Love and Hatredby Biuz12ChaptersChapter 1 - The BeginningChapter 2 - The Night it HappenedChapter 3 - The PlanChapter 1 - The BeginningLove and Hatred: Chapter 1 "Just do it already!" "I don't know, what if a guard shows up?" "No guard will, they've all been called to Prance to deal with the problem there" "You sure?" "Just do it!" Searing Moon watched as his friend ripped the large poster of Celestia, revealing a hidden door. The two colts walked through the entrance, putting up a new poster to hide the secret door. They trotted to a second door, leading to the conference room of the New Lunar Republic. When they got inside, it smelled of sweat and anger. They looked over their shoulders, looking eye-to-eye with Princess Luna. She had a worried look on her face. They both knew what happened. Luna told them that the squad sent to Prance, to try and stop Celestia from taking over the country had failed, and all laid dead at the border of Prance and Stalliongrad. The Lunar Republics' lands were growing smaller and smaller as Celestia's numbers grew each and every day. Searing Moon had been pestering Luna to go to Prance and take back the land they had lost. He had been wanting to actually do something, other than attack Celestia's guards in daylight. If anything, he'd been arrested more times than he's seen a fight. "Look, Moon, you're my lead Shadowbolt, I can't let you go." Luna said. Moon thought otherwise, "C'mon Luna. We haven't seen anything for the past 3 weeks. We're all growing antsy and needing some action. Let us go to Prance!" "No! I won't allow you to risk your life just to take back land!" Luna screamed. She never yelled at Searing Moon. "Heh, really. You won't let me go, but you'll let our trainees go. What good will that do?! They're untrained! They don't know the first thing about fighting!" “That is enough!" Luna had heard enough, and wanted Moon out of her presence. "Get out. Get out right now." "Oh why? So you could throw MORE useless troops at Celestia, ONLY for her troops to kill them?!" Luna snapped, and charged at Moon. He quickly dodged her attack and flew up. He could see she was changing into Nightmare Moon. She fought back the urge to change, and was able to keep Nightmare Moon inside of her. Searing Moon looked at Luna with a disappointed look on his face. He wanted to leave. Not just out of the building, but the Republic. He wanted to leave his past, leave everything that haunted him every night. "I'm done." He whispered. "What?" Luna looked at his, her face looked worried again. "I'm done. I quit. I'm tired of living this way. Look around Luna, NOTHING is happening. Hell, we're losing this war! We lose land everyday! We're slowly running out of supplies, and Prance was the only way we were getting them! So, I'm done. It'll be up to the other Shadowbolts if they want to leave too. I won't force them to leave." With that being said, Searing Moon walked out on the Republic with his friend by his side. As he walked out, Luna burst into tears. She had lost a great soldier, a great flier, but most importantly, she lost her son. "Moon, are you sure you want to leave the Republic, the Shadowbolts, and your mom?" his Shadowbolt companion had asked. "Yes, I'm sure. You saw what she did, how she just sent troops to their death. I couldn't stand for it." "I guess your right. Hey, maybe Nightshade can get his job back" His friend jested "Hah, yeah, unless he follows us and quits the Republic." A couple of hours had passed, and the silence got on Moon's nerves. He hated silence. As a young colt, he always was the loudest in his class, loudest at home, loudest in public. He was friends with his companion, Blueball Blitz, since they both got their Cutie Mark. Moon's was a dark red Crescent moon that looked like it was bleeding. Blitz's mark was his face, but it was cut in half and on the other side, it was his face, with a crazed look. Growing up, Blitz was always... Crazy. He talked to himself all the time, usually had no social life, and when he did, he always went to an alley behind his house and got drunk with some older colts. Both had lived terrible lives. Searing Moon, living with Luna as his mother, was terrible. Whenever he did something wrong she grew angrier and angrier until she was almost Nightmare Moon. He remembers Celestia, and she was not any better. Celestia watched Luna as she beat her son, and she loved it. She would record it, and everyday the two would watch the videos and laugh at Moon for crying. Blitz's life, was also horrible. His father had left him and his mother when he was 3, and that led to his mother to start dating ever colt she could find to fill the void. After a while she stopped, but gained a drug addiction, which led her to beat Blitz. He got whipped, burnt, choked, and almost stabbed. This made him start the alcohol addiction. He did it to stop the pain. When they arrived at the Shadowbolts training ground, Moon told them that he was leaving, and all but one colt said they would follow. This colt being Nightshade. Ever since Moon had become leader of the Shadowbolts and knocked him down to co-leader, he hated him. He thought about killing him multiple times, and even attempted to kill him once. "Nightshade, should've known you wouldn’t come with me. What's the matter? Still pissed at me for taking your spot?" Moon asked. "Heh, you always were a jerk Moon. I'm really surprised that attempt at killing you had failed. I almost cried that night knowing you weren't dead." "Ah, well sorry, next time I'll be sure to jump in front of that bullet. Oh, by the way. Here's a going away present." "Wha-" And that's all that came out of his mouth. At that moment, Moon had murdered Nightshade with a quick slice of his knife. The colts around his looked shocked, but then they felt relief. They hated him almost as much as he hated Moon. The remaining Shadowbolts looked at his body, neck mutilated, and spit. "Good riddance" most of them said. "C'mon guys, lets go. I know a place where we can stay" Muttered Moon, eyes still fixed on Nightshade. The Shadowbolts started to flap their wings and headed off north, out of Stalliongrad, and into Equestria. Moon knew exactly where he was going. He knew exactly who he was going to visit. The journey lasted 2 days, and as they approached the borders of Stalliongrad and Equestia, they were stopped by a Celestian guard. "Halt, who are you, and why are you here?" "Pardon me sir, we've come to visit some friends who reside in Canterlot." Moon answered. "Oh? And who might that be?" The guard asked looking suspicious. "Why none other than the ponies by the names of, General Twilight Sparkle, Sergant Rainbow Dash, Corporal Applejack, and Private Fluttershy." He did not name the other two ponies, they had died during a night raid when the Lunar Republic went through the walls to Equestria. "Very well. Open the gate!" The gates opened and revealed a shocking sight. Equestria, the lush green land had turned almost brown. Moon, for the first time in a while, looked surprised. He wondered why it looked like this. Maybe Twilight knows. The four colts quickly made their way to Canterlot, where the four other ponies resided. They flew over Ponyville, noticing it wasn't as busy, and it, too, looked barren. They saw Cloudsdale, it also was looking rather depressing. It seems that Equestria was hit hard by this war. When they arrived in Canterlot, it looked most depressing out of the rest of Equestria. The whole place looked as if many ponies were murdered here. They walked through many halls, looking for Twilight. They finally arrived in a room that was all too familiar with Moon, Luna's room. This is where he was beaten daily. This is where the hate for his mother had begun. They looked around and saw Twilight on the bed, crying. Moon walked up to her, and put his hoof around her. The sight startled her, and she kicked him in the gut. Quickly noticing who it was, she looked apologetic. "Oh! Sorry Moon! I had no idea you were here!" "Hrmph yeah. We just arrived about 30 minutes ago. We came for refuge." "We...?" And Twilight then noticed the Shadowbolts all in the back of the room. "Oh, I see. Well I can lend you this room for the ni-" She was cut off by Moon talking. "Not just for the night, we need to stay here for a while, to cool down." "But what about the Lunar Republic? Your mom must be worried!" "Heh, highly doubt that, we all quit. We were done with this damn war." "Uh, ok then, say Moon, why do you look bloody?" Moon looked down, forgetting he murdered Nightshade early yesterday. "Oh this? Yeah, I killed someone. He pissed me off and the rest of us, so I killed him." "What?! You killed someone!? Moon, how could you do that?" “Are you really surprised? Heh, of all ponies you should know me best.” The two laughed and exchanged smiles. And at that moment, Moon felt something. Actually two things. One, he felt safe, secure and happy. Two, he felt something he hasn't felt in a long time - Love. "Alright, lets get you cleaned up, Applejack is preparing dinner as we speak." They walked into the dining hall and the first thing they smelled was apple pies and fritters. Their stomachs growled, realizing that they have not eaten since they left Stalliongrad. They sat at the table as Applejack brought out the food, with a puzzled look. “Oh hi guys, ah wasn’t expectin’ visitors. Don’t worry, ah’ll bring more out.” “Thank you Applejack. You’re too kind” Moon said. Ever since Moon got to Equestria he’s been kinder and more gentle. He felt calm, he felt like a giant weight was lifted from his shoulder. He didn’t want to think about this war. He didn’t want to think about his mother back in Stalliongrad. He smiled to himself, knowing that everything was going to be alright. “So, Twilight, how has Equestria been since I last left?” Moon asked, hoping she would say something about the barren wasteland that was Equestria. “Well, as you probably noticed, the land has turned completely brown. Last year, a drought hit us, and we lost most of our supplies, and troops. We lost a couple of our best fliers and soldiers that year. Then, to add to this, the Lunar Republic decided to attack us at night, killing many civilians, including Rarity and Pinkie Pie. When I heard this news, I couldn’t