> No Easy Victory
>  by Omare Bradley
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Escape
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Tartarus is a dark place.  There is no comfort and the only thing a creature gets do, is sit while thinking about their personal failures for an eternity.  There were many beings in Tartarus, but if it was your destiny to be cast here, you endured your punishment alone, separated from everything that made life worth living.

Discord lay back in his cage staring up at the dark ceiling.  He was feeling many emotions right now.  This was perfectly natural for a god of chaos, but the one emotion he seemed to be feeling the most was rage.  He was stuck in this place because of his misplaced trust and general stupidity. 

He had genuinely believed that Tirek could offer him something great.  Discord had come to think that the headstrong centaur cared for him.  He had been excited; finally he would have a friend that would allow him to be himself.  No more would he have to limit his chaos to suit the needs of soft hearted ponies!  He and Tirek would rule together, and they would enjoy an eternity of wonderful chaos.

But now Tirek had betrayed him.  Tirek had drained him of his magic, and then he had done the same to Twilight, before banishing them all to this dark place.

Discord sighed when he thought about Twilight’s decision.  She had given her magic willingly to Tirek in an exchange for her friends.  He had been surprised, but grateful, that her deal had included him.  But Tirek was quick to take advantage of the fact that they were now defenseless, and he had gleefully sent them all here to rot. 

But Tirek had made a major error.  He had no understanding of Discord and the way his magic worked.  Discord’s magic was not drawn from within, like most creatures blessed with magical abilities.  No, Discord drew his magic from the chaos around him.

Discord chuckled in the darkness; you’ve made a mistake by sending me here.  There’s chaos in this place, I can feel it.  The creatures here have such wonderful emotions to draw from.  All that fear, despair, and agony is going to serve me quite well.  

Discord sat up and gave predatory smile.  He could feel his powers coming back to him.  There wasn’t much chaos here but he could definitely gather the strength to teleport.

He snapped his fingers and he soon found himself out of his cage.  He began to walk, reveling in the fact that he could move his limbs freely.  He drew in more power and teleported again.  

The sunlight was blinding, but Discord didn’t mind.  There was so much chaos to draw in from up here!  He could feel his powers coming back to him quickly.  He looked around thinking to himself, perhaps I should try and break through Tirek’s defensive spells and free the rest.  

Discord shook his head. I’ll come back for them when this is over, they’ll be given their freedom.  But for now their presence would only hinder me.  I must work alone, besides I think it would be best for Fluttershy to not see what I’m going to do.

Discord chuckled, Tirek presumed he was safe, but the demon had no idea what was coming.  
	
> General Thunders Last Stand
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	

Chapter Two

Tirek was in a jovial mood as he strode into the Equestrian militaries Canterlot headquarters.  He had missed it in his initial run as it was deemed that subduing the now imprisoned Twilight was more important than taking on the Equestrian military.  Tirek might have been killed by a particularly skilled soldier in his depowered state, as it was he was now stronger then Discord.  

His thoughts darkened when he thought of Discord.  The creature had somehow escaped Tartarus in a day and was now at large.  He had come down to check the cages after he sensed a disturbance in the defensive spells that ringed that misbegotten place.  The ponies and that dragon were still locked away, but Discord was gone.  

The draconequus was still very much a threat and could cause much damage.  If he were to build Equestria in his own image Discord would have to be dealt with sooner or later.  But now he needed to gather his own army, his own following.  He had decided the Canterlot headquarters of the Equestrian military was as good a place as any to start.  There were plenty of soldiers who had disagreed with Celestia’s peaceful attitude.  Perhaps he could lure some over to his side with promises of power and conquest.  Tirek would also be sure to let his followers retain their magic.  He wanted a competent fighting force and he had more than enough magic to throw around anyway.

The Canterlot base was imposing but Tirek smashed the gate with a wave of his hand.  Tirek chuckled and thought overdramatic certainly but it is intimidating and if I can strike fear in these soldiers perhaps some will join me regardless of their hatred of me.  Fear was good, and Tirek’s power made it so he wouldn’t have to worry about any disloyal subjects trying to kill him.  The only reason he needed soldiers was so that he could enforce his laws, as it was, he only controlled the ground he stood upon.

Tirek let out a roar, “Soldiers of Equestria!  I come seeking those among you who would join me.  Your cause is doomed and I offer you a chance at power, a chance to be real soldiers who serve a true warrior.  Join with me and keep your magic, resist and be drained and executed!” 

Out of the rubble of what once was the gateway to the base emerged several soldiers who were a mixture of the three pony races.  One stood taller and prouder then the rest and the look he gave Tirek was one of utter hatred.  Unknown to Tirek, the pony’s name and title was General Thunder.  He had fought against the griffins in the past and had proven himself to be a fearsome combatant.  The General was a very talented duelist and even in his old age his ability to wield and enchant his weapon was legendary among the unicorn warriors who strove to master the art of blade casting.  He was a commander who preferred to lead from the front, but as he rose up in rank he found it increasingly hard to do.  He stood proud and defiant and looked directly in Tirek’s shining eyes before addressing him.

“My name is General Thunder and I am in command of this base.  Since the overthrow of our nation’s leaders, I am now in command of the entirety of Equestria’s military as outlined in article XVI.”  The general paused and then continued, “my soldiers and I would rather die than yield to a creature as evil as yourself.”

General Thunder had put on the mask of the heroic general who feared nothing in an effort to sooth his soldier’s fears.  But inside he was very frightened, Tirek wasn’t something that could be conventionally fought and a fight with him would be horrifically one sided.  

General Thunder drew his blade and quickly enchanted it with every war spell he knew, if he was going out he wanted to make sure this bastard knew he been in a fight with Equestria’s best.  The royal guard was purely ceremonial; it was the Equestrian army that handled any real threats that the princesses needed taken care of.

General Thunder calmly addressed his troops, “I want everypony with a ranged weapon covering Tirek.  Anypony with a melee weapon must be prepared to charge at my command.”

Before General Thunder could raise his weapon and attack another voice rang out, “Not all of us wish to die needlessly general.”

General Thunder looked around until his eyes landed upon the soldier who had spoken.  The soldier looked back his eyes brimming with defiance. What’s his name, ahh yes it was Major Specter.  General Thunder searched his brain for more information on the major, Major Specter was no coward in fact he went into battle without a trace of fear.   I believe he was reprimanded once for leading his squad into needless danger.

Major Specter’s voice broke his thinking, “General, the time of the princesses is over, but now we have opportunity.  Tirek will utilize this army properly.  We can destroy our neighbors and make it so all of Equestria’s ponies can live in peace!”

General Thunder was shocked, peace you foolish pony we had it before, no nation would dare invade a land that was blessed by two goddesses; the only ones who would try were rogue fanatics that could be disposed of quickly.  

Tirek was now observing the two soldiers with keen interest.  He had chosen to remain silent.  He was clearly curious to see the outcome.

General Thunder glared back at the major, “We had peace under the princesses you fool!  If we were to abandon our nation to the whims of this mad creature it would be an act of evil!  I know you are no coward, as I recall you were far too bloodthirsty my tastes.  Do not try and delude yourself or me with talks of security and peace, the only reason you would side with Tirek is for power.  You’re nothing but a traitor and I say the same to anypony who joins you!” 

Now it was Tireks time to speak before Specter could issue a retort.  “Major would you like to be the commander of the new Equestrian army?”

Major Specter looked towards Tirek and said unflinchingly, “I would be honored.”

Tirek looked at Major Specter who was a red unicorn with very short brown hair and said, “Very well kill your commanding officer and prove your loyalty.”  Turning around Tirek then addressed General Thunder, “I will not interfere, this fight will be between you and the major, I would like to see if my new commander will be worthy of the power I am giving him.”

General Thunder nodded curtly and then looked wearily at Major Specter.  Major Specter was much younger and also a very adept duelist.  He sighed realizing that this was going to be his last battle.  Better this then a slow death, besides you always used to complain that your new position didn’t give you enough action, let’s see what you’ve retained from your younger days.

General Thunder drew his sword and coolly addressed the traitorous major, “If you want my title, you’re going to have to take it from me.” 

 He shuddered inwardly as he looked at the major whose face was joyful as he drew his blade.  At that point it was clear to him that Major Specter was a lunatic who loved to kill and fight.  He would stop at nothing to satisfy his hunger for power.  I do this for old Equestria and my family, he thought as drew his blade and prepared to battle to the death.  

Major Specter was the first to move and he came in fast swinging his blade which gleamed red due to the majors magic.  The majors sword met thin air however as General Thunder had anticipated the majors strike and had quickly rolled to the side.  General Thunder rose up and swung his blade at the major.  Too late the major realized that this was a feint and General Thunder quickly followed up with a hoof strike to the major’s face.  Blinking the major raised his sword only to find that General Thunder had no intent of letting him recover.  

