Chapter Twenty-Three
Freedom

I killed my sister.... My very own sister... The Princesses’ plan all along was to use Twilight against me in secret. I can only assume that the rest of ELEMENT GEAR are indeed the Elements of Harmony under the control of Celestia.

Fucking monster...she’s a monster... No heart, no soul, no sympathy for anyone and anything except for her sister, and even THAT’S probably questionable!

We’re taking the fight to Canterlot. I’m going to have to drum up a plan but we’re going to do it. I’ve received reports from Peace Fighters near Canterlot that there is a massive machine above Canterlot named MY HEAVEN, and that it is most likely a spaceship...

Space... When I was in the Royal Army, the Princesses told the world that space travel was currently impossible. Just another lie. They can’t stop FUCKING lying! It’s like every little word that comes out of their mouths is a lie.

MY HEAVEN... The Princesses are planning on leaving soon, but we’re going to make sure they don’t. We’re gonna take MY HEAVEN and put as many members of each race on this planet on that ship.

Twilight.... The Mid-Morning War, why couldn’t it have gone done differently? Why couldn’t there had been more time to save Twilight and her friends? Then this wouldn’t have happened and it’s likely that the war would’ve been over by now...

FUCK!

Why couldn’t I save her....?

“FUCK!” Shining Armor yelled again, getting up and slamming his hoof into the metal desk, denting it and pulverizing the pen he had been holding, its red ink pooling like Twilight’s blood and staining the white paper. White like his fur.

Looking up bleakly Shining Armor looked at the video screen above the desk that showed a serene picture of the surrounding jungle. With the base being underground the Peace Fighters had to set up cameras linked to screens to allow their soldiers to look outside. It also permitted the average rank-and-file soldier to spot incoming Imperial forces in case the security cameras and radars missed them.

Touching his hoof to the screen Shining slowly blinked, thinking of the screen as a portal to simpler days. One he would never be allowed to go through.

Twilight...

Just then the doors to Shining’s room opened and in stepped Lieutenant Strong Spear, a scar on her chest so deep the fur would likely never grow back over it. She looked troubled, but like she was also bearing good news.

“Prosperity Team has captured ELEMENT GEAR, they’re bringing them here immediately” the Lieutenant said, earning a nod from Captain Armor as he approached the door.

“It’s time for some answers” Shining commented, leaving his room behind as the blood-red ink began to dry on the paper.

Shining Armor stood in front of the prison cell which held the five remaining operatives of ELEMENT GEAR strapped to heavy-duty chairs to prevent escape or suicide. Their names were imprinted on their chest-pieces, stamped in like they were just average suits meant for average soldiers.

Lieutenant Strong Spear and Master Sharpclaws stood at Shining’s flanks, watching ELEMENT GEAR like the Captain was.

“Open the gate” Shining commanded.

Sliding the key into the hole Lieutenant Spear slid the gate open and allowed her two companions to step in first before following and locking the door behind her. Shining Armor approached the ELEMENT GEAR soldiers and they bristled, their mind control urging them to kill their enemies.

“OK, let’s do it like we did with Spike. Release the helmets and control cables” Shining said, starting with LOYALTY GEAR. The seals hissed and popped as the Peace Fighter leader pulled on LOYALTY’s helmet, lifting it free and pulling the control cable installed in the back of her head. Rainbow Dash shook her head and blinked several times as she was freed from the control.

One by one the Peace Fighters went through ELEMENT GEAR, confirming Shining’s suspicions that they were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony under Celestia’s control.

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity looked very disturbed and shaken, but were holding their composure. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy started crying and sobbing almost immediately after they were freed and the Peace Fighters waited patiently until they stopped, which was close to 20 minutes.

“T-thank you....” were the first words spoken, by Rainbow Dash. All five of them were trembling in their seats.

“You are welcome” Shining Armor replied, sitting in the corner closest to Rainbow. The Elements took their time as they composed themselves, trying to cope with the fact that they were free.

“S-Shining... Where is Twilight...?” Rainbow asked, Shining hanging his head low and shaking it slightly.

“She’s...dead.”

Silence rang loud in the prison room as all parties present contemplated their reality, taking the time to mourn Twilight.

“Why... How did ya’ll free us...?” Applejack asked, speaking up.

“The cables. It was the cables. We pulled them from slots that had been installed in the back of your heads. The Princesses were controlling your minds to make you elite soldiers to battle me and the Peace Fighters” Shining Armor answered.

