Celestia dropped the report her sister had given her and sighed, disgracing the breakfast table with her worries. "Are they really depicting us as villains?"

"You seem surprised sister," Luna replied cheerfully.

"I am, especially after we helped them. Now they're painting us as the ponies that imprisoned Faust back before the exodus."

"Which again, doesn't surprise me as it is at least half true."

"H-half true?!" Celestia spluttered. "What are you talking about? It's not true at all!"

"No?" Luna smiled at her sister, "I imagine that they, or perhaps Faust herself, is keeping it a secret that we are in fact the offspring of Faust. Then if you include the fact that we are the 'daughters' of Princess Platinum, the pony who did actually imprison her, well... it doesn't take much work to blame her crimes on us. Then there's the simple fact that we agreed to leave her locked up where she was until we could contain her ourselves."

Celestia nodded slowly, seeing the sense in Luna's words. That didn't stop it from stinging though. Still, that was hardly the only thing that was annoying her about these propaganda posters. Faust wasn't the protector of anypony, and was in fact dragging their two countries into war. Celestia and Luna didn't steal the sun and moon from anypony, and Twilight... Twilight was most certainly not a slave in any way, and certainly didn't need saving. She supposed that with Twilight still being a hero of Mareitania it made sense to show Twilight as a victim of Celestia to turn the Mareitanians further against Equestria, and herself.

"Are you not going to read the rest of the report sister?" Luna asked, pulling Celestia out of her sullen thoughts.

"I don't think I have the stomach to," Celestia murmured. "Just give me the basics."

"The basics, hmm? Very well. Our agents in Mareitania were told to ascertain how the ponies of Mareitania viewed the possibility of war, and honestly, it's not all bad news. Yet."

"Yet? What do you mean yet?"

"Those posters are mean to play off the magically enforced love for Faust that has been spread throughout the country. A pony not yet affected by that magic can likely see them for what they really are. Now either this magic isn't hugely widespread yet, or isn't as effective as Faust might hope, but opinion on the war is split."

"Okay," Celestia said with a hopeful tone. "Now tell me about the the 'yet.'"

"That will only likely change as Faust's magic spreads. Even so, while not everypony supports the war, at least in Neigh Orleans, there doesn't seem to be any real opposition to it either. Whether that's because there just isn't any opposition to speak of, or because the ponies of Mareitania are just used to doing as they're told, I couldn't tell you."

"Oh," Celestia sighed, "of course. I doubt we have little chance of garnering sympathy with the ponies of Mareitania then."

"Even less than that I'm afraid. It seems our attack on Whiplash has only hardened their hearts against us, and especially against the pegasi. Our agents reported seeing graffiti saying 'they were right about the pegasuses.' Aside from the atrocious grammar, I have no idea who this 'they' might be, but I suspect it refers to the country's former rulers."

"That does make the most sense," Celestia agreed. "I suppose knocking back the Mareitanian view on pegasi is the least of our worries though. Is there anything else in the report worth taking note of?"

"Not really. Our agents simply haven't been there long enough to learn much more than that." Luna picked up her mug of coffee and took a sip, "Honestly, I'm not sure what I was expecting for any of this. Perhaps I should put more concern into how our own ponies feel about the war."

"At the moment recruitment is exceeding expectations," Celestia said glumly. "We can't even fully equip half of them as yet."

Luna laughed once, "Celestia says jump, they ask how high?"

Celestia glared angrily at her sister, "It isn't like that at all!"

Luna met Celestia's gaze, then smiled sadly, "Isn't it though? How many ponies in Equestria truly believe in the princess brand? How many of them think we'll safely see them through this because that is what we princesses do? How many will die before they realise having a horn and wings doesn't make us any less fallible than themselves? You can tell me that isn't the truth, and you'd be right only in that it isn't the whole truth, but still true nonetheless."

"I suggest we change the subject right now," Celestia said coldly.

Luna shrugged indifferently, "Hardly the words of a pony willing to argue their point, but very well. I also have some news from much closer to home if you wish to hear it?"

"Far be it from me to stop you saying whatever pops into your head dear sister."

"Pinkie Pie has joined the army, along with her sisters."

Celestia didn't react straight away, and honestly struggled to take in what Luna had just told her. "Pinkie Pie," Celestia said slowly, just to make sure she had heard correctly. "As in the Pinkie Pie. Notably pink, loves parties, and happens to be a Element bearer?"

"The very same."

Celestia had to make a mental effort to prevent her jaw from hitting the table, "What in the world possessed her to do that?"

