Vengeance of Equestria

by The Usurper

Birth of a Hero

Chapter 1: Birth of a Hero

“…but most of all, there will be hope.” The purple unicorn mare finished, closing the book marked The History of Equestria. She looked up to gauge the reaction of her audience, a ragtag bunch of fillies and colts who looked equal parts awed and disappointed.

“Is that all? I was hoping there would be more.” A tiny brown filly with grey hair complained.

“Yes, that’s all.” A few strands of the unicorn’s blue mane drooped over her face. “I hope you liked it.”

“But Miss Starlight, I want more!” the filly complained.

The unicorn- Starlight- smiled kindly at the children, trying to look patient. “Well, maybe I’ll tell you more tomorrow. Now hurry along. You need to get home before you’re missed.”

“Why are you sitting like that?” a young green colt spoke up, ignoring the gentle urging Starlight had given him.

The mare blinked, her yellow irises winking in and out of view. She then remembered that she was sitting in an upright position on a chair, hind legs dangling over the edge of the seat that she had designed to look like the ones the partially bipedal griffins used. Her front legs supported the book that she held in front of her. She had been sitting this way for so long she had forgotten that it wasn’t natural for ponies to relax that way.

“It’s because I’m pregnant, darling.” Starlight patted her enlarged midsection for emphasis, taking care to place the book on the ground carefully.

“What’s that? And how did you get that way?” The colt continued on, desperate for answers.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older, okay?” She used her magic to open the door at the far side of the room and gestured to it with a hoof. “It’s already very late. I don’t want your parents to worry.” The foals grumbled unhappily, slowly dragging their hooves out of the room. When Starlight heard the distinctive click of the door’s lock mechanism sliding into place, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She gazed around her, taking in the sight of numerous books stacked on shelves surrounding her on all sides. This was her library. She had always dreamt of owning a library, and her cutie mark of a leather covered book sealed the deal. She had been told by her mother that one of her ancestors had lived in a library too, one that was a tree no less. She had often wondered how one could survive in a tree for so long without it being struck by a rogue lightning bolt and burning to the ground, and thus she elected not to build her library in a tree, but instead in a small hut, in the middle of the village.

The small town was one of the few that had opted to remain on Equestrian soil after the war. They rebuilt all the buildings from scratch, and replaced the uncooperative soil with the fertile loam from the Everfree Forest, the only place the griffins hadn’t touched. Fear kept them away, and that was why the old village head, whoever he or she was, decided to found the colony almost directly adjacent to the Everfree Forest. Close enough to prevent any griffin excursions from coming their way, but far enough from the eerie forest in order to prevent any freak occurrences with the dangerous animals that were said to lurk in there. It was said that a town had existed on this very spot before, and that the Elements of Harmony had lived there.

The Elements didn’t save us from the griffins. Starlight thought sourly.

A sudden knock on the door, followed by the sound of keys clinking together snapped her out of her reverie. Starlight looked up to see a turquoise Earth pony with a scruffy silver mane and a constellation for a cutie mark step into the library.

“Hello honey.” He gave Starlight a lopsided grin, his green eyes radiating happiness. “The foals are gone, I see.”

The purple unicorn gave him a tired smile. “Orion, you’re early tonight. And yes, the foals have left.”

Orion trotted up to her and gave her an affectionate nuzzle. “The observatory ponies seemed extra bossy today. ‘Orion get this!’ and ‘Orion do that!’ It gets tiring after awhile.” He lightly tapped Starlight’s stomach. “So, how long more?”

“A month or so, the doctor said.” Most ponies that had taken the job as a doctor were barely qualified. Those who were experts in their trade were rare, as they had been taken by the griffins in order to benefit from their expertise and cripple whatever was left of Equestria.

“Just a little while longer, then.” Orion stepped away from her, picking up a duster that was lying around as he went. He prepared to perform all the menial chores that Starlight couldn’t do.

“Wait! Let me help, Orion!” the unicorn pleaded. “I can still do some things!”

The earth pony turned back to her, a stern expression on his face. “The doctor said no exertions at all. And that means you will not be getting up and helping me with the chores. Even with magic.”

Starlight was about to question the proficiency and reliability of the doctors, but thought better of it and closed her mouth. Orion continued to busy himself with the household tasks, humming a tune as he went. The mare decided to just lean back and relax. After all, she would have to go back to doing the chores eventually, so she might as well enjoy her period of rest.

Orion stopped humming for a moment. He had a duster in his mouth, and he was trying to clear the layers of dust that had accumulated on the shelved books. He suddenly spat the duster out onto the floor, then erupted in a fit of coughing. When it finally subsided, he gave the next six bookshelves a despairing glance. “How do you keep this place clean?”

