Prolog: Ändern
Twilight Sparkle stood over her former mentor, a magically wielded arming sword held at the alicorn’s throat. “Yield, deceiver.”
Celestia spat in Twilight’s face, and used the distraction to roll away from the unicorn’s blade and draw her own longsword from the ground nearby. She propelled the blade forward, cutting across her former student’s right eye as the smaller mare tried to dodge. “I will never yield, traitor!”
Celestia’s eyes widened when Twilight said nothing, but slowly raised her head up and stared coldly at the former princess.
“You dare call me a traitor?” she asked quietly, calmly, evenly. “You, who lied to your own subjects, who lied to me, would dare to call me a traitor?” Still, the lavender mare’s face did not change, but remained flat and cold. “Don’t make me laugh.” Her blade shot forward and impaled Celestia’s chest, running her heart through. Celestia didn’t even have time to react.
Twilight sat up in her bed with a gasp, sweat pouring from her muzzle. As she sat there, panting, she looked around her. “Just a dream,” she whispered and put a hoof to her forehead. “It’s just that bitch’s memory coming back to haunt me… She just… Why won't she die?”
A glance at her bedside clock told her that it was four-thirty; nearly time for her to get up. With a grunt, she rolled out of bed, her hooves thumping hollowly on the marble floor. After taking a moment to gain her bearings, she strode over to her dresser, and levitated most of her uniform out of it. Standing up on her hind legs, she slid into her shirt and closed it up. This was quickly followed by her trousers, donned one hind leg at a time. Her shirt was quickly tucked in and her trousers fastened around it. A red necktie soon found itself being tied at her neck, while she stared at herself in the mirror.
She looked terrible. Her mane was knotted and tangled, while her eyes were crusted with bags under them and her coat was noticeably lacking its old luster.
Absentmindedly, she levitated her brush off of the vanity and began running it through her mane. Her hoof came up and brushed against the prominent scar running across her right cheek, over her milky-white eye and barely missing her horn. “Pretty close…”
With a scowl, she reared back and slid her jacket on, followed by her black pleather baldric. When she came back down, she levitated her sword from her bedside and fastened it to her barrel via the two rings on the scabbard. Her sword… with far too many bloodstains on it; stains only she could see. Others only saw the gleam of the steel, yet she could see in its reflection the face of everypony it had been used against.
A cool breeze blew across her room, prompting her to turn to the large, tarp-covered hole in the wall. “Oh yeah… I keep forgetting that’s there,” she said to nopony in particular and, as such, was rather surprised when she received a response.
“You know, mein Führer, you have every right to order repairs,” a voice said from her right, prompting Twilight to draw her sword with her magic. She lowered it when she saw the sweater-clad form of her oldest friend, who was standing just outside of Twilight’s open door… or lack thereof. There was no actual door, merely a large doorway; a remnant of Celestia’s wrath. Surrounding the mare were three female guards, clad in the red uniform of Twilight’s guard. One was a white pegasus with a flat golden mane, while another was an white earth pony with slicked-back blonde mane, and the third was a tall unicorn with a white coat and a pale pink mane. Respectively, they were armed with light hoof blades, weighted hoof boots, and a straight saber.
“You almost got yourself killed, Research Officer Moondancer,” she said sharply, sheathing her sword. “Still, good morning, my old friend.”
“Apologies, and good morning to you as well, mein Führer. I actually was on my way to get breakfast. If I may be so forward, would you care to join me?”
Twilight smiled at her head researcher. “Of course you may be so forward, Moondancer. I may be your superior, but we are still friends,” she said, trotting out the door towards the other mare. On the way, she grabbed her black hat adorned with its golden alicorn badge and a matching sun on the small belt beneath it, and sat it delicately on her head.
“Ah, you’re too kind, mein Führer,” the mare replied with an embarrassed smile as the duo set off towards the main dining hall.
“Nonsense,” the Führer said casually, waving a hoof. “By the way, how is your project going?”
“Mmm…” Moondancer glanced out the window. “Less than favorable… but I’m not sure we should be discussing this in the open.”
