Chrysalis is back. She has teamed up with new villains. Their army is powerful, and has taken over Equestria and scattered the Mane 6. Can Twilight unite them and bring an end to the war?
Chrysalis and her changelings are back.
New villains have arisen.
Celestia is captured.
Equestria is taken.
The Mane 6 Scattered.
Twilight Sparkle, disguised, finds a group of survivors that are rebelling against the evil army. She joins, in order to save Equestria and hopefully find her friends. Under the leadership of The Commander, a pegasus pony who keeps her identity a secret, and the help of new friends, maybe they can stop the war once and for all.
I can't believe it happened just last week. When Equestria was taken over by evil...and still nothing seems to have changed...
It had started just like a normal day, I woke up in my castle to a bright sunny nice day. I had left to go see AppleJack, she needed some help planting crops for this year. All my other friends were there helping too, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. It was nice, we had a chat, ate some breakfast of some delicious apple pie, and got to work.
Then something didn't feel quite right. I felt something...evil, it seemed. I looked up and saw Canterlot in the distance. I squinted and saw light green flashes coming from inside the city. It was being attacked! I looked at Spike, who was dozing.
"Oh I'm just being silly," I said to myself, "If Canterlot was under attack, Celestia would send me a letter! There's no reason to worry, it must be...fireworks, yeah, fireworks."
I reassured myself that nothing was wrong. I was just getting the, what did Pinkie Pie call it? Oh yeah, she called it the "heebie jeebies". I wonder where Pinkie is now...I hope she's all right...
Oh yeah, back to the story! I continued planting, until we were finally finished.
"Um Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash, "What's going on in Canterlot? It doesn't look too good up there."
I looked up again, this time there was a black cloud hanging over the city. I looked again at Spike, still no letter from the princess.
"I'm sure it's nothing Rainbow," I said nervously, "It must be some kind of Canterlot celebration, I'm sure that if something was wrong I would've received a letter from Celestia."
"Ya sure bout that sucarcube?" asked Applejack, all of us were now looking at Canterlot, "It looks mighty rough up there. Maybe we should go up there and take a gander."
"I think Applejack's right dear," replied Rarity, "What if Celestia didn't have time to send a letter? What if it was some sort of surprise attack, and Celestia wasn't in reach of ink and parchment at the time? And of course she would be too busy fighting to teleport some to her, and defiantly too busy to write a whole letter."
"I guess you make a good point," I gulped, "But it's just that..."
"Oh come on Twilight," said Fluttershy, "I'm sure even if nothing's wrong, Celestia would, um, not get mad at you."
"Come on!" exclaimed Pinkie, "If there really is some meanie critters, I can just blast them with my PARTY CANNON!"
"Oh all right then," I replied,"I guess I could teleport all of us up there and look. But I have to write a note for Spike, so he doesn't get worried." I quickly wrote a note to Spike, then I readied my magic, "Ready girls? Together!"
"TOGETHER!" we shouted in unison.
Oh my friends, wherever could you be now? I miss you all.
I really should stop getting distracted.
Anyway, we teleported into a street in Canterlot. I had aimed for the castle, but I was close enough.
"Sweet Celestia," gasped Rarity. She had a reason to say that, the whole town was being torn apart by Changelings!
"Not these things again," growled Rainbow Dash, preparing to fight.
"We need to get to the castle!" I commanded, "Celestia may need our help!"
"Um, T-Twilight?" asked Fluttershy, who I could tell was scared to bits.
Fluttershy, oh how frightened you must be now...
Curse you wandering mind. Back to the story.
"Yes Fluttershy? Make it quick," I replied.
"Uh, what are th-those thi-ings," she stuttered pointing. I saw what she was pointing at, assuming it was just a changeling. It was far from one.
"I...have no idea..." I muttered. I had no idea what it was. It looked like a pony, no unicorn, well, you get my point. It was colored grey with a red and black mane and piercing red eyes with slitted pupils. It was levitating a sword, and was confronting two young fillies.
I charged at it, slamming into it to protect the young unicorns, who quickly ran away.
"What are you? What are you doing?" I screamed. The thing just laughed.
"Foolish pony," it hissed in a raspy voice, "Equestria is ours. Don't bother fighting us, you will not succeed. Give up now and we might spare your life."
"NEVER!" I screamed, plunging my hoof down to stomp on it. I heard a sharp crack, and the creature lay limp. It was dead, I had snapped its neck.
"Hey Twilight? There's more of those things!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She was right, more of the creatures were lining the streets, along with changelings.
"We must get to the castle, now!" I shouted, and we all started running, or in Rainbow's case, flying. We were halfway there when we saw a large group of changelings and the other things behind us.
"You guys go ahead! I'll take care of this!" Rainbow Dash called, turning around.
"Rainbow no! You'll get hurt! Or worse!" I shouted back, and the others shouted their agreement.
"I'll be fine! Now go!" Rainbow Dash called back, a determined look on her face.
I hesitated, but realizing there wasn't any other choice at the moment, "Come on!" I ordered, and the five of us rushed into the castle.
We got to the castle and opened the doors. Behind it, was a large group of enemies, even larger than the group we had left Rainbow Dash with.
"Twilight," Applejack whispered to me, as the evil army drew nearer, "All of us here will help ya get to those doors over there," she pointed to a pair of double doors on the other side of the room, "ya go through that there door, and find the Princess. We'll handle things out here.
"W-what?" I asked, shocked, but they were allready shoving me through, battling all the enemies in our wake, making a path to the door. Pinkie Pie's party cannon really helped, as did Fluttershy's stare, which she used to paralyze the enemy. Finally after what seemed to be an eternity, we reached the other side. Rarity opened the door and shoved me through.
"See you later Twilight dear!" she called before she hurriedly slammed the door.
Why did I ever agree to separate with my friends?
Ugh more distractions.
Where was I? Oh yeah, I was in the hall of stained glass. There wasn't any Changelings in it, or any other creature. I walked through the hall, looking at the windows symbolizing major events in recent Equestrian history.
I heard a door open, and turned around, expecting to see my friends, emerging victorious from their battle. But that wasn't so. The door I came through was still shut tight.
"Well, well who do we have here? If it isn't my old friend Twilight Sparkle."
"Chrysalis," I growled at the Changeling Queen, "Leave Equestria now! Where is Celestia?!"
"Oh her?" she smirked, "She's dealt with. And I don't think I'll be leaving Equestria anytime soon. I am much more prepared this time. I even have allies, as I'm sure you can tell. Whatever, you should back down now Sparkle, you don't have a chance. Not even with those new alicorn powers of yours."
"We'll see about that!" I replied, and fired a magic beam at her. She threw up a magic barrier, which blocked it.
She laughed, "Oh, you have to do much better than that if you want to defeat me, Princess."
I flew at her, and shot a bolt of magic from my horn that was much more powerful than the last. It hit, and Chrysalis fell back. She got up again, chuckling.
"My turn," she chortled, then blasted a lime green magic beam from her twisted horn. I threw up a barrier, but her magic was powerful. I started struggling to keep up my barrier. After a minute my magic failed, and I was thrown to the wall by a stained glass window, the one showing me becoming an alicorn.
"You'll...never...win!" I gasped, panting.
"Oh I think I already have," she replied, grinning, "good bye Princess Twilight Sparkle."
She shot another magic beam at me, and I crashed out the window. It was right over the cliff, so I kept falling.
This is it, this is how I go down, I thought. My magic was spent, and my body ached way to much to fly.
All my friends, I had let them down. The end of me was a cliff, a fall.
I closed my eyes, accepting my defeat. I landed on something, it didn't seem like the ground.
"Twilight, thank goodness you're all right," said a voice.
I turned around, "Princess Luna!"
The princess of the night nodded, "Yes it is me."
"Where were you? The castle! Changelings! Cel-"
"Yes I know," Luna interrupted, "I know all of it. As to where I was, I was flying to the Crystal Empire. As soon as Canterlot was attacked, my sister instructed me to get Cadence. But..."
