//------------------------------// // Firefly: The Caged Bird // Story: For the Good of Equestria: The Alicorn War // by brokenimage321 //------------------------------// Firefly looked up as the big entry doors opened and shut. At this time of afternoon, that could mean only one thing. Firefly was a pretty mare, not as young as she had been, once. Her pink coat and blue mane hid a fiery temper, still strong as ever, and she had been quite the stunt flier, back in the day. She still would be, in fact, if it wasn’t for her current… condition... She tried to peer over the crowd, to see to the doors, but she could see nothing from where she lay. She stood, painfully, and started to wobble forward, trying to waddle around her swollen belly. She gritted her teeth, desperately wishing she could fly, even just to stretch her wings. Almost there, Firefly, she thought to herself. Just another month or two, and you’ll be back in shape again. Firefly pushed her way through the tight-packed crowd of mares, most of them twittering uselessly over this or that. She rolled her eyes; it still astonished her just how shallow the other girls were. To be sure, their… situation… left few options for conversation, but you would think they would have some kind of thought in their heads aside from their next hooficure. She found herself unconsciously scanning the mares she passed: the earth ponies, the pegasi, the unicorns, even a zebra or two. She glanced at them all, the young and the old and the tall and the small and the crystal and the plain—each time, taking note of how big their bellies were—of how long they had to go until… well… Finally, she managed to push her way to the front of the crowd—and, to her faint surprise, found a young earth mare. She was very pretty, with a pale green coat and a pink mane, and sat on the floor with tears in her eyes. The two big gelding guards flanking the doorway did not move as Firefly approached.         Wordlessly, Firefly bent down and took the little mare in a hug. “It’s okay,” she murmured. “You’re okay…”         “I wanna go home,” the mare sniffled, her voice trembling. “I know you do,” Firefly said. “We all do.” Firefly rubbed her back for a moment, then looked down at her and smiled. “What’s your name?” she asked gently. “Rose,” she said. “Prairie Rose.” “Prairie Rose,” Firefly repeated. “I’m Firefly.”  Rose nodded against her. “How old are you?” Firefly asked, gently. “F-fourteen,” Rose muttered. Firefly’s eyes widend. “Fourteen? Sweet Celestia…” Rose looked up at her. “Is that… bad…?” she asked. Firefly watched her a moment, then sighed and closed her eyes. “You don’t know where you are, do you?” she asked. Rose shook her head. Firefly sighed, then stood and held out a hoof. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go someplace private.” She glanced around the packed room. “Or, at least, as private as we can…” Wordlessly, Rose stood, and Firefly led her back though the crowd. At the far end of the room, they mounted a short staircase, passed another gelding guard, and reached a small, circular balcony, overlooking the common room on one side, and, through a series of tall, narrow windows, the crystal city on the other. They found a white mare with a golden mane lazing about on a pile of thick pillows, luxuriating in the sunlight. Firefly clicked her tongue. “Sundance,” she said to the white mare, “Can we get some privacy?” Sundance opened her eyes and looked up. From where she lay on her back, Firefly could see the barest hint of a baby bump. “Oh?” Sundance said. “She a new girl?” Firefly nodded. “Oh. Well, in that case…” Sundance stood, then walked past them towards the stairs. As she passed Rose, she bumped her affectionately with her hip. “Good luck tonight,” she said, with a twinkle in her eye. Rose stared wordlessly back at her, her mouth slightly open. Firefly shot Sundance an acid glare. When she had left, Firefly led Rose to the pillows. She eased herself down with a painful sigh, then patted the pillows beside her. Rose sat, nervously and swallowed. Firefly sighed. “Rose,” she said, “There’s really no nice way to say this, so I’m going to be frank with you.” She took a deep breath. “Rose,” she said, “you find yourself in the unenviable position of being the newest addition to the harem of the Crystal King.” Rose gasped and recoiled in horror. “And,” Firefly continued, “Since you’ve just arrived, King Sombra is probably going to want your, uh… your attention tonight.” Rose’s eyes went wide. She instinctively wrapped her arms around herself and began to cry again. Firefly sat up and pulled her close. “There, there,” she said, “It’s not all bad… it’s a cage, but it’s gilded, at least…” Rose hugged her tighter. “I-I-I n-n-n-n-...” she stammered, then swallowed. “Never done it before?” Firefly prompted, a faint, sad smile on her lips. She sobbed. “Cirrus and I,” she whimpered, “w-we were going to… but… t-they came, and said, if I didn’t go—” “They were going to hurt him,” Firefly finished. Rose nodded. “And Mama and Daddy and Ivy and Willow…” “I know,” Firefly said, patting her on the back. “I know. And I’m sorry.” She tried to fake a little smile. “But hey—you’re here now,” she said. “And that means you’re safe. It’s not all bad,” she added. “As long as you please the King, things are