Universe 99999
Fluttershy never thought she would find herself in an underground rebel base one day, yet it already happened twice, and there she was. Spitfire had let her go and instructed Braeburn to show her around the base. She didn’t know what she expected, but the place was gigantic! It was large enough to accommodate small houses, and from her initial observations, it appeared to be bustling with many ponies. It resembled a thriving underground town.
This wasn’t built in only a couple months, that was for sure. It must have been done in a year or two, and that meant it didn’t take long for citizens to create a rebellion against the Council of Harmony. Considering that Shining Armor and Spitfire were also there and seemingly had responsibilities in the outside world, she doubted most ponies lived here without ever getting out on the surface.
It made sense since their plan was to take down the council, not make a whole other society. There were many ponies she recognized here, likewise, there were also many faces unfamiliar to her. If she was the same Fluttershy as before, she would have probably tried to make herself small and avoid the looks every passerby gave her.
“Don’t worry, we warned a few individuals about your situation. Although, many still have a hard time believing it,” Braeburn commented, pulling Fluttershy out of her thoughts. The earth pony’s words were confirmed when the pegasus saw a mare hiding her filly behind her as she passed by. “Ah doubt many would think you’re the real deal,”
They even gave Fluttershy a cloak so she could still hide her appearance. It was better to avoid any commotion. Thus, only the ponies closest to the yellow pegasus could see her face.
“What is this place?” Fluttershy inquired while still looking around.
“Our base. It was a small cave at first, but a dedicated group of earth ponies expanded it to flee the council’s regime. One day, Spitfire and Shining approached them and offered to create the resistance and to use this cave as a safe haven for those who want to fight the council,” Braeburn responded as Fluttershy widened her eyes.
“Shining Armor is one of the founders?” She questioned in surprise. “But he’s Twilight’s brother,” She added. Braeburn nodded solemnly.
“It was only a year after they proclaimed themselves the rulers of Equestria. Shining didn’t explain much about his choice, but he said they needed to be stopped. Something they did must have pushed him to betray them,” Braeburn explained, shaking his head from left to right. “Maybe Spitfire noticed his loyalties wavering then. All Ah know is that she suggested they fight against the council and their regime. He accepted. After that, the resistance discreetly found supporters among those who were oppressed by their rule or opposed to it,”
“Did they… Did they hurt many ponies?” Fluttershy hesitantly asked. Braeburn sighed, looking down.
“They did. Their loyalists will tell ya they only hurt those who deserved it AKA executed the wicked. Their judgments are only the tip of the iceberg,”
“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked in fear. After all, hearing that her friends (and herself) were bad and hurting ponies in this universe was hard to swallow. She never imagined herself doing anything evil.
“They got completely rid of the noble system. All the nobles who opposed this decision were arrested and sentenced to life in prison without a trial. They have done the same to their families, and if they had any foals, they put them in an orphanage,” He began, making the pegasus gasp in horror. “They wanted to remove all the systems put in place or supported by Celestia. Nobility was part of it. Ah suppose they also feared that some noble houses would use their influence to create their own factions and usurp their position. Their reason doesn’t excuse what they did, though,” He explained.
“To go as far as to do this to foals?” Fluttershy whispered in shock.
“Speaking against their rule is also strictly prohibited. Many have been arrested for it,” Braeburn furrowed his brows. “They don’t have pity… Even if it’s their own family who’s speaking against them,” He clenched his teeth.
“Is that why you decided to fight?” The pegasus inquired in curiosity.
“Applejack… She changed or maybe we just didn’t know who she was. It tore our family apart,” He responded with chagrin. “Some were in favor of their rule, while others weren’t. This caused a huge rift between us. Ah don’t know about her family in Ponyville, though. Ah never tried to recruit them,”
“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy apologized, only for Braeburn to shake his head.
“It ain’t your fault. They restricted trade unions and any other civil organization that could undermine their authority since they even had control of private companies. The worst part about this is that many of their decisions actually benefitted Equestria in the grand scheme of things. The problem is that they sacrificed the livelihoods of the few for the many,” He explained while motioning at the ponies around them. “Some lost their homes because they were forced to sell them to expand agricultural lands. But ya aren’t here to talk politics, Ah guess,”
“No, it’s alright… This world is so much different than mine. I was hoping I could talk to the council, and make them change their ways, but now…” Fluttershy trailed off, uncertain.
