Tempest had not stopped Rose as she adjusted the weapon and pointed it far away from the intended target. In fact, the unicorn hadn’t said much. It was almost as if she had expected this to happen, or at least she had been prepared for it. All that Tempest had requested was a lift as they made their way back to the astronomy tower. It was puzzling, but the mind of the lone guard couldn’t even focus on that. Other things were far more prevalent, like the image of Parade with a knife in her belly.

Sadness had gripped her heart in the moments after but that was burned away in the knowledge it had been the right thing to do. The doubt of the action had been so momentary that it ought not have existed at all. It had all been swallowed by certainty and by a fire that now refused to die inside of the pegasus’ chest.

Parade’s death was necessary. It was warranted. More importantly, it was righteous.

“Are we doing this or not?” Tempest was waiting at the edge of the tower closest to Luna’s observatory. Her face was placid with a hint of annoyance as impatience pervaded her words.

“Yeah.” Rose nodded and took a deep breath. “Give me a minute.”

The sun had reached its zenith and hung directly above the castle. Being so high up, on top of a tower on top of a mountain, it was almost like you could reach out and grab it. The light beat down on Rose’s dark red coat and shook free whatever ice remained on her heart. Her head lifted and she closed her eyes as she looked right up at the beautiful ball of light in the sky. The one she had protected. The one she had saved. Somehow it seemed so much brighter and so much more gentle.

“You don’t seem surprised at all…” Rose spoke calmly as she lowered her head again and opened her eyes. Golden orbs with renewed purpose and vigor stared at the fuschia unicorn standing next to the edge of the tower. “You just saw me do that, and yet you did nothing.”

“Seems like you saw the light to me.” Tempest shrugged. “They pressured you into this, they guilt tripped you and made you feel bad for who you are.” She stepped forward towards Rose and her eyes narrowed and filled with a fire Rose knew all too well. “I knew you wouldn’t let it happen. You couldn’t.”

She was right. Of course she was right. Rose would never allow harm to come to Celestia as long as she could stop it. If she could’ve prevented this transformation in some way, she would’ve. Even if any of those things resulted in her own death, Princess Celestia and even Princess Luna needed to persist. For the good of Equestria.

“Don’t…don’t you want to get out of here? Canterlot, I mean? You should want to escape as much as us.” It still wasn’t adding up though. Tempest obviously had some sort of higher power she was serving just like Rose. If she was a spy, then everything happening here was incredibly valuable intelligence and she should want to get away and report it. The longer they all stayed here the more certain their deaths felt as well.

“I could leave right now if I wanted to.” Tempest’s assertion once again caught Rose off guard and her mouth was left hanging open for a minute. Did this spy have some sort of secret way off of the mountain? If so, it had to be somewhere near the castle…but where?

“Then…why don’t you…?”

“And miss all of the fun?” The unicorn offered one of the rare smiles that she produced as she spoke. There was that wild look in her eyes, a spark of excitement, that showed she truly did enjoy what was happening here. “Can we leave now? I’d rather just be done with this particular bit now.”

Rose nodded and went back to double check everything. They had rotated it enough so that when it was fired the arrow would be launched harmlessly towards the city’s south gate. Hopefully it wouldn’t kill anything, but the main point was that it wouldn’t kill one of the alicorns and they could still say they ‘tried’.

Rose’s hoof slammed down on the firing mechanism of the ballista. The gears creaked and the taught rope snapped as the log-like projectile was launched from the frame and sent into the city beyond. The sound of the air being split by the colossal arrow was like thunder from this close and it left a stream of rough air in its wake.

By the time the arrow had hit one of the buildings, the two mares were already in the air. Rose was flying with her hooves hooked around Tempest’s front legs to keep her aloft. The world seemed to shake as dual roars went up from the two turned alicorns and thousands of voices joined in unison with them and filled the air with the terrible call to action. Even flying through the air with the wind rushing by her ears, Rose could hear the savage wingbeats of the princesses as they took off to investigate.

It wasn’t easy as Rose was never the strongest pony, nor the best flier. She could go the distance, but that was with just her armor on a good day. With a whole extra pony to lug around, it was a lot harder. She wavered a few times as they sailed towards the big circular window of the opposing tower and she had to make more than a few course corrections to make sure they would hit their target.

When Rose was absolutely sure they had enough speed and altitude to carry them right at the window, she tucked her wings against her sides and wrapped all four legs around the mare she was carrying. Tempest did the same and both of them buried their faces in the other’s fur.

The weight of two fully grown mares at speed was enough for the glass of the window to shatter. They hit the ground of the observatory and tumbled for a few feet before coming to a complete stop. Even before untangling themselves from one another, Rose knew she was now covered in small cuts from the landing. She could feel the air sting the newly opened wounds all across her body.

Rose got to her hooves and Tempest joined her soon after. They both looked back and up at the window just in time to see the dual titans of the sky appear over the tower. Their long gangly legs dangled beneath them as they hovered and their eyes searched the top of the tower. From this distance their fangs were visible and dripping with saliva that made them shine in the sun, and of course so were the bloodstains that ruined their usually perfect coats.

Their horns, both five foot long spears, lit up with gold and blue light respectively. They then unleashed vicious beams of magic upon the helpless ballista. It disappeared beneath a blinding barrage of the beams. Then the two alicorns began to circle the tower and the output from their horns seemed to increase as the old stone melted.

“We should get out of here…” Rose muttered as she watched the destruction. It was hypnotizing in a way. Never before had the full power of those two ponies ever been seen, not by anypony alive anyway. The chorus of growls and screams added a haunting texture to the moment.

When her eyes could finally be peeled from the apocalyptic spectacle, she saw Tempest holding a small gray box about a foot wide in her mouth. It took a moment to realize what it was but the small metal antenna gave it away, it was a radio. That wasn’t a bad idea, it could give them some much needed insight on what was going on in other parts of Equestria.

Getting into the bug tunnels was never a good idea, but it became substantially worse when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were shelling part of their own castle. The systematic destruction of the old artillery tower was causing the whole castle to shake, and when you’re surrounded by solid rock on every side the last thing you want to feel is it rumble around you.

That kept up as they went along and Rose felt like her teeth were about to shatter in her mouth. The vibrations shook her very bones and rattled her brain around her skull like a jumpy pinball. So on top of the usual anxiety of being down here, she was now developing a severe headache in the dark.

After enough time and distance, the shaking became nothing but little rumbles in the distance that would occasionally cause sharp pebbles to drop around them. Once it faded, they were left once again with only the sound of their breath and the weight of their thoughts. Rose wished the tunnel had collapsed and killed her back at the beginning because being trapped with just those treacherous thoughts was far worse than that.

Parade’s face wouldn’t leave her mind: her mouth open in shock and the look of deep pain and betrayal consuming her pink eyes. Rose could feel the dagger as it pushed into the soft flesh of the mare’s belly and she could feel the warm blood on her hooves. Then there was the sound of the body hitting the roof below the tower. In her replay of the moment, Rose swore she could hear the lightweight bones of the other pegasus shatter against the ceramic tiles.

Rose’s progress through the dark maze of tunnels halted abruptly as her breathing became far too quick to handle in the confined space. The wings on her back bristled and pushed against the walls in a fruitless attempt to keep them at bay but they kept closing in no matter how hard she tried.

“Rose?” Tempest’s voice cut through the deafening silence. “Rose. Calm down.”

It was an easy concept but nearly impossible to execute. Rose’s hooves scrabbled at the rocks beneath them in some feeble venture to dig herself out of there. The wings on her back kept trying to spread, to flare out and flap and take her away but all that did was kick up the dust in the tunnel and make it even harder to breathe.

“ROSE!” Tempest’s booming shout echoed throughout the tunnel system. “Listen to me: take a deep breath.” She grabbed one of Rose’s rear hooves with her own in a show of solidarity. “Just follow me: deep breath in through your nose.” She could hear Tempest follow her own command and take a deep overexaggerated breath in through her nose.

Rose closed her eyes and did just that. Her eyes closed and she took a long deep breath.

“Let it out through your mouth slowly.”

The air passed through her lips slowly and a shiver went up her spine.

“Deep breath in.”

“Let it out.”

They went through this cycle about a dozen times until Rose’s breathing was normalized. The feelings were still there, the guilt. It was still sinking in. When that had been accomplished, Tempest spoke up again.

“What happened?” She sounded annoyed, if not downright sick of Rose at the moment.

“I…I killed Parade.” Rose swallowed, the dust that caked her mouth and throat made it painful to do. “I killed another pony.”

“Yeah, you did. So?” Tempest just kept tapping Rose’s back leg rhythmically as she spoke. “Was the alternative better or worse than what you did?”

The alternative was, of course, Princess Celestia being injured or outright killed. This was better than that, but it didn’t make it any more digestible as an act. Killing another pony, one who meant you no harm and was in fact on your side…Rose worried that the true light of the world would never shine on her favorably again. She would stand in the sun again but it would never warm her bones or bless her with its majesty.

“Rose. Answer me.”

