and everything would be alright. Luna, on the other hand, understood the urgency of the situation ; she tried many times to warn Celestia, to urge her to do something about it. But too afraid to loose her pupil forever in the abyss, the reigning Alicorn dared not to intervene. And this was her mistake. A mistake that would lead to the fall of Equestria.

***

Luna woke up in a daze, sweat dripping off her face. Her breathing was raspy and rushed, and she felt a trembling in her core. What was this ? What was this awful sensation of dread piercing through her ? Trying her best to calm herself, she slowly got out of her bed. The night was pitch black, and the darkness that normally appeased Luna now only made her feel more uneasy. The stars weren't shining tonight. There was only blackness.

Luna got out of her room, on the tip of her hooves, trying to be as discreet as possible. In the corridor, she noticed Celestia, in the room across, doing the same thing. The Alicorns crossed eyes, and the same fear pierced their gaze. They knew. They both knew. The princesses rushed to the throne room, panting and galloping as fast as they could. Using her magic, Celestia slammed the large doors open, and stopped running, petrified. She froze as she saw what became of Twilight Sparkle, standing in front of them.

"No," whispered Celestia in a desperate breath.

Twilight stood perfectly still, regal. Her mane was floating in the air as would a freezing breeze, its deep colors like an abyss, as if an aura of darkness was perpetually surrounding her. Her pale, lavender fur had turned into a deep purple that only brought out the shimmer in her eyes. But this was not the sparkling of curiosity and kindness that Celestia had always known in the eyes of her student ; this was the shimmering of Twilight's newfound lust. A lust for power. Trembling, Celestia couldn't move an inch, she was paralyzed by shock and fear. She didn't want to believe what she was seeing.

"What have you made of Twilight Sparkle ?" shouted Luna, standing in a position of defense.

Twilight chuckled a bit. The princesses blood turned cold. Luna glanced over at Celestia, and her heart broke when she saw the tears forming in her soft eyes.

"I am Twilight Sparkle." The terrifying Alicorn slowly paced around the room. "This power I received, it broke me. It shattered me. It was too much for my mind. At first, I thought this was the end, but then, I realized... This was only the beginning. I started to accept it. I accepted it for what it was, and I let it flow through me, making me whole again."

"You are not Twilight anymore," declared Luna. "A power too great can lead to madness. You let this power take ahold of you."

"No, I took ahold of it."

Twilight's horn started faintly glowing purple. Luna shouted at her sister to move, to hide, but was interrupted by a ray of light piercing through the room. Celestia let out a blood curdling scream, watching her sister get hit by the light. The princess of the sun was blinded for a moment ; and when she opened her eyes again, all she could see was red. Blood red, smearing the marble walls and the golden slabs. Tears started to roll on her face as her mind shattered in confusion. Luna ? Luna ? Where was Luna ? What did Twilight do ? Luna !

"Sister," Celestia weeped.
Luna laid on the ground, motionless, a hole in her chest with blood staining her furr. She died the moment the ray had hit her, cutting right through her now lifeless body, fast and deadly. Luna's mane had stopped floating in a haze and was now still and stiff. Her body was cold. Luna was no more. In the night sky, the moon started to lower, as if to grieve its princess.

Twilight soared in the sky, crashing through the glass ceiling. The shards cut Celestia's face, but the Alicorn flew after her former pupil. Blinded by rage, and choking on her tears, she charged. The same power that had driven Twilight to madness was now fueling Celestia's divine anger. Swirling in the night sky, chasing one another, the Alicorns mercilessly attacked each other. Twilight was calm and collected, using her beams of magic only when she knew for sure it would hit her adversary. She flew with ease through the air, preferring to quickly dodge her mentor's strikes than defend herself. She didn't feel the need to protect herself ; she felt like the superior one in this fight.

This only angered Celestia more. Was she not taking this seriously ? The sun princess had just seen her world destroyed in front of her eyes, and she was powerless. She allowed for Twilight to have this power, and she let the madness poison her mind, too scared to act. She was a coward, and her cowardice had costed her her sister's life, and maybe her kingdom was already doomed as well. It all hit Celestia : she was not just fighting for herself. She was fighting for all of Equestria. She had to win, for the sake of everyone who trusted her and adored her, but as she looked into Twilight's eyes, she just couldn't bring herself to use all her magic against her. She couldn't. Celestia tried to search for her student's soul in her eyes, she tried to convince herself that she was being manipulated, and she could bring her back. She didn't want to kill her. She wasn't sure she could.

But this was Twilight now. This madness was hers. This overflowing amount of pure power had perverted her mind and driven her to insanity. And time was running out. Celestia could feel herself weaken, exhausted by the tragedy that had hit her moments ago. She couldn't feel the strong spirit of her sister with her. She felt alone in this fight, alone against an evil too great that she had helped create. Against this darkness, in this state, Celestia couldn't win, but she couldn't lose this battle either, or all hope would be lost. She had to do something. Anything.

"I always admired you," said Twilight, now charging towards Celestia. "But now I see you're weak. You could do nothing against Nightmare Moon, nothing against the Changelings, and now, you can do nothing against me. You lost, princess."

Twilight's horn glowed purple. Celestia barely dodged the ray of blinding light that striked her, damaging her wings. The ivory white feathers fell around them, while the sun princess desperately tried to keep moving in the air, despite the pain. Celestia ignored the drops of blood now staining her pearly fur, trying to focus her attention on Twilight. She felt heavy. She knew there was no time left, she had to act. Celestia swallowed her tears and let out a cry.

"I am sorry," she softly said.

Celestia charged her magic, and in a flash, blasted Twilight with a blinding flare. It hit the purple Alicorn, and for a few seconds, everything was white. Twilight shook her head, and she could feel her eyesight slowly return. Celestia hadn't tried to kill her. If she had wanted to, this blow could've easily been fatal, and she would've been obliterated. Twilight opened her eyes.

Celestia was gone. She had fled. Unable to bring herself to kill her former student, she flied away from the fight, leaving Twilight standing as the winner of the battle. Twilight started to softly giggle, a laugh that soon turned into a burst of uncontained laughter. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

***

Celestia was flying away from Canterlot, already knowing where she was going. Ponyville. She had to find the Elements of Harmony before Twilight, she had to explain what happened, she had to... She stopped, and looked at the sky.
The moon had disappeared, but the sun hadn't risen. The sky was tinted in hues of scarlet red and deep purple. A perpetual Twilight.
This was the beginning of the reign of the Tyrant.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading this chapter !
I am french and english is not my first language, so if any phrasing is awkward, please let me know. I am only looking to better myself :)

This is set early in the seasons, because a war is pretty difficult to write with too many lore and characters, so I decided to set it earlier.

I hope you enjoyed your reading !

Chapter 01 : The Ponyville massacre

Chapter 01 : The Ponyville massacre

The throne room was lit red by the Twilight sky. What used to be a grand, welcoming room for the citizens to meet their Princesses became a symbol of fear and dread. No one was invited into the throne room for a nice conversation, in fact, no one ever really was invited into the throne room.

The reigning Alicorn was gracefully sitting, her stare cold and stern, just as her stance. She watched the large doors in front of her guarded by two armed soldiers, holding their swords tight in their hooves. The doors opened with a loud noise, and came into the room three ponies. Two of them were guards, dragging a minty green unicorn across the floor. The mare was emaciated, her mane tangled and dirty, and her skin missing fur in some places showed old wounds that had healed into grotesque bulging pink scars. When the guards approached the Alicorn, they threw the unicorn on the ground, weapons drawn near her if she dared tried to escape. Seemingly exhausted, the unicorn looked up at the princess with eyes full of hurt and fear. She shivered as the princess looked back at her.

"Lyra Heartstrings," said Twilight, her voice cold as ice. "A month ago, you were caught communicating with the Crystal Empire, precisely, sending letters to the Fallen One, the former Princess Celestia. You ought to know that partaking in conversations, even by writing, with the enemy, is strictly forbidden, as we are actively in war with the Fallen One and the Crystal Empire. What do you have to say about those accusations ?"

"They're true," admitted Lyra with a pained voice. "Princess, I-"

One of the guards smacked the unicorn on the head, reprimanding the mare for saying the Princess' title without being invited to.

"In those letters," continued Twilight, "You shared information with the enemy, sensible information, that you obtained in a way that is still unknown to us. You have spent a month in a cell while we tried to get the truth out of you, but you refuse to cooperate. Because I am concerned about our citizen's safety should you not tell us who gave you the information, I have decided to give you one last chance. So tell me, Lyra." Twilight got up, and slowly walked to the unicorn, who was shaking and quietly sobbing. Twilight held her face towards her with one hoof, and stared with a deadly glare into her eyes. "Who gave you the information ?"

Lyra opened her mouth, but words wouldn't come out. Her voice was tied in her throat, tears drowning her vocals. Twilight looked disappointed, and she let out a sigh.
"I have no consideration for traitors like you. You have chosen your fate."

Twilight's horn faintly glowed, and Lyra's head exploded into a mush of brain and blood, scattering the floor with the unicorn's remains. Without even looking at the now lifeless body of the pony she had just killed, Twilight walked to her throne and sat down.
"Clean up this mess."

***

The escape of Ponyville. Six years earlier, Celestia had fled Canterlot to find the Elements of Harmony, hoping to bring Twilight Sparkle back to sanity. She knew she had little time, but didn't realize that Twilight was already on her trail, leading to Ponyville.

***

Ponyville was in a panicked frenzy, citizens running around all over the town, trying to make sense of what they saw and what it meant. They had all seen their Princesses, Celestia and Twilight, battling in the firmament, and the sky now dyed hues of red and purple wasn't reassuring. The Elements of Harmony had gathered on the plaza, trying to comfort and dispel the citizen's fear, but they themselves were unnerved. Their anxiety rose up as Celestia landed in Ponyville in a hurry, her feathers bloody and her body trembling and weak. As she grasped for air, the citizens saw their princess, and in a rush, surrounded her, asking her questions, calling out for her. Applejack ran through the crowd and approached the Princess with frowned eyebrows and a look of worry.

"Princess," she said. "What's happenin' ?"

"Applejack, we need to leave," responded Celestia in a hurried, terrified voice. "Are the other elements here with you ?"

"Yes."

"Good, let's..."

Celestia was interrupted by a scream. She turned back ; Rarity had just been grabbed by a soldier, and she was being taken away, kicking and protesting. More than a dozen other armed soldiers started to appear in the city. Applejack started to run after her friend, but was stopped by Celestia's hoof on her back ; the Alicorn shaked her head. Too dangerous. Celestia had no strength left, there was no time for a confrontation. They had to leave.

"Let's go," shouted Celestia at the Elements.

"But we can't leave the citizens !" protested Rainbow Dash. "More soldiers are coming, and they took Rarity ! We can't leave Twilight ! What happened ?"

"Twilight is the one who did this to me," admitted Celestia, ashamed. "She is the one who sent guards. We have to leave, if we don't want to end up dead."

Applejack felt her stomach drop. What was she to do ? She couldn't leave her family there, but if Twilight managed to hurt Celestia this badly, what more harm could she do ? Applejack swallowed, and then ran. She ran towards Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie and grabbed them, running back to Celestia. Rainbow Dash protested, but she didn't move. She was staying.

"I'll carry you and Pinkie Pie," said Celestia. "Everypony ! The city is soon going to be invaded. For the pegasus who can, carry the other. We are leaving now ! Follow me !"

Screams and shouts could be heard as, in a cacophony, the citizens tried to run away. Soldiers grabbed them, pinned them to the ground, knocked them out, anything they could do to prevent them from leaving. A pony that tried too hard to escape from a guard saw his throat get slit, gushing blood on the floor. Applejack shouted for her sister, but the crowd was too dense. She pushed ponies out of her way, trying to see where Applebloom had gone. Finally, she saw her, terrified and standing still, getting approached by a guard who could only have hostile intentions towards her. In a battle cry, Applejack charged the armed stallion and sent her hooves towards his face, tackling him to the ground. She grabbed Applebloom and ran back to the plaza.

Ponies were already escaping with Celestia. Applejack saw Rainbow leaving with a soldier, her head low. They crossed eyes, and at this exact moment, they knew that things had forever changed between them, between everyone. Sides had been taken already. Fluttershy took Applebloom on her back, and not without difficulty, flown after the other pegasi escaping. Applejack followed on the ground, running as fast as she could, trying no to look behind her. But it was too hard. She had to see it, because maybe it was the last time she'd ever see Ponyville again.

The city looked cold and desperate. Blood had spurted on the ground and the walls of the houses. From afar, she could see corpses, ponies she knew that would now never breathe again. Applejack swallowed her tears, and turned her head away, hiding her teary eyes behing her cowpony hat. She prayed that her brother had managed to escape too.

***

Celestia and those who had managed to follow her fled to the Crystal Empire. They travelled non stop for days and days on end, desperately trying to move faster than the soldiers tailing them. The Empire was outside of Twilight's juridiction, and Celestia had already explained the situation to Cadance by sending her a scout. She knew they would be safe there, at least for a while.

Shining Armor was devastated when he heard the news. He could not believe it, he tried not to. How could his sweet sister do this ? How could she turn this mad ? To try not to think about it too much, Shining threw all of his energy and strength into the training of the Crystal ponies and the Ponyvilles refugees. A war was coming, and they had to be ready. The Empire would stand by Celestia, and help her regain her crown and defeat the evil that had become Twilight.

For the first three years, the ponies trained to become soldiers, and Celestia and Cadance started to organize strategic plans and missions. Celestia had already decided that the Ponyville refugees would be her special squad, that would accompany her when she was to return to Equestria. After all, they had been the most affected by the war, most of them having lost loved ones, some even watching them die, so they were the most loyal to Celestia. But then, something terrible, that no one could see coming, was invented by Twilight Sparkle, that hadn't stayed inactive during three years. Firearms.

Inspired by the blasts of magic unicorns could make, Twilight Sparkle had managed to recreate them, and put them inside a weapon, that she hoped would help her win the coming war. Of course, Cadance and Celestia soon managed to produce their own, but they knew that those new weapons meant that the bloodshed would only worsen. Equestria had apparently become a military regime, Twilight Sparkle rulling with an iron fist on the inhabitants. Raids were common in cities, to find "traitors", those who communicated with the Empire for information. Ponies lived in fear of their new leader. And the firearms would only worsen the fear.

The last three years, Celestia had sent spies all over Equestria, and squads on missions of sabotage and guerilla warfare. But things had accelerated the last year ; the first army platoons had been sent into the country. Staying hidden within the Crystal mountains, the Crystal and Celestial army had attacked and seized Manehattan, a strategic spot for them, as it was also a port. The city had been taken and was under the Crystal's control. Celestia and Cadance had now moved their main outpost there instead of the Empire. They were now in Equestria, and they were ready to take it back.

It was night. Of course, there was no moon to shine in the sky anymore, but the ponies had established a night and day cycle depending on the hours. And it was quiet, at night, in the Manehattan outpost. The platoons were mostly sleeping, and the ones awake tried to. At the edge of the outpost, on top of a building, watching the horizon with binoculars, was an orange pony. Her eyes were bleak, and her cheeks hollowed out by the years and the tears. She sighed. Another pony walked towards her, a unicorn, grey with a white mane.

"AJ," said the unicorn, putting a hoof on her tense shoulder. "You should take a break. Nopony's going to attack the outpost."

"We can never know with these damn dusk unicorns," cursed Applejack. "They're only waitin' for an opportunity."

"It's the six year anniversary of the Ponyville massacre. No one's going to attack. Everyone, even the dusk unicorns, are grieving this day."

"They shoulda thought about that before murderin' the whole town."

The unicorn sat besides AJ, knowing there was no need to argue. The anniversary was always a rough day, and the pony didn't want to add to Applejack's sadness. He was there when the massacre happened, he had fled with Celestia that day too. His name was Snow Trail. Snow remembered this day way too well. Everything had happened so fast, and the events had shocked all of Equestria. Celestia had managed to flee with half of Ponyville, and the other half was massacred. All of them. Twilight didn't want to leave any traitors there, and she wanted to send a message. This is what would happen if you turned against the new Princess.

"Have there been any news of Lyra ?" asked Snow.

"Not since a month," replied AJ with a somber voice. "Can't bring myself to tell Bon' that Lyra's gone. She was crushed when they didn't manage to escape together. Those letter were precious to her, an' her info, precious to us."

"If Lyra was so precious to us, why didn't Princess Celestia send the Lunar Agents to try and recover her ?"

AJ scoffed, and mockingly glared at Snow. Of course, he was only a youngster, younger than her by a few years. He had proven himself quite useful on the battlefield with his talents in magic, but he was still new to the ways of war.

"There are far too few Lunar Agents to risk losing them all tryin' to recover a single pony. An' too involved to risk havin' Twilight get her hooves on one."

When he fled Ponyville, Snow Trail had never imagined getting himself involved in the war. He never thought himself as a soldier. But when Celestia created the Lunar Agents, whose mission was to go as undercover spies, or complete dangerous missions in the heart of Equestria, like assassinations or sabotage, Snow knew he wanted to help the rightful leader retake her place, he knew he wanted to join them. But they were elite troops, and while his magic was useful, and powerful, it wasn't discreet enough, and Snow was... too traditional of a unicorn to join the ranks of the Agents. So, he enlisted in the regular, Celestial Army, and through his successes on the field, had managed to become Applejack's second in hand in her platoon.

"Come on," insisted Snow. "Let's go take a break. I'll ask Breeze to replace us."

AJ wanted to stay at her post, but her body felt the tiredness of the war more than her mind. Reluctantly, she agreed and got up, groaning when she felt her bones crack. Coming down from the building, Applejack and Snow walked through the camp. The ponies awake were quietly drinking to ease their nerves or playing cards, trying to fill their mind with something else than fear and violence. Snow greeted each and every one of them, but few responded, most of them averting their gaze, for one reason only : Applejack.

The Ponyville massacre had been an event so awful, so traumatizing, it had changed the heart of many ponies to stone. AJ was one of them. While she had managed to rescue her little sister, she saw her farm bursting in flames, the trees burning and their smoke filling the red sky with dust and ash, and she failed to save Granny. She failed to save her brother. She failed. Only grief and anger seemed to fill AJ's heart now, her features hardened by years of violence, her body brandished with old and fresh scars, streaking her fur. Her appearance was almost as monstruous as her actions on the battlefield ; while most ponies were now used to using firearms, Applejack was sticking to what she knew best. Raw, unfiltered violence, through the might of her hooves and teeth, slamming herself right onto her opponents, tearing their flesh away, tasting the blood in her mouth as she ripped their faces apart. Oh yes, AJ had become a monster, but a very useful monster to the Celestial Army, so the Princess turned a blind eye to it. But the soldiers didn't, and most recoiled in fear when they saw the former cowpony turned deadly weapon.

But Snow wasn't afraid, and the rest of AJ's platoon either. She was their chief, and they trusted her with their lives. Their tent was settled near the port, not too far away from the Princess's very protected camp. AJ had been given the opportunity to stay there, with the Princess and Fluttershy, but she felt more at ease with her fellow soldiers. The only ones who could understand her.

"We're back," said Snow, entering the tent with AJ.
Inside were four other ponies, two of them sleeping on the floor, close to each other to keep themselves warm. They were Applejack's elite, and what Snow considered his friends. Soundly sleeping were Derpy and Bon Bon, two ponies also from Ponyville, that Applejack had known before the Fall, but they didn't like to talk about the old days. Brought too many unpleasant feelings of regret, and nostalgia. Regret could kill you in the battlefield.

