For ten straight days they’d been cutting through sections of hull, and for ten straight days they had found nothing but bodies. The wreckage of the Double Rainboom was floating, barely, courtesy of the emergency aquatic landing system. Below decks, in one of the compartments flooded by water by now, somepony had been able to activate the system manually and bring the wreckage closer to the surface. Despite the losses so far, the salvage workers continued to hold onto hope given that the room they were cutting into now was the Command Bridge.

While the island by the dorsal flight line was in charge of keeping the air clear, control of the Kodiak was based in a secure compartment, centralized and near the bottom of the ship in case a lucky bomb managed to get through the top decks. The armor surrounding the airships control center was also thick and impossibly dense courtesy of unicorn-powered magical forges, making progress slow and almost painful.

“You've got 20 more minutes on this torch before you need to switch it out.” one of the foremen said, tapping the unicorn trying to melt through the blast door, getting a grunt from her as she merely pushed into the torching area further. Scans showed lifesigns in there, even though they were fading fast, and if they could save one pony, just one, then she would consider this operation a success. 15 minutes later, a hoof-sized hole was melted clean through the door, and one of the technicians assigned to the recovery team managed to get his aura to hit the manual release. With hydraulics no longer locked in place, a team of unicorns managed to pull the large door open and they, along with a medical team, burst into the room.

“Fan out, somepony’s alive down here and we are going to find them!” the foreman barked, getting a chorus of acknowledgements from those around him. Flashlights bathed the walls and the flooded floor, water was almost up to everypony’s knees, and most gave a silent thanks that there was a small current flowing through. Without it, the water would be completely red. The bridge, or what was left of it, was a complete disaster. A round from the Everfree had punched clean through and detonated when it hit the outer plating on the ventral side, leaving a massive hole in the floor that was clogged with wreckage from above that extended all the way to the flight line.

“Sir! Over here! I found her!” one of the medics screamed, causing everyone to abandon their own investigations and gallop over through the murky, oily water. Only one pony didn’t gasp when she arrived at the scene, she’d been part of the cleanup crew for the Blueblood Massacre and had seen plenty worse.

Sky Admiral Dash had a length of metal conduit skewering her wings at the base, and her legs were pinned underneath a blown-out bridge console. Compound fractures could be seen, but curiously, there was another piece of debris, a steel beam, that had barely missed her head. From where it had come from, it should have knocked her head clean off, but it had been deflected by the hard shell of a tortoise. Tank, her ever loyal pet, had a shell hard enough to redirect the beam, as well as another piece of conduit that would have pierced her throat. The cost of such dedication though, was his life. The conduit had pierced the underside of his shell but wasn’t forceful enough to come out the other side, leaving the reptile beside his owner in perpetual hibernation.

“Damnit…” the head medic murmured, tears forming at his eyes, “Just…. Damnit…”

“Get her out of there!” came a barked order, snapping everyone out of their stupor, “You’ve got the head of the GDI Air Force still bleeding and you’re gonna gawk? I want her in the med bay and stabilized five minutes ago!”
____

“Five survivors so far, sir. Sky Admiral Dash is among them.” Ironsides’ EVA stated, getting a grunt from the old unicorn. First good news he’d heard all day, but even with an asset like Rainbow Dash still alive for the time being, it didn’t make up for the nearly 9000 Nod soldiers that they had trapped that managed to get evacuated. The rest that hadn’t made the window for evacuation had elected to commit suicide or go down fighting; only three managed to be captured alive.

“Her condition?” asked the old stallion as he continued to stare at the grim image the strategic map presented to him.

“Prosthetic wings and hind legs are under construction General. However, estimated recovery time for a spinal injury such as the one she suffered is months, if not years.”

Ironsides took in the news with solemn contemplation. Although the southward offensive had accomplished its goals and secured the Appleloosa Red Zone, the operation itself ground to a halt once Nod’s forces managed to regroup and their defensive line was reached. The loss of the Double Rainboom significantly weakened GDI’s air superiority in the region; truth be told, Admiral Dash’s survival was the only good news he’d received all day.

