Note: Despite Luna having returned in her own episode, I will continue to portray her in the way I originally had planned. Also, the chapters will flip from the journal to present day. You'll be told what time period it is prior to time changes. =)
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Canterlot Castle Library
Present day Equestria
~~~~~
“So newly drafted soldiers were given pie and cider?”
Twilight Sparkle smacked her hoof to her forehead at the thought.
How could Celestia entrust Equestria's defence to commanders who gave their newly recruited personnel party food? It was inconceivable to her! It sounded like Pinkie Pie had been tasked with the defence of Equestria, not professional military ponies.
“That's most odd...” Luna said, an aged atlas of Equestria upon the table before her, opened up to a random page.
“Does...Schmeisser, was it? Does he go on to say what happened the morning after?”
Twilight skimmed through a few entries made by the Coltsgrenaider in training.
“Well, they were awoken by buckets of water thrown on them and then marched ten miles. The next few entries are of them doing basic training; running, climbing, getting into shape.”
“Does he mention their equipment yet? I'm curious as to what that harness was and how it worked...”
“Not yet, just a few entries detailing his dealings with a stomach virus from some bad alfalfa.” Twilight cringed at a particularly disgusting entry.
“I never did like alfalfa.”
Luna then stood and began to stretch, a few of her stiffened joints popping, bringing her to sigh in relief.
“I don't know about you, Twilight, but I'm starting to get hungry.” She said, stretching her wings.
Just as she did so, the Alicorn bumped their table accidentally, sending an unlit candle stick falling to the floor. It rolled across the library floor a ways before coming to rest at the foot of a large tarp covered painting that was level with the floor.
“Gah, I'm so clumsy.” She grumbled, moving to retrieve it.
“Allow me Princess.” Twilight said, beating her study buddy to the illumination stick.
As the Unicorn bent down to grasp the candle in her mouth, her violet eyes happened upon something on the corner of the tarp. “Is that? Couldn't be...”
“What is it Twilight?” The Alicorn slowly made her way over to the Unicorn that was lying flat on the floor, concentrating on the corner of the tarp.
“Look at this!” She exclaimed, excitement in her voice.
She used her magic to bring the corner of the covering up for the other pony to see, displaying her finding. There, in a small, dark stamp that was barely noticeable, was the same symbol from the journal: the Reichsmare.
“Oh my... Twilight, what's behind the tarp?” Now Luna had a hint of excitement in her own voice.
Twilight pulled the tarp back and down, backing away with Luna to avoid being covered.
The massive painting that hung from the wall was breathtaking, both ponies unable to speak. A massive airship that was blood red was flying in a darkened, smoke filled sky above a destroyed city, while Pegasi wearing different uniforms and harnesses descended to the area below. In the actual ruined, war torn city, earth ponies and Unicorns could be seen rushing forward, wearing the same equipment as described in Schmeisser's journal. Fires could be seen raging in different buildings, while smoke poured from destroyed coal depots and the stacks of the factories as they continued to work, despite the war around them. There was one area of the massive work of art that really stuck out, however. In what seemed to be a town square, dozens of gray clad soldiers could be seen rushing a multi-storey building, the barrel of a machine gun poking from a window and spitting lead. Some of the ponies rushing the building could be seen being hit or were on the ground, dead or dying. From behind a building on the Maremacht side of the square, a barrel of something could be seen poking out, as if it was about to come to the Coltsgrenadiers' aid.
“I...it's...” The Alicorn was at a loss for words.
“Gruesome? Horrible? Terrifyingly amazing? Disturbing?” Twilight wasn't at a loss for adjectives, obviously.
“It's just so... Massive and detailed... It must have taken some pony hundreds of hours to paint something on this scale with such detail!”
“I feel like I could just step into it,” The Unicorn said, reaching out a hoof to touch the painting.
The last thing she had expected, however, was for the massive, heavy framed picture to swing back and away from her, revealing a darkened passage carved into the mountain. An unlit torch, covered in dust and cobwebs, sat in a bracket just inside.
“A secret passage? Did you know about this, Luna?”
“Not at all. I wasn't even aware the palace had such passages.” Luna took a step inside, lighting then lifting the torch using her magic.
The fire revealed the entire passage was carved from the mountain, and that there were stairs that lead deeper into the mountain, spiralling downward.
“Come on Twilight, this looks interesting...” The princess continued forward a few steps before turning back to the purple Unicorn behind her.
“I don't know... What if Celestia catches us? We could get in a lot of trouble, Luna...”
“Don't worry, Twilight, as long as you're with me, she can't get too mad. Besides, she wanted us to learn more about the battle and uncover what happened. Now get your bags, we might find some helpful books.”
“I'm still not sure about this,” Twilight grumbled, settling her now empty saddlebags over herself before following her study partner into the mountain.
The stairs turned what seemed to be about four or five times, taking the mares deeper into Mount Canterlot. When the pair finally made it to the bottom, they were let out into a hallway wide enough for only two ponies to walk side by. Twilight and Luna just managed, what with Luna being larger than the average pony. The light from the torch revealed a series of lights hanging from the ceiling, going down to what seemed to be an iron door. Twilight looked around the walls and spotted what looked like a light switch. She nosed it upward, turning on the hall lights that still functioned.
“I don't see any wires...” Luna said, extinguishing the torch and setting into another bracket near the light switch.
“I think they're old magic infused bulbs. A light spell is cast on them and it's activated the switch is flipped. Don't see too many of them nowadays. They were easy to make, but didn't last too long.” Twilight slowly made her way further down the hall, examining the doors that were on either side of the hall.
“I guess that's why ponies use crystals for lights now.”
“I prefer torches and oil lamps, myself. Fire light makes the pages of a book look so nice late at night during a study session...” Twilight stopped for a moment, lost in her thoughts of studying.
She was freed from this momentary lapse of reality by a light giggle from Luna.
“I agree, reading by candle light is so relaxing.” The Alicorn smiled to the blushing Unicorn briefly before turning to one of the six steel doors that were on either side of the hall. It made more since to work their way down to the iron door. “Now let's see what knowledge awaits us in this room.”
“It looks like there's a name plate on the door...” The still blushing Twilight said, pointing at a rust and dust covered plate.
She pulled a handkerchief from her saddlebags with her magic and used it to wipe away most of the grime. “What's it say Luna?”
Luna leaned in, squinting to make out the faded lettering. “It says 'Salina Velvet. Broadcasting Room.' Maybe this Salina was some pony that was involved with communications?”
“One way to find out...” Twilight said, pushing the steel door open.
Using her magic, she found another light switch just inside the door and turned it on. Thankfully, the lights still worked in the room.
Inside, the pair found a number of different object that peaked the intellectual curiosity. A large radio set sat on a wooden table off in a corner, wires running from it and up the wall, then into the ceiling. At least they would, had they not been severed just before reaching the ceiling. Connected to the transmission set was a large microphone, obviously of fine quality. Next to this table was another, one that had what seemed to be a small player for recorded speeches or radio transmissions made using the radio set. A box of what seemed to be reels of recordings sat next to it. Twilight went right for the player.
“Ooh, Luna, look at this! Imagine the information we could get from these recordings! To actually listen to some pony that was actually around during the battle! It could cut down on research time! Or better yet, extend it!” Twilight was practically jumping with joy over the find, Luna stood next to her and examined it with fascination.
“Amazing... Oh, look, it seems there's a recording loaded.” The moon pony pressed what seemed to be the play button with her nose, but jumped back in surprise when a sharp crackling came from the one speaker on the device. After a moment, a sweet, seductive, caring voice filled the room.
“Hello, soldiers of the Maremacht. This is Sally Velvet, the Voice of Equestria, here to warm your spirits as you fight the Stallionists and the cold out East. To those soldiers in the occupied villages outside of Stalliongrad either on leave or on occupation duty, I'll be visiting in a week to give you boys a show. So be sure to wear a clean uniform and be on your best behavior, because one of you lucky colts will be chosen for a trip to that massive dreadnaught hovering above you, the Lord of War. There, you'll dine with the Princess herself, our high commanders, and of course, myself.”
Here, Sally giggled cutely. She could be heard blowing a kiss as well. She wasn't done yet, though.
“As for you brave soldiers fighting in the massive fortress city that is Stalliongrad, I have news that will lift your spirits. Our beloved Field Marshal, the 'Iron Eater,' will be taking to the field of battle himself in his own personal tank, his fellow tankers from the Storm Stallions joining him. Our elite armor will crash through the Stallionists defences like a hot knife through butter, leaving you soldiers on the ground and in the air to deal with minimal resistance. That is, if our valiant armor colts decide to leave anything for you to fight.
“This has been the Voice of Equestria, reminding every pony to stay warm, and stay alert. May Celestia watch over you.”
The short announcement ended, soon replaced by the beginning of an upbeat marching tune, which in turn was cut off when the recording ended. By this time, Luna and Twilight were wide eyed in amazement. Neither could think of anything to say to the other. They could only look to one another, then back to the recording player. It was the second time in the space of twenty minutes that the two ponies were at a loss for words. Luna broke the silence at last.
“Amazing... She sounded quiet enthusiastic and caring for the soldiers.”
“She did, didn't she? The way she sounded, she seems like she could Rarity's ancestor.” Twilight followed Luna with her eyes, watching as the Alicorn inspected a dresser with a mirror atop it. An old makeup case was turned upside down atop the piece of wooden furniture.
“Rarity's the white Unicorn, correct? The one who makes dresses?” Luna asked, sniffing at a canister that used to contain blemish powder.
“Yes, that's her.” Twilight had just set the player and box of recordings into her saddlebags, and was now looking over a number of what seemed to be posters that were lying on the old, bug ridden mattress.
Most seemed to be recruiting posters, thought it made no sense since most soldiers seemed to have been drafted. That's what Twilight gathered from the journal, that is. She began to roll up some of the posters, planning to use them in a Stalliongrad exhibit she had planned for the library, when she came across what had to be the best poster. “Luna, look! It's a picture of Sally, I mean Salina Velvet.”
Luna moved to Twilight's side, admiring the yellowing poster. The poster was indeed of Miss Velvet. The radio filly was a young Unicorn, looking to be in her mid to late twenties. She had a milk chocolate brown coat, while her snout and hooves were a cream color. Her hair was light brown and tied up in a bun, her long, flowing tail the same color. Her eyes were a shockingly electric blue that gave off a sense of caring and gentleness, with a tinge of being energetic. Her cutie-mark was the same type of microphone that sat on the table, albeit on a taller stand, with magical looking notes floating around it.
“She looks quite beautiful,” Luna said, looking over the filly's features. Her snout was curved elegantly, her ears pointed a bit at the tip. “Her uniform, however, is... Well... Twilight, any opinion?”
“It seems... Spontaneous?”
Spontaneous didn't come close. Sally's uniform was a female Storm Stallion tunic, just without the bad weather poncho to cover her flank. Instead of the tunic ending just below her midsection with a belt, however, her tunic ended just above her midsection in a mini skirt style, a black belt above the bottom of the skirt to keep it in place. Her cap was jet black and peaked, the Reichsmare just below the tip of peak, just like the officer's caps described in the journal. However, just above the bill, was a hole that the Unicorn's horn stuck through, Reichsmare style wings on either side of the horn hole. Obviously, this uniform combined with the young pony's figure and flowing tail was meant to easily 'inspire' the troops.