"But what?" I asked, trembling.
"It seems the Crystal Empire was taken by Chrysalis before she came here. It's overrun by Changelings. Cadence and your brother are no doubt their prisoners."
"Why didn't you try and save them?" I gasped.
"I would never have made it, there were too many," Luna sighed, "I am deeply sorry that I could do nothing to help them. I'm sure you understand."
"I guess," I muttered, "but what exactly is happening? Why are the Changelings back? What are the other creatures with them?"
Luna looked at the ground, seeming to be lost in thought before replying, "My sister and I had been fearing another attack from the Changelings since their defeat a year or so ago. We developed a spell to repel them, much like Shining Armor's, but this one much more powerful. We had placed the barrier a few months after the wedding. It has seen to work, until now. It seems that they have been exploring outside Equestria, and has met and allied with more powerful beings. They were able to destroy the barrier this morning. We felt the magic holding up the barrier crumble. I thought we should get you and Cadence immediately, but Celestia thought otherwise. She said it was unnecessary, I have no idea why." She fell silent.
"Why didn't either of you tell me before? I could of helped with the barrier! I could of-"
"Twilight please!" Luna interrupted again, "You were just a unicorn at the time, and by the time you became an alicorn, me and Celestia had put our guard down. We abandoned the idea of another attack. We kept the barrier up, but we didn't think we'd need it. That's probably why Equestria was taken so easily."
"Wait, all of Equestria is...taken? There's nothing left? What about all the ponies, did they kill all of them?"
Luna shook her head, "I don't know if they have taken all of Equestria. But from what I have seen, I assume the worst. And no, they aren't killing the ponies they've captured, it seems they are putting them to work in slavery."
I stared at her. I couldn't believe if. For the first time, I looked around me. It was in a cave, "W-where are we? They can't find us here can they?"
"I hope not, we are in a cave somewhere between Canterlot and PonyVille." she replied.
I suddenly gasped, I had forgotten something. "Luna! We have to get back to the castle! My friends are still there! We have to get them out of there!"
Luna looked at me with a defeated look in her eyes, "I'm sorry Twilight, we can't. There are too many. We would never make it out alive, even if we are both alicorns. I know how much your friends mean to you, and it hurts me to deny you the opportunity to try to rescue them. We should just be thankful now since you're here. If I didn't see you fall out that window..."
I could feel tears brimming my eyes, but I nodded, "O-okay. I-I just w-want to know I-if they're al-alright."
Luna came over to me and wrapped me in an embrace, "I know. They'll be alright. Don't worry."
But her shaking told me that she didn't exactly believe her own words.
She let go of me, "I'll go outside and get you food and water to last you a few days, I need to go out and check what condition Equestria is in. Don't worry, I know some advanced disguise spells. They won't detect me. I'll see you in a few days."
Then she left, just like that. Some food and water was teleported to me, but I didn't see Luna.
That's just about it for the story so far. I'm just sitting in the cave at the moment. I don't know how long it has been since Luna left. But I hope she comes back soon. The rest of the story hasn't even begun yet.
I stare at the cave entrance. It's been so long since Luna left. I keep thinking about her, what if something happened? What if she was caught?
I shake my head.
"She has to be alright," I say to myself, but my own words don't reassure me.
Then I hear a loud bang, and suddenly Luna is in the cave with me.
"Thank goodness! I was running out of food," I sigh in relief, but she didn't seem so calm.
"We have been found Twilight," she replies, "they will be here any minute. I'll stay here and hold them off. You wear this," she says, levitating a cloak to me, "and use a spell to disguise your voice. In my travels I found a group of ponies fighting against the Changelings. They have headquarters in the old castle in the Everfree forest. Go to them, but don't let them know who you really are."
I stare at her, "But why aren't you coming?" I ask, "We could teleport there together!"
"No Twilight!" she replies, "The changelings are locked on to me. They will find me. Now hurry Twilight! Disguise your voice!"
Using her magic, she forces me into the cloak and teleports me away.
Just like with my friends, I never had the chance to say good bye.
I find myself in the Everfree, surrounded by it's dark, gloomy trees. I hate the forest, it has a sense of gloominess. Remembering what Luna said, I cast a spell to change the pitch of my voice.
"Now where's the castle?" I murmur, surprising myself with my new voice.
I shake my head, now is not the time. I search around, and see the castle in the distance. I run towards it, trying to fly but the cloak stopped me. Guess I'll have to be a unicorn. I can't wait to get there, maybe, just maybe, my friends will be there waiting. I'll throw off my disguise and we'll go back and teach Chrysalis a lesson!
"You there! Halt!"
I look around. A pony walks up to me. She was wearing battle armor and was levitating a spear.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she asks.
"I'd rather not speak of my name," I say, "But as for what I'm doing, I heard that there was a rebel group headquartered here. I'd wish to join."
"You'll have to speak to the Commander about that," she replies, looking at me suspiciously, "But I will have to perform some spells, to make sure you're not an enemy spy. And it would be much easier if you took off your cloak."
"I wish to keep my identity a secret," I retort, "but you can perform the spell, if you so wish."
"Indeed," she says, still eyeing me. Her horn glows, and I feel her magic checking me. Hurriedly, I use my own magic to disguise my wings. I don't know what she'd say if she figured out I was an alicorn.
She stops, "Hmm, a unicorn. The Commander could use your magic. Follow me, and make no sudden moves."
I follow, wondering who this Commander is. I then start wondering who this guard was. A unicorn mare I know that. In the darkness I can't really tell any stand out features. She's certainly not Rarity, her voice was way off.
We reach the castle and walk inside. It's empty.
"But I thought," I start to say, but she puts a hoof out to stop me. She walks up to a stone brick and taps on it.
"State your business," I hear a voice say.
"Lyra Heartstrings, reporting from midnight patrol," my guard replies, "I may of found a new recruit. Also need to request another pony to take the route."
"I'll send Amethyst Star," the voice says, "Come in, and bring the new recruit."
I gasp as the stone bricks slide away to reveal a staircase. Another pony, who I guess was the voice I heard, is standing guard. I recognize the pony as a pony from PonyVille, Noteworthy.
"Come," Lyra tells me, and I follow her.
"Wait," Noteworthy says, "Shouldn't you tell the new recruit to take off her disguise?"
Lyra shakes her head, "I ran the identification spell on her. She's no enemy. The Commander shall decide what she does with her disguise."
Noteworthy nods, and we continue until we reach a large room. I stare at all the ponies in it. I recognize a few, but I'm disappointed as I do not see any of my friends.
Then I see a strange pony. Wearing a cloak like me, and her wings are covered in armor, she seems to be the one in charge, as she's giving orders to a group of ponies. She sees me, and stops and looks directly at me, or at least I think she is, I can't see her eyes.
I try to stop my whole body from shaking as the Commander walks up to me and Lyra.
"Who are you?" she says.
"I...uh..." I stammer.
"She's here looking to join our ranks," Lyra steps in, "I found her on my patrol route. After confirming she wasn't an enemy spy, i brought her here."
I get ahold of myself and say, "Yes, I would. I believe that I, uh, may have some use in your...um...rebellion."
I feel her studing me.
"What species are you?" she asks.
"What?" I reply, caught off guard.
"She's a unicorn," Lyra answers for me, "I could tell from the spell. Though she seems to have...more magic than most unicorns."
I stop myself from gasping. I had totally forgotten to conceal my vast reserves of magic! My knees start to shake, surely the Commander will get suspicious!
"Thats good, we need as much power as we can get," says the Commander, and I silently breathe a sigh of relief, "Now, if I could ask you to take of your cloak. I need to make sure you're not an enemy. The identification spell has some faults."
My knees start shaking again, this is not good! Luna told me that I must keep my identity a secret no matter what!
"I-I am afraid I c-can't do that C-Commander," I mutter.
