Princess Twilight Sparkle
"Princess, Filthy Rich is here to see you," Sparkler announced as she closed the door behind her. I lowered my hoof from my chin and nodded. This would be my first audience with him or anypony who was a citizen of my new domain for that matter, since my secession. I was somewhat nervous. Mayor Mare stood to my right, with Spike sitting on his throne to the right of mine. The rest of my friends were out and about, taking care of whatever they needed to do.
"Thank you, please send him in." Sparkler nodded and exited the throne room. I took a deep breath and exhaled, then ruffled my wings. A few seconds later and I was greeted by the sound of the door opening once again. Filthy Rich trotted in followed by Sparkler, she shut the door behind them. Filthy Rich calmly trotted up to my throne and bowed in respect.
"Princess," he rose from the bow, "To what do I owe the honor?" He spoke with a smile.
"I wanted to discuss finances and my financial plans... Mayor Mare told me you voted for secession, correct?"
"Ah, and yes, Princess. I did indeed vote for secession." He paused and rose a hoof to rub his chin, "So you wanted to discuss finances?"
"Yes." I teleported out some financial documents regarding the state of the treasury and held them in my magic, "While the treasury is doing fine for now, and income is still more than expenses... It could get expensive and I have very limited resources." I levitated the documents in front of him to view. He examined the documents for a few minutes.
"Hmm, I see." He looked down and off to the side, before looking back at me, "Judging from this, you should be fine for now... However, you're looking towards the future, aren't you, Princess?" he smiled.
"Yes, I am. I know you're a very successful businesspony, so it would be beneficial for me to have your advice in regard to economic policy."
"Ah, I see. I would be happy to help you with your economic policy. I'm sure we could work well together." He paused, "Anything else, Princess?"
"If I ended up needing a loan, would you be willing to provide one?" I hoped he would say yes, it would give me a backup financial plan. Although as a backup financial plan, it wasn't the greatest idea ever, sacrificing future financial stability for the present...
"Of course, I may not be as wealthy as some of the Canterlot nobles, but I do have a lot of financial assets. I'm sure we could come to an agreement of sorts." He answered with a genuine, honest smile.
"Thank you. Do you have any questions for me while we're still here?"
He regarded the question for a moment, "Ah, yes. I saw you managed to acquire a few guards. Are you planning on construction of a barracks, or issuing new armor or weaponry to them?"
"As for the time being, they're staying at the castle. There's plenty of room for that. However, I'm glad you brought that up." I looked at Sparkler, "Sparkler, please look into the price of constructing a barracks, training facilities, and whatever else you can think of that we might need in the future. I would also like an estimate on how long it would take to complete construction."
She smiled, "Sure, Princess. Anything else you want me to do while I'm at it?"
I regarded her question, my eyes lit up with an idea, "Actually, yes. If you could find Rarity, I'd like to speak to her about armor designs..." I paused. "I think I'll get a quote from Rarity about what that would cost, too." I turned to look at Mayor Mare, "Can you do some land surveys and try to find an optimal area for construction? I don't want to start anything yet, it's not necessary yet, but it would be nice to be prepared." Mayor Mare nodded in acknowledgment.
"Alright, that's all. Dismissed." I stood up from my throne and teleported Spike and myself to my chambers, I needed a break before I met with Rarity. 'I should probably include Captain Light in that discussion as well.'
Princess Luna
I stared out across the vast army of ponies marching below me. It had hardly taken any time at all to reorganize the army separately from my sister's forces. Knowing my sister, she would still be reorganizing. She would plan for a long, drawn out conflict. I would have none of that, however. The ponies clad in gold-plated armor were soon replaced by legions clad in dark blue armor. Replacing and issuing new armor and arms was progressing quickly, yet far slower than I had hoped. Only a small fraction of my forces had been refit so far.
The forces which had been refit were ready for action. However, it would still be a while before I could make any moves due to logistics.
I smiled and trotted back into the palace. The two guards saluted me as I reentered the building. The building in question was formerly the Town Hall and had since been improved upon to function as my current government center. My castle was just beginning to come under construction on the outskirts of the city. The hallways were spartan in decor, the wooden paneling hid reinforced stone walls, while the floors were covered in carpet. Every so often I passed by a light, or an archway leading to another section of the building. I soon approached the room I had taken as my chambers and entered.
