The Dividing Chronicles: Calm Before the Storm [Book One]by Moonshine9012ChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3PrologueChapter 1Chapter 1 ====== But when will our leaders learn - war is not the answer. -Helen Thomas The night was stormy and cold. The rain pitter- pattered against the windows of the palace, producing the kind of music that only nature can make. Lightning flashed across the sky in a brilliant spectacle, followed shortly by booming thunder. The rain started to pick up and before long, it was drenching the land in a much needed source of life. Princess Luna sat by the large window in her bed chambers, observing the unusual storm with alert eyes. She continued to watch as the storm raged and as she sat, she pondered it. It was very peculiar to have a storm of this size come this far from the Everfree Forest, especially at night. The weather pegasis had spotted the storm quickly enough and had done their best to stop it but once the temperature had dropped, her sister had ordered them to safety. They were extremely reluctant but left non the less. That was over six hours ago and yet the storm still kept up. It irked her to know that the night sky she was suppose to be watching was being covered by those ugly, dark clouds. It was summer time, which meant more ponies stayed up longer and were able to look upon the night more often than most normally did. Alas though, tonight would not be a night of beauty, at least for the Princess. She looked out at the storm one last time before huffing angrily and turned about to head for the door. As she opened the large oak doors, her Nocturne guards snapped to attention and looked at her expectantly. Luna waved them off with a hoof as she turned and proceeded down the hall. The guards relaxed again and continued to talk quietly betwixt themselves. As she walked, Luna thought about the strange things that had happened since she had gotten back from her banishment. Starting with her being cleansed by the Elements of Harmony seven years ago, she had to get used to coming to terms with modern civilization. Then came the time when she achieved peak strength and was able to grow fully into the adult alicorn she was. This meant that she was about the size of Tia now. The transformation had happened about five years ago. Along with achieving full strength again, she was finally able to gain the trust and admiration from her subjects that she had yearned for. She was able to do this only with the help of Twilight Sparkle, her dear friend. Twilight had been the first pony to accept her for who she was now and not what she had been in the past. With her help, Luna had been able to master both modern speech and the art of friendship. Her thoughts were interrupted by the clip-clop of hooves that were not her own. Looking up, she saw another alicorn approaching her. The alicorn had a black coat, with black wings and a black horn. His mane and tail were black with dark blue highlights. His flank was adorned with an interesting Cutie Mark: It was a double sided sword crossed over a shield at a diagonal angle. Wrapped around the sword and shield is what looked like tentacles of dark energy. His mane fell in front of his face, covering most of the right side. He was about the same size as Celestia and Luna, after all he was their brother. The only difference though was that while her and Tia's mane were enchanted, his mane was like that of a normal pony. Smiling, Luna trotted up to him and embraced him while saying, "Moon Shine, I'm glad to see you made it safely back from Zebriac! Was your trip successful?" He broke the embrace and replied a little tiredly, "Yes, it was. The treaty has been finalized so everything should be smooth sailing from here on out." "That is good to hear. I had feared that things were going to get out of hoof and war would break out. I see that my fears were in vain though." she replied with a grin. He smiled a little and said, "Yes, thankfully they were. So what is with the storm out there? I didn't think the pegasus ever had a storm this big scheduled." She frowned a little before replying, "I know but sadly, this storm is not the pegasus' doing. It came from the Everfree Forest, hitting Ponyville before coming here then spreading across Equestria." Moon frowned like her and thought for a moment. Finally, he looked up and said, "Hmm, well I'll check into this in a few. It's very disturbing because I can only bend the darkness about fifty percent less now that the storm is here." His sister became nervous upon hearing this. If her brother, the Prince of the Moon, couldn't bend the darkness like he normally could, then something was definitely wrong. She put those thoughts aside though for a moment. Luna smiled again as she thought about why she was walking around in the first place, saying, "Anyway, I was just on my way to raid the kitchen of all of it's brownies, care to join me?" He smirked and said, "Never lost your sweet tooth now did you? I am afraid I must decline, I have to go and write up a report on all this nonsense. I'll see you later big sis." With that he trotted away, humming an old tune he had learned from his time on Earth. Luna shook her head and grinned, thinking, His time away really got to him, didn't it? She chuckled to herself and continued in her way to the kitchen. She passed a great deal of Nocturnes in the palace halls. All of them looked agitated, as if something that was in the air that bothered them and made them itchy and jumpy. Twice she had almost scared the living night out of herself and a group of Nocturnes. She would just be walking and then they would turn a corner, all nervous like. Upon seeing her, they would jump and start shouting for her to put her hooves up. Being the fearless Princess she is, she would scream and put her hooves in the air before remembering who they were and where they were. Coming to her senses, she would put her hooves down and shakily proceed on. It would take a moment or two before the guards remembered for themselves and move on in the same manner. After the second encounter, she shook her head in frustration and turned into an almost invisible purple mist. Content on knowing she would have no more surprises, she continued on to the kitchen. Must be the storm that's got them riled up she thought as she arrived at the kitchen doors. The doors were also made of oak but were smaller than the Princess' own. While Luna's were intricately carved with designs depicting her and the night, these doors only had a single, large carving of an earth pony frosting a large, delicious looking cake. Reverting back to her normal alicorn state, she went to the door and knocked five times fast then waited for a reply. The chef and Luna had always been good friends, both being advent lovers of chocolate. They made a knock that would let the chef, Cherry Tart, know it was her. After a few seconds, two knocks came from the other side and the door was pulled open. There Cherry Tart stood, his mouth full of chocolate and an apron with flour all over it around his waist. Grinning through the delicious treat in his mouth, he opened the door wider to let the Princess in. Cherry Tart was an earth pony with a white coat and a cherry red mane mixed with a dark green. His mane and tail were the reason he got his name: Cherry Tart. He was a middle aged pony of about forty five and had a wife and two foals. "Ight isc glkfd tolp sie ynpd!" the chef slurred through the chocolate mess. Luna laughed, a good hearty laugh that only a best friend can do. "I'm sorry, come again?" Realizing his fault, Cherry quickly swallowed the goo and tried again. "I said, it is good to see you!" He walked over and embraced her. As they broke, Luna looked at the counters and, feigning mock shock, said, "You were going to eat all the chocolate brownies without me?! Cherry Tart, I am insulted!" Chuckling a little, the chef went along with the antics, saying in an equally shocked tone, "Of course not! I was just having a taste test, to make sure they were satisfactory for a Princess such as yourself." "And? Are they worthy of the Princess of the Night?" "Taste for yourself." Luna went over to a batch sitting on the counter that had just come out of the oven. She engulfed a good sized brownie in her magic and proceeded to take a bite. She chewed slowly for a moment, pondering the taste of it. After a few seconds, her eyes got wide and she looked at the brownie in delight. Thunder boomed outside as she scarfed down her brownie and dove for the rest of the batch. The Princess attacked the batch, the one beside it, and the one beside that in a rather unceremonious manner. After she stopped long enough to breath, she noticed what she had been doing. Looking over at Cherry Tart, his jaw on on the floor, Luna smiled sheepishly as she slowly got off the counter and walked over to the chef. Picking his bottom jaw up and placing his mouth shut, she sat and waited for him to say something. She sat for about five minutes, trying various ways to get his attention. Failing, she fell back on her rump and said, "This is hopeless!" *Hic!* Luna covered her muzzle with both of her hooves, as Cherry turned to stare at her. "I am so *hic* sorry" she said, just before she accidentally let a burp go in the Royal Canterlot voice. "BBBUUURRRGGGGGGGGGGPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The force of it shook the room and drowned out the raging storm that was engulfing the land. The Princess and the chef both stared at each other, eyes wide. Then, after a few seconds, they both broke down in spontaneous laughter. Not a regular kind, no, the loud chortle that's coupled with "guhafs!" and snorting. The drawn out one that brightens up your day, or night in this case, no matter what is going on. As the onslaught of hilarity died out, the two both stopped to catch their breath before going over to eat more of the amazingly good brownies. After eating half the brownies in the royal kitchen, which adds up to about two thousand brownies in all, they sat in some chairs and talked. They were so hyped on sugar, they might as well have been drinking. They talked about anything and everything, from their personal lives to gossip. Eventually, they got onto a topic that made Luna perk right up. "So did you hear about all the disappearances that are going on right now?" the chef asked. Luna was pulled from her sugar induced high upon hearing this. "What are you talking about Cherry? There haven't been any disappearances lately, at least to the best of my knowledge." He shook his head and chuckled, saying, "Well then, you've been kept in the dark my dear friend, no pun intended. This has been going on for quite some time. But that's not all of it. Every time somepony goes in search of the already missing ponies, they end up missing themselves." The Princess didn't answer, she was too deep in thought. How could this be happening and me not know about it?! I wonder what else I don't know... Luna opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Cherry as he continued, oblivious thanks to the brownies. "That's not even the weirdest part either, oh no. Every time the guards go looking at the pony's last known whereabouts, all they find is a symbol carved into the ground." Luna was able to speak this time, as she spoke right after he finished so as to not get cut off again. "What kind of symbol?" The chef thought for a moment. Apparently the sugar high was affecting how well he used his brain. "I remember them saying it looked like a triangle except the bottom was curved into an arc instead of being straight." The Princess started to think about it but was cut off as she suddenly thought something else. "Cherry, who is 'them'? How did you find out about this anyway?" The chef blushed and stuttered, saying, "Umm w-well, I m-might have b-been sneaking a-around when t-the guards r-reported to y-your sister...." Luna laughed and said, "Is that all? Oh chef, there's no reason for you to be nervous telling me this. Don't worry, it's our little secret." Cherry smiled sheepishly and said, "Phew, thanks Princess." She laughed and said, "You're welcome. Now going back to the symbol, how big was it?" Convinced he wasn't going to get thrown in the dungeons for eavesdropping, he smiled and said, "Uhh... well.... I think they said it they varied. Sometimes they would take up a space as wide as a road. Other times they would be as big as the bottom of an average ponies hoof." Luna began to think about it more. She had seen something like these symbols before but she could not remember where. Finally, the answer started to dawn on her and she did not like it one bit. "I'm sorry Cherry but I must be leaving now." Luna said as she rose. "So soon? I would have hoped you could stay and help me bake. Keep me company while this storm is going on." "You're not scared, are you chef?" she asked with a grin. "Oh course not!" he said. "I just enjoy having somepony to bake with, that's all." She laughed and said, "Whatever you say. I am afraid I can't though, I have some urgent business to attend to." As she walked to the door and opened it, she looked back and said, "Thank you for the brownies, they were absolutely scrumptious." "You are most welcome Your Majesty" he said as he bowed. Luna shut the door behind her and stood by it for a moment. From what Tart had told her, the Princess had a pretty good idea who was behind all this or at least partially. She turned left and started down the hallway to the east tower. Remembering what happened earlier, she remained alert while walking through the halls. She was determined to not be surprised again. Yet still, she ended up surprised....again. She was rounding a corner when, surprise, surprise the process started all over again. Only this time it was worse because it just so happened to flash with lightning then boom with thunder. Luna screamed out of fright and instinctively turned into the purple mist. She hurried the rest of the way to the tower, leaving some very scared and confused Nocturnes behind. Upon coming to the base of the stairs leading up to the top, Luna became whole once again. While she could easily teleport to the top or go up as the mist, she prefered to walk. Luna liked having a fit and in shape body because she did not plan on becoming a fat or overweight Princess anytime soon. It took a few minutes but she finally made it to the top of the stair well. She quietly knocked on the door and waited. After a minute or two, she heard the rustling of sheets and the clip-clop of hooves nearing. The door opened to reveal a dark grey Nocturne stallion. He had a jet