This is pretty much the last chapter of Equestria's Requiem. Enjoy it, as the sequel will be stuffed with action. More info is at the bottom. Also, sorry for not updating much. I was in upstate New York for a week, and I had no INTERNET. Imagine that!
Read on, readers!
Azure's house
Five years after the events of Equestria's Requiem...
"Please, eat your carrot Dawn" said Luna, levitating a piece of carrot to the filly. The foal moved her head out of the way and crossed her hooves.
"No! I don't wanna eat!" she whined, looking away. Luna rolled her eyes.
"You are so unreasonable, young filly. Perhaps your brother would eat his meal." said Luna, turning to Eclipse. The little colt took the carrot and ate it, chewing it happily.
"Can I have more, mommy?" he asked. Luna smiled and gave him a large bowl of carrots. Dawn watched enviously as her mom pinched Eclipse's cheek. He smirked at Dawn, who stuck her tongue out at him.
The door opened and I walked in, putting my coat on the stand. It was a cold, wintery afternoon, and I came back from the new factory that Storm opened up.
"I'm home!" I shouted, walking into the kitchen. I saw the two foals making a mess with the food, and I walked over to Luna and gave her a kiss.
"How are the little ones?" I asked, putting my hooves around her. She shook her head.
"HI DADDY!" both of them shouted. I walked over and gave them a hug.
"Eclipse behaves, but Dawn is way past reasoning. Maybe if I take her toys away, then she will eat" said Luna loudly. Dawn quickly looked up and snatched a large slice of lettuce from Eclipse's bowl and started to chew on it. I laughed, and Luna smiled.
"Works every time. How was the factory?" she asked, pulling me to the couch. I shrugged.
"Meh, it's the same thing. Ever since Storm started the first aerospace business in Equestria, he made millions and opened factories everywhere. I'm sure Orion Aerospace is gonna be successful, partly because I own a share of it." I said. She nodded and I looked at the pictures on the tables. I picked one up. It was mine and Luna's wedding.
"I look so goofy" I said, grinning. Luna smiled.
"Look who's talking. My dress looks funny" she said, peering at the frame. I shook my head.
"Nah, you looked beautiful. As always. Remember how we played dubstep for the wedding music? Vinyl Scratch was ecstatic when Virtus told her to play that Deadmau5 record-"
"That music was weird, but we got the award for best wedding in Equestria. Haha, Celestia was jealous about that. Remember how Ash started singing when we played that song by Rise Against? He actually performed on the stage! And how Pinkie spiked Rainbow Dash's drink with that drink? I've never seen such acts!" she exclaimed, laughing. I chuckled.
"Yeah...good times.." I said fondly, looking at the other pictures. It showed the first time me and Storm opened a company. Storm looked constipated, which made me burst with laughter. The other picture showed Luna in the hospital, with two foals in her clutches.
Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce my foals. See, they were both born as twins and they are both alicorns.
Dawn showcased some feats when she was small. She could translate things from basic Equinese and Ponifs to English. She is also very smart with her math, and was able to solve through many higher-level mathematics.
Eclipse also proved to be good with magic, and he also seems intelligent with logistics. Although not as good with math, his magic covers for that. I realized that Dawn was standing in front of me.
"What is it?" asked Luna. She looked nervous.
"Um..can I come see the factory? I wanna see the flying things!" she said, trying to keep a straight face. I exchanged a look with Luna and she shrugged.
"Go ahead. I have to take Eclipse to the doctor anyways" said Luna, standing up and climbing the stairs. I hoof pumped myself and told her to grab her coat. She jumped with joy and galloped up the stairs. I got up and put my winter coat on, and a few minutes later, Dawn came tumbling down the stairs with her small pink coat. She followed me out of the door and I closed it behind, and we trekked through the snow and wind to reach the factory all the way in Manehattan.
We moved to the summit of Hoofwick Mountain, which has a peaceful community. Plus, it's not far from Canterlot or Ponyville, so I can meet up with my friends.
