DisQord Continuum: Equestria Rising

by ZoidbergIsBestPony

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Princess Celestia, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Other, Princess Luna, Original Character
Length: 75644

Can a new pony home with peace ever be found amidst an interstellar war?

Every pony, young and old, knows the story of Hearth's Warming eve: where the three great pony tribes nearly perished, until they united together in peace and harmony in their new home, Equestria. But if Equestria is the world everypony lives on now, then where did ponies originally come from? What planet? What really happened all those years ago?

Far away, in another star system, on the pony homeworld, Origin, a disaster of planetary proportions has occurred. Onboard the U.C.P. Starbase Harmony, the leaders of the Grand Counsel of Ponies have been summoned to resolve the crisis. Can the different pony tribes work together to save all of ponykind? Or will their distrust of one another lead them down the path of an interstellar war?

(Though this is part of the DisQord universe, neither Discord nor Star Trek are involved with this story, but this story is the prequel to The DisQord Continuum)

Cover Art modified from original by scully8472
http://scully8472.deviantart.com/art/Celestia-and-Luna-310369196

Published 2012-11-03 07:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-29 21:45:49 UTC

Peace Shattered

Peace Shattered

“Hey! Could you pass the ball?”

The ball rolled up to a teenaged Unicorn colt, bouncing off his hooves. The colt looked down at it disinterestedly.

"Please, could you pass the ball?" a young Earth pony called as he made his way over toward him.

He was a small, scrawny pony, maybe only a couple of years old. He was too little to have a cutie mark just yet. His friend accidentally sent the ball flying over his head while playing catch in the park.

The teenage Unicorn's mane had been dyed bright green with a cutie mark of two drumsticks crossed together. Looking down at the ball again, a thought dawned on him that made him smile.

“You want your ball back?” he called, levitating the ball in the air.

Two more Earth ponies had joined the first. “Yes. Please. Give it back!” one of them called.

“Here, I’ll throw it to you. Go long!” he said levitating the ball behind his back, like a pitcher on the mound. The little ponies started running in the direction he was aiming.

“Go further!” he yelled out to them. The ponies weren’t sure they would be able to catch such a long throw but were excited to try. He launched the ball with his magic, sending it flying far ahead of the little ponies.

They ran and ran trying to make it in time to catch it. They stared at the ball soaring over their heads and nothing else until….

“Oomf!”

Thick globs of mud covered the faces of the three little ponies. They had fallen into a large puddle leftover from the recent rainstorm. The ball landed just in front of them, splashing additional mud in their shocked faces.

“Didn’t you know?” the colt called to them. “That’s why you’re called Earth ponies! Because you belong in the dirt!” He laughed himself silly, completely unaware of anything happening behind him.

The ponies in the mud had noticed it though. Enormous dark clouds appeared to be growing directly over the city. A hole had formed in the center that appeared to be sucking air inside like a vortex. A thunderous noise echoed across the park.

The scared ponies ran away, screaming. The Unicorn colt thought it was nothing more than a little thunder and that the little ponies were running away from him. But the the noise from the sky grew much louder, to the point where he needed to cover his ears. He turned around looking up at the source.

He watched as a bright light flashed through the hole in the clouds, down into the ground shooting a gigantic beam of white energy. Its girth spread across several city blocks. It hit the ground in an explosion that knocked the colt backward off his hooves.

Picking himself up, he quickly looked again at the beam shooting down. The entire ground was being uplifted, and rubble was pushing outward like a massive tsunami wave. As he stared at the encroaching wave of earth building towards him, he had only enough time to cry, “Mommy!”, before the wave had overtaken him.

In orbit of the planet below, satellites started reporting on the event. Data flooded the terminals of every military and government branch.

“Report!” Commander Hirkain yelled at the young private sitting in front of one of the larger terminals.

“Sir, the city of Maretropolis is in ruins! A gigantic cloud of ash and smoke is being thrust into the clouds. The force of the blast was over four million Mcp!”

“That’s impossible! No pony should be able to produce that kind of magic, not even the unicorns! What's the source?"

"Sensors can't find it sir! At the rate the ash cloud is spreading, we could be looking at a possible nuclear winter!” The private's eyes were being bouncing from log to log on his screenpad with the massive flood of data.

“Damn it! Who could have done this?" the commander shouted. "Get me the council immediately. We’re in trouble!” He slammed his hoof on the table hard, knocking the private’s coffee mug off, shattering on the floor.

Three hours after the event...

Onboard the U.C.P. Starbase Harmony (United Coalition of Ponies), in orbit over the pony homeworld, the Grand Council of Ponies had been called to an immediate session. An unknown disturbance in the upper ionosphere over Maretropolis triggered the massive explosion destroying the city. The deaths were still being reported but had risen to 13.5 million in the last hour.

“All rise for the council leaders!” a guard near the entrance to the Hall of Harmony announced, as he and another guard pulled the doors open, allowing the ambassadors to enter.

“Daughter of the Unicorn King, Princess Platinum."

A beautiful unicorn maiden with a silky smooth velvet mane and soft white fur entered the hall wearing the symbol of her royalty, a thin gold tiara with tiny jewels of all kinds aligned along the band. Above her horn, a heart-shaped blue-tinted diamond gleamed from the lights in the room. She walked with a soft fluid-like stride and her head held high with an air of superiority.

Her servant entered immediately after and rushed to help her princess to be seated. Grabbing a chair waiting for her majesty to sit, she was surprised when the princess stood instead at a place around the table where there were no chairs.

The great hall had, at its center, a great circular table that was meant to treat all races equally. The princess had decided to instead, stand at a point that faced the entrance. The servant quickly brought the chair over to the princess and carefully positioned it as she took her seat.

The guard continued the announcing: “Ruler of the Pegasi, Commander Hirkain!”

Surrounding the council table were semicircular rows of seating for the wealthiest of the tribes. They were normally open to the public, however due to the nature of the discussion it had been limited to only the highest members of society.

The commander deliberately chose to use his wings to fly into the chamber, rather than walking. Many of the ponies attending were high ranking Pegasi soldiers and, upon his entrance, rose together and saluted him. He reached the table and took his seat.

“And lastly, leader of the Earth ponies, Chancellor Puttinghoof!” the announcer finished.

The Chancellor was heavyset and a little dimwitted. The only reason he was the Earth pony chancellor was because of his father, who made Maretropolis the center of trade for the food growers of society, the Earth ponies. His father was also known for his brutal murder by the family maid when Puttinghoof was young colt. The son was voted in on his father’s reputation and sympathy for his tragic youth. Chancellor Puttinghoof took his seat at the table.

“I want to know who is responsible for this deliberate attack of the Earth ponies, Commander!” the chancellor yelled, staring directly at Commander Hirkain.

“Now wait just a minute!” Commander Hirkain replied. “You can’t possibly think it was us who did it? There were a great many Pegasi killed in that attack too. It must have been the Uni-”

“Excuse me, but don’t I still have a seat on this counsel?” a soft warm voice called by the entrance to the hall. A tall Alicorn with bright pink hair and white fur entered the room. She had to duck so she would not hit her horn on the top of the entrance, which had been built for ponies, not Alicorns.

“Who invited you?” The commander asked, looking dismissively at the Alicorn.

“I have served on this counsel for over seventy-five years. Has anything changed in that regard?" she responded.

“You haven’t been to a counsel meeting in years, why should we listen to you now?” Commander Hirkain barked.

“When a decision needed to be made to benefit all ponykind, I have always come,” She replied. “I just chose to ignore your petty squabbles of bureaucratic nonsense. But what happened today and is happening now, is something which greatly affects all of us.”

“It certainly does,” Chancellor Puttinghoof chimed in. Have a seat Galafrea.”

Galafrea, counsel representative for the Alicorn race, took her seat at the table. She held no higher title, as she greatly disliked the symbolism of superiority the other counsel members took such pride in.

“Whoever was responsible for this atrocity has not only doomed Earth ponies, but in all likelihood, doomed themselves as well!" the chancellor continued, explaining the situation. "If the ashen cloud caused by this attack cannot be dispersed, all plant life will be dead in six months. Animals will be dead sixth months after that. Commander, can your Pegasus Device disperse the clouds?”

“No,” he said. The Pegasus Device cannot undo weather. It can only seed or encourage weather toward specific patterns. As the clouds are made of ash, there is no way to easily break them apart.”

“But what shall we do for food?” Princess Platinum asked. “I refuse to eat anything that’s been tainted by this soot!”

“Are you insane?” the commander screamed. “You’re worried about a little dirt on your dinner? Your people and everypony may die of starvation in coming months! And that includes you, your royal pain in the-”

“I think we get the point,” Galafrea calmly said. The first thing we need to do, is to start harvesting any healthy crops remaining on the planet and begin evacuations.”

“And where do you suppose we put everypony, huh?” said Hirkain. We’re talking several billion ponies!”

“Then we will need to work together to find a new home,” said the Alicorn. She spoke calmly and rationally hoping cooler heads could work together to resolve this crisis. “We have three colonies on worlds nearby that can begin accepting refugees.”

“Those colonies are too small to start accepting billions of refugees,” Commander Hirkain said shaking his head. “At best, the Pegasopolis Colony can except maybe a few million Pegasi refugees in the next six months.”

Galifrea turned to the commander giving him a look of deep concern. “Mr. Hirkain, please. We need to work together if we are to survive this crisis. The colonies can no longer remain segregated by tribe. We must share all available resources amongst all tribes to succeed.”

“That’s Commander Hirkain! And you’re only saying ‘work together’, ‘work together’ because Alicorns don’t have their own colony to flee to! You just want to leech off us! Well nothing doin'! The Pegasi have been wanting to go our separate ways anyway, I see no time like the present!”

“I have always stated we need to join together and cooperate with one another. And the only reason we don’t have our own colony is because of the treaty you forced us to sign!” Galifrea retorted.

The United Pony treaty, signed thiry-five years ago established a united governing body to help reduce the animosity between the pony tribes and establish a one-nation world on which to live. It allowed for the establishment of segregated colonies, under the condition that the homeworld be desegregated and a united counsel would share the burden of government as representatives for each tribe.

The name of the pony homeworld has been argued for generations, but most now referred to it as "Origin" after the establishment of the colonies. Due to the animosity towards the Alicorns for their immortality, they were allowed to have ships for transport jobs, but were prevented from attempting to establish a colony of their own.

“It’s bad enough you have immortality," yelled the commander, "you think we were going to let you genetic freaks start spreading across the universe like a plague?”

“While I never fully agreed with that stipulation in the treaty, for once, I think I actually agree with something Commander Hirkain said!” the chancellor spoke up. “I think it’s for the best to go our separate ways.”

Galifrea couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“It’s unfortunate,” he continued, “but with so little time and so many ponies, sacrifices must be made. 3.7 billion ponies is too many. We can at least lower that figure by twenty-five percent if we don’t have to also resettle the Alicorns. And besides, most of your ponies have lived far longer lives than any of us. And you’re not even real ponies anyway…”

“HOW DARE YOU!” the Alicorn Representative screamed. “You’re talking about genocide! You want to MURDER all of us? Because make no mistake, such an action is nothing but the murder of hundreds of millions of lives!

“And we may have been genetically engineered, but we have long since evolved into a full and prosperous race of ponies like any one of you! And if you remember your history, it was a team of ponies from all three tribes working together to create a ‘Pony born of all tribes’! The Alicorns were supposed to unite everypony!”

“I don’t know about murder,” said the princess, “but I for one look forward to my new home in Unicornia! Away from all of you other ponies’ filth and brutality!”

“Please! We mustn’t split apart! This counsel was started to help prevent just that! This will doom us all!” Galifrea pleaded desperately.

“This counsel was started to prevent a war! Nothing more!” Chancellor Puttinghoof said. “And I think it has outlived its purpose.”

“Outlived its purpose?” Galifrea repeated in shock. “If you three go through with your plan to abandon hundreds of millions of my kind, leaving them to die in the cold of a never ending winter, then we won’t simply sit still and just let it happen!”

“You know, Galafrea, you’re absolutely right.” said the commander, rising from his chair.

The Alicorn looked inquisitively at the commander. She did not think anything could have changed this Pegasus’ mind.

He walked over toward her as he continued to speak in a softer tone. “I think we all DO need to work together to survive this crisis. And to do that, we all need to be united against our common enemy. Wouldn’t you agree?”

He was now standing right next to Galafrea.

“Enemy? If you’re referring to what happened today, we don’t yet know who that enemy is, or that this was even an attack! It may have been a tragic accident!” The princess replied. “But yes, we do need to work together to save our ponies and to find out who or what caused this tragedy to occur.”

“The three pony tribes will work together: to save the three pony races from the enemy right here in front of us!”

Before she could comment on his 'three pony tribes' remark, in one clean swipe, the commander took the blade from its sheath he wore at his side and slit Galifrea’s throat. She gasped for air, clutching her throat with her hooves, jerking backward off her chair, finally succumbing to the blood loss. She lay there dead upon the floor with her eyes wide in shock.

“Do you know what you have done!?” screamed the chancellor, jumping from his chair.

“I did what needed to be done. Nothing more,” said the commander spitting at the Alicorn corpse.

“You’ve just declared war on the Alicorn race!” the chancellor barked.

“I just declared that Pegasi, Unicorn, and Earth ponies won’t be left behind to starve! We will make everypony see the Alicorn threat! We will turn everpony against them, so that they will be too powerless to defend themselves!”

The crowd roared at his words; Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasi alike. There were no Alicorns in the crowd, as most were considered the lower class of society. The princess and chancellor looked at each other nervously. With the high class members of their own tribes supporting the commander, they felt they had little choice but to concur with his decision. They too reluctantly applauded.

The Alicorn Threat

The Alicorn Threat

“Tia, Luna, dinner’s ready,” their mother called up the stairs.

“Coming mother,” Celestia replied back poking her head out of her and her sister’s room.

She quickly finished typing a message to her friend and sent it. Luna was lying in their bed trying to take a late afternoon nap. Celestia gave her sister a good kick to the side.

“Luna, come on! Wake up already!”

“Mmm…five more minutes Tia,” she sleepily said, snuggling deeper under the blanket so only her horn showed. Celestia grabbed the blanket with her teeth and yanked it away from her little sister. Luna continued to try to squirm into a little ball for warmth, refusing to open her eyes.

There was only one bed in the small room they shared. On the walls were posters of action movies. Celestia was a huge action movie fan. From “Thunderhoof” to “The Unicorn Impaler” she would spend hours a day watching movies on her little screenpad. She would even practice some of the martial arts moves sometimes, which explained the large dent in one of the walls that was being covered by a crude drawing made by Luna at school.

Only a single poster had a little cute filly with her animal friends, Luna’s favorite show: “Daisy Sunshine and friends.” She would constantly fight with her sister for the screenpad when her show was on.

“Girls, your dinner’s getting cold!” their mother called again up the stairs.

“Coming!” Celestia answered, prodding her sister again and again with her hoof.

Luna continued to feign being asleep making little snoring noises. Sighing, Celestia decided to lay on top of her sister squishing her into the mattress.

“Ow, Tia! Get off!” she yelled.

“Oh you’re awake?” Celestia said, acting surprised. “Then I guess you can come to dinner right?”

“Ughh…fine,” Luna caved, poking her face out from under her sister’s tail. Crawling out from under her, she got off the mattress and headed down the stairs, Celestia following behind.

“There you are girls!” their mother said putting their plates on the table. “Come, eat your grains.”

“Awwww, steamed buckwheat again?” Luna complained. “Can’t we have Dandelion soup?” she asked hopefully looking at her mother.

“Luna, I’m sorry dear, but we just can’t afford Dandelions right now,” her mother explained sullenly. “It’s all we have right now.”

They took their seats at the table and started eating.

Both Celestia and Luna did not have their cutie marks. Luna was still too young, but Celestia just hadn’t found her special talent yet; something her classmates were quick to point out.

They ate in a small kitchen just big enough for a table and the bare essentials. It was a tiny apartment, with just two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The wallpaper in the kitchen was old and peeling. The faucet dripped into the sink every few seconds.

On the table was their mother’s screenpad. Displayed on the screen was the headline of today’s news.

“What’s a teerroh-rest?” Luna asked looking at the pad.

The mother jumped in shock. She forgot to close the screen before everypony sat down to eat. She quickly grabbed the pad and turned it off, hastily replying, “It’s nothing dear; just some boring old news stuff.

“Yuck!” was Luna’s reaction. She hated reading the news. She didn’t inquire further about the article through dinner.

They finished eating and went back upstairs to start their homework. Their mother started collecting the dishes and washing up. While she was cleaning, a knock came at their door. Grabbing a towel, she dried her hooves and went to the door to see who it was.

“Star Swirl? I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight. Is everything all right?” she asked making room for him to enter their apartment.

“No it’s not all right! Have you seen today’s news!?” he asked taking off his jacket. “Have you ever seen such pony dung spewed across every media outlet?

“Star Swirl! The girls are upstairs! Watch your language and keep your voice down!” she said hanging his coat on a hook in the wall.

“Sorry Ruby, I just can’t believe the lies that are being spewed from the newscasters. It’s bad enough we haven’t seen the sun for two weeks with this horrific debris cloud, but to pin it on the Alicorns and to call Galifrea a terrorist! I know Galifrea personally, and she is the most intelligent warmest non-violent pony there ever was!”

Ruby rolled her eyes saying, “Oh please, you do not know Galifrea, Star Swirl.”

“Well, I’ve seen her speak enough times to know she’s a good pony. Besides, there’s no way Galifrea, or any Alicorn for that matter, could have caused the explosion over Maretropolis. But where is she? She hasn’t been seen since the blast. If I know that blasted Pegasus commander, he’s probably already locked her up and thrown away the key with no fair trial!”

“Star Swirl, please. You need to calm down. I’m sure Galifrea is just busy sorting out this misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding fah!” Star Swirl waved his hooves dismissively. He sat down in a chair exhausted after his rant. He continued to stare at the headlines on his screenpad when Ruby’s Husband walked in.

“Star Swirl, hey, what brings you to our neck of the woods…and WHAT are you wearing?” he asked looking at his outfit.

“Hey Bake, come and join the party! And what do you think I’m wearing? A pony’s gotta earn a living you know!” Star Swirl replied.

His uniform was a long navy blue robe with stars and moons. He also had a hat, which was currently on the table next to him. It was also navy blue with stars and moons and pointy with bells on the top and brim. He worked as a salespony for a small HoverCar company, “StarCars”.

He was a young gangly pony who looked like he would lose in just about any fight easily. His mane was blue with purple fur. And for some reason his mane kept appearing and growing on his chin like a beard.

“Still can’t get rid of that beard eh Star? You’re starting to look like a purple goat!” Sugar Baker laughed as he joined Star Swirl at the table.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny. But you know what’s not funny? This nonsense in the news!” Star continued his earlier rant.

Sugar Baker was a simple Alicorn dessert baker at a small shop down the street. It was meager earnings but enough for him and his family to get by on. His fur was black with matching mane. He was at least twice as tall as the Unicorn Star Swirl, but never made his friends ever feel small. He had a chef’s hat for a cutie mark.

His wife, Ruby Hearts, used to be a jeweler. She loved her work and was very upset the day she was laid off. Afterwards, she could no longer find work and had to settle for life as a stay-at-home mom with her girls. She had light pink fur with a silky white mane. When she went out, she could still turn quite a few eyes, even non-Alicorns. Her cutie mark matched her name, three rubies shaped like little hearts tied together into a gold necklace.

As they continued to talk about the clouds blocking the sun, and the Alicorns being blamed for the Maretropolis disaster, their voices traveled beyond the kitchen and up the stairs where a very scared but attentive Celestia stood, listening to every word.

A few days had passed since Star Swirl came to visit. News of the disaster being blamed on Alicorn Terrorists had circled to every community across the planet. Government plans were being put into motion to prevent any Alicorn from ever committing such a heinous act again. Many cheered the counsel’s push to bring justice to those lives lost in the disaster.

Ads started appearing more and more on everypony’s personal screenpads targeting Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasus ponies. They encouraged them to move to the beautiful colonies of Unicornia, Pegasopolis, and The Soil Lands. (The Soil Lands was named by the Chancellor, but called “Earth” by most Earth ponies. Some even called it ‘Dirtville’ making fun of the Chancellor’s lack of originality in its naming.)

While only Earth ponies could go to Earth, and the same for Unicorns in Unicornia, and Pegasi in Pegasopolis, the ads directly targeted their audience to be as enticing as possible. On the screenpads of Alicorns, however, were ads offering ‘work away from home’ jobs with better pay to send to their families while they worked. “Leave for sixth months to work, get paid for the entire year!” the ads claimed, which for many Alicorns, was a very enticing offer.

As a result of the constant news coverage of the “Alicorn Terrorists”, anti-Alicorn sentiment was steadily rising.

“Luna, over here,” Celestia called to her little sister, pointing to a table in the school cafeteria.

Celestia and Luna would often spend lunchtime together at school. However, as Luna caught up with her and they sat down, at once, every other pony got up from the table and left. They stared at the pair of them as they moved their trays to another table.

All of their friends had stopped talking to them recently. Luna did not understand why. She would try to go to her friends and they would pretend like she didn’t exist. Celestia, attempted to console and protect her little sister, having a better understanding as to what was happening.

There were only a few Alicorns within the school. None shared the same lunch period as  Celestia and Luna. All of their former friends were not Alicorns. About a week ago, they suddenly stopped talking to them, and started avoiding them in the halls. Celestia tried to send them messages, but discovered she had been blocked by them.

They sat and ate their lunch together. Celestia often tried to make a few small jokes to get Luna to smile, which sometimes would work. Today was not one of those days, and it would only get worse.

“Ow!” Luna cried rubbing her neck. Something had hit her that was slimy. Picking it off her neck she saw that it was a spitball. Already getting watery-eyed, another spitball struck the back of her head. She couldn’t hold it in any longer and started crying.

Celestia got up from the table and stared daggers at the culprits who were laughing at their accomplishment.

“Leave us alone!” she yelled at them.

“Why? Watcha gonna do, FREAK!?” one of them said.

“Yeah watcha gonna do?” repeated another.

“I’m warning you!” Celestia threatened them, hoping her larger stature and stern voice would be enough to get them to back down.

“Say…what’s that above you?” a unicorn asked smiling maliciously. Celestia saw that his horn was glowing. Looking up she saw a tray hovering a few feet above her, which promptly tipped, pouring a bowl of hot soup directly onto her face.

“Ahhh!” She screamed from the pain of the soup burning her. Shaking it off she quickly, she responded using her magic to lift the two little ponies into the air and smash them together hard. She dropped them down to the floor and they ran off crying.

Returning to her table, she took her napkin and started to wipe herself off. No pony spoke. She could feel the stares of everypony in the room for the entire duration of the lunch period.

“I’m sorry, but your daughter’s behavior is completely unacceptable!” The principal sternly said to Celestia’s mother.

Celestia was sitting in a chair just outside the principal’s office. She sat with her back upright and her front hooves folded in her lap and her head down.

The principal was a stocky Earth pony who always wore a thick suit to make himself seem more important than everypony in the school. He had tan fur with a dark brown mane. Beneath the suit, no pony knew what his cutie mark was.

“She was clearly responding to the other ponies who deliberately dropped soup all over her!” Celestia’s mother screamed back at the principal. Even sitting, she was at least two heads taller than the principal, who did not like having to look up at her. “Why haven’t their parents been brought in?”

“There were no witnesses who saw this supposed act occur. Only those who say your daughter walked up to them eating their lunch and picked them up with her magic and slammed them into each other!” The principal barked sitting up in his chair as much as possible to appear taller.

“Then tell me, why is she completely covered in soup!?” She demanded. Her nostrils were flaring with anger.

“How should I know if your filly is a slob at the lunch table? Anyway the decision is final. Your daughter is hereby expelled from this school!” He smacked his hoof on the table.

“And what will Luna do to avoid these bullies without her big sister?” she asked, her eyes starting to get watery, something which was not lost on the principal.

“I suggest you pull them both out of school Mrs. Hearts. They don’t belong here anyway. Educating Alicorns is probably what led your kind to become terrorists in the first place! Now get out of my school!”

She was in shock. “How dare you…HOW DARE YOU, YOU RACIST BIGGOT! I’LL HAVE YOU REMOVED FROM THIS AND ANY OTHER SCHOOL, YOU SON OF A DIRTLICKER!!!”

She left his office, bucking the door shut with her hind legs so hard that the glass shattered.

“You’re paying for that!” the principal screamed.

“Come Tia, let’s get Luna and go home.”

Celestia, looked at her mother as though she had never seen her before. In her entire life, she had never once seen her mother this angry before, let alone swear like that. She quietly got up from the chair and followed her mother into the hallway without saying a word.

Ruby found which classroom Luna was in and made her way over with her daughter. She knocked on the door and waited for the teacher.

“May I help you?” the teacher asked opening the door.

“Yes Angelica, I’m sorry, but there’s been a family emergency and I’m afraid I’m going to have to take Luna home early today.” Ruby stayed calm and did not let any of her earlier frustrations with the principal show on her face.

“Oh no, I hope everything is okay,” she whispered. “Luna, your mother’s here to take you home early. You can pack up your books and go.”

Angelica Snowflower was a Pegasus with soft powder blue fur and a white mane like Ruby’s. They were both friends growing up, and Ruby thought the world of her teaching abilities.

Ruby quickly leaned in and whispered, “I’m afraid this is goodbye.”

“Wha-What? What do you mean?” Angelica asked now scared to hear her response. “It’s not about what’s been happening in the news is it?”

“I’m afraid so. Thank you for teaching my daughters,” she said mournfully.

“Just a minute!” Angelica spoke up louder all of the sudden. She went over to her desk and took out a small pad. Scribbling some information down with the pen in her mouth, she quickly returned and handed the sheet to Ruby.

“This is my home address and phone number,” she spoke again quietly. “If you’re ever in need of help, please call me!”

Ruby’s eyes started watering. “Thank you, Angelica.” She turned away from the class so they wouldn’t see. Speaking to the door she said, “Are you ready Luna?”

Luna had gotten all her books together and headed for the front of the classroom from the back row. One of the colts had caught sight of the Alicorn mother’s tears before she turned and put two and two together.

“Guess what? Luna’s leaving school for good!!” he sang happily. The whole class started cheering and waving goodbye. Luna ran out the door crying.

“Children stop that at once! That is not how we treat our friends!” the teacher became very angry.

“She’s no friend of ours!” the same colt sang to more cheers.

“Billy Applestrudel, Detention!” She screamed. “Any that goes for anypony else who makes another comment like that!” She turned back to Ruby to apologize, but she had already left.

As they couldn’t afford a Transport Metro jump, or a HoverCar, the three of them walked the mile and a half back to their apartment. No one said a word during the entire walk.

They arrived home that evening to find that their door had graffiti sprayed across it reading, “ALICORNS NOT WELCOME HERE!” There was also a folded piece of paper sitting on the front stoop. It was a government pamphlet that read: “Alicorns: What you need to know to protect your family from them.”

Celestia read the graffiti right away and was mortified by it. She gasped when she saw it. Luna knew something was wrong but couldn’t make out the letters before her mother shielded her eyes.

“Let’s get inside, quickly now,” said their mother. She quickly took her daughters inside and locked the door.

She saw Celestia absorbing the events of the day culminating in the graffiti and wanted to get her to push it from her mind.

“I know you had a rough day girls, so I’m going to make you something special for dinner tonight. How would you like some nice tomato soup?” she asked smiling warmly at her children.

Luna was fortunate enough to not understand most of the implications of the day and was happy to get tomato soup as a treat. Celestia didn’t say anything. She just hung up her coat and sat down at the table staring into the wall.

No pony talked while they ate. As soon as they finished eating, Ruby sent them to their room for the night.

The girls climbed up the stairs and went into their room closing the door. When heard the door click, Ruby lost the last of her strength. She wept silently, tears running down her cheeks.

About an hour later, her husband had returned home from the bakery to discover the door and the pamphlet. Ruby then told him about the rest of the day as her tears flowed continuously. He held her tight in his hooves, attempting to console her. He didn’t have the heart to tell her he’d just lost his job.

Exodus

Exodus

Onboard the P.R.S. New Horizons (Pegasus Relocation Ship)…

“Private Pansy!” Commander Hirkain shouted on command deck. “How’s our numbers looking?”

“That’s ‘Pimsey’, sir,” the young recruit corrected, in a soft whisper.

Private Harmon Pimsey was a weak gangly Pegasus who probably never should have joined the military. His father was a general before he retired and used his clout to get his son pushed through boot. The private had a soft yellow fur with a light blue mane, which gave him a rather feminine appearance.

“Don’t correct me! Now let’s get a move on! Hup-two!” the commander yelled. His hearing was quite excellent and could easily pick up those subtle remarks from his soldiers.

“Yes, sir. Sorry sir. We’re dropping off another 23,000 Pegasi on this transport making the number 2.75 million relocated over the last six weeks.”

“Excellent. If we keep building ships, then we should be able to just get out every last Pegasus before it’s too late.”

“Actually sir, according to the numbers…”

He quickly stopped talking after the glare he received from the commander.

“The numbers are fine Pansy. Focus on your duties!” the commander retorted. He walked away from the private and took his seat in Captain’s chair (superseding the authority of the actual ship’s captain).

“It just makes no sense,” Pimsey thought to himself. “Commander Hirkain keeps asking for more ships for transport, but every new ship’s design cuts the crew number in half and doubles our defensive capabilities.

Private Pimsey pushed the thought from his mind as he had to get twenty-five other tasks completed before his shift ended.

He did not particularly like the commander. He didn’t particularly care for the military in general, but it was obvious to the young private that the commander cared more for his own agenda, than the true welfare of his fellow ponies.

Sitting back at his station, he brought up his terminal which was split between four screens and a control screenpad. Sifting through dozens of charts, graphs, sensors, and forms to fill, he spent the next ten hours completing his tasks.

In the Captain’s chair, the commander continued to monitor the situation as passengers Digi-Ported down to the surface of the planet.

[Digi-Ports are technology based on Unicorn teleport magic. As science and technology continued to improve in their society, a greater understanding of the how and why Unicorn magic works the way it does, came to be common knowledge.

After the discovery of the Monoceros particle, ponies of all tribes were able to start collecting and producing similar magical capabilities by combining the particles into their technology. They were even able to absorb free particles from the space around them, as the particles are quite abundant in nature.

The famed Scientific Explorer Award winner, Dr. Newton Applefall, discovered that all ponies, regardless of sub-species, absorbed different amounts of the particles into their bodies, thus allowing them to perform such simple feats as lifting and manipulating objects with their own hooves. (Generations of ponies never realized the scientific miracle of performing such a simple task as holding a tool in their hooves and using it!)]

Standing in long lines all over the ship, passengers waited to disembark. The first-class passengers were the first to disembark, naturally. The remaining passengers were given a Digi-Port Number and a time-slot for when to report. There were forty-five different Digi-Ports all over the ship, each able to transport ten ponies at a time. However, the arduous task would still take over a day to complete.

While they waited, many ponies brought their children to some of the many viewing windows around the vessel. From there, they could stare out and see their new future home from orbit.

The planet was in a trinary system; three suns spread in a triangle with several planets orbiting all three. Some orbited between the solar bodies, but were so hot, they had surfaces on the order of 8,000°C. Due to the intensity of the heat produced by the three stars together, Pegasopolis had to be established on a planet at least  two hundred and fifty million kilometers to reach the nearest sun. [Earth is only one hundred 150 million km away from its sun.]

The planet had an orange hue to it, due to the composition of the minerals on the surface. It did not have any oceans, but the pioneers of the colony discovered an underground ocean spread across the planet with enough fresh water for life.

But what really drew the Pegasi to this new world, were the clouds. Clouds were spread throughout the planet, soft, yet firm. The clouds were large and thick enough without dispersing to build vast cities throughout the planet.

Many little fillies and colts were pointing at different cloud formations trying to see different shapes and animals while they waited to start their new lives.

Onboard the R.U.S. Prominence (Royal Unicornian Ship)…

“Clover? Are we there yet?” Princess Platinum asked in a bored, whiney tone.

“Not yet, your Majesty,” the princess’s servant replied. “It will still be another six hours or so.”

Clover was Princess Platinum’s main servant and had been since they were fillies. She was a deep blue unicorn with a violet mane. Her cutie mark was a feather pen over parchment.

She loved to write and always wanted to become a writer, but was never allowed the time to try. Every chance she did get however, she put into her writing. She made short stories about a utopian world she thought of, where all ponies were friends and worked together in a simple life away from technology. After the disaster, she saw her dreams shatter apart before her very eyes.

Clover was the closest thing the princess ever had to a friend. And the princess showed her appreciation for her in a most unique manner.

“Ugh! I’m so bored! Clover, be a dear and entertain me, would you?” the princess commanded.

“We could play a game if you like. There are several available in the rec center…” Clover tried to offer, happy to do something fun herself, but the princess simply stared at her with an incredulous look on her face.

Sighing, Clover then offered, “…or I can tell you again about how all of the Unicorns in the colony will be waiting to greet you when you arrive.”

“Oh, what a splendid idea, Clover!” the princess praised. “You always know just what to say to cheer me up! You’re so clever…you’re…Clover the Clever! Haha…Now I’m the clever one!”

She laughed at her own wit for a full minute or so, before calming herself and allowing Clover to describe the parades and banquets that will be awaiting her upon arrival.

Clover was born into the service of the royal family. Her mother was a servant and died during childbirth. She was raised and taught to be a royal servant. As soon as she was old enough to be physically able, the Queen herself, before her passing, selected her to be the royal servant to the princess.

She grew up side by side with the princess doing just about everything together. As for her opinion of the princess, she neither liked nor disliked her, but just always held the dream of something bigger for herself.

“So why can’t I just stay at the colony now?” the princess asked looking out of her royal suite window into the emptiness of space.

“Because…,” Clover started, “If you don’t go back, ponies back home will start to suspect something is wrong and panic will break out."

“Ugh! Then why am I bothering to go now?” she complained again.

“We are trying to comfort everypony on the colony to convince them that you are there to support them even on a different world; and to show everypony back home that the colony is bright and sunny and attractive, so they’ll consider purchasing tickets to move here.”

Clover had already explained this to her several times, but she was ‘too concerned with more important matters’ to remember such trivial details.

Clover started to look out the window as well, thinking about the thousands of Unicorns on the ship preparing for life in a new home far away from everything they’ve ever known.

The ship was Pegasus designed, as they were always the stewards of the air. However, more Unicorns started entering the fields of  spatial aeronautics and traversal physics, and becoming pilots and engineers. The transport ships for the Unicorns were now entirely run by Unicorn crews.

They were mere hours from the new home, Unicornia. The planet was located in the star system adjacent to the one which housed the Pegasopolis colony. The planetary system only had one star to orbit around, but the colony was on a planet with two moons. The skies of the planet had a purple haze which covered the planet, yet allowed plenty of light through to produce crops.

The planet was specifically chosen because of its haze which had large concentrations of Monoceros particles, which would nearly double the abilities of every Unicorn living there.

Princess Platinum and Clover continued to stare out into space imagining the new world they would eventually be living on permanently.

Inside the chancellor's mansion...

“SMART COOKIE!” the chancellor screamed down the hall.

“I have a name you know!” a young filly administrator called back to the chancellor.

Sunbeam was the chancellor’s personal assistant/administrator. She was yellow with an orange mane that was usually braided. She handled all the requests made by the chancellor, as his personal assistant. She would often suggest ideas to the chancellor, to help him through his duties. He, naturally, would always take the credit, however his gift in return was the nickname of ‘Smart Cookie’, much to Sunbeam’s chagrin.

“I have need of your input on an important matter. Could you drop whatever nonsense you’re looking at and get in here and help me!” he yelled.

Sighing, Sunbeam tried to organize the four different screenpads spread across her desk. She quickly piled them together in order, before getting up to see what the chancellor needed. The topmost screenpad had the title, “Quota Deficits in the Earth Pony Relocation Program (EPRP)” written at the top of the report.

“Yes, chancellor, what did you need?” she asked, entering his suite. He didn’t appear to be in the room. “Chancellor?”

“In here,” he called from the walk-in closet. She entered the closet to find the chancellor half dressed. “Good. Now, I have an important business meeting with some investors this afternoon, and I need your help picking out which suit I should wear.”

Sunbeam looked at him questioningly. “You don’t have any investor meetings scheduled for today.”

“Oh! Well…These are some personal investor friends of mine. They want to…er…explain some investments…they are selling.” The chancellor quickly pulled from the air.

“These investors wouldn’t happen to be two blonde fillies who couldn’t have gotten their cutie marks more than a year ago could it?” she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Now, now. The investors may be a bit young, but brilliance knows no age!” he said. Now please! Which suit should I wear to impress them?”

Sunbeam looked him up and down. She knew about his taste for young filly prostitutes, but could do nothing. She had signed away her rights to talk, in a hidden clause in the non-disclosure agreement she signed, when she was first hired.

The chancellor was interested in her too, when she first took the job, but she was a strong-willed pony and bucked him right in the jaw. Instead of beating her, or even firing her, he laughed and said, 'he’d never encountered such a strong-willed young filly'. He gave her a raise and a promotion. Ever since, he never propositioned her again, but instead asked her opinion on just about every one of his decisions.

“Here,” she said picking out a black pinstriped suit. It gave the chancellor the look of a Mafioso ready to take down “Pony Clams”. “I think that suits the nature of your meeting.”

“Yes…yes…I like it! It makes me look important. And that’s how it should be!” he said admiring his look in the mirror. Sunbeam rolled her eyes when she knew the chancellor was not looking.

“Now, while I’m out, see to it that the..er..relocation efforts are..um...seen to,” said the chancellor as he collected himself to leave.

“I’ll take care of it Chancellor Puddinghead.”

“What did you just call me?” He gazed at her angrily.

“What? What did I say? I said, ‘I’ll take care of it Chancellor Puttinghoof’.” she quickly corrected herself.

“Oh..I could’ve sworn…nah! My imagination, never mind,” he said returning to his innocent, ignorant manner. “Well, I’m off. Keep the light on for me.”

“I always do sir,” Sunbeam said, smiling. She waited until the chancellor closed the door completely before muttering, “Chancellor Puddinghead!”

She went back to her desk and began looking at the first pad on the list. “Sigh…what are we going to do?” she looked gloomily at the figures for the Earth Pony relocation plans. Earth ponies had the fewest ships in the fleet.

They had tried to barter some ships from the other races, but it had mostly become a none-for-all and all-for-me approach. Each race had their own shipyards and pilots. Earth ponies could only construct three ships over the last six weeks, which was beyond a record under normal circumstances, but making the reality for relocation much more difficult. Pilots were being trained by other pilots, while they were transporting passengers.

It was a dung pile of epic proportions, and Sunbeam was sitting on top with a spoon to shovel with. Over the past six weeks they were only able to transport 127,000 ponies to the Soil Lands colony. Meanwhile, there were over three million requests to book passage, and that number was rising rapidly.

It had been six straight weeks of no sunlight. The temperatures were dropping all over the planet. Where the Earth Pony Chancellor’s residence was located, it was currently summer. It had recently started to lightly snow over the last few days and hasn’t stopped.

“This is only going to get worse,” Sunbeam thought aloud. She took the charter list for the next ship leaving and looked up their contact information. She grabbed her personal screenpad and plugged in the info.

A short fat stallion with brown fur and a black mane appeared on the screen. “Ah Sunbeam! I’m glad you called. I take it you’re calling for the next batch?”

“Yes, Skip. How many can you store?” she asked.

“Maybe three hundred fifty.” He answered, keeping descriptive nouns out of his replies.

“You were able to get five fundred on the last one.”

“Things have changed,” he replied. “More highs being stored, so less room for lows.”

“Alright, three hundred fifty then. At the same rate?” she asked, knowing all too well the answer.

“Sorry, less room means more risk. I can do it now for seven fifty a piece.”

“Seven hundred and fifty bits!? Please! You’re doing me a favor, and I’m making you set for life. Can we make it five hundred a piece?”

“hmm…sigh...five fifty, Sun. I’m only doing that because you’re like a daughter to me.”

“Thank you, Skip! I’ll transfer the money and the list to you now.”

“You’re welcome. Bye.” He said closing the connection.

Sunbeam put her personal pad down and grabbed another. It was the chancellor’s official screenpad. It was locked, but Sunbeam had long since guessed his password and it never changed, “12345”. She typed in the password unlocking it. She quickly drafted the work order.

Crew employee manifest, E.P.S. Destination (Earth Pony Ship). Name/Position/Salary:

Sundry Tomato / Crewpony / 550 bits

Cherry Blossom / Crewpony / 550 bits

Applucia Planter / Crewpony / 550 bits

…

Sunbeam typed out each of the three hundred and fifty names from her list. They were all poor Earth ponies who could no longer afford to eat, let alone book transport to the colony. She had been secretly booking them by filing them as employees aboard the transport. They would not get much food on the trip over, but it would hopefully be enough to survive the journey.

When she had finished typing the list, she attached it to the accounting paperwork to pay for the employees. This required the chancellor’s hoof print. Luckily, Sunbeam had created a mold from a print she took while the chancellor was sleeping one night, passed out on hard cider. She authorized the payment and sent the documentation to Skip, otherwise known as Captain Skip Seabird.

Breathing a sigh of relief that that was finally over, she locked the Chancellor’s screenpad and moved on to the next task. Picking up another screenpad, the title of the report read, “Massive Food Shortage.”

“This is going to be a long day…” she thought miserably, as she continued to work through her tasks.

The Million Alicorn March

The Million Alicorn March

“I want a call to order!” A large grey Alicorn stood at the podium speaking into the microphone. He spoke to a crowd of hundreds of Alicorns. “The violence against Alicorns has tripled in the last eight weeks, which can be traced back to the propaganda nonsense spewed out by the counsel, calling out against Alicorns."

The crowd cheered angrily.

“There has also not been a single word as to the whereabouts of our Counsel Representative, Galafrea, who has not been seen since the Metropolis disaster. There have been no arrests and no publicity; just more and more government rhetoric about the ‘Alicorn Terrorists’ non-sense! This has got to stop!”

The crowd cheered at his words.

Throughout the planet, all Alicorns were being targeted. Almost every single Alicorn had lost their jobs in past few weeks. Alicorn transport ships were being either impounded or commandeered by the counsel…‘for their protection’. Even the room they had to use for this meeting was the auditorium of a dilapidated, condemned old schoolhouse that had been condemned.

“As our brethren are continually losing work, the counsel keeps advertising ‘work-away-from-home’ jobs for us!”

These words were met with jeers and boos.

“Not a single Alicorn who signed up for work has ever been seen again! Their families were promised a paycheck every two weeks, yet they’ve received only one paycheck for half of what was promised and none since!”

Many of the Alicorn mares cried angrily as they thought of their missing husbands.

“The counsel promised us that the Pegasi were working diligently to clean up the sky, but I haven’t seen a dent of change; just more and more clouds of never ending debris! Yet every Pegasi whose still willing to talk to us has told me there are no active projects to clean the sky!

“Something is terribly wrong here my friends. More and more transport ships are leaving for the colonies, while Alicorns are left with no work and no future. Enough is enough!”

The crowd cheered again, stomping their hooves into the ground.

“As your Vice-Counsel Representative, who might I add, has been denied access to every single counsel session since Galafrea’s disappearance, I say it is time we stand up! It is time to demand our rights! It is time to let the ponies of this world know we are ponies too! And we will not sit idly by while are homes and our ways of life are destroyed!”

The crowd roared. Every Alicorn in the room cheered Vice-Counsel Representative Macintosh Lemon Kai-Apple. Hundreds of Alicorns, including Sugar Baker, applauded his words. They had had enough.

Sugar Baker stood off to the side of the auditorium. Ruby had stayed home with the girls, while he attended the meeting. With his family in danger of starving, he had almost signed up for the work program, until he started to hear the rumors surrounding it. When he heard about this meeting, he made it a priority to attend.

From the podium, the Vice-Counsel Representative shouted above the din:

I want everypony to go home tonight; talk to your family; talk to your friends; tell every Alicorn you

know, that on this week’s end, we march! We will march from the White Horse City Unemployment

Center, where they cart off our kind for work, only to never be heard from again; to the United

Pony Capital building, where the counsel was first formed for the ‘peaceful cooperation of all

ponykind’. We will let the world see us as we are! We will show them that we are neither animals

nor terrorists! We are PONIES!!! We are PROUD!!!   WE   HAVE   RIGHTS!!!!!”

The sound of the hundreds of hooves pounding into the dirt as they cheered could be heard over a mile away, like the thunder of an approaching storm.

“I’m going!” Sugar Baker told his wife that night.

“I forbid it!” Ruby yelled a whisper, trying to prevent the girls from waking up and hearing their conversation. She quickly went to check to make sure their bedroom door was shut and the lights out.

