Neighsay's revenge against Twilight and the Royal Sisters, and a war to restore the peace
Twilight Sparkle has been ordered to close her Friendship School by Chancellor Neighsay, because he would otherwise have her arrested. She is extremely angry with him, as are Celestia and Luna. What will they do to get back at him, and how will Neighsay respond?
*Rated Mature and tagged for descriptions of torture and death*
Twilight Sparkle, the alicorn princess of friendship, and her friends formed a plan to spread the knowledge of friendship to the lands beyond the borders of Equestria. Twilight decided that opening a school would be the perfect way to accomplish this task. She and Spike traveled to Canterlot to get advice from Celestia. Celestia said to talk to the Equestrian Education Association, or EEA about getting a rulebook to help set the curriculum.
Twilight met with the members, but her blood ran cold when she was given the strict guidelines by Chancellor Neighsay, the Association’s hard-nosed leader.
He said that she was not allowed to enroll anyone other than ponies at her school, she had to follow his book specifically, and he had to inspect her school before she could be fully accredited. Twilight was nervous, but she complied and opened the school after it was constructed.
Neighsay did not know that she was trying to spread the knowledge of friendship beyond Equestria, so he was unaware that Twilight was already planning to enroll students from other races. Her other students consisted of Yona from Yakyakistan, Gallus from Griffonstone, Silverstream from Seaquestria, Smolder from the Dragon Lands, and Ocellus from the Changeling Kingdom.
When Neighsay came to inspect, Twilight did not know that her other students had grown tired of the strict rules and had skipped class without permission. Ocellus had a panic attack when they returned to the school, and Neighsay thought the school was being attacked. He became furious when Twilight revealed the truth and challenged her with the question about whether or not she knew if the other races would possibly use the knowledge as a weapon to destroy Equestria.
Twilight tried to assure him that it would not happen, but he did not believe her. He ordered her to shut down the school, or else he would have her arrested for secretly planning the end of Equestria. Twilight bitterly accepted his claim and locked the doors, telling everyone that the friendship classes had ended.
Before Neighsay left to return to Canterlot, Twilight said that she would not give up on her plans, but Neighsay glared at her. Taking offense for that, Twilight called a meeting with her friends and the Non-Pony leaders and students. She was not about to let him stop what she was trying to do.
Will Twilight be successful, or will there be a catastrophe?
Chapter 1: Twilight’s Secret Conference, and Celestia’s Frustration
Twilight sat in her study with rage in her eyes. Her friends were with her and had the same expression. The five Non-Pony leaders and the Young Six were with them and Thorax spoke first.
“He does not know that you helped form bonds with us,” he said.
Prince Rutherford spoke next and confirmed that Thorax was correct.
“It’s not fair that he made you do this,” Ember yelled.
“What choice did I have? If I refused, he would have had me arrested,” Twilight hissed.
“HIS REGULATIONS ARE WAY TOO HARSH,” Rutherford shouted.
“THAT’S RIGHT; SCHOOLS DO NOT NEED TO BE SO STRICT WITH THEIR CURRICULUM,” Gallus screeched.
“If that wasn’t enough, he took it as an insult when Twilight said he did not let her state the purpose of the school.” Rainbow Dash grumbled.
“I SAY WE TALK SOME SENSE INTO THAT HARD-NOSE!!” the Young Six cried. Everyone in the room chanted “YES!!” in approval.
Little did they know that word had reached Celestia already.
“Celestia, you need to see this,” Luna hissed as she brought a copy of Equestria National News to her sister.
Celestia looked at the headline on the front page and abruptly lost her temper.
**
EEA Orders Friendship School Closure
During the inspection of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s School of Friendship, the EEA’s leader, Chancellor Neighsay, discovered that Twilight had enrolled students from five other races outside of Equestria. Becoming angry and claiming that these races could possibly use the lessons as a weapon to bring about the end of Equestria, Neighsay has ordered Twilight to close the school. Twilight has tried to tell Neighsay that she will not give up on her plans to spread the knowledge of friendship beyond Equestria, but he only glared at her which she took as offensive.
**
“THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! HE HAS NO REASON TO FORCE TWILIGHT TO CLOSE HER SCHOOL AND SAY THAT THESE RACES WILL DESTROY EQUESTRIA,” Celestia shouted at the top of her lungs after reading the article.
Disgusted by what the article said, she tore the paper to shreds and lit it on fire. Knowing that something had to be done immediately, she wrote a scroll to Twilight and used her magic to send it out.
Twilight had led everyone to the map room in her castle and was about to write a letter to Celestia. Suddenly, Spike let out a burp and a scroll materialized. At the same time, everyone began glowing in some way. Twilight opened the scroll, and read it aloud to everyone.
“TWILIGHT, REPORT TO CANTERLOT AT ONCE. BRING YOUR FRIENDS, THE NON-PONY REPRESENTATIVES, AND THE YOUNG SIX. SIGNED, PRINCESS CELESTIA.”
Everyone looked at the map to see symbols representing each of them over Canterlot.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Spike said.
Everyone rushed to the train and boarded the express to the capitol. Arriving in Canterlot, they hurried to the palace and met in the throne room. Celestia and Luna were waiting patiently for them with determined scowls on their faces.
“We have an idea on how to teach Neighsay a lesson for closing your school,” Luna said with a snarl.
