Izzy Moonbow: Beyond The Multiverse of Randomness

Chapters

Chapter 1: Attack of the Bugbear/Can’t Save Everypony
Chapter 2: Izzy Wakes Up/Like A Sheriff Chasing Outlaws
Chapter 4: A General Stirs Up Vengeance/The Butterfly Effect
Chapter 5: Conversing With Pipp/The Truth Reveals Itself
Chapter 3: Welcome To The Insurgency/Somepony Wants To See You

Chapter 1: Attack of the Bugbear/Can’t Save Everypony

Zephyr Heights was under attack.

There had been no prior warning, no time to prepare. It had all happened so fast. The pegasi ran as fast as they could to escape the onslaught of fire that was raining down upon them in a futile attempt to get to safety. The sky was a stormy grey, clouds of titanic mass blocking out the light of the sun and casting a large shadow upon the city, blanketing everything underneath its domain. The prestigious and beautiful buildings that had once been home to storied history now lay in ruins. The roofs had been completely incinerated, with what remained of them billowing smoke that polluted the air above it. The walls were cracked and smoldered with flames. They resembled nothing of the paradise that had been advertised in pictures and flyers.

It wasn’t meant to be this way. Today was meant to be a very special day for everypony in the land. There was supposed to be joy and laughter. Infectious optimism was meant to be parading the streets, rather than fear and terror. It was thought to be a time of celebration, for it was on this day that Sunny Starscout, the heroine of Equestria and the last Alicorn, was set to be crowned the first ruling Princess in centuries. The preparations had been well underway. The leaders of Bridlewood and Maretime Bay, as well as creatures from lands far beyond had gathered to mark the passing of the old era, and the return to a golden age of unity and harmony. But right as the main ceremony had begun to commence, the guards had flown in to report the sound of roaring and destruction occurring in the outermost regions of the city.

The sole cause of all this mayhem? A bugbear of gargantuan size, the largest ever seen of the species in recorded history, breathing fire down upon the populace. It was unheard of. Bugbears had not been seen in a thousand years. A mix of insect and animal, the bugbear was a magical creature, fused together eons ago by the forces of darkness. They once reigned supreme before they had been returned to Tartarus by the guardians of old. Yet here was one now, somehow bypassing the protection spell around Equestria and seeking nothing but to cause the complete annihilation of ponykind. The monster sported black, beady eyes that held no warmth, no mercy. The insect wings on its back stretched for what appeared to be miles. Its body was a mix of black and white, and two skinny antennas protruded from the back of its head. A stinger was at the other side of its abdomen, large and dangerous. This was no ordinary rampaging animal. This was a demon summoned from the deepest depths of the underworld. And it could not be stopped.

The bugbear moved at a fast, alarming rate as it continued to breathe fire and crush everything in its path. When it roared, the sound could be heard from miles away. Ponies feared the bugbear. There was a reason why agencies had been set up in the days of Twilight Sparkle to hunt them down to extinction. When one invaded, it was seen as a bad omen, a sign of horrible things to come. Once they had been put away, seemingly for good, they achieved near mythical status. But some cultures still believed in its existence. They believed that these creatures would one day return, once magic returned to the realm.

They were right.

The pegasus guards flew at the beast, uselessly trying to stab and smack its hide. The bugbear roared and incinerated them instantly with its breath, swatting away what remained of their armor with its huge paw. Commanding the armed forces of the kingdom was none other than the ruling monarch of Zephyr Heights, Queen Haven. She was dressed in full battle armor that covered her entire body. Her expression was one of pure fury as she commanded her legions to fight as they would in war. She barked orders as if it came naturally to her, the soldiers at her command responding instantly and risking their lives to take the enemy down. She was their protector, their leader, and their queen. The guards trusted her with every fiber of their beings. They joined the ranks to serve her, and most importantly, their kingdom. They would not leave it undefended.

The soldiers fell. The fire destroyed them before they even got close to its mouth. Ashes rained down to the ground as a cruel reminder of their fruitless sacrifices. A lone mare, a member of Haven’s personal security, struck the beast right where its spine was. The bugbear wailed in agony and struck her right in the heart with its protracting claws, growling as it did so. The mare fell to the ground lifelessly. The effects had been instantaneous. She had suffered a quick and relatively painless death.

Seeing this, Queen Haven cursed. She turned towards the remainder of her squad and rallied them with the sheer power of her voice alone. “DO NOT FEAR THIS BEAST!! DO WHATEVER YOU MUST TO CLOSE ITS MOUTH!! WE MUST NOT LET IT DECIMATE THE PALACE!!”

The soldiers were galvanized into action. A squad of about 50 stallions took off and flew at top speed in the direction of the bugbear. As it rained fire upon them, they split off from the middle, forming five separate battalions of ten and shouted battle cries. The bugbear did not even have time to turn before two of the separate groups merged and collectively stabbed their spears at its throat. The blades pierced the flesh and found their targets. Once again, the monster howled and fought with all its might, desperately trying to fling the pegasi off.

At that moment, one brave soldier flew up and grabbed ahold of the bugbear’s mouth, slamming it shut. He yelped and struggled to hold on as the monster shook its head violently. He could see the fury in its eyes. This creature wanted to kill him. It was out for blood.

“I can’t hold it for much longer!!” he screamed as loud as he could, hoping his comrades from far away would hear. “Lightning Strike, the rope!”

“Coming, Storm!!” a voice close by answered back. In that moment, about five more pegasi guards flew to his rescue with a lasso in their hooves. The bugbear fought wildly as they came near and Storm could feel his grip on its jaw loosening. He could barely hold on and was inches away from falling off.

Lightning deployed the lasso, swinging it as hard as he could before throwing it with a loud yell. Just as the bugbear was about to finally force its own mouth open, the rope slammed it shut once more. The five pegasi pulled hard, holding it in place. It was not a permanent solution, but it would have to do in the meantime. There was nothing else to do but wait for the emergency squad to grab more rope to bring the beast to its knees. At least it had been slowed for now.

Or so they thought.

By sheer rage, the bugbear burned through the lasso and opened its mouth once more. Storm slipped and began to fall just as a rain of fire was unleashed directly at him. He never felt the impact of the ground beneath him.

The five other pegasi were similarly dispatched as the bugbear moved further into the already decimated city. It was an unstoppable force of nature. Nothing could hold it back. Its enormous wings carried its body as it hovered above the carnage it was causing beneath it. It didn’t care. It had no equal. It was far too powerful to be killed.

In a display of power, the bugbear roared as loud as it could and made a beeline directly towards Queen Haven, who cried out as it did so. Still, she stood in front of the entrance to the palace, refusing to abandon her subjects for her own safety. She stared defiantly into the eyes of the beast, protecting the remaining two guards who stood behind her. The message was clear. If she was going to die, she would take this demon down with her.

The bugbear reared its head and shot a torrent of orange fire at her. Haven shielded her eyes as this happened and braced for the worst as the temperature suddenly heated up to unbearable degrees. Her whole body felt like it was being fried in the oven and she screamed at the top of her lungs. It as if she was being boiled alive. She couldn’t take it anymore. She was inching closer to death the longer the fire boiled her alive. Her life flashed before her eyes, and she squeezed them shut as she accepted the inevitable outcome.

That was when she heard the rapid beating of wings and the sound of several ponies heading her way. There was a brief flash of magic and the entire city was blinded for about a second. Opening her eyes once the dust settled, Haven looked out in front of her and saw that she was encased in a large orange protective shield. And none other than Sunny Starscout, the lone Alicorn and future Princess, was projecting it around them. Her pupils had become solid white, and her purple mane with rainbow streaks shot up like a torrent of fire. She grunted and yelled as the bugbear fought against her, the aura around her horn becoming stronger the more she asserted her dominance.

She had improved on her magic due to lessons from the Dragon Lord Spike, and now had full control over her alicorn transformations. She stood there bravely, blocking the fire with all the strength she could muster. She was an island of order amidst a sea of chaos, keeping the monster at bay. It would only a moment of reprieve, but hopefully it would be enough.

“Sunny!” Haven exclaimed, still in shock. “You saved me!!”

Sunny briefly glanced back at her. Sweat was heading down her forehead, but yet she smiled back with determination. She nodded. “I came as quick as I could! And I’m not alone!!”

As if on cue, the remainder of Sunny’s calvary came to the rescue, charging towards the bugbear and shouting their own battle cries. It was her friends; Izzy Moonbow, Zipp Storm, her sister Pipp Petals, and Hitch Trailblazer. The heroes of Equestria had arrived to save the day!

The bugbear roared with pure rage as the tide of the battle turned. Zipp and Pipp flew together in unison, creating a wide circular arc around the beast. It turned its head every which way, trying its best to breathe fire in their direction and knock them out of the sky. However, they were too fast, and the futile attempts only succeeded in getting one of the bugbear’s own claws singed with fire.

The bugbear yelped in pain, letting loose a bellowing cry that could be heard for miles. At that moment, Izzy conjured a lasso using her magic and threw it at the monster’s legs. The rope hit its target and wrapped around them, binding them deadly accuracy so that the bugbear could not strike with them. She muttered a magical incantation in Old Ponish to seal the ropes, the color of her aura changing from purple to red for but a split second. Her eyes briefly flashed a solid green. Runes flashed on parts of the lasso for a moment as the spell took effect.

Meanwhile, Hitch was helping the remaining citizens get to safety. He helped one mare carry her newborn foal before separating the other pegasi into two lines of twenty. They stampeded in single files towards the emergency shelter nearby, shrieking. Before long, they had escaped relatively unharmed with only minor injuries from some colliding into each other.

Hitch wiped sweat from his brow. “All in a day’s work!” He was exhausted from the trip over, but he knew he could not rest now. There was still much more work to do. The bugbear had to be defeated no matter what. He ran over to where Izzy was. The unicorn was still holding the spell, but she was getting tired. He could see it in her eyes. The spell was sapping her life force with every passing second. She was close to death.

“Break off the spell!” he ordered. “Sunny and I will handle this creature.”

Izzy obliged instantly, her magic fizzling, and she collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. “I did good, didn’t I…?” she murmured with a dreamy smile on her face before she was out cold.

Hitch cursed. He had to get Izzy away from the destruction before the bugbear realized what was happening. Without hesitation, he hoisted her on his back and ran away from the line of fire as quick as his hooves could muster. Buildings and houses were collapsing all around him as he did so. He jumped over a falling tree and ducked under a flaming pillar as he took her to a secluded part of the city where she would not be harmed. His heart was pounding hard in his chest and he could hear every beat. Yet he was determined to not let her come to any harm.

He continued running as the chaos continued all around him. A sheriff had to be resilient. They had to be strong and confident, setting an example for those around them. A sheriff defended. And a sheriff protected. He would not let her down. They were almost there. He would make sure she was safe before worrying about himself.

Once they were safe, he set her on the ground. They were in the secret garden of the castle, which only the Royals had access to. He doubted that he was allowed here, but in times of crisis, the rules had to be set aside. That was a hard lesson for him to learn. It was the only place that had not been touched by all of the destruction.

Izzy fluttered her eyes open. “Huh…what happened…? Hitch…?”

“Shhhhh…” Hitch whispered softly. “You need to regain your strength. This isn’t over yet. We’ll take care of this. Just rest for now. You’re safe.”

“But I wanna help!” she protested, a pleading look on her face. “I didn’t overexert myself all that much, did I?”

“Yes you did,” he stated sternly. “If I didn’t stop you, you would’ve died from that spell. Now lay down and get some rest.”

“I-“

Before she could protest further, he was off again and back in the fight.

Back in the city, Sunny had ceased the protection spell and was now engaged in combat with the bugbear, which was breathing fire in her direction. She flew away to dodge it, swooping down as a blast came down, headed right for her tail. She stopped once she was far enough away, hovering right next to her intended target and mentally prepping herself to be ready. She had been going at this for a solid twenty minutes and she was feeling the effects of the battle already.

Before she could think of leaving, however, the bugbear opened its mouth and let loose another blast of fire. In a flash, she threw up the magic shield to deflect it back before dissipating it like it had never even been there. She let loose a burst of magic and engaged the next stream of fire. The two blasts collided and were now fighting for control. The ground shook and the sky was illuminated with brilliant light.

The bugbear bellowed and strained as it attempted to get the upper hoof. Sunny screamed and yelled in response. She increased the spell in a show of defiance, the beam now pushing back against the fire and breaking the impasse they had once been at. Ponies watched in anticipation from where they were as the two powers dueled for the safety of the realm.

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash and she was sent falling to the ground, her alicorn powers dissipating in an instant. Her form could still only be maintained for so long and it needed time to recharge. She was still young, and while she had full control over her powers, the effects were not permanent. She had not yet mastered how to let her form linger for longer than a certain amount of time, something that Spike had promised to teach her when she got older.

For now, she had to fight on land, where she was at a huge disadvantage.

She barely landed on her hooves, avoiding a painful collision. She looked around frantically for anything to use just as Hitch arrived back in the battlefield. Zipp landed on the ground as well, with Pipp following close behind her. They all seemed tired from flying, and she couldn’t blame them. The battle was taking a toll on all of them.

“We’ll have to fight on the ground,” she told them. “None of us are in any position to fly right now.”

“You got that right,” Zipp replied, panting heavily. “I don’t think we can do this for much longer, Sunny. This thing is unbeatable. We can’t kill it!”

“Believe me, I tried,” Pipp added helpfully, holding up the remains of her phone, which was now charred to a crisp and inoperable. “I tried to throw my phone at it and well…that happened.”

“So how do we take this guy down?” Hitch asked. “There’s no way we can hold it forever.”

Sunny shook her head. “No, we can’t hold it forever.” Her eyes scanned the remains of the city before suddenly landing on two regular discarded lassos that lay on the ground next to a flaming building, smoldering. “But we can take it down.”

“How?” Zipp inquired desperately.

“Using those ropes,” Sunny explained. “We can’t kill the bugbear. But if we could wrap the lassos around its body and pull hard enough, we can bring it down to the ground and incapacitate it long enough for Queen Haven’s emergency fleet to arrive and drag it back to whatever zoo it broke out of.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Hitch agreed, but his eyes still remained uncertain. “But how do we know if the lassos are strong enough?”

“Only one way to find out.” Sunny answered quickly. “On the count of three, you all scatter and grab them.” She smirked. “I’ll distract him the only way I can.”

“Got it.”

“One…” she started to count.

It was then that the bugbear seemed to realize that there were no more distractions in its way. It looked down to the ground and saw five little ponies at its feet. The beast growled and prepared to rain death and carnage down upon all of them.

“Um, Sunny?” Pipp asked nervously. “Now would be a good time to act.”

“Two…”

The mouth began to open and fire bubbled to the surface from within the bugbear’s core. It was now or never.

“HE’S GONNA BLOW!!” Zipp shouted.

“THREE!!!!”

The ponies scattered in different directions just as a massive blast of fire erupted from the bugbear and singed the ground where they had been standing. Zipp grabbed the tip of first lasso in her mouth and Pipp held the other end. They leapt out of the way and narrowly avoided another blast from the enraged monster.

Sunny roared in a challenge and ran in circles all around it as it desperately tried to land a hit on her. Every time it did so though, it missed. First it singed its own toes, then the fur on its legs, and then the ground. The bugbear wailed and tried to swipe at Sunny, who took a few steps to the right, barely managing to avoid the impact. She ducked under another swipe and kicked the beast right in the sensitive area as hard as she could.

The bugbear screamed and yelped, making a beeline directly for her as she ran for dear life. She leapt off the ground and spun in the air once before kicking it again. The bugbear recoiled, snarling at her. She took that moment to escape and rejoin the others just as Hitch returned with the second lasso. He swung it in a wide arc before hurling it at the monster. It found its target and wrapped around the main body. Hitch pulled as hard as he could and Sunny joined him just as Zipp and Pipp deployed theirs.

Before long, they had the monster in their grasp. But it would not last forever. They had to pull with all their might and take it down like their lives depended on it. Sunny yanked on the rope once again and turned her head towards Hitch. He looked back at her and they shared a brief silent exchange for a solid minute. It was as if this was their last stand, and they wanted to cherish the moment for as long as they could. That was when Hitch gave the signal towards the others, a loud whistling sound and the final pull commenced.

Time seemed to slow down to a halt and the world came to a standstill. The forces of nature stopped for this moment as if fate itself awaited its own judgement. Sunny and her friends stood in a half circle around the bugbear and pulled as hard as they could. They got in a defensive position and took several steps back as they sought to bring this demon to its knees. The bugbear resisted, doing its best to make this effort difficult for them. Sunny gritted her teeth and tightened her grip around the lasso as Hitch pulled his end. The adrenaline coursed through their veins and their bones felt like they were about to break from the strain. Yet they still did it, for they had come so far together already. They faced worse enemies than a simple magical creature like this before, and they would win this fight. They would save this city if it was the last thing they did.

From the side, Zipp yanked as hard as she could, pouring all her strength into it. Pipp jumped to her side and they tugged on their ends. The bugbear struggled and swiped at them blindly. The two of them ducked and continued to pull. With a grunt, Zipp leapt back with the rope still in her mouth, her teeth tightening around it. She gripped another part with one of her hooves as tightly as she could muster. She was not afraid either. She and Pipp were princesses. And princesses had no fear. It was a tradition going back generations of bloodlines that the Royal Family did not run from a fight. The concept was unheard of. Zephyr Heights was their home, and they were responsible for setting an example to their subjects, protecting them from harm. Here they were doing just that, defending their kingdom with all of their might. They would not let it fall. Never.

The bugbear thrashed and screamed as it began losing control of its own body. It began to collapse in their direction, the hulking mass careening towards the ground. Sunny stepped back a few more inches, followed by Hitch and the pegasus sisters. They continued to pull as they did so, feeling the pressure begin to dissipate. The monster still thrashed, yet it was no match for the combined effort of five ponies who would sooner die for their home than surrender.

The citizens watched in awe as the display went on. They could not believe their eyes. It was like a miracle gifted straight from the heavens. These ponies, made of different species and backgrounds, were working together against this common threat once again. They were truly heroes, and they were risking it all to protect them.

Finally, the bugbear’s strength gave out. It had spent too much time resisting and there was no more energy left. The strain of the rope on its body had knocked the wind completely out. The fight was officially over. The air itself seemed to let out a soft sigh of relief as the bugbear, terror of the kingdom, and invader of the common peace, lost consciousness fell towards the world below in a final grand gesture. Its massive shadow blocked out the Sun for a second before it hit the ground on its stomach with a loud thud. The streets shook from the impact and what was left of the city shuddered from the sheer force of it. The day had been saved. There was no more fear, no more destruction. No more death.

The bugbear had been defeated.

Sunny and her friends released the rope and collapsed to the ground with exhaustion. They didn’t even hear the citizens emerge from the shelter and cheer their names. They didn’t feel themselves being hoisted on their backs and paraded around the ruins of the city. The effort had been too much, and now…all they could do was rest.

The celebrations were short and sweet, enough time for the ponies to recover. Everything afterwards seemed like a blur. In no time at all, the remainder of Queen Haven’s private force had incapacitated the bugbear with tranquilizers. Spike then arrived with twelve other dragons to collect the unconscious animal and take it back to the Dragon Lands. He claimed that it was for “research purposes,” but Sunny had a sneaking suspicion that it was for a different reason, mainly a fear-based one, due to what they had found out.

Before they left, the dragons had inspected the creature and found a single pawprint engraved on its left claw. Below the symbol was a magical inscription written in an ancient language, which roughly translated to: IF FOUND, PLEASE RETURN TO STARLIGHT RIDGE. SERVANT OF ALLURA.

The discovery that there was a whole separate society of ponies that had yet to be visited was both an intriguing and alarming one. On one hoof, it opened up a whole lot of opportunities and potential for making foreign allies. But on the other hoof, it meant that somepony from Starlight Ridge had masterminded the attack on Zephyr Heights. Or rather…some creature, perhaps this Allura figure that the inscription mentioned.

Once that possibility had been raised, Haven wasted no time in calling the coronation off pending further investigation. The national security risk was too great, and having a bigger crowd of ponies and other creatures posed further danger after this attack. Spike’s team intended to take the bugbear to Starlight Ridge to use as leverage against Allura and bring her into custody, but not before they tracked the location of the town back at their base.

While all this was going on, Izzy waited impatiently in the Royal Gardens. She had awoken from her sleep about an hour ago upon hearing all of the festivities happening from a distance, but she didn’t want to go where she wasn’t wanted. Not while the bugbear was still around anyway. She felt angry with Hitch for not trusting her to help out in any way. She hadn’t meant to overexert herself using that spell, but she thought she was doing the right thing. And he had casted her aside because of it.

This only added to her growing feeling of uselessness that had been gnawing at her ever since the final battle at the lair. She hadn’t been feeling like herself ever since Misty died that night. It was as if a part of her had perished alongside her. Of course, it had. After all, she was the one who had made that sacrifice. It was her who had stabbed that cursed spear into Misty’s heart upon the dying unicorn’s request. All she wanted was to redeem herself for failing her own sister. And yet she wasn’t allowed to help with a simple fight. Her friends seemed to see her as too weak and like the fifth wheel. It was like they didn’t trust her anymore.

She sighed heavily, feeling tears come to her eyes. She was grateful that Hitch had saved her life, of course. But she would have rather helped out in that battle, even if it meant her own death. At least then she would have been able to see Misty again, apologize for everything, and live the rest of her second life with her up in the heavens. She could have saved her. She would have saved her. She should have saved her. She could’ve used a spell or something. But her friends wouldn’t let her.

She could have-

“Izzy?”

Izzy spun around upon hearing the sound of Hitch’s voice. The yellow stallion walked into the gardens and closed the doors behind him. He had a relieved smile on his face upon seeing her still alive and well. She knew that she should be grateful for his concern, but she still felt oddly patronized by him. He could have let her help and actually prove herself useful, but he didn’t. And now she was expected to just let it go and pretend like everything was okay? That was what she normally did, sure. She was good at burying her emotions under a false sense of positivity. But for whatever reason, she couldn’t let it go this time.

She felt hurt. And it appeared like Hitch hadn’t even come to apologize, more so gloat in her face about how much better they were than her. That’s how it always was.

“Come to mock me?!” Izzy asked bitterly.

Hitch stopped in his tracks, surprised by her question. “No, I-“ Whatever he had been about to say, he didn’t say it. His face shifted to worry, indicating he understood what she was feeling. “I see. Izzy, please understand. I wasn’t singling you out. I-I just didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“You didn’t want me to get hurt?!” she snapped. “I could’ve helped! You guys have been treating me differently, and you know it!”

“Izzy-“

“No! I know I was tiring out, but I could have done something! I spent a whole week practicing my magic for a moment like this! But you never let me help anymore, do you?! Not ever since…” Izzy squeezed her eyes shut as tears began to leak out of them. “Not ever since she died.”

Hitch appeared to share her sadness. He nodded in solemn understanding. “Misty.”

“Why did she do it, Hitch?!” Izzy asked him, her whole body shaking with pent-up emotions that were just begging to let out. “Why did she sacrifice herself for me…?”

“I don’t know,” Hitch replied. “And please understand. That’s been my problem over these past few months, why I’ve been so protective over you guys.” He stared her straight in the eyes. “Sunny thinks I’m being overbearing, but even she knows better not to press. We lost her, Iz. We lost her to that monster…after she’d been a part of our lives for so long. If I lost you too in that same sort of magical sacrifice…I don’t think my heart can take it. I’m barely keeping it together.”

Izzy choked back a sob as the memories came flooding back. It wasn’t fair. She could have saved Misty. Why had she been so helpless while her sister had been thrown around like a rag doll and nearly beaten to death? It was because of her incompetence that Misty had to call upon her ancestors to help her defeat Opaline, an act of selflessness that had costed the unicorn her life. She would never forgive herself for letting her die.

Hitch looked down in shame as if he was reading her thoughts. “We’re all blaming ourselves, Izzy. We all are. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of how rude I was to her while she was still alive. And she saved our flanks.” Tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes. “That is why you must stay safe. I almost didn’t agree to go on this mission at all, but…duty calls. And you gotta do what you gotta do to protect the innocent. But if you can avoid being reckless, you should. We all should. You nearly died with that spell. I could see it.”

Izzy sighed heavily. “You’re really being serious?”

Hitch nodded. “Please. For us. You were Sunny’s first real friend outside of me. Can you imagine how heartbroken she would be if you died too? She was depressed once and it drove her down the path of darkness. She barely managed to recover from it. I doubt she would ever recover this time if she saw you killed yourself with dark magic.”

She finally conceded the point, though her mind was still flooded with shame and regret. “Okay…I-I’ll try, Hitch. It’s just…I really want to prove myself useful…for her. She died for me. I feel like I have to make her sacrifice worth it, even if…” She trailed off.

“I know,” Hitch said. “Believe me, I know what you’re going through. Sometimes, you can do everything right and live your life the best way you can-“

“-but you can’t save everypony,” Izzy finished for him bitterly. “Not those that matter to you…”

Hitch had no reply to that. She didn’t have one either. There was nothing they could say. They were both thinking the same thing, feeling the same pain of loss. Even though they had tried to put on brave faces, Misty’s death was a constant shadow that hung over their lives. It was something that they would never recover from for as long as they lived.

That was when the doors behind them opened again. They turned around, relaxing once they noticed Sunny standing at the entrance. She had a cheerful smile on her face, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they had just been talking about something tragic.

“Come on, you two!” she exclaimed. “Queen Haven’s inviting us over for a huge Royal Dinner tonight! We’re gonna have a feast!!”

Hitch chuckled. “We’ll be right there, Sunny. Tell Haven we’ll meet her at the banquet hall in a few minutes, okay? I honestly had no idea that it’s dinnertime already. I’m starving!”

Sunny nodded and headed back inside the ornate golden hallway. Her hooves made clip clop sounds on the marble floor as she skipped along happily like a little filly. Before long, she was out of sight.

Hitch turned back to look at Izzy. “You ready to go? Maybe this will take your mind off things.”

Izzy said nothing as she walked past Hitch, who followed close behind her. She didn’t like how Sunny had just brushed off everything like it was nothing the way she always did. She knew her friend was grieving too, but she overcompensated for it way too much. It was like she didn’t even care. And that frustrated Izzy beyond belief.

She headed inside the palace not feeling hungry or full. She didn’t want to eat. All she wanted to do was go back home and sleep the pain away, so she could dream of Misty. It was something she did every night. She would dream of an alternate timeline where the blue unicorn was still alive and well, and they would do things together. They would go on adventures, discover the past, laugh together, and just enjoy life the way they were meant to.

And she desired nothing more than to make that dream a reality.

Chapter 2: Izzy Wakes Up/Like A Sheriff Chasing Outlaws

Screams. Shouts and cries. The sizzling of magic. Memories that weren’t hers flooding her mind. The sensation of somersaulting through time as she was kicked out of the Celestial Plane by an unknown entity. These were the first and only things Izzy could remember as she slowly regained consciousness. Her eyes snapped open. Her vision cleared. The world around her solidified from abstract and blurry shapes to real surroundings.

As she came to, the first thing that registered to her was: This isn’t home. Indeed, it was not. Her comfy bed in the Crystal Brighthouse had been replaced with a thick leather chair in a dusty train car. The cabin she was seated in was a dark brown color with little to no variation. The paint was chipping and rustic. The air was filled with dust and a putrid smell permeated it. She coughed, reaching with a hoof to cover her nose, but something sharp and metal bit into them as she did so, preventing the motion. She looked down and saw that her front hooves were cuffed together in front of her. Her back hooves were strapped to the legs of the chair with locks. A solid black ring was around her horn, preventing any use of magic.

She was wearing a blue and white striped prison uniform with a heavy chain wrapped around her waist, shackling her to the chair and restricting her movement. One thing was for sure. She was not where she should be. She tried to recall what had gotten her arrested, but her mind failed her. The memories were blocked, and she was unable to access them. She could not remember a thing about her life outside of her own name, as well as basic facts about herself and her relationships. Anything specific was so far out of reach. She could form blurry images, but that was the extent of it. Whatever her captors used to put her out, it must have been incredibly strong to render her unable to remember anything.

She felt groggy and her breath smelled awful, like she had been knocked out by a heavy dose of anesthesia. Her limbs ached, possibly from the chains restraining her to the seat, but she also noticed deep cuts and bruises on them, almost as if she had been forced into the train against her will and put up a struggle during it.

Her pulse quickened. She struggled against her restraints and could feel herself breathing more rapidly from panic as the reality of her situation overtook her, but she refused to give in to fear. With all the effort she could muster, she stopped wriggling and focused on calming herself first. She knew she would not do herself any good if she screamed for help and made a scene. Wherever she was now, it was far away from Maretime Bay. There would be no help coming for her any time soon. She had to find her own way out, all by herself.

She looked around her. There were other ponies seated around the cabin, mares and stallions alike, similarly chained up and knocked out. Many of them had spit masks over their heads and a couple of them had even had muzzles forced upon them. This was a prisoner transport and she was being taken to…somewhere. She didn’t know where. Again, memory failed her. Whenever she tried to recall something from even a day ago, she would receive a splitting headache that basically told her not to do that again.

She whimpered, swallowing back the sudden rush of tears. Did Sunny know where she was? What about Hitch? Had she done something so horrible that he had no choice but to lay the law down upon her? Zipp? Pipp? Did any of them know where she was now? Did any of her friends even care that she had essentially been kidnapped? The thought that they knew, but didn’t care enough to save her was horrifying, but she mentally assured herself that they were most likely on their way to rescue her. They wouldn’t leave her to such a terrifying fate. They had to come back for her.

“Hello…?” Izzy managed to croak out. Her throat was dry and her tongue tasted like sandpaper. Her voice was scratchy beyond belief. But at least she could speak. She hadn’t been gagged and that was a relief. But she knew that she had to keep her voice low. “Is anypony awake…?”

“You’re actually up?” a stallion’s voice sounded to her right. “Oh, thank the stars. I was starting to believe I was the only conscious one here. I don’t like talking to myself, though I tend to do that a lot anyway.”

Izzy turned her head towards the sound of the voice. The owner was a lime green stallion with a long purplish pink mane and tail. He had glasses over his eyes, which were a purple color. He was unlike any pony she had ever seen before. She had a feeling that she should knew who he was, but as far as she knew, she had never met him before in her life.

“Hi,” she greeted him. She would normally be more excited at the prospect of meeting a new friend, especially one that looked like a unicorn, but she was too stressed out about her current predicament to feel any sense of happiness. “My name’s Izzy. Who are you?”

The stallion blinked in confusion. “Comet. You don’t recognize me?”

Izzy shook her head. “I just woke up here…my mind’s a bit fuzzy, sorry.”

Comet stared back at her. “Well, those guards did use some nasty sedatives on us, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve been up for longer, so the memories are flooding back. They confiscated our communication devices.”

“Who did?”

“The Queen’s SS soldiers,” Comet replied. “We’re on our way to Ponshwitz to work as slaves for the Regime. I knew we should have heeded Hitch’s warning. It wasn’t safe to camp out in the Appleloosian Ruins. It was a trap. They were waiting for us.” He shivered. “At least you’re safe.”

“Why would Sunny want to capture us?” Izzy asked, concern in her voice. “I thought…I-I thought she and I w-were friends.”

“Sunny’s not the-“ Comet paused before correcting himself. “She’s not-sorry, I’m just so used to being forbidden from saying her name. You mention her in front of Hitch and he’ll blow a gasket.” He sighed. “Anyway, we can only hope that the Insurgency is on its way. Hitch saw us get captured, so it’s only reasonable to assume that he notified the others by now.”

“Wait wait wait,” Izzy cut in, holding up her chained hooves to stop him. “I don’t understand any of this. What do you mean Sunny’s not the-whatever you were gonna say? What’s the Insurgency? Why is Hitch leading it? What’s going on?!”

“Shhhhhhhh!” Comet admonished her sternly, but softly. “Keep your voice down! Do you want them to come in and muzzle you or what?! Because they will!!”

Izzy shook her head again fearfully, shrinking away from him and looking down at the ground in shame.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. This day’s been too rough for me. You really don’t remember anything? Nothing?”

“No.”

Comet cursed under his breath. “Well that’s just great. I’m responsible for my amnesiac lieutenant. As if this day wasn’t already bad enough.” He faced her again. “We’re at war, Izzy. I can’t say who the Queen is as…names have power. But the point is, she rules the land. We’re fighting against what she calls the One Equestrian Regime. Hitch is leading the rebellion.”

Outside, the sky was pitch black. The only light came from the full Moon up in the sky, beaming down on the desolate wasteland below. The train sped along the tracks, chugging along to its destination and carrying innocent ponies to their deaths. Smoke emerged from the single smokestack at the top of the front car and polluted the air above it. Occasionally, it would let out a whistle in order to let other transports know that it was heading in a particular direction.

On the tallest hill overlooking the train tracks, a tan-colored stallion stood silently, concealed in the shadows. He had a short blue mane and tail, and the symbol of an orange police badge with a small blue horseshoe in the middle as a cutie mark. He wore a mask over his eyes to conceal his identity, as well as a small makeshift cape, which once served as a baby blanket. It flapped in the wind behind him, barely visible. He sported a bulletproof saddlebag that carried weapons inside. In his hoof was a single assault rifle, fully loaded and armed.

He was ready for action. It was dawn, and covert missions were best carried out at this time. The SS Army had gone too far this time. They had taken one of his closest friends. And he was about to make them pay for their transgression. He would carry out the full force of justice. He would bring vengeance upon the soldiers. He was thirsty for blood. He wanted to destroy everything the Regime represented, decimate it entirely for taking everything and everyone he had ever loved from him.

He was Hitch Trailblazer, the former sheriff of Maretime Bay and now war leader of the Insurgency. And whatever it took, he was going to bring that train down. He had been tracking it for a few days ever since the ambush in New Appleloosa, and was certain he had at last found his target. He would rescue Izzy from those monsters. He would not leave her to be enslaved.

As he stood atop the hill, lightning struck the sky above him and there was a tremendous peal of thunder, illuminating his face for but a split second. His expression was grim and filled with a primal rage that he could hardly contain. He gripped the rifle in his hoof tighter and he got into a defensive stance. He thought of the punishment he would bring upon those unsuspecting soldiers who had robbed him of his life. It had been a long time coming, but he could feel the war was at last slowly coming to an end. It would only end one way. He swore to the heavens that he would avenge the fallen and restore Equestria to what it once was. He would not fail this time.

Hitch set the rifle down for a brief moment and pulled out his communication device, a small circular trinket that essentially acted as a walkie talkie. He turned it on and spoke into it. “Sprout, prepare the tank. We’re going in.“

“Affirmative, Commander.” The red earth pony’s voice chimed in before the line shut off. Orders had to be brief and straight to the point. Having a communication device on for too long was like sending up a flare to the enemy and letting them know your location. They could be easily tracked. He had learned that lesson the hard way a couple days ago.

At last, he looked back down upon the train tracks and in the direction of the train, where Izzy was being held hostage. He silently prayed that the soldiers hadn’t hurt her yet. If they did, they would know true fury. She was all he had left to keep him sane. He didn’t know what he would do if she ever came to any harm, or was even killed.

One way or another, he would know soon.

It had been an hour since Izzy had woken up and she was beginning to feel bored. She was mostly done being scared. It wouldn’t do her any good to show it anyway. The soldiers had come inside the cabin upon hearing she and Comet talk, threatening her with a muzzle if she didn’t stay silent. So she did, not wanting to get either of them in further trouble. She wasn’t the best at bottling up her emotions, but she did the best she could by distracting herself with the view outside. Fortunately for her, she was seated in a window seat and had a single barred window to pass the time.

Her thoughts were beginning to clear up, if only slightly. She was starting to remember bits and pieces of what had happened to her before waking up on the train. Something about an ancient spell. Misty. The bugbear attack on Zephyr Heights the day prior. The banquet afterwards. It was all coming back to her in fragments, but at least she was starting to remember certain details. The tranquilizer was wearing off and her limbs no longer felt numb. It wasn’t like that meant anything given her current state, but at least she wouldn’t have to be dragged out of the cabin once they arrived at the concentration camp, which would almost certainly be humiliating. That was at least some comfort. She still wished that her friends would come back for her though.

She hoped that Comet had been right, and that the Insurgency was on its way to rescue her. She hated the idea of being forced to work like a prisoner in the hot sun for the rest of her life, let alone being killed in gas chambers according to some chatter she had heard from other ponies. If any of this was true, she was doomed. She still had no idea what was going on, or even how she winded up in this predicament to begin with. She was good at arts and crafts, but that really was about it. The soldiers at the camp would not take pity on her. She knew that much.

Her mind was still reeling from everything he had told her. Equestria was now a totalitarian regime. Hitch was leading a rebellion against it. The land was at war. She was part of this movement, a lieutenant no less. Not Sunny (her placeholder name for this unknown Queen) ruled with an iron hoof. It all sounded too overwhelming to be true. Just a day ago, the realm was at peace. She and her friends had defeated a king bugbear. Well, her friends did. She was excluded as usual, but the point still remained. They had been celebrating their massive victory, and now suddenly everything had gone back to the way it was before Opaline’s defeat? Nothing made any sense. How could everything derail that quickly overnight? And why did she feel like she knew the reason, but couldn’t exactly place her hoof on it?

It was all too much for her to deal with. She had to escape and find out why this was happening. She had to find her friends. Maybe Sunny would know how to fix this. She always knew what to do. But then again, Comet had mentioned that Hitch got extremely sour when reminded of Sunny. What had happened to warrant this much animosity between them?

“Please…” she whispered softly to the window. “Somepony help me…I wanna go home…” She choked back a sob. She would not cry. She had to be strong. Her friends were coming back for her. She knew they were. They would not abandon her. They wouldn’t…right?

The more minutes ticked by, however, the more that hope seemed to be slowly fading away. There didn’t seem to be anypony coming. She was trapped, shackled and bound with several ponies she didn’t know, and shipped away to either work as a slave or be killed. It was the grimmest possible future she could imagine for herself, and she never thought that this would be where her life ended.

She sighed deeply, feeling her heart sink to her stomach. She had to accept the inevitable. She had no way of escaping her situation alive. Even if she somehow managed to escape, the soldiers were armed with weapons that she had no idea even existed. They would shoot her down in an instant before she even got six feet away from the train. The only outcome was death if she tried anything. It was either prove herself useful or die.

She leaned back against the seat, exhausted from everything that had happened so far. If she was going to live the rest of her life as a slave, she might as well get some rest before arriving at the camp. But right as she was about to close her eyes and drift off to sleep, she was jolted awake by the sudden rocking of the cabin. She cried out, startled. She initially thought she had imagined it, but then the cabin rocked again.

Alarms began going off in all directions, blaring at such a loud volume that Izzy wished she could cover her ears. She could hear the shouting of the soldiers as they scrambled across the different cars in a desperate attempt to warn the conductor. Prisoners who had fallen asleep themselves woke up from their naps and looked alarmed at the chaos that was rapidly unfolding. They talked amongst themselves in worried whispers. There was a loud THUNK sound from the window and Izzy turned her head, only to see several bullets ricocheting off of the glass and back to where it originated. There was no mistaking what was happening. The train was under attack.

“What is going on?!” Izzy asked in a panicked voice. “Why’s everypony panicking?!”

“It’s Hitch!” Comet exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with hope. “He’s come back for us-WHOA!!” He barely managed to grip the armrests of his seat with both hooves as the cabin shook for a third time, albeit more violently. It appeared as if a large vehicle had rammed into the caboose, which sent tremors throughout the whole train. “They found us!!”

“Hitch is doing this?!” Izzy could not believe her ears. The sheriff had come back for her! Her friends were on their way! She could feel her spirits rising once more for the first time since she had woken up. They were going to be rescued. She was going home.

“FIRE ON THAT WAR MACHINE!!” The conductor yelled through the speaker to his subordinates. “SHOOT THOSE ANIMALS DOWN NOOOOOOOOOWWW!!!!”

“WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!” An earth pony mare wailed from the back.

Outside, the train picked up speed and the soldiers started firing from different windows as a large red war machine emerged from an explosion behind them. It was Sprouticus Maximus, the very vehicle that had been once used to terrorize Equestria. Now it had been rebuilt and was being used for the rebel cause. The engines roared like a lion about to chase its prey. The wheels spun, pelting green goop in all directions. The large tank gun at the very top fired repeatedly onto its target, trying to knock the train off balance.

In the driver’s seat was none other than Hitch himself with Sprout right next to him. They were leading the assault with the other members of the main attack force following close behind. So far, they had succeeded in getting the attention of the occupants by ramming the caboose, but were no closer to stopping the train itself. All they could do at the moment was chase it until they could find some way to detail it off of the tracks. It was now or never. They couldn’t lose it this time. Not while Izzy and Comet were inside, and their lives were in danger.

“Fire on that tank!”

“FIRE!!”

“Shake ‘em off!!”

The SS soldiers were doing their best to make the effort difficult for them, though their efforts of shooting Sprouticus Maximus down yielded little to no success. The windshield was bulletproof, so the bullets only harmlessly bounced off of it before falling towards the ground. This only served to make Hitch angrier, and he increased his speed by yanking down on one of the levers. Sprout gripped the armrests with his hooves and held on for dear life as the tank accelerated forward, bouncing along the rugged terrain.

“What exactly is your plan here?!” demanded Sprout incredulously.

“You’ll see.” Hitch replied simply, true to his usual non-answer responses whenever he was asked about anything. He turned the steering wheel to the right and the tank sharply veered towards the tracks, now running parallel to the train itself.

The conductor, a large and burly unicorn stallion, peered his head out of the window and blew raspberries at the approaching tank. “Try to catch us now, Hitchie boy!!”

“I’ll give you Hitchie boy, punk.” Hitch answered under his breath. He pressed down hard on the red button and a storm of bullets came firing out of the main cannon. They hit the train, distracting the other soldiers long enough for him to veer again and slam into the side of the middle car. The impact left a huge dent. The conductor’s eyes went wide as he realized that the earth pony wasn’t playing around. He meant business and would not hesitate to kill him in an instant if he got the chance.

With the real danger finally dawning on him, he got back into his seat and yanked the train to the left just as it reached a crossroads. Hitch repeated the motion and the chase was on once again. It was a game of cat and mouse, a tense pursuit of a sheriff chasing outlaws. The two vehicles drove across the desert as fast as they could in an attempt to one-up each other. The train let out a loud whistle, which could almost not be heard over the loud roaring of Sprouticus Maximus. It was a cold blooded predator, a brutish, almost primal beast, and it spared nothing in its path. The soldiers were still firing their guns through the windows and shouting orders at each other to shoot Hitch down. Their attempts were in vain. For as many bullets as they fired, they would quickly be counteracted by the tank retaliating with its own line of fire.

Hitch yanked the throttle down with one hoof and pressed the red button with the other. All at once, a hurricane of bullets exploded out of the cannon and hit the back of the caboose. Others flew past the windows, startling the hostages inside. The conductor was pushing as many buttons as possible on the control panel. He yelled obscene profanities into the speaker, a gleam of insanity in his eyes. He was a crazy driver out for blood. He desired death. He didn’t seem to care if he killed all of the ponies onboard. All he wanted to do was throw Hitch off.

With the yanking of the lever, the train abruptly lurched. The hostages protested and screamed for help through the other side of the line. Izzy’s voice was the loudest among them, instantly recognizable. The conductor didn’t listen. He had already come too far to back out now, and was too high off of his own power to heed any reason.

“QUIET!!” he yelled loudly into the speaker. “I SAID SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTHS OR I’LL KILL YOU ANIMALS MYSELF!!!!”

The screaming instantly died down to a couple frightened whimpers. The message had been received, but the aura of panic and uncertainty was certainly not gone. The prisoners knew better than to disobey at this stage, but that didn’t mean they were any less terrified.

“Down with the modern world…” he muttered with a cruel smile. “Back to the dark ages.”

The train continued chugging up the hill, Sprouticus Maximus following close behind it. The soldiers continued to fire at Hitch, who quickly retaliated with his own bullets as always. It was as if both vehicles were invincible. Neither were making any sort of sizable dent on the other. Sensing an impasse, he maneuvered over to the right side of the train and began experimenting with the buttons on the control panel just as the conductor had done. However, Hitch was calm and reserved. He knew how to keep his emotions in check when it came to tense chase situations. Stealth won the game, not recklessness.

“What the hay are you doing?!” Sprout asked in confusion. “You know you gotta drive this thing, righ-WHOA!!” He was cut off when the cockpit suddenly lurched violently. The tank had hit a large bump in the rocky and untamed mountain terrain.

“Just hang tight,” Hitch replied simply. “Trust me.”

He pressed down on a blinking yellow button that read simply: TEAR GAS. All at once, the cannon changed from firing bullets to releasing the blinding substance. The noxious pale yellow substance exploded from the hole, blinding the soldiers for but a brief moment. They stopped firing and screamed in pain, clutching their eyes. One stallion even dropped his gun, which fell lifelessly to the ground just as the train barreled straight through a dimly lit tunnel.

Once they had entered, it became harder to see almost immediately. The tunnel was almost completely covered in darkness, with the only light source being several tiny flickering overhead beams on the ceiling. This certainly wasn’t enough to make out any clear shapes. Hitch could make out a vague outline of the caboose, but that was it. The soldiers were still disorganized, flailing and screeching at each other for wet wipes. This was the only chance he had at further detailing them.

Without missing a beat, he switched back to bullet mode in the speed of a couple seconds, much to Sprout’s vocal astonishment. The bullets flew out of the main cannon hole like bats coming out of a cave after having been awoken. The soldiers tried to swat them away as they whooshed past, but that was the exact trap that Hitch had wanted them to fall into. Two out of the four soldiers were leaning too close out the edge of the window and suddenly tripped. They fell onto the ground quickly, with their last moments of life being Sprouticus Maximus running over them and flattening them like dough. There was the sickening cracking of bones and the unfortunate officers were dead.

Hearing the commotion, the conductor screamed with rage. His entire plan was falling apart at the seams and his pursuers showed no signs of getting tired at all. They could probably do this all day if they wanted to, and he didn’t have that kind of time. He had to lose them no matter what.

“Hitchie, Hitchie, Hitchie,” the conductor stated in a mocking tone, almost to himself. “You think you’re so cool?! Well, get a load of THIS!!”

He tightened his grip on the main steering bar. He violently jerked the train from left to right in a display of anger. Izzy and the other hostages cried out again as they were bounced up and down in their seats like rag dolls. The only things keeping them from falling off were their restraints.

The train then burst out of the tunnel into the open sunlight. Chunks of rocks fell from the top as the seemingly invulnerable vehicle speeded back down the mountain and back down towards flat terrain. The cave began to crumble behind them before it exploded in a huge burst of light. The conductor shouted with triumph. His eyes glinted with a sadistic aura. He had won. In that moment, it seemed he thought he had lost Hitch. He thought that at long last, he had destroyed the leader of the Insurgency. After all, there was no way he could have survived the blast. It wasn’t possible.

“HAHAHAHAHA!!” boasted the conductor proudly, throwing his hooves up in the air for emphasis. He glanced behind him with a massive grin on his face. “I GOT’CHU!! I GOT‘CHU!! I GOT’CHU, STUPID LITTLE PONY!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

His victory was short-lived.

In an instant, Sprouticus Maximus burst out of the explosion with a powerful roar, completely intact. It rocketed into the air, its outline briefly being silhouetted by the light of the Sun. The entire main body was coated with fire, but it had survived. It was as if it had entered and risen again from Tartarus itself. The engines could be heard louder than before. They bellowed like a mother bear protecting her endangered cubs. The wheels, though partly bent, were spinning much faster. The monster had fully been unleashed. The flames danced on the windshield as they slowly died, leaving nothing more but mere scorch marks in their place. In the front seats, Hitch and Sprout were both still alive and angrier than ever. As the tank slowly descended back down towards the ground in dramatic fashion, the former sheriff fixed the conductor with a hard, unnerving glare that only he could give. It was an expression that could wither one to ashes, a cold and threatening death stare that basically sent one singular message to its recipient: You’re next, pal. Hitch had survived the explosion, and now…he wanted vengeance.

All sense of victory left the conductor’s eyes at that moment, replaced with genuine horror. What had he done?! What had he DONE?!! His insides filled with dread, and he swallowed hard as it finally dawned on him the terrible mistake he had made. Sprouticus Maximus was flame resistant! These were demons! There was no stopping them. He had messed with the wrong enemy, and now that enemy was coming for him.

The chase continued on desert ground once again. It was at that moment that Hitch’s reinforcements descended from their hang gliders upon being given the signal by Sprout. Pipp Petals, Posey Bloom, and Windy, all wearing protective armor around them and carrying guns in their hooves. They landed on the ground with precise accuracy and wasted no time in joining the chase. The main attack force was now engaged, flanking the train on both sides and refusing to let it out of their sight. Everything had been perfectly timed and now the remaining soldiers had nowhere to run. They were trapped.

Pipp brandished a bow from her saddlebag and loaded a couple arrows. She then got into a defensive stance, reared back, and fired with a yell. Her aim had been precise and deadly accurate. The arrow struck the windows of the caboose, shattering the glass into a million pieces that fell into the cabin inside, startling the ponies within it. Posey then ran up beside her and launched herself at the car. She clung onto it with her hooves as it abruptly changed direction once again, gritting her teeth. She then climbed up the side and entered through the broken window.

Meanwhile, Windy hovered in mid air using her prosthetic armored wings. She was the only one who hadn’t landed as she needed to provide aerial support. The wings she was wearing had been crafted in a lab by Hitch’s best scientists and were fueled by a special anti-gravity material that powered flight. All pegasus soldiers were required to use them in order to be useful in battle. They were a temporary solution until the Queen was defeated, and she couldn’t stay in the air long. The wings could only hold her up until a certain point where they needed to be recharged.

Seeing Pipp on the ground firing, she reached into her pack and pulled out her own bow. She fired as well, her arrow smashing right through the front windows of the train. Down on the ground, the conductor cursed and barked orders to his subordinates to “engage all hostiles.”

Inside the tank, Hitch looked around at his fellow ponies and smirked, knowing that they wouldn’t let the train go anywhere. Now was his moment to enter and rescue Izzy. He turned towards Sprout. “You’re driving this thing. You know what to do. She needs me.”

“Wait, I’m-WHAT?!” Sprout protested, but his complaints were ignored as always. Hitch opened the door and flopped onto the soil below.

Wasting no time, he got to his hooves again and ran after the train. He climbed up the back of the caboose and landed on the roof. The wind was howling, making it difficult for him to move. But he had to try his best. Izzy needed him.

While all of this was happening, Izzy could feel the chase raging from inside. The cabin was shaking and rocking with intense force. She thought she was going to be sick. She was trembling all over from fear and was counting down the seconds in her head until either the train crashed or she was rescued. The alarms were still blaring and the other ponies were in a panic, screaming and asking a ton of questions. Comet was trying his best to calm them down, but even he could only do so much. She couldn’t help but admire his bravery in a tense situation like this. Even when it seemed like they were going to die, he put others first and she liked that about him. She wished that she remembered him and knew what they were to each other. It seemed like they had been close.

But of course she wouldn’t remember. This was a different timeline that she had somehow winded up in overnight. She didn’t know him. She didn’t know anyone on this train. She didn’t know if anything was still the same in this new world. And although she definitely felt horrible about that fact, the sooner she figured out what was going on, the sooner she could hopefully return to her own timeline. She just needed to find Sunny…wherever she was.

Suddenly, a green arrow smashed through the window she was looking at. She cried out in alarm and barely managed to dodge it. She couldn’t stand due to being chained to her seat, so the most she could do was duck and put her head down. It was mildly successful, aside from a part of her long blue mane being nixed. At least that would grow back to its full size at some point. Her head certainly wouldn’t.

The arrow fell to the ground beside her right as something flashed by and clung to the side of the train car. She stole a glance upwards and saw the outline of a yellow earth pony with a pink mane and tail climb up to the shattered window. She was dressed in black armor, but enough of her face was recognizable. It was Posey. She entered through the opening and fell to the ground on her stomach right next to her.

“Posey!” Comet exclaimed.

Posey got to her hooves and immediately began yanking at the shackles around Izzy’s hooves, trying her best to get them off while senselessly berating her in the process. “Stupid girl! Stupid stupid!! Do you realize what you put us through?! I warned you it was a trap! You just had to tell Hitch to go to the-“

“Posey,” Comet interrupted calmly. “Izzy’s been through a rough day. She hardly remembers anything about that. We can talk about this later.”

Posey scowled. “You keep making excuses for her, Comet. She’s the reason we’re even in this situation to begin with, amnesia or no.” She glanced back at the shackles. “These are locked tight. I don’t know what they used to cuff you, but these chains aren’t coming off.”

“It’s a mix of metal and unobtanium,” Comet replied. “Sealed by magic only the Queen and her Apprentice can use. You’ll need to grab the key from the conductor’s seat.”

Posey nodded begrudgingly. “Well, with any luck, Hitch should be able to draw him out and onto the roof. He briefed us on our roles before we left. I should be able to run up and get it while he’s distracted. It’s silver-colored, right?”

“Yeah. It’s got the symbol of the Regime on it. They only use one of these things to restrain us.”

“I don’t know what any of you are saying,” Izzy piped up curiously. “But it sounds like a bunch of interesting techno babble! Can I try it too?”

Posey glared at her. “We’re gonna have a long talk about this with Hitch when we get back, missy. Until then, I’m in charge of-“ Suddenly, there was an audible thunk sound on the roof. “That was fast. Keep her safe, Comet. Watch her.”

In a flash, she was gone. Izzy watched her go, confused as to what she had done to incur that much anger. She hated not being in the know about important stuff. Her friends had always kept these things before the attack on Zephyr Heights because they supposedly wanted to “keep her safe.” Whenever she heard that phrase, she wanted to throw something at the wall. She wasn’t a filly. She didn’t need to be “protected.” She wanted to prove herself so badly after Misty’s death, yet no one trusted her enough to do so. It wasn’t fair.

Still, she couldn’t do anything about it now. She couldn’t run after Posey and help her with getting the key. All she could do was sit around and do nothing while her friends got to do all the fun stuff and win the glory. She was a sitting duck, useless while all the action happened around her. The story of her life.

On the roof, Hitch crawled towards the front car. It was a struggle with the wind blowing in his face and the train moving at top speed, but he was determined. He had to reach the conductor’s seat. Only then would he be able to stop the train and help the trapped ponies get to safety. Using a grappling hook, he grabbed onto the surface in front of him and hoisted himself forwards. He repeated this motion again and again. He gritted his teeth and grunted as the pressure took a heavy toll on his strength. The climb wasn’t easy. The Sun was slowly beginning to come up on the horizon, casting a little bit of light on the rooftop. But it still wasn’t enough to offset how dark everything still was. He had to be careful where he stepped or else risking a potentially fatal fall to the ground below.

Suddenly, he ducked as the train zoomed through a tunnel and back out of it. At that moment, a hatch opened in front of him and from it emerged the conductor, armed with a gun in his hoof. He had a wild glint in his eyes and a crazy expression on his face. He had left control of the train to the engineer as he wanted to take this opportunity to kill Hitch once and for all.

“You got a lot of nerve comin’ here, law stallion!” The conductor taunted him. “I got your girlfriend! How many do you even have, eh?! Seems like you lose ‘em all the time!”

Hitch said nothing, instead grabbing out his own gun and loading it as fast as he could. They both ducked again as the train headed through another tunnel. They emerged out in the bright sunlight, being blinded by the morning dawn for but a brief moment. Then they got to their hooves and began firing at one another with their weapons.

Hitch ducked as several bullets sailed past him, barely having enough time to fire his own. The conductor had to have been an athlete in his free time because he was an expert at dodging attacks. He jumped, ducked, and rolled, all while maintaining his balance on the roof. He fired again just as Hitch did. Several bullets whirled past him, one of them managing to graze him on the cheek.

He yelled out and clutched the wound in pain just as the conductor advanced upon him. He lunged at the former sheriff, who was prepared this time. He grabbed at the other stallion’s neck, a move that caught him off guard. They wrestled on the roof, dropping their weapons and engaging in an all out brawl. On a moving train, this wasn’t wise and Hitch knew this. But he had to keep the conductor distracted for Posey’s sake. She needed time to snag the key and free the other imprisoned ponies.

They continued biting, scratching, punching, and clawing at one another as the train continued down the next track. Hitch bit into the conductor’s left forehoof as hard as he could. The conductor screamed with pain, blood oozing out of the wound. With that momentary reprieve, Hitch punched him as hard as he could muster. The burly stallion stumbled back and nearly fell off, but managed to grip the edge as his hooves dangled over the side.

Hitch then took that opportunity to run across the rooftop and towards the front car. His heart pounded in his chest and his breathing was fast as he made a mad dash for the control room. The morning Sun shone down on his face like a blessing from the heavens, and the wind howled. He was almost there. He was going to make it. He could feel it.

That was when the train began to lose control.

Izzy struggled against the chains as hard as she could as the train abruptly veered off the tracks and onto the desert ground. She yanked, pulled, twisted, and kicked in a desperate effort to escape, but no matter what she tried, it was useless. She couldn’t get free. The other ponies shrieked as the cabin suddenly lurched and the train suddenly began barreling straight through a nearby power plant. The garage exploded and Izzy coughed and gagged as she inhaled the fumes.

She could see several tons of dynamite being knocked over and blowing up as they emerged on the other side, which also exploded behind them. The interior of the train began to catch on fire, starting with the ceiling. This soon spread to the seats and open windows. Izzy watched with horror as the flames began engulfing the cabin and blazing with intense heat. She screamed, calling for anypony to help. She was hopelessly trapped and was about to be burned alive. She didn’t know what else to do. She felt like she had to scream or die. She could feel the smoke inhalation in her lungs, constructing her breathing. The flames were getting closer and closer towards her. This was it.

But right as Izzy was about to accept her impending doom, Posey kicked down the flaming automatic doors with all her might and burst through them with the key in her mouth. They collapsed behind her in a heap of burning wood. Her armor was on fire and her face looked like it was covered in soot. There were also scratch marks all over. But she was alive and okay. She had done it. She had gotten the key to free them all. The other ponies cheered as she emerged from the wreckage with a determined grimace.

Quick as a flash, she ran up to Izzy and unlocked her chains one by one. Once she was free, Izzy couldn’t take it anymore. She collapsed into Posey’s shoulder and sobbed her eyes out. She couldn’t contain her relief anymore. She was being rescued. The earth pony consoled her briefly before letting her go. Together, they worked to free the rest of the captives from their bonds and lead them in the direction of the nearest exit.

“YOU CAN’T TAKE MY LIFE’S WORK AWAY FROM ME!!”

Hitch turned around right as the conductor got back on the roof of the train. His whole body was on fire and his uniform was shredded beyond repair. But it seemed like he didn’t care. All he wanted to do was kill the intruders that were on his property. He lunged at Hitch, who was caught off guard.

They tumbled across the rooftop once again in a mad fight for survival. This would only end one way. Either one of them died or the other. There would be no escaping this attack unscathed. The conductor bit into Hitch’s chest as hard as he could manage. He screamed with pain as the conductor violently began beating him over and over, a murderous look in his eyes. He continued to punch Hitch into submission, and the former sheriff could do nothing to stop it.

“THESE ARE MY PRISONERS!! THESE ARE MY SLAVES!!!” The conductor screamed at the top of his lungs. “WHO ARE YOU TO TAKE THEM FROM ME?!!”

Hitch was on the brink of losing consciousness. He had the wind knocked out of him and was about to pass out. But when he heard the word slaves, he suddenly grew angry. A slave was what Misty had been for most of her life. A slave was what his beloved Sunny had become. A slave to darkness. He had lost far too many ponies to the shackles of darkness and if this monster thought he was going to do the same to poor innocent Izzy, then he was wrong. Oh, he was dead wrong.

Anger began building from within Hitch’s gut, a desire to take away everything this stallion had as revenge for what had happened to him. It was because of the Regime that the lives of his friends was forever ruined. It was because of the Regime that some of them were dead. He had seen far too many betrayals and loss in one lifetime, and he was not about to experience it again. Not by a long shot. Not now, not ever. He was not just an ordinary stallion. He was a SHERIFF.

Strength came back to his body and he grabbed the conductor’s throat, cutting off his source of breath. The burly stallion croaked in pain and tried to fling him off, but it was no use. Hitch then punched him as hard as he could and knocked him over to the edge once more. The conductor grabbed on to the ledge for dear life, his body still on fire. He tried to climb back up, but at that moment, Hitch pounced on his hooves and dug into them.

The conductor screamed in agony. Hitch didn’t care. Normally he would not be this violent towards others, but he had seen too much. His innocence had been taken away from him, and so had the love of his life. There was no more room in his heart for mercy. He had spent it all getting hurt and betrayed by others. He would not show it anymore to anypony, especially not to scum like this guy.

“This is my life’s work!!” The conductor begged. “You can’t do this to me!! The Queen ordered me to bring these ponies to her, please! You can’t make me fail her like this!! DON’T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS!!”

“Shut up.” Hitch answered simply. He took in the fear present in the other stallion’s eyes for one last time before flinging him off of the rooftop and onto the ground below. He landed with a sickening crunch, all the life gone out of him in an instant. It had been a merciful death, all things considered, and one that he didn’t deserve.

With that, he jumped off of the roof, landing next to Posey, who had gotten all of the captured ponies out to safety, including Izzy and Comet. The flaming train then careened into a ditch and fell on its side, before exploding in a blinding flash of light that lasted for about a solid minute. Soon enough, all that was left was smoke billowing from the wreckage below.

It was over.

Izzy took a deep breath to calm herself. She stared at the rising smoke with a feeling of sadness. Yes, that train had been where she had been captured and held hostage. But she couldn’t help but feel bad for the soldiers. As cruel as they had been, they were ponies too and deserved a second chance in her opinion. They didn’t deserve to be left onboard and killed in the explosion. If they hadn’t been incinerated, they almost certainly were now after that blast. She felt a twinge of remorse for them, even though they had threatened her.

She stole a brief glance at Comet, who put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder upon seeing her distraught, before looking at Hitch. He was checking the survivors over one by one, asking them if they were okay, the way a responsible sheriff would. He was almost unrecognizable from the heartless killer he had become when he threw the conductor off to his death.

Pipp and Windy landed on the ground beside Posey, with Sprout following close behind. He had parked Sprouticus Maximus near a dead tree, deciding to join his fellow teammates in reconvening following the attack. Izzy waved at Pipp, but the pegasus didn’t even acknowledge her, instead checking over Posey’s burn marks and gasping at each one. It made her feel hurt. Pipp had always been one of her bestest friends. Why was it so different now?

At last, Hitch turned towards her. “Thank goodness you’re alright, Izzy. I-I was beginning to worry that-“ He cleared his throat, clearly not wanting to get overly sentimental in front of everypony else. “Right. You get the idea. You’re lucky to be alive. Once the train caught on fire, I wasn’t sure what to think. I thought I lost you. How did that even happen to begin with?”

“It was a mad dash for the key,” Posey explained. “The engineer and I got in a bit of a tussle and he lost control of the train fighting me. I had to yank the key from his pocket and run back to the car where Izzy was being held. Believe me, it wasn’t easy.”

“You did well.” Hitch complimented her, nodding in acknowledgement. He then turned his head toward Comet. “So did you, Comet. Keeping Izzy and all those other ponies safe amidst this chaos, alive even. You’re a hero too. I oughta see about your promotion to a higher rank.”

Comet blinked in surprise, clearly not used to such high praise from his superior. He adjusted his now cracked glasses awkwardly. “Thank you, sir.”

Hitch smiled, but only for a moment before his serious expression took over again. “You all did well. You should pat yourselves on the back. We’ll take the survivors back to our base and find out where they live. Civilizations have certainly become scattered in the past few months, so I can’t know for sure. I’ll interview them one by one before seeing to Izzy’s punishment for leading us all into a trap.”

Izzy looked down in shame.

“Sir,” Comet piped up, noticing her sadness. Upon receiving a glare, he paused for a second before resuming. “Izzy has amnesia. She doesn’t remember anything about that. She wouldn’t be able to give you a convincing explanation anyway. Can you let her off the hook…please? I’ll forgo the promotion if that’s what it takes. She’s been through a lot today.”

Izzy couldn’t believe that he was forgoing a potential promotion and standing up for her. She barely knew him, and yet here he was saving her from a harsh reprimand like they had been fighting alongside each other for years. It made her feel even worse that she didn’t remember him. He deserved better than that.

Hitch stared him in the eyes with a hard expression before turning back towards Izzy. “Amnesia? Is this true?!”

She resisted the urge to cower in front of him. Hitch wasn’t normally this intimidating. But the way he looked at her sent shivers down her spine. He definitely wasn’t the fun, baby dragon-loving sheriff she used to know. This Hitch was a hardened general, and she had to be careful around him.

“Y—y-yes, it is…” Izzy said in a trembling voice. “I-I d-don’t know what’s going on-going on. I-I just woke up on that train. I’m n-not supposed to b-be here.”

“Damn right you’re not.” Hitch replied sternly. “You nearly got us all killed. Count your blessings that you don’t remember anything.” He finally conceded the point, seemingly believing that he had scolded her enough for one day. “Very well. There is a loophole for amnesia in the rulebook, and I can only assume it’s because of the sedatives they used on you. I believe you, Izzy.”

Izzy looked up. “Y-you do?”

“You’re one of my closest friends,” answered Hitch, his face softening a little. “We’ve been through so much together. I know you wouldn’t lie to me. Others might, but you don’t. I know that much.” He sighed heavily. “This day has been a complete mess. At least you’re safe and sound. We’ll figure this memory thing out, I promise.”

“Thanks…”

With that, he turned towards Posey and barked orders at her. She then turned and motioned for the troops to move out and take the survivors with them. Pipp stood with ten other earth ponies, while Windy and Sprout herded five unicorns forward. They were at last heading away from the sight of the wreckage. Sprout eventually split off from the group to take Sprouticus Maximus, while Hitch stayed with everypony else.

Before long, they were on their way back towards Maretime Bay. Izzy walked with Pipp at the very back of the crowd, who still refused to look at her. And this made her feel even more terrible. Since the moment she had woken up, it was like her life had completely fallen apart, and she had no way of fixing it. The only thing she could do now was stay with the Insurgency and figure out how she had even gotten to this timeline in the first place. She had to find Sunny, wherever she was now in this twisted world.

And then she would find her way home.

Author's Note

I’m back!! And with a huge narrative-based G5 story, how ‘bout that? Now that’s what I call a comeback. Yes, as this generation approaches its unfortunate, but inevitable end, so to does my G5 Universe to boot. It has been an amazing 3 years and I’ve been so honored to track this generation’s progress with my stories. I started this journey all the way back in early 2022, and look where I am now. This story marks the transition between the end of an old journey and the beginning of a brand new one. And I thought…what better way to get y’all hooked than two bonkers action sequences? I feel like I’m gonna need quite a lot of those for the Lunar Literary Universe, so I decided to practice here. The mystery is just beginning to unfold. Where is Izzy? What is the secret behind this rebellion? Who is this mysterious Queen? What happened to Equestria? So many questions, yet so little answers. And nobody really knows the truth, do they? Oh wait…I know. Find out the next part in Izzy’s epic journey on Tuesday!

In the meantime, any feedback in the comments would be greatly appreciated as always. Stay tuned! :pinkiehappy:

Chapter 4: A General Stirs Up Vengeance/The Butterfly Effect

The nighttime rallies were always the most intense.

At 9:00 PM exactly (you couldn’t be late or else you’d be smacked upside the head with a baseball bat), the ponies all gathered to hear their leader, that being Hitch, speak about the victories of the day, the progress of the war, and why they wanted to punish the Regime. The rallies were a time to let out all of the hatred, all of the anger that the ponies built up over the course of the day. They happened every single night with absolutely no exception. Regardless of whether you were serving in the army or were just an ordinary citizen living in the camp, you had to attend the rally. It was not an optional meeting, nor some extracurricular activity you could choose to participate in order to gain extra brownie points with a potential college. Nope. It was an absolute requirement. And if you refused to attend, you would be in deep trouble.

In the short time that Izzy had been at the base, she had quickly learned the obligatory customs and rituals of the day. Misty had spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening teaching her the tricks of the trade. And the one thing she had taken from these lessons: military camp sucked. She had always fantasized about joining Queen Haven’s personal army back home as a way to set an example for her fellow unicorns. She had a false idea of what the army was, this glamorous and respected lifestyle that all ponies would aspire to join. She thought it was this great and prestigious honor that allowed you to fight like the heroes of your fillyhood bedtime stories.

The reality was anything but. While Comet had been right about signing up for the army being completely voluntary, once you joined it, that was a different story altogether. Suddenly your pampered and ordinary life completely fell apart and was replaced by strict curfews and harsh commands. And because Izzy was technically a soldier due to the fact that the variant she had swapped places with was, she was a part of the army whether she liked it or not. Even so, the one thing citizens and soldiers living in the camp had in common was that they had to attend the rally.

On this night, the chill and relaxed atmosphere after a triumphant victory evaporated entirely. Ponies who would normally never hurt a fly rejoiced in the idea of killing the enemy. They became savages, hellbent on revenge and “proper” justice. They chanted like a religious cult, pounded on drums, and stomped their hooves on the floor as a display of cheering. They yelled and shouted, jeered at pictures of the Queen, and thirsted for blood. Young foals cursed and their parents didn’t scold them. It was unlike anything Izzy had ever seen in her life, the complete opposite of what she had experienced earlier in the day. It was terrifying.

Izzy and Misty walked through the assembling crowd, keeping their heads low so as to not stand out. She wanted to blend in and not draw any attention to herself. It was bad enough that she had to attend this as it was. She could tell Misty felt the same way. The poor unicorn was shaking, and her eyes darted quickly from left to right. She was terrified, even though she had most likely attended this event a thousand times. Izzy couldn’t blame her. All around them, ponies pounded on ceremonial drums and cheered for the destruction of the Regime. They were chanting one thing and one thing only: “FOR REVENGE!! FOR REVENGE!! FOR REVENGE!! FOR REVENGE!!”

Members of the Fourth Division carried banners bearing the symbol of the Insurgency on their backs. It was an orange flag with the emblem of a shooting star in the middle. The symbol looked exactly like Sunny’s cutie mark. At that moment, it dawned on Izzy that much of this whole rebellion was done in a way for the missing apricot earth pony. After all, unity and friendship had initially been virtues she believed in. It had been because of her that Equestria had even been reunified at all. And yet she was gone, with her presumed disappearance having something to do with the Regime. No wonder Hitch had been so tight-lipped. He had to see the emblem of his best friend every night, and it probably hurt him beyond all belief. He was doing this for her, and yet could never bring himself to state this fact out loud. Everypony already knew this though. It was quite obvious who this revolution was dedicated towards.

Cannons went off in the distance and the crowd went wild. The rally was being held downstairs, in the large and expansive basement of Headquarters that Hitch nicknamed “The Rat’s Palace.” Any and all boxes that had been used for storage were ordered to be removed specifically for the occasion. One by one, the ponies gathered and filled every available space on the cold hard ground. In the middle of everything was an enormous stage. Five burly stallions with seemingly incredible strength were dragging it to its proper position in order to prepare for Hitch’s arrival. They set it down as gently as they could, grunting. The stage landed on the floor with a thud.

