Chapter 22 B: The United Equestrian Resistance
"We recovered him."
"Is he still alive."
"Yes, but bearly."
"I need a medical unit, stat."
"His heart rate is dropping."
"Preparing in five."
"Sir, we're losing him!"
"I said now!"
"Clear!"
Volts of lightning flowed through Night Shadow's body as he abruptly woke up and breathed in heavily. He looked around confused as ponies, zebras, gryphons, and practically every other species gazed at him in relief.
"Brought him back sir."
"Focus on the others then. Bring them up to speed."
Night Shadow continued to look around in confusion, noticing he was in what looked like a huge air bubble with lights. He recognized several other ponies as well, remembering they were on the ship with him before it crashed. Before he could comprehend what was going on, a mare sat down before him with a warm look. She had a golden coat with black hair and purple eyes.
"Well….you made it." She said happily.
"Who….what….how…." Night Shadow babled.
"I know, it's a lot to take it. I remember being the same way. Want me to explain?"
Night Shadow looked at her and nodded slowly, still confused.
"Alright...let's see….oh yeah! You know the food you ate on the ship?"
"Yeah…."
"Well, get this. We enhanced it with a buoyancy spell so that the moment water was trapped in your lungs you would go unconscious and start breathing the oxygen in the water instead. How cool is that!"
"That's terrifying."
"...now that you say it, that is a bit scary. Ehhh, what you going to do. Name's Summers Shadow by the way. What's yours?"
"Night Shadow?" He said a bit uncomfortable.
"Holy haystacks! We have like the same name and stuff!" She said, hugging him tightly. "Well...kind of….it's close enough to count."
"We got another one!" An odd pony said, coming out of the water.
Night Shadow looked to the center of the room, seeing a huge, circular opening leading out into the ocean. That wasn't the thing that startled him though. What really got him was the fact this pony had a fin where her tail should have been.
"What the heck are you?!" Night Shadow shouted.
"Hey, don't be mean." Summers said, bonking him on the head. "She's a kelpie, that's how they all look."
"A KELPIE?!" He screamed, backing up into the wall.
"What, never seen a sea pony before?" The kelpie asked.
"Don't mind him, he's new." Summers pointed out.
"Oh, that explains a lot." She said, looking to Night Shadow. "Yep, we're actually real, alive and well."
"NO! YOU'RE GOING TO EAT ME!"
The sea pony giggled at his response.
"I'm not going to eat you, that would be silly."
"But the legends….they said-
"They're legends, it's not real….well….that's partially true."
"What do you mean?"
The kelpie smirked evilly before she spun around and jumped at Night Shadow, showing off her razor sharp teeth. Night Shadow practically had a heart attack as he hid behind Summers in fear.
"Oohhhh man...I never get tired of that." She admitted to herself as she continued to laugh. "Anyways...Summers, I need help with this one."
The mare walked over to the edge and helped pull up none other than Twilight from the water. Summers carried her over to dry ground and set her down gently.
"Twilight!" Night Shadow shouted, running over to her.
Summers blocked him off with her hoof, pushing him back slightly.
"Let me do my job, she's fine."
"But she's-
"Shhhhh…." Summers said, putting her hoof on his mouth. "I got this."
She reached into her bag and pulled out a small device, putting it into Twilight's nose.
"What does that do?" Night Shadow asked.
"It sends a special gas out through her nose when she breaths. Basically, it tells her to wake up from her coma."
"What about the water trapped in her lungs?"
"The buoyancy spell takes care of that when it ends."
"The why did I have to get shocked back?"
"You're body was resisting the gas and instead forced your heart to go into cardiac arrest. A very rare case, one out of every thousand or so. The defibulators work wonders though if you don't mind electricity that is. If that fails we have unicorns on standby. Magic fixes everything nowadays."
"When will she be up?"
"Hmmm...if I'm right…."