“There ain’t no talkin’ to them. As Ah said earlier, even their own families tried. It’s useless,” Braeburn shook his head.
“Still… I would like to try if I have the chance,” Fluttershy responded, much more uncertain than she was at the start.
“Well…” Braeburn began, only to cut himself off when he seemingly noticed something in the distance. “Oh, good timing! Let me introduce you to somepony!” He exclaimed before speeding up, forcing the yellow pegasus to do the same.
Fluttershy was about to inquire about the specific individual Braeburn was referring to when her eyes landed on the pony he was running to. In fact, there were several ponies, but she had a hunch about whom he meant, as these ponies were queuing up in front of a particular figure. Squinting her eyes, she identified Ponyville's most renowned mail pony, Ditzy Doo, who some ponies affectionately referred to as Derpy.
From what the pegasus could tell, Ditzy was distributing food, which seemed to be soup. She was even helped with another pony Fluttershy didn’t recognize.
“Hey, Derpy!” Braeburn called out to her from behind the crowd. The grey pegasus’ face lit up before she turned to the pony who was helping and told her something. The other pony simply smiled and nodded, much to Derpy’s delight who didn’t waste any time before flying over the crowd to the earth pony.
“Braeburn! You’re back! How’s the farm… Ah!” Derpy yelled out in surprise once she laid her eyes on the pegasus accompanying her friend, and fell on her butt.
“Um… Hello, Ditzy…” Fluttershy mumbled timidly. Who wouldn’t be timid when the one you’re conversing with reacted like that after seeing you.
“Y-You’re… Minister Fluttershy!” Derpy stuttered fearfully. Fluttershy bit her lower lip, unsure of what to say until Braeburn intervened by putting a hoof on Derpy’s shoulder.
“It’s alright, Derpy! That ain’t the minister, didn’t ya hear Spitfire’s announcement? It was literally fifteen minutes ago,” Braeburn explained calmly. The grey pegasus’ eyes went from Braeburn to Fluttershy, who waved with a blush.
“Oh… Right. Yeah, I remember now. I thought that was just a joke,” Derpy snickered sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I’m Ditzy Doo,” Ditzy held out her hoof, which Fluttershy shook.
“And I’m Fluttershy, but you probably already knew that,” She introduced herself with a small smile.
“This is so weird. I never thought I would shake one of the ministers’ hooves…” Derpy commented with a grin.
“Didn’t ya live in the same town as some of them?” Braeburn remarked as the grey pegasus scratched the back of her head.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t like I was friends with any of them,” She shrugged dismissively. “Although, I did go to flight school with Rainbow Dash,”
“How did you, if you don’t mind me asking, join the resistance?” Fluttershy suddenly asked.
She wasn’t super close with Derpy in her own universe either, but she had to admit she was surprised Derpy would be a part of a resistance. Not that she thought the grey mare wouldn’t fight for what was right or that she wasn’t strong enough to, she simply never imagined it before. It made more sense once she remembered she was among the pegasi who tried to fight Tirek. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if something happened in this universe.
“Why? Well…” Derpy bit her lower lip, prompting Braeburn to put a hoof on her shoulder.
“Ya don’t have to talk about it if ya don’t want to,” He assured her. Derpy shook her head and sighed.
“No, it’s fine. If she is going to help, then she should know about it,” Derpy decided while looking down. “It happened a few years ago. The Council of Harmony had been ruling Equestria for a year, I think,” She began telling her story, suddenly seeming more somber than earlier. “Members of the council themselves came back to Ponyville unexpectedly, accompanied by a bunch of guards. It was Minister Rarity and Prime Minister Twilight, and they came because somepony had been speaking against the Council,”
“That’s the only reason they came back?” Fluttershy asked in surprise. She was expecting they wouldn’t personally show up somewhere for something so… so trivial. But it was clear ponies weren’t allowed to have their own opinions anymore.
