> The Equestrian Civil War 2: The Battle For Silverstream > by Admiral Producer > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: Out For The Summer/Practically A Mother. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was June 2nd 2020 and school was officially over for the summer. The students at Princess Luna’s School For Gifted Students were very excited to return to their families. Silverstream, a hippogriff filly who had recently been freed from slavery following the conclusion of the Equestrian Civil War, was walking with her friends, Ocellus, Yona, Smolder, Sandbar, and Gallus to the door of the school. “You excited for the summer, Silverstream?” Gallus asked her, “Finally, you can get out of this place and see Hawk again.” Silverstream nodded, keeping silent. Ocellus noticed this and gently prompted her, “What are you going to do for the summer, Silverstream?” “I don’t know yet…” Silverstream replied, her voice barely audible. Ocellus looked concerned, “Silverstream…can you at least try to talk to us? I know you still have scars from the past and all, but Principal Moonbeam…has expressed concern even though she knows about your plight. Silver, just try?” Silverstream looked at Ocellus blankly. She knew Ocellus meant well, but she didn’t understand how much she (Silverstream) had been through. “Forget it,” Smolder said, “Slavery was too much for her.” “Silverstream, I order you to talk to us.” Ocellus said, hating to do this to her friend. This got Silverstream’s attention and she hurriedly apologized profusely. “I hate doing this to her…” Ocellus whispered. “W-what do you w-want to talk about?” Silverstream asked, fearful for her life now, “I’ll talk about anything, just please don’t hurt me……” Ocellus sighed, “You know what? Forget it. I don’t want to force you. I know you’re going through a lot.” She faced the others, “I’m going to walk her home. You guys can catch the school bus, I’ll just take the train.” Gallus nodded, “Alright.” ———————————————————————————————————————— The two friends walked off the school campus in silence for several minutes. Ocellus could see the other students talking to each other, yapping on and on about typical teenager stuff. Ocellus wished she could talk with Silverstream about that stuff, but she couldn’t. Silverstream wouldn’t know what that stuff was because she didn’t have a normal upbringing. Silver grew up as a slave to the evil Solar Empire and its leader, Empress Celestia. She was accidentally liberated during a battle in which the peaceful New Lunar Republic took her as leverage against the Empire. Silverstream was cared for by General Hawk of the Lunar Republican Army before she was sent to the school due to a minor run-in with law enforcement [She was trying to protect a pony from being tortured by the officers]. Ocellus remembered how they met. She practically cared for Silverstream all throughout the semester and was there with her when she was recaptured by the Empire. She and Silver got along great, but there were things Ocellus couldn’t do around her friend that she normally could around others. For one thing, she couldn’t visibly show when she was frustrated with something. The one time she did that, Silverstream broke down in tears, thinking she was yelling at her. Silverstream wasn’t your typical 13-year old. She was perpetually mentally scarred by her traumatic upbringing. Ocellus silently cursed Celestia for what she did. “I’m sorry,” Silverstream said, interrupting Ocellus’s thoughts. “For what?” Ocellus asked. “For making you exasperated,” Silverstream replied, “You were frustrated that I wasn’t talking to you guys.” “Silverstream,” Ocellus told her, “It’s fine. I shouldn’t have ordered you to talk to us. I was only trying to speak to you in a language you understand, but…I have to remember that freaks you out.” Silverstream nodded, but Ocellus didn’t think she completely understood because she still looked worried. If only Celestia never kidnapped Silverstream. She would grow up normally and not have been involved in the war in the first place. “[D Word You] Celestia!!” Ocellus suddenly yelled, hating Celestia more and more for what she did to Silverstream. All the pain, the neglect, the abuse…Silverstream didn’t deserve that. She- Ocellus heard a whimper and turned around. Silverstream looked terrified, her eyes wide with fear and body trembling. “Silverstream, I’m so sorry,” Ocellus apologized. Silverstream flinched as Ocellus came near and begged her not to hit her. “Silver-“ Ocellus began, but she could see that she had scared Silverstream a lot with her outburst. The two didn’t say anything on the train headed to Ponyville. When they got to Hawk’s cottage, Ocellus knocked on the door and a tall grey batpony opened the door. Hawk was in his purple guard uniform. Naturally, he had a lot of questions seeing Silverstream in a frightened state. Ocellus explained everything and Hawk nodded in