The Third Commander

by Priceless911

Ch17 Thundaga Declares War

As Cirrus opened his eyes, he found himself standing in what looked to be a parade in the center of Canterlot. As the city was booming with confetti, cheering and music, Cirrus flew to a rooftop and looked down into the streets as he tried to understand what everypony was celebrating. Finally a float pulled onto the center of the street as Cirrus could make out the ponies on it. First was Princess Twilight Sparkle the Pony of Magic, next Captain Rainbow Dash of the Wonderbolts the Pony of Loyalty, then Apple Jack the Pony of Honesty, Then Rarity the Pony of Generosity, Fluttershy the Pony of Kindness, Pinkie Pie the Pony of Laughter, and finally a baby dragon who Cirrus could only assume to be Spike.

As the float rolled by, Cirrus mumbled, “Is this… the end of the Eden’s Kiss Catastrophe?”
“No, this is a celebration that happened twenty years later.”
Confused, Cirrus turned around to look at the cloaked stallion as the shadowy figure made his way to the ledge and looked into street, “notice, the Ponies of Harmony aren’t as young as they were during that incident. Not to mention Canterlot is completely whole with no ruins in sight.”
Cirrus nodded his head, “okay… then what is this parade for?”
The stallion pointed into the street, “look there…"

As Cirrus looked back into the street, he could see another float following the Ponies of Harmony’s as Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, an Adult Princess Umbra and an unknown buffalo stood on it waving to the surrounding public. As they waved, Cirrus noticed something strange about Princess Umbra, “Why does Princess Umbra look so… troubled?”
The stallion replied, “This parade is meant to celebrate the long lasting relationship between the ponies of Equestria and the Buffalo Tribes of the Badlands. But that’s not why you’re here… this is…”
All of a sudden the surroundings changed to the Canterlot Castle corridor as Princess Umbra and Princess Luna trotted through the halls. As they trotted, Princess Luna spoke, “Umbra? What is on your mind? You seem somewhat distraught… I thought you enjoyed Chief Strongheart’s company?”

Princess Umbra nodded her head as she replied, “I do, Chief Strongheart is amongst my closest of friends… however…”
Luna gave her a curious look, “however?...”
Umbra continued, “Mother… I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that I will be eighteen years old in three days.”
Princess Luna smiled, “I know… Pinkie Pie is excited about the party she will be planning for you. But surely that isn’t the reason you feel troubled.”
Princess Umbra shook her head, “not at all… it’s just… what if I were to cancel my party? In fact what if I were absent from my birthday entirely.”
Princess Luna looked at her daughter as she asked, “what are you saying Umbra? Where would you be?”

Princess Umbra took a bracing breath as she replied, “tomorrow begins the basic training for the next recruit of Royal Guards… and… I wanted to join them when they began.”
Princess Luna smiled, “is that all?... if you wish to partake in some of their training then that shouldn’t hinder your birthday party.”
Princess Umbra shook her head, “no… I want to attend their training for the entirety of the training schedule. I want to experience it just as our guards do… that includes having absolutely no handicap for my royal status. I will train with them on the same grounds, sleep with them in the same barracks, and suffer with them through the same training. As such I do not want any special treatment from the instructors.”

Princess Luna was surprised, “you mean you want to participate in the training as if you yourself were training to be a royal guard?”
Princess Umbra shook her head, “no… I want to participate because I’m training to be a royal guard. I want to experience what our guards do, so that they will know that I can and will do the same. I want them to know that if I were to ever risk their lives that I would be beside them doing the same.”
Princess Luna shook her head, “Umbra… we are princesses… as such we must rely on our guards to protect us, just as our subjects rely on us to protect them.”

Princess Umbra shook her head, “mother… I trained with the best the world has to offer. Commander Gilda, Zecora and Zeil, Princess Twilight, even Prince Shining Armor. I trained to become strong so that the subject can rely on my protection just as they did my father. But how can I commands soldiers without knowing of the trials they go through during the simplest of training exercises.”
Luna tried to add, “It’s not about protection, it’s ab-”
Umbra interrupted, “All are willing to give for the princess… so why shouldn’t a princess be willing to give for all?”
Knowing that there was no convincing her otherwise, Princess Luna sighed, “Are you sure you want to do this?... You know that the entire kingdom already respects you for your kindness towards them… do you really want to go the extra mile for that little addition to your status?”

