Heir of the Nightmare

Chapter 14: Nightmare Nova

Ponyville Town Armory

Cadance

A storm approached.

The clinking of armor could be heard in the small shed as the guards around her shuffled through the equipment. It was hardly the thick iron plates stored in Canterlot Castle, but it was something. Standard procedure dictated that all towns under the Crown of Equestria had to possess a cache of armor for militia in case of an emergency.

With great sorrow, Cadance knew it was not enough. No matter the courage or bravery of her loyal guards, they could not overcome the strength of the Nightmare's Legions.

Not without help.

"What will we do Shining?" Cadance asked somberly.

Her captain looked on at his troops and sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know. I only have around fifty guards here, the others that were with us were either recaptured before we managed to escape or they have fled elsewhere. I can only guess at how many Imperial Soldiers there are garrisoned in Canterlot."

Cadance closed her eyes, her frustration mounting. Twilight was there in the castle all by herself fighting that monster. So much had transpired in so little time.

I feel so useless.

She was a princess. A sovereign of the Equestrian Nation. It was her solemn duty to make the hard decisions. The Greater Good, her aunt had called it. The decisions and sacrifices a princess made for the greater part of the realm.

Cadance steeled her face into a regal mask. "Captain." Shining's ears twitched in concern as he turned to look at her. She only used his title when she was upset. "If the situation were different, and it were not Twilight in Canterlot Castle, what would your advice be for me?"

Shining's ears flattened against his head as he stared at Cadance. She knew he would reach the same conclusion she had, no matter how he wanted it to be otherwise. He was a leader, a strategist, it was second nature for him to think of these things.

"If it were not Twilight...I would send you to Cloudesdale with our fifteen pegasi guards. If I know Spitfire, she's already made plans to overthrow the garrison there."

Cadance searched her memory. "Spitfire...the Wonderbolt flight commander?"

Shining nodded. "Spitfire is one of the most talented and skilled flight commanders in the world. She's also the most stubborn mare I have ever met. Spitfire is also a cunning officer. She would not have been captured with the other guards. Spitfire would have hidden herself at the first sign of trouble and taken her officers with her. Cloudesdale is the home of a large amount of retired veterans from the Royal Guard, the perfect place to recruit for an uprising. Cloudesdale has always been a militant society, ever since the days of it's founding by Commander Hurricane. I would send you there because it is the best chance to survive Nightmare's wrath. Now that she's out in the open, it will be much harder to catch us by surprise again."

Cadance nodded, but a concerning thought came to her. "What about you? Where would you go, there are spells for Unicorns to walk among the clouds, but those only last so long and take a lot of energy. That's why in ancient times no Unicorn or Earth Pony army could conquer a pegasus city. Earth Pony's don't have the magic, and it would take a powerful unicorn to cast even one cloud-walking spell, let alone hundreds. Where would you go?"

Shining sighed and shuffled his hooves, turning back to look at his stallions while they strapped their armor on. "South, I think. Towards the Appleloosa Territory and Dodge City. The Earth Ponies there are fiercely independent, but with a strong sense of loyalty to Celestia. I could start gathering volunteers there, far from the Legion's strongholds in the more populated cities."