The Black Stallion Chronicles: Chaos Rising

                                                                                       Chapter 3

                                                                                 Controlled Chaos

Fluttershy loved coming to the market. Ever since she had learned to be less of a pushover she has had better luck bartering for good prices on food; which meant that she could get more for herself and her animals. She had just bought some fresh cherries when she noticed it had become surprisingly dark out. She looked around and noticed the ponies around her looking up and pointing in awe. Fluttershy then looked up herself and saw dozens upon dozens of armored pegasi flying in formation.

Fluttershy looked on in awe herself. She felt nervous seeing so many armored pegasi in one place. She could hardly take seeing more that 2 guards at the royal palace. This was starting to feel like it was just a little too much. Then the pegasi descended. The first to land was a white Pegasus in weird looking armor. She raised her hoof just as the rest of the pegasi landed with cages. Then she heard her yell something. Some of the pegasi started to grab some earth ponies and throwing them in the cages. Then the realization hit every single pony.

They were here for one reason: Capture everypony.

Fluttershy squeaked and ran under the cherry stand table. She then watched in horror as the pegasi continued to round up ponies. All who ran away from them were captured. Unicorns and Earth ponies alike were taken against their will and thrown into those horrible cages. But for some reason they seemed to not be interested in the other pegasi. Most of the regular pegasi where gone, but the ones that stayed seemed to be left completely alone. What is going on? thought Fluttershy as she closed her eyes and covered her face with her hooves in fear.

                                                                                              ***

Twilight was a bit in shock. She had just witnessed an army of pegasi land and immediately began to take Earth ponies and Unicorns alike. Chaos reigned around her. Ponies ran in all directions trying to escape while some tryed to hide. Some seemed successfull in hiding but those who ran were eventually caught or came very close to being caught. Some where thrown around or tackle when they tried to fight back. The battle seemed very onesided.

“Is this what war looks like?”

She asked, thinking back to her books.  She had read about the clash of the Lunar Rebellion and the Equestrian Empire, but seeing this much chaos first hand had her frozen in shock. The stallion noticing her shock went back over to her.

“Hey” he said as he nudged her, “wake up. This isn’t the time to freeze up. Your friends need you NOW. I know this may seem over your head, but you need to look past that. Remember we came here to stop them!” Twilight shook her head. He was right, she needed to stop thinking about the war and focus on the battle. “What do you want me to do?”

The stallion pointed at the armored pegasi. Take them down by any means necessary. We can free the ponies in the cages after we have stopped the opposition.” Twilight’s horn glowed. She set a determined look on her face and charged into the fray. The stallion was about to follow her when four pegasi landed around him.

“Crud, looks like to get to the leader the lackeys must come first.” He reached under his cape and pulled out his blade with his teeth. It was samurai sword with a black hilt. He brought it to bear and charged the Pegasus in front of him. The pegasi not sure what to expect stood there in shock. The stallion brought his sword down unto the soldiers head. The sword banged against the soldiers helmet leaving him dazed as he fell to the ground. The other 3 realizing that the stallion was a threat ran up to attack him from behind. The stallion bucked his hoofs into one closest to him, his hoofs hitting its head, sending the Pegasus flying back a few feet. A big dent in his helmet showed as he lay unconscious. The stallion then reared his head slashing the remaining two. They fell with a thud as armor appeared sliced open with blood running from their wounds. The stallion then turned to survey the scene.

Twilight appeared to be surrounded by both conscious and unconscious pegasi. As she dispatched some pegasi, more came to take their place. Her horn glowed as purple light shot out from it in different directions taking out every pegasi she hit. On the other side, away from the battle, the commander continued to yell orders as the remaining pegasi continued capture any non-pegasi pony.

Then out of nowhere a light blue pegasus with light blue and green hair charged the commander from behind with a big stick in his mouth. But before he could get to close though, the commander noticed him and smacked him away with her hoof. He landed on the dirt dazed. Before he could get up, the commander’s hidden blade appeared just a few inches from his face. The soldiers turned and stopped what the where doing as the stared at their leader.

Was she going to hurt the pegasus? Didn’t she tell them not to hurt the pegasi? But they never expected such opposition from them. What reason would they have to attack the soldiers? They should have figured out by now that they were all on the same side. The blue pegasus could only look at the blade in fear. The commander looked down at the pegasus with rage but soon let it all go when she saw the fear in him. He feared her. She is supposed to be a beacon of hope for all pegasi. Not a murderer. She sheathed her blade and took a few steps away from him. She then looked at her soldiers seeing relief in their faces.

The blue pegasus got up and left the ground as he used his wings to take off as fast as he could. A look of shame and anger played across his face. He tried to stop them but he had failed, and had almost died because of it. The stallion watched him go wishing he could offer him something to help him but the battle was raging on; he still had other matters at hand. He unsheathed his blade as he ran back into the fray.

                                                                                          ***

Wind Rider needed a moment to clear her head. She was still shaken by the whole ordeal. This is what she wanted right? But why does this all feel so wrong? She looked at the ponies in some of the cages. Some had sad looks or looks of hoplessness. She felt guilty but she did not want to be. She had a plan and she knew the consequences. But why did this all feel so wrong?

She wanted continue her train of thought but she was interrupted by two small rocks nailing her in the forehead. Even though her helmet protected her, she still felt a great deal of anger and annoyance flow through her again. She looked up to see a black earth pony, with orange hair, standing next to a blue unicorn, with black and gray striped hair, who was levitating rocks. They were both smiling with a look of determination. The unicorn appeared to be ready to through some more. The commander trying to not lose it, seeing as she was suppose to be a calm collected leader, casually as she could, lifted her hoof as she commanded two soldiers to capture them.

The smiles on the unicorn and earth pony disappeared as they were each tackled by a soldier. They soon found themselves thrown in a cage before they could even register what was happening.

The soldiers, a black one and a white one, hoof bumped. Feeling cocky the white one, without looking, lifted his left back leg and smashed it into a cart, sending flying at high speeds down the market.

The stallion looked up having just taken out a soldier traced the directory of the runaway cart. It was heading right for the cherry stand…

Right where a small yellow pegasus with pink hair was hiding.

Before he could say a warning, Twilight, having noticed the cart as well, was already screaming her name. “Fluttershy, look out!” Fluttershy opened her eyes just in time to see the cart slam into her and the cherry stand. Wood and fruit flew in all directions as the stand collapsed in on itself, burying the her.

“FLUTTERSHY!”

Twilight was nearly in tears as she looked for an sign of her friend coming out of the mess of wood and debris. She quickly started to run toward where the cherry stand used to be, taking on any pegasi that got in her way, trying to get to Fluttershy. But there were to many pegasi and she soon found herself blocked. As she continued to cast spells, trying to make her way toward her, the stallion was being overwhelmed himself.  As he tried to hack his way through, doing his best to get to where the pegasus had been buried by debris, Twilight continued to scream her name.

But amongst the rubble, she got no answer.