“I did it! I did the Sonic Rainboom!” I flew around and around the house, happier than I’d ever been in my entire life! This was easily the Best Day Ever!
My dad smiled, and I zoomed over to hug him. He had come straight from work to pick me up from camp. I told him everything and showed him my cutie mark! He was so happy and impressed—especially by all the ponies with cameras and stuff—that he took me home to celebrate.
I was just so happy I—I thought I might explode! Maybe even twice! “Yes you did, Rainbow.” He held me so tight I almost squeaked. But I didn’t cuz that wouldn’t be cool. And I’m way past cool. “I’m so proud of you!”
“You should’ve been there!” I grinned. “I saved Fluttershy from some jerks and then I won the race and blew those jerks out of the sky and I got my cutie mark while doing the Sonic Rainboom! It was so awesome!”
“That’s my Dashie.” Dad nuzzled me. “That’s my baby girl…”
“’M not a baby!” I protested. “I have my cutie mark and everything!” Sometimes Dad could be so slow.
“Of course, you’re not,” Dad said. I nodded, happy that he got it … but why was he smiling as he said it? Maybe he thought of something funny.
Then I got back to what was important. “Yeah! I’m a big pony now! I’m getting my pictures in the newspaper and everything!” I hopped down and opened the curtains . A whole lot of bright flashes started up from ponies with cameras, all taking pictures of me!
Then Dad closed the curtains and picked me up again. “Of course,” he said again. “So, how else would you like to spend your big day?”
I thought really super hard, for like, ten whole seconds. “I want a party! With cake and ice cream and cookies! And we can invite Fluttershy and Cloud Solaris and Derpy—um, I mean Ditzy Doo—from camp to come and I can show them all my cool tricks and then I can fly back to camp to show those dumb colts one more time!”
Dad did that thing where his eyes rolled around. Kind of like Derpy, but not quite. “Let’s get started on the treats. We’ll invite your friends over when things … calm down a little.” He looked outside and made a face.
I nudged him. “If all the cameras are hurting your eyes, I can go outside and make them stop.” Being in the newspapers was cool, but nopony hurts my Daddy. “Or I could get you some sunglasses! Then they could take all the pictures they wanted of me and you and your eyes wouldn’t get all flashy and crossy like Derpy’s!”
He chuckled. “It’s fine, Dashie. Now let’s dig into some snacks and celebrate!”
“YEAH!”
Me and Dad started having an awesome party. We pigged out on cookies and cake and ice cream. We hadn’t had this many snacks since that party he threw to cheer me up after Cloudsdale didn’t get to host the Equestria Games. But this was much cooler, because we were celebrating something awesome! Could this day get any better?
That was when somepony knocked at the door.
Dad was in what he called a food coma, whatever that is, so I went to the door. “I’m coming!” I flew up and opened the door and outside was—“WHOA!”
There were three ponies, all mares wearing blue and gold flightsuits. The one in front was bigger than the other two and maybe a bit older than the other two. I didn’t really care about that because... “Ohmygosh, Ohmygosh, Ohmygosh! You’re the Wonderbolts!”
“Looks that way,” the one in front nodded with a smile. “And you must be the little pony who’s been kicking up such a storm.”
“Yeah! I’m Rainbow Dash!” I flew up so I could show them how good I was. “Wanna race?”
Dad shook himself awake and walked over. “Dashie…” He did that thing where he groaned but was smiling anyway. Dunno what was up with that. The two younger Wonderbolts also found something funny about me wanting to race them.
The big Wonderbolt looked at them. “You have something you want to say, rookies?” They stopped laughing and stood straight up. “No, Fleetfoot? How about you, Spitfire? Nothing?”
“No, Commander Jetstream!” Fleetfoot and Spitfire said together.
Jetstream snorted. “Thought so.” She looked back to me. “Maybe someday soon, kid … we’re here to talk to you about something important. How’d you like to be a Wonderbo—”
“YES!” I zoomed around her. “Yesyesyesyeyes! I wanna be a Wonderbolt! I’m gonna fly super fast and win every race and do bajillion tricks and—” a wing opened up and caught me as I was flying “—oof!”
Jetstream put me down on the floor. “Okay, geez, I admire your energy, but becoming a Wonderbolt isn’t easy. You’ll have to work hard, fly steady and do everything we tell you. Understand?”
I nodded. Yeah yeah, blah blah blah, who cares? “I’m gonna be a Wonderbolt!” I looked over at Dad. He was staring at the Wonderbolts and me, smiling and … crying? “Daddy?” I flew back over and hugged him. “Why’re you crying? S’good stuff! I’m gonna be a Wonderbolt!”
“I know … I always knew you would be.” Dad hugged me close. “Just…don’t grow up too fast okay? Have fun while you’re still a kid.”
What was he talking about? Of course I was gonna have fun. As a Wonderbolt!
Jetstream talked to my dad a bit about how they’d start training me after school. Blech, I wished I could skip school and just train instead, but they said I had t’get a ‘good education.’ (Whatever that meant.) She said the days would be really long—but that wasn’t a problem since I could just take extra naps at school!
She talked a bit more to Dad about boring legal stuff, so I went over to Fleetfoot and Spitfire.
“Hey kid.” Fleetfoot looked down. “So you’re gonna be the next big thing, huh?”
“I am a big thing!” I announced. “My Dad says I’m the biggest thing to ever happened to him and I did a super big thing by doing the Sonic Rainboom, so I must be, like, the biggest thing ever.”
“Pretty sure that’d be her ego.” Spitfire whispered to Fleetfoot, but I still heard her.
Fleetfoot just nudged her. “Come on, she’s just a kid who did something amazing. I think she’s allowed to be proud.” Then she looked down at me and smiled. “Jetstream said that I’m going to be your trainer.”
“Wow! COOL!”
Totally the BEST. DAY. EVER!
Looking back, that might have been the last major decision I ever made.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the ‘Bolts just as much now as I did way back when, but I was a little kid who didn’t quite understand everything that came with the job. And what didn’t come with it—like spare time.
Training started every day after school. It was exhausting. I would barely get home before falling asleep. I don’t think I saw my Dad for more than an hour each day, and my friends from flight camp just sort of got edged out of my life. Once I got done with school, things only got more intense from there. I went to special training camps away from home. I barely ever saw my friends, especially after Cloud Solaris and Ditzy Doo joined the Guard.
That stung. I felt like I was the one leaving them hanging, even though we all had different goals and places to go in life. In fact, that was the other big thing. You know how in school they always say stuff like ‘You can be whatever you want to be?’ Well, after I started training with the Wonderbolts, nopony ever said that to me anymore. When teachers talked to other kids about what they wanted to do, they’d say something like, “Well, Cloud Solaris is going to be a guard pony and Rainbow Dash is going to be a Wonderbolt.” Like it was written in stone or something.
That just bugged me for some reason. Like they took my lifelong dream and just constantly crammed it down my throat like it was a job tattooed on my flank instead of a cutie mark. It sucked a lot of the fun out of it. It was like being forced to read a book for school that you might have liked if you had read it on your own, but being made to do it as an assignment made it a chore. Well, more so than reading in general was.
But, hay—those were minor complaints. If that was the worst thing about being a Wonderbolt in training, then I really didn’t have anything to complain about.
Only it wasn’t.
Don’t get me wrong; despite that, I wouldn’t have traded being a Wonderbolt for anything. Then came my first performance. I wouldn’t headline since I was still a trainee, but Soarin’ sprained a wing and I got selected to fill in for him. You wouldn’t believe how excited I was.
I went with the ‘Bolts on tour. It was one of the better perks of being with the Wonderbolts: all the places we got to visit. Westmarch, Vanhoover, Seaddle, Trottingham, Manehattan ... you name it, I’ve flown there.
The last stop of our tour was a celebratory show in Appleloosa, the one place I’ll never, ever, ever forget thanks to one really overeager pony… Anyway, that stop marked the anniversary of the signing of the treaty between the buffalo tribes and the Empire. After the show, I took a nighttime flight. I saw a young buffalo mare (or whatever it is they call females) doing some pretty cool tricks: running really fast across the plains, doing some twirls and spins as she leapt over gorges and racing through canyons.
I was about to fly down and offer to race her when she stopped in the middle of nowhere, sat down and started to cry.
After feeling really awkward, I came down and asked what was wrong. That’s when she dropped a bombshell on me. Little Strongheart—that was her name—came out running because this would be the last chance she ever got to run over the buffalo’s ancestral stampeding grounds. The Empire was going to build a dam that would completely flood the place. She said that the buffalo protested, but the Empire just waved the treaty in their face, saying it gave them permission to do that. The buffalo would have to be relocated somewhere else, away from their ancestral stomping grounds.
And oh yeah, that treaty? It was signed by Little Strongheart’s grandfather when he was old and senile. Plus, it turns out buffalo don’t read Equestrian. So I just took part in a celebration of the screwing over of an entire race of beings.
Kinda put a damper on things.
I loved the idea of performing as much as the next pony (the next three ponies if you believe that smartflank Soarin’), and I admit, seeing all the ponies looking up at the sky, rapt and awe-struck and seeing me and the other ‘Bolts do things they hadn’t ever even dreamed of … it was pretty amazing.
But now I felt like I had just helped celebrate something bad and that somehow made me partly responsible for what was happening. I was awesome and amazing and that made everypony feel awesome and amazing and that made them think that what was going on was awesome and amazing. And it wasn’t. I didn’t think I wanted to be the awesome, cool front for some celebration of how great the Empire was because it put down a caribou rebellion or had conquered some new province. It made me feel like somehow I was now responsible for what the Empire did, especially since recruiters for the Imperial Guard tended to have booths at a lot of our shows.
This wasn’t the first time I heard complaints about the Empire. Not by a long shot. My family? We trace our lineage through the Cumuli back to the Charger Clan. One of the last Ephors, Bright Charger, was my great, great, great-something grandmother. She was a total badflank according to my family. It was pretty cool being related to her, despite what happened to her later in the war, but it wasn’t that big a deal to me. I’d rather be recognized for my own awesomeness, not the awesomeness of somepony who’d been dead for almost a thousand years. I mean, it sucked that the Clans were dissolved and that my family was just me and my parents. Would’ve been nice to have a nice big family the way Cloud Solaris did, but I managed.
But yeah, pegasi still remembered what Cloudsdale and the pegasi used to be and grumbled about what they had lost. Of the three types of pony, pegasi had always been the least popular in the Empire. They remembered Pegasopolis and the time of the Clans. Back before she’d become the Empress, Sunbeam had apparently done quite a job of making herself thoroughly unlikeable. So much so that even nine-hundred years later, she was still remembered as a nag. I remember there being some whispers that the reason Cloudsdale didn’t get to host the Equestria Games when I was a filly was because the Empress still held a grudge against Cloudsdale, one that was returned in full.
But it was one thing hearing nine-hundred year old complaints from older pegasi and egghead historians who looked back on the Clans—and even, ironically, the Old Queen Celestia. It was another thing to come face to face with somepo—someone—who was losing their home, their culture and their history all in one go.
I had a gryphon friend when I was younger. Gilda and I used to get into all sorts of trouble because we just wanted to have some fun. There were a million-billion rules about everything. You’re not allowed to race through the streets. Not allowed to play with clouds to scare folks or make loud noises—so boooring! But we didn’t care. We didn’t talk about history or politics or anything eggheaded, but just the stuff she’d mention casually about how gryphons lived… it reminded me that not everything was hunky-dory in the Empire, especially if you weren’t a pony. And hay, gryphons were citizens. They had rights, even though most of the laws were written by ponies and so were most of the bigwigs. The buffalo didn’t even have that.
It was a real eye opener for me. I won’t say that it made me want to quit or not perform for crowds anymore. But now whenever a show was announced, I had this feeling of dread that we’d be celebrating something else that was … wrong. Remember when I said that being ‘encouraged’ to be a Wonderbolt and turning it into a chore sucked a lot of the fun out of it? Well, having your chore turn out to be making ponies happy about something bad was even worse. It was like taking something magical and wonderful and turning it into its opposite. That’s what the Empire did, not just to the Wonderbolts, but to all of Equestria.
And for better or worse, I was a part of that Empire. All I wanted to do was fly and be awesome. Why was that so complicated?
My back and wings ached. I needed a massage and a preening something bad. Spitfire had always been one for tough training sessions—I guess the idea was that it made the actual shows easier, but there were days that mare could just about make a pony’s wings fall off.
But in the meantime, a hot shower was the next best thing to paradise after a show. I may have let myself doze off a bit in there, because when I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off, I saw that everypony else was gone.
Well, almost everypony. When I headed over to the lockers I found Fleetfoot, my training supervisor, rooting around in her locker. She was awesome—the only Wonderbolt who even had a chance of keeping up with me when I went all out. We went way back.
So way back that I felt a little payback for all the extra laps she had me do today was in order. I snuck up behind her, licked one of my pinions and ran it up along her spine. Fleet’s fur and wings stood on end as she let out a startled shriek. “Gyah! RAINBOW!”
Perfect. I grinned. That’s when I noticed her fumbling with a cardboard box as she spun to face me. She must’ve been getting it from her locker when I unleashed my awesome prank. “Hey, Fleet. What’s up?”
“Oh the usual!” Fleet answered a touch quickly. And loudly. She shoved the box behind her back. “Training hard?”
“Of course!” I tilted my head, trying to get a better look. “Whatcha got there?”
Fleet shifted around, trying to keep the box away from me. “S'nothing important.”
Why did anypony ever say that? That just confirmed that whatever was in the box was important. “Yeah? So why not let me take a look?” I grinned. “Checking out the newest issue of PlayMare? Seeing if you made the newest photospread in the swimsuit edition?” I could ride her about this for weeks! “Come on, Fleet … you can tell me!” Then something else popped into my head. “Is it the new listings?! Am I in?!”
“It’s nothing, Rainbow!” Fleet insisted, taking a step back. The box she was trying to hide knocked against the open locker door and slipped out of her hooves.
With my awesome reflexes and timing, I swooped in and grabbed the mystery box of mystery before it hit the ground. “And Rainbow Dash makes the save!” I grinned at Fleetfoot, awaiting her thanks.
“Can I have that back, please?” Fleet asked testily. Some ponies have no appreciation for awesomeness.
I shook the box, feeling like a filly on Hearth’s Warming morning. “What’s in here? New uniforms? Exercise gear?” I shook it again, listening carefully. Something rattled around in there. Maybe something glass? “Are we doing a gift exchange again? Is it for me?!”
“It's nothing, Rainbow. Just give it back.” I looked over and ... whoa, Fleet was looking really tense. Her wings were twitching, and she was looking this way and that. Suddenly, I felt like a heel.
“Okay, okay,” I reached out to give it back to Fleetfoot. She sighed with relief as her hooves grasped the sides of the box—just as the bottom of the box gave way. “Whoa!”
My hooves whipped out and grabbed the pair of items that fell out. I was about to comment on just how fast even my hooves were when I noticed just what I had saved: a hypodermic needle and a glass bottle labeled ‘tetrahydrogestrinone.’ No athlete wouldn’t recognize that name. It was the main ingredient used to make Rampage, a drug. The illegal kind. The illegal, performance-enhancing, career-ending kind.
No … oh feathers, no—I looked at Fleetfoot. “Fleet…” My mouth opened and closed but the words couldn’t come.
“Dammit.” Fleetfoot rubbed her face, giving this world-weary sigh. She’d never sounded so tired.
I cleared my throat. “Fleet...” I hope she missed the waver in my voice. “Tell me you confiscated this from some dumb sleethead at the gym or something. Tell me this isn’t yours.”
“Yeah, sure, let's go with that.” Fleetfoot shifted from hoof to hoof.
“Is it the truth?” I asked hesitantly.
“Yeah.” Woah, way to convince me, Fleet. She pressed me. “Look, let's just keep this between you and me, alright?”
I couldn’t be hearing this. “Fleet ... why? You—you're my trainer! You made me work until my feathers were sore … you told me that Wonderbolts worked hard and had to train to be the best, and that there were no easy ways out.” I was practically shouting now and didn’t care. “Why are you taking these?!”
She sagged, her wings drooping. “Wonderbolts have to be the best, Rainbow. Training's great, but it only gets you so far. You start getting older and slower, and all those little training injuries start adding up. A few years ago I was winning races by an easy margin. Then a comfortable margin. Now it’s practically by a hair. You know how much of a hardflank Spitfire is—if I can’t make the cut, then I’m off the team.” She trembled and slumped against the locker. “I’m like you, Rainbow. Trained to be a Wonderbolt since I was old enough to fly. If I can’t be a Wonderbolt ... I got nothing. They’re my life!” Her eyes glistened. “I—I can’t not be a ‘Bolt!”
“So your answer is to take drugs?!” I whispered in disgust. “That's so … so … wrong! It's dishonest and lame and … wrong! Spitfire’s a year older than you, and she’s still the best flier on the team!
“I had to keep up somehow,” Fleet sighed. “Look, just keep this quiet, okay? You're right, I need to stop taking the stuff—and I will. Just don't tell anypony.”
“I wanna believe you, Fleet, I really do. But ... I think you need to come clean and get help.”
That made her eyes widen in fear. “Um ... look, tell you what. Keep this quiet and I'll make sure you make the team. That's fair, right?”
I idly felt my jaw drop. This was just one shock after the next. She couldn’t seriously be trying to do this.
I guess she took my silence as a sign to keep going. “Hay, you're practically a shoe-in already. Just do me this one favor here and I'll pay you back.”
Fleetfoot just offered me my lifelong dream, gift-wrapped and tied with a bow, in exchange for keeping her dirty little secret. I never thought I could hate somepony this much, but in that instant? Yeah, I hated her for that. Hated that she thought she could bribe me after all we’ve been through. Hated that she would dangle my dreams in front of me like a dog treat, hated that she could take something as awesome and amazing as being a Wonderbolt and turn it into a backroom deal.
But…
It was still so tempting. To wear the full uniform, to be a full-fledged Wonderbolt. I’d be able to march home to my dad and show him that yes, all the time apart and sacrifice had paid off. And he’d be able to see me perform at every show, not just every couple of shows. I could go find my old friends and show them my uniform with pride—and all it’d cost was a single, solitary lie. Not even a lie, all I had to do was not tell anypony the truth—to not open my big mouth.
I thought about Fleetfoot and what she had said. About getting older, getting slower. I felt a chill run down my spine that made my feathers twitch. Is this going to be me twenty years from now? Doping and threatening 'cause I can't imagine life outside the Wonderbolts?
That really made me wonder just how much of a good thing it was for the Wonderbolts to recruit me right after I did the Sonic Rainboom. I’d just been a filly. I had my whole life laid out for me. I could’ve been anything I wanted to be. But once I got nudged onto the path of being a Wonderbolt, nopony even suggested that I could be anything else. How many other ponies had been ‘encouraged’ to do this or that? How many of them had a real choice in the matter? How many wished they could’ve gone back and been something else? Did they just convince themselves that it would’ve been impossible to be anything other than what they were?
Well, I had a choice, right here and now. And so did Fleetfoot. And nopony, not even the Empress, was going to make it for me. Yeah, I’ll get old. But I'm gonna stay on top of my game as long as I can and more importantly, I'll play it straight. Because that's what I do. That’s who I am.
I’m Rainbow feathering Dash, and that’s the truth.
“No.”
“What?” Fleetfoot looked at me, confused.
“I said no,” I repeated. “When I talk about how awesome the Wonderbolts are and ponies ask me how I got in, what am I supposed to say? ‘No, it wasn't hard work or training or being amazing, it was making a deal in a locker room to lie and help cover up somepony's drug problem.’” I stared at her. “I couldn’t face my dad, my friends, or any of the other ‘Bolts if that’s how I earned my spot. Being a Wonderbolt means everything to me. I don't want to cheapen that by getting in like this.”
I saw Fleetfoot’s face fall, looking desperate and panicked. I hated seeing her like this. I could see that everything was falling apart for her. “I—I’m your trainer! You owe me!” She pleaded. “Please Rainbow—I—I can’t!”
“Fleetfoot, you owe it to yourself to not be the mare you’re turning into.” I reached out a hoof. “I want to help you and I will. But not like this.”
Swallowing nervously, Fleet backed up against her locker. She shut her eyes for a minute, and when she opened them again they shone with a hard glint. “If being a Wonderbolt means that much to you, you better keep your mouth shut. If you report me, you'll never make the team.”
“You'd really do that?” You’d think the threat of seeing all my dreams crushed would make me angrier than I was before. But for some reason, all I felt was … sad?
Fleetfoot’s ruffled her wings, her eyes downcast. “I'd rather not, but if you force me to...”
After realizing just how ponies were molded into their jobs, I could understand why Fleet thought something like that would scare the feathers off of me: it certainly had scared her.
But she isn’t me, and I’m not her. I’m Rainbow Dash.
“Is it worth it?” I challenged her. “To lie and cheat and do drugs, just to stay a 'Bolt? You’re Fleetfoot. You're awesome! You were one of my heroes growing up.” She winced. Good to know that her conscience was still there. “And you’re still my hero, my teammate, my trainer—and most importantly, my friend.” I reached out and put my hoof on her shoulder. “When you're old and can't fly anymore, what're you gonna tell the next generation of future Wonderbolts? That hard work and honesty isn't enough, and they're not gonna get anywhere without cheating and blackmail?”
Fleet slumped down until she was sitting on the floor, hugging herself. I’d never seen her like this. She’d always been strong, independent. The kind of mare I wanted to be ever since I met her. I sat down next to her and wrapped my wing across her back. “I can't do it, Fleet. I just … I can't. If you wanna get me bounced from the 'Bolts, go ahead. I can't stop you. Spitfire and the others will probably even believe you over me. But what happens when you get caught again? Sooner or later they’re going to have a random drug test, and your name is gonna come up. Or if those drugs do something to hurt you? What's that gonna do to the 'Bolts? Hay, what’s it gonna do to you?”
“I…” Fleet tried to say something more, but she just went quiet.
When she didn’t say anything else, I decided to keep going. I really wasn’t good at this heart-to-heart stuff. Cloud and Ditzy always told me I was too blunt. And Dad. And Fluttershy, in her own way. And Spitfire and Soarin’ and my third-grade teacher, and my guidance counselor and … hay, just about everypony. Maybe they’re right. I just call it like I see it. So that’s what I decided to do here.
“You can't keep this a secret forever. There's always some snoopy reporter or stalker fan, or clumsy teammate—” I gave her a small grin “—who'll stumble over it. That's assuming some doc doesn't find out during a physical or whatever.” I bit my lip as I let that sink in. “If this comes out, the 'Bolts will be disgraced. Everything we’ve done, everything we will do, will be questioned and doubted. And in the end, you’ll still get bounced.”
Fleet hugged her hindlegs to her chest. “I just needed a little edge, you know? I was slowing down, making mistakes. Not to the point of messing up any routines, but it was getting close. You know what a hardflank Spitfire can be: one public screw-up and…” She made a cutting gesture across her neck with her wing.
“Then I can work with you, help you stay on top!” I urged. “If Spitfire is going too far then I'll tell her to back off myself. I promise, if you come clean with Spitfire, I will go down there with you and be with you every step of the way. I’ll fight to keep you flying in the blue.”
“I'd probably have to go to rehab or something,” Fleetfoot sighed. “I dunno if they’ll ever even let me headlight again…”
“It beats a hospital. Or the unemployment line.” I sighed. “M’sorry, Fleet. I can't lie about this or cover it up. I'm going to have to tell Spitfire about this. I want you to come with, ‘cause it'd be better if she hears it from you.” I leaned in close, even though there was nopony else there. “And it'd help me see you as the totally awesome pony that I know you still are.”
“...Okay.” Fleetfoot nodded. “Yeah, alright.”
I mentally cheered, until I realized that this was just the beginning for Fleetfoot. “All right … let's go talk to Spits.”
I was, of course, drenched with sweat and had the world’s worst wedgie when I got it: an imperial summons.
Joy and rapture.
It had been about two months after Fleetfoot and I had talked to Spitfire. She’d spit her bit when Fleet confessed—no surprise there—but I talked Spitfire down. She just wanted to toss Fleetfoot on her tail and have that be the end of it. No revelations, no public scrutiny, no explanation.
Nothing doing. I told Spitfire that if Fleetfoot was out, then I was out too. We argu—okay, we yelled at each other for a bit. She said that what Fleet did was damaging to the ‘Bolts and it’d hurt their reputation, which is what I had said to Fleetfoot. I argued that getting Fleetfoot help was more important than a reputation. Plus, not throwing her out would encourage anypony else who might have been taking drugs to come forward without fear of losing their position.
I think what sold Spitfire was Fleetfoot’s promise to help the guard bust up the drug ring and turn in her dealer and whatever. Fleet was suspended for two months. All the trainees got turns filling in for her while she was out and today was my turn. Actually, it hadn’t originally been my turn, but for some reason Spitfire swapped out Lightning Dust and put me in instead. Lightning had been spitting thunderbolts. She really wanted to show her stuff since the Empress was going to be attending.
It was a big celebration and send-off for Mi Amore Cadenza, Aedile of Canterlot and newly appointed Imperial Governor of Northmarch. I guess either Cadance had messed up or had gotten too popular, because she was getting dumped in the frozen north to keep the caribou in line after their last rebellion. Frankly, this wasn’t something I really wanted to celebrate. I was half-tempted to back out and let Lightning Dust show off for the grand poobahs, but that wasn’t my style.
I didn’t even have time to shower or even get out of my uniform before I was directed up to the Imperial Box Seat.
Being in a hot, tight flightsuit didn’t help. Plus, I stank. Really bad. You work hard, you sweat hard, y’know? So the first thing you wanted to do after a show was to strip down and shower off. Word to the wise? Wonderbolt outfits are amazing, but they cling. But remembering that show in Appleloosa and the look on Little Strongheart’s face, I guess there were worse things than having your uniform riding up your butt.
The guards checked my summons then let me in. I swear, statues have more expression than those guys. I hoped my old friend Cloud still had some semblance of a personality left. Inside and behind them was Empress Sunbeam. “You wanted to see me?” I was tired, smelly and not really thinking clearly. I finally remembered to add a few extra words. “Uh, your Empressness?”
Empress Sunbeam smiled gently. Somehow that just made her even creepier. “Yes I did, my child.” My wings twitched. I wasn’t a child, and I certainly wasn’t her child. “My apologies for not giving you the chance to rest after your performance, but the demands on my time are considerable, and I needed to meet with you. Might I offer you a drink? Perhaps some Zebrican Spiced Apple Cider?” She smirked enigmatically as a bottle hovered in the grip of her magic.
I know I should be disturbed that she knows that I like apple cider—thanks to that same excitable Appleloosan pony—but I was too hot and parched too care right then. “Thank you!” She poured a glass for both of us. Mine was half empty before she took her first sip. It was good cider. Say what you want about her, but the Empress had good taste. She was still wearing that mysterious smirk. It was, well, pretty creepy. I cleared my throat, “So did you enjoy the show?”
“It was an impressive exhibition of skill.” What did I say about her having good taste? “Though I still look forward to the day when you become a full member.”
“You and me both.” That came out without even thinking about it. I should really stop doing that. “But why did you summon me?”
“Ah, straight to business then.” She nodded. “Very well. The Empire has need of you. Will you answer the call?”
I blinked. “Is that all you’re going to tell me?”
“Well, I suppose you should get the details,” the Empress mused, sounding nonplussed that I didn’t immediately say yes. “Not all of it is something I can discuss openly, mind you. This is a rather sensitive and developing situation. Suffice to say there is a growing threat to the Empire, and I have need of ponies with a very specific set of skills and assets to combat it.”
“And you want me to join?” I knew I was awesome but—why come to me in secret and not tell all of the ‘Bolts? “Okay, that makes sense. I can do that, but who else is involved? The Imperial Guards? The Wonderbolts?”
To my surprise, she shook her head. “This isn't the kind of threat that they are equipped to deal with. You'll be working with several other exceptional individuals, though for security purposes I cannot reveal their identities as of yet.”
As awesome as super-secret missions sounded, I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t be involved with anything like the buffalo situation or putting down a rebellion by some species that wanted to be free. “What will I have to do?”
“You will be facing one of the largest threats to the lives and safety of the Empire in centuries.” Her smirk vanished, replaced by a grim, heavy-lidded look. “I won't lie to you, the risks will be considerable.”
Wow, vague much? “What happens if whatever it is gets loose?”
“The worst case scenario?” Sunbeam shrugged. “Everypony dies.”
Oookay then. “I’m in.”
“Very good then.” The Empress smiled. Why was this a good thing? You should not be allowed to smile less than a minute after saying ‘everypony dies.’ She magicked a contract and quill out of … somewhere … and floated it in front of me.
“Do I need a lawyer or something?” I was suddenly afraid that I might accidentally sign over my life, my soul or even my non-existent marriage in the fine print.
She shook her head. “No, it's very simple. In summary, you will aid the Empire in this matter and not divulge any of the secrets you learn. In exchange ... well, let's just say you won't have to work for a living if you don't want to.”
Seriously? I looked down at my uniform. “Will I not be a Wonderbolt anymore?”
“You will still be a Wonderbolt and be able continue your training and performances,” she assured me. “However, when I have need of you, that takes priority over everything else. If necessary, I shall provide some explanation to your superiors. It goes without saying that you are not to mention that you will be engaged in a secret operation.”
Okay, this all sounded pretty heavy. But then again, she was still being as clear as a storm cloud over what I would actually have to do. “Will I have to show up at fancy parades or hobnob with a bunch of elite snobs?” She looked at me expectantly, and I added, “Your Highness?”
“Your Imperial Majesty,” she corrected firmly, like a particularly overbearing school teacher. It was the tone of her voice that set my wings bristling. “And no, this isn't exactly a high-publicity role. That would rather defeat the point of a secrecy contract.”
I rubbed my face. After meeting Little Strongheart and finding out about the buffalo, all the fun had gotten sucked out of the Imperial celebrations the Wonderbolts performed. Give me a good old race or a simple stadium full of fans over box seats full of military brass and Imperial bureaucrats any day. That must’ve been weighing on my mind a bit more than I had thought. As much as I loved being a Wonderbolt—and the idea of being some secret hero wasn’t exactly horrible either—I didn’t want to be putting my personal, public stamp of approval on the Empire.
“Fine. If it helps the ponies—and zebras and gryphons and caribou—of Equestria, I'll do it.”
“So you are prejudiced against buffalo and donkeys, then? Unfortunate.” I could swear she was practically smirking at me.
“No, I’m not!” I blurted out. Okay, that got me riled up. I mean, who was she to talk? She was the one who went out conquering every other species around. It wasn’t until I saw the frown on her face that I realized I’d said that last bit out loud. I clasped my hoof over my mouth. Too late though, it was always too late...
Her frown somehow made her look even more cold. “Ah. You disapprove of the Empire's expansion, then?”
I grumbled something under my breath that wasn’t really meant to be an answer. “You mean taking over everyone else…”
“The Empire has been good for them,” the Empress answered. “They enjoy a level of peace, prosperity and stability that they never had under their own rulers. The Empire's resources have also allowed us to engage and remove threats that Equestria never could have ended.”
“Whether they want it or not, huh?” I grumbled. But hay, if it’s for their ‘own good’ … my ear twitched as I thought about that last bit. “Doesn’t seem like all the resources of the Empire are enough to help you stop whatever's so bad that you need me for, is it?”
I guess I was starting to get on her nerves, because Empress Sunbeam’s wings twitched. “Different threats require different responses,” she replied coolly. “You are my best option, but far from my only one. If you would prefer to let all of Equestria burn because of some petty grudge about events that happened centuries before your birth, then you lack the needed qualities to perform the task I require.”
Ah, and there it was. Bringing up the War. Because that had to be the reason why a pegasus didn’t think the Empire was the greatest thing since competitive racing. Because pegasi had a beef with her 900 years ago, clearly that must be why I didn’t like stepping all over ponies and other races. Seriously, what an ego.
I guess I was finally learning to not automatically blurt out everything I thought, because I didn’t say that. Instead I shot back, “I never said that! I would never let anything bad happen to everypony and everyone!”
“I know.” She surprised me by putting her hoof on my shoulder. “I don't ask you to like the Empire. I do not even ask you to like me, personally. But the Empire, the world, needs your help.”
Like I would just walk away after hearing all this. “I won't do it for you or the Empire. But I'll do it for Equestria and everypony—and every creature—that lives in it.”
“So long as it is done,” Sunbeam dipped her head. “Thank you, my child.”
“I’m still not your child,” I grumbled as I signed the contract. I guess not saying everything I thought was going to be a work in progress.
“Definitely Bright Charger’s descendent,” Sunbeam murmured, so low that I’m not sure if I was meant to hear that or not. The Empress turned away and looked out over the stadium as it emptied out. “You are all my children. The ponies. The gryphons, the zebras, the caribou and every other race in the Empire. They are all my children.”
With a mother like her, I’d prefer being an orphan. “Most parents don't try to run their kids' lives forever.”
“But they do guide their children along the proper path,” she countered.
“But kids eventually get to grow up and make their own decisions. You’ll always be around and you’ll always be older.” I looked up at her. “We’ll always seem like kids to you. You won’t ever let us get the chance to grow up and make our own choices.” I frowned, my ear flicking as I thought of something else that always rubbed me the wrong way. “Parents send kids to their room. Not to the Ministry of Heart.”
“Most parents don't have to deal with anarchists or cultists of mad gods,” Sunbeam noted casually.
I grunted. “Wouldn’t know it by hearing my parents talk.”
She paused, raising an eyebrow at me before grinning. “You were quite the rambunctious youth.”
I couldn’t exactly deny that. “Yeah, I—how'd you know?”
“An Empress has her sources.” Ugh, again with the being all cryptic and mysterious. She stood in thought for a minute before resuming. “Your honesty does you credit, Rainbow Dash. It is something I find rather lacking in far too many ponies.”
I didn’t quite know what to say to that. “Uh, thanks?”
She half-turned away. “You will be contacted by my agents when the time comes. For now, continue to live as you had before.” I caught a faint-grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. “I look forward to seeing your first performance as a full Wonderbolt.”
As much as I didn’t like her, it was hard for me to resist a challenge. "Everypony—er, everyone—that's coming is coming for a show. I'll sure as hay give 'em one to remember!" I gave her a challenging smirk. “It'll knock even your socks off!”
And that’s the truth.
After leaving the Imperial Box, I made my way down the corridor to the locker room. Finally I'd get a chance to shower and change. So naturally, it was then a large pony seemed to step out of the shadows and directly into my path.
“Rainbow Dash, can you spare a minute?” Stepping into the light was a pink mare with cream, pink and purple colored hair.
“Gyah!" I totally wasn't scared, just ... surprised, is all. "Who are—" That's when I spotted the horn and wings. Seeing as I just got done speaking with Empress Sunbeam, that left only one other pony this could be. "Aedile Cadenza?"
Cadenza nodded with a wry smile. “Indeed. It's a pleasure to finally meet you properly. Spitfire said quite a bit about you at the last Grand Galloping Gala.”
Okay, Spitfire was talking to the Aedile of the city about me? This was too awesome! "What did she say?" I leaned forward eagerly. Then I started thinking about just what she might have told her. "Because if this is about that incident with the Guards, I swear I had nothing to do with putting itching powder in their helmets!" I cast a glance from side to side and scrunched my muzzle, trying to look my most innocent.
It never seemed to work. Cadenza raised her eyebrow at me skeptically. “Is that so? And so soon after the Empress praised your honesty…”
I felt my face grow hot. Gyah! Why was I such a lousy liar? "Look, it was on a bet and—wait a second, how do you know what I was talking to the Empress about?" I demanded.
“I have my sources.” She shrugged as if she was merely commenting on the weather.
Okay, what? "Huh? What're you—what's going on?"
“There's something I would like to talk to you about, Rainbow Dash. A secret society called the Circle. Have you heard of it?
Great. More politics and more secrets. And she didn't even give me any cider first. I rubbed my muzzle. "Look, it's been a long day, and I haven't even had the chance to change out of my uniform. Can we talk about this in the locker room? It should be cleared out by now." I cast a look around. "Or do you want to talk about your secret society in the corridors as the cleaning crew is about to come out?"
“Oh, they're going to be a bit delayed,” Cadenza assured me. “But the locker room is fine.”
Finally! "Thanks." I trotted down to the locker room. Sure enough, it was empty. "You mind if I take a shower while we talk?" Personally, I didn't really care if she did mind at this point. My uniform felt like it was starting to merge with my coat, and I smelled like dirty gym socks.
“That's fine.” A faint smile graced her face. “And I'm engaged, so you don't need to worry about your honor.”
I blushed and tried to shrug it off by rolling my eyes. Alicorns. I shucked off my uniform and trotted into the shower stall. The cold water felt positively amazing on my coat. I could've just stood under the showerhead for the rest of the day and was pretty darn tempted to do just that. But I doubted she'd leave without talking about—whatever it was—so that was out. "Okay, so what did you want to talk about again? The Circle?" I shook out my mane, washing away the sweat. "That's not that role playing game that Soarin's into, is it?"
The alicorn sighed, sounding weary. “No. It's a secret society founded by Old Queen Celestia to serve as a check against Sunbeam.”
I poked my head out of the shower and wriggled a hoof in my ear to make sure I didn't have any water in it. "Say again?"
“We keep Sunbeam honest.”
"Wow, that must be a full-time job." Dammit, when was I going to learn to keep my mouth shut? This could all be some plot by Sunbeam to make sure I was loyal or whatever. There could be Ministry of Heart agents waiting outside to drag me away!
But nopony burst down the locker room doors—good thing too, I wasn’t done showering—and Cadenza merely shrugged. “It's more like a hobby, really.”
Well, since I had already went and stepped my hoof in it, I figured I might as well keep going. "Okay, so what exactly does your Circle do? Doesn't seem like it's done all that much for the buffalo or the caribou." I couldn’t keep a bit of scorn out of my voice with the last bit.
“Our resources are rather limited, especially when it comes to the short term,” she admitted with a sigh. “I will be working on the caribou situation, of course. Hopefully we can get them to finally accept citizenship. That's how we helped the gryphons and zebras.”
“Even if they don’t want it.” I came off more snarky than I intended and shook my head, letting the cold water cool me off. "What do you want with me anyhow?"
“That's simple. We don't have somepony inside Sunbeam's special group yet. We'd like you to be our inside mare.”
Yeah, because that was totally simple—wait. I popped my head over the top of the stall. "You want me to be a spy?" I always knew I had what it takes to be a totally awesome super-secret spy! Misty Fly owes me ten bits.
“In a manner of speaking,” Cadenza confirmed. “Just as importantly, I want sompony in that group who cares more about doing what’s right than she cares about making Sunbeam happy.”
Weird. The Empress said almost the same thing … "Do you know what this group is for? What it's going to do? Who else is in it? Sunbeam wasn't exactly big on the details."
Her expression turned even more serious. “I do. How much do you know about Nightmare Moon?”
"The old ponies' tale?" I snorted and started to scrub my sides. "The pony who would gobble me up if I didn't give her half my candy on Nightmare Night? S'just a cheap way for parents to steal their kids' candy."
Cadenza nodded. “Yes, but like many legends, there's an element of truth to it.” She closed her eyes and when she spoke again, it was like she was repeating something she had memorized. “On the longest day of the thousandth year after her exile, the stars will aid the escape of Nightmare Moon, and she will unleash eternal night upon Equestria once more.” She paused, stepping closer to the stall so she could look me in the eye. “In a month, it will be nine hundred ninety nine years since Nightmare Moon's exile.”
I dropped the soap in surprise. "I take it she's not returning to give me back my candy then." This was getting surreal. "How do we stop her?"
“Sunbeam has a plan, involving you and five other ponies with certain ... unique qualities. The qualities needed to unlock the Elements of Harmony, which defeated Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago.” The alicorn bit her lip. “Though I fear what she could do with the Elements at her disposal.”
"Wait, so you're saying that me and five other ponies are gonna somehow use some magic weapon to stop an ancient legendary evil?" This. Was. Awesome! It was like something out of a comic book! Then the rest of what Cadenza had said hit me. If we beat Nightmare Moon, then these Elements would just end up under Sunbeam's control. "Oh horseapples."
“You beginning to see the problem?” Cadenza asked dryly.
Great, so either the world gets cast into Eternal Darkness or Empress Conquers-A-Lot gets control of a magic weapon capable of defeating an evil alicorn. I'd be lying if I said Sunbeam wasn't clearly the lesser evil here, but I still didn't want to be responsible for turning something that powerful over to her. "You could say that."
“And thus, you understand why I want somepony to regulate the use of the Elements.” She sighed softly. “Twilight is ... too loyal to Sunbeam. And Sunset is her creature through and through.”
I vaguely knew those names. They were the Empress' students or something. Probably thugs to carry out her dirty work to boot. I let the water just wash over me for a minute. This all sounded a bit convenient. I got recruited by the Empress after having a fight with her, and Cadance just so happens to show up inviting me into some conveniently ancient and unheard-of anti-Sunbeam conspiracy? "Okay. But how do I know I can trust you?" I stepped out of the shower to confront Cadance. "You're an alicorn and one of the most powerful ponies in the Empire. How do I know you aren't just looking to get rid of the competition? Hay, how do I know this isn't some trick by Sunbeam to test me?"
Despite everything, she looked utterly calm and composed. “I suppose you'll just have to trust me,” she replied evenly.
Seriously? "...You aren't gonna give me a little more to work with?" I urged.
Cadenza shut her eyes for a moment. Then she sighed. “Alright. Can you slip away for a few days? There's somepony ... well ... something I'd like you to meet.”
That sounded mysterious, which by this point in the day, was pretty par for the course. “Who?”
“The leader of the Circle.”
I rocked back on my hooves a bit. Despite not knowing everything about what was going on, I could tell when a big deal was going on. And hay, that sure was something. "Deal."
Cadenza nodded. “Good. I’ll contact you once I’ve made the arrangements.” She paused, then smirked. “I think you may want to grab a towel before you leave, though.”
Huh? I looked down at myself, still wet and dripping. Oh, right. I hurried back behind the stall, banging my head gently against the wall. I just—in front of the second most powerful pony in Equestria? Stupid, stupid...
"Excuse me, Mrs. Dash, do you have a moment to hear about our super-secret organization which conspires against our eternal ruler´s wishes since a millenia ago?"
You know, Cadence´s introduction about the Circle could have been a bit less.. casual.
just having rainbow dash there disables the elements from being used as sunbeam would will it. the element of magic may be the center but it is useless without its five companions in unity over what must be done.....
I have a strong feeling that is the point. miss empire pants is gonna be in for a rude awakening if that is the point.
guy who wrote this definitely gets dashy...... aaand sunbeam is showing her true colors more and more now. she may be well meaning but any tyrant is, and she is directing lots and lots of negative feelings towards equestria.
I have a gut feeling that her plans against nightmare moon are not going to work out as planned.
will say one thing though, pseudo cricitism at most. sunbeam has found maybe four element bearers now, but only if she actually acts on the information applejack gave. however to find the bearers fo harmony, you need to understand harmony, not just factors of it...... sunbeam does not understand harmony. thus it seems likely she will make a crucial mistake.
then again she might have made one already. creating a combat unit over a group of friends.
simply saying, sunbeam's personal views and tendencies make it more likely that she will make great mistake in this situation. she does not understand harmony, so how could she be able to, at the very least, create the scenario wehre the elements would activate? something will have to go wrong that will force her to rely on twilight and the others.
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The Elements wouldn't be under Sunbeam's control directly...but with Twilight, and possibly the others, wrapped around her hoof, she would effectively control their use. Of course, this is assuming they still work for the mane 6 in this timeline, and that Sunbeam's meddling hasn't made Twilight and/or more of them ineligible as bearers as you suppose.
Also, Cloud 'Solaris?' Little change there that makes me wonder what happened with the Kickers to make them change their surname...
5105572 problem is would that even work? with rainbow dash alone if she is not comfortable with something I highly doubt that the elemetns could activate. pretty sure the decisions have to come as a unanimous.
and if she is coerced or threatened, would that even work since she is being forced to activate her element?
I have a feeling that can activate for them, but the problem is that the scenario won't work out right for them to activate them from the get go.
Cloud Solaris? That makes me sad. Although on the plus side it does seem to imply that Shadow and Celestia hooked up.
5105601
That's pretty much the point of Cadance recruiting Dash into the Circle. But other than that we really don't know what the conditions are for activating the Elements...other than 'Being brainwashed and down a member' won't work...though we do know that outright refusal will stop them too, since the others were pretty much powerless to do anything about Discord when Fluttershy refused to use hers on him.
Of course...this all depends on just how far Sunbeam might be willing to go to force their use. We know the Ministry of Heart is probably not above using(or making them think they're using) family members as leverage...
5101361 Heh heh. *ego Inflates*
It occurs to me that the only way this forced advancement could really be okay is if the Empress knows of some future event where it would be disastrous if they were not far enough down the path that she is leading things.
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The question is, can a sociopath, Sunbeam-esque, pony like Sunset Shimmer truly harness the Magic of Friendship?
Hooray! It's up! I had a blast writing this. Chen's got some really interesting plans for the Phoenixverse and I hope everyone reading/reviewing here will stick around to check them out.
O-kay. That now makes her Rainbow Feathering Responsibility Danger Dash.
That's just plain mean.
Well, I originally planned to do a bit of Royal Canterlot Shouting with a bit of 'have at ye' to signal my disapproval of Sunbeam's methods, but now I'm just going to smirk. Like this:
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw1235_Discord_go_on.gif
You know why? Cause Sunbeam has manoeuvred herself into a tight corner. She might not realise it, but the Elements working is anything but guaranteed. The problem is friendship, friendship in its potential to blossom now endangered by the oppressiveness of Sunbeam's regime. Take Rainbow Dash as an example. Or Applejack. They mistrust the Empress and the Empire, and by extension those that support it. Not really optimal for a friendship between Element bearers strong enough to bring down almost godlike alicorns. Really, defeating Nightmare Moon will be a close call.
And even if she manages that, and even if the Empire survives Luna's return after the Elements cleanse her, there might be another foe coming. One not anticipated and planned for since hundreds of years. One that will have little trouble painting himself as the lesser evil. One that is adept at mind games, and only needs to take one little page from Tirek's book...
So what's it gonna be, folks? Order, conquest, oppression and Sunbeam, or rather freedom, candy and a bit of chaos?
still say sunbeam is going to find the elements targeting her in the same blast, from what we've seen they act on there own the mane 6 just power them.
Okay... I've been reading comments here, and I think people have lost perspective. I think a lot of you think that if a group of college students laid on train tracks in protest, Sunbeam would just tell the conductor to keep going.
Wrong. Sunbeam is many things I dislike, and even outright despise, but she is not insane nor needlessly cruel. With Midnight, at least in this case, she paniced when she thought the sharks were circling.
She is also not a hypocrite, nor makes excuses to protect herself. Unlike say Shadow, who would quote following orders or retreating behind honor, Sunbeam freely admits her actions at times are repulsive, but believes her feelings are secondary in such matters. Chengar has often labeled her amoral, but I think its more like she is more Machiavellian in her work, and is more then willing to be hated as long as her ponies are safe
5105860 Yeah, cuz this is still making me wonder what kind of role Sunset will have later on in this story. I just hope it is not as a villain.
I wonder if the Ministry of Heart is like his 1984 equivalent. Does it have a Room 101?
So the Kickers are the Solaris' family.... Wasn't Celestia named Solaris? So Cloud was right they did bang.
Definitely a worthy addition, and well done guest chapter.
Will be fun to see Luna back, given Luna -will- be somepony who can serve as a proper check on Sunbeam the Sanctimonious
The leader of the Circle is Stephen Magnet, I'm calling it right now.
Been getting the vibe from some comments that people seem to think overthrowing Sunbeam would be a bloodless coup. I'm going to try and explain all the reasons why forcibly removing Sunbeam from power would be a terrible decision.
1. Sunbeam enjoys massive popular support. The dissident elements we've seen (such as Just Cause) are very much underground and minority, as evidenced by their need for discretion. Most ponies seem to follow Applejack's way of thinking "the Empire isn't perfect, but no government is." Rainbow Dash holds a similar view, disliking Sunbeam personally but remaining loyal to the Empire as a whole.
2. People seem to think that a transition of power from Sunbeam to Luna would be seamless. But Luna is an unknown element known only through story and song. Most of which deal with her insanity and attempt to destroy the world. Ponies at large would know very little of the uncorrupted Luna and would react violently to the idea (however misguided) of a monster taking the throne.
3. Luna has no legal claim to the imperial throne. When Luna and Celestia ruled, Equestria was a confederacy between three individual states. The Empire is a singular entity united beneath a sole ruler and follows a completely different legal structure from the old trinity. Luna may be able to make her claim to Equestria stick, but none of the provinces would stand for it.
4. Sunbeam very much IS the Empire. We've gotten hints that the provinces aren't terribly happy being under pony rule and mostly stay complacent out of dependence on Imperial resources and fear of the Empress' forces. With Sunbeam's death or imprisonment, it would only be a matter of time before they declared their independence (the caribou would likely start within the day). As human history shows us, such rebellion almost always begins and ends violently.
5. The seat of the imperial throne is the most powerful position in the world. No two-bit warlord or politician with a shred of greed is just going to let it remain empty. They would certainly not hand it over to another alicorn who has only the support of the conspirators who deposed the former empress. We'd probably see violence within a month as the ambitious martial their forces to wrest the throne by force. I'd think it likely that the various provinces would try for the throne, as well.
6. Based on what we've heard of uncorrupted Luna from the Lunar Rebellion story, I'd actually see her and Sunbeam getting along pretty well. Luna was the far more direct of the two, favoring pragmatic and often violent solutions to problems. She'd very likely approve of Sunbeam's expansion in the name of order.
7. From what we've seen, the Circle doesn't actually want Sunbeam removed from power (likely for many of the reasons I've listed). They exist to be a check on her ambition, acting as the conscience she is psychologically incapable of possessing. Sunbeam, from what we've seen, is very much aware that absolute power corrupts absolutely and allows the Circle to exist to prevent that very thing from happening. There is no guarantee of any successor not possessing such self-awareness and attempting to root out the Circle so they can run free. Luna in particular has a terrible track record in this regard and there's no telling if or when she'll become the Nightmare again.
In short, I believe that any successful coup against Sunbeam would unleash a war of such scale it would make the Lunar Rebellion look like a playground scuffle.
“And thus, you understand why I want somepony to regulate the use of the Elements.” She sighed softly. “Twilight is ... too loyal to Sunbeam. And Sunset is her creature through and through.”
This makes me think that Sunset is thought of being as part of the elements. Right now it seems all the standard bearers are accounted for except Pinkie I think so is Sunset being used to replace Pinkie (unknowingly of course)?
It would be hilarious if Pinkie was the leader of this council just for the laughs.
Also in this world it appears that Surprise and Rainbow Dash are not Dashie's parents. How will Dashie have an existential crisis when she gets to know Pinkie now?
5108525
Not to mention the main danger of unleashing such massive level of chaos:
Yes, we know Sunbeam has been keeping an eye on his statue and taken measures to prevent his return, but will that be enough to contain the Prince of Chaos, who has been playing the game since before Celestia?
5108525
I'd say that's a pretty solid analysis of why the Circle would favor moderating Sunbeam over trying to overthrow her. Something the size of the Phoenix Empire does not handle sudden, radical change very well.
This was well done... Fitting into the larger story well in tone and style, while taking advantage of the unique voice change that comes with each bearer. Nice to see that Dash's loyalty is always to the pony (or zebra, or donkey, or buffalo...) and not the cause.
I would question how Sunbeam is finding them all (and I still do) but clearly Dash would be the easiest to indentify if one can deduce the importance of the Rainboom.
And the leader of the circle is not somepony... Or even somebody... But something? Intriguing.
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If I recall correctly, in the story that set this alternate world up, Celestia granted her immortality to Sunbeam and then openly lived out the rest of her mortal life with Shadow. Although I guess if it resulted in the same ponies being descended down the line, that does suggest that nothing really changed, ancestor-wise...
5106377 That is a fantastic point. I was just thinking to myself: The differences between Sunbeam and Celestia don't really matter in terms of how it affects the elements of harmony, because both rulers deploy or attempt to deploy them against unambiguous threats to Equestria, I.e. Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, Sombra and Tirek. AJ and Rainbow Dash hating Imperial policy isn't going to matter when the Empress asks them to stop eternal night or Canterlot being turned into a changling larder.
And Sunbeam has to know that even if all the element bearers would be willing to fire their friendship laser at caribou protesters, it probably won't do anything, so she wouldn't ask.
I had forgotten about Discord, however. He seems to always know what's going on everywhere, and with Sunbeam making such a brutal case for order, I could see AJ, Rainbow Dash, and probably Pinkie and Fluttershy siding with Discord. (I think Pinkie's reasoning is obvious, and as for Fluttershy, how environmentally friendly do we really think this mega Dam - building empire is?)
Actually, Tirek himself could try something similar, though he'd have a hard time of it. He could promise to drain only Sunbeam's magic, and raise the sun himself. Getting ponies to trust his promise would be difficult, (especially since we know he's going to break it) but Tirek has been shown to be very persuasive and patient, he might be able to fool the Elements, at least for a while.
5111161
Pretty much. Except that Sunbeam destroyed Chrysalis and her hive and likely executed Tirek. (Also, Tirek would have a hard time convincing the ponies because of the way his magic stealing powers work. In order to be even able to drain alicorn magic, he would first have to drain the magic of dozens of unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies.)
So, they won't be a threat to Equestria, Elements or not.
Really, the greatest threats to Sunbeam's rule are first Luna (after being restored by the Elements) because she could cause another civil war that tears the Empire apart; though Sunbeam would be a fool not to have prepared for such an eventuality. She did promise Celestia not to kill Luna.
Secondly, and primarily, Discord, whom she is helpless against if he turns up because:
a) she doesn't actually know him from personal experience
b) she thinks she has disposed of him by doing something to his statue and therefore doesn't expect him to ever return
c) he is so much more powerful than she is
d) he can just stand there and say "I might not exactly be a saint, but at least I'm not her." (Perhaps add a "Do you know what she did to my poor ol' self when I was imprisoned?" just for good measure)
The fact that he can temporarily disable the Element bearers or hide the Elements themselves just makes it worse.
Thirdly, maybe, Sombra, because she likely doesn't even know about him as he was banished before Luna became Nightmare Moon. He isn't that much of a threat (don't get me wrong, his magic is terrifying, but against Discord and Nightmare Moon, he just doesn't measure up in terms of power), but if underestimated or handled the wrong way, he could cause some serious damage to the Empire. Who knows, maybe Sunbeam's greatest fear is having her subjects, frothing with hatred, riled up against her...
However, the Elements will do wonders against Sombra. I don't think there's anypony less ambiguously evil.
You're right though, once the Elements work, the differences between Sunbeam and Celestia matter little against unambiguous villains. Getting them to work in the first place is the catch.
The Elements require friendship to operate. Here's what Rainbow currently thinks of Twilight:
See where I'm coming from? The real problem Sunbeam will have fighting Nightmare Moon is that she can't force the Element bearers to be friends.
5109084
I will ask again. About the Ministry of Heart... is actually as bad as its 1984´s counterpart, turning dissidents into broken shells?
5111525 I think Tirek showed up before Sunbeam ascended, but I wouldn't put it past her to march into Tartarus and execute every prisoner in their cell.
You're right about all the villains, and how Sunbeam's divisive rule could prevent friendships from forming in the group. Additionally, if both Sunset and Twilight are introduced to the rest of the group, the contest for element of magic would certainly prevent friendship and harmony from forming.
I think in some circumstances that could be overcome. Put the bearers in situations where they protect each others lives, let them get to know each other, and realize that even if they have differing motivations and beliefs, they all want to stop eternal night, and I could see Sunbeam's plan going off without a hitch. Rainbow Dash just swore she would do it for Equestria, not the Empress.
However, the interference from the Circle could provide the tipping point. By recruiting some members of the team to spy on the others, and telling some of them that other members can't be trusted, the odds of the Elements of Harmony being unable to function increase significantly.
That's scary, it seems like Cadance and Co. are willing to gamble with eternal night just to restore Luna and check Sunbeam's power. The Circle doesn't actually seem that different in strategy from Blueblood's cultists, both say they want to restore Luna and diminish Sunbeam's power, the cultists are willing to use much more extreme tactics though.
If this story does see Luna restored to rule, or at least co-rule, I honestly hope she brings in Blueblood at her side, if only because those two working together would be such an interesting contrast from all the other fics.
5111644
Let the Empress speak for herself:
So, yeah. She did exactly that.
I concur. Completely.
I don't think they actually realise what they are doing. From their perspective, they are trying to prevent the most potent weapon ever from falling into the hooves of the Empress by ensuring those who wield this weapon don't follow her blindly. They probably don't really know how the Elements work, so they won't think they are actually endangering all of Equestria and helping to bring about the Night Eternal.
5111825 Dang it, I read that part about Tartarus and forgot it. I certainly hope you're right about the Circle being ignorant, it's the least reckless explanation. But didn't Celestia found the Circle, specifically to redeem/save Luna? You would think she would have taught them all about the elements.
This is a non sequitur, but I wonder what happened to Cerberus. Without prisoners, is he just this giant immortal dog that lives in a hole? Seems sad.
5111957
Celestia did found the Circle, but that was nine hundred years ago. Ponies tend to forget stuff after such time spans. The fact the Element bearers have to be friends is probably only preserved as some obscure hints in some ancient transcripts about Celestia.
What I'm really wondering about is who the Circle's leader is. My paranoia is tingling heavily, telling me its either Sunbeam herself in disguise, Celestia having cheated death, Just Cause (who I still believe is Blueblood) or something along those lines. In any case, I fear it'll be some major bad mojo. Or somepony surprising, but somewhat obvious in hindsight. I can't seem to make up my mind. One of Celestia's descendants?
5112115 I could have sworn that Cadance herself was the head of the Circle. I think she just disguises her identity when she acts as leader. It reminds me of an excellent fic whose name escapes me, where as soon as Twilight becomes a princess, Cadance invites her to join in a conspiracy that secretly rules Equestria. The only other members are Luna and Celestia (as Luna says, our reach goes all the way to the top! ) Turns out the whole purpose of the conspiracy is to let the Princesses wear silly robes and scarf donuts in the back room of Joe's.
5111620
I would say the Ministry isn't as bad as the 1984 Ministry of Love. It's not like Strumming put Applejack on the rack and tortured the truth out of her, after all. Head games, lies, and standard interrogation tactics all worked just fine.
I'd also note that Sunbeam seems perfectly fine with the Circle's operations, and dissent in general, so long as it doesn't cross the line into disloyalty/acting against the Empire. As for what the Ministry does when the line gets crossed ... well, the next Tale will go into that.
5111644 I'd say Luna being restored to co-rule will never happen. As I've mentioned earlier, she doesn't have a real legal precedent to assume such a position. Not to mention that Sunbeam is hardly the type to share power (delegate, certainly). Best-case scenario we'd see something like what's going on with Cadence (subordinate alicorn with the Empress' backing).
