Robin climbed out off the fountain and checked the manual. The ink was smudged and the once cream pages were now a darkish brown. he grabbed it in his magic and chucked it back at the Elite who was just leaving the room; hitting the back of his head. He then went to catch up with Silver and the night guards.
While he was waiting for Ocean, Silver caught a whiff of Robin's distinctive magical energy, letting him know that the Unicorn had returned. He stepped out to greet him. "That didn't take long. Did you destroy the book? It won't matter either way, but as long as she thinks there is a way to remove the Ring, she will continue to waste time searching for it." He laughed. "And the time that she wastes, we will use. We need to make a plan to get the other Rings into place. The power drain will only be permanent with all five."
(Might be on less, but i'll post whenever i can." Ocean was walking casually along the camp to met Silver, it seemed that she was going to be tasked in using one of the rings to defeat Celestia with. After a short walk, she eventually made it to Silver. Just before she spoke, a Flare Pegasi was spotted over the camp, dropping something before leaving. Thinking it’s a bomb, any Republic soldier’s quickly tried to find cover before the apparent bomb exploded. Strangely, the small metallic device no larger than a soccer ball had four lights shining upwards, displaying a blue screen like a television larger then a building. It was not a bomb, it was a message portraying device. “This must be one of Equestria’s newest inventions. “ Ocean said as the blue screen had the message a number counting down from five. After the countdown, the screen displayed a stallion dressed up as Nightmare Moon. The stallion was tied to the chair and brutally beaten to an inch of his life, blood appearing across most of his body alongside visible sweat. As the stallion looked up, the voice of the Phoenix Queen became audible and showing the ones watching the video the sheer insanity and horror they were about to be witness towards. “Tell them your name....” Celestia said surprisingly casually. “Iron Hoof...” The Stallion tried to say, exhaustion in his tone of voice. “Commander of the 307th Legion of the New Lunar Republic...” “Are you the real Night Princess?” Celestia said. The was a moment of pause for the Stallion who responded with a simple “No.” “No? NO?” Celetia began to laugh slightly. “Then why do you dress up like her!?” She said as she ripped a wig that represented her sisters of his head, shaking it gently and making humorous noices. The audience could tell that the tortured pony was dressed up while being tortured. “She’s a symbol...that we don’t have to be afraid of scum like you.....” The tortured stallion spoke, sounding like he was about to drop dead at any moment. “But you do Iron” Celestia said before shaking Iron’s head violently. “You really do!” Iron was shook violently again as he whimpered like a puppy, not even having the strength to cry or scream. Celestia placed her hoof as she lowed it down to his cheek “Oh shush,shush,shush,shush,shush”. Celestia let go of her Republic prisoner before standing back a few steps. “Now look at me....” Iron refused to look at the Phoenix Queen, looking downwards at the ground and still dazed from his torture. “LOOK AT ME!” The Phoenix Queen bellowed. Iron kept his head down, appearing unconscious. Celestia turned the camera at herself, showing her face and a small part of her room. “Now this is how Crazy the Republic has made the war. You want order on the world. The Republic must return the territory that was once held by Equestria to its former borders to before the previous years before the siege of the Crystal Empire. Oh, and every day they don’t millions will die. Starting tonight.” Celestia smiled at the camera. “I’m a mare of my word....” The camera dropped to the ground as Celestia began laughing manically as Iron started to scream in agony, even having to hear the sound of blood inside Iron’s own throat. The footage then cut out and a silence befell across the camp. Ocean was then approached by a Night Guard and handed a document as she began to read it aloud. “This was not shown only here, this was shown across every nation allied to the Republic. Even back in Ellion.”
Silver surprised everypony by laughing when he saw the footage. "What a fool! He dares to impersonate the Dark Princess? Celestia saved me the trouble of killing him myself!" A vicious and sadistic grin that few ponies had ever seen darkened his face. "So... she aims to slaughter us, does she? Well, two can play at that game." He whistled for Holly, and pointed to map on the wall when she appeared. "Take your troops here, to Vanhoover. Destroy everything." He laughed again. "I'm going back to Canterlot. Celestia needs a lesson in humility. So... I'm going to go cut off her bucking head."
