A Future Worth Saving

by Flashgen

Chapter 4

Several of the books from a nearby shelf flew onto the open table as Twilight’s horn glowed brightly. The others only watched from a distance as the stacks grew taller with each book piled on top. Applejack finally moved up behind her, placing a hoof on her shoulder, “Uh, Twilight. I think that might be a bit much if ya ask me. Maybe you should just start with one or two?”

Her horn stopped glowing suddenly as one of the books continued flying through the air, hitting a nearby wall with a thud. Twilight blushed a bit as she turned around, “M-maybe you’re right...one of these has to cover most of what’s happened.”

Pinkie Pie pointed at a large book on one of the higher shelves, “What about that one? It does say ‘History of Equestria’ on it...”

Twilight sighed as it floated over to her sluggishly through the air, “I was trying to avoid that...it has that crescent moon symbol on the binding, which means they’re all ones she had written. It’s probably nothing but a pile of half-truths and propaganda.”

Pinkie blinked a few times in response, “But we can’t really know that. And it’s the only thing that probably has all of this stuff in it, you silly filly.”

Twilight let out another sigh of defeat, “Fine... I guess it’s better than nothing.” She cleared the other books off of the table before placing the large book down, flipping through its pages, “I guess we should start from the beginning...”

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In the days before her Majesty's rule, Equestria was nowhere near its current strength within our world. Those with the will to lead or the strength and determination to make a place for themselves in the world were deprived of many of their opportunities, while those that were too weak to pull their own weight were given the world to be their oyster. We let land that was rightfully ours remain held by savages and inferior races, its resources squandered or ignored. Our Queen, the glorious Nightmare Moon, saw an error in all of this, taking it upon herself to act accordingly.

As she struck down her sister’s reign with remorse, she knew that Equestria would prosper under her guidance. As such, the symbols of her predecessor’s reign were removed as well. The once respected and admired capital of Canterlot was destroyed to make way for a new glorious symbol of our strength. The capital of Mare Umbra was established at the center of our nation and has since grown into a prosperous industrial, educational, and military hub for hundreds of years, rivaling long standing cities such as Fillydelphia, Manehatten, and Cloudsdale.

Following her ascension, the size of Equestria grew by over seventy percent as land was claimed from several surrounding nations and wilds, including: Aeolus, the collective of nation states that belonged to the Gryphons of the north, the Faerwind Forests, the wilds that existed to the east which were dismantled to make way for new villages and cities, Savanra, the vast grasslands and deserts of the far south that were once inhabited by the zebra and other creatures, and several mountainous regions that were inhabited by wild creatures or dragons. At each of these fronts, Nightmare Moon herself led the charge of battle, serving as but one symbol of our strength and power.

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Celestia tried to suppress a snicker as her sibling read the words off the pages, “I can’t believe they all buy that from you. You think somepony would have the decency to look at the signs under it all, wouldn’t you?”

“It is the winners that decide history, not the weaklings that fall before them.”

“But with how ruthlessly you took everything, with how you drive them now like slaves and pawns... why would you even bother hiding what really happened that day? Are you afraid they would actually start to hate you for it more than they already do? Oh wait, the ones that would revolt can’t even read this drivel, can they?” She winced as the pain from the chain at her neck returned for a moment.

“I deprived them of remembering the sadness so many experienced that day, and now you’re probably the only one left who knows...”

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The normally bright midday sky above Canterlot was dim. In the sky, the sun had been blocked out by its sister moon, something completely unheard of in the entirety of Equestria’s history. As ponies gathered in the streets to gaze up at it in amazement, some felt a sense of dread as whispers and rumors filled the air. The chattering was broken by a thunderous roar from the top of the castle’s highest tower. As the ponies’ attentions were drawn, some gasped in surprise while others began to scream in horror.

Nightmare Moon stood on the balcony overlooking the city, her smoky mane flowing above her head into a vast purple cloud, shimmering in the dim light. She had finally accomplished what she had sought to do for so long, and now no pony was left to stop her. Her horn glowed with a dark light as she began to speak, her voice booming throughout the city.

