Chapter 7: Insurgency Sunset Shimmer
Insurgency Sunset was quietly making her way through the castle, making sure to look around every corner to make sure the coast was clear. Once she reached the archives, she became rather concerned when she saw that her partner was nowhere to be found. But that concern dissipated when she saw the closet door in front of the archives opening and Starlight walking out.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the meeting with Twilight?" Insurgency Sunset asked. Starlight just smiled at her.
"I figured I still have a little time. I was preparing a surprise for you. Take a look at my counterpart inside." Insurgency Sunset didn't understand what she was trying to say, but nevertheless did as she was told. She checked on the unconscious Regime Starlight and saw something remarkable on her shoulder. Her eyes widened when she examined it closer. It was a large open wound, with burnt flesh that didn't look like it would heal properly. Much like the one she received from this unicorn.
"You... You gave her the same scar she gave me?" Insurgency Sunset asked incredulously. Starlight looked down.
"I figured it would be a nice gesture. And also I wanted to make up for treating you so harshly earlier. You were right. Our histories with our counterparts don't matter. All that matters is that we need to work together now to rescue my Celestia and take down your Twilight." Insurgency Sunset didn't want to show it, but she was touched by this gesture.
"Well... It took you long enough to figure it out, but apology accepted. Now go already! Before Twilight gets suspicious." Starlight just nodded and headed off and Insurgency Sunset turned towards the door of the archives.
She entered, looking around to make sure the coast was clear. For her relief, the room appeared empty. Sighing in relief, she then started looking around the shelves to find the document that contained the information they needed. She hasn't been at it for more than a couple of minutes, before she heard hoofsteppes coming from outside. Cursing herself under her breaths for not sealing off the archive with a barrier, she quickly hid behind one of the shelves just in time before the door opened.
Two ponies entered whom Insurgency Sunset immediately recognized as Regime Rarity and Regime Fluttershy. Insurgency Sunset watched them walking towards one of the shelves on the opposite side of the room and tried to evasdrop on their conversation.
"I'm telling you, darling, this is absolute madness!" Regime Rarity complained. "I am simply appalled at how ruthless Twilight had become!" Regime Fluttershy was seemingly getting annoyed by her friend's ranting.
"I apologize for being so blunt Rarity, but this feels a little funny coming from somepony who was one of Twilight's biggest supporters when the Regime started." she replied. Regime Rarity looked down in shame. She remembered those days well. She was still recovering from the tragedy of Canterlot. They all were.
"I remember that, thank you very much! But those time were different. After Canterlot, I needed something to believe in again. We all did. And I have seen how the loss of little Scootaloo - Faust rest her soul - affected Rainbow Dash. I was horrified by the thought of me following her down the same path if the same thing happened to Sweetie Belle. I wanted to create a safer Equestria for her and everypony else. And that's how it went at first. Bad ponies and other creatures got what they deserved and the country was safe. But what we're doing now... I just think it's going too far." she finished, looking down remorsefully. Regime Fluttershy noticed her friend's distress and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Rarity. It's just an act. Twilight needs to keep up the appearance of a strong ruler to reassure the ponies of Equestria and deter anycreature from harming them. She's not gonna actually kill the other world's Celestia. She's just bait to capture our Celestia." Regime Rarity didn't seem reassured.
"And what's going to happen then? Have you forgotten what she has done to Braeburn?" she asked the yellow Pegasus. Regime Fluttershy's face fell. She remembered that day all too well. The image of Braeburn and the other Apples' rotting corpses on those pikes will haunt her for the rest of her life. But there was no time to dwell on that anymore.
"Let's just get our job done. We need that document with the number of the train that will deliver the other Celestia into Canterlot on Friday for the 'execution' and deliver it to Ponyville." Insurgency Sunset growled. The document she was here for was about to be taken right out of her hooves. She couldn't allow that, but it looked like she won't be able to get it without a fight.
She sneaked to the door and used a magical barrier to seal it shut. She then turned back to the two ponies who were looking through the archives. Sunset was still not in top condition after escaping from Regime captivity, so she doubted she could face both of them at the same time. She's gonna have to find a way to separate them from each other.