“Apparently, they had an informant in Ponyville. The informant told them someone had been tearing off the posters praising their new regime, and replaced them with crude drawings criticizing it instead. Everyone knew about them, of course. It was hard to miss, but most of us didn’t know who was doing it… Well, actually, only I knew,” Derpy admitted bashfully. “They were just three little fillies; I’m sorry, I can’t tell you their names. I kind of promised them I would keep it a secret,”
“It’s alright, I understand,” Fluttershy responded calmly. “What happened next? If you don’t mind talking about it,” She asked.
“The council gathered everypony in the center of town and said they were here to arrest the culprits. Prime Minister Twilight said that if they confessed, they wouldn’t be executed,” Derpy recounted, making Fluttershy gasp in shock.
“Executed? They wouldn’t really do that, would they?” Fluttershy inquired worriedly.
“You’d be surprised,” Braeburn commented bitterly.
“At the time, they may have been bluffing, but none of us were sure. We didn’t doubt they would find the ponies they were looking for, though. We already knew they had an informant, so it was only a matter of time…” Derpy sighed.
“What did you do? Did… Did something happen to those fillies?” Fluttershy questioned with her worry increasing. She didn’t want to hear about alternate versions of her friends executing poor little fillies, but it was something she needed to hear if she still wanted to talk to them.
“I did the only thing I could,” Derpy firmly answered. That day, she would never forget.
“So none of you are going to confess to the charges? Do you mean to tell me that none of you did it?” Prime Minister Twilight paced back and forth in front of the crowd of ponies while Minister Rarity stood nearby, accompanied by guards. “Rarity, can you please remind the culprits of what they risk if we find them?” She asked tiredly.
“Certainly,” Minister Rarity stepped forward while the crowd remained as silent as ever; although, their shaking knees were hard to miss. “For speaking against Harmony, peace, love, and equality, for spreading hate against the ones who uphold and protect these values… those proven guilty will face the punishment of death. Only an execution would be most appropriate for such a devious act,” The unicorn declared, making several ponies gasp and shout protests.
“You can’t do this!” Someone yelled in indignation.
“They were just posters!”
“This is outrageous!”
As the crowd’s angry shouts and indignation grew larger, so did the evident anger on Twilight’s face, who clenched her teeth.
“Silence!” Prime Minister Twilight screamed, successfully silencing them all. “Whether you think this is right or not is inconsequential. As you’ve heard Minister Rarity, only death awaits the culprits… Unless they confess immediately. In such a case, we will show leniency," the lavender unicorn continued in a calmer tone, her gaze sweeping across the faces in the crowd, including the anxious expression on Derpy's. "Now, I am addressing the individual or individuals behind this. You have a choice: the easy path of admitting your wrongdoings, and, as promised, we will be merciful. Or, you can choose a foolish course of action and put your life, or lives, in jeopardy. Simply put, we will thoroughly look for the one who is to blame, and I can assure you, we will find a culprit. We will execute somepony by the end of this,” She declared in a stone-cold tone. “It’s your choice to make,”
The crowd was deathly silent. Derpy could even see the mayor was hesitating, wishing to stand up and tell Prime Minister Twilight off, that what she was doing was wrong. Instead, she remained stuck in place. The pegasus couldn’t blame her, though. Who wouldn’t be afraid of confronting the council directly? Even after several seconds, nearly a minute after what Prime Minister Twilight had said, no one made a move. The lavender unicorn’s glare hardened. Derpy glanced at the three fillies who were responsible for all of this. They didn’t think it would go so far, but it seemed they were beginning to feel too much guilt. As evident by the looks on their faces, they were ready to confess.
Suddenly, Twilight stomped the ground in anger, attracting Derpy’s attention back to her.
“So you want to play at that game, huh? You want us to use the hard way?! Very well! No matter what happens next, don’t blame us for the consequences you will face because of your actions!” Twilight snapped before turning to her unicorn friend. “Minister Rarity, I want you to…”
“It was me,” Derpy suddenly stepped forward before the three fillies could, making Twilight pause. The lavender unicorn turned around to meet her eyes while Rarity widened hers in surprise. “I tore off your posters and replaced them,” She stated. The three fillies looked at her in shock, grateful, but shocked. The ponies around Derpy were even more surprised since they never imagined she would do something like that.
