A traitor is faced with the consequences of his actions.
For thousands of years, Equestria has been held together by love and the magic of friendship. That is, until one unicorn decided to take matters into his own hooves. And in casting out what he viewed as weakness, he inadvertently caused the very downfall of his country that he so feared.
I wanna thank TheExhaustedBrony for letting me make an extension of his story: A just betrayal. Please read his story before you read this one, because this story starts right at the end of the original story, just slightly different.
I'm sorry Twilight. I love you. I'm doing this for the future, our future." Shining stated with a frown. Twilight took a deep breath.
"So am I." She said with her own frown, her eyes filled with anger, and a glimmer of sadness. Twilight then attempted to teleport from the throne to Shining Armor, though before she could cast the spell, the magic around her horn fizzled out. Shining armor sighs at that.
"One of my soldiers is currently casting a magic suppression spell for that very reason, I guess even you can forget something like that, with enough anger." He says, not with a frown, but a look of understanding.
"Shining." Twilight suddenly said, causing the stallion to give her his full attention. "When Nightmare Moon was a threat, how effective was the military against her?" She asked.
"I'll admit, it wasn't that effective, but who could have seen something like that coming?" He asked with a shrug.
"I did, but that's irrelevant." Twilight answered. "When Discord broke from his stone imprisonment, how did the military handle that?"
"Ok I'll admit that in that one, specific instance, only something as harmonious as friendship could stop a spirit of disharmony. But he isn't going to be a problem for another thousand years." He relented. Celestia frowns at that, but says nothing.
"Alright, I can give you that one." Twilight said with a nod. "How was the Changeling invasion stopped?" She asked. Shining said nothing for a moment, not wanting to answer, then he steeled himself.
"This line of questions is pointless. Princesses of Equestra, I'll make this short and simple. From this moment onward, the fate of Equestra will be decided by the military. And in exchange, not another drop of innocent blood will be spilled in this fight. Do you agree to these terms?" He spoke in the same serious tone he had before.
"If that's what you wish, then very well, I agree to those terms." Celestia said with a sigh.
"As do I." Luna said with a scowl.
"It's not like we have any other choice." Twilight said.
"You have a choice, it's just not the type of choice you're used to making. But I'll count that as a yes." Shining said with a nod. "Now, to discuss what will happen now."
True to his word, the bloodshed stopped, and the dead were taken care of. Nopony said anything. What could they say? Those they trusted to protect the kingdom, were the ones to kill so many Equestrain ponies. Wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, friends, family, role models. Everypony had lost somepony, whether from somepony else, or their very own hooves. But a message was made very clear, the age of friendship and harmony, was over. And a new age had come, an age dictated by an army of traitors.
Divorces had been filed, friendships had been shattered, and some had even been disowned. The reason why was along the lines of “what’s stopping you from killing us to make a point?”, or “I won’t house a heartless monster like you!” It certainly didn’t help the situation whenever the military had to make an example out of the more rebellious ponies. And Equestria as a whole, had had been dealt a heavy blow, and had been weakened because of it…
Dragon lands
“So the elements are no more, and the bringers of the sun and moon are out of the picture.” The leader of the Dragon Clan summarized.
Griffon Kingdom
“And the citizens of that country have been betrayed by those they thought would protect them.” The griffin king muttered, then grinned.
Golden Oaks library
Twilight thought nothing could make her feel worse about the situation, she was proven wrong when she informed Spike about their friends’ deaths. His love for one of them only made it worse for him. She couldn’t blame him. She felt, and still feels, the same way. And to make matters worse, Spike wasn’t the only one who she had to break the news to. Celestia and Luna’s presences helped, but not much. Twilight knew very well that the five had been an important part of this community, but she never knew just how important…until now.
"Can't the princesses do something?" Sweetie Bell asked, her eyes red from crying. "Equestra can't be run by…by that…monster!"
"Yeah! What if he comes for us!?" Scootaloo asked. "Not even somepony as awesome as Rainbow Dash could stop him! We wouldn't stand a chance!"
"I'm sorry, but no." Spike said emotionlessly, having lost the energy to muster any type of emotion. "This is just how things are now."
"How can ya talk like that!?" Applebloom asked with an angry look, momentary igniting a burst of rage in Spike.
"Well it's not like I can do anything about it!" He snapped at her, causing the trio to take a step back as smoke started to come from his nose, and his eyes turned into slits. "What exactly can I do!?" He asked with rage, before it melted away. "what can I do!?" He repeated in a smaller voice, sitting down and curling into a ball. He jump a little as the trio envelopes him in a hug.
"Spike." Twilight called, revealing her presence to the four. "I understand how you feel, I feel the same way. Rarity, Fluttershy, AppleJack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash. When I came here, I thought I knew what magic was, until those five proved me wrong. And I don't think I've ever been more happy to find out I was wrong about something, much less something I've worked on as long as I have on magic."
"Ha…I remember the first night we were here, you said everypony in this town was crazy." Spike said, giving a hollow chuckled.
"I heard from Dash that she gave you her 'rainblow dry', said your mane looked ridiculous after." Scootaloo said with a small smile.
"An ah heard from AJ that your hoof kept shaking after she let it go." Applebloom said with a laugh.
"Rarity told me about how thrilled she was that a Canterlot pony had visited her boutique." Sweetie Bell said with her own smile.
"Did you three know that Spike actually told Fluttershy about his entire life story?" Twilight asked the fillies, causing Spike to roll his eyes.
