The War for the Sun & Moon

by Maxes Altho

Eleven

“Please talk to me, Shining.”

The two of us are ‘enjoying’ an early lunch in the Empress’s chambers after her little announcement. I managed to situate myself as far from her as physically possible, and am doing everything I can to not look at her.

“What did I do wrong?”

“What did you do wrong? How about sentencing all of my friends to their deaths!” I shoot back as venomously as I can.

“If it makes you feel any better, you may compile a list of the ones you wish to save, and I will ensure they remain unharmed.”

“Gee, thanks. I’ll get started on that. First on the list would be the entire fucking group!”

“You know that will not be possible. For me to crush a rebellion, some must die in order to prevent it from happening again.”

“Then what are you going to do, ‘Mother’? You won’t be able to find them anyways; we’ve hidden from you far too long for you to find us now.”

“Oh, don’t worry; we’ve managed to capture you, chances are we will capture another soon enough. I know just the pony to help in this endeavor. I just need to write her a letter and—”

“Your Majesty?” We turn and see one of the butlers standing at the door. “I am sorry to interrupt, but Queen Rarity and Lady Sweetie Belle are just outside, and wish to see you.”

“Oh, I guess I can tell her in pony. Please show them in.”

Personally, I’m freaking out. I need to get out of here right now, before Sweetie fucking Belle gets in here and recognizes me! No nearby windows, no convenient escape poles, not even a bed to hide under or a closet to hide in! It’s at times like these I wish I was gifted with full-coat Hybreed transformation; I’d change my coat to blend in with the wall. I just need to—

“YOU!” too late. I turn and, just in time, magic up a bubble of light around me as a blast of magic hits it. I get knocked back out of my chair and come up facing an enraged marshmallow pony with those horrid green eyes. She keeps blasting my bubble with magic, but I’m at full strength, and not backing down. As she tries to get around my shield, I form the top part into a veritable armada of light guns pointed right at her. So we have Sweetie Belle, streaming magic at me, trying to break my shield, and me with the shield, several light-formed machine guns and even a rocket launcher sprouting out of it. I prepare to fire…

“Stop!” Both Sweetie and I are picked up in fields of magic and moved next to our respective elders. The Empress looks pissed. “What is the meaning of this, attacking my son like that?”

“He’s not your son! He’s part of that stupid Warriors group! They’ve embarrassed us time and time again I won’t give him a second chance!”

“What does she mean by that?” Twilight asks of me.

“Well, there was this mission I was a part of to retrieve a young pony, and her brats ambushed us, tried to force open our minds. It was thanks to the young pony we were able to escape; I remember one of my team knocking you pretty hard, bitch.”

“I’ll knock you hard!” She tries to lunge at me, but is held back by Rarity’s magic.

“Sweetie, control yourself!” She winces at Twilight. “I’m sorry, we’ll get to the root of her anger issue soon enough.”

“It is quite alright, as long as neither are caused lasting harm. Shining, you have my leave to wander the castle; if you need assistance, just ask one of the guards.”

“Okay.” Anything to get away from the evil marshmallow pair. However, I think they’re gonna talk about me, so I disguise casting a shadow scout spell (the same one I used with the Commandant) as picking up a scone from the table and munching on it as I leave. Once I’m out the door, I duck behind a nearby hanging curtain and listen in.

“So, how is Prince Blueblood?”

“Oh, this week he’s just Blueblood, dear. He thought it prudent to be looking at other mares.”

“He’s been with you for fifteen years, Rarity. When will he learn?”

“Probably never, which is why I love him so much.”

“On another note, have either of you ever thought about having foals? Sweetie, aren’t you seeing that brown Earth pony, now what was his name?”

“Button Mash, and it’s not really going anywhere. He keeps mumbling something about copyright infringement every time we’re together. I think he’s going a bit insane.”

“Oh. What about you Rarity? Ever think about getting a child from Blueblood?”

“Good heavens no! I would, but I’m afraid they’ll end up like the sire. I don’t need a young Blueblood taking up all of my already limited free time.”

“I am starting to understand what you mean. Young foals can be especially nosy.” Before I can react, a small jolt of magic runs up my horn, breaking my concentration and the spell. Shit.

Shaking my head to clear it, I decide to head back to my royal chambers. Hey, until I get rescued, I might as well make the most of things.