“See? Was it so hard?” Twilight mused in amusement, then narrowed her eyes in barely disguised anger while walking up to the grey pegasus. “Tell me… Why did you do this? Did you think it would be funny? Did you think it was a joke? Or maybe, you simply thought it was edgy and cool? Was it worth it?” Twilight chuckled humorlessly with her face only a few inches apart from Derpy’s.
Minister Rarity and the other ponies there had to admit that it didn’t sound like Derpy at all. She wasn’t the kind of pony to make these jokes or even try to be edgy. The grey pegasus, on the other hand, was unsure of what to reply. One of the reasons was that she was lost in the Prime Minister’s eyes. She knew that even if she avoided execution, Derpy wouldn’t come out of this unscathed because there was no trace of mercy in the lavender mare’s eyes. None at all. There was nothing but blind anger and hate. It didn’t seem it was all directed at her, but Derpy wasn’t exactly smart either, so she couldn’t be sure.
“I was sick of seeing your propaganda everywhere. That’s all,” She admitted with as much confidence as she could pull off. Twilight furrowed her brows and clenched her teeth.
“Then maybe you need to be educated,” Prime Minister Twilight stated before backing away. “As promised, you won’t be executed since you confessed. Guards! Take her away,” She ordered before walking away, without even sparing a single other glance at Derpy while she was grabbed by two pegasus guards and led away.
“P-Please, Prime Minister! Give her another chance!” Mayor Mare attempted to plead for Ditzy, who turned her head to share a thankful nod to the older mare.
Twilight ignored her, simply walking to the flying chariot, led by two pegasi.
“Do pray tell, Mayor. If a princess had come to take away a criminal, would you have tried to stop her?” Minister Rarity inquired with an arched eyebrow. Mayor Mare remained silent, opening her mouth only for no sound to come out. “That’s what I thought. Know where your place is,” The white unicorn added before following behind Twilight.
“After that, I was taken to the dungeons and spent months down there,” Derpy recounted with a shiver. “I would often be taken somewhere with other prisoners, and a member of the council would force us to watch some propaganda one of them animated, or force us to write essays about how their rule benefits Equestria. They even gave us history lessons to tell us Princess Celestia’s reign was imperfect and based on lies and manipulation, or that the non-Equestrian races aren’t trustworthy… Compared to that, having one meal a day wasn’t even that bad…” She added. Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth and gasped. Braeburn just hugged the grey pegasus with one foreleg over her shoulders.
“This is horrible! I-I’m so sorry, Ditzy!” Fluttershy apologized, only for Ditzy to shake her head.
“No, you aren’t the one who did this, so don’t apologize. When they deemed I was ready to rejoin society, they released me. I couldn’t… Just go back to my old life,” She rubbed one of her forelegs. “Somepony I knew from the dungeons invited me to the resistance. Now I use any income I have to buy provisions from ponies who can’t live in the outside world anymore,” She explained while motioning the stand behind her, where ponies were eating soup.
“And we can’t thank you enough, Derpy,” Braeburn assured her.
“I’m just doing what I think is right. Besides, I don’t think I do that much compared to you and all the supplies you bring from Appleloosa,” She denied with a smile.
“Every action matters,” He retorted.
“Anyway, it looks like those ponies are really happy, Ditzy,” Fluttershy interjected while looking at the ponies behind the other pegasus.
This version of the pegasus definitely earned her respect. Most of all, Fluttershy was ashamed of her own alternate version. She understood they weren’t the same ponies, and she remembered the things the others said about them, but to hear that story from Derpy… What pushed them to do this? What made them into the ponies they were now? She just couldn’t comprehend what would have to happen for her to do something similar… To be so cruel to another creature, let alone another pony. No. Whatever their reasons were, they must be stopped!
Glancing at Derpy, the bearer of the element of kindness’ heart couldn’t help but twist at her sight. It was as if the pain she went through was still visible in her face. So the yellow pegasus did the only thing she could, and embraced her in her forelegs and wings, surprising both Derpy and Braeburn.
“I really am sorry,” Fluttershy whispered shamefully.
“Hey. I said it’s okay. It’s not your fault,” Derpy responded while rubbing the other pegasus’ back.
