Half an hour ago…
Rainbow Dash’s wing still ached as she flew up the mountain. She had to sail behind clouds as she went, as well as around the other side of the mountain since she didn’t want Fire Sky’s forces to see her. She had a different opponent.
Above Canterlot, she saw the forces of Princess Celestia, their armor shinning in the sunlight. Celestia herself was standing among them, dressed in a strange armor Rainbow had never seen before. She walked through her soldiers, them standing in single file lines.
The first thoughts that came to her mind weren’t about Celestia’s new armor, instead they were about why Celestia was putting her soldiers in easy to blast lines. They looked like open and unmoving targets on a range.
Rainbow flew down, chancing that she wouldn’t be attacked on approach.
She was actually able to fly directly down to the ledge and stand on it. When she landed, finally, Celestia herself, amongst her soldiers, acknowledged her. Celestia’s new armor was composed of yellow plates covering her chest, head and wings. She brought herself up to her full height and looked down at the cyan mare.
If it were true that Celestia had been transformed into a child before, it was no longer an issue, Celestia was her full size. She stared down at Rainbow. “What are you doing here my daughter?” she asked.
“You have no right to call me that.”
“A child dare not speak to her mother in such a way…” Celestia glared.
Rainbow glared back. “Another speech about your subjects being your children? Save it. You turned on my brothers. Far as I’m concerned, you’re getting what you deserve. It’s just too bad the kingdom suffers with you.”
“It only suffers because of them,” Celestia looked at her soldiers. She extended a hoof and gently touched the face of one of them. “And they suffer too. Often in silence, making each other believe they can’t express themselves.” She put her hoof down and turned back to Rainbow.
“Under the rules you’ve made, what good would it do if they did?”
“I will open new services to them, soon as I am able to purge them of their toxic masculinity. You see, they believe they must be driven to violence, that they must fight. I will use these soldiers of mine,” she waved her wing at the soldiers. “To break all stallions in the kingdom down, to make them submit. They have all been living in a patriarchy, ruled by each other, and attempting to rule us mares, but that will end.”
Rainbow’s mouth opened in shock. “You… you’ve gone mad. Their just ponies. Maybe they’re different, but that doesn’t make them evil or mean they’re in a conspiracy.”
“It’s not a conspiracy, it’s not something they mean to do even, but they still do it. Subconsciously they desire to rules us mares, and they work together for that goal, whether they realize it or not. I’ve allowed it to go on too long. Stallions in this kingdom will change. It’s clear that allowing them to pursue their nature was a mistake.”
Rainbow glared and flew above her. “You’re the bucking mistake! How thick headed can you be? What happened happened for a reason, do you honestly they this is all subconscious shit?”
“No, I think they’ve been plotting for a while.”
“Ironically you’re right. Their leader’s sons were murdered by his wife, all thanks to laws YOU wrote!”
Celestia shook her head. “Something tells me there was a stallion involved in that somewhere- wasn’t there? I suspect Gray… don’t tell me you of all mares don’t remember what he was like.”
“I remember. I remember in my nightmares.” Rainbow shook her head and sighed. “I can’t believe someone who’s been alive as long as you would think in ways this black and white. Behind every evil mare, is a stallion and behind every evil stallion is a mare. A mare saved Gray’s life after Luna tried to kill him. And I’m sure the cycle just kept going before that.”
“Did that argument take long to construct?”
“Not sure why it would. It’s pretty obvious.”
“So answer for them… Answer for the three. There were no mares behind them, none at all. A thousand years ago, three stallions chased myself and my sisters.”
“Sisters?”
“Catharine, my youngest sister was killed by them as a game. The only mares around were myself and Luna, and we were fillies then. And don’t for a minute tell me you believe mares would be just as likely to have murdered her. I did my homework, stallions are responsible in millions more cases of stranger violence than mares. It is their aggressive and competitive nature. It’s time to change that nature.”
Rainbow landed. She cocked her head. “Really? Ya know, I consider myself fairly heroic, so that proves mares can be, but I know that if some day Scoots ends up almost being hit by a train, the person saving her will probably be a stallion. I know that without even studying. Aggression doesn’t just make you evil. I’m super aggressive. It makes you first in line. You take away that desire to be first, you’ll destroy more than just a cause of violence. You can’t force someone’s mind to do what you want. You can’t just force them to change their nature.”
“What makes you think I can’t?”
“Because I’m going to stop you.” Rainbow shot into the air again, many of the soldiers around Celestia spreading their wings to go after her.
“No. Don’t be so dense, see the condition she’s in?” Rainbow shot back down and twisted in midair attempting to land a heavy buck to Celestia’s face, her burnt wing twisting. Rainbow fell out of the sky, not even grazing Celestia. Off the cliff she fell.
