Part 3: Chapter 6: The Calm Within The Storm

"Flails?" Beta spoke aloud. "Really? You are going to go against us with Flails?"

"What's wrong with flails?" Trixie spoke back. She swung the flail on her right at Charlie, her backside open. Alpha took his chance and shot off multiple spells, each hitting their mark, flames engulfing the armor. She yelled in pain and the left flail lashed at Alpha and she realized her mistake as the spells hit her open backside again, this time, however the armor was ready and absorbed the magic, enhancing her strength. The blue mare called back the flails and laughed as the two watched the spiked balls come apart and latch to her suit. Now layered in spikes, Trixie took on Charlie first.

Before he could even begin to register what he had just seen, Trixie landed a punch on his muzzle, easily cracking the armor. He spun from the hit and looked at Trixie only to take a leg to the face, knocking the poor colt out. She turned around to face her next target, which was already on his hind legs, ready.

Alpha watched the mare lunge at him, her spiked hoof flying towards his muzzle and sidestepped and waited before spinning himself and bringing the dull side of his right brace down, impacting the middle of her back. His left wing, in the air, clipped her neck, ripping off scraps of metal as it cut. Trixie landed and spun to face the Pegasi who had returned to his fighting stance and lunged again.

Alpha waited until her hoof was in grasp before grabbing it and yanking it towards his right. With his left hoof, he grabbed the leg in the middle and yanked it the other way as hard as he could until he could hear the bone snap like a toothpick. Her head had just passed his when he grabbed the back of her helmet and smashed it into the stone ground, shredding the metal protecting the horn and becoming impaled with gravel and dirt.

Trixie skidded to a halt and yelled out as she grasped the broken leg. Alpha turned around and walked to the colt before the two heard the screams stop as her brain shut down from pain. He frowned and looked back at the mare, the lights flickering as it de-activated. Alpha shook his head in disagreement to what he had just done, and began to walk to his unconscious friend. His hoof was millimeters away from touching Charlie's wings when Beta nudged him.

"What?"

"Listen."

Alpha stopped and focused on his hearing. He could hear the cottages around burning, sticks and hay crackling as the water within boiled and evaporated into the night. He heard his heart beat in his ears and noticed the sound of three ponies breathing. The scraping of metal on metal screeched each time they breathed. His ears picked up the sound of hooves hitting the ground, ponies running. The distant sounds of explosions, the smell of smoke, the taste of copper and the bright light of fire gave Alpha an uneasy feeling. He knew he was in the midst of a battle; he was already used to the feeling of tension and suspense but this was…different. In the fights he had been part of before, he was usually in an enclosed area, and could see his targets. But now, in an abandoned courtyard, he was out in the open without any knowledge of Canterlot City.

He didn't like it. Not one bit. He picked up Charlie and headed for an alleyway, specifically one with a dead end so that if attacked, he wouldn't have the need to worry about other enemies blindsiding him. Finally finding a dead end alley a couple of blocks from their original position, Alpha placed the colt on the ground, camouflaged by the dark shadows then walked to the opening of the alley and looked around.

"Is Delta awake?"

"Yeah."

"Tell him that we are going to figure out what has happened."

"You are going to leave Charlie?"

Alpha looked back at the colt, whose lights had deactivated. Even with his eyes accustomed to darkness, Alpha could barely make out the outline of the colt. "He'll be safe here. He is practically invisible where he is."

"Just told Delta. Let's go."

Alpha took one last look at Charlie before leaving the alley. He looked up and took to the air, heading for Luna's cloud to only find out that it was empty, vacant. Landing on the cloud, the colt looked around and shifted uncomfortably. The castle from his point of view was deserted. It was as if they all disappeared at once. Neither ally nor enemy could be seen, their bodies were still in place as before. His nostrils filled with smoke and he turned to see Ponyville ablaze. He looked up to see Cloudsdale gone, no longer existing.

"Beta?"

"I'm seeing the exact same thing."

"Where did they go?" Alpha asked aloud, his voice did not echo as nothing was around for the sound waves to bounce off of. He jumped off the cloud and fell to the ground. Just before he hit, he opened his wings, slowing himself enough to land safely and made his way to the destroyed wall that Tirek entered through. He walked through the rubble, still confused and amazed at the same time and looked up at the castle in front. He stood at the North entrance of the castle, gazing at the burning superstructure, frowning in awe.

The white blocks of stone were perfectly carved. Although they were stone, they reminded him of the marble columns inside. He looked around and flew to a nearby barracks and explored his surroundings. Once he had completed a full circle around the base of the castle and found no resistance or any life for that matter, he took one last look at the castle and left.

"Where are you going?" Beta snapped at him.

