> The Sword and The Shield
>  by Doctor Umbrae
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Part One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was originally a story that we wrote for a competition for our forum. I think it ended up much better than the story with Fimfiction ^.^'. Anyway to those new to our stories, I hope you enjoy it and feel free to criticise or give us advice. All comments are appreciated. 

To those who follow our other stories, I just give a quick apology. I originally didn't intend for the wait to be this long, and I'll try to have the others updated as soon as possible. 





The Sword and The Shield





Part One


   The moon shone fully on Canterlot’s inhabitants. Steps resounded quietly through the royal garden. Tap, tap, tap. No louder than a whisper in the wind, her hooves stepped on the stone walkway. Garbed in full black with her navy blue coat barely visible. Her mane fell loosely onto her shoulders and her tail swung melodically behind her. Her eyes were that of a hawk’s, analytical and ready at the slightest indication of danger. She scanned the area around her and smiled to herself. Around her laid five white pegasi, all knocked unconscious.

   “Eight seconds... I’m slipping.” Her voice exuded an aura of confidence and pride. The mare then turned her gaze skyward to where a large castle sat. A grunt behind her interrupted the mare from her gaze, she turned around, quickly unsheathing her katana that sat on her back. She looked to see that one of the guard ponies was writhing, attempting to move.

“W-Why? Why can’t I move?” The guard stared with expectant eyes at the mare.

   The mare shook her head and gave a small exasperated sigh. She reached back into a small bag latched onto her leg and pulled out a small bottle that has a thin needle inside of it. “This is a narcotic. It’s used to paralyze and knock ponies unconscious. I must have not given you enough.” The mare said this with a small scowl as she plucked the needle from its bottle.

   The guard shifted uncomfortable as he watched the mare start walking toward him. “Who are you!? Are you a demon?!” His voice was angry and uncontrolled.

The mare grinned at the question as she plucked the needle in tot he colt’s neck. The colt started to daze off immediately.

   “The name’s Saru. As for me being a demon or not...” She beamed  a smile at the stallion.”That still hasn’t been decided.”  The colt’s eyes fell and he joined the other guards into a blissful sleep.

   Saru, proud of her work, turned away from the guards. She reached into her pack and pulled out a sheet of paper. The paper had a picture of a white alicorn with a rainbow mane flowing behind her. And this is my target... Saru scanned the paper, finally stopping at the message.

Dear Saru:

We eagerly request your services in dealing with a certain Princess. The revolt has been going on for nearly four months now, and at the rate things are going, her forces may be able to put down our rebellion. We ask for your assistance and putting down the Princess while there is still supplies enough for us to overrun her army. Rumors suggest that she has even ordered CIA operatives to be some of her increased guard. I have the utmost faith that they wont be a problem though. Good luck and I hope to hear soon that you have Celestia’s head on a pike.

Long live the Revolution!

~Eous

Saru stared at the letter. She shook her head.  A noble cause and the pays good. Can’t ask for a better job.  She turned back to see the unconscious guards behind her. With a  thoughtful glance, she lightly bit into their coats. One by one she hauled each of the sleeping guards into nearby hedges. After a minute of dragging, she inspected the path. Now empty, she smiled as she walked toward the impending castle.

Be ready Celestia.



	

“Kim! Wake up!” A voice shouted in the young mare’s ear. Kim groaned as she tried to kick away whoever was waking her up.

“Just give me a few minutes.” Kim replied, her voice muffled by the pillow her face was currently stuck to.

   Kim then felt somepony grab her hind leg and give a powerful yank. Kim gasped as she was pulled from her bed and onto the ground. “Ow...” Kim mumbled as she pulled herself up to see an Earth pony who was clad in red armor.

“You awake, your highness?” the pony chided. Kim put on an embarrassed smile.

   “Yes Captain!” Kim stared at the pony in front of her. Her captain had a long black mane that contrasted her white coat. Her eyes were big and blue. The red armor she sported was symbolic of her being the captain of the guard.

The captain shook her head, but a smile had already formed  on her lips. “CIA agents, even ones who are stuck with the night shift, should always be prepared for their duties.” the mare started. The mare then continued to scold Kim.

Kim scowled at the scolding and tried to act like she was actually listening to her. Every now and again Kim would chide in with “I know” or “I’m sorry.” After a few moments of the scolding the captain finally put on a sad smile.

Kim sighed at the smile. The same smile. Everypony who had heard of Kim would do one of two things. They would either laugh and insult her, or they would smile and pity her.  Kim wasn’t sure which she hated more. “I’ll just get ready.” Kim finally said as she left her captain in the room. She walked into the small bathroom found in the quarters.

The bathroom was nothing special, which wasn’t surprising considering the fact that everyone in the quarters were all ‘guards for hire’. Kim turned on a small faucet and washed her face trying to get the sleep from her eyes. She lifted her face and stared into the mirror. Her grey coat was now damp with water. Her white mane, which was normally long and tied up into a pony tail, was now sticking up in random places. Kim stretched her limps as she straightened her hair, being persistent in combing around her horn. Kim craned her neck then walked back into the living quarters, where she had spent most of the day asleep.

The quarters held two rows of five beds each. Each bed was empty, signifying that it was the night shift. Kim quietly left her room and walked toward the entrance hall where the guards were always supposed to meet before heading to their shift. The halls of the castle were long and elegant, stained glass windows littered the halls, which added to the beauty, but would prove to be a stupid idea if the castle were to come under attack.

Kim’s eyes kept falling as she walked toward the entrance hall. Whose idea was it to let us only have three hours of sleep? Kim sighed as a small group of ponies walked next to her. Both ponies had shades of green as their coat color. Both ponies stopped short as they say Kim pass by and snickered.

“They assigned the fire cracker to here? What were they thinking?!” One of the green mares laughed. The other mare laughed as if it was the funniest thing in the world. Kim’s eyes lowered in annoyance as she ignored the two and kept on walking.

Stupid jokes... you make a mistake, and everypony sees you differently. Kim thought bitterly as she walked in to the entrance hall. I just want to get this over with.



	
Saru hid away in one of the bushes connected to the castle wall. They’re switching guards now? That’s no good for me... Saru thought as she chanced a gaze out of her shrub. Saru saw many of the guards looking around and walking to different areas. The young mare sighed as she realized she would have to wait for paths to open up.

The mare sat back against the cold castle wall and stared into the sky above. I guess I’ll be here until they believe there is nopony here. Saru yearned to just fly over every pony with her wings but trying to fly, even at night, was a horrible idea for an assassin. Too uncertain. The mare closed her eyes. The ponies won’t have to live like that anymore once the Princess is lynched. Saru smiled to herself starting to imagine a society ruled by a benevolent ruler. Her smile turned into a  scowl as her memories of the tribal society returned to her. It’s hard to believe it was only a week ago that this started for me.


	***


It had all started with a letter. Not even a mention of a job, only a small note that said Please come see us, and a small map showing concise directions on how to get there. Saru was originally planing on simply disregarding the note. Why even bother if there isn’t even a job mentioned? she originally thought to herself at the time.

The note, however, would always stay on her mind until Saru eventually gave in and decided to go to the town listed. The town wasn’t a town at all. The town was filled with tents all around. Many of the ponies looked ragged and exhausted. In the northern part of the village, one could barely make out a rather large group of ponies who were sharpening weapons and practicing.

I suppose it is a revolution.  Saru thought to herself as she landed in the small encampment. Many of the ponies looked as if they hadn’t eaten in months. Their rib cages showed their lack of food. Saru cringed at the scene.

“Horrible isn’t it?” A voice came from behind her, and she turned quickly to see a pony with a gentle smile. Saru’s eyes went wide as she saw the pony.
        
The pony looked at the mare with a confused expression on his face. “Why do you look like you’re in a state of shock.”

Saru shook her head. “Forgive me, but I wasn’t aware that their was any more alicorns in the world.” Saru responded. The pony in front of her had a pitch black coat with a long spiraling horn on his head. His face was square, and his body was sculpted. His wings were long and elegant and looked like they could create tornadoes with a mere flap.

The alicorn gave a hearty laugh. “I suppose you really don’t hear much about alicorns besides Celestia, and maybe her sister.”

Saru gave a confused glance toward the alicorn. “Celestia has a sister?”

The alicorn smiled. “She once did, but because of Celestia’s lust for power she sealed up her own sister in order to not have to share her kingdom.” Saru blinked at the alicorn.

“I-I had no idea.” Saru exhaled.

“Not many do my friend. However, you are a very interesting pegasus indeed.” The black pony smiled. “You’ve supposedly trained long and hard up in the mountains to the north of this madness. Care to show me some of your prowess?” The black alicorn gave a huge grin as he stood ready for a fight.

“I’m not sure that’s the greatest idea.” Saru reitereated.

“I promise that you wont be hurt severely if you agree.” The stallion laughed.

“I was just worried about accidentally killing the revolution’s leader.” Saru gave a cocky smile at the alicorn.

The alicorn gave a loud laugh that boomed though the area. Many of the ponies around them turned toward the two. Some had awe exuding from them for their beloved alicorn leader.

“Confidence... I like that Miss Saru.” The alicorn stated as he readied himself for a fight.

“May I have your name?” Saru asked as she unsheathed her trusty katana.

“Eous” The alicorn responded simply as a black aura crowded his horn.

Saru charged first, her wings arched back and she flew at lightning speeds toward the alicorn. Eous dodged out of the way as Saru striked with her sword. Eous nodded his head and Saru felt her body suddenly become propelled to the ground.  

“You’re definitely a quick one” Eous noted as he prepared another strike.

“You’re not too shabby yourself, Eous.” Saru rushed again with her sword outstretched. Eous dodged out of the way and he summoned a small ball of pure energy. He swung his head and shot the ball of energy at Saru. Saru rolled out of the way and dashed forward once again.

   “You can’t keep using the same tricks my dear.” Eous laughed as he summoned energy and lowered his head. The strike threw Saru to the ground. Saru gave a small grin and sped past Eous, not  trying to slash him this time. Eous, however, took the opportunity and threw his magic into a wall of power which charged Saru and sent her to a nearby tree. “I’m sorry to say, but I honestly expected more of you my dear Saru.” Eous said with a shrug.

  Saru flashed the alicorn a smile. She picked her self up, picked up her sword. “Do you know what the problem with solely using magic is?” Saru asked.

Eous looked at Saru with a questioning glance. “What is it my dear?”

   “You need to concentrate. Now let me ask you, how well can you concentrate when razor wire cuts you inch by inch.” Eous looked at Saru questioningly as Saru started to circle Eous. “I wouldn’t recommending moving right this second by the way. Eous continued to keep his gaze on the black cladded pegasus until she finally reached a spot that was in direct sunlight.

   Eous smiled. Ten wires were around him. Each wire was just inches off of his body, and each wire was tied to Saru’s small pack. “And when I do this.” Saru pulled on the wires from her end and the wires on Eous’ body contracted in on his body. He winced as thin droplets of blood escaped from his body. “When you rely on magic, you tend to stay in one location because it’s easier to simply focus magic while standing and moving very little. So while you took out my pawns.” A small grin appeared on her face. “I surrounded your king. Checkmate.”

   Eous looked at the wire then looked at Saru. “Impressive my dear. Truly impressive. I severely underestimated you.” He said this with a beaming smile on his face.

   Saru gave a small laugh as she reached in to her bag. After a moment, the wires that were once lodged in the ground beside Eous reeled up from the ground and once again made it’s home inside of Saru’s bag.

   “You’re absolutely perfect for what I have in mind.” He flashed Saru a beaming smile. Saru scratched the back of her head in appreciation of the compliments.

“Well what did you have in mind?” she asked.

“I’ll fill you in about it later. For now, I want to show you something.” The black alicorn beckoned for Saru to follow him, and Saru readily followed.

“Before I tell you exactly what I want you to do and before you can even make a decision about it, I want to show you what you’d be fighting for and what you’d be fighting against.” He told Saru as they started to walk around town.

He must want me to participate in the war effort.  Saru thought to herself as she was led through town. In the middle of town a large arena was built. Saru stopped short and turned toward it. “What is that?” Saru asked.

Eous stopped short and turned to where she was gesturing. His expression suddenly grew solemn. “Saru, this here is what you’re fighting against. This is what I am fighting against. This arena was built to determine who obtained supplies and food. They would have two ponies from very poor families fight one another till the death. Whoever bet on the winner, and the winner, would then receive food for themselves. The losers would then be forced to go about finding a different way of getting food.

Saru stared at the arena with wide eyes. “That’s horrible!”

“It’s one of the many ways Celestia has chosen to keep the peasants under her hoof. Eous shook his head with a large frown present on his face. Saru stared at the arena only a moment longer before seeing Eous already moving on.

Eous showed her many things. From foals crying over lost parents, to the bloodied remains of innocent mares and foals. Saru’s face turned to one of anger as she was shown these things. Eous finally lead Saru to a large tent in the back of the camp. The tent was large and about the size of a house. it held a bed in one of the corners and the floor was covered by a thick carpet. Thin pillars appeared in the tent in order to keep the structure standing.

“I came here four months ago in search of a friendly home. Instead I found this... Trust me when I say that this place used to be even worse than it is now. Ponies would kill other ponies just to loot the remains, many cities would be burned down or obliterated for no reason at all, and the beloved Princess would only sit back as this happened. Saru could feel her face contorting to express anger and resentment. Eous nodded at the mare as he walked toward a chair and sat down. “Now for the reason I called you here.” He heaved a sigh.

“I want you to assassinate the Princess.” Saru’s eyes went wide at the comment, and she stared at the alicorn. “Before you answer, I want you to think about everything you’ve seen today. All the hunger, all the pain, all the death. Now tell me... do you think you can do it?” Eous looked at Saru expectantly.

How could I not do it? Celestia has to go down! Saru looked up at Eous with determined eyes. “Of course I can!” Saru said with a  broad smile. Eous returned the smile and got up from his chair. He went to a  small desk behind his chair and picked up a folder. “I prepared this in case you did agree, in here is a way to get in, times, bribes to pay off guards, and some other equipment you may find useful.”

Saru graciously accepted the Manila folder. She opened it and quickly pulled out a folded piece of paper.

   “Ah. That. That is a letter from me to you. Celestia is a liar and a cheater. She will resort to nothing to convince you of her innocence. I want you to read that if you ever start to doubt your mission.” Eous told Saru.

Saru gave a small nod at his comment and placed the note inside of her folder. “So, when do I go?” the mare asked.

   Eous gave a smile. “In three days from today, I want you to infiltrate the castle. Before then, feel free to rest up.” Eous gave a small smile, and Saru sat up ready to leave the tent.
        
        “I’ll make sure this world becomes a better one!” Saru said with a happy salute as she walked out of the tent. There’s no way I’ll fail.

***

   Saru shook the memories away and looked to see the guards had stopped walking around and were now walking back to their stations. Time for the fun to begin.



	


Kim was rushing through the halls. I didn’t think I had slept in so long that the guards already switched. The guards were to be given their stations in entrance hall and then scour the gardens and castle for intruders. She ran past many of the other passing guards in the castle. Many would stop and say “Oh! Is the Firecracker late again?! I guess she can’t do anything right.” they would laugh, and Kim would try to turn away, but it got harder and harder the more times she heard the nick name.

Kim finally ran into the entrance hall where the base of operations was primarily held. On the second floor in a secluded room is where Celestia was supposedly held, and whoever was trying to get to her would one hard time getting there because of all the guards. The entrance hall was a humongous room. The stairs were draped with a red carpet matching the floor below Kim’s feet. A large golden chandelier sat on the ceiling above her, reflecting the light from its bulbs. The captain sat on top of the stairs, waiting for her.

With an apologetic expression already forming on her face, Kim walked up the stairs to see her captain ready to scold her. The captain heaved a sigh. “Alright Kim, I suppose it is better late than never.”

“I’m sorry captain.” Kim replied with her head bowed.

“Don’t bow your head to me. Lets just forget it, and just start your job.”

“Where am I stationed?” Kim asked. I hate when she’s mad at me. The air always feels so tense.
        
“I stationed you to guard The Princess’ room.” The captain said nonchalantly.

Kim stared at her captain with wide eyes. “Are you sure captain, I mean are you sure I’m the right pony to do that?”

“You’re a powerful unicorn Kim, I have faith that you can protect the Princess if it comes to it.”

“But...” Kim started.

   “But nothing. I know there are rumors spreading around about your magic, but you shouldn’t let that get you down.” Her captain stated.

Kim gave a small nod. But they aren’t just rumors. Unwilling to say that part out loud, Kim walked up the stairs and into the hall that led to Celestia’s room.

The hall was long and regal much like the other parts of the castle. There were, however, noticeable difference between this particular hall and the other halls of the castle. This hall held no windows and was only lighted by hanging bulbs that led down to a room at the end of the hall. There was also only one room on this hall opposed to the nine or ten rooms found on most of the other halls.

Kim walked down the hall in a state of melancholy. What if I can’t do it? What if an attack happens and the Princess dies because of me? Trying to shift her thoughts aside, she turned the corner to see a lone door. The room was placed after a turn in the hall way to avoid a charge, at least that’s what Kim assumed.  In front of the bronze door stood a stallion with a tan coat. He wore steal pads on his chest, and his eyes were hard and unyielding.

He took one look at Kim and scoffed. “What do you want Firecracker?” He snapped. Kim nearly cowered away from the response.

Had to be him...

   The colt in front of her went by the name Temere. He raised through the ranks quickly, and was regarded as a strong and respectful pony.  

Of course they’d have him though. “I’m here to relieve you of your position. I’ll be protecting Celestia here for now.” Kim stated, trying to sound confident.

Temere stared at her and suppressed a laugh. “You?!”

“Yes...” Kim whispered.

“Why would they choose you?!” He laughed.

“She looks very capable, I don’t see why not.” A voice behind Temere interrupted their chat. Temere turned with a shocked expression to see a beautiful white alicorn behind him.

“My Princess! Forgive me, but you are wrong. She is one if the most incapable here!” Temere bellowed.

Kim scowled. Why don’t you just shut up?

“That’s quite okay Temere, she looks perfect for the job. I relinquish you from your duties.” Temere opened his mouth to say something, but instead simply shook his head and left the two ponies alone.

“Hello miss...?”

“Oh! I’m Kim...” Kim said as she bowed her head to the Princess. Celestia placed a smile on her face before inviting Kim in to the room. Kim followed behind Celestia.

The room, like everything else in the castle, was absolutely astonishing. Filled with a variety of colors it felt almost intimidating of how beautifully everything was arranged. The carpet held the same red carpet as the halls, but the walls were a wondrous shade of blue that truly made the cream color of the roof pop. The gold trimming on the walls only added to the effect.

