A revolution is starting to rise in Equestria. Will Twilight be able to stop it in time?
A few years after the Chaos Contingency, things in Equestria seem to have finally returned to normal. Or have they? Talk of revolution is spreading, and Twilight must get to the bottom of it before the Princess is overthrown. But how do you stop something when you don't know who the true enemy is?
It was a beautiful day in Canterlot. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and Twilight was running late again. Not that it mattered to the princess, though. All they cared about was that they were able to share a lunch together on days like this.
“Excuse me!” Twilight said, pushing her way through a crowd of ponies. She came upon the table that Princess Celestia reserved for them. “I'm sorry I'm late, princess.”
“Nonsense, Twilight.” Celestia said, nodding to her favored student. “There is no such thing as being late, all that matters is that we are here now.”
“I suppose you're right.” Twilight said, taking a drink from her teacup. “Then again, I will have to get back to class in a bit.”
“How are the students doing? Progressing well?”
“Oh yes, they are doing quite well! Starshine has really shown her potential.”
“Oh? Have you considered taking her on as your apprentice?”
“Possibly. She is a very quick learner.”
Celestia took a drink of tea. “Well, it is good to hear that things are going well.” The bell tower tolled in the distance, indicating the passing of another hour.
“Is it 1 o'clock already?” Twilight asked aloud. “I should probably be getting back to the class.”
“Before you go, I must ask a favor of you.”
“Anything, Princess.”
Celestia brought a file up that was on the table. “Could you deliver these to the Sky Marshall after you're done with your class? It's a revised flight pattern for our trip to Manehattan on Friday.”
“Certainly. I'll make sure that she has them by the end of the day.” Twilight said, taking the file from the princess.
Celestia smiled. “This is why I chose you as my Second in Command, beyond the fact that you are my most faithful student. I'll see you tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Princess.” Twilight walked away, taking the most direct path back to the class. She was glad that she chose to move back to Canterlot after the Chaos Contingency. It seemed as though everything had settled back down after that. Although she missed her friends, she knew that she would always be there for them, and they would be there for her.
“Thank you, Ms. Sparkle.” The class said in unison as they slowly filed out of the classroom.
“Thank you and have a great day, everypony.” Twilight said back. She watched as the class left. “Starshine, may I speak with you for a moment?”
“Yes, Ms. Sparkle.” one filly said, stopping in the doorway.
“Please, call me Twilight. Walk with me for a moment.” Twilight and Starshine walked down the hallway of the school. “I've noticed that you have been doing extremely well with your spells lately.”
“Thank you, Twilight.”
“You've got a natural talent for magic, much as I did when I was a filly. Which is why I would like for you to be my apprentice.”
“Me?” Starshine asked, surprised at the offer.
“Starshine!” somepony called out. Two ponies came around the corner. “Oh, I'm sorry Ms. Sparkle, is everything alright?” It was Starshine's parents.
“Of course,” Twilight answered, “Everything is fine.”
“Mommy, daddy, Twilight asked me to be her apprentice!” Starshine said, running up to her parents.
“Oh? And what did you say?” her father asked.
“I haven't said anything yet!”
“Well, you should give her an answer, you silly filly.”
Starshine turned back to Twilight. “Yes!”
“Great!” Twilight said back. “First thing I want you to do is study your spells. That's the only way you'll get better. I'll talk to you if I need anything else.”
“Ok.”
“What do you say to Ms. Sparkle?” her mother asked.
“Thank you, Twilight!”
“You're very welcome.” She watched the family walk out of the school together. Twilight looked at the clock and figured that she should get going as well. She walked back to get the file that the princess gave her. Once she had the file, she left the school. As she exited the building, somepony called out to her.
“Hello, Twilight.” The voice was familiar. Twilight turned around to see somepony standing in the shadows. “It's been a while.” The pony stepped from the shadows, and Twilight recognized her almost instantly.
“Well hello Pinkie! I'm surprised to see you here.” Twilight said. “What are you in town for?”
“I'm here for you, Twilight.” she replied. Something was off about her. Her hair was different as well, straight instead of curly. “I see that you are still working with the princess.”
“Of course. I am her second in command.”
“Right, well, good for you.” She had a strange tone to her voice. “Anyway, you should watch yourself. Something around here doesn't seem right.” She turned and started to walk away. “Also, my name is Pinkamena, not Pinkie.”
