Reign of Fire
Chapter 4 - Point of no return
Previous ChapterSunny stood at the observation window of her office and drank coffee - the only drink that helped her stay on her hooves. Alicorn worked all night finalizing her new project before today's presentation. And not a simple presentation for the academic council or Opaline, but for live television. Pipp and her crew should be arriving any minute.
And downstairs in the halls, work was in full swing as always. In one room they were finishing up a batch of Sunny's new development, in other the enchanting of items necessary for various experiments was taking place. But the most important part of the production was the hall in which rituals with the Burning Heart were performed.
This stone has already become a symbol of the Equestrian Empire, along with the Empress herself. It became a symbol of the Ruler's power and kindness towards her loyal subjects.
But Sunny was now interested in this stone not as an enhancement of the pony’s magic, but as an important component of her greatest experiment.
Sunny took one last sip from her mug, walked away from the window and began to wander around her office. Since the alicorn does not allow anyone to enter her office, not even the cleaners, real chaos has reigned here. Whole piles of papers were laid out here and there, various devices and tools were lying on the floor, next to the table there was a communication center for access to the team of miners, and on the table itself lay a stack of letters from one of them, a lot of bottles and food packages had accumulated next to the sofa, and the sofa itself was converted into a bed, because Sunny almost always spends the night here, which worries Opaline and upsets Misty.
Suddenly the intercom rang, so long-awaited and so exciting.
"I’m listening," Sunny answered the call.
"Miss Starscout, Miss Petals and her team have arrived," a voice was heard on the other side.
"I’ll go down to them now," Sunny said and turned off the connection.
Finally. This is the moment she's been waiting for. She will finally present her creation to the world. Unable to hide her delight, Sunny gathered everything she needed, put on her favorite black suit and ran downstairs to meet her friend.
Pipp and her team waited in the lobby under the supervision of security. It was surprisingly very spacious and cozy here. At first glance, it is impossible to say that there used to be a factory here, and now they are conducting magical experiments. Pipp was, as always, engrossed in her phone when she heard a familiar voice.
"Pipp! I’m so glad to see you!" Sunny exclaimed joyfully, flying up to her friend and hugging her.
"Mmm, I'm glad to see you too, Darling!" the pegasus answered, kissing the alicorn on the cheek.
"What are you wearing?" Sunny asked mockingly. "You are now literally a Chick!"
"Do you think that you understand something about outfits?" Pipp was indignant. "Although, you definitely understand something."
Pipp flew around Sunny and examined her from all sides.
"It suits you very well. Not like that swamp-colored tackiness, ugh!” said Pipp.
"Okay, let’s go to the exhibition hall," Sunny answered laughing.
The exhibition hall fully lived up to its name and was not a production place, but only a room for demonstrating the inventions and achievements of RRT. And unlike the entire building, it was decorated according to the design of the Dark Castle - bricks and stones in cold tones. Sunny felt that this would be better for promoting and associating these developments with the Empress.
When the ponies entered the hall, Pipp immediately noticed something large against the far wall. At least she imagined that it was something big, because she could not see it - it was covered with a construction tarp.
"Come on, let’s go, you’ll open your mouths later," Sunny pushed the others.
The ponies reached the exhibition of Sunny's newest invention and began installing the lights and camera.
"We need to put this on," Pipp turned to Sunny.
The pegasus handed the alicorn a small microphone.
"Why not a standard microphone?" Sunny asked.
"You’re going to show us something, It will be much more convenient to move without being distracted by the microphone," Pipp answered.
Sunny easily attached the mic to herself and Pipp and was completely ready for the broadcast.
"Broadcast in 10 seconds!" said the operator. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Streaming!"
"Good morning, residents of the Equestrian Empire!" Pipp began the broadcast with a joyful smile. "Your beloved Pipp is with you again, and I have a special surprise for you - I was invited to the RRT office to demonstrate their newest invention. Sunny Starscout herself - the head of the RRT and the right hoof of Her Majesty Empress Opaline Arcana - showed a desire to tell us about the product."
"Oh, I can’t wait to tell you and everyone else about this invention!" said Sunny, almost jumping on the spot, unable to hide her delight. "So, without further ado, I introduce - Sentry Golem!"
