2010 A.T.C.

On a hill, just outside a forest of cherry trees in full bloom, two colts were playing. The foals ran around chasing one another, lost in their imaginations, pretending they were knights slaying dragons. One of the colts was Pegasus with a tan-coat and a messy brown mane, whose cutie mark was a horseshoe with a downward-pointing sword overlain upon it. The other colt was an Alicorn with a black mane and a white coat; his cutie mark was a violet starburst shape with a checkerboard-patterned heart within it.

The foals suddenly stopped and looked to the horizon. The sky began to fill with all kinds of aircraft, and battleships came looming into view on the far-away sea. The two colts looked to one another in confusion, completely unaware of what was happening.

The invasion had begun.

Tokara. A sprawling metropolis that shielded millions of ponies from the Pegasus-administrated elements. Once, it was the capital of the valiant island nation of Nippony, rich in heritage and diverse in every aspect. Now it was the seat of Caballerian power in Area 11. The industrious center of the city was smothered by a massive metal fortress half a dozen layers thick, a giant hoof that stamped on the honour of the Nipponese.

The Tokara Settlement was a shining example of the Caballerian way of life. Caballeria was an empire built on the backs of other ponies. The emperor preached Social Darwinism to his subjects, both to ethnic Caballerians and to the ethnicities she oppressed. “The ponies from other nations are inherently inferior to those of Caballeria.” Social Darwinism penetrated every level of Caballerian society. “The Alicorn royalty are superior to the Unicorns and Pegasi, and they are superior to the magic-lacking, wingless Earth Ponies.”

And so the Tokara Settlement – populated by Caballerian nobility – prospered, and the ghettoes to the borders – overrun with Elevens – fell farther and farther into ruin and squalor. The only way an Eleven could live a privileged life inside the Settlement was to sell their soul and become an ‘Honorary Caballerian’, to abandon their kin and assist in their repression.

Caballeria kept its victor’s peace in the Tokara Settlement, propagating a regime that had no morals.

Well, it usually kept the peace…

“This is Alpha Three. The target is moving from Sector G to Sector H. Requesting backup to apprehend the vehicle.” A Pegasus in a military helicopter was yelling into a radio receiver and keeping an eye on the road below him. The pony was watching a steel-grey eighteen-wheeler barrelling down a steel-grey highway flanked by steel-grey skyscrapers, and it was a pain in the flank to keep track of.

“Reinforcements on the way, Alpha Three,” answered a pompous voice blaring back through the radio. “Orders from above are to follow the target and wait for the rest of the air units to arrive, then move in for the capture. HQ out.”

The pilot Pegasus nodded to himself and checked his radar. Two helicopters were already closing in from behind. The Pegasus grinned and watched the truck closely. Once the rest of the choppers showed up, they’d have this rebel scum trapped in less than a minute.

“Can’t this damn thing go any faster?!”

Sitting in the passenger seat of the eighteen-wheeler was a fiery Pegasus with a light blue coat and a spiky rainbow-coloured mane. She was yelling at the driver, a brown and black Earth Pony. They were both wearing janitors’ uniforms, disguises that enabled them to infiltrate a Caballerian barracks so that they could enter with the truck and load it up with a very dangerous cargo.

They were Nipponese rebels, terrorists.

“This thing isn’t built like you, Dash,” her comrade said as they swerved around a truck. “If we can’t get away, you’re going to have to fight them off.”

The blue mare grinned and punched the air. “Let’s hope the military is as skilled as ever then, huh?” She gave the driver a wink, and he rolled his eyes. Clearly he didn’t want to try their chances in a shoot-out with Caballeria. They were in a dangerous situation.

They had hijacked military property in order to strike out at the imperial regime. The back of the truck was divided into two compartments. The compartment behind the seats almost filled from wall to wall by a large capsule. It was big enough to contain just about anything. And anything included a biological weapon.

“…so I said, um, aren’t you listening, Check? Never mind then…”

“Hmm?”

Four ponies were sitting at a table in the middle of an office-like room. They were all wearing school uniforms; the mares were wearing yellow jackets; the one male was in a black one. Checkmate – a Unicorn stallion with a dishevelled black mane and a purple-tinged white coat – was in the middle of a daydream. He looked up from his daisy sandwich and directly at the mare mumbling at him from across the table.