Alpha ignored him and flew through an open window, landing with ease. His mind was empty but his conscious wasn't. He explored the second floor of the cottage. The master bedroom was in a mess. The bed sheets were on the floor in a ball at the foot of the bed and the lights were dead. As Beta conjured a ball of light to follow Alpha, he cautiously walked to the ball of sheets and poked it. As he presumed, his hoof went through the sheets without encountering resistance.

"Empty." He spoke. He turned and checked under the bed and found nothing. He turned and left the room, entering the bedroom on his right.

At the 80th cottage he froze and turned around. All other cottages were empty, abandoned. "Anything?"

"Nope."

"Anything at all?" Alpha felt desperate.

"No."

Alpha sighed before entering the cottage. He left the door wide open and searched the first floor for anything. Apparently it was dinner time for whoever was living here as the dinner table still had plates of food on them. He walked to the dinner table and noticed that not a single apple was touched or on its side. The kitchen and living room were empty, so he climbed the stairs and searched the second floor.

All rooms were empty, void of life like the other Seventy Nine. The pony stormed out of the cottage and walked away, confused and annoyed.

"They have to be somewhere around here."

Alpha looked around and saw a park and decided to explore it. As he walked to it, he felt himself relax more and more with each step. He removed his helmet, placing it on the nearby bench and smiled as he walked on the woodchips and sat on an empty swing, rocking himself ever so slightly back and forth. He closed his eyes and listened to the hinges squeaking. He smelled the wet grass and dirt, the oak and cedar scent from the woodchips and could faintly hear screams of colts and fillies laughing. "I remember this place. I was here before." He opened his brown eyes and looked at the red slide. "So very long ago."

"I'm listening."

Alpha hopped off of the swing, grabbed his helmet and walked to the nearby grassy hill. Upon the hill were two ponies; a mare and stallion. The stallion was hugging the Mare, protecting her from any harm. He knew perfectly who they were. The mare stirred and looked up. He looked down at her and dropped his helmet beneath him before scratching behind his ear.

"So you did this. You are the cause of all this." She spoke quietly.

He looked at the burning kingdom and nodded. He wouldn't dare to speak now.

"Was it necessary?"

"She would have not listened before. She never has. Besides, what we did is child's play compared to what she has done." Beta spoke.

The mare looked at Alpha who turned to her and watched as his right eye flicker red. "Who was that?"

"A friend." He finally spoke. "A close, close friend."

"Is your friend violent?"

"He can be at times." Alpha spoke to the mare as he sat down. The two were quiet as the watched the cottages burn on. The mare shook the stallion's grasp away and sat upwards as Alpha removed his brace and examined the damage. The mare did a double-take when she noticed his charred limb. She instinctively moved towards the injury but stopped she looked up to see him watching. "Yes?"

"When did this happen?"

"What?"

She pointed with her hoof at the appendage.

"Oh, Let's see…a week after I turned Eleven."

"…Eleven…" she muttered in shock. "How old are you now?"

Alpha stared at the metallic feathers that were bent and straightened one of them out. "Eighteen." He straightened the last feather out and looked to his right to noticed that the mare was sitting, facing towards him, staring. "What?"

"You're…eighteen…?"

He nodded his head and reequipped the brace. "Uh huh, time flies fast, don't it Mom?" He examined his mother. "When?"

"When what?"

"When did you die?"

She raised a hoof up in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Alpha sighed and stood up. She watched as he came face to face with her. He tilted his head. He reached out to touch her but she moved away.

"Are you not my mother?" He asked.

She nodded. "I am."

"So why would a mother not allow her colt that she had left at the park so long ago not touch her?" He waited for the answer but she only shook her head. He extended his brace and spun around, his wing passed through where her neck was.

"Because she's a ghost." She spoke.

He turned his head and looked at her.

"We left you because we…were given a message from Celestia that she needed you for something. She didn't say what but told us to abandon you or suffer. We did as we were told, we had to protect your sisters." The stallion behind her opened his ghostly eyes and stared at him.

"We were looking for you when you were at the factory. We put up fliers and eventually got a Stallion-hunt to find you. Eventually she got angry and decided to silence us once and for all." The father spoke. "You were a colt that everyone loved, always nice and kind, never afraid to meet new ponies. So when you disappeared, some started to ask questions."

Alpha was silent as his parents explained what they did. He sat down and listened intently about how they fought peacefully against the Princess, how they tried so desperately to find him, how she burned down their house and made them "disappear" within an hour. They kept explaining and stopped for a few seconds when they saw his eyes flicker red as Beta did a quick check to make sure they were safe.

"We looked for you. We always did." His father said, finishing the explanation.

Alpha still stayed quiet.

"Where are his sisters?"

"Yellow Fang is with the StarGazers."

"And Silent Scream, where is she?"

