//------------------------------// // War // Story: Twisted Future // by WriteAboutHorses //------------------------------// A year ago, if you'd told somepony in Equestria that they were about to experience the biggest war the world had ever seen, they probably wouldn't believe you. Equestria was always a land of peace. Princess Celestia ensured that relationships with Yakyakistan, Griffonstone, the Dragon Lands, and even the Gargoyles and Centaurs were nothing but peaceful, but it was impossible to obtain peaceful relations with a kingdom that appeared out of thin air and declared war less than a day later. Nothing like it had ever happened in the history of Equestria. Wonderbolt and E.U.P reserves were drafted in, food supplies began to shrink, imports from other nations who didn't want to be involved with the war were halted, families had to part with loved ones who were drafted in to fight. Rainbow Dash never expected to be here. She had joined the Wonderbolt Reserves to perform with her idols. Today though, she was flying into battle with her idols, and nopony knew which ones would return home, and who wouldn't. "I see them up ahead!" Commander Spitfire announced to her team. Just a few miles up ahead, hundreds upon hundreds of Crystal Ponies, each wearing the same black armor, marched forward. Rainbow looked behind her. The meagre group of ponies Celestia had sent to face this army barely broke a hundred. Rainbow wasn't the best at math, but she could tell there had to be a least three Crystal Ponies for every one Equestria Pony in this battle. This wasn't going to end well. Princess Celestia lead the charge. Rainbow Dash had always admired the princess. In just over a year, Celestia had been reunited with her younger sister after 1000 years, only to have to banish her back to the moon, fought off the spirit of chaos and turned him back to stone single hoofedly, and just a few months before the war started, she defeated the Changeling Queen and sent her entire invasion force packing with the help of her niece, Princess Cadence. Now here she was, bravely leading her soldiers into a battle they could only lose. Rainbow often wondered how she could rule Equestria for over a thousand years, and still keep going despite all she's faced recently. Celestia's bravery was surely one of the few things that kept hope alive in Equestria. "Look!" Soarin' pointed out towards the advancing Crystal Ponies. The four Wonderbolts could clearly see a dark cloud following behind them, but they all knew it was no cloud. "He's with them." Fleetfoot scowled. "As if this wasn't going to be difficult enough." The ominous black cloud crawling towards them was no other than King Sombra himself. This was just what they needed right now. "I'll inform the Princess!" Spitfire said. "The rest of you, get ready for fight." The commander flew down to inform Celestia that they were up against more than just the army It wasn't long before the who armies met. Celestia gave the order to attack, and the ground forces charged at the approaching army while the Wonderbolts swooped in to assist. Rainbow split from the others and quickly took down several Crystal Ponies. Just as she'd taken care of the last one, another pounced on top of her but quickly got thrown off and only managed to escape with her helmet. The pegasus gave chase, but looked up to see a huge boulder plummeting from a cliff, and she was right in the firing range. Just before the boulder hit her, Rainbow looked up and saw two Earth ponies digging away at it in mid-air, before the boulder collapsed into several smaller rocks. The two mares saluted Rainbow, who nodded in gratitude, before each of them leaped back into battle. It wasn't long before Celestia called a retreat. The Equestrian ponies took off back towards their encampment, but none of the Crystal Ponies gave chase. The Wonderbolts regrouped, but it didn't take a genius to notice one was missing. "Where's Spitfire?" Fleetfoot asked. The three pegasi scanned the ground below, and eventually found their commander. "There she is... oh no!" Soarin' gasped. Spitfire was surrounded by Crystal Ponies, and the King of Shadows himself was treading his way over. Her right wing looked torn and damaged. "We have to help her!" Rainbow shrieked. It was at that moment Spitfire looked up and saw her squadron. She knew her fate. She gave a brave smile, and saluted to her friends. "She wants us to go..." Soarin' said. "We can't save her." The Crystal Ponies were closing in on her, and Sombra was getting closer. "But we can't! What if she doesn't get out?" "There's too many of the Rainbow." Fleetfoot said sternly. "If we go down there we're all toast!" Rainbow looked behind her. The others were almost out of sight, and it was beginning to get dark. "Fine..." Rainbow agreed hesitantly. The three Wonderbolts flew off to catch up with the others. Night had fallen by the time everyone had returned to Equestria's encampment. There were many casualties, and only very few managed to get back to the base where they could die in some sort of comfort. When the three Wonderbolts landed, they were approached by Celestia's second in command, Captain Shining Armor. "What happened to Commander Spitfire?" He asked. Spitfire and Shining Armor had worked closely since the start of the war, and had gained a sort of friendship. "She uh... she got overpowered. There were too many of them for even us to handle. She told us to go." Rainbow hung her head. She never imagined she'd be the one to give the news of her idol's presumed death. Shining was silent, but he eventually realised what had happened. "She's... gone?" he asked. "We don't know for sure, but she was seriously outnumbered and even Sombra was on his way over to her. If she's not dead, she was probably captured." Soarin' explained. "Alright." Shining sighed. "I'll inform the Princess." The guard Captain trundled off and left the pegasi to themselves. Spitfire was Rainbow Dash's idol since she was a filly. All she ever wanted was to fly with the Wonderbolts, and her dream came true, but not in the way she wanted. Not in the way anypony wanted.