Sunny used magic to pull down the tarp and reveal her creation to the world. A dozen huge stone golems with a gorilla-like body and a pony head appeared before the citizens of the Empire.
"Oh...that’s...interesting," Pipp barely said, recovering from shock.
"This became possible thanks to the efforts of our volunteers and scientists in the study of dark magic,"Sunny began her story. "And, of course, the wise instructions of Her Majesty. I would also like to especially thank my group of miners, without whom we would not have had any of the necessary materials.
Sunny took a charged crystal from her pocket, walked up to one of the golems and inserted the stone into a hole in the creature's chest.
"For some reason it doesn’t come to life. Is this how it should be?" Pipp said uncertainly.
"Of course," Sunny said calmly. "After all, these stones are just a battery. They come to life thanks to my spells."
Sunny concentrated and began to cast the spell. The golem's heart began to glow, spreading energy throughout its body.
After a short period of time, the eyes began to glow, after which the golem moved and took a step forward towards Pipp and turned its gaze to her.
"You can try it yourself and insert the crystal into another golem if you want," Sunny said and handed Pipp another stone.
"Tell me, Sunny...Is it safe?" Pipp froze in horror, looking at the monster.
"Absolutely," cheerful answered Sunny without taking her admiring glance away from the golem. "He is subordinate to my will and will not harm the Empress’s loyal subjects. Thanks to these golems, we will strengthen security in “difficult” areas and reduce the risks for our soldiers. This is simply an excellent weapon against these rebels. It is definitely better than dragons, because it is always under my control."
"I think our viewers will be interested to know when we should expect them to appear in the army?" asked Pipp.
"In the very near future," Sunny answered without turning to the camera and playing with the golem, forcing him to imitate her movements. "We are expecting a new supply of crystals. My entire department works tirelessly to ensure peace and prosperity for our country."
"Well, let’s thank Sunny Starscout for this opportunity to be the first to see the latest development of RRT," Pipp concluded the broadcast. "Let’s hope that this “thing” will finally help establish peace in our Empire. Pipp Petal scpecially for Imperial Herald. Have a nice day, Equestria!"
"Cut!" said operator.
"Don’t be so afraid!" Sunny reassured her friend. "Look!"
Suddenly the golem stopped its actions and simply stood still like a statue.
"They are completely under my control," Sunny laughed. "They won’t do anything without my command."
"Okay, okay," Pipp answered, still in shock.
"Come on, I’ll buy you something sweet," Sunny said, hugging Pipp.
Two friends were sitting in the factory cafeteria enjoying fresh cakes.
"I’m wondering, who are the ponies you specifically thanked? I didn't know you had any other teams," Pipp asked.
"They are my personal miners," Sunny answered. "Opaline recommended them to me. Masters of their craft, the best of the best, but sometimes simply unbearable."
"Why are they unbearable?" asked Pipp.
"Alcoholism," Sunny answered dissatisfied. "They constantly get drunk and do strange things. Tell me, why do they call me on the radio every time they see a mushroom? They stand around it and constantly repeat “Mushroom, mushroom, mushroom.” What's going on in their heads?"
"But you still tolerate them and don’t fire them," said Pipp.
"I have no choice," Sunny replied, taking another cup of coffee. "I won’t find better miners in all of Equestria."
"Tell me, Darling, how much coffee can you drink? One day your heart just won't take it anymore," said Pipp.
"Don’t worry, it’s only for today. I just have to stay on my hooves until you leave," Sunny denied. "I spent the whole night with this project without sleeping a wink."
"How long has it been since you spent the whole night with a stallion?" Pipp asked with a grin. "You need to relieve stress."
"Pipp, Darling, I don’t need sex, because my job already fucks me every day," Sunny replied sarcastically.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Pipp exclaimed. "You can’t think about work all the time! You're completely obsessed with all this research. You really could use some relief."
"I can’t take everything and throw it away. Especially now, when these rebels are gaining strength. Even the dragons didn't scare them. By the way, where is your sister? She hides while all the ponies suffer. We receive information about their lairs, but during raids we understand that they managed to escape," Sunny was indignant.