"I guess it's my turn then," said a light pink pegasus in a yawn. "See you all later."

"See you, Breeze."

Breeze was a gracile, beautiful pony, the kind you wouldn't expect to see on the battlefield, just as you wouldn't expect to see Derpy Hooves in a battle, though for different reasons. But Breeze hid her true nature pretty well ; behind those big and gentle eyes slept an expert in flying combat, her skills in hoof-to-hoof pegasus fight having even been rumored to surpass those of the Wings of Dusk, the tyrant's pegasi army. Breeze humbly denied those claims, even refusing a spot in Celestia's special air squad, the true reason for this refusal being her affection for her squad mates.

"Breeze," sternly said AJ, sitting on a run down matress. "Be careful out there, an' look out for any suspicious thing, anythin'."

"Ugh, nothing's gonna happen," replied the last soldier in the room while Breeze left. He was a jet black earth pony sporting a messy, spiked mane, also black. "It's the anniversary. They too, have some respect. You're paranoid as always."

"War does that to you," harshly replied Snow, clearly annoyed by his companion. "Don't start tonight."

"I'm just sayin'," continued the pony, shrugging. "They'd be real assholes to attack us tonight."

"Yeah, well they're not too known for being the kindest," frowned Snow.

Applejack ignored the feud between the two, and laid down. Snow and Deep were always going at it, their distint personnalities clashing with the other since what seemed like forever. The calm, serious Snow didn't enjoy Deep's rude bluntness, and Deep thought Snow was an uninteresting bore, yet on the battlefield, those two complemented the other with a duality as impressive as deadly. Applejack picked her squad well. Those snarky remarks meant nothing to her. AJ glared at Bon Bon, still soundly sleeping.

"She hasn't slept this well in a while," observed Snow. "Maybe we shouldn't tell her just yet about Lyra..."

"I owe it to her," cut Applejack. "I'll inform her when she wakes up. Now, bring me a drink, will ya ?"

"You should sleep", sighed Snow, still fetching his chief a beer that she quickly took away from him.

"Nah, drinking is better," claimed Deep, opening a beer for himself. "Want one ?"

"No thanks."

"Your loss."

Snow sat on the cold ground. They could've slept in the buildings, but Applejack insisted on staying inside a tent. She always said it was for practicality, but everyone knew it was because she only felt safe in one now, being so used to it. And it was quieter ; everything resonated in the big halls of the now empty, tall buildings of the city. And in between the sounds of shots fired at her and fire burning the land, AJ appreciated some deserved quietness. Applejack quickly finished her beer, smashing her can with her hoof.

"Think she's grievin' too ? That damned mad princess ?" blurted out AJ.

"Well, she was the one who ordered the massacre," simply replied Deep. "And I think her ass is sitting too comfortably on the throne to give a damn."

"Have some respect," groaned Snow. "You weren't there, at the massacre. You don't know what it was like. You don't get to make assumptions."

"You know i'm right. Look, I don't know what she was like before, your princess, but she's completely insane, and has been ever since she decided to burn your precious town. There's no need to care for her feelings."

"Yeah, you're right," said Applejack in a hoarse voice. "I don't care anyways. I don't know her anymore. Hell, it feels like I never knew her. I would've been better off never knowin' that monster." she loudly yawned. "Yup, everyone just would've been better off..."

AJ dozed off to sleep, her tiredness finally catching up with her, helped by the alcohol that had helped soothe her nerves. Lightly snoring, she rolled of to the side. Deep took a sip of his beer, and pulled out a deck of cards, handing them to Snow.

"Up for a game ?"

Snow nodded no, settling himself down in a more comfortable position.

"We have a long day tomorrow. Let's just sleep."

Today was the reminiscing of the Ponyville massacre, the event that had shaped Equestria into what it now was. But tomorrow... Tomorrow, they would march onto Twilight's army.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading this chapter. As always ; english isn't my first language, so do tell me if there are any mistakes I can fix, i'll gladly take any adive. Hope you enjoyed your read !

Chapter 02 : Chess pieces

Chapter 02 : Chess pieces

If there was one thing that Spitfire really, truly hated, it had to be council meetings. Sure, Spitfire hated many things ; laziness, cold coffee, and unicorns, to name a few. But those meetings, spent discussing and planning the army's next moves filled Spitfire with a terrible, gnawing boredom. The yellow mare was made for the field, for the fight, she felt most alive when rushing through the air, piercing the sky with her fellow pegasi. It was what she was meant to do. Spitfire didn't enroll in the army to fight for her princess's honor and glory, or to defend her personal beliefs, she wasn't really interested in any of that. But if there was one thing that Spitfire respected, it was power. Pure, raw power, a power that Twilight Sparkle possessed. And that drew Spitfire in. The truth was, she lived for the rush of adrenaline she felt when crushing her enemies into dust and blood, and she happened to have quite the talent for it, so much so she became the sergeant of the aerial army of the Princess, the "Wings of Dusk", soon after their creation. Not only that, she was the right hand mare of their commander : Rainbow Dash.

"Ah, shit," cursed Spitfire, hurrying through the castle's corridors. She was late for the meeting, a meeting she didn't even wanted to go to, but she unfortunately didn't have much choice ; just thinking about the princess's disappointed, cold stare made her hurry down the halls. Spitfire didn't fear much, she had always been confident and brave, but that freezing, dead stare, absolutely frightened her. That was what true mightiness was. Finally, Spitfire arrived at the large doors of the council chamber, and entered.

"Princess," she greeted, bowing to the ground.

"Sergeant Spitfire," responded Twilight in her usual, calm tone. "Please, take a seat, and let's begin."

Spitfire obliged, and sat next to her commander, who gave her a reprimanding look. The yellow pegasus remembered when she first saw Rainbow Dash ; she was younger then, and full of life, full of hope, full of... everything that she did not have anymore. Her beautiful, rainbow mane was cut quite short, standing in wild spikes, and her once shimmering pink eyes had turned cloudy. It was as if all joy had been sucked out of her. Never had a rainbow appeared so dull and grey, Spitfire thought. An earth pony cleared his throat, ready to talk ; he was a tall, muscular yet slender white earth pony, with a bright yellow mane with golden highlights, just like the shimmer in his eyes. He was dressed in military clothing ; Golden Shield, the commander of the earth army of Twilight.

"I believe we need to talk about Manehattan," he said. "The Fallen One's armies, and the Crystal armies have started to regroup there, and our troops have failed to take the city back. I think we should do a big strike."

"Yes, the situation is troubling," agreed another pony, the leader of the Dusk Unicorns, a white, elegant unicorn called Fleur de Lys. Spitfire rolled her eyes at her. "But is it truly wise to send more than a few platoons ? We cannot afford to take big risks, and while we do need to keep the enemie's armies from advancing more into the country, I am not sure a grand battle would be efficient, considering the losses we would suffer."

That was exactly what Spitfire didn't want to hear ; endlessly long arguments about who was right, who wasn't, what to do or not, how to do it, when... Spitfire only awaited the orders. Whatever they needed her to do, she would. She wanted to fight, not wait for what seemed like forever for the council to agree on something. Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash, but the blue pegasus didn't say a word, simply observing the situation, looking bored.

"We should strike them now, before they have time to finish assembling their troops, and before they march onto us," argued Golden, clearly annoyed at Fleur's attitude. At least, Spitfire wasn't the only one that was.

"Rushed decisions are not rational ones," simply replied Fleur, making her opinion quite clear. "We would also be endangering Canterlot, and without my Dusk Unicorns, how will the Princess be protected ? I suggest that..."

"Are you suggesting i'm not strong enough to protect myself ?"

Twilight's voice had cut Fleur's like a knife, slashing through the air and pointing at the unicorn's throat. Twilight had turned to her, plunging her eyes into Fleur's. For a few seconds, the unicorn was quiet, her lips opening but with no sound coming out of her month, as if she didn't dare to even breathe. The aura was getting more threatening by the second, the room now seeming stifly and small. Fleur audibly gulped, and finally gave an unsure answer ;

"Of course not, Your Grace. I would never dare to imply such a thing."

Twilight lowered her eyebrows, and the air in the room instantly felt less tense. Spitfire was a little disappointed though ; she would've liked to see Fleur be put in her place, for once. She was getting tired of the unicorn acting like she was better than anyone else, especially when her troops were the lowest in numbers. But the Princess seemed fond of this unicorn order she had founded, and she wouldn't want their talent wasted in the earth army. Finally, Rainbow Dash, that had been comfortably sitting in a laid back position, advanced herself in her chair.

"I agree with Golden, Twilight."

Since the Fall, Spitfire had never heard anyone else than Rainbow Dash call the princess by her name. No one was allowed to, but Rainbow Dash wasn't anypony. She was the princess's friend, at least the closest thing she could consider a friend. She was the only one of the Elements that had stayed completely loyal to her friend, the other one running away with Celestia, and Rarity, well... She barely left her room at the castle, and it was best not to mention her to the Princess.

"And why is that ?" responded Twilight. "Fleur is right, partly. Our troops are very precious, especially the unicorns. We can't just send them into a battle that big. It would only lead to a chaotic, unorganized fight, and the losses would be too important. I don't care who dies or doesn't, really ; but we need troops to protect ourselves. We can't just send them all to die and have mediocre results." If the risk of loosing the battle to Celestia wasn't that big, Twilight wouldn't have cared sending all of Equestria to die.

"We don't have to send the unicorns. My pegasi and some of Golden's troops will suffice."

Spitfire smirked. That's it, that's what she liked. This unbreakable, self-confidence that her commander had, the risks she was willing to take. What some pony saw as foolish, and arrogance, Spitfire saw as faith in her power. Rainbow Dash knew exactly who she was, what she was able to do, and that was powerful. She lead her troops with a superiority that was unmatched.

"What ?" scoffed Fleur. "Commander Dash, you cannot be..."

"I am serious," interrupted Dash. "It can be done in a day. We pegasi will transport Golden's troops beyond the mountains and let them hide. We'll strike first, coming down from the sky, taking out their observers, as swiftly as possible, to avoid being spotted. Once it's done, Golden's soldiers will be free to move, and we'll rain on them. A pegasus rainfall is never expected. This will work. And there will be no need for your unicorns."

The room was silent for a moment. Golden Shield didn't seem to disapprove of the plan, actually looking quite pleased, probably happy to have someone backing him up, for once. Fleur had a look of disbelief plastered on her face ; did Rainbow Dash really called her useless ? And Twilight, as always, was impossible to read through, the princess's thoughts and feelings were an unsolvable enigma. She looked like a chess player, staring at the game, thinking and planning her next move. Equestria was the game, and the ponies the chess pieces. Spitfire only hoped for the game to be entertaining.

"Let's discuss the details of that. We'll strike in a week."

Spitfire smiled. A week? That would make the attack happen on the anniversary of the Ponyville massacre. Her princess really was something.

***

Misty Breeze was looking at the crimson sky, her mind clouded by a number of worrying thoughts. The pegasus felt uneasy, and while she knew that an attack was highly unlikely, given the date, she couldn't help but feel a creeping senation of dread crawling on her back. She looked around her ; she was completely alone, at the top of the building. Other ponies were posted in the other side of the city, but even then, Breeze didn't feel safe. Something definitely felt wrong.

At the other side of the city, near the port, stood tall the building where Celestia and Cadance were. Cadance had insisted to follow her aunt into Equestria, leaving the Crystal Empire into the hooves of her husband. Both Alicorns were sitting in a room, accompnied by two armed soldiers. Even late at night, the princesses were deep into a discussion, avoiding sleeping in fear of an attack. They rarely slept those days. Deep down, Celestia hoped Twilight had enough sleep at night. After all, those moonless nights could be very long and lonely. Oh, how she missed her sister...

"The last platoons should arrive in a few days, they have left the Empire," said Cadance, repressing a yawn. "After that, we'll be free to move in Equestria. Have you decided the next course of action, my aunt ?"

Celestia was rubbing her chin, looking quite troubled, the lack of sleep having dug dark circles beneath her drowsy eyes.

"The next logical step would be to take Fillydelphia, to assert our influence more over the country," explained the white Alicorn. "Baltimare being close to it, we could also take it, and maybe enroll citizens supporting our cause."

"Still, invading from the East puts us at a disadvantage to reach Canterlot. We would be facing the mountain... Unless we take the route from Ponyville, but..."

"I don't know if it's a wise idea to cross Ponyville," sighed Celestia. "We would be too exposed. Reaching Canterlot from behind may not be the easiest thing to do, but at the end, we'll be less likely to be revealed. If we are as efficient in continuing our invasion as we have been so far, ending this awful war will only be a matter of months."

Cadance hoped her aunt was right. When Celestia took shelter in the Crystal Empire, the princess of love didn't hesitate in taking her and the escapees in. She didn't hesitate in aiding her aunt build and train an army, she didn't hesitate in providing her with arms, in sending recruiters for the Celestial Army and spies in Equestria, she always did as her heart told. But it had been six, very long years, and she longed for the former safety of her country. Cadance missed her husband, she missed her people, she missed her life. She missed hapiness.

Celestia also felt the weight of the war, and everyday was harder to go through than the last. Every news about her former student she received from her spies broke her heart a little bit more, every death at the hands of the tyrant shattered Celestia more. When she looked at the sky, she found that it was not the sun she missed most, but the moon. During her sister's life, she had never appreciated this beautiful orb enough, its glowing glory illuminating the stars, sublimating Equestria with its beauty. She missed the nightsky, the shining stars, the quietness. She missed Luna. She missed...

"What was that ?" said Cadance.

The two Alicorns stood still. Everything around them was silent, and the guards in the room were starting to notice it aswell. No sound, not at all. It was night, but there were still supposed to be observers posted around the city, and surely, that would make sound... Celestia started to walk towards the door, but the guards stood in front of it, now looking worried.

"Princess," whispered the soldier. "I think you should stay inside."

"We should barricade ourselves, just in case," agreed Cadance. "My aunt, you are already weakened, we can't risk your safety. Come, let us find a safe place."

Celestia simply ignored their advice, and she opened the door. The streets were empty, the air felt heavy, and no sound could be heard. Cadance and the guards followed ; the soldiers took out their firearms, and positioned themselves around their ruler. Celestia looked at the sky ; a star ? A star seemed to be shining in the dark, crimson sky. But no stars had shone since the last few years, and suddenly, Celestia understood.

"Pegasi !"

Cadance ran back into the building, but Celestia ran into the street. Where were the observers ? She galloped and galloped, repressing a scream when she found a mutilated corpse bleeding out on the ground. Celestia kneeled ; it was an earth pony, from her own army. She didn't know his name, and couldn't even recognize his battered face. The street was now getting busier and busier, soldiers quickly rushing out of the buildings, arming themselves and pointing at the skies. Pegasi were falling from the firmament, like a rainfall. Celestia let out an enraged cry.

"Twilight !"

The Alicorn got up, and in a rage, soared in the sky. She could see the pegasi now landing on the city, her former citizens cutting through her loyal army. How dare they ? How could Twilight dare to send those ponies that Celestia once ruled over and cared for, provided for, loved, to murder their own kind ? How could someone so sweet turn this rotten ? In a pained scream, Celestia rushed towards the pegasi shooting fire from the sky. They didn't even see what was coming to them, as the Alicorn slashed through them, a spear appearing in front of her. Her magic was not what it once was, but she was not yet useless. She would protect those she had left, Celestia swore to herself as she slayed the winged soldiers, an angel of death piercing the sky.

On the ground, terror was filling the streets. The platoons couldn't organize themselves and were fighting in a desorganized panic, desperately trying to escape the ruthless assault of the pegasi. Surprise attacks were their specialty, and their savagery in battle was almost legendary. The Wings of Dusk, the tyrant's elite pegasi force. A bunch of blood-thirsty demons, thought Applejack.

Applejack was actively hunting the pegasi that had landed, galloping and throwing her hooves in their faces, violently biting and scratching every enemy she came across, roaring as she teared through their flesh. The smell, the taste of blood, it all made her more unhinged, and with each new hit, came the thrill of the fight that had kept her alive for this long. In the crowd of ponies, in the mess of the fight, AJ's crazed eyes were searching, searching for someone. A blue fur. A rainbow mane. As she bashed a pegasus's head to the ground, crushing its bones under her blood soaked hooves, she called and screamed a name.

"Rainbow ! You sick fuck, show yourself ! I ain't afraid, come at me, you fuckin' flyin' shit !"

Applejack pulled out a dagger, and threw herself at another pony, hurling insults at it. Closely following AJ was her squad, covering her back. The army couldn't afford to loose a soldier like her, but her way of fighting more than often put her in deadly situations, and her squad was there for her when it came to that. And it was coming to that. The pegasi had either landed, or were shooting from the sky. But the city had been breached, and now came the earth army. Hundreds of ponies were coming for blood, for their princess, and they had no time to prepare themselves. They had to resist, or it was all Equestria that was doomed.

Misty Breeze was in the sky, taking on the pegasi, launching herself onto them, flying as fast as she possibly could to crush them onto themselves. She felt the danger before it came, and had managed to take cover when the first pegasi arrived to take out the observers, but she hadn't managed to come back to her squad. She searched for them, but in the mess of the battle, she didn't have much time to find them, so Misty kept on fighting, hoping that her friends had made it. For a moment, she thought she saw Derpy, from afar, hidden behind a wall with her trusted firearm, but Misty was soon jumped on by an enemy. But she knew her friend, and Derpy wasn't the army's most efficient sniper for no reason. Higher in the sky, three pegasi were looking at the scene, one snickering.

"That one's made quite a chaos," sneered Spitfire. "I'd love to take her on myself."

"We're not to leave the commander," replied the pegasus besides her, Soarin. "If you misbehave again, like you did last time, I'll..."

"She'll be more useful fighting that protecting me," finally said Dash, eyeing the ground with disdain. "Go on."

Spitfire didn't even wait for the end of the sentence, and plunged towards Breeze, grabbing her by the throat, choking her as she flew away. Misty struggled, trying to free herself from the merciless grip of the yellow pony. The celestial fighter tried to scream, but her voice was choked in her throat, and she could feel her head starting to spin. Spitfire grinned at her an awful, toothy smile, licking her lips with excitement as she could feel her victim's already slipping away.

"Not that strong, eh ?" mocked Spitfire. "I'm disappointed, I..."

A shot. A scream of pain. Spitfire and Breeze fell from the sky, and crashed on the ground, the yellow pegasus finally releasing the pressure on Breeze's throat. Spitfire yelled as she pressed her hoof against her right wing ; a clean, precise shot had destroyed it. The bones of her wing revealed themselves through the blood and the teared away muscles and flesh, feathers stained red falling besides them. Breeze quickly got up, ignoring the pain, and saw a grey pegasus approaching, and pressed her hoof againt Spitfire's now mangled appendice, basking in the sound of the bones crushing and Spitfire's screams of agony. Breeze grimaced in disgust.

"Thank you," said Breeze, "But you didn't have to do that."

"I know, it just felt satisfying."

Derpy Hooves. The army's deadliest sniper. Quickly following her were the rest of AJ's team, who was smiling with pride as she approached the wounded pegasus. Applejack kneeled close to Spitfire, plunging her eyes into hers.

