Outstanding

by TheGuyWithAPen

Chapter 5 (Unfinished)

I peeked around the corner and saw her.
<There you are.>
I was going to have to do this fast. One slip up, and she would be gone, again. Two days ago, Twilight had politely said no to Heartsong’s offer, and had left as quickly as she could, but I knew something was up. She was acting too suspiciously, too out of place, and I was going to get to the bottom of this. So far, every attempt to catch her has failed, but I’m going to get her eventually, and then I’m going to get some answers.
She turned her back to me and appeared to be studying some of the bushes in front of her. <Perfect.> I crept as silently as I could towards her, making sure to roll each hoof onto the ground and sync my steps with those of passing ponies. Being an older sibling to an exceedingly annoying younger sister, I require an extensive amount of knowledge in stealth, and I have quite a lot of experience in using it.
<Almost there.> I was so close that I could reach out and grab her. I could smell the foreign perfumes she was using, even

(Unfinished)

Screaming. Celestia could hear them all. Their voices rang in her ears, thousands upon thousands of them. The voices of those she killed, haunted her every waking minute. She was so, so tired. Tired of resisting him, tired of struggling against him. She could only watch helplessly as it controlled her body like a puppet, perpetrating all manner of ungodly sins. What was it doing now? She was in her throne room, the place was once again empty. Sterile white walls echoed the sounds of a lifeless room.
Another sound, coming from the far side of the room, the door opening. A light orange unicorn stepped in, wearing the uniform of one of her generals. Her red and yellow streaked mane bobbed lightly as she treaded closer. Celestia had long since stopped trying to remember the names of the ponies she ruled over. Solar Flare killed them so quickly, what was the point of trying anymore? Well, that wasn’t the whole reason. The much more grim truth was that if she didn’t know her subjects, it hurt less when she killed them.
The pony waited patiently until she was addressed.
“You may speak,” issued a voice from Celestia’s mouth.
“Solar Flare, Your Highness, the reports on the rebellion in the North.”
“And?”
The pony gulped. “Progress has been slow, admittedly. The inclement weather has all but stopped our troops in their tracks, and with daily ambushes from them, stamping out the rebellion is proving to be more difficult than expected.” She fidgeted, but still managed to hold her head high.
Solar Flare said nothing.
No, not again, cried Celestia within her mind. No, please! Get out, pony! While you still can! The pony started to sweat. Silence reigned in the large chamber, until Celestia’s beautiful, silky, horrible voice echoed around its walls.
“I’m afraid that won’t do, sweetie.”
The room erupted in flames.

Newly promoted Major General Twilight Sparkle was standing outside the doors of the throne room when she felt the blast of heat. She shared a look with the guards. Looks like she was going to be Lieutenant General Twilight Sparkle now. Being employed by Her Majesty was a tricky business. The higher up you climbed, the more fantastic the pay became, but the closer you had to work with Her. And those that worked closely with the Queen had a tendency to die prematurely.
Twilight gulped. This most certainly wasn’t the pathway she had wanted in life, but circumstances had forced her hoof. She thought about what life would have been like, had she been accepted as a war history professor. She might’ve been married and have had children by now. What would that be like? Would she have friends? Maybe ponies wouldn’t covertly give her looks as she passed, there were so many. The lower class ponies gave her looks that said, “You’re the reason the world is a piece of horseapples, but I don’t have enough power to stand up to you.” The higher-up nobles gave looks of condescending indignation, as if to say “I don’t care if you’re a general, you’re still a commoner to me,” and the lesser nobles shot looks of resentment because she had managed to climb higher than they.
She sighed. It was no use thinking of what could have been. Because of her intricate knowledge of battle strategies and detail-orientation, she had shot through the ranks of the Equestrian Military faster than the racers in the Quad-City Showdown, and now she was far higher up than was comfortable for her. Now, her only options were to stagnate and lose credibility, or progress ever closer towards the inevitable incendiary fate that awaited her. Back out? Resign? Of course not. Ponies of her status couldn’t leave, they knew too much, they’d be too much of a liability if they weren’t kept under close observation.
A small ding resounded from the earpiece in her ear, the sound of an incoming message from one of her subordinates. She pulled open her Forward Holographic Display, and a pale blue transparent screen—projected from an implant just below her left ear—wrapped around the front of her face. On its intangible surface displayed the lieutenant’s words:

Twilight’s lips curled into a frown. The criminals were getting bold these days.

It was still a small issue, thankfully. An Arcanium core was a minor loss compared to the other things in the castle that could be stolen. As precious as it was, the magical metal was fairly common now, thanks to the harvesting methods developed in the Changeling Mines below Canterlot.
Speaking of things that only those with high rankings know—if these ponies only knew about the massive operation going on right under their feet . . .
Another ping sounded and a message popped up.

Twilight shot a nervous look at the doors to the throne room. A faint wisp of smoke curled from under the wide double-doors. It danced lazily upward, looking as if it carried the poor dead soul within to the Green Pastures itself. She shook the foreboding thoughts out of her head.