War over the Sun

by starfox64x

Ch 3. Preparations.

The next morning, Spike was sent to gather the other five from Ponyville into the main hall. The remains of Pinkie’s party were still scattered across the floor and tables. With streamers hanging limply from the ceiling and Styrofoam cups lying on their sides in small puddles of leftover liquid. A few groups from other towns were gathered together, still discussing what they would do. Many other groups had already left, their members eager and ready to gather forces to fight for the equestrian army.

Twilight had a cup of coffee hovering at her lips, tipping it slightly from time to time to sip the hot liquid. She looked like an absolute mess. He hair mangled from a sleepless night of tossing around in her bed. The bags under her eyes seemed like they carried the weight of the world in them. She was lost in thought, staring off into space as the others approached. She barely noticed them until they gathered around her, “Oh, morning girls…”

“Sugarcube you look like an absolute mess… You doing okay?” Applejack seemed concerned, of course she knew the young mare was not ‘okay’ by any normal standards considering what had occurred the night before. she had no idea that Twilight would end up looking like this after seeing the princess last night. She had hoped a good night’s sleep would help rejuvenate her and get her back into her old self again, but apparently things had not improved over the past few hours.

Twilight just replied with a soft grunt, sipping her coffee again. She looked up at her hair as Rarity’s magic seemed to take over, straightening it out to something more acceptable to her standards.

“Well, are you going to tell us what happened last night dear? I can understand your worry, but you just look… so…” Rarity’s words couldn’t seem to connect properly. She was usually one to use a sophisticated tongue, but even this here was too much for her to comprehend… So Pinkie spoke up to finish her sentence.

“You look like a mess.” Her words seemed to fit better than anything anyone else could think of, so they all just nodded and turned back to Twilight, hoping for answers.

Twilight nodded, guzzling down the last bit of coffee before tossing it aside. It was immediately lost to the rest of the mess scattered around the floor, “I went and looked at Celestia’s memories…” the girls remained quiet, hanging on her every word. Even spike was listening intently. “The ruler of Dracozard attacked the princess and kidnapped Princess Luna… Simple as that…”

“What?” Of course, Rainbow Dash was the first to voice her outrage, and of course, she would also be the loudest, “They got some pretty big apples if they think they can just waltz in, attack our towns and kidnap our princess!” her wings beat harder against the air, her rage maing her lift up higher. “Who they Hay do these guys think they are?” she was tugged back down to earth by Applejack, landing her on her backside with a light thud.

Fluttershy whimpered a little, already having a deep seeded fear of these dragons, “b-but why? What on earth would make them want to hurt ponies?”

Twilight shook her head, letting her hair fall down naturally now that Rarity had finished straightening it out. “They want to control the sun… they don’t like being cold so they want to control the sun.”

Dash cursed under her breath, rubbing her bottom to ease to soreness of the fall “Can’t they just use a blanket?”

“Dragons are cold blooded Dash…” the ever knowledgeable Fluttershy quietly spoke up, feeling the need to explain why the creatures would need the extra heat, “A blanket won’t help much… sometimes dragons and other cold blooded creatures just lay out in the sun all day just to stay warm…”

“Are you defending these nutjobs?” Rainbow glared at fluttershy, taking her insight as a defense for their actions. She immediately pulled back, mumbling quietly before falling silent. Pinkie stroked her hair gently trying to comfort her.

“She’s not defending them, she’s just stating a fact.” Applejack stepped up to defend the poor girl, “You of all people should know how cold it can be to fly around in the air.”

Rainbow crossed her arms and let out a humph. She turned away, apparently defeated for now. Applejack smiled a little at her victory, and turned back to Twilight, “So Twilight… are we going back to ponyville to announce what’s going on?”

“You all can go ahead… I’m staying by the princess just in case… I want to know more about what’s going on and what her plans are… If she has a special task I want to be the first one to take it.”

“Alright sugar, You stay here, we’ll head on off to Ponyville and see what we can do there… You sure yer gonna be okay up here by yourself?”

“Hey! I’m staying with her!” Spike called out from the other side of the group. His arms folded and his gaze a bit angered.

“Oh, heh… of course sweety, y’know what I meant…” she said with an awkward smile, “I was just saying if she wanted one of her friends to hang out here to-“

“I’m her friend too, applejack.” he quickly interrupted her before she could continue. The awkward feeling in the room was thicker than any fog Rainbow could fly through.

“I-I know sweetheart… I just… meant ANOTHER friend…” she hoped that would satisfy him for now… he didn’t seem happy, but he stayed quiet…

“I appreciate it everypony, but I think I’ll be okay here with Spike… We’ll send you letters as often as we can, I couldn’t leave without my number one assistant.” She levitated the baby dragon over to her, giving him a little hug, hoping to squeeze out any remaining anger he may have had hidden away. It seemed to work, he smiled and hugged back happily.