As both of us made a turn on a tight turn, I looked fondly at Ponyville below. The little town has changed over the years. The cottages have been replaced with huts, and a skyscraper was under construction. It was going to be the first tower in Equestria, and it would drive the economy of Ponyville.
We finally reached the carriage stop and a few minutes later, a carriage came over. We both clambered inside and the driver turned and his jaw dropped. He quickly smiled.
"Prince Azure! And little Princess Dawn! Where would you like to go?" he asked.
"Take us to Canterlot. My daughter wants to see the aerospace factory." I said. The driver nodded and stomped on the pedal, and launched off towards Manehattan...
Ten minutes later, in Canterlot...
"Here we are" he said, pulling the carriage over. I paid the fare and thanked him, and we got off. In front of us stood a large, rectangular building, with a couple of smokestacks. The air had a metallic scent to it, and the sounds of welding and screws could be heard from the inside. I walked up the security gate and showed my id, and they let me in.
"Wow..." said Dawn, looking around. The inside was full of activity. Ponies were busy working on the chassis of new aircraft and some were installing machinery and other electronics. The planes resemble World War II era aircraft, with propellers in the front and melon shaped wings.
"Well, look who's here!" said a voice behind me. I turned to see Storm grinning at me. Although five years has passed, there was no visible change in him, except for the slight gray tint on his mane and a few wrinkles. Other than that, he looks exactly the same.
"What's up man? How's Dash and the foals?" I asked, shaking his hoof.
"Dash is fine, and Lightning recently got married. Cyclone is doing good. I think he's around Dawn's age" he said, looking at her. She smiled at him, and Storm hugged her.
"Let me call him over. Cyclone! Over here, son!" he shouted. Out of the corner of the workshop, a small colt trotted towards them. He had a gray hide with a dark red mane and was a pegasus, like his father. He stared at Dawn and quickly averted his gaze. She smiled at him.
"Hi. I'm Dawn." she said, sticking her hoof out. Cyclone looked at it and shook it, and he smiled.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Cyclone" he stammered, looking away from her. She looked at him strangely and shrugged.
"So, what goods did you make?" I asked, rubbing my hooves together. Storm grinned and beckoned me to follow him.
"Come. I've been improving the RD-20 from the prototype." he said, standing in front of a large aircraft. It was painted cyan blue, and had a dark red tint to it. On the bottom of the wings, there were small cannons that were painted blue and purple.
"New attachments. We got a contract with Sparkle Industries so they would supply us with magic cannons that fires a beam of concentrated energy. And VirTEK agreed to supply us with the electronics" he said, pointing at the dials and buttons in the cockpit. I peered in, and Dawn looked at it interestingly.
"How are the others doing?" I asked. Storm had a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Well, Glacialis and Stratos have their own bar, Aquarius is still the head of research in his company, Ash upgraded the farm to mechanically squeeze apples and Virtus is still being a lazy bastard. But he's smart, so whatever" he said, counting from his hooves. I laughed.
"Well, everythings going good. I'll catch you later. C'mon Dawn" I said, pulling her away from the aircraft. She was talking with Cyclone before.
"Okay. Bye, Cyclone!" she shouted, waving at him. He smiled and waved back at her.
"Why do we have to go home so early, daddy?" she whined.
"Because I'm starving and your mom probably made some good daisy sandwiches with hayfries" I said, licking my lips. She nodded and we exited out of the factory.
While I was going to the gates, I saw a familiar unicorn talking to one of the workers. It didn't take me long to recognize that it was Aquarius. I waved at him and he looked at me. A smile crossed in his face.
He bid farewell and galloped towards me, a happy expression on his face.
"Hey, Azure! How are you?" he asked, shaking my hoof.
"Fine, thanks. How are you and Twilight? Doing fine?" I asked. He nodded, and looked at Dawn.
"Well, isn't she all grown up? What a nice filly. I don't think you ever met my daughter, did you? She's the same age as Dawn." he said. I shook my head and he called over somepony. A moment later, a dark blue filly came over. She had purple eyes with a black mane, and it had blue highlights at the end, and she was...