Once they were done, they took several steps back, admired their handiwork, and then proceeded to slink off into the shadows. Izzy watched them go from where she was sitting. She deduced that they were most likely going to find some place to sit in the back since all ponies in the camp were required to attend regardless of affiliations. She looked around with apprehension, waiting for Hitch to show up. She had her hoof around Misty. The two had a relatively good view of the whole thing. They were in the second row of the assembled crowd which while not the best place to watch a rally, was still better than being in the last row at the very back, all things considered.

Izzy glanced at Misty, who stared back at her with a worried expression. “I’ve always hated the nighttime rallies…” she murmured under her breath.

“I can tell,” Izzy whispered back. “It’s going to be okay, Misty. I mean, it can’t be that scary, right? It’s just an assembly.”

“You wait.” Misty replied. “Just an assembly doesn’t even begin to describe it…”

“Oh.”

Suddenly, a horn sounded and the chatter between the ponies stopped instantly. All heads turned to the right where a figure decked out in a black cloak was strolling menacingly towards the stage. Izzy squinted her eyes and barely made out the color of the stallion’s head. It was Hitch, and he sported a grim expression on his face. He walked in a way that commanded respect and demanded reverence. Each step radiated confidence and determination. He was a leader through and through, and he knew how to make an entrance.

He walked onto the stage and up to the podium in front of him. He removed his hood, revealing his tan head and blue mane. The rest of his body was still covered, but that was all the ponies needed to see in order to know that it was him. He stared at his audience with an expression that was unreadable. It was almost like he didn’t want to do this every night, but dragged himself outside anyway because it was for the greater good. His eyes held no empathy within them. His posture was firm and resolute. His hooves were planted firmly on the ground. He lifted his head and faced the assembled crowd.

“My fellow ponies,” Hitch addressed them. “I thank you all for coming out to what marks our 61st nighttime rally, approximately 70 days since the war started and we became enemies of the state. Tonight, we celebrate our temporary victory against the Regime! We celebrate the return of one of our own!!”

The crowd cheered at this statement and all eyes were upon Izzy in an instant. She felt uncomfortable with this level of attention, trying her best to shrink down and become smaller to no success. Fortunately, it only lasted a moment as they soon returned their attention to the stage.

“Alas!” continued Hitch sternly. “Our work is far from completed. What the enemy has done this time is worse than anything they have ever done before! They attempted to ship Izzy and several other ponies to concentration camps! To work for them or be murdered via their horrible gas chambers!! The Regime has resorted to killing its own subjects!!”

The crowd of ponies all turned towards each other worriedly, chattering amongst themselves and fearing for their lives. One mare shouted in protest, and this call to action was soon picked up by others next to her. Izzy shifted uneasily. She didn’t like being the subject of all this vitriol. Yes, what happened to her was horrible. But she didn’t want her name to be used as a rallying point. She could tell Misty wasn’t feeling good about it either. The poor mare seemed like she just wanted to leave, but she knew that she couldn’t.

Satisfied that he had gotten the reaction he wanted, Hitch lowered the tone of his voice and leaned into the microphone. His words echoed and reverberated across the vicinity, striking chills into all who listened.

“But you think they will stop there?” he warned. “The enemy knows no bounds. They are desperate to crush any opposition to their power. What if they come after you next? Your husbands, wives, your foals…in this war, nopony is safe.” Again, worried murmurs ran across the crowd in response. Hitch smiled cruelly and continued. “Your lives have been stolen from you all thanks to this demon. Her name drives fear into the hearts of the weak, yet courage into the hearts of the strong…”

And just like that, Hitch dropped the name of the Queen like a bombshell. The crowd went ballistic with fury, getting to their hooves and raising their hooves in protest. Izzy tried to hear what he had said, but she couldn’t hear. The instant he had said the name, the other ponies immediately started shouting. She didn’t know what or who he was referring to. Judging by Misty’s expression though, she knew it was probably for the best. She had definitely heard it, and her eyes were wide with fear. She knew this pony, whoever she was.

With the fervor of the crowd intensifying by the second, Hitch leveled up his tactics. He began shouting like a madman, playing into the fears of his base, and feeding on their anger like a parasite sucking the essence out of its host. He reveled in their hatred. His eyes were wild and crazy. His face radiated anger. His whole body shook with emotions barely contained. He strolled around the stage, walking back and forth and pointing at various members of the audience. One by one, he succeeded in getting each of them riled up and ready to fight.

“SHE’LL COME FOR YOUR FRIENDS!!” he yelled. “SHE’LL SLAUGHTER YOUR FAMILY!! SHE’LL DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU LOVE AND DANCE ON THE ASHES OF THE LIFE YOU ONCE KNEW!! SHE’LL MAKE YOU WATCH AS YOU’RE SENT AWAY TO BE TORTURED!!”

“KILL HER!!” the crowd roared furiously in unison.

Izzy watched with horror as this went down. Once again, she was left terrified by this version of Hitch. He was nothing like the kind-hearted and nurturing friend she used to know. He had moments where that side of him came out, such as when she had comforted him earlier today. But otherwise, the Hitch that was standing before her on this night was an absolute mad stallion. He was a general stirring up his future soldiers, enticing them to risk their lives for him and him alone.

“General Hitch,” a mare in the back of the crowd, one of the survivors, called out. “What could your movement possibly offer us?!”

“I offer you freedom,” Hitch answered without hesitation. “Liberty. And most importantly, protection, in exchange for your service.”

“Then I pledge myself to your army.” she responded. “To protect my baby girl.”

The other survivors present echoed similar sentiments.

Hitch smiled with satisfaction. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a shard from the Pegasus Crystal. In Izzy’s timeline, the Unity Crystals, the artifacts that once held the key to all magic in Equestria, had been shattered a long time ago when Sunny had betrayed everypony. Now a piece of them was being held by Hitch. He showed it off to the crowd, silently letting them all know what they had lost, and what they could get back if they joined him.

“This Crystal once contained your magic…” he stated in a tone that came off as sorrowful. He watched their lips salivate over this priceless relic, the last remnants of their magic. Then, he placed it back in his saddlebag and faced the crowd once more. He looked at them squarely in the eyes as he delivered his final pitch for them to join him.

“I AM HITCH TRAILBLAZER, LEADER OF THE INSURGENCY!!” Hitch bellowed. “LET MY BELOVED SUNNY BE MY WITNESS, I AM THE BRINGER OF UNITY!! I WILL LEAD YOU ALL TO PARADISE!!!!!”

“Death to the Regime!!” A stallion shouted. He stood up and raised his right hoof in the air in solidarity with Hitch. The other ponies soon took up the chant, repeating the same phrase over and over. They screamed with as much pain and anger as their voices could muster. It was all there. The fever, the rage, the feeling of powerlessness. Hitch had successfully weaponized those emotions, and they wanted nothing more than to join the cause.

“DEATH TO THE REGIME!!”

Their voices echoed throughout the room and could be heard for miles. They continued to shout and scream, howling to the void for their voices to be heard. They felt seen. Hitch smiled at his new batch of recruits, seemingly satisfied that he had done his job well. They were all onboard, and there was nothing more pleasing than that. He soon joined in the chant, adding fuel to the fire.

The applause lasted for about thirteen minutes. Nopony wanted to be the first to stop cheering. And all the while, Izzy stared at this whole event with a mix of anger and fear. She was too scared to say anything, but she also didn’t like how Hitch had essentially weaponized the raw feelings of his audience, let alone invoked Sunny’s name as a form of divine appeal. This was more than just an army. This was a cult, hellbent on revenge.

And she was a part of it.

“You heard Hitch drop the name of the Queen, didn’t you?!”

After the rally, all of the ponies were sent off to bed as per the official curfew. While most of the soldiers slept in the army barracks, a select group were actually allowed to sleep in the main Headquarters building itself. There were five beds, and they were mostly preserved to look the way they used to despite the intense renovation. As such, only five ponies were allowed to sleep inside the main bedroom. That included Izzy, as well as Misty, Pipp, and even Hitch, though he wasn’t set to go to sleep until after he finished doing some research downstairs. He had already promised Izzy earlier that day that he would look into her supposed “amnesia problem,” and why she remembered a different timeline entirely. While she certainly appreciated that gesture, she had difficulty approaching him after how he had acted during the rally.

This was the first time she had seen him act this insane, and it terrified her beyond all belief. She was used to his harsh side at this point, but what she had seen a couple hours ago took it to a whole other level. Now she was obsessed with that rally and prying Misty for answers. The expressions she had seen on the unicorn’s face implied that she knew more than what she was letting on, and she wanted to find out the truth. Misty wasn’t budging though, and that frustrated her. She thought that their relationship had grown to the point where they weren’t hiding things from each other anymore.

As Izzy made her bed and threw the pillows onto it, she looked back at Misty, who still refused to move from the window. “Why won’t you tell me anything?!” she demanded. “You clearly know what’s going on here.”

“I can’t-“ Misty began to say before clearing her throat. “I-sorry. Izzy, I wish I could tell you everything, but you wouldn’t understand. This is all so overwhelming for you already, and…I-I don’t want to freak you out.”

Izzy rolled her eyes. “Please. As if I’m not already freaked out by Hitch acting like a deranged cult leader. Why was he like that?! Why did he invoke Sunny’s name when he told me earlier that he doesn’t like ponies mentioning her?! Why does he have banners of her, but refuses to elaborate on what happened?!”

“I can’t tell you!!” Misty yelled suddenly, catching Izzy off guard. Upon seeing her taken aback, she instantly tried to backtrack. “Sorry for snapping at you. It’s just that…Hitch doesn’t want me to talk to you about this kind of stuff. Not only is it too personal for him, but…h-he doesn’t want to overwhelm you with the truth. He thinks it’s better if you don’t know…for your own sake.”

“Why?” Izzy asked. She sat on the edge of the bed, letting her hooves dangle. “Why is he so secretive around me? Doesn’t he trust me…at all?”

“Maybe if you didn’t have amnesia, he would,” replied Misty. “But right now, he has to treat you like a completely new member, and that’s hard for him. Not only that, but he said…” She sighed deeply. “He said that he made a mistake not protecting you before you got captured. He knew how much the fall of magic affected you and how guilty you felt about letting everything go to shit, but…he never bothered to help you process your trauma, just as he never cared to help me with mine…” She said that last part with a hint of bitterness. “He doesn’t wanna make that mistake again.”

“So he’d rather not tell me anything?”

“He has a chance to start over with you. He’d rather you not beat yourself up over everything going wrong again. If that means hiding the truth of how horrible Equestria has become from you, then so be it. It was hard enough for me as your sister…watching your mental health deteriorating each day. How do you think he feels? He’s known you for longer than I have.”

Izzy looked down at the ground, trying to hide how hurt she felt by that. “It’s just not right. We’re friends. We saved Equestria together twice! Well, only once in this timeline, but one out of two is telling! He should know that I can handle it. I deserve to know what’s going on if I’m to help him effectively…”

“But what if the opposite is true?” Misty said.

“What are you talking about?!” inquired Izzy angrily. “I’m pretty sure I can handle-“

“What if…what if it’s better you don’t know?” Misty suggested, cutting her off. Her eyes glistened with tears. “What if you’re better off not knowing what really happened…especially since you remember a reality completely separate from ours? I don’t know what made you hallucinate that, but if you can hold on to your innocence that way, you should. Please, Izzy. Just trust me. You don’t want to know. You already heard enough from Hitch tonight during the rally.”

Izzy squeezed her eyes shut to avoid tears of her own. “And here I thought we were done keeping secrets from each other, sis.” She hadn’t meant to say that last sentence with so much contempt, but she couldn’t help it. She could see Misty’s face fall even further. She was clearly only barely keeping it together, and Izzy definitely wasn’t helping by guilting her. But she just wanted to be in the know so badly. They had only just been reunited after months, and yet it felt like their relationship was back at square one, when Misty was hiding her allegiance to Opaline from her. It hurt.

Just when Izzy was about to say something more however, she suddenly got accosted by a memory that had entered her mind. She hadn’t thought about it all day, but her memories were starting to return in brief spurts. This was one of them. All at once, she was sucked into a vision…the night she decided to make her move. Her final conversation with Sunny.

It was nighttime. She and her friends had just arrived back home from Zephyr Heights after attending an extravagant dinner party celebrating their victory over the bugbear. There was still a lot to do and so much to prepare, especially if an invasion from a new threat was imminent. For the moment though, Izzy and the others had been allowed to go back to Maretime Bay until they were needed again.

Once they had gotten home, she had wasted no time in talking to one of her friends about her insecurities. She knew Hitch would never budge from his position being the responsible sheriff and all. Neither Zipp or Pipp were aware she was being excluded. But Sunny would care. She knew what it was like to feel alone, to feel left out and like the whole world was against you. She understood that feeling, and her bond with Izzy went deeper than all the rest. She knew that out of all her friends, Sunny would understand what she was going through the most.

The conversation had started out normal enough with Izzy explaining how frustrated she was with how she was being treated by the others, and Sunny relating to that experience. But once she brought up the idea of time travel out of the blue, that was when everything completely derailed.

“So you’re saying you want me to go back in time,” Sunny said, her tone still reflecting the shock she was feeling at being asked this. “To save Misty’s life.”

“Yeah,” Izzy replied hopefully. “To save Misty’s life. I would, but I don’t know how. You can do that, right? I mean, you’re the one with the cool alicorn powers and stuff. I know Spike’s been teaching you a lot of magic. If not, you can teach me.”

Sunny seemed very uncomfortable at the prospect, and her face reflected this. She shook her head. “So let’s imagine for a second that I somehow…found a spell that would allow me to tap into the cosmos and so doing travel back in time.” She fixed Izzy with a hard stare. “It still would be…wildly irresponsible.”

Izzy’s face fell. “I knew you were gonna say that.”

“Yes,” Sunny insisted. “Because Izzy, if either of us did go into the past, any interactions we would have with Misty or ourselves…you step on the wrong blade of grass, you have no idea what the consequences to that could be!”

“I know. The Butterfly Effect, right?”

“Yes.”

“I get it,” Izzy argued. “But Sunny…I could fix things.”

“You could also destroy everything.”

“I could save her…” Izzy pleaded desperately. “I could save Misty’s life. S-she w-wouldn’t have to die, I…I could even save your father.”

Sunny smiled wistfully for a moment upon hearing that, as if she was imagining a timeline where Argyle was alive and well. Izzy knew how much Sunny wished that her father was alive to see her now, a full blown national hero who had conquered the greatest foe Equestria had ever seen. It was all she ever wanted. But Sunny was more responsible than her. She knew now not to place her emotions above the greater good when it mattered most. And as much as she wanted it, she could never allow her to make that happen. It would destroy the very fabric of reality.

Her smile faded and she looked Izzy straight in the eyes. Her face reflected a deep-seated sadness and her beautiful blue eyes appeared like they had aged several millennium. “Izzy, these scars we have…make us who we are. We’re not meant to go back and fix them. And there’s nothing…broken with you that needs to be fixed. Take it from somepony who’s spent her whole life as an outcast. Don’t live your past. Live your life. Don’t let your tragedy define you.”

“What if it’s supposed to define me…?” Izzy asked softly. “Your tragedy made you a hero.”

“It also made me alone…” Sunny countered, her voice close to breaking. There were tears at the corners of her eyes.

Izzy felt horrible for her. She never imagined that the earth pony would consider her upbringing more as a curse than a blessing. For her, all isolation in Bridlewood was all worth it in the end because she got to meet so many friends. She never cared all that much about her superstitious fellow unicorn folk anyway. At least not to the extent that she cared about her friends. But for Sunny, it must’ve been completely different. She spent her whole life as a laughing stock and a social pariah, never being able to connect with anypony else. It must’ve hurt big time and it made Izzy’s struggles seem insignificant in comparison.

“W-we could hang out,” she suggested. “Do you wanna take a walk across town? I’m not ready to sleep yet.”

“Not this time.” Sunny answered quickly. She managed to muster a slight reassuring smile towards her before turning her head back in the direction of the Brighthouse. “Maybe some other time.”

With that, she was gone. She walked inside and closed the double doors behind her. They slammed shut. That would be the last time she ever saw her Sunny again.

Chapter 5: Conversing With Pipp/The Truth Reveals Itself

Training was brutal. If there was one word Izzy could use to describe it, that would be the one she would choose. The next morning was filled to the brim with exhausting exercises, from mastering archery to rigorous sword fighting practices. Whatever Hitch could come up with, she and the other soldiers would be subjected to it. Since arriving at the camp, many of the survivors chose to enlist in the army and join the cause. Their reasoning was that they wanted to ensure that the disgusting treatment they had to endure on the train wouldn’t happen to anypony else by helping to take the Regime down. Only a few elected to return home to their scattered settlements across the wasteland. As promised, these ponies would be flown out by the Second Division on captured Imperial airships that the Insurgency owned. This would ensure that while flying in enemy airspace, they would not be suspected to be anything other than a prisoner transfer.

Izzy almost felt thankful for that they didn’t join. She couldn’t imagine that many of them would be able to stomach the torture. She was only barely tolerating it, and she was meant to be a “pro” at this according to Comet. A pro would be the last adjective she would use to describe herself. Once final arrangements were made, she had been put with many of the other newbies on the Fifteenth Division, while Misty already had her spot with the elite Fourth Division. Izzy did feel crushed that she didn’t get to be on the same team as her sister, and that made her lose some confidence.

She got through archery relatively fine, though she fell flat on her face multiple times in front of her own teammates while trying to aim. She remembered Hitch making her do a hundred push-ups once in the regular timeline (after he found out that the alias of “Sneaksy” was her all along, and she had to do it to avoid spending the following night in a cell), so she was able to survive that. Jogging across the buckball field while avoiding an onslaught of plastic bullets was another thing, but she got through that after only falling one time. Her teammates weren’t so lucky. She did manage to suck at shooting with a gun due to never owning one in her entire life, but at least she managed to hold it right with her hooves and get a couple of precise marks amidst a string of mortifying misses.