“Ruby, we have precious little money left. If something isn’t done soon, we won’t have any money left to buy food! Our rent is already overdue. We’re lucky the landlord is an Alicorn! Tom Boulder and his wife were evicted the second they missed a payment to their Unicorn landlord! But Rose needs to eat too! At some point she’ll have no choice but to evict us too!”

Ruby was getting flustered. She agreed with everything her husband said, except going to the march. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” she pleaded leaning into his chest and crying.

“I know, I know,” he said hugging his wife gingerly, “but it’s a peaceful protest, dear. Everypony has been told again and again that violence will not be our weapon of choice; only words and posters. The police will just have to sit back and watch.

Sugar continued to hug and comfort his wife as the stood in the kitchen of their little apartment. The graffiti had yet to be taken down as they couldn’t afford to repaint it. Upstairs, a small white nose was poking through the bottom of the door, sniffing the air of tension coming from down the steps. Celestia pulled her snout back and looked over towards her bed. Luna was fast asleep. She had curled into a fetal position and was making small noises as she dreamt.

Celestia carefully climbed into the bed, without waking Luna. She cradled her baby sister in her hooves and rested her head on the pillow, with her chin rubbing the back of Luna’s mane. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep with thoughts of her parents’ discussion floating in her mind.

Stars drifted across Celestia’s view. She was floating through space. She wasn’t flying, nor was she in a ship. She simply floated further and a further, drifting listlessly with no purpose or care as to where she was.

Celestia watched as the stars changed, and she could see a planet approaching her. It was a beautiful world with oceans and a large green continent. White clouds were small and spread out, leaving room for plenty of beautiful sunshine to come through.

She could see right down to the ground, where animals played merrily in the green grass. Birds danced in the air and sung to each other. It was the most beautiful thing Celestia had ever seen.

She saw the sun, very small, circling around the planet. She felt its warmth and glow on her face. Closing her eyes to enjoy it, she floated across the sky at peace. But the warmth suddenly disappeared. It grew cold and Celestia started to shiver. Opening her eyes to see what happened, the light from the sun and dimmed. Its rays retreated into itself. Celestia watched as the sun exploded. A massive wave of fire spread outwards. She screamed as the flames enveloped her.

“AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” Celestia screeched, waking from the nightmare. She panted heavily, her heart attempted to remove itself from her chest.

Luna had instantly woken from her sister’s shouting, and started to scream too, not sure what happened.

“Girls! Girls! What’s wrong!?” their mother burst in worried.

“Mommy! The sun exploded! It’s gone! It’s all gone!” she screamed crying.

Ruby quickly went to her daughter’s bedside. She sat down and comforted her daughter with a hug.

“There, there. It was just a nightmare. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Luna, a little scared from her big sister’s screams, and also a little jealous of their hugging, crawled over and wiggled her head under their hooves to join in the hug.

“Aww, girls. Would you like to sleep with your father and I tonight?” their mother asked tenderly. Both girls nodded. Celestia sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes.

The girls were starting to get too big for them all to fit, but they snuggled tightly together in their parents’ bed and drifted once again back to sleep.

“Mmm. Oh, this is so good Star. Thank you!” Sugar Baker said chowing down on a veggie-patty sandwich. He and Star Swirl were sitting at a table in a Patty King fast food restaurant. The prices on the menu had all doubled in recent weeks, and a sign stood next to the menu saying, ‘Apologies as our prices shift with the rising food costs.’

“Don’t worry about it, Bake,” Star Swirl said. “Now that StarCars is producing both transport ships and hover-cars that can reach the colonies, everypony who held stocks in that company is now a wealthy pony. Besides, unlike some other ponies, I don’t forget who my friends are!”

As he said that, many of the ponies who were staring at the pair of them quickly turned away. Even when Sugar Baker ordered, the cashier reluctantly entered it into her terminal.

“Hopefully we’ll get through to them this weekend,” Bake said calmly. “Maybe we’ll get them to see reason for once.”

“I wouldn’t count on it Bake,” Star said more sternly. “Ponies are looking for a scapegoat and nothing else. I even heard the investigation into the Maretropolis disaster has stopped. They don’t want justice. They want somepony to take the fall so everypony doesn’t set their sights on the Counsel.”

Taking a bite from his sandwich, Star continued to speak while chewing. “And another thing, …I don’t think you should go this weekend, Bake… I think this will only make things worse.”

“Well, it can’t get much worse, but if possible, could I ask another favor, Star?” Bake asked more in a more concerned tone.

“Anything Bake, what do you need?” Star replied, looked at his troubled friend.

“Would you-”

“I’m sorry but I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” the manager of the restaurant interrupted. He was a thin dark yellow Pegasus, wearing a uniform of orange and white vertical stripes.

“What for?” Star Swirl asked angrily.

“I’m afraid some of our other guests have made complaints. We feel it would be best if you took your food to go.” The manager fidgeted as he spoke sensing a rising conflict that was inevitable.

“Now see here!” Star screamed. “We’re paying customers! There’s no reason to kick us out!” He felt such an anger bursting from within him, he was not entirely sure he could control it.

“Please sir, you should know better than to bring um…one of your um…‘friends’ here. If you could please just leave quietly.

Sugar Baker looked at his fuming friend. “Star, it’s not worth getting into it here. We need to deal with the problem at its head; not at some fast food manager over a sandwich.”

“Fine! We’ll leave, but since you don’t like us in your company, you probably don’t like us eating your food. Here let me give it back…” Star Swirl rose from the table staring angrily at the manager. He leaned back and spat a wad of food he had been chewing on directly into the manager’s face.

“GET OUT!!! Get out now, or I’m calling the police!” The manager screamed, wiping the food off his face. He reached for his CommBand, a small band worn around the hoof with a holographic display for contacting other ponies. Before he could select the police, Star and Bake hastily left.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Star!” Sugar Baker said looking at his frustrated friend.

“Maybe not, but it felt good” Star Swirl said.

They looked at each other for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing.

“I think you got him right in the eye!” Bake said, holding his side as he laughed.

They continued to laugh and joke as they walked back to Sugar Baker’s apartment.

While everypony would have loved a nice sunny day for the march, as usual, it was cloudy and gloomy. But the snow had momentarily ceased, which many considered a blessing.

Thousands of Alicorns showed up at the unemployment center that morning blocking the traffic on the ground. Thousands more flooded the skies bringing transportation in that area of the city to a standstill.

Macintosh Lemon Kai-Apple, known to his friends as Mac-Apple, stood on the top step of the building. As the morning kicked off, everypony spread the word to sync their CommBands to the same channel and set them to public audio so all may hear.

Behind him the police were already starting to prepare for potential conflicts. Mac-Apple had been given assurances that the police were only there for crowd control and safety. They wanted the march to go peacefully and non-violently. Nevertheless, all of the police were in full riot gear.

They carried various weapons, some non-lethal for crowd control, like a sonic grenade that would send out high pitched frequencies at extremely high amplitude to render nearby ponies unconscious. They also carried force-field generators which would encapsulate large groups, in order to detain them.

However all police officers also carried hand guns, loaded with magic-coated bullets. These bullets could penetrate Unicorn and Alicorn shields.

Mac-Apple spoke aloud to the crowd over the CommBand link:

Good morning my fellow ponies! Today we show the ponies of this world who we

are! Today we demand our right not to be treated like animals; our right to

have our kids educated; our right to work; our right to be treated as decent

pony folk! Join with me!

Mac-Apple leapt off the steps and soared above the heads of the crowd on the ground. The Alicorns in the air cleared room for him to pass. He made his way to the head of the gigantic crowd. As he did, he saw several Earth, Pegasus, and Unicorn ponies spread sporadically throughout the crowd, joining their friends in protest.

Taking his position at the crowd’s head, they marched. Many on the ground, many in the sky, thousands of ponies began the protest. Many held different signs and banners such as:

"Alicorns are Ponies Too!”

“One World, One Race, All Ponies!”

“Bring our Husbands home!”

“Where is Galafrea?”

…

Many also chanted these slogans as they marched. The massive crowd stormed through the streets of White Horse City. Some ponies in nearby buildings closed their windows and curtains. Some stared angrily at the marching crowd. Only a few were brave enough to venture to the sidelines of the march. Unfortunately, none were supporters.

"Terrorists!”

“Murderers!”

“Freaks!”

...

These were some of the words shouted at marching ponies.

A group of Earth ponies waited for the crowd to reach them. As the passed, they reached into their sacks and grabbed several balloons filled with paint. They flung them into the crowd. Some were aimed at their faces, getting paint in their eyes. Those hit were mortified.

One cried out, “Police! Stop them! Arrest them! DO SOMETHING!!!” The Alicorns shouted staring at the police who simply stood on the sidelines, doing nothing.

“What happened to keeping the peace!?” another Alicorn screamed.

The police continued to do nothing. One of the Earth ponies chucked another balloon into the crowd. He looked over to the cop nearest him, who was also an earth pony. The cop smiled at him and gave him a wink.

With the cops failing to act, one Alicorn tried to snatch the bag away from the ponies flinging the paint balloons. The officers finally reacted. Running up to the Alicorn, the winking cop grabbed his magic-enhanced baton and started beating him with it.

The baton held a magic capacitor, enabling it to shock those hit into submission. The Alicorn was quickly rendered bloody and unconscious. Several nearby Alicorns jumped in to try and stop the cop. They grabbed him and pulled him off of the bloodied pony.

They tried to restrain the cop without returning the attack, but it already backfired. The moment they grabbed the police officer, his CommBand sent the message out to every cop in the march. They began attacking the crowd.

The first thing they did was to throw their sonic grenades into the crowd. Every officer had an ear-piece both protecting them and providing audio communication. Hundreds of ponies in the crowd began collapsing from the sound. Several Alicorns flying in the air began plummeting out of the sky.

Chaos erupted, and, despite every effort Mac-Apple had made to keep the march non-violent, he quickly found himself fighting against the police as well. He saw one officer had already switched from his baton to his hand gun aiming at one of the Alicorns. Leaping at him, Mac-Apple tried to wrestle the gun away from the young cop.

A round had discharged from the gun. The cop fell over dead, shot in the chest. This was the worst possible thing that could have happened. At the instant the cop’s vital signs stopped, a message went through the CommBand link to every officer, giving the green light to use lethal force.

Shots were being fired into the crowd all over the city. Some Alicorns tried to fight back using their magic to snatch the weapons away from the police and firing back on them. The march had been reduced to a massive battle scene.

Onboard the P.S.S. Flying Thunder (Pegasus Security Ship), hovering a mile above the city, Commander Hirkain had been patiently monitoring the march as it progressed. The ship floated high enough to see beyond the endless clouds covering the planet and once more see the sunny sky. Many ponies onboard would try to sneak as many glances as they dared as they worked.

“Sir, the Alicorns have started attacking the officers on the ground!” Private Pimsey reported from his terminal.

“As usual Pansy, your incompetence is on a delayed timer!” the commander bullied the young private. “Now tell me the moment one of them is killed.”

Commander Hirkain did not particularly like the pathetic weakling of a soldier before him, but enjoyed having him around to belittle and boss around. It gave him the air of superiority he so deeply enjoyed. As such, every ship the commander transferred to, he started taking the young private with him.

Pimsey stared at his terminal in angry silence. He hated continually being called ‘Pansy’. It reminded him of his belligerent father, who would mock his lack of strength and courage. But since he dare not speak up to the commander, he remained glued to his terminal, watching the situation on the ground.

Staring at his screens, he saw the report he feared come in. He couldn’t believe it. He knew that the march would probably end in arrests, but…He almost tried to hide what his terminal was showing him with his hooves. But the flashing red alert was clearly visible to Commander Hirkain.

“Well Pansy?” he barked. “What’s the alert say?”

“I…uh…um…it says…sigh…it says that an officer has been killed. The green light has been given for the police to use lethal force.”

“Good work private!” The commander complimented Pimsey, much to his confusion.

“Sir?”

The commander sat down in the Captain’s chair, connecting to his shipwide communication network. “Attention all Pegasus Winged Assault squads, you have the green light. All terrorists are to be eliminated. We will protect the lives of the officers on the ground and in the air at all cost. Go! Go! Go!”

“Sir!? We haven’t been given the green light! This is a police matter, the military doesn’t have jurisdiction!” Pimsey spoke up, genuinely horrified by the order given.

“Don’t talk back to your superior officer pansy!” Commander Hirkain hollered back at him. His compliments toward the private were very short lived. “There are good cops being murdered by terrorists, and the military has every right to take charge in terrorist affairs! Now keep your eyes glued to those screens and keep track of their progress. I want continuous reports of the number of terrorists remaining, Private!”

Pimsey could do nothing but stare at his screens. His mind quickly drifted off into thoughts of what horrors were occurring on the ground, appearing as a bunch of words and figures on his screens.

The loading docks and jump points opened all around the ship. There were four other ships hovering above the cloud line. All doors and hatches opened on all vessels. Pegasi soldiers, dressed in black military flight gear, with oxygen masks and flight goggles to protect them from the ash and dust in the clouds, jumped off the ships in numbers reaching over a hundred thousand. They dipped into the clouds making their way to the crowds below.

Histeria had broken out in the crowd as thousands of Alicorns tried to escape the police who were using both lethal and non-lethal means to subdue to them. Those that were trigger-happy fired round after round into the crowd, watching the Alicorns and ‘Alicorn-lovers’ fall dead to the ground.

Some officers did not see the point in such senseless bloodshed. They tried to use the more effective traps and non-lethal weaponry to capture and safely arrest the rioting Alicorns.

Some younger officers were so afraid they held their guns out pleading with Alicorns to surrender; the result being either a dead Alicorn and a traumatized officer, or a dead young cop.

As fighting continued on the ground, more fighting continued in the air, as Pegasi police and airborne Alicorns clashed. Bodies plummeted from the sky.

Few ponies on the ground or in the air noticed it, but those that did, froze in the tracks; including some of the officers. A tremendous black cloud was growing through the debris clouds. It grew and spread faster than any storm anypony had ever seen. What looked like a massive hurricane came down upon them. The first lightning to strike blasted with the sound of a thunderous cannon.

A massive explosion struck the ground, blasting dozens of ponies apart. Ponies everywhere started screaming as they tried to evade the attack. The Pegasi soldiers came down upon them firing into the crowds.

Dozens of soldiers carried pulse cannons, like the one that caused the first explosion. Its rounds were compressed Monoceros Particle (Mcp.) rounds that upon impact, triggered a sub-atomic reaction, detonating with a blast radius of twenty-five meters. Each Pegasus could carry up to ten rounds in the jackets.

The rest of the hurricane of soldiers carried ‘Silent Storm’ rifles. These terrors compressed miniscule amounts of Mcp.’s into each other, creating a burst of energy, focused into a laser, and firing out the front of the barrel. They were named ‘Silent Storm’ rifles because their shots carried no sound and travelled at near speeds of light. Because of the small amount of magical energy needed, the Mcp. cartridges could be used to fire over two thousand rounds in a single charge. They fired at a rate of four bursts every second. The silent rounds ripped through the crowd decorating the Alicorns with holes.

Macintosh Lemon Kai-Apple, kneeled before the pony he killed, sobbing. His hopes and dreams were shattered. His plan had led his lemmings to the water to drown. He knelt on the ground staring at the destruction before him. Alicorns continued to fall out of the sky. Ponies all around him were collapsing riddled with holes in them. A small red dot appeared on Mac-Apple’s temple a moment before it was replaced with a hole, boring straight through his head and out the back. He fell dead upon the body of the pony he killed.

What was supposed to have been a peaceful march, would come to be known to many as, ‘The Million Alicorn Massacre’

Escape

Escape

“NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” Ruby Hearts screamed at the scene unfolding live on her screenpad.

She watched the march break apart into chaos and mass hysteria. The last thing Ruby was able to view, was the enormous black cloud bearing down on the parade. Before she could see what it was, her screen went blank.

She banged her screenpad on the kitchen table, hoping that it would somehow get the screen back. The screen did come back, but with nothing more than a green screen with a message displayed:

“All Alicorns are hereby ordered to remain in your homes. You and your family will be escorted to a detention facility. This is for your protection.”

Ruby couldn’t think. She wouldn’t think. She could only believe her husband got out before the violence erupted.

The girls raced down the stairs after hearing their mother’s scream. But the moment they appeared, she bellowed, “GET BACK IN YOUR ROOM!!! GET BACK IN YOUR ROOM AND LOCK YOUR DOORS THIS INSTANT!!!”

Her screaming voice caused the girls to panic and scramble on top of one another, as they ran back to their room and shut the door. However, Celestia was able catch sight of the message displayed on her mother’s screenpad, before she shouted at them.

Celestia grabbed her own screenpad from her desk, to check for herself what had happened. She had a feeling this must have something to do with her father. She knew he had gone to some big event today, but neither her mother nor her father would tell her what that event was. Turning on the pad, she saw the message for all Alicorns displayed. She tried to get around the message and access the network, but could not.

Carefully opening her bedroom door, so it would not make a sound, she stealthily crept to the edge of the steps, peering down. She listened intently for any information from her mother.

Luna had appeared next to her sister as curious as she was. Celestia wanted to try to stop her and get her back into the bedroom, in case something truly horrible had happened. But she couldn’t think of any reason that could have gotten her little sister to turn back. Instead, she tapped her hoof to her mouth, signaling her sister to be quiet. They both listened together in silence.

After thirty minutes, their mother’s sobs had started to dry out and now panic was setting in. Standing up from the table, she started to pace back and forth, trying to figure something out. Before she could think of anything, a large banging hit the door.

Ruby jolted in shock, shooting a beam of magic at the door as she let out a frightened shriek. The beam it was so weak, however, that it caused nothing more than a small black burn in the door, no bigger than a bit coin.

“Ruby it’s me! Star Swirl! Hurry! Let me in, quick!” Star Swirl whispered loudly.

Ruby recovered from the initial shock and rushed to the door. Star Swirl was leaning against the side of the doorway, panting. He obviously had been running, something he was not terribly good at. As soon as Ruby opened the door for him, he jumped inside, pushing her away from the door and shutting it again fast.

“Ruby, we got to get you and the girls out of here, right now!” he said, with such an intensity and sincerity that sent Ruby into stutters.

“N..No ..St-St-Star! We can’t! I have to wait for Sugar. When he gets back we can go, but-”

“No! We cannot wait even two minutes Ruby!” Star hastily cut in. “There are soldiers only a few blocks away! It will not take them long to get here! We must go now!”

“What about clothes? Food? Our possessions?” Ruby desperately pled, tears falling down her cheeks. “What about…Sugar…” She started sobbing again.

“Ruby, I promise I will try to find him. I will use every last contact I have, but for now, we need to get you and the girls into hiding. Now PLEASE!”

Ruby still stood still, frozen in place. Star took the initiative and called up the stairs. “Girls, come down right away! We need to go on a little field trip!”

Celestia and Luna, who had heard everything, listening from the top of the stairs, instantly came down. Luna ran to her mother crying.

“But what about Daddy?” she looked back and forth between her mother and Star Swirl. “When will Daddy get home?”

Star placed a hoof tenderly on Luna’s shoulder and knelt down. “I promise I will find your Daddy and bring him to you, but right now we need to go to a place where you’ll be safe.”

Celestia went to her mother’s side as well, but she was not crying. She stood upright and nudged her mother hard enough to push off balance.

“Let’s go mother. Let’s get out of danger.”

Ruby looked at her daughter. She had never seen her child act so mature and brave before. She looked so much like her father just then, except for her beautiful white coat. Her courage gave her mother the strength she needed.

She looked back at her daughters with determination and nodded. “Let’s go girls,” she said.

Star Swirl cracked open the door and peered down the street. The soldiers were only a few doors away now. He quickly closed the door and locked both locks.

“Too late!” he cried. “Ruby, there’s a window in your bedroom, looking out the back, right?” Star asked hopefully.

“Yes, but it’s two flights off the ground!” Ruby answered, getting nervous. Their building sat on a sloped ground, with the rear an extra story lower.

“That’s ok, we’ll throw some pillows and blankets down and I’ll jump, then you can toss the girls to me and I’ll catch them.”

Ruby really did not like this idea. Star Swirl was never an athlete, but her options were rapidly disappearing. She quickly nodded and ran up the stairs to get the pillows. Star went to the window, opened it as wide as it could go, which would be a tight squeeze for Ruby.

He quickly chucked all the bedding from the room out the window as Ruby came in with the girls. He quickly squirmed through the window frame. Looking up at the sky, he said a quick two-second prayer, before jumping out. He landed on his feet, which luckily were bent, and with the bedding, the fall caused no injury.

He quckly got back up and looked up at the window. Ruby took Luna in her hooves and rested her on the windowsill.

“Mommy, I’m scared!” Luna cried looking down at Star Swirl and shuddering.

“I know dear, but it’ll be alright. Star will catch you. You’ll be fine.” She quickly held Luna out the window and let her fall between her hooves. She went straight into Star’s hooves, with no trouble.

“Okay Celestia, your turn. You can do it!” her mother told her. Celestia climbed onto the window sill and peered out. As she readied herself, a loud banging hit the front door.

“Open this door at once! You are to be evacuated to a detention facility for your protection! Do not resist! Open this door!”

The bang startled Celestia, causing her to slip. She fell headfirst out the window. Star saw her falling and used his magic to slow her descent. He had to use every last drop of magic he had. Celestia landed softly on the bedding. Star was a little dizzy from using his magic, but shook it off.

Magic was never one of Star Swirl’s strong suits, but it never stopped him from trying ridiculous spells over and over as a kid, which would never work the way he intended. His cutie mark eventually came to match his namesake: a star, swirling around into a rainbow colored vortex in the center. Such a cutie mark normally suggested a strong aptitude for magic, but he failed test after test in school, until he finally gave up and became a salespony.

As the three ponies on the ground looked up at the window, Ruby readied herself to jump. From down the stairs she could hear more loud angry bangs coming from the door. She jumped, just as the front door was blasted apart. She fell to her side landing on the bedding hard. She felt like she may have cracked a rib, but tried to hide the pain and discomfort it caused.

Star started to grab the pillows and blankets. “Quickly! Get the bedding around the corner, so they don’t know we were here!”

They all grabbed something quick and ran around the corner, just as a Pegasus soldier peered out the window, looking to see if anypony tried to run. He saw the hard concrete below and knew no pony could’ve simply jumped out the window without injuring themselves. If so, they should be that much easier to catch. He hadn’t noticed the missing pillows and blankets.

Breathing a small sigh of relief, they caught their breaths, before getting ready to run.

“Where are we going?” Ruby asked, her heart banging inside her chest. Her broken ribs were sending untold amounts of pain, but none of it was reflected on her face.

“My place first. There are no Alicorns living on my block, so it should be safe temporarily. Once we’re safe there, I’ll try to make arrangements to keep you safe.

“Star why are you doing this? You’re not an Alicorn. You’re putting yourself at terrible risk!”

“Before the parade, I promised your husband: If anything should happen to him, I would keep you and the girls safe. And even if he hadn’t asked, I would’ve done so anyway. We’ve been friends since before any of us had cutie marks. You’re my family! Now if you’ve caught your breath, let’s go! I’ve got a van near here. You’ll need to ride in the trunk to hide yourself.”

“Oh Star,” was all Ruby could say. Another tear fell down her cheeks in deep appreciation. She quickly wiped it away and nodded.

They hastily made their way along the alleys and back roads, trying to avoid the Pegasus patrols, both on the ground and in the sky, until they reached the van.

The sun would not be setting for another few hours, and despite the cloud cover, there would still be enough light to make them easy to spot from above. Every few feet, they had to stop and duck behind a garbage can or crawl into a narrow gap between buildings, to hide from the aerial patrols circling overhead, like buzzards looking for their prey.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they spotted the van. It was across the street and right next to a patrol car. Two cops were chatting nearby, in plain sight of the van.

“Wait here,” Star whispered. “I’m going to grab the van and back it into the alley. Since the cops aren’t looking for Unicorns, I should be alright.”

“Be careful, Star,” Ruby said, placing a hoof on his shoulder. She looked into his eyes, deep with concern.

He smiled and nodded, before turning and making his way over to the van.

As he approached the van he walked directly across the path of the cops, listening carefully.

“…mess it’s become. The army has no business storming the city like this. It’s like a damned invasion!” The Earth pony cop said to his partner.

The other cop was a Unicorn, who looked more at ease with the situation. “Yeah, well, needs to be done, so far as I’m concerned. Just wish they weren’t setting up all these bloody checkpoints now. I told my family…”

Star nearly stopped in his tracks. “Checkpoints!?” He recovered himself quickly enough, turning to the cops.

“Um excuse me,” he spoke to them. They stopped talking and stared at this gangly, sad excuse for a Unicorn, wearing a very cheesy work uniform. “I’m trying to get back to Mane street over by Coltshead. What would be the easiest route now?”

The Unicorn officer looked at him warily. “Trying to dodge checkpoints now?”

Star could feel the cop’s penetrating gaze, but held strong. “Nothing like that. I don’t mind hitting a checkpoint or two. You could search my van now. It’s empty. I just rather not take six hours to get back home, with all that’s been going on.”

The cop’s gaze softened. “Let me check for you.” He pulled his mini-pad from his belt and brought up a map. You could take Nelly Road up to Reign Avenue. Hang a right straight to Mane and you’ll hit a checkpoint there. But after that, you should be good.”

“Thanks officers. My wife will also thank you dearly. She’s been calling every fifteen minutes today!”

Star walked up to his van, and just to give the cops less of a reason for worry, he opened the back of the van, showing its vast emptiness. He smiled at the cops, who smiled back. Shutting the doors, he climbed inside the van and drove it around the corner.

He had to circle around the block so the cops wouldn’t see him again. He backed it up right into the alley and got out. Making his way back to the area where the girls were anxiously waiting, he said, “We’ve got a problem…”

“What’s wrong?” Ruby asked, fear building inside her.

He looked at her very seriously. “Ruby, I’m going to ask for a favor. I need you to promise me you will do as I ask, BEFORE I tell you what it is!”

“What? No! I can’t make a promise like that!” Ruby said, with a horrified look on her face.

“Relax! It’s not something that will involve any of us dying. But it is something that will be difficult for you to do. But I need you to promise me, NOW!”

“Okay, okay! I promise!” Ruby swore. She still was extremely scared of what he might ask of her.

“Good. Follow me. I moved the van back the way we came.”

Star led them back to the van and helped them inside. Once everypony was situated in the trunk, Star started the van and pulled out into the street. The van was nothing more than an old gray van with no windows in the back. It had minimal hoverability, but mostly just drove on its old wheels.

As the van rolled down Nelly Road, he could see the lights in most of the houses were out. Some houses had doors that were busted off their hinges and broken windows. These obviously must have been Alicorn residences.

As he turned onto Reign Avenue, he could see the checkpoint a half a mile ahead. He looked for a good spot to get off the road. He pulled into a shopping center that had been shut down because of all that had been happening. The parking lot was deserted. Circling around to the back, he stopped near the delivery area.

He turned behind him and opened a little window to look in the back. Ruby, Luna, and Celestia were sitting as comfortably as they could with no seats.

“Ok. There’s a military checkpoint ahead,” Star explained. “What we’re going to do is this: You three are going get out here and make a run for my house. It’s about four blocks from here. You can make it!”

“But what about the check-,” Ruby started.

“Leave that to me. Remember your promise?”

“Yes, but–” she tried to speak.

“No buts. Here is the key to my house,” he said handing them to her. “Now, I need you to use your magic to bore a hole through my shoulder.”

The three of them gasped at this horrid idea. “What!? No!! I will not–” Ruby started, again being cut off.

“You will! You promised. It needs to be deep enough to be serious, but not so deep it leaves me unconscious. Are we clear?” Star Swirl stared down at Ruby digging into her turmoil with a knife.

“Bu- Bu- I can’t…I…” Ruby finally caved to Star’s gaze. She sighed and nodded.

“Do it now, then make your way around the checkpoint. Wait for my signal. You’ll know it when you see it.”

Star took his hat and bit it hard. He looked at Ruby and in a muffled voice said, “DO IT!” Ruby’s horn started to glow. She let it build and focused it, so as to be quick and painless as possible.

At once, the beam shot into Star’s shoulder, who nearly swallowed his hat from the pain. He started crying as he fell over in pain. He was no warrior pony, but he took the pain as best he could. He spat out the hat and sputtered out, “G…G-Go, NOW!”

Ruby opened the back door to the van and clamored out, before helping her daughters. Closing the door, they quickly ran off behind the delivery area of the shopping center, hiding behind the dumpsters.

Star recovered as quickly as possible. His eyesight was already starting to blur. He drove the van back out into the street and made for the checkpoint. He swirved the van intentionally and unintentionally, speeding up as got closer. The Pegasus soldiers tried to wave the van to stop, but when he didn’t comply, they started shooting at him.

His swerving helped avoid getting hit, before bashing straight the checkpoint. He kept swerving for a half a block, before crashing into a building.

Off to the side, Ruby watched in horror as the scene played out. She froze. Celestia took the lead and yelled, “MOTHER, NOW! RUN!”

Ruby snapped back and, together, they ran across the side of the checkpoint and back into the shadows behind buildings. The swarming soldiers were so focused on the van, they took no notice of the three Alicorns running across the street.

The first soldier to reach the van aimed the gun at Star screaming. “PUT YOUR HANDS UP!!! GET OUT OF THE VAN!!! SLOWLY!!!”

Star put his hands up and pushed the door partially open. In a weakened voice he said, “H-H-Help! P-Please! B-B-Bastard Alicorns…shot me!...Hosp-p-pital…please…help.”

The soldier pushed open the door. He saw Star was unarmed and the wound in his shoulder. Other soldiers checked the van, which was empty. Finally the soldiers relaxed their guns and called for an ambulance. Star pointed the soldiers away from Ruby and the girls. Several soldiers went off to investigate, and the others returned to their posts. Star was taken to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Ruby and the girls were able to walk the four blocks to his house successfully, without being noticed. They opened the door and rushed inside, closing it behind them. They left the lights off, so it would appear that no pony was home. They sat in silence together, in the dark, as the sun finished setting behind the never ending clouds. Outside, more sirens and sounds of patrols could be continuously heard throughout the night.

The Other Counsel

The Other Counsel

Onboard the U.C.P. Starbase Harmony: Inside Commander Hirkain’s personal office

“Pansy!” the commander barked, sitting behind his desk.

He had one of the largest private rooms on the ship. His honors and medals were proudly displayed along the walls. Behind his desk, stood a portrait of the commander, standing triumphant on a cloud, rearing on his hind legs.

His desk had been hoof-carved with depictions of the famous battle of Ponoppoli, where his Pegasus ancestors triumphed over the Unicorns, despite their magical abilities. One image showed a unicorn being slain with an arrow through his chest, launched from a Pegasus soldier’s bow in the sky. What few non-Pegasus visitors there were, who would enter his office, they would often be highly offended at the desk's carvings.

“Yes Sir!” Private Pimsey flew to his commander from across the room and saluted. Pimsey had a little desk, tucked away in the corner. It was only one fourth the size of the commander’s desk, with six times the number of pads scattered about.

“Private, I have a special assignment for you.” He looked down at his runt of a subordinate. "This counsel meeting is going to get ugly. And it’s going to be closed doors. You and the other servants are going to have to wait outside the counsel chamber doors.”

“Yes Sir!” The private saluted. “I will stand guard and keep a close eye on-”

“No you won’t,” Commander Hirkain interrupted. “With the other servants waiting outside, you will have a unique opportunity. I need you to get to know the other servants. Befriend them. Listen to them. Whatever tidbits of information you get, I want you to report back to me. Are we clear?”

“But Sir!” the private protested. “I’m not qualified for espionage! They’d suspect something in an instant!” He was genuinely terrified at this idea.

“Nonsense. Because you’re so weak and pathetic, no pony would ever suspect you.”

“But Sir…”

“No buts, Private! You have your orders. Now get out there!” He pointed his hoof towards the door dismissing the private from his office.

Pimsey sighed and flew over to the door and out into the hallway, toward the counsel chambers. The counsel meeting would be starting in a half an hour. Pimsey waited off to the side for the other counsel members and their staff to arrive. He nervously thought how he could ever pull off what he had just been ordered.

Onboard the R.U.S. Prominence, docked with the starbase:

“I am so furious at that stupid brute of a Pegasus!” Princess Platinum shouted in frustration. “If Daddy wasn’t still bedridden, he’d have had this moron executed by now!”

The Unicorn King was nearing the end of his life. He was an old stallion, his mane grayed with age. He could no longer rule, leaving his daughter to fulfill his duties. She hated ruling, because it was taking so much time she could have been spending enjoying herself. She secretly wished he would either get better or put someone else in charge.

Clover walked alongside the princess as they made their way toward the airlock.

“But your Majesty,” she started, trying to get the princess to calm down before the meeting, so she would be able to think more rationally. This was extremely difficult however, as the princess seldom ever thought rationally.

“We need to hear him out and then convince him to stop what he’s been doing. If we don’t, it could mean war!” Clover desperately tried to get the princess to focus on what needed to be done.

“Well, I don’t know about war, but I do think it’s time this silly counsel ended. I see no need for it, if idiots like the commander are on it!” the princess said, much to the horror of her assistant.

The airlock on the ship opened, revealing the hatchway between the two ships. The hatchway was a small walkway that extended from the ship latching on to the starbase. This allowed passengers to successfully embark/disembark from the ship. Its size was large enough to allow dozens of ponies to cross at time.

As the princess entered the hatchway, along with her servant and guards, the door closed behind them as the room pressurized to match the station. Depending on the difference in pressure levels between the ships, this would often be an uncomfortable process.

As their ears popped from the pressure change, the princess tried hard not to let anypony see the pain in her eyes. She hated space travel for this very reason. The hatch to the station opened and they were able to board the station.

The counsel chamber was only a few hundred feet away from the port they docked with. As they approached the chamber doors, they saw the commander’s subordinate waiting outside the chamber.

The princess quickly leaned in to Clover’s ear and whispered, “Watch out for that one! He’s that idiot’s puppet!” She pointed a hoof over toward the sick-looking Pegasus soldier with thick glasses.

“I know I can’t go in with you, your Majesty, but please…I think if you try, we can stop this from getting even worse than it already is.”

“Clover, you may be clever, but you are not royalty. Do not pretend to know what is best for our ponies. I know. Now wait here. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

Princess Platinum left Clover standing outside the chamber doors as she went inside for the meeting. Clover looked over at the Pegasus, who immediately averted his eyes the second they made contact with her. The awkward silence in the room rapidly built up.

After several minutes, the Earth Pony chancellor and his assistant appeared, walking toward the chamber. The look on the chancellor’s face made clover think a war may very well erupt in the chamber room itself. As he passed her he could hear him muttering.

“Blasted commander, made me skip my favorite Call-Mare for this!”

Clover thought for sure she must have misheard him. The chancellor continued to mumble as he walked straight into the chamber without so much as a word to his assistant.

Sun Beam parted from her boss and joined the party outside the doors. As soon as the chamber doors were closed with the guards inside, she made a straight line for the Pegasus soldier. She grabbed him and pinned him against the wall.

“Alright! I wanna know what’s going on!” Sun Beam glared down at the private as he shriveled before her.

“I um..I can’t…it’s…you know…classified,” he whimpered out.

“Horse-Dung!” Now tell me! Why in the hell did your commander feel it was necessary to slaughter thousands of Alicorns and imprison millions more!”

“I can’t…that is, I don’t know...He’s just…um…

“Nuts!?” Sun barked. “That’s about the only excuse I’d buy at this point. Couldn’t you have stopped him?”

“I..uhm…I couldn’t…”

Clover joined the conversation and tried to get Sun to ease up a bit. “Sun, give him a chance. It’s not his fault.” She tried to pull Sun back, who had pinned the Pegasus to the wall with her hoof in his neck.

Sun and Clover had met several times at various meetings. They regularly chatted and even made small deals here and there, without their leaders’ knowledge, to try to ease relations behind the scenes. They often tried to engage the Pegasus soldier in conversation, but he was always too nervous to do more than just stand at attention and not speak.

As the Pegasus gasped for air, he started to talk. “I-I…tried to…stop…but, he...saw and…did…anyway.”

Clover and Sun weren’t entirely sure what he was trying to say. Sun eased her grip a little allowing him to breathe.

He took a deep breath, gasping for air. When he could speak again, he quietly whispered. “I tried to stop the attack, but he saw the report of violence had broken out and seized on it. There was nothing I could do.”

Sun let go of him. Pimsey slid down the wall to the floor. Sun looked at Clover who was thinking rapidly in her head. To the outside observer, she looked like a screenpad that had too many programs running. Finally something clicked in her head. She stared down and the private shriveled on the floor.

“Will you help us?” she whispered. “Work with us to help avoid a war?”

Pimsey squeaked with fear. “Um, I couldn’t! I’d be caught. I’d…I’d…I’d be executed for treason!”

“Who knows what’s being talked about in there!” Sun said, pointing toward the chamber doors. “We could be looking at a war that could wipe out everypony!”

“We just want to keep lines of communication open to avert disaster,” Clover continued. “If we work together, we may be able to help end this crisis.”

“I…um…I can’t…I…” Pimsey sighed and whispered, barely audibly, “okay.”

“We’ve already seen each other dozens of times now,” Sun said, “but what’s your name?”

“Private Pansy..err..Pimsey! Harmon Pimsey,” he corrected himself.

“It’s nice to know you Harmon. I’m Sun Beam, and this is Clover.”

Clover nodded and helped the private to his feet. They continued to talk in whispers, while the counsel meeting progressed. Since it was a closed meeting there were no other ponies who might eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Commander Hirkaine!” Chancellor Puttinghoof started off the meeting. “I want you to explain each and every one of your actions over the last two days, starting off with what you were thinking when you attacked a peaceful march!”

Commander Hirkain didn’t bat an eye. “What you call a 'peaceful march' resulted in the deaths of four police officers!”

“Then that was a police matter and should’ve been left for them to deal with. They were already on the scene and prepared to handle and contain any outbursts. You’re soldiers turned a single incident into a massive catastrophe! You had no jurisdiction here commander!”

“Oh didn’t I?” The commander stared down at the chancellor. His expression almost revealed a smile behind his serious demeanor. “If it was a simple matter of some rowdy Alicorns, it would have been left for them to handle. But when they killed a cop, they violated the terrorist law, which gives the Pegasus military full authority to intervene and bring order to the situation.”

The chancellor was growing more furious. “You didn’t bring ORDER! You brought CHAOS!! After your military just opened fire into a heavily populated area of the city, you not only killed thousands of Alicorns. You killed many innocent Earth ponies as well!”

“Civilian casualties are always to be expected when getting the job done. There’s nothing we can do about it,” Commander Hirkain dismissed the charge.

“I noticed no Pegasus civilians killed or even injured that day.”

Again the commander simply scoffed at the chancellor’s charges. “No Pegasus civilian would have been anywhere near that march. They know better!”

Now the chancellor was fuming. “Are you saying that Earth ponies aren’t smart?”

“I didn’t say that. But I will note that some of those ‘civilian casualties’ your claiming, involve Earth ponies who were marching in the parade. By definition, they became enemy combatants, not civilians.”

“You had no right…” the Chancellor tried to rebut.

“I had every right! This counsel gave me that right: ‘For ALL our peoples’ protection.’”

As the two bickered back and forth over the details of the Commander’s attack and detainment of all Alicorns and Alicorn supporters, the princess paid little interest. She remained quiet while they fought, her mind drifting off from the boring subject at hand. When she could finally stand it no longer, she interjected.

“Gentleponies. That’s enough!” she yelled causing the pair of them to abruptly cease their arguing and look at the princess.

“What I want to know, Commander, is what you intend to do with these ‘detainees’? We can’t afford to have millions of ponies out of work and pay to feed them. How can you detain such a large number of prisoners?”

The Commander sat back into his chair and pulled up a screenpad. He was apparently looking through figures for an answer.

“Let’s see now…” he said as he perused the information. “‘The Alicorn labor force will be used in the assisted construction of materials for relocation ships. The labor camps have been rapidly deployed throughout the planet with abilities to house and feed its workers until the planetary evacuation is complete.’ All the details are contained in this pad here and can be transferred to you if you wish.”

He put down his screenpad looking back at the pair ponies in front of him. They were almost in shock at the apparent level of detail the commander had for this situation. This was clearly thought out long before the parade.

“How long have you been planning this commander?” The chancellor asked, one eyebrow raised in suspicion.

“Chancellor, we all agreed to limit the evacuations to our three tribes, to help reduce the number of ponies that need to be relocated. Sooner or later, the Alicorns were going to figure it out and start rebelling. I foresaw this and planned for their detainment, before they could organize against us.”

“You can’t just enslave millions of ponies,” the Chancellor said.

“Tell me something Chancellor, Princess, how many ponies do you still have to relocate?”

The princess’ facial expression turned rigid. She knew her quotas were not being met to evacuate before they ran out of food. The chancellor’s jaw also locked from his figures. The Earth ponies were probably in the worst state, next to the Alicorns.

Commander Hirkain could read their faces and smiled. “You see, with the Alicorn labor, it saves us in the long run. They will help rapidly ramp up ship production, limit their food intake to basic nutritional requirements, and keep them from forming any resistance.”

The other two counsel members were still locked in serious contemplation. They never liked the commander, but now they were starting to hate themselves as much as he.

“Commander,” Chancellor Puttinghoof started to reply, chewing the doubt in his mind like a spoiled sandwich in his throat. “I want every last Earth Pony in those camps released immediately!” He tried to muscle as much strength into his words as possible to compete with the commander’s demeanor.

“The same goes for Unicorns!” Princess Platinum added.

“I see,” the commander sighed. “Very well, I shall put out the word that any non-Alicorn prisoners shall be released into their respective tribal authorities.” The chancellor could sense there might have been something hidden behind the commander’s words, but he pushed it from his mind.

Both the chancellor and the princess agreed to keep the detention camps in exchange for percentages of the ships being produced. War had been avoided and the new source of ship building labor helped push the relocation efforts back on track.

Onboard the U.C.P. Starbase Harmony: Inside Commander Hirkain’s personal office

“So Private, were you successful in your mission?” the commander asked.

Pimsey nervously squeaked, “Um…YES…sort of…”

“Well? Spit it out! Did you establish a link with the servants or not?”

“I…um…yes…YES. I was successfully sir!”

“Good! What did they tell you?” The commander leaned over the private greedily listening for the response he wanted to here.

“They…um…that is…they want to. They want me to talk to them from time to time.”

“Excellent! Good work Pimsey! Keep it up and you’ll be a Lieutenant with a few months!”

Pimsey looked up in surprise. Not only had the commander gotten his name right, but there was even a possible promotion in his future. Since he was so startled he couldn’t speak, he simply nodded.

“Now get back to your work and keep me informed. I want regular reports on their leaders’ activities. Got it?”

“Y-Yes Sir!” Pimsey saluted. The chancellor returned the salute, and the young private flew back to his desk to continue his massive work pile.

Detention

Detention

“Yo!” a voice called in the distance.

“Bro, wake yo’ ass up, pony!” The voice sounded much closer. Like somepony standing right next to them.

Sugar Baker opened his eyes. A gray Alicorn with a black mane was staring down at him.

“Dude! You betta git yo’ ass up before the guard gets to us. I ain’t playin’!”

“What happened? Where am I?”

Bake started to look at his surroundings. He was lying on the frozen ground outside. The layers of snow had been compacted again and again as it continued to build for weeks on end. The ground was now covered in a layer of permafrost. Alicorns were standing in a line waiting for something. Some were just as out cold on the floor as he was. A Pegasus Lieutenant and two guards were walking the line with a screenpad. They were making their way slowly towards them.

“You in Candy Land, Bitch! Now stand the hell up!” The gray pony tried to pick him up by the mane.

Bake finally struggled himself to his hooves in a standing position. He noticed he was cuffed to the same pony who wouldn’t stop waking him. The guards were now only a few feet away.

They stopped at another pair of Alicorns cuffed together. This pony had apparently failed to awaken his partner.

“You were unsuccessful at reviving him?” the officer asked calmly.

“I tried! I tried! But it’s too late. He stopped breathing during the night…I TRIED!!!”

Bake saw the Alicorn pleading with the Lieutenant, who looked at the guard carrying the screenpad and nodded. The guard tapped his pad checking off something.

The soldier looked back at the pony who was on his rear knees in the ice. “Then you will share his fate.” Again he spoke calmly, as though his “fate” was nothing more than a extra form to fill out.

“NO!!! PLEASE!!!” I can work!! I’m strong!” he begged.

The officer turned to the second guard and simply said, “Take him.” The guard unlatched the crying pony from his dead companion and was lurched forward face first into the snow.

“Move!” the guard yelled, prodding the Alicorn, pushing him forward off to another area.

The remaining soldiers continued down the line until they reached Sugar Baker and his partner.