“I suppose you’re right… we’ll talk about it later,” Twilight said quietly, turning her gaze to her friend. “Moondancer, is everything okay? You seem… reluctant.”
“I’m just… remembering how things used to be…” Moondancer said softly as a small smile formed on her lips. “I still can’t believe she lied to us like that.”
“I know it’s hard to believe, but the proof is present every morning.” The Führer turned her gaze to the floor. “Every day, I wake up and I expect the sun to stop rising… but it doesn’t.”
“I’d think that would make the guilt go away.”
“It doesn’t. Nothing will ever change what I did, nor will anything change how much I miss her,” Twilight said calmly.
“You miss her?!” Moondancer asked loudly, causing the earth pony guard behind them to stiffen up in surprise.
“Yes, I do…” Twilight shook her head slightly, clearing her mind of the gloom. “But enough of this gloomy talk! Let’s go get our breakfast and we can get the day started!”
Moondancer nodded, her smile coming back in full force.
“Corporal, go and wake Spike, please. He’s been sleeping in again since fall’s started…” The pegasus guard nodded and galloped off in the opposite direction they were headed.
~ ~ ~
Meanwhile…
Spike sat up in his bed with a start, his eyes darting around his dark room quickly. He switched his vision to thermal, scanning for whatever had awoken him. He had heard hooves landing softly against the polished granite floor of his room. They were too gentle to be the strong, proud thump of his mother’s stride. Still, he saw nothing but the cool blues of his furniture and the slightly less cool purple of the door.
Still… He slowly reached over to his bedside table and wrapped his claw around a short sword he kept there. One could never be too careful. As his hand wrapped around the sword’s grip, he briefly took note of how much he’d grown this past year by noting how much smaller the sword felt in his claw. He was as tall as Twilight’s chin, at least.
A hard nock sounded at his door, prompting him to slip out of his bed and move silently over to the entrance. Amazing what a year’s worth of training could do for a dragon. “Who is it?” he called, receiving a giggle from the other side.
“It’s Corporal Surprise, Sir. Your mother sent me to come get you for breakfast,” a bubbly voice said, causing Spike’s grip on the swordto loosen, but only for a second.
“Password,” he commanded sharply. Voice magic was easy for most unicorns. With a sigh, the mare on the other side of the door tapped and scratched her hoof on the wooden surface in a long, erratic string of coded letters. It came to Spike naturally, having received a book on Horse code for his birthday a few years ago.
S-P-I-K-E-I-S-T-H-E-C-O-O-L-E-S-T-D-R-A-G-O-N-E-V-E-R
The password checked out. With a grin, Spike unlatched the seven different locks on his door and swung it open. “Good morning Corporal,” he said cheerfully, hoisting his blade over his shoulder.
The mare’s eyes widened at the sight of Spikes weapon. “Um… Good morning… Sir. If you’ll get dressed… I’ll… wait out here.” Her hoof absentmindedly flew up to the scar across her chest.
Spike realized himself and tossed the sword behind him onto his bed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, Corporal. I thought someone was in my room earlier. Which reminds me…” He shut his eyes tight and re-opened them to see his bodyguard’s flat mane and panicked expression in equine vision. “You… changed your mane.”
“Yes, Sir,” she said, coming back to full attention. “The Führer ordered me to have it flattened when I’m on duty, Sir. A mane like mine was too wild for the ro– executive guard.” Her face tinted red as her head lowered slightly. “You… don’t like it… Sir?”
“It… doesn’t match your personality… bit it is pretty,” he said, folding his arms and putting a claw to his chin in mock interest. A faint smile crossed her face at his compliment. “Give me just a minute and I’ll be dressed.”
It really didn’t take long. He kept his uniform pressed and hung by his closet… door. With a grimace, he switched his vision again and stared hard at the bottom of the closet. Icy blue… there wasn’t any heat coming from inside. With a sigh, he pulled his canvas pants off the hanger and slid them on, leaving them unfastened as he attached a pair of suspenders. He took a moment to look at his reflection in the dressing mirror. His physique hadn’t changed much, but Twilight assured him that he wasn’t fat. He was built like a serpent. He grimaced and pulled on a red dress shirt, tucking it in after it was buttoned, and then pulled the suspenders over his shoulders.