“Alright, so we’ll head on back to ponyville today. I better pack my things…” Rarity gave the other a nod to signal her departure, while Rainbow Dash took to the air, “Alright! I’ll head out now so I can tell them sooner!” She looked like she was about to speed off right out the window, But the ever vigilant Dash-watcher stopped her.

“Hold it there missy, I think it would be best if we all stuck together and talked to the mayor about the whole situation TOGETHER…” Applejack seemed intent on keeping Dash from rushing off and starting a riot of some kind in town. It wouldn’t be a surprise to her to arrive to a town full of pitchfork wielding ponies due to her overactive nature.

“Fine, I’ll get my stuff.” The girls started to head out, while Twilight stayed behind…

Spike looked up at his friend, a look of concern in his eyes, “y’know… you should probably try to go back to bed and get some rest… you won’t be any help if you’re tired”

“I know spike… but I’m so worried…”

“I’m worried too, but I’ll be more worried if you have to go fight dragons when you’re half asleep…” his grip around her neck tightened a bit. She could tell he was earnestly worried about her safety.

“okay Spike… I’ll go try and get to bed… maybe I can conjure up a sleep spell.” She got to her feet and placed spike right on her back as she started to walk, “I think I’ll check on the princess first.

He held onto her gently as he rode on her back, “Okay, just don’t stay too long… they’re still not happy with you disturbing her last night.”

“Yeah, I know…” she sighed softly, recalling the nurse that tracked her down and scolded her the night before…

Twilight quietly entered the recovery room the princess was staying in. now with a nurse and two guards accompanying her. “You aren’t all here because of me, are you?”

“No,” nurse Redheart replied, “If we were guarding her from you, I would have you thrown in the dungeon…” she gave her a disapproving look, a ‘mothers glare’ as it were…

It pierced Twilight’s heart instantly, “Yes, I know, I’m sorry… I just wanted to know…”

“you should have waited” she snapped back before she could continue, “and you’re very irresponsible for putting so much strain on a pony who’s recovering… but, what’s done is done… you don’t plan on doing anymore of that, do you?”

Twilight quickly shook her head, “OH! No no no no! I-I just wanted to see if she was doing any better.”

Redheart gave her a nod, her glare briefly taken off of her, only to be shot back at her once more, “She’s much better NOW, but she’s still sleeping and still recovering.” Every word from he mouth screamed ‘Get Out!’ to Twilight, even though she was calm and collected, never raising her voice to the purple pony.

“So you want me to leave then?” twilight’s head lowered, feeling more and more guilty about her actions.

“I’d appreciate it…” Redheart continued to glare, and even with Twilight turning her back to her, she could feel the cold stare. However there was a groan in the room that caused everyone to turn toward the princess.

Her eyes were open, and she had shifted to her side to look out the window. She had a small smile curved across her face. Nurse Redheart was the first to get to her side, “Princess, how do you feel?”

The princess just smiled as she turned her attention to the nurse, “The sun came up…”

Her simple words confused the nurse, “y-yes, you’ve been out all night princess…”

“The moon went down… It’s okay…” she added softly, closing her eyes once more, seemingly falling back to sleep.

“Princess?” Redheart stroked her hoof gently, trying to get her attention, but she was out cold again.

Twilight heard her random babble from the door. She wanted to try to talk to her, but she could tell she had fallen asleep again. She decided to keep moving, heading out the door toward her room to get some rest.

“Twilight, do you think she’s okay? She was kinda… off, don’t you think?” Spike took a quick glance back at the door to the recovery room, the two gaurds outside were trying to lean over just enough to peak through the door without technically leaving their station.

“Yes, she did seem to be that way. Post traumatic stress,” a yawn took over her, her mouth opening wide as she inhaled, “That’s my guess anyway… I’m not sure…”

“You don’t think it meant something?”

“I don’t know, I’m too tired to think… let’s get some rest and we’ll think more later…” she managed to find her room in her exhausted state. Her mind was eased a bit after seeing the princess wake up, even if it was brief. But it was enough of a load off her mind to get her into bed and send her to sleep.

Her sleep wasn’t a very restful one… it seemed like it ended too soon, but in fact the morning had come and gone, and the sun had made its way to the far end of the sky before Twilight woke up again. She opened her eyes to see Spike curled up beside her, sleeping soundly. There was a pile of scrolls nearby, apparently written by spike while she was out.

Although the pile of scrolls by her bed seemed to be odd enough, there was another scrolls halfway under her door that caught her attention. She tried to will herself out of bed, but her strength just wasn’t there yet. Instead she used her magic to bring the paper to her. It had Celestia’s seal on it, so she immediately recognized it’s importance. Her magic made quick work of the string before opening it up. It was a simple message, “The princess is awake and requests you to see her.”

