For Want of a Dawn

by Ciroton

First Step to a New Future

[WARNING: This chapter contains brief depictions of gore. Reader discretion is strongly advised!]

In a dark, stone-walled room deep under the town of Ponyville, a huddled mass lay under a red and slightly itchy blanket. The bed was little more than a hay-stuffed mattress on the floor with a pillow and blankets, but it served its purpose. After all, the room was designed with function in mind over design, since the owners could not afford any luxuries, never mind for the dozens of other rooms in the underground lair.

Twilight Sparkle lay curled under the blankets, silently weeping to herself for the past day and a half in confusion and sorrow. She barely ate, slept or even breathed through all the crying; her golem nature the only thing keeping her from death's embrace. All of her friends were dead, missing, or working for the one pony most hated in the country.

As soon as she heard the name of the queen was Eos, she became frightened of the empty feeling in the pit of her stomach. In her state, she could only draw out one conclusion: somehow, Eos had become separate from her and altered the past to create a new, dark and depressing future. Yet, as good an explanation as that was, it did not explain how she could remain asleep for so long unless she was bewitched. Even then, how could she have ever awakened?

More questions began to filter through the grief she felt for her dear friends, fresh tears and gentle sobs escaping from her lips. It was all too much for her to bear, making the lavender unicorn wish it were all a dream. Then, she could wake up, be comforted by all of her friends and be told just how silly it was by Pinkie Pie. No matter how hard she cried or hurt herself, she just could not wake up.

It's not a dream, spoke a voice in the back of her mind, causing a shiver to roll down her spine. The unicorn moaned and dragged herself from under the covers, a tiny mirror floating over to her so she could scold her directly to her evil face.

"Shut up!" she cried, looking at her own reflection. "I know you're taunting me from the castle! I know that you want nothing more than to see me cry, you horrible murderous horse! Leave me alone, or by Celestia, I will make you regret the day you darkened the doorstep of my soul!" The voice seemed to back down, leaving her alone to her misery once more. Twilight buried her face in her pillow and started crying again.

What had she done to deserve this? Unfortunately, the answer all too willingly raised its ugly head as the memories of that day bubbled to the surface. She could see the looks of horror on her friends' and the princesses' faces as she went about her villainous rampage through the streets of Ponyville and her lashing out at the very being who gave her life.

The lavender mare found it all too easy to stay curled up in the room, feeling sorry for herself until the day the magic keeping her alive would fade, turning her back into the clay from whence she came. Sadly, that day would be a long way off, since she had done more reading into golems. Apparently, they had an eighty-year life-cycle that could be extended when the creator passed it along, usually to the next generation. That way, a single golem could serve a family for hundreds of years.

"Oh Twilight," sighed a voice beside her bed. The lavender mare jumped, turning around to see the frowning face of a sky-blue Pegasus. "It's times like this that make it hard for me to be your friend. I mean, here you are, lying around like a sad-sack because a few things beyond your control go wrong! Sheesh!"

"R-rainbow?" she asked. "But... but you're dead!"

"Yeah? So? A part of me still lives on in YOU, Twilight, and all of our other friends. I'm just sick of seeing you laze around when you've got important stuff to do!"

"Oh yeah? Like WHAT?"

"For starters," the shade started, "You have to find all of our remaining friends. I might be a part of your mind, but I can tell you that they all miss you very much. You have to unite all of our friends so we can stand against that usurping horse together! Then we can destroy the queen and find a way to bring Celestia and Luna back so they can make everything right again!"

"I guess you're right: moping around won't do anypony any good, least of all myself," she conceded to the phantom. Rainbow smiled and nodded her head before retreating back into the inner depths of her mind. The lavender unicorn pulled herself out of bed, her legs slightly shaking from the lack of exercise over the last thirty hours or so.

With a wave of her magic, the heavy wooden door into her room opened, revealing the dark stone tunnel of a hall beyond. Ponies would occasionally trot past, giving her the customary look of hidden fear before continuing on with their duties. A couple even addressed her as 'General Twilight' as she passed, causing her to raise an eyebrow in confusion. The last time she checked, she was not in any army, never mind in the position of a senior officer.

After a few minutes of searching, the lavender librarian finally found herself at the set of double doors that lead into the mess hall. Like all other rooms in the base, candles atop the table and sconces on the walls lit the dank stone walls. Ground water continuously seeped into the chambers, so several ponies mopped the floors on a daily basis, lest the facility become flooded.

"Howdy, Twilight!" waved Applebloom from a seat further in. "Come an' sit over here with us!" The scholar weaved her way through the traffic and sat herself down on the bench with Dinky and Scootaloo as present company. "Ah'm glad ta see you came outta yer room. We've been worryin' about you for HOURS now, ya know." The others nodded and threw in their own feelings on the matter, each concerned for her well-being.

"I'm fine," the unicorn replied confidently to their voices of concern. "I just needed a little bit of time to myself to work things out. Yes, I was feeling sorry for myself, but then I got around to thinking: being depressed is not going to do me, or anypony else, any good. Besides, I've got to re-unite all of my friends so we can tackle the queen together!"

"That's the spirit, Twilight!" Scootaloo chirped in excitement. "If you're feeling up to it, after lunch we can go back to our conference room and fill you in on the Apple Clan, the Everfree Movement and... that other one." As much as she wanted to know why they were so afraid of the Party Poppers, the unicorn decided not to ask, since she would be sure to find out about it later.

For the moment, she occupied herself by pondering on how she could have mourned for an entire day and a half without realizing the flow of time. Then again, such an occurrence was not out of the ordinary for her, since she could lose time quite easily when stressed. She let out a sigh as the salad slid in front of her, more at her situation then the food itself. Why did everything always have to turn into some drawn-out adventure?

~*///*///*///*~

A half-hour later, the lavender mare found herself seated in her chair at the conference table with Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Dinky had to break off from the group as they went: something about setting something up for their meeting. In the meantime, the four mares sat in the dark chamber, chatting idly while they waited for some papers to be delivered to them.

If it were not for the dark and depressing atmosphere, Twilight could almost imagine the four of them outside Mr. Shake's on a warm summer's day. Of course, she and her friends would be older then the three young mares in front of her, but she did not mind so much, as the hoof of time waits for nopony. Not even the princesses could escape the inevitable.

A knock sounded ten minutes after they seated themselves, Dinky and a young stallion standing at the door once it opened. The former gently took a stack of paper's from his gawking mouth (his eyes directly on Twilight, of course) and addressed him, "Thank you, Lieutenant, that will be all." With a wave of her horn, the door shut in his face, causing him to yelp. Twilight hoped it was just surprise that caused it.

"I told them we'll be a few minutes. They're anxious, but they will wait," she spoke to the three Crusaders before sitting at her seat. With a second flash of her horn, the papers congregated in front of the lavender mare. "Here you are: all our surveillance records on the other three groups." Twilight thanked Dinky for the papers before holding them aloft in her telekinetic grasp, reading them over carefully.

The Apple Clan

Leaders: General Applejack, Commander Big Macintosh, Commander Bareburn

Base Location: Unknown

Goals: To transform Equestria into a modified republic, working under a President as opposed to a Prime Minister, who serves as Head of Government and State. Motion of the heavenly bodies will be given to a specific senator or two. It is currently unknown how they would keep said anointed officials in check.

Modus Operandi: Working with the Buffalo of the Appleloosan Plain, the Apple Clan engages in open-war guerrilla tactics against members of the Equestrian Royal Army and other crown authorities. Organization is loose and individual commanders generally operate at their own discretion, making infiltration and manipulation easy.

Relationship with the Crusaders: Tense, as our solutions to the government issue are similar, but our plans on how to deal with the gap caused by exterminating the queen are vastly different. We are officially neutral, but with hostile tendencies.

------

The Everfree Movement

Leaders: General Fluttershy, General Zecora (MIA; presumed deceased), Commander Angel.

Base Location: Unknown (Everfree Forest)

Goals: Naturalization of all Equestria via the destruction of all social structures. In essence, they are an anarchist group and are treated as such by ourselves, the other movements and the crown. The heavenly bodies would be released from any and all control and be allowed to take their natural (if any) course. If the assumption is wrong, this could plunge the world into half-scorching-day and half-freezing-night.

Modus Operandi: Former Crusader general Fluttershy recruits animals to do her bidding, although a few ponies have joined her ranks as of late. Tactics include sabotaging important facilities, homes, and landmarks. They will also abduct members of the crown who wander too close to Everfree. To this end, they work to delay, or keep the new Weather Factory (currently under construction: see Project 'New Horizons') kept offline permanently.

Relationship with the Crusaders: Hostile, yet respectful as we sympathise with Operation 'Mother Nature.'

-----

The Party Poppers

Leaders: Pinkamena Diane "Pinkie" Pie, Rainbow Dash (honorary and posthumously due to the destruction of Cloudsdale)

Base Location: Unknown, and we're not willing to find out.

Goals: Complete and utter destruction of everything tangible. They do not care what will happen when/if they kill Queen Eos.

Modus Operandi: Chaos. Sheer, unadulterated chaos. There is no rhyme or reason to what they do and how they go about doing it. However, two clear themes do emerge: a dark and sick sense of humor, and a nihilistic desire for the world to die. Their leader seems to switch opinions and dispositions at the drop of a hat to further reflect those themes. "If we're going to die, we might as well die laughing," quote Pinkie Pie during the conflict in Neighpon.

Relationship with the Crusaders: Extremely hostile. Do not approach any member unless heavily armed.

Twilight dropped the papers as her telekinetic field failed, shaking at the information dump on her already fragile mind. If just one more thing disturbed her, just one more thing, she felt like she was going to snap and repeat the Ponyville fire. She then brought a bag to her face as she began to hyperventilate as she felt her body become flooded with stress.