“He even threatened to arrest me if I refused to close,” Twilight scoffed in an exasperated voice.
Upon hearing her star student say that, Celestia became so angry that she literally burst into flames.
“WE MUST REBEL AGAINST HIM,” Smolder screamed.
“MEAN PONY MUST PAY FOR ACTIONS,” Yona shouted.
“We shall carry out an attack in three hours, after I raise the moon”, Luna said firmly.
“All in favor say “Yea”. All opposed say “Nay”,” Celestia said quietly.
Almost immediately, everyone screamed “YEA” at the tops of their lungs.
“Well then, what are we all standing here for? GEAR UP”, Ocellus yelled.
No one knew that Parchment, Neighsay’s right hand stallion, had overheard the conversation. Panicking, he ran to the EEA headquarters.
“Chancellor, there has been a meeting at the royal palace. Princess Twilight and the Non-Pony races are coming in three hours.”
“Prepare yourselves. We mustn’t let them come,” Neighsay instructed his comrades.
He did not know that the attackers were getting ready.
Twilight and the others had finished lacing their boots when the clock chimed for them to move. They moved swiftly and unseen to a point where they had a straight path to the doors, and got ready to run. Neighsay’s comrades had no idea how they would be attacked, but they were determined to protect themselves.
“CHAAAARGE,” Twilight shouted to her allies.
They began running with all of their might and releasing the screams of warriors. As they came into sight, the EEA members began shooting at them with magic. Unfortunately, the attackers were too strong, and tackled them to the ground. Twilight led everyone through the locked doors. Applejack kicked the doors and broke them down. When they burst into the main room, Yona kicked the pillars that held up the balcony on which Neighsay and a few others were seated. They were knocked to the ground and hit their heads on the floor. Spike, Smolder, and Ember opened their mouths and released hot flames around the room while Thorax and Ocellus dragged Neighsay and the remaining comrades outside. The structure collapsed after twenty minutes of being burned. When Neighsay woke up, he was bound tightly in shackles and his comrades were also shackled and gagged. Twilight had taken his medallion, and told him to follow her. He refused to budge and just stared at her with rage. Rainbow kicked him down and grabbed a chain that was hooked to the shackles. Holding the chain in her teeth, she forced him to follow Twilight. They arrived in the royal palace after thirty minutes. When Neighsay saw the look on Celestia’s face, he became skittish and gritted his teeth. The rest of Twilight’s allies blocked the doors to keep him from escaping. Realizing there was no way out, Neighsay prepared for the lecture from the Diarch of Equestria.
“WHAT WERE YOU POSSIBLY THINKING,” Celestia roared in Neighsay’s face.
“She was allowing foreigners to enroll at her school. They only seek ways to attack us without warning. Her school should not have even been allowed to open,” he spat back.
“Celestia gave me a mission to spread the knowledge of friendship beyond Equestria’s borders. Closing my school was a way to interfere with that. If they don’t learn, other races will not know how to get along better with us,” Twilight said calmly.
Neighsay would not listen.
“If she opens her school back up, she must kick those creatures out. She is going to bring up the end of Equestria if she…,” he persisted.
“SILENCE,” Celestia shouted. “Twilight has my permission to run the school how she wants to. Due to your recent actions, I am left with no choice but to punish you.”
“How will you do that? If I am removed, one of my comrades will take my place.”
“No, they will not. By Royal Mandate, the EEA is DECOMMISSIONED, AND ALL OF YOU ARE STRIPPED OF YOUR RANKS.”
Twilight handed the medallion to Celestia who promptly smashed it. Neighsay became furious and tried to attack Twilight, but Rainbow held him back.
“You will pay for this, I SWEAR,” Neighsay growled as he was dragged out of the palace.
The second part of his consequence was that Celestia ordered him to be put on house arrest for six long months. Neither she, nor Luna was aware that he was planning a way to retaliate against them both. He sat at home during these months writing and drawing up his plans to change the nation after eliminating one critical obstacle. He had to hide the papers because guards would search his home every morning and evening. Luckily, they never found his notes and sketches. He just had to wait for the time to come. He planned to hold the Main Six and Starlight captive in some way that he needed to determine. He also sought to hold Spike and the Young Six as hostages. Above all, he had a goal to overthrow the royal sisters.
Even after receiving the notice that he was released from house arrest, Neighsay was still upset with Celestia for ending the EEA and allowing Twilight to reopen her school. He had finished his plans and was ready to carry them out. He started investigating the outskirts of Equestria, looking for something that would be of use for him. He came across seven underground strongholds in uncharted locations outside of Equestria. Each one had a large holding tank that would fill with a liquid gel. If someone were inside the tank, they’d be protected from the elements. The tanks were also equipped with timers, which would count down to whenever the tank was set to drain.
“These are just what I need,” Neighsay said to himself as he took notes of where the strongholds were.
He did not know who built the strongholds, but he didn’t care. He also managed to locate seven crystal-shaped containers, which were large enough to put someone inside. These were made to be filled with a containment liquid that was the viscosity of canola oil. These did not have timers, so whoever was inside could be taken out at any time.
