Side Story: Heart Under Blade
Heart under Blade stood guard outside Celestia’s bedroom door on Earth. She hated how the armor of a Royal Guard made her look. The lovely blood red mane she had been so proud of was a tacky uninspired blue; her fur was the same color which did help mitigate her ire. The armor made the mare’s appearance into a stallion, something else she didn’t like about her assignment.
Her mind kept shifted to her foalhood, there wasn’t much to do when standing guard.
Heart under Blade compared the design on the floor to the one in the book. The ancient letters scrawled onto the wooden floor, the geometric shapes inside a circle, a stuffed toy bird sitting above it all. Her father watched, making sure the lines were good enough to not destroy the house. He was a large stallion with a sprig of what he called parsley as a cutie mark.
“What are you making?” Hem Lock wiped away an errant line that would have given all the thaumaturgical energy an escape.
“Flutter.” She positioned the birdie better. “I want her to fly.”
“Where’d you get that idea sweetie?” He fluffed the unicorn’s mane. Both her parents were earth ponies, but they had a family history of dealing with magic.
“A voice told me to.” Heart under Blade moved a lock of blood red hair from her eyes. She placed her hooves on either side of the seal and suffused energy into it, the black lightning worked its way over the toy. The bird flapped and lifted off the ground before exploding in a ball of stuffing and feathers once she moved her hooves.
Hem Lock’s flank hit the ground. “You have a bright future ahead of you sweetie. It was years before your mom even attempted something like that.”
“She did stuff like this?”
“Of course. When she gets home from her assignment you can see what her special talent is.”
Heart under Blade stared ahead, eyes moving down the hallway, waiting for the first signs. She had been designated as the Speaker for her people as a filly; she was the first in generations that could hear His glorious voice. The one to help orchestrate his plans, even if she was never privileged enough to know her impact.
The Changelings were attacking, one crashed in front of her only to receive a spear to the abdomen, green goop leaked from the wound as it collapsed. The spear came back out with a shlurp. Her fellow guards were running around scared.
“Stupid foals!” She roared. “This is what we trained for!” Heart under Blade tossed off her armor, black lines crossed her flanks, an ancient sigil and sign of her duty. These creatures looked familiar He had said her job was to stop them.
Another guard was cornered by three changelings, he was holding his own but more were coming, Quick Strike kept two at bay while the third moved around to flank.
Heart threw the spear and charged. One stuck to the wall by a spear while Quick took out the other two.
She hated the guards, but one day this job would be over and she could move on to the next one.
Her most important job so far had been to sneak into Celestia’s personal library and steal an old tome to place it on a certain doorstep and give it a slight enchantment to make sure it was read. Somehow she had failed, the rift it created was supposed to engulf the whole town and take out enough of the Elements that they would never pose a threat again. It failed, yet her lord was wise, he always had another plan. She was allowed to take a peace offering to the Changeling Horde, a perfected disguise spell, but that too had failed. Again, her lord didn’t blame or punish Heart under Blade, instead he gave her more tasks, ones that required the help of her family.
“What’s in the box?” Quick Strike asked, poking the package between them. She would never dare challenge an earth pony, let alone that quick of a one, not when her magic was the archaic type that required preparation.
“I wanted to surprise Celestia with a special gift later. It will do wonders for her tension.”
“Can I take a peek?” He tried to lift the yellow box lid, but the red ribbon kept it sealed.
“No. That will ruin the surprise.” Her heart raced, waiting for the clock to click down. Her mother had designed the specialty box, it would arm itself after her death and ignite at the first sign of magic and target its caster. A truly beautiful creation, a literal work of art with its three stage attack.
Heart under Blade levitated up a bag of cookies from under her armor, a parting gift from her father the herbalogist. “Would you like one? They are made with Sika Sake.”
Quick Strike grabbed the treat. He stared and salivated at the creation before looking back to the mare. “How can you afford that stuff??? The import fees alone…”
It was true, a most expensive drink costing at least five hundred bits a bottle. “It was a gift from father after his latest trip.”
“Wow!” He took a small bite and savored it.
“No need to be delicate.” She giggled. “I have plenty more.” She had nothing against the stallion, it was just her duty.