understanding. “You have to be careful,” Hawk told her, “Silverstream’s practically scared of her own shadow so I’ve seen. Anything can frighten her. Silver, come inside.” Silverstream obeyed immediately, coming inside and waiting for further orders. “I don’t like using an authoritative voice with her,” Ocellus told Hawk, “It frightens her.” ‘’So I’ve seen,” Hawk replied, ‘’And I try not to use it either. I try to ask nicely and gently for Silver to do something, but it’s like she doesn’t understand it. Whenever I try it, she stares at me blankly. Has that happened to you?” Ocellus nodded. “Well,” Hawk said, “Thanks for walking her home. You better catch the train back to the Changeling Kingdom before 5:34 PM. That’s when they stop.” Ocellus nodded again. Silverstream said goodbye, Ocellus reciprocated, and closed the door. ———————————————————————————————————————— “So, how’s it feel being the mom?” Cornicle, Ocellus’s older brother asked her teasingly. Ocellus was at home, at the Changeling Kingdom, eating dinner with her family at their house. “I’m not ‘being the mom’, I-“ Ocellus began, but her father cut her off. “Why sure you are, hun,” said her father, “You practically raise that hippogriff when she’s with you. And we’re very proud of you for doing so. It’s a noble act, going out of your way to care for someone in need.” “Thanks, Dad,” Ocellus thanked him, “But to be honest, I’m very worried about her. She’s afraid of almost everything and everyone. That’s not good.” “Thankfully, she’s got you,” her mother said, “and that batpony general, I keep forgetting his name. Crow?” “Hawk,” Ocellus politely corrected her mother, “He’s the one who raises her, not me.” But she was wrong about that and she knew it. It wasn’t just Hawk who raised Silverstream. When Silver was at the boarding school, Ocellus was practically a mother to her. She helped her, comforted her when she cried, encouraged her, and was a good friend to her. If Hawk was Silverstream’s father, then Ocellus was her teen mom. Ocellus spent the night thinking about that fact. She remembered the first time she comforted Silverstream and how she first demonstrated motherly affection for her friend. ———————————————————————————————————————— It was back at the School for Gifted Students, in math class, where the teacher, Mrs. Sapphire, asked the class to talk with each other in groups on how to solve an exponential function problem. Ocellus was already cruising by as she was a genius in math and her tablemates were getting by pretty easy, but she saw that Silverstream in the group across to her couldn’t figure it out. Silverstream was struggling with the problem, Ocellus noticed, because she looked discouraged and none of her tablemates were lifting a hoof to help her. “Time’s up!” announced Mrs. Sapphire, “Silverstream, can you tell us how to solve this exponential function? Hint: a table is needed.” Ocellus was worried. She knew slaves in the Solar Empire grew up illiterate and therefore Silver couldn’t figure out the problem. The most she could do was offer encouragement. Silverstream saw her encouraging look and then spoke: “So…you do this table and…” she hesitated and thought about it, then eventually, she said she couldn’t figure it out. Tears filled her eyes. Mrs. Sapphire looked surprised, “Silverstream…you were paying attention, right?” Everyone in the class burst into laughter. Ocellus was shocked at them. It wasn’t Silverstream’s fault she didn’t have a normal education! As everyone continued to laugh at her, tears were streaking down Silverstream’s face and Mrs. Sapphire wasn’t doing anything to stop them. Ocellus couldn’t bear to see her friend suffering like that. She flew up from her seat and shouted: “How dare you!! All of you!!” Everyone stopped laughing and looked at her. “You all should be ashamed!” Ocellus yelled, “You were all imperial citizens once before Princess Luna split up and formed this Republic! Any one of you could’ve been slaves! You guys think you have it all good and you take for granted the fact you could’ve been suffering under Celestia right now like she did!!” She pointed at Silverstream, who was wiping her tears, “And Mrs. Sapphire, I expected YOU to emphasize the most with her, but you did nothing to stop their laughing! How can you expect to be the First Senator one day if you can’t even practice empathy?!” Ocellus thought she said enough, so she went down and comforted the crying Silverstream, letting her cry into her hooves. Just then, Principal Moonbeam barged into the classroom. “What is going on here?!” “Ocellus here caused a disruption during class,” Mrs. Sapphire said, “To think, I could be teaching flow charts now and running for election.” Principal Moonbeam nodded in understanding, “Mm. Disruptions. That is not too good. Ocellus, come to my office now.” Ocellus didn’t move. She knew that was open defiance against the principal, but she could get expelled for all she cared. Her