She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out one magical crystal she still had left. She then filled it with explosive magical energy, before sneaking up on her targets.
"Here it is!" Regime Rarity said, pulling out a rolled up paper from the shelf before rolling it up and placing it into her saddlebag.
"Thanks for sparing me the effort of having to look for it." Insurgency Sunset called out to them, making them jump in surprise and turn around. "Now I will be taking that off of your hooves if you don't mind."
The two Regime ponies didn't even bother with asking she got into the most heavily defended building in Equestria. Regime Fluttershy immediately flew at her to take her out, but then Insurgency Sunset pulled out the explosive crystal and threw it on the ground. As Regime Fluttershy flew over it, it exploded and sent the yellow Pegasus off course, making her crash into the wall.
"Fluttershy!" Regime Rarity yelled, rushing to help her friend, but Insurgency Sunset attacked her with a knockback spell. Regime Rarity flew against a shelf and all sorts of documents fell on top of her. Sunset tried to take advantage of this by slamming the shelves on top of Regime Rarity, but the white unicorn actually came to before she could do it and blasted everything around her away. She turned to Insurgency Sunset with a death glare that would have stopped Tirek himself in his tracks.
"Normally, fighting isn't my thing. I'm more into fashion. BUT FOR THIS, I WILL TEAR YOUR HEAD OFF AND FEED IT TO THE DIAMOND DOGS!!!" Regime Rarity screamed. Insurgency Sunset narrowed her eyes.
"Bring it on, Princess Prissy!" she snarled. Regime Rarity charged at her with reddened eyes. She was completely blinded by rage and rushed into the fight without of a tactic, so it wasn't particularly difficult for Insurgency Sunset to defend against her attacks. The fact that Regime Rarity's knowledge and skills when it came to combat magic were slim to none also tipped the odds in the yellow unicorn's favor.
After toying with her for a bit, Insurgency Sunset charged up her horn with another knockback spell, sending Regime Rarity crashing into the wall and rendering her unconscious. Her saddlebag containing the vital piece of intel fell on the floor, opened and the document rolled out of it. Insurgency Sunset went to retrieve it, but she was interrupted by a yellow blur dashing past her. She looked up to see Regime Fluttershy in the air with the document in her hoof and looking down at Insurgency Sunset with a look of scorn.
"I must be losing my touch. I figured that explosion would at least knock you out until I'm done here." the yellow unicorn scoffed.
"You won't hurt any more of my friends, Sunset." but Insurgency Sunset just laughed darkly.
"Oh, dear naive Fluttershy, that's where you are wrong. A lot more of your friends are about to be hurt. And you're going to be watching it from the front row." she snarled. Her dark words seemed to be getting to Regime Fluttershy, but she wasn't about to show it. In her desperation, she tried to give Insurgency Sunset the Stare. The yellow unicorn instantly realized this and decided to play along.
"Oh, no! Not the Stare! Please stop! I can't take it! This is far worse than anything Starlight and Trixie could have ever dished out. Take me away and lock me up! I'll change my ways, I promise!" Insurgency Sunset pleaded. Regime Fluttershy descended towards her to increase the intensity of the Stare.
"Really?" she asked once she was in hoof's reach with Insurgency Sunset. "Do you mean it?"
"No, I don't!" Insurgency Sunset yelled in her face before spinning around and bucking Regime Fluttershy's lights out. "You presume too much about this 'Stare' of yours. She then grabbed the document, placed it in her saddlebag and left the archives.
By the time Insurgency Sunset got back to the main entrance of the castle, she was relieved to see that Starlight was already there. It was time to take their leave. She sneaked up on Starlight and gently tapped her shoulder. The blue unicorn turned to her and let out an irritated huff.
"Finally! What took you so long? Did you get the intel?" Starlight snapped.
"Nice to see you too." Insurgency Sunset retorted sarcastically, holding up the saddlebag. "I ran into trouble, but managed to get out of it. Did the meeting go well? What did Twilight want with you?" Starlight smirked.