“I see you were finally able to get him to wake up ‘eh?” The officer looked Bake up and down as if he wasn’t fully convinced he was actually alive and awake.

“Yessir!” The gray pony stated, standing upright at attention.

Now that Bake could see his partner more clearly, he saw what looked like an orange cap covering his horn. Looking at his own horn, he could just make out the orange that covered his as well. He had seen these caps used before when arresting criminals. They prevented the perpetrator from using magic. They could only be removed by another’s magic.

“Well, let’s just hope he’s a good worker…for your sake!” said the Lieutenant, moving on to the next pair, while the guard marked it on the pad. When they moved sufficiently far enough down the line from them, the gray pony finally relaxed his stance slightly.

“You owe me one, pony!” he said to Bake.

Bake tried to figure out what was going on. The last thing he remembered was a sonic grenade landing at his feet. He had been marching in the parade towards the middle. He had not seen any of the violence that had broken out, nor the Pegasus soldiers attacking from the sky.

“How long have I been out?” he asked hoping his partner would be a little more forthcoming with details.

“Four days. If you hadn’t gotten up today, you nevah would’a.”

“How’d we get here?”

The gray pony looked over at the guards, who were steadily making their way down the line. A guard was taking another pony away who had failed to wake up their partner.

“Look. What’s the last thing you remember?”

Bake told him about his role in the march and seeing the grenade.

“After you was knocked out, the soldiers here started messin’ everything up. They started attacking an’ killin’ everypony. We was the lucky ones! Everypony left alive’s been brought here to this facility, s’far as I can tell. They got plans to put us to work, help buildin’ somethin’.

“Last night, they paired us off, awake and unconscious ponies and chained us up together. We were forced to spend the night outside until we could get them to wake. If we couldn’t…well you saw what happened.

Just as he said that, the pony being escorted away tried to make a run for it. He almost made it behind a nearby building, before he suddenly fell to the ground. Blood stained the snow beneath his body, as a guard lowered his rifle.

“Just play it cool and you’ll be a’ight.” He winked at Bake, who was so shocked from what he had just witnessed, he couldn’t breathe, let alone ‘play it cool’.

The Lieutenant returned to the center of the line. He spoke out loudly to the whole of line. “Now you see what comes from running…absolutely nothing!” he spoke pointing towards the body in the snow. “For those of you who have successfully woken up, congratulations are in order! You have earned the right to work! In exchange, you will be clothed; you will be fed; you will be cared for! If you don’t work, you will not! Now, for those of you who just woke up, follow your assigned partner and get to work!”

Many of the Alicorns pairs in the line started to make their way over to their assigned work locations. Bake looked at his partner, who did not look at him. He started to walk off, pulling the chain between them, forcing Bake to follow. They made their way over to what appeared to be a factory building.

As they entered, there was a sign above the entrance, “Parts 23A-45G”. Bake had no idea what that meant, but as he entered the factory floor he could see it was vast. There were hundreds of different assembly lines each making different parts for different things. There were gears, switches, computers, industry-pads, and much more.

There were so many parts, that it was impossible to tell what it was they were expected to build. The guard at the gate took their chains off, freeing the two of them. He continued to follow his partner who still wasn’t looking at him or saying anything. They stopped at a point on the line: “Part 37C”.

There were three small belts on tacks to the left and one wider track to the right

“Now look here!” he barked. “When you see the two devices and a rod come through, you put them together and sync the units. Then you send it off to the next station. Got it?”

Bake looked at him befuddled. He was completely overwhelmed to the point his brain ceased to function properly. The gray pony could read his face and finally eased up a bit.

“Look, you need to get this work done, or else we both in for bad times!” he said. “Watch me for a bit. They’ll keep the belts slow while it warms up some, a’ight pony?”

“Baker,” Bake replied. “My name’s Sugar Baker.”

“Zeus,” said his partner.

“Thanks for saving my life Zeus.”

“I didn’t. I saved my own hide. I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass ‘bout you otherwise!” Zeus said, coldly.

Bake didn’t know why this pony was so combative, but he had a feeling the situation they found themselves in may have been a contributing factor. He watched Zeus assemble the parts and pass it off down the line. After three were made, Bake tried to assemble one, unsuccessfully. Zeus had to fix it quickly, which pissed him off, but after that the two were able to work in concert.

Their first shift lasted almost 8 hours straight, with no breaks. Afterwards, they were given a break just long enough to grab a bowl of food and suck it down, before their second shift would start. Bake was not sure he would be able to survive like this, until he saw his meal.

Cornmeal had been mashed into a paste then highly diluted in water into a yellow soupy porridge. As he swallowed a spoonful, his throat tried to prevent it from entering his stomach. He forced it through and ended any doubt he had in his mind: He definitely would not be able to survive this.

The second shift only lasted for five hours, but by the time it was over, at least two ponies had collapsed on the line. They were taken away, and the line was adjusted to fill the gap. At the shift’s completion, they were brought to a barracks. Inside, it had a few hundred old spring bunks with blankets. Many of the ponies needed to share.

Bake followed his partner to a bunk. They were both so exhausted they collapsed onto the bunk together. Zeus was out almost instantly, but Bake remained awake.

He was beyond exhausted, but his thoughts couldn’t help but drift to his family and whether or not they were safe. He tried to convince himself that only those in the march were detained, but his gut wouldn’t let him believe it.

As he silently meditated on his thoughts, he started to overhear some of the other Alicorns talking. A group of ponies were huddled together next to their bunks, talking in whispers.

“…arrested in my home. They were spouting some nonsense about ‘for my protection’, feh!” The pony who was speaking was a medium blue Alicorn with a Navy mane.

Another Alicorn with light green fur and darker mane said, “I was watching the march from my screenpad, when the violence broke out. I was only a few blocks away. I could hear the explosions. I tried to get away from the city with my wife and family, but I hit a checkpoint they had set up and was arrested. We were separated when we arrived, but it looks like the mares and children were taken to another factory next door.”

Bake could hear this pony’s own doubts about what he just said. And worse, it was now confirmed they did not limit the arrests to those in the march. His mind was in shock at the possibility of his family enduring the same labors he had.

As they continued to tell their stories of how they ended up in this facility, Bake listened intently, as he stared at them. On their bodies, he could see the signs of hard labor. Their fur had black soot stained throughout. Their hooves were brittle and chipped. They had only been working in the factory here since the march four days prior, yet the ponies before him looked as though they had been here for years. Even their wings…

Bake had to do a double take, as soon as he understood what he was seeing, he checked his own wings. It had been done to him too. Every single one of his flight feathers had been ripped out. It looked like a slick film of some chemical had been painted over the pores where the feathers had been. As he scrutinized his wings, he came to the realization: he would never fly again.

Bake was so wrapped up in this thought he nearly missed what was said next. “This place could not have possibly been set up in a matter of hours. This had been planned for some time.”

Bake snapped out of his thoughts and leaned into the conversation. “Wait. Are you saying they’ve been planning this since before the march?” Bake looked at the Alicorn who made the statement. He was an elder pony. His purple fur had faded and his mane whitened with age.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. I used to work in a factory like this; though the conditions were much nicer then. This camp had to have been constructed around the factory. That couldn’t have been setup overnight. It would have taken several weeks to get this together.”

Bake’s brain was trying to think back. “But the march had only been planned over the last two weeks! That means this was always their plan!”

He had spoken a little too loudly. The others quickly hushed him. “Shh! If the guards hear us talking, they’ll make us sleep outside!” They listened in silence for a few moments. Apparently, the guards had not heard.

Breathing a small sigh of relief, they settled back down. “Ever since the disaster and the disappearance of Galifrea, bad things have been happening,” the green pony said. “The Pegasi have been planning something, and I don’t intend to just sit here at their mercy, while they carry out their plans!”

The group seemed to be nodding in agreement, but the elder Alicorn was a little more reserved. “The key to stopping their plans, is to find out what their plans are in the first place. Without that, a revolt could only result in only a few dead Pegasi and a tremendous number of dead Alicorns. The key here, is obviously the factory. Has anyone figured out what they are having us build?”

The group tried to work out what their miniscule assembled pieces could fit into. Finally another Alicorn crept up quietly to join the conversation. He was much slimmer and was having a tougher time handling the level of physical labor. He was a beige pony, with a brownish-orange mane.

“I used to be an engineer,” he said to the group. “If you can gather the information on everypony’s components, I might be able to figure out what it is they’re building. Right now we know this: It’s big. And it uses tech-magic.”

“How do we know it uses tech-magic?” the blue Alicorn asked.

“Because my part in the assembly line involves a key component in Mcp. generation technology.”

The elder pony spoke up again. “So for now, everypony, do what you are told, cooperate, gather intel, and recruit. Whatever they are up to, we need to know. And probably soon.”

The group slowly broke apart into their bunks, to get some rest. They would need their strength for the coming days ahead.

Bake laid back down on his bunk. Zeus was already starting to snore. “No matter what,” he thought to himself, “I will find Ruby and the girls! I will not stop until I know they are safe.”

Resistance

Resistance

“I’ve brought some food,” Star Swirl said, as opened the door to his house.

From the street, passersby would see that all of the lights in the house were off. If somepony had heard him, they would have believed he had just been talking to an empty house. However, as soon as Star closed the front door completely, two little fillies mysteriously sprung up from out of nowhere.

“What did you bring us?” Luna asked, poking her nose into the bags on Star’s back attempting to sniff out the answer.

“I’m afraid it’s the usual vegetable medley soup mix. But I do believe I have a little something for dessert you might enjoy!”

Star reached into his satchel and pulled out a small box. The label read: ‘Laffy-Taffy Chews’. Luna’s eyes widened at the sight of the candy treat. She started bouncing up and down with excitement around him.

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!” she cried with excitement.

Star was quick to quiet her joy. “Shh, shh, shh! Hush now. You know you need to be quiet. Now go on and help your sister set the table for dinner.”

Luna quickly hurried off into the kitchen to start getting out the dishes. Celestia shyly smiled at Star.

“Th-Thanks again, Star.” She said, blushing. She quickly turned and headed after her sister into the kitchen. Lately, Celestia couldn’t help blushing every time she saw him.

As he set one of the bags down, Star flinched slightly. It had been a few weeks since he returned from the hospital, and he even returned to work, but he still felt the pain in his shoulder from time to time.

Despite his efforts to hide it, it was not lost on Ruby, who still felt responsible for causing his pain. He tried to make his flinch look like a spider had landed on his shoulder, brushing it away with his hoof. Ruby, completely unfooled, frowned guiltily, but said nothing. She grabbed the bags and headed back into the kitchen.

Star walked over to the window in his living room and peered out through the blinds. The neighborhood looked peaceful and quiet. Things had started to calm back down into a deranged form of normalcy. Ponies were going to work during the day and coming home in the evening. It was almost as though nothing were wrong.

But this façade was merely skin-deep. The brutal snow storms continued to rain down, day after day. Heat-Plows were running twenty-four hours a day, melting just enough snow for mobility yet not cause mass flooding.

Food prices were steadily rising each week. Tickets to the colonies were starting to become less costly than trying to feed your family. More and more families were booking passage on ships leaving for the colonies. Those that remained rarely talked, and when they did, it was mostly in hushed whispers.

Many suspected now, that the advertisements for the colonies were in reality the government’s way of saying they’ve given up on resolving the crisis on this world. The news seldom spoke of any progress or information regarding planetary cleanup plans. Most families remaining on the planet were those who could not afford passage and those on waiting lists.

The checkpoints had stopped, but Pegasus patrols were often close by if things got out of hand. Many ponies feared the soldiers, including many Pegasus civilians. But no pony dared to speak out.

Star walked into the kitchen to find the girls setting the bowls and cups on the table. Ruby was preparing the soup. She poured the bag of dehydrated vegetables and seasoning into the soup bowl. She closed the lid and placed the bowl in the Rehydra (Rehydration Cooker). Setting it to the soup option, it thoroughly hydrated and softened all the vegetables in five minutes. The vegetables would come out delicately soft and their flavors spread evenly throughout the soup. It was a great device for making a cheap meal taste like the real thing.

After they had their soup, Star gave the girls their taffy treat, which they happily grabbed and ran down to the basement to enjoy. Star and Ruby had converted the basement into a decent enough bedroom for the girls and Ruby to sleep together in. As the basement had no windows, it also prevented neighbors from seeing lights from multiple bedrooms. Star remained in the kitchen to help Ruby cleanup the dishes.

“Has she still been having the nightmares?” he asked.

“Yes, every night. She misses her father terribly,” Ruby answered.

Every night, Luna would awaken from a terrible nightmare. She dreamt of her father being killed before her eyes. The first time she had the nightmare, she screamed so loudly, Ruby nearly had to suffocate her own daughter to squelch the noise. As Luna’s nightmares continued, she no longer screamed, but would shake and cry each time.

“Has there been any word?” Ruby asked.

Star knew she was referring to her husband. “Actually I have some information on that,” he said giving a small grin.

Ruby’s eyes and ears instantly perked up. “There’s a group that’s been growing, that’s trying to stop what the Pegasi have done and fight back. I’ve been invited to join, and that’s just was I’m going to do.”

“What? Star, you can’t! What if something happens to you? Please, you mustn’t. That’s exactly how Sugar…”

Her throat cut her off, as her eyes began to water, thinking of her husband. He was captured, or possibly even killed, because he ‘joined a group’.

“Listen, these ponies might be able to find Bake! And possibly even get a message to him,” he quickly replied back. The hope in Ruby’s eyes glistened from those words.

“How?” she asked, trying not to get too excited.

“They wouldn’t tell me, because they don’t know if they can trust me. Of course the same goes for me, which is exactly why I did not tell them about you or the girls. We all need to be careful.

“I’m going to meet with them later tonight. If any thing should happen, head for my friend Mint Julep. She’s already hiding too many Alicorns as it is, but if I don’t return after a couple of days, make for her place during the night.”

Star Swirl handed Ruby a piece of paper with the address on it. Ruby took it and hugged him. “Please be careful,” she said, teary-eyed.

“I will.”

The alleyway was silent. Star looked around for signs of the contact he was supposed to meet, but saw nothing in the darkness. The furs on the back of his neck started to stand on end. If this was a Pegasus trap, he would be arrested any minute now.

After several minutes of waiting, a loud whisper called to him from the darkness.

“Face the dumpsters and shut your eyes!”

Star swallowed the lump in his throat and obeyed. “I’ve been caught!” he frantically thought. “This is the end for me!”

He heard the steps of somepony approaching him. They placed a blindfold over his eyes and prodded him to start moving.

“You may have captured me, you bastards,” he said, resigned to his fate, “but our cause will go on! We will stop you, and we will free the Alicorns!”

“Where not the Pegasi, you idiot!” one of his escorts said. “Now keep your mouth shut or the Pegasi will find us!”

“Oh,” was all Star could utter. He felt the blood rushing to his face as they continued to lead him into the back of a van.

As the van drove around town, Star couldn’t keep track of the seemingly endless number of left and right turns the van made. Star’s discomfort was accentuated by the quiet within the van, not mention the motion sickness he was getting from all the turning.

“So…where are we going?” he asked, hoping for a little conversation.

“We’re going nowhere,” a voice said. “Just stay quiet for now.”

Star could tell there were two ponies with him in the back of the van, plus the driver. With nothing else to do, but wait for them to arrive at whatever destination they were headed towards, Star leaned back against the side of the van and thought about all the events in his life that led him to be kidnapped and blindfolded in the back of a van.

As the van started to slow, Star realized they must be getting close and was starting to get antsy. When the van had stopped, he heard the driver’s door open and shut. As soon as the back door opened, Star tried to make a run for it, but with the blindfold still covering his eyes, he tripped and fell face first onto the ground.

“Star Swirl?” a soft voice called out to him.

As Star picked himself up off the floor, the blindfold fell from his eyes. He appeared to be inside an old warehouse. Only one or two lights were on, making it difficult to see. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out the shape of a unicorn.

“It can’t be?...Clover?” he said, not believing his unfocused eyes.

“You remembered!” Clover said rushing over to him. She gave him a hug. “My old mentor! You still have the beard I see,” she said giggling.

Star sighed. “The beard, the beard, always the beard! Pretty soon, everpony’s going to start calling me ‘Star Swirl the Bearded’! It’s good to see you too. But what are you doing here?”

“I’m in charge of our little group!” she said, nodding to one of the ponies standing next to her. He walked over to a switch along the wall. Several more lights turned on illuminating more of the warehouse. Star saw there were at least twenty more ponies in the room with them that he had not noticed before.

“Now when you say mentor…” the unicorn standing next to Clover said, questioningly. He doubted this wimp of a unicorn could have taught her anything.

“He used to tutor me with my Ancient Mythology homework back in high school,” she replied, smiling. “Never had the courage to ask me out, though!” She giggled as Star turned beet red. “So Star, you’ve decided to join our little group?”

Star regained his posture some. “Yes. I want to be a part of any cause that will help liberate the Alicorns!”

“Good!” said Clover. “First we’ll need to test you. Normally I would vouch for you, but in these times, we can’t be too careful.”

Clover’s horn started to glow brightly. Her eyes followed suit. Whatever spell she was casting, Star could see it required a tremendous amount of power. He watched as a large bubble formed over their heads growing outward, encompassing the two of them.

Star couldn’t help but admire how skilled Clover was with magic. He may have tutored her in Ancient Mythology, but she was always his tutor in magic, despite being two years younger than him.

With the bubble surrounding them, Clover spoke in a deep loud voice. “Star Swirl, you wish to join our cause, correct?”

“Yes.” he replied. His voice echoed around the bubble, surrounding them. The word became written and repeated throughout the bubble, before fading after a few seconds.

“You wish to work with all pony races together for the benefit of all ponykind?”

“Yes!” Star answered again, echoing throughout the bubble.

“You are now hiding Alicorns within your house! Is that correct?”

Star hesitated. Just as they couldn’t trust him outright, he could not give up that information so easily.

“No!” he called out, but the word did not echo. Instead it was absorbed by the bubble and was barely audible. The bubble then shouted back at him, “LIES!”

Star was scared, he had never seen magic like this, and now he may have put Ruby and the girls in danger. After a quick pause, the bubble dissolved away.

“Welcome aboard, Star Swirl!” Clover said to him smiling.

“I don’t understand, he said confused. “That bubble, it said I lied.”

“Not only are you the kind of pony who risks his own life to hide others,” she said, “you are also the kind who would try to keep them safe even if he thinks he’s amongst friends. I can’t think of a more qualified candidate.”

Star blushed slightly as he smiled. “I-uhm..thanks,” he said. “So what was that thing?”

“A revealer spell. Something I picked up after high school,” she said. “And now to business…”

Clover filled Star in on their plans and goals. They wanted to work with the Alicorn prisoners to stage a rebellion. They had started to smuggle food and weapons into one of the camps nearby. Clover had some Pegasi soldiers on her side to help keep the operation discreet.

“Would it be possible to try to locate an Alicorn in the camp?” Star asked, thinking of Bake.

“I’m sorry, but that would be too risky,” Clover said. “But if you’re willing to work the next shipment of weapons, you could pass a note. But it would need to be written so none but the recipient would understand. Would you be willing?”

“Definitely!” Star said, with surprising confidence.

Star checked his watch. ‘Twelve Minutes to three.’ He and two other ponies were huddled against a brick wall surrounding the camp. The wall faced an alley next to an old apartment building. No windows faced them, creating the perfect spot for hiding in the middle of the night.

They waited in silence listening for their cue. At three precisely, they heard the guard in the watch tower above their heads answering a call. His gaze turned away from them.

The Earth pony standing next to Star began digging and pulling up the ground under the wall. Star could tell this ground had been dug up several times before. Within moments a hole appeared. From the other side, a hoof reached forward into the hole.

Star lowered one of the bags down. Inside were small pistols that could be hidden easily. The hoof grabbed the bag and pulled it through. They lowered their bags one by one over the course of the two minute window they had, before the guard’s call would end. They needed to be completely finished by then.

As the last bag was grabbed from the other side, Star quickly took out a note from his pocket.

“Hey!” he whispered. “Do you know if Sugar Baker is in this camp?”

“What? I have no idea, there’s no time to talk–”

“Please if you find him, give him this…” Star handed the note to the hoof behind the wall. It snatched the note from his hoof.

“I’ll see what I can do, but no promises!” the voice called back.

They quickly replaced the soil and stone to make it look exactly as before with no signs of disturbance. The guard finished his call and returned to his post.

Star’s heart was ready to explode from the nervous stress bearing down on him. Despite his silent gasps, as they snuck away from the camp, his mind was racing with adrenaline. He really hoped his message would get through.

“Listen!” a voice whispered loudly to the group. Their voices settled down to listen to the elder pony. “We now know what the Pegasi are having us build. We are building their transport ships. They same ships they’re using to evacuate the planet leaving us here to die!”

Several voices in the group, huddled inside the barracks, growled in anger, but everypony had learned how to control their volumes, so their rage would not carry to the guards' ears.

“However, according to our engineer, these transport ships are not according to specification! They are not made for maximum occupancy, but rather for maximum artillery! They seem to be planning for a war.”

At once whispers raced across the room. The elder pony raised his hoof to silence them before their voices grew too loud. “Our friends from the outside are scheduling another delivery of food for tomorrow. The current ship is nearly complete and well guarded in building next to the factory. Between the weapons we’ve collected and next shipment of food, we should have the capability of taking the ship. This is our chance!”

More whispering spread throughout the room, however the whispers carried the tone of excitement amongst everypony.

“I need three volunteers for the next delivery,” the elder pony called looking around the barracks. Nearly three-quarters of the ponies in the room had their hooves raised. The few who did not, like Zeus, wanted no part of their plans and schemes. Next to Zeus, Sugar Baker had his hoof raised as high as it would go.

Three ponies were chosen, Bake was not among them. They pushed their way up to where the elder pony was sitting and began their plans for the next delivery.

As the group dispersed to their bunks, one of the ponies Bake had gotten to know pushed his way towards him.

“Bake!” he called running up to him. “You’re not going to believe it! I’ve got an actual letter for you!”

Bake thought he must have misheard him, but when he raised his leg with the letter in hoof, Bake became completely befuddled.

Taking the letter and unfolding it, a small note had been scribbled inside:

“Your prized gem is as safe as the sun and the moon are amongst the swirling stars.”

Bake reread the letter at least a dozen times before it fully sunk in. Tears began dripping from his eyes in floods.

“Is everything alright, Bake?” the letter bearer asked.

“O-Oh Yes. Fine. Better than fine. Incredible even.” He blubbered back through his sobbing.

“What does it mean?” he asked.

Bake wiped his eyes and sniffled. “It means, my wife and children are safe!”

“That’s amazing, Bake! I’m so happy for you.” He padded Bake on the shoulder half-heartedly. He was happy to hear his friend got word on his family, but the fate of his own family was still a complete mystery.

“Soon.” Bake thought to himself. “Soon, I will be free of this place and I will rescue you. Wait for me…”

“Twelve minutes to three,” the nervous unicorn said to himself. “Almost time.”

The three ponies waited for the guard to receive the call giving them their window. Thirteen minutes had past.

“I don’t like this,” one of them whispered. “The call was never late before!”

“Give it another minute,” another said. “It’s possible there’s a simple obstacle on the other end that needs to be dealt with.”

After an additional thirty seconds, the guard in the watch tower lifted his hoof answering the call. He promptly turned away giving them their window. The Earth pony in the group began digging quickly to open the hole.

As soon as it appeared, a hoof from the other side reached through. They lowered one of the bags of food into the hole. The hoof grabbed it and pulled it through.

Enormous, bright spotlights turned on, illuminating both sides of the wall. The Alicorn prisoners and rebel ponies on both sides were completely visible. They tried to run but were immediately surrounded.

The rebels were escorted inside the camp where they were joined by the Alicorns that belonged to the hooves in the hole.

“Move! Up against the wall!” One of the Pegasus soldiers screamed.

“They were sneaking in food sir!” Another soldier reported.

“I see. Well, we can’t be having that now…Turn and put your hooves on the wall.”

The Alicorns and ponies were lined up against the wall. Behind them several soldiers stood in a line, their guns aimed straight at them.

“Ready…Aim…” One of the rebels tried to make a run for it. The soldier giving the orders took out his pistol and shot the pony right in the back. He fell into the snow.

“Let’s see...where was I,” he said rubbing the gun against his temple. “Oh yes, FIRE!”

Instantly and silently, all the Alicorns and rebel ponies collapsed to the ground.

“Sergeant, take care of that mess, would you? He said, waving his pistol dismissively.

The soldiers began to cleanup the bodies. From the barracks, many watched in horror. A few tried to go after them, but were restrained by the others.

“Look! There is nothing you can do for them!” one of them said holding a pony back. “All we can do is make sure we succeed and put a stop to it ONCE AND FOR ALL!” The struggling pony caved, letting his hooves fall to his sides.

Zeus lying in the bunk with Bake, turned to him and whispered, “THAT is why I want no part in your crazy-ass plans! I got a plan of my own, and it’s called ‘NOT DYING!’”

Bake stared emptily into space. He heard the commotion, saw the flashes of the light from the guns. “That could’ve been me,” he thought. More than the thought of dying, it was the thought of never seeing his family again that scared him most.

“Good work, Private!” Commander Hirkain called to his subordinate. “Thanks to your intel, we were able to stop that Unicorn/Earth Pony plot to undermine my authority!”

“I-uh. I mean yes Sir. Thank you Sir!” Private Pimsey responded, sitting at his desk in the commander’s office.

“You just keep digging; see what you can find out. See how deep you can get, Corporal!”

“Y-Yes sir!..uhm…Corporal?”

“That’s right,” the commander said, proudly. “It’s about time you earned it, Pans…I mean Pimsey. Corporal Pimsey. You can be proud soldier. You’ve shown true loyalty.”

“Y-Y-YES SIR!” Pimsey saluted, puffing out his skinny chest.

“NOW GET BACK TO WORK, Corporal!” the commander barked.

Movement in the Dark

Movement in the Dark

“So, what’s the good word, Smart Cookie, eh?” the Chancellor asked, chuckling as he walked over to his favorite secretary’s desk. He was in a chipper mood from the recent progress in the relocation.

Sunbeam sighed. She knew all too well, he was deliberately still calling her ‘Smart Cookie’ to egg her on, but she merely pushed it aside.

“Well Chancellor, with the latest transport ship from the Pegasi, we’ve been able to relocate more than sixty-five percent of the Earth Ponies. With the delivery of the next two transport ships, we should have the capacity to finish transporting the remaining Earth ponies to the Soil Lands, before our remaining food supply runs out.”

“Excellent, excellent!” the chancellor cried happily. “I got to hand to it to that arrogant Pegasus commander, he really saved our furs.”

Sun didn’t like to admit it, but the chancellor was not lying. Thanks to the extra ships, their relocation plan was actually viable now. But Sun understood the true cost. These ships were the product of slave labor. Slaves slated to be left behind on a dead world.

She just hoped a solution could be found to save everypony, before it was too late.

As she looked over the figures, a call from Clover came in to her communicator. Looking to make sure the chancellor was back in his office with the door closed, she answered.

“Hey Clover, what’s up? How’d our ‘delivery’ go yesterday?”

“It went badly, Sun,” Clover started.

“Badly? How badly? What happened?”

“Very,” Clover continued. “The pony rebels and three Alicorns were caught and shot. And our weak spot in the wall is no more.”

“WHAT!?” Sun screamed back, loud enough for the chancellor to hear.

“Is every thing alright Smart Cookie?” the chancellor called from behind his office door. Sun tried to quickly recover.

“Oh..um..nothing sir. I just read a figure wrong, and thought we owed millions on a bill instead of thousands!” she hastily made up.

“Well, whoever she is, just make she’s worth the price I pay for her! Ha!” the chancellor laughed at his own wit.

The door to his office remained shut. Sun breathed a sigh of relief, before it evaporated, as she shouted in whispers back into the communicator on her hoof.

“How could this have happened? I thought Pimsey fixed this for us?...Wait! Pimsey! That two-timing, weak as dung, son of a rat’s–”

“It may or may not have been him, Sun” Clover tried to calm down her friend. “He’s agreed to meet with us tonight to tell us what happened. Can you make it?”

“I’ll be there all right. I’m going to ring that scrawny pony’s little neck!”

“Just make sure you hear what he says first, please!” Clover pleaded.

“Usual place and time?” Sun asked.

“Yes.”

“I’ll see you tonight,” Sun said coldly and hung up.

“What are your sensor readings, Lieutenant?” Captain Tiberius Brannigan called to his SME officer (Science and Magic Expert).

“Sorry sir,” the private answered. “There are no readings at all. Whatever this object is, we can only tell that it exists. We can neither see it, nor can our sensors penetrate it.”

The P.W.S Loyalty (Pegasus War Ship) hovered in orbit of the Unicornia colony. They were on patrol, when their sensors caught a glimpse of an object in space, progressing toward the colony. The followed it into geostationary orbit above the colony.

“Take as many readings, from as many angles as you need, Lieutenant,” said the captain. “But do it fast. We don’t want the Unicorns to think we’re spying on them.”

“Yes sir.”

“That’s somepony else’s job,” the captain muttered as an afterthought.”

Their sensors had only discovered the object from the most insignificant magical aura it produced. They could neither see it, nor determine size, shape or any information about it. The Pegasus soldier continued to scan for any information regarding the object. After twenty minutes, he finally had something to report.

“Sir, the object is moving away from the planet.”

“Pilot,” the captain called, “change course to continue tracking the object from a distance.”

“Aye sir.” The pilot changed course and pulled the ship out of orbit.

“What’s its heading?” asked the captain.

“If it continues on the same heading,” the pilot calculated the route on his terminal, “it should arrive at the Pegasopolis colony in twenty-one hours.”

“Confirmed, sir,” said the SME officer.

“I don’t like this thing, whatever it is,” the captain said as he gazed out at the space beyond him, looking for an object that could not be seen. “If it so much as blinks near our colony, we’ll see if an M.E.W. Missile (Magic Enhanced Warhead) will make it visible!”

“I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY!” Sun screamed at the weakly Pegasus soldier, holding him once again by the throat, pinned to the wall.

The three ponies gathered together behind a local Pony Chow fast-food chain, nearby the old counsel building. It was late into the evening, and the restaurant had turned out its lights for the night.

“PLEASE! Let…me try…to…explain!” he sputtered out.

Sun dropped him to the floor and stared daggers at him. “Speak!”

Pimsey tried to catch his breath, quickly. After a few seconds, he finally got out, “I did it.”

Clover’s shocked face was nothing compared to Sunbeam’s. After freezing for a moment in a dumbfounded state, she snapped out of it and punched the Pegasus right across the jaw. He flew to the ground from the blow.

Steam flared from her nostrils and fire burned in her eyes. She was getting ready to kill this pony. Clover quickly grabbed her and held her back.

“Wait! Wait Sun!” she screamed. “Let him speak! He wouldn’t have even showed up if he didn’t have an explanation!”

It took every ounce of Clover’s strength to hold her friend back. Pimsey sat back up and rubbed his jaw. He hadn’t been hit like that since his father, growing up.

“I had no choice!” he said. “They knew about ponies on the outside of the camps trying to help the Alicorns on the inside. I had to let a food drop be captured instead of a gun drop. If they found weapons, they would have killed every Alicorn in the camp. I protected them!”

Sun was still beyond reasoning, but Clover caught on. “Are you saying, that you actually saved us by sending six ponies to their deaths!?”

“Six dead, or thousands? Which would you have picked?” he said, standing back up. He looked into both ponies’ eyes. Clover’s quickly fell to the floor, but Sun’s did not. She stared right back at him, full of anger.

“I knew one of those ponies who died, Harmon,” she said. “You sent one of my friends to their death!”

“I’m sorry! I really am, but I had no other choice!” He looked at her apologetically.

After several moments, Sun’s face finally fell. She backed off from the Pegasus.

Clover decided to push forward with the plans. “They may not have as much food, but they have what they need to begin the uprising,” she stated. “It’s up to them. With no means of communication, we’ll have to be ready to go at any time. With limited food, they’ll need to go soon. We best be ready.”

She turned to Pimsey. “Harmon, I don’t know if we can really trust you, so if you really want to prove yourself, figure out a way to reduce the number of guards in the camp.”

“I can’t do that!” he said, afraid. “They would know it was me who signed the orders!”

“Figure out a way!” Clover ordered. She nodded at Sun and turning together, they walked off, leaving the Pegasus behind to his dilemma.

“Captain,” the SME officer called. “The object has stopped.”

“All stop. We haven’t already reached Pegasopolis have we?” asked the captain, curiously.

“No sir. At present we were still twelve hours away from the colony.”

“Have they detected us?”

“Same as before captain, they might be able to see us, they might even be able to hear us, but I can’t even determine that it really even exists, let alone if it can detect us.” The private rechecked his terminal. “It’s started moving again. New course heading towards ‘Dirtville’ colony.”

Turning to the pilot, the captain gave the order. “Keep her in our sights. Whatever this is, it seems to know exactly where all three colonies are located and scouting each for some reason.”

“Aye sir,” the pilot answered, changing course.

“So what do we do now?” one of the Alicorns in the group asked the elder, huddled in the barracks. “If we can’t feed ourselves more than the rations we’ve been getting, how can we possibly hope to commandeer the ship?”

Many ponies in the group were nodding in agreement. One of them in towards the back called out, “Maybe we should scrap the whole plan!” More murmurs of agreement could be heard.

The elder Alicorn could not put up the argument needed. All he could respond with was, “But we must! We have to!” The noises in the group started growing loud enough that a guard might overhear.

“Guys knock it off!” some pony in crowd yelled. “The guards are going to hear you!” The group quickly quieted back down.

Within the group, Sugar Baker was thinking to himself, debating his choices. Finally, he reached his hoof high into the air. Most did not even see it. The elder pony had seen it though, and tried to get the group’s attention. The mutters and whispers finally died down. “Go ahead, son,” said the elder.

Lowering his hoof back down, Bake spoke up, “Thank you. I think we should do it tomorrow.”

More muttering commenced, but were immediately silenced by the elder.

“The reason I say this,” Bake continued, “is because this is our one and probably last chance to fight back; possibly even to live. We’ve stored up enough weapons for every other Alicorn, and we’ve stockpiled just barely enough food to survive for a little while if we succeed.

“Many of us realize, and other have realized but refuse to believe, that this world is dying.” Bake looked directly over at Zeus, pretending to be asleep in his bunk. “With the ponies all evacuating to their own colonies, we’re destined to be left behind to die in the cold of a never ending winter.

“The ship is nearly completed. If we wait any longer, it will either be gone or fully stocked with fully armed soldiers. If you want to live; if you want to ever see your families ever again, we need to strike now!”

It was hard for the group not to applaud, but the most unusual whispers of cheers came out. When it died back down, the naysayer spoke out again.

“Every other pony armed is not enough! We cannot fly and we cannot do magic. That would leave have the camp defenseless!”

Zeus tried to cover his ears with his blanket. He started tossing and turning trying to stop something. He had appeared to fail as he jumped out of his bunk. “A’ight, a’ight! I’ll do it.”

The group turned their heads to see who was speaking. Bake stared back at him confused. “Do what?” he asked.

Zeus reached his hoof up to his horn and removed the orange cap from his horn, as though it were nothing more than a bathing cap for horns. Several ponies around them gasped.

“You’ve been able to do that this whole time, and you never said anything?” One of the Alicorns nearly screamed across.

“They put a broken one on me.” Zeus said, shrugging. “But I think this plan is foolish and stupid. I think y’all foals; going to pretend to be soldiers and get everypony killed. I aint no foal. And I ain’t planning on dying!

“You wanna fight and die, that’s your business. I ain’t gonna fight. But I can at least give you ponies a foals chance in hell.”

Bake walked up to Zeus, smiling. He lowered his horn to the stallion. Zeus’s horn glowed in a blue-black, wrapping around the cap that covered Bake’s horn. When the glow dimmed, Bake reached up and removed his cap.

“Thank you, Zeus.” Bake said, before turning to another pony next to him. His horn glowed freeing the pony's cap, who in turn freed another. The glow of horns spread around the barracks in a rainbow of colors.

When everypony’s Magic-Prevention cap had been removed they all nodded together in agreement. Tomorrow they would fight. Tomorrow, they would be free.

Over the Precipice

Over the Precipice

“ROLL CALL!!!” the leader of the camp, Colonel Iron Sanders yelled outside the barracks. The guards began their usual routine by banging on the doors, before bursting into the building, prodding anypony who thought they might just sleep in that day.

The Alicorns scrambled out of the barracks into the line for roll call. The colonel was a little surprised. The line had formed much quicker than usual, and the prisoners seemed to be almost energetic before the workday for once.

“Let’s begin,” he stated. His assistant carried his usual clipboard as they began working down the line. There were so many ponies in the line, it would take a while before he would notice only six were missing.

Just before dawn, the Alicorns inside the barracks had opened a trap door they had constructed over the last week. Pulling the loose floor boards out, they pulled the bottom up, revealing the soft earth beneath.

Constructing a complete tunnel out of the camp wasn’t feasible, and it wouldn't have helped achieve their real goal, anyway. However, it was relatively simple to just dig their way to the back of the barracks along the border wall.

The six ponies slid out in the darkness and split into three groups. The first two remained under the barracks in hiding. The second headed for the watchtowers. The last group sneaked off toward the Colonel’s office.

As roll call continued down the line, the watchtower team of Alicorns further split and headed for their individually assigned tower. At the bottom of each tower, two soldiers stood guard. Each pony prowled around the guards just beyond their vision.

Carrying handheld ‘Silent Storms’, they made quick work of the guards at the bottom, who fell to the ground with matching holes in their heads. The guards had no time to fire a single shot, and nothing but silence echoed through the camp. The Alicorns quickly hid the bodies and waited for the signal.

The last team hid just around the corner from the entrance to the colonel's office, hiding behind a dumpster. All six ponies were in position and waiting for the signal to begin the uprising.

“Bueller, Ferret!” the colonel called out from the list. However no pony shouted “Present!” back to him.

“Bueller!!?” he shouted again, and again it was met with nothing but silence. “Guards! Check the barracks! Make sure he’s not dead or hiding! If he’s not dead, fix that!”

Two guards circled around the line to the barracks leaving only three guarding the colonel. As the two guards entered the barracks the light was off. Darkness was all that was visible to the guards. The light switch appeared to have been disabled.

Looking at his partner, they raised their guns towards the darkness. As they walked, the loud creak of the floorboards echoed against the silence. As the guards walked passed the trap door, the Alicorns below made their move. Opening the door slowly and quietly, they carefully raised their guns until they pointed at the guards' backs.

"BANG!!!"

One of the guards had triggered his weapon as he fell to the floor. The shot rang out of the barracks to the ears of the colonel and the guards outside.

“Guards! Guards! Sound the alarm!” the colonel screamed. But as he shouted to his right and left, the three guards protecting him had fallen to the ground, their bodies riddled with holes.

Alicorns throughout the line had pulled their guns, hidden within the hair of their tails. Those without guns had removed their disabled anti-magic caps, their horns ready for the fight.

The colonel was completed surrounded by Alicorns with two dozen guns and horns pointed at his head. “Now, N-Now…let’s talk about this! Y-You don’t need to k-kill me!”

One Alicorn smiled and said, “What’s the matter, Colonel Sanders?....chicken?”

The colonel had enough time to let a small ‘eep’ escape from his lips, before his entire head exploded from the number of shots fired at once into him.

Up in the watchtowers, the guards watched as the Alicorns started firing at the guards. One sounded the alarm for the camp and began firing into the line, while the other attempted to contact Pegasus HQ for reinforcements.

The red light flared up at Corporal Harmon Pimsey from his terminal. Harmon quickly clicked on the alert, which projected the watchtower guard’s image.

“There’s an uprising in the camp!” the guard screamed across the line. We need reinforcements ASAP!”

Harmon quickly responded, “Reinforcements are on the way!”

“Hurr–!” the guard got out, before the screen suddenly went blank.

Harmon lifted his communicator to call for help but hesitated. Commander Hirkain had not arrived at the office yet. His mind started racing. His body began to shake in turmoil. He had to make a choice.

Slowly, he lowered his hoof back down. The alert was dismissed from his screen. Working quickly, before the commander arrived, he brought up the system logs. Every last log entry that a call had ever come in would need to be erased.

He closed the log window just as the commander stepped into the office.

“Morning, corporal. Anything to report?” he asked his assistant, who appeared to be very jumpy for the morning.

“I-um-er, I mean no sir! It’s been a fairly quiet morning,” the scared Pegasus finally puttered out.

“I see…well if that changes, let me know,” the commander replied, dismissing the odd, though not uncommon, behavior of his spineless wimp of an assistant.

“Yes Sir!”

In orbit above the Soil Lands colony, the P.B.S. Loyalty continued to track the mysterious invisible object that had been wandering from colony to colony.

“Report!” Captain Brannigan called, sitting in the captain’s chair staring at the view screen. The planet below was visible on the screen, but not the object they were tracking. They had been in orbit for nearly four hours, and the object continued to lie perfectly still and quiet, as though it were not really there.

“We can still pick up the magical aura it’s giving off, however no new–” The SME officer suddenly stopped talking as he read the information coming in to his terminal. He had to reread it twice to believe what he was seeing.

“Sir!!! The energy level around the object has increased by two thousand percent!” he yelled out.

The captain looked carefully into the view screen. A small silvery-white aura had started to grow around the object. While its core remaining transparent, a halo, like a solar eclipse, had started to form around the object.

“Private! What’s it doing?...Private, answer me!!!” he yelled. But the private was too engrossed in what he was seeing to speak. The captain had to get out of his chair and grab the Pegasus. “PRIVATE!!!”

“S-Sir, i-i-it’s the s-same!” the young private puttered out.

“Speak Pegasus, damn it! What’s the same, private!?” the captain barked.

“The Maretropolis Disaster, sir. It’s the same energy readings.”

The captain threw himself back into the captain’s chair. “Pegasus-Alert! Get to your stations! All weapons online! Raise shields! We need to protect those ponies down there!” he spouted orders as quick as he could. Within moments, reports from all stations were coming online ready to go.

“Target the center of the aura and FIRE!” he screamed.

Out of the front of the ship, two M.E.W. missiles fired out towards the object. They had made it to within one thousand feet of the object before impacting on the aura alone.

“Sir! The object is absorbing all the magical energy from the missiles! No damage, but part of the object is visible!”

“On-screen!” the captain ordered.

The main monitor zoomed in on the missile impact point. The metal of a ship appeared to have been exposed. Letters could just be made out along the hull: “WINDIGOS”

For the first time in the captain's thirty-five year career, sweat instantly appeared in large beads across his brow. His skin paled beneath is fur as his heart sank into his stomach.

“GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE, NOW!!!!!” ALL ENGINES FULL REVERSE!!! I WANT EVERY LAST SCRAP OF ENERGY AND MAGIC FOCUSED ON THE SHIELDS!!!!”

Pegasi all over the ship began scrambling to back the ship away from the object.

“Captain!!! There’s a secondary buildup of energy on the side of the object facing us! It looks like it’s ready to fire!” the SME officer called out.

Captain Tiberius Brannigan collapsed onto his chair. He stared into the view screen, resigned to his fate. He watched the beam of bright silver light shoot forth from the object heading straight for the ship. He closed his eyes as the beam impacted on the ship.

The massive wave of energy cut into the ship's shields like a hot knife through butter. It penetrated the ship directly through the bridge, piercing straight through and out the back.

All that was left behind was what looked like the remains of a hollowed out log. Within seconds, the sides of the ship broke apart, before what remained of the engines exploded. The explosion blasted parts of the ship far out across the skies of the planet.

The object continued to build up its energy until it reached capacity. The massive beam struck the planet directly above the colony on the surface of the planet. Not a single structure remained standing.

The guard in Watchtower 1 used his communicator to call HQ for help. As he attempted to reach them, Watchtower 2's guard tried to put a stop to the riot below. He starting picking off Alicorns in the crowd as fast as he could. He had dropped at least a dozen before something caught his eye.

An Alicorn was rapidly climbing the ladder of Watchtower 1. He quickly shifted his position to aim at the climbing prisoner. He was already nearing the top of the tower. The guard carefully aimed his sniper rifle. As the Alicorn climbed into the cross-hairs on his scope, he squeezed the trigger.

The Alicorn was struck in the shoulder, causing him to slip a rung down the ladder. He attempted to maintain his grip, until a second shot pierced his back. His grip released and he plummeted through the air, smashing into the ground below.

The guard smiled as he made to return his aim back to the Alicorns on the ground. As he turned, his gun was grabbed from behind and pulled into his neck. The guard struggled against his assailant, trying to punch him, but he started to grow woozy.

The barrel of the rifle eventually 0crushed the guard’s windpipe as they struggled. Within moments, the guard slipped from consciousness and fell limp against the Alicorn's grip.

