(Reading guide: Flashback = *_* Scene Change = <_>)
My Little Rebellion Chapter 1 - Twilight Sparkle
Six years ago. That was when everything was normal. That’s when we lived in peace without many fears or questions. Blissful ignorance brought about by our cushy lives and simple existence.
We had never wondered about others out there, beyond the stars. We believed our great leaders, the Princesses, ruled over all, even the emptiness of space.
But we were wrong... They had come, in their massive ships and bearing horrific weapons capable of ripping through a pony in a single blast. Any attempt to resist them was met with deadly force.
What could we do? How could we fight back? Our magic was useless against them and soon, even our beloved Princess Celestia fell at their hands. Our lives...are over....
*_*
The purple equine gave a sigh as she placed her quill and papers aside. The cage she laid in was as cold as ever and the dim candle nearby was slowly starting to fizzle out. What a pitiful continuance she was living, trapped within some military base who knows how many miles away from any sort of friend. At least her captors allowed her these writing tools, something to keep her sane.
How could this have gone so wrong? She thought to herself, examining her filthy mane and coat. How long had it been since her last bath? Two? Three months? She shook her head and slowly shambled to that poor excuse for a ‘bed’ they tossed into her cage last year. Maybe some sleep would make her feel better....
*_*
“Run! Keep goin’!” A sudden voice cried out. How could she even make it out with all the screaming? “Twi’! C’mon get up!” She knew that voice but she could remember. The blast seemed to take away her ability to focus. With little warning, an orange-yellow pony started yelling in her face, it’s usual cowboy hat gone somewhere.
“A-Applejack? W-what’s going on?” The bruised mare attempted only for the other to buck her up onto her back and race off. Twilight, from Applejack’s back, could see the devastation caused by the black monstrosity above, beams of light shot down from it and set fire to anything in it’s path.
“Applejack! Twilight! This way!” Another voice called, this one shriller and faster. Twilight looked up and saw the rainbow maned Pegasus yelling something at them as she carried another, this one bore a pink mane and her left wing was broken. “C’mon! We have to get to the forest!” She exclaimed before shooting forward. Applejack darted ahead, focusing on nothing but getting herself and the purple pony on her back to safety. This was not an easy task.
Left and right, denizens of Ponyville began being captured with nets from smaller creatures that came from the giant black beast. Rose, the flower pony. Lyra and Bon Bon. Even the postal pony Derpy fell victim to abduction.
“Quickly everypony! Into the forest!” A tan pony with a gray mane and tail instructed as she stood at the entrance to the Everfree Forest. Despite her best efforts though, many others didn’t make it inside.
“How many of us made it?” A shivering filly asked looking up at the rather small group.
“I...I think this is it...” A stallion replied. Applejack sighed and fell to her side, Twilight rolling off and landing on the ground with a sudden thud soon after.
“Oh...pardon Twilight but...I’m plum tuckered...” The cowpony panted. Twilight shook her head and nodded.
“I’m fine, don’t worry.” She stood up and looked around, hoping to find her friends somewhere. “Did...did the others make it? Did you see them AJ?”
“ ‘Fraid not Twi’, I saw Rainbow And Fluttershy come this way before but...I didn’t see ‘em come in.” The wheezing mare admitted as she struggled to stand up, to no avail.
“Stay down AJ, I’ll look around okay?” Twilight asked much to Applejack’s dismay. She tried to get up again but her leg’s just wouldn’t allow her, eventually she gave up and nodded, letting her companion walk off by herself.
“What the heck were those things?!” A gruff voice shouted in a group of some of the older Ponyvillians. “They took my daughter right off my back!”
“C-calm down now Buck, we have to focus.” A blue mare with a pink mane whispered.
“Mrs.Cake is right Buck, we’re the eldest ones here, we need to figure out what to do.” Ms.Mayor spoke up, a visible gash on her cheek still bleeding slightly. “Obviously we’ve been attacked by some unknown creatures, and this is no ordinary attack either. It was planned and carried out in a most militarized manner.” The other’s blinked at the Mayor’s sudden serious tone. “Militarized? You mean to tell me that our attackers are some sort of army?” Buck questioned suddenly.