"I managed to fool her into believing I was her Starlight. Turns out, my counterpart will be in charge of the castle's defenses during the execution. She wanted to go through the layout of the troops." Insurgency Sunset's eyes widened.
"She gave you the entire defense layout for the day of the attack?!" Starlight nodded.
"She sure did. I'll tell you all about it on the way back. Now let's get out of here before someone sees us." the two unicorns exited the castle and headed towards the manhole they arrived from. Once they were back in the sewers, Starlight turned back to Insurgency Sunset. "What kind of trouble did you run into again?"
"My Fluttershy and Rarity were in the archives. They were about to take the document we were after so I had to take it from them." Starlight stopped dead in her tracks.
"Wait, what?! You fought them?!" she screamed at Insurgency Sunset. The yellow unicorn just stared.
"How else was I supposed to get the document?" Starlight slapped her forehead.
"You idiot! If they find out we were after this document, they'll know we're trying to hit the train that will be carrying Celestia!" she reprimanded. But Insurgency Sunset didn't seem too concerned.
"We came here for this document and we got it." she shrugged, smacking the saddlebag on her side.
"You just jeopardized the entire rescue operation!" Starlight screamed at her. Insurgency Sunset narrowed her eyes.
"I told Sombra and I'll tell you too: I'm not in this for Celestia, mine or yours. All I want is revenge!" Starlight was about to say something, but she was interrupted by the beeping of her comm crystal. She pulled it out and activated it and the unicorns were greeted by the image of Insurgency Sombra.
"Ladies, seeing as you accepted my call, I wager the mission was a success." Starlight and Insurgency Sunset shared a glance before the blue unicorn answered.
"Partly. We got the intel, but we've encountered hostiles. We've had no choice but to engage. The Regime will no doubt know we're after that train now and we can't tell how they'll react." she explained. Insurgency Sombra frowned, but didn't seem to distressed.
"I see. Not to worry. Twilight may not trust me, but I still have several other connections within the Regime. I will be able to smooth things over. We'll proceed as planned. But I have a new assignment for Sunset."
"I'm listening." Insurgency Sunset replied.
"I have found a way to fix Celestia's anti-alicorn armor. The Regime has recently delivered equipment to Sweet Apple Acres from which I could replace the damaged parts of the device. I need you to get it for me." It seemed simple enough to Insurgency Sunset, but Starlight grew suspicious.
"Wait, does Celestia know about this?" she asked. Insurgency Sombra looked down guiltily before answering.
"No. And I would prefer to keep it that way. She would insist on using it herself. And that I cannot allow. I will have to do it." Starlight and Insurgency Sunset shared another glance, this time in confusion.
"Why?" asked Starlight. Insurgency Sombra sighed.
"Twilight has become too powerful. Facing her is suicide. Even if the device works, it is very likely the user of the armor won't survive. Celestia is the face of the Insurgency. If she dies, it dies with her. But me... I've been feeling this coming for a long time. Twilight knows I work for Celestia. All she needs is proof so she can finally remove me from the picture. I've been able to cover my tracks until now, but I know I will make a mistake sooner or later. Perhaps I should make it sooner than later." the two mares listened keenly. Starlight was amazed how noble this Sombra was compared to the one in her world. Even Insurgency Sunset who had no interest in the Insurgency's war of liberation was amazed by this.
"I'll get it." Insurgency Sunset replied after a few moments of silence. Insurgency Sombra nodded at her in gratitude.
"Thank you, Sunset. I will be waiting at the HQ." he responded before ending the call. Starlight turned to Insurgency Sunset.
"So, you care after all?" she teased with a smirk. Insurgency Sunset rolled her eyes.
"No, but I'll take any chance to hit the Regime." she replied, taking off her saddlebag and gave it to Starlight. "Take it back to HQ, I'll get Sombra's device."