"Why not?" asks the Commander, her voice going to a harsher tone.
"Because I wish to keep it on, my identity I would like to be kept hidden for now," I reply, "B-but I may consider if you take your disguise off first."
She seems to be taken aback, but she answers, pushing me back as she moves forward, "Hey you! If you want to join this group, then you better listen to me! I am in charge here, not you! If you think you can boss me around like that, and disobey my orders, then I don't think you're-" she stops and backs up. She sits down and places a hoof on her forehead. "Ugh. Fine. Whatever. You're in. Lyra, show her around would you? I've got to get some rest. But before I go, what is your name?"
I hesitate, I didn't think of a fake name yet! "I-I am...Bluebell...Bluebell Fields," I say, for some reason the image of the flower had popped into my mind.
She nods, then walks off. Lyra looks at me, "I'd watch you're mouth if I were you. The Commander has been getting a bit more...uptight recently. She's stressed out. you're lucky she let you in. Now come, I'll show you our base."
I follow Lyra as she leads me through many rooms. I note the ponies running around doing work, or just talking. Some I recognize by looks but not by name. My heart falls when my friends are still no where in sight.
"This is the mess hall," Lyra says, pointing, "the sleeping quarters are over there, and this is the weaponry. The armory is on the other side, see? And this is our little school, where all the fillies stay and learn."
I take a peek inside, I recognized the teacher, Miss Cheerilee. I knew her somewhat, but I don't believe we were ever friends really. I look at the fillies. I didn't recognize most of them, but two of them I knew perfectly. Applebloom and Sweetiebelle. My day gets a bit brighter knowing that they are safe. I look around for the third Cutie Mark Crusader, Scootaloo. I don't see her. My day darkens again realizing that she must still be in the hands of the enemy.
I back out of the room. Lyra's looking at me, and it's cleat that she is getting impatient. Finally, we ended in a large room where ponies were talking and playing games.
"You can hang out here until dinnertime," says Lyra, beckoning me inside, "I'm sure the Commander will have a job for you tomorrow. Have a nice time, Bluebell."
She shuts the door behind her. Most of the ponies were staring at me and whispering to each other. I figure I must look suspicious, walking in in a cloak concealing every part of my body. I ignore them, walking to a corner where I sit down to think. I don't feel like talking to anypony.
I think about the Commander, and how she seemed to want to keep herself disguised like me. Now that I think about it, I feel like there's something familiar about her, but i just can't place why.
I open my eyes with a groan. I did not get very much sleep. I was placed in a room with a bunch of other ponies and was given a small pillow and a worn blanket to sleep with. And man do some of those ponies snore! I was worried that my cloak would slip down as I slept, so I put a spell so it would stay on.
So I get up and follow everypony to wherever we're going.
"Hey," I whisper to the pony on my left, "Where are we going?"
She glares at me, "We are going to breakfast. And get away from me with that cloak, it's...disturbing."
She hurries on ahead. Her purple coat and yellow mane brushing past me. I vaguely recognize her from the Grand Galloping Gala, but I have no clue what her name is.
I think about what she said about my cloak. "Why is everypony suspicious of my cloak?" I huff under my breath, "The Commander wears one. Nopony seems suspicious of her." I shake my head and trot along with the crowd until we reach the mess hall. Ponies were already there, sitting and waiting for food. I sit at a table in the back of the room as I did yesterday.
I, and everypony else, get a dandelion sandwich and a cup of water for breakfast. I take a bite. the bread is a bit stale, but it's better than the soup we had yesterday.
"Hey, um, Bluebell?"
I turn around to see Lyra standing behind me, smiling awkwardly, "Yes?"
"Oh, I was just wondering if we could, you know, sit with you?"
Confused, I ask, "We? Who's we?"
Her eyes widen as she steps aside to reveal another pony. Lyra looks back at me, "Sorry, forgot you didn't meet my friend Bon Bon yet. Bon Bon, this is Bluebell Fields. She's the new recruit I was telling you about."
Bon Bon rolls her eyes, "Yeah I know. You pointed her out to me at dinner yesterday."
"Well I thought you needed a more proper introduction," Lyra says, "So Bluebell, can we sit with you?"
"Um, sure," I reply, and they sit down.
"Hey, sorry if I may of been a bit harsh last night. Was on my patrol for hours, and I was pretty cranky when I found you," Lyra apologizes.
"It's okay," I say.
"So, why again are you wearing that cloak?" Bon Bon asks.
"So I can keep myself hidden," I answer, "and don't ask me why, it's...secret."
She eyes me for a moment before turning back to her meal. I look to Lyra again, "So, why did you want to sit with me?"
"Because you looked lonely," she replies, "besides, I always like to get to know all the recruits that I don't know yet."
"Hey, why is the Commander eating all by herself?" I ask, pointing to the Commander who was sitting at the front of the room eating.
"The Commander is, like, always by herself when she's not giving orders," Lyra explains, "I think she likes it that way. I heard her say once that she couldn't find somepony. I bet she misses him or her so much that she doesn't want to hang with anypony else."
I look at the Commander again, and shiver as she is turned towards me. I look away quickly.
Bon Bon is still eying me.
"Why are you looking at me like that Bon Bon?" I ask.
She jumps and looks down at her half eaten sandwich, "I'm just wondering why you refuse to show yourself."
"Hey Bonny she said it was a secret," Lyra cuts in before I could reply, "leave her alone."
Bon Bon sighs, "Lyra, you know I hate being called that."
Lyra shrugs and smirks, "Whatever...Bonny."
I giggle and Lyra laughs as Bon Bon puts her hoof to her head and sighs again.
Then, a group of Pegasi flies into the room and land in front of the commander. The mess hall grows silent. There is a total of seven Pegasi dressed up in outfits that reminds me of the Wonderbolt uniforms. The one in front steps forward and starts to speak.
"Commander, we have found a group of Changelings and Shadow Ponies heading towards Appleloosa. They are escorting prisoners.We did not engage. Awaiting your orders Commander."
The Commander stands up.
"Arm yourselves everypony. We leave as soon as possible."
I stand up along with everypony else, and start walking to the door, when a hoof on my shoulder stops me. I turn around, it's the Commander.
"Not you Bluebell," she says, "you're staying here."
"What? But I can help!" I protest, "I know how to fight! I can-" She puts her hoof to my mouth to quiet me. It feels like metal, meaning she already has on armor.
"Tell me, how long have you been wearing that cloak?" she asks.
"Since yesterday morning," I reply.
"And also tell me, how many big battles have you been in with it on?"
I hang my head, "None..."
"Exactly," she says, "trust me, it is very tricky moving quickly in a battle while wearing a cloak. Hey, tell ya what, after this, I'll train you and show you how. Sound cool?"
"Fine," I say.
"Awesome," she replies, "Now feel free to do whatever here. Maybe you should help Cheerilee with the foals. Don't worry! You won't be alone. It would be so uncool if I took the whole army with me on a small rescue mission and left the base unprotected! I've got to go. See ya!"
"Um...bye! And good luck!" I call after her. I'm puzzled, as she acted quite differently then when I first met her.
"Wow," I hear somepony say, and I jump. It's Lyra, and I can tell that she had just heard every bit of the little exchange that I had with the Commander.
"Wow," she says again, "the Commander offered to train you? Man you're lucky, she NEVER offers to train anypony! She must really like you!"
"I guess...but what was that about?" I ask, "She acted so...different from yesterday..."
"Oh, the Commander has these mood swingy things," Lyra explains, "and she gets excited when there's any sort of battle. That Pegasus sure loves fighting!"
"Lyra!" I hear somepony call, it was Bon Bon, waiting impatiently by the door, "What are you doing? We have to go!"
"Coming Bonny!" Lyra calls back, "Bye Bluebell!"
"Bye guys!" I shout, "Good luck and be safe!"
They leave, leaving me the only pony in the mess hall. I sigh. My new friends were putting themselves in danger, and here I was doing nothing!