“Um, it’s okay. It wasn’t really an interesting story anyway.” Fluttershy shifted her gaze from Checkmate and hid her face behind the long, pink curtain that was her mane. She was blushing furiously, the flush reddening her pale yellow coat. Another pony put a foreleg around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze, causing her to jump in surprise.

“Aw! Looks like your little chat put Checkmate to sleep. Again!” The profusely pink pony said, her frizzy, rose-coloured mane bouncing up and down as she moved. She had Fluttershy in a bear hug that could bend steel. “There ain’t nopony who’s easier to bore than our Checkie!”

Fluttershy mumbled into her own mane and tried to squirm away from the magenta menace. A glow of violet magic enveloped the pink mare and she was pulled away and was sat down at the table. Fluttershy sighed in relief and straightened out her school uniform.

“Pinkie was just kidding, Fluttershy,” said a violet Unicorn with pink streaks in her dark purple mane, Twilight Sparkle. “You’re not boring. Checkmate is just a lousy layabout with an attention deficit.” She shot a glare at Checkmate. She turned to Pinkie Pie again. “You need to be more careful with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie. Emotionally and physically.”

“You’re such a party pooper, Twilight!” said Pinkie. She frowned for a second, then hopped over the table and landed next to Checkmate with a loud crash. Fluttershy winced and Twilight rolled her eyes. “Are we still gonna go gambling, huh?” Pinkie asked Checkmate as she resurfaced at the table.

“Yep,” Checkmate said between bites of his sandwich, levitating it with an aura of bright purple magic. “We’re gonna go during P.E.”

“You shouldn’t be skipping class to gamble…” Fluttershy said timidly.

“Yeah, you guys! You should stay in school! You need to attend class so you can learn things. That’s what school is for!” Twilight lectured, completely missing the issue of gambling.

“It’s P.E.,” Checkmate said after finishing his sandwich. “What are we going to learn from running around the campus?”

“Yeah! Why would we spend time doing that when we could be gambling? We get to learn what it’s like to see a duke lose a game of poker!” Pinkie yelled over at Twilight, predictably startling Fluttershy.

“You two shouldn’t be gambling though…” she said after recovering from her little scare. “You two are on the student council after all.”

It was true, but that had never stopped them before. They were always ignoring their duties and responsibilities as members of the Exmoor Academy Student council. As it were, they were currently procrastinating and leaving their work in a pile on top of the table and helping themselves to a plate of daisy sandwiches. They were hoping that Twilight, who was working through her paperwork like a draft horse, would accidentally do their papers by mistake and they would be rid of it.

“It’s okay, Fluttershy. That means we know exactly how many rules were breaking.” Checkmate gave Fluttershy a wink (which caused her to blush again), and then quickly left the room with an ever-energetic Pinkie Pie in tow.

Checkmate and Pinkie Pie were speeding down the highway on Pinkie’s motorized scooter, Checkmate sitting in the sidecar. They were on their way out of the Tokara Settlement and into the ghettoes at its edge. Today they were going to an illegal casino operated by Elevens instead of their usual fare of haughty, unskilled noblemen.

Glory to Caballeria, Checkmate thought sarcastically, the empire that raises itself above everypony else by stamping them into the ground.

“Look! The big talking head has something to say to us,” Pinkie shouted, pointing to the side of a building at the edge of the Settlement. Mounted upon the skyscraper was a colossal television that was constantly broadcasting the news.

“Today there was a terrorist attack carried out by terrorist Elevens,” announced a newscaster. Checkmate watched the TV with bored disinterest. More propaganda for the privileged, yet ignorant? “A group of twenty Elevens infiltrated a sovereign military base today and escaped after killing a dozen ponies. Two of the terrorists are now in possession of Caballerian military property and are southbound toward Tsushima.” Translation: a few Nipponese freedom fighters snuck into the base and there were no casualties.