“You didn’t deserve this,” The yellow mare retorted warmly. “I promise I’ll make it right, and help any way I can,”
Derpy smiled happily and with teary eyes. They stayed like this for several more seconds before breaking their embrace. Before they could say anything, Braeburn placed a hoof on their shoulders.
“Ah think we all need to take our minds off things a little,” Braeburn suggested. “Cheese Sandwich should be holdin’ a show, right now,”
“Oh, great! He always gives away muffins at the end of these!” Derpy clapped her hooves together excitedly before grabbing Fluttershy’s wing and pulling her along. “Come on! You gotta see this!”
“I-I’m coming! I’m coming!” The yellow pegasus replied quickly, nearly tripping over her own hooves. Meanwhile, Braeburn grinned in amusement before running after them.
Fluttershy didn’t expect to find Cheese Sandwich here, but he was so much like Pinkie that she shouldn’t have been surprised he would be in a resistance group. By following Ditzy Doo, she noticed yet again the way the base was constructed. Braeburn and Ditzy didn’t live here from what she understood from her conversations with them. However, there were definitely some ponies living in this underground base rather than in the outside world. She wondered if they were forced because they lost their homes as other ponies did, or because they simply didn’t want to live in the council’s world anymore.
She realized they were getting there soon once she noticed the huge tent several meters away, which reminded her of a circus. Many ponies surrounded the tent, all talking with each other.
“This was hilarious! I didn’t even know a pony could do that!” One stallion exclaimed while his partner, a mare laughed in agreement.
“The part with the balloons was so fun!” She added cheerfully, making Derpy’s ears fall once they reached the tent.
“What? We missed it?!” Derpy threw her hooves in the air.
“I-I guess so…” Fluttershy breathed out, panting thanks to how sore her legs were because of Derpy’s pulling.
“That’s my bad. Ah should have told you girls earlier. Ah didn’t think it would end so soon,” Braeburn commented.
“Oh, well. At least, you can still meet Cheese. He should be around here somewhere,” Derpy told Fluttershy before looking around to find the party pony.
“Did somepony say pancakes?” An orange earth pony with a puffy mane suddenly appeared between Derpy and Fluttershy and wrapped his forelegs around their necks to bring them into an embrace.
“Cheese! We were just talking about you!” Ditzy grinned happily while Cheese looked confused. Fluttershy didn’t say anything, but she did blush because of how close he was. She wasn’t as socially awkward anymore, but still…
“Wait I thought you were talking pancakes?” He arched an eyebrow. “Oh, and you! Nice to meet you!” He shook her hoof frantically.
“Hi?” Fluttershy chuckled nervously.
“Ah reckon ponies liked your show,” Braeburn interjected.
“Well, I sure hope they did! Wouldn’t be much of a show otherwise! Did you three enjoy it? I didn’t see you in public,” Cheese asked as he let go of the two pegasi.
“Ah wish we did, but nah we just got there,” Braeburn shook his head, only for Cheese to wave his hoof dismissively.
“No big deal! You can always see it next time! It’s not like this was your last opportunity!” The party pony laughed. “This was not a foreshadowing for your death, by the way,” He added more seriously, earning worried glances from the other ponies before he burst out laughing.
“That’s… yeah,” Braeburn licked his lips in embarrassment.
“What’s foreshadowing?” Derpy inquired quietly to Fluttershy.
“Uhm. I’ll explain later,” The other pegasus responded.
Their conversation was abruptly cut off by the cries of a little foal, barely audible, yet it somehow reached their ears. Turning around, they noticed a pegasus mare who seemed to be comforting a small filly by patting her back. The poor filly’s little tears pinched Fluttershy’s heart. She wanted to go there and see what was wrong to help and comfort her. However, she wasn’t sure how they would react if they saw the face of one of their enemies.
“That’s Berry Shake and her daughter Dazzle Twist,” Braeburn brought her out of her thoughts. “The father… Died in the war against the changelings. Because of that, they had no income for months and even Berry’s new job wasn’t enough to support them both. Eventually, they lost everythin’. Ah met them in Fillydelphia and brought ‘em here,” He explained sorrowfully.
Whatever Fluttershy was about to say was cut off by Cheese Sandwich walking up to the two ponies.
