//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: Post Revolution 
// by SC_Orion 
//------------------------------//

	Canterlot was dark and quiet in the dead of night, broken only by streetlamps and guards on patrol. The courtyard of the Canterlot Castle lit up with a flash of lavender light, signaling a teleportation spell. The soldiers, prepared for such an attack immediately rushed to greet the would-be assassins. The soldiers were not prepared to deal with an alicorn. Twilight's lavender barrier flared to life around herself, Rainbow Dash, and Zenith Star, blocking innumerable spell bolts that the guards released in their uncoordinated volley. She didn't even feel the spell impacts against her barrier, and she quickly looked around the courtyard, marking the position of each soldier in her mind, aided by the light of her moon. The soldiers released another volley of spells, lighting up their positions like flares.


Twilight wasn't in the mood to offer mercy. She reared up on her hind legs and then slammed her hooves into the stone, flaring her wings in the process. The minute her hooves connected with the cold marble, a massive shockwave erupted outwards from her barrier, catching even the most prepared soldiers by surprise. The sound, like an explosion, would have awoken anypony within several blocks, not to mention the light which would undoubtedly attract the entire Equestrian Army.


Twilight stepped forwards and her two swords flared to life in front of her, their glow offering the barest hint of illumination, allowing anypony who looked upon her the chance to see her expression. A second later, Rainbow Dash and Zenith stepped forwards with her. They did not hurry as they strode to the castle's mighty doors. They walked patiently and with focus.


A squadron of pegasi soldiers landed to her right, they were quickly dispatched by Zenith Star, the most skilled unicorn warrior to grace Equestria in over two thousand years.


To her left, another squad of pegasi was about to land, but Rainbow Dash was having none of that. Faster than a lightning bolt, she shot off into the air, her enchanted flight suit amplifying her remarkable natural abilities. Her twin hoof blades dug into each pegasus before he could react, bringing them down much quicker than they had planned.


Twilight didn't bat an eye as the soldiers were dispatched, her gaze was focused solely on the enchanted door she was approaching. With but a thought, she ripped it from its hinges and compressed the wood and steel until it was but a single atom, and then exploded it outwards.


Dust filled the air, obscuring their vision. When it cleared, a dozen unicorns opened fire on them. Twilight's magic flared to life, and each unicorn was sent to the floor writhing in pain.


Twilight and her two companions casually walked passed the soldiers and walked to the end of the hallway, where Twilight once more ripped the door off its hinges, revealing the former throne room, and the Inquisitor resting upon Twilight's throne. Her eyes narrowed as the Inquisitor leaned forward and smiled.


"Twilight!" Fluttershy's voice called, "Help us!"


Twilight's focus was broken by Fluttershy's scream of panic, she turned towards the source and her mouth fell open in shock. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, her brother, Zenith, Rainbow Dash, her niece, and her parents were all tied up. The flashing red light coming from the pale gray blocks attached to their chest caused her heart to skip a beat.


She looked back to the Inquisitor, who was now holding a sword to Rainbow's throat. He smiled a mouth splitting grin, it unnerved her to her core.


"Twiley, save us!" Shining Armor pleaded.


Twilight ignored them and leaped forwards, swords at the ready.


The Inquisitor stepped to the side, sliding his sword against Rainbow's throat in the process. Rainbow Dash fell to the floor, blood freely flowing from her neck. Twilight lost focus at the sight of her friend writhing in pain, grasping her neck in a futile attempt to stop the blood flow and save her life.


Twilight landed hard on the floor and lost her balance, causing her to fall over.


She rolled onto her back and brought a sword to bare, barely managing to block the Inquisitor's strike before his sword cut into her body.


Twilight lowered her horn and pointed it at his face, and released a spell. The Inquisitor was sent flying through the air, before teleporting behind Twilight and crashing into her as she stood to her hooves.


She felt a warm substance leaking from her body but ignored it as she spun around and slashed at him again, this time managing to glance across his chest and draw blood before cauterizing the cut.


He stepped back and grimaced in pain before teleporting a small block of gray metal with an antenna and big red button on it to himself. He smirked in arrogance, feeling his victory close at hoof.


Twilight jumped forwards, leading with her horn, swords trailing beside her, in an attempt to skew him. He stepped back and pressed the button down with his magic.


A large explosion rocketed the building, sending smoke and debris everywhere. Twilight shook and was forced to spread her hooves apart to keep from losing her balance and falling over. The dull aching rumble of the stone and marble echoed across Canterlot as the castle was put under more stress than it was designed to.


