Summer nodded as she looked at Jewel and stood beside her own parents. She was going into a rage as the chair that held her shook violently. Jewel looked at her parents as a tear began to form in her right eye. It appeared that she was getting somewhere. She then ordered Jewel's father to assist Robin in holding her daughter down, while her mother stood next to Summer "What is Celestia planning?" Jewel finally gave up as her rage stopped and calmed down. Something about her parents soothed the beast like anger within Jewel. After a short moment, Jewel finally spoke. "Over a month ago, Celestia has authorized the construction of these enormous tower like structures in every city in Equestria. These towers are powered through the use of several crystals, each of them representing the Elements of Harmony. Seeing how the Elements are on the Republic's side, The Queen created several different yet enormously powerful crystals to power them. Each Crystal is the size of a small bedroom. When completed, within the next week, they would serve as a forcefield barrier that would cover the entire area of Equestria. The barrier itself is supposed to be indestructible, and digging underneath with Changelings is useless, as it phases underground as well. It's a shield to whats going to happen." "What....what's going to happen? Why is Equestria building these devices when they know that their days are numbered." Jewel laughed slightly. "The end of the world, the apocalypse if you will. Celestia fired a beam at the sun to power it up over two days ago for preparation of this event. If the towers are completed, Celestia will activate the sun's rays as the "Wave of fire" will head towards the planet and wipe anything on the surface from existence. She specifically has aimed it at the Griffons, the Republic, the Zebra's and the Changelings, roughly 3,500 miles across from north to south. She is going to keep Ardelan intact however, due to the scientific research that is being undertaken there. When it hit's earthquakes, typhoons and volcanic eruptions will devastate the land. Not to mention the wave itself turning ponies into ash. Once all sides are exterminated, the barrier will disapear as Equestria will take the former lands of the others races as their own until they control the whole planet. One race, One world, One destiny. That is what the Phoenix Queen wants." Summer stood back, horrified at what she just heard. "Oh goddess..." She looked at Robin to signal for him to let go as she stormed out of the tent. "I need to see Silver and the Night Princess...NOW !" as two Night Guards went to see her.
Robin let go of the Swift and pulled out his bow whacking it against her in order to knock her out. "Take her back to her cell. Oh and tell the 16th archers that order 516 is in action courtesy of Ex Archer General Robin Hood. GO."
Silver and Holly were sparring with a trio of Shadowbolts when Summer found him. After informing her that the Princess was unavailable, and assuring her that the Shadowbolts could be trusted with what she had to say, he listened as she told him what Celestia was planning. After several minutes of silence, he finally spoke. "I should have known she would try something like this. Our first priority needs to be protecting the bearers of the Elements. The Phoenix Queen will undoubtedly want the real Elements safely under the shield when the solar wave hits. Our next step is to locate and destroy the shield towers. With them out of commission, she may decide to halt the wave herself, to save those loyal to her. It is unlikely that she would do so, but it's worth the risk to try. Finally, we need to evacuate as many civilians as we can to the Crystal Empire. If we fail in preventing the attack, there are measures in place to protect the Empire itself. We can at least save some." He sighed heavily. "As for me, I'm going to Canterlot. I need to visit an old friend."
Celestia sat on her throne, having a smug grin as she read through the Republic's preparations of their attack on the empire, and their own reaction of her 'Apocalypse' plan. Surrounding her were eight different ponies of various gender and race, one of whom wore a mask covering his bottom section of his head. It seemed that her enemies were falling for her trap, hiding her real ambitions for the actual plan she was using to destroy her enemies. After a brief moment of silence, a pony dressed in a light brown non-military uniform nearby spoke. "My Queen. This...'Wall of Fire' plan, this lie you've invented. Seeing how our enemies have fallen for the trap, what is the real plan?" the pony spoke. "The real plan is that while we are distracting our enemies, we can go ahead and launch a weapon of unparalleled power into the orbit of the planet and into space itself. Our scientists have been working on this weapon for a year, this weapon could win us the war. It's simply a solar powered death laser that can obliterate entire cities and reducing the area within a 100 mile radius into a wasteland. Since I can target the laser, we can shoot it anywhere at anytime, even at night. However, it recharges every hour. So while we can distract our enemies with this mysterious plan for an apparent end of the world, we are hiding the real end of their world in Equestria. The scientists say that it's going to be launched from an undisclosed location tomorrow morning." "And the towers, my queen?" "Mearly presentation. If we are really going ahead with this orbital weapon, we need to at least trick the Republic and it's allies into thinking it doesn't exist." The pony in the mask handed over a document of all the cities she could target within the first day once it's operational. Her mad smile widening as she began to read. Crystal City: 4,193 miles from New Canterlot Roam: 3,512 miles from New Canterlot Neromia: 731 miles from New Canterlot Changeling Hive: 1,032 miles from New Canterlot The list went on and on, until she began to laugh to herself. When the weapon is launched, she can wipe out entire cities in the blink of an eye, forcing her enemies to surrender or simply be exterminated. At long last, she can finally avenge her fallen for the Republic’s murderous attacks on her own people, especially after what Discord had done to Old Canterlot. “It seems that the tide has turned, dear sister....”