Starlight giggled when he fixed her with a withering gaze. “Simple. I don’t.”

“Well, that explains the dust.” Orion decided to give up. He ambled over to the kitchen to do something other than dusting books that were never cleaned. After a few minutes, Starlight detected the smell of an alfafa sandwich that was being prepared in the kitchen. She closed her eyes and imagined that she was in a flower-filled field with Orion, lying atop a picnic mat, and a basket full of goodies nearby. The earth pony leaned forward, puckering his lips, waiting for a kiss. Starlight reciprocated in kind, moving forward ever so slowly, savouring the moment…

“Dinner’s ready!” Orion once again broke into her thoughts. Starlight opened her eyes in annoyance, watching the turquoise pony trot into the room, balancing a plate with two alfafa sandwiches on his head. Orion noticed her irritated expression and looked at her quizzically. “What?”

The unicorn shook her head and tried to smile. “Nothing, dearest.” This was, after all, the real Orion, her husband and the father of her child, not dreamscape Orion. The earth pony tilted his head slightly towards the dining table situated in the small part of the library that was allocated to living space. Starlight was about to levitate the sandwich with her magic, but she caught herself just in time, and picked the sandwich up in her mouth.

Orion grinned at her. “Good girl.”

Starlight polished off her sandwich quickly. Pregnancy made anypony extra hungry. She had two ponies to feed, after all. Orion finished shortly after, licking his lips.

“You’re quite the chef, Orion.” Starlight smiled at him appreciatively.

“You can say that again!” Orion patted his chest proudly. “At least somepony appreciates my cooking.”

“I appreciate everything about you, honey.” Starlight sat back, thanking the Goddesses for the world around her: Her dream library, her dream husband, and her soon-to-be dream foal.

“Everything?” Orion grinned mischievously. “Even this?” He let loose an ear-splitting burp that echoed throughout the library, causing numerous books to vibrate in their shelves. Starlight wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“Way to ruin my perfect moment.” The unicorn scowled at Orion.

The turquoise pony executed a short bow. “You’re welcome.”

“Sometimes I wonder how I fell in love with you.” Starlight shook her head.

Orion feigned shock. “Obviously, because of my dashing good looks, awesome sense of humour, and my gentlecoltly practices.”

The unicorn tutted. “You’re incorrigible, Orion.”

“So I am, Starlight. So I am.” Orion supported her as she stood up and helped her climb the flight of stairs that led to the bedroom. “C’mon, it’s time to go to bed. I can sing you a lullaby if you want.”

The purple unicorn smiled. “Sure, why not?”

****

Four Weeks Later

“You can’t give up now, Starlight! C’mon, push harder!” Orion urged his wife.

“But… it’s so painful!” Starlight gasped. The two of them were in what passed for a hospital in the village. Orion had been woken up in the middle of the night by a series of pain-racked moans and cries for help. Having no other alternative, he had rushed Starlight to the hospital, where the unicorn doctor and the nurses tried- yes, tried is the word- to assist her and allow the childbirth to be successful. However, being the incompetent fools that they were, they failed to help very much, and thus Orion had to resort to this.

“Just tell yourself that the child is the Chosen One! If you let him die, all of Equestria will suffer!” Orion decided to take a different route, falling back to the well-known prophecy.

“You’re right… my foal is the Chosen One… yes, my foal is the Chosen One…” Starlight tried to convince herself of this, following the mentality that many desperate ponies did- if she said something enough times, it would come true.

“Yes, our child is the Chosen One! He will free us from the griffin tyrants! All of Equestria will be saved if you just hold on!” Orion almost managed to convince himself of what he was saying.

Starlight seemed to receive another burst of strength, and her face screwed up tightly as she exerted all of her newfound energy. One of the nurses, the one below the cloth that covered the purple unicorn’s torso, gave a very unprofessional squeal of excitement.

“I can see a head!” she exclaimed. “Just a little bit more!”

“C’mon, Starlight!” Orion pleaded. “You’re almost there! Just a few more minutes and it will be over!”

“Hnngrh!” Starlight gave one more grunt of exertion, then her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell backwards onto the mattress. Her eyelids slid shut and didn’t reopen.

“Congratulations! It’s a filly!” The nurse emerged from underneath the cloth, revealing her grey coat and pink mane. She was using her magic to envelop a struggling blue baby earth pony foal in a yellow aura The filly’s eyes were tightly squeezed shut. “You’re now- oh… oh my…” The nurse stopped short when she caught sight of the purple unicorn.

“No… I’m okay…” Starlight’s eyelids fluttered open weakly, revealing bloodshot eyes that screamed fatigue. “No need to worry about me… I- AH!”