stand by anymore, so me, Applejack and Rainbow Dash all applied to join the Solar Empire. I was quick at rising in the ranks, reaching Sergant status within 2 months. Moon, believe me when I tell you this, you guys have murdered thousands of innocent civilians, and for what? Luna to rule the land?” Hearing this left Moon speachless, he knew about the night raid, and only that Pinkie and Rarity had died, but he didn’t expect for the death count to be so high. “Moon, you quit because of these problems right?” Twilight asked with a bit of hope in her voice. “Yes, that is correct. But surely Twilight you have seen what the Solar Empire has done to u- *ahem* them? They took over Prance, the only way they got supplies. After that, their land in Stalliongrad, the very few land they had there, lost much, and a famine cost a lot of ponies their lives. So in reality, both sides have done some pretty bad things to the other side.” Twilight had to agree with him. She had heard about what happened when Celestia’s troops killed the squad to get Prance back. She just left the bodies at the border of Prance and Stalliongrad, and killing whoever had come to claim the bodies. She now realized that Celestia was no better than Luna. Tears started to well up in her eyes, and Moon noticed. He quickly got her and pulled her out into the hallways of Canterlot. They sat on a staircase and Twilight just kept crying. Moon almost felt like he was about to start crying, but he held it in. “Why Moon, why would Celestia do this? Why would she cause so much hate in this world?” Twilight said through her crying. “I don’t know Twilight... I just don’t know why she and Luna would turn this world into a hell-hole. I don’t know why we had to choose sides. I don’t know why this conflict continues.” Moon still had his hoof around Twilight as her crying stopped and she slowly got a smile on her face. He smiled back as they hugged and Twilight thanked Moon for being there. It was pitch black outside when Moon finally crawled into bed. He shared a room with Twilight for the night being, until they could find separate rooms. The other Shadowbolts were sleeping at the dinner table, falling asleep after stuffing their faces full of Fritters and Pies. When Twilight entered the room, Moon was almost asleep. He awoke to find her sleeping on the floor with a makeshift cot. “Twilight, you know this bed is big enough for the two of us right?” Moon said while frowning. He didn’t want her to be uncomfortable. “Oh, that’s quite alright, I’ll be fine on the floor” “No, I insist you sleep here tonight.” “A-alright, if you insist.” Twilight climbed into the bed and laid next to Moon, he gave her a quick smile, and she returned with a smile, as they drifted off to sleep. Moon woke up about 2 hours later to Twilight sitting on the floor crying again. He trotted over to her and put his hoof around her. He asked with a worried tone, “What’s wrong Twilight?” “Oh, it’s nothing, I’m still upset that Celestia is no better than Luna. You’re right Moon, they are both turning into tyrants, and they need to either be stopped, or killed. It will be nearly impossible to kill them, so we must find a way to stop them.” Twilight started to cry less and less as Moon continued to comfort her. They turned their heads to look at each other. Moon leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t worry Twilight, we will find a way to stop them. I promise you.” She blushed and gave a shy smile at Moon. He smiled back, and they went back to bed, both with smiles on their faces. Moon and Twilight both awoke abruptly to the sound of screams and wails. They ran out of the door of their room to find Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash standing over the bodies of a Wonderbolt and Shadowbolt. Both had been stabbed in the back of their heads, and now lie dead in the middle of the hallway. Twilight was the first to reach the bodies, and stood there, looking as if she was about to throw up. Moon soon came up behind her and noticed the horrific sight. “Alright, who is responsible for this!?” Moon yelled with such anger, he felt himself shaking. “I-I don’t know. When I woke up this morning I found these bodies here.” Fluttershy said quietly. “Well whoever it was, lets go kick their butts!” Rainbow said with courage. “No, let’s not resort to doing things like Celestia and Luna do. We find them, we ask why they did it, THEN we kill them.” Moon said, still shaking. Moon helped Rainbow Dash carry the ponies to the morgue, being extra careful, so they did not drop them, causing the place to get stained with more blood. Moon was still shaking when they reached the morgue. He was furious. He thought that they were safe, he thought everything was going to be okay, he thought life was going to be decent from now on. This incident proved him wrong. “Hey Moon, can I ask you a question?” Rainbow asked as they were heading back to the main hall. “Sure thing Rainbow, what’s on your mind?” “Well, I never got to ask you what it was like being a Shadowbolt, being one of the best fliers in Stalliongrad.” “To be honest Rainbow, it wasn’t all that fun. The training was vigorous, usually orders were to go scout on enemies, which was incredibly dull. The only reason I was so good is that my mother always pushed me to do better things. She told me this after beating me countless times. So, to make her proud of me, I trained every day. I would push myself to go faster and faster, and soon enough, I was eligible for the Shadowbolts. On my entrance test, they told me that I was as good as the leader. After a few months of being a rookie, they made me leader, and this didn’t sit well with the original leader Nightshade. He got so mad one day, he hired a hitman to kill me, and his plan failed. He gave up on trying to kill me and just went with it. After the incident with me and Luna, I gathered the Shadowbolts, excluding Nightshade. He was about to become the new leader of the Shadowbolts, but instead I killed him. I did it not just because we all hated him, but because I wanted Luna to lose the fight. Luna caused me so much grief as a child, and so did Celestia. I will remain neutral throughout the rest of this war.” Rainbow looked at Moon with a saddened face. She felt bad for him. She flew over to him and gave him a supporting hug, and he returned the hug. They returned to the main hall, gliding in with depressed looks on their face. Twilight was the first to approach them. “So, how’re you holding up?” She asked. “Uh, not good. That Shadowbolt wasn’t just any Shadowbolt, he was my best friend growing up. He was Blueball Blitz.” Chapter 2 - The Night it HappenedLove and Hatred The next couple of days were hard on everypony. It seems that another Wonderbolt had died from the same wounds as the first one and Blueball Blitz. Moon took the death of his friend hard, and went into a minor state of depression. He couldn’t believe that his best friend had died, from some random murder. Twilight came in and checked on him while he laid in bed every once in a while, but he barely noticed her. It seemed as though the world had crashed down on top of him. A couple of days later, Twilight was doing one of her usual check ups on Moon, and she found him out of bed putting his Shadowbolt goggles on. “Moon, what are you doing?” Twilight asked “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m finding out who killed those two Wonderbolts and Blitz. I’m done lying around doing nothing, while the killer is on the loose.” Twilight thought he was insane for trying to find the murderer. It was incredibly dangerous, and she didn’t want anything to happen to him. She thought for a few seconds and finally said to him, “I’m going with you.” “Wha-what? Why are you coming with me? I don’t want anything to happen to you. Plus, who would look after the place in your absence?” “I can get Applejack to look over the place, I can trust her, and I’m sure she will do a good job at keeping peace within these walls. Plus, it’s going to be extremely dangerous, you could use all the help you can get.” She was right, it was probably going to be dangerous, and what if it was a group of ponies who killed them? Moon nodded and they began packing for the journey. They both knew it would be long, and would take them outside of Equestria, so they planned to venture into the warzone that was Stalliongrad, and the province of Prance, a country in which Celestia was currently staying. They both arrived in the main hall where Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were discussing who would’ve commited the crime. “I bet it was Celestia’s troops come to kill Moon and his friends.” Rainbow Dash exclaimed “That wouldn’t surprise me,” Fluttershy said in her usual soft voice, “Celestia has always hated Mo-” They all finally realized that Moon and Twilight had been standing next to them listening to them take guesses on who killed them. They all looked embarrassed and Twilight just gave them a small smile and said, “Having fun girls?” Rainbow Dash, being the eccentric pony she was nodded and said, “Yup!” “Haha I’m glad to hear it. Hey AJ can I talk to you for a moment?” “Well sure Twilight, what do ya’ll want to talk about?” “Uh, well, could we talk in private? Maybe in the halls?” Applejack looked confused and just gave a suspicious nod. “Alright Applejack, I’ll be gone for a while with Moon, I need you to look over Canterlot while I’m gone, okay?” “I’d love to Twilight, but why?” “It’s.... It’s Moon, he’s obsessing about the murders that went on and he’s going to look for the ponies responsible for killing his best friend Blueball Blitz. I’m going with him to make sure that everything will be alright. He’s starting to worry me AJ. He was never like this, even when he was still in the Lunar Republic. I have a feeling he knows what is going on with this, so I’m going to help him with this.” “Alright Twilight, ya’ll be careful now. Especially around Moon, you’re right, he is actin’ differently.” And with that, Twilight and Moon left to find the killers. Twilight was right, Moon did have an idea on who killed them. He had an idea on who was the person responsible for the deaths. Twilight grabbed a hold of Moon’s neck and they started to fly south towards