Prologue- Events in Motion
Prologue.
Equestria. Once a nation of peace, thriving and happy. A stunning display of unity & equality for all, with Towns, Cities, Castles, Gorges, Mountain ranges, Canyons, you name it, it was in Equestria. Nothing was impossible for this nation, and they had achieved some quite incredible advances in culture, technology and most other things. It was, to be short, a golden age. A golden age of peace, harmony, and prosperity for almost all. But, a golden age has to end at some point, and Equestrias was no different. But in the present time, Equestria is a wreck. Almost no buildings stand, and those that to are too dangerous to reside in any way, filled with dangerous animals and even more dangerous ponies. It all started more than a century ago...
In the beginning it was a rather small movement. A few disgruntled ponies, dissatisfied with Celestia's rule going unquestioned, or unvoted for that matter. Sure, they were alicorns and all, but did that really give them the right to rule over the rest? As this train of thought grew, so too did the size of the group, and they began to wander. They became known for their nomadic ways, and their marches into towns would often be met with either scorn or some new ponies willing to join the cause. Soon, they were big enough to pose an actual threat to Celestia.
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Admiral Stormhoof smacked his hooves on the table in frustration, almost quaking the room. The reverberation was quite impressive, due to the sheer size of the Canterlot war planning room. Admiral Stormhoof sat at one end of the table, Princess Celestia at the other, and several other military officers in between. Stormhoof was a dark green unicorn, with a deep grey mane akin to the color of storm clouds, just before they release pelting water, thunder and lightning. Stormhoof, too, looked constantly on the verge of loosing a torrential out-pour of anger, and it was this that had earned him the nickname of 'red storm' due to his near-constant red-faced rage.
"My princess, we have waited long enough! These rebels have been prancing around Equestria, steadily gaining support and ignoring our attempts at peace! We cannot keep this up much longer, if they are aloud to continue at this rate, we stand a chance of losing! I, for one, will NOT allow this good nation to fall into the hands of ponies who would sooner destroy it for lack of knowledge!"
Most of the ponies at the table nodded their assent. Some shook their heads at Stormhoofs ranting, but only one dared speak up. Her name was Fleet Spell, another unicorn, and a talented one at that. She was a bright white Mare, with a cyan mane and right now, an expression of incredulity was spread across her face.
"Admiral Stormhoof, what you are suggesting is that we attack and destroy these ponies for simply talking? We can not show hostilities unless we are presented with them ourselves, or risk making a blunder that would destroy the rebels, but lose the support of the nation! I will not stand for this!"
Again, the ponies at the table nodded, or shook their heads. This time, however, nopony spoke up. Admiral stormhoof seemed to be trying to control his rage, and putting together an argument. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, a silencing wave from Celestia herself stilled his tongue.
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Celestia couldn't remember the last time she had felt so tired. War planning had never been her thing. Equestria was supposed to be peaceful, and now this was happening. She sighed, massaged her head with her hooves, and spoke.
"Admiral Stormhoof. Send them one more letter. Tell them that we wish for nothing more than peaceful negotiations, and would accept them into the castle at a moments notice to do so. However, should you refuse, we will have no choice but to attack, and crush you all. We await your response, and hope it is the right one"
With those words, she left.
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The ponies at the table sat still, shocked. Had Princess Celestia just proposed war? The princess famed for bringing peace to the land in the first place? Most of the ponies there considered quitting there and then, for if this was not a sign of the end of harmony in Equestria, what was? Admiral Stormhoof, on the other hand, could barely contain his glee. Celestia had finally given in! He made to leave, but was blocked by Fleet Spell, who did not look quite as pleased.
"I hope you're proud of yourself. Celestia is now probably tormenting herself over this, all because of you, you... warmonger!"
She left after saying so, in the general direction of Celestia. Stormhoof watched her go, not entirely fazed. It wasn't like a stern talking-to was going to fix him, so he continued to his study. He had a letter to the rebels to write...
Celestia walked through the castle, barely able to contain her tears. She was torn between loyalty to her subjects, and her duty to protect. On one hoof, there was the problem the rebels presented, in that she was likely to be dethroned if she left it to happen. On the other, if she attacked them, she would have no choice but to abdicate any way. One vow she had taken when becoming Princess of the land was to protect each and every subject of hers, and as far as she saw it, anypony who resided within Equestria was her subject, wherever their loyalties lied. She just hoped the negotiations went well...
Fleet Spell had tried to follow the Princess, but it had all been in vain. She just could not find her, and after half an hour of being lost, she found something recognizable, and decided to head back to her living quarters, still raging at Stormhoof, the brute. All he wanted was to fight, to finally try out his moves on actual ponies instead of dummies. She shook her head slowly. Such attitudes disgusted her, and she preferred not to dwell on them...