Quickly raising the guard’s rifle, the prisoner took aim at the guard in Watchtower 1. The image in his scope showed the guard attempting to call for help.

He focused his eye through the scope on the gun, centering on his target. The days he had spent with his father at a gun range as a colt was nothing like this. Fear coursed through his veins pulsating in his hooves. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Opening his eyes and focusing, he exhaled slowly and squeezed the trigger.

“–need reinforcements ASAP!” The guard called into the communicator. “Please hurr–”

The guard looked down at his stomach. A hole, the size of a bit coin, had appeared. He hadn’t felt any pain. His eyes grew blurry in a daze. He stumbled back against the rail, tripping. He closed his eyes as he felt the wind wrap around him.

The Alicorn's heart banged against his chest, attempting to escape. He shook it off as best he could and began to take aim at the Pegasus guards on the ground.

Just outside the Colonel’s office, the two Alicorns watched as the guards by the door abandoned their posts to join in the fight. They carefully crept inside and closed the door. The colonel’s office carried the primary communication’s equipment for the entire camp.

“We need to get the message out to the rebels,” the taller of the two Alicorns said. “Start recording the message, while I set the transmission frequencies.”

“The Pegasi’s prize horse is fleeing the stable.” the shorter one spoke into the microphone. “I repeat. The Pegasi’s prize horse is fleeing the stable.”

The message was saved in the computer and uploaded. As the Alicorns uploaded and sent the message, the bathroom door slowly slid open as the guard hidden behind it stalked his prey. The knife in his belt glistened from the reflection of the light of the room, which went completely unnoticed by the pair of Alicorns as they focused on the equipment.

“The message is sending on a loop. With any luck, they’ll be able to get help to us before–”

The shorter Alicorn clenched his eyes as his face was splattered with something. Wiping some of it away from his face, he could see a blade jutting out the front of his partner’s neck.

“Son of a–” he screamed, jumping away from his partner’s killer. A sick sucking sound was heard as the knife was ripped back out, sending the Alicorn’s body collapsing to the floor.

They stared into one others' eyes as they sized one another up. The Pegasus was smiling, while the Alicorn scowled in return.

The wall where the Pegasus had been standing moments before blasted apart from the Alicorn's magic. He lowered his horn again, preparing for another volley. The soldier lunged at the prisoner, his wings angled to increase the force of the blow. The Alicorn was knocked off his hooves smashing into another wall.

As the pair rolled on the floor, struggling for control, the soldier’s blade was mere inches away from both of their chests. The knife’s point slowly turned toward the Alicorn. With a final thrust of his wings, the Pegasus plunged the blade into the Alicorns chest. Within moments, the Alicorn ceased to move.

Getting up off the floor, the guard wiped his blood soaked mouth and spat at the Alicorn. He walked back to the communications terminal and shut off their message for help, followed by replacing it with an all-hands alert to the Pegasus HQ. Help would indeed come; but not for the Alicorns.

“No!” Sunbeam whispered in shock. Her pupils had instantly shrunk to as small as the heads of pins. She turned white from bone to fur. “It’s not possible! It just can’t be! No!” Her eyes welled with tears. She couldn’t move or think, but continued to just stare through the words displayed on her screenpad:

“Contact lost with the Soil Lands Colony. Last transmission indicates energy signature matching the weapon used during the Maretropolis Disaster.”

Thousands of voices of her friends and family now dead echoed in screams through her mind. Sun’s agony was released in a wail that echoed out across the office. Her screenpads fractured as her desk was suddenly launched across the room in fury. Sun fell to her knees sobbing and shaking.

“What in the ruddy hell is going on in here?” Chancellor Puttinghoof asked, rushing into the room. He stumbled upon the Earth pony, kneeling of the floor, sobbing with the office destroyed around her.

“S-Sir…” Sun sniffed, wiping some of the tears from her eyes. “I’m afraid I have to report some bad news…”

The terminal in front of Corporal Pimsey lit up like a pinball game. Red lights and warnings flashed back and forth as more and more reports from the camp came in. This was beyond his ability to stop now. This was as far as he could go.

“Sir! There’s been an uprising at Camp 023!!!” he screamed across the office.

“WHAT!?” Commander Hirkain screamed, rushing over to the corporal’s terminal. “Bucking cockroaches! I’ve waited too long to squish this infestation! Get on the wire. Alert all nearby patrols and ships to get to the camp yesterday! Tell them it’s open season on the enemy. No prisoners, no survivors!”

Pimsey could only look back and the commander dumbfounded. How could he possibly send such orders?

“What are you waiting for Pansy!?” the commander asked the frozen pony. “Send it! That’s an order!!!”

Pimsey continued to hesitate. If he sent that message, and the uprising failed, every last Alicorn in the camp would be massacred.

Commander Hirkain leaned in so close that Pimsey could feel the heat of the commander’s breath against his face. “PRIVATE!!! I’M NOT GOING TO ASK YOU AGAIN!!!!!

Apparently his promotion had been short-lived. Deep within the recesses of Harmon Pimsey’s mind, the tiniest voice cried out, “Forgive me.”

“The barracks should be behind this building, on the other side of the fence line,” a broad, muscular Alicorn whispered to his team.

Bow Archer was considered to be the weapons expert of the group. Despite his occupation of being a tailor, his hobby was archery, and he was exceptionally skilled at it. Turned down from law enforcement for being an Alicorn, he settled as a tailor. His sharp eye proved useful for threading needles and the like, of which, he loathed every minute.

Now more in his element, he led the Alicorn team charging toward the mares and fillies barracks. Peeking around the corner quickly, only one guard remained by the gate in the fence. The rest had gone to assist against the uprising.

“I can only see one guard, but there may be more, hidden. The moment I take out the guard, charge the fence. Ratchet, Volley, I want you two to take out the hinges on the gate so we can plow right through it. Understood?”

The pair nodded in agreement and got into position. The rest of the Alicorns were waiting right behind. Archer crept just into range. He felt the pistol in his hand. It was very different from a bow, but his eye was as sharp as ever. His target lined up, the silent storm handgun dropped the guard as quietly as a marble striking a pillow.

The Alicorns rushed around the corner of the building and aimed toward the gate. Within ten feet of it, the hinges of it suddenly busted apart from exploding magic. Smoke appeared rising from Ratchet and Volley’s horns as they charged with the other Alicorns, plowing through the gate with ease.

They searched around the camp, but the grounds were entirely empty; no guards, no prisoners. There was an eerie silence that whistled in the air. Volley Serve, whose wife and daughter were captured with him, had a sudden realization. “What if…?” Panicked, he ran ahead of the group, looking from building to building for the barracks.

“VOLLEY WAIT!!!” Archer screamed, trying to get to the frantic Alicorn.

The whole team tried to keep up, but Volley had fled far ahead of them. He found an old, and battered building that looked large enough to house the mares and fillies. He hurriedly pushed open the door, peering into the darkness.

“Veira?” he called out, echoing inside.

“VOLLEY, RUN!!!! a soft mare’s voice shouted out.

Before he could adjust his eyes, Volley felt something dripping down his head. He wiped his forehead with his hoof. It was blood. He had just enough time to realize he was dead before he collapsed to the floor.

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!” the mare’s voice screamed out.

The rest of the team had caught up, but kept their distance from their fallen comrade at the entrance. From inside the barracks, one of the Pegasi officers called out.

“If you value the lives of your wives and fillies,” he started, “I suggest you cast off your weapons and lie on the ground, with your horns pointed down.

The Alicorns looked at one another, unsure what to do. Finding no possible alternative, they chucked their guns away from them, and lowered themselves to the ground.

The soldiers inside the barracks cautiously approached the prisoners, their guns at the ready. With their horns lowered, the prisoners could not see the soldiers, as they filed out of the building. There were at least fifteen guards. The last few remained behind to guard the women and children. As the soldier who spoke out approached the closest Alicorn, he carefully aimed his pistol at his head. This pistol was not a silent storm. The shot echoed loudly against the buildings and across the open air, causing many ponies to flinch in terror.

“Two of you are now dead!” the soldier announced. “If you value your lives and the lives of your families, I suggest you lie deadly still!”

Inside the barracks, Veira was convulsing with terror and anger. Her magic-prevention cap was still in place, leaving her with nothing to fight against the guards but her bare hooves.

And that is what she used.

Her eyes opened wide in anger, the whites of them turning blood red. She honed in on the nearest guard, creeping in a pouncing position. Many around her were shielding their children and keeping as far away as possible.

Some saw her approach and followed her lead. Veira watch the guard’s eyes shift their gaze away from her position. He had not seen her approach. She readied her stance, before pouncing on the guard. She grabbed his wings and snapped them, shattering the bones.

A Pegasus wings were a powerful tool, but were also incredibly sensitive to pain. The guard fell to the floor screaming in agony. Several other mares pounced on the remaining guards, disabling them as well.

Outside the barracks, the soldiers reacted to the shout, turning to face its source. Before they could correct their mistake, half of them had been shot by the rebel’s horns. The rest were immediately tackled in a struggle for control. Within moments, the guards were completely disabled, and the mares and fillies were free.

It took a few seconds to sink in, before the shouts and cries of joy rang out as families were happily reunited.

“Daddy!…DADDY!!!!!!” many of the children screamed running to their fathers. It took nearly five minutes for Archer to regain control of the scene; partially because he himself spent some time hugging his family tight enough to keep them from breathing.

“Everyone! EVERYONE! We need to get to the ship! Follow me!”

A loud cheer rang out as the men snapped to the front of the line ready to join the main fight for freedom, now armed with the reunion of their families. Many of the women, with their horn caps removed, also joined the group as rebel fighters.

The factory was quiet. All of the machines were currently off. Bake followed his team leader, a broad muscular Alicorn by the name of Hammer Hoof, through factory towards the shipyards.

They had only encountered a few guards and saw two possibilities; either they picked a great day, with fewer guards on duty, or they were waiting for us to fall into their trap. Hammer’s instincts told him to expect the trap.

As they reached the rear of the factory, he raised hoof, telling everypony to stay still.

“We should have hit some guards already,” he whispered. “I’d bet money they’re behind this door.” He pointed to the rear exit from the factory, where all the completed components were brought from the factory floor.

“Bake, take a team of ten around the long way,” he pointed to the group surrounding Bake. I’ll give you twenty minutes. Wait until you hear the signal, then burst in.”

Bake nodded, “What’s the signal?”

“I’ll make a racket that can be heard three towns over,” he explained. “Good enough?”

“Right,” Bake replied. They divided up and Bake led them around to the other side. It would take a lot more time this way. He hoped they could reach the second entrance in time.

To reach the other side, Bake needed to take his team back outside the front of the factory and circle around it to the back. They had never been back there and did not know what to expect.

“Keep an eye out,” Bake said to his team. “They could be watching this way to the factory as well.”

As they followed the border of the factory around, the path narrowed between the factory wall and the border wall to the outside of the camp. After a few minutes of trotting, they found their path completely blocked by a third brick wall. This one connected the two sides, resulting in a dead end.

“We need to get across this if we’re going to reach the other side in time,” Bake whispered. “I need a volunteer to be the first to go over and see what’s on the other side.”

Almost every pony was hesitant to be the first over the wall. Only one stepped forward; an Alicorn you would hardly expect. He was only as tall as a regular pony and twice as scrawny. But he stepped up and puffed out his chest as he whispered his reply.

“I will go. I have no family and am not very strong. At lease this way I can do something useful.”

Sugar Baker looked down at the scrawny pony. He nodded curtly. “Go,” he whispered. “And good luck!”

Reaching his hooves out, Bake lifted the Alicorn up and pushed him high enough to climb over the top. When reached the wall he sat up and looked around.

“No guards in sight this way!” he cried, excited at not becoming cannon fodder.

He leaned down to help the next Alicorn up over the wall. It took almost ten minutes to get everypony over the wall, leaving precious little time to get to the second entrance. The galloped as fast as they could. Bake was out in front, not seeing any additional obstructions until…

“Uhmf!”

He had collided with an invisible barrier. Panicked, he quickly waved to the volunteer again and lifted him up, but his head smushed into an invisible ceiling. A force field had been set up. Bake tried to run back the other way, only to be met with yet another force field. They were trapped. They would not be able to get to their target in time for the ambush. Bake slammed his hooves against the barrier in anger.

Hammer Hoof’s team was doomed.

“It’s about time,” Hammer whispered, nodding to his remaining teammates.

The team nodded together and raised their weapons. Their horns began to glow as an aura spread out from the tips, covering their ears.

Hammer plowed into the doors, bursting them open. His horn was already glowing and increasing in intensity. He released a blasting sound that shattered the windows as it rang out. The enemy within were forced to cover their ears as the intense screech rang out.

With the signal sent out and the enemies’ hooves busy covering their ears, the Alicorns charged into the room firing. Within seconds, almost twenty of the guards had been taken out.

But the remaining forty were able to recover from the screech. They began firing their weapons in a massive spread. The remaining rebel prisoners alive were dropping rapidly.

“Where in the buck is Bake!?” one of them shouted, ducking behind a large piece of equipment. “We’re getting slaughtered!”

Hammer was hidden behind a large control panel. He had just enough knowledge to figure out what it was for.

“I need that engineer!” he shouted out. “Is he still alive?”

Firing his gun wildly at the guards, Mac Firebird shouted out, “I AIN’T DEAD YET!”

“Well then get over here! I need you to work this confound it machine!”

Mac dodged from one place of cover to the next, several shots missing him by the skin under his fur.

“What in pony hell are you on about?” Mac screamed, as he dove at Hammer Hoof’s feet.

“I think this thing controls the crane above their heads,” he explained. “If we can lift up a piece of equipment, we can use it like a broom sweep on the guards!”

Mac looked at the crane and the console. There knobs switches and buttons everywhere, with no manual in sight.

“Well?” Hammer yelled, as he aimed his gun carefully and took out another soldier. “Can you do it?”

“Give me a minute would ya?” Mac yelled back. “This isn’t like a riding a bike. I need to think!”

“We don’t have a minute!”

Mac started playing with the knobs. The crane started to move left and right.

“That’s that there…” Mac though aloud.

“Hurry up!” Hammer screamed.

“Almost–”

“DROP YOUR GUNS!” a Pegasus soldier screamed into their ears. His gun and several others were mere inches from the back of the Alicorns’ heads.

Hammer Hoof carefully lowered his gun to the floor, swearing under his breath. As he looked to his left, he could see all of his teammates had been captured as well. The Pegasus soldiers had pulled the same trap as them, and succeeded.

The gunfire had ceased. The battle was lost.

“This ends now!” the same soldier called out, pushing the barrel of his gun directly into the back of Hammer’s skull. “Everyone on the count of three! One. Two. Thr–”

Glass shattered and gunshots fired out left and right. Chaos and pandemonium had broken out. However it was not the Alicorns that were the ones being shot. The guards were being riddled with holes and mowed down by a barrage of bullets from the sky.

The rebel fighters from the outside had dropped through the ceiling by hover cars. Their message had gotten through.

“Get to the ship!” one of the rebels screamed.

At once the tables had turned and the guards were on the run. Alicorns and rebel fighters broke through their lines and made a bee line for the ship. Within moments, Sugar Baker and his team, freed by the rebels, reunited with the group at the entrance to the ship.

“Everyone onboard!” Hammer screamed from the entrance.

“Sorry we’re a little late,” Bake said, rushing up to him. “Got hung up a bit. You and your men alright?”

“Hammer was about to tear into him, before a certain bearded Unicorn suddenly grabbed Bake by the shoulders.

“Didn’t start the revolution without me did you?” Star Swirl yelled out.

Bake turned to see his best friend in the flesh. “Star Swirl!” he shouted lifting the pony right off the ground and squeezing the life out of him with his hooves. “I got your message. There are no words to thank you, my friend.” Star’s eyes, bulging out of their sockets, was the only response he could return. “Are Ruby and the girls still safe?”

“Save the reunion for when we’re not dead!” Hammer shouted. Now come on already! We need to get this beast in the air before backup arrives!”

“They’re well hidden and safe”, Star quickly added before the two friends snapped back into the game. Alicorns and rebel fighters quickly spread throughout the ship. Not knowing which way to go, they fanned out looking for signs where they needed to go.

Mac Firebird found his way to Engineering, along with several more tech-oriented ponies. Others headed for armories and defense stations spread out over the ship. Those with no background knowledge headed for Digi-port terminals, to start bringing the ponies still on the ground, onboard.

Sugar Baker, Star Swirl, and Hammer Hoof made for the bridge of the ship. They eventually found it and began trying to turn every switch, knob, button, and blinking light they could find, to get the ship moving.

“Who’s the pilot?” Bake asked, noticing the empty pilot’s chair.

“You’re looking at him!” Star smirked as he took his seat.

“Um, Star…you’re a salespony, not a pilot!” Bake stated, sincerely doubting his friend’s ability.

“I told you. My company expanded. I picked up a few tricks while I was there!” Star replied matter-of-factly, as though he had just shown Bake a pilot’s license, which he did not.

Bake was starting to like this plan less and less by the minute. Everypony scrambled, but communication still had not been established.

Hammer took his seat in the captain’s chair. Switching on the ship’s intercom, he spoke out across the ship.

Attention ponies. We need to get this ship in the air as quickly as possible. Find

your assigned stations as quickly as you can. We need to get the engines and

shields working ASAP! And we’ll probably need weapons not that long after! All

stations report back when you are ready to go.

Bake had taken his seat at the sensors terminal. He had no experience with this at all. He had been allowed a bridge position because of his influence in getting the plan up and running, but he would need to learn a whole lot, very fast, to read the information on his screen.

He was not alone in this. Many of the positions were being filled by amateurs. They would be lucky not to shoot themselves out of the sky. As he looked at the lights and graphs blinking, beeping, and flashing, something stood out to him.

“Um…sir?” he questioningly called out to the now captain of the ship.

“What is it Bake?” he responded concentrating on star charts displayed on the main view screen.

“I think there’s a ship moving towards us,” he answered hesitantly. “I’m not quite sure, but I think it’s a Pegasus ship.”

His terminal was displaying the ship’s relative position within the city and all traffic around it. Hover-cars showed up in little gray specs. A larger blue dot with wings was rapidly getting closer to the red dot, which Bake took to mean this ship.

“Damn it!” Hammer hollered, slamming his hoof damn. “What’s their ETA?”

That information wasn’t displayed. Bake tried pressing the blue dot with his hoof. Instantly a bubble popped up with a bunch of information. It showed things like, the name of the approaching ship, its defenses, its closing distance, and its Time to Intercept’.

“Looks like six minutes!” He read out. “This says it’s a transport ship. So its defenses and weapons should be minimal.”

“With our shields down, even a transport ship could install a new sun roof in this ship!” Hammer grunted. Smashing his hoof into the intercom button, he yelled out, “SHEILD STATUS!”

After a moment of static, somepony finally answered. “Not for another hour, sir! These things need an initial charging for about an hour after the engines are started.”

“You’ve got five minutes!” Hammer yelled back.

“But sir, that’s impos–”

Hammer cut off the line and switched the channel to Engineering. “ENGINE STATUS!”

“Engines are started and we should be ready to move in about eight minutes!”

Hammer was not having a good day. “Mac, there’s going to be a hole in the ground where this ship used to be in less than five minutes. Get us moving!” Hammer cut the line again before Mac could respond.

Switching the channel back to the all-hooves, he spoke again to the crew.

Attention. The engines are online and power should be coming on for all systems.

Digi-port pads should be ready. Get our ponies up here now! Everypony manning

weapons, there’s a ship that’s going to be here in a few minutes. We won’t even

have shields up to protect us. It’s up to you to blast that enemy ship before they

rip us apart! Good luck everypony. We’re going to need it!

Closing the channel, Hammer sank into his chair. Under his breath, he muttered, “Perhaps today is a good day to die.”

Displayed on the view screen, the Pegasus ship could be seen making its way straight toward its target: them. Captain Hammer Hoof stared at the small dot as it gradually grew into a full-fledged Pegasus ship.

Shaped for both aerodynamic and spatial movement, the massive sight of a menacing wolf’s head bared down upon them. Its gaping mouth was a gauntlet of weaponry. The sensors on both sides twitched back and forth, listening to its prey. Its red eyes glowed with excitement, as it grew ever closer, To make the terrifying imagery complete, its engines created a tail of flame that bent and twisted with the moves of the ship.

The captain could do nothing but watch this flaming wolf’s head, preparing to devour its prey.

On the first pass, a massive wave of bullets fired in a line tearing across the ship. With no shields and no engines, the stationary and defenseless ship became riddled with bullet holes across its hull.

Bake stared at the ceiling as they heard the bullets ricocheting just above their heads.

“FIRE! FIRE!!!!!” the captain screamed into the intercom. Across the ship, weapon stations were coming online and Alicorns were firing off in every direction; many of which where nowhere near the enemy ship.

“USE THE DAMN TARGETING SYSTEMS!!!!!” he bellowed. “CONCENTRATE!!!”

The Pegasus ship veered around for another pass. This time the bullets were followed with an MEM missile. The pupils on the captain’s eyes narrowed as it stuck the ship.

The ship jolted from the blast sending many ponies flying. Systems across the ship were overloading, and fires started breaking out it key areas, including Engineering. The ponies grabbed extinguishers and quickly put out the fires. The flames were instantly sucked into the extinguishers removing the heat and oxygen to for it to burn.

Those who managed to hold their hoofing, attempted to use the targeting systems and fired back at the ship. The bullets simply bounced off of the other ships shields. They had done zero damage to the Pegasus battleship.

“DAMAGE REPORT!!!” the yelled out, returning to the chair he’d been launched from moments before. He hadn't even noticed the large gash across his face. He wiped the blood away as though it were nothing more than sweat.

One of the Alicorns from Engineering was the first to respond. “Sir, we were lucky!” The damage was to the secondary systems, which are now inoperative. Primaries are still online however.”

“That doesn’t sound lucky to me!” the captain rebutted. “What about getting this ship off the ground, how long?”

“We only need two minutes!” the pony replied.

“WE WON’T BE HERE IN TWO MINUTES!!!!!” the captain screamed back.

The Pegasus ship had veered around once again. It was getting ready to finish job, once and for all.

Behind the captain's chair, a large blue light suddenly started to dance around the bridge. Turning around to see the source, both the Captain Hammer Hoof and Sugar Baker stared in the direction of Star Swirl, who had been completely enveloped by the aura being generated from his horn.

As the aura swelled around him, only a single thought entered into Star’s mind: “Bowl”.

Just outside the ship, standing between them and the enemy, a massive blue bowl stood as guardian to the ship. As the Pegasus released another massive wave of bullets upon them, the bowl instantly maneuvered to intercept. The bullets flew straight into the bowl, their trajectories being scooped around, bending back along its walls, until they exited, aimed directly back at the very ship that had fired them. The bullets struck the shields in a massive wave that caused the shield strength to waver.

The Pegasus ship launched another MEM missile; this time, headed straight for the bridge. The bowl quickly moved to intercept and even altered its shape to once again reflect the weapon back to its original owner.

The MEM missile exploded on impact with the shields just over the weapons. The shields wavered again, allowing some of the explosion to penetrate the shields, directly into the wolf’s mouth. It exploded along with all of the ordinance within the enemy’s weapon systems. Secondary explosions started breaking out across the ship, heading straight towards its engines. At the moment the flames reached the wolf’s tail, a massive explosion blasted the ship completely out of the sky.

“WHAT IN PONY HELL WAS THAT!!!!????” Bake shouted at his friend, as Star's aura faded and he collapsed to the floor from exhaustion. Bake rushed over to help him.

“I…I don’t…know,” Star panted. “I just thought, ‘bowl’, and the rest kind of came together.

“Damn Star,” Bake said to him, “You’ve always wondered why you had a magic cutie mark. I guess we know now! What do you call that spell?”

Star sat back up as he gradually recovered. “My Pony-Latin is a bit rusty, but since it was essentially a ‘changing bowl’, I guess you’d call it an Amniomorphic spell.”

“Brilliant!” Bake replied smiling. “I’d be sure that one gets in the books, if we ever get to write any!” They both began laughing together.

“LADIES!” Captain Hammer Hoof yelled out to the pair of them, “Save the celebrations for when where not sitting still in the middle of a Pegasus prison camp!”

The captain switched on the intercom for Engineering again. “Engineering give me a report, and it better be ‘We’re ready to go!’” he commanded.

“Sir, YES!, we’re ready!” came the response.

“Finally,” the captain muttered, “Digi-Port teams, have we got everypony?”

“All Alicorns and rebels are aboard!”

“Star, I hope you can you still fly this thing!” the captain called out to him.

“Yes. I’m fine now,” Star replied taking his seat at the helm.

“Get us out of here!”

The ship shook heavily as it lifted off the ground. As it hovered over the remains of the camp, debris from areas of the ship struck started to fall to the ground. Without the shields, they couldn’t even break orbit for another hour, without risking being torn apart in the vacuum of space.

“Where to, Captain?” Star asked, navigating the ship as it started to ascend into the sky.

“We need a place to hide until the shields come up. I’d normally say hide in the clouds, but that’s exactly the one place Pegasi know best…I’ve got an idea. Head for Unity Park.”

“Sir?” Star replied, quizzically.

“They’re going to be looking for us in the sky. A massive ship in the sky is fairly easy to spot. But a stationary object in a park…their sensors will fool what their eyes could have easily seen!”

“I-um…okay sir,” Star said, as he set course for the park.

Entering the park, they settled over a field just big enough for the ship to hover between the trees. The trees weren’t even close to hiding the ship. Any idiot for miles would be able to see it with their eyes; but not their sensors. On the ground, they were nothing more than a large hill in the middle of the park.

“Now we play the waiting game and see if this gambit pays off,” said the captain.

Harmon Pimsey watched the battle unfold before his eyes. He thought for sure the rebel-captured ship would have been destroyed, yet it was the Pegasus armed battleship that was in fact destroyed. He shuddered to think of how he was going to report this.

“Well, private…” Commander Hirkain grunted, “has the ship been destroyed?”

“Um…well…you see, sir…” Harmon puttered.

“Spit it out already!” the commander screamed.

“The Alicorns destroyed the P.B.S. Shadow. We don’t know the current whereabouts of the rebel's ship.”

“WHAT!!!!!!????” he shouted. His voice carried through the walls echoing across the building. “Explain to me, if you would please, Private, how in the buck did a bunch of rebel prisoners not only manage to steal a transport ship, but destroy a fully armed battleship with NO SHIELDS!?”

Harmon could not think of a good way to respond. He in fact did see the mysterious bowl that reflected every shot, destroying the ship, but he could hardly say that. Instead he attempted to fabricate a story on the fly.

“Well…you see… I-um I…I saw a fluctuation in the Shadows shields, just before it was struck by a wave of bullets from the prisoners’ ship. They must have slipped through and  struck a vital system, which caused a cascade throughout the ship. It was a rather lucky shot actually.”

Harmon’s eyes had been bouncing in every which direction as he spoke, unable to look the Commander Hirkain in the eye.

The commander was not convinced, however. “That was not a lucky shot, Private. That was a pony damned miracle! And I don’t believe in miracles. It would seem we’ve got a saboteur in our ranks, Private. I want an investigation completed YESTERDAY!!!”

“Yes sir!” Pimsey replied, saluting.

“AND FIND THAT BUCKING SHIP!!!!!”

“We’ve arrived at the planet, Chancellor,” Captain Barnegie announced as the E.P.S. Venture settled into high orbit.

“Well Captain...” Chancellor Puttinghoof instantly replied back, on the edge of his chair, “what is the status of the colony?”

“…No pony is alive on the planet sir. The colony is gone.”

It was the chancellor’s turn to become enraged, as screamed and swore. It took nearly ten minutes for him to calm himself down and speak again.

“Tell me Captain, was the colony destroyed by the same phenomena that destroyed Maretropolis?” Again the chancellor waited on baited breath.

“…Sensors are picking up the same overwhelming magical signature,” the captain responded, his throat clogged as he tried to speak. I-It is identical to the first disaster, Chancellor.”

Onboard the Venture, all of the officers on the bridge were conducting every conceivable test known to ponykind. It was the youngest of the group who noticed it first.

“Sir, I think I’ve got something,” the young pony said.

“Try to be a little more specific, Crewpony,” the captain’s initial response. He was more focused on the particle readings from the more senior officers.

“I found some debris directly above the colony,” the crewpony restated.

This finally caught the captain’s full attention. Quickly calling back to the Chanceller, the captain said, "Just a moment, Chancellor, we may have some additional information." He closed the channel.

Turning to the crewpony, he asked “What debris? What ship does it belong to?”

The Earth pony scrambled to get the computer to identify something specific amongst the debris. Finally, it honed in on a cannon, floating amongst the wreckage.

“I think it’s Pegasus sir,” he called out. “I think it’s was one of their battleships.”

Captain Barnegie realized the horror of what that could mean. “Be absolutely sure, crewpony. Is it a Pegasus battleship, or possibly one off the Pegasus transports that were converted for Earth pony use?”

The more weapons he found, the less the crewpony could say that it was a transport. Finally his computer matched a piece of debris with the database of known Pegasus ships.

“Sir, this was the P.B.S. Loyalty sir. This was no transport ship.”

The captain started to sweat. Surely it was a coincidence that a Pegasus Battleship was destroyed hovering right over the colony and violating its air space. However, his second-in-command would not allow such notions to live long.

“Captain, the debris has the same magical energy pattern as the weapon. It would appear, they were successful in destroying the colony, before the weapon overloaded and destroyed them as well.”

That was the final piece of evidence. The captain was left with no alternative explanation. Sitting back in the captain’s chair, he contacted the chancellor again.

“What have you learned?” the chancellor asked, his frantic thoughts running in every direction through his mind.

“Chancellor…It…It was the Pegasi,” Captain Barnegie spoke delicately. “We found debris of a Pegasus battleship that has the same signature as the weapon. It looks like something went wrong with their ship and was destroyed, along with the colony.”

Chancellor Puttinghoof’s mind finally snapped. The blood rose up through his body, up into his eyes turning red enough, one might have expected them to burst into flames. What little laughter the chancellor had left, was now gone forever.

“Captain,” he started, trying to speak with clarity and control, “I want you to get back here as fast as you can. Spread the word to every ship in the fleet to return to this planet. We are going to evacuate every last living Earth pony off this dead rock. Tell everypony that if they encounter any Pegasus ship, of any kind, they are to destroy it on sight. As of this moment, WE  ARE  AT  WAR!!!!!”

War Zone

War Zone

“Captain, shields are finally online!” the voice shouted out over the intercom. Captain Hammer Hoof was too cautious to smile yet. With the armament of nothing more than a transport ship, a hull held together by shields alone, and a massive ship hidden in plain view for all to see, he would hold off any celebrations just yet.

Switching to Engineering, the captain called out, “Engineering, shields are online, are we ready?”

“Engines are still operational, sir,” one of the ponies in Engineering replied.

“Good,” said the captain. Turning to Star Swirl, he ordered, “Take us up.”

The engines revved up as the ship started to shake. With the shields in place, the pieces of the ship were held together and lifted together off of the ground. As they rose up into the sky, the endless cloud line rapidly came upon them.

“Once we’re in those clouds,” the captain called out, “it’ll be open season on us. We’d best be ready.”

The dark clouds surrounded the ship, covering it in darkness. They were so thick, only their sensors could direct them. Without them, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a large pocket of black fog and an approaching ship.

They climbed higher and faster, accelerating to breach the cloud layer and reach escape velocity. The clouds grew whiter and brighter as they neared the other side. They watched in awe as they breached through the cloud line.

Three Pegasus battleships stood hovering just above the clouds, surrounding them. Bake had not detected the ships on the sensors. Three pairs of glowing red eyes glared at them, moving in to strike.

One hour earlier…

“Get this bag on the ship too!” the chancellor yelled out to Sunbeam as he frantically tried to collect every last possession in the office. Several heavy bags hung on either side of Sun, including one wrapped up in her tail and one dangling from her mouth.

“Rgght Awwy, Srrr,” she muffled back, as she started to buckle under the weight.

The chancellor had decided to assemble the Earth pony ships into a fleet prior to evacuating. The chancellor really wanted to buy some time to try to keep as much of his possessions as he could. From antiques to trinkets, to the medals he had awarded to himself as chancellor. Sun felt that if they tried to get any more of his junk onboard, they wouldn’t have room left for ponies.

Once she digi-ported up to the ship, she quickly dumped the bags in a pile, with no regard for how ‘delicate’ they might have been. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she noticed her comm. band blinking at her. In all the rush, she hadn’t realized Clover had tried five times to call her in the last fifteen minutes.

Calling back, Clover picked up as though she had been staring at the band on her hoof.

“Sun, finally! I’ve been trying to reach you!” Clover shouted into her ear.

“Yeah, it’s um..been a little crazy here today,” Sun glumly replied.

“Well, we need your help, immediately if possible!” Clover started explaining. “The Alicorns rebelled this morning. We were able to get a small rebel force to help out, but they’ve only got the one ship they stole which can’t even break orbit until they get their shields up. Are there any ships you could send to defend?”

Sun had all but forgotten about the rebellion. Tears started to well up in Sun’s eyes as the thoughts of the disaster returned to her mind. “I’m afraid they’re going to be a bit busy now, Clover…” she tried to explain. Sun regaled the story of her colony being destroyed and the destroyed Pegasus ship found at the scene, resulting in a declaration of war against the Pegasi.

“I don’t believe it,” Clover said as plainly as though Sun was telling her about a pony who may have merely stolen a bag of oats.

“What?” Sun said, startled from the response. “What do you mean, ‘you don’t believe it?’”

“I don’t think the Pegasi are capable of such a weapon,” Clover tried to explain. “They may have powerful ships, but that level of magic is well beyond them. Even the Unicorns can’t have possibly made the weapon. It’s just like the Maretropolis disaster. Somepony’s attacking us, and all we can do is to blame each other!”

Clover’s explanation just wouldn’t sit in Sun’s stomach so easily. “Look, I’m terrified of the idea the Pegasi can cause such damage, but even if they’re not responsible, their ship had no business being there! At the very least, they are involved!”

Clover had no time to argue. “Well then, since you are now at war with the Pegasi, would you convince the chancellor to help out the Alicorns? He probably needs all the allies he can get!”

“Okay,” Sun replied, simply. “I’ll talk to him about it. I’m actually supposed to be trying to get you to suggest an alliance with the Unicorns.”

“Consider it done,” Clover said.

“Where’s the rebel ship now?” Sun asked.

“Center of Unity Park in the clearing. They’re going to try to escape in about forty-five minutes from now. Please hurry.”

“Will do, Clover. Bye.”

“Thanks, Sun. Bye.”

Getting back onto the digi-port pad, Sun transported back to try and recruit some help.

“GET OUR SHIELDS BACK!!!!!” Captain Hammer Hoof screamed.

“The shields are offline!” Bake answered. “We’ve got Alicorns all over the ship generating their own personal shields to cover the hull, but they won’t last long!”

“Pilot! Can you get us back into the clouds?”

Star was gripping the controls on his terminal tightly enough to rip them clean off. “Don’t worry. We’ll be in the clouds in a minute… falling...in twenty thousand pieces!!!”

“Come on! We’ve got to be able to do some–”

“Sir, I’m picking up more ships approaching fast!” Bake cut across.

“OH COME ON!!!!!!” an exacerbated captain yelled in vain.

“Wait! They’re Earth Pony ships! The trying to call us!!!” Bake cried .

“Well put them on already!”

Bake put the connection up on the view screen. An Earth pony captain, by the name of Skip Seabird appeared on the screen.

“Need a little help?” Captain Seabird asked jovially.

“I’d say a whole lot, Captain!” Captain Hammer Hoof answered back. Within an instant three Earth pony ships had descended into the battle firing on the Pegasi ships.

“If we survive this,” Hammer called out into the line. “I owe you one damn bucking good drink!”

“Make it Alicorn Ale. I’ve heard that stuff can strip a rainbow of its color!”

“Done! Now let’s get this show on the road.” Hammer cheered, returning to the fight with a vengeance.

“All weapons fire!” He shouted to the crew. “Get my shields back! Stay in line with the Earth pony ships!

The Alicorn ship turned back from the cloud line following the lead Earth pony ship.

Captain Seabird shouted out, “Aim for those blasted things’ ears! Knock out their sensors, and they’ll have to shoot from the hip!”

Targeting the lead Pegasi ship, they converged upon it, firing wave after wave of bullets at their sensors. The shields grew weaker and weaker, before fracturing. Allow the bullets to obliterate the sensors on the lead ship.

“YES!!!!” Captain Seabird shouted, as he watched the lead Pegasi ship veer off with no sensors. The disorientation caused a MEM missile they launched to strike another Pegasi ship, instead of its original target.

“Follow their lead! All ships, fire a MEM missile at the second ship. Target their Engines!” Captain Seabird commanded the fleet. Three more missiles exploded together on the second ship. The shields were no match, and the engines were completely destroyed. The ship fell out of the sky into the clouds.

All cheers were quickly squelched as the lead Pegasi ship appeared to be attempting to ram the Alicorn ship. The three Earth pony ships tried to stop the ship, but failed to notice the third Pegasi ship’s position.

The lead ship, rather than ramming the Alicorn ship, fired a MEM missile behind him into one of the Earth pony ships. Simultaneously, the other Pegasi ship fired from below up into the same ship.

This combination was enough to rupture the hull of the ship causing it to begin bursting fire from its innards. As the ship exploded, the shock wave sent all of them flying apart in opposite directions.

Trying to regain control of the ship, Star Swirl swerved around the debris and spun back up from the clouds. The ship was shaking badly, it was now held together by little more than glue and bandages, at this point, but his was the first ship to recover.

As Star veered the ship around, it came face-to-face with the lead Pegasi ship. Star’s eyes narrowed and glowed a second time. Rather than a bowl, a massive blue lance appeared; long and thin, sharp as a needle aimed straight between the eyes of the lead ship. At once, it thrust straight through, completely ignoring any shields.

Onboard the lead Pegasus ship, the captain saw a flash of light, but did not see what had happened.

“Damage Report!” he yelled out looking around the bridge.

“Um…Sir…” one of the Pegasi soldiers hesitantly tried to inform the captain. Pointing his hoof towards the captain’s chest, he said, “L-l-look!”

As the captain looked down, he could see a small hole in his chest, about the size of a bit coin. It was so clean and so fast, he hadn’t even felt it. He looked behind him in his chair. The hole had gone through the chair, through the wall, and unbeknownst to him, through the entire ship and straight out the back.

As his eyes blurred, and death neared, “Ah buck–” was all he had time to get out, before the entire ship exploded.

With the last Pegasi ship completely outgunned, it quickly retreated from the battle.

“You did it Star!” Bake shouted out merrily. “What in the blazes is going on with you today?” he asked, as he went to Star’s side. “Star?”

He looked over to find his friend, who had gone completely unconscious on top of the terminal. “Star!!!” He tried to wake him up, but to no avail. “Wake the buck up, you purple bearded bastard!”

Realizing a very big problem, Captain Hammer Hoof quickly got on the horn and called the lead Earth pony ship. “Captain, we’ve just lost our only pilot! You got one to spare?”

It took a second for Captain Seabird to respond. “Yes. I’ll send him over, what’s your destination?”

“No idea,” Hammer said honestly. “Our plan was to escape, then find shelter somewhere.”

“Well today really is your lucky day. We’ve just declared war on the Pegasi. We need all the allies we can get. Care to join the fight?”

“Sounds good to me,” Hammer answered back.

Before they closed the call, Bake suddenly spoke out. “We’ve got an injured Unicorn. He needs treatment from one of their doctors. Is their anything you can do to get him to one?”

Captain Seabird looked over to his right. Sunbeam stood off to the side. She nodded, “I can take them to Clover. She can get them help.”

Returning to the view screen, Captain Seabird replied, “Have them digi-port to our ship. We’ll get them to safety.”

Bake took Star over his back, and carried him to the nearest digi-port pad. As he laid him down on the pad, Star started to stir.

“Uh…uh…what happened?” he asked in a whisper.

“You’ll be alright,” Bake said. “You used a little too much juice is all. You’re going with the Earth ponies to get a lift to a Unicorn doctor.”

“What about the fight? You need a pilot.”

“That’s all taken care of,” Bake said. “Your job now is to get better and take care of my girls. Keep them safe. When it’s safe to move them, I’ll reach out to you. Stay safe, pal.”

“No…I…need to…”

Before Star could finish, Bake started the transport. Star disappeared off the pad.

“I have had just about enough!” Commander Hirkain hollered as he slammed his hoof across, sending his cup of hot cider flying. "Private, get the ship ready. We’re breaking orbit.”

The commander pulled out his screenpad, and began recording a message for transmission to the fleet:

Attention all Pegasi in the fleet and the colony: As of this moment, the Earth ponies

have declared war on the Pegasi. After the kindness and the hope we have given

them, they have decided to throw it back in our faces.

Now, two of our ships have been lost. We honor those brave soldiers who showed

what true loyalty in the face of danger means. We did not start this war, but we will

end it. It is time for the other races to realize that the Pegasi superiority is not a

slogan, but a cold hard truth. We will stop any ship, any pony, who tries to stop us

from achieving our destiny; our rightful place at the top.

The commander finished his transmission and sent it out across the stars to all of the Pegasi ponies. Turning to Private Pimsey, he said, “See Pansy, that is why I had those ship modifications done to the transports. I knew those good-for-nothings wouldn’t stay peaceful forever. They don’t understand loyalty like we do. Only Pegasi know the true meaning of loyalty. Isn’t that right, Private?”

Harmon had to take a rather large gulp to remove the lump in his throat. “Y-y-yes of course, Sir!” He saluted and puffed out his chest in an effort to look like a perfect soldier, with little success.

“We will show them all, that disloyalty carries a heavy price,” the commander said, as a large crooked smile broke out across his face.

A Breath of Fresh Air

A Breath of Fresh Air

“Miss. Julep?” a yawning Luna came down the stairs. “Can I have some juice?”

Mint Julep had been staring out the window. A hobby she started ever since marshal law had been declared. She would stare out into space nervously, waiting for bad things to happen.

Turning her gaze away, she looked down at the tired little filly and smiled. “Of course you can dear. Let me get started on some breakfast for everyone.”

Mint went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was nearly empty. Perishable items were almost nonexistent now. The only thing in there was a bottle of what looked like juice. It was powdered of course. But it contained enough vitamins and minerals to be just as healthy as the real thing. She pulled it out and went to the cupboards to get the rest of the dwindling supply of dehydrated and powdered foods.

Luna took her seat at the table, while a second Alicorn filly came down the stairs. As Celestia came into the kitchen, she looked around hoping to see Star Swirl.

“He’s not back just yet, deary,” Mint answered her unspoken question.

Celestia frowned and slumped into a chair, while breakfast was being made. Star had only left them with Mint Julep a few days ago, but Celestia missed him. He was always there to save them. With both him and her father gone, who would protect them?

“Good morning girls,” Ruby said, entering the kitchen. “Good morning Mint.”

“Good morning,” the three ponies answered back. One sang it back, one yawned it back, and the third moped it back to Ruby.

“Cheerful bunch,” Ruby commented, taking her own seat and the table. “Mint, that smells delicious.”

“Oh…well, you know…it’s just powdered eggs is all,” she replied embarrassingly.

She was flipping the pan with her magic, enveloping it with an aura whose color matched her name. She tried to make things a little more entertaining, by flipping the eggs hi into the air, but the eggs did not make it back to the pan.

A large pounding on the front door sent the eggs, and the frying pan, crashing to the floor.

For a moment, they all looked at each other. Ruby jumped into action, she held her hoof up to her mouth, calling for quiet. Waving her hoof she instructed Luna and Celestia to slowly get up from their chairs and make their way up to the attic.

Mint brushed herself off quickly and made her way to the front door. She jolted as a second large banging came to the door. Once the girls and their mother were out of sight, she unlocked the door and opened it. As she feared, two soldiers were staring back at her.

“Wh-wha…What can I do for you, gentleponies?” she asked meekly.

One of the soldiers took out his screenpad to read from.

As of now, the Earth ponies have declared war on the Pegasi. We have taken control of

Capital City and all ponies herein will now be under the marshal law of the Earth ponies.

It took Mint a minute to notice the stallions before her did not have wings and were not in fact Pegasus soldiers.

Any Unicorns are free to remain or leave if they wish. Any Pegasi have forty-eight hours

to leave the city. Any remaining will have a curfew of 8:00AM-7:00PM and have to submit

for registration. Any Pegasus caught outside after curfew will be considered an enemy

threat and taken as a prisoner of war.

To any Alicorns you may be harboring, they may consider themselves liberated and are

free to stay or leave as they please.

For all–

“Really?” Luna called out from the attic. Ruby’s panic caused her to nearly tackle Luna for calling out. It could have been a trap, and she had just given them all away now.