the border of Stalliongrad. They were going to see one of the ponies responsible for the hatred in this world. The two ponies reached the border of Equestria and Stalliongrad when they were stopped by the same guard who had stopped Moon. He nodded at seeing Twilight, and he opened the gate. Moon flew out of Equestria with such speed, Twilight almost fell off of him. She was used to Rainbow Dash flying recklessly, but she was never on her while she was doing that. Moon noticed and slowed down to a speed that was comfortable for Twilight. The flight was so quiet, Moon started to get uncomfortable. He almost cringed at the fact that it was so quiet, and to change this he asked Twilight a question he knew would be a touchy subject. “Hey, Twilight, can I ask you a question?” “Sure Moon, what’s up?” “Well, I never knew what had happened that night of the raid on Equestria. When the scouts got back, all I heard was ‘Pinkie Pie’ and ‘Rarity’. I was curious on what happened, so I asked the main scout, and he told me that they had killed them brutally, in front of Sweetie Belle. They said that they had gotten so much pleasure from watching Sweetie Belle cry from killing Rarity, they grabbed a pony by the name of Pinkie Pie. From then on, I didn’t listen to a word he said, I had enough. That is all I know, and from the little you told me at dinner the other night. So, Twilight, what the hell happened?” “Well Moon, here is what happened on that night. Celestia was putting the sun down, so all of the fillies in town were running inside, ready to go to bed. Rainbow was finishing up her moves with the Wonderbolts, when she noticed out of the corner of her eye, what looked like a stampede. As she flew closer, she realized that it was Luna’s troops, heading straight for the gate. Rainbow flew as fast as she could to tell me what was going on. All I could make out from her panting and babbling was ‘Luna, troops, wall’. And at that moment, I knew what was going on. I climbed on her back as we flew up to Canterlot, which had been turned into the Solar Empire’s HQ, and we told Celestia what was happening. I’ve never seen her with such a scared look on her face. She couldn’t believe what was happening. She immediatly told the guards to stand watch at Cloudsdale, Ponyville, and the Everfree Forest. The attack was quick, but brutal, killing civilians and guards like they were nothing. Rainbow and I were in the sky looking down at the horrors we saw. We saw young ponies getting killed, we saw Granny Smith get tackled by one of Luna’s troops, instantly killing her. And then it happened. I saw a pitch black colt dragging Rarity behind him laughing hysterically. We flew in closer to see what would happen to her. We got there just in time to watch the colt stab Rarity in front of her sister. He thought it was the greatest thing, killing a pony in front of a younger sibling. At that point I was sobbing, tears falling from my face like a waterfall. I just couldn’t believe that Rarity was killed in front of us. The next part made me go insane. I saw a purple pony carrying Pinkie Pie like she was a feather, and threw her on the ground. Pinkie and Sweetie had grown close in the past couple months, making her feel like her second sister. Pinkie looked up at Sweetie with a swollen eye, and gave her a reassuring smile and whispered, ‘Don’t worry Sweetie, everything will just be Pinkie Keen.’ And then she was gone. Kicked in the face a dozen times by the two troops. I lost it, Rainbow lost it, we couldn’t control what was going on. We were filled with anger, sadness, and frustration. When the troops left Equestria, Rainbow and I went to see Applejack, and see how she was taking the death of Granny Smith. Her and Big Mac looked more depressed than anyone. We walked up to them and shared a hug. We told them what happened to Pinkie Pie and Rarity, and they both burst into tears. We all burst into tears. And at that moment, we all decided that we would join the Solar Empire. Celestia, like as a filly, took me under her wing, and made me her second in command. I didn’t like that job, in fact, I hated it. I tried to get out of it, but Celestia wouldn’t let me. She said that ‘I was her second in command, and I was the most important thing in her life’. I believed her, although I shouldn’t have. And everything after that is just me being here doing nothing. The only reason I hit Sergant so quickly is because of Celestia. So, yeah. Now you know what happened that night. I hope I never have to live it again.” Moon said nothing. He couldn’t say anything. He just stared forward, tears welling up in his eyes. He couldn’t believe that a group of troops could do that to one country, or just a small town in the middle of Equestria. Twilight could see the sadness as he focused on the flight, and too, started to feel sad. She thought that it wouldn’t phase her anymore. She thought that after 2 years she could get over that night, she was obviously wrong. They reached a small town about 78 miles in Stalliongrad, and they both decided to stay there for the night. They were able to find an inn to stay there for the night, and when Twilight looked up to see who was working behind the front desk, she saw someone whom she hadn’t seen since the war began. “Sp- Spike, i-is that you?” The dragon, now grown since the last time she saw him looked over his shoulder to see the purple pony who he had lived with for most of his adolesence. He stood there, mouth open and was only able to mutter out one word, “Twilight...?” The purple pony nodded her head and gave him a warm smile. He returned the smile and walked over to give her a hug. Moon gave a little smirk at this reunion, then returned to a frown wishing that they would be reunited under better circumstances. “Oh, and who is this?” Spike asked turning around to look Moon dead in the eye. “Spike, this is Searing Moon, he’s an old friend of mine, we’re going to see... Well I actually don’t know what were doing. He never gave me the details.” Moon quickly realized that and said, “We’re going to see Luna, at the Lunar Republic’s HQ. And now that I think about this, I don’t think they’ll be too happy to see us.” “But we’ve got you, and I’m sure you could get us in.” “Right, like they’d be thrilled to see a Solar Empire General, let alone a deserter.” Spike couldn’t help but to chuckle at this. Moon and Twilight both gave him a dirty look and he just shrugged. Even growing up, Twilight could still see that he was still that young dragon she knew and loved. Spike, still with a smile on his face looked at Moon and asked, “So, what, you guys want a room tonight?” “Uh, yes that would be pleasant.” Moon said. “Alright, we only have one more room left, lucky you.” “Thank you Spike, and how much will this cost us for the one night?” Twilight asked. “Well, since you were basically my sister, the room is free for the night. Family discount.” Spike smiled at the two of them and winked. Moon gave a half-smile, while Twilight gave him a full out gleaming smile. They walked up a creaky winding staircase to the rooms above. The walked down a narrow hallway and stopped at the farthest right side room. “Well, here ya go guys. It’s no tree library, but it’s shelter. You have a good night!” “Thanks Spike, you too.” Both said, tired from a long trip. Chapter 3 - The PlanLove and Hatred Moon and Twilight woke up the next day feeling refreshed, and somewhat decent. They knew that getting into the HQ was going to be hell, but they shrugged off the thought. They got their saddles on and ready to walk out off the door when Spike rushed in panting, with a worried look on his face. “Guys... Hurry up and get downstairs, there is a problem.” They looked at each other with confused looks and followed Spike down the stairs into the front room of the inn. As they got closer to the door leading out of the building they heard shouting and screams of horror. They tried opening the door, but it was jammed. Damn this old door Spike thought. He ran through the door with such force, it rocked the foundation of the whole building, and this caused Moon to smile. When he had met him the night before, he thought that he was just a joke, the huge stature was just a facade, but after seeing this, he knew he was as strong as he looked. When they got outside they saw what was going on: Celestia’s troops had come and started to terrorize the small town. This made Moon fill up with anger, such anger that he started to shake again. Twilight noticed him shaking, and went over beside him to calm him down, putting her hoof around him. He jumped a bit at that, but quickly realized who it was. He started to stop shaking, and he was calming down. “Moon, don’t be so angry, we can try and stop this.” “How Twilight, how?!” Twilight looked at him and gave him a “Seriously?’ kind of look. She calmly walked over to to the soldiers and just stared at them. “HEY! What the hell is going on here?!” Twilight never swore, so Moon gave a little smirk at this. “Well, you see miss....uh?” “Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle.” The guards immediately stopped doing what they were doing, and Moon had just remembered that she was one of Celestia’s generals. “G-general Sparkle, what a pleasure to meet you.” Said one of the guards. “Oh cut the crap soldier. Why are you terrorizing this town?” “Well, it was Celestia’s order.” “Oh really?” “Y-yeah” The guard was scared beyond belief. Twilight looked over at Moon’s way and asked a simple question Moon was dying to know the answer to. “Before my friends and I escort you out of this town I have a question.” “Uh... Sure.” “Well, you know about the murders that happened at Canterlot about a week ago right?” The guard nodded. “Good, glad to know that news travels to Prance. Anyways, do you know who was the cause of these murders?” “Of course. It was Celestia who ordered a small group of pegasi to Canterlot. She got word that the Shadowbolts were there, and she wanted to get rid of them. I thought you would know this General?” And at that moment, Moon snapped. The shaking came back, the rage came back, and he grabbed the knife he always kept in his saddle. The same one who killed Nightshade, it was coated in his dried blood. Moon charged the soldiers, slashing the necks of two of them. Nothing could stop him, not even Twilight. She just stood there, watching Moon murder the soldiers one by one. Spike tried to intervene, but Twilight just held him back. “No Spike, just.... let him go. We can’t stop him.” There was one guard left and Moon stared at him with crazed eyes. The trooper looked back with such fear, he was almost crying. Moon slowly trotted to him and stopped 4 inches from his face. “You’re coming with me.” Moon said in a half whisper. Spike helped Moon drag the soldier into the room that Twilight and him slept in. They threw him on the bed like he was nothing. They tied his hooves up and started to question him. Moon was first to ask the questions. “Does your ‘Oh so great’ leader know they also killed two Wonderbolts?” “W-wait.... There were Wonderbolts that were killed?!” Moon scoffed towards the soldier. “Heh, of course not. Should’ve guessed those cowards wouldn’t say that.” “Moon!” Twilight exclaimed “What? You and I BOTH know that the Solar Empire is filled with a bunch of cowards! And so is the Lunar Republic! This whole damn war is filled with cowards!” Moon turned back to the Soldier. “Sorry kid, your time’s up.” “But Twilight, he MURDERED somepony in one of the rooms! He can’t be trusted!” Spike was furious at Moon for cutting up the Celestian guard. Moon just shrugged and waited for Twilight to finish talking. “Look, I’m sorry Spike, but..... Well...” She started to whisper in his ear, “They are the reason that his friend he grew up with almost all of his life is dead. He’s an emotional wreck.” “Then why are you with him Twilight?” “Well, for two reasons Spike. One, to make sure he doesn’t do anything to get himself killed. And two...” She stopped there. She didn’t want Spike to know that the colt who murdered somepony in a room is the person she loves the most. “What’s the second reason?!” Spike demanded. “Oh, nothing, just that first one.” Spike could see the hesitation in answers, but just let it go. “Hey, you guys done talking?” Moon yelled across the room. He was starting to get very impatient. Twilight started to walk towards the door after saying her good-byes to Spike, when he stopped her. There was a groan from across the room. “I’m coming with you guys.” Twilight just stared at him. Was he serious? Did he have any idea what he was getting himself into? “O-ok. Not sure how Moon will feel about this but whatever.” As Twilight and Spike walked towards Moon, he was confused. Why was Spike with her? “Uh, what is he doing?” “Well, he’s coming with us.” Moon had the same reaction and facial expression as Twilight. He stared at her, then him, then back at her. “Twilight, is this really a good idea? I mean, sure he’s big, but what fighting experience does he have?” Spike gave Moon a glare that shot through his body. Moon felt it too, he gave an evil smirk towards Spike. “Yes, I’m certain it’ll be a good idea. The more people we have, the better survival rate.” “*sigh* Fine, but I don’t want him interrupting me when I’m killing troops.” Twilight climbed on Moon’s back, preparing for another reckless flight. Spike, on the other hand, grew wings as he aged. Moon watched Twilight climb on his back hesitantly, so he reassured her that he wouldn’t fly as fast. And as dangerous. She gave a little chuckle, and that made him smile. He was always fond of Twilight, even as a growing child, he always liked her. Both Moon and Spike started to flap their wings, and they took off. With the recent news that Celestia was the reason that Blitz was dead, they flew west towards Prance. Luna would have to wait, he thought. It’s time to get revenge. For Blitz. The night came quick after flying all day. The two ponies and Spike were worn out, so they decided to find a place to stay. Unfortunately, they were surrounded by mountains. Spike was on the lookout for a decent looking cave for them to stay, and 3 minutes later, he found a perfect cave. Spike went out to look for a river or lake nearby to get water, while Twilight and Moon set up make-shift beds out of clothing on the ground. Twilight kept glancing over at Moon, and smiled each time. Sometimes he would notice, and he would give a small smile to himself. When they were finished, Spike hadn’t come back yet, so they set up a fire with tinder they brought along. The cave was silent, with the exception of the crackling fire. Twilight was the one to break the silence. “Hey Moon, can we talk?” “Sure Twilight, what’s on your mind?” “Well, it’s just that.... Well... I can’t explain it, but... Uhm...” Twilight was trying to tell Moon she loved him, but she just couldn’t. “I.... Uh... Oh jeez.... Well Moon I-” Moon stopped Twilight from continuing to stutter with a sudden kiss. To her, it seemed to have lasted forever. When the kiss broke, he gave her a smile and said, “I know Twilight, I love you too.” She blushed, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks Moon. I was just worried that if I said that I lov-” He kissed her again, this time shorter. “I’ll shut up now.” Twilight giggled. Moon grinned at her giggle. He never felt this way towards a pony, let alone his friend. The two ponies sat around the fire, hoof-in-hoof, and Twilight’s head in his shoulder. Spike returned 10 minutes later with news of the water hunt. He said that there was a lake about 15 miles to the south, but it was surrounded by mountains, and could easily be looked over. The two looked at each other and decided that they would go get water. They grabbed their canteens and bottles, and whatever else they could use to carry water in, and headed off to find the lake. They flew over it about a dozen times before they realized that it was below them the whole time. The two winged allies descended as Twilight started to pull out bottles, and canteens, and buckets. They filled each bottle, canteen, bucket etc. to the brim with water, and were overjoyed with Spike for finding this lake. It didn’t take them long to get back to the cave, Twilight was starting to get more comfortable with Moon’s crazy flying. When they got inside the cave, Spike laid his belongings next to ‘his’ bed and fell asleep fast. Twilight and Moon stayed up a little longer, sitting next to the fire, enjoying the time they had before they got to Prance. Before they went to bed Moon walked over to Twilight and gave her one last kiss before he put out the fire and went to bed. Moon was the first to wake up, as he couldn’t sleep most of the night. He had many things on his mind. One was that they would need to find a way to get revenge on Celestia for sending the troops to kill Blitz and two Wonderbolts. Two, he was in love. He was in love with a special purple pony, who didn’t give a damn if he killed somepony. And third, Spike. He was unsure of his reliability in this. What if he is siding with Celestia? Or with Luna? These and other questions kept him up most of the night. He stretched and walked over to Twilight, kissing her gently on the cheek, so he didn’t wake her. He decided that he would go for a quiet fly around the cave to try and clear his mind about everything. Everything but Twilight. Twilight was the next to wake up, and she felt good. No, great. She felt great. She was reunited with Spike, who was pretty much her brother, and fell in love the night before. She walked to the mouth of the cave where she saw Moon flying around and she gave him a warm smile. He returned the smile and flew over to her. “Hey darlin’. How’re you?” She blushed when he said darlin’. “I’m doing quite well, and yourself?” “Well, you’re here, so I guess that makes me extremely happy.” They both leaned in and kissed. To the both of them it felt as right as the night before. Twilight and Moon walked into the cave as Spike was waking up. “*yawn* Oh hey guys, how’re y-” He drifted off, seeing them holding hooves. “So, uh, what’s going on?” They looked at each other and noticed that they indeed were holding hooves. “Oh, yeah. This, sorta happened last night, while you were gone.” Twilight answered, still blushing. “Gah! I miss everything! Oh well. Off to Prance am I right?” Moon nodded, and they started to pack. 30 minutes passed, and they were all packed. “Well, we’re packed, why aren’t we leaving yet?” Moon asked. “It seems Spike lost his compass, we don’t know which direction is west.” “Well, let’s see. If the lake is south, and that’s that way, then west is...” Moon pointed in a direction, “...that way.” They headed in the direction that Moon pointed in and went off towards Prance. The trip took a good 6 hours, but they finally reached the border between Prance and Stalliongrad. They were stopped briefly by a guard, but then quickly recognized Twilight and let them in. Prance looked worse than Equestria. Whole towns were reduced to ash, lush plains were reduced to dirt, the whole place looked depressing. Twilight approached one of the guards at the gate and kindly asked, “Excuse me sir, but where is Princess Celestia currently staying?” “Head about 40 miles north and you’ll see a castle. You can’t miss it.” They all thanked him and they went to ‘pay a visit’ to Celestia. Moon was almost shaking from seeing Celestia for the first time since he was a young colt. He couldn’t wait to get revenge on her for the hell she and Luna out him through. He gave an evil grin at the thought of revenge. They arrived at the castle and realized the guard wasn’t kidding; there was no way you could miss this. It looked bigger than Canterlot and Cloudsdale put together. Twilight was the first to approach one of the guards at the front gate of the castle. “I would like to see Princess Celestia please, it’s urgent.” The guard nodded and opened the gate. Now Moon was shaking. Not because he was nervous, but he was excited. He desperately wanted revenge on Celestia. He started to get more and more excited as the got closer to the main hall where Celestia was residing at the moment. Twilight walked through the arched doorway and saw Celestia sitting in her throne in the middle of the hall. “Ah, Twilight Sparkle, my favorite General. How have you been?” “I’ve been good Princess, but there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” “What ever could y-” She stopped her sentence early as Moon walked through the doorway and gave a smile at Celestia. “Hello Celestia, remember me?”
