Hangmare

by Facade

Chapter 2- Old Friends

"...And that's our plan of attack," Said Novaglow, "Okay, recap. Storm Splitter!" "Sir!" A Navy Blue Pegasus with a gray mane called out."My team is to cover the Northwest sector of Cloudsdale. Priority targets are the Zeus estates and flight school." "Excellent." Replied Nova.
"Whirlwind!"
"Sir!" A green pegasus mare with a purple mane stepped forward, "My team is to cover the Southwest sector of Cloudsdale. Priority target is the Weather Facility." "Good." Said Nova, with an acknowledging nod.
"Whiplash!"
"Sir!" A gray pegasus stepped forward. "My team has the Northeast sector of Cloudsdale. Priority targets are the park, the hospital, and the suburbs." "Well done." Said Nova.
"Starbolt!"
"Sir!" A yellow pegasus with a navy blue mane called out. "My team has southeast sector of Cloudsdale. Priority targets are the apartment complexes."
"Nice and easy." replied Nova with a smirk and a punch to Starbolt's arm. "Alright! so now that you have your assignments, go to the briefing room for the specifics!" As the room cleared out one pegasus remained. "Nova..." A large black pegasus with a neon read and blue mane stepped forward. He immediately recognized the pegasus as his best friend, Facade. "What's up hard wing?" Nova replied with a smile.
"I was thinking..."
"Well that's a first." This earned a grunt of annoyance from the pegasus. "Hey big guy, what's bugging you?"
"When I went home yesterday... I did a lot of thinking... about our little crusade, what we're about to do... I thought about her... about my promise..."
"Hey... listen," interrupted Nova, not liking where this was going, "what was it that you always told me about leaving ponies alone with their thoughts? That it was the worst thing you could do to them, that there was no greater poison than a solitary mind. Who cares if we're about to raise Tartarus? What happened to that pony that said that he'd be willing to face the wrath of Celestia herself for our vision? When was he replaced by this overgrown marshmallow in front of me?"
"Marshmallows are white." Said the pegasus, a smile slowly forming on his face.
"Well then you're a chocolate marshmallow." Replied Nova with a huge grin on his face.
"All right, all right. I get it, I just hit a rough patch is all."
"Good, now let's go brief the task force."
"Actually... you go on ahead. There's something I need to take care of first." Nova looked at him, checking to see if he had simply out on another brave face or if he really had business to take care of. "All right..." he said after a brief silence.
"Just do me a favor."
"Anything."
"While the teams are setting up the blast spheres, try and see if you can covert the pegasi peacefully?" Nova was silent again. "...You got it." he said, relieved to see a change in heart in his friend. Maybe he's realizing that this isn't the best road to go down...
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Facade was flying to visit an old friend. He did some final checks as to make sure his armor was functioning properly. It's not armor. He mentally scolded himself for making the very same mistake he had corrected countless others on. Whilst it did serve to protect him, it was only a mere chest plate with some armor on the back. The real defense came from within the metal casing. He had a solution to any problem that could arise during his... rendezvous.

As he neared his destination, he went over his mental checklist. Everything had to be perfect. After all, it wasn't every day you crashed a meeting of all the princesses in the land. He was now entering Canterlot, he looked to make sure everything was properly prepared, taking another mental note to give whoever ran the Canterlot SHIELD division a commendation for their exceptional services to the cause. He circled the castle, waiting. Finally he spotted some ponies making a scene at the gates of the castle. He saw some guards go try to usher them away before getting knocked out. Perfect, he thought as he saw plenty of guards rushing to the scene. Let's do this!
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Princess Celestia had pulled Princess Twilight aside. "Now, my faithful student, it appears that Luna is beginning to make a coup on your kingdom." Twilight gasped, "B-but, that's impossible, she's played such a vital role in my expansion!"
"I know how betrayal hurts, why do you think I wish to save you from its clutches?"
"I don't know... Why don't we go check the board so you can help me get a better understanding of my situation?"
"But of course." As they walked to the game board Celestia noticed Luna shooting her a piercing glare while she continued to negotiate with Cadence. It's called Diplomacy for a reason dear sister. Princess Celestia thought to herself as she began explaining everything Luna could do to usurp Twilight's throne, non of which Luna actually planned on doing. If you want her, you're gonna have to be a better speaker than I. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice, "Well hello, Old friend!"
_____________________________________________________________________________________