"With us, underground."

Alpha nodded, making a mental note to meet his youngest sister after this is all over, as a ghost or as a pony. "Well, thanks." He donned his helmet and nodded.

"For what?" The couple asked in unison.

"For actually having a good reason why you left me." Alpha said as he walked off towards the Castle.

She watched her son walk to the castle to finish what he started. Once she could no longer see him, she went to her husband and nestled herself beside him. As they began to fade away, she looked up at the stars and thought she heard him say the three worded saying that she used to say to him so long ago when he was just a newborn colt.

The castle was an ugly mess. Bodies littered the ground floor and blood painted the walls. Several of the stained windows were shattered and the Chair that she would sit on was charred and on its side. Alpha entered and climbed up the flight of stairs on his right slowly, ready for something to come out and fight him. But nothing happened. Nothing jumped out, no spells were shot, no knives or spears were thrown. He checked each and every room, looking for signs of life or even clues to where everypony went.

"Beta?" Alpha whispered looking at the dismembered limbs and bodies.

"This is too weird."

Alpha heard something move and spun around, cloaking himself. He manually deactivated the light on his armor, trading visibility for stealth. Everything slowly lost its color until all he could see was grey and black. He stood still, waiting.

And listened. Nothing. Not even the small scurries of a mouse. It was dead silent.

"Leave the dead where they are. They respect us by not moving and staying motionless, so let's return the favor. Do not touch or move them." Beta whispered.

"How do I pay any last respects if I have any?"

"You are talking to a ghost here."

Alpha sighed. "Was it like this the last time you were here?" Alpha stepped over a fallen door and past the bodies.

"No. Most of the dead were in the cities, Ponyville and Canterlot. And I made sure the bodies were hidden until I went basically insane."

Alpha saw a hole in the floor and peered down it, gazing at the downed pegasi. He looked up at the gaping hole that angled out towards the walls of the castle. The moonlight entered the hole and engulfed the spot on the floor above Alpha's position. He turned and left the room. Once he was at least aware of his surroundings, the teenage colt continued down the hall, climbing the spiral staircase, making sure not to touch the dead.

Celestia was following him. She was in armor and cloaked. She was behind them, hunting them like a Lion waiting for his prey to make the fatal move before he strikes. You never will she thought.

She stopped trying to stop the incoming mountain shortly after it happened. After that, she embraced the villainous side of her personality. Like a Queen on a chessboard, she sought out each pony, both ally and enemy, easily overpowering and killing them. No pony, excluding herself, Alpha, Trixie, and a few personal subjects were alive.

Her personal subjects, consisting of two stallions and two mares, were kept alive to ensure the repopulation of Equestria. Although Equestria was still populated by millions of other ponies, no pony must know of what had happened on this night. Not that she was afraid of rebellion, but because she was bored to death with politics.

The choice of killing everypony came quick. Although Celestia did not want to rebuild Equestria from the ashes, she didn't really mind. She did it before. The Princess did not think she was above everypony else. She knew that perfectly. Being Princess had as many Cons as it did Pros.

For example, a con about being Princess is that EVERYPONY protects you. Not that Celestia didn't like that but she felt as if it was an insult. She was an Alicorn, she knew how to use Master level magic, and she knew how to expertly fly: she could defend herself against anything. If they had let her to go after Beta when he was rising to power, none of this would have happened.

She shook her head and crept behind Alpha. None of that mattered now. The only thing that mattered was to end this colt's life and make sure NONE OF THIS happens again.

Alpha knew he was being followed but continued to pretend to be stupidly unaware and explore the empty castle. Beta nudged him on his left and right side. I know, Alpha thought as he continued to look around.

Why aren't you doing anything?

Because she thinks we are unaware when we actually aren't. Just tell me if she switches places.

Beta nudged twice.

Alpha exited the hallway to enter the throne room once more. He had made a full circle and had not found a single living being in the castle. He heard the slight click of a hoof hitting the cut marble stairs behind him and felt his heart began to beat faster as he began to improvise.

"Have you been following me since I entered the castle?" He asked aloud, removing his helmet and blowing air up at his mane. He counted to ten in his head as he waited until she replied and when he got to ten, he spoke again. "I know you are there, Celestia. We aren't as stupid as you think."

"I know you are not stupid, Alpha." Celestia's voice pierced the silence and her eyebrow raised as Alpha did not act as she would have thought. "But once you entered the castle, you entered my home."

"It isn't the first time I did so."

"Indeed." She sounded annoyed. "You have attacked my home, killed my allies and murdered my guards, and for what?"

"To be honest, for an answer."

"Ask away."

"You did something to me when I was young; punished me when I did the right thing." He took off the brace and revealed the missing wing. "Why?"