Civil War of Harmony

by SC_Orion

Chapter 16

Cold, dark, and damp. My mind was assaulted by those thoughts as I regained consciousness. I heard the sound of metal dragging on stone as I lifted a hoof to rub my eyes, I looked at my hoof in confusion. It took a second for me to realized there was a steel cuff around my hoof, a metal chain fell from it and disappeared behind me. I slowly stood up, chains rattling as I did so. 'What?' Was all I could think.

Once I was standing, I tried to flex my wings. They didn't budge, I turned my head towards my back, and caught sight of a band wrapped around my body, pinning my wings to my chest. I inhaled and exhaled, and looked left and right, high and low, trying to figure out where I was. All the while, feeling was starting to come back to me.

I could feel cold metal wrapped around all four of my hooves, and the tightness of the binding around my wings. The bindings were tight enough that breathing was somewhat difficult, and I could not draw in a full breath. My eyes fell on upon the metal bars closing the only entrance I had seen to the room. 'I'm in a dungeon cell...' The realization slowly donned on me. I felt panic rising in the back of my mind as my memory slowly returned to me...

The trip through the Everfree with Fluttershy... The feeling of being watched... Being attacked... 'And getting captured...' I surmised. I couldn't remember how I had been captured, and the events I did remember were still a little fuzzy.

'Fluttershy...' Had she made it away? I looked around the cell once more, despite the darkness, I could tell I was the only pony in the it. 'She... She...' The memory of seeing Fluttershy take off running returned to me, 'Yes... She made it away... She will tell somepony what happened... Wait... She didn't see what happened...

The longer I sat there in the dark silence of the cell, the more I became aware of a growing pain in the back of my head. It was a throbbing, pulsing pain, like a headache, but...

There was a sound off in the distance, metal grinding against metal, it was quiet, but it sounded like a door had been opened which had not been properly maintained.

The faint, almost imperceptible sound of hoofsteps falling on stone... Ever so slowly growing in volume. They did not sound rushed, but came in even intervals, whoever was making the sound was calm.

I squinted my eyes, a low glow could be seen trying to fight off the darkness of the dungeon. After a few seconds of watching, I could tell it was growing brighter as the hoofsteps became louder.

I almost jumped at the sound of chains rattling, and realized I had taken a step back. 'I'm not afraid. I am Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash does not get scared.' I told myself. It didn't help, nor could it change the fact that nopony likely knew where I was. And that I was alone.

The hoofsteps started to slow, and became distinct. Ten sets, five ponies in the group. 'If they're coming for me, I'll show them not to mess with Rainbow Dash...' Yes, if the group of ponies were coming for me, I would break free, fight them, and escape, even if I had to fight half the Wonderbolts to do so.

Of course none of that would be easy, especially the breaking free part. I glanced down at my hooves and pulled one up, the weight of the metal cuff and chain weighed it down significantly. 'I will find a way...' I told myself.

Five ponies slowly walked in front of the bars, four of them were off to the side of the front one, who was much taller than the others. Her ethereal mane flowed freely, her white coat was easily distinguished from the grey and brown coats of the guards who accompanied her. 'Princess Celestia... Not getting out of this one.' I took a few steps back until I felt the cold stone preventing me from walking back further.

One of the guards, a unicorn clad in gold-plated armor, quickly approached the cell door, lit his horn, bathing the cell in a pale blue light, and levitated a key into the lock. A second later, he removed the key and backed away. Princess Celestia's horn became surrounded by a pale yellow aura, and she opened the door and stepped inside. I felt my heart beat faster as she regarded me.

She moved her head to the left, her eyes darted around the cell, then she looked back to me, her mouth was drawn into a thin line. Her voice was the same as normal, calm and collected, almost motherly, "Rainbow Dash, you'll have to forgive the accommodations, I was unaware that you would have arrived so soon, otherwise I would have had better ones prepared for you."

She took a step forwards and lit her horn. I felt a warm sensation around my hooves, and felt the cuffs loosen. A second later I heard a 'clank' as the cuffs hit the stone floor. I looked down to regard my now free hooves and became aware of how sore they were. I winced as I gently rubbed my right hoof with my left. I looked back to Princess Celestia, "Thanks..." I spoke lowly.

"You're welcome." She paused, then spoke again, "I'm sure you're surprised to see me, and your memory is probably a little fuzzy."

I snorted. "A little?" I asked sarcastically.

She grimaced slightly. "I did not expect them to... Never mind." she shook her head.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, then paused briefly to consider why she would want me. "If you want me to betray Twilight that's not going to happen." I stated forcefully.

"I was hoping to talk to you, and to convince you to help me. And to convince you to talk to Twilight, convince her to stop and return to me." Her expression changed to a pained one, taking me by surprise, "Please. It is not supposed to be this way. If she refuses to come peacefully, she could get hurt. Many ponies could and most likely will die! I don't want that."

I did not say anything immediately, choosing to think it over. She had a point... But... No, she just wanted to use me! I wouldn't let her use me, Twilight counted on me. I steeled my resolve, "No." I spoke quietly and firmly.

"Rainbow... One way or another, you will help me." She glared at me.

I felt the cold stone floor press against my stomach as I shrank back from her glare, for the first time I could remember, Princess Celestia scared me. After a few moments, she averted her gaze from me, turned and started to leave.

She paused in the doorway, "I will be back tomorrow, Rainbow. We can talk further then. As for now, I have more pressing matters to attend to." She walked out and the door was silently shut behind her, then the guard locked the door.

The group of ponies started walking away, but the light remained. The sound of hoofsteps grew faint, and the echos were soon silenced, leaving me alone in the intimidating stillness of the dungeon.

'That meeting could have gone better.' I surmised. In all honesty, I had expected more resistance from her than that, maybe even a few kicks or a bite or two. Then again... She knows who I am... I shook my head. I paused in front of the door to the Throne room. "They certainly retrieved her quickly." I spoke aloud.

"Of course they did, Princess." Director Tap's deep voice was filled with arrogance, it was slightly concerning. I would have to keep an eye on him, after all, arrogance sows the seeds of overconfidence, which can lead to defeat.

"They brought her back before I had a chance to prepare something more comfortable for her to stay in..." I frowned.

"She is an enemy combatant, Princess. Yet you insist on treating her well..."

"She is one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony foremost. I do not want any harm coming to them, even if they are our enemies, at least temporarily-" I shot him a glare, "-I want them to come to no harm. Finding a replacement for one or more of them could prove difficult, and then getting the Elements to work once more... It's something we can't risk."

"Yes, Princess. I will have her moved as soon as it's ready." He replied flatly.

Despite yesterday's excitement, life went on. I was still a princess, and I still had to lead my ponies. Despite Rainbow Dash being ponynapped, and her current whereabouts unknown, I still had many tasks to take care of which required my attention. "General, I want you to have a team of Wonderbolts assembled and on standby for when we locate Rainbow Dash."

"Yes, Princess. I will have Lieutenant Soarin take command of it for the rescue-"

"No," I cut her off, "I will lead it personally." Spitfire's mouth hung open for a brief moment before she closed it.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Princess?"

"I made a promise. Besides, there's a chance if Princess Celestia or Princess Luna have her we could run into them. If I go, it gives the mission a better chance of success." I stated.

"If you fail, you could get captured or killed. I know she's important to you, but-"

General Spitfire seemed to be forgetting that Rainbow was one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the main line of defense for Equestria against threats too powerful for the military to handle. I spoke quickly, and my words had an edge to them, "She is the bearer of the Element of Loyalty, General." I met her eyes with a fierce glare, "Don't forget that."

"Yes, Princess. I'm just concerned is all. The decision is strategically questionable, unless you plan on using the Elements against them." Spitfire stamped her hoof on a form, and pushed it to the left with her other hoof, then pulled another form from the pile on her desk.

I spoke in a calmer tone, "I don't know yet. I plan on keeping that option in reserve..." I looked down, thinking. 'Would using the six Elements together even do anything against them? Would it end badly? Could I draw on all six Elements by myself? Could I use the Element of Magic's power in combat alone, without the other Elements?' So many questions that I did not have answers to. I looked back up at Spitfire, expecting her to berate my lack of planning in regards to the Elements.

She didn't even look up from her work, "I'll have the team ready by the end of the week, Princess." She stamped her hoof down on another form, I took that as my cue to leave.

I walked to the opposite side of the room, opened the door with my magic, and silently left. My hoofsteps quietly echoed on the crystal floor as I made my way towards the castle gate. The more I thought about it, the more I had started to realize that this castle, a crystal tree, was not exactly 'fit' for war. It's design was not very safe, considering the top was larger and heavier than the bottom, even if the 'trunk' was made of incredibly strong crystal.

'Maybe I should have another one constructed, and design it to better suit my needs for war...' Looking into that was probably a good idea. I would need to talk to Amethyst and Mayor Mare about it.

I opened the gate with my magic and stepped outside, immediately the rays of the sun hit my fur, warming it. I took a second to just stand there and enjoy the warmth of the sun, then continued on. 'First stop, the laboratory.' I turned down the dirt road towards the lab. The road wouldn't be dirt much longer, I was having it upgraded, it would make transportation and moving ponies about easier, especially in rain or snow.

A few minutes of walking in silence later, I arrived at the laboratory. Construction was progressing, even if it was far to slow by my standards, but the site was currently silent. They were on break. I sighed. The sooner it was done, the sooner I could get some ponies to research spells and such for me. 'Perhaps I could assign a few unicorns to the crystals too.' I frowned, 'Would they have enough magic to use that spell?' Further study was required.

After a few minutes of looking at the lab from a distance, I slowly turned and started walking away. 'Right. Now I need to find Applejack. She should be at the barracks...' I still had yet to get around to telling all my friends about Rainbow's disappearance, I had been busy this morning and hadn't had a chance to see them all yet today.

The trip from the lab to the barracks was quiet and boring, the only sound coming from my hooves, and the occasional pony who greeted me. Once I passed through town, everypony bowed as I passed, or waved, or smiled, or said hello to me. I replied to them of course, and it helped take my mind off of my missing companion, but it wasn't long before I was once again walking in silence.

Sure, Rainbow might be full of herself at times, and she might not be the brightest pony around, but at least she was more comfortable around me than the other guards. We could talk whenever we were going to check on something, such as what I was doing right now, and it didn't feel awkward. She knew when to be a friend, and when to be professional. Well, for the most part.

I wasn't halfway between the town and the camp before I decided I missed her company. The minutes seemed to drag on as I slowly, ever so slowly, approached the barracks.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally arrived. The barracks were surrounded by a wooden fence, nothing all that imposing, but capable of keeping ponies out who had no business being here. The gate guard ran out and bowed to me once I stopped. I nodded back at the guard, no words passed between us, but he opened the gate regardless. There was no need to make sure I was who I appeared to be, the changelings had not been heard from since the failed invasion of Canterlot, and nopony could try to pass for an alicorn, save for an alicorn. And alicorns were fairly rare.

Of course that was only necessary to think about if you excluded the fact that I wore my tiara and regalia. Nopony would dare to steal them and try to pass for me. And the only time I didn't wear my regalia was when I was alone, sleeping, or worried it would get lost or damaged. Which was ironic, considering I planned to wear it in battle to give me an advantage.

I walked inside the gate, and took note of the rows upon rows of wooden structures and tents. Despite being here only a few days ago, It looked and felt like it had increased in size. I could see dozens if not hundreds of ponies going about their business. Fortunately, none payed me any attention.

I lit my horn, and used a simple illusion to disguise myself. Despite being their leader, I did not want any delays regarding that. Plus, if they didn't know I was here, I could observe what was going on without my presence interfering. The gate guard said nothing as I disguised myself, perhaps realizing I did not want my presence here known.

Since the barracks was larger than last time, I realized I might have difficulty finding Applejack. I frowned in thought, then decided to ask the guard. I turned towards the guard, and walked a few steps closer to him, "Excuse me, do you by any chance know where I might find one Private Applejack?"

"No, Princess. I'm afraid not. If you could tell me what combat group she was in, I could point you in the right direction." he replied, eyes never once looking anywhere but straight forwards. I found myself wondering how they could be any good at guarding if they just stared off, not looking around to make sure everything was in order.

"Uh right. She's an earth pony... I'm afraid I have not kept up with her as much as I should have. She's a friend of mine, bearer of the Element of Honesty?" The guard remained still for several seconds, retaining the same stoic expression as normal. It was impossible to tell what he was doing, but I assumed, and hoped, he was thinking about it.

"I would suggest checking in with either Lieutenant Soarin, or the Earth Pony Battle Group." he paused, "Oh uh-" He stepped out of his post and pointed towards the farthest wooden building on the right side of the camp. "-right over there, Princess."

I nodded my thanks, "Thank you." I turned and started walking towards the building he indicated.

"No problem, Princess."

Turns out the guard I had asked for directions was right, and had pointed me towards the group's command office. It had taken me several minutes and attempts to find the correct building where Applejack was quartered in from there. Once I arrived there, I found it empty, went back to the command office, inquired about it, looked around the camp several times, then returned, only to find her just starting to leave from the office.

Needless to say, I wished I would have waited there, or had the Colonel call her in. 'Ugh. Right.' I approached the orange earth pony, "Hey, Applejack."

She stopped and looked at me in confusion.

"Oh! Right." I lit my horn, and dropped the illusion.

"Twilight, what're you doing out here?" she asked as I pulled her into a hug.

"Sorry I haven't been keeping in touch more... I've been busy..." I sheepishly rubbed the back of my head with a hoof.

"Oh, don't you worry about that. I'm sure you've got a lot of important princess stuff to take care of." She smiled, then looked around, "Say, where's Rainbow?"

I winced, "That's... Kind of why I'm here... She's missing. We think she was captured yesterday..." Applejack's eyes widened. "I had her go with Fluttershy into the Everfree Forest, yes Fluttershy is fine-" Applejack looked relieved at hearing that, "- and we found signs of a struggle and evidence of other ponies in the area. Sorry I didn't tell you sooner-"

"Twilight, you've been busy. You sound like you blame yourself for what happened..."

"I..." I didn't know what to say, it was my fault, but her accusing me of blaming myself... I sighed. "I'm going to find her and bring her back. I promised Fluttershy."

"I know you will, Twilight. If you need any help, you know where to find me."

"Thanks, Applejack. I don't think that will be necessary though. I have Spitfire assembling a team of Wonderbolts for me to take command of for the rescue mission."

Applejack's expression turned grim, "Hate to play Discord's advocate, but what if she was... Killed?"

"N-No, she's alive. She has to be. Nopony would be foolish enough to kill one of the bearers..."

'Yes. Keep telling yourself that.' the voice mocked. The voice brought back memories of my reflection... I suddenly felt cold, despite the warmth of the day. I shivered.

"Twilight?"

I looked up at Applejack, she looked concerned. "What?"

"You okay?"

'No...' I put on my biggest, brightest smile, and hoped it didn't look forced, "Yep! I'm completely fine! Nothing wrong with me at all!"

Applejack frowned and appeared to be thinking about what I had said, then spoke a few seconds later, "Right... Be careful, Twilight. Don't overwork yourself, and take care of yourself."

"I know, I know..." I sighed.

After several seconds of silence, Applejack spoke again, "So do you have a replacement guard for Rainbow yet?"

"No. I'm not going to replace her." I answered firmly.

"You sure? Ain't that a little bit dangerous?"

"Probably." I mused. I looked at the sun, then back to Applejack, "Sorry to have to cut this visit short, but I have a few other things to take care of, and finding you took longer than I expected..." I smiled weakly.

"Aw shoot, don't let me keep you, if it's that important. I'm just glad you dropped by." Applejack glanced at the sun, then back to me, "But uh, I have somewhere I need to be too."

I stepped forwards and hugged her again, breaking it after a few seconds, and then parting ways.

I regarded the mid afternoon sun, after I secured the throne for myself I would have to take the sun from my sister and control the day night cycle myself. I smiled, 'Or, perhaps Twilight would be willing to take control of the sun... She moved it before. Well, when she had all of our power...' I frowned.

Regardless, for now both were my enemies. 'Though I hope not for much longer.' If everything went as planned. I turned to walk back inside the castle, closing the balcony doors as I entered. The ponies assembled around the conference table were military commanders and advisers. My eyes slowly circled around the group until they fell on the one who stood out the most. General Goldfeather, a gryphon mercenary commander.

The gryphons were mostly content to keep to their own business, throw them enough gold however... I smiled.

"Gentlecolts, and gentlegriffs, I believe we have an offensive to plan." I declared.