Starlight let out a scream, and began to convulse wildly. Orion froze in shock. “What’s going on?!” he shouted at the doctor, a yellow unicorn with a jade-coloured mane.

“Twins! They’re twins!” the nurse responded instead, speaking in an excited tone.

“Twins?” Orion was trying to process what he was being told..

“Yes, twins.” The doctor confirmed the analysis. “Can we get the foal out without causing too much damage?” Orion bristled. They were referring to Starlight as they would an object!

“I think we can.” The nurse replied.

“If you say so.” Orion himself doubted the ability of the medical staff (especially those who referred to ponies as objects), but at the moment, the doctor knew better than he did, so he chose to keep quiet. It was quite a feat, seeing Starlight groaning and screaming without rushing to her side to comfort her or doing something rash he would regret later.

After a few more agonising, heart breaking minutes of watching his wife struggle, Orion released the breath he didn’t realise he had been holding as Starlight let her head fall backwards onto the pillow, closing her eyes. Thankfully, the rise and fall of her chest indicated that she was still breathing.

The nurse emerged from under the cloth once again, her magic enveloping a quiet crimson red unicorn foal, who stared up at him with wide sky-blue eyes. “Congratulations! It’s a colt!”

Orion was about to thank her profusely when a colossal boom cut him off, causing the ground to tremble under his feet.

“What was that?” the doctor asked, confused.

“I- I don’t know!” the nurse responded shakily.

But Orion knew what was happening from the moment he heard the sound. He had heard Starlight read it to him over and over again, and it had been hammered into his mind. Without warning, he galloped out of the room and raced through the many corridors of the hospital, ignoring all the shouts of anger that the enraged hospital staff directed his way, and burst out into the open, revealing the orange sky that was the result of the rising sun in the east. But there was a new addition to the picture-perfect sky.

Dozens of brightly burning streaks of light streamed down from the heavens, leaving a shimmering trail behind them. The rocks hit the ground one by one, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and causing very loud booms that echoed across the infertile plains. It was as if the very cosmos were shouting with joy for the first time in a thousand years.

It was a meteor shower.

****

Far away from the hospital, a griffin watched the comets descend towards the earth from the balcony of a palace. The rings around his eyes were black, and his feathers were a dull yellow, quite unlike the ordinary white feathers most griffins bore. He wore a shimmering red cloak. To the griffins, red was considered to represent power and indomitability, and it was for this reason that he wore it.

The griffin heard numerous footsteps behind him, and he turned to see a squadron of armed soldiers, headed by a very worried-looking female griffin decked out in shining gold armour, the purple rings around her eyes creased slightly.

“Emperor Xenophon, do you know just what that is?” The female griffin asked anxiously.

“Yes, Gilda, I know what that is.” Xenophon answered neutrally.

“In that case, shouldn’t we do something?” Gilda was getting more and more confused. “My ancestor wouldn’t have wanted the entire empire to crumble because of a silly prophecy! The chances are that most of the population is already panicking!”

“Your ancestor, like you, was the Supreme Commander, and she would be smart enough to know that I already have a plan- and that I have already acted on it.” Xenophon turned to the female griffin. “You are the last part of my plan.”

Gilda’s look of bewilderment disappeared and was replaced by her obedient face. “What is it that you command, Your Majesty?”

“By now,” Xenophon said, turning, “the Talona Central Army is already on its way to what remains of Equestria, to wipe out all the newborn foals who live there.”

“You dispatched the capital’s defensive forces? We’ll be completely defenceless if we are attacked!” The confused look returned to Gilda’s face.

“Talona is in the centre of Gryphonia. No one can get past our exterior defences.” Xenophon responded dismissively. “There is one more squad of soldiers left here, and I want you to lead it. You must scout out the area around the Everfree Forest. Somepony would have been smart enough to found a colony there, where we will not venture by accident.” The emperor’s expression softened. “You know that I trust you the most out of all my officers. Come back safely.”

Gilda nodded. “Don’t worry, it’s just a raid. There won’t even be any military around. They’re all civilians.”

“Don’t forget the monsters from the Everfree Forest.” Xenophon added. “Just… fly safe.”

“You got it, sir.” Gilda then turned to her escort. “You heard the emperor! Come on, double time to the parade ground! We got a mission to complete!” The soldiers saluted smartly and hurried out of the chamber, the female griffin following close behind.

The emperor turned around and continued to observe the meteor shower, at the same time trying to blot out the cries of joy and fury alike that echoed from the diverse population of the city below him.

Comments

[Daemic9]

Very interesting. hope you keep the story up

[Turtles22]

Why is this getting so many dislikes? D: