The Sides We Choose

by Frost Bear

Single Mindset

Twilight’s eyes glazed over. She spent hours reading numerous books about non-pony cultures. Unfortunately, the Empire had little to no information on foreign nations. Especially on Dragons and Changelings.

“Spike! Take a…” Twilight looked around, “letter…” she sighed. Spike ran away to Fillydelphia weeks ago. She was worried sick for him! Going far enough to send out a search for him. She knew the imperial guards would find him.

Twilight summoned a quill and frowned. ‘Out of paper… again,’ she thought. Spike had made all her check lists and helped keep her organized. When she became a princess, he would find ways to make sure she could handle everything without trouble on time. Now that she’s a… priest? She is flooded with requests, warrants, letters, reports, and treaties. One mare can’t handle that much work!

“Wish my friends could help me,” she rubbed the arm of her dull throne.

The throne room; no, not just the throne room, her entire castle had gone from a polished beacon blinding her neighbors to an almost condemned glass house. Parts of the castle had collapsed. Occasional beams fell at random. The once glorious crystal structure is now dull grey crippling stone. Twilight looked at the thrones around the center table. Half were glowing dimly while the other half were darkened. Oddly, only the thrones of her friends who supported the republic were glowing.

‘Why are they glowing? Why is my throne not glowing?’ she thought.

Knocking echoed from the throne room door.

“Come in! It’s not lock!”

Rainbow Dash opened the door. She wore a horrified expression with a news paper under her wing. Twilight noticed and took the paper in her magic. She didn’t need to read far. The front page told her all she needed to know.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow, I’m sure Celestia had a good reason to destroy Cloudsdale,” she reassured her ‘friend.’

Dash shook her head, “It wasn’t Celestia that destroyed Cloudsdale. It was Discord!” Dash slammed her hoof on the table, “Why would HE be on OUR side?! He’s DISCORD! Any side he chooses is bad!”

“He’s reformed. He’s no longer evil,” Twilight confidently said.

“Do you really believe that?” Rainbow growled, “He destroyed Cloudsdale! THE city in charge of weather! Without it, all our weather is going to become as chaotic as the Everfree forest!”

“Celes-“

“DON’T YOU DARE SAY CELESTIA HAS A PLAN!” the table collapsed under her. She snorted steam from her nostrils, “IF she does have a plan, I don’t like it,” she angrily sat up, “What do you think the plan is? Collect insurance on crazy weather? That puts me and all other pegasi who manage weather not just jobless but homeless!”

Twilight laughed, “Don’t be so silly, Rainbow, Nopony is going to be homeless over a little weather change.”

“You ever hear the phrase ‘head in the clouds?” Rainbow inquired, “It originated as an insult to pegasi. We literally make our homes in the clouds!”

“Oh… perhaps Celestia wanted to change that?”

“That’s not going to work out,” Rainbow waved her hoof, “We’ve tried living on the ground. Sure some like Fluttershy are ok with it but the vast majority prefer the sky. When have you ever seen another pegasus living on the ground?”

“Well there was… um… Bulk Bi- no, he had a cloud house… um…” Twilight’s eyes widened in realization, “Gosh, Rainbow, you’re right. Well that just means living on the ground is mandatory now. Good too, we shouldn’t have ponies thinking they can be on the same level as Celestia.”

“What the fuck?!” Rainbow shouted, “Are you fucking serious?!”

“Did I offend you?”

“Offend me? More like everyone in Equestria. Wow, Twi, I didn’t expect you to act like Starlight Glimmer.”

“Excuse me?!”

“Yeah, look at everything you’ve done. Start a cult, persecute anyone who disagrees with you, use magic to force your beliefs on everyone, heck even your order to round up suspected Republic supporters is a perfect match to her equalization hunt… That’s not counting the similarities in your names.”

“Our names are nothing alike.”

“Starlight, Twilight, Light light.”

Twilight glared at Rainbow, “Is there something you’d like to say?”

“Yeah! Why are we arresting anypony that’s blue? The night theme cutie marks I can understand but the color blue? I’M blue and you know I support Celestia!”