The room had been redecorated to suit my liking. The walls had been repainted a deep, night-blue, while the carpeting was a royal red, and the ceiling was domed, painted black with the moon at the apex. Stars had been painted all around to resemble the night sky, they even matched some of the constellations. I trotted over to the mahogany nightstand beside my bed. I looked at the helmet that sat upon it intently. The light indigo helmet resembled the one I wore as Nightmare Moon but was designed to provide protection, rather than instill fear. The sleek curves would conform to my head perfectly. The craftsmanship was superb.
I turned my attention away from the helmet as I heard a knock at the door. "Enter." I turned to see who wanted to speak with me. My captain trotted in, he was a bat pony, one of the very few in existence. It was a gift I did not hand out often. His eyes were teal, and his dragon-like slit pupils would allow him to see better at night than most ponies, without aid of magic. He was clad in night-blue armor, and his tail was dark gray.
He bowed and rose. "Princess, the rest of your armor is ready."
"Thank you, please have it brought to me." I paused, "And what of Trottingham and Stalliongrad?"
"Stalliongrad has voted to secede and follow you, Trottingham refuses to capitulate."
"I see. Send an ultimatum to the mayor of Trottingham. If they do not side with us within one week, my forces will force their surrender." I spoke firmly, showing no weakness, and no emotion.
"Yes, my Princess." he calmly answered and stepped back out into the hallway.
I turned my head back towards the helmet, one thought occupied my mind. 'Soon.'
Princess Twilight Sparkle
"Ah, there you are Twilight!" I perked up as Rarity entered the meeting room. I had spent a day selecting and converting a spare room into a meeting room and furnishing it with a long table and chairs. The room would replace the dining room as the meeting room, it would mean less clutter. Rarity sat down in the chair directly to my left, "So what is it you wanted me for? Sparkler mentioned armor designs?"
"Yeah, I was wanting to discuss re-outfitting the guards that joined me, designing a standard suit of armor and a personal suit of armor for myself... Nothing too elegant, it needs to provide function over fashion... Can you help me?"
"Hmm, metal working? Yes, I think I can provide some help with that..."
I smiled, "Thanks, Rarity."
"But." Rarity paused, "While I'm willing to design and make your armor for free, I can't outfit an entire army for free..." Rarity smiled weakly, "The price of materials alone is far more than what I could handle..." Rarity sighed.
"Yes, and on that note, can I get a quote on what a suit of standard armor would cost?" I pulled out a notepad and quill and held them in my magic to begin taking notes.
"It would depend on design, and what materials it would be constructed out of," Rarity answered.
"Well, what about a re-colored version of the Royal Guard armor?" I paused to think, 'Without the gold plating, it should cheapen the armor some...'
"I would estimate around four-hundred bits per suit of armor then." Rarity rubbed her chin with a hoof.
"What about if it wasn't plated with gold?" I was hoping that would reduce the cost quite a bit.
"That may reduce the price by a few bits, maybe twenty-five. Paint is cheap, I can substitute the gold-plating for paint if you'd like."
"Thanks, what are your thoughts on the color scheme?" Knowing Rarity, she was already drawing up plans for making the armor yet still provide fashion without compromising function.
"I think a shade of purple, one darker than your coat, would be a perfect choice. Gold edging... I can see it now!" Rarity exclaimed with glee. Her eyes lit up more, "Your cutie mark emblazoned on the chestplate..."
"That's actually a good idea, Rarity," I commented, hoping she wouldn't get carried away.
"And, now, for your armor... I'll draw up some designs for it and I'll get to work on... How many suits of armor do you need?"
"Uh, sixteen, plus my own. I'll pay you for material and labor on all of them." I started to rise from my chair, Rarity waved a hoof at me.
"Nonsense, I'll make yours free of charge." Rarity paused, "Are you ever going to use it anyway?" Rarity paused again to think, "I just... Can't imagine you on a battlefield, Twilight..."
"I'm not sure if I'll ever use it. I don't think it would be wise for me to lead an army into battle, I have no experience with that sort of thing before... But if it came down to it, having a suit of armor would give me some peace of mind..." I didn't exactly want to go into battle, but I had fought monsters before. 'They say you lead best by example... I should probably invest in some combat training for myself...'
"Of course, darling..."I exhaled in relief, glad she didn't push that line of questioning any further.
"Well, that's all I needed for now Rarity. I'll send a guard or two to assist you with whatever you need."
"That's very kind of you, Twilight." I smiled at Rarity as she turned and left the meeting room. She closed the door softly after she left.
