//------------------------------// // Part II:...lead to New Scars // Story: Sunset // by We'll_Never_Know //------------------------------// Part II: ... lead to new Scars For the next five years and up to that day, Equestria remained divided. Fortunately for Luna, the territories she inherited in the treaty were already developed, prime for an upstart nation. Quickly she organized a government and ruled the kingdom as her own. But, division had affected the citizens in two great ways. Soon it became as if they were two seperate races: Solars and Lunars, with one always unsure of and suspecting of the other. Next, the new "races" started to distrust one another severely. Celestia's military was no exception to the division. For the first two months, she had reports of mass desertions of her forces, of all ranks, into the Lunar Army Corps. One of the most shocking was the split of her main technological team: Doctors Lyra Heartstrings and BonBon, who both had worked on numerous secret weapons projects for Celestia. Dr. Lyra had decided to stay with Celestia, while Dr. BonBon left and joined Luna. As they both had worked on the projects, Celestia saw that BonBon had taken several ideas with her, and soon, both sides had competing weapons programs. In fear of the other, they started stockpiling all they needed if a war was to break out. During this time, there were no official conflicts between the two nations, but other enemies lurked. Though four years ago, Celestia had to deal with a parasprite infestation, Luna made enemies on all sides, and her armies crushed hordes of Changelings, Griffons, and Diamond Dogs. The Griffons were the only ones not to suffer a mass genocide, as they gave in and joined with Luna two years ago. This greatly disturbed Celestia at first, but she decided there was no reason to worry yet. But two years, ago there was an insurrection in the Solar Empire by pro-Luna supporters; hardliners who wanted both nations to merge under Luna. Though Luna had denounced the organization publically, it was not until last year they were finally stopped and wiped out. Yet, there was still good new throughout this time. Twilight continued to grow in wisdom, and enjoyed being with her new friends. Her friendship had brought joy in Celestia's heart. Her niece even married the Captain of the guard. Cadance, she quickly remembered and solemnly thought about. She remembered how beautiful she was, and how proud she was that she married the Captain. But then... Celestia decided not to dwell on that at the moment. She didn't want to bring more painful memories. With only a few state visits from Luna over the years, she rarely communicated with her. After the establishment of the Lunar Palace, however, both of them kept a special device at which they could communicate with one another if there was an emergency, and they needed desperately the help of the other. She was glad actually that she nearly never had to use the device, because its use would mean something terrible happened. The only times she used it was during the insurrection, to deliver some unfortunate news. Luna did appear, though. A tear streamed down from the eye of the Solar Princess at the thoughts of the past. Five years, and it felt like an eternity for Celestia. For five years, these two states had lived alongside one another in relative peace. There were differences, but at least there was no war. Perhaps this was the best option for the moment, and maybe, future generations will call for a united Equestria again... She smiled at the thought. Celestia's thoughts were immediately disrupted by the door to her throne room opening, and a near-panicked officer rushing in. "You highness", he started, "You are urgently needed in the war room. Captain Shining Armor has something important to notify you about." Celestia got up, and looked confusingly at the officer for a moment, but realized how urgent the situation might be. "Alright", she said, "I'll leave immediately." * * * She trotted around the halls until she reached the point of the metal blast-door entrance to a bunker. Beyond its doors lie the situation center, which housed a war room and the passage to a fortress in the mountains if Celestia ever were to need to leave Canterlot. She was granted admittance, and she trotted in, the door sealing shut behind her. While guards outside of Canterlot wore traditional uniform, it was much different in high-level military facilities like this. Here, soldiers dressed in newer, lighter uniforms, in a light grey color with gold trim. They were armed with the latest weapons off Solar production lines. For a hundred years before Luna's return, Celestia's armies had experimented with firearms, and perfected the design out of necessity shortly after the return. Heavy metal armor was no longer necessary, as a bullet from one of these new weapons could pierce two sets of armor in one shot. They were impressive. Celestia entered the war room. The room was filled with new devices, known to her as "electronics". These magical things could read and hand out data. Screens also projected images from other sources. Her scientists had pioneered this idea for about twenty years, and they were only used extensively by Celestia's guard. However, this was yet another technology Celestia counted on that transferred to the Lunars at their inception. Celestia was then flanked by two armed guards, who stood by her guard as she entered. There, ponies were in a frenzy as a red light was flashing. Data was being run off faster than they could read, and all the monitors were being closely watched. Chatter was abundant, and Shining Armor was ordering a young female officer when Celestia walked in, and motioned for her to leave. "Captain, what's the situation; why have you summoned me", Celestia asked. "Your highness", the Captain started, "our radars have picked up numerous unidentified aerial transports heading into our airspace, heading to some of our major cities. Our border bases also report a large buildup of Lunar forces there." The Solar Princess was very confused at the moment. She started to worry. Why on all things gracious could this mean? "Check all the readings again", she said, "this doesn't make any sense." She paused for a moment. "I'll call Luna. In the meantime, analyze all the results and get me reports." "Will do", the