"Yeah, but that's nothing compared to pinkie, she could go just as long without having to stop to breath." Spike said with a smirk. They all laughed mirthlessly for a little bit, then let out a quiet sigh. Twilight then looked (not directly of course) at the position of the sun.
"It's getting late, you all should be heading home, it's a school night after all. Sweetie Bell, your parents will be picking you up soon, so you can wait here." Twilight said, causing the girls to frown.
"Can't I stay here?" Sweetie asked. "I promise to not be a bother."
Twilight wanted to say "yes", but…
"I'm sorry, but I'd feel much better if my little Sweetie Bell came home with us." Sweetie Bell's mother stated.
"It's nothing personal, we appreciate all you've done for Equestra, especially when some ponies aren't so kind." Sweetie Bell's father tried to assure Twilight
"I'm sure you have enough to deal with as is, and she's our daughter anyways, so it's our responsibility to take care of her. We appreciate the thought though." Her dad said.
"Very much so." Her mother said with a nod. "We'll pick her up a little before sunset. Take care out there, Equestra…isn't as safe as it used to be."
Twilight could read between the lines. The less time their filly spends around a mare who's brother is the leader of an army full of treacherous killers, the safer she'll be. Twilight wasn't mad about it, far from it actually. she's actually been considering exiling herself for that very reason. She felt like it would be a fitting punishment to be honest, she felt she had no right to call the land she failed so badly, home. There was only one obstacle preventing her from doing so.
Spike.
She knew she wouldn't be able to convince Spike not to follow her, and she refused to drag him into something as dangerous as exile.
"I'm afraid not, your parents were insistent that you go home with them." She says with a frown.
"Can we stay until they come, please!?" The two said at the same time, before Applebloom spoke. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we should be there to see her off."
"Alright." Twilight relents, their friendship reminding her too much of her own to say no. And so, they waited. The CMC having what might be their last club meeting for awhile. It wasn't a goodbye after all, it was more of a see ya later, they'd see each other again in the future.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS FOREVER!" The trio declared with a heartfelt group hug.
"Sir, it's almost time for you to address the civilians." I heard one of my subordinates say. I grunt in acknowledgement. Makings sure my armor is presentable, I make my way outside. Instead of the hushed murmurs that normally comes with announcements like this, I'm greeted by deafening silence. Nopony made a noise, nor did any of them make any sudden movements. All of them were tense, most likely ready to run at a moments notice. I also couldn't help but feel like this wasn't everypony in the city. Some probably stayed home, not wanting to risk coming here. Their faces reminded me of how the crystal ponies looked when they saw Sombra. The crystal ponies……Cadance had made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with me the last time we talked. And the crystal heart didn't let me enter the crystal empire when I tried to go to her.
"Not even Sombra killed without being corrupted by dark magic." Cadance had said with a glare. "What's that say about you?"
That did sting, but I didn't let it show.
"Citizens of Equestra, can I have your attention?" I requested, though it was probably unnecessary, if their expressions were anything to go by. "I understand that, given the circumstances, you all have reservations about the change in leadership. But I assure you, we did what we did for the future of Equestra." THAT got a reaction from them, and it was far from pleasant, though they still said nothing. "That doesn't mean that I'm blind to the tragedy that befell you all."
Spike's POV
'He truly has no shame.' I think with a scowl. Twilight and I had came to Canterlot to get the books in her library tower. The reason why is because without the Royal blessing anymore, it's entirely possible that the tower and everything in it could potentially be repossessed. Luckily for us, my fire breath can teleport all the books to Golden Oaks. Though something told me that Twilight wasn't telling me everything.
"Spike." Twilight called, gaining my attention. "We're almost there." She said, as she trotted a little faster. And true to her word, we were in front of the tower before too long. Entering, Twilight used her magic to put every book in here into one big pile, I also noticed she made another pile of various things. Nodding towards me, I got the message, and sent all the books to the Golden Oaks Library. Putting the remaining pile in the saddle bags she brought, we left the tower, and Twilight teleports us away. But instead of arriving at the train station, we ended up somewhere else in Canterlot, somewhere close enough to just barely hear that traitor.
"So know that while those slain in that coup will be missed, they will be honored as pony kind raises in the world. I'm sorry tha-" I didn't hear the rest of the sentence, I stopped listening as soon as I heard "I'm sorry".
''I'm sorry'? 'I'M SORRY'!? He killed so, so many ponies, and he has the gall to say 'I'm sorry'!?' I think as I start to see red. I think about the friends we've lost, and the mare I loved, who I'll never get to tell my feelings for her. I'm broken out of my thoughts when I feel something wrap around me. Looking at the cause, I see that Twilight had wrapped her wing around me, with her giving me a look of understanding.
That's right…despite that traitor's actions, I hadn't lost all of my friends. I had my best friend right beside me, and Faust help anypony who tries to take her from me. She's my sister, and my best friend…
…
My sister and best friend.
…
Mine
“Come on, let’s hurry up. My B.B.F.B.F.F just got absolute control over the military, so the “guards” should be just as bad in spotting intruders as they were the last time we were here.” Twi says, breaking me out of…whatever that was.
”’B.B.F.B.F.F’?” I asked in confusion.
“Big brother former best friend forever.” She clarified before walking through a door, with me close behind. She casts a shield around us. “Noise canceling spell. Nopony can hear us with this around us, but we can hear noise outside it.” She explained with a sigh.