“They’re going toward Tsushima? That’s where we’re going!” Pinkie Pie said. “Maybe if we’re lucky, they’ll come close, and the army will find them, and we’ll get to see some explosions which would be cool, and it would be all KABOOM and KABLOOIE and I know it’s all dangerous and stuff, but explosions are kinda just like really, really big fireworks and that totally would be totally super-doopery-dandy-rific!”

Checkmate shook his head and smiled. Pinkie Pie was incapable of looking at anything negatively. “It would be much better for us if nopony else drew any more attention to where we’re going.”

Pinkie Pie frowned. “Yeah…that would be bad…” Then she grinned again. “But all the danger makes illegal stuff more fun anyway!”

Checkmate couldn’t help but laugh; Pinkie Pie had that effect.

A few minutes later, they arrived at a run-down warehouse in one of the shadier parts of the already dubious Tsushima ghetto. Pinkie bounced off into the warehouse after parking her scooter, leaving Checkmate to canter in behind her.

Inside the warehouse was perhaps the dirtiest and grungiest casino in gambling history, legal or illegal. The room was filled with decrepit tables and destitute Elevens. This is the true Caballeria, not the settlement we just left. Caballeria spans a third of the planet, and this oppression is everywhere outside of the ‘Homeland’.

Checkmate spotted his game of choice – chess – and made his way over to the table, followed by his pink moral support pony. Checkmate sat down across from a wizened, grey Earth Pony, picking up the black king piece with his magic. “Care for a game?” Checkmate asked in fluent Nipponese, a skill he acquired in a past life. The Earth Pony nodded, both sides laid down money, and the game began.

Far away from the terrorists and the Tsushima ghetto, Duffer la Caballeria, 3rd Prince of the Royal Family, trotted down the hallways of an underground facility deep below the Viceroy’s Palace at the center of the Tokara Settlement. He, like every member of the Royal Family, was a Winged Unicorn, with a golden mane and a white coat tinged with yellow.

“What’s going on, general?” Duffer demanded from a bald and heavy-set brown-coated Pegasus who strode beside him, his monocle just barely staying on his face. “How could you have lost the capsule? That Gleipnir unit was supposed to have been moved here today! Where are you doing to retrieve it?”

General Forte did his best to keep up with the prince. “We’ve sent out a helicopter unit to monitor and track them.” Clearly, the general was going to ignore the question of how the military managed to lose the capsule in the first place. “We’re going to send in the Royal Guard to recapture it once we find their base. Then we can wipe them out as well.”

Thought the general thought this would have placated the prince, it only served to enrage him further.

“This is unacceptable!” Duffer shouted and broke into a gallop. “The Royal Guard needs to be sent out now. I’d be lucky to be disowned if the emperor ever learned of this. Those rebels could have opened the capsule already. If that happens, then all hell breaks loose.”

They reached an elevator and stepped inside it. They began speeding up toward the surface to board the G1-Stable, a mobile base for military engagements.

“The rebels can’t have opened the Gleipnir unit, could they? Those capsules can only be opened with Alicorn magic,” General Forte answered, hoping his response would satisfy the irritable royal. “You sealed it yourself. It should be impregnable.”

“It should!” Duffer trotted in place as the elevator ascended. “For all we know, they could have blasted the damn thing open.” He paused for a moment, then brought up another matter. “What’s the official story for this? What do those terrorists think they have?”

General Forte took a nervous breath. “The capsule was labelled as biological weapon, so that’s what we’re going with.”

Duffer snorted in a most un-princely manner. “That might have kept them from trying to force it open, but there’s no way to know for sure. At least the bio-weapon pretence will work as a good excuse.”

“A good excuse for what, your majesty?”

“An excuse for closing off the ghetto. And for everypony in there having been killed. If anypony saw our experiment, we’d be dead.” He moved a strand of hair out of his face with a hoof. “We’re going to liquidate the ghetto.”

“Uh, Rainbow,” the truck driver said to his accomplice, “I think we’ve got a bit of a problem.”

“This is the Royal Guard. Stop the vehicle now and surrender and you will be given a fair trial. If you don’t pull over now, we will open fire.” The order was blasting from a magical megaphone attached to the lead helicopter in a unit of ten. Another group of aircraft was bringing up the rear.