Chapter 1 - The BeginningLove and Hatred: Chapter 1 "Just do it already!" "I don't know, what if a guard shows up?" "No guard will, they've all been called to Prance to deal with the problem there" "You sure?" "Just do it!" Searing Moon watched as his friend ripped the large poster of Celestia, revealing a hidden door. The two colts walked through the entrance, putting up a new poster to hide the secret door. They trotted to a second door, leading to the conference room of the New Lunar Republic. When they got inside, it smelled of sweat and anger. They looked over their shoulders, looking eye-to-eye with Princess Luna. She had a worried look on her face. They both knew what happened. Luna told them that the squad sent to Prance, to try and stop Celestia from taking over the country had failed, and all laid dead at the border of Prance and Stalliongrad. The Lunar Republics' lands were growing smaller and smaller as Celestia's numbers grew each and every day. Searing Moon had been pestering Luna to go to Prance and take back the land they had lost. He had been wanting to actually do something, other than attack Celestia's guards in daylight. If anything, he'd been arrested more times than he's seen a fight. "Look, Moon, you're my lead Shadowbolt, I can't let you go." Luna said. Moon thought otherwise, "C'mon Luna. We haven't seen anything for the past 3 weeks. We're all growing antsy and needing some action. Let us go to Prance!" "No! I won't allow you to risk your life just to take back land!" Luna screamed. She never yelled at Searing Moon. "Heh, really. You won't let me go, but you'll let our trainees go. What good will that do?! They're untrained! They don't know the first thing about fighting!" “That is enough!" Luna had heard enough, and wanted Moon out of her presence. "Get out. Get out right now." "Oh why? So you could throw MORE useless troops at Celestia, ONLY for her troops to kill them?!" Luna snapped, and charged at Moon. He quickly dodged her attack and flew up. He could see she was changing into Nightmare Moon. She fought back the urge to change, and was able to keep Nightmare Moon inside of her. Searing Moon looked at Luna with a disappointed look on his face. He wanted to leave. Not just out of the building, but the Republic. He wanted to leave his past, leave everything that haunted him every night. "I'm done." He whispered. "What?" Luna looked at his, her face looked worried again. "I'm done. I quit. I'm tired of living this way. Look around Luna, NOTHING is happening. Hell, we're losing this war! We lose land everyday! We're slowly running out of supplies, and Prance was the only way we were getting them! So, I'm done. It'll be up to the other Shadowbolts if they want to leave too. I won't force them to leave." With that being said, Searing Moon walked out on the Republic with his friend by his side. As he walked out, Luna burst into tears. She had lost a great soldier, a great flier, but most importantly, she lost her son. "Moon, are you sure you want to leave the Republic, the Shadowbolts, and your mom?" his Shadowbolt companion had asked. "Yes, I'm sure. You saw what she did, how she just sent troops to their death. I couldn't stand for it." "I guess your right. Hey, maybe Nightshade can get his job back" His friend jested "Hah, yeah, unless he follows us and quits the Republic." A couple of hours had passed, and the silence got on Moon's nerves. He hated silence. As a young colt, he always was the loudest in his class, loudest at home, loudest in public. He was friends with his companion, Blueball Blitz, since they both got their Cutie Mark. Moon's was a dark red Crescent moon that looked like it was bleeding. Blitz's mark was his face, but it was cut in half and on the other side, it was his face, with a crazed look. Growing up, Blitz was always... Crazy. He talked to himself all the time, usually had no social life, and when he did, he always went to an alley behind his house and got drunk with some older colts. Both had lived terrible lives. Searing Moon, living with Luna as his mother, was terrible. Whenever he did something wrong she grew angrier and angrier until she was almost Nightmare Moon. He remembers Celestia, and she was not any better. Celestia watched Luna as she beat her son, and she loved it. She would record it, and everyday the two would watch the videos and laugh at Moon for crying. Blitz's life, was also horrible. His father had left him and his mother when he was 3, and that led to his mother to start dating ever colt she could find to fill the void. After a while she stopped, but gained a drug addiction, which led her to beat Blitz. He got whipped, burnt, choked, and almost stabbed. This made him start the alcohol addiction. He did it to stop the pain. When they arrived at the Shadowbolts training ground, Moon told them that he was leaving, and all but one colt said they would follow. This colt being Nightshade. Ever since Moon had become leader of the Shadowbolts and knocked him down to co-leader, he hated him. He thought about killing him multiple times, and even attempted to kill him once. "Nightshade, should've known you wouldn’t come with me. What's the matter? Still pissed at me for taking your spot?" Moon asked. "Heh, you always were a jerk Moon. I'm really surprised that attempt at killing you had failed. I almost cried that night knowing you weren't dead." "Ah, well sorry, next time I'll be sure to jump in front of that bullet. Oh, by the way. Here's a going away present." "Wha-" And that's all that came out of his mouth. At that moment, Moon had murdered Nightshade with a quick slice of his knife. The colts around his looked shocked, but then they felt relief. They hated him almost as much as he hated Moon. The remaining Shadowbolts looked at his body, neck mutilated, and spit. "Good riddance" most of them said. "C'mon guys, lets go. I know a place where we can stay" Muttered Moon, eyes still fixed on Nightshade. The Shadowbolts started to flap their wings and headed off north, out of Stalliongrad, and into Equestria. Moon knew exactly where he was going. He knew exactly who he was going to visit. The journey lasted 2 days, and as they approached the borders of Stalliongrad and Equestia, they were stopped by a Celestian guard. "Halt, who are you, and why are you here?" "Pardon me sir, we've come to visit some friends who reside in Canterlot." Moon answered. "Oh? And who might that be?" The guard asked looking suspicious. "Why none other than the ponies by the names of, General Twilight Sparkle, Sergant Rainbow Dash, Corporal Applejack, and Private Fluttershy." He did not name the other two ponies, they had died during a night raid when the Lunar Republic went through the walls to Equestria. "Very well. Open the gate!" The gates opened and revealed a shocking sight. Equestria, the lush green land had turned almost brown. Moon, for the first time in a while, looked surprised. He wondered why it looked like this. Maybe Twilight knows. The four colts quickly made their way to Canterlot, where the four other ponies resided. They flew over Ponyville, noticing it wasn't as busy, and it, too, looked barren. They saw Cloudsdale, it also was looking rather depressing. It seems that Equestria was hit hard by this war. When they arrived in Canterlot, it looked most depressing out of the rest of Equestria. The whole place looked as if many ponies were murdered here. They walked through many halls, looking for Twilight. They finally arrived in a room that was all too familiar with Moon, Luna's room. This is where he was beaten daily. This is where the hate for his mother had begun. They looked around and saw Twilight on the bed, crying. Moon walked up to her, and put his hoof around her. The sight startled her, and she kicked him in the gut. Quickly noticing who it was, she looked apologetic. "Oh! Sorry Moon! I had no idea you were here!" "Hrmph yeah. We just arrived about 30 minutes ago. We came for refuge." "We...?" And Twilight then noticed the Shadowbolts all in the back of the room. "Oh, I see. Well I can lend you this room for the ni-" She was cut off by Moon talking. "Not just for the night, we need to stay here for a while, to cool down." "But what about the Lunar Republic? Your mom must be worried!" "Heh, highly doubt that, we all quit. We were done with this damn war." "Uh, ok then, say Moon, why do you look bloody?" Moon looked down, forgetting he murdered Nightshade early yesterday. "Oh this? Yeah, I killed someone. He pissed me off and the rest of us, so I killed him." "What?! You killed someone!? Moon, how could you do that?" “Are you really surprised? Heh, of all ponies you should know me best.” The two laughed and exchanged smiles. And at that moment, Moon felt something. Actually two things. One, he felt safe, secure and happy. Two, he felt something he hasn't felt in a long time - Love. "Alright, lets get you cleaned up, Applejack is preparing dinner as we speak." They walked into the dining hall and the first thing they smelled was apple pies and fritters. Their stomachs growled, realizing that they have not eaten since they left Stalliongrad. They sat at the table as Applejack brought out the food, with a puzzled look. “Oh hi guys, ah wasn’t expectin’ visitors. Don’t worry, ah’ll bring more out.” “Thank you Applejack. You’re too kind” Moon said. Ever since Moon got to Equestria he’s been kinder and more gentle. He felt calm, he felt like a giant weight was lifted from his shoulder. He didn’t want to think about this war. He didn’t want to think about his mother back in Stalliongrad. He smiled to himself, knowing that everything was going to be alright. “So, Twilight, how has Equestria been since I last left?” Moon asked, hoping she would say something about the barren wasteland that was Equestria. “Well, as you probably noticed, the land has turned completely brown. Last year, a drought hit us, and we lost most of our supplies, and troops. We lost a couple of our best fliers and soldiers that year. Then, to add to this, the Lunar Republic decided to attack us at night, killing many civilians, including Rarity and Pinkie Pie. When I heard this news, I couldn’t stand by anymore, so me, Applejack and Rainbow Dash