"Captain Light?" The captain immediately stood at attention, I raised a hoof to dismiss his stance, "I've... I've never had any formal combat training..." I ruffled my wings as I trailed off, hoping he would catch onto what went unsaid.
"I see..." He looked down and to the left ever so slightly, "Sergeant Bolt is the best unicorn we have in combat magic... I'll have him help you out with combat magic... But I would suggest having your friend Rainbow Dash help you with flight training... She's a Wonderbolt, right?"
"Yes." I nodded, a slight thread of worry was taking hold with the thought of having to have Rainbow training me... 'There's a chance she would want to do more than just training me... I am not letting her fight for me... None of my friends, it's too dangerous...'
"She would be a good candidate for that then. She would also probably be a good soldier..."
My glare cut him off, "I don't want any of them in danger like that." I silently grit my teeth.
"Of course, Princess. I was just bringing it up... It won't come up again unless you choose to."
"Good, please don't mention this to any of them." I stood up, he quickly jumped to attention and I trotted towards the door.
"Yes, your highness." He saluted, I nodded in return and trotted over to the door.
I lit my horn and opened the door with my magic, and paused. "I will be in my chambers if anyone needs me. Please have Sergeant Bolt start training me sometime in the next week." I trotted out the room without waiting for a reply. I channeled my magic and teleported myself into my room.
The sudden change of location, combined with the large discharge of magic, and the focus required to cast a teleportation spell could be disorientating for lesser ponies. However, I was an expert in teleportation. I could teleport left and right with next to no effort, and I had teleported so many times before that it was second nature to me, as such I didn't feel any effects of disorientation. 'I am good with teleportation... That could prove useful in the future... Mental note: find out how many unicorns can actually teleport in combat, and how many can efficiently perform it.'
I checked to make sure my door was shut, it was, so I locked it with magic. I stretched out my back, and then extended my wings to their full extent. I held them out for a few seconds, then relaxed them and let them fall to the floor. "Deep breaths Twilight," I spoke to myself out loud. I inhaled, closed my eyes, and brought my right hoof to my chest. I held the breath in for a few seconds then released it, opening my eyes and extending my hoof out to its full extent. "That's better." I rested my hoof back on the floor. "I get the feeling I'm going to be doing that a lot more... And I'll probably end up talking to myself more." I noted.
I passed my alicorn sized bed and trotted over to the door leading to the balcony, I opened the door with my magic and stepped out. Closing the door behind me, I walked over to the edge, and sat down on my haunches. The town, despite recent events, was still as peaceful as ever. I feared that would change in the months to come. I shook the thought away as I saw a rainbow blur flying across the town, heading here.
A minute or so later, Rainbow Dash landed gracefully on the balcony. "Hey, Twilight," she greeted as she sat down beside me. "What're you thinking about?" she had turned her head to ask.
"Just... All this, it's... I..." I couldn't find words to express the stress I was under.
"Overwhelming, huh?" Rainbow nudged me with a hoof playfully, I smiled at her briefly.
"Yeah, you could say that." I looked down at my hooves, "I don't... I don't know if I'm ready for this..." I trailed off.
"Twilight, you'll do fine. We're here for you to help you with what you need. Mayor Mare, Sparkler, the rest of the girls, Spike, and me. You can count on us, Twilight. We won't let you down." She rested a hoof on my shoulder reassuringly.
"Hey, Rainbow." I paused to consider the best way to ask her to help me, I decided the best course of action would be to be straight forwards. "I was talking with Captain Light earlier, he suggested I talk to you about training me to fly better..." I trailed off as I saw Rainbow's eyes gleam with joy, eliciting a smile from me.
Rainbow smiled, "Sure, I'll do it." Rainbow's smile turned into a smirk, "But don't think I'll go easy just because you're the Princess."
I smirked back at her, "I wouldn't dream of it." I paused before quickly adding "So long as it doesn't kill me, that is." Rainbow snickered at that.
"I'll keep it a challenge, but not unreachable. When we're done, I expect you to be able to beat me in a race."
My smile quickly faded, and my face suddenly felt cooler. The floor suddenly looked quite inviting.
"Okay! You don't have to beat me in a race!" Rainbow Dash quickly added and caught me as I started to topple over. I quickly regained my composure.
"Thanks..." I teleported my schedule to me and looked over the next weeks, I would need to set aside time for training. I teleported a quill and inkwell to me and thought for a moment. I hovered the quill over my schedule and began writing, "Ugh, that was my last quill." I shouted in frustration as it broke.
"Been using a lot of quills?" Rainbow asked.
