The War That Destroyed Equestria

by Syco Kitty

The Plan For The Land

Chapter Two- The Plan For The Land

~~~

"What do we do if we are attacked from behind? We would be completely out in the open, we would be dead!" A mare soldier shouted from the back of the room.

"Well, if you were watching your back, then you would be able to prepare for such an ambush." An educated sounding purple mare replied from a desk in front of the room. A chalk board hung behind her, diagrams of a battle plan neatly scribbled onto the black surface. A white coated stallion soldier raised his hoof, waiting for the mare to give him right of speech. After scanning the room for any other questions, the purple Unicorn pointed to the stallion.

"Twily-" The guard began, instantly stopping himself before he continued. He looked away suddenly, his face flushing from the stares he was receiving. "Sorry, Twilight." He apologized.

"It's fine, Shining. Continue." Twilight pressed. With a nod, Shining Armor took a breath.

"A scenario that ran through my head got me thinking: What if we are in a situation where they have something we want but they won't give it to us unless we give them something that we cannot afford to give away?" Shining asked. Twilight thought for a moment, running the sentence through her head a few times.

"For one; they shouldn't have anything that would cause us to behave that way. Even if they did, then we wouldn't just give them what they ask for. That would make us look weak. And that is the last thing we want to happen." Twilight answered her brother's question. She nodded to him with a slight smile as if to say 'good question'.

"Now, that is all the time we have for this session. I want you all here tomorrow for a talk about preserving food on the field." Twilight spoke. With several farewell salutes, the soldiers began filling out of the room, Shining being the last one out. Before he was fully out of the door, he turned around and gave his sister one last nod. With that, he bounded after the rest of the guards and off to his given duty.

A sigh escaped the purple unicorn as she rested her head on the desk. "Why did I pick this job?" She asked herself. "Oh wait, I didn't..." She emphasized I boldly, groaning in annoyance. She was assigned to be the strategic planner by Celestia herself in hopes of turning the tide of battle by using wit and knowledge, something most of the soldiers didn't have. Even if she had refused the position, the princess would have put her onto the field as a field planner. That was the last thing she wanted.

After a few minutes of sitting with her head on the desk, she decided to check in with the nearby guard ponies. She stood up and trotted for the door. Instead of pulling it open with her hoof, her purple horn began glowing a magnificent pinkish purple color. The door too glowed the same color as her horn. As Twilight walked forward, the door moved as well. Once she was out in the hall, the door shut behind her. A single guard was posted by the door, surprised by the sudden movement of the door. Twilight couldn't help but chuckle at how jumpy this guard seemed.

She looked from side to side, noting the lack of windows in the brightly colored hallway. She then remembered that she was lower than the ground itself, making her want to face-hoof on the spot. How could she have forgotten that? Forcing the urge down, she began trotting down the hall. The purple mare wasn't exactly watching where she was going. She was too busy looking at the many tapestries that lined the walls. They depicted the many cities that were built around Equestria in a random order, Canterlot being the last one. She found this interesting. She stopped about half way down the hall, noticing that one of the hanging depictions had been marked on. Several dark red circles outlined certain buildings and plots of land. She tilted her head at this, not sure what to make of it. After examining it for a few minutes, she reluctantly continued.

"Miss Twilight!" A voice sounded from in front of the purple unicorn. She saw a dark grey stallion in full armor trotting toward her. She stopped mid stride before nodding in welcome.

"Do you bring news?" She asked once the soldier was in talking range.

"I bring good news." The stallion began, his chest heaving heavily. After he had regained his full posture, he continued. "We managed to catch some raiders that were trying to steal from a camp near the border closest to Fillydelphia. Three of them in total were caught. They bare the Lunar crest." He finished, holding out the blue shadowy patch with a crescent moon on it.

"You are saying these were Lunar soldiers?" Twilight asked, receiving a nod as an answer.

"One of them managed to get away. We gave chase, but soon lost him on the outskirts of a forest. He may have been heading back toward their base. Should we send a patrol into the forest to check for any activity?" The stallion suggested. Twilight nodded in reply, looking back at the tapestry that was marked. She then realized it was of Fillydelphia. The markings must represent Lunar bases that had been found.

"I will interrogate the new prisoners now. Tell the guards I will be there shortly." She ordered; a salute of farewell came from the stallion before he began trotting off in the other direction. Twilight didn't want to hurt anyone, which was why she agreed to become the pony that stayed back and planned the attacks. Sometimes they would bring the opposing side's officers in for questioning. Celestia insisted that Twilight would be the one to interrogate those that are brought in, mainly because of the brute force the other soldiers would use. The poor unicorn couldn't say no without looking defiant. She had to choke it down and take it like a grown leader.

Once she had thought over her next move, she began her trek toward the interrogation room. The outer wall of the room was bare, steel colored metal. The door looked heavy and secure, painted the same color as the walls. Two guards were positioned outside, one on each side of the door. With a nod, one of the guards opened the door for Twilight. The room itself was darkened, the only light being a candle on the back wall. Her horn began illuminating the same pinkish purple as before. A small hallway lead from the door to the holding cells. Pleading ponies pressed themselves against the bars, watching as the unicorn walked by. Twilight's mind filled with pity and regret. All she could do was ignore them. Nothing was going to help them now.

As she passed the holding area, she soon reached the interrogation room. The room was darkened as well, more candles were lit then there were in the hallway. To her surprise, there was already someone in there. Her eyes widened at the scene in front of her.

A rainbow maned pony was pinned to the table in the center of the room, being showered with intimate kisses by a silver coated stallion. Articles of armor were strung all over the room, their helmets were the only things still on them. The silver coated stallion giving the kisses had his front hooves wrapped around the mare's waist, slowly moving his lips lower. Twilight's face flushed at the sight, her violet colored eyes averting away instantly. To get their attention, Twilight cleared her throat loudly. A sudden moan and gasp of surprise escaped the cyan coated mare's mouth as she saw the purple unicorn standing there. The stallion that had her pinned also looked over to Twilight, awkwardly backing away from the mare he had been on top of.

"Dash, would you like to explain yourself?" Twilight asked, giving the cyan Pegasus a sideways glance.

"I-I will, just not now." Dash stuttered, leaping down from the table.

"You were supposed to be interrogating the prisoners, not satisfying your lustful needs." Twilight put bluntly. "You can do that on your own time. Right now, we have work to do." She added. With a glance at the silver stallion and a flick of her purple tail toward the door, the stallion took it as an opportune moment to get out of Dodge.

"Yes ma'am." Dash saluted. Twilight let out a sigh of annoyance as she looked back at her friend. Rainbow knew that Twilight didn't like her friends saluting to her. It made her feel like she was above them, as if she was more important than them.

"No more saluting." She simply put. Dash froze there, looking from her hoof to Twilight. Slowly, the hoof moved back to the floor as Dash stared back at the unicorn.

"Have you seen the new prisoners yet?" Twilight asked Dash. The Pegasus shook her head in reply.

"There are three of them. Are you up to speaking with them?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, I will 'speak' to them." Dash raised her hooves, flicking them down on the word 'talk'.

"You will talk to them. Only talking. If they don't give us information, then you can start the aggressive interrogations." Twilight ordered. With a nod, Dash began to raise her hoof for a salute, but a deathly glare from the purple unicorn stopped her in her tracks. The cyan Pegasus smirked innocently, her rose colored gaze shifting as she chuckled.

"I will be waiting outside for the results. Come and get me when you are done. No sooner." Twilight ordered, trotting away before receiving a answer.

--

Dash let out a sigh as her friend left. 'That was close. Luckily she didn't walk in later. That would have been even more embarrassing...' Dash thought. After waiting a few seconds, she heard the heavy metal door slam shut. With that, she began putting her armor back on. With each piece of metal, she felt heavier and heavier. Dash didn't like wearing her armor; they were too restraining. She couldn't even move her wings without hurting herself. After her armor was fully on, she began trotting toward the cells.

More pleading came from the prisoners as Rainbow made her way down the cells, looking for the ones that looked newest. About half way down the room, she stopped by a cage with two fillies in it. One of those fillies looked up at Dash, tears soaking her bleeding velvet cheeks. The Cyan Pegasus couldn't do anything but look solemnly at the filly. They were prisoners, paying for their crimes against Celestia. Even if they were young, they had to have a reason for being here.

"Please... Help me." The filly begged, dragging her beaten body closer to the cell door. Dash bit her lower lip to prevent it from quivering. Her gaze shied away, looking down at the floor beneath her hooves. Without giving a reply, the former holder of Loyalty ducked away and continued down the hall. She had to ignore the wailing filly, clenching her teeth tightly.

"Don't get sappy, Dash. She is paying for her crimes. Don't feel pity for her!" Dash told herself in a hushed tone. She had continued down the aisles of cage-like cells until they met the wall. She had lost track of what she had originally been doing. Without hesitating, she turned back around and examined the ponies again. This time around, she had found one of the newer prisoners. The orange coated Pegasus faced the cell's back wall, her head hung low in agony. The mare's wings seemed crippled, flail and shattered as if someone had beaten her. A stack of custom made armor rested on an outside table. Judging by the size, Dash made out that the armor belonged to the filly in the cage. Her purple mane was mangled and unkempt, as if she hadn't groomed herself in days.

"You, in the corner. You need to come with me." Dash ordered, her voice demanding and assertive. Dash turned to her waist to grab the keys for this cell. When she turned back around, she was greeted by the face of the filly in the cell. The keys fell to the ground as the cyan Pegasus stared in disbelief at the pony. The filly's light purple eyes shook in sadness.

"D-Dash?" The filly's voice was croaky and rough as she spoke.

"Scootaloo? I-I can't believe it's you." Dash stuttered, holding back her surprise the best she could.

"I thought you were dead! I had searched all of Luna's land for you. I couldn't find you anywhere... I guess I was looking in the wrong spots..." Scootaloo sighed, her gaze shifting to the floor.

"You thought I would be on Luna's side? A rebellious princess over Celestia?" Dash remarked, bending down to pick up the keys. A long silence accompanied Dash's question.

"Rebellious? Do you really thing she was rebellious? All she wanted was somepony to love her. Celestia was the one that was hogging all the lime light. Luna rose the moon every night without a question! Even if only a few ponies got to enjoy her moonlight doesn't make her a rebel. She has atoned for her actions already, she doesn't need any more pity from the likeness of you." Scootaloo had snapped, the sudden burst of energy giving her enough strength to speak fluidly. Dash was taken aback by the way Scootaloo talked to her. She paused for a moment before grasping the keys in her mouth.

"I'm sorry for what I am about to do..." Dash spoke through the metal ring, her face slowly turning to shadows as her mane covered her eyes. She put the key into the door, turning it until it clicked. The cell door slowly opened with a loud creak. Dash entered just as slowly as the door, approaching the now retreating orange filly.

"You are going to tell me about your base's location now before I get hostile." Dash threatened. After a bit of silence, a sigh escaped the rainbow maned pony's mouth. With a hoof raised in the air and clenched teeth, she struck down onto the filly's temple with the force of a brick. A loud squeal came from the toppled over filly. Blood began flowing from a gash on her forehead, slowly making it's way down Scootaloo's orange coat as she warily stood up.

"I am going to ask you again; Where are your bases?" Dash repeated, her eyes still covered.

"Fine! Fine! I'll tell you. Just, please don't hit me again!" Tears soaked Scootaloo's cheek as she spoke, the stream of blood mixing with the stream of tears.

"Come on then. Don't try anything you'll regret." Dash warned, backing out of the cell. She stood there and waited for the filly to get up and follow. Once she did, the cyan Pegasus lead the way down the hall and back toward the room with the table. Every bone in her body told her to stop and apologize to Scootaloo by turning around to give her a huge hug, but she couldn't do that. Like Twilight had said; "Stomp out what makes you weak. With emotions behind you, you'll become a better soldier on the field. Showing emotions would make you look week in front of the prisoners." She couldn't risk that happening. She was in charge of keeping these ponies in their cells. If they found out that she had gone soft on one of the prisoners, they will want the same treatment.

She would have to bite back the urge for now. The time will come when she can show her emotions. Now wasn't that time.

Author's Note:

Proofreaders are the same as the first chapter.