alright here.” “P-please the King…?” she asked nervously. Firefly nodded. “King Sombra really only cares about two things,” she said. “A good lay, and a fertile mare. His tastes are… eclectic, but it’s children that he really wants, so…” she shrugged. “Kind of a toss-up on any given night. And, if you conceive, you’ll be well taken care of until the foal comes.” Rose sniffled again. “Why does he need so many?” Firefly raised an eyebrow. “Mares?” “Foals,” Rose replied. Firefly bit her lip and looked away. She knew why. They all did. But perhaps that could wait a little--at least, until after Rose had already had her heart broken once… Firefly heard Rose sob again, and turned back to look at her. She watched her carefully for a moment; this little mare—no, this little filly—was either a very good actress, or she was the real deal. She thought for a moment more, then shrugged; she was carrying Sombra’s child, and, as long as that was true, the guards wouldn’t dare lay a hoof on her. Which meant... She leaned forward. “Can I trust you?” she asked. Rose looked up, confused. “Huh?” she asked. “Can I trust you?” Firefly repeated. Rose nodded, mystified. Firefly nodded to herself, then leaned back and took a breath. “Where you from, kid?” she asked. “O-old Equestria,” she replied. “One of the northern provinces.” Firefly nodded. “I thought so,” she said. “You had the accent. I’m from Cloudsdale, myself…” She sighed. “Or whatever they’re calling it now…” Rose sniffled. “Still C-cloudsdale,” she said, “But the mayor’s just a puppet, and he’s considering ‘Umbropolis’ to try and keep the peace.” Firefly nodded, sadly. She turned pensive for a moment, then leaned forward. “Things are going to be alright,” she whispered to Rose. She licked her lips, then leaned even further forward “I work for Celestia,” she whispered into her ear. Rose gasped and jerked her head back. “You what?” she gasped. Firefly nodded, then beckoned her close again. “I know where she’s hiding—and she sent me here to see what was going on.” Rose sat very still as she listened. Firefly took a breath and continued. “I know it’s scary—and you have the right to be scared—but I won’t let anything happen to you. Or to him,” she said, nodding down at her own belly. “Or her,” she added. “Whatever. I’m going to protect all of you from—from whatever happens.” Rose nodded slowly. She bit her lip, swallowed, then sighed. “What… is happening?” she asked. “Momma and Papa wouldn’t tell us—they were trying to keep us safe—and, when I asked the guards, they all lied to me…” Firefly watched her face for a long moment, then sighed. “I… think it might be best to start at the beginning,” she said. “It’s a… a long and complicated story. And knowing it at all is treason.” She scoffed. “But I’m carrying the king’s child—what are they gonna do to me?” She smirked—but her face quickly fell. She settled deeper into the pillows, then turned back to Rose. “Settle in,” she said. “We’ll be here a while.” Firefly took a deep breath as Rose adjusted herself. She thought for a moment, then began to speak. “It… it all started back in the day,” she said, “back when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna still travelled. The two of them ended up in the Crystal Empire one winter, trying to convince old King Sombra to join the Alliance. But, trapped in the Palace with the King like that…” she swallowed. “Well, Celestia fled in the spring, as soon as the storm cleared. But Sombra still married Princess Luna, made her Queen of the Empire--and, almost before the ceremony was done, she was pregnant with his child: their oldest, Princess Cadance. And, almost as soon as she was born, Queen Luna was pregnant again—this time, with the current King Sombra.” She sighed. “They had a new foal once a year or so—sometimes twins—for over a decade. Everyone thought they were happy—that all their kids just showed that they couldn’t keep their hooves off each other, despite their difficulties with the Alliance.” Firefly closed her eyes, and a tear ran down her cheek. “But Sombra couldn’t keep the lie going forever.” Rose’s eyes widened, and slowly, almost imperceptibly, she shrank back, deeper into the pillows. But Firefly couldn’t stop—she’d been wanting to scream this story from the balcony at the ponies below, shriek at them to wake up, to kill the children in their wombs, to throw themselves on the spears of the guards to keep them out of his hooves. She wanted to—but she was not that foolish. This story has burned inside her for over a year, and now, it was finally spilling out. “I-it took Luna a long time to figure out just what was going on,” she continued, hestitant. “To find out just what Sombra was planning, By that time, Celestia had already gone into hiding—Sombra had sent assassins after her once, and she knew he would do so again—so, Luna was all on her own. It was just him and her… her husband,” she spat, “isolated up here in the far north, with no one else to turn to--just as he’d planned, all those years ago. And, when Sombra stopped asking her if she wanted more children, she started to understand. It took her another little while to work up the courage, but, when she did, she told Cadance, who still had a good heart, to go find her Auntie, and told her where to look. Cadance fled the Empire