//------------------------------// // The Crack Of The Whip // Story: The Battles Of Today, The Wars Of Tomorrow // by Fryguy //------------------------------// At the border of Equestria, Neffison and his army and captives camp there, the captives, except the princesses, were fastened with leg shackles and neck shackles, for they could not return home to their homeland, they were forced to march to the border. To make sure Neffison didn't break some of his homeland laws about royalty, he kept the princesses unchained, for one law said. "Any royalty put in chains shall be severely punished!" even the king had to do it, for it was respect for any visitors or captives that were born with royal blood. During the night, the stars lit the sky with beauty, Luna did a good job to make it shine on the captives, giving some hope that they may return home. But it wasn't just adult mares and stallions as captives, even fillies like Applebloom, Sweete Belle, and Silver Spoon were captured in the raids as well. Luna tried singing a lullaby that she used to listen too when she was a filly. It went something like this. "Hush now little fillies, who lay on there beds, I have something to saaay, Do not be afraid within times like this, for I am here to protect you from harm." The lullaby worked, the fillies were sound asleep, the soldiers were also touched by the lullaby, and they fell asleep. Neffison stayed up, however, he was planning on what would happen when they reach Salvania. "Let's see, if the ponies of my country are still struggling to recover from our military wounds, then we'll use...wait, what will we use? Oh yes! The whips!" Neffison smiled slyly throughout the night. Around seven am the sun was halfway into the sky, Celestia had the glowing yellow dot in the sky rise a little bit more before stopping, the captives started to wake up, the fillies were ready for a new day, and Neffison would soon lead the camp of soldiers and captives on their way to Neffison's home country, Salvania. The journey was extremely harsh, the captives trudged on through the hot weather. The sun's rays fell down upon them, it was a long, hard walk, until they reached a fertile land with lots of crops, and everything was good, even the weather, it rains once a week. Neffison spoke to the captives with pride. "Welcome to Salvania!" But he had very evil plans for them. All the residents of Salvania were in the city that Neffison and his army with the captives entered. "It's him! Our brave king!" The ponies shouted for their king and his glory. The captives were on one stage, while Neffison and the princesses were on the other, the army went into the castle near the end of the city. Neffison looked at the buildings, because of all of their wars, the buildings were utterly destroyed, only rubble remained. He knew what to do with the captives, but the princesses would not receive the same fate. He spread out his wings to silence the crowd, and with his magic, grabbed a whip, then gave out this speech. "Fillies and Gentlecolts, today is a glorious day for the Salvanians! We are not great builders, and the first time we built our houses and buildings, it took us seven years! Now they are destroyed, but as you can see on the other stage, there stands captives from another land, these princesses behind me are the rulers of that land. For today, we have them in our hooves, and they will return to their country soon, but not the ponies in chains, for they will work on rebuilding our houses and cities, and these ponies will have Salvania return to it's former glory that we deserve!" He then stopped there to reach something in his saddlebags. Neffison then pulls out of a sack, inside was four hundred bits, suddenly he throws the bag into a box. Then continues. "You see what I just did? I have bought the country this ponies to be our Slaves!" He then cracked his whip, and the ponies on the other stage with chains start shaking, they were just enslaved by the country! Neffison was not done yet, he pulls out a contract. "This contract will make sure these ponies in chains will remain our slaves forever! They will make our country even stronger! And now, Princesses." He turns towards Celestia and Luna. "You were captured to witness this degree! Now go home and tell your pitiful country that you'll never see these ponies again, for this contract is the only way to stop me!" Celestia angrily spat out this statement. "We'll see about that! You have committed an act of war against me and my sister! We will not stand for you taking our subjects away as slaves! You have gone out of your mind! That will cost you greatly!" Neffison only shrugged, and said. "You'll try!" That was the final straw. Celestia then couldn't hold her anger any longer, nether could Luna, they gritted their teeth and shot multiple magical blasts at Neffison, but he just calmly cast a shield spell that deflected the magic beams, Celestia and Luna barely had time to get out of the way of their own magic. Neffison then turned to his soldiers that did not leave to the castle, and with a big toothy, evil grin, he pointed at the sisters, and the soldiers charged at the sisters. The crowd watching this were extremely surprised to find a battle going on in front of them, but they thought that their king would pull off with the victory, so they cheered for him. "Neffison! Neffison! Neffison!" But while they were cheering, Celestia and Luna somehow defeat the soldiers, but Neffison wounds them with a magical blast when they were trying to catch their breath from their fight. Luna coughed from the blow. She was in great pan as well as Celestia, but before they did anything, Luna spat out this threat. "This isn't over Neffison! Soon war would famine your land!" But Neffison only laughs at Luna's threat. "When you couldn't even defend yourselves?! Very funny!" But while he was laughng, the princesses were casting a spell, and in a flash, the princesses vanished. "What the...oh well, their loss. Anyways! "Ahem" The slaves will now rebuild our country! Now!" So the ponies began to rebuild Salvania, they were tortured, and the crack of the whip always kept them moving, sometimes they were whipped harshly for small mistakes. It was torture for the ponies. Back in Equestria, things were not good, ponies couldn't believe that their loved ones were being tortured as slaves. But Twilight hadn't heard anything about it, until she received a letter from her friends in Salvania, it was nighttime, and Twilight was really not in the mood for reading letters at night. But it said that her friends and the other ponies there with them were being tortured as slaves to the king. Twilight couldn't believe this, she wanted to fight the king for mistreating her friends like he was. The next morning, Celestia and Luna wanted ponies to enlist in an army to fight against Neffison, for they would lead the ponies out f slavery in Salvania if they can help it. Twilight enlisted, she wanted t help her friends more than anything! That's what she was going to do. This is war...