"I haven’t seen her for a long time," Pipp answered dryly. "And I don’t understand her. We have everything, but she does nonsense. But on the other hoof, without her, the throne will be mine by inheritance. And this thought fascinates me so much!"
"You haven’t changed a bit. You only think about your popularity," Sunny answered smiling.
Suddenly, Sunny’s personal communication crystal lit up and the alicorn instantly activated it.
"I’m liste-" Sunny said, but was instantly interrupted.
"We're under attack!" the unicorn shouted on the other side of the connection. "Our train is destroyed in the Velvet Canyon!"
(Hurry up! Break open the door!)
"We urgently need reinforcements!" the unicorn shouted.
(Sounds of carriage door breaking)
(Guard! Neutralize him!)
(Sounds of magic, fighting and falling to the floor)
"Come in!" Sunny shouted. "No, no, no!"
Sunny jumped out of her chair and angrily threw her cup of coffee on the floor, causing Pipp to scream.
Sunny began calling Supreme Commander Eisenhorn.
"Commander, there’s no time to explain," Sunny was barely speaking. "There was an attack on my freight train, which was carrying extremely important cargo! Urgently send all nearby guards to Velvet Canyon, I will be there soon!"
"Got it," Eisenhorn replied
Sunny deactivated the crystal and looked at the floor, breathing heavily.
"ZIPP!" the alicorn shouted with such hatred that her horn and wings were enveloped in a haze of dark magic.
All factories of the Empire were connected to each other by a new network of railways. This was necessary for the rapid transportation of both raw materials and finished products. One of these railway lines ran through Velvet Canyon. It was a deserted and abandoned place without any security, because no one thought that anyone would get into such a wilderness. In addition, the arrival, departure and cargo of trains are always classified. Sometimes even the employees themselves don't know what they are transporting.
However, today there was noticeable activity on this plateau - in one of the areas near the rails was a decent number of ponies.
"I really hope it’s worth it. I don’t want to risk that much for nothing," Rocky said over the radio.
"Don’t be afraid, we can be completely confident in the information received," Zipp answered on the other side.
"Where does such confidence come from?" Rocky continued with disbelief.
"This is our proven pony," Zipp continued. "He has never let us down yet. In addition, the information was leaked directly from Starscout."
"How?" Rocky was surprised. "She is our proven pony?"
"This bitch is ready to grind us into powder, but she also has weaknesses that play to our advantage," Zipp said.
"What is her weakness?" asked Rocky.
"Let’s just say, she’s too talkative and can’t keep her mouth shut when it comes to something she’s very excited or happy about. And when she feels too good, she will say anything," Zipp explained.
"Now I don’t even want to know how the information about the train was obtained," Rocky said with disgust, and Zipp just laughed in response.
"Stop occupying the channel with all sorts of nonsense!" Sketchy intervened in the conversation. "We have a serious business, and you are discussing some kind of nonsense!"
"Just let us calm the situation. It is still unknown how it will all end. Your job is to monitor enemy activity in the sectors, and here is our job," Zipp was indignant at him.
"And this is your gratitude?" Sketchy said dissatisfiedly. "All these devices are my inventions!"
"Relax!" Zipp answered. "You don’t have to take everything so literally. We all appreciate you and your contribution to our business. Without these explosives this sabotage would not have happened. Oh, and your devices that hide our activity are especially valuable. By the way, how is the situation there? How's my boy doing?"
"Oh, I’m fine, it’s so nice that you’re worried about me, Zipp," Sketchy replied.
"Remind me to hit you when we get back," Zipp said angrily.
"Oh, come on," Sketchy answered laughing. "Everything is fine with your wolf. Only if he didn’t constantly run back and forth and didn’t interfere with work, it would be better. Besides, I'm afraid that he will attract the guards who have recently been stationed in the remnants of the city."
"Don’t even think about it. They are there on Starscout’s orders. Their task is to look after Moonbow, and not to look for rebels," Zipp answered calmly.
"Doesn’t matter, It’s very stressful when you’re practically in their direct line of sight," Sketchy answered nervously.
"Eh, just forget it and don’t pay attention," Zipp said sighing.
"All the bombs are planted," Rocky reported.
"Great, now we retreat to positions and just wait for the right moment," Zipp answered confidently.
Rocky gave the order to withdraw and all participants in this sabotage moved to prepared positions on the nearest rocks, from where an excellent view of this section of the road opened up.
"Why are we blowing up the rails?" asked one of the ponies. "After all, there is a tunnel over there. Wouldn't it be easier to bring it down in front of the train?"
"No, if we set up an ambush in the tunnel, we won’t be able to pull out the cargo properly," Rocky answered. "In addition, there is a possibility that the entire tunnel will collapse, and then all the cargo will remain buried along with the train. We will never have time to clear the rubble before the army arrives and will be left with nothing."
"Thank you for the clarification," the pony replied.
"I’m still very worried about the situation with Jazz," Zipp said upset. "At some point her double agency will be discovered. She manages to divert attention from us, but she has to give out shallow shelters, as a result of which our ponies are caught."
"It seems different to me. It’s more likely that Jazz herself won’t stand it and will simply run away from there to us," Rocky answered.
"But then we will lose the network of salons," Zipp was indignant.
"It seems to me that we don’t really need it anymore," Rocky continued. "We already have many supporters, and we can recruit new ones through closed channels organized by Sketchy."
"And, in general, you all understand that after today there will be no turning back for us, right?" Zipp asked nervously. "We are openly attacking a train carrying Empire cargo. They won't pat us on the back for this. Now we have only one road - forward to the victorious end."
"All these ponies are well aware of what they are doing," said Rocky. "We will all fight to the end."
"Yes, I don’t doubt any of you," Zipp answered.
"The train has entered our sector. ETA is in 20 minutes," Sketchy said.
Zipp left her spot and came to Rocky.
"Turn off the radio, I need to talk to you alone," she said.
"What is it again?" Rocky said dissatisfiedly, turning off the radio.
"I still think about that book," Zipp began. "It seems to me that we have always been deceived from all sides. Why does this book tell a completely different story about the fall of Equestria? Not the one we are used to. And it is more similar to the one that is spreading now."
"And why did you decide that this book tells the truth?" asked Rocky.
"Yes, it sounds like complete nonsense, but think about it," Zipp continued. "Why wasn’t it destroyed? Why was it kept in a secret archive?"
"Because it's a lie?" Rocky answered questioningly. "And it is kept there as an object of enemy propaganda and a historical artifact."
"I think you are wrong," Zipp disagreed. "It seems to me that this book is the closest to the truth that we have. This is how I see it. Once upon a time, Twilight was a good and wise ruler, and magic, peace and harmony reigned in Equestria. But with the advent of Opaline, a simple fight for power occurred in Equestria. It seems to me that this is the inevitable fate of all alicorns. Sooner or later they go crazy and become obsessed with power. Even if we look at the official version that we knew. What happened there? Opaline sowed discord among the ponies, but is this a reason to take magic away from the ponies and divide them? What adequate ruler would do this? On the contrary, Twilight should have used all her strength to calm the residents, to show that she is the wise ruler they deserve. But there is nothing like that in official history. And here we must look at this “forbidden” book. It tells the story completely differently. Opaline was defeated by the dragons, not Twilight! The dragons deprived her of magic, making her completely helpless. After that, you could do whatever you wanted with Opaline. Put in prison, exiled to Tartarus, chained in stone. But she was simply expelled. And after this, Twilight decides that it is necessary to take away the magic from the ponies and separate them. How is this different from today's times?"
"Opaline took away the magic, but united the races?..." Rocky said uncertainly.
"Even here there are advantages..." muttered Zipp. "And there are no advantages in Twilight’s final decision!"
"So where are you leading all this?" asked Rocky.
"We don’t need such rulers at all," Zipp said confidently. "I don’t care that alicorns are legitimate rulers. Firstly, hundreds of years passed, we somehow lived without them, and everything was fine. Secondly, alicorns are obsessed with power. All of them eventually become insane and desire only one thing - unlimited power and authority. This is exactly what happened to Twilight, this is exactly what Opaline achieved. Look at Sunny! What did she turn into under the influence of alicorn magic? Exactly this. A creature who wants to gain power at any cost."
"It seems to me that Sunny wants to invent more than rule," Rocky objected.
