//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Saints // Story: My Little Rebellion // by Fragezeichen //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Saints It hadn't all been like this. Equestria was a much nicer place. Ruled by a benevolent princess who cared for all her subjects along with her sister with a troubled past. The two maintained peace and harmony among the ponies who lived in the fertile lands. But then the Invaders came. They arrived in massive black warships, bore devastating weapons and an seemingly insatiable blood lust. The ponies were no match for them. As hard as they had fought, their magic and other abilities were not enough to stand against the Invaders. Celestia, their great princess, believed they only had one hope to repel the enemy forces. The Elements of Harmony. The Elements of Harmony, a magical gift. A powerful weapon. The Elements were created to keep peace and ultimately destroy anything that threatened the harmony of Equestria, the Invaders wouldn't be able to escape their power. At least, that was the plan. *_* "This is our last chance..." Celestia whispered as she looked over the seven ponies before her. The sound of explosions and aerial bombardments from the Invader's flagship echoed throughout the bunker. The collection of equines stood in a great circle, in between them a rainbow colored crystal glowed faintly in the darkness. "This is the last source of magic not captured by them." The crystal, one of the many scattered around, amplified Unicorn magic to astronomical levels as long as they were nearby, many magicians of entertainment carried a some in order to increase their powers. But this time they needed to increase the power of The Elemental Hosts. Six ponies chose by fate, six best friends, six heroes destined to save Equestria. It would be up to them and their unbreakable friendship to call upon The Elements of Harmony and destroy the Invaders with one final push. At least, that was the plan. "Are you girls ready?" A Purple unicorn asked her friends as they stood close the crystal, her horn glowing with a low glow. The others nodded and soon were lifted up along with the crystal upward into an ancient observatory. The bright sun shown through the various windows and it's beams of light collided with the crystal, streaming out into brilliant designs amongst the spherical walls. The six ponies of destiny soon entered The Element State, total singularity between them, a hive mind. Together they would turn the observatory into it's original use, a powerful cannon used in the Great Llama Wars. They would fire the Rainbow of Light, destroying The Dark Eve, the Invader flagship. Back down below, Celestia and her younger sister Luna quickly stormed to the outside of the castle, watching in horror as their army was quickly decimated by the Invaders' superior forces. "Lady Celestia!" An injured knight called, limping toward them. "The enemy is too strong *cough* they'll soon descend upon the castle in a matter of minutes!" "Calm now Sentry," Celestia assured, "Twilight and her friends have arrived at the top of the Observatory, they'll be able to stop them." Sentry nodded and turned back towards the fight. "We can only pray your majesty, we can only pray." <_> "So this is their desperation? They're going to fire a rainbow at us? How ludicrous!" General Dahm laughed as he sat on his throne. He looked toward the black pony with a malicious grin. "You've done well to provide me with all of this information Proditor." The stallion looked down sadly and turned away, slowly exiting the command room of the Dark Eve. "Make sure our inside pony is properly compensated Dalias, it's time to end this frivolously fruitless fiasco once and for all." "Aether Cannon ready sir." An operator called. Dahm gave a fearsome roar of victory. "Aim for that filthy bulb on top of the castle! Destroy their last hope and crush them forever!" He growled, pointing at the observatory. The operators at the controls nodded and inserted two keys, turning them caused a large black button to light up in a dark blue glow. "Fire." <_> "M-M'lady! S-something's happening with the enemy's ship!" a Knight called to Celestia who had just thwarted an Invader jet's attempt to blow up a group of pony knights. "What? What's going on?" The large mystical mare shouted back before she noticed the black weapon opening up on the Dark Eve. "What...is that?" The Dark Eve gave a sickening roar as it's underbelly opened up, revealing a massive core, then sudden silence swept across the battle field. All eyes, pony and Invader, stopped and stared at the Dark Eve as the core began to pull light itself inside, charging what would be an attack more devastating than anything either side had seen before. Luna stared in awe of the massive light absorbing machine as it started to open up, revealing a center rod with a silver sphere on it's end. "S-sister! It's a