Twilight took a step back on uneasy hooves and coughed as she inhaled the finely powdered stone. She cast a quick spell and searched the room for the Inquisitor. He was nowhere to be found.


She slowly made her way over to where Rainbow Dash lay and felt her heart stutter. She looked over where the rest of her friends had been, and say only a gaping hole in the floor and wall, causing a gaping hole to form in her heart.


She swallowed back the knot growing in her throat and ran over to the hole, hoping and searching for any sign of her friends. Her search was futile. They were dead.


She felt tears forming in the corner of her eyes, and as they fell down her muzzle she heard the sound of hoofsteps coming from behind her.


She turned around, hoping beyond hope that somehow, one of her friends had survived.


The Inquisitor smiled maniacally at her. She felt rage boil over in her whole being and channeled more magic into her horn than she thought possible. It was enough magic to rend space and time, enough magic to destroy galaxies and universes, and ample magic to kill a single unicorn. She flared her wings and ran towards him.


The floor gave out beneath Twilight.





Twilight bolted awake, breathing heavily and feeling wetness on her cheeks. She clenched her teeth as the nightmare haunted her memory, each and every detail. Both Zenith and Rainbow groaned and shifted their weights beneath her wings, stirring awake from the sudden disturbance caused by Twilight jerking awake. Twilight squinted her eyes and stared at a nearby tree, attempting to refocus her thoughts away from the nightmare.


Rainbow groaned and pushed her head up and blinked several times as her vision adjusted. She frowned, seeing Twilight was awake. It took her a few seconds, but eventually she noticed how tense her wings were. She followed her gaze to the tree she was looking at, thinking they were in danger. She couldn't make out anything amiss, save for the alicorn beside her. She squinted her eyes and doubled her effort to see what Twilight saw, but to no avail. Reluctantly, she turned towards the alicorn, "Twilight? What's wrong?"


Twilight jerked her head towards her, startled, not knowing she had awoken her. Rainbow felt uncomfortable meeting her eyes, she looked more afraid than she had seen her in the past two weeks. There was also a hint of something else she couldn't quite place, an emotion or feeling she didn't recognize. After a few seconds, Twilight seemed to calm down and she closed her eyed and bowed her head. "I'm..." Twilight's voice came out breaking up from emotional distress, catching Rainbow by surprise. She took a second to compose herself and swallowed before trying again, "I'm fine." she said evenly.


Rainbow frowned. "No, you're not. What's wrong?"


Twilight opened her mouth to say something but promptly closed it. For a few seconds, she just watched Rainbow watching her. She was a little distracted by Zenith shifting closer to her, but she didn't feel awake. After a few seconds for Zenith to fall back asleep, she spoke again, "Just a nightmare," she answered.


Rainbow looked at her solemnly. "Do you want to talk about it?"


Twilight looked back at the tree she had been looking at and sighed. "No, I don't. I shouldn't even have to deal with Nightmares, I have Princess Luna's magic..." She squinted and felt a shiver run down her spine, 'Though, she was corrupted for a period of time... And she dealt with the Tantibus.' She forced the thought aside. "All of you were there." She turned her head back to Rainbow. "I shouldn't say anything. It could put all of you and myself at risk."


"Oh come on, Twilight!" Rainbow groaned. She sighed and met Twilight's gaze, "You can trust us. You can trust me, I don't care how screwed up my mind is, I'm not going to hurt you again."


Twilight snorted, looked away and shook her head. "If only it was that simple..." she trailed off gravely. She looked back to Rainbow and pulled her closer with her wing, "Go back to sleep," she chided.


"I'll go back to sleep after you tell me what happened," Rainbow grumbled.


Twilight sighed in defeat, not wanting to argue or fight at the moment, "Fine. We, you, Zenith and myself that is, were launching our assault against the Inquisitor. When we arrived, the soldiers surrounded us, I killed them all easily enough. We made our way into the castle, you and Zenith both took out a squadron of pegasi by yourselves-"


"That must've been impressive to watch," Rainbow said absently.


Twilight didn't immediately respond. "I was preoccupied with reaching the castle... You... both of you... you were nothing more than weapons then..." she trailed off and shook her head. " I killed another group to get inside, and then we were in the throne room. They were... All of them, they were tied up together by the wall. All of them..."


Rainbow frowned, "All of who?"


Twilight ignored her. "And then Fluttershy cried out for me to help her. To save them... I ignored her pleas, and then I ignored my brother's pleas." Twilight frowned, "He, the Inquisitor, was standing in front of Celestia's throne, holding a sword to your throat. I... charged at him. He sidestepped and killed you in one motion. We fought, and then he detonated explosives that were on them..."


