Distorted: Through the Looking Glass

by The Grimm Reaper

Chapter 2: Divided

Dusk

As I stood in the dropship, I listened to the chatter of the soldiers around me. Some were excited, others held reservations about the upcoming battle. Some of the newer members of the battalion were silently praying to go home to their families, while some of the more experienced ones remained perfectly quiet. One of the soldiers, a fairly seasoned officer by the name of Faraday had caught my interest in particular.

"Hey, Max. Heading home to the wife and kid after this mission's over?" he asked. Max was not an experienced soldier, but he could hardly be counted among the newer shinier ranks. His armor had a few scuff marks where weapons fire had struck. Some of the soldiers had taken to painting their armor around these scuff marks in order to match. Max's armor seemed bare in comparison to Faraday's.

"Yeah. CO finally granted me Shore Leave. It's been a year since I've seen my wife, and my boy's already been accepted into the Academy. He starts his training in a week and I was riding on getting to spend some time with them both before that happens." Max replied. Their voices were slightly distorted through their helmets, but that was nothing new. The speakers on those helmets were always sub-standard.

"The Academy? His talents are wasted there, you should have had him apply for Knighthood. Maybe then he would have been trained by Lord Dusk here." Faraday responded. It was Max's response that truly caught my interest.

"We did, but he said he wanted to work his way up and earn his fellow soldiers' respect before rising above them." I'd made a side-note to ask Max about the boy before he went on his leave.

They then conversed about the Mrs. for a further minute before the Pilot called to us over the comm. We were about to land when a loud explosion blasted to my left. We were sent flying out of control. I struggled to grab something that was attached to the dropship. Once I'd caught it however, I pulled myself closer to it. Not a moment too soon. We crashed down a second later. Half my team had been thrown through the hole that had been made by the explosion, while the other half were still inside with me. Ten soldiers in all. Of those ten, three were dead, including Max. Faraday was by his side, trying to shake him awake, but it was too late. I could feel it. He'd died before we hit the ground.

"Let's move out! This ship will blow at any time!" I ordered, kicking down the hatch to the outside. The chaos that reigned wasn't much better than inside. I could see laser fire going either which way. Commander Steel, my second in command, took control of the remaining regiment while I walked off to do my own thing. My master had given me a specific order, one I was to fulfil no matter the cost. "Regroup and make your way to the battlefront. I'll join you presently." I ordered the Commander.

"SIR!" he responded, saluting me before repeating my order while dragging a struggling Faraday away from the body of Lieutenant Max. With a bereft sigh, I raised my hood (which had fallen back in the crash) and made my way Eastward towards my goal.

---

---

Celestia

Several nobles stood before me, each having come forth to make the same proposal. Since I'd divided our people between Luna's rebellion and my empire, the Nobles had become afraid of me. Even now, they wished to serve their own purposes, but they realised that my presence alone gave them pause. So they came up with a solution. They would approach me with requests as a group. A higher power always seemed less intimidating when outnumbered. Had I known all it took was striking fear in their hearts in order to get them to work together, I would have done so sooner.

"Enlighten me, Lord Grey-mane; You interrupt my war room meeting with the General stationed at Ferine City, a city that is currently devoted to the construction of Anti-matter as a power source... all so you could request additional supplies for your private militia?" I asked, showing neither displeasure nor mirth at his request. The little weasel squirmed, despite his so-called backup.

"I-I-If you'd please... your majesty, let me explain; as you well know, we are fighting a war on two fronts. While your main forces are dealing with Princess Luna's Rebellion, the Nobility has had their Militia spread thin fighting against the undead. Lately, we've had more and more attacks on our barracks, and the morale of our men is fast depleting. All we ask is for some additional rations to be sent our way. A sign that their sacrifices are appreciated." Lord Grey-mane said. I knew what he was doing, trying to soften me up by appealing to my sense of compassion. But I saw this as a battle of wills. And I would not crumble at the words of one who is too cowardly to ask on his own.

"These are your militia, Grey-mane. If gratitude is what they're after, then it should come from you, not me. As for resources, would it not be prudent to delve into your own stock, your own farms?" I could feel their urges to protest hanging in the air. Nobles were all the same, in times of war or out of them, they disliked sharing. "Surely such a thing is manageable, now that you all seem to be working together."

