Ch. 1: Sealed With a Kiss
What is the true meaning of life? Is it equality of rights and finance? Is it worship of a deity to ensure a secure afterlife? Is it acceptance of all ideas as valid ways of thinking? Is it figured out by the most complex mathematical formula that ultimately results in a cliched, two-digit number?
Nay, I say. The only meaning in life is power! Some ponies are born with the power to rule. Others are born to be weaklings that need those rulers to show them their place. All ponies are not made equal! Differentiation must be made! All weaklings, bow to the might of the Lunar Republic!
~Emperor Sombra, Year A.F.(After Faust) 2216
Sealed With a Kiss
"Sunny, get back here!" hollered Shining Armor, "You've been absent from too many classes as it is!"
"I don't see what the big deal is!" Sunny Skies called back, "I already have top marks in all of my subjects. Plus, I have all those hours put into extracurricular activities."
She practically dove down the open space in the middle of the spiraling staircase. The rush of air against her flowing, pink mane was so exhilarating. Then with just a slight thought, she caught herself in her yellow magic and hovered a bit just before landing soundlessly on the ground floor.
"Hi! Bye!" she greeted quickly to the two staring students before she galloped away.
"Was that Sunny Skies?" wondered the student on the left.
"Yeah," sighed the student on the right, "It's her... again."
"So, Sunny," piped up Cadance while driving the motorized bike with sidecar, "What happens after high school?"
"I'm not sure, Big Sis," answered Sunny Skies honestly, "There's college, but I'm tired of being a student. On the other hoof, I'm not quite ready to look for a job either. I guess I'm kind of stuck."
"Well, I'm sure you'll figure out something," assured Cadance.
They rode in relative silence all the way to the Exosphere Casino. The name was very misleading as it really only went up to the stratosphere.
"Target is on the move."
"Tracking."
"I believe that's checkmate," said Sunny confidently.
The chess player known as "Black Bishop" stared in shock. But there was no denying it. Her king was cornered with no way out.
"How is this possible?" she pondered aloud.
The gathered crowd shared her disbelief. How had one of the world's chess champions lost to a high school filly?
"Oh, relax," chuckled Sunny, "I won't tell any pony."
"Maybe," said Black Bishop suddenly smirking, "But people are going to start spreading rumors... about how a stinky kid cheated the Black Bishop in a game."
The crowd's expressions of disbelief changed degree.
"But it's chess!" exclaimed Cadance, "It's impossible to cheat."
"Who are the people going to believe?" chuckled Black Bishop, "An influential billionaire or an anonymous student?"
"You filthy, lying mare!" insulted Sunny. She was shaking in fear and frustration simultaneously. She was so distracted that she didn't notice the Black Bishop's right-hand colts until they had pinned her to the floor.
"Sunny!" yelped Cadance.
A greater threat made itself known. Large pieces of the ceiling dropped sporadically. Ponies at machines, tables, and bowling were now running around in random directions trying to find ways to escape. Following the ceiling, some giant mechanical ponies known as Lancelots crashed in and started raining bullets in several directions.
The elevators were getting ridiculously crowded with escapees.
"Dumb earth ponies should go use the stairs," shouted some pony over the crashing.
"This way!" shouted a voice as Sunny found herself being grabbed by a flyer's hoof.
"What? Wait a minute!" yelled Sunny trying to figure out what was going on. She ended up running into another pony and the first one let go of her.
"Sunny?" cried Cadance, "Sunny!"
"L-Let's try the stairs!" yelled Sunny over the cacophony of noises.
The two sisters headed for the barely used and dusty stair case and were galloping as quickly as they could. This first set of stairs ended on a floor that was still high up. The next set was across a long storage room that had crates scattered around. Sunny and Cadance could still hear bullet noises from somewhere above. So, they needed to keep running. As they ran over a slightly glassed section of the floor, some of the ceiling crumbled and fell.
