• Published 3rd Oct 2011
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Children of the Sun - Vanner



What happened to Equestria after Nightmare Moon is banished and Celestia is nowhere to be found?

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Reunion

Chapter Fifteen: Reunion

For the almost a decade, Ridgeline believed that his surviving the firebombing of Hoofswell had been some sort of cruel punishment for the sins he would later commit in life. In a lot of ways, it would have been easier to have been an orphan from birth than to have your family turned to ash in front of you.

Some ponies had been here since the beginning, while others were here from as recently as a few weeks ago. It was as if the time had stopped for them when the cloud took their souls. Their bodies and minds remained preserved by the dark magic of Phantasm’s demon, just as they had left the world. Ridgeline sat with his pony friends, and stared out at the crowd.

“He told me some things,” said Ridgeline. “He said that Nightmare Moon had been in him until he found Princess Luna. That he was going to march on Canterlot with his army.” He looked to the hundreds of ponies who wandered the dome. “I guess that’s not happening.”

“You could have been killed,” said Heart Chase. “Yah didn’t know how strong Phantasm was, and yah didn’t know that killing him would free all those ponies. Why did you do it?” Ridgeline looked confused at the question.

“You mean you wouldn’t have?” he asked. “Ponies like me are a bit a dozen. We fight, we die, we’re sometimes remembered. I was born to fight.” Heart Chase only shook her head.

“No pony is born to fight,” said Bard. “Something made you the way you are now, but whatever it was, it’s not who yah were meant to be.”

“If I’m not born to fight then who am I?” asked Ridgeline. “Killing’s all I’ve ever been good at. I got my cutie mark for killing a griffin, for Celestia’s sake.”

“So you’ve had a rough time,” said Heart Chase. “Ain’t no one’s life easy, specially not these ponies.” Ridgeline looked out to the crowds. So many faces were indistinct memories from nearly a decade ago, yet here they all stood, as if only their location had changed.

“Do you think we should tell them what’s going on?” asked Ridgeline. “They’ve been enslaved for a decade by that monster. How do you tell a pony something like that?”

“Well, you start with the truth,” said Heart Chase. “Come on, these are yer ponies aren’t they? We can tell them together.” She stood atop the stone cap, and cleared her throat. “If y’all would bring it in here for a minute so we can explain what’s goin’ on here?” bellowed Heart Chase. The ponies stopped wandering in a daze for a moment to look upon the two Celestian Knights who seemed to take charge.

“Now, I know y’all are wonderin’ how you got up here, and what’s goin’ on with all this nonsense,” said Heart Chase. “I ain’t got an explanation fer yah, but it had somethin’ to do with that griffin Phantasm. Ya’ll seemed to wake up when he died, so I’m thinkin’ that’s what happened.”

“Phantasm had taken your souls to try to fill the hole where his should have been,” said Manus. The ponies recoiled at the griffin who stood beside Heart Chase, but she didn’t seem in the least bit worried about him. “For years we brought ponies to him so that he wouldn’t take us instead.” He gestured out to the bewildered griffins behind him. “As you can see, it didn’t work. We let a monster take over our lives, and you have all paid the price for out failure. I’m sorry that we weren’t strong enough to stand up to him, and that it took ponies to show us how much we had failed.” He ceded the floor to Heart Chase.

“Well thank yah,” said Heart Chase. “So that’s what happened, I guess. Now, my friend here says he knew some of yah, and that yah been under that demon’s spell for the past ten years. Equestria has changed a lot since then, and well, it ain’t for the better.” She looked to Ridgeline, who only nodded. “I guess I’m gonna start at the beginning, so if ya’all wanna know, bring it in close cause it’s gonna be a long story.”

For an hour, Heart Chase explained what had happened in the time since their imprisonment. She explained how Luna became tainted by Nightmare Moon, and how two years of the Lunar Rebellion and five years of the goddesses’ absence had left Equestria in tatters. She explained how Hoofswell had become a bitter wasteland of a city, and how the ponies of New Hoofswell had nothing but hate in their hearts.