The second soldier smiled and called back, “Yes, really.”

Ruby released Luna in shock. Celestia and Luna slowly came down the stairs and together they poked their noses around the corner of the stairwell, looking at the soldiers. They were in fact, Earth ponies as they claimed.

“It’s okay, little ones,” the soldier said again. “You can come out. You’re safe now.”

The two Alicorn fillies, followed by their mother slowly came out into full view. The first soldier was starting to get flustered.

“Come on already,” he muttered to his partner. "We’ve got a lot of houses to get to, let’s get on with it already.”

Continuing his speech he read out again,

All Earth pony stallions and any Unicorn volunteers are hereby drafted to fight against

the Pegasus scourge. Any Earth pony or Unicorn mares may volunteer to fight as well.

Those remaining who choose not to fight are hereby drafted to assist in the factories

to support the troops.

Any children will be escorted at the start of the shift to daycare/schooling. They will be

cared for and protected while you work for the cause.

Any questions will need to wait until you report to your designated meeting area. Here

is a copy of what was just read to you, along with where and when to report.

He pulled an old-fashioned paper copy from his satchel and gave it to Mint. She took it, with a flummoxed expression on her face as to what just happened. As the two soldiers turned to go to the next house, Luna smiled and waved at them. The friendlier soldier smiled and winked at her as they walked off.

As Mint closed the door, she looked back at the girls who started jumping and laughing and celebrating for the first time in months. Tears streaked down Ruby’s cheeks. She only hoped such a miracle might extend to bringing her husband back to her.

“I don’t understand your Highness,” Chancellor Puttinghoof spoke delicately to the Unicorn princess, “How can you possibly side with the Pegasi!?”

The chancellor was speaking to the princess from a view screen aboard the E.P.S. Destination. Princess Platinum was on board the R.U.S. Prominence.

“I have not sided with anypony,” the Princess explained leisurely. “It was your races who decided to war with one another, not the Unicorns. We shall remain neutral in this conflict.”

The chancellor’s face was starting to turn red. “We didn’t DECIDE to go to war! THEY DESTROYED OUR ENTIRE COLONY!!!!!” Trying to calm himself down again, he quickly added, “That Pegasus commander is nuts! He’s gone after the Alicorns and now the Earth ponies! What makes you think you won’t be next!?”

“You and the commander have always conflicted with one another,” she explained. “I do not share this problem.”

“We need your help!” the chancellor cried. “If you won’t fight, at least help us build up our defenses. Please! Show some generosity!”

The princess’s more cavalier demeanor turned rigid. Some of her beauty had instantly chipped off her. “Allow me to share with you something I was taught long ago: Generosity is a weakness that can cause a kingdom to fall. I cannot help you, Chancellor.”

“But–”

The princess had closed the connection.

“But…”

The chancellor sank into his chair, his face growing pale. Without their help, the Earth ponies could very well become extinct.

“Girls put your coats on!” Ruby chased after her daughters, who were too busy trying to get outside to be bothered by something as trifle as a coat.

As soon as Luna grabbed the door and pulled it open wide, the horrific chill of the frigid air caught up with her. Shutting the door quickly, she looked back to her mother to put on the coat.

Once both of the girls were dressed for the extreme cold, they hopped outside and instantly slid on the ice, straight into a massive pile of snow. Their imprints pressed into the mound. Shaking off the snow, Celestia took a breath of the icy air. She was expecting a breath-freshening relief, but nearly choked on it.

The air was stale. It had a metallic taste to it. It felt heavy to the young filly. Coughing and trying to breathe, she eventually calmed down and breathed normally.

Luna didn’t seem to mind. She was too busy playing in the snow and jumping around. Celestia looked around the neighborhood. It was eerily quiet. No cars in the air. Only one car off in the distance was parked on the road.

The roads were only clear thanks to the snow processors in the ground that would melt and evaporate the snow as it fell. At least one processor in the road seemed to have broken down. A pile of snow, as tall as three cars, created a massive barrier.

The trees were the worst sight for Celestia. She looked at the branches. There were no leaves. Many of the branches had long since died and fallen to the ground. The trunks were turning black.

Trees were the only thing that remained of plants on the street. No bushes, no vines, not even weeds would grow anymore. Celestia had enough schooling to understand exactly why the air was so difficult to breathe.

Shaking the depressing thought from her mind, she put on a smile for Luna, who was lying on the ground making snow ponies. Laughing, Celestia plopped herself down into the snow and joined her little sister.

After only ten minutes, both ponies had become winded and needed to rest and get back inside where they could breathe easier. Shaking the snow off of their coats, they headed back to the front door.

Just as Celestia was about to close the door, she noticed a hover car descending down in front of the house. A Unicorn emerged and turned to thank the driver. It took a few seconds for Celestia to notice the familiar purple beard.

“STAR SWIRL!!!!!” she screamed, running back into the snow, nearly tackling the still recovering Unicorn.

“Hey there-oof!” he called back just as the young Alicorn collided into him in a hug. Tears streaked down her face. Luna, Ruby, and Mint were right behind, welcoming his return.

“Perhaps we should get inside before we all get sick!” Star recommended.

After bringing the welcoming crew back into the house, they were able to have a little warmer greeting.

“Where did you go?” “What happened?” “What about this war?” “Did you see Sugar?”

Questions were shouted at Star from all directions.

“Okay, okay,” he said waving his hooves to simmer the noisy audience. “Calm down everypony. I will explain all that’s happened recently. Firstly, yes Ruby. I found Bake. He’s healthy and thrilled to know you’re all okay. He’s currently onboard a former Pegasus ship now commanded by the newly freed Alicorns.”

Ruby fell into her chair with an exhausted sigh of relief.

“He desperately wanted to see you girls,” he continued, “but now that he’s free, he’s trying to make sure you have a place to go when the war is over.”

He continued to regale his story in a more filly-friendly manner over a small dinner. After the girls had gone to sleep, Star was able to answer some of the more grim questions.

“The Unicorns treated my magical injuries, but they are refusing to help fight against the Pegasi.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Mint yelled a little too loudly. Ruby quickly motioned for her to lower her voice. In a softer tone Mint whispered, “As a Unicorn ready to fight, I am mortified by the princess’s decision. It’s simply outrageous!”

“Her assistant is working on the princess. Hopefully she’ll be able get her to come around before it’s too late.

“Meanwhile, I found out that the Earth ponies, and the newly formed Alicorn Fighting Force, have taken control of four of the work camps and ship factories. Many of the Alicorns have agreed to stay on the factory lines and help create more ships in exchange for better food and being able to go home to their families. Others opted to join the fight.

“Right now, there is constant fighting along controlled territory borders and in orbit of the planet. Many lands are still under Pegasus control and fighting back. We’ve already lost control of Neighbraska, and we’ve lost some Earth pony ships. We have two Alicorn controlled ships at the moment, but Bake’s ship is in desperate need of repairs.”

“They can still fight well, Ruby!” he quickly added after seeing her worrisome expression spreading rapidly across her face. “In the meantime, we really need the Unicorns to join the fight. The Pegasus military might is a strong one; much greater than we can manage, if we want to win this war.”

The tension in the air was thick with concern and doubt with all that was going on. The three adults simply sipped their tea in silence, as they thought about the road ahead.

Unicornia Colony, 2300 hours:

Professor Astro gazed through his telescope up at the new star configuration. As an astronomer, he could not help but be awed by seeing the stars all moved around: old constellations seen from different angles; new constellations painting new pictures on the massive black canvas; thousands of stars, that would never have been visible on the bright and busy planet Origin, shined brilliantly across the night sky.

The professor jotted down every little observation, drew map after map of the different configurations. He panned his telescope out across the horizon, before something caught his eye.

Not sure what he saw, he attempted to search for it again.

“There you are!” he said aloud to the empty room. Focusing the telescope, a peculiar phenomenon came into view. Stars were blurring around a massive sphere, as though somepony was holding up an enormous glass lens in front of them.

“What in this new world could you possibly be?”

He jotted down the location and the time and drew a small sketch of the lensing effect he witnessed and made a note to see if it would still be there the following night.

Rogue World

Rogue World

“Your Majesty, would it not be better to assist the Earth ponies help end the war before too many lives are lost?” Clover tried to reason with the princess.

“As I have said before, Clover, we cannot involve ourselves in things that matter not to us.”

“But–”

“I will speak no more on the matter,” the princess said with a finality that Clover would never dare try to fight. “Now, how go the preparations for father’s transport to the colony?”

“He is very weak, your highness,” Clover answered allowing the topic to change. “We will need to use a medi-ship to get the king there.”

“Do whatever is necessary to ensure my father’s safety,” she instructed. “And make sure every possible precaution is taken.”

“Yes, your Majesty. I will see it done.” Clover bowed before leaving the princess to head for the bridge where she could arrange for the king’s transportation to Unicornia colony.

“GET US OUT OF HERE!!!!!” Captain Nova hollered.

The whole rebel scout ship Unison lurched as another blast impacted into their shields. Several ponies were thrown from their posts to the floor. Sparks flew in every direction.

The helmspony jumped back to his station looking for an escape root.

“Sir!” he yelled back across the din. “The Bathmorda nebula is four million kilometers ahead!”

From the view screen, the massive pink cloud was slowly growing larger as they approached.

“Are you crazy?” was the captain’s reply. “No pony who’s ever gone into that nebula has ever been seen or heard from again!”

Howeverm, as he said this, another volley burst through the shields causing massive damage. A fire broke out on the bridge. Two unicorns grabbed their extinguishers to remove the flames.

“Head for the nebula!” the captain ordered, having a swift change of heart.

The ship made straight for the massive cloud and as it entered, electrical flashes started coating the outside hull. The Pegasus battleship pursuing, immediately followed them into the nebula. They too began experiencing the same lightning-like surges around them.

“Sir, the nebula is composed entirely of Monoceros particles!” one of the ponies announced from his terminal. “This massive amount of magical energy is overpowering our engines. They’re going to explode!!!”

“SHUT THEM DOWN!!!!!” the captain screamed.

“We can’t! They’re not responding!”

The captain swore loudly. Looking for any possible alternative, he gazed around the room from one pony to the next, only to see nothing but empty and scared faces. He closed his eyes as the surge built up around them.

The ship jerked as another MEM missile hammered into them.

“SIR!!!?” the helmspony stared at his screen, dumbstruck. “The engines; they’re offline! The Pegasi knocked them out!”

Captain Nova opened his eyes and quickly looked at the view screen. The electric pulses had ceased around the ship. However, they were still continuing to build up around the Pegasus ship.

At once, their engines exploded in a bright flash that spread across the ship until the entire battleship was burst apart into nothing more than bits of debris.

With the energy levels around the ship returning to normal with their engines down, the ship had emerged from the border in tact.

“All stations, report!” the captain ordered over the intercom.

“Engines are down and won’t be back on for several days,” the engineer reported. “We’ve got fires on several levels that are being put out as we speak. We were lucky!”

“Infirmary?”

“We’ve got our hooves full here, Captain,” the doctor replied. “If you got some extra pairs of hooves that ponies can lend, send them our way.”

“Right away,” said the captain. “Helm, anything on sensors?”

“No ships sir,” he replied, “but there appears to be a planet not too far from here.”

“You mean a planetary system?” the captain asked questioningly.

“No sir. Just a planet, no sun; a large planet with two moons.”

“A rogue planet? That’s pretty rare. It wouldn’t be a great place to live but are there any resources we might be able to use?”

“Actually, Sir,” the helmspony tried to explain. “There’s life; and oxygen.”

“But that’s impossible. There’s no heat!” the captain argued.

“I think it’s the Monoceros particles, Sir. The planet appears to be one massive magical object.”

“Hmm,” the captain pondered. “Let me know when the engines are repaired. This could be just what we’ve been looking for.”

“So where might you be tonight, my little friend, hmm?” Professor Astro pondered aloud in front of his telescope.

“Ah ha! There you are.” As he focused the lens on the mysterious object, he could just make out the edge of it, where the stars in the background were blurred or bent around. Using his magic, he lifted a pen and jotted more notes into his notebook.

“Interesting. I’ve narrowed your distance to just above high orbit. You were a spot on the wall stuck in position yesterday, but today, you appear to be moving in orbit…very interesting.”

The excited astronomer kept one eye diligently on his telescope and the other watching his pen scribble notes away as fast as it could. A cool breeze blew through his window, causing a curtain to knock over a small vase. He hadn’t even noticed. And the coolness felt practically warm compared to the chills he experienced on the homeworld.

Written in his notebook, he had noted the location of the object each night over the last three nights. When the object was observed moving, the velocity was written as well. Theories and hypotheses were scribbled every which way proposing what the phenomenon could be.

One such note wrote, ‘a stellar lens’, while another scribbled, ‘orbiting gas pocket. Way in the corner of the page and crossed out, he had written, ‘invisible ship’. However, such an idea was beyond anypony’s capability, and therefore was not really a valid theory.

As the telescope followed the moving object, a glimmer of white had appeared. The glimmer steadily grew larger, until it split into seven smaller lights.

“Ah another transport group must be due in,” he said, “though quite unusual for so many ships together at one time. They must be some VIP’s. …Hmm… I wonder…”

Turning his attention back to the object, it had suddenly sprung to life. It was moving at such a rapid rate that it was becoming difficult for the high school astronomy teacher’s little telescope to keep up. But it was clear as day where it was heading.

“It can’t be…” he spoke with sudden realization. Looking back down at his notebook at the crossed out words, he said to himself, “I’ve got to warn somepony! But how do I warn them!? Who do I contact!!?”

With nothing more he could do than to watch, he gazed through his scope at the fleet of ships approaching the colony. A large beam pulsed out from the mysterious object, straight into the cluster of ships. Not a sound could be heard in the vacuum of space as a small flash appeared in the night and burning bits of debris spread across the sky.

From the naked eye, it had looked like nothing more than shooting stars from a small meteor had appeared in a vibrant and exciting display of fireworks.

“Were on the surface, Captain,” the Pegasus rebel spoke into his comm. band. “My screen pad is telling me that there’s enough oxygen and the air isn’t toxic.”

“Glad to hear it. Keep me informed,” the captain’s voice echoed out over the comm.

After a slight hesitation, the Pegasus twisted his helmet until the air inside pushed its way through into the open air. He took the tiniest whiff of it. There was a slight charcoal aroma hovering, but with an almost sweet taste radiating from the local flora.

Nodding to the rest of his team, they too removed their helmets and adjusted to the unique sensation of the planet’s atmosphere. Together they looked out into the dark woods before the Pesgaus, Unicorn, and two Earth pony rebels.

With no sunlight, the forest was pitch-black. Even the moon that faced them was nothing more than a black circle in the night sky. Without their flashlights, they would not have been able to even see the hooves in front of their faces.

The only source of light was the orange glow coming from what looked like an active volcano roughly one hundred kilometers from their location. Strange growling sounds emanated from within.

“Probably just the volcano, clearing its throat,” said the Pegasus.

“I never heard a volcano make a noise like that before,” one of the Earth ponies said looking at the mountain.

“Do you think it’s going to erupt while we’re here?” a nervous Unicorn asked.

The Pegasus, as leader of the team, tried to get everypony to focus on their tasks. “I highly doubt it, but until we get more information on it, we probably shouldn’t set up any permanent residencies just yet.

“Now let’s get a move on. We need to scan the area and see if this place will work as a staging area. It’s perfect for hiding from Pegasus patrols, and there may be food we can gather.”

Together, with the lights set to beam out into the dark forest, they searched for edible food and any potential threats.

It was nearly thirty minutes before anything of interest occurred. The second Earth pony noticed it first. Two pairs of glowing green eyes appeared to be following them. He waved the flashlight in the direction of the eyes, but they disappeared.

“Sir, I think there may be something watching us,” he whispered.

The Pegasus looked over in the direction he was pointing. There seemed to be nothing more than a pile of dead wood.

“Some small critter probably stepped on one of those branches and spooked you,” he said. “I wouldn’t pay it any mind.”

The Earth pony was still not convinced. With his light over the wood, he searched for the eyes he saw. As he searched, he hadn’t noticed the timber now beginning to move.

As his flashlight spread out into the darkness, it was his nose that clued him in first. An overwhelming smell of swamp gas ran across his nostrils. They clenched shut from the pungent aroma.

“What is that awful smell?” he complained. The second clue soon followed as he felt warm breath on his tail. Finally the low growl convinced him to turn around.

“AAAAAAAAAHHH!”

“WHAT HAPPENED!? the leader yelled back, rushing over toward the screaming.

A massive wolf, made entirely of wood had clenched its jaw on the Earth pony’s leg and was dragging him away.

The Pegasus grabbed his gun and fired at the creature. It instantly broke apart into hundreds of pieces of broken twigs. A second timber wolf lunged at the gun ripping it from his hooves. The Unicorn fired a beam of magic at it, breaking the second wolf apart like the first.

“How’s your leg?” the leader asked.

“Fortunately, it’s not too deep. I might still be able to walk.” The Earth pony tried to stand up, but stumbled back to the ground.

“I think not,” the Pegasus said. Lifting his comm. band, he hailed the ship.

“What is it, Freebird?” the captain said, appearing on the band.

“We got a wounded pony who needs a digi-port back,” the Pegasus explained.

The captain nodded to his digi-port technician who got to work transporting the Earth pony straight to the infirmary.

“What happened down there?”

“Some of the indigenous wildlife thought we’d make a tasty snack,” he replied. “Not to strong though, they’re basically wolves made out of brittle timber. Couple of shots took care of ‘em.”

“Could they be enough of a threat to prevent us from establishing a base here?”

“I don’t think so, but my biggest concern is the volcano,” the leader started to explain.

“What about it?” the captain asked. “Sensors on the ship seem to think it’s perfectly stable for at least a century or more.”

“I didn’t want to mention this to the team before I confirmed it, but I’m fairly certain we’ve got a sleeping dragon in there.”

“Did you say dragon?” the captain asked, sitting up in his chair.

“I’m afraid so. It’s snoring is a little annoying, but they tend to sleep for decades, so it shouldn’t be too worrisome for now.”

“Ah horse dung!” the captain swore. “I knew they were able to planet hop, but I didn’t think they could ever make it out this far.”

“Well it seems at least this one has,” the Pegasus said. “Does this put a halt to our plan?”

“We’ll setup a basic field around the camp in case he gets hungry. That should be enough to keep any wooden wolves at bay as well,” he said reassuringly. “Get back to the ship. Our resident Unicorn scientist has an idea how to get back through the barrier.”

“Yes Sir.”

The princess was resting in her bed, reading one of her favorite novels on her screen pad. She barely lifted an eyebrow when a knocking came to her door.

“Come in,” she said calmly.

Clover entered the princess’s chambers white as a sheet. Her pupils were as tiny as a needle’s prick. The stiff carpet felt like thousands of eggshells crushing with each step of her hoof. Each step toward the princess required more effort than the last.

“Clover, if you walk any slower, it will be morning,” said the princess sighing at her servant’s unusual behavior.

“I-I’m sorry, your Majesty. I-I-I um…I’m afraid I have to bring you some terrible news.”

“Ugh. What is it now? Did the ventilation brake again?” she asked looking up at the ceiling. “We’re running out of good repair ponies.”

“N-No I-I’m afraid it’s not something so simple. You see, it’s…it’s the last caravan to the colony. The entire fleet has been…has been…well, it’s been completely destroyed, your Majesty.”

Clover flinched as she finally divulged what had happened, but the princess looked almost unconcerned.

“No doubt from those shoddy Pegasus ships!” the princess commented. “I need to have a word with that commander that just because he’s busy, doesn’t mean the quality of his ships should be anything less than flawless! Now, how many ponies did we lose? I’ll have that Pegasus pay for the loss.”

Clover was mortified. She felt every fur on her body standing straight out as she quivered.

“No. um…Princess…I don’t think you understand.”

“What don’t I understand?” the princess said looking up from her book and giving Clover a little more attention.

“That caravan…that was the transport for your father…I-I-I-I’m afraid the king is dead.”

Princess Platinum had taken a few seconds to absorb the information. It needed to brew in her mind to comprehend Clover’s sentence.

“D-Daddy…is…dead?” her eyes narrowed with comprehension. They began to water just the slightest bit before she caught herself. She leaned back allowing the tears to go back and closed her eyes and breathed.

A memory flashed across the princess’s mind of being slapped across her face by her mother as a filly. She was not allowed to mourn her father. Royalty has a responsibility not to show their true feelings.

After a moment, she reopened them and looked back at Clover.

“What was the cause of this? WHO is responsible?” she demanded.

“They detected that same phenomenon that had attacked Origin and the Soil Lands colony.”

The princess jumped from her bed and began to pace. Thousands of thoughts ran through mind. How stupid she had been. How had she ignored the obvious, turned her back on her allies and allowed her father to be killed. This will not do. She needed to assume the role she had been putting off since her father had fallen ill. She could no longer pretend that everything would eventually work itself out. She needed to strike back. She needed to rip the heart out of her enemy and leave nothing and no pony left behind.

“Assemble the knights! Get them out of bed if you have to. Get every ship in the fleet to get ready for war! We are going to rid ourselves of those monsters once and for all!”

Clover scrambled to obey without trying to interject. She left the room wondering exactly how far she would take this. The Pegasus weren’t responsible, but they still needed to be stopped, and this bought Clover the alliance she needed with the Earth ponies.

For now, she thought it better to say nothing.

“Have we built up enough momentum yet?” Captain Nova asked from the captain’s chair.

“Almost, we should have just enough as soon as we reach the barrier,” the helmpony replied.

“Good. Keep it steady.”

The captain watched as the massive magical barrier came upon them. Inside was enough magic to turn a whole planet into a planet-sized space whale.

Just as the ship closed to within two thousand feet of the barrier, they had reached the needed speed.

“Got it sir!” he cried.

“Cut the engines!” the captain pointed to him.

The engines went dark and the ship drifted directly into the pink void.

They looked at the aura surrounded them with awe. There where no lightning-like chains of energy wrapping around them. It was peaceful and serene.

It took almost twenty minutes at their velocity to make it through, but they successfully poked their nose through the other side.

“Any signs of ships?” asked the captain.

“None sir. I think we’re in the clear,” the helmspony said rechecking his information.

“Excellent. Get in contact with Rebel One. She’s going to want to hear about this.

It took several tries to reach her, but finally she answered her comm. band.

“Rebel One here,” Clover said. “Now’s not exactly a good time. What is it?”

“We’ve discovered a hidden planet that has a choice location for building a staging area for rebel ships,” Captain Nova explained. “It’s in the Bathmorda nebula.”

“I thought nopony who’s ever gone in there has returned alive?” Clover asked, confused.

“We found a way in and out that will keep us safe if we’re followed.”

“Really? That’s great!” Clover squealed, letting her excitement forget her immediate concerns, if only for a second. Quickly recovering, she added, “Listen, the Unicorn king has been killed by the same phenomena that destroyed the Earth pony colony and Maretropolis. The princess blames the Pegasus. They’re going to war.”

“That’s terrible!” the captain replied genuinely concerned. “I thought the whole point of our little group was to bring together as many ponies from all races and put a stop to the fighting. Now it’s only going to get worse!”

“Not necessarily,” Clover explained. “This hidden planet may be just what we need to rescue as many as possible. But we need to keep this a secret captain. If anypony gets wind of this, it could ruin our best chance. For now, only rebel ship captains and key personnel are to be informed.”

“What about the Alicorn captains?” the Unicorn captain asked. “Should they be informed?”

Clover took a full minute to decide. Finally she responded, “No. I want to keep this as tight as possible for as long as possible. If this world is good enough to colonize, we’ll let them join us, but for now…let’s keep this to the bare minimum.”

“Yes Ma’am!”

“Send me the location and any pertinent information regarding the planet and how to get there via encrypted message.”

“Will do.” The captain saluted. Clover nodded and closed the channel.

"The worst part is," she thought to herself, "something is attacking us, and we still have no clue where to look!”

War of the Worlds

War of the Worlds

“What’s our ETA?” Commander Hirkain asked his helmspony.

“We should be arriving at the homeworld in another two hours, sir,” the Pegasus answered, reading off his terminal.

“That’s not our homeworld, Lieutenant! That’s a dead rock with many of our brethren on it, trapped by those traitorous Earth ponies. Are there any signs we’ve been detected?”

“Nothing yet, sir,” the helmspony continued to report. “Our scouts have detected only two Earth pony ships and the two Alicorn ships in orbit of the planet.”

“Alicorn ships,” the commander spat the words back, mouthing them out. “Those are Pegasus ships stolen by filth that should have been cleaned up years ago.”

Turning towards his three dimensional strategy display, he stared at the configuration of his fleet of twenty ships. Six of them were battleships, the rest were a combination of transport ships and upgraded armed transport ships fitted with enough armaments to destroy a planet.

Meanwhile, a very nervous private was sitting in his corner trying hard not to be seen. Under his desk, he was using his personal screenpad to sneak out an encrypted message to Clover. He had to warn them, if it wasn’t already too late.

After only a minute, a response came back.

*BEEP BEEP*

He had forgotten to mute the sound.

“What was that sound, Pansy?” the commander demanded, staring warily at the gangly Pegasus.

“Oh-I um..nothing, Sir,” he recovered quickly. “I forgot to mute my personal pad is all. My mother is trying to get ah hold of me.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to keep the pansy from his mommy!” the commander said, laughing. “Go ahead and say hello to her! And afterwards you may also go and say hello to each and every toilet on this level!”

“But, I um…” the private was trying to see if he was serious or not. “I don’t want to leave my post sir.”

“That wasn’t a suggestion, Private. Get scrubbing!”

“Y-Yes Sir!” he saluted and raced off the bridge.

As soon as he was out of earshot, he grumbled a sigh. He was not looking forward to cleaning toilets for the next few hours. Almost forgetting why he had been given this new job to perform, he swung his pad around and decrypted the message.

“We need to talk immediately! - C”

Looking around for a secluded area, he ducked into one of the digi-port rooms. With the ship in motion, nopony would have any reason to be there.

Working on his pad, the screen displayed a connecting icon, attempting to create a video link. While it was attempting to reach Clover, Harmon made sure the volume was very low.

“Harmon!” Clover shouted the moment the connection came through. “This is very bad!”

“That’s why I sent you that info,” he whispered back.

“No, it’s worse than that, Harmon. The Unicorn fleet is on its way to Pegasopolis! The princess blames the Pegasi for the death of our King. I think she means to wipe out the colony!”

“BUT WE DIDN’T KILL THE KING!” he shouted in a horse whisper.

“I know, I know,” Clover quickly responded, trying to calm him down. “I was hoping a standoff would have created a last hope opportunity for diplomacy, but if you’re fleet is on its way to Origin, it will be a slaughter!”

“Can’t you stop her?” Harmon begged.

“I’m trying. But I don’t think she hears me anymore. You’ve got to get your fleet to turn back. There’s still time!”

“I…” he tried to think of anything. “I… I’ll think of something…I hope.”

“If you fail, I’ll have to send rebel and Earth pony ships to fight you,” Clover warned. “Please get the commander to turn around! Good luck!”

“For both of us…” Harmon gulped, closing the connection.

Opening the door, he walked straight into another soldier.

“Uhmf! Oh, I’m sorry,” Harmon began making his apologies. I didn’t see you there.”

“It’s fine,” the large and muscular Pegasus grunted. Harmon quickly squeaked off back toward the bridge. The soldier stared at the runt curiously until he turned the corner, before the door to the digi-port room caught his attention.

“Star, you’ve got a call on your screenpad,” Mint Julep called up the stairs. Her call was met with nothing but silence.

“Star? You have a call down here!” she called again, louder.

“I’m in the middle of something at the moment!” a distant voice replied from up the stairs.

Sprawled out around the Unicorn were drawing boards with hundreds of scribbles and cross-outs. Star pushed with all his might as much magic as he could muster into his horn. Only the tiniest little bowl appeared for a very brief moment, before popping right back out of existence. His frustrations were increasing rapidly as he failed to recreate the amniomorphic spell.

“She says it’s urgent! Life and death!”

“Ugh.” Star groaned. Giving up on his concentration, he pushed the boards out of his way, and tripped going to the stairs landing at Mint’s hooves holding the pad out for him. Reaching up from the floor, he took it from her and held it up in front of him.

“Clover? What is it?” he asked, confused as to why she was contacting him now.

“We’ve got a situation,” she explained. “The Pegasus fleet is on its way to you and we may not be able to stop them!”

“That’s not good.”

“No it isn’t,” Clover continued. “You are needed again to help the rebel fleet. We’ll need your abilities to help us!”

The lump in Star’s throat nearly strangled him as the thought of his pitiful attempt a moment ago swam through his mind.

“I-um… of course. Where do I need to go?” he asked.

“Listen, there’s an Alicorn ship that’s directly over you in orbit. Can you get there?” Clover asked.

Star quickly looked at Mint. “I need to take my family with me,” he said. “They won’t be safe here.”

“That’s fine, but get to the ship ASAP. They’re due to arrive in less than an hour!”

“Understood,” he answered.

“One last thing,” Clover plugged in a memstick into the side of her screenpad, “I’m uploading the location of a top-secret safe house. Under no circumstances are you to share this with anyone! Not even your family. If the battle does not go well, you are ordered to escape the battle by any means necessary and head for those coordinates.”

Star watched the download to his screenpad complete. “Got it.”

“Make sure you follow the instructions exactly,” Clover warned. “Getting them wrong will mean death!”

Star gulped again. “Um…okay…”

“Good luck!” she said, closing the connection.

As soon as Star and Mint’s eyes met, Mint nodded. “I’ll get the girls.”

“We need to turn the fleet around!” Harmon panted, running onto the bridge.

“Pansy! I thought I told you to get scrubbing!” Commander Hirkain shouted angrily. His patience was becoming razor thin.

“Sir, I’ve just gotten word that the Unicorns plan to attack Pegasopolis. We need to go back!”

The commander sighed looking long and hard at his wimp of a private. “And just where does this crucial information come from? Your mommy?” The commander grunted a laugh whose smile more closely resembled a snarl.

Harmon realized that might just work. “Yes sir! She has a friend on scout ship that saw the Unicorns closing in on the colony. We need to protect our ponies!”

The commander was in no mood for games, and this seamed like a complete wild goose chase considering the source. He looked around the bridge. Most of his officers were staring at him waiting for an answer.

“Sergeant, have there been any reports on Unicorn attacks anywhere in the fleet?”

The Pegasus sitting at the communications terminal quickly checked all recent logs and star charts of ship locations.

“None sir!” he answered with confidence. “There are no Unicorns within range of the colony or any Pegasus ship.”

“Good. Continue monitoring,” Commander Hirkain ordered reassured.

Harmon started to beg. “Please sir! We must–”

“We must do nothing, Pansy,” he cut in. “I listened to your mother’s insightful information and checked. There’s no Unicorn invasion! Now after OUR invasion is completed, you can add a week of intensive flight training. You’ve been too soft for too long. NOW GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!

Harmon scrambled off the bridge and headed for the bathrooms.

“We’re all doomed!” he thought, glumly.

Back on the bridge, the commander began to fidget. His brain was getting the better of him, and finally pushed him over the edge.

“Argh! Sergeant! Send word to both ships at the colony to be on alert for any imaginary Unicorn ships…Just in case.”

“Aye sir,” he replied bringing up the ships on his communications terminal.

“Two Pegasus battleships are more than a match if any pathetic Unicorn ships turn up,” the commander thought aloud.

“Cleared for docking port four,” a voice spoke from the speaker aboard Star’s little hover van.

Star maneuvered around the massive ship toward its docking ports. Compared to the Alicorn ship, his little van looked like nothing more than a fly buzzing around it. He circled around toward the aft of the ship, until he could see a large number four above an opening door.

As soon as they landed, the massive door behind them resealed, and the room re-pressurized.

*Kock knock*

“Give us a minute,” Star said as he unlocked the air seal to open the door.

The doors in the back of the van opened to a small surprise.

“DADDDDDDYY!!!!!” DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!” Luna leaped for joy into her father’s hooves.

Bake smiled down at her, his eyes watering in an instant. Celestia quickly followed suit, joining in a hug so tight, Bake thought a rip might crack.

After he was finally able to get them to calm down and release him, his eyes finally met with Ruby. There were so many tears flowing down her eyes, they dripped like water melting off an icicle in the spring.

Together they embraced each other with all their might. Standing on their hind legs, they hugged and kissed each other. The cheeks were flush, and their eyes never closed; afraid if they did, the other might disappear.

After what felt like eternity in an instant, they separated long enough for Bake to see Star Swirl.

“Long time no see, buddy!” Star said smiling.

Bake walked right up to him and hugged him as well.

“I cannot begin to thank you for all you’ve done for me and my family, Star.”

Star patted Bake in return. “You are my family, Bake.”

“Yes you are,” Bake said, releasing him. He looked over toward the mint green Unicorn standing behind the crowd.

“Mint Julep?” he asked. She nodded smiling at the family reunion.

“Thank you for looking after them for me,” Bake said.

“It was my pleasure. It’s nice to finally meet you,” Mint replied.

Turning and pointing to the gray Alicorn with a black mane standing nearby he said, “I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine.” Bake waved the pony over. “This is Zeus; the Alicorn who saved the rebellion before it even began.”

“Ain’t all as much as that, Bake.” Zeus said, blushing slightly.

“Well, for a pony who said he wanted nothing to do with the rebellion, he’s now the best gunner in the fleet!”

“We gotta get goin’ though. Them Pegasi bastards are gonna be here–”

The ship shook from a missile that exploded a few hundred yards from the ship.

“Battle Positions! All ponies to their assigned posts immediately!”

“Speak of the devils!” Zeus commented. “I’ll catch ya later, Bake.”

“Good luck!” Bake called at to the Alicorn, as he ran to man his guns.

“We have to get you all to a safe area,” Bake said waving to gather the group. “Follow me.” He led them away from the docking port, as the battle began.

“Your majesty, please! I beg of you!” Clover desperately pleaded as they walked down the hall toward the bridge of the ship.

“I don’t understand you!” the princess yelled back at her. “First you’re all, ‘Join the fight, join the fight!’ and now that I am joining the fight, you’re trying to stop me?”

“Princess, please. We do need to join the fight, but extermination isn’t the answer! We need to protect as many pony lives as possible, not destroy them!”

“Look,” the princess said in a softer tone. She stopped and leaned in close to her assistant so their eyes were mere inches apart. “You were right and I was wrong, my clever Clover. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you sooner. My father’s life may have even been spared had I listened. But now is beyond that point. We must avenge the death of my father! They will pay for their arrogance!”

The princess turned and walked more briskly towards the bridge. Clover racked her brains looking for something; anything. “What if I told you the Pegasi weren’t responsible?”

The princess had to stop and absorb the words. “What do you mean?” she said turning her gaze back.

“I can’t prove it,” Clover tried to explain, “but I don’t think all of these attacks were caused by the Pegasi, including the Maretropolis attack.”

“What other pony could have done it? Certainly not the Earth ponies. What idiot would attack his own people?”

The princess had to stop and think about what she just said, before shaking the thought out of her head. “No. He may be a moron, but not even that idiot would do something so stupid.”

“What if they weren’t ponies?” Clover proposed.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she dismissed, shaking her head. “The only other races we’ve ever encountered haven’t been seen in centuries. Most are merely myth and legend.”

“But–”

“Enough!” the princess shouted as the door to the bridge opened. She walked straight in without so much as another word to Clover. She stared at the map showing their progress toward Pegasopolis colony on the main display.

“Captain!” she commanded. “Coordinate with the fleet. The moment we're in range, begin the attack!”

“Oh no you don’t!” Zeus shouted, rounding his guns around to target a missile launched from a Pegasus ship. The bullets detonated it moments before the Alicorn gunner would have been blasted into tiny bits of debris.

The ship shook from the explosion, but the shields held. Zeus spat at the missile remnants. “Oh you think you bad? You ain’t never seen me!”

He took aim at the ship that launched the missile. The bullets flew straight across toward his counter-gunner, but the shields held, causing no damage.

“Grrr! Your tail is mine, damned horse-pigeon!”

From the bridge of the Alicorn ship, Captain Hammer Hoof was carefully navigating the battlefield. Pegasus ship after Pegasus ship clogged up the screen, coming from all directions.

“Fly under the battleship and aim for the transport!” he yelled to his helmspony. “It should have weaker shields!”

As the ship dove under the Pegasus battleship, it brought the transport into firing range.

“FIRE!!!” he screamed. The MEM missile impacted directly into the ships engines. Their shields failed and the engines went black.

“They’re dead in the water!” the weapons officer yelled out.

“YEAH!!!!” the bridge crew cheered, but the tactic had cost them dearly.

Under the battleship, the Pegasi could not fire any missiles at them, but millions of bullets barraged the Alicorn ship, ripping their top shields to pieces. The ship started to be riddled with holes.

“Arrgh! Get us out of range and fire!” the captain called out, gripping his chair tightly.

Each bullet impact felt as though millions of ants were biting the captain again and again. The ship’s pain was his pain.

“Where are my ships!?” Chancellor Puttinghoof shouted as another missile exploded near them.

“We’ve got three more inbound. They’ll be here in another forty-five minutes!” the communications pony called back.

“We won’t be here in forty-five minutes!” the chancellor grabbed the edge of his chair as the ship shook again.

“Sir! The Equis, look!!!” the helmspony pointed toward the main display.

Across the hull of the E.P.S. Equis, small explosions began breaking out again and again, until the whole ship blasted apart, sending a massive shockwave outward into the heart of the battle.

“DIVE!!! DIVE!!!!!” the Captain screamed.

As the ship lurched downward, the chancellor lost his balance and fell to the ground. The shockwave hit the outermost edge of their shields with enough force to thrust them into an uncontrolled spiral.

The wave continued straight into one of the Pegasus battleships. Existing small hull ruptures were ripped open like breaking open an animal carcass. The ship split cleanly in two.

The helmspony fired thruster after thruster in every direction to break the ship’s spin and get it back in control. When the ship was finally righted, he slumped in his chair sweating and breathing heavily from exhaustion.

“I don’t know if that was lucky or unlucky!” the chancellor yelled, staring at the display as he climbed back into his chair.

“I’d say unlucky, Sir!” the captain answered. “We’re still outnumbered 15 to 7. We still need a miracle to be lucky!”

“Focus your fire on their main weapon!” the captain of the second Alicorn ship ordered.

All gunners aimed straight at the battleship’s main weapon within the heart of the wolf’s mouth. The Pegasus ship’s shields flickered brightly from the barrage but held.

“Now fire the MEM missile!”

The missile flew out but was met by a Pegasus missile. The explosion of both threw both ships apart.

“Again!” he shouted as the ship reeled back around, facing its target.

It was beginning to look like a pointless tactic. But every gunner aimed at the ship again, firing wave after wave of bullets.

“Fire!” the captain shouted.

As the MEM missile approached its target, another Pegasus missile launched to counter their attack. The missiles collided and exploded, as a third MEM missile, fired from Captain Hammer Hoof’s ship, flew straight past the battleship’s shields into its target.

The Pegasus ship burst apart. Both Alicorn ships dodged the shockwave from the destroyed ship with minimal damage.

“Thanks for the assist!” the Alicorn captain called out to the first Alicorn ship.

“No problem!” Captain Hammer Hoof replied back. “Now lets…”

Hammer turned his head from the screen, talking to one of his officers.

“MOVE MOVE!!!!! GET OUT OF THERE!!!!!” Hammer screamed to the Alicorn captain.

“SIR!!! Three missiles inbound from all sides! We can’t evade!”

The captain looked straight at Hammer. “Good luck, Captain.”

The screen went blank on Hammer’s display as the Alicorn ship was completely destroyed.

The three Pegasi ships now set their sights on the only remaining Alicorn ship.

“Star! We need something, and we need it right now!” Captain Hammer Hoof yelled.

Star was hiding in the corner, trying desperately to recreate any of the spells he had performed. Nothing was working.

“I…I…I can’t…I’m trying, but it won’t work!”

Star looked at the main display, showing the ships closing in. Suddenly the thoughts and memories of Bake, Ruby, Mint, and the girls flooded his mind. His eyes flashed white as his horn lit up.

Deep within the heart of each Pegasi ship, the MEM missile cannons began to glow softly. The shape of the barrels began to wobble. They warped only slightly. No pony would notice they had been altered.

Each ship fired their missiles together at the Alicorn ship. As they traveled through the barrel, they became stuck from the altered shape. The heat from the missiles’ thrusters built up until the payload itself ignited.

At once, the three Pegasi ships surrounding them were destroyed. Star’s glow ceased as he collapsed to the floor. Bake rushed to his friend.

“He needs medical attention!” Bake called out to the captain.

“No time!” was the captain’s reply. Bake looked at him confused.

“I’m under orders,” he continued. “Use the Unicorn to help with the fight. If he’s incapacitated, or otherwise unable to further assist, get him to an escape ship and get him away from the battle.”

Bake looked at his friend who looked weak to the point of near death.

“But couldn’t we just–”

“No! Look, he bought us some time. With the remaining rebel ships and the Earth pony ships inbound, we might actually win this thing. But we can’t risk losing that asset. Get him to a ship now and get out of here!”

Bake grabbed Star and carried him off the bridge. On the way to the escape ships, he made a decision. Changing direction, he quickly headed off to the room where his family was waiting out the battle.

“Come on! We need to go now!” he yelled as the door opened.

“Bake? What’s going on? What happened to Star Swirl?” Ruby asked, anxious for news on the fight.

“I’ve been ordered to get Star to safety. I’m taking you all with me. Let’s go!”

Ruby, Mint, Celestia, and Luna followed Bake from the room as they made their way toward the escape ships. As they entered the escape port, the ship began shaking again.

“We must be under attack again. We need to hurry!” Bake said, sliding the unconscious Unicorn tighter on his back.

They ran toward the first available ship. Bake set Star down and opened the door to the ship. He pulled Star onboard and began pulling everyone onto the ship. First Celestia and Luna, followed by Mint, and lastly he grabbed Ruby.

*BANG*

The ship lurched from a direct hit. An explosion burst out in the room. Bake watched as a piece of shrapnel sliced through Ruby’s neck. Her eyes widened as she lost grip on Bake’s hooves.

"S-Sugar?" she struggled to whisper as she collapsed to the floor. She was gone.

“Mommy!?” Luna cried. “MOMMY!!!? MOMMY!!! MOMMMMMMYYYYY!!!!!”

Her high pitched shrieks rang out as she tried desperately to get to her mother, but Mint stopped her. Bake was in shock. He couldn’t move. Another blast outside the ship brought his mind back to reality. He tucked his emotions as deep as he could and hurried to ready the ship.

Closing the doors, he began flicking and switching anything with a light. He wasn’t a pilot, but escape ships were designed for novices. He tapped the communications display and pressed for the captain. Within a moment, Captain Hammer Hoof appeared on the screen.

“We’re ready, Captain! Open the escape port doors!”

“Understood. Good luck!” said the captain.

“You too.”

The port doors began opening, but the Alicorn ship was veering around rapidly, making orientation extremely difficult. Bake finally got the ship off the ground and made towards the open door. Just as he reached the port, the ship bounced from an impact, causing the escape ship to knock into the side.

As Bake reoriented the ship, he checked his display. Every system was still green. He shouted behind him, “Don’t worry. We’re okay.”

They veered away from the battle as quickly as they could. However, a Pegasus armed transport spotted the fleeing ship and changed its course to intercept.

Onboard the Alicorn ship, Zeus watched the escape ship take off, and the Pegasus ship closing in.

“Oh no you don’t!” he swung his guns around, firing at the transport ship. The guns weren’t having much of an effect.

“Come on!” he yelled, firing again and again. At last a small hole in the shields appeared and a few bullets made it through.

“Yes! Let’s go!”

Like throwing a small rock at an angry bear, Zeus had gotten the ship’s attention. Turning from the small craft, it changed course heading straight for the Alicorn ship.

“Whoever you are, you owe me big!” Zeus shouted at the escape ship.

As the Pegasus ship closed in, a missile flew straight at Zeus. The shields weren’t going to hold. He fired every bullet he could.

“Shi–”

The guns were blasted off of the ship.

“WHERE ARE MY SHIPS!!!?” the Chancellor screamed.

“Four minutes, sir!” the communications pony answered.

“Arrgh! That’s it! I’m not just going to just sit here and die! I order a retreat of all Earth pony ships. We’ll rendezvous with the incoming ships and escape.”

“Sir?” The ship’s captain looked at the chancellor with great concern. “What about the ponies on the planet; and the Alicorn and rebel ships?”

With a deep tone of frustration he replied. “Consider them lost.”

“Mommy…” Luna continued sobbing in her sister’s lap.

Celestia’s tears continued to draw lines down her cheeks. She was in shock and was unable to speak. Mint was tending to Star as Bake flew the small craft out into open space.

