Equestrian Tyranny(revised edition)

Long ago, in the land of Equestria, there was chaos. Nopony was happy. The cause was the draconequus Discord. The alicorn princesses, Celestia and Luna, saw the unhappiness Discord brought and used the most powerful force in all of Equestria, the Elements of Harmony, to seal him in stone. There Discord stayed until the princesses lost touch with the elements, and the draconequus was free once again. It was up to the new keepers of the elements, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie to stop him. Discord, using his powers of deception, was able to corrupt each of the six friends. Discord was defeated when Twilight Sparkle regained her memories and reminded her companions of their friendship, breaking the shackles of Discord’s corruption, and once again, sealed him in stone.
After many more adventures of the six friends, Celestia and Luna saw great potential in them. The princesses, despite their powers over day and night, needed ponies that they could trust. They decided that these six friends would each be given a portion of Equestria to rule over and maintain the peace. All six agreed, under the condition that they would have a meeting every month to discuss matters of importance and stay in touch. This worked for a while, with all six having a second in command as an advisor.
After a while, strange things started happening. First was Pinkie Pie being against every decision the others made. Then Twilight stopped show up for the meetings. One by one all of the friends became opposites of their former selves; Fluttershy became cruel; Rarity became greedy, and rarely helped the others; Applejack became a compulsive liar; and Rainbow Dash never seemed to keep her promises. Despite all these dramatic differences, they continued to attend the monthly meetings, except for Twilight Sparkle. Under these tyrants, the citizenry of Equestria suffered, being beneath the notice of their rulers.
Celestia and Luna saw the suffering of their subjects, and called the leaders to a meeting, in order to attempt to reason with them. To the princesses’ surprise, none of the five still bore an Element of Harmony. A great battle ensued in the chamber, and the Princesses barely escaped alive. Entering into a self-imposed exile, Celestia and Luna began a resistance movement to bring an end to the suffering of their once peaceful nation.

In the night, three small figures appeared from opposing directions, meeting in a neutral territory surrounded by trees and bushes. It was quiet, there at the border of their once united world. One approached from the right, another from the left, and the last having difficulty getting down from above. In the dusk, they could only see each other’s silhouettes, each asking the others how their part of Equestria had fared since the leaders became corrupt.
“Applejack has yet to lighten up on the work orders,” said Applebloom, the pony on the right, with a slight drawl. “Several ponies have been banished to Pinkie Pie’s territory for not working hard enough.”
Well at least you’re not a servant to Rarity, she is so greedy,” complained Sweetie-Belle, the one on the left. “If Rarity doesn’t get what she wants, we get put in the dungeons!”
“It isn’t very good up in the clouds either,” said Scootaloo, they pony from the sky. “Rainbow Dash won’t uphold her deals with anypony, so we are forced to survive off the clouds.”
All three friends reminisced about the past, when they had called themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, back in the time of Harmony, before the tyrants had come to power. The trio of ponies still stayed in touch, and none of them has their cutie marks either. They had been too busy working for their respective leaders, and had not had time to find their special talents.
Suddenly, the Cutie Mark Crusaders heard the sound of rustling leaves nearby. As they walked towards the origin of the sound, they noticed a small bush covering what appeared to be a door in the ground.
“Should we go down there?” asked Sweetie-Belle. “It could lead to a dead end, or a trap.”
“There’s one way to find out…wait, what is that?” asked Scootaloo suspiciously.
What Scootaloo saw was a searchlight flying above the forest. The light was from an airborne pegasi patrol, which was part of the new police system but in place by the tyrants. Their job was to patrol the borders of the different leader’s regions, and watch for suspicious activity.
“Quick! Get down there,” Whispered Applebloom, opening the hatch quickly with her teeth.
The three fillies hesitated at the sight of wooden stairs descending into the darkness of the tunnel. Their apprehension quickly diminished as the sound of wing beats got louder from the approaching patrol. The Cutie Mark Crusaders galloped quickly into the darkness, with Applebloom closing the camouflaged door just before the guards could see it.