Heart Chase looked out to the crowd of ponies with a heavy heart. Tears of sorrow filled the eyes of ponies as she explained Celestia’s absence. Others quaked with the fear of the unknown, and still other trembled with rage at what Equestria had become. She took questions from the ponies, and offered what information she could. In a way, she was happy to serve these ponies. Much like foals, the world around them was new and unforgiving. Certainly some of them had decades of experience to help them, but the world outside the spire was a different place from the one they knew, and awaiting them in Hoofswell was hard work and sacrifice to rebuild the world they left behind.

Sitting in a close huddle were five ponies. The two colts had boulder cutie marks and bore muted tan coats, much like their father. The mother bore a scarlet coat, and had a cutie mark of a needle and thread. The youngest child, a copper coated filly, wore a sewn patch on her flank. They were looking for someone among the ponies, but had no luck finding who they were looking for. Ridgeline only watched them with a sad eye. Constance put a hoof on his shoulder, and looked at the family.

“They’re looking for you,” said Constance.

“I know,” replied Ridgeline.

“So go talk to them,” said Constance. “They’ll want to know what’s happened. Everypony here will want to know what’s happened.”

“I can’t,” said Ridgeline. “I’ve become a monster; it’s best they remember me for who I was, rather than what I’ve become.” Constance only shook her head.

“You freed them, Ridgeline,” she said. “Even if you didn’t know what you were fighting for, you saved an city from an eternity of bondage under… whatever that thing was. Look around you. Griffins are apologizing for what happened. Ponies are finding loved ones they thought died years ago. Muffins even found her mother. Everypony here gets a reunion. Why not you too?”

“I’m not worthy,” said Ridgeline. “The only reason I was able to beat that thing was because I’m cursed. My family are rock farmers; I’m a possessed solider. We have nothing in common now, even if we are flesh and blood.” Constance only shook her head, and went to check on Bard.

The unicorn still had an unbelievable headache from the demon’s screech. Blood had matted around his ears, and he had a hard time hearing what Constance was trying to tell him. He thought it weird when she hugged him and said thank you.

“Why?” said Bard. “I ran away like the coward I am. I’ve done absolutely nothing helpful in the past few hours.”

“You came back, that’s why,” said Constance. “You were scared and you ran, sure, but you came back. You wouldn’t abandon your friends, even if you were terrified.” She looked back to Heart Chase. “And I think we both owe her an apology.” Bard nodded, and got to his feet.

Because she wore the armor of a knight and spoke like a politician, many ponies thought that the two knight ponies had been sent to free them by Celestia. She had to explain that again and again that nopony had seen their beloved princess in years. Heart Chase was busy fielding question from the ponies about the state of the world when her friends walked up to her.

“Can we talk?” asked Constance.

“Certainly, citizen,” said Heart Chase. She coughed, and corrected herself. “Sorry ‘bout that. What can I do fer yah?”

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry for not believing in you,” said Constance. “When I was captured, I thought Bard would come to my rescue or that Ridgeline would storm the spire to save us.” She looked at the ground. “And they did, but it was you who came for us after all. I didn’t trust you and I didn’t have faith. I’m sorry Heart Chase. I should have known you were a friend.” Heart Chase only shook her head.

“No, I should apologize to you,” she said. “I wasn’t honest with yah about what happened because I didn’t trust you. And I didn’t trust yah because that’s just what ponies do these days. That happens too much, and I let things get the better of me. I’m proud to call you folks my friends, and I’m glad that yer all okay.”

They shared a hug and as they embraced, Muffins came fluttering over to join them. Trailing behind her was a strawberry coated pegasus who was just as fuzzy as her daughter. She approached the three ponies with a bow.

“I understand I have you to thank for rescuing me and my daughter,” said the pegasus. “Is there anything I can do to repay you for what you’ve done?” Constance only shook her head.

“What Muffins has given us is far greater than anything you could possibly reward us with,” said Constance. “Without her, I don’t think we could have stopped Ridgeline. Her relentless friendship is magic in the way it affects ponies. If you would do anything for us, it’d be to make sure she never loses that spirit.” Constance hugged the fuzzy filly. “And maybe get her a coat clipping once spring comes around.”

Bard looked back to Ridgeline as he sat alone near the wall. He was lying with his head in his hooves as he watched a family in the crowd. He looked to them, then back at the stallion. The resemblance was uncanny. Why hadn’t he gone over there? Bard trotted to the family with a smile.

“How are you doing?” asked Bard. “I’m sure this is all kinds of traumatic.”