He had no destination in mind, no plan, and he didn’t care. All he wanted was to see his family again. He didn’t get to spend even one night together with his wife again. His mind drifted to all the memories of their life together; from time he first saw her come to his bakery and smile at him as she took a bite of a cookie, to their wedding with family and friends, to the births of his daughters…

“Celestia, Luna…I haven’t lost you,” he thought, snapping out of his trance.

He called back to Mint, “How’s he doing?”

Mint patted a moist cloth on Star’s head. “He still pretty weak, but he’s starting to awaken.”

“Star? Can you hear me buddy?” Bake hollered so that his friend might hear. “Do you know where we’re supposed to be going?”

Star weakly reached for his bag. Mint saw what he was trying to get to and used her magic to pull his screenpad out. “Is this what you need?”

Star reached out to select the encrypted file. “P-P-Password,” he struggled to say. “Password…is…f-friends are…family…” He passed out again.

Mint typed in the password. The file unlocked and displayed the information for reaching the rebel base. Not sure how to read all of it, she floated it over to Bake.

“This is going to take awhile,” Bake said, glancing at the information. “In this little ship, it’s going to take two weeks at least. I just hope we go unnoticed for that period of time.”

He steered the ship in the direction of the Bathmorda nebula and set it to autopilot. Then he went to help his friend and mourn with his daughters.

Castle of the Ancients

Castle of the Ancients

In the days and weeks that followed the Battle of Origin, the Unicorns were successful in their deadly assault on the Pegasopolis colony. With the majority of the Pegasus fleet unable to return in time, their defenses were overwhelmed, and the colony was destroyed from orbit.

Just as the Pegasi had committed their forces to the liberation of the homeworld, so too had the Unicorn fleet been committed in their retaliation for the death of their monarch.

It was not until the Unicorns had ensured no Pegasus remained alive on the planet, that they received word of their own colony, Unicornia. When Commander Hirkain learned of the devastating attack on his colony, rather than attempting to bring the attack to an end before it was too late, he made the decision to incite the same devastation the Unicorns had caused them. Unicornia colony was lost.

With all colonies destroyed, and their home planet dying, the remaining ships of each pony race searched out into the stars for a new home. Every encounter was a battle, with no open diplomacy remaining.

The only contact between them that remained, lay between the three assistants: Clover, Sunbeam, and Harmon Pimsey. Together they coordinated efforts to limit the encounters of ships that would result in fighting. Each continued to recruit members of their own races into forgoing their prejudices and joining the rebel cause; to bring everypony back together in peace.

While Clover remained the leader of the rebel group, contact with the secret rebel base was limited to the moments when rebel ships would leave the sanctuary of the Barthmorda nebula and establish contact. Ideas were few and far between how to bring what few ponies remained back together.

On the rogue world, where the rebels had established their secret base of operations, a mini oasis of peace had sprung up from the minds of the ponies protected there. The prejudices of old were abandoned, and they all worked together for the benefit of everypony.

Star Swirl, like many of the Unicorns, found his magical abilities had been greatly strengthened by the nebula. He regained consciousness only a few hours after entering the nebula and felt as energetic as a colt.

Even the rebel Earth ponies and Pegasi experienced a euphoria of energy from the nebula, which made them able to work harder and faster than would normally have been capable. Most almost felt happy as they hid in their secret world. ‘Most’, however, did not include Celestia and Luna.

“Girls, it’s time for your lessons,” Mint Julep called when she found the ponies drooping on a supply crate. “Come girls, some schooling will take your mind of things for awhile.”

Despite several weeks passing, the Alicorn fillies were still living under a dark, sad cloud; Luna a great deal more so. Luna would cry every night and mope every day. She almost always had to be force fed at every meal. Celestia held her grief inside better, but that was more to protect her sister, than less heavy a heart.

Mint collected the girls as best she could and nudged them until they conceded to joining the rest of the class. With the temporary peace found on the base, Mint felt she could help the most by trying her best at teaching the colts and fillies that had been brought with their families.

Her special talent lay more in floral tea making, but she found the job rewarding. She chose to create a curriculum that included community culture. The principles of a society built on love and tolerance of everyone. The parents who had joined the rebel cause were thrilled with the idea and encouraged it.

The school was nothing more than a supply tent that was no longer needed. Mint converted it into a makeshift classroom. Luna and Celestia took their seats at the back of the class. They still remembered the bullying they endured, and it was instinct for them to sit behind those that might do things to them behind their backs.

But these ponies were different. Many said hello and welcomed them from day one of the class. Celestia was the oldest of the class, but she found herself able to be more cordial and interact with the other children. On occasion, she even cracked a smile.

Luna would not. Her pain was too great. She would follow her sister wherever she went, but that was the extent of her social skills.

Mint began the class with some math drills. Some of them groaned as they pulled out their screenpads and began working out the problems.

After several hours of what seemed like torture to a few of the students, Mint finally dismissed them. “As a reminder, everypony is free to wander around the base where permitted, but no pony should wander away from the base.”

The ponies packed up their things and hastily made their way out of the tent. As usual, it was completely dark outside. Celestia found it disconcerting, but for some reason, Luna felt more at ease. It was the only time she would look up. Above her lay an endless ocean of stars, twinkling back at them. Never in all her life had Luna seen so many stars. Its beauty was able to give her a small island of serenity amongst a sea of sorrow.

After a moment of staring, Luna brought her head back down as she continued to mope back to their living quarters. Bake had set up a tent large enough for all of them together. Even Mint stayed with them so as not to be by herself.

One of the few buildings they had erected, rather hastily, was a room large enough for everypony to eat together. The rest of the time, the room was used for meetings and strategy sessions amongst the rebel leaders. After resting for a bit in the tent, the girls, along with Bake and Mint, headed for the building for dinner.

Star was waiting inside, waving them over. They joined him at the table and broke out their ration packs. Not exactly fine dining, but a hot meal none the less. Celestia had made an effort to get the seat next to Star and succeeded. Her childish crush had somewhat faded after her mother’s death, but she still felt admiration for him and a warmth that she wanted to be near.

Star had been fully integrated into the rebel military since they arrived and quickly became known as their ‘Magic as Weapons’ expert. Star was uncomfortable with the title, however, he found he could finally recreate some of the miraculous spells he had performed, and even started to teach some of the rebel Unicorns. Earlier that day he was instructing some of them in creating and using the amniomorphic spell:

“I want you to picture your loved ones in your mind,” he instructed. “Picture your spouses, your children, your closest friends… Now imagine a terrible danger has occurred. A missile has been sent to kill every single pony you love–”

Many of the ponies’ horns had already begun to glow.

“You have the power to defend them. Imagine a bowl; a bowl capable of twisting the missile around and giving it back to its sender. Shape the bowl to match the missile…”

At least two ponies were able to create small bowls in front of them. Not exactly powerful enough to stop a full sized MEM missile, but without real danger, this was exceptional.

“Well done!” he congratulated.

Several others tried until they turned purple, before giving up.

“Not to worry,” Star quickly said to them. “The first time I did this was an accident; one which I was unable to repeat. “It was not until the Battle of Origin that I realized what I was missing. It was the necessity to protect those I love that brought forth these spells. These spells are not really weapons. They are your desire to save those you love.”

Looking around, Star could see those that had created the bowl stood a little taller with pride. Those that had not, looked unsure that they would be able to protect their families at this rate.

Star added, “This magic is well beyond normal levels. With the high concentration of monoceros particles in the nebula, some Unicorns have been able to do some magic beyond their old capabilities, but this is a significantly more difficult spell. You will all fight to protect your family and friends in your own ways.”

Star wasn’t quite sure where such encouraging words came from in his mind, but he was glad he thought of them. They seemed to cheer some of them up more, but the classes rapidly shrank to the five or six that could perform at the magical level required for the spells Star was teaching, which was ironic for Star, considering he failed at almost every magical level as a kid.

That night, which was just as ‘night’ as the morning, Celestia struggled to fall asleep. A soft voice kept calling out to her. It was so soft and subtle, such that she couldn’t make any the words. But its persistence caused Celestia to sit up and open her eyes. The voice was quiet, but felt warm and friendly to her. She carefully climbed around the sleeping bodies of her father, Luna, Mint, and Star.

Poking her nose through the tent, she sniffed the air gingerly. The air was cold and stiff, like any other part of the day, but she did not sense anything unusual. She pushed her head out of the tent and looked around. The grounds were quiet. Most of the ponies had gone to sleep except for the few night watch ponies. The voice seemed to be more distant. She looked out until she saw a twinkle in the forest. The voice was coming from that star in the middle of the forest. It had six points and appeared to be hovering deep within the woods. She was about to step out until Luna had grabbed her by her tail.

“Where’re you going, Tia?” she whispered.

“Oh! Um…nowhere. I just thought I saw something.” She answered turning back into the tent. “Let’s get back to bed.”

Celestia climbed back over to her sleeping bag and started to zip up. Luna stared at her, with sad, wanting puppy dog eyes until she took the hint.

“Sigh. Alright, come on,” she answered her sister’s plea, opening up the bag more. Luna snuggled in and curled into a ball. Celestia zipped up the bag and cradled her little sister. The voice had ceased without her even realizing. Together they drifted off back to sleep.

Celestia woke up early the next morning; at least she thought she did. It was hard to know what time it was, since it was still just as dark as midnight outside. She had mostly forgotten about the voice she heard during the night and got dressed for the cold weather.

It was shaping up to be a fairly dull day. Luna was still depressed and continued to aimlessly follow her sister around. Some of the children were playing catch after breakfast. Celestia thought it might be a good idea to try to get Luna to start to open up a little bit more.

“Luna, why don’t we join them for a bit?” she asked, looking down at her little sister.

Luna looked up at her for a moment before shaking her head and resting it against Celetia’s side.

Feeling the need to give her a bit of a push, Celestia said “Well, I’m going to join them for a bit. You can join us if you like.” She walked off, leaving Luna with a face of abandonment. It didn’t take long before the little Alicorn gave in and joined the game.

“Over here!” Celestia called out to the Earth pony colt, holding her hooves out. Within moments a large blue ball flew across the camp straight at her. She caught it with ease.

“Here Luna, catch!” she threw the ball very lightly the six feet to Luna, who simply let the ball bounce off her, landing in the grass.

“You need to try, Luna. You need to start smiling again, if only for a short while.” She picked up the ball and made the motion with the ball, suggesting she was going to throw it again.

Luna sighed and held out her hooves. She caught it and promptly placed it on the floor.

“Now throw it to Hopscotch. And make it count! If you don’t try, I’ll make you do it over again!” Celestia said, knowing full well what the Alicorn was about to do.

“Over here, Luna!” the Earth pony jumped up and down, waiting for the throw.

Sighing again, Luna put as much energy as she could muster and launched the ball much further than she had expected. It soared high in the air, sending the colt running after it. Diving, he was just able to catch it. He hopped up laughing and continued to toss the ball around.

Luna cracked the tiniest of smiles at her accomplishment, which was not lost on Celestia, who smiled as well. “Come! Let’s have some fun for a bit!” she said, running in to get closer to the game.

Luna tried to second-guess herself, but let it go and joined in the game. Pretty soon she was smiling and having a good time.

“Woah-woah-waah!!!” A Unicorn filly slipped while trying to catch the ball and landed flat on her chin, with her hind legs dangling in the air. Luna snorted. She tried to hold it in, but failed.

“Pfft, Pffa ha ha!” she started laughing so loudly, she had to hold her stomach. Pretty soon everypony was laughing, including the Unicorn filly who slipped. Celestia joined in the laughter, gazing at Luna. She felt so relieved to finally see her laugh again.

All of the sudden, Celestia’s ears perked up. She could have sworn she heard a high pitched bell of sorts far off in the woods. She looked around but saw nothing. She started to remember the voice she had heard during the night, but didn’t want to make anything of it. She probably just had a ringing in her ear.

There were no lessons that day, so the children were encouraged to find things to do to keep themselves occupied. In the afternoon, one of the Pegasus colts tried to climb a tree in an effort to jumpstart his flying abilities. He failed.

“Heeeeelp!!!”

The grownups were busy with their own responsibilities. Celestia, as the oldest in the group, went to help him.

“I’m coming; stay right there,” she called out to him. He simply had to pick the tallest tree in the camp. Celestia looked up at the scared Pegasus. His wings were nowhere near big enough yet to fly. It was probably for the best he gave up on his plan.

As Celestia climbed upward, she reached out for a branch and tried to swing herself around onto it. She slipped, swinging around upside down, her mane dangling down in her eyes. The other pony children watched Celestia as she righted herself and continued to climb upward toward the trapped pony.

“Almost there. Stay calm,” she said. The colt was shaking with fear. For a Pegasus so desperate to fly, he had suddenly developed a strong fear of heights. Celestia reached out her hoof. “Grab onto my hoof.”

He reached out a hoof a little bit, before gripping the trunk more tightly. He shook his head, scared. “I c-can’t!” he cried.

“It’s okay,” she tried to reassure him. She tried to grab the branch he was standing on. It wasn’t strong enough, snapping under the weight.

“Ahhhhhh!!!!” he screamed as he plummeted to the ground. When he didn’t feel the squish of him splattering into the grass, he opened his eyes. He found himself staring wide-eyed at the ground only a foot below him. But they hadn’t met. Celestia had used her magic to stop him at the last second. Her magic wasn’t strong enough to lift him, but just enough to stop him for a moment. Once he was safe, she released him, dropping him face first into the grass. Not the softest landings, but safe nonetheless. Celestia slowly climbed back down the trees as Mint scrambled over to find out what caused the scream.

“What’s going on? Is everyone all right?”

The children opened a hole for her to approach the scene. The Pegasus was already up and brushing himself off.

“Are you all right?” Mint asked.

“I’m okay,” he replied, wiping some of the grass off his face. “She saved me!” He smiled and waved to Celestia, who was now about halfway down the tree.

“Celestia, what are you doing in the tree?”

“It’s okay,” she said, hopping down off the last branch. We just had a Pegasus attempt to break the Pegasus flight speed record a couple of years too early.” The Pegasus colt blushed in response.

“Well, you’ve shown great bravery and kindness with what you did Celestia, but next time, come and get one of us first!” Mint reprimanded. “You could have made a dangerous situation worse!”

Celestia looked down at the floor guiltily, but raised her head only a moment later. Again, far and deep within the forest, was that high pitched bell she had heard earlier. No pony else seemed to notice. Whatever that sound was, it seemed to be meant for her and her alone.

Later that evening, Celestia was awoken by Luna’s crying. The adults had gone to sleep and were snoring peacefully unaware. It was a chance idea that occurred to her, as she suddenly started to quietly rummage through her things. She started to dig into each and every pocket of her bag; finally pulling out a crumpled piece of paper.

“Luna, come here,” she whispered softly to her little sister.

Luna stopped weeping long enough to look up at Celestia waving her over. She wiped her eyes and gave a sniff to clear her nose, before she crawled onto her sister’s sleeping bag.

“I have something you might like to see,” she said, cupping her hoof around Luna and pulling her onto her lap. “Look.”

She held up the wrinkled paper, and tried to straighten it out more so she could see. It was dark though, and too difficult to make out.

“What is it, Tia?” Luna asked trying to focus.

Celestia let her horn glow slightly, illuminating the photograph. The paper photo showed a family barbeque from two summers prior; before all the tragic events had happened around them. Celestia and Luna were waving at the camera. Their father was smiling and laughing, up on his hind legs grasping a warm and enthused Ruby. Their mother never looked so young and happy in their memory.

Luna’s pupils spread wide as she stared at her mother, drinking in what little solace it had. It wasn’t enough to bring her mother back to Luna, but it was enough to stop her tears.

“You can keep it,” Celestia smiled, seeing the joy it had brought her.

Luna looked up almost in tears again. “I-I can’t,” she started, trying to push the picture away. “It’s yours. You should keep it.”

“It is precious to us both, but I know you will keep it safe.”

Luna took back the photo staring at it again. Her sister was the most generous pony she ever knew.

The high pitched tone of the forest bell rang once more through Celestia’s ears. She looked towards the door to the tent. That small light had appeared again.

“Stay here,” she said to Luna, without turning from the light. She crept out of her sleeping bag and over toward the door. Opening it just slightly, she peered out into the woods. The star had reappeared, twinkling behind the trees.

A soft voice called out to her. Again, there were no words, but something about this voice made Celestia feel it was safe. She had to go there. She closed the door and went digging into her bag to find some clothes. Luna watched her confused.

“Tia, where are you going?” she asked.

“There’s something I need to see. Stay here and I’ll be back soon.”

“No!” Luna whispered a little too loudly. Star’s snored abruptly stopped in a snort, before slowly returning to normal.

“Shh!” Celestia tried to keep her quiet. “It may not be safe, Luna. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“If you don’t let me come, I’ll wake up Daddy!”

Celestia felt trapped. The voice continued to call out for her longingly. “Sigh. Fine, but stay right by me every second; and you have to do what I say no matter what! Understood?”

Luna nodded enthusiastically, but Celestia was not convinced.

“Do you swear it?”

“I swear, Tia,” she replied almost immediately.

“Put something warm on,” Celestia instructed. “It’s very cold out there.”

The girls quietly slipped their warm coats on and crept out of the tent, without rousing any of the adults.

“So where are we going?” Luna asked curiously.

“Do you see that twinkle, deep in those trees?”

Luna looked back and forth. She was determined to see whatever her sister was seeing, but saw nothing but darkness within the trees. She shook her head in disappointment.

“Well I see something in those woods, and it’s calling to me. You don’t hear anything either, do you?”

Luna strained against the silence of the woods. She could here trees, a few animal and insect calls, but nothing calling out. She shook her head again.

“Well something is trying to get my attention, and I intend to find out what,” Celestia whispered.

With a small hesitation, she placed the first hoof outside the border of the camp. There was a small hum of the protective magical barrier surrounding the camp as she stepped through it. Once completely through, she looked back at her sister, who quickly followed. They were now no longer under the protection of the camp. With the dark woods looming before them, they pressed forward.

Every leaf blowing, every animal calling, every twig breaking set Luna’s fur on edge. She nervously twitched from left to right every half second, waiting for something to appear.

Celestia’s mind had blocked them all out. She was focused on nothing but her goal; the twinkling starlight ahead of her, and the voice drawing her in. Both she and Luna failed to notice the glowing eyes watching them from the shadows as they made their way deeper into the forest.

After they walked for nearly thirty minutes, Celestia could finally see where the light was coming from. An old castle stood up on a cliff, across from a rickety bridge. Whatever was calling out for her was inside that castle. She took one step towards it before the shaking ground snapped her out of her trance.

Tremors were spreading outward from the mountain volcano in the distance. The sound of a tired beast within the mountain snarled for the interruption in his sleep. It turned over and smacked down onto the cavern floor and back to sleep.

“Aaaaaaaaah!!!” Luna screeched as the ground gave way where she stood. She grabbed onto a root, but the hole in the ground fell hundreds of feet deep into a bright red pit. “HELP ME!!!!”

“HOLD ON LUNA!!!” Celestia screamed, racing over to grab her sister. She looked out below her sister’s hooves and saw the lava churning below. “Whatever you do, don’t look down!”

Luna’s sudden extreme urge to look down was luckily stemmed by her inability to turn her neck while holding on for dear life. This did not make her any less scared. “Help!” she cried.

Celestia tried to reach her hoof out and stretch it as far as it would go. She was only a few inches short, but that was enough. If she reached any further, they’d both be crispy critters. She pulled her hoof back and stood up.

“What are you doing?” Luna shrieked. “Help me!”

“Luna, I’m going to find something to get you out. Hold on tight. I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t leave me!” she cried. Her eyes welled up with tears.

“Luna, I promise you I will be back. I will save you, but you need to hang on!” Celestia tried to reassure her. Luna sniffed and nodded. Celestia disappeared from Luna’s sight. When Celestia was gone from view, the glowing eyes crept out from the shadows towards their easy prey.

Celestia had raced off to find a branch strong enough and easy enough to grab onto. Of all the twigs and branches littered across the forest floor, none were long and strong enough. She finally saw a branch low enough and just the right size. She began tugging and tugging until an owl suddenly sat down on the very branch she was trying to break off.

“Shoo!” Celestia waved her hoof to get the owl to stop bothering her.

The owl’s response was to blink and say, “Who.”

“Please! Go away I need this to save my sister please!” Celestia had no idea why she was talking to an animal, but at this point it didn’t matter. Only Luna mattered to her.

The owl took off from the branch. Celestia kept tugging and trying to rip it off, but it was taking too long. Suddenly, dozens of small woodland animals appeared and were helping her get the branch off. The rabbits pulled, the birds pecked. The beavers gnawed. Within seconds, the branch was free.

Celestia had no clue how the owl understood her and then communicated the message to the other animals, but she was grateful. She was hurrying back when the renewed screams of her sister rang out into the forest.

“Tia!!! Aaaaah!!! Help!!!”

She raced back to the scene, where a massive wolf made of wood was swiping at the dangling pony.

Like Celestia, the wolf was unable to grab Luna from the root, but that didn’t stop him from trying. Celestia ran up to the creature and smacked the branch down onto its head.

The wolf growled, turning its attention to the other pony. He snapped his jaws and lunged at her. Celestia fell onto her back, holding the wolf back with her branch. Its sharp wooden teeth where snapping open and shut mere inches from her nose. Celestia jabbed the wolf in the eye with her horn. The wolf recoiled, allowing her to jump back up from under him.

Out of the corner of her eye Celestia saw it. “Luna! You have to let go!” she screamed out to her sister.

“WHAT!!?” Luna screamed in confusion. “I’ll fall!”

“You have to trust me! You will be safe. I’m being completely honest with you. Let go!”

Celestia continued to thrust the branch back and forth like a sword. She was up on her hind legs and struggling to keep the wolf away from her sister without being killed herself.

Luna was still hesitating. She was too scared to let go. She gripped even more tightly onto the root, which began to slip from the rock.

“Ah! HELP ME!!!” Luna screamed again. The root would break at any moment.

“You have to let go, Luna!” Celestia yelled. The wolf lunged at Celestia biting the branch as she swung. She fell back to the ground. She was trapped.

Luna closed her eyes. One last tear fell just before she herself did. Letting go of the root, she awaited the embrace of death. It was so peaceful, she hadn’t fell a thing, other than strange beating sounds; dozens of them. She opened her eyes and could see the lava pit below. She looked around to see dozens of birds of all different shapes and sizes carrying her to safety.

Celestia saw Luna rise up from the hole being carried by the birds. The wolf was a second from sinking its teeth into Celestia’s neck. Her horn glowed brightly suddenly as the wolf’s stomach ignited in flame.

It wailed in pain as the fire spread from branch to branch within him. He jumped off Celestia and ran off into the forest to look for water, quickly.

The birds lowered Luna safely onto the ground. She ran up and hugged her big sister.

“I’m so sorry Luna,” she apologized. “We should not have come. This is too dangerous.”

“I thought you might not come back,” Luna said nuzzling her sister as she hugged.

“I will always be loyal to you, Luna,” she replied. “You are my family.”

Two more high pitched bells rang out from the castle. Being so close now, they were almost deafening. Celestia was done playing adventure, however. She pulled apart from Luna and said, “We need to go back.”

Luna had no disagreements to offer. They turned back toward the path they took to get there. Two more timber wolves stood in their way. They did not look happy at what happened to their brother. They sprinted toward the pair of them, mouths open, teeth glaring.

Without even thinking, Celestia ducked her nose under Luna between her legs and scooped her up onto her back. She galloped away from the wolves as fast as she could. The bridge was her only chance. She raced out onto the bridge, but the wood was old. It creaked loudly with each step. She couldn’t simply run across, but neither could the wolves.

She carefully stepped one hoof at a time feeling for weak rungs. The wolves were less concerned and gaining. She was nearing the other side, when one of the wolves had caught up. It bit her tail, causing Celestia to shriek. The wolf grabbed and pulled, but the weaker rung he was standing on gave way, causing him to slip and become entangled in the ropes.

Celestia leaped past the last few steps of the bridge and raced toward the castle. The second wolf used his companion to do the same and chased them straight to the castle doors. As soon as she was inside, Celestia sealed the doors just in time. The wolf growled and banged on the doors furiously, but unable to break in. They were safe for a little while.

As the creatures scratched and clawed at the door, Celestia and Luna found themselves trapped inside an ancient castle, built by who knows and for who knows why. The walls were decaying, and parts of the ceiling were completely gone to father time, but it was enough to keep the timber wolves from reaching them.

Leaving them to fight with the door, Celestia was being called once again by the mysterious voice. It was so loud in her mind now that she hadn’t even heard the pleas of her little sister, begging her not to keep going.

Celestia followed the voice through the corridor, with Luna in her shadow. Her horn glowed brightly, illuminating the path the voice wanted her to follow. The castle was vast. Old carpets had frayed and decayed for centuries or more, leaving merely shreds of colored fibers behind. The air was musky from the mold that had long since found its home here. To Luna, it was something out of her worst nightmares.

Celestia followed the voice down a second passage, which opened up into a large chamber. Painted on the walls, were the stories of generations of the people that once lived here. Out of the corner of her eye, Celestia caught the starlight twinkling over one of the depictions near the far end.

She walked up to it, gazing at the crude, but vivid images. Luna looked at it as well. Suddenly the images sprang to life! Luna jumped back in shock, but Celestia actually shushed her.

“Luna, shh! This place is trying to tell us something important!”

Luna looked incredulously at her sister. “Tia, this place is haunted! We need to get out of here!” she begged, but to no avail. She tried tugging on her tail, but Celestia simply shook her off.

“Luna! Listen for a moment. Try to hear what I hear!” Celestia gestured toward the wall again.

Luna was petrified now. She would give anything to be anywhere but these horrible woods right now. Finally she looked at the moving figures on the wall and listened. After a moment, Luna forgot she was scared.

“I can hear it!” she proclaimed. The voice was talking as though there was a person standing right in the room with them, explaining the depictions before them.

“Our world was once a peaceful haven of magical cooperation. We celebrated life and worked diligently to keep our people happy.”

The figures of two-legged beings were joined by their arms dancing in a circle around a bonfire. Celestia and Luna could even hear the music and the laughter of the scene.

“One day something terrible happened; a disaster that came from the sky.”

The dancing figures started to scream and run away from a bright flashing light.

“No one could explain what happened, other than to blame each other. As war broke out across our lands, all that we strived to accomplish was being wiped away in blood.”

The figures grabbed spears and arrows and launched them at each other. Bodies began piling up in a heap.

“It was too late that we realized who was truly to blame for the tragedy. A dangerous race from across the stars had attacked us. They drove us apart so we would easily fall. Those few of us who could see the truth, banded together to fight the invaders. We constructed the ultimate defense; a magic unlike anything ever seen.

A group of figures gathered around a table with sparks flying out as they worked.

“It combined the most powerful principles of magic: Laughter, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity and Loyalty. Together they made up the Elements of Harmony.”

From the sparking tables arose fives spheres circling in the air around them.

“But it was too late. We completed our last hope for survival, but no one could wield it. One of us managed to activate the five spheres, but was unable to complete the process. Something hadn't worked”

The five spheres glowed as they circled around one of the figures, before falling to the ground in failure.

“With our only hope gone, the worst happened. The invaders made our air toxic, raped our lands of its resources, and finally stole the energy of our sun until it completely disappeared from the sky. All went dark. Our world was lost.”

The glowing drawing of the sun on the wall faded away and blackness spread across.

“Our people had concluded at the final hour, that the five elements we created can be joined together, to reveal a sixth element. We do not know what this final element is. If you are hearing this, then you are in desperate need of help, and you possess the traits of all five elements. If you find you also possess this last unknown trait, then you should be able to fully activate the Elements of Harmony and use it to save your kind. You will find the five elements in the adjacent chamber. I wish you all the luck my people never had.”

The figures on the wall returned to their original still drawings. Only the light from Celestia’s glowing horn remained. The sisters turned from the wall toward each other. Both had the shock of what they had just witnessed. After a moment, Celestia made for the next room.

Luna grabbed her tail again. “Tia, no!” she insisted. “This is another trap. Please don’t go in there!”

Celestia looked from Luna to the room and back again. Her mind had been made up. “I’m sorry little sister. I do not believe this is a trap, but I do feel that this may be the answer to the prayers of all ponies. I’m going in.”

She yanked her tail away from Luna’s hooves and proceeded on to the next room. Inside was a massive stone sculpture. Five arms spread out from the center; each containing a marble sphere. On top of the structure was a large white dome. On closer inspection of the stones, Celestia could make out different shapes, etched into them. They resembled different cuts of gems: three sided, four, five…up to an eight-sided gem shape.

She walked up to one of the spheres and reached out for it. Luna cowered, afraid what to see what might happen. Celestia pressed her hoof to the sphere and pushed her magic into it.

A flash shot through her mind; the memory of giving her sister her last photo of their mother: generosity. She pulled her hoof back and saw the sphere remained glowing.

She reached out for another. The memory of her saving the Pegasus colt from the tree: kindness. Another showed Luna finally laughing after weeks of sorrow: Laughter; the memory of Luna desperately holding on for her life, waiting for her sister to fulfill her promise to return: Loyalty; Convincing Luna she was telling the truth that she would be safe if she let go: Honesty…

The five spheres wrapped around her. They began spinning, preparing to activate. All that was left was for the sixth element to be revealed…but what was it?

Different thoughts started to flood Celestia’s mind: memories of her father, Luna, Mint, Star, the kids from the school. Memories of her friends and family flashed back and forth through her mind as a thought suddenly dawned on her.

“Magic is useless without friends and family to love…Friendship is Magic!”

Suddenly the castle started to shake as the spheres whirled faster and faster around the Alicorn. They created a wind tunnel that caused Luna to duck behind a broken up wall.

“TIA NOOOOOOO!!!!! PLEEEAAASSSE!!!!! DON’T LEAVE ME TOO!!!!! PLEASE!!! I BEG YOU!!!!! TIA, PLEASE!!!!!”

Suddenly, a burst of light shined in all directions, shooting high up into the sky. A sixth sphere with a six-point star etching appeared directly over Celestia’s head, before turning into a magnificent golden tiara. The six-point star was the center piece, with the five other gems for each element lined across the band. The crown rested on Celestia’s head and she landed softly on the ground. The light faded around here. The castle was soaked in darkness once more.

“Tia?" Luna timidly asked the darkness. “Are you there?”

The light of Celestia horn grew brightly, illuminating the entire room as though somepony had suddenly discovered a light switch for the castle.

“TIA!!!!” she cried, running up to her big sister. Rather than hugging her, she punched her hard.

“Ow!!! What was that for?”

“I said not to go! I begged you! YOU IGNORED ME!!!!!” she screamed, echoing against the walls.

Celestia scooped the angry pony into a hug anyway. “I’m sorry little sis, but this was too important. I understand now what these people were trying to do. They were trying to save themselves from disaster. Thanks to their efforts, we can now save ours!”

Luna cocked one eyebrow in confusion, but before she could say another word, another light shined down from the sky.

“Are you girls alright?” a familiar voice spoke out from the light.

“Daddy!?” The girls called out in unison. Celestia quickly hid her tiara inside her jacket. “Daddy! We’re trapped. There are wolves out there!”

“Hold on! I’m coming to get you!” Bake said as he maneuvered the small craft around looking for the easiest spot to land.

Celestia quickly grabbed Luna and stared straight into her eyes. “Luna, please do not tell Dad about the elements. We need to keep this a secret okay?”

“But–”

“No buts, Luna. Please! Do not mention them!” Celestia begged.

Luna looked around deciding noncommittally until she final sighed. “Okay.”

“Thank you,” Celestia said kissing her sister on her forehead. “Thank you.”

It took a lot of imagination to come up with a story for what they were doing there in the middle of the night. And Celestia’s punishment for endangering not only herself, but Luna as well, was the worst she ever had in her entire life; a month of chores for five hours a day, every single day. From scrubbing, to lifting, to helping with building construction, her hooves quickly became raw from overwork.

She accepted her punishment and did everything she was told. But her secret remained safe. And the Elements of Harmony remained safe with her.

Darkened Pasts

Darkened Pasts

Thirty-seven years prior to the Maretropolis Disaster…

“Hey guys! Watch this!” a seven year old Puttinghoof shouted out to his friends. They turned to see him hunched over with orange halves in eye sockets and carrot tusks in his mouth. “ROAR!!!!!”

He friends keeled over from laughing so hard. They rolled about laughing and playing as the sun shined down onto the fresh green grass.

“You gotta stop, P-Hoof; I’m dying over here,” Puttinghoof’s best friend, Digger yelled holding his sides.

P-Hoof, as he was known by his friends, simply lived to see his friends laughing. It was his favorite thing to do; a hobby not so admired by his father: Vice-Counsel to the Chancellor of the United Earth Pony Delegation.

P-Hoof continued his monstrous persona by adding a towel as a cape. He flew around the yard, roaring at his friends while they ran screaming and laughing. He hadn’t noticed the dark shadow overtaking him. His two friends had noticed though. They stopped laughing and bowed their heads quickly, before making a run for it.

Puttinghoof turned his head around to notice the dark outline in the shape of his father, blocking out the sun. Without so much as a word, his father bit the back of his neck, lifting him off the ground, and carried him straight into the house.

The young colt knew he was in trouble. His father hated laughter. He seemed to think it was a weakness. His father continued to carry him down to the cellar. Puttinghoof started shaking. He knew what was coming next and he’d do anything to be anywhere else.

“Daddy, I’m sorry,” he started. “Please. I didn’t mean to…I promise it won’t happen again.”

“I’m glad to see you’re starting to lie like a proper politician…” his father finally responded in a cold deep voice that could make the scales on a dragon stand on end. “…but I do not except lying to me!” His voice was steadily increasing in volume and intensity. “I’ve told you time and time again,” he continued as he searched for something on his tool shelf, “a comedian doesn’t become a leader! They do not become powerful. They become the clowns of society; nothing more than leeches, begging for bit coins in their cup on a street corner!”

As he searched for the right tool for the job, he skipped the rope, skipped the ruler stick, and reached for the leather straps.

“No!” The colt began quivering with fear. He tried to run, but his father was quicker.

“NOOOO!!!! AHHHH!!! NOOOOOOO!!!! DADDY!!!!! DAAADDDDYYYYY!!!!!!!”

His screams echoed along the walls of the cellar. The lashings from the belt split open his fur and his skin leaving bloody streaks along his back. By the time it was over, the small little Earth pony was nearly unconscious from the pain. He had cried so much, he’d run out of tears. Dropping the belt to the floor, his father left the crying pony in the cellar, and turned out the lights.

Clean Sweep, their Unicorn maid, was waiting just outside the door. The cold and bitter Earth pony glared at her warning, “Do not go in there for another thirty minutes! Then you may patch him up. Remember, no scars or your family’s immigration status in the Earth Pony Territories will be revoked!”

He stalked off up the stairs to his study. Clean waited just enough time to ensure the door to the study was closed. She then raced down the steps, toward the weak little pony.

“We need to get you cleaned up,” she said, gently placing him on her back. Her uniform was staining with blood, but it did not matter. She took him to her personal bathroom and rested him down in the tub. She turned on the lukewarm water gently. Puttinghoof tensed up from the pain of the water touching his wounds, but almost immediately relaxed as Clean’s horn glowed yellow, soothing the pain and healing him.

Honeysuckle was waiting for him in his room after the maid had finished tending to him. She hated to see her older brother in so much pain. He was the only one who could make her laugh.

When Clean opened the door for him, the young colt entered to find Honey on his bed, looking at him with large green eyes. He climbed up onto the bed and gave her one look, before he completely broke down and cried his heart with his head buried in her soft silken pink mane. She stroked his head tenderly as she cried along with him. No words needed to be spoken.

Puttinghoof cared greatly for his little sister. Their father never beat her, but he still disapproved of laughter, even with her. If she giggled in front of him, he would stare down at her with contempt until the smile was quickly wiped from her face.

Which is exactly why the pair of them would always venture away from the house whenever they could, to hang out by the stream. They’d spend almost every afternoon in the summertime by the water telling jokes and laughing freely. It was their own special time together.

Not long after his most recent beating, the two of them were once again playing by the stream.

“Hey Honey, what did the pony say when his new neighbors said ‘Welcome to the neighborhood!’?”

“What?” Honey asked balancing herself on one hoof, standing on a rock, poking out of the water.

“Boy! What a bunch of ‘NEIGH’-sayers!” He laughed at his own wit.

Honey burst out laughing, despite it being such a terrible pun. She skipped from one rock to the next, laughing as she went. She hadn’t noticed the moss growing on the next stone she hopped onto.

“Waahh!” she yelped, as her hoof slipped on the rock. She fell back, bashing her head onto another rock. The current of the stream quickly swept her away before Puttinghoof could get to her. He ran down the bank screaming his head off.

“HONEY!!!!! SOMEBODY!!! HELP!!! ANYBODY!!!!! PLEASE!!! HELP!!!!!”

He galloped as fast as he could until he finally was able to catch up to her. She had become entangled in some branches with her head buried in the water.

Puttinghoof dove into the water using the branches to keep his balance. He pulled Honey from the water to the shore. Her eyes were closed. She wasn’t breathing.

Clean Sweep ran down to the stream after hearing the screams. She caught up with them just as Puttinghoof had pulled her from the water.

She smacked her communication band. “Emergency Digiport! Pony General Hospital; three ponies, 1 patient.”

The light of the digiport wrapped around the three ponies, reappearing in an instant in the hospital. Doctors rushed over to look at the young filly.

“Earth pony filly; head trauma; not breathing; possible water in the lungs,” the doctor made a quick assessment. “We need to get her into surgery.”

The doctors rushed off with Honeysuckle, leaving Puttinghoof and Clean Sweep in the waiting area. After twenty minutes, Puttinghoof’s father arrived. His face was so rigid, that it could have been mistaken for a wax replica. He did not say a word to either of them.

When the doctor’s returned several hours later, they lacked any sort of poker face. All three knew. Honey was gone.

All three rode in the back of Puttinghoof’s father’s car. The driver pulled away from the hospital back to the house. The entire length of the trip was met with silence. Puttinghoof was desperate to cry, as was Clean Sweep, but they knew better. Leaning their heads back, they both attempted to prevent their watery eyes from leaking.

When they had returned, it wasn’t three seconds after Puttinghoof had stepped out of the car that his father’s teeth clamped down on the back of his neck. They pressed in so far, it nearly tore through.

“Sir! Please,” Clean tried to calm him down. “You need to mourn. Don’t do anything you’ll regret…Please!”

*WHAM!!!*

Clean was unconscious on the floor with a broken jaw.

Puttinghoof’s father took him down once again to the cellar. Puttinghoof tried desparately to get away, but the more he struggled, the more pain he felt as his flesh began to tear around his father’s teeth. His father’s hurled him into a pile of wood.

He turned toward his tool bench to begin the search. Putting tried to make a run for it, but was stuck by a wrench that flew straight at him. The colt dropped from the blow as it shattered two ribs. He could no longer move, but was still conscious.

His father returned to his search, before pulling out a steel hammer. It weighed nearly ten pounds. Even a single blow to a vital organ could be fatal.

Puttinghoof closed his eyes. He pushed his thoughts to images of his little sister. At least they would be together soon.

The hammer swung down upon him, before it stopped in mid air, surrounded by a yellow glow. The hammer reversed direction and the nail removing end struck his father, piercing his skull. The old stallion collapsed dead upon the floor, bleeding out.

Clean sweep struggled down the stairs, still woozy from being struck herself. She scooped up Puttinghoof and brought him up from the cellar. She contacted the police, who arrived within minutes to discover the scene.

They got the maid’s statement and assessed the scene. They promptly arrested clean Sweep for the murder of an Earth pony government official. The penalty for which is death. Despite the circumstances, as a government official, without two witnesses to the crime, the father had the protection of diplomatic immunity. Clean’s family was deported before the trial. They never saw her before the end.

Puttinghoof was sent to live with his grandmother, who was a kind and gentle pony. She looked after him and tried to help him cope with all that happened. His father was celebrated as the ‘Hero of Maretroplis’, who was brutally murdered by his Unicorn maid. None knew of his familial troubles.

Many years later he had long since buried his fondness for humor to only those he was closest to. To the public eye, he was a serious pony who would lead their country into the future. As such his was elected Chancellor in a sweeping victory. It was only later, that they discovered his ineptitude for the job.

At night, after consuming vast quantities of hard cider, Puttinghoof found himself in the company of young filly prostitutes. He’d forget his serious side, and laugh and tease the young ponies.

On some nights, he would wake up in bed with the filly, and see his little sister lying next to him.

“Oh Honeysuckle!” he cried, stroking her mane. “I’ve missed you so much!”

The filly turned to face him, but it wasn’t Honey. The drunk and melancholy stallion became enraged as the image of his little sister was popped by the prostitute lying beside him. He punched her across her face, sending her crying from the room. He turned back over in his bed and cried himself to sleep. “Honey…”

Thirty-one years prior to the Maretropolis Disaster…

The sun was shining. There were just a few small clouds spread out to paint the sky. It was the middle of spring and all of the flowers were in bloom. It was the perfect day for playing outside on the palace grounds.

The only thing that made the day even better for Princess Platinum was she had gotten her cutie mark just the day before: a tiara over three smiling flowers. Royalty usually received their cutie marks early in life, as they were destined for rule. Platinum, however, was not sure if she wanted such a huge responsibility.

Only the day before was the first time she had ever seen a homeless pony; a young colt, no less. She was relaxing in the late afternoon, enjoying a cupcake designed to be the sweetest, most delicious cupcake ever crafted by the royal chef.

Unbeknownst to her, the cupcake had been made by the chef’s Alicorn apprentice, a young Sugar Baker, who was ecstatic to be given such a glorious chance to put his new chef’s hat cutie mark to the test.

When the princess tried to nibble in a royal dignified manner, she was forced to succumb to diving nose first into the crème, devouring it. No one questioned the true chef of the pastry, but Platinum did get a few hours in eating etiquette lessons as punishment for her uncouth display.

As the princess relaxed on the far end of the palace grounds, enjoying another cupcake, she noticed a pair of eyes staring at her hungrily.

“Hello?” she asked the eyes, hidden in some bushes behind a fence.

The eyes blinked, but stayed silent. Platinum crept closer to the fence until she could make out the eyes’ owner: a young Unicorn colt.

“My name is Princess Platinum. What is yours?”

The princess did not have any friends her age. Everypony she knew was either part of the royal family or worked for them. She was excited to meet somepony a little closer to her age, but the young colt tried to hide in the bush more.

“You are not hiding too well, you know. What is your name?”

“…Forage,” he finally whispered, still hiding in the bush.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Forage!” the princess said, holding a hoof out to him, in the proper royal manner.

The colt wasn’t sure how to respond, so he reached through the fence and shook her hoof like he would for anypony.

“What are you doing?” the princess cried in shock, pulling her hoof back. “You are supposed to gently kiss my hoof; not grab it!”

“S-Sorry!” the Forage shrieked hiding deeper in the tree again.

“It is okay,” the princess said, forgetting the rudeness. “Would you like some of my cupcake?” she held out the half eaten cupcake.

This gesture was too much for the starving pony. He snatched it from her and devoured it, without so much as a thank you.

“Hey! That was rude!” she yelled angrily.

When Forage had licked the last bit of crème from the wrapper, he regained his faculties, realizing what he’d done.

“Oh gosh! I’m s-so sorry! I was just so… so hungry! Thank you, Princess!”

Platinum had never seen somepony so hungry in her life. He was no longer hidden by the brush and she could make out more of the Unicorn’s features. However, she still could not tell what color his coat was from all the dirt that covered him. The clothes he wore were all torn with holes in them. It was the most unsightly thing the princess had ever witnessed.

“Why are you so dirty?” she asked.

Forage turned beet red from embarrassment. “I…I-um…I don’t got a home, you see.”

“How could you not have a home? Where do you sleep at night?”

“I-um…I sleep…in an alley nearby,” he answered with his ears turned down in shame.

“That is terrible!” the princess shouted. “Is that why you are so hungry?”

The colt nodded.

The princess reached a decision. She wanted to help the small homeless pony, but her father, the king, had told her before, “We do not associate with peasants. We are above such things.” She chose to ignore her father’s words and help her new and only real friend.

“Come back here tonight after sundown Forage, and I will bring you some food,” she said smiling.

Forage’s eyes widened with joy as tears formed at the bottoms of them. “Thank you, Princess! Thank you!”

The colt ran away excited. The princess was so pleased with herself. She never felt so happy to have helped another pony. And she even made a new friend. When she returned that evening, she had snuck out of the palace with a small bag of apples. She gave them to the Unicorn who said thank you so many times, that she had to shush him before the palace guards caught them.

“Come back again tomorrow night, and I will try to get you some more food!” the princess said merrily.

“Princess, I know we can’t hang out like normal friends, but I wanted you to know; you’re the bestest friend I ever had.”