However, it was sword-fighting when she finally gave out. It was taught by Pipp, who had somehow managed to transform from a cocky, but deeply caring influencer to a female Attila the Hoof. She was absolutely brutal when sparring her one on one. Izzy tried to remember all the moves she had been demonstrated before the match, but the pegasus moved so fast and with such sharp reflexes that it was becoming increasingly hard to keep up. Every time she would swing to defend her side, Pipp would counter it by going for her hooves. It was hard to predict, and each misstep resulted in more cuts and scrapes after another. Izzy would cry out in agony, but was told to never let her guard down in response.

Izzy didn’t know what to do. Her head screamed with the sheer pain she was feeling and she struggled to focus. Too late. Another blow and she was driven to her knees. She howled, tears streaking down her face. The blade flew out of her grip and clattered to the floor. Her teammates watched in horror. Pipp approached her with the sword in her left hooves. She raised it right over her head.

“You’re weak.” she scolded her, eyes blazing with anger. “You’ll never survive. YOU EXPECT THE BATTLE TO BE FAIR!! IN WAR, THE BATTLE WILL NEVER BE FAIR!!!!”

“P-p-please…” Izzy tried to plead with her through gritted teeth and flowing tears. “P-Pipp, w-w-we’re f-friends-“

“Pick it up!!” Pipp ordered, pointing towards the fallen blade and ignoring her fruitless appeal for mercy. “Pick it up!! NOW!!”

Izzy scrambled to retrieve her sword. She ducked down and scrambled across the grass as fast as she could, pushing through the pain in her hooves. Each time the blade crashed down, she rolled off to the side and then grabbed at the ground once more. This wasn’t a game anymore. It was now a matter between life or death. Pipp was trying to kill her! She didn’t want to believe it, but this world was already so messed up that anything could be possible at this point.

Finally, she dove at the fallen sword and grabbed it back just as another swipe came down on her back. She barely managed to roll out of the way again without harming herself before she got back up under trembling hooves.

Just as Izzy had positioned herself again, Pipp’s sword swung in the direction of her throat. She hastily tried to block it with a swing of her own, but her aim was flimsy. The blade barely missed. Her breath quickened. Her body shook once more. She still wasn’t ready. She was scared out of her mind. She wanted to beg Hitch to call this off or tell the pegasus to go easy on her. But she knew better than to do either of those things. This was war. She had to fight her own battles and prove herself to her friends. She couldn’t count on mercy anymore.

Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw Misty engaged in her own sparring match with Windy. She glanced at her for silent emotional support. Their eyes met for a solid second, and Izzy caught her concerned gaze. Through that look, the message was clear. Misty was sending her encouragement through her expression alone. In that moment, she couldn’t fail. She had spent months begging her friends for a chance to prove herself. Now was that time. If she gave up, she would essentially be proving them right about her, that she wasn’t cut out to hold her own.

She would not let that happen.

A sudden burst of strength overtook her. As Pipp’s sword began to crash down upon her head, Izzy let out a loud battle cry. She swung her own blade and blocked the strike in mid-air! The two blades collided in an instant and held. Pipp stared back at her with a look of pure shock. It was clear that she hadn’t expected that whatsoever. Then her expression became defiant as the thrill of the match took over once again.

They fought with renewed vigor, but this time, Izzy had the upper hoof. She anticipated nearly every move Pipp made, and took the complete opposite route. Swords clashed with swords and they swung with rapid intensity. They were but blurs of motion, forces of nature to be reckoned with. Izzy danced, jumped, and swung like her life depended on it. Pipp was forced to adjust her strategy to counteract the strikes, but even she had no way of predicting what Izzy did next. She was just far too good. The change in the winds could be seen in her eyes, now more fearful than arrogant.

The other ponies had stopped what they were doing to witness the spectacle unfold. It wasn’t everyday that somepony beat Pipp at sparring. In fact, it was unheard of. They burst into a standing ovation and cheered Izzy on with every fiber of their being. Misty screamed her name with pride and led the hailstorm of encouragement. Hooves were thrown in the air and ponies shouted their praises as the match continued to unfold before their very eyes.

Izzy continued to swing, block, and deflect. Her heart was pounding in her chest and sweat beaded down her forehead. Still, she did not quit. She was going to prove herself. She was going to win. She drove Pipp back with her strikes, with the former pop star jumping back and struggling to maintain position. With an opening in sight, Izzy swung at her hooves. Pipp blocked the strike, though her hooves were shaking. She then swung again, landing a successful graze on her opponent’s cheek.

While the cheering and sparring was going on, Comet stared at it all with a shocked look on his face. He seemingly couldn’t believe what he was seeing with his own eyes. It was a miracle.

“She did it…” he whispered, a tone of awe in his voice.

Following his lead, the other ponies slowly got down to their knees in reverence. They hadn’t expected this to happen, and seeing somepony who despite technically being new to the army best one of their strongest fighters was a shock to the system. It was almost as if Izzy’s sudden burst of strength was a blessing from the heavens that the gods were on their side.

“She is the champion!” they chanted in unison. “She is the champion! She is the champion!!”

The match persisted for another few minutes with both ponies going for each other’s throats. But there was no mistaking who the real winner was. It was Izzy, who had finally gained ground and managed to make history in the army. She sealed her victory by ending the match herself. She took a swing of her sword to Pipp’s own and shattered it in two.

Izzy later found Pipp on the bed in the infirmary tent, getting a bandage applied to her cheek.

Upon seeing her walk in, Pipp turned away from the nurse she was talking to and faced her with a look of begrudging admiration in her eyes. She nodded. “Not bad. Not bad at all.”

“Are you okay?” Izzy inquired, concern deep in her eyes. While she was certainly happy to have gained the respect of her peers, the well-being of her friend mattered more to her, and the outcome of the fight had been eating away at her all day. “I-I hope I didn’t hurt you too much out in that field. I-I don’t even know where that burst of strength came from.”

Pipp regarded her sternly. “Do not apologize for winning, Iz. It is beneath you. You bested me out there fair and square. That is your victory to flaunt. When you face your first real battle, you’ll get it.”

Izzy’s heart skipped a beat. Pipp had finally used the nickname. Not only that, but this was this their first time actually getting to talk to one another. Before the sparring match, she had felt content to give her the cold shoulder and ignore her. It had hurt her greatly due to how close they had been in her world. Now they were finally conversing. Not as friends obviously, but it was still something. Izzy was willing to take whatever she could get at the moment.

“C-can we talk?” Izzy asked in a trembling voice. “I-is that okay? Just you and me? I’m going through a lot of emotions right now and I understand if you don’t want to talk. But…it-it would be nice to have a friend right now.”

Pipp seemed to think about it for a moment. Then she sighed and glanced back at the nurse. “I’ll call you back in after an hour. My trainee needs me.”

The nurse nodded in understanding. “Ring if there’s any swelling on the cut.” She pointed to an emergency red button on the remote Pipp was holding. “The ointment and bandage should be enough to prevent any further bleeding, but you’re the only one who can tell. Let us know, alright?”

“Of course. Thank you, ma’am.”

On that note, the nurse headed out of the tent and back outside to have her lunch break. Once she was gone, Pipp took a deep breath and set the remote down by her side. “I’m sorry for refusing to talk since we rescued you. I-I just couldn’t muster up the courage to do so after losing you.”

“It took me beating you at fencing for you to finally acknowledge that?” Izzy demanded, a hint of bitterness in the tone of her voice. “What was up with trying to kill me out there anyway?!”

“I had to make it look real. Most cadets don’t take training seriously until they think they’re in some real mortal peril. Believe me, I know what motivates them. If they think it’s just a game, they won’t try their best because they trust their trainer to not hurt them. I wanted you to think you were in actual danger. You had to feel the heat of battle, not like I would’ve killed you anyway. But in war, the enemy doesn’t hold back, and you had to earn my respect.”

“Did I?”

“Well, we’re talking now, so what do you think?”

Izzy had no answer to that.

“Look, none of this has been easy on any of us,” Pipp explained, sighing. “Especially not me. Ever since Zipp-“ She paused before clearing her throat and resuming. “-left, I haven’t felt like myself. I don’t want to get attached to others again. I try to avoid it. And on top of that, Hitch doesn’t want me saying anything in front of you anyway. What with your amnesia and everything…he thinks you’re better off…not knowing the truth about our cause…how…dangerous it really is.”

“He spoiled any chance of that when he forced me to go to the nighttime rally,” Izzy argued. “If he wants to keep me in the dark, he’s doing a really bad job of it. I just want to know what’s going on so that I can better help you guys. Who is the Queen? Why did Hitch mention Sunny there when he’s expressly forbidden all mentions of her otherwise?! Why are we being trained to fight?! Where is Zipp anyway?! Where is Sunn-“

“ENOUGH!!” Pipp suddenly snapped out of the blue. Upon seeing Izzy’s startled reaction, she took a couple of breaths to calm herself. “S-sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. Just…you sound like my sister and not in a good way. I-I had an involuntary reaction. You reminded me of her.”

Izzy stood there in silence for a solid minute. She knew something was going on, but the way Pipp had reacted to the mention of Zipp immediately sent off alarm bells in her mind. She knew that something terrible must have happened to the detective, though she couldn’t put her hoof on what exactly it was. In her heart, though, she had a sinking feeling that she already knew the answer. She didn’t want to believe it, however. The thought was too painful to bear.

“W-what happened to Zipp?” Izzy asked carefully, taking a few steps closer to the bed. “You can tell me, Pipperooni. It’s okay…”

Pipp squeezed her eyes shut in an apparent attempt to avoid tears coming out. She sniffled, wiping her eyes with her hooves. “I-I can’t tell you. Pl—pl-please. D-don’t pry, I just…I just don’t want to relive it. She’s not here, okay? She’s gone.”

“G-gone…?” Izzy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Every single word seemed to confirm her worst fears. “Pipp, i-is s-she…”

“Gone.” she finished glumly. “I…don’t want to say anything more than that. It’s too painful for me to talk about. You can ask me about anything else, but for pony’s sake, not Zipp. I couldn’t-I should’ve…” She trailed off as the tears began to stream down from her eyes. She choked back a sob. “I can’t do this, Izzy. You don’t deserve to see me like this. You should leave. Now.”

“I-I’m sorry for bringing it up,” Izzy replied in a quiet voice. “If-if you don’t want to talk about it, it’s okay…I don’t want to hear it either if it’s what I think it is. She has to still be around…somewhere.”

“Maybe she is…” Pipp said in a firm tone, almost as if she was trying to convince herself of this same idea. “Maybe she was just faking it. Maybe she escaped that night and is gathering help for our cause. Yes, she’s gotta be on her way. She’ll save us all from this. She’s gotta…” Her voice faltered and her eyes went distant.

“P-Pipp…?”

No response.

“P-Pipperoni…?”

Again, no response.

“Please answer me, Pipp…you’re scaring me…”

The pegasus was just sitting there, completely unresponsive. Her eyes were still moving, so Izzy knew that she was still alive. But that was it. It was like her whole body had shut down from the pressure. And now there was nothing left for her to say.

Izzy’s eyes were on the remote that was sitting right by Pipp’s side. She thought about pressing the red button and calling for help from the medical professionals. However, just when she was about to press it, Pipp became responsive again.

“Sorry,” she apologized, refocusing her eyes. “I zoned out there for a moment. Just thinking about that night sends me into complete shock.” She sighed. “I know it’s trauma, and honestly, you’re lucky you don’t remember any of this, Iz.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You should count your blessings that you don’t recall anything from the past few months. You deserve better than to be a part of this. You deserve to actually have a life, running around with Misty and goofing off all day long. That’s something we all wish we could do. Hitch made the wrong call making you a part of the army.”

“But I want to help this cause!” Izzy argued angrily. “I really do. I want to help you ponies defeat this evil Regime! I want to prove myself useful for once! I deserve to have a chance!”

“No, you don’t.” Pipp insisted in a warning tone. “Please, Izzy. I mean it. Back out now. Let us handle everything. Knowing the truth hurts. It can shatter you beyond repair. You don’t deserve this. Enjoy your time with Misty before…” She took a shaky breath. “…before you lose her too.”

Izzy was about to ask her what that meant when suddenly, the television screen on the top wall of the infirmary switched on with no explanation. There was a moment of static before it cut to a large brown unicorn stallion with a red mane and tail speaking directly into the camera. He had green eyes and a sadistic aura about him. He smiled so wide that it seemed to come off as fake. Behind him was a live feed showing large gathering of ponies cheering before a blurry figure on the stage.

The stallion spoke with conviction into the microphone, his words amplified through the sound system he had set up. He appeared to be addressing the whole world through his broadcast as he waved his hooves around for theatrics and spouted out the news of the day. It was almost nothing special and both Pipp and Izzy were initially content to ignore him. But it was what he said next that caught their attention.

“…And now we go to our leader’s palace,” the news anchor announced proudly. “where earlier today, a spontaneous demonstration took place. The famous pop star Ruby Jubilee has written a new song for our beloved leader. And she’s here joined by the chorus of the Imperial Choir!!”

Suddenly, the screen cut to none other than Ruby Jubilee herself walking out onto an enormous stage with thousands of ponies cheering her name. She was grinning from ear to ear, but something about her demeanor felt off. Her movements were stilted as she stepped closer to the edge. It was like she was being held at gunpoint and being forced to do this routine. Nothing at all about her typically genuine passion felt sincere here whatsoever.

Still, she smiled for the crowd (and presumably the cameras watching her every move as well) and gave a couple of waves. She then stood tall and proud. She inhaled and prepared to belt out the song she had written for this large gathering.

“Praise to her, the source of all our wisdom,” Ruby began to sing. “Long to live, the sovereign of our realm! Queen-“ The television screen then chose that moment to glitch, at the mention of the Queen’s name, something Izzy found to be odd.The bug only lasted for a second, with the footage resuming afterwards like nothing happened. This phenomenon repeated for the second verse as well. “-mighty leader! Mighty leader, watching over us!” Banners came down from above on both sides of the stage. “Queen- *glitch* *glitch* -mighty leader! Mighty leader, watching over us!!”

“Shout, shout!” The guards on the level right below her chanted in unison. “Shout out loud! Stand, stand! Tall and proud!!”

The second chorus began with similar complimentary lyrics to this mysterious Queen, whose name kept glitching out every time she was mentioned. However, this time was a bit different. More ponies wearing soldier uniforms began to chime in with additional lyrics. They marched in front of the stage in orderly fashion while singing the main chorus. Their horseshoes created clip clop noises on the ground below as they paced back and forth with their heads held high. Their voices swelled and added to the patriotic feeling of the whole proceeding. Izzy had to admit that she was a bit intrigued by the ceremony. Had she not known any better, she would have sung along. But she was also beginning to feel unnerved by some of the details she was noticing.

For one, there were the banners that hung on the palace walls. They were a dark shade of purple with a familiar emblem in the center. It was a sharp purple diamond with large blue fiery wings on both sides of it. Only one pony in Equestria ever had this cutie mark, and it was one that Izzy remembered all too well. Then there was the fact that everypony called this ruler “Queen.” Sunny didn’t call herself a queen. She was far too humble to accept such a prestigious label. Queen Haven held the title, but she only ruled Zephyr Heights. There was only one pony who came so close to ruling the land and called herself a queen. It was a name that would forever be etched in infamy within the modern history books.

If that pony was actually ruling in this timeline, and everything else she had heard about her was true…then that could only mean one thing. No. No no no no no NO! This could not be happening. This could not be real! Izzy clutched her temples as the last memories that had been repressed now came flooding back in rapid succession. Her pulse began to quicken. She swallowed hard. Her eyes went wide with the horrifying realization. She remembered. She understood. She knew. Her world shattered in an instant as the reality of what had occurred, what she had done, and the consequences of those actions, finally set in. She knew the identity of this Queen, and what happened next only served to confirm those suspicions.

Coincidentally, the third and final chorus had started. The voices of Ruby and the Choir were now at a fever pitch, the highest intensity of their performance. The screen was no longer glitching. The camera began to angle up from the stage and towards the balcony of the palace, where a familiar tall figure was beginning to emerge from the shadows. First the hooves with spiky black horseshoes. Then the white and green mane. Then the piercing blue eyes and elongated horn.

“PERFECT QUEEN!” Ruby and the Choir sang all at once, their voices reverberating all throughout the crowd like thunder across the sky. “YOU BLESS US WITH YOUR BEAUTY! HALLOWED MARE, HOW WONDROUS IS YOUR GLOW…QUEEN OPALINE, MIGHTY LEADER!! MIGHTY LEADER, WATCHING OVER US!!” Sure enough, the Fire Alicorn herself was standing on the balcony, overlooking the assembled crowd and waving down at them. She bobbed her head up and down with pride, vibing to the music. “QUEEN OPALINE, MIGHTY LEADER!! MIGHTY LEADER, WATCHING OVER UUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSS!!!!”

The crowd erupted into a thunderous applause, cheering the name of Queen Opaline as she towered above them all. She was an evil goddess ruling over mortals, a malevolent force of darkness that had conquered all the light in the world. She smiled sinisterly, soaking in all the attention she was receiving. There was nothing for her to fear anymore. She had won. The world was hers for the taking. This was the reality in which she had won that battle, the universe in which she was the ruler of all things. She was in control, and she had the adoration of everyone.

The ponies all chanted: “GLORY TO THE REGIME!!” over and over as banners and flags came down on every building in Canterlot. That symbol was everywhere. It was omnipresent, and it was the only thing that her subjects would ever know for generations. They continued to chant as the camera zoomed out all across the city. Their voices and unadulterated praise could be heard from the heavens above. Their loyalty to their Queen was unmatched.

Izzy stared at the screen before her in horror. What had she done?! What had she DONE?! She understood everything now. She understood what Comet had been trying to tell her on the train. He had been attempting to tell her the truth. She understood why Misty was suddenly alive again and didn’t seem to remember her death. It was because she never died in this timeline. She understood why Pipp was so angry and depressed. It was because Zipp had somehow been murdered…by Opaline. She understood what had happened to Sunny, and why she wasn’t with the Insurgency. The poor earth pony had never been rescued from the lair. She was still trapped and had probably fully embraced the dark side at this point. And lastly, she understood why Hitch was so closed off. He felt responsible for not being able to rescue Sunny, and had dedicated this cause to her.