“Do you?”

“I’m the ELEMENT OF LOYALTY!” Dash flew up to Twilight’s face, “Don’t you DARE go against me!”

Twilight pushed Rainbow’s head down, “Remember Dodge? Where you abandoned Pinkie and Rarity for Applejack?”

“I had to choose between friends. I went for the one I liked the most.”

“Applejack supports the Republic,” Twilight gave Rainbow an accusing glance, “Are you still siding with her?”

“NO! Look, I don’t like making choices. Just tell me why and I’ll be ok with it.”

“Blue is the color of the Republic, it’s banned throughout the entire Empire,” Twilight explained, “If anypony sees the color they associate it with what the color represents and in turn what the Republic represents.”

Rainbow snorted, “What could a color stand for? It’s just blue.”

“Blue is associated with reliability, serenity, creativity, and… peace…”

“Wow… they picked a good color,” Rainbow spat sarcastically, “Would explain why every artist, musician, and dress maker flocked to the Republic. But peace? How can they be peaceful? This war was started because of them!”

The throne with a lightning bolt on it crumbled to dust. Twilight yelped as she recoiled away.

Rainbow nonchalantly glanced at the pile of dirt, “Hey Twi, you might have to get new chairs. Some non-ponies are coming over today and I don’t think fragile stone seats are going to settle well with them.”

Twilight growled at her, “Get a broom and help me collect these rocks,” she shooed Rainbow away, “I’ll have to call a rock specialist to see what in Tartarus is wrong with this place.”

Hours later the throne room door knocks.

Twilight rushes to the door and greets the delegates behind it.

The Zebra Queen of Zebrica trotted in with a pair of zebra warriors at her sides. They were armed with curved planks of wood that were decorated with various tribal symbols. Their armor was nothing more than grass and wood held together with rope. The Queen wore a tiara of polished stones and golden rings around her legs and neck. Large hoops dangled from her ears, jingling with each step she took. She sat in the seat depicting three diamonds.

Next came the rowdy Yaks and their prince. Their traditional helmets kept their faces hidden for the most part. Twilight groaned as they stampeded to the seat with balloons.

To her surprise, Gilda gallantly strode in the room with a pair of griffin soldiers. Rainbow eagerly said hi to her but was dismissed.

“Where’s Pinks?” Gilda asked.

“What about Pinkie?” Rainbow grumbled.

Gilda didn’t answer. She motioned her guards to take the wooden chair in-between Twilight’s seat and the one with butterflies. Gilda grunted in annoyance. The zebra queen directly across from her. Thankfully the yaks weren’t close to her. Their shouting and stomping got on her nerves.

Princess Cadence sobered through. An irritated frown plastered on her face. Twilight happily jumped in front of her for their traditional hoof shake.

“Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” she chanted and danced.

Cadence moaned in disgust, “Now’s not the time, Sparkle,” a hint of anger spiked through her voice.

Twilight was stunned. Cadence had never refused the special shake! It was the one thing they did that proved how close they were as not just friends but sisters (in law). The only time Cadence refused was when she was actually-

“Release me, foal!” a familiar voice shouted, “Our disguises fool even the wisest wizards yet you pea brains somehow discovered us?”

“Chrysalis! So good to see you,” Twilight sang, walking back to her seat.

“Silence you wretch!” the changeling queen sneered.

The two Solar guards prodded her to the seat with apples. Chrysalis was not amused by the image. Even the delegates questioned why she was put in such a position.

Twilight cleared her throat, “Thank you for coming today. I’m sure you all know of our current situation?”

The zebra queen nodded, “Weapons are plenty but not a single pony for a sentry.”

“Seriously?” Gilda snickered, “You got all the steel in the world yet no pony to use it? I should’ve known you were desperate to have Dash in your little army.”

Rainbow flew up to her, “What you say?” the griffin guards slashed their talons at her. Rainbow swiftly avoided the razor sharp claws.

“Settle down guys,” Gilda sighed, “A lot went down after you and Pinks left Griffinstone. As you can see, I’m the big boss here.”