“We’re fine,” said the stallion. “You didn’t happen to see a copper coated colt with a pile of rocks as his cutie mark, did you?” he asked. “I mean, the rest of us are here, I thought…” his voice trailed off. “Well I don’t know what I thought.”

“You’re looking for Ridgeline, right?”

“Do know what happened to him?” asked the stallion.

“Well, he wasn’t with you when Hoofswell burned,” said Bard. “He survived the firebombing, and he’s spent the past decade being a soldier.” He glanced back at the armored stallion that was fielding questions from some other ponies. “He’s not your little colt anymore. It’s been a rough life for him, and he’s endured things that no pony should have to. What’s happened to him over the past few years has been nothing short of a nightmare, and he thinks he’s a monster for it.” Bard shook his head, and took a deep breath. “Underneath that armor plating is a scared colt who just wants his family back.”

“What’s happened to my little colt?” asked the mare.

“The stuff of nightmares,” said Bard. “He needs a family now. Even if he thinks he’s unworthy, he needs you.”

Iron Pick pulled as hard as any of the donkeys that hauled the carts through the woods. He’d occasionally stop to blast a path for them with a swipe of his horn, but he pulled his own weight and more, as if he was trying to prove that he wasn’t just full of lies and broken promises. They didn’t complain.

The wagon train of war machines crested a final hill and came to the edge of the treeline. They had cleared the Everfree forest in a single night by destroying half the cargo, and taking shifts. Below them was the tiny hamlet of Ponyville, and few hours walk beyond that, the city of Canterlot. The donkies gasped in amazement at the castle’s moonlit silhouette. Most have never come this far east, and they certainly had never seen the castle on such a beautiful fall evening. If it weren’t for the visage of Nightmare Moon glaring upon them from the heavens, they’d almost say it was peaceful. Iron Pick slowed to a stop and unhitched his cart.

“I’m going to head into town, and see if I can scare up some food for us all,” said Iron Pick. “Stay here, and wait for me, but if you hear trouble start heading for Canterlot. I shouldn’t be more than an hour.” With that, the unicorn trotted down the hill, and into the hamlet.

Ponyville was a quiet and unassuming settlement on the edge of the Everfree forest. It used to be that it sat on an endless plain, just another insignificant speck on the map of Equestria. But with the expansion of the Everfree forest, and the new capital of Canterlot, the town began to grow as an important stopping point for ponies on their way anywhere. Iron Pick came to the door of an inn, and stepped inside.

It was quiet here. There were two mules sitting in silent misery at corner table. Iron Pick ignored them, and rapped a hoof on the counter. A purple unicorn stallion poked his head up from beneath the bar, and blinked the sleep from his eyes. Iron Pick only cocked an eyebrow and sighed.

“I need a day’s food and water for a dozen donkeys,” said Iron Pick.

“That’s a lot of supplies for one pony,” yawned the unicorn. “You gonna carry that yourself?”Iron Pick cursed himself for not bringing the cart. Then again, all of the carts were full of siege engine parts, so perhaps it’s best that he didn’t. He looked to the mules a moment, and walked over to them.

“Are you gentlecolts interested in making a few bits?” asked Iron Pick. The mule looked over the armored unicorn with a skeptical eye.

“What do you need?” asked the mule.

“I need supplies carried about a half mile out of town to my wagon train,” said Iron Pick. “I’ll pay you both ten bits.”

“Why should we trust a unicorn?” said the other mule.

“Because I’m just passing through,” said Iron Pick. “It’s an easy ten bits; do you want the money or not?” The mules shrugged and collected the supplies the inn keep brought up from the basement. Iron Pick tossed a few bits at the unicorn and was headed for the door when the inn keep spoke up again.

“Anypony tell you that look like a demon in that armor?” he asked.

“That’s probably because the owner of it is a demon,” said Iron Pick.

He left the inn with the two mules at his sides. Though it was a short walk, the mules pestered him about why he was carrying so many supplies out to the edge of the forest. Their tone worried Iron Pick, as it was one of fear rather than curiosity. Had unicorns become such a boogie-pony among other equines that they couldn’t be trusted at all? The fact that mules and donkeys thought he was a monster just because of his horn made him fearful for the future. If the equines couldn’t trust each other, then what hope was there for Equestria even if Heart Chase and the other ponies managed to figure out how to bring Celestia back?