“Looks like it’s my time to shine,” the cyan Pegasus said, running a hoof through her rainbow mane, making it about twenty percent cooler. She hopped out of her chair and galloped past the stolen container and into the back compartment. In the back of the truck was another weapon, not stolen (well, not recently so), a more conventional weapon. Nippony’s last soldiers were about to take something back from their conquerors.

“Open fire!” yelled the Pegasus in the leading chopper, and the helicopters started blasting at the back of the truck. The truck’s back door opened and out from the darkness shot a pair of metal shapes. The objects collided with the front two helicopters and were drawn back toward the truck by thick, durable cables, bringing the choppers crashing down onto the highway. The blades disappeared back into the truck.

“Slash Horseshoes?!” another Pegasus pilot exclaimed over an open channel, staring at the truck in horror. “They have a KnightMare?!”

“That’s right! You pigs don’t have the advantage any more!” Rainbow Dash leaned forward on a pair of levers and fired the Slash Horseshoes again, taking out two more helicopters.

KnightMare Frames were the ultimate weapons. They consisted of a four to five meter-tall metal equine exoskeleton capable of not only quadrupedal, but bipedal movement. It was controlled by a cockpit module built into the back, between the shoulders, and could be ejected in an emergency. Visual data was collected by a Factsphere, a centralized bundle of sensor technology. Attached to the side of the back hooves was a bar with a large wheel on the end, a device known as a Landspinner, enabling the KnightMare to travel at incredible speeds. The weapon was powered by a miraculous energy source, the Yggdrasil Drive, based upon a device called the Core Luminous and powered by sakuradite.

The model Rainbow Dash was piloting was painted red and armed with retractable blades on tethers built into the shoulders, Slash Horseshoes, an anti-pony machine gun, and hardened front legs used for close-quarters combat. It was an outdated model, captured from the Caballerians a few months ago. However dated, this badass mother was enough to ruin somepony’s day.

“That relic isn’t enough to save you,” said a voice from the sky. A KnightMare was gliding above the highway, suspended by an aerial KnightMare carrier. The carrier released the KnightMare Frame and it landed behind the truck, spinning in place, before chasing after it. “Your old Norfolk isn’t a match for the new Dartmoors.”

The KnightMare was blue and black with bands of crimson on it, signifying its pilot as a member of the Purebreds. It was a Unicorn-based model, with a large magic-amplifying horn jutting out from above the Factsphere. The pilot took aim with the shoulder-mounted guns and shot at the truck, just narrowly missing a tire.

“You don’t have anywhere to run,” the pilot yelled over the open frequency. He deflected a Slash Horseshoe with a hoof and fired at Rainbow Dash’s KnightMare this time. “Once you run out of cleared roads, you’ll be done for.”

It was true. The truck was now entering the Tsushima ghetto. The streets were clogged with debris and refugees. Hopefully, but not likely, they would be able to shake off the military before they found themselves caught in a dead end with no chance of fighting their way out.

Checkmate grinned victoriously. He had won, as always. Admittedly, this old Nipponese pony had given him more of a challenge than he usually faced.

“See, Checkie! I told you going against an Eleven would be more fun!” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing around the table in a circle. Checkmate mentally facehoofed; referring to Nipponese ponies as ‘Elevens’ on their home turf wasn’t exactly advisable.

“Good game,” Checkmate said to his opponent. The match had been more entertaining than one against a Caballerian noble, though the winnings were much less. “Care for another game?”

The Earth Pony was about to respond, but a rumbling started shaking the entire casino. With no further warning than that, an eighteen-wheeler crashed through the warehouse wall. The ponies galloped out of the way as the truck screeched to a stop.

“Hey, look, Checkmate,” Pinkie yelled, “it’s that terrorist truck!”

So it was. The back of the truck was open, and a slightly KnightMare Frame jumped out of it. It turned to the recently opened hole and stared out into the ghetto. Seeing nothing, it rolled over to the front of the truck and the pilot and exited the machine.