Celestia thought nothing of this. She thought that Neighsay was out seeing the world and learning about the various other races. While she was right about him seeing the world, she was wrong about him learning about the other races. He was looking at them from a distance and snarling at them. He knew that there was a hydroelectric dam being built at Neighagra Falls, and he hoped to use it as a power source when he rose to power. Twilight had seen him at one point with a camera and taking pictures of her, her friends, and the Young Six. She suspected that he was up to something and wrote down what she knew. She did not know that she was too late to send her findings to Celestia. Neighsay had gotten agitated when he saw an article that the Non-Pony students had become teacher’s aides. He decided that he should strike that night. So, he gathered the supplies he needed for keeping his targets asleep, and waited for the time to be right.
After the moon was raised, Neighsay headed to Ponyville and started tracking down Twilight and her friends. Arriving in Twilight’s bedroom, he pulled out a medical gun and administered a strong sedative to the princess. She did not feel anything and remained in dreamland. After doing the same thing to Starlight and the other five friends, Neighsay began taking them to the strongholds that he had found.
**
The stronghold locations consisted of 7 caves. The first one was on the bottom of the Celestial Sea. The next was in the middle of the San Palomino Desert. Cave 3 was deep in the forbidden jungle. The 4th and highest was in the summit of Mount Everhoof. The 5th was inside a reef in the South Luna Ocean. Cave 6 was in the Ghastly Gorge, and the seventh was under a dormant volcano that was miles from the Dragon Lands
**
He chose to put Twilight in the one inside Mount Everhoof because he thought it would be impossible to get up there to get her out. He did not have plans for the others, so he went random with them. He had figured out a way to engage all of the tanks at the same time and set them to revive the captives after 50 years. Entering the activation code, he turned the tanks on, and the gel flowed in and surrounded the ponies inside.
Arriving back home, he geared up for the next phase of his plan, which was overthrowing Celestia and Luna. He wrote a speech and created a vision that would fool the sisters into thinking that he was right the whole time. Hoping that this would work, he packed up and went to bed. He had been so quiet, that nobody knew what he had done. Only the next morning was it discovered. Panic arose and posters were printed and hung all over Equestria that Twilight and her friends were missing. To Neighsay’s appreciation, they were not found.
“My plan is working,” he thought to himself with a devious smirk.
The next day, Neighsay ran as fast as he could to reach the palace in order to get a meeting with the royal sisters. They let him in without an argument and got settled for what he had to say.
“What brings you here in such a massive rush,” Celestia asked.
Neighsay prepared himself and began to give his speech.
“Your Majesties, I have had a vision that woke me up two nights ago. I could see the Young Six turning on Twilight the rest of her friends. They jumped on them and knocked them to the ground so hard that they were knocked unconscious. Then they took them to an unknown place where they were restrained and kept in an induced sleep state. After that, they split up and returned to their homelands and charged on us without warning. Equestria was plundered until nothing remained. All architecture was destroyed, and everyone was dead. Not even a single insect remained alive and breathing.”
After giving the overview, Neighsay handed them an orb that contained the vision he had created and just described. When they had finished viewing it, they were horrified.
“We must warn them at once,” Luna said.
“It is too late. They’ve already been taken,” Neighsay responded sadly.
“What should we do?” Celestia asked.
“If you give me permission to be in charge, I might be able to save the land,” Neighsay answered quickly.
Celestia accepted his proposal and said that he could be in charge until the supposed crisis was over. However, right as he took a seat on the throne, he revealed the stunning truth.
“HA HA HA!” he cackled. “You have been tricked.”
“What the hay are you …,” Luna started before Celestia realized what was going on.
“You weren’t trying to protect Equestria, were you,” Celestia screeched.
“I wanted revenge against you for helping Twilight."
“You were the one that did all of this,” Luna hissed.
“YES, AND AS EQUESTRIA’S NEW RULER, I DO NOT WANT TO SEE YOUR FACES ANYWHERE ANYMORE!” Neighsay roared as he released a wave of magic that blew the sisters out of Canterlot.
“YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS!” Celestia screamed at the top of her lungs.
Neighsay heard this and yelled back rather bitterly to not count on it.
Neighsay ordered the crystal containers to be brought to a room in the palace where they were set up in front of a massive screen. One by one, he snagged Spike and the Young Six. Some of them tried to fight back and defend themselves, but he managed to stun them. He bound them and put them into the crystals which were being filled with the oily fluid. When they woke up, they were submerged in the liquid and breathing through oxygen masks. Yona, being claustrophobic, started to panic and the fluid began bubbling and gurgling as she breathed out rapidly. None of them knew that they were hooked to IV lines. She was sedated to prevent the crystal from being shattered. Smolder became furious and discovered that the masks had microphones and speakers on them.
“Why are you doing this?” she demanded.
“I have seized control of Equestria and am taking revenge against Twilight and the royal sisters for reopening that Friendship school.” Neighsay shot back.
Neighsay did not tell them what his plan was, but they feared that it would be something terrible. Knowing that there was nothing for them to see, he proceeded to put the others to sleep. He would wake them up at a later time when everything was ready.
Meanwhile, Luna and Celestia started planning how they would take their thrones back from Neighsay. They knew it would take more than just charging in and yanking him out. So, they started looking for a place to set up a base until they were ready. Surprisingly enough, they found an unused weapon and command center that was built inside a cavern in the Mysterious South. Looking around inside, they found high-tech gadgets that they had never seen before. These included air vehicles, computers, weapons, medical equipment, and recovery chambers with troughs that would fill with a healing fluid around the victim. They searched for a power source and eventually found a large reactor in a massive room. They spotted twelve crystals and placed them inside the reactor’s core, which suddenly sparked when the last one was inserted. The reactor purred to life and all of the lights began coming on.
“This place is perfect!” the sisters crowed as they left the power room.
Checking a clock, they saw that night was falling. So, they found a door labeled “Barracks” and climbed into two of the beds.
After taking his prisoners, Neighsay gave himself the title of Admiral. He immediately had the dam finished faster to provide more power to Canterlot. He split the land, which he had renamed as New Equestria, into six areas which he called “Sectors”. Sector One was where all of the ponies were, but he brought them closer together to lower the chances of secrets being passed. The changelings were in Sector Two. Griffonstone became Sector Three. The yaks were in Sector Four. Seaquestria became known as Sector Five. Sector Six became the new identity of the Dragon Lands.
The Crystal Empire’s residents were scheduled to be transferred to Sector One after a series of snowstorms had gone by. The blizzards made the train tracks slippery and unsafe to use. Neighsay was not aware that Cadence had induced the storms to create the delay on purpose. She was angry that he had seized control and was not about to bow down to him. After two years, New Equestria was finished. As punishment to the ponies and the other races, Neighsay declared that there should be an annual event where representatives from each sector would battle to the death on live stream until only one remained standing.
Celestia and Luna had heard about the event while flying unseen over Canterlot. After they got back to their base, they saw the first airing of the event. Terrified by how cruel Neighsay had become, they broke down in tears. They knew that they would not be able to stop Neighsay on their own. They decided that Twilight and the other six would be perfect for the job, but they were at a dead end because they did not know where the seven ponies were. After determining that the ponies had to be found, they began gearing up for rescue missions. They also started searching for anyone else that would be able to assist them.
Along with the borders that kept races from visiting each other, Neighsay had also created a peace agency. These soldiers were trained to keep everyone from breaking the new laws. If they caught anyone trying to pass secrets, then they would restrain them against a post and lash them with a whip. If someone were caught just once, they would only get 20 lashes and have welts. If they were being caught often, then they would get between 30 or 40 lashes.
If they were not stopping, then they would get lashed 10 times with an even worse whip, called the cat-of-nine-tails. This was worse than the original whip because it had sharp pieces that cut the skin. To increase the agony, they would be sloshed with saltwater. If the peace agency caught anyone trying to escape, they would shoot them to death.
After 16 years of watching the residents of the land kill each other, Cadence had had enough. She got together with Shining Armor and Flurry Heart to discuss an escape plan.
“We are getting out of here.” she said quietly one night.
Flurry Heart joined hooves with her mom in acceptance, and Shining Armor began packing survival gear for the three of them. Even if they got out unseen, they still had one major obstacle. Everyone was ordered to have tracking probes put in their front legs. If the peace agents saw any radar signals outside a border, they would open fire to kill whoever was getting away. Shining determined that if they removed the trackers and destroyed them, they could get out without being seen on radar.
The snowstorms came to their close on the day that the three planned to run.
“At last, I can bring them to Sector One.” Neighsay said.
He sent the trains to the Crystal Empire, and everyone was ordered onto the train. The guards noticed there were three ponies missing, which led to the alarm being raised. They began searching for the three no-shows, but they only found the destroyed trackers.
“Admiral, we have rebels. They have removed their trackers and destroyed them.” one of the peace agents reported.
Neighsay ordered a search party to look further for them, but they found nothing. They eventually gave up, assuming that the three ponies had died. Neighsay refused to believe that they were dead and had “WANTED” posters placed. They were wrong of course, because Cadence had led her husband and daughter miles away from the boundary line. Three days later, they had stopped to rest, when they heard the sounds of propellers and a bright light shown on them. Three rescue harnesses came down on cables with a note on one.
“If you seek to stop Neighsay, come with us. Signed Luna and Celestia.”
Cheering, they put on the harnesses and were raised up into the aircraft. During the flight to the base, Cadence nearly fell off the aircraft while over Canterlot. Neighsay spotted her through binoculars and ordered the craft to be shot down. When this happened, Flurry Heart released a smokescreen from the exhaust to blind the gunners. They made it back to the base without any other casualties.
Two years after being rescued by Celestia and Luna, Flurry Heart began using her senses to search for any of the ponies that Neighsay had captured. She felt a presence that could only belong to her aunt. After talking to Celestia, they determined that Twilight was somewhere atop Mount Everhoof, which was a treacherous place. Cadence and her daughter suited up in clothes for winter climates and found a weather-resistant helicopter in the aircraft hangar. They reached the mountain in two hours and Flurry rappelled on a cable.
Touching down in the snow, she fired a blast from her horn that knocked the guards unconscious at the door. She ventured inside and turned on her flashlight to see in the dark shadowy hallways. Arriving in the only room that was using power, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Cadence asked her what she saw, and Flurry said that she saw Twilight inside a tank that contained a bluish colored gelatinous liquid. She found the control panel and cancelled the timer which had 30 years remaining on it. After she entered a code, the fluid started receding, and the tank opened up.
Twilight’s limp unconscious body fell to the floor and popped free from a breathing mask with a loud squelch. Flurry opened her backpack and dried off Twilight’s fur with a super-absorbent towel. After wrapping her aunt in blankets, Flurry instructed Cadence to lower a basket for Twilight. After struggling to carry Twilight outside, Flurry placed her in the basket and then clipped her harness back on the tether line. Cadence hoisted them up into the helicopter and they flew back to the base.
Luna placed Twilight in a gurney and wheeled her into one of the recovery rooms. After Twilight was placed in the trough, Luna opened a valve to let the fluid flow in. Flurry placed electrodes on her aunt’s chest and hooked them to a heart monitor. She also snaked an air tube up Twilight’s nose and hooked her to an automated breathing machine. She began to get a steady heart rhythm after a moment. She studied the various chemicals in the room until she found what was needed for waking someone up. She poured twelve drops of the fluid in the trough and started waiting.
Two weeks later, she had success. Twilight’s heart rate was coming back up to normal, and her brain began functioning properly again. Her senses were coming back. When she noticed that Twilight was beginning to breathe on her own, Flurry removed the air tube. Watching as the readings indicated that Twilight was about to awaken, Flurry began to speak to her.
Twilight’s senses started coming back. She could see a dim blue light through her eyelids. She could hear a faint, high-pitched beeping noise, but was unable to tell what it was.
“Open your eyes,” said a quiet, calm voice.
Twilight’s eyes weakly fluttered halfway open. Her vision slid in and out of focus. Thinking that she was dreaming, she shut her eyes.
“Open your eyes,” said the voice again.
Twilight's eyes fluttered halfway open again.
“Open your eyes. Wake up, Aunt Twilight.”
Twilight could identify what smelled like some sort of salt, and she felt something warm around her body. She then felt the warmth going downward. She suddenly realized that she was not in her bed anymore. She was lying in a shallow trough of water. She opened her eyes completely and blinked several times to acclimate to the low lighting as she started to sit up. Looking around the dimly lit room, she saw medical instruments and then noticed that she was attached to a heart monitor. Then she spotted who was talking to her. There was a young alicorn with white fur and a blue and white mane standing next to the trough.
“I don’t know who you are referring to. I only have one niece, and she is a baby. Her name is…,” Twilight started.
“Flurry Heart,” said the young alicorn.
Twilight looked closer, and then her eyes widened in shock. This really was her niece standing next to her.
“I haven’t seen you since you were only a few months old.” Twilight said to Flurry Heart.
“I know; that’s because you have been asleep for twenty years.” Flurry replied.
“WHAT?” Twilight cried, leaping out of the trough, and taking the electrodes off of her chest.
“Follow me; we will explain what’s going on.” Flurry said as she pressed a button that opened a door in the wall.
As Twilight followed her niece, she noticed that Flurry was wearing a radio headset.
“Aunt Twilight is awake, and I am bringing her your way.” Flurry said to somepony on her headset.
“Good work sweetie.” said a voice that Twilight recognized as Cadence’s.
As they walked through the hallways, Twilight saw that they were obviously in some sort of cavern because there were stalactites hanging in some spots. After walking for three minutes, Flurry placed her hoof and her eyes against two scanners that opened a door into a large conference room. Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor were already seated at the ring-shaped table in the center of the room. After Twilight’s information was set up in the security system in the complex they were at, she took a seat at the table. She had no clue of what she was about to hear.
“Good Morning, Sis. I am aware that you have no recollection of what has happened over these past 20 years.” said Shining Armor.
Twilight nodded as a way of confirming what her brother had stated. Celestia spoke next.
“Six months after we ended the EEA, Neighsay tricked me and Luna into thinking that your Non-Pony students had betrayed and captured you and your friends. When we accepted his proposal to let him rule until the crisis was over, he revealed that we had been tricked. He had captured the seven of you himself and had placed you in unknown locations. Before we could confront him, he banished us from Equestria.”
“Not only has he done that, but he has even taken Spike and the students as hostages. He is holding them in Canterlot. He has even created an annual event in which representatives from each of the six races battle to the death on live stream until only one remains alive. Mom, Dad and I were supposed to be transferred to the area where all of the other ponies are, along with the Crystal Empire’s residents. Mom refused to bow to Admiral Neighsay and said we were fleeing. We were rescued by Luna and Celestia two years before I found you.” Flurry Heart added.
“I cannot believe this. He did all of this just because of my school?” Twilight yelped.
“I am afraid so.” Luna answered.
“This complex is in the Mysterious South.” Celestia said as she projected a map of Equestria.
A yellow star blinked in the location of the complex. Twilight had an idea.
“I wonder what will happen if I make this map behave like the cutie map in my castle.”
Celestia said it was worth a try, and sure enough, symbols began appearing for anyone that was ever called by the map. Twilight was confused when she saw Rainbow and Fluttershy’s cutie marks over the Celestial Sea and the South Luna Ocean.
“They have got to be in some sort of super strong air bubble, or they’d be dead by now.” Twilight said worriedly.
“It’s far more complicated than that, Aunt Twilight.” Flurry said. “Take a look at these pictures.”
She proceeded to pull out photographs from when she rescued Twilight.
“I WAS SUBMERGED IN FLUID?” Twilight shrieked.
“Yes, that is how I found you. There was an oxygen mask over your muzzle as well. According to something I saw in this complex, that process is called “Stasis”.” Flurry responded calmly.
“Stasis is a process in which the subject is sedated, or put to sleep, with an anesthetic. They are then placed in either a cold chamber or a fluid filled capsule. The subject usually wakes up once they are taken out. However, Flurry said there was a timer on the pod. This suggests that Neighsay wanted you and your friends to remain in stasis for fifty years.” Cadence reported.
After the meeting was finished, Flurry took Twilight to the vehicle bay to show her the lineup of vehicles they had commandeered. Twilight’s eyes grew large when the lights were turned on. She was absolutely floored by all of the aircrafts, land vehicles, submarines, and small boats. She was also shocked when looking at the armory, because she had never seen weapons like them. She soon began gearing up for the dangerous rescue missions.
In the conference room, everyone met in the morning to talk about how they would rescue the other six of Twilight’s friends from the strongholds. Flurry had a brilliant idea to approach the strongholds slowly and to attack after night fell.
Everyone agreed and prepared to head for the South Luna Ocean. Once they had boarded a submarine, they set off to save Rainbow Dash. The sub cut cleanly and swiftly through the water, and they slowed down as the stronghold came up on their radar.
Twilight and Flurry were suited up in scuba gear and ready to swim, but the door had to be blown open. Luna aimed a targeting reticle at the door and released a torpedo. The door was obliterated, and bubbles went everywhere. Twilight and Flurry quickly swam to the opening and helped to get the sub in a stable position. A docking tunnel was extended to keep excess water from flowing in. The explosion had killed the guards, but that did not matter. Once they had gotten Dash out of the tank, they took her back to the base immediately. They had planned to revive all six at the same time, but they did not realize that Fluttershy was already awake. They set off to rescue her the next day.
After killing one guard and restraining the other, Twilight revealed herself.
“Tell that Admiral Neighsay of yours that the Flame of Friendship is burning again.” she hissed in his face.
“Aunt Twilight, do you hear that?” Flurry asked.
Twilight perked up her ears and caught the sounds of gurgling and hooves beating on glass. Rushing into the containment room, they were astonished. Fluttershy had woken up and was beating frantically on the tank wall in panic. Twilight opened it promptly and Fluttershy fell to the floor with a SPLASH! She could not see well and was coughing and sputtering. Twilight sedated her to keep Fluttershy from hurting herself.
Shining Armor rappelled into the Ghastly Gorge the next night to rescue Starlight Glimmer. Security at this stronghold was tighter, but Shining easily fought off the guards, leaving them injured terribly. It was a long journey through the San Palomino Desert to save Rarity. Everyone was nearly dehydrated, but they pressed on.
Rescuing Applejack in the Forbidden Jungle was a pretty hike, but they ended up needing to slash through the thick foliage and vines with machetes. Her stronghold had vines reaching in and hanging from the ceiling. Since the stronghold where Pinkie was held was near a dormant volcano, Twilight and Flurry had to put on heat-resistant suits to stay cool. They got Pinkie out just in time because the ground began shaking violently as the volcano erupted. They revived Twilight’s friends the following week and brought them together. Upon hearing what had happened, all of the friends became SEVERELY CROSS.
They thought that Neighsay should be killed ASAP, but Celestia said that they would arrest him and then sentence him to death. Everyone agreed that this was a better approach. Meanwhile, the guard that was given the message had reached Canterlot, but he fainted outside the gates due to exhaustion.
The guard was taken to the hospital to be treated. Neighsay asked him why he was no longer at his post anymore. He was in for news that would anger him.
“I was told by Princess Twilight herself to give you this message: “The Flame of Friendship is burning again.”.”
Neighsay abruptly became enraged. He sent out a call to all of the peace agents.
“Attention all agents, this is Admiral Neighsay. Twilight Sparkle has been rescued and revived. There is a possibility that her friends have been rescued by this point as well. Along with your duties in the sectors, be on the lookout for any of them, even Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart. If you find any of them, bring them to me. I’ll see to it myself that they don’t get away again.”
He was also rather suspicious about several ponies in Canterlot. Their actions consisted of hacking into his security and stealing bits of explosives and other equipment. He searched their homes but found nothing. He suspected that they would try to attack somewhere, but he did not know where or what. He did happen to notice over the next five days that the ponies he was suspicious about had begun to disappear.
He sent peace agents to find and arrest them, but there was no luck. Any agents he sent were either killed or severely injured. He became confused when he discovered that the attacked guards returned with Amnesia. They did not remember their name, who Neighsay was, where they were, or what was going on.
Little did Neighsay know that there were fugitives from the sectors as well. They had found a stronghold that was filled with numerous explosives and contained some other useful items as well. One of these items was called a Neuralyzer, which was something that would flash a bright light and cause the victim to forget things.
He soon got word of multiple individuals being spotted near the dam at Neighagra Falls. He sent word to his workers at the emergency generators to prepare for power-up. He didn’t know that they were double agents who hated him. They had silently turned against him and set bombs in the generators to destroy them. Admiral Neighsay was in for a shock.
Back at the base, Celestia and Luna were examining blueprints of the new power and security systems in Canterlot. They had gotten these from an unknown source that had just knocked and left them in a metal box. Luna was shocked that it was this intricate.
“We need to find some way to knock the power out in order to rescue the remaining hostages.” she said to Celestia.
They were also given a code that allowed them to hack into the system for monitoring. Currently, the system showed full power and that the backup generators were on standby. They had no idea that it was all about to change soon.
The peace agents stationed at the dam saw the individuals that were coming to attack that night and began getting their weapons ready for defense. When night fell, some of the guards rushed onto three of the walkways between two of the many ports where the water poured out while others got above them. They aimed their guns into the darkness and waited for the attackers. They heard several shots and the agents on the top balconies collapsed from being hit. This angered the remaining agents and they began shooting as soon as the attackers began charging towards them and screaming as if they were making a riot. Several attackers were killed, but there were too many for the agents to hold back. The attackers tackled them to the ground to allow their partners to enter the dam. Setting down large wooden boxes near the massive pipe-works, they activated timers and quickly ran away.
The boxes turned out to be giant bombs because they exploded and ruptured the pipes. The dam became unstable and burst apart with all of the water pressure. Neighagra Falls began flowing naturally again and sparks of electricity flew in showers from the enormous cables that ran to Canterlot. Everything in the capitol of New Equestria suddenly went dark. Ponies let out screams of terror as their lights went out. Neighsay used a radio with its own power source to order the backup generators to be powered on. The workers armed their explosives instead and the areas caught fire. They stayed put and died in the raging inferno. When Neighsay saw this out his window, he was not happy.
“Moves and counter-moves.” he muttered to himself in annoyance.
Everything was suddenly going south on him. New Equestria was falling apart.
At the base, Celestia and Luna were still discussing plans to disable the power, when Dash suddenly called in on her headset.
“The power has been knocked out, and the reserve generators have been destroyed.” she said to everyone.
“I KNEW WE HAD DOUBLE AGENTS!!” Flurry Heart crowed.
They knew that the complex where the seven hostages were kept had its own power, because otherwise the hostages would die. Determined to save them, Twilight and her friends geared up for their mission.
After getting their equipment ready, they boarded a rescue helicopter and set off for Canterlot. They turned off their lights and switched to a viewing mode for low-light conditions on radar in order to search for the holding complex. When the complex came up on their screen, they flew overhead and put on gas masks.
Fluttershy chose to fly the helicopter and wished everyone else good luck. When they opened the hatch, Twilight and Starlight grabbed pressure launchers and shot sleeping gas cans through the glass roof. They tethered themselves to the chopper and were lowered down gently. The guards were knocked out from the gas and did not look like they would wake up soon.
Quickly entering the room where the fluid-filled crystals were, they smashed the tanks with window spikes. Unlike the strongholds, Spike and the Young Six woke up at once. They could faintly see that Twilight and the others were saving them, but they were sleepy from the anesthetics.
“Fluttershy, drop the basket.” Twilight called on radio.
“Here it comes.” Fluttershy replied.
Everyone got in the basket and Rarity lit her horn as a signal to hoist up the basket. They flew away from Canterlot and disappeared into the night before the anti-aircraft soldiers could engage them. They got back to the base and placed the rescued hostages in revival. They were awake the next morning and reported to the conference room where they heard of everything that had occurred. Everyone was very cross, and they decided to strike the following month.
Everyone was up early the next morning to begin training. They were put through hard exercises that involved target practice, stealth and learning how to use a parachute when dropped from a high altitude. They sometimes felt as if the training would never come to an end, but they knew it would be next month that they would attack. When going through weapon training, everyone had numerous armaments to choose from. These ranged from bows and explosive arrows to hand-held guns that could launch a device designed to knock a large number of enemies unconscious with a massive electric shock.
During the training, everyone agreed to call themselves the Friendship Army. There were a few times that complaints were issued about getting very little sleep, but that was quickly explained. Sleep deprivation was part of the training because any battle could last into the night. Anyone with wings did not need the parachute training because they could already fly.
After weeks of arduous training and brutal exercise, the time had finally come. It was decided that they would get the aircrafts ready the night before and then ship out before dawn the next day. Celestia and Luna piloted two large gunships that also acted as personnel carriers. These were stocked with everyone’s weapons and battle gear before the soldiers went to bed. Their clothes were set out for them to get dressed in the morning. Everyone got up at 3:00 AM and started gearing up. After getting their main clothes on they laced up their boots and rushed to get breakfast. They were given a hearty meal to give them plenty of energy during the battle. After everyone had finished eating, they put on their headsets and their helmets.
“Attention all soldiers, please report to Hangar 1 for immediate boarding. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Cadence, and Flurry Heart, you are on Gunship 1 with me. Starlight Glimmer, Shining Armor, Sandbar, Spike, Smolder, Gallus, Ocellus, Yona and Silverstream, you are on Gunship 2 with Luna.” Celestia instructed.
Everyone began moving to the hangar and got on their respective craft. The engines were roaring loudly and warming up as they were boarding. Once they were fastened in, Celestia and Luna closed the hatches and took off. It was only now that everyone saw the devastation that had been laid over the once peaceful lands of Equestria.
The Friendship School was only a pile of burnt rubble because the peace agency had been ordered to destroy it years ago. This infuriated everyone, especially Twilight. The headlights were turned off after circling back to fly over Canterlot. Everyone unbuckled their seatbelts and prepared to jump.
