Dictators Of Ponyville

by Dragon-In-Black

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Adventure, Violence, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Sad, Main 6, Princess Luna
Length: 77300

After being gone for over a year, the Cutie Mark Crusaders decides that it's time to return home.

After being ridiculed, humiliated and bullied for the Gabby Gums incident, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo run away from the town called Ponyville. They run as far away as they possibly can before ending up in the Badlands. While there, the three plan their revenge while the ponies of Ponyville want to apologise after finding out the truth.

Published 2023-01-07 22:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-01-20 21:40:21 UTC

Chapter 2 — No Regrets

Chapter 2 — No Regrets

Walking through the Everfree forest would have normally made them terrified. They should be terrified. They were walking through one of the most dangerous forests known in Equestria that held creatures that could tear them apart at a moment’s notice.

But they weren’t.

They just didn’t feel terrified by the forest at all. When they looked at it all they saw and heard were the things a forest should contain; an ecosystem that functions a little too well.

This didn’t mean that the three fillies were careless. Quite the opposite, they were still on guard as they made their way through the green grass and leaves that filled the ground with the wind howling through the trees. Their eyes scanned every corner that they could find, but they didn’t see any Timberwolves, Manticores or Chimera which was good.

It wouldn’t last long. They knew that. But, for the moment, they were happy that they had a moment of peace and could walk without needing to run away and potentially attract attention from Ponyville.

Applebloom perked up when she thought about the town. She didn’t leave any kind of letter to her folks back home to let them know she was leaving. Should she have done that? Should she go back and write to them and leave tomorrow instead?

She killed the thought just as quickly as it had come. They wanted her out of their lives, she would be out of their lives.

“Did any of ya’ll write tha’ yer families?” Applebloom asked as she grabbed her saddlebag trying to find the map she had packed with her.

Sweetie Belle didn’t answer until Applebloom found what she was looking for while Scootaloo just frowned.

“No,” Sweetie finally responded. “I have no reason to; they were the ones who betrayed me the most. Out of everypony in Ponyville, my family hurt me the most.”

Applebloom flinched at the offending word. It would take some time before she’d feel comfortable enough to speak it again.

“I didn’t write anything to anyone.” Scootaloo simply voiced while keeping her eyes on the ‘road’ they were walking.

“What about you, Bloom?” Sweetie inquired. “Did you write anything?

Applebloom shook her head.

“Wait,” Scootaloo slowed her pace and turned her eyes to Applebloom who had also stopped when she saw her friend was lagging behind them. “You didn’t even leave a not to your family?”

Again, Applebloom shook her head in confirmation.

“Why?” Came the surprising question from Scootaloo.

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at their friend as if she’d turned insane. Why in Equestria would she ask something so obvious?

“Whatcha mean ‘why?’ Didn’t ya hear what Big Mac said tha’ us?!” Applebloom accidentally shouted in rage at her pegasus friend who didn’t seem fazed by the enraged earth pony.

“What I mean, Applebloom is the fact that you have the best connection to family than Sweetie and I combined.” The orange pegasus stated. “Out of the three of us, you have one of the strongest bonds I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Applebloom didn’t look remotely convinced.

“If that’d been true then Big Mac would’ve listened tha’ us.” Applebloom hatefully stated with venom that would have made a poisonous snake seem tame. Not feeling like talking about it anymore, Applebloom immediately started to walk again with the map close to her snout from how angry she was.

They fell into an angry silence as they continued to walk as far as they could, hoping to reach the end of the forest by nightfall. The more distance they put between them and Ponyville, the better. Not that any of them believed that the other citizens would care that they went missing, if anything, they’d most likely jump with joy that they had left the one place they called home and family.

After a few hours, they were starting to get tired and desperately wanted to sleep. When Applebloom looked into the evening sky, she saw how the sun was slowly going down and the moon was taking over its place with moonlight helping the young critters of the forest to find their way home while at the same time, being possible prey for the predators who were starving.

Scootaloo looked around the terrain, trying to find something that could keep a roof over their heads for the night. At first, she didn’t find anything so they continued to walk until they knew they couldn’t continue anymore. With that, they started to look for a cave where they could rest. They looked for a good half hour or was it an hour? Nonetheless, they peeked everywhere until they found a cave that could host them for the night or multiple nights if needed. When Scootaloo had found the cave, she had let the other two know what she had found and they immediately went after her. When they’d reached the cave, they cautiously entered with their heads hung low so they didn’t seem like easy bait if there was another creature that lived there. Luckily, they found none. There wasn’t a single trace of life that they could detect.

Sweetie Belle used her horn to light up the cave. It wasn’t a big one by any means. It was perhaps ten meters long in a straight line and to the right there was another ‘corridor’ of sorts that was five meters making it a total of fifteen meters length-wise and one meter wide.

Hiding in the little right corner so they wouldn’t be seen, they made their mark so they could get some sleep. Tomorrow would prove the be challenging without a doubt.

When they had rolled out their tent beds they glanced at one another. Had they really just run away from their family and home? Was this all a horrible dream that they couldn’t wake up from?

“Do you two have any regrets?” Scootaloo worriedly asked. She knew that they must be strained from all the walking and thinking about what they went through the last few days. By all means, she did have a few regrets about, how she wouldn’t be able to see her aunts Holiday and Lofty for a very long time, if ever.

Sweetie Belle thought about it. On one hoof, she did regret not being able to hug her sister one final time. On the other hoof, it was her sister that acted immaturely and practically told everypony that it was her and her friends.

“I wouldn’t say so no, sure, I’ll miss Rarity and my parents, but I wouldn’t say I have any regrets.” She spoke with her usual elegant voice. This time, however, there was a slight shift in her tone that made her almost for a second sound like Rarity.

Scootaloo nodded, knowing that all of them would have some form of regrets in one-way shape or form. When she turned to Applebloom, she saw that the youngest apple was in deep thought. Deciding to wait for the response, Scootaloo thought about Rainbow Dash and how her number one idol tore her down so deeply like a sword cutting into flesh.

Sweetie Belle remembered the look Rarity gave her when she found out. She’d never seen her sister so disappointed before in her life. But somewhere inside those eyes, Sweetie Belle would swear to herself that she saw a look of disgust on her sister’s face. It made her angry. Why was her sister disappointed? Wasn’t the juicy gossip what she wanted? Did Sweetie hear wrong when she heard her sister wanting to have more gossip?

Wiping away a tear that had formed in her eye she closed her eyes as if to meditate.

She heard wrong. If this was the outcome ...

Meanwhile, Applebloom was thinking thoroughly about Scootaloo’s question. It was a very good one if she was going, to be honest. Did she have any regrets? The question was hard to answer. She truly believed that she did not have any regrets. Maybe in the future? Maybe ... it wasn’t going to happen any time soon that was for sure.

“At tha’ moment? Nope, ah have no reason tha’ feel regret,” Applebloom honestly spoke while looking both of her friends in the eyes.

Scootaloo thought about her friends’ words and felt a small smile creep its way open. She couldn’t say she was entirely surprised. Their predicament was one built on raw emotions that makes them do things that might be considered impulsive. But that didn’t mean that they were in the right. Scootaloo would always admit that what she did as Gabby Gums was bad, but having “mature” adults act the way they did was way worse. Had they not been fillies and colts once? Do they not remember the things they did that were forgiven?

The more she thought about it the angrier she became. They were supposed to be adults but they act like angsty teens.

Just when Scootaloo was about to growl in anger, she heard snoring. Glancing around, she saw Sweetie Belle was fast asleep. She looked over to Applebloom and saw that she was also sleeping.

A small smile graced her lips. While they may have lost their family, they at least had each other.

With that, Scootaloo stretched before she went to sleep.

Chapter 3 — Kludgetown

They had to admit, they were very stubborn when they continued to walk through the blistering heat that was shooting its rays on the ground; heating the sands which caused their hooves to ache from the pain of walking and the heat.

Sweetie Belle has been the most vocal about it, not being used to feeling such pain daily, if at all.

Applebloom did not react as much, but the heat made it almost unbearable for her. Working on the farm during the summer so that you got used to the sun's warmth. This time though; she was in a desert.

Scootaloo was slightly better than Sweetie Belle but that could be because she has trained her body which did so she got a better endurance rate. Nonetheless, she sympathised with Sweetie Belle and did agree that the blistering heat was simply too much to bear.

When they had woken up that morning they couldn’t help but feel slightly relieved that they were away from Ponyville. For the first time in a long time, they felt peace.

They’d admit; they were afraid of running into Timberwolves but that didn’t happen. Yet.

But besides that, they felt like they could take a breath of fresh air and appreciate the quietness and not feel the angry and hateful stares of the other ponies of their once-cosy little town. They could finally relax and not be stressed over what to expect the ... old ... acquaintances would do to them or say to them.

They had never dreamt of gaining such freedom in this fashion, and they probably wouldn’t if they’d come clean to their sisters or told miss Cheerilee about the blackmailing from Diamond Tiara.

But there was nothing they could do to change it now though, so all they could do was move through the unforgiving sun that seemed to glare at them specifically as if the sun had seen and witnessed their crimes. Maybe it had.

Everypony in Ponyville knew it was them that had started Gabby Gums and spread their secrets, it was only a matter of time before the other professional journalists came over and asked the citizens what happened to which the three fillies expected to be outed.

Normally, they would have just hung their heads low and just taken the beating but there is only so much one can take before they snap.

Sure, they are still fillies in the eyes of the law, but if the mares and stallions around Ponyville were treating them like adults, in the sense that they showed clear hate, then they should be seen as adults.

There was also this belief somewhere that young fillies and colts had higher resistance than their fully grown counterparts in terms of emotional endurance, and reality; none is superior.

If you say something immensely hurtful towards a young one they’ll be hurt beyond belief. If you say it to a grown one, they’ll be able to mask it but still be extremely hurt by the words.

This is what the three had thought themselves and fully believed to a certainty because they have now lived through it.

It was something that they could write down in a journal or diary of sorts if they desired. Maybe that is what they should do. They didn’t have a full education, but wherever they are going, maybe education isn’t seen as important. Of course, the possibility that they end up somewhere where the education standards are much higher did cross their minds, since miss Cheerilee ... did teach them that a few kingdoms and nations outside of Equestria either had lower standards or higher depending on the necessary level in that kingdom.

The thought frightened them.

What if they had to resort to crime in a kingdom far from home with no one to love and protect them?

Their tears were just about to burst out of their eyes when they thought about it. What if they ended up in a kingdom that would immediately know that they weren’t from there and would find out that they came from Equestria and used them as hostages?!

Oh, how they wished to go back. But they couldn’t

No matter how terrified they become, they could only move forward and look for a brighter future outside of their beloved home.

Sweetie Belle was near hyperventilating, but she didn’t show it on the outside. On the inside, however, she was crying for her sister, silently begging and wondering why Rarity would turn her back on her. Sure, they had their squabbles, what siblings didn’t? But she didn’t think her sister would betray and backstab her in such a fashion as the fashionista did. It was unexpected

She had looked up to Rarity for the majority of her life like any other sibling and seeing the one pony she looked up to just walk away from her was as if a piece of her died.

When she looked over at her friends she could see that they also felt the same. It hurt the most on poor Applebloom, Sweetie could tell. Being told to “go away”, in such a fashion that suggested that they hated their own flesh and blood must really hurt the apple girl.

Oh, how Sweetie wished she and the two never joined the school paper for their cutie marks. If they had never joined; none of this would have happened. They would be back home, where their families would love them and cherish them and always be there for them.

The thought made her whimper as she continued to trot through the heat with her two companions to make her feel less lonely.

She had no other family except for her friends now. They were the only ones she could call family and friends. She wanted to cry tears of sadness for having lost her family but also tears of happiness for having her friends that were on the same boat as her and probably wanted to cry but simply couldn’t for various reasons.

She just hoped that their lives would turn for the better. After everything that's happened, she believed they deserved happiness.

The heat was becoming unbearable now. The three fillies felt their bodies sweating buckets as the rays of the sun warmed the sand that covered the vast lands for miles with no city of sorts in sight.

The three knew there was bound to be some town or city soon, but they were unsure of where the location could be as miss Cheerilee never spoke of it during her lessons. Yes, she mentioned that there were a few livable places in the Badlands, but she never expressed or showed on a map where it was, she simply told them that if they somehow ended up there one day; there were towns that they could turn to.

“Scoots...” Applebloom panted as her eyes became hazy and blurry from the heat.

“Yeah?” The orange filly responded with equal panting from exhaustion and heat.

“Do ya think we’ll survive?” She asked with a sense of defeat in her voice.

The other two fillies stared at one another, unsure of how to comfort their friend. They knew the chances of their survival were slim, but there was a chance. After all, they had overcome many great obstacles in the past, so why wouldn’t they...

Scootaloo thought about their most recent obstacle that had caused them to run away from their beloved town. The anger inside of her was making her blood boil to the point she was certain that the others could see smoke emitting from her. If they'd noticed, they never mentioned it as Sweetie Belle was trying to come up with something comforting to say.

“I don't know Bloom, I don't know...” The orange filly replied with a solemn look on her face. She wanted to desperately say something else, anything that would comfort her friend, but she knew that there was nothing she could say that would make their situation any better. It was impossible.

That didn’t mean that she wouldn’t continue to try though, she would try her hardest to comfort her somehow and get her head out of the water.

But... with the blistering heat, she wondered how long she’d be able to do that before it would truly open her eyes to how screwed they are. They had no food or water, so there was no chance of them surviving unless they found a cactus for water. However, she would need Appleblooms help with that as she remembered from miss Cheerilee that not all cactus water was safe to drink.

With that in mind, they continued their journey while feeling their bodies almost fall from exhaustion. Their minds were made up however, there was no stopping them. They would force themselves to find a place to stay, and find food and water.

That’s when they saw it. A large tower not far from their position. A tower meant a building, a building meant creatures, and creatures meant more creatures. A civilization. When the three fillies saw it, their eyes filled with hope, and they began to walk faster, and faster.

Before they knew what they were doing; they were running towards the town that they saw on a sign called Kludgetown.

“We found civilization!” Applebloom shouted to her friends, completely forgetting the sun, the past, and the pain she felt physically and mentally.

“We can finally find food and water!” Scootaloo excitedly responded.

“We can maybe even find a place to spend the night!” Sweetie Belle added with hearts thinking about a mattress of sorts she could sleep on.

They continued to run until they reached the town where they were met with all kinds of creatures they had never seen before. They felt relieved however when they saw that there were a rare few ponies and at least one dragon who was there. At least they recognised their own race and Spike’s race...

They looked around and saw that there were stalls for many different things, ranging from food to drinks and weapons.

It was quite shocking to see royal guard-level weapons being sold like candy but they understood why.

The Badlands had no laws.

This meant that there were no authority figures that could step in and stop the selling of weapons or any kind of criminality in the first place. The criminals were the ones that ruled. The ones with deep pockets that is. The rest were simply there trying to survive after being banished from their home countries.

The crusaders knew this and didn’t blame them. Would it take time to get used to? Yes. Would they get over it? Also yes.

“We should ask if we could get some water, I'm thirsty.” Sweetie Belle admitted while licking her dry lips from the sun exposure.

The other two nodded and looked around trying to find the cheapest water they could find which they found surprisingly quickly. They bought three bottles worth, and headed around the town.

They wouldn’t lie and say that they didn't feel afraid when they saw creatures making deals that were no doubt illegal in nature, but who were they to stop them? They had run away from their home because of newspaper articles. Of course, it was a huge difference, but to them, it wasn't at the same time.

“Okay, so we got our water, where should we crash for the night? I highly doubt we can just ask nicely to sleep inside some creature's house,” Scootaloo said as she sipped her water sparingly as she did not want to waste it away.

Sweetie Belle thought about it for a moment.

“Well, we could always try tha fin’ a hotel ‘round ere,” Applebloom suggested.

It wasn’t a bad suggestion either. There was bound to be some kind of hotel around these parts. Even if they're rarely used, they surely would exist in a town like this right?

“Bloom, do you think there is one?” The orange pegasus asked with a small frown. “I’m not doubting you, but I find it hard to believe that they have a functioning hotel for outsiders. Most likely it's used for...” she hinted towards an alley where a dragon and some fish-like creatures exchanged something with one another.

“Scoots, I get what ya tryna’ say, but... what other options we got?” The earth pony asked with a frown, mimicking her friend.

“Well,” Sweetie began, catching their attention. “We could try to find one, maybe ask if we have to, but I’d rather go somewhere else now because I’m feeling watched by someone or something.”

Chapter 4 — Trying to Move On

One month later...

The Crusaders didn’t hate the Badlands. That is what shocked them the most. They thought that they would grow bitter being out in the blazing hot sun all day long but they didn’t. They didn’t fall in love with the place, nor would that ever happen, but they certainly had no qualms with Kludgetown.

Applebloom had told her two friends that if they wanted to afford a place to stay, they would need to find work of some kind. They had a surprising number of options, ranging from sales ponies, chefs, bakers, and models.

Those were the jobs that were normal and legal in Equestria at least. Applebloom would have no problems baking as Granny Smith had thought her everything she needed to know about baking apple pies, muffins, and so forth. Of course, she doubted that they had apples out here but she could use the same recipes from memory with a few fixes so it matches what she’s needing to bake instead.

With those thoughts in mind; Applebloom had looked for different bakeries around the town. She had asked if any of them needed a baker. The first one had said she was too young to work. The second place said that they didn’t need more employees.

The third place, though, had hired her after she had managed to bake a citrus pie that they enjoyed greatly. So she began working from early in the morning to late morning and earned a very large salary. Or, large for her, because she had never in her life held or seen so many bits in one bag before. This caused the unmotivated pegasus and unicorn to start looking for work.

Sweetie Belle managed to find work with a fashionista that needed some creature to model for her for a reasonable price. The unicorn hadn’t at first wanted to take the job because it reminded her too much of her older sister, the one who accused her and shunned her. But she concluded that if she ever wanted to move on, then she needed to do it now so she doesn’t get hurt in the future because of the simple fact that she didn’t get over it.

The first few days had been gruelling and had caused her to almost cry half the time because of the memories she had with Rarity whenever she worked on her dresses before and after school.

The unicorn remembered whenever Spike, her sisters' friend, assistant would come over and help her sister with the dresses. She missed those times. The times when she would get back from school and be greeted by her sister and Spike if he was there.

But, after those few days, she started to enjoy modelling and getting noticed in the fashion industry in the Badlands. She was by no means getting famous, it had only been a month, but she was certainly getting attention from the other fashionistas around Kludgetown which helped boost her ego and embrace what had happened.

It hurt her, but she had to learn to let go and forget about the past and embrace the future.

Scootaloo on the other hoof wasn’t so lucky. She struggled to find a job because, after the betrayal, she had grown quite bitter. Now that a month had passed and the words and actions had been set in place, she couldn’t help but think about revenge.

Her dark line of thinking had started infecting her like a virus and making her judgement questionable.

However, all hope wasn’t lost as she had found work. But wouldn’t be legal in Equestria. She became a blacksmith for weapons. She built weapons and sold them to clients who had requested for the weapons to be repaired, sold, or bought if any creature was interested.

The orange pegasus had by accident overheard a conversation between a dragon and a Griffin who was talking about a restaurant that sold illegal goods to Equestria in terms of weapons and government secrets. The young filly had followed them to the restaurant and had spied them down and seen the illegal goods.

Scootaloo’s luck had run out, however, when the owner realised she had seen the weapons and demanded to know who she was working for. She conceded and explained her background about what had happened and asked to work for the stallion who owned the place.

The stallion had been rightfully suspicious and just told her to go away and not return. Scootaloo, though, kept pestering him until he gave up and showed her how to repair the weapons and build them. He still didn’t trust her. That was clear as day, but he trusted her enough to work there and get a salary.

That was enough for Scootaloo.

Now, they had a salary. Together, they could combine their bits and buy an apartment which they did. The apartment they bought was next to a cat who had introduced himself as Capper and had a look in his eye that told them he was up to no good.

They didn’t interact much, luckily and only talked whenever they needed to help each other out. Which wasn’t often.

They paid to live there and paid for food which had forced them into a horrific predicament; most creatures here were in some way carnivores. Not all, of course, there were rare few ponies, but even the ponies ate meat.

Scootaloo hadn’t been concerned because pegasi have fish in their diet which they needed. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom however, weren’t so lucky and pleaded with Scootaloo to teach them how they can eat fish. She did. The orange pegasi told them not to worry and that they would only eat fish unless they needed to eat some other meat.

This made the other two relax and blush at their reaction.

They had never eaten meat before. Not even fish. They knew pegasi ate fish, but they had never... seen it. Miss Cherilee if they remembered correctly probably said something about it as well.

At least they had a friend that could help through their first time.

“Hey Scoots,” Applebloom said, walking in through the front door with her bakers' clothing completely dirty. It had been a rough day baking but it was nothing new. It happened as well when she was on the farm.

“Hey, Bloom,” The pegasus responded while reading a book.

The farm girl looked surprised. She’d never seen her read, ever. She glanced closely at the book and saw that it was a military history of the Equestrian army.

“Hey Scoots, when did ya start tha’ read?” She asked with a look of interest marring her features. The pegasus didn’t look at her friend.

“The history of the Equestrian army.” She replied in a monotone voice. “I’m hoping to learn something from it,”

Applebloom raised her brow. Learn what?

The front door suddenly jerked open to reveal Sweetie Belle. “Hey, guys!” She gushed in a yellow sundress with black lines. The Badlands had truly changed their friend, but they still noticed the depression whenever the mask would slip. No matter how many times she would smile, there was always something... not quite there in her eyes that used to be there before. “I’m having a photoshoot next week!” She continued to gush with visible happiness.

For once, she looked genuinely happy.

Applebloom smiled in happiness for her friend for having found something she enjoyed doing. Who would have thought it would be modelling? Scootaloo on the other hoof looked neutral, not displaying happiness or any emotions that were against her friends’ happiness with her newfound success.

“Tha’ great Belle!” Applebloom praised with a wide smile while Sweetie Belle hugged her friend.

“I’m with Applebloom on this, congratulations Sweetie Belle, you deserve it,” Scootaloo said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Her emotions were real though, she was happy for her friend.

Sweetie Belle knew her pegasus friend was still struggling with what happened, she was not over it. Nor would she ever be if she would be honest with every creature around her.

“Thank you, Scoots, how are you holding up?” She asked, changing the attention from her to Scootaloo. The pegasus merely shrugged her shoulders.

“We had more clients, meaning more bits for me this week. Maybe even more food, don’t think I didn’t notice you eat my chocolate pudding!” She joked with Applebloom who couldn’t help but laugh.

“It was mockin’ me! Wha did ya wan’ me tha’ do?” She replied with a laugh.

They all laughed heartfully, full-blown laughter that they had not had for the last few weeks. It was nice. Laughing away and forgetting temporarily about the problem.

“I was kidding, I don’t care.” The pegasus shrugged with a sense of careless attitude that they had not seen for a long while.

“So... what were you hoping to learn?” Applebloom asked, remembering the question of the sentence Scootaloo had spoken before Sweetie Belle had come in.

“Learn?” Sweetie Belle asked questionably.

“Yah, Scoots were readin’ before ya got ere,” Applebloom explained making Sweetie’s eyes widen in disbelief. Her friend was reading?

“Yes, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, I was reading. Is there something wrong with that?” She asked, eyes twitching at her friends’ behaviour.

The two ponies frantically shook their heads. “No of course, not I was just caught by surprise is all. But why are you readin’ tha’ particular book? Don’t think I forgot.”

Scootaloo sighed, knowing that there was no way out of this situation.

“Look, I’m pissed alright? What they did to us was inexcusable!” Scootaloo said, her voice reaching a slightly higher pitch as her nose practically emitted smoke from the pent-up rage she felt towards her sister figure and everypony else in Ponyville. “Yes, I will admit we did wrong, I won’t lie about that. But at the same time, we tried, didn’t we? We tried to apologise and no one took it!”

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle wanted to calm the situation down. What they didn’t correct their friend about was that they never did try to apologise to the citizen of Ponyville, they merely ran away and that was it.

Scootaloo calmed down slightly when she noticed the alarmed looks of her friends on their faces. “Anyways, why I decided to read the book is to see if I’d be able to do better. To see if I could commit a military coup on Ponyville and get away with it.”

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle burst out laughing at that. They clutched their sides as they rolled on the floor laughing their hearts out. They noticed Scootaloo laughing along merely with them, but what they were clueless about was that it wasn’t real laughter.

“Oh! Oh, Scoots!” Applebloom tried before she doubled over in laughter.

“Oh, man! That was funny Scoots!” Sweetie said, calming down from her laughter but her grin was still very much visible on her face.

“What can I say? I try.” The pegasus giggles as Applebloom tried to stand up only to start laughing again.

“Seriously though, I’m reading it because I found it and thought it’d be interesting.” She answered in partial truth. She had found the book and she was interested in it, but she had a different goal in mind.

The unicorn nodded in understanding and said she’d be taking a shower before she went with them to dinner. Applebloom had taken off her baker's uniform and started washing them. Scootaloo decided to go to her room on the second floor where there was a bathroom and four rooms.

Scootaloo’s room like her two comrades had a window that showed Kludgetown and she couldn’t help but grin. Placing the book on the bed that faced the window, she trotted up and looked around the town.

Below her, was a food market that she regularly walked passed because of work or to buy what they were selling there. However, one thing that always bothered her, was that she would see huge ships fly overhead with a curious marks.

The ships had many soldiers who had a commander. If there was a commander then there was a ruler somewhere. Meaning...

The ruler was a threat to her plans.

Author's Note

So Scootaloo is slowly succumbing to darkness but don’t worry she won’t be unredeemable. The other two are trying to enjoy their lives as much as possible away from Equestria while knowing that it isn’t their home, but they need to work with what they got.

Chapter 5 — Guilt

Back in Equestria, the town known as Ponyville was going through a panic and guilt-ridden month. When it was discovered that the Crusaders weren’t in their clubhouse or anywhere else, did they realise that something was wrong.

The first one to notice the disappearance was Granny Smith when she had called for Applebloom to come home for dinner.

When the energetic Apple hadn’t come, she had gone to the clubhouse, and investigated but didn’t find her there. She believed it to be strange, as it was the first time she had called for Applebloom for dinner and not come as quickly as possible.

The old mare had asked her two grandkids if they knew where she had been to which they angrily said they didn’t know.

Confused by their behaviour, she had asked them what was wrong. At first, the two didn’t want to say anything but realised that it would be better in the long run so they wouldn’t be bothered.

They told her that the crusaders were behind the Gabby Gums column and had spread secrets all over Ponyville. Revealing their secrets as well.

To say that Granny Smith was surprised would have been an understatement. At first, she was angry at Applebloom for revealing other ponies' secrets but then she became angry at the other two when she realised that they didn’t know where their youngest sibling was.

The old mare had told them that she had not found her in the clubhouse and didn’t have the energy to search the entirety of Ponyville for her. But before they left, she told them not to come back until they had found her or if it was an emergency.

The two had left very quickly after that and scouted the entirety of Ponyville searching for the youngest apple up and down. Applejack had informed her friends of her sister's disappearance and they begrudgingly decided to help. Rainbow Dash, one of Applejack’s friends, wasn’t so keen to help though and suggested that they just leave the crusaders alone to allow them to think about what they have done.

Applejack couldn’t fight against that logic but she knew that Granny Smith had been serious, whenever she had that look in her eyes, they knew it would be best if they cooperated unless they wanted a severe punishment. So, she remained quiet and just looked around while shouting Applebloom's name.

During the search became interesting.

Rarity had realised when she was searching for Applebloom, that she had yet to see Sweetie Belle. At all. After she had confronted her sister, she had not seen a tail of her anywhere. She became concerned and voiced this with the others who in turn comforted her and told her that the young unicorn was most likely with Applebloom.

It had calmed the fashionista down, but she had this nagging feeling that let her know that something wasn’t right and it was starting to get on her nerves if she would be honest. However, she didn’t try to dissuade the feeling either and decided to keep an eye open just in case.

Rainbow Dash on the other hand was arrogant enough to assume that the three secret spreaders were together hiding somewhere.

However, when several hours had passed it dawned on them that they might not be in Ponyville anymore. They couldn’t have gotten far, but they couldn’t allow them to leave without food or supplies. Not allow them to leave period.

The oldest apples had rushed back to the farm to inform Granny Smith of the disappearance of the crusaders. When the matriarch of the family heard it she asked a simple question, one that threw them off-guard.

“What did you say to them?”

The friends and siblings glanced at one another confused about what she meant with her question.

“What do ya mean by tha’?” Applejack asked with a confused expression. She realised however the implications when she noticed her Granny narrow her eyes, not in anger, but in disappointment.

Something she hated to see.

“What did you say to them?” Came the question again.

Big Mac, Applejack’s older brother couldn’t stare Granny in the eyes. This prompted the older mare to stare at him with a look of demand in her eyes. The red stallion knew that there was no way he could hide the secret any longer. He just couldn't.

When he was brave enough to look, he could see the words; “now” in them.

“I... I told them to just go away...” He answered. Everyone around them looked shocked. They knew that the secret spreading would affect everyone in some way, but the fact that an apple; one of the kindest families they knew, pushed away a sibling.

They cringed when they thought about it. They were being hypocrites right now...

“You did what?” Granny Smith didn’t shout. They wished she shouted. They wished she exploded with rage and said how much trouble they were in. But she didn’t. She spoke calmly and civilly.

“You... I told them to go away...” He replied.

“I heard ya the first time,” Granny sneered. “Why?”

“Well... she... she!” Big Mac didn’t know how to respond, he honestly believed Granny would understand his side of this.

“She spread secrets of everypony in town, making you angry and disappointed enough to make her and most likely her two friends run away,” She finished for him.

They all gasped and stared at her wide-eyed. They didn’t expect that. But it couldn’t be true, it just... it just couldn’t!

“Granny... ya don’t mean tha’ right?” Came the pleading voice of Applejack. The old mare glanced towards her and raised a brow. Did her grandaughter just ask her that? She had the gall to!

“Ya dare ask me tha’?” Her voice was still calm, but they could sense the anger in her.

They gulped. If she wasn’t screaming at them, she was then very angry. Big Mac was looking at anypony except for Granny Smith for fear for his life.

“She mos’ likely wen’ of tha’ Celestia knows ere’ an’ won’t be comin’ back fer a long time,” Granny Smith clarified for the ponies there with a blank look on her face.

After that, Mayor Mare of Ponyville organised several search parties to see if they could find the three troublemakers but no trace of them was ever found. It’s only been about a month of course, but the chances of finding them now were getting slimmer and the elements of harmony knew this.

After not being able to find the crusaders, Rainbow Dash started to get seriously worried. Where was her biggest fan? Where was her sister figure?

She started to feel regret and guilt for dumping rainwater on the three and couldn’t help but worry for the three crusaders.

The Rianbow-maned pegasus remembered when Twilight had told them that they traced Sweetie Belle’s magic to the Everfree Forest and beyond. However, when they got to the location there was no pony there. Not even a hint as to where they were.

When they reached the end of the forest, they noticed that it lead to the desert which was the Badlands.

If Rainbow Dash hadn’t started to get concerned before, she certainly was now. How could the three troublemakers go to such a dangerous land?

Well, when you are depressed you feel like it doesn’t matter so she supposed that it was partially her fault. She cringed at the thought. Mostly her fault in terms of rainwater being dumped.

The other siblings felt dread climbing inside their bodies. It was as if it wanted to spread as much chaos as possible. They couldn’t believe that their siblings had such bravery to... leave their homes. Sure, if the fillies had gone to the next town over or any other place in Equestria it would have been understandable and a lot safer.

But to leave Equestria altogether? That was unexpected, to say the least.

Granny Smith didn’t have an outward reaction but she was most definitively worried. She wanted to pack her bags and leave for the Badlands but she knew she couldn’t do that. Someone needed to watch the farm and she didn’t know where her granddaughter was located.

Of course, she could care less where Applebloom was if it meant she could see her again. If Granny Smith would have to fight tooth and nail to get Applebloom back, then you bet she would do it a million times over.

When Twilight realised that the three fillies were outside of Equestria, she knew she had to contact her mentor.

She knew she would get an earful, and she deserved it.

Inside the Golden Oak Library, she was writing the letter to Princess Celestia, explaining in full detail what happened in Ponyville. The Gabby Gums Column, the secrets getting revealed, the Cutie Mark Crusaders being behind it and them being shunned away from everyone in town. She left nothing out.

After she had Spike send it away, she became very much aware of the damage she had caused.

While she wasn’t the only one to send them away and shun them, she was the one who put up a magic barrier, blocking them from entering or even stepping near the library.

She couldn’t imagine what the fillies must have felt.

The young lavender mare would try to rectify her mistake however, she wouldn’t allow it to happen again. She would make sure of it.

Author's Note

This wasn’t a very long chapter but I didn’t want to pump out 2-3k words of how everyone felt guilty and regretted it. What I wrote was more than enough and I’m pretty sure you know that they feel guilty as well.

Chapter 6 — Inner Darkness

Badlands 4 months later

Scootaloo was looking around nervously as she waited inside a dark alley with a bag filled with weapons. A regular client had asked her if she would do a drop to which she agreed. What the filly had learned quickly was that the dealers would earn more money for doing deals outside the blacksmith forge would make her earn more money.

The problem was that she had learned that a creature by the name of ‘Storm King’ ruled the entirety of the Badlands. Because of this; there were specific laws and rules in place that everyone there had to follow.

One of those laws was that certain swords, axes, spears, bows and arrows weren’t allowed to be created or sold or be in possession. This meant, that the weapons she was building at the forge were highly illegal goods that were worth thousands of bits.

Now, this wasn’t a problem per see, but if she was caught, Celestia knows what would happen to her.

But she could care less. She needed the money so she could set forth her plan. It was a good plan. She would try to somehow overthrow the Storm King. It would be easy. It certainly would be. A Buffon like him couldn’t possibly rule a kingdom, only she fit that category.

Before she could continue her musings, she heard hoof steps come closer, or rather, steps of some kind. She turned to look and saw that it was a creature wearing a trench coat that had green scleras instead of the traditional white and dark green pupils. He wore a dark red trenchcoat. Or she thought it was, it was almost pitch black outside. Finally, he wore a black fedora hat.

“You the blacksmith?” He asked with a charismatic voice. There was a smile that didn’t feel... sinister. It felt warm and welcoming.

He was a potential enemy so she wouldn’t be persuaded.

“Yes, you got the bits?” Scootaloo asked curtly not once looking away from him.

Scootaloo heard metal hitting metal coming from a bag he was holding. The creature opened the bag to reveal several thousands of gold bits and gave one of them to Scootaloo who bit into it and checked the gold with the little light there was and saw no bite marks. She smiled.

“Here you go, have fun,” She snickered as they exchanged bags and went their separate ways. But before she was out of earshot, the creature asked;

“What are you doing out here?”

The orange-coated filly stopped in her tracks.

“Excuse me?”

“What made you come out here?” The creature rephrased using his free arm to show the almost run-down kingdom. “This isn’t a place for children of any kind to be out here. This place is dangerous; crawling with criminals and gangsters running around the place along with his majesty Storm King.”

Scootaloo hesitated only for a moment. She saw the light at the end of the alley where a dumpster filled with trash and rats ran around. Without looking back, she gave him the response;

“I was betrayed by the creatures I thought I could trust. That’s why we’re out here.”

With that, she left the creature in the alley who only watched as she left. Slowly he turned around and walked back to his home.

When Scootaloo got back from her deal, she made her way to the apartment and was thinking about ways of lying about the bits. She didn’t have to, but she had noticed the look Sweetie Belle had been giving the former Apple whenever she came home.

She couldn’t blame them. There were so many things she thought she would be doing with her life, but she never expected to become a blacksmith.

But then again, life has a funny way of tricking creatures.

Opening the door, she noticed that her two friends weren’t in the kitchen or living room, insinuating that they were either outside or in their rooms. The pegasus sighed in relief, made her way to her room, and closed the door behind her, locking it.

Making her way to a gold-coloured chest that was at the end of the bed, she opened it and revealed the hundreds of stacks of bits she had made the last few weeks. She knew she was rich, but she knew that it wasn’t enough, she needed more bits, more weapons.

That was just one of her many problems, she needed to figure out where she could find loyal creatures that would support her in the future.

The pegasus had tried.

She had tried to forgive them, tried to move on, but she just couldn’t. She just... there was so much pain in her heart. She could never forgive anypony in Ponyville. She had no choice. She had to do what she needed to do.

Throwing in the bits and closing the chest, she made her way to the desk that was beside a full-body mirror. She opened the drawer on the desk, revealing a journal with her name on it. She opened the journal and took out an ink and quill while wondering what she should write.

‘This is harder than any creatures think. I’m not good with my emotions,’ She thought with a bitter sigh.

Finally, she decided to just write down the things at the top of her head.

Badlands, four months since exile, night.

I managed to sell the weapons to some creature that needed them for Celestia knows what. I don’t care, as long as I earn enough bits for weapons and soldiers for the future. I feel the sorrow in my heart grow and I know what I must do. I must take over Ponyville and punish them for what they did to me.

That Is the only way they will ever realise their criminal act of injustice did to me and my friends. Yes, I spread secrets, and yes it was wrong, but to drive out three fillies over some secrets is low, especially after we tried to apologise. They will all suffer for their actions.

I have an idea of how to dethrone the Storm King. However, I must somehow find a weakness within his military that could somehow work in my favour which is a very slim possibility. But not to worry, I will find a way to defeat him and make him wish for mercy.

The creatures here in Kludgetown don’t seem to care much about the King, but that could be because the Badlands don’t care much for rulers that they could care less about. To them; Storm King is nothing more but a pest who acts as if he’s the ruler when in reality; he doesn’t even control a simple market.

I found this to be interesting. Storm King doesn’t care much for taxes in Badlands, that most likely comes from somewhere else. So I wonder, where is the source of his income? If I can somehow stop the flow, I can make his ‘empire’ fall and I in turn will humiliate him beyond understanding.

But first things first; I will need to study the military as much as possible to make a strategic take-over of Ponyville.

Scootaloo, future ruler of Ponyville.

She closed her journal and let out a content sigh. She loved writing down her plans so she could easily remember her goal. Whenever she felt unsure of what she was doing, she would open her journal, read the last few entries and have the same vigour she had before if not more.

Getting up from her chair, she trotted over to the window and saw one of Storm King’s ships hovering above the town with such an eerie aura, that it made her neck coat rise. She swore to Celestia that there was something or some creature on that ship that had evil intentions, which is what she needed.

But the orange-coated pegasus she could trust no creature but herself and her friends. Her friends would never understand fully, and she did not blame them, but she knew that they would accept it. She knew it. All she needed to do was convince them that it was the right thing; that the ponies of Ponyville needed to be punished for their crimes against them.

Oh, how she longed for the day she would stand on top of the hill overlooking everypony who would only stare in shock as the three fillies they had driven away were back seeking vengeance.

Scootaloo’s mouth twitched slightly, and her voice let out a small giggle, the giggle turned into a chuckle, and the chuckle turned into a burst of full-blown laughter at the mere thought of the faces she would see when she would return to her former home gave her a certain rush that she’d never felt before. It made her feel giddy.

Glancing at the ship, she could not help but feel her inner darkness nearly consume her like a bite. It was covering her as if to protect her from the light of day. Her face turned into a maniacal grin.

Author's Note

Sorry for the late chapter guys, this was meant to be posted over a week ago, life got in the way so I do apologise for that but I do hope you enjoyed the chapter, and stay tuned for more. I will be posting every Monday once a week.

Chapter 8 — Crusaders Democratic Party

Kludgetown, Badlands, 6 months later.

Scootaloo glared at the airships that hovered over the town. It was taunting her; daring her to commit a coup. But it would have to wait. She knew that. She was willing to wait for the takeover.

Planning for half a year had made her realise she had far more patience than she knew. It had never once occurred to her that she might have better tolerance than when she lived in Ponyville. Till now that is. The orange-coated filly couldn’t help but chuckle. The ponies of Ponyville were pathetic weaklings that could never understand her pain. Her friends’ pain. Or even pain at all.

Speaking of her friend’s pain, it was no surprise that her friends were starting to grow homesick. She could see the look in their eyes, wondering if they could ever return.

But they couldn’t.

They were banished from Ponyville so they could never return without being shunned by the ponies of the small town.

Or that is the illusion Scootaloo had come to understand it. She couldn’t understand why they would love them for spreading gossip and then the next second hate them when they found out who it was.

Clenching her hoof, she felt the anger spike inside of her like a boiling point. How dare they betray her. How dare they shun them for giving them what they wanted. How. Dare. They. Go. Unpunished!

She slammed her hoof into the wall next to her so hard that there was a hole big enough to look through with her eyes.

Scootaloo couldn’t feel the pain in her hoof. It was non-existent.

Her sister... former sister... Rainbow Dash dumped rainwater on her.

Suddenly, all the rage within Scootaloo washed away like the water over the stone and felt tears well up in her eyes and she allowed them to fall. She started to sob and smashed her face against the pillow in her bed when she had made her way over. She couldn’t face anyone now. She could not allow herself to show weakness to her friends or her enemies. She needed to look strong for the future of Badlands and potentially... Ponyville.

She cried for hours into her pillow, allowing all her emotions to run wild, tiring herself out. When she finished, she felt better. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her back and could breathe properly.

She liked that feeling.

Scootaloo got off the bed and looked into her mirror and saw her red eyes from all the crying she had done. She gave a small smile to herself before she walked up to her desk and glanced at the mark she had been designing for the last couple of weeks.

The mark was two swords clashing, forming an X with words at the bottom; Crusaders Democratic Party. That is what she decided to name her party.

She was by no means a politician, but it must be easy, right? You tell ponies what to do that tell other ponies what to do and the jobs get done, don’t they? Easiest job in the world.

Scootaloo had yet to tell her friends her plan. Their laughter still was ingrained in her mind. Well, she did tell them technically, they just didn’t care to listen. They believed it to be a joke.

Was it cowardice or was it depression?

She shook her head. It wasn’t their fault. After everything that happened, they probably want nothing to do with their family. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that they believed she was joking. The coup would have only made things worse in the long run as everypony already hates them, let’s not give them more wood for the fire was probably their line of thinking.

‘Don’t worry girls, I will make it right. I will commit the coup and make sure they are punished for their crimes.’ Scootaloo thought with an angry look on her face.

Her friends were out working. Sweetie Belle was the sole filly between the three that was making five figures in terms of bits. Scootaloo hadn’t been surprised, to say the least. Modelling was a line of work that could make you gain notability, and if you gained notability, you got more work which equals more bits.

Scootaloo was curious if Rarity had heard of Sweetie Belle being in the Badlands. Modelling was the fashionistas' thing anyways, the white-coated mare was bound to know just about anypony or creature's name in terms of fashion.

If she had found out her little sister was in the Badlands, then Scootaloo would have to make plans to not run into the main six.

She would have to commit some... well there are no laws in the Badlands so she couldn’t be committing any crimes but in Equestria, she’d be breaking the law.

Walking up to the window, she could see the airships flying away, signalling that they were done with the citizens here for this week or month.

‘I will take those ships down, and I will end Storm King,’ Scootaloo thought with a smirk.

She had been researching the Storm King and learned that he had come to Badlands a few decades ago. Scootaloo suspected that he had ruled for much longer than that. Storm King treats every creature equally, allowing them to do whatever they want whenever they want as long as they remain loyal to him.

Scootaloo couldn’t help but scoff at that. If any creature should get that kind of respect; it should be her.

The orange-coated filly couldn’t help but feel her rage come back. The fact that Storm King had everything she needed was infuriating, to say the least. She would need to dispose of him. It will be difficult. She needs a weapon that can shoot long-range and hit the airships somehow.

The filly knew where to get such weapons, but she didn’t know how to build them. She’d heard rumours that there was a weapons dealer that sold explosives that could be attached to any kind of weapon.

‘Soon,’ She thought. ‘Soon,’

Kludgetown, Badlands, 6 months and 2 weeks later.

Applebloom was inside her room reading a novel she had bought from a bookstore. There wasn’t much for her to do in her spare time, so she had picked up a new hobby which was reading. In fact, she realised how fun it was when she’d read a book about a boy who found the perfect soil to grow cucumber.

After that, she had focused on farming books which had gradually expanded into many different genres to which she had no preference in reading material, as long as it was readable.

The other reason she was reading today though, was that Scootaloo was acting a bit strange and tried to get her mind of it. Her mind, though, seemed to have other ideas.

She gave up and placed the book on the bookshelf where it was filled with books.

The former Apple walked up to her window and glanced out to the airships that made sure they were following the Storm King’s laws. She didn’t mind. They allowed her and her friends to live and work there, so she had no problems living under the king that was known for being cruel.

Was she afraid? Yes.

That was something Applebloom couldn’t deny. She was afraid of the Storm King, but not as much when time had started to slowly pass. By each day, she realised that there wasn’t really anything to be afraid of. Storm King was... a buffon to put it simply.

He wasn’t as good of a ruler as the princesses from Equestria, but he was royalty nonetheless.

Speaking of Storm King, Applebloom couldn’t help but notice that Scootaloo had spent an awful lot of time researching about the King. At first, she shrugged it off believing it was just a fascination of the kingdom they now lived in.

Lawless Kingdom?

She didn’t know what to say when it came to the “laws” of this place.

But when she saw her friend starting to isolate herself, work more, research more, that is when Applebloom realised that something was wrong with her pegasus friend. But she didn’t know what to do to help.

Scootaloo was her own filly and could take care of herself. She found work, she helps pay the bills, she helps with dinner, and she interacts with them, albeit, not as much. But there was something... off about her. The young Apple couldn’t find the words to describe it, but something was amiss.

‘Maybe I’m overthinkin’ it, perhaps she just have been busy.’ Applebloom thought with a hopeful expression on her face. ‘Maybe If I go talk tha’ her, she’ll let me now everythin’s alright.’

With that, she left her room and walked down the hallway to her pegasus’ friends room and knocked on the door and waited.

After half a minute, she knocked again, this time, a bit louder in case Scootaloo hadn’t heard her. No answer.

Applebloom tried the door and found it to be unlocked.

Peering her head inside, she saw the books, journals, and drawings that mounted the desk. She glanced over to the bed but didn’t find her friend there. Looking around the room, she realised that it had been months since she’s been inside and decided to take a look around.

It was beautiful. Beautiful by Badlands standards. It was livable though, the Apple had to give them that.

She was just about to leave when something caught her eye.

Turning her head to face the desk, she noticed that there were drawings of a mark. Getting closer, she noticed that it was a drawing of two swords forming an X. It looked like a noble family crest if she would be honest. That’s when she noticed it. The text.

Crusaders Democratic Party.

She felt her brows furrow in confusion.

Since when did her friend read? Read anything relating to politics of any kind? Did Scootaloo also get bored and decided to try a new hobby?

The drawing seemed to have a purpose, not just some kids fantasy.

That’s when she felt uneasy.

Slowly, she backed out of the room. She swore that there was something inside that room that felt angry and wanted to lash out, but nothing happened. She closed the door to Scootaloo’s room and went back to her room, wondering what the mark was about.

Author's Note

Hello guys, Dragon-In-Black here, I hope you guys enjoyed today's chapter I really enjoyed writing it so I sincerely hope you enjoyed these words. Now, first and foremost; don’t worry. As I've written before; Scootaloo will be redeemable. What you've read about her will stay that way. She will be daring and do a few things that feel unimaginable, but she will never go too far.

Chapter 9 — Princess Luna & The Cat

Everfree Forest, 7 months since the Crusaders left.

The princess of the night, Luna was making her way through the Everfree Forest with a solemn look on her face. Ever since she had found out the young fillies had run away from home, she had not been able to feel even a little happiness.

While she didn’t know them personally, she could relate to them on a deep level; they were both shunned and to some extent banished. She had been, but those fillies were exiled by self-decision.

When she found out the element bearers had shunned their siblings, she didn’t know what to feel. Anger was certainly an emotion she felt, but that came later when she realised the fillies were no longer in the place they once called home. The act of leaving once home behind without looking back is one many warriors throughout history have done. Most of them never returned.

She could not get over the fact that those fillies had made their way over to the Badlands.

The princess of the night did realise that the fillies weren’t aware of how dangerous the lands were, but she would retrieve them. They had sent out several parties to the Badlands, but they had never returned and all communication they had with one particular party had seized their messages.

Luna would be lying if she said that she wasn’t a little disgusted that it had taken her so long to realise that she should have gone to search for them herself.

She should have done it the second she heard they were missing. Out of everyone in Equestria, she was the one who could relate to them the most. She was the one who wanted some praise and her sisters’ attention but was eventually shunned and banished to the moon for millennia. These fillies, banished themselves because they had been shunned by every pony in the town.

When she reached the end of the forest, she was met with a desert that stretched for miles.

This was one of the things she was fearing the most; that the three fillies were dead. The Badlands didn’t just have high criminality but it also had intense heat only the creatures that lived here and the dragons could stand.

Speaking of dragons, she prayed to her parents that Spike The Dragon was okay.

The young dragon had asked to be sent with the royal guards' team as a communicator as he could send direct messages to Princess Celestia. The night princess had liked the idea but changed the magic direction so it would be sent to her instead as...

She winced. She felt like she was betraying her sister... and she was...

Her sister, Celestia, was not a good ruler. A thousand years ago she was, but she certainly isn’t now. She had become soft. Luna had seen how her sister seemed to be reliant on Twilight Sparkle in some of the cases they had talked about. Luna didn’t like the insinuations that her sister had of the lavender mare.

Luna shook her head getting off-topic. So she had agreed and had quickly trained him how to fight if it came down to it. He was surprisingly good with a bow and arrow. He was a natural.

When Luna had made it over the tenth or so sand hill, she noticed that airships were hovering over the area and she felt her face become stoic.

Storm King.

She knew precisely who he was and she knew that it was his soldiers who were on those ships looking for defectors or refugees. Both of which would end badly for the poor souls.

Luna quickly cast a spell to make her invisible and watched as the airships slowly made their way towards a town that looked to be far away. She knew the town quite well.

Kludgetown.

At least she believed it to be the town. She hadn’t been here for a thousand years. For all, she knew it could be a new town that was built. It wouldn’t surprise her the slightest. Many kingdoms throw out their subjects when they commit heinous crimes which cause the criminals to band together in these lands and find ways to earn money. No doubt there were a few ponies out here.

She trekked for kilometres without stopping and she was getting tired. She wasn’t thirsty or hungry. She had packed food and water with her, but she did not need it now. Not when she was getting closer to the town she suspected was the one she knew of.

Just five days before she’d sent a letter to Celestia’s contact asking in advance if he could host her and promised she wouldn’t be a bother.

She received a response in a much quicker time than she’d anticipated. She’s used her magic and sent an object that would send a letter if the creature would answer. In response; the creature had said that there would be no problems and to be careful as Storm King soldiers had been getting volatile as of late.

She heeded his warning and was thankful she did.

Kludgetown, an unknown creature's house.

He was preparing to head out to find his guest so he could quickly get her inside his home.

He knew it would be dangerous and had heard rumours that a few Kludgetown citizens had disappeared when it was revealed they had been hiding fugitives of the Storm King. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen to him if the ruler found out he had a princess in his home, from another kingdom.

He wore his black fedora hat and had decided on a black suit with black boots as it was getting late and didn’t want to be spotted by Storm King patrols. While no one in town spoke of it; everyone knew that the Storm King soldiers roamed the streets at night. Pubs and restaurants knew this the most as they were the ones that had secretly told as many creatures as they could, both the workers and the ones that came to enjoy themselves.

He knew if he was caught, he’d no doubt face severe consequences.

Just when he was about to leave, he heard a knock on the door. He cringed. Tax creatures. Stealing his money yet again.

He walked over to the door and peeked through the peephole and burst open the door and ushered the creature inside. Slamming the door behind him, he locked the door and closed the peephole in case the soldiers were nearby.

“Princess Luna?” He asked while bowing to the princess before him.

The mare smiled at him.

“Yes, Capper it is I. I wish we would have met under better circumstances,” She added grimly while glancing around the small house.

Capper was a cat who lived in the Badlands in the town of Kludgetown. He felt sheepish as he’d realised he had not made a single effort to tidy the place up even remotely.

“Sorry about the mess,” He mumbled while frantically trying to tidy the place up at record speed. Luna simply giggled.

“It’s fine, Capper, I do not mind. I’m the one intruding.” She smiled again before it disappeared once again off her face. “Capper I must ask you; have you run into three young fillies while here? One of them is yellow-coated with a red mane and tail named Applebloom. Another one is white-coated with a light pink and light purple mane and tail named Sweetie Belle. The final filly is orange-coated with a dark purple mane and tail named Scootaloo.”

Capper nodded grimly and looked ashamed of himself.

“I ran into the last filly you mentioned. I had made a deal with a blacksmith about a few weapons that I had planned to sell for a higher price to The Revolution. She was the one who gave me the weapons and I paid her good money for them.” He couldn’t meet her gaze, but he knew that she was shocked by what he said.

“Wait, ist thou telling I, that she sold weapons to thou?” Luna didn’t realise she had spoken in the old dialect. Luckily, the cat knew what she meant.

“Yes, I had made a special order from the Blacksmiths and paid extra for a delivery which she had taken for extra bits I presume. She didn’t speak much, I did try to pry but she told me it wasn’t my concern.”

Luna thought long and hard about this. So miss Scootaloo was a blacksmith and weapons dealer. If she would be honest, she never believed that the young pegasus would do that. Instead, she imagined her to be more of a stunter and would earn bits through her stunts.

Maybe being shunned had worse consequences than they thought.

“What of the others, what are they doing?” She asked, hopeful that they hadn’t taken similar jobs. Capper smiled at this.

“The first one you mentioned, Applebloom, is a baker and earns good bits from it. Her bread became very popular here in Kludgetown as she bakes with love compared to other bakeries.” He explained. Sensing the other unasked question, he laid it on her. “The second one, Sweetie Belle is a model here in Badlands. She hasn’t left Kludgetown to my knowledge, but I know she is very popular and sought after because of her beauty.”

Luna sighed in relief.

“That is good news. Is there anything I should be concerned about?” She asked with uncertainty in her voice. She saw how Capper’s eyes darted towards the windows and door as if trying to find eavsdroppers. He found none.

“I have been... following miss Scootaloo and have observed she’s been studying the airships of the Storm King. I do not know if it means anything, but don’t be surprised if you find something related to it.”

Luna let out a shaky breath. This was suspicious and dangerous.

Even if the studying of the airships meant nothing, it was still something that Luna knew her sister would have overlooked as ‘young filly curiosity’ which, Luna would admit, is what she believed to be the case. The difference here, is that she’s opened minded that something might be going on.

“Thank you, Capper for allowing me to stay here. I promise I will not be a bother.” Luna said with respect.

Capper smiled. “You will not have to worry about it princess, we will get them home.”

“I hope so,” Luna responded before the cat showed her the way to her small room he had prepared in time for her.

Same night, Kludgetown, Badlands.

Scootaloo was working tirelessly through her journals of information that she had accumulated over the last few months. She had learned that the airships flew over their apartment at a certain time in the night which was always four-thirty-seven AM.

Now, If she managed to find a weapon like a rocket, she would be able to shoot it down. You see, when they flew over, the airships let out a poisonous gas that was highly explosive if put in the right circumstances.

Scootaloo grinned. Soon, Storm King’s tyranny would be over and she would become the rightful ruler.

Author's Note

Hey guys, Dragon-In-Black here, I hope you enjoyed today's chapter it was really fun to write and I will wish you guys a great week! I do apologise if the chapter seems or feels rushed in any way, that was not my intention and I’m always trying to improve my writing to the best of my abilities.

Chapter 10 — The First Member

Kludgetown, Badlands, 8 months later.

Scootaloo was sitting in her room with her journal wide open. She’d been writing a few sentences that she needed to get off her chest. It was therapeutic. But she had stopped as she had no idea what to write.

Irritated, she put the quill down and placed the journal on her desk and walked to the window.

‘Eight months... eight months since the ponies of Ponyville shunned us. Eight months since we were forced to leave our home.’ Scootaloo felt her face darkening. It was getting increasingly hard to control her emotions.

Sure, she had a temper, every pony and her friends, knew this more than any creature else. But this wasn’t common anger that any regular pony had. No. This was dangerous. This was anger that made ponies do things that they felt satisfied with at the moment.

But after the fact, they’d realise what they’d done.

But Scootaloo wouldn’t go that far. No. She’d never seriously hurt the ponies be it physically or mentally. She would never go that far. She felt heartache when she thought about to things she had wanted to do to them.

There had been a point in time when she had wanted to do those things, but as she matured, she realised that it would be taking things too far.

The orange filly noticed the airships flying overhead and briefly wondered how she would take down the Storm King. As she calmed down, she realised that she wouldn’t be able to face him head-on, but she knew that the arrogant buffoon was a threat to her plans. She needed him out of the picture so she could commit the coup against Ponyville.

‘I need to tread carefully. He might be on to me.’ Scootaloo thought with furrowing brows.

While she doubted the Storm King knew of her entire existence, she had a feeling that her selling highly illegal weapons—In Storm King’s eyes—had brought attention to her indirectly.

There had been an increase in Storm soldiers roaming around day and night patrolling every possible market area, alleyway, restaurant, bar, pub, you name it. This increase created a downside; selling the weapons was a lot more dangerous and could mean prison time if she wasn’t careful. Not just for her, but for the blacksmith shop, clients, and potential future clients.

However, the upside was that the Storm King wouldn’t rule for long. Soon, he would fall. He would fall for all of Equestria to see. They would see their King be thrown out with humiliation on his face. They would realise what a buffoon he was, and they would ask themselves; “why did we ever allow him to rule?” causing the ego that the former King at that point, to falter further.

Yes. That would be good. Getting humiliated by a filly that knew what she was doing.

She would be the greatest ruler there ever was in history! There would be books about her, there would be creatures who would worship her, there would be—

“Scoots?”

Scootaloo turned to see Sweetie Belle standing in the doorway with a look of confusion on her face.

“Oh, hello there Sweetie, sorry that I didn’t notice you. Did ya wait long?” The filly asked the becoming model.

“Oh, not at all. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright with you. You know, it’s been a while since we did anything together. Would you like to do something soon?”

Scootaloo internally sighed. It had become a regular theme from Sweetie Belle that she’d ask if they wanted to do anything. Most of the time, Scootaloo would say she was busy, but there had been times she had accepted. Today would be one of those times. It had been too long.

“You know what? It’s been too long. What did you plan?” She smiled when she saw Sweetie Belle’s eyes widen in shock and happiness before letting out a squeal.

“Oh, I found this awesome golf place we could go to! They serve cold drinks with delicious food and they have a VIP hotel that we can stay in for a week. It’ll be like a vacation!”

Scootaloo had to admit, it sounded lovely. While she may not be a huge golf fan, she wouldn’t mind if it meant catching up to the girls a bit. Staying away from the house for a week would do her some good. It would certainly help her deteriorating mental health.

“I may not be good at golf, but it sounds fun.” Scootaloo smiled. “Have you asked Applebloom?”

“Yes I have, it seems like she got time off from work as she’s been looking forward to it.” Sweetie Belle Smiled with stars in her eyes. “What about you, gotten any time off?”

“Well, my job is stable in the sense that I can work whenever I want to but because I have been working for months on end, my boss has asked me if I wanted to take a break for the last few weeks. Now I have a good reason to rest.”

It wasn’t a lie, her boss had grown fond of her and had voiced his worry over her working too much. Both making the weapons, and selling them late at night to creatures who would do Celestia knows what. Because of this, her boss offered to give her a few days of rest but she refused. Because of this, she’s stacked up a few weeks' worths of rest.

Sweetie Belle smiled.

“Well, that does it, whenever you tell your boss you want a day off is the day we will leave.”

The orange filly smiled at her friend and glanced at the calendar. It was Tuesday. She could leave and tell her boss that she wouldn’t be available for a week which no doubt would relieve him.

“We’ll leave tomorrow then. I have no problems informing him today as he is expecting me about some affairs he wants me to do. I’ll leave now as it's getting late.” Scootaloo said, grabbing the knife that she kept with her at all times these days. She’d gotten quite paranoid.

Sweetie Belle noticed Scootaloo grabbing the knife from the desk but didn’t say anything.

“Great! Well, then I’ll inform Applebloom to pack the bags and prepare for tomorrow.” She left the room with a wave and the orange-coated filly waved back while she felt slight panic. Her friend saw the knife. It looked like it at least. No. Her friend did see it.

Would she inform Applebloom?

No matter. If she left quickly, she wouldn’t have to worry about it.

She did just that and didn’t look back as she partially jogged away from the house and moved further into the town, noticing the Storm soldiers marching around while questioning anyone who looked even remotely suspicious.

...by their standards.

However, as she continued to make her way inside the dark alleys of Kludgetown, she realised how quiet it started to become. Kludgetown was known for being loud and boisterous. This was a fact every creature accepted when coming here. Scootaloo certainly accepted it, Applebloom was used to it because she had lived and worked on the farm. Sweetie Belle, on the other hoof, had a harder time accepting it as she wasn’t used to the loud noises. Sure, she could be loud, but that was because she dictated her voice to be that way. The creatures here... they weren’t aware, or had no control over their voices the same way the unicorn filly did.

Nonetheless, Sweetie Belle adapted.

However, the quietness was enough to set Scootaloo on edge. Too quiet.

When she got into a large opening, revealing four walls around her with two places to leave; the one behind her and the one in front of her, close to a large container filled with trash.

This felt wrong.

Slowly, she grabbed the knife and glanced carefully around, expecting an enemy to jump out and attack her. It was late at night as well. Meaning that the crime rate would be exceedingly high at this point.

“I know you are out there,” Scootaloo calmly said, with her posture stiff. She didn’t know what made her say it, and she certainly didn’t expect a reply back.

“You do, do you?” Came a voice she recognised.

She turned in the direction of the voice and felt complete and utter confusion when she saw that it was the cat of all creatures. More specifically, the cat that had sold them the house; their neighbour. What was he doing here?

“Capper... what are you doing here?”

At first, he didn’t respond. The silence felt deafening, but he did speak up but avoided the question.

“I have heard rumours of a resistance against the Storm King has been in the works for a while now,” Capper claimed with a grin on his face. “What do you know about it?”

Scootaloo raised a brow. She knew what he was talking about. There was a group called Sombra’s Hoof that wanted to dethrone Storm King, but to her knowledge, they weren’t successful and needed a new leader after one of them had disappeared under mysterious... circumstances. She had planned on recruiting them for her cause. If they were as good as she’s heard from others, then they were worth gaining the trust of.

“Just that they haven’t been successful in dethroning Storm King,”

The cat whistled.

“You know your stuff, but I believe you want them to have a different goal.”

She felt her irritation come back to her tenfold but she didn’t lash out. she controlled her emotions. He had hit the nail in the coffin.

“Maybe it is true, why would you insinuate this?” The filly asked.

To her surprise; he got down on one knee and spoke;

“If that is the truth, then I would be more than willing to join you in any way shape or form. You see, I’m tired of living under the Storm King’s rule. His tyranny has driven a wedge between us and him and the rule is on the brink of collapse. I want to be one of the contributing creatures that make him fall to the ground. To achieve this I realise I need a leader who is strong and unafraid. That Is where You fit the category—”

“Okay, I get it!” The filly cried out frustratedly. “You want to join, your in. Welcome to the Crusaders Democratic Party!”

Capper smiled and bowed to his newfound leader. Unaware to the filly, however, there was an alicorn on top of a roof overlooking the lot they were in.

Author's Note

Hello guys, Dragon-In-Black here, back with another chapter I’m happy with how this turned out and I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did. Scootaloo is slowly changing from her dark-minded ways but only in the sense of murder and torture. The reason I changed it was that I realised I made her seem like a crazed lunatic who would murder which I do not want to write, which is why I changed it here.

Chapter 11 — Preperation

Kludgetown, Badlands, 10 months later.

Scootaloo was doing the paperwork. Yes. Paperwork. she couldn’t fathom it. Never In her life did she expect herself to slave away at paperwork, the definition of all evil.

She had to though.

Crusaders Democratic Party has gained over eleven new members. In total; they were thirteen. But she needed more creatures that would easily follow her command as well as her friends. If she were to succeed with the coup, she would need loyal followers that would follow her word to the very end.

She was inside her room, not looking up as she heard steps drawing closer to her room. The orange filly had a feeling it was her neighbour and lieutenant. It could be no creature else, her friends were out working again.

The vacation had been fantastic to put it simply. Scootaloo had been the only filly who had golfed because the other two didn’t feel like playing. Nonetheless, she had enjoyed the time and had in secrecy been in contact with Capper; informing him of her plans, but only the tip of the iceberg. She didn’t know the cat well and she wouldn’t allow a vacation to let it slip that she wanted to punish every creature in Ponyville. She had simply said she wanted to rule the small town because it looked like an easy target.

From her standpoint, it seemed like the mysterious cat was satisfied with that bit of information.

Continuing on her vacation, Scootaloo had enjoyed strangely enough, delicious food that the hotel had offered as well as cider that didn’t taste as good as the one from Sweet Apple Acres, but was a great replacement until she committed her coup.

She had been surprised, however, when she heard rumours that an alicorn princess was in the Badlands. Allegedly, an alicorn had been spotted somewhere in Badlands, but the papers didn’t say where she’d been seen.

Scootaloo suspected it was one of the alicorn sisters.

There was no pony else... except... a princess named Mi Amore Cadenza.

Scootaloo had heard a rumour that there had been a failed coup attempt in Canterlot by creatures called changelings. She had been utterly baffled. Not that there was another alicorn, but that the changelings failed the invasion.

From her knowledge, it sounded like princess Celestia was well aware of the fact that the changelings were there but ignored the signs deliberately or expected Twilight Sparkle to fix everything.

Then again, she wasn’t there to witness it herself so she had no right to judge the princess of the sun for her actions, or lack thereof.

Now... which of the alicorns was it?

Well, she suspected that it was Princess Luna.

She wouldn’t rule out the possibility that it was this... Cadenza... but it just didn't sit well with her. From her knowledge, the princess was still inside Canterlot and hadn’t travelled anywhere nor did there seem to be any plans for such a thing. Considering the princess was newlywed, there could be no pony else except Princess Luna.

The princess of the night was out of the media of Equestria and would have an easier time navigating the Badlands without much trouble. Of course, there was quite a bit of controversy against the princess, so most ponies were wary of her in the first place which didn’t sit right with Scootaloo.

There were a few ponies who believed that Princess Luna wasn’t Princess Celestia’s sister but a fake that had false wings and believed she was manipulating the princess of the sun.

Never in her life had Scootaloo heard something so ridiculous. They made foal’s lies seem believable.

But then again, she could understand that they would be wary of the princess but she could never understand why Princess Celestia of all ponies would be manipulated by the night princess.

How come Nightmare Moon was sent to the moon then?

She wasn’t saying the sister of Celestia was weaker, but if you can defeat an enemy once, you can do it again. Princess Celestia would have—

“Getting off-topic,” She muttered with no small amount of irritation.

There was a knock on her door.

“Come in,” The pegasus responded while checking a paper beneath the one she was almost finished with.

The door opened and it revealed Capper. He was wearing a black fedora hat with the Crusaders Democratic Party pin along with a suit that had a bandana on the left arm on the elbow where it had the same mark, signalling that Scootaloo had been hard at work with her politics.

“Miss Scootaloo, I have heard that there has been an attack in the market area five miles from here.” The cat responded with a large bow.

The filly didn’t react.

“Was any creature hurt?”

“No, no casualties.”

Scootaloo couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. While she may want to rule Badlands with an iron fist, she didn’t want to resort to... that.

“Who carried out the attack?” Scootaloo asked, putting her quill down while staring at her lieutenant expectantly. If Capper thought it worthy to tell her this information then there must be a good reason for it.

Capper felt his sweat run down his face. He was uncertain of how he was going to answer. He knew that there was no way he could sugarcoat it.

“Allegedly, the Storm King is behind it.” He finally answered, afraid of what Scootaloo would say or do.

The silence was deafening. Scootaloo stared at the cat with no emotion on her face, trying to find any kind of deceit. Her hooves were resting on the hoof rest of her chair but she didn’t feel them. It was like they had gone limp. The filly didn’t know how to react to this. On one hoof she could finally have something to use against the Storm King, on the other hoof, she didn’t know if this was yet another false alarm.

Unknown to Capper, Scootaloo had heard similar things from informants around the town and Badlands.

“So he attacks his own subjects... I never thought that I would be so disgusted by a pony like that.”

Capper didn’t know how to respond. He did nod in agreement, though, as it was a disgusting thing to do. Yes, no creature was hurt, but that didn’t mean that the attempt wasn’t disgusting nonetheless. Storm King was many things, but the mischievous cat never believed that the buffoon of a King would harm a subject.

“How are the creatures taking it?” Scootaloo asked while using a red stamp to approve a paper.

“They’re angry.”

Suddenly, without warning. Scootaloo laughed. Full-blown laughter hitting her hoof on the desk kind of laughter. Capper jumped from the sudden hit but calmed down when he saw the young filly laughing.

“Of course they’re angry! Why wouldn’t they be?” She asked rhetorically. “They almost lost family members and friends, it's understandable that they are furious and want answers for the buffoon’s foolishness.”

Capper knew better than to say anything when the filly ranted.

“Which in itself is weird considering they’ve just accepted that there’s a ruler there doing only Celestia knows what, half the time, but they’re just... existing... they aren’t doing anything except the rare few secret anti-Storm-King rebels, but that’s it. It’s them and then there’s me who's trying to commit a coup. Speaking of which...”

Her voice had become low when she had mentioned the coup and her eyes darted around as if to find spies but found none.

“...Have you found any new recruits or soldiers who are willing to join us?” Scootaloo asked with a serious face.

One thing she knew she would never be ungrateful for would be the loyal soldiers and recruits that join her. When the first few members had joined her party after learning of her story—which she had no choice but to reveal—joined her. There were a few different creatures ranging from ponies, dragons, diamond dogs and a cat.

She had also heard rumours that there had been a swarm of changelings who had settled around the Badlands who Scootaloo wanted to meet in hope of getting new recruits. If she used the changelings she could make a clean coup and would be the successor of Ponyville along with her friends. But, she also wanted to ponies to learn that not all changelings were bad either. Scootaloo knew this because she had an understanding the ponies did not. She had no problems with different creatures because she knew that they had the same rights as they did to exist on this planet and live together.

She would never accept the prejudice she now realised the ponies had against other creatures.

Scootaloo remembered how miss Cheerilee would talk about other creatures while getting uncomfortable as if she felt disdain. Well, every creature apart from Spike...

Tch...

Scootaloo would have to make a better school system that would educate the ponies of Ponyville.

So much to do, yet so much to prepare...

Capper shook his head. “I’m sorry, Ma’am, but I have not found anyone else.”

“That’s okay, I’m not expecting to have success every time. But...” Her face darkened as she stared him down. “I expect to have a clean success of taking over Ponyville, understood?”

“Yes, Ma’am!” He saluted.

Scootaloo nodded, her piece had been said. “You may leave unless you have more information?”

“No ma’am,” He bowed and left, leaving Scootaloo alone to her thoughts.

She let out a sigh. Storm King had committed an attack towards his subjects. Why? Just why would he do that? What motive does he have? She grumbled as she tried to figure out what possibilities there were but she honestly, couldn’t find anything other than wanting to inflict fear into his subjects.

If he inflicts fear, it means that they will feel loyal to him and be afraid of what he’d do if they were to retaliate. Yes. Now It made sense. So that’s what he’s trying to do. Sadly for him, it did not work. His subjects are rather angry.

She couldn’t help but chuckle.

He was a buffoon. He would fall before her and she’d take his throne.

Author's Note

Hello guys, Dragon-In-Black here. I wanted to apologise for the late chapter, I meant to publish this yesterday but it wasn’t finished and I’d rather not rush a process when writing or write more when there is no reason to overwrite a chapter. This chapter was initially meant to be longer, but I liked how I ended it so I was happy. I hope you enjoy the chapter and I’ll begin writing for the next one tomorrow which will be updated on Monday.

Chapter 12 — The Weapons

Kludgetown, Badlands, 11 months.

Scootaloo woke up early in the morning and headed over to the kitchen where she began to prepare the coffee. Ever since she had woken up early and planned things out, she had realised that she was very tired most of the time so she needed a boost of energy. That’s when she had come across the coffee.

It had begun with that she had come in to work one morning looking groggy and moody. Her boss gave her a mug of coffee and told her it would help.

It did.

It helped so well that she had an entire cabinet with bags of coffee so she wouldn’t run out in the long term.

While she waited for her coffee to prepare, she walked to her room and locked the door and immediately started updating her journal while scrolling through other papers that she had written and papers from other creatures who gave ideas for investments that could make their future rule rich.

Most of it she agreed with but still took it with a pinch of salt.

One of the things she certainly would do was harvest as much food as possible. She would sadly have to burn at least one-quarter of the apple family farm in Ponyville to ensure that there were other fruits and vegetables for the other ponies who liked things other than apples.

Albeit, the apples from Sweet Apple Acres would be something Scootaloo would heavily invest in.

Another thing she agreed wholeheartedly was the military.

A military that would protect the Democratics Creatures Republic Of Ponyville. She would need loyal soldiers that would be willing to sacrifice everything for their kingdom that would make them feel proud. Now, with a military there needed to be weapons that they could use.

Scootaloo had no idea if the royal guards were there or not but she had to make adjustments to ensure that she easily could make the guards fall to their hooves, begging for mercy.

She would grant them their mercy.

She wasn’t cruel, she was a realist.

When she began writing the second paragraph of the sentence, there was a knock on the door. She pushed the chair back and walked to the door while checking through the keyhole. She may live with her best friends, but she couldn’t take any chances since she was in the Badlands. To her relief and no surprise, it was Sweetie Belle.

“Good morning, Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo greeted with a genuine smile causing the white-coated pony to brighten.

“Morning Scoots, I just came to tell you, your coffee’s ready!” She exclaimed with positive energy causing Scootaloo to almost jump from the loudness.

It had been almost a year since she last saw this type of energy from the filly.

“Sweetie, tone it down why do you have so much energy?” The orange-coated pony seemed to whine.

The filly smiled. “Well, I got an offer to travel to Manehattan for a photoshoot! The pay would be more than anything I have earned and the mare in question has worked with the likes of Fleur De Lis! But there’s a problem...” The filly got a gloomy aura around her.

“It’s because it's in Manehattan.” It was a statement.

“Right. Because of that, I’m torn. On one hoof, I would rather not pass up such an opportunity, but on the other hoof, I could be caught in Equestria and there would be a big chance that I would be sent back to Ponyville.”

Scootaloo couldn’t blame the filly for feeling hesitant. The pegasus would be lying if she said that she had never thought about going back to Ponyville and apologise to every pony for what she had done. But the more she thought about it, the angrier she got because all memories she had was negative of the quiet town. Or rather, most of them were positive, but because of the incident, she was starting to doubt what the ponies of the town had told her time and time again. All the positive aspects in them just vanished when they found out who Gabby Gums were, so the pegasus was on the stage where she needed to single out who hated and who didn’t hate her and her friends.

“I say you should do it. As you said; this is a one-time opportunity. Who knows when you’ll get another one? Besides, you enjoy the fame right?”

Sweetie Belle blushed and rolled her hoof in small circles.

“Well, I cannot deny that...”

“Then do it!” Scootaloo motivated, as she walked passed her and headed to the kitchen where she poured her cup of coffee with no small amount of glee. Her friend walked back to her room to presumably accept the offer of her photoshoot.

Scootaloo walked back to her room, coffee in hoof and closed the door and locked it once again. This time, she placed the mug on her desk and walked towards the bed and as quietly as she could, she moved the bed to the side Despite the fact the bed looked heavy, it was pretty easy to move.

The floor that the bed previously stood on revealed a trap door.

The trap door didn’t look impressive or anything, it was like any other hidden trap door from any book you could read about or hear from a friend. There was a chain that was made from polished gold that served as a handle that had small flowers carved into it.

Scootaloo had never studied what flowers were on it.

There was a lock on the handle that went through another hole that was on the side of the floor so it wouldn’t be opened by any burglars that might come and snoop around.

Scootaloo walked over to one of the bookshelves she had and pulled forth a golden key which she used to unlock the lock with ease.

There was a ‘click’ and she opened the trap door only to reveal a jaw-dropping site.

It revealed chests and chests of weapons lining the walls. The trap door had led to a bunker-like area with weapons everywhere along with thousands of bits in different chests.

Scootaloo made her way down and couldn’t help but grin at the weapons. This is what she had spent and forged with the bits that she had earned from her job over the last year and she felt proud about it. This was no easy achievement. She had spent blood, sweat and tears pilling all of this up. The bits came from the leftover she had but didn’t need them for anything other than a future salary for her soldiers.

She made her way towards a desk that was about thirty steps away from her and saw a small photo frame of herself and Rainbow Dash after a fun day out together in Ponyville.

Her face turned blank.

She turned around aggressively and didn’t look back as she climbed up the ladder and locked the trap door and hid the key.

Taking a sip of coffee, she felt her tiredness sweep away along with her worries. However, she couldn’t help but think about the opportunity that her friend had gotten. Manehattan. That was a city that she had not heard of In a long time. The last time she heard anything about it was that there had been some sort of attack from an unknown creature.

This was months ago.

Scootaloo shrugged. But what she hadn’t realised was that this would be one of the biggest mistakes she would ever make.

Author's Note

Hello guys, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter and I hope you guys enjoyed it I’m sorry if it feels rushed in any way, It was just that I hadn’t even begun writing the chapter because... life... happened to put it simply but here it is. I hope this chapter brought some enjoyment to the fans of this story and I’ll talk to you guys next time.

Chapter 13 — Preperation For Invasion

Badlands, Kludgetown, 11 months later.

Scootaloo was finalising her papers with an angry scowl on her face. It wasn’t the papers that she was angry at, it was rather the fact that she had lost her dear friend Sweetie Belle.

You see, when the white-coated filly enter manehattan, somehow, the royal guards were there and knew that Sweetie Belle was the same filly that had run away from Ponyville and took her back to the very same town where she had been shunned and forced into exile.

Scootaloo had heard this from Capper who had been told to keep watch over the filly by the orange-coated filly herself.

He had dutifully followed the order and kept watch, but couldn’t do anything to protect the young filly when the royal guards came to take her back. Needless to say, Scootaloo wasn’t in a good mood and would much rather commit the coup she had planned for quite some time now. Today was the day she would have an official meeting with every creature that was part of Crusaders Democratics Party.

She just wanted to finish some of the paperwork so she could have the meeting directly after.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle, I should have never allowed you to go, but I didn’t want you to stop chasing your dreams.” She muttered to herself, unaware that she was heard by the cat that stood guard outside the doorway.

“But not to worry. Soon, I will invade Ponyville, I will make sure you are protected by our army. I will make sure that the royal guards pay for what they have done to you,” She seethed, losing herself to her rage.

Capper gulped from the doorway. Even if it was a filly, the words she had spoken were not to be taken lightly.

Scootaloo finalised the papers and stacked them together before placing them inside a folder and putting them inside a drawer where she could read them later to make sure she signed them right and to remind herself of her plans.

“Capper?” She asked the cat who was still eavesdropping.

The cat stomped his foot to the floor and entered with his arms behind his back. He looked sharp and ready to take any orders his future ruler would command him.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Call every creature to the meeting room, as well as the defector.” She ordered without looking at him, preoccupied with the window she was glancing out of.

“The prisoner as well?” He asked in surprise.

“Yes, the prisoner, If he is remorseful as he says he is, then he will reveal information about Ponyville.” She explained with a small grin on her face that looked anything but kind.

Capper didn’t see her face but he did shiver slightly because he knew she was grinning and it never looked pleasant.

“Yes, I will take him to the meeting room. Will Leader Applebloom join us?” He asked with curiosity.

“I don’t know, she is very sad and tired. She had a long shift last night and she is still grieving the poor dear. I’ll tell her she can join if she wants to,” The orange-coated filly responded with a small sigh.

Capper nodded and bowed before he left the room to prepare for the meeting. Scootaloo continued to look out the window but her face became grim as she thought about all the fun memories she had with Sweetie Belle. She would save her. Sweetie Belle had been there for Scootaloo when she needed her so there was no way Scootaloo wasn’t going to return the favour. If she had to commit criminal acts to do so, she would.

“You will be free soon from prison, Sweetie Belle,” the orange-filly said, fully believing that they had arrested her friend.

She left the room and walked over to Applebloom’s room. She knew she was taking it pretty hard as they had been a lot closer the last few months than Scootaloo had been. The young ruler knew that she would never delude herself to say otherwise.

When she reached the room, she knocked on the door and hoped that she would receive a response from her apple friend.

“Who is it?” Applebloom asked with a hoarse voice from sobbing.

“It’s me, bloom, I wanted to ask if you wanted to go ahead and join the meeting?”

When Sweetie Belle had disappeared, Applebloom had been devastated, but she had noticed that their neighbour, Capper, would often come to visit Scootaloo and would always greet her with a smile and ask if she was alright to which she would answer; ‘no’. What the yellow-coated filly had noticed was that he wore a crest on his suit that resembled the symbol she had seen drawn inside Scootaloo's room so many months ago. When she confronted her pegasus friend, the pegasi shocked her by explaining her plans and what she was going to do. She learned of the creatures that had joined, and her ambition to rule Badlands, overthrow the Storm King and invade Ponyville. To say she had been shocked would have been a massive understatement.

Applebloom had demanded an answer as to why Scootaloo would want to do such a thing, so the pegasi explained Gabby Gums and everything that had happened to them inside Badlands. Scootaloo, for her part, did admit that everything in her plan had flaws which were why she needed older creatures that potentially knew what to do but also because she needed generals that would help in different areas. She also admitted that she felt pure rage every time she thought about Ponyville and the betrayal they suffered and explained to the best of her ability why she had to do this. That is when Scootaloo pulled the guilt card. She told Applebloom; “To save Sweetie Belle, we must invade and bring her out of prison.”

It had its desired effect.

“Uh, I don’t thin’ I’ll join tha’ day Scoots, I jus’ wan’ tha’ rest,” Applebloom quietly sniffled as she remembered her time in Ponyville and Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo sighed, expecting the answer. She wouldn’t force her friend to participate. She, however, needed to because she was the leader and because she would be the one to give the orders to attack and invade.

“Alright, see you later, Bloom,” The pegasi said her farewell and headed for the meeting room which was in the kitchen.

When she entered, she saw Capper along with the other creatures as well as the prisoner who wasn’t cuffed. She knew who the prisoner was. He was sitting beside a Griffin and an earth pony.

“Hello, Spike,” Scootaloo greeted colly. It wasn’t a cold greeting by any means, but there were better greetings out there. She noticed how the dragon bowed to her, acknowledging his respect for her.

“Hello, leader Scootaloo,” He greeted. His face was blank like her generals but it was no malice in his eyes.

She nodded to him before she glanced around the room. Dragons, Griffins, Ponies, Cats, Changelings even! She had certainly gained quite a following. One of the changeling's names was Thorax. She had found him in the food market, skinny to the bone and starving. He had been kicked out of his hive and had nowhere to go so he fled to Badlands. Scootaloo wasn’t one to judge. Why should she? After what happened; she had no reason to limit herself to only ponies. Which was impossible in the Badlands.

“Hello every creature,” She greeted and they greeted her back in unison. “Today is the day we officially will look for ways to invade Ponyville or commit a coup towards the Storm King. Either is fine as long as we have enough creatures and weapons. I have the necessary funds to pay you all for this war. I know It will not be easy. My friend... Sweetie Belle... was kidnapped by the royal guards in Manehattan, meaning that she’s being held against her will. But we shall free her!” Scootaloo said with hope in her voice, causing the creatures to cheer. “After we rescue her, we will make sure that the only political party that exists is our party. Mayor Mare will be kicked out of the office, but she can be a useful advisor.”

The pegasi had a thoughtful look at that, she seemed to be considering it, not noticing that the other creatures were patiently waiting for her to continue.

When she noticed she apologised.

“Oh, sorry about that, anyways, first things first; we need to plan an attack against the Storm King. Do any of you know where he is hiding?” Scootaloo glanced around the room but all of them shook their heads.

It wasn’t surprising. Storm King was smart enough to hide where he was living and hiding. No doubt, he was aware that a few creatures wanted to kick him out of the Badlands.

“Not surprising,” Scootaloo muttered. “Okay, do any of you know where his captain is? I believe her name is Tempest Shadow?”

Every creature par one shook their heads again. Scootaloo noticed that the prisoner, Spike, hadn’t said no.

“Spike,” Scootaloo called, grabbing his attention. “Do you know where Tempest Shadow is located?”

The dragon nodded his head, grabbing the attention of the other creatures present. They looked at him expectantly while trying to not look or seem intimidating despite that it wasn’t a problem for the young dragon.

“Yes, I saw her enter a ship near one of their strongholds. It looked like it was a factory of sorts but I couldn’t get closer before I was caught by them.” He explained.

This got the pegasi’s attention.

“Caught?”

Spike nodded. “I was caught by Storm King soldiers who demanded I work for them so I could make them richer by finding gems around Badlands, If I didn’t they said they would send me to Storm King who would make sure I never was a problem in the future. It was my third month there in that cell before I was rescued by your brave soldiers.”

Scootaloo frowned at this. She had never bothered to ask where her creatures found him, they just informed her that he was alive and that was that. But now...

“I’m sorry to ask, but did you ever meet Tempest Shadow personally?”

The dragon shook his head. “No, but I did hear horror stories from the other prisoners.”

Scootaloo nodded In understanding. She had not heard great rumours about the unicorn herself. All she ever heard was how terrifying the mare was and that she had done things to the civilians of Badlands that would never be forgotten which had caused Scootaloo to have trouble sleeping for a while because she was certain the mare was outside of her window watching her.

Scootaloo cleared her throat, grabbing the attention of every creature that had started to whisper amongst each other about the terrifying unicorn.

“First order of business; we shall arm ourselves and prepare for war with Storm King,” Scootaloo said with an evil grin.

Spike and Capper shivered in fear.

Author's Note

Hello guys, Dragon-In-black here, I hope you guys enjoyed today's chapter it was a ton of fun to write and I hope you had fun reading it. I’m looking forward to the next chapter of this story and I hope you guys will prepare yourselves for it!