“The short-range communicator is busted up. Gimme a radio,” the Pegasus pilot shouted at the driver. The driver complied, and as the blue mare caught the walkie-talkie in her mouth, Checkmate was struck by a feeling of recognition. That rainbow mane… so familiar, yet…

“Pinkie Pie, isn’t that –” Checkmate was cut off by the blue mare yelling. “We’ve got company!”

No sooner had she finished than an explosive shell hit the casino’s roof. She climbed back into her KnightMare Frame and sped out of the building, firing at something Checkmate couldn’t see. What he could see, however, was a large container inside the truck as it turned around inside the warehouse. A large portion of the truck’s side was blasted off, revealing a closed off compartment and the object inside caught Checkmate’s attention instantly. He heard a wordless voice in his head, calling him toward it. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he galloped over to the truck and jumped into it just before it began to accelerate.

Checkmate was thrown about inside the eighteen-wheeler. Steadying himself, he allowed his mind to wander to the KnightMare pilot. I know that Pegasus, but from where?

Rainbow Dash dodged an enemy’s Slash Horseshoe and fired one of her own. “We need to split up,” she said into her radio. “I’ll hold them off, and you can get out of here with that weapon.”

“Roger that,” the driver said. “Good luck.” And he drove off deeper into the ghetto.

Time to kick some ass, she thought, and faced the three Dartmoor KnightMares that were chasing her. “Which one of you pampered punks wants take me on first?”

The first KnightMare that had attacked her stepped forward. “What makes you think a puny Eleven could ever defeat one of us, much less three?”

“I’m not an Eleven, I’m Nipponese!” She yelled. “Who do you think you are, Mr. Confident?”

“I am the Unicorn Iron Fealty, leader of the Purebreds! Prepare yourself, Eleven!” His KnightMare raised a hoof and motioned for his subordinates to pursue the truck. Before Rainbow could lash out at the KnightMares passing by her, Iron Fealty rushed at her, firing like a mad horse.

At the edge of the Tsushima Ghetto, a battalion of KnightMare frames had assembled, creating a perimeter in front of the G1-Stable. The G1 was a giant machine in the shape of a tank, the main difference being that the mobile base had an observation deck in place of a gun barrel.

“Move in,” shouted the Royal Guard’s commander. The KnightMares advanced into the ghetto, closely followed by the G1. “Exterminate everypony you see. Leave nopony alive.”

Ponies sparsely populated the streets. The Knightmares came sweeping down the crumbling roads and picked them off one by one. Bullets flew at the Elevens from every direction. The ghetto slowly became obscured in a thousand clouds of dust and bloody mist.

As the KnightMares cleared the streets, infantry ponies went through the buildings and continued the liquidation. The soldiers all wore identical grey suits with widely-spaced black armour plates and a matching helmet. They carried guns of all sorts: mouth-gripped guns, saddle-mounted rifles, machineguns levitated at their sides with Unicorn magic.

A voice shouted at them through the radio in every soldier’s helmet. “Honorary Caballerians, this is your time to prove yourself! We call you Caballerians now, but you were all once Elevens too. Recognize the stench of these inferior people, hunt them down, and wipe them out. All hail Caballeria!”

“All hail Caballeria!” each Honorary Caballerian repeated as they went from building to building and killed members of the race and nation they once abandoned, betraying their blood as they spilled that of others.

All hail Caballeria.

“Take that!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she drove her KnightMare’s front hoof at Iron Fealty. The Unicorn deflected it with a mechanical hoof of his own. The Dartmoor easily outmanoeuvred Rainbow’s older KnightMare Frame and went in for an attack of its own. Rainbow was deliberately keeping close to her enemy in order to keep him from using his guns, but Iron Fealty was perfectly capable fighting without them. He lashed back at Rainbow’s Norfolk, landing a devastating hit that left the right foreleg inoperable.

“You’ve made a valiant effort, Eleven, but you can’t best me in that piece of junk,” Iron Fealty boasted. He pulled away from his target and levelled his Dartmoor’s guns at her. “It’s time to end this little game of ours.”

“Fat chance!” The front right leg on Rainbow’s Norfolk was still damaged, but it still had one more use. In a move that surprised an experienced KnightMare pilot like Iron Fealty, Rainbow Dash jettisoned the damaged leg directly at Iron Fealty. The high-speed projectile hit him dead-on. It didn’t have enough force behind it to significantly damage the Dartmoor’s armour, but it was able to knock it off balance.