General Thunder had enchanted his blade with a fire spell and the flames that the sword emitted gave General Thunder’s face a hellish glow, as he swung his blade again and again.  Major Specter soon found himself fighting for his life and the heat from his opponent’s sword was making it uncomfortable for him.  To make matters worse the General had used another spell to make it so the smoke emitted from his blade would blow right into his face blinding him.

But Major Specter was no fool; he reacted by firing of an explosion spell at the generals feet.  In the same instant he quickly casted a shield spell.  The Major emerged from the explosion unscathed with his blade held in front of him.

General Thunder had not fared as well; the amount of magic he had used initially had made him far too weak to cast his own shield spell.  He sighed knowing that if he were younger he could have deflected the explosion but as it was he was far too old.  Years of being behind a desk had left him much weaker then he cared to admit.  He gasped in pain as he realized his front legs had been burned severely.  He could see bone in one and in that moment he realized he had lost the fight. 

Gripping his blade with his telekinesis, the General cast a painkiller spell on himself.  Even with the spells reliving effects setting in the burns were making it very hard to be able to rise and meet his adversary.  Amazingly he rose up and while he was grimacing at every step he continued to move forward bloodied but unbowed.  My life for Equestria he thought grimly.

Gasping from the effort it took to talk the General snarled, “You want a piece of me come get me.  You want to be a traitor then come on and fulfill your destiny!”

Major Specter strode forward and raised his blade noting with satisfaction that the Generals enchantments were fading while his own blade stilled burned strong with his magic.  He swung again and again and amazingly the General met his blows.  The generals orange magic and the majors red magic together was almost blinding for anyone watching.  Major Specter quickly took the initiative and slammed the general’s blade so hard that the he lost connection with his blade, causing it to full to the floor with a loud clang.

But the general was smiling and the look in his eyes was feral.  The major quickly noticed that General Thunder’s horn was glowing with a massive amount of energy.  The major was shocked, he had not believed a mortal pony, especially one as old as General Thunder, could generate this much war magic.  The Generals horn glowed and a sphere of pure energy that shone orange began to expand before it flew out in a straight line.  The beam contained enough power to easily break Major Specters shield and incinerate him.  Instead the beam flew over Major Specters head and hit Tirek right in the chest.  It may have been Major Specter’s imagination, but for a second he saw both fear and pain in Tirek’s eyes.  It was replaced in an instant with a look of rage, but every soldier there along with the general had seen the temporary look of agony in Tirek’s eyes.

The valiant old general now looked extremely feeble from his feat, but his face held a look of triumph all the same.  As Major Specter swung his blade down to end the generals life, the general met his eyes and uttered his last words in a voice that was somewhat lacking in sanity, “Your new god feels pain.”

Major Specter lopped the generals head off making sure to enchant his blade to be extra sharp so that it cut through the generals neck cleanly.  He whirled around and threw up a shield as he heard a crossbow fire.  He realized the shield was unnecessary as Tirek had stopped the arrow leased and flung it back at the pegasus who had fired it.  The pegasus died making a sickening gurgling sound as the arrow landed in her throat.  

Several more pegasi fired off arrows and then flew away before Tirek or Major Specter could retaliate.  Some of the pegasi were carrying earth ponies and unicorns as they flew away presumably to regroup and become rebels to Tirek’s new regime.  A few of the unicorns and earth ponies that remained attempted to fight by throwing spells or loosing weapons at Tirek and Specter.  One earth pony even attempted to rush Tirek.  All this was futile in the face of Tirek’s full power.  They were quickly drained of their magic for their efforts and then disintegrated before they could even fall to the ground.  

There were still many soldiers who had stayed in the base; they were made up of all the pony races.  They stood looking at Tirek with a variety of expressions.  Some looked at him with fear and held faces of weary resignation.  Others however looked up at Tirek with expressions of admiration and eagerness.

Tirek spoke breaking the silence; his loud voice reaching every pony present in the court yard, “You have seen were defiance gets you.  Your old General was proud and foolish, he followed two cowardly princesses and their pathetic ideals.  If you join me you will become part of the strong, you will not be prey, but predators and together we shall conquer any who wish to oppose us.  I ask, do you wish for power and most importantly do you wish to prosper in my new Equestria?”

 The reply was mixed some ponies chanting “Yes,” eagerly while others looked much unsure and seemed to reply out of fear.  

“THEN SAY THE NAME OF YOUR NEW MASTER!” roared Lord Tirek.

This time the chanting reached a crescendo as the thousands of soldiers who remained at the base chanted Tirek’s name again and again.  

Tirek laughed and laughed as he shrunk himself down so that he was about as tall as Celestia would have been.  He turned to address Major Specter and still grinning triumphantly he put his arm around Specters neck and said, “Come my new general there is much work for us to do and so little time!”
	
> The General And The Prankster 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
The world was a colorful place.  Stars moved erratically through the sky, occasionally colliding with each other to produce a massive explosion of light.  Multicolored grass grew and then withered rapidly.  Trees were sprouting up at random and the land seemed full of change.  Nothing was constant. The laws of physics held no power here.  The world made no sense and that was exactly what the creator intended.  This was no world in a physical sense; it was simply a place outside of space and time, a place with no rules and no patterns.  A mortal would have been awed at the sight of such chaos, but to Discord this world of his making was simply a place to rest and more importantly plan.

Discord himself was sitting up in a tree that was constantly changing seasons.  For one second the tree would appear dead and leafless and the next it would blossom full of life.  In this scene of chaos, Discord was able to scheme to his heart’s content. 

Discord sat upon his tree calmly drinking in the many emotions he felt.  They were not joyful ones; instead they were emotions that the darker part of the mind fixated on.  Emotions of guilt, anger, and pain were dominating Discords thinking.  

He snapped his fingers and a movie projector appeared.  The projector let out a light and the sky was filled with an image of Tirek as he made the fateful decision to banish everyone of his hostages.  Discord narrowed his eyes gauging Tirek’s power.

Discord realized that in his current state, Tirek was much stronger then he was.  Worse Tirek was quickly bringing order to the land he now controlled.  He was recruiting soldiers and opportunists everywhere were flocking towards him.  There were struggles and certainly some fights, but the majority of the ponies who attempted sabotage had no magic and were unable to do any real damage.  Tirek’s chosen ones however were allowed to retain their magic and they were quick to quell any revolts.  The Equestrian military had all but retreated and were holed up in several secure locations.  Many of the remnant forces still retained their magic but any major uprising would be useless as Tirek and his army would simply crush what remained of the once vaunted Equestrian military.  The remaining generals were still reeling from the loss of the princesses and General Thunder.  

Discord had come to the conclusion that he needed to get the ponies enslaved by Tirek and his lackeys to rise up.  A mass uprising would be very useful.  If a full scale war broke out, there would be massive surge of chaos to accompany it.  Discord chuckled mirthlessly; he would easily be as powerful of Tirek in the midst of all that chaos.  The hard part would be masterminding such a revolt. 

His first problem was the fact that the majority of the ponies who would join the uprising were magicless.  In order for the uprising to create a fight that would seriously threaten Tirek’s power base, the magicless ponies would have to be made deadly enough to contest Tirek’s new army.  The second problem was that no pony would join him in an uprising.  He had betrayed them and in their eyes he was probably as bad Tirek.

Fortunately he had a solution to both the problems he was presented with.  The first one was very easy to solve.  Discord grinned when he thought of some of the worlds he had explored.  Not all species needed magic to function or be deadly.  Humans were such creatures.  Alone they were rather unimpressive, and with just their bare hands they were a laughable threat compared to some of the creatures that ponies had faced.  A human when compared to a hydra or a chimera was pathetic in terms of natural fighting ability.

But humans could invent and the things they invented held no magic.  Discord chuckled, but they were deadly, oh so deadly those inventions.  How would you like to face a populace armed with rifles Tirek?  You couldn’t even drain them of their magic, maybe your new headquarters needs to learn firsthand what a bomb can do.  Maybe you need to watch the pegasi loyal to you drop from the sky riddled with bullets.  Your earth ponies aren’t going to have fun charging ponies with machine guns.  Oh and a bullet can be loosed off much more quickly than a war spell, so I wouldn’t count on your unicorns to hold the line.

Discord snapped his fingers and several factories appeared out of thin air.  They all appeared to be working automatically.  Discord teleported inside one of them and picked up a newly manufactured rifle.  It was based off the AK-47 but it had a few modifications that would allow ponies to better fire it.  First off it was designed to be able to be clamped onto a ponies shoulder.  The “trigger” was a metal pole jutting out of the side of the gun.  The top of the pole had a button that would discharge the weapon when clicked or bit.  The pole was positioned so that it would fit inside a pony’s mouth and be easily reachable.  The pony would simply have to bite down and the weapon would fire.