Rainbow grimaced and forced herself not to think about Twilight's dream too much, or what details she might have left out. "You okay?"


Twilight snorted and waited a few seconds before answering, "I don't know." She shifted her weight. "Not really. But I've not been okay for years, so it doesn't matter," Twilight said absently. She shook her head and took a deep breath before exhaling. "It hurt. In the dream, seeing you all die. I... don't want that. At one point, I did. Or at least I thought I did..." Rainbow felt a shiver run down her spine, despite being warm and well insulated from the chill of the night air. "But... I want everypony to be happy, not afraid of me."


"You're still worried about ruling Equestria, aren't you?"


Twilight bobbed her head from side to side. "It's... I don't know how to explain it. I almost feel like I have a personality disorder," she snorted in disgust. 'Which... may be accurate...' She realized with a frown. Thinking back on her life, especially the past three years and what had happened, she couldn't help but wonder. "As much as I want everypony to be safe and happy, as much as I want to be as good of a pony, as good of a leader as Celestia was... Part of me doesn't want that. That part wants revenge. The Inquisitor, Equestria," she met Rainbow's gaze, "each of you. That part of me, it's willing to sacrifice anything to win, to kill the Inquisitor. And I don't think it would just stop at killing him, either."


Rainbow mulled over what Twilight said for several seconds before speaking again. "Twilight, you never really were the most stable pony around, but you're not going to sacrifice anything to kill him. You've already proved that when fighting him before."


Twilight smiled. "I regret letting him live," she said. "The information gained was pitiful... I wonder how many lives that decision will cost," she said absently. "And then I told Princess Ember that he was going to invade the Dragon Lands..."


Rainbow squinted at her, "You... just need to relax..." she said at length.


"Perhaps," Twilight nodded, "but I can't until he's dead. Relaxing could cost more than I'm willing to pay." They laid in silence for a few seconds, giving Twilight time to think. "Yes, I suppose I am worried about ruling Equestria..."


"Twilight, nopony expects you to be perfect. Princess Celestia wasn't perfect, nor was Princess Luna, they-"


"Princess Celestia-" Twilight snapped. She closed her eyes to regain control of herself. "I used to believe Princess Celestia was perfect. I know they weren't, but they both tried. Equestria was better off under the rule of the princesses than the Inquisitor."


Rainbow nodded, nuzzling Twilight's side in the process. "I don't know if I can agree with you on that, but I know you have it in you to do a better job than all of them."


Twilight smiled at that. She looked up at the dark night sky. Her moon was almost directly overhead. "We should try to go back to sleep," she said.


Rainbow looked up at the moon. "How do you do it?"


"Move the sun and moon?" Twilight asked.


"Yeah..."


"It doesn't take much effort or concentration. I can literally do it in my sleep, just like the princesses," she explained. "Princess Celestia's special talent was moving the sun, and Princess Luna's was moving the moon. My special talent is magic, and Cadance's..." she frowned. "I have their magic and their special talents too. I can move the sun and moon with as much ease as Celestia and Luna, and with my own talent being magic, it's almost effortless."


"You have their talents too?" Rainbow asked. Twilight nodded absently. Rainbow tilted her head over Twilight's wing and looked at her flank. She couldn't see Twilight's cutie mark, but she remembered what her flank had looked like earlier. She didn't have their cutie marks, just her own. She looked back at Twilight, who was still watching her moon. "You don't have their cutie marks?"


"It's..." Twilight looked down at the blanket they laid on, "complicated." Rainbow Dash frowned wryly. She pursed her lips, "The best example I can give you to help explain it is when Tirek took everypony's magic, they lost their cutie marks, but he didn't gain them... That probably doesn't help, though, does it?"


Rainbow shook her head. "Not really."


Twilight sighed and shook her head sadly. "We should try to get back to sleep... There's still several hours before I have to get up... and I don't exactly want to stay up all night in my..." she trailed off, searching for the right word, "condition."


"Just... try to relax a little, alright Twilight?"


Twilight laid her head down on her hooves and pulled Zenith and Rainbow closer to herself with her wings. "It may surprise you, but I am enjoying this somewhat."