Twilight walked through the main entrance of the offices of the Royal Air Force. She was still a bit confused by her conversation with Pinkie. Not that it was the first time Pinkie has ever acted strange, but this was.....different.
“Can I help you?” the pony at the receptionist desk asked. Twilight hadn't been paying attention, and now she found herself outside of the Sky Marshall's office.
“Oh, I'm sorry.” Twilight replied. “I'm here to see the Sky Marshall.”
“We can't just let anypony in to see her. Do you have an appointment?”
“I was sent here by the princess.”
“That doesn't answer my question.”
“How about this, you tell her that there is an old friend here to see her.”
The Receptionist hesitated for a moment. “Okay, fine.” She got up from the desk and walked to the office door, which she knocked on three times before poking her head in. “Ma'am, there's an 'old friend' here to see you. She says it's important.”
“Send her in.” the receptionist walked back to her desk.
“Thank you.” Twilight said, passing her and entering the office of the Sky Marshall. A light blue Pegasus was near the back of the office, her back turned to Twilight, looking over a table with a map of Equestria on it.
“So, which 'old friend' is here to interrupt me today?” she asked, studying the map intently.
“Why don't you turn around and see for yourself.” Twilight replied. Her voice startled the pegasus, as she turned her attention to Twilight.
“Twilight! I wasn't expecting to see you here!” Rainbow Dash said, a big grin appearing on her face. “How have you been?”
“I've been good.” Twilight replied. She tried not to pay attention to the eye patch over Dash's left eye. “You know, working for the princess and all that good stuff. How've you been since the....” She couldn't bring herself to say it.
Rainbow Dash could tell that it still bothered her. “I've been great. Membership is at an all time high. Would you like something to drink?” She asked, walking back over to her desk. She poured herself a small glass of scotch.
“No thanks, I'm fine.”
“Suit yourself.” She took a drink. “You know, you shouldn't feel bad about it.”
“About what?”
“Come on, Twi. You can't bring yourself to even talk about it anymore. Look, what happened back then happened, and I don't hold it against you.”
“I know you don't, but I do. It was all my fault.”
“Dammit, no it wasn't! Stop blaming yourself!” Dash took another drink. “There was a lot that happened during that time that we couldn't prevent. My eye was one of those things.”
“But you act like it's nothing!”
“That's because it's behind us now.”
Twilight took a moment to consider this. “You know, you're right. I'm sorry.”
“You shouldn't be the one apologizing, I snapped at you. Sorry, old friend.” She finished off her drink. “Anyway, I don't think that's the reason that you came by today, is it?”
“No, it's not.” Twilight handed the folder over. “These are the revised flight plans that the princess came up with.”
“Oh, for the address in Manehattan?”
“You know it.”
“What is she planning? There's been some real hype about it.”
“I don't know. She likes to keep stuff like that to herself.”
“Heh, right hand pony and you don't even know what she's doing. Anyway, I'll have the teams review these.”
“Sounds good.”
“Excuse me, ma'am.” the receptionist said, poking her head into the office. “You've got another group of recruits to address.”
“Ah, thank you. Would you like to come along, Twi?”
“Certainly. Might as well see what will be Equestria's finest.”
The crowds were gathering in the street, anxious for Celestia's speech. The noise of the crowd seemed to blot out everything else. Two ponies sat at a shop across the street from all the commotion.
“Okay, you are only going to have a small window of opportunity to do this.” One of the ponies was saying to the other. She was doing her best to keep her face hidden from prying eyes. Her accomplice, a male unicorn, nodded in agreement.
“And if I'm to be caught?” he asked.
“Your family will be taken care of. We already have someplace where we can move them, if we need to.”
“Your organization is very well prepared.”
“We have been waiting for an opportunity like this. We have had some time to make arrangements.” She dropped a small bag on the table. “Now I know that you have already received payment, but here is something extra.”
“Assuming I don't get caught.” He took the bag from the table. “What about her assistant, Ms. Sparkle?”
“Do whatever you can not to harm her. She will be an asset we can't afford to lose.” She watched as the colt got up to leave. “Good luck.”
“Yeah, I'll need it.” he said without looking back. The mare watched as he started to make his way through the crowd, before disappearing within it. A few minutes later, trumpets blared, signaling Celestia's arrival.