“Hey there!” The earth pony greeted them. “Sorry for bothering you, but I just couldn’t ignore this cutie pie! What’s wrong, kiddo?” Cheese asked in a softer tone, prompting the filly to look up with her eyes partially hidden behind her hooves.
“I-I…Sniff… I missed your show, Mr. Sandwich…” The filly sniffled while trying to wipe away her tears. Fluttershy and the others stayed closely behind the puffy-maned earth pony, simply observing the scene.
“It’s alright, Sweetie. I’m sure Mr. Sandwich will have another one, soon,” Berry reassured her. Cheese’s eyes didn’t leave the crying filly.
“Is that the only reason you’re crying?” Cheese questioned. Dazzle sniffled again, watching him intently before shaking her head.
“No… I miss my dad, too,” She admitted, making her mother bite her lip and look away.
“That’s perfectly understandable. I miss my dad too, sometimes,” Cheese revealed, earning a curious glance from Dazzle.
“Your daddy went away too?”
“Yep! On a very, very long trip. I still miss him from time to time,” Cheese grinned.
“Did you… cry too?” Dazzle asked shyly, her eyes still tearful.
“Oh, sure I did! But not anymore,” He shook his head.
“How did you stop?”
“I did things that made me happy!” Cheese exclaimed before abruptly standing up and smiling. “I played with my friends outside! Danced and played music!” He listed off as he danced comically, on his hind legs while holding a clarinet and playing it. After only a few seconds, he slipped on a random banana peel and fell on his back with his legs up in the air, making the filly giggle. “And even made other kids laugh by slipping on banana peels,” He added in amusement.
Dazzle hid her mouth behind her hooves as if she had been caught saying a bad word, and looked up at the earth pony while he was walking back to her.
“Sorry,” She apologized timidly, only for Cheese Sandwich to ruffle her mane.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for! All you did was laugh! There’s nothing wrong with a bit of laughter here and there! If you’re laughing so heartedly, then that means you’re happy! Isn’t it great?!” He inquired excitedly. Dazzle slowly uncovered the mouth and hesitantly nodded with a smile creeping up her face. “Here! Take this!” He suddenly said before pulling out something out of his mane and blowing into it. It was a long pink balloon, which he swiftly tied into a dog, and then handed to the small filly. “Every time you feel sad, that will help you remember this lesson. You can always even ask your friends for help,”
“Thank you, Mr. Sandwich! I love her!” Dazzle hugged the balloon, careful not to hold it too tight.
“Hey! How did you know it was a girl? I didn’t even tell you yet!” Cheese laughed.
“Thank you for your help,” Berry thanked him, slightly bowing her head before addressing her daughter. “Come on, let’s go home. I can cook you a carrot soup, your favorite,” She smiled as Dazzle nuzzled her side and walked away with her. Naturally, the filly didn’t forget to wave goodbye to Cheese.
“This was amazing, Cheese Sandwich!” Fluttershy exclaimed in awe once Cheese walked back toward them.
“Oh, it was nothing! You kinda have to be good with foals if you want to have a job like mine,” Cheese laughed, waving his hoof dismissively.
“At least, ya’re better than ma old man. If he was there, he woulda started a philosophical talk with the kid or somethin’,” Braeburn snickered.
“I can teach him to tie a balloon if you want!” Cheese laughed before settling his eyes on Fluttershy. “So is it true? What Spitfire said?”
“Uhm. If she said I’m from another universe, then yes it’s true,” Fluttershy confirmed with a nod.
“Oh, this is so exciting! You have to tell me how different it is!” Cheese clapped his hooves.
“Now?” Fluttershy looked around in surprise since she wasn’t sure now was the best time. Especially considering how different it was; it would take a long time to tell him about everything. Thankfully, she was saved by the bell. Literally. The sound of a loud bell attracted everyone’s attention to the ceiling.
“I want to see all the commanders in the war room, immediately,” Spitfire’s voice came out of several megaphones over the ceiling.
“Ah, dang it! Well, the fun’s over!” Cheese laughed.
“What’s happening?” Fluttershy asked as Cheese and the other ponies with her began walking away.
“As you’ve heard, we gotta assemble with Spitfire,” The party planner responded cheerfully. It was strange since a room named ‘the war room’ didn’t really sound welcoming.
“Ya should come with us. Ah have a feelin’ Spitfire wants to see ya, too,” Braeburn motioned to Fluttershy to follow, which she did without asking too many questions.
“You’re a commander, too, Ditzy?” The yellow pegasus inquired.
“Eh, yeah. I’m kind of their messenger,” She replied with red cheeks.
It took them a few minutes to get there, but the path was familiar to the yellow pegasus. The war room was near the interrogation room where Fluttershy talked to Spitfire and Shining Armor. It wasn’t that much more spacious, but at least it was more illuminated. The Wonderbolt leader was already inside, and by her side stood Shining Armor. They weren’t the only ones inside since Soarin, another wonderbolt, stood near Spitfire.
Actually, these weren’t even the only wonderbolts there since Fluttershy recognized a couple more of them! Were all the wonderbolts in the resistance? A few other ponies, she could recognize, such as Flash Sentry, Trixie, Jack Pot, Night Glider, and Raven Inkwell. The rest, she wasn’t familiar with.
“Sorry we’re late,” Derpy apologized as she approached the center of the room, where stood a large table with a map of Equestria.
“It’s fine, the others just got here,” Spitfire motioned at the rest of the ponies.
Fluttershy tried to make herself seem small, hiding behind Braeburn as she entered the room. Unfortunately, her presence didn’t go unnoticed.
“So. This is the one who’s supposed to help us?” Jack Pot arched an eyebrow toward the yellow pegasus, making her yip in surprise. “All of you are buying her story?” He gestured at the ponies in the room.
“Dad! I told you I used the lie detection spell on her! Don’t you trust Trixie?” Trixie stomped the floor in annoyance, making Jack gasp.
“I-I… But of course, I trust you, sweetie! It’s just… Forget I said anything…” Jack Pot retreated, grumbling under her breath.
Fluttershy gave her a thankful nod, to which Trixie replied with a prideful smirk. From the little she’d known her, the pegasus interpreted that as a “You’re welcome”.
“I understand some of you have doubts about this, but we don’t have any time to waste. This is our greatest opportunity to strike yet,” Spitfire declared.
“What do ya mean?” Braeburn stepped forward.
“My sister executed order 21,” Shining stated. It didn’t take more than a second before the room burst into an uproar.
“What? Why now?”
“Has she gone crazy?”
“Are we being invaded?”
“Huh? Excuse me, but what is order 21?” Fluttershy questioned Cheese Sandwich.
“Oh, nothing serious! It’s basically in case of invasion with the help of inside forces. Borders closed, guards everywhere, freedom super limited! You know? The usual!” Cheese shrugged.
“We don’t know why they decided to execute the order, but that matters little now. As I said, we have to strike!” Spitfire declared with confidence.
“Why would order 21 help us?” Night Glider inquired with a puzzled expression.
“Because their resources will be spread thin. With guards patrolling all of Equestria, they’ll have limited forces in Canterlot. That order was made to remove traitors or infiltrators as quickly as possible, not fight off a direct invasion,” Spitfire explained before Shining stepped forward.
“This would allow for another country to launch an invasion. An army of pegasi and unicorns could easily traverse Equestria and reach Canterlot with minimal losses. An army like Cadance’s for example,”
“You want us to launch an invasion, now?! Are you insane? Do you want the resistance to be destroyed?” An earth pony with a pink coat and blue mane shouted.
“It wouldn’t be now!” Spitfire refuted with a glare. “Obviously, we need to tell Princess Cadance to get the empire’s forces ready. We also need to take care of Rainbow City’s Thunder Factory,”
“This will be our final operation,” Trixie said as Shining nodded in confirmation.
“What is that now?” Fluttershy asked out loud, bringing everyone’s eyes to her.
“I am guessing Rainbow City doesn’t exist in your universe considering the circumstances?” Spitfire questioned, to which the pegasus nodded. “It’s a city they founded between Baltimare and Canterlot. It was a thunder factory and it’s their ace in the hole in case an enemy army makes it to the capital. It’ll release massive thunderclouds that will travel to Canterlot and strike anypony,” She explained.
“But what about the civilians? And their own soldiers?” Fluttershy gasped with her wings over her mouth.