“Good evening my subjects... It has been far too long since I saw you all. I’m afraid our time will be a bit short however... Celestia’s reign of this kingdom is over. This eclipse above your heads is the ending of her failed rule, and the banner of my new beginning. This world coddles the weak, and pushes the strong into the dirt to prevent them from having what they rightfully deserve... Power. I will remold it to how it should have been from the start. And first, we’ll start here.”

There was a flicker of light from inside of the tower, followed by a scream of pain as Celestia fell onto the balcony. The dark-coated mare leaned down to her sister’s ears, whispering gently to her, “And now you can watch everything you made disappear...”

There were screams from below as fires started throughout the city. Ponies ran in every direction panicking as they tried to gather their belongings or simply flee to the gates. Soldiers appeared from the castle as the citizens ran for the exit, standing between them and escape. Their normally shining golden armor was now pitch black, glowing with tints of orange from the flames that grew ever closer. They held their ground, keeping the scrambling ponies from leaving, the blaze growing higher within the city.

Nightmare Moon’s voice bellowed through the city once again, “All of you have a choice! You can serve me without question, or you can burn to the ground with your once glorious city... I’m sure you’ll all make the right choice.” The large cloud of smoke wrapped around the top of the tower as she and Celestia vanished from sight. The flames continued to consume the city as several carriages appeared, and one of the soldiers stepped forward, a silver crescent moon on the front of his armor.

“The old Equestria is dead. From its ashes will rise a new, greater power. One controlled by her Majesty, Queen Nightmare Moon. If you do not wise to die with it, surrender now. All those that do will gain a place of power in her new order.”

Canterlot burned in the distance as several of the carriages fled, screams of pain in the distance drowned out by the collapse of buildings...

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We will never forget those that were the first to trust in Nightmare Moon’s vision. Let their names and their symbols be remembered forever, even if their lines may end. Meadows, Prairie, Flowers, Orange...

“APPLE?!” Applejack yelled out from behind Twilight’s shoulder, pushing the unicorn away to skim the page again, “T-that’s impossible! There’s no way an Apple would help Nightmare Moon, no way a’tall. We’d rather go down with a fight than serve some two-timin’ filly like her.” She stamped her hoof down, looking at the others with anger in her eyes.

Rarity rubbed a hoof under her chin, looking to where Fluttershy had taken shelter behind her, “Well, darling... Maybe you didn’t, uhhh, know some of your family so well. And there is the possibility they were... forced?”

“Or it could be a typo,” Pinkie Pie said as the others glared at her, “...well it could.”

“There’s... there’s just no way. We Apples’ve been around for generations, and there ain’t never been a filly or colt in our line foalish enough to do somethin’ like that!”

Twilight put her hoof on Applejack’s shoulder, “We don’t know what happened Applejack, we just have to assume it was a dire circumstance... There’s a reason for everything, I’m sure of it, along with all of these other families here.” Twilight looked back down at the list, recognizing some of the other names from her time in Canterlot, before she became Princess Celestia’s pupil. There was no way that so many ponies would willingly follow Nightmare Moon, would they? She pushed the thought back as she flipped past several pages of the list.

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During the first hundred years of our Queen’s rule, there were many conflicts that posed a large challenge to our nation’s prosperity, and in fact the world’s. It was not only the initial resistance that other nations presented, but also various peasant revolts and rebellion movements. The majority of these were unsuccessful, except for the most prominent. The annexing of Aeolus as a state of Equestria was widely successful due to the assistance of the previous Gryphon administration and military. In fact, to this day the gryphon reserves are a common portion of any standard Equestrian military battalion.

However, several of the lower-caste members of Aeolus were not pleased with the transition of power. A series of rebel groups known under the common flag of “The Steel Wings” emerged and continued attempts at sabotage and assassination for over thirty years before the group dissolved. These “Steel Wing Rebellions” posed a large challenge at the time given the lack of directly-controlled military presence within the region. However, thanks to the cooperation of local officials and several of Nightmare Moon’s personal troops, the revolts were finally ended with little incident.

