//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Apocalypse in Equestria // by GeodesicDragon //------------------------------// "Snacks, check. Pillows, check. Blankets, check. Drinks, c—" "Jeez, Twilight," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Would you put that list down already? That's the fourth time you've checked it!" I chuckled. "Sorry, Rainbow." I left the table and joined my friends next to the pillows. "I just can't help it; I did a lot of checking and double-checking in Twilightlicious." I noticed Dash's raised eyebrow and bemused expression, and rolled my eyes. "All right, I did a lot more checking and double-checking than usual." "Really, darling," Rarity said, as she ran a brush through the mane of a less than eager Applejack. "You need to stop thinking about work all the time; that's why we're having this slumber party." "Yeah, Twilight," Starlight added. "If you're that concerned about 'not working,' you can treat this as another friendship lesson for me. This is my first 'proper' slumber party, after all." "Starlight's right, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie chirped. "We all know how much you like studying! Now, why don't we help you relax with a good old-fashioned – but still fun – game of 'Truth or Dare?'" I nodded. "Sure, Pinkie," I said. "Let's do that." "Good!" Dash pointed at me. "Because you're going first! Now, what's it gonna be, egghead, Truth or Dare?" I looked Dash right in the eyes and grinned. "Truth." "When you were over in Twilightlicious, you met the leaders of those other three countries, right?" Dash asked, to which I nodded. "Right... now, would you consider making out with any of them?" I blushed as my friends all giggled. "Aw, shucks," Applejack said. "She's gone redder than Big Mac!" "We're sorry if we embarrassed you, Twilight," Fluttershy said gently. "If you don't want to answer, then—" "I would, actually." my blush deepened as my friends all stared at me in shock. "I wanted to kiss one of them before I returned home, but... I managed to control myself." "Who was it?" Rarity asked gleefully. "Come on, Twilight, please don't leave us in suspense like this!" As I opened my mouth to reply, the door swung open with enough force to make it hit the wall. All eyes turned to the door as Spike came running in, wide-eyed and panting. He opened his mouth to speak, but instead started coughing; we watched as he stood, bent over with his hands on his knees, taking in breath after breath. "Spike?" I asked. "I thought you were over at Sweet Apple Acres with Big Macintosh and Discord?" "I got... a letter..." Spike finally managed to choke out. "It's from... Celestia and Luna... and it's... on red parchment." I gasped. "Red parchment?" I replied. "I'm guessing that's not good?" Starlight queried. I shook my head. "No, it isn't." I took the parchment from Spike's outstretched claw and read it. "It's an emergency summons from Canterlot; we all have to go there immediately. A chariot has been sent to pick us up, and will arrive momentarily." I put the parchment aside. "Let's go, everypony." With that, all of us shot out of the room. *** Upon arriving in Canterlot, we were all ushered to a meeting room in the castle. The room was bustling with activity, and I could see several important ponies: Celestia, Luna, the Wonderbolts, General Iron Bulwark of the Equestrian Army, Cadence and Shining Armour. "What's going on?" I asked of Cadence and my brother. Shining shrugged. "I dunno, Twiley," he replied. "But whatever it is, it was big enough to drag us all the way here from the Empire." "And if Iron Bulwark is here, then it can't be good," Cadence added. "Can I have your attention please, everypony?" Luna called out, causing the room to fall silent. "First of all, thank you for coming on such short notice. Secondly, I will get right to the point and tell you... there is a situation unfolding in the Everfree Forest that, if it is what we think it is, could spell danger for all of Equestria." She turned to Iron Bulwark. "General, please explain further." General Iron Bulwark, commander of the Equestrian Army, was a grizzled old pegasus of fifty-two. He stood up and bowed his head towards Luna. "Yes, Your Highness," he said. "Now, those of you who are familiar with Equestrian history will know that, about three-hundred years ago, the many Diamond Dog tribes were finally united by a leader they referred to as 'The Great One.'" To my left, I could see that Rainbow Dash was already bored. "This 'Great One' told the tribes that, instead of fighting each other over meagre scraps, they could have everything they ever wanted. But