The words gave her strength, and it finally made her get up and get out of bed. She decided to let spike rest while she headed up to see her teacher. The guards were still standing watch, but parted for Twilight to head inside. She thanked them kindly before heading inside.

Princess Celestia was sitting up, sipping some tea from an elegant looked cup hovering over a small plate. She lowered the cup, making a soft ‘Tink’ noise. The room was otherwise silent. Twilight noticed the guards stood as still as statues, reminiscent of Discord when he was imprisoned. It made her a little weary, but at least Redheart wasn’t around to give her some cold stare of disapproval. And with Celestia’s gentle smile, it calmed the purple pony immensely.

“Hello Twilight… did you sleep well?” she asked, setting her tea aside to speak with her student.

“Mostly, yes.” She told her as she took a seat by her side.

“I could tell you were worried… I apologize for making you so concerned.”

“Oh no! don’t apologize!” Twilight replied quickly, “You were hurt, it wasn’t your fault.”

Celestia smiled a little, nodding, “True… Can I assume you already know what happened?”

Twilight’s pupils widened, feeling a bit nervous about her actions the night before. “Y-yes… I saw your memories… I saw Luna…” she bit her lip, deciding to try and apologize for her own actions, “I-I’m so sorry, Princess… I just wanted to know what happened to you…”

Celestia nodded, “It’s alright, my student… To be honest with you… I don’t know if I could have recounted to story without… losing myself…” already, recalling the memories she had was making her choke up a little. The cup she held with her magic shook a little, clinking rapidly against the tiny plated beneath it She took a deep breath and let the air out slowly to relax herself, silencing the cup, “So you know why I’m so concerned about protecting the ponies of Equestria, and finding my sister.”

“I’m sure she’s fine, princess, She’s a very strong individual. A-and If they really are… holding her hostage, than they would never hurt her without running a huge risk.” She smiled a little, hoping her words would help the princess cope with the loss… but somehow she felt like her words might only hurt.

“I know she’s fine Twilight… I know she’s alive and well.” The princess replied with a soothing smile.

“I’m glad you believe so Princess.”

“Oh, I don’t think you understand.” Her smile continued to widen, her thoughts apparently giving her hope, “I was unconscious last night… I had no control over the sun… but Luna has control over setting the moon…”

Twilight seemed a little confused, “But… the sun rose this morning… didn’t you…”

She shook her head, “no, I had no power over it. However the sun and the moon are connected, much like me and my sister… the sun can never rise without the moon setting, and the sun can never set unless someone raises the moon. Therefore, Luna must have sent the moon down in order to raise the dawn while I was unconscious.”

Twilight was quiet while she processed all the information. It made sense, but more important thoughts came to mind, “So, if you two are connected so well, can’t you try and find out where she is?” Celestia’s bright smile faded, making twilight immediately feel guilty and responsible for her teacher’s sadness.

“No, unfortunately I cannot. I can sense that she is okay, but I can’t tell where she might be.” She took another deep breath before returning to her tea.

“Oh, I see… so… you really want to fight the dragons? You want to go to war with them?”

She shook her head without hesitation, “No, I don’t… but if we don’t fight them, they might attack again… I’ve considered just giving up my power… but if they take that from me, than the ponies won’t survive if the night lasts forever. No light, no plants, no food… no life.”

Twilight thought about the option… but from what she understood, Celestia couldn’t just give up her power. The only time she didn’t have her power was when she was unconscious… the only other time would be if she were dead. She shivered at the thought of her teacher’s death, seeing her collapse on the floor the night before scared her enough as it was.

“So I want to gather up supporters who want to help defend our citizens. I can’t believe I’m asking this of everyone… but it’s painfully apparent I can’t defend them by myself. It’s either fight for the safety of everyone, or lie down and die under their feet…” she spoke softly, she didn’t want this to be their solution, but it was the only one she could think of, considering how up front and violent the dragons were about the situation.

“So… how can I help?” Twilight finally asked, trying to find a way for her to fit into this situation.

“I want you to head to ponyville and try to get some support there… I’ll have some of my guards come down to sign ponies up, but until then, just try to get whatever support you can. Even if it’s just donations, it’ll help. I have a few ideas of some special projects I want you to help with, but for now, just get the word out that we need help.”

“I can do that, princess… I’m happy to help.” She took a stand, happy that she could do some good for her teacher.

“You run along now, it’s getting late… if you head out in the morning, come say hi before you leave.”

“I will princess! I promise.” She eagerly headed back to her room, grabbing some fresh parchment and a pen to scribble down her ideas on how to help with this. She got really excited when she thought of a creative way to gather support, but she couldn’t help but think that she was supporting a war. It made her feel torn inside, thinking of wonderful, creative ideas to help support a bloodbath. It pained her, but she strongly believed that it would be better to fight than to just let the dragons take over.