As Facade entered through the balcony unnoticed, he observed the scene before him. he saw Princess Luna and cadence chatting in one corner of the throne room, Whilst Shining Armor had pulled what he assumed was a member of the royal guard aside. He spotted his target taking Princess Twilight to the table in the center of the throne room. He gave one last check of his mental checklist before calling out to his target, "Well hello, Old friend." he emphasized the last words. "Facade!" exclaimed Celestia, "What is the meaning of this intrusion?" He gave her a hurt look, "What? can I not visit one of my dearest friends?" Again, he emphasized the last words. "But of course." Said Celestia, clearly taken aback by his choice of words. "But why enter without prior warning?" Oh you haven't seen nothing yet. He bit his tongue, instead choosing to simply ask the princesses to follow him onto the balcony. He turned Shining Armor and the blue-maned pony, "You two can go stand guard outside the door, make sure no one decides to interfere." Shining was about to object, but he was stopped by Twilight and Cadence who both ushered him and the blue maned pegasus, who they referred to as a "Flash Sentry", out the door.

He waited on the balcony, along with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. After a brief, and rather loud, argument the two princesses took their position next to Celestia an Luna. Facade shot Twilight an amused glance, "Nice use of the voice, by the way." Twilight blushed, she hadn't meant for it to come out, it just sort of did. "Anyways..." He continued. " I came today as the bearer of bad news." "Why, old friend?" Celestia inquired. Luna simply stared at him, observing every move he made, every word he spoke, all the while taking careful mental notes. "I need you to relinquish jurisdiction over Cloudsdale." Celestia, Luna, and Cadence all gave a collective gasp.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight watched in wonder and embarrassment as her "good use of the voice" was put to shame by her mentor and her sister. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?!?!" Celestia began.
"HAST THOU COMPLETELY LOST THY COMMON SENSE!?!?! WHAT WOULD POSSESS THEE TO THINK SUCH A DEMAND WOULD BE MET WITHOUT A FUSS!?!?!" Luna continued. Twilight stared at the pegasus, fully expecting him to back down immediately, but was met with a stunning surprise. "IF YOU WERE TO BOTH HOLD THY TONGUES FOR A MOMENT MAYBE I COULD EXPLAIN MYSELF AND SHOW YOU WHY I MAKE THIS DEMAND!!!!!!!!" Both princesses stared in wonder as the lone pegasus' voice boomed to surpass both of theirs. "Now..." he continued, "May I please get a word in?"

"First of all, allow me to apologize for my previous outburst." He said. Celestia and Luna simply nodded, whilst Cadence, who had silently been observing the scene unfold, walked up to him and delivered a blow across his face. The other princesses gasped and Twilight cried out "Cadence!" Facade merely laughed and said "Yeah... guess I kinda deserved that one. and from the Princess of love nonetheless." He quickly regained his composure and began, "Now, I wasn't making a demand before. I was simply asking for a favor, that we may not escalate to blows." He shot an amused look at Cadence that was met with a look of anger and disgust. "But now that I think about it, yes, it is a demand. You will relinquish jurisdiction over Cloudsdale." "And why would we do such a thing?" Celestia countered. Facade slowly opened his artificial wing, creating a long, metallic screech that was the equivalent of many blades rubbing against one another, revealing a small metal box with a red button on top that he carefully placed on the floor and slid over to Celestia.

"What is this?" Asked Celestia. "It's called a trigger, push the red button on top." He instructed. "What does it do?" She asked, unsure of whether to push the button or not. There was a tense silence, which was broken by the black pegasus, "Do you remember the last time I came, that fateful day?"
"yes I believe so." was the princess' reply.
"Do you remember the haste in which I left?"
"But of course, you didn't even stay for tea."
"D you remember how I lost my wings?" The princess was beginning to look uncomfortable.
"Y-yes... you lost them protecting somepony from a raging inferno..." Her voice trailed off. Facade was doing everything in his power to keep back a smile, he was winning and he knew it.
"And do you remember why I had to save that somepony?" The princess was silent but you could feel the emotion radiating off her. Facade pressed on. "These wings were of my design, made strictly for combat purposes, you heard, even opening them causes a metal shriek meant to pierce one's ears. After they were successfully inserted and were completely functional, I felt like I could take on the world! That I had truly accomplished something. I wanted to make life easier for everypony," he had to hold back his laughter at the obvious lie, "so please, consider this box a gift to you, from me. Think of it as a sign of what pony-kind can create, what we're truly capable of." Celestia gave her old friend a warm smile as she gingerly lowered her hoof onto the "trigger". It was cool to the touch and clicked as she slowly pushed it down. After a tense couple of seconds she let out a shaky breath. Then all Tartarus broke loose.

