Rain of Fire

by LessThanHuman

Chapter 25 - Battle Ready

“NO, THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!”

“I understand how this can be difficult for you, Luna, but you have to realize –”

“NO! You do not understand, sister! The griffon king cannot simply declare war for such pathetic reasons…”

“Luna…”

“…and you cannot honestly in good conscious use Firestorm for his intended purpose as an active weapon…”

“Luna…”

“…in all honesty, I do not know for certain how he would respond psychologically, accurately, and tactfully if put in such a situation, not after centuries of inactive use…”

“Luna…”

“…for all I know, his original psychotic programming could resurface and he could turn on –”

“SISTER!”

Luna and everypony else in the throne room jumped at Celestia’s sudden outburst to halt Luna’s ranting. The bearers of the elements stood against a wall having taken their places around Firestorm who lay prone in his full dragon form with Scootaloo laying on his head. After returning from lunch, Firestorm explained the situation to everypony. Luna had gone to comfort Celestia but was instructed to meet in the throne room with the others. There, Celestia revealed her plan for a counterattack led by herself with the assistance of Firestorm. At the mention of using Firestorm as a primary asset in a warzone, Luna objected.

“Luna, I understand and appreciate your concerns, but this is necessary…”

“You mustn’t, surely your Solar Guard can –”

“The Solar no longer exists, Luna. After you were banished as Nightmare Moon, your Lunar Guard and my Solar Guard slowly faded out of existence until only the modern Royal Guard remained, and they cannot honestly be considered a military force.”

A sickening silence hung as Luna stared at Celestia studying her features before her neutral expression faded into a glare, “I will expect some truth on your part after this…,” Luna said before looking over her shoulder, “Firestorm, form on me…”

Firestorm laid his head down allowing Scootaloo to quickly scramble off and take her spot beside Rainbow Dash. Firestorm moved in and flanked Luna on her Left.

“Firestorm, Triple A CF.”

Firestorm’s body seemed to respond more so than he did, as a ghostly darkness reshaped his body from a full-sized quadrupedal dragon to a bipedal dragon which stood as tall as Discord. Firestorm’s body was coated in a metallic black armor which both fused with his skin and allowed a full range of motion. His draconic wings stretched then settled against his back. His head was covered with a helmet that left only his lower jaw and ears exposed. Taking in several deep breaths, Firestorm regained his self-control before folding his arms behind his back and standing motionless beside Luna.

“There, this is Firestorm’s Active Armor Advanced Combat Form. You want a weapon, you’ve got it!” Luna said angrily.

Celestia remained calm, “Luna, how many other forms does he have?”

“Essentially he has five. His basic pony form, draconic pony form, ghost form, dragon form, and advanced form.”

“Well, should there be a need for Firestorm’s combative abilities, I would like him on the frontline at my side, as my personal guard,” Celestia stated firmly.

“Sister, would not he serve better as my personal guard?”

“No, Luna, I need you here…”

“Unacceptable! The Firestorm is my creation! He should serve me on the battlefront!”

“Luna, no. I need you here. Should I fail, should I fall, I would need you to protect our subjects and rule over them.”

“What are you saying sister, you would fight the griffon army just you, Firestorm and a hoof full of guards!? Surely thou are not so foolish! You would stand a much better chance, if not certain victory, with me fighting along your side! Has thou forgotten our battle against Sombra? My -”

“I have forgotten nothing about your skills in combat magic or as a strategist! I know how strong you are on your own and that is why I need you to stay behind. One target instead of two!”

“So that is your plan!? Parade yourself before the griffon king and his army as bait, maybe take as many with you as you can!?” Luna screamed as tears ran down her face.

That was it, her facade fell. Celestia embraced her younger sister, “I know you are scared. I’m scared too. But I have no army, and even if I did, I would want this to end with as little blood shed as possible…”

“Yet you requested the presence of Firestorm,” Luna choked between sobs, “He could kill them all!”