While she was alive, Moon Shine had been one of Silver Crescent's closest friends. After the Final Eclipse, when he was given command of the Night Guards, he had convinced her to come work with him. An extraordinary blacksmith and genius inventor, the weapons and armor that she created had helped to transform the Night Guards into the most elite fighting force Equestria had ever seen. A fearless warrior, she had fought beside him on many occasions, wielding her hammer with a gleeful ferocity that terrified and appalled her opponents. When she died, she had been given a hero's burial, and interred in the Royal Mausoleum alongside the some of the greatest ponies that had ever lived. What nopony knew was that her greatest secret had been buried with her. As her body was laid to rest, Silver had placed a mysterious parcel beside her. It was something that she had created for him in the hopes that he would never have to use it. It was something that had the potential to save the world, or destroy it. The crypt had fallen into disrepair since Silver's last visit. The entrance was completely blocked by fallen rubble, and it took him several minutes to create an opening large enough for him, and the three Shadowbolts that had come with him, to enter. The floor of the crypt was littered with the bones of ponies of every sort. Silver almost felt sorry for the would-be grave robbers. The poor fools had obviously failed to realize that the tomb was well protected. As he approached Moon Shine's coffin, he heard a loud growl and turned in time to see large Timber-Wolf charging at him. "Easy, Hemlock. It's just me." The Timber-Wolf stopped charging, and looked at him and the Shadowbolts curiously. "We're here to see Moon Shine. I need you to open the coffin for us." Hemlock walked over to the coffin and placed his paw on a large fire ruby set into the side. The lid instantly popped open. If any creature other than Hemlock had touched the ruby, the magic it contained would have incinerated them. Silver looked sadly at the bones of his old friend. "I wish you were here, Shine. I really do. I miss you every day." He reached into the coffin, took the parcel beside her, and closed the lid again. "Goodbye, my friend, and thank you for this." Silver carefully unwrapped the item, which turned out to be a large rosewood box. Despite being buried for more than a century, it was in remarkably good condition. Inside the box was a matching pair of black swords, as black as the darkest night and oddly cold to the touch. "These are called the Blades of Tartarus. Do you remember the Final Eclipse? After the defeat of the Ardak Luvanius, I traveled to the gates of the underworld and struck a deal with Haydes himself. We made a wager. My soul, and the souls of ninety-nine innocents, against the souls of Sollus and Summer Darkness. All I had to do was defeat him in a duel." The Shadowbolt he was speaking to looked horrified. "Ninety-nine... innocents? You wagered the souls of children?! Are you insane?!" "I'm not proud of what I did, but in the end, it doesn't matter. I won the duel, and I received my prize. Moon Shine used ancient and forbidden dark magic to form the souls into the weapons you see before you. All of the power of an Ardak Luvanius, in the form of a blade. They are truly evil weapons. That is why they were hidden. They are also my best chance of stopping Celestia."
Tomorow morning, before Dawn, Celestia's foundation for her endgame came into play. While ponies were sleeping, and in an extremely remote part of the Empire, the rocket containing the weapon arched into the sky silently. The rocket itself was powered through extensive work of fire magic, the design however was genius. With the weapon being top secret, the rocket itself was cloaked to it was invisible to the untrained eye, with the scientists reducing the force of the rocket's engine to propel the shuttle into orbit without as much blast as possible. Other then that, it was utterly invisible. As the sun rose, Celestia's weapon was ready and being charged up by the solar rays in space. Celestia could end the war with a simple command, but decided to reveal the weapon when the time was right.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crimson and Ocean, soon joined with Summer tried their best to keep Plague at bay. While Midnight was under control, his other counterpart was not. Midnight was 90% in control, the only evidence with Plague being around was the color change of Midnight's eyes from a blue to a bright red. While Plague was not only the last Ardak Luvanius alive, he was almost five times stronger then his previous counterparts. If Plague could defeat his mother in her basic form, both of them had no idea what Celestia was now. He could have assumed that Celestia was at least 500x stronger then he fought her due to her allowing herself to become apart of the dark arts, it seemed that without the battle plan that was being created between those facing Celestia directly, victory for them would have been practically impossible. After some talking, Midnight was declared safe as the fire in his eyes disappeared and he was let out of his chair. He was under control, while Plague still was evident with the color in his eyes. Some ponies decided to call this form 'Midnight Plague', and it seemed that the name suited the two alter ego's in their current predicament. Soon, he was walking around the camp and assisting with roles to help create the final push into Equestria. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia left her throne as she walked out towards the balcony of the palace, watching dawn break over New Canterlot as ponies continued their lives. She was wearing her royal uniform, which was red to represent her authority and to represent Equestria. She had her blacksmith remind her of famous weapons that were crafted before assuming full power, one of which reminded her. "Blades of Tartarus?" Celestia said. "I remember my sister talking about them once, powerful blades. Apparently the souls of two Ardak Luvanius are inside, so that means thet before my 'enlightenment', they were 10x stronger then i was. That makes little difference to me now. I want you to make me something Anvil, something special for when i'm finally backed into a corner when that day comes." Celestia turned around and stared the middle aged stallion in the face. "I want you to make me the strongest weapon in history....."
"The strongest weapon in history, hmm?" Silver Crescent, followed closely by three Shadowbolts, walked out onto the balcony and laughed. They had somehow managed to slip into the castle and get within striking distance of the Phoenix Queen without anypony noticing them. "You're getting desperate, aren't you?" Behind her obvious shock and anger, Silver could see a slight glimmer of fear in Celestia's eyes. "Relax. I'm not here to fight you. I just came to let you know that Hemlock will no longer be guarding the Royal crypt. He's well on his his way to Crystal Empire by now. You might want to find a replacement, if you don't want grave robbers on your hooves."
Celestia turned around to see Silver and the three Shadowbolts and laughed slightly. “When your own world is ending, you would be getting desperate as well.” She walked away from the balcony and headed back to her throne, her back facing Silver. “You’re right, grave robbers are now going to be a slight problem, but it will be easy enough to be fixed. The entrance will be destroyed, and the new one will underneath the Palace.” Celestia turned around to face Silver’s eyes again with her tone of voice becoming sharper. “This is not the only reason you are here, isn’t it?”
The three Shadowbolts answered Celestia's question. "Why must we be up to something?" "Can we not simply pay a visit?" "After all, dear Sister..." The trio of Pegasi faded into a cloud of purple smoke, and reappeared as Nightmare Moon. "...This was our home, too." Silver laughed. "I have no doubt that you already know what I took from the crypt. I had hoped to recover the swords quickly, and be out of Canterlot before anypony realized I was here. Your sister, however, had other ideas." The Dark Princess spoke calmly to the the Phoenix Queen. "I'm here to discuss peace. As it stands now, both the New Lunar Republic and the Equestrian Empire are thriving. Our side has the upper hoof at the moment, but we both know how quickly that can change. To put it simply, I want this war to end. I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of writing condolences letters to families. Most of all, I'm tired of having my sister as an enemy. Do you remember what you said to me, after I was defeated by the Elements? You said to me; 'Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together.' That is still true. Our nations could accomplish so much more as allies than we can as enemies. On behalf of the Republic, I am offering you a chance to end this war today. So, I ask you now: Will you accept my friendship?"
Celestia, for the first time since her ‘enlightenment’ and her taking full control of Equestria, paused. Her expression and emotions changed drastically, from being somewhat happy but afraid to an expression of sadness. The tone in her voice changed to match her emotions. Celestia smiled for a moment, for the first time in a long time as she held her hoof on her sisters before slowly removing it away as a tear went down her face. “Sister, I need to share something personal with you. This is painful to speak about, so these words might shock you. Just prepare yourself.” Celestia took a deep breath and began. “I believe that I have committed too many...sins against ponydom and every race on this world. I sent millions of ponies to their deaths in this tiresome war, I have committed mass genocide on the Ryborians, I ordered the extinction of the Changelings and I have killed innocents of Griffons and Zebra’s, even Dragons under my name. And to think that this would have been under the ideals of unity, the future and virtues we hold dear?” “I’m already too far gone from my normal self. If I were my original self, i would have accepted your friendship without hesitation. This war never would have happened if my actions 175 years ago were never like this. My sins have ruined countless lives. And these sins and actions under my darker side are some of the reasons which i believe that it has come down to my final decision.” “Sister. I want you to kill me, but not today. Even with this peace, i would have never been accepted, and i would have been eventually killed by those surviving the war. The war can be declared over, if you wish to do so. However, Equestria deserves better then me, they deserve you Sister. But ruling two empires simultaneously would be extraordinarily difficult, we've learnt that from past experiences. I’ve been very unhappy for a very long time, i’ve missed you. The only way i would be at peace now is....jus....i don't know anymore.” “Sorry dear sister. Send all those who wish to end me, you know where to find me.. Maybe I’m not thinking straight, but i think committing suicide would stop the pain. I’ll see you soon dear Sister, goodbye.” Celestia told her two visitors as she phased into the floor and disappeared from view. The Phoenix Queen knew that as long as she remained as her corrupted self, she would die. However, she began to put the final touches of her plan for something that she knew would work out in the end. After her corruption died, she knew that her sister would be happy once more.