"To get her friends back most likely," Luna guessed, pausing to take another sip of her drink. "Shining Armour sent me a message telling me about it in case I wanted to pull her from service."

"Then yes!" Celestia said urgently, "Yes you should do that!"

Luna shook her head, stopping Celestia. "I don't think that is the best thing to do."

"Why ever not?" Celestia gasped, surprised at Luna for even thinking that, let alone saying it.

"We practically forced Rainbow Dash to keep serving in the Wonderbolts. What kind of hypocrites would we have to be to force Pinkie to not fight? I think Pinkie should serve if she so wishes."

"But what if she gets hurt? Or killed?"

"Then she is in the same boat as most of the other bearers," Luna said simply. "Save Twilight of course. Honestly, I'd be surprised if there's actually a pony or weapon capable of stopping a pony such as Pinkie Pie."

"This is wrong," Celestia said weakly. She couldn't imaging a world where a pony such as Pinkie would have to fight and kill ponies. Now she had found herself thrust into a world where that was in fact a thing that was happening. It was more than a little jarring.

"It is the way of things now," Luna said, not without sympathy for her sister. "Moreover, even if I were to think that pulling her from service was the best course of action, I do not have the heart to tell Pinkie she can't fight to save her friends."

"I suppose not," Celestia conceded. "Perhaps we should have found a purpose for her, rather than let her find her own." Celestia sighed and pushed the remainder of her breakfast away, "I suppose I should ask what your next move is against Mareitania?"

Luna raised an eyebrow at her sister, "Now she asks? I really think you should wonder about what I'm planning a little more than that. Have you truly lost your stomach for this after a thousand years?"

Celestia looked away from Luna. "There was never really a thousand years of peace Luna," she said in a tired voice. "Not even close."

"What?" Luna was stunned at the revelation, and perhaps more so to hear it coming from her sister. "Explain yourself."

Celestia crossed her forelegs on the table before her, "Have you never thought about the meaning behind that? A thousand years of peace in Equestria. In Equestria. What about outside it? What was the rest of the world doing? They certainly weren't playing happy families."

"What are you saying Celestia?"

"I'm saying that the one thousand years of peace was perhaps the greatest lie I ever told, even to myself. For the most part I either stayed out of the issues of other countries, acted as a mediator, or if things came to the worst, I chose my allies wisely, and I made sure they won." Celestia laughed bitterly, "A thousand years of peace in Equestria is far from a thousand years of peace just because the conflict never reached our soil."

"Then why are you so opposed to participating in the war we now find ourselves falling towards? If anything, you sound a more capable commander than I."

"I never fought in those wars, but merely stayed here while others fought them in my stead. There was a reason I ensured war never reached Equestria, and that was because I couldn't face it."

Luna cocked her head to the side and tilted her ears back, showing her confusion. "I don't understand sister. You had participated in much conflict before then, so why the total change of heart? I know you were always the diplomat, but something must have led you to do what you did."

"You did, Luna."

"Me? I... I don't understand Celestia. How did I do that to you?"

"I banished you to the moon Luna," Celestia said, her voice growing heavy with suppressed emotion. "After that, I lost more than just my beloved sister. I don't need to tell you of the pony I was after that, but as I came to terms with it, I found my will to fight had gone. I strived to create a thousand years of peace, not because I felt I had to, but because I couldn't face fighting a war without you. I just couldn't do it any more. Of course I had always preferred diplomacy, but I made some horrible agreements over the years if it meant not having to fight. I'm just thankful it all worked out in the end, because my hesitation to fight could have led to Equestria's downfall plenty of times."

Luna blinked a few times as she tried to process what she'd just been told. Back before her banishment, she had always been the fighter, and Celestia the talker, so to hear that Celestia gave up fighting at all after her fall into darkness... it left Luna feeling like it was her fault they ever had to fight a war at all.

"Luna?"

"It would seem I am but a magnet for conflict then. I come back, and suddenly every villain possible starts rearing its ugly head. A thousand years of peace, ended by my return."

"No Luna, that wasn't the point I was making at all! The peace would have been built anyway, with or without you, but it was me losing you that pushed me into creating it. It was my fear of fighting without you that made it happen, not your absence."

Luna went quiet, then shrugged and smiled at her sister, "I suppose it matters not. I shouldn't concern myself with what was. If you must know I plan on striking their manufacturing in Stalliongrad, to slow or stop the production of their tanks and such."

"Huh?"

"You asked my what my next plans for Mareitania were."

"Oh, yes, right!" Celestia blushed, but quickly turned serious again. "Are you sure you're alright with what I just said?"