Discord teleported to another factory which was producing grenades and C4.  Discord believed that the true Equestrian militaries the remaining Pegasi could learn to swoop in and drop grenades upon unsuspecting enemies.  Pegasi were also very mobile and could be relied upon to stealthily plant C4 on important buildings.  If those bombs happened to be detonated, there would certainly be a lot of chaos created, and chaos simply made Discord stronger.
   
     Discord knew that the weapons he held where his trump card.  He needed a mass uprising where every pony who wished to fight against Tirek’s tyranny would rise up and fight in an all or nothing gamble.  Discord wanted there to be one massive battle so that Tirek’s troops would not have time to adapt to the new weapons they faced.  The other reason, there needed to be one night of mass uprising, would be because Discord needed a large amount of chaos created quickly if he were to have any chance of facing down Tirek.  Tirek and his forces needed to completely be caught off guard by the fact that magicless ponies could now prove a great threat.    Ponies would be shocked at the new weapons power and their alien nature.  The weapons deadliness would create shock and surprise which where deliciously chaotic emotions that could be quickly taken advantage of.  The human weapons would be fairly easy to learn, and were certainly much quicker to master than war spells.  With them Discord could turn the entire population into a weapon.  Discord would have to train a few ponies and then have those ponies show the basics of modern warfare to their comrades.

Discord believed he had taken care of the first problem but now he needed to start the uprisings.  Unfortunately no sane pony would follow him; after all he was a traitor.  It was unfortunate as to fight Tirek; Discord would need these mass rebellions.  Discord knew he couldn’t be the face of the rebellion instead he would need to contact Equestria’s remaining commanders who were still loyal to the princesses.  He wished he could teleport into Tartarus and free Cadence, Luna, and Celestia.  Their presence would be able to rally the population to revolt.  As it was Tirek had made entering Tartarus impossible and the only way Discord was going to rescue the princesses was by killing Tirek.  This would allow Tirek to open a gateway to Tartarus and save the beings that once ruled this land in perfect harmony.  The military was the next best thing, and Equestria’s ponies could easily be manipulated into an uprising if they were being led by the ponies they already regarded as heroes.  Discord chuckled as he snapped his fingers; it was time to pay the remaining leaders of the Equestrian military a little visit.

General Stalwart was a weary stallion as his eyes groused over a seemingly endless pile of field reports.  Ever since the attack on Canterlot and the death of General Thunder the army had been retreating and desperate for new leadership.  General Stalwart was the next in line and he taken on the position eagerly at first.  But now the endless paperwork was enough to make even the most driven worker exhausted.  

Blinking he looked up and decided to take the luxury of a quick break.  He sighed, he was in a bunker near the city of Fillydelphia.  Its location was fairly secure and he had been directing various military ponies to bases scattered throughout the land.  Several air contingents had been held back during Tirek and Discords initial run and it was fortunate that he still had many pegasi that could be called upon to scout.  He had a scattering of unicorn and earthpony divisions at the base and several more had been arriving in the “safe zones” that had been established.  Some had proven not so safe due to traitors.  

The soldiers had fought valiantly but they were no match for Tirek.    The newly promoted General Specter had also gathered quite a following and was attacking any base he knew about.  There the soldiers had fought hard but they had been outnumbered and often slaughtered.  A few bases had managed to hold, after all General Specter and his soldiers could be fought and defeated through conventional means.  Unfortunately any base that did hold soon received a visit for Tirek, and suddenly the base was wiped off the map.

General Stalwart ground his teeth and his eyes turned to narrow slits when he thought of Specter.  The stallion was an ingrate, a traitor of the worst kind.  It was bad enough he would turn on his own brothers and sisters in arms, but the fact that he would willingly help Tirek oppress the ponies he had sworn to protect was disgraceful.  But sadly General Specter wasn’t the only traitor.  Several soldiers had joined Tirek and whether it was out of fear or genuine desire, it didn’t change the fact that those ponies would have to be treated as enemy combatants.  His own troops were demoralized and many felt that it was best to surrender to Tirek and see what terms they could get.  Others wanted to squander the remaining forces he had left in an idiotic counter attack.

Stalwart grimaced; there were too many egos in this bunker.  Too many generals believed that a full on frontal assault would overwhelm Tirek and his forces.  They believed that the populace would rise up and fight when they saw the Equestrian military swooping in to save the day.  He shook his head, the populace was magicless and had no weapons training. They would stand little chance against Tirek and his army.  Charging in was stupid, look at what had happened with the Wonderbolts.  Captain Spitfire’s rash decision to charge in against Tirek had lost her an entire battalions worth of able flyers.  He shook his head ruefully when he thought of Spitfire. She was brave, but had little tactical sense and had cost him more losses then he could spare.

No, thought Stalwart, I will not squander my resources so foolishly.  It is best to sit and observe.  Perhaps my pegasi scouts can discover a weakness in our enemy.  Or maybe our unicorn mages can come up with a spell that can contain Tirek.  Earthpony ingenuity is also going to be needed; I hope that our surviving engineers can rig something up. Hmm, perhaps the earth pony scientists should be given a higher priority.  Tirek is a magic eater, perhaps science is what can stop him.

General Stalwart was brought out of his thinking by knock on the door.  He looked up and spoke quickly, “Enter.”

An angry looking tan unicorn marched in, ahh yes Colonel Banzai, he sighed. The colonel had a massive ego and would go about making demands, all the while harping on why his unicorn divisions should be given top priority.  The pony was however very energetic and was an able troop leader that could come up with some very innovative ideas.  Of late, Colonel Banzai was showing less of his innovative side and was constantly making demands for full on assaults.

Colonel Banzai snapped off a perfect salute and exclaimed, “Sir!  I have regrettable news.  It appears our base in Baltimare has been eliminated!”

General Stalwart sighed; he was losing too many bases, and too many troops.  He spoke decisively, careful to make sure he sounded calm.  
     
   “It is what it is, send out some pegasi runners, and search for any survivors.  We’ll see how many troops we can…gather.”
     
   He almost said, “Scrape together.”  That would have sounded much less encouraging.  This was a time for confidence not panic and every order would have to be carefully worded.

Colonel Banzai took a deep breath, and spoke, “Sir, we need to make a move, we simply can’t keep sitting still.  The longer we wait to attack the weaker we will become.   I have outlined plans for an offensive that would allow us to take back Manehatten and encircle an entire army group of Tirek’s.  The soldiers are eager to attack, let us reclaim our glory!”

General Stalwart shook his head, “You speak of attack, but you ignore the fact that enemy we face is one that cannot be fought on even terms.  We can might destroy some of General Specters army groups around the cities and towns, but any mass effort would be thwarted the second Tirek arrived on the field.  Besides, Tirek and General Specter have been able to recruit a lot of soldiers; they’ve organized whole army groups in weeks.  They’re so much more efficient then us, due to the fact they don’t have to worry about sneaking around to communicate.  Tirek rules this land, he controls the sun and the moon, look outside he has the power to turn the sun blood red for Celestias sake!  A lot of ponies have given up and joined Tirek, simply because they believe that’s the only way they’ll ever live in peace.  The civilian population is massive and would be friendly to our cause but they’re completely drained of magic and useless in a fight! “

Colonel Banzai began to open his mouth to speak, but he was silenced with a sharp glare.  General Stalwart looked up warily, “Colonel, I promise you we will move when we are ready, but for now we need to consolidate our strength and study our enemy.” 

Colonel Banzai was quick with his response, “I understand the need for caution sir, but as each day passes, Tirek grows stronger and stronger.  His army is quickly gaining recruits and his laws are already being enforced very efficiently.  You’re right he controls the sun and the moon and he made them both red, soon he will control the populace and any dissent will be quickly wiped away.  We have to move now if we have any hope of the citizens joining us!”

General Stalwart response was just as quick and far angrier, “Involving civilians in our war would be monstrous!  They don’t even have magic, how do you expect them to stand against pegasi air brigades that rain arrows from the sky?  We failed these ponies and it will be our job to save them.  I appreciate your point colonel but right now any offensive we tried would fail miserably.  For now I want you monitoring field reports, we have much to do!”

As Colonel Banzai dejectedly made his way to the door, he heard the general murmur, “And when the day comes that we are strong enough to attack, I promise you colonel, you’ll be leading it.”

The colonel looked back his face suddenly very fierce, “I promise when that fine day comes I won’t let you down sir.”  And with that said the colonel made his leave.

As the door closed General Stalwart looked up to find he had another visitor.  The visitor was a very peculiar one who had seemed to appear out of thin air.  The visitor slouched up against the wall and gave the general a disarming grin.

“Whoof! That Banzai guy could talk couldn’t he!”  Discord snapped his fingers and suddenly he was wearing a suit that made him look like a private investigator.  He began to speak again in a pompous voice, “From your conversation I deduce that your situation is pretty bleak, lucky for you old chum commander Discord is here to help!”