"Stop right there! Do not move!" A Solar Flare suddenly appeared and charged at the Dark Princess. "I AM IN NO MOOD TO DEAL WITH THE LIKES OF YOU!!!" Nightmare Moon's wall-shaking shout, as well as the furious look on her face, convinced the Flare that attacking was not in his best interest. His face paled, and he turned and fled back the way he came. Silver tapped the princess on the shoulder. "He'll be back, and he'll bring friends. We didn't come here to fight, and you have your answer. Let us return home." The princess nodded. "Indeed. I suppose peace was too much to hope for, but at least I know now what must be done. My sister... must die." By the time the Flares returned, Silver Crescent and Nightmare Moon were long gone.
Celestia phased into the ground until she came across a science room, where a green insect like pod was the only piece of technology in the room. She had been working on this for the past fifty years, alone to ensure that this secret existed between her alone and her alone. She wiped a small part of the pod's surface like glass, to reveal something sinister yet beautiful at the same time. If Celestia were to leave the world, she would have had no control over herself. She looked at the surface of the pod's contents, smiled and headed back onto the throne room. She could no longer feel her sisters presence, nor her pet bodyguard's. It was time she took the reins of the Empire's control in this war, as the mask weilding pony stood at her side once more. "I'm authorizing Operation: Daylight. The Elite Flares should be arriving tomorrow for assisting with ground support, the Pegasi will retain air control once they have been properly equipped and trained, we've lost too many of them already due to simple mistakes. Also,aim the super weapon at these coordinates" Celestia said, handing over a note to the mask wearing stallion. The stallion said nothing, only walking off to commit his Queens orders. "Begin the Equestrian Blitzkrieg in three hours. It's time we avenge the fallen."
"Right. No more sorrow. No more pity. We will go and do what we came to do. Anyone who stands in our way will deal with my brother in the afterlife." Tricorna's tears seemed to dry up instantly and she stood quickly and shakily. "We have no more time for me to waste on personal growth. I am as grown as I need to be to move on. Come now. We have much work to do, don't we?" A spark of electricity shot from her eye. "It's time we avenge the fallen." (I did the thing!)
Back at the camp, a group of Night Guards and Shadowbolts had gathered in the command tent. Silver's orders were brief and to the point. "The time has come to show the Equestrians that they cannot hide from us any longer. In three hours, we fly to Canterlot. It's time we avenge the fallen." (Thingception.)
“I’m sure that you would know that the closer you get to an enemy headquarters, the more resistance there would be. It’s an obvious fact, but we should always be careful nonetheless.” Venquis said as his ears picked up something. The Eriborian had receved a telepathic message from his own commanders sailing north from the Crystal Empire towards Ardelan. “Sorry about this, Excuse me.” Venquis placed his hoof on his head, which made him look quite ridiculous. His facials showed the emotion on his face as he laughed at some point during the conversation. After a minute, Venquis placed his hoof off his head as he turned to face Tricorna. “It’s an ability we have, we can communicate telepathically to some extent. You might find this interesting, we have about three days before the Ryborian Legions arrive in the home land and practically slaughter any Equestrian resistance left here. While this does not affect our progress, this would give us an enormous upper hoof. So time limits or anything, but it’s always nice to know. Let’s continue on our way then.” Pretty soon, Neromia became closer and closer until the two of them were on the outskirts of the city. While appearing very small when put in comparison to other cities such as Crystal City and New Canterlot, Neromia was still a very large city. Instead of being majestic like the childrens stories and historical reports once said, it was almost a post-apocalyptic wasteland due to the city still being in ruins from The Black War and another attack by Equestria. While being tiny, the city looked like it was from some divine city in the Elder realm. “Goddess! The Equestrian’s have clearly showed disrespect to the divine capital, disgusting! If I were Equestrian, I could have at least kept this place in better shape.” The Eriborian remarked. “So where is this facility Equestria has set up?” (ThingThingception)
Tricorna layed out the map given to them by Base. "On the other side of the city. In what used to be a military headquarters of some kind, I think. The map isn't exactly up to date though, clearly most of the buildings shown here are not shown as what they are now..." She looked around and inhaled deeply. "This place must have been wonderful in the past. Wartime is noone's benefit."