"Of course," Luna said with a genuine smile. "I don't know why I would even get so worked up about what was only a good thing for the ponies of Equestria. We should focus on making sure those good times return instead."

Celestia smiled back at Luna, "Exactly. So you plan to slow their production of war materials then?"

"As best I can. It might be quite the task though, so I will be leading the efforts myself this time. I've also started planning defensive strategies now that the forces from Mustangia have arrived."

"It's a big wall on the strip around the Luna bay isn't it?"

"There's a little more to it than that," Luna blustered defensively.

"Mmhmm."

"Oh, silence your mocking tongue Celestia. Perhaps I should be asking you if you've heard anything from Twilight?"

Celestia sat back and sighed, "I'm afraid not. If I'm honest I'm beginning to get worried."

"Twilight is more than capable of taking care of herself and her companions."

"I know," Celestia said anxiously, not even trying to hide it, "but her last message said they were heading off to go through the Badlands. The Badlands, Luna. You know who lives there."

"I do indeed, but I have faith in Twilight's ability to get through."

"I do too, but I still worry."

Luna watched Celestia chew on her bottom lip, and decided to move the conversation on. Celestia wasn't the only one to worry about Twilight, but Luna perhaps knew better that Twilight wouldn't let anything stand in her way. "What are your plans today then sister?"

Celestia eyed Luna, seeing through the sudden change of conversation, but appreciating it nonetheless. "Haven't you seen my schedule?"

"...No?"

Celestia rolled her eyes at Luna's coy behavior. Neither of them really knew what the other was up to at the best of times. "I've been encouraged to take a tour around the factory in Manehatten that produces the armour the Wonderbolts use."

"So, by encouraged, you mean forced?"

"That's what I said. They'll also be producing the armour for the air corps, and I was told that a visit would do much to bolster their productivity."

"Were you also told that they're producing a fine, lightweight armour for our mage corps?"

Celestia's expression went flat, "Really? Since you already know so much about this, why aren't you going on the tour while I do the thousand other things I could do?"

"Oh no," Luna laughed, "I'm the no nonsense military leader, and you're the pretty face for the cameras, so you get to go make ponies happy, while I stay here and make serious faces."

"You are the best at serious faces," Celestia teased.

"Exactly! I-" Luna stopped herself as what Celestia said sank in. "That wasn't actually a compliment, was it?"

"I don't know what you mean." Celestia grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth free of any lingering crumbs, then stood quickly enough to make the table jump. "I'm afraid I have a chariot to catch, so I must away. See you later?"

"Assuming I haven't forced you out of the castle and taken the throne for myself, yes, certainly."

"You know I don't like jokes like that."

Luna folded her hooves under her chin and fluttered her eyelashes at her sister, "And you know I enjoy dark humour. See you later sister. I expect my hoof cleaning at nine p.m. sharp, and I expect your tongue to be spotless in preparation." Luna winked at Celestia, leaving the larger mare to fume as she stomped towards the chariot bay.

"Sisters are the worst."

The journey to Manehatten was conducted mostly in silence. Celestia sat in her carriage, watching the clouds drift lazily by, wishing more than anything that she could be as free as they were.

Soon they'd be landing, and the real Celestia, that only her sister, her guards, and her friends, saw, would be hidden behind the mask she had been forced to don far too much lately. Celestia couldn't put a hoof on where exactly she'd starting having to wear it at all, but could easily say it at least started around the time she sent Twilight, with a mission, to Mareitania. A mission that had led to every problem they now faced. It hardly seemed fair to have their good intentions twisted up and thrown back at them so utterly.

Perhaps even more she now regretted not being more proactive with the Mareitania situation in the past. Maybe Faust might have been a bit more amenable had Celestia found her after five hundred years, rather than Twilight after one and a half millennia. Or maybe if she had never bothered at all. Celestia silently laughed at her self, agonising over what she could have done differently, rather than face what was actually happening.

"Your highness?"

Celestia started as her assistant Raven spoke to her, and took a moment to shake away the clouds that had started to gather in her mind. "My apologies Raven. Are we almost there?"

"Almost. I thought you might like a few details before we landed?" Celestia nodded, and Raven smiled, pulling up a piece of paper to read from. "The owner of the factory, and the pony giving the tour, is a Mr Tough Nut, an earth pony. His wife, Fair Weather, who's a pegasus, is currently pregnant with their second child. She's due soon, so won't be joining us."

"Okay, good," Celestia said, committing those facts to memory for now. "And the factory?"

"Usually makes protective clothing for industrial purposes, with a small side-line on the armour the Wonderbolts use. However, with the war, production has been shifted mostly onto armour, and they've taken on dozens of ponies just to try to even get close to demand. He's also trying to find more factory space."