black mane and tail, with dark gray Nocturne wings to match his coat. His eyes were red with slitted, black pupils that seemed like they could stare into your very soul. His Cutie Mark was the reason Luna was there: it was a black triangle but instead of the bottom of it being straight, it was an arc. He was a little taller than the average pony and well built. He looked about in his early thirties. "Night Bringer, we need to talk." the Princess said. The Nocturne stared off with a glazed look over his eyes, seemingly oblivious to Luna. She waved a hoof in front of his face till he shook his head and snapped out of it. "Oh, sorry Princess, I was kind of out of it for a second there. What was it you were saying?" Night said. "I said that we need to talk." He looked at her quizzically and said, "Right now?" "Yes, right now." As if to emphasise Luna's point, thunder boomed right after her statement. Looking over at the window of the tower then back at her, he said, "Well, I'll take that as a yes." He walked back into the room and the Princess followed. Going over to the bed, Night nudge the sleeping form in it. "Octavia, love, I need you to get up." the assassin said to his wife. The grey mare mumbled in her sleep before turning over to face her husband. "Night? What's going on? Is it the storm?" she asked groggily. "No Tavi but Princess Luna is here to see us and I think she would appreciate it if you were awake to hear" he said with a grin. Octavia instantly sprang up from under the sheets, knocking the Nocturne to the ground. "Ah! Princess! I was just- uh..." Luna chuckled and said, "It is quite alright Octavia but it looks like you might have hit your husband a little hard upside the head." Looking back and realizing what she had done, the cellist rushed to Night's side and helped him up, whispering apologies in his ear. Rubbing his head, the assassin walked with his wife over to the Princess and pulled a few chairs over from the table nearby. All of the present ponies sat and stared at each other in silence for a moment, just listening to the sound of the storm outside. Finally, Night cleared his throat and said, "So Princess, what was so urgent that you needed to speak about?" "Ah yes. Well Night, I have just come across some very disturbing news. Apparently there have been disappearances lately throughout Equestria." Luna replied. "Yes, I've heard about them." "How does everypony but myself know about this?!" the Princess exclaimed. The Nocturne blushed grinned slyly and said, while motioning to himself and Octavia, "Well Princess, we are assassins. We tend to know about things." Luna smirked and said, "Yes and that is exactly why I came to you. As I am sure you both already know, every time they go to the ponies last known whereabouts, all they find is a symbol. And can you guess what that symbol is?" He looked quizzically at her and said, "Uhh.... the 'me gusta' face?" "No, the- wait, did you say the 'me gusta' face?" He shrugged and said, "Moon Shine told me about it." The Princess face hooved and mumble, "Ugh, I'm going to have to have a talk about human memes with him." "What was that?" Octavia inquired Lifting her head up, she said, "Oh nothing, just talking to myself." Looking between the two, she continued, "At any rate, no it was not that. It was the symbol of the Assassins Order. The very same symbol that adorns your flank Night." The Masters eyes got wide as he looked at his flank. He looked back at the Luna and said, "No! We didn't know that actually." Luna raised an eyebrow and said, "You're the Grand Master's successor, how can something be going on and you not know about it?" He shook his head and said, "I don't know. Whoever did this is either rogue, under a spell, or under orders that I have no knowledge of." Luna rested a hoof under her chin, deep in thought. After sometime, she picked her head up and said, "Hmm... this is all very disturbing. I will have to discuss this with my sister in the morning when she awakes. For now, return to sleep my friend, I will contact you both when I need." The two assassins nodded their heads as the three rose. As the couple settled back into their bed, the Princess quietly shut the door behind her. This time opting for teleportation, she went to her bed chambers and settled onto the top of her bed. What is going on here?! she thought. Outside the storm raged on, merciless against the land. Chapter 2Chapter 2 ======= The first casualty when war comes is truth. -Hiram Johnson Meanwhile, as Princess Luna is attending to her previously stated matters, Princess Celestia is in her own bed chambers. As she lay there in her bed, she continued to toss and turn. Sleep was one thing she could not do at the moment as there were many things she had to attend to. Finally, fed up with the notion of tossing in her bed any longer, the Princess rose and went to her desk. It was about 1:12 in the morning and yet the hideous storm still beat against the castle and the land. Upon arriving at her desk, the Princess sat down and took a quill in her magic. Bringing a sheet of parchment in front of her, Celestia tapped the feather against her chin for a moment. She thought a few seconds more before she dipped the quill in ink and began to write: Dear Grand Master Silent Mortem, It was good to hear your last report about the mayors of both Trottingham and Los Pegasus. I trust they will not give us anymore trouble? On another note, I have heard the reports of revolts springing up in the city of Manehatten and the two cities I have just listed above. Though I do believe that you and your assassins are most capable of handling these situations discretely, I still would like some more reassurance. So I am sending my captain of the guard, Shining Armor, with five thousand of my best troops to you. He will be temporarily put under your command until this crisis is past. I do you hope that you will use them wisely and distribute them properly among the above cities. Sincerely, Princess Celestia P.S. You might want to make the symbols less noticeable, ponies are starting to ask questions. Putting the quill back in the inkwell, satisfied with her letter, she engulfed it in magic and sent it away to the assassin. Now that she had that out of the way, it was time to draft orders for the movement of troops. She got more sheets of parchment and bought her quill back out. This was going to be a long night. As dawn came and the morning started, the rain had finally stopped but the dark clouds still hung over the land. Princess Luna sighed contently and tiredly. It was almost time for her to rest and she was thankful the rains had stopped. The clouds may not have been gone but still, at least it was not raining. As she rose to go meet Celestia for breakfast, her thoughts strayed back to her conversations earlier that night. The news that Cherry Tart had told her had worried Luna a great deal. Her talk with Night Bringer hadn't done much to soothe her fears either. It was the talk with her brother that had her worried the most. Moon Shine had said that with the storm, he could only bend the darkness fifty percent than what he normally could. That scared her. You see, Moon Shine was the Prince of the Night, therefore he had power to bend and control darkness at will. So if he couldn't perform what was part of Cutie Mark and one of his special talents, then something was definitely up. Speaking of her brother, she needed to have a talk with him after breakfast and see if he had found out anything. She also remembered that she needed to speak with Tia about this as well. Luna slowly got of her bed and made her to the closet. She went in and got the crescent moon necklace her mother had given her many, many years ago. She always wore it to breakfast and just because all this nonsense was going on, didn't mean she was going to break her tradition. The Princess put the necklace on and made her towards the large doors. Opening them, she saw that the Nocturne guards were just now having the changing of the posts. Motioning for them to be at ease when they snapped to attention, she began her walk towards the throne room. For some reason, I think tradition, the Princess' had always had had a table brought to the throne room so they could eat. Royalty can and do tend to be a bit eccentric. As she walked through the intricately designed hallways, she couldn't help but gaze nervously at the dark clouds hovering outside. She couldn't help but feel like those hideous things were a sign or an omen of some sort. As she came to the doors, thunder boomed and the pit-pat of rain started all over again. Luna blew her chops and rolled her eyes angrily. Yep, definitely a sign she thought as she came to the throne room. All around the doors, messengers flitted about, waiting to go in. Messengers from what seemed like every branch of the Equestrian military was there. Even Night Bringers old buddie from training, Shadow Wing, was meditating nearby. He sat about two feet away from everpony else; which of course they were all very grateful. It wasn't against Shadow Wing personally, its just that many do tend to get nervous when a master assassin is around. He wore the traditional white, silver and red clothing of the Order; hood pulled over his muzzle and everything. Because of what he was wearing, Luna couldn't see what he really looked like. Nopony but his fellow assassins had seen him for who he really was. As the Princess approached, all of the messengers stopped their murmuring and either bowed or snapped to attention. "At ease, all of you" she said in a soothing voice with a smile. A few returned the smile then went back to whatever they were preoccupied with. Luna looked over at Shadow, who slowly opened his eyes and nodded. The Princess nodded in return and smiled before going in. As she passed through the doors, she failed to see the light tint of red that graced the pegasus' face before it vanished in a flash. The giant oaken doors slammed shut behind her as Luna walked towards the table in the middle of the room. Her sister was seated and had already been served a plate of food and a goblet for drink. Barely touching either, Celestia scribbled quickly and determinedly with a quill. She sat there, seemingly oblivious to everything and everypony around her, even her sister, Princess Luna, as she entered. Coming to the table, Luna coughed a little overly loud, "Ahem!" Jerking up from her scribbling, she looked around with a wild fire in her eye, horn charged for battle. Luna stepped back a little as Tia's eyes came to rest upon her. Instantly, the fire in them died and her horn's glow weakened to nothing. She sat there for a moment, seemingly catching her breath. Finally, after a few minutes, she sighed and said, "Oh, it's just you Luna. Please, don't do that again, you scared me." Luna smirked and said, "I'll say. You looked ready to blast me into space dust." She went and sat down across from her sister and was quickly brought food and drink. As the Princess proceeded to dig in, Celestia said, "Yes, I am sorry about that. I'm just a little jumpy this morning. It was a long night last night and today doesn't seem to be any better." The Moon Princess looked up and asked, "Oh? And why's that?" "You know the storm acting up last night and such. Then there's the distribution of troops to attend to.." Celestia said hastily as she trailed off. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed outside finished her statement. Luna looked out at the storm then at her sister, confused. "What do you mean distribution of troops?" Her sister was scribbling again. "Hmm? Oh yes, just some small things here and there in a few cities. Oh, that reminds me, I must have a quick talk for a moment." Grasping quite a few scrolls in her magic, Tia got up from the table and went over to the doors. Pulling them open with a bit more magic, she called the messengers inside, including Shadow Wing. She shot him an inquiring look and he just shrugged his shoulders. Resigning to talk to him, and many other ponies later, she sat and waited for what her sister had to say. The Sun Princess cleared her throat before beginning. "Thank you all for coming so quickly and on such short notice. What I have to say will be brief, I promise. Now, here I have a scroll of orders for all of you, detailing troop movements and procedures. You will take them to your commanders and wait for orders from Shining Armor. That is all; dismissed!" The messengers all came forward, received their scrolls, bowed and then were off to their own branches. The last one to receive a scroll was Shadow and it seemed like Cestia paid extra attention when handing him his orders. Luna played her magic a bit and enhanced her hearing. "Shadow Wing, you will bring this scroll to Shining Armor first and tell him to move out immediately. Then take this other one to the Grand Master in Fallujah Castle. Report back here when it is complete" Celestia whispered to the master. "Yes Your Highness" Shadow replied. As he turned to leave, he caught Luna's eye and mouthed We'll talk later. She nodded her head and he left. Closing the doors. Celestia came back to the table and finally began to eat. As she did, Luna studied her for a moment. She had seen her sister nervous and agitated before but never on this level. "Dear sister, what is the matter? You look like you legs are going to fall off, your shaking so much!" the Princess said with a tone of concern. Looking up from her food, Tia said, "Iibf knosbdue whavgt younknjb taklndib abojgiut." "Sister, I cannot understand what you're saying." Blushing a bit, she swallowed her food and said, "Sorry, I'm just hungry is all. Plus staying up most of the night didn't help." Looking at her curiously, Luna said, "Okay... Well I'm going to get some sleep. Wake me if anything should happen." Her sister nodded as Luna rose and teleported to her chambers. Once in her room, she removed her necklace and got under the sheets. She would wait and talk to the others later this afternoon when she woke. Outside, she heard the marching hooves off possibly thousands of guard ponies. Looking out of her window from her bed, she saw an endless number of guards leaving the castle and Canterlot. I know Tia said some small things in the cities but that many ponies is ridiculous! Putting her head back down, she was soothed to sleep by the sound of hooves marching and the sound of drizzling rain against her window. The Princess awoke a hours later to the sound of booming thunder. She lay there in her bed for a few moments, just thinking. What Tia had said a few hours earlier had just added to her mounting fears. If