“No doubt about it, an attack like that...I haven’t seen such coordination since the Llama Wars, and those were so long ago.” Twilight shook her head, she needed to find her friends, then focus on what to do. She prayed they were there, and safe, and with each other.
Quickly she asked around the collection of confused and beaten ponies, learning the fate of her friends. Pinkie Pie had made it out with Rarity into the mountains along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, Big Macintosh and Applebloom and Granny Smith had been taken away while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy managed to make it into the forest.
“R-Rainbow! Fluttershy!” Twilight cried as she galloped her way to her friends. Though she bore a smile on her face, the two on the ground did not return such a gaze. Fluttershy laid curled up next to Rainbow, whimpering slightly as her left eye stayed closed for some reason and her left wing stayed limp at her side, broken. “F-Fluttershy?”
“She won’t talk, she was caught in a pretty bad explosion too.” Rainbow sighed, looking down slowly.
“Did she...did something happen to her voice?” Twilight asked, walking a little closer.
“It was Angel, If it weren’t for him, Fluttershy’d be dead by now.” The name made the yellow Pegasus cry out loudly. Twilight didn’t need to ask what happened, she already knew.
"Applejack is back this way, I’ll see if I can help her over here.” The purple mare stated as she began to turn away.
“What happened Twilight? What the heck just happened?” The rainbow maned pony cried out suddenly.
“W-what do you mean?”
“You’re the smart one right? Can’t you explain what all that was?!” Twilight blinked and looked away. Nothing in her books ever described something this fierce, this powerful. She didn’t know what to say to her scared friend.
“I-I can’t...I don’t know what it was...I’m sorry...”
*_*
“Oi! Wake up ya roddy lil’ git!” A voice suddenly commanded, forcing the sleeping mare awake. “Wot you think you’re doin’ huh? Sleepin’? Little twat’s like you don’t get ta sleep until I say ya can.” It was the jailer, the angry creep who’s only goal in life seemed to be to make Twilight’s captivity even more hellish. “I said git up!”
Twilight slowly stood up on her hooves and walked toward the cage door, looking up at her captor. He spat in her face and chuckled. “Oi, aren’t you a cute lil’ thing? Ugh, makes me sick just lookin’ at’cha. If I had my way, I’d skin ya and bake ya into a nice pony pie, but I can’t. Instead, I git ta watch ya all day, everyday. How wonderful eh?” The disturbed jailer casually declared. “Also, I git ta feed ya, meanin’ I git ta keep you alive! Isn’t that even better?!”
Twilight shook her head, it was the same thing everyday with him. He’d complain about her, spit at her, abuse her and then he’d feed her. A repetitive cycle of pain that she had been going through for six years. “Git yer food, ya little prick.” He said, pushing a tray through a slot on the floor. It bore some stale hay and water, like usual and like usual, she ate it. The sound of the jailer’s footsteps echoed as he walked away, muttering obscenities to himself, meaning the mare was alone again.
It was an odd thought to think she didn’t mind him talking to her in that way as long as he talked to her. To hear a voice meant she wasn’t alone, even if he did want her dead. She began to think about him a bit more when she came across something in her hay, a daffodil. A small flower that not only smelled sweet but also tasted sweet. Had he given it to her? That wouldn’t even be imaginable, but there it was, staring at her with it’s white petals and yellow center.
She didn’t eat it, it was too precious. Instead she placed it near her ‘bed’ where she could see it everyday, and with her jailer gone, she could return to her slumber.
*_*
“Alright everypony, the elders and I have come up with a plan. It’s nothing perfect but it’s all we got.” The Mayor announced suddenly. “We have to make our way to Canterlot, it’s the safest place in Equestria and perhaps Celestia could even stop and defeat our attackers.”
The younger ponies looked around at each other but there were no objections. “There is only one problem. Many of us are hurt and cannot walk, some of us must return to Ponyville and retrieve some carriages so that we may transport the wounded.” The group stared at their mayor as if she had just suddenly gone insane.
"You’ve gone insane!” Buck cried, pounding a hoof into the ground. There was a small clamor of agreement when the mayor spoke up again.
“Do you intend to leave our hurt friends behind then? I most certainly will not, even if I have to go alone.” The tan old mare said finally, turning away from the others and beginning to walk toward the ruined remains of Ponyville.