"Well, we certainly appreciate his efforts. I take it he's being well compensated?"

"The contract was quite lucrative for him."

Celestia nodded idly, "Thank you Raven. I don't suppose you happened to purchase a gift for the little one once... she's..." Celestia trailed off and smiled as Raven held up a gift-wrapped box, "You truly are a marvel Raven."

"I try my best, Princess." Raven shrieked suddenly as the carriage lurched into a descent, then blushed with embarrassment. "I'll never get used to that."

"Believe me, I was like that for the first hundred years," Celestia joked, trying to set Raven back at her ease.

"So I'll never get used to it then," Raven replied grumpily.

"There's no thrill in being used to everything, I assure you." Celestia peeked over the side to see that they were getting close to the ground, then took a deep breath as she set the mask in place. "How do I look?"

"Regal as always, your highness."

Celestia fought the urge to roll her eyes, instead waiting patiently as the carriage wheels gently touched down onto the road, stopping directly outside the factory. A dozen ponies were waiting there, thankfully with none of the fanfare she usually received. Celestia stepped out of the carriage as they came to greet her, and she smiled at the middle stallion which she assumed to be Tough Nut.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr Tough Nut."

"Not nearly so much as it is to meet you Princess," Tough Nut said back, falling into a bow that the others around him mimicked. "It's a great honour that you'd come and see the factory."

"With what you and your ponies are doing to aid Equestria at this time, it's the least I could do." Celestia raised an eyebrow and moved her head to the right as she caught sight of a young colt peeking out from behind Tough Nut's legs. "Oh? And who might this be?"

"This little rascal is Hard Nut," Tough Nut said cheerfully. "Say hello to the Princess Hardy."

"H-h-hello Princess."

"And hello to you Hard Nut," Celestia said back, crouching down to the colt's level to offer him a hoof to shake, which the colt did, albeit nervously.

"The lad got so excited when he heard you were coming to see the factory, I could hardly deny him the chance to meet you."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet the both of you. It's a shame Fair Weather couldn't join us, but I do believe she's almost due with your next foal?"

"Uh, yes! Yes she is! The midwife says that she should be ready to go in a couple of weeks."

"And I hope you're both thrilled to meet your new son or daughter. In fact..." Celestia teleported the gift between herself and Tough Nut, "I may have got a bit excited myself and bought them a little something."

Tough Nut's eyes lit up, and he took the box into his hooves. "You didn't have to do that!"

"I know, but what fun is there in not being able to spoil a child every now and again? However," Celestia smiled apologetically at Hard Nut, "I guess I wasn't totally prepared. So, instead, how about... I let you ride my back as we tour the factory?"

"Really?!" the colt shouted, all his nervousness forgotten. He turned to his dad, his eyes shining. "Can I dad?"

"Well I think it'd be awfully rude to refuse the princess, don't you?" Tough Nut smiled as his son cheered, then smiled more as Celestia picked him up in her magic and placed him on her neck, giggling as he wrapped his little legs around her neck.

"Shall we?" she asked, giving Tough nut his cue to lead the way into the factory, leaving behind two guards at the factory door, while two more accompanied her, along with Raven.

As soon as they entered it was hard to miss the noise. Industrial sewing machines, and other, larger devices, clacked away as the ponies in the factory rushed to construct suit after suit of armour to feed Equestria's burgeoning war machine. Even knowing what they were making, Celestia couldn't help but be impressed by the industriousness of her ponies.

Rather than head towards the factory floor though, Tough Nut led them upstairs and into his office where refreshments had been set out. Initially, Celestia was confused, but kept it to herself as a generous helping of cake was placed in front of her.

"Firstly Princess, I want thank you for considering us to fashion the armour for all your pegasi and unicorns. I really hope we live up to your expectations."

"You've never disappointed us before, so I doubt you will now." Celestia lifted a forkful of cake to her mouth. It was buttercream, with raspberry jam, and it was wonderfully moist. Rather simple compared to what most ponies would provide on a royal visit, but that only made Celestia appreciate it more. "I take it things are going well enough with production?"

"We've just about wrapped up on making the Wonderbolts' uniforms, but that's about it. I hate to say it princess, but it's our suppliers that are struggling to keep up with our demand, more than we're struggling ourselves."

"But Equestria has quite a substantial textile industry."

"It's not the cloth, it's the armour material. The material we use in the pegasus armour is produced magically, weaving a spell into it to make it almost weightless." He nudged a short section of it on his desk towards Celestia. "Give it a try."