The princesses watched in horror as there was a series of deafening booms, followed by massive fireballs erupting across the city. They watched as everypony panicked, running to the first destination to enter their minds. They saw lifeless bodies litter the streets as more and more casualties were caused by the stampeding groups of frightened citizens. They saw survivors trying to escape, missing limbs, skin melted off all along their bodies, only to be trampled by large crowds. Shining Armor entered the throne room, "You're highnesses!" He called. "Send all the guard out to restore order and aid the wounded! Hurry!" Celestia called, paralyzed by what she saw. "Now," said Facade, "about my demands..."

"Unless you hand over Cloudsdale, this city will burn and many others will share its fate."
"You won't get away with this..."
"Oh? And why not?" Celestia ignored his question and turned to Twilight. She saw the horror and depression hidden deep in the mind of the Sun Goddess, "Twilight, call your friends over. Tell them to bring their elements." Facade couldn't help but laugh at the suggestion. "You mean you don't now? I guess your 'most faithful' student doesn't have a similar trust in you..." He said with a smirk. Celestia looked in confusion and asked Twilight, "What does he mean?" Twilight couldn't meet her mentor's gaze, "W-we haven't seen her in a couple of days... We all as-assumed that she had a lot of work to do..." Her voice broke as she began to tear up. "I'm so, so sorry Princess..." She looked up at her mentor fully expecting to find hatred or disgust in her eyes but was met with a calm, understanding compassion. "It's perfectly fine my student, if you didn't deem it worthy of my ears then there's nothing I say..." Facade couldn't contain his laughter any longer.

"Ohh Celestia, you're so predictable. Sister turns evil? Send in the elements. Ancient enemy beaks out of his stone imprisonment? Now where'd those elements go? Changeling invasion? Go get the elements as fast as you can! Old dictator returns from the grave to reclaim his crystal empire? Technically it's not within my jurisdiction but why the Tartarus not? Go round up the elements." He began taunting. "Oh Celestia, your reliance on the elements to clean up messes you know you couldn't fix on your own power has led to your downfall." Tears began forming in the eyes of the Sun Goddess. "Well I've made sure the elements can't be used this time around. And quite frankly, go ahead and intervene your majesty, I dare you-" His words were cut short by a bright purple aura surrounding him, pressing his wings to his body and suspending him mid air. He was turned to see an enraged Twilight. "What... did... you... do?" she asked, in a calm voice. He smiled, time to have some fun... "I'm sorry, what?"
"I said... What... Did... You... DO!?!" The last word erupted with a maelstrom of emotion. "Well, I'd like to think I just came one step closer to making my plans succeed, but I guess that's up to the 'all mighty' princess of emotion over there." He motioned to princess Celestia, who was still paralyzed to the spot, a few tears flowing as she watched the carnage, unable to look away. He felt a rush of wind and was slammed against a palace wall. Twilight then brought him back to her till they were face to face. "I meant, what did you do to Rainbow Dash?" "That's for me to know and for you to find out." he said, making the best foal accent he could, he finished by sticking his tongue out. He felt another rush of air and decided he didn't feel like getting concussed today. He threw open his wings, the mental strain of the sudden exertion of force causing Twilight to lose focus which allowed him to escape. He was quickly grabbed by another wave of telekinetic power and brought to Cadence. Tsk, this is starting to get annoying. He thought to himself. As Cadence was about to question him a light on his chest plate briefly glowed, followed by the cyan aura around him shattering and cadence flying back, crying out in pain. "You can look but you can't touch, darling." He said, using his best Rarity accent. "Now, as fun as this little get together has been, none of what has transpired today is to be known by the citizens of Cloudsdale. Any ponies attempting to sneak in will be painfully tortured, then executed. Regardless of their intentions."

"You monster..."

He turned and faced the source of the voice. It was Luna, the only princess who hadn't tried to take a swing at him. He flew up to her, taking note of the horror in her eyes, and began, "Monster? MONSTER? Do you know the things your sister has done!?! the atrocities she's committed? All I'm doing is trying to make Equestria a better place! Better for me! Better for you! Better for-" His words were stopped as he choked back a wave of emotion. And for the first time, she saw him for what he truly was. She looked into his eyes and saw not joy for what he had done, nor did she see any malice behind his actions. She only saw fear, uncertainty, hurt, and a feeling of betrayal. She saw not a monster, but a pegasus willing to do anything for the one pony in his life that brought him joy, that he truly loved at all. She saw a broken father.

Author's Note:

Sooooo... We're back! Good or bad, we're back. School's starting up for me and Gimmeasandwich on Monday and lilchris started last week so we may not update as frequently but we ask for your patience as we're now going to focus more on quality. As always, constructive criticism is welcome in the comments.
Soooo... uh.... bye for now, I guess?

Comments

[LuluTia]

Ok first of all, I'm going to make this critic comment short.

If you haven't noticed. The whole entire plot story of this fic looks like a bunch of stuff taped together with duct tape -_-.

Also the picture of this fic looks very misleading along with the title, to the actual plot.

No offence but, there is a Ridicilous amount of plot holes here. Unless you have English major level grammar. You won't get a nice rating if you don't have a good enough plot.

First of all, how the heck did they get access to technology and scientific materials?!

And why SPECIFICALLY target cloudsdale?

I don't think anything that lived in Equestria would develop a group that loves technology. It is after all a 95% magical-dependent world. Somepony won't just go; "Hey, even thought we have believed magic to be the strongest element in Equestria. I think technology would be better"

Its just a too far fetched idea -_-

Even if it is a thousand years in the future I'm pretty sure their technological advancement STILL WILL BE VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY SLOW.

If this has happened hundreds of years AFTER season 3. How the heck is the cmc still Alive?!?

I'm pretty sure it takes hundreds of years for such technological achievements.

Also, it is missing tags like adventure, and I think dark as well.

I saw your little thread in the shameless promotion BEREAU group. Asking for views on this story. And well, Im pretty sure your gonna get a lot of dislikes.

Improve the plot story, don't just skip ahead of things so easily. Explain things first. You just instantly made a certain scenario without any rash explanations.

Again, if you are having a hard time trying to come up with things. I could easily help you with that. I have read 1,500,000 words. And over 5000 fan fics. So I mostly know which are cliches or not.

There is also a chat messenger that can get multiple people to be able to chat with each other all at once.

KiK messenger; Datjapanesekid

Message me back if your interested, also add me on KiK

[Facade]

3137251
So I can't kik you so I'll just do it here.
1. The cover pic is what "inspired" us to write this (and some crappy jokes XD) thought I included that in the long intro thing... guess not.
2. They're not plot holes, they were supposed to get explained the next couple of chapters but you are obviously well versed in English so I know you know what "Hiatus" means.
3/4. They invented them. Kinda explained that A LOT since the prologue actually,when the pegasi are first introduced to the tech, they don't take it well (to the point of a fight breaking out).
5. It doesn't take place hundreds of years after, where would you get that?
6. They target cloudsdale for tactical reasons.
7. the whole shameless self promotion bureau thing was a joke (that, I will admit was a pretty crappy joke.)
All in all I thank you for your input and it is valued. Sorry, but I'm a little strange and that shows in my writing. I don't write like some other fics I've read,where they throw you into the middle of things 2 paragraphs in; I prefer to, not necessarily stretch things out but to, make sure the reader gets the characters and their relationships with one another when shit finally goes down. And, as it's pretty obvious, my stories don't have a beginning, there's plenty that happened before all of this, that's going to happen after this,etc...
Plus, this was a collab with my bros.

[Dramapony]

*Sees the picture:* "Cutie Mark Crusaders—Executioners!