"It sure was beautiful. I haven't been here since i was 50, when my kind mature and when the Ryborian Elders took me away from the city....right when my parents were being executed and the city was burning." Venquis replied sadly. "I remember alot about the city, but not extreme detail." Venquis's curiosity began to pick up as they began to walk past empty streets. "That used to be a school" The Eriborian replied. "That was a bar, that was a church, that was a hoofball facility and... i think that used to be a market. All they serve now is ruin and despair, and as Equestrian barracks. I'm sure that we'll come across the facility soon, if we are not encountered by Equestrians first..." ------------------------------------------------ The Phoenix Queen's armies swelled to the millions, almost overflowing with equipment. She learnt from her mistake last time, losing her armies because of her lack of equipment and training. Taking measures, she redesigned the entire military with several changes to ensure maximum success. The minimum amount of training done by a solider is a month, instead of two weeks. The armor protecting the soldiers now were of a much higher quality, even considered more protective then basic Republic armor and the weapons of the troopers were of a phenomenally high quality. This, alongside siege weapons, Solar Flares (Which is separate from the military), various scientific experiments and the untouchable orbital laser several hundred kilometers away from the planet named "Sunburst", were ready to avenge their fallen. To Celestia's delight, the Elite Flares arrived early from their operations to the north. Instead of the infamous red armour with yellow decal flames that the Flares usually wore, the Elite's wore Jet Black armor with a deep Red flame to show their experience and to inspire fear. Unlike the other Flares, they were considered impossible to kill and were hundreds of times more skilled in combat. One of them could wipe out an entire Crimson Rose or Night Guard corps. To make things worse, Sunburst had locked onto it's target and was ready to show it's true power to the world. It's target, Crystal City. Once the capital fell, the other cities under Republic rule would fall like dominoes. The camp outside Equestria would be over run and wiped out within minutes, and it's strongest inhabitants would put up a fight only to tire against the seemingly endless horde of soliders and have no choice but to retreat. Equestria will reclaim it's fallen glory from the Republic, seemingly nothing would stop it now. It was all coming together
All the flares still in the city stood outside the one building. None of them thought for themselves anymore. They all blindly followed the orders of their superiors. Their order had been guard that one building and kill on sight. Base knew they stood no chance against the deer and Eriborian, but they would stall long enough for Base to prepare. He knew his life neared its end, but a blood pact is a blood pact. If he was going, he would at least try and take all the progress of Equestria with him. He wore a metal chest piece linked to his heart beat. If it stopped, the chest piece would send out a signal that would blow up the building and all of Equestria's research in Neromia. Granted it wouldn't matter much. Neromia was just side projects after all. He still would do anything in his power. "They await us... We should take some time to rest. We'll be fighting an army soon..." Tricorna stood and looked in the direction they were heading. "How do you remember this city so well after all these years?"
Venquis paused for a moment, thinking on how to respond to the doe's question and having nostalgic memories about a bygone generation. "My father used to take me on trips around the city and all across Ardelan. I'm not exactly sure why i'm able to navigate the city so well, but it's likely out of lucid memories coming back to me. Father usually sat on his throne smiling while i tended to reading geography and history books about other cultures after training. I was kind of..how would you put this in the common tongue...a nerd when i was younger. I guess it's just past memories" The Eriborian then looked closely at the heavily guarded building easily over a kilometer away, trying to inspect the greater details. "I count about 100 Flares. Quite surprised resistance would be this small, i would have expected Equestrian Ranger's and a garrison of troopers to be stationed in the city. Of course, why send Equestrian's for a Flare's job?" Venquis said. "We might be here for a while, I'll go prepare some traditional meals and drink for us. We havent eaten in a while." Venquis said as he took off his saddle bag and placed it on the floor to pull off some ingredients. He grabbed two bowls out of the saddlebag and filled it up with nearby water. While deciding for some cooking, he kept a close eye on the Flares. While it would have been smart of them to attack them while resting, they never moved from their position once. They were basically mindless drones, a sad story for a once highly feared Equestrian black ops branch who was once proudly known across Equestria, and feared everywhere else in the world
Robin approached them later than he was expected. "Sorry, I got held up. Luckily I still remembered a teleportation spell which again didn't work landing me face first in the mud at what used to be carousel boutique but now some sort of blacksmith for civillians." He sat down pulled out his military issue camping gear off his back.