The reports he had in front of him painted a picture he didn’t want to admit. Over a year into the war, this was the first time GDI forces encountered the Brotherhood’s defensive emplacements. Great ebony towers along a fortified perimeter brought the offensive to a halt, and although much ground was won, its condition as a Red Zone made it as much of a danger for his troops as the Brotherhood’s own weapons.

With one final look at the strategic map showing him the condition of the fronts all over the planet, Ironsides gave his EVA unit a single command.

“Get me Princess Luna.”
____

Truthfully speaking, Luna would have loved to jump for joy and show just how ecstatic she was when General Ironsides came to her, asking for her to convene with her sister to suggest pursuing peace. After all, this had been the plan in the long run, the entirety of Nod’s mission statement at the strategic level from the start, even if the Council didn’t know it until nearly a year in.

“It is with a heavy heart that We accept your proposal, dear friend… though not as heavy as We suspect Celestia’s heart will be. Between the two of us, I had tried to avoid this conflict altogether, only to be refuted by our older sister…” Luna replied quietly, feigning a morose tone and darkening features, “Worry not though, We shall speak with her and hopefully we can put an end to this madness without further bloodshed.”

“That is all I can ask, Your Highness… ICB is in agreement, that at the current rate, we’re on the losing side of this war. We can hold out, yes, but offensively our options are spent. It would take a miracle or a disaster depending on who’s looking at it for us to have a chance of coming out on top.”

“Any chance, general? Or just a fighting chance?” the Lunar Princess asked, getting a sigh from the stallion standing before her.

“Prospects put us at only a 29% chance of winning this war, even with the updated tiberium refinement tech we snatched from the Brotherhood. Still hard to believe they’re so far ahead of ZOCOM in terms of finding and developing practical applications for it…” he murmured, shaking his head slightly, “I know they’re practically tib-worshipers but still, that much advancement needed more than just a brilliant defector of a princess to accomplish.”

“A mystery for another day, hopefully to be discussed cordially across a table once we put a stop to this war over a cancerous crystal.”
____

The Royal Gardens were one of the few places in the world to remain unchanged despite the crisis sweeping the planet. A serene, beautiful place where the Princess of the Sun could find peace and meditate. Normally, all would make sure to leave Celestia alone when she entered the gardens, which made Luna’s arrival all the more surprising.

“Sister, we need to talk.” came the uncharacteristically blunt request.

The sudden surprise almost caused Celestia to drop the potted plant she had been taking care of lately, only catching it with her magic at the last second.

“Luna… you surprised me.” she said, carefully placing the pot back on the table “What do you need?”

“I just received a joint report from General Ironsides and the ICB. They’ve formally requested we contact Nod’s leadership and ask for a cessation of hostilities. They want us to negotiate for peace.”

For a brief second, Luna believed the potted plant was about to catch fire. The singed leaves lent some credence to that theory.

“Peace, sister? After everything the Brotherhood has done?! After all the suffering they’ve caused?!” Celestia ranted, clearly not at her best today, which was sadly the norm for her lately. Thanks to her tone, the Moon Princess could already tell this wasn’t going well.

“Yes Celestia. Our forces are spread thin and our offensives are going nowhere. The odds are not in our favor.”

“The odds are never in favor of the righteous. Negotiating with the Brotherhood would be pardoning their crimes, most of which are downright unforgivable. Tell Ironsides to either come up with a better strategy or resign and let someone else do his job. Nod’s leaders must pay the price for their actions, and I’ll make sure they taste justice.”

Oh for Faust's sake…

“Sister… I understand how you feel, but this isn’t Ironsides alone. This is coming from our other generals. This is coming from the intelligence community. This is coming… this is coming from me as well. Already far too many lives have been lost, and if we continue on this path all projections lead to us failing and being defeated. All the lives lost fighting under GDI’s banner will have been wasted.” said Luna.