~ ~ ~
Minutes later, Spike and the Corporal were strolling casually down the halls of the castle, both deathly silent as they headed towards the dining hall.
“Hey, Corporal…” Spike started quietly, scratching the back of his head nervously.
“Sir?” Surprise turned her head to him with a curious look.
“I never asked you but… why did you save me?” Spike asked, looking away from his escort. “Back when Mom rebelled… you jumped in front of Aunt Celestia’s sword… Why?”
A soft chuckle sounded behind Spike, prompting him to turn back to her. She had a faint smile on her face, but her eyes were closed and they looked like they hade the beginnings of tears in the corners. “Well, Sir, there was a time when I would have blindly followed Celestia’s orders, even if it meant doing something vile. I felt that, since she was a goddess, anything she made me do was for a good cause.” She paused and took a deep breath, her smile vanishing for a moment. “But then… the sun rose. I knew she wasn’t a goddess, and that I was serving a false princess. And then… I saw this cute little baby dragon in a pile of rubble with his leg stuck. I saw how scared he was of the mare standing over him with her sword held high. I couldn’t just let her kill an innocent child… So I did something.”
“Do you regret it?”
Surprise giggled and lightly slapped the back of Spike’s head with her wing. “Nope! I know I did the right thing, and as a result, I have the coolest dragon ever as a superior!”
Spike chuckled and lightly punched her shoulder. “Thank you, Surprise…” He said quietly, before wrapping his arms around her neck. “I’m glad I’ve got somepony like you watching my back…”
“I’ll always be there, Sir,” she said kindly, giving her reptilian superior a kiss on the forehead. “Always…”
~ ~ ~
Spike and Surprise entered the dining hall just as The Führer and Moondancer were about to take their seats at the massive banquet table. Instantaneously, Twilight’s eyes lit up and she stepped around the table as Spike ran up to her and hugged her neck.
“Good morning Mom!” he said cheerfully, as his escort moved to rejoin her squad.
“Good morning, my son… I trust you slept well?” Spike nodded excitedly and told her about the dream he’d had last night.
Off to the side, Surprise whispered to her captain, “You know, ma’am, it’s the moments like this that make me forget just how ruthless she can really be…”
“Indeed, Corporal… I seldom find myself wondering how such a kind-hearted mare could have killed the princess… but then I remember what Celestia meant to her…” Fleur shivered as a gust of wind blew through the hall. “I shudder to think of how she felt when she learned of the truth…”
~ ~ ~
Twilight stood on the front steps of the castle, looking out over the still broken cityscape of Canterlot. She smiled as she made note that there were a few less scaffolds clinging to buildings and a few more of those building completed.
“Did you hear me, mein Führer?” her gaze snapped back to the stallion standing beside her.
“My apologies, Scribbled Script. I was noting how much progress we’ve made,” she said politely, giving a slight nod to her record keeper.
“Yes,” he said with a scowl, adjusting his glasses. “We’ve come along way in the year since your battle decimated the city.”
“You have a problem with the way I handled things, Script?” Twilight asked evenly.
“Permission to speak freely?”
“Granted.”
“I do have a problem with it. You could have poisoned her, killed her in her sleep, broken off her hor—”
“And where would the honor be in any of that, Script? Had I used any of those surreptitious tactics, would you have trusted me? Would you have allowed me to take over the throne?” Twilight paused to take a deep breath. “I wanted Equestria to know that I am an honest and virtuous mare. I’ll not deceive my citizens as my predecessor did.”
Script remained silent for a moment, contemplating the Führer’s argument. “I suppose…” he started quietly. “I suppose you have a point… and then there’s the matter of…”
“The possibility that I was wrong?”
“Yes, mein Führer, that,” he answered, using his hoof to straighten his tie. “What then? Would you have taken any punishment she saw fit?”