Yellow magic surrounded her and pulled her back to the ledge. Rainbow felt herself being gently placed back on the ground, her wing throbbing. Celestia gently petted her mane. “You have a good heart child,” Celestia said, looking down at Rainbow as she held back the tears from her nearly torn wing. “You care for those who barely care for themselves.”
“Not caring is something you know a lot about isn’t it?” Rainbow struggled to get back up, her wound screaming in pain. She pushed away the hoof.
“Once I change them, I will help them; you have my word on that.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?! You don’t wait to help someone until their brain functions the exact way you would like. You’re talking like some kind of megalomaniac!”
“Not so.” Celestia smiled down at her. “The first help stallions need is to change. If they don’t change, if they don’t lose their desire to hurt, to control, to profit, then any assistance we give them will only be so effective.”
“To control?” Rainbow cocked her head to the side. She looked at the armor Celestia was wearing. “Twilight warned me you might have encountered certain spirits. When I talked to you before, you didn’t sound like this… they did something didn’t they?”
“They were the souls of mares who died in abuse. They told me of their pain, their loss, but more so, of their love. They didn’t leave their stallions because, they hoped vainly to help them, to save them.” Celestia closed her eyes. “But they need fear no more, together, we can make their dreams come true, we can save the stallions they loved.”
Rainbow looked off into the distance. “Makes me wonder why stallions don’t leave when they get hurt either.” She looked back at Celestia. “That’s not love. Or… maybe it is, but things don’t work that way. You can’t control someone against their will… I hate to say it, but what they wanted, even as they were victims themselves, was wrong.”
“They wanted to fix their lovers! Those stallions needed help!”
“They needed to choose to change, or be stopped, not be forced to change the way others wanted. Besides, why don’t you change mares then? There are monstrous mares out there too.”
“We’re smaller, weaker, slower- what damage can we really do? I am stronger, so I give the weaker, the female, a voice, I will give them strength!” Celestia spread her wings. “There will never be another Catharine!”
“We have plenty of strength, I flew up here with a scalded wing… and as far as how much damage can we do-“ Rainbow flung her body around and slammed her back hooves into Celestia’s face.
Celestia fell back, her armor had caved in over her face, blood pouring out. She glared at Rainbow.
Rainbow snorted, landing on the ground in front of her. “Go for it,” she said. “Hit me back.” Celestia raised her hoof, her soldiers clearly unsure how to act. Rainbow didn’t even flinch.
“I-I… I don’t need too. You’ll understand in time I-“ another hoof slammed into Celestia’s face. Rainbow landed again and just glared at her. “STOP!”
“No! Make me. You have the power, you have an entire army behind you. So go ahead, stop me, hurt me.” Celestia backed away. Two front hooves slammed into her face, the princess gaining a swollen eye. “Amazing huh?” she asked the stallions around her. “Her sexism is so strong, she’s becoming the best destruction of her own argument. Who has more power here Celestia? You or me?”
“I… I can have you wrestled to the ground and thrown in prison.”
“Can you?” Rainbow cocked her head to the side again. Despite the throb in her wing, Rainbow flew up again. “Can you leave my daughter an orphan, alone without the person who fought so hard for her? Who knows, maybe you can give her back to her father- who hit her.” Rainbow smacked her own hoof, watching Celestia flinch back.
“I-I- I could give her to Twilight.”
“Force Twilight to have a child she doesn’t want? Force Scootaloo into a home like that? Take her away from the person who wants her, the person who she wants? You want to do that to a little filly? You want to take a child from her mother? You want to do that to me?”
Celestia’s eyes traveled back and forth, tears seeming to form. “No…” Celestia blinked, looking away.
“Waking up? Gender, size, speed, commanding whole armies- none of it matters. It’s the heart that makes you good or evil. You can’t hurt me, because you love me. If I have to, I will kill you, because I love a stallion. You have all the power in the world, and it means nothing. I can just bash you forever, and you’ll never be able to stop me, because of your own heart.” Rainbow flew inches Celestia’s face. “Now, you’re an abused stallion.”
Celestia growled. “Arrest her!” she shouted to her soldiers. None of them moved. “What are you waiting for?”
“Really?” Rainbow asked. “C’mon guys. Who wants to be the first armed stallion to lay a beat down on an unarmed, injured mare half his size?” Rainbow laughed. “Your power is an illusion Celestia.” She then flew up and slammed her front hooves into Celestia’s side, forcing her to the ground.