weapon!" Luna cried, galloping toward Celestia in desperation. The elder princess looked up in horror as she saw the weapon being aimed at the observatory. "Twilight..." She whispered before darting upward. <_> "This is it..." The purple mare whispered as she wore the Magic Crown. She and her friends hovered around the crystal at various heights, it's magic coursing through their veins. The observatory's ceiling began to open as it adjusted itself, aiming for the Dark Eve, but it was too late it would seem. As if in slow motion Twilight stared at the scene, a glorious white mare was hovering between her and a raging black beam. "Celestia?" *_* "So that's what happened huh?" A young colt asked with his head tilted, a young human girl laying against him. "Yes little ones, Celestia saved my friends and me, but couldn't save herself..." Twilight whispered as she looked away from the small group of children huddled around her, eager to hear the tale of how she survived. "But wha' happen to Luna?" A filly asked curiously. "Did she die too?" Twilight blinked and shook her head. "I-I'm not sure what happened to her..." She admitted as Fluttershy walked into the tent. "T-Twilight? Rainbow wants to see you..." "O-oh, alright, i'm coming." the purple Unicorn replied, standing up, much to the protest of the children around her. "S-sorry little ones, but I'll be back to tell you another story soon." The children stood up and happily hugged their designated story-teller before quickly exiting the tent, Twilight following behind with Fluttershy. "You're very good with their children Twilight..." Fluttershy whispered suddenly. "T-their? You mean the humans?" Twilight asked, startled by Fluttershy who nodded slowly. "Well, I mean, they're all just kids right? They're not really different from our own fillies and colts." "Only they grow up to be cruel, heartless, destructive, animal-hating, kill a pony without thinking twice, warriors..." "F-Fluttershy! T-that's not something i'd expect you of all ponies to say!" Twilight exclaimed, cutting in front of the yellow and pink Pegasus. Fluttershy looked away sadly and continued walking. "Fluttershy...?" <_> "Oookay! So according to this map, Pinkie Pie is the closest, we should rescue her first! What do you think Chuck?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking up at a mustachioed man with a red beret. "Hmm, thinking tactically, they would be expecting that so they'll probably fortify that base...but then that means they'll think we assumed that and instead went to capture a different base. Meaning yes, that's where we should strike." Chuck nodded, stroking his mustache. "Couldn't you have just said that?" Rainbow asked with her head tilted. Chuck shrugged and went back to grooming his mustache when Twilight entered the tent. "Twilight! There you are, I wanted to tell you about our next plan!" "Er, Rainbow I actually wanted to talk to you about Flutter-" "Pinkie is here at this base on Mt. Really, Really High Up There so we're going to need a spell to get us all there quickly! Think you can manage it?" "Um, well, I think so but Fluttershy seems-" "Well, we can't take Fluttershy Twilight! She's not exactly battle ready. But you'll do fine!" "But Rainbow, I think she's acting a bit-" "So we're planning on attacking in a few days, that'll give us a chance to resupply and prepare our forces! That'll really get 'em!" "Rainbow please, I'm trying to tell you something impor-" "Oh by the way, have you met Chuck? He's a defected engineer and tactician, he's been a big help in our infiltration of those bases, he planned your rescue too!" "Whassup?" "Um, hello Chuck, and thank you but Rainbow I-" "So, you'd better rest up so we can-" "RAINBOW DASH! Please listen to me!" Twilight cried out, making everyone in the room stare at her. "Whoa, Twilight, what's up?" Rainbow asked nervously. Twilight panted and urged the blue Pegasus out of the tent to somewhere more private. "T-Twilight? What're we doing out here alone?" "Rainbow, there's something very important I have to tell you..." Twilight whispered. Rainbow blinked and blushed, looking away. "Twilight, this really isn't the right time for any sort of confession...but I mean, I do kinda like-" "I don't think Fluttershy is comfortable with the humans that are helping us." Twilight cut in quickly. Rainbow blinked and shook her head. "E-er, wait, that's what this is about?" "Yes, what did you think this was about?" Twilight asked, raising a brow. Rainbow, looked away with a whistle then cleared her throat. "N-nothing. Anyway, what about Fluttershy?" "I think she hates the humans..." "What? Fluttershy doesn't hate anyone! I don't think she CAN hate anyone actually." "True...but...I think we should be careful anyway. She's delicate and we don't want her getting scared." Rainbow Dash nodded and started to walk back toward the camp. "No problem, I know just the thing that'll cheer her up."