They arrived at the wagon train and unloaded the supplies they had brought. The mules questioned why an armored unicorn was leading a wagon train made entirely of donkeys toward Canterlot. Iron pick shrugged and offered an explanation.

“Things are going to get ugly in the next day or two,” said Iron Pick. “I only hope I can put a stop to this madness before it gets out of control and destroys Equestria.”

“What does that mean?” asked the mule.

“It means that war is coming,” said Iron Pick. “A battle for Canterlot is coming through the forest, and without equines fighting as one, Canterlot will fall. If you value Equestria at all, you’ll gather anyone willing to fight, and join us.” Iron Pick levitated his yoke over his head. “If not, then I suggest you find a nice basement to cower in, because an army is headed this way. We’ll see you in Canterlot. Move out!”

The wagons rolled again as the herd of donkeys marched toward the castle. The mules looked at each other a moment, then back to Iron Pick as he led the train away from Ponyville into the mountains of Canterlot. The grey mule turned and started galloping for home.

“Where are you going?” asked the brown mule.

“That pony was right; Equestria needs everyone,” said the grey mule. “You saw the knights coming back through here. You know as well as I do that war is coming.”

“What if those donkeys were slaves?” asked the brown mule.

“When’s that last time you saw a unicorn in a yoke?” asked the grey mule.

Glaive stared at the bodies of the ponies that hung from the tree with maddening rage. These four so called officers had been duped so easily by Iron Pick that they gave up the siege weapons they were hauling and just walked straight north to meet the rest of the army. He had personally choked the life out of the commander pegasus, but had the body hung with the other officers from the company to demonstrate to everypony in his army the price of failure. As for the rest of the company, they had followed orders like obedient soldiers, and obedience was all he asked of his grunts. He turned away from the hanging ponies as they struggled for life.

“Now we see the price of failure,” said Glaive to his assembled army. “These ponies have let the enemy escape with support that would have aided us in victory. Because of the actions of these four ponies, more of our lives will be lost.” He shook his head and raised a hoof to the sky. “I urge you to examine your ranks. Look upon your squads and companies for signs of failure, and ferret out those who are weak. Push them to the front so that they may die first, and let those ponies who know what it means to be free stand victorious at the end of the day!”

The crowd cheered at the unicorn’s words. Glaive simply stared out at the crowd. It wasn’t the loss of the siege weapons that bothered him so much as it was Iron Pick was running around with his body. It meant that he had either escaped or that the ponies of Bridleburg knew of the switch. Either way, there was no turning back. It was either victory now, or utter annihilation. With so many ponies at his disposal and with his network of conspirators in place, victory was all but assured. Daisy Lane would still open the gates, and the army of Bridleburg would lay waste to meager forces of Celestia’s Knights.

After that, the fighting would stop, just as Celestia had asked. There may have been a few fires to put out in the mean time, but Glaive was patient pony. The Griffin War would be settled by welcoming Phantasm to the capital, and killing him once he got there. He’d need a berserker, but there was sure to be a pony among his ranks that would take a demon seed. Maybe he’d create a dozen, and use them as hammers of destruction to enforce his will across Equestria. Regardless, once that war was over, Celestia would show herself again, and that’s when Glaive could truly claim the throne for his queen. He smiled, and looked back to the crowd.

“Soliders!” he said. “We stand united against the tyranny and oppression of the bureaucrats of Canterlot. But because of these ponies that hang behind me, Canterlot knows now that we are coming, and every hour we give them to prepare is another dozen lives lost. I know you are tired, and that you yearn for rest, but we must march through the night. We will rest in the towns we come upon, and recruit their populations to our cause. Those who are not with us are against us, and will be used as fodder against those who stand against freedom. Gather your tents, brothers and sisters, we march on the hour!”

The army dispersed to gather their belongings as Glaive marched to his own tent. Crews of ponies were busy gathering his things while Apple Chase yelled orders. She smiled as Glaive walked into the tent.

“On the bright side,” said Apple Chase, “If he’s out here alone, that means that everypony else is dead.” Glaive raised a suspicious eyebrow to the earth pony.