“Wait! Madam Mayor! I’ll go too.” A voice quickly spoke up, it’s owner, a thin green pony, galloped to the Mayor’s side. “My little sister, she’s hurt and I couldn’t possibly carry her myself... The only way would be a carriage.” The Mayor smiled and nodded, turning back to the rest.
“Anypony else?”
“Ah’ll go Ms.Mayor.” Applejack said, slowly standing up. Twilight blinked and stood in front of her.
“You can’t! You’re legs are too weak to walk let alone bring back a carriage!”
“You sayin’ my mouth is makin’ promises my legs can’t keep? That sounds like a challenge to me Twi’.” The cowpony declared as she slowly limped towards the Mayor and the smaller green mare, her legs wobbling along the way.
“Applejack...this is no time to let pride get in the way...I don’t want to lose you...” Twilight whispered, forcing the orange mare to stop.
“Ah’ll be fine Twilight, I’m always fine, remember?” She replied, giving an assuring smile. Twilight looked down, knowing she’d be unable to stop her friend from going.
“Then...Rainbow, can you go with them?” The purple mare asked, turning to the Pegasus with Fluttershy laying close to her.
“Well, I guess I could, but...Fluttershy would need somepony with her...” The frequent flier replied. Twilight nodded and made her way over.
“I’ll stay with her, don’t worry.” Rainbow looked up then at the sniffling Pegasus next to her with a nod.
“Alright, I’ll go. We’ll be fast right?” She asked as she stood up, the Mayor giving a nod.
“Of course, there should be some nearby, we won’t have to go very far. Though it’d be easier if we had a bit more help...Buck?” The Mayor called, turning to the black stallion who was turned away.
“Ugh...Fine, I’ll go...” He said finally, a hint of defeat in his voice. “Maybe...maybe I’ll run into one of those things, take it out and find my daughter...” He thought hopefully, slowly shambling forth.
*_*
Twilight shivered as she slowly awoke, looking around her cell with a sigh. What was a pony to do? Trapped for six years, no outside interaction, no exercise, nothing. Just being forced to remain sedentary in small, cold, metal cage. Her prayers had been unanswered for so long she had given up on making them. Her goddess was dead anyway, the magnificent white mare of the sun, destroyed by the invaders who had taken over. Only Luna, the younger princess, remained alive.
But why? Twilight thought to herself. Why keep Luna around? One day she’ll be able to fight back, won’t she? What was the point? The young mare shook her head and looked up, a small ray of sunlight was shining through the sad excuse for a window high above the room. Was that it? Was Luna raising the sun and moon? Is that why they need her?
“Oi, ya awake in there or wot?” The familiar voice asked, pounding on the wall. Twilight frowned at the door and looked away, deciding not to answer. “I said, are you awake ya git?!” The voice called again, frustration audibly arising. “A’ight then, I’ll just have to come in there and check eh?” Twilight blinked, he would be coming inside? For what? The sound of the 32 locks on the door began to open, one by one they were moved and the tumblers shifted until the knob on the door began to turn. “I’ve been given permission ta ‘decommission’ ya, oh what fun we’ll be ‘avin eh? Heh, heh, heh...”
<_>
“Alright, looks like that’s the base where one of the Element Hosts is being held. You guys ready?” A black-clad soldier asked her team, a strange mixture of ponies and the invaders. The group whispered in agreement. “Alright then, ponies, you head toward the right and make the distraction, free the captured and have them fight for us, we’ll go and free the Element Host.” The plan was set in motion quickly, the team splitting off and heading toward their assigned posts.
A battle was set to begin...
*_*
Success. The carriages had been brought to the wounded and the remaining ponies would be able to carry them toward Canterlot to safety. Hopefully. Despite Twilight’s warning, Applejack remained on her hooves, walking alongside the others as they made their way along the path towards the mountain capital, occasionally stopping to hide from oncoming patrols.
“They’re looking for us...It’s like they know they missed us or something..” Rainbow Dash whispered as the group emerged from another hiding spot. “That can’t be...right?”