in the dead of night—and the next day, Queen Luna sent a message, in the only way she had left to her. She...” She swallowed again. “She killed herself.” Rose’s eyes widened. “K-killed herself?” she repeated. Firefly nodded, sadness in her eyes. “Threw herself from the very tip of the Spire, in the middle of market day. Half the Empire watched her fall, including one or two of her children. Everyone saw her jump, saw her corpse where it lay broken on the crystal--and everyone knew that something was wrong.” She looked away.” “There were too many ponies to silence… though Sombra still tried.” Rose began to tremble, but Firefly couldn’t stop. “Sombra, he… he was afraid that his plans had been blown—that Cadance had been sent to warn Celestia—so he started his plans earlier than he had hoped. He went to war, to try and conquer the world--and brought his children along as soldiers, some of them still in diapers. And, though they won many battles, his children weren’t as powerful—nor as easy to control—as he had hoped. Their war stalled, just inside Alliance borders—and then, Sombra himself died. Stabbed to death in his sleep.” Firefly swallowed. “Everything went to Tartarus then,” she said. “The children had tasted their own power, and were determined to use it. Some of them immediately claimed power over old kingdoms. Some of them bided their time until they were stronger. And the younger Sombra came back to the Empire, took it for himself. There’s been a lot of fighting, and a lot of dying—and now, where there were two kingdoms, there are now over a dozen. About a third of them, all the big ones, are ruled by Sombra’s children, or regents claiming to work for them. The other two-thirds are petty kingdoms squabbling to carve out a name for themselves—but, without alicorns to protect them, everyone knows it’s only a matter of time.” Rose said nothing. Firefly let out a long, slow breath. “So, that’s about how it stands today,” she said. “A rat’s nest of standoffs, flimsy promises, and fear. Peace-but a fragile one, with everyone waiting for someone to make the wrong move, or to show a trace of weakness. No one’s brave enough to try and antagonize anyone else, not until they get a little more powerful. Celestia’s been watching, and she thought this might be a good time as any to make a move.” She turned to look out the window. “But she didn’t know about the younger Sombra,” she said. Rose swallowed, but did not speak. “Since he was… oh, about twelve,” Firefly said, “Sombra has been mating with any mare that would hold still. We thought this was just another case of a randy princeling, mad with power… but no mere lecher treats his sex toys so well,” she said. “We didn’t realize it until I came here—but Sombra, he… he wants…” She swallowed, then turned to look at Rose, who stared back at her with her big, green eyes. He wants to turn you into a weapons factory. She shrugged. “He… he wants to, um… sample mares from all over Equestria. Find his favorites. He’s, uh, a bit of a connoisseur.” She turned and glanced sidelong at Rose--but, if she had heard the lie, she did not show it. Instead, she was beginning to tear up again. “Sample?” she repeated. “Is… that all we are to him? Just, like… desserts?” No. Worse. “I’m afraid so,” she said gently. “He treats us well, but, at the end of the day…” Rose closed her eyes, and tears rolled down her cheeks again. She was quiet for a moment. “Firefly?” she said, her eyes still closed. “Can you…” “Yes?” Firefly asked. Rose took another breath. “Can you… hold me?” she asked. “Until…” She swallowed, then went quiet. Firefly nodded. “Of course,” she said. She held out her arms, and Rose snuggled into them. Firefly began to stroke her mane, and, after a while, began to hum softly to her—an old, Cloudsdale lullaby from when she, herself, was a child. She felt Rose smile, then snuggle deeper into her shoulder--and, after a few minutes, she began to breathe, slow and deep. Firefly chuckled a little, lay her head on hers, and then, began to dream— “Excuse me,” said a high-pitched male voice. Both of them awoke to see a tall, black gelding standing in front of them. As they came to, he bowed deeply. “Miss Prairie Rose,” he said gravely, “His Brilliance requests the pleasure of your company tonight.” He held out a hoof. Rose shrank back, and did not move. Firefly looked up, then reached out and smoothed her mane. “You have to go,” she said. “I know it’s hard, but you have to.” She took a deep breath. “Just… be prepared to do what he asks. He might ask anything of you, but know that he’s a bit of a sadist, so…” She shrugged faintly. “And, uh… I know this might sound heartless, but…” She lifted Rose’s chin until she could meet her trembling gaze. “Try to enjoy it,” she said, “if you can.” Firefly smiled reassuringly, then ran a hoof down her neck and onto her back. “And whatever happens,” she said, “I’ll be here when you get back.” She nodded to the gelding, his hoof outstretched. “You’d better get going,” she said. “He doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Rose, eyes wide, stared at Firefly. Slowly, she stood, swallowed hard, and put her hoof in the gelding’s. He led her, not unkindly, back down the stairs into the main lobby, then out the door.         As the two of them left. Firefly snarled.