The Crusaders looked at her uneasily, knowing that the facts would be hard to swallow, especially for a neurotic golem with magical power projected to equal that of Princess Celestia's. They knew she was a literal powder keg of magical energy just waiting to go off. However, they figured the impact would be lessened coming from them instead of allowing her to find out from a less understanding and comforting source.

After several minutes of shallow breathing, the lavender mare slowly calmed herself down, remembering to take deep breaths just like Luna taught her. Fluttershy was an anarchist and Pinkie was some crazy mad-mare? How could all of this happen just because she was not around to keep them in check? She groaned and massaged her temples with her hooves, trying desperately to relax: she did not want to cost more innocent ponies their lives.

"If you're feeling up to it, Twilight," Sweetie Belle spoke slowly. "We can talk to them. Dinky invented a spell that lets us communicate no matter the distance. It used to be a great advantage for our cause... until the queen found out and made her own version of the system."

"They're all anxious to see you, Twilight," Scootaloo added. "Maybe just your presence will get them to reconcile? We've waited for you for ten years. A lot changes, but even more stays the same. Please, just give it a try?" Taking a final deep breath, the librarian nodded her head. "Do it, Dinky," the Pegasus urged.

Dinky Hooves took a deep breath, her horn glowing in a pale blue aura as the semi-circular parts of the table began to light up with a soft cyan glow. What little light the room afforded was dimmed, to better help the spell and the ponies that used it. At first, only the orbs of the ponies present glowed, but slowly, others tuned in too, leaving only the ones in front of Rainbow and Rarity's chairs unlit.

"That's all of them," Applebloom chirped in delight, straightening out the worn Stetson on her head. With all the others glowing, the central sphere shimmered red and green, casting the colours upon the wall as ghostly apparitions appeared sitting in the chairs. Each one of Twilight's friends faded into existence, their forms sitting at the chair with their colours a little faded, but still recognizable despite the dim light of the room.

"Holy Shoot!" spoke the crackly voice of Applejack through the spell as Dinky's horn faded. "Ah thought y'all were just pullin' my leg! Is that REALLY you, sugarcube?!" Various exclamations of the like sounded from all the different ponies gathered around, except for Trixie, who just starred at Twilight, as if x-raying her through the magical field.

"Oh, Twilight!" chirped Fluttershy. "I wish I was there so I could give you a great, big hug! We've all missed you so much." Although they could not see it, tears were beginning to well up in her eyes as Angel joined her.

"This calls for my Super-Mega-Awesome-Party Party!!!" cheered Pinkie waving her hooves around in delight. The Crusaders (and everypony else) seemed to breathe a sigh of relief once they saw Pinkie was her happy self. "Oh, we're going to need streamers and balloons and cake and a place we can all meet up and guests and music and party games! Oh, we simply HAVE to have pin-the-tail on the pony! I've really got to find my party plan book because I had the most wonderful party planned for when you came home and..."

"Well, I'm more interested in hearing what Twilight Sparkle has planned for the future," Trixie interrupted the pink party mare. "The sooner we end this war and kill that mule of a queen; the sooner things can get back to normal so Trixie can perform for the masses of Equestria again. Being on the Outlands does nothing for Trixie's image, or for her stomach."

"Well, um..." Twilight trailed. "I don't really have anything planned now... beyond getting all of us back together, that is. I mean, I know what happened to Rainbow and Rarity, but I doubt Rainbow would want us to stay divided like this. So, for the moment, I'd kind of like to get us all on speaking terms again, then try and convince Rarity to come back."

"Rarity!?" they all spoke in varying amounts of outrage or disgust. Then the arguing started. Overlapping voices soon overwhelmed the lavender pony's ears as they all complained about the very notion of having the alabaster unicorn in their midst again. However, it was not until Applejack shouted over the din that things became more coherent.

"No offence, sugarcube," she spoke, silencing the others. "But Rarity is a bona fide traitor! She sold us out to Eos by tellin' her that we existed! Now half our faces are on Equestria's most wanted list! Yet, here ya are, preachin' to us about how we gotta forgive her and welcome her back with open legs? Ah just can't do that, Twi. That's a good way to get 'bucked over', if'n yew catch mah drift."

"Yeah! Rarity is a meany-mean pants!" Pinkie slammed her hoof on her own table. Then a look of alarm spread over her face as she cried out, "Twitcha-twitch! Twitcha-twitch! Bon-Bon! Look out for the vat of a-" A sudden scream of pain came from her spot, making everypony else shudder.

"AHH! MY EYES!" shouted a voice from beyond.

"Acid," the pink mare finished with a giggle and a snort.

"Okay..." Dinky trailed. "Sweetie, can you go get us some water? This is going to be a long one," she sighed as the argument picked up again. The white unicorn nodded and did just that, leaving the room with a soft click. Twilight twitched an eye at the spectacle before her. All of her friends seemed to hate each other with more passion then she had seen in ages! Not even the spat between Rarity and AJ at her first slumber party could compare. They looked like they wanted each other dead.

"What the SORREL HELLS is going ON around here!" she screeched, slamming her hooves into the table in anger and frustration. She had finally reached her boiling point, causing everypony to fall silent. "We're all supposed to be FRIENDS! What happened to you girls? Don't you remember all we've been though? We're too close to be fighting like this: how can you possibly mean all the things you're saying!?"

Pinkie's eyes became half-lidded, a smile developing across her muzzle that freaked everypony out, causing a wave of shudders to go around the table. "The Elements of Harmony are no longer bound together by Magic. Loyalty is dead and Generosity is a traitor!" A fit of giggles overcame the pink mare as tears visibly streamed from her eyes. "All that's left... is to end it all!"

Scootaloo groaned and smacked her head on the table once. "Some ponies just want to watch the world burn," she moaned in frustration.

"But I'm here now!" the lavender unicorn pleaded. "Yes, Rainbow is gone and Rarity made a mistake, but we can still fix this if we just work together! As representatives of the Elements of Harmony, we are honour-bound to do so. Even if we have to find a new p-pony to be Loyalty in R-Rainbow's stead..." She sat down in the chair, tears beginning to crest her eyes as well.

"No offence, Twi," the farmer sighed. "But ah ain't working with THAT locoweed-eating, crazy baker! Ain't no how!" She pointed an accusing hoof at Pinkie, who only giggled quietly to herself.

"Besides that," Fluttershy finally spoke after hiding under her table, "Rarity is working for EOS! I'd never work with a pony in league of the one completely responsible for DESTROYING the natural order! That includes the rest of you!"

Trixie left her chair to take care of something else while the former Elements of Harmony squawked like chickens with their heads cut off. The rest of the Crusaders lowered their heads. Dinky sighed, thinking back to better times as she decided to speak her mind. "None here truly care for Equestria anymore. If you did, we'd be listening to Twilight: the only pony who could possibly challenge the queen! If she says we need to work together, then we need to work together! Can't anypony see that?"

"I should really use locoweed in my next cake!" chirped the pink pony. "Then it would be a real surprise party!"

"Girls!" The lavender mare desperately pleaded. "I thought you were better than this! None of you care for the greater good: you just want your own vision of what this nation should be to come true! Please! We can't exchange one mismanaged tyranny for another! We... we need to bring back Celestia and Luna... somehow."

"Fer the greater good?" questioned Applebloom. "That's HER motto, Twilight. Besides, the princesses are dead. We're the only hope Equestria has left."

"...And at the moment," continued the orange Pegasus, "It's not a very bright hope."

"So?" Twilight asked, beginning to swing wild from all the stress around her. "So what if they're dead? I'm sure that somewhere out there, we can find a spell, or, or a potion that can bring them back!"

"THAT'S NOT NATURAL!" the yellow Pegasus screamed. "How DARE you, Twilight Sparkle! How DARE you!" With that, she stormed off in a huff, the soft blue glow of the stone in front of her chair growing dim before finally disappearing.

"Unicorns!" the honest farmer gritted. "That's all y'all unicorns are good fer, huh? SOLVIN' YER PROBLEMS WITH BUCKING MAGIC!! You make me sick, Twilight!" Applejack spat into a nearby pot, the 'ting!' sounding through the spell. With an infuriated slam of her hoof, her orb went out as well, taking her from the meeting.

Meanwhile, the pink party pony continued to giggle, her face in a Cheshire grin as her eyes moved into the corner of their sockets. To say the lavender mare was freaked out by the sight would be a massive understatement. "No. Death to all. The world is ending! Stars will fall. Reversing entropy is pointless! Locoweed should be legalized!!"

"Hmm?" Trixie asked as she seated herself back in her chair. "What did the Great and Powerful Trixie miss? Probably nothing, since the hayseed and tree-hugger are gone. Do Trixie a favour? Only call her when you know something USEFUL. Until then, don't bother!" Her orb went dark as well.

Dinky's horn shimmered, the rest of the orbs going dark as light returned to the room, leaving the purple unicorn squinting a little, trying to calm herself down again. "And that is why we split up," she explained. "Otherwise, half of us would be dead because of difference of opinion. Although, Luna and Celestia would be no match for Eos: she controls both the sun AND the moon. Are you okay, Twilight?"

"Yeah, I'm just..." she trailed off, looking for words, "Disappointed: at myself, mostly, for thinking of something so stupid. I was getting stressed and I was not thinking straight when I suggested that idea. I'm so sorry I crushed your hope for reunification."

"It isn't your fault, Twilight," Scootaloo spoke. "It was... kind of a long shot from the start." The door opened, allowing Sweetie Belle to behold the aftermath. She looked around, sighing with understanding before sending the drinks over to the present mares, sitting at the table herself. "We're sorry we put you through that. Really."

"I need some fresh air," the lavender unicorn spoke before rising. "I'm going outside for a bit."

~*///*///*///*~

At Dinky's insistence on an escort, the two unicorns ascended the slowly rising passage back up into the warmth of Sugarcube Corner. The blond unicorn went ahead, deactivating traps and making sure everything was clear. Using her magic, the floorboards became transparent on their side, allowing them to see that the store was clear. With a flick of her horn, the secret entrance opened, the Cakes busy in the back.