Chapter 14 — Sweetie Belle 1

Author's Note

Hello guys, Dragon-In-Black here, I wanted to apologise that I wasn’t able to update last week. Why I wasn’t able to because I hadn’t had the time to actually do it so I easily forgot about it but I still managed to produce this chapter. It was meant to be published yesterday, but I wasn’t 100% finished with it, so I wanted to finish it first but I had next to no energy to write anything, so here we are. I hope you enjoy it.

However, before you begin to read I want to give a fair warning: there are a few conversations that are more in the direction towards adults, so be prepared.

P.S. I apologise for my horrible rhyming in this chapter!

Chapter 14 — Sweetie Belle 1

Sweetie Belle was in her room packing her bags, preparing for her departure from Kludgetown. She was a little sad that she would be leaving the place she could now call home and would be lying if she said she didn’t feel nervous.

However, this was a one-time opportunity. As Scootaloo said; “You don’t know when you will get another chance like this,” She realised that it would be better if she just took the opportunity and visited her old kingdom.

She stopped packing and looked at the dresses she had placed on the bed she would wear for the shoot. Everything wasn’t there, but the photographer had sent a few dresses and allowed her to pick a few of her own to wear if she wanted to.

At first, she had been unsure of what to pick. Due to the fact, she ran away almost a year ago, she couldn’t help but think about her family and former friends besides the ones she lived with.

Sweetie Belle may even at one point have hated Ponyville for what they did, but she understood what happened and decided to be mature and move on. What was the point of containing all that hatred and anger when it gave her nothing in return?

Slowly, letting go of the negative emotions she felt, and embracing the new kingdom, town, and profession, she learned how to be happy while away from home. That is until Badlands became her true home, it was like a piece of her that had been missing but was finally back in place.

Packing the last few dresses, she couldn’t help but smile at the last thought. Despite the hiccups along the way, she was finally feeling the genuine happiness she once had.

She looked around the room and spotted the full-body mirror that she had set up to work on her profession. Today she was wearing a scarlet-red dress with black shoes that made powerful sounds when walking on stone.

With no impulse, her body seemed to have a mind of its own as she struck a few poses that were her typical go-to for when she was working. This time, however, it was far more relaxed than when she usually does it. Nonetheless, she looked stunning in her clothes, and she knew it.

Giggling, Sweetie Belle turned away from the mirror and double-checked her belongings so she didn’t forget anything. She had another dress laid out for her, though, the term “dress” was perhaps not a fitting word. It was more like a trenchcoat that would conceal her entire body but she would still be able to see and do things in it.

It was a simple precaution if the royal guards were looking for her.

Not that she believed they were anyways...

Just when she was about to change her dress, she heard a knock on the door.

“Come in!” Sweetie Belle called out.

Scootaloo and Applebloom walked inside the room with proud smiles on their faces. Both of them couldn’t be happier for their unicorn friend. Out of the three of them, they had always suspected, as did Sweetie Belle herself, that the unicorn in a situation like theirs would devastate her. And it did. But, it wasn’t to the extent they had initially suspected. They believed that she wouldn’t be able to move on at all, but she proved them wrong by working and getting an amazing income. She was sprouting positivity all around her again, but she had matured because of the kingdom they were the citizens of. She had become more refined and calm compared to her old self that would proclaim now and again.

“Sweetie Belle, I don’ know wha’ tha’ say, you done me proud!” The youngest apple admitted with a soft smile.

“Yeah, I’m with Applebloom on this, you proved us all wrong by finding work that led to an income. Instead of crying about how everything was against you, you found work. Even if you did complain, it was for the right reason. Yet, you refused to give up, and for that, I will always admire you,”

Sweetie Belle was stunned. Out of everything she thought she would hear from Scootaloo, this was certainly not it. Yes, she knew Scoots would be proud of her, but from the years that she had known her, she thought the orange-coated filly would say something...

She stopped in thought. What did she expect Scootaloo to say? Had the banishment changed them so much that she had even lost the idea of what her sporty friend would say?

She gave a watery smile to her friends and hugged them dearly. Bringing the other two fillies close made her feel safe and secure the danger of this embrace though, did so that she didn’t want to let go.

Letting go, she smiled at them and thanked them.

“Thank you, guys. I will get to Manehattan and I will make those photoshoots. I will come back better than before!” She yelled in triumph. “By the way, do you guys want me to buy anything while I’m there? Any sweets, clothes, food or drinks?”

Scootaloo shook her head negative. What the orange-coated filly didn’t say was that she wouldn’t need to buy them anything because the invasion was soon to take place.

“Well, ah doubt ya will fin’ Apple family orchard in Manehattan despite that I have a branch of mah’ family there. But, I’m willing to have any kind of apple.” Applebloom said with a small blush on her face.

Kludgetown and Badlands did grow their own food but the problem was that there were no apples. Apple trees aren’t that strong to withstand the unforgiving heat of the Badlands.

Sweetie belle giggled. “It’s no problem, Bloom, I’ll find a food market or something.”

The unicorn filly glanced at the clock and saw that it was time for her to travel to Manehattan. She grabbed her bags and gave her friends one last hug each and left the house.

While walking down the streets of Kludgetown, she saw the stares of every creature there. Grinning to herself, she made sure that she looked her best in the costume she wore. The reason they were glancing her way was that she looked to be mysterious and ominous. Now, that wasn’t unusual considering where they lived, but this creature... to them it was a creature they didn’t want to upset or anger. So they made sure the creature didn’t feel troubled.

Sweetie Belle had considered having security guards but had shot that notion down quickly because she wanted some freedom for herself. Scootaloo had suggested that she maybe should have some creature, but she had politely declined.

It wasn’t that she was ungrateful for what Scootaloo had suggested, it was just... ever since she gained popularity in the modelling industry, she had noticed that certain fans wanted to be more than fans, they wanted to have something with her, but she was too young!

Shaking her head at the thought, she continued down the street until she reached the outskirts of the town. It was unusual that she found herself out there. She seldom went there unless it was for the other nearby towns but even then, it was unusual.

‘I’m going back to Equestria, huh?’ She thought to herself. Not once had she believed she would return. Sure, she had thought about it. Sweetie wasn’t going to lie about that, she certainly dreamed about going back, but she never voiced this with the others because she was uncertain where they stood in that regard. Would they side with her? Would they shun her and kick her out? Because of these fears, and doubts, she never told them and found them to be a secret she would keep for herself.

Walking through the desert, Sweetie Belle remembered to pack a bottle of water in her bag and kept taking small sips now and again until she managed to reach the forest.

While on her way there, she kept looking over her shoulder. She couldn’t help it, she felt like some creature was watching her. It was getting on her nerves and at one point, she swore she had seen some creature on the clouds...

Maybe the heat from the sun was making her hallucinate? Even if she drank water regularly, it didn’t mean she was safe from hallucinations.

When Sweetie Belle reached the Everfree forest, she had to admit, it felt nice. The grass that graced her hooves was wonderful. She had gotten used to touching sand and stone, but she hadn’t felt the grass in a very long time, so it was a nice change of pace. In a very good way.

However, she felt her facial features harden. She was now back in Equestria. Specifically the Everfree forest. The most dangerous forest in all of Equestria. So dangerous, not even the royal guards dare go there unless they get a direct order from the princesses themselves. Even then, they are too paranoid to even do their jobs properly.

Sweetie Belle was certainly afraid, but over the year she had been away, she had learned a spell or two that could help her defend herself. They weren’t lethal, but they could be quite dangerous depending on how angry she got. She did have to practice a couple of times on a few rivals that were unhappy with how she had stolen some creature's spotlight. Because of this, she had learned the spells so she could defend herself if possible. Luckily that time, the situation didn’t escalate. They were simply fans who wanted to see their role models, and celebrities get the spotlight for once.

However, that wasn’t the only time she had been in immediate danger. There had been a few creatures that had wanted to beat her up because of the fact Sweetie Belle was now the number one attraction, meaning any criminals who earned good money in modelling with their mares, were now losing great sums of bits. This didn’t sit well with most of them, so one time they tried to attack Sweetie Belle while she had been out shopping, luckily for her, Capper had been nearby and managed to protect her from the angry fans. But after that day, she made sure that she knew her defensive spells as well as offensive spells.

So the next attempt from rivals didn’t go as they had expected. They had believed she would be defended by a big muscular creature, imagine their surprise when they see that she was all alone and didn’t seem phased when they had threatened her. All she had done was flick with her horn. She used a spell that time that would encase a creature in water which she held for a solid twenty-five seconds which was impressive for her age.

Needless to say, no creature wanted to mess with her again.

As Sweetie Belle walked further into the forest, she couldn’t help but look around to make sure that there were no predators around. She may know dangerous spells, but that didn’t mean she could beat a timberwolf without problems. In that regard, she would have to rely on her speed. But strangely enough, she felt relatively safe inside the dangerous forest.

It wasn’t as if she would trust the forest more than she did her friends, but if she had to pick between Ponyville and Everfree forest, the forest would win every time, it wouldn’t even be a discussion.

Just when she was about to continue to walk, she heard a scream in the distance.

Quickly turning her head towards the sound, she immediately ran towards the sound and came across a horrific sight. There was one of her... former friends, Zecora that looked to be injured as she carefully watched the timberwolf that silently and agonisingly made its way towards the mare zebra who could do nothing but say prayers and pray that whatever deity was listening to her, listened.

Sweetie Belle didn’t know what to do, there was a zebra mare-

‘Huh!? Zecora!?’ Sweetie Belle panicked and rushed forward.

The white and black striped mare had closed her eyes and prayed that she would have a quick sleep than feel the unbearable pain she was certain she would feel.

Sweetie Belle landed between Zecora and the timberwolf as if to shield the older mare and lit her horn and thought of the first offensive spell that came to her mind. She fired a beam which the wolf barely avoided. It glared at the young filly and licked its lips as if it could taste her. “I won’t let you eat her, wolf,” the filly spoke with no fear in her voice. The wolf looked unfazed but the zebra quickly opened her eyes and saw a filly in front of her that was clad to cover her entire body and a hat on her head with a hole so the filly could use magic. What stood out to her though, was the fact the voice of the filly sounded so similar to a long lost friend of hers...

The wolf attacked with its teeth ready to gnaw at her, but Sweetie Belle fired off another beam that hit the wolf on the throat causing it to screech to a halt and tried to breathe which seemed to be difficult for it. The filly fired another spell, this time, with fire to set the wolf ablaze but it didn’t run away from the spell, too focused on trying to get air to its ‘lungs’.

The fire spell hit the timberwolf but it didn’t howl in pain like Sweetie Belle thought it would which started to make her panic but she didn’t allow it to show. She would defeat the wolf somehow.

When the wolf had caught its breath, it turned its attention to the unicorn filly but decided that it wasn’t worth fighting her, instead choosing to turn around and run away from the area.

With a raised brow, Sweetie Belle turned around and saw her old friend look at her in shock.

“I expected the timberwolf to put up more of a fight, but I suspect that it grew afraid when it couldn’t breathe. I took its breath away,” She joked with a small grin on her face.

Zecora got on her hooves, her eyes never leaving the filly. To see a filly so young defeat a fully grown timberwolf... was shocking, to say the least.

“I see you defeated your foe,” Zecora still hadn’t taken her eyes off the young filly who didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable with the staring.

“Yes, I did, I thought it would put up more of a fight but it turned tail and booked it.” Sweetie Belle replied.

“A filly who wields such powerful spell shall be careful not to be heard,” Zecora explained finally taking her eyes off the young unicorn who now looked at her with confusion on her face.

“What do ya mean by that?” Sweetie Belle asked. She decided to change her dialect slightly so the mare wouldn’t be suspicious of who she was.

Zecora didn’t answer, instead, she picked up a flower and planted it in a basket that Sweetie hadn’t seen and grabbed it with her teeth and walked away from the filly.

“You ran away from your troubles, but you’ve come back for trouble,” Zecora answered while walking away, leaving Sweetie Belle to gawk at her.

Ho... how did she know?!

Without thinking, she trotted beside the zebra but didn’t say anything. They walked in silence to Zecora’s hut and still not saying anything she opened the door and allowed the young filly inside. She placed the basket by a table and started to brew some tea and placed some on a plate and some cookies. When the tea had finished brewing, Zecora poured herself and Sweetie Belle cups of tea.

“How did you recognise me?” Sweetie Belle asked, not knowing what to say other than what came to her mind.

Zecora smiled sadly at her. “I recognised your voice,” she replied, dropping her rhyming for the serious topic they would soon discuss.

“Heh, I suppose it's difficult to change one’s voice.” She filly admitted in defeat.

There was a comfortable silence between the two and neither wanted to break it as they took sips of their tea. Sweetie Belle knew that she would be getting questions, but she didn’t want to answer them, she wanted to hold them off for as long as possible. Zecora on the other hoof didn’t know what to ask her. She had been informed that the three fillies had gone into self-banishment and had ended up somewhere in the Badlands. She prayed for their safety every night and it seems like they answered her call. At least for one of them, but she would take what she could get.

“I heard you were inside Badlands,” Zecora said, hiding the fear in her voice. When she travelled to Equestria, she had to walk through Badlands which was far worse than her homeland ever was. Badlands made her homeland look like just a small troubled kingdom. Luckily, she managed to get out of there unscathed, but the same could not be said for the other creatures she had heard about that tried to get to Equestria...

Sweetie Belle didn’t know how to respond. On one hand, she couldn’t deny the truth but on the other hand, she didn’t want to admit it either. Nonetheless, she decided to go with the truth. Taking her outfit off along with the hat, she stared into Zecora’s eyes with intensity.

“Yes, I was in the Badlands with my friends.” Sweetie Belle admitted, taking another sip of her tea. “How much do you know?”

Zecora sighed. “Not a whole lot. Just that you were in the Badlands and that was it... along with the reason that you went into self-exile.”

Sweetie Belle sighed. She and her friends would never live that down, would they? They would forever be known as Gabby Gums and nothing else.

The zebra noticed this and felt dumb for having brought it up, but at the same time, it needed to be said. Nonetheless, the look on the filly’s face said it all, it showed Zecora that the unicorn wasn’t the same pony she had known a year ago. This was a changed filly.

“I apologise for bringing it up,” She decided when she took a sip of her tea. But Sweetie Belle shook her head.

“It’s... it's not okay, but I understand. What my friends and I did... we will never be forgiven,” Was the sombre response. The filly looked close to tears but she refused to let them fall.

Zecora was about to respond when there was a knock on the door...

Chapter 15 — Sweetie Belle 2

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 16 — Sweetie Belle 3

When Sweetie Belle reached the end of the forest, she realised that she hadn’t taken on her disguise so that no creature would recognise her.

She was happy that she noticed it so soon, it could have otherwise gone badly.

Sweetie took on her disguise, concealing her figure and placed a beige fedora hat on her head and a pair of black sunglasses. While she would look suspicious, she had no intention of walking the main pathway. From her crusading days, she had learned of secret alleyways she could use to escape quickly if she ever needed to. Luckily, she remembered where they were located.

Looking around, she made sure that no creature saw her leave. But she had momentarily felt her ice run cold because she swore to Celestia she had seen a pair of eyes looking right at her from one of the trees, but when she had blinked, the creature and eyes were gone.

Rubbing it off as part of her young imagination, she looked towards Ponyville and felt weird. The town felt depressed. No, it did. Sweetie Belle had no idea why they felt so down, but she could care less.

Seeing that there was no creature walking her way or looking her way, she walked out from the bushes and immediately made a dash towards one of the bins and glanced out of it, her eyes being the only visible thing. It was too dark to see with the sunglasses in that position.

Sweetie Belle then jumped out of the bin and checked around the corner of the house to make sure no creature was there and made a dash towards the other house while still looking around.

She almost fainted when she saw a pony almost look her way. Luckily, she managed to get to the house. The pony looked to be a mare named Derpy who Sweetie Belle had liked until she posted about the eyes to the... she sunk her head in shame. Column.

If Sweetie would have gotten the chance to apologise, she would have, but the ponies here wanted nothing to do with her, so it was best to simply move on and never look back.

Making her way to another house, stealthily of course, she looked and to her surprise; saw a huge crowd of ponies gathering around a picture of...

Sweetie Belle's eyes widened at what she saw. There were pictures of her and her friends around a... memorial? She wasn’t sure what that was supposed to be, but it was there. She didn’t know how to respond to this.

She decided to stay and listen in. To her surprise, Twilight Sparkle stood at the top of a podium along with Mayor Mare who were conversing with one another as if to decide what to do or say. She didn’t have all day so they better hurry up.

Just when she was about to turn away, Twilight walked up to the stage and began speaking.

“Good afternoon every pony!”

There was a chorus of greetings at that while Sweetie Belle scoffed. The princess only addressed the ponies. Not any other creature. Sweetie was disgusted.

“We are gathered here today because we are soon reaching the first anniversary of the three fillies... we lost. For those of you new here and wonder what this is about; this is the story of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. The Cutie Mark Crusaders of Ponyville.”

Some faces that Sweetie Belle didn’t recognise were among the crowds and asked a few former classmates of hers. Probably about who Sweetie and her friends were.

Sweetie Belle scoffed.

“The crusaders were three fillies that I mentioned that did everything to get their cutie marks, and I mean everything. There isn’t anything on a written list that they probably haven’t done. They did sports, teaching, learning, sewing, farming, you name it. They did everything. I couldn’t be more proud of their attempted accomplishments.”

A few ponies who Sweetie Belle recognised teared up as they remembered better times when the three fillies lived there. The filly scowled.

‘You're feeding them propaganda,’ She thought with venom.

She noticed, however, that the youngest princess of Equestria looked hesitant to continue. Twilight glanced at her friends who nodded with tears in their eyes, urging her to continue.

“When I say that they tried everything. I meant it. There was one such attempt to get their cutie marks, however, that caused us to... shun them. I’m not proud to say that I did it, I will never forgive myself for what I’ve said and done to them. They joined the school column and started spreading ponies' secrets and even lies. However, we adult mares and stallions shunned them. Some of you might think it was justified, but it wasn’t. They were just fillies trying to earn their cutie marks. It’s not the first time a pony has spread another pony’s secret. Journalists do it all the time, why should we be angry at three fillies for doing it? Especially, when we asked for more,””

Sweetie Belle was close to laughing at this pathetic excuse this princess had. Spreading propaganda to those who don’t know the story.

“However, we will never give up on finding them! They belong here, with us, in Ponyville. They deserve to be part of this fantastic place, they deserve the education they can get, and they deserve to earn their cutie marks! They deserve our attention!”

Sweetie Belle wanted to burst out laughing. How pathetic wasn’t this? Now when they realise that they shouldn’t have done what they did, they want them back so they can torture them again. Not going to happen.

Turning around, she left for the train station and didn’t bother with hiding because all of Ponyville was listening to that propaganda-filled alicorn.

Reaching the train station, she walked up to the small booth where an old stallion was sitting. Handing out the bits she asked for her ticket.

“I need a ticket to Manehattan,” She said, staring into the stallion's eyes who nodded and handed her ticket.

“The train will be here in fifteen minutes.” He explained.

She nodded and thanked him before she sat on one of the benches and got lost in her line of thinking.

‘It’s hilarious. After we disappear is the time when they realise that they shouldn’t have shunned us and treated us like we didn’t exist. I know it's all propaganda, but I must ask; what urged this on? Was it guilt that they were feeling or was it that there were a lot of questions being asked around?’ Sweetie Belle grumbled with her thoughts, trying to find the most likely scenario.

Around her, the train tracks were rusty, showing how long the train station had been there. The benches were relatively new, but not exactly old. The train that would be coming was the pride of Equestria. The train had been built in Ponyville by the Apple family. It was technically a family secret, but Applebloom had decided to tell her friends because she believed that she was disowned by the family.

‘I never thought that Twilight of all creatures would stoop so low. Spreading propaganda like that. What a tyrannical princess. I had hoped to avoid her at all costs when I got here. Sure, I may not have intended to talk to Zecora or even hide in her hut. It was a good thing I did,” Sweetie Belle muttered to herself. ‘Now I know what propaganda she has brainwashed the towns creatures with.’

The train let out a whistle when it stopped at the station and Sweetie Belle walked on, unaware that she was being followed by a creature. While also unaware of a pair of yellow eyes with red slits observing her with a mischievous look on its face.

The train whistled again and started moving towards the city where Sweetie Belle would be working for a few days or even weeks.

When she sat down by the window, she couldn’t help but feel as though she was being watched by some creature. Carefully, she glanced around and saw that there was another creature that was also disguising itself. She kept a close eye on the creature while glancing out the window.

Her paranoia was kicking in. She didn’t like this feeling of dread that was building up inside her stomach.

Sweetie Belle didn’t know why, but she had this feeling that something was going to go wrong but she didn’t know what.

After hours of travelling, they were starting to reach the city of Manehattan. Sweetie Belle smiled as she looked out the window and saw the big skyscrapers she had always wanted to see since she lived with her big sister. Rarity had told her how she would regularly fit clothing for mares and stallions who came from this city. It always made her feel excited.

It was rare for ponies to even go to Ponyville, that didn’t happen until Twilight moved to the town and was declared as the element of magic.

The very same mare that had brainwashed the town's creatures.

She would avenge them...

When the train stopped by the station, she felt her fear spike when she saw the royal guards standing right outside the train. Her eyes darted around, trying to find an escape route but she found none. Sweetie Belle sighed and prayed to Celestia that they wouldn’t ask her to take off her disguise.

However, her prayer would go unanswered. One of the guards nudged who looked to be their commander. He glanced at the filly who walked out of the train. He trotted up to her.

“Excuse me, ma’am but you cannot leave until you show us your face.” He explained, hardening his glare at Sweetie.

“Do I have to?” The unicorn filly asked, trying to sound brave.

Instead of answering, the commander used his magic to take off her glasses and beige fedora hat. The other guards looked at Sweetie Belle and one of them almost gasped in surprise.

“Commander, we need to bring her in, she looks very similar to that missing filly from Ponyville,” He explained looking at all of Sweetie Belle's features.

Sweetie Belle fired a magic spell at the commander who gave a surprised grunt as he flew into his fellow guards.

The young filly ran for it, disregarding her disguise as she ran to the streets of a city she had never been in and looked for the alleyways she knew could help her escape. She looked like a wild pony when her head darted all over the place, looking for the best escape route. The ponies walking by stopped to look at her.

Sweetie Belle shot forward when she heard hoof steps behind her. She needed to escape quickly! However, before she could move any further, she slipped on a banana peel and crashed into a pile of trashcans. The guards ran up to her and glared down at her while all the poor filly could do was stare at them with hate, something that made them shiver slightly but didn’t show it.

“You have a lot of explaining to do young filly,” The commander said, softening his glare slightly.

“I have nothing to say to you brainwashed fools,” Sweetie Belle spat at them causing them to recoil at her choice of language. “I refuse to come with you, I refuse to go back to Ponyville.”

“So you admit you are the missing filly?” One of the guards asked with a harsh tone.

“What else you, moron?” She asked with venom.

The commander encased her in magic and levitated her away. The ponies there were unaware of a pair of eyes that watched before disappearing. They also didn’t see a creature in a trenchcoat watching from afar.

Author's Note

Hello guys, Dragon-In-Black here. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter for this story. This is the final of the Sweetie Belle saga of what happened to her and what will undoubtedly lead to the creation of a very powerful (if successful) dictatorship. However, it seems like young Miss Sweetie Belle still isn’t over what happened to her and her friends. She had a better mask than we thought. Wink Wink.

Chapter 17 — The Coup 1

Kludgetown, Badlands, 1 year later.

Scootaloo was staring out the window from her room with a blank face as she saw Celestia’s sunset over the horizon as if giving her the opening she would need for what she was about to do.

Despite giving her the opening she needed, she knew that her mind was far from stable. But, she had to do this, if she didn’t, then it meant that she have failed Sweetie Belle. She would have failed her friend, her kingdom and her town. She was a leader and a leader never turn their back on their subjects.

Scootaloo may be a filly, but she is the greatest leader to have ever walked Equestria and Badlands, that was a fact.

She knew this, her subjects knew this, and even Equestria knew this. If Equestria didn’t... well, they will find out soon enough.

Just when she was about to continue her thoughts, there was a knock on her door. Without turning around, she called out.

“Enter,”

The door opened which revealed Capper who looked calm on the outside, but on the inside, he was a nervous trainwreck. Ever since the “foal napping” of Sweetie Belle, he noticed how Scootaloo further lost herself to the darkness. She had begun to mutter things that didn’t make sense, but it wasn’t serious or bad enough to intervene. He had told Princess Luna about it who had visited the dream but couldn’t find anything on the filly and suggested that maybe she was falling into darkness.

Capper walked inside with his claws behind his back and bowed in respect to his leader who still had her back turned to him.

“Supreme leader Scootaloo, we are ready to strike at any moment now. The call is yours,” Capper said with fake pride that went over Scootaloo’s head. He hoped so...

Scootaloo stared out the window and saw tha mothership, as she had begun to call it, come into view shining light over a large-scale area that would have made her worried if it wasn’t for the fact that she had far more dangerous weapons than Storm King knew about.

Tonight was the night she would rule over Badlands...

“Good.” She replied, still not looking back. “I expect full victory this night, but still, be prepared for anything. I may be a filly that sees everything as black and white, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid enough to not be prepared.”

Capper bowed in understanding. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I suppose it's time I gave the green light.” Scootaloo turned around to face Capper and saw that he was disciplined and stared straight ahead without turning his head. “Come, I believe it's time I join you for this battle.”

Capper didn’t give an outward reaction. On the inside, however, he was terrified. He had promised Luna that he would make sure that no Storm Guard was hurt, but that couldn’t happen if Scootaloo had decided to join the battle. This was the first time he’d even been informed of it.

Scootaloo walked out of the room with a high head with her captain behind her tail.

They walked into the meeting room where the different creatures waited. They were all ranked between soldiers, generals, and commanders. They all bowed to Scootaloo when she entered. There was only one other ruler that was there and that was Applebloom who had a Griffin and Dragon guard by each side of her.

Scootaloo wanted to smile, but now wasn’t the time for it.

When she stood by the head of the table that faced all of her members, she began to speak while looking at all of her members with pride.

“Today is the day for a new era my subjects. For years we have been abused by Storm King’s tyrannical rule. He’s forced us to give up our possessions ranging from money, home and even family. But today, we put a stop to that. Today, we will defeat Storm King and he will answer for his horrible crimes for what he’s done to us.” Scootaloo spoke with passion in her speech, motivating every creature there, even Applebloom, and cheered.

They quieted down so their leader could speak again.

“So, I want all of you to grab your weapons and wreak havoc in the town. I want you to break anything that belongs to Storm King that would be of use to him. It could be towers of some kind, strongholds, stores, or anything at all.” She said, causing every creature there to cheer.

“Now..” Her voice quieted.

“LET US BEGIN!!!” She shouted at the top of her lungs and her subjects ran out the door to cause mayhem around Badlands, leaving only the two guards protecting Applebloom and Capper who further awaited orders.

Noticing this, Scootaloo raised a brow at the cat.

“Capper, are you not helping the resistance out there?” Scootaloo asked with a small frown that the cat noticed and panicked ever so slightly.

“I await further orders unless it is your desire for me to fight with the others?” He questioned with uncertainty.

She shrugged at the question.

“Not my problem,” She muttered. “Anyways, I will go out and fight for my subjects. I will make sure that Storm King is messing with a true leader since I am the definition of a good one,”

With that, Scootaloo turned around and walked out the door, not noticing the frightened look Capper was sending her.

Out on the streets of Kludgetown, there was paint on the walls, burn marks everywhere along with fires that were spreading from home to home.

She heard creatures screaming but that was all they did, they screamed and then they ran away as fast as they could. Good. Everything was going according to plan. She didn’t want to seriously hurt any creature; she simply wanted to take over Badlands. The civilians could run away and hide until she managed to defeat Storm King which should be a piece of cake.

Walking down the streets that were filled with junk and debris that covered the ground, she reached a clearing where there were apartments to her left and right, but they were pushed as if to create this small clearing for whatever reason. There were knocked-out storm guards and weapons scattered across. They were muttering and grunting in pain, but otherwise, stayed quiet.

When she passed the final knocked-out guard, she noticed that there was something in the shadows watching her. Throwing a knife at the creature at record speed, she jumped away from her position and threw another knife in the creature’s direction which had moved away from its position on top of a roof.

The creature looked to be a pony from what Scootaloo could see. Her outlines suggested so, but she couldn’t see what pony tribe he or she came from.

Scootaloo got her answer very quickly when there was a spell sent her way which was very unstable compared to Sweetie Belle’s spells. The spell made its way over to Scootaloo and she tried to evade, but the spell was unpredictable like it didn’t know where to go but in the end, managed to attack where Scootaloo once stood.

Scootaloo pulled out her sword which she had hidden and with great speed, ran up to the much older unicorn and tried to attack her with the sword but the unicorn evaded all the swings like it was an easy game. Furious, Scootaloo started swinging widely, not used to defeat so easily, but it resulted in the sword flying away from her mouth and landing on a nearby wall, the tip cutting its way into stone and staying there.

They glared at one another, but not with hate. Instead, they stared at one another with great respect. It was unusual for another creature to be good at fighting. The art of fighting was something only royal guards learned when they wanted to serve the princesses.

“You fight well,” Scootaloo muttered, her eyes narrowing at the unicorn.

There was a tense silence. The unicorn didn’t seem fazed by the young filly’s glare. If anything, the eyes looked quite amused.

“You don’t fight badly yourself. I haven’t fought like this in forever.” Came the female response as if they were speaking about the weather.

They started to circle each other, their eyes never leaving each other. There were the sounds of light growling coming from Sweetie Belle. She had been taught by one of her dragon soldiers that growling could make her look more dangerous and powerful. From the look of things, it was working, the mare looked startled but quickly covered it with a blank look on her face.

Scootaloo pounced at her prey and used another knife she had hidden and started swinging it back and forth while the unicorn mare dodged to the best of her abilities.

Scootaloo started to get bolder and used her hooves for a few fighting movements and realised that the unicorn seemed startled and tried her best to block the onslaught until Scootaloo managed to hit the mare in the eye. Hard.

The mare cried out in pain while clutching her eye. She growled in anger and turned to Scootaloo.

“Let’s get serious,” She said before she charged at Scootaloo.

The orange-coated filly sighed when she realised that it would be a tough battle before she charged at the mare.

Author's Note

Hello guys, Dragon-In-Black here, I want to thank each and every one of you for having read the chapter, it means a lot to me that my work is starting to get recognised. As always, like and follow for more content like this!

Chapter 18 — The Coup 2

Scootaloo charged at the pony with everything she got. The adult mare blocked a hoof to the face and landed a cut on the filly’s cheek. Scootaloo cried out and dodged an incoming attack to the side.

Scootaloo pulled out a knife and tried to slice the unicorn mare but that proved to be difficult when the mare jumped away from the attacks with ease. The orange-coated filly charged at the mare and jumped and managed to slice a small amount of skin on the mare’s forehead.

The mare cried out in anguish before she jumped at the filly and tried to attack her viciously.

She used her horn to make a wagon that Scootaloo had not seen before, explode. The wagon broke down into multiple small pieces and landed all around them with sounds of wood hitting the stone-carved ground.

To protect herself, Scootaloo used her hoof to block the onslaught of wood pieces. However, this was a mistake. A few seconds later she had felt a pair of hooves grab her and throw her into a concrete wall. The orange-coated filly grunted and glared at the unicorn.

This mare was good at fighting. Then again, the mare was a commander of Storm King’s army so it isn’t surprising that she was better at fighting than their foot soldiers.

The unicorn glared back which made Scootaloo feel angry. How dare this pony glare at her future leader of her kingdom? Did she not know who Scootaloo was? Scootaloo, the ruler of Badlands and Equestria! The most powerful filly she would ever lay her eyes on.

Scootaloo cried out in anguish as she charged at the mare with a sword she had hidden away and started slicing away at the mare who simply evaded all the attempted attacks. However, Scootaloo did notice that the mare seemed frightened by the sudden attack.

Suddenly, Scootaloo threw her body at the mare which the mare hadn’t anticipated. The mare’s eyes widened and she stretched her hooves wide.

Their hooves caught one another and they started to roll around. They were spinning around like a wheel driving on a wagon highway which was making the two parties dizzy. They didn’t see where they were going, but the unicorn had grunted at some point and let Scootaloo go which landed the filly inside a barrel.

Scootaloo grunted as she pulled herself up from the barrel and looked around, trying to find the mare. Her eyes landed on an unmoving body further away from her. She jumped out of the barrel and made a beeline for the mare, ready to fight if needed.

When she was standing over the mare, she noticed that the mare was breathing but she was unconscious from what she could see and tell.

‘I don’t know if it’s wise to leave her here,’ Scootaloo thought as she looked around. It was a large alley that was cube-like in shape with two ways you could walk in and out from. Multiple doors had signs about different kinds of shops and apartment entrances.

Out of the blue, there was a large explosion that shook the entirety of the ground, causing Scootaloo to jump in fright. The mare that was on the ground didn’t even move.

Scootaloo decided to leave the mare there and continue with the coup. She ran out of the alley and glanced like a wild filly left and right until she saw one of her soldiers that she didn’t fully forgive or trust.

Spike held a spear and was battling against one of the Storm soldiers who looked angry.

The purple-scaled dragon blocked several attacks from the soldier and managed to damage the armour the creature wore. Spike jumped away when the soldier tried to sweep under his feet and managed to slice a small space on the soldier who cried out in pain.

Scootaloo stared in amazement.

She hadn’t heard about Spike training with any sort of weapon or heard he was going to fight. But she could see that the young dragon fought with vigour and experience.

She didn’t recall that the dragon could ever fight this well.

Scootaloo decided to intervene in the fight. She jumped into the fray and punched the soldier so hard in the face that a tooth was knocked out. The soldier swayed to the left and right until he fell to the ground back first, with a clank.

Scootaloo and Spike stared at the creature while breathing heavily. Scootaloo was clutching her stomach as if to soothe the aching she had. Spike was simply staring at the creature.

“Thank you, supreme leader,” Spike said and bowed. The orange-coated filly let out a small smile and hugged the dragon which surprised him but he hugged back with a smile.

Suddenly, they heard another ground-shaking explosion that made them jump from one another. This time, the explosion sounded closer.

“What is that?!” Scootaloo shouted with hints of fear and irritation in her voice. Spike looked up to the sky.

“I think it's Storm King’s doing! Spike shouted while pointing towards a ship that was slowly flying overhead. “Saw one of the ships a few minutes ago dropping something into the ground. Several creatures flew away and got knocked out!”

Scootaloo looked at the ship Spike was pointing to and saw a large ship flying slowly overhead, covering the light from the moon. She felt her heart start to beat quicker and didn’t know what to say or do. She looked around her and saw that there was a street that was coated in debris from battles that had taken place there before her arrival.

“Do you know how we can take the ship down or board it?!” Scootaloo asked as he began to run with Spike hot on her tail.

“I don’t know about boarding it, but I believe that we can shoot it down with the help of a few creatures who have bow and arrow that have been modified with the help of magic. I know at least one creature here who has it, but we need more than one to take it down!” Spike explained while turning a corner that Scootaloo had turned to.

They continued to run until they found an open door inside an apartment and jumped inside. Scootaloo flew up the stairs along with Spike and busted down a door.

Scootaloo saw a window and ran to it and glanced out, trying to find out what was going on.

The filly saw the airship release something that crashed down, making the entirety of Kludgetown shake. Spike looked out the window with her.

However, unbeknownst to them, they were being observed by a pony inside a cloak. She had a sad look on her face.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here. I hope you enjoyed the chapter despite it being so incredibly short. I had next to no energy for this chapter because I tried to... overdose on medicine and leave it at that. Like and follow for more!

Chapter 19 — The Coup 3

Scootaloo and Spike couldn’t believe what they were witnessing. The explosions from the airship were strong enough to shake the town and that statement was accurate after they saw the ship release another set of explosions. The town shook as the creatures who were fighting storm guards fell to the ground with grunts.

Scootaloo had put her hooves on the window reeling so she wouldn’t fall. Spike on the other hoof fell to the floor with a grunt of his own.

“Ow, what is that airship releasing?” Spike muttered with annoyance.

Scootaloo glanced at the purple-scaled dragon. “I don’t know but it could be a magical bomb of some sort, but it doesn’t seem like any creature is hurt.”

Spike nodded and got up on his two feet and picked up the spear he had dropped and made his way to the window. Looking around, he tried to find any of the soldiers that they had sent out but he couldn’t find them. Their war cries were heard, though.

“We should go, they need us,” Spike stated while looking out the window.

“I know, but we need to be extra careful. Who knows what that airship is releasing? It’ll be best if we made our way through the buildings,” The orange filly responded.

They jumped out of the window and landed on a nearby roof. The night sky was getting difficult to see because of the smoke that was emitting from the burning buildings. There were sounds of weapons clashing along with warcries from the two different conflicts.

The battles were taking place everywhere. The soldiers were fighting on the streets, nearby roofs, and everywhere. There wasn’t a single spot that did not have at least some kind of warfare. The vision made Scootaloo smirk. She could imagine how powerful she would be when she would tell her subjects how bravely they all fought. She would also make sure that every creature knew that she was the one who saved and battled the Storm King.

In her opinion it was fair.

Spike looked around the area, trying to find the best building to run to. Most of the buildings had battles and he would rather find a way to avoid the fighting. He couldn’t allow his supreme leader to be hurt in any way shape or form.

Luckily, there was one building that had no fighting from what he could hear and see. He nudged his leader and pointed with his finger to the open window.

Scootaloo nodded and they ran to the window and jumped inside in the nick of time because a storm soldier had landed beside where they had stood seconds earlier.

Scootaloo looked frantically around from where she stood. To her right she saw multiple doors that were either slightly open or wide opened. To her left, there was a wide-open door that revealed a bathroom with a window in it. She dashed to it with Spike hot on her tail and looked out the window to see Capper fighting a storm soldier with a sword.

The soldier tried to sweep Capper but the agile cat dodged in time. He responded with an attack, swinging his sword towards the soldier's head who screamed like a little filly and jumped so high, Scootaloo momentarily lost sight of him. The soldier landed on his feet and ran away as quickly as he could.

When the soldier was completely out of view, and Capper was certain there were no enemies around, he dropped to his knee while coughing like he had smoked for the last decade.

Scootaloo broke the window and jumped out, landing on her hooves and dashed towards her captain.

“Capper!”

The shout prompted the cat to look up, only to see his supreme leader run towards him with a frantic look marring her features.

“Are you alright!?” She asked while checking the cat for any injuries. “I saw the battle, it’s a good thing you're still relatively healthy,”

The cat allowed a small affectionate smile. While the young pegasus did not realise it, she showed that she still deep down cared about her friends old and new.

“I’m okay, just a little tired. I didn’t think the battle would easily knock me out,” he admitted with a small sigh escaping his lips.

Scootaloo seemed worried at this. “You can still fight right?”

Capper looked at the filly questioningly. “Yes, I can still fight. I have no problems in that department. But I am worried about that airship,” he looked up as he said that and they saw the terrifying vehicle turn slowly in their direction.

Spike felt his neck hairs raise, and he knew something bad would soon happen.

“We gotta get outta here!” He shouted and grabbed the young pegasus’ hoof and rushed towards an open building with crumbling rocks left and right. It was a depressing sight because while Klugetown was not the prettiest city in the world, it certainly wasn’t the ugliest.

Capper was hot on their tail while looking back every five seconds to make sure no soldiers were searching for them or had seen them which was impossible to tell because of the war going on outside.

They made it to a large living room with rock debris covering most of the floor and a coffee table with one leg broken and the walls colour all but destroyed from an explosion. The sofa was torn up as if some creature had been searching for something and there was a large hole that gave a clear view of the destroyed houses and streets that were covered with soldiers.

Luckily, thank Celestia, no one was seriously injured.

Scootaloo saw a few of her soldiers fighting against the Storm Kings’ and knew that she had to help them. What kind of leader would she be if she didn’t help her subjects? Despite all the anger and hate she once had in her heart, she would never abandon her subjects like her old hometown once had done.

Grabbing a knife from her suit that she had hidden away in case she would need it, she then rushed towards the battlefield with her captain and lieutenant shouting at her to stop.

The orange-coated pegasus jumped into the fray and blocked an attack that was about to land on one of her dragons and flung the sword across the field of tired soldiers who lay on the ground exhausted.

The soldier jumped back and tried to attack Scootaloo but the young filly was smarter and jumped away from the attempted punch. Dropping the knife, she used her hooves to cling to the soldier’s face causing the creature to see nothing and tried to get rid of the pony.

“Is she crazy?!” Spike shouted as he jumped into the battle with a storm guard about to attack a fellow dragon.

“I don’t know!” Capper shouted while grabbing the knife Scootaloo had dropped. He looked at the odd scene with Scootaloo jumping from the creature’s face. “I think she might be!”

Scootaloo jumped from an attempted kick and dodged another punch from another soldier. She was in her zone.

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion. Every creature stopped what they were doing and turned to the sound where it came from and everything slowed. There was a thick fog of debris quickly sweeping over the battlefield like a quilt. They were flung back by the force and Scootaloo in particular hit her head.

The last thing she saw before it went dark was the figure of Capper and Spike running towards her.

13 hours later

Scootaloo felt her entire body aching. That was the first thing she felt when she woke up. Her back had aged several decades and her hooves felt as though they had worked non-stop without a single break. Her head felt heavy and her eyes barely opened up.

She grunted but didn’t move.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw that there was a fan on the ceiling that was spinning at a moderate pace. The fan was made from wood and was connected to the white-coloured ceiling that had lost a small amount of colour over the years most likely from the decades of being there.

She turned her head to the side and was met by a wall so she turned her head to the other side and saw that she was in a small room. There was a wardrobe, a full-body mirror and a door that led Celestia-knows where. The walls were painted in the same white colour as the roof, but it looked to be fresh as if it had been recently painted. The door had the same distinct dark wooden colour that belonged to a cottage in the woods.

Scootaloo tried to get up but she couldn’t. Her body refused to do what she wanted. It bothered her sense of pride, but she decided that it would be best to catch some extra sleep. Her eyelids felt heavy and her body was demanding sleep.

Instead of refuting, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

25 hours later

Scootaloo woke up once again this time, the pain was less than it was previously. She looked around the room and saw that it hadn’t changed since she last saw it.

...How long had she been asleep?

Before she could continue her musings, there was a knock on the door. Scootaloo didn’t know what to do, she wasn’t sure if she was in enemy territory or friendly. The last she remembered was Capper and Spike running towards her but who is to say that they saved her? What if one of her enemies grabbed hold of her and fled with her?

As outlandish as it sounded, it was a strong possibility.

Instead of having the creature waiting, she decided to test fate.

“Come in,”

The door creaked open as the creature on the other side slowly opened which revealed a creature standing on two legs. The creature wore a military suit that had...

Scootaloo’s eyes widened when she saw her mark on the creature's left shoulder. It bared the mark she had crafted that would signify equality and prosperity. But the creature... she didn’t recognise it. The creature looked quite similar to a... storm soldier...

“No need to fret, supreme leader Scootaloo, I am a defector of the Storm King,” the creature introduced with a bow. Scootaloo looked at the creature in suspicion.

“Where am I?” She asked in a neutral voice.

The creature looked into her eyes. “Your inside of my home. Your captain and lieutenant are here. Shall I call for them?”