"You have no idea... I'll have to have Spike pick up some more... What am I going to do now..." I dropped my wings to the floor in exasperation.
"It's not really that big of a deal."
"Yeah, I suppose your right..." I sighed and teleported the schedule, inkwell, and broken quill away. "So when do you want to start?"
"We can start right now if you want to." Rainbow shot up and extended her wings. I considered her offer for a moment, then stood up.
"Okay, but let me tell the captain what I'll be doing." I opened the door and trotted back into my room, I proceeded to unlock the other door with my magic, and open it as I trotted over to it.
"So I'll just wait here?" I turned to see Rainbow still waiting on the balcony.
"You can wait in my room, I don't mind," I answered as I stepped out of the room.
"Oh, cool." I heard her say before I closed the door.
Princess Celestia
The door to the throne room flew open, I immediately looked up from the supply form I was reviewing. I put the form aside with my magic and gave the earth pony guard my full attention. He paused before me and bowed, I nodded at him.
"Princess Celestia, Stalliongrad has voted to secede and has joined Princess Luna."
I clenched my jaw and let out a frustrated groan under my breath. I shook my head in disbelief. "What other news do you bring?" I firmly asked.
"The mayor of Trottingham has been given an ultimatum by Princess Luna, to join her within a week or she would force them to surrender." He paused, "And a few royal guards have been also spotted around Ponyville."
"I see," I answered coolly. I tilted my head to the side absent-mindedly to think. "I will have to bring this up with the council when we meet tomorrow..."
"It doesn't warrant immediate attention?" The guard inquired.
"No. Not yet anyway." I dismissed him with a wave of my hoof. 'What is your plan, Luna...'
Princess Twilight Sparkle
"You ready to go, egghead?" Rainbow Dash asked as I trotted back into the room. I rolled my eyes at her.
"I'm all yours for the rest of the day." She smiled at that. A little too much... I found myself concerned as she trotted out to the balcony and motioned me to follow her with a hoof. I quickly trotted out onto the balcony. As soon as I set hoof out the crystal double doors she jumped into the air.
"Ready. Set. Go!" She said, and before I had time to react she had taken off into the sky.
"Wait-" I shouted too late. "Ugh." I started flapping my wings and I took to the skies, attempting to catch up with her.
Fortunately, she had stopped, allowing me to catch up to her, though it still took me half a minute to catch up to her. "Why did you do that?"
"I'm supposed to be training you, right?" Rainbow asked as she swam gracefully through the air.
"Yes..." I huffed. Rainbow Dash flew above me and looked at me upside down. I blinked.
"Try to keep up," Rainbow smirked and shot off, I followed her a second later.
I beat my wings hard, putting more force into them as I tried to close the distance between us, she looked back at me and then made a sharp right turn, I adjusted my course to follow her. Slowly but surely I managed to catch up and fly beside her, she smirked at me and instantly went into a nose dive, I folded my wings in and pointed my head downwards, gravity took over and started accelerating me downwards.
Seconds passed, we both continued to accelerate, clouds flew by at an ever increasing rate. Rainbow spread her wings, quickly bleeding her momentum. I spread my wings slightly, angling them to catch enough wind to redirect me towards Rainbow. She was fast approaching, I realized I had miscalculated and would have crashed into her had she not maneuvered out of the way. I quickly spread my wings, catching the wind and slowing down. I flapped my wings once I had slowed down enough to not injure myself.
A hoof tapped my back, I spun around to see Rainbow looking at me with disappointment, "You made so many mistakes with that, it's not even funny, Twilight."
"That's why we're doing this." I reminded her.
"Right." She paused, "Shall we try air tag then?"
"Air tag? Isn't that a game for pegasi foals?" I skeptically asked.
"Hey, it works. It'll help you to learn how to intercept others flying around. They had us do that at the academy."
I shook my head dejectedly, "Alright then, you're the Wonderbolt here, not me."
Rainbow smiled at that, "Exactly, I'll give you a twenty-second head start."
"Only twen-"
"One."
I took off, beating my wings as hard as I could to put some distance between us, even if she was faster than me, it would give me more time to formulate a plan. I looked around, there were clouds everywhere, no doubt hiding would be a bad idea though. I caught sight of Rainbow, who was patiently sitting on a cloud. I shook my head and looked around again, I took off towards my right. I kept my an eye on Rainbow and sped up when she took off.