“Forgive me, but I like to know my guards before I station them. It just seems like good courtesy to know the one’s who are protecting you.” Celestia said with a small smile. Kim gave a small nod. “So Kim... how do you like the castle?”

Kim gave a shy smile. “It’s very intimidating.”

Celestia smiled as if she knew why, but she asked anyway. “Why do you say that?”

“Everything here is so colorful, regal, and large. It’s just astonishing.”

Celestia nodded. “I hold a very similar view to yours. Just being in this castle makes me want to be a better ruler, so I can somehow live up to the beauty of this place.” Kim smiled at the Princess’ response. “You don’t have to answer, but I’m curious. Why did Temere originally call you ‘Firecracker?’.” Kim’s smile faded. “Like I said you don’t have to answer, I was only curious.” Celestia amended.

Kim shook her head. “No it’s fine. He calls me Firecracker because it’s a nickname that’s been given me because of my... lack of control I guess.”

Celestia tilted her head. “Lack of control?”

“Yeah, with magic, I apparently have a powerful supply of magic, but I can’t control it enough to be able to defeat something without destroying everything else around it. At first ponies really didn’t mind. I mean as long as you get the job done, it really didn’t matter what happened to the area around them, but we had a mission where we were supposed to protect an ambassador of a foreign country, but when things got heated... I-I.” Kim stopped herself.

Celestia nodded in understanding and patted Kim’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for asking, but don’t hold the mistake over your head. You can’t change the past.” Kim gave a small nod, but her eyes still welled up.

I’m such an idiot... crying in front of the Princess of all of Equestria.

Celestia then wore a sad smile. “I suppose I should talk about myself now.”

Kim looked up at her. “No Princess you really don’t have to.”

Celestia shook her head. “I made you remember something you should forget, and besides, I tell my guards about myself because I want to make sure they know who they’re risking their lives for.”  She explained this with true care lacing her voice.

“...Okay.” Kim responded.

“Kim... Did you know that at one time two alicorns ruled this land?” Celestia started with.

Kim stared at Celestia with confusion on her face. “Equestria was ruled by two alicorns?” Kim asked. I’ve never heard of that...

“Yes... in about a hundred years it’ll be the thousand year anniversary of me ruling alone...” Celestia sighed.

“You don’t have to tell me the details...” Kim said as she sat up.

Celestia smiled. “That’s sweet of you, but I feel like I honestly feel like I should. My sister, her name was Luna, was sealed into the moon by me nearly a thousand years ago. We at one time ruled Equestria harmoniously, but soon it became impossible for us to work together. I’m still not sure as to why, but Luna went against me and fought me for control of the kingdom. It was horrible. Canterlot was destroyed... and the castle was in shambles. I had to repair it by myself.” A tear fell down from Celestia’s eye. “It was the hardest thing I had ever had to do.”

Kim stared at Celestia with a glow in her eye. She’s amazing. Kim thought to herself. “That’s so amazing that you were able to do that.” Kim said with a smile. Celestia gave a small laugh.

“I suppose that depends on who you ask.”  Celestia sighed.

“What do you mean?” Kim asked expectantly.

“Many tribes and small cities have decided to revolt against me because of a new alicorn. The new alicorn has promised things that are really impossible to give.” Kim stared at Celestia with a  look of confusion on her face. Celestia interpreted the look as a question. “He promised longer growing seasons, longer lasting food, and supplied of water from even the strongest deserts. It’s just not possible to do all of this without upsetting the balance of the world, yet ponies still listen to his lies, and now many have revolted against me...” Celestia heaved a sigh. “Enough with my rant though.” she said with a small smile. “Thank you for talking with me Kim.”

“It was my pleasure Princess.” Kim said as she stood up and started to walk out of the room.

“You’re a strong pony, don’t let anypony tell you differently.” Celestia said as Kim left the room.  

Kim left the room with a sad smile on her face.



	
   Saru quietly stepped through the castle, careful not to alert anypony else. She sighed as she looked behind her to where a pony with a white coat laid. A symbol on her armor automatically made her stand out. Must be the captain of the guard... Saru thought to herself as she continued through the halls. After a few minutes of walking Saru found the entrance hall. She quickly leaned against the wall to avoid being seen. Out on top of the stairs stood a tan stallion who appeared to be sulking in silence.

        Saru sighed as she reached in to her pack and brought out a smooth stone. I’m not here to kill anypony besides the Princess. She reeled her arm back and threw the stone across the entrance hall and into another hall. The rock made a satisfied “thunk” which resounded throughout the entrance hall. The stallion on top of the stairs suddenly turned his attention to the other hall.

   “Anypony there!?” He yelled out. After not earning a response, he took a look around. He steadily climbed down the stairs and turned down the hall.

Stupid guards are an assassin’s best friend. Saru thought to herself as she quickly trotted up the steps. Saru went over the map of the castle in her mind. She turned left down a hall with no windows. This should be the way. The hall was long and winding, and it surprised her by how dark it was despite the light bulbs. At the end of the all there was a small turn in to another hallway. She walked around the corner, and cursed herself for not peeking. In front of a bronze door was a grey unicorn with a white mane stared back at her. On the mare’s flank stood a thin line of fire.

A stupid assassin makes a dead one.  Saru reeled back.

“Who are you!?” Kim shouted at Saru.

Saru ran back into the long winding hallway. This isn’t good.

   Kim stared at where Saru used to be. “Princess stay in your room!” Kim shouted through the bronze door. She then ran in to the long hallway, chasing after the pony dressed in black. Kim took note of Saru. The black garb that Saru wore wrapped around her whole body only showing her mouth and her eyes. The black garb looked more like silk than any other cloth.

“Answer me! Why are you here?!” Kim shouted.

Saru scowled. “I can’t waste time with you, I have somepony I need to kill.”

I can’t let her get to the Princess. Kim thought sourly as she braced herself.

“You don’t want to fight me.” Saru said as she unsheathed her katana.

“I can promise you that I do.” Kim said as a sea blue aura formed around her.

Saru dashed at Kim with her katana in her mouth. She closed the distance quickly and slashed down on to the grey unicorn. Kim side stepped the slash and brought her head down in an attempt to ground the pegasus. Saru rolled out of Kim’s sight before the spell could finish. “Have to be faster than that if you want me!” Saru called out as she opened her pack and took out five shurikan. She threw the stars at Kim. Kim dodged the five shurikan easily and prepared another spell to take down the acrobatic pegasus. She took a step forward and her leg started to bleed. She reeled back after the small cut. When she stepped back she felt another cut on her hind leg.

“What’s going on!?” Kim roared. Saru laughed as landed on the ground.

“Wires hold you in place. If you move much more than an inch or so, I can kill you here.” Saru’s voice had a dark undertone inside of it now. “Give up and let me pass and I won’t kill you.” Saru threatened.

Kim stared at Saru for  a few seconds.  You’re a strong pony, don’t let anypony tell you differently. Kim thought back to the last thing the Princess had said to her. Her teeth clenched and she stared at Saru with hate filled eyes. “Who do you think you are?!” She roared. Her aura expanded to her whole body. Where her aura touched the ground a small ember had appeared. Saru stared at the first with a confused look on her face.

Fire? Saru thought to herself as she started to pull on the wires to contract them. The wires closed in on Kim’s body, but as soon as the wires touch her aura, they burst in to flame. The flame spread up the wires to Saru. Flabbergasted, Saru quickly threw her pack to the ground where it ignited in flame.

In less than a second the wires had turn to ash. “How about we start with a real fight?” Kim asked. Each step she took ignited a flame on her hoof, creating scorch marks on the carpet. Saru beamed a smile at the unicorn.

“A smart guard? What is this madness?” Saru joked as she armed her katana.

Kim charged this time. She left a trail of fire as she trotted forward. Saru jumped out into the main entrance way to dodge the charge. Kim’s horn shined as her aura changed from sea blue to orange. Fire then started to replace her aura as she chased after the pegasus.

What powerful magic. Saru thought to herself as she flew in to the air. Kim stepped into the entrance hall with a scowl on her face. She took a quick scan around the entrance.

“What have you done with the other guards?” Kim asked.

“Merely put to sleep most of them.” Saru stated, her wings flapping melodically. Kim’s horn started to glow as her aura of fire branched out and like it was guided flew at Saru. The pegasus dodged out of the way of the fire. The fire lit part of the wall on fire. Saru stared back at Kim to see her aura starting to create arrows made of raw fire.

The arrows shot toward Saru. Saru did a barrel roll to dodge the arrows. She then took her katana and charged at Kim. She brought the sword down on air as Kim rolled out of the way.

Kim’s horn started to glow as a large snake escaped from her aura and chased after Saru. What power!  Saru thought to herself as she jumped into the air again to avoid the fire. The roof was starting to catch on fire due to the use of so much fire. Saru dodged out of the way of the snake once again and it struck another wall setting it aflame.

That’s it! Saru thought to herself as she turned to face Kim, who was exuding energy for the fire snake. Saru waited in mid air until the fire started coming toward her. She then charged at Kim with a sword ready to stab the unicorn. Kim’s aura strengthened and the heat in the area raised exponentially.

I wont let you get the Princess! Kim thought as her aura increased and the trail of fire behind Saru sped up even more.

Almost there. Saru thought to herself as she sped through the heat.