Seizing a life-saving opportunity, Rainbow Dash pulled off a seemingly impossible manoeuvre. Quickly pivoting around, she dropped all of the KnightMare’s weight onto its remaining foreleg, spreading the weight out by extending its Landspinner. Then she kicked out with both back legs, bucking Iron Fealty straight into next week.

His KnightMare tipped over backward and was left helpless in the dirt. “All fail Caballeria!” Rainbow called out as she did a front flip back onto her hooves. She sped away from Iron Fealty, escaping into the ghetto. Iron Fealty eventually got up again and shot at Rainbow’s back, but she was already far away.

Now where did that truck get off to? Rainbow thought as she whirled around a corner to dodge enemy fire.

“RD, you still hangin’ onto life there?” The radio came alive with the Nipponese voice that spoke with an accent native to Nippony’s Haykkaido region. “We got trouble mighty bad over on my end.”

“Roger that, AJ,” Rainbow responded. “I’ve lost track of the goods, so I’ll come back you up.”

“Much obliged,” AJ answered. The sound of explosions filtered through the radio between responses. “The truck’ll get here safe enough. We need to make sure there’ll still be a here fer it to come to.”

Checkmate almost immediately regretted his decision to jump inside the truck. The truck bounced up and down as the roads it traversed became more and more rough and unmanaged. Checkmate found himself launched back and forth in the back of the truck, knocking into the capsule that occupied most of the compartment.

We must be going deeper into the ghetto, he inferred while gingerly rubbing what would soon become a huge bruise. If the military doesn’t stop this truck soon, I may have trouble getting back home.

As if on cue, the truck was hit by a hail of bullets. Through the thud of the shells and other noise, Checkmate heard the sound of shattering glass. The truck began to swerve back and forth. Horseapples. They shot the driver.

With a resounding crash accompanied by a stomach-scrambling lurch, the truck came to a very improvised stop. It had collided with the corner of a building and ploughed through the weakened wall until it lost momentum.

Checkmate had hit his head in the crash and collapsed onto the floor. He stood up – almost slipping on a piece of paper that was knocked loose from the crash – and took a look at the capsule; the thing that had compelled him to hitch a ride in the first place. The container looked almost like an egg attached to a wide cylindrical base. The whole thing was made from smooth metal, and it only had one distinguishing feature: a circular socket at the top of the base. Checkmate instantly recognized the hole as a magical lock, the kind that could only be opened with a Unicorn’s horn.

Checkmate considered his options. The driver was probably dead, and the truck was ruined beyond repair. He could either run off, or he could try to open the capsule. Depending on what was inside it, it could make his mere presence near it a problem. If it were harmless, he could seek refuge from the military, but if not…

He decided to take his chances.

He lowered his head and inserted his horn into the lock, sorely hoping that he wasn’t mistaking it for some kind of electrical socket. He lit up his horn with a standard burst of magical energy and the lock whirred open. Checkmate stepped back and the capsule opened, the egg shape coming apart like a blooming flower. Steam, or some such vaporized fluid, issued from the pod and hid whatever was inside.

“What are you doing? Get away from that!” Checkmate heard the yell from his side and soon found himself being knocked away from the capsule. A hoof shoved a gasmask over his face. The one responsible for both actions stood over him; a Caballerian soldier with his helmet removed.

“…Ace?” Checkmate recognized the stallion’s tan coat and messy, brown mane.

“…Checkmate?” Ace Fighter responded, catching sight of his starburst and chequered heart cutie mark.

“Why are you in the Caballerian military?” He’s Nipponese, or rather, an Honorary Caballerian?

“Why are you with terrorists?” Ace rebutted, “And what’s that thing? Isn’t that a biological weapon?”

“I don’t know. I know the military is after it but –” Checkmate stopped short. The air around the capsule had cleared, revealing what the pod had contained: a mare.