all applied to join the Solar Empire. I was quick at rising in the ranks, reaching Sergant status within 2 months. Moon, believe me when I tell you this, you guys have murdered thousands of innocent civilians, and for what? Luna to rule the land?” Hearing this left Moon speachless, he knew about the night raid, and only that Pinkie and Rarity had died, but he didn’t expect for the death count to be so high. “Moon, you quit because of these problems right?” Twilight asked with a bit of hope in her voice. “Yes, that is correct. But surely Twilight you have seen what the Solar Empire has done to u- *ahem* them? They took over Prance, the only way they got supplies. After that, their land in Stalliongrad, the very few land they had there, lost much, and a famine cost a lot of ponies their lives. So in reality, both sides have done some pretty bad things to the other side.” Twilight had to agree with him. She had heard about what happened when Celestia’s troops killed the squad to get Prance back. She just left the bodies at the border of Prance and Stalliongrad, and killing whoever had come to claim the bodies. She now realized that Celestia was no better than Luna. Tears started to well up in her eyes, and Moon noticed. He quickly got her and pulled her out into the hallways of Canterlot. They sat on a staircase and Twilight just kept crying. Moon almost felt like he was about to start crying, but he held it in. “Why Moon, why would Celestia do this? Why would she cause so much hate in this world?” Twilight said through her crying. “I don’t know Twilight... I just don’t know why she and Luna would turn this world into a hell-hole. I don’t know why we had to choose sides. I don’t know why this conflict continues.” Moon still had his hoof around Twilight as her crying stopped and she slowly got a smile on her face. He smiled back as they hugged and Twilight thanked Moon for being there. It was pitch black outside when Moon finally crawled into bed. He shared a room with Twilight for the night being, until they could find separate rooms. The other Shadowbolts were sleeping at the dinner table, falling asleep after stuffing their faces full of Fritters and Pies. When Twilight entered the room, Moon was almost asleep. He awoke to find her sleeping on the floor with a makeshift cot. “Twilight, you know this bed is big enough for the two of us right?” Moon said while frowning. He didn’t want her to be uncomfortable. “Oh, that’s quite alright, I’ll be fine on the floor” “No, I insist you sleep here tonight.” “A-alright, if you insist.” Twilight climbed into the bed and laid next to Moon, he gave her a quick smile, and she returned with a smile, as they drifted off to sleep. Moon woke up about 2 hours later to Twilight sitting on the floor crying again. He trotted over to her and put his hoof around her. He asked with a worried tone, “What’s wrong Twilight?” “Oh, it’s nothing, I’m still upset that Celestia is no better than Luna. You’re right Moon, they are both turning into tyrants, and they need to either be stopped, or killed. It will be nearly impossible to kill them, so we must find a way to stop them.” Twilight started to cry less and less as Moon continued to comfort her. They turned their heads to look at each other. Moon leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t worry Twilight, we will find a way to stop them. I promise you.” She blushed and gave a shy smile at Moon. He smiled back, and they went back to bed, both with smiles on their faces. Moon and Twilight both awoke abruptly to the sound of screams and wails. They ran out of the door of their room to find Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash standing over the bodies of a Wonderbolt and Shadowbolt. Both had been stabbed in the back of their heads, and now lie dead in the middle of the hallway. Twilight was the first to reach the bodies, and stood there, looking as if she was about to throw up. Moon soon came up behind her and noticed the horrific sight. “Alright, who is responsible for this!?” Moon yelled with such anger, he felt himself shaking. “I-I don’t know. When I woke up this morning I found these bodies here.” Fluttershy said quietly. “Well whoever it was, lets go kick their butts!” Rainbow said with courage. “No, let’s not resort to doing things like Celestia and Luna do. We find them, we ask why they did it, THEN we kill them.” Moon said, still shaking. Moon helped Rainbow Dash carry the ponies to the morgue, being extra careful, so they did not drop them, causing the place to get stained with more blood. Moon was still shaking when they reached the morgue. He was furious. He thought that they were safe, he thought everything was going to be okay, he thought life was going to be decent from now on. This incident proved him wrong. “Hey Moon, can I ask you a question?” Rainbow asked as they were heading back to the main hall. “Sure thing Rainbow, what’s on your mind?” “Well, I never got to ask you what it was like being a Shadowbolt, being one of the best fliers in Stalliongrad.” “To be honest Rainbow, it wasn’t all that fun. The training was vigorous, usually orders were to go scout on enemies, which was incredibly dull. The only reason I was so good is that my mother always pushed me to do better things. She told me this after beating me countless times. So, to make her proud of me, I trained every day. I would push myself to go faster and faster, and soon enough, I was eligible for the Shadowbolts. On my entrance test, they told me that I was as good as the leader. After a few months of being a rookie, they made me leader, and this didn’t sit well with the original leader Nightshade. He got so mad one day, he hired a hitman to kill me, and his plan failed. He gave up on trying to kill me and just went with it. After the incident with me and Luna, I gathered the Shadowbolts, excluding Nightshade. He was about to become the new leader of the Shadowbolts, but instead I killed him. I did it not just because we all hated him, but because I wanted Luna to lose the fight. Luna caused me so much grief as a child, and so did Celestia. I will remain neutral throughout the rest of this war.” Rainbow looked at Moon with a saddened face. She felt bad for him. She flew over to him and gave him a supporting hug, and he returned the hug. They returned to the main hall, gliding in with depressed looks on their face. Twilight was the first to approach them. “So, how’re you holding up?” She asked. “Uh, not good. That Shadowbolt wasn’t just any Shadowbolt, he was my best friend growing up. He was Blueball Blitz.”
Chapter 2 - The Night it HappenedLove and Hatred The next couple of days were hard on everypony. It seems that another Wonderbolt had died from the same wounds as the first one and Blueball Blitz. Moon took the death of his friend hard, and went into a minor state of depression. He couldn’t believe that his best friend had died, from some random murder. Twilight came in and checked on him while he laid in bed every once in a while, but he barely noticed her. It seemed as though the world had crashed down on top of him. A couple of days later, Twilight was doing one of her usual check ups on Moon, and she found him out of bed putting his Shadowbolt goggles on. “Moon, what are you doing?” Twilight asked “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m finding out who killed those two Wonderbolts and Blitz. I’m done lying around doing nothing, while the killer is on the loose.” Twilight thought he was insane for trying to find the murderer. It was incredibly dangerous, and she didn’t want anything to happen to him. She thought for a few seconds and finally said to him, “I’m going with you.” “Wha-what? Why are you coming with me? I don’t want anything to happen to you. Plus, who would look after the place in your absence?” “I can get Applejack to look over the place, I can trust her, and I’m sure she will do a good job at keeping peace within these walls. Plus, it’s going to be extremely dangerous, you could use all the help you can get.” She was right, it was probably going to be dangerous, and what if it was a group of ponies who killed them? Moon nodded and they began packing for the journey. They both knew it would be long, and would take them outside of Equestria, so they planned to venture into the warzone that was Stalliongrad, and the province of Prance, a country in which Celestia was currently staying. They both arrived in the main hall where Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were discussing who would’ve commited the crime. “I bet it was Celestia’s troops come to kill Moon and his friends.” Rainbow Dash exclaimed “That wouldn’t surprise me,” Fluttershy said in her usual soft voice, “Celestia has always hated Mo-” They all finally realized that Moon and Twilight had been standing next to them listening to them take guesses on who killed them. They all looked embarrassed and Twilight just gave them a small smile and said, “Having fun girls?” Rainbow Dash, being the eccentric pony she was nodded and said, “Yup!” “Haha I’m glad to hear it. Hey AJ can I talk to you for a moment?” “Well sure Twilight, what do ya’ll want to talk about?” “Uh, well, could we talk in private? Maybe in the halls?” Applejack looked confused and just gave a suspicious nod. “Alright Applejack, I’ll be gone for a while with Moon, I need you to look over Canterlot while I’m gone, okay?” “I’d love to Twilight, but why?” “It’s.... It’s Moon, he’s obsessing about the murders that went on and he’s going to look for the ponies responsible for killing his best friend Blueball Blitz. I’m going with him to make sure that everything will be alright. He’s starting to worry me AJ. He was never like this, even when he was still in the Lunar Republic. I have a feeling he knows what is going on with this, so I’m going to help him with this.” “Alright Twilight, ya’ll be careful now. Especially around Moon, you’re right, he is actin’ differently.” And with that, Twilight and Moon left to find the killers. Twilight was right, Moon did have an idea on who killed them. He had an idea on who was the person responsible for the deaths. Twilight grabbed a hold of Moon’s neck and they started to fly south towards the border of Stalliongrad. They were going to see one