Celestia slammed her hoof into the ground. She then stood up and slammed her armored wing into Rainbow’s jaw, forcing her to fly head over heels through the air and slam into the ground to the princess’s right. “You think I’m weaker than you? I’ll show you weak!” Celestia ran and stood over her. “I am-“ but she stopped. Several stallions had inserted themselves between Rainbow Dash and Celestia, several shoving the princess back. “Stand aside!” Her eyes seemed to spit out bright red flames. They just glared at her, ten bodies between the princess and the rebel mare. Celestia looked down at Rainbow, who slowly got to her hooves. “Oh, how brave you think you are hmm? Hiding behind stallions.”
“Weren’t you about to do the same thing?” Rainbow asked. “Use them to enforce your will?” She shook her head. “I don’t need to fight you really.” She flew off the ledge. “C’mon guys, maybe you don’t like Fire Sky, but do you really want to work for her?” She flew up several hundred feet and then shouted back down. “Well?”
The thousands of stallions surrounding Celestia rapidly became hundreds, then suddenly, only a few, thousands joining Rainbow in the clouds, or walking away from Celestia on the ground. Celestia snorted and stamped the ground.
“What’s really ticking you off? Insubordination, or the fact that I just proved I am WAAAAY more powerful than you?” Rainbow asked laughing. She grinned at Celestia.
Celestia flew up to Rainbow’s level. “They will try to control you young mare, why fight for them?”
Rainbow just smiled and folded her forelegs. “Who’s trying to control me again?”
Celestia flew back. “There are stallions down there still loyal to me. You’ll see… or maybe I’ll make an army of mares. I will save everyone, mare and stallion. I will save the heart, then the body.” She snorted. “This is nothing but a set back.”
Celestia flew straight down, towards Canterlot. Rainbow chuckled. “Ya know guys, I wasn’t sure how well any of that would work out… really I thought I’d get my butt kicked, but-“
“Is she insane?” asked one of the stallions.
“What was your first clue?” Rainbow asked.
“Those stallions will eat her alive if she goes down there alone!” Shouted another.
Rainbow’s eyebrows went down of their own accord. “Well… hate does follow stupidity.”
(***)
Silent Storm looked up as angry shouts went out above him. Fighting Fire Sky was one thing, but after killing him, he might not be getting out of here alive. Still, he spread his wings and shot into the sky.
He looked up, watching for his opponents to come from all directions. He did see something approaching, a yellow light that looked like a small comet coming towards him from high above. He sighed. “Well… bring it on.” Wind whipped out around him, a small tornado firing towards the approaching light. The light stopped moving, the wind slamming into it, not even making it move an inch. “What?”
The wind itself actually changed direction and swirled around the light. The light itself faded, Silent’s wind remaining now under new command, standing in the midst of it, was a furious Celestial Princess.
A shout come from below. “It’s the traitor queen!”
“You are the ones who betrayed me!” she shouted, as hundreds of stallion pegasi started to fly into the air around her. “How dare you defy me!” Around loud clicks and thunderous sounds started to erupt as the sky began to darken. At first Silent thought this was surely Celestia’s doing, until he looked at the stallions. Storms of lightning and fire, cacophonies of massive sonic vibrations and tornadoes began to form out of thin air, massive clouds forming from several water commanders. The impulse soldiers, without order, were all taking their rage and pouring it into their own military grade attacks. Silent remembered the name of these kinds of attacks, just like those used by him and Fire. They were known as “purges”. If he didn’t do something fast, all of Canterlot would be purged.
Rainbow Dash flew down next to Silent. “Okay, I’m really lucky things worked out this well on my end… please tell me Fire Sky isn’t still an issue.” Silent looked down towards the body of Fire Sky. “Um… we’ll… we’ll bury him.”
“Actually, I’m sorry about that, but right now I’m more worried about surviving whatever’s about to happen here. You just fought her, you think Celestia is powerful enough to fight-“
“She is gonna get massacred,” Rainbow said frankly.
“How do we stop this? Should we… save her?”
“Good question.” Rainbow said. Silent looked at her, stunned. She sighed. “Take the lead, I’ll support whatever you decide to do.”
Silent flew towards Celestia. “I order you all, stop! I am the true leader of the Camp and I have defeated Fire Sky for command once and for all. Stand down everyone.” The worrying sounds started to quiet, as the stallions continued to circle Celestia, but no one moved towards her.
“You do not command me!” Celestia shouted. “No stallion will hold the heart of this mare prisoner!” She glared at him. “You will be the first stallion I reform.”
Silent sighed. Rainbow again flew beside him. “Those spirits did a number on her.”
“I can tell.” He then shouted over to Celestia. “Princess, let’s move past this. Mares and stallions, we should work together. Embrace our differences… blah, blah, you’re not listening are you?”