she was sending a few thousand ponies all over Equestria to calm some 'small things'... She couldn't take her sister's word for it, she had to go see these 'small things' for herself. Rising, she went to her dresser and picked he comb up. Slowly, she started to brush her wavy, starlike hair. As she was brushing, there was a knock at her door. Without pausing in her combing, she called out, "Enter!" Slowly, the oak doors opened and Shadow Wing stepped in. "You wanted to speak to me Princess?" he inquired as he shut the door. Smirking, she turned around without ceasing in her brushing and said, "I thought you were the who wanted to talk Shadow." Again, a faint hint of scarlet caressed his cheeks before disappearing once more. Luna thought it was quite lovely, especially for an assassin. "Oh yes, that's right, isn't it Princess?" he replied with a small grin. Laughing, she said, "Yes it is and what have I said about calling me Princess? That's only for in public my friend." Mocking a bow, he said, "Then forgive me, dear Luna." Still laughing, she said, "Rise Shadow. Now tell me, what is going on right now?" The Master immediately took on a serious look and demeanor. "That bad huh?" "Worse" he replied. Luna grimaced. "How so?" "Well, the letters Celestia had me bring to Shining Armor and the Grand Master were not good at all. Yes, before you ask, I did look then reseal the scroll." The Princess shut her mouth, a blush now kissing her cheeks. He continued, "The letters were most disturbing. The one to Shining Armor put him under the Grand Master's command, along with five thousand of Equestria's best troops. The one to the Grand Master authorized him to put the cities of Trottingham, Los Pegasus, and Manehatten under marshall law for as long as the revolts kept happening." Luna looked shocked and confused. "Wait, wait, wait. Back up a bit. Did you say revolts? Ok, first I didn't know about the disappearances and now I find out about revolts?! What the hay has been going on without me knowing about it?!" Shadow opened his mouth to answer but Luna cut him off, saying, "Don't say anything yet. I have to get the others here. They need to hear this." With that the Princess shut her eyes and thought about her friends and her brother. Her horn started to glow and before she knew it, she heard quite a few shouts, then crashes, then finally to be summed up by a symphonic sound of pain. Opening her eyes, she saw her brother and friends from the castle there. Night Bringer and Octavia were on top of the pile. Underneath them lay Moon Shine and his wife Rainbow Dash, trying to get up. Then finally, to complete it, at the bottom of the pile lay Shadow Wing, struggling for breath. "Can't....breath..." he gasped. The ponies on top of him mercifully got off, allowing for him to breath again. As he slowly got up, Night said, "Sorry about that Shad, couldn't really control where we landed." "My bad" Luna said, grinning sheepishly. "It's alright" said the soft spoken assassin as he looked and nodded at everpony in the room before turning back the Princess. Well, everypony but Rainbow Dash that is. The Princess was confused for a moment then was suddenly intrigued by the assassin's manners toward a fellow assassin. Pushing those thoughts aside, she cleared her throat and said, "Sorry everypony about the teleportation but I needed a way to get you all here quickly." There were murmurs of forgiveness from the others before they went silent again. Continuing, she said, "Now that we are all here, I suppose we can get started again. Shadow here was just telling me about some very disturbing news. I called you all here so you could hear it with your own ears." Shadow quickly explained what he knew and before long, everypony was talking amongst themselves. It took a few but by the time they were all calmed down, they were all asking the same question: "Why?" "I don't know why but I believe that we must find out for ourselves. I'm going to see first hand the revolts and see if I can do something to stop them. Who's with me?" Slowly, everyponies hoof rose into the air. Luna grinned and said, "Thank you. Now, we must plan." Chapter 3Chapter 3 ======= “There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.” ― Howard Zinn Shadow Wing trudged along with his friends down the deserted and muddy road. The constant rain and wind tore at him and the others around, billowing their cloaks. He had on his traditional master's attire, with his hidden blades beneath his sleeves and his bow and quiver angled across his back so it wouldn't get in the way of his wings. Beside him walked Princess Luna, head turned slightly to the side so as to shield her face from the storm, even if just a little. She wore a plain, dark navy blue cloak that dropped down over her hooves, almost scraping the mud below. The Princess had a large hood pulled over her horn and muzzle, concealing her features. Her only weapon was her horn, hooves, and magic. Slightly behind them and to the left was Night Bringer and Octavia. Night had gone for the more modern style clothing: white and blue with a smidgen of red somewhere. With him, he brought one of the new weapons the blacksmiths at the guild called 'firearms'. He too had both hidden blades under his sleeves and across his back, also angled to not interfere with his wings, was a sword. Night was accompanied by Octavia at his side. She also wore the traditional attire but instead of white, silver and red; it was grey, silver and red. It was grey so as to match her coat color. She also wore weapons under her sleeves but she had a different variation of the hidden blades. While the others had actual blades hidden under their sleeves, the cellist turned assassin had two, short, sharpened bows. The bows were made from the finest of wood so they would not shatter or crack. The strings of the bow were not strings but rather razor thin, razor sharp blades with barbs. The 'blades' were easily concealed but had to treated with the utmost care, otherwise you would cut your hoof off without realizing it. To top it off, resting on her back was a deadly looking, medium sized mace. Then beside the pair, a bit behind Luna and Shadow and to the left, was Moon Shine and Rainbow Dash. Moon wore a midnight black cloak with silver designs running all along it. He too had a large hood pulled over his face, covering it. He also had no weapons beside his horn, hooves and magic. By his side trudged along his wife, Rainbow Dash. Dash had on a dark master's cloak with silver trim and a hint of red through it. It made the rainbow maned pegasus look both mysterious and lethal. She chose to equip herself with only one hidden blade on her right hoof but on her back were two swords crossed over each other, careful as to not restrict her wings. The finely clad group of ponies continued along the road, murmuring amongst themselves. Both the alicorn and pegasus stallions in the back kept a constant wing around their respective loves. They partially did it for sentimental protection and just the fact that they enjoyed being close with their significant other. For some reason, Shadow could not help but glance back at the Prince and Dash time and again as the group walked. There was a reason why he kept looking but he thought he had gotten over that a few years ago. Glancing back at the black wing draped over his fellow assassin, he shook his head and forced himself to look forward again. He couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness and self pity at the thought of another in his place. Voices managed to reach his flickering ears despite the storm going on around them. He recognized the voices as the murmurs of the ponies behind himself and Luna. He realized with a little shame that he hadn't spoken a word to the Princess since they had left Canterlot for Manehatten. Looking over at the darkly clad mare beside him, Shadow felt a twange inside of his stomach suddenly. He studied her for a few moments as they walked. He was reminded of things he couldn't take his eyes off of. He could see some of her face and he couldn't stop looking at the way water ran and dripped off her bangs. How they fell in front of her face. He could barely make out the well toned curves of her body. No, I can't think like that! There's more to a mare than just looks! he scolded himself. He pushed those thoughts aside for the time being and focused on making conversation with the Princess of the Night. Clearing his throat and moving closer so she could hear him, he asked, "So how far to Manehatten now?" She also leaned close and replied, "Umm, if my estimations are correct then there shouldn't be more than thirty-five minutes left." "Oh well then, it shouldn't be that long now..." Glancing back for a moment at Moon Shine, Shadow asked, "So what's the story behind the Prince back there Luna? If I might be so bold to ask." Smiling a little, Luna turned her head slightly so she could look him in the eye. "You may be so bold. It is quite a long story though Shadow Wing, are you sure you would like to hear it?' Looking around at the dreary landscape about them and feeling the rain splatter against his already soaked cloths, he leaned back in close to her. Luna noted he was closer to her then he had previously had been a few moments ago. "Well, it doesn't look like I'm going anywhere soon" Shadow said with a grin. Smiling that beautiful smile of hers at him again, she began, "Okay then. Well, it all started back when Moon was just a little foal, which was about a thousand years ago; before my banishment. Back then there were four alicorns in the royal family: Tia and myself, along with our brothers, Moon Shine and Flourishing Star. Each had their own respective title: Tia and Flourishing Star were the Prince and Princess of the Sun while I and Moon were Prince and Princess of the Night. Things were quite peaceful during those times. Tia, Flourish, and I all were teaching Moon Shine the responsibilities of being an alicorn. He was only three at the time but alicorns mature much faster than their bodies so while his body was still that of a young foal, his mind was equal to that of a colt of almost ten years old. Then, everything changed. An ancient evil awakened by the name of Death Stroke. I won't go into details about this beast but the point is he wanted power. Specifically, Moon Shine's power." As Luna paused to take a breath, Shadow took the opportunity to ask, "So this thing, Death Stroke, was after the Prince's darkness bending?" The Princess, having caught her breath, continued, "Well, sort of. You see, getting Moon's darkness bending was merely a perk. What the beast was really after was Moon Shine's Guardian Element." Shadow looked confused but what shushed when Luna stopped him by saying, "Yes, you've probably never heard of the Element of the Guardian. It was once part of a trilogy called the Elements of War. These elements were synthetically made from the residue energy that came from the Elements of Harmony. The trilogy consisted of the Elements of the Assassin, Berserker, and Guardian." "You keep speaking in past tense. Were the other two elements stolen? Lost perhaps?" Shadow inquired. The Princess shook her head and said, "No, they were neither lost nor stolen but rather buried. I'll get to that in a moment though. So, when the beast struck at us and came for Moon Shine, we were forced to make a decision: we could either try and fight off Death Stroke or send the young Prince away. Sadly, in the midst of battle, when we saw we could not protect him, we were forced to send Moon to the planet Earth. While we did save the young foal from certain destruction, our plan backfired on us. First, in the process of spiriting the Prince away, he lost his memory in both the teleportation and shape shifting into a human. Second, Flourishing Star tried to fight off the beast named Death Stroke and save the day. My late brother always was a sucker for heroics. In his split second decision, he doomed himself forever. While fighting the beast, Flourishing Star succumbed to the evil words of Death Stroke and was corrupted almost to his very core. He turned on Celestia and I and destroyed almost all of Canterlot before we could drive him and the beast off. My brother became the slave of that monster for over the next thousand years. The last incident is one of the most famous in Equestrian history and is the biggest shame of my very long life." "You mean...." Shadow Wing trailed off beside her. "Yes Shadow, I am referring to the Nightmare Moon incident. When my brother, the Sun Prince, was corrupted by the words of the monster, I to was also corrupted. While I did not turn suddenly and completely like my brother did, the words of Death Stroke planted the seed of jealousy and hatred inside my heart. Over time, that seed continue to grow inside of me, whispering it's evil words to my naive ears. Slowly, I succumbed to the darkness and evil within me and started to become the power hungry, insane monster that ponies today only hear in legends past." Luna's voice had started to become shaky as she started to explain this part to Shadow and before long, silent tears had begun to fall to the ground; methodically in sync with the rain around them. He could hear the faintest of sniffing beside him and when he looked over at her, he saw that her gaze was downcast and melancholy. Cautiously and ever so slightly, he slowly lifted a soaked wing and placed it over Luna's back. He was able to do this because the Princess, and the Prince behind them, had shrunken down to an average ponies size so they could blend in. As his wing finally rested over her, he was relieved to know she hadn't flinched or move away. He did feel her stiffen up a little though. He leaned in a little closer and said soothingly, "Princess, you don't need to keep blaming yourself for that. It's been seven years since you've been forgiven and cleansed. It's ok, you can let it go." She stayed silent as she continued to shed silent tears. Shadow continued to console her as they walked down the mu filled and gloomy road. After a few minutes, he said, "Do you want to finish the story Luna? It's ok if you don't." She sniffed once more before lifting her head and shook. "No, no, it's ok, I can finish. So after I came back from... from my banishment seven years ago, I had to get back into rhythm with the modern world. While Tia was helping me with that, we still kept a continuous on Moon while he was on Earth.It was a very peculiar thing to see too. You see, it had been a thousand years here in Equestria but on Earth it had only been about fifteen years." Shadow's eyes widened as he said, "So you're saying the Prince is only eighteen years old?!" Luna laughed and said, "He hides it well, doesn't he? It's amazing how much he has matured since he came back. Anyway, while we watched him from afar, we wanted desperately to bring him back but we couldn't. If we did that then the beast would have found out and come after him again. Moon ended up coming back anyway when the Death Stroke, after a thousand years, had finally found him on Earth. So after he had been found, Tia went and tried to save him from the beast on Earth. Again, a few thing went wrong. While Celestia was able to run Death Stroke off, Moon Shine was hit by a magical bolt trying to protect his sister. He was sucked into a sort of 'black hole' and transported to Equestria. It took us almost three days to finally find him after Celestia returned. After we had located him, we found that his memories were still missing. So we had the arduous task of trying to explain everything that had happened to him. Apparently he knew a limited amount, not from his memories but ,out of all things, what people on Earth call a 'television show'." Shadow scrunched his face up in confusion as he asked, "A 'television show'? What is that?" His tongue rolled over the unfamiliar word with some difficulty. The Princess laughed again and said, "Yes, a strange word isn't it? It's even stranger if you see what it is but I'll tell you more about that later. So, the same day we went and found him in Ponyville, Death Stroke attacked the town and us. He captured my sister and I, while injuring Rainbow Dash and almost beating Moon Shine to death in the process. Before the beast left the town, he told an almost unconscious Moon that the only way to get back my sister and I was to bring the Elements of Harmony and the Element of the Guardian. Long story short, the Prince came without the Elements to the beast's lair and a huge battle ensued. While fighting, Celestia and myself were both freed from our prisons and protected the Elemental bearers that had come with Moon. During the battle, Rainbow Dash jumped in the way of a magical bolt to save the Prince, much as Moon had done for my sister. As a result, the Prince also got himself struck down by going after the beast. My brother, Flourishing Star, was fighting me when our little brother was almost killed that day. It could have been seeing his brother almost die or the fact that he was fed up but either way, Flourish broke free of the corruption in his heart. Turning on his former master, Flourish covered us as we escaped the beast's lair. Eventually, the mountain we were in, which was called Mount Pegasi, collapsed in on itself due to all the magic that was shooting around the inside. It buried my brother, Prince Flourishing Star of the Sun, the beast called Death Stroke, and the two Elements of War: Berserker and Assassin. We made it back to Canterlot, where there was celebration for one Prince's return but mourning the loss of another. Shortly after, Moon Shine and Rainbow Dash were married." That's when I lost her Shadow thought as he bowed his head slightly. "Are you alright Shadow?" the Princess asked, concern evident in her voice. Looking up at her, Shadow offered a small smile and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for the story Luna, it's not everyday I get to hear storytelling skills such as yours. Especially from one as pretty as you." Luna blushed and said, "T-thank you Shadow Wing, I don't get to hear compliments such as yours very often." The assassin smiled back at her, a warm, friendly smile, before looking ahead again. He couldn't see much through the fog but thankfully the rain had slowed down almost to a complete stop but the clouds still hung around. The group walked for about ten more minutes, just enjoying each other's company. Shadow's wing was stilled draped over the Princess but she did not mind. She found it quite warm and inviting, as opposed to the biting chill of the air. The stallion beside her was also enjoying this serene moment. He found it a bit comforting to be near her and not have her shy away from him. As the road became more refined and eventually paved, they knew they were nearing their destination. They kept walking towards the city, hearing shouts, bangs and crashes coming from the normally bustling metropolis. "Keep an eye, sounds like things are worse than we thought" said Night Bringer to the other five. The rest nodded in agreement and pulled themselves away from their respective other, readying for anything that could come. Shadow reluctantly pulled his wing off of Luna and folded it against his side once again. He was a little sad the moment had to come to an end and plus, his side was cold now. After about two minutes, Octavia perked up and said, "Somepony's coming." They all looked through only the fog, for the rain had given them a brief respite, and saw a figure starting to forming. "Who do you think that is?" Shadow whispered to Luna as the figure began to take shape as a pony. "I suspect it's a sentry to the city" she replied, also in a whisper. "Why do you think that?" As he said this, a small explosion went off somewhere in the city; the flames could barely be seen through the overcast clouds. The Princess looked over at him, an eyebrow raised and a knowing look on her face. As the group came to a stop, Shadow raised his hooves and said while smiling, "Alright, alright, stupid question." Nodding her head and smirking at the assassin, the two looked forward at the guard pony that had appeared in front of them from the mist. The other two pairs in the group came to stand beside them as the guard stared them down with a blank stare and calculating eyes. "Who are you?! Identify yourselves!" the stallion commanded in a deep, baritone voice. He continued to walk forward, stopping about four feet away from the six. He was a large, rather buff looking earth pony with what looked like maroon fur underneath the white and gold armor. If the armor was anything to go by, then the stallion was either a Private First Class or a Corporal. "We are but weary travelers in search of a place to rest and eat!" Shadow called out to him. Technically, he wasn't lying to the guard. They were in need of food and a place to sleep, they were just going to do a bit of poking around while they were at it. "No can do sir. The city is under martial law by the Equestrian Military. Nopony is able to enter at this time." As the guard said 'Equestrian Military', Luna looked at him with confusion. She was about to speak but was beat by the Moon Shine as he said, "What do you mean 'Equestrian Military'? I was not aware of Equestria bearing a military of any kind except for the Royal and Nocturne guards of Canterlot." "I am not at liberty to give any information concerning the newly formed military but I can tell you travelers that we were made under the decree of Princess Celestia herself. Now, as I said before, the city is off limits to all outsiders so if you will turn back.." Night Bringer stepped forward and said, "We're not outsiders though, my friend over there is from Manehatten." He pointed over at Shadow as he said this. The guard seemed to contemplate this for a few moments, mulling it over in his head. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry sir but that means that only he can enter city; now if you will just-" There was an angry huff that cut the guard abruptly off. Dash frustratedly said, "Oh for the love of Spitfire!" She bolted forward and uppercutted the guard right underneath the muzzle, eliciting a cry of surprise from the stallion. The guard crumpled to the mud caked ground in a heap of soaked armor. Dash turned back around to the group and said, "I was getting tired of that colt's ranting." The others looked at each other before simply shrugging their shoulders and started walking again towards the city. Octavia was sure to move the unconscious body to the side of the road and under a bush, so he wouldn't accidentally inhale mud and water from the road and also just to hide him. The group eventually came upon the outer city limits to Manehatten. They were loathed to see a camp set up around the giant city. The camp made a ring around the concrete jungle, which was a hint of how many guards or, soldiers were actually there. "The fog should keep us hidden from afar but just in case we run into anypony up close, we'll be covered" said the Princess as she charged a spell on her horn. Slowly, the group began to fade into nothingness as the invisibility spell took hold. Satisfied that they would not be seen, the pairs resumed their walk through the collage of leather, silk, and tough materials that were the tents. As they walked, they saw that the outermost tents were filled with both sleeping stallions and a few mares that looked as if they had been in quite a few of skirmishes. The farther they trekked into the camp though, the more tents they saw deserted. Entering the actual buildings of the city, the group could hear more clearly the sounds of rioting coming from the center of the city. Luna released the invisibility spell on the pairs and they rushed toward the sounds. As Shadow ran, he couldn't help but look around sadly at all the littered streets, alleyways, and run and broken down buildings. So much has changed he thought Luna noticed his downcast demeanor and asked as they ran, "Are you alright Shadow?" He looked over at her with a sad smile and opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by another small explosion. Looking forward again, he noticed they had reached their destination. In front of them now, in the very center of the city, stood two opposing forces. On one side were the rioters: unarmed ponies of all sizes pushing against the 'military' that was trying to occupy their city. The other side consisted of the royal guards, police force, and Shadow even caught a glimpse of a white cloaked figure throughout. The two giant groups were competing for control of the center of the city, which was in the shape of a square. More than a few ponies on the 'military' side were armed with some of the new inventions called 'firearms'. The small explosions that kept occurring were when bullets hit something flammable on the streets or in the nearby buildings. The six ponies waded into the throng of rioters, careful not to let themselves be separated from one another. As they got to the other side of the mob, as they had cut a horizontal line through the center, they took cover in the doorway of a nearby shop and watched as the two groups continued to fight. Moon Shine looked around and said, "Well, so much for 'small incidents'. Tia is going to get it when we return." Shadow pulled a nearby stallion over and shouted over the noise of the crowd, "What's going on here?!" The stallion shouted back, "What do you mean 'what's going on'?! How could you not know?!" The assassin rolled his eyes and yelled, "We just got here! So again: what's going on here?!" The old colt shouted with glee, "The revolution my boy!" "What revolution?!" The old stallion looked at them like they were the stupidest ponies in Equestria. "The revolution! Surely you've heard of it! It's been going on for weeks now!" The group just shook their heads 'no'. The colt sighed and shouted, "The revolution is-" Suddenly, there was a great chorus of screams as shouts and bangs were heard. The all turned around and saw the giant mob of protestors scattering in all different directions. Looking at the 'military' assembled, they were horrified to see them start to fire a barrage of magical bolts and bullets. The rest of the non-unicorns who were not armed with guns, drew their weapons and charged most of the unarmed civilians. The unfortunate few who had armed themselves were target first and either cut down by sword, bullet or magic. Blood started to coat the streets as the 'soldiers' continued their brutal and unorthodox slaughter, waving Celestia's banner all the while. Shadow's blood boiled as he watched. "This is complete bull-shark. This is murder against unarmed innocents" he growled. Beside and behind him, the others either growled or grunted in agreement as they got ready to do battle. Princess Luna pawed at the ground with her hoof, rage in her eyes. She and her brother transformed back into their regular sizes and threw off the cloaks they had adorned themselves with. "They will not get away with killing my subjects. Celestia won't be able to walk for the rest of her life; however short it might be" Luna stated, venom dripping from her voice. As if on an unspoken cue, the six all charged at the unsuspecting royal warriors, protecting those still retreating the carnage. In each and every eye of the small band of ponies, was the insane lust for blood, vengeance, and justice. The storm boomed and lightning flashed as the rain began to pour onto the battling ponies below. PrologueThe Dividing Chronicles: Calm Before the Storm By Moonshine9012 ==================================== Dedicated to my parents and the author Pen Stroke. My parents are the ones who helped me along with my literature. Without their encouragement, I don't think I would be the advent reader and writer I am today. To the author Pen Stroke, I thank. Though I do not know you personally, your story, Past Sins, inspired me to write these chronicles of this length and professionalism. So again, I thank you. Readers and Editors Beastbrony14 and Rainbow Bass-Cannon Prologue ======= If we don't end war, war will end us. -H. G. Wells Civil War. It is one of the worst things that can happen to a country. Yes, there are other, possibly even worse things that can happen but none really can compare to a civil war. Disease might kill, invaders might conquer but things eventually go back to what we define as 'normal'. Civil war though, it leaves it's mark for generations and generations to come. Families are torn and pitted against each other. Brothers kill brothers, father's kill sons, parents kill each other etc. The possibilities are endless but I will not name them all, they are all too horrible and painful to name. Most who are apart of a civil war come back anything but themselves and sadly enough, a lot don't return at all. Thankfully, I was not apart of his civil war but I was forced to watch it from the sidelines. I was forced to watch those who would otherwise love each other to death, kill each other in cold vengeance. I am determined to not let something of that magnitude hit this land ever again. So I am writing an account of those events so later generations can learn from their elders mistakes. And maybe, just maybe, it will help those who were apart of it and are still alive ponder on what have done.
Chapter 1Chapter 1 ====== But when will our leaders learn - war is not the answer. -Helen Thomas The night was stormy and cold. The rain pitter- pattered against the windows of the palace, producing the kind of music that only nature can make. Lightning flashed across the sky in a brilliant spectacle, followed shortly by booming thunder. The rain started to pick up and before long, it was drenching the land in a much needed source of life. Princess Luna sat by the large window in her bed chambers, observing the unusual storm with alert eyes. She continued to watch as the storm raged and as she sat, she pondered it. It was very peculiar to have a storm of this size come this far from the Everfree Forest, especially at night. The weather pegasis had spotted the storm quickly enough and had done their best to stop it but once the temperature had dropped, her sister had ordered them to safety. They were extremely reluctant but left non the less. That was over six hours ago and yet the storm still kept up. It irked her to know that the night sky she was suppose to be watching was being covered by those ugly, dark clouds. It was summer time, which meant more ponies stayed up longer and were able to look upon the night more often than most normally did. Alas though, tonight would not be a night of beauty, at least for the Princess. She looked out at the storm one last time before huffing angrily and turned about to head for the door. As she opened the large oak doors, her Nocturne guards snapped to attention and looked at her expectantly. Luna waved them off with a hoof as she turned and proceeded down the hall. The guards relaxed again and continued to talk quietly betwixt themselves. As she walked, Luna thought about the strange things that had happened since she had gotten back from her banishment. Starting with her being cleansed by the Elements of Harmony seven years ago, she had to get used to coming to terms with modern civilization. Then came the time when she achieved peak strength and was able to grow fully into the adult alicorn she was. This meant that she was about the size of Tia now. The transformation had happened about five years ago. Along with achieving full strength again, she was finally able to gain the trust and admiration from her subjects that she had yearned for. She was able to do this only with the help of Twilight Sparkle, her dear friend. Twilight had been the first pony to accept her for who she was now and not what she had been in the past. With her help, Luna had been able to master both modern speech and the art of friendship. Her thoughts were interrupted by the clip-clop of hooves that were not her own. Looking up, she saw another alicorn approaching her. The alicorn had a black coat, with black wings and a black horn. His mane and tail were black with dark blue highlights. His flank was adorned with an interesting Cutie Mark: It was a double sided sword crossed over a shield at a diagonal angle. Wrapped around the sword and shield is what looked like tentacles of dark energy. His mane fell in front of his face, covering most of the right side. He was about the same size as Celestia and Luna, after all he was their brother. The only difference though was that while her and Tia's mane were enchanted, his mane was like that of a normal pony. Smiling, Luna trotted up to him and embraced him while saying, "Moon Shine, I'm glad to see you made it safely back from Zebriac! Was your trip successful?" He broke the embrace and replied a little tiredly, "Yes, it was. The treaty has been finalized so everything should be smooth sailing from here on out." "That is good to hear. I had feared that things were going to get out of hoof and war would break out. I see that my fears were in vain though." she replied with a grin. He smiled a little and said, "Yes, thankfully they were. So what is with the storm out there? I didn't think the pegasus ever had a storm this big scheduled." She frowned a little before replying, "I know but sadly, this storm is not the pegasus' doing. It came from the Everfree Forest, hitting Ponyville before coming here then spreading across Equestria." Moon frowned like her and thought for a moment. Finally, he looked up and said, "Hmm, well I'll check into this in a few. It's very disturbing because I can only bend the darkness about fifty percent less now that the storm is here." His sister became nervous upon hearing this. If her brother, the Prince of the Moon, couldn't bend the darkness like he normally could, then something was definitely wrong. She put those thoughts aside though for a moment. Luna smiled again as she thought about why she was walking around in the first place, saying, "Anyway, I was just on my way to raid the kitchen of all of it's brownies, care to join me?" He smirked and said, "Never lost your sweet tooth now did you? I am afraid I must decline, I have to go and write up a report on all this nonsense. I'll see you later big sis." With that he trotted away, humming an old tune he had learned from his time on Earth. Luna shook her head and grinned, thinking, His time away really got to him, didn't it? She chuckled to herself and continued in her way to the kitchen. She passed a great deal of Nocturnes in the palace halls. All of them looked agitated, as if something that was in the air that bothered them and made them itchy and jumpy. Twice she had almost scared the living night out of herself and a group of Nocturnes. She would just be walking and then they would turn a corner, all nervous like. Upon seeing her, they would jump and start shouting for her to put her hooves up. Being the fearless Princess she is, she would scream and put her hooves in the air before remembering who they were and where they were. Coming to her senses, she would put her hooves down and shakily proceed on. It would take a moment or two before the guards remembered for themselves and move on in the same manner. After the second encounter, she shook her head in frustration and turned into an almost invisible purple mist. Content on knowing she would have no more surprises, she continued on to the kitchen. Must be the storm that's got them riled up she thought as she arrived at the kitchen doors. The doors were also made of oak but were smaller than the Princess' own. While Luna's were intricately carved with designs depicting her and the night, these doors only had a single, large carving of an earth pony frosting a large, delicious looking cake. Reverting back to her normal alicorn state, she went to the door and knocked five times fast then waited for a reply. The chef and Luna had always been good friends, both being advent lovers of chocolate. They made a knock that would let the chef, Cherry Tart, know it was her. After a few seconds, two knocks came from the other side and the door was pulled open. There Cherry Tart stood, his mouth full of chocolate and an apron with flour all over it around his waist. Grinning through the delicious treat in his mouth, he opened the door wider to let the Princess in. Cherry Tart was an earth pony with a white coat and a cherry red mane mixed with a dark green. His mane and tail were the reason he got his name: Cherry Tart. He was a middle aged pony of about forty five and had a wife and two foals. "Ight isc glkfd tolp sie ynpd!" the chef slurred through the chocolate mess. Luna laughed, a good hearty laugh that only a best friend can do. "I'm sorry, come again?" Realizing his fault, Cherry quickly swallowed the goo and tried again. "I said, it is good to see you!" He walked over and embraced her. As they broke, Luna looked at the counters and, feigning mock shock, said, "You were going to eat all the chocolate brownies without me?! Cherry Tart, I am insulted!" Chuckling a little, the chef went along with the antics, saying in an equally shocked tone, "Of course not! I was just having a taste test, to make sure they were satisfactory for a Princess such as yourself." "And? Are they worthy of the Princess of the Night?" "Taste for yourself." Luna went over to a batch sitting on the counter that had just come out of the oven. She engulfed a good sized brownie in her magic and proceeded to take a bite. She chewed slowly for a moment, pondering the taste of it. After a few seconds, her eyes got wide and she looked at the brownie in delight. Thunder boomed outside as she scarfed down her brownie and dove for the rest of the batch. The Princess attacked the batch, the one beside it, and the one beside that in a rather unceremonious manner. After she stopped long enough to breath, she noticed what she had been doing. Looking over at Cherry Tart, his jaw on on the floor, Luna smiled sheepishly as she slowly got off the counter and walked over to the chef. Picking his bottom jaw up and placing his mouth shut, she sat and waited for him to say something. She sat for about five minutes, trying various ways to get his attention. Failing, she fell back on her rump and said, "This is hopeless!" *Hic!* Luna covered her muzzle with both of her hooves, as Cherry turned to stare at her. "I am so *hic* sorry" she said, just before she accidentally let a burp go in the Royal Canterlot voice. "BBBUUURRRGGGGGGGGGGPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The force of it shook the room and drowned out the raging storm that was engulfing the land. The Princess and the chef both stared at each other, eyes wide. Then, after a few seconds, they both broke down in spontaneous laughter. Not a regular kind, no, the loud chortle that's coupled with "guhafs!" and snorting. The drawn out one that brightens up your day, or night in this case, no matter what is going on. As the onslaught of hilarity died out, the two both stopped to catch their breath before going over to eat more of the amazingly good brownies. After eating half the brownies in the royal kitchen, which adds up to about two thousand brownies in all, they sat in some chairs and talked. They were so hyped on sugar, they might as well have been drinking. They talked about anything and everything, from their personal lives to gossip. Eventually, they got onto a topic that made Luna perk right up. "So did you hear about all the disappearances that are going on right now?" the chef asked. Luna was pulled from her sugar induced high upon hearing this. "What are you talking about Cherry? There haven't been any disappearances lately, at least to the best of my knowledge." He shook his head and chuckled, saying, "Well then, you've been kept in the dark my dear friend, no pun intended. This has been going on for quite some time. But that's not all of it. Every time somepony goes in search of the already missing ponies, they end up missing themselves." The Princess didn't answer, she was too deep in thought. How could this be happening and me not know about it?! I wonder what else I don't know... Luna opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Cherry as he continued, oblivious thanks to the brownies. "That's not even the weirdest part either, oh no. Every time the guards go looking at the pony's last known whereabouts, all they find is a symbol carved into the ground." Luna was able to speak this time, as she spoke right after he finished so as to not get cut off again. "What kind of symbol?" The chef thought for a moment. Apparently the sugar high was affecting how well he used his brain. "I remember them saying it looked like a triangle except the bottom was curved into an arc instead of being straight." The Princess started to think about it but was cut off as she suddenly thought something else. "Cherry, who is 'them'? How did you find out about this anyway?" The chef blushed and stuttered, saying, "Umm w-well, I m-might have b-been sneaking a-around when t-the guards r-reported to y-your sister...." Luna laughed and said, "Is that all? Oh chef, there's no reason for you to be nervous telling me this. Don't worry, it's our little secret." Cherry smiled sheepishly and said, "Phew, thanks Princess." She laughed and said, "You're welcome. Now going back to the symbol, how big was it?" Convinced he wasn't going to get thrown in the dungeons for eavesdropping, he smiled and said, "Uhh... well.... I think they said it they varied. Sometimes they would take up a space as wide as a road. Other times they would be as big as the bottom of an average ponies hoof." Luna began to think about it more. She had seen something like these symbols before but she could not remember where. Finally, the answer started to dawn on her and she did not like it one bit. "I'm sorry Cherry but I must be leaving now." Luna said as she rose. "So soon? I would have hoped you could stay and help me bake. Keep me company while this storm is going on." "You're not scared, are you chef?" she asked with a grin. "Oh course not!" he said. "I just enjoy having somepony to bake with, that's all." She laughed and said, "Whatever you say. I am afraid I can't though, I have some urgent business to attend to." As she walked to the door and opened it, she looked back and said, "Thank you for the brownies, they were absolutely scrumptious." "You are most welcome Your Majesty" he said as he bowed. Luna shut the door behind her and stood by it for a moment. From what Tart had told her, the Princess had a pretty good idea who was behind all this or at least partially. She turned left and started down the hallway to the east tower. Remembering what happened earlier, she remained alert while walking through the halls. She was determined to not be surprised again. Yet still, she ended up surprised....again. She was rounding a corner when, surprise, surprise the process started all over again. Only this time it was worse because it just so happened to flash with lightning then boom with thunder. Luna screamed out of fright and instinctively turned into the purple mist. She hurried the rest of the way to the tower, leaving some very scared and confused Nocturnes behind. Upon coming to the base of the stairs leading up to the top, Luna became whole once again. While she could easily teleport to the top or go up as the mist, she prefered to walk. Luna liked having a fit and in shape body because she did not plan on becoming a fat or overweight Princess anytime soon. It took a few minutes but she finally made it to the top of the stair well. She quietly knocked on the door and waited. After a minute or two, she heard the rustling of sheets and the clip-clop of hooves nearing. The door opened to reveal a dark grey Nocturne stallion. He had a jet black mane and tail, with dark gray Nocturne wings to match his coat. His