“Twilight.” I say in concern. “I’m right here if you need to vent.” She nods, then starts to sing.
“When I was just a filly, I thought it was rather silly, to think he would ever hurt me. But now I see, I had too much faith in that pony.” She looks down, tears in her eyes as her ears drop.
My big brother, he was my best friend forever.
“Who could blame you, to have faith in him. His betrayal wasn’t on a whim.” I put my hand on her back. She whips her head to me as her ears shoot up.
“My point exactly, this wasn’t out the blue! He killed so many ponies, no matter who.” The tears began to flow as she looks down again, her ears dropping once again.
“How was this not out the blue?” I make her look at me, giving her a firm look.
“What has he done in the past that’d make you think this would be something he’d do?” I give her a more gentle look. She huffed and lightly pushed me away.
“Each and every time he made his case, rage would be seen on his face. His words would sometimes be laced with venom, seeing the route we chose to take as dumb.” She gained an angry look, her voice getting quieter and angrier, her ears now pointing backwards.
My big brother, he was my best friend forever.
“But he still chose diplomacy. What would make you think he would strike innocent ponies with no mercy?“ I raised a brow.
“I understand you feel responsible, as I’m sure the other princesses do too. But you tried everything you could possibly do.” I gave her a sad smile.
“No I didn’t, at least not yet. There’s still one thing I can do, on that you can bet.” She suddenly gained a determined look, magically wiping away her tears, her ears now pointing up again.
"Huh?" I gave a confused look.
"Spike, do you know where we are?" She asked. I take a look around, and now that I've done so, this place looked vaguely familiar. "It's Starswirl the Bearded's wing in the Canterlot archives, we came here when I was panicking about the future, remember?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah." I say with a surprised tone and look, which turned into confusion. "Why are we here? The only spell I remember from here is that 5-second-one-use one, and you've already used it."
"We only searched for one night, and you and I were both sleep deprived. Now that we're well rested (as well as we can currently be anyway), and we have much more time to work with, we should be able to figure something better out. Starswirl was a great sorcerer, one of the (if not THE) best sorcerer in pony history, but he was limited by his time. With all we know about magic now, and all of his research on time magic at our disposal, we might be able to fix this." She said with a frown.
"Are you sure we can do that?" I asked, doubtful.
"I've fixed one of his spells once before, I don't see why I can't do it again." Twilight said with a smirk, determination in her eyes. "After all, it was thanks to my friends that I was able to do so." She turned to me, and preceded to nuzzle me. "And with you by my side, there's nothing I can't do."
"I'm not going anywhere Twi, I'm your number one assistant after all, you can count on me." I say with a smile.
"Never doubted it for a second. Now come on, we've got a lot of research to do." She said, heading towards the first of many bookshelves, with me right behind her.
A Change in leadership, and the end of Royalty and nobility?
Earlier today former captain of the royal Guard and former prince of the Crystal Empire, 5 star General Shining Armor had this to say:
“For too long, Equestria has taken a passive approach to every conflict we’ve face! And as a result, we’ve been taken advantage of. If we are to remain an independent nation, we need power.
Now many of you may ask: why would we need power, when we have love and friendship?
The fact of the matter is this, love and friendship won’t stop the dragons and the griffons from wiping us all out. The princesses refused to hand over the country to the military willingly, so we had to force their hooves.
As of right now, the military now has full control over Equestria. So there’ll be changes on how this country operates. From this moment onwards, these changes will be implemented.
The nobility will be dissolved, and the finances they’ve been born with, will be used to further strengthen Equestria’s military.
All trade routes in and out of any Equestrian settlement will have an officer stationed to check for any smuggling of illegal items, or anything else that could jeopardize the country.
All nonessential questions or complaints will not be acknowledged by a military member. You can bring those concerns to your local political leaders.
That is all for now. More changes will be implemented as they are deemed necessary. Should you feel like what you have to say is important to the stability of Equestra (especially if it's reporting suspicious activity, or obvious illegal activities), inform the nearest military official.
We interviewed the local ponies to see what they have to say, though they wanted to remain anonymous.
Anonymous pony 1: So the dragons and griffins are a threat? Funny, because last time I checked, it was that same pony who MURDERED MY WIFE!
Anonymous pony 2: So some everyday unicorn knows better then Alicorns who’re literally thousands of years old? Talk about being arrogant.
Anonymous pony 3: He's not even a citizen of Equestra anymore! He is (or rather, WAS) the Prince of the Crystal Empire. If he wants to force his views on somepony else, then he should do it where he was ACTUALLY RULING. Though personally it would have been better if he just kept his views to HIMSELF, and not drag anypony into it.
Anonymous pony 4: So all of the contributions the ancestors of the modern day nobility are going to be ignored? I could understand if the noble houses attained their wealth through foul play, but considering how most (yes unfortunately not all, but most) of our ancestors made invaluable contributions to Equestra (including that very same shield spell that unicorn is so proud of), well I dare say this is LITERALLY robbery.
What does this mean for the future of Equestra? What will the general do next? He's already massacred the same ponies he swore an oath to protect, as did so many others. IS there a line they won't cross? We can only hope.
Dear Shining Armor
We aren't sure what to say. When you were just a little colt, you had such a innocent and hopeful look. You and Twilight would often play together. You'd be the courageous knight, and she'd be the princess of books, and you'd always say you'd never hurt her. So imagine our surprise when you ordered your soldiers to kill as many ponies as they could, including her friends. What if they had killed us? What if they had killed Spike, Twilight or Cadance? We love you, and support you. We always have, and we always will. But you need to take a long look in the mirror, and see just what kind of pony you've become. We truly love you, but you've changed, and not for the better.