Ever since the Apple Family were declared outlaws by Empress Twilight, the Regime commandeered Sweet Apple Acres and used it mainly for storing weapons and other magical artifacts. The residents of Ponyville were sad to see what the home of the still beloved Apple family had become but today, nopony was more displeased about it then Regime Cozy Glow.
After her failure to stop the insurgents at the Castle of the Two Sisters, Regime Twilight had her transferred to Sweet Apple Acres to supervise the arrival of the latest shipments of equipment. This was one of the lowest and most insignificant positions within the Regime. And the fact that Regime Twilight assigned Regime Rainbow Dash next to her did not make it any better. They did not like each other and since Regime Rainbow was her superior, she was happy to make the task especially difficult for the grey pegasus filly.
"Can we please just get on with this?!" Regime Cozy snapped. "There's only one shipment left for today and I want to be done with it!" Regime Rainbow narrowed her eyes at her.
"If you think sorting these crates with you is a personal fantasy of mine, Cozy, you are sadly mistaken! Twilight needs me in Canterlot for the preparations of the day of the execution, but she needs somepony on this operation she can actually trust. If you're so incompetent that you can't stop those doppelgängers and a weakened Celestia with Big Mac at your side, you've only yourself to blame." Regime Cozy shot her a dirty look, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it.
She went to the barn door and opened it to let in the cart waiting outside, carrying various crates on it. Once the cart was inside, the two Regime ponies went to get the crates and put them in their places. As they were carrying on, they didn't notice Insurgency Sunset Shimmer rolling out from underneath the cart.
She looked around quickly, trying to spot the number of the crate she was sent to find. Insurgency Sombra gave her the number she can use to identify the crate. To her dismay, the nummber she was given just so happened to be right next to the spot where Regime Rainbow and Regime Cozy were shelving the crate they were currently carrying. Once again, it looked like that she won't get out of this situation without a fight.
She decided to take advantage of the element of surprise and used her magic to yank the crate out of the two pegasi's hold. She then levitated it over Regime Rainbow and before she could react, dropped it on top of her. Despite her enjoyment of seeing Regime Rainbow get squashed by the crate, Regime Cozy knew that she will be next if she won't move. She flew directly at Insurgency Sunset, but the unicorn quickly trapped her in a telekinetic grasp.
"Why won't you be a good little filly and keep your muzzle out of the grownups' business." Insurgency Sunset snarled, throwing Regime Cozy at the wall. But the pegasus was prepared this time. She managed to lift her hooves and her wings, and before she hit the wall, she used a kicking motion to launch herself away from it and fly towards Insurgency Sunset. The unicorn was so shocked by the filly's escape that she had no time to react and Regime Cozy ounched her in the face with enough force to send her flying back.
After Insurgency Sunset recovered, she saw Regime Cozy flying at her for another strike. She tried to knock her back with a spell, but Regime Cozy dodged and punched her again. Realizing that hitting her is not an option, Insurgency Sunset changed her tactic. She noticed an open crate in the corner of the barn that must have been emptied earlier that day and it gave her an idea. She looked back at Regime Cozy who was about to hit her again, but just before her hoof made connection with her muzzle, Insurgency Sunset used a substitute spell to switch places with the crate. Regime Cozy had no time to react. She ended up crashing into the crate, then Insurgency Sunset slammed the crate shut and locked it down with her magic.
"Be grateful I'm not going to shake the crate." she said before bucking the crate away. She then turned towards the crate she was here for, only to find her way being blocked by Regime Rainbow Dash, who understandably looked rather angry.
"Did you think you could keep me down by slamming a crate on me?" she asked furiously. Insurgency Sunset just shrugged.
"Hope springs eternal." she said casually before trying to blast her away. Regime Rainbow dodged so fast that Insurgency Sunset didn't even see her move. She then felt a pair of hooves around her neck and felt herself being thrown back all across the barn, right into a wall. After she landed, she looked up to see Regime Rainbow charging at her and barely had time to teleport out of the way, causing Regime Rainbow to crash into the wall. Insurgency Sunset then lifted the crate she trapped Regime Cozy in and threw it at Regime Rainbow. The pegasus managed to dodge by flying up and the crate went crashing through the wall. Regime Rainbow glared down at the unicorn
"You should have accepted Twilight's amnesty, Sunset. The Regime could have used a unicorn of your skills. Hay, you could have easily become a high ranking officer." Insurgency Sunset felt the need to retch just thinking about it.