Luna was in her room, peacefully reading. Why not? It was the middle of the day, and she had no duties to attend to for another few hours, as far as she knew. Even then, her duties were minimal. Raise the moon after Celestia lowered the sun, and lower the moon a few hours later. True, she guarded the night, but her loyal Night guard ponies saw to that efficiently enough. She trained as well, but her heart was not really into it. So she read, as a means of escaping the mindless tedium of it all. She had just reached a particularly interesting plot twist when Celestia crashed the doors open, strode in without seeming to notice her, and collapsed on the bed, sobbing.
Celestia had been having trouble containing her tears, and tried to hold them back as long as she could. She crashed into a room she assumed either hers or empty, fell on the bed and simply let loose all her tears. Until she noticed her sister sitting beside her, levitating a book weakly and staring at her. She pulled herself together, but couldn't hold it. She began sobbing again, and Luna was quickly by her side.
"Sister of ours, we demand to know why thou cries! Were thy negotiations not as expected? Did that loose cannon Stormhoof do something?"
Celestia looked at her sister, and almost smiled. For somepony who had spent a thousand years on the moon, she certainly knew how some ponies were bound to act.
"Sister, the negotiations went... Negligibly. Stormhoof is now writing a last chance letter to the rebels, and the other generals are split between loyalty and duty. I wish I could blame them, but it's natural, I'm feeling the stress as well."
At this Luna raised a quizzical eyebrow.
"Thou makes it sound so simple, but are thy not sure this deserves more... serious attitude?"
Celestia stopped smiling.
"Of course sister, but one must never ignore the chance to smile in the face of danger."
Luna was a bit taken aback. Danger? There was danger incoming? She sent a mental note to the guard now stationed at the door to block any and all intruders and was met with a mental nod. Satisfied, she turned her thoughts back to Celestia...
Several days later, Celestia sat on her throne, smiling graciously. Not one day ago, Stormhoof had resentfully delivered the news that the rebel leader was, in fact, wiling to negotiate. She waited for his arrival, and was rather surprised when he did appear, although she did her best to hide it.
He was a a brown Pegasus, with a white mane and short tail. His name was Fast Strike, like his battle tactics. He had never been one for prolonged conflicts, and it looked like he was here to end what looked like one. he approached Celestia, but was stopped short by the guards.
"You'll have to excuse me for being... cautious. After all, your reputation, and indeed, your position, are against you here. I am not arresting you, simply keeping my distance."
"My lady, I would expect nothing less from a queen who has run a great nation for thousands of years. Unfortunately, quite a lot of us feel that it is time for... new blood. Progress is a necessity, my princess, and this cannot be achieved without change."
Celestia was taken aback. This was a tangible argument. He was certainly a smooth talker, but she sensed something... off about him. The way his eyes seemed to twitch around when he thought she wasn't looking, the way he seemed to be gauging the threat presented by the room. She put it down to experience as a rebel leader, but scrutinized him closely nonetheless.
"You make a good argument, Fast Strike. I agree that Progress is needed in this nation, but do you not agree that this could have been achieved... peacefully? Without defiling my name, and those who support me?"
It was Fast's turn to be taken aback. He decided to look around again, mindful of Celestias constant gaze upon him. He began to wonder if maybe she knew... He mentally shook himself. The plan was working perfectly, if knowledge had been leaked, Celestia would have him bound in chains and thrown in a dungeon the second he arrived. He became aware that Celestia was talking.
"... and as I was saying, Maybe a peace conference could be reached. Maybe we shouldn't go to war. Maybe we could simply talk it over. Speaking of which, where is Admiral Stormhoof? He should be here, overseeing the negotiations."
Suddenly, time seemed to slow down. Fast looked at her, and a gleam entered his eye. But this was no gleam of good will, or coy playfulness. This was mean-spirited, as was the will behind it. Before she could react, a knife pressed itself against her throat. Admiral Stormhoof whispered into her ear.
"Right here, your highness. And Let me tell you, if you try anything other than signing this abdication document we are about to present to you, we're going to test that little theorem about Alicorn immortality. Should be quite interesting, don't you think?"
Celestias thoughts went wild, but she forced herself to remain calm. There was a chance. Maybe if Luna...
The doors slowly opened, and Luna walked into the room, surrounded by several, rather bruised, Rebel soldiers. Celestia noticed some damage on her wings and abdomen, and struggled to help her sister. Stormhoof pressed the knife deeper to her throat, nicking the surface. Celestia winced at the cold steel, and felt her own blood slowly trickle down her chest and onto the floor. Fast Strike made a signal, and Soldiers poured into the throne room from every opening, the doors, windows, even tunnels under the floor were opened through tiles in the floor.