The pegasus filly simply nodded and the creature bowed again and didn’t return until a few moments later when the cat and dragon walked inside. Capper looked worried and Spike had a neutral look on his face. Scootaloo smiled at them, a very rare smile she rarely showed any creature other than her two best friends.

“I see you made it,” was the best thing Scootaloo could think of saying but mentally kicked herself. The other two noticed her silent distress and tried to soothe her.

“Yeah, no need to worry about us. We made it out alive. Well, everyone made it out alive, but we have a few hurt soldiers who need your strength at the moment.” Capper hit Spike silently to stop him from making Scootaloo get out of bed and worsen her injuries.

“I suspected as much, I, however, cannot get out of bed for another day at the very least,” Scootaloo admitted which for others would have been hard to admit, but when you are dedicated to sports, you learn when your body is in tip-top shape after an accident.

Capper looked surprised but didn’t say anything, while Spike still held a neutral expression on his face.

“Did we win?”

Capper, Spike and the defector looked at each other nervously. They didn’t know if it was a good idea to tell the filly what had happened or if they should.

Noticing their plight, Scootaloo decided to play frustrated.

“C’mon, what happened?”

Capper gulped.

“Well, we lost,” he said in a quiet tone.

“Lost, what do you mean lost?!” Scootaloo shouted with fury in her voice. The three creatures inside the room flinched at her tone.

“We lost many soldiers, they were captured and brainwashed by the Storm King to fight for him. We lost,” Capper looked defeated and the harsh glare Scootaloo sent his way didn’t make his mood lighten.

“Completely utterly useless creatures!” She shouted and shocked them all by getting out of bed.

“How can you lose so easily, huh?! You think I’ll accept defeat by a king who acts all high and mighty until someone strong like me comes and take everything away!” Her rant was far from finished. “I’m the supreme leader, the greatest leader to have ever lived on this entire planet! You think I will allow my subjects to live under a tyrannical rule like the Storm King’s?!”

They didn’t respond nor did they dare say that she needed to go back to bed.

“I will not allow this to be considered defeat! I will succeed in this coup!” She shouted and left the room while banging the door so hard it almost flew off its hinges.

The three creatures looked at one another and sighed.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here and back with another chapter of this series that I truly enjoy writing I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I was at first unsure of how to write this chapter but then I decided to simply write what felt best and this was the result. Hope you enjoy and I’ll talk to you guys next time!

Chapter 20 — Hello Sister

Sweetie Belle had a ring on her horn as she was led to the train leading to Ponyville. It disgusted her. After confirming that Sweetie Belle was who she said she was, the guards were immediately ordered to take her to Ponyville.

Because of what she had done a few days prior by attacking one of the guards, she was forced to wear a ring on her horn until she was transferred to Rarity Belle the older sister.

The decision did not amuse the marshmallow-coated filly.

First, they humiliate her and force her out of her hometown and she is gone for almost a year then when she returns to do some work, she is forced to wear a ring and is forced back to the same town that kicked her out. Did these guards have no shame?

Did they not know what she and her friends had to go through? Did they not realise that forcing Sweetie Belle back to her sister that betrayed her would only fuel whatever hate was growing in her heart?

She shook her head at their foolishness. It wasn’t the first time the royal guards have acted stupid and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time either from the looks of things.

But then again, she felt that her friends, Scootaloo and Applebloom, would save her. She could always count on them. They have never betrayed her and she knew they would never do that. They aren’t like the ponies or Ponyville.

“You will regret this,” Sweetie Belle muttered with agitation as she forced herself to look at the guards who surrounded her so she wouldn’t try to run. “You will see that capturing me and sending me to that pathetic town was your greatest mistake, and I’m looking forward to seeing your faces when that happens,”

Sweetie Belle giggled and put a hoof to cover her mouth as she did so while looking at the captain dead in the eye.

The guards had neutral expressions on their faces as well as the captain but he felt his neck hairs raise slightly. The look she had on her face… she wasn’t bluffing.

Mentally, he shook his head. She was just a filly, she was just angry that she was captured and was probably very angry and disappointed in her big sister from what happened. She needed to feel big in this situation, she wanted to seem like a threat.

“Miss Belle, your sister has been very worried about you.” The captain spoke while looking into the young filly’s eyes.

She snorted. “Yeah right, the day that happens, Tartarus will freeze over,”

The captain wasn’t deterred.

“Miss Belle I under-”

“Do you?!” She shouted, causing the guards to jump. “Do you know what it's like feeding ponies, giving them exactly what they want and then when they find out it's you, you get shunned and bullied? Do you know what it is like to have a sister not giving a flying feather about you anymore after secrets were revealed?!”

Sweetie Belle took a deep breath and noticed how the guards looked at her a little wary.

“My friends and I had no choice: we left Equestria with our free will, we could have gone anywhere within Equestria, we could even have gone to the Crystal Empire when we found out it returned and wasn’t a mere myth, but we stayed in the Badlands.

“Yes, I did hear rumours that there were Equestrian soldiers within Badlands and I know it was my friends and I, you were looking for, but that was a dumb move on your part. You do realise that it is the Storm King that rules Badlands with an iron fist right?

“Well, I suppose Scootaloo as well because I do remember her talking about wanting to become the ruler of Badlands and from what I have heard, is planning a coup,”

The guards refused to interrupt or speak because they wanted to learn as much information as possible. They didn’t know who Storm King was, but they could always ask Princess Celestia and see if she knew.

“So your friends are still in Badlands?” The captain asked, hoping he’d get an answer.

“Yes they are, but you won’t be able to force them back. Scootaloo will be able to stop you, her army is powerful enough to bring down Storm King!” Her words were filled with pride.

The captain chuckled.

“I highly doubt that she’s just a silly little filly. Look, I understand that you are angry and want revenge or rather, have nothing to do with your family anymore, but you’re still in the eyes of Equestria’s laws, still minors. Until you are fifteen, you are children.”

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes at the guard. How foolish to think that she would abide by Equestrian laws. The only laws she’ll follow are Badlands’ and Scootaloo’s laws if her friend ever becomes the respectable leader she is becoming.

Sweetie Belle had seen the things Scootaloo was plotting and doing when the pegasus thought the others didn’t notice. Sweetie Belle was rooting for her silently.

She glared at the captain with contempt in her gaze.

“One day, you will eat up those words and realise that I was right all along. And when that happens, you better not come crawling back to me,”

The captain smiled and shook his head and thought ‘silly-filly’.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived in Ponyville and Scootaloo was placed in the middle and forced the filly to walk through the town.

While making her way to the Carousel Boutique, many ponies gawked at the long-lost filly and tried to approach her but the guards glared at them and they stopped. All the way there, Sweetie Belle noticed the many faces she had hoped to never see again in her life but there were a few new ones she didn’t recognise that looked on in confusion.

She scoffed when she saw her former home quickly approaching and felt the urge to fight off the guards, but realised that without her magic, she was useless against them.

Resigning to her fate, Sweetie Belle adopted a blank look that she would use for however long she remains there before she would return to her real home. There was no way she would stay in this… foreign land.

When they finished their trek through Ponyville without any pony else trying to approach them, they knocked on the door and waited for a response.

“Tch,” the marshmallow-coated filly involuntarily let out which the guards heard but didn’t comment.

When the door opened, Sweetie Belle felt her blood turn to ice when she saw her big sister and her friends. Rarity Belle, her older sister had a look of surprise but when she saw her sister, she squealed and hugged her long-lost sister. The ponies around them had soft smiles as they saw the young mare hugging her sister and repeating; “I love you,” over and over.

The rest of the main six looked happy and couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of seeing one of the crusaders had returned to Equestria safely. Now all that remained were the other two and Spike.

Twilight frowned as she thought about her lost friend.

He had been sent on a mission to retrieve the Crusaders but he’d never returned. Could it be that he managed to find them but only managed to convince Sweetie Belle? Or maybe there was something that happened?

The princess of friendship looked at the young filly closely and saw a blank expression on her face she didn’t try to resist the hug but she wasn’t returning it either.

Her eyes had this… rage… inside of them that the filly was pressing away which made Twilight uncertain if she should approach her or not. After a few moments, she pushed aside the thoughts and approached the young filly but not before asking the guards the question on her mind.

“Thank you, guards, but I must ask; where did you find her?” Her question prompted the others to stare at them causing the captain to speak on his platoon's behalf.

“Thank you, princess,” he started with a bow followed by the other guards. “We found her in Manehattan train station where she tried to flee the guards. She had shot a beam towards one of them and tried to run away when we had asked albeit in a not-so-friendly way for her to take down her covering clothing. She resisted and shot a beam and tried to flee but crashed into a few trashcans and we took her here,”

The main six couldn’t believe what they had heard. Sweet little Sweetie Belle had attacked a royal guard? They stared at the filly who had a blank look but in her eyes, there was a very small look of amusement.

Rarity frowned at her younger sister. Maybe it was because she was around dangerous criminals in the Badlands? Yes, that must be it, there was no way her sweet baby sister hated them that much to hurt a royal guard.

“You deserved it,” Sweetie Belle spoke and turned her head towards the captain and stared at him dead in the eye. “You should have left me be,”

Before the other main six could say anything, Twilight intervened and looked Sweetie Belle in the eyes as if she was trying to find something. It made the filly a little uncomfortable but she stood her ground.

“Sweetie Belle, I must ask you, where is Spike?” The others raised a brow at that.

Twilight had informed them that Princess Luna had requested for the young dragon but they had never been informed of what he was meant to do. Judging by the fact she was asking Sweetie Belle of all ponies gave them the impression that Spike was trying to track the fillies down.

The royal guards didn’t say anything because it was none of their business.

The marshmallow-coated filly didn’t even blink at the question.

“I don’t know, why are you asking me?” She responded with a neutral voice that caused the others to frown. Twilight felt confusion start to clench her heart slightly.

“Why I’m asking is because he was sent to look for you with a small platoon of guards, did he not reach you and tell you to come home?”

This time, they got a reaction. A reaction that didn’t leave them satisfied.

“Princess, If I wanted to come to Ponyville, I would have done so voluntarily rather than be beaten by armed guards and forced here like an animal.” She growled the last part causing the captain to slightly wince at her words. “I had no idea Spike was in the Badlands and I don’t care,”

The ponies there who didn’t believe they had truly been living in the Badlands thought their eyes would fall out of their sockets. They had been living in the Badlands?!

Twilight felt the beginning stages of a panic attack and tried to steel her nerves but it wasn’t working and Sweetie Belle wasn’t doing the situation any better by laughing at the princess’ reaction.

Seeing that the filly wouldn’t try anything, the captain moves forward and removed the ring from the horn, bowed and was dismissed quickly by Twilight before she fully fell trapped in her panic.

Sweetie Belle grinned as she saw Twilight trying to calm her nerves. Rarity noticed this but was uncertain of how to scold the filly who’d been gone for almost a year. Rainbow Dash held no reservations.

“Hey, what are you laughing at?” She glared at the young filly.

Sweetie Belle’s grin became bigger. “I’m not laughing, I’m grinning, there’s a difference you airheaded pegasus!” Her insult resulted in a gasp of shock from every pony there par Twilight who was still panicking at the thought of where Spike was.

Rainbow Dash was so shocked, she forgot to flap her wings to fly and landed with her jaw on the floor and continued to stare at the filly.

“I swear, first you demand me and my friends to print more gossip and you enjoy it, but the second it’s revealed that it is us, you turned your backs on us as if we intentionally hurt you which never was the goal, you hurt us by shunning us and even mocking us. We left on our own accord and you sure as a feather didn’t seem to be bothered by it so I don’t understand why you put up this charade for.”

With that, Sweetie Belle stepped inside the boutique and looked around before turning to her sister with an icy glare.

“Hello, sister,”

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here and welcome back to another chapter. I’m sorry that it took so long to get this one out I had a lot of trouble sleeping lately because of the heat so I couldn’t work and almost had no motivation. But here’s the chapter you’ve been waiting for. Enjoy!

Chapter 21 — Round Them Up!

Scootaloo smashed the door open and looked around and felt her heart sink when she saw her destroyed kingdom. The buildings were all shaking and the creatures down below were crying after losing their homes.

The airship was nowhere in sight but that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t return. From what she could tell, a few were still hiding just in case.

The orange-coated filly looked towards the bombed streets and saw piles of rubble and debris all over the place and in big piles like a junkyard. The creatures who were hiding looked to the skies, furthering Scootaloo's theory that the airship might come back and attack.

She started breathing heavily and felt her anger resurfacing. She couldn’t even enjoy fresh air because smoke was the first thing that attacked her nostrils, meaning that something somewhere was burning to ash which made her worried that creatures could be seriously hurt.

On the rooftop that she stood were a few bricks laying around that belonged to builders who must have used this building as a storage facility and it made more sense when she started seeing pipes, iron of different kinds, water pumps, saws, and different tools for building. Looking around, she saw that the rooftop she was on had a bridge that connected to another rooftop.

She would investigate that later if she ever got the time.

Walking to the other side of the rooftop, she sat down on the stone ground and closed her eyes while letting out a big sigh at her failed attempt at a coup. She should have seen it coming. This is Storm King’s turf, of course, the old cot would know when some creature tried to overthrow him. She was a fool to believe she could have taken him on. She never stood a chance against a fully grown adult who had decades of experience in battle and ruling, their defences were stronger and prepared.

Sure, her attack might have been out of the blue, Storm King knew the possibility that some creatures would try to rebel at the strangest of times which was why the defences were so high. To her, it looked like nothing and she honestly believed she would succeed because it looked like nothing when in reality, the Storm King was always prepared for a coup no matter how big or small.

The thought made Scootaloo grit her teeth.

Of course, a fool of a king would have something like that prepared. Arrogance at its finest. He believes he is so high and mighty, doesn’t he? He thinks he can rule over anyone because of the fact he captured Badlands and is ruling it in such a disgusting manner. Does he think he can rule over Scootaloo, the greatest ruler of all time? Well, she would have her revenge.

Scootaloo laughed to herself as she realised that her ego was becoming bigger than Rainbow Dash’s head. She shouldn’t think about her won self-proclaimed greatness even if it is indeed true.

Before the young pegasus could get further into her thoughts, one of her lieutenants stepped onto the roof and looked for her before his eyes landed on the pony he was looking for.

Scootaloo didn’t need to see who it was because she already knew the creature would come to find her.

“What is it, Spike?” The supreme leader of Badlands and in the future, Equestria, asked with a raised brow as she continued to look at the ground with a neutral expression but was slowly turning into a scowl.

Spike the Dragon, the lieutenant of Crusaders Democratics Party bowed in respect to his leader before he began to speak.

“Supreme leader, I apologise for disturbing you in this distressful manner. I just came to tell you that because of the attempted coup, the Storm King is most likely going to be looking for us, how do you wish to proceed?” Spike asked with a blank look on his face his eyes showed great devotion to his leader but there was something else as well hidden behind those eyes…

Scootaloo scoffed before looking at her lieutenant with a mirthful stare as if she found the situation to be funny. She stood up and looked directly into Spike’s eyes.

“I don’t know,” she replied with a giggle that didn’t hold any warmth. Spike’s blank look persisted.

“Supreme leader, with all due respect, I do believe something we can do. I know that you know it too,” Spike said, his eyes showing that he had a plan. Scootaloo looked intrigued.

“Oh? And what idea do you have?” Scootaloo asked, adopting the same look Spike had.

The purple-scaled dragon felt shivers go down his spine. He knew he might regret it later, but when he accepted Luna’s mission, he knew he would do risky moves. What he hadn’t anticipated would be that he would willingly with his own conviction, defect over to Scootaloo’s side of the conflict.

Well, there’s no going back now.

“The coup here in Badlands was unsuccessful, but we could always…” he trailed off as he thought more about the opportunity that he was giving Scootaloo. He wasn’t sure if she could succeed, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

“Always?” Scootaloo irritably asked with her face getting closer by each second to scowl.

“...Always try to invade Ponyville.” Spike finished with a look that let the filly know that he was serious and wasn’t pulling her leg.

The air around them turned ice cold and Spike almost shivered, this type of cold didn’t feel natural but he didn’t dare look away from his supreme leader knowing that the consequences wouldn’t be pretty if he did.

Scootaloo’s face resembled a stone. No emotion whatsoever on her face. Her movement was non-existent and her eyes seemed to be drilling into Spike’s soul which made him highly uncomfortable. The aura around her felt dangerous as if it would attack any second if you weren’t careful.

Scootaloo licked her lips.

“Why would you recommend me this for, is this a secret ploy so you can arrest me? Have you become a traitor?” Scootaloo asked with no fury in her voice but there was an edge that made Spike gulp.

“No, supreme leader, I recommend this because you speak of revenge and you have plans to invade Ponyville anyways. If we retreat now and take Ponyville by force, we will be able to build a better, stronger army and we can then try to retake Badlands to which you can rule with the love you have for your subjects.” Spike explained with a bow at the end of his little speech.

The air around them grew thick and Spike struggled to breathe but he persisted with his blank face that he had mastered. He became nervous when he saw Scootaloo’s eye looking for any lies being told.

The greatest leader to have ever walked the planet looked at her lieutenant for lies but found none but that didn’t mean that she believed anything he told before. She had a feeling that he would betray her soon but she had no concrete proof.

Maybe if she does invade Ponyville, she could lock him up in prison and then beat the answers out of him. Yes, that sounded like a good idea. But how to convince her soldiers to invade Ponyville after Storm King’s refusal to give her the power that she rightfully deserves?

Scootaloo shook her head, getting rid of her hypocritical thinking.

“Okay, lieutenant, I accept this idea, but I will have to convince them to fight for Ponyville,” Scootaloo spoke with thoughts filling her head. Thoughts about the best approaches but none of them were good enough to be convincing.

The supreme leader looked all over the place as if the environment around her held the answer. But all she found was smoke coming out of a building and what looked to be a few of her soldiers patrolling the streets of the area she managed to conquer.

“You’re dismissed,” Scootaloo said and turned around to look in the direction where she and her friends walked from Ponyville and Equestria altogether. It felt weird looking in that direction. It was as if something was calling her to come back. She would go back, of course, she had to save Sweetie Belle from the torture the poor filly must have gone through.

The orange-coated filly slammed her hoof into the ground and looked around in fury at the thought of her friend being tortured in multiple ways. She knew that Twilight was not to be trusted, that book-loving mare was probably manipulating Sweetie Belle.

“Don’t worry, Sweetie Belle, I will make sure that you won’t be hurt anymore by their filthy lies,” she muttered to no one.

With those words being spoken, she turned around and walked inside the building and walked down the staircase leading to the door she had slammed open that flew off its hinges. She sighed at the sight and knew she owed her commanders an apology each. That was the first thing she was going to do, apologise to them.

When she walked inside, she saw the storm soldier, Capper and Spike drinking coffee and having breakfast. They didn’t speak much, enjoying the silence after the battle that took place.

The filly made her way inside without being noticed by the trio.

“I’m sorry for what I said,” Scootaloo said, causing the three to jump slightly and froze when they saw their commander there. “I was way out of line, calling my subjects useless when in reality; I’m the useless one. I promised you freedom and look what happened, the Storm King wiped the floor with us. I feel ashamed that I promised you so much and I couldn’t even hold my end of the bargain when you did yours.”

She chuckled at that.

“It’s sort of funny. I promise you freedom and the only way we could go about it was a coup that never would have worked. If the Storm King wasn’t tyrannical before, then he certainly is now after the stunt I attempted. Don’t worry, I don’t have any creature to blame other than myself,”

Her captain, lieutenant and soldier seemed unsure where this was going. Not even Spike knew where she was going with it, but it sounded sort of like she was giving up.

Scootaloo sighed. “However, I will succeed no matter the consequences,”

The three Crusaders Democratic Party loyalists felt their backs straighten up. Spike wanted to grin but he had to keep it from reaching his face. So she was going to take Ponyville?

“I grew up together with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle in a town called Ponyville in Equestria. It’s a small town with not so many ponies that live there, but it has been a year since I last stepped inside that country. But I know for a fact that there isn’t any form of defence other than the Elements of Harmony. But we don’t have to worry, I know for a fact that they would never use it on any of us. I have heard rumours that they want to take us back and ‘apologise’ for what they did to us but I highly doubt that. They captured Sweetie Belle and are torturing her, I just know it. Because of that…”

The three braced themselves for the order she would give, the order they knew would come. The one that would change their lives and maybe the world.

“...I want you to round up every soldier that we have and march them to Ponyville. We will create the greatest country the world has ever seen, we will have power, money and most importantly; freedom and revenge. When we gain enough power, we will overtake the Storm King. We will fight for our freedom to our last dying breath! So… round them up!”

They bowed and rushed out of the house, forgetting about their breakfast and leaving Scootaloo alone inside the apartment.

The filly smiled but there was no warmth in it.

“Long live the dictator,”

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here with another chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. It was meant to be published on Monday but I wasn’t finished with it and I didn’t have a lot of motivation but luckily I managed to pull through with this. Like and follow for more.

Chapter 22 — School Day

Sweetie Belle didn’t realise how much time had passed since she and her friends fled Ponyville from its tyrannical rule. There were more houses scattered and there were a lot more ponies and creatures roaming about, enjoying their day.

She wasn’t afraid of the creatures that ranged from ponies to dragons, and even yaks, but it wasn’t the same Ponyville she once knew. It felt… warm.

The creatures greeted each other and had kindness in their eyes and helped each other out when one of them asked for help. Sweetie Belle was walking to school and noticed a dragon helping a pony reach the roof of her house and a yak helping deliver heavy packages to a construction site. All in all, it felt welcoming.

It was as if they had learned from their mistakes and decided better themselves.

But it was all a lie. It had to be. Sweetie Belle did admit that while it looked realistic, she knew that something was brewing behind the scenes. It was clear as day that something was going on. They were trying to brainwash her.

How she came to this conclusion was that earlier that morning, her older sister, Rarity and her friends had asked her multiple questions about where she’s been and what she had been doing, creating small talk so she could let slip where in the Badlands her friends were. Rarity and her friends kept lying about how she loved her and how they had missed them the entire year. The lies were almost believable, the crocodile tears were phenomenal and Sweetie Belle had recommended that they should try to do a movie with their gold-tier acting.

The marshmallow-coated pony couldn’t help but laugh when she saw the hurt look they had when she had said that, and they had, again, tried to convince her that they actually had missed them and even informed the Princesses of their disappearance which had made Sweetie Belle wary.

“Why in Celestia’s name would you involve them for? They aren’t needed to clean up your mistakes,” Sweetie Belle had retorted.

After that, she walked out the door together with her friend, Dinky Whooves and her mother Derpy Whooves who had been informed to make sure that Sweetie Belle doesn’t try to escape the country which she most certainly had planned from the second she was captured.

“So, Dinky, what have I missed since I defected?” Sweetie asked with a curious tone. While she may not like being in Ponyville which she saw as nothing more than the dumpster of Equestria, she was still curious about the town and school.

Dinky smiled a wide smile that made Sweetie Belle’s heart feel warm.

“Well, the only thing you missed was a few creatures we learned of in school such as changelings which are evil pony-bugs that can change into anything and feed off of the love we have.” The blonde filly explained with a thoughtful look.

“I’d be a horrible food source since I have no love for this place,” Sweetie Belle laughed at her joke while Derpy and Dinky felt a little uncomfortable. When Sweetie Belle saw mother and daughter share a look she felt a little bad. “Sorry, what else has been going on?”

Surprised by the apology, but not against it, Dinky smiled and told her everything that had happened while the Crusaders had been gone from the Canterlot Wedding and the return of the Crystal Empire. Sweetie Belle listened intently as to learn everything she could. The more information she learned, the better. It meant that if she managed to escape, then she could inform Scootaloo and Applebloom how the tyrannical Equestria is becoming far more corrupt than it already is.

Sweetie Belle frowned.

Corrupt? Equestria isn’t corrupt! Sure, corruption existed in every kingdom and country around the globe but the thoughts she had were far more dark than she anticipated. Where did those thoughts come from? Equestria is not a tyrannical country, only Ponyville is a tyrannical town.

When the unicorn and two pegasi reached the school, Derpy waves her hoof and hugged Dinky and did so for Sweetie Belle as well which the young unicorn didn’t return but did smile, showing that she appreciated the gesture.

The other students felt their jaws drop when they saw Sweetie Belle in the flesh standing before them. Miss Cheerilee looked ecstatic to have her student back and even shed a few tears.

“Oh, Sweetie Belle how we have missed you!” Cheerilee spoke with joy in her voice. She hugged the young filly. She didn’t return the hug.

Cheerilee had found out what had happened when the three fillies ran away and immediately went to the source; Diamond Tiara who confessed to her crime which hadn’t surprised Cheerilee, but had made the rest of Ponyville feel guilt and sorrow for what they had accused the crusaders of. They found out it was Diamond Tiara after Cheerilee had overheard a conversation between Pipsqueak, and Snips about how he had been the ones to take the pictures on Diamond Tiara’s order and that she had embarrassing pictures of Pipsqueak. She had used it to blackmail him to get the juiciest gossip possible.

The confrontation hadn’t been pretty. Cheerilee was a grown mare and had to act like it. She couldn’t curse out a young filly even if the young snobbish filly deserved it. She had demanded to know why Diamond did it to which the filly had given a small reply.

“Because they all asked for it,”

Cheerilee didn’t know what that meant at the time, but when she thought over the days and weeks of ponies asking for more gossip, she realised that Diamond Tiara was giving the ponies what they wanted and seemed to enjoy it herself.

Cheerilee had contacted Filthy Rich and informed him of what happened and to say that he was shocked and angry at his daughter would have been an understatement. He had forced the filly to reveal that it was she who controlled the entire press and was blackmailing the others who worked there. The ponies of Ponyville had been stunned at that, not wanting to believe that a pony so young could do such schemes. They had been angry and distraught.

To think that they were searching for three missing fillies while still believing that they intentionally embarrassed them.

But now that Sweetie Belle was home, the other two Crusaders would follow and return to Ponyville.

“I highly doubt that,” Sweetie Belle responded with a neutral voice that made Cheerilee shiver. It sounded so wrong. Having a neutral voice is one thing, but the neutrality that Sweetie Belle had sounded forced. As if she was forcing back negative emotions. She knew what those emotions were.

Deciding to leave the conversation at that and not allow it to escalate into something worse, she led them inside the school where most of Sweetie Belle’s friends and former friends were. There were a few new fillies and colts who looked at Sweetie Belle with curiosity.

The new students knew of the three Crusaders but they had never met them or seen photos of them. All they knew was that there was a falling out and that the three fillies ran away from Equestria.

One of them must have returned. Willingly or unwillingly is the question, but due to her body language and how she spoke, they could only assume that it was unwillingly.

Sweetie Belle walked inside the classroom and sat in the back where she and her friends used to sit when they still went to school. The classroom didn’t look different, the benches and chairs were the same, and the walls and windows were the same. The wall was filled with different posters or things to do around the town and events taking place in different parts of Equestria for those interested.

The students started taking their seats and that is the moment Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon decided to walk through the doors. Both fillies refused to look at one another showing that something happened between them but no pony knew what.

Silver Spoon took an empty seat near Pipsqueak while Diamond Tiara took an empty seat in front of the class where every pony could see and hear her.

Sweetie Belle felt rage fill her veins. The filly who had ruined her and her friends' lives walked into the classroom as if she was welcome. She scoffed loudly, making the class turn to her. When Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara turned to see who scoffed, their blood turned to ice when they saw the blank flank they had bullied for years. The one Diamond Tiara had driven out of Ponyville a year ago that forced her to admit her crime.

“Why hello, loser, I didn’t realise you still went to school, I thought you would have been a garbage collector by now because that’s what you are to society; trash,” Sweetie Belle laughed while the students and teacher gasped loudly in shock.

Silver Spoon had to stifle her laughter and Diamond Tiara looked hurt and had a tear in her eye.

Sweetie Belle turned to Silver Spoon with a deadpanned look.

“What are you laughing at you blind feather?” Sweetie Belle asked, once again drawing gasps from the students and teacher who decided to step in when she saw the hurt look both Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara had.

“Sweetie Belle!” Cheerilee scolded and trotted up to Sweetie’s desk and looked at the filly sternly.

The marshmallow-coated filly adopted an innocent look and smile. “Yes miss Cheerilee?” Sweetie asked, with a sweet voice that held hidden rage that every pony, including Cheerilee, picked up on.

Cheerilee sighed as she had anticipated a confrontation of sorts. “I understand you’re angry Sweetie Belle, but I cannot have you say hurtful words to them inside the classroom and hopefully not in your private time, but I know that it’s none of my business what you say or think in your private life.”

Sweetie Belle decided to unveil her mask of innocence and showed pure rage in a blank look which terrified even the grown mare. They felt the rage she had and they knew that she didn’t show everything.

“They ruined my life. They lied to every pony and forced my friends and I to spread rumours and secrets. They’re nothing but useless trash to society.” Sweetie Belle coldly spoke the last sentence, making every pony there flinch and the two fillies hang their heads.

“Sweetie Belle!” Cheerilee scolded again. “I will not tolerate such hurtful words in my classroom, one more time and you get detention,”

Sweetie Belle scoffed. “You’re just saying that because you want to cover your stupid mistake,”

The students gasped and immediately looked to Cheerilee whose eyes widened and a few tears escaped from being reminded of her mistake. She hung her head low and didn’t meet the filly’s gaze that had a cold look that she felt.

“Please… refrain from saying hurtful words in my classroom and I’m sorry for my mistake,” the teacher spoke and turned around and started to teach something about hippogriffs.

While the class was going on, the students frequently exchanged glances with one another and glanced at Sweetie Belle regularly as if they weren’t sure what to say or think. She gave them a cold glare which made them stop and chose to pay attention to Cheerilee for the remainder of the class.

When the bell rang, Sweetie yawned and stretched her hooves from the sleep she had gotten. She hadn’t paid any attention to the class at all and Cheerilee hadn’t tried to awaken the filly due to the hurtful words the filly had spoken and because she wanted to give the young filly some space.

The sister of Rarity walked out of the classroom with the other students and secretly took her saddlebag and walked out to the playground with the other students and saw that all of them paid attention to their friends.

Hoping that no pony saw, she walked out of the school grounds and didn’t look back to see a few friends like Dinky, Pipsqueak and Rumble who saw her gallop away from the school and “escape” from her boring day of school.

When she walked into the town, she saw a few creatures look at her oddly, knowing that the school day wasn’t over yet. They didn’t try to approach the filly because they knew that the filly wanted nothing to do with the town that betrayed her and the other Crusaders.

The filly looked around the town thoroughly and saw the different houses and buildings, some being as tall as thirty floors which made her question what it was used for. Shrugging, she looked to the ground and saw that it still had the distinct dirt paths that she strangely enough miss. She had gotten used to the stone ground in Badlands, but the dirt from Ponyville always made her feel at home until the betrayal.

Now, she felt disgusted. Sweetie Belle wasn’t a common pony! She was a celebrity! She deserved to be treated better than a common Pony like Mayor Mare or her pathetic sister!

“Ugh!” She said and wrinkled her face in disgust before making her way over to Sugarcube Corner where many ponies were talking and having fun but that stopped when they saw Sweetie Belle walk inside with her stone-cold face which made them shiver.

At the counter, Pinkie Pie was taking an order from the last pony wanted to see. Rarity. She groaned in disgust and waited for her sister's order to come through. While she waited, the other ponies looked at Sweetie Belle as if waiting for her to do something. When Pinkie gave Rarity’s order, she dramatically gasped in shock and Rarity turned around and almost dropped her smoothie when she saw Sweetie Belle.

“Hello,” was her nonchalant response.

“Sweetie, what are you doing here, shouldn’t you be in school?” Rarity asked with concern which made the younger pony scoff.

“I saw walking dumpsters there, I have never seen two fillies look so disgusting before, I thought I was going to vomit,” Sweetie Belle dramatically spoke, making a few wince at the two ponies she spoke off. It wasn’t hard to figure out whom she spoke of. “Besides, there’s no point to that school when I have experience working in the real world, the job that those corrupt guards ruined my reputation for! I enjoyed the modelling I did and those pigs took it from me,”

Rarity gulped at the rage her sister showed. Sweetie Belle had been angry about many things in the past but never to the point she would call a fellow pony… trash. She decided against scolding since it would only make the young filly angry.

The element of generosity got an idea from what she heard her younger sister say and decided to see if she could entice Sweetie Belle.

“Sweetie Belle, I understand that you don’t want to go to school but I highly recommend going there. If you want to continue your modelling I can contact a friend who does photoshoots for my dresses and you can be in the magazines and all the bits from the photos go to you, how does that sound?”

The creatures inside the cafe had to admit that it was a fair deal. If what the young filly said was true, then she had every right to continue the work she had been doing previously, which was modelling from the sounds of it.

Sweetie Belle stared at her sister blankly before raising a brow. She was unimpressed.

“You think I want to model for you? Why in Tartarus would I ever want to dress in your horrid dresses? The only ones who buy your dresses in people who love you for your beauty and because of the fact you’re a celebrity and element bearer, they don’t buy your dresses because they like them. I want to dress in dresses that are made for creatures who want to wear them.” Sweetie Belle heard the gasps from the creatures inside the cafe.

The Cakes had come out to see what every creature was gasping about and saw Sweetie Belle and Rarity in the middle of their argument. They stepped back as they didn’t want to interfere but would if their argument escalated.

Rarity felt tears run down her cheeks at what Sweetie Belle had said. It wasn’t true… was it? Did creatures around Equestria buy her garments because of her nobility and not because they wanted them? She knew her mascara was ruined, but she didn’t care.

“That’s… it’s not true is it?” She tearfully asked and looked at her sister for an answer, and ignored the resounding no that came from the creatures around them.

Sweetie Belle chuckled. “It is, they say no, but they haven’t seen your feats and believe I’m blind to the looks they give you. They believe I’m too young when I see a creature look at you in lust,” the creatures around them felt their hearts stop. “Oh, settle down you fools, I’ve known since I had the ‘talk’ and you don’t make it easy for yourselves when you do it clear as day so stop looking like the fools you all are!”

The creatures bowed their heads in shame.

Rarity didn’t react outwardly or inwardly. The last sentences didn’t surprise the mare, but the first sentences made her heart stop. So no pony liked the dresses she made and had on display in her boutique?

She bowed her head in sadness. She should have known, she was a grown mare who should have known that no pony enjoyed her dresses despite the time and effort she spent on them.

“Look, I’m not saying this to be rude, I’m just saying it because you’re living in a Fairy Tail. The only one who ever enjoyed your dresses was Fluttershy and Spike as far as I know. Spike was the only one who stared at you with love, see you around, sister.” Sweetie Belle said the last word as if it was poison before leaving the cafe and walking down a street.

In her subconscious, there was an eerie voice that spoke four words.

“Long live the dictator,”

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter and I hope you guys can find an easter egg that I planted inside of this story. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 24 — The Invasion part 1

This was the craziest thing the Crusaders had ever done. Even if Sweetie Belle wasn’t with them now, it also included her.

A year ago, three young fillies were forced to move outside of Equestria due to making a mistake that cost them their reputation and faces. Despite trying to talk and apologise, none listened. They moved to Kludgetown where they felt at home but were now forced to relocate to the same Kingdom and town that they grew up in, the same place that shunned them and wanted nothing to do with them.

Scootaloo felt a little surprised and disgusted that she had to relocate to her hometown where they spread false love. Her former big sister figure dumped rainwater on her and her friends as if they had been nothing but trash. Yes, they wrote gossip about every pony in the town but they all asked for it, they wanted more, doesn’t that mean they should continue to do it if they want more? If they want more coffee, you pour them a cup, so why had the Crusaders been shunned for pouring them the “coffee” they asked for?

The orange-coated filly had been staring at the floor of the water-powered car and grunted as she saw the rusty metal that looked like an infection, showing that the car had been used for a long time. Grunting, she looked out the window and saw the country she had come to love. The country that had waited and waited for the destined ruler that would bring peace and prosperity. But the destined ruler was now fleeing like a coward.

The sand mountains had a small breeze, allowing small sand to fly a small stretch before landing again.

“Don’t worry my creatures, I’m not feeling, when I have gained enough power and bits I will come back and become the destined ruler of this land.” Scootaloo thought with a smirk playing on her lips. Luckily, the other passengers didn’t see it, too wrapped up in their discussion about tactics to overthrow the dictatorship in Ponyville.

Capper, Spike and Applebloom knew it wasn’t a dictatorship but Scootaloo had insisted that it was and that the Crusaders were going to liberate Ponyville from the evils of Mayor Mare.

“So what is the best strategy to invade Ponyville? I have never been there before,” Capper spoke with a curious voice as he looked at Applebloom who had her hoof to her chin, thinking deeply.

“Well, ah suppose we could round every creature up and force them into one place, like scaring them with these… what did ya call these?” Applebloom asked with a confused face as she looked at Capper.

With a serious face, he responded; “Cars they are called cars, they run on water and can go as fast as a hundred and twenty kilometres an hour. They were built to make transportation smoother and easier to get to the far reaches of the Badlands but they became expensive, so expensive that only the richest creatures could get them, meaning criminals. However, thanks to supreme leader Scootaloo, we managed to buy some,”

The destined ruler of Badlands perked when she heard her name being said and turned to Capper who nodded his head at her with a smile.

“You said something?” She asked with a bored voice that had a hint of disappointment that only Applebloom picked up on.

“We just spoke about the cars and how you bought them, thank you, makes things easier,” Capper said with gratitude and did a small bow in appreciation.

“My pleasure,” she said and returned to looking out the window as the cars drove. All the other vehicles were behind them, soldiers were armed and ready for battle. All were proud to belong to a regime that would create the peace and prosperity that their supreme leader had promised.

“So, Spike, what do ya think we shall do during the invasion?” Applebloom asked while looking at the dragon who wore a suit with a few medals and a hat. The two-piece suit was dark green along with the hat.

“I say we circle the town at midnight and cast a spell over the town so no creature escapes. Then, we force every creature out of their homes and watch as they see Equus planet's greatest ruler give her speech,” Spike explained with a neutral voice, not revealing any emotions.

Applebloom and Capper looked thoughtful at the idea and were amazed by what the young dragon had come up with.

Striking the town at midnight was a given, but it seemed like Spike had truly thought about everything that needed to be done.

“Wow, Spike, that’s a great idea!” Applebloom said with a small smile but it didn’t reach her eyes.

Truth be told, he missed her siblings and Granny Smith. She missed them so much but she knew that they hated her. They hated her because of Gabby Gums and would never see her as their younger sister ever again, she was just like any other stranger they’d never met before. It hurt her, but she knew it was the truth. Besides, Scootaloo told her that there was a possibility that her siblings would try to trick her into believing that they want her back and that they were sorry.

She never wanted to be hurt again, not even by her siblings, so she would have no choice but to distance herself from them and even show hatred par Granny Smith because her Granny didn’t deserve such a treatment.

In the back of her head, she heard a small voice.

“Long Live The Dictator,”

Spooked, she looked around as if she had heard it and looked around the car which grabbed the attention of Capper who looked concerned.

“You alright?”

Applebloom slowed her breathing and allowed a smile. “Sorry ah had a small panic attack, it happens sometimes.”

Capper smiled and nodded in understanding before turning to Spike. “Lieutenant, we will be using your idea because that is the one that has been the most thought-out idea we’ve had so far.”

Spike bowed a little in acknowledgement.

Scootaloo had listened to Spike’s idea and she had to admit, it sounded great. It was interesting to think that he would want their forces to force every creature out of their homes and listen to her speech. It was an excellent idea, but could she trust him? What if he betrayed her down the road? She would have no choice but to put a spell on him to see who he is loyal to… if beatings won’t reveal it.

The Everfree forests were as dense with trees and bushes as ever. The predators were all sleeping and the night creatures were lurking but they scurried away when they heard sounds they had never heard before.

The night creatures had battles with timberwolves, manticores you name it. But, something told them that fighting the creatures with the strangest sounds they had ever heard would be a bad idea.

The sounds sounded demonic to their sensitive ears.

It was like a tree had turned into metal and clinking into one another, but that wasn’t a good description. It was so strange, it was more as if the metal was growling like a predator. The growling was the most terrifying thing they ever heard.

They scurried away when they heard the sounds make their way over to their positions.

Scootaloo looked out the window as her army drove slowly through the dense forest. They kept their eyes out for predators who were still hungry and wanted food. A few soldiers held onto the roof of the cars and had their swords on their shoulders while still holding them.

“You remember this, Bloom?” Scootaloo suddenly asked her fellow ruler.

Applebloom woke up abruptly and looked around. “Hmm… what?” She asked tiredly and rubbed her eyes.

“I asked if you remembered this, sorry for waking you,” Scootaloo guiltily apologised. She knew that her friend hadn’t gotten the best sleep recently.

Appbebloom looked around and smiled a tired smile when she saw the Everfree forest. “Yeah, ah remember, no need to worry Scoots, thanks for waking me,”

Scootaloo smiled and looked over at her captain and lieutenant who were sleeping soundly as if they weren’t going to invade a town in a few minutes. The young ruler smiled a fond smile but knew that she had to wake them up.

“Captain! Lieutenant! Wake up!” She spoke in the strict voice that she reserved for when she had to give proper orders.

Spike, like Applebloom, abruptly woke up and hit his cheeks to wake himself up. Capper looked around tiredly until he saw the blank face of his supreme leader and suddenly jolted and sat upright and bowed.

“Sorry for falling asleep, supreme leader!” He spoke with embarrassment in his voice but his cheeks weren’t blushing.

Scootaloo chuckled. “It’s fine, you needed rest. Besides, we will be working a twenty-four-hour shift to make sure that Ponyville turns into the desired country we rightfully deserve.”

They nodded mutely.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Scootaloo said and knocked on the driver's window. A few seconds later and the passenger opened the small window and stared inside and bowed to Scootaloo.

“Yes, Supreme Leader?” He asked.

“We need to stop, we have a plan and we need to tell the others,” Scootaloo revealed, making her soldier nod and tell the driver to stop and signalled to the cars to stop. When they came to a stop, Capper and Spike got out first and Applebloom followed along with Scootaloo who stared at her brave soldiers.

The soldiers got out of the cars and saluted their leader with respect.

When all the soldiers were present and were looking at their leader, Scootaloo began to speak.

“I’m sure many of you wonder why we have stopped. Do not worry, we have a reason for stopping. We have a plan on how to invade Ponyville. You see, Lieutenant Spike came up with the brilliant idea of attacking at midnight and circling the town and putting up a force field so no creature can escape. After that, we force them to Mayor Mare’s office so we can have a speech about the changes we have to make for the greater good.” Scootaloo explained and every creature listened with rapt attention.

“I see we have ten cars in total. Good. I want two cars from every direction, that way we know who tries to flee. Also, do we have a unicorn who can cast very large forcefields?” She asked while looking curious. “Raise your hoof if you have magic and can cast a force field over the entire town and then some.”

A mare raised her hoof and Scootaloo looked her over. The mare was a lilac-coated unicorn with a dark purple mane and tail with hints of mint streaks.

“Young mare, are you strong enough to have a force field permanently there? If not, I do have a machine that’ll contain the spell,” Scootaloo asked while looking over the mare.

The mare took in a breath. “I can cast the spell but I will need the machine to hold it up permanently,” she explained. Scootaloo nodded.

“Understood, what is your name?” The orange-coated filly asked with curiosity.

“Starlight Glimmer, supreme leader.” Starlight introduced herself with a bow in respect.

Scootaloo nodded. “Alright, we’ll corner the town and in the middle, we’ll cast the spell.” The soldiers nodded and bowed. “Miss Glimmer, I will need you to follow me, is that alright with you?”

Starlight gulped and nodded her head while looking a little uncertain.

“Right then,” Scootaloo said with a stone face. “BEGIN THE INVASION!!!”

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter of Dictators Of Ponyville. So it has finally begun, huh? The actual invasion has begun. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I will see you next time.

Chapter 25 — The Invasion part 2

Scootaloo, Applebloom and Starlight were sitting together in their car while the captain and lieutenant had picked a different car to fulfil their duties to the regime that would be the greatest of all time.

Scootaloo’s drivers were careful when they reached the exit of the forest and saw the entire town that they hadn’t seen in over a year. Scootaloo’s mind went blank when she saw the town unsure of how to feel while Applebloom was mentally ecstatic to be back home.

Starlight looked around and felt a little uneasy about being so close to her leaders. She circled her hoof in her seat and bit her lower lip while looking out the window and saw that it was pitch black outside.

“So… supreme leader, when do you want me to cast the spell?” The lilac-coated mare asked, trying to sound serious but berated herself when she heard the awkwardness in her voice.

Scootaloo turned to face her with a stone face. “When we reach the centre of town, there you’ll cast the spell and place it inside this device,” the orange-coated filly pulled out a box from a bag that she had with her.

The device was a four-squared box coloured white with an aqua-blue circle in one of the squares.

“With this, we can last forever for all of eternity.” The voice that Scootaloo used for the sentence was beyond creepy in Starlight’s opinion.

The mare nodded her head in understanding. “I see, where did you find it?” She asked, looking right at Scootaloo who put the device in the bag she stored it.

“Doesn’t matter, we have it and we’ll succeed,” Scootaloo replied and began to look out the window with a small smirk on her face.

Starlight did the same and didn’t speak for the rest of the ride.

Scootlaoo watched as her soldiers drove around the town, circling it, showing that they were ready any second to take over the town. She felt adrenaline pump her veins and realised how dead she had felt for the last year since escaping.

She did to a small extent miss the town, but she had never once forgiven any creature here. They banished them from their home, so she would show them all what happens when you shun a creature who gave the very thing they asked for.

When they reached the centre of town, the car stopped and the soldiers got out and opened the doors, the two fillies and mare stepped out of the car and Starlight began casting the spell, prompting Scootaloo to pull out the device.

Starlight’s spell was at first small but it gradually grew bigger and bigger until it reached the train station and was pushed to the other side of the track. She had successfully cast a spell over the entirety of Ponyville but also the Everfree forest. After Starlight transferred the spell to the device and the spell was still up, Applebloom signalled their soldiers that it was time to attack.

Scootaloo had bought fireworks for the coup but they had never gotten to use them now when they had a reason to wake every creature up, they decided to use them. Besides, Scootaloo always enjoyed making a cool entrance.

The soldiers placed the fireworks out and waited for the signal to light them up. When they had gotten the order from Applebloom they lit them up.

The effect was immediate. The fireworks lit up the sky with a multitude of colours and the creatures sleeping opened their windows to check what was going on but were shocked to their core when the soldiers broke into the houses and forced their way inside and came looking for all creatures that lived in them.

There was screaming and shouting but the soldiers weren’t deterred.

Scootaloo listened and watched with a satisfied smile on her face. It felt good to be a leader and a hero at the same time.

She watched along with her fellow leader as the creatures of Ponyville were dragged to Mayor Mare’s office where they had walked after completing the spell. Many of the ponies and other creatures were shocked when they saw the last of the missing Crusaders. There they stood proud, wearing their uniforms that showed that they were the ones in charge.

Scootaloo didn’t recognise some creatures so she suspected that some had moved when they had fled. She wasn’t angry at them, but all the same, they also deserved punishment for simply moving to Ponyville.

The soldiers came dragging every creature out of their homes but a few struggled with the likes of Big Mac and Applejack who were fighting back, but they were visible enough for Applebloom to see them, so she rushed over to her soldiers and delivered a kick to Applejack’s face and a punch to Big Mac who didn’t anticipate the strength of a third party.

When they checked to see who it was, they were met with the blank stare of Applebloom one of the leaders of the Crusaders Democratics Party one they shall fear. But today, they were shocked but they brushed off the stinging sensation they felt and smiled widely.

“Applebloom-” Applejack began but was punched in the snout by one of the soldiers.

“That’s commander Applebloom to you!” The soldier shouted and Applebloom chuckled at Applejack who tried to soothe her aching pain with her hoof.

“Thank you, soldier, I apologise for these…” Applebloom looked at her brother and sister who were staring at her in shock. “...rebels being troublesome. Bring them to the others and may the Crusader's Light shine upon you all!”

“W-wait Applebloom!” Applejack tried but was once again punched in the snout, but this time from Applebloom herself. The older mare arched back from the force of the punch and a small speck of blood came out.

The soldiers didn’t react, they simply escorted the mare and stallion who were in shock by what was happening. What was going on? Why did the soldiers call Applebloom for Commander? Why did these grown creatures listen to a little filly?

They will soon find out why.

When they entered the town, the Apple family, Granny Smith included, were shocked by what they were seeing. They saw a spell cast over the entire town and soldiers armed and marching everywhere. When they saw Applebloom, they bowed in respect before carrying on their duties.

Applejack and Big Mac were forced to walk by the soldiers and they didn’t stop until they had reached Mayor Mare’s office where there was a large crowd of ponies who were forced to sit on the muddy ground.

Their eyes were wide with fear and shock at what was happening. They had all seen what has transpired over the last few years in their town but this by far is the scariest experience they’ve had. First, they see the last two missing Crusaders who had been missing for over a year, but they didn’t come alone, they had come with an army of soldiers who followed them as if they were the rulers.

Throughout all of this, Granny Smith was quiet and simply listened to the orders Applebloom was giving her.

Applebloom motioned for the soldiers to drop the two Apple family members and they did. Granny Smith had been obedient when she had been informed that they were following Crusader orders and she only knew of three Crusaders and one of them had returned not so long ago. The youngest apple then stepped onto the podium that Mayor Mare used whenever she would have a speech or mention an event taking place.

On the podium stood not only Scootaloo but also Sweetie Belle who had a genuine smile on her face as she hugged Scootaloo who hugged her back and kept repeating “I’m sorry” to her.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Scootaloo, I was captured by the royal guards who arrested me and forced me back to this filthy town.” Sweetie Belle muttered with disdain which drew a few flinches from the crowd.

“Long time to no see, Sweetie Belle!” Applebloom said and ran up to her friend to hug her. Sweetie Belle turned to her friend and smiled wide.

“Applebloom!” Sweetie Belle shouted in joy and hugged her friend tightly.

It would have been heartwarming if it wasn’t for the fact that the soldiers were making sure that they didn’t move. They were terrified by the fact that they had a form of transportation that they hadn’t seen before. It did resemble a pony carriage, but it was powered by something else but they had no clue what that source was.

When Sweetie Belle and Applebloom stopped hugging, they looked over to their subjects. They had blank stares on their faces, making the crowd sweat. It was as if they stared into their souls.

Scootaloo between her two fellow rulers had the blankest stare. She could see the element bearers from her position and she would have smiled sadistically at them if it weren’t for the fact that she couldn’t.

Inside the crowd, the element bearers were huddled together and staring at the last two missing fillies in shock. Where had they been, why did they have soldiers following their orders? Were they in Badlands like Princess Celestia had said all those months ago? What were they doing to the town?

“It’s… It’s really them!” Rainbow Dash was shocked. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open, unsure of what to feel at the moment.

“Yes darling, but why do they have soldiers with them?” The fashionista of Ponyville asked while looking towards Twilight for answers.

“Don’t look at me, I haven’t been informed by Princess Celestia or Luna about them having any sort of soldiers following them,” Twilight explained while looking at the soldiers who circled the creatures there with cold stares.

“Twi? What the hay is going on?” Applejack asked while staring at her sister in shock and briefly met the cold look that her sister had which made her shiver. It looked wrong on a filly.

“Applejack?” Twilight asked and turned to see her friend trotting up carefully while being stared at by the soldiers. “Thank Celestia! Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay, Twi? I was forced out of mah farm by two soldiers who listen to mah little sister and was punched by her too! She attacked Big Mac and I for resisting…” the farm pony’s voice trailed off as she saw her sister glare at some ponies who had done something.

“What?!” The five mares almost screamed.

“Are you hurt?” Fluttershy asked timidly while trying to look for injuries until she saw the obvious. Her snout. “A… Applejack… you…you’re snout!”

“Yeah, sugarcube… that was Applebloom,” the farmer sighed while the others looked shocked. Rainbow became furious.

“What?! Why the hay would she do that for?! You’re her sister!” Rainbow was about to fly over to Applebloom to teach her a lesson when she was suddenly caught by one of the soldiers who pulled her tail.

“Ow!” She turned around and faced the soldier who glared at her. “What gives!?”

“You will not hurt Commander Applebloom and I will not tolerate any form of disrespect to the supreme leader or the other two rulers, is that understood?” Rainbow looked ready to argue but Applejack shook her head to the mare.

“Yes,” they spoke together and the soldier nodded.

“Good, I will be watching you,” he threateningly spoke and walked away to the back and coldly stared at them.

“Hello, Ponyville!” Spoke a booming voice that made the six mares turn to look at the podium where the Crusaders stood. Scootaloo had a microphone and spoke to the crowd with a neutral voice. “I see that there are a few faces that I have not seen before but I’ll have Commander Sweetie Belle inform me later of the events. Anyways, for those of you who remember us, I want to say hello and I am so happy to be back in Equestria’s dumpster of a town. When we wrote those Gabby Gums columns we did it because we wanted to find our cutie marks but due to a filly’s corruption, we were blackmailed into spreading hurtful gossip that not only ruined many creatures' reputations and images but embarrassed them as well. The worst part wasn’t the columns being written, the worst part was every creature was asking for them.

“And so because my friends and I were blackmailed by Diamond Tiara to continue the columns and because every creature wanted to read them, we continued but then when it was revealed that it was us, we were shunned, mocked, bullied, and forced out of town, out of Equestria. We had nowhere to go but the Badlands. We found a home where we found work and had a good life but I could never let go of the trauma that you caused me which caused me to hate every single one of you with my very being. So I created a political party called; Crusaders Democratics Party.

“I attempted a coup towards the Storm King who rules Badlands, but I failed so I had no choice but to retreat here to this dump after one year of training and preparations for that battle. I am not disappointed in the soldiers, I am disappointed in myself for failing to bring what was rightfully theirs which is why I am giving them retribution. I am giving them freedom and peace in Ponyville, Equestria and on this day forth, my friends and I will be the eternal rulers of the entire planet!!!”

When Scootaloo finished her speech, her soldiers and friends applauded her and said what a kind and generous ruler she was while the creatures in the masses looked shocked and confused.

The Crusaders were still fillies. The Equestrian adult age was fifteen, but they were only ten, they weren’t even close to maturity considering what happened last year when they were nine.

Twilight decided to speak up before any creature said anything.

“Um, Scootaloo-”

“That’s Supreme Leader Scootaloo to you, mare,” the orange-coated filly interrupted which made the creatures gasp in shock at the lack of respect.

Twilight gulped but wasn’t afraid of a silly filly.

“Supreme Leader Scootaloo, you aren’t mature enough to be mayors yet and you haven’t finished school. By Equestrian law, you are a minor until you have reached the mature age of fifteen by then you will have received your cutie mark as well as graduated from school, I’m sorry, but as Princess of Friendship I cannot allow you to take Mayor Mare’s position,” she looked at the Crusaders apologetically.

“Is she for real?” Scootaloo asked Sweetie Belle who nodded her head while rolling her eyes at the newest Alicorn of Equestria.

“Look, Princess of Fiendship, we have been in the Badlands for an entire year where there are no laws or rules anything is fair game in terms of survival. I built an army with the help of my friends. We do not care about Equestrian laws. We are an independent country. Unlike the Crystal Empire, we have no affiliations with Equestria.”

The creatures gasped at the insult Scootaloo threw at Twilight and were about to teach them some manners when Scootaloo started speaking again.

“Sparkle, I’m seeing this for your own good, you are to step down as Princess and hand over any and all power to the new government because we are strong enough to fight against anything that you are too weak to defeat. I’m not doing this because I want to but because I need to, you proved that you are unfit to be a proper friend when you shunned us,”

The demand was met with protests by the ponies and other creatures of Ponyville. They shouted at Scootaloo to mind her manners and some tried to shout at the Crusaders that they were sorry and to forgive them.

“NO WAY!!” Rainbow Dash shouted at the top of her lungs, causing the creatures around her to stare at her. “Scoots, I know you are very angry right now but this is not the way to get forgiveness, we owe you the biggest apology imaginable—”

But before Rainbow could continue with her speech, a soldier belonging to the Crusaders hit the rainbow-maned pony causing her to be knocked down. Before she could shout out the creature, she was met with a sword close to her snout.

“Supreme Leader, your orders?” The soldier asked as he motioned at the pegasus who paled when she saw the sharp object directed at her.

“Rainbow!” Pinkie shouted.

“Please let her go, she didn’t mean any harm!” Twilight pleaded with her hooves out.

“I swear if ya hurt mah friend…” Applejack was about to threaten the guard when there was chuckling coming from Scootaloo.

They turned to her and saw how she giggled with mirth in her tone as she watched the scene with a fond look on her face. Her eyes were as cold as ice and her mouth didn’t hold the natural giggle that usually came from it.

“Soldier, at ease, she was just attempting a foolish stunt. That is what we need to understand about feather-brained ponies like her. They have no logic and never think about the consequences. She’s still a teenager while disguised as a grown mare,”

Rainbow would have shouted at Scootaloo for insulting her like that but due to the sword, she believed it was best to not say anything in fear of getting hurt.

The creatures around gulped at what the young orange-coated filly had said. They knew that they had hurt the fillies beyond their understanding but had it been so bad that Rainbow Dash’s number one fan openly insulted her sister figure?

The soldier nodded in her direction and pulled back the sword and bowed to Rainbow in an attempt at an apology which the pegasus didn’t accept.

“Now, I shall warn every creature here that you are not to speak to any creature outside of Ponyville and the Everfree forest you may only do so through the military which you can join after we have set up a proper military base which I’m sure you are more than willing to build for us. There’s also a spell cast over the entire town so no creature can escape any attempt to do so will face grave punishment, do I make myself clear?”

They nodded.

Scootaloo flashed them a smile that looked sinister. “Good. May the Crusaders' Light shine upon you all.”

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here and welcome back to another chapter of Dictators Of Ponyville! I want to thank every one of you who have stuck to the ride so far and I sincerely hope that all of you continue to read this story since it really is motivating to me to see you all reading it and enjoying it. That was all for today and I will write to you guys next time.

Chapter 26 — The New Regime

After the invasion of Ponyville, many had tried to reason with the three Crusaders but they had all been ignored. The Crusaders refused to listen to any pony’s apology and stated that it was their fault for being immature.

Twilight, who was the newest Princess of Equestria had tried to reason with them that they were too young to know what they were doing and to come again when they were adults. They had laughed in her face while pointing their hoof at her as if she was a circus clown.

“Do you believe we will stand down just because Equestrian law says we’re minors?” Scootaloo tried to stifle her laughter at the ‘smartest’ pony in town.

“Well, no, I don’t expect you to, but you cannot rule Ponyville you’re too young and don’t know what you’re doing. Look, I’m sorry about putting up that forcefield it was highly immature of me, I should have dealt with you three like a mature mare,” Twilight sighed and hung her head.

The Crusaders stared at one another before giggling.

“Princess Of Fiendship we do not accept any form of apology from you or any creature in town. You say we’re too young to rule? We disagree. You see, I don’t know or care why you became a Princess, but if that’s how you treat some pony due to a secret getting leaked, then I feel terrible to the pony who will feel you’re tyrannical hoof when they decide to make fun of you on paper. I don’t see Princess Celestia or Luna banishing their subjects for spreading rumours about them, instead, I’ve heard that they find it funny,” Sweetie Belle replied in a cold tone her eyes were as icy as Yakyakistan.

Twilight flinched at the tone used. It wasn’t a friendly tone at all. It was so un-Sweetie-like. The constant insult they threw at her for being Princess of ‘Fiendship’ stung and always brought her close to tears.

“Now, we're gonna have to do this,” Sweetie Belle spoke and pulled out a ring and placed it on Twilight’s head. The Alicorn’s eyes widened in fear as she knew what that ring was.

“Girls! Where did you find this ring?!” She in her panicked state asked while looking at them. They smirked.

“Oh, you see, in the Badlands there are no laws or rules. Because of this, you can find all sorts of things there. Dark magic books, illegal weapons, potions, cursed jewellery and rings preventing unicorns from producing magic. You can find a lot of stuff there!” Scootaloo said with a smile on her face that was anything but friendly.

Twilight during the explanation tried to pry the ring off with her hoof but failed miserably.

“Please take it off I promise I won’t use magic against you!” Twilight asked while panicking due to her not feeling her magic. Applebloom chuckled.

“Why would we do that, Twilight? Ya ain’t the only unicorn in town that has the ring!” She chuckled when she saw the horrified look on the Princess’ face.

“Girls, please I don’t know why you think this is necessary but you don’t have to do this!” The lilac mare pleaded with her hoofs out and was on the floor begging the three fillies. They were inside of the office that once belonged to Mayor Mare but they had kicked out the old mare and had arrested her for ‘crimes against the regime,’ not specifying what the mare had done.

“You don’t know? Twilight, they say you’re the smartest pony in town and you cannot figure out why we find this necessary, you are as feather-brained as Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo muttered with distaste.

“The reason we have the rings in place is because we are preventing unicorns from channelling their magic. The reason is so that they cannot overrun the regime or contact any outside help. But also to feel helpless,” Sweetie Belle answered with a blank look that the other two adopted.

“Helpless? Why?”

“Because we felt helpless when no pony wanted to hear us out. We felt so alone, abandoned by ‘adults’ who in reality acted like fillies and colts!” Scootaloo angrily replied.

It was then it came crashing down on Twilight. They were angry. They felt abandoned by every pony and they want the others to feel the same. So it must mean that they will simply have their small revenge and then everything will go back to normal!

She would act as if she agreed with them for now.

“Okay then, Supreme Leaders I apologise on me and Spike’s behalf for putting up the forcefield.” Twilight mentally smiled, soon everything would go back to normal.

The three fillies face-palmed at the older mare. The lilac Alicorn noticed this and frowned.

“What?” She asked.

“You really don’t know?” Sweetie Belle asked while shaking her head at the older mare. She almost felt sorry. Almost.

“Know what?” Twilight was getting worried and panicked with each passing second.

“Spike is the lieutenant of the Crusaders Democratics Party, he’s part of the regime,” Applebloom explained with a blank look and grinned when she saw the horror on the bookworm's face.

“...What? Why…why would he side with you three?!” She asked, feeling the panic coursing through her veins. It couldn’t be possible, right? They just made up a little white lie that even Applebloom could say.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Scootaloo asked with a smirk. “Lieutenant! You have a visitor!”

The doors to the office opened, revealing a purple-scaled dragon wearing his usual uniform that showed his rank within the party he was proud to be part of. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped slightly when he saw Twilight.

Scootaloo smirked and decided to sit by her desk. The office had three desks, one in the middle and two by the left and right when you entered the door. There was a coffee table with two sofas and two chairs made from black leather. The coffee table was made from oak wood. The walls were painted in different colours. Scootaloo who had the desk in the middle, decided to colour her wall orange while Applebloom decided to colours her yellow and Sweetie Belle chose white. Applebloom followed her friends’ example and sat by her desk which was to the left and Sweetie’s to the right.

“Uh, hey Twilight, how’s things?” He asked unsure of how to talk to her.

Twilight didn’t know what to say or think. The dragon she hatched, her little brother and assistant, has sided with the Crusaders! But… maybe he had realised that the fillies simply wanted revenge and decided to play with their charade? Yes, that must be it.

“Spike… where have you been mister?!” Twilight asked in a panicked state.

“Twilight… don’t you remember when Princess Luna asked for my help? I was to be sent out to retrieve the Crusaders as you can see, I accomplished my mission.” Spike explained with a neutral look on his face.

The Crusaders watched from their desks and giggled quietly to themselves as they watched the librarian splutter nonsense.

“Accomplished… ACCOMPLISHED?! Spike! They took over the entire town, how is that a mission accomplished?!!” Twilight shouted, which made the Crusaders openly laugh as the young Dragon sighed.

“She only told me to retrieve them back and I did, so mission accomplished,” he muttered and turned around to walk out of the office after he bowed to his leaders.

“Oh no you don’t mister! You’re coming with me!” Twilight tried to use her magic but failed which made her agitated. Why didn’t her magic work?! She looked at her horn and saw the ring. “Oh, that’s right, I still have the ring,”

The Alicorn started walking out of the office but was stopped by a call from Scootaloo.

“Princess,” the filly called out, causing Twilight to stop but she didn’t turn to look at them. “If I hear or see you try to hurt the lieutenant, you will be thrown in prison with your head first. Understood?”

The Alicorn nodded and walked out of the office without saying a word.

After that disaster of a conversation, the Crusaders made a few public speeches about how great Ponyville is and how the regime would make it better. Scootaloo spoke of how the military would be the strongest the planet had ever seen. Applebloom explained how the farms would produce all kinds of food that would keep them well-fed and never have to worry about hunger. Sweetie Belle explained how there would be entertainment such as music, books, and theatre but that there would be a few changes here and there but she didn’t explain what.

The unicorns became depressed when they couldn’t use their magic but they felt that it was what they deserved. One unicorn in particular, Rarity, didn’t say anything when soldiers had come to her boutique and explained the requirement of the ring the Supreme Leaders had decided.

She silently lowered her horn and they placed the ring on her and left. She didn’t try to take it off or fight back.

The pegasus ponies weren’t much better. The pegasi were strictly forbidden from flying. They had been given a vest that covered their wings which they had to wear at all times to not fly. Many pegasi tried to rebel but that was put to a stop when the soldiers threatened to cut off their wings. They had then listened to everything the regime had seen.

The only ones that didn’t need to wear anything were the earth ponies. That didn’t mean they didn’t feel as depressed as the unicorns or pegasi. They also felt guilty for what had happened and would do anything to apologise to the three… Supreme Leaders.

The first big change had been the atmosphere in the small town of Ponyville and the look. In the building where the three leaders lived were giant pictures of the three Crusaders. It depicted them as strong leaders with a red background and smaller ponies beneath them marching with spears. At the front of the building was a flag that depicted two swords crossing each other and to the right top corner was a hammer and sickle crossing each other. In the middle was the text; Crusaders Democratics Party.

Every citizen of Ponyville had been given a flag that represents peace and prosperity, meaning the flag the Crusaders gave. Even their former school had been given a flag to raise in the morning which Miss Cheerilee had been tasked with.

The citizens had been silent when they had been given the flags they simply bowed in gratitude and accepted their new rulers. What more could they do? There was nothing they could say that would break through to them. They had tried different things like saying sorry and trying to throw a party but it hadn’t worked. The soldiers were also very protective of their rulers and always praised them as if they were the Princesses of Equestria.

Because they had new rulers, it meant that they paid their taxes to the Crusaders which made a few citizens angry that they paid fillies but they couldn’t do or say anything for fear of being thrown into prison. They pay the normal price they would pay and the Crusaders were happy with that.

At least they believe so, because the Crusaders hadn’t sent any mail about a new tax system. Yet.

There were a few ponies who had nothing against the regime which was Dinky Whooves who was the young sister of Derpy Whooves. Then there was Snips and Snails who didn’t have a problem with the new rulers and in fact, believed that this would lead to a new and improved Equestria.

It must be so because that’s what they had said in their speech.

The other ponies were the fillies and colts from their school who believed that it was best to allow the Crusaders to guide Ponyville and Equestria into a new dawn of peace and prosperity.

While the main six were vehemently against the regime, they knew they couldn’t do anything. Twilight had voiced that it was most likely a revenge plot that would end in a week when they realise how difficult it is to run a country and would return the power to Mayor Mare.

Fluttershy and Pinkie weren’t certain about that and pointed out that the Crusaders didn’t start a political party and army for no reason. It would take a lot of work and dedication to continue to work like they were doing.

Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity didn’t say anything on the matter so it was unknown what their opinion was.

Ponyville had turned into a dictatorship and the Crusaders were the Dictators Of Ponyville.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter. So it seems like the Crusaders have taken over Ponyville and turned it into a dictatorship with a brand new regime, flag and rulers with it. Do you think their regime will last long? Tell me why/why not because I’m curious! I will write to you guys next time.

Chapter 27 — The New & Imporved Ponyville!

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter of this series that I’m having a lot of fun writing. I hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far and will see through it to the end because that would honestly make me very happy but it's not a requirement of course. I will write to you guys next time.

Warning about the chapter; violence ahead that requires hospitalization.

Chapter 27 — The New & Imporved Ponyville!

The Crusaders had known that they would have to do a lot of work to make a new and improved Equestria. But since they only had Ponyville under their peaceful rule, they would have to begin small. It was also good, this could be their testing ground.

The first thing they started with was to build new roads. The old dirty roads that belonged to—as Sweetie Belle put it—common ponies. They had built stone pavement and made roads for the cars to drive through and even built roads specifically for cars around Ponyville as well as parking lots so they wouldn’t be in the way of the creatures trying to live their lives.

The roads for the cars were inside the town and even had something called “highways” so they could drive faster and not hurt any creature. The highways were built in a circle that reached the train station and reached towards the end of the Everfree forest. The highways were built from stone and had lanes so no creature crashed into one another.

Of course, the ponies of Ponyville had been more than happy to help, especially when the armed soldiers asked if they needed help.

Now, the buildings in Ponyville had been—as Sweetie Belle put it again—for common ponies. She pointed out that they needed better buildings so that their country could gain the respect it rightfully deserves. How would the rest of Equestria look at them if they had pathetic wooden houses that were easily flammable?

So they broke down the houses and began working on the new and improved houses of Ponyville. Many had tried to say that they were happy, but it went inside the Crusaders' ears and out the other. They had replaced the wood with stone instead, specifically, red-brick stones and coloured them with other colours of course in case any other creature wanted a different colour.

The entire destruction and rebuilding of Ponyville had taken a solid two weeks. Two weeks of being reminded and depressed over the fact that the Crusaders had come back with vengeance. They had wanted the fillies back, but not like this. But they knew it was all their fault. They should have been the adults that listened to them but they acted like children instead and now they were paying the price.

By the time the project was done, there were new and improved houses. The buildings were made from stone and some houses had been turned into apartments instead so that there were spaces saved. The tallest building in Ponyville was twenty stories high and it was their pride and joy. Many ponies had been forced to move into the apartment due to them losing their homes, but they weren’t allowed to pick their homes. The Crusaders chose which apartment went to which creature.

During this time, a good chunk of the Everfree forest had been cut down so only one-fourth of the forest was left. What the Crusaders had cut down was for their military to train and have an official military base. The citizens of Ponyville had no choice but to build it from the ground up and it was long and tedious work but they managed.

The base had multiple buildings ranging from vehicle buildings, planning rooms, sleeping quarters, apartments and offices.

The Supreme Leaders travelled to the military base at least once a day to make sure that everything they were planning was going to work. It was also the area where the soldiers trained to make sure that they could overthrow the princesses’ in the future. The base had an office for Capper and Spike who travelled there daily due to being in the military. But they also had an office in Ponyville in different locations to ensure their safety just in case the citizens wanted to rebel.

Another improvement that the Crusaders did was to arrest Diamond Tiara and her family for crimes against the state. They hadn’t forgiven her for what she had done to them not just as Gabby Gums but also for the bullying she had done for several years.

They had sent a few soldiers that had kicked down their door and immediately brought the security ponies down to their knees. Diamond Tiara was thrown into prison without a trial and wasn’t expected to ever be let out into society.

Diamond Tiara’s father, Filthy Rich had pleaded with the state to take him instead and allow his daughter to go. The Crusaders had listened to the pitiful pony’s pleas and thrown him into prison with her.

Spoiled Rich, the mother of Diamond Tiara had tried to escape from the soldiers by running away for her life. She had run all over the town and there was nothing the other ponies could do to stop the soldiers from arresting the mare. The soldiers had run to their cars and put on the sirens that they had on the cars for when criminality ensued or war was happening.

They had caught up to the mare and beaten her to the ground before putting cuffs on her and forcing her into the car and driving her to prison where she would be with her husband and daughter.

The Crusaders had found the situation hilarious. Did the old pathetic mare really think she would escape the soldiers of the regime?

Most of the citizens now understood how badly the Crusaders must have felt when they felt abandoned. Because the Supreme Leaders allowed their soldiers to rough a few ponies up, it meant that they couldn’t ask the Crusaders to do anything because they wouldn’t listen to their pleas.

If they didn’t listen to the Crusaders during the Gabby Gums incident, then why would the Crusaders listen to them?

Princess Twilight had tried time and time again to make the Crusaders stand down until eventually, she made Scootaloo angry one day, so angry that the Princess Of Friendship had been beaten up and had to be sent to the hospital. The entire town had seen it but no one could stop it due to the soldiers being nearby.

This had taken place outside of Sugarcube Corner. The three Supreme Leaders had decided to reward themselves with milkshakes and had managed to order from the terrified Mrs Cake who gave the three nervous smiles. They had enjoyed their shakes but it wasn’t to last when Twilight had decided that it was time to waste more of their time by telling them to give up Ponyville and that they were too young to rule.

“Girls, you have to stand down! Can’t you see the ponies you’re hurting with your selfish revenge plot?! We’re all sorry for what we did, all you have to do is step down as rulers and all will be forgiven after you’ve apologised to all of us,” Twilight explained while looking down at the three.

“Oh, pathetic little Twilight always trying with this complete and utter nonsense, when will you learn that we won’t step down?” Sweetie Belle spoke while checking her hooves for any marks.

“Yeah, you fool, I will not tell you this again, Sparkle, If you do not stop pestering us then I will have no choice but to throw you in prison,” Scootaloo spoke with clear irritation and eye twitching ever so slightly showing that she was close to blowing a fuze any second.

“Hey!” Twilight exclaimed. “That’s no way to speak to your elders young lady,”

“Old? Oh, yeah! Sorry, I didn’t notice the grey in your mane!” Scootaloo burst out laughing and Twilight got a complete look of horror and checked through a window if she had any grey hairs, which turned out she didn’t.

“Ah, that’s right, Sparkle will need to be sent to an elderly home!” Applebloom laughed and a few soldiers chuckled at their Supreme Leaders sense of humour.

“Girls! That’s not funny! Do you have any idea how hurtful your words can be to a pony? Well, guess not cause your fillies,” Twilight spoke with a sigh and was about to walk away when she was suddenly attacked from behind.

She felt a hoof make contact with the back of her head with such force that she fell face forward into the stone-hard pavement. The ponies around gasped in shock at what they had just witnessed.

A few ponies tried to rush towards their princess but they were stopped by the soldiers.

“Halt! No creature interfere!”

Twilight was a little dizzy from the punch she had received and turned her head to see the most furious little filly she had ever seen. It made her shiver slightly. Scootaloo’s eyes were hardened and her teeth were clenched so hard that Alicorn was afraid she would break them. Scootaloo’s head was so red it looked like a vein was going to pop any second.

“How. Dare. You?” Scootaloo spoke with such hatred and anger it made the ponies around them flinch. “How dare you say we don’t know hurtful words when we were told by Mr Macintosh to go away? How dare you say that when a few of you taunted us? How dare you say we are fillies when we had to take punishments like grown mares?”

The ponies around winced and hung their heads at what the young leader had said. It was no surprise that there was a lot of anger, but it seems the anger turned to hatred.

Realising her mistake, Twilight tried to apologise. “I’m so sorry—”

Scootaloo punched her in the snout. “You’re not sorry, you are a Canterlot snob. It’s no surprise you don’t have any friends. The friends you have now aren’t even you’re real friends they just pity you. No one likes you and no pony ever will. I hope you disappear one day and never return you useless snob!”

After those words were spoken. Scootaloo started viciously attacking Twilight. The other main five tried to intervene but the soldiers put a stop to that and they screamed and cried as they watched their friend getting beaten to a pulp.

By the time the filly was finished, Twilight lay on the ground unconscious and had broken wing and hoof, and potentially more. The filly breathed heavily before spitting on Twilight and walking away with hatred radiating from her. The other Crusaders followed but not before giving them a look of fake sympathy.

The main five had rushed Twilight to the hospital where they immediately started operating on her body. Through scans, it showed that she indeed had a broken wing and hoof and a few ribs were bent in a way that didn’t look natural but they weren’t broken but would need a suit to bend the ribs back in place.

But there was one thing that scared everyone in Ponyville.

Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship was in a coma.

~~Dictators Of Ponyville~~

Scootaloo was working in the office signing paperwork and trying to come up with more ideas for the future. She knew that she had no choice but to invade other towns and cities so she would have a fighting chance against the Storm King, but she didn’t know which place to invade first.

Her friends were silently working on their paperwork and were glancing up now and again but they didn’t say anything. Scootaloo didn’t want to interrupt them so she let them be and grumbled in her thoughts.

She didn’t regret what she had done to Twilight. She deserved it, she should have expected to have such an outcome. Besides, she was messing with Scootaloo, the greatest leader the planet had ever seen!

They continued to work for a few hours before they decided that it was time to hit the hay. They had expanded the building so they had a living quarter and shared it while having separate rooms to give each other space. Scootaloo’s room had a large bed and desk with a chair and a bathroom for herself and her friends had similar.

Scootaloo grabbed two slices of toast and went to her room to eat because she wanted to cool off and not accidentally hurt her friends by saying something she would regret. Her friends understood and left her be while sitting at the dinner table ordering food from their chef.

When Scootaloo reached her room, she began eating her toast while silently contemplating the day's events that had transpired. She still didn’t regret anything and it was funny seeing the fearful looks that her citizens had given her.

Twilight would survive anyways, the mare is an Alicorn so it’s not as if she had inflicted any lasting damage to the young mare.

When she finished her bread, she walked up to her window where she could see the new and improved Ponyville. She smiled. She had done it, she had improved Ponyville for the better. Now, there was nothing that could stop her from dominating Equestria and the rest of the planet.

“Long Live The Dictator!” She yelled with glee and laughed loudly making the citizens abruptly shiver.

Chapter 28 — Capper's Fear

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 29 — Applebloom's Visit

When Applebloom woke up early in the morning, she couldn’t help but feel content with her life. A year ago, she would have tried everything to gain her cutie mark and tried journalism which led to her and her friends being banished from Ponyville.

Living in the Badlands wasn’t so bad, she enjoyed baking and the bits she earned weren’t bad, if anything it was perfect, especially when she shared the rent with her friends.

Sure, she will admit that Badlands had many flaws that needed to be corrected but that would be fixed when they planned the next coup towards Badlands. They would set up laws and rules to follow while not being too restrictive about what the creatures did there.

When they invaded Ponyville, she thought with all honesty that they were going to lose yet again, but Scootaloo proved to have been effective in her strategic thinking and had managed to pull off the coup.

Now, Ponyville was an independent country that was flourishing far better than Equestria could have hoped.

After putting on her uniform, she went to the dining hall to have breakfast which consisted of apple slices and a bowl of oats with some water.

The dining hall had a large rectangular table with twelve chairs. Five to the left and right and two by the ends. There were windows and large curtains with the Crusader’s faces plastered with the message; Crusader’s Is The Way To Freedom!

Applebloom sat by the end of the table where she had her eyes on all the chairs. It wasn’t usual for her to sit there but when she did it was usually breakfast. She was always the early riser due to living on the farm once upon a time. Sweetie Belle valued her beauty sleep and Scootaloo worked late into the night to make their beautiful country stand strong against the ‘oppressive princesses’ as the orange-coated filly would call them.

The former apple didn’t agree with that but didn’t say her disagreement to her fellow ruler.

Today was an interesting day, however, for the young earth pony. Today was the day she would visit her old school. Why she decided to do this due to missing her former friends and teacher. She might still be a little angry at Miss Cheerilee, but, she didn’t blame the grown mare.

Gabby Gums was created by herself and her friends and Diamond Tiara abused it to the point where the Crusaders couldn’t stay. It wasn’t Miss Cheerilee’s fault. Applebloom remembered when they had talked to Sweetie Belle who had giggled throughout her explanation when she told them what she said to Miss Cheerilee.

Part of the reason she was going to the school was because she wanted to apologise on behalf of her friends and regime.

While Applebloom received her breakfast and began to munch, she received from their butler a newspaper article. While munching, she began to read.

Supreme Leader Applebloom To Visit School

Today is a very important day for the former school of one of the three Supreme Leaders. Today is the day Supreme Leader Applebloom is going to visit the school for a visit to make sure that the school is functioning properly.

The mare who runs the school, Miss Cheerilee was the Supreme Leaders’ former teacher and has been accused on multiple occasions by Supreme Leader Sweetie Belle of being unfit to teach due to an incident that happened a year ago but wouldn’t say what happened.

Miss Cheerilee has refused to comment on any of the accusations and has always pleaded to go away while we have tried to approach her. Supreme Leader Scootaloo denied having ever gone to the school, stating that she is secretly an Alicorn princess that created Equestria through love and prosperity and simply went to the school so no pony would suspect of her angelic powers.

We haven’t had the chance to speak with Supreme Leader Applebloom but hope to do so after she has visited the school.

Applebloom felt her eyes twitching. Scootaloo had the wildest imagination she had ever met.

Shrugging and tossing the paper aside, she finished her breakfast and brushed her teeth before she ordered one of the soldiers to drive her to the school. They were still working on having personal drivers, but that proved to be difficult because many ponies had never seen such a vehicle before.

While she waited inside the parking lot, she pulled out a small journal she carried with her where she wrote things down to keep a clear mind and it helped greatly.

There wasn’t anything noteworthy inside other than a few ideas for Ponyville and Badlands like setting up proper hotels and maybe having a few casinos that creatures could gamble at so the regime earned more money.

The parking lot wasn’t very big. It was two stories high with a total of thirty-two parking spaces. The building was made from beige stone with black cement on the ground with white lines to show where to park and where the entrance and exit were located. While they were working on building more cars, there was simply not enough material to work with. In the Badlands, they had wood and metal while in Ponyville they only had wood.

This had made Applebloom question if they should have a few unicorns use their magic to summon iron that they could use. She hadn’t asked Scootaloo yet because she wanted to see if they could somehow build cars without the metal but it was proving by each passing day to become difficult.

Applebloom looked up in time when she saw Lieutenant Spike drive inside the parking lot and stop beside the former apple farmer. He got out of the car and walked around and bowed in respect and opened the door for her in the backseat.

When Spike got back into the driver's seat he began to drive to the exit with a stone face while chatting lightly with his leader.

“Good morning, Supreme Leader—”

“Spike, it’s just us, ya can call me Applebloom,” she kindly cut off with a small smile.

Spike blushed slightly but it was unnoticeable. “Alright, Applebloom, good morning. Sleep well?” He asked while stopping by the exit while checking left and right for civilians walking or other soldiers driving.

“Yeah, I did, thanks for asking. You?” Applebloom asked while looking out the window and saw many ponies depressed due to the… oppression they were put through.

“Can’t complain, thanks by the way for the apartment. I love the bed, but that thing is dangerous! So comfy,” he joked and Applebloom laughed.

“Glad ya liked it, it was hoof-picked by me,” she giggled.

“Really? Thank you boom… I mean Applebloom!” Spike quickly corrected himself, earning laughter from the filly.

“Relax, when it’s just us you can call me that… if you like,” she said while seeing two familiar ponies walking on the sidewalk she recognised as Lyra and Bon-Bon.

When Applebloom looked closely, she could see that there were tears in their eyes which made her frown. What were they crying for? It wasn’t illegal to cry in public of course, but it made her wonder what was going on. She would have asked Spike to stop the car but she couldn’t due to needing to be at the school as quickly as possible.

“Spike, after we spend the day at the school, ya think we can try to help Lyra and Bon-Bon?” She asked while glancing as they passed them.

“You noticed too, huh?” Spike rhetorically asked receiving a nod. “I’ve seen that they have been down lately but I don’t know why. I’m worried.” He admitted.

“Same here, partner,” Applebloom replied while continuing to watch the buildings come and disappear.

Spike drove on the highway for five minutes before taking a left and exiting the highway that was filled with military cars driving to work. The dragon drove to the parking lot of the school that Applebloom had invested in because she believed that the school deserved and needed it. She had also invested in a new playground with large slides and swings.

When Spike parked, he got out and allowed his leader to step out and bowed before closing the door and making their way to the front entrance of the school. The school hadn’t changed much, the only noticeable difference was the flag that represented their newfound country as well as posters of Applebloom being the best leader.

There was an agreement that the Crusaders would allow different creatures to have their favourite rulers as long as they remained loyal to all three. The school wanted to show their appreciation to Applebloom by having her as their favourite leader.

It touched the former farmer but she felt like she didn’t deserve it, especially after everything that has happened.

When they entered the school, it was mostly the same other than the posters of Applebloom being the “way”, and to study “For The Benefit Of The Crusaders” as it stood in one poster. Most likely Scootaloo’s doing.

“Man, they act like the Crystal Ponies but see you as the hero,” he remarked, watching the poster with interest while making their way to the classroom the students and teacher would be in.

“Yeah,” Applebloom replied while having a small, sad smile.

When they reached the end of the hallway, Spike knocked on the door. They had taken a few seconds because they had heard chattering inside.

“Come in!” Miss Cheerilee answered.

“Ready?” Spike asked and received a nod.

Spike opened the door, revealing a full classroom and teacher. The students gasped when they saw Spike and Applebloom and immediately bowed, including Miss Cheerilee. The students weren’t just ponies, there were a few yaks, changelings, dragons and griffins.

Spike remembered he met a changeling named Thorax who was a cool guy. They became friends and even joined the political party and worked as a spy for the regime. He remembered many ponies in Ponyville were frightened but after a while, their depression did so that they didn’t care.

The classroom was decorated with the different symbols that the Crusaders had created. The two swords that crossed one another, the hammer and sickle. There was even a poster of Applebloom in her usual uniform with a salute with smaller depictions of creatures marching.

“Hello, Supreme Leader Applebloom!” The entire classroom spoke in unison while smiling at the young filly.

“Hello,” she replied. “I wanted to come by and see if everything was alright in the school. I have heard that… Supreme Leader Sweetie Belle spoke some words…”

The students and teachers flinched at the mention of Sweetie Belle. Miss Cheerilee looked sad at the mention of the filly she had longed to come back for so long. The words she had told Miss Cheerilee still stung her.

“Shall I wait outside?” Spike asked with his claws behind his back while glancing over at Applebloom who nodded her head. He bowed and stepped outside the room, knowing that none of them would hurt the leader.

Applebloom turned to face Miss Cheerilee who looked lost in thought about everything that happened. The former farmer couldn’t help but feel guilty. As a leader of Ponyville, she had the power to change the opinion her friends held but she didn’t try… not even once! She could have spoken her disagreement with Sweetie Belle’s actions and Scootaloo’s… wild imagination but she didn’t she simply watched it all happen while she had a cup of hot chocolate and enjoyed the scenery before going to bed.

“I’m sorry, Miss Cheerilee.” Applebloom finally spoke after there had been a long silence drawing gasps from every creature in the room. Had they heard correctly? Even Miss Cheerilee jerked her head at what the filly said.

“For what?” She asked confused.

“For what Supreme Leader Sweetie Belle said to you. She was… not speaking correctly at the time and allowed her anger to fuel her words which caused hurt not just to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, but also to you. You never tried to intentionally hurt us, when the Gabby Gums incident happened you only had the name Gabby Gums how were you supposed to know who that pony was? Yes, she was chief editor but if you would have asked her, she could have said that she didn’t know and simply allowed anything into the paper.” Miss Cheerilee felt touched by her words but that didn’t mean she would believe it.

“Supreme Leader, I’m sorry that I didn’t intervene. I was planning to when I saw Snips and Snails in the paper but they didn’t seem to mind so I didn’t say anything or do anything to stop it. I’m the teacher and should have put my hoof down when it was needed. It is as much my fault as it is Diamond Tiara’s,” Miss Cheerilee reasoned with a sad sigh.

Applebloom sighed. “Stubborn teacher,” she spoke which drew a few laughs even from the teacher. “If you don’t want to believe me, fine but I do not blame ya and ya shouldn’t blame yourself either. I was wondering If I could—for today—tag along with the school day? It’s mostly politics and stuff, making sure that the… ahem… ‘right’ things are taught.”

Miss Cheerilee had a small smile and nodded. The students cheered.

“Before I forget, is it okay if the Lieutenant join as well? I don’t want him to get bored,” Applebloom said sheepishly and Miss Cheerilee’s smile, if possible widened further.

“That sounds like a lovely idea, Supreme Leader!”

With that, the leader and lieutenant became students for one day. They didn’t say anything to each other, but… they enjoyed it. And from the looks of the students and teacher, they enjoyed it as well.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter of DOP. Man, this was fun to write and I hope it was a good read for you guys. I have a small plan to maybe have a small romance between Applebloom and Spike but I remain undecided.

So, Applebloom has doubts about her friends' behaviour. Princess Luna is there to save the town—city?—from their communism. Sweetie Belle is remaining quiet but makes fun of their former school and Scootaloo’s ego is blowing up faster than my bank account. What do you guys believe will happen?

Chapter 30 — Lyra & Bon-Bon

After their visit to the school, Spike had gotten inside the car and started it while he waited for Supreme Leader Applebloom to say goodbye to her friends and former teacher. He smiled as he watched from his rearview mirror how she interacted with a genuine smile to her friends there.

She enveloped them all in a big group hug and promised them that she would visit them soon. They bowed to her as she left for the car and sat inside, prompting the young drake to reverse the car and drive away with the entire school waving as they drove away.

Both the ruler and lieutenant could see the journalists writing and taking pictures as they drove away, no doubt that they were trying to find more propaganda to write.

Taking an exit and driving on the highway, Spike kept his eyes on the road while Applebloom enjoyed the scenery of the new and improved Ponyville.

The young dragon would never admit this to anypony, but, he was sort of happy that he defected over to the regime. Twilight wasn’t a bad pony or Princess, but he had noticed how she had become estranged from him as time moved on.

Maybe he was terrible with things changing or maybe he couldn’t let go of the past, but he sometimes missed it when he lived in Canterlot. Yes, there were snobs, but anypony or creature could become one when they had money and acted like nobles. They never looked down on him for being a dragon—they looked down on him because he didn’t have a lot of money which he now had.

He didn’t hate or dislike Twilight or the other Element Bearers but he was a little angry for a few pranks they did on him and some hurtful things they had said without realising it. Of course, they made up for it in different ways but that didn’t mean he wasn’t holding a grudge over it.

When they had failed to inform him of the melting iceblock, instead of helping him, they laughed at him. Afterwards, Twilight felt guilty and had given him a few days off until he completely recovered but he wasn’t her biggest fan.

Then there was the time Rarity took advantage of him with the fire ruby. Admittingly, he could have said no, but his crush on her was quite big at the time and so he gave it to her, but that wasn’t as bad—he willingly gave the ruby, but he didn’t like the “affection” the Element of Generosity displayed.

During the dragon migration, Spike had been mocked and called “not a real dragon” by Rainbow Dash and some of the other friends which had hurt his feelings, admittingly. Sometimes, he wondered if he should have stayed in the Dragon Lands.

The only good thing was when he became the hero of the Crystal Empire—Great and Honourable, Spike The Brave And Glorious—because then he earned a little respect. That was before he was tasked with finding and returning the Crusaders. He disappeared from thin air and left a note saying the Princesses had sent him on a mission but didn’t say what kind because he didn’t feel like he needed to.

When he was captured by Storm soldiers, he thought that his life was over but it wasn’t. One day, a few brave soldiers from the Crusaders’ Democratics Party liberated the prison and took Spike with them when he told them who he was looking for.

Ever since then, he didn’t look back. He did follow through with the order—he brought the Crusaders back to Ponyville—which was once part of Equestria—so now he has no reason to follow Equestrian laws or rules.

Besides, there was another reason why he followed the orders of the princesses, he had hoped to confess his feelings for Applebloom. When the Crusaders had disappeared and his infatuation with Rarity came to an end, he started to realise that he didn’t like Rarity in that way at all, but when it came to Applebloom, that is when he realised that he truly liked the earth pony.

Spike was brought out of his musing by the earth pony he was thinking about.

“What are ya thinking about?” Applebloom asked as she watched as they drove past buildings while still on the highway.

“Life in general. Who would have thought we could change Ponyville so drastically?” He asked while admiring the apartments they drove past that had a large banner of Scootaloo giving a salute with a red background saying; Scootaloo For World Peace!

“Yeah, I never thought I would come back to Ponyville in all honesty, not after what happened…” Applebloom became quiet as she thought about everything that happened.

Spike was silent and took an exit from the highway and stopped at a red light.

Suddenly, Applebloom started to laugh. When the laughter reached his ears, he couldn’t help but think of how heavenly it sounded. It was so beautiful and calming making him feel relaxed.

“Sorry fer laughing but…” she tried to control her giggles. “Did ya read the newspaper this morning?”

“Uh, yeah I did. It was about you visiting the school,” Spike replied and took a right when the light turned green and entered a street that showed multiple buildings big and tall with multiple symbols for different shops and restaurants.

“Yes, did ya read the info about Scootaloo?” Applebloom burst out laughing, slapping her leg with her hoof. “She contradicted herself; she said she never went to the school and claimed she was an alicorn who founded Equestria who only went to school so no pony would suspect her angelic powers!”

Spike snorted and laughed with her.

“The power went a little bit to her head,” he replied and turned into another street.

“A ‘little’?” Applebloom deadpanned.

~~Dictators Of Ponyville~~

When Spike found Lyra and Bon-Bon, he saw that the two mares looked sad. They were inside Bon-Bon’s candy shop but it didn’t seem to be many customers if any at all. This was odd, many ponies throughout Ponyville would come every day and buy from the yellow-coated earth pony, Spike and Applebloom included.

They parked the car outside the shop and saw the civilians bow to them in respect and fear.

When they entered the shop, they saw how shocked both mares were before they bowed in respect to them.

Lyra Heartstrings was a mint-coated mare with mint mane and tail who played classical music and was very good at it from what Sweetie Belle had told Applebloom.

Bon-Bon, the owner of the shop was a yellow-coated mare of a lighter shade than Applebloom and had two streaked mane and tail of blue and pink.

“Supreme Leader Applebloom and Lieutenant Spike! How can we be of service?” Bon-Bon asked nervously. The blank look on Applebloom’s face didn’t help matters and Spike standing with his claws behind his back with a strong posture while sporting the same look increased her stress levels.

“I was on mah way to the school when I saw ya walk together this morning. Ya, both looked sad and I wanted to know why that is. I don’t know what compelled me to do so, but here I am,” Applebloom explained while looking around the shop and frowning when she saw that there wasn’t as much candy like there usually was.

Or maybe that was a good sign? It could mean that they had a good flow of business.

The two older mares were taken aback by what the young ruler said. That was the last thing they had expected to come from her. Nonetheless, they didn’t want to be laughed at so they decided to avoid it.

“It’s nothing Supreme Leader Applebloom, you don’t need to stress over it,” Lyra spoke for Bon-Bon who nodded in agreement.

Applebloom glanced at Spike and motioned for the room to the side where it read “Staff Only” and he nodded and went for the door.

“Hey, what are you doing?!” Lyra asked angrily when she saw Spike open the door and walk inside the restricted area.

“He’s following my orders, Heartstrings so I order you to stand down,” Applebloom ordered in a calm voice that made the min-coated unicorn shiver.

“Sorry Supreme Leader Applebloom,” Lyra apologetically bowed her head.

Bon-Bon placed her head on her counter and began to sob lightly but the sounds of her cries were heard throughout the shop. The shelves on the walls and in the middle didn’t store as much candy and different flavours as they once had. It was her pride and joy and she would hate for it to close, but she had no choice.

Suddenly, Spike walked out from the staff-only area with a grim look.

“I think I know the problem, Supreme Leader Applebloom. Bon-Bon doesn’t have enough ingredients to make her candy. Because we don’t buy from outside of Ponyville or Badlands, she won’t be able to make her famous candy,” Spike explained while giving a look to the two mares.

They lowered their heads, expecting laughter. They knew they would be laughed at, after all, they were one of the many bullies who shunned the Crusaders. But they didn’t hear laughter.

“Ahm sorry,”

Their heads flew up so fast, the ruler and lieutenant were afraid that they’d break their necks. Their eyes were wide and their mouths hung open.

“W…what!?” Lyra exclaimed, momentarily forgetting who she shouted at.

“Ahm sorry,” Applebloom spoke again. “I know how much you two pride yerself with this shop and work hard every day to make bits and the civilians happy. I as a ruler failed to give a way for ya to buy ingredients.”

Spike would have laughed at their stunned expression if it weren’t for the fact of how serious this topic was.

“Ah promise ya’ll that I will start conducting business with the rest of Equestria. All ya gotta do is sign a couple of papers, is that alright with ya?” She asked while pulling out paper and pen and began to write notes to remember for when she got back to the office.

“Huh?” Was their intelligent reply.

“I can deliver the papers, Supreme Leader Applebloom,” Spike spoke for the first time since stepping inside the shop. “I was asked to patrol because there have been rumours that a foreigner has been seen sneaking inside the country. I can drop by with the papers while on duty,”

Applebloom nodded in approval. “Great, Is it okay if ah buy some sweets? I’ve been craving some sugar lately,”

Bon-Bon was the first to recover. “Uh… yeah! Yeah, sure go ahead,” she smiled. Lyra was the second one to recover and couldn’t help but smile along with Bon-Bon as they noticed their… customer who was also their Supreme Leader, shop inside the candy shop.

“Supreme Leader Applebloom, perhaps we should ask the other Supreme Leaders if she should make business with the rest of Equestria? That way we can earn money while also helping the civilians. Maybe we even gain a defector or two,” Spike suggested as he went over to the counter and paid for his candy and noticed that both mares smiled a warm smile at him.

“We can try, but ah don’t think Scootaloo will like that idea, not that she would try to stop me anyway,” Applebloom replied and paid for her candy and thanked the two older mares for their delicious candy.

They got inside the car again and drove away from the shop.

Once again, Spike found himself on the highway and got to see the same cars, trucks and vans but with different creatures in them.

This time, the ride was a lot quicker because they had one place left to go and that was the hospital.

Applebloom had become worried for Twilight as of late and had asked Spike to drive them there. While on the way there, Applebloom wondered if the lilac-alicorn blamed them for what they did or if she had woken up but not been informed.

Then again, why would a hospital tell rulers of a country that an insignificant pony had woken up from a coma?

When Spike reached the newly improved hospital, he parked in the parking lot and saw that a few other cars were there. Most likely injured soldiers that couldn’t get proper medical attention on the base.

When they got out of the car, they saw—to their surprise—the Element Bearers who were inside the hospital, discussing with who looked to be Nurse Redheart.

Making their way inside the hospital, the double glass doors slid open for the ruler and lieutenant, grabbing the attention of the fastest flyer in Ponyville.

Rainbow Dash.

“What are you doing here?!!” Shouted the cyan pegasus in anger when she saw them. The others turned and looked shocked when they saw the last pony and dragon they expected.

Applebloom ignored her older sisters’ shocked look and Rainbow Dashs’ question and looked at Nurse Redheart who was sweating profusely and the sight of the ruler and lieutenant.

“Nurse Redheart, how is Princess Twilight Sparkle doing?” Applebloom asked, much to the confusion of everypony there, not anticipating the question.

“I’m not at liberty to say…” Readheart tried to speak but was interrupted by the blue-coated pegasus who held fury in her eyes.

“Why do you want to know?! Planning on beating her to death?!” She angrily accused while pointing her hoof at Applebloom before turning her gaze towards Spike. “And you! How could you allow this to happen? How can you side with them when they are hurting everypony around town!?”

Spike shrugged. “This is what I feel on a daily basis,” he replied to their confusion.

“Spikey-Wikey, what you mean?” Rarity asked with the nickname she had for him, making him inwardly cringe.

“I mean that I feel like this on a daily basis. Being verbally hurt by the likes of Rainbow Dash and Twilight.” He explained which earned him an offended look from the rainbow-maned pegasus.

“I have never verbally hurt you!” She spoke in a huff.

“You’re a lame dragon!” Spike quoted while looking at the pegasus with a blank face that made her nervous. She also winced at the reminder of what she had once said to him.

“Of course, I’m not doing this out of spite or hatred. I do care about you all, but at the same time, I enjoy the newfound respect I have received from the political party I joined.” Spike spoke fondly while looking distant.

“And ya think by siding with fillies taking over the town is the way to go?!” Applejack asked irritably while scoffing at the dragon.

He shrugged while tilting his head. “I was asked by the princesses—specifically Princess Luna—to retrieve the Crusaders and take them back to Ponyville which I did. She didn’t specify what would happen after that. I did my mission,”

The others became silent at that, uncertain of how to speak.

“Nurse Redheart, I ask as one of the Supreme Leaders of this country; how is Princess Twilight Sparkle doing?” Applebloom voiced, making the others realise that the young ruler was still inside the room.

This time, Nurse Redheart was sweating bullets, unsure if she should divulge such information but realising that she had no other choice after the silent order given by the former farmer, she decided to tell the truth.

“Well… she is stable but still in a coma, her head shows signs of trauma and a few broken ribs.” The nurse explained while trying to not look intimidated by the look the young filly was giving her.

Applebloom glanced at Spike and saw that he still had a blank face. Unsure of what the dragon was feeling she nodded her head.

“Understood, Nurse, send me a letter if she wakes up or if you need any medical supplies,” Applebloom ordered before walking out of the hospital with Spike in tow, leaving the remaining element bearers in shock along with the nurse.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter of Dictators Of Ponyville. Now, this chapter is sort of a turning point in a way. Applebloom being the most level-headed of the other two start to feel guilty while still feeling the negative emotions of what happened. Now I also want to make clear that I am in no way bashing the element bearers or anything. This isn’t a Spike abuse type of story, why I wanted it to look that way is because Spike has spent months with the Crusaders.

Because of this, he would naturally, pick up on the emotion and start to think negative thoughts himself but not to a large extent that the other three are—were—doing. Which was why I only set up one example in the argument between him and Rainbow Dash.

Plus, I don’t want to sound rude but the story isn’t really about him, he’s simply a filler character of sorts while also being a romantic interest of Applebloom.

Thanks for reading and I will write to you guys next time.

Chapter 31 — Investment

True to her word, Supreme Leader Applebloom made investments that would not only benefit Lyra and Bon-Bon but would also benefit the regime. Scootaloo had been hesitant to allow commoners to have such luxury but did admit that they had good candy.

When it came to candy, Bon-Bon was the best in the business.

Scootaloo had obliged, opening up the borders specifically for the transportation of the investments. Applebloom took over the rest, being the one that knew the most about culinary arts and what is needed. So the former apple farmer was the head of the food industry.

Because of this, many businesses had begun to ask for permission of continuing their stores. At first, it had been confusing because they had never banned them from trying to earn money, but they pointed out that they received a lot of their hardware from different parts of Equestria and needed to be in constant contact with them.

Due to this, the Crusaders realised that the dome may not have been the brightest idea and did have ideas of shutting it down so they could flourish better. Applebloom was all for the idea and pointed out that they could simply build large walls surrounding their country and have a magic dome on the top so the fliers wouldn’t be able to get inside or out.

Scootaloo had liked that idea while Sweetie Belle seemed indifferent to it all.

So, the construction began. Scootaloo started to see over the large walls that were made from concrete stone that had several spells protecting them from strong magic users like Trixie Lulamoon who hadn’t returned to their country in a while. But you never know.

Applebloom started to secretly watch over the country she was proud to call her home. She looked at the education system that needed… there was major room for improvement.

Applebloom did not see it fitting that their friends and newer students “learn” that Supreme Leader Scootaloo is the “mother” of Princess Celestia and Luna.

Speaking about the former farmer, Applebloom had slowly begun to date, Lieutenant Spike. They had confessed their feelings one day when they were at a restaurant enjoying themselves. Originally, it was meant for all Supreme Leaders, Captain and Lieutenant to be there. But Capper couldn’t come because he needed to finish paperwork he had not finished. Sweetie Belle was working on creating a law that allows the death penalty but needed to create a strong argument to convince the other two Supreme Leaders. Scootaloo couldn’t come because she was paranoid. She claimed she had seen a pony hiding inside a cloak.

What she meant by ‘hiding inside a cloak’ remains to be explained.

So that just left the Supreme Leader and Lieutenant Spike alone in the restaurant in the restricted section for specific leaders like Applebloom and to a lesser extent, Spike.

They talked, ate, danced and had a lot of fun. When it was getting into the early hours of the morning, Spike had admitted the truth to Applebloom about the mission he had received.

The dining area was empty like it usually was. There weren’t many creatures there that bothered them except the staff who were doing their job. The dining room they were in was large with wooden doors with beautiful carvings of the three pony tribes holding the hammer and sickle together, showing the peace the Crusaders had brought to the lands of Equestria.

The room had a large circle table with a white cloth and wooden chairs for five creatures but there were only two occupying them.

The floors had a beautiful red mat with a few white and gold stars that decorated the frames. The walls were painted dark blue while the ceiling was wooden brown. On the walls hung multiple portraits that showed the dictatorship that the Crusaders had accomplished. There were portraits of Scootaloo with different texts like; Scootaloo For World Peace! And The Oldest And Greatest Alicorn To Ever Walk Equus!

Scootaloo wasn’t the only one who had gotten a big ego. While Sweetie Belle didn’t have ridiculous propaganda saying she was an alicorn, that didn’t mean that she never spoke lies every once in a while. On one of the portraits, Sweetie Belle was giving her best puppy dog eyes with a text that read; Supreme Leader Sweetie Belle, The Most Beautiful Mare In All Of Equus!

Scootaloo was trying to become a goddess, while Sweetie Belle was trying to top her sister in the beauty department.

Applebloom did have a few propaganda posters but Spike did believe that it warranted her good behaviour… even though the artists had exaggerated. Beside the large double doors, was a portrait of Applebloom giving a salute to her troops below her.

Supreme Leader Applebloom For The Future Of Ponyville and Badlands!

Spike had been a little amused by the posters and had giggled when he saw the poster about her. The earth pony had tried to make him stop but her blush had made it difficult for the dragon to take her seriously.

Nonetheless, when he had calmed down, they had together walked home to the apartment Applebloom lived with the other Supreme Leaders and kissed him on the cheeks goodnight before departing.

~~Dictators Of Ponyville~~

“Applebloom?” Came the voice of an orange-coated pegasus filly who was clad in her military uniform. “I gotta ask, do you think it’s a good idea to give visas to foreigners like the Equestrians?”

Applebloom who had been writing an agreement had been so shocked by Scootaloo’s sudden question that she spilled the ink all over the papers and parchments. She grumbled and looked at the pegasus sourly.

“Oops… sorry,” Scootaloo had the decency to blush.

Sighing, Applebloom took a chug of apple juice and looked over to her friend. “Where did this idea come from? Didn’t you want to isolate the country for as long as possible?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “That’s what I desire, but we need ways to earn money and become famous around the world. What if we offer Visas, but we are one of the hardest countries to please?”

“Elaborate,” Applebloom commanded.

“I mean; what if we offer Visas but we are almost impossible to enter? What if getting a Visa is very difficult, so difficult that it ends up on paper? Wouldn’t many creatures want to visit such a country?” Scootaloo had a gleam in her eyes that she hadn’t had for over a year.

“Ah think they would be afraid,” Applebloom deadpanned at the pegasus. “No offence, but if Sweetie Belle manages somehow to convince us of putting a death penalty in place, then many creatures would be too afraid to visit.”

Scootaloo seemed to think it over and kept nodding her head as if she was listening to the voice in her head. Applebloom went back to the parchment that was soaked and grumbled once more. Luckily, she had made copies of the contract in case something happened to the first one.

She brought forward the parchment and letters and began to sign her name and stamped it with the hammer and sickle that became the true symbol of their regime. With that, she placed the parchment and paper inside an envelope and placed it into a metal bag she would take to the post office and send out the letters. One thing that sucked was that they did not have any fast ways to send letters, the fastest one would be Sweetie Belle with her magic, but she had other things to do.

“I suppose you’re right,” Scootaloo finally spoke and began to sign papers and read them over.

They didn’t speak for a few hours, too busy making sure everything was going according to plan. The hours from one-thirty P.M. were quickly making their way to seven P.M. The day had been exciting, long and short.

Applebloom couldn’t stop thinking about Spike’s confession.

‘Applebloom, before you disappeared I noticed that my love for Rarity began to wane down and I started to set my eyes on you but I wasn’t ready yet to date and then the entire… fiasco happened and I hurt you. Because I hurt you, I was disgusted with myself.

I… was offered by Princess Luna a better job if I brought you guys back to Ponyville which I did. Even if this isn’t what she imagined, I did it. My end of the bargain is completed. I understand if you only see me as a dragon that is also the Lieutenant of you’re military, but… just know that I love you.”

The confession had warmed her heart. Truth be told, she started to fancy him when they were together in the Badlands. He would cook and clean the apartment, would talk to her whenever she needed advice and always listened.

Unknowingly, she began to smile widely with pink decorating her cheeks.

When she saw that she had finished that day’s work, she waved goodbye to Scootaloo who was too invested in her work to notice and walked through the hallways of the building that controlled Ponyville, but soon—according to Scootaloo—would be the building that controlled the entire planet.

Applebloom didn’t believe that for a second.

She put on her hat and placed it on top of her head and walked out the front door and was greeted by the moon that was passing by over the horizon. The night was beautiful, the darkness welcomed them with open hooves and made the city look beautiful. The street lights that they had built made the experience better.

Crime was at an all-time low due to the military being everywhere they walked. It was impossible to steal or assault another creature without being noticed.

Not that the military would stop a pony from assaulting another pony.

Applebloom made her way down the street looking for a restaurant that could satisfy her craving for a hayburger. It had been a long while since she last had one. One year to be exact, so she was looking forward to getting some food.

When she entered the food district, multiple pubs were open that revealed creatures drinking beverages and laughing loudly. In the restaurants were multiple creatures eating and having fun.

Applebloom saw the popular place “Hayburger Queen” In big bold red letters. It was a three-story building made from metal and had large glass doors. On the inside was a polished marble floor that echoed her hoof steps. Two cash registers stood ready and looked a bit afraid when they saw Applebloom enter.

Seeing no creature stand in line, she walked right up to the cash register.

“Howdy, can I have a cheezy hayburger with some fries, onion rings and a milkshake?” She asked as if everything was normal. The unicorn stallion behind the counter nodded and rushed throughout the restaurant to get all the ingredients on time, not wanting to upset the Supreme Leader.

The Stallion placed the hayburger, fries, onion rings and milkshake on a black tray with the Hayburger Queen advertisement on it.

“Here you go, Supreme Leader Applebloom!” The stallion spoke with respect while he bowed.

Applebloom didn’t move an inch, she simply continued to stare at the stallion who got out of his position and saw that the Supreme Leader was still there. He started to sweat. Did he get her order wrong? Did he get the wrong milkshake?! Well, to be fair she didn’t ask for a flavour…

“Uh, Is something wrong?” He asked, unsure of how to break the ice.

“Yes, I need to pay for my food, so how much is it?” Applebloom asked with a blank stare. Did this grown stallion believe that because she was a leader of his country that she wouldn’t pay for anything?

“Oh, you don’t need to pay you—”

“How much is it?” This time, Applebloom added firmness to her tone which sent shivers down the stallions’ spine.

“Twenty-five bits!” He admitted. Applebloom handed the stallion the money and an extra five.

“Keep the change,” she muttered and made her way to the third floor. When she reached the third floor, she saw that there were almost no creatures there apart from herself and a Griffin that belonged to the military.

When the Griffin saw Applebloom, he stood up and bowed in respect until Applebloom ordered him to enjoy his food.

Applebloom sat down by a window where she had a clear view of the middle of Ponville. Where the large fountain had once stood now stood a sculpture of the Crusaders together giving a salute with text on the bottom that read; Crusaders Is The Way To Freedom!

Slowly, Applebloom raised her hayburger to her mouth and took a bite and felt the lovely sensation she had missed for so long.

It was a worthy investment.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter of Dictators Of Ponyville. I do apologise that it’s more of a filler chapter, but I want to show a little bit how Ponyville is functioning under the Crusader's rule which is why I decided to do this chapter. Sorry if it feels rushed because of that because that truly wasn’t my intention. Nonetheless, please enjoy! I will write to you guys next time.

Chapter 32 — Princess Luna

Luna was looking out the window from the room that Capper had given her. The room wasn’t big but wasn’t small either. The walls were made from dark oak wood with dark blue painting over with a large banner on the opposite end from the bed, depicting the three Supreme Leaders together giving and salute.

The bed was very comfy with wine-red covers that were warm. The floors were covered in a red mat that went throughout the apartment and Luna could only imagine that all the buildings were similar in this regard. There was a wardrobe where she had a few clothes and cloaks as well as a desk that had a journal, parchment ink and quill that lay there in case she wanted to jot down her thoughts.

When Capper left for work, he would always let her know beforehand and she would wave as he would drive away in his “car”.

To say the changes that Ponyville went through were small would have been a very large understatement. There were large skyscrapers that towered over the city with beautiful stone and metal structures that would make Canterlot look like a fancy place to live.

Ponyville might as well be considered the capital.

The night was beautiful from the city, the stars were visible and the energy from down below didn’t affect it too much. The stars were still visible and could be appreciated by the night creatures that preferred the night. The sidewalks were packed with ponies and other creatures that were making their way to and from work or were out partying with friends and family.

It brought her comfort that there could still be parties despite a harsh dictatorship.

She turned away from the window and put on her cloak and walked out of her room and made her way over to the observatory that Capper had in the apartment. She didn’t know why the cat had it, but the regime had said it was a “gift” of sorts and he accepted the excuse.

The hallways were packed with propaganda posters, mainly of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. On Scootaloo’s end, they spoke of her as being the eternal president of Equus. For Sweetie Belle, it was that she was the definition of beauty.

Princess Luna had accidentally one morning spat out her tea on poor Capper when she read an article where Scootaloo claimed she was the “mother” of her and Celestia. Luna had been a little surprised at first but had burst out laughing at the hilarity of the situation. That filly’s ego was bigger than Celestia’s!

And that was saying something.

When Luna made it to the double staircase, she took the closest, being the right and made her way up while mulling over the situation at hoof.

The Crusaders wouldn’t be easily swayed by mere apologies which they had told everypony. One thing that did make her wary, was Scootaloo’s attack on Princess Twilight. The attack did have a cause behind it and from all points of view, it did seem as though Twilight was egging them on or something, but nonetheless, Scootaloo still attacked a Princess of Equestria.

“What a bold filly,” Luna commented while opening a set of double doors and seeing a large telescope look towards the skies. To the left and right were shelves of books, similar to a library, but with far fewer shelves and books. Some journals and notes came from all over Equestria that the Crusaders had somehow gained access to. Either they had stolen the documents or they had found them around Badlands and Ponyville.

Luna made her way to an area that was secluded from the observatory. It was a corner that blocked the view for others so they wouldn’t see any creature there. There was a desk and chair with a few books and journals scattered across the desk, showing that somepony had been here having a look around.

“Let’s see where I left off,” Luna said and flew into her chair and began to read a journal she had found interesting.

The journal itself came from Scootaloo which spoke of how beautiful the planet was and how awesome it would be to visit the moon and other planets in their solar system. However, the journal as time went on, became darker and darker.

Journal Entry #324

I think I have an idea of how to make the colonisation of Mars possible. All we need is a lot of seeds from the earth ponies and magic from the unicorns to make things grow on the red planet. If there happens to be life there, we’ll eradicate it from existence and make sure that only the creatures that follow the Crusaders' Democratics Party live to see another day. I am the Supreme Leader, I am better than everypony else. No creature can stop my plans, and if they do, they will feel the same wrath that the ponies of Ponyville cast on us when they banished me and my friends.

Then again, if there is life on Mars, then I suppose I will be the alien so it wouldn’t be right of me to eradicate them. If anything, I’ll ask if it is okay if we set up an alliance and base for my forces and if not, then we’ll leave. But then again, I cannot just take over Equus, I need to take over the galaxy and reclaim what is rightfully mine! I am the greatest pony of all time, It is my right to be the ruler of any and all worlds. I am an alicorn goddess, higher than Celestia and Luna. I am the embodiment of peace.

—Supreme Leader Scootaloo

Luna felt her eye twitch slightly at how the filly described herself. She was more arrogant than her nephew, Blueblood. She didn’t think that was possible.

The Princess of the Night read through a few pages and learned new information about the space program that Supreme Leader Sweetie Belle had started. Their goal was to colonize other planets under the Crusaders’ Democratics Party rule, introducing a new age of followers of the ‘Supreme Leaders’ as they called themselves. They would make Equestria their capital planet and have export rates be as high as possible with large taxes to earn money out of it.

Luna turned a page and saw there were plans for the military to shoot a large… thing they dubbed a “missile”. It was a large metallic object that was filled with…

Her eyes widened. This “missile” was loaded with dynamite and the location where they would shoot it? Canterlot. She read everything she could about the weapon and how to slow it down. There were instruction manuals on how to build it and how big the dynamite was supposed to be. There were sketches of it that looked similar to a rocket that they used for New Year's.

From what Luna had understood, this was a side project of Scootaloo’s that the other two Supreme Leaders weren’t aware of. Specific members of the military knew very little about the project. Scootaloo had dubbed it Project Missile with a photo of what looked to be the first “missile” they had created which was located at the back of the journal.

The “missile” like before, heavily resembled a rocket. The tip resembled a straw hat but was smoother with a long body and an “engine” of sorts at the bottom to fire off into the sky. The “missile” was white-coloured and had the initials CDP—32.

Supreme Leader Scootaloo was visible in the photo and was looking at the “missile” but her back was turned, so Luna couldn’t see her facial expression so the emotions were unknown.

Luna put down the journal and leaned back in her chair and stretched slightly.

So, Scootaloo—a minor—wanted to colonize other planets? Well, that wasn’t weird, that is most likely curiosity like any creature can hold. But what did make her feel a tinge of fear was that Scootaloo had a mind of a tyrannical ruler like King Sombra. She was willing to eradicate a species on a different planet that had been born and raised there. Scootaloo, on any other planet, would be an alien that would have no choice but to follow that planet's laws and rules. Not that the filly seemed to care much.

Another thing that frightened her, was that Capper had told her that Sweetie Belle was working to get the Death penalty green-lighted. This terrified her because she didn’t want to Crusaders to make their biggest mistake yet and because she didn’t want any creature to lose their life for something so minor as being shamed on the paper and then banishing three fillies—which the towns ponies never should have done—who were now looking for revenge.

Capper did promise he would vote against the Death Penalty but did admit that the voting system would most likely be rigged and corrupted to Sweetie Belle’s benefit.

That didn’t make Luna feel any easier.

The blue-coated alicorn was then surprised by the newspaper that lay on the side of the desk that she was sure hadn’t been there before. Curious, she opened it and saw that it was one of the many controlled papers of the Crusaders.

Supreme Leader Scootaloo — The Peace Maker!

Earlier this week, Supreme Leader Scootaloo travelled to the Everfree forest after a few soldiers had been injured from an attack from timberwolves. The Supreme Leader showed no fear as she marched into the forest and had a discussion with the wolves promising them peace and prosperity if they fought for her.

The timberwolves felt the angelic powers of the Supreme Leader and bowed to her and showed her love and respect — the same way she show her subjects love and respect, always willing to lend a hoof for the creatures that need it most.

That is why Timberwolves are marching the streets protecting our beautiful country from the tyrannical Princess Celestia and Luna.

Luna rolled her eyes but was curious about the timberwolves. She turned a page.

Allies With The Crystal Empire?

Lieutenant Spike, the respected soldier within the military has asked Supreme Leaders Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo if there is a possibility that they could be allies with the Crystal Empire that was ruled by King Sombra.

For context: Supreme Leader Scootaloo sensed a dark presence and sent Spike to protect the Empire from the evil King, her angelic powers know no bounds!

The Supreme Leaders have said that they would send a letter to the Crystal Empire for its ruler, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

Luna was unnerved by how they had written the papers. The rest of the papers were the same, promises of more food rations and the booming economy that the Crusaders had managed to create for their country.

She would admit this: when it came to economy, the Crusaders knew what they were doing.

However, it did worry her that her niece, Cadance might get a letter. It was good that they were trying to open their borders and she was sure the Crystal Ponies would love to see their hero who was also the Lieutenant for the regime, but she feared for their safety. The Crusaders weren’t playing a filly's game.

But then again, maybe it would soften the Crusaders' hearts?

Luna sighed and looked at the paperwork in front of her. Today would be a long day.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter of Dictators Of Ponyville. Now, this was from Princess Luna’s point of view and wow. She learned a lot of government secrets. I tell you; these secrets are the type of secrets that Scootaloo would make Scootaloo really angry if it was leaked.

I will write to you guys next time.

Chapter 33 — The Concealed Creature

Scootaloo was sitting in the backseat of the car while her driver was taking her to the military base. It was roughly four P.M. in the afternoon and the students from the school were enjoying their day and the adults were working their flanks off to ensure that Scootaloo stays happy with them.

The thought made the orange-coated pegasus smile.

One problem that had been arising as of late was that many ponies didn’t know where to go because there weren’t any street signs as they had before. Because there weren’t any signs that showed what street they were on, many creatures were confused and made a request multiple times to the regime to have street signs.

Out of annoyance, Scootaloo had created street signs, but with new names, all in the image of the regime.

That wasn’t the only thing that the Crusaders’ Democratics Party were working on. Because Ponyville is becoming bigger, they were working on creating a train that could drive faster than the Friendship Express. At the moment, it wasn’t successful, but by the end of the year, Scootaloo hoped that it would have been completed or that they at least had papers to start building it.

Another thing that was becoming a problem was the lack of signs for cars. Because they didn’t have the same technology that the Storm King had, Scootaloo had made jobs for ponies within a “police force” to act as stopping points. They were given the job to show when drivers are allowed to drive and when to stop and so far it was proving to be difficult but it was getting better.

The orange-coated filly looked out the window and saw multiple ponies in their depressed state walking around. Some of them were trying to enjoy their afternoon with their children or partners but it was clear that no pony was happy and that made her relish.

Now, they understood. They understood the pain that she and her friends went through.

She looked over to her driver that had stopped. They were at a crosspoint where she saw a mint-coated unicorn giving them the stop sign and allowing other cars to pass. She frowned. Wasn’t that Lyra?

Applebloom had said something about Bon-Bon having trouble due to not having access to the ingredients she bought in Equestria. But to her knowledge, there had been specific timing for trains to gain access to their country so they could drop off the products that the regime taxed and gave to the business owners.

Because of the tax system, the regime earned a small fortune and the business owners continued to make money and stay afloat. So why was Lyra working as a stop-and-go mare?

“Driver, that mare—Lyra Heartstrings—when did she start working?” Scootaloo asked with a cold tone.

“The mare?” The driver asked and Scootaloo nodded. “I don’t know when exactly, but I heard that the musicians of the country we’re having trouble finding places to practice due to music and classical music not having places to earn money from. I heard from Lieutenant Spike that she came in and asked if there were any positions we needed. And it seems like there was if she’s standing there.”

Scootaloo listened closely. “Interesting,”

When Lyra gave them the green light, they were moving again.

The military base was filled with soldiers training and marching, holding flags and weapons in place to show their undying loyalty to the Crusader regime. There were all kinds of creatures ranging from, dragons, yaks, ponies, changelings, cats similar to Capper, Griffins, and even a few creatures that Scootaloo had never seen or heard of before.

The buildings had the same colour as the coats of Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.

They had buildings for weapons, security, mess hall, studies and training. They had outdoor and indoor training. The military had different expectations than the royal guards in Canterlot and the Crystal Empire that Scootaloo believed were useless.

‘I can easily defeat them. There wouldn’t even be a battle,’ she arrogantly thought as the driver parked the car and walked around to open the door for her with a respectful bow.

In the middle of the base was a large statue of the three Crusaders holding the hammer, sickle and sword. There was a small text underneath written in ponish that made her smile. It was the truth after all.

Peace Through Tyranny!

The soldiers that saw Scootaloo bowed and threw their hoofs, claw or paw in the air to show their support of the Supreme Leader.

The building she was in front of was the security building. Today, she was making sure that no criminals were plotting against her. She was tired the other day and believed she had seen a cloaked pony walking around, but just to make sure, she was going to check through something called a camera.

It worked like a camera, but it was moving pictures in real-time. Scootaloo didn’t understand it, but Capper had said it would be useful. Albeit, he had looked hesitant to tell the Crusaders this.

The exterior of the walls was coloured yellow with red double doors with a knob for a handle and large double windows on either side with white curtains detailing flowers. Scootaloo opened the door and was fascinated with the interior.

The interior walls were painted black with portraits of Scootaloo hanging in place, showing her giving salutes with soldiers underneath giving their salutes or holding their weapons up. The floors were black and white marbled that echoed when she trotted.

There were chairs and sofas along with small desks with vases and flowers that decorated the hallways along with polished white doors that had carvings of the hammer and sickle.

She knocked on the door with force. “I’m here to check on the live camera to look for any criminals,” she called out with boredom and authority.

The door flung open, revealing the creature on the other side to be a yak that bowed deeply to Scootaloo. The yak was big and buffy while wearing a military uniform and hat with a sickle crested in the middle.

“Supreme Leader Scootaloo,” he spoke in perfect Equestrian. “It’s an honour to meet you, come in, come in,”

He ushered her inside and Scootaloo was met by a large fluff of clouds that showed the country she had built from scratch. She could see the ponies and other creatures go about their day in their depressed state.

The room had three lockers and three chairs with wheels. Scootaloo assumed the other two either had a day off or were finished for the day. The floor was as hard as stone and had a few small cracks and the walls were beige-coloured with one portrait of Scootaloo that had large wings and a horn. In the portrait, she was flying, her eyes closed while she cast a spell in what looked to be the “creation” of Equus.

“Have there been any suspicious activities?” Scootaloo asked while observing the clouds, watching Ponyville go about their day unaware that the most powerful filly in Ponyville was looking for a potential criminal.

“No, but I have noticed the civilians fall into depression,” the soldier answered while he took a sip of coffee from a coffee table nearby. “Coffee?” he asked and Scootaloo gratefully took it.

“That is to be expected,” Scootaloo replied nonchalantly. “They hurt my friends and I. More than they’ll ever know,”

The yak nodded in understanding. He had heard the story multiple times from the media already and judging by how the civilians reacted, it probably was the truth because they didn’t speak against it. But he was worried for Supreme Leader Scootaloo.

Before he met her in Badlands, he had been studying to become a psychiatrist but because of the invasion, he had unknowingly picked Supreme Leader Scootaloo’s side in the conflict. Because of this, he could never get his degree but he hoped that when he retired, he could fulfil his dream. Or maybe retire early and start school again for the degree.

However, he did react strongly when the orange-coated leader started talking to the journalists. She had contradicted herself once by saying she had never gone to school in Ponyville and was secretly an alicorn. But then, a few paragraphs down, she said she only went to school so no pony would suspect her angelic powers.

The contradiction isn’t what surprised him, but he started to observe her over the last few months and noticed that she had a lot of similar tendencies that creatures with bipolar disorder have.

One day, she was very happy and overjoyed beyond words and was full of energy similar to a pink-coated pony he had met in the city. But the deciding factor was the mood swings. One second she was happy and the next she was crying, saying that no pony loved her and that every creature was conspiring against her.

She’s also expressed being self-important considering that she depicted herself as a “secret” alicorn of Equestria.

This all led him to believe that she was bipolar or at least had a form of it, but because he wasn’t a licensed psychiatrist, he couldn’t give the proper diagnosis.

“Where are the other two?” Scootaloo asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

The yak took a sip of his coffee. “Their shift ended thirty minutes ago, I’m the only one that remains for at least another three hours before the ones with the night shift show up.”

Scootaloo nodded and observed the yak with caution. He kept looking at her in a way like he was trying to figure something out. Taking her eyes off him, she sat on an empty chair and observed the live footage and noticed something peculiar.

There was a pony—or a creature wearing a cloak—leaving a store. The creature wore the cloak from head to hoof, meaning that the creature didn’t want to be known. The cloak was brown and did well to conceal its identity.

The Supreme Leader of Equus and every galaxy known to Ponykind narrowed her eyes at the concealed creature. So it believed that It could get away from the regime? Ha! Scootaloo was too powerful for a stunt like that.

“Soldier, you see that concealed creature?” Scootaloo asked and pointed towards the creature walking on the sidewalk like any normal civilian.

“Yes?” The yak asked with confusion.

“I want the creature arrested, no questions asked,” Scootaloo answered and downed her coffee and placed it on the table near the yak who sat a few feet away from her.

The yak started sweating bullets. “Right away, Supreme Leader!” He grabbed a tool the military used to communicate with each other and the police force.

Scootaloo left the room and made her way outside where the sun was starting to set. She had a smirk on her lips.

‘So the concealed creature think they can just conceal themselves and get away with it? Ha! I will show who they are to Ponyville and then lock them up without a trial,’ she thought while grinning from ear to ear at her plan.

The driver was leaning against the wall smoking a pipe in his hand with chocolate bubbles coming out of it. When he saw her approach, he drained the contents and cleaned it before opening the door for Scootaloo and seating himself in the driver's seat and starting the engine.

“Was the meeting productive, Supreme Leader?” The driver asked while looking at the roads while driving towards the border between military and civilian areas.

“Yes, I found a concealed creature trying to be sneaky,” Scootaloo revealed with some mirth. The driver nodded in understanding.

“I suppose it is a criminal,” the driver muttered mostly to himself but his leader heard.

“Yes, I believe so too,” Scootaloo replied with a grin that stretched from ear to ear again but it didn’t look cheeky or kind. It looked… sinister.

“What will you do with the criminal, Supreme Leader? Arresting them is the obvious course of action, but is there a consequence for their criminal activity?” The driver inquired while driving towards the highway to get to the capital building quicker.