“First rule of successful war Rainbow, know your enemy.” The Mayor replied, a stern look covering her face. The Mayor’s sudden change in attitude disturbed the rest, their once delightful, helpful, and kind leader had become something else, almost like a warrior.
“How do you know all this madam Mayor?” Twilight inquired, trotting up to the tan elder’s side.
“It was before your time Twilight, long ago when I was about your age, I fought in the great Llama wars. It was a trying time, constant fighting between us ponies and the Llamas of the dark side of Equestria.” The Mayor replied.
“You were in the Llama wars? I...I never would have guessed...but I suppose the knowledge does help here...”
“Indeed it does Twilight, I just wish I didn’t ever have to use this knowledge again.” The group carried on in silence, besides the occasional moan of pain from one of the ponies in the carriages, and all seemed to finally be going well. Canterlot was in sight, soon they’d be safe.
Quickly they rushed up the hill leading to a better view when they saw the fire. Canterlot set ablaze by the very monsters that attacked them.
“No...N-no...I-It can’t be...” Twilight stammered, slowly stepping back. From the distance she could see the very tower she used to live in fall to the ground before the rest of the area was consumed by the burning fury.
“It would seem our enemy is stronger than we once thought, and much more organized than we are.” Mayor muttered under her breath. She turned to the scared equines following her with her eyes reflecting the burning flame. “Now it would seem we are at war once more.”
*_*
“ALERT! ALERT! The base is under attack! Report to battle and defensive positions! This is not a drill! ALERT! ALERT!” The voice on the intercom repeated. The sudden sounds of explosions and gun fire startled the mare just as the door began to open.
“Wot the? Wots goin’ on out there?” The jailer cried out with a growl. “Ugh, you stay in there horse or I’ll make the remainder of your short life a living hell.” He commanded before leaving. Twilight quickly grabbed the door knob in her hooves and, with a little difficulty, managed to open it. Before here was a room she only saw once before, when they tossed her into her cage, it was dark, smelly, and oddly wet. Just like before.
Finally, I can make a run for it! Twilight thought as she began to race down hallways, narrowly avoiding being spotted by the enemy. Corridor after corridor, room after room, she ran and kept running until her legs felt like they’d burst open from stress. No! Please! Just a little further! I...I have to see the sun at least! Let me see the sun! She pleaded with her body, and to her surprise she managed to keep going, eventually bursting out through a window. The sun’s rays splashed over her, coating her in it’s warmth for the first time in six years. If only she could enjoy it.
“N-NOOOO! YEEAAAAAARRGH!” She cried as she began to fall, the window she had jumped from was unfortunately stationed near the edge of the cliff the base was built on.
No...to come so far...only to die like this? Why must fate be so cruel? She wondered. Her life began to flash before her eyes, when she first became Celestia’s student, how hard she worked to make her teacher happy. The things she did, the magic she learned, and most importantly, the friends she made. Applejack...Rarity...Pinkie Pie...Fluttershy... She began in her head.
“...and you too Rainbow Dash...” She said aloud, still falling towards the rocky ground.
"Somepony call my name?" A sudden voice called out, almost drowned away by the rushing sound of the wind as Twilight continued to plummet to her doom. The falling mare blinked as she looked straight up at the blue object dashing towards her with such an incredible pace.
"R-Rainbow?" Twilight replied as the Pegasus snatched her out of the sky. Rainbow's familiar smug grin was plastered on her face, though age was apparent as well. Despite her cool demeanor as usual, her hair's color was fading and the usual sparkle in her eye had disappeared.
"The one and only! Did you miss me?" Rainbow Dash asked as she carried Twilight off into the distance.
"What do you think!?" Twilight shouted, tears filling up her eyes. The heroic Pegasus chuckled again as she landed nearby, panting slightly from the trip.
"Whew, it's been a while since I did something like that, looks like I still got it eh?" The purple mare, without hesitation, quickly raced towards her lost friend, taking her into the tightest hug she could muster, despite the Pegasus' objection. "H-hey! Calm down on the mushy stuff! We still gotta get outta here you know!"
"S-sorry, i-it's just...Rainbow...It's been so long..." Twilight whimpered, looking down and away. Rainbow placed a hoof on her back and smiled.
"Yeah well, it's over now right? C'mon, there's a place we can be safe while the rest help the other ponies escape."