"Well look who it is," she mocked. "Rainbow's very own pet dog. What should we do with her ? Send her body parts to her princess ?

Spitfire was violently shaking, crying and hurling at the sight of her terrible wound. She sniffled and sobbed, trying desperately to pull herself together, but the pain and the sight of her wing was too much to bear. Spitfire couldn't even think anymore, all she felt was suffering. AJ smiled widely at this horrible diplay. She turned to her soldiers.

"Take her in a safe space and watch her," commanded Applejack. "We need her alive. I'll find Rainbow... Alone."

Snow and Breeze immediatly started to drag Spitfire to a secure building, while Derpy and Bon Bon followed them, weapons out, ready to defend themselves. But Deep didn't follow. He wasn't the type of pony to wait for the battle to pass, sheltered in a safe space. No, he had waited for this, he had waited for a chance to fight again, to release all the anger that had built up in him. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach as he awaited with excitement to cross the path of an unlucky enemy soldier.

Applejack was frantically looking around her, searching. She knew that Rainbow had seend Spitfire getting shot, and she knew that the commander would react. After all, Spitire was a prized asset of the Wings of Dusk. She knew she would come to her... AJ walked. She didn't trot or gallop, she calmly walked, trying to find an isolated spot through the corpses and agitation. She didn't even notice the rumbling around her anymore. It was war, and she was used to war. She knew the snipers had her back, she knew she wouldn't be attacked. So, she waited. AJ sat on the ruins of what probably used to be a lovely house, now turned to ashes and broken bricks. Applejack lit up a cigarette. She closed her eyes as she exhaled the smoke.

"Been a while, Dash."

Rainbow Dash was standing in front of her, not less than 5 meters away from her. The differences between the two ponies was shocking. Applejack was soaked in blood, her fur tinted in a bloody, crimson shade. Her mane was messy and tangled, lacking hair in some spots. She had no uniform on her, just her weapons. But Rainbow Dash was almost elegant, in her deep violet uniform, sporting her medals. She stood tall and impressive, her shadow menacingly looming over AJ.

"How you feelin', partner ?" asked AJ in a mocking tone, taking another breath of her cigarette. "Feelin' good, murderin' your own people ? Bein' a tyrant's boot licker ?"

"I prefer you on the battlefield," replied Dash in a cold tone. "You talk less."

"Yeah, well I preferred you when you had morals."

in a second, the mares threw themselves on each other in a shattering shock. AJ spit her cigarette at Rainbow, and headbutted her in the throat. Rainbow let out a pained cough but soon caught herself, backing away and averted another hit. The pegasus could've easily just flown away and dropped on her former friend, breaking her bones in pieces, but she did not. She didn't even deploy her wings. Rainbow still respected Applejack as a fighter, a partner... A friend. She wanted a fair fight. Or else, it wouldn't be worth it. It wouldn't even matter. Nothing would.

The winged mare rushed at the orange pony, but Applejack turned away and released her hind legs into those of the pegasus which fell hard on the dusty, dirt ground. The winged soldier got up quickly, then kicked her hoof with all her might towards AJ's face. AJ spit some blood on the ground, but before she could get up, Dash continued to pound the ground, each time aiming for the head of the orange pony. Applejack got hit a few times before rolling on the ground, avoiding a deadly strike from her opponent. She rolled up on herself, and with a powerful thrust of her front legs made a recovery. She now was staring in Rainbow's eyes. AJ used to love gazing at those bright, pink orbs. But all shimmer had disappeared from her dull, sunken eyes, replaced by darkness and anger. AJ chuckled.

"You know, sugarcube, i've always thought i'd be happy to finally make you taste my hooves. But for some stupid reason, all I feel is numbness."

"I don't feel anything towards you," coldly claimed Dash. "You're just another traitor to me."

"Yeah, keep tellin' yourself that. We both know the truth."

Rainbow Dash let out an enraged growl, took a knife out of her jacket and stood on her hind legs, in a fighting position, ready to take on AJ. The orange pony did the same, smiling from ear to ear. The fight was just beginning. The two mares began to circle around each other, tightening the circle with each turn and decreasing the distance between them. The air felt tighter and more tense as they got closer and closer to one another. When they were close enough, they stopped spinning, and there was a moment of hesitation during which the two fighters did not take their eyes off each other. Everything they had ever done in this war, it had led to this moment. Six years of waiting, of expecting, of anticipating. It was finally time.

Applejack shifted back, then charged, the knife upturned in her hoof, and she tried to stab it at her neck. Rainbow reacted quickly enough to dodge the attack, turning her torso away from her enemy, and striking back at AJ's face, cutting through her cheek. Rainbow swung the knife around in her hoof and attempted to drive her blade into the orange pony's chest. Applejack managed to avoid the killing blow, but wasn't fast enough. Rainbow striked again, this time, succeeding in plunging the knife in AJ's flank. Applejack quickly stepped back. Rainbow's knife fell on the ground, and AJ quickly pressed her hoof against the open wound.

"You know nothing about what i've been living for six years, Applejack. You don't know me anymore."

"But I do. I know you're a coward, choosing to avoid seein' the truth for what it really is ; Twilight's been usin' you, an' she'll keep on killin' eveyone until no pony lives in Equestria ! And you're helpin' her ! If i'm a traitor, then you're a fuckin' monster."

Applejack dropped her knife, and in a scream of anger, AJ stood on all fours, then charged the pegasus. Applejack swung her hind legs forward, hitting the fighter in the pelvis and causing her to stumble. Ignoring the pain in her flank, she tackled the pegasus to the ground, and began repeatedly punching her in the face, screaming with all her might. Blood was flowing, covering AJ's face with red. Rainbow was struggling, trying to get the blod thirsty pony off of her, and she finally succeeded, hitting Applejack where she had stabbed her. Applejack cried out in pain and released her grip.

The two mares staggered apart, Applejack dragging herself on the ground, breathing heavily. Rainbow's face was completely battered and swollen. The adrenaline was starting to run out in their veins, and they both couldn't fight the pain anymore. Then, Rainbow Dash looked around her. Corpses, piles of corpses everywhere, of her troops. Too concentrated on her fight, she wasn't able to lead them, and the Celestial Army had taken the upper hand. Golden's earth troops were retreating. Spitfire was gone. They had lost, and it was her fault. She felt a hoof on her shoulder ; Soarin.

"Commander," he whispered. "We should go."

"And abandon the battlefield ? We can't..."

"We lost, commander."

Rainbow Dash sighed. Limping, she started to walk away from the fight. AJ coughed. Soarin pointed his firearm at her.

"Shall I finish her ?"

"No," firmly said Dash. "She's mine. When the time comes..." she looked at AJ one last time, before flying away. "She'll be mine to kill."

The pegasi disappeared in the sky. AJ looked around her. Smoke was coming out from the buildings, and the wind was carrying the fresh scent of the cadavers and the blood. Trembling, Applejack reached towards her pack of cigarettes, and lit one up, ignoring the tears rolling down her blood soaked cheeks. She was alone. Utterly, and completely alone. She let out a chuckle.

"Until next time, sugarcube."

Author's Note

I am incredibly sorry for how long this chapter took to come out, I have been very busy with work and life in general. I'm happy to be back to writing, though.
Thank you for reading this chapter. As always ; english isn't my first language, so do tell me if there are any mistakes I can fix, i'll gladly take any advice. Hope you enjoyed your read !

Chapter 03 : Sisterhood and Brotherhood

Chapter 03 : Sisterhood and Brotherhood

***
The commander of the Wings of Dusk was staring straight ahead, putting on a stern face, struggling to keep her emotions from betraying her. But she felt angry, terribly angry, and ashamed. In front of her, the reigning princess of Equestria, was pacing, not taking her eyes off of her for a second. Long minutes had passed like this, while Twilight Sparkle's cold and disainful eyes tried to pierce the pegasus's thoughts. Finally, the Princess broke the unnerving silence :

"Why didn't you kill her ?"

Ah, the question Rainbow Dash had been waiting for. The question she knew she didn't have the answer for. Yes, she sould've killed Applejack when she had the chance. Applejack was a prized asset of the Celestial Army, and killing her would've been of great help to Twilight. But she wasn't able to. She could've, but she didn't. And she was mad at herself for it.

"Answer me."

"I don't know," reluctantly admitted Rainbow Dash.

"Will you too betray me ?"

"Never !" protested the pegasus, as if outraged that Twilight could even think that. "You have changed, but I know that everything you've done, it's been for Equestria. I trust you more than anypony in the world."

After the Ponyville massacre, Rainbow Dash was taken to the castle. There, she found Twilight, weeping at the foot of the throne, holding Princess Luna's corpse. Celestia had slain her, had told Twilight. She had murdered her in cold blood, saying that only she was the rightful regent of Equestria. She then had attacked Twilight, her magic changing her appearence into what it now was. Then, in her cowardice, she had fled, to spread discord to Equestria... Rainbow Dash never doubted this story, not once. Twilight was her friend, and she didn't question her.

She didn't question her when she started gathering her armies.
She didn't question her when she confined Rarity into the castle.
She didn't question her when she started an order of fanatic unicorns.
She didn't question her when she raised fire and blood in Equestria.

But as she faced AJ, for the first time in six years, her former best friend, she found herself doubting. She doubted herself, and she doubted her beliefs. Was the Twilight she knew now really the same Twilight as before, simply changed by betrayals and war ? Was Rainbow Dash killing innocents, all for a blood-thirsty tyrant ? Was she really doing a good thing for Equestria ? The doubt crushed Rainbow Dash. For her, the element of loyalty, doubting her beliefs was a worse pain than a mortal wound.

"Pardon me, Rainbow," sighed Twilight. "I never know who to trust these days, and I sometimes feel like you're the only one who has my back in this whole country..."

"I'll make up for this mistake," swore Rainbow Dash. "I'll get Spitfire back, and I'll kill Applejack, with my bare hooves. I'll make her see what consequences betraying me, you, Equestria, brings. I'm loyal to you, and only you."

Twilight smiled.

"Good."

***

Rarity woke up at seven AM, as she did every morning. As always, the first thing she did was to slip into a silky, sheer elegant robe, and heat up some nice, rose flavored tea. The princess had offered her servants to do this for her, but Rarity had refused to even meet them. So much had already been taken away from her, she wasn't about to let someone prepare her tea for her. As she waited for the beverage to heat up, Rarity gently brushed her hair. Her mane, that was once voluminous and silky smooth, with ravishing amethyst highlights, was now flat and dull. Rarity hated herself for letting her prized mane get this way, but she couldn't find the strength to care for it much. The curls that she used to sport reminded her too much of the pony she used to be, a pony now dead and forgotten.

Her tea was ready. Quietly humming to herself, Rarity opened her large windows which overlooked the castle's gardens. Those beautiful, luscious gardens. Rarity used to love the sight of them, when she visited Canterlot for business. She liked to walk through the perfectly trimmed rose bushes with other designers, talking about the latest trends in fashion, the gossip of the city, the interesting news. Fashion was barely a thing anymore. The ponies of Equestria didn't need luxury dresses made of the finest velvet, they needed sturdy military clothing. What a waste, Rarity thought.

Rarity sat on her balcony, tea in hoof. She was observing the commotion in the gardens. Dozens of unicorns were standing in perfectly aligned ranks, practicing their magic on wooden targets. Every morning was like this, and Rarity had gotten used to watching those training sessions. She used to know their leader, Fleur de Lys. She never wouldv'e imagined she'd become... that. But then again, Rarity couldn't have imagined anything about this world she was now living in.

"Miss Rarity ?"

A knock on her door. Rarity didn't want to answer ; she knew what day it was. A sunday. But she had to answer, and she did, as she always did every sunday. Rarity finished her cup.

"Come in."

A light yellow pegasus entered the room. Shyly, she approached Rarity, her orange and pink mane covering part of her face. Rarity gently smiled at her ; Lemonade Haze was the only pony that had managed to get close to her. Her quiet voice, shy demeanor and gentle eyes reminded her of an old friend, and the white unicorn had accepted her as an attendant. Lemonade Haze walked up to the closet, and picked out some dresses for Rarity to wear, putting them on the bed. Rarity gently touched the fabric of the garments, quietly appreciating the softness and quality of the dresses.

"The Princess would like for you to wear white today," said Haze, still picking out dresses from the closet. "She said that you will be meeting someone special today, and would like for you to look elegant."

Rarity's eyes widened. Meeting someone ? She barely saw anyone in this castle, except for Haze and the Princess every sunday. She was isolated, and she started to feel a buzzing excitement in her stomach.

"Has the Princess told you more about this visitor ?" curiously asked Rarity, trying on one of the dresses.

"No. But she said it was an important meeting."

"Has she mentioned anything about dragons, or old friends, anything at all really ?"

"Dragons ?... No... Miss, I don't think you should ask those kind of questions, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble, and i'm afraid I don't have any answers."

Rarity sighed. Haze was right ; ears were everywhere in this palace, and it was best to keep your questions and worries private. Besides, Rarity didn't want to put the young pegasus in danger ; after all, who knew if she even had the right to answer those questions ? Ever since she had been confined in this castle, for six years already, Rarity had been imprisoned in silence. But since Haze's arrival at her service, the unicorn had started to want to open up to her. She needed someone to talk to, a confident, someone who wouldn't judge her. It was in those moments of great solitude she missed her friends, and she especially missed Spike. Where could he even be ?...

"Let's go."

The two ponies were advancing through the brightly lit corridors of the castle. Rarity remembered how luminous the palace used to be, when the sun used to shine through the vitrals. But the vitrals had been replaced, and there was no more sun to light up this crimson sky. Everything seemed dark to Rarity, and she often wondered if her friends felt the same way. Haze opened the large doors leading to the Princess's private lounge, and she closed the doors behind Rarity, staying behind.

"Please, take a seat, dear friend."

Twilight was sitting on a pillow, and was pointing to another one, directly besides her. She was already serving tea using her magic, and gently put down the cup near Rarity's designated spot. The unicorn hesitated for a moment, but sat down, still wary of her surroundings. For six long years, she had spent every sunday morning drinking tea and eating biscuits with Twilight, but she still couldn't get used to it. Breathing the same air as this demon disguised as her friend made her want to throw up. She couldn't recognize the pony she had known behind this cold tyrant.

"How are you ?" asked Twilight.

"Good."

"Is Lemonade Haze still of good service to you ? Has she been useful ?"

"Yes."

The air was tense. Rarity couldn't even bring herself to drink some tea ; her throat was as tight as the atmosphere in the room.

"You're as quiet as ever," sighed Twilight. "Aren't you happy that I always make some time for us to spend together ?"

Rarity stayed silent, avoiding Twilight's piercing gaze.

"Isn't it time that you show more gratitude towards me, dear friend ?" asked Twilight with a pained tone in her voice. Rarity wanted to laugh at the hypocrisy. "I have done nothing but treating you well for the past years. Sheltering you from this cruel, merciless world. Protecting you from those that dared call us friends, those traitors... Aren't you thankful ?"

"Thankful ?" scoffed Rarity. "Thankful for what ? For keeping me in the dark about the war, about the atrocities you have commited ? Not allowing me to see Dash, even though I know she is in this castle ? Keeping me away from our friends and my own sister ? Why should I be thankful ?"

Silence. Rarity was breathing heavily, her frustration pouring into her body. She wanted to scream, get up, hit Twilight, run away, disappear... She wanted to be anywhere but here. Tears started rolling down her cheeks, and Twilight gently pressed her hoof onto her cheeks, wiping away the tears. Rarity trembled at this touch, almost seeing a glimpse of her od friend behind the tyrant's eye.

"Shh, shh, Rarity..." hushed Twilight. "It's okay. There, i'll show you you're not trapped. I'll show you that you can trust me. Look, I brought someone."

The doors opened again, and Rarity squinted. For a moment, as the pony approached, she couldn't recognize it, but it suddenly hit her. The unicorn let out a gasp. She tried to speak, but her voice was stuck in her throat, and she was shaking uncontrollably.

"S-S...Sweetie ?" she finally uttered, her voice breaking.

Rarity got up and ran to her sister, grabbing her face into her hooves, barely believing it could really be her.

"It's me," finally said the filly, now an adult mare.

"Sweetie !" cried out Rarity.

Uncontrollably sobbing, Rarity pulled her sister into an embrace, holding her so close and tight to her chest, as if Sweetie Belle would disappear the moment she let go. Sweetie buried her head in her sister's soft fur, shedding a tear as well. Rarity kept on crying tears of hapiness, letting herself embrace her sister's warmth against her.

"I've missed you," softly said Sweetie Belle.

Reluctantly, Rarity pulled away, to take a better look at her sister's face. Oh, how she had grown ! She was now an elegant, put together mare. She didn't show any signs of malnutrition, or bruises. She looked... Healthy. She looked good. Rarity pressed her hood against her cheek, softly caressing her, still trembling.

"How have you been ? Have you been treated well ? Where were you ? I-... I have so many questions, I..."

"I know you do," simply replied Sweetie. "And you'll get answers when the time is right."

"But Sweetie, I was kept in the dark for so long, I... I want to know everything ! I want to know what happened, what..."

Rarity stopped. Her eyes had locked onto something. Sweetie's cutie mark. She didn't have one, or rather, it had been replaced. The Dusk Unicorns, Twilight's special army of trained unicorns, had a tradition. Every pony succeeding in integrating their order had to get their flank branded with their sigil ; a large star, with five smaller stars gravitating around it. Just like their Princess's cutie mark. And on Sweetie's flank was a fresh burn, a fresh brand of the sigil. Rarity audibly gasped, but before she could react, Twilight approached and gently put a hoof on Sweetie's head, smiling. Sweetie looked at the princess with adoration, and a chill ran down Rarity's spine.

"Sweetie Belle has found joy in this new kingdom I am the regent of," explained Twilight. "She is putting her magic into contribution by helping all of Equestria, along with the other unicorns of her order. I couldn't be prouder of her, and you should be proud of her too, Rarity. She graduated from her extensive training yesterday, and in my infinite kindness, I allowed her to celebrate with you today."

"Ce... Celebrate ?" stammered Rarity, still in shock. She could feel her head starting to spin.

"Yes," excitedly said Sweetie Belle. "I have never been happier, truly. I am helping all of Equestria see that our true leader, our rightful leader, is our Princess. She will bring hope and joy to the world."

"Joy ? Joy ?" finally shouted Rarity, stepping away from her sister. "She's killed hundreds, thousands ! She butchered your friends in Ponyville, little fillies that had done nothing wrong ! She has imprisoned me in this castle, she killed our Princess, Luna ! She's not Twilight anymore Sweetie, she's a monster !"

"It's true, i'm not Twilight anymore. And believe me when I say this, Rarity..."

Twilight's horn shone a deep purple, and Rarity fell on the cold, golden tiles of the room.

"I am deeply saddened that you can't understand this new and improved Equestria i've created for us."

***

"A beer, please."

Applejack sat at the counter of the bar. Even at war, ponies still remembered the important things ; alcohol. And today, AJ really needed some alcohol. She was finally fully healed from her fight with Dash, and allowed to go out. At seven AM, the bar was mostly empty, so AJ could quietly forget about her feelings without anyone to bother her.

"Another one for me."