With everlasting love
Mom and Dad
I sigh as I finished reading.
'Well, I wasn't born yesterday, I knew they'd react this way. Surprised Twilight and Spike haven't sent a single letter.' I think with a sigh. As much as this hurts, I know this is for the good of Equestria. Deciding I’ve wasted enough time, I head out.
During my trot through Canterlot, I made sure to ke-I immediately bring up a shield as a bolt of magic comes rushing towards me. I growl as it harmlessly fizzled off my shield.
“You’ve just attempted an assault on a gu-officer, come out with your magic off, now. Failure to comply will result in an increase in charges against you!” I ordered with authority. After waiting a couple of minutes, I realized their not gonna comply. With a groan, I go to investigate.
…
It looks like whoever it was that fired the attack is gone, much to my agitation. I let out a groan as I continue my trot, now at a quicker pace.
…
I make it to the castle (now being used as a military base, and is being repurposed to act as such) without another incident. Though I can feel countless eyes watching my every move. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was in enemy territory. I let out a chuckle. I guess technically speaking, I sort of am, though they’ll relies what we did was for the best. In time. As I make my way to the assembly room (which was the throne room), every solider I pass gives a salute, which I returned with a nod of acknowledgement. Because of how hectic things were at the moment, I had instructed my men to come to the assembly room, so we can discuss how to precede (and report on anything we deemed necessary to talk about). I reached my destination, and much to my surprise, I'm actually not the first pony to get here. After waiting a few more minutes, everypony has arrived.
"Alright, now that everypony is accounted for, let's begin. The first thing on the agenda, securing the perimeter." I say. I heard one of them clear his throat.
"We haven't been able to find the rooms the former princesses had made. We can't ask the construction ponies because the sisters had made the rooms themselves, and with Celestia's time in this castle, it stands to reason that there's even more unknown areas." He said with a frown.
"Have you attempted to contact the sisters to gather Intel about the locations of the rooms, and how to access them?" I asked.
"Unfortunately with the power of 4 Alicorns, the Crystal Heart and the Elements of Harmony, we're unable to ask them directly. We've attempted to ask Luna utilizing the dream realm, but she had this to say: Not even a week since you jesters in armor decided to bite the hoof that fed you, and you already require our help? If I cared as little about my oath as you cared for yours, I'd make sure every dream you had from this point onwards were nothing but night terrors, the likes of which no sane pony hath experienced before! Thou art lucky we hath our morals, unlike you filthy traitors." He took a moment to let that sink in, then continued. The Elements didn't approve of our actions, which it showed by sending half of the squad I sent to get them to the hospital, and put the other half in comas. The Elements then transported themselves to where Twilight had been at the time (most likely because she was the last living bearer), and the mare had immediately brought them to the Crystal Empire. "She then went on to say that while it's against her morals to give night terrors, it isn't against her morals to give nightmares or cause damage to the psyche, then 'suggested' we not utilize the dream realm again."
"I've worked with Celestia for years, so even if you had contacted her, she'd probably say: That wasn't apart of the arrangement, so I have no obligation to tell you. I figured asking them wouldn't work, still, it was worth a shot." I say with a groan. "Has anypony seen Twilight? I know her well enough to think she'd at least send a letter about love and friendship."
"Negative, we've asked around, but ponys have been reluctant to tell us anything. All they say is: We don't know anything. And when asked if they're lying, they ask: do you have any proof? And when we pointed out how nervous they are, they say: Of course we're nervous, it's not like we know when you all will 'protect' Equestra by having another massacre against defenseless ponies again. Needless to say, due to what happened, finding leads will be much harder. Right now it's impossible to discern whether their nervous because they're hiding something, or because they're talking to us. And going undercover won't work, because nopony trusts anypony, save for certain ponies close to them." Another one said.
"That's gonna be a problem. We only have a limited number of eyes and ears to go around." I say aloud. We'd have to come up with something fast, or else our enemies will take advantage of this weakness.
"Fleetfoot, Soarin, Spitfire, Thunderlane, Big Macintosh, Maud Pie, Bonbon." The ponies in question looked to Cadance as she called their names. "Thank you for coming."
"Thanks for having us." Spitfire returned with a smile. She then looks around. "We the only ones who showed up?"
"No, the others have already settled in." The princess of love answered. "Now before we continue, are you all prepared for what's to come?"
"Yes." Maud said simply.
"Apples stick together. Ah doubt I'm the only Apple that'll show up." Big Mac said with a nod, shocking Sweetie on account of him saying more than one word.
"I might be a simple candy maker, but I’m sure I can help." Bonbon said with a nod, then snuck a glance at Celestia, who smiled in return.
"We wouldn't be here if we weren't." Spitfire said, her three companions nod in agreement. "The rest of the Wonderbolts are staying behind to cover for us, but they'll help too."
"I'm glad to hear. My aunt will take it from here." Cadance says as Celestia steps forward.
"Shining may go on and on about how we don't have what it takes to lead Equestra. But there's something me and my sister have done, that he's only experienced as a drill or training exercise." She paused for a moment, then continued. "A real war."
"I can confirm that." Luna said with a nod. "When a creature experiences war, it haunts their dreams for the rest of their mortal life, though I saw no such nightmares in his dreams."