I should follow them, I think, No matter what the Commander said.
I shake my head, No, that would just cause more trouble. The Commander was right, I have no idea how to fight in this cloak! I'll just get hurt. Or worse!
But your new friends...
I'll just put them in danger! And then I could lose them. Just like...
But it's a rescue mission! What if one of your old friends were one of the ponies needing rescue!
Then the Commander and the others can rescue them! They don't need my help, they're trained fighters!
But-
I shake my head harder, arguing with myself wouldn't make the situation better!
I leave the mess hall. Some ponies run past me, all armored up for the battle. Soon though the hallway is empty. I walk, still thinking. About the battle. About all my friends. About Celestia. About Luna. Chrysalis. The new enemies. Spells. My cloak.
For some reason my thoughts stick to my cloak. I look at it, brown, kinda tattered. Looks a lot like the costume I wore at the Hearth's Warming Eve play. Except a lot more concealing. As I look at it...not as concealing as I thought. As I walk the bottom of my hooves and tail popped out. The hooves I'm not that worried about. I've seen a lot of purple ponies in my life, I'm sure that nopony would connect my color with my true identity. It may clash with my fake name, but hopefully nopony will notice. But my tail...
My tail is a problem. I haven't seen another pony with a tail like mine. If somepony saw it and my hooves they'd instantly make the connection! I know what I must do...
I search until I find an empty room. I enter it and put up a sound proofing spell and a lock spell so nopony can get in, or hear me.
First things first, I take off my cloak.
Oh it feels so nice! A second later I shiver. I had gotten used to the warmth of the cloak that without it it felt freezing. Ignoring the sudden chill, I slowly stretch out my wings.
"Ow!" I gasp, my wings are stiff from not moving for so long. I flap them a couple times, gently, until the pain went away. Then I flap them harder until I could l can lift myself a couple feet from the ground. I land and refold them.
"Note to self," I gasp, "find a place to stretch wings a couple times a day." Can't let my wings get so weak that they're unusable.
Ok, time to do what I came here to do. Using my magic, I slice my tail clean off. I leave a little, so my tail is short. The cloak won't show it anymore now! Reminds me of what Rarity did when we met that serpent.
Rarity...
I try to stop thinking about her, about my friends. But I can't.
Tears start streaming down my face as I start to cry. I miss them so much! If only I hadn't agreed to go alone...
I sit and cry for who knows how long, my cloak and tail lying beside me.
Finally I stop. I put the cloak back on. But what do I do with my tail? I think, and find out that there's a pocket on the inside of my cloak. I use my magic to shrink my cut off tail, and place it in there. I remove all the spells from the door and leave.
Remembering something else that the commander had said, I head to where Cheerilee takes care of the little colts and fillies, to see if I can help.
The fillies and colts were no less than a delight to work with. It made my day knowing that even though the whole world is falling into destruction there are still ponies who laugh and play without a care. Cheerilee was a bit skeptical at first about letting me help, but soon changed after seeing how good I was with the young ponies.
But Applebloom and Sweetiebelle...
They seem just as happy as the others, playing, making jokes and running around, but I can see in their eyes pain and sadness. I know why. I know that they're worried about their sisters, and their dear friend Scootaloo. Oh how I wish to take off my disguise and hug them and reassure them that their family and friend were safe. But alas, I cannot.
We are in the middle of playing a game. Most of the fillies and colts are pretending to be the Resistance, while I was Queen Chrysalis and a few of the young ponies were Changelings. It's really quite fun, and I'm enjoying it, I haven't had a chance to play in who knows how long. We're about to engage into the final battle.
"You're reign of terror is over foal Changelings!" cried Sweetiebelle.
"You'll never win!" replys one of my "Changelings", a brown colt with an orange and white mane, "Equestria will remain ours! Your pathetic attempts to defeat us will just end with your defeat!"
"We'll see abou' that!" shouted Applebloom.
"Fighting" ensues. Nothing more than slight hoof taps and exaggerated moans of pain, it's still a delight to watch.
"Queen Chrysalis!"
I turn around. Applebloom and Sweetiebelle approach me.
"Oh hello there," I reply, "Trying to take back Equestria I see. Don't be foolish. You're not going to win."
"Oh yes we are!" Sweetiebelle cries, and the duo charges at me. I fire small magic beams at them, but I make it so they only tickle them.
They tackle me and a full "battle" develops.
Our fight separates us from the group, until somehow we end up out of the room into the hallway.
"Girls," I say, "We should get back in the room."
"Not until we defeat ya!" replies Applebloom, and then without warning they tackle me.
This causes us to go tumbling down the hall and crash into an empty room. We get up, laughing. Man did it feel good to play! I'm the happiest that I have ever been in a long time.
"Bluebell that was..." starts Sweetiebelle, but then stops, staring at me with her eyes wide.
"What is it?" I ask, then I notice something lying on the ground beside me. My cloak. Must've fallen off during the crash.
"That was you the whole time!?" exclaims Sweetiebelle, "You were Bluebell? Why were you wearing that cloak? Why do you sound funny? What happened to your tail? Wh-" I put a hoof over her mouth so she'll be quiet.
I hurry and put a sound proofing spell on the door then lock it.
"Shhh," I say, "I know you two are probably very confused right now." The two fillies nodded. "Look, I didn't want anypony to know who I am. If the enemy found out I was here, we'd all be in trouble. So I wear this cloak and disguise my voice so nopony knows that I'm...well...me."
"Ohhh," they say in unison.
"Wait if you're here," says Sweetiebelle, "than you must know where Rarity and Applejack are right? A-and maybe even Scootaloo!"
They look at me with pleading eyes. They want me to say that I do. Part of me wants to lie to them and say that I know where they are and that they're safe, but I know that lying to them would most likely make it worse. I hang my head and sigh.
"I'm sorry girls," I reply, "I don't know where your sisters are, or your friend. I-I wish I could tell you, but I can't."
"Oh," they say, tears brimming their eyes.
I wrap my arms around them and give them a hug, "I'm sure that wherever they are, they're fine. Don't worry, hopefully you'll see them someday soon."
They nod, and I release them, "You guys know that you can't tell anypony, and I mean anypony, who I am, right?"
"Of course Twilight," Applebloom replies.
"You can trust us!" cried Sweetiebelle.
"Promise?" I say.
"Promise!" they say.
"Pinkie Promise?" I ask, knowing full well that these two young ponies get into trouble and can't be completely trustworthy at times.
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," they recite.
"Good," I say, and start putting my cloak back on.
"Hey Twilight," says Sweetiebelle, "If we ever find our sisters, or Scootaloo, can we tell them?"
I sigh, "I don't know about Scootaloo. We'll discuss that if she's found. But don't worry, if your sisters are found, I will reveal myself to them personally. They're my best friends too you know."
They nod.
"Thanks Twilight," says Applebloom.
I don't know what she's thanking me for, but I reply, "You're welcome. Now remember, from now on, my name is Bluebell."
"Ok Twi-I mean-Bluebell!" exclaims Sweetiebelle.
I giggle slightly as I finish putting back on my cloak, "Come on, I bet Cheerilee is worried."
For the last hour or so I've been playing with the young ponies some more.
Suddenly, I hear some commotion in the hall.
"Looks like they're back," Cheerilee says softly.
"In that case," I reply, "I've got to go."
"Awwwwwww," sighs all the fillies and colts.
"Don't worry guys," I say, "I'll be sure to come back and play some other time, okay?"
I head toward the door. Applebloom and Sweetiebelle follow, since they found out who I was they have never left my side.
"Applebloom! Sweetiebelle!" calls Cheerilee, "Where do you two think you're going?"
"We want to see if they won," explains Sweetiebelle.
"Ya, an' see who they rescued!" adds Applebloom.
"You're supposed to stay here," replies Cheerilee, "And I don't think Bluebell here wants you two to follow her around all the time."