"Well, my dear Princess, it appears to be your endgame. We may choose to let you live if you cooperate peacefully. Should you refuse, you and your sister will find that we can be... rather mean."
To emphasize this, the soldiers around Luna proceeded to shove her around, tripping her to the floor. Celestia wanted to rage against her restraints, to break free and wipe out every one of the rebels in this room, but she stopped herself, for Luna's sake. One of the soldiers levitated a document towards her, and a quill, and she signed it as best she could, not caring for the consequences. Fast Strike almost couldn't contain his laughter as he took the document back.
"Well then, my lady, it appears to be time for you to leave the kingdom that was once yours. I will have guards escort you to the border, and from there you will have to find your own way to survive."
Celestia was shaking with fear, and fury. Her life had fallen apart, her kingdom, her work, thousands of years of peace and prosperity had been shattered. She turned to glare at Stormhoof, pure Malice radiating from her like heat.
"Stormhoof, I hope this 'change' you are working towards is worth it. Enjoy your kingdom, for it will fall apart without somepony who knows how to guide it."
With that, she submitted to the guards, who also appeared to be hauling Luna the same way. Her heart lifted, but was quickly beaten down again by Fast.
"My lady, if you think we are stupid enough to let you and your sister stay on the same sides of Equestria, where you might gain enough support to fight back, you are rather mistaken. you will each be taken to opposite sides of Equestria, and we will make sure no communication is made. And now, I bid you farewell."
With that, Stormhoof removed the knife from her throat, but quickly pressed it against her spine, forcing her to walk forwards or be stabbed. She began to walk, and they marched. Out of the castle, and to the edge of the castle, when they were stopped. The unit of guards forcing Celestia along had become quite a sight for the other ponies, unable to see the knife at her back. They assumed it was simply some more royal business, and went on their way. however, they were stopped for another reason. Mainly the small contingent of guards at the other end of the cloister they stood in, led by none other than Fleet Spell, Who, if armed with the power to kill with looks, would have effectively then taken out every single member of the rebels.
"Stop right there, Stormhoof! You aren't taking the princess anywhere, not without getting through me first! Me and these guards will fight to the death before Celestia is dethroned!"
Stormhoof laughed, a deep rumbling noise, and left another guard in charge of Celestia as he walked to Fleet.
"You always were a dreamer. You think to stop me? Not only are you out manned, you are outclassed, and facing the one who taught you how to fight. Get out of my way or die painfully."
Fleet almost stepped back and let him through, but one more look at Celestias defeated form was all it took. She looked back at Stormhoof, her eyes alight with fury. She stood taller, matching him for height, and her horn started to glow.
"How dare you! You presume to think that I would ever give up on my princess, because you think you can tell me to? Well, I have another thing for you!"
Stormhoof took it very calmly, to his credit. he had tried to be reasonable, but now this arrogant upstart was in his way, and she wanted a fight. So be it, a fight she would get.
Without warning, he whipped his head around, and a black, scything light erupted from his horn, crackling as it leaped towards Fleet, who jumped out of the way. Fleet closed her eyes, and a jet of pulsating water leaped from her horn, shooting towards Stormhoof, who barely had enough time to dive out of the way of the blast. Not enough, it seemed, for he was clipped by the blast, and sent spinning to the ground. Before Fleet could press on, though, Stormhoof was back on his feet, firing more black waves after her. Fleet gasped and more than one spell found it's mark, opening wounds in her sides and hooves. Finally, Stormhoof's tirade ended, and Fleet was shaking. She was bleeding from multiple wounds, and couldn't fight much longer.
"You... You think this is over? You think I'll give up because of a few nicks and scratches? That I'll just slink away and forget this?"
Stormhoof seemed to find this genuinely amusing, and almost fell over himself laughing. Celestia raged internally, but could only watch, as her last loyal soldier was destroyed in front of her.
Finally, Stormhoof stopped laughing, quite suddenly. He quickly went back to rage, and began to walk towards Fleet Spell, who now looked quite terrified.
"You think I'm going to let you walk away from all this alive? You have been a thorn in my side since day one, and I think it's time the favor was returned. It's time I finally got you back for your back talk, and refusal to listen to your betters.
So saying, he began to charge his horn for one final attack. Fleet looked on in terror, and desperately tried to charge her own magic, but it was blocked by her irrational fear of this pony standing before her. She began to wish she had been born a pegasus. At least they had wings, but now she was as useless as a newborn rabbit, quaking in fear. She had the resolve to look once more at her princess, and utter one sentence.
