A Kingdom Divided

by Samey90

26. Sweetie Belle

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.
Henry Ford

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“We need to get there as fast as we can,” Sweetie Belle muttered, watching the castle. The sky turned red. The hot wind was drying their throats, making their voices raspy.

They walked out of the dungeon and darted forward, sprinting through the empty streets of Canterlot. Silver Spoon was carrying Dinky on her back, while Apple Bloom was trying to catch a breath.

“Watch out!” Twist exclaimed. Sweetie Belle turned her head to see a house exploding right next to them. She lit her horn, slowing down the flying debris, which fell to the ground harmlessly.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Scootaloo muttered.

“Me neither,” Sweetie Belle replied. “It happens since I, you know... changed myself back.”

Scootaloo decided that there was no time to discuss that. They ran forward, hiding in a nook. In the distance they could still hear shots and magic. The air smelled of cordite and ozone.

“There are some bat ponies circling above us,” Silver Spoon muttered. “We need to hide.”

“Where?” Apple Bloom asked. “We need to get to the palace.”

A stream of bullets hit the wall of the building above them, dropping a rain of paint and concrete crumbs on them. Before any of them could react, they saw a series of tracers flying from the nook on the opposite side of the street. One of the bat ponies twitched and fell to the ground, hitting the roof of the nearby house and ramming into the pavement. The other two ran away higher.

“What was that?” Scootaloo asked. Before any of her friends replied, she saw a cart rolling towards them.

It was the strangest vehicle they’d seen so far – it looked like a flower vendor’s cart with a twin anti-pegasus cannon standing on it. There was a pegasus behind it – large parts of her dust-coloured fur were burned off, showing scar-covered skin. Another pegasus, wearing a red bandana, was next to her, holding the ammunition belt. Her side was wrapped in bandages.

The pegasus pulling the cart looked relatively unharmed, except of a large scar on her wing. It also looked much less muscular than her other wing, as if she didn’t use it for a long time. However, she was shivering, staring nervously at the sky.

“You okay there, girls?” the bandaged pegasus asked. “Did you get lost?” She jumped of the cart and approached them. “Name’s Flitter.”

“What happened to you?” Dinky asked. “You don’t look well...”

“We ran away from the hospital when they attacked our air base,” Flitter replied. “We got to the magazine and made them a little wash and go with that baby.” She patted the cannon and pointed at the burn-covered mare. “Don’t be scared of Dust Devil. She ran away from an exploding airship and she’s apparently pregnant. And Lightning Dust is slightly nuts.”

“We all are...” Dust Devil muttered, staring at the red sky.

Scootaloo didn’t listen to her, staring at Lightning Dust.

“Carry on, Dust… There’s a field hospital nearby… We’re close…”

“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo shouted. Not caring about anything, she ran back on the road, waving her hooves. “Hey, Rainbow Dash, I’m here!”

“Thcootaloo, come back!” Twist shouted, following her. “Mith Cheerilee thaid that it’th not thafe to…”

“Rainbow Dash!”

“Why are you still carrying your bombs?” Rainbow Dash’s voice echoed.

Scootaloo shuddered, remembering the explosion. She looked at the scar on Lightning Dust’s wing and thought of what Apple Bloom had told her about the field hospital.

“We’d better go,” Dust Devil said. “Where do you want us to drop you?”

“The palace,” Sweetie Belle replied.

The three pegasi looked at her unsurely. “Are you crazy, filly?” Flitter asked. “I’m not gonna go back there.” She dived under the cannon mount and grabbed a shotgun. “We’re armed, but there’s more of them there. Also, the palace is empty.”

“But we really have to go there,” Sweetie Belle replied. “The fate of the whole Equestria depends on this.”

“The fate of the whole Equestria depends on you getting yourselves killed?” Dust Devil shrugged. “That’s some insane shit right there.”

An explosion could be heard somewhere behind them. Lightning Dust fell on the ground, shuddering. Sweetie Belle rushed to her, but Lightning Dust got up and smiled sheepishly.

“We’d better get out of here,” Flitter said. “What is in that palace that makes you want to go there so much?”

“The Elements of Harmony,” Apple Bloom replied.

Flitter and Dust Devil laughed. “The Elements of Harmony!” Flitter exclaimed. “The Bearers are dead, if you haven’t heard about it. Do you think that you and your friends can replace them?”

“Yes.” Apple Bloom stared into Flitter’s eyes.

“You know? Fuck it,” Flitter said. “If we are to die, let’s do something insane. Lightning, lead us to the palace.”

The fillies sat on the cart and Lightning Dust galloped through the streets of Canterlot. Dust Devil turned the cannon and fired into some nook, the recoil almost overturning the vehicle.

“It may be a bit shaky,” Flitter muttered, firing her shotgun at the bat pony standing on the roof. “What the–” She jumped back, seeing that Sweetie Belle conjured a shield that stopped a few bullets inches from her.

“We’d better watch out,” Sweetie Belle muttered. “I’ve never tried stopping anything bigger and faster and–” She was interrupted as the larger round pierced through her shield and flew right above Scootaloo’s head. Silver Spoon cowered behind the cannon, holding Twist in her hooves.

The cart took a sharp turn, Dust Devil still shooting at the unseen enemy. Bullets were ricocheting around them. Flitter reloaded her shotgun and fired. Somepony in the street screamed.

“Do you have something else?” Silver Spoon asked, looking at Flitter’s shotgun.

“Not for you,” Flitter replied. “Fillies shouldn’t–”

“We’re in the battlefield,” Silver Spoon muttered when Flitter shot at somepony behind the cloud of smoke. “I’d rather be armed, you know.” She pointed at Sweetie Belle, who fired her magic at the enemy.

“Don’t worry,” Dust Devil muttered. “I managed to make this baby fire at the ground targets too.” She patted the mount of the cannon and stood behind it.

Scootaloo barely avoided a stream of hot cases when the tracers shot at the enemy. Some of them were incendiary bullets – they saw a small explosion and flames. The ponies on the other side of the street stopped firing.

“Hey, you!” somepony shouted. “Stop shooting at me!”

“Commander Spitfire?” Flitter exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

“Stop shooting, idiot, and let me get to you!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Flitter lowered her gun. Dust Devil turned the safety catch of the cannon on.

Several ponies emerged from the smoke. Seeing them, Flitter raised her gun quickly, but Twist saw it, and pushed the barrel to the side. Buckshot ricocheted from the wall harmlessly.

“Spitfire?” Flitter asked, trying to get her shotgun back. “What are you doing... with them?”

“Consider it a truce,” Spitfire replied, approaching Flitter in a company of bat ponies. Soarin was also with them, holding a blood-soaked bandage over his eye. A brown pegasus was flying above them with a sniper gun.

“Uncle Roo?” Apple Bloom asked, staring at him. “Ya also here? How’s Babs?”

“Okay, Ah hope,” Roo replied, landing next to them. “What are ya doing here?”

“We have a mission,” Apple Bloom said. “We need to get to the palace, get the Elements of Harmony and–”

“Hold yer horses, kid,” Roo muttered. “What Elements of Harmony? Shouldn’t ya be far away from here?”

“And what are you three doing here?” Spitfire asked Flitter. “Weren’t you wounded or something?”

“We ran away,” Dust Devil muttered. “We wanted to kill as many bloodsu– I mean, bat ponies as possible.”

One of the bat ponies gave her a nasty look.

“We’re ending this war,” Spitfire said. “No more fights, no more killing. You’ll help me evacuate those civilians from here and then we’ll start peace talks.”

“Who will start peace talks?” Dust Devil asked. “Princesses are missing...”

Sweetie Belle cleared her throat. “Luna and Twilight are fighting,” she said, pointing at the large orb of magic above the town. “We need the Elements of Harmony to stop them...”

Spitfire sighed and scratched her mane. “You know, kid, that most of the Element Bearers are dead, don’t you? How do you want to use them?”

“There’s six of us,” Apple Bloom muttered.

“That’s not enough,” Spitfire said. “There’s some magic needed, from what I know. Sorry, but I doubt you–”

Nachtmahr cleared her throat. “For me that sounds better than flying to them ourselves and telling them to stop.” She shrugged. “Let them go there. At least we’ll have more time to run away.”

“I agree,” Scootaloo said.

“Me too,” Twist added.

Spitfire shook her head. “You do realise that it was the most cynical argument I’ve ever heard? I’m not running away. Nor will my soldiers.”

“Noble, but insane,” Nachtmahr said. “Those kids may have a chance.”

“Who’d say? I’m agreeing with a bl– bat pony,” Flitter said. “Those kids stayed on the battlefield, trying to get to the palace. Even though one of them can’t even walk. They’re either insane or have a plan.”

“We’re all insane,” Lightning Dust muttered, staring at Scootaloo and shuddering. “Let’s do that.”

Nachtmahr looked into the sky. “Somepony is flying towards us,” she said. “I think it’s Zerstörer’s detachment.”

“Do they know about our truce?” Spitfire asked.

“I can contact them,” Nachtmahr replied.

“It won’t be necessary, I think.” Scootaloo stared at the incoming bat ponies and seeing a pink pegasus among them. “Firefly!”

“Hello,” Firefly said, landing next to them. “I see that Nachtmahr is already with you... And someone would like to thank you for saving his life.” She pointed at the tall bat pony who nodded.

“Zerstörer, right?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah,” Zerstörer replied. “On our way here, we saw some powerful magic. Not the good kind.”

“We want to end this,” Sweetie Belle said. “Can you help us get to the palace?”

“Sure,” Firefly said. “Do you have a plan?”

“Not really.” Sweetie Belle lowered her head. “But it’s the only thing we can do.”

Dust Devil patted the autocannon. “Lightning and I will protect you from the ground. We can’t really fly anyway...”

Spitfire shrugged. “Okay... Get on our backs then, kids. We’ll be in the palace in no time.” She sat on the ground. Apple Bloom helped Dinky climb on her back and walked to Flitter.

“Come on, squirt.” Firefly smiled at Scootaloo. “We’ll fly together.”

Scootaloo sat on Firefly’s back and watched Sweetie, Silver Spoon, and Twist taking their places. Zerstörer, Nachtmahr, and Roo joined Spitfire, Firefly, and Flitter and the group took off, escorted by the rest of pegasi and bat ponies.

“Can y’all see that?” Apple Bloom shouted, pointing at the buildings, collapsing slowly as they were pushed by a large magic shield. Its glowing was almost blinding them.

“Are you sure you wanna go there?” Flitter asked, flapping her wings to get above the clouds.

“There’s no other way,” Apple Bloom replied. Even from there, they could feel the heat radiating from the shimmering orb. The sky was red; a massive silhouette of the castle could be easily visible in the distance.

“Do you think the Elementh are thtill there?” Twist asked.

“I hope so,” Silver Spoon replied. “If not, we’re done.”

“If it fails, we’ll carry you as far from here as possible,” Nachtmahr said. “We’ll hide in the Badlands...”

“They’ll get us there,” Spitfire muttered. “Luna or Twilight, it doesn’t matter.”

“We’ll fight back,” Firefly said. “There must be a way...”

“How do you want to fight against that?” Spitfire asked. “We barely could fight changelings in the Badlands... How do you want to fight such a powerful magic?”

“Don’t worry,” Dinky said, holding Spitfire tighter. “Apple Bloom will find a way.”

“I hope so...” Spitfire started to descend towards the castle’s tower. The others followed her, landing on the balcony. Scootaloo jumped off Firefly’s back and ran inside of the tower.

“Is there anypony here?” she asked. The castle seemed empty – it was dark inside, furniture was scattered on the floor, and some walls had large holes in them.

“I don’t like it,” Twist said. “Where are the Elementh?”

“I don’t know,” Silver Spoon said. She was carrying Dinky; both of them were looking around curiously.

“Ah guess we’ll just have to search the castle for them,” Apple Bloom muttered. They trotted out of the chamber and through the corridor, the pegasi and bat ponies following them.

“Where can they be?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I always thought they keep them in some tower...”

“I guess it’s not this one,” Scootaloo said, walking towards the stairs. “Unless they keep them under the–” Her ears perked up. “I heard something,” she said. “Be quiet for a moment!”

Everypony silenced. Now they could also hear that – a long cry or a wail coming from downstairs.

“Let’s see what’s that,” Scootaloo muttered.

“Don’t you think it may be a bit dangerouth?” Twist asked. “I’d rather not get killed...”

“Don’t worry, you’re safe with me,” Silver Spoon said. “Also, Spitfire is with us.”

Scootaloo was already trotting down the stairs. The rest of the ponies followed her, walking through the desolated castle. It seemed that it had been hit by artillery a few times; however some of the damage was done from the inside – as if somepony levitated the furniture and threw it at the wall.

They heard wailing again. Scootaloo rushed through the chamber and looked behind the throne, broken and abandoned in the corner.

“Spike!” she exclaimed. “What happened?”

Spike looked at her absent-mindedly. “Princess Celestia... She’s dead. Twilight... She killed her.”

“What?” Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “H-how did it happen?”

“It must’ve happened a while ago,” Spike replied. “Twilight... changed.”

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. “We already know that. She was trying to gouge Twist’s eyes. If it wasn’t for Pinkie...”

Spike became pale. “Where’s Pinkie?”

“She’s dead,” Apple Bloom replied. “Listen Spike, we have no time. We need to stop Twilight...”

“Cadance went to stop her,” Spike said. “With Shining Armor and Prince Blueblood. With Luna’s help...”

Apple Bloom thought of what Discord told them and shuddered. “If Luna defeats Twilight, she may also turn against us. We need to go there.”

“And get yourself killed?” Spike asked. “Your sisters already died. You have to hide–”

“That’s what we all tried to tell them,” Spitfire said. “They keep talking about the plan they have.”

“Listen, Spike.” Sweetie Belle leaned closer to the dragon. “We need to know where are the Elements of Harmony. This is the only way to stop that.”

Spike stood up and looked at her unsurely. “You think you possess the power to wield the Elements of Harmony?” he asked. “Are you sure?”

“No,” Sweetie Belle replied. “There’s only one way to check that.”

“That’s insane,” Spike said, watching Sweetie lowering her head. “But if you say so...” He walked through the chamber. They followed him through several staircases, to the northern tower of the castle.

“Here,” Spike said, walking to the table and opening a chest standing on it. “They all turned to stone when... when they died...”

The fillies trotted to the box. Five of the Elements turned into the orbs, but the Element of Magic was still a golden crown. The star in the middle of it, however, was black, as if there was dark smoke inside of it. Sweetie Belle looked at it unsurely.

“Do you think it’th thafe?” Twist asked.

“There’s only one way to be sure...” Sweetie Belle muttered. “We need to take them.” She grabbed the Element of Magic and put it on her head.

”This doesn’t belong to you!” the voice echoed through the room. Sweetie Belle looked around but she couldn’t see her friends. She was in the middle of a dark void, filled with thunder-like echoes of many voices, screaming in pain.

“Why do you think it belongs to you?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Killing so many ponies... Is that what you call ‘harmony’?”

“Don’t you understand?” the voice whispered into her ear. Images of fire and lightnings flashed before Sweetie’s eyes, causing her to shudder. “The princesses were a threat to harmony. The war they started killed almost all the bearers! And now I killed them both, bringing back peace!”

“No!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “You’re not Twilight I know! She’d never do such a thing!”

“Oh really?” A dark silhouette appeared in front of Sweetie. “Believe me, after witnessing so many senseless deaths, it took only a little push to make Twilight what she is now...”

“You’re not her!” Sweetie Belle gritted her teeth, aiming her horn at the silhouette. “The Elements will find new wielders – the true embodiments of harmony!”

“And you think you will be one of them?” The dark silhouette in front of Sweetie became sharper, as if a thick layer of fog between them disappeared. “Did you really believe that draconequus? I have a surprise to you, filly – even if you stop me from killing Cadance and defeat me, all your friends will die, while I’ll be here. And you, my filly, will die first... You practically killed yourself today...”

“No!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, charging her horn. She felt the weight of the Element of Magic on her head. A new energy was entering her body. She closed her eyes and fired a spell at the dark mass in front of her...

The whole chamber started to glow. Five fillies turned their eyes away from Sweetie, who was thrashing on the floor, and looked at five floating orbs. Each of them flew above their heads, changing into a golden necklace.

Scootaloo suddenly remembered the moment when she went back to save Twist, even though she knew what danger was awaiting her. The red gem flashed before her eyes when Element of Loyalty landed on her neck.

Apple Bloom remembered how her honesty caused Zerstörer to help them and how they later saved his life. She looked at the Element of Honesty on her neck and smiled, remembering Applejack.

Silver Spoon looked at the gem in front of her, surprised. She’d never thought herself to be an Element Bearer. Then she remembered how she gave her pearls to the guards who let them into Canterlot; and how she gave her love to Twist. The purple gem of the Element of Generosity shone brightly on her neck.

Twist thought of all those moments she shared with Silver Spoon and how she was always kind for her, even though Silver wasn’t always as good towards her. She remembered how she was stopping the arguments between Silver and Scootaloo. She looked down, staring at the Element of Kindness.

Dinky smiled, remembering all those moments when, even in darkest times, her laugh was helping the others survive. Even though she couldn’t walk, she was always there for her friends, cheering them up. The Element of Laughter rested itself on her neck, shimmering brightly.

“Are you okay, Sweetie?” Scootaloo asked, helping Sweetie up.

“Y-yes,” Sweetie muttered. “We need to be quick! She wants to kill Cadance!”

“So, it worked?” Spitfire asked. “We can carry you there... If we don’t fry on our way...”

“It seems that the magic disappeared...” Spike muttered, looking through the window. “And the sun started to move...”

The fillies took their places on the pegasi and bat ponies’ backs and the group took off, descending towards the ruined part of Canterlot. It was slowly getting darker – the night, first one since the war had started, was taking over.

“There she is!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, pointing at two silhouettes in the middle of the desolated street. “Faster!”

They could now easily see Twilight aiming her horn at Cadance. “It’s even easier than Luna...” she muttered, panting.

“Stop it!” Scootaloo exclaimed, jumping off Firefly’s back and running towards Twilight.

“Stop it?” Twilight smirked, watching the fillies approaching her. “Like you could really do that...”

“I already did, back in the tower,” Sweetie Belle said. “Whatever you are, leave Twilight alone, or else...”

“Or what?” Twilight chuckled. “Just like I told you, Sweetie Belle... You’ve already killed yourself today.”

“Then I’ll take you with me.” Sweetie Belle panted. “Girls! Prepare the Elements!”

“This will never work!” Twilight exclaimed, teleporting out of Sweetie’s way. “You aren’t even half as strong as me and my–” Before she could finish, a rainbow-coloured beam engulfed her, throwing her into the air. Cadance gasped, staring at Twilight’s silhouette, twisting and thrashing in the wave of powerful magic. The air around them went hotter. The six fillies were lifted into the air, rainbow beam connecting them with Twilight.

Finally, they were lowered on the ground. The dark clouds above them dissolved, showing the sky full of stars.

“Twilight!” Cadance exclaimed, running towards the body lying limply in the dirt.

Twilight moved slightly, her ears perking up. She was smaller than before and her coat went back to its original colour. When Cadance stood above her, she opened her eyes and screamed.

“Twilight, dear...” Cadance embraced Twilight. “Is... Is everything okay?”

“No!” Twilight exclaimed. “I... I killed the Princesses... and so many other ponies...” She looked at Twist and Silver Spoon walking towards her along with the rest of their friends. “I wanted to kill you...”

“Something was possessing you,” Sweetie Belle said. “It wasn’t your fault...”

“It was my fault!” Twilight cried, shuddering. “I let this thing possess me! I... I thought I’d be able to end the war... To stop that...”

“We stopped that,” Apple Bloom said. “We will rebuild Equestria...”

“We’re happy that you’re back,” Dinky added.

“No... no...” Twilight sighed. “You will rebuild Equestria, I’m sure... But I... I need some time to think... You may forgive me, but I can’t forgive myself...” She spread her wings and took off.

“Twilight, wait!” Cadance exclaimed. Firefly took off, chasing Twilight, but she came back after a while.

“She teleported,” Firefly said. “She turned to me and said something about looking for a friend that may be still alive...”

Apple Bloom raised her head and turned to Nachtmahr. “While in the Everfree... Have y’all seen any trace of mah sister?”

“We haven’t seen any ponies there,” Nachtmahr replied. “Of course, I was taken prisoner during the battle of Ponyville...”

Zerstörer raised his wing. “There weren’t any ponies there... The ones we know about. We only found an abandoned shack, but I think it was belonging to a zebra. There was a lot of ash on the floor there and guys thought it was some kind of a charm...”

Apple Bloom sighed. “Who knows... Maybe Applejack is somewhere with Zecora...”

“I doubt it...” Nachtmahr muttered. “But of course, there’s a chance...”

“We have bigger worries,” Spitfire said, listing to the radio she was carrying in her battle saddle. “The griffons are still in Cloudsdale... And I’ve received a message than two hundred of them crossed the border and are heading there too...”

“What can we do?” Scootaloo asked. “The army is tired and ponies are probably still fighting each other somewhere...”

“Exactly. And who has Cloudsdale owns the key to the whole Equestria...”

Cadance looked at Spitfire’s radio. “What is its range?”

“I can easily catch Manehattan from here,” Spitfire replied. “Though if we find a large antenna, we can send a message to the whole country...”

“Half of it will be enough for now,” Cadance said. She took a microphone from Spitfire and cleared her throat. “Dear friends... This is Princess Cadance speaking...”