"Look out!" Cadance cried as she quickly shoved Sunny out of the way. In doing so, however, the block landed on top of Cadance and broke through the floor beneath her. Her wings couldn't move with that much debris in the way and her magic wasn't that strong either. She was at gravity's mercy.
"Big Sis!" cried Sunny running over to look down the open floor, "Big Sis!"
"Celestia," murmured a voice. Sunny turned her tear-streamed face and saw a red stallion. Where did he come from? Who was he? What was he doing here? Why did his cutie mark look like the alicorn amulet?
But before Sunny could vocalize any of her questions, something popped. A hole in the stallion's chest was opened and his blood spilled through it. His eyes shared as much shock as Sunny had in hers. Without even thinking, she dove under and caught him on her back. His eyes slowly closed and his breath was silenced.
Sunny started looking toward where the bullet had come from. She was surprised to see a Lunar Republican Lancelot and five foot-soldiers. The Lancelot's driver and the rest of the soldiers all wore midnight blue armor representing their loyalty to the Lunar Republic.
"I...I don't understand," sniffed Sunny, "Why are the Lunar Republicans shooting the innocent?"
"It seems the terrorists are rather interested in you, Sunny Skies," chuckled the Lancelot's driver.
"Me?" echoed Sunny, "Why me?"
"Well, you lured out D-5 just fine," was the response.
"D-5?" she echoed as she turned her head to look at the apparently dead stallion, "You mean him?"
"Though, it would seem your usefulness is over and done with," continued the driver.
"Tell me!" Sunny yelled while turning back to the driver, "What do I have to do with all of this?"
"Heh," snorted the driver, "I'd be wasting my time explaining to some pony that's about to die."
The soldiers levitated their magical firearms and prepared to fire on the clueless alicorn.
I can't create a shield strong enough to fend off that many attackers, thought Sunny, Is this... really how I'm going to die? Without even knowing the reason? I...I need something powerful. I need something to...
"You already have it."
"Huh?" she opened her eyes and turned to the face of the pony that was on her back.
He's alive? Sunny was rightly confused.
"Remember your true self," he whispered, "Dawn."
He kissed her on the lips.
Suddenly, Sunny's eyes were filled with rushing lights and nonsensical pictures. Galaxies were spinning on each other's edges. Daggers collided with exploding firearms. A unicorn's horn glowed as giant wings flapped behind it. After some time, the chaos merged back into distinguishable visions.
"Wait..." muttered Sunny.
"I got it!" panted Luna, "I really got it!"
"The moon?" asked Celestia, "Or your cutie mark?"
"The moon of course," pouted Luna, "I don't... have..."
She trailed off as she looked back and noticed what was on her side.
"I raised the moon and earned my cutie mark!" she cheered.
"Really? I didn't notice," teased Celestia.
"Tia," grumbled Luna.
"Just kidding," Celestia smiled.
"Promise to keep this contract, and I shall grant you a power untold," whispered the changeling.
"Would you be so kind as to give me your Lancelot?" asked Celestia sincerely.
At once, the stallion that was facing her gained an abnormal red tint in his eyes. Where he had been levitating a spear before, he now held out his vehicle's key.
"Understood," he affirmed, "The user password is 'nights'."
Celestia grabbed the key in her own magic as she walked on by.
"Thank you," she smiled.
A mare in full-body armor that shone like gold stood in front of the camera's view. The armor made her flowing mane shine in multiple shades of blue and pink. Beside her were several other ponies in slightly more revealing armor, but still with face covers. Above their heads flew a flag composed of two alicorns chasing each other around the sun and the moon.
"Results obtained through empty desires are meaningless," stated her friend, "The system needs to be changed from within."
"Following rules and doing things by the book only leaves you in chains of slavery like dogs," spat Celestia, "I refuse to believe that peace is like that!"
"I'm doing this for your own good," said Twilight Sparkle tearfully, "After all... aren't we friends?"
"Twilight Sparkle!"
"Celestia!"