“I’m not entirely certain. I’d like to think I would, though.” Twilight turned back to the cityscape. “Say, I’ve been thinking, Script.”
“About what?”
“Canterlot’s name. ‘Canterlot’ doesn’t really fit for a military capital, does it?” She asked, scowling as one she spotted a government construction worker on a nearby scaffold reading a magazine. “Trot with me, Script.”
“Yes ma’am. I mean, no… I mean…”
“Yes to the order, no to the name?” the Führer said with a smirk, causing the archivist to blush in embarrassment.
“Um… Affirmative, ma’am.”
“Ooo, ‘affirmative…’ I like that, Script. Make a note under ‘Military C.o.C.’ I want that to be the new standard response when addressing a C.O.” she ordered as she started down the steps and towards the worker. “Tell me, what’s the fine for disobeying a directive from the Führer?”
“Not more than three hundred bits, not less than one hundred,” Script replied, adjusting his tie yet again.
“I thought I set it at fifty…”
Script cleared his throat and levitated his clipboard over to Twilight. “Your writing indicates that you changed it an hour later.”
“Right. Well, I think I’m about to issue that fine…”
“So, what was it you were saying about Canterlot?” Script asked as his leader approached the base of a scaffold.
“I haven’t decided for sure, but I was thinking of changing the name to something… darker,” she explained calmly. “Make it sound more like I really mean business.”
“Trying to intimidate the seceding cities?” Script teased, noting that his free speech hadn’t been revoked yet.
“As a matter of fact, I am. I plan to rein them back in soon after the guard can stand their own.” As Twilight continued to ascend the scaffold, she passed a number of workers that each stopped briefly to salute by folding a foreleg up at their breast. “At ease, good stallions. Return to your work.”
The duo continued up towards the top of the scaffold, soon coming to stand behind the stallion. “Excuse me, sir,” Script said cautiously. “Why aren’t you working?”
“Screw off,” the stallion said, casually flipping his magazine’s page. “I been workin’ four months straight. I deserve a break. Crazy-flanked Führer’s gonna work us to the bone.”
“Are you currently on the clock?” the archivist asked, adjusting his tie yet again.
“Yeah. What’s it to ya?” the worker asked, slowly turning a page of his magazine, which Twilight could see now consisted of nothing but pinups of famous models.
“I am Führer Twilight’s personal assistant and record keeper.”
“I’m so scared. What’s she gonna do, throw me in jail?”
“You’ll be fined!” Script shouted, stomping a hoof. The Führer held up a hoof to stop him from losing his temper.
“The Führer can shove her fine up her plot.”
Twilight scowled at the stallion. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance, as he didn’t so much as turn his head to look at Script. Consciously, she gripped her sword in her magic and unsheathed it. “If you wanted a break, you should have stayed home,” she said harshly, bringing her sword down on the Stallion’s literature. It cut straight through the tasteless magazine and embedded itself in the wooden catwalk. The worker turned his head slowly to face the angry face of his ruler. “Instead, you came to work, clocked in, and are currently wasting my time and the city’s money so you can you laze about reading?” She glanced down at the pinup book. “If you can even call this reading…”
“My Führer! I’m sorry, I…” the stallion’s mouth worked like he was going to say something, but he couldn’t find the right words.
“I don’t want your excuses!” Twilight barked, bringing her sword to bear at the worker’s throat. “Get to work! You’ll be fined three hundred bits for your apparent disregard for my time and what I’m doing to fix things!”
The stallion stared at her for a moment. His brow furrowed and he pushed the Führer’s sword away with his hoof. “And what exactly are you doing to fix things?”
“More than you,” Twilight growled, bring her sword back to bear.
“Oh yeah? I ain’t seen you do shit!” the worker shouted. He took a step back from Twilight, still glaring at her. “So tell me what exactly you’re doing?!”
“Where are you staying?” Twilight asked harshly, still keeping her sword pointed at the stallion.
“In the residential quarters in the palace garden! So what?”