"I don't really mind actually," I put in, "But if they're supposed to stay here, then they should stay."
The two Cutie Mark Crusaders look at the ground, obviously disappointed.
"Oh, well," says Cheerilee, "If you don't mind watching them then I guess they can go with you."
They look at me with pleading eyes. It would be impossible to say no, "Sure, you guys can come."
"YAY!" they shout.
"Can we come too?" asks one of the other fillies.
"Oh...uh..." I stammer. I don't think i should take all of them.
"No my little ponies," cuts in Cheerilee, "We can't have all of you running around out there. Wait until dinnertime and I'm sure that the Commander will tell us everything."
The fillies and colts nod their heads and resume chatting and playing amongst themselves.
I give a silent thank you to Cheerilee, and walk into the hallway, Applebloom and Sweetiebelle in tow.
Sure enough, ponies are in the hall, adorned in battle armor. Some of them are bloodied, and the initial smell almost makes my lunch win a one way trip to the floor. I look at the two fillies, they look disgusted too.
"Stay near me you two," I whisper to them, and they nod and move in closer. I look around and then I see a familiar face.
"Lyra! Hey!" I call out.
"Bluebell! What's up!" Lyra responds, walking up to me, "Oh man you should of been there! We totally kicked Changeling and Shadow Pony butt!"
"Shadow Ponies?" I ask.
"You know, those grey unicorn things with the black and reddish manes," Lyra explains, "We don't know what they are really called, but we just call them Shadow Ponies."
"Oh yeah," I say, remembering my first encounter with one. How I had snapped it's neck, and the feeling of it's blood on my hoof...I try to clear that memory out of my head.
"Oh hey who are those two?" asks Lyra, who points at Applebloom and Sweetiebelle.
'Oh, this is Applebloom and Sweetiebelle," I answer, "I, uh, just met them when I was helping out Cheerilee. They seem to have gotten...attached to me or something. They insist on following me. I-I don't mind at all though."
"Ok," replies Lyra, "Hello Applebloom and Sweetiebelle! The name's Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings."
"Hi!" says Sweetiebelle.
"Hello there Lyra!" puts in Applebloom.
"Hey did you guys rescue anypony?" asks Sweetiebelle.
"Who did ya rescue?" adds in Applebloom before Lyra has a chance to answer.
"Are they hurt?"
"Are they alright?"
"How many ponies did you rescue?"
"Did y'all see our sisters?"
"Calm down!" Lyra cries out, unable to keep up, "Look, i didn't exactly get to see the rescued. I'm not part of the rescue team. From what i heard, just about all of them are alright. Nothing major. But I heard that there was one pony that was all screwed up. Major injuries, I think. Also heard that she can't remember anything. That poor pony...wish we could of saved her sooner...But anyway, i have to go get cleaned up. The rescued are in the infirmary. You can go visit and see if you can find anypony you know. See you guys later."
"Bye," I say quietly, thinking of the pony who Lyra mentioned.
"That pony she talked about, wonder who it is..." Sweetiebelle says sadly.
"Guess we're gonna find out," replies Applebloom.
We head to the infirmary. We enter, and there are eight beds lined against the wall with a small crowd of ponies surrounding them. I take a peek at each one as we walk past. I don't really recognize any of them. Until we reach the last one...
Nurse Redheart was speaking to the Commander, who is sitting next to the eighth bed. Liquid is steadily flowing out of the front of her cloak. I realize that they're tears. The Commander is crying, no, sobbing.
"I'm sorry, there is nothing we can do," I hear Nurse Redheart say as we get nearer, "Her injuries should heal with time, but her memory, I don't think that that will ever get fixed."
The Commander nods, "I-I-I u-und-unders-s-tan-and."
"What's wrong?" I ask quietly, and they jump, just realizing we were here.
"She-she," begins the Commander, but continues to cry, unable to speak.
"Who is it?" asks Sweetiebelle. The Commander just then notices the two fillies by my side.
The only answer she gives is harder sobbing.
"C-can we see her?" asks Applebloom.
Nurse Redheart realizing that she's in the way, replies, "Oh, sorry. Of course."
She moves, and we get a full view of the pony in the bed.
I just stand there, shocked at the sight of the pony. Most of her legs are in casts. Scars and cuts cover her body. One of her ears is torn off, her mane just about nonexistent. Wings now nothing but a few small feathers. This isn't happening. This can't happening. No way. This can't be real. Not her.
We stand in silent mourning. I try to hold back my emotions for the most part. If somepony knew I was close to Scootaloo, there would sure be questions. I now start to wonder why the Commander seems so upset. It seems she knows Scootaloo as well. But how? Who is she?
Thoughts of the Commander slips my mind as I look at Scootaloo again, and memories start flooding in.
Of her and her friends going on missions to find out her talent, of her coming to the library to learn, calling it "Twilight Time". When she carried the PonyVille flag at the Equestria Games. Her smile. Her laugh...
It was too much. Tears start flowing freely. She's so young...so innocent...
Why did this have to happen to her?
I look at Sweetiebelle and Applebloom, who were sobbing at the sight of their beloved friend.
I sit down and wrap my hooves around them, not caring on how it makes the front of my body exposed from the cloak.
"You-you s-said that-that th-they wo-wou-would be al-alright," sobs Sweetiebelle in a hushed whisper that I can barely hear.
"I-I'm sorry," I whisper back, "I-I had n-no idea."
"Wh-Where am I?" asks a soft voice quietly.
I look up. Scootaloo's awake now.
"Sc-Scootaloo?" asks Applebloom, walking up next to the bed.
Scootaloo jumps, and looks at Applebloom, eyes wide. Then she starts struggling, trying to break free from the casts that restrains her from moving.
"Don't hurt me!" she cries out, still struggling, "I didn't do anything! Let me go! Please! I will obey I swear! Just get me out of here!"
"I-I'm not gonna hurt ya Scootaloo!" exclaims Applebloom, taken aback, "It's me! Applebloom! Your friend remember?"
Scootaloo stops struggling, "Applebloom?"
"So ya do remember!" replies Applebloom, "It's ok! You remember Sweeteibelle here too right?"
Scootaloo resumes struggling, "No! You're gonna take me to him! I can't take it any more! Don't take me to him!"
"Scootaloo, calm down," says Nurse Redheart, whom I had completely forgotten was here, "You are safe now. He cannot hurt you anymore."
"Who's he?" I ask.
Nurse Redheart shakes her head, "I don't know. Every time she wakes up, she cries out that we are going to take her to whoever he is. She's traumatized. We are hoping that in time that although she won't have her memories, that she will understand that she isn't a slave anymore."
I nod, then I realize something, "Wait a second, how long has she been here? You guys just got back from the mission a few minutes ago. How would you know all this?"
"Simple, we rescue the captured ponies first, and transport them back here," Nurse Redheart explains, "Then we get into the real fight. These rescued ponies have been here for a few hours. It has been enough time to be able to figure this stuff out."
I nod again and turn back to Scootaloo, who is still struggling while the other two young filllies try to comfort her, with no success. Nurse Redheart clears her throat.
"I think that's enough," she says, "I'm sorry but I think you all should leave her alone. I'm afraid you're going to cause her to hurt herself even more. You guys need to go."
"B-but-" Sweetiebelle begins to retort, but Applebloom puts a hoof on her shoulder and shakes her head. They walk up to me and I get up and start to leave.
To my surprise the Commander, who was silent, gets up too and follows us out of the infirmary.
When we get to the hall, the Commander says quietly, "Bluebell, remember that training lesson that I promised after the battle? I-I'm afraid that I have to reschedule for tomorrow."
I nod in understanding and she leaves. The remaining three of us continue to Cheerilee's room. At the entrance, I give them another hug.
"I'm so sorry," I say, "I-I wish there were something I can do."
"It's okay Twilight," mutters Sweetiebelle, still crying.
I wave good-bye as they enter the room.