eyes were red with slitted, black pupils that seemed like they could stare into your very soul. His Cutie Mark was the reason Luna was there: it was a black triangle but instead of the bottom of it being straight, it was an arc. He was a little taller than the average pony and well built. He looked about in his early thirties. "Night Bringer, we need to talk." the Princess said. The Nocturne stared off with a glazed look over his eyes, seemingly oblivious to Luna. She waved a hoof in front of his face till he shook his head and snapped out of it. "Oh, sorry Princess, I was kind of out of it for a second there. What was it you were saying?" Night said. "I said that we need to talk." He looked at her quizzically and said, "Right now?" "Yes, right now." As if to emphasise Luna's point, thunder boomed right after her statement. Looking over at the window of the tower then back at her, he said, "Well, I'll take that as a yes." He walked back into the room and the Princess followed. Going over to the bed, Night nudge the sleeping form in it. "Octavia, love, I need you to get up." the assassin said to his wife. The grey mare mumbled in her sleep before turning over to face her husband. "Night? What's going on? Is it the storm?" she asked groggily. "No Tavi but Princess Luna is here to see us and I think she would appreciate it if you were awake to hear" he said with a grin. Octavia instantly sprang up from under the sheets, knocking the Nocturne to the ground. "Ah! Princess! I was just- uh..." Luna chuckled and said, "It is quite alright Octavia but it looks like you might have hit your husband a little hard upside the head." Looking back and realizing what she had done, the cellist rushed to Night's side and helped him up, whispering apologies in his ear. Rubbing his head, the assassin walked with his wife over to the Princess and pulled a few chairs over from the table nearby. All of the present ponies sat and stared at each other in silence for a moment, just listening to the sound of the storm outside. Finally, Night cleared his throat and said, "So Princess, what was so urgent that you needed to speak about?" "Ah yes. Well Night, I have just come across some very disturbing news. Apparently there have been disappearances lately throughout Equestria." Luna replied. "Yes, I've heard about them." "How does everypony but myself know about this?!" the Princess exclaimed. The Nocturne blushed grinned slyly and said, while motioning to himself and Octavia, "Well Princess, we are assassins. We tend to know about things." Luna smirked and said, "Yes and that is exactly why I came to you. As I am sure you both already know, every time they go to the ponies last known whereabouts, all they find is a symbol. And can you guess what that symbol is?" He looked quizzically at her and said, "Uhh.... the 'me gusta' face?" "No, the- wait, did you say the 'me gusta' face?" He shrugged and said, "Moon Shine told me about it." The Princess face hooved and mumble, "Ugh, I'm going to have to have a talk about human memes with him." "What was that?" Octavia inquired Lifting her head up, she said, "Oh nothing, just talking to myself." Looking between the two, she continued, "At any rate, no it was not that. It was the symbol of the Assassins Order. The very same symbol that adorns your flank Night." The Masters eyes got wide as he looked at his flank. He looked back at the Luna and said, "No! We didn't know that actually." Luna raised an eyebrow and said, "You're the Grand Master's successor, how can something be going on and you not know about it?" He shook his head and said, "I don't know. Whoever did this is either rogue, under a spell, or under orders that I have no knowledge of." Luna rested a hoof under her chin, deep in thought. After sometime, she picked her head up and said, "Hmm... this is all very disturbing. I will have to discuss this with my sister in the morning when she awakes. For now, return to sleep my friend, I will contact you both when I need." The two assassins nodded their heads as the three rose. As the couple settled back into their bed, the Princess quietly shut the door behind her. This time opting for teleportation, she went to her bed chambers and settled onto the top of her bed. What is going on here?! she thought. Outside the storm raged on, merciless against the land.
Chapter 2Chapter 2 ======= The first casualty when war comes is truth. -Hiram Johnson Meanwhile, as Princess Luna is attending to her previously stated matters, Princess Celestia is in her own bed chambers. As she lay there in her bed, she continued to toss and turn. Sleep was one thing she could not do at the moment as there were many things she had to attend to. Finally, fed up with the notion of tossing in her bed any longer, the Princess rose and went to her desk. It was about 1:12 in the morning and yet the hideous storm still beat against the castle and the land. Upon arriving at her desk, the Princess sat down and took a quill in her magic. Bringing a sheet of parchment in front of her, Celestia tapped the feather against her chin for a moment. She thought a few seconds more before she dipped the quill in ink and began to write: Dear Grand Master Silent Mortem, It was good to hear your last report about the mayors of both Trottingham and Los Pegasus. I trust they will not give us anymore trouble? On another note, I have heard the reports of revolts springing up in the city of Manehatten and the two cities I have just listed above. Though I do believe that you and your assassins are most capable of handling these situations discretely, I still would like some more reassurance. So I am sending my captain of the guard, Shining Armor, with five thousand of my best troops to you. He will be temporarily put under your command until this crisis is past. I do you hope that you will use them wisely and distribute them properly among the above cities. Sincerely, Princess Celestia P.S. You might want to make the symbols less noticeable, ponies are starting to ask questions. Putting the quill back in the inkwell, satisfied with her letter, she engulfed it in magic and sent it away to the assassin. Now that she had that out of the way, it was time to draft orders for the movement of troops. She got more sheets of parchment and bought her quill back out. This was going to be a long night. As dawn came and the morning started, the rain had finally stopped but the dark clouds still hung over the land. Princess Luna sighed contently and tiredly. It was almost time for her to rest and she was thankful the rains had stopped. The clouds may not have been gone but still, at least it was not raining. As she rose to go meet Celestia for breakfast, her thoughts strayed back to her conversations earlier that night. The news that Cherry Tart had told her had worried Luna a great deal. Her talk with Night Bringer hadn't done much to soothe her fears either. It was the talk with her brother that had her worried the most. Moon Shine had said that with the storm, he could only bend the darkness fifty percent than what he normally could. That scared her. You see, Moon Shine was the Prince of the Night, therefore he had power to bend and control darkness at will. So if he couldn't perform what was part of Cutie Mark and one of his special talents, then something was definitely up. Speaking of her brother, she needed to have a talk with him after breakfast and see if he had found out anything. She also remembered that she needed to speak with Tia about this as well. Luna slowly got of her bed and made her to the closet. She went in and got the crescent moon necklace her mother had given her many, many years ago. She always wore it to breakfast and just because all this nonsense was going on, didn't mean she was going to break her tradition. The Princess put the necklace on and made her towards the large doors. Opening them, she saw that the Nocturne guards were just now having the changing of the posts. Motioning for them to be at ease when they snapped to attention, she began her walk towards the throne room. For some reason, I think tradition, the Princess' had always had had a table brought to the throne room so they could eat. Royalty can and do tend to be a bit eccentric. As she walked through the intricately designed hallways, she couldn't help but gaze nervously at the dark clouds hovering outside. She couldn't help but feel like those hideous things were a sign or an omen of some sort. As she came to the doors, thunder boomed and the pit-pat of rain started all over again. Luna blew her chops and rolled her eyes angrily. Yep, definitely a sign she thought as she came to the throne room. All around the doors, messengers flitted about, waiting to go in. Messengers from what seemed like every branch of the Equestrian military was there. Even Night Bringers old buddie from training, Shadow Wing, was meditating nearby. He sat about two feet away from everpony else; which of course they were all very grateful. It wasn't against Shadow Wing personally, its just that many do tend to get nervous when a master assassin is around. He wore the traditional white, silver and red clothing of the Order; hood pulled over his muzzle and everything. Because of what he was wearing, Luna couldn't see what he really looked like. Nopony but his fellow assassins had seen him for who he really was. As the Princess approached, all of the messengers stopped their murmuring and either bowed or snapped to attention. "At ease, all of you" she said in a soothing voice with a smile. A few returned the smile then went back to whatever they were preoccupied with. Luna looked over at Shadow, who slowly opened his eyes and nodded. The Princess nodded in return and smiled before going in. As she passed through the doors, she failed to see the light tint of red that graced the pegasus' face before it vanished in a flash. The giant oaken doors slammed shut behind her as Luna walked towards the table in the middle of the room. Her sister was seated and had already been served a plate of food and a goblet for drink. Barely touching either, Celestia scribbled quickly and determinedly with a quill. She sat there, seemingly oblivious to everything and everypony around her, even her sister, Princess Luna, as she entered. Coming to the table, Luna coughed a little overly loud, "Ahem!" Jerking up from her scribbling, she looked around with a wild fire in her eye, horn charged for battle. Luna stepped back a little as Tia's eyes came to rest upon her. Instantly, the fire in them died and her horn's glow weakened to nothing. She sat there for a moment, seemingly catching her breath. Finally, after a few minutes, she sighed and said, "Oh, it's just you Luna. Please, don't do that again, you scared me." Luna smirked and said, "I'll say. You looked ready to blast me into space dust." She went and sat down across from her sister and was quickly brought food and drink. As the Princess proceeded to dig in, Celestia said, "Yes, I am sorry about that. I'm just a little jumpy this morning. It was a long night last night and today doesn't seem to be any better." The Moon Princess looked up and asked, "Oh? And why's that?" "You know the storm acting up last night and such. Then there's the distribution of troops to attend to.." Celestia said hastily as she trailed off. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed outside finished her statement. Luna looked out at the storm then at her sister, confused. "What do you mean distribution of troops?" Her sister was scribbling again. "Hmm? Oh yes, just some small things here and there in a few cities. Oh, that reminds me, I must have a quick talk for a moment." Grasping quite a few scrolls in her magic, Tia got up from the table and went over to the doors. Pulling them open with a bit more magic, she called the messengers inside, including Shadow Wing. She shot him an inquiring look and he just shrugged his shoulders. Resigning to talk to him, and many other ponies later, she sat and waited for what her sister had to say. The Sun Princess cleared her throat before beginning. "Thank you all for coming so quickly and on such short notice. What I have to say will be brief, I promise. Now, here I have a scroll of orders for all of you, detailing troop movements and procedures. You will take them to your commanders and wait for orders from Shining Armor. That is all; dismissed!" The messengers all came forward, received their scrolls, bowed and then were off to their own branches. The last one to receive a scroll was Shadow and it seemed like Cestia paid extra attention when handing him his orders. Luna played her magic a bit and enhanced her hearing. "Shadow Wing, you will bring this scroll to Shining Armor first and tell him to move out immediately. Then take this other one to the Grand Master in Fallujah Castle. Report back here when it is complete" Celestia whispered to the master. "Yes Your Highness" Shadow replied. As he turned to leave, he caught Luna's eye and mouthed We'll talk later. She nodded her head and he left. Closing the doors. Celestia came back to the table and finally began to eat. As she did, Luna studied her for a moment. She had seen her sister nervous and agitated before but never on this level. "Dear sister, what is the matter? You look like you legs are going to fall off, your shaking so much!" the Princess said with a tone of concern. Looking up from her food, Tia said, "Iibf knosbdue whavgt younknjb taklndib abojgiut." "Sister, I cannot understand what you're saying." Blushing a bit, she swallowed her food and said, "Sorry, I'm just hungry is all. Plus staying up most of the night didn't help." Looking at her curiously, Luna said, "Okay... Well I'm going to get some sleep. Wake me if anything should happen." Her sister nodded as Luna rose and teleported to her chambers. Once in her room, she removed her necklace and got under the sheets. She would wait and talk to the others later this afternoon when she woke. Outside, she heard the marching hooves off possibly thousands of guard ponies. Looking out of her window from her bed, she saw an endless number of guards leaving the castle and Canterlot. I know Tia said some small things in the cities but that many ponies is ridiculous! Putting her head back down, she was soothed to sleep by the sound of hooves marching and the sound of drizzling rain against her window. The Princess awoke a hours later to the sound of booming thunder. She lay there in her bed for a few moments, just thinking. What Tia had said a few hours earlier had just added to her mounting fears. If she was sending a few thousand ponies all over Equestria to calm some 