“Allow me to assist you Silver. You said that you have wanted for me to see you before for your plan, why not implement it now?” Ocean said, looking at her two daggers’s condition before looking back at Silver. -------------------------------------------- One Hour Before Celestia stood besides the mask wearing pony and the last remaining leaders that remained the most loyal and most fanatical to their Queen. Just outside of the Royal Palace was a huge pile of burning documents and books. One of her Elite’s threw the very last book onto the pile as the fire consumed all the documents in a matter of minutes. “That was the last document, my queen.” The Elite saluted. “Excellent. The Republic must not know about our plans. You obviously know about the plan about us moving to the bunker, so we must leave no trace of the Republic being able to pinpoint the location of the bunker. When Republic soldiers, and more specifically Silver and his band of misfits arrive at the Palace, they would find an empty castle. We would have already been long gone.” Celestia said, looking at her inner circle as they suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke, stepping on a teleportation rune which destroyed itself after the circle vanished. “The population of Canterlot and the closest towns including Vanhoover to our location have been moved, however, they all seem to have killed the Empire’s leaders of the exodus and are moving to the Republic.” The Elite said. “What shall we do with them? There are roughly twenty million refugees in total ready to join our enemies, they seem to have grouped together in a single bunch just outside of the border to the far south.” Celestia looked at the Elite’s eyes, her gaze piercing into his own soul. “Then they are no longer worthy of salvation and are now our enemies. Aim Starburst at this group, let them perish under the power of the sun. They can regret their choice in the afterlife.” The Elite nodded before carrying out the order. “Yes, my Queen.” Moments later, the Elite vanished. Celestia watched as the documents and books turned into ash as the fire died out. She then put the fire out like she controlled it herself as the ash scattered into the wind. Smiling at her choice, she looked at her throne room one last time before vanishing entirely from Canterlot. Canterlot was now a ghost town, and Celestia was nowhere to be found. She was in her bunker, and none knew of it’s existence except of her inner circle. The Empire and the Republic were now playing a huge game of hide and seek, and the end of Equestria followed if they were found. Celestia nolonger cared if she died or survived. If she is going to die, she is going to take as many as she could with her.
As Silver and Ocean prepared to leave, a group of Changelings appeared from the direction of Canterlot. They were led by Queen Chrysalis herself, and they all looked remarkably well-fed. Silver bowed respectfully, and greeted the Queen. "Hello again, Chrysalis. I take it something has happened? I know you would not risk coming here were it not important." Chrysalis nodded. "Celestia and her forces are fleeing Canterlot. A few of my children have infiltrated the group, but we have yet to discover where she is going or what she is planning." Silver thanked her politely, and spoke to Ocean. "Change of plans. We still need to find Celestia, but right now, the safety of the Republic is more important. Gather the army. We are going to take Canterlot for our own." To Chrysalis, he said simply; "Wait for us at the rendezvous point. We will need what you and your Changelings have been preparing."
Ocean nodded as she opened her wings and flew to gather an army large enough to take Canterlot. She got the acceptance of her husband, Robin and Midnight to command 50,000 republic soldiers to occupy Canterlot. Once ready, she stood at the front of the army and awaited Silver’s arrival. While waiting, she seen a pillar of an immense light hit the ground, earthquakes and wind's that proved to be fatal. ----------------------------------------------------- Celestia and the last remaining members of authority still loyal to her arrived at the bunker, which was actually underground the ruins of Old Canterlot directly underneath the collapsed mountain. Upon arriving, Celestia felt like something was wrong and concluded that there were several changeling infiltrators which were eventually found out. While only one escaped with her wings torn off and her legs broken, the Changling would die from it’s injuries within the next hour from huge blood loss. The remainder of the group were executed. Upon hearing the exodus, Celestia decided that these ‘enemies of the empire’ must be punished and ordered Sunburst to be fired upon twenty two million refugee’s. They were barely five miles from Republic occupied Equestria when their fates were sealed as the laser pierced the clouds, followed by the destruction the laser brought. It’s effects were devastating, with anything living in a 20 kilometer radius being blasted off the face of the planet in an explosion of hellfire. Earthquakes rocked the area, followed by the winds. Twenty million were wiped out in the blink of an eye, including children. The other two million, traveling many dozen miles back were the lucky ones to survive. While they survived, the majority of them suffered third degree burns and fire related injuries. This was not a simple unprovoked attack, this was genocide on her own civilians.