“Civilians will have evacuated a long time ago by then. As for the soldiers, they all wear special uniforms with magical crystals inside imbued with a lightning protection spell. Unfortunately, I can’t smuggle these uniforms to us without being found out, so our only solution is to destroy the factory itself,” Shining responded.
It eased Fluttershy’s worries, but it didn’t seem like something safe. The council couldn’t surprise her any more than it already did.
“We’ll have to send a small team to destroy the factory. Once it’s done, we’ll send word to Princess Cadance that she can launch her attack. If everything goes right, we should defeat the council in one fell swoop,” Spitfire declared, her eyes traveling across the room.
“I don’t like this… It’s too risky. What about the council’s elements?” The same pony as earlier grumbled.
“We have a way to take care of that. Shining Armor and Trixie will be the key to it,” Spitfire replied as Trixie puffed up her chest with pride in response. “So… Any volunteers for Rainbow City?”
Everyone stayed silent. So much so that you could hear a hairpin drop. It wasn’t that they were afraid, they were simply uncertain. However, after only a few seconds, someone raised a hoof.
“I will do it,” Fluttershy stated confidently, more confidently than she had ever been since she came here, at least.
“I didn’t expect any less,” Spitfire nodded. She was one of the ones who approved of Fluttershy being here, so it was only expected that she would be proud to see that she made the right decision. After all, she also expected Fluttershy would be at least as strong as the one in the council.
“I’ll go, too!” Cheese suddenly raised his hoof to everyone’s surprise.
“Are you sure, Cheese? You’re the only one of us who can predict Pinkie Pie and match her in randomness,” Soarin questioned.
“I can’t let Flutters here go alone, after all,” He shrugged.
“But why? We just met,” Fluttershy argued, only for Cheese to laugh.
“So? It doesn’t matter how long we’ve known each other when it comes to friendship! I decided you’re my friend, now, so I won’t leave you hangin’! Besides, you sound like a really fun gal to have at an end-of-dictatorship party!” He responded.
A smile slowly crept up Fluttershy’s face. Even in another world, she had friends she could count on. Before she could even thank him, two other ponies raised their hooves.
“Well, Ah can’t just sit back and let y’all do all the work,” Braeburn remarked, locking eyes with Fluttershy. “And Ah guess Ah can’t let friends down either,”
“You too, Ditzy?” Spitfire asked in surprise. Indeed, the second pony with a hoof raised was the mail pony herself.
“I want to be useful. Besides, I feel the same way as Braeburn,” She replied.
Fluttershy exchanged looks with each of them, growing slightly nostalgic as she was reminded of a similar event that changed her life then, too.
“Thank you. All of you,” She bowed her head.
“All of you still need somepony competent, so it can’t be helped. Trixie will accompany you. Besides, she doesn’t want the newbie to steal the show,” Trixie announced with a smirk.
“You? Honey, please! It’s too dangerous!” Jack argued, only for his daughter to immediately shut him down.
“Oh, please! You don’t need to babysit me, Dad! Trixie knows what she is doing!” The blue unicorn retorted while Spitfire sighed.
“I’d really rather you stay here, but I gave up on trying to make you change your mind on things a long time ago,” The wonderbolt captain grumbled. “Is that all?” She asked the remaining ponies.
“I’ll go, too,” Shining suddenly interjected to the pegasus’ shock.
“Are you sure? That’s extremely risky. If someone recognizes you, they’ll realize you’re a traitor,” Spitfire inquired. The white unicorn nodded solemnly.
“Yes. I need to do my part… and pay for what I did. You know as much as I do that they’ll need my protection spells,”
“Very well,” Spitfire sighed. “Then you six will be our team of hope. This operation counts as much as the invasion itself. If it fails, then the resistance itself could collapse,” She stated, which was enough to make Fluttershy sweat.
“No pressure,” Cheese chuckled.
Shining Armor put on a confident face as he looked ahead. This was their last chance at saving Equestria, and perhaps the world. Soon, it would finally be time for him to confront his sister. And… He wasn’t sure he was ready.
Meanwhile, in the Canterlot Castle’s vault of relics, one particular object shone in the middle of the room, floating in place.
The Hexstone pulsed.