“The Princesses... They told us you were dead. They told the entire Empire that you were dead, Shining. And why the HELL did they take control of us?!” Rainbow demanded.

“I wish I knew, Rainbow. I wanted some answers, too.... When are the Princesses planning on leaving?” Shining inquired.

Rainbow Dash nodded, saying “soon. Very soon. They explained to us that we would be taken with them when they boarded MY HEAVEN to leave.... They said they needed us to restart our species... Shining? They’re going to use MY HEAVEN’s main gun to kill you and destroy the Peace Fighters before they leave forever.”

Captain Armor contemplated this new information, mulling it over for a few moments. “‘Restart our species’? What the hell? And they’re going to destroy us with the ship first? When exactly are they planning on doing this?!” Shining asked.

“A few days. It won’t be very long” Rainbow declared.

“We need to make the first move, then” Shining stated, preparing to leave the cell when Fluttershy caught his attention.

“Sh....Shining...? Could you please... Kill us?” the butter yellow mare requested, shocking her fellow Elements except for Pinkie.

“Please...end our suffering...” Pinkie said.

Shining shook his head, already knowing he wouldn’t be able to live with himself for sure if he did something like that. “No, I already killed Spike.... I can’t do it again.”

“PLEASE!” Fluttershy screamed. “PLEASE END OUR SUFFERING! I CAN’T TAKE IT A-A-ANYMOOOOREE!” the yellow Pegasus yelled, beginning to sob uncontrollably as she broke down under the stress. Sharpclaws stayed behind to calm them down as Shining Armor and Strong Spear left the area to discuss their next course of action.

“This is disturbing news regarding MY HEAVEN and what the Princesses plan to do. We must move quickly if we are to save all on this planet” Shining commented.

“Yes but how?” Strong inquired, knowing that they were nowhere close to bringing the war to Canterlot or the Princesses.

“I’ve go a plan. Operation: Fallen Star. We move fast against major Imperial military installations and destroy them, stealing their vehicles and resources. With the Canines and Felines backing us up and with the extra supplies from Imperial bases we will take the war right Celestia’s throne” Shining explained.

“And the Elements?” Strong Spear said, hearing Fluttershy’s cries still echoing down the hall.

“We’ll nurse them back to health, but I don’t think they’ll be ready to aid us by the time we go to Canterlot. They’re all too psychologically scarred. I doubt we’ll be able to bring them back to normal all the way, anyway” Captain Armor said.

“So that’s the plan, then? Operation: Fallen Star?” Strong Spear declared.

“What, do you have a better plan?!” Shining Armor snapped, irritated. Strong looked surprised and a little hurt.

“No, but I was just asking.”

Shining shook his head and began to walk away back to his room, leaving Strong in the hall. “Wait, Shining! Are you sure you’ll be OK? I mean, with what happened with your sister and all...”

“I’ll be fine” Shining replied, not sounding too sure of himself.

“Shining? Big Brother?” Twilight said, her little voice catching the older stallion’s attention immediately. Shining put down his pen and looked down at his little sister, who was holding a piece of paper in her mouth.

“What is it, Twiley?!” Shining said enthusiastically and sweetly, making his little sister blush at the boisterous use of her pet name.

Spitting the paper out onto the floor Twilight nudged it and said “I wrote this song, hoping it’d get me my cutie mark, but it didn’t. Still, I think you should have it.”

Shining reached down and picked the sheet up, reading it over. It was titled ‘BBBFF song’.

“Twiley, what does BBBFF stand for?” Shining asked, curious.

Twilight looked down at the floor and scuffed her hoof back and forth, looking a little sheepish and embarrassed. “U-um, it stands for Big Brother Best Friend Forever... I love you, big brother” she explained.

Shining blinked a few times and smiled, picking his little sister up and making her yelp in surprise. “I love ya too, Twiley.”

The two nuzzled together and closed their eyes, both enjoying the embrace of each other. “Promise me, big bro, that whatever happens we’ll always stay together” Twilight said.

“I promise, Twilight” Shining replied.

Their time together melted until it was replaced by a land of flames and suffering, the sky a blood-red color. Shining felt much older, about the same age he is right now as he leads the Peace Fighters.