After a quick check out the front door, the two mares ventured outside, the lavender mare having to cover her eyes in the afternoon sun. Finally free of the dark confines of the underground fortress, Twilight took a deep breath, savouring the late spring air. The faintest hints of lilac and sunflowers hit her nostrils, resulting in a pleasant smell to compliment the sunny day. "Well, good thing it's clear today," Dinky smiled as they started into the square. "Ever since Cloudsdale exploded, the weather has been... unpredictable. Thankfully, the weather teams manage to keep extreme weather under control."

Without the weather factory, the climate of Equestria became that of the Everfree Forest: wild and unpredictable. All the weather ponies could do was to stem the tide of big storms, or go off in search of clouds for scheduled showers. Nowadays, the idea of weather scheduling had all but become an extinct concept to the citizens of Equestria, since the new weather factory was delayed by about two years thanks to the Everfree Movement.

However, looking at the quaint town of Ponyville, one would hardly notice the state of the nation, or the climate. Happy ponies walked around as they always did, going about their daily lives in a haze of relative bliss. They did not need to worry so much about the war. They did not need to worry about their friends baying for each other's blood, too blind to see the futility of being so angry.

Why did everything always have to get shoved onto her plate? Was it too much to ask to just read her books and be with her friends? Why did all of the weird stuff have to happen to them? Twilight gave her head a liberal shake, trying to remember that she came outside to relax and not work herself into another tizzy. To that end, she took several deep breaths as they walked down the streets.

"So Dinky," Twilight spoke, deciding to try and take her mind off of her misery, "I haven't seen your mom around recently. What has she been up to?"

The purplish-grey unicorn sighed in a mixture of frustration and pain. "You'll have to follow me, if you want to see... to see my mom, Twilight."

"Please, lead the way," spoke the librarian. Dinky nodded her head and quickly changed direction, leaving the main streets and heading north along the back alleys. The librarian had traveled all through the streets of town in her nearly two years of residence; however, she did not recognize any of the buildings down this one in particular. "Was this street rebuilt... after the fire, I mean?"

"Yeah, actually, now that I think about it," the younger mare replied. "The fires stopped spreading about three doors down from my house... my old house. You see, I had to move out of it about... eight years ago?"

"Why did you have to move out? Your mom could always pay the rent, as far as I know," said Twilight Sparkle. Seeing her genuine confusion, Dinky Hooves just snorted in reply.

Eventually, the crowded buildings began to thin as the cobblestone streets turned into dirt underhoof. The librarian had no clue where she found herself, as she had never been to this section of Ponyville before. However, an arch and wrought-iron fence soon came into view through the sparsely placed trees and bushes. Upon the wood backing of the sign rested black, iron letters, bore the words, 'Green Fields Cemetery.'

Stark realization crept across the lavender mare's features, causing her head to lower as she continued to follow Dinky. Tombstones stood side-by-side and row-on-row up the gently sweeping slopes, the trees overhead providing cover from the elements for the monuments. After about twenty rows, the younger unicorn turned, leading the librarian past several of the stones, all bearing unfamiliar names... until the inevitable.

At the top of the stone, like with all other ponies, was the symbol of her cutie mark: a string of seven bubbles rising gently. The black onyx markings of her mark contrasted wonderfully against the smooth grey stone, giving the illusion of depth. Below her mark, there was her birth, and death date. And beneath that, there was an inscription.

Here lies Derpy Hooves. A beloved mother and dedicated mailmare. Taken before her time in the pursuit of a better future.

Twilight lowered her head in respect, fighting back more tears because she knew that the genius Pegasus would not want her to weep, for her pain was over. Yet, it was incredibly hard to keep her composure, especially when her friends wanted nothing to do with her, or each other anymore. Only then did it dawn upon her just how lonely she was, thrust into a strange and dark world. How she longed to be with her friends, with Spike, with the Princess... Derpy...

"She died because she had a theory," spoke the orphaned unicorn, fighting back her own tears. "I guess you died in vain after all, Mom. You see, Twilight, right at the beginning of Queen Eos' reign, she noticed something. She developed a theory that soon became a well-known and accepted rumour. You see, a lot of ponies are scared of you... because they think that you're Eos in disguise."

Doing her best acting, the unicorn shivered and looked at the former filly wildly, as if she were shocked to hear all of this as opposed to having figured it out. She shook and sat on her haunches, shaking her head while holding a hoof to it, groaning in pain. It seemed to do a convincing job, as the young mare turned her attention from her back to the grave of her late mother.

"Why me?" Twilight asked. "Why, is it all the time, ME!? I just want to study and have fun with my friends! Why do the creators have to place me into these situations? WHY!!!"

~*///*///*///*~

The two unicorns headed back into town, having decided to go and have some tea in a shop near the town square. Twilight would have preferred to have tea back at the library, but she remembered that she had nothing back there to make the drink. So, she reluctantly agreed to go to the tea shop and have some of their (rather expensive) beverages outside, since it was a nice day.