“Listen here, colt. I built the residential quarters in the garden myself!” Twilight shouted, pushing the tip lightly into the stallion’s throat just enough that it would deliver her message, but not enough to draw blood. “The princess’s fortune, which, by right of conquest is my fortune, is what’s paying your salary! I am the one that’s funding the city’s repairs! You work for ME, citizen!” During her short rant, the worker’s face went from defiant, to scared, to terrified as he took in the Führer’s words. “It seems you now understand. So, good stallion, I will order you one last time… Get back to work.”
“Yes, mein Führer…” he said, falling back onto his rump.
Still scowling, Twilight sheathed her sword and trotted down the scaffold back to the road. “That was unpleasant,” she said quietly once she was back on the street.
“It had to be done, Führer.”
“I’m not so sure, Script,” Twilight responded as she started back down the road.
“He needed to understand that while you are a just ruler, your rule is absolute.”
“I suppose so… What’s my first order of business for the day?”
“Let’s see… Ah! Perhaps this will bring you some good cheer!” Script exclaimed, holding his clipboard up for the Führer. She didn’t look. “Your first scheduled item is to meet with Captain Fleur to discuss current ranking systems and training regimens for the new guard!”
A weak smile crossed her lips. “Yeah, that does sound nice…” she muttered. “I still can’t believe she was a retired guard…”
“Well, after her husband… ahem… yes. It’s not surprising that she would want to return to the service.”
“Please, do not remind me…” Twilight reprimanded gently, turning to face Script. “I live with that knowledge, day and night. I’m revoking your free speech.”
~ ~ ~
“No, direct the current towards the electrode, not the machine itself!” Research Officer Moondancer barked from her raised observation platform, scowling at her lab assistant. “Doing that could kill us all!”
“Sorry, Ma’am!” the young unicorn mare said, quickly adjusting the thaumoelectric emitter so it was aimed directly at the large electrode atop a large Tesla coil protruding from the massive machine in front of her. “If you don’t mind me asking, Ma’am, what is this thing?”
“All I can tell you, Evening Shadow, is that it’s going to help a lot of ponies,” she replied, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow. It was a shame that her lab’s air conditioning hadn’t been fixed yet. But A.C. was not a necessity. Fixing the city came first. It was miracle that Twilight even granted her the funding for the project in the first place. “We’ve just got to perfect it first.”
“Your assistant is well permitted to know the details of what she’s working on. She is directly involved in its construction, after all.” Moondancer turned to the lab entrance to see Twilight walking calmly towards her.
“Führer on deck!” one of Moondancer’s guards shouted, prompting every pony in the room to turn towards Twilight and give the standard salute, folding the right foreleg up at their breast.
“Hail to the Führer!” a lab coat-clad stallion said off to Twilight’s left.
“Hail to the Führer?” Twilight asked playfully, smiling at the researcher. “Where’d that come from?”
“Apologies, mein Führer,” the stallion said, pawing nervously at the floor. “I… I thought it sounded nice…”
“It did,” she assured him with a smile. Her face turned cold a second later. “But don’t do it again.”
“Yes, mein Führer.”
Moondancer scowled down at Twilight. “Cease charging the emitter!” she commanded, trotting down the observation platform’s steps. “We can’t risk an accident with the Führer in the room.”
“No need to be so cautious, my friend. I’ve seen my share of experiments gone wrong.”
“With all due respect, Ma’am, we already lost one researcher last week. I don’t want to risk that again, with everypony so distracted.” As Moondancer came to the last five steps of her platform, she leapt down, her lab coat flowing out behind her.
“You lost a researcher?” Twilight asked, her eyes widening. She grabbed Moondancer by the collar with her magic and pulled the researcher close. In a low voice, she all but growled, “Why wasn’t I informed of this?”
“I-I ordered it to be put in the report! I thought you knew!” she said as, to her horror, the hollow sound of steel sliding against brass permeated through the room. “Please, Twilight, you know I wouldn’t lie to you! I-I-I’m a loyal f-friend to you; a loyal citizen of your regime! I’d never betray you!” she screamed, praying that Twilight would believe her. Twilight valued loyalty and honesty, and Moondancer was claiming both now.
