//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Equestria: Civil War 
// by LightningSword 
//------------------------------//

“’Secretly learned and developed a spell for the removal of ponies’ cutie marks . . . .’”
 
She compiled her notes as dutifully and carefully as she could manage.  Even now, a few weeks after Twilight had visited and changed her life for the better, it didn’t pay to break certain habits.
 
“’Lured unhappy ponies away from their lives, stole their marks with said spell, and pretended to be their equal . . . .’”
 
The more she read on, the faster her heartbeat got.
 
“’Isolated and brainwashed any dissenting ponies, enforcing an ironclad will over the entire town . . . .’”
 
The more she read, the more her hoof shook, as well.  She didn’t think she’d ever felt this scared.
 
“’Escaped capture after being exposed by Twilight and company . . . .’”
 
Or this furious.
 
“’Spied on the Princess of Friendship for almost a year . . . .’
 
“’Trespassed on and tampered with royal property . . . .’
 
“’Cast a dangerous, forbidden time spell that created several possible dystopian outcomes for Equestria . . . .’ I don’t believe this. This pony is a monster . . . .”
 
She set her notes down on her desk, a simple, dimly-glowing lamp illuminating them.  She sat and stared at them for several minutes, picturing these terrible events in her mind.  Picturing them only made her nerves rattle even more.
 
“And that could have been me . . . .”
 
After a few more minutes of stunned, darkened silence, she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her snout and read on.  The final note struck something deep inside her, and fear, anger and shock ran together in a blend of unidentifiable madness:
 
“’Status: Twilight Sparkle’s pupil’”
 
Not “prisoner”.  Not “parolee”.  Not “servant”.  Not even “employee”.
 
“Pupil”.
 
Her hoof shook again, and she felt one of those emotions begin to take over.  “That . . . that miserable . . . manipulative . . . she-devil . . . and Twilight just . . . forgave her?! How . . . what was she thinking?!”
 
Using her magic, she slammed her notes back down on the desk and pushed herself away from it, blowing out her lantern as she went.  Her hooves slammed down on the floor with each step as she approached the conservatory door.  It flung open, and she raced down the stairs and out into the bright Canterlot sunshine.  As she ran, she heard the friendly greetings of her friends—Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts and Minuette—and she briefly yelled back that she couldn’t talk now.  Within minutes, she was at the Canterlot Library.
 
I think it’s my turn to write a letter to the princess. There are some laws that need to be put in effect . . . .
 



 
Ponyville hadn’t seen a pack of Timberwolves this big before.
 
Windows were boarded up and the streets were completely empty, save for seven brave mares sneaking around, on the lookout.  The enemy had taken the streets for themselves, skulking around, growling and searching for pony meat.
 
“I think I’ve counted them all,” came a voice in Twilight Sparkle’s head as she pressed her back against a building.  “Twenty-five altogether. Is everything all right so far, darling?”
 
“No problems, Rarity,” the Princess muttered back, thankful that Rarity’s eagle-eye could serve them well from the top of town square.  “Okay, we need to make sure everypony is safe. Fluttershy, have you spotted anypony?”
 
“Um, well, just one little colt. He was scared by the Timberwolves, so I had to sing him to sleep before taking him home.”
 
“Good,” Twilight said.  “Girls. Locations?”
 
“Just above Town Square, close to Rarity’s position,” Rainbow Dash’s voice spoke up.  “Are you sure you could hear that?”
 
“Yes. That’s how the spell works, so don’t worry. As long as you picture my face, I’ll hear everything you say—”
 
“I wonder if Twilight would like it? Well, she does hate quesadillas, but I’ll bet she’ll love the pudding toss—”
 
“Pinkie, focus!” Twilight broke her thoughts.  “What’s your position?”
 
“Oh! Oops! Sorry, Twilight! Ummm . . . I’m at the intersection between Horseshoe Street and Witherfield Lane!”
 
“Good. Applejack, what about you?”
 
“Close to town square, right across from Starlight.”
 
Twilight nodded.  “Good. Standby, wait for the signal.”
 
“Twilight, are you sure this will work?” came Starlight Glimmer’s voice.  “If we miss just one step . . . .”
 
“Don’t be nervous, Starlight. Just remember, trust the ponies you’re working with. This is why I brought you with us. It’s a good opportunity for a friendship lesson.”
 
“Okay . . . well, I’m standing by.”
 
“Applejack here, standin’ by.”
 
“Rainbow Dash, standing by!”
 
“Fluttershy . . . um . . . standing by . . . .”
 
“Rarity, standing by.”
 
“Can ponies even float in pudding?”
 
“Pinkie!”
 
“Oh, right, sorry! Pinkie Pie, standing by! Hee-hee! That rhymes! Hey, yours does too, Fluttershy!”
 
Twilight rolled her eyes and hoped the Timberwolves wouldn’t spot her.  Gazing into Town Square, she stayed vigilant, the environment almost locking into place in her eyes.  It was as if the town was a plastic model after a few minutes.
 
Movement.
 
“There’s one. Maintain positions.”
 
The Timberwolf wandered into town square, sniffing at the ground and occasionally snorting or growling.  It’s looking for us, Twilight thought.  I know Fluttershy doesn’t want us to, but there’s no safer plan. Some of these creatures are going to have to go all to pieces.
 
Now the lone Timberwolf had made it to the center of town.  Perfect.
 
Locking her eyes onto the Timberwolf, Twilight sprang from the alley and soared toward the wolf, sure to make as much noticeable noise as possible.  The wolf turned, saw her coming, and emitted a long howl.
 
“NOW!”
 



 
At Twilight’s word, Rainbow Dash dove toward a street, locking onto the position of another pair of Timberwolves.  “Man, they heard that howl quick!” she muttered as the wind whipped her multicolored mane around.  “They’re coming around fast!”  In seconds, Dash reached the ground and stomped her hooves hard against the dirt road.
 
A series of splintered chunks of wood flew up in all directions.
 
“I count twenty-three,” Dash said triumphantly before taking off.
 



 
“YEE-HAW!”
 
Applejack threw her lasso around the neck of another Timberwolf, making it snarl and howl to its comrades.
 
“That’s right. Bring ‘em in for me!”
 
Applejack yanked on the rope with her teeth, but the Timberwolf reared up on its hind legs and yanked back.  “Get on up, li’l dogie!” Applejack cheered as she pulled back again in their game of tug-of-war.  Applejack pulled herself deeper into town square, winning the contest at least for now.
 
“Come on, now . . . almost there . . . gettin’ there, and—aw, pony apples, here they come!”
 
Applejack gave the rope a malicious tug and let go, releasing the foul-tempered beast and allowing it to charge her.  Applejack planted her hooves deep into the ground and snorted, bracing herself.  The wolf jumped, about to land on her, and Applejack pushed off from the ground and fell backwards.  The wolf landed on her at the same time she landed on her back.
 
Using momentum, Applejack rolled backwards, and pushed hard against the wolf with her back legs.  The Timberwolf went flying up and over her head, whining the whole way up, until it cleared a large wall.
 
A wall made of sparkling light.
 
Applejack looked out at Starlight as the latter projected the large light-wall—one side of a large light-box—and winked.  “Twenty-two,” she said with a grin.  She then turned back toward the approaching foes she’d seen seconds earlier: three more wolves racing toward her with hungrily-lapping tongues of bark.
 
“All right then, you wanna taste of an Apple? Then come to Mama . . . .”
 



 
Two more Timberwolves came charging up the road towards the howling.  Each saw a large gray obstruction in their way and bent their path slightly.
 
Or would have, if the large gray obstruction hadn’t exploded.
 
The party cannon went off, showering the pair in confetti and frosting and scaring the daylights out of them.  Yelping and turning around, the two creatures bolted straight for the Everfree Forest.
 
“Twenty!!” Pinkie sang as she bounced in from an alleyway, collecting her party cannon.
 



 
The light-box was filling up quickly.  The Timberwolves had responded to their friend’s distress call faster than Twilight had anticipated.  She and Applejack groaned and strained themselves as they intercepted wolf after wolf, subduing them either by force or by magic and throwing them into Starlight’s giant box of light.
 
“Sixteen!” Twilight grunted as another wolf went sailing above them, landing in a pile of its brethren.
 
“Fourteen!” Applejack added as she bucked two more hard into the box.
 
“Thirteen!” Twilight replied, then turned to Starlight.  “You okay over there?”
 
Starlight shook slightly under the strain of her spell, beads of sweat sliding down her face.  “I’m . . . hanging on . . . just hurry!”
 
“Got it . . . eleven!” Twilight announced.
 
A rushing sound in the air went off above them, and a multicolored blur zoomed over the box, dropping two more wolves into it.  “Nine!”  Dash’s voice went off.
 
Another sound went off—an explosion followed by a honk—and three wolves came flying in from the edge of town, landing perfectly in the light-box.
 
“Six!” Pinkie sang as she hopped into town square, pushing her party cannon along.
 
Twilight nodded.  “Okay, we should be able to handle the rest on our own, but we should keep the cage open just in case—”
 
“No, it’s okay!” Starlight yelled out.  “I think I can move them back to the forest now!”
 
“Wait, Starlight, it’s too soon—”
 
“Don’t worry, I can handle it!”
 
“We can’t risk it just yet, sugarcube!”
 
“I can do this!”
 
The light-box and its writhing, snarling contents began to rise slowly off the ground.  Starlight slowly turned herself toward the forest, and the box floated along with her, pointing toward city hall for a good few seconds.
 
“Starlight, I said not yet!” Twilight yelled out.
 
“You said . . . this lesson . . . was about trust!” Starlight heaved as she moved the box.  “Then trust me! I can do this!”
 
Rainbow Dash landed in town square on top of another loose Timberwolf, and it broke into pieces a few feet from Starlight’s position.  “What is she doing?!” Dash yelled.
 
Fluttershy came gliding down from the top of city hall, carrying Rarity down to the ground.  “Gracious!” Fluttershy squealed.
 
“Starlight!” Rarity called.  “Just trust Twilight! Don’t move just yet, darling!”
 
“No! I can do this! Please believe me! I want to try! I want to—AAH!”
 
The Timberwolf’s head had been two inches away from her as she moved, and she screamed as its jaws sank deep into her back left thigh.  She collapsed and swerved her head to the left, and the light-box full of angry Timberwolves went with it.
 
“NO!!” Twilight bellowed.
 
It moved too fast for Twilight to seize it with her magic.  The box vanished and the mass of Timberwolves flew into the city hall building a few feet away.  They crashed through the outside wall, howling and whining, and the building began to collapse at an unbelievable speed.
 
Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie gathered around Starlight as she raised her head just in time to see where her bounty had landed.  Fluttershy gasped and planted her face into Rarity’s shoulder.  Pinkie’s lip trembled, and Dash threw a foreleg around Applejack to brace herself.
 
Starlight saw the building collapse into splinters, and immediately her eyes widened and misted over, and a hoof touched her mouth.
 
Who knows how many ponies had been in that building . . . ?