‘I-I could’ve talked her down.” Rose found her voice again and croaked out a response. “I didn’t need to. I could’ve-I should’ve tried to tell her not to do it.” There had been other avenues. Why in the world had she resorted so quickly to the extreme? Before all of this she only had one kill-a single wolf in self defense-to her name. Now she had how many? It was so easy to lose count…

“No you couldn’t.” Tempest answered. “I know I’ve only been around you guys for a few days now, but I get the feeling Parade wouldn’t be one to hear your objections. Think about back in the dungeons when they were planning this. They stopped at nothing to get you to go along because they were convinced it was the only way. If she thought you were a serious threat to stop her, she would’ve killed you first.”

Yeah, she would’ve. If push came to shove, Parade would’ve done it gleefully. Tempest was right. None of the survivors Rose had escaped with liked her, they all thought she was a weird religious fruitcake.

“They were using you.” Tempest’s smooth words echoed into the darkness that surrounded them. “Face it, you’re a tool for survival to them. Not some equal partner or somepony whose life they valued. Ponies like that don’t value life, they value use. That’s why they throw your faith in your face, because it’s not useful to them right now.”

The panic in Rose’s chest morphed into something that was becoming all too familiar: anger. It had been flaring up more and more and each time it felt like she came closer to letting it burn her out entirely. It was stoked by the realization that Tempest was right.

She had gone through these tunnels and back two times now, each time risking her life all the while Golden Star, Bulwark, and Al sat around nice and safe back in the dungeon. When she got back last time she wasn’t met with thanks, she had been met with arguing and insults. What was waiting for her this time? She had failed her objective this time after all.

“We can’t tell them about Parade…” That was the next reality that hit her like a ton of bricks. Maybe they would believe she got taken out by one of the beasts, but could they risk a maybe.

“No.” Tempest confirmed Rose’s feeling. “We’ll tell them she tried to leave. They were worried about that, right? Then what happened? One of the princesses got her and spotted us. We barely got out alive.” She paused for a moment. “Right, Rose? That’s what happened.”

“R-right…”

After another minute of silence so Tempest could confirm that would be the story going forward, they resumed their march back towards the dungeon. There wasn’t another panic attack, but a sense of dread lingered. It crept in on the edges of the fire that burned in Rose’s heart and kept it from consuming her. It was the delicate balance between the light and the dark that existed in all ponies.

“What happened? The whole castle was shaking and we thought you all were done for.” The Lieutenant was waiting when they got to the exit of the bug tunnels in the dungeon, and he grabbed Rose’s front hooves and helped her get out of the confined space. Bulwark then tried to help Tempest in a similar manner but was swatted away with a hoof. Golden dusted Rose off and looked at the hole for a moment as he waited for the third that had left with them.

“...where’s Parade…?” His blue eyes turned icy and the pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. “Please…don’t tell me…”

“She tried to fly away as soon as we got to the ballista…” Rose uttered the damnable lie with as much confidence as she could. “Princess Luna saw her and…” The words would not come, she couldn’t even force them anymore.

“We didn’t get a chance to even try to kill one of them.” Tempest picked up the thread for Rose and continued. “We barely got out of there and they melted that whole tower into a pile of slag.”

“Parade you…” Golden growled out and ground his teeth. The imposing stallion galloped up to one of the helmets that was on the floor and kicked it as hard as he could. It went careening across the room until it impacted one of the walls and fell to the ground with a clang. “I knew we couldn’t trust her! I knew it! Bulwark, you were right. I can’t believe it!” The lone commanding officer paced around in circles, steam coming from his ears as he fumed.

“What else were we going to do, LT?” Bulwark opined to Golden. “We couldn’t send just the Sunny-” He pointed a hoof directly at Rose. “-you know she wouldn’t do it. It was a dumb risk but it seemed right at the time.”

Rose silently fumed at the name. ‘Sunny.’ It was a word she had learned to hate over her life and one that she hadn’t heard in years. It was a derogatory term she had first heard as a filly in Las Pegasus at the market. It was a few weeks after her birthday when she had gotten the sun pendant as a gift. She thought it was a cute nickname. She knew better now.

Sunny, Lightbulb, Cultist. All things she had been called when her faith became known. All things she had become sick of so long ago. Now it felt more intolerable than ever. There was nothing she could do about it. No post to get moved to, no barracks to hide in, no home to run to. She could not hide from her faith anymore, she had to embrace it now more than ever.

The fire inside burned brighter.

“If it’s any consolation, I managed to swipe a radio.” Tempest sat the little device down on the floor. “I figured we could try to get a signal and see how the rest of the world is faring.”