Princess Umbra nodded as she replied with a serious tone, “I’m not looking for an addition to my status as princess… I care about everypony in this kingdom. Guard, citizen, friend all just words that describe everypony that I’m willing to protect with my very life. Tell me… how can I protect them if I don’t have the training to do so? I want to train with the guards, so I can better understand their strengths as well as my own. I’m strong as is… but with that mutual respect that I can get by training with our guards, then I… we can become a shield of protection that will sway even the worst of our enemies. All I ask, is that you let me become that shield.”
Knowing the determination that her daughter was willing to show made Luna sigh as she replied, “very well… if you are willing to go through it, then I will allow it. Just remember that as a princess the subjects rely on more than just your protection.”

Princess Umbra smiled as she replied, “Of course mother, as a princess I will always place the needs of my subjects before my own….” She hugged her mother, “thank you...”
Smiling at the tender moment as it slowly faded to darkness, Cirrus looked at the stallion and spoke, “so… Princess Umbra was a determined princess wasn’t she?”
The stallion nodded his head, “she wanted to live up to her father’s legacy… but considering who her father was, this task wouldn’t be easy.”

Cirrus gave the Stallion a skeptic look, “You’re Commander Bolt… aren’t you?”
The stallion smiled, “I am… surprised?...”
Cirrus shook his head, “not really… I had my suspicions since you only started invading my dreams after the incident at the Thunder Grounds.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “So… now what? Now that you know who I am, will it change anything?”
Cirrus shook his head, “probably not… but I still have to ask… you said Princess Umbra was your daughter right? And Thundaga also claims to be your daughter… so… are they sisters?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “no…”
“Then… they are the same pony?...”
“In a sense… yes… but in actuality, no. they are two different ponies.”

Cirrus was confused, “then… what is Thundaga? You said that Princess Umbra was defeated by darkness, so… is Thundaga the darkness?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “no… Thundaga and the darkness are like Umbra and Thundaga. They are linked, but they are two different entities.”
Cirrus asked, “Then… what is the darkness?”
Commander Bolt replied with a serious tone, “The darkness is its own being… it’s a monster of undefined evil that acts on the will of its host, before claiming what it wants.”
Cirrus asked, “If it’s a being… then what exactly is it? Does it have a name?”
Commander Bolt replied, “The darkness is called-”

As Commander Bolt continued mouthing the name of the creature, no voice was heard as it was overshadowed by another voice that spoke, “Commander Halo… Sir it’s time to wake up.”
With that Cirrus woke to a dark room as he looked around to see Zine sleeping in the bed next to him, while Gem Stone stood next to his bed, “sir… it’s time to greet your soldiers and to monitor their progress.”
Now awake, Cirrus sat up as he rubbed his head, “Gem… what time is it?”
Gem Stone replied, “Sir, it’s zero five hundred hours. And although I don’t mind you calling me Gem here, remember in front of the soldiers, it’s Captain.”
Cirrus nodded his head, “okay… so what time is it again?”
Gem Sighed, “sir it’s five a.m.”

Cirrus smiled, “there wasn’t that easier to say?... wait… Five a.m.? Why so early?”
Gem Sighed, “sir as our commander it’s expected that you lead by example. Since the soldiers are up early it’s good that they know you are up early too. Besides, it’s time for your training.”
Cirrus gave her a dull look, “I thought we already tried and failed on the whole training thing?”
Gem smiled, “yea you did… but this isn’t combat training. This time, I’m going to teach you how to be a commander. So get up, get ready, and meet me outside when you’re done.”
Without letting him reply to her, Gem Turned around and trotted outside as Cirrus moved to the edge of the bed as he thought to himself. Though he didn’t hear the name of the creature that Commander Bolt told him about, its name still popped into his mind as Cirrus mumbled, “can such a monster… truly exist?”

Later, Cirrus and Gem Stone trotted through the rebellion hideout as Gem mumbled to him, “Always trot with confidence, and keep your eyes forward unless your attention is required to go elsewhere. Never look at the ground and try to keep changes in expressions to a minimum. One pace ahead of me and to my right. You need to be where I can address you if needed. Remember, I look to you for guidance, so you never have to look to me for results.”
Cirrus sighed as he continued trotting in the position she mention, “Why is it so difficult to be a commander?”

Gem Shrugged her shoulders, “who knows, I was a lower rank so I never questioned it.”
“Commander Halo!”
Looking at a few soldiers that were approaching, Gem Stone mumbled, “Okay, it’s alright for them to approach you as long as they salute you on arrival. Once they do that, it’s your choice to talk to them or to turn them away, but if you talk to them, feel free to remind them of their composure when addressing you.”
Cirrus sighed, “this day is gonna drag on forever… isn’t it?”

As the two ponies approached him, they saluted as one spoke, “Sir, I mean commander. It’s good to meet you in the flesh. I was in Canterlot the day you and Captain Stone fought Thundaga and I must say, it’s inspiring to see somepony standing up to her like that.”
Cirrus smiled as he looked at Gem, “See… I told you.” He looked back at the ponies and continued, “thank you both… however it was Captain Stone who did most of the work. I was just present.”
The two smiled as they continued, “Either way sir, we’re happy to be a part of the Nightmare Legion. It’s a real honor to fight beside you both.”
Cirrus smiled, “Thanks but the honor is mine, to have so many willing to fight for peace. That is the real honor.”
The two saluted as the one replied “thank you sir. We need to return to training. Will you stop by to see us in action later?”
Cirrus smiled, “of course I will, I will always have time to see what you guys can do.”

The two smiled as they dropped their salute and continued passed the two towards the area where their training was taking place. As the two trotted out of earshot, Gem gave Cirrus a surprised look, “wow… for a second there it seemed like you were a veteran commander, telling them that you had time for them. Even I didn’t think about saying something like that.”
Cirrus smiled with modesty, “well… I just thought it would encourage them a little besides, I witnessed a similar situation this morning so I figured it would be good to see what their training consists of.”
Gem became curious, “a similar situation earlier?... when?”

Cirrus knew that saying it was in a dream would seem weird so he just shook his head, “n-never mind.”
Although Gem was curious as to what he was talking about, she could only give him a confused look as her attempt to reply was stopped by a loud roar that echoed throughout the cavern.
Hearing the ferocious roar, both Gem and Cirrus looked in the direction it echoed from as Cirrus asked, “What on earth was that?”
Gem replied, “I’m not sure, we should probably investigate though.”
Cirrus nodded his head as he turned towards the direction they were looking, “you’re right. Let’s go.”

With that the two started trotting through the large cavern towards the area that the loud roars continued to echo from. Not long after, the two finally arrived in an area where a large platform was being lowered from the surface as a massive cage rocked back and forth on the wooden scaffolding. As the massive wooden elevator was being lowered, Cirrus looked at the cage and could see a large manticore chewing at the metal bars as the enrage creature tried to free himself from his captors. After noticing the ferocious beast in its cage, Cirrus then looked to the ground below the platform as he saw Apple Barrel signaling the ponies that were lowering the platform as he spoke, “steady... Steady… all together now.”
As the wooden platform finally reached the ground, Apple Barrel, called, “alright, that’s enough. Now let’s get it onto the wagon.”

With that a number of ponies pulled a wagon into place as a group of unicorns started using magic to lift the cage and place it onto the large wagon. As the cage was being moved, Cirrus and Gem approached Apple Barrel as he saw them and saluted, “Mornin’ sir. Come to see the catch? Careful now, don’t get too close. Ever since we caught her she’s been as rowdy as a jack rabbit.”
Cirrus looked at the angry creature as it unawed on its bars and reached for nearby ponies as he asked, “she does seem ticked off. Did anypony get hurt catching her?”
Apple Barrel shook his head, “nah, nothing more than a few scratches. We managed to keep a safe distance while luring her into our traps. Although… a few scratches still hurt.”
With that said, Apple Barrel gestured to a few ponies with large bandages wrapped around their heads and torsos as Cirrus replied with an uneasy stare, “well… if you say they’re okay… then I trust you.”