The mare took out the device from Twilight's nose and stood back. She then clapped her hooves together and at that moment, Twilight took in a deep breath and opened her eyes.
"YES! Never been wrong yet!" She said with pride.
"Twilight...are you alright?" Night Shadow asked.
"Where am I?" She said looking around.
Before he could say anything, Summers silenced him with her hoof.
"Would you believe kiddyland?" She asked.
Twilight gazed at her confused.
"I must have hit my head on the way down, Night Shadow…." She said, looking to at her. "Since when did you turn into a mare?"
"What?!" Night Shadow asked. "I'm right he-
He was shushed up again.
"Yes….ummmm….I'm a mare now….funny right?"
"Oh cut it out Summers." The Sea pony said.
"You had to ruin it, didn't you, Red Jade?"
"See ya." She said with a smile, disappearing into the water.
Twilight shook her head and looked at Night Shadow and Summers.
"So where am I really?" She asked.
Summers did her best to explain what had happened and where she was at the current moment. Despite the explanation, Twilight still remained confused. She wanted to ask more questions until a large door opened leading into another room.
"Alright guys, on your feets, break time is over." One of the ponies announced. "Everyone board in an organized fashion, no pushing or shoving please." He said, gesturing his hoof inside.
"Seems like it's time to go." Summers pointed out. "You need any help?" She asked, lending a hoof out to Twilight.
"She's perfectly fine on her own." Night Shadow said before looking down at Twilight. "So….ummmm….need help?"
"Figures." Twilight whispered, getting up on her own.
They made their way into the "room" before the doors closed behind them. They sat down among the crowd of several dozen ponies and others that talked among themselves.
"What's going on here?" Twilight asked.
"This is the fun part." Summers said happily.
"Fun part?" Night Shadow asked.
A gryphon wearing a distinctive uniform got up and stood in the middle of the crowd, grabbing everyone's attention with a cough.
"Now I know many of you are confused or even scared, but rest assured that your questions will be answered and that you are indeed safe. As some of our fellow soldiers might have explained, we were able to revive you all through the ability of magic and advancement of technology. But now for the real questions. Where are we exactly?"
The "room" shook slightly before it started to move through the water. Night Shadow, among others, looked out of one of the many windows, seeing the beauty of undersea life right before their eyes.
"To tell the truth, we are at least 4,500 meters below sea level, at least three miles for those wondering. Why? I think you all know why?" The gryphon said with a saddened tone. "You all have your reasons for coming here, whether it be to fight, to avenge your fallen family and friends, or for just safety, we all had our reasons for coming here. But no matter what the reason it all boils down to one problem, the pony that caused it all to begin with.
You are here because you understand that Death Fire must be stopped at all costs. You realized that he, among other factors, has torn apart not only your land but the lands of others. He has corrupted a world that was once dedicated to peace and happiness, turning it into a world of pain and suffering. This war has gone on long enough and we are the last remaining beacon of hope for a broken land. This is why your loyalty had to be tested.
I know there are some among you that were directly liberated from his slavery, having a reason to already fight for us without doubt. Many of you, however, were not. Some were citizens among a nation of fools, mindlessly obeying your leaders whims without second thought. Others were indirectly affected by the war and the cruelty of Death Fire's regime, but never thought out a way to help those that suffered. We are not here to judge your past decisions or mistakes. We are here to give you a chance to fix what we once foolishly supported and accepted.
Your loyalty was tested through your dedication and the decisions you made to get here. If you had no hope, you would have never traveled out this far, knowing it could've been a lie. The moment you stepped on that ship, you gave you life to chance because you had hope, you wanted a chance to change what had begun. So when you made the decision to come here, crashed into the oceans surface, you were reborn anew. Here, you are given a second chance. A chance to redeem yourself, a chance to fix the wrongs that he created…."
The "room" suddenly went dark as it entered an entrance into a large rock formation. After several moments, light flooded the "room" once again. Only this time, they were not in the ocean anymore, but a large city with thousands of shining lights.