Platinum was overwhelmed. Tears started forming in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, before she quickly added, “I will see you again tomorrow night Forage. Pleasant night.”

“You too!” he said as he took the bag of apples and left.

As the princess walked back to the palace, she felt her flank tingling. She turned to see her brand new cutie mark: a tiara over three smiling flowers, for all the ponies she wanted to help.

The next day, when the king saw her cutie mark, he arranged for a grand feast, to celebrate the occasion. There was every kind of food imaginable; from salads and fruits, to flowers and roots; from breads and pastries, to all things tasty. It was a feast the princess had never known.

Throughout the dinner, she kept taking pieces of food and placing it on top of a napkin she had placed on the floor. By the time the meal was finished, she had gathered enough food for her friend to be able to have a feast as well. She was so happy with how things were going.

When the princess returned to her special place to meet her homeless friend, something was different. One of the lamps had gone out. She was a little nervous in the dark, so she called out to her friend.

“Forage?...Are you there?”

It was several seconds before she finally heard a reply. “Over here…” he whispered. His voice was different. Platinum could not be sure, but something seemed wrong.

“Over here, Princess,” he called again. His voice almost seemed reluctant; like he really didn’t want to be there. The Princess approached warily.

“I’ve brought you a whole bunch of food this time! She tried to cheer up what seemed to her like a very depressed pony. As she got closer, she could see the outline of her friend, but something was different. Several bars in the fence were missing.

“Forage? What is going on?”

“NOW!!!” some other pony yelled.

The princess was suddenly grabbed from behind. She tried to scream, but a damp cloth covered her mouth before any sound could come out. Her eyelids suddenly weighed as heavy as if somepony had attached weights to them.

“I’m sorry…” a sad voice mumbled in the blurry background. Within seconds, the princess blacked out.

“…taken your daughter…  …ten billion bits…  …three hours…”

The princess opened her eyes to a blurry room. She could make out somepony speaking, but was still feeling too woozy to make anything clear. Finally her father’s voice snapped her back to reality.

“…do not negotiate with terrorists. Your lives are now forfeit.”

“Than so is your daughter’s. Three hours, your Majesty,” the Unicorn stallion replied into a screenpad with her father’s face on it. He closed the connection.

Platinum could see she was in a dank room, probably a basement or cellar, but as she’d never been in one, she could not be sure. She found herself bound and gagged, unable to move. She tried to squirm through the ropes, unsuccessfully.

“Ah you’re awake,” the Unicorn terrorist said looking at Platinum. “We’ll soon see if your daddy really loves you or not.”

He laughed taking a large gulp of hard cider and walked away towards several other ponies carrying guns, sitting at a table in the corner. All of them had similar tattered outfits like Forage’s. Platinum realized they must be homeless too.

The princess was struggling with the ropes they had bound her with. Even magic seemed to have no effect, though admittedly she wasn’t the greatest at magic.

The cloth gagged in her mouth suddenly loosened and fell off.

“Shhh!” Forage whispered quickly, before the princess could scream. “If they hear you, they’ll put the gag back on.

Platinum stared at him angrily. “I trusted you! I tried to help you!” she whispered angrily.

“I know! I’m so sorry! None of this was supposed to happen!” he tried to explain. “They saw you give me the apples and forced me to help them.”

He was working the knots in the bindings, but was struggling to get them untangled.

“If I can get these free, you can make a run for it. I’ll try to stop them.”

“What will happen to you?” Platinum asked, trying to look behind her as Forage untied the ropes.

“Don’t worry about it. This is my fault. I have to fix this!” he said. At last the ropes released, and the princess stood up.

“Wait for my signal, then run for it!” he instructed. He didn’t have much of a plan, but he was determined to try anyway. He crept towards the drunken guards at the table, trying not to be seen, when all of the sudden, one of them cried out.

“Wow! What a headache!” he proclaimed, rubbing his forehead. “Ow. Ow! OW!!!”

He collapsed onto the table. The rest of the group stared at the guard, not quite sure what had just happened. Then a second guard started crying in pain.

“We’re under attack! Kill the kid!” the leader ordered.

Instead, all of the guards started grabbing their foreheads, trying to stop whatever was being done to them.

“Princess, run!” Forage screamed. He grabbed her hoof and together they attempted to flee.

“Oh no you don’t!” the leader screamed one hoof on his head, the other on a gun. He fired at the pair of them. The princess made it up the stairs to the door and opened it quickly.

“Come on!” she yelled to her friend, but he wasn’t behind her. His body lay at the bottom of the stairs, shot several times.

“NOOOOOO!!!!”

She started to go back down, but the colt looked up at her and mouthed silently, “GO!” His head lowered back down, and his eyes closed.

The princess shut her eyes tight trying to hold back her tears, unsuccessfully. She pulled open the door and ran straight into the palace guards. She was safe.

She cried for hours until she was brought before the king. It was the first and only time she ever saw her father with tears in his eyes. He grabbed her and hugged her tightly.

“I’m sorry, father,” she started to say. “I-I just wanted to help him.”

“Tell me what happened,” he said. After several minutes, the king finally had an understanding of what had transpired.

“Daughter, as royalty we help the Unicorn race every day. We can’t help every single pony. Any society has its poor. The poor often become desperate and do desperate things as a result.”

“I just wanted to give him some food,” she cried. “Now he is dead because of me!”

“Shhh, shh,” he patted her head. “It was noble of you to want to help him, but generosity is a weakness that can cause a kingdom to fall. You must never forget this. You are safe now. But if you do not learn this lesson, it will happen again. Do you understand, Platinum?”

The princess nodded and wiped the tears away. She never forgot her father’s words. Despite her cutie mark, she never again sought to help others; only to keep the kingdom strong.

Twenty-six years prior to the Maretropolis Disaster…

---

Dear Diary,

Tomorrow is my first day at my new school. Im so excited! Mommy tells me there are lots of Alicorns there. I hope they like me.

Your friend,

Hirkie

Dear Diary,

It was awful! The Alicorns laughed at me cause Im small. Its not fair! Mommy said I need to get to know them, but I dont wanna!

Your friend,

Hirkie

Dear Diary,

Mommy bought me a pet hamster today. He is funny to watch. I named him Hammy. I dont need friends when I got Hammy. I wish I could take him with me to school.

Your friend,

Hirkie

Dear Diary,

FINALLY! I made a friend today! His name is Rain Slick. He is a Pegasus to. We Pegasuses need to stick together! The Alicorns laugh at me and him. Boulder and Boxer are the worst. They use magic to make us hit ourselves. If I had magic, Id make them hit each other!

Your friend,

Hirkie

Dear Diary,

My friend Rain got hurt today. Boulder thought it would be funny to make him fall in gym on the rope climb. The teacher thought he just slipped. I saw it. He did it! But Boulder said he didnt and he believed him.

Your friend,

Hirkie

Dear Diary,

Boulder and Boxer dunked my head in the toilet for tattling. I swallowed some water. If I was big, I’d make them pay.

Hirkie

Dear Diary,

Hammy died today. I didn’t mean to. I was so angry at those mean Alicorns. Hammy was helping me. He would wiggle so much every time I squeezed him with my hooves. Eventually I pushed hard enough for his eyes to pop out! It was so cool! He stopped moving though. I never killed nothing before. It was so much fun. It would be awesome if I could squish those bullies and see their eyes go pop!

Your friend,

Hirkie

Dear Diary,

My parents read you and told the princibal. Boulder and Boxer had to stay after class. They looked at me and made me gulp. I dont want to go back to school, but Daddy says I half to.

My parents yelled at me for killing Hammy. Now I have to see this funny Earth pony who does nothing but ask me questions. I dont know why I have to see him, but Mommy says I have no choice.

Today was not all bad. I met the prettiest pony I ever saw. She was tall and pink with beeutiful wings and her horn was so shiny. And she smiled at me!

Hirkie

(I found a new place to hide you so Mommy and Daddy won’t find you again)

Dear Diary,

It’s been awhile since I’ve written to you. I recently found you buried among some old books in the closet. It seems kinda dumb now, but I figured I’d give it a try. I’m now in middle school and my life hasn’t improved much.

Those bullies still harass Rain and me every day. I’ve learned to hide my lunch money and let them take only a dollar from me every day. My parents are still sending me to that shrink.

The only good part of my day is getting to see Dawn. She sits next to me in science class. Whenever there is a magic assignment, I get paired with her to get it done. She’s quiet, but still says hi to me. I don’t know what else to talk about, so whatever.

Hirkain

Dear Diary,

I finally figured out a way to tell Dawn how I feel. I wrote her a letter. But I didn’t put my name on it. When she tells me it’s the most wonderful letter she’s ever gotten, I’ll show her it was mine! I really hope this works.

Hirkain

THAT SON OF A MULE!!!!!

I can’t believe Boxer did this to me. I can’t even write how angry I am. How did he get that letter? Did she give it to him? No she wouldn’t. She couldn’t have. He must have stole it from her! That must be it. He saw her reading it and swiped it from her. Now everypony knows. I don’t understand how they knew it was me! Dawn couldn’t even look at me. She left school early and skipped our class together. What do I do now?

Hirkain

I’LL KILL THAT ALICORN BASTARD!!!!! He tried to fake a second letter from me, threatening Dawn. I would never harm Dawn. It actually said I wanted to cut off her wings! And now the principal wants to meet with me and my parents tomorrow. They’ll tell them about both letters. My life is doomed!

Dear Diary,

I’ve convinced my parents and the principal that the threat letter wasn’t mine. It wasn’t even my hoof-writing! But now Dawn doesn’t speak to me. She avoids me in the halls and changed her seat in class. It’s just not fair. I’m going to get even with those bullies once and for all!

Hirkain

Dear Diary,

My plan is in place. I’m going to stuff a small dark cloud so full of lightning, when those two idiots get to school, I’ll zap them both! Wish me luck!

Hirkain

Damn it, I just can’t win! They saw my cloud coming and used their magic to make me zap myself instead! My mane caught fire and I’m bald now! It’s just not fair. Now everypony’s calling me ‘Hurricane’ in the halls. “Oh no! Look out! The Hurricane is coming! Ahhh!” For the least popular pony in school, I sure seem to be well known. My life sucks.

Hurricane

The school dance is next week. It’s my last chance. I’m going to ask Dawn out once and for all! I will get her to go out with me! Just you watch!

Dear Diary,

Of all the worst possible things in the history of possible things, it had to be this! Dawn is going to the dance with Boulder. She actually said she doesn’t date Pegasi because we’re tiny and don’t live very long. Alicorn bitch. I have yet to meet a good Alicorn, and I think it’s because they don’t exist!

I know now that I should have stayed loyal to my own kind. Pegasi are a superior race and I’ll prove Alicorns are nothing by genetic filth!

Hirkain

Dear Diary,

Enough is enough! Those Alicorn bullies have pissed me off for the last time. They put my best friend in the hospital! Rain won’t even tell the cops it was them, out of fear. If the only thing they know is violence, fine! I’ll show them violence!

Hirkain

Dear Diary,

I still can’t believe it. I did it. I finally did it. I actually killed them. I didn’t mean to, but the idiot Boxer attacked me after school. The knife I brought was only supposed to scare them. He used his magic to cut my hoof with my own knife. I lunged at him to get him to stop and before I knew it, he had the knife in his gut.

Boulder tried to run. I knew if he told anyone I’d go to jail. I had to stop him. The fool forgot he had wings! I flew right into him. The knife slid so simply across his neck, like tracing a drawing straight along the line. It felt so good! His eyes looked so scared, something he probably never was in his entire life.

Wow! The rush is still flowing through my veins. Thank the stars no pony saw. I pulled them off into the woods and hid them under some leaves for now.

I never imagined how good this could be! My stupid parents always preached “Don’t fight” and “Violence is wrong”. Ha! Tonight I’m going to get rid of those Alicorn pieces of dung. I can’t wait to smell the sweet flesh as they burn in the forest. Nothing has ever felt just so right to me.

I know what my destiny is now. I won’t rest until the whole world spits every time the name ‘Alicorn’ is mentioned. And my brand new cutie mark certainly agrees: a sword of might hoisted on Pegasus wings. I’ve never felt so happy in all my life.

I guess this will be my final entry. I can’t keep evidence like this around, but I just wanted to write down in words the power I felt in my mind today.

Goodbye my oldest friend,

“Hurricane”

Six hours after the Maretropolis Disaster…

“Excuse me, but don’t I still have a seat on this counsel?” a voice called by the entrance to the hall. A tall Alicorn with bright pink hair and white fur entered the room. She had to duck so she would not hit her horn on the top of the entrance, which had been built for ponies, not Alicorns.

Commander Hirkain cringed upon sight that blasted Alicorn.

“Who invited you?” The he yelled at Galafrea.

“I have served on this counsel for two hundred years. Has anything changed in that regard?”

“You haven’t been to a counsel meeting in years, why should we listen to you now?” he barked.

“When a decision needed to be made to benefit all ponykind, I have always come,” she replied. “I just chose to ignore your petty squabbles of bureaucratic nonsense. But what happened today and is happening now, is something which greatly affects all of us.”

“It certainly does,” Chancellor Puttinghoof chimed in. Have a seat Galafrea.”

The commander stared daggers at the Alicorn as she took her seat. As the meeting progressed, his anger towards only grew.

“Mr. Hirkain, please. We need to work together if we are to survive this crisis. The colonies can no longer remain segregated by tribe. We must share all available resources amongst all tribes to succeed.”

“That’s Commander Hirkain!” he yelled. He was infuriated by this pony’s blatant disrespect. “And you’re only saying ‘work together’, ‘work together’ because Alicorns don’t have their own colony to flee to! You just want to leech off us! Well nothing doin! The Pegasi have been wanting to go our separate ways anyway, I see no time like the present!”

In the back of the commander’s mind, he was thinking, “And that would leave your kind behind with nothing. Ha!”

“I have always stated we need to join together and cooperate with one another,” said Galafrea. “And the only reason we don’t have our own colony is because of the treaty you forced us to sign!”

“It’s bad enough you have immortality, you think we were going to let you genetic freaks start spreading across the universe like a plague?”

“Not on my watch!” Hirkain added in his thoughts.

“For once I agree with Commander Hirkain!” the chancellor said. “While I wasn’t directly in favor of that stipulation in the treaty, I think it’s for the best to go our separate ways.”

Hirkain’s ears instantly picked up from the chancellor’s words. An unexpected ally had risen to the cause.

“–and you’re not even real ponies anyway…”

“HOW DARE YOU!!!!!” Galafrea screamed. “You’re talking about genocide! You want to murder all of us? Because make no mistake, such an action is nothing but the murder of almost a billion lives!”

Like a sweet song flowing across the room in a river, the Pegasus drank from the tears of the desperate Alicorn. He daydreamed of the Alicorns dying on a dying world.

“…If you three go through with your plan to abandon hundreds of millions of my kind, leaving them to die in the cold of a never ending winter, then we won’t simply sit still and just let it happen!”

“Hmm. I need to put a stop to this right now, before this bitch’s dangerous ideas gain any traction.”

“You know, Galafrea, you’re absolutely right.” said the commander, rising from his chair.

“If she keeps preaching, these bleeding hearts might cave in.”

“I think we all DO need to work together to survive this crisis,” he continued. “And to do that, we all need to be united against our common enemy. Wouldn’t you agree?”

He was now standing right next to Galafrea.

“Enemy? If you’re referring to what happened today, we do not yet know who that enemy is.” The princess replied. “But yes, we do need to work together to save our ponies and to find out who was responsible for this tragedy.”

“The three pony tribes will work together: to save the three pony races from the enemy right here in front of us!”

Before she could make a reply, in one clean swipe, the commander took the blade from his side and slit Galifrea’s throat.

“That rush! Oh how I’ve missed you. Mmmm..so good!!!

Galafrea gasped for air, clutching her throat, before finally succumbing to the blood loss. She collapsed onto the floor with her eyes wide in shock.

“Do you know what you have done!?” screamed the Chancellor.

“I did what needed to be done. Nothing more,” Hirkain said spitting at the Alicorn corpse.

“You’ve just declared war on the Alicorn race!” the Chancellor barked.

“I just declared that Pegasi, Unicorn, and Earth ponies won’t be left behind to starve! We will make everypony see the Alicorn threat! We will turn everypony against them, so that they will be too powerless to defend themselves!”

The crowd roared at his words.

“I’ve done it!” he thought, as they cheered him. “Pegasi, Earth Ponies, and Unicorns finally united against those freaks! They’re time is finally numbered!”

The princess and chancellor looked at each other nervously, but had no choice but to agree with him. They too applauded.

Dawn of Equestria (Part I)

Dawn of Equestria (Part I)

The Pegasus soldier sitting in front of the communications terminal became very excited when he finally cracked the encryption on a message he had recently acquired. “Sir, we’ve intercepted a communication from a rebel ship,” he proclaimed. “We’ve learned the location of a secret rebel base on a planet past the Bathmorda nebula.”

He quickly copied the information onto a screenpad and showed the commander. Commander Hirkain took the screenpad and reviewed the details of the message.

“Excellent! It looks like we have a new planet to colonize. Are we currently tracking that rebel ship?”

“Yes sir. One of our tracking buoys shows them hiding inside an asteroid belt near the old Earth pony colony. If they continue on course to the nebula, we can intercept them in twelve hours at maximum speed.”

The commander sat up straight in his chair. “Set course for the Bathmorda nebula, but keep us hidden from their sensors,” he directed at the helmspony.

“Aye sir.” The helmspony set the course and engaged the engines. Within moments, the ship accelerated straight toward the nebula.

Commander Hirkain called down to the engine room from his chair. “Engine room, how’re our modifications coming along?”

“We’re nearly there sir,” came the reply over the line. “We should have them completed and online in another seventeen hours.”

“You’ve got twelve hours, Sergeant.”

“…Yes sir. I’ll have it ready.”

“Good.” Commander Hirkain closed the line.

Private Pimsey, recently returned to his position in the command center after his mother’s premonition had turned into a devastating reality, listened intently to this news. The commander had never thanked him or even apologized for not having listened to him, however Pimsey felt his return to his post was the only apology he was ever going to get.

Pimsey needed to inform Clover of this development, but would not dare take out his screenpad during his shift again. He needed to wait until he came off duty.

It was two hours before his shift finally ended. He was relieved of his post and left the command center with another officer who was also relieved and headed straight for the digi-port room to contact Clover.

The other soldier left the command center heading straight for his bunk, where he could finally get a few hours sleep. He chucked his personal screenpad onto his bed and stretched out his hooves, getting some blood back into them after sitting at his post for such a long shift. However, he still needed to do one more thing before he could relax. A magical aura glowed over his wings as they slowly sank into his back, completely disappearing. A horn slowly grew straight out of his forehead. A Unicorn suddenly stood in the room where the Pegasus had once been.

He took his screenpad and contacted Princess Platinum.

“Report,” said the princess both straightforward and blunt. She wanted some good news and it had better be worthwhile.

“Your Highness, the Pegasi have just learned where that hidden rebel base is and how to get to it. I’ve downloaded the information into my screenpad. I’m uploading it to you now.

This was the type of news she had been waiting for. “Excellent. Let’s see…Bathmorda nebula… How far is that from here?” she asked her helmspony.

“We’re about eight hours away from our current location, your Majesty,” he replied.

Turning back to the main screen, “And how far away are the Pegasi?”

“We’re still ten hours away,” the spy replied.

“Take this ship to the nebula!” she ordered. “Well done, Agent.”

“Thank you, your Majesty.”

The princess closed the connection. Looking around the control center of the Unicorn ship, she did not see her servant anywhere. “Where is Clover?” she demanded.

The Unicorns all looked at each other, none with any answer. One of them stood from their post and said, “I’ll find her, your Majesty.”

“Good.”

The Unicorn left to begin the search. She headed, not for the crew quarters, but instead, she headed for the first available empty room. Once out of sight, she reached up and ripped her horn right off her head, leaving a bright red mark behind where the horn once stood. She rubbed the sore, sighing from the uncomfortable feeling. She pulled out her screenpad and contacted Chancellor Puttinghoof to inform him of the rebel base location.

The Unicorns, the Pegasi, and the Earth ponies were all headed straight toward the nebula where the secret rebel base lay just beyond.

From the digi-port room, Harmon Pimsey pulled out his screenpad to contact Clover.

“Harmon, what is it?” Clover asked.

“Clover, the Pegasi know where the rebel base is and how to get to it! They’re on their way now!”

“WHAT!?” Clover yelled a little too loudly.

A Unicorn walking outside her quarters stared at her door. “Are you okay, Clover?” she asked.

“Oh! Oh yes, fine. No worries!” she hastily replied.

“Okay, then,” the Unicorn said, still confused, and continued the walk to her own quarters to relax.

“Sorry Harmon. How soon will they get there?”

“Ten hours,” he replied, simply.

“I’ll need to think of something, thanks Har–”

“Wait! There’s more,” he interrupted.

“More?”

“The commander’s been working with our engineers to bui- so- thing. He-… new – ology…”

“Harmon?... Harmon?... Repeat. Your signal is breaking up,” she yelled into the static as the image of Harmon on the screen degraded along with the audio. Within seconds, the signal was completely lost.

Clover immediately contacted to the rebel ship near the nebula to warn them.

Pandemonium erupted on the surface of the rebel world. Ponies were running and flying back and forth every which way to prepare for the incoming attack. While Clover tried desperately to convince the princess the nebula was dangerous and useless for trying to make a rebel base, with little success, there was nothing that could be done from stopping the Pegasi from getting through.

Star Swirl and Sugar Baker were getting ready to transport to the rebel ship in orbit. Star was needed sooner than later.

“Stay safe girls,” Star said. “We’ll be back before you know it.” He kissed each of them on their foreheads and gave Mint Julep a hug goodbye.

“I’ll see you onboard, Bake,” he said before turning and making towards the transport area.

Tears were dripping down Luna’s cheeks and Celestia’s eyes were welled with water.

“Daddy please!” Luna cried, “Can’t we come?”

“Girls, it’s not safe up there. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“But what if something happens to YOU!?” Celestia spoke up.

“I’ll be okay girls. Star will look after me. Now go with Mint to the shelter.”

“But I-”

“No buts, Celestia,” he said placing a hoof on her cheek. “I’m coming back for you. I did before. I will again.” He kissed and hugged her. He pulled Luna into the hug and kissed her too.

He needed to leave, before he started to cry himself. He pulled apart from the hug and made to leave. He nodded at Mint.

“Be safe,” Mint said, nodding back with her own tears overflowing. Bake left the scene as he made his way toward the transporting area to digi-port up to the ship.

“Come girls,” Mint said collecting the two young Alicorns. She lead the way toward the shelter where the other fillies and colts with their families were going to hold up during the fight.

Celestia had trouble keeping up with Mint. There were so many ponies rushing every which way. More than once she was shoved hard out of the way. A little light presented itself to Celestia’s mind.

She turned to Luna who had resorted to biting her big sister’s tail to not lose her. Celestia motioned toward an area to the side where some crates were being loaded for transport to the ship. Luna saw where she was pointing, but gave her a confused look.

Celestia motioned again, before ducking from the crowd with her sister following. She quickly hid behind several large crates and pulled her sister in close.

“Tia, what are you–”

“Shh!” Celestia peered over the crates watching Mint who just noticed the girls were missing.

“Girls? GIRLS!!?” she screamed attempting to see through the crowd. She started running around frantically to find them.

“Sorry, Mint,” Celestia whispered, ducking before Mint could see her by the crates, “but we need to do this.”

Celestia looked for a crate large enough, that wasn’t already full. The first open crate she found had some capsules laid gently on cloth blankets. Celestia remembered from her action movies that they must be the ammo used on the ship’s guns. She took an extra blanket and motioned for Luna to hop in.

“What?” Luna asked completely baffled by her sister’s actions.

“We’re sneaking onboard, Luna,” she answered. “Now get in!”

“But why? Aren’t we supposed to go with Mint?”

Celestia didn’t have time for this. “I’m not going to lose Dad in space while we’re helpless on the ground. We’re going to make sure he comes back with us! Now get in!”

Luna was still unsure, but straddled the edge of the crate as she swung her hooves over. Celestia quickly gave her the extra boost to get her in faster. Then she climbed in carrying the blanket between her teeth. As soon as they were both in, Celestia closed the lid and pulled the blanket over them until they were completely covered.

“Tia –”

“Shh,” she whispered. We need to be very quiet now and try not to move.”

Luna did as she was told, but was scared to be disobeying her father and leaving Mint behind so scared.

After a few minutes, a pony outside the container attempted to lift the crate to see if it was empty.

“Wow, definitely full!” he groaned. He locked the crate and got a second body to help load the box onto the cart.

As the light from the magical aura of the digi-port started to illuminate the box containing the two Alicorns, a thought dawned on Celestia. She had never been so impulsive in her life, yet twice in the last month she was not only doing something foolish and dangerous, but she was putting her sister in danger again. She felt the bag around her neck that contained the golden tiara that she had gotten from the temple. She hoped that it would keep them and everypony safe.

“Your Highness, please listen to me,” Clover pleaded to the princess. “This must be a trap! No ship that has ever gone into that nebula has ever come back!”

“Enough Clover,” the princess said with a tone of authority. “I don’t know what you were up to when I needed you earlier, but I’ve made my decision. We have precious few ships left and no home. If we do not find something soon, we will not survive. I will conquer that rebel colony and claim it for Unicornia!”

Before Clover could think of a response, a communication came in.

“Your Majesty, one of our ships is trying to contact you directly,” the communications pony reported.

The princess sighed, already frustrated from her argument with Clover. “Very well.”

The captain of the R.U.S. Merlos appeared on the main screen. Your Highness, my apologies for the interruption, but I have a guest onboard who has been persistent in trying to get an audience with you.”

Princess Platinum had little patience left, but she felt the weight of her crown pushing the responsibility onto her. “Very well, I will hear them.”

An older Unicorn with ragged tufts of white mane came into view with a look as though the universe were about to end. Clover noticed this, but the princess seemed oblivious.

“What is your urgency to speak with me?” she demanded.

“My apologies for this, your Majesty, but this information is vital to all ponykind.”

“Yes?” Her response was both curt and impatient. She would not be entertaining this commoner for very long.

“My name is Professor Astro, I used to teach high school astronomy before…before the disasters on Origin and Unicornia colony.”

The princess was showing signs of getting ready to end the call. Professor Astro felt he better get to his point sooner than later.

“The Pegasi were not responsible for killing your father, the king!”

Princess Platinum heard the words, but they did not appear to be sinking in.

“I see,” she responded both calm and somewhat indifferent. “And how do you come by this information?”

“Well, I, you see…I was a witness to the attack.”

Princess Platinum’s eyes finally narrowed on the old pony. “What did you witness, exactly?”

The professor felt he had better explain a few things first. “I’ll upload all of my data to you. You see I was tracking a mysterious object in the sky and–”

“Skip to the attack!” the princess demanded.

“My apologies, your Majesty, but this object was what was responsible for the attack.”

“What?” she asked, both impatient and confused.

“You see, this object was invisible. I could only see it through my telescope from the distortion of the stars around its edge. I watched it for four nights. When the king’s escort approached Unicornia colony, this object moved to intercept. A beam of light unlike anything I had ever seen shot forth from it, tearing the ships to shreds. There was no chance of anypony surviving the attack. When it was over, the invisible ship disappeared from my view leaving nothing behind but the wreckage.”

The professor finished his story and tried not to look the princess in the eyes. She looked as though she was trying to perform differential equations in her head. It was Clover who, upon reviewing the professor’s notes, came to a sudden realization, however.

“Windigos,” she whispered under her breath.

The princess turned to her, “Windigos?”

Pictures flashed across Clover’s eyes showing all of the events from the Maretropolis disaster to the present through an entirely new perspective.

“This entire war…” she muttered in shock.

“Speak up Clover,” Princess Platinum demanded. The professor too, stared at Clover with interest.

“You Majesty, this entire conflict has been the work of the Windigos.”

“And just what are ‘Windigos’?”

“My mentor from my Ancient Mythology class, Star Swirl, taught me about them. They were known as winter spirits that foster fighting and hatred. ‘The more hate the spirit feels, the colder things become. When the world is lost in ice, they come to feed.’ This is what this war is about! They’ve set us against each other so they can move in afterward and collect our resources! We need to stop this war your Highness!”

The princess was dumbfounded. She thought perhaps her servant had finally lost her mind.

“Um…Clover dear…you’re speaking of ancient mythology. The word ‘myth’ by definition means–”

“All myth is based on some grain of truth! Windigos might not be winter spirits, but they could just as easily be aliens bent on our destruction. Please think your Majesty, none of the events of this past year make any sense without this explanation!”

The princess was still teetering on indecision. She turned to the professor, still on the main screen. “Thank you for the information, Professor A…erm… professor. We will take it under advisement.”

“Thank you for hearing me, your Majesty,” Professor Astro replied. The communication ended.

Clover seemed to be coming to a decision. “Your Majesty, there’s something I need to tell you; something I’ve been hiding from you.”

Princess Platinum looked at Clover as if she had never seen her before. “Clover, you have never kept anything from me since we were fillies. What is the meaning of this?”

“I’m sorry your highness, but there are many of us who felt we’ve been fighting the wrong war from the start; those of us from all races, who believe we need to work together to resolve the situation.”

“You cannot mean that…that you are one of those rebels?

“Actually…I kind of, sort of, am the leader of those rebels.”

The migraine that had been building in the princess’s temple had reached a bursting point. Rubbing her head, she tried to contemplate something she could never have thought was possible. Her most trusted servant and best friend growing up had betrayed her.

“No,” the princess said in disbelief. “No, it is not possible!”

“I’m sorry, your Majesty, but it’s true. I am still your loyal servant, but I believe in the reunification of all ponies! I’ve told you this so you would consider an alliance with the rebels. The Pegasi are also on their way to the nebula. We need to convince them and the Earth ponies that this war is pointless and that we need to work together to stop the Windigos from destroying us!”

“I will never work with the Pegasi again. They destroyed our new home!”

“Only after we destroyed theirs!” Clover tried to explain. “And we destroyed theirs because we believed they murdered our king! This entire war is both no pony’s and everypony’s fault together! Please, I have contacts with both the Pegasi and the Earth ponies. Let me contact them and try to convince their leaders of this threat.”

The princess looked around the bridge of her ship. Unicorns spread out working at their terminals diligently; charts of ship movements and war strategies laid out on every screen.

“Could all of this really have been nothing but a waste of lives? Could I have been so blind? I’ve always wanted to help my ponies, but have I instead, led them down the path to their eventual destruction?”

She looked at Clover with a face the Unicorn servant had never seen on her before: regret.

“Make your call, Clover,” she said sitting up straight. “The Unicorns will join this proposed alliance.”

Clover opened a dual channel communication on the ships main screen. It was several minutes before both Sunbeam and Harmon Pimsey were joined in the call.

“You really think a bunch of winter spirits have been chasing us?” Sun said confused after Clover’s explanation.

“Not spirits, but another race perhaps,” Clover corrected. “I’m giving you the data that was provided to me. Go over it and show it to your leaders. Convince them that this war is pointless!”

“I’ll do my best, Clover,” Sun said, “but I don’t think I’m going to be able convince old Puddinghead he should be looking for invisible ships!”

“Please try, we need to stop this war before we trigger our own extinction!”

Harmon was trying to think of any solution that might convince the commander; to which there was none.

“I’ll try Clover,” he said, “but his ship’s on the way to that rebel base and even if this is all true, I don’t think a few charts and an explanation will stop him from trying to conquer the colony for the Pegasi.”

“I can only ask that you try Harmon, thank you.”

Three ponies nodded in agreement and disconnected. Clover could feel the cold air of doubt wrapping itself around her. It told her to expect nothing less than a fight.

“Chancellor, I realize this is a bit much to take in, but if you could just review the information, you’ll see–”

“Enough Sun,” said Chancellor Puttinghoof dismissing his assistant. “I’m never going to believe a bunch of data that tells me some phantom enemy is attacking us. It was the Pegasi all along, and the Unicorns do not lift a finger unless it suits their own interests.”

“But Sir, the Unicorns and the rebels are willing to work together to reconstruct a new home on this rebel colony and reunite all the races together!”

“I don’t need nor want reunification. Thanks to my undercover in the Unicorn fleet, I now know the location of the rebel base and how to get through the nebula that protects it. We are going to take that base and claim it for the Soil Lands!”

“But you can’t possibly hope to–”

“No more Sun. Sit in that chair and don’t make another sound!” The chancellor stared at Sun with an anger she’d never seen. His face was contorted. His mind set in stone on a railroad track toward disaster.

“Sir please!”

*SMACK*

Sun fell to the ground from the power behind his hoof. Her jaw had dislocated and tooth chipped. As the tears swelled up in her, she swallowed them and stood right back up in fury. She turned away from him and slowly walked towards the door.

“Stop!” the chancellor demanded. Sun obliged just barely, shaking with anger and even a little fear.

“I said sit here and make no more sounds; NOW DO IT!!!”

Sun turned again to face him, her ability to hold back her tears was weakening. She walked to the chair he directed her toward and sat down. She didn’t say another word.

Chancellor Puttinghoof turned to the crew. “I want our shields at 125% efficiency and our weapons online and ready for firing in all directions within the next five hours. Prepare for battle!”

“Come in, Private,” Commander Hirkain answered the knock at his door. He was relaxing in his quarters, still a few hours away from the nebula. The door opened allowing Private Pimsey to enter.

“So, what can I do for you?” the commander asked, sipping some coffee. Harmon was a little confused by the friendly tone he spoke with.

“I um, Sir, I have some information you need to look at.” He handed him a screenpad containing all the data on the Windigos.

“What am I looking at, Pansy?”

“Sir, we have evidence that the Maretropolis disaster and all subsequent events thereafter were orchestrated not by ponies, but a different race looking to conquer us and steal our resources.”

“Interesting,” the commander mildly noted while taking another sip. “And?”

Harmon could sense something was amiss, but he decided to push forward anyway.

“Sir, this information comes from the Unicorns and the rebels. They are proposing a ceasefire and an alliance to stop the Windago threat. They are offering safe harbor on the rebel world in a joint reunification.”

“I see.” Commander Hirkain still appeared to be only half listening. “And why did they contact you to give this information?”

“I…well…you see…I um…kind of….”

“You can stop now,” the Commander said, putting the pad and his coffee down. “You see I know exactly why they contacted you.”

Harmon gulped.

“You see one of my more loyal soldiers noticed your peculiar behavior of late and decided to take it upon himself to see if there was anything behind it.”

A second knocking came to the door.

“Ah, perfect timing. Come in, Sergeant.”

A tall Pegasi soldier with a stern face walked in and saluted the commander. With one look, Harmon recognized the soldier as the one who saw him leaving the empty digi-port room that time. He gulped again.

The commander smiled, noticing the private’s large gulp. “Yes. He’s been keeping a close eye on you, and do you know what he found?”

Harmon slowly shook his head as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

“He found you attempting to give that Unicorn rebel bitch confidential information on what we’ve been designing these past few weeks. Ever wonder why you were deliberately kept out of the loop?”

Harmon had never been so scared in his life. He never wanted to be a soldier. And now he had been caught as a spy.

“I’ll tell you this Pansy.. no.. Private. Private is more appropriate. I never thought you’d have the set of brass to do something like this. But I congratulate you. And as a reward for your newfound bravery, I shall let you watch as your friends are destroyed, while this ship remains completely unharmed with its new shields. When they are all dead, I’ll give you an honorable soldier’s death. I will shoot you personally in front of the entire crew of the ship. How does that sound, soldier?”

Harmon’s eyes faded into nothingness. His thoughts were broken and interwoven. He was near catatonic.

“Take him to the brig,” Commander Hirkain ordered the soldier, who promptly saluted and jabbed the prisoner to move.

When Harmon made no motion, the soldier picked up the frail Pegasus by his mane and dragged him from the Commander’s quarters.

Dawn of Equestria (Part II)

Dawn of Equestria (Part II)

“We have the nebula in sight sir,” the Earth pony at the helm informed the chancellor.

“Excellent, follow the information we’ve collected precisely,” Chancellor Puttinghoof ordered. “Cut the engines just before we enter.”

“Aye sir.”

The Earth pony ship increased its speed straight into the nebula, shutting its massive engines at the last second. As the ship was enveloped in the pink haze, their visibility dropped to zero.

“I can’t see anything in this fog!” the chancellor complained. “You don’t think this was a trap do you?” He was asking no pony, but was looking straight at Sunbeam.

She turned away from his gaze, holding her jaw in pain. Her cheek had swollen turning black and blue. Perhaps it was the wound that caused Puttinghoof to soften some; or perhaps he lived long enough to see himself become his father. In either case, his anger slowly subsided he started to feel a little guilty and embarrassed for his behavior.

“Why don’t you get that looked at,” he told her pointing to her cheek.

Sun looked back at him with cold eyes. Whatever little respect she had for this stallion, was completely gone. She reached up with her own hooves and twisted her jaw back into place. The pain was excruciating, but she endured, enabling her to speak. But she held her tongue, as he had ordered, and continued to sit in silence, glaring back at him.

“The cloud is thinning, Chancellor,” the helmspony proclaimed. “Looks like we’re reaching the other side.”

“Good. Let’s see this hidden rebel base.”

The clouds broke around the bow of the ship, exposing the vast space beyond. The rogue planet with two moons could just be made out behind the Rebel and Unicorn ships blocking their path.

“Chancellor, the Unicorn ship is trying to contact us,” the communications pony stated.

“I have nothing to say to them. Charge Weap–”

“Please!” Sun cried out in a hoarse voice. Puttinghoof looked back at Sun, who was genuinely crying now. “Please talk to them; if nothing else.”

Puttinghoof’s mouth was fixed in a grinding frown as he gazed down at her. He inhaled deeply, letting out a long sigh. He turned back toward the communications pony.

“Answer them.”

The main screen opened communications with the Unicorn ship. Both Princess Platinum and Clover appeared on the display.

“Chancellor Puttinghoof,” Clover started. Princess Platinum was a little irked by her servant’s daring to speak ahead of her princess, but she let it go and allowed Clover to speak. “I never heard back from Sun. Have you heard our proposal?”

Puttinghoof looked at Sun quickly and replied, “Yes, but I will not serve under Unicorn rule. If you want an alliance, you will serve under the Earth ponies!”

“Outrageous!” Princess Platinum yelled. “I would never be caught dead serving under the likes of you!”

Clover tried to get a handle on the situation. “Chancellor, please. There are so few of us left, we need to work together. We can deal with politics some other time. For now, we need to stop the threat posed by the Windigos!”

Puttinghoof's nostrils flared at the word ‘Windigos’. “Do you really expect me to believe some voodoo invisible puppet master has been working the strings on us this whole time?”

“You must,” Clover pleaded. “We’ve already transported most of the Unicorn families aboard to the rebel base on the planet. You can do the same while we work together.”

The chancellor was stuck between his mind and his heart. Everything that had happened, from the Maretropolis disaster on, has been one devastation to the next for the Earth ponies, and the Unicorns just let most of it happen. The only thing keeping him from breaking communication and charging weapons was Sun. If he should have put his trust in anyone, it should have been her. Instead, he broke her jaw.

“Alright…” he said hesitantly. “I’ll jo–”

“Sir, we’ve got another ship exiting the nebula!” the tracking pony interrupted.

“What? Show me!” he shouted.

The communication to the Unicorn ship closed just as they were receiving the information. The display changed to the aft of the ship facing the nebula. The front of a second rebel ship broke through the cloud line. The chancellor quickly exhaled a sigh of relief; prematurely.

Behind the bow of the rebel ship was not the rest of the ship, but a trail of wreckage. The chancellor watched as the bow dipped down as it continued to break apart, completely destroyed.

Immediately following the wreckage of the rebel ship, the P.B.S. Nightwing, carrying Commander Hirkain, exited the nebula guns blazing.

Celestia and Luna bounced hard in the crate aboard the rebel ship. Sounds of explosions and impacts echoed as vibrations in the hull. Celestia peered out from inside the crate. They appeared to be in a cargo hold of some kind. No pony appeared to be around. She opened up the crate, allowing her and her sister a little breathing room.

“Where are we, Tia?” Luna asked, looking around.

“We’re on Daddy’s ship,” she answered, carefully climbing out. When she had all hooves on the ground she reached back in to help Luna out of the crate. “Let’s try to find him.”

They could hear constant bangs and booms against the hull, like the sound of a distant percussion band, playing in their direction. The doors to the cargo hold opened automatically when they approached. Celestia peered down the hallway. It was mostly clear, but in the distance she could see dozens of shadows running back and forth.

She looked back at Luna who was also gazing around at the scene. Celestia was as curious as she was scared and confused. “Stay with me,” Celestia said.

Luna stayed glued to Celestia’s side as they walked slowly down the halls. Every few feet was another door, every few doors was another hallway. Every intersection had elevators, and some hallways had walking accelerators to quicken their pace. Some hallways had ponies driving vehicles and devices from supply lifts, to mobile artillery units.

The two Alicorns kept off to the side to avoid being noticed, but even more so, to not get ran over or pushed to the ground. Most every pony they passed ignored them, or didn’t even notice them. Once in awhile, a pony might pause long enough to ask them if they knew where they were going, but didn’t hang around long enough for an answer.

Every blast or jolt to the ship caused nerves to jump and ponies to rush to get their tasks done in a hurry. Luna, who thought the bangs were almost fun at first, became more and more frightened with each strike.

“Tia, where’s Daddy? I want Daddy!” she complained.

Celestia was starting to like her plan less and less. She knew she had been winging it up until this point, but she honestly thought finding him would be easy. She searched for signs where everything on the ship was. But even with the maps along the walls, she didn’t even know where her father had been assigned.

“Let’s try this way,” she gestured to the rear of the ship. It was a long walk, but it would take them straight towards the engines of the ship.

Unfortunately both their father and Star Swirl were towards the front of the ship with Star on the bridge, and Bake manning one of the port-side guns. As soon as the Pegasus ship appeared from the nebula firing, Bake returned the favor with his guns; as were many other gunners, spread across the ship. All three ships fired wave after wave of bullets and missiles at the Pegasus ship. The battleship merely grinned back, completely unharmed.

The Pegasus fired a weapon of their own at the Earth pony’s ship. The shockwave sent the Earth pony ship somersaulting in its wake.

“REPORT!!!” he screamed, trying to climb back into his chair in the off-balanced ship. “JUST WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!?”

The helmspony was attempting to regain control and steady the ship long enough for the gravity-pumps to return to homeostasis. After several more flips, the ship was righted and ponies began regaining their seats.

The pony reading sensors struggled to make heads or tails of the situation. “I..I don’t know sir. Their ship shows no damage and their shields at full strength!”

“And what about us!?”

“Shields down to twenty-seven percent,” the pony continued to report. “Engine reactor one is offline. We can still move.”

“Three ships against one and that Pegasus bastard is sitting there smiling at us? Just what the buck is he packing!?”

“I don’t know sir, but I wouldn’t want to take another hit from it!”

“Star Swirl, we need something and we need it now!” Captain Thrace of the last remaining rebel ship shouted out.

“Incoming!” one of the officers yelled.

“Dive! Dive!” the captain ordered.

The blast from the Pegasus ship flew out just above them tearing their shields as it did.

“Shield strength?”

“Our port-side aft shields are down,” the Pegasus officer reported. “We’re exposed.”

“Then don’t present them with a target!  Star, What have you got!?”

Star Swirl was attempting to collect enough magic to strike against the Pegasi ship. His horn was glowing and sparking out in a putter. Something was wrong.

“The Pegasi found our weak spot,” the officer discovered. “They’re trying to flank us!”

“Try to shake ‘em!” the captain yelled. “Star…NOW would be a good time!”

Star opened his eyes and saw the Pegasus ship on the main screen. Their new weapon was fully charged and firing straight for their open flank.

His eyes burst with the magical energy flowing through him, at once a massive blue magical bowl appeared in space, directly in front of the incoming stream of light from the Pegasus ship.

The light impacted into the bowl like a truck smashing into a brick wall. Even though it was stopped, the wheels were still spinning, trying to break through; the wall was cracking.

Star was forced to his knees as he struggled to maintain the spell. He knew it was only a matter of time before it failed. With one last thought, he tilted the bowl just enough to bounce the light off into space.

The light soared away from the battle before impacting into…empty space?

Star’s eyes returned to normal as the weapon ceased and his spell was dispersed. He felt weak. The room was foggy with shadows running back and forth. Sounds were hazed and diminished. But he needed to see. He stared at the screen until the two screens floating in front of his eyes returned to one. Then he saw it.

The Pegasus weapon had exploded at a point in empty space, but the space was no longer empty. What looked like part of a ship now appeared to be floating where there was nothing moments before.

