The Test of War

by TheNewYorkBrony

Chapter 3

Twilight could do nothing but stare in horror as she watched the rebels put duct tape over his mouth. She picked up her walkie talkie. "Team Harmony to base."

"Base to Team Harmony." A voice crackled.

“We have a hostage situation at the Oak Tree Library. Rebels have taken over and have captured the boy."

Silence. Then, "Are they armed?"

She laughed dryly. "If you call knives and machetes armed."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to kill every single one if those bastards."

"Twilight," Pinkie said. "Calm down. You don't want to walk into a hostage situation mad. It might make them-"

"I know what it might make them do!" Twilight screamed.

Pinkie, taken aback, said nothing.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, fourth in command and leader of the elite force Team Harmony." Twilight spoke slowly.

"Why are you stating your title and rank?" Dash asked.

"Because you're going to have to tell General Celestia that there's been a casualty. My casualty."

"What the hell are you talking about?! Are you insane?! This aint a suicide mission!" Applejack shouted at her.

Twilight remained indifferent. "That's not for you to decide."

"You can't just barge in there, Twilight! You'll be killed!" Pinkie told her.

"Please, darling. I know you're upset and worried about Spikey-Wikey. We all are. But you have to think with reason." Rarity said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Twilight sighed, but it came out as a hiccup. Tears streamed down her face. "I can't lose him. He's all I have left."

The other five girls looked at her concerned. It was true. Spike was all she had left. Shining Armour had been taken prisoner, and Cadence was so busy protecting the Crystal Empire from Republic soldiers that she had lost all contact with Twilight.

Her parents were the first ones to die when this war started. All she had left was her friends and Spike.

And she couldn't even protect him. She started to feel the same feelings Applejack was feeling earlier, but it was much worse. Because instead of him going missing, she was going to watch him die.

"Wha-what do we do?" Fluttershy squeaks, cowering behind Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

"We fight. Just like we always do. We got permission to kill them suckers anyway." Applejack said, rolling her shoulders.

"Surely you don't think we can just barge in there and not make a scene?" Rarity huffs raising an eyebrow.
"There ain't no other way! Unless, you got any better ideas! And Ah don't think Ah need to remind ya we're runnin' out of time!"

That shut Rarity up. But Twilight shook her head. "No. If we're going to do this, we are going to do this my way."

The five stood at attention, waiting for their orders.

"Pinkie Pie, do you still have your smoke pepper bombs?" Twilight asked.

The girl saluted. "Yes ma'am! I packed four bombs!"

"Good. We can use the first two to distract and blind them while the last two will make sure that they can't follow us."

"Dash? AJ?"

"Yes ma'am?" They both asked.

"Guns locked and loaded?"

They nodded.

"Good. Rarity, this is where your attention to detail comes in. Look around and see if you see anything."

"I'll do my best, darling." The former fashionista assured her.

Twilight put on her goggles. "Alright, here we go." She said, raising her gun.

The others did the same and followed behind her. Twilight signaled Pinkie to go in with her and sent Dash with Rarity and Fluttershy, leaving Applejack with her.

The first team, consisting of Twi, Pinkie and AJ, were going to come in through the front. The second, Rarity, Dash and Flutters were going to come in through the back. This way there was a better chance of them going undetected.

Team two agreed to meet team one in the tree house once Spike was obtained before circling around to the back.

Team one approached the front, crouching under the front window. Luckily, it was already open. Twilight gave the signal to Pinkie and the explosives expert threw the first of four bombs in. It exploded, causing the men in front of it to start hacking and coughing. Team one put on their masks before heading in.

Pinkie threw the second one, which further blinded the rebels. By now, the rebels who had been upstairs came down to see what all the commotion was about.

Some of them didn't even make it down the stairs, thanks to Rarity and Dash. Applejack, Twilight, and Pinkie had taken care of most of the ones who were already downstairs.