of the ponies responsible for the hatred in this world. The two ponies reached the border of Equestria and Stalliongrad when they were stopped by the same guard who had stopped Moon. He nodded at seeing Twilight, and he opened the gate. Moon flew out of Equestria with such speed, Twilight almost fell off of him. She was used to Rainbow Dash flying recklessly, but she was never on her while she was doing that. Moon noticed and slowed down to a speed that was comfortable for Twilight. The flight was so quiet, Moon started to get uncomfortable. He almost cringed at the fact that it was so quiet, and to change this he asked Twilight a question he knew would be a touchy subject. “Hey, Twilight, can I ask you a question?” “Sure Moon, what’s up?” “Well, I never knew what had happened that night of the raid on Equestria. When the scouts got back, all I heard was ‘Pinkie Pie’ and ‘Rarity’. I was curious on what happened, so I asked the main scout, and he told me that they had killed them brutally, in front of Sweetie Belle. They said that they had gotten so much pleasure from watching Sweetie Belle cry from killing Rarity, they grabbed a pony by the name of Pinkie Pie. From then on, I didn’t listen to a word he said, I had enough. That is all I know, and from the little you told me at dinner the other night. So, Twilight, what the hell happened?” “Well Moon, here is what happened on that night. Celestia was putting the sun down, so all of the fillies in town were running inside, ready to go to bed. Rainbow was finishing up her moves with the Wonderbolts, when she noticed out of the corner of her eye, what looked like a stampede. As she flew closer, she realized that it was Luna’s troops, heading straight for the gate. Rainbow flew as fast as she could to tell me what was going on. All I could make out from her panting and babbling was ‘Luna, troops, wall’. And at that moment, I knew what was going on. I climbed on her back as we flew up to Canterlot, which had been turned into the Solar Empire’s HQ, and we told Celestia what was happening. I’ve never seen her with such a scared look on her face. She couldn’t believe what was happening. She immediatly told the guards to stand watch at Cloudsdale, Ponyville, and the Everfree Forest. The attack was quick, but brutal, killing civilians and guards like they were nothing. Rainbow and I were in the sky looking down at the horrors we saw. We saw young ponies getting killed, we saw Granny Smith get tackled by one of Luna’s troops, instantly killing her. And then it happened. I saw a pitch black colt dragging Rarity behind him laughing hysterically. We flew in closer to see what would happen to her. We got there just in time to watch the colt stab Rarity in front of her sister. He thought it was the greatest thing, killing a pony in front of a younger sibling. At that point I was sobbing, tears falling from my face like a waterfall. I just couldn’t believe that Rarity was killed in front of us. The next part made me go insane. I saw a purple pony carrying Pinkie Pie like she was a feather, and threw her on the ground. Pinkie and Sweetie had grown close in the past couple months, making her feel like her second sister. Pinkie looked up at Sweetie with a swollen eye, and gave her a reassuring smile and whispered, ‘Don’t worry Sweetie, everything will just be Pinkie Keen.’ And then she was gone. Kicked in the face a dozen times by the two troops. I lost it, Rainbow lost it, we couldn’t control what was going on. We were filled with anger, sadness, and frustration. When the troops left Equestria, Rainbow and I went to see Applejack, and see how she was taking the death of Granny Smith. Her and Big Mac looked more depressed than anyone. We walked up to them and shared a hug. We told them what happened to Pinkie Pie and Rarity, and they both burst into tears. We all burst into tears. And at that moment, we all decided that we would join the Solar Empire. Celestia, like as a filly, took me under her wing, and made me her second in command. I didn’t like that job, in fact, I hated it. I tried to get out of it, but Celestia wouldn’t let me. She said that ‘I was her second in command, and I was the most important thing in her life’. I believed her, although I shouldn’t have. And everything after that is just me being here doing nothing. The only reason I hit Sergant so quickly is because of Celestia. So, yeah. Now you know what happened that night. I hope I never have to live it again.” Moon said nothing. He couldn’t say anything. He just stared forward, tears welling up in his eyes. He couldn’t believe that a group of troops could do that to one country, or just a small town in the middle of Equestria. Twilight could see the sadness as he focused on the flight, and too, started to feel sad. She thought that it wouldn’t phase her anymore. She thought that after 2 years she could get over that night, she was obviously wrong. They reached a small town about 78 miles in Stalliongrad, and they both decided to stay there for the night. They were able to find an inn to stay there for the night, and when Twilight looked up to see who was working behind the front desk, she saw someone whom she hadn’t seen since the war began. “Sp- Spike, i-is that you?” The dragon, now grown since the last time she saw him looked over his shoulder to see the purple pony who he had lived with for most of his adolesence. He stood there, mouth open and was only able to mutter out one word, “Twilight...?” The purple pony nodded her head and gave him a warm smile. He returned the smile and walked over to give her a hug. Moon gave a little smirk at this reunion, then returned to a frown wishing that they would be reunited under better circumstances. “Oh, and who is this?” Spike asked turning around to look Moon dead in the eye. “Spike, this is Searing Moon, he’s an old friend of mine, we’re going to see... Well I actually don’t know what were doing. He never gave me the details.” Moon quickly realized that and said, “We’re going to see Luna, at the Lunar Republic’s HQ. And now that I think about this, I don’t think they’ll be too happy to see us.” “But we’ve got you, and I’m sure you could get us in.” “Right, like they’d be thrilled to see a Solar Empire General, let alone a deserter.” Spike couldn’t help but to chuckle at this. Moon and Twilight both gave him a dirty look and he just shrugged. Even growing up, Twilight could still see that he was still that young dragon she knew and loved. Spike, still with a smile on his face looked at Moon and asked, “So, what, you guys want a room tonight?” “Uh, yes that would be pleasant.” Moon said. “Alright, we only have one more room left, lucky you.” “Thank you Spike, and how much will this cost us for the one night?” Twilight asked. “Well, since you were basically my sister, the room is free for the night. Family discount.” Spike smiled at the two of them and winked. Moon gave a half-smile, while Twilight gave him a full out gleaming smile. They walked up a creaky winding staircase to the rooms above. The walked down a narrow hallway and stopped at the farthest right side room. “Well, here ya go guys. It’s no tree library, but it’s shelter. You have a good night!” “Thanks Spike, you too.” Both said, tired from a long trip.
Chapter 3 - The PlanLove and Hatred Moon and Twilight woke up the next day feeling refreshed, and somewhat decent. They knew that getting into the HQ was going to be hell, but they shrugged off the thought. They got their saddles on and ready to walk out off the door when Spike rushed in panting, with a worried look on his face. “Guys... Hurry up and get downstairs, there is a problem.” They looked at each other with confused looks and followed Spike down the stairs into the front room of the inn. As they got closer to the door leading out of the building they heard shouting and screams of horror. They tried opening the door, but it was jammed. Damn this old door Spike thought. He ran through the door with such force, it rocked the foundation of the whole building, and this caused Moon to smile. When he had met him the night before, he thought that he was just a joke, the huge stature was just a facade, but after seeing this, he knew he was as strong as he looked. When they got outside they saw what was going on: Celestia’s troops had come and started to terrorize the small town. This made Moon fill up with anger, such anger that he started to shake again. Twilight noticed him shaking, and went over beside him to calm him down, putting her hoof around him. He jumped a bit at that, but quickly realized who it was. He started to stop shaking, and he was calming down. “Moon, don’t be so angry, we can try and stop this.” “How Twilight, how?!” Twilight looked at him and gave him a “Seriously?’ kind of look. She calmly walked over to to the soldiers and just stared at them. “HEY! What the hell is going on here?!” Twilight never swore, so Moon gave a little smirk at this. “Well, you see miss....uh?” “Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle.” The guards immediately stopped doing what they were doing, and Moon had just remembered that she was one of Celestia’s generals. “G-general Sparkle, what a pleasure to meet you.” Said one of the guards. “Oh cut the crap soldier. Why are you terrorizing this town?” “Well, it was Celestia’s order.” “Oh really?” “Y-yeah” The guard was scared beyond belief. Twilight looked over at Moon’s way and asked a simple question Moon was dying to know the answer to. “Before my friends and I escort you out of this town I have a question.” “Uh... Sure.” “Well, you know about the murders that happened at Canterlot about a week ago right?” The guard nodded. “Good, glad to know that news travels to Prance. Anyways, do you know who was the cause of these murders?” “Of course. It was Celestia who ordered a small group of pegasi to Canterlot. She got word that the Shadowbolts were there, and she wanted to get rid of them. I thought you would know this General?” And at that moment, Moon snapped. The shaking came back, the rage came back, and he grabbed the knife he always kept in his saddle. The same one who killed Nightshade, it was coated in his dried blood. Moon charged the soldiers, slashing the necks of two of them. Nothing could stop him, not even Twilight. She just stood there, watching Moon murder the soldiers one by one. Spike tried to intervene, but Twilight just held him back. “No Spike, just.... let him go. We can’t stop him.” There was one guard left and Moon stared at him with crazed eyes. The trooper looked back with such fear, he was almost crying. Moon slowly trotted to him and stopped 4 inches from his face. “You’re coming with me.” Moon said in a half whisper. Spike helped Moon drag the soldier into the room that Twilight and him slept in. They threw him on the bed like he was nothing. They tied his hooves up and started to question him. Moon was first to ask the questions. “Does your ‘Oh so great’ leader know they also killed two Wonderbolts?” “W-wait.... There were Wonderbolts that were killed?!” Moon scoffed towards the soldier. “Heh, of course not. Should’ve guessed those cowards wouldn’t say that.” “Moon!” Twilight exclaimed “What? You and I BOTH know that the Solar Empire is filled with a bunch of cowards! And so is the Lunar Republic! This whole damn war is filled with cowards!” Moon turned back to the Soldier. “Sorry kid, your time’s up.” “But Twilight, he MURDERED somepony in one of the rooms! He can’t be trusted!” Spike was furious at Moon for cutting up the Celestian guard. Moon just shrugged and waited for Twilight to finish talking. “Look, I’m sorry Spike, but..... Well...” She started to whisper in his ear, “They are the reason that his friend he grew up with almost all of his life is dead. He’s an emotional wreck.” “Then why are you with him Twilight?” “Well, for two reasons Spike. One, to make sure he doesn’t do anything to get himself killed. And two...” She stopped there. She didn’t want Spike to know that the colt who murdered somepony in a room is the person she loves the most. “What’s the second reason?!” Spike demanded. “Oh, nothing, just that first one.” Spike could see the hesitation in answers, but just let it go. “Hey, you guys done talking?” Moon yelled across the room. He was starting to get very impatient. Twilight started to walk towards the door after saying her good-byes to Spike, when he stopped her. There was a groan from across the room. “I’m coming with you guys.” Twilight just stared at him. Was he serious? Did he have any idea what he was getting himself into? “O-ok. Not sure how Moon will feel about this but whatever.” As Twilight and Spike walked towards Moon, he was confused. Why was Spike with her? “Uh, what is he doing?” “Well, he’s coming with us.” Moon had the same reaction and facial expression as Twilight. He stared at her, then him, then back at her. “Twilight, is this really a good idea? I mean, sure he’s big, but what fighting experience does he have?” Spike gave Moon a glare that shot through his body. Moon felt it too, he gave an evil smirk towards Spike. “Yes, I’m certain it’ll be a good idea. The more people we have, the better survival rate.” “*sigh* Fine, but I don’t want him interrupting me when I’m killing troops.” Twilight climbed on Moon’s back, preparing for another reckless flight. Spike, on the other hand, grew wings as he aged. Moon watched Twilight climb on his back hesitantly, so he reassured her that he wouldn’t fly as fast. And as dangerous. She gave a little chuckle, and that made him smile. He was always fond of Twilight, even as a growing child, he always liked her. Both Moon and Spike started to flap their wings, and they took off. With the recent news that Celestia was the reason that Blitz was dead, they flew west towards Prance. Luna would have to wait, he thought. It’s time to get revenge. For Blitz. The night came quick after flying all day. The two ponies and Spike were worn out, so they decided to find a place to stay. Unfortunately, they were surrounded by mountains. Spike was on the lookout for a decent looking cave for them to stay, and 3 minutes later, he found a perfect cave. Spike went out to look for a river or lake nearby to get water, while Twilight and Moon set up make-shift beds out of clothing on the ground. Twilight kept glancing over at Moon, and smiled each time. Sometimes he would notice, and he would give a small smile to himself. When they were finished, Spike hadn’t come back yet, so they set up a fire with tinder they brought along. The cave was silent, with the exception of the crackling fire. Twilight was the one to break the silence. “Hey Moon, can we talk?” “Sure Twilight, what’s on your mind?” “Well, it’s just that.... Well... I can’t explain it, but... Uhm...” Twilight was trying to tell Moon she loved him, but she just couldn’t. “I.... Uh... Oh jeez.... Well Moon I-” Moon stopped Twilight from continuing to stutter with a sudden kiss. To her, it seemed to have lasted forever. When the kiss broke, he gave her a smile and said, “I know Twilight, I love you too.” She blushed, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks Moon. I was just worried that if I said that I lov-” He kissed her again, this time shorter. “I’ll shut up now.” Twilight giggled. Moon grinned at her giggle. He never felt this way towards a pony, let alone his friend. The two ponies sat around the fire, hoof-in-hoof, and Twilight’s head in his shoulder. Spike returned 10 minutes later with news of the water hunt. He said that there was a lake about 15 miles to the south, but it was surrounded by mountains, and could easily be looked over. The two looked at each other and decided that they would go get water. They grabbed their canteens and bottles, and whatever else they could use to carry water in, and headed off to find the lake. They flew over it about a dozen times before they realized that it was below them the whole time. The two winged allies descended as Twilight started to pull out bottles, and canteens, and buckets. They filled each bottle, canteen, bucket etc. to the brim with water, and were overjoyed with Spike for finding this lake. It didn’t take them long to get back to the cave, Twilight was starting to get more comfortable with Moon’s crazy flying. When they got inside the cave, Spike laid his belongings next to ‘his’ bed and fell asleep fast. Twilight and Moon stayed up a little longer, sitting next to the fire, enjoying the time they had before they got to Prance. Before they went to bed Moon walked over to Twilight and gave her one last kiss before he put out the fire and went to bed. Moon was the first to wake up, as he couldn’t sleep most of the night. He had many things on his mind. One was that they would need to find a way to get revenge on Celestia for sending the troops to kill Blitz and two Wonderbolts. Two, he was in love. He was in love with a special purple pony, who didn’t give a damn if he killed somepony. And third, Spike. He was unsure of his reliability in this. What if he is siding with Celestia? Or with Luna? These and other questions kept him up most of the night. He stretched and walked over to Twilight, kissing her gently on the cheek, so he didn’t wake her. He decided that he would go for a quiet fly around the cave to try and clear his mind about everything. Everything but Twilight. Twilight was the next to wake up, and she felt good. No, great. She felt great. She was reunited with Spike, who was pretty much her brother, and fell in love the night before. She walked to the mouth of the cave where she saw Moon flying around and she gave him a warm smile. He returned the smile and flew over to her. “Hey darlin’. How’re you?” She blushed when he said darlin’. “I’m doing quite well, and yourself?” “Well, you’re here, so I guess that makes me extremely happy.” They both leaned in and kissed. To the both of them it felt as right as the night before. Twilight and Moon walked into the cave as Spike was waking up. “*yawn* Oh hey guys, how’re y-” He drifted off, seeing them holding hooves. “So, uh, what’s going on?” They looked at each other and noticed that they indeed were holding hooves. “Oh, yeah. This, sorta happened last night, while you were gone.” Twilight answered, still blushing. “Gah! I miss everything! Oh well. Off to Prance am I right?” Moon nodded, and they started to pack. 30 minutes passed, and they were all packed. “Well, we’re packed, why aren’t we leaving yet?” Moon asked. “It seems Spike lost his compass, we don’t know which direction is west.” “Well, let’s see. If the lake is south, and that’s that way, then west is...” Moon pointed in a direction, “...that way.” They headed in the direction that Moon pointed in and went off towards Prance. The trip took a good 6 hours, but they finally reached the border between Prance and Stalliongrad. They were stopped briefly by a guard, but then quickly recognized Twilight and let them in. Prance looked worse than Equestria. Whole towns were reduced to ash, lush plains were reduced to dirt, the whole place looked depressing. Twilight approached one of the guards at the gate and kindly asked, “Excuse me sir, but where is Princess Celestia currently staying?” “Head about 40 miles north and you’ll see a castle. You can’t miss it.” They all thanked him and they went to ‘pay a visit’ to Celestia. Moon was almost shaking from seeing Celestia for the first time since he was a young colt. He couldn’t wait to get revenge on her for the hell she and Luna out him through. He gave an evil grin at the thought of revenge. They arrived at the castle and realized the guard wasn’t kidding; there was no way you could miss this. It looked bigger than Canterlot and Cloudsdale put together. Twilight was the first to approach one of the guards at the front gate of the castle. “I would like to see Princess Celestia please, it’s urgent.” The guard nodded and opened the gate. Now Moon was shaking. Not because he was nervous, but he was excited. He desperately wanted revenge on Celestia. He started to get more and more excited as the got closer to the main hall where Celestia was residing at the moment. Twilight walked through the arched doorway and saw Celestia sitting in her throne in the middle of the hall. “Ah, Twilight Sparkle, my favorite General. How have you been?” “I’ve been good Princess, but there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” “What ever could y-” She stopped her sentence early as Moon walked through the doorway and gave a smile at Celestia. “Hello Celestia, remember me?”