*BRRZAP*
"I remember now," muttered Celestia coming back to reality, "I am Dawn: leader of the Solaris Knights. We aim to overthrow the Lunar Republic and we will succeed."
"And you already have the power you need," said the red stallion.
Celestia nodded, "Please step aside, D-5."
D-5 smirked as he complied.
"How is he still alive?" wondered one of the soldiers.
"He was shot in the heart," added another.
Celestia stared directly at them. Her left eye was filled with a red light in the shape of an alicorn's head and wings. She raised a hoof before holding it straight off to the side.
"By order of Princess Celestia," she declared with a bit of forced emphasis, "I command you all to climb through the nearest window!"
Normally, trained soldiers would never listen to a high school student, let alone obey them. But, something in that suggestion just felt so compelling. Maybe it was that light in her eye. It was such a pretty light. Pretty, pretty light. They felt like they would be all right as long as they listened to the suggestions of that light. It wanted them to climb out a window? Okay.
Celestia and D-5 watched the affected soldiers march out in single file. One after the other climbed out the window. What they hadn't been told by the order was what to do after leaving by way of the fortieth floor above ground level. Fall came early for these soldiers.
"I know your Mesmer requires direct eye contact," commented D-5, "But, were those theatrics really necessary?"
"You'd know all about acting," retorted Celestia still smiling, "Wouldn't you, changeling?"
"I can see criticizing you won't result in any gain," sighed D-5 while looking away.
Celestia then took a look at the empty Lancelot standing open and without a driver.
"In hindsight," thought Celestia out loud, "perhaps I should have asked that one colt to give me his key and password before leaving."
"Micromanaging was never your strong suit," remarked D-5 in his typical half-serious tone.
But, Celestia was already thinking about something else. It involved how her current memories conflicted with her falsified ones.
I have a younger sister, she thought, but not an older one. But then, who is Cadance?
Author's Note
I really need to stop having these whims. They're good for setting the stage but not so good for helping me finish what I've started.
Ch. 2: A Brand New Day (That Never Was)
Celestia: Princess and co-ruler of Equestria. When her sister Luna tried to implement laws that would help guide a world free of fear and suffering, certain ponies did not fully approve. These ponies looked at Celestia as a tyrant and wanted Luna to rule as the sole Princess. But in their attempts to assassinate the bringer of the sun, they destroyed the very leader that they desired.
Framed as Luna's murderer, Celestia left the castle and lived a false life as a student from parts unknown. She forged friendships with some of the other students and excelled in her studies just enough to pass the academy's standards. However, in her absence, other distant members of the royal family battled for control of the throne. Eventually, the rule fell into the hooves of Sombra. He declared himself the new emperor through power and fear.
He claimed to be cleansing the world in the name of Princess Luna. He and his top subordinates went so far as to name his empire the Lunar Republic. The already captured country of Equestria was stripped of its name and given the label Region Earth. Now, Earth Pony could apply to anyone born there, regardless of their features that said otherwise.
Celestia has gained the power of Mesmer. Mesmer manifests differently in any pony that is gifted with this power. In Celestia's case, she was given the power of suggestion. Regardless of the target's beliefs or convictions, she can command them to do anything. However, she cannot use this power more than once on each pony.
Granted with this power, she hastened her plan to try and overthrow the Lunar Republic and restore Equestria to its rightful glory. She took upon herself the identity Dawn. Dawn symbolized hope and gave Equestrians a fighting chance in a fighting force called the Solaris Knights.
Now, she fights again. To find the one who originally wiped her memories, to put an end to her enemy Emperor Sombra, and to fulfill the dream that her sister died for, Celestia fights again.
A Brand New Day
"Dawn!"
Celestia perked up upon hearing that name. Another Lancelot galloped into the room. But unlike the Lunar Republic's machines, this one was cyan with various parts in other colors of the rainbow. She immediately recognized her choice of elites.
"Ah, Rainbow Dash," she called to the driver, "Perfect timing."