“Your Majesty, you won’t believe this!” the Unicorn monitoring sensors proclaimed. “It looks like there’s an invisible ship over by the rebel ship! Part of their hull is showing.

Princess Platinum looked directly at Clover who was nodding at the sudden proof of her claims.

“Get me the other ships!” the Princess commanded.

“Do you see it Chancellor?” the princess asked when Puttinghoof came onto the screen.

“Yes I do. I don’t believe it, but I see it. Have you noticed anything else?”

“What do you mean?” the princess asked.

“That bucking thing is now charging weapons! If that’s the thing that can destroy a colony, I wouldn’t want to be in its path!”

The princess had her crew bring up a display of the ship off to the side of the screen. Sure enough, energy was being built up in the vicinity of the exposed portion of the Windigos’ ship.

“We need to stop it from destroying our last chance of survival!” the Princess cried.

“What about that Pegasus moron? He’s still firing on us!” Captain Thrace shouted over the din of systems sparking from the weapons fire.

“I’ll handle it!” the Chancellor volunteered. “You two stop those creatures from firing that weapon!”

Chancellor Puttinghoof closed the line and got to work. “Have we figured out what voodoo their using yet?”

“It looks like their shields can absorb magical energy,” the sensors pony reported. “They’re collecting it into a large-scale weapon and sending it back at us!”

“So magic is useless, eh? Well good. The Earth ponies never needed magic and we never needed wings. All he’s done is put the ball in our court.” Opening a line to the crew, he ordered, “Attention! Deactivate all magical enhancements on our weapons. Add extra chemical explosives to the missiles and fire when ready!”

“Why have we stopped firing?” Commander Hirkain demanded. With the magic-absorption shields working perfectly, victory was assured, yet all the guns seemed to have suddenly ceased.

“Sir, our weapon revealed a hidden ship at 323Lx17U,” the sensors pony remarked. He highlighted the grid area on the main screen, zooming into the image of the exposed portion of the mysterious vessel.

“And? …That doesn’t answer my question.”

“The other ships have ceased firing and are moving to intercept. This could be a threat,” he answered. “Should we not reassess the situation?”

“Don’t tell me how to run my ship! That Earth pony ship is heading straight for us. All they’ve done is present us with an easy target. Let them deal with that other ship, and in the meantime, we’ll pick them off one by one.”

“What if that other ship is a threat?” This Pegasus was starting to doubt the situation.

"Then we'll deal with it after!"

"But sir!"

“You are relieved! Get out!!!” the commander screamed.

“Sir, you need to know the facts before you–”

The Pegasus dropped to the floor with a hole in his stomach from a silent storm handgun held by Commander Hirkain.

“I will not tolerate disloyalty anymore! We are Pegasi! We are the best of all the pony races! You will obey my orders; we will be victorious! Is that clear!!?”

The commander’s face was reddening by the second. His eyes breathed fire with a twisted fury of a tornado ripping through a barn. This was his ship, his Pegasi, the destined leader of all ponies. He would not suffer another disloyal soldier in his ranks!

Every pony in the room snapped back to their posts, within seconds, the ship resumed firing at the approaching Earth pony ship. The commander settled back into his chair. He imagined himself sitting on a throne of skulls, those of the Unicorn and Earth ponies, and all those that lacked true loyalty. A crooked smile spread wide across his lips.

Not a single thought came to the commander’s mind of the one Pegasus on board, sitting in a jail cell, who tried to warn him of this imminent threat.

The Unicorn and rebel ships were launching everything they had at the mysterious ship, but with little effect. They only change they witnessed was the ship had deactivated whatever was keeping them invisible.

The Windigos' ship was a massive perfect sphere. Green lights poked out from various sections and compartments. It was unlike anything they had ever seen. Its hull was lined with composites of a multitude of metal alloys and varying technologies. Someone might look at it like a Frankenpony’s monster of ships made from parts of other ships, but yet it remained in a perfect symmetry of a sphere. On the side facing the planet, energy was building up in the form of a massive yellow bulb of light.

“Target that weapon and fire!” the captain continued to order again and again. Princess Platinum was seated next to him, watching the battle unfold. With every failed hit, her heart sank lower and lower as her fear steadily rose.

The rebel ship was not fairing much better. Captain Thrace was throwing everything in his arsenal at the ship with no luck. When a second energy bulb appeared on the sphere, he knew it was meant for them.

“Tia, where are we?” Luna cried, as they continued down hallway after hallway.

Celestia looked for some sign of where they were. She finally caught a sign that read, “Port Engines”. Realizing they must have reached one of the engine rooms, she opened the doors and peered in.

The room was massive. They could probably have fit an entire Ponyball stadium inside. At the center was a massive metal ring. Written on the tube it said, “MONOCEROS PARTICLE ACCELERATOR 1-8R72”. Celestia had no clue what it meant, but was still in awe at the massive piece of technology. Whatever came out of the ring was delivered to the rear of the room where a massive cone faced out the back of the ship.

Luna looked around the room, but didn’t see their father anywhere.

“Tia!” she started to cry. “I want Daddy! Where is Daddy!?” She wiped her tears away with her hoof.

Celestia turned away from the sight to look at her sister. She felt guilty bringing Luna here. Despite the fact her sister would never have spoken to her again if she hadn’t brought her, this was not much better.

“Come,” Celestia said nuzzling her sister warmly. “Let’s have a look around. He might be in here somewhere. Luna sniffled and nodded. She followed her sister down the stairs toward the massive tube at the center, where many ponies were working diligently checking system status after system status.

They were about halfway down the stairs when it happened.

The entire ship lurched downward and swerved to the right. Luna bounced hard and started to fall down the stairs. Celestia, who was also thrown, tried desperately to save her sister, but the worst thing happened. Out of the corner of her eye she saw this tremendous light punch through along the wall, ripping it from the ship entirely.

In the first second following, Celestia witnessed time stop around her. She saw the stars twinkling through the massive hole, where the wall used to be; the ponies in lab coats leaping away from the impact; the look of horror on her sister’s face.

The last thing Celestia could hear, were her sister’s high-pitched screams, as they were both sucked into the vacuum of space, where the sounds of screams are stolen by silence.

Dawn of Equestria (Part III)

Dawn of Equestria (Part III)

It was a red blinking light that was the first thing Sugar Baker could see. The flashing bounced on his eyelids, refusing to let him sleep. He opened his eyes to a dizzying haze. He could feel the ship spinning slowly after the blast.

His chair had broken. He found himself lying on the floor. The red light continued to call out to him without pause. He struggled to sit up, but something was keeping him in place. The light continued to flash at him, mockingly.

He looked around the room to see what had happened. His eyes managed to focus on the light in the ceiling, which had shattered. He could see the console for his guns silent from his absence at the terminal. The view of the stars continued to spin. He wasn’t sure if it was just him or the ship as well.

He tried to sit up again, looking to see what was stopping him.

“Oh…” he thought, “This pipe is stopping me. A pipe with some red paint on it…”

But the red light persisted in trying to get his attention. He needed to shut off that light.

He struggled to move, the pain building up as he tried. His horn glowed helping him push himself off of the pipe. The sudden taste of copper bit coins caused him to spit up some of the red paint. He pulled himself up to the console and looked at the flashing red light.

The flashing red light turned off.

Bake stared at it, waiting for it to flash again, to no avail. He had no idea what that light was for. After a few seconds, he gave up and looked out the window into space. He could see debris from the ship and ponies drifting aimlessly across the backdrop. It was quite peaceful.

“Two of those ponies look just like my daughters,” he thought. “…One white one blue. They must be wishing me farewell.” He waved back at them in his delirious state.

“There’s a missile heading for them,” he said aloud to the room. “That won’t do.”

Bake struggled to grab the controls to his guns. They were twisted, but still responded to his touch. He started firing them in a waving motion, twirling the bullets as they flew off at the stray MEM missile, heading for the debris. One of them actually managed to connect. The missile exploded before it could reach his daughters.

“Good bye, Celestia…Good bye Luna…I’ll tell your mother you said hello…”

He sank back to the floor, lying down and staring into eternity. Before he shut his eyes, the red light started flashing again.

“Good bye…flashing red light…Thank you…for saving…my daughters…”

Bake closed his eyes, exhaling his last breath in a sigh of relief.

“What else can we throw at them!?” Chancellor Puttinghoof asked the crew, looking for anything that might do some sort of damage to the Pegasus ship.

With all magical enhancements removed from the weaponry, they were finally having an impact on the Pegasus ship; but not nearly enough. Their changes did put the Pegasi’s new weapon out of commission, however. The chancellor was trying everything to take advantage of this.

“Two of our gunners are down and we’re down to ten more missiles,” one of the Earth pony officers detailed.

“Then launch every last missile together!” he yelled.

The ship shook from the impact of a missile from the Pegasus ship, which maintained the full magical enhancements of a proper MEM missile. The impact broke through their shields sending shockwave after shockwave down the length of the ship.

“Report!” the Chancellor yelled for the fiftieth time.

“We’ve lost the last of our weapons! We’re defenseless!!!” the officer replied.

Puttinghoof tried to look for the answer: weapons down, shields failing, families still aboard the ship, and a Pegasus ship ready to tear right through them.

The main screen showed the Pegasus ship bearing down on them for the kill with the rebel world in their backdrop.

“That’s it!” he cried out. He figured it out: how to save the families and stop the Pegasi, all in one go. The Chancellor returned to his chair with a stride of confidence.

“Engine Status!” he demanded.

“We’ve got one engine with full power and the other is coming back online, but I wouldn’t recommend any races!” the engineer answered.

“Well sorry to disappoint you, but give me everything you’ve got, NOW!”

“Aye sir!”

“Helmspony, I want you to head as fast as you can, straight under that ship and descend into the planet’s upper atmosphere.”

“Sir?”

“Just do it!” the Chancellor ordered wearing the most serious expression his face had ever worn.

“Yes sir!” the helmspony answered. The ship thrust forward and down hard, shooting past the Pegasus ship before they could reciprocate. They were forced to circle around to join the chase.

Next the chancellor opened up a ship-wide communication:

“Attention! Attention! I need every last child and parent to get to their designated digi-port rooms immediately! Essential personnel and volunteers will remain. Repeat. This is an evacuation. Get to the digi-port rooms and prepare for emergency transport. When I give the word you will transport to the surface as quick as possible!”

The entire command center stared at the chancellor, wondering just what his strategy was.

“You too ponies!” he ordered. “Gunnery Sergeant, with our weapons gone, you’re no longer needed. Get to a digi-port now. I only need one pony that can fly. If I get that volunteer, the rest of you are ordered to leave.”

The crew stood in place, one by one raising their hands, including the gunnery sergeant. Every officer in the room had volunteered to stay. Including Sunbeam.

“No, Sunbeam; absolutely not! I order you to get to that digi-port now!”

In a harsh voice made by her bruised mouth, Sunbeam protested. “You never could tell me what to do before, what makes you think you can now?”

Puttinghoof wasted no time. “Seargeant, I’m ordering you to escort this Pony to the digi-port room. You are to personally see she is beamed to the surface. Then you will join her. Understood?”

The gunnery sergeant was irked by the order, but saluted in obedience.

“No!” Sun argued as the officer grabbed her. “You can’t do this!” She struggled to shake him off.

“Listen to me,” he said putting his hooves around her. Sun twitched, still on guard from his previous contact with her jaw. “I’m sorry for what I’ve done. You were always smarter than me. Just like a little girl I once knew and loved. I should have listened to you from the start. This new world doesn’t need ponies like me. The pony race has had enough politicians. If they’re going to survive, they’re going to need smart people like you, Smart Cookie.”

Sun glared at him angrily.

“It’s Sun, I know…Sunbeam,” he hastily corrected, despite that not being the real reason for her anger. “I just thought that nickname would make you smile every now and then. Just like your nickname for me, ‘Puddinghead’.”

Sun’s face flushed with a little embarrassment.

“Don’t think I haven’t heard you call me that from time to time. It always brought a smile to my face, and I thank you for it. Now go. I want you to be safe.” He turned back to the sergeant, “Take her.”

“No! You can’t do this! I won’t let you!” she protested, but the officer was much stronger than she was and pulled her from the room.

“We’re in orbit now sir,” said the helmspony.

“Good, now begin to slingshot us around the planet. Build up as much speed as you can.”

Puttinghoof returned to his chair and opened ship-wide communications again.

“Attention! Attention! Begin evacuations now! All evacuees are to digi-port to the surface of the planet immediately. Get to your designated digi-port rooms and transport down to the surface!”

Across the ship, families crowded around their assigned digit-port rooms. Operators were trying desperately to keep the peace and move as quickly as possible with the Earth pony families. In at least one room, the operator was completely overwhelmed by the panicked parents. The pad was destroyed, leaving those families trapped. Not every family was going to make it to the new world.

“Still no effect!” the Unicorn monitoring weapons called out after another failed attempt to strike the Windigos ship.

“Son of a mule!” the captain swore. It took him a second to realize what he just said in front of the princess. “Sorry, your Majesty,” he quickly apologized.

“Words are not at issue, Captain, but failure is. Is there nothing we can do to stop this thing?”

The captain was straining to think of anything that might cause some damage to that ship.

Clover, who stayed right at her leader’s side throughout the fight, was at a loss for ideas as well, and the energy from the Windigos primary weapon was nearly complete.

“Captain, the ship is nearly ready to fire the weapon at the planet,” the weapon’s pony reported.

The main screen showed the image of the massive sphere, with the white bulb of energy beginning to pulsate. Another bulb was starting to form on it side, facing them.

Princess Platinum stared out at the ship, mere minutes away from destroying the last hope for her people, along with everypony on this ship. Her whole life had been spent doing the exact opposite of what her cutie mark had told her to do. She had always wanted to help her people; to be a generous and noble monarch, leading her people into the future. Now she stood staring down the face of her people’s destruction.

She looked around the ship as Unicorns diligently carried out their orders, knowing the odds of their success now. And Clover…

The princess stared hard at her servant and best friend. She was the one pony she trusted more than any other, her true conscience and guide to the world they lived in. After treating her so horribly for so many years, she would be here now to witness her final suffering and death. That would not do.

Just behind Clover, stood a Digi-port pad. Without even thinking, the princess shoved Clover into the pad.

“Princess! What are you doing?” Clover yelled, falling back into the wall of the pad.

“I’m sorry, Clover,” she said, pushing buttons on the panel. She had no idea if she was doing it correctly, but when she saw the image of the rebel ship with a flashing dot in its center, she figured she was. “I’m so sorry for everything. Take care of our people.” Platinum was crying in earnest.

“No wait! Please Princess!” Clover tried to protest, but the princess pressed the last button, and the Unicorn was transported over to the disabled rebel ship, just as the Windigos fired at the Unicorn ship.

The princess saw the white light burst forth surrounding the ship and penetrating straight through her. Her final tear was of the happiness she felt in helping at least one of her people.

The chancellor’s ship was spinning around the planet, gaining momentum rapidly. The heat on the outside of the ship ignited in flames, burning in the atmosphere.

“How many evacuated?” Puttinghoof asked.

“Sixty-two percent,” the officer read off.

“What’s the status of the Pegasus ship?”

“They’re in pursuit, and gaining. We could accelerate if we stop transporting ponies to the surface.”

“No!” the chancellor shouted back. “Maintain speed and keep transporting them down!”

The two ships were locked in a chase circling around and around the planet. The Pegasi were using everything they could to get the upper hand. From the surface of the planet, ponies could stare up into space as one fireball chased another across the sky.

“Seventy-four percent,” the officer continued to read off.

The strain of the g-forces was building beyond the ship’s capacity to manage, causing those onboard to experience the feeling of being squished into their seats. Those standing in line at the Digi-ports were struggling to reach the pads.

“How long until they reach us?” Puttinghoof shouted.

His answer was delivered in the form of a small blast near the rear of the ship, where the MEM missile exploded just out of range.

“How many transported?”

“Eighty-one percent.”

More impacts started blasting near the ship. The shockwaves were causing the ship to shake with an intensity that many feared would cause the entire thing to shake apart.

“Eighty-two percent.”

“Come on! Just a little bit more!” the Chancellor muttered staring at the main screen.

“Eighty-three percent.”

*WHAM!*

One of the missiles connected with the underbelly of the ship causing it to bounce. The ponies were thrown from their seats. The ship held together, but by threads alone.

The officer reading the Digi-port progress scrambled to his chair.

“Eighty-four percent!” he yelled.

“I guess that’s the best we can hope for,” the chancellor sighed. “Now! – AND DON’T MISS!!!”

The helmspony flipped the engines in a massive one-eighty firing full blast in reverse.

Puttinghoof sat up straight in his chair with a smile on his face. “See you soon Honey!” he said as he started to giggle. His giggle became a chuckle, which turned into a laugh and expanded into a belly-rolling cackle, with pains in his sides and tears running down his face. He hadn’t laughed so hard or felt so alive in so many years.

With the Pegasi unable to foresee this strategy, they rammed full velocity into the Earth pony ship, the two ships becoming a conglomerate of each other, tumbling into an uncontrolled descent to the surface.

I feel so peaceful…

It’s so quiet and serene…

Oh…I must have died…

I’m glad it didn’t hurt…

Still…I feel very cold…

And I want to breathe, but cannot…

The afterlife is a strange place…

I just wish Luna hadn’t been with me…

I’m so sorry, my little sister…

Please forgive me…

*THUNK!*

“Ow! …That hurt!” is what Celestia meant to say holding her nose after being kicked in the face by something, but her words had no sound to them as they came out of her mouth.

She opened her eyes to a scene she never could have imagined. She was floating amongst debris from the rebel ship, which lay adrift nearby, spinning slowly at an angle. One of the engines had been completely ripped apart from the weapon. Sparks flashed out of the hole that remained behind. The planet stood before her, two ships circling around it in a chase. One moon stood not too far from where she was with the other just barely visible on the opposite side. It would be the most beautiful sight Celestia had ever seen, had it not been for the bodies of dead ponies floating all round her. But the most prominent object in the scene was this massive metal sphere. It glowed with a green hue and looked like something made from fillies’ nightmares. The side of it that faced the planet was glowing bright white.

*WHACK!*

Something kicked Celestia again; this time in the back of her head. She turned to see Luna flailing and screaming. She couldn’t hear her screams, but she could see them clear as day. Luna was crying and kicking and screaming in shear panic.

Celestia was just ecstatic her little sister was alive. On instinct alone, in a soft fluid motion, Celestia stretched out her wings and glided to her sister with ease. She reached out for her with open hooves and a smile, before being kicked in the face again by the screaming Alicorn filly.

Celestia tried to get her to calm down, but her sister was not having it. Finally Celestia soared over her sister’s head and flawlessly stopped just behind her. She grabbed Luna from behind and cradled her. It took many more minutes before Luna would begin to settle down, but Celestia held her tightly until she finally did.

As the debris and the bodies of Unicorns, Earth ponies, and Pegasi drifted past them, neither could imagine why they were alive, why they did not feel the need to breathe, nor why Alicorns seemed to be the only ponies with this ability. They were both just glad to be alive and have each other.

Amongst the debris, Celestia caught sight of her bag, floating aimlessly nearby. Something was glowing inside it. Holding her sister tightly, she used her wings to drift over to her bag, reaching out with one hoof for it. Luna had started to calm down, but latched onto her big sister like a pony drowning at sea, grasping onto a life line back to the boat. When Celestia opened the bag, she could see the tiara inside, glowing brightly back at her.

She took the crown from her bag and placed it on her head. She had no clue what she was doing, but felt it was what she needed to do. She then tried to activate it with her horn, but nothing seemed to happen. The crown continued to glow, but nothing more.

Celestia knew she was missing something. She looked down at her sister who was crying into her chest. Then she realized. She needed to express the one trait the makers of the Elements of Harmony never foresaw: the magic of friendship.

Celestia took her hoof and lifted Luna’s chin to face her. Luna obliged, but still continued shed tears, which lifted off her cheeks and floated away into space. Celestia smiled at her and tilted her horn toward her sister’s until they touched. Her horn started to glow as she pushed magic through it to her sister. Luna wasn’t sure what her she was trying to do, but she too pushed magic through her own horn, until both were glowing together in harmony.

At once, Celestia’s eyes turned white with bright light. Her tiara’s glow increased tenfold. Standing behind the scene in the background, laid the Bathmorda nebula, a vast barrier of pure magic, which began to spin into an enormous pink funnel, like a tornado being pulled to the ground from the clouds. The entire nebula was being spun into the tips of both Alicorns’ horns.

Harmon coughed up vast quantities of rubble, spitting up and shielding his eyes. He wasn’t sure what happened, but knew it was bad. His cell had been broken apart as though a bomb had exploded. Both of his guards laid dead upon the floor, covered in concrete, metal, and other materials. Harmon’s cell door had broken off and was lying on the floor. Harmon had been thrown against the wall, covered in bruises, but wasn’t seriously injured. His lungs and eyes burned from the dust as he struggled to free himself from the brig.

He could feel the ship moving, almost tilting. He was starting to feel queasy. He tried to get to a Digi-Port room to escape, but when he rounded the corner on the nearest one from the brig, he saw the entire hallway had collapsed. Rubble was strewn about and an Earth pony body was hanging out from it.

“Why is there an Earth pony onboard?” he wondered. The ship was started to shake and spin around. He would have to try to get to another Digi-port pad and fast. He had a tingling feeling, he did not have long.

He passed collapsed hallway after collapsed hallway, desperately trying to get to any accessible and working Digi-port room. He finally discovered one that appeared undamaged and unblocked. He flew as fast as he could at it before being smashed into the wall.

Harmon shook his head and saw Commander Hirkain hovering in front of him. His face was slashed and bleeding. One eye was missing, and the only thing more horrific was his scowl.

“YOU!!!” he screamed. “This is all your fault!” Hirkain picked up Harmon by the scruff and lifted him off the ground. “You and your bucking traitorous filth!” He punched Harmon across the face.

The ship was twirling around them now, shaking hard as the atmosphere of the planet burned around them. Harmon was turning green.

“You…needed to…be stopped!” Harmon puttered.

“THEY NEEDED TO BE STOPPED!!!” Hirkain punched him again, this time in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He struggled to breath. “Without me, those idiots would have rotted to death on that dying rock! I saw the future of the pony race! I saw the future where I ruled them all!”

“You’re insane!” Harmon screamed back. The commander took him and hurled him into the wall. Harmon struggled to stand up, but the ship was spinning out of control. He couldn’t see straight.

Commander Hirkain took the blade from his side, the same blade used to slit Galifrea’s throat, and pointed it at him. “It’s time to end your traitorous life, once and for all!” He charged at Harmon blade in hoof.

Harmon could only make out the shape of the commander spinning towards him, as he desperately tried to get back up.

Hirkain flew at the pony, spinning with the walls in a dizzying effect, before the ship lurched from striking an air pocket, sending him bouncing into a wall. Harmon caught the blade in the confusion, swinging it around onto the commander himself. The blade dug deep into the Pegasus’s gut.

The commander’s remaining eye widened with disbelief. Like the bullies of his childhood, he had lived to suffer the same fate. His mouth dribbled blood as death overcame him.

Harmon extricated himself from the body and scrambled to get to the Digi-port room. The ship was spinning so fast he was at a loss for which way was up, but he flew around until he finally reached the terminal. The console was a blur as it danced around his eyes from nausea. He punched buttons until the light appeared ready for transport. He fell onto the pad as the device prepared for transport.

The hurling ball of flame that used to be two ships slammed into the ocean. Tidal waves rose up in every direction reaching out to all shorelines. The inland colony remained behind, untouched by the massive floodwaters.

The weapon began pulsating faster and faster on the Windigos vessel. It was fully charged and ready to fire. Directly above the rebel colony the ship hovered, poised to launch the weapon capable of eliminating the entire colony, poisoning the atmosphere of the planet, and sentencing all life to extinction. They remained unperturbed by the nebula’s transformation going on behind them. It continued its preparations to fire the weapon, unimpeded by any more ships that could have been a threat.

As more and more of the nebula was drawn into the vortex surrounding the two Alicorns, their combined auras expanded outward in a glowing ball of magical energy. In a single moment as the nebula was completely absorbed, the auras contracted into a singularity, with Celestia and Luna at its nucleus.

A beam of yellow and blue magical energy entwined together burst forth from the center, aimed straight at one of the planet’s moons. It smashed into the rock with the force of a ten million Gigaton Monceros particle blast.

The explosion expanded outward from the center of impact, spreading in a fiery wave of yellow and blue. The energy wave ceased only when the entire moon had been consumed. As the Windigos fired their devastating weapon, the moon burst forth the fiery arc of massive solar flare. The arc stole the energy of the weapon and sliced through the sphere like a hot knife through butter.

The green light of the sphere had been silenced. The ship started exploding at multiple points all around, before bursting apart entirely. Only a small part survived the blast; no bigger than a hoof. It flew off into the empty space beyond.

When the flare of the fiery moon dissipated, a miniature sun remained, born from the explosion. The surface of the world below witnessed its first dawn for thousands of years.

The Sun and the Moon

The Sun and the Moon

“I want that engine up and running now!” the captain yelled, holding a bandage to his bleeding head.

The rebel ship had been badly damaged in the attack. It was a miracle they were still alive. If it wasn’t for the moon exploding the way it did, that ship would’ve have destroyed them and the planet.

“I’m sorry sir, it’s no use. The engine is unsalvageable,” the Engineering officer called over the line. “The best we can do is to keep it going long enough to evacuate.”

“That’s not good enough!” the captain roared back. “Keep working on it, for as long as it takes!” He slammed the communications button so hard, the display cracked; though that may have already been like that from all that had happened.

While the crew of the ship scrambled to get the ship afloat, recent arrivals from other ships were reuniting with their tales of the battle.

“Clover, you’re alive!!!” Sunbeam yelled rushing over to her. Clover hugged her tight enough for Sun to wince from the pain in her jaw.

“What happened to your jaw?” she asked noticing the bruising and dried blood. “Do you need a doctor?”

“If fine,” Sun dismissed. “It’s nothing.” She did not want to mention what had transpired on the other ship. “I’m just so glad to see you here.”

“We need a doctor over here!” a unicorn women called out for help. She was standing over a frail unconscious Pegasus with thick glasses on his face.

“Harmon!” they both cried rushing to over to him. Harmon stirred upon hearing his name called to him.

“…Did…did we win?” he asked, looking up at them.

“Yes! Yes Harmon we did it!” Clover exclaimed.

“That’s good. I think I’ll take a nap for awhile then…” He quickly closed his eyes and fell back to sleep. As the doctor examined him, he was able to inform his friends that he would be just fine after a few days rest.

Sun and Harmon exchanged their stories of how the battle unfolded while assisting other ponies as needed. After an hour, the captain started to talk through the ship-wide communications.

“Attention, Attention! This ship is not in danger. I repeat, this ship is NOT in danger. However, it is also unable to land on the planet. All crew are to transport as much equipment as possible to the surface and begin evacuations thereafter. I repeat; there is NO danger to this ship, so there is NO cause for panic. We need to salvage as much as we can.

“Also, if there are any able pilots onboard, you are required for flying all remaining scouting vessels to the surface for salvage. Report to the hangar deck, ASAP. That is all.”

As ponies were Digi-ported to the surface, reunions were happening every minute: mothers and fathers reuniting with their families, friends reuniting with friends, and even Pegasi soldiers, laying their arms down in surrender, happy to have survived. The only thing that made that moment more memorable was the glistening sun shining down upon them.

Star Swirl was one of the last few ponies to Digi-port down to the surface. He searched the crowd for Mint or Bake, lost in a sea of ponies. Finally his spotted a mint green unicorn rushing up to him, completely distraught.

“Star Swirl! Star Swirl,” she wailed running into his hooves. She continued sobbing and crying. He patted her head. “It’s good to see you too, Mint.”

“It’s all my fault! It’s all my fault!” she repeated again and again.

“There, there...what are you talking about?” he asked as he held her tight, rubbing her back.

“I lost the girls,” she whimpered. “I lost them!”

Star’s eyes widened as he looked around the scene for signs of them. “I don’t understand,” he said pulling apart and looking at her. “What do you mean when you say you lost them?”

Mint told him how they disappeared into the crowd just before the battle began. She had search every inch of the camp looking for signs of them. Her only conclusion was that they had somehow made it aboard the rebel ship.

“That’s impossible, Mint,” Star said dismissively. “All the civilian ponies have already transported down from the ship. If they were onboard, then you would have seen them already.” Even as he said this, his mind drifted to the section of the engines that had been ripped from the ship entirely. But there was no reason for them to be anywhere near there, had they actually come aboard. “No, they must just be either hiding in the camp, or in the forest. And now with this miracle of a bright sunny day, it shouldn’t be too hard to find them.”

This seemed to cheer up Mint some. “Do you really think so?”

“I know so,” he said with confidence.

“Speaking of the sunlight, do you now how this happened?” she asked.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” he answered truthfully. “Whatever did that though, is the only reason we’re both here to talk about it!”

Star overheard voices in the crowd steadily rising, with hooves pointed upward in the air. He and Mint looked up to see what all the commotion was.

A yellow sphere seemed to be falling from the sun. As it neared, wings could be made out flapping down to the ground; then a horn. All of the ponies stared, mouths gaped open, as a silken white Alicorn filly with a smaller blue filly held on her back surrounded by a brilliant yellow aura soared down from out of the sky.

A clearing appeared in the middle of the crowd, allowing the two Alicorns to land safely. The white Alicorn stood taller than the crowd with a glowing crown glistening with the gems contained within and a Celestial Sun cutie mark beaming into the hearts and souls of each and every pony. No pony was in doubt, yet everypony stood in shock, as the bringer of the sun stood before them.

Star and Mint scrambled to reach them through the crowd.

“Girls! Girls!” Mint screamed. “You’re okay!”

Celestia saw Mint Julep and Star Swirl racing toward them and she smiled with tears in her eyes. When they reached the Alicorn fillies, Mint’s expression was halfway between wanting to hold them tighter than a vice and smack them across their faces. She settled for the former, hugging them as they both squirmed to break free.

Star was smiling on the outside, but in his head he could only think of Sugar Baker. If he hadn’t come running when seeing this grand of an entrance, it could only mean he wasn’t hear to witness it. He kept his thoughts private for now and joined in the happier scene in front of him.

“Looks like somepony earned their cutie mark today,” he said, pointing to Celestia’s flank. Mint let them go long enough to find the filly’s new Celestial Sun cutie mark.

Clover and Sunbeam had made their way closer trying to see what was causing the commotion. When Clover saw the cutie mark, she began to see two and two coming together.

“Star Swirl, who is this Alicorn filly?” she asked, staring at Celestia.

“Clover, these are Bake’s daughters,” he answered. This is Celestia, and the little one is Luna.

Clover walked up to Celestia, looking at her cutie mark, looking at her crown, then into her eyes.

“Celestia, why do you have a sun for a cutie mark?” she came out straightforward and asked.

Celestia looked a little nervous. She never had so much attention in her life and found it to be uncomfortable.

“I um…I stopped that sphere from harming everypony,” she started.

“The Windigos ship?” Clover asked, confused. “How could you have possibly…”

“I found this tiara in an ancient castle nearby,” she explained. She went into the details of discovering the Elements of Harmony, sneaking onboard the rebel ship, getting sucked into space and somehow not dying (upon which many ponies listening gasped), seeing the sphere about to attack, and using the tiara to stop them, by igniting the moon.

On any other day, such a story might have landed this filly in a mental institution for unstable ponies, but with the sun’s rays shining cheerily down at them, they were eager to believe this amazing recanting.

“And your cutie mark?” Clover asked again, seeing that Celestia technically hadn’t answered the question.

“The sun won’t move on its own. I’ll need to move it every night and morning.”

“And you can do that?” Clover asked with a shocked look on her face.”

“Y-Yes,” Celestia answered hesitantly realizing the role she was about to sign up for, “I will move the sun every day and every night.”

The crowd around them cheered, praising the Alicorn for saving them. Before Mint or Star could do anything, Celestia was hoisted into the air and passed around in celebration. Since neither Mint nor Star could do anything, they stayed with Luna, who was out cold from exhaustion.

Clover’s Journal, Day 134 of Equestria:

I still cannot believe all that has happened over the last four months. I haven’t had enough time to even write a single journal entry in all that time, so I will try and include as much as I can now.

With the birth of a new planet and a new colony, I am amazed at how well everypony has worked together to help rebuild our civilization. With our former leaders now gone, many ponies looked to myself, Sunbeam, and Harmon Pimsey to lead our people. We agreed under the condition that this government would be dedicated to the inclusion and diversity of each and every pony with no regard for whether they are Unicorn, Pegasi, or Earth pony. They are ponies. And as the first act of our new counsel, we decided to name this planet Equestria; a home for all equines.

For Alicorns though, it is a very different story. The only known Alicorns to survive are the fillies, Celestia and Luna; daughters of Ruby Hearts and Sugar Baker, both of whom are now deceased. We lost contact with the only remaining Alicorn ship not reported destroyed during the course of the war.

We needed to dismantle most of our ships and equipment to help produce basic necessities for us to survive, however we saved one last scout ship. We are sending it out to search for the Alicorn ship and any other surviving ships and tell them to come home.

With so little equipment remaining, we have also decided to scale back our technology, revert to a simpler lifestyle in the hopes that our children and our children’s children will grow up in a land of peace. I never thought that my childish dream of such a life would come to fruition.

But the most looming event currently, is the upcoming coronation. Because of Celestia, we have the Elements of Harmony for the protection of those who would do us harm. As bringer of the sun each and every day, we came to the conclusion, with the massive support of the colonists, that Celestia would become queen.

Amazingly, she refused. She said that she did not want such a title and would refuse any title, unless her sister would be given that title as well. With permission from the counsel, next week they will both be crowned princesses of Equestria.

When the commotion had finally started to die down in the wake of the creation of a new sun, I finally had a chance to ask Celestia about the 'Elements of Harmony' she discovered. Apparently it is not a weapon, but a defense that requires the bearer to be of the best qualities of character: Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, Laughter, Loyalty, and Magic. She also explained that 'Magic' refers to the most powerful magic of all: Friendship. I have never heard of Friendship equating to magic, but I cannot deny the results of her findings.

I find it ironic that between the three pony tribe leaders and their three underlings, we nearly exhibited all of these traits. Princess Platinum showed me a generosity unlike any other. Sun has told me there were times she could catch the late chancellor laughing so hard as though he would die if he didn't. When he recovered he would deny anything had happened. Sunbeam had a sense of honesty that she had trouble holding back, even if it meant getting into trouble from time to time. Harmon may have been a weak Pegasus, but he had a kindness to him that tried to do the right thing, even if it scared him. Even Commander Hirkain, as cold and insane as he was, felt that loyalty was of the utmost importance. He sadly took this to a dangerous extreme, but it was loyalty to those he wanted to protect most. As for me, I considered many of them to be my friends, and I truly feel, had we not been fighting one another all this time, we may have been able to wield the Elements of Harmony together to defend against the Windigos. But that was not the case. Instead we ignited a civil war that nearly destroyed ourselves.

The princess, chancellor, commander, Sun, Harmon, and I all have relatives of some kind on the base who survived the war. I will be keeping my eye on them. Celestia and Luna may be able to live forever if nothing ever happens, but that can and in all probability will change one day. We may need to find somepony or ponies that can protect us should the need arise.

With Celestia and Luna being the only two remaining Alicorns, they are now an endangered species. When they are older, they may form relationships and have children, but those ponies will be Alicorn in appearance only. They will not have longevity and their magic will be limited to that of a Unicorn’s.

Star Swirl has started work on a spell which might have the capability to transform a unicorn into an Alicorn, though he is not sure whether he will be successful. Thanks to his efforts during the war, and the help he provided thereafter, the counsel has elected him Chief Magus to the Royal Court.

As a favor to Luna, Star has agreed that his official uniform for the title would be his old HoverCar salespony costume. He did so quite reluctantly, as he loathed the bells with a passion, but he still feels tremendously responsible for not bringing their father back to them after the war and wants to help them in any small way he can. I personally think he’ll be remembered more for his costume and his beard, then as the most powerful Unicorn of the age.

The coronation will take place at the groundbreaking site of a new castle being constructed on a mountain overlooking the land. Its location will be called Canterlot.

It has been an incredible journey, and it has only just begun.

Clover

“Now repeat after me: Greetings gentlepony. Why doest thou seek an audience with thy princess?”

Mint used her hoof to accent each syllable that required greater annunciation.

“Why do I have to do this?” Luna complained. “It’s boring!”

“You must because your are a royal princess of Equestria, and the ponies of this kingdom need to hear the strength and conviction of your words. They need to feel at ease so that they may go about their lives without fear.”

This seemed more like an excuse to Luna than a reason. After all, it was Celestia who controlled the Elements of Harmony. It was Celestia that moves the sun every day. She was just a PINO: A Princess In Name Only. And she hated it.

“Come now,” Mint pressed on, “repeat what I told you.”

“Greetings gentle pony. Why does it though seek an ambiance with me?”

Mint cringed, but nodded smiling regardless. Lessons would be continuing for a long time.

That afternoon, Luna was able to get away long enough to enjoy some time in the sun. She preferred seeing many stars on a canvas of night sky to the one bright one beating down on her like a furnace, but any time spent out of lessons was a blessing.

She kicked a rock across the castle courtyard, thinking about how she ended up here. Both of her parents were dead; she been made princess by the same types of ponies that would have bullied her at school in the past; and worse off she couldn’t go anywhere without running into other fillies that wanted her autograph or adults who wanted to kiss her hoof.

She just wanted to be somewhere alone. Shutting her eyes tight, she had not realized her horn was glowing, casting a spell. When she opened her eyes again, she stood in the middle of a dark forest. She quickly realized she had teleported for the first time.

She looked around at the unusual trees, hearing the deafening sounds of the life in the forest carrying about its day-to-day activities. She had appeared on a small animal trail that led deeper into the heart of the woods. Luna got a chill running down her spine.

“Follow…” a gentle whisper carrying through wind called out to Luna.

Luna thought of the last time she was in the woods and her sister was the one that could hear voices calling out to her. Maybe this time she would be able to get some ancient artifact. She started to follow the voice that continued to call out to her in an almost inaudible whisper. But instead of coming upon a mysterious ancient temple, she arrived instead at a reflecting pool, surrounded by four great pillars.

Luna crept precariously around the edge of the pool studying the images depicted on the pillars. Unlike the temple, these drawings did not move. They seemed to be more crude and less friendly. Luna felt another chill.

One pillar showed a two legged creature alone in the forest. His face was nothing more than a crooked smile on the backdrop of a night sky. Another image depicted several other creatures bowing before the man in worship.

The voice called out to Luna again.

“You seek to show your strengths…You seek to hide your weaknesses…You seek to show your sister that you are superior!”

“No!” Luna cried out to the pillars. Her voice echoed in the forest. “I am not better than Celestia. I know I’m not!”

“But you can be…You can obtain the power to rule…You can gain the ability to bring the night…You can create a night that will last forever…Look into the pool…Look into the pool and see what you can become...”

Luna was terrified. She wanted to run away, but was glued to the spot. When she finally could feel herself move again, it was not away in fact, but towards the pool instead. She tried to close her eyes and look away, but one of her eyelids disobeyed, and she felt her neck pull her face toward the pool. The moment her eyes met their reflection, she snapped face-forward staring wide into the reflection.

The reflection showed Luna much older, wearing a light blue helm and long black horn; a matching vest with the symbol of the crescent moon at its center. Her hooves were adorned with metal armaments. Luna couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The final detail she could make out was the cutie mark on her flank; the same crescent moon as on the vest, seated on a starry blue canvas of the night sky. As she struggled to see the cutie mark, her hoof slipped on the edge, and at once she fell into the pool.

When she splashed her way back out of the water, she sprawled out on the side shaking the water off of her. She examined herself only to find that same cutie mark on her flank. She knew when she saw it, that she had the ability to move the moon just as her sister moves the sun, and she would be able to paint the night sky with moonlight.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, opening them as she reappeared once again in the castle courtyard. Luna ran into the castle up toward the throne room, where her sister was struggling to endure her own painful royalty lessons. When she saw Luna running up to her so happily, she popped up to see what was the commotion.

“I got it! I got it!” Luna cried running toward her sister.

“What did you get?”

“Look!” Luna said, showing off her flank. Celestia saw the moon and the night sky and rejoiced.

“So what is your special talent, Luna?”

“I’m going to raise and lower the moon each night!” Luna proclaimed cheerfully.

“Do you know what this means?” Celested asked, a tear shedding from her eye. When Luna merely tilted her head in response, Celestia answered her own question.

“This means our destinies were always tied together. It’s fate that the two best sisters should bring forth the day and night for our people together.”

Luna was suddenly pulled into a tight hug by her big sister. She hugged Celestia back, but her thoughts had already drifted off toward creating the most beautiful ‘First Night’ she could think of.

Back in the forest, where the reflecting pool lay, with four great pillars around, a great laughter carried through the wind. Unbeknownst to Luna, one of the pillars held a dire warning:

Here lies the soul of the Harbinger of Darkness;

the one who stole the light of day from our land.

May this spell hold his soul forever trapped,

lest he return to bring darkness eternal.

Bonus: Discord's Plan (For DisQord Continuum Readers)

Bonus: Discord's Plan (For Discord Continuum Readers)

BONUS: Discord’s Plan (For Discord Continuum Readers)

The coronation of the two Alicorn sisters was in full celebration. Every pony gathered in the center of what would become their new castle. It was a day of joy for all. Had they looked up at the sky, they would have only seen the sun and a shiny blue sky staring back at them. Not the two pairs of eyes that were staring straight at them two hundred miles above them.

In orbit above their new colony, two figures floated lazily amongst the wreckage of the Windigos’ sphere watching the festivities.

“It would appear that we have failed,” the blonde-haired figure sighed.

“I don’t think that we did Q,” the other figure with brown hair and a rather large nose answered with a look of chaotic glee. “We set out to eliminate a potential threat to the continuum. And now there are but a few small handfuls of ponies leftover, and they’re stuck on some backwater planet with no means of escape. I would say that we’ve achieved our goals. They no longer pose a threat to us.”

“Don’t they?” the blonde Q interjected. “We’ve seen how powerful they can get. We’ve seen that their ability to understand and use their powers is increasing. It’s best we simply eliminate the rest now and be done with it.”

“Come now Q, are we no better than humans?”

The blonde Q shuddered. “Perish the thought!” he said. “Those creatures kill their own like it were sport! “Which of them are killing the other at the moment?”

“I believe it’s the Romans’ turn,” Q replied, rolling his eyes.

“Remind me to eliminate them next!”

“You can’t just get rid of a species because they don’t suit you,” Q commented. “Besides, we can have so much more fun if we don’t!” Q chuckled as he entertained possible trials and tests he could put those humans through.

“You find everything fun Q,” the blonde Q said dismissively. “We’ll hold off the human question until they start venturing too far for their own good. Now what are we to do with these leftovers?” He looked down at the celebration, imagining squishing the entire city like an anthill.

A large grin spread wide across Q’s face. “I suppose I can always pop in on them from time to time and make sure they’re behaving; put a little chaos in their lives as it were.”

“I still say eliminate the lot of them,” said the blonde Q coldly. “But do what you will. I won’t stop you. Just remember that means they’ll be your responsibility Q. If the continuum has to step in, you’ll be living inside an asteroid for the next hundred million years or so!”

“You worry too much, Q,” the brown-haired Q laughed. “I know just the trick to keep those ponies in line.

The blonde Q was interested now. “I wonder what shape you’ll take to greet them. You’ve always had a flare for the dramatic.”

Q smiled as he began to transform. “I think a little chaos now and again will be good medicine for them, so I’ll bring them a nice heap of discord.

As he spoke, his shape slowly took shape. His head resembled a goat with horns from two other animals; his legs had one hoofed foot and one dragon’s leg. Every part of him consisted of a different animal in one way or another.

The blonde Q started laughing as he looked over this new form. “Ha! Like I said Q: flare for the dramatic!”

Discord laughed along with him as he admired his new appearance in a mirror that appeared in front of him. “You know, I rather like this form. Chaos really does suit me.”

The blonde Q gazed around at the wreckage of the Windigos ship. “Fascinating, this species. They sacrificed everything they are to technology in order to achieve perfection, and in the end, they succeed in losing everything. Why did you choose to use this race and in their current state, knowing what they become?”

Discord looked back at the blonde Q. “They were just right for the job I think,” he replied. “They were able to do what we needed, without getting any understanding of our powers.”

“But should they ever learn about those particles, they could become more of a threat than the ponies ever were!” The blonde Q gave Discord a very serious look of concern.

Discord merely smiled back at him. “Which is why I prevented them from contacting any of their people during this whole little exercise. Anything they may have learned, they couldn’t have shared.”

The blonde Q was still unconvinced. “We need to be careful. Just remember, this is the species that started it all. The origin of the Borg Collective itself: Species 001!”