Rainbow Dash quickly flew towards me, I dived down right before she managed to contact me with a hoof, I looked back to see her diving towards me, I extended my front hooves out in front of me fully and tucked my wings in, making myself more aerodynamic. I quickly started picking up speed, a few seconds later, Rainbow Dash was right beside me, smirking. I threw open both my wings, catching her in surprise. I watched her fall down another hundred feet in a second, then she realized what I had done and spread her wings, catching the air and bleeding her downward velocity.
I flapped my wings hard and shot off away from Rainbow, I looked back to see her streak passed me, I stopped just in time to prevent myself from crashing into her. Our noses were only a few inches apart, I blinked. She smirked and tapped my nose, I felt my muzzle scrunch up, and I pulled back slightly.
"Why did you stop?" Rainbow asked with a frown.
"I wasn't expecting that." I truthfully answered. Rainbow Dash lightly hit her head with a hoof. "What?"
"Twilight, if I was an enemy, you would have just lost. You'd either be injured or worse." I gulped at what was implied by the 'or worse'.
I regained my composure, "If you were my enemy, I would have used my magic against you." I smirked, knowing she had no counter for this.
"What if you were too drained to use magic?" I lost my smirk, she had a point.
I sighed, "So now I have to catch you?"
"Yep."
"Not going to go easy on me?" I asked dejectedly.
"Nope."
I sighed, "Ready whenever you are." Rainbow smiled and shot off far faster than what I was capable of flying. 'Here we go again...'
Some time later I landed on my balcony, and my wings immediately fell limp, I let my head fall low. A gust of wind told me Rainbow had landed on the balcony too. "I didn't even know feathers could feel pain."
Rainbow laughed at that, "You did... Okay, in the end... You need to improve quite a bit, but if we keep this up you'll be able to keep up with me when I'm not trying in a few weeks."
I laughed like a maniac at that, and slowly died off to a weak moan. "If I don't sleep good tonight, I'll tie my wings up and jump from the top of the castle." I deadpanned.
"You're... Joking, right Twilight?" Rainbow asked with concern. I didn't reply.
"It's late, I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow then I guess?" I opened the door with my magic and slowly trotted in, I held it open waiting for her response.
"Yeah."
I watched her fly off, I could tell she was tired too. I shook my head and closed the door. 'She's trying to kill me.'
I trotted over to my bed and laid down, the next thing I knew I was outside, in the forest. It was night, the moon was directly overhead. The sky... It was wrong, there were no stars, just blackness. I blinked in confusion, the scene immediately changed, I was standing on my balcony, looking out across Ponyville. It was like a scene from the apocalypse, there was fire everywhere... The sky was filled with smoke, blocking out the sun...
I turned around, Captain Light stood in the doorway, his armor was smeared with blood. He saluted me. I stepped back, my hoof fell into a puddle of something warm. I turned around to look and it was a pool of red. I jumped back and tripped on something soft. I hit my muzzle on the floor, I lifted a hoof and rubbed the pain away. I looked to see what I had tripped on.
My mouth fell open, 'Fluttershy...' I stared in horror at the sight before me, the kind, timid pegasus lie before me, broken and battered. Her wings were limp at her side, and her fur was matted and covered with blood.I closed my eyes as hard as I could, willing the images away. I reluctantly opened my eyes again after a few seconds, I was in the Canterlot throne room, my hooves were chained together. I tried to speak, but my muzzle was clamped shut, I tried to move my wings, but they were tied to my body.
I looked around the room, there were guards everywhere, each wielding a spear. I looked towards the throne, Princess Celestia sat atop it, she glared at me, I shrunk back under her gaze. She smiled at that, then seemed to think for a moment.
Princess Celestia stood up, and trotted down from her throne, two guards followed her, one on each side. They trotted to within a few hooves of me. Again, I tried to say something, but my muzzle was still held shut.
Princess Celestia looked to the guard at her right, he held out his spear for her, and she took it in her magic. Princess Celestia looked me right in the eye, I gulped.
"Twilight Sparkle. For the crimes of murder and treason against the ponies of Equestria and myself. I hereby sentence you to death." She forced the spear at me, I felt a sharp pain, and my eyes started watering as the spear pierced my neck.
I shot up in bed, breathing heavily, and sweating. The room was cool and dark. I lit my horn so I could see, I was alone. I breathed a sigh of relief. I sat up in bed for a few minutes while my breathing returned to normal, all the while reliving the nightmare. I shuddered as the images ran through my mind again. I laid back down and clenched the covers tightly in my hooves as I pulled them back over me.
It was a long night.