Captain said, and he continued to give out orders to various ponies giving him news and data. Celestia walked along in the bunker, until she got to the room where the communication device was stored. The device was a televised screen on the wall, with a camera so Luna could see Celestia too. She had it installed here so she could contact Luna while in hiding for any reason. She used her magic, and soon a screen flickered on... * * * Princess Luna was in her royal office. Though she did have throne room, she didn't use it nearly as much as her sister. She spent most of her time dealing with matters from there. Right now, she was examining military reports from her forces on the Lunar border. One of her chief commanders, a former "magician" named Trixie, was analyzing her own reports. The light blue unicorn was highly vain around others, but was completely subservient to Luna, and that was good enough for the Lunar princess. She had started out as a simple travelling magician, but when Luna made her return, she saw opportunity and supported Luna. When the state of the Lunar Empire was announced, she quickly convinced Luna to give her a position in her military. At first a simple battalion officer, she quickly rose the ranks after her mastery of "tricks" on the battlefield in the Diamond Dog wars impressed Luna. After three years, she finally rose to the rank of Executive Commander of all Lunar Special Operations. Luna looked at her officer and smiled. She was loyal to the cause, and was very useful. Her plans had almost never failed, and now, everything was going as planned. For five years, I've waited for this, Luna thought. Celestia was a fool once again when she let me take this land. Now she shall pay for her ignorance... Luna then became distracted when the device on her wall started beeping. She looked and saw a message: Incoming Message from Canterlot Luna smiled and knew exactly what it meant. She used her magic and turned on her screen. She saw Celestia standing there, in that little space of hers. Luna had no idea where it was, but she knew that wherever it was, it was probably because of the news she was getting. "Princess Luna here", Luna answered. "What do you want, sister?" "What's going on over there Luna", Celestia asked with some sarcasm in her voice. "Why sister", Luna answered jokingly, "Whatever could you mean?" "Sister, I...", Celestia started, and was briefly disturbed by a Solar officer giving her a report. "You... you're massing troops at our border, Luna. We're supposed to live in peace, you maniac! I'm the one who even allowed you to rule that country of yours!" "LISTEN HERE, CELESTIA", Luna growled. "I'm not your servant, sister. I do not have to listen to you anymore. I have my own legacy to consider." Trixie glanced over to Luna, who nodded, and moved toward her own communication device. "I don't give a buck about your legacy, Luna", Celestia answered fervently. "You call those forces off! You hear me! Call them off!" Celestia stopped for a second. "You know I'll retaliate..." "Don't be so sure, sister", Luna said grinning, and immediately turned off the screen. She stared at her Commander. She nodded, and Luna knew exactly what she had done. Her first wave was nearing their objectives... * * * Celestia stood frozen as the screen powered down. She knew what was going on. She trotted immediately back into the war room, which was in a larger frenzy now. Red marks started appearing on the map of the Solar Empire, moving up. Shining Armor was giving orders to several officers as he noticed Celestia again. "Do you have confirmation, Captain", Celestia asked. "Yes, your highness", the Captain replied. "We've got Lunar army forces moving fast into our territory. Those airships have yet to be identified. Our scopes aren't picking up anything else at the current." Celestia started giving out orders: "I want the Wonderbolts to meet those airships, and I want our forces to..." THOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM... An explosion shook the command center, and everypony tumbled. Dust fell from the celing, and the sound of distant explosions was heard. The ground quaked, and outside, they heard the rush of guards to their positions There was an frenzied exchange of demands and orders: "WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT'S GOING ON?" "WE'VE GOT LUNAR FORCES ATTACKING OUR BASES ON THE BORDER FROM THE GROUND!" "GET ME SITREPS FROM EVERY SOLAR CITY AND BASE!" "RIGHT AWAY SIR!" "SIR, MANEHATTAN HQ JUST REPORTED IN! AIRSHIPS HOVERING OVERHEAD ARE DROPPING FORCES INTO THE CITY!" "CLOUDSDALE HQ JUST WENT DARK! THEIR LAST REPORT SAID PEGASI WERE MOVING IN AT HIGH SPEEDS INTO THE CITY AND BEGAN A BOMBING RUN!" "APPLELOOSA'S GONE DARK! WE'RE NOT GETTING ANYTHING!" "WE'VE GOT AIRSHIPS MOVING IN CLOSER TO OUR POSITION!" "MAREJAVE DESERT AIRFIELD REPORTING UNDER ATTACK BY LUNAR PEGASI!" "TOPSIDE REPORTS THAT THEY'RE UNDER ATTACK BY LUNAR PEGASI! THEY'RE BOMBING THE CITADEL!" "QUICK, GET THE PRINCESS TO SAFETY!" Ponies shuffled around everywhere, and explosions continued to rock the land. She heard as pieces of the citadel started to collapse. Celestia observed the panic, and stood motionless as everypony in the room ran from side to side delivering news, giving orders, and following them. It was utter and complete chaos. War..., Celestia thought. A war just started.... She was brought out of her trance when her Captain started nudging her with his hoof. She turned and looked at him "Come on your highness", the Captain said, "We've got to get you to the mountain fortress! It's no longer safe for you here!" Whether or not she had a choice in the matter, her guards started pushing her towards the emergency train that would bring her to the citadel. She tried to resist, but they struggled to bring her to the train. She started thinking about Twilight Sparkle, and how she and her friends were in... Twilight! Oh, please, no..., Celestia thought, as she got one last glance at the screen, which had several airships heading toward, and soon finally over: PONYVILLE. Right..., Celestia thought in horror,... where Twilight and her friends are... Speechless, she was led away, and tears started flowing in abundance at the thought of what was going to happen to her student and her friends. Please be safe... my student, Celestia hoped. Next, LUNAR DAWN