In an alternate universe, Equestria has become the Lunar Republic, ruled over by a cruel dictator.
The Lunar Republic has been around for just over a hundred years now. Nightmare Moon's assassination leaves Emperor Midnight in charge of the empire. There are rumors of a rebellion forming, which brings hope to the weak and miserable ponies of the Republic, but little do they know that the rebellion is already far underway.
Emperor Midnight orders a bombing on the city of Canterlot, which is known to be the home of this rebellion. Unfortunately, the leader of the rebellion himself, Shining Armor, is lost in the attack. Now his sister, Twilight Sparkle is sent to defend the last standing city of Equestria, the Crystal Empire, with the new leader of the rebellion and six other ponies she has befriended.
Canterlot. Once the second strongest city in the nation, next to the Crystal Empire. Though no longer the capital, the city was still home to many upper class residents of the Republic. What most ponies didn't know, is that the though to be abandoned Canterlot Castle serves as the base of a rebellion, or at least, it did.
It all happened so quickly. The airships appeared out of nowhere and dropped hundreds of bombs down onto the great city. Some managed to escape, others were not so lucky. The entire city was burning within 10 minutes. The Canterlot Fire Department fought the flames bravely, but were forced to retreat when buildings began to crumble and fall down the mountain. Just as suddenly as they arrived, the airships left. The Great City of Canterlot was no more than a pile of ash and burnt buildings.
The airstrike was arranged by Emperor Midnight himself. Once whispers of a rebellion based in Canterlot reached his ears, the pegasus took action immediately. A rebellion wasn't too far-fetched after all. Midnight knew himself that he wasn't popular among his subjects, and the assassination of his predecessor, Nightmare Moon, which led to his takeover of the Republic, was more than just a warning.
Unfortunately, the bombing of Canterlot took a major toll on the rebellion, which had moved into a hidden bunker inside Canterlot Mountain. One of their most important ponies had been lost.
Twilight Sparkle ran into the medical bay of the bunker, galloping straight to the bed where her brother, Shining Armor lay.
"No no no! He can't be. This can't be happening." The unicorn sobbed. She had recieved a message from one of the doctors healing those who didn't escape the bombings that Shining Armor had been struck trying to help a family of unicorns escape from their home.
"I'm very sorry, Ms. Sparkle. We've done all we could." Doctor Stable comforted the heartbroken mare. "The family he was helping managed to escape Canterlot. He died saving innocent ponies."
"He's all I had left..." Twilight buried her face into the chest of the her brother's corpse. Twilight and Shining Armor's parents were executed a few years ago for speaking out against the Emperor publicly. It was that traumatic event that led Shining Armor to begin a secret rebellion.
"I understand that this is a tough time for you, Twilight." The doctor sighed. "But you should know that you're not the only one going through this right now. I've pronounced dozens of ponies dead in the last hour."
"And you have the rest of us." An amber coated Pegasus walked up beside Twilight. He too looked downtrodden at the loss, but kept his composure.
"Flash Sentry!" Twilight stood up. "What brings you here?"
"The same reason as you. I've come to grieve." Flash replied.
"You and Shining Armor were really close." Twilight said. "He told me you were like a brother to him."
"I thought the same about him, Twilight. I joined this rebellion because I promised I'd always support him, no matter what." The pegasus sighed.
"Lieutenant Flash Sentry, please report to the Central Meeting Room at once!" A voice boomed over the intercom.
"Looks like I gotta go." Flash stood up. "I'm sorry for your loss, Twilight."
"Thank you." Twilight still lay her head on the bed which her brother was placed on.
Flash left to see what he was wanted for.
"Attention!" The voice came back on the intercom a few minutes later. Twilight looked up. "All ponies please report to the Assembly Hall immediately. I repeat, all ponies to the Assembly Hall ASAP!"
Twilight made her way to the Assembly Hall. Usually, assemblies this big were only called in a state of emergency. Twilight had only ever been to one, which took place only a few days ago when Shining Armor got word that there were rumors of the Emperor planning an attack on Canterlot. All the rebels knew now that the rumors were true.
"Thank you all for coming." Sword Strike, Shining Armor's assistant said once everyone was sitting down. "As you all know, the recent bombing of Canterlot has resulted in the death of our own General Shining Armor. We express our utmost condolences to Twilight Sparkle, his sister." All eyes were suddenly on Twilight, who was sitting in the front row.
"But we can't let Emperor Midnight believe that he is winning over us. So, as per Shining Armor has asked us to do in case anything were to happen to him, we are happy to announce that a new leader of the rebellion has been chosen, and that pony is... Flash Sentry!"
Everypony cheered as Flash came out onto the balcony that Sword Strike was standing on. He began his speech.
"My plans for the rebellion are simple. The Crystal Empire is the only part of Equestria that has yet to become a part of the Republic. So for the time being, we're going to be shifting our priorities from liberating the already Republic-controlled towns and cities, to protecting the Crystal Empire. Not only is it the largest city in the nation, the Crystal Castle's library holds the secrets to what Midnight could use to lessen the few hours of daylight we now get and bring about eternal night over all of the Republic. Dark Magic."