The hatches opened up and everyone waited for the green light. Anyone that was wearing a parachute hooked their lines up so that the chute would be pulled after they jumped. The light turned green and everyone started running. They leaped off the edge and began to freefall. The parachutes opened after fifteen seconds and everyone else spread their wings. The ground patrols spotted them and opened fire, but the army was ready. They started shooting back and crippled the defenses.
Touching down safely, they began freeing anyone that was being held prisoner and charging toward the palace. Celestia and Luna fired missiles from the gunships to take out the turrets that Neighsay had set up. Several duels broke out in the streets as the army forced their way to the castle. They blew up anything that was related to the peace agency and trapped any remaining agents in their barracks.
Neighsay was watching the fight from a balcony and shook his head in disgust at the army that was coming for him. When he saw that the army was almost into the castle, he started to slam the doors shut to barricade himself inside. He had remade his medallion and was getting ready to set up a shield, but a blast counteracted it. Flurry Heart had spotted the medallion and shot a blast from her horn that cracked it in half. Neighsay was angry and notified his guards to protect him.
When the army broke down the palace doors, they were ambushed by the protection force. If the army had not gone through their hard training, they would have been defeated. Since they had readied themselves, they battled the guards until none of them were left unhurt. Three guards were killed but the others were either severely injured or knocked unconscious. Without hesitating, the army pushed on until they reached the throne room. There were twelve more bodyguards that were protecting Neighsay, but the soldiers took them out in only three minutes. Twilight had learned how to seal a unicorn’s horn and fired the blast straight at Neighsay. He tried to block it, but the energy pierced through his shield and struck his horn.
When the light cleared, his horn was encased in a crystal and rendered useless. With that, Celestia and Luna teleported into the room after landing the gunships. They were enraged and their manes were in flames. Everyone else was the same way. Neighsay gulped in nervousness as they looked at him intently with snarls and gritted teeth.
Celestia charged up her horn and fired a blast that hit Neighsay between the eyes. He went stiff for a second and then dropped to the floor with a THUD. He woke up shackled in a prisoner’s chair in the royal courtroom, and he knew what was going on. He was on trial. The Non-Pony leaders were serving on the jury and they were not happy. They snarled at him as they walked in to take their seats. Celestia slammed the gavel once everyone was seated.
“THIS HEARING IS NOW IN SESSION!” she shouted. “The crimes that have been committed by the defendant are as follows: Overthrowing me and my sister, separating all races from each other, forcing individuals that have done nothing wrong to kill each other and placing innocent individuals in an induced sleeping state. Defendant, how do you plead?” Celestia reported.
Neighsay responded with a shaking voice. “Your Majesty, I plead guilty for committing these terrible acts.”
Twilight demanded to know what his motive was for this. He simply answered by stating that he had let his anger get in control of his actions. He wanted to show everyone what happened if you messed with the wrong pony.
“I am sorry that it has to be this way, but I had originally considered placing you in jail. Since you went so far as to make civilians kill each other on live stream, I have been left with no choice but to sentence you to death.” Celestia responded sadly.
“You did a great job in the EEA, but this is just outrageous.” Cadence said.
Neighsay was given a choice between whether to die painfully or quietly. He chose the quiet option, which involved being given a strong sedative and not being hooked up to an oxygen line. Celestia informed him that he made a good choice because the other would be more gruesome and would involve being slashed. Once the hearing was adjourned, he was taken to a cell to await his execution. He did not complain to anyone, he just walked with his head down in grief over what he had done for the last 20 years. He wrote a note to all of the races that only had two words on it.
To make amends for some of his actions, Neighsay assisted Twilight with helping to rebuild the Friendship School. All of the borders in Equestria were dropped and the races were once again able to visit each other. The apology notes were handed to the leaders in person, and Neighsay was forgiven.
Since he was scheduled to be put down, a new leader was selected to run the EEA when it was brought back. This new leader was kind and gentle. As a matter of fact, Celestia decided that the new members should be representatives from the other races. This was helpful in the future when more schools were established in the homelands of the other races. The royal trumpets blared when the royal sisters were back on their thrones.
The peace agency was disbanded and anyone that had gone into hiding was finally able to come back to their normal lives. All arenas from the event were immediately destroyed and life returned to normal in Equestria. The only thing that remained was the memories of the last few years. Everyone had terrible PTSD from the arenas, the severe punishments, or from fighting back for the sakes of everyone. Classes resumed at the schools as if nothing had ever happened, and everything was finally normal again.
Twelve years after the damages had been repaired; the time came for Neighsay to be put down. The sedative was administered, and he slipped into a dreamless sleep. Eventually, the anesthetic reached his organs and they slowly shut down. His lifeless body was cremated, and the ashes were buried in an undisclosed location.
Now that the crisis was ended, everyone was given an energy wave that erased all memories of what had been done to Equestria. Peaceful lives came back and the lands in and around Equestria were restored to their former glory.
There still remained some peace agents that were not aware of the sisters getting their titles back, but they were quickly found and informed that the war was over. There were some that refused to believe the sisters, but they were dismissed and Celestia sent them out of Equestria for the rest of their lives. In the end, all of the peace had been fully restored, and lives continued without anyone knowing that a single stallion had tried to change everything forever.