"And because of this….we welcome you with open arms."
Night Shadow and Twilight looked around in amazement as the others gazed in awestruck. The entire city was built inside a mountain and also completely submerged underwater. Huge orbs of glass encased many parts of the city for those that couldn't breath underwater, allowing them to live normal lives as if they never left home. The "room" which turned out to be a magnetically powered monorail, carried them above all the action as it glided across both the air and water.
All around them were hundreds of ponies, gryphons, and plenty of other species practicing for and preparing for war. Some were shooting targets with their weapons, others were practicing spells, perfecting formations and tactics, breach procedures, flight patterns, just about anything and everything that had ever been thought of was being practiced and perfected before their eyes.
They eventually came to a stop at what looked to be one of hundreds of stations. As they disembarked the monorail, they made their way over to a line leading to several check-ins.
"So what's going on now?" Twilight asked.
"Well, if you ever been to an airport, this is sort of the same thing. It's just to keep track of who is here and how many. Oh, and you don't have to hide your identity anymore. We're all fighting the same battle after all."
"Wait, do you know who we are?" Night Shadow asked.
"Not at first, but then I remembered pretty quickly when I saw Celestia's student for the very first time." Summers said, looking to Twilight. "You're Twilight Sparkle aren't you….the element of magic and the hero of Equestria?"
Twilight looked to the side in shame.
"I used to be..."
"Even the best of us make mistakes. You are here now, willing to fight for us. That's all that matters. It doesn't matter who you where, what you did….we all deserve a second chance."
Night Shadow and Twilight looked to each other and stared into each others eyes before looking back to her.
"Thank you for your words." Night Shadow said softly.
"Next!" A loud voice yelled behind him.
Night Shadow and Twilight stepped up to the counter.
"Will you two please fill out the information." The zebra asked, handing them two clipboards.
They took several minutes to fill out all the information they could remember about themselves before handing it back to him. The zebra looked at the two clipboards for several moments before his eyes widened in amazement.
"Can you two wait here for a moment."
The zebra got up from his chair and disappeared behind a door.
"That's never happened before." Summers said, slightly concerned.
"What does that mean?" Night Shadow asked.
"I….I don't know really." She admitted.
She then started to notice several ponies gathering around Twilight and Night Shadow, having looks of shock and disbelief while they whispered among themselves.
"This is awkward…." Twilight whispered.
Moments later, several guards in golden armor parted the crowd and stood before her.
"Please follow us." One of the guards asked.
"Wait, why?" Night Shadow asked.
"She did not say...it would be best to not keep her waiting."
"Her?" Night Shadow and Twilight both asked.
The guards nodded.
"Come, we have little time to waste."
Twilight looked to Night Shadow, who nodded in response. They followed the guards down a large flight of stairs and into the main city itself. Once again, the city had it's chance to take their breath away from it's beauty. The road was made from smoothed coral and sand, giving it hundreds of colors the further they walked down the street. The building themselves were made of the same material as both street lights and city lights shined onto their path. They were heading straight towards a massive tower in the center of the entire city, which shined the brightest of them all.
Guards and citizens gathered around them in awe just like before, not wanting to believe their eyes. The crowd grew and grew by the second as word spread like wildfire. Soon, practically the entire city had gathered around them as they continued to walk towards the tower.
"Why are they doing this?" Twilight asked, seeing thousands of faces stare at her.
"As I said before, you are Twilight Sparkle...you were thought to be dead several years ago along with the others." Summers said. "You give them hope."
"I've never been a fan of huge crowds." Night Shadow replied.
"Well, you're not as important, so you can ignore them if you'd like."
"Hey!"
They eventually made it to the footsteps of the tower where thousands of ponies had gathered to see her. There were camera flashes, newscasts recording her, and cheering that could deffen ears. They made their way to the stairs, turning around one last time to see the massive crowd before disappearing inside the building. The doors closed behind them, cutting off the sounds from the outside.