Celestia did so, picking it up and flexing it in her magic. As he had said, it was almost weightless. It was also fairly flexible, despite how tough it was. "And how long does it take to produce a piece this big?"

"That big?" Tough Nut hummed, "A few days at least. This is our problem, because the amount we get in a week is only enough to produce a half dozen suits at most, and we burned through both ours and our suppliers stockpile pretty quick."

"And there are no alternatives that could be used?"

"Some," Tough Nut shrugged, "but none good enough. If you want lightweight, flexible, and most importantly, effective armour for pegasi, that stuff is the only real option."

"But the armour my guards wear are made of metal, and they're perfectly light and flexible."

"They're segmented pieces, not as light, and are vulnerable from below, which isn't great for a flier. I don't mean to be rude your highness, but your guards' armour is mostly ceremonial rather than effective. I'm taking my wife's judgement on this, and I believe her."

"I see." Celestia placed the segment back on the desk and turned to her assistant, "Raven, take a note of his supplier, and see if there's anything we can do increase supply."

"Thank you Princess," Tough Nut said as one of his own assistants searched out the supplier to give to Raven. "I'm sorry to lay these worries on you, but I wasn't sure who else to go to."

"It's more than alright Tough Nut. I'd rather you ask for help instead of struggling on. Now then, is there anything else that I could be of assistance with?"

"No thank you Princess."

"Then perhaps we should press on with the tour. I'm quite keen to see how the armour is made." A total lie if Celestia was honest, as even a pony half as old as her would pick up a passing knowledge on pretty much everything. She just figured it'd be more interesting than sitting in this rather crowded and stuffy office, and it would be nice to meet the ponies outfitting their fighting pegasi.

"Uh, of course Princess," Tough Nut said, caught a bit off guard by Celestia's apparent keenness. "If you'll follow me." Tough Nut led the way back out of his office, and turned left onto a walkway that lined one side of the factory. Then he stopped. "This is it really Princess, the entire factory."

"Oh," Celestia said, a little confused at the lack of substance to the tour. "That's... nice. You have a lot of ponies working here?"

"Seventy four in all. I would take on more, but the supply issue would just make them unnecessary."

"Seventy four hmm? I would very much like to meet them. What do you think Hard Nut? Do you want to go have a closer look?"

"Ooh, yeah! Can we Dad? Pleeeease?"

Celestia smiled at Tough Nut as he silently gave in. Clearly he hadn't actually put a lot of planning into her arrival here, judging by the way he thought overlooking the factory counted as a tour. Still, at least he had given in easy enough, but that sort of thing always left Celestia wondering if that was because she was good at out-manoeuvring ponies into these things, or if they were simply afraid to say no. Not a huge issue, but it still bothered her at times.

Things were also helped as Tough Nut at least had the sense to start the tour where the production process begun. "This is the cutting room, where the materials for the suits are cut out according to the patterns provided to us by yourselves." He picked up a swatch of the material they were using, and held it up to Celestia to inspect.

"I have to admit that I don't recognise this material," Celestia said, feeling the cloth with her magic.

"It's a tightly woven cotton overlaid with the same flame retardant material that firefighters uniforms are made of," Tough Nut explained. "It insulates the user, and protects them from most hazards that the armoured parts aren't made to deal with, such as environmental hazards, and obviously fire. Sadly though, pegasi wings have to remain uncovered, so there's always a risk."

"I see." Celestia watched as a mare cut shapes out of a length of cloth, her own eyes twitching back and forth between her work and Celestia. "I take it that once the sections are all cut out, you assemble it into the suit, and the armour is built around that?"

"Half right your highness." Tough Nut placed the cloth back in its holder, and patted the mare cutting the patterns on the shoulder, the mare having almost frozen up from Celestia watching her. "Let's move onto the next part and leave these girls to it."

"Did you say that we provided you with the patterns for these?" Celestia asked, not entirely sure when that happened. So many papers needing so many signatures.

"As a base, yes. Recently though, we employed a skilled seamstress who made some improvements to the designs. In fact, she may as well be our next port of call since she works in the sewing area."

Perhaps one of the strangest observations Celestia felt she could make as she was escorted through the factory, was that out of the dozens of ponies she'd seen working here so far, only three of them were stallions. Whether there was a reason behind that, she didn't know, but it was still noticeable, and therefore not a surprise when she was led to a pink mare working behind a sewing machine, looking like the world had wronged her quite significantly.

"Princess Celestia, meet Suri Polomare. Possibly the finest seamstress we've ever had work here."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Polomare."

Within the fraction of a second the expression of generalized despair was gone, hidden expertly behind what Celestia could only describe as an over-keen shopping assistants face, ready to sell literally anything, including their mother and a case of crabs.

"It's so nice to meet you Princess, mmhmm. I never thought you'd come and see me specifically."

"Tough Nut tells me you're one that adjusted the designs for the flight suits?"

"Well, the design was quite outdated, mmkay, and no longer matched the materials used to make it, so I made a few suggestions, to improve productivity, mmhmm. I'm also quite involved in the rest of the production here, mmm."

Celestia nodded vaguely, seeing Suri as what she really was, trying to climb the ladder for a promotion to get more pay for less work. She also wanted to hum a mmhmm back in sympathy every time Suri did. "I'm glad they have employees here as capable as you," she said, noting the way several other ponies directed short glares at Suri once she said it.

"Why thank you your highness, mmhmm. I'm just glad to be doing my bit for our country."

"Suri, perhaps you could tell the princess about the rest of the production process since you know more about it than I do?"

Suri's eye twitched once, but she smiled and nodded, "Of course, I'd be delighted to! As you can probably tell Princess, this is where we create the basic flight suits."

"And then everything else is attached afterwards?"

"That's right, mmhmm. The armour plates are stitched into a sort of harness, which is then sewn onto the suits themselves, mmkay? Would you like to see how it's done?"

"I'd love to, mmh-" Celestia realised what she was doing, and quickly turned it into a cough. "Oh, excuse me."

"Mmm... are you okay Princess?"

"Yes, I'm fine thank you. Please continue Miss Polomare."

Suri hummed an affirmative and led them further along the factory to where a group of ponies were creating the sections of armour to sew onto the flight suits. "This part is probably the hardest part, mmkay, because you can't actually sew the armour itself, and the material holding them is also quite tough to sew. We just got a new shipment in if you want to feel it for yourself?"

"Of course."

Suri smiled at Celestia, then walked over to a small stack of crates, pulling the topmost open. There was a clink, and a mechanical ticking started as she pulled the box open to reveal some short red tubes, nestled in padding. "What the-?"

Boom.

Celestia tried to get a shield up over the crates as quickly as she could, but she was nowhere near fast enough, and what little shield she had made was quickly destroyed as the force of the explosion flung her back. She crashed into the wall, turning the world into a confusion of light and pain as the heat from the explosion seared her flesh, and shrapnel peppered her right side.

A wave of flame roared over her for the merest seconds, then it was gone, leaving behind a symphony of death and agony, witnessed best by the one pony that it had likely been made to kill.

It took several seconds for Celestia to make even the tiniest amount of sense of the world. The right side of her face was a mass of pain, along with most of her body, and her eye wasn't working, while her left eye only showed her the blinding afterimage of the explosion. Her ears felt like they'd been filled with cotton wool, and it took several moments for her to even pick up on the sounds of screaming, the blare of alarms, and the crackle of fire burning.

She tried to pull herself up, only for her hoof to slip on something, sending her crashing back to the ground. It was blood, and she stared at it dumbly for a second, before realising where it had come from. Raven lay next to her, her front almost mangled beyond recognition.

"No! No-no-no!" Celestia ignored her pain, and crawled around enough to reach Raven, shaking her to try and wake her up. There was nothing though, no sound, no breath, nothing, she was just... floppy. "No, please... Raven..."

Celestia looked around, begging for help to unhearing ears, as around her were only more bodies and the sounds of ponies in pain. Her guards had been spared the worst ravages of the explosion thanks to their armour, but the concussion alone was enough to kill them as close as they were. Tough Nut also lay nearby, similarly unmoving, as well as several other ponies. Of Suri there was no sign at all, or of Hard Nut, at least until she turned around and found his crumpled form next to the wall in a small puddle of blood. He'd been mostly spared from the explosion, only to be crushed by Celestia as the explosion flung them into the wall.

Celestia howled in anguish, and cradled the small body in her legs, begging to whatever gods might have been listening to spare one as young and innocent as a child, who had no place being killed like this. Agony flared in her face and eye as her tears seeped into her wounds, and her blood flowed heavily from the dozens, if not hundreds of cuts she bore, but she couldn't have cared less. A child was dead because of her, and she was surrounded by the bodies of innocents. If there was any justice in this world, they'd all be alive, and not her, the mare that had caused this.

The heat of the fire drew closer to her, so she placed Hard Nut next to Raven, then pulled Tough Nut over to sandwich the child between them. Then she stopped, not even knowing what kind of a grim tableaux it was that she was trying to create.

"Princess! Princess, where are you?"

"I'm here," Celestia croaked at the sound of her surviving guards shouting her name. She waited as they honed in on her, their wings blowing out the smaller flames.

"Princess! Thank goodness you're alive! We need to get out of here..." The guard stopped as he took in the injuries Celestia had. There was barely a patch on her right side that wasn't burnt, blackened, or bleeding, and it was hard to tell the extent of her facial injuries, covered as it was by the singed remains of her mane. Her right wing was barely there any more, little more than a skeletal limb covered in the burnt stubs of feathers.

"Not without them," Celestia said as her guards stared at her in horror, pointing her head towards the three bodies she'd assembled.

"Princess, they're... gone."

Celestia struggled to her hooves, renewing the agony in most of her body. She almost collapsed from the pain, but refused to if it meant her guards helping her. "I'm not leaving them."

"Princess, we need to get you out of here! That is our first priority, everything else comes after." The guard flinched as something collapsed behind him, hidden by the smoke. "Please Princess!"

Celestia started limping forwards, and tried to bring herself up to her full regal height, but she just couldn't. "Bring them," she ordered in a voice that bridged no argument, before she started limping away through the detritus of the factory.
Yet more bodies lay in her path, having landed where the explosion had thrown them, and gone no further. Worse still were the ones that had lived long enough to die in pain and fear, their faces frozen with the terror of their last moments, begging for help that would never reach them in time. Past that was only screams as ponies caught on the edge of the explosion clung to life.

Celestia wanted to help them all, but she just couldn't. She could barely walk, and her horn, scorched by the explosion, hardly worked. A mare trapped under fallen machinery cried out for help, and Celestia could only turn away and choke on her guilt, no more able to help the mare than she was able to help Raven, or Hard Nut.

Sirens were already screeching away outside as Celestia staggered through the exit, and she almost screamed in fury as a dozen ponies, firefighters and paramedics, ran over to her, trying to help her before anypony else. "Help them," she said weakly, just wanting to be left alone.

"But Princess, you're hurt!" one of the paramedics insisted, trying to guide her away.

"I'm fine," Celestia insisted, pushing him away. "Help them."

"But Prince-"

"Help them!" Celestia screamed, shocking the mare into stepping back. "Forget me, help them!" She pushed through the group of ponies, aiming for a narrow stretch of grass that lined the edge of the pavement, and collapsing onto it. Seconds later her guards laid the bodies she'd ordered them to bring next to her.

"Princess, we really need to get you seen to."

Celestia shook her head, "Go help the fireponies, please, before any more ponies die. I promise you I'll be fine." Celestia looked up at them imploringly as they glanced at each other, "Please." They hesitated briefly, then nodded to each other and bounded off towards the factory, leaving Celestia blissfully alone.

"I'm so sorry," she said breathlessly, her tears threatening to fall again as she kept vigil over the three bodies, one of which was a dear friend that she'd known for many years now. Was this the price ponies would have to pay for standing by the princesses now? It was far too steep a price if it was.

Time crawled by as she kept watch over the bodies, with seconds passing in hours with her slowing heartbeat being the only thing to keep count by. She didn't care. Instead she was consumed with why this had happened. She knew technically why, but it still burned at her. This was meant to be a simple visit, and yet, through the machinations of the vilest ponies, it had turned into a day of blood and horror.

Celestia sobbed, her chest hurting with each sharp movement, and her right eye, unseeing as it was, burned with the fresh tears. The pain she felt on the outside barely even compared to the pain she felt on the inside, and then she could only call that a fraction of the pain a lot of ponies would be feeling tonight as the news got out, and they found their loved ones cruelly taken from them. More so for Fair Weather, the wife of Tough Nut, and the mother of Hard Nut, who in one short moment had lost both her husband and son.

It was almost a relief when darkness creeped in around the edges of her vision, and robbed her of first her ability to see, then her ability to think. Oblivion sounded nice about now. If only she could stay there.

Celestia gasped into wakefulness, a burning agony shooting through her face as the rapid movement pulled on her bandages. She blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the bright light around her, and as she did she came to realise that she was actually in a hospital room, white and clean enough to blind her.

"Welcome back sister."

Celestia searched about until she found the dark blue shape of her sister, her starry mane wafting in an unfelt breeze. "Luna." Celestia sank back and sighed, "Did I..?"

"Die? No, you didn't. You merely fainted from blood loss. I wish the same could be said for all those poor souls. I'm sorry about Raven."

Celestia sniffed, a single tear escaping from her good eye, leading her to investigate the other with her hoof, finding it covered in bandages. For a moment she wanted to ask how bad her injuries were, but concluded that it didn't really matter, and she didn't care. There was nothing that could be done to her physically that was worth worrying about.

