//------------------------------// // Pineshield? // Story: Twilight Gives Way to Dawn // by Lawpony //------------------------------// "Commander Dash! Answer me! Are you okay?", a guard asked, now standing next to her bed. "I can't believe it was a dream," Rainbow was in tears. "Ma'am?", the soldier replied after finally getting her to speak. "I thought it was real, then I thought it was fake. It was so confusing!" "Commander, we need you right now. We can't have you going crazy on us," he gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, and I don't plan to. I just...had a dream last night. I woke up in my cloud house. I went down to town, and everything was back to normal. I was on edge and wanted to argue with everypony. Finally Twilight sent a message to princess Celestia about me, and she came and cleared things up," She sniffled as more tears began to flow. "She told me that it was just a dream, that Luna had tried to intervene but wasn't able to. Then me and Twilight hugged, and that's when she made me wake up and feel alone again," she started sobbing. "There, there. I know it's hard, I have a cousin in the royal guard. We need to stay strong. The whole of Equestria needs you right now." "You're right. I can't sit here and cry about everything. Others have it worse than me and I need to stand tall for them," Rainbow stood up off of her bed and looked at him. "Thanks, I needed that." "No problem. Oh yeah!", his eyes widened as he realized something he had forgotten. "I came here to tell you, the force we sent to Los Pegasus still hasn't returned. I think something may be-" At that moment, a figure stood in the doorway to her room. "Pineshield?! What happened to you?", Rainbow stared in horror at her squadron leader. "Oh, this? It's nothing!", He didn't motion towards any part of his body, seeing as all of it was badly damaged. As if on cue, his back cracked and he fell over without making a sound. "Pineshield!" The first guard ran over to him and checked his pulse with his magic. "He's alive, but I don't know for how long." Pineshield's vision was extremely blurred. He could only see colors. He watched as all the pretty colors danced around him until they began forming a face. No, a mane. But there was a face attached to it. Then suddenly the mouth of said face began forming words. "........you........shield.......happened....." He looked at the face for a moment, then he realized who it was. It was his commander. He did his best to salute but he couldn't get his foreleg past his chest. The words continued, but were more audible this time. "Are you.....Pineshield........What happened......" He just stared at her, confused for a moment. Then Rainbow began to speak again. "Are you okay Pineshield? What happened out there?" "Oh man! My head!", Pineshield moaned. "You're under a lot of drugs right now, the doctors say you're lucky to be alive," Rainbow explained. "I'm even surprised I'm still alive!" "So what happened out there?", Rainbow went straight to the point. "Where to start?" "Maybe with how you got like this..." "Well, I dropped a tower on myself." "You dropped a tower on yourself? Why?!", Rainbow gave him a concerned look. "Well, I was fighting the general of the large invasion force that took Los Pegasus. I knew all was lost. The rest of the force you sent didn't make it." "We lost Los Pegasus?! Then how'd you get back alive, with all of those injuries?" "Yeah, there was a long hard battle that we were winning. Then out of nowhere, the sun was blocked by a massive force, two thousand strong maybe. I fought the general and was about to lose, so I dropped a tower on the both of us. I guess that's where my tale really begins." Three days ago It wasn't a good day for a tragic loss. Those days are supposed to be dark and rainy. Today had been bright and sunny, until the final wave of troops had come in and blocked out the sun. In the aftermath of the loss, screams of agony could be heard way off in the distance. Moans of loss were heard around every corner, that is, until an imperial ended the source. Pineshield lay broken beside a pile of debris. He hadn't intended to live as long as he did. He awoke slowly, taking in the situation. He was laying on his back, one of his hooves under him, twisted out of joint. Let me take care of that, he thought before taking it in his hind hooves in front, and twisting his hind quarters. This action was followed by a harsh scream emanating from his dry throat. "geeAAAAAAHHH-mhm-HMMM!", he stuck his good fore-hoof into his mouth to keep his pain only to himself. When he had finally regained his thought, his bad hoof was now usable again, though it may need professional medics to make it good as new. He was about to get up and find a way to escape when an imperial walked around a pile of debris. "This one's still alive," he looked at Pineshield's body that had gone limp just perfectly before he came upon it. "Guess I need to fix th-Hey! It's Pineshield! If I capture him the queen will promote me for sure!" He knelt over the fallen soldier to tie him up. Fear gripped Pineshield and he acted. He shot his good hoof into the soldier's face, catching him off guard. When the soldier could see again, there was a hoof-mounted knife flying into his throat. When the soldier fell, Pineshield waited for any others to come. No soldiers came to this one's aid. Pineshield took the soldier into a hole in the rubble of tower, and traded armor with him. "So that's why you were dressed like an imperial...good thing I recognized your face before the armor," Rainbow donned a inquisitive composure. "Thank you ruggedly good looks!", Pineshield pumped his good hoof in the air. "Ha! Yeah r-" When Pineshield emerged from the hole, he was now, to the eye, an imperial. He knew how they walked, he knew how they talked. After all, he used to be a Sargent in the royal guard before the new rule. They were now still the same, just under tyrannical rule. "This armor brings back memories," he recalled his guard days. He slowly made his way to where all of the imperials were, making sure not to show his face too much. They were cheering over their victory, so he joined in, being sure not to make it look too fake. When Diamond Death had appeared before the group, she began to tell them how great of a job they did. She told them that Los Pegasus was now theirs and that they had fully crushed the rebellion there. She then held up a beaten and bloody body using her magic. It was....It was.... "Applejack?", Rainbow Dash was now tearing up. "Yes ma'am. It was her...But don't worry, she's still alive, or at least at the time she was." I need to get out of here. I need to inform the Commander, Pineshield thought to himself. When Rarity had finished telling them about how they had one of the top officers in the resistance, she flung Applejack into the back of a chariot and climbed in. She bellowed one final call before ordering the pegasi to fly. "Hunt down the cowards that ran! Kill them all before they get home!" A bellowing roar came from the crowd as they all ran in the direction the rebels went. "And that's about all there was detail-wise. I went with the imperials as they found our troops. When we came upon them, enough recognized my face and let me sneak past them. And that's how I got here without being followed. So many died, helping me escape. And that is why I need to stay strong. I need to do my part to free this land...for their sake, along with all of ours." "I'm sorry you had to see Applejack like that. It must have been hard," Rainbow shivered a bit. "Yes, though I knew she was alive. She was breathing, and when she was thrown into the chariot she made a moan, meaning she felt it...I know she's alive, and we need to get her back before it's too late." "Then let us find a way to come back at th-" "Commander! I am sorry to interrupt, but something terrible has happened!" "What is it?!" "The changelings! They've been attacked!"