“Why would you think that?” asked Glaive. “It’s equally possible that your brat niece is fully aware the situation, and let him out in the first place. It could have been any one of them.” He looked out to the woods with a disgusted sigh. “There are a lot of ponies I regret not killing, but this one really takes the cake. Then again, if I had killed him, I’d be stuck in the decrepit body until I could find another one. Ah, well, such is life.” He put an arm around Apple Chase and waved out at the forest. “I really hope once we’re at peace that this damnable forest stops growing. I’d hate to have set fire to an entire region of Equestria.”

“Peace is only a few days away, my dear,” replied the mare. “Personally, I can’t wait to be fitted for a crown. I’m thinking platinum.”

Glaive only smiled at his princess. What waited ahead was the salvation of Equestira. In his hooves, the country would rise to new heights as they awaited the return of Nightmare Moon.

Morning light broke upon the tundra of the Griffon Kingdom, and from the spire flew the griffins that returned ponies to the ground. Each and every pony wondered at how the world would see them after all those of enslavement under Phantasm. It was an entire population that had been lost in time; would they be able to survive in the turbulent times that awaited them in Hoofswell?

The griffins had made peace with ponies of Hoofswell, and vowed to return in the spring to help with the weather. Heart Chase had made the negotiations, and created a contract with Manus and Gladus to seal the deal. She had never had a non-pony friend before, and found that the griffins weren’t as bad as the legends had made them out to be. Much like ponies, all they sought was a family to love, and a place to call their own. With the rookery restored, and families brought back together, they could be happy again, and they could help Hoofswell to be happy too.

Ridgeline had spent the night with his family, regaling them with story of the world as it was, and of his place in it. The listened for hours as he described the aftermath of the firebombing, and how years of memories were missing from his childhood. His mother didn’t care that he barely remembered her; she only wanted to hold her child, and weep for his pain. They had begged him to come with them back to Hoofswell so they could be a family again, even if they had lost ten years of time.

“I can’t,” said Ridgeline. “Our goddess needs us, and much as I want to stay here with all of you, I have to do my part to keep every family safe. There’s a war coming to Equestria, and it’s up to us to stop it.” Patches hugged her brother as the tears rolled down her face.

“I don’t want you to go,” she said. “You’re my big brother, I don’t want you to get hurt.” Ridgeline hugged his sister back, and let her cry.

“I promise I’ll come back,” said Ridgeline. “There’s nothing in Equestria that can keep me away.”

Heart Chase watched the family reunion with a tear. It made her think of her own family, and how much she missed her sisters. If they lived through this, she vowed to make every moment with her family count, and to not take them for granted ever again. She remembered the stuffed rabbit in her satchel, and brought it to Patches. The filly looked at the stuffed bunny cautiously.

“Your big brother had this,” she said. “He told me it remind him of you. You should keep it safe for him until he gets back.” The filly took the toy and held it against her chest. She smiled at Heart Chase and ducked back behind her family.

The ponies made their way to the stone riser where Bard was busy carving the compass they needed to teleport away. With a wave of his horn, the stone powdered away in long lines and curves as his magic weaved around the stone. Muffins and her mother fluttered up to them.

“Muffins wanted to say goodbye to you before you left,” said the strawberry pegasus. The fuzzy filly fluttered up to Constance, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Mommy said you should kiss the ponies you love,” said Muffins. “And I love you because you kept me safe even when things were really scary.” She fluttered to Ridgeline, and kissed his forehead. “And I love you too, because you saved Mommy from the griffin. When I grow up, I’m going to be as brave as you,” she said. “Maybe I won’t fight monsters like you do, but I’ll still be brave.” She hugged Bard, who tried to act annoyed but ultimately smiled. “And you’re a big meanie but you still came back for us. That makes you okay.” She came at last to Heart Chase. She wrapped her fuzzy little arms around the armored mare, and smiled.

“I hope you get to go home safe, Miss Heart Chase,” said Muffins. “Come back and visit sometime if you can.”

“We will,” said Heart Chase. “We all will.”

With that, the ponies took their places on the platform as Bard began to weave his spell. In his mind, he pictured the basement of a place he hadn’t been in seventeen years. He remember the musty smells, and the weeping walls of his childhood basement where he and his brother would play. Memories of happier times filled his head as the world tilted away, and in a flash of light, the four ponies disappeared.