Moondancer was thrown backwards onto her rump, tears streaming down her muzzle. “Who…” Twilight started shakily, her brow furrowed, “Who was in charge of filing the report?” When nopony answered, she raised her blade and stabbed it into the floor. “Your Führer has asked a question!” she barked, causing everypony, including Script and the guards, to flinch at her volume. “I demand an answer!”
“It… It was me… mein Führer…” Twilight snapped her head far enough to the right to see with her good eye a young pegasus stallion, barely out of colthood in a red turtleneck and a lab coat. His yellow forelegband indicated that he was a student research assistant. He was interning on a trial basis to gain credits for school. Twilight had met him when he applied a few months ago.
“Hard Fact, wasn’t it?” Twilight asked as she trotted towards the intern. He nodded, his eyes widening when the Führer’s sword floated over her head. He was understandably relieved when the weapon slid into its sheath instead of pointing at him. “Tell me, Intern, why was this information omitted from the report?”
“I… I thought you would take Miss Moo–”
“Officer Moondancer, Intern.”
“I thought you would take Officer Moondancer’s funding away if you found out somepony die–” He was cut off by a lavender hoof crashing across his muzzle. He looked up to see the Führer offering him an extended hoof, though she was still glaring at him with intense distaste.
As she helped him up, he felt a tug at his left forearm. “I’m sorry,” she said in a cold monotone. “You’ve violated your full disclosure agreement with me. That’s grounds for immediate dismissal and prohibition from ever applying here again.”
Hard Fact was speechless. As his leader slowly and deliberately tore his forelegband away, he felt his heat break. The Führer knew what this meant. She knew that he was counting on this to get into the research core… She knew that his life was over. The last fiber of the band tore and, before he knew what was going on, there was an earth pony guard on either side of him with a hoof on his shoulder. They started pushing him towards the exit, while the Führer turned her back on him.
“You… you can’t be serious…” he whispered. “It was one researcher… One researcher! What’s happening here is far more important than the life of one pony!” he screamed, pushing back against the guards. “You’re going to take away my future over one life? That’s insane! It’s retarded! It’s asinine! It’s… It’s foalish!” Every face in the room turned towards him.
“Guards, stop for a moment,” Twilight commanded, turning back to Fact. “Hard Fact, you are guilty of treason and withholding information from the Führer. This is punishable by immediate imprisonment and, depending on the severity and value of the information withheld, death,” she said, her eyes narrowing at him. “The simple fact is, if you’ll forgive the pun,” she continued, a smirk forming on her lips, “that I’m going easy on you. There will be other positions you can apply for in my regime. But you will be prohibited from applying to this branch of the military.”
“This… All I ever wanted was to be a scholar!” Fact screamed as the guards continued pushing him towards the exit. “My life is over, Führer!”
“That’s hardly my fault,” Twilight replied calmly, watching as tears started streaming down Fact’s face. “It was you who decided to commit treason. Accept your fate like a stallion.” She turned away from the pathetic display.
“You monster! You’ll pay for this!” he called as the heavy metal doors of the laboratory closed in his face.
“Well,” Moondancer started as she got back on her hooves. “That was a thing.”
“Indeed it was, old friend. I’m sorry I was so harsh on you,” Twilight said, stepping forward and brushing a bit of dust from the scholar’s coat.
“It’s alright, mein Führer,”’ she said calmly, backing away from Twilight’s touch, still clearly frightened. “You only acted in accordance with your policies.”
“Yes, I suppose that’s true,” Twilight said, before turning to Captain Fleur, who stood next to the lab’s entrance. “Captain, I’d like you to come with me so we can plan out the new ranking system and training regimen.”
Fleur nodded, her hair falling over half her face. “Yes, mein Führer,” she said quietly, before following her leader out the door.
As the Führer left the labs, Moondancer scowled after her. “So much has changed…” she muttered under her breath. “And I’m sure you’ll just keep brining change, won’t you, mein Führer…” She turned back to the middle of the lab. “Start the tests back up!