Scootaloo eyed him suspiciously. “You’re asking an awful lot of questions… oh well, I plan on tapping them. Specifically, tapping them on a rocket,”

The orange-coated filly started laughing hysterically. She didn’t notice the red pupils and yellow sclera eyes looking at the filly with a disturbed look.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter of Dictators Of Ponyville. Now, It seems like Princess Luna has been discovered by Scootaloo. What will happen next?

I will write to you guys next time.

Chapter 34 — Princess Celestia

Being the ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia was expected to protect all of her subjects which wasn’t a bother at the beginning of time. A thousand years ago, the ponies weren’t as dominating as it is today.

In ancient times, there were other kingdoms inside and outside of Equestria so it wasn’t as if Celestia or Luna—before she was banished—had a lot to do. They only did the basics like founding Equestria and building a better home when the three tribes were still fighting.

They succeeded in their endeavours and because of that, they became popular with their subjects across the land. Even kingdoms that wanted nothing to do with the ponies were surprised by what the Alicorn sisters achieved and were still trying to accomplish.

However, when the ponies started to favour Celestia, that is when everything went wrong. The rainbow-flowing-maned alicorn noticed how her sister started to distance herself from everypony and subject that was their friends and allies.

Celestia asked multiple times what was wrong, but her sister would simply shrug and walk away, telling her that it was nothing and to leave her alone.

The oldest alicorn wished she never listened to that pleading of being alone. Maybe then, she wouldn’t have to banish her sister for a thousand years.

Nonetheless, the battle between the sisters commenced and Celestia remembers the fear she felt that horrible day. She would never tell Luna this, but, Nightmare Moon could have won.

Nightmare Moon was far stronger than Celestia could have ever imagined and that scared her. If Celestia never used the Elements of Harmony to banish her sister, then she fears what Equestria would have been like today.

Celestia took a sip from her thirteenth cup of tea with five sugars that day while ignoring the kitchen staff that run around the kitchen, preparing an exquisite lunch like always.

To keep herself occupied, Celestia founded her school which was known as; Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns. She had seen many promising students there over the years. The two most promising students she ever had were Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle.

Sunset Shimmer had been a bright student that took her studies seriously and didn’t stop until she finished an assignment which she always passed with flying colours.

However, one day, Celestia visited a mirror inside her castle which had been entrusted to her by her former mentor Starswirl the Bearded. He told her it was a portal that led to another world and to always guard it. Celestia hadn’t noticed Sunset until she was almost touching the mirror, but she managed to persuade the unicorn to not touch it or mention it.

However, Sunset Shimmer was naturally curious which Celestia would never blame the young mare for, but her persistence irked her. She was told to guard the mirror and never show or mention it to any pony or creature, so when Sunset started asking questions about it, she felt as though she failed her mentor. Like she betrayed him and his legacy like she failed as his former student.

So, one day she told Sunset that she needed to make friends and not go to the library until she was given permission. However, this proved to have been the second biggest mistake Celestia ever did in her life.

Sunset defied her and went to the library anyways. One of her guards had seen her and informed Celestia. The old alicorn had been furious and banished her from her castle and told the mare she wasn’t her student any longer.

The tears the mare had shed…

Celestia regretted it every day.

Sunset had run through the mirror and hadn’t been seen or heard from since. Celestia went to the mirror every night in the hope that her former student would return. She never did. And probably never will.

Her second student, Twilight Sparkle had been her biggest success.

Twilight had been highly similar to Sunset, she was very smart, powerful magically, and was a major bookworm. However, the dark, greedy thoughts that plagued Sunset’s mind didn’t seem to transfer to Twilight.

Her devotion made Celestia blush at the countless times the lilac-coated mare had bowed so deep the princess feared she would hurt her snout.

When Celestia was preparing for her sisters’ return, she received a letter from Twilight, warning her about ‘the mare on the moon,’ and that they needed to up their defences. In response, Celestia had told Twilight she was needed in Ponyville and to not believe in old tales.

However, Celestia couldn’t help but feel scared that day as well. How angry was her sister going to be? How much carnage would she spread throughout Equestria simply because the ponies didn’t remember her? Sure, Twilight and Celestia knew, but the latter… well it would have been weird if she didn’t and Twilight read an old fillies’ tale.

Twilight and her friends managed to defeat the dreaded Nightmare Moon and Celestia was forever thankful that she was reunited with her sister.

The fact that the lilac-coated mare completed all the assignments that she had prepared for Sunset was a surprise. While Sunset may have been somewhat introverted, she could be extroverted whenever she pleases and did have an easier time communicating with everypony. Twilight on the other hoof, was far deep in her introverted ways that Celestia had feared she would lose another student.

But she didn’t.

Instead, Twilight learned so many different friendship lessons and defeated multiple villains all the while becoming famous throughout the land for her magic and the friendship she spreads throughout Equestria.

Her students’ latest accomplishment was the return of the Crystal Empire. Celestia giggled into her hoof. Or rather, it was Spike’s accomplishment, but Twilight did pass with flying colours of the test Celestia had given the mare.

However, there was one thing Twilight did that made Celestia doubtful of Twilight.

Gabby Gums.

That name came from the foal-free press that worked as a simple school paper, nothing exciting but the rumours and hurtful gossip did get to everypony in the town of Ponyville, the town her student and other Element Bearers reside.

She was disappointed in Twilight for her behavior but she was even more upset with the older siblings of three of the Crusaders’ as the three fillies called themselves. Scootaloo looked up to Rainbow Dash and wanted to be just like her, but because she was embarrassed by one secret she dropped rainwater on the three.

Applejack had refused to speak to Applebloom after Gabby Gums's identity was revealed. The filly’s older brother, Big Mac had told them to go away.

Ultimately, they did.

Rarity, well, Celestia would admit, that the marshmallow-coated mare didn’t do a lot of harm, but she didn’t do anything either.

When Princess Celestia found out what the town did and received contact from a friend of hers in Badlands that the three fillies were there, she was both furious and disappointed while fearful for the lives of the three fillies.

A few months ago, she received word from one of her guards that Miss Sweetie Belle had been found in Manehattan and attacked one of them when they saw her conceal herself in a cloak.

The filly was sent back to Ponyville with the threat that the other Crusaders would avenge her and that the royal guards wouldn’t stand a chance against the Crusader army.

One of the chefs came out with a dish that would have made Celestia’s mouth water. It was an omelette filled with hay and cucumber, her favourite. For drinks, she had her tea which was loaded with sugar, a habit she formed when she lost contact with Ponyville and her sister.

When they lost contact with Ponyville, her sister, Luna, had been worried sick but there was also something in her eye that told Celestia that the younger alicorn knew what was going on but wanted to confirm a suspicion.

The mare left Canterlot and made her way to Ponyville but had not contacted any of them.

That is when Celestia saw something that should have been seen as a complete and utter joke. She had sent royal guards towards the town but had been shocked when they saw massive walls that surrounded the small town.

Celestia opened a file beside her that was dark yellow and looked at the photos taken.

The walls were tall and grey and were covered in symbols that Celestia had only seen a few times throughout her life. One of them was the hammer and sickle which represent a politics called communism—if she remembered correctly—and two swords that were crossed.

As it turned out, Ponyville was under a dictatorship that was led by ‘Supreme Leaders Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom,’

There was a statue near their entrance to their country where it had the words: Peace Through Tyranny!

She didn’t know whether to laugh or be fearful of how three fillies managed to build an army for themselves that no doubt take their orders seriously.

Celestia chewed her omelette. The stress did her no favours, making the food tasteless.

Because of what happened a year ago, she feared for the Element Bearers. She was sure that Twilight was okay because the lilac-coated mare was an alicorn and no doubt wouldn’t be hurt, but seeing the mare grow up from the filly she once was, the princess couldn’t help but worry.

‘She’s probably fine,’ the alicorn reasoned after dowing her tea and pouring another one and adding several cubes of sugar. ‘She’s a princess now, the fillies wouldn’t dare do anything to a princess,’

Suddenly, the double doors slammed open and in walked the captain of the royal guards, Prince Shining Armour, the brother of Princess Twilight.

“Princess Celestia, I apologise for interrupting your breakfast!” He spoke with a bow.

Celestia raised a brow. “Prince Shining, It’s my breakfast,”

The captain didn’t look embarrassed in the slightest. When the princess looked at his face, she saw he had bags under his eyes that were almost coal-black. Lack of sleep. She did a once-over at him but couldn’t see anything else.

“Anyways, I have more information about Ponyville,” Shining spoke as if everything was normal in the world. He handed Celestia another dark yellow file with multiple photos inside and text from the guards of what they witnessed.

“It seems like the Crusaders have a strong army,” Shining noted with a blank stare.

“How strong?” Celestia asked while looking over the photos that showed Ponyville… or was it? The town looked nothing like the small town she had come to know, the same town that the Apple family founded. This version of Ponyville was high in technology. They had skyscrapers similar to Manehattan but they looked so… advanced, like whatever the Crusaders used wasn’t normal stone and metal.

“How did you come across these photos?” Celestia asked with narrowed eyes at her captain.

The white-coated unicorn didn’t look fazed. “We had a pegasus fly overhead and snap a few photos. It was done during the night because the guards would have spotted us otherwise.”

Celestia nodded and looked at a photo where there was a banner of Scootaloo with a military uniform and hat. Scootaloo Is The Way For World Peace!

“Interesting… is it possible to bribe the soldiers?” Celestia looked at the captain who hadn’t slept for who-knows-how-long.

Shining faltered under Celestia’s gaze. “I don’t think so, there are rumours that it's possible but I don’t think it's true. They likely accept bribes, but they don’t do anything they’ve promised.”

The dining hall was filled with silence as the Princess of the Sun looked through the photos and files. There were a lot of things she would need to observe and read. ‘At least I have an excuse to ditch the nobles,’ she thought.

“Interesting find,” she spoke with no emotion. She looked at her captain with shallow eyes that made the captain gulp. “Would you be so kind as to deliver this to my room where I can observe and read through everything?”

Shining bowed and took the files and walked out of the dining hall, leaving the princess alone with her thoughts.

Her appetite was gone.

‘I’m sorry my little ponies,’ Celestia thought. ‘Miss Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom… I have no choice…’ Celestia closed her eyes. ‘I have to invade Ponyville,’

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter. Now, I want to let you guys know that we are getting close to the end of this saga and I am looking forward to concluding the end of the series to made me “unique”.

You see, when I wrote my first ever story, which happens to be Dictators Of Ponyville (albeit, the first one is nothing compared to this) It got popular in the sense that not many people on the website had seen a story like mine.

My take on Ponyville Confidential became popular enough that another user made their own version. Never in my life have I ever been so proud of myself.

ALoneWolf. Here’s his version for those who haven’t read it or seen it: Dictators Of Ponyville : A Ponyville Confidential Story

Have a good day/night!

I will write to you guys next time.

Chapter 35 — Orders

When Scootaloo was sleeping in her headquarters, she didn’t expect one of her soldiers to knock frantically on the door. She lifted her head groggily while hearing her name being called by one of the night guards.

She got out of bed and put on her hat while marching to the door with visible irritation. She threw the door open and looked up at a changeling soldier who looked at her with frantic eyes.

“Supreme Leader!” The leader bowed in respect. “Apologise for waking you up but we have a situation!”

Scootaloo rubbed her eyes, trying to hear the words properly. “What is it?”

“The guards near the borders to the train station have reported seeing the solar guards making their way over here with Princess Celestia in the forefront,”

Scootaloo suddenly didn’t feel tired anymore and looked at the soldier with a brow raised. “So? We are stronger than them, the royal guards are as useless as Princess Twilight who is still in the hospital. Besides, I’m the strongest alicorn Equus, and every galaxy has ever witnessed,”

“I know, Supreme Leader, but they were carrying weapons!” The soldier tried to reason, shaking with fear and uncertainty.

The orange-coated pegasus looked indifferent. “They’re protecting Princess Celestia, it is to be expected. Besides, we can easily overpower them,” she spoke casually while looking at her hooves.

“Supreme Leader… what are your orders?” The changeling spoke with defeat in her tone. Her panicked state was still there, but she wasn’t shaking as much.

“Have the military ready. Force every creature in town to fight against the Equestrian tyranny. We will rule everything we touch,” Scootaloo spoke with a cold tone that made the soldier shiver.

“Understood, Supreme Leader I shall inform the military base immediately,” the changeling began to move when Scootaloo got an idea.

“Soldier,” the changeling turned to Scootaloo. “Bring Princess Luna to the border. Threaten her life if you have to.”

There was dead silence in the hallway. The words were ringing like an alarm clock while Scootaloo just observed the changeling whose face was devoid of emotions. They could hear cars outside driving on the highway and streets, completely unaware that Scootaloo—the saint Ponyville needed—had just decided to threaten Princess Luna’s life.

“Supreme Leader, is that idea wise?” The soldier asked after several moments of deafening silence. Scootaloo shrugged.

“We are above Equestrian law. We’re better than every creature else. One life doesn’t mean much compared to a planet and galaxy,”

The changeling just nodded and bowed one last time before walking away, leaving Scootaloo to scoff and walk back inside her bedroom where she shut the door with more force than necessary and looked towards her desk where she had multiple classified documents of plans that she had for Equestria.

She looked through her papers and took a few small notes that she needed to improve upon. First and foremost, she needed a better mining system. The one in the Everfree forest was much too dangerous because the formations weren’t ideal for miners to work.

The second thing she needed to improve upon was making the timberwolves stronger and doing some dark magic to make them able to carry weapons.

Scootaloo grabbed a quill, dotted it in ink and began to write in her journal.

Dear Journal

The tyrannical ruler, Princess Celestia has decided to invade my glorious country that I have worked hard to create. I had blood, sweat and tears when I rebuilt it. My love for my subjects is stronger than Celestia’s ever will be. I have made it a paradise for every pony and creature to live in.

I have protected my subjects from unjust trials and haven’t hurt anypony or creature. I just wanted to protect them from the crimes the Element Bearers committed. Their terrorism will not go unpunished!

I will have no choice but to use Princess Luna in a business deal. I will threaten her life if Princess Celestia does not listen to reason. If she refuses to listen, I will then have to take drastic measures…

Peace Through Tyranny!

Satisfied with what she wrote, she made her way to a large window that had a large curtain that blocked the night. She flung them open, revealing the beautiful country that she built from her love.

This showed how perfect Scootaloo is. She couldn’t possibly do something evil or wrong, she’s the definition of a true leader.

Slowly, a smile worked its way to Scootaloo’s lips. Today will be the day she flaunts her military strength. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom will be proud to know that the military will annihilate the Equestrian army as if it were bugs.

“Long Live The Dictator!” Scootaloo said before she laughed loudly inside her room. The laugh was filled with arrogance and anger that she held.

“Scoot?” A voice called from behind the filly. Scootaloo turned and saw her two fellow rulers. “What are ya laughing about?” Applebloom asked while rubbing her eyes.

Scootaloo looked smug. “Princess Celestia and her army of fools are making their way here as we speak. We will crush them like the scum they are!”

Applebloom’s eyes widened while Sweetie Belle looked indifferent. “So what? Celestia is nothing more than a cake eater. She is weaker than us.”

“Exactly!” Scootaloo replied with glee while Applebloom looked at the marshmallow-coated unicorn as if she’d grown a second head. “She is so weak, that I’m surprised that a fool like Blue Blood hasn’t taken over the throne yet. Albeit, he is dumber than mud.”

“Scoots… why are ta not worried that Princess Celestia is making her way over here?” Applebloom cautiously asked with a hoof raised as if she’d backed away.

Scootaloo looked confused. “Why would I be afraid of an alicorn that is weaker than me?”

“Yer not a an alicorn!!” Applebloom suddenly screamed, making the other two jump in surprise. “Yer just a pegasus filly who allowed power to consume yer head!”

Scootaloo’s eyes softened. “Applebloom, I understand why you think like this. The Element Bearers have corrupted you. They want you to believe that you are worth something and then they treat you like trash. I understand that it’s difficult, but you have to move on from what happened.”

Applebloom couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her mouth hung open and her eyes pupils were pinpricks.

“You… you want me to move on… when you continue to live in the past? You make yourself look like a goddess in the newspapers. You make yourself sound as though you are better than every creature else. You have soldiers who sometimes beat up our subjects due to the fact you don’t care about them. I have seen the soldiers beat up ponies for no reason.” Applebloom rubbed her face with her hoof, mentally tired from it all. “I did move on, when we were in the Badlands, I had already moved on. You are the pony who refuses to move on. You are torturing the town's ponies for something that happened over a year ago. I have no problem with you holding a deep grudge, but torturing them is not the way.”

Sweetie Belle looked just as indifferent as before. She looked at her hooves and noticed a dirty spot. “Who cares about a few filthy, good-for-nothing ponies like them? All they have done is give a cheap apology and tell us we are too young to rule,”

Scootaloo hummed in agreement. “Yes, I refuse to be discriminated in such a filthy way. So, I took great action. I needed what needed to be done. Sweetie Belle did what she knew needed to be done. You, Applebloom, you did the things you knew needed to be done, so why are you just now acting up?”

“Oh, I don’t know maybe because you want to start a war with Equestria!” Applebloom yelled throwing her hooves up in the air as if to make her point.

Scootaloo shook her head. “She started the war, I’m just finishing it. But I need to do something, I’ll see you later,”

The orange-coated pegasus walked away while leaving a stunned Applebloom and indifferent Sweetie Belle behind. She made her way to the parking lot where a soldier guarded the building and bowed when Sweetie Belle entered.

“Do we have any drivers?” She asked and the soldier nodded and pressed a button behind him.

The Supreme Leader waited for the driver to come with a stoic expression on her face.

When a car came around the corner, she watched as the driver drove up to her and stopped so she faced the backseat. Scootaloo surprised the soldiers when she opened the door and got inside, forcing the driver to start driving again.