He took the rest of the cookie in a single bite, a small grin spread across his lips as his hooves wavered. “Theesh are goo.” He Quick Shot mumbled. The stallion shook his head.
Now should come the twinging headache. She moved up next to the earth pony, rested his weight against her as he fell to the floor. His breathing slowed, he convulsed once then stopped moving. Heart under Blade put her ear up to his chest, there was no heartbeat, everything was going as planned.
The unicorn moved back to her own guard position, pulled out a single cookie for herself and put the bag back under her armor. The sweet smell tickled her nose, the best of ingredients for her last meal. She rested the cookie on the marble floor and lowered her head.
“We pray for the eternal darkness. Come and rule your world.” She prayed. “We who have follow since time immemorial. Who hid when the Sun and Moon took power.”
‘You shall be remembered and revered as the greatest acolyte young one.’ His deep voice resounded through her body, she twisted under the pleasure. ‘You will return at the appointed time, to fight beside me.’
“Thank you my lord.” Heart under Blade worked to contain her glee. She ate the cookie in one bite.
It truly was a masterful creation, cyanide worked into its batter, she welcomed the flow as her body shut down and death welcomed her. She knew what her lord said, but she could never be so lucky as to join him, or even see his glorious plan come to fruition.
***
It didn't matter if the alicorn lived or died, either way would further his plans. The Solar Princess was just a means to an end. Either she would start the war, her sister would start the war with her death, or a human would do just fine. Added to that he had taken one element out, the most troublesome one for his plans. The first thing too die in war was generosity. But that was merely the first he needed out of the way.
It didn't even matter who started it so long as it followed a certain path. If this didn't work there were always other plans in play, other things that could be revealed. Let it leak to reporters that the United Kingdom's prime minister had a private zoo that housed at least one unicorn. Or the growing market in certain 'rural' countries for unicorn horns on the belief they could make one smarter. There were always more ways. Always.
He would get revenge on the progeny of those who took his body and imprisoned him as a cloud of black smoke eons before.
The inspiration for the name came from an anime called "Bakemonogatari". I warn you that it is a slice of life with some 'unique' quirks. If you are to start watching it I suggest starting with "Nekomonogatari: White" And the story grows on you after a while. I would like to figure out some way to bring her back though, maybe as some eldritch monstrosity dripping bubbling black venom from long serrated claws. But doubt that is possible.
And for those unfamiliar. Hemlock and wild parsley look similar.
This chapter was originally after chapter 76, Repercussions is chapter 35. So don't expect a lot of answers yet. This was so people could somewhat see the larger picture. 
Also, I am a HUGE fan of third person limited narrative because the reader can only ever know what the character knows at that moment. And just like people they can be wrong, other can lie, or they could be insane. 
Also, will the pieces should start falllling into place from url=http://www.fimfiction.net/story/102833/futures]Futures
And moment of honesty time. You all have been bringing up good points. However; rock and a hard place. I will continue to think of contrivances for plot holes as you point them out. I am good at it, and have to. When I say this was all planned before words hit paper I am not joking (signs of that should be with Dinky). I had someone go over it with a fine toothed comb to, or so I thought. They didn't notice some big things (or anything really). And later on it gets really really fine with plotting (imo). It has also changed flow as I have written, never intended such a militaristic bent to it, more fun action or a few nuggets of thought. I was an idiot. But I am good with duct tape and arguments and research. But every time I have tried to get help I wind up back solo. So I learn. What does this mean? Not much really. I will fix what I can or find an excuse for it. Yeah, prereaders are kinda important. But, I will admit. i like that you guys expect so much. Keeps me on my toes. Just ask why things may happen once in a while, argue against a point.
As for the Mane6 being put in command roles. What have they taken on? What have we seen guards take on? Seems like an adequate job app. Also, how many guards are around them, what kind of protection would that entail. Propaganda and morale can be huge players.
You will also notice the EMP didn't take out all electronics. So why did the White House go down and several bases? Assuming Celestia knows how war goes about and is not a total idiot, what could else could she have planned? What would give her confidence enough?
Uploading this one a week early, because I have had a headache and kinda want it done with.
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First...'Heart under Blade'? I don't know...I'm not sure that is a proper pony name. Maybe 'Bladed Heart' might work instead.