“This will look great framed,” Twilight finally said, rolling up the poster.
She tucked it into her bags with the other few posters she'd decided to bring back. After looking through the room once more, the two explorers finally exited back into the hallway, turning off the light and closing the door behind them.
“Wonder what's behind this door.” Luna attempted the door across the hall from Sally's room, but had no luck in getting it to open.
“It's locked... and no plates on the door to mark what it could be... Phewy!” The princess banged the metal door with her hoof angrily.
“Why not just use a spell to unlock the door?”
“It must have been locked for a reason when this place was last used. I don't want to risk anything, you know?”
Twilight bit her tongue, pondering for a moment before slowly nodding.
“Makes since, I suppose. Shall we try the other doors, then?”
The historians moved on to the other four doors along the sides of the hallway, but each time they were met with locked doors. The only door left was the heavy looking iron door at the end of the passage, which looked rather intimidating thanks to a flickering bulb. The two approached it with the feeling that it, too, would be locked, ending their adventure through history. They stopped at the entrance, finding a room marker on it. Again, Twilight cleaned away the evidence of age.
“It says 'Planning Room.'” Both their eyes seemed to light up at the thought of finding battle plans and maps.
Twilight nearly broke the heavy iron door off its hinges when she opened it, and nearly snapped the light switch off the wall. This time, however, the lights didn't work.
“Should I get the torch?” Luna offered, turning to go back.
“No need.” Twilight focused for a moment before the tip of her horn lit up in a Unicorn flashlight fashion. “I don't want to waste any time at all.” Before her alicorn companion could respond, the purple Unicorn had all ready pressed onward into the room.
The planning room was just that, a room meant for planning. It was nothing fancy, just plain and simple. A large, rectangular table sat in the center of the large room, while filing cabinets sat against the walls, their empty drawers pulled out for all to see. There were another two doors on the other side of the room, leading deeper into the mountain fortress system. What should have been a treasure trove of knowledge was seemingly empty, which saddened the overly eager Twilight. That is, she was saddened until Luna pointed out something lying on the center of the table.
“Hey, what's this?” Luna walked over to the length side of the table to get a better look, while Twilight stood opposite her on the other side of the table.
The light from the Unicorn's horn revealed the item on the table to be a massive leather folder. It was thick and seemed to be heavy, a sign that it was full of papers and documents. The two magic ponies took wasted not even a second after realizing what it was before tearing into it.
Soon, papers were strewn about the table as the two poured over them, examining every paragraph, every sentence, every word. Maps of Equestria, maps of Stalliongrad, supply rosters, troop movements, reports about new equipment, and blue prints... Oh, the blueprints! When the girls saw the blueprints, their eyes almost popped out of their heads! There were blueprints of the combat harnesses described in Schmeisser's journal, blueprints of the camps, of strange looking armored vehicles that must have been tanks, of combat harnesses for Pegasi... It was too much for either of them to take in right then and there.
“No way are we going to leave these!” Luna exclaimed as she helped Twilight return all the documents back to the folder.
The large folder had a strap on it, allowing Luna to carry it around her neck, easing the load on Twilight.
“Certainly not! With the help of Equestria's finest engineers and designers, we could replicate some of the equipment for further study and field trials.”
“Don't you think it's strange, though? That was just happen to find a folder full of informative documents, and a box of recordings with a working player? I mean, the battle was supposed to have taken place about three hundred years ago.” Luna gave the folder hanging from her neck a look of suspicion, as if it were thinking of stealing from her.
“You're right... It's as if some pony knew that we, or some pony else, would be attempting to learn about the battle in the future. But that only raises the question as to why?” Twilight sat down on the cold, concrete floor.
Thank goodness the ponies who built this tunnel system had made the floors out of something substantial other than leave it like the walls.
“Why what?” Luna tilted her head, a look of confusion on her face.
“Why would some pony who was around during that time even think that ponies would have to go searching for information on en event of such magnitude? Why would some pony else work so hard to hide what happened?” Twilight sprung back to her feet just as abruptly as she had sat down.
“Luna, something happened at Stalliongrad, something huge. Something that must have affected a multitude of ponies, maybe even Celestia herself!” Twilight stopped there, her pupils shrinking back into her eyes. “Celestia...”
“Twilight, you don't think that she had something to do with what happened at Stalliongrad, do you? Maybe it's just a coincidence, maybe the battle wasn't that big of a deal!” Luna was obviously scraping at any chance that her beloved sister, the ruler of Equestria, had nothing to do with the blackout of information dealing with a massive war.
“No big deal? We're in a bunker system that's buried deep within Mount Canterlot! I hate to say it Luna, but... I think Celestia's the one that hid everything on purpose...” Twilight's head hung limply, staring at the floor.
“Why would she?”
“...We're going to find out. Come on.”
Twilight headed right for the door in the back of the room, Luna right on her heels. They didn't even to bother to read the plate that read 'Launch Control Room.' The Unicorn tried to open the door, only to find it locked. She snorted before slamming against it, the rusted locks and bolts breaking with ease thanks to their age. What was on the other side of the door, however, was nothing either of them had expected.
It was a small, fully concrete room with a large window looking out into a massive darkened area. Below the window was a massive terminal of dials, knobs, gauges, levers, buttons, lights, and switches. Opposite the window was a long, wooden table, upon which sat a few pairs of dusty goggles, an aged clipboard, and a few pencils. On the wall above the table were three levers. One was labelled 'Launch Control Lights,' the next one 'Launch Control Shutters,' and the final one was labelled 'Launch Floor Lights.' The switches were all in the down position.