"The rest? What do you mean?" Twilight questioned as she began to follow after Rainbow.
"The freedom fighters of course. I think six years has been long enough to be kept like this don't you? We have a plan to get rid of those guys once and for all." Twilight stopped in her tracks and looked over at the base she just escaped from, the sounds of explosions and gunfire still extremely apparent.
"We're fighting back? But how? We...We're not as strong as...them." The curious mare reminded her friend.
"Well duh, but that's why we got some of them to help us." As Rainbow said this, a figure emerged from the brush, one of the invaders.
"R-Rainbow!" Twilight shouted as she began to back peddle away. Rainbow Dash shook her head and sighed.
"He's on our side Twilight, don't have a cow." The invader, Twilight stared at him nervously. He looked like all the rest. Tall, standing on his hind legs while his front legs hung at his side, strange protrusions stemming off from where his hooves should have been. They had called them 'hands' or something similar. He lacked a coat of any kind, merely pink flesh and a tuft of a pitiful mane on the top of his head. His face was odd as well, as the rest of the invaders' were, it was flatter than a ponies, and his eyes were smaller. On his body he wore clothes, they always wore clothes for some reason, a tattered tan trench coat and a red scarf around his neck.
"Which one is that Dash?" The human asked. "She looks like the host of magic, is that right?" Rainbow turned her head and nodded.
"Yeah Marcus, this is Twilight, one of my best friends." Twilight looked between the two in shock and awe, two supposed enemies conversing in such a way. How could it be possible? "Honestly Twilight, we thought this is where Fluttershy was, my face when I saw you falling down a cliff instead of her!" She laughed as she made a surprised face, almost as if this had all been a joke.
"I...I need to lie down..." The confused purple pony admitted as she trudged forward.
"Oh, well, we'll be home soon! There's a carriage that'll take us there." Rainbow called as she trotted towards her.
<_>
"So, a group of freedom fighters have sprung up hmm? That's not good at all." Amongst the fire spread across the base, a man stood, staring at others. "And you were all unprepared for such an attack?"
"Y-yes sir, it was too coordinated. We lost the Element Host being held here I'm afraid." A soldier replied, his body burned in various places. The older man paced back and forth, staring at the men stationed at this base that now laid in ruin. He rubbed his beard and turned away from them.
"Do you know why we have those hosts locked up? Do you know why they had to be kept apart? Do you know that's the second host we've lost?!" He roared as he turned around, quickly punching one of the standing soldiers in his face, knocking him far back into a burning wreckage. His screams of pain were utterly ignored. "If the hosts are allowed to come back together then there'll be no stopping them, do you want that? Do you want us to be defeated by a bunch of animals?!"
"S-Sir, no sir!" The men cried in reply. The older man's left eye began to twitch as he cleared his throat.
"Well then, get your heads in shape. I want to find out everything about this terrorist group, these traitors working with the little bastards. I want to know exactly where they're going next." He commanded, the soldiers nodding and quickly about-facing, rushing off toward the way the rebels escaped.
<_>
"So, they rescued you that long ago?" Twilight asked from the carriage that was being pulled by a grey stallion. "And it took you that long to organize a plan to save me?"
"Pretty much, we aren't the biggest group, and we lose more everyday but once we rescue Applejack and the others, there'll be no way we can lose!" Rainbow Dash replied as she hovered next to the vehicle.
"But why are some of the humans helping us?" The unicorn asked nervously. "Don't they want us all gone?"
"Only the bad ones. The ones lacking in compassion." The human from before replied, a rifle strapped from his back. "Humans have lost their way. We're becoming the monsters we tried so hard to fight against but failed to beat. So the rest of us want to make things right, we want to live in peace with you Equestrians."
"Peace? That sounds pretty good to me, Mr...?"
"Just call me Red, everyone does anyway." Red replied, tugging on his scarf slightly. Twilight shrugged and nodded as she looked back at Rainbow.
"Do you know where the others are?"
"Well, we know where they are, but we don't know which is which. Like I said before, we thought this was Fluttershy's place." Rainbow replied, landing on the carriage and laying down next to Twilight. "We...well, honestly I wanted to save her first. I can only imagine what sick stuff their doing to her you know?" Twilight nodded. She didn't mind that she wasn't the intended target, she knew Fluttershy would have been the best choice but what had been done was done.