The mare got up and made her way outside, finding a good vantage point to watch the mission go down.
Twilight stood off to Celestia's side through the speech, watching over the crowds. Everypony seemed to hang off of every word spoken by the princess. She was only halfway through her speech, detailing her plans for the next few years.
Twilight had a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. She initially wrote it off, thinking that being in front of the crowd was causing it. She thought that it should have gone away at this point, but it just kept coming back. She kept scanning the crowd, looking for anything suspicious. Nothing stood out, until she saw somepony, a male unicorn, trying to get closer to the podium.
The Princess paused, allowing the crowd to applaud for a moment, before continuing. But before she could, a shout rang out from amongst the crowd. “FOR EQUESTRIA!” Everypony looked around, trying to find who it was. Twilight was the first to see. It was the male unicorn.
“FOR THE REVOLUTION!” he shouted, unwrapping a piece of cloth. Using his magic, he hurled a sharpened metal shard in the direction of the princess. She was able to stop it right before it could impale her. Seeing his failed attempt, the unicorn tried to escape through the panicking crowds.
“After him!” Twilight and the princess shouted in unison. A group of mares dressed in Royal Equestrian Army garb pushed their way into the crowd, seizing the unicorn. They brought him back to the stage, where the princess awaited them.
“Scramble your fliers.” Twilight said to Rainbow Dash, who promptly threw a salute at her. “I want them watching for anything else.” Rainbow Dash took off, beckoning a group of pegasi to follow her. Twilight looked over the remainder of the crowd, most trying to get back to their homes, when she spotted another suspicious looking pony. This one was watching from an alleyway, her face covered by a scarf. When she saw Twilight looking at her, she turned around and disappeared into the alley.
“Stop that pony!” Twilight called out, pointing to the alley. But she knew that it was already too late. She turned back around and faced Celestia. “What now?”
“We return to Canterlot.” Celestia responded. “We're going to see what our new friend has to say for his actions.”
Twilight came home and took a shower. She tried to be quick about it, as she did not want to keep the princess waiting. She didn't even wait for her mane to dry, rushing out of her home. Along the way to the castle, she ran into Pinkie again.
“Hello Twilight.” Pinkie said, trotting alongside Twilight. “I see that you came out alright after that little scrape today.”
“How did you.....Never mind.” She knew better than to question Pinkie.
“News travels fast. There's also news that a new prisoner is being kept in the castle dungeon. Any word on that?”
“Well, you know, I can't say anything just yet.”
“Of course, royal business and all. Can't let the common folk know what goes on behind closed doors.”
“Pinkie, you've been acting strange lately.”
Suddenly, Pinkie leaped in front of Twilight, a crazed look on her face. “I told you before, my name is Pinkamina, NOT pinkie.”
“Ok, I'm sorry.”
“You should be. And like I said before, strange things are starting to happen again. I'd watch your back.” And just like that, Pinkie seemed to disappear into thin air. Twilight stood there for a moment, trying to sort out what just went on. She continued her walk to the castle.
Once she reached the castle, a guard pony escorted her to the throne room. “Her royal highness has been expecting you.” he remarked, no tone in his voice. “She's currently conversing with Princess Luna, but it shouldn't be long.” He opened the door for her.
“Thank you.” she said, walking past him. As she entered the room, she could hear the sisters speaking.
“This isn't something that you can do.” Luna was saying. “It's not right.”
“Yes, well he attacked us, so I would say that he has earned this.” Celestia replied.
“Word will get out. There will be an outrage.”
“And what will they do? Nothing. They will see that he was in the wrong, and he will be punished. He will serve a lesson to others who may try the same.” Celestia saw Twilight in the corner of the room. “Ah, good to see you Twilight.”
“You as well. I'm not interrupting, am I? I can come back in a few minutes.”
“No, no. Luna was just about to see herself out.” Celestia turned back to her sister. “We shall continue this discussion later. I have things to do.”
“Of course.” Luna said, turning around to leave. “Ms. Sparkle.”
“Princess.” Twilight replied as they passed each other. Celestia turned her attention back to Twilight once Luna was clear of the room.
“I'm sorry you had to hear that. Are you ready?”
“Yes ma'am.”
Twilight followed the princess through the halls of the castle, neither daring to say a word. They descended a staircase to the bowels of the castle. Twilight had never been in this part before. They came across a guard, who nodded his head to the princess and opened the prison door. Inside was the unicorn that had attacked them.