Twilight looked in the direction of her sun that was breaking the horizon. She couldn't watch it rise for the trees, but she could see the effects of it as it flew higher into the sky, shading the sky with rich reds, pinks, and oranges. Her mane and tail were already back to normal, having set the moon on its journey across the night sky of the other side of the planet. She sat in silence as the sun slowly made its way further into the sky. Eventually, the singing of birds broke the silence, and she smiled at the beautiful chirps and songs of the small birds that made their home in the forest.


'Fluttershy would love it here...' she found her expression strained with the thought. She stood up from sitting on the grass and briefly looked over the nearby river bank, eyes glazing over the coarse sand which looked almost soft in the gently light of her morning sun. She pushed the thought aside and turned around. She looked over the still-sleeping forms of Rainbow and Zenith, still covered with the blanket she had put over them to keep the chill of the morning air away from them. She watched them for a few seconds and let her mind wonder.


With a shake of her head, she turned around to face her rising sun and teleported the Elements of Harmony to herself. She held each gem still in her magic for several seconds as she looked over them. She was surprised how little Princess Celestia actually knew about the Elements of Harmony, and she was disappointed by it. Princess Celestia had used the Elements twice before, once with her sister, Princess Luna, to defeat Discord, and once to banish her sister to the moon. She shivered at the memory.


And then there was her former friends and herself. Together they had wielded the Elements several times, faced down insurmountable odds, and won each time. She found it curious, how the Elements were stronger with more bearers than with a single bearer. Princess Celestia hadn't been able to purify Princess Luna with the Elements, only banish her. Her five friends and herself managed to accomplish what Celestia had not.


Her eyes glazed off as she went over the memory of their triumph against the fallen alicorn. It had been easy. Nightmare Moon's insanity made her weak and vulnerable. In one of the realities she entered when fighting Starlight Glimmer, Nightmare Moon had won. At the time, she ran to escape and set things right. Staying to fight wouldn't have ended well, she didn't have the power to match Nightmare Moon then. She did now. But now there was a different threat, one more dangerous than the insane alicorn Nightmare Moon.


Her expression hardened as she refocused on the present. 'You will pay for what you did, Inquisitor.' She would make him pay dearly, with his life. It still wouldn't atone for his sins, and her judgement upon him would be harsh. It was only a matter of time, and her only question was what she was willing to sacrifice to get the justice she demanded and revenge she would take. She glanced back at the two sleeping mares and held her gaze on them for a few seconds before looking back at the Elements of Harmony. 


She turned the gems over in her magic and scrutinized them with her magic and eyes. While looking over the Element of Magic, her former element, she thought back to the feeling of power she felt when using it. It easily outmatched anything she had experienced before or after. The power felt so pure and right, too. It wasn't the kind of power that had a corrupting influence on somepony, but the kind that made them want to be the best they could be. Still, it was a good thing not just anypony could use the Elements. If the wrong pony got her hooves on it and used them with malicious intent, it would be disastrous. The Elements' power might purify the pony wielding them, or kill them, or perhaps do her bidding.


She tilted her head to the side and looked at the crystals quizzically. "Will you work for me?" she quietly asked. "Or are you against me?" She didn't know the answer, but she did know how to find out. However, in her current state, she wasn't in a hurry to find out. "Will you help me, or will you try to kill me?" She doubted the Elements would hurt her, but she knew in the back of her mind they might not like her now, so there was a chance they might try to hurt her. She knew they could be used against her if someone managed to acquire them and wanted to use them against her, but the Elements would have to accept that pony as their bearer.


She sat down on her haunches and eyed over the Elements. "It wouldn't be the first time I've been betrayed..." she said evenly. She glanced back at Rainbow. The once proud, arrogant, daredevil pegasus that had been loyal to a fault had changed a lot in three years, and so had she. Equestria had changed a lot too. Her gaze slowly trailed away from Rainbow Dash and back to the Elements, "And I'm sure it won't be the last time..." She shook her head and snorted. "And here I am, talking to myself. Or maybe inanimate objects. I don't know." She shook her head again and sighed, "I guess insanity runs in my family, doesn't it? Or maybe it comes with the position. Carrying the power of five alicorns for several years might not have been the best idea, especially considering my age... And that's not even factoring in I was unstable before, and that Princess Luna went insane... And now I carry her magic..." She took a deep breath and then exhaled, "I'm going to have an interesting life, aren't I?" She teleported the Elements of Harmony back into her pocket dimension and sat down on her haunches.


She sat there in silence, broken only by the chirping of birds and babbling of the river, watching the treeline. The trees swayed slightly in the cool, gentle breeze that flowed through the forest. The sky slowly grew brighter, and the darkness was replaced by more pinks and oranges until the colors were burnt away by the early morning light as she pushed the sun further above the horizon. She found herself lost in her thoughts, and was surprised when Zenith sat down beside her. "You seem preoccupied," Zenith stated.