I stand at the doorway. It was unfair. For all of them. They were all too young, to experience all this pain.
The last few hours had sped by like a blur. I didn't do much though. After dropping off Applebloom and Sweetiebelle, I went back into the empty room I found earlier, stretched my wings, and cried.
How could so much happen in only four days? It seems to be an eternity since I ran into Lyra that one night...
I hear ponies in the hallway, and a few call out that it's dinner time. I put back on my cloak and head out.
I go inside the mess hall and pick up my dinner, salad and a cup of water. The lettuce looks wilted, all the food here is stale or out-dated.
I sit down at my table, where Lyra and Bon Bon are waiting. I notice that Lyra has a bandage on her front right leg, and Bon Bon has a very visible black eye.
Then two more ponies sit down next to me, Applebloom and Sweetiebelle.
"Wow, those two really do like to follow you around," Lyra comments.
I stay silent. Lyra looks at me, a worried look on her face, "Hey, what's wrong Bluebell? You okay?"
"Nothing...I'm fine," I answer quietly.
"Come on Bluebell, buck up," Lyra replies, "Why do you look so down? You can tell me, I'm your friend."
"Lyra, she says she's fine," says Bon Bon, "Just leave her alone."
"I'm just trying to help," Lyra responds, "Hey, the Commander looks pretty upset too. And so is your little filly friends Bluebell. What's going on?"
"Nothing's wrong, everything's great!" I lie, a fake smile on my face.
"Please stop lying to me," says Lyra, "I can tell that everything isn't great. Please tell me what's wrong, I can help."
"Lyra leave her alone," mutters Bon Bon, agitated, "There's no reason for you to get in her business. If she doesn't want to talk about it, then she doesn't have to."
"I just thought she'd feel better if she would just tell me," replies Lyra, but the look Bon Bon gives her makes her drop the subject.
Bon Bon sure looks pretty menacing with that black eye.
"Maybe I'll tell you later," I murmur, "I don't feel like talking right now."
"Alright," replies Lyra.
Then we all turn around as Nurse Redheart walks in the mess hall, accompanied by a few bandaged ponies.
"Looks like some of the rescued are healed enough to hang with the crowd," Bon Bon says.
"Hang on a sec, is that," Lyra starts, but doesn't finish and leaves the table.
A few minutes of silence passed, until we hear Lyra coming back. She's smiling at another pony walking beside her. This pony has bandages over a couple hooves, but that's it. A unicorn with a light blue coat with a dark blue and white mane which is styled very similar to Lyra's. Her cutie mark is an hourglass.
"Hey guys this is my cousin Minuette," introduces Lyra, "But she likes to go by her nickname, Colgate. Colgate, this is Bluebell, and those two fillies are Applebloom and Sweetiebelle. And of course you know my friend Bon Bon."
Colgate looks at the ground and whispers a hello.
"Nice to meet you," I reply.
"Hello," says Applebloom and Sweetiebelle.
"Long time no see," says Bon Bon, smiling.
Colgate smiles nervously and takes a seat between Lyra and Bon Bon. Lyra puts an arm around Colgate.
"You're going to be okay here," Lyra reassures her, "We may not have been down here too long, but it's safe. They can't hurt you anymore."
"R-really?" Colgate asks.
Lyra nods, "Of course. You'll like it here. We have food, and water though it may not be fresh, places to sleep, and a lot of ponies that you can make friends with. The Commander is pretty nice too."
Colgate relaxes a bit, but then looks at me with a worried look, "But what about her?"
"Who? Bluebell?" Lyra asks, glancing at me with an apologetic look, "She's fine. Just doesn't want anypony to know who she is that's all."
Colgate looks puzzled, "But if she doesn't want anypony to know who she is, then why does she tell us her name?"
I'm taken aback. That's a good question, one that I hadn't thought about.
"Uh..." Lyra replies, looking at me for a second before continuing, "I'm sure she has, um, reasons."
Colgate looks at me. She swallows and shakes a bit before asking in a worried tone, "Bluebell isn't your real name, is it?"
"Wha? Uh...n.no...it isn't," I say, she had backed me in a corner with no way out, "B-but don't ask for my real one. I-I'm not telling."
"Okay, enough," cuts in Bon Bon, "Let's not worry about who Bluebell really is. Does it really matter? But to be honest, I knew all along that she was using a fake name."
"H-how did you know?" I gasp.
Bon Bon rolls her eyes, "Because of the exact reason Colgate said. Why would you tell us your real name if you wanted to be hidden? I'm sure most ponies know that your name's not Bluebell. But like I said, it doesn't matter. It's clear you are no enemy. So what if you want to keep hidden? You have a reason. And besides, the Commander never reveals herself either, and we aren't asking her to show us who she is."
"Good points," replies Lyra, "though I don't know about the 'everypony knowing that Bluebell isn't her name' part."
Bon Bon raises an eyebrow, "Lyra, you didn't seriously believe that that was her name. Did you?"
Lyra blushes, "Well, I really didn't think about it too much."
Bon Bon facehoofs, and Colgate laughs quietly.
I turn to the two fillies, who have been silent. I put my arm around them for a moment.
We finish our meals with little talking.
After a while, the Commander stands up and speaks.
"We've had a long day today," she announces, "We should get some rest."
With that, everypony gets up and puts their dishes in a pile. I wave good-bye to Applebloom and Sweetiebelle as they go back to Cheerilee, and to Colgate, who has to sleep in the infirmary because of her wounds. I follow Lyra and Bon Bon to the sleeping quarters.
Today has been a long day, I think as I lay my head onto the pillow and cast a spell so my cloak doesn't fall of in the night. I shed a few more tears until i finally fall asleep.
"Uuuugh," I groan, I don't think I had gotten much sleep last night, and I'm still tired.
The sleeping quarters are just about empty, I was one of the last to awaken. I walk out into the hall and look at a clock.
Eight o' clock. Breakfast isn't for another half hour.
My wings feel stiff under the cloak, so I decide to go to that empty room to stretch them out.
Only, it isn't empty anymore. As I walk up to it, I hear ponies inside behind the door. And it looks like I walked up when they are in the middle of an argument. They're so load I can hear them clearly.
"It was because of you that we were almost caught yesterday!"
"Look for the last time, who cares? The fact is we didn't! If you had just listened to me, we wouldn't have almost gotten caught!"
"I don't even get why the Commander made you the leader! You can't even see straight!"
"I can see just fine!"
"Uh huh. Your own eyes disprove that statement!"
"Just because I see differently doesn't mean I can't see at all!"
"I don't get why you're on this team! Neverless leader!"
"The Commander said that she believes that I was the best pony for the job! Why can't you just accept that?"
"Ditzy, Cloudkicker, calm down!" cuts in a third voice.
"Don't tell me to calm down Thunderlane! Miss Derpy Hooves here almost blew it yesterdays mission!" replies who I assume is Cloudkicker.
"Yeah, almost! Not did!" cries Ditzy.
"I think I'm going to talk to the Commander about demoting you!" yells Cloudkicker.
"And I'll have a talk with her about kicking you off the team! I can't stand your attitude!" Ditzy retorts.
The door opens, and I jump back. Two Pegasi storm out, glaring at each other. One is purple with an orange mane, and the other is grey with a yellow mane and crossed eyes. I assume that the second is Ditzy, or as Cloudkicker called her, Derpy Hooves.
A black stallion Pegasi with a blue and white mane sticks his head out and shakes his head sadly. He then notices me.
"Oh, hello there," he says, "Um, how long have you been standing here?"
"Um, long enough..." I reply sheepishly, "I...didn't expect anypony to be in here, since I've been here that room's been empty and I...I liked to go into it and think, and I couldn't help to overhear...that..."
