//------------------------------//
// Chapter 17 
// Story: Civil War of Harmony 
// by SC_Orion 
//------------------------------//


Twilight Sparkle



Sergeant Bolt watched me as I donned the Element of Magic, replacing the crystal in my regalia with the Element itself. I carefully levitated the crystal away and then put it into a pocket dimension for safekeeping. 'This is dangerous.' part of me told myself. I chose to ignore it, 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.' Besides, how would I figure out if I could access the magic of the Elements of Harmony without their bearers if I didn't try it myself?


I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then slowly released it. Lighting my horn, I accessed the Element of Magic, calling forth it's power, and making it my own. I felt a rush as the surge of magic flooded through me, but unlike other times, when I had accessed it with the help of my friends, it didn't feel as warm. The power, however, was still there.


The power was unquestionable. Far more power in the Element of Magic alone than I had ever wielded personally. The only thing that came close to the feeling of having this much power was when I wielded the magic of all four alicorn princesses. And right now I did not have the support of the other five Elements. As to what that said about their power, I could only wonder.


I opened my eyes. Ponies had said that when I wielded the power of the Elements my eyes glowed white. I never noticed any difference, and had never stood in front of a mirror while accessing the Elements of Harmony to see for myself. Of course that is to be expected when you think about the fact that the Elements of Harmony are only used in dire circumstances to defend Equestria from great darkness. 'Would Starlight Glimmer have, had she attacked Equestria as a whole, necessitated the use of the Elements?' Right, think about that later. I filed the question away to ponder it later, as for now, I had some tests to run.


And if it just so happened that I had a little fun while experimenting, or relieved a little stress, that was just an added bonus. 'I'm going to enjoy this.' Of course I would never admit that to anyone, especially Sergeant Bolt. There was no question in my mind that he would chastise me for finding enjoyment in using one of the most powerful magical artifacts in existence to engage in senseless destruction, even if I told him it was for science. 


'Speaking of senseless destruction...' Yes. I was going to do some experimenting before I got sidetracked. I channeled my magic, along with the magic of the Element of Magic to my horn, gazing across the field of jagged rocks as I did so, attempting to imagine them being ponies. If I was going to be fighting ponies, I needed to be able to handle killing them.


'Killing them...' The words echoed in my mind. Such a long time ago that thought would have paralyzed me, even now I felt my stomach churn at the thought, my heart felt cold.


Or my heart would have felt cold if it wasn't for the Element of Magic's magic.


I regarded the rocks I was about to attack with pity, then lowered my horn and sent a beam of magic towards the center line without hesitation, my eyes never left the rocks I was looking at. The purple-lavender beam of magic shot forth from my horn, it slammed into the first rock, shattering it, and sending shards of rock flying all over the place.


And then it hit the next one a fraction of a second later, completely obliterating it, and pulverizing it into dust.


And then it hit the third, the results were the same, and the beam continued on, uncontested until cutting through the final rock in the line. I stopped channeling my magic, and raised my head.


Less than a second. That's how long it took my beam of magic to cut through solid granite. Nine large shards of granite, larger than a pony. And yes, it was granite. Though expensive, we, mostly Sergeant Bolt, thought it would be good to use a harder substance to test the power of the Elements on.


I found myself grateful that magic acted differently on living beings than on rocks. The image of being responsible for that destruction to ponies. I mean, yes, I intended to fight, not that I wanted to, but I would. For a better future for Equestria... For my friends and family... To rescue Rainbow Dash... I clenched my jaw. 'If I fight, I'll have to kill ponies...' Ponies who were good ponies, ponies who had families... 'What would that make me?'


'No. Stop.' I shook my head, 'I will do what I have to to protect my friends, and Equestria.' Yes, ponies would die. Yes, I would likely... Be responsible for a few of those deaths... But war is war. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both made mistakes, neither of them are fit to rule.


'I've made mistakes too...' I felt my lips draw into a line.


I felt a tinge of anger in my heart, 'Princess Celestia sent six young mares to face off a fully grown dragon. Princess Luna tried to bring about eternal nighttime. That would have killed everypony. I've not done anything like that!' Yes, I had made mistakes. But they had made worse mistakes. 'Besides, with the help of my friends...' I smiled. 'Anything is possible.'


"That was certainly an impressive display, Princess." Sergeant Bolt commented.


I turned my head towards him and smiled lightly, "It was mostly the Element's work, I just directed it's power." I closed my eyes, and ceased my connection to my Element.


"It was still an impressive display." he stated.


"Yeah... And that was just one of the Elements of Harmony... Just guessing from that-" I waved a hoof at the destroyed granite shards," I imagine that all six could..." 'I am not going to corrupt the Elements by using them to kill.' That would be so wrong. To use the tools of harmony, something which is literally in their name, for death, I would never do that. "Defeat armies..." I finished.


He nodded, "That seems like a reasonable assumption, if one of them could do that."


I frowned, "I don't really want to use the Elements against Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. Or against anypony else." I sighed, "It just... It feels wrong."


Sergeant Bolt nodded, "You miss your friend."


I quickly spun my head towards him, I opened my mouth to rebuke him before I realized what tone he had used. I closed my mouth, he wasn't chastising me, his voice conveyed a certain kindness, it briefly made me think of Fluttershy. "I... Yes. I do. I know it's... I shouldn't, it's war-"


"Princess." he took a step forwards, "This isn't war. Not yet. Even when it is war, she is your friend. You have every right to worry about her well being." He paused, " However, there may come a time when you have to choose between them or the rest of Equestria. Yes, you six are important. Very important, even. If she wasn't the bearer of the Element of Loyalty, I do not believe everypony would be so accepting of your... Regret and concern."


"We all trust you, Princess. But that means making tough decisions. We can't stay out of this fight forever, as much as you may want to."


He opened his mouth to keep speaking, but I cut him off, "I'm going to rescue her. I will fight to do so. I will fight for my friends, to protect them. To protect Equestria." I lowered my head, "I... I just wish it wasn't necessary."


"There are only four alicorns, you are one of them. Without you, we have no chance of beating Princess Celestia or Princess Luna."


I eyed him wearily, "I know." I stated flatly. "But consider for a moment that I am only twenty years old. They are both thousands of years my senior... And they were both... Are both my friends. Princess Celestia was my mentor."


His expression betrayed no feelings, "And what if one of them has Rainbow Dash, and hurt her? What then?"


"She has to still be alive... Neither of them are that stupid as to kill her..." She couldn't be dead. They would be fools to kill her. Neither Princess Celestia nor Princess Luna knew as much about the Elements as I do. To their knowledge, killing Rainbow would cause them to stop working... If that happened, the next major threat to Equestria might not be stopped with no loss of life...


"They wouldn't have to kill her to make her unable to fight." he pointed out.


'He's right...' I felt my hope start to die.


He must have noticed too, "But I'm sure she's fine." he added hastily.


"But we don't know that..." I inhaled, "In fact, we have not found any trace of her since she was abducted." Exhale, inhale. "And we didn't find anything out about whoever abducted her!" Breath in, breath out. "We don't even know if Princess Celestia or Princess Luna have her! She could have been captured by bandits, or-"


"Princess..." He stepped forwards, stretching out a hoof towards me. He made slow downward motions with his hoof, "You need to calm down." His voice... It was so serious. I looked over his face, his eyes had widened... He was... Scarred.


I blinked, and lifted a hoof to my regalia. The crystal... 'Wait, I'm still wearing the Element...' I took a deep breath, then extended a hoof as I exhaled. The breathing exercise always did wonders to calm my nerves, 'Much better.' "Sorry." I apologized. Using my magic, I gently pried the Element of Magic out of my regalia and replaced it with the glowing gem that normally adorned it.


Sergeant Bolt smiled, "Good to see the Twilight Stone back in it's proper place."


Did he really just... I shook my head. "It feels better too."


He raised an eyebrow.


"The crystal contains my own magic, and great quantities of it. It is more familiar to me than the Element of Magic's magic." I explained.


"I see." he stated.


How to explain it better to him? Oh, an analogy! "It's like a unicorn using dark magic rather than their own natural magic. It's more powerful, but not as warm, comforting, or familiar."


"The Element of Magic isn't as comforting as your own magic?" he sounded doubtful. Had I not been the one wielding it, I would have been doubtful too. The Elements of Harmony? Why wouldn't they feel warmer than your own magic?


"It feels better when all of us are wielding them together."


He nodded at that, "That makes sense."




Princess Luna



The Shiny Hills. 'A rather fitting name.' I thought as I pondered the forthcoming battles. The Shiny Hills were one of the major sources of platinum for Equestria, outside of trading. Large quantities of nickle and copper were also produced through the ore extraction process. 'Sister's being foolish yet again, it seems.' I glanced at the report.


Only a small garrison of five hundred ponies guarded the Shiny Hill mines. And the Shiny Hills were lying on the edge between my realm and my sister's realm. Most of Celestia's forces were concerned with population centers, mostly disregarding resources. While I could not fault her for protecting the cities, leaving strategic resources so undefended... It left a sour taste in my mouth.


Due to the high value, and rarity of platinum, capturing the Shiny Hills would be a major benefit to my war effort. The platinum extracted could benefit my treasury, or be used in my war effort. Regardless of how I could use it, my sister currently still controlled the region.


Quite frankly, I didn't even need to be here. They possessed a small enough garrison that my forces could easily overwhelm them by sheer numbers. We had a force five times larger than they had in the region, after all. And they weren't even aware of the danger they were in.


No, I was not needed here. It did good for morale, and would help break the spirits of my sister's military forces. 'An army that has no morale won't fight.' When they saw that I was leading the offensive, the garrison would likely surrender. It could be a bloodless battle. I lowered my head and sighed, 'If only it would remain that way...'


I looked back to the table, and the map upon it. A single yellow flag represented the garrison, while five blue flags represented my forces. There was also an alicorn chess piece. Midnight blue, representing me. I glanced at Canterlot, the yellow alicorn chess piece representing my sister sat idly, waiting, and biding her time. Planning for the long run. To draw out her defeat as long as possible.


My eyes slowly wandered the map, then fell upon Ponyville, and the newest alicorn in the chess game of war. Princess Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn turned alicorn was the protege of my sister, and both our friends. She had no experience. She was not a threat. Although she was managing to gather an effective force, it was much too small to match either my own, or my sister's. The addition of Cloudsdale to her kingdom gave her a massive military boost. The Wonderbolts joined her with that. I frowned, she now controlled the most elite flying force in the world. It was a large one, too. Not only did Cloudsdale have the world's finest flyers, but also it was more or less the capital of pegasi society.


'And the source of all Equestria's weather.' I gritted my teeth. Should she realize and utilize that advantage...


The sound of cloth rustling and dying rays of the sun streaming inside the tent broke me from my thoughts. I waited a second before looking up to the general.


"Princess. We are ready to begin the attack, we await only your word." his voice flowed out, as sweet as honey, betraying the message he brought.


I nodded, "Thank you, General." I rose from my chair, and stood to my full height, putting on an air of regality that none would deny. I walked towards the tent opening. As I approached, the general held it open for me with a hoof. I calmly stepped outside, allowing the evening air, and the impending moon rise to comfort me. I lit my horn and summoned my armor to me, instantly the dark steel plates appeared around my body, reinforcing the ever present thought in everypony's mind. This is war.




Princess Celestia



During the lull in conversation, only the sound of hoofsteps falling on the stone floor of the dungeon was audible. Director Tap reluctantly came to see things from my perspective, that would make things easier. "Yes, if I can convince her to help us, she could convince Twilight to return to me. We would have less to worry about, and perhaps my sister would see the futility in this and return to me." I restated my thoughts.


He still sounded skeptical, "Yes, Princess. But that is an awful lot resting on convincing the bearer of Loyalty to betray her friend."


"I am not asking her to betray Twilight, merely talk to her." I was only half convinced myself about that... I hopped it didn't show.


"It would be more effective to use her as bait, Princess. I still believe my idea merits consideration." he stated bluntly.


I sighed, and stopped. "Director Tap. If she refuses to assist us, then yes. I will do as you suggest, although I suspect that is a very, very bad idea." I shuddered as I remembered how badly my student reacted to almost being late on one of her friendship reports. And what Director Tap suggested... Not to mention that it could irreparably damage my relation with not just Twilight, but my sister as well. Although, if it worked as he said it would... Twilight would show up to rescue her, and I could over power her.


It would be easy.


But at what cost? The friendship I had with Twilight? How everypony in Equestria viewed me? Would I even be able to convince Twilight to stop and join me? And what if I couldn't?


So many questions, and so few answers...


I turned and paused in front of the door to the cell which housed Rainbow Dash.  A guard rushed by me and inserted a key into the lock with his magic. He twisted the key forwards, back, and then withdrew it. I turned to the guards and Director Tap, "Leave us." I commanded.


The two guards saluted, and started walking away. Director tap hesitated, our eyes met. "Princess-"


"I said leave us. I am more than capable of handling her." I spoke more firmly. Director Tap hesitated a second, then turned around, his eyes remained locked with mine for another few seconds, then he started walking off. I watched him walk off for several seconds, then returned my gaze to the cell. The Rainbow Maned pegasus lay on her back near the opposite wall, staring up at me expectantly. I lit my horn, then opened the cell door with my magic. The steel cell door groaned as I opened it. 'I really need to have these maintained better...'


I stepped inside the cell, and shut the door behind me, then turned to regard the pony lying on the floor. "I apologize for taking so long. I had important business to attend to."


"Yeah. Right." she spoke with a unbelieving tone. She rolled over onto her stomach, and stood up. "So what's on the agenda today, Princess?" she asked dully.


"Why won't you help me?" I asked simply, hoping to catch her off guard.


She frowned, "You just want to use me to get to Twilight. That's not happening."


"What do you think that I want to get Twilight for? Do you really think I want to hurt her? Or that I want any of this?" 'Raise questions, make her unsure about everything.'


She seemed to mull it over for a few seconds, "Well... No... But still! What would you do to Twilight when you got her!?" She stepped forwards, anger seemed to overwhelm her sense of reason, "Banish her to the moon? Turn her to stone!?" She huffed and turned around, "I'm not helping you do either of those things to her."


I slowly shook my head, despite the fact she couldn't see it. "I do not want that, Rainbow Dash. I want us to be together again. And to not have to worry about..." I lowered my voice, and whispered the word, "War..."


Rainbow's muscles seemed to relax, ever so slightly.


"Walk with me." I firmly commanded.


Rainbow turned around and looked at me quizzically.


"And don't try to escape." I did not need to threaten her, my words were enough to make her eyes widen ever so slightly, her wings unconsciously squirmed at her sides, a clear sign of the nervousness she felt.


"Wh... Why should I go with you?" she stammered, taking a step back.


"I am putting you in a nicer cell." I looked around the dungeon cell, then waved a hoof around, "Surely you don't like this one, do you?"


Her muzzle drew into a line for a brief second, if I had blinked, I would have missed it. I felt a smile tugging at my lip, but suppressed it.


"I can always let you stay here if that's what you want." Her head quickly shot up. I opened the door once more with my magic, and stepped out, then held the door open with a wing. She slowly, uneasily took a step forwards, followed by another. She paused at the door and looked at me, then took a step out. Once she was out of the cell, I closed the door.


I started walking, and glanced at her. She timidly took a step forwards, and soon fell in sync with me, walking beside me. I kept my horn charged so I could paralyze her at a moment's notice, if needed. Despite the dim light from the torches, and the low glow of my horn, it was easy to see that a few days in the dungeon had not done her any favors. Her mane was a disheveled mess, more so than normal, her fur was matted in places, and feathers looked out of place. It hit me that she might have been placed in there directly after she arrived in Canterlot, receiving no medical attention or been taken care of...


"Are you okay?" I asked. While I had not seen her limping, and her face betrayed no signs of pain from moving, she could have been hiding it.


She looked at me, "I'm fine." she growled.


I shook my head, "If you would help me, you wouldn't even have to stay in a dungeon cell. You could stay in one of the castle's rooms." I paused, then added, "And you know how nice those are..."


Silence. The only sound came from our hoofsteps as they fell upon the floor.


"If you would agree to help me, I could even let you go." She stopped in her tracks. I smiled. "Of course, you would have to help me before I'm willing to do that..."


Several seconds of silence.


"No." she firmly answered.


I sighed. 'Baby steps I suppose...' Of course, if Director Tap had his way... Rainbow might not be so uncooperative. But there was a reason he did not have his way.


I shook my head, then started walking again. A few seconds later, I noticed the absence of her hoofsteps. I paused and turned. She was glaring at me. I returned the glare.


At first it had no affect, but slowly, ever so slowly, she backed down from my glare, and then broke eye contact. It saddened me to have to do it, but it was something I had to do... I walked back to her, and lifted her with my magic.


"Put me down!" she forcefully commanded. She was in no position to make demands however.


I spoke as a mother would to a child she cared for, "As I said before, you will help me. One way or another. If you cooperate, it will be much easier on everypony." She continued to struggle. I shook my head sadly, and teleported the rest of the distance.


I landed outside the cell, and she inside. Immediately I lowered her with my magic. "We can continue this again another time." I spoke, and teleported away with a flash of magic.