Twilight had heard of Dark Magic before. It was the second most powerful form of magic that existed. Though Twilight never read up on what the most powerful magic of all was.
"If we can prevent an invasion of the Crystal Empire, I think we'll be able to gain the upper hoof, bring down Midnight and liberate Equestria once and for all!"
Ponies cheered, stomped their hoofs on the ground and clapped. Flash Sentry's plan might just bring about their freedom.
In the city of Everfree, the new capital of the Republic, the Imperial Castle sat at the edge of the town. In the castle's war chamber, General Crescent Moon was making changes to the map on the wall. Each ccity of the Republic was divided up into a sector. The map was like one big puzzle, with three different pieces for every sector. One piece would have the flag of Equestria on it, which means that area has not come under the control of the Republic, another with the flag of the Lunar Republic, which meant that the area was part of the Republic, and the third, which Crescent placed on the Canterlot part of the map, had a skull and crossbones on it, which meant the area was wiped out.
The door to the war room opened. A dark-coated, black-maned and well built Pegasus walked into the room. His left eye had a scar running through it and a big crown was placed on his head.
"Emperor Midnight!" The general bowed. "Canterlot has been successfully wiped out, my liege. We managed to take out an important rebel."
"Only one?" The Emperor growled. "This is unacceptable. How is it that after bombing an entire city, we only claim the life of one measly peasant?"
"Well, sir, the one rebel was... Shining Armor." Crescent said.
"Shining Armor? The leader of the rebellion. Excellent." Midnight smirked. "Without a leader, or a base, the rebellion will surely fall."
Little did Midnight know, the rebellion still had both.
Twilight sat in the Central Meeting Room, listening as Flash Sentry went on about his plans for the Crystal Empire. As the sister of Shining Armor, Twilight was a high-ranking member of the rebellion, and so was required to attend these meetings.
"So in a few days time, we'll send our task force to the Crystal Empire on an airship. I've already written to Princess Cadence about the matter, and hopefully she'll send a reply my way soon."
"A letter?" A stallion spoke up. "Why not just call them?"
Technology had greatly improved since Equestria became the Lunar Republic. Writing letters had become a rarity years ago when the radio was first introduced. Then as technology improved even more, phones were set up all over the Republic, and soon even relaying a message from Everfree to Vanhoover was a simply video call away.
"The Crystal Empire isn't a part of the Republic." Flash reminded the Earth Pony who spoke up. "Naturally, Emperor Midnight has chosen not to share information of the technological advancements the Republic has made to other nations, so the Crystal Empire has only recently developed radios. Unfortunately, their signals are not strong enough for us to reach them."
"General Flash!" A pony galloped into the meeting room. "A group of Republic airships are heading towards the mountain!"
"Activate the alarms." Flash commanded. "Get as many ponies to the lower levels as you can. If they plan on bombing us the upper levels of the bunker might not survive. The rest of you, get down as far as you can. I'm going to make sure everypony makes it!"
The attack alarm began ringing as Twilight and the rest of the ponies in the meeting room got up and made their way to the nearest elevator.
"Sweet! An bombing drill!" A pegasus hoof-pumped as she flew out of another room towards the elevator.
"This isn't a drill!" Twilight said. "There are airships heading towards us."
"Airships, huh?" The rainbow-maned pegasus smirked. "I could probably deal with them."
"Nobody is allowed leave the bunker." Flash said. "If the airships aren't targeting us, attacking them could blow our cover."
"Fine." The pegasus landed on the floor and walked beside Twilight.
"I haven't seen you around before." Twilight said to the mare. "What's your name?"
"Name's Rainbow Dash." The pegasus answered with pride. "I just finished cadet training."
"I'm Twilight Sparkle." Twilight walked into the crowded elevator with Rainbow. "I'm Shining Armor's sister."
"Nice to meet you Twilight. Sorry for your loss. Shining Armor was my hero." Rainbow sighed.
"Thanks." Twilight said simply. Looking down at her hooves.
The elevator arrived at the lowest floor of the bunker, which was specially designed for emergencies. The entire floor was one big huge room that was meant to keep everyone in the entire bunker safe from attack. The thick metal walls could endure even the strongest explosives the Republic had to offer, but first they'd have to break through the face of the mountain to even make a dent on the bunker.
"The blast doors will be closing in 1 minute." A voice boomed over the loudspeaker. Ponies were beginning to settle down and the crowds entering the floor were noticeably smaller.
"I always imagined a Republic attack on the base would be a lot less.... boring." Rainbow said as she sat down beside Twilight. "Waiting down here wondering what's going on sucks."
"Honestly, I feel a lot safer down here than I do upstairs, Shining Armor always told me that even the Republic's strongest bombs wouldn't make a dent on the walls."