“Try the first one,” Luna recommended.
Twilight did so, flipping the small lever labelled 'Launch Control Lights.' The panel of lights above them flickered to life, albeit dim. Twilight ended her light spell, breathing a sigh of relief after having held the spell for a prolonged period of time. The two set down their bags and began to look over the terminal, pondering what it could be for.
“Hey, what's that outside the window?” Luna squinted, looking in the direction in which Twilight had indicated.
Sure enough, there was the outline of something massive. The two tried to make it out, but couldn't come to a conclusion on what it was.
“I wonder...” Luna turned back to the levers on the wall.
She flipped the one labelled 'Launch Floor Lights.' Artificial Light spilled through the window, illuminating what was on the other side of the glass.
A massive cave carved into the mountain, large enough to stack six Apple Family barns atop one another before coming close to the ceiling, and wide enough to fit ten barns side by side from wall to wall. Massive flood lights were wired onto the interior of the mountain, lighting up the stadium like area. On the floor were numerous crates, wiring, pipes, wooden planks, bags of concrete, and numerous other building supplies. A few toolboxes could be seen strewn about, but all of that was nothing compared to what sat in the center of the cave on a launch platform, aimed for the darkened ceiling.
A massive, four finned rocket sat atop a guided launch platform that could be lowered and moved about the cave using a series of railroad tracks. A small engine that must have been used to move it could be seen in a corner siding. The rocket itself, however, was just as tall as the Ponyville Library, if not taller. It was painted blue, green, purple, and pink, the same colors and fashion as Celestia's mane. The tip, the warhead, was steal gray, however. Wires could be seen running from the platform down towards the side of the cave where Luna and Twilight's personal 'viewing box,' was located. Although the two couldn't see, the wires then ran up the wall and then connected through the stone to the terminal before them.
“What... What is that?”
“It's... It's a rocket... A huge, rocket...”
Luna and Twilight stood there, staring at this sophisticated weapon of war before them, their minds racing with thoughts of 'Why?' and 'Who?'. Twilight staggered, dumbstruck as to what they had just found buried in the mountain. She grabbed onto the terminal for balance, her hooves sliding across the sea of switches and knobs, flipping and turning them. The Unicorn's mouth dropped in shock as small warning lights began to flash, while gauges began to point out various numbers. A small buzzer went off.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no! Luna, help!” Twilight panicked and began to flip switches at random, trying to fix her mistake.
“What do we do?” Luna had no more idea as to what to do than Fluttershy knew what to do at a wrestling competition.
The large pony backed up, afraid to touch anything. This only made matters worse, as her flank hit the wall lever marked 'Launch Control Shutters.'
With a sharp clang, large metal shutters slammed down against the window as the lights in the small room dimmed. Both girls jumped and yelped in surprise, even more scared now than they were a few seconds before. A sliver of light from the cave shown through a slit in the shutters, barely giving the two anything to see with.
“I can fix this, I can fix this!” Twilight cried, squinting at the terminal.
She was so worked up, she didn't even think to conjure up a light spell.
Peering down at the vast array of darkened controls, the Unicorn could only make out the dimly lit warning lights and gauges. Something caught her eye, however, to the far right of the terminal, all alone, was a glowing red button.
“This has got to be the power switch!” She cried, slamming her hoof down on it in desperation.
The lights in the cave died, as did the lights on the terminal. Both ponies let loose a sigh of relief.
That is, until a whirring and roaring sound met their ears. The lights inside the launch room which had gone out when the shutters had fallen were now bathing Luna and Twilight in blood red light. The two went stiff as the smell of smoke reached their nostrils. The sound of scraping metal also reached their ears. Light began to trickle through the metal shutter slits. The two glued their eyes to the glass, peering through the small openings.
The ceiling of the cave was sliding apart down the center, letting warm sunlight fill the cave and cover the rocket. The rocket itself, which had sat dormant for three hundred years, was now spitting smoke from its engine, sparks flying from the launch platform as it prepared to finally leave its long time home. The whirring was beginning to get louder, as was the rumble.
“Twilight, quick! Put the goggles on!” Doing as Luna instructed, Twilight snatched up a pair of old goggles and fit them over her eyes like the princess had before going back to watch the cause of their curiosity.
The two could only watch in horror as the aged rocket soon spat flame from its engine and began to move upward, shaking with effort. It looked like its aged engine and fuel supply wouldn't give it enough lift to even get off the launch rail that would lead it upward, but the engine roared suddenly, sending the metal vulture of death upward and out, leaving only a trail of greasy black smoke. Twilight had no idea how she was going to put launching a rocket of war into her next friendship report to Celestia.
~~~~~
Downtown Canterlot
~~~~~
Rarity sighed wistfully, admiring a beautiful diamond necklace in a shop window. Spike stood next to her, loaded down with shopping bags, admiring the pony of his dreams, while at the same time watching the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The trio of youngsters were currently trying to earn their cutie-marks in serving ice cream, much to the dismay of the ice cream vendor who's cart they were attempting to run.
“Do you think those would look good on me, Spike?” Rarity turned to the dragon for a response she knew would be positive.
“Of course, Rarity! Anything looks good on you!” The baby dragon blushed and smiled sheepishly.
“Oh, you're such a sweetie, Spike. I should- SWEETIE BELLE!”
The Crusaders were standing before the dressmaker, covered in either chocolate syrup, caramel, or whipped cream. They were all furiously wiping away their flanks to see their new cutie-marks, but were disappointed to find that they were still blank-flanks.
“Aaaaah!” The three moaned in unison.
“We're never gonna get our cutie-marks!” Apple Bloom whined.
“I was sure designing the perfect ice cream Sunday would have been at least one of our talents!” The small Sweetie Belle added.
“So not cool.” Scootaloo grumbled, the Pegasus had caramel in her hair.
“Kids, what have I told you about trying to get your cutie-marks while I'm watching you?” Rarity used her magic to grab a stack of wet-wipes from the ice cream cart before the colt running it could leave.
She also dropped a fair amount of Bits into his tip jar to make up for the mayhem the fillies had caused.
“To not do anything messy, filthy, or unbecoming,” The three chorused.
They were all upset to be without their cutie-marks yet again, but they were grateful for the wet wipes Rarity was using to clean them up with. Spike set down the elder Unicorn's purchases to help clean the kids.
“What if we never get our cutie-marks, Rarity?” Sweetie Belle pouted to her sister.
“Oh, kids. You'll all get your cutie-marks someday, every pony does! One does not simply make it happen! Gaining one's cutie-mark happens suddenly and without warning. A cutie-mark-”
Rarity was cut off by the sound of sirens blaring throughout the city. Every pony on the street stopped to look around, some looking to the old speaker system used for social events. Sure enough, the metal speakers were screaming out the sound of a sharp, air piercing siren. What was surprising, however, was the fact that even Royal Guard ponies on patrol even stopped to stair dumbfounded at the speakers that were mounted to light posts and the roofs of city buildings.
“Achtung, achtung! All civilian personnel clear ze streets immediately! Achtung, achtung! All flak ponies report to your stations! A-V2 Aggressor has been launched! Achtung, achtung!”
The same message played twice more before the siren returned. Ponies on the streets of Canterlot were either confused, afraid, or a mixture of both. Some were just afraid of the strange accent of the alarm announcer. Every pony was frightened equally, however, when some pony pointed out the greasy black smoke trail in the sky. The smoke trail wasn't as thick near its origin, one of the peaks of Mount Canterlot. It was thicker, however, as it went higher into the sky, being left behind by some massive object that was flying directly upwards.
“It looks like the Wonderbolts' smoke trail...” Some pony yelled.
“It can't be!” A guard yelled back over the siren. “They're over that way, headed towards it, see!”
Sure enough, the telltale vapor trail of the Wonderbolts flight team could be seen heading towards the unknown object. However, the Pegasi were above the object, and had probably hadn't even noticed it yet.
“Achtung, achtung! All flak ponies report to your stations!”
“Hey, girls, you thinkin what Ah'm thinkin?” Apple Bloom yelled above the siren.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER FLAK PONIES, YAY!”
“Girls, don't even-!” Before Rarity could even finish her warning, the three little fillies had all ready taken off running down the street as fast as possible to who knows where.
Rarity galloped after them, moaning. Spike scooped up the bags and ran after them, going as fast as his short legs would let him.
“You don't even know what flak is!” Rarity yelled; neither did she, but that was beside the point.
~~~~~
Airspace above Canterlot
~~~~~
Warm sun, not a cloud in the sky over Canterlot, and a light, cool breeze. It was a perfect day for the Wonderbolts to simply do a fly over of Canterlot and Ponyville to enjoy themselves. Spitfire and Soarin', however, decided to have a little more fun than just doing a fly-by. They had taken it upon themselves to break off from the rest of the group, performing loops and spirals to entertain themselves, if no one else.
“Hey Spitfire, check this out!” Soarin' yelled. He pulled up into a steep climb, going higher and higher, before finally performing a backwards loops while spinning himself around. His arch was wide as he curved back downwards, headfirst. He went too low, and shot underneath Spitfire as he continued to pull up while spinning. As he levelled out, however, he was too dizzy from the spin to notice that he was headed straight for a massive, colorful rocket that was sputtering upwards.
Clang!
“OUCH!” Soarin' halted in the air, rubbing his head with both forehooves.
He'd just hit his head on something. Wait, hit his head on something? In the open skies? He didn't have to much time to ponder this, as he was soon engulfed in a thick smoke. He flew upwards to escape the trail of exhaust.
“You all right, Soarin'?” Spitfire asked, hovering next to him.
“Yea, but my head hurts like crazy! What was that?”
“I don't know, something that came from Mount Canterlot.”
“How can you tell?”
“The exhaust trail from whatever it was leads back to the mountain, silly.” Spitfire had to resist the urge to playfully bonk her friend on the head.
“Oh, hehe...” The blue maned Pegasus grinned sheepishly before looking around wildly.
He spotted the object he'd collided with, although it was now flying away from them, and not straight up.
“I must have knocked it off course and sent it towards Ponyville...”
“I knew you had a hard head, Soarin', but not hard enough to knock something that size off course.”
~~~~~
Airspace just outside Ponyville
~~~~~
The Aggressor was moving as fast as its aged engine could manage, the thick smoke still spewing from it. The rocket shook violently whenever it hit a particularly heavy gust of wind, its fins barely staying attached. The metal monster was now passing over the quiet town of Ponyville, the inhabitants pointing up at it in shock and awe.
It seemed as if it would continue onward until it either ran out of fuel, collided with the mountains that it was bound to come into contact with, or should gravity finally decide to end its first and final escape from the damp cave that was the rocket's home. These were the prime possibilities up until a few of the stabilizer fins sheared off.
The Aggressor went wild, flipping and rolling about the skies. The added movement only strained the old jet engine, finally causing it to blow out in a mass of flame and even more smoke. Having made it just past Ponyville, the rocket turned meteor hurtled toward the ground at an angle.
~~~~~
Sweet Apple Acres
~~~~~
Applejack grunted as she bucked the last tree of the day, filling her last basket with fresh apples. Satisfied with her haul, she began to make her way back to the barn to drop them off before dinner. Before she could even make it past the house, though, her brother Big Macintosh ambled up to her, the usual hay stem hanging lazily from his jaw.
“Wassup Macintosh?” AJ asked, her voice giving evidence to how tired she was from the day's work.
Thank Celestia, Rarity had taken Apple Bloom and the other Crusaders shopping for the day.
“Granny Smith's going on about aliens... Seems Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were tellin' her bout 'em yesterday. Now she's on about how they're gonna come take our apples... Had ta get out of the house for a quick moment afore supper...” Mac took his time telling his sister this in his usual drawl.
“Gosh darn-it, not again... Last week it was somethin' bout a Choopa-Ca-bra, or somethin... Those youngins should know better than to talk about that stuff around Granny!”
Before Applejack could continue on with her rant, there was a tremendous crash as the earth shook beneath the siblings, sending both of them to the ground, sprawled out wildly. Dust and smoke filled the air, AJ and Macintosh hacking and coughing as they stood.
“What in- HACK! What in tarnation was that?!”
“I don't know,” Mac drawled, his eyes wide for a change. “But whatever it is, it's sticking out of our barn.”
“What are you on about, Macin- Sweet Celestia!”
Applejack turned toward their barn just as the smoke and dust began to clear away, revealing a massive object sticking out of the roof. Wisps of smoke were still coming from what she guessed was some sort of engine. The two stood in shocked silence when the screen door of the house slammed open.
“ALIENS! COME TO TAKE OUT APPLES!”
The elderly Granny Smith came running out of the home as fast as her feeble legs could carry her, a pitchfork clamped in her toothless mouth. She ran into the barn where the sound of metal on metal could be heard as the elder pony attacked what it was that had just destroyed the roof of the farm building.
“...”
“...”
“Should we-”
“Ah'll round up tha field hands,” Mac drawled.
“Guess Ah'll get Granny...”
Before heading inside the barn, though, Applejack noticed that the object was colored very brightly. A bit too bright for her taste.
~~~~~
Luna and Twilight sprinted up the curved stairwell, their ears still ringing from the sound of the alarm that had blared from speakers throughout the bunker system as they made their escape.
“What do we do, Twilight?!” Luna had yelled as they ran through the planning room. Her Unicorn friend seemed to be having a mental break down as the two had slammed the iron door shut behind them.
“W-We go back to the library, close the painting entrance, and sit there like nothing happened!! Celestia never has to know we even found out about the bunker or rocket!” She didn't even say what they'd do with the documents and recordings.
They were almost to the top of the stairwell, light spilling in from the library. It seemed as if they were going to make it before any pony knew that they had even left. As the two exited the stairwell, they were blinded by the natural light that was coming in through the windows. They stumbled forward, stopping to adjust to the light.
SLAM!
The mural doorway slammed shut behind them, hitting both the fillies in the rear.
“How was your excursion?” Twilight and Luna froze, recognizing the voice of an angered Princess Celestia. It wasn't a raging anger, but controlled.
“P-Princess... I can explain! It's my fault, not Luna's, that we found the painting and the bunker. I wanted to try and find more information about-” Twilight was stopped mid sentence by a raised hoof from Celestia.
“I am not angered by that, Twilight. I am more disappointed than angered, to be truthful. Disappointed that the two of you would venture into an area that you know nothing of without my permission or without my being with you. There are things down in those tunnels that should not be dug up... But it seems the two of you dug up the main thing that shouldn't have been.”
Celestia slowly made her way back over to the table that the two scholars had been using to study. Luna and Twilight followed, taking their seats across from white Alicorn. Her magic aura enveloped Twilight's saddlebags and the folder hanging from Luna's neck, lifting them up and then setting them on the table. The three then sat in silence, Celestia looking at the two ponies across from her.
“Sister,” Luna began, slightly timid. “What was that... Thing?”
“You'll find out in time, I'm sure of it. As I have said, I've not read that journal, but I'm sure its former owner has written about it.”
“Is everything okay, Princess? We didn't mean to launch the rocket, honestly,” Twilight pleaded.
“It's fine, my pupil. The guards are bringing order back to the streets, although there's a report of three young fillies running around yelling something about flak...”
Twilight's forehead made contact with the wooden table.
“... And it appears the Aggressor touched down outside Ponyville. Apparently, it put a hole in the roof of a certain pony's barn.”
Twilight covered her head with her hooves. She'd never hear the end of this from Applejack once the farm pony found out who had ruined her family's barn.
“We are lucky, however, that the warhead was not loaded into the rocket... Some pony must have removed it long ago.”
The three sat in silence for another few moments, not speaking. Twilight looked out the window, watching as the sun began to sink low in the sky. Soon, Celestia would go to lower the sun while Luna raised the moon.
“So what did the two of you find?” Twilight and Luna perked up at the thought of sharing their findings.
Luna opened up the leather folder with her magic, pulling out the stacks of blueprints and documents, spreading them out over the table.
“Amazing,” Celestia commented. “I haven't seen these in quite some time...”
“We found them in the planning room, sister. They were just sitting on the table, out in the open, as if some pony had left them there for us,” Luna said casually.
The lunar pony was looking over a blueprint of the rocket whose technical name was the A-V2, or Aggressor Version 2.
“Technology was quite advanced back then... Who thought of such weapons and technology?”
“The ponies I mentioned earlier didn't come alone, as you can tell from the journal. They brought with them one hundred of their nation's finest foot soldiers, multiple other military personnel, including fliers, as well as their country's brightest scientists and designers,” Celestia replied, sounding almost saddened. “They worked with Equestria's best minds to build up the technology for which they had brought the designs for. The finest soldiers and fliers of my Royal Guard aided their military personnel in training troops.”
“Where were these foreign ponies from?”
“In good time, my sister. In good time... For now, what did you bring back, Twilight Sparkle?” Twilight's head jerked up from a pile of supply documents she'd been skimming through.
“Oh, I brought back something most amazing, Princess!”
The purple Unicorn opened up her saddlebags and retrieved the posters she'd found in Sally's room.
She unfolded the one of said pony for Celestia to see. “Did you meet her, Princess?”
“Oh my, I remember her,” Celestia said with a smile, fond memories rushing back to her mind. “Salina Velvet was her full name, although she preferred Sally. Very polite, sweet filly. She was tough as nails, though. She had to be, what with the soldiers hitting on her so much.” Celestia giggled quietly, remembering the time when Sally had cast a freezing spell on a Royal Guardsman who couldn't take a hint. “Was there anything else?”
“Yes, Princess, there is.” Twilight pulled out the player and the box of recordings, setting them in the center of the table. “It plays radio recordings on these tapes. We listened to one of Sally when we found it.”
“Truly amazing. I'm sure you'll gain much knowledge from the tapes...” Celestia tried to sound positive, but gave the device a wary look.
“Would you like to listen to a recording with us, sister? Before we take care of the sun and moon?” Luna gave her sister a hopeful glance.
“Of course, why not...” Celestia sighed, trying to maintain an appearance of calm.
Twilight chose a tape with a smudged labelled that seems to read “First Contact.” She replaced the recording of Sally with this strangely labelled tape and hit the play button. What came from the speaker made every pony's mane stand on end. A horrible screeching sound could be heard, along with the sound of gunfire. The voice of a horrified sounding colt yelled over the noise.
“This is Apple Squad to Lord of War! We've made contact with an unidentified creature!! Requesting air support, over! Oh shit, hit it with the Filly-Faust!!” What sounded like a rocket launcher could be heard firing, the warhead making contact with its target. An explosion rang out, followed by even more roaring and screaming.
“Apple Squad, this is Lord of War bridge, please repeat, over. You're breaking up.”
“It's some kind of- FUCK, IT CAN BREATH FIRE! Screw air support, we need armor support! Send the whole army! Help us, for the love of Celestia, help us!”
The sound of a mass of flames could be heard around the squad leader on the radio, along with the sound of a few soldiers screaming as they were roasted. Fear could be heard in the voice of both the Coltsgrenadier and the pony on the bridge of the Lord of War, whatever that was.
“Hang on Apple Squad, we've dispatched an Ursa Panzer to your-”
“GET AWAY FROM ME, DAMN IT!” The sound of an automatic weapon could be heard firing all out, until it finally began to click.
It was empty. The colt could be heard grunting as he kicked whatever it was attacking him. The sound of him huffing and panting signalled he was now running.
“Soldier, where are you? The Ursa crew needs your position to help you.”
“I think I lost it... H-Hang on... DAMN IT, IT'S GOT MY LEG! AAAAHHH!! DAMN CELESTIA FOR SENDING US-”
Static spilled through the speaker. The other pony tried to hail the now dead soldier, but to no avail. The recording ended there.
Luna and Twilight were holding onto one another, staring at the player with horror. Celestia's eyes were wide in shock, tears streaming down the side of her face. She stood and tripped, catching herself on the table, with her face mere inches from Schmeisser's journal. She quickly regained her footing before nearly galloping from the library, leaving her sister and pupil still frozen with fear.
~~~~~
That night, Celestia lay in her bed awake, unable to sleep after the day's happenings. She simply lay under the covers, staring at the ceiling.
“It's not your fault, Celestia.” She kept telling herself over and over.
After repeating this manta several times, she fell into an uneasy, fitful sleep. She tossed and turned, groaning.
“Celestia~”
The Alicorn jolted awake at the sound of some pony's voice... Some pony with an accent she never wanted to hear again. She looked around, her dark purple eyes scanning the darkened room. No pony there.
“Calm down Celestia, it's just your nerves.” She said, trying to calm herself.
She stood from the bed and made her way over to the washbowl across the room, where she dipped her face in the cold water. As she lifted her face, she grabbed a hoof towel with her magic to dry off. When she removed the towel and looked in the mirror on the wall, she was met with a startling sight; standing behind her in the mirror was a brown colt... A brown colt wearing a worn and tattered Maremacht uniform, dried blood smeared across his chest and forehooves. His eyes were shrunken and void of life, completely white and staring. The helmet he wore had three bullet holes to the forehead, dried blood streaked down to the brim.
Celestia turned on the spot to face the intruder, only to find no pony there. She coughed out a few ragged breathes, trying to retain her composure. She turned back and again, dunked her face in the water, this time for a longer period of time to clear her head. She stopped halfway through drying her face, fearful that she would see the pony in the mirror again. She peaked around the towel, readying herself. A deep sigh of relief left her muzzle when she saw nothing there. The towel covered her face once more, finishing its job of drying the princess. She immediately removed the towel this time and set it back on the side of the washbowl, looking at only herself in the mirror. She laughed at herself for having such an imagination, and turned to go back to bed.
When she turned around, she was met not only by one Maremacht pony, but dozens of zombified looking soldiers. She scrambled back, slamming against the wall out of fear, unable to scream for the guards outside out of shock. Her fright filled eyes darted from one pony to the next, taking them in. Some wore Coltsgrenadier uniforms, some fur-lined flight suits, others wore the sinister looking jet black Storm Stallion uniform. Those ponies, no, those stallions were grouped together in the center of the mass of dead that surrounded the Alicorn. They all wore the same blank expression, their eyes bottomless white pits. All were covered in blood in some way. Some were missing parts of their faces, an ear, a hoof, or even an entire leg. Some were just riddled with blood-caked bullet holes.
“Celestia...” They chorused, their voices as icy as the water she'd just dipped her face in. “Why did you forget about us, Celestia?”
“Did we not fight for Equestria, as you asked us?” Called a blue Pegasus wearing a flight suit, one of her wings torn off. There was a massive wound to her chest.
“We fought well, didn't we?” A white Unicorn this time.
He was missing half his horn and a forehoof.
“Ve fought for what ve thought vould be our new home...” Droned a Storm Stallion; part of his head was blown off underneath his black helmet, while a single bullet hole pierced his heart.
“S-Stay away from me!” Celestia pleaded. “L-Leave me alone! It wasn't my fault!” Tears were streaming down her face as the questions continued to bombard her.
She shut her eyes, feeling the zombie ponies come even closer.
Suddenly, the Maremacht ponies halted in their questioning and closing in. Celestia opened her tear filled eyes, looking to them. The room was dead silent, save for one sound. The sound of iron horseshoes clanging on steel, despite the floor being carpeted.
“No...” Celestia whispered.
The clanging grew louder and was accompanied by the sound of another set of hooves marching in time with it, though the new set of hooves were not shoed. “Please... Not them...”
From behind the Storm Stallions, the shadow of a very tall and elegant looking Unicorn appeared, his long, slender horn protruding from a blue peaked cap. The SS colts parted ways, revealing the Unicorn was not alone. Next to him was the shadow of another Stallion, albeit one that was noticeably smaller than the average pony. It was from this small earth pony that the sound of iron on steel was coming from, his left forehoof now banging in a gruesome rhythm as he stood in place, still shrouded in shadows.
The shadowy figure of the massive Unicorn made his way through the opening in the group. Two massive wings spread out above his head, giving him the image of an angel of death as he approached the cowering Celestia. His sharp green eyes shown through the darkness.
“Good evening, Celestia,” The winged Unicorn called, his voice carrying the heavy Hengstan accent she had come to despise.
As he stepped from the shadows, it was revealed that he was pure white, like the Alicorn in front of him. His horn was just as long, his wings just as large as the Princess’s. His mane was long and flowing, jet black, and tied into a thick ponytail that draped across his left shoulder. His tail was just as long and thick, and was even tied in a similar fashion. He wore a peaked cap similar to the SS, albeit with blue fabric. The hole for his horn had eagle style wings on either side, their tips silver. His cutie-mark was as intimidating as they came. It was of a golden dragon, diving head first towards a potential target, claws ready to strike.
“Vhy Princess, do you not remember me?” He asked coolly.
Celestia struggled to her hooves, staring the winged Unicorn right in the eye, hatred and fear radiating from her own. She did her best not to stare at the triple scars that ran down his left cheek from the bottom of his eye.
“I thought ve had something, did ve not?”
“Why are you doing this Drachen? Just leave me be, you damned demon of war! It wasn't my fault!” Celestia's face was covered in tears now, but she still fought to maintain her composure.
“You still remember my nickname, how wunderbar.” He smiled at her, his teeth sharp and pointed. He dropped the smile as quickly as he put it on. “Don't you know, my dear Celestia?”
“W-What?!”
“Zat ze vorst disgrace a soldier can receive, is to be forgotten by the people und nation he fought und died for. Isn't that right, Herr Feldmarschall?”
“Jawohl, Herr Sky Marshal.” Called the short stallion that was still shrouded in shadows. “Und ze Princess has disgraced us all for ze past few hundred years.”
“I... I'm sorry!” Celestia cried, finally losing control.
She collapsed to the floor, head hanging in shame as she wept, tears cascading to the carpet she was staring down at.
“Please, Drachen, forgive me! P-Please forgive me... My love...”
Celestia heard the banging of iron on steel once again before looking up to find... nothing. She was sitting on the floor of her room alone, no pony there. The carpet where she'd seen the soldiers, Drachen, and the Field Marshal didn't even show that it had been stepped on recently. A buzzing sound caught her attention and she looked out the Prench Doors that lead to her balcony. She saw an Aggressor rocket barrelling towards her, and screamed right before it made impact.
~~~~~
Celestia jerked awake, covered in a cold sweat, her pillow covered in tears. She frantically looked about the room, finding nothing or no pony there aside from herself and her usual belongings. She ran to the washbowl and splashed her face and looked into the mirror, and saw nothing at all. She splashed again, and again, saw nothing. She looked out the Prench Doors and found the night sky void of any military grade rockets. Still emotionally unstable, the royal Alicorn slid back into bed, drawing ragged breaths.
“It was just a dream,” she said. “Just an outrageously horrendous dream...”
As Celestia nestled into her bed for the night, she rolled over. Her eyes widened, however, when she spotted something on the pillow next to her: a certain peaked cap of blue fabric. Instead of jumping and crying in terror, she simply pulled it close with both forelegs, and held it near her heart.
And Princess Celestia of Equestria cried silently the rest of the night.
___________________________________________________
*Prench - French
*Prance - France
=D
I hope every pony enjoyed this latest chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! I realize you might not be finding out what you want to, but as Celestia said, in due time. This is only chapter three of a story that is planned to span multiple chapters.
Thanks to the constant pleading of my co-author / artist, Drachen, I will be doing another “PSA,” though it will be more of a Q&A. It will not be posted to ED, however. The video will be posted to the same account on youtube as the PSA, so simply follow the video to my youtube page. If you’d like to send in questions, send them to:
stalliongradthestory@gmail.com