They looked around inside the building as it reminded them of what canterlot castle looked years before the war began. Flags were displayed, representing each country that had joined along with other displays and artistic designs. The guards escorted them to an elevator and gestured them inside.
"So this is where we part ways." Summers said with a bit of sadness.
"Can you not come with us?" Twilight asked.
"I've already wasted enough time as it is. The best of luck to you, Twilight. It's good to have you here."
The elevator doors closed before the two, leaving Twilight and Night Shadow the only ones in the elevator as it ascended the building. Within moments, they had a clear view of the entire city and the massive crowd still gathered around the building.
"It's amazing how many of us were affected by this war….how many suffered while we were gone." Twilight said with regret.
"As she said before, you are here now, that's all that matters." Night Shadow encouraged. "It's time for both of us to leave the past in the past and look to the future."
"You make it sound easy."
"You and I both know it won't be easy. Sometimes we just have to face our problems and fears head on, hoping for the best."
"What if we're not meant to face it head on….what if we can't do it alone?"
"Every problem has a solution...ironically, the problem is finding that solution. You will find a way."
Twilight stayed silent for several seconds before looking back to Night Shadow.
"What about you?"
Night Shadow sighed softly, closing his eyes in sadness.
"I'm the exception…."
"You just said to leave the past behind us, so why are you still beating yourself up for it but telling me to forgive myself for mine?" Twilight asked.
"I don't know, Twilight….I just don't know…." Night Shadow admitted. "I just don't want to see you suffer like I have."
Twilight turned Night Shadow's head so that he would look her in the eyes.
"And I don't want to see you suffer for me." Twilight whispered.
The elevator doors opened behind them, allowing them to enter the room. It was a large, circular room that resembled that of a Los Pegasus penthouse.
"Woah! This place is huge!" Night Shadow said, running around the room several times. "You can see everything from up here!"
"It is nice, but I'm more concerned with why we were called here." Twilight said, looking around herself.
"Forget that, look at all the things this guy has!" Night Shadow shouted with joy, touching everything he could put his hooves on.
He eventually crashed on a massive, fluffy couch with two bottles of cola in his hooves. He shook them violent before popping off the caps and aiming them down his throat, drinking them within seconds.
"Night Shadow….goes from serious, to depressed, to curious, hyper child within a blink of an eye." Twilight whispered, walking towards him.
He started bouncing off the walls before her eyes before stopping right before her and floating in the air.
"Twilight, you gotta try this!" He said, shoving drinks into her face.
"These aren't even yours, Night Shadow. Put these back where you found them, we don't want to be rude."
"I'm sure whoever it is wouldn't mind. I mean, how bad could she be?" Night Shadow asked, eating a ton of candy from a bowl.
He spun around and came face to face with a light blue mare who had just came out of the shower. She even had a towel wrapped around her body and mane, completely shocked by his presence. Both of them remained silent until the mares towel fell to the floor in an awkward silence.
"Uhhhh….hi?" Night Shadow said softly.
The mare tacked Night Shadow to the floor and shoved a pistol into his face.
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU IN MY ROOM!" She yelled.
"Trixie?" Twilight asked in complete surprise.
She looked up and looked Twilight in the eyes.
"Twilight Sparkle?" Trixie asked in disbelief.
"Night Shadow?" Night Shadow asked himself.
"Wait….you're the one that called us here?! You're the leader of the resistance?!" Twilight asked.
"Well….ummm...Trixie doesn't take credit for-
"General Lulamoon!" A voice yelled as a hologram appeared behind her. "Did the guests arrive?"
Nearly scared into a heart attack, she turned to the hologram with an irritated look.
"Trixie is busy here…" She said slowly.
"I can see that...I apologize."
The hologram vanished and Trixie turned back to Twilight and Night Shadow as they both chuckled softly.
"What….what's so funny?" She asked.
"Lulamoon?" Twilight said, giggling to herself.