"Good morning to you, too," Twilight replied dryly.


Zenith tilted her head to look at her and smiled softly. "It's beautiful, you know," Twilight looked at her curiously. "The sunrise," she clarified. Twilight smiled a little and looked above the trees. "Even if you can't see it that well from here, it's still beautiful."


"Yes..." Twilight nodded in agreement. "I used to watch the sunrise when I was a little filly. When I was Princess Celestia's most faithful student. Over a decade ago..." She paused and her face scrunched up. "Time..." she trailed off and looked at Zenith, "has a way of getting away from you..." she shook her head and looked back towards her rising sun. "I was younger than you are now when Celestia took me on as her student. I was ten, actually. I can remember watching the sun rise from my tower in the castle. Canterlot Castle, that is. I always enjoyed it, and I found it comforting knowing Princess Celestia, my mentor, was the one doing it. I never imagined I would do it myself, and eight years later I did. Five years later, and the sun is mine..." She shook her head. "Perhaps one day..." she trailed off. "Years ago, I never would have admitted it, but she was like a mother to me. My own biological mother was still around, of course, but I was around Princess Celestia quite a bit too. It's... strange. In retrospect, I wasn't all that close with her, and she wasn't that much of a mother figure, but I just... felt close to her. Not that I was comfortable around her..." She smiled at a memory.


"Thank you for teaching me magic, Twilight," Zenith said. Twilight nodded. "I'm sorry that I'm not that good..."


Twilight sighed and turned to face her, "You have great potential, Zenith. Maybe you won't be the next Starswirl the Bearded, or the next Twilight Sparkle, but you have the potential to be a great unicorn. I can feel it in you."	 Zenith blushed lightly at her compliment and looked away. Twilight opened her mouth to say something but closed it before she did. She frowned and pursed her lips. After a few seconds, she powered up her horn and teleported the Element of Magic to herself and held it in her magic in front of her. She looked away from the gem and looked over Zenith with curiosity.


She levitated the gem closer to Zenith, "Take this," she said.


Zenith quickly turned back to her and frowned at the gem. "Isn't that..."


Twilight nodded quickly, "Yes, it is the Element of Magic. My Element."


Zenith looked cautiously at the gem as she gently took it in her magic and Twilight released it from her own magic. She looked over the six pointed star shaped pink crystal curiously. "What am I supposed to do with this..?"


"You know what it is. You know what it's for. Use it," Twilight said simply.


Zenith looked at Twilight. "How am I supposed to use it? Don't I need the other five and... five more bearers?"


"I have no idea," Twilight said absently. "That gem was part of my crown once. I never tried to use it on its own, so I cannot say."


Zenith looked at her blankly. "You were its bearer, and you don't know how it's supposed to work?"


Twilight looked back at her sun. "Oh... I have a general idea of how it works..."


Zenith looked over the crystal again. "I think it would be best if you keep it, Twilight." She levitated it back to Twilight, who sighed but took the gem in her magic and teleported it away.


"Perhaps it is for the best..." Twilight reluctantly agreed. The pair sat in silence again for several minutes, and she found her mind wandering back to her earlier thoughts, and thoughts of her nightmare. She shivered, thinking about it. She took a deep breath and turned to Zenith, "Am I..." she exhaled. Zenith looked at her, patiently awaiting her question. "Are you still afraid of me?" she finally asked.


Zenith shook her head, but there was a hesitation to it. Twilight grimaced. "Not... well... A little. I know you don't want to hurt me, but I also know what you're capable of, Twilight, and that scares me." Zenith paused and shifted her weight. "Those orbs you make, they're miniature stars, aren't they?"


Twilight swallowed and took a deep breath before hesitantly responding, "No..." she said at length. Zenith looked at her with an expression that made it clear she didn't believe what Twilight said. "It's complicated and beyond your abilities... or the abilities of anypony alive with the exception of myself and possibly... the Inquisitor..." She frowned. "Even with chaos magic, I doubt he can do what I can do..." Twilight frowned, stood up, and spread her wings wide before Zenith could respond to her. "I have matters to attend to. Remain here with Rainbow Dash. I will be back in a few hours," she rambled off quickly, hoping Zenith understood what she said. She beat her wings and flew into the air before casting a teleportation spell, leaving a confused Zenith Star and sleeping Rainbow Dash behind.