"Thank you Luna." Celestia says with a small smile, then frowned as she looks to the group. "Unfortunately we don't have much time. While Shining was correct about the potential threat of the dragons and griffins, he failed to take something into account. The whole reason they haven't attacked yet, is that I was too big of a threat to them. And with Luna's reappearance, and the rise of two more Alicorns. And the fact that we also had the Elements of Harmony, and the Crystal Empire, (baring certain creatures) peace for this country was pretty much guaranteed. But with all four Alicorns no longer protecting Equestra, and without the ability to actively use the Elements, that peace is no longer guaranteed. I wouldn't be surprised if they're already aware of this, say what you want about them, but they pay close attention to any vulnerabilities."
"So what's the plan?" Maud asked, just as simply as before.
"Unfortunately it takes years to learn how to fight in a war directly, and we don't have that much time. I'd say we have about a month to fix this before things go down. But if we act quickly, we should be in the clear, for the most part at least." Celestia said, then sighed. "Now for the part I dreaded the most. We'll have to sabotage their food and water supply. It's the quickest and subtlest option, and with them having their hooves filled with the fallout of their actions, there's a high probability that they won't figure out what happened until it's too late."
"That can wait until after you seven get settled in, and meet the others." Cadance said.
"Yes, please follow me." Celestia said with a nod, then walked towards the hallway. The seven preceding to follow along.
…
During the walk, the seven decided to have a conversation.
"Hey, Bonbon, right?" Spitfire called.
"Yes, and what do you need?" Bonbon both answered and asked with a raised brow.
"What made you come here?" Spitfire asked. Seeing Bonbon's confused look, she elaborated. "The Wonderbolts, despite our reputation for stunt flying, are a military force. This treason is important to us because Shining used the military to achieve his goal by killing civilians. Big Mac and Maud are here because of their sisters. But you, you're different. Oh it's obvious you're more then willing to go through with this, but unlike Big Mac and Maud, you seem oddly calm too."
"Maud seems pretty calm to me." Bonbon points out, slightly on edge.
"Yeah. But it feels, I don't know, different with you." Spitfire says with a frown. "Like how Dash and her friends looked whenever they had to deal with something." Hearing that, Bonbon calms down a little, but is still not dropping her guard.
"What do you mean?" Bonbon asked curiously.
"You look like you're used to this." Maud said simply, the two looked at Maud in shock. "Pinkie had a tendency to say things that often confused ponies. I have a lot of experience simplifying things."
"Uh…yeah. Anyway." Spitfire said, still a bit weirded out. "I can understand if you had some connection to the military. But the fact that you clearly don't, and the fact that you're so calm. It just seems strange to me"
"Ah." Bonbon said, no longer on edge. "Well, while I don't have a reason as direct as you all, I do have a reason. They've already killed ponies to make a point, so the way I see it, my life's in danger either way. So why stay home and twiddle my hooves, and worry if they'll kill me to make a point, when I can try to do something about it? I'm not safe either way, so why not try to do something while I still can?"
"I guess that makes sense." Spitfire said with a nod. "As long as you're willing to help, I guess it doesn't really matter either way."
They continued to trot in silence for a bit, then Bonbon looked at Maud.
"Maud." She called, earning the mare's attention. "You wouldn't happen to share your sister's strange abilities, would you?" She asked, causing everypony (save for Celestia) to look at the gray mare in curiosity.
"No, only she can do what she does." She answered, then thought for a moment. "Actually, in one of her letters, she did mention somepony else who could do what she does." This gains everyone's attention (again, save for Celestia).
"Well don't keep us in suspense!" Soarin said. "Who is it?"
"His name is-"
"-Cheese Sandwich at your service." The stallion in question suddenly said in a low tone, cutting Maud off, and startling everypony save for Maud.
"WHOA!" Thunderlane nearly shouted. "Where'd you come from?"
"I've been following you for the past 10 minutes." He answered with a smile. Maud looked him over.
"You'er Cheese Sandwich?" She asked. He simply nods. "Save for how you look, you don't seem anything like she described. So why were you following us?"
"My…intuition told me to follow you. My gut feelings haven't failed me yet, so I thought 'why not'." He said, tilting his hat.
"Well I can attest to him being like Pinkie. I was there when he was visiting Ponyville, though he was nowhere near this calm." Bonbon said, confusion clear on her face.
"And here we are." Celestia said, stopping in front of a set of double doors. "If you all would-" She cut herself off as she noticed Cheese.
…
…
"Hi." The stallion greeted with a smile.
"Hello..." She says with confusion, then looks to the others. "When did he start following us?"
"Apparently around 10 minutes ago." Fleetfoot shrugs.
"Huh…" Celestia then shakes her head. "Sorry I didn't notice you there my little pony, my minds been elsewhere recently."
"No problem your highness." He said.
"Right..." She said, taking a moment to get her mind in order. "As I was saying. If you all would go through this door, we can get things started." The ponies say nothing as they trot inside.
The nine stood in silence as they look at the different ponies assembled in the room, while it wasn't anywhere near the size of the former royal guard, it was impressive nonetheless. Not seeing any reason to stand there, eight of the nine joined the assembled ponies, while Celestia went up to a makeshift stage.
"My little ponies, thank you for coming. I know you've all must be getting tired of hearing this, but I need to be absolutely sure you know what you're getting into. And in order to do so, you need to see what kind of battle this will be in case plan A fails, and we're forced to do plan B." Celestia says with a frown. "Should you be faint of heart, please vacant the room. You will not have to take part in plan B, and instead can help with plan C." She sees a hoof raised in the air. "Yes?"