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“Personal troops, is that what you decided to call the ponies you dragged from their families and homes by force and sent to die in a fight they didn’t understand? And where’s the part about destroying villages without remorse, or the thousands that died from needless bloodshed?”

Nightmare Moon offered a grin in response, “And what would you have done, asked them kindly to stop and then invite them over for tea. It would be quite the spectacle, wouldn’t it?” The book slammed shut as she walked over to Celestia, “You could never understand the importance of doing what it takes instead of the right thing.”

Celestia’s head stayed low as she let out a sigh, “The right thing is what it takes... What you did was what you wanted, just like the same skittish filly from thousands of years ago who couldn’t keep her temper.”

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The sounds of battle echoed through the skies above the city of Wingless. Only weeks before, the only grounded city in Aeolus had been peaceful, filled with ponies and gryphons working on plans for expansion or the mining operations in the hills nearby. Now the cold ground was matted with dried blood, the corpses of gryphons and ponies alike strewn throughout the streets. It had been days since the siege began to root out the rebels, and thankfully most of the civilians had been removed from the battle. On the ground amidst the ruins of destroyed buildings, groups of unicorns tried together to fling large pieces of rubble at the rebels in the sky, while several pegasi above, armed with small blades attached to their wings or hooves, tried to avoid being sliced to ribbons.

Every few seconds another body would fall, piled needlessly atop the lifeless bodies already present. A brown-feathered gryphon swooped down from the battle above, dashing towards a building, quickly knocking one of the unicorns into a wall as their horn dimmed, the large piece of rubble nearby dropping to the ground with a thud. The gryphon’s claws managed to cut through the unicorn’s throat with ease, a muffled scream escaping her lips before being silenced. In moments a few earth ponies had tackled the gryphon off of her, a series of blades attached to the saddles at their sides piercing through it. A smaller unicorn rushed over to the injured one, trying to stop the bleeding.

One of the earth ponies spat on the fallen gryphon, “She’s not going to make it for long... We have to fall back to another post, or we’re gonna be in the body pile soon.”

One of the unicorns looked up at the battle above, “She said more reinforcements are going to be coming, we can’t leave now.”

“Like I’m gonna risk my neck on the words of some higher up sittin’ in a tent looking at all of this and sippin’ apple juice.” There was a thud as another limp body crashed into the side of the building, leaving a crack in the brick. “We’re moving out, now.”

As the group left the barely breathing unicorn on the ground, a loud crack of thunder echoed through the sky, the fighting momentarily halting. Every pony and gryphon’s attention was drawn to a large hill at the edge of the city, a single unicorn overlooking the battlefield. There were cheers from several of the ponies throughout the city, “See? It doesn’t even matter, this’ll be tied up in no time.”

The unicorn’s horn glowed brightly, her visage obscured from sight as a large cloud formed, blocking out the night sky above the city. Several of the gryphons and pegasi tried to retreat from the cloud, but found themselves held in place underneath its ominous form, a thin blue energy coating their bodies. The same began to happen with several of the ponies on the ground, struggling to try and move. A few were lucky enough to be close to the edge of the city, escaping the fate that awaited their comrades. The dark cloud began to glow brightly, spreading past the edges of the city before its center opened up. The last thing they saw was a bright light above their heads as a large boom deafened their ears.

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Following the initial obstacles to Nightmare Moon’s rule, a period of peace and prosperity has existed in Equestria for hundreds of years. Education, economics, science, industry, and several other fields were developed quickly and have remained in steady development for years sense. However, to keep order and stability, many acts and laws have been ratified to ensure the state we remain in today. To this day the most prominent remains...

Twilight blinked, “What’s the Magic Privilege Act? It doesn’t say anything about what it is, except it ‘ensures the privilege of magic is not misused’...” Her attention was drawn away from the book as the sound of the door to the library opened slowly. Aqua stepped through the entrance, a smile on her face as she looked at the assembled.