"Safe? Joining the rebellion means tossing your safety out the window. Fighting for what's right. Why did you even join if you don't feel safe?"
"Well, I-"
"The blast doors will be closing in 10 seconds." The voice over the loudspeaker announced. Two unicorn guards were already preparing to pull the heavy, re-enforced doors shut."
"WAIT!" A pony cried as she ran down the hallway from the elevator to the blast doors.
"Don't tell me." Rainbow facehoofed.
A white unicorn with a purple mane narrowly made it through the doors before they were sealed shut. She was pulling behind her several racks of new rebel uniforms.
"Rarity." Rainbow walked over to the unicorn. "Did you seriously risk your life just to save these clothes?"
"Oh, but Rainbow Dash, I've been working so hard on these new uniforms since General Flash commissioned me to design them. I simply couldn't leave them behind to be burnt to a crisp. Surely you must understand." Rarity explained as she moved the racks of clothes against a nearby wall.
"Rainbow's right." Twilght joined the conversation. "If you didn't get here when you did you would've been locked out, once the doors are closed there's absolutely no exceptions."
"Pardon me." Rarity turned to Twilight and Rainbow. "But, you are?"
"Twilight Sparkle." Twilight answered.
"Twilight Sparkle!?" Rarity gasped. "Shining Armor's sister? Oh, I'm so sorry for how I just spoke to you, how rude of me. I promise I'll make it up to you."
"I didn't think you were very ru-"
"Oh, I know, I'll make you a nice ensemble in case you ever need to go on a dangerous mission. Oh yes, I'll get started as soon as we're out of here." Rarity began to sketch her design on a piece of paper.
"Really that's not necessar-"
"Nonsense. Ever since I heard about your brother's... unfortunate passing, I thought I should do something just for you to show my condolences." The unicorn smiled.
"Really? But we don't even no each other." Twilight said.
"I don't want to hear another word about it, I'm making you an outfit and that's final." Rarity shushed Twilight.
"Thank you?"
For the next half hour everybody was kept in the emergency level until the threat was clear. Flash had made an announcement over the loudspeaker saying that he didn't want to resume operations until the airships were out of site.
"Ugh! I can't take this anymore!" Rainbow moaned. "Could they not at least put a couple TVs in here or something?"
"So we could listen to Republic-controlled news?" Twilight asked. "I hear that's all that's ever on now."
"To be honest, I quite like it down here. It's warm, has a nice color scheme, and the lighting is just perfect for me to put my finishing touches on these uniforms." Rarity had also brought a sewing machine with her and after making sure the floor was clean, continued working on her project.
"Do you ever take a break?" Rainbow asked.
"Not really, no." Rarity replied without even looking up from her work.
"Alright everypony, the airships are out of sight and you're all free to get back to work." Flash announced over the loudspeaker as the blast doors opened and pones began to pile out."
"Finally!" Rainbow stood up and stretched. "I hope we never have to come back down here again."
"Need some help Rarity?" Twilight walked over to her new friend, who had began to pack away her things.
"Oh, if you don't mind Twilight. Just, don't crease them please." Rarity winced.
Eventually everypony had moved back upstairs. Besides a small argument about Rainbow Dash allowing one of the uniforms to drag along the floor on the way upstairs, everything went smoothly and ponies were soon back to work.
"We should go check on the Animal Center." Rainbow said as the three ponies left the room where the new uniforms were being stored. "They're probably all shook up after this and Fluttershy could use some help."
"Hm, I didn't take you for an animal pony, Rainbow Dash." Rarity chuckled.
"Tank is down there." Rainbow replied sternly. "I know the little guy doesn't take well to loud noises, and he's probably worried about me."
"I need to get back to the meeting room." Twilight said. "Flash was briefing us about a plan for the Crystal Empire and it's pretty important so I think he'd want to resume as soon as possible."
"That's fine, darling." Rarity smiled. "I understand Flash Sentry must be overworked lately, what with his new position and all."
"Rarity and I are meeting up with some other ponies in the dining hall tonight for dinner. There'll be an extra seat if you wanna join us." Rainbow offered.
"Thanks Rainbow, I'll try to make it." Twilight replied "I don't know how long this meeting's gonna go on for."]
"Oh I do hope you'll come!" Rarity said. "I'd really like you to meet the rest of our friends, they're really nice ponies and I understand that you might be feeling a little... upset lately about your brother, and we just want you to know that we're always here for you Twilight."
"Thank You." Twilight smiled. She'd only known these two for a little over an hour and they were being so nice to her.
"Could Twilight Sparkle please report to the Central Meeting Room. Twilight Sparkle." A voice announced over the loudspeaker.
"Better go." Twilight said as she stepped into the elevator. "I'll see you all later, I hope."
"We hope so too, darling." Rarity said as she and Rainbow turned to walk down the hallway to the Animal Center.
Twilight had never met ponies who'd been so nice to her after such a short time knowing her. Hopefully the rest of their friends would be this kind.