Everypony exchanged concerned glances at Luna’s statement, Firestorm maintained a stoic gaze.

“I have no doubt of that, Luna, but if anyone truly has to fall, it must be me, and Firestorm must stop the griffon king, and you must continue to rule Equestria with Twilight by your side…”

“Princess?” Twilight interrupted, “Why me?”

Celestia broke the embrace with her sister and turned to Twilight, “One thing my long life has taught me is that peace does not last forever. From the day I met you I knew you were destined for greatness. The Princess of Friendship. The Element of Magic. My sister has the knowledge and power to rule Equestria, but she lacks understanding of modern culture and customs. Many, if not all, of which you have an understanding.”

Twilight could only nod her head in understanding, tears threatening to streak down her face.

“Ooh ooh ooh! What if you did have an army!?” Pinkie Pie suddenly exclaimed.

“Pinkie, ya can’t just grow an army overnight,” Applejack tried to reason.

“Maybe you can’t, but I might have a way to…” Pinkie replied.

“And just how would you propose to do that?” Rarity asked.

“Haven’t you silly fillies ever heard of the mirror pool!? Princess Celestia just chooses her best pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony guards and the three go into the mirror pool. Three go in, six come out, then twelve, then twenty four, then forty eight, then ninety six, then a hundred and ninety two, then three hundred and eighty four, then seven hundred and sixty eight, then one thousand five hundred and thirty six, then three thousand and seventy two, then six thousand one hundred and forty four, then twelve thousand two hundred and eighty eight, and BOOM! Instant army!" Pinkie explained.

Everyone present stared at her in disbelief. Pinkie looked, "What, if you don't believe me, I'll show you! I have a pretty good idea where it is..." she said speeding towards the door.

Firestorm faded into a shadow on the castle floor and rose again with his hoof extended so it landed squarely on Pinkie's chest, stopping her instantly.

"Hey Firestorm, can't show you the mirror pool if you don't lemme show you..." Pinkie said, her hooves still spinning in circles as scorch marks formed on the floor beneath her and the smell of burning rubber filled the air.

"Stop."

Pinkie stopped her renegade gallop. Firestorm turned to Celestia and Luna, "If what she says is true, we should at the very least consider it. From a strategic standpoint, the mere show of a military force could sway your enemies inclination to attack a peaceful kingdom."

"He is right, sister," Luna stated, "Military power could force the griffon king to cease his attack..."

"A show of force could also negatively sway the thinking of peaceful neighboring kingdoms as well..." Celestia said flatly.

"Perhaps a balance then?" Firestorm offered, "Enough to show we are not weak, but not large enough to seem like a threat. Enough only to hold the griffin army back. Whatever is left of the enemy, I can eliminate."

"I do not want any loss of life, pony or griffin-"

"Well technically the ponies that come out of the mirror pool are magically replicated intelligent organisms with identical physical and mental traits so as long as you don't send the original three into battle you really don't lose anypony because they were never really there," Pinkie reasoned.

"And what about the griffons?" Celestia asked. "Their army is-"

Firestorm shadow shifted across the room so he was standing face to face with Celestia in his advanced form, "Their army is following the orders of a king who has waged war against Equestria! He has waged war because he wishes to bring death! Your lack of action will bring just that, death! To all your subjects because you wanted to hold BACK!"

"Firestorm, stand down!" Luna ordered.

Celestia took a deep breath, "Yes, I am holding back. In our youth, Luna and I were always ready to fight for Equestria. When we were the only force that could stop king Sombra, our swiftness to action resulted in the thousand year loss of the crystal empire. Shortly thereafter, I lost my sister to darkness because of the error of my ways. So yes, I am holding back. I am not going to be responsible for the death of countless griffons who are simply following the leadership of a foolish king!"

Firestorm never stopped glaring into Celestia's eyes. When she finished speaking, Firestorm merely cocked his head and mumbled, "Hmmm..." before returning to Pinkie's side.

"Celestia if I may?" Discord said breaking the sudden tension that had fallen upon the room, "I understand your wanting to keep the changeling queen out of this little matter and I completely respect your decision to preserve life. I myself could never bring myself to kill anypony! No matter how much I hate them..." Discord mumbled while looking at Firestorm, "That being said, how about a compromise? You and Firestorm get your army, and I arm them with silly string, party cannons, basically turn the whole messy war into one big poorly delivered joke."

Firestorm growled, "That has got to be the stupidest thi-"

"Brilliant!" Celestia and Luna exclaimed in unison.

Everypony did a double take.

"If we form a military force and Discord swaps the weapons of both armies with gags..." Luna began.

"Then we would prove we can defend ourselves and not appear hostile to neighboring kingdoms!" Celsetia concluded.

"Yeah, great idea," Firestorm said disgusted, "And I suppose with their expertise you would want to make Discord a general over an army of Pinkie Pies..."

"NO!" exclaimed everypony else in the room.

"Discord is right, we need an actual military force, but not one that would appear threatening," Luna explained.

"Not to mention the chaos that could come about from having hundreds if not thousands of Pinkie Pie clones," Celestia added, "Honestly, could you even imagine?"

"I'd rather not," Rarity said.

"All things considered, I still want you here, Luna, and I want you with me, Firestorm," Celestia said with a calm tone, "Should things take a turn for the worse, I want you there to resolve any issue, even if it requires extreme measures. Pinkie Pie, I will chose my best guards of the pegasus, unicorn and earth pony ranks. I will need you to guide us to the mirror pool."

"You got it, Princess," Pinkie Pie said cheerily.

Firestorm Rolled his eyes and growled, "This is gonna suck!"

*****

Dear Cadence and Shining Armor,
I am sorry to report that negotiations with the griffon king have failed. War is imminent. This is just the icing on the cake however...

It seems that in days prior, a thestreal hybrid by the name of Firestorm has befriended Twilight and her friends, even adopting an orphan filly, Scootaloo. Reports from Twilight have led me to suspect he has feelings for Rainbow Dash. I would like you to assess this to confirm the solidarity of their feelings for one another, Firestorm has changeling DNA and I fear he may be manipulating her for some currently unknown reason.

All that aside, I will soon be sending you a battalion of royal guards. It may or may not come as a surprise to you, but Pinkie Pie believes she knows the location of a mirror pool, which essentially clones the pony who enters it... I would have preferred not to take such drastic measures, but I cannot allow Equestria to fall because of my restraint to engage in combat. I also cannot allow such high casualties from either side. The guards I send you will be battle ready but only as a precautionary measure. Cody told me what he believed he knew about the griffon's attack strategy but strategies change...

Discord will be on the frontline with me to make the battle a little more interesting and certainly less violent. Should that fail...
Firestorm will be there to level the battlegrounds. He was created by Nightmare Moon and has recently had his full power restored. Since then, I have noticed significantly higher levels of aggression. I realize this is happening very fast, and I apologize, but at the same time, we should be grateful, we aren't always so lucky to have so much time to prepare...

There is much more we must discuss later, but everything which has been said stands as the most important. I'm sorry to end this letter so abruptly, but time is not a luxury we can afford right now...

Princess Celestia

Celestia and Luna rode on their respected royal chariots while Twilight and her friends were passengers aboard Firestorm's back. Because of his size, Scootaloo was able to ride on his head. Firestorm followed behind and between the royal chariots, his wings making seemingly effortless strokes through the air to maintain his momentum and lift. The journey was, for the most part, quiet, save for when Pinkie called out directions when her Pinkie sense told them to change course.

Rainbow Dash was growing anxious, aside from the fact she was not used to being a passenger while flying, she wanted to talk to Firestorm privately since his full power was restored, but had never gotten the chance, not until now. Beating her wings, she matched Firestorm's speed as she lifted off of his back. She accelerated and then flew alongside Firestorm's face, his head roughly half her body length made things only mildly awkward. When their eye(s), singular in Firestorm's position, he established a telepathic link to Rainbow Dash, "Tired of being a backseat flier?" he thought.