“Good to see you again, princess.” He bore an evil looking smile. “I see that you managed to come out unscathed. Pity, the next one will have to work even harder.”
“Silence.” Celestia responded, complete authority in her voice. “You will only speak when spoken to, is that clear?”
“Fuck off.”
“No one speaks to the princess that way!” Twilight interjected. “Now tell us, who are you working for? Why target the princess?”
“Wouldn't you like to know. Too bad that you never will.” He snorted at them. “This is why our cause will not be stopped. Injustice such as this. We have rights, you know.”
“Yeah, well your rights flew out the window when you tried to kill her!”
“Listen,” Celestia interrupted. “We won't get anywhere if we keep going on like this. Why don't you just tell us who set you up, and your punishment won't be as harsh?”
“Heh. You'll never know. I'll take whatever you throw at me, I won't say a word.”
“We'll see about that.” At that moment, a white stallion walked in, carrying a medical bag with all sorts of utensils in it. Celestia turned to exit the room. “Everyone talks. It's just a matter of time now.”
Twilight led her class through the royal equestrian gardens. “Try to keep up everypony.” Twilight said, leading them past other classes. “Today is a very special day. Today you will each receive a dragon assistant.”
“I thought that dragons were mean, evil creatures.” one student remarked.
“Not since the treaty with the Clans of the North.” Starshine replied. “They've vowed to leave us alone, as long as we do not threaten them.”
“Very good, my young apprentice.” Twilight led them to an open space, where they were supposed to meet the class of dragons. “Now, where are they?”
“Twilight?” someone asked. She spun around to address them. She was met with a purple dragon with green spikes running down his back.
“Spike?” Twilight said, shocked. She ran up and threw her hooves around him. “It's so good to see you again!”
“It's good to see you too.” Spike replied.
Twilight turned back around to address the class. “Everypony, this is Spike. He used to be my assistant.”
“And this is Twilight Sparkle.” Spike said, introducing her to his class.
“Now, go ahead and partner up! You all have your assignments!” Twilight turned back to Spike. “I didn't know that you were in charge of a dragon class.”
“Yeah, been doing this since the pact. One of the first ones. Suppose they all thought that it would make sense, being royal blood and all.”
“I suppose.” Twilight had almost forgotten about that. It wasn't that long ago when Spike found out that he was a descendant of some of the most powerful dragon-kings that had been known. With that knowledge, he helped return power to his family and reunite the warring dragon clans.
“Anyway, I heard about what happened in Manehattan. Is everypony alright?”
“Yeah. Still a little shaken up about it. We're still trying to figure out exactly who was behind it.”
As if on cue, a royal guard approached the two friends. “Mrs. Sparkle,” he spoke, “The princess wishes to see you at once.”
“I'm sorry, but I'm sort of in the middle of a class right now.” she replied. “Can't it wait?”
“She says it's urgent. It has to deal with the assassination attempt.”
“Well, I can't just leave my class here.”
“Don't worry, Twi.” Spike interjected. “I'll take over from here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. I don't mind.”
“Thank you, Spike.” she hugged him again. “I owe you one.”
“Don't mention it. I'll see you sometime later.”
Twilight followed the guard back to the castle, where the princess was already anticipating her arrival.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice.” The princess said, walking with Twilight through the castle. “I'm sorry about pulling you away from your class.”
“It's alright. The guard told me that it has something to do with the assassination.”
“Oh yes, it has a lot to do with that. But I won't bore you with the details. Just pack what you need, as the carriage to Ponyville leaves in two hours.”
Twilight was taken aback. “Why Ponyville?”
“He revealed that that is his hometown. He may have been recruited there. No matter what, it is a start, and I want you to find out what is going on.”
“Right. I'll do what I must.”
“Excellent. I have already contacted the mayor, and he has prepared the library for your arrival.” The mention of the library brought back some fond memories for Twilight. “Unless there was someplace else you wanted to stay.”
“No, that will work.” Twilight looked to the princess, who had a grim expression on her face.
“Listen here my faithful student, time is of the essence. I fear that if we do not act quickly, there could be a repeat of those events. Do what you must to uncover this plot, before anything else happens.”
“Yes ma'am!” Twilight said, saluting to the princess. She walked off to gather some things for her trip.