"You... Have to come back one day... Please..."
Stormhoof smiled wider, and released his attack. Fleet screamed as she felt herself blasted apart, almost as though every atom in her body were suddenly coming apart at once, and the pain was quite magnificent. Tears barely had time to form in her eyes, but at the back of her mind, there was a strange peace. She was dying, and her brain seemed to have accepted that. Rather than going begging and crying, she decided to go out with a little dignity, no easy feat concerning the pain currently tearing her body apart at the seams. She looked at Stormhoof once more, and managed to choke out some works.
"Go... To... tartarus."
Suddenly, her body collapsed in on itself, crumbling into ash. She had time to emit one surprised sqeak, and her world turned black.
Celestia looked through her tears at her the remains of her last faithful subject who could have helped, and almost screamed. It seemed her fate had been decided, and she had no choice but to give up and be marched to the border...
Luna had face no such resistance. The Generals had felt no great afection for her, and The Nightmare Moon incident still reminded them of what Luna was capable of. She had been frogmarched to the border in a matter of weeks, and left alone. Or so the resistance thought. As soon as they had left her for dead, her fiercely loyal Night guard appeared from the sky, and landed to bow at their mistresses hooves. Luna tried to wave them away.
"I no longer have the right to subjects, you are a free from my service."
The leader, a dark-coated pegasus, stepped forward and spoke in a deep voice that sounded like it had been some time since it was used last.
"My lady, we are now, always have been and I can assume always will be, your loyal subjects. We followed your escort all the way here, staying out of sight, and we shall continue to serve you. Maybe one day we can reestablish contact with Celestia, and formulate a resistance. Now, though, we must attempt to build an army of our own...
Celestia had taken a bit longer to get to the border, and the guards had left quicker. They had a schedule to run, and left as soon as they could. Another mistake, it seemed. Celestia had all but given up when four generals still loyal to her appeared from the sky and the shadows. An earth pony, a unicorn and two pegasi, and all willing to help their princess regain control of Equestria...
Back at Canterlot, news of Celestias dethroning had reached the ears of all the ponies there, and was traveling fast. Most of the canterlot ponies had liked their old way of life, and rioted when they heard the news. The City almost burned to the ground, and had the rebel forces not been the size they were at, and without some masterful planning on Fast Strikes part, the resistance would have been very short indeed.
Stormhoof traveled back to Canterlot, and went straight to fast Strike. He had never intended a partnership and he intended to throw out Fast as soon as he could. Unfortunately for him, Fast had the same plans for Stormhoof. A brief scuffle not three hours after he returned, Stormhoof found himself in the middle of no where, near-dead. He would have died, too, had it not been for some ponies in a small village nearby, who found him after a hunting trip. He soon discovered their way of life was not an easy one, and began to see the effects of his own handiwork in dethroning Celestia. These ponies, and other villages besides, worked hard enough to survive, and with no true leader for them now, life would get harder. He looked back on his mistakes, and wished bitterly that he had just agreed with Celestia. He began to formulate a new plan, a plan to dethrone The rebel leader. he almost laughed at the irony as he schemed, but quickly stopped. The only viable route would take years to formulate. He pondered for a long time, debating either to simply live out his remaining days in peace, or give a good deal of his life to planning...
He laughed to himself and began to think.
Fast Strike lounged in the throne, unaware of what was happening in his kingdom. He had appointed ponies to watch over each town, and abdicated most of his other duties to his new council. All he had to do was approve important decisions and make speeches occasionally. One such speech was due soon. his ministers had warned him that if he did not appease his subjects, Civil war would be a certainty.
The next day, he was standing on a balcony, addressing his subjects, most of whom were looking resentfully at him through red-rimmed eyes, or beaming happily. The latter were the resistance, of course.
"I know it is hard for you to take. Celestia is gone, and her legacy of Peace with her. But not necessarily the prosperity. She needed to go, or we would have fizzled and died out. We need to change, to become stronger, and more technologically advanced, and we can now! Nothing is taboo, and we shall move into a glorious new era! An era of infinite peace, too much food to go around and more spare time than we can use in two lifetimes apiece!"
His words, mostly outspoken lies though they were, seemed to inspire the crowd. Maybe Celestia had been holding them back, maybe now that she was gone, things could change...
Fast left them thinking and entered his bedroom.Everything was going fine, and as far as he knew, they would be for a while yet...
Author's Note
Chapters will come out as weekly as possible. Sorry for lack of cover art, but that really shouldn't detract from the quality of the story...
Chapter 1- After the Fall
It was raining. The rain was pelting hard against the window of the shack in the middle of the great desert. The desert was a sparsely populated area, and for good reason. The days baked you, the nights froze you, and food & water were rare. But here was a village. This village held Stormhoof. Once general under Celestia. Now a disgraced pony with no options. He stood at the window, shivering. It was a particularly chill night, and the spartan living conditions did barely anything to stop it. He decided to stop moping and get back to his plans.
'Now then... If I am to help Celestia, this could take more than my lifetime has left... But for her, I shall do this. I hope she appreciates this...'
As he drew diagrams and wrote notes down, he smiled again. This plan was certainly a good one. He just hoped Celestia would see him again without it including him in shackles. He shuddered as he remembered what he had done. He had dethroned Celestia. Almost single-hoofedly, he had plunged Equestria into chaos, and Discord had nothing to do with it. He stopped sketching. Another face swam into his mind. Fleet Spell. His protege, his pupil. His victim. He remembered the spell he had used. It had been pent-up aggression, aggression he shouldn't have had, directed at a pony who deserved none of it. Now, she was dead. He was to blame. He shuddered again, but this time the cold had nothing to do with it. Once more, her screaming face appeared in his minds eye as her blasted her beyond oblivion. Tears welled at his eyes, and he began to sketch more furiously. There was pent up aggression again, except this time, it was directed at somepony who deserved it. Fast Strike. He had been so charming, so clever. His words were like honey to his ears, and he had fallen under his influence as quickly as a child. He growled at nothing, and finished sketching on the page he was on, turing to a new one...
Celestia was watching the night sky. It was a beautiful one, by all accounts. Now that Luna and her had been dethroned, it appeared as though their influence over the sky and the orbs inhabiting it were severed. Celestia could still reach out to the Sun, but it refused to acknowledge her presence, no matter how hard she tried. She sighed, and gave up once more on trying to turn night into day.
'I could have done so much... I should have done. I was so full of myself, and now it's too late. Twilight probably hates me, most of the ponies in Equestria probably think my name is mud... What do I do? How do I get myself out of this? I have been ruling for so long without incident that I've forgotten how to rule.'
With a heavy-hearted sigh, she turned back to the earth. Twilight was a distant thought now, her student no longer. A princess, she could not call herself. It felt so strange calling herself simply "Celestia" but she had no choice. Again, it seemed like the title of Royalty was something that could only be used correctly.
A pony walked out of a tent flap nearby and approached her. It was a young mare, a Unicorn. She was an energetic young pony, by the name of Snow Breeze. She specialized in cold, be it cold weather, cold objects or cold spells, she was there. The only thing that wasn't cold was her heart, and that gave off extra warmth to compensate. She was never angry, nor weak in the face of danger. She hadn't slept for days, but she didn't let that get her down.
'Celestia! We must move again soon! I trust you are ready?'
Celestia nodded. It had become custom for them to move around the border of Equestria, but far enough back so that none might spot them. If Fast Strike wanted them dead, he was going to have to work for it. Celestia smiled grimly as she contemplated that pony sitting in her throne, making decisions for her people. Her smile quickly faded.
'There will be a reckoning, Fast. Mark my words, you will pay for this, no matter how long it takes, even if I don't deliver the blow myself, you will pay for this.'
Breeze looked up at her leader.
'You muttering something?'
Celestia blinked, and flashed back to the present. She shook herself, but caught herself to avoid spraying her subject with water.
'Y-Yes, my dear. We will leave as soon as we can, gather the rest. I have some... thinking to do, I will join you at the head of the camp presently.'
The mare left, leaving Celestia alone once again with her thoughts. She gazed into the rain, feeling her mane plastered to her sides. She looked around at her surroundings. Again, she longed for the comfort of her castle. The plush beds, the warm food, the generally happy atmosphere. Again, she flashed back to the present.
'No time for fanciful thinking. I must meet with the others'
As she turned, thunder rolled across the skies, and lighting flashed in the distance. A storm was coming. A big one. They were going to have to walk it out if they intended to move now. She hurried to her remaining subjects. There was four of them in total. They were wincing slightly as the breeze from the storm chilled them further than the rain was. Celestia looked over their packs, laden with what supplies they had garnered along the way, along with tents and battle plans.
'Alright, you all know the drill. We march north-east this time, so remember that if one of you separates.'
As Celestia spoke, she became aware of just how military she sounded. She almost stopped and sighed again, but refused to show such weakness in front of her subjects. She turned away and began to march, picking up her supplies on the way. The weight had been uncomfortable at first, but the more she had walked, the more it had become part of her, until she felt uncomfortably light without it.