As Cirrus finished talking, one of the loading unicorns spoke up, “Lieutenant Barrel, the cage is secure. Where should we take her?”
Apple Barrel replied, “Take her to the lab and wait outside. The general said Zine would be doing his mumbo jumbo stuff there.”
There soldier saluted, “understood sir”
as the soldier left to follow his orders, Gem asked, “So where is the General anyways?”
Apple Barrel replied, “Oh he’s off takin’ little Jet back to the Wonderbolt academy. He should be back soon. Till then let’s get this honoree critter to Zine for his spell castin’ stuff.”
Gem smiled, “You don’t seem too enthused about magic do you?”
Apple Barrel smiled, “Course I don’t, earth ponies like myself can’t understand two bits of any of that magic stuff. Course I don’t think anypony could be enthused about Zine’s type of magic. But, an order is an order. Ain’t like I’m the type to say no to one”
Cirrus smiled, “I guess you’re right about that. Either way let’s hope this wasn’t a waste of time.”

Far off in Canterlot, Commander Mist was in his office filling out paperwork as a greenish mare with a red mane knocked on his door, “Commander Mist, it’s Major Storm. Permission to enter sir?”
Commander Mist replied as he continued focusing on his paperwork, “granted…”
With that, the female guard entered the room and saluted as she spoke, “Sir… I came to deliver my leave form personally. I assume everything is in order.”
With that, the mare laid the paperwork on his desk as Commander Mist looked at the form under reason for leave, “Emergency? Exactly what kind of emergency?”
Major Storm replied, “This morning I received a message from my family in Trottingham. My grandmother has been ill and the doctor says that she is on her last leg. So, I would like to visit her before her time comes.”

Seeing the seriousness in her expression, Commander Mist nodded, “Very well… you will be given a week’s leave. However, you must return before that week is up. Thundaga has been gathering the best our army has to offer for a secret mission this evening, and though you won’t be there to attend, we will need you for the following conflicts that will result from it.”
Major Storm was curious “Secret mission? What mission is that?”
Commander Mist replied without concern for her curiosity, “I cannot disclose that information, all I can say is that it will confirm whether the rebellion is a joke or a serious threat.”

Unsure as to his actions, the mare could only nod her head as she replied, ‘understood. Thank you sir, I’m sure my family will be happy to see me.”
As Major Storm started to turn to leave Commander Mist stopped her, “One second Major… before you go I was wondering if you’ve heard the rumors that is being muttered through the ranks.”
Major Storm gave him a curious look, “rumors?... what kind of rumors sir?”
Commander Mist replied, “Lately I’ve heard rumors of a Third Party gathering recruits for an army of some kind. Although there isn’t any proof that these rumors are true, I have no doubt that if they are, then it’s possible that Zine, Cirrus, and that Gem Stone pony are responsible. So… have you heard anything about it?”

Major Storm smiled as she shook her head, “not at all… it’s most likely little barrack stories told amongst the lower ranks to keep themselves amused during guard duties. Until I see solid proof, I can only ignore such talk. However, if you suggest we act on it, then I'll be willing to follow whatever guidance you would offer on the subject.”
Commander Mist shook his head, “no need… if it’s idle chit-chat, then I would make a suggestion to the ranks that it needs to be laid to rest. But if you somehow stumble upon any proof… then you must notify me immediately, understood?”
Major Storm saluted Commander Mist as she replied, “I will sir. Thanks, and I'll see you in a week.”
With that said, Major Storm dropped her salute as she exited the office and proceeded towards her destination.

Later Cirrus, Gem, Apple Barrel, and General Dash were standing outside the Rebellions magic lab as they watch the manticore viciously claw and gnaw on the bars trying to free itself from its prison. As they watched Cirrus looked at the group as he spoke, “wow… three hours and he’s still as ticked as he was when he got here.”
Gem nodded her head, “I don’t know what’s more surprising, the fact that it was captured or the fact that it didn’t kill anypony in the process.”

General Dash smiled, “never underestimate our hunters, we find ways to manage on our own.”
The manticore then opened its massive jaw and closed it over two bars as it started closing its powerful jaws, bending the bars closer together. Seeing this made most of the ponies feel nervous as Cirrus spoke to Apple Barrel, “should we do something? What if it gets lo-”
“Oh, he’s a big kitty isn’t he?”