“Sacrifices need to be made. I care for every single pony that’s taken up arms in defense of their homes, but this is a fight we can’t afford to give up on.”

“Celestia, please listen to me. If we’re able to get these talks going, we’ll be able to gather the Element Bearers once more. If they’re able to put aside their differences as they have done in the past, we can bring an end to this war…. I know your dreams, Sister… I know you miss your former pupil as much as she misses her precious library… you cannot deny that no matter how many horrors she has created for Nod, she is still as much a part of your family as she was Shining Armor’s.”

That seemed to have stunned the Sun Princess momentarily as she stumbled with her words.

“Luna, I… very well then. I shall personally request a ceasefire so we may plan a meeting.”
____

Kane was nothing if not patient. Luna had informed him through his dreams that Celestia would be reaching out personally to request a ceasefire, and while he liked to play omnipotent, it was just better when he truly knew what the other player in this game of chess was about to do. The time was set, he was in front of the War Room vid-screen, and he even managed to get Chrysalis, Steelwing, and the three Element Bearers to be in attendance.

“You said she’d be calling at noon on the dot… what is taking her so long?” Chrysalis groaned, noting how the clock was a good half hour past the time Celestia had told Luna she’d make contact.

“Give her time, Chrysalis… she’s practically admitting defeat just by having us over for peace talks. It takes a while to get over a thousand years or more of arrogance and elitism.” Kane mused, glancing over at her for a moment with his signature grin before returning his eyes to the black screen in front of him. Minutes continued to tick on by, nearly an hour passing from the intended time before the void in front of him was interrupted by EVA announcing an incoming transmission. Without hesitation everyone save Kane perked up, returning to their ‘prescribed’ positions as he told EVA to accept.

“Well well well… if it isn’t my second-favorite Princess... such a surprise to have you reaching out to me directly. To what do I owe this... unexpected pleasure?”
____

One month. Kane and Celestia agreed on a cease fire for one entire month leading up to the peace talks. For 30 days, the world was oddly silent. GDI continued to dig in where they could, bolstered it defenses both magical and physical. What troops could be spared went home, if it still existed, to get some R&R, and even the Apple Family managed to have a reunion in Canterlot. Ponyville had long since been breached, and the Apple Family Farm had long since succumbed to tiberium.

The Brotherhood on the other hand had taken the month to set up. Kane promised peace would come from Nod, either through treaty or flame, and those who followed the Messiah were well experienced in preparing for the worst. Despite the Rescue of the Ten Thousand by the Black Hand’s own Hyperion, the GDI offensive had managed to strike a painful blow to Nod, regardless of whether it was obvious to GDI’s intelligence community or not.

While the ceasefire wasn’t necessary for Nod victory, it would help save lives in the long run, something that Spike and Rarity were both thankful for. Twilight was also noticeably happier than she’d been in months when the arrangements had been made. Peace was actually possible, and Princess Celestia was willing to admit she was wrong about something. Tiberium could be combatted, the planet could be saved, and while the world may be permanently be split down the middle by differing ideologies, at least the bloodshed and the killing would end for the time being.

For Kane, the month was spent in the company of his council, Princess Luna included. Discussions were had about various demands to make, possible territory disputes to put to rest, border lines to officially draw, and of course, the dismantling of a fair portion of the GDI military. If Chrysalis had her way, the entire GDI army would be imprisoned and their Kodiaks would be surrendered to Nod for use in its own fledgling aerial navy. Kane talked her down with Steelwing and Luna countering her heated temperament.

Regrettably, that conversation carried over even as a fleet of carryalls flew on a preplanned flight lane towards Canterlot. Unlike the standard variant, the craft that carried each council member was outfitted more like a luxury suite than a military transport. Three carryalls, flanked by another six, landed in sequence at Canterlot Castle on Ironside’s personal helipad. Guards arrived first, followed by Chrysalis, Steelwing, Twilight Sparkle with Rarity and Spike, and finally, Kane and his personal Black Hand detachment, Sister Pinkie Pie included.