The General regarded him wearily, “Discord, you haven’t been seen in a long awhile.  Are you still working for Tirek?”  

Discords smile remained constant but it appeared to be flaking around the edges, “Tirek pulled a Brutus on me, my dear general,  Not that you know anything about human drama still it was a quite a play, I think…”

“Enough!”  The General growled, “can you not speak in riddles for one second and tell, are you here to take me to Tirek or not!”

Discord chuckled, “Didn’t you just hear me Tirek pulled a Judas on me!”  He paused, “Oh dear I keep using human phrases again, let me put in way you’ll understand.”

The Generals eyes flashed in annoyance as Discord continued to ramble, “You see Tirek has betrayed me, and that means we have something in common, care to throw out a guess general?”

The General suddenly felt a glimmer of hope he spoke tentatively, “Is the answer to that question, we both want Tirek dead?” 

“Bingo!” shouted Discord and suddenly several streamers and balloons appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to cover the room.  

Discord looked at Stalwart, still smiling.  His expression made it appear that he was recovering from a good joke and now ready to turn the subject of the conversation back into something more serious.  His facial expression had changed and it now held a look of intensity that was frightening.

“General,” spoke Discord softly.  “Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to win this war?”

The General looked at Discord warily as if he were about to make a Faustian bargain.  “To free my country from Tirek and Specter, I will do anything.”

Discord looked at him and spoke all the while keeping his voice dangerously soft, “Would you be willing to kill any pony deemed as an enemy, even if they only serve Tirek out of fear?  If captured would you kill yourself before giving away vital secrets?  Would you be willing to involve civilian’s even fillies and colts, in your battles all in effort to rid your land of a great evil?”

The General looked up and faced Discord his eyes brimming with steely conviction and he answered firmly, “Yes.”

Discord broke his somber expression and smiled, “Good, because I need your soldiers and you need my magic.  If we’re going into this for the long haul then I need a good warrior by my side.  There’s a war coming, a war that’s going to introduce weapons and tactics that this peaceful world has never seen.  New methods of fighting are going to be introduced that even a dark mind like Tirek’s would stray from.  You and me general, we’re going to bring down this monster anyway we can.  So I ask, do you wish for a new kind of war to sweep in like a tempest leaving nothing for even vultures to scavenge in its wake?”

General Stalwart looked up at Discord and said, “I wish to make it so my nation’s inhabitants will no longer have to live under tyranny, and to complete that goal I will commit any act, no matter how dishonorable.”  

Discord chuckled and exclaimed nastily, “By the time this is over general, you will have learned that honor is useless when it comes to defeating enemies like Tirek.” 
	
> New World Order
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
It had been four months since the day; General Specter had made the fateful decision to betray his commanding officer.  In that time period so much had changed, the red sun that now hung ominously in the sky was certainly a testament to that statement.  Once again General Specter found himself marveling at his masters might.  The power Tirek had displayed had only solidified his belief that the decision he made was the right one.  

He had once been a major, but now…now the only being that outranks me is a literal god.  The General grinned he held more power now then he had ever dreamed of.  He had worked all his life to gain the coveted rank of general.  He had neglected everything else in his life, and had fixated and obsessed over becoming the head of the Equestrian military.  But the princesses and General Thunder cared little for a soldier who focused solely on war and defending the nation. 

General Specter curled his lip, at the thought of General Thunder.  The old stallion was an able warrior but he would never take an opportunity when it was presented to him.  He never tried to expand Equestrians might and was simply content to defend his nation, when the army he lead could have conquered so many lands.  The princesses were cowardly and had agreed with General Thunder’s idiocy.  Now however, now we are lead by a lion, who understands that an army must conquer.  

Tirek had been busy solidifying his hold on Equestria and there was a lot of work to be done.  But Tirek had confided with Specter about his plans for the future.  Soon Tirek would go out conquering and the nations around Equestria would fall, and it would be General Specter who would have the honor of conquering the griffin empire, the zebra republic, and the many other nations that lay beyond Equestria’s borders.  Tirek even spoke of finding ways to leave this planet and go out conquering nations on other worlds.  An eternity of war, an eternity of conquering!  Specter sighed, could a better world be imagined?

The General and Tirek had spent a lot time reorganizing the Equestrian military all the while instituting a draft.  There were plenty of ponies who Tirek had not drained and those that had proven worthy were welcomed into the new Equestrian army.  General Specter had been sure to promote the best and brightest to top positions.  His new adjutant, Colonel Poker Face, had proven to be a very valuable asset.  The soldier would put in eighteen hour work days, and was a crucial part of maintaining the Tirek’s new army which had nearly three million active members.  

Those soldiers had to oversee a nation that had a population of nearly three hundred and seventy million.  Luckily the inhabitants they watched over were not particularly dangerous.  Ponies that had resisted had been put on trains to Canterlot.  There they were drained by Tirek and forced to work on manufacturing materials.  Any pony that did not join the army or served in the workforce was stripped of their magic.  The population was very docile as a result and magicless ponies would have a lot of difficulty combating pony’s that had super strength, could fly, or cast devastating war spells.  

But there was still resistance and problems to be had.  For one, Equestria’s military that had remained loyal to the old crown had all but vanished.  It had been easy at first; Major Specter had known where all the major bases where, even the secret ones.  He and Tirek along with the new Equestrian army had destroyed many and had on some occasions convinced the bases inhabitants to join the new order.

But now every base he found was completely devoid of life.  Ponies were also going missing from towns.  They weren’t ordinary ponies either; they were often scientists or very talented mages.  General Specter had brought these problems to Tirek and he had found that he was right to worry.

Tirek was busy dealing with his newfound leadership position.  For a being of unfathomable power he was certainly way too paranoid about being attacked.  But Tirek had revealed to General Specter, something that would have to keep hidden from the populace and the soldiers he commanded.

Tirek had told him that Discord had escaped him and was still a threat.  It was Discord that had been teleporting soldiers and ponies of talent out of Equestria.  Tirek was actively looking for where Discord had brought these ponies to.  Tirek had been surprisingly open about his weakness.  Tirek after studying the various census reports and troop numbers had finally arrived at the conclusion that Discord had probably saved nearly a million soldiers, and had probably teleported around four million citizens to another dimension or at least somewhere that Tirek could not reach.

General Specter had come to believe that Tirek was more powerful in a fight then Discord.  However Discord appeared to have a far greater range of abilities then Tirek and was able to elude Tirek fairly well.  Not only that but it appeared that Discord was capable of concealing an entire army from Tirek.  It worried Specter, but he chose not to dwell on it, Tirek and Discord played a game of cat and mouse that was far beyond Specters understanding.  General Specter had been given a task of quelling any rebellion and that was exactly what he planned to do.  Soon Equestria would be ready to conquer and would be a nation dedicated to a concept that Tirek had described as “total war.”   General Specter was looking forward to the coming changes.  Soon he would have honor of conquering the entire planet. 

But that glorious future would have to be put on hold.  Specter had heard reports of trouble brewing in the small town he was visiting.  The cities were mostly pacified but the backwoods seemed to fuel rebellion.  Perhaps the citizens here believed they were safe, and their towns were too small for the authorities that be to care about.  General Specter grinned wolfishly; on my watch not even the smallest rebellion will go unpunished!

General Specter had traveled to this troublesome town with all due haste.  He was eager to get some action after so many months of being cooped up in a military headquarters organizing the various forces that he now commanded.  But the hard work had been worth it and he been proud of his work directing and creating the mighty army that now listened to him.

General Specter had a platoon of thirty unicorns with him.  They would be needed to help strike fear in this town’s inhabitants.  Yesterday the new mayor of this town and her bodyguard had been found dead in the woods with their throats slit.  The mayor and the soldier tasked with protecting her had been enforcing Tirek’s new laws rather strictly.  Their deaths showed where the citizens of this town stood and that was against Tirek.  So it’s time to teach them a lesson, thought Specter savagely. 

He had had his soldiers erect a platform and a gallows in the town center.  After amplifying his voice with magic, General Specter began to speak calmly to the citizens of the town who had been forcibly assembled before him. 

“It appears that this town has a little problem accepting the new laws emplaced.  I understand that one of my soldiers killed in this town.  Know this, I do not care who did this treacherous deed, I only care about where this deed was committed and that unfortunately for you it was in this very town.  As such you are all guilty of this heinous crime.”

General Specter paused to study the effect his words had on the crowd.  They appeared uncomfortable but not truly scared yet.  Many were tossing uneasy glances at each other.  There was however an air of apprehension, and the feeling was one of dread.  The crowd gathered here today knew that something dreadful was going to occur in their town today, but they didn’t quite know what that something would be.

General Specter continued to talk, “For killing one of my soldiers, I have deemed it imperative that some form of punishment must be doled out.  As such I have decided that ten random citizens will be taken out of this crowd and hung.  Since this town cannot be trusted, a new military governor will be appointed for this town tomorrow.  A whole platoon will accompany the governor, to make sure this town follows the new laws accordingly.”