Robin was with Crimson. Ready to head out for the final battle alongside him. Then as they were discussing their decision about Ocean; a white light covered the entire camp. "I'm guessing that's Celestia's super weapon. Anyway, as i was saying, anyone checked on the crystal empire yet. They been dark for almost a week now."
Silver shook his head. "The Crystal City itself is destroyed. No survivors. A few of the outlying villages took heavy damage from the shock wave, and are already in the process of rebuilding. Celestia must realize by now that these ponies would rather die free than live as her slaves. It seems to me that she's only out for destruction at this point." A howl announced Holly's return to the camp. Much to everypony's surprise, there was a large group of fillies and colts accompanying her and her animal army. Upon finding the city of Vanhoover nearly abandoned, she had had set her troops to the task of gathering the several hundred homeless orphans that had been left behind during the evacuation. Per Silver's deal with Queen Chrysalis, orphaned Equestrian children would be turned over to the Changelings, who would raise them as their own. It was a mutually beneficial agreement, but Silver had thought it best to keep it secret until the time was right. Changelings were not popular in the Republic, and he knew that many ponies would object to the arrangement. However, with the appearance of the children in the camp, the secret was out.
"Wha-" Crimson started. "Why are there children following Holly, refuges maybe?" He said before looking over at Ocean and Midnight. "You guys know why?" Ocean remained quiet, thinking of the outcomes before speaking her mind. "Somethings wrong. I have not heard about this involving children, and i wish to not use them as bait." Midnight however remained silent, he already had an idea of what Silver was hiding. He looked at Silver before switching his focus at the gathering of children. "I know what your motives are Silver, you might as tell the others what you're hiding."
"Very well. It was bound to get out sooner or later." He sighed, and addressed his companions. "You all know that Queen Chrysalis and her Changelings agreed to an alliance last year. Those of you who have been paying attention will have undoubtedly realized that without their help, this war would have been lost eight months ago. Their ability to uncover the Phoenix Queen's secrets has been the key to our successes, but it came at a price. When the alliance was made, the Changelings were dying. Many in the Republic wanted to let them die. There were a few, however, that saw their potential. With so many Equestrians dead after the first battle for the Crystal Empire, thousands of foals were left without parents. Thousands of children with love to give, and nopony to give it to. Thousands of Changelings in desperate need of sustenance. The solution was obvious." His Lieutenant, the Changeling songstress Cricket, continued the explanation. "The children are taken from orphanages all throughout Equestria. Aside from a very basic spell used to keep them calm, they are not harmed in any way. After the Changelings take custody, they undergo a 'period of adjustment.' They are reeducated to remove their loyalty to their dead parents and the Phoenix Queen, and after about a month, they begin to accept their new family. I will not lie and say that the reeducation is pleasant, but it is necessary, and the children are never truly harmed. When it is over, they have become loyal to their new family, and love the Changelings without question." Silver finished the explanation. "The children will be raised by the Hive. They will live as the Changelings do, and their love for their adopted family will keep the Hive strong. In the end, it is best for both the children and the Changelings."
“If we lost the Crystal Empire eight months ago, we would have lost more than the war.” Midnight said grimly. The reactions of the three ponies were mixed, displaying many different emotions. As Silver explained about the children and the Changelings, they showed annoyance but also a miniscule expression of anger. The dominant expression among them was surprisingly the expression of relief. While the children gave the Changelings what they needed to survive, they would serve under persecution as they grow up from outsiders and that they would serve under a different banner if the time were to ever arise. “I have to admit, I believe Silver made the right choice. The children would have been doomed if it wasn’t for Silver and Holly’s intervention. They have been given a second chance at life, and they will make the most out of it. This is, like what Silver said, what's best for them” Crimson replied before looking at Silver. Ocean and Midnight eventually nodded in agreement before focusing on their task ahead, taking the apparently abandoned city of New Canterlot. --------------------- Meanwhile... Sunburst was aimed towards another target by Celestia's magic,ready to take down another target. Like Celestia said, every day her proposal wasn't answered, an entire city would be destroyed. She was not ready to take down the camp, rather forcing innocent civilians to be wiped from existence and to create more long-term damage. When she wanted to, she could aim her weapon at the camp but in good time. If the Republic were to not surrender within the next two weeks, they would lose 80% of it's population and set up the republic for a finishing deathblow she was planing with her Equestrian Blitzkrieg. She had no need to kill the Republic in a single blow as of yet, just slit it's throat to allow something greater to die. Her next target, the critical farming settlement of Pine Meadows. (I'm back )
"So in other words they dont receive Physical harm they indure ever lasting mental trauma. Which could of easily been replaced with the abundant amount of equestrian P.O.W's and their love for Celestia." Robin seemed the most peeved off about the situation. He had to regularly deal with the growing prisoner numbers only now his duties were shared with Summer Breeze. He then put his head back in the game. "Anyway, with Celestia's super weapon drawing closer to our camp. We can't risk casualties and so I feel that the entire camp should go on the push. Leaving behind the Non defecting Prisoners to face their saviours Wraith."
Silver chuckled. "Leave them behind? I had them all executed three hours ago." He sighed. "It would not have worked to turn over the prisoners. The Queen and I discussed it when the original bargain was struck. Many of them had been trained to resist mind control, and most of them felt no real love for Celestia, only blind faith. The Changelings needed a better, more permanent, solution. The Equestrian children, once they come of age, will be given the choice to stay with the Hive, or rejoin pony society. Given the strong family bond of the Hive, Chrysalis and I believe that less than ten percent will wish to leave. The remainder will stay, form relationships with other Hive Ponies, and eventually have foals of their own. These foals will be taught by their parents to love their Changeling family, thus ensuring the Hive is strong and sustained for many generations to come." No matter what anypony thought of the deal, Silver knew that a far worse fate awaited the orphaned fillies and colts that the Night Guards had NOT taken. The unspoken horror that few had seen, and none dared speak of. It was no coincidence that the Juggernauts had first appeared not long after the battle for the Crystal Empire. Silver Crescent prayed that his friends would never realize that the monstrous creatures that had attacked the camp were, in fact, the children of the Equestrian soldiers that they had been killing without remorse.
Located to the northwest of Crystal City sat the small town of Pine Meadows. Pine Meadows was a very small farming community, with it's all time highest population being no larger then 5,000. However, it is the Republic's crown jewel in agriculture with plantations and crops as far as the eye could see. Due to it's importance as a critical location on the Republic's livelihood, the town kept a small military presence at all times. It was well out of the way of the apparent devastation of the Crystal City's destruction, out of the afffected radius. What did happen to Pine Meadows was the heat and the shockwave, while subsided to a huge level, affected some of the crops and pushed over a few sheds. Other then that, the town survived. At around midday, Pine Meadows ceased to exist.... Sunburst, The Phoenix Queen's super weapon, vaporized the town in all of it's devastation. With all inhabitants and buildings being utterly obliterated, the sheer heat from the beam of solar energy killed all of the crops the moment the weapon touched the ground. Wildfires spread for miles, hitting nearby forests hard and turning the ground around the town and all of it's plantations to ash. While it would have currently not hit the Republic hard at the moment of the towns destruction, it would snap it's back in half in the long run. Pine Meadows and it's surrounding area was baptized in fire Noticing that her weapon has exceed far beyond her expectations, she ordered the construction of a Second Sunburst.
The beam from Celestia's weapon was bright enough to be seen for hundreds of miles. At the camp, Silver swore as he watched it descend. "Damn it to Tartarus! That looked like it hit either Pine Meadows or Crystal Springs. Either way, we can be sure that there will be no survivors. We need to get moving. Maybe we can find some clues on how to stop this weapon in Canterlot. Everything is packed. Let's march." With Rainbow Dash and the Shadowbolts flying ahead, and Holly's creature army at the rear, the Republic Army began the trek to Canterlot.
Upon receiving reports that the Republic was advancing, she decided to scrap the project for Sunburst MK2, and ordered all blueprints to be burnt and everything relating to the weapon and the original weapon was burnt to prevent the vital information to be kept secret. Despite being hidden in her bunker, it would take months for the Republic to find her and those still loyal to her. She had to await another hour for the weapon to recharge until it could be fired again. She considered firing it at Canterlot once the Republic was inside. While making a perfect trap, she would destroy her own city in the progress. Nonetheless, she would fire upon another target, a much more important target for the republic in the next day. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upon marching with the army, Crimson led the army alongside Silver and Ocean joined alongside Rainbow Dash to investigate Canterlot and also serving as the Front Lines. Ocean made it back to the front lines to report something out of the ordinary to her husband and Silver, followed by Rainbow Dash and the other shadowbolts. "Silver, Crimson. You might want to know this...." Rainbow Dash commented before looking at Ocean. Ocean nodded and spoke. "Canterlot has been completely abandoned."
Silver looked over at Cricket, and he and the Changeling burst out laughing. "Has it? Haven't you wondered why we're meeting Chrysalis' forces in the city? The Changelings have been living in the Canterlot crystal mines for the last six months! By the time we arrive, they'll have everything ready for us. Celestia's capitol city will be ours, and we won't even have to fight for it!" Still chuckling, he addressed the obvious concern. "We won't have to worry about Celestia's weapon. I lived in Canterlot for almost fifty years. The Phoenix Queen doesn't know anything about the protective devices that I placed in the city while I still lived there. My recent trip to the Palace assured me that most, if not all of them, are functional. Once they're activated, Canterlot will be all but invincible."
Crimson raised an eyebrow at Ocean, where his wife tried to hide her embarrassment. Crimson, knowing that the city was basically a meeting location, sighed deeply. “Let me guess, you honestly thought you were going to see a battle?” Crimson said, where his wife simply nodded. Crimson looked at her and had a small yet smug grin on his face. “I understand you’re eager to take back our home, but remember to keep a calm mind.” Crimson then looked at Silver, the smile still evident on his face. “Great idea Silver, I must admit I’m impressed. Once we take Canterlot, the other cities nearby the borders will fall in line. I also need to relax with Queen Chrysalis like we planned for after the war, drinking wine as we watch the sunset. We both want to relax, Ocean is also expected to be present in front of the Queen, she’s likely never met her. “Crimson said before noticing Canterlot entering the horizon. “Once she’s under republic hooves, we can win this blasted war. It’s kinda hard to believe that it’s coming to an end.” Midnight remained silent, something was troubling him. Plague could tell that Celestia had recently left and wanted to take control, which Midnight fought back. His mother was starting to bring back bad memories, memories he thought that he had suppressed. While Plague dominated him after he was cast away after his first attempt to kill his mother, in which he nearly succeeded until she threw him into another dimension, his second attempt almost truly killed her if his auntie, Silver and the others that he considered his friends had stepped in. The third time will be the final time, nothing was holding back the prince of magic. Midnight easily knew that the moment he locks eyes with his mother in their final battle, Plague would take control and transform Midnight into his more monstrous Ardak Luvanius form. His vengeance would have to wait however, he needed to let the others seek to avenge those lost due to the war and due to their own personal reasons. Whatever the reason, Midnight was ready to wipe the floor with his pathetic genocidal excuse of a mother. She cared for her son like no other, but turned into a monster when her true personality emerged. Midnight’s eyes briefly turned a bright red and he smiled. Nothing was holding him back now...
Silver caught the slight smile out of the corner of his eye, and turned in time to see his old friend and sparring partner's eyes return to normal. He sighed. "I know what you're thinking. You honestly believe that the power of Dark Plague will be enough to defeat Celestia. It won't. You are one of the most powerful ponies alive, but you need to remember that your mother is on a completely different level." A wicked smile crossed his face, and his eyes darkened. "Besides, I've been waiting for the chance to take that witch out since before you born. I'm not about to sit back and let you spoil my fun." The trail leading to Canterlot came into view, and Silver could see Nightmare Moon and Princess Cadence standing at the trail-head with Queen Chrysalis. The three were laughing like old friends. It never ceased to amaze him how much had changed over the years. As the Republic army drew closer, Nightmare Moon flew out to greet them. "Good! You are here! Princess Twilight and the other Elements are already in the city, and Pinkie Pie is getting rather impatient. She keeps going on about throwing a... how did she put it? A... 'nice ponies that used to be big meanies taking the city of the big meanie who used to be nice' party. She was already hanging streamers when we left the castle."