Ironsides had elected to meet them and while he did his best to stay as diplomatic with Havoc and Dead Six flanking him, it was very very hard not to scowl at that perpetual smirk that Kane seemed to wear.

“Welcome to Canterlot, Kane.” the older stallion finally announced, walking carefully towards his guest.

“And what a wonderful welcome it is.” the bald earth pony told his reluctant host, “So, shall we get to the proceedings? I would hate to keep the Princesses waiting.”
____

“They have touched down…” Luna murmured to her sister, noting how hard it was for her to keep still in her seat. They’d elected not to be on their respective thrones for the meeting given it would have been bad to start off peace talks from a perceived position of power, even if it was legitimate.

“The sooner we get these talks over with, the better…” Celestia whispered back, still fidgeting despite how secure of a position they were in. Lining half of the throne room was an entire platoon of Zone Troopers, specifically, the Wolverines. Applejack, Fluttershy, and a slew of other high ranking ponies were seated on either side of the Princesses, and if that wasn’t enough, they were technically in the military center of GDI. Despite all of this, the Solar Princess continued to fidget in her seat until the door began to swing open.

Black Hand of every shape and size filtered into the room, taking up guard positions, the lead members stopping as they were shoulder to shoulder with their Zone Trooper counterparts. Once in position, and once Ironsides had made his way to the seat on Celestia’s left, the Brotherhood of Nod entered the throne room. Chrysalis found her seat easily enough, with Steelwing sitting opposite of her, followed shortly by Twilight, Rarity, and Spike. Once everyone was seated, the only vacant spot in the room was filled by the one stallion Celestia had truly started to fear, escorted by none other than Sister Pinkie Pie.

Kane walked into the throne room of Canterlot Castle as if he owned the place. His eternal grin, his confident stride, just the presence he brought with him made a few of the Zone Troopers shift uncomfortably in their armor, and the few remaining unicorn officers to sneer uncontrollably. Here was an Earth Pony, lowliest of the races, and yet with sheer charisma he commanded arguably the most powerful army in Equestria on a holy war against the longest-standing empire in the history of their planet.

“Princesses! Generals!” he exclaimed jovially, causing a few of the GDI dignitaries to jump, and his escort for the day to bounce a little more before she settled in next to her charge for the day, “I think it’s time we had a little chat.”
____

Hours. The talks had been going on for hours now. So many hours that most of the Zone Troopers and even some of the Black Hand had already locked the joints of their armor. Most of the talking points were simple, but given the controversy surrounding them, drew what should have been five minutes of deliberation into an hour, possibly more. It was a good thing they had arrived early in the morning, for it was already well past noon and Luna was already feeling the call of the Moon getting louder and louder, as if listening to a whisper from a great distance.

“Maybe we should take another recess…” Ironsides suggested, a hoof rubbing his temple as Chrysalis demanded, for the fifth time that day, that Changeling territory be expanded two-fold. Steelwing seemed to agree, making the same gesture as his insectoid counterpart made her tinny voice heard again and again.

“I would be inclined to agree.” Kane answered, “But there is one point that I need some clarification on.”

“And what might that be?” the Solar Princess asked.

“There is just… one thing, one simple thing, that I can’t quite put my hoof on, Princess Celestia… one thing that I just… I don’t quite understand.” the Messiah mused, tapping his chin for a moment while seemingly looking over one of the stained glass windows featuring the original two alicorn princesses.

“And what might that be, Kane?” Celestia asked, barely containing her disdain.

“Well, I just don’t understand… you’re supposed to be goddesses, correct?”

“We are not godde-”

“But you still let the ponies under your charge worship you, the celestial bodies that you manipulate, and even swear by your name, correct? Do you enjoy playing god, Celestia?”

“Why I-”

“Tell me, Princesses, where was your divine wisdom when your star pupil, your successor, found the cure to degenerative Tiberium mutation? Where was your kindness and understanding when you imprisoned the first two survivors of tiberium infestation? Tell me, oh wise goddesses where your compassion was when you made that decision that would end nearly 2 million lives?” Kane jabbed, the smirk that the world had come to know still plastered on his face.