All of these realizations overcrowded her mind and all pointed to one definitive conclusion: You caused this. Izzy let out an ear-piercing scream. She stumbled back and fell on the floor, hyperventilating and breathing rapidly. Pipp was by her side in an instant, trying to calm her down. But she could not calm down. The memories flowed through her like an out of control tsunami flooding the beach. She could not think. She could not speak. All she could do was scream. The truth was staring her right in the face. She lay on her back, staring into the face of the one pony who had taken everything from her and everypony else. That same smug face who had tormented Misty and killed her. That same face belonged to a murderer. That same face won because of her. She watched the alicorn gloat with a paralyzing sense of fear. This was her fault. She had caused this all to happen.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” Izzy howled at the top of her lungs. Tears were cascading down her face. Her heart was pounding. She curled up into a ball and sobbed relentlessly. The memories were like a poison, becoming clearer within her head with each passing second, and all condemning her. She could recall everything she had done. The pressure was so intense that her body began to go into shock. The world around her spun in circles and her sight became distorted. Her whole body shook with a mix of rage and grief.

She shook and convulsed. She vaguely recalled throwing up before she was immediately picked up and put on the bed by a bunch of medical personnel. They strapped her down so that she could not hurt herself or Pipp. Through blurry vision, she saw Hitch and Misty burst through the tent, fully armed with assault rifles and ready to protect her. When they saw what was going on, however, they lowered their weapons and ran to her side.

Seeing Misty was enough for her to regain control over her body. She took a couple deep breaths to calm herself and slowly brought herself back to reality. She continued to inhale and exhale until the shock was fully gone from her body. She coughed and gagged as she tasted her own vomit. But otherwise, she was as okay as she possibly could be, given the circumstances.

“What happened, Izzy?!” Misty demanded, her eyes wide with fear. “We heard you scream and thought something terrible had happened! Thank goodness it was just the…spontaneous demonstration…” She glanced nervously at the television screen, which was now showing Opaline as she delivered a rousing speech to her adoring subjects.

Hitch sighed deeply. “She knows the truth. It’s overloaded her mind. This is why I didn’t want to say anything.” He turned his head to glare daggers at Pipp. “What did you tell her, Philomena Petals?!”

“Nothing,” answered Pipp truthfully. “I refused to answer any questions. But something else must have triggered that response…the broadcast. She saw Opaline and flipped out.”

“Precision of language, Pipp.” Misty warned. “Remember, names have power. She could be summoned just by us mentioning her.”

“I could not be more precise, Misty,” Pipp spat. “You really think she’s going to show up to camp just because we said her name?! This is the real issue here.” She pointed at Izzy. “Guys, we tried keeping the truth from her. Us trying to shield her from the real world only served to cause that reaction when she was confronted with it. What’s the harm in telling her now?! At least that’ll make her trust us more instead of begging us for answers. She woke up all confused yesterday, and we’ve done nothing to make her feel any better about any of it.”

“We were trying to protect her!” Hitch shot back furiously. “She cannot know what’s really happened. It’s too much for her to handle-“

“No,” Misty interrupted him. “No, Pipp is right. We caused this by not being honest with our best friend…” Her eyes shimmered with tears. “And my sister. I’m going to tell her the truth because that’s the least she deserves. You two are welcome to chime in if you’d like.”

“Misty…” Hitch warned her, his eyes narrowing in anger.

“You can’t stop me.” Misty turned away from him and leaned down to look at Izzy. “I-I’m sorry we kept this from you. We should’ve known better, I should have known better. You would’ve found out eventually anyway. There was no point to any of this.”

Izzy was touched by this. Her eyes stung with tears as she hurriedly tried to blink them back. Her mind was still racing, but at least it had calmed down enough for her to actually think. She still could not believe what she had seen in that broadcast. It was like something straight out of her nightmares. Opaline was alive and had conquered Equestria. She had won, and it was all because of her. Deep down, she just knew it. By now, she knew all the answers to her burning questions. Yet she still wanted to hear it from them. She had to hope that at least some of it was wrong. Anything. She couldn’t’ve…she wouldn’t…

“I’m sorry…” she croaked out, her voice scratchy and hoarse. “This is all my fault…”

“No,” Misty replied, shaking her head vigorously. “No. You aren’t responsible whatsoever. Don’t blame yourself for this again. This isn’t your fault. If anything…it’s mine. I made the call to retreat once Zipp was killed. It was the only way we could have survived that night.”

“So she was killed, wasn’t she…?” Izzy deduced softly. “Opaline murdered her…”

Pipp nodded solemnly. “She did. I didn’t want to tell you at first. I wanted to spare you the pain…but I guess I did a bad job of hiding my feelings. You pretty much knew right away.” She took a shaky breath. “You really wanna know what happened in the Lair? Fine. I’ll tell you.”

"Ourtroublesbegan two and a half months ago. We were in ruin. Sunny had shattered the Unity Crystals and run off with Opaline. The rest of us had given up hope that things would ever be the same like that again, especially me. After having nearly lost Zipp to a coma, I wasn’t ready to let her risk her life again. I could tell that we all felt the same way. Once magic died, we were content to just live out the rest of lives in exile…as failures. But Misty? She refused to accept defeat. She felt responsible for letting everything go so wrong, and…became obsessed with rescuing Sunny and redeeming herself in our eyes.

One night, it all came to a head. Misty was about to set out to Opaline’s lair in order to kill that bitch herself. It was a foolish move, but…who could blame her? But thankfully, Zipp was able to stop her from doing so. Misty shared her desire to make everything better with us, and…I have to admit that I was intrigued. I foolishly thought we had a chance.

“I know we can save her,” Misty insisted, remaining firm. “I just know it. One way or another, we can stop Opaline and end this madness. We can save Sunny, we can put all of it back. We just need to try. Please…will you guys trust me to do this one last time?”

We all trusted her in spite of our skepticism. How could we not? Friends stick by one another no matter what. Sunny had taught us that. We had grown so close that whatever suicide mission any of us came up with, we would do it together. If she was going to save the pony who had made everything possible for us…then we were coming with her, no matter how scary the prospect seemed.

Our plans failed. We nearly got ourselves killed in the Lair, but still, Misty would not give up. She set out on her own mission to reunite the pony tribes. She was willing to do anything to make things up to us, even if it meant traversing the vast expanses of Equestria all by herself…"

“But she succeeded, didn’t she?” Izzy asked worriedly. She glanced at Misty. “You did it, right? You brought the unicorns and pegasi back to Maretime Bay. You achieved the impossible. We all banded together to stop Opaline. It was because of Pipp’s message that reinforcements from the other lands arrived.”

Misty looked down at the ground in sadness for a moment before her gaze changed direction to look at Pipp. They both nodded slowly in some sort of mutual agreement. Then she gestured towards Hitch to answer the question.

“We were able to rally the ponies of Maretime Bay,” the former sheriff responded carefully. “Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns alike. Misty succeeded in uniting them. We formed a united coalition to march onto the Lair and take Sunny back. But we didn’t get any reinforcements. Nopony else came to help us. We were on our own.”

Izzy could not believe what she was hearing. “What…?”

Misty turned back to look at her, an expression of deep concern present in her eyes. She looked like she had aged a thousand years just by remembering the story, as did everypony else present. With great reluctance, she took over speaking. “Pipp’s livestream failed. We were left to be slaughtered…”

"…We fought our way up the hill to the castle, only to be driven back at every turn by the enemy. One by one, our forces went down under the rain of blows and stabs. The Umbrum were much stronger and did not fear for their own lives the way we did. Regardless, you and I stood our ground and kept what little troops we had left motivated. It was a losing battle, but I was determined to fight my way into the castle anyway. I finally had something good to fight for. I refused to surrender that easily. There was no way I was leaving without Sunny. And so I barreled my way through the undead horde, against all odds, to complete the mission and bring her home.

She and I dueled one on one. After a while, she had me on the floor, her scythe raised in the air. That should have been the end, but by some miracle, I was able to stop her from killing me. I still don’t know how I did it, but she hesitated long enough for the others to enter and talk her down. We apologized, and expressed how sorry we were for not being there for her when she needed us the most. For a moment, when we were hugging her, comforting her the way we always should have done from the very beginning, the world almost felt peaceful again. We had our Sunny back. We vowed that we would never lose her again. Our family was whole.

Then came the fight in the throne room. Sunny was with us, and we were a team again for the first time in a long while. We mustered as much bravery as we could and challenged Opaline for the fate of Equestria. It was a foolish move, but we had come too far to back out then.

“Opaline!” Misty called out to her bravely. “Face us if you dare!”

Opaline’s eyes turned pure black for a moment before morphing back to their normal colors. She turned around and faced her, smiling in that sadistic manner that she was all too familiar with. Misty felt her heart sink with dread upon seeing that cursed expression. The alicorn had been anticipating this. She knew they were coming and had been biding her time.

She stood dominantly over the unicorn, towering over her like a skyscraper in the big city. Despite this, Misty still remained firm and cleared any doubts from her mind. This was the moment. She had to end this now while she had the chance.

“Well,” Opaline mused. “Look who it is. The pony who still doesn’t have a cutie mark. How’s that life treating you, hm?”

“I have one, Opaline!” Misty revealed, showing her flank to the now enraged alicorn. “I earned my mark through true friendship! And you can’t take it from me!”

Opaline laughed maniacally. “Oh…Misty. Really?” Her horn began to emit a dark pink aura, which grew larger and larger by the second.

The fight began. We held our own well at first, but it soon became clear that we were way out of our league. Opaline blasted us each time we got anywhere near her. She conjured up spells to slow us down and rammed us into walls. We crumpled to the ground like rag dolls. We were no match for her. She was way stronger than us. No matter what we did, we couldn’t land a hit. I was knocked down quickly as I didn’t know how to fight her. Sunny had her alicorn powers drained. Before long, she had trapped you in a magic bubble and had knocked Pipp out cold. Then she began throwing me down over and over in a final attempt to kill me.

I was helpless. I still remember her rage; the way she was screaming at me, the way she was demanding that I apologize to her and affirm my loyalty, the crazed expression in her eyes. She had grown sick of me constantly escaping her grasp. She was tired of me constantly standing in her way. She wanted me dead. She knew it would break your spirits. Still, I desperately clung to life, even as I was thrashed and beaten. I could not let her win. You were shrieking for her to stop, and I could do nothing to comfort you. Even as I struggled to hold on, I could slowly feel my consciousness slipping. There was only so much I could take.

The more she threw me against the wall, the more painful the impacts were. I remember coughing out blood and pleading for her to stop. I had no more fight left in me. One more hit and it was over. She taunted you and told you to watch as she delivered the final blow. I heard a loud scream from far away. Then Opaline raised her hoof up and crashed down on my throat with the crushing blow of a Fire Alicorn.

I should have been dead, yet I never felt the impact. I couldn’t understand why. Then I looked up and saw what had happened. Faster than I could blink, Zipp had thrown herself in front of me and taken the hit, receiving a fatal blow to her head. She had sacrificed herself to protect me. I watched her body crumple to the ground lifelessly beside me. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t even muster a “thank you.” All I could do was watch through blurry vision as she died right before my very eyes.

Upon waking up seeing what Opaline had done, Pipp shrieked in anguish. I had never seen her this angry before in my life, so devastated, so…vengeful. Her grief had completely shattered her. Whatever remained of her innocence died that night. Without Zipp by her side, there was nothing holding her back. She threw herself at Opaline as hard as she could, biting and scratching at her face. In response, Opaline blasted her back with her magic, injuring her greatly. I didn’t want there to be any more casualties, so at that moment, I made the call to retreat. We had no chance against her. We escaped the throne room without Sunny. I didn’t want to leave her behind, but we were in such a hurry to head out that I had forgotten that she wasn’t even there. Hitch carried me on his back as we ran through the halls and away from the place that had caused us so much pain.

Opaline wasn’t about to let us go that easily. We had defied her too many times. She wanted us dead. She blasted the roof of the castle in an attempt to bring it down on top of us. As it began to fall apart, Hitch took charge and managed to punch a hole in the side of the already crumbling wall. We barely managed to jump through before the entire castle collapsed to the ground in a heap of dust and rubble. But before it fully did, I saw a flash of pink light go off from underneath. Sunny wasn’t dead. But unfortunately, she was back under the control of Opaline. They had teleported to a completely different location.

We had failed.

Over the next few months, we watched from afar as Opaline seized control of Equestria. Hitch refused to let this be the end of our rebellion in spite of all we had already lost. He said that he “owed” it to Sunny to not give up on saving her. So he made it his mission to one day get her back. We recruited other ponies to our cause, told them that their lives could be better. We formed the Insurgency. While we had some downtime here at Headquarters, enough to establish protocols and traditions, we spent most of our days primarily on the run. Our ranks expanded with each new stop.

Eventually, we got tired of looking over our heads. So you suggested that we could hide out in the Appleloosan Ruins and come up with a plan to get home after we recruited Sprout. But that had been a mistake. The Regime had been waiting for us to enter the settlement. It was an ambush.

We fought the Imperial forces and made a break for the nearest bunker. I wish we could say that we all made it safely. But a lone soldier had managed to grab you while you were running. They chained you up and hauled you away. I remember sobbing and begging Hitch to let me go. I wanted to save you. But he said that we needed to be safe first. We needed to rest and formulate a plan. He had to drag me into the bunker kicking and screaming. I only settled down once he promised me that we would find a way to rescue you."

“…the rest is history,” Misty finished. She sniffled, wiping tears from her eyes. “We found you on the train and saved you from being sent to Ponschwitz. I don’t know what I would’ve done had they come back and told me they were unsuccessful.”

Izzy absorbed all of this information as much as she didn’t want to. She couldn’t believe it. This timeline was all wrong. In this world, she and her friends had failed to stop Opaline. They had failed to save Sunny. Equestria was now a dystopian wasteland. Zipp was dead. All because of her. She could not deny it anymore. She was responsible for all of this just because she wanted to save Misty’s life. The memories were becoming clearer to her now. But she still didn’t know exactly she had created this timeline. That was the one thing she did not understand yet. All she knew now was that she was responsible for ruining her friends’ lives. Her selfishness had costed them everything.

She choked back a sob. “I-I’m sorry, Misty. Pipp, I’m sorry you lost Zipp. All of you…I-I-I’m so sorry…for everything.”

Hitch looked up at her from the ground. “Don’t blame yourself for this, Izzy. You remember a completely different timeline. There’s no way you would have known about any of this. I have my theories as to why that’s the case, but that would require a moment between us to talk. You need to process all of this first.”

“No,” Izzy replied darkly. “Somehow I know…it was me. This timeline and everything in it is my fault. We lost against Opaline because of me. It’s not supposed to be this way. Before I woke up on that train, everything was different. We were happy. We were heroes. We stopped her.”

“So you told me.” Hitch said. “But that isn’t reality, Izzy. We failed. I wanted to keep this information from you because…I wanted you to keep your innocence. After seeing how traumatized you were after the battle, I should have been there for you. I blame myself for that, for letting you spiral. You beat yourself up about it so much. Now that you’ve forgotten all of it…I believed you deserved better than to be reminded.”

Izzy sighed. “Well now I know. And I want to help put a stop to all of this. Please…let me help you. Put me on the front lines. Skip all the boot camp nonsense. I’m ready to fight. We have to try again. Maybe we don’t have Zipp, but we can still take on Opaline. We’re stronger together. These ponies deserve better than to have their lives torn apart on a daily basis.”

Hitch shook his head. “We can’t do direct frontal assaults until we’re actually ready for it. We were unprepared twice and we still attempted it. We thought we were strong enough. What did that do? Get one of our friends killed. Even with all the strength in numbers, we still fell. And do you know why? Because none of us were trained for war. We were just winging it. We can’t do that anymore.”

“Then at least take me out on your missions. Put me on the front lines.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I refuse to lose another one of my friends,” Hitch stated sternly. “I lost Sunny. I lost Zipp. I refuse to lose you, Pipp, or Misty. I’m sorry, but it’s best that you stay out of the war, at least for now. It’s for your own protection.”

“You say that to me every time,” Izzy argued back. “You think I can’t help you because I’m just poor little Izzy, ditzy unicorn, no direction of my own. Well, I’m not like that! I can make a difference. I can help you stop-“

“No!” Hitch snapped angrily. Tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes. “I’m not going to lose you, Izzy! As sheriff and leader of the Insurgency, I am responsible for protecting every single pony under my command. You are one of those ponies!! You will stay out of the war, and I will hear no more of this from you. I’ve already lost too much. I will not risk something like this again…not now. Not ever.”

Author's Note

Holy cow, this has to be the most intense chapter I’ve written so far. Not only do we have another short action scene, but we finally find out the truth behind this alternate timeline. Gotta say, writing an AU for Redeemed from the perspective of the other characters was very fun. I always wanted to toy with the idea…what if Misty and her friends didn’t succeed in defeating Opaline? What if one thing was changed? What if another character instead of Misty died? How would that affect the “Sacred Timeline” if you will? Turns out…a lot! If you thought it was intense now, then you’re in for a real curveball next time as there’s still one small mystery left to solve.

In the meantime, I appreciate all your feedback and engagement with the story. I know comments have been looking a little sparse at the moment, but if any of you want to say something, go ahead. I love interacting with you all. Stay tuned for Chapter 6!

Chapter 3: Welcome To The Insurgency/Somepony Wants To See You

The Crystal Brighthouse was completely unrecognizable. Gone were the shining white walls and stained glass windows depicting the unity of the ponies. Gone was the community garden that Sunny had dreamed of building all her life. Gone was the lighthouse-esque structure that once housed the Unity Crystals. In the place of all that was a large military complex complete with tents, army barracks, training fields, and a single warehouse, presumably used to store weapons. The Brighthouse itself had been completely renovated and now resembled more of a headquarters. It was gray and drab, and had been converted into a multistory building. There was nothing left of the old design, nothing left of the beautiful home it used to be. It was all gone.

Izzy was heartbroken upon seeing this. She had imagined that some things would not be the same in this new timeline, but completely changing the Brighthouse was a step too far for her. It represented hope and optimism for the future. It was supposed to cement the ideas of dreams becoming reality, that the world could be better, and that anypony was welcome to stay and work to make a difference. She knew how much this building had meant to Sunny. They had all built and decorated it together from the remains of the old lighthouse. It had taken months, but the effort had been a symbol of their friendship. Now all of that had been completely eradicated due to the war, and she could not be more saddened to witness it.

Maretime Bay itself had not changed much. Despite some posters hanging on the walls advertising ponies to join the Regime, it had all seemed pretty normal, exactly the way she remembered it. But the Brighthouse could not run more contrary to that sentiment. It had been completely changed. As frustrated as she was to see this, she couldn’t fault Hitch for doing so. Their home was never the epitome of blending in. In fact, Sunny had designed it so that it would be the exact opposite of that. It was meant to be a beacon of unity that stood out from the crowd, and had therefore been made with the most flashy design to get ponies’ attention. Izzy understood why Hitch had to change the Brighthouse’s design to be more fortified and “wartime.” But that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Everything about this felt wrong.

Comet turned around to look at her. “Welcome home, Izzy. We call this place Headquarters. Used to be called the Crystal Brighthouse, but ever since…” He paused for a moment, trying to find the correct way to say Sunny’s name. “…she left, calling it that hasn’t felt right to us. We turned it into a military camp meant to house hundreds of ponies if needed. We’re still constantly expanding the more recruits we get.”

“Sunny would’ve hated this if she was here…” Izzy muttered under her breath bitterly.

“Precision of language, please.” Posey corrected, overhearing her from the front. “Nopony is allowed to say her name anymore. It’s…too painful for Hitch.”

“Oh, I could not be more precise,” Izzy shot back angrily. “I don’t know what happened to Sunny, whether she died or what, but the least you ponies could do is say her name to remember her by! Or kept this place the same! This isn’t right! This isn’t…” She fought back the sudden rush of tears.

“She didn’t die.”

Izzy looked up from the ground upon hearing Hitch say this. He had hardly spoken the whole way home, so when he did, it was only because he had something important to say. It was a cause for everypony to pay attention. “What…? Then why-“

“That is none of your concern,” he answered sharply, staring her in the eyes with an expression that made her want to curl up into a ball and hide. If looks could kill, this one would be it. “Now if you know what’s good for you, you’ll quit talking about her while you’re ahead.” He then turned around. “Forward.”

Izzy sighed. “Yes, sir…” She wished that she could talk to him and figure out why he was so gated around the topic of Sunny. What had happened between them? Why did he refuse to talk about her? She had so much that she wanted to ask him about, but she was afraid to at the same time. Knowing this version of Hitch, she had to watch what she said. Anything could set him off.

They continued on the beaten path into the main encampment. Hitch opened the gates to let them in using a combination that she couldn’t see. Once they were inside, she could see the mood relax amongst the other ponies, particularly the survivors. They had obviously been through a lot just as she had, and she could see the tense aura start to change. They started talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers. Posey and Pipp began doing the same as well, congratulating each other on how amazing each of them had been during the attack. They had been silent the whole trip, and now they had begun to loosen up a bit. Posey had mentioned earlier that the mission wasn’t over until everyone was safe and sound. Knowing that they had made it alive, it was definitely a massive burden off their shoulders.

It was then that Izzy could see a clearer view of the camp. It was massive, double the size of what the community garden used to be, and that was saying something. Ponies began to come out of the tents in droves to greet them and celebrate their arrival. She could see them start to gather en masse. It wasn’t just soldiers in uniform. There were actual civilians. She could see a mare walking by with her little filly right next to her. The child had a dark pink coat and a purple mane and tail, as well as a sea turtle for a cutie mark. She was happily skipping alongside her mother, an apricot mare with a brown mane and tail. On the other end, a stallion was practicing his sword fighting with his marefriend. They were doing flips and acrobatics during it, playfully trying to outdo the other in terms of skill level.

In another area, Phyllis Cloverleaf had become a drill instructor, working a group of initiates to the bone and forcing them to do twenty pushups or get no cupcakes. The poor young stallions gulped and proceeded to do as instructed. To her right, a trio of mares were practicing their archery, shooting at targets with precise accuracy and giving themselves enthusiastic hoofbumps every time they hit a bullseye. To the left of them was a herd of schoolponies walking alongside their instructor towards a larger tent to which Izzy could only assume was a makeshift school. On the opposite side of them were two teenage mares gossiping about stallions and their favorite movies. It was all magical, the exact opposite of the harsh and rigorous army camp she had been expecting. It seemed so…normal, like this was an ordinary day in town minus the weapons.

Comet noticed her mouth open and chuckled. “Even though times are pretty tough right now, we still try and make the lives of those who don’t sign up for the Divisions normal. Not everypony here is a soldier. The majority of those who join us start off as citizens. They can choose to sign up for our ranks at any time they like to help out the cause, and we’re certainly instilling that sense of loyalty into our young. But otherwise, we try to make the war fun for our fellow ponies. It’s hard to stay committed when it’s just doom and gloom all the time.”

“Over the past few months,” Posey added. “We’ve expanded our roster as more ponies want to help out the cause. Hitch is in the process of organizing the Fifteenth Division. We got a long waiting list, so I guess that was inevitable. But it’s so great to see others volunteer. They know the risks, but they want to see the Regime end as much as we do.”

“It’s all so…beautiful.” Izzy remarked, smiling. Her heart felt warm seeing all of this. For a moment, she forgot all about the horrors of the night prior and how she almost died. She felt a bit better knowing that the spirit of unity, the dream that she and her friends had fought for, lived on even in the darkest times.

“It definitely is,” Comet agreed. “I’ll show you how to play buckball later today if you’d like. I may not be super pro yet, but…I’m certainly getting there.”

Posey smirked. “Debatable. Come on, hot shot. Let’s show Izzy the inside. I think somepony wants to see her.”

Izzy’s ears perked up at that statement. Somepony wanted to see her? Who? She hoped it was Sunny. She had so many things to ask her. Or better yet…No. She pushed that thought aside. She couldn’t be alive, not even in this world. Misty was dead. The sooner she accepted and came to terms with that, the better. With a heavy sigh, she followed the other ponies to the building that used to be the Crystal Brighthouse.

The interior of Headquarters was even more expansive than the camp outside. The main living room had been transformed into a computer lab where ponies wearing special headsets worked tirelessly at their desks, typing away important data on their keyboards. To their right, the kitchen had been turned into a chemical and atomics lab. Two unicorn scientists were staring through a microscope at a sample of unobtanium metal, while three pegasi chemists mixed potions together to make a special potent fusion. A sizzling noise went off as ground up rocks were dropped into the substance.

“And this,” Posey announced, spreading her hooves out wide for theatrics. “is what Hitch likes to call his Research Station. This is where all our research and development gets done. We make our explosives in the lab over there and we import any crucial information onto our team, who processes them in the computer lab over here. Stuff like tracking, finding new settlements to set up temporary camp, types of weapons, so on and so forth. To work in the lab requires a pony with insane technical skill.”

“Count me out then.” Comet stated glumly. “I’m a novice.”

“Oh, so that’s why there’s only about 20 ponies sitting here,” Izzy noticed. “Not really a job that too many can work in, I guess.”

“Definitely not,” replied Posey. “You’d have to be the best of the best.” She turned towards Hitch. “Should each of us conduct interviews on the survivors one by one? Or do it in groups of five?”

Hitch looked up from his communication device. “Groups of five, I’d say. If we do it one by one, we’ll be here all week. And I’ll be doing most of the work anyway. It’s important you guys relax after what happened this morning. Anytime we can rest, we should. I’ll start taking them in come evening.”

Pipp scoffed derisively. “Rest. As if we can ever actually do that. I’m sorry, when was the last time we’ve gotten a proper break?! We’ve been on the run for days, and we’re only now coming home. Who’s to say it won’t happen again?!”

“We left Maretime Bay because we had to find Sprout,” Hitch reminded her. “We’ve done that. And we got Izzy back too. I’d definitely be wary, but take the time to relax if you can for the moment. You’ll need the strength. No point in stressing yourself out over nothing.”

The pegasus shook her head in an exasperated manner. “Over nothing. As if what happened to Zipp means anything to you.”

“That is not what I-“

“You didn’t have to say it.”

“Um…guys?” Izzy asked, cutting in as gently as she could. She was only now beginning to take notice of the tension between Hitch and Pipp, as well as the fact that Zipp was nowhere to be found. Where was she? Shouldn’t she have been outside training the recruits? She loved to be athletic after all. Yet she was gone, and that seemed to be a sore spot for the two of them. “I’m still here, you know.”

Hitch glanced at her briefly. “Sorry. Personal stuff.” He then turned his head back over to Pipp. “You know I cared about her. I-I just wish I could make her loss easier for you. I’m trying my hardest here.”

“Well try harder.” Pipp spat. “I’m going to check on the archers.” She pushed past him and walked outside the building, into the huge encampment in front of her. Posey, Windy, and Comet followed close behind. Before long, they were gone from sight and lost within the crowd of other ponies.

Hitch hung his head low. “She won’t see reason. I can’t keep avoiding the issue.”

Izzy cautiously walked over to him and put a shaking hoof on his shoulder. She was scared to do so, knowing his temperament, but her innate instincts to comfort anypony in need took over. He flinched, but accepted the gesture. “I’m sorry. I know you’re trying.”

Hitch looked back at her. “You were always the voice of reason between the two of us. I’m glad to have you back, Izzy. Even if you may not fully remember everything.”

“I remember,” Izzy insisted. “It’s just, what I remember is…” She hesitated for a brief moment. “Different. There’s no war, no nothing…Sunn-she was here, and…we saved the day. We were heroes. Equestria was free. Nothing about this world makes any sense, and…I don’t know how to explain it.”

The sheriff smiled, but it was a sad smile. “Whatever drugs the soldiers put you under to imagine that timeline…I’d like to live in it. Sounds so much better than what we have now.”

“It is,” replied Izzy, smiling back. “It’s amazing.” She knew she couldn’t tell Hitch that the world she was describing wasn’t imaginary, but she also knew that he would never believe her if she did. This timeline was all he had ever known, and the idea that they weren’t under constant threat would have sounded too foreign to him. So she had to play along with the hallucinations idea, at least until she got him to let his guard down a bit more.

Hitch gently pried her hoof off of him and picked his head back up. “I have to see to the survivors outside. Why don’t you go upstairs, Izzy? I think somepony wants to see you. She’s been worried sick all morning.”

Somepony wants to see you. There it was again. Who was this pony? She needed to find out. Without saying another word, she nodded obediently and headed up the ramp to where the bedroom was supposed to be. Fortunately for her, it was exactly how she remembered it. It was the only thing that hadn’t changed in this new world.

The beds were arranged in the exact way they used to be, complete with her little portion of Bridlewood and all. The personal flourishes that each of her friends used to decorate their areas were still intact as well. It reminded her of the simpler times just a day ago. She had at one point felt uncomfortable living in the Brighthouse so far from home, but now she couldn’t be more grateful to see a part of it still the way she remembered.

She crept into her room and smelled her bedsheets. The aroma was nice, as if they had just been taken out of the dryer. The pillows were placed in the exact orientation she liked, the mask she used to sleep with was on top of the covers, and most importantly of all, there was Seńor Butterscotch. Her makeshift stallion companion was still in pristine condition and lying right next to the spot where she would normally sleep. It was like the bed had been made especially for her to prepare for her arrival home.

But who could have thought to do such a thing for her?

She got her answer, as she then noticed the unicorn mare staring despondently out the main window. Even though her back was turned, she still looked instantly familiar. She was hard to miss. The unicorn was blue with a stringy red and purple mane and tail. The Afro hair was a dead giveaway. There were only a few ponies in Equestria who looked like that. She had a butterfly cutie mark that sported the same colors. Her cheeks were dotted with freckles. There was no mistaking who this was. Izzy’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be?

She could feel a thousand different feelings welling up from inside of her all at once, from denial to skepticism, to overwhelming joy. She didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. It was impossible. She couldn’t be alive. She had given her life in battle. Izzy had seen it with her own eyes. She had taken the knife and done the deed upon this mare’s instruction. Yet here she was. It was almost too good to be true. She wanted to cry. But she couldn’t be sure yet.

Taking a step forward, Izzy approached the unicorn as carefully as she could so as to not startle her. “M-M-Misty? I-i-i-is t-that y-you?” she stammered, struggling to hold back tears.

That was when the unicorn slowly turned around, and Izzy was overcome with emotion all at once. Those beautiful green eyes. There was no mistaking them. It was Misty Brightdawn, her sister and best friend. She was alive, staring at her in shock and disbelief.

“Izzy…?” Misty asked softly, her tone barely a whisper.

Tears gathered up at the corners of Izzy’s eyes as she stared into the face of the pony who meant the universe to her. She had once been killed in an act of heroic sacrifice, yet was now standing before her once again like nothing happened. It was like everything she had dreamed of coming true, the cosmos granting her greatest wish. Misty was okay. She was here, living, breathing, existing. The same unique complexion. The same timid, but filled with hidden courage sparkle she had come to read from her. The same type of resolution when it mattered most. The same love for her friends whom she saw as her true family. It was all here. It was real.

Misty was alive.

“Misty!!” Izzy exclaimed, her voice breaking. Her whole body shook. She ran towards the unicorn and buried her face on her shoulder. Misty gasped upon seeing this, but didn’t say anything further. It was obvious she had been grieving as well. Tears cascaded down Izzy’s face. She let them fall, sobbing relentlessly. She wanted this moment for so long, to be able to embrace Misty and tell her things she never got to. She let all the feelings she had been bottling up inside of her out. She didn’t have to hide them anymore. For the first time in months, she was genuinely happy again.

“I’ve missed you so much!!” she sobbed, sniffling repeatedly. “I thought I lost you!”

“I thought I lost you too…” Misty replied in a choked voice. She was similarly crying and wiping her face while still trying to console Izzy. “I-I thought they killed you…I-I still m-made your b-bed, b-b-but I t-thought y-you w-would n-ne-never-“ She couldn’t finish her sentence through all the tears.

“I-it’s okay…” Izzy comforted her, speaking as firmly as she could muster. “I-I’m here now…a-and I-I’m never losing you again!”

“Deal…”

They held each other for a long time, soaking in the moment as if it was their last. Izzy didn’t ever want it to end. She had her Misty back after what seemed like an eternity. She vowed that she would never let her come to any harm, never let her risk her life like that again, no matter what the unicorn said in protest. From now on, whatever they did, they would do so together. They were a family again at long last. And that was all Izzy ever wanted her whole life.

“So what do you wanna do?”

Izzy bounced up and down like an excited filly as she walked right next to Misty. The two of them had been touring the entire encampment together for about an hour, and were now walking through the two rows of army tents. They had a lot of catching up to do, and Izzy knew this. She didn’t care if she had to walk around all day. She would never get tired of it. Not while Misty was by her side. With her back in her life, she could accomplish anything.

“Well, we do have a lot of options,” she quipped, grinning. “We could play buckball all by ourselves, we could shoot some arrows together, I could teach you how to play duck, duck, bunnicorn-“ She took a massive gasp for air in order to achieve the desired dramatic effect. “I never showed you how to play that game, did I?”

“No, you didn’t,” Misty replied. She smiled back at her, clearly enjoying the moment between them. “I’ve never actually played that game before. What is it?”

“It’s basically this game where you sit on the ground,” Izzy explained. “Somepony taps you on the head and says "DUCK!" It’s typically played by several ponies. Eventually, you get to a point where the pony counting says "BUNNICORN!!" and if they tap on your head, you gotta run in circles until it’s the next round.”

“Sounds complicated.” Misty remarked, frowning a bit.

“It’s really not,” Izzy assured her. “I’ll show you how it’s done if we can get enough ponies involved. I’m sure Hitch would LOVE to play that game. Very specific rule set. You can be the counter if you want. Or you could volunteer to be the bunnicorn first and we’ll base the initial game around that.”

Misty giggled. “I’ll have to think about it. For now though, I just want to enjoy the walk. I haven’t gotten out much since you got captured. I’ve been…too depressed to do anything…” Her face fell.

Izzy stopped and reached out a hoof to lift her chin up. “Hey, it’s okay. That’s not happening ever again, I promise. I may not remember exactly what happened, but I’ve definitely learned my lesson this time.”

Misty nodded slowly. “Thanks. I…needed to hear that.”

They stared at the beautiful afternoon sky above them. The Sun was shining through the clouds, casting its brilliant rays onto the ground below. It warmed their faces to the fullest extent. A soft wind blew through their manes, a sign from nature itself that everything was going to be okay. Izzy closed her eyes and let herself get immersed in the cool weather. In spite of everything she had been through the past morning, it didn’t matter. She finally had Misty back. She didn’t know how, but she didn’t care. She had been grieving for so long that even just being next to her now was pure euphoria.

In this moment, she forgot all about wanting to go home. She had initially wanted to, but once she had found out Misty was alive in this timeline, she didn’t care to go back. She could stay in this alternate world despite all its dangers forever if she had to. Home wasn’t where Misty was. She was with her now and possibly forever. And that was all that mattered to her.

“It’s so beautiful out here…” Misty mused, a single tear leaking down her face. “Just the Sun, the breeze, everything. And I get to experience it with you.”

“I know,” Izzy agreed. “I thought I’d never see you again…Now you’re back and I…I never want this to end.”

“Me neither.”

Together, they laughed over the sheer ridiculousness of the events that had transpired. They danced in the sunlight, chased each other across the fields, and walked side by side with one another while telling each other jokes. It was as if they had never been apart at all. The time they had spent apart seemed to evaporate into the ether. All was as it should be at long last. For a moment, ignorance was bliss. Life made sense again. And love could truly save the world.