"Well, you can count on my to help in any way I can."
"That's kinda what I was hoping for, you're magic is the most powerful I've ever seen! Well, besides Celestia's..." As she said this, the equines walking with them bowed their heads, muttering something before returning to normal. "We uh, try not to talk about her much though. Anyway, here's the plan; we know where another of our friends is being held, but it's heavily guarded." Twilight nodded.
"Say no more, I know exactly what to do. An Invisibility spell right?" Rainbow blinked and chuckled.
"That'd work if we were trying to sneak in, but what I'm talking about is something a bit more flashy, a big bang!"
"A-an explosion? I don't know, I've never done anything violent with my magic before..." Twilight admitted nervously as she turned her head away.
"Hey, shouldn't be too hard right? Just concentrate and boom!"
"It's not THAT simple Rainbow, but...I guess I could try..."
<_>
The sudden explosion rocked the base as the rebel force burst inside, firing their weapons wildly at all opposing forces.
"ALERT! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Rang the alarm as the unprepared soldiers attempted to take up arms, but before they could even try to pick up a weapon, the rebels took over the base. Anyone not killed in the crossfire, was captured and stowed away.
"Ha! I knew you had it in you Twi'! That was sweet!" Cried Rainbow as she and Twilight stood before the room where one of their friends was being held. The room was all too familiar to Twilight. It would seem that the bases were built similar to one another for ease of access. It smelled differently and the jailer here was lying face down dead in a pile of shrapnel outside the base, not that it mattered. Rainbow and Twilight walked toward the cage where a quiet sniffling could be heard.
"That...It has to be Fluttershy!" Rainbow declared as she forced open the door. Sure enough, there lay a crying yellow pony, covered in filth and incredibly thin. She wore two casts, one on her right foreleg and one on her hind left leg, and bruises decorated her body to no end, and, as if someone thought this image wouldn't be enough, a decaying corpse of a rabbit hung from the ceiling.
"W-what is this?" Twilight whispered, suddenly looking away from the scene. Rainbow walked inside, more worried about the fallen pony lying on the ground.
"Fluttershy? It's me...Rainbow Dash, we're gonna get you out of here."
"Get out of here?" Fluttershy whimpered back. "There's no getting out of here..." She looked away and softly cried, Rainbow looked back at Twilight who, rather than stay staring at the horror, was reading a document on the table.
"Twi', we gotta get Fluttershy outta here..."
"I know Rainbow but look at this, it's some sort of journal..."
Stubbs' Diary
Day 1: So far this job sucks, ever since I got stuck guarding that horse the others have been coming in here and abusing it to no end. I gotta admit, I feel sorry for it.
Day 14: Learned the thing's name was Fluttershy, poor thing was sitting in the corner whimpering some song about her friends. My heart is breaking in two right now, how can we be so cruel?
Day 20: I found a rabbit outside today and brought it to Fluttershy, it was the first time I had seen her smile, unfortunate that she had a black eye though, she could barely see...
Day 30: Heard news of a resistance movement today, I told the news to Fluttershy. She was too tired to really understand I guess, she had just survived another beating from the others. I hope those rebels come soon...
Day 35: Monsters! Cruel monsters! How could they kill the rabbit?! I'm starting to wonder just who the good guys are around here! I've gotta do something!
I've got a plan, the rebels will be coming here for her, she told me about the Elements of Harmony and how her other friends held them inside. The rebels will be coming for Fluttershy so I gotta make it easy for them. I managed to steal a map and gave it to Fluttershy to hold, it shows the location of the others, hopefully it'll help...oh please God let it help...
Twilight read of over the pages repeatedly and nodded. "Rainbow, the jailer here, he gave Fluttershy a map to the others! With that we find them easily!" She turned around to see that the Pegasus managed to get the other on her back.
"G-great, c'mon we gotta get moving now." She replied, rushing through the door and out of the base.
It hadn't all been like this. Equestria was a much nicer place. Ruled by a benevolent princess who cared for all her subjects along with her sister with a troubled past. The two maintained peace and harmony among the ponies who lived in the fertile lands. But then the Invaders came.