Quickly, both teams made their way up to Twilight's bedroom where the teenager was being held. Twilight busted into the room with AJ and Dash flanking her on both sides.

Two rebels stood up, drawing their weapons. Applejack drew her pistol, shooting one in the neck and the other in the head in a split second.

Twilight ran over to her brother and untied him before she hugged him. "Oh Spike." She said, breathing in his familiar scent.

The others stood behind her, smiling. Their mission was a success. The leader turned to her team. "Good work, you guys."

---

“Why the hell does she want us?!” Scootaloo asked, finally glad to have gotten out of the sun.

“The hell should know?” AppleBloom responds, rolling her shoulders. She really hated carrying that damned gun around. She didn’t even think she needed it anyway. Unless they tried to escape. And they didn’t dare do that. They were terrified of what Nightmare Moon would do to them if she caught them trying to escape. It sent a shudder down her back.

Sweetie Belle took off her navy blue jacket, letting her chest free after they had come in from their post. It surprised her when she hit puberty. She never thought she would develop almost the same way as Rarity did.

The others hit it around the same time she did, earning them leering stares and catcalls from the older male soldiers. It scared them, they didn’t want to think of the possibility of being raped, but it was possible. In fact being prisoners of war, they were lucky that they even got this far and even became soldiers themselves. A lot of the girls they had knew when they first got here are either dead or sitting in a cell rotting. It was revolting.

The trio stepped into the dictator’s office. Seeing the woman with her smile; a greedy and malicious one. “Ah, my three loveliest girls. How are you all?” she sneered.

AppleBloom gritted her teeth, saying nothing. She remembered Granny telling her when she was younger that if she didn't have anything nice to say she shouldn’t say anything at all. Scootaloo swatted her arm, annoyance clear on her face. The young farm girl rolled her eyes before muttering a “Just dandy.”

Nightmare chuckled. “Ah AppleBloom. Just as stubborn as your sister. You’ll come around soon.”

AppleBloom’s stomach churned at the mention of Applejack’s name. She refused to believe she was alive. Everyone needed to stop mentioning her like she was. It was sickening.

“I have a job for you three.” Nightmare states, crossing her fingers on top of her desk.

“What is it, ma’am?” Scootaloo asks.

“I want you to infiltrate Canterlot and cause a riot. I want you to kill. Destroy everything in sight.” She told them swirling the wine glass next to her before taking a sip. She smirked. “Oh, how rude of me do you girls want some?” She asks, holding up the bottle.

The three shake their heads.

“Alright then. Suit yourselves. Now, go on. Get on with it.” She says shooing them out.

“What a lunatic.” Scootaloo muttered as the door closed.

“Shh! She can hear you!” Sweetie Belle repremanded.

AppleBloom’s fist clenched. Nightmare was insane if she thought that she was just going to go out and kill innocent people.

After going to their rooms to get their cloaks, the girls stood alone at the train station.

“Guys?” Sweetie asks.

“What?” Scootaloo and AB ask.

“Do you think we’ll see them?”

As the train rolled in, nor Scoots or AppleBloom answered.

---

Instead of returning to headquarters, they reported to Canterlot at request of the princess.

“Ah wonder what she wants now.” Applejack mumbled as they boarded the Ponyville Express. The train barely ran anymore, its only passengers soldiers and military cargo now.

“Probably wants us to take care of something else. That’s basically all we do.” Dash snorted, staring out the window. It wasn’t just the town that had been lost, it was the rest of the land. Trees hung lower than they did before, grass grew taller, weeds taking the place of flowers. The Everfree Forest had expanded itself, the trees snaking their roots into what used to be smooth commonly used roads.

Civilians who lived in either Ponyville or Cloudsdale were evacuated and moved to Canterlot where it was safe. Unfortunately, a lot of those people weren’t moved in time including Applejack’s family and a few others. Some died, others went missing, and the truly unfortunate ended up as prisoners of war. Twilight wanted to rescue those people so bad, because the girls could be one of them. But she didn’t dare cross into New Lunar Republic territory. It would further complicate things and possibly get more people killed.