“It’s good to see you are all awake, and looking into things as well it seems. Oh, I apologize for not telling you sooner, but I happened to spot your friend... Rainbow Dash was it, earlier near one of the food tents. She seemed a bit, discontent with being cooped up in the village, so I had her go and talk with one of the scouting parties. Hopefully a chance to stretch her wings will calm her down.” The light-blue unicorn looked over Twilight’s shoulder as she approached the book, her smile fading momentarily to a grim frown.

Twilight flipped through the pages quickly, “Do you know what this Magic Privilege Act is Aqua? I can’t seem to find anything on it.” The unicorn turned around, “...is something wrong?”

Aqua let out a sigh as she walked over to a window, “I don’t think you girls should hear about something like that.”

Applejack stepped up a bit, “We can’t be havin’ ya keepin’ secrets from us Aqua. If we’re gonna help y’all around here, we need to know what’s gone an’ happened to Equestria, all of it.”

Pinkie Pie hopped over to the unicorn, her hoof lightly around Aqua’s neck, hugging her, “Besides, if it’s too bad, I can throw us a party and we’ll cheer right up! I guarantee it.”

Aqua’s lips shifted to a thin smile, “Very well... I suppose it might be best however if I told you how exactly it affected me, and brought me here.” She cleared her throat for a moment before she looked over the assembled ponies, “I was born to the noble house of Pearl in the capital of Mare Umbra. My family was noble on the basis of my great-grandfather’s service in the military several years before. My father wanted me to study in politics or economics so that our family could advance on more than the laurels of our past. I wasn’t really interested in my classes often, but I continued at my father’s wishes. One day, going into the shopping district on my own, I saw a young colt in an alleyway. I wasn’t too unaccustomed to the sight, given the state of the city, but something about him seemed...odd.”

Aqua continued, looking back at the window, “Sure enough, a few minutes later I saw him running from a few of the guards with some fruit stuffed into his saddlebag. I wasn’t really sure why I did it, but...I used my name to get him off the hook. His name was Bluetail, and he was a unicorn from the Dark Side slums. We spent so much time together after that day; he told me about the Legends that ponies followed and put their faith in while they toiled away in the slums. Being the foolish filly I was I tried to explain the order of things to him, but the more I heard about everything they suffered through, the more curious I got, especially about the ponies in the Wilds he always spoke of. I even tried to teach him some magic, since they weren’t educated in it like the nobles were.”

She left out a sigh as she looked down, “...After a few months my father had been curious about where I was going all the time. He sent one of his guards out to follow me, and found Bluetail and I practicing magic... Because of that Act, the lower class is not allowed to practice magic outside of where it is required for occupation... My father had him arrested, and my punishment was being forced to watch his...”

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The small square in Mare Umbra’s merchant district was filled with ponies gathered around a small wooden stage that had not been used in months. As such, a majority of the crowd was, in a word, excited over the events about to transpire, rumors flying amongst them. Amongst the masses there were two guards with an older colt, a young filly hiding behind his legs with terror in her eyes. He looked down at her with remorse, moving to the side as she was forced to look at the empty stage once again, “No, you have to watch this... This is why we are above them...”

It was a few minutes before a trumpet sounded through the air, a trio of guards walking through a nearby alleyway, a white coated unicorn with a blue tail in chains behind them, his coat covered with dirt and bruises. The crowd let out a cacophony of boos and cheers as he was led onto the stage, one of the guards remaining on the ground as a scroll floated in front of him. “For the crimes of breaking the Magic Privilege Act on multiple occasions, this peasant, Bluetail Craft, will receive the normal sentence for his punishment.” The scroll closed as the guards pushed the colt down onto a wooden block on the stage.

The small filly fidgeted, trying to look away from the sight. Her heart wanted to do something, but her body couldn’t move an inch. Her mind wanted to look away, but her eyes were fixated on the stage, as if there was some hope it would all go away. And then she appeared, the Queen, flying in from the skies before she came to rest on the stage, which seemed to buckle slightly under her weight. The small colt tried to struggle against his captors, a hoof digging into his side at his resistance.