Second, it seems we get to see the true mastermind behind this whole madness...well, a hint of him, anyway.
Third, 'the first thing to die in war was generosity'...you know, I don't think that is entirely true. Even in war, generosity has a tendency to pop up from time to time. It might not be common, but it does.
Well, this whole war thing is beginning, and pretty much, we are already seeing a couple of flaws in Celestia's thinking. The girls was sent into battle while still emotionally damages, and Celestia is making abrupt changes in plans without much heads-up and a backup plan. Man, things are seriously going to get real ugly, real quick.
Short C&C:
The first thing too die in war was generosity.
> Replace 'too' with 'to'.
Ok, now that I have a bigger picture I have to clarify some of my comments,
Fisrt, when I said the US should use nukes I was thinking of a more advanced stage of the war, one when the ponies would have launched a full scale attack on the US territory, so a nuke would have been a dead end for the invasion. Currently it doesn't make sense. However, to ensure the destruction of the barrier a B-83 can be used without problem if there is a bombardier active, because according to your application if that bomb explode in real life it will only affect to 60 people and if it detonate on mode aribust there wont be fallout. In you universe there will be zero humans affected (without taking into account the prisioners).
Second, maybe normal EMP are not WMD, however that EMP that Celestia created was ( supposedly) big enough to shut down all the country. The amount of economical and social damage (let alone the numbers of potentials deaths) that massive EMP could have maked maybe would have been enough to classify it as such. But with your hints I am starting to think that Celestia somehow modulated the EMP to only affect whatever she wanted to be affected.
Third, I don't see why non NATO countries should get involved in this. Probably they will see it as a internal problem of the US goverment and should remain neutral or at the most doing some kind of declaration (nobody will start WW3 for a bunch of ponies nor help USA in a poblem that only concern itself).
And finally, I should say that put the Mane 6 as commanders make sense to me. As you have said they have proven over and over again being more capable than the guards to fix things. Now that they have training they are even more capable, so for me its the logical thing to do.
PD King sombra have been the mind behind all of this?!! Damn, now I feel used. I was so excited with the war thing and now I'm only want peace to crush the plans of that motherfucker.
5930330 Wow, now I feel bad. Really have a problem with the release of info.
I did not think of the bomber, not in that regard. Too used to the hype over the F35 (which I hate, multipurpose craft are good in theory. But they will never beat a good commander with single purpose craft). Air detonation has its own worries with the jet stream, there is still a lot not known. Damn, you have me on the b83. For now
I didn't even know about it. Pretty sure the exclusion of EMPs will be taken away now. There is also only so much modulation you could do since by that point it has been taken over by the Earth itself.
Here's the million dollar question though. How do you stop something you don't even know is there?
5929072 I do like the name Bladed Heart but it lacks the same threat. So far we have had at least one pony (Fluttershy, flitter, sombra, Cadance (mi amore)) that do not stick to the two name convention.
What is the first thing to die in a war? In what order do these things die and how quickly? Not being an ass or trying to mislead or anything. I am curious.
5927508 Oh, and three chapters. One thing about Rainbow though. Have you lost anyone close to you? Ever had regrets after or fear for the lives of everybody else you know? Or maybe blame yourself for their death? She just has. How long does it take her to come to terms with change too.
5930330 Now why do you say Sombra?
Edit: I had to make an edit to that last section of heart under blade. progeny not sire's. picked the wrong word, it happens.
5938655 Oh, I said Sombra because it fits. You know, with the body being a cloud of black smoke and being banished for eons. Although I have to recognize that I completly ignored the word sire because english is not my first language and I didn't know the meaning so I choose to ignore that word. It would have happened the same if the word had been progeny
So I don't know who is the main villain and also how that EMP was stopped in some places. And I'm going to have to wait (if I'm lucky) until Friday for more information... I'm not a patient person
PD I think that the first thing that dies in war is innocence.
5938401
It was never about having a two (or any other number) name convention, it was the 'under' part of it that doesn't seems to fit well. It feels too much like a race horse's name, rather than a MLP-pony name. As for the name not having 'the same threat', I think that would make her even more dangerous, because it would make her seems 'less dangerous' than she actually is. Besides, what kind of parents would give their children such a name in the first place?