All of a sudden, the manticore with its jaws still over the bending bars, shifted its eyes over to where the unexpected voice came from. However once the beast saw who spoke, its eyes widened as it quickly released the bars and stared in fear at Zine as he approach the area. As Zine drew closer to the cage, the manticore started backing up until it was against the back bars as far away from Zine as it could possibly get. Seeing the unusual change in the manticore’s attitude, Apple Barrel spoke, “shoot, I ain’t seen a change in personality like that before. You use some kind of spell or somthin’?”
Zine gave Apple Barrel a sinister smile as he replied, “Not at all… it doesn’t matter how ferocious a beast is… it knows evil when it sees it.”
Zine approached the bars as he looked into the cage and spoke, “It looks big enough… this one should do.”

With that Zine turned around and pulled a rolled up cloth from his saddlebag as he asked, “did this manticore kill anypony when you were hunting it?”
Apple Barrel shook his head, “nope, just a few scratches why?”
Zine sighed in disappointment, “well I was hoping that if anypony was looking for revenge they were free to do the honors, but since there is no reason, I'll just have to take care of it myself.”
As Zine laid the cloth on the ground he unrolled it to reveal a razor sharp dagger as he held it up to check the blade. As he did, General Dash asked, “Take care of it? You mean, kill it?”

Zine looked at a nearby soldier as he gave an order, “bring me as many buckets as you can, and light the fire under the caldron in the lab. I’m going to need it ready as soon as possible.”
The soldier looked at General Dash as he nodded his head, “Do what he says for now.”
The soldier nodded as he went to follow the order given, Zine looked back at Dash and answered his question, “of course I am… how else am I going to gather its blood?”
All of a sudden everypony in the area was surprised as Cirrus asked, “gather its blood?... what in the world are you going to do?”
Zine smiled, “just a harmless spell… well… harmless to us anyways.”

At that moment the soldier returned with a large number of buckets that were stacked inside of each other as Zine looked at the pony and spoke, “alright… get ready because as soon as a bucket is full I'll need you to take it to the cauldron and pour it in. be sure you act quickly, we can risk any of the blood drying up before it gets to the cauldron.”
Not hearing the earlier comment, the soldier gave him a confused look, “um… what was that?”
Zine sighed, “I said we need to fill the cauldron with its blood and try to get it to a boil before it dries up.”
Cirrus nervously asked, “c-can blood even boil?”

Zine smiled as he unlocked the gate to the cage, “it sure can, if you know how to do it… now I will like to advise anypony that has a weak stomach to leave immediately… this is gonna get a little… messy.”
With that warning, almost everypony in the area including Cirrus, Gem Stone, General Dash and Apple Barrel turned around to leave as Zine soon found himself standing alone with only him and the soldier he instructed left in the area as he sighed, “wow… weak herd…”
with that he turned to the Manticore who tried to back up even furether but was stopped by the bars on the other side of the cage. As Zine trotted closer he griped the dagger firmly as he gave the terrified creature an evil smile, “here kitty, kitty, kitty…”

Far away from the site, Cirrus, and Gem trotted quickly away from the area as Cirrus mumbled, Wow… just when I think he can’t get any worse. He goes and pulls something like this. Sometime I wonder if he really is on our side.”
Gem Sighed, “To be honest, me too… but considering what he’s been through I suppose I can’t blame him for his insanity.”
Cirrus nodded his head, “I know… he told me about his past. It’s a hard thing to listen to.”
Gem nodded her head, “I know… it’s bad enough that our parents were killed… but his are still alive and breathing but neither one wants anything to do with him.”

Cirrus had to ask, “Did he ever try to get revenge for what happened to him?”
Gem shook her head, “you know I asked him the same question, but he said that there wasn’t any point. Getting revenge for the distant past was a waste of time. Or so he says. I think…. he enjoys the results of what happened too much. Think about it, he’s fearless, he has no worry to use dark magic, and he has been relieved of anything in Zebrica that he could possibly miss. No home, no family and no place in this world… it’s sad in a way… but then again… he’s kinda like us.”
Cirrus shook his head, “no… He’s exactly like us. Spike too. We’ve all had a happy life at one time and had it taken away from us unfairly. Hopefully… We’ll be able to get it back, or something similar.”

Meanwhile at the Wonderbolts Academy, Jet sat on the plateau training ground watching the students perform as he pouted, “It’s not fair… Dad got to say and hang out with Halo all day while I’m here watching this…”
hearing this one of the instructors looked at Jet and smile, “aww come on Jet, this isn’t so bad. I thought you liked watching the future Wonderbolts train.”
Jet continued pouting, “Yea… but none of them are as cool as Ha- huh?”