What is she thinking?! Kim thought as the heat reached upward of two hundred and fifty degrees.

Now! Saru pulled up from her dive, and the trail of fire smacked into Kim. Saru panted as she flew herself up from the disaster. A large ball of fire had accumulated where the attack had taken place. Saru couldn’t help but smile at what had happen. She was too strong...   Saru thought to herself. She lowered herself on to the ground that was starting to catch on fire. I need to hurry. She started to proceed back up the stairs.

“Yo-You’re n-not for-forgetting about me, are you?”

Saru stopped cold and turned to face unicorn climbing out of the ball of fire. The pony was limping, the pony was sweating, the pony was panting, but she was definitely alive. “Why? Why are you trying so hard to die for this tyrant!?” Saru yelled at Kim.

Kim smiled and pushed herself to a standing position. “A tyrant? Is a tyrant somepony who for the first time since it happened didn’t pity me, the first pony since that time not to blame me, a pony who opened up to me and told me I was strong? I believe we’re talking about different ponies.” She said as she limped to face Saru face to face. Saru stared at the unicorn with a sad expression on her face.

“I assume you won’t get out of the way?” Saru said with a sad undertone.

“You assume correctly.” Kim said as she stood in front of Saru, guarding the only way back down the hall to Celestia.

“Then I’m very sorry.” Saru took her katana and steadied it. “But I have to kill her, the tyrant must die!” She raised her sword and Kim closed her eyes. The strike never came.

“I’m sorry, but do you have qualms with me? If so, I would like if you didn’t try to kill my friends.” A familiar voice rang from behind. With a shocked expression on her face, Kim turned to see the white alicorn princess behind her. Her face was scrunched up with her eyes showing only hatred.

Saru stared at the alicorn for a moment. “Good to finally meet you Princess.” Saru said as she readied her katana.

“Princess, don’t put yourself in danger for my sake!” Kim shouted. Celestia simply smiled at the unicorn as if to tell her “don’t worry.”

She walked past Kim and stared down at Saru. Saru stood ready for a fight.

“That’s enough you three.” The voice shook all three of them from their thoughts as a new pony walked in to the fire infested castle.

“Eous?” Saru asked reluctantly as she saw a black alicorn enter.

“Hello there dear Saru, you’ve proved very effective indeed. I was hoping you would of actually killed the guards in your way, but I suppose beggars can’t be choosers. I was able to make short work of them anyway.” The black alicorn smiled as he walked through.

“You killed my subjects?!” Celestia bellowed as she stared down with the black alicorn.

“You should get stronger subjects Mistress.” Eous said calmly as he stepped out of the way letting another pony enter behind him. The pony sported a tan coat, and wore steel chest plates.

“Temere?” Kim whispered in shock. The pony looked the same as he had only thirty minutes earlier, but now his eyes were completely black, and held no iris or pupil.

“Hello Firecracker, I see you’ve lived up to your name.” He noted as he looked around at the entrance hall which was completely on fire. Kim shied away from the comment.

“Temere, why have you went with him?” Celestia cringed.

“Nothing personal Princess, but you have to choose the winning side.” An evil grin had appear on his face as he stared at the two.

Eous is different. I thought... I thought he was a kind pony. Saru stared down at the dark alicorn, confused out of her mind.

“I don’t understand!” Saru shouted at Eous.

“You told me you wanted to be a benevolent ruler, but now... now it’s like you’re a different pony.” Saru yelled at the alicorn.

He smiled at her. “Just do your job Saru.”  Saru growled at the alicorn.

“Tell me who you really are!” Saru yelled as she redirected her sword to Eous.

        “I’m an alicorn wishing for this tyrant to be put out of power, that is all.” He gestured toward Celestia.

“You’re the leader of the revolution then?” Celestia said as her horn gained a golden aura.

“Why yes. However, it is probably better to say that I am the future of Equestria.” He said with a large smile on his face.

“You lied to me!” Saru yelled at him.

   “Naivety is a harder trait to find than you would think, but you, Saru, proved easy to trick. Saru barred her teeth at the alicorn and charged at him and swung her horn down. Temere raised his staff and blocked the attack. He pushed the mare away with a beaming smile on his face.

   “Thank you so much for this.” Temere said to Eous as he stared at Saru, hoping that she was to come at him again, so he could beat her to within an inch of her life.

   “No problem at all my servant. Now back to us Celestia. I would very much like if you were to die now.” His aura suddenly flared, and a small tremor spread throughout the castle.

   “Was that his power?” Kim asked. She turned to face Celestia, and what she saw nearly made her jaw drop. Celestia had wide eyes, and her mouth was open in shock. “Princess, what’s wrong?!” Kim asked.

   “She’s realized that there isn’t a way for her to escape.” Eous started. “My army is coming, and they are going to flatten this castle and kill the Princess in the process.” Eous said this with a broad smile as he stepped toward the stairs.

“What do we do...?” Kim asked exasperated.

“I-I don’t know.” Celestia said with fear laced in her voice.

“You two are going to leave here.” Saru said as she landed beside them.

“What?” Kim asked.

   “I’m going to kill him” Saru angrily pointed toward Temere. “And then I’m going to mutilate him.” She pointed toward the smiling alicorn. “I don’t take to well to liars, and as I make sure that they beg for their lives, I want you two to escape and regroup with whatever army you may have.”  Saru didn’t even wait for a response she started walking down the fire infested doors, angry beyond reason.

“Princess?” Kim asked Celestia.

“There is a way out through my chambers... we can escape through there.” Celestia said with a slight hesitation.

   Kim nodded, and then both started to race down the hall. Kim stopped short and turned back toward Saru. “You better live you stupid pegasus! We didn’t get to finish our fight!”

   Saru smiled as she walked down the stairs to face Temere at the bottom of them. Temere’s eyes were full of blood thirst, and a maniacal smile crossed his lips. Saru mirrored the face completely.

“You think you can kill both of us my dear?” Eous asked the mare.”Are you insane?”

“Do you two really think you can beat me?” Saru raised her sword high in to the air. “Are you insane?!”



	
Kim and Celestia ran into the bedchamber. “How do we get out?” Kim asked. Celestia, already on it, pressed a single stone on a stone fireplace that was located in her room. The Fireplace then extended, and opened a pathway that led underground.

“Lets get out now.” Celestia said with urgency as she climbed down the steps. The way out was a long and winding one. The  trail was only lighted by the occasional torch on the wall, and the trail seemed to extend far inside of the mountain the castle sat on. After a few minutes an opening emerged and brought them to a small tunnel at the base of the mountain.

“Light finally!” Kim said graciously. Her smile was quickly nerfed as she saw Celestia’s expression. Kim followed Celestia’s gaze to see she was looking at Canterlot and the castle, or what was left of the castle. Canterlot was in flames. The castle was broken up, and was now nearly non existent. They killed them... Kim’s thoughts drifted to her captain who had so much faith in her. They killed her.  Kim looked up to see a small chariot was carrying to specific ponies. Eous and Temure... That assassin died, and I don’t even know her name.

Kim’s legs buckled, the full magnitude of the situation hit her all at once. I’m so useless!  She started to punch the ground below them. Celestia stared up in quiet empathy for her lost kingdom. Even from the base of the mountain one could hear the chants of the army.



Long live the revolution!

Long live the revolution!!

Long live the revolution!!!

Part One End
	

> Part Two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Part Two


   They walked in silence. The trail up the mountain was littered with ruble and trash. Splotches of dried blood littered the ground as the two ponies walked on. In the distance Canterlot, once a beautiful city full of prosperity, laid now in ruins. Kim stared up at the city in quiet empathy. I couldn’t do anything she thought to herself for the hundredth time. Kim gave a sidelong glance at the Princess next to her. Celestia looked at the ground as she walked.Kim gave a small frown. I can’t even imagine how the Princess is feeling...

   After a few minutes of walking the two ponies entered through what used to be the entrance of Canterlot. Now the entrance was destroyed and all that was left of it was a crumbled gate that was broken into many pieces. Past the broken gate, the houses and stores emulated the same thing. Building were broken beyond repair. Fires were still present on some of the ruble. Corpses littered the streets like confetti. The light from the rising sun made sure that none of these details were missed. Kim stepped over the rubble and took a look around. She glanced back to see Celestia frozen in place.

   “There’s so much...” She whispered as she quietly stepped over the rubble guarding the entrance. “So much death.” She shook her head. Kim lowered her head in embarrassment.

        Maybe if I was stronger? Kim looked down the main street that eventually lead to where the Canterlot Castle once stood proud. The gardens in front of the castle were nothing but blackened ash. The castle itself had fallen in to itself. Fires were still present in some of the spots of the broken castle.

   “This is horrible.” Celestia whimpered to herself as she took a look around. Kim started to walk down the main street with unease. She found herself having to step over limbs from dead ponies.

        Where do I even go? Kim thought to herself as she kept walking. Celestia followed the unicorn with slow steps. Attempting to take in everything, she would cast glances at every visible part of the ruble.

After a few moments of silent walking, Kim found herself in front of the castle gates, however, to call them gates would be heresy. The gates were ripped off their hinges, fire had browned most of the gates, and the gates were now twisted at odd angles which rendered them unusable.

Kim took a step on the gates and felt the metal warm the bottom of her hooves. She almost cringed when she saw the gardens at this point. Blood had run rampant here. White pegasus guards sat at awkward angles, and dried blood surrounded these figures. Kim scowled as she ventured further into gardens.