"Oh, you must be a really new recruit," he replies, "This room is the headquarters for The Elite Flying Squad, as we are known. We've been on a mission the past few day, explaining why the room was empty. And, er, sorry you had to hear that. Cloudkicker has been real...what's the word...edgy lately. She messed up last mission, almost exposing us, and is blaming our leader, Ditzy Do, for it. Oh, and Ditzy isn't normally like that, she's normally quite calm and friendly. But she's been getting stressed out, and Cloudkicker isn't helping. I'm Thunderlane, by the way. Who're you?"
"Me? I'm Bluebell, Bluebell Fields," I reply.
"Well, greetings Bluebell," Thunderlane says, "Why don't you come on in? I'll introduce you to the rest of the team. Nice cloak, by the way."
We walk inside. Sitting there were four other Pegasi.
"Hey guys, this is one of the new ponies here, Bluebell. Thought I'd introduce us," Thunderlane announces, "Bluebell, this is Blossomforth, Jetstream, Prism Glider, and Silverspeed."
They wave hello to me, and I wave back.
"I guess I'll be going then," I say, and turn to leave.
I leave and roam the hallway, searching for another empty room, but before I can find one breakfast is announced.
Guess I'll have to wait to stretch my wings, i think as I continue to the mess hall, wings aching slightly.
Breakfast is a bowl of oatmeal and one shriveled apple slice. Typical. But I guess in the middle of a war you can't be picky.
So i sit down with my normal group of friends and we start eating.
"Hey Lyra, can I sit with you guys?" asks a voice that sounds familiar. I turn around. It's Ditzy Do.
"Sure," answers Lyra, "But don't you like to sit with that team of yours?"
Ditzy shakes her head and sits across from Lyra, "I-I don't want to be around...her."
"Her?" asks Lyra.
"Got in an argument with one of the team," explains Ditzy, "I don't feel like talking to her."
Ditzy looks around the table until she notices me. "Hey, you're that pony that i saw outside our room this morning."
I gulp, "Y-yeah...I didn't know that was your guys' room, so I didn't know you were in there and..."
"You heard our argument, didn't you?"
I look down and nod, "Part of it..."
Ditzy sighs, picking at her apple slice, "Sorry you had to hear that. Cloudkicker has never been real fond of the Commander choosing me as the leader. She didn't follow one of my orders yesterday, and almost got us captured by the Changelings. Now she blames me and my vision... Anyway, my name's Ditzy Do, what's yours?"
"Bluebell," I reply, "But I have one question, why did you pick her for your team if she doesn't, er, like you?"
Ditzy snorts, "Oh, I don't get to pick who's on the team, the Commander does. She had a flying competition one day and she picked the top seven fliers. I have no clue how I got in though, or why she chose me as leader... Anyway I talked with the Commander about getting Cloudkicker off the team, while Cloudkicker wanted me demoted. She denied Cloudkicker, but told me in private that she will try and find a replacement."
"I see," I say.
"Ok," Ditzy says, "I have a question now. Why do you where that cloak?"
"I...have been told to keep my identity a secret," I answer.
"Oh, so I guess Bluebell is really a cover-up name," replies Ditzy, and I nod, "Thought so. Now I just have to contain my curiosity to know who you really are," she says with a smile.
"So...you're the leader of the Elite Flying Squad," I say, trying to change the subject, "What do you guys do?"
"Well, we get sent out to look for any enemy forces," Ditzy explains, "and we report back if we believe that our army can take them."
"So, like scouts?" I ask.
"Exactly," Ditzy answers.
I nod, and take a bite of my oatmeal.
"Hey, Derpy."
I turn around, there standing behind us is Cloudkicker.
Ditzy frowns, "What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing really," Cloudkicker replies with a smirk, "Just wanting to know why you're hanging out here and not with us. Don't you want to show us your 'great leader skills'?"
"Leave her alone Cloudkicker," says Lyra.
"Oh so these guys are your bodyguards now?" says Cloudkicker, "Got your feelings hurt so you need backup? Why don't you go eat a muffin, that will make it all better huh?"
Ditzy scowled, "Go away. I'm not speaking to you."
"Fine," Cloudkicker replies, "Keep hiding behind your precious friends while I try to get Equestria back."
She leaves. Ditzy sighs and puts her head down.
"Has she always been that big of a jerk?" asks Sweetiebelle. I jump slightly, I hadn't heard either of the fillies speak much after seeing Scootaloo.
"Yeah, that was real rude of her to say," comments Applebloom.
Ditzy sighs again, "I don't know. I really hadn't known Cloudkicker too well before this whole war thing started. She used to be overall nice to me, but I think I heard her making fun of me behind my back. I don't know, I could've been hearing things."
"From what just happened, I don't think you were hearing things," says Colgate, quietly as always.
"Guess so," Ditzy mumbles.
"But no matter what that Cloudkicker says to you," I say, "Don't feel down on yourself. If you need help, we are all here for you. That's what friends do."
"We're...friends?" Ditzy asks, looking up.
"Of course!" I reply.
Ditzy smiles.
"And what Bluebell said, we're all here if you need us," puts in Bon Bon, "Cloudkicker has no right to bully you. Perhaps you did make a mistake once or twice. Who cares? Nopony is perfect. You just keep being you, no matter what that pegasus says."
"Heh, thanks," Ditzy replies.
We spend the rest of the meal chatting about stuff, with even Applebloom and Sweetiebelle chiming in on occasion. I even detect small smiles on their faces, which in turn cheers me up.
When breakfast is over, I get up. Somepony taps on my shoulder. i turn around. it's the Commander.
"Hey, remember that training session I promised you?" she asks, I nod, "I'll be ready in an hour. Be at the training hall by then, know where that is?" I nod again, Lyra showed it to me on my first tour of the place, "Good. See ya then!"
She trots off. I walk out of the mess hall. My wings give an aching throb.
After a few minutes of searching I finally find an empty room to stretch my wings. Hopefully this one will stay empty.
After stretching them along with the rest of me, as training is today, I put back on my cloak. I walk outside and there's still a half hour to spare.
I decide to just take a walk around the base and think. And I find myself wanting something bad. Something I haven't seen for what seems like forever.
Outside.
I've been stuck down here for so long I've begun to forget trees, and the sound of wind blowing through them. I miss the sound of birds singing. The feel of the morning dew in the grass on my hooves. Heck, I even miss thunderstorms!
The touch of a cloud, the colors of the rainbow, the smell of fresh flowers...
All these little things that I used to barely take any notice of now makes my heart ache.
Also, on a slightly different topic, I miss books. I haven't seen a single book down here. Maybe there are some. Perhaps I'll ask the Commander during my training lesson.
Perhaps I can even ask her if it's safe for me to take a short walk in the Everfree. The dark forest may not be the most delightful place to go to, but it's all there is as far as I can tell.
I look at a clock. I have five minutes to get to the Training Hall. I quicken my pace, I don't want to be late!
I get there right on time. The Commander is there, waiting for me.
"Do you always arrive at the last second?" she asks jokingly, though I still detect a hint of sadness in her voice. I remember how she had reacted to Scootaloo. Who is she?
"Not usually," I answer.
"Well, you're still here," she replies, "Come on in."
We walk inside. I've never been here before besides my quick look at it from the tour, so I take a look around.
There are training dummies lined up against one wall along with archery targets. The middle of the room is empty, so good for fighting. The other wall is lined with racks, that in turn are filled with weapons. Wooden swords, real swords, bows, arrows, and other weapons that I don't have a clue what they are.
"Where do you get all these weapons?" I ask.
"Well, a few of them we found throughout the castle," the Commader explains, "Most of the others we scavenge from the enemy. We make a few of them too, out of wood and all the broken weapons we find. Of course, the wooden ones are only used for practice."
"You make weapons here?" I wonder.
The Commander chuckles softly, "Well, yeah. We have a little blacksmith area. Who knew that Big Mac was such a good metal worker? Of course, he's not the only one. We have a few ponies that can work metal into weapons. Some even have crafted weapons of their own designs! Check it."
I turn to her, who had taken something off the rack. It looks like a bracelet with a long spike coming out of it.