Unfortunately, (although expected) she gained many more stares and whispers as she emerged from the back streets and into the crowded square, which was partially bisected by a small river. Walking inside the shop only served to increase the number of eyes on the pair as Dinky ordered their drinks, the older unicorn having told her before that she felt like some lemon tea to help soothe her nerves.

Stepping outside onto the fenced-in patio, the two mares seated themselves at a table close to the edge of the river. As they minded their own business, it became increasingly difficult to remain undisturbed, as the whispers turned into murmurs. Of course, a thought soon occurred to Twilight: if Dinky was in charge of a rebellion against the queen, how come no pony had fetched any authorities?

The purple pony voiced her concerns as discreetly as possible to the purplish-grey unicorn, who laughed at her concerns. "Don't worry about it. Technically, I've done nothing wrong and the queen has no evidence to list me as a subversive. So the cops can look, but they can't touch this flank," she laughed.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, Dinky," Twilight smiled, thankful the little excursion was not a risk on her part. "I take it your group is in charge of stealth operations?" The younger unicorn nodded her head, keeping a discrete eye on something behind the unicorn's head.

Thankfully, she did not seem to notice where her gaze drifted, although having her mother's lazy eyes would have been an advantage in this instance. Still, for the most part, she sipped on her tea and kept an eye on the commotion. Governor Ironhead was out in force, escorted by two guards as they went about town, plastering a series of new wanted posters, judging by the look of them.

The guards soon wandered over to the tea shop, placed another sign and moved on. Thankfully, old Ironhead was too busy with what he was doing to notice Dinky and try to antagonize her. Seeing them turn away, the two mares finished their tea and returned the cups before leaving the shop, while Twilight quietly recalled a book she had read about the different kinds of herbs that could be put in teas.

"Oh horseapples," the purplish-grey unicorn breathed when she stole a glance of the poster. Unfortunately, she drew Twilight's attention, the lavender mare walking up right behind her.

"What are you looking at, Din---" It was a great big colorful wanted poster with her face plastered on the front, her mark in one of the corners. At the very top of the poster, in large bold letters (aside from the obvious word) was the price on her head, 'ALIVE: 500,000 Bits'. Below the picture read, 'Twilight Sparkle. Considered armed and dangerous!'

"Fi--- Five Hun---!" The wanted mare stammered. Her eyes went wild in shock.

"Wow!" Dinky whispered in awe. "AJ is only listed as ONE hundred thousand. She must really be desperate if she wants that much for you!"

"Not. Helping!" Twilight cried out, inadvertently drawing some attention. "Let's get the hells out of here!"

The Crusader grabbed onto the lavender mare and started leading her away, a pair of blue-vested guards standing on the bridge between them and Sugarcube Corner. They skidded to a stop, the gray mare trying to think of another quick escape route, since the next closest bridge in the direction away from the guards was over three blocks away. There was nothing for it: if they wanted to get back to the bakery, before being caught, they would need to wade across the shallow river and climb onto the opposite bank.

Using silent, easy-to-understand gestures to communicate, the two ponies slowly made their way to the river, away from the prying eyes in the square and the guards loitering around the bridge. The bank of the small stream was shallow, yet very steep, an almost vertical drop down to the water's edge. However, if a pony crouched down, they could remain undetected from anypony in the square.

The plan was to follow the bank of the river under the bridge, and then cross the body of water under it to avoid detection for as long as possible. Then, they would navigate back to a shallow slope just across the moving body of water from where they started. However, Dinky had not accounted for a very critical factor: the river flowed directly under Canterlot upstream.

Twilight and Dinky covertly made their way across the bank as planned, the only hint to their existence being the occasional bent reed. However, neither of them expected to find a large burlap bag the same colour of the mud on the banks of the river. 'Squish!' sounded the bag as Twilight stepped on it, prompting her to do a double take. "What the hay was that?" she asked, natural curiosity kicking in.

Dinky, meanwhile, stopped cold, as she immediately recognized the bag, and what it possibly contained. "Twilight, don't---" she tried to warn, but it was far too late. Twilight had opened the bag to find that she instantly regretted it: chalk up another time she damned her curiosity. For in the bag, she came face-to-face with the rhyming Zebra, Zecora.

Or, it USED to be Zecora, anyway. Her coat was matte and ripped off in some places, exposing pink flesh underneath. She was bloodied and dirty, bones hanging off of her frame. Various body parts lay separated, a hoof here, a part of her tail there... her head looking Twilight directly in the eyes. Her mouth hung open, tongue removed. Maggots slowly emerged from her eye sockets, wiggling in the lack of space. In fact, the creatures covered her entire body, the unicorn having missed them through the overload of visual horrors.

And then the screaming started: a high-pitched wail of pure terror that alerted half the town to her discovery. "...open the bag," Dinky finished, placing a muddy hoof firmly against her face. "Although, I wondered when she'd show up." Looking over the bank, she saw guards approach the still screaming mare, concern on their faces before they had realized who was screaming. "... And now we have to run."

With all hopes of stealth utterly shattered, the younger unicorn grasped the elder in her telekinetic hold, casting an invisibility spell on herself before bolting up, carrying (the still screaming) Twilight. "It's Twilight Sparkle!" cried one of the guards. "Seize her!" Dinky panted under the strain, trying to lead them away from Sugarcube Corner. She needed to find a place to snap Twilight out of it though, or else all hopes of escape would be lost.

She wove between groups of ponies and tore down streets while carrying the irrational unicorn with her the entire way, struggling to maintain the invisibility spell. Celestia damn it, she has some lungs, the mare thought acidly as she carried her down a (not so) quiet backstreet with the guards in hot pursuit. Pushing her magic to the very limits, she put a silencing spell on the hysterical mare once they got out of sight, her invisibility flickering for a quick second before dispelling. However, with the other spell on, she could easily hide.

Turning down an alley, an opportunity presented itself in the form of an open door. The mare raced inside, her charge silently screaming in tow. Yet, that would not be enough: even with the door closed, they found themselves in the back room of a store. Dashing between stacks of boxes, they finally found a hidden alcove, the young mare piling boxes around to hide them in a makeshift room.

"Twilight!" she hissed. "Calm down or I'll slap you to bucking Canterlot, because that's EXACTLY where you're going if you keep this up! Yes, it was gruesome and horrible, but she's DEAD! She doesn't give a damn anymore! We all scream at seeing our first dead body, but that was just ridiculous! I'm sorry she's gone: I really am, but I have seen too many friends killed for it to phase me anymore!" Yet, she kept screaming, eyes tearing up. Dinky sighed and back-hoofed the mare hard, nearly snapping her neck from the force.

"Stop parading your innocence, your naiveté! Damn it, Twilight, grow a spine! If this is how you react to something bad, you might as well off yourself right now because you'll be of no use to ANYPONY in this world! It's ugly out there: far more ugly than a maggot-ridden corpse! Now, I am going to lift the silencing spell, and stars help me, if you scream I am going to beat you until you pass out!"

Twilight nodded her head, still a little stunned from the sudden hit. The younger unicorn's horn shimmered, the lavender mare grabbing hold of her, sobbing quietly while clinging on to her for support. Dinky rolled her eyes at the display, hardened by battles and failed missions, yet she was reminded of herself the first time she saw a dead body. So, she simply rubbed the mare's back in an attempt to soothe her nerves and bring her back to reality.

~*///*///*///*~

Together, the two ponies stayed in their makeshift hideout for hours until the raw librarian finally calmed down. "Okay," Dinky muttered as she opened a wall of their hideout by a crack, seeing the darkness in the rest of the building. "It's night now, and I'm sure your little... episode will probably increase the garrison. That is, if the fact Ponyville is your home hasn't done so already."

Twilight nodded her head. "Right, so what's the plan?" she asked, her voice cracking from all the strain she put on her cords.

"Sugarcube Corner is probably closed, so we can't get back to base without rousing suspicion. The library is definitely out as well, since I'd bet my horn that there are guards watching it. I'd say the only option is to get you out of town. I mean, you want to find Spike, right?" The lavender mare nodded her head in confirmation. "So, in order to do that, we'll have to sneak by patrols and border guards. I'd say we head for the west, and out towards Huffington. That'll take you close to Cloudsdale, and nopony goes near the place since..."

Both unicorns looked away apprehensively, unable to talk about the events that made the obliterated Pegasus capital so feared. "Well... thankfully the radiation in the air evaporated instantly. Just don't lick the dirt and you'll be fine," Dinky spoke after a few minutes' silence. "Can you do a decent invisibility spell? I can teach you, if you don't, but it's a little complicated."

"No, I know one," Twilight answered.

"Good. Cast it and let's go." With a wave of her magic, the box slid silently to the side, the two mares stepping out before donning their disguises. They silently crept through the back room of the store, keeping their ear peeled in case the guards were still searching the area, or the owner came in to grab something. Nearing the window, the two got a good look at the moon: low in the sky, yet high enough to be sure that most ponies would be asleep.

"Wait," Twilight whispered right before the younger mare opened the door. "How are we supposed to follow each other while we are invisible?" The question proved an interesting conundrum to the unicorn, before an idea came to her. She became visible once more and stood close to the door.

"Grab hold of my tail," she whispered. Rounding the exposed mare, Twilight gently gathered her hay-coloured tail in her teeth, tugging it lightly to signal that she had done so. Nodding her head, the young mare vanished once more. The door opening quickly, causing the librarian to very nearly lose her in that instant as they dashed outside. With any luck, they would not have to open any more doors.

Together, the two mares slowly made their way down the alley, keeping their ears peeled for the sound of foreign hoofsteps. The half moon above their heads provided some cover in the form of shadow, in case their spells shorted out, but it did nothing to stifle any sounds or smells coming from the hidden ponies. Although Twilight knew her way around town, she had no idea about guard patrols and schedules.

