//------------------------------// // Chapter V: Citizen 0 // Story: Rise of the Republic // by Commandobrony //------------------------------// The day had finally come, Sapphire's enlistment period was up and she could leave the Royal Military. Icarus was in deep, very deep from the media surrounding him, well an unnamed black rookie, that was defiantly him. Pictures of that trick he could preform were being circulated through the press like wild fire, and rumours of a relationship between him as Spitfire had been making its way through the tabloids. The latter hit harder than Sapphire was expecting. She had sprung a bit of her back pay on a first class cabin for her trip back to Ponyville and had the best nights sleep she'd had in four years. It was frightening going to what had become known as the New Luna Republic’s FOB, smack bang right in the centre of the closest settlement to Canterlot. It wasn't just the proximity though, at Fort Vanguard it was just her alone,ordering imaginary ponies around via a communication spell, now she was going to meet many of them for the first time... Things were becoming real. It was funny how the instant their Commander went under the movement began to snowball, it was overwhelming at times. All this responsibility thrust upon her, so many things in the balance, lives at stake, risk of detection, it was not what she signed on for. But she hadn't got them caught so far, in fact had saved their necks a few times, even from her remote outpost. The time was coming to make a move against the Solar Empire, and the time had come for Sapphire to go home. The train arrived in the wee hours of the morning as the sun had begun to rise. Sapphire grabbed her small saddle bag with only a set of combat fatigues and some items for spell craft, the only things she had in this new life. She walked out of her cabin, down the corridor and then trotted down the steps onto the platform, where she was met by a emerald Pegasus mare. “Ma'am” Her words were formal, but her tone was familiar. Sapphire could tell it was taking all of her self restraint to keep her from saluting “Jade!” Sapphire said, as she threw her hooves around the Pegasus' neck and hugged her “I missed you too ma'am” she said warmly before pealing Sapphire off her “Sorry, it's been a little... hard” Sapphire said, a tear of happiness welling up in her eye “I know ma'am, but there is much to talk about and not a lot of time to talk about it” A hint of desperateness in Jade's voice “What's up?” Sapphire said concerned Jade lead Sapphire out of the train station “A few studies you had us do have been completed; well as much as we can complete them. A lot of it is supposition.” “Is it safe to talk about it here?” 'Yeah” Jade replied with a cocky smile. She nodded in the direction of some bushes “We'll be alerted if some pony can overhear us” “Ok, so what have you found out?” “Well first off is Celestia's enthralment that gave us so much trouble in the first war. Most ponies have their own free will now, but rather are controlled through propaganda.” “Why would she risk that?” “We think that there maybe a limit to her power, but we can only add supposition, we don't really know.” “What about ponies close to her?” Sapphire did a poor job of hiding her worry “Some we can confirm are completely enthralled, but if you're worried about Icarus, I think he'll be ok, worst case scenario for him is the high level suggestion we went under when we were working for the RSS.” “But this is still going to be a major issue when we begin fighting again.” Sapphire said concerned “Yeah, when this starts we'll need to win this very quickly” Jade said with determination “Ok, so how do we do that? Celestia has the elements.” “Yes, but she can't use them, she needs the avatars.” “So if we can get to the avatars, we have the elements, and if we have the elements we have a shot at winning this?” “That's my thinking yeah. Though how we use the elements... that's another-” “- bridge we can cross when we get to it.” Jade nodded respectfully. They had taken the short trek to the town centre and up to a small bakery, Sugar Cube Corner. Sapphire looked around at the gaily decorated store as they entered “So how did we score this as our FOB?” Sapphire said impressed “You know, weirdly enough the owners, the Cakes, approached us. They already knew our mission, the history, what Celestia was doing.” “What? Like they had noticed by themselves?” “No, they knew things they can't possibly, like 'the stars shall aide in her escape'” Sapphire stopped and widened her eyes “I know” Jade said noticing Sapphires wariness. “We were concerned at first too, but they have been very helpful.” They continued into the kitchen and then down into a cellar bellow. “Starr, you made it” Nova said warmly, turning to face her as they reached the bottom of the stairs “Finally” she said distantly as she admired all the equipment It was a large room, the walls covered in intelligence documents, the centre had a map of Equestria; little flags stuck out of the different cities and settlements representing different strengths and units. Scattered around were Earth Pony radios and a few weapons racks filled with battle harnesses and rifles. There were other ponies in the room; working the radios and updating the intelligence. “You've done well for your selves” She said finally as she looked back at Nova with a smile “Yes, well, with out your and Night's guidance-” his modesty trailed off “Anyway, we still have the issue of moving forward.” “We need to force Celestia's hand.” Jade nodded towards the war map “I thought we could strike at the garrison near Las Pegasus -” “No, we can't make our