After getting lost a few times, and hitting more dead ends than I care to admit, I finally end up flopped on my opulent bed. However, any chance of relaxing is marred by a slight itching inside my hoof. Now what could—oh yeah, Aloe’s note. I cast a quick blanket detection spell, to ensure no peepers, then pull the note out and unfold it.

Soldier,

You are not alone here. Meet me in the gardens tonight at midnight, in front of the pedestal of Discord. Make sure you are not followed.

May the Sun guide you on your way, and the Moon bolster your unwavering resolve.

Well, rescue may be closer than I think! I can kill time until midnight.

----------

11:59. I’m waiting in a copse of trees with a clear view of the pedestal that Discord once stood upon. The last reports put Discord in the care of Queen Fluttershy. Poor bastard. Since the Empress stole almost all his magic, the Queen of Mean has kept him at an empty tank, using his chaos magic for… something. Our spies never last long enough to say what she’s doing.

I hear a rustling beside me. “You do not wait in plain sight; smart pony you are, non?”

I smirk and turn to face the pink coated mare. “I learned from the best.”

“Ah, oui. Loudmouth, correct? He would not have anyzing less.”

“What do you got for me?”

“Zer are quatre in my group. I, a very large Earth pony guard, one cleaning Pegasus, and our relay in ze city. We are in such a way zat ze Empress cannot trace one back to ze others.”

“Wait. A large pony guard, like larger than any others? I think I tried to piss him off yesterday. Told him he had to be compensating for all that muscle.”

Aloe muffles a giggle. “Zen you will love his name. Small Fry.”

I nearly bust a gut trying not to laugh. “Seriously? Small Fry? That’s the name his parents went with?”

“Apparently. Do you wish to send a message back to ze command? Unfortunately, rescue is not an option right now; security will be high until ze Empress deems you safe. Even once security calms down, rescue will be nigh impossible; nopony leaves the Fortress and city but by order of ze Empress.”

“Okay. Tell them I am unharmed, not under any form of mind control, and eagerly awaiting any help they can send.”

“Oui. I will make sure the message gets where it needs to be. Oh, I must warn you: ze Queen and her Investigator are your biggest threat.”

Duh. Sweetie Belle already wants to tear me a new one and rut me with her horn. “Already know that. What else?”

“I know zat ze Investigator is a horrible gossip. She has spoken of a ‘second chance’ at you. What does she mean?”

Oh shit shit shit Luna lend me strength shit fuck me with a concrete rebar pipe damn it damn it damn it! “She knows I know something, and she’ll try anything to get at that knowledge. She’s going to try to break me again. Any tips on how to prevent a severely determined pony from cracking open the eggshell that is my mind?”

“I would say, learn how to discern ze real from ze fake. She is skilled at illusions, but every illusion has a flaw, something ze caster has no control over. Take care not to show her ze flaws you find. If you can find ze flaw, you can be assured it is not real.”

“Alright, I’ll try.” I turn to leave, but glance back. “Thanks, Aloe. It’s good to know I’m not alone.”

“One last zing,” she says suddenly. “I probably do not have to tell you zis, but under no circumstances are you to ‘find’ ze base. If you go home, she will zen know where ze others are.”

I gulp. “Roger that.”

----------

Boom.

I turn over in my bed. It’s really comfortable, like sleeping on a cloud.

Boom.

Mooom, I dun wanna go to school today.

Boom!

I am jolted awake as the massive doors fly off their hinges. Looking around, I see Pulse and C standing in what used to be the doorway.

“Come on you idiot!”

I shake my head. “Wha?”

“We’re busting you out! Get your furry ass moving!”

Oh shit. That was fast! I leap out of bed and follow them down the spiraling stairs. Guards lay unconscious every few yards; the Empress must’ve been keeping a platoon here to keep me ‘safe’. At the bottom of the stairs we run into Tread and Scout. Without a word, we group together and set off, our hooves indenting the plush carpet as we run.

“So what’s the plan, Tread?”

“We’ve got a train coming in five. You gotta be on it.”

Okay, we’ve never used a train before, but I guess the Twins couldn’t dig into a mountain without the residents above getting suspicious.

We make our way to the main doors, and into the largest force of RG and army ponies ever. We try to fight them off, but we’re quickly overwhelmed, hoofcuffed, and led back into the castle. We end up back in the throne room with the Empress casually lounging on her throne.

“Did you really think it would be that easy to escape, Shining? I guess you need more convincing that my rule is absolute.” She stalks off her throne and towards us. With a click, my hoofcuffs fall off as she pulls a pistol from behind her back. “Take this gun and kill them. Or, I will take this gun and shoot you, then shoot each of your friends. Either way, some of you aren’t walking out of here.” She floats the gun in front of me teasingly. I would gladly die for my cause, but either way, my friends die. I seriously doubt she would just let me take the gun; it would be too easy to take a shot at her.

“Just do it, Shining. It’ll be alright,” C calls out.

Everything stops. Did C just use a contraction? C doesn’t use contractions. In a fit of rage, I take the gun, press it to the bug’s head, and pull the trigger. “You aren’t C!” Everything goes black.

----------

“Oh Goddesses!” I bolt upwards. It takes me a minute to realize I’m safe (relatively), I’m whole, and I didn’t actually shoot my best friend. It felt so real, though…

Knocking at the door. I call the knockers, and Aloe and Lotus saunter in. Lotus sets the one box they brought near the mirror as Aloe helps me out of bed. She looks concerned.

“Did she…?” I nod numbly. “Mon dieu, she’s already started. Remember what I told you. You must remain strong.”

“I thought it was real. It just felt so real.”

“Zat does not matter. What does matter is zat it was not.” With that, she drops the whisper as I sit on the stool. “Today, ze Empress has given you leave to do what you want. You are to meet her for breakfast when we are done here.”

“Okay. Girls, make me handsome.” Aloe giggles, then once she translates for Lotus, she giggles too.

Ten minutes later, I walk into the dining room (which is different from the mess hall everypony else eats in), to find the Empress… and Sweetie Belle enjoying a meal. They look up as I enter.

“Ah, my Shining. I trust you slept well? No unsettling dreams?”

I shoot a glare at the Empress. She knows. Of course she knows; she Okayed the witch to start burrowing into my mind. I force a smile. “No, not really. Just the overlying hope I’ll bust out of here eventually.” I sit and start eating. The food doesn’t matter; what does matter is how they think they’ll break me, how they observe my every calculated move. “So, where’s the Main Bitch #1?”

Without skipping a beat, Twilight calmly replies, “Queen Rarity had to return to Manehattan. Certain matters forced her to be unable to stay. In her stead, Sweetie Belle will be living at the castle for the net while, to help you acclimate to your new life.” She takes a bite of her toast. “I have few rules here, but the most important is that I will not have you swearing like a common sailorpony. You are royalty; I expect you to start acting like it.”

I shrug. I am who I am, and these bitches aren’t going to change any of that. “Aloe told me you’re basically letting me do what I want today?”

“Yes. I have some matters to attend to, so I will be unable to be with you. I am hoping I will be able to blow off some nobles later today and spend some time getting to know my son.”

“Okay. I kinda want to go out to the city, wander around a bit.”

“That can be arranged. Lady Sweetie Belle can accompany you.” I smile, entirely forced. My trip through my own personal hell had already begun.

----------

“So how was your ‘date’ with her?”

Shut up, C. It was horrible. Even though all I could see was her, I knew the Empress had changelings watching me everywhere. The witch subtly tormented me the entire day. She would never admit it, but I would bite into a cupcake and it would end up being, like, a bran muffin. I would trip over cracks in the sidewalk that I never saw. Shit like that. The fucked up part was, that was just the beginning.

“What do you mean?”

You know exactly what I mean. It took you guys what, two months to rescue me? What you saw then… the really fucked part? She had such an easy time because of our first mission. She already had that one worm in my mind. She just grew it, slowly, until I nearly went… I need a break.

“Shining, I will not allow you to give up now.”

I’m not giving up. I just… need to clear my head for a minute.

“We need to get through this so you can put it behind you.”

You think I don’t know that? You know what? Here.

The telltale tinkling of magic is heard, then a poof. A thump; something lands on the table.

“And what is this?”

A journal. I started keeping a log a few days after the first nightmare. It helped me keep my sanity just a few days longer; after that, it just became habit to write what I thought I knew. I’ll be back later. Try… try not to lose yourself like I did.

Clopping as Shining exits. Shuffling as Chryssid pulls the microphone and journal closer to himself.

I must admit, I am afraid of what I will find within these pages. When we found him, he was almost as the Forsaken: a shell of what he used to be. However, he has told noling of what he went through. Maybe this journal will finally sate my curiosity.