Her coat was pure white, and she had a long, flowing mane of straight green hair. She wore – most likely not by choice – a full-body straightjacket. Her forelegs and back legs were bound by straps and buckles, and the jacket reached halfway up her face, essentially gagging her. Also restrained were her large wings, strapping them to her side and keeping her grounded. She had a very distinctive mark on her forehead, just above her sorrowful, yellow eyes; it resembled an elaborate V-shape, like a seagull in flight. Almost as starkly apparent was the fact that, in addition to her wings, she had a long, pointed horn. She was an Alicorn.

“A Winged Unicorn… but…” Checkmate was stunned. The only Winged Unicorns are supposed to be royalty, and she isn’t one of the Caballerian Royal Family.

“I was told I was looking for a biological weapon, but this is…” Ace was just as speechless as Checkmate.

“What the hell is the military doing?” Checkmate said as he began undoing the straps constricting the mare.

“We’re cleaning up, that’s what.”

The Royal Guard had appeared. Twelve Pegasi had entered the dilapidated building, led by a Unicorn with a black beret. All of them were wearing the red uniform of the Royal Guard and were all armed to the teeth.

“Good job apprehending the terrorists, Private Ace Fighter,” said the Unicorn. “We’ll take it from here.”

Ace trotted over to the Royal Guard commander. “I don’t understand, sir. I thought we were searching for a prototype bio-weapon.”

“That is none of your concern, private,” the Unicorn answered. His face slowly broke into a sadistic grin. “We’ll take care of the prisoner, just as soon as you kill that terrorist.”

Ace blanched. “But he’s not a terrorist, sir. He’s just a civilian!”

The Unicorn held out a pistol with his magic, letting it hover it at Ace’s side. “I’ll hear none of this. Shoot that terrorist now.”

Ace turned his back on his superior. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I won’t harm a civilian.”

“Oh? Well then…”

BANG

Ace staggered and fell like a leaf from a dying tree. The Unicorn had shot him in the side, and now he pointed the gun at Checkmate. “So I guess he was just an Eleven after all. Time for you to die too, terrorist.”

Suddenly, the driver stumbled out of the front of the truck. Everypony turned to look at the blood-soaked Earth Pony, and everypony saw the detonator as he dropped it on the ground. He coughed and gave a tremendous shout. “LONG LIVE NIPPON!”

Fortunately, Checkmate’s mind was one of the quickest-thinking ones in the entire Caballerian Empire. He picked up the white mare with his magic and hurled her out the side of the truck (which had been torn open in the crash) and leapt out after her with not a moment to lose. The front of the truck burst into a conflagration of orange plumes. A shockwave of pure kinetic energy sent him flying into another building and he landed hard on the ground, kicking up dust and dirt.

The Winged Unicorn dropped on the ground next to him, unaffected by the shockwave due to Checkmate’s magic. Checkmate shook his head erratically, clearing his head from the daze, and resumed unclipping the mare’s restraints. Once her legs were free, Checkmate lifted her up with his magic and set her on her feet.

“I don’t know who you are and what the military wants with you, but you’re going to answer to me for everything.” Checkmate’s voice was cold and commanding, but the mare – though no longer gagged – stayed utterly silent.

They galloped as far away as they could. The streets were filled with the remains of the ghetto’s ponies, foals and stallions and mares, Earth Ponies and Pegasi and Unicorns alike. It was still too early for putrefaction and decay, but the ghetto was nevertheless filled with the perfume of death. Checkmate and the mare ran into a half-collapsed building and hid behind a stack of crates while they caught their breath.

All too soon, Checkmate heard the military approaching. He briefly heard the sound of a foal crying before it was silenced by the crack of a gunshot.

Damn military, thought Checkmate, what the hell do they gain from this? This mindless violence is exactly why Caballeria needs to be destroyed.

The Royal Guard barged into the building and the leader shouted to search the building. They’re going to find us. We’re going to die. I’m going to die without doing a single thing with my life, without getting my revenge! I’ll never see Sansvoir again! Just then, interrupting Checkmate’s panicked mental rant, the mare raised a hoof and touched it to Checkmate’s forehead, just below his horn.

You still have a reason to live, said a voice – not his own – filling every corner of his mind. The Tsushima ghetto melted away and he saw himself soaring through a tunnel of pure, blue energy.