The garden must have been where the battle mainly took place. Kim thought to herself as she saw more and more guards placed in strange positions. Ponies by the entrance of the castle were a completely different matter. Many were charred beyond recognition. No blood, no bones sticking out, no faces writhing in agony, just blacked bodies with no distinguishable features about them. One couldn't even determine what their coat color used to be.

Kim heaved a sigh. Did I think that seeing this would help me at all? she thought to herself as she turned around. She stopped herself mid turn. She looked down one of the many stone encrusted trails of the gardens to see a sole pony laying there. Kim’s eyes widened as she sprinted toward the fallen pony. The mare’s eyes were open and wide. In her chest there was a hole that looked to have come from a spear. Tears fell from Kim as she stared at the pony.

“Captain!” she yelled out. She hammered her hooves on to the corpse, and after a moment, she started hammering her hooves on the pony’s body. “Why? Why?!” Kim shouted at the corpse. “Why did they kill everypony!?” Kim buried her tears in to an untainted part of the corpses coat. Kim sobbed softly for a few moments as Celestia walked up behind her.

Celestia sat down behind Kim’s sobbing figure and closed her eyes. “Take your time.” Celestia said softly to the unicorn. And she did. Kim sat there sobbing for around twenty minutes; the whole situation finally dawning on her.

   After some time, Kim finally picked herself up. Her eyes were read and puffy, but Celestia smiled at her all the same. “W-what do we do now?” Kim asked the alicorn.

   “I suppose it’d be best to see if they’re survivors somewhere... My ponies are resilient, many would have lived.” Celestia said as she extended a hoof out to Kim. Kim grabbed the hoof, and Celestia pulled the mare on to her legs.

   They went back to the streets of Canterlot. Kim scanned each and every corpse on the street. Each new corpse brought a feeling of disgust with it. “How can we find any survivors? Wouldn’t they be in hiding?” Kim asked as their search had entered ten minutes.

        Celestia stopped short. She turned her head skyward, and a golden aura surrounded her horn.

   “Citizens of Canterlot! It is I, Princess Celestia! The threat has left Canterlot at the moment. Present yourself to me!” Celestia’s voice resounded through the city like a canon. For a brief moment nothing happened. The air stood still with not even a single breathe making a sound. A frown started to scratch on to Kim’s face as she began to suspect the worse. Her fears were dashed only a moment later.
        
   “Princess?” A small voice asked. The two mares turned to see a stallion lifting himself up out of a sink hole. He had a red coat, and a black mane. His eyes were baggy and a smile had appeared on his face. “It is you!” he cried out as he ran toward the alicorn. His cry of joy opened the flood gates. Ponies started appearing from other sink holes, from under rubble, and from back alleys hidden away from sight. By the end there was around forty ponies surrounding the two mares.

   Celestia gave a bright smile to each and every pony. Almost everypony around her looked ragged and exhausted, yet each and every one of them had a smile fill their face. As if a tiny bit of hope was given to each pony.

“Celestia, what do we do now?” One of the ponies asked. Celestia stuck out her lip and started to think.

 “We should look for any remaining survivors first. Saving as many ponies as possible should be our number one priority.” Celestia told the small group. A mumble of agreement surged through the ponies.

Even after all this, Celestia is still able to think rationally. Kim couldn’t help being in awe of the alicorn. But what am I supposed to do? Kim thought to herself as she saw Celestia issue orders to each individual. By the look of how some dressed, Kim could guess that there was maybe four or five guards. Captain...

“Celestia?” Kim asked.

Celestia turned to face the unicorn with a smile. “Yes?”

“Where is the base for the revolution?”

Celestia turned her gaze off in the distance where a large forest stood. “East of here is a small clearing, It was filled with small buildings and houses and was one of the most peaceful towns you would have ever seen. It went by the name Ponyville at the time, but since then it’s became the haven for the revolution. Why?”

   Kim turned westward, and saw many different edifices in the distance. All of them were tents besides an oval shape in the middle of the tents. “Is that an arena?” Kim asked.

Celestia looked to where Kim was pointing and smiled. “It wasn’t originally. The arena was originally built as a stage. I wanted to bring commerce to such a small town, so I built a stage for plays and shows, to be played there.” Celestia explained. Kim nodded and with a smile turned toward Celestia. “I don’t want you to do it.” Celestia said before Kim could speak.

        Kim stared at Celestia. “What do you mean?”

        “You want to go to that camp don’t you?” Celestia said as she greeted another pony.

        How-?

        Celestia turned to Kim and gave her a sad smile. “Kim, you have no reason to feel guilt, none of this was your fault.” Celestia told the unicorn.

        Kim looked away from Celestia. “I feel like it’s my fault because it is.”

   Celestia shook her head like a caring mother. “Kim, I don’t want you to go because things could go wrong if you were to go, and you could serve a better purpose here anyway.” Celestia explained.

        “Like what?!” Kim yelled.

        Celestia blinked at Kim’s outburst. “You’re stron-”

   “You have at the very least forty ponies here that would risk their lives for you. I should be down there.” Kim gestured toward the camp. “No! I should have been in that castle when it burned rather than run away! I should have died along with that assassin!” Kim yelled her eyes beginning to water.

“Kim, just listen to me. I know it’s tough. Do you think I’m just happy because of all of this? I feel like I'm dying inside! This was me! My kingdom, my power, my ponies, almost all of it is completely gone, but we have another chance! And you’re telling me that you’d rather go on a kamikaze mission than live?!” Celestia barked.

Kim heaved a sigh. “I know, you’re right.”

The day proceeded without delay. Ten survivors were found throughout the day, and tents were built in order to provide shelter for the ponies. As darkness descended on the ponies, a steady set of hoof steps resounded through the camp site. With a broad smile painted on to her face, she rushed out of the camp site and then out of Canterlot.

Time for some payback. Kim thought to herself as she ran down the side of the mountain. The trip down the mountain didn’t last as long as climbing it originally did. Within moments of starting her sprint, Kim found herself grasping on to green grass. She put her face to the patch of grass and inhaled a large whiff of the green grass. She exhaled a sigh of relief. Maybe someday everywhere can be green like this. She thought to herself with a smile. But before that can happened. I have somepony I need to take care of.  

She rushed through a sea of trees. Some trees were broken in half, and others were simply bent at angles at odd angles. Kim paid them no mind as she entered a small clearing. The clearing surprised her. It’s so normal. She thought to herself. The camp site was lit by only by the orange flame of a fire. The fire illuminated many ponies going along with their jobs. Each and every pony looked like they were starving. However, most of the ponies had broad smiles on their face. Kim frowned as she walked in to the clearing.

Time to start the plan. She swung her head down, and a fire started a few feet away from her. Some ponies gasped as they saw her and the fire.

“We have an intruder!” One pony screamed. A small tremor of hoof steps resounded in response. Kim smiled. The aura around her horn started to glow, and the fire began to move. The fire spread out like spider web. Many of the ponies jumped back away from the fire. Guards then showed up and rushed toward Kim.

Have to make it look convincing. Kim thought to herself as she pulled her head up and the fire charged at the guards. Three of the four oncoming guards dodged the flames, and the other three continued their charge. The one that was hit was immediately engulfed in flames. Kim swung her horn to the side sending a wall of force in to one of the other oncoming guards sending him into a nearby tree. The other two ponies raised their spears and stabbed at Kim. Kim dodged out of the way, and planted a hoof in to one of their faces which knocked the guard backwards. Kim then swung around, and with glee on her face, she engulfed the last guard in fire.

“Come out Eous!” Kim shouted at the top of her lungs.

“That’s quite enough dear.” Eous said as he walked out of his tent. Kim boasted a smile at the alicorn.

“Can you guess why I’m here?” Kim asked as she stepped toward the stallion.

“To kill yourself one would assume.” Eous said with in a calm demeanor,

“Nope! Nice try though.” Kim said as she stepped closer to the alicorn.

Eous smiled. “Okay. I’ll humor you. Why are you here dear?”

“Because you’re not dead yet.” Kim said, staring at the alicorn.

Eous smiled. “That is a very good reason, but it would fit more as a reason for you to not come here.”

“Cocky are we?” Kim asked.

“It’s not cocky if it’s the truth.” He laughed

“Don’t be so arrogant.” Kim roared.

“Saru was even stronger than you and she couldn’t even last thirty seconds against me.”

Was that her name? Kim thought to herself as she stomped her hoof in to the ground.

“How about we stop this pointless chit-chat and just settle this minor conflict?” His black mane flowed behind him like a small wave.  

Not bothering to respond, Kim charged forward, a trail of fire following her. She jumped into the air and swung her head down. The fire charged at Eous who simply side stepped the attack. He swung his head down in response and brought Kim to the ground.

“Did you honestly think that you would be powerful enough to even stand up to me?” He asked as he lifted his head and pulled Kim off of the ground. Kim then hung limp in the air. Her horn began to glow, and the fire below her expanded until it engulfed her. “What are you doing?!” Eous shouted at the mare. The only thing one could see where Kim once hung was a ball of fire. A branch of fire shot from the mare and targeted Eous. Eous dodged out of the way of the fire.

“Don’t think I’m done.” Kim whispered as three more branches of fire shot from her. Eous dodged to the side and then rolled out of the way of another. However, the last branch hit him flat in the chest, engulfing him fully in fire.

“You brat!” He yelled as he raised his head high in the air. His dark aura then engulfed him replacing the fire. He inhaled a deep breath and faced Kim. Kim fell to to her knees, and her aura started to diminish. He gave a small smile at the fallen mare. “I suppose somepony has become tired from all the fireworks she’s caused. Kim panted as she looked around. Everypony in the village was watching the fight with beady eyes. Fear was shown on their faces as they stared at her. She continued to pant as she felt a wall of force hit her into the ground. Her vision blackened immediately.  





   “We have faith in you!” Kim had heard the words many times during that mission. Hearing the words had always made her uneasy. What if I fail?  She would always think to herself. What if I mess up? Kim picked herself up from where she was sitting and looked out the window. The hardwood floor below her was polished to the point where it could show you your reflection. Kim looked down at her reflection and gave a sad smile at the reflection. The window showed a large garden below, but out further was a bustling city not unlike Canterlot.The night breeze brought in a small chill into the house. The window sat on the third floor of a rather large house.


“Enjoying the view?” A voice said from behind her. Kim turned to see a beige pony who was wearing a small hat at the time.

“Yes sir!” Kim replied with a salute. He gave a small laugh.

“No need for the formalities miss, I’ve never sacred for them.” His navy blue mane was cut short with his tail long and straight. His cutie mark was a quill.

“Forgive me ambassador.” Kim responded with a bowed head.

“It’s no problem.” He said with a smile. “Call me Fides by the way.” the pony told her as he sat next to her.

“Are you expecting something dangerous Fides?” Kim asked the pony.

He gave a small laugh. “I’m always expecting something.”

“Well, why call the CIA now?”  Kim asked.

“A few death threats were sent via mail a few days ago. Most are just hate mail, but these felt different. It’s hard to explain, but they felt real I suppose.” Fides explained.

Kim gave a small nod. “And you’re expecting them?”

“I’m expecting something, whether it be ponies just to shout at my door, or ponies who break down my door is something I'm unsure of though.” He gave a small smile and walked down the stairs. “Why don’t you come down for dinner. I always make sure that those who protect me are as comfortable as can be.” His eyes closed as he made a broad grin. The smile was infectious, and Kim found herself smiling as she walked down the stairs to follow him.

The first floor was taken up largely by a long table that held a buffet of food. Five other ponies were waiting when Fides and Kim walked down in to the first floor. So much. Kim thought to herself as she plopped down on a chair in front of what she considered the ‘apple’ section of the table. This portion of the table had apple cobbler, apple pie, apple cider, and a variety of other apple related treats. Kim looked at everypony’s face. Everypony was smiling and laughing. Fides sat at the head of that table with a broad smile on his face. Kim put a smile on her face. Everything changed int he next second. A large crash echoed through the home. Four ponies appeared in the settling dust. Each pony had a mask on their head. In shocked stupor, none of the agents acted, and none of them acted until one of the agents was stabbed with a stake. That pony fell to the ground writhing in pain.

“Hand over the ambassador, or you will all end up like him.” One of the ones in the middle yelled out. Each of the ponies wore a black cloak which covered them fully, only their white masks contrasted against the black.  

“Everypony, protect the ambassador.” One of the ponies shouted. Fides looked at the ponies with terror. The pony then turned to Kim. “Take him out of here now!” Kim nodded, and grabbed Fides hoof and beckoned him to follow. He took a look at her and got from his chair and quickly followed the mare.

“Go through the back.” Kim whispered to Fides as they ran through the house. Behind them, they could hear crashes as the ponies fought. The two ponies rushed out of a back door. The door led outside to a small garden. A full moon shone high in the sky.

“You didn’t think you could escape... did you?” A voice said. Kim and Fides turned to see a fifth pony standing expectantly on the roof of the three story house.

“Fides, run!” I’ll take care of her.” Kim shouted behind her. Fides merely stood still as he looked at the pony standing on the roof.

“Sorry, but I can’t let it go that way.” The pony said as she swung her head. Kim was thrown to the side like a rag doll.  The pony then jumped down from the three floors and started walking toward Fides.

“Get away from him!” Kim shouted as she sent a psychic wave at the pony. The masked pony easily dodged out of the way and charged at Kim. With a quick nod, Kim fell to the ground once again.

“This isn’t a game. I will kill you.” Her voice sent a shiver down Kim’s back.

“Let me go!” Kim growled as she tried to push against the force. The masked pony simply shook her head before returning to a fearful Fides.

“How cute though. An ambassador who becomes scared so easily.” The pony mocked as she started to circle the ambassador. “I suppose it’s only fitting. For graft and bribery doesn’t make a strong pony... just gives him a stronger appearance... isn’t that right... Mr. ambassador?” Her voice was dark acidic and create a tense aura around her.

Kim’s eyes focused in on the two ponies. An aura appeared around her horn and then spread through her body. Within a second the aura became engulfed in fire. “Leave him alone!” She shouted as she stood up. Fire surrounded her like a cloak. Kim inhaled a deep breath and blew out a large ball of flame. The masked pony jumped out of the way, and Kim gave chase, each hoof step created a small ember behind her. She swung her head in the masked pony’s direction and a branch of fire shot from her aura. The fire crashed on to her like a wave of water. The masked pony rolled to snuff whatever small flames was on before staring at Kim once again.

“You have strong magic, but you’re awfully shortsighted.” She commented.

Kim frowned. “Shortsighted?” Her aura ignited to a  larger flame and started to engulf the area around her. The masked pony gave a small snicker staring at her.

“Destroy it. Destroy everything, and then maybe you’ll see.” She called out.

What is she talking about!? Kim thought to herself as she started to send fireball after fireball after the masked pony. The masked pony dodged each strike, and each fireball started to create a small patch of fire in the once beautiful garden.

Kim’s horn started to glow as three branches of fire shot toward the masked pony. Unable to run, the masked pony was engulfed by all three branches of flame. Kim blinked as she saw the mare writhing in pain from her fire. Kim ran to where the burning pony now laid. “Got you.” Kim panted.

For a moment the pony didn’t make a sound. “You’re a blood thirsty one aren’t you? You hide behind ideals about being unsure of your own capabilities, but when it comes to it in the end, you just want the destruction.”  The pony lifted her face and looked at Kim through her burning mask. “Isn’t that right?”

“What are you talking about?!” Kim shouted at the pony.

“You can’t hear it, can you? You can’t hear the screaming.” The pony’s head then fell limp, and as soon as her head hit the ground it’s like someone turned off the mute button. Screams echoed through Kim’s ears. She turned around to see that a garden that used to be filled with flowers and beautiful grass was now engulfed in orange flames. However, what stood out from everything was a pony screaming as he was engulfed completely in fire.

She stared. Her mind blanked. Her limbs died. She couldn’t comprehend the situation as Fides fell to the ground, his charred remains still on fire. No. No! No!! Kim yelled in her mind. This can’t be happening! Kim roared as she rushed through the fire, and took a look at Fides. His smile was gone, and was replaced with a mouth writhing in pain. His once beige coat was blackened with ash. His once full eyes were now devoid of any life.

I killed him.




   It was damp where Kim woke up. The damp air mixed with a fire burning in the room was already making Kim sweat. She  pushed herself up and placed her hoof on her face. “Just a dream... Just a memory.” she whispered to herself. She heaved a sigh and chanced a look around. The area was dark and crowded. A fire in a corner proved to be the only source of light in the entire room. The fire lit up part of the room showing a variety of broken tables and chairs.

Where am I? Kim thought to herself as she pushed herself up. Kim placed her hooves on the wall. The stone wall was cold to the touch. How do I even get out of here? As if on cue, a door in the corner of the room creaked as it opened. It opened letting in daylight into the dark room.

Daylight? Have I been here all night? Kim took small steps toward the door. Outside the door, there was a small staircase that led up to a serene blue sky. Kim climbed up the stairs until she reached the top stair case. She was surrounded by a large wall that was oval in shape. Benches were on top of the walls, and hundreds of ponies stared expectantly at Kim. Kim stared back with a nervous fear. Directly in front of Kim stood a larger wall witha  higher seat. In the seat sat Eous. He looked down at Kim with a grin on his face.

“Good morning. How did you sleep?” He asked, his smile never leaving his face.

“Horribly.” Kim responded as she ventured to the center of the arena.

“That’s fantastic.”

“Why am I here?” Kim asked.

Eous smiled as he stood up. “This is an arena and it deserves the shows that its size warrants. Wouldn’t you agree?” He stomped his hoof to the ground and a large grinding sound filled the arena. Kim looked to the other side, where another staircase was, to see a griffin walk up the stairs. Her talons were sharp. Her wings were a creamy white with her head matching it. Her body looked to be made of a golden caramel, and while her steps moved with grace, her eyes darted back and forth like a predator preying on a small animal.

Kim flinched back as she saw the creature. “What is this?”

“Entertainment.” Eous called back. Without indication the griffin shot forward at lightning speeds. Kim dodged out of the way of the charge, and brought her head down in an attempt to flatten the creature. The griffin rolled out of the way of the attack and dashed forward once again. This time her talon struck home. Kim let out a breath of pain as she was thrown to the ground.
        
She placed her hoof on her stomach. Her face placed slightly when she felt something sticky. Blood already?!  She shook the thoughts away and focused her magic.  Looks like I’ll have to use it. Her aura immediately engulfed in flames and enveloped her. She looked to see that the griffin smiled. Kim frowned as she prepared for a dash. The griffin beat her to it. The creature rushed at Kim. It swung it’s claws at Kim in a series of barrages. Kim rolled out of the way of one strike and swung her head down. The motion brought the griffin to its knees.


   Kim then stared at the griffin as her fire branched out and shot at the griffin. The hybrid rolled out of the way of the attack and charged forward. Kim side stepped a talon strike and gave a swift punch to the creature’s stomach. The griffin reeled back. Kim then inhaled a deep breath and blew out a large fireball. The fire engulfed the griffin immediately. The griffin screeched as it started to writhe on the ground. Kim panted as the fire engulfing her snuffed out.



   Kim looked up at Eous who was watching with a sardonic smile on his face. “Is that enough for you?” Eous shook his head with the crowd emulating his same motion. Kim stared at each of the ponies with wide eyes. “What are you talking about? She’s already defeated!”


        “My dear... this fight is to the death.” Eous stated simply. “She’s close to it, but she’s not dead.”

        Kim turned to see the slightly shaking figure of what used to be a beautiful griffin. “I can’t do that...” Kim whispered.

        “What was that?” Eous chided.

        “I can’t do that.” Kim said a bit louder.

        “One last time.”

        Kim turned to the crowd. “Buck you all if you think I’ll kill somepony that’s already struggling for life!”

   The crowd sat in silence for a moment. Each and every pair of eyes was on the grey mare at that moment, and then like a steady tremor it started. “Boo!” It began with one pony, and then two ponies. By the end of twenty seconds the whole crowd was booing. Kim ignored their boos and started to walk toward where Eous sat.

        “Let me out of here.” She stated simply.

   He smiled at her. “It doesn’t work that way my dear. You’re a prisoner of war. You now solely act as a form of entertainment. However, you’re not proving to be as much fun as I originally intended.” His horn started to glow, and Kim was thrown back. She shot about thirty meters from the middle of the arena down in the small room she had woke up in less than ten minutes earlier.

   Kim rolled backwards until her head hit the back wall. She got up and prepared to run back up the stairs, however, the door shut as soon as she stood up. The fire that was there earlier was now snuffed out, and the door shutting took away all light in the room. Kim stared at where the door was in complete darkness. The dampness of the room without the heat of the fire started produce a small chill.

        What do I do now? I wasn’t told about this. Kim thought bitterly as she sat down. After an hour of waiting, Kim started yelling. “Let me out!” She yelled as she pounded on the door. I’ll just blow out the door with my fire then. She thought to herself as her aura enveloped her, but when she tried to summon any kind of fire, the fire would snuff out before being usable.

        Why wont the fire work? Kim thought to herself as she continually tried to call out her fire. Is it because of the dampness of the room? Kim thought as she shivered as the room’s temperature continued to plummet. After another hour of waiting, the door finally opened. Kim stared at the door for a few moments. They’re letting me out of here?  She thought to herself as she climbed up the stairs. The blue sky was now a mixture between orange and red. I must have been in there longer than I thought. As soon as she reached the arena floor she was slammed to the ground by a force of magic. What’s going on?

   Kim opened her eyes to see the griffin staring at her limp figure. The arena was bustling with even more ponies than before. A large wooden pole was now present in the middle of the arena. Kim was dragged telekinetically toward the wooden pole. Her body was slammed against the pole and a rope appeared and fasted her to the pole. Kim opened her eyes to see a smiling alicorn.

“Hello dear.” The alicorn replied with a beaming smile.

“What are you doing?” Kim asked as she struggled against the ropes.

“The ponies here dislike it when a P.O.W wins a match and then doesnt listen to them. I have no idea why.” Eous smiled at the struggling unicorn. “But now they requested a show, and that’s what I intend to give them.” Eous smiled as he walked away from the mare. “Beat her to an inch of her life.” Eous commanded to the griffin. The griffin nodded as it stepped closer toward the mare. It first gave a quick strike at Kim’s face, leaving a bloody scrape.  Encouraged by the cheers from the crowd, the griffin started punching Kim’s stomach. Kim gave a small “oof” after each punch. Kim struggled against the ropes, but would be stopped short by another strike. The griffin slashed at Kim’s face again. Kim’s gaze fell to the ground.

The griffin reached out its golden talon and lifted Kim’s head until they were eye to eye. “Do you wish you killed me?” The griffin asked as she swung another punch at the mare’s face. Kim coughed and a spurt of blood shot out from her mouth. The droplets of blood sprayed across the griffin’s face. “Answer me!” it roared as it swung another punch across Kim’s face. Kim smiled at the pony.

“I don’t feel bad about not killing you.” Kim retorted.

The griffin stared at Kim’s limp figure. She stepped away from the mare and stared at her.  “Why?”

Kim didn’t answer the griffin and only looked skyward. As she did a small tremor enveloped the arena. Some of the ponies looked at each other with confused expression. Others looked toward Eous for an explanation. Eous looked toward Kim with a deep frown on his face.

“Eous. How do you get a whole population of ponies in one place? You give them a show right?” Kim smiled at the alicorn. The alicorn scrunched his face in anger.

“This was a ploy?!” He yelled at Kim.

“Something like that.” The tremors continued until only the sound of stampeding hooves was the only thing you could hear.

“Everypony, get to you positions! We’re under attack!” Eous yelled. Ponies everywhere started to charge toward the exits.

They wont get far. Kim thought to herself as she looked upward with a smile on her face.
        
        “What gave you this stupid idea?” Kim grinned, but didn’t look down at the pony.

        “I was wondering if you were alive.” Kim said aloud. She imagined that the pony was smiling at her.

   “I don’t die that easy, and besides we had a fight that we needed to complete.” Kim felt her ropes loosen, and she fell to the ground. In front of her was a pony only cloaked in a black silk. Only her blue eyes and her smile was uncovered. A few meters away from her was a grey cloak she must have been wearing earlier. Saru stood in front of her with a broad smile.

   “To answer your question.” Kim looked to the fleeting figures of the ponies who were just applauding for her pain. “We found a pony that was once a prisoner of war here. She managed to escape, and told us what happens to prisoners of war.”



   “Well yes, but more importantly the fact that the whole town crowds in the arena to watch said fight. Then I volunteered to be a distraction while Celestia recruited an army to take the revolt by surprise.” Kim explained as she rubbed where she was punched and scratched. She looked around and found that the griffin had fled with the rest of the ponies.

        “Impressive.” Saru replied.

        “What about you? How did you survive?” Kim asked as she braced her shaking legs.

        “Just a tad of magic.” Saru said with a laugh. Kim smiled at the pegasus.

        “This is a little late, but I’m Kim.” Kim said as she extended her hoof.

        Saru took the hoof and shook it. “Saru.”

        “Okay Saru... Want to end a war?” Kim asked. Saru gave a smile in reply.

        “I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

The two ponies ran out of the arena and in to the disheveled streets. Ponies were fending off against the army of Canterlot, and they were failing to put up any real fight. Despite the numbers against them, most of the ponies in the town had no weapons because of the surprise attack. Kim stared at the falling figures of the ponies and felt a pang of sadness. Did they really know what they were fighting for in the end?  Kim shook the thoughts away as she saw Saru head toward the biggest tent in the town. Kim anxiously followed. With in half a minute they stood in front of the tent. The tent was large and extravagant. It was a regal looking tent with the outside being red in color with black trimming.

   The two ponies took a sidelong glance at each other and stepped through. The tent was largely spacious, for the most part being an open floor. At the back sat a throne made up of cement ruble presumably that from broken buildings. On the throne sat Eous. He stared at the two ponies and gave a smile. Beside him sat Temere also smiling and holding his spear outstretched toward the two.

   “Funny. Saru, you were in here just a week ago. I wonder if at the time you thought you’d be coming in here in a stupid attempt to kill me.”

        Saru stared at the stallion through squinted eyes. She took out her katana and readied herself for a rush.

        “And you Kim. Devising such a clever plan to just have it fail in the end.” He shook his head as he stood up.

        “It hasn’t failed!” Kim shouted as her aura expanded around her.

   “Even without the ponies out there, I could still slaughter your army. You are no match for me.” Eous boasted as a black aura surrounded him. “Temere, kill them.”  Eous commanded.

   “Of course my master.” Temere responded as he dashed forward. “Come on Firecracker, lets dance!” He stabbed at Kim with the spear. Kim rolled out of the way and brought her head down like a hammer in an attempt to flatten the earthpony. He jumped out of the attack and then aimed his stab at Saru. The pegasus jumped out of the stab and brought her sword down on Temere. Temere bocked the attack with the wooden part of his spear and he started to move backwards.

   “That’s not all you guys have is it?” He chided as he spun his staff. The Earth pony then disappeared from where he was. Both of the mare’s eyes widened as they searched for the colt. He appeared behind Kim and swung the staff at her in an arch. The hit knocked Kim to the ground. Temere then spun the spear and prepared to stab the spear through Kim’s head. “You’ll be the second pony I do this too.” He said with a smile. Kim stared at him with wide eyes.

        An image of Kim’s captain’s corpse entered her mind. Kim rolled out of the way of the downward thrust and jumped to her feet. “You killed the captain?!” Kim roared at Temere.

   Temere smiled at the mare as he disappeared once again. Saru looked around furiously for the tan pony. Finally the earth pony appeared before her, and charged at her. Saru jumped over the pony and gave the pony a swift punch. The tan pony fell on his back and stared at the two ponies. With a smile, he disappeared once again.