'small things'... She couldn't take her sister's word for it, she had to go see these 'small things' for herself. Rising, she went to her dresser and picked he comb up. Slowly, she started to brush her wavy, starlike hair. As she was brushing, there was a knock at her door. Without pausing in her combing, she called out, "Enter!" Slowly, the oak doors opened and Shadow Wing stepped in. "You wanted to speak to me Princess?" he inquired as he shut the door. Smirking, she turned around without ceasing in her brushing and said, "I thought you were the who wanted to talk Shadow." Again, a faint hint of scarlet caressed his cheeks before disappearing once more. Luna thought it was quite lovely, especially for an assassin. "Oh yes, that's right, isn't it Princess?" he replied with a small grin. Laughing, she said, "Yes it is and what have I said about calling me Princess? That's only for in public my friend." Mocking a bow, he said, "Then forgive me, dear Luna." Still laughing, she said, "Rise Shadow. Now tell me, what is going on right now?" The Master immediately took on a serious look and demeanor. "That bad huh?" "Worse" he replied. Luna grimaced. "How so?" "Well, the letters Celestia had me bring to Shining Armor and the Grand Master were not good at all. Yes, before you ask, I did look then reseal the scroll." The Princess shut her mouth, a blush now kissing her cheeks. He continued, "The letters were most disturbing. The one to Shining Armor put him under the Grand Master's command, along with five thousand of Equestria's best troops. The one to the Grand Master authorized him to put the cities of Trottingham, Los Pegasus, and Manehatten under marshall law for as long as the revolts kept happening." Luna looked shocked and confused. "Wait, wait, wait. Back up a bit. Did you say revolts? Ok, first I didn't know about the disappearances and now I find out about revolts?! What the hay has been going on without me knowing about it?!" Shadow opened his mouth to answer but Luna cut him off, saying, "Don't say anything yet. I have to get the others here. They need to hear this." With that the Princess shut her eyes and thought about her friends and her brother. Her horn started to glow and before she knew it, she heard quite a few shouts, then crashes, then finally to be summed up by a symphonic sound of pain. Opening her eyes, she saw her brother and friends from the castle there. Night Bringer and Octavia were on top of the pile. Underneath them lay Moon Shine and his wife Rainbow Dash, trying to get up. Then finally, to complete it, at the bottom of the pile lay Shadow Wing, struggling for breath. "Can't....breath..." he gasped. The ponies on top of him mercifully got off, allowing for him to breath again. As he slowly got up, Night said, "Sorry about that Shad, couldn't really control where we landed." "My bad" Luna said, grinning sheepishly. "It's alright" said the soft spoken assassin as he looked and nodded at everpony in the room before turning back the Princess. Well, everypony but Rainbow Dash that is. The Princess was confused for a moment then was suddenly intrigued by the assassin's manners toward a fellow assassin. Pushing those thoughts aside, she cleared her throat and said, "Sorry everypony about the teleportation but I needed a way to get you all here quickly." There were murmurs of forgiveness from the others before they went silent again. Continuing, she said, "Now that we are all here, I suppose we can get started again. Shadow here was just telling me about some very disturbing news. I called you all here so you could hear it with your own ears." Shadow quickly explained what he knew and before long, everypony was talking amongst themselves. It took a few but by the time they were all calmed down, they were all asking the same question: "Why?" "I don't know why but I believe that we must find out for ourselves. I'm going to see first hand the revolts and see if I can do something to stop them. Who's with me?" Slowly, everyponies hoof rose into the air. Luna grinned and said, "Thank you. Now, we must plan."
Chapter 3Chapter 3 ======= “There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.” ― Howard Zinn Shadow Wing trudged along with his friends down the deserted and muddy road. The constant rain and wind tore at him and the others around, billowing their cloaks. He had on his traditional master's attire, with his hidden blades beneath his sleeves and his bow and quiver angled across his back so it wouldn't get in the way of his wings. Beside him walked Princess Luna, head turned slightly to the side so as to shield her face from the storm, even if just a little. She wore a plain, dark navy blue cloak that dropped down over her hooves, almost scraping the mud below. The Princess had a large hood pulled over her horn and muzzle, concealing her features. Her only weapon was her horn, hooves, and magic. Slightly behind them and to the left was Night Bringer and Octavia. Night had gone for the more modern style clothing: white and blue with a smidgen of red somewhere. With him, he brought one of the new weapons the blacksmiths at the guild called 'firearms'. He too had both hidden blades under his sleeves and across his back, also angled to not interfere with his wings, was a sword. Night was accompanied by Octavia at his side. She also wore the traditional attire but instead of white, silver and red; it was grey, silver and red. It was grey so as to match her coat color. She also wore weapons under her sleeves but she had a different variation of the hidden blades. While the others had actual blades hidden under their sleeves, the cellist turned assassin had two, short, sharpened bows. The bows were made from the finest of wood so they would not shatter or crack. The strings of the bow were not strings but rather razor thin, razor sharp blades with barbs. The 'blades' were easily concealed but had to treated with the utmost care, otherwise you would cut your hoof off without realizing it. To top it off, resting on her back was a deadly looking, medium sized mace. Then beside the pair, a bit behind Luna and Shadow and to the left, was Moon Shine and Rainbow Dash. Moon wore a midnight black cloak with silver designs running all along it. He too had a large hood pulled over his face, covering it. He also had no weapons beside his horn, hooves and magic. By his side trudged along his wife, Rainbow Dash. Dash had on a dark master's cloak with silver trim and a hint of red through it. It made the rainbow maned pegasus look both mysterious and lethal. She chose to equip herself with only one hidden blade on her right hoof but on her back were two swords crossed over each other, careful as to not restrict her wings. The finely clad group of ponies continued along the road, murmuring amongst themselves. Both the alicorn and pegasus stallions in the back kept a constant wing around their respective loves. They partially did it for sentimental protection and just the fact that they enjoyed being close with their significant other. For some reason, Shadow could not help but glance back at the Prince and Dash time and again as the group walked. There was a reason why he kept looking but he thought he had gotten over that a few years ago. Glancing back at the black wing draped over his fellow assassin, he shook his head and forced himself to look forward again. He couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness and self pity at the thought of another in his place. Voices managed to reach his flickering ears despite the storm going on around them. He recognized the voices as the murmurs of the ponies behind himself and Luna. He realized with a little shame that he hadn't spoken a word to the Princess since they had left Canterlot for Manehatten. Looking over at the darkly clad mare beside him, Shadow felt a twange inside of his stomach suddenly. He studied her for a few moments as they walked. He was reminded of things he couldn't take his eyes off of. He could see some of her face and he couldn't stop looking at the way water ran and dripped off her bangs. How they fell in front of her face. He could barely make out the well toned curves of her body. No, I can't think like that! There's more to a mare than just looks! he scolded himself. He pushed those thoughts aside for the time being and focused on making conversation with the Princess of the Night. Clearing his throat and moving closer so she could hear him, he asked, "So how far to Manehatten now?" She also leaned close and replied, "Umm, if my estimations are correct then there shouldn't be more than thirty-five minutes left." "Oh well then, it shouldn't be that long now..." Glancing back for a moment at Moon Shine, Shadow asked, "So what's the story behind the Prince back there Luna? If I might be so bold to ask." Smiling a little, Luna turned her head slightly so she could look him in the eye. "You may be so bold. It is quite a long story though Shadow Wing, are you sure you would like to hear it?' Looking around at the dreary landscape about them and feeling the rain splatter against his already soaked cloths, he leaned back in close to her. Luna noted he was closer to her then he had previously had been a few moments ago. "Well, it doesn't look like I'm going anywhere soon" Shadow said with a grin. Smiling that beautiful smile of hers at him again, she began, "Okay then. Well, it all started back when Moon was just a little foal, which was about a thousand years ago; before my banishment. Back then there were four alicorns in the royal family: Tia and myself, along with our brothers, Moon Shine and Flourishing Star. Each had their own respective title: Tia and Flourishing Star were the Prince and Princess of the Sun while I and Moon were Prince and Princess of the Night. Things were quite peaceful during those times. Tia, Flourish, and I all were teaching Moon Shine the responsibilities of being an alicorn. He was only three at the time but alicorns mature much faster than their bodies so while his body was still that of a young foal, his mind was equal to that of a colt of almost ten years old. Then, everything changed. An ancient evil awakened by the name of Death Stroke. I won't go into details about this beast but the point is he wanted power. Specifically, Moon Shine's power." As Luna paused to take a breath, Shadow took the opportunity to ask, "So this thing, Death Stroke, was after the Prince's darkness bending?" The Princess, having caught her breath, continued, "Well, sort of. You see, getting Moon's darkness bending was merely a perk. What the beast was really after was Moon Shine's Guardian Element." Shadow looked confused but what shushed when Luna stopped him by saying, "Yes, you've probably never heard of the Element of the Guardian. It was once part of a trilogy called the Elements of War. These elements were synthetically made from the residue energy that came from the Elements of Harmony. The trilogy consisted of the Elements of the Assassin, Berserker, and Guardian." "You keep speaking in past tense. Were the other two elements stolen? Lost perhaps?" Shadow inquired. The Princess shook her head and said, "No, they were neither lost nor stolen but rather buried. I'll get to that in a moment though. So, when the beast struck at us and came for Moon Shine, we were forced to make a decision: we could either try and fight off Death Stroke or send the young Prince away. Sadly, in the midst of battle, when we saw we could not protect him, we were forced to send Moon to the planet Earth. While we did save the young foal from certain destruction, our plan backfired on us. First, in the process of spiriting the Prince away, he lost his memory in both the teleportation and shape shifting into a human. Second, Flourishing Star tried to fight off the beast named Death Stroke and save the day. My late brother always was a sucker for heroics. In his split second decision, he doomed himself forever. While fighting the beast, Flourishing Star succumbed to the evil words of Death Stroke and was corrupted almost to his very core. He turned on Celestia and I and destroyed almost all of Canterlot before we could drive him and the beast off. My brother became the slave of that monster for over the next thousand years. The last incident is one of the most famous in Equestrian history and is the biggest shame of my very long life." "You mean...." Shadow Wing trailed off beside her. "Yes Shadow, I am referring to the Nightmare Moon incident. When my brother, the Sun Prince, was corrupted by the words of the monster, I to was also corrupted. While I did not turn suddenly and completely like my brother did, the words of Death Stroke planted the seed of jealousy and hatred inside my heart. Over time, that seed continue to grow inside of me, whispering it's evil words to my naive ears. Slowly, I succumbed to the darkness and evil within me and started to become the power hungry, insane monster that ponies today only hear in legends past." Luna's voice had started to become shaky as she started to explain this part to Shadow and before long, silent tears had begun to fall to the ground; methodically in sync with the rain around them. He could hear the faintest of sniffing beside him and when he looked over at her, he saw that her gaze was downcast and melancholy. Cautiously and ever so slightly, he slowly lifted a soaked wing and placed it over Luna's back. He was able to do this because the Princess, and the Prince behind them, had shrunken down to an average ponies size so they could blend in. As his wing finally rested over her, he was relieved to know she hadn't flinched or move away. He did feel her stiffen up a little though. He leaned in a little closer and said soothingly, "Princess, you don't need to keep blaming yourself for that. It's been seven years since you've been forgiven and cleansed. It's ok, you can let it go." She stayed silent as she continued to shed silent tears. Shadow continued to console her as they walked down the mu filled and gloomy road. After a few minutes, he said, "Do you want to finish the story Luna? It's ok if you don't." She sniffed once more before lifting her head and shook. "No, no, it's ok, I can finish. So after I came back from... from my banishment seven years ago, I had to get back into rhythm with the modern world. While Tia was helping me with that, we still kept a continuous on Moon while he was on Earth.It was a very peculiar thing to see too. You see, it had been a thousand years here in Equestria but on Earth it had only been about fifteen years." Shadow's eyes widened as he said, "So you're saying the Prince is only eighteen years