“Well whatever it is, I’m sure it’s important.” Twilight says, sighing a little bit. She wished she could go back to the days where it was just her, Spike, and the girls, and all they had to worry about was going to galas and being the Elements of Harmony.

She looked over to the boy, who had fallen asleep and was now leaning peacefully on Rarity’s shoulder. She smiled. He still had a crush on her. Hopefully when this war was over he could ask her out on a proper date. Things could be great for them. For all of them.

The train stopped, jerking into the deserted station. The six and Spike got out, him stretching his limbs and them saluting their fellow soldiers.

“Princess.” A guard greeted Twilight, saluting her.

“At ease, soldier. Why has the general called us in?” She commanded.

“Yes ma’am.” He nods before speaking again. “It appears there has been a break in security. There are Republic soldiers in the city as we speak.”

Applejack stiffened. Now? Of all times? How could anyone be so careless so inattentive that they would let soldiers of an enemy army into what was supposed to be a safe haven for people who didn’t deserve to endure something as heartbreaking and painstaking as civil war?

Her hands clenched into fists. She wasn’t going to let a single one of those bastards live. Not one single one of them.

Twilight, seeing how angry Applejack was getting, thought it would be a good idea to keep moving so that the farm girl couldn’t have another break down. Celestia knows they didn’t need another one of those. She nodded curtly before waving a hand at the soldiers in front of her. “As you were, men.”

They saluted her again before returning to their posts. She sort of felt bad for them, especially since they had to stand out here until nightfall just to make sure that all the military supplies got through and nothing else didn’t.

Spike sighed. “Man, stuff like this really gets me down.”

“Dude, I’ve had to stand post like that, and let me tell you, it’s not a fucking barrel of monkeys.” Dash responds shouldering her gun.

“That’s cause you wouldn’t shut yer trap.” Applejack interjected, lighting a cigarette. They help her calm down, and she only smokes when she’s really irritated or frustrated, which wasn't very often.

Pinkie plucked one for herself from the carton in AJ’s hand and lit it, smirking as she put it to her lips. “I can’t imagine why. You have nothing to talk about since there’s nothing for you to compete for anymore.” She took a drag before breathing out with a laugh.

Dash gritted her teeth as they walked. She did have things to talk about! They just weren’t as important as they were before. She didn’t say anything though, seeing how she didn’t feel like she needed to defend herself.

Rarity frowned. “You two will become unhealthy if you keep up a habit like that.” She hated it when they smoked, especially around her. “Besides, Spike is with us and you might cause him to pick it up.”

AJ slaps him on the back with a grin. “That ain’t a worry. The boy’s got Twilight. She’ll be makin’ sure he ain’t doin’ nothin’ for a long time!” She joked before sharing a laugh with Pinkie Pie.

Spike blushed, glancing over at Rarity. The nineteen year old never thought she looked more beautiful. Even with the hardships of war she still managed to look as endearing as she did before. He hoped that the war would be over soon so that she would have time to focus on being in a relationship with him. Not that he was banking on it or anything.

They had finally reached the castle, the big double doors being opened for them as they walked into the throne room. It had been a while since Twilight had been here, the last time being when there were two rules not one, and the land wasn’t divided. She wondered what it looked like now, her eyes wandering to see the glass stained window murals were gone. In their place were black curtains covering regular windows. There was only one throne chair now instead of two, and any and all things that even reminded Twilight of Luna’s presence was gone.

Celestia cleared her throat. The girls stood at attention, their right arms up in a crisp salute. Spike even joined them.

“At ease, girls. It’s nice to see you all face to face. Especially you Spike. I heard you had gotten yourself into quite a situation.” Celestia spoke, a soft warm smile on her lips. It was something foreign to Twilight and the others now, something they had not seen in three years. For Celestia to do it...it was an oddity. Though she probably only did it to comfort Spike. After all, he had just had a traumatic experience.