“You dare…” Celestia murmured, visibly shaking on her throne, “You dare to assume that I care so little for my subjects…”

“I don’t dare, I know.” Kane spat.

“SILENCE” Celestia bellowed, her mane flowing as if she were in a wind tunnel and magic already channeling into her horn, “THIS IS A WAR THAT YOU’VE ENDORSED AS A MESSIAH! THIS CONFLICT THAT HAS KILLED MILLIONS! YOU COULD HAVE ASKED FOR PEACE AT ANY TIME!”

“No Sister, he could not.” Luna interjected, calming Celestia almost instantly, but not by much, “His argument, however spiteful, holds some merit… it was a mistake to not pursue Twilight’s research further… maybe if we had not burned it, this conflict could have been avoided.”

“That would imply that Celestia is willing to compromise.” Chrysalis butted in, getting a short chuckle from King Steelwing.

“Oh hush, Chrysalis, we all know that the goddess of the sun could never be wrong… after all...” Kane added in, standing and walking towards the two thrones, “What sort of god willingly throws away a million lives just to save face and preserve her reputation?”

“Kane…” Twilight murmured, worry seeping into her tone as Celestia’s mane flared up again.

“You still haven’t answered my question, Celestia… are you willing to admit that you personally are responsible?”

“Responsible for what?”

“The death of Equestria.”

Celestia screamed out a curse that no one quite understood as a beam of light erupted from her horn straight towards Kane. All of his guards and the rest of the Triumvirate lurched forward to protect their Messiah, but none of them could reach him in time, but instead of searing flesh and burning bone, the beam of pure, concentrated sunlight impacted harmlessly on a barrier of dark blue magic.

“Celestia!”

Everyone froze as Luna’s voice echoed throughout the throne room, almost shattering the stained glass windows, both covered and uncovered. She walked forward slowly before standing in front of Kane and scowling up at her sister. All along the side of the throne room, the guards for both factions faced each other, weapons ready and charging as they awaited the order that they knew their commanders earnestly wanted to give.

“Sister! This is unbecoming of you! They are here to talk about peace, and while We cannot agree with Kane’s jabs and barbs, mere words should not have moved you to the point of attacking somepony here under parlay!” Luna said, steel filling her voice.

“Agreed!” Ironsides barked, “Your majesties, if we could stop throwing beams at ponies long enough to get this truce fulfilled, we may be able to stop the war today!”

“General Ironsides is right, we should let diplomacy resume.” Twilight Sparkle added in, getting a nod from Steelwing.

“I second that.” the gryphon said.

“Dear Sister, this was a mistake, but one we can ask our guests to look past…. Kane?” Luna cut in, looking back at the earth pony behind her. Before Celestia could get a word in though, Admiral Jet Set interjected.

“Her only mistake was missing that low-born traitor!”

“No one asked your opinion, coward.” Chrysalis quipped, “If intelligence is right, you were cowering under a table while one of your Captains defeated our fleet right before the Rescue of the Ten Thousand.”

“Queen Chrysalis, please refrain fro-” Luna started, only to be interrupted again.

“Says the queen who can’t hold power without a cancerous stone! Tell me, how is King Thorax doing these days?” Rose Shard barked.

“Colonel! How cou-”

“Loyal as he should be, how’s the Crystal Kingdom?” the insectoid queen snipped right back. In moments, the negotiating table had devolved into insults, threats, and glowing horns from both sides of the table before Celestia brought forth the brightest light she could from her horn in order to get everyone’s attention. Once quieted down, all those in attendance looked to the Solar Monarch and found her muzzle pulled into a tight scowl.

“Kane, while I can appreciate your willingness to pursue peace, it should be obvious that just from what we have seen in this room, that it is not a viable option right now.” Celestia stated.