"Are you going to protect her?" Zipp was indignant. "This is all happening only because she wanted to fully wield the power of an alicorn! She gets even crazier than Opaline. You'll see, one day she'll try to overthrow her if we don't do it first."
"It seems to me that you’re going too far," Rocky continued. "I’m sure that the voice of reason still sounds in her."
"Not reason, but a distorted and sick fantasy," Zipp answered sarcastically.
"Attention!" Sketchy's voice came from the radio. "The train has entered the tunnel, everyone be on alert!"
"You heard him," Rocky turned on the radio and said. "Everypony get ready! After the explosion and stopping of the cars, each group moves to its own car and begins opening it. Report anything found inside!"
"Well, here it is, the moment of truth," Zipp said under her breath.
This long-awaited train left the tunnel at high speed. Rocky nervously kept his hoof on the detonation button and kept his eyes on the train. A little bit more. A little closer. And then the train turns out to be at the right point and Rocky presses the button. A deafening explosion echoes across the desert.
Before the pony's gaze lay an elegant train that had once conquered the expanses of the railways, but now it was forced to stop forever, having fallen off the rails. Its bright paint fades under the dust and ash cloud created by the explosion, but its outline and polished metal still glow in the sunlight. Splintered and bent rails, like snakes, surround the cars, as if trying to destroy them with their poisonous bite. And yet, even in this state, the train exudes the grace, pride and power of the Empire, as if it carries an indestructible strength and energy that cannot be extinguished by explosion or destruction.
The ponies jumped out of their places and rushed towards the train. All roles were assigned in advance, so there were no delays - every pony knew what he needed to do. Thanks to Sketchy's devices, sawing carriage doors was no problem.
Zipp's group headed to one of the cars at the end of the train, where the least damaged cars were. Mostly they lost their wheels and were thrown on their sides.
(We're under attack! Our train is destroyed in the Velvet Canyon!)
"Hurry up! Break open the door!" Zipp shouted.
(We urgently need reinforcements!)
The saws quickly finished their work and the group removed the door from the carriage.
"Guard! Neutralize him!" Rocky shouted.
Zipp, without hesitation, rushed at the unicorn, but he managed to use his magic and struck the pegasus, causing her to fall out of the carriage with force and a scream. Rocky and his partners attacked the guardsman and were able to neutralize him after a short struggle, breaking the ring with the crystal, after which they threw the guard out of the carriage.
(Come in! No, no, no!)
"He managed to warn Starscout," Rocky said and jumped out of the car. "We don’t have much time."
But then he noticed Zipp lying in a pool of her own blood.
"Zipp! Are you alive???" he shouted.
"It’s been worse," the pegasus answered hoarsely.
"We need bandaging and fixation!" Rocky shouted. "We have a seriously wounded one here!"
One of the ponies ran up to Zipp and began examining her.
"Her soft tissues and ribs are damaged, perhaps her lungs are punctured," the medic said.
The pony examined the pegasus's mouth for foamy blood.
"I hope there is no internal bleeding, but I won’t be able to say anything now without the proper equipment," she said uncertainly. "We need to get her out of here quickly."
"Just bandage me and put me on my hooves," Zipp wheezed. "I’ll only leave with everyone else!"
"But-" the medic began, but was interrupted.
"Do what I said!" Zipp shouted, writhing in pain. "Don’t argue with me."
"You’d better not get up to avoid further damage-" the medic said, but Zipp got to her hooves anyway.
"What about the cargo?" she asked.
"Nothing. Just ordinary stones and various tools," Rocky answered quietly.
"No, no, no!" Zipp didn’t want to believe what was happening. "There’s nothing on the whole train? We couldn't make that mistake. And we couldn’t be set up like that - all the information was from a trusted informant. This operation is too risky for such a worthless outcome. We can't leave without anything after this! Keep searching!"
"This is a simple freight train," the captive guard suddenly said. "And with this attack you will only achieve that you will be recognized as terrorists and will not only be imprisoned, but publicly executed."
"Call us what you want. It’s still better than being collaborators like you," Zipp answered rudely. "And you will tell your tales to somepony else. After all, you are on this train for a reason. You wouldn't report to your boss if there was nothing special on this train."