“Impressive,” Cadence commented, “I was under the impression the Griffin economy crashed.”

“It did. But thanks to Pinks showing me friendship and baking powder, things have been great!”

“What about me?” Rainbow asked.

“What about you?” Gilda glared.

“Yaks want to know where pink pony is,” prince Rutherford shouted, “Yaks like pink pony! Pink pony made things perfect!”

“Pinkie Pie is never stepping hoof in this castle,” Twilight dismissed.

“She’s your FRIEND, Sparkle,” Cadence gasped.

“Not anymore,” Twilight frowned, “I got new friends who believe the same things I do.”

“That you and Sunshine are gods?” Chrysalis laughed, “Are you forgetting that I easily defeated her?”

“Thanks to mine and my husband’s love,” Cadence pointed out, much to Chrysalis’ spite, “But she does have a point. If you believe Celestia to be a god that makes you, me, and Luna gods as well.”

“Don’t be silly. Luna could never be a god because she’s evil.”

“TWILIGHT!” Cadence stood up using the royal voice, “I CAN NOT BELIVE WHAT I AM HEARING FROM YOU!”

“Ooooh, the princess of food shows her sour side,” Chrysalis cooed, “Always wanted to see that.”

“Cadence, please calm down,” Twilight commanded, “This war was started because of Luna. Everything would’ve been fine if she didn’t start this Republic nonsense.”

“Actually,” Gilda raised her claw, “The griffins like the idea of the Republic.”

“What?!” Twilight and Rainbow jerked towards Gilda.

“Yeah, Did you think I WANT to be queen of Griffinstone? Heck no! I’ll be more than happy to have someone elected to my current position.”

“But that’s not how it’s suppose to be done!” Twilight screeched, “It goes against griffin tradition!”

Gilda gave a look that stated ‘are you stupid or illiterate?’

“Griffins used to kill and eat each other to be king or queen,” she put a claw around her neck and the other on her belly, “I’d rather not think about going through that. I don’t think anyone would want to go through that.”

“Yaks… do not know what Republic is,” Rutherford stated, “Yaks think it best to close borders.”

The yaks got up to leave but were stopped by nearby guards.

“We’re not done yet,” Twilight hummed, “We waited centuries for you to be friends with us. We’re not going to wait again.”

The yaks kicked the guards out of the way, “Yaks no like this treatment! Yaks feel insulted and stuck. Yaks will leave! Yaks declare war on Solar Empire!”

“Ha! Good luck. Your sticks and stones are no match against Celestia and our new guns,” Rainbow gloated.

“Yaks are prized for their fur… and gas,” the zebra queen chimed, “Their hooves aren’t the only thing that will put you in a cast.”

“Uh… what?”

“She said the yaks have the most prized fur cloths and most dangerous weapons,” Twilight explained, “It’s why we were so ready to befriend them. We’ve been relying on Saddle Arabia for their silk and these guns are not going to do much for their yellow smoke.”

The yaks left the castle.

“Um… what’s yellow smoke?”

“Yellow gas you see,” the zebra queen giggled, “Kills you from the inside out. The pain is so unbearable, you can’t even scream.”

Rainbow screamed as she dashed off for the yaks. Twilight shook her head.

“I should’ve known they’d betray us.”

“Twilight, they didn’t betray us,” Cadence gave a serious look, “You carelessly assumed they would conform to your line of thinking.”

“And you’re not?! I thought you’d jump with joy to help us!”

“If I was helping Twilight, I would. But all I see is ‘Saint Sparkle’ Celestia prized lap dog.”

Chrysalis burst out laughing at that comment.

“What? Lap dog? Where did that come from?” Twilight fell down flabbergasted.

“You created a religion based around Celestia,” Cadence deadpanned, “Starlight Glimmer did the exact same thing for herself. How are you any better?”

“Because Celestia is a god!”

“No, she isn’t,” Chrysalis got super serious, “She really isn’t.”

“Alicorns are not all knowing deities, Sparkle, we just have longer life spans and access to all magics.”

“You’re just in denial. You own an empire of you own. You must see how great the Solar Empire can be if we spread our influence.”

