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.