AJ's face lit up as she turned around to see her sister hugging her. AJ chuckled, and offered Apple Bloom to sit next to her. Their beverages in hoof, the sister quietly looked at each other, not saying a word, simply appreciating each other's presence. Finally, AJ broke the silence.

"So, you're back from your mission ? Everythin' went well ?"

"Yeah," replied Apple Bloom, taking a sip of her beer. "I'm staying at the camp for a few days, and then we'll be leaving again."

"Where were you ?"

"You know I can't tell you," chuckled Apple Bloom. "Everything we do as Lunar Agents has to be a complete secret, i'm sorry about that."

AJ sighed. She disaproved when Apple Bloom first joined the Lunar Agents. AJ would have prefered for her to be in the regular army, or even better, to stay at the Crystal Empire, where she would be safe. But her sister wasn't a filly anymore, and she had made her choice, and from what AJ heard, her sister was quite good at her job... Whatever her job was, since everything the agents did was pretty much a secret. Applejack cleared her throat.

"How's your leader ?" she asked, looking away.

Apple Bloom stayed silent for a bit. When the agents were founded by Celestia, they never wouldv'e guessed who would become their leader... And even though it pained Apple Bloom to see a pony become so merciless and deadly, she had to admit it, the leader of the Lunar Agents was a great help for the war effort.

"She's... good, I guess," shrugged Apple Bloom. "She isn't like anything she used to be, but if our missions are successes, it's because of her, that's for sure. Speaking of her, actually..."

Applejack looked at her sister, an intrigued look in her eyes.

"She actually asked me to tell you something."

"Really ? An' she couldn't come herself ?" mockingly asked AJ. "I haven't seen her in ages..."

"Well, if you accept this, you'll see her soon enough. She wants your squad, including you, following her on our next mission."

Applejack blinked a few times, not sure she heard her sister correctly. Her team ? With the Lunar Agents ? While she didn't doubt her team's abilities, well... The agents were known for their discretion, and political assasinations in the heart of Equestria. But her squad... Deep was the least discreet pony she knew. Snow had too good of a heart to be a cold blooded killer. Breeze liked fighting in the sky, not hiding in the bushes, Bon Bon had been crushed by the news of Lyra's death and had been taking some rest, and Derpy... Actually, Derpy probably would be the most useful to the agents, as an experimented sniper.

"Why would she want our help ?"

"She especially needs your help," replied Apple Bloom, "and we'll need your team if things get ugly. We're used to doing most of our work from the shadows, and if a fight too big for us would break loose... That's when we'll need your squad. We've heard a lot of good things about them."

"Yeah, alright, but how is this mission so dangerous that she needs us ?"

Apple Bloom nervously looked around her, wary of her surroundings. AJ did the same ; there was no one in the bar, except for her and her sister, and the bartender. Applejack looked at the bartender, and in a swift movement of her hoof, invited him to leave for a bit. He nodded his head, and disappeared in another room. Apple Bloom waited for a bit, before hunching towards Applejack, and she softly whispered in a hush tone ;

"We're going to Canterlot. We're going to rescue Rarity."

***

"No, fuck this !" cursed Deep.

Applejack's squad, minus Bon Bon, was sitting in their tent. Her head buried in her hooves, AJ sighed. She knew that Deep would react this way.

"Deep, let's talk this out," offered Snow.

"There's nothing to argue !" angrily replied Deep. "I don't want to help those agents. They're shady, and I don't trust them. Who knows ? Maybe they'll dispose of us when they're done using us for their goals. I don't want anything to do with those assholes."

"It's not up to you," shrugged Misty Breeze. "We follow the leader, and if the leader says we're going, then we're going."

Deep glared at Breeze, throwing daggers at her with his stare. His deep, red eyes plunged into hers, she could swear that he could murder her with his eyes. Applejack lit up a cigarette, staying silent, her head low. Deep violently grabbed her pack, and lit one up as well. Derpy stayed silent, cleaning her firearm. It was her own way of staying calm, evacuating her stress. To each their own, thought Snow.

"We can't trust them," firmly said Deep. "I don't care that their leader used to be your friend AJ, or that your sister's working for them, but they're all fucking insane !"

"It's funny that you, of all people, would say that," argued Snow, now clearly annoyed by Deep's attitude. "You're the one always ready to jump in a fight, bashing people's heads and taking pleasure in it. If anyone's a devil, it should be you..."

"Watch your tongue," warned Deep in a groan.

"Or what ? You'll kill me ? Just like you do anypony that looks at you the wrong way ?"

No one intervened. Applejack just ignored the feud, quietly smoking in her corner. Misty Breeze was worryingly looking at the two ponies, but knew there was nothing she could do. Derpy kept on cleaning her weapon.

"Whatever, man." shrugged Deep.

Pushing Snow out of his way, the jet black pony left the tent. Breeze let out a groan of exasperation, and disaprovingly shook her head.

"You're just as immature as him, Snow," finally said AJ. "Between his arrogance and your stubborness, we'll never achieve anythin' in this war if you two keep goin' at this."

"I'm..."

"Just shut it," frigidly ordered Applejack, interrupting him. "I don't care about what any of you have to say. We're doin' this, whether you like it or not. I really couldn't give two shits. I'm your leader, an' you'll do as I say. End of the discussion. Go get him."

Snow obliged, too ashamed to talk back. After all, what was there to say ? Applejack was right, she almost always was. They shouldn't argue about stupid matters, there was a war to fight. But all the ponies thought about, day after day, every hour, was the war. They were dying to have normal conversations, normal arguments, a normal life. Everypony missed hanging out with friends, going outside, making love, tasting pastries. Was war everything that was to living now ? Couldn't they even argue about stupid stuff anymore, like normal ponies ?

Snow left the tent, tying to think about where Deep might've gone. He hated to admit it, but he had grown to know the earth pony pretty well, and he was sure he was at the edge of the city, sitting alone in the ruins of what used to be the beautiful entrance of the city. He liked the view of the fields and hills, even though they had been battered by the war. The fields had been dead for years now.

Deep was a mystery for most of the ponies of the army. Arrogant, a loud-mouth, brutal fighter, always ready to go to the front, smiling while doing so. But he was also quick to anger, snapped back at every little thing, and didn't like for ponies to walk into his space. How could someone seemingly so strong and fearless, be this thin-skinned ? It was this mistery that Snow had tried to crack for years, but never managed to. He remembered the first time he saw Deep. Snow was training in the army, still in the Crystal Empire. Then this dirty, badly put-together pony walked in, looking lost, but determined. He ignored the other soldiers, and went to find Applejack herself. He didn't flinch when she threatened to cut his throat on the spot if he didn't tell her where he was from, and how he entered the Empire. Deep only replied one thing.

"I'm good at killing. Give me a pony to kill, anypony. I'll do it."

Deep had always been an enigma. Nopony knew where he came from, and everypony knew not to ask. He'd probably ignore you anyways. But he intrigued Snow, and Snow intrigued Deep. They were opposites, made to clash, but they couldn't be kept apart from one another. After all, on the battlefield, they worked best in a pair. Maybe there was a reason for that.

Snow approached the ruins, and just as he predicted, Deep was there, laying against a wall of bricks, smoking on a cigarette. The grey unicorn quietly sat down besides him, too anxious to say anything. What was he even supposed to say ? Should he apologize ? For what, for saying the truth ? Snow had no clue on how to approach his fellow soldier. He never was good in social situations anyways. Deep handed him his cigarette.

"No thanks," finally said Snow. "Listen, Deep, I..."

"Don't bother," shrugged Deep.

Snow nodded. He looked at the red, crimson sky, with its deep purple hues. It was strangely beautiful, in a macabre way. Snow missed the stars, the moon, the sun. Everyone did.

"Do you miss it ?" asked Snow.

"What ?"

"Life before the war."

"Nah," replied Deep, not even hesitating.

Snow looked at him with surprise. "Really ?"

"Yeah, really. I wasn't good at anything before the war. I was one of those useless punks, without any real talent, or hopes for the future. No cutie mark. But I discovered my talent with the war. It was a blessing for me, y'know ? Opened doors for me."

Snow glared at his colleague's cutie mark. Drops of blood, contrasting with the darkness of his black furr. Deep wasn't the only one that had his hidden "talents" revealed with the war. Ponies found themselves with targets, blood, crosses and other dreadful marks on their flanks. For them, the war had been the opportunity to finally be useful to the Equestrian society. Fillies that were mocked as youngsters for being talentless and blank-flanked, were now some of the most talented soldiers in the army. Victims of bullying became the bullies.

"Life was shit before the war," continued Deep. "It's shit now too, but a little less shit. I have purpose now, at least."

"Did you lose anyone in the war ?"

Deep plunged his dark eyes into Snow's, who felt a chill running down his back. Maybe that was taking it too far. But, surprising the unicorn, Deep didn't curse him, hit him for his bluntness, or just walked away. Instead, he crushed his cigarette on the dirty ground, and stared at the distance.

"Yeah."

A single word, but he didn't need to say more. In this moment, Snow wished he was better at comforting people ; he wished he knew the words to say, the movements to make to make his partner know he wasn't alone, he was accepted there. But as he didn't know how to express that, he kept quiet, waiting for the earth pony to speak up, if he wanted to say more. For once, he was listening to him.

"But it was long ago. I don't really care now. War's the only thing I have time to think about. And booze. And ladies."

Snow chuckled.

"You know, you've told me more about yourself in five minutes, than in years," the unicorn said with a playful grin.

"Don't get used to it," smiled Deep. "I'm only being nice cause I snapped at you earlier. Ain't nothing more than that."

Snow scratched his ear, eager to ask another question. After all, his partner had been so opened, maybe he could get some other things out of him. He cleared his throat, unsure of himself.

"Why are you so against working with the Lunar Agents ?"

Deep sighed. He knew this question was coming, and he started to regret opening himself up to his partner.

"You're getting too comfortable."

"I'm sorry, but it's just that your reaction surprised me, I thought you'd be..."

"Excited to work with those shitheads ? Killing's the only thing i'm good at, so I'd rather try to have fun with it than be completely miserable. Yeah, I like having fun on the battlefield, and it feels good to win. But i'm honest about it, yeah, I enjoy doing this. Those people ? They're fucking perverts. They're cold and methodicals, real sociopaths. They take pleasure in torture, in pure murder. They're not like us, and I don't trust them. That's all."

Snow lowered his head. Once again, he managed to get him angry. Couldn't they have one, peaceful conversation, without either of them ruining it ? It appeared not. But if they were so good as a team together, so good as brothers in hooves, why couldn't they get along as simple ponies ? Had everyone forgotten how to be a simple pony ?

"I wish I could get to know you," sighed Snow.

"Why ?" scoffed Deep. "Maybe i'll be dead tomorrow, maybe you'll be. You really like to hurt yourself, huh ?"

"I just think that we could be better at communicating," clumsily tried to explain the grey unicorn. "It'd be better for the battles. You can be a bit... Explosive sometimes, and I think it would help if we understood each other better. And i'd love to know where all your attitude comes from."

The earth pony laughed. Snow frowned ; he didn't really meant for this to be funny... Deep got up, and helped his partner up. He started to walk back towards the city, Snow closely following behind him. For the first time, in a very long time, the grey unicorn actually felt at ease with another pony. He couldn't remember the last time he had an honest chat with anyone, and surprisingly, Deep wasn't just an uninteresting jerk. Snow followed his partner into the nearest bar, and entered the building. Deep shouted for two beers, and sat at a booth with the unicorn, that awkwardly looked around him.

"You want to drink ? Now ?" asked Snow.

"Anytime's a good time to drink," chuckled Deep. "Now, drink up. Let's cheer to... Us ! To our beautiful, blossoming friendship."

Snow smiled. He knew his colleague was sarcastic, but he'd take it. Considering someone a friend, even as a joke, was good enough in those difficult times. They cheered.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading this chapter. As always ; english isn't my first language, so do tell me if there are any mistakes I can fix, i'll gladly take any advice. Hope you enjoyed your read !

Chapter 03.5 : The Cloudsdale Raid

Chapter 03.5 : The Cloudsdale Raid

The first year following Twilight Sparkle's rise to power was one of the most violent chapters in Equestria's history. The country was divided ; the newly crowned princess had stated, as she ascended to the throne, that the former regent had killed her own sister, in cold blood, in an attempt to have the country all for herself, proclaiming herself to be a goddess, and it was with great pain that Twilight was forced to hunt her down, for the sake of Equestria.

But many citizens didn't believe this, as they had known and cherished their solar princess. In order to assert herself as the one and unique ruler, Twilight decided that the best way to make her subjects respect her was to instill fear in them. This was achieved with violent raids in numerous Equestrian cities. With no one left to protect them, the citizens were at the mercy of their princess's newly founded order of savage unicorns and pegasi, who decided of their fate. If a pony looked too much like a traitor, he was seized. If he knew a traitor, he was taken away. If he had spoken, acted, thought like a traitor, no one would ever see him again. For a whole year, ponies lived in fear of their own neighbors, friends, families. Who knew how the army got their information ? How could you ever trust someone again, if they could be the ones that would denounce you ?

Six months after Twilight's Sparkle coronation, a raid was launched on Cloudsdale. But the pegasi were tenacious, and their resistance inspired thousands of ponies to seek their true regent, the Princess Celestia, to come to her aid. The raid of Cloudsdale was the start of Celestia's rebellion.

***

Eyes closed, Thunderlane felt the air whipping her face, slipping into his mane which fluttered like a flag, flowing down his sides, intruding between each of his hairs. Speeding through the clouds, he tried to think of nothing. The speed usually brought him his share of happiness ; but not today. Not since six months.

Thunderlane opened his eyes. The winged pony turned his attention to the other pegasi located not far behind him. The Wonderbolts, or what they used to be called. They were referred as the Wings of Dusk now, along with other winged soldiers. They were a whole army corps now, and Thunderlane's days of aerobatics seemed very, very far away.

He didn't have a choice in joining this military corp. After all, he was a Wonderbolt ; and he had followed his leader and colleagues, not imagining what madness they would participate in. He gazed ahead ; flying at high speed, leading the troop, was Spitfire. Oh, Spitfire. Thunderlane remembered the happy times they shared together, drinking with friends, laughing at the Wonderbolt base, training rookies, organizing the shows... Those were far behind now, and he barely recognized his leader anymore.

"Where are we ?" shouted Spitfire, looking behind her.

"We arrive on the objective in ten minutes, m'am," answered an officer near Thunderlane.

"Good," she said. "Everyone in combat position."

Thunderlane was fighting his own battle in his head. Everything changed with the war, and with it, everyone also changed. Friends became foes, lovers became traitors, sisters and brothers became estranged. He followed his leader when she claimed that the Wonderbolts had to put themselves to the new Princess's service. He followed when they traded show costumes for military uniform. He didn't complain when they first put a knife in his hoof, and he never even said a thing when he saw his brothers and sisters butchering other ponies, just for the fun of it.

Because that was what those raids were for the pegasus ; fun. Excitement. The thrill of hunting powerless, innocent victims. And Thunderlane couldn't stand it. He couldn't recognize anyone, he felt like a stranger to those he had once shared laughs with. But now, they were going to raid Cloudsdale. His home, their home. How could they be so cold to the fact that they were about to destroy their own home ?
Spitfire turned her attention behing again, and looked at Thunderlane. With a nod, she gestured for him to join her.

"Everything's good, Thunderlane ?" she asked, when her comrade reached her.

"Yes," he confidently said, even though he knew it was a lie.

"Are you excited ?" she sneered.

"Why would I be ? I mean, it's... It's work, you know."

"Work's supposed to be fun. I wanna have fun when I work, I want to feel fantastic, doing what I do best. Oh man, doing aerobatics with dangerous stunts was something alright, but this... This is making me live again. This is fucking incredible."

Thunderlane wanted to throw up. Instead, he forced himself to smile, and nodded. He was disgusted with himself.

***

Lightning Dust turned over in her bed. She was unable to fall asleep, again. The lack of a day and moon cycle had inpacted everypony in Equestria, and few were the ones that managed to soundly sleep for more than a few hours without feeling terribly uneasy. She opened her eyes, renouncing to the idea of resting. The pegasus softly smiled as she looked at her partner, soundly sleeping in their bed. Lightning gently patted him on the head, being careful not to wake him up.

A thud. Her ears perked up, alert. Her heart beating at a fast pace, Lightning Dust checked her surroundings ; nothing unusual. Another thud. This time, she got up, and hurried to the nearest window.

"Babe," softly uttered Velvet Swirl, Lightning's coltfriend. "Come back to bed."

"Something's happening," whispered Lightning.

Velvet blinked a few times, the time to understand the severity of the situation. As he got up, Lightning suddenly threw herself on the ground, looking at him with wide, terrified eyes ;

"Get down !"

Velvet went down on the ground, and then, he heard it. A cacophony of screams and shouts, screeching and discord filling the streets of Cloudsdale. Both pegasi knew what this meant : the army had come to Cloudsdale. And they were out for blood. As discreetely as possible, Lightning grabbed a bag, and started to hastily throw some of her belongings in it, as Velvet approached her, looking worried.

"What are you doing ?" said Velvet under his breath.

"We're leaving. Now," mumbled Lightning, in a hurry. "Before they come for us."

"We can't abandon Cloudsdale !" protested her coltfriend, gesturing at her. "And what about our... Oh god, what about our friends ? Or family ?"

"They'll be fine, they're smart enough to know to run away," reassured Lightning, also trying to convince herself of this.

Velvet peeked at the window, ignoring his partner's complaints. As he watched, his eyes grew wider and wider, and he put a hoof on his mouth, trembling.

"The city," he stammered. "It's... It's on fire."

As he said that, Lightning screamed. Velvet galloped to her and grabbed her, quickly flying out of their house, breaking the roof with his front hooves. The army had thrown torches and grenades on the houses, coloring the sky with fiery, terrifying hues of red, orange and black, the smoke swirling in and irritating Velvet's eyes. He coughed, as he tried to find a safe spot, as he flew over Cloudsdale. But he was blind in these thick, poisonous fumes, and he eventually had to plunge back down again. Landing on a cloud, Lightning fell off of his hooves, and she looked at her city.

The fire had swallowed everything. Around them, a hundred pegasi had ripped through the clouds, and were coming at the citizens with bewildering speed, surely bringing death with them. A bullet passed near Lightning. She felt its breath pass near her, the hiss of the projectile, and then heard a small cry behind her, followed by a sound of falling. She turned around, and saw that a filly that just happened to be standing there had been shot in the forehead, and had died the momets its body touched the cloudy floor. In a state of shock, Lightning was unable to move. Once again, Velvet grabbed her, but she was as still as a rock.

"Fuck, come on, let's go !" he hurried his partner. "We have to find our friends, we have to escape with them."

"It's over," quietly sobbed Lightning. "Oh god, they've come for us. They'll murder all of us."

In the background, they heard a high-pitched mare squealing hysterically before stopping abruptly. Then, Velvet saw a shadow taking shape in the smoke. As the shadow got closer, Velvet stepped in front of his partner, intending to protect her with his body if it came to that. Cold sweat dripping from his temple, he spread his wings wide, trying to seem more menacing than he actually was. An officer emerged from the fumes, and approached the two pegasi. Despite the chaos around him, the screams and shouts, the military agent seemed awfully calm, and peaceful. His eyes showed no signs of worry, and he even sported a faint grin. This vision made Velvet's blood boil.