“The Crystal Empire is named that because it’s made of crystal,” Cadence explained slowly, “That means it’s constantly growing. Like a plant. We take territory without doing anything.”

“Woah, Your empire better be contained. I don’t want any griffin to get punctured by some shinny tree,” Gilda warned.

“We estimated at least one million years before it gets to Canterlot.”

“Well, maybe we can chip some of that crystal for the Solar Empire? Think about it. The Solar Crystal Empire! Sounds nice, right?”

“Forcing the growth of a kingdom is to spell doom on your kinsmen,” the zebra queen lamented.

“Kinsmen?” Twilight questioned.

“I know you heard that word, Sparkle. It’s used to describe close relations to others. Something you used to be a princess of.”

“You mean friends? I still have friends! I have many friends who share my thoughts and beliefs and…” Twilight’s seat crumbled beneath her, “ow…”

Chrysalis laughed her lungs out at her mortal enemies’ misery, “Oh I knew it was a good idea to come here! This is the most hilarious sight I’ve ever seen!”

Rainbow flew back in, “Ok, so the yaks aren’t going to war with us just yet…” she noticed Twilight’s position, “um… I miss something?”

“Just Twilight’s seat collapsing on her,” Cadence stated.

“My guard got a picture of it!” Gilda cheered looking over her guard’s shoulder, “You’re too awesome Brawny. Glade to be your friend,” she bumped talons with him.

“Can I see?” Rainbow tried to look over. The guard immediately shoved the camera he brought in his satchel. Gilda growled at Dash, “What’d I do to you this time?”

“Not me, Pinks.”

“What about Pinkie?”

“You tell me! Why isn’t she allowed in Star-bangle’s house?”

“Star-bangle? Star-bangle was that hypocrite that started a rebellion years ago. This is Twilight’s castle.”

“Whatever, just answer my question!”

The zebra queen stood up and started to leave.

“Wait!” Twilight called, “Where are you going?”

“We are going home. This land is going to Tartarus! You’re boned,” she trotted away with her guards in tow.

A small group of guards tried to stop her from leaving. The zebra guards threw their wooden sticks. They hit the guards with enough force to split several skulls open be fore their sticks returned to them. The more intelligent guards moved away from the zebras after that.

“Boomerang,” one of the zebra guards whispered before leaving.

“Dang,” Rainbow exclaimed, “Who knew they were that good?”

Twilight raised her hoof, “Zebras are professionals in martial arts. They’re the ones who invented it.”

“What? I know karate because of zebras?!”

“The black and white wasn’t obvious enough?”

“That’s racist,” Gilda grumbled.

Twilight and Rainbow shot a glare at her

“Listen, Gilda,” Rainbow gritted her teeth, “We want your help to end this war. We have tanks, guns, whatever to do it but no pony to use what we have,” Gilda huffed, “So here’s the deal; you send us some griffins to use in our army and we’ll um… give you the weapons.”

“No deal,” Gilda immediately stated.

“What?!” Twilight sputtered, “But this is Equestria! Celestia has plans for all of us to live peacefully under her rule!”

“Yeah, HER rule,” Gilda pushed away a few feathers to show a blue cloth holding an insignia, “I don’t like the idea of a mammy bambie pony princess deciding what griffins are allowed to do. Luna gave us an offer to rule on our own in exchange for help.”

“Are you serious? What about bits? We got more than enough bits!”

“Ha! You ponies really are xenophobic,” Chrysalis snorted.

“I hate to agree with Chrysalis but she does have a point,” Cadence sighed, “Griffins don’t think about bits anymore. They’re still stubborn and full of pride but now they’ll help out anyone who needs it.”

“Cadence, we’re not xenophobic. We’re just going with what we learned about other races,” Twilight smiled.

“And what have you learned about changelings?” Chrysalis sneered.

“Or griffins?” Gilda leered.

“Crystal ponies?” Cadence raised her brow.

“Uh… not much…” Twilight confessed, “But we can fix that! Gilda, please, you have the power to decide the fate of griffins. Don’t throw it away.”