Breezes from the storm became gusts, and colder they got too. Celestia looked out on the horizon. The lightning was flashing ever closer, and thunder was flowing across the sky like a thousand chariots thundering above the clouds. Celestia began to march quicker. Soon, the old camp was out of site, but that could have been attributed to the rain currently pelting her eyes. She trotted on, aware of the others behind her. They seemed to be doing fine, and none missing. Snow was leading the pack, as usual. She may have been the only female, but she was certainly a leader when the going got moving. Celestia smiled inwardly and moved on.
Luna was flying around in the rain. It was night time, of course she was. She almost laughed as the rain almost hit her, but miraculously seemed to be blown away by gusts of wind at the last moment. The thousand years she had spent on the moon had certainly assisted her control of environmental spells, and she could warm herself with air friction at any time she wished, or as it seemed right now, deflect rain. The thunder raged around her, and lighting flashed mere yards away from her, but she was fine. The night was not her enemy. Cloaked within it, she was almost invulnerable. Nothing touched Luna at night unless it had a good eye and a better arm.
As she flew, she reminisced of the days when she was the princess. Those short days, after she had come back from the moon. Nightmare Moon. Even remembering the moon brought back thoughts of her. She was... Luna. Luna, but filled with hatred. The polar opposite of what a princess of the night should have been. Using the night to strike fear into her subjects, not to cloak and comfort them. Again, she felt that raging at the back of her mind that meant Nightmare Moon had awoken. The voice was a tiny one, but it was there. Ever since the sheer power of the Elements of Harmony had been unleashed on her, Nightmare Moon had all but disappeared. The voice was certainly manageable, and not growing stronger, but it was there. Luna shuddered to think of what might happen should she escape once more. She was snapped out of her flying and night-dreaming by a call from below.
'Luna! There is much to be done on the ground, would you join us?'
The voice belonged to Dusk Wing, a pony who had chosen to stay by her side, along with three others. Luna quickly landed, and trotted to him. He was impassive as ever, and spoke business.
'Luna, we must move soon. Fast could be sending patrols anywhere, and we should try to keep ahead.'
Luna considered it. It was certainly a way to pass the monotony. The rain eased a little, and Luna flicked her mane out of her eyes. To be on the move meant she could one day be reunited with her sister, a tempting prospect. Not only was she lonely, but if they could pool their resources, they could certainly find a way back to Royalty.
'Very well, where shall we move?'
'We believe moving to the south west should be sufficient. It will move us behind the border, and out of sight of the ponies that could come straying into these woods. Pack your things. We move out in five minutes.'
With that, he left, leaving Luna to once more ponder.
'If me and Celestia were working together, we could probably take out that clown Fast Strike...'
The voice at the back of her head got a little louder at the name. It whispered to Luna, dark things. Methods to make him feel all the worst pains, to elongate his life for as long as possible, just to torture him for what he had done a little longer. Luna shook herself. Nightmare would not, could not come out again. She packed her things hurriedly, and trotted to the front of the camp they had made.
'Milady, are you ready to go?'
'When you are, loyal subjects.'
They left, with Luna in the middle, to protect her. Around them, the rain continued to fall, bringing down the already somber mood of the party, and each pony felt their emotions drag, as they dragged their hooves through the mud, trying to keep their saddlebags relatively free of mud. The moon rose to it's peak above them, bathing them in an eerie silver light...
Fast Strike sat in his throne. He looked around. The room was empty, and a cold breeze was blowing in. Nothing else. The fire leaped and crackled, filling the room with a warm light, and banishing the chill from the breeze. Banishing. Fast giggled. He had done it. Again, the realization that he now controlled almost every part of equestria settled upon him, and it was a good feeling. The night pressed on, and he decided to get some rest.
As he wandered down the castle to whatever bedroom he would pick for the current night, he saw, once again, the paintings. Paintings of Celestia, of Luna, and other important-looking ponies. His lip curled in disgust and he grabbed the nearest one and tore it down, putting his hoof through the face of a regal looking Celestia on her throne.
"Never thought I'd get to do that. Feels kind of good..."
He started grabbing more as he walked down to his room, destroying art that was timeless since before his father was born, and enjoying every moment. He was about the new age, and this castle was hopelessly stuck in the old days. He finally reached his bedroom. As he lay down to sleep, the world seemed to spin around him. Being leader was hard work, and he had around thirty problems a day to deal with, especially after performing a hostile takeover. He closed his eyes as sleep began to overtake...
The next morning, the storm had passed over Celestia and her group. They had reached an area they could settle on for a while, but Celestia was beginning to get restless. The more time they spent outside Equestria, the more time Fast strike had time to make sure they wouldn't come back. They gathered and started discussing their battle plan. As they discussed, they began to realize that a plan could be made. The more they discussed, the more the plan took shape, and the better it seemed. Soon, they stopped talking, taking the glory of what seemed like a plan. Celestia stood up.