friend mattered more. She just sat there, holding Silverstream in her hooves. Principal Moonbeam stood there, glaring. She said, “Ocellus, I said ‘come to my office now’.” Ocellus still didn’t move. Finally, Silverstream wiped her tears and got to her claws, “Thanks for comforting me. Hardly anycreatute has done that for me ever.” “You’re welcome,” Ocellus replied, feeling happy now that her friend felt better, “Now you go back to your seat. I expect that Principal Moonbeam has something important she needs to hear. Alright?” Silverstream nodded and went back to her group-desk. Ocellus then got to her hooves and followed Principal Moonbeam to the principal’s office where she told her what really happened. A while later, Principal Moonbeam brought Ocellus back to the classroom and said to the class: “You all ought to be ashamed of yourselves.” The other students looked at each other, confused. “I’m sure Ocellus has told you all,” Principal Moonbeam said, “That your classmate Silverstream comes from a terrible upbringing. She has spent 8 years as a slave to the Solar Empire. Just think, that could’ve happened to any of you if Princess Luna hadn’t saved us from Celestia’s wrath by seceding. You all take freedom for granted, when you are all very lucky to have it. As I said, you all ought to be ashamed of yourselves. If you are not, well then you can just leave the Republic and experience Silverstream’s plight for yourselves.” Ocellus noticed that the other students now looked very regretful and ashamed. Principal Moonbeam went up to Mrs. Sapphire and said, “Something like this must never happen again. I expect you to discipline them next time, got it?” Mrs. Sapphire nodded. Finally, Principal Moonbeam went over to Ocellus and said, “You did the right thing by telling me. Now aren’t you glad you went with me to my office?” When Ocellus nodded in agreement, Principal Moonbeam left the room, saying: “Ciao.” The classroom door closed behind her. Ocellus quickly developed a big reputation after that. Gallus and Smolder, who formerly picked on her, approached her later that day. “I take back everything I said about you,” Smolder told her, “I had no idea you had the guts to stand up to a whole classroom, even the principal, for your friend. That was cool!” “You’re totally on the team now,” Gallus added, “You know, if you and Silverstream want to hang out with us sometime.” Ocellus came up with a witty response that shocked both creatures, “Maybe. We’ll see.” ———————————————————————————————————————— Ocellus smiled, thinking of that day. The conditions she gave Gallus and Smolder was that they had to stop bullying her and not ditch class like they had been doing. It worked until after the war, when Gallus and Smolder became troublemakers again. Smolder’s reasoning for that was that she was “restoring things back to normal.” But nothing would be normal. For Cozy Glow, a vengeful filly at the school, viewed Silverstream’s new life of freedom with disdain. And she was going to take it away. The conspiracy would only start though as soon as Hawk won the presidency of the Republic. > Chapter 2: Winning The Election/Jealousy. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unbeknownst to Silverstream, there was a reason why her adoptive father Hawk was so busy. Since the end of the war, Hawk had been launching an election campaign for the 2020 presidential election. He tried to split his time between the campaign and caring for Silverstream, but faced active opposition from his liberal opponent, Cozy Glow’s mother Amber Rays. Amber Rays campaigned for the poor and promised that if she won the election, she would distribute land amongst the earth ponies and raise taxes for the rich. Essentially, she was a communist, but she didn’t want to admit that. Hawk ran for the Republican Party of Equestria while Amber ran for the fledgling Socialist Democratic Party of Equestria. Silverstream wanted to help her adoptive father, so she asked him if she could help with the campaign. Surprisingly, he agreed, but not in the way she was expecting. He told her that she could bring honor to his name by continuing to be the kind and polite hippogriff she was and being an example to other creatures, which would show the integrity of the Republican Party. Silver agreed, although she was kind of upset she couldn’t be his campaign manager. She knew not to press forward though as she had learned from her experience as a slave that pressing on never ended well. Plus the role Hawk gave her was enough. She loved making Hawk proud of her. It made her feel good about herself in a time in which her morale was practically broken by slavery. And by November of 2020, it worked! It turned out that Silverstream’s kindness and compassion towards others brought more ponies flocking to the Republican Party as they felt that Silverstream’s politeness was a result of her conservative upbringing. On November 20th 2020, it