General Specter suddenly dropped his calm demeanor and began to speak far more harshly, “Know this, if you kill another of my soldiers I’m prepared to have another twenty citizens strung up immediately.”

General Specter suddenly drew his blade and said in a voice barely above a whisper, “and for all your sakes make sure there’s not a third casualty.”

He then calmly left the stage, deciding to let the platoon that had accompanied him to this town begin to hang the ten unlucky souls who been selected for hanging.  He walked out feeling confident.  This towns little rebellion wasn’t the only fire that needed putting out, but it was likely the biggest one he’d have today.

It had been a few days since General Specter had personally saw to it that any act of defiance no matter how little, would be punished severely.  Word had spread quickly of the general’s savagery and the population was proving to be much more docile.  General Specter had built himself up to be quite the fearsome figure indeed.  One of his lieutenants had even told him that behind his back, soldiers and civilians alike referred to him as “Tirek’s favorite butcher.”  The General was fine with that title, fear equated to respect in Tirek’s new world. 

Today he was doing more paperwork.  Tirek had told him that he planned on building a new school system of indoctrination.  The young were to be ripped from their homes and taught to worship Tirek, all the while being raised as perfect soldiers.  The General agreed with this wholeheartedly.  It was best to mold the mind of a pony when they were young.  Fillies and colts grew up to be soldiers and soldiers were what Tirek and Specter desired more than anything.  

The nations that surrounded Equestria needed to be crushed and crushed quickly.  Already those neighboring nations had been wary of Tirek and his new policies.  They had been building up defenses along their borders.  The Zebra Republic in particular had built a series of challenging forts that would require taking.  Hmmm perhaps if we…a sudden knock on the door soon brought the General back to reality and he hastily said the words, “come in.”

A blue pegasus with bright orange hair strode into his office.  She snapped off a crisp salute and got to the point of her visit quickly and with a military efficiency General Specter admired. 

“Sir Lord Tirek wishes for you to meet with him right way.”  She then quickly walked out and flew off presumably to deliver more messages.

General Specter arrived at the palace to find it very heavily guarded.  The amount of soldiers stationed at the palace angered him.  Anything that could kill Tirek would probably not be slowed down by a few guards no matter how well trained they were.  General Specter needed those soldiers in towns and cities; he was stretched thin as it was!

He entered the throne room to find Tirek pacing back and forth.  It was a good thing Tirek had shrunk his size down so that he at the height of Celestia, he much easier to talk to this way.  Tirek looked up his mysterious yellow eyes were unreadable.  General Specter gave Tirek a bow, a general is lowly when compared to a god after all.

He rose up and waited for Tirek to speak.  All the while he was desperately searching Tirek’s face for a hint of emotion.  He found that no matter how hard he tried, he could not predict what the centaur would do, it was better to just listen.

Tirek began to speak in his standard growl, “General Specter, we are surrounded by enemies; our new army is filled with agents of Discord.  I believe we need to search our ranks more thoroughly and pull out the weeds of treachery before they choke us.”  Tirek had started to mutter now and did not sound like the collected leader he usually was.  

General Specter was unnerved, Tirek usually only grew angry and irrational after he had drained several ponies of their magic.  Specter had always assumed that the feeling of the magic coursing though his veins made Tirek unstable.  But this paranoia was something new, something very dangerous, yes that was the word. 

 He groaned inwardly, Tirek’s new found paranoia, if not kept in check could bring ruin to his new army.  If Tirek cracked down too hard he might stir up revolt and that would mean General Specters job would become much harder.  He racked his brain frantically; I must soothe his fear quickly!  Our plans are going so great, I mustn’t let his misplaced fear destroy everything we’ve worked for.  Oh what a wretched encumbrance this is!

General Specter spoke as calmly as he could despite the fear he was feeling as he looked up at his master.

“My lord, we have done many great things in such little time!  The whole nation has been pacified, your army is growing quickly and any form of resistance is being squashed out.  This land is yours my lord!”

But Tirek was not listening, “I don’t care about ponies, I care about Discord!  Do you have any idea what he could do to us?  All my work could be torn down any second because of him!”

Lord Tirek suddenly stopped talking and began to look intently around the room.  His yellow eyes were frantic and were rapidly darting back and forth.  

Tirek’s voice came out full of panic, “There can’t you hear it!”

General Specter looked up at Tirek with genuine concern, “Hear what my lord?”

“The laughter!” Tirek bellowed, “it’s everywhere, how can you not hear it!”

“My lord!” General Specter broke in desperately, “Can’t you cast a spell that can find Discord?  Surely that’s in your power, you’ve been able to track down resistance groups, I bet you can find Discord!”

General Specter suddenly found himself flung across the room in the chilling grip of Tirek’s telepathy.  Tirek let out another roar, “I can’t see him, don’t you understand!”

General Specter got up woozily and Tirek looked down at him with sudden concern.  He snorted and shook his head before talking.

“You’re dismissed General, keep your eye out for any suspicious activity and report back to me.”

General Specter bowed and gratefully took his leave.  He glanced back at Tirek and he could have sworn that there were some flecks of gray in his normally red skin.  He strode out grateful to have survived this encounter.  As he walked out he heard what sounded like an explosion and more of Tirek’s growling.  The guards outside the palace could clearly hear it as well, but they were professionals and to their credit they kept their expressions unreadable.

Tirek was pacing around the throne room letting of blasts of energy seemingly at random.  The laughter in his ears was deafening and rage inducing.  He was starting to gain some level of self control back as the laughter receded.  Snarling he stomped out not noticing a little fly on a wall that let out of chuckle before blinking out of the palace and seemingly existence.

	

> Discord Proudly Presents, The AK-47!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	

Discord was feeling quite content.  Tirek was strong, but messing with him had been all too easy.  He wasn’t able to corrupt him as effectively as he had Twilight when he first broke out his stone imprisonment, but he had managed to mess with Tirek’s emotions a little.  Dialing up Tirek’s feelings of paranoia was quite useful for his cause.  If Tirek started to panic the fragile bonds that held his army together would fracture.



Discord began to laugh when he thought of the other trick he had pulled.  Sound was easy for him to manipulate and, it was quite amusing to start laughing in a pitch that only Tirek could hear.  The look on General Specters face had been priceless!  To make Tirek look insane in front of his top commander had been one of the few things he had genuinely enjoyed doing in these past months. 



He sighed all he had been doing was transporting mass amounts of ponies that were willing to fight against Tirek’s tyranny.  He had gathered up quite a mighty force and he and General Stalwart were going have a very important meeting with the various commanders that had been brought here.



Discord had given a little demonstration to General Stalwart and his most trusted officers.  He had certainly impressed them with the human rifles.  Today he would give a similar presentation, except this time he would be disguised as an earth pony scientist.  



Discord and Stalwart had taken great lengths to keep the majority of the army from knowing that many of the new innovations came from Discord.  The mass teleportation’s had been described as a mass recall spell invented from by Starswirl the Bearded.     



They were actually located on a completely different planet, after all a lot space was needed to hold so many ponies.  The ponies that had been brought here had been told that this new location was reachable due to a contingency spell that the army had invented in case of a disaster.



The ponies had seemed fairly satisfied with this explanation, if not a little curious to why they’d had been brought here.  General Stalwart planned on addressing several officers who would then tell their soldiers what Stalwart had said.



The whole atmosphere here was hopeful.   Civilians had been being put in units and trained to fight in squads.  Soon they would be given new weapons that would hopefully come as a shock to Tirek and Specter.



Discord was actually sitting down on a chair in his earthpony disguise.  General Stalwart had started to give his address.  He yawned, sitting still was boring, but it was a necessary sacrifice.  



General Stalwart began to speak and his voice rang out strong and proud.



“I’ve been waiting for this meeting for some time,” The General began.  “Stallions and mares we are here to implement the first stages of retaking our homeland.  Now before we began how many of you here have heard of an AK-47?”



Not a single hoof was raised; Stalwart smiled and then looked at Discord who now appeared to be a rather dorky looking earth pony.  Discord chuckled and raised his hoof, a few high ranking officers near him did the same thing.



General Stalwart nodded, “Those few officers and scientists, are the only ones in here who actually know what I’m talking about.  We’ve kept the AK-47 secret as we wish to surprise Tirek and his forces.”



General Stalwart then beckoned Discord to come over to the stage.  He began to speak again, “For now I’d like to turn the stage over to Kalashnikhoove, who invented the weapon that might just win us the war.”



Discord rose up and began to walk to the stage.  The officers that were attending the meeting all stared at him with keen interest.  Discord smiled he could feel the hope in the air, it was much better the despair he had grown accustomed to feeling.