“Take me to the military base, there’s something I gotta do,” Scootaloo spoke with no emotion. The driver didn’t say anything, he just nodded and headed for the base.

~~~Dictators Of Ponyville~~~

The military base had never been this active before. All kinds of creatures stood in large lines while Capper was giving a speech about how great the Supreme Leaders were and how Scootaloo’s love would guide them throughout the war.

The soldiers stood still and listened to the commander. It wasn’t surprising that almost every pony and creature was inside the base at this point before they moved back to the city where the invasion from the Equestrians would begin.

Even fillies and colts were there, holding swords and spears, even bow and arrow.

Scootaloo knew her angelic powers would protect them all.

When the driver stopped the car, Scootaloo got out of the car and walked briskly up to a building that had a secret that not even her friends knew about. It wasn’t intended to be kept secret, but the more she worked on a… project she had started, the more difficult it became to come clean about what she did in her spare time.

She opened the doors and shut them and watched as Lieutenant Spike was giving a lecture on the weaknesses the Equestrian army had. She grinned savagely and made her way to a door that was always locked.

It was sort of funny. When you walk inside the building, you see the door at the end of the fifty feet walk but no creature has ever been inside except a hoof few.

The door wasn’t anything special. It was a wooden door that had a yellow handle. Scootaloo pulled out a key from her pocket and unlocked the door. No pony or creature paid attention as she opened it, stepping inside a pitch-black room and closed the door behind her, locking it with the key.

The Supreme Leader used her hoof to feel the light switch and when she did, she pressed the button which revealed a hallway. The hallway was as big as the doorframe, with cracks on the walls revealing the wooden interior, a hanging lightbulb and a few tiny spiders crawling around.

The floor was wooden with a few small cracks, similar to the walls, but nothing catastrophic. She moved down the hallway which led to a staircase which she trotted down from and turned her head to the right. A sick smile plastered itself onto her face.

There, in the middle of the giant room, was the project she had been working on. Project Missile.

Scootaloo had wanted to create a weapon that would cause massive destruction. The type of destruction that could destroy a kingdom and force them to bow down to her. This… this is what she had been working on. There were a total of ten creatures that were in the know but they didn’t whisper a word about this project.

The purple-maned pegasus was approached by a mare wearing a white lab coat who had a smile on her face and sweat running down her face. She was nervous.

“Supreme Leader Scootaloo! I heard the soldiers are preparing for war?” Her eyes told Scootaloo that she was terrified.

“Yes,” she replied. “I have no choice but to finish a war Princess Celestia started.”

The mare nodded frantically in understanding. “Uh, Is it okay to ask why you’re here?”

The filly raised a brow. “I came to make sure that the missile was completed.” She explained. “Besides, I think it’s about time we showed Canterlot who is the real ruler,”

The response was so casual, so nonchalant, that even Scootaloo was surprised by how she made herself sound.

Scootaloo watched as the mare’s colours drained. There were no sounds other than walking and metal hitting metal. The filly enjoyed the look on her face. The gears in her head were spinning.

“Supreme Leader… what do you mean?” The tone was one of caution, as if afraid that the young filly would explode in a fit of rage.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and sighed. “Like I said; I believe it’s time we showed Canterlot who the real ruler is.”

“But… but!” The mare couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had thought that they would have it for their protection but… now it all made sense… the secretive project that was hush, hush within the regime and only a hoof full of ponies were aware of it.

“You heard the Supreme Leader, we launch it!” A voice loudly spoke with authority. The mare in the lab coat turned to see one of the soldiers who knew about the project. Scootaloo noticed the older mare she had spoken to a few times and was the biggest help in fortifying the defences.

“Starlight Glimmer…” Scootaloo spoke with some surprise.

The lilac-coated mare stood with her neck straight. “Yes, Supreme Leader?!”

“At ease,” the filly pegasus spoke with formality. “I didn’t expect you here, how are the preparations coming along?”

“They’re going fine, Supreme Leader, the soldiers look ready for war and are waiting for your orders. Your love will guide us through the pain and corruption the Princesses have spread throughout Equestria.”

“Good, good,” the filly spoke with a glimmer of mirth in her eyes. She turned to the mare in the lab coat and saw her shocked look. “When I order you to do something, then I expect you to follow them. Launch. The. Rocket.”

The two mares bowed and gave a salute. Any arguments that either of the mares had disappeared in an instant.

Scootaloo became satisfied with her work and made her way upstairs.

‘You will feel my wrath, Equestria,’ Scootaloo thought with a sinister smile.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter of Dictators Of Ponyville. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

I will write to you guys next time.

Chapter 36 — The Rescue

Applebloom started to run towards the garage, Sweetie Belle hot on her tail. After Scootaloo had left, the former apple farmer didn’t know what to do or say. Fear gripped her heart in an iron hoof.

She didn’t know what she could do or what she would do, but she knew that she had to do something. Applebloom refused to allow Scootaloo to hurt innocent ponies in Equestria simply because of Gabby Gums.

“Why are you following, Sweetie Belle?” Applebloom asked while looking back at her unicorn friend. It made no sense to her that Sweetie would follow. From what had happened the last few months, Sweetie seemed to be on Scootaloo’s side.

Then again, the unicorn had always adopted that look of indifference.

“I may hate the ponies of Ponyville, but I do not want to start a war with Equestria, that is way too much,” Sweetie Belle replied, this time, with a look of sorrow on her face.

“Really? You always seemed to pick Scootaloo’s side,” Applebloom noted with a surprised look.

“It may have seemed that way, but I am a neutral party, but if I have to pick a side, I lean towards you,” Sweetie Belle revealed with a smile that had not been on her face for many months. The smile she once had when all was well in the world.

Applebloom smiled before turning a corner and dashing towards the door to the garage. She knew that Princess Luna was in danger. They were shocked when they found they found one of the rulers of Equestria in their small justice-filled country. Nonetheless, because she was there illegally, Luna had been arrested. To their knowledge, Princess Luna had been treated as fair as possible. She was a ruler after all, and with that came prestige, so she was put in prison for respectable members of their society who were accused of crimes. Essentially, the time when Scootaloo has to take her role seriously.

Applebloom forced the door open, causing it to fly and scaring the security guards around the garage. The guards looked further surprised when they saw Supreme Leader Applebloom and Sweetie Belle.

“Guard! Is Spike here?!” Applebloom frantically questioned while looking at the different empty cars.

“Uh… no Supreme Leader, he is at the military base…” the guard replied while sweating.

Applebloom sighed while looking at the different cars.

“Now is not the time for a date, Applebloom,” Sweetie Belle chastised her apple farmer friend.

“I know! But he’s the only one I can trust other than you now!” Applebloom angrily spoke. Realising her words, she took on a sad look. “Sorry, Sweetie,”

Surprisingly, Sweetie Belle hugged her. Applebloom returned the hug, her hooves reaching around to the unicorn's back. When both of them calmed down, Sweetie Belle took a step back and smiled.

“It’s okay, Bloom, I shouldn’t have joked like that, especially in this situation.” Sweetie Belle spoke with a guilty smile. “I have a driver's licence, so I can drive us wherever you want to go,”

Applebloom raised a brow in surprise. “You're a Supreme Leader, like me and Scootaloo, you don’t need a driver’s licence.”

Sweetie Belle shrugged and looked to the guard. “Guard, which car can we use?”

“Any car Supreme Leader,” he replied and looked back towards a small metal box that hung behind him. He pulled out a key and opened it, revealing multiple car keys and pulled out a set and handed it to Sweetie Belle with a bow in respect.

The marshmallow-coated unicorn looked at the number and made her way towards the car, Applebloom in tow.

The car was similar to the others, it was water-driven and built from metal and wood. There were five seats, two in the front and three in the bags and a trunk where bags and other things could be put. In the front was the driver's seat and passenger seat. Sweetie Belle sat inside the driver's seat and Applebloom sat in the passenger seat.

The unicorn filly started the engine and began to drive towards the exit. It surprised Applebloom that her friend could drive. However, she couldn’t contemplate for long before she directed the unicorn towards the military base.

Their prisons were mostly located inside the base because they still didn’t have the same type of police force that Equestria had. The military had more power and because of it, it had become a more military dictatorship.

Sweetie Belle floored it towards the highway, driving like a lunatic, drifting around other cars and trucks, causing the other drivers to honk in anger. The unicorn smiled a little, drifting to the left and the right before flooring it towards the exit that led to the base.

“Yer driving like a lunatic!” Applebloom yelled, holding on to anything for dear life while her pupils turned to pinpricks.

“I know, but we need to get to the base. You wanted to go there, right?!” Sweetie yelled back entering the exit and driving at a high speed towards the military border, only slowing down when they reached the checkpoint.

When the soldier motioned for Sweetie to stop, she did and lowered the window. The two Supreme Leaders watched as the soldier marched up to the driver’s window. Applebloom snickered when the soldier’s eyes nearly fell out of his sockets and bowed respectfully.

“Supreme Leaders!” He spoke with a frantic voice. “I apologise for stopping you, you can drive!”

With permission, Sweetie Belle started to drive again, this time, at a slow pace much to Applebloom’s relief. They drove inside the base and weren’t surprised to see the large military holding different weapons while looking at Capper who was holding a military speech with Spike standing to the side with his claws behind his back.

The apple farmer blushed, seeing the sharp look that her drake-friend held.

Sweetie Belle whistled teasingly at her friend which did nothing to lower Applebloom’s blush. However, when she remembered the reason she was here, she immediately lost it and put on a mask of seriousness.

“What’s the plan?” Sweetie Belle asked while putting the car into park and getting out of the car along with Applebloom.

The former farmer didn’t respond and put her sight on the prison building with thirty soldiers that surrounded the building, making sure that no creature escaped. The building was made from yellow-coloured bricks and a large metal door with multiple locks.

The red-maned filly quickly made her way over to the building with brisk steps, Sweetie Belle hot on her tail.

When the soldiers noticed the two Supreme Leaders make their way over, they straightened their backs and gave a salute when they were close enough.

“Hello, Supreme Leaders!” The leader there spoke with respect and a bow. “How can we be of service?”

“Can you lead me to Princess Luna?” Applebloom asked with a neutral look on her face, much to Sweetie Belle’s shock. The soldier didn’t show his emotion on the matter and simply bowed.

“Of course, Supreme Leader,” he replied. “Follow me,”

He opened the door with the help of a large amount of keys. When the satisfying ‘click’ was heard, he opened the door and allowed his rulers to enter first.

The inside of the prison was dirty. That was the first thing Applebloom noticed. There was a smell of garbage with plastic bags littered around the floor. There was a disgusting smell that reminded Applebloom of when she lived on the farm. However, the smell was much worse and it made her wrinkle her face.

There were three floors in total. The first floor contained simple criminals who stole or robbed other ponies around Ponyville, and the second floor contained hardened criminals who committed acts of terror around Ponyville, terrible things that Applebloom refused to think about. However, on the third floor, were the most “dangerous” criminals that Scootaloo deemed evil. Apparently, they were a threat to the regime they had built. However, due to Scootaloo being one of the three Supreme Leaders, her word is the law.

To either side of them, was a silver-coloured staircase. The Soldier led them up the staircase, and then another.

“How has Princess Luna coped?” Sweetie Belle asked, her shock all but faded, adopting a look of curiosity.

“She is shocked, to say the least,” he replied with an informative tone. “She has yet to be interrogated.”

“What?” Neither expected that. “You mean that Scootaloo didn’t interrogate her or any other soldier?”

“No, Supreme Leaders,” he answered. “No creature has spoken to her other than when it’s time for dinner.”

Falling into another silence, the soldiers’ claws made a clicking sound whenever he took a step. It echoed throughout the prison but no creature said anything—too afraid to make any noise when two of the three Supreme Leaders were there.

The soldier was a blue-feathered Griffin and emerald-eyed even if he was blind in one of them. He wore a dark green suit with a white-buttoned shirt and black tie and a green soldier hat with the symbol of the hammer and sickle along with the two crossed swords. The symbol that Applebloom once was proud to wear… but now… it displayed the secretive hateful state of Ponyville.

Ruled by three fillies that never truly forgave the ponies of the town…

Suddenly, the soldier stopped, causing Applebloom to accidentally fall over, not seeing him stop. The soldier jumped and turned back to see his Supreme Leader on the ground and I felt the fear instantly.

“I’m so sorry, Supreme Leader!” He immediately gave her his hoof and Applebloom smiled sheepishly. Getting back to her hooves, the former farmer saw that it was a large metal door, similar to the one she entered through from the first floor, but this one looked… heavy like it was difficult to open.

Then again, Princess Luna is an alicorn, so it isn’t surprising that one of the co-rulers of Equestria was practically forced to have a heavy cell with anti-magic and anti-flying spells, rings and suits.

“Has she made any form of resistance?” Applebloom asked, turning to face the Grifffin who shook his head in response.

“No, she didn’t fight back, at least in prison. She did try to fight back when getting arrested. But to my knowledge, she was stabbed in the back by one of our soldiers which caught her by surprise.” Came the chilling revelation that made Applebloom and Sweetie Belle’s blood turn to ice.

“She… what?” Sweetie Belle spoke her usual look of indifference wiped from her face, replacing it with a look of fear. Her pupils were pinpricks. She started to sweat and breathe heavily.

“She was… stabbed in the back?!” Applebloom asked horrified, mirroring Sweetie Belle’s look.

The Griffin winced.

“Yes… that was my reaction. Princess Luna tried to evade the military when she was surrounded. She attacked one of our own which made them frightened. The spell she used caused a small explosion, causing them to fall back but one of them that was behind her rushed up behind her and stabbed her, subduing her,” he explained, knowing that it wouldn’t even remotely soothe them.

The two fillies turned to face each other. That was the last thing they expected. In fact, that was something they prayed wasn’t the case, however, just looking at the soldier they knew that he was telling the truth.

“Please… open the door so we can discuss with her,” Applebloom ordered while leaning against one of the walls, feeling the cool marble stone through her suit.

The soldier used a sizeable golden key and there was a very loud ‘click’ that resounded throughout the prison, however, there was no other sound. The Griffin used all of his strength to open the door, which barely moved if it wasn’t for the help of Applebloom who came to her senses.

Sweetie Belle walked inside a narrow pathway the same size as the doorframe until she came across another door, this time, wooden that looked broken with small splinters falling down to the stone floor.

The marshmallow-coated unicorn carefully opened the door, turned the knob and was flabbergasted when she heard a click. She pushed the door and it creaked and groaned as it swung gently, revealing a small room.

Applebloom’s hoof steps echoed behind the unicorn, forcing her to step aside and allow her friend to enter the room.

The room was pitch black, only lit by the open doors of the prison lights from the other side. There were prison bars inside the room leaving very little room for its prisoner. Inside the metal bars, was the once proud Princess Luna.

The Princess wore a suit to prevent her wings from moving and had three rings over her horn to prevent her from producing magic. Her mane was frazzled and dirty and her tail was in no better shape. Her coat looked dirtier than the mane and tail. They couldn’t see her facial expression.

“Hello, Your Majesty,” Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and the Griffin bowed respectfully. There was no response from the Equestrian royal prisoner. “I’m sorry for what happened to you,”

There was still no response. Because they couldn’t see her face, they were unsure what she was feeling.

Applebloom approached as close as she could, close enough to see a shimmer of the mouth of the Princess of the Night. “Princess Luna, on behalf of my part of the regime, I apologise, I didn’t even know until recently that you were inside the country. I know my words might not mean anything, which is why…”

The words died when she noticed the Princess turn to look at Applebloom. The former farmer froze when she met the gaze she had expected but never anticipated just how piercing it would be.

Even Sweetie Belle and the Griffin gulped and took a step back.

Finding a little bravery, wanting to finish her sentence, Applebloom continued; “...I want to break you out,”

The effect was immediate. Sweetie Belle gasped and the Griffin cried; “Supreme Leader?!” all the while making sure that they didn’t make loud noises which proved to be difficult when the prisoners were quiet and the revelation left them gobsmacked.

Luna’s cold piercing gaze didn’t show any hints of further expression. She simply stared at Applebloom. What the three didn’t expect, was a small smile that started to display itself on her lips, stretching wide enough for them to see that they were dry and cracked.

“I always did know that there was some good in you, Miss Bloom, Belle… pardon my ignorance, I do not know your name?” Luna did her best to look apologetic towards the Griffin who did his best not to blush and downplay it.

“I’m no Griffin important, Princess,” he replied with a wave of his claw.

For any outsider, it must have been the weirdest thing they had seen. Here, a prisoner of a tyrannical country spoke with respect to two of the rulers as well as a soldier of the same country.

Just when Applebloom opened her mouth to speak, there was a loud sound that made the Griffin turn pale. The sound itself resembled the one for rockets during New years, but this one sounded so much… louder. It was like it was one large rocket of great magnitude. Their nostrils were assaulted with the smell of something burning, causing Sweetie Belle to yell in fright and Applebloom to look all over the place.

“Guard?!” Applebloom yelled with demand. “What is going on?!”

“I don’t know!” He shouted, but his eyes told Applebloom a different story. “We have to get out of here!”

“Are you stupid?!” Sweetie Belle retorted. “Whatever is going on outside is outside! Which means that we should stay inside!”

“I know! I meant that we should get down to the basement!” He explained while making his way over to the door in haste. “The soldiers inside and I, can protect you from Princess Celestia’s tyrannical weapons!”

“Now is not the time for politics!” Applebloom cried in frustration. “Open her cell and guide us to the basement!”

“Are you for real?!” Sweetie Belle asked while looking at her friend in shock which disappeared after she accidentally inhaled too much of the exhume from whatever was making that loud and terrible noise.

“Yes, I am!” Applebloom shouted fiercely while motioning for the soldier to open the cage to Princess Luna. The princess of the night didn’t intervene in the squabble.

The soldier hesitantly made his way to the cell and checked through his keys in distress trying to decipher which key it was, but in his eyes, it was all a jumbled mess. It was as if the keys were moving around on their own until he tried a few but to no avail, until he managed to find the right one and swung the cell open so hard, he accidentally bent it slightly in an odd angle.

However, just when they all started to make their way to the door and go to the basement, there was a loud, thunderous explosion that made the entire building shake so hard that the group fell to the ground.

“Oh no…” muttered the Griffin with despair. “She destroyed Canterlot…”

What he wasn’t aware of, was that the others, including Luna, had heard him. Their heads spun in his direction so fast they feared they would accidentally break their neck. Luna had a concerned gaze, followed by a cold demanding voice.

“What did you say?!”

The Griffin lowered his head to the floor, looking at the dim lights hanging from the ceiling. “Supreme Leader Scootaloo… has destroyed Canterlot,”

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter of Dictators Of Ponyville. I wanted to apologise for not updating this yesterday, I had a deadline for myself to finish writing this and publishing on either Monday or Tuesday but that was delayed as you now probably know. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

I will write to you guys next time.

Chapter 37 — Airship

Scootaloo watched with glee as the missile flew up with high speed in the direction of Canterlot. Now was the time, the time to show Equestria who is the true leader of Equestria. Her mouth twitched into a grin which showed her upper and lower teeth, her sunglasses did so the fumes and fire didn’t hurt her eyes which she had been given by one of the scientists.

The others inside of the chamber looked at the missile. Most of them didn’t want to do it, but because Scootaloo had promised them paradise, they felt as though they had no choice. Most of them couldn’t go back to their former kingdoms because of different crimes and Badlands wasn’t exactly a hospital, especially not now when the Storm King has no doubt created stronger holds around their former criminal home. Supreme Leader Scootaloo was the only creature that offered them a home, and if this was what they needed to do to get it then so be it.

Some of the other scientists and generals looked on in regret at what they had done, but it was too late, they had now started a war with Equestria.

The Democratics Creatures Republic Of Ponyville was at war with the Kingdom Of Equestria.

The orange-coated pegasus smiled widely when she heard the resounding “BOOM” echo throughout the country, proud of her accomplishment. However, that smile quickly disappeared when she heard something from the sky. She squinted her eyes to see what it was. She strained her ears to hear it better, from what she could make out, it sounded like something large was falling towards the ground.

To Scootaloo’s horror, she saw an airship which was burning that was hastily making its way to the ground. It wasn’t the fact she hit the airship that terrified her, no, it was because the airship had the same symbol Storm King uses.

She had just taken down a Storm King airship... she had just taken down a Storm King airship!

Slowly, a maniacal grin made its way to her lips that stretched from ear to ear. She couldn’t hold it back any longer. She burst out in laughter, swaying from the left to the right as if she had too much cider. The others looked at Scootaloo in horror, also being witnesses of the airship. Many, if not all, of the creatures there, recognised the Storm King symbol.

“MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Scootaloo’s laughter echoed throughout the large chamber where the former missile had resided. “Look at that ladies and gentle creatures! We have taken down a Storm King airship!” Many of the creatures started sweating bullets. However, Scootaloo abruptly stopped laughing and had a look of fury on her face. “WHY WAS THERE A STORM KING AIRSHIP OVER OUR GLORIOUS COUNTRY!!!???”

Every creature there stood with straight backs. The generals felt the piercing look that Supreme Leader Scootaloo was giving them. It was their job to make sure no enemies flew over their nation.

Scootaloo’s eyes were twitching dangerously. “You were planning on betraying me weren’t you?!” She concluded without thinking it over. “You were planning on selling me over to the Storm King in hopes of getting me out of the picture, didn’t you?!”

The generals didn’t flinch. They did their best to stand proud like she had trained them to do. However, today, their silence wouldn’t cut it, and judging by the look Scootaloo was giving them, it would be a miracle if they came out of this alive.

Scootaloo was on the brink of insanity, she felt her brain almost fry itself from her anger and stress. Hastily, she pulled forth a baseball bat and attacked a random general. The only thing she saw was that the general was a dragon. The Supreme Leader of the greatest country of all time continued to beat the dragon until she was satisfied and didn’t feel as stressed but that came back in a matter of seconds after they heard loud screaming for help.

“SOLDIERS!!” Scootaloo bellowed throughout the building so loud, the creatures there would swear for decades that the building shook. “WE ARE AT WAR, WE WILL WIN BECAUSE I AM BY YOUR SIDE, I AM THE GREATEST SUPREME LEADER TO HAVE EVER GRACED ANY GALAXY. KILL EVERY CREATURE THAT DOES NOT CARRY OUR COUNTRY’S FLAG!!”

The soldiers saluted and nodded before running towards the closest armoury and making their way to the cars so they could fight for the country that showed nothing but love and prosperity.

Scootaloo watched on while feeling nothing but pure hatred for what the ponies of Ponyville had done to her and her friends. Maybe she hadn’t punished them hard enough? Slowly, a grin started to grace her lips. Maybe she should start building mass graves? She could make a few ponies... “disappear” while the war continues. Scootaloo knew that the war would only last about... two weeks considering her army was the greatest the Equus planet had ever witnessed.

Suddenly, she heard the sounds of hoof steps running towards her. Sighing, she turned around to face whoever it was. She should have been shocked, maybe even angry, but she didn’t feel anything when she saw Princess Luna and her fellow Supreme Leaders running towards her along with a Griffin.

“Well, well, well, it seems you two have decided to betray Ponyville,” Scootaloo robotically spoke which made Sweetie Belle and Applebloom wince at her tone. “And you brought an enemy and traitor, what a wonderful day.”

“You are the traitor Miss Scootaloo,” Luna spoke with fury. Scootaloo quirked a brow, clearly unimpressed.

“Oh really?” She mocked. “How am I the traitor? I have done nothing other than guide my subjects into the greatness that they deserve. I have done everything in my power to make sure everything in the country is perfect. There is no form of corruption anywhere since corruption only ruins lives. Canterlot is a great example,” Scootaloo muttered with bitterness.

“You dare utter Equestria’s capital when you blew it up!?” Luna shouted loud enough to make the chamber shake. The creatures she had come with shook in fear, including Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes at the Princess. “I didn’t blow up Canterlot,”

Luna looked at the filly furiously. She couldn’t believe the audacity the orange-coated pegasus had. Every creature around them heard the loud explosions, and it was clear as day that the filly had indeed blown up Canterlot.

“We heard the explosion, filly, so do not lie to me again!” Luna spoke with authority.

Seeing that the Princess would not listen, Scootaloo turned away from the mare and began to walk over to a small station with a series of buttons and pressed one of them. Suddenly, a sharp shrill of a microphone echoed throughout the underground base. She felt the eyes of her two former friends and the Princess of the Night and grinned to herself which quickly disappeared.

“Soldiers of the Democratics Creatures Republic Of Ponyville, I have a very important message to give. Earlier today, I launched the missile to destroy our mortal enemies in Canterlot. Everything was going well, I had given orders to one of the soldiers to turn off the dome that sealed our great country, and the weather was wonderful. However, when we launched it made contact with an airship that did not belong to us. It was our other enemies.

“The Storm King had an airship flying overhead. That is a declaration of war. Because of this, we will have no choice but to capture the ones on the ship which is why I shall be sending troops to capture these terrorists for their crimes against the state. That is all

”May the Crusaders Light, shine upon you all!” Scootaloo finished her speech, shocking her former friends with what they'd just learned. However, Princess Luna wasn’t easily convinced.

“Why are you lying to your servants?” She asked with a little anger. “Why can’t you admit that the missile simply exploded?” Princess Luna just didn’t want to believe anything the filly was saying anymore. If what the filly said was true, then she would have to team up with a villain, something she did not want to do again.

Scootaloo quirked a brow at her. “What makes you say that? You heard the explosion just like every creature else, I have no reason to lie about something like this. I have nothing to gain through it.”

Suddenly, there was a strange sound coming from the outer pocket of Scootaloo’s uniform. She pulled out a strange device and pressed a button. “Commander Capper, what is it?” She didn’t notice the look on Princess Luna’s face which had paled.

“Supreme Leader, we are on our way to capture the terrorists, where shall I take them afterwards?”

“Bring them to the base and put them inside a cell. I can interrogate them later,” Scootaloo replied while glancing at her unwanted guests who stared at her with frowns.

“Understood, Supreme Leader!”

With that, the connection was cut and Scootaloo was left with the unwanted guests and soldiers running around the base who were arming themselves to protect their leaders and country. Scootaloo gave them a sadistic smile. “PEACE THROUGH TYRANNY!!!”

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter for Dictators Of Ponyville. Now I want to make perfectly clear that no creature will be dying in this story at all. I have no such tragic plans. I also wanted to show more of Scootaloo going into her undiagnosed Bipolar insanity and contradicting herself. Can you spot the contradiction or when she changes her orders? Let me know how I did in the comments below!

I will write to you guys next time.

Chapter 38 — The Downfall Of Tyranny Part 1

Scootaloo cackled at her former friends, Princess Luna and the soldier who betrayed her. She looked crazed while wobbling back and forth, chuckling her mirth at the situation she now found herself in. She would never lie and say that she didn’t think a scenario like this would never happen, but that Sweetie Belle was one of them that would betray her? She would never have guessed it.

The team that came to stop Scootaloo watched her warily as the orange-coated filly laughed.

“I knew that there would be traitors during this war... it is inevitable,” Scootaloo said, smiling at her former friends, Princess and Soldier. “However, Supreme Leader Sweetie Belle, you were the last one I ever believed would betray me. How come? Has Princess Luna brainwashed you?”

The accusation made Sweetie Belle chuckle merrily and Princess Luna’s jaw harden.

“You dare accuse me of brainwashing Miss Belle when you have brainwashed your subjects since the day you took over? If so, then you and I aren’t so different,” Luna spoke with a cold tone that carried throughout the lab and made the workers shiver.

Princess Luna stood tall and proud, looking down on Scootaloo who seemed unfazed by the accusation. The Princess Of The Night spread her wings, stretching them out to show their true length and began to speak in the royal Canterlot tone which she only did during speeches.

“Citizens of Ponyville, I have come to free you from Supreme Leader Scootaloo’s tyrannical rule, you don’t have to fight anymore nor do you need to heed her words any longer, Ponyville is free once more and will always be part of Equestria!”

The speech made Scootaloo raise a brow. “You don’t honestly believe anyone of them will listen to you? I promised them to free our home Kludgetown from the tyrannical king known as the Storm King who has ruined many lives due to your in-act of doing anything. For example; Storm King invaded the kingdom of Hippogriffia, forcing the citizens to flee to Seaquestria. What did you or Princess Celestia do? Nothing. You did nothing to help, which I found strange. It was said that both you and Princess Celestia were good friends with Queen Novo so why didn’t you help out?”

The tension was high in the air. Scootaloo was unnaturally calm, staring at Princess Luna who refused to back down. The workers looked at the debate with interest, wanting to see and hear what the Princess or Supreme Leaders had to say about it.

“I’ll tell you why; your all cowards,” Scootaloo finished when it became clear Princess Luna wasn’t going to answer. “The fact that I, a child under Equestrian law, Isn’t afraid to stand up to the Storm King is evidence enough that I am the most suitable ruler the planet and galaxies have been waiting for.”

Suddenly, Scootaloo was struck in the chest by a green magical spell, sending her back into a stone pillar with a loud ‘thud!’ that echoed throughout the lab. The area quickly rose with tension, looking all over the place for the spellcaster. Everyone looked shocked when they saw Sweetie Belle walk forward, her horn ready to fire another spell.

Sweetie Belle stopped in front of Scootaloo’s unconscious body, the magic from her horn, slowly withering away with the air.

“You asked me why I betrayed you,” Sweetie Belle spoke, her words loud and clear. Princess Luna, Supreme Leader Applebloom and the Soldier looked on in surprise. “I betrayed you because I never wanted to start a war, I wanted to punish the ponies of Ponyville for what they did to us, but we went too far in the end. We became something far worse, something so much worse, I wouldn’t be surprised If we ended up as one of the Top Ten Most Dangerous Villains to have walked Equestria.”

The marshmallow-coated filly leaned her head back and sighed.

“For the longest time, I was angry at every creature for betraying us in this wretched town. But as the years moved on, I learned to accept what happened and moved on, but I knew that you could never move on. I always saw this... this... darkness in your eyes that I could never shake off. It was like you became... corrupted by something.” The unicorn filly lifted Scootaloo’s unconscious head to her eye level. “I don’t know what happened to you Scootaloo, but do know, I will always love you as my friend and crusader, but I cannot walk down this path with you.”

Suddenly, there was a ringing that echoed throughout the lab, causing the workers to trip over themselves.

“What’s going on!?” Princess Luna demanded with narrowed eyes as she watched the workers trying their best to fix something.

The Soldiers’ eyes narrowed. “I have... no Idea, but whatever it is, it Is scaring the workers,”

“Prepare to counterattack!” One of the workers shouted, causing every creature there to feel dread of what was about to happen. However, the alarm suddenly stopped and the labs' power all shut off in the blink of an eye. Princess Luna and Sweetie Belle used their horns to light up the area. Soon, other creatures who could use magic or light up the place came together and created make-shift torches and similar items to see each other.

The mare from before, Starlight Glimmer, ran up to Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.

“Supreme Leaders! What’s going on?” She asked with a worried voice.

“We’re just as clueless as you are,” Applebloom explained while glancing over at Scootaloo. “Princess... what will we do with Scootaloo?”

“First, we need to figure out what happened, then we can concern ourselves with Miss Scootaloo,” Princess Luna said while glancing over to the orange-coated filly.

“There is no need my dears!” Came a chirper voice that held mischief. At the sound of a snap, there was light that covered the room brightly enough to see everything in sight. In the middle of the room, stood a creature with mix-matched body parts that made the creature have a very odd shape and features.

“Discord?” Princess Luna asked, surprised at seeing the draconequus.

“Princess Luna!” Discord spoke with a delighted tone, his lion paw and eagle claw holding together. “I was worried that Miss Scootaloo would have done something terrible to you by now. I’m glad she failed in her endeavour.”

“I’m fine, Discord, just a little shocked,” Luna explained. “Was that you who shut off the power?”

“Yes, it was!” Discord spoke with pride, his eagle claw over his heart as if giving a salute. “You see, the Airship that Miss Scootaloo managed to shoot down belonged to the Storm King, not that it’s any strange but the impact caused the airship's machinery to start acting out of control and have delayed reactions. One of those delayed reactions was a cannonball that was hurling towards this lab. I managed to stop it and send it to my home where it’s floating in a chaotic realm.”

“That’s interesting, Discord,” Sweetie Belle admitted with a sigh. “But that still doesn’t explain why you shut off the power,”

“Oh, of course, that’s all you care about!” Discord childishly pouts as he hovers in the air with clouds on his back and chocolate milk in his paw. “If you must know, when I opened the portal, it is a possibility that some of my powers interfered with the electricity of the lab which caused them to shut off, but that’s just a theory a Discord theory!”

Suddenly, they heard groaning noises. Every creature turned to see Scootaloo groaning and moaning in pain and trying to stand up. Discord looked with keen interest. Princess Luna looked at the filly with caution while the last two crusaders observed with blank looks.

“Soldiers... kill... them... all...” Scootaloo mumbled, clearly not awake or fit to lead. The soldiers, luckily, didn’t respond to Scootaloo’s plea and instead opted to follow Applebloom and Sweetie Belle as the true leaders.

Capper forced two of the doors to the lab open and led a squad of soldiers inside with something large behind him and his soldiers. Princess Luna observed Capper’s grim look. “Supreme Leader... Scootaloo? Uh, we caught the Storm King but there’s one problem...”

Capper showed the Storm King in all his glory, but the problem was that the once great King that ruled the Badlands was now reduced to a statue that couldn’t move. Beside the statue, was a unicorn with a broken horn. She looked like a true warrior, but any creature in the room could tell that she was afraid, especially of the three Crusaders.

“You... you caught... the Storm King?” Scootaloo mumbled from her tired state. “Great... then... then we can imprison him and use him to vent our frustration.”

“Uh, Supreme Leader... he turned to stone... we don’t know why as of yet,” Capper explained, his back straight as he faced the Supreme Leader of Ponyville.

“It was because he dropped it,”

There was silence in the room, every creature turned to face the mare that had spoken, it was the warrior of the Storm King, the hornless unicorn.

“He dropped the staff,” she clarified. “When we were hit by... whatever that thing was, he dropped the staff which fell to the ground and broke, unleashing some kind of curse that turned Storm King to stone. I don’t know why or how it happened, but that’s what I saw before we crashed,”

Scootaloo chuckled. “It... seems... my... greatness... was... too... much... for... Storm... King... to... handle...” She laughed like it was the funniest joke she had ever said.

In response, Discord snapped his claws, causing Scootaloo to disappear from thin air. “I teleported her to my house, we can pick her up later if you want, Princess Luna,”

“Thank you, Discord,” Luna said with a small smile. “Now, you, who are you?” Luna asked the mare who worked for the Storm King.

The mare stared at Princess Luna for such a long time, that the other creatures in the room believed she wouldn’t say anything until she did. “Tempest Shadow, but that’s not my real name, my real name is Fizzlepop Berrytwist.”

“Geesh, talk about an emo mare,” Discord whispered to Luna who smacked his claw.

“Which name do you prefer?” Luna asked, her voice devoid of emotion.

“If I must pick, I’ll pick Tempest,” Tempest replied, looking towards the floor in fear.

“Okay then, Tempest, I see that you worked for the Storm King, why is that?” Luna questioned with a hint of bite in her tone.

Tempest Shadow gulped at the tone, feeling more than a little afraid for the first time in a long time. “I lost my horn as a filly, I was bullied because of it, called a freak and a monster. So when I was old enough, I set out to try and find the most powerful creature I could find, work for them and hope I get my horn back. The Storm King was the first I came across and worked for him ever since,”

The creatures around the lab felt bad for Tempest, that must have been a very hard life to live. Even Princess Luna looked at Tempest with sympathy.

“I’m sorry little one, it could not have been easy surviving without your magic,” Luna sympathised.

“I can still do magic, but my magic is extremely unstable, mostly causing fireworks and the like,” Tempest explained.

That is when Princess Luna came to a decision.

Princess Celestia had finally reached Ponyville but was shocked to find a gigantic airship crashed into the ground, with splinters of wood all over the town. The shock didn’t die down when she got to see Ponyville for the first time in what felt like centuries. The town was so much more... advanced, ahead of its time with machinery and buildings that made Canterlot look like old buildings.

The royal guards stood by her on either side, ready to follow her command.

“What is all of this?” One of the guards asked, looking at the new Ponyville that looked nothing like the cosy town that was once recommended for travellers.

“Ponyville,” Celestia answered and slowly moved towards the gate of the town.

The guards followed their princess with their weapons ready.

Princess Celestia cast a spell to detect the heat signatures of her little ponies inside but found that most of them were inside their homes with only the soldiers patrolling the streets in moving wagons. What confused the Equestrian Princess, was that the wagons also had heat signatures and moved without anything pulling the wagon. Slowly, the princess and guards made their way to the wide open entrance.

The guards clenched their weapons tightly around their hooves and mouths. One of the commanders whispered to his princess.

“Princess Celestia, what do we do?”

The rainbow-maned princess looked lost in thought as she looked at the entrance. There were soldiers there, guarding with their weapons, ready to defend their home. There weren’t just ponies that were guards of Ponyville, there was a whole array of creatures, even a changeling!

‘What is a changeling doing here?’ Princess Celestia thought, getting instantly worried for her little ponies. Wanting to have all the facts before she attacks random soldiers of Ponyville, she orders the pegasi to see if they can fly to the top and see if there is a dome that covers Ponyville.

The pegasi came back, confirming that there was no dome any longer or that it was disabled. Princess Celestia looks for the heat signature of her sister, but cannot find her anywhere, meaning that Princess Luna is deeper in the town of Ponyville, making her worried. The night sky had clear skies, showing the stars that filled Princess Celestia with determination. The Princess of Equestria ordered the pegasi to fly into the town.

The pegasi salute and take off. “Okay, I need the unicorns to teleport inside of Ponyville, how many of you have been here before?” She asked, her voice clear with seriousness. One-third of the unicorns raise their hooves. “Try to teleport inside and try to find the base with the pegasi, the rest follow me,”

The unicorns that had been to the town before, teleported inside, leaving the rest with Princess Celestia. She carefully made her way to the entrance, activated the heat spell again and saw the heat signatures of the creatures inside Ponyville. The soldiers stood guard, not making much noise, their eyes peeled for movement. There was a watchtower on top of the entrance made of metal and made noise whenever the soldiers moved from one position to another.

Princess Celestia got an idea. She cast a spell on the rest of her guards that made them invisible. She cast the spell on herself and together, they carefully walked through the entrance but almost immediately stopped when they saw the tall buildings of Ponyville and the propaganda that was all over the place. One large red-bricked building had a depiction of Scootaloo, one of the former missing Crusaders’. She had a military salute, with a text underneath.

The Greatest Leader The Planet And Galaxies Have Waited For!

Princess Celestia felt alarm bells go off in her head as she read the text. This was worse than she thought.

The soldiers don’t comment, just waiting for her to move.

Princess Celestia begins to move further into the town and look all over the place, seeing similar propaganda of all three Crusaders’ saying how great the Crusaders were and how they would bring peace and prosperity to the world. There was also a large statue in the middle of the town of the three Crusaders together, holding a hammer, sickle and sword with the words; Peace Through Tyranny! underneath.

Princess Celestia watches as her pegasi and unicorns stealthily manoeuvre around the soldiers before they’re spotted. Princess Celestia and her guards see moving wagons that are driven by the Crusader soldiers inside, confusing them with the technology.

“What is that?” One guard whispers.

“I have no idea,” another replies.

Princess Celestia shushes them and they continue to move. The roads aren’t dirt anymore, instead filled with concrete stone, similar to Manehattan or even Canterlot in some cases, but it was very different. There were roads for the strange wagons to drive on and a pathway for the civilians to walk so they didn’t get run over. The Princess of Equestria then sees a sign that stands out to her.

Ponyville Military Base 20M N

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here I wanted to thank you all for reading this chapter, I never intended for it to take this long to update the next chapter but it did and for that I am sorry, but here it is the new chapter. I am moving towards the ending of the story since this was my gameplan eventually, I cannot exactly continue the story forever. It has been a while since I wrote this story and chapters, so I apologise if it seems a little clunky or weird as my writing style has surely matured/changed with time as I’ve written other stories on other websites.

I will write to you guys next time.

Chapter 1 — Packing The Bags

They would have never believed that their life would end like this.

It was kind of funny, really, you think you know the ponies around you—that you have known forever—but at the same time; you cannot say whether you genuinely know and understand that pony. You can always be wrong, but never to the point where you start questioning the other pony.

Something extreme would have to happen, something that feels unfathomable to happen but at the same time, have a lot of merits depending on the circumstances leading up to that very moment.

When you learn your friends’ secret, neighbour, family member, or even a random pony, it can change you for the better or worse. Sometimes, it can be something completely unexpected, something you would never believe the other pony would do, or be interested in.

There are so many things that could go wrong however, the ones closest to you, if they were to find out, could either become angry at you or be embarrassed to the point where the relationship you have with the other pony might be severed because of it.

And sometimes, it can be much worse than a simple “I cannot talk to you right now,”

Sometimes, the closest ones want nothing to do with you anymore. They want you out of their life, disown you and don’t see you as a family member, just a pony they used to know.

That hurts more than a slap to the face. A slap to the face would be merciful, kind even.

But life is never easy, never that easy.

This is why three fillies were packing their bags at their respective homes. They weren’t welcome in the small little town where they had grown up in. Every time they went outside, the ponies there whispered behind their backs, and not kind whispers either.

They whispered about how they were a disgrace to their families and town. They would close their respective shops and restaurants until they had passed. They glared at the three fillies over the last few days with such hatred that one of them even cried.

They didn’t think it would be that bad. They truly didn’t.

All they wanted to do was earn their cutie marks, the one thing every pony of all tribes wished for when they were young. The one thing that determines what they will do with their lives.

But at what cost?

They printed newspaper articles for the Foal Free Press where they revealed embarrassing secrets about the ponies of Ponyville, something that everypony silently demanded, wanting to know their friends’ secrets. However, the one running the press wanted more and more secrets, even resorting to blackmailing the ones finding the secrets—The Cutie Mark Crusaders.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are Ponyville’s known trouble makers that do everything and anything for their cutie marks, always ending up in trouble for it.

Obviously, they didn’t want their secrets exposed, so they did everything the other filly wanted; giving her more juicy gossip that became the talk of the town, even going so far as to spread rumours about couples around town how they were breaking up or cheating on the other, leading to a lot of distrust around town.

When it was revealed that it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders spreading the secrets, it wasn’t long before everypony hated them and wanted nothing to do with them. They were humiliated by one of the element bearers named Rainbow Dash who pushed rainwater on them.

They had been suspended from school for an entire month. Their family members didn’t take it very well—not for being suspended—but for spreading their secrets. They were told to go away.

They were told to go away by the brother of Applebloom, one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

He said that to his baby sister.

That is when they knew they were beyond hated. There was no redeeming from this. They tried to print an apology, even explaining why they did what they did in exact detail, but when it reached everyponys’ hooves they just became angrier than they were before.

Many ponies told the three fillies to go away and never return. Many chanted it when they saw them walking aimlessly around town.

After that, they ran to their clubhouse and never left. They cried, they cried so many tears of sadness for the friends and family they had lost. They never would have believed that they would be ridiculed to this extent. It seems and even feels unrealistic still.

They spent an entire two days inside there, never leaving to be ridiculed anymore by anyone else. It was on the first day where it began though, the first line of thinking that caused them to start packing.

Day One Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse.

“What shall we do?” Came the weak voice of Applebloom who had red eyes. She had been crying nonstop and couldn’t even stop even if she wanted to.

On the other side of the clubhouse was Scootaloo who sat in the corner beside a boarded-up window. Her coat didn’t look as orange as it used to be. It almost looked greyish. Her eyes were also red, but she had gotten a blank look a few hours ago. Everything about her seemed ... robotic as if she had given up.

“What shall we do?” Scootaloo repeated with a monotone voice “There is nothing we can do. We shall just wait here until our punishment from the school is complete.”

On the other corner facing Scootaloo sat Sweetie Belle who covered her eyes with a pair of sunglasses so no pony could see her eyes. Her eyes to herself, however, showed great pain and sorrow that sloshed inside of her, ready to break free but she held back. What was the point? What would crying solve?

“Is that what you want to do, then?” Sweetie asked with no clear emotion in her speech which made Applebloom raise her eyebrow slightly at her friend.

“Are ya alright, Sweetie?” The apple girl asked.

Sweetie turned her head to face Applebloom who sat in the middle making their sitting positions into a perfect triangle.

She nodded to Applebloom, knowing what the girl was referring to.

“No,” Came Scootaloo’s voice, making the two face their friend again. “But what other choice do we have? We have spent almost the entire day inside here. We cannot continue this. You both know that.”

The clubhouse fell in silence once more while contemplating Scootaloo’s words; she was right. They couldn’t continue like this. They had to go out at some point. But when? When would the time be right when they can go out and be accepted by the townsfolk? From the looks of things; not anytime soon.

“Well, what do you suggest Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle asked. She already knew the answer but it was better to hear it be said.

“We run away,”

The clubhouse was in silence again, Applebloom didn’t look fazed. She also seemed to have expected the answer. Still, they realised what they were discussing. This wasn’t something they could back out from. They could try, but they would always remember what they did. They would be reminded of it every day.

“Do yall think they’ll notice?” Applebloom asked with a far-away look on her yellow coat.

The Pegasus and unicorn respectively glanced at their earth pony friend. They knew what she was talking about. Their family would maybe notice, but it was no guarantee. From the angry looks they had been getting, they would not be noticed going away from their beloved town.

They certainly wouldn’t care.

They didn’t answer their friend. There was no need to.

“Yall know what?” Applebloom asked. They looked at her again and saw a sad smile on her face with no more tears running down her cheeks. “Let’s do it, There’s nothin’ left in this town for us.”

The Pegasus and unicorn glanced at each other and nodded.

They didn’t have a choice.

Day Two Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse.

“Okay, so we are sure about this? There’s no turning back now.” Scootaloo said, glancing around their small table where they would have normally had meetings about cutie marks. Their last meeting, however, would be about their escape plan from their hometown.

“Yes, Scootaloo,” The other two said at the same time, making it clear that they are willing to do it.

Scootaloo may have been the one who brought up the idea, but it was something that originally was for herself but now that her friends were on board, she felt a little thrill of it all. But she would be lying if she said she wouldn’t miss Ponyville. Despite all that happened, it was still her home, even if the other two didn’t see it that way.

She smiled a little bit at the two as they discussed the routes that would lead them outside the town.

“If we walk past mah former home, we’ll only hafta worry abou’ Applejack if she’s in the area,” Applebloom stated as she pulled a red pen across the map.

“Okay, we can try and take the train but the possibility of us being spotted is very likely. There is an area through where Fluttershy ... lives.” Sweetie Belle faltered for a second before Scootaloo jumped in.

“Yeah, that’s right. But it’s a very high possibility that we’ll be spotted by the animals who have been cared for by Fluttershy and will probably inform her about our whereabouts.”

Applebloom nodded and crossed Fluttershy’s house with the pen.

“That just leaves the Everfree forest ...” They said in quiet unison.

They looked at each other, hoping that the other would speak. They did have experience with the forest with their former friend Zecora who lived there, but they weren’t on speaking terms ...

“Should we try?” Scootaloo asked.

“What choice do we have? It’s not like Zecora would care if she saw us there.” Sweetie Belle crossed her hooves in a huff and glanced to Applebloom who had a solid friendship with the zebra mare before the fiasco.

“Ah don’t necessarily believe tha’ but Sweetie has a point,” Applebloom said making the other two look at each other knowing it was difficult for their friend to cope. “We don’t have a choice,” She clarified.

They nodded and without saying anything, they went their separate ways.

At present, they had finished packing their bags and glanced around their room, giving sad smiles at the memories they had spent there. A part of them couldn’t believe what they were doing, not wanting to leave their home behind while another part wanted nothing more with the place they once called home.

Eventually, the later emotion became unbearable. They grabbed their bags and stealthily left their homes without being noticed.

They had agreed to meet at the clubhouse once more before they left for good.

While dragging the bed behind her, Applebloom started to remember when she was a child, how she had been informed how her parents had ... departed. She had been so depressed. She couldn’t even do her chores properly because of how sad she was.

It took a week before Applejack knocked on the door one day and they talked about everything, from their parents to their cousins, to the Apple family feud with the Pears. Applebloom grit her teeth as she remembered one thing Applejack said she didn’t do.

“Ah will always be by yer side,”

“No, you weren’t.” She furiously stated to herself.

How could her sister lie? She’s the element of Honesty and yet, she lied. She lied to her younger sister. Applebloom couldn’t understand why an apple could lie and yet sound so convincing? Perhaps it was because she was so young. Maybe her brain wasn’t able to see when her own sister lied along with her brother. It didn’t surprise her now. She understood it was all fake.

When she reached the Clubhouse she was greeted by Scootaloo sitting by one of the chairs glancing at the map with her bag by her side. She slowly approached the filly who looked to be contemplating deeply. When Applebloom was close enough, only then did Scootaloo react.

“Oh, hey Applebloom,” She greeted with a sad expression on her face.

“Heya,” Applebloom greeted back with an equally sad expression before she sat down to face Scootaloo.

They sat in silence, waiting for their last crusader before they would go on a very real crusade that would no doubt change their entire lives. When the both of them sat down with their packed luggage, they realised how real this was. It wasn’t some horrible dream they could just wake up from. This was something the three of them had discussed and came to the realisation that it was their best bet because they weren’t welcome in their hometown. What else could they do?

It wasn’t as if the other ponies of Ponyville were even willing to listen to them, hear their side of the story, they shunned them and wanted nothing to do with them. They wrote the apology paper as well, but the other citizens just became angry. Why should they even bother?

They truly had no choice in the matter.

If they could take it all back, they would. They wanted to be loved by their families above all else, but they weren’t willing to listen to them.

Applebloom wanted to chuckle, but she couldn’t. The hurtful words her brother said to her were still ringing inside her ears as if he had just said them. It would probably always stand out to her. It was one of those rare times when he speaks in full sentences.

Just when she was about to dive deeper into her dark line of thought, the door opened and it revealed Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo and Applebloom greeted their friend with nods. She walked up to them and sat down. None of them wanted to leave their home, but because they couldn’t show their faces in town without getting shamed, they decided at that moment to use the clubhouse to have their last memories of the town.

They looked around the clubhouse, bringing tears to their eyes as they did. They have wonderful memories of their first crusade to the other fun times they had with their families that would always make them smile.

“I can’t believe it’s over,” Sweetie murmured.

“I can’t believe that they shunned us for something they demanded,” Scootaloo neutrally spoke.

“Ah can’t believe that mah family would ask me tha’ go away,” Applebloom sadly stated.

They looked at each other and nodded. They’ve had their moment, now it was time to leave their beloved town. But for how long?

Author's Note

And here is the first chapter of the series that I began with! I sincerely hope you enjoy this.

Chapter 7 — The Royal Sisters

Ponyville, 2 weeks after the Crusaders left.

Twilight, Spike and their friends were inside the library with sombre expressions. It had been a few days since Spike had sent the letter to Princess Celestia and they wondered what was taking so long. They had seen the royal guards arrive and go into the Everfree Forest but had refused to answer any questions the ponies of the town had.

They suspected that they were trying to find the three fillies.

Spike was the one who had insinuated it because they had not received a response. His logic was that the guards had maybe been tasked to try and find the crusaders but that there was a possibility that they were... they would bring back the bad news.

They hadn’t responded to Spike, but they silently agreed with him. The possibility was there.

Applejack couldn’t accept the possibility. As much as she realised the possibility, she refused to believe her baby sister would end up... there was no way. Her baby sister was stronger than she knew.

Rarity had similar thoughts. It was her fault. That’s what she believed. It was her fault for finding out the truth or at least telling the ponies of Ponyville who was behind the Gabby Gums articles. She shouldn’t have said anything, it was her fault that they were somewhere out there.

Rainbow Dash, when she heard Spike’s theory, made her feel so bad. Her stomach felt weird. She shouldn’t have poured rainwater on them. How mature was she? Not at all, she was still a filly deep inside. Childish mare. It was her fault that Scoots was gone. Unlike the other two, the rainbow-maned pegasus had fully accepted that her sister figure was gone. If it was that she hoped that so the orange-coated fan didn’t have to suffer, she didn’t say.

Spike was in the kitchen making tea for everyone while they were eating sandwiches that the young dragon had made for them.

They couldn’t eat.

They had no appetite.

But they knew they had to eat something. Twilight was eating slowly while reading the same page for the fifth time because her mind couldn’t concentrate. All she could think about was her maturity level. She glanced at Spike who was grabbing cups and plates for the cups.

She placed a barrier with her magic because she didn’t want to see three fillies who made an honest mistake. Spike, her little brother and assistant was cooking for her, made sure she ate, sleep, and had everything from newly purchased books and finances. She was still a filly. No, she really was. Spike was the one who did everything. He was an adult. She didn’t care about how old he was, in her eyes: he was an adult. He was far more mature than she would ever be.

When the dragon came back with the tea, he silently placed it on the table and gave it around to the ponies there. They took it while thanking him and he would acknowledge it with a nod.

“Thank you, Spike.” The lavender mare gratefully thanked.

“Your welcome,” He replied with a monotone voice, sipping on his warm tea.

The other ponies took small sips of their tea while munching on their sandwiches around the round table. Spike held both of his claws with his elbows on the table with his eyes closed as if meditating. Interestingly enough, it was a habit he had picked up on which helped make him less sad but only for a small while.

The ponies around watched the young drake and couldn’t help but realise how mature he had turned the last few weeks. He was far more mature than all of them combined. He helped be the voice of reason and had given them hope when they forgot to eat or even sleep as they were searching everywhere. He stopped them and forced them to eat and get a few hours of sleep at a minimum. He was an adult now.

Abruptly, there was a knock on the door and they all felt their hearts skip a beat.

They were so lost in their thoughts that it had scared them slightly.

Spike, who seemed unfazed, walked up to the door to reveal two tall Alicorn mares who had grim expressions on their faces. The drake bowed in a show of respect and led them inside.

The tallest alicorn there had a white coat with a flowing rainbow mane that was more relaxed than the cyan pegasus’ which left a calming impression. The second alicorn had a dark blue coat with a darker mane which also flowed but her mane resembled the stars from the night sky. The first alicorn’s name is Princess Celestia who was the princess of the sun, the second one is Princess Luna whose the princess of the moon. They were sisters.

The ponies there bowed in respect and Spike once again, left for the kitchen to brew tea while the ponies conversed.

The silence was deafening.

Twilight didn’t know what to say or do. She knew the princess would be angry at her, but so angry that even her sister came along? She must have screwed up badly. Looking at the floor in shame, she bowed her head, unable to face her mentor and ruler.

Spike came back with the tea, setting it before the two princesses’ who thanked the drake before they stared at the six mares with a blank expression on their faces. Spike, on the other hand, could tell that Princess Celestia looked uncertain as to what to say.

“When I received the letter... I must admit, I thought it had been a horrible joke.” Celestia spoke with a firm voice. The mares flinched. Twilight the most. “I had hoped that something like this would never happen again but that was wishful thinking on my end. I suppose I’ve been getting too comfortable on the throne.”

Princess Luna simply stared blankly at the six mares. She couldn’t fathom how these six could defeat her but at the same time, shun their family members. Did the— no. The elements of Harmony didn’t make a mistake, it chose those mares for a reason.

“Princess Celestia... I’m sorry, at first, I liked reading the gossip of different ponies around town but it did nag me at the back of my mind, and I did voice that it did hurt some ponies who wanted the secrets for themselves. But some of them were funny... until Gabby Gums claimed that I was a Canterlot snob who believes that Ponyville’s roofs are for the low-class ponies. It’s a lie, but I was so hurt, angry, betrayed that when I found out who it was, I couldn’t help but be angry at them and put up a barrier for when they decided to come.” Twilight explained and admitted with guilt heavy In her voice.

The princess of the Sun stared at her blankly.

“Twilight, I saw that there was gossip about me in the column, but do you know what I did?” Celestia asked with a raised brow. Twilight and the others minus Luna shook their heads In no. “I laughed.”

The others stared at their princess with wide eyes while Rarity and Rainbow Dash and Twilight had their jaws hanging.

“Ist true,” Luna proclaimed nonchalantly. “I have not heard her laugh like that In a very long time.”

The others did not know what to say. They expected Celestia to say something that would make them feel foolish for not having thought of it, but here, right now, she told them the piece in the column about her, which made her laugh. She had found it hilarious!

“Princess Celestia! How could you possibly find that hilarious, they made you sound like a common pony!” Rarity exclaimed as if it was scandalising.

The princess smiled at her, for the first time since the conversation began, the smile held warmth and love.

“Miss Belle, I have lived for well over a thousand years and my sister once ruled alongside me, even Luna has some memories of those conspiracy theories columns that existed, isn’t that right, Luna?”

Luna nodded with a small smile like she had remembered something funny.

“Oh, yes sister, I remembered this one time they tried to explain how you used a common heat spell to make the sun go up and down.” Luna was doing her best to not guffaw but Celestia understood that it was difficult. She too, couldn’t help but giggle.

The others looked scandalised that some pony out in the world had once claimed their princess used a heat spell but stopped themselves when Celestia giggled like a school filly.

“Oh, that one was funny! Sadly, no one makes conspiracies like that anymore.” The ruler of Equestria genuinely sounded sad. Luna looked shocked at her sister.

“Sister, you don’t mean to tell me every pony is loyal to us. There must be some pony with good conspiracies that we could laugh at.” Luna sounded pleading, making the six mares gape at her.

“Sorry, Luna,” Celestia said in a sad voice. “They don’t do it anymore which is sad.”

“I wasn’t given proper punishment, sister, you had to endure one thousand years of nothing fun to read,” Luna admitted with a sad smile at Celestia who smiled sadly back at her.

“Wait, Princess, so you're telling me that you found it funny?” Twilight asked, trying to get over her shock.

Celestia looked serious again.

“Yes, Twilight. I found it fun. Isn’t that what you and the rest of Ponyville found funny, to begin with?” Raising a brow. The mares, particularly Rarity, flinched at the firm tone in her voice.

“Yes, we did.” They responded.

“Sister, we hast punisheth them enough, thou shall tell them about what we have found out,” Luna said with the old dialect.

“Right. My little ponies, I’m not just here to punish you as it's not my place, but I have been sending royal guards through the Everfree Forest In hopes of finding the three fillies. Sadly, we have not found anything. However, I have a few friends in a town outside of Equestria who informed me that three fillies had recently come to a town called Kludgetown in the Badlands.”

Everypony there, including Luna, stared at her wide-eyed.

WHAT!!!???

Author's Note

Hello guys, Dragon-In-Black here, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I do apologise for it being so short but my writing drive today told me that the endpoint was a good point to end so I decided to end it there. Next week, you’ll be getting a longer chapter 2000—3000k words, I’m uncertain. But see you all next week.

Chapter 23 — All Hail The Crusaders!

Scootaloo marched down Badlands' streets, which had many ruined houses and apartments thanks to the Storm King. It angered her that a buffoon like him would destroy his subject's home just to stop an uprising.

The orange-coated filly just did what was best for her subjects. After what the Storm King did, it only proved that Scootaloo was correct. The Storm King is unfit to rule and Scootaloo was the best-suited ruler in the entire Badlands.

This isn’t surprising because she is the greatest ruler to have ever lived on the planet.

The filly chuckled as she made her way down a path that had destroyed rocks and debris coating the sidewalks and multiple hurt creatures that made her heart ache for them. If she could, she would have helped them but she had a job to do and that required her expertise in ruling.

So onwards she trotted until she reached a form of a clearing where there were multiple creatures that she hadn’t seen for the last few hours. Her dragons, ponies, changelings, and yaks and the Storm Guard who had defected over to them when he realised that Scootaloo was the destined ruler of the planet.

That is what Scootaloo believed at least.

The clearing was between big apartments that had holes in them and looked dangerous if it were during the night. But the place was a great place to hide from the Storm soldiers who used their violence to make sure the subjects stayed loyal to the tyrannical, arrogant King.

Every creature was there, her soldiers, lieutenant, captain and fellow dictator.

When Scootaloo saw Applebloom, she galloped to her friend and hugged her for dear life, relief to know that her friend was okay and the returned hug from the farm filly made Scootaloo smile and allow a few tears escape from her eyes.

“Scoots! Oh, thank Celestia yar okay!” Applebloom sniffled into her friend's shoulder, relief overcoming her body and the tense shoulder escaping her.

“I’m okay, Appleboom, I was more worried about you, are you alright?” The pegasus filly asked with worry coating her words drawing a smile from the youngest Apple sibling.

“I’m fine, Scoots, but a few soldiers were injured and I did my best to take care of em’, but they need real medical attention,” Applebloom explained and showed a dragon who couldn’t move his arm who was being supported by an earth pony who asked if he was alright.

“I’ll be fine, thanks for asking,” the dragon smiled a weak smile, drawing a concerned look from the other Crusaders Democratics Party members.

“Don’t worry Applebloom, we will invade a place that has pretty good medicine and doctors.” Scootaloo smiled a genuine smile that made the others look at the filly in shock.

What the feather?! Supreme leader, don’t you see what the buffoon of a King did to us?!” One member shouted making the others start to voice their agreement.

“The King completely obliterated us!”

“We don’t stand a chance against the King!”

“I refuse to try to invade again!”

“ENOUGH!”

You could hear a pin drop. Every creature, including Scootaloo, turned to look at Applebloom who had a look of fury in her eyes. The soldiers wanted to speak against her, but the glare she gave them made them shiver.

It was as if they were staring at death in the face.

“If you all allow supreme leader Scootaloo to speak then you will find out why we are invading another place, so listen!” Applebloom glared at all of them except Scootaloo, Capper and Spike.

The orange-coated filly whistled to herself quietly despite every creature hearing. Scootaloo wouldn’t question why Applebloom’s voice sounded ancient and demonic.

“Thank you, Applebloom,” Scootaloo nodded to her friend and turned to face all of the other party members. “Look, I know and understand that you all are afraid. You faced defeat which is never desirable. You want revenge, power and freedom. I can give it to you. I never lied about that. However, It seems like we weren’t strong enough to defeat Storm King from his tyrannical arrogance. But that doesn’t matter. We will win one day, but I have a proposal. There is a town called Ponyville, I’m not sure how much my captain has informed but that is where Applebloom and I come from along with dictator Sweetie Belle who has been captured by the terrorists known as Solar Guards.

“That is why I propose that we invade Ponyville; we will save dictator Sweetie Belle and end the terror organisation known as Solar Guards. We will be seen as the heroes of Equestria and we will gain followers in large numbers. With those numbers, we will have a chance at defeating Storm King and after we do, we will be the most powerful country in the entire planet. So powerful that the Alicorn princesses will bow down before us.

“I won’t force any creature to help invade Ponyville, but do know that if you chose to stay that you will have to face Storm King’s punishment because we will not return to save you until we have enough power to do so.” Scootaloo finished while looking at them all and saw their shocked and frozen gazes.

Many of them didn’t expect the supreme leader to be so… blunt. Of course, they understood why the greatest ruler of all time told them this; she couldn’t fight against Storm King and needed more soldiers so she decided to go to Equestria.

“What?! You expect me to follow you to Equestria after the stunt you pulled?! I thought you were powerful!” A pony suddenly shouted which caused the others to stare in shock.

Scootaloo hid her amusement.

“Of course I’m powerful, I’m the greatest ruler the planet has ever seen, I was born to rule the planet. In fact, I believe I’m the next Alicorn!” Scootaloo said with a joking tone. But her eyes showed that she probably believed her own lies.

“Pony feathers!” One of them shouted and threw away the symbol Scootaloo created and walked away, showing that he didn’t believe her for one second.

“Oi, old fool!” Scootaloo shouted for him and he surprisingly stopped. “Now that you’re no longer a member, and because of what you said about me earlier, you are now an enemy to the state,”

“What state?!” He angrily asked and turned to face the regime he once was part of. The other party members looked at him in anger for treating their supreme leader with such disrespect.

“The state you were once part of. When I become ruler I’ll give you a choice. A, either join me once again and all is forgiven, or B, deny and I’ll throw you in prison.” Scootaloo smirked when she saw the pony roll his eyes.

“Silly-filly, you will never be able to rule anything and if you do succeed It’ll last one week. But If you somehow miraculously manage to rule Badlands and Equestria, then I’ll become your captain and do whatever it is that you want, even betray my family,” he added the last part because he knew that Scootaloo would never succeed in her coup.

If only he knew…

“Okay then, see you around,” Scootaloo smirked as he walked away. “I didn’t realise I would have a second captain in the future,”

The members of the party laughed at her joke, clutching his stomach and Spike even fell to the ground wheezing as if it was the funniest joke he’d heard.

“Anyways, are you ready to march all the way to Ponyville or shall we grab vehicles around here and drive there with style?” Scootaloo asked and saw multiple creatures raise their hooves, and claws in the air as if they were inside a classroom.

“Yes?”

“Supreme leader, I think we should grab water-powered cars. The cars drive on water as you suspect, and could get us there quickly. We could also circle around the town, trapping them and forcing them to the middle of town where they would be forced to bow down to the state.”

Scootaloo and Applebloom had a conversation with their eyes. After a few moments, they slowly turned to their soldiers and nodded together in unison.

“Find the cars and we will invade Ponyville today!” Scootaloo and Applebloom chorused.

“Yes, supreme leaders!” The soldiers shouted before dispersing trying to find the vehicles.

Scootaloo and Applebloom turned to face one another and hugged each other again. There was nothing to say. The apartment's quiet nature made it eerie, especially with the debris and trashcans turned over and trash littering the streets of the glorious kingdom that Storm King ruined.

The hug had a lot of emotions that they couldn’t convey with words. They both missed Sweetie Belle. They missed her so much, the light of their Crusade was gone because of one mistake and Scootaloo would make sure that it never happens again.

“Soon, we will see… Sweetie Belle,” Applebloom hiccuped when she was about to say her lost friends’ name. Her eyes were getting red from an overflow of tears she refused to drop.

“Yeah… you think she’ll be happy to see us?” Scootaloo asked with a curious voice.

Applebloom pulled away and wiped away a tear that managed to escape. “Yeah, why wouldn’t she be?”

Scootaloo sighed. “Because I feel like she blames me for allowing her to go to the photoshoot which got her arrested and sent into one of the most dangerous places in Equestria; Ponyville.”

Applebloom looked confused, what was her friend talking about?

“Scoots… why would she ever blame you? She knows it’s not your fault and she knows that the Solar Guard terror group are the ones to blame.” Applebloom hoped that Scootaloo didn’t blame herself.

“I don’t know, I guess I’ve blamed myself all this time because when she got kidnapped by the terrorists I sat back and did nothing but think of schemes as to how to invade Equestria but that was it; they were schemes, they weren’t something that I was going to do in the long run, it was something that would have worked short term but then the main six, would have committed war crimes against us,” Scootaloo kicked a small stone which landed near the debris.

Applebloom’s face resembled a question mark. Since when has the main six committed war crimes?

“Scoots, the main six has never committed war crimes against any creature, what are you talking about?” Applebloom was getting a little worried for Scootaloo.

Scootaloo spoke as if it was something that was common knowledge. As if it was the truth. But it wasn’t. The main six has never committed any war crimes yet her pegasus friends said they did.

Scootaloo’s eyes flared in anger and glared at Applebloom.

“Of course they have! They murdered Nightmare Moon in cold blood! She was an innocent mare who was misunderstood! Then we have us who were humiliated and ridiculed by ‘adults’ who are in fact children who don’t know what they do half the feathering time!” Scootaloo ranted her face filled with anger and her teeth clenched so hard Applebloom was afraid that they’d break any second.

When the filly realised who she had been shouting at, she apologised and hugged her again.

“Sorry, Bloom, I guess the anger of what they did to us still lingers,” the filly spoke and buried her face in the farm filly’s shoulder.

“It’s okay Scoots, I’m not mad.” She said soothingly, trying to calm her friend's sobbing.

Before Scootaloo could answer, there was a honking noise and the sounds of engines firing. When they turned to where their soldiers had disappeared, they saw multiple vehicles made from wood and metal that had rust that made them look old and the wheels belonged to a manual cart that the ponies during the Grand Galloping Gala usually have.

One of the cars stopped in front of the dictators of Ponyville and the doors opened which revealed their captain and lieutenant.

“Come on in, supreme leaders!” Spike said with excitement in his voice.

With genuine smiles, Scootaloo and Applebloom took their seats inside the car, facing their counterparts and put on their seatbelts.

The other soldiers were in the other cars and had looks of determination on them. The car the two dictators were in fired off and started driving, the other cars following suit.

“ALL HAIL THE CRUSADERS!!!”

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another chapter that I hope you enjoyed. Wow, this is two days in a row where I have published chapters, huh? Well, it is the summer holidays and I have nothing important planned other than writing, training and trophy hunting on the PS5. Well, Enjoy!