"This one is pretty sweet," she says, "It only can be used by Pegasi though."
She brings one of her arms out from her cloak. To my surprise, it is covered in battle armor.
"Wait, you wear that battle armor all the time?" I ask.
"Yeah, of course," she replies, "You never know when a battle's going to happen, so I wear armor all the time. Well, except when I'm sleeping."
"Doesn't it get uncomfortable?" I add, "I mean, I know that my cloak is uncomfortable as it is, but with armor too? All day?" I shudder at the thought.
"Eh, I've gotten used to it," she says, shrugging, "Well, I guess I do take it off once in a while when I'm alone." The Commander looks my way, "You do the same too right? Take your cloak off when you sleep and sometimes during the day? I don't want you fainting from to much heat and no time to take it off and cool off or something. I mean, I don't know if you'd faint from wearing a cloak all the time, I have never known that type of stuff. But you might."
"Well I do find someplace empty a couple times a day and take off my cloak and stre-I mean-and cool off," I correct myself, "But i kinda sleep in a room full of other ponies, so that's not really an option for me to take my cloak off."
"Well that's good I guess," she replies, "But I'll probably try and find you a personal room or something to sleep in. Sleeping in a cloak is no fun... Okay, we need to get back on track or whatever. Did I show you how awesome this weapon is yet?"
"You were about to," I reply.
"Okay, so a Pegasi slides it onto her hoof like so," explains the Commander, demonstrating as she spoke. The spike, which on closer examination isn't a spike, more like a flat rectangular rod, pointing up, laying flat against the leg, stopping just before the knee. "And then the pegasus flies into the air," she spreads her wings and flew up a few feet, "And then if you flick you're hoof just right, BAM!" I gasp as the rod slides down, until it stops, and it seems like the Commander just grew a sword out of her arm.
"Awesome right?" she asks, "Now a pegasus can hold a sword in their mouth and have two of these! They take a while to master, but they're sweet in battle!"
"Yeah, I guess they are pretty cool," I say, "But they don't really have a use for me. I'm a a-unicorn, not a pegasus."
"Oh, heh, right," she says, and somehow I can tell that she's blushing under her cloak, "Ahem, um, yeah. Let's start with...a sword. The most basic weapon. Yes. Why don't you go to the rack and pick one out you like? Since you're practicing on a dummy right now, you should get a real one. We'll battle later."
I walk up to the racks and inspect the swords. Upon inspection, I find out that they're all damaged and bent up.
"But these swords are all...not in great condition," I say.
The Commander facehoofs, "Well duh. They're used for training. All the good ones are in the armory for when we get in a real battle. Now hurry up! We don't have all day!"
"Oh, right. Of course," now it's my turn to blush, "Silly me."
I turn back to the swords. I don't think I should be too picky. I could levitate any of them with ease. I choose one that has a standard sized blade and can move through the air easily.
I pick it up with my magic and walk back to the Commander.
"Ah, one of the Shadow Pony swords," she says, "Those things are great in battle. Moves through the air with ease. When it's in great condition, it's really sharp and does a crazy amount of damage."
"Why do you call them Shadow Ponies?" I ask out of nowhere.
"Eh, the colors of their coat is the color of shadows," she answers with a shrug, "That's it."
I nod, and she leads me over to one of the training dummies, "Now show me what ya got!" she says, "Don't worry about damaging it. We can fix it! Now come on! Beat it up! I mean, ahem, use some awesome sword moves you know, or something. Oh who cares! Beat it to a pulp!"
I shortly wonder she seems so excited over me whacking a straw dummy with a sword, but I figure it's some sort of motivational speech.
I hadn't had very much hoofs-on experience with using a sword before. But I have read some books that talked about it. Besides, how hard can it be? I just move the sword with my magic.
I start out with a few slow swings. When I get the hang of it, I start speeding up. I attack the dummy from every angle I can think of. I eventually get into the mood. I even pretend to block and parry, and faking the "opponent" out. Soon the dummy was nothing much more than a pile of straw on the floor. I lower my sword, panting slightly.
"Pretty good, pretty good," comments the Commander, "On to the next dummy." We move on to the next one, which is exactly the same as the first one, "Now, move around as you hit it."
"Huh?" I ask, confused.
"You know, move around instead of standing still," she explains.
"But I don't really need to," I retort, "I can just stand still. I'm a unicorn remem-"
"Do you really expect an enemy to stand still while you beat it up?" she interrupts, and I look down and shake my head, "Thought so. Now, like I said, move around. Don't get tangled in your cloak now. That's why you're here, remember?"
I nod, and cast a spell to make sure my cloak doesn't come off.
I approach the second dummy, and strike. This time i move around, and try not to just attack it from the front, but the back and sides as well. The Commander was right the first time we talked about my battling skills in the cloak, it is harder. It restricts my movements, making me slower than I'd like. Over time though, I get faster, learning how to move quickly in it without it being uncomfortable.
Soon the dummy looks just like the first, a pile of straw.
"Better," says the Commander, "Now for round three."
I move on to the third dummy, and look to the Commander for instructions. To my surprise she's over by the weapon rack again, and pulls out two wooden swords. She tosses one towards me.
"Come on, let's have a little battle," she says.
I set down the Shadow Pony sword and pick up the wooden one.
"Wait a minute, shouldn't I get armor as well?" I ask.
"Don't worry, I won't hit you hard," she answers, "Besides, you should be able to block most of them. And besides that, this exercise is for you to try to hit me."
I make sure the spell keeping my cloak on is still in place, then walk up to the Commander. She then picks up her sword with her wing. I had expected her to pick it up with her mouth, but whatever.
"Ready?" she asks, and I nod, levitating my sword up higher, "3...2..1...FIGHT!"
She swings at me, but I see it coming before it hits and block it. I swing at her in turn where I think she can't bring her sword to block fast enough, but surprisingly she did.
It went on for a while, us swinging our swords and the other blocking it, or trying to. The Commander was a tough opponent, even when I can tell she's not giving even a bit of her all. For every hit I got on her, she got four on me. She was right when she said she wouldn't hit hard. The hits don't really hurt, just a small short tap. Well, most of them were like that. Some she hit me harder, and it did hurt. And somehow she manages to keep her cloak on even though I detect no spells to keep it on.
I have no clue how long we've been fighting for until she knocks my sword out of my magical grip. I collapse to the ground, totally exhausted. Sweat stains stain my cloak. I feel a few bruises forming where she hit me just a bit too hard.
The Commander looks at me. "I'll...get us...some...water," she says, panting. She exits the hall, leaving me on the ground, gasping for air.
She comes back in carrying two cups, no, bowls of water. She hands one to me.
I struggle to sit up, and take the bowl with my magic. I stare at it for a second before plunging my whole face into it.
It feels so...good.
I hear the Commander chuckle.
"You know, you didn't do so bad for your first time. I'll think you'll be great on the battlefield."
I remove my face from the water. The front of my cloak is sopping wet. I don't care.
"You...think?" I ask.
"Yup," she says, "Um, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I answer, "Just, you know...tired."
She chuckles again and takes a sip of water from her bowl, "Yeah, I did kinda work you pretty hard. Sorry."
"No no it's fine," I say, "After a few day of not doing anything much this felt good."
She nods, then I remember what I was thinking about this morning, "Hey, do you possibly have any, books down here?"
"Books?" she asks.
"Yeah, books," I say, "I've always loved books. I haven't read anything in a while and I was wondering if you had any that I could read."
"You like books huh? Reminds me of..." she trails off and shakes her head suddenly, "I may have a couple. I'll let you borrow them if I do."
I'm surprised when her voice takes a much sadder tone.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Oh nothing," she says, "Just remembering a...friend."
"Who?" I ask.
"It's...none of your business," she says.
I decide it's not worth it. Instead, I just silently put a hoof around her shoulder. I know what it's like to lose a friend, or friends.