"Tempting, but no thanks. Like I told Starlight and Trixie, Sunset Shimmer is no one's puppet! Unlike you!" Regime Rainbow's glare intensified.
"Scum! I'm Twilight's second in command and loyal partner! I'm not a puppet, me and Twilght ARE the Regime! We're in charge of making Equestria better!" she screamed. Insurgency Sunset rolled her eyes.
"If you truly believe that, you're an even bigger fool than I thought. You're a misguided idiot whose mind is clouded by her rage. That's all what you regimers are. And that is why you will lose." Regime Rainbow was about to attack again, but the unicorn's trap has already been sprung. She just wanted to keep Regime Dash talking untill she had levitated the same crate she sent flying through the wall back inside, directly above Regime Dash without her noticing. Before the pegasus could move, Insurgency Sunset slammed the crate down on her, before lifting it back up and doing it again.
"Just... *SLAM* ...stay... *SLAM* ...down... *SLAM* ...al-... *SLAM* ...-ready! *SLAM*" Insurgency Sunset yelled, slamming the crate repeatedly back down on Regime Dash, until the pegasus finally passed out. "Oops. I might have gotten a little carried away." she giggled after she was done as she walked away. Now that she was done, she was finally free to get the crate she came for. She opened the crate and took out everything she needed before making her way out of the barn and heading back towards the tunnels leading back to the Insurgency's HQ.
'This will better be worth it, Sombra.'
Back at the Insurgency's HQ, Insurgency Celestia was studying the document brought to her by Starlight.
"So they will move my counterpart to Canterlot just a few hours before the execution at dawn." she read. The main world ponies who were sitting around her looked at her in concern.
"Will that be a problem?" Shining Armor asked. Insurgency Celestia shook her head.
"Of course not. Though Starlight told me that the Regime is aware that we know posess this knowledge, Sombra assured me that there is nothing to worry about. I have already deduced the perfect spot to ambush the train. And as for the rest of you, I will leave you to dicuss the details of our attack on the castle with my generals." the main world ponies shared a confused glance.
"Your generals?" Rainbow asked.
"Those would be us." a voice said from the entrance of the room. The main world ponies turned around to see the Insurgency's versions of Sunburst, Thunderlane and Flash Sentry standing at the door. Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up!
"Thunderlane!" she yelled as she flew over to the black Pegasus and slammed her forehoof into his from the side. "You son of a breeding mare! Good to see there are still some good ponies on Celestia's side!" Insurgency Thunderlane looked down in shame.
"It wasn't always like that. I used to be on the Regime's side with most of the other Wonderbolts. I needed to take my anger out on somepony or any other creatures after Rumble..." his voice broke at the mention of his little brother. Rainbow Dash gasped in horror.
"No. Not him too." Insurgency Thunderlane nodded sadly.
"Yeah, he was there in Canterlot too five years ago." he confirmed with tears in his eyes. "I wanted to lash out on the whole world, Dash. I wanted to make everyone suffer like I did. Until I realized that this wasn't right. So I defected to the Insurgency and now I'm leading it's airforce division: the PATTROFT." Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.
"The PATwhat?"
"P.A.T.T.R.O.F.T. Pegasi Against The Tyrannical Rule Of Twilight." Insurgency Thunderlane explained. Rainbow groaned.
"Ugh. That's a terrible acronym. And why is there an F in it?" Insurgency Thunderlane shrugged.
"It was the best we got and it just stuck. Don't worry after we've won this war and reformed the Wonderbolts, we'll abolish it."
"You better." Dash replied. "So, anypony else I know on this team of yours?" Insurgency Thunderlane smiled.
"There's Cloudchaser, Bulk Biceps and a couple of others. We tried to get Spitfire to come with us, but she decided to stay with the Regime and actually blew the whistle on us to Twilight." Rainbow's eyes widened.