Gilda stood up, “I’m not,” she snapped her claw. Her guard gave her a rainbow colored cupcake, “I made a promise to Pinkie Pie before leaving the Republic. Dash, can you come her for a sec?”

Rainbow perked up, “Uh sure…” she hovered over to Gilda’s reach, “So is this a surrender or a-“ sudden burning pain wrecked the insides of her eye socket. Rainbow frosting stuck to the edges of her eye lids. Her screams of pain were silenced when Gilda slammed her on the table. A sickening crack echoed through the room.

“Pinkie said she’s no longer your friend,” Gilda turned around, “Which means you’re no longer my friends. Smell you later, losers.”

Gilda and her guards left the room. Leaving only Cadence, Chrysalis, and Twilight as the remaining representatives.

“Ok… so this didn’t go as planned,” Twilight began her breathing exercises, “That’s fine, everything will be fine. I’ll just place a mind alteration spell on them and-“

“You’ll do WHAT?!” Cadence roared.

Twilight fell back with an eep.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE, HOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK OF SUCH A THING!”

“Cadence, it’s for the greater good!”

“Just like how me brainwashing your brother was to feed my subjects?” Chrysalis smirked.

“No no no no, this is completely different.”

“AND HOW, PRAY TELL, IS IT DIFFERENT?”

“I’ll be using the spell to help Equestria!”

“THAT JUSTIFIES ERASING SOMEONE’S MIND?” Cadence glowed brightly with rage, “THAT’S WORSE THAN WHAT CHRYSALIS DID, THAT’S WORSE THAN WHAT SOMBRA’S DONE, THAT’S EVEN WORSE THAN DISCORD!”

Cadences words blew harsh winds. Twilight was swept away by the breeze of her voice. The rage of the princess of love was intense, and slightly warm. The air seemed to crush Twilight before it died down and Cadence landed in her seat with a soft thud.

She sat there motionlessly and silent. Rainbow was still sore from Gilda’s assault. The few guards in the room trembled. Even Chrysalis shut her mouth out of fear.

“I’m building a wall,” Cadence finally said.

“Um… excuse me?”

“I’m. Building. A. Wall.”

“Cadence, please, we need all the help we can get.”

“NO! You are not going to take over the Crystal Empire! We already had Sombra do that before, and everyone’s still frightened of him! I made my decision. The Crystal Empire declares war on the Solar Empire! I’m issuing forth a crystal wall and magic barrier set up and signing a diploma of peace with the Republic.”

“WHAT? Cadence! You can’t do that!”

“Can’t? Are you going to brainwash me? Make me a puppet you can force decisions on?”

“Of course not! You’re my BBSFF!”

“I don’t even want to know what that means,” Cadence rubbed her head, “You’re willing to brainwash royal diplomats but not me? Twilight, surely you see how unethical that is.”

Chrysalis nodded, “Even I wouldn’t stoop that low.”

Both alicorns gave her a weird look.

“Look, I’ve done plenty of evil in the past but I’ll never brainwash someone just for their kingdom. I have my own subject to worry about, thank you.”

Cadence gave a light laugh, “It’s some day when I think Chrysalis has a better moral compass than you, Twilight,” she shook her head and got out of her seat, “See you on the battlefield, saint Sparkle.”

Cadence and her crystal guards left the room.

Chrysalis laughed maniacally, “Oh this is just too rich!” She sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose, “Eeew… rather salty aren’t you, Sparkle?”

Twilight groaned, “Ok, fine, I still have you to deal with.”

“Now what is it you could possibly offer me?”

Twilight grinned, “I’m not making an offer. You’re going to do what I tell you to do.”

“Ah, the brainwashing. Of course you’d go for that.”

“Let’s not call it brainwashing. That sound… unethical…” Twilight pondered for a moment, “Let’s call it… reformation.”

“That sounds very stupid,” Chrysalis deadpanned, “Not very creative. No wonder your banners look so… bland.”

“What wrong with the banners?”

“Red and gold… just like that time Scarlet Banner rebelled.”

Twilight perked up, “What do you know about Scarlet Banner?”

“Oh she was such a genius! Setting up all the lowly workers into one giant pot with guards and nobles and what not. I decided to mold my hive after her ideas, in fact.”

“Really? Scarlet Banner made your hive what it is today?”

“Indeed! Our philosophy is everyone has a place in the hive. From the lowest drone to the queen, we all have our duties. Although, they still see me as the big bad boss,” Chrysalis gave a light chuckle.

“Fascinating,” Twilight rubbed her chin, “But enough of the radical idealists. We should start the brai- I mean reformation.”

Green slime oozed from Twilight’s horn. Her eyes grew big in shock and disgust. Chrysalis and the solar guards by her side laugh menacingly.

“Did you think petty pony guards would subdue ME?” Chrysalis cackled, “Oh Sparkle… You’ve entertained me so much today. I even got it all recorded!” one of the guards pulled out a small camera that had a little red light on it.

“You’ve been filming this meeting? Since it started?!”

“Oh yes, Sparkle, soon all of Equestria will know exactly what transpired here. What you did to cause war between nations. And what you planned to do to your own ponies.”

“Hey! I didn’t mention I’d reform the rebels!”

“Do you deny that you will?”

“Er… No… They’re too much of a threat to leave alone.”

Chrysalis took the camera with a crooked smile, “And there you have it, Equestria! Saint Sparkle, Celestia’s prized student plans to brainwash all you little ponies into happy little maggots under Celestia’s hoof! HA-HAHAHAhahaha…”

She gently turned off the camera and gave it to the guard that turned back into a changeling.

“By the way… I sent several changelings into your Empire’s army. Been getting a lot of good information out of it. Could you TRY to challenge my changelings so we don’t get board collecting every bit of information from you?”

The changeling guard nodded, “Yeah, I managed to get all the structural weaknesses to Canterlot Castle in one day! And I started slacking off halfway through.”

Twilight’s jaw hung open.

“Uh… I think we broke her…”

“It matters not,” Chrysalis grabbed Twilight by the neck, “We should give her a taste of her own medicine!”

“You’re going to make her submit to you?”

“Tempting but no. I’m making her blindly obey Celestia even if she tells her to kill herself!”

Chrysalis’ horn glowed. A sickly green aura slithered around Twilight. Green energy sunk into her. Twilight’s eyes glowed a faint green before returning to their normal purple color. Chrysalis released her grip, plopping Twilight on the cold floor.

“You sure she’s alright?” the other changeling guard asked.

“She’ll be fine. Her faith in Celestia pretty much cemented the spell. Normally that spell takes quite some time to take hold… not to mention how painful it is.”

“I thought you said you never did it before?”

“I didn’t… I just have experience resisting it.”

The changelings shuddered as they left the room.

Twilight and Rainbow laid unconscious for a few hours. Waking up to sunshine glaring through the stain glass window.

“Oh… ow… Gilda’s gotten stronger since we last met,” Rainbow muttered.

“Ooh, gah… can’t believe she didn’t have the decency to wipe off this crude,” Twilight whined with a hoof on her horn.

Rainbow glanced over Twilight with suspicion, “So… how do we know you’re not a changeling?”

“How do we know you’re not a changeling?” Twilight rebutted.

The moment of suspicious glares was put to a halt by the glare of the sun.

“Um, Twilight, what time is it?”

“It’s about,” she checked the nearby clock, “quarter past six? That can’t be right…”

The pair rushed outside to gaze upon the sun and moon fighting for control over the sky. Ponies supporting both sides began panicking. The simple minded mares fainted, the spineless stallions cowered under stalls, even foals of all ages started to cry for their mothers. Twilight attempted to put a stop to the cries with minimal results.

“IT’S HIGH PASS CURFEW!” a Solar guard shouted, “What is the Empress thinking? No one can sleep with the light of day shinning over us!”

“Please remain calm! I’m sure Celestia has a rational reason to keep the sun up…”

“What if she’s been corrupted by dark magic like Luna was!” Lilly screeched.

“She must be planning endless day on Equestria!” Rose shivered.