"Identify yourselves !" ordonned the winged soldier.

"Velvet Swirl, worker at the weather report committee of Cloudsdale," answered Velvet, trying to hide his shaky breath. "This is Lightning Dust, an aerobatic apprentice. We've got no weapons, we're completely unnarmed !"

"Ah, that's good, that's good... But, you see, i'm currently facing a serious issue."

The winged soldier started pacing around the pair of pegasi, and Velvet stood still. He stared at the two of them, with a mocking look painted on his ugly face.

"We have orders to raid this city and take out all the traitors we find. Thing is, I have no clue who is a traitor, or who is innocent. So, I have found quite the elegant solution..."

Velvet was preparing himself for the impact. He knew it was coming. He contracted his muscles, ready to protect his partner.

"I'll just assume everypony that I come across is a traitor to Equestria."

In a sprint, the soldier plunged on Velvet, but he quickly dodged. Both of them dashed into the crimson sky, and Velvet's opponent quickly pulled out a knife, with which he plunged at the pegasus. He tried to block the attack, but could only deflect the blade which planted itself in his shoulder. Velvet wanted to cry out in pain, but he didn't. He didn't want Lightning to hear him like this. He would be strong, for her. The soldier grabbed Velvet by one leg, and went to stab him again. Velvet tried to dodge, but the officer's grip was too strong, and he gasped at the pain of the blade penetrating his flesh. He wasn't a fighter, let alone a good acrobat. There was no way he was going to win or escape this fight.

Lightning Dust observed the battle, powerless. She couldn't feel her legs anymore, and her heart pounded so hard she felt it was about to rip out of her chest. She tried to call out for her partner's name, but she couldn't. All she could do was watch. And she watched, as the soldier struck him again, in the muzzle, and again, knocking the pegasus's head back. And in a terrifying cracking sound, she heard his neck snap. Then, she saw the blood splatter down, like a rainfall, as the officer crushed Velvet's head between his hooves. Lightning Dust eyes widened, and in a moment of folly, she screamed and rushed into the air, to the soldier. She didn't even look at her partner's body as it fell on the ground ; instead, she focused on her target.

The flying mare was closing in at a speed that could kill her on impact, but she didn't betray the slightest hesitation in her eyes. She was going straight ahead, determined. She crashed into the officer's body, and headbutted him with all her might, breaking his nose in an awful cracking sound. Before he could even react, Lightning Dust grabbed his throat with one hoof, and restrained his armed member with the other. He was trapped, and before long, he breathed his last breath in a gurgle. Lightning dropped him. But she didn't look down. She didn't want to see Velvet's body, mangled and torn apart. She refused to remember him like this. Instead, she decided to do the right thing, what he would've wanted her to do ; she was going to save everypony.

Lightnig was rushing into every soldier she came across, unafraid, making them taste their own blood as they choked under her might. Lightning Dust turned her head to see a civilian pegasus falling into a spin, blood coming out of its bashed head. She looked away, and focused on her descent, his instinct open to whatever information her senses were throwing at her. The change in pressure, the direction of the wind, the temperature, her pegasus blood was boiling. And her anger was boiling too. She was a pegasus. And she was going to exterminate everyone that came in her way.

***

Thunderlane had hid himself into a corner. Incontrollably shaking, he desperately tried to catch his breath, praying that no pony would happen to stumble into him. He was frozen in place, sitting in a ball, rocking himself back and forth. In front of him, a body. Dead. A death that he had caused. But not a citizen, no. Thunderlane didn't harm any that day, he couldn't bring himself to do it. No, a fellow comrade. Blaze.

He panicked. He stabbed her, when she confonted him about his pasiveness in the battle. Asked him to prove to her he wasn't a traitor. But he couldn't do it. So he stabbed her, again, and again, and again, until she was nothing more than a corpse. She was his colleague, his friend, his comrade. And he had killed her. Thunderlane wanted to burry his head in his hooves, but the sight of Blaze's blood made him puke.

Something passed in front of him. Thunderlane widened his eyes ; a flash ? An explosion ? No, a thunderbolt streak, just like he had seen Rainbow Dash do. But it was turquoise and gold. Thunderlane got up, and without even thinking, started following the streak. It was a pegasus mare, rushing on his fellow comrades, throwing herself onto them like nothing mattered. As he saw her fighting for her life, Thunderlane had a revelation. He didn't have to murder innocents, he didn't have to follow a Tyrant's orders. He had to follow his heart, his head. And his head was screaming at him to help the people of this city, of his city. Thunderlane ripped off his uniform.

***
The smoke had disappeared and the fire had gone out. As the dust cleared out, the sea of corpses became visible to the survivors. But, contrary to the armie's plans, the survivors were not few. They were many, and the cadavers lying on the floor sported military uniforms. And looking down at them, was Lightning Dust. Other pegasi were flying around her, blood on their hooves and cuts on their faces. They had been beat, but not beaten. They won. This raid was a failure, and the survivors were now turning to the mare that had organized the resistance, the pegasus that had avenged her partner. They all turned to Lightning Dust.

"What are wo to do now ?"

"The army will come back for us." claimed Lightning Dust. "If we stay here, we'll be exterminated."

"But... We have nowhere to go. There's not a place in Equestria that is safe now."

Lightning Dust was speechless, as she looked into the pained, tired eyes of her fellow comrades. They looked dreadful, the shimmer in their eyes had disappeared, and all that was left was a dead stare, longing for safety. But Lighting Dust couldn't help those pegasi. Truth was, she couldn't help anyone. She had fought because she couldn't think of anything else to do, and never even expected a victory. But now, the victory had happened, and they had to do something. She had to do something, anything... Suddenly, her eyes crossed Thunderlane's. In the end, he had helped the city. He had helped them. And there was hope shimmering in his eyes, a hope that inspired Lightning Dust to finally speak up.

"Everypony ! We have all witnessed the horros of the Tyrant's, Twilight Sparkle, regime's. We will not be the victims of this impostor anymore ! She's not our princess, she never will be, and we will not bow down to someone who uses violence as discipline. We are pegasi ! We don't take order from anyone but those we respect and that respect us ! We are not puppets you can play around with, victims you can dispose off ! We are the fire, the strength, the heart of Equestria ! And we will not let the Tyrant turn this place to dust !"

The pegasi shouted in agreement. Lightning Dust softly smiled.

"We will not find shelter in Equestria. However, we know that somewhere, is hidden our true leader, the only one that tried to protect us from Sparkle's madness, our sun princess, the Princess Celestia ! She has not abandoned us. She'll come to our aid, I know it. She's our leader. Our princess. Equestria isn't safe anymore, but we know where she has gone. We know the Crystal Empire will provide us shelter, just like they have provided her shelter. Everypony...
We, the pegasi of Equestria, will fight and take this land back !
We are the wings of hope and freedom !
We... Are the Airborns !"

Author's Note

I had this idea of making small chapters between the bigger ones, re telling some important events of the war to add better context. I hope you liked it.
Thank you for reading this chapter. As always ; english isn't my first language, so do tell me if there are any mistakes I can fix, i'll gladly take any advice. Hope you enjoyed your read !

Chapter 04 : The ugly underbelly

Chapter 04 : The ugly underbelly

Spitfire was strapped to a cold, iron table, tilted to the floor so she could see the front door. Her breathing was hoarse and heavy, her head lowered down. She had lost the strength to scream a few hours ago already, but the agony she felt in the entirety of her body didn't disappear. Everything hurt, absolutely everything, a pain so unbearable the pegasus couldn't even think about anything else but her suffering.

If her eyes hadn't dried down so much from being taped open, the mare would be crying. Instead, her body was being shaken by tearless sobs, each movement making her hurt a little bit more. For the first time in her life, Spitfire wished she was dead. She wished she hadn't been so careless. How would she ever face her commander, after being captured in such a pitiful way, and tortured beyond recognition ? Would she ever fly again ? Spitfire tried to swallow her saliva, but her throat was as dry as it was tight. She choked, and coughed, spitting blood on the floor. Pathetic. In this moment, she felt no better than a worm.

The door opened, interrupting her thoughts. A pink pony, sporting a black hood and uniform, walked in. Spitfire squinted, desperately trying to peek under her captor's hood. She didn't recognize this pony ; another executioner ? Spitfire almost smiled to herself. Even though she had been tortured, beaten, cut and abused, no one had managed to get any information out of her. They probably sent their "best" executioner, she thought. But her mind was stronger than her body. She would not give in.

"Hello," calmly greeted the stranger. "I have heard from my subordinates you have been quite difficult to work with."

Spitfire let out a pained chuckle. Under her hood, she could see the unknown mare smile a bit.

"Open your mouth."

The pegasus tried to clench her jaw, but the pony's powerful fist opened it wide. Spitfire felt the hoof reaching down her throat, and she gurgled as she fought the need to throw up. The pony retracted her hoof, closing shut Spitfire's mouth, now choking on her own vomit. She coughed an awful mixture of blood, puke and an unidentified liquid. What did she make her swallow ? Spitfire's shaking got even stronger, but the pain seemed to disappear a little bit, then some more, until all she felt was numbness. The pegasus immediatly felt a wave of relief and peace as she could finally breathe again without hurting herself. She tried to clear her throat.

"Wha... What was that ?" she asked in a broken, weakened voice.

"A painkiller. A very strong one."

"Why ?"

The pink mare didn't answer, and reached for the metal table where a bunch of tools sat upon. Spitfire became even more unnerved at the sight of the numerous sharp instruments, that she feared would soon cut into her. But she was strong, stronger than anypony in the world. She was Spitfire, for fuck's sake. She wouldn't be defeated, ever. The pony started to toy with a large, cutting knife, then gently pressed it into her prisoner's cheek. Spitfire felt the cold of the blade, but nothing more than that. The pony put the blade back, smiling.

"See ? It's pretty efficient. No pain, no hurt. Alright, i'll ask you. What are the codes of the communication channels of Canterlot ?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," growled Spitfire.

"Come on now, don't play with me. This is a game i'll win. You're the Wings of Dusks's sergeant, you're involved in every operations and every missions. I'm sure you've heard whispers, here and there. I'll ask again : What are the codes ?"

"Fuck you," spat out the yellow pegasus.

Oh, she was going to regret that, she knew it already. The hooded mare walked behind Spitfire, and came out with a large mirror. Spitfire was now becoming more and more distressed ; what was happening ? The pony placed the mirror directly in front of the pegasus. The yellow mare observed herself, disturbed by what she saw. Her right wing, that had been badly damaged in the fight, looked absolutely awful, covered in blood and oozing with pus. She had cuts everywhere, and her face was so battered, she wasn't sure she'd ever look like herself again. The mare took off her hood, as she stared into her victim's eyes. Her stare was cold, merciless and unfeeling, and her blue eyes were clouded by a veil of darkness. Her mane was flat, a dusty, ugly pink, framing her hollow face. There was nothing warm about her, absolutely nothing. It was all tenebrosity.

"Ponies don't understand the art of torture," started to explain the pink mare, grabbing a saw, examining its sharpness. "They think you just have to cut and slice, like a cake. But you don't make anyone talk like that. How can you talk when you're blinded by agony ? No, to torture someone well, you have to use your imagination. I'm pretty good at imagining nice, creative games. Here, i'll show you."

Spitfire tried to break free of her restraints as the mare slowly approached her, but it was no use. The executioner positioned herself behind her, letting the pegasus stare into the mirror, her eyes widening in fear. Then, she felt it. The penetrating cold of the blade. She was too afraid to look, but she couldn't help herself. She screamed.

Her right wing was being cut off, slowly, and she was seeing everything. The bones cracking under the blade, the flesh being torn off, the muscles coming apart. Spitfire convulsed, shouting her lungs out, but she couldn't escape the sight of her appendice being sawed off. Her eyes were taped wide open. She screeched as the wing was now pitifully hanging onto her back by a thread of muscle, dangling. Because she couldn't feel the pain, all Spitfire could do was stare into her terrible reflection, screaming and sobbing. Finally, her wing fell off, in a splat of blood. Spitfire gasped and bawled.

"Tell me, Spitfire," softly asked the mare. "What are the codes of the communication channels of Canterlot ?"

"I-I can't, I ca, I..."

"Come on. Do you want me to cut the other wing ? Do you want me to make you see your own stomach ripped open, in front of your eyes ? Do you want to see the blood gushing out of your throat ?"

"No, ple-please," cried out Spitfire.

"It felt good, ripping those ponies apart on the battlefield. But now that you have to see yourself getting gutted, you can't stand it. Isn't it funny ? And here's the kicker : you'll never fly again. You're not a Wonderbolt, a sergeant, or even a pegasus anymore. You're nothing now."

Tears were rolling down Spitfire's hollow cheeks. Her heart was smashed by the realisation that her captor was right. She was a mutilated mess, barely a pony anymore. What did it matter now, protecting those secrets that had taken away from her her greatest pride, her wings ? What more did she have to lose ?

"The painkiller won't last forever. Loosing one wing feels better than loosing two."

Spitfire let out a sob. She was weak. She was unable to do anything, she was useless.

"Fine. I'll keep going, then."

Under Manehattan's foundations, a blood curdling scream resonated.

***

Pinkamena Diane Pie looked at herself in the mirror, taking off her blood soaken uniform. Spitfire had been a tough pony to crack, but no one was unbreakable. At least, not in Diane's hooves. She went by this name now, she thought it suited her better. She carefully slipped into another uniform, taking some time to adjust it properly to her body. She liked to look polished, put together. She was a leader. She had real responsibilites now, and she needed to look the part. She was Diane, commander of the Lunar Agents.

"Ma'am," said Apple Bloom, entering her commander's room. "The princesses are awaiting."

Without saying a word, Diane followed her subordinate outside her room. Apple Bloom didn't like Manehattan, and those lifeless skyscrapers. She hated taking all those stairs to go to one room then another, getting lost in those endlesses corridors of darkness. She sometimes found herself thinking of her old home, the farm, her Sweet Apple Acres. But she always composed herself quickly ; an efficient Lunar Agent couldn't think about the past to be efficient. Her commander had taught her that.

"Welcome," greeted Celestia, as Diane entered the conference room. "Please, take a seat, commander."

Diane nodded, an sat besides Applejack, who looked at her with a mix of shock and pain. She hadn't seen Pinkie in... No, she couldn't even remember the last time she saw Pinkie, let alone spoke to her. Was this pony really her friend, the Element of Laughter ? She looked dreadful. Well, Applejack couldn't really judge her appearence, considering most ponies looked at her as if she was a monster, her features having hardened with the war, her eyes becoming smaller and madder with time. But Pinkie... She wasn't even Pinkie anymore. This was someone else entirely.

"Now that everypony's here, we can begin," said the solar princess.

At the table sat AJ, Diane, both alicorn princesses, and the commanders of the earth and air division of the Celestial army. Lightning Dust, esteemed leader of the "Airborns", the pegasi army of the Sun, had many achievments under her belt, that had gained her the trust and respect of her elders and fellow soldiers. Thanks to her, they had managed to rescue many pegasi from Cloudsdale when Equestria was suffering from the sanguinary raids of Twilight's army. Rallying them to Celestia's cause, they were the first squad she put together, also helped by the now second in hand of Lightning, former Wonderbolt Thunderlane, that had escaped the military as he saw his now ex-teammates slip into the madness of the war.

Lightning Dust was sometimes seen as arrogant, but her peers knew of her incredible abilities, and her loyalty to her princess made her an excellent leader. But even more devoted to the cause and to the solar regent was Arctic Justice, an icy blue unicorn, devoted leader of the earth army. Sitting right next to Celestia, he was also her advisor, confidante, and most trusted soldier. Arctic took great pride in this, and often lost himself in his adoration of the sun princess, but his strategic plans and incredible abality to adapt to even the most extreme situations made him an essential element to the army.

"We didn't originally plan to rescue Lady Rarity," explained Celestia, to Applejack, that had little knowledge of the operation. "But as we captured Spitfire, who is highly placed in the enemy's army, we saw the opportunity arise. Diane, please, continue."

Diane cleared her throat, and explained in a flat, monotonous tone ;

"After a few hours of interrogation, the prisoner has given us some very useful information that will allow us to organize the rescue of the Element of Generosity. First, she confirmed to us that the underground alleys underneath Canterlot had been sealed, but not buried, so still accessible. Then, she told us about the main areas of surveillance inside the castle, so our undercover spy is able to escort the Element outside of her room and then to the underground safely. And lastly, more important, she told us the codes to the communication channels of the castle's inside guard.

"How did'ya manage to make her talk ?" asked AJ, raising an eyebrow. "I thought she's the resisting type."

"She was," corrected Diane, not an ounce of emotion showing in her voice. "But we have our ways."

"What kind of ways ?" insisted Applejack.

"Come on now, commander Applejack," reassured Arctic Justice. "I'm sure the Lunar Agents know what they're doing... And we should let them do it without interfering. What's important is the information we now possess."

Cadance shaked her head in disagreement, looking visibly upset.

"You're right," agreed Celestia. "Our army is still too weak and lacks influence in other areas of Equestria to invade Canterlot now. But if we launch a small strike like this, showing that we are not afraid to come to the aid of the imprisoned citizens like Lady Rarity, we will gain the heart of Equestria's citizens, showing that we didn't come back to destroy, but to help. Too many ponies still believe in the lies that the Tyrant has spread about me... It's time to show the country the truth. We can't regain Canterlot if we don't regain the people's trust."

"But won't the enemy become more mefiant and may try to shield the city even more in the future, making us unable to launch a bigger strike later ?" asked Lightning Dust.

"That's also a worry of mine," agreed Thunderlane. "They may also try to send all their forces to us in an effort to counter-attack. Is this rescue mission really worth it ?"

"If it's for Rarity, it's worth it," stated Applejack, sure of herself.

"Yes," nodded Celestia. "We need the support of another Element. And I hope that this will shake them enough that they'll concentrate all their strength into reinforcing the castle, giving us time to regroup the army, and directly march into Canterlot."

"You want to march into the city ?" asked Cadance, surprised. "But... Is it really wise ? Shouldn't we wait to seize more cities ?"

"No, our Princess is right," calmly claimed Arctic. "We'll only get this opportunity one. Once we rescue Lady Rarity, the citizens will see by themselves that we are the ones in the right, and they'll come to us by themselves. We won't need to occupy the cities and convince them."

Applejack was lost in her thoughts. This plan seemed too idealistic for her, but then again, she had learned to prepare herself for the worst. Could this really be possible ? Could they really march onto Canterlot, in less than a few months ? She wanted to believe it, badly, but doubt seized her mind. Twilight had become so ruthless that she couldn't be sure of anything. She wasn't even certain that they wouldn't all be executed the moment they stepped hoof inside Canterlot's underground. But if she had the chance to kick her hoof into her old friend's face... She wasn't going to miss it.

"So, what will be the specifics of the mission ?" asked the orange pony.

Celestia glanced at Diane, inviting her to speak. AJ's heart sank when her former friend spoke with that dull and dry voice she didn't recognize.

"Marching straight to Canterlot while staying hidden should take us four to five days, depending on the patrols of the enemy's sentinels. We'll be hidden by the mountains, and the hidden entrance to the underground should be inside on of the caves there, it'll be marked by a sign planted by one of our agents. Navigating under Canterlot then to the castle shouldn't take more than a day, if we go fast. If the rescue go as planned, Lady Rarity should be extracted in less than an hour, and we'll then travel in the caves as fast as we can. It's risqué, but possible. Our inside agent has assured us that they'd be able to extract Lady Rarity without the guards doubting anything."

"It's best that you don't go with too many agents," said Lightning Dust. "Will there be a need for a small troop of Airborns to fly you out ?"

"No," claimed Diane, cold as ever. "For the same reason we'll go there marching. This mission needs to be as discrete as possible. Pegasi would surely be seen by sentinels."

"Are you implying that my pegasi aren't..."

"I'm not implying anything," dryly cut Diane, "commander."

"We'll also change headquarters," announced Cadance. "Manehattan has become an unsafe place. Thankfully, Shining Armor has managed to contact some of our allies in Fillydelphia, and the crystal troops are already on their way there. As soon as your team will be moving out, the Celestial army will be on their way to Fillydelphia. Only a small garrison will stay there to guard the city. That way, if Twilight decides to strike us, she'll find the city mostly deserted."

"Who exactly will be part of the rescue team ?" asked Arctic.

"A few of my most trusted agents," answered Diane. "The commander's Applejack special squad, minus Bon Bon. In her... state, she would be a burden to us."

Applejack wanted to clap back, but was shut down by Lightning Dust.

"That's it ?" the pegasus said.

"We don't need more," stated the pink mare. "It's already enough. And if that's okay with the commander Applejack, we'll be leaving in a few hours, as soon as everyone's ready. My team is already prepared."

A few hours ? They really didn't waste no time. As the princesses talked strategy for the relocalization of the army, AJ decided to take her leave. Discreetly, she kicked Diane's shoulder, quietly asking her to walk with her a bit. Without saying a word, the two mares left, and instead of walking into the city, the pink mare planted herself in the building's entry, refusing to go further.

"I hope this won't take long," said Diane. "I still have some preparations to make. What do you want from me ?"

"C'mon, Pinkie, we haven't talked in..."

"Diane."

"Alright, Diane, I just wanted to hear a bit from you, y'know ? I've, uh... Missed ya. You look... different, too."

"I'm doing fine. Now, if that was all..."

"Hey, wait, Pinkie, I..."

AJ sighed. Did she ever really know this pony ? Right now, it just felt like she was talking to a complete stranger, and the cold, dead stare that Pinkie was giving her sent an unpleasent, creeping feeling of dread inside her body. Applejack tried to approach her friend, but Pinkie instantly stepped back, as if disgusted with the pony in front of her. The orange mare scoffed.

"What now ? Now that you torture ponies, you're afraid to approach me ? I don't judge ya, Pinkie... Diane. We've all done some fucked up shit to survive."

"I'm not afraid," replied Diane, her tone unchanging. "I simply wish for you to understand that i'm not the mare you once knew. You have to let go of the past, Applejack. Ghosts won't change the things that have happened. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

And with that, Diane left. Years of not seeing each other, not talking to the other, getting scarred from the war, and not even a proper hello ? Or a goodbye ? Just coldness, and disdain. Applejack lowered her head. That was what was left of the Elements of Harmony ; one had become a tyrant, and another her loyal executioner. The laughter had turned to darkness and honesty had been replaced with hypocrisy. Rarity was locked up, and Fluttershy, well... She stayed in the Crystal Empire, refusing to face the truth about what had happened to the world. Maybe it was best like this. AJ couldn't imagine how she would react if she saw Pinkie like this. Pinkie... Or Diane, now.

***

Celestia and Cadance were now alone in the conference room. Celestia was writing, but she could see her niece pacing around the room, looking troubled and frustrated. The solar regent knew something was wrong, but she also knew that she wouldn't be able to appease Cadance's heart.

"What was that about ?" finally asked Cadance, her tone betraying her rising anger.

"What was what about ?"

"The thing about Diane Pie's prisoner. How did she make her reveal those classified informations ?"

Celestia sighed. Obviously, those questions were rethorical, but Cadance wanted to hear it from her aunt's own mouth. She got up, and tried to put her hoof on her niece's shoulder, but Cadance stepped back, glaring at the sun princess.

"This is war, Cadance. It's ugly, dark, and ruthless. And sometimes, to do the right thing, we need to do..."

"I'm not a filly," cut Cadance. "Just say it."

"Sometimes, we have to resort to... Violence, to get what we want from some people. You have to understand, this information will help us in our quest to..."

"Violence ? You mean straight up evil ! I can't even fathom what this agent of yours must have done to this mare to get this out of her. Just because we're at war, doesn't mean we have to lose what makes us ponies ! Are we really better than the enemy, if we resort to the same cruel methods ? Aren't we the vilains for torturing ponies that happened to be in the opposite side of the war ?"

"It is not the same !" blurted out Celestia, startling the pink alicorn. "We are doing this for the sake of Equestria, for the common good ! I do not care if I have to turn myself into a monster, if that means my subjects are safe and protected. I will do everything for this country, do you hear me ? Absolutely everything !

Shaken by her own anger, Celestia stepped back, panting. Cadance was looking at her, speechless.

"I cannot spend my time regretting my actions and mourning the innocents that have suffered from it," breathed out the sun princess in sorrow. "I have people to protect. And whilst Twilight sits on the throne, they can never be safe. I have to protect those I haven't lost yet, and if I have to do it by using fire and blood, then so be it. This madness will only stop if I keep going, so I won't stop. I can't. I owe it to everypony."

The sun princess looked down, ashamed. She felt pathetic. All she ever wanted was to stop this craziness, but all that she had managed to do was feed into it. Add more fuel to the flames. Swallowing her tears, Celestia faced away from Cadance, who stood still, not knowing how to react. The two alicorns stayed silent.

***

Golden Shield was walking through the castle's corridor, looking around, for someone. He smiled at every pony he passed, and saluted each and every guard he saw. The white stallion was loved by everypony in Canterlot ; charming, clever and a great strategist, he was considered by many to be the one of the few highest-ranking officer of Equestria most deserving of his titles and medals. He wasn't jaded or haughty like Fleur de Lys, and not a ruthless, cunning killer like Rainbow Dash. He led his troops with humility and didn't neglect his soldiers, he ate the same food as them and shared tents with them. He was a simple pony. At least, that's what he liked people to think.

You can't win a war without being appreciated by the people. And even though he first joined the Tyrant's ranks because of their power outmatching the former regent's forces by far, he had to recognize that his Princess didn't do the best job at bein liked by her people. After all, it wasn't her aim. Golden Shield always saw through Twilight ; he knew Celestia wouldn't kill her sister, and he knew that Twilight's transformation wasn't due to her mentor's attacks. No, Twilight had done it all herself, and she didn't want to reign over her subjects to protect them. She wanted to rule and own them. She wanted to have total control over Equestria, to hold her people's obediance with chains, and extend her power even farther than this small country. Golden Shield knew this, because he was the same. He just hid it better.

A simple stallion of the west of Equestria had managed to become a decorated war commander, all because of his wit and charisma. But Golden Shield actually wasn't that great strategist everypony made him out to be, he just had enough strength of character to seem like he was in total control of everything. Raised in a poor village in the west, he never received a proper education. He knew things about strategy, of course, and he was more clever than the majority of Canterlot's tacticians ; the army would not have been as successful if he didn't. But he knew that, when it came down to it, their enemy had better tacticians that they did. He had heard of them. So, Golden Shield relied on his charm and pleasantness, something that his foes didn't possess ; after all, how can you charm a country if you don't even live within it ?

"Commander !"

A pegasus had excitedly squeeled as he passed in front of her. Golden Shield stopped in his tracks, and turned to the pony, gently smiling to her.

"Ah, Scootaloo, our new guard," he proudly said. "The pegasi commander had specifically asked for you to be assigned to the castle, she must be very proud of you, dear girl."

Scootaloo smiled from ear to ear. As she grew, she soon understood that her wings wouldn't ; she'd never be able to fly. But at the beginning of the war, the young pegasus had promised her mentor and friend Rainbow Dash that she would do everything to be like her, and eventually protect her. And now, she was the castle's guard new recruit ; ah, Rainbow Dash couldn't be prouder. Golden Shield smirked. Actually, he was the one who asked for her to serve in the castle, and the pegasus commander argued against it. But the stallion knew a naive youngster such as Scootaloo could easily become a pawn in his schemes.

"Thank you, sir," happily replied Scootaloo. "I've fetched the servant you had asked me to find."

"Great job. Ask her to join me in my office."

Golden Shield watched as the newly appointed guard cheerily walked away, and he laughed to himself. Too easy. Sporting a peaceful and relaxed expression, the commander went into his room, leaving the door wide open for the servant to come in. Shield sat in his comfortable chair, and sighed of hapiness. How he wished he wouldn't need to leave the castle for a while, the luxury and calm of Canterlot clearly being more suited for him than the noise and the filth of the battlefield.

"You've asked for me, sir ?"

Golden Shield raised his head. There she was. Lemonade Haze stood by the door, her mane covering half of her face. By a gesture of his hoof, the commander invited the pegasus to enter and close the door. Shyly, she obliged, and the stallion made her sat in front of him, at his desk.

"Coffee ?"

"No thank you, sir."

"Are you sure ? I've heard from my soldiers my brew is quite fine."

Haze timidly smiled, and politely refused a second time.

"Alright, suit yourself," Golden chuckled.

Golden Shield crossed his legs on the chair, trying to think very carefully about what his next words would be. The blushing pegasus didn't seem too intelligent, but then again, he couldn't judge a book by its cover. After all, she was the only one in six years that had successfully managed to get close to Lady Rarity, and that was an achievment in itself. Before she came into the Lady's service, Rarity refused to step out of her room. She refused meals and care, and it was a chore to manage to make her feed herself. The goal was to keep her alive, imprisoned, but alive and well.

But when Lemonade Haze arrived, it all changed. The young pegasus took her time to adjust to Rarity's needs, and never pushed her. She was rather clumsy herself, and the unicorn found it terribly endearing. She didn't seem like a robot at the orders of the princess ; she seemed like a normal, timid mare. And she reminded her of an old friend. It was the opportunity that Golden Shield had been waiting for.

"The Princess has asked me to task you with a secret mission, one that only she and I know of," explained Golden in a serious tone. "You are the only one fit for it."

"Me ?" replied Haze, surprised. "I'm sorry sir, you must know i'm not the most... capable servant in this castle. I often make mistaked, I have trouble expressing myself, I even broke fine tableware last time, I..."

"It's quite alright, Haze," reassuringly replied the commander. "We need you because of your closeness with Lady Rarity. You've grown quite close to her, yes ?"

Lemonade Haze nodded.

"And you wish the best for her, as you know she is a good mare, and shouldn't be imprisoned like she is now. I know this isn't the kind of things you say out loud, but it's the truth ; our lady doesn't deserve this."

Haze nodded again. Golden Shield smiled. He searched through the many papers and various objects scattered on his desk, and finally, he pulled out a small glass bottle, containing a shimmering purple liquid. Lemonade Haze's eyes widened, and she curiously inspected the object, amazed by the delicacy of the silver engravings on the glass. She approached her hoof, and Golden carefully handed it to her.

"This is a special potion, that our Princess has put a lot of time, effort, and magic into making. This liquid is infused with a spell, that her Majesty specially did for Lady Rarity. You see, the Princess is very saddened by our Lady's refusal of cooperation. But she knows she can't keep her dear friend imprisoned for the rest of her days. So, she has come up with a solution."

Lemonade Haze tried to make it seem like she listened attentively, but her gaze was captivated by the strange beauty of the magic liquid. Golden Shield didn't really mind, it actually made his job easier. He knew that his lie wasn't that good, but for a low class servant, impressed by little things like a purple liquid with added glitter, it would be enough.

"Put three drops of this in Lady Rarity's tea, every time you fetch her a cup. For two weeks. You'll soon see the change in her : she'll be more relaxed, peaceful, and open to conversations. When the bottle will be finished, she'll be ready to accept the Princess into her life again, and she'll finally be able to move on from the last six years. Does that sound good to you, Haze ? Do you think this is possible for you to accomplish ?"

Haze excitedly nodded. Golden got up, and approached the pegasus, leaning towards her hear to whisper.

"I expect great things from you, Haze. You'll be duly rewarded."

Golden Shield gently caressed her face.

"You're free to go."

Lemonade Haze wished him well and thanked him, and left the office. Golden Shiel sighed a great breath of relief, and sat back at his desk, in a relaxed position. Who knew that giving Rarity's servant a slow acting poison to swiftly assasinate her would be this easy ? He never would've guessed it. He never would've even imagined trying to murder the Element of Genereosity, but there he was. The war had been going on for too long ; six years of slaughter was enough.

The country was poor, and soon enough, there would be no more citizens left to rule. Golden Shield wanted change, but how could any change happen if all the people got exterminated in the war ? There were other fights to be led, in the zebra territory, or the griffins. They couldn't just stop there. So, the war needed to be over, quicker. Twilight needed to strike strongly, and what better excuse than the assasination of her friend ? She would find her dear old friend, murdered, by what she would assume was the enemy. She would unleash her wrath on her foes, and Celestia and her pitiful revolution would be crushed and be nothing more than a bad dream. There needed to be action. Twilight woulnd't be that mad they killed Rarity, really, but more that they did it right under her nose. That would drive her mad.

"I saw you."

A voice startled Golden Shield. At the entrance of his chamber, a blue pegasus, leaning on the door, crossing her front legs.

"Commander Dash !" greeted the stallion, getting up to shake her hoof. She didn't move an inch. "To what do I owe this pleasure ?"

"I saw you, with Scootaloo." Rainbow's voice was stern and as cold as ice.

"Scootaloo ?" Golden raised an eyebrow. "Ah, that young guard ? Yes, I happened to greet her on my way there. She is quite a friendly and polite pony, she must have been raised well."

He smirked. Rainbow Dash approached him, and put her hoof on his chest, frowning. Her pink eyes were shimmering with anger.

"Don't you ever dare touch her, or talk to her again. Don't come near her. I won't let her be poisoned by your words. I know what you truly are, Shield, and I don't trust you. So don't give me a reason to slit your throat while you sleep."

Golden Shield chuckled, not feeling threatened at all. He grabbed Rainbow's hoof.

"My, my, you shouldn't snap at ponies like that, commander. Seeing you succumb to your emotions this easily, an outsider may think you're not fit to lead any army."

Rainbow violently snapped her hoof out of Golden's tight grip. She didn't say a word, but her stare said it all. She stepped back, and the stallion closed the door on her nose. The pegasus always had been a thorn in his hoof, but he couldn't care less. She was a washed-up hero, a tragic exemple of how war scarred even the best of us into becoming monsters. But she was no threat. No one was a threat to Golden Shield, he was confident in that. Not even Twilight Sparkle.

Without anypony even knowing, he'd be the savior of Equestria. The country needed to fall to get back up again.

Author's Note

Hi ! Thank you for reading this chapter. As always ; english isn't my first language, so do tell me if there are any mistakes I can fix, i'll gladly take any advice.

Things are finaly moving into action, and i'm excited. Hope you are too and we'll tag along for the ride (lol). Hope you enjoyed your read ! Do tell me if you have any predictions or theories for the rest of the story, i'd love to read it.

Chapter 05.5 : The assasination of the Commander

Chapter 05.5 : The assasination of the Commander

Third year of the war.
The solar forces hadn't been sucessful in breaking into the country, and were hidden in the Crystal Empire, launching small operations in Equestria, in hope of enrolling more rebels, and shaking the foundations of the country with guerillas. But the Tyrant was confident, and the raids had proven to be succesfull : no one dared openly opose her. She ruled upon lambs and sheeps, basking in their obediance. There were food shortages all around the country, and now, they all depended on her. What was Celestia going to do ? Grow crops ? No. Twilight was their only savior.

But some ponies wanted things to change, from the inside. No need for them to rebel themselves ; they believed even more could be achieved when climbing the ranks of the Tyrant's army. One of those ponies was a young stallion, who had enrolled at the beginning of the war. A stallion coming from one of the poorest areas of Equestria, in a small village from the west, on top of the mountains. And this would be the night he'd rise.

With the fall of the Commander Dare, came the rise of Golden Shield.
This was the assasination that would turn the tide in the war.

***

The poise, the elegance, the stance, the charisma, all characteristics of what made the high ranking officers of Canterlot what they were, stars shining in Equestria's sky, their simmering medals illuminating their perfectly trimmed deep purple military uniforms. The protectors of the Princess, the defenders of the innocent people.
Tonight, those stars were shining bright in Canterlot for a reason. They had recently defeated the solar forces in the East, and they celebrated. The third year of the war had just begun, and for the executives, it was the beginning of a great era. The fallen princess was hiding in the Crystal Empire, and the few guerillas she tried to lead towards success, always seemed to fail. The Dusk forces had the upper hoof, it had become very clear, so they felt they had not much to worry about. It would only be a matter of time before they'd completely anihilate Celestia and her traitors of followers.

They saw Celestia as weak, a failing godess who murdered her own sister when she saw that her power was crumbling. She wasn't able to defeat Nightmare Moon, Discord, or the changelings. Twilight did. So it was only natural that the soldiers chose her ranks, she was strong, and had plans of expanding Equestria to finally assert dominance over the races that had threatened Equestria over the centuries. Celestia had been passive on the throne, choosing to never involve herself in conflicts. And how did that work out for Equestria ? Always on the brink of the war with the griffins, estranged to the zebra, and seen as weak by everypony in the neighboring regions. Equestria needed change, it needed power. And Twilight was their new beacon of light, leading the way into the war against the mad fallen princess, the traitor who had slain Luna, the coward who fled her own kingdom.

And tonight, all the most important noble ponies of Canterlot were gathered in the grand hall, dining and drinking to their desire, thanks to Twilight Sparkle. Commanders, sergeants, politicans, models and actors, laywers, anypony who was important was there. It was the night of the year. The Princess hadn't joined the party ; of course, she was very busy, it was understandable, and the politicans played their games well enough without her. Games that the Commander Dare did not participate in.

"Son," said the large, brown stallion to his subordinate, "I'm glad that the war'll soon be over so I can stop attending those pointless parties."

The Commander was drinking some wine, away from the other ponies, in a corner of the room. In front of him, his young sergeant, that the Commander had picked himself, a young soldier that he had seen on the battlefield and had taken an interest into. The sergeant smiled.

"Ah, I mean, you're probably enjoying this soirée," chuckled Dare. "You didn't have those kind of events in your village, eh ?"

"No sir," responded Golden Shield, his sergeant.

"Well, you don't have to stick around with me. You're young, go have fun, drink with some of these models and actresses. Thell them a bunch of stories about the battlefield and they'll think of you as some sort of war hero, and they'll be all over you."

"No thank you sir, I actually rather enjoy your company."

The Commander smiled.

"You're making this country proud, Shield, fighting for it. Soon enough, we'll end the war, and everything will go back to the way it was."

Golden Shield smiled at him.
The way it was ? No thanks. The sergeant wanted change. He had seen poverty, he had experienced it. He knew the feeling of hunger, tearing your insides apart. He knew what it was like to see sick, malnourished ponies die just because they couldn't afford medicine. He knew that, if you were born poor, you'd stay poor. You were nothing, no one, and you'd die being nopony.

The Commander was a good person, who fought because it was the right thing to do ; avenging the Lunar Princess, defeating the traitor coward that was Celestia, and bring peace to Equestria again, that were his goals, goals of a stallion who had always followed his instincts, trusting himself to do the right thing. But he was born in Canterlot, and even though he had seen the horrors of the battlefield, he thought that the end of the war would stop these atrocities. But those acts of barbary, and savagery, were not products of the war. It came from desperation, and Shield knew that simply ending the conflict wouldn't stop the cruelty of life. Evil had taken root in Equestria, deep in its core. The war couldn't stop now, the Tyrant needed to release her rage and fury into the world first. Equestria didn't need to go back to the way it was.

Equestria needed to burn, to rise from its ashes. It needed to die and be reborn again.

***

Shadow Puppet drank from his thermos, before starting to munch on a twig of grass. He wished he could light a cigarette, badly. But even the tiniest bit of smoke could get him spotted, and he wasn't about to risk it all for a cig. It was warm, and if there had been a moon, it would've been a beautiful night to stargaze. But he had a job to do.

The dark stallion had managed to secure himself a discreet spot in the mountain, with a clear view on the castle. He looked down through his binoculars and he saw only a blur at first, but he adjusted the focus. Finally, the picture took shape. The grand hall of the castle, with the dozens and dozens of ponies attending the gala. Satisfied, Shadow lowered his binoculars. The wind wasn't too strong, and the view was clear. It was perfect.

This would be a piece of cake for the mercenary sniper. He took out his firearm, and laid down on the edge of the abyss. He made himself as comfortable as possible, and took his binoculars. Now, he just had to wait. Wait for the opportunity to strike.

***

"May I ask you a question, sir ?" asked Golden Shield.

"Sure, whatever you want, kiddo."

"Why don't you enjoy those kind of parties ? Weren't you raised in Canterlot ?"

Dare let out a laugh, and patted his sergeant on the back. He then plunged his gaze inside Shield's, his look full of an almost fatherly compassion.

"Do you want to know why I picked you as my sergeant, even though you were a simple soldier ?"

Golden Shield didn't respond immediatly, surprised by the question.

"Yes sir."

"I'll tell you. Look around you, Shield. Look at the people. Tell me what you see, when you compare them to me."

The white stallion looked up, and scanned the room he was in, and then glared at the Commander, and at the hall again. Those ponies, even the high ranked officers, looked like they never had left this castle. And it was true, in a way. The politicians decided of the future of the country without even caring about what was happening outside their precious walls. The models and actors, the journalists and designers, they only knew of riches and fame. The officers ? When their soldiers fought, they were on the back of the lines, sitting safe in a camp, or in a tank, or they weren't even there.

But the Commander Dare... He was different. Even though he sported many medals, they were poorly attached on his uniform, that was a bit small on him, not tailored the right way. His mane was badly brushed, badly styled, and he looked rough around the edges. He was known for going in the dirt with his soldiers, being on the front lines, getting hurt and shot at. He gave his water to the soldiers who lost their gourds, and rescued the wounded, from all camps. If there was a stallion that inspired Shield, despite their different world views, it was Dare.

"You're not like them," responded Shield. "You're... truer. You don't hide."

"And that's why I picked you," smiled the Commander, exposing his battered teeth. "You're not you're background, you're not your origins. You're what you decide. You remind me of myself in that way, I never felt at ease in Canterlot, and you never liked your hometown. You come from a poor, small village and you didn't even know how to read when you entered my ranks. But you didn't wallow in your own self pity, you never thought of yourself as smaller; because you're not. Nopony is unimportant."

Dare was the first pony that had believed in Shield, who saw his potential. He took him under his wing, taught him how to read, gave him books to study, let him tag along in meetings and galas like this one. He talked to him like an equal, not some worm that he could step on and kill in an instant. To Dare, he was someone. He could be anyone. Anything he wanted to achieve, he could. And he would. Dare, in a way, was more of a father figure to Shield than the man who ha raised him, a useless drunk, always too intoxicated to try and care for him. And the Commander saw his sergeant as a son, he who had never tried to settle down and have a family of his own. They were close, very close, and that's why Shield knew that Dare would forgive him. Forgive the awful thing he'd do. Golden Shield raised his glass, and drank.

"Let's fetch another drink," said the white stallion.

The Commander followed him, as they stood near one of the beautiful glass stained windows. Golden Shield glared at the mountains.

***

Shadow looked Golden Shield straight in the eye. For a second he thought the stallion had seen him, and he felt sweat dripping from his temple. But no, the sergeant was just gazing at the scenery, and he soon began talking with the Commander again.
The shooter took another sip of coffee. It had a terribly bitter taste. Time passed, slowly, as he kept his eyes behind the lenses of his binoculars, scanning for the slightest movement.
He cocked his gun.

***

"Oh, Commander !"

A unicorn approached the pair. Fleur de Lys. With a smile too wide to not be forced, she greeted the Commander and his sergeant. Dare bowed his head.

"Miss Fleur," he said. "It's a pleasure to see you here."

"I'm planning to say a few words to the crowd," said Fleur with a dishonnest excitement. "Your sergeant here told me all about your recent success in the East. Apparently, you were fighting for the Princess's glory on the front lines, hoof in hoof with our courageous soldiers..."

"Shield is praising me," chuckled Dare. "Victory wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for the bravery of my troops. I was only accompanying them."

Fleur laughed, a little too loud and a little too hard.

"Come now, come now, you're too humble... Anyways, this young stallion here proposed you say a few words with me, so you can tell everypony here how we so beautifully rose as the victors of this battle."

"I'm not sure I..."

Golden Shield interrupted his superior, shaking his head in agreement.

"I think it'll be nice to have you, the real hero of this war," he said while glaring judgily at the useless politicians present, "finally be put on the spotlight. Please, sir."

"Well... Alright, alright. I'll have another glass first, though."

The two stallions laughed.

***

Shadow Puppet lowered his binoculars. He blinked several times. Staying so long with his eyes glued to the contact lenses had dried them out. Once the pain passed, he took out his binoculars again, and tucked his rifle into the crook of his shoulder. He watched. The Commander and Fleur de Lys had come forward, and the ponies around them cheered as the unicorn started her speech, and Dare awkwardly looked around him. He was more than a kilometer from the target, and yet he could see him perfectly. The Commander was there, everyone was there.

And everyone was going to see.

He breathed softly. He emptied his lungs, held his breath, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet took slightly over a second to reach its target.

Commander Dare's head exploded.

***

The assasin had reached the bottom of the mountain. He had hurried himself to hide his traces and leave as quickly as possible. He could already hear the pegasi sentinels searching for him, but hiding himself in the shadows, he escaped their gaze. He was satisfied with himself, knowing the job had been cleanly done. The money had been given in advance, and all he had to do now, was disappear.

As he trotted in a gravel path, Shadow Puppet felt an ache in his stomach, that quickly transformed into a terrible pain, piercing through him. The stallion allowed himself a short break from his run, and grabbed his sides, trying to ease the hurt, but it wouldn't stop. He tried to fight the urge to vomit that had seized him, but couldn't stop himself from puking, coughing up blood with the vomit. He chocked and puked again, as he felt his throat swell up and getting tighter. His tongue had turned purple, and his eyes blodshot.

Shadow Puppet collapsed, and from his bag, his thermos fell out. The coffee. He would take the secret of who had commissioned the assasination of the Commander to the grave.

***

Golden Shield gazed at the mountains.

The Commander was a good stallion. But good stallions couldn't change the world. The Commander wanted for the war to stop, and for Equestria to become again what it used to be. Shield also wanted for the war to end, but not just the war, this era of the country needed to end as well, everything needed to be wiped out, and somepony needed to get their hooves dirty. Somepony needed to be the villain of the story, all in the name of change. Commander Dare had taught Shield that he could be anypony he wanted.

And this night, Golden Shield decided he'd be Equestria's anihilator and savior. He'd destroy the corruption of the country and build a better one on its warm ashes. With the Tyrant, he'd crush Celestia, then their other enemies, the world, and finally, themselves, so everything could be new again. He smiled an empty smirk.

The Commander Dare died that night. And Golden Shield was reborn.

Author's Note

When I first created Golden Shield, I knew I didn't want him to just be an ass. He's definitely a bad person, but is he really a villain though ? Is idealism truly going to change the world ? I really enjoy writing him, and even though he now is more calculating and ruthless, this was him at the beginning. After all, everything he did, he did to get to his goal.
Thank you for reading this chapter. As always ; english isn't my first language, so do tell me if there are any mistakes I can fix, i'll gladly take any advice. Hope you enjoyed your read !

Chapter 05 : Escape from Canterlot

Chapter 05 : Escape from Canterlot

Standing on a hill, Snow peered into the red sky. He had been in this position for over an hour, and if Deep hadn't known he was awaiting the return of their leader and the agent's squad, he would have begun to worry. The stallion's patience impressed Deep, who clearly lacked in that area, as he had been pacing around the camp for the last hour, where Snow remained without moving a muscle. But Deep, even in those situations where he was forced to wait and be discreet, always needed to stir something, to stretch after a while, even to get up and walk around a bit.

"Would you stop ?" yawned Misty Breeze, lying on her side, next to Derpy.

"Stop what ?"

"Walking back and forth like this. I'm trying to rest."

"I ain't sleepy. And i've got to be ready for when AJ comes back."

"They won't be here for a while," sighed Breeze. "Scouting the caves is gonna take a bit of time."

"Why didn't she want us to come anyways ?" shrugged Deep.

Derpy let out a chukle, as if it was obvious for everyone but the black pony. Deep let out a frustrated growl, and walked to the other stallion of the group, sitting next to him, looking at the sky. Deep tried to stay still, say nothing, wait... But after only a few excruciatingly boring minutes, he finally cracked, and got up again.

Snow was thinking. Whenever he wasn't focused on a goal, he thought. Too much, in fact. But in the present moment, he wasn't thinking about everything at the same time, like he always did. The truth was that a single concern took over his entire mind.

Not the special operation that would take place in only a few hours. Not the fact that death was awaiting them at the corner of every small mistake. Everything was settled like clockwork, so it should go well. The idea was not without risks, and it was only up to luck to decide otherwise so that everything would end in a one-way bloodbath. It was too late to go back anyway. The train was on, and nothing would stop it before it ran out of steam. The fighting had never preoccupied him, but a shadow now loomed on the board :

What would happen if they won ? If they succesfully rescued Lady Rarity ?

Would they finally launch the assault on Canterlot, that Celestia had been planning for years ? Would the Tyrant become crazier than she already was and wipe them all out in a massacre ? And if they managed to rescue the Lady, get enough time to attack the capital, seize the throne and restore peace in Equestria, what would become of everyone ? Deep was a killer who enjoyed his job quite a lot, Breeze had murdered too many pegasi to feel comfortable around them, AJ had seen her whole life destroyed... Who were they, without the war ? Snow didn't have a home anymore. Ponyville had been reduced to ashes, there was nothing to return to, no one.

"What are you sulking for ?" called Deep. "You're afraid ?"

"No," simply responded Snow. "Worried, yeah. But not afraid."

Deep sat down again. Snow was pretty surprised his partner wasn't teasing him but instead seemed to listen to him. The atmosphere was strange in this "afternoon".

"If we carry out this mission succesfully, we could very well turn the tide in this war. What if we win ?"

"Isn't that a good thing ?"

"On paper, yeah. But what will become of us ? Do you really see yourself become a baker, or a florist, after everything we've been through ?"

The black stallion kept silent. For all those years, he had avoided thinking about the future for this paticular reason. He liked fighting, and he had never been good at anything else ; was there even anything else he could do ?

"Tell me," Snow said, breaking the silence. "Do you have anypony to go back to, anywhere to go to ?"

"I do," said Breeze, softly smiling, a rose colored tint on her blushing cheeks. "I had a coltfriend in the Crystal Empire, but he didn't enroll in the army like I did. But he promised he'd wait for me, and he often writes me letters. The thought of him keeps me sane on the battlefield, you know. And you, Snow ?"

"I don't have anypony," revealed Snow, lowering his head. "My hometown is destroyed, and I don't even know if my family made it. I like to think they're safe in Canterlot, or someplace else where things are quiet, but how can I ever know ? I don't have any friends, I..."

"You got us," Deep cut him off, frowning.

"We're not friends," chuckled the grey unicorn.

"We're not ?"

Snow offered him a surprised look. Were they ? "I mean, we're more like... colleagues. I thought you were joking when you said we had a friendship. Weren't you ?"

"You're a boring little prick, always thinking you're smarter and above everyone else. You always want to have the last word, you think you're better than the others because you're sure you've retained a stupid sense of honor even after everything you've done."

"...Thanks ?"

"If we weren't friends, i'd have beaten you up already just for being that way."

Snow smiled faintly, as Deep looked away. He figured that was the dark stallion's own way of expressing some kind of affection towards him. Ever since they had their last argument, and bonded a bit, the two ponies had grown a little closer, even if neither of them would admit it. Awkwardly, Snow lifted his hoof up, and clumsily patted his partner's back. Deep jumped back.

"What the fuck was that ?"

"I don't know, you just said we were..."

"You two, shut it !"

The two stallions looked back at Derpy, that gave them an annoyed glare. That's right, they were supposed to keep a low profile, waiting for the squad to be back... Snow looked at the cave's entrance, where they had set up camp. This was it, this was their gateway into Canterlot. Once the scouting would be done, everything would be set into place, and the game would be on. They had been travelling for a little less than a week, but it had felt like entire months leading up to Canterlot. And now that they were finally there, all they could do was wait. It was frustrating.

Snow understood why AJ didn't bring the squad with her for the scouting. They weren't like the Lunar Agents, they weren't as discreet, wary and prudent. They weren't used to hiding in the shadows. But still, spending hours sitting powerless, the stress and and fear building up in their stomachs, Snow wished they all went together.

But there was one thing that he appreciated : the quietness. Snow thought that the place would be filled with sentinels and soldiers, but they had managed to stay under the radar, and he enjoyed the peaceful calm of the mountain. If the sun still shone, it would have been a beautiful afternoon to relax and sunbathe. Then, he noticed figures, detaching themselves from the darkness of the cave. Snow grabbed his firearm, and his comrades did the same, preparing themselves for an eventual attack. The grey unicorn aimed, and waited. An orange mare.

"Stand down," he instructed. "It's them."

Coming out of the abyss, were Applejack, Diane, Apple Bloom and three other agents. Snow didn't know their names, and he never really bothered to learn, as they were quieter than a gravestone. The agents reached them, and AJ sat for a bit, as her squad went up to her.

"We're takin' a few minutes to grab a bite an'a drink, an' we'll be on the way," explained AJ, drinking out of a bottle.

"How's the situation in the tunnels ?" asked Breeze.

"Better than we expected, actually. We won't enter inside the castle, the undercover agent'll be meetin' us near the entrance of it. We didn't hear patrols, but we'll stay careful. Diane has already communicated the codes to the agent, and instructed her to cut them in five hours. So we have five hours to reach the castle through the underground."

"Only five ?" asked Derpy, surprised. "That's... Not a lot."

"Yeah, but we have to be fast. Apparently, the agent has reported that something's brewin' at the castle. We can't waste time."

The ponies started preparing their weapons. Deep had pouted when he was told that he couldn't bring his dear explosives and grenades with him, because they couldn't risk blowing up the underground on them and getting buried, but he was still disappointed. Five hours until the rescue.

***

Rarity was staring at herself in the mirror, disgusted at her appearence. She really had let herself go even more, ever since she locked herself in her room so no one could bother her. Seeing Sweetie Belle again had shaken her up, and nothing could make the agonizing sadness that had ensnared her heart as she saw what her sister had become go away. Dried up tears had sunken her cheeks, and the weight she had lost while keeping herself in her room made her look even sicker.

She didn't want to see anyone. In a matter of days, she had managed to clam up even more than for the past six years, something that she didn't even think was possible. But it was, and she was in a state mentally that she never had been in before, the emptiness and the solitude eating away at her.

"Miss ?"

"If it's dinner, just pass me the food under the door," replied Rarity in an exhausted tone. "I haven't changed my mind. I won't open this door."

"Please, miss," said Lemonade Haze, knocking again. "You can't stay hidden in here. The Princess is worried about you."

"Is she now ?" chuckled Rarity. "Well, go tell her i'll get out when she'll STOP TOYING WITH MY OWN SISTER !"

The mare let out a pained sob. There was a silence, for a bit. Had Lemonade Haze gone away ? Deep down, Rarity didn't want her to. She wanted to be hugged, to be reassured, for her feelings to be validated. She was trapped in this castle, and was treated like she was the crazy one. Was it really mad to be against the violence happening in Equestria ? Was she really insane for doubting the intentions of the ponies around her ? She wanted someone to tell her she wasn't, to tell her it would be alright. But she kept quiet.

"I'm worried about you," finally said Haze. "Please, let me in, miss."

Rarity didn't dare to move, even though her heart was screaming at her to do it. The loneliness had become too much to bear, and slowly, she approached the handle, and opened the door. Standing behind it, sweetly smiling, and her big gently eyes looking at Rarity's, was Lemonade Haze. She entered, and locked the room. Then, tenderly, she put her arms around the unicorn, who began to quietly cry. Haze caressed Rarity's hair, and she stopped.

"Oh, miss, your mane is so mangled... Do you want me to brush it out for you ?"

Unable to let out a word through her swollen throat, Rarity faintly nodded. Lemonade walked to the vanity next to the lady's bed to take out a brush, and invited the unicorn to sit on the bed, facing away from her. Climbing up on the bed, Rarity felt a great sense of relief as soon as she felt the brush through her mane, a sense of peacefulness rising in her heart as she appreciated somepony taking care of her. That was all she had ever wanted.

"Have you been enjoying the tea I brought you, as of late ?" asked Haze, continuing to brush her mane.

What an odd query, thought Rarity. "It's... Yes, it's good. I wish my tea maker wasn't broken, so I could have been able to continue making it myself, but... It's good. Thank you."

After a maid had managed to come in to clean the room, she had unfortunately knocked Rarity's tea machine on the ground, succesfully breaking it. It was pretty stupid to be this sad over a tea maker, but the mare really had been affected by losing it ; after all, making her morning tea herself had been one of the few things she could still enjoy in this hellish place. Lemonade Haze stopped brushing her mane, and put down the brush on the silky covers of the bed. She then pulled out a beautifully sculpted glass bottle, filled with a shimmering purple liquid, and put it next to it. Rarity grabbed it to examine it.

"What's that ?"

"I have been instructed to put a few drops of this in the tea i've been serving you, miss."

"Alright, but what is it ?"

"Poison."

Rarity turned back to face Haze, shock painted on her face. Lemonade Haze had lost all her timid demeanor, and had spoken with confidence and calm, her tone never changing. The unicorn stated shaking, as her breath got jerky.

"P... Poison ?"

"Yes. The earth pony Commander has given this to me to poison you. Of course, he didn't say it was poison, but he thought I was naive enough to not question it. Please, miss, it's alright ; I never gave any to you. Stay calm. You need to remain calm."

Lemonade Haze got up, and helped Rarity getting up as well. She threw away the bottle, and started searching in the lady's vanities.

"What... Why..."

"I'm sorry to say that I have been deceiving you, miss," confessed the pegasus. "Now, where did I... Ah !"

Out of a drawer, Haze pulled out a remote, and she began to press the buttons of it, dialing a code. Rarity was frozen in place, unable to understand what was going on.