They arrived in massive black warships, bore devastating weapons and an seemingly insatiable blood lust. The ponies were no match for them. As hard as they had fought, their magic and other abilities were not enough to stand against the Invaders. Celestia, their great princess, believed they only had one hope to repel the enemy forces. The Elements of Harmony.
The Elements of Harmony, a magical gift. A powerful weapon. The Elements were created to keep peace and ultimately destroy anything that threatened the harmony of Equestria, the Invaders wouldn't be able to escape their power. At least, that was the plan.
*_*
"This is our last chance..." Celestia whispered as she looked over the seven ponies before her. The sound of explosions and aerial bombardments from the Invader's flagship echoed throughout the bunker. The collection of equines stood in a great circle, in between them a rainbow colored crystal glowed faintly in the darkness. "This is the last source of magic not captured by them." The crystal, one of the many scattered around, amplified Unicorn magic to astronomical levels as long as they were nearby, many magicians of entertainment carried a some in order to increase their powers. But this time they needed to increase the power of The Elemental Hosts.
Six ponies chose by fate, six best friends, six heroes destined to save Equestria. It would be up to them and their unbreakable friendship to call upon The Elements of Harmony and destroy the Invaders with one final push. At least, that was the plan.
"Are you girls ready?" A Purple unicorn asked her friends as they stood close the crystal, her horn glowing with a low glow. The others nodded and soon were lifted up along with the crystal upward into an ancient observatory. The bright sun shown through the various windows and it's beams of light collided with the crystal, streaming out into brilliant designs amongst the spherical walls. The six ponies of destiny soon entered The Element State, total singularity between them, a hive mind. Together they would turn the observatory into it's original use, a powerful cannon used in the Great Llama Wars. They would fire the Rainbow of Light, destroying The Dark Eve, the Invader flagship.
Back down below, Celestia and her younger sister Luna quickly stormed to the outside of the castle, watching in horror as their army was quickly decimated by the Invaders' superior forces.
"Lady Celestia!" An injured knight called, limping toward them. "The enemy is too strong *cough* they'll soon descend upon the castle in a matter of minutes!"
"Calm now Sentry," Celestia assured, "Twilight and her friends have arrived at the top of the Observatory, they'll be able to stop them." Sentry nodded and turned back towards the fight.
"We can only pray your majesty, we can only pray."
<_>
"So this is their desperation? They're going to fire a rainbow at us? How ludicrous!" General Dahm laughed as he sat on his throne. He looked toward the black pony with a malicious grin. "You've done well to provide me with all of this information Proditor." The stallion looked down sadly and turned away, slowly exiting the command room of the Dark Eve. "Make sure our inside pony is properly compensated Dalias, it's time to end this frivolously fruitless fiasco once and for all."
"Aether Cannon ready sir." An operator called. Dahm gave a fearsome roar of victory.
"Aim for that filthy bulb on top of the castle! Destroy their last hope and crush them forever!" He growled, pointing at the observatory. The operators at the controls nodded and inserted two keys, turning them caused a large black button to light up in a dark blue glow. "Fire."
<_>
"M-M'lady! S-something's happening with the enemy's ship!" a Knight called to Celestia who had just thwarted an Invader jet's attempt to blow up a group of pony knights.
"What? What's going on?" The large mystical mare shouted back before she noticed the black weapon opening up on the Dark Eve. "What...is that?"
The Dark Eve gave a sickening roar as it's underbelly opened up, revealing a massive core, then sudden silence swept across the battle field. All eyes, pony and Invader, stopped and stared at the Dark Eve as the core began to pull light itself inside, charging what would be an attack more devastating than anything either side had seen before. Luna stared in awe of the massive light absorbing machine as it started to open up, revealing a center rod with a silver sphere on it's end.
"S-sister! It's a weapon!" Luna cried, galloping toward Celestia in desperation. The elder princess looked up in horror as she saw the weapon being aimed at the observatory.
"Twilight..." She whispered before darting upward.
<_>
"This is it..." The purple mare whispered as she wore the Magic Crown. She and her friends hovered around the crystal at various heights, it's magic coursing through their veins. The observatory's ceiling began to open as it adjusted itself, aiming for the Dark Eve, but it was too late it would seem. As if in slow motion Twilight stared at the scene, a glorious white mare was hovering between her and a raging black beam. "Celestia?"
*_*
"So that's what happened huh?" A young colt asked with his head tilted, a young human girl laying against him.
"Yes little ones, Celestia saved my friends and me, but couldn't save herself..." Twilight whispered as she looked away from the small group of children huddled around her, eager to hear the tale of how she survived.
"But wha' happen to Luna?" A filly asked curiously. "Did she die too?" Twilight blinked and shook her head.
"I-I'm not sure what happened to her..." She admitted as Fluttershy walked into the tent.
"T-Twilight? Rainbow wants to see you..."
"O-oh, alright, i'm coming." the purple Unicorn replied, standing up, much to the protest of the children around her. "S-sorry little ones, but I'll be back to tell you another story soon." The children stood up and happily hugged their designated story-teller before quickly exiting the tent, Twilight following behind with Fluttershy.
"You're very good with their children Twilight..." Fluttershy whispered suddenly.
"T-their? You mean the humans?" Twilight asked, startled by Fluttershy who nodded slowly. "Well, I mean, they're all just kids right? They're not really different from our own fillies and colts."
"Only they grow up to be cruel, heartless, destructive, animal-hating, kill a pony without thinking twice, warriors..."
"F-Fluttershy! T-that's not something i'd expect you of all ponies to say!" Twilight exclaimed, cutting in front of the yellow and pink Pegasus. Fluttershy looked away sadly and continued walking. "Fluttershy...?"
<_>
"Oookay! So according to this map, Pinkie Pie is the closest, we should rescue her first! What do you think Chuck?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking up at a mustachioed man with a red beret.
"Hmm, thinking tactically, they would be expecting that so they'll probably fortify that base...but then that means they'll think we assumed that and instead went to capture a different base. Meaning yes, that's where we should strike." Chuck nodded, stroking his mustache.
"Couldn't you have just said that?" Rainbow asked with her head tilted. Chuck shrugged and went back to grooming his mustache when Twilight entered the tent. "Twilight! There you are, I wanted to tell you about our next plan!"
"Er, Rainbow I actually wanted to talk to you about Flutter-"
"Pinkie is here at this base on Mt. Really, Really High Up There so we're going to need a spell to get us all there quickly! Think you can manage it?"
"Um, well, I think so but Fluttershy seems-"
"Well, we can't take Fluttershy Twilight! She's not exactly battle ready. But you'll do fine!"
"But Rainbow, I think she's acting a bit-"
"So we're planning on attacking in a few days, that'll give us a chance to resupply and prepare our forces! That'll really get 'em!"
"Rainbow please, I'm trying to tell you something impor-"
"Oh by the way, have you met Chuck? He's a defected engineer and tactician, he's been a big help in our infiltration of those bases, he planned your rescue too!"
"Whassup?"
"Um, hello Chuck, and thank you but Rainbow I-"
"So, you'd better rest up so we can-"
"RAINBOW DASH! Please listen to me!" Twilight cried out, making everyone in the room stare at her.
"Whoa, Twilight, what's up?" Rainbow asked nervously. Twilight panted and urged the blue Pegasus out of the tent to somewhere more private. "T-Twilight? What're we doing out here alone?"
"Rainbow, there's something very important I have to tell you..." Twilight whispered. Rainbow blinked and blushed, looking away.
"Twilight, this really isn't the right time for any sort of confession...but I mean, I do kinda like-"
"I don't think Fluttershy is comfortable with the humans that are helping us." Twilight cut in quickly. Rainbow blinked and shook her head.
"E-er, wait, that's what this is about?"
"Yes, what did you think this was about?" Twilight asked, raising a brow. Rainbow, looked away with a whistle then cleared her throat.
"N-nothing. Anyway, what about Fluttershy?"
"I think she hates the humans..."
"What? Fluttershy doesn't hate anyone! I don't think she CAN hate anyone actually."
"True...but...I think we should be careful anyway. She's delicate and we don't want her getting scared." Rainbow Dash nodded and started to walk back toward the camp.
"No problem, I know just the thing that'll cheer her up."