"What's plan B and C?" The pony asked.
"I'm glad you asked. Plan B, to put it simply, is war. Plan C, is to find potential new bearers of the Elements of Harmony." She says. "Unfortunately, it's not up to us who gets the Elements, it's up to the Elements themselves. So all we can really do is find ponies who seem like they could fit the position, see if the Elements accept them, and hope the new bearers can form a proper bond." Another one raised her hoof. Celestia nods to her.
"Why would we need to hope for the 'Elements' to pick? Couldn't you just pick the ones best suited?" She asked, only for Celestia to shake her head.
"It took me a thousand years to orchestrate the specific instances that lead to Twilight and her friends becoming the bearers, and like I said, we're short on time." Celestia says with a frown. "Again, please leave this room if you're faint of heart." She waited for a bit as some left the room, after a little bit, she noticed no more were leaving. "Alright, now brace yourselves." After she says that, Luna appears beside her. Their horns then glowed as they crafted an illusion of a war from long ago. It was, of course, an edited version of what happened (not showing the more gruesome parts, and changing the blood from red to blue). They just wanted to make a point, not scar them for life, especially since not all of them would even be willing to participate.
After about 30 minutes, they dispelled the illusion. And as expected, many of them were definitely shaken, though none of them were scarred (much to the sisters' relief).
"I cannot begin to express my regret that we showed you that, but it was necessary for you all to have a general idea of what we're asking of you. Of course, many of you have probably realized that what you saw, was a watered down version of what really happened. That leads into what I have to say next." Celestia says. It takes a moment for the murmurs to die down. "Many of you have loved ones, ponies who're waiting for you at home. I know that we need as many ponies helping us as we can get, but if there's one thing I've learned about war, it's this: Those forced to fight, will flee the first chance they get. But those who want to fight, will do so till the bitter end. So I urge you, take the night to think this through, and ask yourselves if this is truly what you want to do. Each and every one of your lives are a precious thing, and they are in your hooves. It's your choice, and your choice alone, if you should put it on the line for anything. And keep in mind, should you decide not to fight now, that doesn't mean you can't fight later should you change your mind." Celestia says with a blank expression. "Thank you for your time."
The next day
After a long night, the sun had finally risen, much to Luna's relief. Ever since the day of betrayal, nightmares had been much more frequent, some even going into night terror territory. And the worst part was there were only so many dreams she could get to in one night. Her powers over the dreams may be second to none, but there were still limits. She can make time past in a dream much faster then in reality (example: you're in the dream world for an entire day, but only a few minutes have past in reality) in whatever timeframe she deems necessary, but that only effects the specific dream she's in. It's normally not something she has difficulty with, but with the shear number of bad dreams, she has a mountain to climb each night. So it was up to Celestia to prepare for what's to come, since she's the only one available who's experienced wars.
It had been decided to split the assembled ponies into three main groups: Sabotagers, Harmony, and War reserves. The war reserves had three sub groups: Medical, Combatives, and Infiltrators.
The Sabotagers will be a small group (6 at most) who'll be the ones to sabotage the food and water supply. The ponies who'll do this will be Cheese Sandwich (due to his abnormal abilities and his baking skills), and the four wonderbolts (since they're a known part of the military,it's possible they'll be overlooked), and Twilight (who had appeared last night, straight out of the blue, though refused to say where she's been). Of course Celestia wasn't foolish enough to let somepony as mentally unstable as Twilight currently was, go on this type of mission without supervision. So, she made sure to include a secret 7th member, just to watch her. It's safer to let her join the Sabotagers, then it was to refuse her, and she decides to go on her own. At least this way, they could keep an eye on her, and not have to use precious resources just to keep her from going at all.
Harmony would be anypony who doesn't join the other groups. They'd focus on trying to find the ponies that the Elements would accept. Celestia did already have some ideas on who could work, but again, the Elements might disagree.
And the War reserves.
Medical: The medical would be those trained in first aid and frontline trauma care. Though given the short timeframe, Celestia wasn't feeling too confident in this area.
Combatives: Those that'll be fighting in the war itself. They'll be taught the different aspects of warfare and strategy. They'll also be learning how to fight like a guard (well, as close to one as they can get to in such short notice).
Infiltrators: They'll sneak in and out of Equestra as the situation demands it. Their job will be to convince more ponies to come and join their fight. They'll also find and bring back resources for the Empire to use once things hit the fan, and keep those in the Empire up to date with what's going on in Equestra, the dragon lands, and the griffin kingdom. With how cold it is around the Empire, and with how far and few prey there are there, the dragons and griffins aren't likely to attack the Empire (assuming they were even aware of the Empire).
Unfortunately given how long the Empire was gone, information was far behind the rest of the world. And this led to the next point……
Celestia's gonna have to rob her own castle, and give what she stole from her castle, to a country that's technically not apart of Equestra. And to add insult to injury. With their forces stretched so thin, and Luna out of commission due to damage control, Celestia was literally the only one who could do it. It certainly didn't help that she was gonna break her own law.
"I guess it can't be helped." She sighs, then puts on a brave face. "Come now Celestia, sometimes you just gotta take one for the team." With a determined look, she set out to gather everything she'd need, which she felt wouldn't be much. After all, it's just an in and out job. It shouldn't be too hard.