“Everypony here? Applebloom asked into the darkness.
“Here,” replied her two friends in unison.
“Good. Stay close, if you try to go ahead, there won’t be anypony to catch you,” stated Applebloom.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders slowly descended, making sure to be within hoofs-reach of each other. Strangely, the further down then walked, the lighter it seemed to be in the tunnel, and the fillies thought that they could hear voices coming from below. Soon, they found a door, with light bleeding through the crack between it and the floor. Slowly, Scootaloo pushed open the door, and the three friends found themselves in a room with many other tunnels branching off of it, each being large enough for a bear to walk through and being well lit.
“Which way should we go?” Sweetie-Belle asked the others.
Upon closer inspection, the Crusaders realized that each cave had a sign hung above it. They decided to try the tunnel with a sun on it, as it seemed to be the most inviting. Nervously, the three fillies entered the tunnel, noticing that the lighting got brighter the further they went in. They kept walking until the light was almost blinding, and they found what appeared to be several guards in front of them.
“What business do you have here?!” roared the lead guard.
“Um…we were just-“ started a terrified Sweetie-Belle.
“SHUT IT! You are to leave and forget you-“
“What is going on here?” asked a kind voice from behind the guards.
“Oh, nothing your highness, we were just telling these outsiders to leave-“ stammered the lead guard.
“Oh be quiet Lieutenant,” the gentle voice admonished. “These fillies are no threat to the Resistance. Wait…these ponies look familiar, would you please stand aside and let me get a better look?”
The guards gave each other a look, and then quickly stepped aside. Before the confused Crusaders stood a magnificent white pony that had both a horn and a set of wings. The fillies couldn’t believe their eyes.
“Princess Celestia! We thought you were dead!” exclaimed the stunned Applebloom while her two friends stood with their mouths hanging open.
“No, not died, just went into hiding, and if my memory is correct, you three are the adventurous Cutie Mark Crusaders. This is the Resistance.”
“The what?” asked Scootaloo.
“The Resistance, my dear.” stated Celestia. “We fight against the tyrants of Equestria. You are familiar with them, I’m sure. They used to be friends, but something happened when my sister, Luna, and I gave them areas to rule over. They became obsessed with power, and forgot the ways of harmony. We tried to stop them, but they overwhelmed us. I am concerned because my once faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, was not there. I fear the worst, that them becoming this way has once again released Discord. I have yet to see any of his trickery, but he might figure that the tyrants are creating enough chaos for now. After Luna and I escaped, we fled underground and created the resistance. We have been growing in numbers, and will eventually be powerful enough to take back Equestria and hopefully solve the problems my sister and my decision has caused. So I ask you, Cutie Mark Crusader, will you join us?”
The three fillies just stood there for a moment, taking time to absorb all that had been said.
“If it means there is a chance that Applejack will return to normal, I’m in,” stated Applebloom.
“I can’t stand to see my sister acting this way…I’m in too,” Sweetie-belle said.
“Rainbow Dash needs me…count me in too,” Scootaloo stated.
“It’s settled then. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are now officially part of the Resistance,” said Celestia happily. “Now that you are with us, you should explore the other tunnels, you will probably find some familiar faces and it will get you acquainted with everypony. You are free to stay here as long as you wish.”
“Thanks Celestia, we will!” called Applebloom, already on her way out to explore with her friends.
“They certainly are adventurous, aren’t they? Celestia said to herself.
Just as the fillies got back to the room connecting the tunnels, they heard a voice over what they guessed to be some sort of intercom.
“I would like to report that the Resistance officially has three new members,” Celestia announced, “Applebloom, Sweetie-Belle, and Scootaloo.” I would like everypony to give all three of them a warm welcome. Thank you.”
After listening to the announcement, the three friends looked at the signs around the room and decided on a tunnel that had a sign with a bed on it. They started down the hall, not sure who, or what they might find.