As Jet watched the Wonderbolts train, his sentence was cut short when the white clouds in the sky quickly multiplied while turning black and bringing a dark shadow across the grounds. As the midday sky slowly started to resemble an evening overcast, the instructor called to the students, “Everypony on the ground NOW! All hooves on deck!”
As the students stopped their drills and landed on the runway, a second teacher rushed up as he spoke to the first, “that’s strange, the weather called for partly cloudy skies. What in the world are those guys at the cloud factory doing?”
The second replied, “I don’t know… but I have a ba-”
“LOOK!!!”

At that moment, everypony’s attention went to the dark skies as Thundaga and a small formation of Royal Guards slowly descended through the clouds and towards the ground as they landed and formed up with Thundaga standing at the lead. After they landed, the formation held its ground as Thundaga’s eyes centered on the closest teacher as she started trotting towards him. As she approached, the teacher bowed as he spoke, “your majesty, I wasn’t expecting a surprise visit, are you here to encourage future Wonderbolts?”

Ignoring the question, Thundaga replied with an unamused stare, “Are you the lead instructor?”
Before the stallion could reply, another pony stepped up as she replied, “your majesty, I’m the lead instructor… is there something I can help you with?”
Thundaga looked at the mare as she replied, “yes… we understand that the pony in charge of this facility used to be Captain Dash of the Wonderbolts, correct?”
The mare nodded her head, “He was… but as you know, ever since we found out he is a member of the rebellion, he was banned and is no longer welcome on these grounds.”

Thundaga wasn’t convinced, “Is that so… well… then you’ve nothing to fear… Gather all the faculty and students to these grounds… we will be hosting a school assembly here for everypony attending or teaching in this academy… no exceptions.”
Trying to maintain peace, the lead instructor looked at her fellow teachers and spoke, “gather all the students and faculty here as fast as you can. Have them form up on the runway.”
Nodding their heads at the instruction, the teacher’s fanned out and rounded up all faculty and students. Although Jet was neither, the lead instructor had him fall in behind the faculty as the whole academy emptied its buildings and gathered every pegasus and griffin in the academy onto the runway.

About thirty minutes later, Thundaga found herself standing in front of two large formations. One of students and a smaller one of teachers. As soon as they were ready, the lead instructor approach Thundaga as she bowed, “your majesty, all students and faculty are present and accounted for.”
Thundaga smiled as the replied, “good, then fall in with the teachers and await our instruction.”
Nodding her head, the instructor fell in with the faculty as Thundaga trotted to the front of her formation and looked at the academy’s occupants one last time. Knowing that things were going according to plan, Thundaga turned to her soldiers as she gave an order with a serious expression, “Surround the students, and place them all under arrest for suspicion of treason! Then! Arrest all the teachers!”

As the guards started spreading out to surround the student formation, one of the teachers stepped forward, “No! You can’t!”
Thundaga replied with an unamused tone, “oh?… looks like we already did…”
Another teacher called, “The students did nothing wrong!”
Thundaga turned to the faculty as she replied, “if they are innocent then their innocents will be proven and they will be set free. However, we will hold them in the dungeon until proof is found.”
The first teacher spoke again, “this isn’t right, and you know it!”
Thundaga gave an angry glare as she replied, “if you wish to stop us… then go ahead… otherwise… we would suggest you hold you’re tongue when speaking to royalty.”
With anger taking control, the enraged pegasus charged at Thundaga as he replied, “There is nothing royal about you!!!”

When Thundaga saw the angered teacher quickly approaching her, she gave him an unconcerned stare as a bolt of lightning dropped from the dark clouds above as it hit the high speed pegasus long before he reached her, as the stunned pony fell to the ground and rolled a large number of feet before ending his high speed crash with a painful slide stopping right in front of Thundaga’s hooves. After seeing the bolt hit the pegasus, Jet looked to the sky as he mumbled in shock, “those clouds… are they all her lightning orb?”
Too stunned to move, the injured pegasus struggled to pick himself up as Thundaga kicked him in his side and rolled him over so that he was laying on his back. With the pegasus coughing in his pain, Thundaga placed her hoof on his throat as she pressed down causing the coughs of pain to turn into coughs of choking. As the teacher struggled to free himself, the lead instructor stepped forward, “Your majesty please! Let him go! He didn’t mean anything by it, he was just concerned for the student’s safety th-”
“Silence!”

Confused the instructor silenced herself as Thundaga continued, “We know that this place is really a small haven for members of the rebellion. Just as we know that everypony here is still loyal to that traitorous General of yours. And this pony right here… was living proof.”
Worried about what was going to happen, the herd of teachers stared at their pinned comrade as Thundaga drew her sword and held it high over his head, “For your action against the crown! We hereby sentence you… TO DEATH!!!”
With that Thundaga dropped her blade as another teacher stepped forward, “NO!!!”

Although the word echoed throughout the entire campus, it stopped nothing as the blade pierced its target, and killed the pined stallion right in front of his comrades. As soon as they saw this everypony’s face, whether they were student or teacher stared in fear at Thundaga as she pulled her sword from the corpse and flung the blood from the blade. Then with the sword still drawn, Thundaga looked at the formation of teacher as she spoke, “Which one of you told us… no?... Which one defended this traitor as an accomplice?...”
the entire formation replied with silence as Thundaga allowed the silence to carry on for a few seconds before sighing in disappointment, “As we suspected… you are all traitors, and this academy… is nothing but a breeding ground for more. Well, let’s take care of that.”

With that said Thundaga looked at the closest building to her which was the faculty classrooms as she smiled, “Starting with this…”
with that said, a spark jumped from her hoof as a bolt of lightning dropped from the clouds above hitting and tearing through the roof of the structure as the building remained standing now with a massive hole in its roof. Seeing that the building was still standing Thundaga mumbled, “The structure is stronger than expected… perhaps more is needed.”
With that said, a barrage of lightning dropped from the sky like rain as the bolts hit the building one after another tearing through the roof, the walls, and the cloud foundation as the building slowly started to descend as the lightning continued pummeling the crumbling structure until it descended below the plateau’s horizon and fell to the earth below.

Leaving no room for mourning, Thundaga turned to the building on the other side of the summit runway as a second rain of lightning bolts dropped from the sky as they quickly tor through the structure leaving it to also crumble as it too fell from the sky. One by one, Thundaga started placing her focus on the many cloud building that hovered around the plateau runway as lightning fell like rain onto every structure leaving massive holes in both the buildings and their cloud foundation as the surrounding students and faculty members watched the chaos in horror.

As the buildings crumbled around the mountain, a few faculty whispered to one another as one spoke, “What do you think guys… last stand?...”
Most of the formation nodded, while the rest replied with a yes as one pony turned to Jet who was standing in the back of the formation as he spoke, “Jet… Listen carefully… When we give the word, a lot of stuff is going to happen all at once. When it does… I want you to leave the area as quickly as your wings can take you. Don’t stop for anything… we need you to tell the general what’s happening here. Can you do that?”
Jet nodded as he replied, “okay…but what about you?”
The pegasus smiled, “don’t worry about us… we’re the Wonderbolts we’ll be fine. Just focus on getting out, we’re counting on you.”
With that the formation of faculty looked at Thundaga who was still launching her attack on the surrounding building as the lead instructor spoke quietly, “ready… NOW!!!”

As soon as the order was given, the faculty quickly scattered and focused their attack on the Royal Guards and Thundaga as both Jet and the students used this opportunity to either fight back, or flee to safety. With the element of surprise on their side, the faculty and students that fought were able to overpower the Royal Guards as they turned their attack towards Thundaga and continued their charge. However, Thundaga had already prepared for such a scenario as she took her attention away from the destruction of the academy as she looked at the attacking ponies and called, “COMMANDER LAUNCH THE ATTACK!!!”
With that order, Commander Mist and a large army of Royal Guards dropped in from above the storm clouds as the overwhelming army dropped in to neutralize the threat. Although the hidden army was unexpected, the outnumbered pegasi continued their charge knowing that it would be their last, as the two clashing forces met, quickly turning the summit runway into a battlefield. With everything around him turning hostile, Jet did exactly as he was told as he dashed towards the end of the plateau, dove from the edge, and flew strait into the forest below to hide from anypony that might be following him.