Trixie blushed in embarrassment.
"Lulamoon is a perfectly fine name! And who are you to judge, Twilight….Sparkle!"
"At least it's not Lulamoon." Twilight laughed.
"Frankly, both of your names are stupid." Night Shadow bluntly said.
…
Well…..you're an OC, Night Shadow….you don't really matter….
"Wow….way to be a *# ." Night Shadow stated.
You know I love you, Night Shadow….but you don't have a valid argument if-
"GAY!" Night Shadow shouted.
Wait, no, I didn't mean…..#& # you…
"Who is he talking to?" Twilight asked.
"Don't worry about it. Dark Fire did this all the time to." Trixie admitted.
"Talk to the sky?"
"Something like that." Trixie said, turning to look back at Twilight. "So you actually made it. I was afraid you got lost."
"You're weren't very specific with your instructions."
"I said where the world ends, didn't I."
"How was I suppose to know what that even meant."
"You could have asked that book I gave you. That was kinda the point."
"...oh….." Twilight said with sudden guilt.
"What's wrong?" Trixie asked.
"I…..lost the book in the storm…."
Trixie simply smiled and put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder.
"Not to worry. I made sure the book would be safe and protected during and after the storm. It will simply take a little time to retrieve it. In the meantime, let's get you updated on what has happened." Trixie said, taking her hoof off of her and walking towards a door. "Your friend can join us as well."
Trixie opened the door and disappeared inside. Twilight turned to Night Shadow and picked him up with magic.
"Come on, don't make a fool of yourself." Twilight said, carrying him to the door.
"It's hard not to." Night Shadow said, shoving more candy into his mouth.
She placed Night Shadow on his hooves and walked through the door, leading to a spiraling staircase that lead down to another floor. They both walked down the stairs and ended up in a dimly lit room with tons of computers, seats, and a huge, rectangular table in the center. Trixie stood at the other end of the table, ready to present.
"Take a seat if you wish, this might be a bit." Trixie suggested.
"Yay, movie time!" Night Shadow shouted.
They both sat down and watched the screen behind Trixie.
"As both of you may know, I was once the Great and Powerful Trixie, the most powerful magician there ever lived." Trixie said, sighing deeply. "Or….at least that's what I wanted to believe."
The screen changed behind her to several pictures of Equestria before the war.
"I was the princess of a beautiful and prosperous country under the authority of Dark Fire and the Confederacy. We were young, had ideas to change the world for the better. Yet we had no idea what our actions had really done."
She switched the pictures to that of several ponies with glowing red eyes.
"Dark Fire used what he called the hatred wave. It was designed to make ponies obey our every whim and command, giving them the believe they were fighting for the right cause. When I asked why, he said it was to ensure there would be no rebellion, that it would keep us safe. But it was a setup from the start."
The pictures changed to a massive army.
"Death Fire used this spell to form his army months before we even knew of his existence. By the time I found out, it was already too late. The real war had already begun."
The background was then changed to a map of the known world.
"Right after your disappearance, Twilight, Death Fire issued his first strike onto to the other nations, taking them over one by one. Celestia and the remaining loyalists tried the best they could to regain ground and establish a large enough force to fight back, only for it to end in vain. The south was the first to fall, followed by the west and the east. It wasn't long before Desolent and Nightmare Twilight entered the fray.
They formed a truce with each other, a promise to end Celestia and her followers permanently before they could have a chance to fight back. With a common goal, they pushed Celestia and her friends back until they had only one place to go. Here." She said, pointing to a large, frozen island. "This was their final stand, the island of Wolfshire. For hours they held them off until they were simply outnumbered. They were dragged out from the city and executed on the spot….they left none alive and evil had finally overcame what was left of good in our world."
"Death Fire killed off Celestia?" Night Shadow asked in surprise.
"Why does that surprise you?" Trixie asked.
Night Shadow remained silent, thinking to himself.
"Are there any pictures, evidence of this event?"
Trixie simply clicked a button and a brutal image was displayed before them. It was bad enough that even Night Shadow was shocked by the image.
"This picture was displayed all over the news and in newspapers for months. It signalled the end of the war until Desolent and Nightmare Twilight revolted, starting their own war against Death Fire. For seven years, there has been nothing but death and destruction among these three groups. They alone decide the fate of the world."
"Is that when you formed the resistance?" Twilight asked.
"I began right after my realisation to the threat." Trixie said with a soft sigh. "The day I blindly attacked you was the day I threw the world into chaos and turmoil. The day of my birthday….the day I was marked with shame and sorrow because of my selfishness and pride."
"I remember now….you stopped me from using the elements to save Dark Fire." Twilight said, recalling the event.
Trixie shut her eyes in sadness before she looked Twilight dead in the eyes with watered eyes.
"I wanted revenge so badly for what you did. I wanted you to suffer the way I did….to know the pain of loss. I….I'm sorry….I had no idea….I was a fool that single handedly ended the world with my actions…..it's all my fault…."
'So you blame yourself for the war to….' Twilight thought.
"That is when I formed the United Equestrian Resistance in hopes that I could one day redeem myself. I left messages in every city, warning them of impending attacks days before Death Fire invaded. Each with the same message."
"Where the world ends…." Twilight whispered, putting together the missing pieces.
"With every country he attacked, with each soul he enslaved, we grew in numbers and strength. We soon liberated slave camps, prisoners, even cities under his control were swept away from under his nose. However, freedom is never free, it comes with a cost. We all knew the cost, the tasks we had to bear. We had to fight Death Fire at all costs, even to our dying breath. We are the last hope for this world….and if we can't stop him no one can…."
"You're wrong." Night Shadow stated boldly.
Twilight and Trixie both turned to him with confusion.
"What do you mean?" Trixie asked.
Night Shadow looked at the pictures of Celesta's death before turning back to her.
"Enlarge these, I need to make sure."
Trixie enlarged the picture for him, not sure what he was attempting to do.
"Night Shadow, what are you thinking about?" Twilight asked.
Night Shadow examined the photos before looking back at Trixie.
"What guns are these soldiers holding?" Night Shadow said, pointing to one of the ponies.
Trixie looked herself.
"Why….those are high caliber blaster rifles."
"Rounds….what rounds did they use!" Night Shadow yelled.
"...I would imagine magic….why do you ask."
Night Shadow stared right at the picture again, confirming his believe.
"Death Fire you cleaver #* #&$#." Night Shadow whispered.
"What is it?" Twilight asked. "What are you not telling us."
Night Shadow pointed to the picture.
"These photos are fake."
"What!" Trixie and Twilight both shouted in disbelief.
"That's….impossible….I was there when it happened." Trixie said.
"That doesn't matter what you saw because it was all a lie! You can't kill an alicorn with magic!"
Trixie and Twilight froze in shock.
"Make sense, now." Twilight ordered.
"I was once known as the immortal slayer. My job was to hunt down and kill alicorns in the past with my squad members. It is the reason Herus used guns and blades against them and the reason he armed his army with weapons. Death Fire must have known the public would never find out or question him if he presented evidence. He knew….he always knew….and used it to break your spirits."
"Why would he keep them alive, Night Shadow?" Twilight asked. "What would he gain from it?"
"Satisfaction." Night Shadow said. "It's the reason he didn't kill us when he had the chance. He wants to break us….break our will and hope, take our freedom and loved ones away so that we would beg for death. He's always been obsessed with it and it's the reason he's enslaving the world rather than destroying it. He want's the world to beg for mercy so that he can turn his back on it like it had before. Revenge and satisfaction of victory….that is what Death Fire has always wanted.
"So that means…."
"Celestia is alive and so are the others." Night Shadow declared. "We just need to find them…."
Trixie pulled up a world map onto the table and sat down in her seat.
"Then lets get started."