//------------------------------//
// Act I Chp. 2: The New Regime 
// Story: Path of Damnation 
// by Lucidenn 
//------------------------------//

"Colonel Iron Wing! Take your pegasus battalion and scatter it throughout Equestria. I want every city, fort, village, and hermit's hut informed that our national security has been threatened. The Crystal Empire has already fallen, and while it poses no immediate threat, Equestria cannot suffer the same fate. We are at WAR! When your ponies are finished relaying the message they are to gather at our northern border with the Crystal Empire. Form them into a constant patrol scouring the mountains, nopony is to to pass without you knowing about it first!"

With a rigid salute, the colonel leapt into the air post haste. Princess Luna was a sight to behold. Bedecked in full battle armor, her silvery form shimmered under the fierce moonlight as she took swift and decisive command over Canterlot's resources. It had taken her less than half an hour to organize the search party that had brought Princess Cadence and Prince Shining back. When Celestia learned of her niece's fate, at the hooves of none other than her former student, it had taken Luna just 5 minutes to subdue her emotionally distraught sister and keep her from attempting to travel to the Crystal Empire by magically sealing her in the dungeons until such time that she could think rationally. Less than an hour later, and she had a fully functioning war room dominating the castle's ball room.

"Major General Pine Green, your division is to provide reinforcement of the border towns and forts. The mayor of Stalliongrad comes from a long line of proud military ponies, she should be more than willing to provide the war effort with everything she can. Make your base of operations there, it is well defended by walls of granite 10 meters thick, and their primary export of pine logs will make an excellent building material for all our troop's needs."

"I need volunteers from the Royal Guard, call in the reserves and prepare a draft. Equestria is not ready to defend herself, and we need every able bodied citizen to train, and train hard for the years ahead. Send leading scientists and doctors from each city and village to Canterlot at once, regardless of their field. "Dusk Glimmer, you are to organize these scientists into teams for research and development. Celestia and myself will oversee your operations and assign you specific projects as the need arises. Until then focus on advancing the fields of combat medicine, mechanical technology, and magical enchantments."

Lights bloomed in every household of Canterlot as the plush ponies peered out their windows and quaked beneath their fine garments. Not since the royal wedding had they seen such militant activity as armored pegasi zoomed every which way through the air, and troops marched through the streets. What could possibly be going on? They were not long left without an answer. Bells clanged and expedited hoof steps clopped against the cobblestones as heralds and news-ponies called out for all to hear.

"Equestria has gone to war! Equestria has gone to war!"
****

"How did it come to this?"

Princess Celestia was nearly unrecognizable. For once her hair obeyed the laws of gravity, falling in a tangled mass of faded color from her head. She had no more tears left within her to shed as she laid there sprawled upon her own prison's floor, ivory coat get caked in dirt and mortar dust. Faintly, she could hear the din of shouting and metal clanking as her country mobilized under her sister's command. That was the sound of thousands upon thousands of her little ponies getting ready to die. There hadn't been a war in Equestria since the Great Gryphon Incursion nearly 1,500 years ago; her ponies simply were not ready for this, she was not ready for this.

By now the Crystal Empire had likely fallen to the King and Queen's magic. As her ponies donned metal meant to save their lives, the Crystal ponies must be donning metal designed to imprison theirs. Defeating Sombra last time had been accomplished with minimal bloodshed, but as Equestria waited the Crystal Empire would get a chance to build it's own army as well. There would be no small battle between ruler's and their guards this time, and it was all Luna's fault for not letting her end things before they went too far!

"How did it come to this?" She repeated again, begging her empty room for an answer and expecting none in return.

"At first I blamed myself princess. I kept thinking there must a been something we'd done wrong, something we'd failed her in. Now I have to realize the truth; Somewhere in her soul Twilight had a monster buried deep as can be, and Sombra brought it out. Now that monster is here to stay, and there's nothing we can do to change it. She made that nice and clear to us with her brother."

Celestia craned her neck around to catch sight of who had surprisingly answered her. Sitting with their backs pressed against the bars of her cell were five miserable mares...Twilight's friends, the other element bearers. She noticed how Applejack was in the middle of the group, sitting tallest of the five. The others huddled around her like a bastion of strength as they tried their best to regain their footing now that their world had been so badly shaken.

Fluttershy quaked softly until Rarity offered her a hoof of comfort upon her shoulder. With that bit of assistance, she managed to gather the courage to speak what was on her heart. "I just couldn't believe that we'd lost our friend before. I think we all were hoping that by tonight we'd be back home celebrating that had she'd come back, and everything could simply go back to the way things were before as her best pony friends forever. But she never came back, not really. Our Twilight wouldn't think of hurting anypony, our Twilight would always put other ponies' needs above her own. Whoever that was, it wasn't our friend."