"This is standard security protocol, I am obliged to report all incidents," the prisoner continued.
"Captain, look at this," shouted one of the unicorns inspecting the carriages. "It was among the boxes with ordinary stones. This was also intended for RRT."
"It can’t be...Let me see!" Zipp wheezed, taking a step forward and almost falling, but Rocky caught her in time.
The unicorn gave Zipp the item she was interested in through Rocky.
"This can’t be...these are the crystals they use in magical devices. They are also charged!" Zipp couldn’t believe her eyes.
It seems that even the guard was surprised by this discovery.
"We need to quickly gather everything valuable and leave!" Zipp commanded, leaning on Rocky
"What to do with the prisoners, captain?" asked the group members.
"Leave them," Zipp answered, slowly walking towards the mountains. "They will be executed either by their beloved Empress, or by Starscout. They will not be forgiven for the loss of such cargo."
The scene of the accident was cordoned off by the Imperial Guard, operatives and investigators walked here and there, Sunny and the Observers interrogated the surviving guards from the train.
"What happened here? Tell me everything in detail," Sunny asked menacingly.
"I have already told everything from beginning to end several times!" said the guard.
"Well, you haven't told me. So, go ahead, spit it out. I want to know everything directly, not through reports," Sunny answered.
"It was Freedom Ponies," the guard began the story. "They took radical action. They were very well prepared and knew what they were doing. Somepony betrayed us."
"Do you think there is a rat among my employees?" asked Sunny.
"It could be anypony," the guard continued. "Your employees, guards, even the depot workers and loaders who worked with the train and cargo."
"Why shouldn't I declare you a rat?" asked Sunny.
"With my elimination, nothing will change," the guard calmly answered. "I am loyal to the Empire and the Empress, and if I go to prison or be executed, the rat will still continue to leak information to these rebels."
"Hmm, there is logic in your words," Sunny said, softening her tone.
"He’s telling the truth," the Observer confirmed.
"Zipp said that the information on this train came from a very trusted pony," said the guard.
"So this rat has been among us for a long time," Sunny said angrily.
Sunny walked back and forth a little in front of the carriages and noticed a dried puddle of blood on the ground in front of one of the carriages.
"Whose blood is this?" asked Sunny.
"Before she attacked me, I managed to strike Storm," the guard answered.
"Is she alive?" asked Sunny.
"When they left, she was alive," he continued. "But she was very seriously injured. She could not move independently and was very wheezing. Their medic said that her ribs were damaged."
"Perhaps this is a good sign for us," Sunny answered thoughtfully.
One of the investigators approached Sunny for a report.
"Miss Starscout, we found 4 bodies," he said.
"Whose?" Sunny asked, preparing for the worst.
"The train driver and three guards," the investigator answered.
"Poor ponies," Sunny said under her breath.
"However, no signs of struggle were found on their bodies," the investigator continued. "They died during the crash."
"This doesn’t change anything," Sunny answered angrily. "What about the cargo?"
"Only one box was stolen from the entire train," answered the investigator.
"And what was in it?" Sunny asked cautiously.
"The new batch of Burning Heart you were expecting," the pony answered, looking at the documents.
"Of course, what else were they hunting for-" Sunny said angrily.
"I want to clarify about these crystals," the guard intervened.
"Yes?" Sunny turned to him.
"These stones..." the guard hesitated to answer. "They were charged..."
"What? How could they be charged? Are you sure?" there was genuine shock on Sunny’s face.
"Yes, Zipp mentioned it," answered the guard.
Sunny began to quickly walk along the carriage in a panic.
"Who could charge them?" Sunny couldn’t believe what was happening. "They are only mined and loaded at that side of Equestria. Ordinary miners are not capable of this. They don’t even have enough intelligence to do this. I was sure that only I knew the charging ritual. This means that there is a rat among my scientists, who is also capable of such spells!"
Sunny's nerves reached the limit and she simply screamed, raising her head and spreading her wings. Everypony at the crime scene froze and turned their attention to Sunny, which she was clearly not happy with.
"Who gave you permission to stop? Continue your work!" she shouted angrily.
After catching her breath a little, she flew up to Eisenhorn.