“Sister, surely-”

“Quiet, Luna, I shall handle this.” the elder sister hissed before returning her attentions to Kane, “You will be granted safe passage from Canterlot as a sign of good will, but the moment your transports leave GDI air space, we will resume hostilities.”

“Sister. Please, we can talk this out, we can have pea-”

“Luna, I will not say it again!” Celestia practically barked, only to receive a blast of navy magic to her chest for her trouble. The Solar Monarch was thrown through her throne, shattering it. When she tried to come back up to confront her sister, she was again hit with a blast of magic that embedded her in the stairwell leading to the thrones.

“For too long have We sat in your shadow, providing counsel, as you have deluded yourself into believing this War was unavoidable. That we could not compromise with Tiberium, that only a total victory and eradication of the crystal would be a ‘win’ for Equestria, for all of the Earth. We can live with this boon! We can survive! And you are just too stubborn to admit it! HALF of the Element Bearers are right here in this room on the side of compromise!”

“Luna..-” Celestia started, only to be cut off.

“Don’t ‘Luna’ me, sister!” the Princess of the Night sniped with a glare as the ground around her began to shift and warp. Her magic was flowing like weightless water around her and her fur darkened as she continued speaking, “We had a chance to end the war today but you have let yourself become irrational and acted out of anger! Kane did not word it tactfully but his propaganda back in Brotherhood territory is true! You started this war! You are unwilling to do what it takes to end it!

“But We….” she continued, her mane now taking a more celestial and disturbingly familiar appearance, “We will end this war as we first intended! BY FORCING A SURRENDER OF ALL GDI FORCES TO THE BROTHERHOOD OF NOD!”

Celestia’s head was blown back as Luna, or what had been Luna, released a wave of magical energy that sent everyone off their seats and even managed to knock over a few of the security guards on both sides. She was dazed from the previous attacks from her sister, but managed to clear her head quickly and look up at what had been Princess Luna. All around the Lunar Princess, streams of magic swirled around her, and her form seemed to be shifting inside the miniature maelstrom of her own creation. It was obviously Luna’s magic after all, not some third party, given the dark blue hues of the wisps rushing about her hooves. The process only took a few seconds, but to Celestia, it seemed to be an eternity as the mist subsided, and she was faced with her sister’s new visage.

Her wings were like that of a bat-pony, her mane and tail a lighter blue field of stars and with more flow than before. Her fur was now nearly black but with a hint of navy, and her stature now matched Celestia’s. But the real defining trait that sent shivers down the Solar Monarch’s spine were her eyes. Turquoise in color, but her pupils…. Her pupils were slits. Celestia knew those eyes all too well, and they weren’t Luna’s eyes at all.

Those eyes belonged to Nightmare Moon.

“Luna..?” Twilight murmured, a hoof covering her mouth as she tried to take in just what happened. All around her, the rest of the dignitaries were in equal states of shock ranging from Chrysalis looking just as frightened as Celestia, to Pinkie Pie’s jaw dropping to the floor.

Everyone, that is, except for Kane.

“Sister… why…? Why would you change back into her?”

“We are not Nightmare Moon, Celestia.” She replied before leaning down and whispering into her ear, “But we will use the darkness within us, no matter the cost, to bring an end to this conflict that you refuse to abandon… and as the Founder of the Brotherhood, and the rightful Queen of Equestria, you know I will do anything necessary to save our planet… even if it means ending you and your precious GDI, personally.”

Author's Notes:

Just a small update given how things are going, and then a bit of an announcement. If any of our readers would like their FiM OCs put into the story, feel free to message Wikia with a description and if we need to pull from a character pool, we'll add them in. Just be warned though, they will most likely not survive more than a chapter or two given the nature of this story. Also, Wikia is becoming a civilian again and will be moving from California to Texas in the coming weeks so while writing is happening (we're already a good 2000 words into the chapter) we may not get it to you before April.

As for the announcement...

Coming Soon...

Green Sun - Chapter 22

The Battle of Canterlot