   Discord strode up to the stage and began to talk loudly, “Greetings friends!  Today I’m going to show you a weapon that can make a magicless pony as deadly as your most trained warrior!”



This statement was met with skeptic murmurs, but the officers were still regarding Discord intently as he talked.



Discord grinned and pulled out an AK-47 that had been modified for pony use.  Still grinning he held up the weapon for all the ponies to see.  Suffice to say they weren’t impressed and that was fine, Discord had been prepared for this.  Looking at the crowd he spoke, “Perhaps a demonstration is an order.  I want the best archer and the best spell caster here to come up to this stage.”



The officers began to talk amongst themselves before coming to an agreement.  A tough looking Pegasus and an equally capable looking unicorn appeared from the crowd and began to walk towards the stage.



Discord in the meantime had set up three targets on the far end of the stage.  General Stalwart in the mean time cast a shield around the stage.



The pegasus sneered, “You intend to try and defeat us in a target shooting contest, with that little toy.”



Discord chuckled, “That my friend is exactly what I propose, when I count to three you and your spellcaster buddy can shoot at the target.”



The unicorn and the pegasus nodded while Discord mounted the AK-47 on his shoulder and began to count.



When he finished counting down, the unicorn began to charge up a spell while the pegasus quickly sighted up her target.  Discord meanwhile looked down the sight and then quickly fired off several rounds, making sure to hit his two opponent’s targets as well.



The two ponies looked shock as Discord calmly reloaded his rifle.  The crowd meanwhile began to cheer.  Discord dismissed the two ponies who had risen to meet his challenge and then turned back to the crowd.



“So you see, this weapon is superior, too many of our conventional ways of fighting.  It’s deadly, efficient, and best of all requires no magic to be effective!”



The crowd was now very excited and Discord made his exit as General Stalwart took the stage and began to address his now captivated audience.



“In a month we’re going to take back our nation from tyranny.  I sincerely believe these new weapons will be crucial to our success.  When we strike we’re going to distribute these weapons to anyone willing to join us.  I want you all to start training your soldiers how to use these new weapons.  Soon we’re going to throw all our resources at our enemies.  Science has given us the means to win this war.  My question to you all gathered here is do you have the will to take back your pride?”



This statement was met with thundering applause and a thundering of the word “Yes.”



General Stalwart smiled, “Good, now I want you to go back to your units, training is going to began immediately.  We’re organized and dangerous now, and we have a deadly surprise for our enemies.  I want to hit Tirek hard, and avenge the deaths of so many.  In a month’s time Equestria will be ours again!”



The crowd began to disperse all the while talking excitedly.  General Stalwart nodded and walked up to Discord who was still wearing his disguise. 



“That went well didn’t it?”



Discord smiled, “Indeed it did, and a month’s time is perfect.  That gives me plenty of opportunities to slip rifles to citizens who I know to be loyal.  I also have a few other things I need to arrange so that our victory is all but guaranteed.”



General Stalwart dropped his smile, “Yes victory, and tell me what happens to Equestria after the wars been won?”



Discord looked back at the General, “The princesses will be freed and put back in power of course!”



The General regarded him wearily, “That better be what happens.”



Discord smiled, “General I have no desire to seize power for myself.  I’m a creature of chaos not a ruler.  Drafting laws and managing cities is so boring, so orderly.  I promise you, you’ll have your old leaders back once this is done.”



General Stalwart nodded, “And what about you?”



Discord sighed, “I’ve committed treason, and my actions have caused several ponies to be killed.  When the princesses are free, I’m going to leave this world and start a new adventure somewhere faraway.”



With that Discord made his exit disappearing in a bright flash of light, his intended destination a mystery to General Stalwart.  


Discord had been up to some things.  For one he had been able to alter the plans of some of Equestria’s rival nations.  He had used his powers to make the leaders of the Griffin Empire and the Zebra Republic much more aggressive.  The two nations had been very worried about Tirek and were building up defenses.  It had been a simple matter to exploit that fear and make the leaders feel the only option they had was a preemptive strike on Equestria.  

Discord grinned, the two nations leaders had met with General Stalwart.  The leaders had all agreed to attack on the date that Stalwart had desired.  Mass uprisings along with a two front invasion, would cause a lot of chaos and certainly overwhelm, Equestria’s new army.  To make things even better Tirek would be far too busy fighting Discord to interfere with the coming fight. 

That was very good for Discord who believed that the great amount of chaos that was coming would give him a temporary boost of power that would allow him to easily defeat Tirek.  Discord had nearly everything arranged and there was really only one thing he had left to do before the final fight.

He had managed to develop a spell that would bypass Tirek’s protective spells that encased Tartarus.  He needed to write a letter and have it arrive to Princess Celestias cage.  Once that was done, there was nothing left to do but rally the resistance and defeat Tirek for good.  Discord calmly began to write Dear Princess Celestia…

For the first time in what had to have been months, Celestia had something to concentrate on.  She had been sitting here in her cage alone just staring off into nothingness for what had seemed so long.  Tirek had eventually split her up with her fellow princesses, and had left her to rot in her own hell that she had created.  But there had been a flash and a glowing letter had appeared in her cage.  She had taken it quickly, eager to have something to do.  She settled in and began to read.

Dear Princess Celestia
I would like you to know how very sorry I am for betraying you in such a fashion.  I practically handed Equestria to a monster. I had just been feeling so lonely at the time.  All you seemed to do was send me out to do boring work.  Anytime I tried to introduce an element of harmless chaos to this otherwise static world I was threatened to be turned to stone again.  

You see you changed me with this whole reforming thing.  You made me dependent on friendships with other beings.  I came to crave being able to interact with others.  But unfortunately while ponies like Fluttershy are nice and all, they still wouldn’t allow me to be, well me.  I could not create chaos or else. I would lose the friendships I had come to depend on.

Tirek was able to take advantage of this fact, and he was able to manipulate me quite easily I’m afraid.  The idea that I could have chaos and friendship was just too appealing for me to decline.  I understand that this does not make the treacherous acts I have committed any better.  I just believe you deserve an explanation to why I failed you.

        Ponies have died because of my actions.  Many more are going to die in the coming fight, and it’s all because of me.  There is no redemption from that; there is no apology good enough to the mother who lost her filly, or the soldier who lost his friends.  

But it’s okay because I have a plan to make everything right again.  The plan involves me dying, but if all goes well, you and every being that had magic taken from them should get there’s back.   I’m sorry and I hope that when I’m gone the land will know harmony again.

Celestia read the last few lines again and sat back and calmly began to assess the letter and its meaning.  She was not sad, she had endured great loss and a thousand years of ruling with the knowledge that she had banished her sister, had turned her mind to steel.  She was however sorry, her actions had caused these dark times.  Perhaps If I had just given him more freedom…

She shook her head, the past could be learned from but it was wise not to fixate upon it.  This place was designed so that its denizens would torment themselves over and over with their past mistakes.  She would not wallow in self pity for an eternity.  She calmly looked around in the darkness and settled in for another night of soul crushing boredom.
	
> Revolution
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	General Stalwart and his army where back in Equestria.  Discord had placed the armies in various strategic positions and they all eagerly awaited the symbol to attack.  General Stalwart had linked himself with several other unicorns in various cities.  He wanted to be sure that the attacks were going well in all sectors.

He along with his army had been teleported to the outskirts of Canterlot.  They were one of many army groups that were preparing to strike against Tirek’s various armies.  

General Stalwart looked up scowling at Tirek’s red sun.  Hopefully today would be the last day the sun ever shone blood red.  He grinned as thought about Discords signal.  

Discord had told him to order all armies to attack once the sun shone yellow, just like the days of Celestia.  It was a good plan; the whole army would have a massive moral boost when they saw the sun turn yellow.  It would make them feel safe as if Celestia was still watching over them.  She will be in power again when this day is done!

But for now he would wait for the Sun to turn yellow again.  That’s all he could do at the moment.  He and the entire force he had gathered would simply have to wait for the signal that would allow them to retake their beloved country. 

Ivory Charm was just an ordinary pony.  In fact she was less than ordinary; she held no magic ever since Tirek had arrived.  Her son had been part of a protest that was soon shut down by some of General Specter’s thugs.  

They had been ruthless executing half of the protestors on the spot.  Her son had been among them.  She had been angry at her helplessness, and had wished her wings still worked so that she could fight back.  She had been helpless but now, now I can fight.

A mysterious pony with a tornado for a cutie mark had come to her.  He had teleported her and few of the others who lost loved ones to Tirek regime.  He had asked them if they wished to fight against Tirek.

Ivory had assumed that this pony was a spy for Tirek, after all he had magic.  When she had told him no, she was happy with Tirek’s leadership, the pony had raised an eyebrow.  

He had then summoned up a target that looked like Tirek whilst pulling out a strange looking device.  He had fired the rifle into the target.