'I am so proud of you all. It may not be much now, but I can promise that, should we win, you will all be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams. Now let us rest some more, when we start this, we must be rested...
Luna trotted on, watching around her for signs of danger. These ponies may have been night guards, but she was the princess of the night, nopony had eyes that compared to her night-vision. The wind slowly meandered through as they walked, chilling them. They hardly noticed anymore, they had gotten used to it. The leaves rustled and the dust blew along, but nothing else moved. The animals had retired into their dens, and the birds nested away, provided no background noise. The night was another, deathly quiet one. Luna would not have it any other way, truthfully.
They continued to march, mindfully aware of each other and their surroundings. One of the guards was quite jumpy, for a trained night guard. He twitched this way, and that. Only Luna caught his movements in the darkness of the night, but they were there. She made a quick test with her magic and discovered that she still had the mind-link spell working. It was a simply spell she cast surreptitiously on her guards, to make sure she knew their thoughts without them knowing. She prepared herself to cast the spell...
Stormhoof was packing. He had been enough of a burden on this village, it was time for him to find Celestia. He was about to finish, when someone from the village entered, with his food. It was an old Mare, and his consistent carer throughout this time for him. he slowly turned away, rejecting the food. The Mare looked at him, then to his bags, and back. Realization dawned in her eyes, and she hurried out of the tent. Shaking his head, he turned back and continued packing. Suddenly, more villagers burst through the flap, crowding him, all saying things, but there were too many for him to understand any. He managed to pick out snippets of talk though.
'Don't go!'
'You're not leaving us!'
Stormoof smiled inwardly. If only these ponies had a clue what he had done. He continued packing, until he felt a hoof on his shoulder. He span around, and came face to face with the village elder. He was a wizened old pony, but there was strength in his wiry old limbs, and his eyes sparkled with the sharpness of a young colt. He shooed the younger ones away, until they were alone. he began to trot around the room casting his eyes on the bag containing the plans.
'So you are leaving us. Did you receive some sort of summons?'
Stormhoof kicked at the ground.
'No such summons, but I have been a thorn in this villages side long enough. It is time for me to leave, to rectify a mistake I made long ago.'
'Is that so? Well then, it is the least we can do to provide you with what you provided us.'
Before stormhoof could object, they brought in a saddlebag filled with provisions. Just looking at it, he knew that it was at least a months worth of food for these ponies. he couldn't accept this, it would kill at least three of them from hunger and disappointment. He gently pushed it back towards the elder, smiling.
'Your kindness overwhelms me, but I simply cannot take such a boon for your ponies. It would hurt me more than if I starved, to know that I had been the death by starvation for some villagers.'
The elder smiled this time, obviously expecting such words. He grabbed Stormhoof with surprising strength, and dragged him to the crop field he had been tending to over the months. Shoots were appearing in the plow lines, everywhere. Food was growing, where there had only been parched earth before. The elder gave a hearty laugh and slapped him on the spine with a hoof.;
'You see? This is the fruits of your labor. Before you came, we dreaded that we lacked the ability to sow the seeds needed before the rainy season, but you have proved more than enough. You see, we were long stuck in a state of decline. Not only could we not plough through the hard soil fast enough, the more seasons passed, the more difficult it became, and we had all but given up hope when you came. Now that we can be fed and watered well enough, maybe we can reverse this destruction. Thanks to your hard work, we can rebuild!'
Stormhoof was taken aback. He had... Helped. Without even knowing what he was doing, he had saved lives. These ponies were grateful to him, and he them. he looked down at himself. He hadn't been exactly puny before, but the long days of hard work had given him a thicker chest, and his legs were sturdier than ever. He accepted the saddlebags without complaint this time, and prepared to leave. The villagers were waving him off, as though he were a hero. His smile faded, as once more he realized what he had done. It was on his shoulders, equestrias current state of chaos. It's subjects had finally realized that the law was powerless, and they had started taking liberties. Over the months, these "liberties" changed into outright vandalism, and even beatings in some cases. Violence and lawlessness in a land formerly of pure harmony and friendship between its ponies. All due to him. Lost in his thoughts, he smacked straight into the wizened, but undeniably vigorous elder.
'Oh. s-sorry!'
The elder frowned and picked himself up off of the ground. After carefully dusting himself off, he beckoned for Storm to enter his tent, set up at the edge of the town. Stormhoof reluctantly followed. The elders tent was never approached unless a severe emergency was going on. He had never had the privilege of entering said tent. When he did, he found it surprisingly unremarkable. There was a plain bed, a trunk at the foot and a table in the corner. The table help gadgets of a kind he couldn't identify, but they were obviously important to the elder- They were the only things in the tent without a fine covering of dust on them. The elder gestured to a chair, obviously meaning for him to sit. The elder sat oppositely, watching him intently. For a while, neither spoke. Then, the elder began.