"Commander, we need to return to the Empress and report to her about everything," said Sunny. "The situation is quite difficult."
"We cannot leave until the end of the investigation," the unicorn objected.
"Yes, we can," Sunny continued. "Our ponies can do everything here without us. And we need to discuss further actions with the Empress."
"Okay," Eisenhorn agreed. "Guards, listen to my command. Continue investigating the crime scene until all possible circumstances are clarified and the criminals are identified. Once completed, call the clearing command - this train cannot be left on the tracks. And the tracks themselves need to be repaired. After this, you can go to your usual posts."
"This is the first serious attack by the rebels. Before we only had to deal with street riots," Eisenhorn reported to Opaline.
"How could you miss such serious preparation?" Opaline was angrily surprised. "They didn’t take all these explosives and other devices out of thin air."
"We managed to detain many rebels during this time," Eisenhorn continued. "But we have never found anything like this in their hideouts. Only leaflets and prohibited literature."
"Then you didn’t work hard enough," Opaline said.
"We learned from one of the train guards that thanks to information from the traitor, the rebels received accurate information about the train schedule and its cargo," Sunny intervened in the conversation.
"Oh, such great news, Sunny!" Opaline said sarcastically. "Are you so calmly telling me that you couldn’t find a traitor among your scientists?"
"And this is not the worst thing, I won’t hide it and will tell everything as it is," Sunny continued. "When they attacked the train, they stole more than just a shipment of the Burning Heart. They stole a shipment of charged Burning Heart."
"What did you just say?" Opaline’s anger knew no bounds. "How did charged crystals end up on this train? You charge them here at Maretime!"
"That's the point!" Sunny shouted back. "I have nothing to do with this! Somepony charged the crystals before the the loading on train. Some ponies know how to carry out the charging ritual on their own. And I thought that only I could do it!"
"So this is a unicorn and it’s from your team. You need to go through each of them, without exception. There should be no pity for these pathetic traitors. They began to use such terrible methods, which means we have every right to respond in proportion to their actions," Opaline concluded.
Opaline stood up from her throne and walked over to her magical pond. After thinking for a while, she activated it, starting to broadcast to all sorts of devices throughout the Empire.
"Residents of the Equestrian Empire! It is very sad that I have to contact you right now about this horrible tradegy. You have all probably already heard about this terrible attack on the RRT freight train. We all, like me in particular, put up with these ungrateful traitors for a very long time and tolerated their actions, which disturbed our calm and peaceful course of life. They had everything - housing, entertainment, security, work. What were they missing? And I will answer you. They imagine themselves better than others, better than all of you. They decided that they did not want to live in unity and equality with the entire Empire. They egged you on to rebel, while they hid in their holes. They pitted the loyal inhabitants of the Empire against each other, while they watched from afar. Are these actions worthy of real leaders? But today's events have become a point of no return. As a result of their treacherous attack on the government train, several of our heroes died, who faithfully served us all and protected our peace. Traitors like to say that all their actions are aimed at the benefit of the inhabitants of Equestria. What will they say now to the relatives of the victims? That they killed them for their own good? Do you think they will be able to turn to the wives, husbands and children of these heroes and confess everything? Of course not! After all, the Freedom Ponies are pathetic cowards! In addition, the railway network was very seriously damaged, which will make it difficult to supply food to distant regions where your relatives work. After a meeting with Commander Eisenhorn Shriekwood, I decided to make the only right decision in this situation. From now on, I, the Grand Empress Opaline Arcana, declare the Freedom Ponies a terrorist organization with all the ensuing consequences. I give the guards the full right to eliminate any members of this group if they resist. All those who sympathize and help the Freedom Ponies will be considered equal to their participants and declared terrorists. Also with a heavy heart I have to announce that we will have to tighten up security in our country. From now on, dragons will be located in every city. In addition, a curfew and a ban on leaving one's area of residence are imposed. If your work is in an area that does not coincide with your residence, you will need to obtain a permit from your local Royal Guard Office. Please believe me, my faithful ponies, these measures are as unpleasant for me as they are for you! But all this is for your own safety! I swear to all of you, loyal citizens of the Empire, we will crush this infection once and for all! In the name of the Great Empire!"