"Sorry," was the quick reply from inside, "I tried to recover you earlier, but the crowd of Lunar Republicans was a little thick."
"No worries," Celestia shook her head dismissively, "At least you're here now."
"Here," called Rainbow Dash as her Lancelot raised a hoof with what appeared to be a large memory disk, "You can use this to take that Lancelot for an hour."
"A hacking drive?" noted Celestia as she took the disk in her magic hold, "That's the second one the Solaris Knights have had to use now, isn't it?"
"I know," confirmed Rainbow, "That means we've only got one left. But, this isn't the best time to try and bring in another Lancelot."
"It can't be helped," sighed Celestia as she flew up to the empty enemy Lancelot, "Password override, now."
She inserted the disk into the key port. The mechanical pony powered on with its new driver.
"What's the plan, Dawn?" inquired Rainbow through the radio frequency.
"Fight off as many enemy Lancelots as we can," ordered Celestia, "Then, work our way to the first floor."
"Done and done!" declared Rainbow.
"Understood!" answered several other Knights through the same frequency.
"Do not leave any survivors!" commanded Viceroy Blueblood.
"Yes, my lord!" acknowledged his entire squadron.
While the rebel Lancelots were initially outnumbered, their non-standard tactics left many of the Lunar Republican soldiers in unprepared states of death. This was especially true in the case of Rainbow Dash. Her custom Lancelot was much faster than the standard model and had a supersonic rumble hoof that could be focused to block the enemy bullets and overload enemy circuits.
The last thing her enemies never saw could be described as a literal rainbow pinwheel of doom.
(Chapter’s cut off)
A/N: Hey, readers. Sorry about leaving this hanging, but I’ve kind of lost the motive that I originally had in this fic. Code Geass is a beautiful anime and the more I try to capture its essence, the more I feel like I’m trampling on its face. So before I close Executable Mesmer’s doors for good, I present to you the spoilers of a story that will never be.
Big sis dies.
“The ultimate defense Lancelot: Golem has been stolen!” announced the commanding officer, “Stop that weapon at all costs!”
“Right!” responded the numerous enemies.
Inside, Cadance desperately tapped the hoof and magic controls to maintain powers to Golem’s shields. It managed to hold off most of the enemy fire. Though, one or two explosions got closer than comfortable. Hanging onto one of the sides of the cockpit, Celestia could only stand there wondering why.
“Cadance, what are you doing?!” she shouted.
However, the other alicorn didn’t answer as an orb of red light spread out from her eye. Her Mesmer was the power of time standstill. Activating it made other living beings temporarily lose awareness, giving the illusion that she skipped time-space. But while it stopped the enemy pilots, it didn’t stop their Lancelots from running. Holding her power for a long period caused them to continue flying into the ground below and crash.
There was a drawback to using her power so extensively, though. Each time Cadance’s Mesmer was used, her heart stopped for that same length of time. She felt strained between repeatedly activating her Mesmer and piloting Golem. As the fifth time wore off, she started coughing.
“Stop using your Mesmer, Ca-”
Another red orb spread out. More enemy Lancelots fell into the various trees and mountains. Cadance pressed a hoof against her chest as her breathing grew heavier.
“-dence! Don’t you under-”
Celestia becomes frozen again. Cadance takes a quick look over as the Golem blasts some of the land-based units.
“Celestia, little sister,” she panted, “You mean the world to me. I know the original memories between us were falsified…”
Her coughing fit interrupts her statement and the Mesmer’s effect fades again.
“-stand? I was just using you!” Celestia finished shouting before gasping, “Cadance. You’re dying. That’s en-”
The world stopped again.
“… but the time we shared after was genuine.” Cadance started crying, “With that time, I know now… what it means to be alive!”
Time continued.
“-ough. If you keep using your Mesmer you’ll kill yourself,” Celestia exhaled.
The Golem landed softly in a cove just behind the old ruins of the Royal Sisters’ castle.