"Spitfire did that?" Insurgency Thunderlane nodded.
"I don't know why. She was stripped of her rank as Wonderbolts commander when Twilight seized power and she was always treated pretty poorly in the Regime. My guess is because of Soarin. He also died in Canterlot and there were rumors that they were a thing. I guess she never recovered from that. But enough about the past, let's focus on the future. Will you fly with us tomorrow, Rainbow Dash? It would be an honor to fly by your side again." Suffice to say, Rainbow instantly agreed.
Shining Armor was also having a similarly heartfelt reunion with Insurgency Flash Sentry. The pegasus saluted the unicorn.
"Sir, I realize this isn't entirely accurate, but it's an honor serve by your side again." Shining returned the salute.
"The honor is all mine, General Sentry." he replied. Insurgency Flash blushed.
"Oh, please stop. I'm still not used to that title." Shining chuckled.
"So, how did you end up here?" he asked.
"After the death of your counterpart, Princess Cadence promoted me to lead the Crystal Guard, but when I openly opposed her alligning with the Regime, she had me imprisoned and planned to turn me over to Twilight. The insurgents broke me out and since they could use my military experience, they made me a general."
"And what about you, General Sunburst?" Cadence asked teasingly. Insurgency Sunburst looked down in embarrassment.
"It's all but a formality. Warfare is hardly my field of expertise. I'm actually in charge of the insurgency's research and development. I even helped Sombra create the anti-alicorn device. Too bad it went to waste." he lamented. Nopony noticed Starlight look down sheepishly. Insurgency Celestia stood up and cleared her throat.
"Well then, since you all understand each other so well, I shall leave you to the preparations. We have until Friday dawn to get ready."
"For what exactly?" Applejack asked. Insurgency Celestia stopped for a moment before she left the room and turned her head too look back at them.
"The battle."
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Again, the exchanges, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up are all pretty well done in all the right places. Definitely enjoyed seeing Insurgency Sunset in action (even if she ended up blowing a stealth operation) and I DID love Starlight mentioning what she did to her Regime counterpart as payback. Also really liked Regime Rainbow getting the reminder that these enemies ARE to be taken seriously. In addition, really good reasons for the Insurgency members' signing up. Plus, the stuff about Sunset no-selling the Stare and Main Rainbow commenting on the bad acronym did provide some pretty welcome humor. And Yeah, "Insurgency" and "Regime" DOES sound pretty logical.
At any rate, this chapter again took a while, but was well worth the wait. And I will definitely be looking forward to more of this.
I have the oddest feeling you originally had Trixie in Starlight's role since you keep calling Starlight a blue unicorn, not just in this chapter but previous chapters. She's at least pink.
(And Cozy Glow grey? More like a like orangish-pink)
Other than that another great chapter! I can't recall if Fluttershy ever used The Stare on anything else but animals. But even if it does work, Sunny ain't falling for that!
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Thank you for the comment! 🙂
I actually took the "bad acronym" bit from the Injustice 2 prequel comic from a similar scene between Batman and Plastic Man.
I realize I've been taking longer than before with new chapters, but I've also been working on other chapters in parallel with this one, already about 1/3 done with chapter 10 and 11 and even started 12. So those the rest of the story will probably be finished sooner. Especially since I really want to start Unfriendship 2.
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She did try to use it on Discord in "Keep Calm and Flutter On" with the same result as with Sunset here, except without getting knocked out.
And yeah, about the colors, I get that a lot. I mistake colors very easily. Light red, brown, dark green, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Thank you for the comment. I'm happy you enjoy my story. 🙂
(Nods) nice little set up you've got here, and it's equally nice that just like in my own story, the resistance has more than a few OTHER individuals helping them out... 🙂
Great chapter!:I really liked well I really like sunset so I'm obviously going to like it chapter full of her their relationship is pretty bad her and starlight I mean I really do like Sombra he's he's the funniest so far that Starlight doing the same spell on her counterpart thing was really disturbing LOL moving on