“Great..” Golden grunted and sighed. “Do…whatever, I’ll try to think of something else to get us out of here.”

—

Rose was on watch that night, because of course she was. Very little conversation was had at night and nopony really did anything. That was thanks to the oppressive darkness that weighed down on the dungeon. The Lieutenant had decided that keeping the torches lit was a danger since it might draw attention to their little hiding spot, so now they spent the nights like this. There was also very little light that filtered in through the small windows since the blaze above died out. So here Rose sat, alone in the darkness and listening for any of those things to come down the stairs.

She had lost track of the time. It was easy to do when you were alone with your thoughts.

Parade was still on her mind, as were the other ponies in here with her. The grip on the spear that she was to use as a deterrent tightened, as did her jaw. All of this was another reminder of why she stayed so isolated, why she kept ponies away. Every time she got too close to others they punished her for it. She could give them everything, she could even put her life on the line and still be mocked and degraded.

It was becoming intolerable.

They had tried to use her faith against her. They had tried to make it seem like killing Princess Celestia was a righteous and holy thing to do. Heretics. The lot of them. She had seen through it, though. The light had shown her the truth and it was that the monsters could also be the ponies that had not turned. Their capacity for cruelty could match that of the feral unicorns and they were just as keen to kill.

These were all lessons and tests, she was sure of it. Princess Celestia’s divine light had shown her something and now she had to trod the path it illuminated before her. She had to find the strength and courage to do so. It would be tough, but it had to be done.

“Our pony of the sun, alone in the dark.” Tempest’s voice came from the darkness as merely a whisper. It was a moment before she was close enough to see in the dim light and the unicorn came to rest by Rose’s side.

“I’m never truly in the dark, not as long as the light within me still shines.” Rose retorted with another saying her father used to repeat. That one was said on the nights when the monsters under her bed menaced her and the darkness threatened to take her. “What are you doing up?”

“I don’t need much sleep.” Tempest assumed her usual pose while sitting down, back flat against the wall and eyes closed ever so slightly. “I figured I would come check on you. After all, you’re the one pony I can actually stand in this place.”

“Thanks.” Rose felt a smile form on her lips. It was the first time in a long time, probably since the day where Princess Celestia got that note about Twilight. “I’m…I’m managing.”

“Yeah? Even after…” Tempest let the sentence hang and left Rose to fill in the blank.

“It was the right thing to do.” The smile fell from Rose’s face and grim determination replaced it. “If we had gone through with it…I…I don’t know if I could have lived with myself. I don’t know how I would’ve looked at the sun ever again.”

“Hmm.” Tempest made the sound and said nothing else for almost a solid minute. “What will you do if you make it out of here and somehow things go back to normal?”

That was a very loaded question, and one that Rose didn’t have an answer ready for. The first thing she needed to figure out was if she expected to survive this at all. Obviously she was doing what she could to not die, but really was she doing all she could to survive this?

“I…assume I would just go back to being a Royal Guard.” That was the simplest answer she had. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would still need protection, and I took an oath that I would do so.”

“What if things don’t go back to normal? What if this is the world now?”

“Then I’ll have to find some way out of Canterlot and…I don’t even know. My whole life has been this. I guess I could go home and spend what little time my dad has left with him?” That seemed like the ideal plan. Their place was isolated and it was a farm. “What about you?”

“If it goes back to normal then…I guess I will go back to what I was doing. That means you and I will meet again. Eventually.” That was certainly ominous, but Rose knew asking what exactly that meant would earn her no answer. “If it doesn’t go back to normal, I’m not sure. I do what I do because the normal wasn’t something I liked. If it’s changed, then I guess I won? Hmm.”

“What if we survive this and somehow everypony gets fixed, but it doesn’t go back to the way it was?” That cloud hung over the concept of ‘normal’. How could anything in Equestria go back to how it had been after this?

“Then the ponies of Equestria will have their work cut out for them.” Tempest answered grimly. “Maybe then they will see how broken their way of thinking was before, and maybe they’ll change. I’d like to think that they might finally see the light.”

“Me too…” Rose tapped her hooves against the spear she held. There was something she needed to ask of the mare beside her. “Hey Tempest?” Rose’s ears caught the sound of fur scraping against stone as the unicorn turned her head to face the pegasus. “You said you had a way out of here…do you think if we can’t figure out something…that I could join you?”

“Your friends can’t come.” That wasn’t a no.

“They’re not my friends…” Rose gripped the spear a bit tighter as she stared into the darkness where she knew Golden Star and Bulwark were sleeping. They never would be her friends now, not even if they all survived this.

Author's Note

I rewrote this damned chapter 3 times