There was a lengthy pause before Applejack spoke again. "Way I see it, we're the only ones who could have stopped her afore...afore Sombra took her away from us. We failed to stop her then, and we failed to realize it as she took Cadence away tonight. We cannot fail again, its up to us, all of us, to stop her once and for all."

As Applejack finished her grim proclamation, her friends all drew a little bit closer. There was truth to her words, and while it didn't make the horror of Cadence's murder any less real, having resolved what they needed to do did offer them some small amount of comfort. A tentative voice called from behind the prison cell's corner.

"Sister? Art thou still wroth with me?"

Luna...oh how her sister vexed her so. Still, Celestia figured she should hurry her release from her cell and make peace. "No dear sister, I am not. Though I still have half a mind to drop the sun upon your head for locking me in here."

Smiling slightly, Luna stepped around the corner and cheekily replied, "Then I wouldst speak with thy half that is not so equicidal." The smile faded into a grim frown however as she moved straight to the reason of her visit. "Sister, while I can organize our defenses  and command our military, Equestria needs you to lead the people still. Ponies are going to panic, and they need you, the face they've trusted for a millennium, to soothe their fears and guide them through these trying times."

"Our ponies should not have to face these trying times in the first place, dear sister" Celestia replied, a tad more tersely than she had intended. "We should have given chase to the Crystal Empire and defeated Sombra and Twilight before they could get a foothold and turn the country's resources against us. Instead, due to our inaction Cadence is dead and her people enslaved once more!"

Luna's face hardened into a glare that she leveled the full force upon her sister. Though it succeeded in stopping Celestia's tirade short, it did not cause her to back down any. The two now stood but a few paces apart, staring each other down through the prison bars.

"You are a fool if you think we could have fought them at that time and won. One country has fallen tonight, would you have really liked to give them another?"

"The longer we wait the farther this comes towards all out war. How many of our ponies will have to die because we did not take the chance to fight them, two on two!?"

"And how many thousands would have to suffer an even worse fate when you dash headlong into battle with Twilight and realize you cannot raise a hoof against her!?" Luna roared, wings flaring out in anger. "I can see it in your eyes, you would still see her for the filly you first guided. You would hesitate, just as you did in the throne room." Celestia flinched as if struck, seeming to shrink in size before her sister. "She would strike you down with a smile upon her face because you do not possess the will to strike at her with lethal force."

Celestia collapsed to her knees, fresh tears budding in her eyes. Luna was right, if they had done as she wished, they would both be dead for her folly, and Equestria left defenseless and leaderless. Luna dropped down to her knees as well, and in a hushed tone tried to soothe her sister. "I do not blame thee for tonight Tia, and neither shall anypony else. Thy heart has always been warm and kind, and just as the sun cannot withhold its light, you cannot withhold your love for us all. Now rise dear sister, we have a war to win."

With that, Luna stood up and stepped back, releasing the magical locks that kept her sister prisoner and opening the door. For a moment, nothing happened as Celestia lay there, collecting herself. Finally with a sigh she wiped her eyes and stood tall once more, her terribly dirty mane flowing smoothly once again. "You're right sister, and if my timing is correct it is time to raise the sun. Your border scouts should be returning soon if what I know of your battle strategy is correct, and they shall need the extra light for a speedy trip back home."
****

The sun rose slowly over the Crystal Empire, almost fearfully penetrating the early morning fog. Bit by bit, the crystal ponies awoke to greet the new day...and their new, architecture? It quickly dawned on each and every one that the entire empire had resorted to the sharp black crystal structure of the days brought by King Sombra. From every crystal tree hung one of the princesses' royal guards by their own entrails, and anypony who tried to flee found the way out of the empire blocked by a wall of green and purple flame. Some ponies chose to cower in their now alien homes, hoping to be overlooked. The rest simply gathered in a large crowd before the castle, spirits already fading as they waited to discover their fate and the fate of their princess.

Inside the royal chambers, Twilight stretched and yawned, having a very difficult time feeling motivated to leave her new bed. Noticing her husband's absence however was enough of a curiosity for her to raise her head and look around the room for him. There he was, absorbed with a stack of papers at the crystal writing desk, presumably reviewing their war stratagems. "Honey, we've been over the plans a hundred times already, come back to bed."

"I would, but since plan A, over-idealistic as it may have been, has failed and your improvisation has thrown plan B out the window, our position needs re-evaluation." Looking up from the papers at the always amusing bed-mane of his wife he grinned mischievously. "Besides my slumbering beauty, Celestia has begun the day and our nation needs addressing. You should get ready for your first public appearance as Queen Twilight Sparkle."

Grumpily conceding to the latter, Twilight clambered out of her nest of blankets, uncomfortably aware of how large she was with her pregnancy and how her husband's eyes still lingered upon her. She would not however give ground on the first accusation. "I did no such thing, my improvisation has only ensured the success of our most viable backup plan, not destroyed it."

"Is that so? When it became clear Princess Luna's caution meant that felling the leaders of both nations as well as the remaining elements of harmony all at once would be impossible, how was it that we followed the backup plan exactly?"

Twilight gave her stallion her fiercest glare which was completely undermined by her still messy mane, much to Sombra's amusement. "Our plans did not account for Hope branching out from Cadence. It was already well entangled with the unborn child, and even had some roots in Shining as well."

"So your solution was to let all three escape with a chance to save their lives?"

"A perceived chance my King, not an actual one. I placed a hemorrhaging curse in the wound. Even if she survived long enough to be treated by doctors, their medicinal magic would only cause the flesh to bleed even faster. Furthermore, by giving Shining a final 'chance' to save his family he'll be faced with the crushing reality that he failed to protect them, their ultimate death happening on his watch and not ours. While true if we'd simply killed all three Hope would be gone, but it would have the chance to manifest in another. Now it is crushed beneath Shining's own despair, and as an added bonus his dire mood will have the chance to spread to others, further crushing the likelihood of Hope making its appearance in this war."

Sombra was impressed, her quick thinking would actually prove more effective than the original plan of killing the Crystal Empire royalty and just simply taking over. His wife was truly a cunning one. "I concede then, plan B is therefore still in full effect. Now all we need is to maximize the growth of our martial might while keeping Equestria at bay until we are ready. Would you like to do the honors, or shall I?"

"They spent many fearful years underneath your rule already. I would seem the softer of us two, perhaps a source of leniency and restraint, or perhaps even twisted around as an unwilling suitor who only needed rescuing to help them turn upon the hated King Sombra. It would be best if I were to address the nation, so that they may know where their Queen truly stands."

Twilight spoke of the crystal ponies as a scientist would of training mice, deciding upon the appropriate voltage to shock them with when their behavior was displeasing. Her cold intellect made his blood run hot, and his uncomfortable shifting upon the chair he sat did not go unnoticed. With a sultry grin, she enticed him back to the bed. "My mane's a mess and I've yet to get properly ready for the day anyways. Perhaps you'd like to take care of your most, pressing matter before I get cleaned up? Hmmmmmm, my King?"
****

The crystal ponies still gathered in front the castle grew silent as a figure walked out upon the palace balcony, followed by the dreadful King himself. The first pony was hard to recognize at first; she was as tall as Cadence and of lavender coat with long flowing purple hair streaked by a dash of vibrant pink. This was the newest princess, Twilight! Had she and Spike the Hero come to save them once again? But why then did she have the same black armor as Sombra, and stand beside him so calmly?

"Hear me my citizens!" She began, a simple enough task to follow considering the royal voice boomed throughout the Empire. "Princess Cadence and Prince Shining armor are no more, slain by my own hooves." The entire crowd shuddered with dread, it had been the expected fate for their princess then, considering the state of her guards that still decorated the trees. "I am Twilight Sparkle, your queen. My husband you may already know." The most powerful evil tyrant in all of Crystal Empire history, and he had a queen now? This did not bode well at all. As their new monarch continued her speech, the were sadly proven quite correct. Tis a terrible thing to have dreary expectations not only met, but also surpassed.

"Henceforth all citizens 12 years of age and older are to join the glorious Crystal Empire armed forces, with the exception of pregnant mares. Once carried to term the mother will have a single month of recovery before being expected to join the armed forces, unless of course another pregnancy should befall her. All children are to attend specialized instruction facilities full time, so that parents need not be distracted from their duty to the armed forces and their country. This army will be tested by the fire-breath of dragons, the iron talons of gryphon soldiers, and the crushing strength of minotaurs. It is quite likely many of you will perish in battle, but be proud my citizens, to die in service of the Crystal Empire is a great honor. Lastly, failure to comply will be met with immediate and final punishment, as all crimes committed forfeit your rights as a citizen of the Crystal Empire. You shall either be killed immediately, or taken for live experimentation where you can restore your honor by furthering the knowledge our scientists. For today, remove the tree ornaments and throw them into the fire surrounding the Empire and return to your homes. All ponies skilled in crystal construction are to report to the palace in exactly one hour. You are dismissed."

Without any further ado, Queen Twilight about-faced and strode back into the castle, accompanied by the King, leaving behind a stunned crowd of crystal ponies whose world had just been turned upside down.