"A Dragicorn? But...how?" I asked weakly, looking at her. Dawn was also interested at her too, as she peered at her dragon-like wings and small fangs. The filly quietly moved behind her father to avoid the attention. Aquarius smiled.
"Remember the adventure we had downstairs? Ah...the Nexus? Me and Twilight were supporting the exit portal while you and Helios were in there. Somehow, we absorbed the powers of both of you guys, and that was how little Aurora here was born." he said, patting her on the head. Dawn came up to her.
"Hi, my name is Dawn. Why do you have funny wings? And you have fangs too!" she said, looking at her.
"My name is Aurora, but everypony calls me Aura. And the reason I have those is because I'm a Dragicorn." she said quietly, but she smiled. I grinned. Looks like they made a friend. I looked at my watch and gasped. Shit, I have to get back home!
"See you Aqua. I gotta go back home. Come on, Dawn. Let's get going. Hey Aquarius, make sure to bring Aurora with you if your gonna come over!" I shouted over my back.
"Will do!" he replied as we both exited the gates...
Back home...
"...and she said she has a pet owl! Can I go to her house and see it?" begged Dawn. I shook my head.
"Not now. But we'll go there one day." I said. She stomped her hooves and looked away, and I laughed, unlocking the door to the house.
The first thing I noticed that was wrong: Luna was home. She said she would be at the doctor, and she never skips an appointment.
Second thing: The radio is blaring some breaking news. I quickly hung my coat and came over to see what it was. Luna looked up with a scared expression on her face. Eclipse was standing next to her quietly. I listened to the radio.
"...local enforcement agencies have not located the suspect, but she has left us this message from the murder scene:
"Take heed, Celestia. Your days of ruling this land will be numbered. The Blood Diamonds will rein supreme, and we shall establish a government for everypony. Beware, ruthless dictator!"
"The message was written hastily. The Commander of the Solar Force has this to say:
"I do not know who left the message and gave this threat, but I would like to assure everypony that we are trying to do our best to capture her. We are working alongside Lunar Ops on a highly secretive project, one that is not safe for the public, that will be for the good of Equestria..." blared Lightning's voice.
Luna quickly turned the knob, closing the radio. I sat down next to her.
"It's some madpony. There are usually some of them around here" I reassured her. She shook her head.
"I don't think so. This sounds like a real threat. I have to go see my sister" she said, standing up. Dawn and Eclipse looked up.
"Oooh! Can I go see Aunt Celestia? Solus said he has some new trading cards-" said Eclipse. Luna shook her head.
"No. Stay here. This is important" she said, disappearing in a flash. Oh yeah, I forgot to explain that Solus is the only colt of Helios and Celestia. The kids looked surprised and looked at me. I shrugged.
"Anypony want to play a game?" I asked, holding up Monopony. They both cheered and began setting up the board. Well, that was a good distraction...
At Aquarius' houses...
"Back so soon?" asked Twilight, wiping her hooves on the apron she was wearing. Aquarius nodded as he took off Aurora's coat and his, and he collapsed on the couch. Twilight sat down next to him.
"How was the factory, Aurora?" asked Twilight. Aurora jumped up.
"It was fun! I met a new friend. Her name is Dawn, and she's a princess!" she exclaimed. Twilight laughed.
"Ha, we all know that. Great. Are you hungry, Aquarius?" asked Twilight, turning around. Aqua shook his head.
"Nah, I'm full. Oh, I bought something for Aura. Azure sent it to me." he said, taking out a box and giving it to Aura. She looked at it in ecstasy and quickly ripped it apart. She took out a lethal looking crossbow. Twilight gasped, while Aquarius laughed in joy.
Aura felt the well-polished wooden stock. Engraved on the side read NeedleStorm Mark III. It had a stronger metal head, alongside a new aiming sight, a built in charger for the special attack, and a small indicator reading the bolt count.