to do that, they had to remove the single biggest 'obstacle' which stood between them and their goal — us. They spent a whole year training and equipping a huge army, which was hidden deep in the forest, before finally launching their invasion. Equestria was taken by surprise at first, and suffered greatly, but in the end... we prevailed. Assisted by the other races – the gryphons, the minotaur and the zebra – we defeated the enemy, thus bringing an end to their mad plans. We found no trace of their leader, though, and none of the prisoners would tell us anything about him." "What does this have to do with anything?" Rainbow Dash groaned, perhaps a little too loudly. "This is ancient history!" "It was ancient history," Iron snapped. "The enemy camp was razed, and for hundreds of years it has lain in ruins... until now. We have reason to believe that the camp has once again been occupied by a force of Dogs. We don't know who leads them, but they have repaired many of the structures, and appear to be mobilising a large force of troops. Their intentions are unknown, yet it goes without saying that we are treating their presence as a threat." "How did we find out about this?" I asked. "What intelligence do you have which suggests the camp has been re-occupied?" "Spitfire brought the issue to my attention while she was returning from the Wonderbolts Academy," Iron replied. "Right, Captain?" Spitfire nodded. "Yes, Sir," she said. "I saw a number of two-legged creatures bustling about in the ruins, doing who knows what, but I decided it wouldn't be wise for me to stick around. They looked to be in possession of some really serious equipment." "That's another thing," Iron added. "These Diamond Dogs appear to be more advanced than the others we've seen. As such, I hereby propose that Equestria launches an all-out attack on the camp, to disrupt their activity and prevent them from finalising the plans they no doubt have to finish what they started many years ago." Celestia thought for a moment. "Are you sure such an attack would be a good idea, General?" she asked. "Indeed I do, Princess," Iron replied. "Spitfire said that the enemy didn't notice her presence, so we would have the element of surprise. Plus..." He glanced over at my friends and I. "We also have the Elements of Harmony on our side." Luna shook her head. "Out of the question, General," she said. "My sister and I will not jeopardise the safety of the Bearers." "I'm a Wonderbolt, Princess Luna," Rainbow Dash interjected. "So if the Wonderbolts are going to fight, then I'm going with them." "An' if mah friend is goin' ta fight, then so am I!" Applejack said. "We've dealt with Diamond Dogs before," Rarity said. "So I will gladly help to deal with them again." "It won't be fun without my friends here," Pinkie said. "So I want to fight too! Besides, we fought the Changelings and won..." "I'll go too," Fluttershy offered. "But, um, not as a fighter." "I'm sorry, fellow Princesses," I said. "But if they're going, so am I." "Twiley, no!" Shining Armour shouted. "Celestia, Luna, if you will just give me forty-eight hours, I will have four entire divisions of the Crystal Guard here and ready to fight!" "Twilight has made up her mind, Shiny," Cadence said. "You know as well as I do that she can look after herself; she doesn't need her big brother holding her hoof any more." Shining Armour sighed. "All right, fine," he relented. "But I still meant what I said about getting the Crystal Guard." "I'm coming too," Starlight said. "After all, friends stick together." Celestia and Luna started whispering to each other. After a few tense minutes, they finally spoke to us. "Very well," Celestia said. "We will go with General Bulwark's plan to launch a surprise attack on the Diamond Dog camp. We will mobilise the Equestrian Army and the Wonderbolts, while the Crystal Empire will prepare their own troops." "We will strike one week from today," Luna added. "Get ready, everypony, and may the sun and moon watch over all of us." *** One week later... The world outside seemed to go by in slow motion, as the many airships transporting our army floated across the sky. Crew and soldiers alike stood in silence, scanning the horizon for any potential threats, while I stood with my fellow Princesses in a cramped little office. Iron Bulwark was with us, poring over a map. "The plan has been finalised, Your Majesties, and will go like this." he pointed at a spot on the map. "This is where the enemy camp is, and this is where we are; at our present speed, we will arrive in approximately fifteen minutes. We have no way of hiding our approach, so we will need to act fast. As soon as we have the camp in visual range, the Wonderbolts will take off to drop explosives, causing casualties and sowing chaos amongst the enemy ranks. Once they've done this, they will engage the enemy and thus allow us to start deploying our forces. Pegasi can simply fly down to join the battle, but Earth ponies and unicorns will have to descend via parachute. The airships will provide fire support, and we will have chariots on standby to evacuate the wounded for treatment." I nodded. "It seems good on paper," I replied. "But are you absolutely sure that the Diamond Dogs don't know we're coming?" "I'm positive, Princess," Iron said. "We have complete surprise." Celestia laid a wing over my back. "Trust us, Twilight," she said. "Everything is going to work out, and soon we will end this." "Very well." I smiled. "I'll put my trust in you, seeing as you've all been doing this for a lot longer than I have. Now, if there is nothing else, I think I'll go out on deck and get some air." I walked out onto the deck to see my friends gathered around Rainbow Dash, who was wearing her Wonderbolts uniform and looking forlornly into the distance. "It's okay to admit that you're scared, darling," Rarity said reassuringly. "We won't think any less of you." "I'm not scared," Dash scoffed. "I'm looking forward to getting down there and teaching those Dogs not to mess with Equestria. If anything, I'm more worried about the rest of you – with the exceptions of Medical Orderly Second Class Fluttershy and Princess Twilight Sparkle, of course – coming down via parachute... you're gonna make some really tempting targets." "Don't worry, Dashie!" Pinkie said. "We'll be fine as long as you and the Wonderbolts are down there kicking butt and taking names." Dash's eyes flashed with determination. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to any of you," she said. "That's a promise." "We're nearly at the camp." I sighed. "Get ready, everypony, but first..." I used my magic to pull them all in for a hug. "Good luck." "Thanks." was the universal response, as a bell began to clang. "We're in range of the target!" Spitfire shouted. "Wonderbolts, grab your explosives and form up on the deck! And hurry up, because it goes without saying that we've just lost the element of surprise!" Dash gave us a solemn look as she hurried off to join her comrades, while the rest of my friends equipped the parachutes that would help them descend from the airship. To say that I was feeling sick with nervous apprehension of what was to come would have been the understatement of the millennium. Fluttershy, being a medic, helped the others to put on their parachutes. "Oh, please be careful," she said. "I don't know what I'd do if I saw any of you being brought into the infirmary." "You don't have to do this, you know," I said to Starlight. "You can stay here with me; I'll soon find a task for you if you're that keen." Starlight shook her head. "I have to do this," she replied. "Because if those Dogs manage to launch a successful invasion, there won't be any Equestria left for me to continue my lessons in." I sighed. "Well, if you're sure." I hugged her. "Good luck." Starlight returned the hug and joined the rest of our friends, all of whom had moved aside to let the Wonderbolts form up on deck. We were now a few hundred metres away from the Diamond Dog camp; the battle was about to begin. "To arms, men!" a voice from below shouted, amplified by a megaphone. "Show these fools the true meaning of power!" I recognise that voice... I took a few steps forward and peered over the railing at the edge of the deck. Looking down at the camp below, I could see a lot of two-legged individuals running around, but what struck me the most was the flag I could see. An iron fist against a grey background. "It's the Apocalypse!" my eyes widened in horror, and I turned around. "Abort the attack!" I shouted. "They're not the enemy!" "Twilight?!" the same voice called up to me, and I finally spotted the man to whom it belonged. "By Violet, it is you!" He started shouting at his soldiers. "Stand down, men; it's the Equestrians, not the Dogs!" He then looked up at me again. "Long time, no see, Princess. Why don't you come down here so we can talk?" I nodded. "Very well, Herald Geo, I'll be right with you." I turned to the Wonderbolts. "Captain Spitfire, order all of our forces to stand down, and inform my fellow Princesses that the Herald is here." Spitfire saluted and left while I began my descent, many a question forming in my mind. But at the same time, I was relieved. For we had just avoided what would have been a terrible mistake...