“Cadance,” whispered Celestia, “Why did you save me? I tried to have you… dealt with.”
Surprisingly, Cadance managed to chuckle, “You’re a terrible liar, little sister. I could sense your love, even after you yelled at me. You lied about hating me. You lied about wanting me dead. You lied about everything.”
Celestia sighed as she leaned over and held Cadance’s hoof in her own.
“Nothing gets passed you, big sis,” Celestia smiled sadly, “Your little sister is nothing but a big, fat liar.”
“Emphasis… on… fat,” Cadance breathed out for the last time. Her tired eyes closed.
“Horse apples,” sniffed Celestia.
The end to all hatred.
“Is that Dawn?”
Whoever it was certainly looked the part. It was the golden armor with a mane the same celestial colors. That helmet covered the face and its cape was of the right material.
“It can’t be!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed more to herself than any pony else, “Celestia is over there!”
She turned to where the world-renown tyrant sat. Celestia stared at the newcomer with eyes and mouth wide open. Even her royal attire of the New Lunar Republic couldn’t hide her fear.
In an instant, the pony dressed as Dawn started flying around in a zigzag pattern. The Empire’s forces tried to shoot her down with bullets and magic bolts. But there was enough anticipation for her to swoop around the poor aim of the guards. Soon, she was behind enemy lines.
“Hold your fire!” ordered the chief executive.
A flash of light covered the armored pony’s visage. She reappeared, standing in front of the one that now stood from her throne.
“Impudent foal,” muttered Celestia magically aiming a pistol at the interloper. Just then, a strong magical bolt from the Dawn pony quickly removed the weapon. Said pony aimed her own longsword toward Celestia. For some reason, the supposed tyrant couldn’t help but smile.
“All of Equus is focusing their hatred at me,” Celestia stated matter-of-factly, “Now, we just need to end this cycle of hatred. I am depending on you to end me.”
“And that’s…” started her faithful student.
“That is…” nodded Celestia.
“… the Day of the New Dawn.”
“Hey, Twilight,” suggested Celestia, “Don’t you find Mesmer comparable to the Elements of Harmony?”
“Huh?” responds the other alicorn, “I don’t understand.”
“Mesmer has a way of connecting us,” explained Celestia, “It does so before we even realize it. I believe the Mesmer that pony kind looks for is in Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and the Magic of Friendship.”
“Now I see it,” smirked Twilight.
A certain changeling called D-5 stood on a nearby mountaintop. His closed eyes were the sign that he was resigned to the choice that his contract associate had made.
“Celestia,” he whispers, “The price for using your Mesmer.”
“The only way to fight hate… is with love.”
Never being impaled before, Celestia could only choke at the sudden pain she felt from the piercing blade.
Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle thought sadly. Her tears were hidden by her mask.
“Your punishment for slaying royalty shall be this, my faithful student,” muttered Celestia so that only her killer could hear her, “You will live on, forever wearing that mask. You will be the hero that restores harmony to this land. The rest of the royals will serve Dawn. Your identity shall forever be… Dawn.”
“This Mesmer that you speak of,” Twilight muttered back, “I will gladly fulfill, Celestia.”
The rest of Equus only saw Dawn yanking her sword out. Celestia’s vision became blurry before she fell down the small staircase. A trail of blood marked her tumble. Her eyes slowly closed.
“Save a place for me, Luna,” whispered Celestia, “I’ll be… there… soon.”
Dawn shook the blood off her longsword.
“Tyrantlestia is dead!” was the outburst, “Free those prisoners!”
A large crowd of ponies, gryphons, changelings, and other stuff stormed the hallway.
“We must retreat,” said the chief executive.
As the golden-armored pony raised her blade to the sky, her cape and mane flowed on the ever vibrant solar wind. The newfound freedom brought forth cheers from the populace.
“Dawn! Dawn! Dawn! Dawn! Dawn!”
The future brought forth a brighter light.
Author's Note
Forgive me for trying to stand in Goro Taniguchi's way.