"What did he give her? She can shoot somepony or hurt herself!" said Twilight in a worried tone. Aquarius waved it off.
"Nonsense! Aura, go practice. You do know how to use a crossbow, right?" he asked. She nodded, loading the bolt and cocking it back professionally. She went out to the backyard, followed by her parents. Aurora raised the crossbow and aimed at the center of the tree. She pulled the trigger and fired, causing the bolt to make a direct impact on the center of the tree. She lowered the bow and turned to her parents, who were staring at the bolt, open mouthed.
"Um...sorry?" said Aurora, looking at the bolt.
"Sorry? That was awesome! You are a prodigy with the crossbow!" said Aquarius, jumping up and down. Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Go ahead and practice. Come inside when it's dark, alright?" said Twilight. Aurora nodded and loaded another bolt, getting ready to aim.
Behind the hedges of Aquarius' & Twilight's backyard...
Two unicorns were watching Aurora practice shooting her crossbow.
"She certainly possesses some talent, but are you sure we should take her?" said a unicorn to her partner. He nodded his head.
"Yeah. She's also a Dragicorn, which are really rare. We can't take the Princes' foals, as they have royal statuses. But she's a commoner. We can use her-" he was interrupted when the unicorn glared at him.
"It's things like that which makes me wonder what kind of pony you are." she said, turning her gaze to Aura. The earth pony shook his head.
"I'm speaking the truth. We have to take her. Besides, the director wants the best of the best foals for this project." he said, consulting his list.
"I just hope she'll make it. The things we're going to put her through...and without her parents' permission..." she said sadly. The earth pony stood up.
"Let's get going. I hate doing this, but that's our job. You have the spell ready?" he asked. She nodded, her horn glowing. Both of them left the hedge and made their way slowly towards the little dragicorn filly.
As Aura hung the crossbow on her back, she turned to see two strange ponies staring at her. She opened her mouth to yell, but she was knocked out with a beam of energy. Both of the ponies exchanged sad glances and put a bag over her body.
As the earth pony hitched the body bag on his back, the back door flung open. Aquarius and Twilight came galloping out, their horns charging.
"Let her go." growled Aquarius. The earth pony took a step back.
"Sir, this operation is under command by the Solar Force. We cannot abide by your orders-OOF!" he shouted as a spell hit him directly in the chest. Aquarius pawed the ground, and Twilight bared her teeth.
"I don't give a damn if this is by the government. Give my daughter back!" shouted Aquarius, his horn charging again. The earth pony got up and checked the body bag to see if the cargo was alright. After he did, he nodded at the unicorn. She took a step in front of Twilight and Aquarius.
"Back off!" shouted Twilight, forming a force field in front of them.
"I'm very, very sorry about this. Both of you." she muttered. Her horn glowed and casted a bright white flash over Twilight and Aquarius. It overran their shield and a minute later, they both had dazed expressions on their faces. The unicorn took a step in front of them.
"You do not have a daughter anymore. This encounter has never happened. There is no little filly in your house by the name of Aurora Sparkle. You will go to sleep and forget this conversation." she said, clapping her hooves. Twilight and Aquarius nodded and walked slowly back into their house. The unicorn turned back to the earth pony.
"Let's get going." she said. He nodded, and the body bag shook a bit.
"Mommy? Daddy?! HELP ME! PLEASE! LET ME GO!" cried a little voice in the bag.
"I really hate my job now." said the earth pony. The unicorn nodded and they both carried the precious cargo towards Canterlot...
The sequel update is coming late tomorrow or on Sunday. Anyways, that was a bit of a hint on who the heroine is. Let me fill you up on some stuff that's gonna happen:
A terrorist organization being led by a mysterious leader that wants to overthrow Celestia's empire.
Technological warfare in Equestria. Please welcome aircrafts, crossbows, Com-Phones, armored carriages and more.
Humor. Well, I hope.
A squad of highly trained ponies. A world at war.
Allied griffins return, alongside a new enemy: The zebras.
Stay tuned. When I deliver, I deliver ;)