This will not be the end. I can grant you power so that you may live, so that you may escape death. The vision contorted, showing him two celestial objects floating in space, a light shining out from between their converging horizons. I propose a contract. In exchange for this power, you will fulfill my own wish.

Various images flashed through Checkmate’s mind: a stone temple lost in an ochre sky, a stone wall inscribed with the same mark as was on the white Alicorn’s forehead, a mass of Alicorns of all colours with the same sigil upon them. While living in the world of ponies, you will live unlike any other. The power of the king will condemn you to unfathomable solitude.

Everything went white. He found himself standing in front of the mare, both of them mere outlines of their proper forms. She held out a hoof. Do you accept?

Checkmate reached out with his own hoof and met hers with steely resolve. I accept the terms of your contract!

The dream blew apart in an inferno of colour and spider webbing patterns. One last sound rang through his head: the loudest roar of the mightiest beast, the whisper of the quietest wind, the crying of a lost soul, the victorious shout of the triumphant warrior: the word ‘GEASS’.

Checkmate woke from the daydream to find that not a single second had passed. The mare moved her hoof away from him, and Checkmate saw the slightest of smiles on her lips. However, the soldiers were still coming.

The Royal Guard galloped into the middle of the room, past Checkmate and the white mare, and spun around looking for them. Unsurprisingly, it only took them a few seconds. They surrounded their prisoners in a semi-circle, boxing them in.

“Looks like you can’t run, or hide,” the Royal Guard commander snipped. He raised his gun with a blood-red aura of magic and aimed for Checkmate’s head. He now recognized what Checkmate was wearing as a school uniform. “A traitorous schoolcolt, huh? You may be even worse than those dissident Elevens. Enjoy your death, scum.”

“NO!”

A flurry of green and white passed in front of Checkmate, and then the gun went off. The shot echoed throughout the building, quickly followed by the thud of a body hitting the floor. Checkmate looked down to see the white mare, dead, a bullet wound at the vertex of the sigil on her forehead.

“You… you shot her!” First Ace, and now this mare…

“Hmm…” the Unicorn seemed troubled, though only trivially so. “We were told to bring her back alive, if possible. I suppose we’ll have to blame it on the Elevens. No mention of you, I’m afraid. You’re going to be erased completely.”

“Oh really?”

Something in Checkmate had snapped. Ever since the hallucination ended, a dull ache had grown in Checkmate’s head. The pain was at its zenith, and then it suddenly disappeared.

When Checkmate had spoken up, his voice was pregnant with command and authority. His change in tone derailed the Royal Guard. Despite themselves, they stayed quiet and allowed Checkmate to continue.

“What’s wrong? Suddenly you’re shying away? I’m only a schoolcolt. Where’s your nerve.” He held a front hoof over his left eye, which was now enflamed with agony. Though it was closed, he could see bursts of red light through it. “Or have you finally realized that the only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed?” He lowered his hoof and opened his eye. The pain and the light stopped. Now, as he proceeded, the V-shaped mark appeared in his eye. His magic tore two slits in his school uniform and he spread his wings for the first time in years. “I, Checkmate vi Caballeria, command you. Now all of you… DIE!”

His eye met those of each of the Royal Guards and he felt his order manifest in their minds as he forced his consciousness on them. Neurons shifted and electrical impulses redirected themselves; his will was absolute.

“Yes, your Highness! All hail Caballeria!” The guards shouted and saluted him in unison, then turned their guns on themselves. With the release of thirteen bullets, this division of the Royal Guard was no more.

So this is my power. So this is Geass. The blood of the soldier ponies pooled on the ground, immersing his hooves and flowing toward a patch of light that shone through a shattered window. Checkmate smiled like the Devil stumbling upon a soul in doubt. It was time for Caballeria’s lost prince to return.

That was the turning point. Since that day, I’ve lived a lie, the lie of living. My name too was a lie. My personal history, a lie. Nothing but lies. I was sick to death of a world that couldn’t be changed. But even in my lies, I refused to give up and despair. And now this incredible power is mine.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES: Constructive criticism IS appreciated!

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