“You can be different, but in the way I say,” Celestia replied.
A dark figure slammed into Celestia and she was pulled to the ground. Before the two could react, two more dark figures slammed into Silent and Rainbow, throwing them to the ground too. Rainbow yelped when her wing hit the ground. When Silent hit the ground and heard her, a blast of wind tore out from him. The bat pony was tossed like a toy.
The bat pony standing over Rainbow dropped his ears seeing the glare from Silent, but more the dust storm spinning around him. “You have two seconds.” The guard jumped back.
All around the impulse stallions were being pulled to the ground with a sense of simultaneousness. “Enough!” came a loud booming female voice. The ground around rumbled, darkness falling over the area.
Silent looked over and saw Twilight and Luna standing before the Canterlot gardens.
“Sister, my student, thankyou for coming to my aide-“ Celestia began, but Luna interrupted.
“Why would we ever aid you in something like this? We have heard what you have been doing,” Luna replied.
“You were there Luna! When they snuffed out Cathrine for fun.”
“Indeed we were there.” Luna walked over to the princess of the sun. Celestia’s light began to shine again, balls of light spinning around her.
Celestia started to cry, her voice starting to sound like multiple voices were speaking. “I will speak for them, they had no voice in life, and so I will speak-“
“Be at peace,” Luna said. Yellow lights shot out from Celestia firing away into the air. A bright light flashed from Celestia’s form. When the light vanished Celestia dropped to the ground. She got up and looked at herself.
“NO! Not again!” She was a small filly again. “But… Luna… they told me what they wanted, they were victims! They had no way of getting it themselves-“
Luna shook her head. “That does not mean they needed you to get it. There were things they had needed in life, things they did not get. There are things we all miss out on.” Luna looked up to where the spirits had flown off to. “However, that does not mean everything they desired should have come to pass either. Some they should have been rescued, and perhaps, some of them should have been saved from themselves. However the answer is not revenge.”
“You were there!” Celestia shouted again. “They just killed her, they didn’t even apologize, they just flew away, like she was just some broken toy… ten years… ten years gone in an instant. She deserved so much better than that.” Celestia started crying. “Is this what it’s like? There’s nothing you can do, so you just cry? Is this what it’s like to be a victim?”
Luna sat down and lowered herself to the filly. She held her chin in her hoof. “Right now you’re only being a victim of yourself… and perhaps too much responsibility. You were expected to rule the kingdom alone for a thousand years. We took for granted all of your decisions were wise. You too had weaknesses, as did we.”
“You can’t be taking their side!”
Luna looked around, her eyes settling on Rainbow and Silent, both pegasi with their wings out, back to back. She walked over to them, Rainbow glaring at her. “You have nothing to fear mare… wife, your husband is safe.”
“He’s not my husband…” Rainbow’s words trailed off. “But…”
“We sense you would not object to being with him for a long time?” Luna asked.
“I… maybe.” Rainbow looked back at Silent.
Luna turned back to Celestia. “How could we not take their side? They have both seen the monstrous side of the other gender, from what I hear. Both would still give their lives to protect unity and equality.” Luna turned back to Celestia. “You would only have equality under your definition. No peace, without things being how you want. No refuge for those not with you until your demands are met, isn’t that right?”
“I will not compromise!” Celestia shouted.
“And so, in this, you are a tyrant. That is how a tyrant speaks.”
“What I want is safety for all mares! I cannot compromise on that!”
“The compromise the stallions are asking for, is to be safe themselves. Until you work with them, you will never have what you ask for. ” Luna looked back at Rainbow and Silent. “Do you two feel safe with each other?” They both nodded.
“But he could hurt her!” Celestia shouted.
“Is that truly all you can see?” Luna asked. “Perhaps after so much time, you don’t even understand what’s wrong with what you see.”
“You can’t put her back in power like this,” Rainbow said. “You just can’t.”
“We think that in time, we may, however right now,” Luna looked back at her sister. “She will stay as she is. For your crimes against stallions Celestia, this will be your punishment. You will have to grow up… however…” Luna cast a spell on her sister. A blue light flashed and suddenly Celestia disappeared, a small white colt in her place.
“NO! I… I can’t, I can’t be a colt! I… You’ll see… I’ll be no different!” he shouted.
“You will, and you won’t. How will be up to you. Will you earn back your power or not? That’s up to you.”
Luna addressed the stallions gathered around her. “We will look into the laws regarding stallions. In the mean time, everyone injured in this conflict, male or female, I will order my royal physicians to look at. Trust that we will do our best not to repeat the mistakes of the past.”