"Sorta," Rainbow Dash thought back, "But... I was kinda hopin' we could... um..."

"Talk?" Firestorm thought.

"Heh, yeah talk," Rainbow thought.

"Not exactly the same thing when the talking is done without words..." Firestorm thought playfully, he got a genuine laugh from Rainbow Dash. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Well I just... I... we're cool right?" Rainbow thought nervously.

"Cool, by which you mean am I still going to take you out on a date even though I'm essentially the culmination of every evil specie fused together with dark magic?" Firestorm thought. "Yeah, we're cool. You thought about a place you wanna go yet for our first date?"

"Wait, seriously? You still wanna take me out on a date!?"

"I made you a promise..."

Rainbow blushed, "Um, well no, not really, I mean, not like anything fancy or... GAH! I don't know, I've never been on a date with somepony... I mean, I've gone on dates with my dad, but that wasn't like a date date, I mean a romantic date, it was just us-" Rainbow stopped her thoughts when she realized how nervous it made her sound, she looked at Firestorm who was looking straight ahead with a smirk on his face.

" Rainbow, I get it," Firestorm thought, "I completely understand how a first real date with anypony can be scary, especially with me..."

"hmph, don't act like you're all that," Rainbow thought.

"Oh I know I'm all that..." Firestorm thought, "Money, power, freakishly good looks..."

"Ya got the freak part down..." Rainbow thought.

"HA! See? The reality is it's just us together right now. It'll be just like that on our date accept your friends won't be riding on my back..."

"Heh, okay, I get it... Maybe we could just go somewhere nice and quiet, have a romantic dinner... Not too romantic though! Somepony might recognize me..."

"Okay, romantic, but not sappy. Maybe a nice trot around a pond afterwards, does that sound good?"

"Yeah, that soun-"

"Guys, we're here! The mirror pool is right down there!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed!

Firestorm looked to where Pinkie was pointing and banked to his right before accelerating into a steep dive. The princesses chariots adjusted course and followed, but had no hope of keeping pace with Firestorm. Rainbow Dash began her deceleration before Firestorm, knowing he would need a lot more clearance to slow down and land. Sure enough, the moment Rainbow adjusted her pitch, Firestorm did the same, his momentum slowed by the broad surface of his underside and fully extended wings. Rainbow had to compensate for huge amounts of turbulence generated by Firestorm's powerful wingbeats. Finally he touched down, allowing everypony riding on him to safely dismount before he shifted down into his pony form. Celestia, Luna, and the three guards chosen to enter the mirror pool arrived shortly thereafter and followed Pinkie to a small cave which concealed the mirror pool.

"Okay everypony," Pinkie said estatically, "this is it! Who gets to go first!?"

Author's Note:

HO LEE CRAP! Nothing new for over a year and a half! Wow, I am truly sorry about that... Please thank goldenshadowfire for kicking my lazy butt back into gear. Ugh, so, with it being so long and so many new episodes having been released, that "Alternate Universe" tag is really gonna start to shine...

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

If Firestorm was voiced, what would he sound like?

[Havoc in the Midst]

Well then. You better update and add another chapter before I am forced to become a violent poptart and force you to.
*Loads potato gun* Do. It.

[LessThanHuman]

Due to the horrific events which took place early in Orlando, FL this morning, which is half an hour south of where I live, Chapter 26 - Calm Before The Storm - Part 1 will be published next weekend for obvious reasons. Thank you for your patients...

[grim dash]

Dame it Celestia you need to lorn if you want peace then you must be willing to fight for it because peace doesn’t come with sacrifice so no matter how you don’t want it to end in bloodshed it will and that’s the price for peace so either way peace doesn’t come with a cost

[Evastarfall]

is it dead?
i want more