"My lady, please! It is our militia that are sacrificing themselves for you and your cause, not us." one of the other nobles spoke up. Lord Lockjaw was a well respected member of the Royal Court. Unlike most other nobles, the Lockjaw family often earned their titles by engaging in tasks that other nobles felt themselves too good for.

"Be that as it may, the sad truth of the matter is that your men are expendable. You know the plan as well as I do. You signed their lives away for a seat at the table. If you're feeling guilty now, then do as I've recommended and offer unto them your own reserves. It's not as though you have use for it anyway." I said. Again, that desire to protest filled the air. I could smell it on them; their fear, and anger. I could feel what they wanted to say to me.

The nobles took a few moments to look between each other before bowing to me respectfully and turning to leave. With a heavy sigh I was about to rise from my throne when an officer rushed into the throne room. He seemed panicked, so I ignored his lack of respect towards me. "Speak!" I ordered.

"Empress, news from Ferine City. General Flash has confirmed that Lord Dusk's regiment has landed. Commander Steel reported that the dropship crashed, but Lord Dusk survived and is continuing on his mission. Half the team didn't survive the crash though." the officer said with sadness in his eyes.

"So long as Dusk survived, that's all that matters to me. He is integral to my plan." I said. The officer seemed shocked by what I'd said, but said nothing. "Was there more?" I asked.

"There was a soldier in that regiment; Lt. Max Prowler. His son is a new recruit in the Academy, and has displayed signs that he is eligible for Knighthood." Now that was noteworthy.

"I see... very well, I'll keep an eye on this one. What is his name?" I asked.

The officer brought his focus to a notepad that he'd carried in with him. " Cadet Pipsqueak Prowler. He's scheduled to arrive at 0800 hours next Monday." I leaned back in my throne as I contemplated the name. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. I dismissed the officer and had the throne room to myself. Some thought towards the future of this 'Pipsqueak' was required.

---

---

Dusk

Ferine City was the very definition of a warzone. If soldiers from the Empire and the rebellion weren't shooting at each other, then they were shooting at their downed brethren who had returned from the dead. I decided that discretion was the better part of survival in this situation. Powerful as I was, I was not prepared to face thousands of soldiers and undead.

Making my way through city streets and alleyways, I approached my destination with relative ease. A few stray zombies were of little consequence to me. The building was easily twenty stories high. It was a science/engineering university. The building responsible for the production of the anti-matter power core that we needed. The building the Imperial army was defending was a decoy. A well known Science facility. Easily the first choice for such research as anti-matter.

As I entered the building, I found a few of the scientists dead. It seemed that the decoy was not entirely effective. I quickened my pace to a long stride, my feet hammering against the tile ground with each step. I made my way to the nearest elevator and stepped in. I knew the floor level where the practical applications were being tested and I punched it in.

Level seventeen. Most people would consider testing something so dangerous as far away from the surface as possible, but that was what the enemy would have expected. As a result, when they realised their mistake, it would have taken them time to find the right floor.

As the doors opened, I was immediately greeted by a familiar light. An intense cyan glow surrounded a blade of near white light. I knew the owner of such a blade even before I eyed her chromatic pattern on her head and ears.

"Dash. It's been a while. Been busy?" I asked, not bothering to mask the venom in my otherwise pleasant sounding words. Dash stood before me, her Knight Blade pointed at my throat. As far as anyone could tell, she had me where she wanted me.

"Oh, you know. This and that. Sorry about killing your nerd herd here, but you were otherwise unavailable."

"Dash. It's not like you to settle for the next best thing." I goaded.

"But you don't know me. You haven't known me for a long time. Just as I haven't known you for a long time." she replied.

I smiled at her, taking a step forward. She took a step back in turn, not wanting to stab me through the throat. Not yet, at least. "No, but you remember me. All those memories, all those adventures. All those... nights toge-"

"Shut up! Don't you bring that up, don't you dare!" she snapped.

"Just letting you know that I still remember. I know why you hunt me more than the others. It's because that I hurt you the most when I betrayed you all. And then of course there's Fluttershy, who comes a close second." Dash was shaking with anger. She always was quick-tempered. "Speaking of the others... are we alone in this building, or did you bring the old gang?" I asked.

"Applejack and Pinkie are here. Rarity and Fluttershy are with the main force. She's grown a lot stronger since you saw her last; Fluttershy. She wants you dead as much as I do. I don't think she even wants to know why you betrayed us. She's that angry." she replied.

"Is that why you chose to leave her with the main force instead of bringing her here where you knew I'd be?" I asked.

"I didn't know you'd be here."

I gave her a sceptical look. "Please. Having trained you myself, I know full well how good you are at tracking me." I said. Dash just huffed.

"It doesn't matter. I'm here, Fluttershy's not. So, are you willing to tell me why you betrayed us?" she asked. Every time we faced off like this, she'd ask that question. And the answer was always the same.

"Not yet." Dash had been wearing a smile on her face. It was the kind of smile one got when you thought you were finally going to get the answer you'd been seeking. But that smile fell faster than a stone with my answer.

"What do you mean not yet? I have you literally by the throat! There isn't going to be another opportunity for you to tell me, so just-"

Before she could finish her sentence, I threw my arms forward. The power I wielded sent her flying backward, across the hallway that lead from the elevator to the room where the anti-matter core was. Dash hit the door and went right through. I stepped completely off the elevator and drew my own Knight Blade. As I activated it, the sound it made was different from what the others' blades made. My own reflected my darkness. A sickening, barking hiss sounded as an unstable beam of red light erupted from one end of the cylindrical object that was the hilt of my blade. Dash's chance to kill me went through the door along with her. I made my trek across the hallway towards the room where the anti-matter core was kept, and where Dash, Applejack and Pinkie were no doubt waiting. As I stepped through the hole that Dash had made, I was greeted by the presence of two more familiar faces.

Dash stood, holding her blade in her right hand, and the core in her left. It surprised me how small the core actually was. No larger than a golf ball. Dash pocketed the core in her dark blue and white robes.

Pinkie stood a few meters to Dash's right, brandishing a pink Knight Blade and wearing a pink eyesore. To Dash's left was Applejack. She'd long since foregone her trademark Stetson and had donned an orange robe. Pointed at me was her orange Knight Blade.

I looked between the three Knights and smiled, pulling back my hood. I raised my own Knight Blade to meet their challenge. "Evening ladies. So nice to see you all again." And with that said, the three of them rushed me, each with the intent to kill.

Author's Note:

Okay, so some info you should know. As I specified in the story description, this is not a Star Wars crossover, I've just used many concepts from the Star Wars universe, such as the 'Knight Blades'. I'll be adding a backstory to those in a later chapter.

Now, some interesting facts about this Universe:

Rainbow Dash: Is actually just known as Dash in this universe because the rainbow that is in the pony version's mane and tail is little more than highlights around the top of her head and around her ears, as well as the end of her tail.

Pinkie: Is actually just a nickname, and this version goes by the full word Pinkamena.

Fluttershy: Was as shy as her canon self, but the events that led up to this story have caused her to go through drastic changes.

The Wolves in general: haven't got manes/heads of hair. It's all pelt from head to toe, with the exception of some slightly longer hair around the neck area, but that's insignificant.

You'll find certain names of wolves and cities as Easter Eggs. For Example, Grey-mane is the name of one of the feuding families in Whiterun from Skyrim. And Steel (a little more tricky to source) refers to Steel from Balto. Also, of you're a Whovian, then you'll know where I got the name Arcadia from, though I actually decided to use that name, not remembering where it came from until I saw the Day of the Doctor again shortly afterward.

Finally, I feel I must warn you now. If you come across references that don't make sense, or relationships that don't coincide with the canon, you must realise that this is a fanfic about an alternate universe. I will try to create some context where I can, but sometimes, you're just going to have to take it at face value.

Thank you all, and enjoy reading. Also, I changed the song in the description. It's now 'Kara Remembers' from the Battlestar Galactica soundtrack. It used to be 'Hide by Red'

Comments

[ShittyMKSound]

6769812

[wlam]

Fix the formatting in that second section, it's broken right now and makes it painful to read.

[EchoWolf31]

So, is Wolf!Twilight R63ed or is this Dusk guy a different person? Also, sorry for all the questions.

[The Grimm Reaper]

6806876 R63, like you thought.

[The Grimm Reaper]

6806555 you'll have to be more specific. If you mean the POV section title, then I've just fixed that. If it's something else, go to Specsavers.

[wlam]

6809124
I mean the part where that entire section is center-aligned instead of left-aligned for no good reason, given that the previous section was formatted properly.

[The Grimm Reaper]

6809127 Oh right. Didn't notice that, thanks. Lol, maybe I should go to Specsavers.

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

UP-DATE! PLEASE!

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

Wow! This is one of the very first stories that I liked in my first year of creating my username. Like to see how you been doing.