"How many? How many died Luna?"

"Sister, I really don't think-"

"How many Luna?!"

Luna sighed, seeing her sister's thoughts turning on herself. Rightly or wrongly, Celestia always blamed herself. "Nineteen dead, thirty three injured, eight seriously. Which only makes me wonder how you survived being so close to the explosion?"

"I tried to contain it, but I wasn't fast enough. All I did in the end was shield myself from the worst of it." Celestia choked as she thought about Hard Nut, "I killed him."

"Killed who?"

"Hard Nut, the colt. He... He was riding on my back when the explosion happened. I saved him from the explosion, only to crush him as I landed. I killed him."

Luna was there immediately as Celestia started to cry again, hugging her and shushing gently as Celestia choked and sobbed. "It's not your fault Celestia, you know that. There was no way you could have stopped that, and no way you could have known. No part of this is your fault Celestia."

"I killed him Luna! I killed him!"

"Faust killed him Celestia! If it wasn't for her none of this would have happened! Don't blame yourself for things you have no control over, and blame the one that made it happen!"

"But we did make this happen! We're the reason Faust is free! We're the reason Equestria is under attack! We're-"

"Not the reason Faust is attacking us though," Luna said calmly. "Please sister, I know you wish to blame yourself for what happened, but it simply isn't true."

"Yes it is. If I hadn't had gone there, they never would have set up that bomb to try and kill me!"

"And that likely isn't true either. Celestia, the Mareitanians know that alicorns can't be killed, so trying to assassinate you would likely be seen as a pointless endeavour. The factory though, is producing armour for our soldiers, marking itself as a military target, and therefore worthy of destruction. You being there when it went off was simply a coincidence."

"You don't know that for sure."

"Not long after I had received the news, and had a bit of time to think about it, I ordered ponies to search other facilities producing arms and armour for our soldiers. We found a similar device in a factory making weapons in Filidelphia."

"And nopony got hurt?"

Luna half smiled, "The bomb has been deactivated and disposed of accordingly. Nopony has been hurt. I've also increased security at these facilities using some of your Royal Guard, leaving them a bit stretched here in Canterlot, but there is little we can do about that. I also have Equis focusing on finding the culprits behind the bombs."

"That still won't bring those that died back."

"No, it won't." Luna didn't know what else to say. Neither of them had the experience necessary to deal with this. Bad enough was the revelation that their enemy had access to explosives, and the know-how to cobble together an effective trigger. Worse was the thought that the Shades were still running rampant throughout Equestria, and could plan further attacks. If the Shades managed to take out their manufacturing, Equestria could lose the war before it even began.

"Can we really do this Luna?"

"Do what?"

"Win."

"You know winning was never the point. The point was to buy Twilight enough time to find a way to stop Faust. If we give up, Faust will start hunting Twilight, and if she's found before she has a solution, it's all over."

"But fighting to lose is just throwing lives away for nothing! Faust doesn't know where Twilight is! We don't even know where she is! Can we really justify buying her time when she can't be found?"

"You want to surrender?" Luna growled, unable to hold back her disappointment. "You want to sit by and watch as Faust subjugates Equestria and the world, changing it all to fit in with her 'plan?' You want us to languish, forgotten in a cell somewhere for the rest of time?"

"We don't even know what her plan is! What if it's actually a benefit to the world?"

Luna scoffed, "Can you even hear yourself Celestia? Do you even know what you're saying? You are talking about the plan of a pony that has no issue with kidnapping, bombings, or the mass brainwashing of countries! She clearly doesn't care for ponies if she can do that, so how could you even consider the possibility that her plan is of any benefit to anypony but herself?"

Celestia closed her eye and sighed, leaning back into the comfort of her bed. Of all the phrases she'd heard in her long life, damned if you do, and damned if you don't had always been one of the more prevalent. It was almost the perfect description of this whole situation, because as much as she might want to think that Faust's plan might not be terrible, if Luna was right it very easily could be. The cost of stopping it though, was high, even if it was the only realistic option.

"What do we do now Luna?"

"Leave that to me."

Author's Notes:

I think killing off Suri Polomare makes this all worthwhile. That's what ya get for fuckin' with Rarity and Coco Miss Pommel ya fuckin' bitch! *Shakes hoof fist in the air*

I also remembered what it was I wanted to talk about last week, and it is a teeny bit important. See this?

Ignore it because it flies in the face of where I'm sending Twilight. It saddens me to ignore a new canon map, but I suspected something like this might happen at some point, and there's nothing I can do now without seriously changing the story, which I ain't gonna do. Does make me sad though.