As soon as he reached the trees, Jet took cover in the leaves as he stopped and tried to catch his breath as he looked back to the plateau behind him. Trying to catch his breath as fast as he could, Jet tried to breathe deeply, but as he looked back at the plateau training ground, he could only gasp in disbelief. Trying to convince himself that what he was seeing wasn’t real, Jet glided to the ground and watched in dread as the Wonderbolt Academy Main Hall fell through the haze above and crashed into the ground at the base of the mountain. When he saw this, Jet started to tear up, the world as he knew it was full of adventure, but seeing this happen before his eyes, seeing his world literally come crashing down around him, was almost too much for the young colt to bear. And although the battle above couldn’t be seen from the ground, Jet tried not to imagine what all the sound were as he heard sounds of metal clashing, hooves trampling, and wounded screaming. With this sight, and these sounds hitting him, Jet could only place his hooves over his ears as he cringed, “what?…what’s happening?… why is this happening?… what should I do?... How should I-”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was silenced when a bolt of lightning came down behind him, as large shadow cascaded over him causing him to freeze in terror. After seeing the shadow, Jet could only turn slowly as he found himself looking at Thundaga who stood over him with an unconcerned look on her face and her eyes locked on him. As soon as he saw her, Jet found himself completely frozen in fear. His mind kept telling him to run away, but no matter how much he wanted to, his hooves remained frozen in place. Staring into what he thought would be his last sight, tears began rolling down the terrified colt’s face as Thundaga looked down on the colt, and spoke with little emotion in her voice, “you there…what is your name?... Tell us?...”
Trembling in fear, Jet tried to reply, “J-J-J… J-J-J…”

Knowing that his fear was too much for him Thundaga replied, “You can’t answer… no matter… it’s irrelevant… Since you cannot speak, we will not ask as to the location of General Dash or the Rebellion Hideout. Instead… we will like you to deliver him a message. Tell the general that as of this day… Equestria is officially at war with the rebellion. If he does not surrender himself and his soldiers, we will begin hunting down the family members of the rebellion, and start executing them for suspicion of treason. However, if he were to turn himself in… then his soldiers will receive full pardons while he alone will stand before the executioner. This is our first, last, and only offer, it would be wise for him to consider it. Now go…”

With that, Thundaga started trotting passed the terrified colt and took to the sky to fly back into the battle above. As she arrived, most of the fighting had subsided as Commander Mist rushed to Thundaga, “your majesty, we were able to subdue the Wonderbolts, however a large number of the students were able to flee in the confusion.”
Thundaga replied with an unamused tone, “let the cowards flee… our work here is done. Gather the wounded, and kill the prisoners… The first battle of this war is now over.” she started trotting away, “And as expected… we were victorious.”

Comments

[Thunder--Clash]

YAY NEW CHAPTER

[Priceless911]

7971396
sorry it took so long. this one and the last were finished within the same week, but my proofreader only had time to do one then and this one a lot later. the next is in its pre-proofreading stage b4 sending it to my proofreader for final proof.
its gonna be good

[Thunder--Clash]

shadowy figure mad his way to the ledge and looked into street

I think you meant "made" instead of mad

Besides that, I really enjoyed reading this chapter, it was exciting, and it was packed full of action. I especially didn't expect Thundagas reaction at the Wonderbolt academy, socking .

I believe that Thundaga is losing her mind

Thank you for making this story very entertaining and unpredictable. I'm looking forward to the next part of this wonderful story

[Priceless911]

7971671
thanks for letting me know of the mistake.

I'm glade you liked it, thus fare the story has been good, but I did notice a lack of hatred towards Thundaga that most characters would suggest since she is the villain of the story. so even though it was a bit of a last minute addition, I decided to give both the characters and readers more reason to hate her, not to mention it didn't change the story too drastically for the ending to be vary different and it also demonstrates a little more as to how powerful Their foe truly is.

As for Thundaga's mind, that sudden change will be better explained in the next few chapters as well as the crazy plan that both cirrus and zine will formulate to counter this foe. needless to say I am enjoying this story just as much as you and my only wish is that I could draw what I'm seeing as I'm writing so you could have some awesome art to go with it.

Needless to say as always I enjoy your feedback and comments to this story and hope you continue to enjoy the rest.

[Thunder--Clash]

7972345 Your welcome and I will