She had been shocked the magicless weapon was far deadlier then anything she had seen before.  The stranger had smiled and then had asked her again, if she was willing to learn how to use such a weapon.

With nothing to lose she had nodded and soon her lessons began.  She along with several other ponies from the village had learned to shoot what the strange pony had called a “rifle.”

The pony then told them that they would be teleported back to their homes.  His instructions were simple, “Hide these rifles and do not use them, until the sun is yellow again.  I promise you that day is coming very soon, and it is imperative that you do not go out on any premature quests for revenge.  Wait until the sun is yellow, and then you may fight to your heart’s content.  Wars are won by the nations who have the best killers, you all have nothing to lose and therefore you are all very deadly.”

With that the mysterious pony had disappeared in a wink of light.  Afterwards she had found herself in her bed cradling a rifle.  She had quickly hid it under the floorboards, eager for the day that the sun would turn yellow again.

When she had woken up today, she had heard the voice of the strange pony in her head, it had ushered a simple command, today’s the day be ready.

And so she waited, her rifle was close by and so was the local base for Tirek’s troops.  

Commander Silverbell was feeling nervous as she marshaled her forces.  She was in command of several regiments of Griffin warriors. 

 Today was the day that General Stalwart had told them to attack.  At first she had been annoyed that a pony was attempting to give orders to griffin soldiers.  But the General was right that an Equestria under Tirek was a grave threat to the freedoms of the various creatures that lived in this world.

She grinned Tirek wasn’t going to be a problem for much longer.  Equestria seethed with rebellion, and her warriors would easily tip the scales of the battle.  She was eager to strike and she kept shooting glances at the sun that was still an ominous red. 

Discord meanwhile was currently engaging, Tirek in a battle for the sun.  Tirek’s pull was that of Celestias and it had been always easy for him to take the sun from her.  It was a source of endless irritation for her, and it been funny to mess with her.  But those days were long gone and Tirek was a much more frightening opponent than Celestia.    

He snapped his fingers and thought, showtime.

The sun shone a majestic yellow and ponies regardless of their loyalty stared at it with awe.  General Stalwart was not among them, he tapped into his communication spell and gave the same order to all his officers, “Attack!”

 Ivory Charm looked towards the sky it was time.  She walked into her bedroom and dug up her rifle.  She checked to make sure it was loaded and then strode out with a determined expression.

She continued to walk until she was right in front of the former mayor’s house.  This was where all the soldiers loyal to Tirek lived.  A unicorn guard raised a spear menacingly and shouted out a harsh command.

“Turn back or you’ll be sorry!”

She smiled and raised her rifle, the guard looked at the device, clearly confused.  Ivory Charm smiled, “No private I’m afraid you’re going to be the one that’s sorry today.”

She opened fire and the soldiers face seemed to disintegrate into a mist of gore.  That was the signal, and more rifles opened up and guards began to fall.  Two pegasi flew in but before they could fire off any arrows they were quickly cut down.  They fell down limply, their bodies riddled with bullets.

Rebel ponies were everywhere and the town was quickly taken from the forces of Tirek.  The townsponies that didn’t have rifles were starting to arm themselves with homemade weapons.  Ivory charm grinned all over Equestria small towns like hers were rising in revolt.  The sun shone brightly, and Ivory felt that nothing could stop her.

“Rally up,” she shouted,”there’s neighboring towns that might need our help.  Let’s move out and rid of our land of evil!”

Her words were met with enthusiastic cheers and the rebellious ponies quickly reloaded their rifles and began to march to the next town over.  The rebels were filled with determination and even Tirek seemed small as they marched with vigor in their hearts and rifles in their hooves.

Private Sky Sentry had joined Tirek’s army.  He loved the power of flight and he could not stand to lose it.  He had believed Tirek was invincible and that it was best to adapt to the changing world.  His family was safe and he held a fairly cushy job patrolling Equestria’s northern borders.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he beheld the sight before him.  Thousands upon thousands of Griffins were flying across the border.  That force is far too big to be a border patrol.  It appeared that the Griffin nation was sending its entire army over the border. This isn’t a simple raiding party this is war!

Sky Sentry began to flap his wings, he needed to get back to his outpost and warn the others.  He flew faster and looked at his outpost, shocked to see that it had been already taken over.  A few griffins and ponies lay dead on the ground.  The griffins were probably moving out to take down bigger bases.  It appeared that this was a very well coordinated assault.

He paused when he heard the click of a crossbow and a voice, “Stop and raise your hooves above your head.”

Sky Sentry complied and he soon found himself a prisoner of the Griffin Empire.  He was strangely relieved.  At least I don’t have to die for that psycho Tirek!  

General Stalwart after giving the signal to attack had been surprised too see several odd objects roar across the sky and impact the Canterlot castle.  The objects had exploded violently and had caused General Stalwart to stumble.   

  He looked up to see Discord standing above him, “Sorry general but I need a lot of chaotic emotions today and surprise is a great one to draw power from.  I thought it was a necessity to have even our own troops a little shocked!”

General Stalwart looked around his soldiers were cheering as they rushed into battle.  They were clearly impressed with whatever weapons had just hit Canterlot Castle.

General Stalwart looked at Discord questionably, “So, umm what exactly are those.”

Discord laughed delightedly, “Cruise Missiles!  I did some shopping when I went to Earth and I thought those might be useful!”

The general nodded sagely, “They certainly were,” he gestured to the battlefield, “So how about we deal with the work on hand?”

Discord looked back at the general, “Hmm I suppose it’s time to go to war, I’m sure you can handle street to street fighting but I’m not so sure about Tirek.  Lucky for you that’s my job, see you on the other side general.”  

Discord teleported away but before he did he gave a mock salute that made the normally stalwart General Stalwart chuckle under his breath, “I’m glad that idiot is on our side.”

General Specter was experiencing a crisis.  About half the soldiers stationed in the castle were dead due to those infernal devices that seemed to rain death from the skies.  This unfortunately was the least of his problems.  Nearly every region in Equestria was under attack. Local commanders were all sending him panicked messages at once.

General Specter had tried to answer the messages one at a time but he had soon given up.  He had decided to transmit a simple order, “Hold at all costs, help will be arriving shortly.”

General Specter had added that last part.  His soldiers would need something to cling to if they were to continue fighting.  His promise of aid arriving quickly was a lie, but it was a useful one.  They need something to hold onto, something to give them a reason to fight. I hope that’s enough.  

He burst into the throne room shouting, “Tirek we’re under attack!”

Tirek growled at him, “I know you fool, go outside and rally your forces.  I need you to get Canterlot back under control.  It has come to my understanding that our nation is being attacked from within.  Win here General and we can take our country back!”

General Specter nodded and ventured boldly, “And what about you my lord, will you help?”

Tirek looked back at him his eyes appearing almost weary, “General, Discord is here, and he’s in the process of teleporting to my location.  I intend to kill him, after this is done there will be absolutely nothing that can defeat me.  Take this city back while I fight Discord, and do not fail me!”  

General Specter saluted, “I won’t let you down sir.”

As he walked out his furtive mind began to think of ways to counter the enemy and their new found weapons that they called “rifles”.  He had plenty of reserves.  He quickly rushed to the palace gates to rally his soldiers he whispered to himself, “With my armies around me, I’ll defend this city to the death.”

Discord strode into the palace casually snapping his fingers and asphyxiating any guard who attempted to stop him.  The air was thick with chaos and Discord felt strong.  He chuckled and called out, “Yoo hoo, anyone home?”

He found Tirek waiting for him in the throne room.  Discord laughed, Tirek seems to be overcompensating!  

He looked up at Tirek savoring the drama of the moment.  He couldn’t resist a cheesy one liner, “I think it’s time you were forcibly removed from office.”

Tirek growled “Come on then fight me, let’s settle this!”

Discord knew win or lose he was going to die tonight; mine as well have some fun!

Discord teleported right in front of Tirek and tweaked his nose, “But Tirek the ponies of this land have clearly spoken, and you’re being impeached!”

Tirek snarled and fired off a blast of energy that Discord hastily dodged.  Discord chuckled evilly as he felt his hands began to brim with magic, “You want it like that huh?”  He suddenly darted across the room and raked Tirek’s face with enough power to shatter mountains.  Tirek snarled and hit Discord with a massive energy blast.  The two combatants quickly patched their bodies back together and continued to fight.

General Specter had rallied his reserve force.  They were among his best and he had chosen them specifically for their loyalty and ferocity in combat.  He needed to inspire them right now, and to do so he needed to make a speech.  The rational part of his mind knew this was the time for plans not speeches.  But his soldiers were shaken and needed some form of moral support.  A speech couldn’t take back Manehatten but a speech might make a soldier fight just a little harder and General Specter needed his soldiers to fight beyond themselves if they were going to retake Canterlot.

General Specter looked down at his men, trying his best to appear fatherly.  He began to address his men calmly.