…
'Maybe I should enchant a bag of pebbles with a want-it-need-it spell, just to be safe.' She thought as she walks to her destination. 'No wait, they'd be able to tell it was my magic…maybe I could teach the spell to one of the unicorns here, and have them cast it?'
‘If Luna was here, she’d smugly say that she was right.’ Celestia thinks as she nears a secret passageway to the castle. She was in the outskirts of Canterlot. She knew that she couldn’t walk to the castle in the open, because ponies would recognize and swarm her. She couldn’t fly there, because of the same reason. Granted, most ponies were asleep at this hour (Shining had apparently implemented a mandatory curfew, so there wasn’t much point in staying up this late), but she didn’t wanna take the risk.
Without another thought, she rushed into the secret entrance…or at least she tried too. When she reached the entrance, her perception blurred for a moment, and then she found herself galloping in the opposite direction.
‘A misdirection spell?’ Celestia thought in surprise. ‘That’s certainly new.’ While there were definitely traps and countermeasures that she knew were in place, there wasn’t any at the entrance (that she or Luna put anyway). That’s because putting something like that might clue somepony in that this specific entrance was important. Of course the misdirection spell wasn’t flawless, but it’d take a few moments to properly get past in.
Canterlot castle meeting area
“-And to properly counter any Pegasus who tries to get in through flying, we should have high powered fans here, here, here and here.” Shining says, pointing at various spots on the castle map. “And to avoid a repeat of the Changelings, the doors leading in the castle should be magically sealed, and only be openable via a special crest, and these crests will be located on the front of a solder’s armor. And since many of the guard are (as much as I hate to admit this) easily distracted, it stand to reason that somepony could trick a guard into losing their crest, so I believe another measure is needed. So starting tomorrow, all guards are to stand a minimum of 10 feet from the doors at all times, and should the crest get farther then 5 feet from it’s assigned guard, that crest will no longer function as a key until that specific guard puts it back on.”
“What about mind control?” One of his subordinates pointed out. Remembering how Chrysalis managed to mind control him, Shining felt like that was a very good point.
“Thanks for the reminder. To counter that, another spell will be placed on the crest. Should a guard be hit with mind control magic, the crest will send a silent alarm to the other guards in the area. In this situation, until the controlled guard has been identified, all guards will go through a magic screening test.” Shining says, then sighs. "Now the last issue for security: countering unicorn magic, and more importantly, Alicorn magic."
"Forgive me for my ignorance, sir, but what do you mean?" Another one of his subordinates asked. "Can't we just use the same method we used to beat them last time?" Many others nod in agreement at his statement, only to gain a confused look as Shining shook his head.
"We had the element of surprise then, the former princesses didn't have time to muster up any counter for that plan. But now that they know where we stand, they'll definitely try to come up with a countermeasure. I can predict what Twilight and Candice would come up with, and maybe some ideas about what Celestia might do, but Luna is a different story. Due to how little we know about her, we can't properly make a game plan for facing her. Plus since she can look into our dreams, she'd probably know bits and pieces of whatever plan we come up with." Shining said with a frown. "There's the castle of the two sisters, but only the sisters, Twilight and her friends know where that is. And we killed 5 of them, and can't ask the other 4, so we'll have to search the entire forest for it." All four Alicorns were very thorough in clearing their rooms, so anything they knew is long gone.
"When do you want us to search the forest?" Another one of his subordinates asked.
"After all the security measures already planned have been fully implemented. It's better to focus on security while the civilians are still in shock and fear over what happened, so when they've finally come to terms with what happened, we can properly handle the fallout." Shining says with a frown. "We're in the eye of the storm soldiers, let's make the most of the time we have left before we leave it."
Celestia's POV
'As much as I hate to complement that traitor, I have to admit, Shining certainly has initiative. I didn't expect him to cover the secret entrances so soon, considering how long it takes to cover all political bases.' Celestia thinks, having finally gotten past the miss direction spell, without raising suspicion. There were many things that Shining would have to take care of politically, if he wanted complete control. The press could easily riled up the citizens, making them harder to control. Getting the citizens to cooperate. This could lead to two major problems, technically more, but those can be touched on later. One was that the citizens wouldn't want to help the guard, so without force, the guard will die off do to age. The other was those that are either forced or willing to join the guard, could sabotage it from within.
As I snuck through the tunnel leading to the castle, I noticed some of the traps were disabled.
*CLANG*
"Dear Faust!" I heard somepony shout.
"Dude, you ok?" I heard somepony else ask.
"Yea…ugh…who's the sadist who made these traps!?" The first asked with a pained groan.
"No idea, but at least we won't have to worry about it after we get done with this tunnel." The second one said.
"I guess." The first said, annoyance clear in his voice. The two the walked further in.
'If I remember the layout of this tunnel correctly, then considering how far in I am, then that was probably one of Luna's.' I think with a chuckle. I then waited for a few moments, listening to the clanking of shoes fading away. I never realized how loud they were until now, that explains how the Changlings infiltrated the castle without getting caught, the guard might as well have been wearing bells on their hooves. After a few moments, I no longer hear any clanking, so I continue on. When I reached a certain point in the tunnel, I push a brick in the wall, and a secret door opens up.
"What's the point in having a secret tunnel if you have only one entrance?" I remember Luna asking me. "You might as well make it publicly known if you're gonna make it THAT predictable."
'Maybe it's not a bad idea to reinstate some of the old ways after all, to an extent at least.' I think, nodding to myself. I step in and look around. This looks like the old armory, this hadn't been used in a while since the guard normally only had to use swords or spears, but was kept and maintained should it ever be needed. You don't really need a mace when you have pegasi who can use storm clouds, unicorns who can use magic, and earth ponies who could potentially hit harder without weapons. Better safe than sorry.
"Now let's see if these enchanted pebbles work, they should be mentally stressed enough for it to work without any problems." I muttered as I stepped out of the armory.
"The moment I have the energy to do so after taking care of all the nightmares, I'm gonna bust into wherever that stallion is, and snap his neck with my BARE HOOVES!" I growl as a do just that with the dream version of him in yet another nightmare, for yet another night. I'm brought out of my rage as I heard a sob. Turning to the source, my expression softens as I look at the child. The child was barely younger then Applebloom, we were at the Canterlot castle gates, and she was currently having a nightmare of Armor trying to kill her. Thankfully I was able to intervene before that could happen, dying in your dreams was very damaging to your psyche, especially after such a traumatic experience.
"Princess Luna?" She says with tears in her eyes, wondering if I was really here to save her, an expression I've unfortunately become very familiar to recently.
"Yes little one, it is me." I say in a soft voice, hugging the crying child. As the child repeatedly thanked me, I used my magic to make sure she'd have a dreamless sleep. As much as I wanted to comfort her more, I literally had no time, I had an entire country's worth of ponies to help. 'I wanted to be appreciated for what I did while they slept, but not like this, it's almost as if Nightmare Moon had locked me in a nightmare.’
…
"Stay behind me!" A stallion tells a mare and a colt, who're hiding behind him, and in front of him was two of the rouge guards. They were in an alleyway, and the guards were blocking the only exit.
"I'll take the mare." One of them says.
“I'll take the stallion." The other one says.
"And I'll take your heads." I said, standing behind them. Before they could react, I summoned a sword, and took the deadweight off their shoulders.
The area started to gray, along with the child and stallion. The mare seemed to come to, and started crying her eyes out, and hugged him like her life depended on it.
"I…*sniff* I just left him there…he fought off the two while I just took the kid and ran with my tail between my legs! If I had stayed…IF I HAD STAYED AND HELPED HIM, THEN HE'D STILL BE ALIVE!" The mare cried. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"
I had tried to give her some form of comfort, but nothing I said seemed to register for her, so I just put her in a dreamless sleep.
…
I had appeared in what looked like a cemetery, with a stallion standing in front of a grave. Before I could do anything, the stallion turned to me.
"Princess." He said in a monotone voice.
"So you're a lucid dreamer." I stated, to which he just nods. Since I didn't have to deal with nightmares in these types of dreams, I had a little time to talk. "So why make your dream like this?"
"Oh, well it's the place my wife was buried, after she was killed by your guard." He says simply, causing me to flinch, these were the most emotionally draining dreams I've had to deal with. Sure it was the guard who killed ponies, but as the princesses, their deeds fall on us as the ones who gave them that power. It's no surprise that many ponies would blame us for what happened. Some would go so far as to disrespect me, but I didn't blame them, only a child would "correct" someone grieving just because they disrespected them.
"I know this might not mean anything to you, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry." I say, looking away, then leave without another word.
Morning, before Luna’s dream walking and Celestia’s break in
A random bakery
The baker owner’s POV
A was at the front desk looking at the various customers. They were side eyeing almost everypony else, all because of a rumor that had spread, well…it was more of a question that turned into a rumor.
“What were the chances that the guard are using magic to disguise themselves as ordinary citizens?”
It was apparently asked casually, the asker themselves not even believing it, but only asked due to something in a comic book. But those that heard the question stopped to think about it. That didn’t sound like something the guard would do, the police sure, but not the guard. But killing civilians just to prove a point didn’t sound like them either, but they did. And that lead to another question: “who exactly are in the guard?” For all they know, someone close to them could be apart of them, but never told them. And that lead to “If I make this mare or stallion upset, am I gonna get a spear through the chest?” and “If I figure out one of them in disguise, and I gonna get killed to keep me quiet?”
*Ring*
I’m brought out of my thoughts as the bell rang, telling me that somepony had entered. Could it be a guard? The pony comes up to me, a nervous look on his face. A citizen who thinks I’m a guard in disguise? Or a guard who’s not confident about acting?
“H-hello sir.” The pony greets with a forced smile, which I match with my own.
“Good morning sir, what can I get you?” I say, rubbing my hooves. Everypony else had not made a sound all day, so it was somewhat refreshing to hear somepony else talk, though the fact that he could be a guard watered that down.
“I’d like half a dozen cupcakes please.” He says.
‘Half a dozen? That’s a bit much for just one pony.’ I think, a little suspicious, then shake my head. ‘Don’t asked questions, just give him his order, so he can leave.’
…
“Halt.” A heard somepony say, causing me to freeze, my head pounding in terror. I then turned my head to the source, only to feel immense relief as I saw the guard looking at somepony else. “I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Alright.” The stallion says nervously, turning to the mare in armor. Now that I think about it, those two looked like the engaged couple who entered my bakery before the incident.
“Have you seen anypony acting suspiciously lately?” The mare asked.
“No ma’am.” The stallion immediately answered.
“You answered that oddly fast.” The mare points out.
“Sorry ma’am.” The stallion immediately says, starting to sweat. The mare just sighed.
“It’s fine citizen, go about your day.” She says. He nods and continues on his way, the mare just watches him leave, a look of longing in her eyes.