Nightmare Moon looked out over the crowd as she cleared her throat, “Let what you all witness today serve as a reminder of how our world is. The strong are those with privilege and will, and the weak are those that will learn their place. There must exist a gap between us all for prosperity and stability to continue. Everypony must make sacrifices...” A small box next to the wooden block opened up with a screech, aged by rust and negligence, as Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed dimly. A square metal tool with a hole inside of it floated out of the box, the hole sliding over the colt’s horn, tightening close to the base.

Despite the resistance the guards gave, the unicorn still tried to break free, “The ponies won’t stand for this forever! The Legends of the Sun will come true, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it! The Sun’s Majesty will retu-.” He gasped in pain as he was hit in the side roughly by one of the guards, losing his breath.

Nightmare Moon only offered a smirk as her horn glowed brighter, the instrument shining with a similar dark light. He screamed in pain for a few moments before it was done, the unicorn’s horn lying on the floor of the stage, sparking with a flicker of light as the last bit of magic it held escaped. One of the guards quickly covered the stump of the horn with a black bandanna, tears on the unicorn’s face as he muttered quietly to himself, “S-she will come back...”

The Queen’s gaze remained fixed on the colt as her smirk grew, “And spouting such heresy in my presence as well. I think that deserves a worse punishment...Captain, give me your blade.” The colt who had read Bluetail’s verdict appeared hesitant before pulling the blade from its sheathe at his side, the handle gripped between his teeth as he bowed. It was only a moment before it glowed with the same dark light and yanked from the Captain’s mouth, pressing lightly at the unicorn’s neck.

Nightmare Moon’s voice boomed as her gaze was fixed on the blade, drawing a small bit of blood from his coat, “And remember this...fairy tales are not worth believing...” A small flash of light from her horn enveloped the square as the sword rose before quickly slicing its way down...

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Everypony in the library was silent, a look of shock on their faces as Aqua finished her tale, turning back to them and wiping a tear from her eye, “B-Bluetail, he...was unlucky. Maybe she just felt like toying with him, giving him a false hope that he’d live, but more than likely she was proving a point...of how meaningless his life was. Most of those that have their magic taken from them are sent to the factories or mines, living their lives locked up like slaves... A few are just shoved back into Dark Side, traumatized by the experience... T-the rest, no one knows...”

Aqua tried to calm her sobbing as she continued, “...I gave up my nobility to find the ponies Bluetail always spoke of, hiding here in the Wilds. I wanted to help, I had to, because I couldn’t that day. There are so many nobles that lend their support in the shadows, but they’re only playing both sides of the game. That’s why I believed in all of you when I found you out there, and why there is hope for this war yet...”

Aqua’s tears were quelled for a moment as she turned back to the window, taking a moment to gather herself, “The Council has yet to come to a decision about your role here, and if you are who you say you are. Given the large number of delegates seated on it, and their current preoccupation with less... superstitious events, it’s going to take some time before a meeting can be arranged. However, I have managed to convince those present that it is advantageous to tell the ponies here in the Wilds you’ve come back.”

Twilight’s shock over Aqua’s story was broken at her announcement, “W-what do you mean? We’ll get mauled out there if everypony knows who we are!”

Rarity stepped up to Twilight’s side, “Not that I don’t enjoy some attention now and then, Twilight’s right... If you all worship these Legends about us, everyone is going to want us off saving the world for them.”

“We are not going to reveal who you are, or where the Elements were found. We do not want to endanger your lives here, whether you are the Elements or not.” Aqua turned back to face them, “I’d suggest you find a way to occupy yourselves around the village, because this may take longer than I had hoped... It will go miles to showing the Council that you mean well, and what you are capable of here. In the meantime, I will do my best to gain support, and call a conference here in the Hollow.”

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Celestia glared in anger as Nightmare Moon began to leave the room, “You’re a monster, not for taking our throne for yourself, not for stealing land or murdering innocents... Just for that one thing, thinking you have the RIGHT to take their talents from them!” She looked up, glaring at her sister, “When this is over, you will have no mercy from me, the same as I was shown...I won’t make the same mistakes again...”

“That day won’t come sister... you should stop wasting your breath.” The door slammed shut, leaving Celestia alone in the darkness once again.