'You have been tormenting yourself for a while. Ever since you were found, you were beating yourself up about something. Something big. The burden of it weighs down your heart and your spirit. This must end now.'
Storms eyes opened wide. How had he... no, of course he knew that. There was no way he knew that-
'You dethroned Celestia?'
Storm almost fainted from sheer surprise.
'Who are you?'
The elder smiled again.
'Now then, is that really the interesting thing here? No, the interesting thing here is you. And your guilt, which we are goig to abolish right now. You dethroned Celestia, but why? You must have had a very good reason. I heard many stories of Celestias loyal admiral, the raging storm himself. What made you wish to see her dethroned, or even dead?'
All at once, Storm felt himself pour out his reasons. his distaste for Celestias actions, the dedication to her "favorite student" while letting others fend for themselves. Lunas... Nightmare. Every flaw, every problem he had ever had with the princesses and their unquestioned rule, all came pouring forth, and he could not stop. The more he talked, however, the better he felt. As though a mighty weight were lifted from his chest, the end of his speech left him feeling lightheaded and... happy. The elder took it all very well, choosing only when he stopped to speak, but still nodding and shaking his head through the tirade. Finally, he spoke up.
'Hearing you speak like that... raises hope in my old heart. Your reasons were perfectly alright. but maybe... maybe you could talk it over with them next time you see them.'
Storm felt as though he were correct.
'Also, let me see those plans.'
Storm felt himself hand over the plans he had spent so long scribbling and outlining. The elder barked a short laugh, before making additions of his own. he quickly scrolled them back up and handed them back to him.
'Now leave. You have to remember where they initially dropped Celestia, but I guarantee you she's moved on since then. move out!'
Storm paused. For a moment, the Elder sounded like... A military commander. Shaking his head, he trotted out of the tent, and continued on his journey. When he found Celestia, he knew not what would happen, but he knew he had to get... the plans! He had forgotten about them so soon! he quickly took them out of the bag and looked at the additions, eyes almost popping out of their sockets. These were... ingenious. Nothing like them would have been seen in Equestria in... ever. they completely overrode his old plans and shortened them by decades, to the point where only three or four years would be needed. He rolled them up again, placing them in his saddlebag, and continued south.
Celestia awoke. Something was wrong. with Luna.
'Sister!'
With a cry, she leaped from her bedding, or what passed for it, and stood tall, gasping. Somewhere in her mind, she felt a nagging, an irresistible tug, constantly telling her something, but it seemed to only convey her own thoughts, almost as though nothing was there. Somehow, Celestia knew Luna was in trouble. Big trouble, and Celestia had to save her. She ran from her tent, hollering the ready signal to her guards. But all was silent. So very silent. Celestia crept forward to the nearest tent.
'oh, no...'
in the side a neat incision had been made. She opened the tent from the front. One of her guards were inside. No longer alive. his chest had been sliced open as he slept, and his vocal cords quickly after. Possibly at the same time, depending on the number of assassins. Celestia began to weep as she looked around. She went to the other tents, and saw the exact same, precise, lethal methods employed.
'Snow Breeze!'
Slowly, thoughts of another loyal pony crept into her head. one who had dies for her, and had begged her to retake the throne, with her very dying breath. She refused to let such a fate befall Snow Breeze. She galloped to her tent and tore open the flap. Empty. She wasn't there. Presumably she had been captured, being taken to Fast for torture and questioning as she sat around.
'Not while my name is Celestia!'
Rage backing her, she unfurled her wings, and a mighty gust blew the ground around her, even creaking the trees around her. She took off into the sky, looking around. She slowed herself down, and began to feel for disturbances in the air. She was a princess, but high-level training was the norm for one like her. She gritted her teeth as she contemplated the many ways she would have stopped Fast and Storm in the first place, had her lack of practice not left her frozen with fear. Suddenly, she felt something. A few minutes old. A lot of ponies, very closely grouped. Their scent was that of the castle, and Snow was definitely among them.
'I'm coming for you, even if it kills me!'
She flapped her wings, and flew towards what appeared to be manehattans territory.
'Strange... Why not just take her directly to canterlot? Unless Fast Strike changed his base of operations, why here?'
ignoring her instincts, she flew after the disturbance, which has already disappearing. The night pressed on...
END ch1.
Author's Note
Eeeh, I have these chapters archived anyway. I'll get to releasing them slower later, but I've gotta get through other things before this story. Priorities, man.