“Soldiers of Tirek, tonight we face a challenge that will be harder than anything we have ever faced before.   The enemy has surprised us with some terrifying new weapons.  But good magic and a disciplined mind can easily make their weapons useless.  They fight us at range as they know that in a real fight they would stand no chance against soldiers like us!”

His voice began to rise, “Soldiers if we lose we will go down as the greatest traitors in the history of Equestria.  Our honor will be stained forever and history will be rewritten so that we will have appeared as cowardly aggressors.  If we win however we will have won a new world.  A world where soldiers can behave like real soldiers.  A world where our nation is secure from all threats.  Win this battle and we will go down as heroes, lose and all our sacrifices will be forgotten!”

His ponies began to cheer and General Specter smiled tersely.  These were good soldiers and with them he would retake Canterlot.

General Specter pulled out his blade and bellowed, “Alright then, follow me and let’s retake our city!” 

General Specter dashed rapidly across the streets.  This was the fight of his life!  He was everywhere at once shouting encouragement, throwing up shield spells, and impaling enemies.  He had found that the enemy’s new weapons were fearsome but they could be countered.  He had given out the order that all unicorns should cast gravity spells around themselves and their comrades.  The bullets once caught in the gravity field would drop down harmlessly.  The tactic was working fairly well, but it didn’t change the fact that they were losing.  
Snarling, General Specter rushed at the head of his hastily assembled reserve force.  He was leading a counter attack.  If he could break his enemies flank he might just panic General Stalwart enough to retreat.

A pegasus with a rifle swooped down, and aimed his rifle at Specter.  Specter grabbed the pegasus with his magic and threw him right on his blade, impaling him.  He picked up the pegasus’s rifle and quickly fired the remaining clip into an enemy squad.  Specter didn’t know it but he was grinning and his eyes shined with battle lust.  He was unstoppable and he strode on doing the job that he was born for.

Three enemy earthponies appeared in front of him.  They quickly blasted at him with their rifles.  They were quick but General Specter was quicker.  He threw up a reflective spell that caused the bullets the earthponies had fired to fly back right in their faces.  

He looked up the street to see that enemy soldiers had erected a barricade.  He quickly casted a fire spell and the whole fortification came alight.  He grinned savagely as he heard enemy soldiers screaming as they were set on fire.  

His troops fired up at the sky quickly dropping any daring pegasi.  He strode forward, yes this is working, I just have to keep moving forward!

He and his soldiers moved past the barricade to find General Stalwart waiting for them.  Stalwart had brought reinforcements and the two armies slammed into each other, their howls of pain, agony, and rage mingling to form one terrifying crescendo.

Specter flung himself at Stalwart and the two began to battle.  They were both experienced fighters and their blades struck out against each other with incredible speed. 

He fired off several explosive spells hoping to defeat Stalwart in the way he had defeated Thunder.  This was to no avail as Stalwart had already shielded himself from such an attack.  

I need to be more creative.  Specter swung his blade, whilst casting a flashbang spell in an attempt to blind his opponent.  Stalwart slid avoiding the spell.  He then began to hack at Specters defenses.  

Gasping Specter realized he had used up to much magic during his initial counter attack.  He was having incredible difficulty keeping up with Stalwart’s mad pace.  He soon found himself disarmed and staring at a very angry Stalwart.

General Specter spat in the Generals face hissing, “You always were a capable soldier why would you follow the ideals of Celestia when you could have been something great?”

Stalwart disregarded Specters question, he was efficient after all and he would not waste time conversing with the pony who had betrayed everything the Equestrian military had stood for.  

He raised his blade and as he brought it down in a sweeping gesture he uttered, “You lived with no honor and now you shall die with none.”  Stalwart quickly loped off Specters head using the same method that Specter had used on Thunder.  A fitting end to a traitor, thought Stalwart smugly.

Stalwart looked around the battle was nearly won, and he was getting reports of similar success from around the country.  He allowed himself a brief smile of triumph as his soldiers began to round up prisoners.  His smile slipped when he thought of Discord fighting Tirek.  This battle will have been for nothing if Tirek wins; I hope Discord can take him.

Discord and Tirek were airborne now and they were both showing signs of exhaustion.  Discord had no time to banter as he was simply focused on survival.  Tirek had learned to use his new found magic much more effectively then Discord thought possible.  He desperately dodged another one of Tirek’s mad charges.  He’s wearing me down, Discord realized, I need to end this fight quick.

Discord snapped his finger and suddenly he was no longer a draconequus, but a swarm of parasprites.  He flew into Tirek’s open mouth and down his throat.  He then turned back into his normal form and grew two lethally sharp drills in the place of his hands.  He smashed out of Tirek’s stomach ignoring the creatures howl’s of agony.  He dove in again destroying more of Tirek’s organs.

Tirek continued to scream as stuck his hand into his stomach and ripped Discord out of it.  He fired a blast of energy at Discords head, the blast struck Discord head on, and Discord was tossed though the sky like a ragdoll.

He got up panting healing his wounds.  This is what Tirek wants, a battle of attrition in which we rip each other apart until one of us can no longer repair themselves.  He’s winning too, I need to fight harder.

Growling Discord rose up deciding it was time to finish this thing.  He snapped his fingers for what he presumed to be the last time and turned himself into his true form which was a ball of pure chaos energy.  If I’m lucky he’ll think I’m dead and assume this is my magic flying up into the air.

Tirek’s eyes gleamed with triumph and he opened his mouth to absorb what he thought to be Discords magic.  He swallowed it all, but grew confused when he felt no power gain. He heard a voice that seemed to come from within, Tirek the first time you drained me of my magic you were simply draining the magic I had drawn in from around me.  It was not pure chaos magic and therefore you could absorb it safely. 

The voice paused as Tirek let out another scream of agony but then it resumed, but now you have drained my essence.  My essence is made of purely chaos magic which is going to cause a problem for both of us.  Right now we have merged into one being but soon we’re going to be pulled apart and utterly destroyed.  The alicorns and all the ponies you drained had pure harmony magic, and the energy that you just drained was pure chaos magic.  The two magic’s are much like positive and negative charges in which they repel.  Since we’re both beings made purely of magic and are now conjoined, the effect of the two opposing magic’s repelling is going to be devastating.  Our very souls are going to be torn apart very shortly.  

The voice stopped and chuckled nastily, farewell Tirek take comfort in the fact that you won’t ever have to worry about every being sent to Tartarus again!

If Tirek screamed it was lost in the sound of the explosion that occurred, as he was torn apart from the inside.  The explosion was beautiful as different colored hues of magic flew out of it. The magic seemed to be spreading out it and firing off in all directions.  The harmonic magic was slowly spreading out, and individual strands began to fire out across the country side seeking their original host’s.  The harmonic magic of the ponies that had died before it could be transferred back, slowly dissipated in the air.  

The chaos magic however did not fade away.  For chaos magic does not follow the rules of harmonic magic.  A new chaos lord had to be chosen and the magic would now search across the galaxy with the intent on finding a suitable candidate to become the new embodiment of chaos.

Soldiers and civilians alike cheered as Tirek was destroyed.  The ponies that had been stripped of their magic were even more joyous as they found their magic fully restored.  Wild celebrations soon broke out from across the land.  Ponies were delighted at their new found freedom no more would they grovel at the feet of a tyrant!  Others were just grateful to find their magic restored, and they too began to get caught up in the celebrations that were occurring.

General Stalwart smiled and began to give brisk orders.  There was still a lot of work to do and he would need to make sure order was retained.  After all he couldn’t have the princesses arrive to find Canterlot taken over by a mob!
	
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia felt a surge of warmth run through her body and one thought coursed through her mind, he did it!

Her magic was back and she quickly cast out her senses to find her fellow princesses and anyone else who had been cast here unfairly by Tirek.  Celestia located them grinning as she casted a mass teleportation spell.  

She basked in the sunlight, quickly making sure to set the sun back to the position it was supposed to be.  She looked over at Twilight and her friends who were talking and rejoicing in their new found freedom.

“I never thought sunlight could be beautiful when compared to darkness.”

Celestia turned around and regarded her sister warmly, “To be fair the darkness we were in held no stars and was a poor imitation of your nights.”

Luna blushed at the complement and then inquired, “What happened? What do we do next?”

Celestia smiled, “We rebuild, and rally our ponies back and mourn those who died fighting for their freedom.  Discord may have caused this situation but he redeemed himself in the end by sacrificing himself so that we can live on in peace.  It doesn’t make his betrayal any better but it’s good to know he died doing the right thing.”

Celestia looked out at the land so fertile and rich.  She spoke calmly, “Come sister we have much to do before the land knows true peace once again.”

Luna smiled and rallied the others.  The group was happy and confident as they set out.  They knew that together and through hard work they could lead the recovery effort.  The day was bright and Celestia knew that soon Equestria would once again know true peace.