Chapter II: Guardian Angels
Previous Chapter Recap: The mirrored world. Twilight Sparkle is not sure what to make of it. An inherent connection to something far greater than she can understand. For now, Twilight Sparkle only aims to listen ... and decipher as best she can the hints that are given to her. Seven Stars, these are required to help prevail against Princess Nightmare Moon. Luckily, she may have acquired the location of one of these special stars. But are they all of the same nature? And how can she possibly decipher the location of all seven? Twilight ponders the possibilities, as she still struggles with her circumstances. But she has been given countless opportunities to overcome her situation. She must take action, she must affirm herself.
Lady Rarity stood within a fairly large command room. Upon the center table was a scroll, detailing key parts of Equestria. But Lady Rarity peered up the far end of the room upon the wall, in which another proper map was displayed. Accompanying her in this room were a multitude of nightmare guards, all hesitant to speak.
Whereas in a far off corner, both Trixie and Diane stood silently beside one another.
Soon enough, Lady Rarity broke that silence absently. "Are all the other cities secure?"
One of the guards responded with a hint of nervousness. "Y-Yes Lady Rarity. Baltimare, Vanhoover, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and Los Pegasus have all deployed their barriers once word of Canterlot spread."
Lady Rarity scoffed in irritation, turning with a stride as she muttered to herself. "Troublesome media ponies, all they do is make things complicated. Of course, we must have some semblance of the old world at play here ... otherwise, we may just have a real rebellion on our hooves." She paused, standing straight and facing the rest of the individuals in the room. "But good news is good news. I'm glad to hear this is the case. Less complications gives me more time to deal with what we have on our plate currently darlings, which is quite a lot mind you. We must lay the groundwork for what must happen." She closed her eyes, "Starting with I."
One of the guards raised a hoof slowly. "L-Lady Rarity, if I may?"
Rarity opened one eye and raised a brow at him slightly, as if giving him the implication to ask his question.
The guard folded his hooves over the table. "Shouldn't we be issuing a state of emergency to the Princess? With everything that's happened ... what with Prince Tanta Dreamweaver and um ... the Alicorn?" He gulped.
Mutters then immediately rang across the room from all the other guards present. Quiet whispers even.
"Tanta Dreamweaver? Tantabus from the Princess' Project?"
"Wasn't that the Princess' special weapon? It was defeated by the alicorn so easily?"
"How can we possibly stop the alicorn without the Princess to help us? What is she thinking?"
"At this rate we'll be heading for another shift in the world order!"
Lady Rarity inquired some information directly from the pony whom asked the question. "Where did you acquire any such information in regards to the state of Tantabus? We have only just retaken the city."
The guard flinched, lowering his head some as everypony else went back to obediently listening. He continued, "I was here at the castle Lady Rarity when the battalions were deployed and Prince Tanta Dreamweaver was assigned to Canterlot. Considering the state of things, at which we had to secure Canterlot again, I've heard no word of a debrief by Prince Tanta." He turned his gaze back up towards Lady Rarity. "Which only leads me to believe ... h-he was beaten by the Alicorn." He paused, his eyes widening then. "Along with Captain Dash."
And then ... uproar. Immediate, violent uproar rang throughout the room with all the guards.
Lady Rarity then stood sluggishly, eyeing that guard as if he were the biggest annoyance in the universe.
One guard in particular slammed his hooves on the table. "Captain Dash has been beaten!?"
Many other guards followed. "Impossible!" , "She was untouchable! What're we to do now!?" , "This is terrible!"
Lady Rarity kept straight, remaining composed. But eventually amidst the violent outburst, her voice rang out ceasing all other chatter within the room. "Enough!" She exhaled, "We are still in control of the situation."
An older pegasus pointed a firm hoof at Rarity. "No disrespect Lady Rarity, but you are not even amongst the guard! Captain Dash was of our finest guard captains, a natural born leader with unprecedented reliability on her record! Is this why she's absent!? What exactly happened that everything has fallen into such disarray!?"
Lady Rarity closed her eyes, raising her head some before eyeing the ceiling. "Night help me ..." She paused yet again before looking towards that older pony. "Complications is all they were. Stragglers may have escaped the Lockdown procedures but I can assure you they're but mere annoyances to us. Which is why I will need to utilize all of you to help scour Equestria for those rebels in hiding. We have more than enough ponies."
The older pegasus guard gritted his teeth before slamming a hoof even harder upon the table. "That does not answer as to why Captain Dash is absent Lady Rarity! If further word of this gets out, do you understand what'll happen!? Those media ponies won't let up! They'll play on that narrative to the detriment of Equestria! If you cannot give me a fair answer, then I'll have no choice but to report this to the High Commander. Understand?"
Lady Rarity squinted at this particular pony in annoyance. "Commander Shining is accompanying the Princess."
There was a long silence, before the older pony replied. "You know that is not the pony who I speak of."
Lady Rarity stood, as she began to fume red. Eventually, she could no longer keep her composure as she now slammed her hooves on the table with a growl. "You measly geezer! Are you trying to make my life complicated!? What is with all of you pegasus not acting rationally!? I am only trying to preserve the peace! Yet you want to burn all of Equestria to the ground! What could you possibly be trying to accomplish with this!?"
The older pegasus snapped back. "What I aim to accomplish, is to preserve our very existence!"
Lady Rarity flinched as she gritted her teeth and seemed to be absent of words.
The older pegasus peered at her gravely. "I have seen the Princess' wrath Lady Rarity. Princess Cadence may have a hoof to play in the quality of life for our citizens, but it is your obsession with the old world that keeps everything intact. But should the Princess decide we're not worth the trouble, none of that matters! You are treating this far too casually! We are at war with these traitors! We must act appropriately, aggressively!"
Lady Rarity snapped back at him ferociously. "Despite what's happened, there is no necessity to treat all of Equestria as a warzone! Do you not understand such actions only put us at greater risk for a full scale rebellion! Unhappy citizens leads to panic! Panic leads to violence! Violence leads to war! We are civilized, and Equestria does not need to devolve into such chaos! You are overreacting you imbecile! I will take care of this!"
Another long drawn silence occurred, as Lady Rarity and the older pegasus simply peered at one another.
The older pegasus when next he spoke, did it more calmly. "Lady Rarity ... where is Captain Dash?"
Lady Rarity squinted at him firmly. "If you must know, she is in recovery at the hospital. Are you satisfied yet?"
More mutters rang out across the room, as an obvious tension hung in the air.
The older pegasus sighed heavily and raised his head slightly. "Then I shall be retrieving her. She'll be returning to Cloudsdale to make her full recovery, while you go about handling these ... complications, as you like to call them. You may hold the Princess' authority Lady Rarity, but it does not mean you possess the proper insight to reliably handle an operation of such magnitude. We of the military branch won't allow these rebels to gain such footing. Captain Dash couldn't have been bested in any normal circumstance, we have a situation on our hooves whether you like it or not. The severity of it all remains to be seen, but fine ... I will hold off on my report for now. But know that if this alicorn truly is out there and the High Commander catches wind of her location, she will act, regardless of your beliefs." He followed with a deep sigh, "That is truly out of my control."
Lady Rarity's posture eased up some. "There is no possible way the alicorn and these rebels can single hoofedly penetrate the magic of our barriers. Lest they wish to repeat what happened to the citizens of Canterlot. Nor do they have enough ponies to put a dent in the Princess' forces. There is no need to jump to such hasty conclusions. With enough time and patience, we will find the alicorn, Princess Celestia's student, and these rebels. We must act civilly, in control. Equestria's citizens must have confidence that their lives won't be jeopardized anymore as is. If we appear panicked, we only put ourselves at greater risk. As said, I will not fail."
The older pegasus looked to her skeptically. "That remains to be seen Lady Rarity. These rebels, whomever they are, have already forced us to sacrifice a good portion of our troops and citizens to the deep sleep. Whom I assume cannot be awoken until you conduct your dream sweep. If it ever became public knowledge what we've done, we'd all be finished. We are the last line of defense between the protection of Equestria ... and the Princess' patience. Let us not risk the society we've worked tirelessly to achieve. A true Equestria wide rebellion cannot occur. As the final member of the Big Three ... I hope you understand this. As did Captain Dash."
Trixie cocked a brow at the older pegasus in an estranged manner.
In regards to Lady Rarity's status, more mutters continued, ones of skepticism and confusion.
Lady Rarity looked blankly towards the pegasus still. "I do not associate myself with that title."
The older pegasus continued. "Yet you've earned it. Even if the public is not aware of your true nature."
Trixie nudged Diane gently, just as confused as some of the guards. "True nature? True member? What?"
Diane smiled softly as she kept her eyes on Rarity. "Rarity is the Princess' right hoof silly. Many ponies wonder how she convinced the Princess to keep a lot of old traditions the same. But ... some of us know her deepest darkest secrets." She glanced over at Trixie, "To make Equestria appear beautiful on the outside. She had to become very scary on the inside, and do very mean things. Maybe the meanest."
Trixie now also showed hints of skepticism. "Such as?"
Diane tiredly looked down. "The Magic Distribution Act. The Sub Species Act. And even the Slave Act."
At that moment Trixie's eyes went wide. "S-She was responsible for those?"
Diane nodded at her with a wider smile. "Yep, pretty mean huh? She's pretty popular amongst angry teen ponies."
Trixie huffed with a squint. "Trixie is pretty sure she is more popular. However, how did Trixie not know her?"
Diane glanced over at Trixie with a playful head cock. "Because Trixie cares about herself the most?"
Trixie then looked back to Diane with a crooked frown and glaring stare.
Lady Rarity intervened again, closing her eyes and lowering her head casually. "Well, ultimately at least we've reached some sort of progress dear, regardless of what we disagree upon." She glanced around the room at the lot of them, "I will need a good portion of you to remain behind and join the Canterlot Battalion. We must prep the citizens and whomever else was caught in the blast for the Dream Sweep process, which I myself will personally conduct. Whoever is left, you will remain here at the Princess' Castle. Further orders will be relayed." She paused momentarily, then nodded. "Dismissed. Also ... do not spread anymore rumors."
The other guard whom inquired information earlier gulped, as he trembled and rose.
All the other guards slowly got up and began trotting towards the door.
Suddenly, that very same door slammed open, smashing one of the ponies in the face and sending him flying against the wall. But of course, nopony cared about that poor soul, as another guard pony stood in the open doorway trembling, as he looked frantic and panicked. "Lady Rarity! Lady Rarity! W-We have a situation!"
Lady Rarity rolled her eyes and near cried with whimpering sobs. "Oh just add them to the list for pity's sake!"
But the guard shook his head. "Lady Rarity ... i-it's ... it's the, the ... Fluffy Heart Brigade."
Everypony wore a blank expression, before Trixie threw her head back with a loud, "HAH!"
But eventually, as Trixie glanced around she noticed most other ponies were trembling. She was at a loss for words as she soon enough raised a brow and then stated. "Oh come on, you all can't be serious."
Lady Rarity wore a firm expression, as she muttered in a solemn manner. "Take me to them."
Back within the barnhouse, Captain Jack stood at the open space between the door, and all was silent. However as she stood there, eventually her eyes widened at the sight of a violet dust which hung about the air. Her eyes widened somewhat as she smiled softly to herself, before glancing around almost playfully. She took a few trots into the barn, shutting the door behind her and making her way over to the residing dust. She ran a hoof through it, before taking a glance around at key areas of the barn. Such as some of the stables and stacks of hay. She closed her eyes, before peeking to her upper right even, then closing that same eye. "So that's it."
Twilight remained hiding atop the second level of the barn, peeking down. W-What's she doing?
Applejack casually eyed up towards the empty wall in front of her. "A few things sweet pea, before you decide what ta do. One, I can't assume you know who I am, but know that I ain't tryin ta hurt ya. Far from it, but I'll let you make the decision whether ta trust me or not. Second, I know you must've seen a lot, seeing as the state I found ya in you were pretty roughed up. Which leaves me with a lot of questions I'd like ta ask ya." She paused for awhile. "Lastly ... if ya decide to just trot away from all this, I won't stop ya. That's your right."
Twilight's own eyes widened as she then looked to the door, and then back to Captain Jack.
Captain Jack continued. "From my position, I may as well be talkin to a ghost. Ya can just waltz right on out them doors there, and I'll pretend we never met, that nothin ever happened. The worlds changin, seeing you taught me I can't just sit this one out. I debated it with myself, all the while you slept. But ... " she paused again, "Some friends, would sure make me feel more hopeful bout that decision." She leaned her head up further, smiling a bit wider though more tiredly. "Maybe, at least I hope ... ya ain't so different, purple unicorn."
Twilight remained on that second level, as she just was silent for awhile, and she lowered her head.
Captain Jack continued to face the opposing direction, before the sound of a unicorn poof echoed behind her. She lowered her head, smiling down at the ground. She closed her eyes, "Ya realize ... this is impossible right?" Eventually, she decided to peek back with one eye slightly, now smirking again. "Ya can still go back into hiding."
Twilight now tried to stand confidently as she shook her head. "I... I think we'll be doing a lot of that anyway."
Captain Jack turned to face her, now with both eyes closed as she chuckled. "True that."
Twilight tried to keep her composure as she spoke. "Thank you for saving me, I'm ... T-Twilight Sparkle!"
Captain Jack then approached her, soon holding out a hoof. "And I'm Applejack, nice ta meet ya."
Twilight eyed Applejack's hoof for a long while. Her eyes watered, unable to grasp the idea of how kind Captain Jack was. It was a welcomed feeling, an overwhelming one. She closed her eyes, chuckling and smiling before taking holding of Applejack's hoof. "L-Likewise!" She continued to awkwardly shake Applejack's hoof. "Very likewise!"
Lady Rarity stood in the castle courtyard, atop the steps leading into the front of the castle. She wore a grim gaze, a tired one as she eyed down below at the scene of the situation. "Ah, her little pet projects."
Surrounding two figures were more than a dozen nightmare guards.
Both Trixie and Diane followed Lady Rarity out of the castle, Trixie immediately flinched with horror.
One was what looked like a giant rabbit about the size of a bear. His arms were burly and thick with muscle, crossed as he wore a large necklace with the pendant of a butterfly. And the opposing figure was far smaller, with a tagged ear that had the number one on it, also wearing a butterfly pendant. It was skinny and slender with an enlarged candy cane upon its lap while it sat atop the rabbit's shoulder. Each of its limbs consisted of a different creature, while its mane was bright pink and curly. Both figures wore scarfs with the same pattern as Diane's clothing, while they each held up their badges for identification purposes. The larger rabbit looked more than irritated, while the tiny slender creature wore a nonchalant expression, indifferent about the guards. Around its neck was a fastened diamond collar.
The rabbit creature's badge identified it simply as, Angel Bunny.
Whereas the tinier opposing creature was identified as, Happy Heaven.
The tinier creature eventually glanced over at Lady Rarity. "Oh, there she is, the mistress of cruelty herself." Its voice was soft and soothing. "We're here to deliver a message from Tartarus, Lady Rarity."
But Lady Rarity's expression only sunk with a heavy frown. One complication after another it seems.