Kinda hard to say. While I'm sure certain traits might be...well, I guess 'hurt' would be close to describe it, but I think they are still 'alive'. If we use Rarity here, I suppose we can say that while she may be dead physically, she and what she stand for is still spiritually alive. Of course, to be fair, I have always been somewhat of an idealist.
5938818 My timing would be that bad. Innocence is a casualty. Although with rhetoric and the young wanting to fight I do wonder.
It will be a while for answers unfortunately. He wasn't supposed to even be revealed this early.
And I was hoping you had some insane theory about Sombra. This does happen before the Crystal Kingdom was rediscovered.
5941026 Parents who worship an insane demigod and wait for his return to overthrow the world. And I know jack squat about real horses or racing.
No you do have things like the Christmas Truce, but they went right back to killing each other the next day. And history shows that eventually these emotions can return. But war is an ugly thing, as it goes on people get more desperate and morals slowly fade. So how you treat them enemy slowly worsens.
5942374
Odd, there was no hint that the parents knew about or supported said demigod. Heh, as for the other reply, I'm not an expert either, seen two media references that mention about it (one was a movie that came out recently).
There is a whole lot more than that. There are tales of soldiers being safely housed by people inside enemy nations; enemies being spared and even cared for; medics taking care of wounded enemy soldiers; and, very rarely, some might find love (though, like I mention, that is very rare). War is an ugly thing, I'll agree on that, but your view seems a little too...absolute in the pessimist direction. War can be a pessimistic thing most of the time, but I don't think it can truly be absolute.
5944864 The mother is the one who made the bomb and the father made the poisoned cookies. His cutie mark was hemlock, a poison, hence the name Hem Lock. The use of the phrase "her people" was meant to imply her family. Yeah, been reading too much Japanese lit where nothing is explained.
And I am not a pessimist. I am a realist.
I also present the argument that works best in opposition (debater). I can also tell you stories of Nazi mariners saving the lives of British sailors. Japanese civilians saving the life of Americans they found washed up on shore. If you didn't notice, Fluttershy is one of those medics saving both sides and I never said she is the only one. When I was talking it was about the group as a whole. I can argue for why humans are the scum of the Earth and also for why they are the greatest thing ever. I can also go over stories of the good the US did in rebuilding Japan that pissed off other countries because that wasn't how you treated a conquered nation (the big one being fraternization and marriage in the era of miscegenation).
5944864
In the story it is said that
and
How the fuck did you miss that hints?
5945216
I don't think that is a problem with your writing, it's more a problem with the guy reading the story, because I saw the family connection clear as day
5946741
The first one is less about missing the hint and simple more of not connecting the dots (to be fair, I think I was tired and sunburnt at the time). The second one was a matter of assumption on my part that she just used them, which was influence by the first. Heh, sometimes you got to hate hindsight. Thank for point it out, though.
5945216
Ahhh, I see. Like I mention before, hindsight can be a pain. I will have to say that the whole thing is pretty clever, though. Kinda hard to connect the father's name to the situation, since I rarely hear that word being use in general, so you can understand why I didn't realized that connection before.
Heh, never said that you was. Honestly, I was actually worry about it sounding like I was, so I did my best to phrase it that I wasn't trying to label you or anything (though, it would be nice if I was better at communication - not one of my better skills), just that I was expressing some loose feelings and such. As for me, I am a mixture of a idealist and a realist myself (with both sides trying to find a middle ground). Anyways, I don't mind the debate, and thought you was doing a great job with your countering.
Yeah, I figured as much. I believe as long as there are individuals that tried their best to do good, it would likely to influence the group in one way or another. But, how much influence that would be depends on multiple variables.
5947569
Ahh, ok. I understand you. I make the same mistakes ( or worse) when I read while I'm tired. That's why I sometimes re-read some chapters if I think that at that moment I wasn't paying much attention.
5947569 Meh, I get labeled quite often, by quite a few people. So feel free to express or ask. And always feel free to go into variables. Feel free to talk or debate or bring up issues.
5946741 I feel I get the comment a lot in classes as I watch people stare thinking what I say makes no sense until I use small words. I would love to do subtle, haven't tried it in a while. Or symbolism. But be nice, we all miss things or see the world differently.