While she was calming herself down from the trauma, Dinky had told her that over the course of the decade the queen (through her golem governors) issued night patrols for all towns and major settlements. If Twilight made a wrong move, she could turn down a street and literally smack into one. Naturally, the idea of having her captured did not sit well with Dinky, since they may as well surrender if the queen ever got her hooves on her.

The lavender mare did not like the idea of having to sneak around her own home town, however, she soon conceded to the more experienced mare. After turning around the second bend, a pair of guards stood at the end of the street in vigil while complaining to themselves about how they needed to stand guard at the dead of night. Needless to say, the two mares kept deathly quiet as they crept around the pair of blue-vested earth ponies.

Once out of earshot and after they made sure no other ponies were coming, the lavender mare whispered through clenched teeth. "I thought the guard wore gold armour?" No answer came, only a quiet and irritated 'Shh!' from a vague spot ahead of her. From then on, Twilight kept her big trap shut. She had already endangered the young mare enough that day and she did not feel like running yet another risk.

By the time the two ponies slipped past the night patrol, after literally hours of slow going through the cobblestone streets, they found themselves safely in the confines of Whitetail Wood. Dinky stopped suddenly, flicking her tail from the other unicorn's mouth before quietly walking around in a circle. Twilight was confused, at first, until she realized she was checking for patrols. "Okay, we can drop them," she spoke, becoming visible to the purple mare.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the librarian dropped the invisibility spell as well, wiping some sweat from her brow since they were finally clear of town. "To answer your earlier question," Dinky spoke. "The army and royal guard wear gold armour, but the army has green tassels on the helmets. The guards in town are in service to Ironhead. He's the Governor of the township in place of the mayor. He is a golem made specifically by Eos to be completely loyal to her alone, as with all the other Governors. I think Huffington's is called... Copperhead: or something like that."

"Thank you for clarifying that, Dink," Twilight spoke. "Are... are you sure about letting me go off on my own? Especially after what happened earlier? Are you sure I can make it on my own?"

"You were right. When you said we needed to be together, that is. You can't reunite your friends in a bunker, Twilight. Go. For the sake of everypony: find Spike, Fluttershy, AJ, Pinkie and Rarity, if you can manage it. Just, just don't do anything stupid, okay? I don't want to read how you were captured in the paper. Just remember, we have bases in every town. If you need to hide, look for our symbol, you'll be able to get in... General Sparkle."

"Don't worry. I'll be careful," Twilight replied, moving deeper into the woods. She stole one last glimpse at Ponyville, bathed in the soft glow of the moon. Waving a quick goodbye to the Crusader she turned forward. She had no clue where to start looking, but when a pony is going from one disaster to the next, the goal isn't to find peace, but to simply keep moving.

Comments

[shadowcolt1]

this is GREAT

[DraconianTransmuter]

Congratulations, Spike, you're the new Rainbow Dash!

[Psycho-genius brony]

Arm yoursleves bronies! Tonight we march as reinfocements for the Resistance! I shall not rest my blade until it has tasted the blood of Eos! And my sword's kind of weird too. It uses the blood of my enemies to give me more health.

[Nessos25]

844205
Its a good day to die.
equestria

[Finite]

No body don't want to comment about what happen to the rhyming Zebra, Zecora, what you think her last moment was like... And don't type about her being rape, and torture repeatedly, until she die and dispose of in a large burlap bag.

[Meowy]

844205

Won't it occur to you that killing Eos might in a probability kill Twilight too? You know... coz they are kindda one and the same

[Sparksol]

Fluttershy. Did you forget that Twilight herself is unnatural herself, being a golem?
Hey Pinkie! Release Discord!
And Applejack? Yeah, I got nothing. Carry on.

[videogamehunter]

Wow. I never read a fan fic where Derpy is dead. That I was not expecting.

[Lhmac]

welcome her back with open legs

It's a silly thing, but I always try to avoid this phrase. Always. It's just too ... If you don't see it, I commend you on your innocence. I just ... can't unthink it.

Ah yeah, and the whole time Dinky and Twilight were running/hiding from guards and making 'sneaking around' plans, all I could think was "why doesn't Twilight just teleport?" Oops. Plothole.

[Bulder]

"Acid" ZE GOGGLES! They do NOTHING!

[Inara Seraph]

Gee yeah, a dead body, I can't believe Twilight freaked out over that. What a wimp; you MUST be naive and weak if you freak out over seeing a dead body for the first time. Naivete is saying 'we can solve it, really!', not being horrified by grotesque decaying bodies.

[Fergusmo88]

1526404

Probably because teleporting would result in a large flash, generating a lot of attention. Besides, Twi could only teleport a short distance. What's the farthest you've seen her teleport in the show? 10 feet?

[Xelos]

2967388
In season two episode 20 'It's About Time' Twilight was literally teleporting all around town. Way more then 10 feet.

[Dusk Raven]

The phrase "Sorrel Hells" is puzzling, if interesting.

[Commander Darklight]

2967388 im going to say several mile as she teleported RD spike rarity and herself that distance in the dragon migration episode