first act a violent one.” Sapphire said with authority “This war was started years ago, we aren't making our first act violent, we are retaliating!” “Wars are won by public opinion, right? If we just start attacking the military the media will paint us as terrorists and we will lose support.” “We need to force Celestia's hand! The only way to do that is to threaten her power.” “Ideas are far more powerful than guns and explosives. The movement threatens her, we need to let her know the movement exists. She will escalate the conflict, and then everyone will see her for what she really is.” Jade pouted for a second. “I told you it was a bad idea” Nova said slyly Jade shot him an scornful glance before looking back at Sapphire “Ok, we do it your way ma'am” “We still have to wait for a signal from Night. I'll see if I can't -” Sapphire was cut off by the sound of the door flying open “Nova, sir!” a Pegasus said as he burst through the door, panting like he had just flown at top speed from Cloudsdale “You have to see this!” he pulled a poster from his saddle bag with a rendering of Celestia on it. The caricature had a wraith full frown on it and the word 'OBEY' was stencilled underneath. “Where did you find this?” Nova said concerned “They're all over Manehatten, the cell we've got there just went ahead and did it.” “Buck” Nova said under his breath “Bring the leader of that cell here.” Sapphire said annoyed “Well what the buck do we do now?” Jade asked Sapphire sighed heavily “Wait for Celestia's opening move” *** Icarus stirred underneath the sheets as he awoke, one of those crazy dreams again. Ever since he was back in his flat in Canterlot they had come back, but he didn't have that voice yelling at him to wake up as much any more. He felt the foreleg of the golden mare he'd been dating draped over his shoulder. Doing his best to not disturb her he gently lifted it off him and slipped out of the bed. As he looked back his heart warmed at the peaceful smile upon her face, as well as the terrible bed hair and a bit of drool that had left a wet mark in his mattress. He put on a coat and softly closed the door after him. As he hit the cold pre-dawn air he let out a sigh that caused steam to form around his mussel; he was becoming attached to Spitfire. He had noticed that he was always happier when she was around, and that the problems of the world seemed to fade away when they were together. He wasn't sure, but he suspected that he was more than just a fling to her, and the idea of forsaking the war seemed more and more viable. He walked the market quarter, the stalls bare and covered, there owners safe and warm in their beds while he wandered the barren promenade. It was peaceful, quiet, and Icarus was content to wander around for a bit before heading home. Ahead he saw a pillar of stars jut from the ground, and wave around against the white walls of the castle grounds, and the slow trotting of a large pony. It had been a while since he had seen Luna in the night, her light blue hair had transformed into a flowing mane of stars. As he got closer he noticed her happy expression as she looked around. “Hello Icarus” she said in a familiar tone “We are sorry tonight’s sky is missing the Borealis; 'Tia only lets us do that during the colder months.” Icarus looked up at the stars with a smile “Things like that should be rare, otherwise it would diminish the awe effect.” He said warmly “We know, We still do it on the odd night though, when she's not looking. When she notices she does like to scold us” she said wistfully “Anything wrong Luna?” He said warmly Luna's eyes narrowed, thrown by the familiarity. “We-” She hesitated “I have been considering my decent for some time now and something doesn't seem right.” “What like?” “I can't remember details, but I have images and emotions that I do remember. The story goes that I was jealous of the day, that ponies enjoyed it more than the night, but I remember the night as a reprieve from the toils of the day, as it is now. I remember loud bouts of mirth as well as peaceful interludes between the daily routine. Then I remember sadness, and eventually a rage that was not my own, but never envy.” Realising she had just gushed her heart out to this acutance Luna flushed “We are sorry, Night, we did not wish to burden you with this line of thought.” “It’s alright” he said with a warm smile “If it’s any consolation, the legend never made sense to me either.” “It’s not that, we barely know thee, yet we feel as though thou' is kin.” Icarus simply stopped, his eyes widened slightly. He opened his mouth to speak but Luna stopped him. “Anyway, we must go and lower the moon, lest Celestia thinks we are starting another insurrection. We will see you again Night” Luna said as she spread her wings She took off with a soft gust of wind, leaving Icarus on the ground. *** The sun had begun to rise as the gate to Icarus’s home complex came into view. The light cast made the masonry glow a soft yellow, as it hit the flowers and shrubs of the gardens flanking the path it made them look almost monochrome, but beautiful all the same. As he neared the door he heard loud clopping from behind him. He looked, his eyes met the early morning sun which burnt at his eyes offensively. Before he turned away he noticed the silhouettes of four guards dressed in full armour. He moved to let them past. As he reached his floor he saw those guards talking to an alert Spitfire with crazy bed hair (A sight that seemed contradictory). She had a stern look on her face as she took in what the guards said. It softened when she saw Icarus. “What's going on?” Icarus asked as he approached the group One of the guards turned “Celestia has requested an audience with the Wonderbolts regarding some disturbances in Manehatten.” “Anything additional?” Icarus said concerned Spitfire shook her head “Cyrus has apparently set up a briefing in about half an hour” *** Nothing he could say could get him into that briefing; instead he sat on his hooves like the the rest of the Wonderbolts as Spitfire sat along with the other department heads. Icarus did all he could to quiet the speculations running rampant in his mind. It could be anything, dragon attack, Griffon incursion, or... a rebellion. “I hope its dragons” Soarin' said with glee “The blades they stick on your wings make you so much more aerodynamic” “That's only because you can't fly lug face” another pony, Fleet Foot, said mockingly “I hope its Griffins, its been a while since I've used a rifle harness on anything aside from the range” “I'm sorry I thought you just said I couldn't fly.” Soarin' said mockingly “Followed up by 'I want to take pot shots at some over grown chimeras'” “Ok, Soarin', if it is Griffins I dare you to volunteer for front runner in your dragon slayer battle dress.” Fleet Foot said “Don't do it” another Pegasus, Rapid fire, said distantly “Griffins have superior wing span; you'll get cut to shreds” “Yeah, and besides, isn't front runner normally assigned to the rookie?” Soarin' added looking at Icarus “Before you start, Standard Operating Procedure when engaging Griffins is to do so at range.” Icarus said coldly Soarin' grimaced “Looks like he's not going for it gal's” “Keep at it lug face, you'll balance the books out someday.” Fleet Foot retorted Their playful bickering turned to white noise as Rapid Fire approached. She had begun to weird Icarus out, she always had a blank expression on her face and talked in a monotone voice; it was like she was... empty. “Your tone suggests that you are concerned” she said in that flat voice. “I'm fine.” Icarus said in the same cold voice “You are not acting like you normally do.” Icarus looked up at her and forced a nervous smile “It's just my first operation with you guys, that's all” Even the petty lies were getting tedious “The position front runner doesn't even exist” She said in what Icarus assumed was her attempt to be reassuring, which unnerved him even more “I know” “We can talk-” The doors to the war room flung open, not a moment too soon. The high ranking officials left the room. Luna walked out escorted by two of Celestia's guards and a deeply confused look on her face, Spitfire wasn't too far behind with a grave look on her face. The Wonderbolts perked up and lined up in formation. “What's the go?” Soarin' asked dutifully “Come in” she said, leading them into the now vacant war room They all trotted in. Icarus looked at the intelligence on the table; in the centre of the stacks of scrolls was a poster with a not to happy Celestia on it, with the word OBEY in big capitol script. Icarus let go a heavy sigh; this was clearly the start of his - “Insurrection” Spitfire sighed “Or potential insurrection, we're not entirely sure.” “We're definitely sure its not just some foals being foals?” Fleet Foot asked Spitfire nodded “We're leaning more towards that, the posters are localised to a few districts in Manehatten, but we're taking it seriously none the less.” Icarus stood up “Why was Luna escorted by Celestia's guards?” He did his best to hide his fuming rage; he knew why “Some of us had...” She hesitated for a moment “Concerns. She is simply under observation, nothing more.” “So what do we do?” Fleet Foot asked “The Wonderbolts are going back to Manehatten, the most public department will let everypony know that we are taking this matter seriously” Spitfire said with conviction “With the exception of Lieutenant Nightwing” “Excuse me?” Icarus said with a lot less formality than the situation demanded Spitfire ignored it “Celestia wants you to go to ponyville and keep an eye on the Avatars.” “Just me, on my own?” Icarus said bewildered “I wanted to keep us all together as well, but Celestia convinced me that it was the best course of action. One rookie Wonderbolt will draw less attention than the entirety of the Wonderbolts” The rookie bit kinda stung “We want to downplay the elements importance as an asset, but we still want to keep an eye on them. Go in undercover, and if anything happens alert us and Canterlot guards will be there with in half an hour.” Icarus restrained the urge to drop his jaw, it was too perfect, and Icarus swore by Murphy's Law “Understood sir.” he said finaly Spitfire nodded “Ok, pack up and be ready to leave by noon,” While the rest of the Wonderbolts stood up to leave Icarus stayed behind. “Celestia said that she wanted you close” Spitfire said intuitively “If it were up to me, you'd be in my flight.” He could tell that Spitfire wanted a moment, but what she said piqued his interest “What do you mean she wants me close? She doesn't think-” “What? No!” Spitfire said taken aback “Well, she seems to think your surfacing recently isn't a coincidence.” “No offence, but that doesn't help.” He said coldly “I think its a destiny thing. Besides even if she did, this is Celestia, our loving princess.” Spitfire reassured Icarus's eyes widened as he forced himself to stop; explaining how he knew differently wasn't exactly a good idea “I suppose you're right” He said finally “I'm always right” Spitfire said warmly as she approached him She nuzzled his cheek with affection. “Well make up for lost time when we get back from lecturing a bunch of misguided foals, ok?” she said with bedroom eyes As she turned to leave Icarus realised his face was flushed. “I'm in trouble” he thought silently to himself