“When I was just a filly, I found it rather silly, to see how many other ponies I could meet...” Twilight’s voice sang through the air, sounding eerie and distant. Shining found himself in what appeared to be Canterlot, though the streets were filled with rubble and clouds of red.

“...I had my books to read, didn’t know I would ever need other ponies, to make my life complete...” Twilight continued singing.

In the shadows Shining could see other ponies scurrying around, trying to avoid the stallion. They looked shapeless, formless, and almost completely invisible.

“But there was one colt that I cared for, I knew he would be there for meee...”

Shining turned a corner and saw Canterlot Tower down the street, looming in the sky. Spotlights on the side of the tower projected powerful and bright beams of light into the blood-red cloud blanketing the city.

“My...Big BROTHER!” Twilight thundered, her voice shaking Shining Armor’s bones and hurting his ears as it rang through the air. The ponies from the shadows revealed themselves and showed that they were all wearing suits similar to that of ELEMENT GEAR, though these ones had no names stamped on them and the visors were split into two ports for each eye, all glowing an eerie green.

The shadow ponies growled and hissed as they crowded the Peace Fighter leader, some of them snapping their teeth and a few butting their heads against the stallion's flank and the sides of his body.

From above the cloud layer came a massive spaceship, angular and sporting sharp fins everywhere. It was pitch black, and through the bridge's window Shining could see a red glow emanating. Painted on the side in red letters was the name MY HEAVEN. The ship lowered and turned until the railgun on top was facing straight down on Shining Armor, the magnetic bands used to accelerate the projectile glowing orange instead of blue.

Shining Armor was about to move when he was attacked by the shadow ponies en masse, the whole lot of them congregating around him. Lighting up on their chest pieces in what appeared to be pure fire was the peace sign, smoke and embers flying off as they bustled around the Captain, preventing him from going anywhere.

Panicking, Shining yelled "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! WHAT ARE YOU PONIES!?"

"WE ARE MONUMENTS TO YOUR SINS!* LIVING EMBODIMENTS OF THE CORRUPTION YOU HAVE SPREAD THROUGH THE HEART OF EQUESTRIA!" the shadow ponies thundered in unison.

The deep humming of the railgun charging turned to a whir as the weapon fired, producing not the characteristic BOOM that a railgun of its size should but rather terrifying screech, like the wail of a banshee. Looking up Shining saw a flaming visage of Twilight's head appear from the barrel of the railgun, streaking down across the blood-red sky in a blaze of fury straight toward Shining Armor.

"LEAVE! GO AWAY!" Captain Armor demanded of the shadow ponies, trying his hardest to push them out of the way, to no avail.

Shrieking and wailing the visage of Twilight's head barreled down on Canterlot, the flames of fury spreading from it to many of the buildings in the city, setting them ablaze instantly. Plumes of black smoke bled into the sky, mixing with the blanket of red cloud and spreading like a cancer. The spotlights on the side of Canterlot Tower turned and pointed at MY HEAVEN, lighting the massive ship up like it was some sort of perverse art to be put proudly on display for all to see.

Channeling his magic Shining Armor fired into the shadow ponies to get them to move, his targets turning to incorporeal clouds of black smoke before becoming solid again each time the stallion fired, rendering them invincible to any attack. When one did actually get hit another one appeared out of the shadows to take its place, thus ensuring their numbers would remain constant.

As if angered by Shining's attempted attacks the shadow ponies became more aggressive, pushing and shoving as hard as they could against the stallion. Individually Shining could over-power them but in a mass crowd pushing against him and each other all they had to rely on was their weight.

“WE ALL SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU DO!!” Twilight and the shadow ponies bellowed as the flaming visage of Shining's sister landed on top of him, exploding into a massive fireball and roasting him alive. The shadow ponies were tossed far and wide into the hellish sky of Equestria, all roaring like demons from hell itself.

With a jump Shining Armor woke up from his nightmare, drenched in a freezing sweat. The stallion looked up and around his dark room and saw nothing out of the ordinary, leaving him to collapse exasperatedly onto his bed and press his hooves to his eyes as he began to cry, feeling scared and vulnerable like a lost colt.

Author's Note

*This is a reference to the Gravemind's line in Halo 2.

Author's note: there's a hidden reference in this chapter, and it's a big one. Hint: it's the scenery of the nightmare and the shadow ponies.

Legal note: Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. Lieutenant Strong Spear belongs to me. All other original characters belong to their respective owners. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro.