//------------------------------//
// 5 Days Since 
// Story: A Brief After Thought 
// by Stygian Tiger 
//------------------------------//

'It was just a few days ago. The terrorist organisation, "The Company" was infiltrated and disassembled from the inside, and I, Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle, of the New Equestrian Army, was the pony who led the operation.

I lost many of my comrades and peers in the process. They were a large group, The Company, larger than we could have ever imagined. It had dug its roots into many branches of government, multi million bit corporations and even the heads of the ponies unfortunate enough to come across their activities like some kind of sick parasite.

'I know this won't be the end of their ideology, there will always be one more pony who had just broken up with their partner, who have just experienced a great loss, whose will is weakened and whose defences have been dropped. That is where they will be, infecting, spreading and taking over anyone and anything that falls to their trap. That is how they grew so large in the first place, using ponies who were manipulated into doing whatever The Company tells them to.

'As I lie here, under a Great Redwood tree, thinking about how much was lost, about how many were lost to their vile crusades, homicides and murders, I sit and wonder: why? Why use such evil tactics to try to get what you want from your government? Public bombing, torture magic, napalm... I lost over sixty ponies in the raid against The Company. I didn't even know some of their names. There were both war hardened stallions, as well as colts, still wet behind the ears. How could someone do it? How could someone... Kill that many ponies? The answer; a cause.

'Ponies would do anything for a cause, given they are far enough down the proverbial rabbit hole. Their views and beliefs twisted enough to allow them to be manipulated so easily. They become the puppets of those who seek to change them. The simple fact is, ponies are weak.

'After the downfall of Princess Celestia at the hoof of Nightmare Moon, and her subsequent disappearance 14 years ago, there was power vacuum, and so a new government was set up. With the absence of either Princess, Equestria became an egalitarian democracy. Choosing its own leaders who have only a reduced amount of power over the country. Things would be decided by the people. This change was seen as an opportunity to some ponies, an opportunity to seize power. This is how The Company was created, and now, even as they lie in ashes, crippled, bleeding and dying, there are still those loyal to that cause. It makes me sick.

'My friends were slaughtered... My home was destroyed. they would stop at nothing to get what they wanted, and they almost did. If we hadn't carried out this raid, then Equestria would have been under their control by now. They had been funding, researching and building weapons capable of unholy things even magic would struggle to hold a candle against. It was the only option.

'Or at least that's what the higher ups said.

'They didn't care to tell us 'grunts' what was really going on. I thought it was strange that me, a lieutenant, would be put in charge of such an important mission. I fear the evil tendrils of The Company may have spread farther through the government than we ever suspected. This is all speculation, though, of course.

'A part of me wonders where all of these other evil beings like Discord and King Sombra get off on all of this chaos and destruction. Imagine how twisted they must be if they can go about doing all they do without even a second thought. In some ways, I wish we were fighting one of those creatures. At least then we would know where we stand. Its different with The Company, however. It is not just one being, it consists of thousands. If there was just one pony causing all of this terror and destruction, then something could be done about them.

'My question is: how does one fight a way of thinking?'

Her musings were cut short by a couple having a picnic in the valley below her. 'So young, so innocent,' She thought. They would likely never see the horrors of live combat. Never know the sounds, the smells... The tastes. That was for the better, she supposed. 'When a pony sees that side of life, they change. They change so, so much that you can hardly recognise them when they get to the other side. It breaks some ponies... They crack under the pressure and lose their minds. Others become quiet and reserved, ruminating on the things they have seen, the things they have done.

'Others, like me, however, are the worst. They just deal with it. It scares me how easy it is to just tune out the screaming, the explosions, the sound of your friends being boiled alive by magic. How was it that I was able to do it? I don't want to be like that... A monster. Somepony who can just brush it all off and live like nothing happened, like nothing was given. It scares me to no end.'

She laid there, thinking for a while. Mulling over what had happened in the past few years. 'How did I get to this point' and 'What would it be like if Celestia had never been slayed' crossed her mind regularly. The lonely September sun warming her coat in the most lulling way, the smell of leaves and grass surrounded the mare, it was the most soothing experience she had in a very long time. 

'Alas,' She sighed 'it is all over now.'

The breeze rustled the branches of the Great Redwood that Twilight was lying under. She slowly looked away from the horizon, the setting sun casting long shadows that seemed to almost sway.  This was her favourite place to think. Under a solitary tree, on a hill overlooking a valley at sunset, the autumn leaves falling around her. There was nothing more pristine, She gave a melancholic smile. This was her quiet place, her peaceful place. Her resting place.

A single, small stone structure sat there, under the tree, with only three lines of text adorning its surface:


Here lies Lt. Twilight Sparkle, killed in action, in the name of peace and harmony in Equestria. May your sacrifice never be forgotten.
987 CR - 14 CD