Kim looked around hurriedly. Her aura ignited in flame and she stared at the tan pony. The tan pony smiled in response. Kim dropped her head like a hammer and tan pony ignited in flame. He rolled away trying to snuff out the fire. He stood up with part of his body charred by the fire.

“It’ll take more than--” he started before a sword appeared through his neck. He stood silent for a moment before falling on to the ground.

“You were saying?” Saru panted as she slid out her sword. Kim stared at the limp corpse and turned her attention toward the alicorn in the back of the tent.

Eous smiled as he stared at the two ponies. “You two cannot defeat me no matter how strong you believe yourselves to be.” Eous chided as he stood from his throne.

Saru attacked first. Saru charged in with her sword at the ready. She slashed down on the alicorn. Eous dodged out of the way and pushed Saru to the ground with his magic. Kim then charged in with fire leaving in her wake. Fire started to branch off and shot off toward Eous. The black alicorn merely smiled as the fire failed to even graze him. He stepped toward Kim and prepared to attack the mare.

“You’re not forgetting about me are you?” Saru asked as she charged forward with her sword already outstretched. Eous flew in to the air escaping the strike. Kim inhaled a deep breath and blew out a breath of fire at the alicorn. The alicorn smiled as the fire enveloped him. The two mares stared deeply into the inferno for only a few moments.

“Is that it?” Kim asked as she stared at the alicorn. She felt a warm breath on her neck before she heard the response.

“Of course not dear.” As soon as he uttered the words Kim was thrown toward one of the walls of the tent. Saru turned in an attempt to fight the alicorn but was also thrown away by the alicorn. The alicorn turned toward Kim who was picking herself up. “Such an interesting one you were.” He whispered as he got closer. “A strong magic user, yet you have no real faith in yourself.” He chided in as his magic picked her up. “Why is that?” He called out as he looked at the mare.

“Let me go!” Kim shouted as her horn began to glow. The alicorn then burst into flames a second later. The fires snuffed out almost immediately afterward though.

“I said you were strong, but you’re not as strong as I.” Eous confirmed as he threw Kim to the ground. Kim yelped in pain as she hit the ground. Eous then walked up to the fallen mare and put his hoof on top of her head.

“Don’t touch her!” Saru yelled as she proceeded to throw shurikan at the alicorn. Eous’ horn began to glow, and the shurikan fell to the ground immediately.

“Wait your turn Saru.” Eous called out as he pushed pressure on his hoof. Kim closed her eyes as she waited.

Sorry.

Before Eous could finish his stomp, he was hit in the side by a small ball of energy. Kim’s eyes widened as she saw at the front of the tent was a white alicorn with her mane still flowing behind her and an angered look appearing on her face.

“Funny how you think I’ll allow you to continue.” Celestia called out as another ball of energy appeared and was shot at the black alicorn. Eous flinched back at the attack. “You think you can make a mockery of my kingdom!” She yelled at the alicorn as electricity charged from her horn and was shot at Eous. Eous yelped in pain as the lightning surged through him. Saru gave a smile as she rushed toward the alicorn with her sword out stretched. With her wings arched she dashed forward at lighting speeds. Before the alicorn could recover from Celestia’s attack, Saru stabbed the sword through the chest.

   “That’s for lying to me!” Saru yelled at the stallion. Saru pushed the sword handle until the blade was completely within the alicorn. The alicorn gasped.

   “You can’t kill me like this!” Eous yelled as he threw Saru away, and charged at Celestia. His horn electrified and he shot the spell at Celestia. The attack knocked her off of her feet,and she fell to the ground. “I’m a god among ponies!” You think you can kill me!?” He roared at the three mares.

   “Well I guess we can find out.” Kim said from behind Eous. Eous turned around to see the mare staring at him with a forced grin on her face.

        “What do you think you can do?” He mirrored her smile, and beared his teeth while he gasped in pain.

   Her aura instantly ignited in flames and she rushed at the alicorn. Before he could respond. Branches of fire appeared  from Kim’s aura and flew around the tent creating a web of fire. The tent wall immediately caught aflame.

   “Is the firecracker going to kill everypony along with me? A fitting end I suppose. Kamikaze is a little too cliche for my taste though.” Eous panted as the heat in the tent grew.

   Kim stared at the pony as the fire spread through the tent. “Kim, do you know what you’re doing?” Saru shouted as she limped away from some of the spreading flames. Kim’s eyes became slightly glazed as she stared at the black alicorn. Celestia frowned as she saw Kim’s expression.

   “Do you believe killing me will end your problems? Your lack of control? Your uselessness?” Eous chided in as he started to pull the sword out of his chest. “You’re simply a pony with a large bark but no real bite.”

   Kim stepped toward the black alicorn and stared at his eyes. The two ponies stared in a deadlock only inches apart from each other.

   “Can you kill me Kim?” Eous whispered. Kim stared at Eous only a moment longer before the fire that was spreading throughout the tent swam toward Eous as if a vacuum simply sucked in the fire. Eous gasped as the fire swept over him. His legs fell from under him and he fell to his knees. After a moment of only the sound of cackling fire filling the room, Eous laughed. He let out a hearty laugh as he looked up to face Saru. He spit at her feet as the fire ate at his skin. “The pony who failed at the most basic of missions. To kill.” He beamed a smile at her as the smell of burning flesh filled the room. He turned toward Celestia and beamed a smile at her. “The princess that will ultimately fail. How fitting it is to see that she’ll fail in leading rather than at war.” He then turned to Kim and stared at her with intent. “The mare who came to this camp with the full intention of dying. Admit it. You never planned to be here. You planned on being six feet under by this point, did you not? But I digress, you band of misfits managed to bring a god down. I don’t know whether to congratulate you or condemn you. I suppose time will tell.”  

   The three pony stared silently as the alicorn slowly fell on his side. Kim heaved a sigh as she walked up to the limp corpse. “Why would he do it?”

Saru shrugged her shoulders as she stared at the corpse.  “Some people are just insane.”

“How big is the gap between insanity and sanity then?” Celestia asked as she walked up to the the charred corpse.

Kim avoided eye contact with the charred corpse and started to head for the entrance. “I suppose that’s it?”

“Well, we need to make sure we won first.” Saru said with a somber smile. Everypony there knew that, that meant seeing more dead ponies. Nopony there was eager for that. Kim heaved a sigh and gave Saru and Celestia a small smile.

“Let’s meet up after this is all over.” She said as she walked out. Walking out was now simply a formality. The fire had spread throughout the tent completely decimating whatever roof the tent had before. Saru followed Kim outside of the ten where sounds of small bouts of fighting were still erupting. Celestia looked up into the sky where the sun shone brightly in to the tent. The orange sky portrayed a state of melancholy over the field. Celestia took small steps toward the charred remains of Eous.

“Oh how the mighty have fallen. I suppose the charge of my brigade was to much for you. That’s fine though... It wasn’t your fault after all. When they have something to fight for, ponies are strangely resilient... even willing to go through the valley of death for their cause. I suppose you wouldn’t know about that though. You never did care about your subjects.”


***


The steps echoed through the halls. The ponies in charge of rebuilding the castle had left for the day to try and help rebuild some of the other buildings in Canterlot. Beside Kim floated three glasses of water. At the top of the red regal staircase sat a white alicorn staring up at the orange sky. A pony garbed only in black sat next to her laying back. It was always a hassle trying to figure out whether Saru was a sleep or not. Kim had usually thought over the past month.

A month has already gone by. Kim thought with somber undertones as she climbed up the stairs. Celestia greeted her with a smile and graciously took one of the three glasses of water.

“Thank you Kim.” Celestia said as she eagerly took a sip. Saru started waving her hoof around as if trying to grab on to something that wasn’t there. Kim rolled her eyes with a slight smile and floated the other glass over to her friend.

“Things are proceeding well.” Saru noted as she downed half the glass.

“When you have eager ponies, things get accomplished.” Celestia noted as she took another swig of her drink. Kim frowned slightly as she sat on the top most stair.

“Do you think we did the right thing?” Kim asked finally.

“Of course we did.” Saru said simply.

Kim grinned at Saru’s comment.

“I don’t think we can ever tell if what we did was the right thing.” Celestia responded.

“Would you have done it the same way provided you had another chance?” Kim asked.

Celestia shook her head slightly. “Given another chance I wouldn’t have even let that colt in to my kingdom, but there is no use in thinking about what could have been. Everything is changing now. I’m hoping for the better. The arena is destroyed. Ponyville and Canterlot will rise from the ashes to become a civilization stronger than ever before.” Celestia closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath as if the though sent a surge of euphoria inside of her.

Kim stayed silent for a moment before turning to the alicorn. “Princess. I have a request I would like to make to you.”

Celestia opened her eyes from her small piece of rapture and tilted her head at Kim. “What is it?”

“Could you make me your apprentice?” Kim asked as she stood up. “I want to make sure I can protect the ponies close to me... I don’t want to be stuck in the same situation once again.” Kim said with new resolve becoming apparent in her eyes.

A smile lit up Saru’s face. Celestia gave a small smile to the unicorn. “Of course, with your kind of talent, you would make for an easy student, however, forgive me for I have never taught magic before.”

Kim grinned at the white alicorn. Kim heaved a sigh as if a small weight was taken off of her. She raised her head skyward and saw the moon begin to show in the night sky.

I’m sure you’ll be great.