“It’s nice to see you too, Princess.” He grinned. He missed her. As much as he loved Twilight, he loved Celestia. To him, Twilight was his sister and Celestia was his mother. It more than made him feel safe, it made him feel loved.

She nodded affectionately before turning to the others. “I assume you heard what has happened already?” She asks.

Twilight steps forward. “Yes. The guards at the station have given me some information...do we know exactly who these soldiers are? Are they in uniform?”

Celestia’s face became the grim expression they had all come to know. “No, I don’t believe so. They appear to be unarmed too.”

“So how do we know they’re Lunar Republic?” Fluttershy spoke up for the first time in a long time.

“We don’t. That’s why I need you girls to stay here and patrol the city. Look for anything or anyone suspicious. See if you can find anything. And if you do find something, report it back to me.”

“Yes ma’am!” The six yelled before giving her a salute. The general dismissed them, telling them they were free to go. As they walked out the throne room, Applejack took a long drag of her cigarette.

“Man Ah’m really startin’ to get tired of this shit.” She says exhausted. Patrolling the city was one of the worst jobs she had ever had to do. Just watching people walk around in misery and despair...it made her sick to her stomach.

The group decided to split up: Twi took the north, Pinkie took the West, Fluttershy and Rarity took the east and Applejack and Dash took the south. They agreed to meet back at the castle at midnight.

As Applejack and Rainbow made their way through the crowded streets of the city, they looked around for any signs of trouble. It was pretty peaceful. Well, as peaceful as peaceful can get during a time like this.

Children ran past them chasing after one another, adults chattered by the outdoor cafes that lined the streets, vendors shouted out, selling things. It was almost like things were normal again. Almost.

Applejack had decided to go off on her own. She hadn’t been in the city for a while, seeing how she was always on missions for the princess, and she wanted to see what was new with it. Dash told her she was heading the other way, and that she would catch up with her in a minute. Just then, Applejack bumped into someone.

She had been so busy looking around herself that she didn’t notice that someone was in front of her. It was what seemed to be a young girl in a dark black cloak. The cloak was large on her, covering up most of her body expect a few strands of red hair and obscuring her face.

“Sorry, little missy.” She apologized.

The girl seemed to freeze in shock before smiling a bit. “Nah. It’s alright. Mah big sis always told me ta watch where Ah’m goin.” she said, grinning wider. She waved goodbye to Applejack before continuing on.

Applejack herself was frozen in place. Why did that voice sound so familiar but not quite? Why did she look familiar when she hadn’t even seen her face? No. It can’t be. It can’t be her. It would explain why the voice was deeper and more womanly but no, she wouldn’t believe it.

Her mind was playing tricks on her. Yeah, that was it, it was a cruel, sick joke her subconscious conjured up to give her a false sense of hope. She was letting the PTSD get the best of her; that teenager she just briefly met was not her long lost sister. But, still, there could be a possibility. There are always possibilities.

Applejack was contemplating actually going after the girl, just to make sure when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Dash gave her a worried look. “You okay there kid? You were kinda staring into space there.” The former athlete says a concerned look on her face.

Applejack shook her head. “Y-yeah. Ah’m fine. Ah just thought Ah saw something.”

Dash knew there was something more to it but decided not to press on. “Well, we should start heading back now. The others will probably be there soon.” She said, turning to walk back in the direction she came from.

Applejack nodded before following after her at a distance, just far enough so that she could say, “There’s always a possibility.”

Author's Note:

third chapter! Whoo! finally! This took forever but its finally here! Also i would like to say the plot of this story might change so stay tuned! ;)

Comments

[fordoe1]

That was really good keep up the good work

[abader]

muy buen trabajo me encanto espero el proximo capitulo