was announced at the Lunar Court Senate that Hawk was the new President of the Republic, the first landmark victory for the Republicans. When Hawk arrived home, Silver couldn’t help but embrace him as soon as he got to the door. It was a day to celebrate. “You did it, Mr. Hawk! You won!” Silverstream exclaimed, having her first excited smile in years. Hawk smiled back, “I couldn’t have done it without you. I’m more proud of you, Silverstream, than I am about my victory.” Silverstream was confused, “Why?” “Make no mistake,” Hawk said, putting his hoof on Silverstream’s shoulder, “I am extremely elated that my party won. But I am more happy to have you as my daughter. That is what matters most.” They embraced each other again and Silverstream hurried to prepare him a victory lunch, making him his favorite apple pie, even though Hawk said that she didn’t have to do it. Although he was really grateful. “Should we throw a party?” Silverstream asked him, “I hear ponies talking a lot about that sort of stuff in school and I’m curious to know what it’s like. Only if it’s okay with you though.” “A party?” Hawk echoed. He thought about it, “Well, it’s Friday, so it’s practically the prologue to the weekend. Eh, shouldn’t be that big of a hassle. Alright. If you can invite your friends over, I’ll get the decorations ready. Sound good?” Silver nodded and Hawk felt glad to see her happy and smiling. He had been researching different ways to connect with her ever since ponies discovered the Internet during the war. He found a lot of useful suggestions, although caring for Silverstream was harder than he thought. She was very dutiful and kind, but she was basically scared of everything. Hawk had to be careful what he said or how he said it. Even now, a year after the war and one months after summer break, when Silverstream was beginning to come out of her shell, Hawk still had to be careful. But now, he had a victory party to look forward to. He wouldn’t be surprised if Silverstream managed to invite the whole school. Of course, that was kind of unlikely as not all students and staff were Republican according to a recent political poll done by the state during the school year. But that didn’t matter as part of a functional democracy was accepting the results of an election. He bet teenagers were pretty good at that, though he didn’t know for sure. Eh, how bad can it be? He thought. —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— “IT’S ABSOLUTELY A DISASTER!!!” “Don’t raise your voice, young filly!!” her father roared. Cozy Glow didn’t listen. She stormed out of the house in a fit of rage after she dumped a bowl of hazelnut soup on her father’s mane in frustration, completely sliming it. Cozy Glow ran and ran until she bumped into one of her good friends, Svengallop, who was also good friend of her mother’s. “Whoa! Chill out, Cozy!” Svengallop exclaimed, shocked at Cozy’s frustrated demeanor. “Don’t tell me to chill out, you money-loving cheapskate!” Cozy shouted, causing Svengallop to gasp, “My mother lost the presidential election, and you’re telling me to chill out?!” “Amber lost the election?” Svengallop asked, “Aw, that’s a shame. This country needs some socialist reforms if you ask me. I guess big bad Hawk is the leader now?” Cozy Glow nodded, “This was our only chance to get out of the dump! If the rich were equal to the poor, then we would be free while all the rich starve! I’m so mad, I could blow up the world!” “Steal a nuclear bomb and go ahead,” Svengallop teased her. “Unfortunately, I can’t,” Cozy Glow said, “I want to, but then they’d lock me up. I just hate Hawk so much. I hate Silverstream so much too!” “Why do you hate her exactly?” Svengallop inquired, “She’s a pacifist weakling whose too pathetic to even stand up for herself. Her precious friends have to help her out. Why do you have a grudge against her?” “Because,” Cozy Glow replied, “She has more privileges than she even knows! Her father Hawk was a military general before he became President, so he got paid by the government to live in that cottage in Cantropolis! Silverstream will inherit that wealth and she doesn’t even know it! Why does Silverstream get to live the life of luxury while my family rots at the bottom of the food chain?! It’s just not fair, Svengallop. I wanted to get out of the dump so bad. I wanted to finally live in Canterlot where I could be among the rich and privileged. I wanted my family to finally be able to afford adequate food and living conditions. Svengallop, I wanted nothing fancy. I just wanted to have higher social status so my family wouldn’t be socially discriminated against. I was so happy when my mother decided to run because we had a chance to live like the more happy ponies up there. Instead we’re stuck in a dump like the Russian proletariat were stuck on their farms courtesy of the Russian Tsar!” “This does sound pretty sad,” Svengallop admitted, “Normally I wouldn’t care, but you’re my good friend, Cozy Glow. Something obviously must be done about that little brat Silverstream and her almighty father! But what?” “We need to come up with a plan,” Cozy Glow told him, “Let’s get Suri Polomare.” > Chapter 3: Recruiting Suri Polomare. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cozy Glow and Svengallop traveled to the bustling city of Manehatten. The streets were full of ponies all going places and not stopping to chat, the very opposite of Ponyville and Canterlot. Soon enough, they reached a part of the city where they found a large mansion. They knocked on the door and all of a sudden there was the sound of crashing and shouting. “I WANT THOSE DRESSES DONE BY TONIGHT!! I DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE TIRED, COCO!!!! YOU GET THOSE DONE OR YOU’RE FIRED, DO YOU HEAR ME?!” The door burst open, hitting Cozy in the face, and a cream colored earth pony mare went sprinting out with a whole rack of dresses. Cozy Glow recovered and Svengallop said, “Well I see she’s home.” Cozy Glow looked behind her to the streets where Coco Pommel had sprinted off to in the midst of a traffic stop. One aqua dress lay sprawled in the road, “Yeah, I almost feel sorry for her. Almost. We got a job to do.” Just then, Suri Polomare came to the door and pulled them inside the mansion, slamming the door behind them. “Well it’s about time,” Suri Polomare said, “I’m afraid that I did not turn on CNN today. Who’s the new Big Boss around here?” “Unfortunately…” Cozy Glow told her, “My mother lost the election. I am not happy about it AT ALL!!!!” Suri looked stunned, “Your mother lost the election? That means…” Her stunned expression turned to horror and she screamed: “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT THAT RACIST!!!!!” “Suri, I know it’s bad, but the whole neighborhood can hear you! Give it a rest or Republican extremist groups will be on our tail!” Svengallop warned her, covering her mouth briefly to stop her screaming. Suri took a few deep breaths, “Okay. Okay. I’m calm. What do we do? We can’t have a conservative as President! What about the proletariat? What about workers’ equality?” Cozy smiled, taking Suri’s hooves and said, “We’re going to overthrow the President. And this is how we’re going to do it. You heard how the USSR just got restored in Russia by Rik Latyeskov, right?” Suri nodded. “Well I know a way we can get big bad Hawk out of the Oval Office,” Cozy Glow explained, “We are going to frame Hawk for colluding with the Soviets!” “Hasn’t the whole ‘Russian collusion’ thing already been done in the United States?” Svengallop asked, “Didn’t work so well with the Democrats.” “Ah, but this time it will work,” Cozy Glow said, “Stick with me. We have everything we need to succeed in framing Hawk. Soon Silverstream will be my slave. And I will make her suffer.” She began to sing, “Yes, my dear friends, times are a changing. Which means that we all must too. My vision is clear and wide ranging. And even encompasses you. So prepare for the coup of the century, prepare for the murkiest scam. Meticulous planning, TENACITY spanning, DECADES of denial is simply why I’ll be QUEEN undisputed, respected, saluted, and seen for the wonder I AM!! Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared. Be prepared.” Cozy Glow waited. Then Svengallop and Suri Polomare began to chant: “Be prepared!! Be prepared! Be prepared! Be prepared! Be prepared! Be prepared! Be prepared! Be prepared!! Be prepared! Be prepared! Be prepared! Be prepared! Be prepared! Be prepared!” Cozy Glow smiled maliciously as she joined her friends for a final, “YES, OUR TEETH AND AMBITIONS ARE BARED!!!! BE PREPAAAAAAAAAAAARREEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!!!!!” > Chapter 4: The Party/Revelations > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ocellus was shocked to hear that she and the whole school were invited to a so-called victory party, celebrating Hawk’s successful election as President of the Republic. She was very excited to hear that news. Her family, despite living in a monarchy, had personal ties to the Equestrian Republican Party and were extremely elated to hear the Republicans won the Equestrian government. Ocellus, despite going to school in Equestria, had not chosen her own political path yet. She aimed to become a doctor once she graduated college after high school, so she was in no way going to run for office as a politician. Political stuff just wasn’t her thing. But she believed that if she was to choose a political party to support at the moment, it would be the Republicans as their conservative methods so far brought good for the country as seen from policies passed by the Lunar Court Senate. So she asked her parents via email if she could go to the party and they agreed, as long as she didn’t drink any alcohol as she was underage. Ocellus couldn’t even fathom getting addicted to drugs and/or alcohol so she strongly agreed. What Ocellus heard turned out to be true. The whole school was invited, as well as some other random ponies. The party took place at 6:00 PM on Sunday and was hosted by Hawk and Silverstream. Silver looked much happier now and Ocellus was relieved and happy that her friend was feeling alright. “Hey, Ocellus!” Smolder said, coming towards her in the crowd, “You enjoying the festivities?” Ocellus nodded, “It’s really fun actually. I’m looking for Silverstream so I can ask her how she’s doing. Have you seen her?” “There she is right now.” Smolder pointed to a familiar light pink hippogriff coming their way. “Ocellus!” Silverstream exclaimed, “You’re here too? That’s good. I invited the whole school!” “Noticed,” Smolder replied, “Got everycreature onboard with this shindig. Never thought winning a political election warranted a victory party to this scale, but eh, I actually like the occasional fun from time to time.” “I knew he could do it,” Silverstream told them, “I always had faith.” “Hey guys!” Gallus called, “Minuette’s gonna do some ‘pin the tail on the pony’! Wanna come play?” Silverstream nodded and she and her friends headed over. The party lasted late into the night until about 10:45 PM where everyone crowded into the family room to watch the inauguration speech done by Hawk earlier on Friday. Hawk turned on the TV and Spike News came on. The reporter said, “This is breaking news! We come to you live with revelations about the 2020 election in which the Republican Party won a landslide victory over the Socialist Democratic Party and Hawk is now the new President of the United Lunar Republic!” “Cool stuff,” said Ocellus, “Once again, I’m very happy for you and Hawk.” The screen changed to Hawk standing on the podium in front of a crowd of ponies all cheering, “Ponies of Equestria, this has been a tough time. We have just emerged from half a decade’s worth of civil war. Though we ultimately emerged victorious against the evil Solar Empire, our economy had been shattered beyond repair. That is until the recent efforts of Princess Luna, your founder, who took control of the Senate to lift the economy off the ground in a presidential absence. Now, I plan to continue her work. This Republic, though now a unified state, is still a developing country. It has only been one year since its founding. But that does not matter. For today, upon my entrance into the Oval Office, I will make this economy prosperous and booming like it never was before. We shall make Equestria a formidable force. We shall make Equestria great again. Thank you.” Everyone applauded at the short speech and Silverstream turned towards Hawk, “That was an amazing speech, Mr. Hawk.” “Yeah. Who knew you were such a good speech giver?” Gallus asked. “I made that speech in only one night,” Hawk told him, putting a hoof on Silverstream’s shoulder, causing her to flinch momentarily, “As soon as I found out the verdict, I had to hastily prepare an inauguration speech for the big day. That is what I came up with. I’m glad you like it.” “Well, I say it’s time to head home,” said Soaring Virtue, one of the other students, “Great party though. Thanks for inviting us, Mr. President.” “Call me Hawk,” Hawk replied, smiling warmly, “I don’t really deal in formal address unless it’s at my work.” Soaring Virtue smiled back and the students and teachers began to leave the room. Ocellus was very fascinated by the speech Hawk gave. She believed he’d make a great president. Equestria’s future was in capable and great hooves. As she got her backpack on, Silverstream helped her. “Thanks, Silverstream,” Ocellus thanked her, “You’re a big help. Okay. I’ll see you on Monday at school, right?” Silverstream nodded, “I’ll see you soon, Ocellus. Bye.” “Bye, Silverstream,” Ocellus answered, walking towards the door. As she walked out of the house and into the beautiful night sky with the others, they soon dispersed at a cross section of the road, each going towards their separate houses or towards the train station, saying goodbye to each other and waving. Ocellus followed Gallus, Smolder, Sandbar, and Yona to the train station. They waited in line for the train and when it arrived, they got on, Ocellus taking the window seat. “Silverstream seemed to flinch when Hawk touched her,” Smolder said, “Is she still scared?” Ocellus sighed, “Smolder, if you were raised as a slave, always getting screamed at, whipped, punched, beaten, etc, wouldn’t you be like that? These days, she seems to be happy more often and engaging in conversation and stuff, but the trauma still remains. Remember back last year, a few days before the last day, I told you that Silverstream had a nightmare about being back in slavery? Well, those still haven’t gone away and I am extremely worried about her.” Ocellus couldn’t stop thinking about Silverstream. She remembered one night back at school before the summer. ———————————————————————————————————————— It was a Thursday, just after finals had ended. Ocellus and Silverstream were getting ready to go to their dorms. She and Silver shared a dorm room, which was good, but Ocellus could never get any sleep because Silver constantly whimpered at night, indicating she was having a nightmare or thinking of some bad memory. But to Ocellus, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that her friend was safe. As Ocellus climbed under the covers to sleep, Silverstream asked her from above: “Ocellus?” “Yeah?” Ocellus asked her. “Thanks for…not thinking me a burden on you…” Silverstream said softly. Ocellus smiled, “You’re welcome, Silverstream.” Using her changeling magic, she turned the lights out and they soon fell into a deep sleep. Ocellus began to dream about bringing the former queen of the changelings Queen Chrysalis back to the Changeling Kingdom and convincing her to reform. She was just getting to the part where she defended Chrysalis in front of a thousand other angry changelings and Thorax when she was awoken suddenly by a scream. Quickly, she got out of bed and turned on the lights only to see Silverstream looking down at her from the upper bunk bed, tears in her eyes. “Another nightmare?” Ocellus asked. This was getting to be quite common. She sighed, “Come down. Tell me what happened.” Silverstream flew down and faced her, “I-I d-dreamt I was back in m-mistress’s palace a-and she had you and the others h-h-hostage. I tried to call out for you, but you were bound and gagged…Mistress took out a sword and…” she trailed off. Ocellus knew where this was going. She braced for it. After a long pause, Silverstream finally finished, “and stabbed you and everyone else…to death while I was chained up and could do nothing…” “It was near the end of the war, wasn’t it?” Ocellus remembered, “We were all dragged into that throne room by Celestia, chained together. As she was taunting us and bullying you, that was when you found the courage within yourself and completely owned her with that heartfelt, empowering song. Then Hawk arrived and-“ “But what if that didn’t happen?” Silverstream asked Ocellus, then realizing she had interrupted her and immediately apologized profusely. “It’s fine,” Ocellus replied, “Continue.” “What if that didn’t happen?” Silverstream repeated, then saying, “What if I never stood up to her and she slaughtered you all? Even if I still did, we were very lucky that Mr. Hawk and the Night Guard arrived. If not, then…you would’ve died. It would be all my fault…” she began to cry. Ocellus beckoned her closer and let Silver cry into her hooves, “Shhhh. It’s okay. You’re alright. Just let it out.” As Silver continued to cry, Ocellus forgot all about sleep and her dream. All that mattered was being there for Silverstream. As she held the sobbing hippogriff filly in her hooves, a song came to her. It was a lullaby that her mother would always sing to her when she was little. She began to sing, “Where the northwind meets the sea…there’s a river full of memory…Sleep my darling, safe and sound. For in this river, all is found. In her waters, deep and true…lie the answers and a path for you. Dive down deep into her sound. But not too far or you’ll be drowned. Yes, she will sing to those who hear and in her song, all magic flows. But can you brave what you most 1fear? Can you face what the river knows? Where the northwind meets the sea, there’s a mother full of memory…Come my darling, homeward bound. Where all is lost, and all is found…” After that, Silverstream calmed down and both got back to bed. Both fell into a deep sleep eventually. ———————————————————————————————————————— “You’ll never know the extent of how much I care for her,” Ocellus told Smolder, “It’s more complicated than you’ll ever believe. And I’d do anything to protect her from harm.” “I’m sure you would,” Smolder replied. “Where were you the last seven years of her time in slavery then?” Gallus asked jokingly. “Gallus,” Ocellus shot him a concerned look, “That’s not funny.” “Dude,” Sandbar said, shaking his head. “Geez, you guys are in serious mode today.” Gallus remarked. He turned towards Smolder, “What do you say about pranking Miss. Sapphire first thing on Monday?” Smolder grinned devilishly, “Oh you’re on, Gallus!” Ocellus leaned back in her seat, sighing. Troublemakers, She thought. > Chapter 5: Framing Hawk. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Luna, High Chancellor of the United Lunar Republic, Princess of the Night, Guardian of the Moon, and Keeper of Dreams, stared out into the night sky from the castle balcony in Canterlot. As she slowly raised the Moon higher into the sky to mark midnight, she spotted a familiar group of creatures headed towards the train station down below. She smiled, watching them go. She headed back inside and hummed the National Anthem of the Republic to herself. It seemed like an eternity since the war had passed and now Equestria was in safe hooves under the Hawk administration. She lost count of how many times she watched Hawk’s speeches. He wasn’t her best general for nothing and since Silverstream had come into his life, all the bitterness and pent-up hate had almost vanished overnight. As she was the Princess of the Night, she was also the Princess of Gambles and her recent gamble during the war, betting on Hawk warming up to Silverstream, had actually worked. Now, she could finally relax and enjoy life, knowing that she wouldn’t have to run the country for another 4 years until the next Interim Period. As she headed towards the Lunar Court Senate to finish filling out the Transfer of Power forms, a batpony soldier came up to her from the next room. He looked frantic. “High Chancellor,” the guard addressed, “We found some spies at the gate. They claim to have a “political emergency.” My friends are detaining them as we speak.” Princess Luna sighed. An infiltration. Her night was officially ruined. She pushed aside her misgivings and replied, “No. Bring them over to my private quarters. It is unwise to detain somecreature without hearing them out. I will meet with them shortly.” “Yes, High Chancellor.” The guard replied, heading out of the assembly room. Luna continued on, only this time heading left instead of right, in the direction of her private chambers. ———————————————————————————————— “Any questions?” Cozy Glow asked her friends. They had been heading to the castle to execute their plan that they had spent the first half of the night planning out when they were caught by some Lunar Republican Army members. They were going to be detained, but another guard, apparently named Owl, had saved their lives. “Do these hoofcuffs make me look fat?” Svengallop asked, earning him a slap across the face from Suri Polomare, “Ow!!” “You idiot!” Suri yelled, “Can’t you tell we’re being arrested?!” “We’re being brought to the Princess, right?” Cozy Glow asked the female Kirin guard next to her. The guard only nodded in response, “Not much of a talker, are you?” This time, she got slapped by Suri Polomare, “AYAYYAEYAEYAEYAE!!!!” “Get moving!” Owl barked orders at them, pushing them along down the hallway and to the end of the hallway where a door was marked: THIS IS THE OFFICE OF PRINCESS LUNA. DO HOT ENTER UNLESS YOU ARE HER EVER!!!!!!! “Wow, rude.” Svengallop commented. Owl took out his badge and touched it to the door. The speaker answered: “A warm welcome to you, General Owl.” The door opened and the trio were pushed inside. The room was pitch black. Suddenly, the lights flickered on all by themselves. “Now then…” came Princess Luna’s voice. The three conspirators looked and saw the High Chancellor herself standing before them, “What is this ‘political emergency’ you were speaking of?” The tone was polite enough, but the navy blue alicorn had a suspicious look on her face. The guards exited at Luna’s waving of a hoof and the door closed behind them. “W-w-well, w-well, y-you see,” Svengallop stammered, “We’re...not planning treason! Definitely not treason!” “Uh yeah,” Cozy Glow added in a shaky voice, “Be-because yeah, we’re nice, dutiful citizens and...we’d never do something like that!” “I should hope not.” was all the Princess said in reply. Finally, Suri Polomare spoke up, “We’re...whistleblowers. Against the newly-elected President. We’ve recently discovered that he was not duly elected after all.” Princess Luna did a double take, but regained her impassive expression, “Do go on.” “Hawk is a traitor to this country,” Cozy Glow replied, “He sold out our country’s secrets to Russia in an attempt to get himself elected. He knew he was losing, so he tried to win the favor of the Communist Party!” Now Princess Luna couldn’t contain her surprise, “Hawk? Why would you think that Hawk would do such a thing?” “Because,” Suri answered, “We have proof!” She handed two documents over to Princess Luna, who took them via her magic and levitated them to her face. There was silence for four whole seconds before the documents were suddenly crumpled into a million pieces and a very, VERY angry Princess Luna emerged from the falling pieces. “What else have you lied to me about, Hawk?!” Princess Luna demanded under her breath. “Um, pardon, Princess?” Cozy Glow asked meekly. “YOU’VE BEEN PULLING A LONG CLAW ON ME, HUH?!” Princess Luna roared, “ALL OF OUR SECRETS YOU’VE GIVEN TO RUSSIA?!!” “I mean, it’s not too late,” Cozy Glow began, “You can still-“ “I TRUSTED YOU WITH OUR CONSTITUTION AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?! I’VE CONFIDED IN YOU AND YOU TURN TO THE HUMAN TERRITORIES TO GET YOURSELF ELECTED?!” Princess Luna ranted. She faced the cowering trio, “Come with me. I’ll assemble the Army.” “Why?” Svengallop inquired. Princess Luna’s face was a mix of sadness, anger, hurt, and determination. “I’ve made mistakes once, trusted ponies I shouldn’t’ve. Not again. I have to end this thing before it begins...”