old?!" Luna laughed and said, "He hides it well, doesn't he? It's amazing how much he has matured since he came back. Anyway, while we watched him from afar, we wanted desperately to bring him back but we couldn't. If we did that then the beast would have found out and come after him again. Moon ended up coming back anyway when the Death Stroke, after a thousand years, had finally found him on Earth. So after he had been found, Tia went and tried to save him from the beast on Earth. Again, a few thing went wrong. While Celestia was able to run Death Stroke off, Moon Shine was hit by a magical bolt trying to protect his sister. He was sucked into a sort of 'black hole' and transported to Equestria. It took us almost three days to finally find him after Celestia returned. After we had located him, we found that his memories were still missing. So we had the arduous task of trying to explain everything that had happened to him. Apparently he knew a limited amount, not from his memories but ,out of all things, what people on Earth call a 'television show'." Shadow scrunched his face up in confusion as he asked, "A 'television show'? What is that?" His tongue rolled over the unfamiliar word with some difficulty. The Princess laughed again and said, "Yes, a strange word isn't it? It's even stranger if you see what it is but I'll tell you more about that later. So, the same day we went and found him in Ponyville, Death Stroke attacked the town and us. He captured my sister and I, while injuring Rainbow Dash and almost beating Moon Shine to death in the process. Before the beast left the town, he told an almost unconscious Moon that the only way to get back my sister and I was to bring the Elements of Harmony and the Element of the Guardian. Long story short, the Prince came without the Elements to the beast's lair and a huge battle ensued. While fighting, Celestia and myself were both freed from our prisons and protected the Elemental bearers that had come with Moon. During the battle, Rainbow Dash jumped in the way of a magical bolt to save the Prince, much as Moon had done for my sister. As a result, the Prince also got himself struck down by going after the beast. My brother, Flourishing Star, was fighting me when our little brother was almost killed that day. It could have been seeing his brother almost die or the fact that he was fed up but either way, Flourish broke free of the corruption in his heart. Turning on his former master, Flourish covered us as we escaped the beast's lair. Eventually, the mountain we were in, which was called Mount Pegasi, collapsed in on itself due to all the magic that was shooting around the inside. It buried my brother, Prince Flourishing Star of the Sun, the beast called Death Stroke, and the two Elements of War: Berserker and Assassin. We made it back to Canterlot, where there was celebration for one Prince's return but mourning the loss of another. Shortly after, Moon Shine and Rainbow Dash were married." That's when I lost her Shadow thought as he bowed his head slightly. "Are you alright Shadow?" the Princess asked, concern evident in her voice. Looking up at her, Shadow offered a small smile and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for the story Luna, it's not everyday I get to hear storytelling skills such as yours. Especially from one as pretty as you." Luna blushed and said, "T-thank you Shadow Wing, I don't get to hear compliments such as yours very often." The assassin smiled back at her, a warm, friendly smile, before looking ahead again. He couldn't see much through the fog but thankfully the rain had slowed down almost to a complete stop but the clouds still hung around. The group walked for about ten more minutes, just enjoying each other's company. Shadow's wing was stilled draped over the Princess but she did not mind. She found it quite warm and inviting, as opposed to the biting chill of the air. The stallion beside her was also enjoying this serene moment. He found it a bit comforting to be near her and not have her shy away from him. As the road became more refined and eventually paved, they knew they were nearing their destination. They kept walking towards the city, hearing shouts, bangs and crashes coming from the normally bustling metropolis. "Keep an eye, sounds like things are worse than we thought" said Night Bringer to the other five. The rest nodded in agreement and pulled themselves away from their respective other, readying for anything that could come. Shadow reluctantly pulled his wing off of Luna and folded it against his side once again. He was a little sad the moment had to come to an end and plus, his side was cold now. After about two minutes, Octavia perked up and said, "Somepony's coming." They all looked through only the fog, for the rain had given them a brief respite, and saw a figure starting to forming. "Who do you think that is?" Shadow whispered to Luna as the figure began to take shape as a pony. "I suspect it's a sentry to the city" she replied, also in a whisper. "Why do you think that?" As he said this, a small explosion went off somewhere in the city; the flames could barely be seen through the overcast clouds. The Princess looked over at him, an eyebrow raised and a knowing look on her face. As the group came to a stop, Shadow raised his hooves and said while smiling, "Alright, alright, stupid question." Nodding her head and smirking at the assassin, the two looked forward at the guard pony that had appeared in front of them from the mist. The other two pairs in the group came to stand beside them as the guard stared them down with a blank stare and calculating eyes. "Who are you?! Identify yourselves!" the stallion commanded in a deep, baritone voice. He continued to walk forward, stopping about four feet away from the six. He was a large, rather buff looking earth pony with what looked like maroon fur underneath the white and gold armor. If the armor was anything to go by, then the stallion was either a Private First Class or a Corporal. "We are but weary travelers in search of a place to rest and eat!" Shadow called out to him. Technically, he wasn't lying to the guard. They were in need of food and a place to sleep, they were just going to do a bit of poking around while they were at it. "No can do sir. The city is under martial law by the Equestrian Military. Nopony is able to enter at this time." As the guard said 'Equestrian Military', Luna looked at him with confusion. She was about to speak but was beat by the Moon Shine as he said, "What do you mean 'Equestrian Military'? I was not aware of Equestria bearing a military of any kind except for the Royal and Nocturne guards of Canterlot." "I am not at liberty to give any information concerning the newly formed military but I can tell you travelers that we were made under the decree of Princess Celestia herself. Now, as I said before, the city is off limits to all outsiders so if you will turn back.." Night Bringer stepped forward and said, "We're not outsiders though, my friend over there is from Manehatten." He pointed over at Shadow as he said this. The guard seemed to contemplate this for a few moments, mulling it over in his head. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry sir but that means that only he can enter city; now if you will just-" There was an angry huff that cut the guard abruptly off. Dash frustratedly said, "Oh for the love of Spitfire!" She bolted forward and uppercutted the guard right underneath the muzzle, eliciting a cry of surprise from the stallion. The guard crumpled to the mud caked ground in a heap of soaked armor. Dash turned back around to the group and said, "I was getting tired of that colt's ranting." The others looked at each other before simply shrugging their shoulders and started walking again towards the city. Octavia was sure to move the unconscious body to the side of the road and under a bush, so he wouldn't accidentally inhale mud and water from the road and also just to hide him. The group eventually came upon the outer city limits to Manehatten. They were loathed to see a camp set up around the giant city. The camp made a ring around the concrete jungle, which was a hint of how many guards or, soldiers were actually there. "The fog should keep us hidden from afar but just in case we run into anypony up close, we'll be covered" said the Princess as she charged a spell on her horn. Slowly, the group began to fade into nothingness as the invisibility spell took hold. Satisfied that they would not be seen, the pairs resumed their walk through the collage of leather, silk, and tough materials that were the tents. As they walked, they saw that the outermost tents were filled with both sleeping stallions and a few mares that looked as if they had been in quite a few of skirmishes. The farther they trekked into the camp though, the more tents they saw deserted. Entering the actual buildings of the city, the group could hear more clearly the sounds of rioting coming from the center of the city. Luna released the invisibility spell on the pairs and they rushed toward the sounds. As Shadow ran, he couldn't help but look around sadly at all the littered streets, alleyways, and run and broken down buildings. So much has changed he thought Luna noticed his downcast demeanor and asked as they ran, "Are you alright Shadow?" He looked over at her with a sad smile and opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by another small explosion. Looking forward again, he noticed they had reached their destination. In front of them now, in the very center of the city, stood two opposing forces. On one side were the rioters: unarmed ponies of all sizes pushing against the 'military' that was trying to occupy their city. The other side consisted of the royal guards, police force, and Shadow even caught a glimpse of a white cloaked figure throughout. The two giant groups were competing for control of the center of the city, which was in the shape of a square. More than a few ponies on the 'military' side were armed with some of the new inventions called 'firearms'. The small explosions that kept occurring were when bullets hit something flammable on the streets or in the nearby buildings. The six ponies waded into the throng of rioters, careful not to let themselves be separated from one another. As they got to the other side of the mob, as they had cut a horizontal line through the center, they took cover in the doorway of a nearby shop and watched as the two groups continued to fight. Moon Shine looked around and said, "Well, so much for 'small incidents'. Tia is going to get it when we return." Shadow pulled a nearby stallion over and shouted over the noise of the crowd, "What's going on here?!" The stallion shouted back, "What do you mean 'what's going on'?! How could you not know?!" The assassin rolled his eyes and yelled, "We just got here! So again: what's going on here?!" The old colt shouted with glee, "The revolution my boy!" "What revolution?!" The old stallion looked at them like they were the stupidest ponies in Equestria. "The revolution! Surely you've heard of it! It's been going on for weeks now!" The group just shook their heads 'no'. The colt sighed and shouted, "The revolution is-" Suddenly, there was a great chorus of screams as shouts and bangs were heard. The all turned around and saw the giant mob of protestors scattering in all different directions. Looking at the 'military' assembled, they were horrified to see them start to fire a barrage of magical bolts and bullets. The rest of the non-unicorns who were not armed with guns, drew their weapons and charged most of the unarmed civilians. The unfortunate few who had armed themselves were target first and either cut down by sword, bullet or magic. Blood started to coat the streets as the 'soldiers' continued their brutal and unorthodox slaughter, waving Celestia's banner all the while. Shadow's blood boiled as he watched. "This is complete bull-shark. This is murder against unarmed innocents" he growled. Beside and behind him, the others either growled or grunted in agreement as they got ready to do battle. Princess Luna pawed at the ground with her hoof, rage in her eyes. She and her brother transformed back into their regular sizes and threw off the cloaks they had adorned themselves with. "They will not get away with killing my subjects. Celestia won't be able to walk for the rest of her life; however short it might be" Luna stated, venom dripping from her voice. As if on an unspoken cue, the six all charged at the unsuspecting royal warriors, protecting those still retreating the carnage. In each and every eye of the small band of ponies, was the insane lust for blood, vengeance, and justice. The storm boomed and lightning flashed as the rain began to pour onto the battling ponies below.
PrologueThe Dividing Chronicles: Calm Before the Storm By Moonshine9012 ==================================== Dedicated to my parents and the author Pen Stroke. My parents are the ones who helped me along with my literature. Without their encouragement, I don't think I would be the advent reader and writer I am today. To the author Pen Stroke, I thank. Though I do not know you personally, your story, Past Sins, inspired me to write these chronicles of this length and professionalism. So again, I thank you. Readers and Editors Beastbrony14 and Rainbow Bass-Cannon Prologue ======= If we don't end war, war will end us. -H. G. Wells Civil War. It is one of the worst things that can happen to a country. Yes, there are other, possibly even worse things that can happen but none really can compare to a civil war. Disease might kill, invaders might conquer but things eventually go back to what we define as 'normal'. Civil war though, it leaves it's mark for generations and generations to come. Families are torn and pitted against each other. Brothers kill brothers, father's kill sons, parents kill each other etc. The possibilities are endless but I will not name them all, they are all too horrible and painful to name. Most who are apart of a civil war come back anything but themselves and sadly enough, a lot don't return at all. Thankfully, I was not apart of his civil war but I was forced to watch it from the sidelines. I was forced to watch those who would otherwise love each other to death, kill each other in cold vengeance. I am determined to not let something of that magnitude hit this land ever again. So I am writing an account of those events so later generations can learn from their elders mistakes. And maybe, just maybe, it will help those who were apart of it and are still alive ponder on what have done.