Seeing how Sunbeam's empire works, I doubt Luna will be immediately restored to any kind of authoritative position. Particularly considering her circumstances. Sunbeam's paranoid and while she would see the value in having Luna as an ally she wouldn't be quick to offer a former enemy power. "The Elements of Harmony redeemed her" isn't the type of argument to go far with the pragmatic and logical Sunbeam.
Personally, I would absolutely love to see a fic where Luna has to work her way up the Empire's ranks. A former princess having to work alongside the common pony and follow orders from "mere mortals" would have all kinds of potential.
5106377
Allow me to educate you.
5112426
Unlike Cadence, Luna has a celestial body which grants her immortality, so she has all the time of the world to build her powerbase.
No, Rainbow Dash! Don't drop the soap!
As this is written, I don't understand why ponies looking back on Celestia is supposed to be ironic. Perhaps something is missing? Perhaps something like, "...older pegasi and egghead historians who looked back on the Clans—and even, ironically, the Old Queen Celestia—with fondness." (regret, nostalgia, etc.)
Well let’s see here…
Compared to your usual work, the whole idea behind the story just rings hollow. Celestia gives up everything out of guilt for a single pony she doesn’t even really like when it comes down to it. Yeah, the 'something' from this chapter hints that Tia might be out there directing her faction from the great beyond, but...that just makes it corny.
Then there’s the character herself. Sunbeam comes off as the child that wants to run mommy’s company because it’s there, and she thinks she can make more money with it. However, size and profit margins are the only thing she seems to care about. Material things. She’s the exact opposite of Celestia, who places more value on the immaterial like personal inner growth and happiness. And whenever an underling points this out, she throws a fit and says she’s the better Empress while the reasons in the previous fic that make her believe so matter very little when judged against something like personal happiness of the citizens beneath her. Sure the ponies are happy with Equestria, but it’s a happiness of ignorance and freedom of another choice.
She’s also a control freak, and in the worst way. Considering there is an outside (and rightful?) path to alicorn ascension, she still tried to stop, or at least took offence Cadence from getting to what was hers, when Sunbeam herself is a ‘dark’ alicorn that would be dead of not for the Sun mantel. Then, rather than work with others like the Circle, she pushes them out of the way while doing her ‘I’m better than you’ dance/smirk/whatever.
Then comes the question of Luna. She’s mentioned being under a geas that says she has to save the other alicorn, but then what, and how far does it go? Will she lose the mantle of the sun if Luna dies, and get killed by her own twisted ascension. And there’s an easy enough loophole of simply having her special team kill the princess of the moon if the spell was made so Sunbeam couldn’t do the deed.
Plus, with just how the Empire expanded omitted (which is rarely a pleasant thing) the non-pony racism that’s hinted at, and the things above, this whole this just leaves a bad taste in my mouth that has me hoping either the Nightmare entity (if you’re going the comic route) finds a new home in Sunbeam’s head after it’s kicked out of Luna , or the rainbow keeps going after it smacks Luna down and runs over the sun tyrant as well. Because what her Equestria is running on is not harmony, it’s veiled oppression.
5120706
Considering who she was dealing with, I'd imagine Celestia accounted for the possibility of loophole abuse.
They remembered Pegasopolis and the time of the Clans.
Oh who doesn't fondly look back on those days. How good soldiers, good ponies, were betrayed by those who swore to lead them true, who would gladly offer their own for power. So easily they speak of sacrifice those whose sweat and blood and tears is given by others. How they twisted they're own words to manipulate a good and righteous stallion, and how it must tear Shadow inside to see her love lost. How eagerly the epoth and their kin brought their own damnation... and no doubt thought Celestia weak for weeping as she watched them burn.
And still... they desire what never was nor ever should be.
Hey Dash... About Fleetfoot...
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
Before I say what I just noticed, I think I've got Sunbeam figured, I mean aside for the whole tyrant schtick. The author has claimed her amoral, Ponibus has stated she's a sociopath,I've said before, Sunbeam is pretty much and Machivellean Templar. That aside, I finally know her character. Where Celestia was a doting mother, Sunbeam a stern Jewish father. I don't know if that makes sense....
Also... Sunbeam has lost her edge, and thats a horrible thought. She went from trying to be a consort for Sunbeam and Shadow, to being in a position where she can have any mare, or stallion if she were so inclined. Her daughters future bleak to assured, and all those she once had to play the devil for are at her hooves or are so inconsequential that their disrespect meant nothing. The world is her oyster.
Sunbeam has basically become an apex predator. An achievement all the more shocking since she's a herbavore
Am I the only one who seems to like sunbeams rule?
She runs a county the way I would, death or glory
That shattered my heart.
And that....that was something. *Salutes*
Oh come on, are we really supposed now to cry over the loss of some ancient stomping ground "belonging" to a tiny minority?
As Sunbeam herself stated, maybe Celestia was the better mare, Sunbeam still IS the better Empress.
Sunbeam is running something like the ancient Roman Empire with some communist traits, and not so much in the bad way.
Proper communism can only work if all submit to its rule. If Sunbeam was such a monster and bad leader, than she wouldn't have been able to run an empire for centuries. She isn't exactly a tyrant. But it has its benefits to one oversee great things such as the Equestrian Empire. In the end, the Empire benefits all. Though some sacrifices must be made, such as the really really important stomping ground of the buffalos. Please. The Empire wouldn't put a damn expensive dam (no pun intended ) there. It must benefit all to eventually pay off in the end.
I'd rather support Sunbeam than Celestia. Or the descendents of that opposition society Celestia has founded, for that matter.
And I want to see how Sunbeam deals with Luna, since she obviously plans to unleash the Elements of Harmony upon Nightmare Moon. It will be very interesting to see Luna's response to that fact that her beloved sister is dead for more than eight centuries.
5147824
I don't think anyone objects to the dam, but more the underhanded way it was done. And communism is the principle that a apple pie and a mud pie should cost the same because they both took an hour. But lets just focus on the Empire.
First, I personally find it morally repugnant that Sunbeam is there at all. It was Kings electing Kings, and the fact that Celestia would do such a thing... Well, quite frankly, is nonsense, but this story is so well done I can overlook that.
Having said that... I think Sunbeam has became a fine ruler... I'd prefer a leader, but Shadow seemed to have no interest in the job.
Oh silly Ebony! How could I forget the obligatory Sabaton thread...
[youtube=Us2ylGAwBnk]
[youtube=QLt0lerdgKs]
Either one seems to go with Sunbeam pretty well
5149197
That's why I wrote "with some communist traits". By the way, communism is the idea that all means of production belong to the people and that everyone gets an equal share of food or money.
I don't think money should be abolished entirely. It is a convenient way to trade goods after all. Anyway, what I meant was that Sunbeam most likely added unintentionally only good parts of communism to her rule.
As long as you don't try any funny business and accept the Empire, you can have a pretty decent life.
Somehwhere in the imperail, a certain someone of the alicorn persuausion, is thumping her head against her desk after having to deal with perhaps the greatest ordeal of her immortal life: Pinkie Pie.
"Oh fuck all kinds of duck, what crime did I... well, I don't think I've done anything to deserve... this! Where in Entropy's left testicle did she pull that be damned cannon... I'm going to be blow bits of cake batter out my nostrils for weeks!"
5147824
Or maybe some rich/high positioned pony wanted to build a Casino there, and sent someone to con the natives to steal their lands.
Also, there is a reason minorities are protected in democracies: It´s too easy for them to be subjugated by the majorities, or sacrified "For the Greater Good".
5161106
Well, the Equestrian Empire under Sunbeam Sparkle isn't exactly what I'd call a democracy.
Huh. I would have sworn Dash was a power-of-love child in the regular 'verse, I'm a little surprised to see her with a father here.
Interesting that the Wonderbolts were a bit less optional for Dash, but at the same time it doesn't sound like she every really tried to say no.
Maaaan, that conversation with Fleetfoot about her drug issue. I had butterflies in my stomach for most of it that were pretty convinced that she was going to manage to swing it around and pin the changes on Dash once they got to Spitfire. I suppose I should have had faith in Rainbow "Personal Charisma" Dash.
Ooooo, awesome. I have a feeling that meeting is going to happen completely off-screen, though. Too good of a mystery to reveal quite yet.
5303848 She is a love child, her parent's are Awesome Mom and Cool Mom. Or it might have been Radical Mom, I forget. It's either an author slip up, or just an affect from this being an AU. Despite how much Sunbeam doesn't like Destiny though, it's clearly having a massive affect on Equestria to keep things this close to canon despite all the changes.