"How did this get in there ? I don't even use my drawers, I..."

"I asked a maid to plant it in there," said Haze, still concentrated on typing. "She broke your tea maker because I also asked her to. It was necessary to make the Commander believe I was able to give you the tea, but he had no idea about the remote. I stole it from him in a moment of inattention. You wouldn't believe the things you can achieve when a stallion believes you to be useless and naive, miss."

"This maid, she..."

"Don't worry, miss, she's in on it. She won't talk, believe me. In my order, talking isn't an option."

"Your order ?"

"The Lunar Agents, miss. We're breaking you out."

***

The lapping of the water. The sound of hooves on the stone. The faint phosphorescent glow coming from the horn of the grey unicorn ahead of him. Apart from that, nothing. Silence and darkness reigned supreme in the underground passages. There was no one. Deep cursed.

"Fucking hell."

"You're very vulgar today, Deep."

"I've never been treated this badly in an operation, Breeze."

The Agents were walking upfront, Applejack with them. They hadn't said a word since they entered the underground tunnels, and AJ's squad found themselves on the back, covering for them. Deep cursed again. They were just tourists, while the agents were the one leading the tour. That was pretty frustrating for the stallion.

"How long have we been walking ? Are we close ?" he asked.

"Stop complaining like a filly," retorted Derpy. "How old are you again ?"

"That's a secret," he shrugged. "My hooves are hurting, that's all. I want some action."

"If you really want to, I can throw you up the tunnels and send you right into the castle," snapped Applejack. "Let's see how proud you act then. So, if you don't want me to do that, keep your mouth shut and obey."

Deep raised his eyebrows, surprised. Their leader always seemed to be in a bad mood, but there, she was really, really tense. Of course, this was to be expected. The mare was leading an expedition with her own sister, former best friend, and best elements. If she made the smallest mistake, everypony she still cared about could very well be killed in an instant.

"If we're going to walk for long, we should at least kill time a bit," said the dark stallion.

"What do you want to do ?" chuckled Derpy. "Poker ? We're in the middle of an operation, dumbass. Stay focused."

"Fine, fine..."

Deep shook his head, and walked towards Snow. He'd find somepony to talk to.

"Hey."

"Deep..." groaned Snow. "Stay focused."

"I am focused. But look around ; those tunnels haven't been used for a long time. Nopony's gonna come for us."

"If you say so."

"So, Snow..."

Snow let out a long sigh. His partner never knew when to shut up. But he was right, in a way ; they had already been walking for a while, and they had not heard or seen any signs of a patrol or soldiers, and the big coat of dust on the stone ground made it pretty clear that they didn't come down there often. The tunnels were carved pretty deep in the underground, so they could talk freely without risking being heard upside. And Deep never knew how to stay serious anyways. In a stealth mission, he probably was the worst stallion to bring.

"What are you going to do after this mission ?" asked the dark pony.

"I don't know. Sleep ?" shrugged the grey unicorn, uninterested in the discussion.

"Oh come on, you can't be that boring. This is going to be a huge win for us. Stealing an element right under the Tyrant's nose. Isn't that something to celebrate ?"

"I guess so. What are you going to do ?"

"I'll probably party with a chick or two."

Snow coughed. Diane turned back, and launched a deadly gare at the two of them. Embarassed, Snow looked away. Great, now the agents wouldn't only think of their squad as underqualified for this mission, but also see them as dumb perverts. Amazing job.

"You can't be thinking about this stuff right now," whispered the unicorn.

"Why not ? Those caves are ugly and dull, i'm freezing my ass off, it's only normal to think about the warmth of a mare."

"Come on, Deep," Snow hissed through his teeth. Can't he take a damn hint ? he thought.

"Hey, if we manage to pull this job, I'll introduce you to some nice ladies. Oi, Breeze, what are you giving me that look for ?"

Breeze didn't respond, and silently judged the pair. Snow slowly walked away from his partner, and started marching next to his leader, hoping the stallion wouldn't follow him. And thankfully, he didn't. Finally, some peace.

"Once we'll be coming closer to the castle, we'll have to be very careful," explained Apple Bloom. "Even if we didn't see any patrols there while scouting, the situation inside will have changed. Hopefully, since the communication will be cut, they won't notice Rarity leaving right away, but if they do and we're still at the entrance, we'll have to prepare ourselves."

Apple Jack nodded. They were close, she could feel it. She could feel her friend getting closer to her, she could feel her warmth already. She had longed for it.

***

Haze let the body fall to the ground, his head turned the wrong way. Rarity let out a small hiccup of terror at the sight of this, but followed the pegasus nonetheless. She walked down the hall, and started counting the doors. In front of the fourth, she knocked and entered. Inside, there was a whole pile of various weapons piled up on shelves, the armory of the castle. She instructed Rarity to stay outside for a minute, as a guard was reading on a chair next to the weapons, a shelf full of books behind him. The unicorn gulped, but silently agreed, and stayed against the wall, frantically looking around her.

The guard looked up at Lemonade Haze, and smiled.

"Yes, Haze ? Need anything ?"

"Can you show me where' the firearm number seven ?" she innocently asked. "The commander has tasked me with bringing him back this gun in particular, he wants to train for a bit... Anyways, you'd be an angel."

The guard tilted his head as Haze gave him her sweetest smile, then pointed to a shelf. The mare reached the shelf, and took one of the pistols lying around, and the silencer that was next to it, then one of the loaders and grabbed a handful of bullets from the corresponding ammunition boxes, under the gentle eyes of the guard.

"Needed anything else ?" he asked.

"Oh yes, I wanted to ask ! What's that book behind you, the one with the green cover ? It looks interesting, and you were reading it a few days ago, right ? Could I borrow it ?" asked Haze, pointing to a bookshelf behind the keeper.

He turned around, then heard the characteristic clicks of a weapon being loaded, and closed his eyes. There was a plop, and blood mixed with brains splattered the ground. Haze moved among the shelves, collecting straps to put her weapon in, and a guard's uniform. She grabbed another one aswell, and loaded another gun. Finally, she met Rarity outside, and let her in, closing the door behind them. The unicorn gasped at the sight of the bloody corpse.

"Oh god," she cried out.

"It's okay. Put this on, and strap this gun to your flank. It's only a precaution, if everything goes well, you won't need to use it. We need to conceal your mane, put this cap on. I cut their communications, so it'll be a while before they realize we're gone, but now, we need to navigate the castle without being remarked. You need to do everything as I say, understood ?"

"Yes," gulped Rarity.

The mares came out of the armory, checking that the hallway was deserted. The body of the guard was still where Haze had left it. No time to conceal it. The pegasus took a map from the pocket of the uniform where she had placed it, and memorized the route. The floor under. The mares crossed the corridor, still without meeting anyone. Rarity was sweating bullets, stressed out of her mind. She could barely believe what was happening to her, and everything was going too fast. An assasination attempt ? Agents ? Breaking out ? This was too much for her, but she couldn't do anything other than follow her "saviour".

They reached a staircase, and began to climb down, cautiously, Haze's pistol at her hoof. Arrived on the floor under, they entered the corridor, and remained motionless for a short moment. The castle's kitchens. At the end of the corridor, a single door, guarded by two ponies. Haze walked confidently toward the guards, who looked at her but didn't flinch. Coming within a few yards, she took out her gun and fired two shots. The two guards collapsed without a sound.

Haze stopped in front of the door. She checked that there was no one left in the hallway, gestured for Rarity to join her, and entered. Inside the kitchen, the maids stopped what they were doing, and looked at the two escapees. They didn't make a sound. Rarity got closer to the pegasus's ear.

"Aren't they going to report us ?" whispered the lady.

"Don't worry about it," simply replied Haze, her calm tone never changing. "Half the staff is in on it. You wouldn't believe how badly some ponies can be treated simply for doing what the high ranking officers think is a low-end job... They won't rat us out. And even if they do, when they do, we'll be far from here."

Rarity looked at the servants of the castle. Most tried to ignore her, but some of them offered her kind smiles, whispers of encouragement. The unicorn found herself smiling too, silently thanking those ponies, risking their lives for hers. Some ponie's hearts had yet to be tainted by the darkness of the war.

"It's here," said the pegasus, pointing to a dishwasher against the wall.

The agent pushed against the dishwasher, and revealed behind a dark passage, leaving the tiles of the kitchen behind for stones and dirt. She entered the tunnel. Rarity watched her go in, and followed her when she passed. Behind them, a maid put the dishwasher back, concealing the entrance, and putting the mares in obscurity. Rarity lit up her horn, and they walked like this for a few minutes, through the dark corridors of the secret passage, leading to the underground tunnels. Haze pulled out a communication device, and put her ear to it, and smiled. The communications were still cut.

"You're going to see some familiar faces," said the pegasus. "But we've got to stay careful. Stay on your guard until we're out of the mountain."

Rarity nodded, and kept on following the pegasus, who seemed to know where she was going. After a few more minutes of this, Haze stopped in her tracks. Cloacked in the darkness, ponies were waiting for them, weapon in hoof.

"Identify yourself !" called out a familiar voice.

"Agent Lemonade Haze, codename Lime," shouted back Haze. "Number 106."

"You're clear !"

Wasting no time, the mares ran to the ponies, and Rarity's eyes widened as she finally saw her friends, Pinkie and Applejack, waiting for her. Without even thinking about it, the unicorn threw herself at them, holding their faces close to her chest and hugging them tight. AJ accepted the embrace, and hugged Rarity back, but Diane stayed still, not even changing her expression. Rarity pulled away for a bit, then tearfully cried out AJ's name, before hugging her again. Snow and Misty smiled at this heartwarming scene.

"I've missed you so much," sobbed the lady. "You planned this for me ? All of this ?"

"Diane did," softly answered AJ, basking in the moment of their reunion.

"... Diane ?"

Rarity pulled away, and stared at Pinkie... Diane. This was like a punch in the gut. In Rarity's dreams, all of her friends had stayed the same, and were all happily waiting for her to be free, and they'd all move far, far away from the war, and live happily ever after. But obviously, this wasn't going to be reality, and she had to accept that. But seeing her face again, after all those years, was more than enough for now.

"It's good to see you again, Diane," gently said Rarity with a soft smile.

"Likewise. Any trouble on the way, agent ?"

"None," replied Haze. "The communications are still cut. I suggest that we..."

A shot. Immediatly, AJ grabbed Rarity and threw her behind her and her squad, as they put themselves in front of her like a shield. The Lunar Agents pulled out their firearms, ready to strike back. Diane shouted at Applejack.

"Start leaving with the Element. Go !"

AJ nodded, and still covering for Rarity, started to gallop away with her team. Diane aimed in front of her. A shot was fired again, and this time, the pink mare shot back, but heard nothing other than the hollow sound of the bullet hitting a rock. Then, a figure. Diane got ready to shoot again, but was stopped by a hoof on her firearm.

"Hold on, chief."

Apple Bloom took a step forward, and squinted. There was only one pony, sporting a guard's uniform. But this wasn't what appealed to her. Small wings, too little to be those of a regular pegasus. Unsure, the yellow pony called out.

"Scoot ?"

Finally emerging from the shadows, the orange pegasus advanced. She was shaking terribly, and was trying to hold back her tears as she aimed for her former friend. Putting both her front hooves up, Apple Bloom slowly walked towards the pegasus, who fired again, missing her target and shooting the ground instead. The yellow mare put a hoof behind her, instructing the other agents that she was fine, and to let her continue. Diane didn't move.

"Scoot, it's me. Can you lower your weapon, please ?"

"I saw them," hissed the pegasus. "I saw Rarity leaving. You're with them, aren't you ?"

"Yes."

"Then you know I have to take you out, I have to..."

"You don't have to do anything, Scoot. Just lower your arm, we'll talk."

Apple Bloom finally reached Scootaloo, and put a hoof on her weapon, lowering it herself. The poor guard looked pitiful, tears rolling down from her eyes, her body shivering with fear. They both had turned out to be very different ponies, after all. Then, she put the same hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder, and offered her a calm smile.

"It's okay, Scoot. You're okay."

"I need to, I need... For Rainbow, I... I can't be weak..."

"You're not weak, Scoot. Here, it's alright, it's alright. Come."

Apple Bloom gently pulled her old friend into a hug.

"Have you warned anypony ?" she asked in a soft voice.

"N-No. The communications are down. But I can't let you go, I can't let her escape, I..."

Scootaloo was cut off in her sentence by a knife plunging itself deep in her chest. Apple Bloom pulled her away from her, throwing her body on the ground. The strike had been deep, and blood started rapidly coming out of the wound in a stream, pooling on the ground. Without giving her a second glance, Apple Bloom walked away, and indicated that they were in the clear. No pony else was coming, not for a while. And without giving her more consideration, the agents left the place and Scootaloo's corpse there, nothing more than a casualty. Diane glanced at Apple Bloom ; not a tear in her eyes, not a change in her strict expression. She smiled to herself. She had trained the youngster well.

***

"Fuck, fuck, fuck !"

Rainbow Dash was galloping through the corridors, strapping on her equipment, accompanied by her fellow pegasi. Rarity had escaped, guards were missing, the whole castle had been plunged into a panic. For five hours, the communication channels had been hijacked. Five whole hours ! This was shameful, for the Princess's special security squad, but right now, Rainbow had other concerns. Rarity was gone, and maybe even worse, Scootaloo was missing. She never wanted for her to be affected in this damn castle in the first place, but now, because of that bastard Golden Shield, Scootaloo was gone. But Rainbow would find her.

"To the sky, everypony ! Come on, quicker, we don't have all day ! Fuck, Soarin, I said quicker !"

"Commander," he said, unsure. "The unicorns have searched through the underground tunnels."

"I thought they had been sealed," replied Dash, surprised. A sick feeling of unease was building up in her stomach, and coming up her throat.

"I thought so too. But it appears they've escaped from there, as the unicorns have found a... They've found a body, commander. Of a guard."

Rainbow's eyes widened. No. It couldn't be. She started taking quicker, heavier breaths, and the hairs of her fur rose up. She could feel her blood starting to furiously boil.

"Who did they find ?"

Soarin stayed silent.

"Goddamn it, Soarin, who the fuck did they find ? Who the fuck did they murder ? Fucking spit it out, or I'll take the words out of your throat myself !"

"An orange pegasus..."

Rainbow let out an awful scream, piercing through the castle, rage filling up her mind.

***

Finally, everypony had came out of the tunnels, and they were now making their way down the mountains, and towards their new headquarters : Fillydelphia. But first, they needed to run and hide. It would be a week of traveling under the radar before reaching the headquarters, so any advance they had, they took advantage of. Derpy was helping Rarity climbing down the steep cliffs, carrying her and flying down with the Lady on her back when it became too difficult for her to follow the squad. The communication channels had been back up, so time was of the essence. Sentinels had already been sent out, and they had to hide themselves in the cliffs when they heard or saw a pegasus.

"We're almost down," indicated Breeze. "Let's hurry, come on !"

Finally reaching the ground, the squad started galloping through the fields, as fast as they could. They could hear shouting from where they came from, not far away ; they had been found. AJ cursed under her breath.

"Should we fire ?" shouted Snow at their leader.

"Not yet !" yelled back Applejack. "We still have a chance of outrunning them, we can't stop !"

"It's the pegasi, chief !" shouted Breeze.

"Derpy, Misty Breeze, in the sky, now !" ordered Diane. "Cover us !"

"Are ya crazy ?" argued back AJ. "They'll get killed !"

"I said now !"

Not listening to their own squad leader, Derpy and Breeze rushed into the crimson sky, launching themselves at the pegasi tailing them. They couldn't risk the failure of this operation, and even if it costed them their lives, they would do their best to ensure the success of the mission.
Derpy aimed quickly and opened fire. The pegasus she was aiming for dodged and dived at her, knife in hoof. In the air, it was easier to fight hoof-to-hoof than to shoot, because pegasi had two advantages in the air : they could dodge faster than the bullets could reach them, they were faster than them, and above all, they had an incredible instinct to sense disturbances in the air, and thus, they could vaguely predict the trajectory of projectiles. Training and experience would then refine this instinct, making them capable, to some extent, of dodging fire. Derpy was a better sniper than a close combat expert, but she would manage. She had to, for the team.

Breeze was more comfortable in close combat than Derpy was, and she plunged on an enemy with a quickness almost unmatched. With her rear legs, Breeze slammed into the unfortunate soldier's skull with the might of a hurricane. The soldier's skull exploded without resistance. And without even glancing at the body now falling down, Breeze launched herself at another enemy. She was not looking behind her, she didn't turn back to see her team for what could very well be the last time. Instead, she focused on her job.

Her new opponent pulled out a knife, with which he plunged at Breeze, who dodged, and she grabbed his head, kicking him in the muzzle with her bare forehead. Then she punched him again there, and again, knocking the soldier's head back, until Breeze simply dropped him, and too stunned to react, the pegasus crashed on the ground. Breeze breathed heavily. She could do it. She was the best pegasi killer of the Celestial army. But she wasn't the best pegasi killer of all of Equestria : that would have to be Rainbow Dash. And Rainbow Dash was coming.

Suddenly, Derpy and Breeze saw a strange light coming from above. They looked up, to find a kind of condensed coloured spot heading towards them. Derpy's eyes widened. She remembered her days living in Ponyville, looking at the sky when Rainbow Dash practiced her acrobatics. She recognized this. Rainboom. And it was coming towards them. Derpy shouted at her partner to fly away, but it was too late. Rainbow Dash had came for them.

Filled with a hellish rage,the cyan pegasus accelerated her descent.

The team still on the ground stopped for a second, and looked at the sky. Suddenly, a large flash of light burned their eyes. A terrible explosion ensued, followed by a multicolored shock wave that swept away everything around. Thankfully, they were out of the hit zone, but they saw everything, and the show was superb. Superbly awful.

"Oh god," managed to say Rarity. "Is that..."

"Let's move, let's move !" shouted Apple Bloom.

Snow stayed frozen for a moment. He couldn't see his partners, in fact, he couldn't see anything where the explosion had been. There was... Nothing. Until he saw it. Corpses of pegasi, falling from the sky. Corpses of the enemy, mangled and bloodied. But in the mess of the cadavers, Snow recognized one. A pastel, pink fur. But it was a body without a head. Snow swallowed his tears, and galloped away, just like the others.

Rainbow Dash landed on the ground, and looked around her. She couldn't see where the escapees had gone, blinded by the dust of her own explosion. Then, she looked down, and gasped. Her fur wasn't cyan anymore. Her whole body had been stained crimson red, just like the sky where she had dared used her greatest pride as a mass extinction weapon. Everywhere around her, corpses. Of fellow pegasi, fellow comrades. She had killed them herself.

Rainbow finally crumbled down, and fell to her knees, letting out a terrible cry of anguish. She had lost. She didn't just lose the enemy. She had lost her pride. She had lost herself. Rainbow buried her face in her hooves, soaked with blood.

She was a monster. Rarity was lucky she had gotten away. At least, she didn't see Rainbow like this. She didn't see what it was that she had become. The pegasus broke down in tears. The Solar forces's mission was a success.

Author's Note

That was a heavy one, wasn't it ? I'm definitely not the best at writing battles, so I tried my best, and hope it was enjoyable.
Anyways, as always, thank you for reading this chapter. English isn't my first language, so do tell me if there are any mistakes I can fix, i'll gladly take any advice.