“Don’t be silly, Celestia isn’t corrupt by dark magic,” Twilight stated with a straight face, “I’ve seen her use dark magic before and it hasn’t done anything to her.”

Every pony present stopped their panicked cries to turn towards Twilight. Jaws hung loose in shock, as though they were told the most diabolical actions just transpired before them. Mothers immediately took their foals inside their homes and ran to the train station with packed suitcases. Their ability to pack quickly was most impressive. A few guards facehoofed and shook their heads at Twilight. A dark secret was revealed that day. Even Rainbow was stunned by the revelation.

“Uh… is something wrong?” Twilight sheepishly asked.

“You just said Celestia uses dark magic,” Rainbow stuttered, ”Is… Is that true?”

“Uh, Yeah…. That’s what I just said,” Twilight emphasized her irritation, “It’s not like it’s a big surprise. I’ve used dark magic too.”

Everyone jumped a few meters away from Twilight. An undignified scowl plastered on her face.

“Oh come on! What’s the big deal?”

“What’s the big deal?!” a Solar guard growled, “The big deal is dark magic is illegal!”

“Oh…”

“Not only that but you accused the Empress of using magic that is, in fact, illegal. That’s high treason, Saint Sparkle!”

“You got it all wrong,” Twilight tried to explain, “Celestia has used dark magic but only for the best interests!”

“Like what?” Rainbow barked.

“Uh… she showed me what it can do?”

“That’s it? No other reason?”

“Yeah, she showed me what it can do. She’s my teacher so she had to show me what dark magic could do.”

“But why is it ok for Celestia to use dark magic and no one else?” a colt called out in the crowd.

A guard aimed his rifle at the colt. The colt’s mother stood in front of him. Then the colt’s father, then friends, then complete strangers.

The situation made Twilight feel uneasy, “Listen, listen! Celestia always has good reasons to what she does! We just have to obey everything she says and it will all be ok.”

“Uh, Twilight, that sounds like something a brainwashed person would say,” Rainbow whispered.

Twilight leered viciously at Rainbow. Rainbow knew it was best to keep her mouth shut and fell back in line with the other Solar guards. Twilight coughed and prepared a speech.

Her speech was interrupted by vines from the Everfree.

“Seriously? Of all the times they do this again?” Twilight sighed.

Ponies ran away with tails between their legs. A few yelled out lines similar to “I’ve seen enough to know where those things go!” The guards were equally useless. They also ran away cowardly, save for Rainbow who stood by Twilight. The two marched to the edge of the Everfree, near an abandoned cottage.

The two were reminded of their kind friend. It has been so long since they last saw dear Fluttershy. A crippling fear of what might have happened to her went through their minds. Many situations played out before them. Horrible visions ranging from Empire supporters lynching their friend for the side she was on to their friend executing Solar guards for Luna’s amusement. Those thoughts ceased when they found their friend leading a herd of deer in armor.

“Fluttershy! It’s so good to se-“ Rainbow attempted to hug her before being shoved away by spears.

Fluttershy raised her hoof, “There’s no need for violence, Blackthorn,” she looked at her friends, “I gave them permission to take this land. You have no say in this, Empire.”

Rainbow flinched, “What the hay, Fluttershy? We’re your friends!”

Fluttershy looked over Rainbow’s shoulder with a confused look, “Sorry, but you two don’t look like any of my friends.”

Icy daggers pierced through Rainbow’s and Twilight’s hearts. How could their friend say such horrible things to them? The deer looked agitated. Snorts and snarls surrounded the two mares. Confused and frightened, Twilight could only hope Celestia would send help. It seemed her prays would be ignored as the sun finally set, relenting to the darkness of the night. Hope seemed lost to Twilight. She feared she would never see the light of day again…

Then Discord sparked out of nothingness.

Comments

[hiphop4eva]

I hope Twilight dies from stupidness, miracle she didn't already.

[QuarterCentum]

What the hay happened to Fluttershy?
But wow, Twilight has passed the point of no return, hasn't she? Seems like the Empire's chances just keep getting smaller as they keep making more enemies.
Now the big question: Who's next?